Dear friend,
Just as a concealed carrier is aware of their surroundings, a Second Amendment advocate must maintain a “legislative” situational awareness as well.
Gun control can come in any bill, even if the title of the bill is not an ominous “Assault Weapon Ban.” And sadly, many backdoor gun control bills fly “under the radar,” and then are passed into law when gun owners aren’t looking.
Last year, GOA alerted you to HB 1013, a “mental health” bill in the Georgia state legislature. This year, this legislation is back, but in a different form.
This year’s HB 520 makes it easier for someone to be declared mentally incompetent when standing trial.
How does this relate to gun rights? By federal rule of the ATF, if one is found incompetent to stand trial, then he/she is also not eligible to own a gun. In other words, he/she would be considered a prohibited person under federal law.
Obviously, this raises due process concerns because one would lose his/her gun rights before being convicted of a crime. In this case, no trial on the criminal charges would take place at all!
Gun owners must not let this “camel’s nose” under the tent. So please take action and urge your state representative to oppose HB 520.
In liberty,
Jordan Stein
Southeast Region Director
Gun Owners of America
