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NY: Local mayor taking aim at Second Amendment rights
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A small-town mayor is stirring up a big debate on Second Amendment rights in New York State.

Middleburgh Mayor Matthew Avitable filed a federal lawsuit against Governor Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, and George Beach, Superintendent of the New York State Police.

Avitable filed the suit because he wants to buy a Taser.

"I do believe there's a certain right enshrined in the constitution for self-defense, and ultimately the ability to carry and implement such as a Taser does fall into that, Avitable said.

WV: Good Neighbor Fires Gun To Run Off Robbers Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There is 1 comment on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
In Pinch, West Virginia on Sunday at about 4:40 p.m., the man called 911 reporting he that interrupted a burglary at his neighbors home according to Sgt. Brian Humphreys, spokesman for the Kanawha Sheriffs Office. He said he saw the people at his neighbors house and confronted them. He also shot their vehicle, striking the rear glass and a tire before they fled.

TX: New Texas bills take different approaches to safety
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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On the flip side of things, State Representative Jonathan Stickland has his own idea for keeping Texans safe. The Dallas area Rep has filed what he calls the Constitutional Carry Act, a bill that would allow gun owners to open carry or concealed carry without a license.

On his website, Stickland writes, "The second amendment alone should stand as one's 'permit,' to ensure their safety and right to self-defense." The way the law stands now, first-time applicants for a license to carry a firearm must take a training class and pass a written exam.

FL: Debate over revision of Floridas stand your ground law returns
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State Sen. Rob Bradley is renewing his effort to change Florida's "stand your ground" law in a way that prosecutors have said could make it harder for them to try cases.

Bradley's legislation in the 2016 session was the subject of much debate, because critics argued it would force prosecutors to essentially try a case before it actually got to trial.

Bradley, a conservative Republican and attorney from Fleming Island, doesn't see it that way. He's on a mission to correct what he views as the Florida Supreme Court's "misinterpretation" of law when it comes to who has the responsibility in a pretrial hearing to prove whether a defendant can claim self-defense under "stand your ground."

Report hacks the interests and purchasing patterns of hunting and shooting millennials
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Theyre indoorsmen quick with a hash-tag quip and safely anonymous snark, demanding instant gratification, high pay and comfortable lifestyle; too tech-dependent to function without electricity, too fragile to tolerate a politically incorrect word or action or thought.

Thats the millennial myth, as much a pejorative caricature as any stereotype of a large and complex social group. Born before 2000, young adults comprise the largest generation of Americans alive today, totaling 75 million in 2015. Whenever a population that big comes of age, it brings new ideas and preferences. It brings change.

OH: The Buckeye State Expands Concealed Carry Laws
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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The Ohio state senate has passed legislation expanding concealed carry across the Buckeye state. Concealed carriers are now allowed to carry in places that were once off-limits: schools, college campuses, daycares and private aircrafts. The bill passed 23-9.

The intent for this legislation is to clean up the current confusing law and allow law-abiding citizens to exercise their Second Amendment right, said Representative Ron Maag, the bills sponsor. The bulk of House Bill 48 addresses forbidden carry zones and makes changes that only apply to those legally permitted to carry a concealed weapon.

Take That Dead Media Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Take That Dead Media. Media is in a tizzy over Trump tweeting, going over their head and directly to the people making it harder to control the narrative.

LA: Joe McKnight, Ronald Gasser, and the law of self-defense in Louisiana
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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Louisiana law -- in LSA-R.S. SS 14:20B -- offers suspects a "presumption," which is just a legal term for benefit of the doubt. If a suspect claims self-defense after killing a person who attacked her while she was in her car, the state must accept her story unless and until there is sufficient evidence to contradict this account. The alternative would be to give the state the benefit of the doubt - that is, presume homicide unless and until there were sufficient evidence to prove self-defense.

FL: Burden of proof change sought in self-defense cases
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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A controversial proposal to shift the burden of proof in "stand your ground" self-defense cases has been refiled in the Florida Senate.

Fleming Island Republican Rob Bradley on Thursday filed the measure (SB 128) for the 2017 legislative session, which starts in March. The bill would shift the burden of proof to prosecutors during evidentiary hearings in self-defense cases.

The bill stems from a Florida Supreme Court ruling in 2015 that said defendants have the burden of proof to show they should be shielded from prosecution under the "stand your ground" law.

OH: Contact your State Legislators Today in Support of Important Self-Defense Bill!
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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Sponsored by state Senator Joe Uecker (R-14), Sub. SB 199 would exempt active duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces from the concealed carry permit license requirements. The bill would make several important changes in the Concealed Handgun Law regarding a person who is an active duty member of the U.S. armed forces and is carrying a valid military identification card and a certificate issued by the person's applicable service branch indicating that the person has successfully completed small arms qualification (qualifying member of the military).

Moms & Armed Self-Defense
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The firearm, the safe, the trainingits the holy trinity of gun ownership. Across our Second Amendment-loving community, there exists a general consensus that these three elements shall not be separated. I learned this the day I was given my first gun, and have abided by it ever since. And like many single women, back then I obtained my concealed-carry permit, was diligent about my own safety and maintained my gun training religiously. Situational awareness was always paramount in my thinking, as my trainers, colleagues and family had preached. But those were the days before I became a mom.

Yoko Ono's Gun Control Comments On Anniversary Of John Lennon's Death Are Heartbreaking
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Fittingly, Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, has made a plea for gun control on the anniversary of his death, because her brilliant, visionary husband was by no means the last "if only" or the last story that will never be told to completion.

