Rocky Mountain Gun Owners

Colorado --(Ammoland.com)- As you may know, Colorado state law doesn’t allow a taxpayer-funded facility to ban concealed carry (i.e. they think you shouldn’t be able to defend yourself).

Based on that law, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners filed a complaint against Colorado State University two years ago, and won.

This week, the same lawyer who filed against CSU again represented Rocky Mountain Gun Owners members by filing a lawsuit against Northern Colorado Medical Center (NCMC) in Greeley.

NCMC is a county-owned hospital, and bans permit holders (in fact, all firearms) from entering that facility, though they do not have the required metal detectors and security personnel at every entrance.

Put simply, they can’t do that.

As of this moment, NCMC is a Criminal Safezone. You may never set foot in NCMC, but this is a direct assault on your Second Amendment rights, and it’s happening all across Colorado — illegally.

If RMGO prevails, law-abiding gun owners in Colorado will be allowed to carry in NCMC to protect themselves and their families from any violent criminal who would seek to do them harm.

It will send a message to every (illegally) gun-banning facility.

Make no mistake about it, this is a lawsuit to put ALL taxpayer-funded facilities on notice: RMGO will sue if you violate the Second Amendment rights of Colorado gun owners.

Gun owners in Colorado should be outraged by this gross violation of state law and our Second Amendment rights.

You and I need to make an example of NCMC — that banning guns in taxpayer-funded facilities will not be tolerated in Colorado.

It’s not only detrimental to the safety of law-abiding citizens, but it shows a blatant disregard for the law. And we worked too hard to set the law to allow unelected bureaucrats to set policies that violate the law.

Thanks again for your passionate commitment to defending and protecting our Second Amendment rights. I’ll be sure to keep you updated.

Rocky Mountain Gun Owners is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, single-purpose citizens’ organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the Constitutionally protected right-to-keep-and-bear-arms through an aggressive program designed to mobilize public opposition to anti-gun legislation. Rocky Mountain Gun Owners’ mailing address is P.O. 27, Windsor, CO 80550. They can be contacted toll-free at 1-888-874-7646. Its web address is www.RMGO.org .

Not produced or e-mailed at taxpayer expense.

About: Tom McHale describes himself as a conservative gun-totin’ bible-clingin’ literary assault dude who enjoys finding humor in just about anything. His web blog My Gun Culture is an irreverent, twisted look at gun news bordering on the ridiculous. It covers shootin’ stuff, loud noises, defending your own, the occasional mall ninja, and about 200 years of the American way. These are the (partially) true stories of My Gun Culture says Tom. Visit: www.mygunculture.com

386 Wisconsin Anti-Gun Businesses That Don't Want Your Money

Wisconsin Gun Owners

Wisconsin --(Ammoland.com)- We wanted to make sure you had an updated copy of the WGO Don’t Buy List prior to your holiday travels.

• Here it is: Download the Current Don’t Buy List (12/21/11)
• Click Here to Report a Business Posting No CCW

Wisconsin Gun Owners Don’t Buy List
As we reported in our last update, new anti-gun signs are popping up all over Wisconsin.

But the good news is that No CCW signs are falling like dominoes, too, thanks to vigilant members.

So while we’ve added over a hundred additional businesses to the list in the last two weeks, we’ve also removed several businesses, thanks to you.

This program works.

But we’re only able to run the program - and, ideally to keep expanding it - with your support.

Please do what you can.

P.S. – Will you forward this alert page to a friend or family member?

About:
WGO works for grassroots gun owners, not politicians. While many gun lobbies fight for “reasonable gun control,” WGO sets a higher standard: Defining the terrain of pro-gun political battle. Sure, many groups claim they’re “pro-gun” – all the while they provide cover for anti-gun deals cut by politicians – but only WGO truly informs gun owners, remaining committed to a 100% pro-gun position. We oppose all gun control – regardless of the political party – and work tirelessly to restore the Second Amendment. Visit www.wisconsingunowners.org

Debbie and Tab Bonidy live in the mountains of Colorado, and are the plaintiffs -- along with the National Association for Gun Rights -- against the Postal Service.

National Association for Gun Rights

Colorado -–(Ammoland.com)- Have you heard about the National Association for Gun Rights’ lawsuit against the U.S. Post Service‘s gun ban?

Just a few weeks ago, a federal judge ruled that NAGR’s lawsuit was valid, and we’re now moving forward with it.

The U.S. Postal Service uses bureaucratic rules to ban your right to carry in a Post Office or in the parking lot, and that’s important, even if you don’t carry concealed — it’s the camel’s nose under the tent.

You see, the U.S. Postal Service claims Americans don’t have the right to self-defense in Post Offices.

There’s one problem with that claim: it isn’t true.

The law cited by the U.S. Postal Service creates an exception for “lawful carrying of firearms” for “other lawful purposes.” On top of that, both the Heller and McDonald Supreme Court decisions guarantee “the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.”

Sounds like it should be simple, right?

Well, no government bureaucracy ever gave up power without a fight.

And, given the anti-gun nature of the Obama administration, we know they aren’t going to instruct the U.S. Postal Service properly.

So your National Association for Gun Rights acted quickly to file suit against the U.S. Postal Service.

National Association for Gun Rights members Debbie and Tab Bonidy live in the mountains of Colorado, and are the plaintiffs — along with the National Association for Gun Rights — against the Postal Service.

Debbie Bonidy doesn’t like going anywhere without her personal handgun, which is why she went through the trouble of being trained, proving she’s law-abiding, and getting her concealed carry permit. Not only does the U.S. Postal Service say she can’t carry that handgun for self protection in a Post Office, but they arrogantly claim she can’t even leave it in her car when in their lot.

If we win this lawsuit, that outrageous policy will change in every Post Office in America.

P.S. I hope you will support our lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Services’ ban on self-defense. If we win, they’ll be forced to allow legally-authorized individuals to carry in Post Offices across the country.

About:
The National Association for Gun Rights is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, single-purpose citizens’ organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the Constitutionally protected right-to-keep-and-bear-arms through an aggressive program designed to mobilize public opposition to anti-gun legislation. The National Association for Gun Rights’ mailing address is P.O 7002, Fredericksburg, VA 22404. They can be contacted toll-free at 1-877-405-4570. Its web address is www.NationalGunRights.org

Editorial Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed above do not necessarily reflect those of the staff, AmmoLand Shooting Sports News, or other sponsors and partners. See the Editorial-Review Process for more details.

NRA News

Fairfax, VA --(Ammoland.com)- NRA-News is a valued partner that continues to cover breaking gun rights news with a new and improved short video format in the “NRA News Minute” videos.

To view the current firearms or gun rights news video, please click above:

Cam Edwards talks to State Representative Sean Jerguson (R-GA) on his initiative to allow concealed carry of guns on campus.

Read More on these topics:

• Guns on Campuses in Georgia
• Campus Carry Debated in Arizona Senate
• Campus Concealed Carry Bill No Laughing Matter

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate 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 military. Visit: www.nra.org

256 Wisconsin Businesses That Don't Want Gun Owner Money

Wisconsin Gun Owners

Wisconsin --(Ammoland.com)- The WGO Don’t Buy List program continues to grow.

That’s good news because it means gun owners are being vigilant and standing their ground. And they’re using WGO’s online system to report anti-gun businesses.

It’s also bad news: It means there are A LOT of anti-gun businesses out there across the Badger State.

Click Here to Download the Current Don’t Buy List (12/8/11)

Activism Works
You’re going to want to sit down before you read this.

We got word today from Dave, a WGO member, who called us last week to report that a VFW Post of which he is a member (Dave is a veteran, also) had posted no CCW signs.

According to him, the Eagle’s Nest Bar and Restaurant, AMVETS Menomonie Post 1128, in Boyceville, Wisconsin, had posted the signs without consulting the membership.

Dave took action. He attended this week’s member meeting and politely – but firmly – raised it as an issue. We consulted Dave, telling him we believed most people who post these signs do so not anticipating much blowback.

So Dave did what any self-respecting soldier would do: He reminded the VFW Post of what they stood for! It worked.

Not surprisingly, most of the other veterans were also opposed to the signs. After one person objected, the majority spoke up … and prevailed.

“I was able to convince post board to take sign down,” he said. “I posed question to members and had others chime in to oppose hanging that sign on post property. Was voted on and only one in oppostion to taking the sign down. The sign was removed last night after our meeting.

“Thanks for your encouragement.”

The lesson is: Most businesses who post No CCW signs are taking the path of least resistance, knee-jerking to the hysteria manufactured in the media about concealed carry.

Unaware they are advertising themselves as Criminal Safe Zones (note yet another Va. Tech Shooting today to illustrate this bloody reality) these people rarely think through their position.

They are also unaware that they are deeply offending the most powerful voting block there is — gun owners.

So, please help us educate them by supporting this program.

WGO is sustained only by private donations from grassroots gun owners like you — there are no fat cat corporate donors (and, we’d like to keep it that way).

P.S. – Will you forward the link to this alert to a friend or family member?

About:
WGO works for grassroots gun owners, not politicians. While many gun lobbies fight for “reasonable gun control,” WGO sets a higher standard: Defining the terrain of pro-gun political battle. Sure, many groups claim they’re “pro-gun” – all the while they provide cover for anti-gun deals cut by politicians – but only WGO truly informs gun owners, remaining committed to a 100% pro-gun position. We oppose all gun control – regardless of the political party – and work tirelessly to restore the Second Amendment. Visit www.wisconsingunowners.org

Grass Roots North Carolina for Firearms Education

North Carolina --(Ammoland.com)- Now Greenville Mayor Pat Dunn leads a swan song cynical over-reach to circumvent HB 650. Apparently she refuses leave without also leaving her anti-freedom mark!

In violation of both the letter, and more importantly, spirit of the new state law that uniformly permits concealed carry within all North Carolina parks, the Greenville City Council, under out-going Mayor Pat Dunn, recently passed draconian legislation that mandates posting against carry in 25 broad areas and numerous sub-regions of Greenville parks - including a clear over-reaching ban in the city’s dog park!

• Dunn’s membership in New York City Mayor Bloomberg’s strident anti-gun MAIG organization was bad enough.
• Now, adding insult to injury, she seeks to make a final parting assault on lawful carry within Greenville’s recreational facilities.
• All this effort to disarm the law-abiding when violent crime in Greenville parks is a clear and present danger.
• Just last week Leroy Staton was brutally murdered in Jaycee Park. A park that will now be posted in seven areas.
• Every Greenville area that can be spun as a playground, an athletic field, a swimming pool, or athletic facility (and others that cannot) will be posted against lawful concealed carry.
• This type of exhaustive “kitchen sink” approach to bans is exactly what HB 650 was intended to prevent.
• This indiscriminate ban is clearly a cynical attempt to flout both state law, and Second Amendment rights.
• Such unreasonable and arrogant attempts to deprive free North Carolinians of their rights cannot and will not be tolerated!

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED:

Contact

• Contact Mayor Pat Dunn, Mayor-Elect Allen Thomas, and the City Councilors of Greenville, NC.
• Tell them that Greenville, NC refuses to become a defenseless small-town image of NYC, Washington DC and Chicago.
• All of which are represented by MAIG members,
• All of which disarm the law-abiding to the benefit of violent criminals.
• Tell them to rescind their illegal ordinance!

Cut and paste email list:

pdunn2@suddenlink.net, athomasemail@gmail.com, bryantkittrell@kittrellandarmstrong.com, ksmith@greenvillenc.gov, rglover50@suddenlink.net, info@marionblackburn.com, mjoyner@clementins.com

Deliver the message below:

Deliver This Message

Greenville City Representatives,

It has come to my attention that you intend to ban guns within extensive areas under city control in response to recent ratification of HB 650, “Castle Doctrine and Concealed Carry Permitted in Parks”.

You should be aware that, although this new law does permit posting against concealed carry in certain clearly and very narrowly-defined areas, your recently-passed anti-gun ordinance is overly-broad and violates both the letter, and more importantly the spirit of this new, freedom-promoting state law.

In particular, banning of carry within the city’s off-leash dog park, that cannot be reasonably considered a “playground” is clearly in violation of state law. This also makes it clear that the ordinance was prepared to indiscriminately ban otherwise lawful carry within every region of Greenville that can be construed, however torturously, to be permissible under HB 650.

HB 650 was intended to create statewide uniformity in the regulation of legal carry. Your ordinance is a clear and cynical attempt to thwart this effort, and therefore must be rescinded immediately.

North Carolinian Concealed Handgun permitees have shown themselves to be extremely responsible and are not a problem that you should be concerned about. Places within Greenville where citizens are not permitted to effectively defend themselves IS a problem that you NEED TO BEGIN working to solve.

A clear example of the need for law-abiding Greenville citizens to be permitted effective means of self-defense is the this week’s brutal murder of Leroy Staton in Jaycee Park, a small facility within which you intend to post seven separate areas.

I insist that you abandon plans to disarm responsible permit holders, and immediately rescind your illegal ordinance.

I will be following progress through Grass Roots North Carolina.

Sincerely,

A concerned NC voter

GRNC is preparing to take appropriate legal action and needs to identify local plaintiffs

• Plaintiffs are currently needed for actions within Kernersville, Greenville and Smithfield. Please contact alerts@grnc.org.
• Other municipalities may be added.
• Everyone should carefully monitor municipal ordinances, particularly those recently enacted.
• Any restrictions beyond “a playground, an athletic field, a swimming pool, or an athletic facility” should be immediately reported to alerts@grnc.org.

About:
Grass Roots North Carolina/Forum for Firearms Education is a non-profit, all volunteer organization devoted to educating the public about trends which abridge the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, and engaging in grass roots activism to preserve those freedoms. Formed in 1994 to conduct a highly successful rally for the Second Amendment, GRNC has gone on to conduct projects like “Remember in November: A Gun Owner’s Guide to Voting,” bringing concealed carry to North Carolina. Visit:www.grnc.org

Wisconsin Gun Owners

Wisconsin --(Ammoland.com)- The WGO Don’t Buy List is a Citizen Watch-list exposing Wisconsin businesses that post No Concealed Weapons signs – businesses disrespectful of the rights of their customers.

George Webb’s: Official Criminal Safe Zone These businesses simply can’t afford to alienate pro-gun people in a state like Wisconsin where there are so many gun owners, but they are posting these outrageous signs nonetheless because they don’t anticipate the loss of any substantial revenue.

With your help, this program aims to change that.

Download the current (11/09/11) Don’t Buy List in .PDF digital format. Businesses that have been reported are listed in alphabetical order by city.

As of today’s date, there are roughly 50 businesses on the list, but we know there are many more out there across the state. That’s why we need your help to report offenders.

Gun Free Zones

No CCW Signs: = Segregation, Bigotry and Ignorance
These anti-gun, anti-concealed carry businesses will be notified that they have been added to the Don’t Buy List and given an opportunity to remove the signs. If the signs come down, they will be promptly removed from the list.

