|
|
Guns are on the ballot in 4 states
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com
|
There
are no comments
on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments
|
Initiatives in Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho and Massachusetts would embrace gun rights if passed.
In June 2024, Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey signed into law House Bill 4885, which regulates unserialized “ghost guns,” expanded the state’s red flag law and banned machine gun conversion devices. Now, more than two years later, voters will decide whether to keep the law or scuttle it when they go to the polls next week.
The initiative is one of four on ballots across the country this midterm cycle that seek to expand gun rights. There are none that seek to strengthen gun laws. |
FL: Man accused of starting fight at Hialeah party, getting shot in face, arrested, police say
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com
|
There
are no comments
on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments
|
At some point during the gathering, a victim got involved and told the suspect, identified as 42-year-old Jonatan De Jesus Dzul Aguilar, to stop.
Police said that De Jesus Dzul Aguilar continued acting violently, grabbed a ceramic vase and struck the victim in the head.
A struggle between the two then ensued, and during the fight, a gun that was legally carried by the victim was exposed, and as the two men fought for the gun, the gun was discharged and struck De Jesus Dzul Aguilar in the face.
Witnesses at the party corroborated what the victim said happened. |
GA: 'Give me the video': Armed man shot dead by Valdosta store clerk after shooting incident
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com
|
There
are no comments
on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments
|
A violent confrontation outside a Valdosta convenience store turned deadly when a gunman allegedly shot another man, continued firing as the wounded victim fled and then stormed inside the business demanding surveillance footage — only to be fatally shot by a store employee who feared for his life.
Valdosta police say surveillance video and other evidence confirm the employee acted in self-defense and will not face criminal charges.
The violence erupted around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, at a convenience store in the 1300 block of North Troup Street. |
AR: Ballot measure proposes expanding Arkansas constitution’s right to bear arms
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com
|
There
are no comments
on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments
|
An unloaded Glock 19X handgun sits next to a magazine and 9 mm ammunition at a gun range. Several states have enacted laws that allow judges to temporarily remove guns from people in crisis, but a growing number of states are banning the measures. (Photo by Amanda Watford/Stateline)
A proposed constitutional amendment aimed at solidifying Arkansans’ right to keep and bear arms is needed to better protect that right, supporters say, but opponents argue it will make it more difficult to implement gun safety regulations.
Issue 2 would amend the state constitution to clarify that the right to keep and bear arms includes “without limitation” the possession and use of ammunition, firearm accessories and firearm components. |
MI: El-Sayed Says the Second Amendment Only Protects Muskets
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com
|
There
are no comments
on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments
|
Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has a theory about the Second Amendment: it covers muskets, and not much else. The Supreme Court already told us exactly what they think of that theory. They called it “bordering on the frivolous.” Back in 2008.
During a recent campaign appearance, El-Sayed tried his hand at explaining constitutional originalism before landing on the idea that since muskets were the common arm at the time the Second Amendment was adopted, that’s what Americans should have a right to today.
“When they promised the right to bear arms, they had muskets. So, yeah, everyone should have equal rights to a musket,” El-Sayed said. |
The Supreme Court’s AR-15 Cases Reveal What America Is Really Fighting About
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com
|
There
are no comments
on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments
|
I went into the Supreme Court’s pending AR-15 cases expecting to find what you would expect: competing arguments about the Second Amendment, American history, firearm technology, crime statistics and public safety. There is plenty of that in the 87 amicus briefs filed in Viramontes and Grant. But after working through all of them, I came away thinking the briefs expose an even more fundamental disagreement.
They are arguing about the proper relationship between the citizen and the government. And California, perhaps more than any other state, has been living that argument for decades.
At bottom, the question is this: Who gets to decide? |
AL: Bobby Orr’s Post About Alabama Boy’s School Suspension Sparks Debate Over Bullying and Self-Defense
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com
|
There
are no comments
on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments
|
The post describes an incident involving a 9-year-old Alabama boy named Justin, who was reportedly suspended from school after an altercation with another student on a playground.
According to the account, Justin was cornered by another child who allegedly attempted to punch him. The boy reportedly responded by striking back once. Following the incident, the school issued Justin a three-day suspension under its disciplinary rules.
However, his father’s response has attracted particular attention. Rather than grounding his son or taking away privileges, the father reportedly took Justin out for a steak dinner. |
FL: Vote for Greg Steube for Florida’s 17th Congressional District
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com
|
There
are no comments
on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments
|
As a Florida state lawmaker, he took on important fights to restore your rights:
Campus carry: Steube sponsored HB 4001 in 2016 to allow concealed carry license holders to carry in college and university facilities, helping fight for that legislation in the Florida House.
