It seems like every time I look at the news, I see another city, whether in Pennsylvania, Tennessee or somewhere else, having to take a big loss in the courtroom to accept the fact that state firearms preemption laws mean what they say.
The latest was Fargo, North Dakota, where city leaders apparently decided they could make their own gun laws, despite the state preemption law saying the opposite.
According to a report from NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), on December 19, the North Dakota Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling dismissing a lawsuit brought by the city of Fargo against the state legislature to block a bill passed back in 2023 that strengthened the state’s preemption law.
According to NRA-ILA, Fargo has banned gun sales in residential-zoned areas, even by licensed FFLs, for many years. The city filed suit against HB 1340 shortly after the bill passed in 2023, arguing that the law violated their ability for local control.
Of course, the new law did violate their ability for local control. That’s exactly what the legislature had intended for it to do. In the recent ruling, the state Supreme Court found that infringing upon the Second Amendment does not fall under the purview of local control, much to the chagrin of Fargo leaders.
“HB 1340 enhances North Dakota’s firearm preemption law, stating that the Legislature is the sole authority in the state allowed to regulate firearms,” NRA-ILA wrote. “This prevents localities, like Fargo, from creating a confusing patchwork of gun laws in the state and ensures that citizens enjoy the same abilities to exercise their Second Amendment rights across the whole state.”
In its ruling, the court determined that the preemption law is constitutional, leaving Fargo out in the cold with its gun sales ban.
“We conclude H.B. 1340 does not violate article VII of the North Dakota Constitution,” the ruling stated. “We hold the legislature’s enactment of H.B. 1340 constitutes a valid exercise of its constitutional authority to create political subdivisions and, specifically, to define the powers of a home rule city. We conclude H.B. 1340, as enacted, is constitutional as applied to Fargo’s home rule charter and Fargo Municipal Code §§ 20-0403(C)(5)(e) and 20-402(T)(3). Due to this holding, we need not address Fargo’s argument H.B. 1340 and N.D.C.C. §§ 40-05.1-06 and 62.1-01-03, as amended, are facially unconstitutional.”
In the end, the court ruling stated: “The district court did not err in concluding H.B. 1340 preempts and renders void Fargo Municipal Code §§ 20-0403(C)(5)(e) and 20-402(T)(3). We affirm the judgment.”
Nonetheless, these municipalities will loudly complain about how horrible the decision is for “public safety” and local control. Some cities have tried it more than once. Fortunately, all have been slapped hard and shown the door.
So, if everyone’s carrying (hopefully most folks carrying concealed) and gun related crime becomes almost non-existent due to criminals not knowing how many people around them have guns and will use them, isn’t the logical result a safer community? Ya know…public safety?
(mumbles to self, stumbles to kitchen to get more coffee and start dinner…)
Let ‘em complain, loudly or otherwise. They just got it broke off in their poop chute. Eff ‘em. Long live the Republic!
“these municipalities will loudly complain about how horrible the decision is for “public safety” and local control.”
Key word in the quote is “control” and that is what they fear the most. The powers that be in New Orleans have gone bonkers over the CC law this year by trying to declare police training facilities as schools etc. Their disdain for good citizens and love for criminals is sickening.
“Their disdain for good citizens and love for criminals is sickening.”
As is their disdain for our Constitution and the rights it guarantees.
Roger that!
It wasn’t concerning directly calling police training facilities ” schools”. They used a police precinct house and redefined it as a “school”. With this interpretation it leads to any police facility as being a school.
Nah. The NOPD hates everyone who has guns. After Hurricane Katrina they went door to door confiscating guns, leaving remaining residents to the tender mercies of the gang members who had survived the weather onslaught.
Ah, but everyone still recalls the gangs going door to door killing and raping at will in the aftermath of Katrina. Remember the bodies floating down the streets? Yeah, me neither but that’s what we were told because Bushitler.
1. The Constitution/Bill of Rights provides for the right for citizens to keep and bear arms without infringement. There is absolutely no provision for “except in the case of an emergency, or… ”
2. It is not up to you or anyone else to limit anyone’s ability to defend themselves. That is a right of all men AND guaranteed by the Constitution/Bill of Rights.
The nitwits running Pittsburgh have been shut down twice, maybe three times on this very issue. They never learn because they are not paying the bills.
Well then, the Pittsburgh voters need to step up and do the right thing, yes?
If you’re not going to have term limits, then you need to be a hard_ss when you get to the voting booth.
I think you are referring to Philadelphia
Of course, that logic also applies if a jurisdiction wants to have less gun control than the state does.
Biden just gave Ukraine Another 2.47 Billion so they could defend themselves. WTF, and Fargo won’t let it’s citizens defend themselves?
What is wrong with this country?
Do you want Putin to take control of Eastern Europe to the Elbe River, just like the good old days when he was the KGB liaison to the East German Stasi?
There reasons why former Warsaw Pact nations, including Poland, APPLIED to join NATO (note: applied, not forced to join). 45+ years of Soviet domination in politics, economics, trade, industry, and defence is a good motivator to not want to go through that again.
No, and I don’t want my tax dollars go to pay civilian pensions either.
“45+ years of Soviet domination in politics, economics, trade, industry”
Please Southern, when was the last time you saw “Made in Russia”?
Except for some Mosin-Nagants and SKS rifles, never. Because they could never satisfy their own demand. What happens when an economy is spending almost 50% of the GDP on defense (in the mid-to-late 80s).
And what consumer goods they did make were rubbish anyway.
Then how about Poland, Germany, France and the rest of Europe pitch in. It’s their battle not ours. How would the fall of Ukraine hurtnUS interests?
The Russian gangs in Ukraine are far better armed, and far more dangerous. Plus they have territorial ambitions. Putin keeps on threatening nuclear retaliation against “the West,” and although he is unlikely to resort to it, the purpose of the threats is to prevent NATO interference with his grand plan to reestablish the Soviet Union. But he is attacking critical infrastructure in Europe. The ship that recently severed an electrical conduit between Estonia and Finland was also carrying a large number of spy devices that it intended to scatter in its wake. The purpose is to isolate the former Eastern bloc nations from the West.
Tax dollars well spent. I’m sure the residents footing the bill are feeling all warm and fuzzy.
Preemption, not reciprocity.
thankyou, crikey.
You guys do whatever you like. I do not go unarmed. Anywhere. Two concealed handguns on my person now. A rifle at my right knee on the transmission jump. Poachers, by definition, are armed and I was on one’s ass last night. Maybe he’s stupid enough to return.
transmission hump…damn spell check
Wireless game cams, wireless thermal monitors and a good means of getting a plate/face shot. May be more satisfying to chase off the poachers personally but getting the sheriff on them paired with denial of easily exploited territory is probably the better way………or landmines and a shovel/scoop I guess.
I’m partial to Claymore’s for the first line of defense. Of course, local law enforcement is not keen on that approach, even if it was available to regular citizens. Damn.
Yeah, better bring a mop.
I was reading comments here and had Fox News on in the background. And just happened to catch a supposition,,,,,there has been speculation that there was an ISIS connection of the New Orleans tragedy and the Tesla truck explosion in Las Vegas. Common knowledge that Trump hammered ISIS. Here’s the supposition: it was an Elon Musk product (the Tesla EV Truck) outside the Trump hotel in Vegas. Connection? I don’t know but it’s an interesting question. We live in strange times.