The Don’t Buy List will be distributed at gun shows, through the mail, the Internet, sportsman’s clubs, frankly anywhere and everywhere.

We are asking Wisconsin gun owners to do three things:

• Report all businesses posting no CCW signs using this form. This will give other permit holders a “heads up.”
• Inform these businesses that they have lost your business until the signs come down and they begin to respect the Bill of Rights. Take your business to the competition!
• Make a financial contribution to support this program. The more resources WGO can commit to this program, the wider we can distribute this list and the greater impact we’ll have. Donate

Thanks for your vigilance and support.

Report Wisconsin Anti-Gun Businesses Now

About:
WGO works for grassroots gun owners, not politicians. While many gun lobbies fight for “reasonable gun control,” WGO sets a higher standard: Defining the terrain of pro-gun political battle. Sure, many groups claim they’re “pro-gun” – all the while they provide cover for anti-gun deals cut by politicians – but only WGO truly informs gun owners, remaining committed to a 100% pro-gun position. We oppose all gun control – regardless of the political party – and work tirelessly to restore the Second Amendment. Visit www.wisconsingunowners.org

Appleton Wisconsin Police on Concealed Carry

Wisconsin Gun Owners

Wisconsin --(Ammoland.com)- Capt. Rudy Nyman of the Appleton Police Department discusses the implementation of Wisconsin’s new concealed carry law.

Capt. Rudy Nyman of the Appleton Police Department discusses the implementation of Wisconsin’s new concealed carry law.

Note: We are not endorsing Captain Nyman’s comments, but rather posting this so you can be aware of the attitudes of police toward concealed carry permit holders.

Note also that Capt. Nyman says that all public buildings in Appleton will post to prohibit concealed carry (a citywide de facto suspension of constitutional rights).

That means there will be suspension of constitutional rights (both state and federal) in our government buildings (those owned by taxpayers) throughout Appleton.

This hearkens back to the days of segregation. And it could be taken as “Martial Law Lite.”  But no matter how you take it, WGO will be tackling these outrageous city-level gun bans and creation of criminal safe zones by our aldermen one by one.

What’s one way you can help us repeal these local gun bans? Join us in this battle:

Whatch Now

About:
WGO works for grassroots gun owners, not politicians. While many gun lobbies fight for “reasonable gun control,” WGO sets a higher standard: Defining the terrain of pro-gun political battle. Sure, many groups claim they’re “pro-gun” – all the while they provide cover for anti-gun deals cut by politicians – but only WGO truly informs gun owners, remaining committed to a 100% pro-gun position. We oppose all gun control – regardless of the political party – and work tirelessly to restore the Second Amendment. Visit www.wisconsingunowners.org

Stand with Ron Paul - End Criminal Safezones with H.R. 2613

National Association for Gun Rights

Colorado -–(Ammoland.com)- “Courage is being scared to death — but saddling up anyway.”

That’s one of my favorite quotes of all time from one of my favorite actors of all time, John Wayne.

He was right …

… there are times when we all have to do things that we are scared of or aren’t comfortable with, but go forward with anyway.

The fact is, gun rights activists like you and me are under constant assault.

Most of the assaults are perpetrated by left-wingers in the media who despise guns.

Let’s face the facts — they carry the water for gun-grabbing politicians throughout this country.

And, of course, the gun controllers in academia are brain-washing American students to think that “guns are bad/evil/fill in the blank.”

There is nothing you and I can do about that except organize at the grassroots level in defense of our gun rights.

Very few elected politicians will stand up in the face of left-wing assaults and do what’s right. One of those politicians is Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, a long-time Second Amendment advocate.

I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think he really has to muster up any courage to “do what is right” when it comes to fighting the gun grabbers. I don’t think he cares what the media says.

That’s refreshing.

We need more elected officials who will defend our gun rights and not think such actions are “courageous” at all.

I wanted to write and inform you of Congressman Ron Paul’s “Citizens Protection Act of 2011.”

The bill number is H.R. 2613.

As you may know, since 1990, the federal government and Congress has designated ALL school zones “gun free.”

I call them “Criminal Safezones.”

You and I know that criminals and thugs don’t care what laws or restrictions or road blocks anyone puts up.

When a thug wants to murder or wreak havoc, no law or posted metal sign declaring an area “gun free” will deter them.

And for those of us gun owners who carry every day, we’re left defenseless in the face of a rampaging criminal, intent on doing significant harm.

Congressman Paul’s “Citizens Protection Act of 2011” would repeal the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 and remove all federal “Criminal Safezones.”

I’m personally asking you to call Congressman Paul’s office today and thank him for introducing H.R. 2613.

Here’s the number: 202-225-2831

And once you are finished making that call, please call your Congressman at 202-224-3121 and make it known that you support H.R. 2613.

Send a message to Congress that “Criminal Safezones” are nothing more than federally-protected target practice locations for those willing to do harm to innocents.

I know you don’t need courage to pick up the phone and tell Congress what you believe about our gun rights.

Most so-called “pro-gun” politicians need to “saddle up” and do what is right even in the face of left-wing assaults.

Make those calls today.

For Freedom,

About:
The National Association for Gun Rights is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, single-purpose citizens’ organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the Constitutionally protected right-to-keep-and-bear-arms through an aggressive program designed to mobilize public opposition to anti-gun legislation. The National Association for Gun Rights’ mailing address is P.O 7002, Fredericksburg, VA 22404. They can be contacted toll-free at 1-877-405-4570. Its web address is www.NationalGunRights.org

Editorial Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed above do not necessarily reflect those of the staff, AmmoLand Shooting Sports News, or other sponsors and partners. See the Editorial-Review Process for more details.

West Virginia Citizens Defense League

West Virginia --(Ammoland.com)- Before you go to vote today, please remember that if your polling place is located at a primary or secondary (K-12) school–regardless of whether it is a public, private, or religious school–you may not possess any firearms or other weapons on school property (including the outside grounds) with very limited exceptions.

W.Va. Code § 61-7-11a(b) provides:

(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess any firearm or any other deadly weapon on any school bus as defined in section one, article one, chapter seventeen-a of this code, or in or on any public or private primary or secondary education building, structure, facility or grounds thereof, including any vocational education building, structure, facility or grounds thereof where secondary vocational education programs are conducted or at any school-sponsored function.

(2) This subsection shall not apply to:

(A) A law-enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity;

(B) A person specifically authorized by the board of education of the county or principal of the school where the property is located to conduct programs with valid educational purposes;

(C) A person who, as otherwise permitted by the provisions of this article, possesses an unloaded firearm or deadly weapon in a motor vehicle, or leaves an unloaded firearm or deadly weapon in a locked motor vehicle;

(D) Programs or raffles conducted with the approval of the county board of education or school which include the display of unloaded firearms; or

(E) The official mascot of West Virginia University, commonly known as “The Mountaineer”, acting in his or her official capacity.

(3) Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary of this state for a definite term of years of not less than two years nor more than ten years, or fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both.

The law is clear. It applies to all primary and secondary school property at all times and regardless of whether the school property is in use for a non-educational purpose, such as a polling place.

In general, the only way most individuals may lawfully possess a firearm while on school property is if the firearm is unloaded and kept inside a locked motor vehicle. Most importantly, the firearm must be unloaded before you cross the invisible property line while entering the school grounds and cannot be loaded until after you have left the school grounds.

WVCDL has long believed that the current state law is excessive and unjust. Around the country, other states have widely varying state laws regarding firearm possession on school property.

In Alabama, California, Delaware, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Utah, an individual who has a concealed handgun license may lawfully carry on school property without restriction. In Missouri, an individual who has a concealed carry endorsement may carry on school property unless and until he or she is asked to leave, after which a failure to leave after a demand to leave the premises for refusing to comply with the order to leave is a low-level misdemeanor punishable only by a small fine.

Kentucky, Virginia, and most other states that have “shall issue” concealed carry laws allow individuals to keep a loaded handgun in a vehicle without having to go through the process of unloading before entering school property and reloading after leaving. The unload/reload process required by West Virginia law greatly increases the danger of negligent discharges by law-abiding gun owners.

On the more extreme end, there are some states (such as Ohio and North Carolina) that have stricter laws than West Virginia and require law-abiding gun owners to either park their vehicles off school property (not a realistic option at most schools) or remove all firearms from the vehicle before going to a school.

As a matter of federal law, the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q), generally prohibits the possession of firearms in a larger “school zone,” defined as the school grounds plus a 1,000-foot buffer zone.

However, the federal law “does not apply to the possession of a firearm . . . if the individual possessing the firearm is licensed to do so by the State in which the school zone is located or a political subdivision of the State, and the law of the State or political subdivision requires that, before an individual obtains such a license, the law enforcement authorities of the State or political subdivision verify that the individual is qualified under law to receive the license,” which exempts concealed handgun license holders–BUT only within the issuing state. This language was originally enacted in 1990 and predates modern reciprocity laws. There is also another exception for firearms in vehicles if the firearm is (1) not loaded (also a requirement of west Virginia law) and (2) in a locked container, or a locked firearms rack that is on a motor vehicle (this second requirement of federal law is not replicated by West Virginia law).

So, if you have a concealed handgun license, the only reason you cannot legally carry on school property in this state is because of STATE law. However, if you do not have a CHL, remember that in order to be in full compliance with both state and federal law, any firearms in your vehicle would need to be both (1) unloaded (both WV & federal law) and (2) in a locked container, or a locked firearms rack that is on a motor vehicle (required by federal law only).

Confusing, isn’t it?

Is anyone really safer because in our state because our Legislature has chosen, at least as far as school property is concerned, to have a stricter state gun control law than California?!?!?

Since 2008, WVCDL has asked candidates for the House of Delegates, Senate, Attorney General, and Governor whether they would support or oppose changing West Virginia law to mirror federal law and the state laws of Alabama, California, Delaware, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Utah, by completely exempting concealed handgun license holders and eliminating both the current legal minefield and the inherent dangers created by forcing law-abiding gun owners to not only unnecessarily unholster and reholster their weapons, but also unload and reload their weapons.

WVCDL’s West Virginia Gun Owner Protection Act of 2011, HB 3125 and SB 543 of the 2011 Regular Session of the Legislature, proposed amending W.Va. Code § 61-7-11a to completely exempt from this law any nonstudent adult who is licensed to carry a concealed weapon. While the bills failed to advance in the Legislature this year, they will return next year.

In Questions 21 and 22 of the WVCDL 2011 Gubernatorial Candidate Survey, we polled the candidates for Governor (only one candidate among those on your ballot today responded) on whether they would support WVCDL’s position on this issue. We encourage you to take a look at the responses we’ve received.

We urge everyone to follow the law and work within the political process to change it where, as is the case here, it is unjust and frankly absurd.

About:
The West Virginia Citizens Defense League (WVCDL) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, all-volunteer, grassroots organization of concerned West Virginians who support our individual right to keep and bear arms for defense of self, family, home and state, and for lawful hunting and recreational use, as protected by the state constitution and the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. Visit: www.wvcdl.org

Federal Gun Free School Zones Cleveland 2005

Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Under President William Jefferson Clinton gun possession in populated areas of the United States was theoretically banned, with the stroke of a federal pen.

Most Americans have no idea this gutting of the Second Amendment was enacted, and is still in place, threatening them all. The nonsensical 1,000-foot gun ban (an unalienable-rights infringement zone) around every school MUST BE ELIMINATED.

People’s very homes are criminalized if they step outside. Our roads have been turned into felony traps for the unwary.

This little-known feel-good-do-nothing travesty has been selectively enforced over the last two decades. Selective enforcement of a law is pure arbitrary tyranny.

It hangs over everyone’s head like a Sword of Damocles. The so-called “gun-free” school-zones law is a direct personal threat to the freedom of every law-abiding citizen in America. It proposes a felony arrest for every decent person who travels armed, or steps off their own property, in any populated area (see maps below).

This idiotic law does absolutely nothing to protect schools and is the height of hypocrisy and utopian dreaming. There is a growing body of hard evidence that it actually invites psychopathic armed intruders into a defenseless target-rich environment. How many atrocities do you need to see in the phony gun-free zones before you see the light?

Mythical gun-free zones are dangerous, reckless and negligent.

The tiny federal exemption allowing carry in a so-called gun-free school zone, to the 2% of the public that bowed and scraped to get a state-issued firearms carry permit, leaves the other 98% of the public at intolerable risk. State and local versions of make-believe gun-free school zones compound the problem.

JPFO’s stance: It is time to end the dangerous and illegal infringement of non-functional make-believe gun-free zones that empower criminals and defraud the public.

“Gun-Free School-Zones Law” 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) in 1990, reenacted 1995

Look at the maps above and below to see how easy it can be to become a felon!  The government has “felonized” gun owners and illegally infringed on our rights.

Federal Gun Free School Zones Phoenix 2005

San Francisco. The immense areas in ‘Frisco’ which might be "No-Go" Gun Free Zones

© Copyright Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership 2011: Maps reproduced by permission of Alan Korwin, of www.GunLaws.com. He has his own site page dealing with Gun-Free school zones and is an AmmoLand Shooting Sports News Contributor.

About:
Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership Mission is to destroy “gun control” and to encourage Americans to understand and defend all of the Bill of Rights for everyone. Those are the twin goals of Wisconsin-based Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO). Founded by Jews and initially aimed at educating the Jewish community about the historical evils that Jews have suffered when they have been disarmed, JPFO has always welcomed persons of all religious beliefs who share a common goal of opposing and reversing victim disarmament policies while advancing liberty for all.

JPFO is a non-profit tax-exempt educational civil rights organization, not a lobby. JPFO’s products and programs reach out to as many segments of the American people as possible, using bold tactics without compromise on fundamental principles. Visit www.JPFO.org – Copyright JPFO 2011

Buckeye Firearms Foundation

Ohio --(Ammoland.com)- World history tells us of tyrants and dictators that have deprived the populace of their God given rights, especially the right to keep and bear arms.

The Jewish Defense League (www.JDL.org) has advised that everywhere in World history where genocide has been committed, the genocide was always preceded by disarming the population.

The party or government responsible for disarming may not always be the same party or government that committed the genocide, nonetheless, genocide was committed on the disarmed and defenseless.

There are even certain modern evils in the United Nations that must be monitored with vigilance lest the sovereignty of the United States and our Constitution become compromised. Many people have been ill informed or unaware of our own American history and the criminal element dictating laws that prevent honest men and women from their constitutional right to keep and bear arms. The “Tell”, or verbal history along with recorded documentation, has been told before. Some have forgotten, and others may never have known.

Herein is a reminder: “Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples’ liberty’s teeth.” ~ George Washington

LAW BY CRIMINALS, FOR CRIMINALS
Oath keepers such as professional law enforcement officers should be especially aware of the American historical foundation of gun control promoted by criminals. The criminal precedent is of course the 1911 Sullivan Act in New York, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sullivan_Act).

Today, this and other evil laws like it are still in effect, thanks to quasi-criminals and or politicians that violate their oath of office by failing to support and enforce the constitution of the United States of America, which of course, includes the second amendment.

