Government – Page 13

Senate passes Kennedy amendment protecting veterans’ Second Amendment rights

The Senate passed an amendment introduced by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., that protects veterans’ Second Amendment rights if the Department of Veterans Affairs steps in to manage their financial benefits.

The Senate voted 53 to 45 Wednesday in approval of the amendment.

“Veterans who sacrificed to defend our Constitution shouldn’t see their own rights rest on the judgment of unelected bureaucrats—but right now, they do,” Kennedy told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

“My amendment would prevent government workers from unduly stripping veterans of their right to bear arms. Every veteran who bravely serves our country has earned VA benefits, and it’s wrong for the government to punish veterans who get a helping hand to manage those resources.”

Under current law, the Department of Veterans Affairs reports a veteran’s name to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System when they seek help managing their finances in a conservatorship.

“If a veteran who defended this country has to go to the VA and ask for help managing his or her financial affairs, the VA automatically reports that veteran to the FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System . . . and that veteran loses his firearm,” Kennedy said on the floor of the Senate Wednesday. “Automatically. No due process.”

The amendment was spearheaded by Kennedy and fellow Republican Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas, who championed the measure in June as one that would “would prevent government workers from unduly stripping veterans of their right to bear arms.”

“All our amendment would do, would be able would be to say: The VA, just because you’ve asked for help with your money, can not automatically take away your firearm or report you to [the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System] unless a judge has ruled that that veteran is a danger to himself or to others,” Kennedy said on the Senate floor Wednesday.

The executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, the gun rights group’s lobbying arm, applauded the amendment’s passage and Sens. Kennedy and Moran for leading the charge on the bill.

“The men and women who volunteer to defend the Constitution deserve to be protected by the same Constitution for which they risk life and limb,” NRA-ILA Executive Director Randy Kozuch exclusively told Fox News Digital Wednesday.

“It is a national embarrassment that anti-gun bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., have gotten away with unilaterally stripping veterans of their rights for decades. On behalf of millions of NRA members, many of whom are veterans, we applaud Senators Kennedy and Moran for leading on this important issue,” Kozuch continued.

Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy argued against the amendment Wednesday, claiming it would arm “mentally incompetent” veterans and lead to “a death sentence for scores of deeply mentally ill veterans.”

The passage comes after Kennedy said last week that he had struck a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on the amendment after holding up the bill funding the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and military construction, the Hill previously reported.

“The original position was they wanted me to pull my amendment down, and I said ‘No,’” he told the Hill.

Georgia Lieutenant Gov Wants To Pay Teachers $10,000 Annually To Carry Guns On Campuses

Georgia Republican Lieutenant Gov. Burt Jones unveiled legislation on Wednesday that would annually pay school teachers $10,000 to carry a gun at school in an effort to increase safety on campuses.

“One of the most critical duties we have as public servants is to protect those who are most vulnerable – including all of Georgia’s children,” Jones said in a news release.

Jones said the legislation would use state funding to ensure Georgia’s school systems and teachers have the option to receive proper firearms training and certification. The plan also calls for stricter guidelines for existing school safety plans and to distribute more money to schools that hire school resource officers with police certification, The Associated Press reported.

“We feel like this is the best way to prepare faculty, but also prepare law enforcement and the system however we can,” Jones reportedly said at Austin Road Elementary School in Winder on Wednesday, adding the state should take more “proactive” measures to prevent school shootings.

Republican State Sens Max Burns and Clint Dixon joined the Lt. Gov. in crafting the 2024 legislative priority to increase school safety, contending that protecting children and their classrooms is their first responsibility.

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Oklahoma Ban on Sex Changes for Minors Upheld by Federal District Court
Judge has ruled that the state law banning procedures or therapies for children under 18 doesn’t violate parents’ constitutional rights

U.S. District Court Judge John F. Heil has ruled that an Oklahoma state law banning sex-change procedures on children was constitutional and therefore could be enforced.

The ruling on Oct. 5, 2023, came as a result of a motion for injunctive relief to restrain the state from implementing the law.

Five young people identifying as transgender and in some degree of transition, their parents or legal guardians, and a health care provider are the plaintiffs in the case.

The defendant is Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican.

