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WA: Battle Ground High School marksmanship team shoots to the top
Submitted by: Corey Salo

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Battle Ground High School�s AFJROTC Marksmanship team, the Tigers, took home the top honors at a regional event in Utah earlier in February.

This marks the first time since 2015 that the Tigers have finished first at the event. They were competing against over 300 other cadets.

Per the Battle Ground Public Schools:

'The Western Regional JROTC Service Championships are a series of matches held annually for Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force JROTC cadets. The teams use Olympic-style rifles with 0.177 pellets on a 10-meter target. The athletes must demonstrate endurance over the course of 90-minute relays across the span of several days. There were more than 320 cadets from 11 states and five services represented at the event.

PA: Bethel Park marksmen hit the bullseye
Submitted by: Corey Salo

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Bethel Park rifle coach Jude Dressler has every reason to brag about the shooters on his team. They certainly are"�talented," not to mention distinctive.

For starters, there is Freddy Mach. A sophomore, he secured the silver medal during the WPIAL individual team championships.

Mach shot a 200-18x to finish runner-up to McGuffey�s Riley Dunn (200-19x) during the finals held Feb. 9 at the Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen�s Club in Canonsburg.

�Freddy was amazing,� Dressler said. �He�s a unique kid.�

Mach is one of three members of the team involved in scouting. He plays the tuba in the marching and symphonic bands. He also throws the javelin on the track team.

WY: Kelly Walsh�s Payton Raffensperger advances to national marksmanship competition
Submitted by: Corey Salo

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Of thousands of JROTC students across the country who competed in marksmanship this year, only the highest echelon of shooters will be competing at the national competition in March. Among them will be Kelly Walsh High School�s Payton Raffensperger, who earned her spot on the sport�s biggest stage with a strong showing this past week at the JROTC Regional Championship.

Though the regional competition went well for Raffensperger, things didn�t start out easily, she said.

�I double-pelleted on my first time out there, which is a score of zero,� she said. �I really had to calm myself down and focus after that. � It�s all about not letting your emotions or nerves get in the way.�

MI: MSU shooting prompts Capitol protest for stricter gun laws in Michigan
Submitted by: Corey Salo

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More than 100 Michigan State University students sat in lines Wednesday in front of the state Capitol, mimicking the positions they�ve adopted in lockdown drills throughout their education two days after a shooting on the university�s campus.

The shooting claimed the lives of three students and injured five others who were being cared for at Sparrow Hospital, a facility visible one mile down on Michigan Avenue from where the students held their sit-in.

On Monday night, suspected gunman Anthony McRae opened fire in Berkey Hall and the MSU Union, killing students Alexandria Verner, Arielle Anderson and Brian Fraser. McRae later died in Lansing from a self-inflicted gun shot, police said.

AZ: Nogales rancher charged with murder fired warning shots in self-defense, attorney says Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
A court filing by the attorney representing a Nogales area rancher charged with the premeditated murder of a Mexican man found shot to death on his ranch offered additional details about the grim discovery, claiming the rancher had fired warning shots in self-defense earlier in the day in response to an incursion by several armed men onto his ranch.

MT: AG Knudsen leads coalition responding to Bidens call for �assault weapon� ban
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen today called out President Biden�s recent irresponsible, radical, and unconstitutional statements he made during the State of the Union demanding Congress ban firearms commonly used by law-abiding Americans for self-defense.

In a letter sent to President Biden, 15 other state attorneys general joined Attorney General Knudsen in highlighting the many flaws of his reasons for banning his personal, broad definition of �assault weapons,� as well as the dangers of doing so.

NC: Permit-to-Purchase Repeal Advances from Senate Committee
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate Bill 40, a bill that repeals the permit-to-purchase a firearm requirement. Senate Bill 41, a bill that recognizes law-abiding citizens� right to self-defense while attending a church with a school attached, became part of Senate Bill 40 and advanced as well. Now Senate Bill 40 eliminates the redundant background check and ensures that law-abiding adults are not stripped of their right to self-defense at church. Please contact your senator now and urge them to SUPPORT Senate Bill 40!

TX: Texas armed robber runs for his life after store clerk turns the tables
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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An armed thief ran for his life from a southeast Texas convenience store after the clerk pulled out a gun and shot at the would-be robber.

Detectives with the Sugar Land Police Department outside of Houston released video this week of a man who walked into the WB Food Mart, displayed a handgun, and discharged a round into the ceiling.

The man then pointed the handgun at the clerk and demanded money from the register.

The clerk grabbed a gun and the robber opened fire as the clerk shot back in self-defense, according to police.

MI: Democrats control Michigan for the first time in 40 years. They want gun control
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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For the first time in 40 years, Democrats are in control of the state's legislature and the office of governor. That has Democrats hopeful of passing tighter gun laws.

The state's Republicans, however, are seeking to reach a consensus on laws focused on mental health services.

The Democrats' proposed measures include universal background checks, so-called red flag laws � court orders requiring police to seize a gun from an individual � and safe storage.

NM: Gun Ban & Waiting Period Legislation to be Considered in House Committee this Friday!
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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On Friday, February 17, the New Mexico House Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on mandatory waiting period and semiautomatic firearms ban/magazine limit legislation:

* House Bill 100 by Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe), expands New Mexico�s so-called �universal background check� law to include a mandatory 14-day waiting period on all firearm purchases. This criminal protection bill would add nothing to the existing FBI background check process and only delay your ability to exercise your Second Amendment right to defend yourself, your family and your property.

