Category: RKBA

Bill allowing permitless carrying of handguns advances to Texas Senate floor, where its fate remains uncertain

A Texas bill that would allow people to carry handguns without a permit quickly sailed Thursday out of a state Senate committee recently created to specifically tackle the legislation.

The move marks a significant step for the controversial proposal that for years struggled to gain momentum in either chamber of the Texas Legislature. But it remains to be seen whether the measure — already passed by the Texas House — has enough support to make it out of the Senate and to the desk of Gov. Greg Abbott.

The proposal would nix the requirement for Texas residents to obtain a license to carry handguns if they’re not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a gun. Texans would also no longer be required to receive training before carrying a handgun in public.

Texans under current state law must generally be licensed to carry handguns, either openly or concealed. Some law enforcement officers, concealed carry license instructors and Democrats have voiced opposition to the legislation, citing safety concerns.

The Senate Special Committee on Constitutional Issues voted 5-2 along party lines to advance the measure to the Senate floor Thursday. The Texas House gave its approval to House Bill 1927 earlier this month, marking a win for gun rights activists who have for years pushed the measure at the Legislature. But the lower chamber’s approval was also a blow to some Democrats who have been fighting for gun safety measures since the 2019 massacre in El Paso.

“We cannot allow another session to come and go where we pay lip service to the Second Amendment, while failing to fully restore and protect the God given rights to our citizens,” said state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, the bill’s sponsor in the Senate.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Senate, created the special committee last week and stacked it with supporters of the permitless carry proposal. Schwertner, a strong proponent of gun rights, was tapped to chair the committee. Patrick said Thursday he is “optimistic” about the legislation’s chances of passing even though he is still rounding up the necessary votes.

“We’re gonna come out with a strong bill, and I’ll believe we’ll pass it because we brought people together,” Patrick told conservative radio host Dana Loesch on Thursday afternoon. “And hopefully it’ll be on the governor’s desk soon, and we’ll get it signed.”

Before even taking up the bill or hearing from the more than 170 people who signed up to testify, Schwertner opened the hearing by declaring his intent to advance the measure out of committee on Thursday and to the Senate floor next week.

“We’re moving with all deliberate speed on this bill now because now more than ever Texans want to make sure that their Second Amendment rights are not only protected, but restored,” Schwertner said………………..

U. OF PENNSYLVANIA CAPITULATES; APPROVES HUNTING, ARCHERY, AND SHOOTING CLUB.

PHILADELPHIA, April 29, 2021 — After more than a year in limbo, the University of Pennsylvania’s Hunting, Archery, and Shooting Club is officially a recognized student group.

Under pressure from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and with help from FIRE Legal Network attorney Patricia Hamill, the university relented this week and processed the group’s registration.

On March 17, FIRE called on Penn to stop engaging in viewpoint discrimination and promptly recognize the club.

“We are pleased that Penn finally hit the mark,” said FIRE Senior Program Officer Zach Greenberg. “However, the approval is long overdue. It should not take a year for a university to make good on its promises to uphold students’ rights.”

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WaPo/ABC poll: Enthusiasm drops for gun-control legislation — but why?

Context matters, and so does polling consistency. The Washington Post/ABC News poll taken in 2018 after the Parkland mass shooting demonstrated a peak of enthusiasm for gun-control laws, 57/34. Three years later, that has shifted sixteen points in the gap, 50/43. So what happened?……..

So why has there been such a loss of enthusiasm for gun control? We’d know better if the WaPo/ABC polling units committed to proper interval polling on public opinion, but it’s likely due to the Democratic embrace of ‘abolish/defund the police’ sloganeering and a sharp rise in crime, especially violent crime, over the past year. If we’re abolishing or rolling back police departments, then self-defense becomes even more crucial as crime rises. Democrats are trying to argue two entirely contradictory points at the same time — that only cops should have guns, and that we shouldn’t have cops……….

n.b. Texas’ legislature only convenes every other year, and then only for 140 days with the Governor having the power to call special sessions. So………..

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Says He Will Sign Constitutional Carry Bill

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) says he supports constitutional carry for Texas and will sign legislation with a permit requirement if it reaches his desk.

On April 16, 2021, Breitbart News reported the Texas House passed legislation to abolish the requirement that law-abiding citizens get a permit from the state government before carrying a concealed handgun for self-defense.