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[Florida AG] Ashley Moody Releases Legal Opinion, Insists ATF Infringed on Gun Rights

This week, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody released a legal opinion regarding the use of stabilizing braces for handguns in Florida.

Moody issued the opinion in response to a request from state Rep. Shane Abbott, R-DeFuniak Springs, to provide clarity on Florida law following a recently released Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) interpretation of a federal law. The ATF interpretation subjects handguns with stabilizing braces to National Firearms Act controls. Moody issued an opinion on a similarly worded provision of Florida law concluding that stabilizing braces are not short-barreled rifles.

“The Second Amendment is alive and well in Florida and our state laws protect the gun rights of law-abiding citizens. We issued this important legal opinion to provide clarity about our state law as the federal government continues to overreach in an effort to over-regulate certain firearm accessories,” said Moody.

The opinion deals solely with Florida state law and has no bearing on the ATF’s action. The opinion states: “Unless and until judicially or legislatively clarified, I conclude that the definition of ‘short-barreled rifle,’ which the Legislature enacted in 1969, does not include a handgun, such as a pistol, to which a person attaches a stabilizing brace, because the use of such an optional accessory does not change the fundamental characteristics of the handgun.” Separately, the state of Florida is challenging the ATF interpretation.

Republicans push ahead with attempt to impeach governor over Albuquerque gun ban

A pair of Republican lawmakers are pushing ahead with an effort to impeach Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham over a gun ban that has been called unconstitutional and thrust New Mexico into the national debate on gun violence.

The effort, however, faces an uphill battle in the state Legislature, where Democrats control both chambers.

Reps. John Block of Alamogordo and Stefani Lord of Sandia Park this week launched a certificate form for lawmakers to sign calling for an extraordinary session to impeach Lujan Grisham over an executive order prohibiting carrying open or concealed firearms in public in Albuquerque and across Bernalillo County.

“The U.S. Constitution is absolute and designed to protect the rights of the people against tyrannical decisions like Governor Lujan [Grisham] attempted to do,” Lord, a staunch gun rights advocate, said in a statement.

Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo, at the Capitol in January during the legislative session.

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Albuquerque city council members call for special session on crime, with a catch

In the wake of her ill-fated and constitutionally unsound attempt to suspend the right to bear arms in Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo County, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has resisted appeals from some of her fellow Democrats to call lawmakers back to Santa Fe for a special session on “gun violence”. Instead, the governor has chosen to continue going it alone; revising her emergency public health order last week and scaling back its concealed carry prohibitions to apply only to parks and playgrounds in the city and county in the hopes of convincing a judge to let her revised order stand.

Still, a growing number of voices are demanding a special session to deal with “gun violence”, including several members of the Albuquerque City Council. But in a sign of just how unpopular the governor’s unilateral order disarming law-abiding citizens is among rank-and-file voters, the request for a special session comes with a caveat

“When we’re talking crime here in Albuquerque, we are one of the most dangerous cities in America,” says Albuquerque City Councilwoman Brook Bassan.…

The governor announced she would not call a special session for crime after Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen publicly urged her to. Now, Albuquerque city councilors are weighing in. Councilors Dan Lewis, Brooke Bassan, Louie Sanchez, and Renee Grout are introducing a resolution urging the governor to call a special session to specifically address crime.

“This is about making sure that we do everything we can. And we ask our governor for the support that we need so that she can do everything she can to help us while we also take some accountability,” says Bassan.

In addition to addressing the drug and mental health concerns, the resolution says a special session is needed to address reforming the pretrial detention system. Officials are calling for funding of the warrant program for the next five years and passing legislation to impose a lifetime sentence for repeat offenders who use firearms.

Virtually all of the gun control measures that Grisham has been demanding are notably absent from the resolution offered by the city council members; banning so-called assault weapons, raising the age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21, and imposing a 14-day waiting period on all gun transfers in the state. Instead, the resolution is focused squarely on punishing violent offenders rather than targeting lawful gun owners.

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Kansas Will No Longer Allow Residents To Change Gender On Birth Certificates.

Kansas will no longer allow people to change the gender on their birth certificate after Republicans passed a law enshrining the biological definition of woman into law.

The state’s health department was compelled to follow the law after Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach sued to stop state agencies from allowing people who say they are transgender to be able to change the gender on public documents.

