HB578 introduced to ban carrying at state capitol

After the recent op-ed in the Abq journal regarding open carry at the capitol it didn't take Rep Easley (HB402) long to draft this piece of *J%^Y(....

HB 578
BAN FIREARMS IN STATE CAPITOL
Sponsor: Stephen Easley
Current Location: House Rules & Order of Business Committee

http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/_session.aspx?chamber=H&legtype=B&legno=578&year=13

This is just the beginning of the push by this legislature to start taking away more and more of your rights as a law-abiding gun owner...

donovan

I don't usually start to hate people right away, but with this selfish wannabe I think an exception is justified.

The FI report came out on this bill the other day so I was expecting it to pop up on the calendar today but... nothing.

No incidents have occurred other than a few people getting nervous at the sight of a person exercising their rights.

Therefore, there is no justification of allocating the funds or the resources necessary.

This idiot has to be told that there's no reason to create laws to address non-issues. It bugs the crap out of me that he thinks this is acceptable in any way, shape or form.

You know, I was just thinking-

Let's say you were a long-time member of the legislature, and you have a CC license, and choose to carry your gun with you to work or when you have business at the roundhouse. This is not outside the realm of reality.

And then some wet-behind the ears peon who has been in office all of a few weeks introduces a bill to take your right away from you. Why has he singled out only the Governor and the Lt. Governor?

What do you suppose your reaction would be?

Do you think there might possibly have been some behind-the-scenes feedback?

One can hope, can't one?

Several Reps have gone on record as concealed carriers -the most recent was last week during HB402 when Jason Harper said it right to Easley's face. Others have conveyed it to me in private emails... you can probably guess which ones they are at this point.

Letter to the Editor which likely never saw the light of day...

Just to let all of you good folks know that the vast majority of New Mexican peace officers are in your corner.... This was sent to Santa Fe New Mexican and the Albuquerque Journal but likely never got printed:




February 24, 2013

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I have a question and it is this:

Why is Representative Stephen Easley-(D) Bernalillo, S.F., Torrance and Valencia-50, so frightened of law abiding New Mexicans with firearms?

This year marks my 40th year as a peace officer in service to the public. I spent 28 years as a deputy sheriff in another state and since 2001 have had the honor and privilege to serve the citizens of the great State of New Mexico. I have worked in many remote areas where my closest back up was over an hour or more away. Many times I have had an armed citizen "watching my back" when I was alone with multiple persons who were less than cooperative.

I have always viewed the lawful, armed citizen as a Godsend and ally in my work. I find that the citizens of New Mexico are some of the most responsible and lawful individuals when it comes to firearm ownership and use that I have ever known.

For the last three years I have spent the legislative sessions at the Roundhouse promoting and tracking bills that have an impact on law enforcement. Many is the time that I have sat next to or seen citizens carrying their sidearms openly. Some of these people interact with committee members on pieces of legislation and the exchanges are sometimes heated. I have never seen a single incident where a firearm was even given any regard by the wearer during these proceedings.

Representative Easley must not view citizens the same way that I do as he will be introducing his HB 578 which will prohibit the carrying of firearms in the Capitol building. He obviously feels much more threatened in the Roundhouse than I do on the street by lawful citizens who exercise their right to keep and bear arms.

He just lost his battle with his HB 402, a New York style ban on semi-auto rifles and high capacity magazines. He vows to bring it back next year and thus has proven a deep and abiding animosity to only lawful New Mexicans since we all know that his bills would do nothing to stop the "bad guys". Is this really what the decent folks in his district wished to unleash upon the other good folks of New Mexico?

I would urge the voters in his district to look at what their representative has been up and ask themselves this question:

Why is Representative Stephen Easley-(D) Bernalillo, S.F., Torrance and Valencia-50 so frightened of law abiding New Mexicans with firearms?

Sincerely,

Nate Forrest

Nate- thanks for putting together such an excellent letter, and for all your work over the years. You seem to be one of the good guys.

I think a key question you bring up is one I pointed out in my letters to Easley- is he doing what the people want? Clearly the answer is no, so how is it the right thing?

I have told him I will do whatever I can to remove him from office, and I will do that.

What I find odd is something I mentioned to my wife just the other day- we're in Santa Fe, and never once during the election/campaign cycle did we ever see or hear his name mentioned. No mail, no tv ads, no newspaper ads, nothing anywhere- at all. I find that inexplicable and it makes me think there's certainly funny business that went on to get him into office.

Thank you, Nate.

Re: Representative Stephen Easley and HB 402/HB 578

Here's another wrinkle.... I have done a little opposition research for this "gentleman" and could find nothing on his election web site or anywhere else wherin he stated his absolute hatred for the Second Amendment. He seems to be a "sleeper" who has come right out of the chute looking to make a name for himself. I find it hard to think that the citizens of Torrance County where SASS has it's facility or Valencia County for that matter would be thrilled by his shenanigans. In addition he was endorsed by Ben Ray Lujan who has an "A" rating from the NRA. So, either Mr. Lujan is disingenuine OR he himself has not been aware of Mr. Easley's position on this whole issue..... I am still in the midst of connecting the dots but none of us have to wait at all to see where we have to focus our energy.

It is imperative that Easley be defeated in 2 years and this issue might be just the means to do so.

It doesn't matter whether the forces aligned against the Constitution are in Washington, DC or Santa Fe. They must be resisted wherever they are encountered.

AH.74 said:

Nate- thanks for putting together such an excellent letter, and for all your work over the years. You seem to be one of the good guys.

I think a key question you bring up is one I pointed out in my letters to Easley- is he doing what the people want? Clearly the answer is no, so how is it the right thing?

I have told him I will do whatever I can to remove him from office, and I will do that.

What I find odd is something I mentioned to my wife just the other day- we're in Santa Fe, and never once during the election/campaign cycle did we ever see or hear his name mentioned. No mail, no tv ads, no newspaper ads, nothing anywhere- at all. I find that inexplicable and it makes me think there's certainly funny business that went on to get him into office.

Click to expand...

Thank you for your kind words. I cannot overstate my affection for the Second Amendment as I am sure most of the folks on this web site feel the same. Someone in another post brought up an excellent point and that is a recall effort. They are arduous affairs but I "recall" that California Governor Gray Davis met his political demise by just that mechanism about ten years ago. Were I living in this "gentleman's" district I would surely begin such a work. Were it successful it would effectively banish him from further political aspirations. His election percentage was 56% to 44% so it would be an uphill endeavor.

Nate Forrest

Easley is nothing more than a pawn at the mercy of his fellow constituents - a sacrificial anode if you will. His function is to test the waters amidst these critical nationwide emotional tides that ebb and flow with the reporting of each shooting tragedy. He will sling bills until something sticks. He shelters those senior members above him that are the real source of these attacks and I would readily wager that he is on a Go Big or Go Home journey.

My point is that getting him removed at the next re-up would send a message but it wouldn't eliminate the problem. The problem is Gail Chasey, Miguel Garcia, Mayor Coss and a few others. I am so ready to step outside the confines of my own district / political dotted line boundaries at this point to campaign to ensure these people don't forget the law abiding veterans such as myself that served globally to protect the Constitution and American freedoms they now trample upon.

Very interesting comments from you both.

Recall has crossed my mind as well, especially since there seems to be some talk of it going on up in Colorado, where it truly has become bizarro-world.

http://durangoherald.com/article/20...130229804/‘Traitor’-charge-stings-McLachlan--