Archive for category Law

D.C. Concealed Law Ruled Unconstitutional

From The Washington Post:

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a key provision of the District’s new gun law is probably unconstitutional, ordering D.C. police to stop requiring individuals to show “good reason” to obtain a permit to carry a firearm on the streets of the nation’s capital.

U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon found that the law violates the “core right of self-defense” granted in the Second Amendment, setting aside arguments from District officials that the regulation is needed to prevent crime and protect the public.

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Judge Rules In Favor Of Gun Rights On Behalf Of Gay Group

From LGBTQ Nation:

The group, which advocates for gay Americans to carry firearms, just won a major victory on Tuesday: a federal judge in Washington halted enforcement of a portion of the city’s strict gun law, ordering Washington DC police to stop requiring residents to demonstrate they have “a good reason to fear injury,” which he ruled places “an unconstitutional burden” on citizens’ right to bear arms.

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Ninth Circuit Says There Is A Right To Acquire Arms

From Breitbart.com:

Writing in the Majority Opinion, 9th Circuit Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain emphasized, “Our forefathers recognized that the prohibition of commerce in firearms worked to undermine the right to keep and to bear arms.”

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Texas Reaches 1 Million Concealed Handgun Licenses

From AllGov.com:

As of April 30, there were 1,017,618 active handgun license holders in Texas, according to the state agency that oversees the process, the Department of Public Safety. That means there are more people in Texas with permission to carry a gun than there are residents of the city of Fort Worth. Texas’ numbers far exceed those in several other states. Oklahoma has more than 251,000. South Carolina has 276,084. Washington state, 534,978. Tennessee, 555,865. But at least one state has more license holders: Florida, with 1,743,954.

However, Texas, with 5,672 permits issued per 100,000 adults 21 and over, is not the state with the most gun permits per capita. Florida (11,965 permits per 100,000 adults), Tennessee (11,851 per 100,000 adults) and Washington state (10,635 per 100,000 adults) are some of the leaders by that measure.

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Soldier Sues President For Fighting ISIS Without Congressional Authorization

From The New York Times:

The plaintiff, Capt. Nathan Michael Smith, an intelligence officer stationed in Kuwait, voiced strong support for fighting the Islamic State but, citing his “conscience” and his vow to uphold the Constitution, he said he believed that the conflict lacked proper authorization from Congress.

“To honor my oath, I am asking the court to tell the president that he must get proper authority from Congress, under the War Powers Resolution, to wage the war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” he wrote.

The legal challenge comes after the death of the third American service member fighting the Islamic State and as Mr. Obama has decided tosignificantly expand the number of Special Operations ground troops he has deployed to Syria aid rebels there.

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Australia Proves Gun Controllers Can’t Be Satisfied

From News.com.au:

“The majority of gun owners are law-abiding people who need them as legitimate tools. As with terrorism, you have to legislate for the minority.”

Malcolm Turnbull today promised Australia’s firearms laws would become even stronger. Attending a memorial service for the 35 people who died at Port Arthur, the Prime Minister said: “John Howard ensured that we have had, and have, the toughest gun control laws in the world and we are committed to ensuring they remain just that.

“We are committed to ensuring that our national firearms agreement becomes stronger and that Australians remain safe from gun crimes, like the shocking events at Port Arthur.”

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Sheriffs Call For (Civil) Disobedience

From The Washington Post:

Local police chiefs and sheriffs typically swear to enforce the laws of their state. But a group called theConstitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association is intent on strictly enforcing their view of the U.S. Constitution and, according to a long new piece by the Center for Public Integrity, “its ambition is to encourage law enforcement officers to defy laws they decide themselves are illegal.”

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Mississippi Becomes 10th State With Constitutional Carry

The Mississippi Governor signed the bill with a pistol on his desk.

From OutdoorHub:

On Friday, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed House Bill 786 into law, officially making his state the 10th in the nation to adopt permitless firearm carry. In addition, the bill will also give residents the right to carry firearms into houses of worship. With a holstered Glock on his desk during the signing, Bryant made his support for the bill and the Second Amendment crystal clear.

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FBI Director Equate Encryption Debate To Gun Debate

From The Wall Street Journal:

“Some of the emotion that I’ve received around this issued remind me sometimes, in the absolutist and slippery slope arguments, reminds me of some of the rhetoric we hear in the gun debate,” Mr. Comey said, according to the Associated Press.

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How Did The FBI Break Into iPhone?

From the EFF:

In addition, this new method of accessing the phone raises questions about the government’s apparent use of security vulnerabilities in iOS and whether it will inform Apple about these vulnerabilities. As a panel of experts hand-picked by the White House recognized, any decision to withhold a security vulnerability for intelligence or law enforcement purposes leaves ordinary users at risk from malicious third parties who also may use the vulnerability. Thanks to a lawsuit by EFF, the government has released its official policy for determining when to disclose security vulnerabilities, the Vulnerabilities Equities Process (VEP).

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Mississippi Gov. To Sign Constitutional Carry Law

From Breitbart:

The legislation, House Bill 786, expands current carry provisions from carrying in a bag, purse, or satchel without a permit to carrying holstered without a permit, as well. TheNRA-ILA reports that Michael Bloomberg-funded Everytown for Gun Safety vehemently and unsuccessfully opposed the bill, which passed the House by a vote of 85-35.

Governor Phil Bryant (R) is expected to sign the bill into law.

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Adm. McRaven Doesn’t Want Students Carrying Guns

From The Daily Texan:

“I’m a big second amendment guy, you know; I’m a strong supporter,” McRaven said. “But my position today — I’m an educator. As I look across the students and the faculty and the administrators and the staff and their concerns that they have voiced to me about this creating an unsafe environment with more guns on campus, it’s hard for me to support campus carry when I see their concerns.”

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License To Carry to Exceed One Million in Texas

From CBS DFW:

…a combination of fears of terrorism brought on by the shootings in San Bernardino and President Obama’s proposed gun control laws.

“Then you have the new law that went into effect January the first (Open Carry)…all of that plays into it, and that’s why we’re seeing numbers. For the first time the State of Texas will actually go over one million licensed holders,” says Cargill.

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California Bill Could Treat Gun Owners Like Murderers

From Ammoland:

The bill, authored by Senator Ben Allen (D-Redondo Beach) will make non-violent firearms related crimes “continuing offenses.” These offenses involve unlawful self-importation or transfers of firearms. These crimes need not have any criminal intent, nor is there a victim involved. These victimless crimes are the act of import or transfer, not possession.

SB 1037 would make this prosecutable for life- the same as capital murder- all for forgetting to fill out a form and mail it to the California Department of Justice with $19.00.

Read the bill here

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SCOTUS Nominee Garland Not Fond Of Guns

From The Washington Times:

In one 2000 case, Judge Garland, who sits on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, upheld a Clinton administrationeffort to store gun-buyers’ records.

 Later in the decade, he joined other judges in a failed bid to reconsider the landmark case that would eventually establish the Second Amendment’s protection of a personal right to bear arms.

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