House committee strips Senate concealed carry bill
A champion of Second Amendment gun rights in the House raised concerns about a Senate bill to make it legal to carry a concealed pistol, revolver or stun gun.
State Sen. Angela Hill, R-Picayune, filed Senate Bill 2618, known as the Constitutional Carry bill; to allow a person who legally owns a firearm to carry it open or concealed without it violating the law.
Hill, who is also a gun rights advocate, said her bill doesn't do away any of the state's required permits.
The Senate bill said: "It shall not be a violation of this section for any person to carry a concealed pistol, revolver or stun gun if the person is at least 21 years of age and is legally able to possess firearms under state and federal law, whether the person is a resident of the state or not."
But House Judiciary B Chairman Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, successfully urged his committee Tuesday to strike Senate language in the bill and insert House language calling for a task force to be established to study the issue and make a report to next year's Legislature.
Gipson said the Senate bill contradicts itself and that in one section it says it is against the law to carry a concealed weapon but in another section says it's not.
"It doesn't do what they say," Gipson said. "It's well intentional, but it's not a constitutional carry law… We need to make sure we don't have unintended consequences."
Gipson said the House proposal is to simply continue the status quo and allow the issue to be studied.
"Recognizing the great importance to all citizens of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and the fundamental right to keep and bear arms, this Legislature determines that a comprehensive review, by a task force, is needed of Mississippi's laws regulating the carrying of concealed weapons," Gipson's amendment said.
In 2013, the Legislature passed an open carry law in which a concealed weapon was defined. That bill was authored by Gipson.
The 2013 bill said adults don't need a permit to carry a gun that's not concealed. It was supposed to become law July 1, 2013, but Hinds County Circuit Judge Winston Kidd issued in injunction blocking the law from going into effect July 1. However, the state Supreme Court ultimately overturned Kidd's injunction and the bill became law.
Supporters of the law said it simply restates the right to bear arms that was part of Mississippi's Constitution. However, the law didn't address the legality of carrying a concealed weapon.
The amended Senate bill will now go to the full House for consideration. If the amended version is approved in the House, it means the legislation will go to a conference committee of the House and Senate.
Contact Jimmie E. Gates at (601) 961-7212 or jgates@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @jgatesnews on Twitter.