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NJ: Poll: Should NJ gun owners be allowed to carry in public without having to show urgent need?
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Should New Jersey gun owners have the right to be armed in public without having to show an urgent need to do so?
The question arose again Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal in a high-profile lawsuit led by a Sussex County man seeking a permit to carry his handgun outside his house.
In doing so, the high court let stand the state's requirement that gun owners must demonstrate a "justifiable need" to be armed in public. Both local police and then a state Superior Court judge must approve such permits in New Jersey.

NH: New Hampshire court allows 'COPSLIE' license plate Submitted by: Anonymous	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
A New Hampshire man has the right to drive around the New England state with a license plate reading "COPSLIE," the state's top court ruled on Wednesday. SUBMITTER'S COMMENT: The guy may have won his case, but he now has the ultimate cop magnet on his car.

NY: Westchester DA: parking meter officer stole $89K
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A parking meter officer in Westchester is accused of siphoning more than $89,000 in coins from meters over a five-year period, according to prosecutors. ...
Between January 5, 2009, and May 6, 2014, Daday would empty parking meters around town and then deposit some of the coins into his own account at a local bank branch, according to the DA.
Police and the DA's office began investigating recently and kept watch on Daday for a while, authorities said. On Tuesday, investigators confronted him as he left his bank after allegedly making a deposit, prosecutors said.
Daday was arrested, arraigned, and released. He is due back in court Thursday.
$89,000 is 356,000 quarters or 890,000 dimes or 1.78 million nickels.

MT: In Youth�s Death, Some See a Montana Law Gone Wrong
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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Teenagers call it garage hopping. The goal was to sneak into an open garage, steal some beer or other items and slip away into the night. It was dumb and clearly illegal. It was not supposed to be deadly.

Around midnight on April 27, a 17-year-old exchange student from Germany named Diren Dede left the host home where he played Xbox and drained cans of Sprite to set off with a friend through his dark hillside neighborhood. They passed a home whose garage door hung partially open. Using a cellphone for light, Mr. Dede headed in.

Hillary Clinton Attacks the �Gun Culture� � �Way out of balance� Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Hillary Clinton has made comments that are sure to come back to haunt her if she runs for president. The former top diplomat used some very undiplomatic language to assail what she calls the �gun culture� � which is a myth to be explained in a bit � and suggests that at some point Americans will have to acquiesce to have our Second Amendment rights curbed.

NE: Nebraskans gather in Ashland in support of gun rights
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More than a dozen people gathered at a restaurant here to discuss their guns and their right to carry them in the open.

Among those with visible holstered weapons was Taylor Crawford, who had a 9 mm handgun on one hip and a 6-month-old baby on the other. Her husband, Nicolas Crawford, had organized Tuesday's event at the Round the Bend Steakhouse, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

It's legal to openly carry a firearm in Nebraska, but state law lets local governments impose restrictions. A permit is needed to carry a concealed weapon.

PA: Could Gun Used in Deadly Shooting be Safer?
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Ever since a 10-year-old boy was shot and killed in Pike County over the weekend when his uncle was showing off weapons he thought were unloaded, There has been attention and scrutiny on the safety of the gun that went off.

Northeast Firearms in Honesdale sells the Glock 27, the weapon used in the shooting death of Hunter Pedersen.

State police said his uncle was showing off the weapon and pulled the trigger not realizing there was a bullet in the chamber.

The question now is: Could the gun be made safer?

Mike Jones took apart a Glock 27 for us at his gun shop. He said the Glock 27 is a popular model, one that comes without a so-called �external safety.�

CA: Monterey County Students threatening to bring weapons to school at alarming rate, crisis team says
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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A stabbing near or on school grounds opens the door for a lot of questions.

"It appears that, it was a case of self defense," said Henry Gomez, a commander with Salinas Police.

A 13-year-old boy stabbed a 14-year-old boy after El Sausal Middle School let out Tuesday afternoon. Police determined the teen had the knife with him on campus, which is against the law.

"We're not quite done with the investigation yet, at this point we're not comfortable making an arrest with what we know," Gomez said.

