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MI: Michigan bills loosen regulations on air guns
Submitted by: Corey Salo

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Michigan lawmakers are passing legislation intended to loosen regulations on BB and pellet guns.

The National Rifle Association says Michigan has outdated and "unduly burdensome" restraints on the purchase and possession of most air guns. Backers of an eight-bill package say it would bring Michigan in line with federal standards.

The legislation would redefine the term "firearm" to exclude guns that propel a projectile by gas, spring or air.

One bill approved 102-6 by the House Wednesday would repeal a law making it a misdemeanor for a minor to possess a BB gun unless accompanied by an adult. A Senate-passed bill pending in the House would generally prohibit local governments from regulating ownership of paintball and BB guns.

MI: Gun retailers see burst in sales surrounding new lower Michigan rifle law
Submitted by: Corey Salo

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Lower Michigan firearm deer hunters have more shooting options this season, much to the excitement of West Michigan gun retailers.

Saturday marks the first opening day of the new Limited Firearm Deer Zone in southern Michigan, a designation that will allow hunters to shoot rifles that use straight-walled pistol cartridges.

The use of rifles was previously prohibited in lower Michigan during firearm deer season due to the distance the rounds travel in a more dense population. The zone was formerly known as the Southern Shotgun Zone or �rifle line� by hunters, and stretched in a jagged line from central Muskegon County through northern Kent County and up toward Bay City.

CA: CA is one step closer toward shall issue concealed carry permits Submitted by: mynameisfoxtrot.com Website: http://www.mynameisfoxtrot.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
CA gets one step closer to shall issue, although it is more about the political posturing of Kamala Harris. Find out why she tried to stop the movement of CA's concealed permits even though she didn't have a chance.

CA: Ready for Concealed Weapons Permits? Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
So what happens now after this week�s Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling clearing the way for more Californians to be able to get concealed weapons permits. Getting a CCW as they call them to carry a gun for self-defense has not been easy.

I was wrong about the Second Amendment: Why my view of guns totally changed
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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After he died, I realized an old custom had to die with him, so a nobler one could take its place. Before Noah Pozner died, I thought there was nothing wrong with the Second Amendment a little common sense couldn�t fix. After he died, I�ve come to believe �the right of the people to keep and bear Arms� no longer promotes our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but daily threatens them. How free are we when more people are shot and killed each year in America than populate the towns in which many of us live? How free are we when a backpack that unfolds into a bulletproof covering is a must-have item for schoolchildren?

Anti-Gun Control Laws: How Heartland States Have Protected 2nd Amendment
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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While gun control activists push for stricter federal regulations regarding ownership, some states are not-so-quietly working toward looser restrictions, especially in many of the country's Heartland states.

Those states are essentially nullifying federal gun laws with their own legislation. The term "nullification," in this context, is defined as "the failure or refusal of a U.S. state to aid in enforcement of federal laws within its limits, especially on Constitutional grounds."

FL: Eleventh Circuit Upholds Florida�s Patient Privacy Law
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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In a victory for gun owners who simply seek medical care, not political philosophy, from their doctors, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has upheld the NRA-supported Florida�s Firearm Owner�s Privacy Act. This law was passed after an escalating series of events in which patients were harassed or denied access to services because they refused to be interrogated by their doctors about their ownership of firearms. The case, Wollschlaeger v. Governor of Florida, vindicated Florida�s attempt to protect patients from being forced to divulge personal information that is irrelevant to their own medical treatment.

NV: One-Percenters Aiming For Universal Background Check Initiative In Nevada
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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After pouring in millions to fund a universal background check initiative that passed in Washington State on November 4, Michael Bloomberg's Everytown for Gun Safety is preparing to bypass the Nevada legislature and impose universal background checks on Nevadans.

The Hill reports that Bloomberg's group gathered 250,000 signatures and will ask the state legislature to pass universal background checks during 2015. If the legislature refuses, Bloomberg's group will do an end-around the legislature as they did in Washington state by pushing a ballot initiative in 2016.

NV: Petitions filed to legalize pot in Nevada: Voters could also see proposal to require background checks for all gun sales
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Nevada might become the fifth state to allow recreational marijuana use, and could be the 18th state to require background checks for anyone buying guns from private sellers or gun show exhibitors, under initiatives that backers said Wednesday they believe will qualify for the November 2016 ballot.

Nevadans for Background Checks said it delivered nearly 247,000 signatures to Clark County election officials in North Las Vegas, hours after leaders of a group called the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol announced they filed almost 200,000 signatures for their initiative.

TX: East Texas state rep proposes bill allowing open carry for prosecutors
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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When the Texas legislature meets for the 84th time next January, they will consider a bill that would allow prosecutors to openly carry firearms for protection.

Right now, prosecutors are allowed to carry a concealed weapon to work. If this bill passes, it would give prosecutors a choice to open carry.

East Texas News spoke to State rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, who is the bill's author about the violent genesis of his bill - two courthouse shootings that occurred right here in East Texas.

Ed.: How about open carry for all Texans, not just prosecutors?

Nevada anti-gunners submit petitions as Wash. activists plan protest
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Nevadans for Background Checks made it official yesterday when, according to KTNV, they submitted more than 246,000 signatures on a petition calling for so-called �universal background checks� in the Silver State, a move predicted months ago by the Washington gun rights advocate battling the first such measure in his state.

