Kentucky: Permitless Carry Legislation Introduced

[Midwest]

Kentucky: Permitless Carry Legislation Introduced


Permitless Carry has been introduced in my state (Commonwealth) of Kentucky. It is known as House Bill 531 and introduced by Representatives Hubert Collins (D-97) and Jody Richards (D-20).

The current permit will still be offered (if this proposal goes through) so that Kentucky residents may carry in other states. As many know, Kentucky has been open carry since 1792 when it became a state.

Lets hope this gets passed and signed into law and Kentucky could join other states that allow permitless carry.


https://www.nraila.org/articles/20160301/kentucky-permitless-carry-legislation-introduced

(Note:Copyright notice says this may be reproduced. Please see copyright notice on bottom.)


"Today, House Bill 531 was introduced by state Representatives Hubert Collins (D-97) and Jody Richards (D-20). HB 531 would allow a law-abiding individual, to lawfully carry a concealed handgun for self-defense without needing to first obtain a government-issued license. This legislation has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration, and your NRA-ILA expects a Senate version of HB 531 to be introduced later this week.

This bipartisan legislation recognizes the right of Kentuckians to legally carry a concealed firearm without the requirement of acquiring a Kentucky concealed carry deadly weapons license (CCDW). HB 531 is a much-needed update to concealed carry in Kentucky, allowing law-abiding gun owners the ability to better protect themselves and their loved ones. This legislation would give Kentuckians the freedom to choose the best method of carrying for them, based on their attire, gender and/or physical attributes. HB 531 would also keep in place the current permitting system so that people who obtain a permit could still enjoy the reciprocity agreements that Kentucky has with other states."



Copyright Notice:
© 2016 National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action. This may be reproduced. This may not be reproduced for commercial purposes. 11250 Waples Mill Rd. Fairfax, VA 22030 1-800-392-8683(VOTE)
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[Midwest]

The bill just picked up four new cosponsors

http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/showthread.php?132478-Bill-HB531&p=2182884&viewfull=1#post2182884


"HB 531 is picking up support. Today, it has 4 new cosponsors, all Democrats. Will Coursey, Bart Rowland, Dean Schamore, Gerald Watkins have joined Collins and Richards. Watkins is a member of the Judiciary Committee, where this bill will be heard. All of this is good news. Now, the bill needs more support and a few republicans would be good to show its a bipartisan bill. "
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[230RN]

Are any of those who sponsored it up for re-election this year?

 

[Pushrod]

Best wishes Kentucky on this getting through the process and being signed into law!
West Virginia should hear today if Governor Tomblin will veto, sign, or refuse to act on the Constitutional Carry bill that is on his desk. The WV legislature has promised to override a veto if needed.

 

[Midwest]

Best wishes Kentucky on this getting through the process and being signed into law!
West Virginia should hear today if Governor Tomblin will veto, sign, or refuse to act on the Constitutional Carry bill that is on his desk. The WV legislature has promised to override a veto if needed.

And good luck to our friends in West Virginia!
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[heyjoe]

in West Virginia you only need a simple majority to over ride a veto, so its looking good either way.

 

[lpsharp88]

Wrong thread. Please delete

 

[Highcaliber]

Don't fall for it so quickly. It seems the devil is in the details.

I'm not so sure this is actually a good thing, considering that it creates CRIMINAL penalties and fines that do not exist under current Kentucky Law.

Currently, if carry your firearm into a business with a "Guns Prohibited" sign, you are not committing a crime. The store owner can ask you to leave, you simply comply and all is well. Of course if you refuse to leave the premises or act like an idiot, you may be charged with misdemeanor trespass. But merely carrying in a posted location is NOT A CRIME CURRENTLY. Under the propsed bill, it will be.