KVUE/Texas Tribune notes when the legislation first appeared in the Senate, there did not appear to be enough support to pass it. However, “momentum” for passage of the legislation is now growing at an “unprecedented” rate in the state Senate.

Abbott is speaking about the possibility of ending the permit requirement.

On April 27, 2021, Abbott told WBAP radio that he will sign the legislation if it reaches his desk.

Abbott said, “Once the Senate passes it out, the House and Senate will convene and work out any differences and get it to my desk. And I’ll be signing it.”

Currently, 20 states do not require residents to acquire a permit before carrying a concealed handgun for self-defense: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. (NOTE: Tennessee’s constitutional carry law goes into effect July 1, 2021.)

New Group Wants To Harness Buying Power Of Government To Push Gun Control

A new outfit called the Gun Safety Consortium is hoping to advance the gun control agenda, but not necessarily through legislation. The group, which is made up of mayors, police chiefs, and other public officials, say they want to use the purchasing power of local governments to compel firearms manufacturers to adopt policies and practices favored by gun control advocates, starting with so-called smart gun technology.

“This is a group that has decided to take local action to create a market that doesn’t exist or up until now hasn’t existed,” Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said.

The Gun Safety Consortium met Tuesday morning to call for smart gun technology, or innovative gun locks that will keep firearms secure, as data shows that more than half of registered gun owners in the country don’t keep their weapon locked up because they want quick access to it.

“I think any time you talk gun violence, you have to have a multiprong approach and it has to be multifaceted and this is just one of the facets of a gun prevention and gun violence initiative,” Lansing Police Chief Daryl Green said.

Quick-release gun locks or tracking technology are some of the proposed ideas.

The group hopes to use its purchasing power, made up of 31 jurisdictions — including cities, counties and individual law enforcement entities — to buy the products and encourage others to do the same.

“Government buys four out of every 10 guns sold in America, 40%, and when you combine military and law enforcement, it made sense that we could have a consumer revolution,” Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said.

Here’s the thing; it’s not legislation that’s preventing “smart gun” tech from coming to market. It’s a lack of consumer demand. The reason why no market exists is because few gun owners are interested. What the new gun control group is hoping to do is to create an artificial demand for these products with the expectation that the industry will automatically follow suit.

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6 out of 11 states that have gone from No/May Issue to Shall Issue/Permit-Less Carry since 1999 have seen their murder rates DECREASE in the years they allowed concealed carry

Source spreadsheet

The point being that there being no correlation between concealed carry and gun violence, which is significant in that it undercuts most of the rationale behind those people who want gun control.

The Right to Bear Arms: A Constitutional Right of the People or a Privilege of the Ruling Class?

This is the first scholarly study of the history of the right to bear and carry arms outside of the home, a right held dear by Americans before, during, and after the Founding period; it rebuts attempts by anti-gun advocates to rewrite history and “cancel” the Founding generation’s lived experiences bearing firearms.

The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the individual right to keep and bear arms, but courts in states that have extreme gun control restrictions apply tests that balance the right away. This book demonstrates that the right peaceably to carry firearms is a fundamental right recognized by the text of the Second Amendment and is part of our American history and tradition.

Halbrook’s scholarly work is an exhaustive historical treatment of the fundamental, individual right to carry firearms outside of the home. Halbrook traces this right from its origins in England through American colonial times, the American Revolution, the Constitution’s ratification debates, and then through the antebellum and post-bellum periods, including the history surrounding the enactment of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

This book is another important contribution by Halbrook to the scholarship concerning the text, history and tradition of the Second Amendment’s right to bear and carry arms.

Former Federal Prosecutor: ‘More Gun Control Laws Not the Answer’

Writing Friday at the Dallas Morning News, a former federal prosecutor reached what may have been an unpleasant realization by acknowledging, “More gun control laws would not have prevented what happened in Dallas, Atlanta or Boulder.”

Erin Nealy Cox, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, also stated a fact routinely lost or at least misunderstood by the press and public: “There’s no question that we need to limit access to weapons for these extremists, but contrary to the popular view that such limitations don’t exist, those of us in law enforcement know that they do.”

Translation, though Cox may not realize it, is that criminals—including people intent on doing great harm though they have no prior criminal record—do not obey gun laws.