Open carry: As a state senator, he introduced SB 140 in 2017 to allow Floridians to openly carry handguns and fought the Republican establishment who wanted to keep Janet Reno’s gun control on the books.
Opposing Parkland gun control: In 2018, he fought the gun restrictions in SB 7026, including the under-21 purchase ban and bump stock ban. |
Mentally disturbed anti-gun vandal defaces 9/11 Memorial
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com
|
There
are no comments
on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments
|
Neither the NYPD nor the NYFD were willing to comment publicly about a wanton act of vandalism that occurred this week at Ground Zero of the 9/11 Memorial.
Calls and emails to both agencies were not returned.
It’s not too difficult to figure out why.
There were 343 New York City Firefighters murdered near the vandalized site on September 11, 2001.
There were 23 New York City Police officers and detectives killed on that horrible day. |
FL: Vote for James Uthmeier for Florida Attorney General
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com
|
There
are no comments
on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments
|
Following the court decision striking down Florida’s open-carry ban, he issued guidance against arresting or prosecuting people for lawful open carry. His office also announced it would stop defending prosecutions under that ban in GOA v. Del Toro.
His commitment to the Second Amendment goes beyond open carry:
Repealing Parkland gun control: Uthmeier supports repealing the gun-control restrictions enacted following Parkland in 2018.
Fighting mandatory waiting periods: He has asked a federal court to declare Florida’s mandatory firearm purchase waiting period unconstitutional. |
CT: DOJ Civil Rights Division Opens Investigation Into Middletown and Waterbury Police Over Carry Permit Delays and Denials
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com
|
There
are no comments
on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments
|
The Justice Department opened an investigation on Thursday, Oct. 22, into whether Middletown and Waterbury, Connecticut, unnecessarily delay issuing firearm permits to their residents. According to the Department’s press release, the investigation will focus on the permitting systems run by the Middletown and Waterbury police departments.
The Justice Department says the two departments “may be unreasonably denying otherwise qualified applicants a CCW permit and forcing them to undergo a potentially years-long appeal process to exercise this fundamental right.” No court is involved at this stage, and the Department has announced no findings. |
Connecticut, Cook County File Lame Opening Briefs In U.S. Supreme Court AWB Challenge
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com
|
There
are no comments
on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments
|
The opposing governments in the combined U.S. Supreme Court case challenging the ban on so-called “assault weapons” have filed their opening briefs laying out why their bans meet the demands of the Constitution.
And a major gun-rights organization isn’t too impressed with the arguments made by Cook County, Illinois, and the state of Connecticut.
The two cases, Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins, challenge bans on rifles commonly owned and used for lawful purposes by millions of Americans, including those in Connecticut and Cook County. |
Gun-Control Groups Ask Supreme Court To Reverse Landmark Ruling
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com
|
There
are no comments
on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments
|
“Heller and its progeny are egregiously flawed decisions that are themselves incompatible with the history and plain language of the Second Amendment, and these decisions have devastating public health consequences,” Americans Against Gun Violence claimed in its brief. “A ruling by this Court in favor of Petitioners in the present case would compound those devastating consequences.”
“We call on this Court to rule not only that civilian ownership of AR-15’s is not constitutionally protected, but also to acknowledge Heller and its progeny were wrongly decided,” the group continued. |
VA: Virginia, Before You Ban the AR-15, Learn What ‘AR’ Means
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com
|
There
are no comments
on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments
|
Before politicians rewrite the rules governing a constitutional right, they ought to understand the equipment they’re discussing. Nobody would welcome a transportation secretary who confused a pickup with a passenger jet, then explained that both have engines and can go very fast.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones has offered the firearms equivalent. A passage reproduced from his Supreme Court brief supporting Cook County, Illinois’s gun restrictions declares: “AR-15s are machine guns,” except that they have semiautomatic rather than automatic fire.
That exception does a lot of work, rather. It’s like announcing that your neighbor’s housecat is a tiger, except for the size, species, and ability to eat the mailman. |
Anti-Gunners Exploit Grieving Families to Strip Away Your Gun Rights
Submitted by:
Mark A. Taff
Website: www.marktaff.com
|
There
are no comments
on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments
|
Sandy Hook Promise, the group founded by families who lost loved ones in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, filed its own 27-page amicus brief the same day arguing that guns can be banned even if they are in common use.
The Sandy Hook shooter fired 154 bullets in about four minutes, killing 20 first graders and six teachers, according to the Sandy Hook Promise brief. |
|
|
