Texas State Representative Steve Toth from the Woodlands is pushing for legislation that would protect Texans gun rights.

The Texas version of the Firearms Protection Act would model that of the one recently proposed by Wyoming lawmakers, which states:

"An ACT relating to firearms; providing that any federal law which attempts to ban a semiautomatic firearm or to limit the size of a magazine of a firearm or other limitation on firearms in this state shall be unforceable in Wyoming; providing a penalty; and providing for an effective date."

"We've started the process with the legislative council, looking at drafting the bill. We're looking at Wyoming's amendment, and we've got it in the hands of the attorney general," said Representative Toth. "He's going to look at it and see what we can do to make sure that this passes in the court. So, we just want to make sure it's an air tight bill before we move on it."

The proposal for this bill comes in response to a presidential press conference, in which President Barack Obama stated he would use his power of Executive Order to issue gun control laws if congress fails to support them.

"The thought here is that this is probably not going to come through the normal legislative process where it starts in the house, and then goes over to the senate, and then goes to the president. That's not what we're talking about; what we're talking about is what the president has been threatening to do, and that's to do this by executive order. That's where we're taking our stand," said Representative Toth.

Representative Toth says the Act would be powerless under any gun laws that pass under congress, as their ruling would trump any state law under The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

However, he says he believes that President Obama's statement has caused more states to consider drafting a bill for the act in their own states.

"We're getting calls from other states and other folks right now that are planning their next move, and I think this is something that you're going to see quite a bit of," said Representative Toth. "I was on the phone yesterday with the Wyoming State Rep that's driving it there, and he said his phone is just ringing off the hook from different states that are looking at doing the same thing."

By: Marissa A. Wagner
Monday. January 14, 2013
6:18 p.m.