Effort to Amend House Bill 93 Fails! Who’s Responsible?

A huge vote just took place in the Idaho House State Affairs Committee this morning!

House Committee Members voted 11-4 to kill expanding Constitutional Carry in Idaho by extending it to all law abiding citizens, regardless of the state they come from.

So what happened and where do we go with this legislation from here? More on that below.

House Bill 93, as it is currently written, would extend Constitutional Carry only to current members of the armed forces. 

A noble effort no doubt, but it creates problems and is a very small step in the gun rights battle. With Republicans having overwhelming control of both chambers of the Idaho Capitol, why are we doing gun rights bills in such small steps?

The bill that has been brought forward by Rep. Karey Hanks would have extended Constitutional Carry to all law abiding citizens but she can’t get a hearing. 

She was even willing to drop her bill if Rep. Cheatham (HB 93 Sponsor) was willing to amend his version. Rep. Hanks does not care who gets the credit and neither do we.

Rep. Cheatham refused. 

So we asked you to reach out to the State Affairs Committee and to Rep. Cheatham and ask them to amend House Bill 93 to include all law abiding citizens!

We heard from inside sources that there were “tons” of emails in support of this amendment.

So what happened?

Once initial discussion and testimony were given, there was a motion by Rep. Christy Zito to expand Constitutional Carry to all law abiding citizens.

This is the same Rep. Zito who is also pushing for an upgrade to Idaho’s Castle Doctrine. She doesn’t just talk about being pro-2nd Amendment. She is fighting for it!

Several members tried to accuse Rep. Zito of “highjacking” Rep. Cheatham’s bill. They said she needed to bring forward her own bill on the issue. 

Never mind the fact that Rep. Hanks has been trying to do that for 2 months now but Chairman Loertscher continues to block her bill to this day!

Once discussion on the motion was complete, a roll call vote was taken and the amendment was defeated 11-4. 

So where do we go from here?

The bill will now move to the full House Floor for consideration. It is at that time that we hope to get each and every member of the Idaho House on record for this legislation and find out who really stands with the 2nd Amendment! 

What can you do?

>>> Call/email your Representatives IMMEDIATELY and tell them to support Amending House Bill 93 on the House Floor when it comes up for debate!

The number to the switchboard is 208-332-1000. They can get you in touch with your Representatives and get you their email addresses. Find them on Facebook as well!

You can also click the link here to look them up.

>>> Email the 4 committee members who voted for the amendment and tell them “thank you” for doing what was right.

Those are Rep. Christy Zito, Rep. Heather Scott, Rep. Priscilla Giddings, and Rep. James Holtzclaw. Their emails are blow. 

>>> Then email each of the members who voted against this amendment and tell them you are disappointed in their vote and you expect them to do it differently on the House Floor.

The Representatives who voted against the pro-gun amendment are: Loertscher, Palmer, Crane, Barbieri, Luker, Monks, Manwaring, Armstrong, Smith, Jordan, and Miller. Their emails are below.
 

>>> Make sure to sign the petition to support ending the discrimination against gun owners in Idaho by signing the petition now

>>> Finally, we are in an all out media blitz right now to push this amendment and we need any donation you can afford to expand that media blitz. 

So whether you can do $100, $50, or even just $25 right now, donating here today will go a long way to help us mobilize gun owners across Idaho for this effort! 

In Freedom,

 

Zach Brooks
Chairman of the Board
Idaho Second Amendment Alliance

P.S. Today, 11 House State Affairs Committee Members voted against a pro-gun amendment offered up by Rep. Christy Zito. The Amendment failed 11-4.

Rep. Zito’s proposed amendment to House Bill 93 would have made it so all law abiding citizens have Constitutional Carry in Idaho. 

We need you to contact your legislators immediately and tell them to amend House Bill 93 when it gets to the House Floor. 

You can find their information here if you don’t know who they are or call the switchboard at 208-332-1000 and the operator can help you. You can also find them on Facebook.

Then make sure to sign the petition to support the effort to remove the Residency Requirement for Constitutional Carry.