Archive for the ‘Second Amendment’ Category

House passes Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act – The Denver Channel

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House passes Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act - The Denver Channel

American citizens may soon be able to exercise their Second Amendment rights even on federal land – Patheos (blog)

Anytime this country takes even one step closer to its founding as a constitutional republic, its time to celebrate.

In 1973, under Richard Nixon the president who considered guns an abomination legislation was passed banning guns on the millions of acres of countryside under the watchful eye of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This means no one is allowed to carry a gun for protection on that land if theyre just camping or hiking. (This is true even though hunting is allowed on some of those acres!)

However, that may soon change thanks to a 2014 lawsuit, Nesbitt v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which challenged the anti-gun regulation. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, a Clinton appointee, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in his decision:

[T]his complete ban goes beyond merely burdening Second Amendment rights but destroys those rights for law-abiding citizens carrying operable firearms for the lawful purpose of self-defense.

Of course, the equally anti-gun Obama administration appealed Winmills ruling. Just as the Court was about to consider it the Corps asked to be taken off the calendar. They are actually reconsidering theirpolicy, according to The Washington Post:

TheArmy Corps of Engineers is reconsidering the firearms policy challenged in this case, as well as plaintiffs requests for permission to carry firearms on Army Corps property. This reconsideration has the potential to fully resolve plaintiffs objections.

This is as it should be. The Second Amendment guarantees American citizens the right to protect their person and property at all times. Any regulation which denies that inalienable right, is in direct violation of our founding document. End of story.

H/T TruthRevolt

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American citizens may soon be able to exercise their Second Amendment rights even on federal land - Patheos (blog)

House Passes Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act – NRA ILA

Fairfax, Va. The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) applauds the House of Representatives today for passing The Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act (H.R. 1181), a bill that protects the due process rights of veterans, in a 240-175 vote.

The constitutional rights of our veterans must be strongly protected, said Chris W. Cox, executive director, NRA-ILA. The House vote today is a step forward in ensuring our veterans rights are not infringed upon.

The VA has been effectively banning veterans who receive disability benefits and use a fiduciary to help manage those benefits from gun ownership. These individuals are being stripped of their Second Amendment rights by a bureaucratic rule that denies them due process.

There is no data indicating a correlation between needing help managing money and being a danger to oneself or others the criterion the government must meet before denying a person their Second Amendment rights.

If enacted into law, the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act would ensure that going forward, veterans who use a fiduciary would not be stripped of their constitutional rights unless a judicial authority first finds they pose a danger to themselves or others. This ensures due process rights for all veterans.

Needing help managing your money does not make you a danger to society. The NRA is pleased with the House vote today and we look forward to the Senate taking action soon, concluded Cox.

The NRA thanks Speaker Paul Ryan, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy , Majority Whip Steve Scalise and Chairman Phil Roe for their leadership on this matter.

Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America's oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group. More than five million members strong, NRA continues to uphold the Second Amendment and advocates enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the armed services. Be sure to follow the NRA on Facebook at NRA on Facebook and Twitter @NRA.

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House Passes Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act - NRA ILA

SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch’s view of Second Amendment a mystery – CBS News

WASHINGTON -- Despite strong endorsements from some gun rights advocates, Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has a slim appeals court record on the subject - a record that leaves his views a mystery on how far constitutional firearms rights extend.

The National Rifle Association notes favorably a 2012 case in which Gorsuch wrote for the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the Supreme Court has held the Second Amendment protects an individuals right to own firearms and may not be infringed lightly.

Taken with his conservative leanings, originalist views on interpreting the Constitution and comparisons to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, that leads many gun owners to believe Gorsuch would protect their interests.

He has an impressive record that demonstrates his support for the Second Amendment, Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRAs Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement endorsing the nominee.

However, Gorsuch has not ruled on major Second Amendment cases.

We dont know, for instance, if he believes people have a right to carry guns in public. We dont know what he thinks about restrictions on assault weapons or high-capacity magazines, said Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and author of Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America.

Those are the big issues that are likely to come before the Supreme Court with regards to the Second Amendment, Winkler said. And on those issues Gorsuch is a Second Amendment mystery.

The case cited by the NRA involved a man who appealed his conviction of being a felon in possession of a gun, saying he didnt know he was considered a felon due to a misunderstanding over his deferred prosecution in a previous robbery case.

Although he had signed documents indicating he would be considered guilty of a felony, the state judge told him, among other things, If I accept your plea today, hopefully you will leave this courtroom not convicted of a felony and instead granted the privilege of a deferred judgment, which means you will be supervised by the Department of Probation for a period of two years.

