Archive for the ‘Second Amendment’ Category

Sam Paredes: Stand Up for the Second Amendment or Step Aside – Breitbart News

Politically correct garbage has polluted what Americans hear in the media, especially when it comes to guns. We give big kudos to those who stick their necks out for the Constitution but really, they are few and far between. The gun community has really taken it on the chin, and we are frustrated when our friends remain silent, offering little to no support when the SecondAmendment is literally being pulled like a rug from beneath us.

Gun Owners of California (GOC) thinks it is time to play a little hardballwith our friends. We are switching things up for 2018and the change might be painful for politicians whose support of the Second Amendment has been unenthusiastic.

In short, GOC is making a shift in how our legislative scorecard is calculated. Why? Because each election cycle, we field countless requests for endorsements from legislatorsandcandidates who voice their fist-pumping, fiery commitment to the Second Amendment. But once elected, it seems much of the enthusiasm wanes. Therefore, while there are a decent number of legislators who have solid voting records, there are very few willing to stand with us when the going gets toughalthough thats precisely when we need them most.

GOC has decided no legislator gets an A unless they either introduce and move pro-Second Amendment legislation forward and/or vocally stand up for us and the Second Amendment community as a whole. Talking the talk just is not enough anymore; they must walk the walk. We are sick and tired of hearing other issues are more important.

Just last week, the silence was deafening when no one rose in Californias Assembly to oppose a bill that places outlandish security requirements on firearm retailers. This is like giving the left a free pass to violate us.

Our new policy will likely annoy some, but given the leftist structure of the legislature, there is no room for the politically lukewarm. The Second Amendment is as important today as when our nation was foundedand this is because it guarantees the First Amendment and every amendment that follows. Gun Owners of California will never just go along to get along.

This policy should not be exclusive to California. The left has its eyes on every stateno matter how red or blue. In the words of Abraham Lincoln,I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.

Sam Paredes is executive director of Gun Owners of California and a guest columnist for Down Range with AWR Hawkins.

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Sam Paredes: Stand Up for the Second Amendment or Step Aside - Breitbart News

Letter: Drivers of Second Amendment – Suburban Life Publications

To the editor:

When gun fanatics tell me they have a Constitutional right to bear arms, with virtually no restrictions whatsoever, I ask them if they're planning to go searching for runaway slaves. For that is one of the primary drivers for the Second Amendment, enacted in 1791, just after the First Amendment protecting free speech. To be fair there was a second driver of the Second Amendment: Indian removal. The colonists looked west at the lush land inhabited for centuries by indigenous peoples and said, "We want that." King George demanded the colonists stay put in the 13 colonies and levied taxes to be paid in English pounds to pay for soldiers sent to enforce that edit the colonists feverishly ignored. Voila! The Declaration of Independence and revolution.

Once free of hated George III, the colonists formed militias and embarked on westward expansion, initiating a century-long plunder of Native Americans' wealth. And gun ownership was key to the marauding militias, hence thesecond driver of the famous: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." What did you expect them to enshrine?: "A well regulated militia being necessaryto capture runaway slaves and clear Indians from the west, the right of thepeople to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Walt Zlotow

Glen Ellyn

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Letter: Drivers of Second Amendment - Suburban Life Publications

LETTER: Abusing the Second Amendment to intimidate is prelude to tragedy – The Daily Freeman

Dear Editor,

Second Amendment enthusiasts, is this what you had in mind? Does the march in Charlottesville by neo-Nazis, Klansmen, and white supremacists represent the ultimate expression of our right to bear arms?

Was anyone else a bit taken aback by the sight of American Youth for Hitler armed with helmets, shields, and semiautomatics, parading in torch light, shouting Jews will never replace us and Blood and Soil?

Or is it just me?

Excuse me, where does it say in the Second Amendment that we have the right to bear arms for purposes of intimidation and threat? Or am I mistaken, and those guns were on display simply to show pride in Americas military heritage?

My right to free speech does not permit me to shout Fire! in a crowded theater just for the fun of watching terrified people scramble. Does the legislated right to carry arms openly allow hate groups to file down our streets in military formation, groups that preach hostility and have a history of violence ? To use our public parks to sermonize as their centurions with AK-47s stare down protesters or passersby?

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If we view the Second Amendment as absolute and as expansive as its fiercest supporters advocate and if we suspend our ability to make judgments about limits to rights that threaten public safety, Charlottesville will not be the last or the worst act of domestic terrorism committed under the banner of American greatness.

Tom Denton

Highland, N.Y.

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LETTER: Abusing the Second Amendment to intimidate is prelude to tragedy - The Daily Freeman

NSSF: 21 State Attorneys General Defend Second Amendment Rights in Kolbe v. Hogan Case – PR Newswire (press release)

Led by West Virginia's Patrick Morrisey, the attorneys general ask the court to consider whether the lower court inappropriately limited the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms by banning certain firearms typically owned by citizens by finding that those firearms would be most useful for military service.

Joining West Virginia's effort are the attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

"We thank Attorney General Morrissey and the 20 other attorneys general who stand in respect of the rights of their citizens to keep and bear arms," said Lawrence G. Keane, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for NSSF. "This is demonstrative of a widespread belief that Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overreached in their creation of a unique standard and twisted the guidance and wisdom of the Heller decision. We are encouraged and grateful that with this petition will be an opportunity to establish that our rights don't end at a state's border."

The attorneys general argue in their brief that the Supreme Court's Heller decision established "in common use at the time for lawful purposes" and those "typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes," as an individual right, and that Maryland's modern sporting rifle ban "amounts to a prohibition of an entire class of arms." The petition adds the Fourth Circuit adopted a "novel standard" in interpreting Heller and would replace the "common use" standard with a subjective judicial review of military use for firearms.

The attorneys general argue that review of the case provides an opportunity for the Supreme Court to clarify the scope of the Heller decision. Lower courts have issued disparate rulings and that has led to confusion concerning how Second Amendment rights are interpreted for citizens in different states.

About NSSFThe National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 12,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen's organizations and publishers. For more information, visit http://www.nssf.org.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nssf-21-state-attorneys-general-defend-second-amendment-rights-in-kolbe-v-hogan-case-300510369.html

SOURCE National Shooting Sports Foundation

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NSSF: 21 State Attorneys General Defend Second Amendment Rights in Kolbe v. Hogan Case - PR Newswire (press release)

MS Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday Runs This Weekend – www.localmemphis.com

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (localmemphis.com) - Gun enthusiasts are fired up for Mississippi's Second Amendment tax-free weekend. Through Sunday, you won't have to pay sales tax when you buy guns, ammo, and accessories in Mississippi.

Gun stores are geared up for a boom in business.

"It's always a great success because people love to save money, says Jeff Duncan, owner of The Gun Exchange.

It's that time of year again, the black Friday for firearms in Mississippi. At The Gun Exchange in Olive Branch, Duncan says customers will save big bucks getting locked and loaded.

"Sales tax in Mississippi is 7%, so say you came in and bought a gun for $500, you're gonna save $35. Well that equates to dinner out with your family, depending on where you go, or a tank of gas, says Duncan.

Mississippi's tax-free holiday kicked off in 2014 in an effort to support Second Amendment rights and trigger a boost in the economy.

You don't have to be a Mississippi resident to enjoy the tax break. Just know the rules.

"You have to be 18-years-old to buy a long gun. 21-years-old to buy a handgun. Most importantly you have to pass the FBI mandated background check, says Duncan.

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MS Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday Runs This Weekend - http://www.localmemphis.com