After a legal back and forth, Kobach won in court, and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said on Friday that it could “no longer process gender identity amendments to birth certificates.”

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Observation O’ The Day
Providers are moving very quickly from denying they ever did these kinds of things to sounding resentful that they’re no longer allowed to.
-Stephen Green

St Louis Children’s Hospital will no longer perform sex changes on minors.

The Washington University Transgender Center at Saint Louis Children’s Hospital will no longer prescribe puberty blockers or sex hormones to minors for purposes of gender transition, as a result of a new law in Missouri.

In a letter to staff obtained by The Post Millennial, Dr. David H Perlmutter, the executive vice chancellor for medical affairs of Washington University’s School of Medicine told staff at the center that following a review, “We have now reached a point where we can no longer continue to operate the center in the same way.”

He specifically cited “Missouri’s newly enacted law regarding transgender care” that has “created a new legal claim for patients who receive these medications as minors. This legal claim creates unsustainable liability for healthcare professionals and makes it untenable for us to continue to provide comprehensive transgender care for minor patients without subjecting the university and our providers to an unacceptable level of liability.”

“For this reason, we have made the difficult decision to no longer allow Washington University physicians to prescribe puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to minors for purposes of gender transition.”

Pearlmutter did note that the transgender center “…will continue to offer other services including education and mental health support for all patients and medical care for patients over the age of 18.”

Earlier this year, the Republican-controlled Missouri legislature passed two bills, one which banned sex changes for minors and prohibited biological men from competing in women’s sports.

The legislation was signed into law by Republican Gov. Mike Parson and bans giving minors puberty blockers, hormones, and sex change surgery. It also blocks prisoners and inmates from receiving surgical sex changes. Additionally, the bill prevents Medicaid from covering the cost of these surgeries in the entire state.

In April, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey signed an emergency order placing restrictions on experimental sex changes following an investigation into the whistleblower accusations of malpractice at the center.

Group sues after New Mexico governor suspends right to carry guns in Albuquerque in public

Seems everyone else concerned know the goobernor stepped in it.
The most salient part of the article is this ⇓.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, who once served as a Democratic party leader and was appointed by Lujan Grisham, on Saturday joined Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and Police Chief Harold Medina saying they wouldn’t enforce the order.

“As an officer of the court, I cannot and will not enforce something that is clearly unconstitutional,” said Bregman, the top prosecutor in the Albuquerque area. “This office will continue to focus on criminals of any age that use guns in the commission of a crime.”

Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said he was uneasy about how gun owners might respond.

“I am wary of placing my deputies in positions that could lead to civil liability conflicts,” Allen said, “as well as the potential risks posed by prohibiting law-abiding citizens from their constitutional right to self-defense.”

Saturday is Constitutional Carry Day in Nebraska!

On Saturday, September 2^nd, constitutional carry and statewide preemption laws will take effect in Nebraska. Thanks to the significant victories from this year’s legislative session, law-abiding citizens can exercise their Second Amendment right to carry firearms for self-defense without unnecessary government interference and can exercise their rights freely across the state without having to navigate a patchwork of local gun control ordinances.

The NRA is grateful to Senator Tom Brewer for championing this legislation and all the Nebraska state legislators who fought for these laws to pass. We also thank all of our members and other Second Amendment advocates whose vigilance made this victory possible.

We encourage you to stay engaged, support pro-Second Amendment candidates, and be prepared to defend our rights whenever necessary. Together, we can continue making strides in protecting our cherished heritage and ensuring that future generations enjoy the freedoms bestowed upon us by our Founding Fathers.

Montana leads 18 states in court to strike down Maryland ‘buffer zones’ gun law

EXCLUSIVE — Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R-MT) filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit over a Maryland county law he says is defying the Supreme Court’s landmark Second Amendment test by establishing “unconstitutional” gun-free buffer zones.

A group of 18 attorneys general led by Knudsen filed the brief Monday at the Virginia-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, asking the court to side with plaintiffs who say it is “practically impossible” to carry a gun for personal defense in Maryland’s most populous county, Montgomery County, due to a restrictive gun control law passed in late November.

When asked why Montana sought to intervene over a Maryland county law, Knudsen told the Washington Examiner that the Second Amendment is one of his “personal passion issues.”

