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Texas Won’t Be Shuttering Gun Stores Anytime Soon...

2K views 11 replies 11 participants last post by  LW McVay 
#1 ·
So glad most of the States are still the land of the free...from NRA-ILA

“Texas: Attorney General Issues Opinion Prohibiting Municipalities and Counties from Restricting Firearm Sales in Response to Covid-19


On Tuesday, March 24, pro-Second Amendment State Representative Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) requested an opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton on whether city and county officials can prohibit the sale of firearms through an emergency order or declaration by excluding firearm manufacturers and retailers as "essential businesses." Over the course of this week, local officials from Austin, Lubbock and Waco, as well as Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Tarrant and Travis counties adopted (and in some cases modified) such orders forcing some gun stores to close and denied law-abiding Texans the right to purchase a firearm for protection during these uncertain times.

Today, General Paxton issued Opinion No. KP-0296 stating that Section 229.001(a) and 236.002(a) of the Texas Local Government Code prohibiting municipalities and counties from adopting regulations related to the transfer of and commerce in firearms, and that these emergency stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders may not regulate or restrict the sale of firearms.

Thanks go out to Representative Burrows for his timely request and to General Paxton for protecting the Second Amendment in the Lone Star State by issuing this critical opinion affirming that the state firearms preemption statute overrides these local orders.

Also, thanks go out to State Representative Travis Clardy (R-Nacogdoches) and State Senator Pat Fallon (R-Prosper) for sponsoring and passing House Bill 3231 during the 2019 legislative session, legislation which strengthened and made important clarifications to Texas' state firearms preemption statute, and to Governor Greg Abbott for signing the measure into law.”
 
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#3 ·
Texas Attorney General says...

Form GOA...

Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, just released his official opinion on the issue of cities and counties failing to exempt firearms stores from closure. Paxton stated that municipal and county officials may not use their emergency powers under section 418.108 of the Government Code to regulate or restrict the sale of firearms.
Thank you, Attorney General Paxton, for upholding Texas law and ensuring that Texans have the continued ability to purchase guns and ammo.
And thank you again, Rep. Burrows, for taking leadership on this issue to protect Texans’ ability to protect themselves.
The summary of Paxton’s opinion stated:
“Subsections 229.001(a) and 236.002(a) of the Local Government Code prohibit a municipality or county from adopting regulations related to the transfer, possession, or ownership of firearms, or commerce in firearms. These provisions apply to municipal and county regulation “notwithstanding any other law.” Thus, while municipal and county officials possess general emergency authority to control the movement of persons and the occupancy of premises in a local disaster area under Government Code section 418.108, such orders may not regulate or restrict the sale of firearms.”

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2020/kp-0296.pdf
 
#7 · (Edited)
Great work on all their part, and how appropriate the opinion, Opinion No. KP-0296, happens to have the same last three digits as one of my favorite magnum pistol powders. :)

Merged two threads of the same topic into earliest one.
 
#11 · (Edited)
If you look at the political party affiliation behind the politician that closes gun stores that will tell you everything you need to know. Democrats don't want law abiding citizens to own guns. Yet they don't want to punish criminals that violate gun laws, or most any other laws either. Now that's one thing that I don't understand.
 
#9 ·
Right, nothing to do with a virus outbreak--just another Demmunist power grab/rights erosion.
 
#10 ·
None of that affected me. I picked up my Tavor 7 that arrived at my FFL dealer last Tuesday. Dallas County Commissioner Court Judge issued a Shelter in Place Order for Dallas County, so I wasn't sure if my FFL dealer would be open to receive the Tavor from Fedex or not, much less be open to make the transfer. He was. Not at all surprising because Dallas County is a minority controlled county which are majority democrats. One day I will move out of Dallas County.
 
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