Upcoming Bills:

 

 

HB 39/FN/LM/CI (BR 39) - J. Richards, M. Cherry

     AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments.
     Amend KRS 527.030, relating to defacing a firearm, to increase the penalty from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class D felony; clarify that there must be intent to permanently deface firearm; provide that the fact that a laboratory can restore a number does not negate an intent to permanently deface the firearm; amend KRS 527.050 relating to possession of a defaced firearm to increase the penalty from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class D felony.

 

HB 39 - AMENDMENTS

     HCA (1, G. Lindsay) - Make technical correction.

     Jan 2-introduced in House
     Jan 3-to Judiciary (H)
     Feb 6-posting waived; posted in committee
     Feb 8-reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with committee amendment (1)
     Feb 9-2nd reading, to Rules; posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Monday, February 12, 2001
     Feb 12-3rd reading, passed 98-0 with committee amendment (1)
     Feb 13-received in Senate
     Feb 15-to Judiciary (S)

KFFI Position:

 

KFFI has been following this bill since it’s inception. It was originally proposed in the 2000 General Assembly. Its purpose is clear and appears to be fast tracked for approval during this session. 

 

We support this bill and urge all Kentucky gun owners to do the same.

 

 

HB 49/CI (BR 249) - R. Damron, S. Baugh, B. Colter, J. Gray, R. Nelson, S. Riggs, G. Tapp

     AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments.
     Amend KRS 503.050 relating to the use of physical force in self-protection to authorize the use of deadly force against criminal homicide, burglary, robbery, and deviate sexual intercourse and the attempt to commit such crimes, in addition to current authorized use of deadly force.

     Jan 2-introduced in House
     Jan 3-to Judiciary (H)
     Feb 12-posted in committee

 

KFFI  Position:

 

KFFI has strongly supported this bill since it was introduced into the House. It has not yet been called for discussion in the House Judiciary Committee. Letters and phone calls from you to the committee members and to your representatives could shake this bill loose and on to the House floor.

 

We support this bill and urge all Kentucky gun owners to do the same.

 

 

SB 81/CI (BR 1082) – J. Denton

     AN ACT relating to prohibition of possession of firearms in domestic violence cases.
     Amend KRS 403.750 relating to domestic violence orders to specify that a person against whom the order is issued cannot possess a firearm. Create a new section of KRS Chapter 527 to define misdemeanor crime of domestic violence and to prohibit possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence as a Class A misdemeanor for the first offense and Class D felony for a second or subsequent offense.

     Feb 7-introduced in Senate
     Feb 9-to Judiciary (S)

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Upcoming Bills: (Cont.)

 

 

SB 81/CI (BR 1082) – J. Denton (Cont.)

 

KFFI Position:

 

This is the same point that is currently under review in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans in the case of U. S. v Timothy Joe Emerson.  We have no need of getting Kentucky into the same problems that have been raised on the federal level.  A domestic violence order can be issued without any finding of guilt for the offense charged.  That means that somebody could be accused of domestic violence and be barred from possession of any firearms.  What about the individual who is falsely accused but must rid himself of his collection of Civil War firearms because of the accusation?  This is bad law and should never even come out of committee.

 

 

 

HB 108/LM (BR 394) - J. Gray, B. Colter, H. Cornett, J. Stewart, G. Tapp, Jo. Turner

     AN ACT relating to gun buy-back programs.
     Create a new section of KRS Chapter 237 to require law enforcement agencies participating in gun buy-back programs to return stolen firearms to lawful owners, and to take steps to preserve criminal evidence before a firearm is destroyed; noncompliance is official misconduct in the first degree.

HB 108 - AMENDMENTS

     HCS/LM - Delete provision relating to arrest of person turning in stolen firearm and in lieu require police to attempt to arrest the thief and any person who knowingly possessed the stolen firearm; and to delete the penalty provision.

     Jan 4-introduced in House
     Jan 5-to Judiciary (H)
     Feb 6-posted in committee
     Feb 15-reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute
     Feb 16-2nd reading, to Rules; posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Monday, February 19, 2001

 

KFFI Position:

 

KFFI has not been strongly supportive of this bill since it was introduced. We had hoped that the House would have been more interested in HB-107, which dealt with this issue in a more satisfactory manner.

 

The House Committee Substitute that has been added to this bill has made this bill (unsupportable/flawed) in that it would prevent police from possibly making an arrest of the offender at the time of the offense. This substitute provision would make it more difficult for police officers to apprehend those who have illegally obtained firearms and would allow those same individuals the opportunity to rid themselves of firearms that had been used in a crime at taxpayer expense.

 

This bill needs to fail on the House floor.

 

 

SB 114 (BR 1014) - R. Stivers

     AN ACT relating to the carrying of concealed deadly weapons.
     Amend KRS 527.020, relating to carrying concealed deadly weapons, to permit an elected Commonwealth's or county attorney to carry a concealed deadly weapon at all times and at any location within the state; permit an assistant Commonwealth's attorney or assistant county attorney to do so with the written permission of the Commonwealth's or county attorney, as appropriate.

