Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, has signed a bill that “takes direct aim” at efforts to create gun registries and databases that would track the purchase of firearms.
Both New York and California have succeeded in attaining the strictest gun-control legislation in the country as the two Democrat-led states move toward enacting more “gun-free zones”; however, those who support the Second Amendment argue that this legislation misses the target, failing to address what they say is truly causing mass shootings—mental illness.
Reeves’s signing comes as Mississippi’s neighboring state of Tennessee emerges from heated debates over gun control after the mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville where 28-year-old Audrey Hale—a woman who identified as a man—killed six people at the school, three of them 9-year-old children.
The Tennessee House of Representatives approved a bill that would increase school security by placing an armed officer in all public schools.
As the national debate over gun control continues, Reeves said some Democrat politicians have called for the tracking of gun purchases with “a specific gun store credit card code,” which he said has raised concerns among lawful gun owners over how this code could be used to infringe upon their constitutional rights “by blocking and limiting purchases of guns and ammo.”
![People walk past a "Gun Free Zone" sign posted on 40th Street and 7th Avenue in New York City, on Aug. 31, 2022. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F09%2F14%2FGettyImages-1419726238-1200x800.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
‘A Slippery Slope’
“These types of policies represent a dangerous slippery slope,” Reeves said. “Certain gun-grabbing politicians aim to achieve their ultimate goal of depriving Americans’ of their Second Amendment rights one unconstitutional step at a time. We have to stand our ground.”Additional concerns have been raised over how gun control activists seek to “weaponize financial institutions” to track gun purchases which could lead to potential attempts to use the information to “punish gun manufacturers, distributors, and sellers.”
Reeves said many of these financial institutions themselves have said they don’t wish to track gun purchases, citing a statement Visa made in September 2022.
‘This Isn’t New York or California’
According to Reeves, in 2022 the firearms industry had an impact of up to $1.2 billion on the state economy while supporting over 4,800 jobs and paying over $284 million in wages.“Mississippi isn’t going to shut the door on the lawful and constitutional firearms industry,” Reeves said. “Again, this isn’t New York or California. We’re not going to crack down on a lawful industry that is helping people put food on their table through meaningful employment.”