Supreme Court places Second Amendment gun rights under house arrest
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In a little noticed, but potentially significant ruling yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied review of a Second Amendment case from New Jersey that sought to establish a constitutional right to carry concealed handguns in public. The case, Drake v. Jerejian, is important because the trial and appellate courts found that the local sheriff acted reasonably in denying plaintiff a permit to carry a gun in public on the ground that he had no �justifiable need� for such protection.

Does America�s Gun Control Debate Need a New Focus?
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Monday saw the Supreme Court pass on a gun control case, preferring to remain outside the issue as it has since its last ruling in 2008 with District of Columbia v. Heller, which ruled in favor of handguns in the home. In the case, it chose not to hear expansions upon that point, and claimed that, �The Second Amendment guarantees the right to carry weapons for the purpose of self-defense � not just for self-defense within the home, but for self-defense, period,� as the court brief read, according to USA Today. The case was brought with the support of the NRA and Gun Owners Foundation.

Ed.: As many errors as there are in the lede, you can imagine that it only gets worse.

FL: Tea partiers unimpressed with legislative session
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Highlands County�s top two tea partiers were partly pleased, partly unhappy with the legislative session that ended Friday.

�I was disappointed in some of the gun legislation,� said Highlands County tea party chair Jack Nelson, �and they were hell bent to vote for Common Core in this state.�

�I�d give them about a 50-50,� said John Drozinski, vice chair. �I think my biggest one was pushing through Common Core. You can change the name of the pig but it still stinks.�

LA: New Orleans teen shot by homeowner during alleged attempted burglary last year is busted for burglary
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A New Orleans teen who was shot in the head during an alleged attempted burglary last year was busted in another robbery just blocks away from the near-fatal shooting, authorities said.

Marshall Coulter, 15, was arrested Friday after he was caught skulking around two homes in the city's Marigny district and used a hidden key to break into one of them, authorities said.

...

Meanwhile, Merritt Landry has been out on bail since last year's shooting.

At the time, he invoked Louisiana's Castle statute, a self-defense law similar to Stand Your Ground, but was still booked on second-degree attempted murder charges.

The case has since gone before a grand jury, but prosecutors have not been able to indict him.

LA: Louisiana lawmakers aim to expand carry rights for themselves Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
During a review of a slew of gun and self-defense bills, Louisiana lawmakers passed a measure on May 6 that would exempt them from gun restrictions imposed on the general public. The Louisiana House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice voted 10-2 in favor of Senate Bill 651, which would expand their carry rights to that of law enforcement officers.

Earning Awards And Protecting Rights 40 Years And Counting Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
We are celebrating 40 years of protecting gun rights at the Second Amendment Foundation. This anniversary year continues to be a success as we recently added another award for protecting gun rights as well as joined another lawsuit in order to protect Citizen�s gun rights.

Someone wants a 'smart' gun
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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You heard it here first.

After my 15 seconds of fame Tuesday, the emails rolled in, including one in which the sender, whose name I've redacted, says they would like to purchase a smart gun.

"I heard you say on the CBS morning show you don't know anyone who wants smart gun. Well, you don't know me but I'd like one. I'd feel more comfortable having a smart gun around the house than what I have now," they wrote.

I stand corrected.

Sen. Kaine: UN Arms Treaty "In No Way" Threatens Second Amendment
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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Silently but steadily, the Obama administration and its congressional allies are moving toward enforcement of the tenets of the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

In an op-ed published on April 30 in Virginia's Free Lance-Star, Senator Tim Kaine (shown, D-Va.) claims the agreement, "which in no way affects our Second Amendment rights or domestic gun sales, establishes common, worldwide guidelines to keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers and criminals who fuel violent conflicts around the world, like in Iraq or Afghanistan.�

SD: South Dakota joins 21 states in brief challenging New York ban on semi-automatic weapons
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A New York state ban on semi-automatic weapons sets a worrying precedent that could affect the rights of South Dakotans and people across the country to use such weapons in hunting, the South Dakota Attorney General said in a court filing.

South Dakota joined 21 states in supporting a court challenge to New York's ban on semi-automatic weapons. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said semi-automatic guns are among the "arms" protected by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, so the New York ban is unconstitutional.

NY: Hanna launches TV ad, gains NRA backing
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Rep. Richard Hanna�s re-election campaign is heating up with the launch of his first television ad and an endorsement by the National Rifle Association.

