Fauci’s legacy

Judicial Watch Obtains Docs Showing U.S. Funded Wuhan Lab Research From 2013-2020.

Nothing like rewarding scientists from a hostile foreign nation for creating catastrophe! According to documentation obtained by Judicial Watch through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the U.S. government (NIH) didn’t just fund bat coronavirus research at the Wuhan lab leading up to the leak of COVID-19. The government gave another grant for work with the Wuhan lab in July 2020, long after COVID-19 likely leaked from the lab where it was probably created.

There is a lot of significant and interesting information in the Judicial Watch press release about the documentation. This includes EcoHealth Alliance’s initial “Application for Federal Assistance” submitted on June 5, 2013, which said it aimed to create mutant bat viruses and see how coronaviruses infect humans.

To understand the risk of zoonotic CoV [coronavirus] emergence, we propose to examine 1) the transmission dynamics of bat-CoVs across the human-wildlife interface; and 2) how this process is affected by CoV evolutionary potential, and how it might force CoV evolution. We will assess the nature and frequency of contact among animals and people in two critical human-animal interfaces: live animal markets in China and people who are highly exposed to bats in rural China.

The mention of live animal markets is very interesting since global elites tried to claim (and still do) that COVID-19 actually originated in a live animal market in Wuhan. Perhaps it did, but naturally or through this U.S.-funded Chinese lab program? Judicial Watch says:

EcoHealth Alliance’s $3.3 million grant to fund a project titled “Understanding the Risk of Coronavirus Emergence” was initially to run from October 1, 2013, to September 30, 2018. The first “Project/Performance Site Location” is the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Three other Chinese sites follow: East China Normal University in Shanghai, Yunnan Institute of Endemic Disease Control and Prevention in Dali, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Guangdong in Guangzhou.

A 2013 EcoHealth grant application lists a scientist from the Chinese CDC, which is a Chinese government agency. In China, all labs are answerable to the CDC; but, in this case, the link between NIH funding and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government seems disturbingly direct.

The various parts of the projects examined by Judicial Watch include DNA sequencing, “testing predictions of CoV inter-species transmission,” testing viruses of “varying pathogenicity” on “humanized mice,” and “the infectious clone of WIV1 was successfully constructed using reverse genetic methods.” Some scientists previously argued that COVID-19 was created in a lab and then reverse engineered to make the virus seem naturally evolved from bats.

A document dated July 13, 2020, detailed NIH funding (or rather funding from NIH’s NIAID, then headed by Anthony Fauci) and other information for a project titled “Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence.” It was for Peter Daszak’s EcoHealth. NIH increased funding to EcoHealth Alliance, including providing “funds for activity with Wuhan Institute of Virology in the amount of $76,301.” How can NIH possibly excuse this July 2020 grant? The U.S. government should not be funding research in China at all, since all labs are answerable to the anti-U.S. CCP government, but funding research at the Wuhan laboratory after the allegations that COVID-19 was created there and leaked from there is completely unacceptable.

This week, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) released the “bombshell” COVID-19 origins report. It provided evidence to support the lab leak theory of COVID’s origins, with the help of U.S. government funding. Marshall estimated two leaks from the Wuhan lab, with the first one happening by September or October 2019, and possibly as early as July 2019 (a whole year before the Wuhan lab got another NIH grant). The documents obtained by Judicial Watch strengthen the evidence Marshall has.

So the U.S. government funded the research that likely created COVID-19 in a Chinese lab, and continued to fund research at that lab after COVID-19 had been wreaking havoc on the world. If only we could trust our government, and conspiracy theories didn’t keep turning out to be true.

Kansas: Gov. Kelly Signs AG Kobach’s Permit Fee Reduction Bill

Yesterday, Governor Laura Kelly signed Senate Bill 116 into law. This NRA-backed bill eliminates the Attorney General’s $100 fee for concealed carry permits, reducing the total fee to just the $32.50 paid to county sheriffs. Reducing the fee ensures that the permit, and the benefits that it confers in exercising Second Amendment rights, are more accessible to law-abiding citizens of less financial means.

Marksmanship lessons!

Suspect Shot Seven Times In Botched Home Invasion In Bethlehem

BETHLEHEM, PA – Four suspects were charged with robbery and home invasion in Bethlehem Township early Thursday morning, according to District Attorney Terry Houck.