TIM SULLIVAN, CRIMINAL AND POLITICIAN
A near giant of a man, Big Tim Sullivan, was a notorious Irish gangster, (Mike Hudson www.niagarafallsreporter.com/column357.html). His mob controlled New York City south of 14th Street around the turn of the 20th century. This dangerous street thug and politician became an influential figure in the corrupt Democratic machine there known as Tammany Hall. He made the transition from thug and political ward heeler to New York state senator in 1894. Sullivan represented New York’s Red Hook district, (Patrick Sperry http://tiny.cc/algmb), sometimes referred to as “Hells Kitchen.” Sullivan served a six-year term in the U.S. House of Representatives, and returned to the New York state legislature in 1909, complaining that he “lacked the juice in Washington that he had grown accustomed to on his home turf.”

In 1911, Sullivan’s constituents, (Irish and Jewish mobsters who put him into office), shared a growing problem with him. Immigrant Italian mafia members were horning in on what had once been their exclusive area of criminal operations. Commercial travelers passing through the district would be relieved of their valuables by armed robbers. Naturally, in order to protect themselves and their property, honest travelers began to arm themselves.

Gunfights in what was to become Little Italy became more frequent. This both raised the criminal’s risk while conducting armed robbery, and reduced the gang’s profit. Sullivan’s criminal constituents then “lobbied” Sullivan to introduce a law prohibiting concealed carry of pistols in order to reduce the risk to his criminal constituents while robbing honest people. That Sullivan was successful in passing a law disarming honest citizens so as to aid and abet other criminals is well documented.

THE EFFECT OF THE SULLIVAN ACT
The criminals responsible for enacting this law had no intention of being deterred themselves by the Sullivan Act from their business of armed robbery. Thus, the effect of the Sullivan Act was precisely what the criminals intended, whereby they could be armed and the law abiding could not. Having a seriously unfair tactical advantage over the law abiding made their criminal life of crime much safer and easier.

Blogger NTCNoob, (http://tiny.cc/ivegi March 28th 2011), offers a link to a legal brief which in part discussed the history of the Sullivan Act (www.longislandfirearms.com/LIF_Briefs/LIF_Brief.pdf) and his favorite part of the brief is this section which affirms Professor John Lott’s (www.johnrlott.blogspot.com) research that “more guns equal less crime”:

As one scholar concludes: “It didn’t take long for those hopes to be dashed: within twelve months of the passage of the Sullivan Law, New York City’s murder rate increased 18 percent.” In the year after enactment, New York City experienced “a crime wave unequaled in its history.” in 1912 presidents of fourteen burglary insurance companies called for repeal of the Act, arguing that burglaries and robberies had increased by 40%. The following year, an insurance industry publication argued that in practice the law restricted only the “honest man” and that a criminal would “carry his pistol, law or no law.”

CRIMINAL EMPOWERMENT ZONES
Criminal and Killer Empowerment Zones, (www.spartancops.com/killer-empowerment-zones/ and www.buckeyefirearms.org/archive/story/2010/9/20) are commonly known as “Gun-Free” zones only by the “Reality-Challenged.”

“Gun-Free” is a misleading term. To the armed criminal, it means both a victim rich environment and profit. The honest citizens however, are in peril from the killers, rapists and armed robbers when they obey the law, yet may be subject to arrest when exercising their 2nd amendment right to keep and bear arms. The consequences can and has proved deadly to the law abiding innocents.

We are told that any harm that comes to good people because of criminal empowerment zones is unintended. Unfortunately for honest folk, considering the criminal history of gun control, the actual reality consequences, facts, common sense, and the truth would all suggest otherwise.

YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN
Empowering criminals by the process of disarming honest men and women is similar to “Killer Empowerment Zones”, where only the criminal’s health, welfare and safety is almost guaranteed, while the defenseless innocents are an afterthought, leaving them totally on their own. The result is the same whether the criminal empowerment zone is a school, workplace, restaurant, church, shopping mall, drugstore, island, roller rink, city, an entire state or country. The law abiding are denied a level playing field.

HURRICANE KATRINA AND MODERN UNLAWFUL DISARMING OF CITIZENS
New Orleans Louisiana was hard hit by Hurricane Katrina and flooding. There were many problems and failures. For a variety of reasons, many people elected to remain in their homes. Roving gangs were a threat to honest citizens and law enforcement there admittedly was unable to protect their own citizens. Looting and a myriad of crimes against persons and property were committed.

The honest law abiding and God fearing citizens that possessed firearms at least had a chance at protecting themselves. That was until New Orleans Mayor Nagin, (who fled to Baton Rouge), unconstitutionally ordered that his remaining citizens be disarmed.

P. Edwin Compass III, superintendent of police, stated “No one is allowed to be armed. We are going to take all the guns.” (www.reason.com/archives/2005/09/10/defenseless-on-the-bayou)

The mayor and law enforcement officers there all violated their oaths when they went door to door confiscating legally owned firearms.

CRIMINAL RISK – BENEFIT ANALYISIS
We are reminded of the phrases “Who benefits?” or “Follow the money!” Clearly criminal empowerment zones reduce the risk to criminals pursuing their trade. Criminal empowerment zones allow their crimes to be profitable, (or murderous, depending solely on the criminals whim). Are criminal “Lobbies” still behind unconstitutional restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms? Do some politicians still intentionally aid and abet crime as the Sullivan Act does, or are they merely clueless as to the potential harm? We suggest, you readers decide!

CONCLUSION
Word history shows us that genocide has been a byproduct of disarming the law abiding. American history has shown us that early gun control has been introduced by criminal politicians to benefit their criminal constituents. For the non-criminals, the Utopian intent of any “Gun-Free” area is of course, a delusion that laws or warning signs at a public facility will be sufficient to protect the public. The otherwise perfectly legal, concealed weapon civilians are disarmed and rendered as defenseless as everyone else.

While this Utopian theory has no validated tracking history of success, it certainly has a documented record of failure. Even if we concede that the Utopians might deserve an “A” for “good intentions,” they certainly have also earned an “F” as in FATAL for actual results.

For example:

“All the multiple victim public shootings in the U.S. – in which more than three people have been killed – have all occurred in places where concealed handguns have been banned.” – Professor John Lott Jr. author of “More Guns, Less Crime”

Anyone with enough interest to do the research will find that factually, of cities with similar demographics, those which unconstitutionally restrict the right to keep and bear arms have a significantly higher crime rate than those that do not. These are factual clues.

The foundation of American “Gun Control” was sponsored by and promoted by criminals. The criminal element benefits from most laws that violate the constitution. Politicians that propose laws that violate the 2nd amendment also violate their oaths to support the Constitution.

“Gun Control” is a façade for a hidden agenda. “Gun Control” is a silly theory alleging that it protects the public. In reality there is no evidence of gun control protecting the public. In fact, it is quite evident that everywhere oppressive gun control exists crime is significantly higher than areas where honest citizens are permitted to keep and bear arms.

If gun control and gun free zones were effective deterrents, we would be applying their success as countermeasures to crimes “A through Z.”

For example:

• Arson Control/Arson free zones
• Burglary Control/Burglar free zones
• Drug Control/Drug free zones
• Rape Control/Rape free zones, and so on

Anyone honest with themselves can understand the analogy here, the clarity being that none of these efforts would have an effect on the intended criminal element target.

One is tempted to think about the analogy of sovereign nations signing a treaty on nuclear disarming and President Ronald Reagan’s quote about “Trust but verify.” Unfortunately, criminals are not sovereign, any agreement signed by them would certainly not be trustworthy, and because of their unlawful and shadowy methods, there is no reliable way to verify they are not carrying firearms. This leads us back to square one, where gun control both effects, and punishes only honest citizens.

The most recent and aggravated example is the gun confiscation in New Orleans, LA. The citizens were clearly on their own as police were unable to protect them. Then the police unlawfully confiscated legally owned firearms from people’s homes, literally robbing them of the ability to protect themselves. When civilization returned, and the citizens used the courts to get their firearms back, the court commanded the return of their firearms. The police department refused orders from the court and would not return the stolen property until sued by the National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment Association.

How could this happen in America?

About the author: After a three decade police career, Ron Borsch is semi-retired. While retaining a police commission as a consultant-trainer, he manages and is the lead trainer for SEALE Regional Police Training Academy, a post-graduate facility in Bedford Ohio. SEALE Academy has specialized in tactically training 1st responders since the year 2000. Their current evolution of active killer countermeasures is SOLO, “Single Officer Lifesaving Others”©. Ron has presented various subjects in several different states to fellow officers, Chiefs of Police, national and international instructor audiences.

About:
Buckeye Firearms Association is a grassroots political action committee dedicated to defending and advancing the right of Ohio citizens to own and use firearms for all legal activities. Visit: www.buckeyefirearms.org

Gun Rights Policies with John Snyder

Washington, DC - -(Ammoland.com)- The riots in the United Kingdom show that gun laws do not stop crime but do prevent decent citizens from being able to protect themselves and their property.

According to the IBTimes “Sales for baseball bats on Amazon UK have risen by more than 6,000 percent over the past 24 hours, as the London riots stretch into their third day and spread to other cities.” http://tiny.cc/8cvj4

These laws should be repealed so the people can get the guns they need for their own safety.

“The British Parliament should repeal the draconian gun laws in the United Kingdom,” gun law expert John M. Snyder said here today.

“Law-abiding citizens in the island nation should be able to protect themselves from violent thugs running rampant there in London and other major cities,” he added. “Londoners and others should be able to acquire, own and use the pistols, rifles and shotguns they need to defend their lives, their loved ones and their property from perpetrators of criminal violence.”

Snyder is the Gun Dean in the United States, according to Human Events, an American weekly conservative publication.

As mentione by the IBTimes.com, sales of baseball bats on Amazon UK rose 6,541 percent one day this week as the riots spread.

“This is a sad commentary on the UK situation,” observed Snyder. “People are trying to get baseball bats to protect their persons and their property from these thugs. If they had access to firearms, they would be in a much better position.

“Contrast this situation with the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, California, when citizens, particularly Korean-Americans, used pistols, rifles and shotguns for protection of life and property from violent rioters.”

Snyder said, “Restrictive gun laws undermine the ability of decent people to protect themselves, their loved ones and their property from criminal violence. These laws do not prevent violent criminality, they augment it. They are the bane of civilization and really have no place in a supposedly peaceful society.”

About John Snyder:
Named the Gun Dean by Human Events, “the senior rights activist in Washington” by Shotgun News, a “champion of the right to self-defense” by The Washington Times, and “dean of gun lobbyists” by The Washington Post and The New York Times, John M. Snyder has spent 45 years as a proponent of the individual Second Amendment civil right to keep and bear arms as a National Rifle Association editor, public affairs director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, treasurer of the Second Amendment Foundation, and founder of www.GunRightsPolicies.org.

A former Jesuit seminarian, Snyder is founder/manager of Telum Associates, LL.C., founder/chairman of the St. Gabriel Possenti Society, Inc., a director of Council for America, and serves on the boards of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and the American Federation of Police & Concerned Citizens. He is also the author of the book Gun Saint. Visit: www.GunRightsPolicies.org

FirearmsCoalition.org

Manassas, VA --(Ammoland.com)- Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) has introduced a bill (HR-2613) to repeal the federal Gun Free School Zone Act.

While many in the general public and the gun prohibition community will balk and ask questions like, “What does anyone need with a gun at a school,” knowledgeable rights supporters are wondering why it has taken so long.

The Gun Free School Zone Act, or GFSZA for short, was originally passed by Congress back in 1990, but in 1995 the Supreme Court voided the law, ruling it (quite correctly) to be an unconstitutional overreach of federal power.

Congress quickly passed a revised version of the act which included the stipulation that the firearm had, “moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce.” With this addition Congress supposedly provided constitutional authority for their actions and, while the Supreme Court has not revisited the issue, several Appeals Courts have upheld convictions under the new language.

GFSZ’s Feel Good
The GFSZA is one of those feel-good laws that so often pass in the wake of a tragedy – the Stockton, California schoolyard shooting, in this case – which do nothing to address the problem, but which leave a wake of unintended consequences. The GFSZA did nothing to prevent the rash of school shootings that plagued the nation in the 1990s.

Does anyone honestly believe that the Columbine murderers were deterred in the slightest by the law against bringing guns within 1000 feet of a school? Could the police have somehow been magically aware of the illegal presence of the firearms and been able to interdict the weapons before the murderers had the opportunity to start their killing spree? Unlikely. But a gun owner pulled over for a traffic violation who is carrying a gun in the car in an otherwise lawful manner could be charged with a federal felony (5 years and $5,000) if he happens to be within the mythical Gun Free School Zone.

The federal law prohibits anyone from being in possession of a firearm within 1000 feet of any accredited school or daycare center. One thousand feet is almost 3 city blocks, and the zone begins at the edge of school property, not the door of the school. In metropolitan areas these zones often overlap to the extent that lawful travel while armed is completely impossible. While the law does make exceptions for residents within the zone and anyone licensed by the state to possess firearms, it makes no exception for states that do not require a license to possess a gun.

What’s more, the GFSZA does not recognize licenses issued in other states. Though I have legally carried a gun for over 25 years and am licensed to lawfully do so in 34 states, I do not have a permit issued by my home state of Arizona. Even though Arizona recognizes both my Utah and my Virginia permits and the state requires no permit at all for lawful carry, I could be committing a federal offense virtually every time I leave my home with a loaded firearm because there are schools along almost every route out of my neighborhood.

The GFSZA is simply bad law. It violates the limits on federal authority in the Constitution. It infringes on citizens’ Second Amendment rights. And it doesn’t do anything to reduce crime. It’s ridiculous that this bad law hasn’t been repealed long before now.

Outlook Grim
Unfortunately the odds are not very good that it will be repealed in this congress. While Ron Paul has long been one of the staunchest supporters of the Second Amendment in Congress, his legislative proposals rarely go anywhere because the proposals tend to be aggressive, and because Paul’s not in with the “in” crowd. He often deviates from the party line when he feels that Republicans are straying from the constitutional straight and narrow. That principled commitment has also put Paul at odds with the NRA on issues such as the Lawful Commerce in Arms Act which he felt was unconstitutional and voted against.

I fear Dr. Paul’s bill to repeal the GFSZA is running head-on into both of those problems. Politicians are terrified of any suggestion that they’re not “for the children,” and the Republicans and NRA are not inclined to work on something that makes Paul look good after he’s not supported them.

The only thing that can give this bill legs is a groundswell of grassroots support demanding that Representatives sign on as cosponsors and work for passage.

That means that, as usual, it’s up to you and me.
Tell Congress you want them to obey the Constitution, support HR-2613, and repeal the Gun Free School Zone Act.

Copyright © 2011 Neal Knox Associates – The most trusted name in the rights movement.

About:
The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization provides support to grassroots activists in the form of education, analysis of current issues, and with a historical perspective of the gun rights movement. The Firearms Coalition is a project of Neal Knox Associates, Manassas, VA. Visit: www.FirearmsCoalition.org

Gun Rights Policies with John Snyder

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- “The Storting, the Norwegian Parliament, should repeal immediately that nation’s restrictive firearms control laws,”gun law expert John M. Snyder said here today.