Miguel Games-Perez was arrested less than a year later with a pistol that had an obliterated serial number.

Gorsuch was on a three-judge panel that found the government had only to prove that Games-Perez knew he had a gun, not that he knew he was prohibited from having one.

Gorsuch said the panel was bound by precedent.

Our duty to follow precedent sometimes requires us to make mistakes. Unfortunately, this is that sort of case, Gorsuch wrote.

Games-Perez later asked the full appeals court to hear the case, a request that was denied in a 6-4 decision. Gorsuch dissented, saying the full court could reconsider its precedent. He wrote that due to the repeated misstatements from the court itself, Mr. Games-Perez surely has a triable claim he didnt know his state court deferred judgment amounted to a felony conviction.

Some groups favoring more stringent gun laws refer to the same case when arguing that Gorsuch is unfit for the Supreme Court.

Judge Gorsuchs views are so outside the mainstream that he has gone out of his way to side with felons over public safety, Peter Ambler, executive director of Americans for Responsible Solutions, said in a statement opposing Gorsuchs nomination.

And not all gun rights advocates are enthusiastic to endorse Gorsuch - because of another case.

Larry Pratt, executive director emeritus of Gun Owners of America, said the case that gave him pause involved a police officer in New Mexico disarming Daniel Rodriguez, a convenience store employee who had a pistol tucked into his waistband. The man turned out to be a convicted felon, but Pratt said the officer had no way of knowing that at the time because the man wasnt accused of a crime and the officer didnt question him beforehand.

Gorsuch sided with the appeals panel to uphold the mans conviction.

Ultimately, Pratt said, Gorsuchs judicial philosophy and overall record helped earn an endorsement.

Were going to support him with this caveat of our concern because of the Rodriguez case. And part of its a practical matter that if Gorsuch were to be turned down, its not likely, politically, that the next one would be any better, Pratt said.

J. Adam Skaggs, litigation director for the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Americans for Responsible Solutions Foundation, said in a telephone interview that Gorsuch has a very thin paper trail, but the few cases where he has ruled on gun issues raise a lot of questions.

In a 2010 case, Skaggs said Gorsuch relied on procedural grounds in rejecting the appeal of a man charged with possessing a gun after being convicted of domestic violence rather than conceding the point that convicted domestic abusers dont enjoy the same Second Amendment rights as law abiding citizens.

Instead, he went out of his way to resolve the case on a complicated procedural ground, Skaggs said.

Still, Winkler, the law professor, said its difficult to know how Gorsuch would rule in the most important Second Amendment cases because his track record is so limited.

Hes only decided a few cases with Second Amendment overtones and none of them are the major decisions on the important issues of the day, Winkler said. Nothing in his path tells use what he understands the scope of the Second Amendment to be.

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SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch's view of Second Amendment a mystery - CBS News

Police And Second Amendment Groups Debate Open Carry Bill – WNPR News

The General Assembly is considering a bill that would require gun owners who openly carry a weapon to produce their gun permit if asked by law enforcement. Changes to the proposed language in the bill are causing some contention among members of the Judiciary Committee, which held a public hearing on the legislation Wednesday.

The original language of House Bill 6200 stated that police could only request to see the permit if there was reasonable cause that a crime had been committed. The Judiciary Committees version of the bill removes that clause, meaning if a person carries a pistol or revolver in plain sight and a police officer asks for his or her permit, they would be obliged to comply, whether there is reasonable cause or not.

Several committee members were concerned by the removal of reasonable suspicion from the bill.

"This committee hears a lot of testimony on a lot of issues making sure that our citizens of all different types are not discriminated against," said Republican state Representative Christie Carpino, "and I have a real fear that if [House Bill] 6200 passes, we're gonna deal with that.

Connecticut Chief State's Attorney Kevin Kane testified that the draft language seems reasonable and legal.

"The problem is difficult situations that the police are confronted in. To resolve it, all they have to do is say 'May I see the permit?' And just the mere showing of the permit doesn't seem to be that intrusive," said Kane. "I think a fair balance is to require people to show [the open carry gun permit] if asked."

Other lawmakers on the committee worried that the proposal would make it easier for police to unfairly target minority gun owners. The bill is supported by the Connecticut Police Chief's Association, while Second Amendment groups like the Connecticut Citizens Defense League say it violates the constitution.

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Police And Second Amendment Groups Debate Open Carry Bill - WNPR News