WY: Senators kill �physical force� trespass-termination bill
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Senators have killed a bill that would have legalized �physical force� to �terminate� a perceived trespass, rejecting an expansion of criminal statutes backed by 57 representatives.

House Bill 126 � Trespass-removal of trespass ran into heavy criticism in a Senate committee for what many saw as its potential to accelerate violence, reliance on individual interpretations of the law and other problems.

WV: College campus reacts to Campus Self-Defense Act
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Senate Bill 10, also called the Campus Self-Defense Act, will allow adults 21 years and older to carry concealed weapons on campus as long as they have a valid permit.

Not only are some concerned there will be a financial concern for colleges if the bill is enacted, but students and faculty have overall safety concerns.

David Eldridge, a campus police officer at Concord University, believes the bill will cause shootings and violent situations to occur more often, and that it will be difficult to comply with the safety measures listed in the bill.

SC: Kershaw County man's death ruled as self defense, deputies say
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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No charges will be brought forward for the shooting death of a 22-year-old Elgin man on Tuesday, Kershaw County officials said.

The shooting of 22-year-old Alexander Johnson resulted in his death, but investigators with the Kershaw County Sheriff's Department say they have no reason to believe it was for anything other than self-defense.

Officials say the suspected shooter's girlfriend had allegedly received multiple threats from Johnson, and sent messages saying he was on the way to her house.

NY: Acquittal in Watervliet murder trial after self-defense argument
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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A 49-year-old man charged in the deadly shooting last year of Shaun T. Koonce in Watervliet was acquitted of second-degree murder after arguing he shot the victim in self-defense.

An Albany County jury cleared Reginald P. Goodman of murdering Koonce, 41 on Feb. 9 after deliberating for about two hours, according to Assistant Alternate Public Defender Timothy Berry, who represented Goodman. Jurors convicted Goodman of second-degree weapon possession.

WV: Campus Carry Bill Passes W.Va. House Judiciary Committee
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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A bill that would allow students and the public with valid concealed carry permits to have firearms on college campuses in West Virginia cleared another hurdle Wednesday as it gets closer to a vote before the full House of Delegates.

The House Judiciary Committee recommended for passage a committee substitute for Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act, Wednesday afternoon, but not before hearing concerns from students and professors.

5.11 Tactical Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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5.11 Tactical, a global innovator of purpose-built gear, is celebrating its 20-year anniversary in 2023. The company officially launched on Jan. 29, 2003.

�Since 2003, it has been a privilege empowering customers to Always Be Ready,� said 5.11 Tactical CEO Francisco J. Morales. �Whether they depend on our gear in the line of duty or for everyday use, we�d like to say thank you for counting on us as we pass this milestone and look forward to the future.�

Marine Colonel Tarnishes Tin Eagles with False Testimony
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Retired Marine Colonel Craig Tucker is throwing in his 25 years of Marine Corps service, combat experience and military expertise to deny Californians their Second Amendment rights. The problem is, he�s doing it on a bed of verifiably false allegations of what today�s Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR) is and isn�t. He discloses that he�s being compensated for his �expert� opinion at $200 an hour.

Colonel Tucker, a former Commander of the Corps� Regimental Combat Team 7 that fought in the 2004 Battle of Fallujah, filed �expert testimony� in Rupp v. Bonta, the case that California�s Attorney General Robert Bonta is desperately trying to keep California�s �assault weapon� ban alive.

Let�s Stop Pretending Clarence Thomas Can Read the Framers� Minds
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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These decisions and the reasoning that guides them are frightening and oppressive. They seem to force us to look down the wrong end of a temporal telescope so that we can see only the narrowest version of what the Framers might have demanded of us. The Bruen approach further assumes that had those same Framers had the ability to look ahead across time to our world, they could imagine only the most cramped future possible. But that is an interpretive choice, not an unassailable presumption.

FL: Will Florida Be the 26th State for Constitutional or Permitless Carry?
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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So far, at the end of the first month of 2023, 25 states have passed Constitutional Carry or Permitless Carry laws. The states of Alabama, Ohio, Indiana, and Georgia have recently passed these laws. Fifty percent of U.S. states have passed laws permitting Constitutional Carry or Permitless Carry in the past two decades. So, there are two important questions now to consider:

1. Should law-abiding American gun owners ask any government for permission to have and exercise their �Rights� as stated in the U.S. Constitution?

2. Will Florida be U.S. state number twenty-six to enact a Constitutional Carry or Permitless Carry law?

UT: Utahns are dying from gun violence while legislators push �message bills�
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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These undeniable facts show that the Republican super-majority in the Utah Legislature (created by shameless gerrymandering) has failed to protect Utahns from gun violence. In fact, Republicans have actually made the problem worse.

In 2021, the Republicans passed legislation allowing individuals to carry a concealed firearm without a permit, which ignored the vast majority of studies showing that permitless concealed-carry legislation brings more gun violence. Typically, states adopting permitless carry experience a 22% increase in gun homicides in the following three years.

GA: Will Gun Owners Be Forced to Give Up Their Firearms for Medical Marijuana?"
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Consider a young female who lives alone, and doesn't have a car so she takes the bus to get home from work, and she has to walk a few blocks at night. She also suffers from one of the medical conditions that qualify her for a medical marijuana card.

She is now forced to choose between her health and her safety. She means no one any harm, she just wants to practice her RIGHT to obtain a firearm that she can use for self-defense if the need ever arises. She would also like to get relief from the chronic pains she experiences due to her illness.