A new federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) rule on pistols with stabllizing braces faces a Second Amendment lawsuit filed on behalf of disabled veterans.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed the complaint Tuesday in the U.S. Northern District of Texas Amarillo Division.
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Coinciding with an uptick in gang violence in the state and mass shootings nationwide, state lawmakers are likely to consider gun legislation during this year’s General Assembly session.
Last year, Kemp signed Senate Bill 319, a “constitutional carry” measure allowing Georgians to carry guns without needing a state-issued license. State Democrats derided the move, saying it would lead to more shootings in the state.
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Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont wants to tighten the state’s gun control laws to prevent mass shootings, but the move is facing pushback from Second Amendment groups which say it would be unconstitutional.
Lamont’s proposal, which will be unveiled as part of this preliminary budget proposal, calls for increasing the age to buy firearms to 21, closing “loopholes in the state’s assault weapons ban and prohibiting the sale of large-capacity firearm magazines.”
Lamont said the “commonsense” changes come in response to a spate of mass shootings nationwide. He said the state’s gun control laws have “not kept up with the innovative ways firearm companies are manufacturing guns that have the sole purpose of killing the largest number of humans within the shortest amount of time.”
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A coalition of 18 state attorneys general, all Democrats, on Wednesday submitted an amicus brief in support of New York’s firearms industry accountability law.
In the brief, the coalition led by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul asserts the law’s legitimacy to protect residents public health, safety and welfare.
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Virginia Democrats are pushing for stricter gun safety measures during the 2023 legislative session in response to what they say is an “epidemic” of gun violence.
Democratic lawmakers in the state Senate have introduced a range of gun control proposals, including bills that will prohibit individuals from carrying assault weapons in certain public areas and prohibit the sale of unserialized weapon parts, more commonly known as “ghost guns.”
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Pennsylvania state Senator Cris Dush (R-Bellefonte) is asking colleagues to cosponsor legislation to let law-abiding state residents carry concealed firearms without a permit, something he tried but failed to get enacted last session.
The senator’s original bill passed the General Assembly in autumn of 2021 but Governor Tom Wolf (D) vetoed it. Its chances of becoming law have diminished even further insofar as Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro recently was elected in November to succeed Wolf and Democrats won a majority of seats in the state House of Representatives.
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Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson held a press conference Monday to announce three new measures for the upcoming 2023 legislative session that aims to curb gun violence in the state.
The measures would ban assault style weapons, hold manufacturers and retailers accountable for gun sales and implement a permit-to-purchase requirement for all gun buyers, according to a press conference. Inslee cited an increase in gun violence as the reason for the new legislation, and believes the laws, along with mental health assistance, will curb gun violence in Washington.
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A recently passed Oregon gun law will not take effect Thursday, following a high court ruling by Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Walters, who denied Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s request to remove a hold on the law, according to The Associated Press.
The law, Ballot Measure 114, was subject to multiple lawsuits following its passing in November, and Rosenblum’s request sought to overturn a lower court’s ruling by Harney County Judge Robert Raschio, which placed a hold on the law’s implementation Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. The ballot measure is considered one of the strictest gun regulations in the country, and if implemented, will require background checks, firearm training, fingerprint collection and a permit to purchase any firearm.
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After three football players were killed in a shooting at the University of Virginia and six people were killed in a shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, gun groups are cautioning against efforts to impose stricter gun control measures.
On November 13, three UVA football players were killed after a man allegedly opened fire in a bus after returning to the university from a class trip. A little more than a week later, six people were killed in a Walmart in Chesapeake after a man allegedly opened fire because of grievances against some Walmart employees.
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Oregon voters on Wednesday passed Ballot Measure 114, one of the most restrictive gun control measures in the country.
The ballot measure passed 51% to 49%, with 77% reporting, according to the Oregonian. Though the results were close with just over three-fourths of the vote tallied, the remaining counties of Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas all heavily favor the measure.
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Hundreds of Virginians have had their guns confiscated from them through red-flag laws since those rules went into effect more than two years ago, according to data in the Virginia Firearms Transaction Center.
Red-flag laws allow police to seize firearms from a person if a judge deems him or her to be a threat to himself or others, even if that person has not been convicted of a crime, charged with a crime or even accused of a crime. The laws passed the General Assembly when Democrats had control of both chambers and were signed by former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. The legislation received staunch opposition from the Republican minority at the time.
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State Senator Amanda Cappelletti (D-PA-Norristown) on Friday proposed legislation that would force Pennsylvania gun owners to carry liability insurance.
In a memorandum describing her upcoming bill, Cappelletti wrote that gun-related injuries and deaths cost Pennsylvanians an estimated $12 million each year through lost wages, physical and mental healthcare payments, first-responder services and other expenses. She reasoned that some of these burdens should fall on firearm owners via insurance premiums. She added that insurers could then vary the size of those premiums according to whether policyholders take what she considers appropriate precautions.
