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BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation is delighted by today’s U.S. Supreme Court reversal of a court ruling in Massachusetts that upheld that state’s ban on stun guns, sending the case back to the state’s Supreme Judicial Court.

A woman named Jaime Caetano was convicted after police found a stun gun in her purse while she was in a parking lot. She told them it was for self-defense and argued that she had a right to carry it for defense against an abusive ex-boyfriend.

While the high court did not strike down the Massachusetts ban, it instructed the state judges to reconsider their initial ruling in the case against Caetano. The state has banned the non-lethal weapons on the grounds that they are not protected by the Second Amendment.

“This ruling shows that the United States Supreme Court is not happy with lower courts ignoring the Heller and McDonald decisions affirming the individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “It is also an important ruling because the gun in question is a modern type and was used in public outside the home.

“Just because something didn’t exist at the time the Constitution was ratified doesn’t mean it isn’t protected,” he added. “By that same reasoning, no modern newspaper, online publication, or broadcast media would be protected by the First Amendment in the Bay State, and we all know that’s nonsense.” Read more

Dallas, TX – As top military leaders voice their concerns that budget cuts and troop reductions have left us unprepared in the event of a crisis, National Center for Policy Analysis has launched the “Provide for the Common Defense Now!” petition. The petition urges Congress to use this year’s National Defense Authorization Act to build – not diminish – the capabilities of our fighting forces.

“We have degraded our venerable military deterrent capacity. At every time since World War I, when America reduced its military capabilities, enemies of a Machiavellian bent saw opportunity. And now is no different,” warns NCPA Executive Director Lt. Col. (Ret.) Allen West.

The petition focuses on building a strong, fiscally responsible military by:

*Building a military ready to deploy and capable of defending America against terrorists and adversarial governments.
*Reducing the growth of the Department of Defense bureaucracy and eliminate redundant military and civilian positions to create a more effective and agile fighting force.
*Transforming warfighting strategies so that military objectives are clearly defined and achievable, and rules of engagement do not create unnecessary risk for our men and women in combat zones.
*Reforming the military acquisition and research and development process to eliminate significant cost overruns and guarantee warfighters receive modern weapon systems on time and under budget.
*Compensating our men and women in the military at a pay rate above poverty level so service men and women do not have to be on federal government assistance.
“The recent apprehension of the Islamic terrorist aligned with ISIS in Brussels along with the proliferation of Islamic jihadism, Russian and Chinese military expansions, Iranian hegemonic designs in the Middle East, and North Korean ballistic missile testing reminds us of the global instability and insecurity we face,” added West. “It is hardly a time to have Senior U.S. Generals testifying that our forces may not be ready to respond. Nor is it the time to further weaken America’s defenses.”

The petition aims to collect 100,000 signatures, and will be delivered to Congress before the vote on the NDAA. The full petition can be found at: http://www.ncpa.org/petition. For more, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxf8aYxv0lw\