“I’m a hunter. I’m a reloader. I’m a competitive shooter. I’m a bit of a gun nut — so I keep a pretty close eye on these things,” Knudsen said. “And I firmly believe that as some of these states go, if left unchallenged, we’ll see this kind of nonsense regulation and, frankly, unconstitutional laws being attempted in other places, not just in Maryland.”

Montana’s assistant solicitor general wrote in the brief first provided to the Washington Examiner that Section 57 of Montgomery County Code “prohibits the sale, transfer, or possession of firearms ‘[i]n or within 100 yards of a place of public assembly.'”

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among others, the mayors of Kansas City and St Lousy are also in for a rude awakening, or so the Missouri Attorney General has said.

OHIO COURT, PHILADELPHIA SUBURBS SHOW IMPORTANCE OF PREEMPTION LAWS

Neighboring states of Ohio and Pennsylvania are offering lessons in real time of what happens when gun control politicians ignore laws and create barriers for the firearm industry. Gun control politicians, acting on behalf of gun control activists, create havoc and disarray when they foist their own restrictive gun control policies that aren’t in step with state law.

Ohio’s Tenth District Court of Appeals overturned a lower court’s decision to grant an injunction that allowed the City of Columbus to enact their own gun control laws. The appeals court found that Columbus’ attempt to block the state from enforcing uniform laws for firearms was incorrectly granted, since it was sought years after the challenge and after Columbus enacted their own ordinances that barred standard capacity magazines and firearm storage mandates.

Ohio is one of 42 states that have what is called a “preemption” law. That means authority to enact laws that regulate firearms resides with the state legislature and not local municipalities. Those laws protect from cities and towns creating a patchwork of gun control laws that would ensnare state citizens traveling throughout the state.

“The court’s ruling assures that all Ohioans must abide by the same law, state law, when it comes to firearms,” said Ohio’s Attorney General Dave Yost in a press release following the court’s ruling. “Just like we argued in court, firearms owners statewide should have to follow the same rules.”

When It’s Gun Control, Though…
It’s a law gun control advocates ignore when it is convenient. When it comes to enforcing overreaching gun control laws, gun control politicians demand strict adherence and strict enforcement.

Oregon passed their Measure 114 that outlaws standard capacity magazines and requires police to maintain an electronic, searchable firearm permit database, provide additional hands-on firearm training and fingerprint applicants for firearm purchase permits, at least five county sheriffs said they wouldn’t enforce the gun control law, calling it a violation of Second Amendment rights. NSSF is challenging that law in federal court.

Oregon’s Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum had previous dust-ups over Second Amendment issue with county sheriffs and cited a state law requiring them to arrest and imprison “all persons who break the peace, or attempt to break it, and all persons guilty of public offenses.”

“Thus, a sheriff and deputies have a statutory duty to enforce state criminal laws,” AG Rosenblum wrote in a petition of earlier clashes with sheriffs over Second Amendment concerns.

New Mexico’s Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham clashed with sheriffs in her state in 2020 over “red flag” laws. The head of New Mexico Sheriffs’ Association, Tony Mace, wrote that the law didn’t take Due Process rights into consideration and some sheriffs said they wouldn’t enforce it. Gov. Grisham said sheriffs had no discretion in the matter.

“They cannot not enforce,” she said, according to a CNN report. “And if they really intend to do that, they should resign as a law enforcement officer and leader in that community.”

Zoned Out
The conflict over “home rule” and “self-determination” when it comes to passing a patchwork of gun control laws is playing out now in Lower Merion Township, a suburb of Philadelphia. NPR reported that the town passed a zoning ordinance that would put the only federal firearms licensee, Shot Tec, out of business. Shot Tec doesn’t carry an inventory of firearms. It’s a business that facilitates legal firearm transfers and provides firearm safety classes. Still, town officials want it gone.

Township Commissioner Mike McKeon said the local law is one about zoning and not gun control, yet told NPR, “we’re trying to make everyone feel safer.”

“What the township did is they made it less accessible for people to access their rights and for people to access things like gunsmithing, etc.,” said Shot Tec owner Grant Schmidt, noting his firearm business is the only one in Lower Merion Township.