The suspects were identified as Millito Delgado, 45; Michael Matas, 29; Francis Ferrando, 23; and Anthony Santiago, 29. Delgado, Matas, and Ferrando. They are currently in police custody, while Santiago remains at large.

During the home invasion, which occurred at approximately 4 a.m. in the 2000 block of Willow Park Road, four men broke into the residence where three occupants were present.

In an act of self-defense, one of the occupants shot defendants Matas and Ferrando.

Matas suffered seven gunshot wounds to the back and is currently in critical but stable condition, with an expected recovery. Ferrando suffered a single gunshot wound to the leg.

All four defendants are facing charges of 3 counts of Robbery – Attempt Serious Bodily Injury, 2 counts of Possession of Instrument of a Crime, Burglary, Simple Assault, and related charges.

Authorities have stated that there is no danger to the public at this time, and the investigation is ongoing. The affidavit has been sealed to protect the integrity of the investigation.

District Attorney Houck commended the Bethlehem Township Police Department for their swift response to the situation.

“This was first-rate work by the Bethlehem Township Police Department. I want to thank Chief Gregory Gottschall and his officers for their immediate response and attention to detail in this case. Although there is still much to do, I am confident no stone will be unturned in our effort to apprehend the fourth male,” he said.

 

Colorado House panel kills ‘assault weapons’ ban
Four Democrats joined the Colorado House Judiciary Committee’s Republicans to indefinitely postpone the bill.

DENVER — Legislation that sought to ban so-called “assault weapons” died early Thursday morning after three Democrats joined the Colorado House Judiciary Committee’s Republicans to kill the bill on a 7-6 vote.

Shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday, Democratic Reps. Bob Marshall of Highlands Ranch, Said Sharbini of Westminster and Marc Snyder of Colorado Springs voted down the legislation along with their Republican colleagues after a pair of amendments to ban bump stocks and rapid-fire trigger activators were lost.

A subsequent vote to postpone the bill indefinitely drew one additional Democratic vote from Rep. Lindsay Daugherty of Arvada.

The nearly 15-hour hearing, which kicked off Wednesday morning, drew a 2023 record 522 witnesses seeking to testify.

The bill — sponsored by Rep. Elisabeth Epps, D-Denver — has divided the Democrats’ Gun Violence Prevention Caucus, with leading members, such as Sen. Tom Sullivan, D-Centennial, believing other measures, such as his proposal to improve the red flag law, are better solutions to gun violence.

Man shot another on Barnett Street in self-defense

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office released more information Wednesday about a shooting death on Barnett Street last week.

Deputies were called to investigate vandalism in the 2100 block of Barnett Street and found a man suffering from a gunshot wound, KCSO reported Wednesday.

An investigation showed a man forced his way into a house on Barnett Street and another man shot him to defend the homeowner, KCSO said. A gun was recovered, and no one has been arrested.

The victim hasn’t been identified.

Louisville shooter Connor Sturgeon reportedly detailed reasons for rampage in manifesto

The 25-year-old commercial developer wrote a 13-page missive that detailed his motives for gunning down his colleagues during their morning conference at the Old National Bank last week, a massacre he captured on a deranged Instagram live stream, the DailyMail reported.

Sturgeon reportedly hoped to showcase how easy it was to buy a gun in Kentucky and wanted to highlight the mental health crisis in America.

He also planned to end the slaughter by suicide — a wish that was granted when he was shot to death by police officers he brandished his firearm.

Sturgeon’s manifesto is now reportedly in the hands of the Louisville Police Department.

The department would not confirm or deny any details of the alleged missive.

The mass shooter legally purchased his AR-15 assault rifle from a local gun dealership just six days before the rampage.

That gun is now slated to be auctioned off thanks to state law allowing guns seized by the police to go to auction, including those used in violent crimes.

Sturgeon’s family has also spoken about his “mental health challenges,” though did not specify what illnesses he was battling.

Specialists are testing the killer’s brain for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), or brain deterioration caused by repeated head trauma after it was revealed he suffered numerous sports-related concussions.

