North Dakota: Critical “Shall Sign” Legislation Passes House and Senate Unanimously

Yesterday, the North Dakota House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 2274, NRA-backed “shall sign” legislation, unanimously.

Sponsored by Senator Kelly Armstrong (R-36), SB 2274 would require that a chief law enforcement officer (CLEO) sign an application for the acquisition or transfer of any item regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA), including short barreled rifles/shotguns and suppressors, within 30 days, so long as the applicant is not prohibited by law from receiving it.

SB 2274 would impose reasonable deadlines and ensure that individuals who are lawfully seeking to transfer an NFA item are able to do so in an expeditious manner.  Some CLEOs simply refuse to sign such forms, and nothing in current law prohibits this, even if the applicant’s receipt of the NFA item would not be contrary to law and the CLEO has no information that the applicant intends to use the NFA item for an unlawful purpose.  SB 2274 would prevent an arbitrary personal bias from determining North Dakota firearm policy and ensures that qualified, law-abiding North Dakotans will not be denied their ability to legally own NFA items.  The reforms in SB 2274 benefit law-abiding Second Amendment supporters by ensuring that the process to obtain NFA items already legal in North Dakota remains consistent, fact-based and objective.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to contact your legislators on this issue.  Please contact Governor Jack Dalrymple (R) and politely urge him to sign this important piece of legislation into law.

Office of the Governor
Phone: (701) 328-2200
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