Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
Legislation that would allow permit holders, who undergo an extra nine hours of training to carry hidden guns in no-concealed zones, has come under fire from opponents of the proposal. Senate Bill 59 would eliminate the state’s 83 county gun boards, shift approvals to sheriffs, and provide penalties for approvals that take too long or denials that are overturned. Here’s the reference and a link to the piece about who doesn’t agree.
BELLEVUE, WA – A federal district court judge in North Carolina has just struck down that state’s emergency power to impose a ban on firearms and ammunition outside the home during a declared emergency, ruling that the provision violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Read more
BELLEVUE, WA – Criminal charges filed today in the death of a Tacoma, WA toddler prove that the state does not need a new gun law to hold adults responsible for firearms negligence, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.
Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist today charged Eric Vita, 23, and the boy’s mother, Jahnisha McIntosh, 22, with second-degree manslaughter in the March 14 death of Julio Segura-McIntosh. Vita had placed his 9mm pistol under the seat of his car when he stepped out to pump gas shortly after midnight. The youngster got hold of the pistol and shot himself in the head.
DELAWARE, OH – Ohio Representative Terry Johnson (R-McDermott) has today introduced HB495, a bill designed to reform Ohio concealed carry law to protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners and continue a trend toward making Ohio law similar to other states. Read more
An 18-year old man has been charged with fourth-degree possession of a weapon, after being stopped by New York police. His crime: Slingshot possession. “It’s almost like carrying a gun” said the police chief. Yeah, chief. And, it’s almost like catching bad guys. More here…
For the second time in as many weeks, a national Right-to-Carry reciprocity bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.
On March 20, U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) introduced Senate Bill 2213, the “Respecting States’ Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.” NRA strongly supports this measure. Under this self-defense bill, an individual who has met the requirements for a carry permit, or who is otherwise allowed by state law to carry a handgun, would be authorized to carry a handgun in any other state that issues such permits or does not prohibit concealed carry, subject to the laws of the state in which it is carried.
This from Humane Watch:
We had to laugh when HSUS started its “We Are Nebraska” campaign a few days ago. An anti-agriculture group claiming to represent an agricultural state? Puh-leez.
From what we can see on HSUS’s Flickr steam, only two farmers and ranchers have submitted photos supporting HSUS’s campaign, including one who’s on HSUS’s state council. (Gee, what happened to all those 51,000 HSUS “members” in Nebraska? Maybe they don’t exist.) Read more
Attorney Eric Holder had this to say in 1995. “I’ve asked the school board to make a part of every day some kind of anti-violence, anti-gun message: every school, every day, at every level. We need to do this every day of the week and just brainwash people into thinking about guns in a vastly different way.” Hear him in his own words at the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gYyqBxD-3xw
“We the people” trump Illinois lawmakers at ballot box and want their Second Amendment rights restored. A court battle looms to determine authority.
PASA Park, Barry, IL — In the election held Tuesday, March 20, 2012, the voters of Pike County, Illinois, approved a firearms concealed-carry ordinance by a 3,214 to 550 margin. It was one of the largest voter turnouts in county history. The ordinance directly contradicts current Illinois state law. As presented on the ballot, the ordinance took effect upon passage, and applies only to Pike County. The ordinance was placed on the ballot by a citizen initiative petition process that garnered three times the number of signatures required by law. Read more
This from the NRA:
Unquestionably the hottest issue in Second Amendment litigation today is whether the Second Amendment protects a right to carry firearms outside the home for personal protection—and if so, what might be the limits on that right. Until recently, far too many courts have wrongly claimed that because the Supreme Court’s decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago only struck down bans on handgun possession in the home, that’s all there is to the Second Amendment.
Now, there are signs that this resistance is weakening. Read more