Keep and Bear Arms - Gun Owners Home Page

LA: La. lawmakers send SB 1 to Gov. Landry Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Law-abiding citizens will be able to carry concealed handguns without needing a permit if Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signs a bill that�s headed to his desk. Senate Bill 1 was approved by the Legislature, but not without drawing some opposition, both inside and outside the legislative chambers. �It increases the risk of fatality when it�s not intended,� one Northwest Louisiana man said.

SC: Columbia councilman: SC lawmakers must vote down a controversial change to state�s gun laws
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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Current S.C. law requires a concealed weapons permit to carry a handgun across South Carolina which mandates permit seekers to undergo 8 hours of gun safety and firing training. This new legislation would make these requirements optional.

Local law enforcement staunchly object to the bill emphasizing the unintended consequences of creating barriers to determine and differentiate if a person is unlawfully carrying a weapon-placing officers and citizens in avoidable danger and making communities less safe overall.

MD: Faith-based network looks for your support in getting hundreds of guns off Montgomery Co. streets
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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A faith-based gun violence prevention group is asking for donations to help fund a �no questions asked� buyback event that hopes to get 300 guns off the streets of Montgomery County, Maryland.

The D.C. area Interfaith Gun Violence Prevention Network is sponsoring the event which will be held on April 20 in Germantown.

�We should take the weapons of war, and make them into ways that we can actually thrive together as a community,� said Rev. Holly Jackson, pastor of the United Church of Christ of Seneca Valley in Germantown which is hosting the buyback.

VT: Ban on �ghost guns� one step closer to becoming law in Vermont
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Vermont lawmakers have taken a big step towards banning unserialized firearms in the state, also known as �ghost guns�.

A bill called the Vermont Ghost Guns Act passed through the state senate almost unanimously, and will now move onto the house for consideration. Ghost guns have become a major talking point nationwide over the past few years, and while they�re much less common in Vermont there have been a handful of criminal cases involving ghost guns, including a shootout in Pownal.

IL: No charges filed in Peoria stabbing death after brother claims self-defense Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
No charges will be filed against a man who claimed self-defense in the stabbing death of his brother. Peoria County State�s Attorney Jodi Hoos said evidence shows that in the 24-hour period prior to the stabbing, police were called four separate times regarding problems between Denarius Barnett and various family members, including his girlfriend. The calls came from two different locations.

AZ: Suspect claims self-defense after deadly shooting at Phoenix motel
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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A man was shot and killed during an altercation at a motel near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Wednesday evening, authorities said.

A man who claimed self-defense was detained and released after the shooting, but he could still face charges later, according to the Phoenix Police Department.

Officers responded to an unknown trouble call near 24th and Jefferson streets around 6:15 p.m. and found a man suffering from a gunshot wound.

A Forgotten Legacy: The Role of the Second Amendment in Black History
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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The streets of America, once shrouded in shadows, are filled with the flicker of hope as Black History Month comes upon us. A time to reflect on the struggles and successes of African Americans in this great nation. But amongst the celebrations and festivities, there is one crucial aspect that often remains shrouded in the darkness of ignorance. The Second Amendment.

It�s a delicate topic, one that is often swept under the rug and avoided during this time of year. But let�s not forget the role that this amendment has played in securing the rights and liberties of not just African Americans, but all Americans.

FPC and FPCAF Win: California Judge Rules Against Unconstitutional Gun Ban Policy
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF) announced that the District Court for the Northern District of California has ruled against the state�s laws and policies that prevent peaceable people from exercising their Second Amendment protected rights that were fully restored after their non-violent felony convictions in other states were vacated and nullified. The Court determined California's ban is unconstitutional and a violation of the Second Amendment�s protections. The Opinion in Linton v. Bonta can be viewed at FPCLegal.org.

What �Gatt� Would Jesus Pack?
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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�What �gatt� would Jesus pack?� is a moderately proposed question, aimed at awakening the faithful�s consciousness about their political values running askew of supposed biblical values. What is there not to grasp about the clash of the open carry lifestyle against benedictions for the powerless and humble? What kind of numb consciousness is required of one who claims to be a �believer� while clutching an AR-15 rifle? (The gnat some evangelicals choke on is if you say �Happy Holidays� instead of �Merry Christmas�.)

CA: Los Angeles Hires And Arms Foreign Criminals To Police U.S. Citizens
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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he Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is hiring illegal border crossers with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status and equipping them with guns to police American citizens in California.

President Barack Obama�s 2012 DACA order indefinitely delays the deportation of illegal border crossers who enter the United States claiming to be minors. Recipients do not start becoming U.S. citizens unless they apply for a green card. That is why many seek endless DACA renewals that allow them to continue working and living in the States while still foreign citizens and admitted border lawbreakers.

MO: Missouri urges court to uphold act declaring federal gun laws �invalid� after KC shooting
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Missouri officials recently defended in court a far-reaching state law that declares some federal firearms laws �invalid,� a stark demonstration of how far the state has gone to thwart restrictions on guns.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey�s Office urged the federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the state�s Second Amendment Preservation Act or SAPA during oral arguments last Friday. The 2021 law, signed by Gov. Mike Parson, spurred confusion among law enforcement when it went into effect.

Mills, Gottlieb at CPAC: Gun Control is about Weakening America
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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An important segment of last weekend�s Conservative Action Political Conference, virtually overlooked by the media, featured U.S. Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) and Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), telling the audience that gun control is not about public safety, but about public control.

Mills, who was elected to office in 2022, came out swinging, referring to the text of the Second Amendment, which he said �cannot be clearer.�

�It doesn�t say �may.� It says �shall not be infringed,�� Mills stressed.

