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To The Daily Sun,

When the government shuts down projects, people lose their income and must depend on the government; they lose pride in their professional independence becoming pawns of the government. Families can break up trying to survive.

Consider the second amendment of the 10 amendments to the Constitution that the founders added to the Constitution guarantees citizens their rights to their firearms so that they could protect their Constitution and the security of their free state if that state were threatened. The founders of the bill of rights' second amendment were seriously recalling Europe's failures. What would have happened in Lexington and Concord? The British were certain that they could count on no resistance as was customary in Europe. Shoot a few farmers and move on. The British were confident.

Turn in your arms you will be told. What will you do?

William W. Dunnell III

Meredith

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William Dunnell: Worried the second amendment will be tested - The Laconia Daily Sun

After two snow days closed down the Capitol, Wyomings 66th Legislature reconvened on Wednesday and sped through the remainder of the week debating, passing and defeating a flurry of bills.

The Star-Tribune monitored the progress of several key bills last week and provided a rundown of what you may have missed.

Wyomings Senate voted to defeat a bill to repeal the states death penalty on Thursday. Sen. Brian Boner, R-Douglas, sponsored Senate File 150 primarily on fiscal grounds.

Maintaining the option to sentence convicted defendants to death costs the state about $750,000 annually. But the state has not executed a person for nearly three decades. No individuals currently sit on death row in Wyoming, and the state has conducted only a single execution in the past 40 years.

Other supporters of the repeal bill called for eliminating the death penalty in the name of criminal justice reform. Nationally, 185 people who received wrongful convictions have been exonerated from death row since 1973, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

In 2019, a similar repeal bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, but it failed.

Opponents of the repeal bill said it was important to have the option to sentence individuals convicted of the most heinous of crimes. The final vote on the bill was 11-19.

Wyoming Senate defeats death penalty repeal bill, again

Four bills to restrict abortion, including one to outlaw the procedure after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, will advance for a floor debate.

The Legislatures House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee moved all four bills by the same 7-2 margin last week. The no votes came from the two committee Democrats, Reps. Cathy Connolly, D-Laramie, and Andy Clifford, D-Fort Washakie. The nine-person committee is unique in the overwhelmingly male Legislature in that five out of the nine seats are filled by women.

Lawmakers advance four bills restricting abortion in Wyoming

A second Wyoming bill related to marijuana advanced out of the House Judiciary on Thursday after a 6-3 vote.

Public comment for House Bill 82, which would authorize funding for a report on medical marijuana, was given at the same time as that for House Bill 209, a full legalization effort, on March 12.

The medical marijuana bills sponsor, Rep. Bill Henderson, R-Cheyenne, said March 12 that as Wyomingites become increasingly more supportive of medicinal uses of the drug, it makes sense to start learning about it now to be able to develop good policy down the road.

The study would involve the public, he said, including those who would benefit from marijuana being available as treatment. In its current version, the bill aims to allocate $30,000 to the report.

Wyoming medical marijuana bill advances out of committee

A bill intended to protect Wyoming gun owners from potential federal restrictions passed unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, says he penned SF 81 as a way to protect the Second Amendment in Wyoming and to preempt efforts by Congress to further regulate, restrict or confiscate firearms.

It seeks to invalidate federal laws governing gun ownership among law-abiding citizens, spanning taxation, transfer, confiscation, and registering or tracking firearms or owners.

Senate committee advances bill to protect Wyoming gun rights from federal restrictions

State lawmakers have unveiled more than a half dozen bills this session to help Wyomings coal sector stay afloat. Most of the bills have not advanced, but a few pieces of coal legislation have gained traction.

First, House Bill 207 would give Wyomings governor and attorney general $500,000 to challenge actions taken by other states that impede the export of Wyoming coal or the continued operation of the states coal-fired electric generation facilities, including early retirements of those facilities. The bill passed second reading Friday in the House.

Second, House Bill 166 would prohibit the early retirement of coal or natural gas power plant units, unless a utility company takes additional steps to prove ceasing operations would not hurt customers or compromise reliability. The bill passed second reading Friday in the House.

Finally, House Bill 155 passed out of committee after some amendments on Friday. This bill would ask state regulators to analyze how closing a coal or natural gas power plant could affect grid reliability in Wyoming and nationwide before giving a company the OK to retire it. Prior to giving a utility company permission to shut down an aging power plant unit, state regulators would have to consider if the closure would increase the risk of power outages.

Lawmakers want to dedicate $1.2 million to defend Wyoming coal

Wyomings Senate approved a bill on Friday morning that would allow the state to charge drivers a toll when trekking across Interstate 80. Senate File 73 has become one of very few tax bills advanced this session to help the cash-strapped state.

The lead sponsor of the bill, Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, said the proceeds generated from a toll on the states main east-west thoroughfare would go toward much-needed road and bridge maintenance, traffic safety improvements or wildlife management.