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After last week’s news that American Express, Mastercard and Visa, plan to keep lists of those who purchase weapons using their credit card services, Tennessee’s Attorney General is leading a coalition of 24 of his peers from various states in opposition of that plan.
“Giant financial companies must not use their combined market power to circumvent our
representative democracy,” said Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. “As Attorney
General, I protect the people of Tennessee from corporate collusion that threatens to undermine their constitutional rights. Working together with my colleagues from other states, we will marshal the full scope of our lawful authority to stop this abuse.”
Georgia Democrats are planning to introduce a series of gun control legislation for lawmakers to consider during the next legislative session.
Among the proposed legislation is a measure to prohibit supplying a semiautomatic assault weapon to anyone under the age of 21 years.
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The international organization responsible for creating merchant category codes for credit card purchases has given its approval to establish one for transactions made at gun stores.
The International Organization for Standardization’s Registration and Maintenance Management Group met on Wednesday to discuss a request made by Amalgamated Bank to set up such a code.
An ISO spokesperson told The Center Square that RMMG members could not decide whether to approve the application. That elevated the discussion to the ISO leadership that oversees standards for retail financial services.
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An Ohio Republican state senator introduced gun-control legislation that would require a co-signer for 18- to 21-year-olds to buy any gun other than a single-round rifle or shotgun.
State Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, who lost a U.S. Senate primary earlier this year to J.D. Vance, said Senate Bill 357 protects both Second Amendment rights and the public.
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Pennsylvania state Representative Emily Kinkead (D-Pittsburgh) announced on Friday that she will sponsor a bill to require residents to obtain permits to buy guns.
Her legislation is a companion to a Senate measure authored by Art Haywood (D-Philadelphia). The senator began touting his legislation the day after the May school shooting in Uvalde, TX in which an 18-year-old killed 19 children and two teachers.
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Former Connecticut state Representative Themis Klarides touted her 22 years as a state lawmaker and her support for abortion and gun control as she faced off against two conservative Republican candidates during a GOP primary debate for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by career Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal.
Klarides’ liberal positions on several issues, portrayed as what is acceptable for Connecticut Republicans, clashed with those of Greenwich fundraiser and former trader Leora Levy and immigration attorney Peter Lumaj.
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Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs recently announced he voted against House Rule (HR) 1808, the Assault Weapons Ban Act of 2022, which aims to prevent the sale, import, manufacture, transfer, or possession of a semiautomatic assault weapon.
“Rather than address the bona fide root causes of mass shooting violence–including the destruction of the American family unit, mental health, or bureaucratic hurdles for law-abiding gun-owners–Democrats exploited the heightened emotions of a grieving nation to push through their radical, anti-Second Amendment agenda,” Biggs said. “This legislation is a reactionary move that will not reduce violent crime or the likelihood of mass shootings.”
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A coalition of 20 state attorneys general, all Democrats, are backing a federal gun rule in court.
The Final Rule, as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives named it, would enable law enforcement officials to trace any homemade guns used in crimes. In addition, the rule limits trafficking the weaponry.
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State Rep. Darisha Parker (D-PA-Philadelphia) this week began asking fellow lawmakers to cosponsor a bill to raise the minimum firearm purchase and possession age in Pennsylvania from 18 to 21.
The freshman representative cited data from the San Francisco-based Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence indicating that U.S. residents ages 18 to 20 account for 17 percent of confirmed murderers despite being only four percent of the population. She also noted that those ages 14 to 21 have the highest propensity toward suicide or attempted suicide among all Americans.
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President Joe Biden on Saturday signed bipartisan gun control legislation meant to take guns out of the hands of individuals deemed a threat, though critics say that’s a violation of due process rights. The measure also imposes more thorough background checks on buyers under the age of 21.
It does not include a ban on AR-15-style weapons or limit the number of bullets in magazines.
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The U.S. Senate voted late Tuesday to advance a gun control bill with 14 Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, joining Democrats to approve the measure.
The vote was reached after weeks of negotiating a bipartisan bill in response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in which a gunman shot and killed 19 children and two teachers.
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John Toomey, flanked by other relatives of slain Philadelphians as well as state lawmakers at the Pennsylvania Capitol Building in Harrisburg on Tuesday, tearfully discussed the fate that befell his 15-year-old son Sean. Many who gathered near him showed similar anguish as they listened.
Toomey and dozens of his fellow bereaved Philadelphians convened at the legislative building’s front lobby to condemn the performance of District Attorney Larry Krasner (D) since he became the city’s top prosecutor in 2018.
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FRANKLIN, Tennessee – The chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), told the The Tennessee Star at the Williamson County GOP’s monthly mix and mingle event on Friday that he thinks the bipartisan deal on guns and school safety won’t go through if the focus is gun control.
