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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 5
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY REPRESENTATIVES RAUSCHER, McCabe
Introduced: 2/18/21
Referred: State Affairs, Judiciary
A RESOLUTION
1 Encouraging Congress to enact legislation allowing people over 18 years of age to
2 purchase handguns.
3 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
4 WHEREAS the right to bear arms is established and protected in the Second
5 Amendment to the United States Constitution; and
6 WHEREAS, under federal law and the laws of this state, an individual who is 18
7 years of age or older may purchase a rifle, long gun, or shotgun from a federally licensed
8 firearms dealer; and
9 WHEREAS, under federal law, an individual must be 21 years of age or older to
10 purchase a handgun from a federally licensed firearms dealer; and
11 WHEREAS, under federal law, an individual who is 18 to 20 years of age may
12 purchase a handgun from a private seller who is not a federally licensed dealer; and
13 WHEREAS, in this state, an individual who is 16 years of age or older may possess a
14 firearm in any place except as expressly prohibited by law, such as in or near a K-12 school or
15 where intoxicating liquor is sold for consumption on the premises; and
16 WHEREAS handguns are commonly used in protection of self, home, and vehicle
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1 and, in many situations, are more practical to use than rifles or shotguns; and
2 WHEREAS handguns are often used for protection against wildlife and, in many
3 situations, are more practical to carry than rifles or shotguns; and
4 WHEREAS most mass shootings in the United States are committed by individuals
5 with rifles that anyone 18 years of age or older may legally purchase from a federally licensed
6 firearms dealer; and
7 WHEREAS the federal law that prohibits federally licensed firearms dealers from
8 selling handguns to people under 21 years of age impairs the ability of people who are 18 to
9 20 years of age to protect themselves, including in the event of a mass shooting;
10 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature considers handguns to be a
11 useful means of self-protection; and be it
12 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States
13 Congress to pass legislation to allow an individual who meets existing federal requirements
14 for purchasing a rifle, long gun, or shotgun and who is 18 years of age or older to purchase a
15 handgun from a federally licensed firearms dealer.
16 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President
17 of the United States; the Honorable Michael R. Pence, Vice President of the United States and
18 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Jeff Rosen, Acting Attorney General of the
19 United States; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators,
20 and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in
21 Congress.
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