Keep and Bear Arms - Gun Owners Home Page

LA: Multiple Pro-Gun Measures Advance in the Legislature
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Today, the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee passed Constitutional Carry Legislation, House Bill 596, as well as concealed carry clarification measure, House Bill 124. Yesterday, the Senate passed their own version of Constitutional Carry Legislation, Senate Bill 118, by a 27 to 11 vote. Please contact your State Representative and ask them to SUPPORT Senate Bill 118, House Bill 596, and House Bill 124. Also, please ask your Representative to OPPOSE House Bill 55.

Does the Second Amendment Give You the Right to Conceal Carry a Gun Outside Your Home? The Supreme Court Is Going to Decide
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The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) announced this week that it will make a decision regarding the Second Amendment, concealed carry, and self-defense outside the home during its next nine-month session. This promises to be a landmark decision for gun owners.

The case in question, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc v. Corlett (NYSRPA v Corlett), originated when two New York men were denied concealed carry licenses. The plaintiffs claim in their petition for certiorari that New York law has made it �virtually impossible for the ordinary law-abiding citizen to obtain a license,� because of the state�s �proper cause� requirement.

IL: Ruling could set up state Supreme Court battle over firearms ID requirement
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Judge T. Scott Webb dismissed the charges against Brown on Tuesday and ruled the Firearm Owner Identification card law was unconstitutional, saying it makes the Second Amendment a �facade� turning a right into a privilege.

�[T]he court finds that any fee associated with exercising the core fundamental constitutional right of armed self-defense within the convinced of one�s home violates the Second Amendment,� Webb wrote.

MO: Meet the Sunshine Shooting Club
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What is gun culture really like in America? Well, you might not immediately picture women between the ages of 32 and 76 running through advanced self-defense scenarios. But perhaps you should.

If the Sunshine Shooting Club in Missouri were a TV show, it might be a cross between �Golden Girls� and �Designing Women.� Or if it were a movie, perhaps it would be a heady blend of �Steel Magnolias� with a tiny touch of �The Hunger Games.�

AR: Second Amendment language adjusted during marathon session
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Sponsored by State Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, HB1957 attempts to narrow the language of Stubblefield�s SB298 and address the governor�s concerns with how the relationship between state and federal authorities could be impacted with its passage. Per the bill�s language, federal laws, orders and regulations �enacted on or after Jan. 1, 2021, that infringe on the people�s right to keep and bear arms� are invalid in the state, narrowing the scope of SB298 and ensuring that active legal cases aren�t jeopardized by the proposed law�s passage.

TN: Measure making Tennessee a Second Amendment sanctuary passes Senate
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The Tennessee Senate voted Monday to make the state a Second Amendment sanctuary.

Senate Bill 1335 says the state will not enforce any potential federal laws or orders that it believes violate the Second Amendment and will deem them �null, void, and unenforceable.�

The measure also �prohibits the state and political subdivisions from using public resources to enforce, administer, or cooperate with the enforcement or administration of any such treaty, executive order, rule, or regulation.�

AK: House Committee Scheduled to Consider Self-Defense Legislation Tomorrow
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House Bill 11, sponsored by Rep. George Rauscher (R-9), cleans up current law to allow for the defensive display of a firearm against a potential threat. This measure will help law-abiding individuals possibly dissuade imminent violence or attack by allowing them to exclaim or display their possession of a firearm. Self-defense situations are never cut and dried; passing HB 11 aids in preventing the worst possible outcome if they arise.

Turkey: Woman Who Killed Husband After Years of Abuse Wins Freedom in Landmark Self-Defense Ruling
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In her account in the indictment, she described how on January 6 this year, she had been handcuffed by her husband who hit her with a rifle butt and threatened to kill her and their daughters, aged nine and seven, The New York Times reported.

He fired the gun which smashed the window beside them. He left the house, saying he would come back later to kill them. Still handcuffed when he returned an hour later, she picked up his rifle, which went off after a struggle and he was killed by a single round.