In response to a question asked by The Star if he thought the deal would come to pass, Senator Scott said, “I think if they focus on school safety, there’s an opportunity. If they focus on gun control, there won’t be a deal.”
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State Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Gettysburg) asked colleagues Tuesday to co-sponsor a bill he plans to introduce to let teachers carry guns in Pennsylvania schools.
Under the proposal, teachers who hold concealed carry permits may be armed on school property provided they complete “a rigorous firearms course from a certified instructor.” Similar measures are now in effect in 28 states.
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On Sunday, twenty U.S. senators, including Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), announced they arrived at a proposal containing gun control and other measures they believe will curb violence in America.
The emerging legislation comes as pressure mounts on lawmakers to act in response to mass shootings like the recent ones in Buffalo, NY and Uvalde, TX.
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The Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) responded Friday to a set of gun control bills that passed in the House of Representatives this week. The group also criticized Tennessee lawmakers for “putting Tennesseans’ lives at risk” with current state legislation in place.
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Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, guest host Gulbransen welcomed Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs to the newsmaker line to discuss the Bill of Rights, 2nd Amendment, and the security of public schools.
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Tennessee Republican Representative John Rose (R-TN-06) voted “No” on two gun control bills brought to the House floor Wednesday.
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A bill written by a Georgia congresswoman that would provide for a host of gun control measures is making its way through the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives.
“A family or household member of the applicable individual, or a law enforcement officer, may submit to an appropriate district court of the United States a petition requesting that the court issue an ex parte Federal extreme risk protection order or long-term Federal extreme risk protection order with respect to an individual,” says the text of H.R. 2377.
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The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday evening to pass the “Protecting Our Kids Act,” a package of gun control bills developed in response to the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas.
The House voted on pieces of the legislation separately.
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Nashville Metro Council approved woke resolutions calling for increased gun control laws and recognizing “Nashville Pride Month” at its June 7 meeting.
Metro Council approved RS2022-1580, which is sponsored by Councilmembers Joy Styles, Dave Rosenberg, Tanaka Vercher, Bob Mendes, Jeff Syracuse, Colby Sledge, Kathleen Murphy, Mary Carolyn Roberts, Ginny Welsch, Sharon Hurt, Courtney Johnston, Gloria Hausser, Freddie OConnell, Burkley Allen, Tonya Hancock, Sandra Sepulveda, Kyonzte Toombs, Larry Hagar, Zulfat Suara, Bob Nash, Brandon Taylor, and Delishia Porterfield.
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In the U.S. Senate, some Republican senators appear open to signing off on Democrat-proposed efforts to increase gun control restrictions in the wake of several recent mass shootings.
Politico reports that the negotiations are being led on the Republican side by Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas). Cornyn has already briefed Republican leadership on what he has discussed with other senators over last week’s recess, and recently held a meeting with Democrats Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) to move talks forward.
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Arizona State Sen. Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) spoke against a proposed suspension of Senate rules to revote on a previously failed gun control Senate Bill (SB) on Tuesday.
“The reason why this bill should not be supported is because it will stop law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves. Criminals do not follow gun laws. They will not abide by this law. Only law-abiding citizens will abide by this law, so you will simply restrict more opportunities to protect people,” said Petersen when explaining his vote.
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New York GOP Rep. Chris Jacobs announced on Friday that he would not seek re-election after his support for an assault weapons ban generated backlash within his own party.
Jacobs announced last week, in the wake of a mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., that he would back a federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, according to the New York Times. Jacobs represents the 27th Congressional District of New York, which includes some of the Buffalo suburbs.
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U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-9) is pushing for an “assault weapons ban” and says he is working with fellow Democrats to pass one.
Cohen’s office issued a press statement on Thursday, discussing how he is urging his colleagues to advance the Protect Our Kids Act and also advocated a ban on “assault weapons.”
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An anti-gun group will host protests in five cities later this month, as part of a nationwide effort to push gun control in the wake of a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
“What we are demanding from our state’s legislators should not be controversial, and will help to prevent preventable deaths in our communities,” said Carson Ferrara, a rising senior at Vanderbilt University and representative of March For Our Lives. “Last year, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a law that allows anyone to carry a loaded gun in public without a permit. He signed it at a weapons manufacturing plant.”
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Woke resolutions recognizing “Nashville Pride Month” and calling for increased gun control laws highlight the Nashville Metro Council agenda for its June 7 meeting.
RS2022-1581 is a resolution “recognizing Wednesday, June 1 to Thursday, June 30, 2022 as the ‘Nashville Pride Month’, celebrating the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer communities and their enormous contributions to the quality of life in Nashville and Davidson County, and further recognizing the 34th anniversary of the first Nashville Pride event.”
