Rep. Sampson Objects to Anti-Gun Addition to Unrelated Bill - Video

This past week the judiciary committee debated several controversial bills. One is a proposal that would modify the law regarding Temporary Restraining Orders and would require that anyone subject to an ex parte TRO to surrender their firearms immediately. An ex parte order is one based soley on a sworn statement from the applicant and provides no due process (an opportunity to be heard in court) to the person being served.

I and several other fair minded legislators have objected to this policy and have attempted to negotiate in good faith to find a way to provide similar protections to potential victims of domestic violence while still maintaining our constitutional principles and the rule of law, eg. expedited hearings, probable cause based on a police investigation and so on.


The discussion continues and I am hopeful that we can find a lawful solution but will also fight vigorously against any more attempts at overzealous gun control in our state.

During the committee meeting this past week, not only was this bill advanced after a vigorous debate but something even more disturbing occurred.

The chairmen of the committee added the entirety of this controversial bill to a completely unrelated and non-controversial proposal to combat human trafficking in our state.

This move was wholly political and highly objectionable and I spoke out in favor of an amendment to separate these two proposals and let them be voted on individually.