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Attorney General Paxton joined two Montana-led amicus briefs challenging New Yorks Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA), which makes it a felony to possess a firearm in any place of worship or a sensitive location.

After New York enacted the CCIA, several religious leadersReverend Dr. Jimmie Hardaway, Jr., Bishop Larry A. Boyd, and Pastor Micheal Spencersued, arguing that the law violated their Second and Fourteenth Amendment rights. A district court then issued a preliminary injunction, which New York appealed. The amicus briefs are thus being filed in defense of the religious leaders, as well as the Second Amendment rights of all Americans, in the New York City-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

The amicus brief filed in Hardaway and Boyds case highlights that there is effectively no historical basis for a ban on the possession of firearms in places of worship: Apart from a handful of state and territorial laws enacted during the late nineteenth centurynearly a century removed from the foundingthe historical record doesnt show an enduring American tradition of restricting the right to carry firearms in places of worship.

Additionally, the amicus brief that was filed in Spencers case notes that, since our nations inception, the Second Amendment has long protected the right of Americans to carry firearms in public places: [E]vidence closer in time to the Second Amendments adoption is most relevant for understanding the Amendments scope. . . . The Second Amendment protects the right to possess handguns, both in the home and in public, for the purpose of self-defense. And New York fails to identify a single similar or analogous place-of-worship restriction before 1870.

To read the brief filed in Hardaway and Boyds case, click here.

To read the brief filed in Spencers case, click here.

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Paxton Defends Religious Leaders and the Second Amendment ... - Texas Attorney General (.gov)

(FOX 9) - A federal judge has ruled a Minnesota statute that requires pistol permit holders to be 21 years old is a violation of constitutional rights.

The ruling follows a 2021 lawsuit brought by three young adults and three gun rights organizations, including the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, Second Amendment Foundation, and Firearms Policy Coalition.

The age requirement was put into law in 2003 by the Minnesota State Legislature as part of the Minnesota Citizens Personal Protection Act.

In their lawsuit, the young adults sued to end the requirement after they were denied pistol permits because they were under 21. The lawsuit argued the requirement was a violation of the teen's Second Amendment rights.

In the ruling, Judge Katherine Menendez agreed with that argument, finding the Minnesota law was a violation of both 2nd and 4th Amendment rights for adults ages 18 to 20. In her ruling, the judge is preventing state and local leaders from denying permits to permit applicants between the ages of 18 and 20, who are otherwise qualified.

The gun rights groups involved with the lawsuit celebrated the victory on Friday.

"This decision should serve as a warning to anti-gun politicians in Minnesota that the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus and its allies will not hesitate to take legal actions against unconstitutional infringements on the Second Amendment rights of Minnesotans, " added Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus Senior Vice President Rob Doar.

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Judge rules Minnesota's age requirement for pistol permits violates 2nd Amendment - FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul

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As southern Wisconsin prepared for potential tornadoes on Friday, conservative state Supreme Court candidate Dan Kelly and the Wisconsin GOP issued an emergency text message: A video emulating official safety alerts warning voters that our Second Amendment rights are under attack by Judge Janet Protasiewicz, Kellys opponent. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

In September, five gunmen opened fire on teenage football players leaving a scrimmage at Philadelphias Roxborough High School, killing 14-year-old Nicolas Elizalde and wounding four others. The incident illustrates a troubling trend: Overall shootings in Philly declined over the past year, but the number of gunshot victims under the age of 18 rose. And fatalities among young victims almost doubled between 2018 and last year. Whats driving the violence? Read more

Hospitals nationwide saw a dramatic uptick in emergency department visits for gunshot injuries since the onset of the pandemic, particularly among children, according to a new CDC report. Read more

Even as murders and nonfatal shootings have dropped, the Chicago Police Department faces a 45 percent increase in crime over the same point last year, and arrests are at historic lows. When they head to the polls for tomorrows runoff election, Chicagoans will have to decide between candidates with vastly different plans to address public safety. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Safe Streets, Baltimores flagship gun violence intervention program, appears to have led to significant decreases in shootings in areas where it has outposts, a new study found. [The Baltimore Banner]

The gunman who killed 60 people during the 2017 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas was a high-stakes gambler who was allegedly very upset at his treatment in several casinos, according to recently released FBI documents. The FBI and Las Vegas Police concluded they couldnt determine a motive when they ended their investigations years ago. [Associated Press]

Do 90 percent of mass shootings take place in gun-free zones, as John Lotts Crime Prevention Research Center asserts? Experts say the centers claims misrepresent the facts. [Associated Press]

Some staff members at Nashvilles Covenant School, the site of a mass shooting last week, may have been armed during the attack, according to a 911 call. Police havent confirmed if any staffers were carrying a gun or if they fired at the shooter. [The Tennessean]

Law enforcement agencies across California train officers to quickly question family members after police kill a loved one before telling them about the killing, or omitting it entirely. [Los Angeles Times]

The Human Toll of Keeping Baltimore Safe: Safe Streets sends staffers into potentially dangerous situations in the hopes of halting violence. But after a third Baltimore worker was killed on the job, some question whether the approach makes sense. (March 3, 2022)

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Wisconsin GOP Issues Second Amendment Emergency Alert - The Trace

Slim Smith

On Aug. 2, 2019, I became a member of a club no one ever wants to join.

Thats the day my daughter, Abby, was killed in a car crash in Texas. At 27, she was a young woman, but she was, of course, still my little girl.

In a variety of ways, I am not the same person I was before that awful day, and there is one example of that change that is especially on my mind now.

Before Abby died, when I heard of the death of a child, I considered it a sad event. But now I am far more sensitive to those deaths because I have a better understanding of the lingering pain, the sense of helplessness and the simmering anger over the unfairness of such a loss.