In fact, since Lennon's death in 1980, there have been 1.2 million people killed by gun violence in America alone. Ono took to her Facebook page, Imagine Peace, to call for stricter gun control not only for the sake of Lennon's memory, but for the millions of people who have been "hollowed" by gun violence in the past 36 years:

This Kind Of Open-Carrying Idiot Is Why We Cant Have Nice Things Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There is 1 comment on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Russell Andrew Anderson is the kind of jerk who gives all law-abiding gun owners a bad name as one of the disgusting breed of attention-seekers who open carries guns at his fellow citizens.

Rep. Thomas Massie to Chair Revived Second Amendment Caucus in Congress
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) will be chair of a newly relaunched Congressional Second Amendment Caucus. (Earlier versions existed from 2004-08, and 2009-13.)

According to a press release today from his office, Massie believes the results of this year's election "present us with a new opportunity to advance pro-gun legislation and reverse the erosion of the Second Amendment that's occurred over the last few decades."

Why The Appointment Of Solicitor General Is Critically Important To Second Amendment Rights
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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Last week, I mentioned that the pick of Solicitor General would be on par with the pick for Attorney General in its importance. Not many people can name who the Solicitor General is, but keep this fact in mind: Five Solicitor Generals, including current Justice Elena Kagan, have become Supreme Court Justices since the office was established in 1870. Two members of the current Supreme Court, Sam Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts, worked in that office.

OH: Ohio State student: Instead of Run Hide Fight, give me my Second Amendment right to bear arms
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
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On Monday, a group of Second Amendment advocates unaffiliated with Ohio State held a No More Sitting Ducks! open-carry walk on campus to advocate for students concealed carry rights.

Predictably, many of my perpetually apoplectic peers took to the Ohio State snapchat story to voice their grievances over the fact that it was way too early to have guns on campus in the wake of an attack by fellow Buckeye Abdul Razak Ali Artan.

LA: New NRA Ad Urges Voters to Elect John Kennedy for U.S. Senate
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The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) launched a radio buy in Louisiana educating voters on A rated U.S. Senate candidate John Kennedy. Kennedy, a strong Second Amendment advocate endorsed by the NRA, is running in the Dec. 10 special election.

John will be an outstanding advocate for Louisiana gun owners in the U.S. Senate and is the only candidate in this race who will stand strong against the Obama/Bloomberg/Clinton gun control agenda, said Chris W. Cox, chairman, NRA-PVF.

TX: Texas Rep Takes a Second Shot at "Constitutional Carry" Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Last session, it was open carry. This session, the statehouse may take on a further-reaching firearm debate: Constitutional carry. Rooted in the Constitution's Second Amendment, constitutional carry laws give any U.S. citizen the right to carry a firearm without a license and is already permitted in 11 states and Puerto Rico. Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, hopes to add Texas to that list.

TX: Council discusses, takes no action on allowing handguns at City Hall
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The City Council again discussed allowing handguns at City Hall meetings during a regular meeting Tuesday, although members took no action on the item.

This is only for discussion, Mayor Frank Seffrood said.

The council heard a discussion led by Interim Police Chief Eddie Wilson on allowing or prohibiting the carrying of open and concealed handguns in city meetings.

At a City Council retreat March 8, an item was presented for discussion and possible direction regarding firearms in city buildings.

At an Oct. 18 workshop meeting, the council was given an update on the 2015 Texas Legislature changes to state handgun laws and discussed the effect on city facilities.

GA: Ga. Lawmakers Writing New Campus Carry Bill
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Gov. Nathan Deal this spring vetoed a measure passed by the Georgia Legislature that would have allowed licensed gun owners to carry their weapons on campus at Georgias public colleges and universities.

But lawmakers are working on a new version of the campus carry bill for the legislative session set to begin in January, House Speaker David Ralston said in an interview Wednesday.

Lets put together a new bill, he said, Maybe address some of the concerns that were raised, and take additional measures necessary to protect our constitutional rights under the Second Amendment, which is what Im all about."

Pro-gun group wants Trump to dump Petraeus as possible secretary of state
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Former Central Intelligence (CIA) Director David Petraeus is a bad pick for secretary of state because of his Clinton-like disregard for Americans 2nd Amendment rights, according to Gun Owners of America.

Earlier this year, Petraeus joined retired astronaut Mark Kelly in launching a gun control group called The Veterans Coalition for Common Sense. The groups primary objectives are increasing background check scrutiny for gun purchases and working to decrease veteran firearm suicides.

IN: Lawmaker: No more gun permits
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A state legislator wants Indiana to do away with requiring permits to carry firearms and instead adopt a constitutional carry law.

Such a law would eliminate the need for citizens to apply for permits, be fingerprinted and pay fees to openly carry a gun or have a gun in their vehicle.

District 69 Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, said Indianas gun permit process is a burden and infringes on law-abiding citizens constitutional right to keep and bear arms. He also said the state shouldnt be making money on those rights.

FL: Campus Carry Bill Filed In Florida House
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A controversial measure that would allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to pack heat while on college and university campuses was filed Wednesday by state Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood.

The proposal (HB 6005) is filed for the 2017 legislative session, which starts in March. Second Amendment groups backed such legislation during the 2016 session, while it was opposed by many faculty members, university and college presidents, and campus law enforcement.