Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN Legal & Legislation

National Alert: Champaign Illinois First Locality to Cite “Emergency Powers” to Ban Gun Transfers

Friday, March 13, 2020

National Alert: Champaign Illinois First Locality to Cite “Emergency Powers” to Ban Gun Transfers

As uncertainty about the COVID-19 outbreak continues to swirl, it is clear that anti-gun extremists and elected officials will use fear of the unknown to advance their agenda to undermine our firearms freedom.  Not surprisingly, it didn’t take them long to try and quietly pass and implement gun control schemes while Americans are focused on ensuring the health, safety and welfare of themselves and their families.  ​

Today, an ordinance has passed in Champaign, IL, to empower the mayor to “[o]rder the discontinuance of selling, distributing, dispensing or giving away of … firearms or ammunition of any character whatsoever.”  This action must be swiftly opposed and NRA members in the area have been alerted and are responding to the threat.

The ordinance in Champaign serves as a warning bell to law-abiding gun owners nationwide.  We must be on high alert for any attempts to destroy the Second Amendment in jurisdictions throughout the country.

We don’t have to guess that when emotions are running high, some politicians will exploit the situation to overstep their bounds. We know this.  We’ve seen it time and time again, including in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, more recently in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and even in a North Carolina city in the face of unusually harsh winter weather. This is hardly an exhaustive list of such abuses.

This is exactly why the NRA has supported legislation to prevent government officials from using their “emergency powers” as a pretext for disarming the citizenry.

In 2006, then-Congressman Bobby Jindal (R-LA) led the fight to protect America’s gun owners against these abuses by introducing H.R. 5013 in the House, a final version of which was signed by President George W. Bush in October of that year. Now codified at 42 U.S.C. § 5207, the law prohibits persons acting under color of federal law, receiving federal funds, or acting at the direction of a federal employee from seizing or authorizing the seizure of lawfully-possessed firearms during a state of emergency.

The majority of U.S. states now have similar laws to prevent state and local officials from using the exercise of their “emergency powers” as a pretext to infringe the right to keep and bear arms. And even in the absence of such laws, the Second Amendment still applies by its own force.

That’s why we are asking gun owners to be alert to any attempt to leverage the fear and uncertainty around the COVID-19 outbreak to assail Second Amendment rights. If you learn of any such attempt, please contact us immediately at nra.org[email protected], or (800) 392-8683. If possible, please include a link or reference to the proposed bill or rule in question.

We will continue to monitor the situation in Champaign, as well as the rest of the nation and alert our members accordingly. 

Now, more than ever, it is essential for Americans to work together to successfully resolve the current crisis that faces the country.  Every person can play a part by keeping a cool head, staying informed with reliable sources of information, and following directives in your locality about hygiene and social distancing.

Rest assured that your NRA will do its part, too, by remaining vigilant against opportunistic actions against your rights and freedoms during this difficult time.

TRENDING NOW
Undercover Video: Sen. Fetterman (D-Pa.) staffer claims boss would be “okay with like overturning the Second Amendment”

News  

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Undercover Video: Sen. Fetterman (D-Pa.) staffer claims boss would be “okay with like overturning the Second Amendment”

It seems as though Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) may like to overturn more than just the U.S. Senate’s standards of professional attire. According to an undercover video of Fetterman senate staffer Luke Borwegen, obtained by O’Keefe Media Group, ...

Connecticut:  Gun Control Bill Passes the House and Moves to the Senate

Saturday, May 27, 2023

Connecticut: Gun Control Bill Passes the House and Moves to the Senate

On Thursday, the House passed HB 6667 on a vote of 96-51.  This drastic gun control legislation has a bit of everything.  It contains a ban on open carry and strengthens prohibitions and registration of semi-auto "assault ...

Updates to ATF Final Rule on Stabilizing Braces

News  

Monday, January 30, 2023

Updates to ATF Final Rule on Stabilizing Braces

On Monday, January 30, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) published the final Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached “Stabilizing Braces” rule for public inspection in the federal register.

U.S. House Judiciary Committee Advances Pistol Brace Resolution

News  

Monday, April 24, 2023

U.S. House Judiciary Committee Advances Pistol Brace Resolution

On April 19, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted 23-15 to advance H.J.Res.44, which would reign in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ attempt to regulate pistol stabilizing braces. The resolution employs ...

Need a Good Lawyer? Don’t Use Anti-Gun Groups as a Resource

News  

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Need a Good Lawyer? Don’t Use Anti-Gun Groups as a Resource

The anti-gun extremists at Giffords and March for Our Lives are running a joint operation to try to convince students in law school to sign a pledge to never represent anyone within “the gun industry or gun ...

Hypothesis or Hyperbole Gun Control Researchers Balk at Betting on Gun Control

News  

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Hypothesis or Hyperbole Gun Control Researchers Balk at Betting on Gun Control

Dr. John Lott, Jr., a leading researcher and founder of the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), recently embarked on an unusual personal experiment: how many pro-gun control academics would literally bet in favor of their own ...

Connecticut:  Gun Control Legislation Nearing House Vote

Thursday, May 25, 2023

Connecticut: Gun Control Legislation Nearing House Vote

Gun banners in Hartford have been busy all session cooking up a concoction of more gun control.  In a state where there is already a large buffet of gun laws, it’s time for Connecticut gun ...

Louisiana House Passes Constitutional Carry

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Louisiana House Passes Constitutional Carry

Last week, the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee held their “Gun Day,” where multiple pro-gun bills passed out of committee and the lone anti-gun measure was involuntarily deferred. Your active participation was crucial to protecting and ...

South Carolina: Constitutional Carry Advances to Floor from Senate Judiciary Committee

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

South Carolina: Constitutional Carry Advances to Floor from Senate Judiciary Committee

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-11 to pass S.109, the NRA-backed Constitutional Carry bill, and it has now been sent to the Senate floor for further consideration. This is a huge step toward South Carolina becoming the next state ...

NRA Challenges ATF Brace Rule

News  

Second Amendment  

Thursday, February 9, 2023

NRA Challenges ATF Brace Rule

The National Rifle Association announced the filing of an NRA-backed and supported lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' (ATF) unlawful rule on stabilizing braces.

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.