Jackson Free Press

The Mississippi Senate and House of Representatives put off debating many of the most controversial bills—about guns and abortion—until today's deadline to pass general bills.

An early indication of what is likely to be a day of intense debate came this morning during House debate on HB 625, which would exempt guns and ammunition manufactured in Mississippi from enforcement of federal gun restrictions. It would also prohibit the enforcement of any federal ban on semi-automatic weapon or high-capacity magazines.

Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, said passing the bill was necessary to protect Mississippians' Second Amendment rights, which Gipson said is second only to constitutional protections of religion and free speech.

Rep. David Myers, D-McComb, called the measure the stupidest thing the House has ever done.

"It is time for us to stop being the laughing stock of the world," Myers said on the House floor, referring to a number of recent jabs late night comics have taken at Mississippi. "Let's address the needs of this state. This ain't one of 'em."

HB 625 bill was temporarily tabled.

Later, the Senate considered SB 2975, which seeks to put restrictions on drugs used to induce first-trimester abortions. Doctors prescribe the drugs, mifepristone (formerly known as RU-486) and misoprostol, as late as nine weeks after a missed menstrual period; however, SB 2795 would shorten that window to seven weeks. In addition, the bill would force women taking the drugs to see their doctors at least four times, which opponents say will make their use prohibitively expensive, especially for uninsured women. It bars women from taking misoprostol at home, which is the current practice.

The bill also prevents doctors from prescribing the two medications for any use not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "Off-label" prescribing is common and legal; the FDA has estimated doctors write up as many as one in five prescriptions for uses other than those officially approved.

SB 2795 is the only big anti-abortion bill left, and the Mississippi chapter of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has come out strongly against it. It follows last year's effort to regulate abortion clinics, which is currently the subject of a federal lawsuit from the state's only abortion provider, Jackson Women's Health Organization.

The bill passed overwhelmingly shortly before noon, with Jackson-area Democratic Sens. David Blount and John Horhn of Jackson along with Sen. Kenneth Wayne Jones of Canton voting against the bill.