That’s a sticking point because Pennsylvania has a firearm preemption law. This has been challenged numerous times and was most recently batted down after Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney attempted to ban firearms in city parks and recreation areas. The reason was on account of the state’s General Assembly has the exclusive legal authority to write those laws in the Commonwealth. Pittsburg officials learned that again last year after trying to write their own gun control laws.

The striking irony is that those politicians demanding to pass their own local gun laws aren’t calling for crackdowns on criminals. They’re only demanding that those who obey the law are stripped of their ability to lawfully purchase a firearm. They’re ignoring state law to press a gun control agenda. These are gun control platitudes that run roughshod on state law and ignores criminals that are the real menace to society.

I don’t think this is working out how the gun grabbers wanted

Bill allowing more guns in Tennessee schools moves forward in special session

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — While many gun-related pieces of legislation are not moving forward in the Tennessee General Assembly’s special session on public safety, one firearm bill cleared its first hurdle in committee.

The bill, brought by Rep. Chris Todd (R—Madison County), would allow any law enforcement officer, whether on or off-duty, as well as any member of the armed forces—honorably discharged or not—and anyone with an enhanced handgun carry permit to carry on school grounds or any place used by a school where students would be present.

During discussion in the House Civil Justice Subcommittee, Todd and others argued the bill would help keep schools safer in the event of an emergency before first responders arrive on the scene, but critics and even the Tennessee Department of Safety pushed back, saying it would cause more harm than good.

Elizabeth Stroecker, with the Department of Safety, said the bill would “create a situation where you would have law enforcement potentially coming in not knowing who could be a bad guy or a good guy when someone has a firearm and it’s not clear that they may be a first responder.”

Todd took issue with Stroecker’s claims, arguing whether the department trusted the “trained and permitted individuals your own department has provided permits for.”

“We absolutely trust the people that we permit, but they are not trained or permitted to carry in a school and protect a school and be able to respond to a situation in a school. There is a very big difference in the eight-hour course they take to get the enhanced permit,” Stroecker said.

Todd became even angrier, snapping at Stroecker.

“We literally have administrators in schools and law enforcement that are about to retire or are already retired that are begging us for this legislation, so that they can protect the children that are around them every single day, and you sit here as a representative of our governor that is preventing that!” Todd said.

He was quieted by the committee chairman Rep. Lowell Russell (R—Vonore) before the vote, which saw the bill approved by voice vote. It now moves onto the full Civil Justice Committee.

Other bills, many by Democrats, were killed in multiple committees today by House members. On the Senate side, one committee killed 52 of 55 bills that were on the agenda. The three that survived were priority bills for Speaker Cameron Sexton (R—Crossville).

Tennessee GOP committee warns governor on special session

If Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee was hoping to bring his fellow Republicans around on the idea of a special session to pass his version of a “red flag” law and other gun-related legislation before officially calling the session into being, his hopes were dashed this weekend when the state’s Republican Party Executive Committee adopted a resolution instead asking the governor to drop his plans altogether.

According to the Chattanooga Free Press, the resolution’s language was suggested by committee member Tina Bensiker, who says she’s concerned that many of the ideas that have been floated would violate the rights of Tennessee residents, while failing to take a bite out of violent crime.

“I feel at this point a lot of this is really emotion as opposed to rational and reasoned,” Benkiser added. “My concern, and a lot of others’ concerns, is that some of the proposals we’ve heard really violate due process of law. And that is a fundamental concern. And when you start talking about potentially infringing on people’s constitutional rights, that needs to be thought out over a long period of time with people who have thought, debated, looked at the language and fleshed all that out. Not something to be rushed through.”

Benkiser said she hopes Lee will take heed of the GOP action.

“I understand that people sometimes act out of emotion when something horrendous has happened, as happened here in Nashville, but really to friends of his. I understand that, and I think the natural reaction is to want to do something and to want to do something now. But like I said, when you’re talking about constitutional rights, at the end of the day, you need to take the time to think that out.”

Other committee members are concerned that the statehouse could turn into a circus once the special session gets underway, pointing to the protests on the floor of the state House earlier this year that resulted in the expulsion of two Democratic lawmakers. Those legislators recently won special elections in their heavily Democratic districts and are vowing to introduce a host of gun control measures during the special session, and some on the GOP Executive Committee believe the special session would once again inflame tensions and create a flashpoint for anti-gun activists to rally around.