Parents who, like me, lose a child to an accident or, perhaps, to an illness, come to accept the loss, each in their own way. But there is a subset of parents for whom the loss seems unbearable, parents of murdered children. I dont know how a parent could live with the knowledge that someone intentionally took the life of their child.

On Monday, three 9-year-old children, along with three adults, were killed by a lone shooter at an elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee.

Three new sets of parents joined the club, but the nation will quickly forget these deaths.

I know this because Ive seen it play out over and over and over again. From Columbine in 1999 (12 high school students) to Sandy Hook in 2012 (20 first-graders) to Marjorie Stoneman Douglas in 2018 (14 high school students) to Robb Elementary in 2022 (19 elementary school children) and now in Nashville, these tragedies command our attention for a time, but ultimately nothing really changes.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R, Tennessee) said more than he realized when asked what could be done about these school shootings hours after the Nashville carnage.

Were not gonna fix it, he said. Criminals are going to be criminals.

Its worth noting that Burchett didnt say this couldnt be fixed. He said we, as a country, lack the will to fix it.

Hes right.

We made that decision 13 years ago, when the Supreme Courts ruling in District of Columbia vs. Heller provided the broadest possible definition of the Second Amendment, a definition that has led to a profusion of laws that have loosened gun restrictions. Concealed carry, open carry, permitless carry, access to military-grade weapons/ammunition are the byproducts of that decision. The accompanying carnage we see is a consequence of it and any calls for reasonable revisions in gun laws in this country are shouted down by Second Amendment absolutists. Shall not be infringed! they proclaim now that the current interpretation of the Second Amendment suits them.

Well, I think its time that we infringe the hell of the Second Amendment, if thats what it takes.

Christ said, The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. It should be no different with the laws that govern our society. Our laws should protect us, not endanger us.

How can it be that, alone among the developed nations, the United States meekly offers up its children to be slaughtered? For what purpose? A principle?

Other nations would not and have not tolerated that sort of carnage and theyve put a stop to it.

Ask any parent who has lost a child what principle he would abandon, what sacrifice she would make, what freedom he would forfeit to save that childs life.

To say that nothing can be done to stop this is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Take heed, Second Amendment absolutists. The next child gunned down at school may be your own, and your thoughts on the subject will change in one horrible instant.

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is ssmith@cdispatch.com.

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is ssmith@cdispatch.com.

Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.

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Slimantics: It's time to Infringe the hell of out of the Second ... - The Commercial Dispatch

President Biden responded to Monday's fatal school shootings in Nashville, Tennessee, during a stop in North Carolina on Tuesday, omitting some nuance about the Second Amendment in the wake of tragedy.

The president made a scheduled stop in Durham, North Carolina, to speak about his economic agenda and the advancement of semiconductors.

But before he got to the meat of his speech Tuesday, the president addressed the tragedy that occurred at a private Christian school in Nashville, the Covenant School, on Monday.

BIDEN KEEPS REPEATING FALSE SECOND AMENDMENT CLAIM, DESPITE REPEATED FACT CHECKS

Six victims were shot and killed when 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, whom police identified as a transgender former student of the school, entered the building with two "assault-type rifles" and a handgun before opening fire.

After Hale killed three 9-year-old students and three adults, Metropolitan Nashville Police officers killed Hale at the scene.

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Biden told the crowd in Durham on Tuesday that Mondays incident was the families "worst nightmare."

Police cordon off the neighborhood of the Covenant School shooter in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, March 27, 2023.

Biden said he lost a child to an accident and another to cancer, noting that there was nothing like losing a child, especially when taken in a senseless and heartbreaking act.

BIDEN TO SIGN EXECUTIVE ORDER TO REQUIRE BACKGROUND CHECKS ON MORE GUN SALES

"They should be with us as a nation, we owe these families more than our prayers. We owe them action," the president said. "You know, we have to do more to stop this gun violence that is ripping communities apart, ripping apart the soul of this nation. Protect our children so they learn how to read and write instead of duck and covering in a classroom."

The president, who describes himself as a "Second Amendment guy," said the weapons used on Monday were "weapons of war" and that the right to bear arms is not absolute.

"Youre not allowed to go out and own an automatic weapon. Youre not allowed to own a machine gun. Youre not allowed to own a flamethrower," Biden said. "Youre not allowed to own so many other things. Why in Gods name do we allow these weapons of war on our streets and in our public schools?"

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While the National Firearms Act imposes strict limits on machine guns, it allows for exceptions, though minimal.

BIDEN VOWS TO BAN ASSAULT WEAPONS 'COME HELL OR HIGH WATER'

In addition, the law does not specifically ban flamethrowers. A 2019 House bill that aimed to subject flamethrowers to the same federal regulation never passed.

Biden has previously said that the Second Amendment also banned the ownership of cannons when it was passed in 1791, but that, too, has been debunked.

He continued making claims about firearms, especially when it comes to the death of children.

Based on the latest available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, firearms are not the leading cause of death for children between the ages of 1 to 17 motor vehicles are.

"This is hard to believe," he said. "I never thought when I started my public life that guns would be the No. 1 killer of children in America. Guns. No. 1. Its sick and overwhelming; a majority of gun owners agree we have to do something."

'YOU DON'T NEED AN AR-15': A LOOK AT SOME OF BIDEN'S MOST INACCURATE REMARKS ABOUT FIREARMS AND 2A SUPPORTERS

Analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation published in 2022 did find that firearms recently became the number-one cause of death for children in the U.S., surpassing deaths related to motor vehicles or other injuries.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This report has been updated to clarify firearms limits and the prevalence of gun-related deaths among U.S. children.

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Biden makes multiple Second Amendment claims in wake of Nashville shooting, but reality isn't so clear-cut - Yahoo News