“The Norwegian Government should allow law-abiding citizens to acquire, carry and use the guns they need to protect themselves and their loved ones from mass murderers and other violent criminals,” he added.

Snyder is the Gun Dean here in the United States, according to Human Events.

Snyder noted the Norwegian gun control laws did not prevent the recent mass murder of about 70 civilians near Oslo. However, they did prevent innocent citizens from being able to stop or interrupt the slaughter.

Currently, Norwegians must get a government permit to own a firearm legally and give government officials a reason for wanting the gun. Norwegian policy prevents citizens from acquiring automatic firearms, although the alleged mass murderer used a semiautomatic firearm which reportedly had been converted to a fully automatic firearm.

“The gun laws had no effect at all on preventing the mass murder,” said Snyder. “They did prevent anyone from legally stopping or interrupting the killing. It took police an hour and a half to get to the scene of the horror, during which time the murderer picked off the innocent one by one. As The Telegraph of the United Kingdom pointed out, there was ‘no one able to stop him.’

“Restrictive gun laws are the products of sheer idiocy. Hopefully, the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, and King Harald will demonstrate they hold dear the right to life of Norwegians. Let them encourage the Storting to free Norway from this oppressive idiocy and allow Norwegians to acquire, carry and use the guns they need to defend life.”

About John Snyder:
Named the Gun Dean by Human Events, “the senior rights activist in Washington” by Shotgun News, a “champion of the right to self-defense” by The Washington Times, and “dean of gun lobbyists” by The Washington Post and The New York Times, John M. Snyder has spent 45 years as a proponent of the individual Second Amendment civil right to keep and bear arms as a National Rifle Association editor, public affairs director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, treasurer of the Second Amendment Foundation, and founder of www.GunRightsPolicies.org.

A former Jesuit seminarian, Snyder is founder/manager of Telum Associates, LL.C., founder/chairman of the St. Gabriel Possenti Society, Inc., a director of Council for America, and serves on the boards of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and the American Federation of Police & Concerned Citizens. He is also the author of the book Gun Saint. Visit: www.GunRightsPolicies.org

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Columbine. Virginia Tech. Fort Hood.

What do all of these shootings have in common?

The answer is they all occurred in government facilities where the private possession of firearms was prohibited.

In Washington, unconstitutional legislation is commonplace. But sometimes unconstitutional laws can have deadly consequences. The so-called “gun free school zones act,” written by radical anti-gun Senator Heb Kohl, is one such law.

Slammed through in 1996 as an amendment to a giant last-minute must-pass appropriations bill, the legislation disarmed school staff and other adults – leaving elementary and secondary school children defenseless to serial killers.

It also made it virtually impossible to drive your car down the street with your gun inside without violating the law by creating a 1000-foot so-called “gun-free zone” around every public and private school in the country.

“Gun free,” that is, except for the criminals.

No one – including politicians, the police, or the individual citizen – can predict where the next deranged serial killer will attack. And yet politicians continue to create “criminal safe zones” such as schools, churches, parks, restaurants that serve alcohol, etc., where the law-abiding are disarmed.

The net impact of turning schools, in particular, into defenseless targets for serial killers has been dramatic.

When many people over the age of 40 were growing up, ROTC students would march up-and-down high school campuses with their semi-automatic M1’s – and no one would think anything of it. Shooting clubs on school grounds were also not uncommon.

But within a couple a years of the enactment of the Kohl amendment, two disaffected teenagers walked into Columbine High School secure in the knowledge that they would be the only ones in the school who were armed.

And, of course, Columbine triggered a slew of copycat episodes – laying a mounting string of innocent casualties at the feet of Herb Kohl and his misbegotten legislation.

It’s time to say NO to criminal safe zones. And a great place to start is the blatantly unconstitutional gun free school zones act.

Thankfully, Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) agrees and has introduced legislation to do just that.

Rep. Paul recently introduced the “Citizens Protection Act of 2011” (H.R. 2613), which will repeal the Kohl amendment and thus remove the federally created criminal safety zones.

Rep. Paul is one of the few members of Congress who respects the Constitution and who actually introduces legislation to restore federalism. And, unlike some legislators, Paul has a history of forcing the House to vote on his pro-gun proposals, thus putting other congressmen on record.

GOA is proud to stand with Rep. Paul in the effort to repeal the unconstitutional gun free zones law. For anyone who cares about liberty, now is the time to work on getting the 218 votes we need to pass this important piece of legislation.

ACTION: Contact you congressman. Urge him or her to cosponsor Ron Paul’s Citizens Protection Act of 2011, H.R. 2613.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Rights Policies with John Snyder

USA --(Ammoland.com)- The recent mass murder in Oslo, Norway demonstrates that decent citizens need to be able to acquire and use firearms for the defense of their lives and the lives of their loved ones.

When Anders Brevik allegedly murdered nearly 100 civilians, he used an automatic firearm, according to a police reports, even though the civilian acquisition and possession of such arms are prohibited in Norway, which generally has restrictive firearms laws.

After the reports to police of the killing rampage, it took an hour and a half for law enforcement officials to arrive at the scene. Brevik apparently continued the killing spree until he ran out of ammunition.

What all this tells us is that the strict Norwegian gun control laws did not prevent the mass murder. They did make it virtually impossible for a prospective armed Norwegian legally to have the gun which he or she could have used to take down the violent criminal perpetrator anytime during the 90-minute horror.

Other incidents indicate the same truth about citizens and guns.

A couple of years ago, on November 11, 2009, Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan allegedly killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas and wounded many others before being stopped heroically by local police. Even though this occurred at a military base, service men and women were prevented from having the guns they could have used to stop Hassan because of a Clinton-era policy preventing American military personnel from being armed at bases in the United States.

On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho murdered 32 people and then himself at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Even though the Commonwealth of Virginia has a law allowing individuals with a state-issued permit to carry a concealed firearm, VA Tech policy prohibits professors and students from carrying guns on campus even if they have such a permit. The policy did not stop Cho, but it did prevent anyone from being able legally to stop Cho.

Just last fall, the Al-Qaeda linked Internet magazine Inspire encouraged lone wolf militant Islamist terrorists to go into restaurants in downtown Washington, D.C. during the lunch hour, and fire away at diners in the hopes of killing a number of people, including federal employees. Washington, D.C. prohibits even law-abiding citizens from carrying firearms. The powers-that-be there render law-abiding citizens defenseless in the face of a potential mass-murdering terrorist.

Contrast these incidents with the January 16, 2002 incident at the Appalachian Law School in Grundy, Virginia when two students with guns stopped what could have been a mass murder when they tackled a culprit after he had killed three people.

Consider, too, the October 1, 1997 incident in Pearl, Mississippi, when an assistant principal at a high school went to his car, got his gun and shot the murderer of two students.

Recall the April 24, 1998 time in Edinboro, Pennsylvania when a bystander pointed a shotgun at the murderer of a teacher when he stopped to reload.

The message is clear. Gun laws do not stop mass murder. Citizens armed with guns do. Guns save lives.

As a matter of fact, citizens with guns stop crime two and a half million times a year, according to Professor Gary Kleck, Ph.D. of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University in Tallahassee.

Fortunately, federal legislators are beginning to realize that guns can be used to stop crime. Over 240 Congressmen have cosponsored H.R. 822, the proposed National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011 by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL).

H.R. 822 would allow people with permits to carry concealed firearms issued by a state to carry in other states. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) says he’ll introduce a national reciprocity bill in the near future.

The word is getting around. Gun laws do not stop crime. Citizens with guns do. Guns save lives. Support national right to carry reciprocity.

About John Snyder:
Named the Gun Dean by Human Events, “the senior rights activist in Washington” by Shotgun News, a “champion of the right to self-defense” by The Washington Times, and “dean of gun lobbyists” by The Washington Post and The New York Times, John M. Snyder has spent 45 years as a proponent of the individual Second Amendment civil right to keep and bear arms as a National Rifle Association editor, public affairs director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, treasurer of the Second Amendment Foundation, and founder of www.GunRightsPolicies.org.

A former Jesuit seminarian, Snyder is founder/manager of Telum Associates, LL.C., founder/chairman of the St. Gabriel Possenti Society, Inc., a director of Council for America, and serves on the boards of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and the American Federation of Police & Concerned Citizens. He is also the author of the book Gun Saint. Visit: www.GunRightsPolicies.org

Editorial Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed above do not necessarily reflect those of the staff, AmmoLand Shooting Sports News, or other sponsors and partners. See the Editorial-Review Process for more details.

Gun Free Killing Zones

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Representative Ron Paul from Texas introduced HR 2613 on July 21, 2011.

If passed, it would completely repeal the Federal Gun Free School Zones Act. As you know, the Fed GFSZA effectively prohibits all forms of unlicensed carry, and does not recognize concealed carry reciprocity agreements between states.

It is currently a federal felony for any person to travel armed on public sidewalks, roads, or highways which pass within 1000 feet of any K-12 school’s property line, unless they have a CCW physically issued by the state that school is in.

The vast number of schools in developed areas effectively turns them into giant gun free zones.

This bill would fix the problem! PLEASE contact your representatives and urge them to support HR 2613.

H.R. 2613: To repeal the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 and amendments to that Act (GovTrack.us) (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-2613)

Army Corps of Engineers Land Gun Free Zones

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Vote on Pro-gun Amendment Could Come in the House This Week

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) plans to offer an amendment this week protecting gun rights on land controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Currently, guns are prohibited on Corps land, even when gun possession is otherwise allowed by state law. Rep. Gosar’s legislation would simply remove federal restrictions and allow for the law of the states (in which such land is located) to govern firearms possession.

The Gosar amendment, modeled after the Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act (H.R. 1865) introduced by pro-gun Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH), is similar to a 2009 law repealing the gun ban on National Park Service land.

Army Corps of Engineers land was not part of that bill, something the Corps was quick to point out after that law took affect.

The Corps said, in a statement: “Public Law 111-024 does not apply to Corps projects or facilities . . . [and the Army Corps] will continue to prohibit loaded concealed weapons on Corps properties regardless of the new law and notwithstanding any contrary provisions of state law.”

The amendment will reverse the Corps’ decision and remedy the “oversight” of the lands bill.

“The Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act is a bipartisan effort that seeks to correct this oversight and restore Second Amendment rights to law-abiding citizens while they are legally camping, hunting, and fishing on the 11.7 million acres of Army Corps recreational property,” Rep. Gibbs said.

Rep. Gosar notes that “this amendment will restore continuity to federal lands and ensure that constitutional rights are consistently protected.”

Nationally, the Army Corps of Engineers controls 400 lake and river projects, 90,000 campsites and 4,000 miles of trails. A vote on the Gosar amendment could come as early as Thursday.

ACTION: Please contact your Representative and urge him or her to vote YES on the Gosar amendment.

Click here to send a prewritten message to your Representative.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Wisconsin Carry

Wisconsin --(Ammoland.com)- First, I really want to extend a huge amount of credit where credit is due.

Vicki McKenna, radio talk show host on WIBA in Madison and WISN in Milwaukee has been a HUGE advocate for the constitutional right to carry going back years.

Vicki has had me on her show several times to talk about open-carry and she supports constitutional carry as well. Given the damage that supposedly conservative talk show hosts in Milwaukee have done to the cause, Vicki has been a beacon of honesty, fact and truth in the concealed carry debate.

If you haven’t already, please take the opportunity to send Vicki a message and short note and THANK her for her logical AND principled support of the fundamental right to self-defense.

VickiMckenna@Clearchannel.com OR vicki@wiba.com

Tune into her radio shows on-air or online:

• www.wiba.com/pages/vicki.html
• www.newstalk1130.com/pages/mckenna_blog.html
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/vickimckennapage

Second order of business. Word out of Madison:
Last week Scott Walker stated that he felt that any concealed carry bill that reaches his desk SHOULD include permits and mandatory training. He DID NOT say he would veto constitutional carry. Governor Walker has previously said he would sign constitutional carry.

Under the current bill Senate Bill 93, with amendments, which Wisconsin Carry has encouraged our members to support, constitutional carry would exist on private property and in non-populated areas away from “Gun Free School Zones” (there is a state and federal law prohibiting carry in school zones without a permit).

That means if you are a law-abiding citizen and want to carry on your own property or private property you wouldn’t have to register with the government and pay a permit tax to do so. The “optional” permit which allows people to carry IN school zones does require a permit and background check. Though Wisconsin Carry doesn’t ultimately support that kind of restriction, because there is a state and federal law in place we believe this current bill is “the best we can do” and wish to see it passed with that optional permit before the legislature deals with recall elections this summer.

Because of the Gun Free School Zone’s, in heavily populated area’s where those zones virtually blanket entire parts of a city, anyone who wishes to carry in an urban area would need to get the optional permit if they wanted to carry while driving or carry while walking down the street. Senate bill 93 has received sharp criticism from Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn because it doesn’t require mandatory permits and background checks, BUT as virtually ALL of Milwaukee’s near-north and near-south side is completely covered by school zones. ANYONE in these high-crime area’s who chooses to carry concealed WILL have to get a permit and background check. Despite Wisconsin Carry having to compromise on the optional permit for school zones, that requirement offers Chief Flynn what he was asking for.

Please email or call Governor Walker. Ask him to please support Senate Bill 93 in its current form which allows law abiding citizens to carry concealed in non-populated areas and on private property without having to pay a permit tax or register but effectively gives critics like Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn the permit/background check requirement for Milwaukee that he has been demanding.

• Email: govgeneral@wisconsin.gov
• Mail:
  Office of Governor Scott Walker
  115 East Capitol
  Madison WI 53702
• Phone:
  (608) 266-1212

Carry On,

About:
Wisconsin Carry, Inc. is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation and reclamation of the rights of law-abiding Wisconsin residents to carry in the manner of their choosing. We believe that “open carry” and “concealed carry” are choices to be made by law-abiding citizens based on their situation and preference. Wisconsin Carry, like many gun-rights organizations in Wisconsin, is investing a great deal of resources to get Wisconsin law changed to allow concealed carry this next legislative session by proposing Constitutional Carry. Wisconsin Carry, Inc. will continue to use legal recourse to deter unlawful treatment of law-abiding Wisconsin residents who currently exercise their right to open carry, and soon will exercise their right to concealed carry in Wisconsin. Visit: www.wisconsincarry.org

Center: Senator Rich Zipperer, Chair (R-33) Photo By WGO

Wisconsin Gun Owners

Wisconsin --(Ammoland.com)- The State Senate Committee on Judiciary is scheduled to vote today, Wednesday May 25, on Constitutional Carry SB93.

The bill is close to acceptable but there’s one problem: An amendment was tacked on allowing for the federal 1,000 ft. School Zone prohibition.

We have heard from many of our members who live near or in these Federal School Zones, and this amendment would effectively cause them to be disarmed.