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A far-left gun control group based in Arizona Thursday endorsed Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant Governor, who is also the state’s Democrat nominee for Governor in this year’s election.
“For years, @JohnFetterman has been a powerful voice for Pennsylvanians who have lost their lives to gun violence, and I have no doubt that he will continue this fight in the Senate. I am proud to back Lt. Gov. Fetterman in his bid for US Senate,” Gabrielle Giffords said in a Thursday tweet.
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Jake Evans, the Trump-endorsed candidate in the Republican primary runoff election for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, criticized his opponent Rich McCormick’s stance on the 2nd amendment on The John Fredericks Show on Tuesday.
“[McCormick] is backed by special interest groups. AMA is one of them, the American Medical Association. If you look at their website they are clear. They are a liberal organization. Make no bones about it,” Evans said.
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Trump-endorsed Kari Lake celebrated the one year anniversary of launching her leading Arizona gubernatorial campaign Wednesday with a party. Still leading her Republican primary opponents by double digits, she told the crowd of her top supporters at the Pleasant Harbor Marina in Peoria, which she referred to as a “Lake front,” that the campaign has broken multiple records.
Lake brought the crowd to laughter multiple times, especially describing her opponents. She characterized one of the other Republican candidates, Karrin Taylor Robson, “If John McCain had a baby with Liz Cheney, who grew up to marry a 95-year-old billionaire.” Taylor Robson is “frail, nervous; a RINO who puts millions into deceptive ads, trying to buy the election.”
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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday Joe Biden has no interest in Republican proposals that focus on “hardening schools,” i.e., installing greater security and safety measures, because “the problem is with guns.”
Asked if she could elaborate on Biden’s promise to meet with members of Congress on new gun laws, Jean-Pierre said gun violence is an “epidemic” across the country.
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Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) defended his signing of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act back in 2018 in the wake of the school shooting tragedy in Uvalde, Tex. The then-bill raised the firearm purchasing age and established a Red Flag law. Scott defended his actions on the Hugh Hewitt Show, reminding listeners he was governor during the Parkland school shooting tragedy.
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Florida’s Democrat lawmakers are pushing gun control legislation through the Florida legislature. Specifically, they are seeking to expand Florida’s red flag law that currently allows law enforcement officers to seek a court order to confiscate a person’s firearms if they court decides that person is a threat to themselves or others.
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A bill proposed last week by state Rep. Tim Briggs (D-PA-King of Prussia) would bar civilians from buying or possessing body armor in Pennsylvania.
His legislation follows efforts on the federal level and in other states to prohibit civilians from acquiring protective shields. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called for a body-armor ban in 2019 after a mass shooting in Dayton, OH. The New York State Assembly has considered enacting state-level restrictions over the last few sessions, but a bill to do so has stalled.
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Connecticut state Sen. Will Haskell (D-Bethel) last weekend took to the airwaves in support of his proposal to limit gun sales in the Constitution State to one per month.
“We know that handguns sold alongside other handguns in a bulk sale, they’re 64 percent more likely to be used in a criminal manner,” he told WCBS News Radio 880. “Most of the hunters in my district tell me that they don’t really purchase more than one gun per month, typically. I hope that they’ll come to the table on a very commonsense restriction that will save lives.”
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Politicians, including some Republicans, are calling for gun control after a recent spate of mass shootings, particularly last week’s involving a gunman who shot and killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas. Gov. Doug Ducey pushed for “red flag” gun control laws previously, including in 2019 after two mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, and indicated this week he may renew that effort. The Arizona Citizens’ Defense League (AZCDL) immediately sent out 53,000 email alerts.
“Politicians like Ducey are dancing in the blood of victims as opposed to saving people’s lives,” AZCDL Communications Director Charles Heller told The Arizona Sun Times. “We need to stop the psychopaths who are doing this, by taking action like implementing FASTER, which trains teachers and staff at schools to arm themselves after proper training. Ducey’s statement is a profile in cowardice, he’s acting like politicians do when they are afraid of not getting votes.”
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) rejected a school safety bill proposed by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) Wednesday, one that had been promoted by several of the parents of victims of the 2018 Parkland school shooting.
Schumer dismissed the legislation, first introduced in 2019, on which the Parkland victims’ parents had collaborated, claiming the bill “could see more guns in schools” and touting, “I blocked it.”
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The senseless murder of 19 children and two teachers at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas is leading to calls for more gun control. To some, “red flag” laws, also known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders, seem like the obvious solution. These laws allow judges to seize a person’s guns without a trial, based solely on a written complaint that the person might be a danger to themselves or others. All a judge needs is “reasonable suspicion.”
“We know that we can show we can be united to protect our children,” said Sen. Joe Manchin, a famously moderate West Virginia Democrat.
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