In recent weeks, Shall Sign legislation has advanced in a number of states across the country. On April 2, Governor Herbert signed House Bill 373 into law, making Utah the first state this session to pass this type of legislation. On April 11, Gov. Beshear of Kentucky signed House Bill 128 into law, an omnibus bill which included shall sign language from Senate Bill 232. On April 23, Gov. Brownback of Kansas signed House Bill 2578 into law, and on April 23, Gov. Brewer of Arizona did the same when she signed House Bill 2535.
These laws will respectively go into effect on:
Arizona House Bill 2535: July 24
Kansas House Bill 2578: July 1
Kentucky House Bill 128: July 15
Utah House Bill 373: May 13
In addition to these new laws, Oklahoma House Bill 2461 passed the state Senate by a 46-0 vote, and is heading to Gov. Fallin for her signature.
Shall Sign legislation refers to bills that would require Chief Law Enforcement Officers (CLEOs) in the state to sign NFA applications within a prescribed period of time, unless the applicant is found to be a prohibited person.
When the National Firearms Act of 1934 was signed into law, computerized background checks did not exist. At that time, the CLEO signoff was the only means by which individuals applying for a transfer of an NFA item could be vetted. Since 1934, technology has come full circle, but the now antiquated CLEO signoff requirement has remained. Many CLEOs refuse to sign NFA applications, basing their refusal on perceived liability or even purely political reasons.
Shall Sign legislation fixes these issues, ensuring that law abiding citizens within the state receive their CLEO signature within a reasonable amount of time.
We would like to thank Gov. Herbert, Gov. Beshear, Gov. Brownback, and Gov. Brewer for signing their respective state legislation into law. We would also like to thank the National Rifle Association for having gone above and beyond in support of these initiatives. Finally, we would like to thank everyone who took the time to contact their legislators in support of the issue. Without everyone’s of the support, none of this would have been feasible.