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WDOC rolls out Restoration of Rights certificates

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (RELEASE) – The Wyoming Department of Corrections (WDOC) has begun accepting applications and evaluating discharging individuals on their eligibility to receive a restoration of rights certificate in the State of Wyoming.

The WDOC is able to begin this process due to a change in Wyoming Statute §7-13-105 that went into effect July 1, 2023, which allows individuals that are convicted as a first time, non-violent felon, to have their right to vote, along with the rights lost as outlined in W.S. §6-10-106 to be restored. The rights restored under W.S. §7-13-105 include the ability to be an elector or juror or to hold any office of honor, trust or profit within this state or to use or knowingly possess any firearm.

The WDOC is accepting applications by mail, by email or in person at the Central Office. For more information in regards to this process, please visit https://corrections.wyo.gov/restoration-of-rights. Senator Eric Barlow, who was the sponsor for the original bill, commented “I am thankful to those who supported allowing more folks who have fulfilled their debt to society to re-engage in the most foundational aspects of citizenship, including the right to hold public office, serve on a jury and exercise their Second Amendment rights. The Legislature recognized the importance of voting rights for these same folks several years ago and I was pleased to assist with that too. I appreciate the Department of Corrections for implementing this program in a timely and efficient manner.”

Louisiana Legislature Overrides Governor’s Veto of Bill Protecting Kids From Transgender Surgeries.

The cultural conflicts that play out in various states become complicated when the legislature and the executive come from different parties. Take Louisiana for example: in the Bayou State, the legislature is heavily Republican, while Gov. John Bel Edwards is a Democrat.

In 2023, the state legislature passed multiple bills that sought to counter the transgender madness that’s sweeping our culture. The legislature voted on and passed three bills: HB81 would have required teachers and school staff to use a child’s birth pronouns unless parents consented to use alternate pronouns; HB466 was Louisiana’s version of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law; and HB648 prohibited gender treatments for minors. As one would expect of a Democrat, Edwards vetoed all three bills.

The GOP-dominated legislature began to work to override the vetoes, but Republicans couldn’t muster enough support to get to the two-thirds majority that the law requires to override the vetoes on HB81 and HB466. However, large majorities in both chambers voted to override Edwards’ veto of HB648, so that bill will become law.

“Thanks to the bi-partisan support of the Louisiana State Senate, we are one step closer to protecting children in Louisiana from experimental chemical and surgical sex change procedures. HB648 has passed both chambers of the state legislature with veto-proof majorities, and the people of Louisiana have made it clear that our children are worth fighting for,” State Rep. Gabe Firment (R-22nd district), who sponsored the bill, said in a statement.
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Press Release: Attorney General Bailey joins 23 states in opposing California’s defacto handgun ban

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced today that his office joined 23 other states in challenging California’s “Unsafe Handgun Act.” The amicus brief supports the California Rifle & Pistol Association’s challenge to the California law aimed at limiting the sale and use of guns in California and nationwide.“The Second Amendment guarantees freedom and security for all Americans. I will not stand idly by while rogue progressive activists in California attempt to eradicate the freedoms of law-abiding gun owners that are enshrined in our Constitution,” said Attorney General Bailey. “I am proud to stand in the gap with my fellow attorneys general to protect our God-given rights.”The State of California aims to use the “Unsafe Handgun Act” to chill firearm commerce. California law requires new semiautomatic handguns to have three components:

A chamber load indicator,
a magazine disconnect mechanism, and
microstamping capability.

Currently, no new gun on the market meets all three of these requirements. California has effectively created hurdles to halt the purchase of all new firearms, a clear violation of the Second Amendment.Joining Missouri in filing the brief are the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Maine Democrats fail in initial try to push gun control through House

AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine House of Representatives defeated a measure Tuesday to enshrine a 72-hour waiting period before gun purchases.

Maine sticks out nationally as a Democratic-controlled state with a strong hunting culture that combines loose gun laws and high levels of gun ownership with lower levels of gun mortality, although federal data from 2021 showed the latter was the highest in New England. Voters in 2016 rejected a referendum on mandatory background checks on private gun sales.