A neighbor of Sturgeon’s told The Post that the manifesto was found by Sturgeon’s roommate Dallas Whelan — the same friend who left a voicemail from the killer saying he felt “suicidal” and planned to “kill everyone at the bank.”

A still from surveillance video released by Louisville Police shows Connor Sturgeon in the vestibule of Old National Bank .
Connor Sturgeon reportedly left behind a manifesto outlining his goals for the mass shooting.
LMPD

“He seemed like he was tripping, like he couldn’t believe any of this,” Michael McCoy, 45, said of Whelan reporting the missive to the cops.

“He said something about my neighbor and a manifesto. They called and reported it to the cops.”

“I was over here up on the porch sweeping and there were detectives and him talking, and something about a manifesto and something about a letter he left … He specifically said a manifesto.”

A motive for the mass shooting has not yet been revealed, but Sturgeon had been told he was going to be fired from the bank shortly before the massacre.

Killed in the rampage were Tommy Elliott, 63, a senior vice president; Jim Tutt, 64, a market executive; Joshua Barrick, 40, another senior vice president; Juliana Farmer, 45, a commercial loan specialist; and Deana Eckert, 57, an executive administrative officer.

Rookie police officer Nickolas Wilt, 26, was listed in critical condition after undergoing surgery for a brain injury.

Fellow cop Cory Galloway was grazed in the shoulder in the fatal shootout.

April 21

753 BC – URBS CONDITA EST Descended from Aeneas, a hero of Troy, Romulus founds Rome. ROMA SUMMUS AMOR

1509 – Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father King Henry VII.

1789 – John Adams sworn in as 1st U.S. Vice President, 9 days before George Washington, who is still en route to New York City after being received and feted by the Ladies of Trenton.

1792 – Joaquim José da Silva Xavier Tiradentes, leader of the Inconfidência Mineira revolutionary movement for Brazil’s independence, is hanged, drawn and quartered.

1836 – In less than 18 minutes of battle, Republic of Texas forces under General Sam Houston defeat Mexican troops under General Antonio López de Santa Anna at San Jacinto.

1898 – During the Spanish–American War,  the U.S. Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports.

1918 – German fighter ace, Manfred, Baron von Richthofen, called the Red Baron, is shot down, and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme in France.

1945 – Soviet forces attack the German High Command headquarters at Zossen, 20 miles south of Berlin.

1946 – The U.S. Weather Bureau publish a paper which states the width of a tornado which struck the city of Timber Lake, South Dakota was 4 miles, making it the widest tornado ever documented in history.

1958 – United Airlines Flight 736, a Douglas DC-7, collides with a U.S. Air Force F-100 Super Saber fighter jet near Arden, Nevada killing all 47 passengers and crew aboard, along with the 2 Air Force pilots

1960 – The new capital of Brazil, Brasília is officially inaugurated.  At 09:30, the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro.

1962 – The first World’s Fair in the United States since World War II opens in Seattle, Washington.

1975 – President of South Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Thiệu flees Saigon, as Xuân Lộc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls.

1982 – Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first Major League relief pitcher to record 300 saves.

1985 – Members of the group The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord in northern Arkansas, surrender to federal authorities after a 2 day siege of the compound.

2014 – During a budget crisis, the city of Flint, Michigan switches its water source from water supplied by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department water to the Flint River. Residents almost immediately being filing complaints about the taste, smell, and appearance of the water.

So, using your magazines is the only thing that really wears them out

BLUF
Conclusions
Common wear and tear from everyday use is more likely to degrade the overall quality of a firearm magazine than the spring failing on its own from being loaded to full capacity and stored for long periods of time.
Since it’s not economical for a shooter to monitor their spring’s quality with force gauges, the only true way of knowing if your magazines are functioning reliably is from actual use during training.
So, unless you’re part of the group of individuals that actually shoots thousands of rounds down range on a weekly basis for training or completion reasons, the whole issue of worrying about the lifespan of your magazine springs is somewhat trivial.

Other, Larger Concerns
If you’re prepping for a SHTF situation, simply load your mags and set them aside. You can now use all the extra spare time figuring out if you want a Menu 18 beef patty or Menu 14 Spicy Penne Pasta MRE!