Under this new proposed legislation,

HB531/LM (BR2003) - H. Collins, W. Coursey, K. Imes, R. Meyer, J. Richards, D. Schamore, G. Watkins

AN ACT relating to firearms.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 527 to allow concealed deadly weapons to be carried without a license under certain conditions and to require posted notices where carrying a concealed weapon is prohibited; create prepayable fines for the first and second violation of the new section, with subsequent violations classified as a Class B misdemeanor; repeal KRS 527.020, which makes carrying a concealed weapon under certain conditions a Class A misdemeanor; amend multiple sections to conform.

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So, carry inside a posted biz currently not illegal versus up to 90 days for the For a Class B misdemeanor under the new proposed law. Uhhmm, I don't like this legislation one bit, and I can't believe that the NRA is pushing this for Kentucky.

 

[Midwest]

Don't fall for it so quickly. It seems the devil is in the details.

I'm not so sure this is actually a good thing, considering that it creates CRIMINAL penalties and fines that do not exist under current Kentucky Law.

Currently, if carry your firearm into a business with a "Guns Prohibited" sign, you are not committing a crime. The store owner can ask you to leave, you simply comply and all is well. Of course if you refuse to leave the premises or act like an idiot, you may be charged with misdemeanor trespass. But merely carrying in a posted location is NOT A CRIME CURRENTLY. Under the propsed bill, it will be.

Under this new proposed legislation,

HB531/LM (BR2003) - H. Collins, W. Coursey, K. Imes, R. Meyer, J. Richards, D. Schamore, G. Watkins

AN ACT relating to firearms.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 527 to allow concealed deadly weapons to be carried without a license under certain conditions and to require posted notices where carrying a concealed weapon is prohibited; create prepayable fines for the first and second violation of the new section, with subsequent violations classified as a Class B misdemeanor; repeal KRS 527.020, which makes carrying a concealed weapon under certain conditions a Class A misdemeanor; amend multiple sections to conform.

​

So, carry inside a posted biz currently not illegal versus up to 90 days for the For a Class B misdemeanor under the new proposed law. Uhhmm, I don't like this legislation one bit, and I can't believe that the NRA is pushing this for Kentucky.

The Bad legislation was caught, but the bill is dead in the water.


All that signage, criminal penalties and fines have been stricken. I don't know why the NRA and sponsors signed off on it in the first place. Maybe they never read it through?

From what I understand, because of the poison contained in the legislation. It was changed but because it is late in the legislative season, it is basically dead in the water. It would take a miracle to rescue the modified bill.

I guess they will try again January 2017, hopefully without the poison pill legislation. The most important thing to take away from this is that the bad wording was caught and the bill didn't proceed.

While it stinks that we didn't get permit-less conceal carry, it would have been really bad if the signage laws and penalties passed along with the bill. We would have had the same "Force of Law" signage problems like carriers in Texas and other states have.


Here is the six page thread. And the comments that sums it all up

http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/showthread.php?132478-Bill-HB531


"Today is day 50 of the 60 day legislative session. In order for this bill to pass it would have to be heard in committee, approved and sent to the floor, then it would have to be passed by the full house and then sent to the senate where it would have to go through the same process from the start. All of this would have to be done in the next 10 working days. Committees generally meet once a week. The Judiciary Committee meets on Tuesdays. There are 124 bills assigned to the House Judiciary Committee, HB 531 is just one of those 124. Usually 4 or 5 bills will be considered at each committee meeting. On top of all of this is the fact that the Democrats control the committees and the chairman of that particular committee is very anti gun. He may allow a lot of bills through his committee, but it is unlikely he will allow this one through. All of this means that the chances of this bill being heard are very, very slim. It is not impossible, but very unlikely."

EDIT:

Warning to all.

If your state is considering any permit-less concealed carry, please check the wording carefully to see if the bill contains additional penalties and "Force of Law" signage where there was none before.

If it contains new penalties and signage legislation, have the legislation changed or otherwise oppose the bill until it is changed.

If they tried this poison pill legislation here in Kentucky, they will try it in other states as well.
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