Wyoming could start charging I-80 drivers a toll under Senate-backed bill

More here:
What happened this week in Wyoming's Legislature? Here's a recap - KPVI News 6

Keep out of a womans right

I read the 66-page Roe V. Wade decision for the first time a few days ago and I have to admit it is a travesty. The Supreme Court had legal precedent to issue a definitive ruling, which would have nullified all the abortion bills winding their way through the Wyoming Legislature. But in true sausage making tradition, the nine male justices opted for Solomons Bargain, where they cut the Constitution in half and this decision has divided America ever since.

After mansplaining for 41 pages, the Justices chose a convoluted solution instead relying on the plain language of the Fourth Amendment. These diviners of our Constitution threw out the opportunity to set a clear definition on what is a private decision and instead opened Pandoras box with their misguided interpretation. The Founders would be horrified to find that the State had a compelling interest in that personal decision.

On Page 41 of the Decision, the nine, carried through with Solomons threat by collectively dividing the Constitution in half by chiseling the words: With this we do not agree. Had these men removed the do not from the previous sentence then the Constitution would be intact, and Roe would not have become the disaster we have come to know.

This punch line of the previous 41 pages was this monumental sentence:

On the basis of elements such as these, appellant and some amici argue that the womans right is absolute and that she is entitled to terminate her pregnancy at whatever time, in whatever way, and for whatever reason she alone chooses.

Had these nine men agreed with the legitimate evidence that resulted in the sentence above, by using the words With this we agree, the abortion discussion would have been castrated in America. Instead, this decision has birthed a group that lives and breathes in the sanctity of the Second Amendment, while actively destroying the Fourth Amendment. Hypocrisy.

Americans that believe in America should fight for the entire Constitution and not just the part that suits them at the moment. It is clear that your neighbors and the State have no right to ask or interfere in ones pregnancy, just as the Fourth Amendment intended.

Greg Hunter

Laramie

Abortion interference in Wyoming

Over 30 years ago, I made a personal and public commitment to support access to abortion; it is unwavering. This is an action and decision of personal autonomy for the pregnant person supported by information via their medical practitioner. The decision is serious, worthy of regard and reason, without restriction to lawful, optimal medical procedures or access.

SF133, Prohibiting abortifacients and chemical abortions or HB134, Human heartbeat protection act, seek unfounded intrusion on inherent pregnancy risks within which time sensitive decisions must be made for the pregnant person. HB134 does nothing to protect the heartbeat of the pregnant person, why are heartbeats in competition? Both bills dismiss valid decisions for pregnancy termination. Why are Wyoming State legislators applying their will to force birthing?

Self-agency and communal regard is completely absent from the legislation; it ignores intricacies and considerations best met by the pregnant person. I urge defeat of SF133 and HB134 immediately.

Debra East

Lander

Electric cars? Not viable. Not at this point in time

The current administration in Washington, D.C. is informing us that we must switch to electric vehicles by 2035. Just stating this will not make it so. The reason why we have wind turbines is that the government provides substantial subsidies that makes them profitable for the companies and the politicians who vote in these subsidies.

Electric vehicles are just not ready for public consumption. While lithium-ion batteries are cutting-edge technology for electric vehicles, a lithium-ion battery, at most, can store about 0.6 kWh per pound of battery.

In comparison, gasoline contains 6 kWh per pound of gasoline (or 36 kWh/gallon). A Tesla Model 3 has a standard battery pack capable of storing 50 kWh of energy and an average compact car with a 10-gallon tank is capable of storing 360 kWh. A gas car can be refueled in minutes and can travel almost twice as far as an electric that will take over night to recharge.

With gas prices going up, the electric has a small edge in fueling expense. Electric vehicles usually come with a standard 120v (Level 1) charger and this is fine to get you started, but if fully discharged it can take 24 hours to recharge. 240v (Level 2) chargers can recharge the same car in only seven hours but you just cannot plug these into a standard outlet.

A 40 amp Level 2 charger will have to be installed by an electrician and that may be a problem. Most houses in the U.S. have only 100 or 200 amp service and unlike other appliances in your home, when this charger is operating it will be drawing a continuous 32 amps and this is only for one car.

If every house on your block buys an electric car, the lines to and the transformer feeding your homes must be upgraded.

There are also several issues dealing with cold weather.

We will need a lot more power, but as we have seen wind turbines and solar panels are not dependable. What do you do when the power goes out and you have an emergency?

Derek Mancinho

Laramie

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March 21: Letters to the editor | Opinion | wyomingnews.com - Wyoming Tribune

Mar. 20MORGANTOWN The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill Friday morning aimed at protecting the state from federal gun control overreach, but law enforcement expressed worries that the bill could hamper task force efforts to fight crime.

HB 2694 is called the Second Amendment Preservation Act. It says no state agency, political subdivision or an employee of either of those acting in an official capacity may "knowingly and willingly participate in any way in the enforcement of any federal act, law, order, rule, or regulation regarding a firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition if the act, law, order, rule, or regulation does not exist under the laws of this state."

It also bars use of public funds for the purposes mentioned.

