Keep and Bear Arms - Gun Owners Home Page

NY: Paul Smiths adds trap shooting team to extracurricular sports activities
Submitted by: Corey Salo

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

Paul Smiths College, the College of the Adirondacks, offers 27 different varsity sports, including woodmens sports. Its most recent addition to that lineup is the Bobcats trap shooting team. The sport of trap shooting dates back to the 1900 Summer Olympics; it was started at the school in 2019 with the financial assistance of numerous area businesses.

The sport and the natural environment of Paul Smiths College (PSC) lend themselves perfectly to each other; the fledgling program took advantage of 12,000 acres (of the schools 14,200) and turned a log landing into a trap shooting field.

Fact check: Kyle Rittenhouse picture and caption are missing context Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
As a quick aside: The picture also spawned a controversy with Black Rifle Coffee Company, the veteran-owned company named on the shirt Rittenhouse wore in the picture. Black Rifle CEO Evan Hafer said in a later Twitter post his company does not sponsor Rittenhouse and is not in the business of profiting from tragedy, while reiterating support of the Second Amendment.

Shelly Hill Riding Shotgun With Charlie
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

I met Shelley Hill at the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Chicago in 2018. We were both presenters at AMMcon (Alternative Multi-Media Conference) and GPRC that year. I was excited to make a stop outside of Atlanta on the Summer Tour 2020 to have Brian & Shelley on the stagecoach.

Brian has a background in martial arts and got into firearms after a course with Massad Ayoob. Shelley was in the medical field. Theyve known each other since they were teens. And as adults have reconnected. Watching the show, you can see how well they get along. Together with all their training and experiences, they started The Complete Combatant.

GA: What Else Is At Stake In The Georgia Runoffs?
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

Whether or not President Trumps legal challenges succeed, the Georgia runoffs are critical for Second Amendment supporters. In addition to what might or might not be passed into law, there are a number of other things on the ballot in these races. Second Amendment supporters need to pull both David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler over the line because a 50-50 Senate under President Trump would still be bad news.

Why would that 50-50 Senate be bad news? Because wed have to rely on Mitt Romney and Lisa Murkowski to stick with us in every fight. Do you consider them reliable?

WA: NRA Continues the Fight Against I-1639 in the Court of Appeals
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

The fight continues. NRA and the Second Amendment Foundation appealed that decision to the Ninth Circuit and filed their opening brief today. Young adults cannot be excluded from the protections of any enumerated right, including the Second Amendment, the brief argues. There is no historical precedent for depriving young adults of the ability to purchase semi-automatic rifles. The brief further argues that I-1639 violates the commerce clause of the Constitution because Washington does not have any legitimate state interest in regulating the sale of firearms outside of the state.

Friends Of NRA Continue Charitable Fundraising Amid Pandemic Challenges
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

Nationwide shutdowns from the pandemic in 2020 have challenged the Friends of NRA, a 100-percent grassroots fundraising effort benefitting the shooting sports, but organizers have found ways to keep the momentum going.

We are thrilled we can hold Friends of NRA events again, said Sarah Engeset, Director of Volunteer Fundraising Administration. Thanks to our dedicated volunteers and staff, we continue to raise critical funds for the NRA Foundation and the shooting sports programs throughout the country.

UT: The history of the Second Amendment
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are 2 comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

When the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791, we should remember that a musket could fire one to three or four rounds per minute, requiring the gunman to stop between each shot and reload gunpowder, add a patch and a ball, use the ramrod to clean the barrel, and then seat the round bullet properly. Oh, and fill the flashpan with gunpowder. There was no standing army. The amendment reads, A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Why the Fight Over the 9th Justice Was So Crucial
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

They have chosen to act, with considerable success, as a super-legislative body that rewrites, changes, or even ignores the text when necessary to achieve particular policy goals that fit the ideological beliefs of those justices.

That includes creating rights that dont exist in the Constituion, or simply ignoring rights the justices dont want to enforce, like the Second Amendment.