As for mags, there are many other factors to consider before worrying about magazine spring failure. First, address the overall quality and cleanliness of your firearm, magazine housing, guide rod, buffer tube spring, ammunition choice, the list goes on. Magazine springs are relatively cheap items that can ultimately fail, just like any other man-made item before it. Luckily, they are easy to replace once identified as the cause of a malfunction.

Turns Out, Using Your Mags is Really the Only Thing That Degrades Them

Magazine Spring Stress Tests

A massive gun magazine stress test to determine how long magazine springs will last and if we can determine outside variables that impact their longevity.

We set out to test magazines. How long do they last and what can you do as a shooter to help ensure they’ll function properly for as long as possible? In this project, we’re going to give the quick answers up front and then we’ll dive into some of the details about our testing protocol and what we learned.

Spring Test Summary

For about a year, we loaded, unloaded, and function tested thirteen different magazines.

Magazines Field Tested

  1. Magpul Gen 2 Pmag (30 round)
  2. Magpul Gen 3 Pmag (30 round)
  3. Magpul Gen 3 Pmag (40 round)
  4. Amend2 AR-15 Magazine (30 round)
  5. Lancer AR-15 Magazine (30 round)
  6. USGI AR-15 Magazine (30 round)
  7. Smith & Wesson Shield 9mm Magazine (8 round)
  8. ETS Glock 17 Magazine (17 round)
  9. Glock 17 Factory Magazine (17 round)
  10. Magpul Glock 17 Magazine (17 round)
  11. Glock 17 Factory Magazine (33 round)
  12. USGI 45 ACP 1911 Magazine (7 round)
  13. Wilson Combat 45 ACP 1911 Magazine (8 round)

Continue reading “”

Yes. This is the continuing gambit. That something isn’t ‘covered’ by the 2nd since it’s not an ‘arm’.

Federal judge declares “large capacity” magazines not protected by the Second Amendment

A U.S. District Judge in Washington, D.C. has declined to grant an injunction against the city’s ban on “large capacity” magazines, ruling that while magazines in general are “arms” protected by the Second Amendment, LCMs fall outside of the scope of the amendment because they’re a “poor fit” for self-defense purposes.

The challenge to the District’s magazine ban, known as Hanson v. D.C., involves four legal gun owners from D.C. who all say that they would possess and carry “large capacity” magazines in their firearms if they weren’t banned by law. The District’s prohibition comes complete with a potential three-year prison sentence, though it’s unclear how often that sentence is handed down in practice, especially with D.C. prosecutors routinely deciding to decline charges in many illegal gun possession cases.

Even though the D.C. Attorney General’s office is taking a mostly hands-off approach to illegal gun (and magazine) possession, the ban remains on the books and was defended in court by D.C. officials, who maintain that magazines aren’t “arms” at all, but accessories that aren’t protected by the Second Amendment. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras, an Obama appointee, rejected that argument in his opinion, but agreed with the District on its fallback argument that LCM’s are most suitable for military purposes and are not used in self-defense because “because incidents where a civilian actually expends more than ten bullets in self-defense are “vanishingly rare.” From the opinion (citations omitted):

Heller specifically contemplated that “weapons that are most useful in military service” fall outside of Second Amendment protection.

Plaintiffs counter that “the Supreme Court’s precedents do not withhold protection from arms merely because they are useful in militia service.” Pls.’ Reply at 15. That may be true, but it is beside the point. Heller established that weapons that are “most useful in military service” are excluded from Second Amendment protection. “Most” is a superlative. A weapon may have some useful purposes in both civilian and military contexts, but if it is most useful in military service, it is not protected by the Second Amendment.

I’ve gotta say, that’s giving a lot of weight to Scalia’s phrase about “weapons that are most useful in military service”, especially since Contreras contradicted himself by pointing to the benefits of LCM’s for civilian law enforcement.

Continue reading “”

So Called ‘Assault Weapons’ ~ When Words Are Used Instead of Guns To Disarm Us

Let’s start off at the very beginning, following the “Yellow Brick Road,” with a few definitions and essential information for those new gun owners, non-gun owners, and anti-gun critters. Please note I’m sorry if I insult those already in the know!
Definition of the word ASSAULT

assault – verb: a violent physical or verbal attack.

