Archive for the ‘Second Amendment’ Category

The Second Amendment vs potential grizzlies – Psuvanguard.com

These past few weeks have been busy for those of us working in the media.

We have inaugurated a brand-new president, there have been executive orders and Twitter rants, nominations, protests, shadowy figures on the National Security Council, nominations, intrigue. We have brought back into vogue the time-honored American pastime of punching Nazis in the face, which turns out to be bad for Nazis but good for morale.

Simply put, there has been a lot to talk about recently.

One story that received attention for precisely 15 minutes before being buried under more tweets from the president was a piece of legislation, approved by Congress, that would ease gun restrictions for people suffering from mental illness.

The restriction was introduced under the Obama administration and requires more stringent background checks for customers who have been diagnosed with mental health issues. Nationwide, the rule affects roughly 75,000 people.

Understandably, gun control advocates and progressive groups have been upset about this, and it immediately raises questions about gun safety and responsibility. Gun control has long been a polarizing political issue, centering mainly on balancing the Second Amendment with public safety.

One issue lost in the debate is simply this: Guns are so much more than a convenient way to shoot each other (though that, too, should not be dismissed).

There is also the cultural aspect of gun ownership, something that goes back to the founding of our country. It has been a time-honored tradition throughout the United States to come together as a people, take aim with our fellow citizens, and go pew pew pew at all of our social and economic problems in order to make them go away.

This principle has served us well over the course of our history. It has been the guiding principle of our foreign policy, in fact, since at least World War II. In that time we have outlasted the Soviet Union, built the Interstate Highway system, and put a man on the moon.

An appropriate analogy can be found by our very own Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, in her statement during her confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate, when she explained that guns were needed in public schools to protect students from grizzly bears:

I think probably there, I would imagine that theres probably a gun in the school to protect from potential grizzlies, DeVos said.

The comment sparked widespread ridicule in the media, but I think we should hear her out. Without guns in public schools, after all, how would we shoot down grizzly bears intent on breaking in through the windows and unlocked doors of the building?

If we ban all of the guns, wont that just embolden the grizzlies to terrorize the nation further? Grizzly bears, after all, are not law-abiding citizens. Law abiding citizens are law-abiding by default, because we say they are, which is why they get guns in the first place. The logic is clear: We cannot and will not be at the mercy of a lawless bear population breaking into the honey pots of law-abiding citizens across the nation.

DeVos, to her credit, sympathized with the victims of violent shootings when pressed to explain her views: Senator, if the question is around gun violence and the results of that, please know that I, Imy heart bleeds and is broken for those families that have lost any individual due to gun violence.

DeVos did not specify whether the bleeding was due to a bullet wound or some other form of injury unrelated to gun violence.

As we go forward, it would serve us well to consider each side of the debate.

On one hand, there is public safety to worry about, and the right of an individual not to be shot in the face. On the other hand, there is the Second Amendment guaranteeing citizens the right to bear arms, as well as our own traditions and heritage.

One can look at it the discharge of firearms as just one more time-honored American tradition. And these traditions, after all, are what make America great: shooting off fireworks into the neighbors yard every 4th of July; covering our vegetables in liquid cheese; hanging tiny American flags from the windows of our SUVs as we drive around the highways and back roads of our nation, the exhaust fumes rippling up into the clouds like a burnt offering to capitalism and the wonders of the internal combustion engine.

These are the relics of our cultural heritage that we will pass down to future generations, and gun violence seems to be a part of it, for better or worse. Our own Vice President Dick Cheney, in fact, shot a man in the face while on a hunting expedition in 2006, an incident he called an accident. And the country survived.

Life went on as it had before: Cars crossed and re-crossed our slowly-crumbling infrastructure, the sun rose and set over the office towers and strip malls of our nation, and somewhere out there in rural Wyoming, a lawless grizzly bear was put down in a heroic act of self-defense, children and teachers alike cheered in unison, and the educational process continued throughout the United States of America like it had for generations.

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Vote on gun issue unfortunate | Editorials | salina.com – Salina Journal (subscription)

If Kansas lawmakers insist on allowing people to carry concealed firearms at the University of Kansas Medical Center, theres virtually no chance the Legislature will prohibit them on college or university campuses.

Thats unfortunate, because concealed weapons dont belong at any of those places.

