District of Columbia | October 4, 2021
Biden, Congress seek to chip away at gun rights with UN arms treaty, military red flag law
District of Columbia | October 4, 2021
Congressional Democrats and the Biden administration are attempting to nibble away at the Second Amendment from both within and without the U.S., gun rights advocates warn, as Congress seeks to pass a red flag law for military members and the president eyes signing on to a United Nations arms treaty. Red flag laws that would apply to military members were slipped into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by the House of Representatives last week with the help of 135 Republicans. Red flag laws are “essentially bypassing due process,” Gun Owners of America’s Director of Outreach Antonia Okafor told the John Solomon Reports podcast on Wednesday. “It is going from one person who says they accuse you of being a danger to yourself, or to somebody else, and then going to a judge that then gets reasonable suspicion, right, that you are a danger to yourself or somebody else. Just the News
South Carolina | August 18, 2021
Concealed Carry Permit Holders in South Carolina Can Now Carry Handguns Openly
South Carolina | August 18, 2021
Effective August 15, South Carolina residents who have concealed carry permits may openly carry their handguns. Governor Henry McMaster signed the bill into law in May but held a ceremonial signing on Friday.
The new law also eliminates a $50 fee to obtain a concealed carry permit and lowers the number of bullets someone must fire at a target in an accuracy test from 50 to 25 shots. In South Carolina, residents who wish to carry their handguns must go through eight hours of training and pass a background check that includes fingerprinting.
It’s not “Constitutional Carry,” which requires no permit to carry openly or concealed, but South Carolina joins a number of states that have eased gun restrictions in recent years. So far, 21 states allow permit-less carry, open or concealed. Gun-rights supporters believe that the Second Amendment protects the right of citizens to own guns and carry them without government permission. They also advocate national reciprocity, in which states that allow concealed carry must recognize permits from other states…. (Excerpts from Black Community News)
Missouri | August 4, 2021
Missouri Governor Pardons McCloskeys Of Crimes Related To Standoff With BLM Protesters
Missouri | August 4, 2021
Democratic Missouri Governor Michael Parson on Tuesday pardoned Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who brandished guns while Black Lives Matter activists trespassed through their neighborhood last summer.
Parson revealed the McCloskey’s pardon along with a batch of other pardons and commutations. The governor did not give any additional statement regarding the McCloskeys.
The McCloskeys pleaded guilty in June to misdemeanor offenses related to their confrontation with Black Lives Matter activists last year. Mark McCloskey pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault and was fined $750. Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment and was fined $2,000. Both agreed to give up their guns used in the altercation…. (Excerpts from Daily Wire)
Louisiana | July 22, 2021
Louisiana Senate Fails to Override Governor’s Veto of Permitless Concealed Carry Bill
Louisiana | July 22, 2021
The Louisiana Legislature on Wednesday ended its first-ever veto session failing to override any vetos by Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards, including a bill that would have nixed the current permit and training requirements for carrying a concealed handgun.
Just three votes shy of the two-thirds needed to overturn Edwards’ veto of the SB 118 “constitutional carry” bill, the Louisiana Senate voted 23–15 in favor of the failed override. The bill would allow any resident who is 21 years of age or older and who is not prohibited from owning a firearm by state or federal law to carry a concealed gun without a permit. It also sought to repeal a requirement for Louisiana residents to pass a nine-hour course with live-fire training before being able to apply for a concealed carry permit.
Three Republicans, Sens. Patrick Connick, Louie Bernard, and Franklin Foil, voted against the override after backing the bill in the regular session, according to The Advocate. Bernard said he pulled his support for the bill after talking to law enforcement officials….
(Excerpts from the Epoch Times)
Tennessee | July 6, 2021
61 Percent of U.S. Counties now Second Amendment Sanctuaries: Analysis
Tennessee | July 6, 2021
The majority of all U.S. counties have been designated as Second Amendment sanctuaries, according to an analysis by SanctuaryCounties.com.
As of June 20, there are 1,930 counties “protected by Second Amendment Sanctuary legislation at either the state or county level,” representing 61% of 3,141 counties and county equivalents in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Texas was the 21st state to pass a constitutional carry bill, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law, and becomes effective Sept. 1. And while some state legislatures are not taking the same action, county officials have chosen to enact their own legislation. Roughly 1,137 counties “have taken it upon themselves to pass Second Amendment Sanctuary legislation and likely hundreds of cities, townships, boroughs, etc. have done so at their level as well,” the site states.
The Second Amendment sanctuary movement was born out of a grassroots effort, brought on by county or municipal leaders who vowed to not enforce any gun laws imposed by state or federal bodies they deemed were unconstitutional.
Sheriffs have also made pledges to uphold the Second Amendment, most recently every sheriff in Utah.
“Importantly, the Second Amendment of our divinely inspired Constitution clearly states … ‘the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed,’” a letter signed by all 29 Utah sheriffs states. “We hereby recognize a significant principle underlying the Second Amendment: the right to keep and bear arms is indispensable to the existence of a free people.”
Upon signing the new Texas law, Abbott said Texas was a Second Amendment Sanctuary state. Months earlier, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts signed a proclamation giving Nebraska the same sanctuary designation. And Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a bill that nullifies federal gun laws in the Show Me state….
(Excerpts from the Tennesse Star)
Texas | June 25, 2021
Texas Joins Multistate Coalition Seeking to Axe California’s ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban
Texas | June 25, 2021
Texas has joined a multistate coalition challenging California’s so-called “assault weapons” ban, which remains in effect after an appeals court put on hold a judge’s ruling that the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 (AWCA) violates the Second Amendment.
Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, said in a press release that the Lone Star state had joined 21 other states in a legal brief (pdf) in the case of Miller v. Bonta, demanding that the San Francisco-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit uphold a lower court decision to strike down a ban on what California describes as illegal military-style rifles….
(Excerpts from the Epoch times)