Things That Need to Change in Mississippi Gun Law

imported post

Mississipi Constitution Article 3 Section 12.

Right to bear arms.

The right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person, or property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall not be called in question, but the Legislature may regulate or forbid carrying concealed weapons.

What are some things that need to change to bring Mississippi law in to compliance with the Section of the Mississippi Constitution above? Here are some areas I think need to be addressed.



§ 97-37-1. Deadly weapons; carrying while concealed; use or attempt to use; penalties.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 45-9-101, any person who carries, concealed in whole or in part...

(The issue of "concealed in part" needs to be defined to exclude a visibly holstered weapon or stricken from the law altogether.)



§ 45-9-101. License to carry stun gun, concealed pistol or revolver.

(13) No license issued pursuant to this section shall authorize any person to carry a stun gun, concealed pistol or revolver into any

...,any public park unless for the purpose of participating in any authorized firearms-related activity;

...,church or other place of worship;...

(Carry in public parks should be permitted and churches, like businesses, should be able to make their own decisions about whether to permit law abiding citizens tocarry. Separation of Church and State seems to be a one way street in this instance.)



(18) ...nothing in this section shall be construed to allow the open and unconcealed carrying of any stun gun or a deadly weapon as described in Section 97-37-1, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(Thisphrase is meaningless, confusingand apparently designed to discourage open carrywhich is is permitted under Article 3 Section 12 of the MSConstitution. It doesn't forbid as far as I can tell, it simply states that this section of the code cannot be construed to authorize open carry for permit holders.)



These are the 3 most important changes neededin my opinion. Comments?

imported post

I missed this item that was posted by Mississippian earlier but it appears one of the items on my list is being addressed.

[align=center]Senate Bill 2306
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 45-9-101, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DELETE THE PROHIBITION AGAINST CARRYING A CONCEALED WEAPON INTO A PUBLIC PARK BY A PERSON HOLDING A CONCEALED WEAPON PERMIT; TO AMEND SECTION 45-9-53, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.[/align]
[align=left]The bill has passed the MS Senate and is now in the house. Hopefully everyone here will contact their State representative to ask them to support the bill. I know it doesn't deal with open carry but removal of any prohibition on law abiding citizens' ability to be armed is a good thing.[/align]

imported post

§ 45-9-55. Employer not permitted to prohibit transportation or storage of firearms on employer property; exceptions; certain immunity for employer.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, a public or private employer may not establish, maintain, or enforce any policy or rule that has the effect of prohibiting a person from transporting or storing a firearm in a locked vehicle in any parking lot, parking garage, or other designated parking area.

(2) A private employer may prohibit an employee from transporting or storing a firearm in a vehicle in a parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area the employer provides for employees to which access is restricted or limited through the use of a gate, security station or other means of restricting or limiting general public access onto the property.

I wish this was gone. I hate not being able to have my weapon in my truck.What about the dangers that may exist while traveling to and from work? Or where I may go after work.

imported post

1911Hammer wrote:

§ 45-9-55. Employer not permitted to prohibit transportation or storage of firearms on employer property; exceptions; certain immunity for employer.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, a public or private employer may not establish, maintain, or enforce any policy or rule that has the effect of prohibiting a person from transporting or storing a firearm in a locked vehicle in any parking lot, parking garage, or other designated parking area.

(2) A private employer may prohibit an employee from transporting or storing a firearm in a vehicle in a parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area the employer provides for employees to which access is restricted or limited through the use of a gate, security station or other means of restricting or limiting general public access onto the property.

I wish this was gone. I hate not being able to have my weapon in my truck.What about the dangers that may exist while traveling to and from work? Or where I may go after work.

Click to expand...

Hammer, that line was put in there to keep companies from firing people that had firearms in their vehicles. That was the compromise otherwise section 1 would never have passed. The businesses and their lobbyist weren't happy about this particular law.

imported post

Hopefully everyone here will contact their State representative to ask them to support the bill.

Click to expand...

I know both our Senators support both bills about carrying in parks and stopping theconfiscation of weapons after a disaster from personal communicaes with them, but it won't hurt to keep telling them.