The country does have background checks, even at gun shows. Unlike voting, gun buyers must show photo ID to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

Simultaneous to Cox’s Op-Ed in the Dallas Morning News, Rutgers political science Professor Ross K. Baker laments at USA Today that “gun control is a lost cause.”

“What kills (gun control) efforts in Congress,” Baker complains, “is the recognition in the minds of politicians that there are voters in their states and districts who are Second Amendment absolutists, whether they be the kind of people who shoot at targets for practice or those who might shoot at people because of malice or derangement.”

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Kansas Governor Laura Kelly Vetoes Pair of Pro-Gun Measures

U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- Governor Laura Kelly has vetoed two pro-gun bills that were previously passed with an overwhelming majority from both chambers of the Kansas Legislature.  Both measures will head back to the legislature where your lawmakers will vote to OVERRIDE Governor Kelly’s veto.  It is imperative that you contact your Lawmakers and ask them to OVERRIDE Governor Laura Kelly’s Veto of House Bill 2058 and House Bill 2089.

CLICK HERE TAKE ACTION!

Proposed by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, House Bill 2058 does the following:

  • Recognizes all out-of-state concealed carry permits, and allows those who have been licensed to carry a firearm for self-defense, to do so lawfully in Kansas.  This legislation recognizes that visitors to Kansas should not be left defenseless simply by crossing a state line.
  • Allows individuals who are 18 to 20 years of age to apply for a Kansas concealed carry permit.
  • Authorizes the Attorney General to issue an alternative license to carry a concealed handgun to qualified applicants during a declared state of disaster emergency.
  • Creates a Restoration of Rights process for individuals to reestablish the Second Amendment right to possess a firearm upon expungement of certain convictions.

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Substitute House Bill 2089 directs the state Board of Education to establish grade-appropriate curricula guidelines to teach firearm safety to K-12 students, based on NRA’s Eddie Eagle GunSafe® program, and/or the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism’s existing Hunter Education In Our Schools. Individual school district boards are to have the choice whether they wish to provide gun safety education under these standards. This gives the flexibility to school boards and parents to decide what gun safety education is appropriate for their communities and school children. Developing these standards by drawing from proven, existing programs results in cost savings for the taxpayers.

Again, please contact your State Senator and State Representative and ask them to OVERRIDE Governor Kelly’s Veto of House Bill 2058 and House Bill 2089.

Harris Calls On Congress To Pass Gun Control

If there’s one person who probably wants to take away your gun rights more than President Joe Biden, it’s Vice President Kamala Harris. Gun control was a major point for both of their campaigns during the primary. While they downplayed it during the general election, it was always there. They just didn’t make a big thing of it until after the general election.

While Biden is trying to do what he can, the fact remains that Harris wants to see gun control pass.

Now, she’s demanding it.

Vice President Kamala Harris is urging lawmakers to pass what she says are “reasonable gun safety laws.”

During an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash that aired on Sunday, Harris was asked why President Joe Biden is not focusing more on the issue of gun violence after it was reported that there were at least 45 mass shootings in March 2021.

She responded by noting that last month Biden took six executive actions aimed at curbing gun violence. She said, “There is only so much, however, that a president can do through executive action. This president, Joe Biden, has a long-standing history of speaking very clearly and unambiguously about the need for smart gun safety laws.”

“Congress has to act because we have to codify… make permanent, make the law. That we agree we should have background checks, that’s just reasonable safety laws. We should have an assault weapons ban. Assault weapons have been designed to kill a lot of people quickly. They are weapons of war,” she added.

When asked if she believed Congress would take action on gun control legislation, Harris responded, “It has to happen.”

Nah, it really doesn’t.

You see, we have background checks. The vast majority of firearm sales go through a background check process already. The media and anti-gun politicians like to pretend they don’t, but that’s simply not the case. Further, it’s already illegal to sell a gun to anyone you have reason to believe may not be eligible to have a firearm.

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Gun Control Advocate Declares Movement “Lost Cause”

Rutgers University political science professor Ross Baker thinks we have too many guns in this country and not enough gun control laws. He also thinks the gun control movement that he’s a part of is a lost cause, declaring in a new column at USA Today that it stands alongside “legitimating polygamy and scrapping the national anthem for something more singable” in the pantheon of failed movements.

