Keep and Bear Arms - Gun Owners Home Page

TN: Who ya gonna call? Submitted by: Liston Matthews Website: http://www.knoxgunguy.com/	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Commentary on the new faculty/staff campus carry law in Tennessee. This is a good step in the right direction. My interview with WBIR of Knoxville is included.

OK: House panel OKs open carry without permit, training
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Oklahoma residents age 21 and up could openly carry guns without a license, training or background checks under legislation that a House committee gave preliminary approval to on Wednesday.

The House Conference Committee on Public Safety passed the bill, of which different versions have already been approved in both chambers, prompting the formation of the committees to resolve disagreements. Rep. Jeff Coody, R-Grandfield, said he needs the signatures of seven members of House or Senate conference committees before further action can be taken on the measure before the legislative session is scheduled to end May 27.

GA: Georgia governor defies party politics with pair of vetoes
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Georgia House Speaker David Ralston said he was disappointed by his fellow Republican's veto, but added that it's not the end of the discussion.

"At a time when our Second Amendment rights are under attack, I believed and still believe that it is very important that we do all that is necessary and proper to strengthen our constitutional protections," he said in a written statement. "Georgians should not be required to give up their constitutional rights when they set foot on a college campus."

MN: Minnesota Senate shoots down gun cell phone cases
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Young Minnesotans may think mobile telephone cases that look like guns are fun, but state legislators are close to banning them.

�Someday, some kid is going to hold up a cell phone case and somebody ... is going to die,� Sen. Ron Latz, D-St. Louis Park, said Wednesday before senators unanimously voted to forbid the cases. Latz said the cases easily can be mistaken for real guns and a law enforcement officer or another armed person could shoot in self-defense.

Should Felons Get Their Gun Rights Back?
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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What's more, many felons were convicted of nonviolent offenses. Since they never committed violent crimes in the past, why think they will in the future?

For instance, the Code of Virginia makes it a felony in some cases to possess more than half an ounce of marijuana�as well as to grow pot in any amount for somebody else's use. Virginia law also makes it a felony to "break and enter the dwelling house of another in the nighttime" with the intent to commit burglary. And even simply to possess "burglarious tools."

Gun Movies Hollywood Will Never Make
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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In this week�s Cam�s Corner in America�s 1st Freedom, Cam Edwards called out Hollywood�s �creative types� responsible for their heavy-handed ideological product placement of gun control while ignoring compelling stories that would appeal to a large swath of the American public.

But Edwards produces a much better lineup than anything that is Now Playing or Coming Soon to theaters near you.

How Competent Of A Shooter Should You Be To Carry A Handgun?
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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From a moral perspective, how competent should we be to carry a handgun, either openly or concealed? How good is �good enough?� That�s a question that a lot of people struggle with internally.

I�d make the argument that a passing score on the new FBI qualification course of fire serve as a decent proxy of adequate handgun manipulation skills and marksmanship for those of us who intend to carry a handgun (either openly or concealed).

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison Didn�t Want Guns on Their College Campus
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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In October of 1824, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison attended a board meeting of the University of Virginia, which would open the following spring. Jefferson and Madison had spent not a little time thinking about individual liberties. But minutes from the meeting show that their new school would not extend the right to bear arms to its red-brick grounds.

�No student shall, within the precincts of the University, introduce, keep or use any spirituous or venomous liquors, keep or use weapons or arms of any kind �� the board declared. In his veto statement, Deal zeroed in on that passage, which can be seen in the original document below:

TN: Faculty and Staff Campus Carry Legislation Will Become Law
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Yesterday, Governor Haslam announced that he will allow Senate Bill 2376 to become law without his signature.

SB 2376, sponsored by Senator Mike Bell and Representative Andy Holt, passed in the Senate with a 28-5 vote and in the House with a 69-24 vote.

This important self-defense legislation will permit full-time employees of state public colleges or universities to carry a handgun while on property owned, operated, or used by the employing college or university if the employee has a valid Tennessee handgun carry permit. Senate Bill 2376 will go into effect on July 1, 2016.

PA: Pittsburgh summit bringing business, legislators together Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
ALEC no longer works on gun issues or voter ID, said Ms. Drenkard, who called pursuing those matters a case of �mission creep. � We�re fundamentally a pro-growth organization looking at economic issues.� Among the topics being discussed in Pittsburgh, meanwhile, are proposals to rethink tough-on-crime measures, which many progressive activists also denounce.

GA: Georgia Student Killed on Campus Same Day Governor Vetoed Campus Carry
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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A law-abiding Fort Valley State University (FVSU) student was stabbed to death on campus Tuesday, the same day that Governor Nathan Deal (R) vetoed a bill allowing law-abiding students to carry guns on campus for self-defense.

According to 13 WMAZ, the deceased student, 19-year-old Donnell Phelps, was killed after coming to the aid of two females who were allegedly being groped and grabbed by 24-year-old Joseph Anthony Scott on the Georgia campus.

MO: Missouri headed back to Wild West days
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Second Amendment advocates assert that the more members of the public are armed, the greater the public�s safety. Missouri is ideally suited to test that proposition. Let us sweep aside all limitations on the right to bear and use arms. Do away with all laws restricting or punishing firearm use.

