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FL: Florida sheriff's office releases bodycam video of fatal shooting of Air Force airman by deputy
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The video shows the deputy arriving at a Fort Walton Beach apartment building on May 3 and speaking to a woman outside who described hearing an argument. The deputy then went up an elevator and walked down an outdoor hallway.
The video shows the deputy banging on the door and stepping aside, seemingly out of view of the door. Twice he shouted: “Sheriff’s office! Open the door!”
Fortson opened the door and could be seen holding what appeared to be handgun pointed down toward the floor. The deputy shouted, “Step back!” and fired off shots. He then shouted, “Drop the gun! Drop the gun!”
“It’s over there,” Fortson said.
“Drop the gun!” the deputy yelled back. |
MD: In the Courts: Maryland Shall Issue v. Moore
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Last year, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License (HQL) unconstitutional. An HQL is a form of Firearm Purchaser Licensing that requires would-be handgun purchasers to apply for and receive a license. The two-judge majority ruling stated that the HQL, while not a permanent ban, violated the Second Amendment because it prevented individuals from immediately obtaining a handgun. The State of Maryland successfully petitioned for the case to be heard by a panel of all active judges of the Fourth Circuit – a process known as a re-hearing en banc.
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Judge denies Hunter Biden‘s bid to dismiss gun charges
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A federal judge in Delaware denied Hunter Biden’s bid to throw out his felony gun charges on Thursday, rejecting arguments from the president’s son that the federal prohibition on owning guns while using illegal drugs is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.
Separately, a federal appeals court panel ruled against Biden earlier Thursday in another bid to have the charges against him tossed. The two decisions appear to clear the way for his case to head to trial on June 3, though his defense team can still pursue further appeals. |
Senator Seeks to Remove Suppressors from NFA Regulation
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Moreover, the SHUSH Act would overturn suppressor bans in several states and territories, including California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia, where these devices are currently prohibited.
Rep. Good’s proposal represents a significant deregulatory effort in the realm of gun laws, aiming to streamline processes and affirm constitutional rights without the burden of what supporters consider excessive regulation. As the bill moves toward introduction, it stirs a potent discussion on the balance between firearm regulation and individual rights, setting the stage for a robust debate in Congress. |
NM: ‘Guns to Gardens’ gun buyback event this weekend in Santa Fe
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Officials in Santa Fe are partnering with New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence to host a gun buyback event this weekend.
The “Guns to Gardens” gun buyback event is May 11 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Santa Fe Municipal Courthouse parking lot.
NMPGV is partnering with the City of Santa Fe, Santa Fe Police and the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office on the event. It is the sixth buyback event that NMPGV has done with Santa Fe police and the 15th “Guns to Gardens” event that the nonprofit has done since 2016. |
TX: Dozens of firearms missing or stolen from Texas state law enforcement agencies
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Dozens of state-owned weapons, from handheld pistols to assault rifles, used by Texas law enforcement officers have gone missing or been stolen since 2018, a KVUE Defenders investigation has found. In many instances, supervising officials found negligence on the part of officers the weapons were assigned to.
This revelation comes months after the KVUE Defenders revealed $32 million in state assets reported as missing or stolen to the state comptroller during the last five years. Missing state inventory data, obtained through an open records request, shows the items reported include everything from electronic devices and computers to golf carts, forklifts and tractors. |
Which States Let Teachers Carry Guns in School?
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In the span of one week last month, Tennessee and Iowa joined the growing list of states that allow trained school staff to carry guns on public school grounds.
The laws significantly vary from state to state. For many, it is up to individual school districts to decide if they want to allow non-security staff to carry guns. Some have restrictions on where and when guns can be concealed, and required training and permitting also vary.
