Let’s be honest here. Absolutely no one trusts the federal government to protect our Second Amendment rights. Despite the fact that the right supposedly has a 6-3 majority in the Supreme Court, we can’t even be sure the Court would take a Second Amendment case right now.

So, that leaves matters to the states.

Many are trying their best to protect our Second Amendment rights, but others aren’t. Well, for Wyoming residents, your state’s efforts have taken a step forward.

A bill intended to exempt Wyomingites from future federal restrictions on gun rights passed the Senate floor Wednesday with a 24-6 vote.

 

Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, brought Senate File 81 to the Legislature in an attempt to provide proactive Second Amendment protections for “law-abiding citizens” in anticipation of federal restrictions on guns coming from the Democratic administration.

 

Concerns over the bill’s constitutionality, practical enforcement and its proposal to strip legal immunity from officers who “knowingly” infringe on citizen gun rights dominated the discussion when Bouchard presented it to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.

Several law enforcement officers testified that the removal of qualified immunity — a topic of much debate on the left side of the aisle nationwide after last year’s police brutality protests — may make it harder for them to do their jobs. In some situations, including domestic violence or threats of suicide, officers need the authority to confiscate a gun from a citizen without being afraid they’ll lose their job or be sued over it.

Legal experts and lobbyists told the committee that, as written, the bill was in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution under its Supremacy Clause which prohibits state statutes from being passed when in direct conflict with federal law.

And the Supremacy Clause is a concern, to be sure, but so are the Second and Tenth Amendments. The Supremacy Clause really only has legal sway when we’re talking about laws that are constitutional in the first place.

It’s funny, though, how “shall not be infringed” is completely irrelevant to these people, but the Supremacy Clause is sacrosanct. It’s almost like they’re cherry-picking which parts of the Constitution to actually adhere to.

Wyoming needs to pass the law, along with every other state that considers itself remotely pro-gun. They need to if for no other reason than to send a clear signal to Washington that we will be ungovernable if they opt to impose unconstitutional laws on us, particularly with regard to gun control.

Yes, this could be setting up something pretty nasty, but the alternative is capitulation. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I have no interest in just rolling over and playing dead. I suspect I’m not alone. If the nasty comes, then so be it. I don’t want it and I’m not looking for it, but if it is to come, then let it come now.

Anyway, Wyoming is making a key move, as are a number of other states. Let’s just hope someone in Washington has enough sense to recognize that while their urban base may eat this crap up with a spoon, the rest of the country such as the parts that actually grow the food, don’t.