LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Kentucky Senate committee has approved a bill aimed at prohibiting law enforcement from "enforcing federal firearms bans" in the state.
House Bill 153 passed the committee on a 7-2 vote Thursday. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Vernon, said it passed the House earlier this year. The bill's record shows it passed 78-19 after a third reading on Feb. 22.
In a news release, Bray said the concept behind the bill is "pretty simple."
"It says going forward no state tax dollars or state manpower will be allocated towards the law enforcement of federal firearms ban regulations after Jan. 1, 2021," Bray said.
According to the bill, prohibiting law enforcement from enforcing federal firearms bans means they wouldn't be allowed to adopt rules, regulations or ordinances that require the enforcement of such bans and prevent them from "allocating public resources or moneys in the enforcement of federal firearm bans."
The bill did face some opposition in committee on Thursday. Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, "compared gun violence to the opioid crisis" and asked the committee why the state "wouldn't take a similar approach to mitigating the problem by reducing the prevalence of guns."
"Why, in this case, when we have a tremendous, extraordinarily costly epidemic of gun violence in this state, are you advocating for more guns rather than less?" Berg asked. "That seems antithetical to what we are doing with the opioid crisis."
But Bray argued that the opioid epidemic "stems from addiction," while gun violence "results from a lack of respect for human life."
HB 153 now heads to the full Senate.
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