     Feb 9-introduced in Senate

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continued on Next Page

Upcoming Bills: (Cont.)

 

SB 114 (BR 1014) - R. Stivers (Cont.)

 

KFFI Position:

 

Are Commonwealth’s attorneys or county attorneys somehow imbued with an ability the rest of us must demonstrate?  Perhaps we can assume they are familiar with the laws of Kentucky in regard to the use of deadly force in defense of yourself and your property.  Perhaps we can be assured they will not carry their concealed weapons where they are not permitted (although the wording of this law gives them much wider latitude than the rest of us common folk).  But we are not at all assured they know which end of the barrel of a firearm emits the projectile, that they can hit what they intend to hit, nor do we know they know how to clean and maintain their handguns or inspect their ammunition.  Let them first take the concealed carry course from a certified instructor and get their CCDW license, then come talk to us about where they should be permitted to carry their concealed weapons.

 

 

 

HB 115/CI (BR 180) - R. Damron, C. Belcher, R. Nelson, J. Stewart

     AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments.
     Create a new section of KRS Chapter 527 to establish the penalty of a Class C felony for a person who possesses a firearm after having been convicted of a capital offense or a Class A, B, or C felony; amend KRS 527.040 to conform; amend KRS 532.110 to provide for consecutive sentencing of certain felons who possess firearms; amend KRS 533.060 to deny probation and other forms of early release to a Class A, B, or C felon convicted of possessing a firearm; provide the short title of the Project Exile Act.

     Jan 5-introduced in House
     Feb 6-to Judiciary (H)

 

KFFI Position:

 

KFFI has supported Project Exile since it was first introduced in the 2000 General Assembly by Representative Damron. It has not yet been called for discussion in the House Judiciary Committee and time is running short to get this bill called.

 

We support this bill and urge all Kentucky gun owners to call their representatives and ask them to support committee discussion of this bill.

 

 

HB 153 (BR 1033) - P. Bather  (Mentioned in article on Page4)

     AN ACT relating to firearms and ammunition.
     Create a new section of KRS Chapter 446 to define what constitutes "official use" when government agencies retain firearms rather than turn them in for sale; prohibit destruction of firearm retained for official use.

     Feb 6-introduced in House

     Feb 7-to Judiciary (H)

               

 

KFFI Position:

 

KFFI strongly disagrees with this bill. It is another attempt to revisit the 2000 General Assembly and then HB-331 that was passed by both houses and survived a veto, which was overridden by both houses.

 

This bill is another “end run” attempt to corrupt the people’s will in regards to recovering taxpayer assets to provide for local police departments body armor. The individual presenting this bill cannot be unaware that if these “taxpayer assets” were to be destroyed, then taxpayer dollars would have to be used to fund this same body armor program. “More feeding at the public trough!”

 

This bill needs to languish in the committee room until the session ends.

 

 

Continued on Next Page

Upcoming Bills: (Cont.)

 

 

HB 298 (BR 1209) - K. Stein, M. Marzian, R. Meeks

AN ACT relating to concealed deadly weapons permits.
Amend KRS 237.110 relating to concealed deadly weapon permits to add a visual acuity requirement of 20/40 correctable with       glasses for issuance or reissuance of permit.

     Feb 13-introduced in House
     Feb 14-to Judiciary (H)
     Feb 15-posted in committee

 

 

KFFI Position:

 

KFFI is strongly opposed to this bill and you should be too!

 

Think about this. You go into the drivers’ license branch at Bowman Field to renew your drivers’ license and you are just ducky until they ask you for your doctors’ statement! What? They explain that you now need a statement from your doctor, optometrist, or ophthalmologist that your visual acuity has been tested and is 20/40 or better! After all that two thousand pound vehicle is considered to be lethal in the wrong hands. You’re thinking I’m kidding? Read this new proposed section that would change the permit application section to the Concealed Carry law being presented to the House Judiciary Committee;

 

(i)        Has, along with the application for issuance or reissuance of a concealed deadly weapon permit, submitted a statement that his or her visual acuity, has tested and is 20/40 or better. The statement shall be signed by a medical doctor, optometrist, or opthamologist. The visual acuity testing shall have been done not more than six (6) months prior to the time that the application for issuance or reissuance of a concealed deadly permit is submitted.

 

Representatives Stein, Marzian, and Meeks are again attempting to add insignificant regulations to a law that has worked well to date. These three legislators have always been in the forefront of the attempts to dismantle or regulate out of existence, Kentucky’s CCDW law. This is just another of those attempts. If this bill is such a good idea, let’s try it in the Department of Motor Vehicles first were it will impact a more representative sample of the population. Then we can judge the measure on its’ own merits in regards to safety.

 

Think about it then start writing your legislators and telling them to stop this type of intentional discrimination against Kentucky voters. Let this bill die in committee!

 

 

 

We make every effort to report the bills accurately.  However, amendments are constantly being submitted and bills can be changed during any committee hearing.  For that reason, we can only deal with the information we have at the time this is printed.