CA: A Gun Win in California, You Don�t Say?
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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A federal judge in California has granted summary judgment to three individuals in a lawsuit challenging that state�s penal code, which permanently denies Second Amendment rights to people who have had felony convictions vacated, set aside or dismissed, and their rights to possess firearms fully restored. The case is known as Linton v. Bonta.

U.S. District Judge James Donato in the Northern District of California wrote, �After multiple hearings and several rounds of briefing, and in light of the guidance provided by New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen�the Court concludes that California has violated the Second Amendment rights of the individual plaintiffs.

NY: Second Circuit�s Partial Upholding of New York�s Gun Carry Law Appealed to SCOTUS
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Kathy Hochul and company then got to work, enacting a new, extremely restrictive gun carry law mere days after the U.S. Supreme Court�s Bruen case was issued, which was even worse than the previous one that the Supreme Court struck down.

A federal judge struck it down. The Second Circuit allowed some points to stand.

The Plaintiffs in the case have filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking them to take the case and overturn, at least in part, the Second Circuit�s decision.

CA: En Banc Review in Teter v. Lopez ~ The Straw That Breaks Justice Roberts� Back?
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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The Ninth Circuit is up to no good again when it comes to your Second Amendment rights. It recently granted en banc review in Teter v. Lopez, vacating the panel opinion that had previously held Hawaii�s ban on butterfly knives unconstitutional under Heller�s �in common use� test.

The now-vacated opinion�s analysis is excellent. It found at step one of Bruen�s text-first-and-history second methodology that butterfly knives were �arms� and therefore presumptively protected under the plain text of the Second Amendment. The panel then turned to Bruen�s historical inquiry.

TX: Austin Man Claims Self-Defense in Fatal N Lamar Boulevard Shooting, APD Seeks Public's Help in Investigation Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
A grim portrait of self-defense claimed a life in Austin last Saturday, as police were called to a fatal shooting on N Lamar Boulevard. The Austin Police Department (APD) officers arrived at 7801 N Lamar Boulevard shortly after 2 p.m. responding to a call from a man who alleged to have shot someone in defense of his own life, as detailed in a press release by the department.

CA: District Judge Upholds Second Amendment Rights
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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US district judge Roger Benitez struck down California�s ban on billy clubs, finding them protected by the Second Amendment.

Applying the Supreme Court�s Bruen precedent, the judge examined the history of billy club laws and found no controls before the Civil War and few states regulated them until the early 20th century when only California banned them.

The judge criticized California�s expert for imprecise language in describing regulations.

OH: Johnson firearms bill advances to Ohio House
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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The Ohio Senate has passed Senate Bill 148, sponsored by State Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, to protect Ohio�s firearm owners and retailers from financial discrimination and to preserve all of our Second Amendment rights.

Senate Bill 148:

--Bans a financial institution from assigning a firearms code for retail purchases in a way that distinguishes between a firearms retailer and other retailers.
--Prohibits financial institutions from declining a payment card transaction involving a firearms dealer merely because the transaction is assigned a firearms code.
--Prohibits any governmental entity from keeping a list or registry of firearms or firearm owners.

TX: Gun Owners Of America Comes Out Swinging Against John Cornyn After He Announced Bid For Senate Leader
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Gun Owners Of America (GOA) shared their concerns Thursday with Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn after he announced his intention to run for Senate Republican Leader, just one day after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would be stepping down as leader in November.

In an exclusive phone call with the Daily Caller, Aidan Johnston, the Director of Federal Affairs for GOA, said Cornyn is not a Conservative pro-gun leader, mentioning pieces of legislation that Cornyn has supported in the past, which Johnston described as gun control.

FL: Lobbyist Marion Hammer�s NRA Sugar Daddy Lapierre Is Gone, But She�s Still Riding High On NRA Cash
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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National Rifle Association honcho Wayne LaPierre�s ticket to ride the NRA�s gravy train was canceled last week with a New York jury�s widely reported corruption findings, but his longtime Florida collaborator Marion Hammer continues riding high on NRA millions he funneled to her.

Hammer�s pay deals were among stacks of evidence the jury weighed before determining that the NRA, LaPierre, ex-treasurer and CFO Wilson �Woody� Phillips and general counsel and corporate secretary John Frazer are liable for violating the law.

WI: Do we value guns over lives? Bill to prohibit firearms at colleges needs action.
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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Last month, an op-ed was published in more than 50 student newspapers across the country, signed by more than 150 student leaders. It opened with a heartbreaking statement:

�Students are taught to love a country that values guns over our lives.�

It is hard to hear, but it�s also hard to argue with the facts. Gun violence is now the No. 1 killer of children and young adults in the United States. Decades of rolling back gun safety laws while allowing easy access to guns is taking a deadly toll.

KY: Whittaker Guns closed; OT source says it�s for good
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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Whittaker Guns is closed. A confidential Owensboro Times source says it�s permanent.

The owner could not be reached for comment Thursday. A sign on the door of the store simply reads �Closed to the public 2/27/2024.�

The phone line for the business was active as of Thursday morning but several calls went unanswered.

In 2019, the company completed an online rebrand. The storefront remained Whittaker Guns, but social media accounts transitioned to the name Whittaker Country.

As of February 29, the website whittakercountry.com says �503 Service Unavailable� and the �Whittaker Country� Facebook page could not be accessed.

ME: Maine weighs destroying all forfeited guns in response to investigations into sheriff
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com

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The Maine Legislature is weighing whether to require the destruction of all guns taken from people in connection with their conviction of a crime.

The bill represents another example of how Maine leaders are responding to the Oxford County sheriff trading guns from evidence to a local gun shop without following the legally required steps or documenting the deal, and it builds into a range of gun- and public safety-focused proposals before lawmakers.