A committee substitute removed criminal penalties described in the introduced version and included exceptions for multi-agency task force investigations of drug crimes and for violations of federal law detected during unrelated law enforcement activity.

The bill requires the attorney general to publish model policies for guidance.

Delegates peppered committee counsel with various hypothetical "what if " questions. They learned that if the FBI arrested someone participating in a US Capitol insurrection who carried a gun, the bill could prohibit the suspect from being housed in a state jail. It could also limit cooperation in extradition cases where the suspect flees to West Virginia.

Problems begin to arise, they learned, because state firearms laws do not mirror in every respect federal laws and most firearms cases in West Virginia involve federal law.

Adam Crawford, a Kanawha County deputy and detective, spoke for the Fraternal Order of Police about their issues, "We understand the concerns and fears of potential federal overreach, " he said. The problem is that federal firearms law are often used to put criminals away. There's frequent "bleedover " between drugs, guns, money and violent crimes, he said.

Story continues

"It's hard to limit and restrict how police work functions, " he said. The bill might let violent criminals walk because police can't assist in federal firearms violations.

"It's just unclear to us why this is getting mixed in. With all these other issues we have, " he said.

Many federal crimes carry stiffer penalties that state crimes, Crawford said, and task forces will often use them to put the criminals away longer.

West Virginia police, he said, often make use of the National Integrated Ballistics Network to investigate local shootings where there are difficulties, such as lack of witness cooperation, and submit information to NIBN and find that the gun was used in a different shooting. The bill could hamper such use of federal databases. "The biggest fear I have is it's going to cease a lot of the cooperation we have."

Pressed by bill supporters about whether the added exception offered reassurance on his concerns, Crawford said his questions remain.

Crawford's doubt weren't sufficient to sway the supporters and the bill passed in a voice vote. It heads to the House floor.

Tweet David Beard @dbeardtdp Email dbeard @dominionpost.com

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House Judiciary OKs 2nd Amendment bill; law enforcement worries it may hamper cooperation with feds - Yahoo News

Michael F. Kraemer| The Providence Journal

Michael F. Kraemeris a retired Rhode Island attorney anda volunteer with the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence who has testified before the judiciary committees of the Rhode Island House and Senate.

The right to bear arms established under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is often misunderstood. Given the proposed firearms legislation pending in the General Assembly, it is important to understand what the law does and does not protect.

Q:What does the Second Amendment protect?

A:The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller that an individual has the right to own and maintain a handgun at home for personal protection. The Court did not establish any other right regarding gun ownership, beyond "the right ... to use arms in defense of hearth and home."

Q:Is this right unlimited?

A:No.Justice Antonin Scalia stated in Heller: "Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited. [The right] is not a right to keep and carry a weapon whatsoever and for whatsoever purpose."

Q:Does the Second Amendment create a right to carry a weapon, openly or concealed, outside of one's home?

A:No."The core Second Amendment right is limited to self-defense in the home." Gould v. Morgan.

Superior Court Judge Robert D. Krause recently wrote a lengthy and scholarly opinion in State of Rhode Island v. Ortiz discussing this issue. While this is a lower court decision, hisopinion provides a detailed review of the appellate cases before rejecting defendant's claim to a constitutional right to carry a firearm outside of the home without a permit.

The opinion notes that "states with more restrictive licensing schemes for the public carriage of firearms experience lower rates of gun-related homicides and other violent crimes." Judge Krause deflated the "good guy with a gun" myth as "using firearms for self-defense in crowded public areas risks fatalities and serious injury to innocent bystanders." He concludes that "firearms create or exacerbate accidents and deadly encounters."

Q: Can the General Assembly ban assault weapons?

A:Yes. Federal and state laws prohibit owning automatic weapons and in many states ban semi-automatic weapons such as the AR-15. No court has concluded that an individual has the right to own assault weapons.

Every court that has ruled on assault weapons bans reached the conclusion that such prohibitions are constitutional. For example, the Massachusetts ban on assault weapons was upheld in Worman v. Healey. In a lengthy opinion surveying Supreme Court jurisprudence and decisions from other appeals courts, a three-judge panel found the Massachusetts law did not violate the Second Amendment. The opinion was written by Rhode Islander Judge Bruce Selya. One of the three judges signing on to the opinion was David Souter, retired Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, sitting by designation.

Q:Is a ban on high capacity magazines constitutional?

A:Yes. Six out of seven federal appeals courts ruling on HCM bans have found them to be constitutional, including the 1st Circuit in the Worman case.

The Vermont Supreme Court in State of Vermont v. Mischrecently unanimously upheld a law banning HCMs as constitutional under the Vermont Constitution. The court noted the state legislature's reliance on studies that showed "extensive evidence that 'the use of LCMs [large capacity magazines] in mass shootings increases the number of victims shot and the fatality rate of struck victims,'" that "large capacity magazines are associated with many of the deadliest shootings in the United States," and that between 2009 and 2018, shootings involving HCMs led to five times the number of people shot per mass shooting.

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Opinion/Kraemer: A primer on the Second Amendment - The Providence Journal