And keeping all law-abiding gun owners with concealed weapons from entering a 1,000 sq. ft. area around schools turns these places into defacto Criminal Safe Zones – defeating the very purpose of concealed carry in the first place … removing all deterence against crime.

Don’t our children deserve more, not less protection?

Where in the Bill of Rights does it say our inalienable right to bear arms is suspended within 1,000 feet of a school?

ACTION: Please e-mail the pre-written message below to the members of the State Senate Committee on Judiciary immediately.

Senate Committee on Judiciary

• Senator Rich Zipperer, Chair (R-33)
  608-266-9174
  Sen.Zipperer@legis.wisconsin.gov
• Senator Neal Kedzie (R-11)
  608-266-2635
  Sen.Kedzie@legis.wisconsin.gov
• Senator Pam Galloway (R-29)
  608-266-2502
  Sen.Galloway@legis.wisconsin.gov
• Senator Fred Risser (D-26)
  608-266-1627
  Sen.Risser@legis.wisconsin.gov

PRE-WRITTEN MESSAGE

——-
Dear Senator:
I ask you to remove the 1000ft school zone mandate from the amendment to SB-93 before you vote it through the committee.

This mandate is ridiculous as it makes it illegal for some people to leave their home if they live in a school zone and it would make it illegal for some people to drive to work or out for lunch if they pass through a school zone.

I would ask you to instead look at what Montana did with the federal school zone mandate in their Constitutional Carry bill.

Here is how Montana wrote their law:

In consideration that the right to keep and bear arms is protected and reserved to the people in Article II, section 12, of the Montana constitution, a person who has not been convicted of a violent, felony crime and who is lawfully able to own or to possess a firearm under the Montana constitution is considered to be individually licensed and verified by the state of Montana within the meaning of the provisions regarding individual licensure and verification in the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act. (2009 Montana statutes, 45-8-360)

If we can get this one change, then SB93 would be acceptable. Please make this change before today’s vote. Wisconsin Gun Owners (WGO) will keep me informed of your actions.

[Name]

—————–

About:
WGO works for grassroots gun owners, not politicians. While many gun lobbies fight for “reasonable gun control,” WGO sets a higher standard: Defining the terrain of pro-gun political battle. Sure, many groups claim they’re “pro-gun” – all the while they provide cover for anti-gun deals cut by politicians – but only WGO truly informs gun owners, remaining committed to a 100% pro-gun position. We oppose all gun control – regardless of the political party – and work tirelessly to restore the Second Amendment. Visit www.wisconsingunowners.org

Grass Roots North Carolina for Firearms Education

North Carolina --(Ammoland.com)- HB 650 On Wednesday, the NC House Judiciary C Committee took on House Bill 650, “Amend Various Gun Laws.”

Thanks to the efforts of Sponsors Mark Hilton (R-Catawba, GRNC ****), Steven LaRoque (R-Greene, Lenoir, Wayne, ****), George Cleveland (R- Onslow, ****) and Kelly Hastings (R- Cleveland, Gaston, ****), plus the leadership of Rules Chairman Tim Moore (R- Cleveland, ****) and Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Meckleburg, ****), the bill is likely to receive a committee vote next Wednesday.

Gun rights supporters should immediately e-mail these courageous legislators with thanks.

HB 650 is a huge and aggressive bill, meaning it will be difficult to pass. But if passed, it will go far toward reversing the creeping encroachment on gun owners’ rights perpetuated in previous sessions of the legislature, including (but not limited to):

• Castle Doctrine (yet another vehicle for popular Castle Doctrine is now moving);
• Reducing penalties for carrying firearms on “educational property,” including a protection against accidentally becoming a criminal by requiring that offenders “knowingly” brought the gun onto educational property;
• Enabling concealed carry at events for which admission is charged;
• Reducing penalties for a host of minor (often inadvertent) gun violations;
• Adding protections for gun owners whose guns are confiscated pursuant to domestic protective orders;
• Improves concealed handgun reciprocity to straight recognition of out-of-state permits;
• Removes provisions for concealed handgun applicants under which sheriffs are conducting intrusive investigations of medical history; and
• Enabling employees to keep guns in locked vehicles at places of employment.

FIRST COMMITTEE FIGHT
As Chairman Moore brought up the bill, Rep. Hilton pointed out that it simply attempted to mirror and conform with federal law. Opposition was brought by the usual leftists, including Joe Hackney (D- Chatham, Moore, Orange, GRNC 0-star), Verla Insko (D-Orange, 0-star) and Jennifer Weiss (D-Wake, 0-star). Reps. Hilton, Cleveland, Hastings and Jonathan Jordan (R- Ashe, Watauga, ****) did an outstanding job of defending it. Thanks also go to Chairman Moore for allowing GRNC president Paul Valone to dispel numerous misconceptions regarding state and federal gun laws.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

Contact

E-MAIL THANKS to Reps. Hilton, Tillis, Moore, Hastings, LaRoque and Cleveland using the following e-mail addresses: Mark.Hilton@ncleg.net; Thom.Tillis@ncleg.net; Tim.Moore@ncleg.net; Kelly.Hastings@ncleg.net; Stephen.LaRoque@ncleg.net; George.Cleveland@ncleg.net

CONTACT JUDICIARY THE C COMMITTEE MEMBERS as listed below and urge them to support HB 650, pointing out that they MUST attend the meeting on Wednesday to vote for the bill. Johnathan Rhyne, Jr. – 919-733-5782, Johnathan.Rhyne@ncleg.net; Rayne Brown – 919-715-0873, Rayne.Brown@ncleg.net; Jimmy Dixon – 919-715-3021, Jimmy.Dixon@ncleg.net; Bert Jones – 919-733-5779, Bert.Jones@ncleg.net; Jonathan C. Jordan – 919-733-7727, Jonathan.Jordan@ncleg.net

SEND US YOUR STORIES: By reducing the number of “no carry” zones, including accidentally carrying firearms onto “educational property” (including places that are not even campuses), the bill seeks to allow law-abiding gun owners to remain law abiding. To support the bill, please send examples of when you accidentally violated gun laws despite your best efforts. All stories will be de-identified before distribution. Send them directly to Paul Valone at President@GRNC.org

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Dear Representative:

I am writing to express my support for HB 650, “Amend Various Gun Laws.” Your support is instrumental in passing the many important measures in this sweeping bill. In order to achieve this, it is vital that you attend the Judiciary Sub Committee C meeting on Wednesday and give your full support to HB 650.

I will be eagerly awaiting a positive outcome for this bill Wednesday and will be tracking its progress through the alerts of Grass Roots North Carolina.

Sincerely,

A Concerned North Carolina Voter

About:
Grass Roots North Carolina/Forum for Firearms Education is a non-profit, all volunteer organization devoted to educating the public about trends which abridge the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, and engaging in grass roots activism to preserve those freedoms. Formed in 1994 to conduct a highly successful rally for the Second Amendment, GRNC has gone on to conduct projects like “Remember in November: A Gun Owner’s Guide to Voting,” bringing concealed carry to North Carolina. Visit:www.grnc.org

Wisconsin Carry

Wisconsin --(Ammoland.com)- Wisconsin Carry was founded as a non-profit all-volunteer corporation because we wanted no conflict of interest and no ulterior motives other than freedom for Wisconsin residents to carry legally in the manner of their choosing (open or concealed) .

I have 2 pieces of important information to share today with regard to lip-service and dirty little secrets here in Wisconsin:

First, the dirty little secret:
I am a proud member of a national gun rights association as well. Many of you may be also. Yesterday I received an email from this association which analyzed the 3 bills that have just been introduced in Wisconsin (the constitutional carry bill LRB 2007) and the “shall-issue permit” bills (LRB 2027 (senate version) and LRB 2033 (assembly version). This email contained some incomplete information which I would like to clarify with readers.

In this email the group suggests that the shall-issue permit bill offers “some additional benefits”. That is partially true, but it also offers some substantial drawbacks. In addition to the shall-issue permit bills requiring government registration, permit taxes, etc, it does NOT address the Federal Gun Free School Zone law when you carry in other states with a Wisconsin permit.

If Wisconsin institutes a shall-issue permit system, your WISCONSIN CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO CARRY IN THE GFSZ’s in other states.

To restate: A concealed carry permit from Wisconsin DOES NOT protect you from the Federal Gun Free School Zone Law in Michigan, Florida, Minnesota, or ANY OTHER STATE that would honor reciprocity with Wisconsin’s permit.

See this letter from the BATF to verify: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/74/Batfe2002letter_gfsza1995_ccw.pdf

Correspondingly, IF YOU HAVE A UTAH OR FLORIDA non-resident permit already, YOU ARE NOT exempted from the Federal Federal Gun Free School Zone law when you use that permit in ANY other state besides the state it was issued.

YOU ARE COMMITTING A FELONY when you carry in a school zone in other states with a reciprocity permit.

A handful of members email me every time I talk about constitutional carry because they want to be able to carry in Michigan and Michigan ONLY recognizes permits from your HOME STATE. Its important that you know that a permit from your HOME STATE does not protect you from being charged with a FEDERAL FELONY if you carry in a school zone in another state.

This is the dirty little secret that those who are pushing for shall-issue permits don’t want you to know.

The only way to address this is for states to include language in a CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY bill that codifies that anyone who meets the requirements to own/possess a firearm is “duly licensed and permitted” to carry concealed in that state.

SECOND: The Lip Service:

I received this email today regarding the constitutional carry bills. See below: (note, this is cut and pasted from an email I received:)

(begin quote)
My friends, I have been on the phone on and off all day, learning about what is really going on with Constitutional Carry here in the state of Wisconsin. What I’ve learned demonstrates once again that we are dealing with feckless, untrustworthy, Republican establishment leadership who have no interest whatsoever in our constitutional rights. They are playing games, and you need to know it straight up.

As you may be aware, three concealed carry bills were introduced at the State Capitol yesterday.

The respective authors of those bills are:

• Senator Pam Galloway (R, Senate Dist. 29), Constitutional Carry bill, LRB-11-2007
• Senator Van Wanggaard (R, Senate Dist. 21), “Shall-Issue” bill
• Representative Jeffrey Mursau (R, Assembly Dist. 36), “Shall-Issue” bill

[I'm still trying to sort out which LRB number belongs to the other Senate bill and which to the Assembly version, but those numbers are LRB-11-2027 and LRB-11-2033.]

Again, Senator Galloway’s bill is the ONLY one that achieves Constitutional Carry—the right of law-abiding citizens to carry a firearm in Wisconsin, open or concealed, WITHOUT A PERMIT OF ANY KIND.

Be aware that Rep. Mursau is a liar and a manipulator of the first order. He’s so much as pretended face-to-face with some of his constituents that he would support Constitutional Carry, only to tell others behind closed doors that he had no intention of doing so. He agreed to co-sponsor Galloway’s bill because it’s politically “smart” for him to do it. However, he has no intention of actually helping to advance it. He will instead push his own “shall-issue” bill on the Assembly side, which more or less corresponds to Wanggaard’s Senate bill. Speaker Fitzgerald, as you already know, won’t even let Rep. Dean Knudson introduce a Constitutional Carry bill that he has all ready to go. So, as of right now, the Assembly will have NO Constitutional Carry bill even to consider. Only that of the wholly deceitful Rep. Mursau.

The leadership considers Galloway’s bill a dead issue. They basically told her she could introduce it, but as of right now, thanks to them, she can only count on about 10 votes in the Senate. She needs 17 to pass it.

As if that isn’t bad enough, they scheduled hearings on all three bills for the SAME DAY…next Thursday, May 12th (still waiting for times and exact locations, will apprise you further as soon as I have the info). It’s a divide and conquer strategy. They THINK there will be fewer people to show up at each hearing. They also believe they can force us into confusion/submission/defeat. If you show up at the Assembly hearing, for example, they think you’ll have little choice but to register in favor of the bill because there is no alternative. Boy, have they got a surprise coming…

Sen. Galloway will be holding her hearing in her own district, probably in the city of Wausau. She will be taking testimony on her own bill and that of Senator Wanggaard. Meanwhile, a hearing will be held on the Assembly “shall-issue” bill here in Madison. We need to have a MASSIVE show of people at BOTH of these hearings in order to make it clear that we support Constitutional Carry and REJECT what the leadership is currently attempting to do. They need to know that we expect more of them and that they better get on board quickly. More on how we do this in a moment.

Last night Republican legislators met in caucus. I couldn’t get many details from my source because they’re not supposed to talk about what goes on there. But I do know it got ugly. Many of the Freshmen legislators want to do the right thing, and they’re being very vocal about it. The Fitzgerald brothers and the rest of the establishment are attempting, not for the first time, to quash them. Taking a stand now will not only communicate to the establishment that we mean business, it will be a TREMENDOUS encouragement to the freshmen legislators who are working to restore our constitutional rights. We must reward BOUNTIFULLY those who do the right things by us by providing clear encouragement and thanks.
(end of quote)

It is CRITICALLY important to contact your ASSEMBLY reps and DEMAND that they support constitutional carry and allow Rep. Knudson to introduce his bill.

After the budget bill struggle, we are a divided state. Most republicans sit at around 50% support. (note how close the supreme court election was) In MANY MANY districts, after the budget struggle, many assemblymen and senators who were elected with a comfortable majority have lost a lot of that support.

GUN OWNERS ARE THE NEW SWING VOTE. A couple hundred gun-owners in a district who are displeased with their assemblymen or senators SELLING OUT their rights in favor of the out-dated permit systems that other states are doing away with, could TIP the next election. Republicans NEED the support of gun owners if they want to be re-elected or survive recall elections.

CALL YOUR LEGISLATORS, demand that they introduce constitutional carry in the Assembly JUST like the Senate did.

Carry On,

About:
Wisconsin Carry, Inc. is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation and reclamation of the rights of law-abiding Wisconsin residents to carry in the manner of their choosing. We believe that “open carry” and “concealed carry” are choices to be made by law-abiding citizens based on their situation and preference. Wisconsin Carry, like many gun-rights organizations in Wisconsin, is investing a great deal of resources to get Wisconsin law changed to allow concealed carry this next legislative session by proposing Constitutional Carry. Wisconsin Carry, Inc. will continue to use legal recourse to deter unlawful treatment of law-abiding Wisconsin residents who currently exercise their right to open carry, and soon will exercise their right to concealed carry in Wisconsin. Visit: www.wisconsincarry.org

Fairfax, VA --(Ammoland.com)- NRA-News is a valued partner that continues to cover breaking gun rights news with a new and improved short video format in the “NRA News Minute” videos.

Cam Edwards talks to Scott Lewis, Texas Legislative Director for Students for Concealed Carry on Campus on his recent editorial Campus Concealed Carry Bill No Laughing Matter.

To view the current firearms or gun rights news video, please click above:

Read More on these topics:

• College President Insults Survivors Of Deadliest Mass Shooting
• Texas Concealed Handgun Licensees on Campus Bill
• Texas Concealed Carry On Campus Bill in Committee – Bill 354
• Texas Leads Nation with Campus Firearms Carry Bill

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate 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 military. Visit: www.nra.org

Fairfax, VA --(Ammoland.com)- NRA-News is a valued partner that continues to cover breaking gun rights news with a new and improved short video format in the “NRA News Minute” videos.