When all firearm use is legal, then all gun-using citizens will be law-abiding by definition. Right and wrong shall be settled by who fires first, or most accurately. While they are at it, our legislators should ban the making and keeping of statistics, such as those quoted in the article, which might belie the proposition.

FBI: April Was Twelfth Consecutive Month of Record Background Checks
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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FBI figures show that April 2016 was the twelfth consecutive month of record background checks for retail gun sales in the U.S.

The string of record-setting months began in May 2015 � when that month saw more background checks than any May on record. June 2015 set the all-time record for June, July set the all-time record for July, August the all-time record for August, and so on, all the way through April 2016.

According to the FBI, the number of background checks performed in April was 2,145,865. That beats the previous April record of 1,742,946, which was set in 2014.

So � Now the Government Wants to Hack Cybercrime Victims
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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THREE NEW CHANGES in federal court rules have vastly expanded law enforcement�s ability to hack into computers around the world.

The changes, to a federal court procedure known as Rule 41, were announced last week by the Supreme Court. They would let magistrate judges routinely issue search warrants to hack into computers outside their jurisdiction. The changes would also let magistrates issue a single search warrant for numerous computers in multiple jurisdictions, saving law enforcement the burden of having to obtain a separate warrant for each computer. This means a judge in Virginia could issue a single warrant for computers in California, Florida, Illinois and even overseas.

MA: Longmeadow residents to vote on new gun restriction petition
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Three bylaws would be up for a vote.

The first aims at fining any person that carries a firearm whether it be a shotgun or rifle, $300 for carrying on town property. That could include walking on a sidewalk.

Another bylaw would require residents to list all their firearms in writing when they renew their gun license or apply for an FID card.

And finally, anyone with an assault weapon would be fined $300 each day the weapon remains in town.

Obama Admin Seeks to Curtail Gun Rights of Those on Disability Benefits
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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The Obama administration is moving forward with plans to use the Social Security Administration to disarm American citizens deemed ineligible by government bureaucrats to possess a firearm. Earlier this year, President Obama signed an executive order that permits the Social Security Administration to report individuals to the FBI�s database used to determine an individual�s eligibility to purchase a firearm. On April 28, the rule was signed and posted to the Federal Register by Acting Commissioner Carolyn W. Colvin, guns.com reports.

�Smart Guns� Are No Silver Bullet Against Violence
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Let me be frank: I think the push for smarts guns, at best, is a waste of time and resources.

Guns are primarily bad because they are incredibly powerful weapons designed for maiming and killing. No new technology is going to change that. And perhaps more importantly, technology is not going to change the social, cultural and political impediments to effective gun control measures.

There are several broad reasons I�m skeptical about the benefits of smart guns.

GA: 2016 USCCA Concealed Carry Expo a Resounding Success
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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The second annual USCCA Concealed Carry Expo, held April 29 � May 1, 2016, at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta, Georgia, saw large crowds, with a total of over four thousand attendees. With a comprehensive lineup of retailers, manufacturers, and �living classroom� seminars, the USCCA Concealed Carry Expo delivered services, support, and solutions for experiencing and embracing the concealed-carry lifestyle.

CT: The war on guns: Connecticut fires first shot in battle over Second Amendment
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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In a move already being attacked by Second Amendment advocates, the state of Connecticut has passed a bill that permits law enforcement to confiscate guns and ammunition from anyone that is accused of domestic violence.

...

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, said he would sign the bill which requires people subject to temporary civil restraining orders to give up their guns. Under current state law, only those with permanent restraining orders are prohibited from firearm possession. Those with temporary restraining orders are required to appear for a hearing to determine whether a full restraining order should be granted.

CT: Connecticut state governor will soon sign gun confiscation law�and there�s a kicker
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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The legislation requires alleged domestic abusers, most of them men, to surrender their firearms and ammunition within 24 hours if restraining orders have been filed by partners.

The intention is to protect women at the critical point in relationships when they are trying to leave the abusive partner, the Post reported. Connecticut sees about 14 domestic homicides a year, half of which are caused by guns. And only half of the annual 5,000 temporary restraining orders become permanent.

Gun taxes, thought policing and the triumph of the �Force-Left�
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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The left as a whole has long been hostile to the Second Amendment, but has been divided as to the regulatory means of mitigating its effects. Background checks, registries, magazine limits have all been incrementalist �salami tactics� to limit gun ownership, and according to them, limit violence.

The latest tack is to levy taxes against weapons and ammunition � some more confiscatory than others. In Seattle, it is 25 dollars per firearm, with a nickel tax on ammunition over .22 caliber, and a 2 cent tax on smaller calibers, which the National Rifle Association is litigating against.

GA: �Campus Carry� veto disappoints legislators
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Many of Cherokee�s local legislators expressed disappointment in the aftermath of Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal�s decision Tuesday afternoon not to sign the �Campus Carry� bill into law.

Deal, in vetoing the bill, said in a statement that colleges have traditionally been treated as sanctuaries of learning where firearms have not been allowed.

House Bill 859 would have permitted anyone 21 or older with a concealed carry permit to take their weapons onto campuses and into the classrooms of Georgia�s public colleges and universities.