February 21, 2013
Nathan Haddad, a former Army staff sergeant in New York, was selling his gun magazines when he was arrested for violating a state law prohibiting possession of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. He was arrested and charged with five felonies. This is the crime that David Gregory of NBC News committed in Washington a few months ago; Mr. Gregory was not prosecuted because he's, umm, well, a celebrity.The district attorney for Jefferson County, N.Y., offered Sgt. Haddad, now a civilian employee at Fort Drum, N.Y., a deal that would require him to plead guilty to five Class A misdemeanors to avoid going to jail. Sgt. Haddad has several weeks to decide whether to go to trial.
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February 21, 2013
If radical gun grabbers have their way, your daughters, mothers and grandmothers will have nothing but whistles, pens and bodily fluids to defend themselves against violent attackers and sexual predators. Women of all ages, races and political backgrounds should be up in arms over the coordinated attack on their right to bear arms.
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February 21, 2013
The economy shrank last quarter, gas prices just hit a record high for February, unemployment's still near 8 percent and the sequester's about to take a meat cleaver to the Pentagon's budget -- but according to President Obama and his Democratic allies, the most urgent issue facing the nation right now is gun control.
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February 21, 2013
What's in a name? A lot, if your name includes the term "gun control." So in a nod to the political realities of the moment, a group founded in the days after the Newtown, Conn., school shooting is officially changing its name by dropping the politically loaded term....The group's decision to drop "gun control" from its name is consistent with the messaging strategies adopted by the White House, congressional Democrats and other groups pushing for stricter gun laws that prefer to use terms like "gun violence" or "common sense reforms" instead of "gun control."
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February 21, 2013
On Tuesday, Cruz toured LaRue Tactical, a semi automatic rifle manufacturer that occupies a cluster of green buildings just off Ronald W. Reagan Boulevard in Leander, north of Austin. The tour offered him an opportunity to praise the Second Amendment. Workers, dressed in black and khaki, gathered around the precision machines and applauded his promise to oppose gun control efforts under way in Washington."No amount of stripping the rights of the men and women here to defend themselves and defend their families will do anything to prevent violent criminals from carrying out horrific acts," he declared.
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February 21, 2013
The Assembly is poised to vote on nearly two dozen measures proponents say will curb gun violence.The bills are being fast tracked through the chamber following the Newtown, Conn. School shootings in December.New Jersey's gun laws are already among the toughest in the nation.
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February 21, 2013
Gun rights supporters packed a committee room at the state Capitol on Wednesday as lawmakers approved a bill eliminating the need for a permit to carry a concealed gun in Utah.
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February 21, 2013
Several Hawaii lawmakers are pushing for a bill requiring more background checks for gun owners in the state along with a firearms buyback program.
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February 21, 2013
Rep. Sue Scott, R Rogers, the bill's lead sponsor, said open carry is needed to advance Second Amendment rights in the state and deter crime."Many police officers have told me they would rather have open carry rather than concealed carry," she said. "Criminals are not going to open carry unless they are totally brainless."Nineteen other representatives and one senator have signed on to the proposal. Four are Democrats.
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February 21, 2013
The University of Colorado regents on Wednesday dodged taking a stance on whether concealed carry permit holders should be able to bring their weapons to campus. The Republican controlled Board of Regents voted 6-2 to "postpone indefinitely" a measure that sought support for concealed carry on CU's campuses. Regent Michael Carrigan, D Boulder, did not vote.
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February 21, 2013
A Denton teacher allegedly refused to grade two student reports because they were about guns. Now one mother is demanded answers and an apology.Marshall Williams said he and his classmates were told by Mr. Dewey Christian at Denton High School to write a report on anything that they were interested in using different types of sentence structures. He chose to write about the Fort Worth gun show.But then he said his English teacher told him he would get a zero on the assignment because of the topic.
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February 20, 2013
Personal information from concealed weapons permits will be kept from the public until the end of April after passage of an emergency bill that was rushed through the Legislature and signed by Gov. Paul LePage on Tuesday.
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February 20, 2013
The identity of Mainers who have permits to carry concealed guns will be shielded from the state's right-to-know law for the first time since at least 1985 following action Tuesday by the Legislature and Gov. Paul LePage.