Cam Edwards talks to Arizona State Senate President Russell Pearce about the recent bill to remove Gun Free Zones from Arizona.

To view the current firearms or gun rights news video, please click above:

Read More on these topics:

• Man’s Law Kills Again – The Sin of Gun Free Zones
• End Absurd Policy of Military Gun Free Zones
• Gun-Free Zones An Open Invitation For Psychotic Killers & Rapist

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate 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 military. Visit: www.nra.org

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus

AUSTIN, TX --(Ammoland.com)- Legislation allowing licensed concealed firearms on college campuses has been introduced in the Texas House of Representatives.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Joe Driver would allow Texas residents already licensed to carry under state law to have the same right to self-defense on college campuses as they do elsewhere in Texas.

“A lot of people hear about guns and schools and become alarmed,” said David Burnett, President and spokesman of Students for Concealed Carry.

“The fact is that concealed carry is already an established body of law in Texas and most other states. There’s a process with age requirements, background checks and training before you can carry a handgun. If you’re mentally ill, or have a history of violent crime or drug and alcohol abuse, you can’t carry a gun.

“This is about people who already responsibly carry elsewhere in the state, including restaurants, shopping malls, movie theaters, churches and banks. No one feels unsafe in those places, even though the odds are someone there is armed. Yet if a citizen walks onto a college campus, their right to self-defense is taken away.”

Texas Leads Nation with Campus Firearms Carry Bill

Students for Concealed Carry got started after the Virginia Tech shooting, which the group says proved gun free zones don’t work.

“Stickers on the doors saying ‘no guns allowed’ won’t keep an armed killer out of the building,” said Burnett. “Until you have a practical mechanism for enforcing a gun-free zone, you can’t tell people they can’t protect themselves.”

Texas is one of nine states currently considering campus carry; similar bills are advancing in Arizona, Tennessee, Michigan, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Florida, Nebraska and Mississippi.

Critics argue that colleges are generally safe environments and adding guns would make things worse. But the group points to reports of rising crime on college campuses, noting that in addition to high-profile shootings like Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University, there were more than 3,000 sexual assaults, 4,500 robberies and 5000 assaults on college campuses in 2008.

The group also notes that 26 colleges in three states already allow licensed concealed carry on campus, with no resulting problems.

“We’re not handing out pistols at the door,” said Daniel Crocker, the Southwest Regional Director with Students for Concealed Carry.

“We’re talking about former military, ROTC cadets, professors and other mature adults with permits.”

The bill has been assigned to the Homeland Security & Public Safety committee.

CONTACT:

• David Burnett: President, Students for Concealed Carry
• Daniel Crocker: Southwest Regional Director, Students for Concealed Carry

About:
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) is a national, non-partisan, grassroots organization comprising over 44,000 college students, professors, college employees, parents of college students, and concerned citizens who believe that holders of state-issued concealed handgun licenses should be allowed the same measure of personal protection on college campuses that current laws afford them virtually everywhere else. SCCC has members in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. SCCC is not affiliated with the NRA or any other organization. SCCC extends an open invitation to publicly debate representatives from any organization or institution opposed to ‘campus carry.’ Visit: www.concealedcampus.org

CalGunLaws.com

Glenn County, California --(Ammoland.com)- Last year the NRA and the CRPA Foundation joined forces under their California Legal Action Project (LAP) to provide legal assistance for high school student Gary Tudesko in his fight to be readmitted to Willows High School in Glenn County, California.

NRA News, in cooperation with the CRPA Foundation, has now released a video chronicling the events and the ultimate victory. It is posted at www.youtube.com/MichelLawyers. The Tudesko’s will be guests of honor at the upcoming CRPA banquet to be held on February 26, 2011.

Sixteen-year-old Tudesko was expelled on November 19, 2009 for having unloaded shotguns in his pick-up truck that he legally parked on an off-campus, public street near the Willows High School campus. The high school is located in a small rural community near Sacramento, and the unloaded shotguns were in his truck because he had gone duck hunting in the pre-dawn hours before school. The case garnered significant national media coverage as an example of zero-tolerance policies run amuck.

Tudesko’s shotguns were discovered in the pick up truck by scent-sniffing dogs during a questionable school search. Police ran the license plates, determined Tudesko was the owner, and then called him out of class. Tudesko cooperated and readily told the Principal about the shotguns and his early morning hunting trip.The school first suspended Tudesko for five days, then extended the suspension indefinitely until an expulsion hearing was held. Tudesko’s mother, Susan Parisio defended her son during the November 19th public hearing on his expulsion. She challenged the school district’s legal jurisdiction to enforce the Education Code’s prohibition of guns on campus against her son for having unloaded shotguns locked in an off-campus vehicle parked on a public street. High Principal Mort Geivett told the local School Board that, as a matter of law, it had no choice but to expel Tudesko, and the Board did just that.

Tudesko appealed the local school district’s expulsion order to the Glenn County Board of Education. The appeal hearing was held on January 19, 2010. Tudesko was defended by civil rights lawyers Chuck Michel and Hillary Green of the Long Beach-based law firm of Michel & Associates, P.C. (www.michellawyers.com).

In a dramatic victory, the Glenn County Board of Education unanimously reversed the decision of the Willows Unified School District and Principal Mort Geivett reinstated Gary Tudesko at Willows High School!

This was a great victory for law-abiding gun-owners – particularly young adults who wish to enjoy their rights – over nonsensical “zero-tolerance” policies.

Disturbingly, Geivett claimed the school had jurisdiction over students traveling to and from school, as well as students off-campus during lunch, and that the school had jurisdiction over off-campus vehicles because students could not possess firearms within 1,000 feet of campus. But Geivett confused the Penal Code with the Education Code. With a number of exceptions, it is a potential criminal violation of the Penal Code, specifically the Gun Free School Zone law, to knowingly possess a gun within 1,000 feet of a school. But that law has nothing to do with the sections of the Education Code generally prohibiting possession of firearms on school grounds Tudesko was charged with violating.

Tudesko’s truck was parked off school grounds, and Gary was not traveling to or from school at the time of the search of the off-campus truck. He was in class. Moreover, schools do not enforce criminal/penal statutes like the Gun Free School Zone law, the District Attorney does. And, the District Attorney and Willows Chief of Police had already stated there would be no charges filed against Tudesko, likely because there was no intent to violate the law.

Legal issues aside, Tudesko was in this position because of a short-sighted bureaucratic approach to enforcing the school’s “zero tolerance” policy toward firearms, which is in many cases misapplied. Time and again these policies have resulted in a triumph of irrational political correctness over common sense and justice. Given that Tudesko had gone duck hunting that same morning with friends (hence the two shotguns), had bird-shot loads as ammunition, had both firearms unloaded, had intentionally parked off-campus to avoid any issues, and had several people who corroborated his story, school administrators should have acknowledged that the circumstances did not warrant expulsion.

Seventeen years ago the NRA and CRPA joined forces to fight local gun bans being written and pushed in California by the gun ban lobby. Their coordinated efforts became the NRA/CRPA “Local Ordinance Project” (LOP) – a statewide campaign to fight ill conceived local efforts at gun control and educate politicians about available programs that are effective in reducing accidents and violence without infringing on the rights of law-abiding gun owners. The NRA/CRPA LOP has had tremendous success in beating back most of these anti-self-defense proposals

In addition to fighting local gun bans, for decades the NRA has been litigating dozens of cases in California courts to promote the right to self-defense and the 2nd Amendment. In the post Heller and McDonald legal environment, NRA and CRPA Foundation have formed the NRA/CRPA Foundation Legal Action Project (LAP), a joint venture to pro-actively strike down ill-conceived gun control laws and ordinances and advance the rights of firearms owners, specifically in California. Sometimes, success is more likely when LAP’s litigation efforts are kept low profile, so the details of every lawsuit are not always released. To see a partial list of the LAP’s recent accomplishments, or to contribute to the NRA or to the NRA / CRPAF LAP and support this and similar Second Amendment cases, visit www.nraila.com and www.crpafoundation.org.

Update: Lewistown Pistol Club reports, we are gong forward 100% with our events, our planning, and most of all our friendships of not only continuing our proud heritage but our constitutional rights as fellow shooters and gun owners.

Lewistown Pistol Club

The Lewistown Pistol Club had been making preparations to celebrate its proud history and 50th anniversary of serving law enforcement, competitive pistol shooters, and the training of local men and women in the safe handling of various firearms.

The club has been a loyal supporter of the second amendment rights and an NRA member club that was originally founded by employees of the Avisco Corporation, a company which is a historic cornerstone employer here in Mifflin County.

Since it’s inception as a not for profit organization, the Lewistown Pistol Club has had hundreds of members who have served our local communities by supporting our civilian and law enforcement communities as a training source, as well as producing a proud history of shooters who have consistently excelled at the Camp Perry National Competitions. In 2009, members of the club were part of the National Champion Service Pistol Team from Pennsylvania. The club is a current member and supports most of the major competitive pistol discipline organizations.

Now, as the result of a neighboring property being sold, the efforts of the new homeowner could close the club down. To date, the actions of our new neighbor have caused a short cancellation of a scheduled and prepaid match for over 100 shooters from 6 states and having PA DCNR to cease training at the club facilities- producing a significant loss of ongoing revenue.

Now, the neighbor has filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction barring the clubs use of their constructed shooting ranges using the argument that such use violates the safety zone laws of PA.

The case references Pacurariu vs. Com, 744 A.2d 389- claiming that the 34 P.S. 2505 grants protection to ANY HOMEOWNER WITH A DWELLING WITHIN 150 YARDS and makes it ILLEGAL to discharge ANY FIREARM within that safety zone for ANY REASON.

If successful, this case and the “Safety Zone” issue would not only end the use of firearms at the Lewistown Pistol Club, but could set a dangerous legal precedent that would have far reaching implications for many of our sister clubs throughout the commonwealth.

The Lewistown Pistol Club will continue to support a full schedule of events for the 2011 season. Please visit our website and watch for our upcoming NRA, Bullseye, IDPA, and USPSA events. The club has secured legal counsel, and anticipates significant legal expenses to prevail in this case. We have established and would welcome any and all help for our legal defense fund! Contributions can be made via PayPal on our website at www.lewistownpistolclub.com, or sent to Bruce Smith, club Vice-President and PRPA Director at 11898 Arrowhead Way, Mount Union PA 17066. Feel free to contact me directly with any questions you may have at bruce@wealthkare.com or 814-599-3700

Florida Carry

Florida - -(Ammoland.com)- SB 234 is on the agenda of the FL Senate Committee on Criminal Justice on Tuesday, February 22nd at 9:00am. Florida Carry, Inc. urgently requests that you email via the members of the committee in support of Senate Bill 234.

This NRA authored bill comprises several separate initiatives. These include the option for CWFL holders to carry openly; a provision to authorize carry at career centers, colleges, and universities; the right to store a firearm in one’s vehicle wherever it may be lawfully parked; the authorization for the Department of Agriculture to take fingerprints; the repeal of Florida’s ban on long gun purchases in most other states. Quite simply put, this is the most comprehensive carry rights bill since shall-issue concealed carry was passed twenty-four years ago.

Florida is one of only seven states where open carry of firearms is generally forbidden, excepting under certain circumstances. Arguments against open carry generally consist of concerns regarding the fearful reactions of the general population. Some have suggested that an open carrier becomes an instant target, having his firearm snatched by a criminal in line at a convenience store. The facts simply do not support those allegations. In states where open carry is lawfully practiced, citizens have become accustomed to the understanding that a holstered weapon is a danger to no one. There have been no wholesale attacks on open carriers, nor have open carriers been shot with their own weapons. Police officers are not fearful of open carriers as they know that a 5-year FBI crime study has shown that criminals do not open carry, nor do they carry in holsters. Criminals shun attention, something that the open carrying of a firearm invariably draws to some extent. Not a single state that has legalized open carry in recent years has repealed the right.

In 1987, open carry was outlawed primarily because of the predictions of wild west shootouts, blood in the streets, gun battles over parking spaces, and normally law abiding people indiscriminately becoming homicidal maniacs. The main opponent of open carry was Janet Reno, then assistant state attorney. She was able to rally support from a vocal group of police administrators with the doom and gloom scenarios. Amazingly enough, the exact same arguments were heard against “shall-issue” concealed carry.

Twenty-four years later, and none of the rampant bloodshed predictions about concealed carry have come true.

With regard to carry on colleges and universities, it is not coincidence that most of the mass shootings in the U.S. occur on the campuses of educational institutions. To believe that a potential assailant would be dissuaded from committing mass murder simply because there is a law forbidding him to bring a firearm on campus is pure folly. Rape, robbery, assault, and murder have all occurred on campuses across the country.

College and university administrators continue to deny the reality that by prohibiting students, faculty, staff, and visitors from defending themselves promotes an unsafe environment. Often ignored by opponents is the fact that only concealed weapons/firearms license holders would be permitted to carry on campus, and the minimum age requirement to have a license is 21. Those students under 21 would not be permitted to carry on campus. Once again, the potential criminals do not care about minimum age or having a license. After all, there are no barriers to access on most campuses.

Florida Carry, Inc. supports SB 234, and encourages all gun owners/carriers to join us in contacting the senators on the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee. Please tell them 24 years is enough.

We urgently need you to email the committee members NOW!
Include “Support SB 234” in the Subject Line

E-mail Helper (feel free to cut, paste, and edit to suit)
—————————————————————————-
TO:
evers.greg.web@flsenate.gov
dean.charles.web@flsenate.gov
dockery.paula.web@flsenate.gov
margolis.gwen.web@flsenate.gov
smith.chris.web@flsenate.gov

SUBJECT:
Support SB 234 – Support the Second Amendment

Dear Senator,

This e-mail is to express my support for Senate Bill 234, Firearms. As a member of the Florida Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, you will be hearing this bill on Tuesday, February 22nd. I respectfully ask that you wholeheartedly support this bill.

The predictions of doom and gloom that preceded the adoption of “shall-issue” concealed carry have been proven to be fiction. For twenty-four years, Florida concealed weapons/firearms license holders have proven themselves to be responsible to the extreme. Since 1987, only 168 of nearly two-million licenses have been revoked due to misuse of firearms. It is time to recognize that responsibility by giving those licensees the option to carry their firearms in the manor that is most appropriate to their situation, openly or concealed. In the 43 states that permit some form of general open carry, not a single state has repealed that right.

It is also time to recognize that criminals have discovered a target-rich environment at colleges and universities. Rapes, robberies, assaults, and other violent crimes continually occur at and near campuses on students, faculty, and staff alike. Concealed weapons/firearms license holders should not have to relinquish the ability to defend themselves because of a mistaken belief that criminals obey campus restrictions.

