Second Amendment Sanctuary, also known as a gun sanctuary, refers to states, counties, or localities in the United States that have adopted laws or resolutions to prohibit or impede the enforcement of certain gun control measures perceived as violative of the Second Amendment such as universal gun background checks, high capacity magazine bans, assault weapon bans, red flag laws, etc.[1][2]........

Local governments or law enforcement officers who enforce federal gun regulations that exceed Iowa’s rules would be subject to $50,000 fines under a legislative proposal advanced Wednesday by Iowa Senate Republicans.

The proposal, which Senate Republicans have titled the Second Amendment Preservation Act, would nullify any federal gun regulations that exceed Iowa state law. The legislation is similar in spirit to resolutions passed by several Iowa counties declaring themselves so-called “sanctuary counties” from federal gun laws.

The state bill, Senate File 2002, was introduced by Sen. Zach Nunn, a Republican from Altoona and an officer in the Iowa National Guard.

“Our Second Amendment in and of itself is sanctuary,” Nunn said Wednesday during a subcommittee hearing. “There should be no law that crosses that line.”

The proposal is based on similar legislation that was passed in Missouri in 2021. The Missouri law has faced legal challenges, including from the federal justice department, and most recently a group that represents nearly 60 Missouri police chiefs has asked for changes to that state’s law.

Organizations representing Iowa law enforcement so far have registered as neutral on the bill, and none spoke at the subcommittee hearing.

“This is a dangerous bill,” Traci Kennedy, with the gun safety advocacy group Iowa Moms Demand Action, said during the hearing. “It would make it illegal for any public officer or law enforcement to assist with enforcement of federal gun laws that help keep our communities and state safe.”

Nunn said Jasper County was the first in Iowa to declare itself a sanctuary county from federal gun laws. He cited recent orders from federal agencies as examples of why his proposed legislation is needed.
“Drafting this bill I took no pleasure in identifying there could come a time when a fed regulatory authority could enforce on the state something that is protected by the (U.S.) Constitution,” Nunn said. “(The bill) is a clear indication to the federal government that their overreach in Iowa will not be tolerated.”
Kelly Meyers, a lobbyist for the Iowa County Attorneys Association, said county attorneys have expressed concern the legislation would make it difficult for law enforcement to enforce laws that are designed to protect victims of domestic violence.

Sen. Jeff Reichman, R-Montrose, who is shepherding the bill through the legislative process, said he is willing to amend it to address those types of concerns. He said the subcommittee hearing was the first time he had heard that specific concern.

“And that is a great concern,” said Reichman, adding that he was going from the subcommittee on this bill to one on domestic violence. “We’ve had, I think, four deaths I know of in recent history in my county, and three of them have been domestics. So that’s a great concern to me and obviously want to make sure that point is addressed.”

With its passage out of subcommittee, the bill is eligible for consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

SALT LAKE CITY — With Democrats controlling the presidency and Congress, Republican state lawmakers concerned about the possibility of new federal gun control laws aren’t waiting to react.
Legislation in at least a dozen states seeks to nullify any new restrictions, such as ammunition limits or a ban on certain types of weapons. Some bills would make it a crime for local police officers to enforce federal gun laws.

That can create confusion for officers who often work with federal law enforcement, said Daniel Isom, a former chief of the St. Louis Police Department who is now a senior advisor for Everytown for Gun Safety. Federal law plays a big role in some areas, such as keeping guns away from domestic violence offenders.
Putting local officers in a position to decide which laws to enforce is the last thing police need at a time when cities such as St. Louis are experiencing a rise in violent crime, Isom said.

“This has been an extremely challenging year for both communities and law enforcement, and to ask any more mental strain on officers at this point in time seems to be quite displaced,” he said. Gun sales also have set monthly records nationwide since the coronavirus pandemic took hold.
Isom is concerned about a Missouri measure passed by the state House that would allow police departments with officers who enforce federal gun laws to be sued and face a $50,000 fine. It’s not the first time Missouri has considered such a bill, but supporters pointed to President Joe Biden taking office as a reason to pass it now.

In Utah, Republican Rep. Cory Maloy also referenced the incoming administration after the state House passed his bill with a similar provision forbidding the enforcement of federal gun laws. Many Republican state lawmakers see attempts to pass federal firearms restrictions as a threat to the Second Amendment.
“We really feel the need to protect those rights,” he said.

Several states passed similar laws under then-president Barack Obama, although judges have ruled against them in court. Most of the latest crop of federal nullification proposals focus on police officers inside their states who primarily enforce state rather than federal laws.

While Biden has called for a ban on assault weapons, any new gun legislation will likely face an uphill climb given the political polarization that has tripped up past administrations. Democratic lawmakers from conservative-leaning states also could join Republicans in opposing new gun restrictions. Any measures likely to pass would have broad support, like background checks on all gun sales, said Everytown President John Feinblatt.

Those dynamics haven’t stopped state lawmakers who want to make the first move to protect gun rights in their states. Federal nullification bills have been introduced in more than a dozen other states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wyoming, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia and Iowa. In Texas, the governor has called for the state to become a Second Amendment sanctuary........

........Similar measures passed by the Republican Legislature in Montana were vetoed in previous years by the former Democratic governor. Now working with a Republican governor, the state House passed a bill last week to bar state officials from enforcing federal bans on certain firearms, ammunition or magazines.
Under Obama’s presidency, the Legislature passed a law in 2009 that made guns and ammunition manufactured in Montana exempt from federal law. It eventually was struck down in court, but several states still followed with their own nullification measures. In 2013, two Kansas men tried to use that state’s nullification law to overturn their federal convictions for possessing unregistered firearms, but the challenge was rejected.

“The main issue there is the Supremacy Clause,” the part of the Constitution that says federal law supersedes state law, said Jacob Charles, executive director of the Center for Firearms Law at Duke Law School. Even so, the bills focused on what local police can and can’t do could pass legal muster.

“States have no obligation to enforce federal law,” he said.

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