Obviously Baker isn’t happy about this, but he does seem to be seriously giving up on the idea that Americans are ever going to wholeheartedly embrace a gun ban agenda.

The brief flicker of hope that somehow the financial problems of the National Rifle Association, and the profligate spending of members’ dues by one its top executives, might stifle the effectiveness of the opposition to even the most modest efforts to control firearms or reduce their lethality became an iridescent dream — and seemed to prove that the organization itself was never much of a factor in blocking gun-control legislation.

As my colleague Tom Knighton pointed out recently, despite its legal challenges, the NRA hasn’t disappeared. In fact, it’s launching a $2-million campaign to defeat Joe Biden’s ATF nominee. Still Baker is on to something; the power of the NRA comes from its members, not its executives. And who are those members? Millions of American gun owners, and even if the Second Amendment organization were to be dissolved by the New York Attorney General, those gun owners aren’t suddenly going to decide that their right to keep and bear arms is unimportant to them. In fact, I’d imagine that an assault like that would end up energizing millions more gun owners to become politically active.

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Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act – A Threat To Privacy

The gun grabbing circus lead by Nanny Bloomberg’s Moms Demand Action, Everytown, Giffords, Brady United (Handgun Control Inc.), etc. would just love to see every protection for responsible gun owners abolished. Coming from none other than Senator Bob Menendez, from the freedom crushing land of New Jersey, is S. 974: Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act. The bill’s description is a little misleading, “To repeal certain impediments to the administration of the firearms laws.” If you start to dig through what on earth this is or might be all about, you’ll be greeted by a nice pile of legalese gobbledygook, but the intent is clear; to destroy the privacy protections for gun owners built into current law and to lay the groundwork for a national gun registry.

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Here’s How Montana Is Protecting Itself from Biden’s Gun Control Orders

President Joe Biden’s gun control executive orders are bad enough.

He raised even further concerns though when, in announcing these orders, he claimed that “no amendment — no amendment to the Constitution is absolute… the idea is just bizarre to suggest that some of the things we’re recommending are contrary to the Constitution.” Americans are understandably concerned then that their Second Amendment rights are at risk.

Fortunately, Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) on Friday signed into law H.B. 258, which will protect gun owners in Montana from federal gun control laws.

Today, I proudly signed Rep. Hinkle’s law prohibiting federal overreach into our Second Amendment-protected rights, including any federal ban on firearms.

I will always protect our #2A right to keep and bear arms. pic.twitter.com/2xY8DeEtqf

— Governor Greg Gianforte (@GovGianforte) April 23, 2021

According to Iris Samuels with AP, the legislation “prohibits state and local law enforcement in Montana from enforcing federal bans on firearms, ammunition and magazines.”

As proof that a change in administrations really can make a difference, the former Gov. Steve Bullock had vetoed such legislation multiple times before, Samuels reported, in 2013, 2015, and 2017.

Bullock ran a failed presidential campaign in the Democratic primary and was also defeated by the Republican incumbent, Sen. Steve Daines during his senatorial campaign. As governor, Bullock vetoed a host of Republican measures, another one being born-alive legislation, which would require that babies born alive from abortions be provided medical care.

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Montana Gov Is Latest to Sign State Bill Nullifying Federal Gun Restrictions

Gov. Greg Gianforte on Friday signed a bill that prohibits state and local law enforcement in Montana from enforcing federal bans on firearms, ammunition and magazines.

Supporters of the law have said it would protect the Second Amendment from stiffer gun control laws that could come from federal legislation or executive orders by President Joe Biden in the wake of several mass shootings that took place this year, including a shooting last week that killed eight people in Indianapolis.

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Virginia Gun Groups Sue City Of Winchester Over Gun Control Ordinance

Four gun rights groups led by the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) have filed a lawsuit against the City of Winchester and Police Chief John Piper, in his official capacity, challenging the city’s adoption of an ordinance banning firearms in certain locations, alleging the ban “violates no fewer than four provisions of the Virginia Constitution. Winchester Virginia gun ordinance

Joining VCDL are the Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, U.S. Law Shield of Virginia Stonewall Arms, and four private citizens. They are represented by attorneys Gilbert Ambler of Winchester, Robert J. Olson, William J. Olson, Winchester, and David G. Browne, Richmond. The 42-page lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court for the City of Winchester, which is located in northeast Virginia, a few miles northwest of Washington, D.C.