Please support SB 234.
Respectfully yours,

———————-

About:
Florida Carry is a non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots organization dedicated to advancing the fundamental civil right of all Floridians to keep and bear arms for self defense as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I Section 8 of the Florida Constitution. Florida Carry, Inc. was organized by a group of Florida gun rights activists in order to better coordinate activities, effectively lobby the state legislature, and to provide a legal entity capable of filing suit to demand compliance with state and federal law. Florida Carry stands only to represent our members and the over 6 million gun owners of Florida. We are not beholden to any national organization’s agenda that may compromise that mission.
Florida Carry works tirelessly toward repealing and striking down ill-conceived gun control laws that have been proven to provide safe havens to criminals and be deadly to law abiding citizens.

Utah Shooting Sports Council

Utah --(Ammoland.com)- H.B. 75 (1st Substitute) will be coming to the House floor for a vote very soon, probably Friday.

This bill eliminates some of the more onerous definitions of “on or about school premises.”

And it protects law-abiding gun-owners who might otherwise be inadvertently ensnared by Utah’s overly expansive “Gun Free School Zone” definition which is much broader than in federal law or nearby states. We expect it to be a close vote and your Representative needs to hear from you ASAP.

Politicians respond to polite contacts from voters, and YOUR emails and phone calls really do make a difference.

If YOU don’t take action to defend gun rights, don’t complain when we all lose them.

We need to get this pro-gun bill passed by the House, and then passed by the Senate.

Here are some important points about this bill :

HB 75 won’t affect colleges or universities. It doesn’t allow “guns in schools.” It’s a common sense step that brings our definition in line with surrounding states and protects honest gun-owners.

Utah’s current definition of “on or about school premises” is far too broad. Under the current definition, you may have unintentionally violated Utah’s gun-free school-zone act many times. The federal law is limited to K-12 schools, but Utah law adds day-care centers, pre-schools and vocational schools. Utah law includes a 1,000-foot “gun free zone” around each of these “schools.” Thus, for example, under state law you’re on “school premises” if you get within 1,000 feet of a day-care center that’s operating inside a private residence, or if you get within 1,000 feet of a small cosmetology school located in a strip mall.

This bill will cease turning well-meaning gun-owners into inadvertent criminals. It brings the definition in line with what everyone considers to be schools: K-12 and colleges or universities.

This bill can be called up for a vote by the full House any time, probably Friday.

Full text and status of the bill at: http://le.utah.gov/~2011/htmdoc/hbillhtm/HB0075S01.htm

ACTION REQUIRED

ASK ALL HOUSE MEMBERS TO VOTE FOR HB75 Dangerous Weapon Amendments. Please email, fax or call as soon as possible as they could vote on this very soon. Use the following message. (Contact info follows the sample email) House FAX number for all members is (801) 326-1544

SAMPLE EMAIL, FAX OR PHONE MESSAGE
Subject: VOTE FOR HB 75 Dangerous Weapon Amendments

Dear Representative ___________
I am asking you to VOTE FOR HB 75 (1st Substitute) “Dangerous Weapon Amendments,” sponsored by Representative Curt Oda.

This bill continues to ensure the safety of K-12 schools and colleges or universities.

Utah’s current definition of “on or about school premises” is far too broad and should be brought into line with surrounding states and common sense.

Currently it is impossible for gun owners to identify all the “school zones” where guns are prohibited around day cares, pre-schools, vocational schools and the like. Even worse, school field trips create an invisible almost half-mile wide “roving gun-free school-zone.”

This bill is needed to protect well-meaning gun-owners from being turned into inadvertent criminals by simply passing through invisible restricted areas.

Please VOTE FOR HB 75.

Sincerely.

[insert your name, and when contacting your own Representative, your address so they know you are in their district]

END OF SAMPLE EMAIL OR FAX

Contact YOUR REPRESENTATIVE and as many others as you can right away.

Use this easy tool to identify your Utah Representative District and find your representative’s email address and phone number-

http://www.le.utah.gov/GIS/findDistrict.jsp

Just enter your address, and then click on the name of the REPRESENTATIVE and then click on their email address to open a form where you can cut and paste the message above.

If you know your district or your Representative’s name you can go to the House roster and click there for the email addresses for all Utah Representatives:  http://www.utah.gov/house/representatives.html

Thanks for your time!

About:
The Utah Shooting Sports Council represents the citizens of Utah who safely and legally own and use firearms, exercising rights guaranteed under both the United States and Utah constitutions. Visit: www.utahshootingsports.com

Michigan Coalition For Responsible Gun Owners

Michigan - -(Ammoland.com)- Recently a bill was introduced in Michigan to repeal the pistol free zones that were part of the Concealed Pistol Act that was passed in 2000 and became effective in 2001.

I am going to advocate for repeal of the statute imposing the pistol free zones because the law fails to accomplish its essential purpose. After all, that is the best way to evaluate the effectiveness of any law.

What was the essential purpose of the pistol free zones? Presumably the purpose of “pistol free zones” is that prohibiting the presence of guns would prevent crimes committed with guns. Supposedly it would make these certain areas safe since no guns were allowed or present. Let’s take a look at that.

Say, I am a crazed, evil or unbalanced criminal who preys on innocent people and the voices in my head are telling me to go a school or hospital and kill as many people as possible. Is a paper gun law on “pistol free zones” going to stop me? Of course not. By definition criminals don’t obey our laws. Many of the high profile shootings in the past years have been in supposed “gun free zones.” Not only does this prove the point that these laws do not provide any real safety, it causes us to speculate if the bad guys consciously chose these places because they know there would be no armed resistance to whatever plan they want to carry out. If so, the law makes us less safe, not more safe.

So this law fails in its essential purpose of preventing criminals from bringing guns to places on the pistol free zone list and it fails to keep these areas safe.

But there is more this time, this law fails a second time because it prevents law abiding citizens, “good guys,” from being in a position to defend themselves and/or stop the bad guy from carrying out his intent. So it fails twice.

There are and have been laws on the books against murder and assault. If paper laws worked, these should be enough to prevent shootings. More laws are not going to stop criminals.

Michigan has more listed pistol free zones than do most other states. Many states don’t have any restricted areas at all. Concealed pistol license holders are a very law abiding group and can be trusted to act properly. Michigan law also allows a concealed pistol license holder to carry openly in most of the pistol free zones. The list is really intended to placate certain well meaning but misguided legislators back in 2000. It is time to get rid of the pistol free zones.

David Bieganowski is an attorney in Traverse City and an expert on firearms laws. He is an NRA certified firearms instructor, former Marine, and presently sits on the Grand Traverse County Concealed Weapons Licensing Board.

About:
The Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners is a non-profit, non-partisan organization. Formed from just eight people in 1996, we now have thousands of members and numerous affiliated clubs across the state. We’re growing larger and more effective every day.

Our mission statement is: “Promoting safe use and ownership of firearms through education, litigation, and legislation” Visit: www.mcrgo.org

Gun Free Killing Zones Image:NAGR

National Rifle Association

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- A policy reversal in the Granite State that now allows for the lawful carrying of firearms in the State Capitol has a state teachers’ union up in arms.

According to a piece in The Telegraph (Jan. 25), the New Hampshire chapter of the National Education Association (NEA-NH), has decided it will forego an annual event where students visit the Capitol and are read to by elected officials.

Ignoring the fact that mass shootings often occur at locations that are currently “gun-free” zones, union President Rhonda Wesolowski nonetheless opined, “The moment we learned that guns would be permitted in the (Statehouse) we began talking to our members and to parents and found that they shared our deep discomfort with NEA-NH sponsoring an event at a facility — in this case the Statehouse — that is not a gun-free zone.”

While no criminal is deterred by posting of locations as off-limits to the carrying of guns, such bans do prohibit law-abiding citizens’ ability to legally carry firearms for the defense of themselves and others.

New Hampshire Senate Majority Leader Peter Bragdon, R-Milford, accused the NEA-NH of “a bit of grandstanding,” further noting that the group had no issues bringing students to the Statehouse prior to a 2009 ban on legislators being permitted to carry firearms.

Teachers, who are supposed to educate based on facts, should understand that law-abiding citizens are effective crime deterrents, and that guns are used far more often for self-defense than they are to commit crimes. If safety of their students is of paramount concern to these educators, allowing the basic right of self-defense at the Statehouse should assuage, not escalate, their fears.

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate 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 military. Visit: www.nra.org

Virginia Citizens Defense League

Covington VA --(Ammoland.com)- Yesterday the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the George Mason University gun ban was constitutional because it was narrowly tailored and applied to a school or government building or special event.

It does not ban lawful carry outside of the school buildings.

The bad news is, of course, that the GMU ban was upheld. One key question that was NOT appealed to the Supreme Court was if GMU was even allowed to CREATE such a ban under Virginia law.

The Court only ruled on whether the ban, however it got put in place – rightly or wrongly, was constitutional.

The good news is that for other public universities and colleges, such as VCU, which have a gun ban outside of their buildings and special events, those bans have been **effectively** invalidated.

However, they won’t actually be invalidated until the university or college has been taken to court.

For GMU law-abiding gun owners, including students, can have a gun outside of the school buildings or special events constitutionally, including stored in a vehicle. For other universities or colleges the same won’t apply until a court rules their ban to be invalid. I would be quite surprised if any of those schools were to even attempt to enforce their ban outside of a school building or special event as they are virtually guaranteed to lose in court. I’m betting that they keep their bans on the books to intimidate the unknowing, but do so without any attempt at actual enforcement.

This isn’t necessarily over, either. A new lawsuit can explore many areas of the legality of the ban that the previous suit did not.

Attorney General Cuccinelli said last year that when the suit was over he would explain why he sided with GMU and didn’t abstain from defending GMU (an outside counsel could have been used to do so). I will advise when we know more on this.

About:
Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right. Visit: www.vcdl.org

OpenCarry.org

Sacramento, California --(Ammoland.com)- Iowa’s “new” gun laws are still more strict than most states – further reforms needed

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller just picked a fight he can’t win, legally, or politically.

On December 29, 2010 Miller’s staff issued a letter to Des Moines County Pat Jackson encouraging him to advise Des Moines County supervisors to violate Iowa’s firearm preemption statute.

According to the AG’s staff, despite Iowa Code Section 724.28’s command that local regulation of the “possession . . . of firearms . . . when the . . . possession . . . is otherwise lawful under the laws of this state . . . is void,” localities are still free to ban gun carry by way of Iowa’s “state criminal trespass statute.”

“REALLY!????,” says John Pierce, co-founder and spokesperson for Opencarry.org, adding “what part of ‘is void’ does Attorney General Miller not understand?”

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller just picked a fight he can’t win, legally, or politically.

The amusing part about the recent AG letter is that it cites only to a dated 2003 Iowa AG Opinion even though the opinion itself did not cite to ANY court case anywhere in the United States which held that a state statutory firearms preemption statute could be abrogated under state trespass law as applied to citizens who had a right to be on local property, e.g., paying a water bill, attending a public meeting at city hall, etc.

And since 2003, Iowa’s state wide gun rights reforms have clearly made the entire field of gun regulation a state affair in Iowa by eliminating local discretion in licensing, invoking what’s know as “field preemption” of local gun bans even if Iowa Code Section 724.28 did not exist. Moreover, since 2003, state courts around the country have struck down gun bans on preemption grounds in many states, including, inter alia, Colorado, Ohio, Washington, Georgia, and even New York.

According to Pierce, open carry at city hall meetings is legal and increasingly common in many or most states, including Michigan, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Maine, and Washington, and that OpenCarry.org members will not stand for any city hall gun bans in Iowa.

“They will organize and attend city hall meetings to speak out against any effort to enact illegal local gun bans, and expect them to be legally carrying properly holstered handguns concealed or openly when they speak,” adds Pierce.

And Iowa’s state gun rights groups are not sitting still either.

Iowa Firearms Coalition President Sean McClanahan says that local officials are going to have plenty of opposition from gun owners if they try to violate state preemption – “NATO doctrine for gun owners is in effect here in the Hawkeye State. An attack on gun owners by one County is an attack all gun owners in every County” warns McClanahan.

Tellingly, not all Iowa County Attorneys appear ready to drink Miller’s anti-preemption Kool-Aid. Here’s a report from one of McLanahan’s Iowa Firearms Coalition members:

“I did take some time to call Larry Brock, the new Washington county attorney, this morning as a concerned citizen. From my conversation he stated that he ‘doesn’t necessarily agree with Tom Millers opinion.’” He has been studying a Michigan case that he said was similar to what their resolution was that got beat in court. I also brought up Ohio’s ruling yesterday. He said he was concerned about the liability that Washington County would assume with this new resolution. He said that Tom Miller was telling all the counties that instead of an ordinance, that a resolution was the best way to achieve their goal. I told him I would be in Washington on Jan. 18th and he looked forward to speaking with me on the subject.”

Iowa Gun Owner’s Executive director Aaron Dorr agrees that local officials will be surprised by the size of the hornet’s nest they will step on if they consider enacting local gun bans. But Dorr says his group will do more than just attend meetings – “we will lobby the legislature” to enact severe financial penalties on any preemption violation.

“We worked hard to reform” Iowa’s gun laws, says Dorr, and “We will not allow localities to spit on this legislative outcome.”

On the subject of Iowa’s “new” gun laws, you would not know it from some of the mainstream media’s reports, but Iowa’s laws are pretty much the same as they were in 2010, except for 2 differences: First, Iowa Sheriffs have substantially less discretion to deny gun carry permits. Second, Iowa Sheriffs can no longer issue “non-professional” gun carry permits to adults aged 18-20.

In fact, says OpenCarry.org’s John Pierce, Iowa’s gun laws are stricter than most other states. “In Iowa, citizens need a state permit to purchase a handgun, must be at least 21 years of age, and even then, they still need yet another permit to carry in public, even openly!”1 Contrast that with most states which “do not require a permit to buy handguns or carry them openly at age 18” adds Pierce.

And that’s why the legislature will be considering and likely passing further gun rights reforms in 2011 notes Iowa Gun Owner’s Aaron Dorr.

“We have a lot of catching up to do,” says Dorr, whose priorities include repealing Iowa’s permit to purchase statute and enacting “Constitutional carry,” a moniker for the growing practice by states to eliminate the need for any permit to carry handguns in vehicles (28 states), or to carry concealed handguns generally, as Vermont, Alaska, and Arizona have done.

