Bill Description: House Bill 376 would remove an exception that allows individuals or entities that rent or lease public property to bypass the state's preemption law and ban guns. 

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Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the United States Constitution or the Idaho Constitution? Examples include restrictions on speech, public assembly, the press, privacy, private property, or firearms. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the protections guaranteed in the US Constitution or the Idaho Constitution?

Idaho law generally prohibits public (government) entities from restricting the right of the people to lawfully possess and carry firearms, although exceptions exist for schools, jails, and courthouses. 

The June 2023 decision of the Idaho Supreme Court in Herndon v. Sandpoint created a significant loophole in this protection, allowing a non-government entity that leases or rents public property to declare that property a "gun-free zone" and use government resources to enforce this prohibition. 

In 2024, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 1374, which closed the broader loophole while also creating some significant exceptions where the loophole would still exist. 

One exception applies when an entity rents or leases public property and holds a private or ticketed event. The organizers of any event that does not allow "unrestricted access" to the public can effectively ban guns on public property. 

House Bill 376 would remove most of these exceptions by amending Section 18-3302, Idaho Code, to strike subsection (25)(b) which includes a list of exceptions such as "a private event by invitation only," "a commercial event that charges admission," and "any other event with restricted access whether admission is charged or not."

Unfortunately, House Bill 376 would not address the exception that applies the state's preemption law only to public property that is "normally and habitually open to the public." This language suggests that firearms can still be prohibited in government office buildings and other government facilities that aren't open to the general public. (Secure facilities like jails and courthouses have special rules found in a different code section.)

The right to keep and bear arms on public property should not depend on the scope or frequency of public access.

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