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National Rifle Association

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- NRA will appeal yesterday’s decision by a federal court in Texas, which held that the Second Amendment doesn’t protect any right to keep or bear arms outside the home.

The decision, handed down by U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings of the Northern District of Texas, came in the case of Jennings v. McCraw, in which a group of law-abiding 18- to 20-year old adults challenged the state law prohibiting issuance of concealed handgun licenses to persons under 21, who are treated as adults for virtually every other purpose under the law.

(NRA is also a party on behalf of its members in this age group.) Judge Cummings ruled that it was unnecessary to address the state’s discrimination against young adults because “the right to carry a handgun outside of the home … seems to be beyond the scope of the core Second Amendment concern articulated in Heller [v. District of Columbia].”

Unfortunately, this is only the most recent of several court decisions that have misread Heller in that way. Heller, of course, only directly addressed gun possession in the home, for a very simple reason: The plaintiffs in that case only challenged Washington, D.C.’s limits on possession in the home, rather than its restrictions on carrying firearms outside the home.

More importantly, the Supreme Court in Heller never said the Second Amendment doesn’t apply outside the home. Rather, it said that the home is the place “where the need for defense of self, family, and property is most acute”—implying that there are other places where the need may be less acute, but still exists.

Likewise, the Court suggested that it would uphold bans on carrying guns in “sensitive places”—which implies that carrying in places that are not “sensitive” would be protected under the Second Amendment.

The NRA will appeal the Jennings decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and to the Supreme Court if necessary. Although the Supreme Court recently declined to hear two cases addressing the right to bear arms outside the home, several others are working their way through the courts. These include the NRA-supported cases of Peruta v. County of San Diego, which challenges discriminatory permit issuance under California law and Shepard v. Madigan, challenging Illinois’ complete denial of any lawful way to carry firearms for self-defense outside one’s home or place of business. Peruta is pending in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and Shepard is awaiting action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

For the latest news on these and other NRA-supported cases and to subscribe to our online Legal Update newsletter, go to www.nraila.org/legalupdate.

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

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Texas State Rifle Association

Houston, Tx --(Ammoland.com)- Texas is still twiddling its collective political thumbs while waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to make some kind of decision on how to proceed with Redistricting and the Texas Primary Elections.

You’ll recall that a primary election is needed when several candidates representing one political party file for the same office.

For the purposes of the primary election only, a Texas voter will identify himself as a Democrat, Republican, or other will vote in that Political Party’s Primary only. That’s not the case for the Fall General Election where it’s open season for crossing party lines.

For the time being, we have at least one Texas House member who hopes to be a candidate for the Texas Senate but isn’t certain that he’s eligible based on where he lives and the outcome of the line-drawing chaos. If he can’t run for the Texas Senate, he will likely run for his “old” House seat where he will likely be paired with another pro-gun incumbent.

How do we make endorsements, how do candidates contact constituents and set up campaign headquarters and print materials, etc?

No, not every Congressional, Texas House, and Texas Senate district has this problem only the ones where people live. Seriously, if you live in a growth area, count on not knowing who’s running for what.

At this writing the Supremes may make a temporary decision to again push the primary election out to a still later date. It is generally held in March, now moved to April 3rd, and one scenario moves it to June. By the way, June is when the major political parties in Texas hold their state conventions and select delegates for their national conventions. That won’t work!

Gathering Info for the Voters’ Guide
For now, TSRA-PAC is grading candidate questionnaires for state races returned by non-incumbent candidates and issuing candidate rating letters. Incumbent candidates are also returning questionnaires and many are receiving endorsement letters.

Grading state candidates is a long-shared process between the NRA and TSRA and based on an up to date, confidential

questionnaire tailored to Second Amendment, gun ownership, self defense, concealed carry, and hunting issues only. A letter grade is published for the major party candidates several weeks before either the primary election or the general election. All we consider are the answers to the questions for new candidates but we take pro-gun legislative history into consideration for all incumbents. Heroics earn an A+, simple as that.

The Legislator must successfully “carry our water” or deliver a crucial committee vote, etc. to earn the coveted and rare A+ rating.

Give to the PAC and Come to Annual Meeting
Give generously to TSRA-PAC. These funds are reported to the Texas Ethics Commission and can only be used for campaign and candidate purposes. It’s time!

Finally, it’s TSRA Annual Members’ Meeting time and it’s being held again in Mesquite at the Hampton Inn and Suites, 1700 Rodeo, Mesquite. Below is a live link which allows you to make a hotel reservation at the negotiated convention rate.

Texas State Rifle Association 2012 Convention Hotel Reservations
Think about buying a ticket and arriving Friday night for the TSRA Foundation Banquet and Auction. Then on Saturday, you’ll want to reserve your place at the Key-Note Speaker’s Luncheon. We are honored to have Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst as our guest speaker. A decade of pro-gun bills could not have passed without this powerful and tireless friend.

Also, on Saturday, you’ll want to reserve your place at the Annual Awards Banquet. TSRA-PAC always presents an award, called the Doc Brown Legislator of the Year Award. For the first time in TSRA history, we need two Doc Brown Awards.

Among the honorees will be Senator Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) for his patience and work in passing what may be the gold-standard in range protection legislation bar-none; and this is not Senator Estes’ first help to gun owners. Estes passed past efforts include hunting rights for the handicapped and removing a long-standing barrier that prevented Texas from purchasing a rifle or shotgun beyond the states contiguous to Texas. Thank you, Senator Eses.

Then my State Representative Tim Kleinschmidt contributed the final push to SB 321; and the Employer Parking Lot finally passed. You might recall that the author of SB 321, Senator Glenn Hegar received his Doc Brown Award at past meetings. The Texas Senate passed this issue three times before the House could get’er done. Kleinschmidt brought the bill to the House floor, finally.

There will be many other award winners including many youth competitive shooting awards, our future is linked as always to theirs.

So the Awards Banquet is a party for jobs well done by a great many people and worth your time to buy a ticket and stay over.

Of course, there’s the gun show to keep you from being too board in between.

Upgrade, renew, or sign-up for TSRA membership at www.tsra.com and check www.tsrapac.com occasionally for up dated Texas campaign information.

Keep the Faith,

About:
The Mission of the Texas State Rifle Association is to protect and defend the inalienable rights of the individual Texan to acquire, possess, transport, carry, transfer ownership and enjoy the right to lawful use of firearms for self preservation, for the defense of family and property and the common defense of the Republic and the individual liberties of the people. Visit: www.TSRA.com

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