BREAKING: Constitutional Carry and Restrictive Concealed Carry in Schools Both Pass House

February 21, 2017 T. Arthur Mason North Dakota

Today was a gun bill day of sorts for the North Dakota House. The two most prominent bills were HB 1169 (Constitutional Carry) and HB 1310 (Concealed Carry in Schools)– both of which came out of committee last week with Do Pass recommendations.

Constitutional Carry had little floor debate with only Rep. Greg Westlind (R – District 15) standing to urge a no vote on the bill. Westlind described himself as a Class 2 Concealed Carry Permit holder and expressed his view that carrying a concealed weapon was a "privilege". His comments were not very Republican at all and certainly weren’t based on a sound constitutional footing.

In the end, the overwhelming majority saw through Westlind’s illogical arguments and voted in favor of the Constitutional Carry bill 83-9. The bill will now go to the Senate for consideration. Should it pass there and be signed into law by Governor Burgum, it will allow any North Dakota resident 21 years old and older to carry concealed without a permit– provided they are not otherwise prohibited by law from doing so.

Concealed Carry in Schools had no floor debate. Don’t let the name it has come to be known by fool you. It’s not exactly as wonderful as it sounds, nor as simple as originally intended. Rep. Pat Heinert (R – District 32) carried the bill to the floor and explained in detail the regulatory intricacies of the bill.

The list of regulations is too long for the purposes of this article, but aside from the extensive application process to the Department of Public Instruction, the requirements for an individual to be able to be permitted to carry in a school are exhausting. So exhausting that it may turn out that not a single school in the state takes advantage of the bill if it does become law. Which the skeptic in me says is possibly the reason for all the regulatory hoops. Regardless, the bill will move on to the Senate with a 73-19 vote.

Sources:
1. http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/65-2017/bill-index/bi1169.html
2. http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/65-2017/bill-index/bi1310.html

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About T. Arthur Mason 878 Articles
T. Arthur Mason is a native North Dakotan who has spent nearly all of his life in the Peace Garden State. As the third of four children in Western North Dakota, Mason grew to appreciate family and the outdoors. Some of his fondest memories are annual deer hunts with family and friends. In his early teenage years, faith became a central part of T. Arthur Mason's life. He and the majority of his family attend church together on a weekly basis and find this a fulfilling aspect of their lives. Through the influence of his father, T. Arthur Mason became intrigued with politics. As a boy, he attended political events with his father and enjoyed the friendships that resulted as a byproduct of those political associations. As Mason grew older, he became convinced that the quote often attributed to Thomas Jefferson was true, "That government is best which governs least." Today, T. Arthur Mason enjoys time with his wife and children, an occasional hunt, and an increasingly active life on the political scene. This blog is the fulfillment of a dream to design a web site in the realm of politics and to advocate for the principles of Liberty and constitutionally limited government. On behalf of all those that contribute to The Minuteman, we hope you enjoy your time on the site and will share the message with others.

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