Reeves signs bill strengthening Second Amendment protections
Gov. Tate Reeves has announced that he signed House Bill 1110, which strengthens Second Amendment protections for Mississippians by blocking the creation of gun registries and efforts to track financial transactions related to the purchase of firearms.
“The Second Amendment rights of Mississippians shall not be infringed,” said Gov. Reeves. “My administration will continue to push back on national Democrats’ unconstitutional gun grabs that threaten the safety and privacy of law-abiding gun owners. Unlike California and New York, we’re proud to welcome the firearms industry and gun owners from across the country to enjoy the protections that our s has to offer. Let me be clear: as long as I’m governor, the Second Amendment is here to stay in Mississippi.”
House Bill 1110 prohibits any state entity or private individual from keeping a registry of privately owned firearms or their owners and blocks financial institutions from using a firearms code to track gun purchases.
Concerns have been raised about how anti-Second Amendment activists have attempted to weaponize financial institutions and government agencies to track gun purchases and owners and potential attempts to utilize this information to punish gun manufacturers, distributors, and sellers.
Certain Democratic politicians have even called for official tracking of weapon and ammo purchases with a specific gun store credit card code. Lawful gun owners have raised concerns regarding how this code could be easily used to infringe upon the constitutional rights of Mississippians by blocking and limiting purchases of guns and ammo.
“These types of policies represent a dangerous slippery slope,” said Gov. Reeves. “Certain gun-grabbing politicians aim to achieve their ultimate goal of depriving Americans of their Second Amendment rights one unconstitutional step at a time. We have to stand our ground.”
The credit card company Visa even recognized the importance of the issue saying, “[w]e do not believe private companies should serve as moral arbiters. Asking private companies to decide what legal products or services can or cannot be bought and from what store sets a dangerous precedent. Further, it would be an invasion of consumers’ privacy for banks and payment networks to know each of our most personal purchasing habits. Visa is firmly against this.”
This legislation takes direct aim at efforts to track and monitor purchases and puts a halt to attempts to enact any program of this sort in Mississippi.
Mississippi has become one of the first states in the nation to take a legislative stand against these regulations and unconstitutional policies often imposed by overzealous partisan bureaucrats.
In 2022, the firearms industry had almost a $1.2 billion impact on the Mississippi economy. It supported more than 4,800 jobs paying over $284 million in wages.
“Mississippi isn’t going to shut the door on the lawful and constitutional firearms industry,” said Gov. Reeves. “Again, this isn’t New York or California. We’re not going to crack down on a lawful industry that is helping people put food on their table through meaningful employment.”