For most of the liberal justices on the court, the Bill of Rights jumps directly from the First Amendment to the Third Amendment, with nothing in between.

KY: Kentucky Has Slew Of Active Militia Groups Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
The SPLC identifies eight anti-government groups in Kentucky, which includes two militias, the Three Percenters and the Oath Keepers; the groups are vehemently opposed to being labeled as anti-government extremists, domestic terrorists, or white supremacists, according to their websites.

OH: Ohio Bill Allowing the Arming of Teachers Passes State Senate Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
A recent bill put forward by the Ohio Senate has recently passed with a 21 to 10 vote. Senate Bill 317 would allow school personnel like teachers to be armed while inside school if it is authorized by the local school board.

CA: Santa Clara Sheriffs Officials, Apple Security Chief Indicted in Alleged CCW Bribe
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

A Santa Clara County, California grand jury has issued indictments accusing two-county Sheriffs Office officials, a local business owner and the Global Security chief for Apple, Inc., with bribery in an alleged effort to trade iPads in exchange for concealed carry licenses for Apple employees.

A news release from the Santa Clara County District Attorneys office named Undersheriff Rick Sung, Sheriffs Capt. James Jensen, Apple Chief Security Officer Thomas Moyer, and insurance broker Harpreet Chadha as the subjects of the indictments.

Third Circuit Decision On 2nd Amendment Perfectly Tailored For Supreme Court After Barrett Confirmation Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
The Supreme Court has become notoriously skittish about Second Amendment cases in the years after Heller. That may change now after a Third Circuit ruling upheld a ban on firearm ownership for felons, even those convicted of non-violent crimes. In a 2-1 decision, the court ruled that a tax-evasion conviction was sufficient for a lifetime removal of Second Amendment rights:

WA: Prosecutor: no charges filed after fatal shooting near Hy's Market Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Yakima County Prosecutor Joseph Brusic announced Wednesday that the Prosecutor's Office has decided not to file charges against Jonathan Lopez, Mickael Garcia and Angel Garcia in the shooting death of Marcos Mendoza-Guillen that happened Friday, November 20 near Hy's Market in Yakima.

ME: AGs office declines to pursue Vinalhaven death investigation Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
State Representative Jefferey Evangelos worked with Feltis family to pursue a review of the case when a grand jury rejected it earlier this year. He feels they received fair treatment from the AGs office. But they were not able to come up with the evidence they were hoping for to clear the threshold over the states self-defense laws on personal property.

FL: NRA tax filing discloses Marion Hammer shouldnt been paid hundreds of thousands, report says
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

Marion Hammer, the architect of Floridas stand your ground laws and a feared Tallahassee lobbyist, appears to have received over $220,000 in potentially inappropriate payments from the National Rifle Association in 2018, according to tax documents obtained by The Washington Post.

The documents show that the NRA classified a sharp increase in the amount they paid Hammer in 2018 as excess benefits which is what the Internal Revenue Service calls money that individuals take from nonprofits to enrich themselves, the Post reported.

Ricky Schroder Defends Contributing To $2 Million Bail For Kenosha Shooting Suspect Kyle Rittenhouse
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

It made me mad, Schroder, a staunch gun rights advocate, told the New York Post. This boy is innocent and he will be proven innocent. I did what any father shouldve done, and thats get a kid out of jail that doesnt deserve to be there.

Schroder, a child star of the hit sitcom Silver Spoons and later on NYPD Blue in the '90s, told the tabloid that hell be donating hundreds of thousands of dollars for the bond and the accused murderers defense.

OK: When conservatives cant even guarantee Second Amendment protection in Oklahoma
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

"The Republicans have killed it in the state Senate each time," said Don Spencer, president of the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association, in an interview with Personal Defense World. "The Republicans are the problem of why you cannot get pro-Second Amendment legislation done in the state of Oklahoma. We have a supermajority in the Senate, a supermajority in the House and we have the Governor's office, so there is no one else to blame."