A tie vote Wednesday on a measure in the House Federal and State Affairs Committee to ban concealed carry at the KU Medical Center doomed what was perhaps the best chance opponents had of preventing adults from being allowed to carry concealed weapons into hospitals or on college campuses.

Its not surprising, but its nevertheless disappointing, that Kansans trying to undo provisions of state laws that had expanded concealed carry to college campuses, hospitals and mental health clinics and all but eliminated restrictions on adults carrying concealed weapons have been unsuccessful at every turn. Earlier this session, a Senate committee turned away a broader bill.

They can take some consolation in being able to defeat efforts Wednesday by gun rights advocates to require landlords of government subsidized housing to allow tenants to have guns and to require private businesses in developments financed even in part with state sales tax money to allow concealed weapons in their businesses.

As have so many other debates about guns, the vote to keep concealed weapons out of the KU Med Center came down to arguments about the Second Amendment and public safety. The victors Wednesday said that the Second Amendment gives them the right to take their guns into the medical center and that guns in the hands of decent people there and elsewhere would make other people safer. The alternate argument is that Second Amendment rights are not absolute, that hospitals already are safe and that bringing guns into them enhances risks, not safety.

To be fair, hospitals and colleges have had an alternative to having to permit the presence of concealed weapons. Those include additional personnel and scanners that could detect weapons at every entrance of every building.

But as the writers of the Family and Personal Protection Act surely knew when they introduced it, such security measures at universities and hospitals would be so expensive as to be alternatives in name only.

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Gorsuch Could Save the Second Amendment – LifeZette

When Justice Antonin Scalia passed away suddenly last year, the Supreme Court lost its premier conservative voice and defender of the Second Amendment.

Justice Scalia was a champion of individual freedoms, and adhered to a strong originalistphilosophy of interpreting the Constitution. With little room for the personal politics that many judges try to inject into court rulings, Scalia relied on the text of the document to decide cases.

After eight years of anti-gun policies from the Obama Administration an open seat on the Court is a welcome opportunity to return to the principles of the Constitution.

That is also why its good news President Trump chose Neil Gorsuch, a current federal appellate judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, as his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. Gorsuch is someone who can fill this critical void left by Justice Scalia.

Gorsuch has also followed an originalist interpretation of the Constitution during his legal career, having been appointed to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals by President George W. Bush, and before that, serving in the Department of Justice.

A firm belief in adhering to the freedoms spelled out in the Constitution by our Founding Fathers has given Judge Gorsuch a steady hand, and made him a popular and approachable member of the 10th Circuit. Though he has only ruled on a few Second Amendment related cases, Gorsuch has proved himself to be a defender of gun rights.

He made his stance very clear when he wrote in one legal opinion that "the Second Amendment protects an individuals right to own firearms and may not be infringed lightly."

With the current Court almost deadlocked on gun issues, any potential cases that come before the Supreme Court this year could have a make-or-break impact on Second Amendment rights in this country. If the Court decides to hear any gun related cases this year, it is critical that there be a majority of justices on the bench who believe in the Constitutional right to bear arms.

One potential case that could come before the Supreme Court this year challenges an individuals right to carry a gun for self-defense, and requiring them to prove to the government that they have a legitimate reason for doing so.

In 2014, Peruta v. California was decided by three judges on the 9th Circuit, who ruled that San Diego Countys policy of a gun owner needing a documented "good cause" in order to obtain a concealed carry permit was in violation of the Second Amendment.

However, the victory for the Constitution was short-lived, and the ruling was appealed. All 11 judges on the 9th Circuit were called in to rehear the case, and the ruling was overturned in 2016. The California Rifle and Pistol Association has petitioned the Supreme Court to review this case, and if their request is granted, Gorsuch will be a crucial vote. No citizen should need a government approved "reason" to carry a firearm it is already expressly stated in the Constitution.

An appeal has also been filed to ask the Supreme Court to hear a challenge to District of Columbia v. Heller, which in 2008 affirmed that it is a constitutional right to keep a gun in the home for self-defense. Justice Scalia wrote the opinion for that case, which was decided in a close 5-4 decision.

If the case is accepted by the Court, the justices will be asked to rule on a persons right to carry a gun outside their home for self-defense. With the decision in Heller being so close, it is critical that the Second Amendment have another advocate on the Court.

