NEWTOWN, Conn. — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overturned a federal district court decision that had upheld the 2013 State of Maryland Firearm Safety Act as constitutional under intermediate scrutiny review.

Writing for the three-judge appellate court panel that heard the case, Kolbe v. Maryland, Chief Judge William B. Traxler wrote: “In our view, Maryland law implicates the core protection of the Second Amendment — ‘the right of law-abiding responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home, District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570,635 (2008), and we are compelled by Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010), as well as our own precedent in the wake of these decisions to conclude that the burden is substantial and strict scrutiny is the applicable standard or review for Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment claim.” Read more

BELLEVUE, WA – Following the bloodiest January in Chicago in 16 years, a double homicide Jan. 26 in Seattle’s “Jungle” homeless camp and Wednesday’s shooting on a Metro bus, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is challenging both anti-gun cities to explain how their gun violence taxes have accomplished anything to reduce firearms-related violent crime.

At the same time, CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb also wants the backers of Initiative 594, passed 15 months ago in Washington state as a so-called “universal background check” gun control measure, to explain why their new law has failed to prevent teens and public transit gunmen from committing heinous acts. There have been no arrests or prosecutions under 594 despite claims that it has prevented more than 100 illegal purchases, he noted.

“Chicago’s body count for January was 51 dead and a lot more wounded,” Gottlieb observed. “Seattle is off to a rousing start as well with the double-murder at ‘The Jungle’ under I-5 and yesterday’s bus shooting. And let’s not overlook the other double homicide last month in which the victims were beaten to death, a crime that proves restrictive gun laws don’t stop murders because killers will find other ways to commit mayhem.”

Noting that the teenage suspects in the fatal Seattle shooting couldn’t legally carry or possess handguns, Gottlieb said this incident offers yet more evidence that I-594 was just “one more false promise of gun control.” There was no background check conducted in the acquisition of the guns allegedly carried by the teen suspects, and he noted that a police drug raid Tuesday in Burien turned up a stolen gun, which also wound up in the wrong hands, and “definitely no background check was conducted there,” he added.

Both the gun control initiative and the Seattle gun tax are being challenged in court, and a lawsuit has also been brought against the gun tax in Cook County, Illinois, which encompasses Chicago.

“Anti-gunners in Seattle and Chicago need to acknowledge that their gun control efforts aren’t part of the solution to violence, they’re part of the problem,” Gottlieb said. “They are pushed with lots of promise, but they’re quickly revealed to be all flash and no substance. They penalize honest citizens and don’t impress criminals. They lie, and people still die.” Read more

GW:  I knew it when I heard it and couldn’t listen to the Liar in-Chief, but here they are…

With tears in his eyes, President Obama pulled out all the stops in pushing his new executive orders on gun control this week.  A Washington Post headline exclaimed, “President Obama’s amazingly emotional speech on gun control.”  But the president also tried to appeal to people’s minds with a barrage of factual claims.

Unfortunately, the president’s remarks had a large number of errors.  Here are 11 of the false or misleading claims that the president made.

GW:  I watched the Tyrant in Chief live yesterday, as he continued his assault on my rights to own firearms without registering them.  And, that’s what he’s attempting to do – even though he doesn’t have the authority vested in his throne.  All I heard was we need bigger government and we need to register all firearms.  I couldn’t listen to the entire pathetic speech and had to tune out.