The Kentucky Capitol under construction. Jan. 6, 2026. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd)
Last week we witnessed the fast-tracking of House Bill 312 — to allow 18 to 20 year-olds to concealed-carry firearms — when it was first heard in the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning and breezed right through the full House 48 hours later with a vote of 73-17.
One lawmaker, Rep. T.J. Roberts, a Republican from Boone County, argued in favor of the bill on the House floor, saying “Every 18 to 20 year old who wants to carry a concealed firearm probably already does in this commonwealth. I’ll take the Fifth on if I was ever one of those 18 to 20 year olds, but that’s a point that we have to consider.”
There is nothing quite like a lawmaker arguing that young people are already committing a crime, and that he might have committed such a crime himself, so now that he is in a position to make laws, let’s all vote to make it legal?
People are already committing other crimes. Should our legislators change the laws to give them a pass, too?
What a stunning, boneheaded argument. And there was no response from fellow lawmakers or the House speaker as they passed the bill and moved right along to the next item on the agenda.
Headspinning.
Last year a similar measure, Senate Bill 75, made it through the Senate but not the House. So let’s see this year if the Senate — the alleged grown-up side of the chamber — has the integrity and wherewithal ignore HB 312 outright.
And because we do not live in a bubble, I would be remiss to write about gun bills without acknowledging Second Amendment rights and the terror of what is happening on the ground in Minneapolis after yet another person was gunned down by federal agents, seemingly without any apparent justification.
Even Maria Bartiromo of Fox News seemed completely exasperated with the false narratives being propagated by the Trump administration with regard to this incident. On her Sunday show, she said to Kentucky Congressman James Comer, “Another individual is dead at the hands of Border Patrol. Let’s be clear, we do not know if there was any pushback from this individual who was armed. We do not have evidence that he was waving a gun [or] doing anything to threaten Border Patrol.”
Comer did not respond to Bartiromo’s statements, pivoting to how great it was when federal law enforcement came to Washington D.C. and blaming Minnesota officials for their language.
The victim, Alex Pretti, had a legal permit to carry, according to local law enforcement. There is no current, public video evidence to show he even touched his firearm before Border Patrol removed it and then proceeded to shoot him to death.
“I’ve watched that video dozens of times in slow motion. I’ve tried to determine whether he actually pulled a gun out or not,” Comer said. “I don’t know. I just know that the situation’s bad there.”
Grotesque. Inhumane. UnAmerican.
As reported by fellow States Newsroom outlet, the Minnesota Reformer, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said there are now 3,000 federal officers to Minnesota, or nearly five times the number of sworn Minneapolis police officers. “How many times must local and national leaders plead with you, Donald Trump, to end this operation and recognize that this is not creating safety in our city?” Frey said.
Why is the Minneapolis story important to Kentucky?
Because House Bill 47 — note the shamelessly pandering nod to the 47th President Trump — already has 18 sponsors and was assigned last week to Judiciary, the same committee that started the fastball rolling for HB 312.
HB 47 reads as follows:
“Create a new section of KRS Chapter 16 to define “Task Force Model Program”; require Kentucky State Police posts to enter into agreements with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement to participate in the Task Force Model Program; require Kentucky State Police officers who participate in the Task Force Model Program to complete Immigration and Customs Enforcement training; amend KRS 15.404 to provide that any peace officer who completes Immigration and Customs Enforcement training will be deemed to have completed annual in-service training; require the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council to certify the Immigration Authority Delegation Program as an approved in-service training program.”
How can so many of our lawmakers — the people we elected to represent us — watch the absolute horror continuously unfolding in Minneapolis and say yes, with HB 47 we ask those same federal agents and their constant chaos, brazen cruelty and masked men shooting protestors for practicing their First and Second Amendment rights to come here.
No thank you.
Kentucky law enforcement does not need this headache.
Kentucky families don’t need it, either, anymore than they need to worry about 18-year-old kids showing up at parties and sports fields and parks and bus stops with concealed, loaded guns in their backpacks.
Kentucky families need affordable housing, good public education, better access to healthcare that doesn’t bankrupt them, reliable transportation, and good paying jobs.
How about our lawmakers concentrate on that.
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