House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, is proposing a similar law this year. The waiting period bill from Rep. Margaret Craven, D-Lewiston, which would have Maine join seven states with similar laws, was a test to see whether the party could display unity on the fraught issue.

But Republicans and a small number of Democrats defeated the waiting period bill in a 73-69 vote on Tuesday evening. It goes to the Senate for additional votes. Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, has taken a dim view of gun control recently.

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Governor Abbott Signs Key Pro-Second Amendment Bills into Law!

Over the weekend, Governor Greg Abbott (R) signed important legislation protecting the privacy rights of lawful firearms purchasers and strengthening the state firearms preemption law. Both measures will take effect on September 1, 2023:

House Bill 2837, by Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler), prohibits financial institutions and credit card companies from requiring licensed dealers to use a firearms-specific merchant category code (MCC) to categorize retail gun purchases, rather than using a general merchandise retailer code or a sporting goods retailer code. It protects the privacy rights of lawful purchasers of firearms or ammunition by preventing payment card processing systems from collecting and misusing this data to surveil, report or disclose these legal transactions.

Gun control advocates successfully pressured activist banks on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to create a unique MCC for licensed gun dealers. Now, they are pushing lawmakers to require credit card companies to use these MCCs to gather data on and track lawful firearms and ammunition purchases. Since the federal government is prohibited by law from creating and maintaining a registry of gun owners, they are attempting to outsource this effort to the private financial sector.

HB 2837 ensures that this will not happen in the Lone Star State! Texas joins Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia in taking swift action this year to enact laws protecting lawful gun purchasers’ privacy when using credit cards at firearm retailers.

House Bill 3137, by Rep. Carrie Isaac (R-Wimberley), expands the state firearms preemption law to prohibit municipalities or counties from requiring firearm owners to obtain liability insurance, preventing such costly, California-style local regulations from being imposed on law-abiding Texas gun owners in the future.

Governor Abbott had already signed a third pro-Second Amendment measure into law back in May: House Bill 1760 by Rep. Cole Hefner (R-Mount Pleasant). The current prohibition in the Texas Penal Code on firearms possession at school-sponsored activities could be interpreted to include countless locations where school field trips, school organization fundraisers and after-school programs occur, including public and private venues that are not owned by, or under the control of, a school. HB 1760 makes it clear that License To Carry holders and permitless carriers in possession of otherwise legal firearms at these locations would not become felons simply because students are present on the same premises. The bill clarifies that it is only an offense to carry a firearm where school activities are taking place if they are being conducted on property that is owned or operated by a school.

Three Pro-Rights Bills Passed by Texas Lawmakers

Three pieces of legislation backed by the National Rifle Association were passed by the Texas Legislature over the weekend and sent to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has already signed one of the measures.

According to the NRA, the three bills are:

House Bill 1760, which has already been signed into law, provides a solution to allegedly “roving gun-free” school zones, which apply to school events occurring away from the school campus. This legislation limits “gun-free” restrictions to facilities actually owned and controlled by schools, or where high school, collegiate and UIL activities described in the State Penal Code (Section 46.03) are held.

House Bill 2837, which is awaiting Abbott’s signature, is designed to protect the privacy rights of people who purchase firearms and ammunition by preventing financial institutions from requiring the use of a firearms-specific merchant category code (MCC) when such purchases are made. This bill thwarts efforts by gun control groups to essentially separate gun and ammunition purchases from other retail buying with a unique MCC as established by the International Organization for Standardization. The NRA contends anti-gunners were looking for a way to create a defacto registry of gun owners, since the federal government is prohibited by law from doing so.

House Bill 3137 prevents local governments (city and/or county) from requiring firearm owners to obtain liability insurance, under the state firearms preemption law.

The gun prohibition lobby portrays Texas as something of a no-man’s land, and the media focuses on mass shootings there, while essentially supporting states such as California, with its strict gun laws, but which also has mass shootings.

Anti-gunners were busy this session in Austin, where, according to NRA figures, there were a dozen bills aimed at so-called “universal background checks,” eight so-called “red flag” bills, nine bills proposing restrictions on magazine capacity, and a whopping 21 bills that would have placed restrictions on firearms or ammunition sales to young adults.