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February 20, 2013
The House overwhelmingly passed the measure by an 84 3 vote and sent it to Gov. Mike Beebe, who said he was opposed to the bill but declined to indicate whether he would veto it. Lawmakers could override a veto with a simple majority.
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February 20, 2013
Lawmakers in the state House are moving ahead with a plan to expand background checks to private gun sales.
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February 20, 2013
An Oklahoma committee that was formed to repel federal involvement in Oklahoma affairs is set to look at a bill prohibiting health care providers from asking their patients if they own a gun.
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February 20, 2013
Gov. Jack Markell, Attorney General Beau Biden and other officials scheduled a news conference Wednesday to discuss proposed legislation to require the reporting of lost and stolen firearms.
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February 20, 2013
Firearms manufacturers usually find themselves playing defense. Following virtually every highly publicized incident involving a multiple shooting, manufactures often are among the first round of scapegoats flogged by the mainstream media and gun control politicians. Indeed, were it not for the 2005 law that protects gun manufactures from frivolous lawsuits by victims of gun crimes, many would be out of business.Thankfully, at least some firearms manufacturers now are going on the offensive; returning fire in New York's escalating war against Second Amendment rights in the Empire State.
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February 20, 2013
The National Rifle Association says it's non negotiable:Public transportation users should to be allowed to carry guns on buses and trains.The question surfaced during a hearing Tuesday aimed at meeting a federal court demand to draw up legislation permitting Illinoisans to carry concealed weapons. A top NRA lobbyist said he won't bend on allowing bus and train riders to arm themselves.
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February 20, 2013
Fresh off a wave of success in the state Capitol last year, animal welfare groups are taking aim at a new target this year: hunting with lead ammunition.The Humane Society, Audubon California and Defenders of Wildlife are behind a major push to make California the first state to ban lead ammunition for all types of hunting, setting the stage for a showdown with some hunters and adding another layer to the heated gun control debate.
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February 19, 2013
Chicago is a dangerous town, but gun control hasn't made it better. The city forbids the law abiding from having guns, leaving the bad guys to rule the streets. The result is one of the highest murder rates in the country. President Obama's plan isn't to reverse from a failed course, but to apply federal gun registration and confiscation of certain weapons nationwide.
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February 19, 2013
For the leader of what may be the most polarizing interest group in America, National Rifle Association chief David Keene is a genial hard liner.He loves guns. He loves politics. He loves talking even with journalists, who are viewed in gun circles as overwhelmingly hostile to their cause.
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February 19, 2013
In 1998, Massachusetts passed what was hailed as the toughest gun control legislation in the country. Among other stringencies, it banned semiautomatic "assault" weapons, imposed strict new licensing rules, prohibited anyone convicted of a violent crime or drug trafficking from ever carrying or owning a gun, and enacted severe penalties for storing guns unlocked."Today, Massachusetts leads the way in cracking down on gun violence," said Republican Governor Paul Cellucci as he signed the bill into law. "It will save lives and help fight crime in our communities." Scott Harshbarger, the state's Democratic attorney general, agreed: "This vote is a victory for common sense and for the protection of our children and our neighborhoods." One of the state's leading anti gun activists, John Rosenthal of Stop Handgun Violence, joined the applause. "The new gun law," he predicted, "will certainly prevent future gun violence and countless grief."It didn't.
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February 19, 2013
Forget police drones flying over your house. How about police coming inside, once a year, to have a look around?As Orwellian as that sounds, it isn’t hypothetical. The notion of police home inspections was introduced in a bill last week in Olympia.
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February 19, 2013
A measure requiring individuals to pay a fee for their own background checks passed on a voice vote late Friday night on floor of the Colorado House. House Bill 1228 was the third of four Democratic gun bills debated in day long marathon floor session at the state Capitol.
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February 19, 2013
A package of gun control measures won initial approval in Colorado's Democratic controlled House Friday night, with Vice President Joe Biden personally phoning four lawmakers from his ski vacation in the state to speed along the emotional debate.