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BLUF:
Share of Americans who favor stricter gun laws has declined since 2019

Amid a Series of Mass Shootings in the U.S., Gun Policy Remains Deeply Divisive
Declining support among Republicans for ban on assault-style weapons, national gun registry

Link to PDF

In an era marked by deep divisions between Republicans and Democrats, few issues are as politically polarizing as gun policy. While a few specific policy proposals continue to garner bipartisan support, the partisan divisions on other proposals – and even on whether gun violence is a serious national problem – have grown wider over the last few years.

Today, just over half of Americans (53%) say gun laws should be stricter than they currently are, a view held by 81% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents but just 20% of Republicans and Republican leaners. Similarly, while nearly three-quarters of Democrats (73%) say making it harder to legally obtain guns would lead to fewer mass shootings, only 20% of Republicans say this, with most (65%) saying this would have no effect.

The new national survey by Pew Research Center, conducted from April 5-11, 2021 among 5,109 adults, finds that 73% of Democrats consider gun violence to be a very big problem for the country today, compared with just 18% of Republicans who say the same. The current partisan gap on this question is 11-percentage-points wider than in 2018 and 19 points wider than in 2016.

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OKLAHOMA PASSES SECOND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY STATE ACT

The Oklahoma House of Representatives just passed Senate Bill (SB 631) the “Second Amendment Sanctuary Act“ yesterday afternoon (04-20-21). Across the country more and more states are introducing legislation to uphold the 2nd Amendment and refuse any additional gun control measures from Federal, state, county and even local governments. This would mean that the state of Oklahoma wouldn’t adhere to, or enforce, any new gun control measures such as bans, buy backs, capacity limits or other restrictions that may be introduced in the future. This would include both legislation as well as executive orders. 

(SB 631) will now head to Governor Kevin Stitt’s desk for final approval and signature. Chances are better than good that the Governor will sign it and Oklahoma will join the ever growing list of states who have proclaimed themselves as Second Amendment Sanctuaries and have passed similar legislation. There was a rally yesterday (04-20-21) at the state capitol as pro Second Amendment supporters gathered to celebrate and show their appreciation to our state lawmakers for passing the bill. (SB 631) is just one of many bills Oklahoma legislators are working on to protect and uphold the citizen’s right to keep and bear arms. There’s lot of misinformation about the new bill and what it does. Here’s a quick look at what SB 631 says:

SECTION 2 (A) “The State Legislature hereby occupies and preempts the entire field of legislation by the federal government, any agency of this state or any political subdivision in this state to infringe upon the rights of a citizen of the State of Oklahoma, the unalienable right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed to them by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

SECTION 2 (B) Any federal, state, county or municipal act, law, executive order, administrative order, court 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.”

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Gun Control Stupidity.

Of all the infringements of our basic right to self-protection, affirmed by the second amendment of the United States Constitution, HR-127, the bill proposed by Sheila Jackson Lee earlier this year, is the most egregious, the most dangerous, and the most blatantly unconstitutional.

For starters, it would make millions of people across the nation felons overnight. Countless gun owners over the age of 18 yet under the age of 21 will be forced to turn in their legally obtained and owned firearms or otherwise become felons. Millions of other gun owners will be forced to turn in legally obtained firearms and firearm accessories or else become felons. Those few firearms left will be subject to a burdensome tax and worse will be made a matter of public record, so that no burglar will ever need to worry about which houses to violate.

Any national gun registry will make the home addresses of all peaceful, law-abiding gun owners a matter of public record. Those who wish to rob and murder in safety, those who wish to initiate violence against those who consider gun owners their political opponents, and in the event of a total war with a country able to match the military might of our own will have a list of all men and women in the country in possession of a firearm.

This is all if the bill is passed peacefully, which it won’t. People will not allow their rights to be violated especially as people from both sides of the aisle have spent a year normalizing political violence. All law enforcement officers will all be forced to resign else they be considered oath breakers and stand for eternity with the likes of Marcus Junius Brutus, Benedict Arnold, and Damien Jones the man who the sponsor of this bill, Sheila Jackson Lee, protected from accusations of sexual assault by firing the aide who reported his abuse.

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