Definition of the word WEAPON

weapon – noun: something (such as a club, knife, gun, etc.) used to injure, defeat, or destroy someone or something.

Definition of a RIFLE

rifle – noun: a shoulder fired firearm with a rifled bore (spiral grooves in the bore).

Definition of a PISTOL

pistol – noun: a specifically handheld firearm whose chamber is integral with the barrel.

Definition of a SEMIAUTOMATIC FIREARM

semiautomatic firearm – noun: a firearm able to fire repeatedly through an automatic reloading process but requiring the trigger to be pulled for each successive shot (a semiautomatic rifle or pistol).

Definition of a MACHINE GUN

machine gun – noun: a firearm for sustained rapid fire, or burst,  on a single pull of the trigger. (a.k.a. an automatic weapon).

Definition of the phrase ASSAULT RIFLE

assault rifle – noun: any of various intermediate-range, magazine-fed military rifles that can be set for automatic or semiautomatic fire (a.k.a. Select Fire).

So where does the infamous Assault Weapon fit into the linguistic picture? It doesn’t! It’s essentially MADE UP! Here’s a brief history:

Continue reading “”

Gun violence emergencies prompt concerns of government overreach

(The Center Square) – Across the country, there is a push to declare gun violence as a “public health crisis” and impose a “state of emergency” in response to shootings.

Proponents of the Second Amendment are concerned the emergency declarations lay the groundwork for expanded government powers, as witnessed during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

U.S. Congressmen Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., raised those fears in a recent House Judiciary Committee meeting.

“And our fellow Americans know the impact of folks up here in Washington declaring everything and anything a public health emergency,” Gaetz said during the meeting. “It means you’re more likely to be locked in your homes, deprived of your freedoms, less healthy, less safe, less secure and less able to live a truly American life.

“So know this: when the left talks about this as a public health emergency, get ready to see those enhanced authorities abused by the ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives],” Gaetz said.

In the same hearing, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-MO, called for gun violence to be recognized as a public health emergency.

“In St. Louis and nationwide, gun violence is a public health emergency and common sense regulations are a necessity,” Bush said during the hearing.

Cities across the U.S. such as Flint, Michigan, Portland, Oregon, and Blakely, Georgia, have declared gun violence emergencies.

In New York, the cities of Rochester and Albany all declared a gun violence state of emergency. The state of New York declared a gun violence state of emergency in 2021.

Rochester has been under a current gun violence state of emergency since November 2021. That declaration allows the police department to shut down any commercial business that has had a shooting and is determined to be a nuisance after a review process.

The city of Rochester’s press release stated: “The Proclamation gives the Mayor broad powers to protect life and property and to bring the emergency under control.”

The state of New York gun violence emergency order gives the governor the power to “temporarily suspend or modify any statute, local law, ordinance, order, rule or regulation, or parts thereof, during a State disaster emergency if compliance with such would prevent, hinder, or delay action necessary to cope with the disaster emergency.”

The Delaware state legislature passed a resolution in March declaring gun violence a public health crisis.

And what if President Joe Biden declared a national emergency over gun violence? The White House didn’t respond to an email asking if Biden had considered such an option.

When a president declares a national emergency, there are at least 135 statutory powers that could be made available, according to the Brennan Center.

“Debate over the Second Amendment is clouded with propaganda terms intended to diminish the right of law-abiding citizens to bear arms,” said Stephen Halbrook, an expert on the Second Amendment and a senior fellow with the Independent Institute.
“Instead of criminals committing acts of violence with guns, the term ‘gun violence’ implies that the guns commit the violence.
Calling criminality with guns a ‘public health crisis’ obscures that crime is volitional and may be repressed only by taking criminals off the streets. Guns create no national ‘state of emergency,’ and recidivist violators create a state of emergency against every victim they attack.”

Sorry folks. Ich Bin was worn out from running Pops around yesterday on several appointments. I literally crashed out for the whole day.

We now resume our regular programming

April 20

1775 – Following the battles at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts militias block land access to Boston, limiting British resupply and reinforcements to only come from the sea.

1789 – George Washington arrives at Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, while en route to Manhattan for his inauguration.

1836 – Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory.