Just 17 states and the District of Columbia have laws specifically prohibiting teachers from carrying guns. However, even those laws can vary, as denoted in the list below: |
FL: Roger Fortson Bodycam Video Contradicts Claim Of ‘Self-Defense’ In Florida Police Killing Of Air Force Officer, Family Suggests
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“In the four-and-a-half-minute, heavily redacted video, it is very troubling that the deputy gave no verbal commands and shot multiple times within a split second of the door being opened, killing Roger,” the family said in a statement shared with NewsOne. “Despite the redactions, the video has provided some answers, but it’s also raised even more troubling questions: As the officer didn’t tell Roger to drop the weapon before shooting, was the officer trained to give verbal warnings? Did the officer try to initiate life-saving measures? Was the officer trained to deal with law-abiding citizens who are registered gun owners?” |
Nigeria: How self-defense & firearm ownership will tackle insecurity
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The Senator representing Delta North in the National Assembly, Ned Nwoko has again stressed the importance of empowering citizens to own arms for self-defense.
He buttressed his points during a parley with Anioma journalists in his office at the Senate building in Abuja on Wednesday.
Senator Nwoko who sponsored the Self-defense and firearm ownership Regulation act, said it is needed for self protection as it would deter potential threats to lives. |
FL: Florida deputy shoots legally armed Black airman in apartment
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During a news conference today, Crump said Fortson was on a Facetime call with his girlfriend after he just got home from playing video games with his friends. When he heard a knock on his door, he asked, “Who is it?” but didn’t get a response.
Fortson then retrieved a gun he owned legally and was walking back into his living room when the deputies burst through the door and opened fire. Fortson did not fire his weapon, Crump said.
“He was in his apartment minding his business and then … this cascade of tragic events started to take place,” he said, calling on the sheriff to release body-camera footage. |
Crying Wolf: Criminals Claim Self-Defense, Too, But Cops, Prosecutors Not Buying It
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While self-defense is a justifiable claim when a person is forced to literally protect themselves or others from imminent death or serious bodily harm from the hand of another, a person can’t just claim self-defense and expect everyone around them to accept it. But plenty of people in the wrong try.
For every article in the news about a legitimate self-defense claim, and there are plenty, there’s probably another where someone claimed self-defense, but it was allegedly anything but. |
CA: Ninth Circuit finds that convicted felons also have Second Amendment rights
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A Ninth Circuit panel Thursday ruled that a blanket prohibition on convicted felons possessing firearms violates their Second Amendment rights, at least when it comes to nonviolent offenders who served out their sentence.
In a split decision, the three-judge panel threw out firearm possession conviction of a Los Angeles member of a street gang who had five prior felony convictions and was later sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for being a "felon-in-possession." |
CA: Ninth Circuit Panel Concludes That Some Felons May Have Second Amendment Rights
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It reasons, much historical analysis later, with the view that:
A more faithful application of Bruen requires the Government to proffer Founding-era felony analogues that are "distinctly similar" to Duarte's underlying offenses and would have been punishable either with execution, with life in prison, or permanent forfeiture of the offender's estate.
And, the majority concludes, this defendant's particular past convictions—for vandalism, drug possession, evading a peace officer, and being a felon in possession of a firearm—did not qualify. |
CA: Nonviolent felons can’t be banned from owning guns, 9th Circuit rules
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A decades-old federal law banning convicted felons from possessing guns is unconstitutional, at least as applied to those convicted of nonviolent felonies, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.
When the Second Amendment was added to the Constitution, “the right to keep and bear arms was every citizen’s fundamental right,” regardless of their past actions, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said in a 2-1 ruling. |
Hunter Biden Gun Trial Looks Set for Election Season
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One federal appeals court ruled that Hunter Biden’s gun charges could proceed this week, while another added support to his Second Amendment argument against them.
On Thursday, a three-judge panel on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected an attempt by the President’s son to avoid a trial. Biden tried to get the panel to end his case based on his since-retracted agreement with prosecutors. Instead, they decided he didn’t have a claim to avoid prosecution.
