GW:  I’d be really surprised if Governor, Rick Snyder, doesn’t sign the new gun bill to streamline and revamp the current model.  He doesn’t stand for the “piling on” tactic employed by politicians proposing new laws, by seemingly always adding carrots and concessions as a form of quid pro quo.

Part of the issue over the years, is that certain gun board members have remain opposed to the idea of law abiding citizens’ carrying concealed pistols.  Before “shall issue” it was even worse and typically made an applicant prove why he needed a permit.  Some of these self-anointed judges are still with us and do everything in their power to circumvent the Constitution.  Just look at Washington, D.C., if you need a glaring example.

Sponsored by Sen. Mike Green, R-Mayville, the bill would eliminate county gun boards December 1. Applicants will then be able to apply for permits through county clerks, submitting fingerprints and proof of certified handgun-use training and would receive permits, if they cleared state police and national law enforcement criminal background checks.

Let’s get on with it!

Of course, the sheriff’s association opposes this bill, but that’s predictable; they always want to be the only ones with guns.  Details of the proposal are here…

This piece from John Lott, Jr. dispels the gun-grabbers’ myth that only police are competent with firearms.  “Police are the single most important factor for reducing crime, but even police commit crimes on very rare occasions.  Even more law-abiding than police, however, are permit holders.”  More here…

BELLEVUE, WA — The Second Amendment Foundation has once again funded and won a small but significant federal court victory in a Pennsylvania case in which a federal judge ruled that a man convicted of a misdemeanor crime several years ago, but who has demonstrated that he “would present no more threat to the community” than an average law-abiding citizen, may not lose his Second Amendment rights under a federal gun control statute known as 922(g)(1).

Julio Suarez was convicted in Maryland 25 years ago of a misdemeanor for carrying a firearm without a license. Since then, he has led an exemplary life, but the conviction was enough to cost Suarez his ability to buy and keep a firearm for defense of his home and family. He’s been married for 20 years, fathered three children and has a government security clearance. He is also an elder of his local church.

Middle District Court Judge William W. Caldwell said in his 26-page opinion that Suarez “is no more dangerous than a typical law-abiding citizen and poses no continuing threat to society.”

SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb said that “This case provides a building block upon which similar cases in which people are convicted of non-violent crimes might be challenged because they have lost their right to keep and bear arms as a result.”

“A person should not lose his or her constitutional rights for non-violent indiscretions that occur once in a lifetime,” added Attorney Alan Gura, who represented Suarez in this SAF-funded case. Read more