1861 – Colonel Robert E. Lee, commander of the U.S. 1st Cavalry Regiment,  resigns his commission in the United States Army to avoid, as he saw it, the dishonor of disobeying official orders to engage his troops against Virginia.

1898 – President McKinley signs a joint resolution to Congress for a declaration of war against Spain.

1914 – 19 men, women, and children participating in a strike are killed in the Ludlow Massacre during the Colorado Coalfield War.

1945 – On his 56th birthday, Adolf Hitler makes his last trip to the surface from the Führerbunker  in Berlin, to award Iron Crosses to soldiers of the Hitler Youth.

1961 – The invasion of the Bay of Pigs in Cuba by U.S. backed Cuban exiles fails.

1972 – The lunar module Orion, of Apollo 16, commanded by John Young and copiloted by Charles Duke, lands on the moon in the Descartes Highlands.

1998 – Air France Flight 422, a Boeing 727, crashes after taking off from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia, killing all 53 people on board.

1999 – Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shoot and kill 13 people and wound 24 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado.

2007 – William Phillips barricades himself in NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, shooting and killing a hostage before committing suicide.

2008 – Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.

2010 – The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that would last six months.

2021 – Derek Chauvin is found guilty of all charges in the murder of George Floyd by the Fourth Judicial District Court of Minnesota.

Nebraska Legislature Passes Permitless Gun-Carry

The Cornhusker State is now one signature away from becoming the 27th to adopt permitless gun carry.

The Nebraska legislature voted 33-14 to pass Legislative Bill 77 on final reading Wednesday morning. The bill would allow adults aged 21 and over who would otherwise be eligible for a concealed carry permit to carry a firearm in public without obtaining one. The bill now goes to Governor Jim Pillen’s (R.) desk, where he is expected to sign it into law.

“I am proud to support LB 77 and Nebraskans’ constitutional rights,” Pillen said shortly after the bill’s passage. “Thank you to the Nebraska Legislature for sending this bill to my desk.”

Once signed, the bill will add another feather in the cap of gun-rights advocates who have successfully pushed the policy in states across the country over the last two decades. The bill will make Nebraska the second state to adopt permitless carry this year, following Florida’s adoption earlier this month, and the 26th state to enact the policy in the last 20 years. Vermont has had the policy since its founding.

The bill’s passage led to a familiar call and response among activists on either side of the issue.

Gun-rights advocates immediately celebrated.

“With Gov. Pillen’s signature, Nebraska becomes the 27th state in America that protects the right of Americans to carry a firearm outside of their home without first asking the government for additional permission and paying additional fees,” Travis Couture-Lovelady, the Nebraska state director for the NRA, said in a press release. “Nebraska is the latest state to recognize law-abiding citizens are not the problem — criminals are.”

While gun-control advocates denounced the bill as an affront to public safety.

“Nebraska lawmakers have chosen to put politics over protecting our families,” Jen Hodge, a member of the Nebraska chapter of Moms Demand Action, said. “Over the past few weeks, tens of thousands of young people across the country, and here in Nebraska, walked out of school to demand action on gun safety by their representatives, but instead, Nebraska lawmakers are actively stripping away safety measures.”

But the bill also represents a significant victory for state Senator Tom Brewer (R.), the bill’s prime sponsor, who has tried for years to get permitless carry across the finish line in Nebraska. His 2022 permitless carry bill narrowly failed in the state’s unicameral legislature after falling just two votes short of overcoming a Democratic filibuster. However, state Republicans made gains in the chamber last November and now have a filibuster-proof majority. That cleared the way for Wednesday’s successful final vote.

“A person in Nebraska should not have to pay money to the government in order to exercise a constitutional right,” Brewer said.

While the bill would do away with permitting requirements for gun carry, it would not alter who is eligible to carry or obtain a firearm. Those, such as convicted felons, who can’t legally purchase or possess a firearm under state and federal law would not be allowed to carry under the permitless law. It also would not change where people are allowed to carry.

In addition to doing away with permitting requirements for gun carry, the bill would strengthen Nebraska’s preemption statute by removing the authority of local governments to enact gun regulations that are stricter than state law. That measure was aimed at the city of Omaha, which previously required residents to register any handguns they owned unless they possessed a valid concealed handgun permit.

If signed, the bill will take effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session.