SCOTUS Gun Case Could Uncork Conceal Permits for Self-Defense
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The U.S. Supreme Court this week agreed to hear a challenge to New York's gun law restricting most people from carrying a handgun in public.

It is the first gun case the high court has taken since 2010.

Two gun owners and a state affiliate of the National Rifle Association contend New York's provision is unconstitutional because it requires applicants to give specific reasons for carrying beyond expressing a general fear of crime.

MO: Some local religious leaders against bill allowing guns in churches
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Missouri�s Republican-led House passed the bill last week in a 109-36 vote. The bill, which now goes to the GOP-led Senate for consideration, would allow people with concealed carry permits to bring guns into churches, synagogues and mosques. It would also allow guns on public transportation. Currently, guns are only allowed in places of religious worship with the consent of religious leaders. News 4 found a dozen lawmakers from St. Louis and St. Charles counties voted to pass the measure.

This 87-Year-Old Republican's Bill Would Restore the Second Amendment Rights of Cannabis Consumers in States That Have Legalized Marijuana
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A bill recently introduced by Rep. Don Young (R�Alaska) and cosponsored by two other Republicans would restore the Second Amendment rights of cannabis consumers by creating an exception for state-legal marijuana use. "When I was sworn into Congress, I took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States," Young says in a press release. "That oath does not mean picking and choosing which Amendments to defend; it requires us as Members of Congress to protect the ENTIRE Bill of Rights." He argues that his bill, the Gun Rights and Marijuana (GRAM) Act, would vindicate both the Second Amendment and the 10th Amendment, which lets states "determine their own cannabis laws, as Alaska did in 2014," when voters approved a ... initiative.

Despite Mass Shootings, Americans' Love of Guns Endures
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A.C.'s parents would not let him shoot a rifle. So, at age 17, two months after finishing high school, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, where he regularly shot an M16 rifle, a staple of America's military.

A.C., who requested that VOA not use his name, is now in his 25th year with a major police department in Southern California. He's also been a firearms instructor for 20 years. For him, as for millions of Americans, guns are a passion.

IN: Armed Shoplifter Stopped By Concealed Carrier and a Good Samaritan
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A Beech Grove Walmart was the scene of a resisting shoplifter being fired at by a licensed gun owner and then stopped by a Good Samaritan while fleeing.

The shoplifter, who went on to draw and point a gun at the store�s security guard after escaping arrest. As the suspect was pointing a gun at the security guard, a licensed gun owner saw what was taking place and fired at him. None of the shots hit the suspect and as he fled through the parking lot, another Good Samaritan tackled him. The resisting shoplifter and the store�s loss prevention officer were treated for minor injuries. The security officer, who is also a park ranger, suffered no injuries.

OK: Second Amendment Sanctuary State Act goes to governor
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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A bill creating the �Second Amendment Sanctuary State Act� passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives last week and is waiting for Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt to sign it into law.

Senate Bill 631 states that any federal, state, county or municipal act, law, order, rule, policy or regulation ordering the buy-back, confiscation or surrender of firearms, firearm accessories or ammunition from law-abiding citizens of this state shall be considered an infringement on the rights of citizens to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and Article II, Section 26 of the Constitution of Oklahoma.

The Supreme Court Is Set to Make America�s Gun Death Epidemic Worse
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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That is, until Monday. Earlier this week, the Supreme Court announced that it was going to take up the case of a New York law that severely restricts concealed-carry permits. The case won�t be argued until the fall with a likely decision not until June 2022. But most people think that it�s pretty clear what the court is going to do � announce a broad right to carry guns for self-defense outside the home and concealed from others.

Are US Supreme Court conservatives aiming to expand gun rights?
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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"If the court rules as expected, that New York State law infringes the right to carry a gun in public, we're likely to see a vast increase in the number of guns carried on the streets of America's major cities," said University of California, Los Angeles law professor Adam Winkler.