Meanwhile, Evergreen State gun rights activists expressing fury over the passage last week of Initiative 594, are firming up their plans for a Dec. 13 protest in Olympia. Organizer Gavin Seim confirmed to KIRO�s Dave Ross that people attending the rally plan to deliberately violate the I-594 provision requiring background checks for all firearms transfers, by trading guns back and forth on the Capitol campus.

OH: Gun law overhaul could go to governor
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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In the few weeks remaining in the legislative session, lawmakers may send Gov. John Kasich a bill eliminating the legal duty of Ohioans to retreat from danger before using deadly force to protect themselves.

�A person facing a life-threatening situation should not have a duty to flee and hope for the best,� Rep. Terry Johnson (R., McDermott) told the Senate Civil Justice Committee weighing his bill containing numerous changes to Ohio gun laws.

MD: State's Attorney rules 'self-defense' in Elkton-area shooting Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Prosecutors will not seek charges against a man who shot a rival in the leg at the shooter�s Elkton-area home in August, concluding that the homeowner had acted in self-defense. �This is a classic case of self-defense,� said Cecil County State�s Attorney Ellis Rollins III, noting the shooter had exhausted all other options before firing at the man.

CA: Ninth Circuit Denies Intervention to AG in Peruta CCW Permit Case
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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If a potential party has something to say in a case, he or she should say it before the case is four years old. So said the Ninth Circuit on November 12 in denying all motions to intervene, including the California Attorney General�s, in Peruta v. County of San Diego, 742 F.3d 1144 (9th Cir. 2014)

The denial following the issuance of the February 13 issuance of the opinion in Peruta. When the only party defendant in the trial court, the Sheriff, refused to file a motion for a hearing en banc, the Attorney General and two other private groups filed motions to intervene at the appellate level under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24.

IN: Homeowner talks about fighting, shooting alleged intruder
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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A homeowner fought back against an alleged intruder and ended up shooting the suspect during an attempted break-in on the city�s near northwest side.

Police responded to a burglary in progress in the 900 block of West 34th Street just before 3:00 a.m. Officers say the homeowner shot the suspect during a confrontation.

Howard Murphy said he was in his kitchen when he heard someone kick in his backdoor.

�He reached for something and was getting ready to strike me,� Murphy told FOX59 about the moments before he fired his gun. �I wasn�t intending to kill him or anything like that, but I had to get him up off me and I wanted him out of my house.�

PA: Montgomery County Sheriff Russell Bono offers gun safety seminars
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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To promote gun safety, Montgomery County�s sheriff is launching a program to provide free firearms safety and awareness seminars to the public.

�The right to bear arms is absolutely guaranteed by our Constitution. But along with that right comes certain responsibilities and one of the most important responsibilities is the responsibility of handling weapons, firearms particularly, in a safe manner and keeping them locked up in a safe place,� Sheriff Russell J. Bono said Thursday as he unveiled the program. �Misuse of firearms or that right comes with potential criminal and civil liability. I think too many people get permits and are not really familiar with weapons.�

CA: 9th Circuit Denies Intervenor Status on Peruta 2A Case
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Yesterday, however, the 9th Circuit crushed these hopes by denying them intervenor status. This decision ends Peruta for purposes of the 9th Circuit, and thus has been perceived by many as being the final decision on the �may issue� matter in the Circuit.

As noted by Eugene Volokh, there are two other cases dealing with �may issue� moving through the 9th Circuit: Baker v. Kealoha, challenging a similarly restrictive gun licensing regime in Hawaii, and Richards v. Prieto, which does the same for Yolo County in California.

OH: "Stand Your Ground" Law in Jeopardy? Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
A proposed "stand your ground" law is facing an uncertain fate in the final weeks of the Ohio General Assembly.

CA: Gun Dealers Challenge Handgun Sign Ban
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Four gun dealers constitutionally challenged California's decades-old ban on displaying handgun ads "that are visible from outside their place of business."

Lead plaintiff Tracy Rifle and Pistol et al. claim that California's Penal Code section 26820 violates the First and Second Amendments.

The eight plaintiffs in the Nov. 10 lawsuit in Sacramento Federal Court include four gun stores and their owners. All are in Sacramento or San Joaquin County.

VA: Rutherford Institute Sues Police over Free Speech & Gun Ownership Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Although Virginia law forbids carrying a concealed weapon and the public display of a rifle in certain cities and counties, Howard's possession and display of the rifle was wholly legal and did not make him subject to an arrest. Moreover, the City of Hopewell Police Department has admitted in writing that the incident involved a violation of department policy.

There�s A Reason They Call It �Birdshot� Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
One of the more common self-defense myths is that once you buy a firearm, just about any ammunition in a chosen caliber will do. A Marine veteran named Dan Reynolds�I�m guessing not an infantryman�was armed with a 12-gauge shotgun when a home invader tried to come through his window.

CA: Are California Gun Laws Restricting Concealed Carry Headed For Extinction?
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Still, the fight for gun rights activists isn�t over.

Despite the panel also ruling on a similar case brought in Yolo County, the county�s sheriff, Edward Prieto, has not confirmed he will drop further appeals. In the event he decides to move forward, the appeal would likely be heard en banc by all of the 9th Circuit judges or by the U.S. Supreme Court. Harris could still try to join Prieto�s case, but Wednesday�s ruling makes pretty clear she would not be allowed.