Committee passes bill aimed at making Kentucky ‘2nd Amendment sanctuary’

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) - A bill that would keep federal gun regulations from taking effect in Kentucky made its way through committee Tuesday morning.

The passage came just hours after another mass shooting, this time on the campus of Michigan State University.

House Bill 153 is essentially a second try for lawmakers. In 2022, the bill passed through the House but never made it out of a Senate committee. During the previous session, the focus was on making Kentucky a 2nd Amendment sanctuary state, and the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Vernon, says that isn’t changing.

“What this does is it declares Kentucky a second amendment sanctuary state,” said Rep. Bray. “It ensures that our local tax dollars won’t be going to enforce second amendment issues that the federal government deems to be inappropriate.”

Rep. Bray spoke at the House Standing Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Tuesday morning. He cited a recent ruling by the ATF regarding pistol braces as one reason to make sure that the law gets passed this year.

“It was fine under the Obama administration, it was fine under the Trump administration, then all of a sudden it’s an issue,” Rep. Bray said.

That ruling from the ATF says a weapon with a “pistol brace” can be reclassified as a rife, meaning that gun owners would have to register their weapon, destroy it or risk becoming a felon.

“Ensures Kentuckians that they aren’t going to be a felon based on some misinterpretation of an existing ATF regulation is much more important than some hypothetical that personally I don’t think is an issue,” Rep. Bray said.

The committee passed HB 153 through with all but one lawmaker voting for it. The bill will now go before the full House for a vote. There was no word on when that vote would take place.

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