Media Contacts:

National: John Pierce, co-founder and spokesperson, OpenCarry.org, John@OpenCarry.org, 276-206-xxxx

Iowa Firearms Coalition: Sean McClanahan, President, http://www.iowacarry.org, seanm@iowafc.org, 515-442-xxxx

Iowa Gun Owners: Aaron Dorr, Executive Director, http://www.iowagunowners.org, director@iowagunowners.org, 515-309-xxxx

References:

1. Iowa Code Section 724.28 (Prohibition of regulation by political subdivisions) “A political subdivision of the state shall not enact an ordinance regulating the ownership, possession, legal transfer, lawful transportation, registration, or licensing of firearms when the ownership, possession, transfer, or transportation is otherwise lawful under the laws of this state. An ordinance regulating firearms in violation of this section existing on or after April 5, 1990, is void.”
2. 2003 Iowa AG Opinion: www.handgunlaw.us/documents/agopinions/IAAGOp03_4_1.pdf
3. 2010 Iowa AG Staff Letter & Iowa Firearms Coalition preemption alert: www.forum.opencarry.org/forums/showthread.php?84772-Iowa-Firearms-Coalition-Preemption-Alert-December-31-2010&p=1432208#post1432208
4. 2010 Colorado Appeals Court ruling that state agency firearms preemption statute precludes Colorado state colleges from banning student gun carry on campus: www.coloradodaily.com/cu-boulder/ci_14889133#axzz19u4heA2M
5. 2010 Ohio Supreme Court ruling that state firearms preemption statute bars localities from enacting bans on, inter alia, open carry: www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/12/29/ohio-supreme-court-gun-control.html?sid=101
6. 2008 Georgia Appeals Court ruling that state firearms preemption statute voids local park gun bans at www.georgiacarry.com/county/coweta_parks/Order%20Granting%20Pla%20MSJ.pdf
7. 2010 Washington Supreme Court ruling that firearms preemption statute voids local gun bans at www.capitolhilltimes.com/Main.asp?ArticleID=28389&SectionID=26&SubSectionID=248
8. 2010 New York Court of appeals ruling that even local “toy” gun bans violate implied or “field” preemption doctrine at www.volokh.com/2010/12/31/victory-for-firearms-preemption-in-new-york
9. OpenCarry.org state gun law maps: www.opencarry.org/maps.html

About:
OpenCarry.org was founded in 2004 by Virginia gun-rights activists John Pierce and Mike Stollenwerk and has served to ignite the “Open Carry Movement” that is sweeping the country. In addition to being an invaluable legal resource for gun owners, the site has quickly grown to be a social networking portal for thousands of American gun owners. Visit: www.OpenCarry.org

Blain's Farm and Fleet Has No Problem Selling Firearms??

Wisconsin Carry

Wisconsin --(Ammoland.com)- Wisconsin Carry takes an “all of the above” approach to protecting and advancing the right to carry in Wisconsin.

In the past, individual members, and WCI as an organization have had success in getting stores who post signs prohibiting carry to take the signs down and allow carry as state law provides.

We don’t have the resources to get involved every time a store or business posts a “no firearms” sign, but we do look at situations on a case by case basis and if we believe there is an issue that affects a large number of members where we can make a difference, we may get involved.

This is one of those situations.

Farm and Fleet recently posted a sign at the door of one of their stores (Oak Creek, Wisconsin) which prohibits any and all carry from their stores. This policy, which WCI has confirmed with their corporate office, prohibits open-carry (which is currently legal in Wisconsin) and it will ALSO prohibit concealed carry when passed (expected to happen in 2011).

Yesterday, I placed a call to Farm and Fleet’s corporate offices (Blain’s Supply, Inc) in Janesville, WI and spoke with “Gary Hilt” a Vice-President who handles this issue.

Gary was nice enough to spend about 1/2 hour on the phone with me discussing the issue and genuinely, he was very receptive and seemed to consider my points and was not dismissive of information provided.

He shared with me some information about how Farm and Fleet came to their policy on a “weapons free environment” (at least weapons free from those who carry legally).

At this time, my personal opinion is that the information Farm and Fleet relied on to come to their policy -(input from legal counsel/insurance/anecdotal customer survey) was not as robust and informed as it could have been. I don’t think it gave them a true picture of the support that right to carry has. (again just my opinion based on our conversation in addition to considering that SO many other regional and national retailers – Woodmans, Pick n Save, Best Buy, Dunhams Sports, Home Depot, Wal-mart, CULVERS, Starbucks, etc) ALL surely went through a similar exercise and came to a DIFFERENT conclusion to ALLOW carry as provided by state law. Farm and Fleet definitely isn’t an “anti-gun” organization in principle (just in practice).

Mr. Hilt advised me that he was going to go back to the board over the next 2 weeks (lots of people on vacation this week with the holiday and review their policy).

At the current time, their policy has not changed, but he IS going to review it.

AS SUCH, I think the time is right and there is an opportunity to influence their decision if we all send polite letters and make contact with Farm and Fleet to let them know that their customer base really DOES support the right to carry. Let Farm and Fleet know you prefer to continue to patronize their stores, but cannot in principle as they don’t support your right to carry in practice.

Let Farm and Fleet know that since nearly ALL other regional and national retailers ALLOW lawful carry, they place themselves at NO competitive disadvantage by allowing carry as well. Almost all major stores/retail chains allow lawful carry. The few people would prefer to shop in a store that restricts the right to legally carry have very few alternative choices. People who want to shop in a store that DOES support the right to carry have MANY options.

Farm and Fleet’s policy is ill-advised. Also share with Farm and Fleet that major retailers like: Gander Mountain, Dunham’s Sports, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Woodman’s, Pick n Save, Starbucks, Culvers, and hundreds of other stores/chains all ALLOW lawful carry.

It was also interesting. Mr. Hilt shared with me that in the 55 year history of their company there has never been an instance IN THEIR STORE of someone being assaulted or needing to defend themselves. Of course as the nightly news proves, the papers are full of “never thought it would happen here” situations where innocent people are not around today because they had no opportunity to defend themselves.

I think as you all drop letters and make polite contact with Farm and Fleet you might offer the knowledge that while no one may have been assaulted IN their store (yet), a person’s safety IS in jeopardy walking FROM their store to their car.

Case in point, just a few days ago a person was assaulted and badly beaten in a Farm and Fleet parking lot after leaving the store in Madison: www.badgerherald.com/news/2010/12/08/crime_in_brief.php

Farm and Fleet may be able to claim that in 55 years no one has been assaulted IN their store (yet), but they surely can’t claim that no one has been assaulted OUTSIDE their store. Criminals ARE committing crimes in Farm and Fleet parking lots against INNOCENT defenseless people. By prohibiting people from carrying IN their store, they are also making those people defenseless victims IN THEIR PARKING LOT as shoppers return to their vehicle unarmed. Criminals now CLEARLY know (based on posted signs) that anyone coming from Farm and Fleet will be unarmed. (even after Wisconsin passes concealed carry this year)

Share this example with Farm and Fleet when you contact them.

POLITE LETTERS AND CONTACT CAN BE MADE VIA THE FOLLOWING METHODS:

Farm and Fleet has a facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/BlainsFarmandFleet?v=wall Post up on their wall and let them know what you think of their new signs prohibiting law-abiding citizens from carrying in their stores.

Blain’s Farm and Fleet 24 hour customer care hotline: 1-800-210-2370

Electronic contact opportunities: (use customer contact form on this page) http://www.farmandfleet.com/customer_care/default.aspx

Lets politely share with Farm and Fleet how many of their customers do NOT support their policy of banning the right to carry in their stores and that we will happily continue to shop there ONLY after they change their policy.

Carry On

About:
Wisconsin Carry, Inc is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and reclamation of the basic rights critical to a free society. We believe that “Open-Carry” and “Conceal Carry” are choices to be made by law-abiding citizens based on what suits their needs best. Our mission is to preserve, advance and expand these basic rights which law-abiding citizens are entitled to have a practical ability to exercise. Visit: www.wisconsincarry.org

Georgia Gun Owners

Kennesaw, Georgia --(Ammoland.com)- Who could forget the savage murders a few years back at Virginia Tech? Or the Columbine massacre?

Both occurred in government-mandated “gun-free” school zones.

Here in Georgia, our government-run university campuses are “gun-free” school zones as well.

In fact, just two days ago, four thugs accosted, “pistol-whipped,” and robbed a Georgia Tech student…in his dorm room.

Read the Fox News Report here.

You can read about the story on the Official Facebook Page of Georgia Gun Owners by clicking here.

You see, criminals know that university campuses are filled with tens of thousands of potential victims who are prevented by our politicians from carrying on campus.

I know you’ve heard of the word “compromise” before. Well, during the last session of the General Assembly, a disgusting compromise took place. Republican Governor Sonny Perdue threatened to veto a bill that allowed for of age students to carry on university campuses here in Georgia.

Instead of forcing the Governor to veto the bill, and then attempt to override his veto, the Republicans compromised, and accepted a degree of gun control.

Those who had a “seat at the table” said that it would be fine if one could carry in parking lots of university campuses, but certainly not on the campus itself.

Because of that compromise, if the Georgia Tech student who was robbed had been carrying, he would have been in violation of the law.

It’s time for this type of back-room deal making to end. Georgians deserve better. Individual security shouldn’t end at the edge of a university campus.

Gun control is not inevitable. For far too long, we’ve allowed our elected officials to gain endorsements from gun groups by voting for whatever gun bill is out there.

You and I need elected officials who will stand up and do what is right, not fall in line, threatened by party leadership and “professional lobbyists.”

Please call or email your local elected State Representative and Senator as soon as possible and tell them to publicly call for the passage of a “Campus Carry” Bill during the next session of the General Assembly…and that compromise is not acceptable.

For liberty,

About:
Georgia Gun Owners in a non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots firearm advocacy organization dedicated to countering the gun control lobby through an aggressive program designed to mobilize gun owners and liberty activists across the State of Georgia, while seeking to enlist public support for legislation that would remove compulsory government requirements for gun owners throughout the state. Georgia Gun Owners’ mailing address is 1635 Old 41 Hwy., Ste. 112-202, Kennesaw, Georgia 30152. Georgia Gun Owners can be contacted at 678-719-2348. Georgia Gun Owners’ web address is www.georgiagunowners.org.

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus

Any Campus, USA --(Ammoland.com)- So, you’re settling back into the swing of things on campus. You’ve dropped your jaw at the textbook prices, picked out your seat in the classroom for the semester, and maybe already knocked out an early quiz from an overzealous professor.

If you’ve paid attention, someone on your campus has probably already become a victim of a crime.

The bustling hive of activity on campus is great, but it’s also scary business…the “gun-free zones” are back in session; an open invitation for a psychotic killer or rapist.

Of course, no one thinks your school will be targeted. But then, that’s what they thought about Virginia Tech, NIU or University of Alabama (Huntsville) too.

It’s time to take the next first step. It’s time to get people talking, get their attention and remind them that feeling safe is a feeling, not reality.

The first step is really easy. We have some stylish yet practical posters for your use on campus. Take any one of them, print out a few copies, grab some tape and push-pins and plaster them around campus:

• http://concealedcampus.org/UserFiles/File/Posters/WorkedSoWell.pdf
• http://concealedcampus.org/UserFiles/File/Posters/Convenience.pdf
• http://concealedcampus.org/UserFiles/File/Posters/SafeforWhom.pdf
• http://concealedcampus.org/UserFiles/File/Posters/Signs.pdf

Get some friends and go into co-op mode, targeting more buildings for better results! It will get people talking and you don’t even have to argue with them. Let us know how it goes!

One more thing. As an all-volunteer organization, we’re always looking for more volunteers. We need state directors, campus leaders and regional organizers. These people organize and coordinate in the regional, state and local levels. (Now those titles make more sense, don’t they.) Maybe now is your time to take the next step and take the lead. We don’t have the luxury of getting paid like our opponents do, but have something they don’t; the tide of freedom and truth. The rest of it is up to us!

Are you a graphics guru? A prince of Publisher? A phantom of photography? Draw cartoons or work with Photoshop? We need creative people like you to help design and build up SCCC promotional materials. Give us a holler and put those skills to work for a great cause.

Everyone’s good at something, and you’re not getting this e-mail because you are lukewarm about concealed carry on campus. Maybe it’s time you combine your passion for this with your own talents and help us make something cool.

Thanks for reading and we’ll talk again soon!

Gun Free Zones Worked So Well

About:
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is a national grassroots organization consisting of over 44,000 college students, faculty members, parents, and concerned citizens who support the right to self-defense on campus. SCCC is non-partisan and not affiliated with any political party or organization. Visit: www.concealedcampus.org

CCRKBA.org

BELLEVUE, WA – -(Ammoland.com)-Wednesday’s mass shooting in northwest England is more proof that restrictive gun laws do not prevent horrible criminal acts, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

Wire service and British news agency reports say 12 people are dead and 25 people are wounded, and suspected gunman Derrick Bird is among the fatalities. It appears he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“In 1996,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “the government cracked down on gun ownership, banning handguns and placing severe restrictions on long guns following the Dunblane Massacre of 16 school children by Thomas Hamilton. In 1987, with strict gun laws in place, Michael Ryan murdered 16 people in Hungerford.

“American gun prohibitionists have frequently held up the gun laws of Great Britain as their model,” he continued. “They have created the impression that English-style gun laws would prevent outrages in this country. Today’s shooting spree, which apparently left victims in 30 different locations, should forever put the lie to this argument.

“Like all victim disarmament laws and regulations,” Gottlieb explained, “the laws now in place in England only created a risk-free environment for the gunman to carry out his despicable act. America knows from experience what happens when such killers are confronted by determined armed citizens. A gunman was stopped by an off-duty police officer out of his jurisdiction at Salt Lake City’s Trolley Square in 2007. Another shooter was stopped in his tracks at a church in Colorado Springs that same year. An armed customer at a restaurant in Anniston, Alabama prevented a mass shooting in 1999. An armed high school vice principal stopped Pearl, Mississippi gunman Luke Woodham. Two armed students stopped a gunman at the Appalachian Law School in 2002.

“When armed Americans fight back,” he stated, “shooting sprees are stopped. The architects of British gun laws, and those who would force such laws on the United States, should take a lesson from that.

“We don’t know why Derrick Bird opened fire,” Gottlieb concluded. “We may never know. What we do know is that restrictive gun laws did not prevent him from shooting. From our experience, an armed citizen might have stopped him cold.”

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation’s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States. The Citizens Committee can be reached by phone at (425) 454-4911, on the Internet at www.ccrkba.org or by email to InformationRequest@ccrkba.org.

National Rifle Association

Fairfax, VA--(Ammoland.com)- Over the past few months, NRA-ILA received information from a few members detailing some problems that firearm-related businesses were having with Bank of America (BoA).

It appeared that BoA had adopted a policy of denying banking services to businesses associated with firearms. ILA staff contacted BoA corporate leadership and asked them to provide specific information regarding their policies.

In a conversation with Douglas K. Bland, a BoA Senior Vice President, NRA-ILA was assured that there was no such anti-gun policy.

Mr. Bland provided NRA-ILA with a written statement of their policy, which states “Bank of America does not have a corporate-wide policy to deny banking services solely on the applicant’s involvement in the firearms industry.”

NRA-ILA is pleased with this statement, but will continue to monitor business activities to ensure that gun owners and gun related business receive fair treatment. If you have had issues with Bank of America, please contact NRA-ILA so additional follow-up can be done. If needed, Mr. Bland has indicated his desire to assist with claims of unfair denial of services for firearms related reasons.

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate 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 military. Visit: www.nra.org