The court issued major Second Amendment rulings in 2008 and 2010 that established an individual's right to keep a gun at home for self-defense in cases involving gun control laws in Chicago and Washington DC.

IL: Illinois Judge Finds FOID Unconstitutional Under Second Amendment
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The theory of Constitutional rights is they belong to people by the existence of the person. They are not granted by the state. They are to be protected by the state. In the case of Illinois, the process is reversed.

Judge Webb found, in the state of Illinois, the right to own arms and defend oneself in one�s own home was not assumed by the existence of the person. Instead, the state required the person to jump through hoops and apply to the state to receive permission to exercise their rights. This is precisely the opposite of Constitutional principles.

The rights are presumed to be there. They may only be taken away in certain strictly defined circumstances.

High court case bad news for gun regulation advocates
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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With only three liberal justices remaining on the Supreme Court since the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the fact that at least four of the current justices voted to take a Second Amendment challenge is a reliable signal that they believe that a majority will agree to expand the right to bear arms established in Heller.

But we don�t need to rely on the case grant alone to make this prediction. We can listen to the conservative justices themselves. Since Heller was decided, five of the six conservative justices have telegraphed their disappointment in how narrowly lower courts have applied it.

Sen. Lummis introduces legislation to allow 18-year-olds to buy handguns
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United States Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has introduced legislation to "reinstate the right of adults between the ages of 18 and 20 to purchase a handgun from a federally licensed dealer," according to a press release.

The Second Amendment Mandates Equality (SAME) Act of 2021, co-sponsored by Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Steve Daines (R-MT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Braun (R-IN), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Jim Risch (R-ID), and sponsored by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) in the U.S. House of Representatives, would repeal a law that currently prevents adults under 21 from buying a handgun.

Why The Model 1911 Will Never Die
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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So revered was the 1911 that it remained the issue sidearm of America�s armed forces for 74 years. In fact, even today, elite American combat operatives rely on 1911s. Designed by firearms genius John Browning, the Colt 1911 was chambered for the .45 ACP�a cartridge that�s now as esteemed as the pistol it was created for. To meet military demand during the first World War, 1911s would be built by many different manufacturers.

Trump 'Ashamed' of Supreme Court as Second Amendment Case Looms
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Former President Donald Trump isn't entirely confident in the Supreme Court to rule in favor of the Second Amendment because they failed to take up his election fraud claims.

The Supreme Court announced on Monday it would consider the scope of the Second Amendment as it regards a New York law prohibiting a person from carrying a concealed firearm in public. The makeup of the court has shifted from last year, when they dismissed a case challenging another New York gun law, but even with the addition of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Trump is unsure how it will rule.

TX: Big Spring City Council passes resolution supporting Second Amendment
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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Big Spring City Council is taking what it calls proactive steps to protect Second Amendment rights in the community. There was a measure on the city council agenda that expressed support of the Second Amendment.

What exactly does that mean? The resolution opposes unconstitutional actions on the part of the federal government as it relates to the amendment.

Mayor Shannon Thomason wants his constituents to know he and the council support their Second Amendment rights.

OK: Stephens Co. Sheriff reacts to Gov. Stitt making Oklahoma Second Amendment Sanctuary State
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A local sheriff is among gun rights activists who are proud that Governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill making Oklahoma a Second Amendment Sanctuary State.

Stephens County Sheriff Wayne McKinney was the second sheriff in the state to make his county a Second Amendment Sanctuary County last year.

�We will protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,� McKinney said.

In early April, President Biden announced half a dozen executive orders after several mass shootings in the U.S.

NE: County joins others in support of Second Amendment
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WAHOO � As of April 20, 63 Nebraska counties have approved resolutions to express patronage toward the Second Amendment becoming 2A sanctuary counties, according to the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association.

After some debate, Saunders County joined two-thirds of the counties in the state in support of the Second Amendment. The Saunders County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution April 20 to support the second amendment with five board members voting in favor of the resolution, one member voting no and one member abstaining.