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February 19, 2013
Missouri's gun friendly culture isn't stopping some House Democrats from trying to purge assault weapons from the state.Legislation backed by several St. Louis area lawmakers would require gun owners to surrender or destroy their assault weapons within 90 days of the measure's passage. The proposed ban would include semi automatic rifles with detachable magazines and semi automatic pistols with the capacity to shoot more than ten rounds of ammunition before reloading.
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February 19, 2013
Maine Gov. Paul LePage says he's submitting a bill to temporarily block the release of concealed firearms permit holders' names, addresses and dates of birth to the public.
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February 19, 2013
In response to the passage of New York's sweeping new gun law, a Washington state based firearms manufacturer has decided to stop selling their products in the Empire State.Olympic Arms, a manufacturer of semiautomatic rifles and AR 15 style firearms, announced Tuesday it will no longer be doing business in New York as a result of the state's new ban on assault style weapons, according to the Times Union.
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February 19, 2013
Chicago's embattled police superintendent dug himself deeper into a pit of controversy today by claiming that lawful firearm owners are agents of political corruption. Appearing on a Chicago Sunday morning talk show, superintendent Garry McCarthy expressed his conviction that firearm owners who lobby their elected representatives or who donate money to political campaigns are engaged in corruption that endangers public safety. McCarthy went on to express his belief that judges and legislators should rely on public opinion polls when interpreting our Constitution.
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February 15, 2013
The head of the National Rifle Association vowed to fight new gun legislation and renewed his call for armed guards in schools on Thursday, speaking before the National Wild Turkey Federation's annual convention at Gaylord Opryland Hotel.NRA CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre heavily criticized President Barack Obama's State of the Union address for not mentioning school safety.
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February 15, 2013
Continuing his charge against the Obama administration on gun control proposals, Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association charged Thursday that President Barack Obama's proposals in the State of the Union address were "not about keeping kids safe at school" but rather part of a broad campaign to "dismantle the Second Amendment."
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February 15, 2013
The state Senate voted 32 8 Thursday to bar circuit court clerks from disclosing to the public the names of people who have concealed handgun permits.The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mark D. Obenshain, R Harrisonburg, now goes to Gov. Bob McDonnell.
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February 15, 2013
The Bangor Daily News has invoked Maine's Freedom of Access Act in asking police to release the information, a request police said they appear to be obliged to fulfill under state law. The newspaper's request came two months after a suburban New York City newspaper published an interactive map with the names and addresses of thousands of permit holders.
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February 15, 2013
North Carolina lawmakers began debating Thursday whether there's a legitimate interest in the public having access to names, addresses and other identifying information of people purchasing pistols or who've obtained concealed weapons permits.A bill filed by more than a dozen Senate Republicans would make identifying information about people who have obtained the permits confidential unless the records are opened through a court order. The records are currently public records, meaning anyone can access them.
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February 15, 2013
An Arkansas House panel has advanced a proposal to make secret the list of 130,000 residents permitted to carry concealed weapons.The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved the measure to exempt the concealed carry permit list from Arkansas' Freedom of Information Act.
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February 14, 2013
The National Rifle Association (NRA) pushed back against President Obama’s calls for gun control in his State of the Union address, arguing the proposals would lead to “confiscation” of citizens’ firearms.
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February 14, 2013
Gun control "deserves a vote," President Obama said time and again in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday. Sadly, the measure Congress is most likely to pass -- beefed up background checks -- may cause more harm than good.First, checks obviously won't do anything about gun crime in cities like Chicago or New York, which revolves almost exclusively around illegal guns.
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February 14, 2013
Warning that we need to "get weapons of war and massive ammunition magazines off our streets," in his State of the Union, Obama kept repeating congress must vote on the three types of gun bills he supports.The most obvious thing that was left out of the talk was that none of the laws now being proposed would have done anything to stop the various attacks that Obama cited as justifying the laws. Nor does the evidence show that the previous Assault Weapon Ban from 1994 to 2004 reduced crime.
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February 14, 2013
Before I tell you how the NRA and our members are going to Stand And Fight politically and in the courts, let's acknowledge that all over this country, tens of millions of Americans are already preparing to Stand And Fight to protect their families and homes.
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