COLUMBUS— State Rep. Nino Vitale, R-Urbana, called for a return to Constitutional government Monday by introducing a bill to have all gun laws at the federal level nullified and have Ohio exercise it’s constitutional right to control firearms laws over Ohio Citizens.
Vitale has asked all members of the Ohio House of Representatives to join him in support of this bill.
What follows is the text of the co-sponsor request sent to all Ohio House members:
It’s time for Ohio to exercise its constitutional right of sovereignty. Of the 35 enumerated powers specifically given to the Federal Government gun rights are not one of them. Nullification is defined as a refusal of a U.S. state to aid in enforcement of federal laws within its limits, especially on Constitutional grounds. Today I ask you to co-sponsor legislation rendering null and void the enforcement of federal gun laws and executive orders as they relate to firearms of any kind or type.
As an NRA and CCW instructor I take great pride in teaching people safe gun handling techniques and Ohio gun law. Like some of you, I have spent many hours reviewing the recent executive orders of President Obama and what I have found has impelled me to introduce this long over-due legislation. By his redefinition of the Federal Firearm Licensing (FFL), usage of Obamacare and the Social Security Administration, and broad definition of mental health the President introduces many new elements that can threaten the liberty of law abiding Ohio citizens.
Central to President Obama’s recent executive order is, by utilizing Obamacare, inclusion of federal mental health records into the background check system. In exploring this, I ask the following questions:
• Who will monitor this database? Who decides who’s on the “no gun list” and who’s not? What process exists for citizens to contest erroneous addition to this blacklist?
• Who does this affect?
— Does it affect the nearly 1.1 million Ohioans on antidepressants? Depression is often
temporary and treatable with many sufferers living law abiding, meaningful lives. Will medical staff have to report them to Obamacare to be entered in this national database? Will they be put on the “no gun list”?
— Does it affect the combat veterans experiencing PTSD? Some estimates say 90% of veterans are found to have some level of mental health issue based on time in a combat theatre. Are we are happy to have them defend our liberty but do not trust them to exercise the rights they fought for?
— Does it affect the 20,000 Ohio mothers that will experience post partum depression this year?
• How will this erode trust between patients and their doctors?
• How will this erode trust between the many licensed clergy and the faithful they counsel
professionally?
• How will this affect Ohioans’ privacy with regards to HIPPA law and 4th amendment protection?
This is clearly a first step towards a national gun registry by using the changes made to the definition of an FFL.
The Social Security Administration has said, because of these executive orders, they will now pass data from their system to the Obamacare system for people who are deemed unfit. Unfit to handle their financial affairs equals unfit to be free to exercise their natural right to defend themselves? What is their definition of unfit? It is unclear in these executive orders.
These overly confusing laws put law abiding Ohio citizens at criminal risk as they may unintentionally commit a felony under these new orders and may steal their rights. We should not be trying to make Ohio citizens criminals. Laws should be clear and easy to follow, not made to entrap our citizens.
Is this just the beginning? Will all institutions that receive federal aid soon be required to add undefined information to this database, placing all sorts of law abiding Ohioans on a ‘no gun list.’ The Federal government has a long history of using the purse to erode states’ rights. These are all questions that we are obliged to ask and pose a clear threat to the liberty of Ohioans which we swore to protect.
As Republicans we believe the best government is the government most local to the people. We can make our own laws in Ohio. Our citizens should not be subjected to these arbitrary declarations from an ivory house hundreds of miles away. We, their representative government, should protect them from this tyranny.
To this end we must pass this law quickly, declaring it an emergency and so it takes effect upon passage, with no waiting period. Join me in protecting every Ohioan’s rights under the 10th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, under the 2nd amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and defending the Ohio Constitution which is being trampled on by the Federal Government.
If you are interested, please confirm with my legislative aide, Travis Ricketts at [email protected] by the close of business on Friday, Jan. 22, 2016.
The 10th Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
The 2nd Amendment: A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
The 4th Amendment: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Article I, § 4 of the Ohio Constitution: “The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security; but standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and shall not be kept up; and the military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power.”
