Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill strengthening Second Amendment protections across the state ahead of his reelection this year, according to a Thursday press release.
The Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act prohibits any agency or individual from keeping a record of registered firearms and their private owners, as well as barring financial institutions from monitoring such transactions in Mississippi, according to the press release. Reeves, who is up for reelection in November, signed the pro-gun legislation days after Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called for red flag gun laws. (RELATED: Red State Gov Signs Bill Banning Ballot Harvesting Ahead Of Reelection Bid)
“My administration will continue to push back on national Democrats’ unconstitutional gun grabs that threaten the safety and privacy of law-abiding gun owners,” Reeves said in a statement. “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 state has to offer. Let me be clear: as long as I’m governor, the Second Amendment is here to stay in Mississippi.”
HB 1110, which will go into effect in January 2024, directly tackles Democrats’ efforts to “track and monitor” firearms, according to the press release. Attorney General Lynn Fitch can investigate any violations of this bill by sending out notices ordering the cease of the violation within 30 days, or the perpetrator could face injunction.
The bill targets the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) approval of using gun codes to track firearm purchases, and how that violates Mississippians’ right to bear arms. Financial institutions have no right to “surveil and track lawful activities” such as the legal purchase of firearms, the bill reads.
Across the country, national Democrats’ are pushing unconstitutional gun grabs that threaten the safety and privacy of law-abiding gun owners. Multinational corporations are too often pushing leftwing policies. We have to guard against any action that threatens our liberties—by…
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) April 13, 2023
Lee signed an executive order Tuesday to expand background checks in Tennessee, and called on the state Legislature to draft more restrictive laws. This came after the school shooting at a Nashville private Christian institution where 28-year-old Audrey Hale, who identified as transgender and used “he/him” pronouns, shot and killed three children and three adults.
Hale was a former student of The Covenant School who might have harbored some “resentment” there, according to Nashville police. She was also being medically treated for an undisclosed “emotional disorder.”
“The Second Amendment rights of Mississippians shall not be infringed,” Reeves said in a statement. “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.”
Reeves will face Democrat Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley, the most prominent Democratic challenger, on Nov. 7. The governor is currently leading Presley 46% to 39%, and is winning in five out of the state’s six regions, according to the most recent polling from Magnolia Tribune/Mason-Dixon.
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