“The defendant in this criminal case appealed three pretrial orders entered on April 12, 2024, denying his motions to dismiss the indictment,” the panel wrote in US v. Biden. |
CA: 9th Circuit upholds law allowing California to share gun buyers’ information with researchers
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The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a San Diego federal judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit challenging California’s law that permits gun owners’ information to be shared with researchers studying gun violence.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of gun owners — including three from San Diego County — sought to block enforcement of AB 173, which amended state law to allow disclosure of gun owners’ personal information to researchers. The gun owners alleged the law deterred potential gun and ammunition buyers from freely exercising their Second Amendment rights and violated the privacy rights of gun owners. |
NH: Bill adding mental health records to gun checks hits a hurdle with some Senate Republicans
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With the help of 25 Republicans, Democrats passed a bill in March that would put New Hampshire on the long list of states that provide certain mental health records for gun background checks. Late Wednesday, Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans voted to recommend the full Senate reject it over the objections of the committee’s two Democrats.
It was unclear Thursday when the Senate will take up House Bill 1711, which was filed in response to the November fatal shooting of a state hospital security guard by a former patient who had his guns confiscated in 2016 over mental health concerns. |
WA: Next salvo fired in WA Supreme Court in high-cap mag ban case
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The public could learn within a few months or sooner if the Washington Supreme Court will take up the Gator’s Custom Guns case related to the state's ban on the buying or selling of high-capacity magazines.
That’s the assessment of Pete Serrano with The Silent Majority Foundation, representing the Kelso gun retailer. Serrano is also running for state Attorney General. |
CA: Ninth Circuit Panel Rules Non-Violent Felons Can Own Guns
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“Duarte is an American citizen, and thus one of ‘the people’ whom the Second Amendment protects,” Judge Carlos Bea wrote for a 2-1 court in US v. Duarte. “The Second Amendment’s plain text and historically understood meaning therefore presumptively guarantee his individual right to possess a firearm for self-defense. The Government failed to rebut that presumption by demonstrating that permanently depriving Duarte of this fundamental right is otherwise consistent with our Nation’s history.” |
MN: Democrat Representative Said “Women Can’t Have Guns Because Safeties Are Too Complicated”
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In a recent debate over Safe Storage laws, a Democratic State Legislature member from Minnesota, Rep. Kaohly Vang Her (DFL), made a statement that has sparked controversy and disbelief among many.
Her assertion that women should not have firearms because they might struggle with operating the safeties has ignited a fierce debate about gender stereotypes, firearms competency, and individual rights. Let’s delve into what was said and the implications it carries. |
The Major Supreme Court Cases of 2024
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The consequential cases, with decisions arriving by late June or early July, include three affecting former President Donald J. Trump, two on abortion, two on guns, three on the First Amendment rights of social media companies and three on the administrative state.
In recent years, some of the court’s biggest decisions have been out of step with public opinion. Researchers at Harvard, Stanford and the University of Texas conducted a survey in March to help explore whether that gap persists.
Ed.: Waiting on Cargill & Rahimi 2A cases. Also NRA's 1A case. |
The 5 biggest cases the US Supreme Court could soon decide
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Will a bump stock ban stay in place?
Former President Trump banned bump stocks after the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas. They're used to modify semiautomatic guns to speed up the firing mechanism, turning them into machine gun-like devices.
Will the high court keep the ban in place? Or will justices find it violates the Second Amendment? |
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TO REMEMBER |
| We'll take one step at a time, and the first is necessarily - given the political realities - very modest. We'll have to start working again to strengthen the law, and then again to strengthen the next law and again and again. Our ultimate goal, total control of handguns, is going to take time. The first problem is to slow down production and sales. Next is to get registration. The final problem is to make possession of all handguns and ammunition (with a few exceptions) totally illegal. — Pete Shields, founder of Handgun Control, Inc., New Yorker Magazine, June 26, 1976, pg. 53 |
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