Hanna, of Barneveld, Oneida County, and state Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney of New Hartford are running in the June 24 Republican primary in the 22nd Congressional District, which stretches through central New York from Broome County north to Oswego County and the shoreline of Lake Ontario.

IA: Brad Zaun carries gun at Capitol over security concerns
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Windschitl also agreed with Zaun that having metal detectors at public entrances to the Iowa Capitol is no guarantee that violence will be prevented, noting there are other doors for visitors to enter the building.

"Those doors, anybody could push them open. Anybody could get into the Capitol," Windschitl said. "It is a false sense of security having those metal detectors there and prohibiting law-abiding citizens from exercising their constitutional rights. If someone has nefarious plans, or is intent on causing harm at the state Capitol, there are ways they can find to get it done. So restricting peoples' constitutional rights is not helping them."

When Open Carry Comes to Town Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Employees of a Jack in the Box restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas, got a glimpse last week of an America where the more extreme element of the gun-rights movement has its way. Their reaction? They hid in the freezer. Parents in a public park in Georgia, confronted by another display of gun rights, called 911.

FL: Death of Florida�s gun evacuation bill sparks feud between NRA and sheriffs
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A battle has erupted between the National Rifle Association and the Florida Sheriff�s Association.

In response to the emergency concealed carry bill being killed in the Florida legislature during this year�s session, the NRA sent a letter to members that said the FSA �declared war on the Second Amendment,� according to an Associated Press report.

The statement read, in part:

�Be perfectly clear, this was a straight up Second Amendment issue in its purest form. And the Florida Sheriffs Association opposed your fundamental individual right to keep and bear arms at a time when you most need to be able to protect yourself and your family.�

OH: Deadly force: laws differ on threat
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Following a shooting in Warren Wednesday where a homeowner shot and killed an alleged burglary suspect, WKBN looked closer at Ohio�s laws in regard to someone breaking into a house.

Many people are familiar with the Castle Doctrine. The law protects the right of homeowners to use deadly force if they feel endangered when someone is breaking into their home. The law has been in place for many years, but some attorneys say the law and similar ones are causing safety concerns.

MO: Missouri House OKs Bill That Could Allow Babysitters, Bar Patrons, And Shoppers To Use Deadly Force
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But whether McGaugh knows it or not, the text of the bill suggests it is far broader, potentially authorizing individuals in any privately owned space where they are authorized to be � including sports stadiums, retail shops, bars, and restaurants � to use deadly force against perceived unlawful entrants. The bill states that force is permitted against a person who �unlawfully enters, remains after unlawfully entering, or attempts to unlawfully enter private property that is owned or leased by an individual, or is occupied by an individual who has been given specific authority by the property owner to occupy the property, claiming a justification of using protective force under this section.�

FL: Man uses machete to fend off attacker
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A man who lent rides around Sebring on Monday to someone he met that morning found himself attacked by the man the same evening.

He had to force the man out of his car and away from him with a machete he kept for protection, but in the process, the rider took and lost the man�s ignition key.

...

A police officer retrieved the machete and secured it in a patrol car while investigating the scene. No charges were filed on Rawlings. Sebring Cmdr. Steve Carr said Florida law permits self-defense against a physical attack.

Winchester�s Super X Pump Marine Defender Awarded Shooting Illustrated�s �Shotgun of the Year� Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
When the NRA recognizes one of your products for its coveted Golden Bullseye Award, it�s truly an honor. Such was the case at the recent NRA consumer show in Indianapolis, Indiana when the Winchester Super X Pump Marine Defender was awarded Shotgun of the Year by Shooting Illustrated Magazine.

WV: Charlotte Lane and the Right to Bear Bazookas
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�The Second Amendment means that we have a right to bear arms,� Lane said. �I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. I am a member of the NRA (National Rifle Association). And I will not do anything that will diminish the Second Amendment protections that we have under the constitution.�

Kercheval asked whether there were any �limitations on an individuals ability to keep and bear arms.�

Lane said �not that I�m aware of.�

Kercheval then asked � �so I could have a bazooka?�

�Yes,� Lane answered matter of factly.