After eight years of anti-gun policies from the Obama administration, which sought to chip away at the right to bear arms, an open seat on the Court is a welcome opportunity to return to the principles of the Constitution. Instead of special interests and judges who attempt to shape public policy through court cases, Gorsuchs originalist and textualist viewpoint provides clear guidance uninfluenced by politics.

In the statement he gave following the announcement of his nomination, Gorsuch said, "Standing here, in a house of history, and acutely aware of my own imperfections, I pledge that if I am confirmed, I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant to the Constitution and laws of this great country."

With all of the potential challenges to the Constitution in the coming years, Gorsuch provides a foothold on what could be a rocky path.

Tim Schmidt is the president and founder of the U.S. Concealed Carry Association,and may be contacted at Press@USCCA.com.

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Gorsuch Could Save the Second Amendment - LifeZette

Governor Bevin joins amicus brief over California Second … – WKYT – WKYT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) - Governor Matt Bevin has joined in filing an amicus brief over a California Second Amendment case.

The governor's office announced on Monday that Governor Bevin has joined 25 other states in the brief over Peruta v. San Diego County. The second amendment case is challenging if a California law restricting citizens' rights to carry handguns outside their homes for self-defense is constitutional.

An amicus brief is a legal document filed in court cases by non-litigants with a strong interest in the subject matter.

The 26 states in the brief say that, when it comes to regulating gun rights, California thinks that the State can do things that would be unthinkable in other areas of constitutional law.

The other states included in the brief are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

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Governor Bevin joins amicus brief over California Second ... - WKYT - WKYT

Rep. Eddie Lumsden says Second Amendment rights should not be … – Northwest Georgia News

Campus carry legislation is back, with several bills up for consideration in the House Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee this week.

Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed a measure last year that would have allowed guns on college campuses, but state Rep. Eddie Lumsden, R-Rome, said he expects these to be more acceptable.

These are some modified bills, after having conversations with the governor, he said.

Lumsden, a retired Georgia State patrol trooper, sits on the committee that will consider House Bill 280 today. He quoted the Second Amendment in explaining his support of campus carry rights.

And a lot of urban campuses are very porous, so to speak,, he added. Just because you have a gun-free zone doesnt mean its gun-free.

HB 280 would allow people with permits to carry concealed firearms on all property owned or leased by a public institution of post-secondary education. The only exemptions would be at sports facilities, student housing to include fraternity and sorority houses and on-campus preschools.

An omnibus gun permit measure, HB 292, also is on the committees agenda. It contains a number of additions and revisions to the state law, including applications for airports, schools and courthouses. Other provisions address legalities for newcomers with permits from other states and people who have been involuntarily committed.

A subcommittee Lumsden sits on also will hold hearings on two gun bills today. HB 406 deals with reciprocal permit agreements between states. HB 232, requiring gun safety training to renew a permit, appears problematic to Lumsden.

Most conservatives dont believe its wise of government to require training because this is a right, not a privilege, he said. We all believe it would be a good thing, if youre going to carry a weapon, you be trained in its use. But this gets into constitutional questions.

The Georgia General Assembly officially reconvenes Tuesday for the 21st day of its 40-day session, which is slated to run through March 31.

Lumsdens election cleanup bill, HB 42, has already passed the House and is expected to come up for a full Senate vote Wednesday. It allows elections supervisors to correct mistakes on a ballot and lets communities use federal, rather than state, run-off dates to save money on elections.

Im told the lieutenant governor wants it to move. There are applications for some upcoming run-off elections, Lumsden said.

There are 18 candidates in an April 18 special election for the 6th Congressional District, vacated when Tom Price was tapped as President Donald Trumps secretary of health and human services.

Additionally, qualifying opens Wednesday for the election to replace state Sen. Judson Hill, R-Marietta, who is among those seeking Prices seat.

Lumsden also has two insurance housekeeping bills slated to move this week. HB 174 updates the law to acknowledge claims may be paid by check or other modern methods.

Right now, it uses legal tender, which means cash money, he said. Ive never seen a claim settled with cash.

HB 262 adds stand-alone dental insurance plans to the list of insurers that may use online, rather than printed, provider directories.

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Rep. Eddie Lumsden says Second Amendment rights should not be ... - Northwest Georgia News