August 30, 2013: In the past week, laws have been enacted and previously passed laws have become effective and been struck down in Court. These happenings are summarized below:

Illinois: Gov. Quinn signed into law a bill which imposes background checks on “anyone” selling or transferring a firearm and requires all citizens to report lost or stolen firearms.  Under prior law, such reporting was not required and only licensed dealers and individuals selling firearms at gun shows were required to perform a background check on the intended purchaser.  The law becomes effective on January 1, 2014—the date by which State police are required to have a dial-up background check system available.

Kansas:  On Tuesday, new firearms became effective.  Under prior law, individuals obtaining a concealed carry permit were required to obtain a qualification certificate from the local Sheriff and then obtain a new driver’s license containing the conceal carry endorsement. 

The new law eliminates the driver’s license endorsement and requires that permits simply be issued by each local Sheriff—greatly simplifying the process.  Each Sheriff must begin issuing permits on or before January 1, 2014.  Another significant change prohibits state authorities from sharing firearms owner information with the federal government.

Firearms Freedom Acts:  Firearms Freedom Acts—which generally declare that the Federal government lacks the authority to regulate firearms manufactured within a state which remain in the state—have been passed by 9 states and proposed in 26 states.  The first state to pass such a law was Montana, and most of the legislation in other states mirrors the Montana statute.  At the end of last week, however, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Montana’s Firearms Freedom Act finding that, under U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the Federal government has the authority to regulate firearms made and maintained in Montana.  Although this ruling obviously raises issues for other states with such laws, the plaintiffs can now appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, giving them a chance to overturn what they say amounts to “70 years of flawed Supreme Court rulings on the interstate commerce clause.”