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MO: Fatal shooting in rural Missouri believed to be self-defense
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Self-defense is believed to play a role in the fatal shooting of a man assaulting multiple individuals with a dagger near a rural Missouri amphitheater.
The Benton County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Office says that around 3:50 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13, emergency crews were called to the 3100 block of Highway MM, near the Grand Stage Amphitheater, with reports of a disturbance that involved a knife and firearms. |
AL: 38 witnesses subpoenaed for Mac Marquette's April trial
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According to the motion, Marquette fired his weapon after Perkins allegedly pointed a gun at a tow-truck driver. The filing states:
“saw Perkins and clearly saw him pointing a weapon at the tow-truck driver. This was evidenced by the flashlight illuminating the tow truck driver. The Defendant then reacted to the threat posed by Perkins by yelling and identifying himself as police and giving him a loud verbal command to drop the weapon. Instead of dropping the weapon as instructed, Perkins turned and pointed the gun directly at the Defendant. In fear for his life and the lives of others, the Defendant fired his duty weapon to eliminate the deadly threat to himself, his fellow officers, and the tow-truck driver.” |
MO: Homeowner pleads guilty to shooting Black teen Ralph Yarl who rang the wrong doorbell
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An 86-year-old Kansas City man pleaded guilty Friday to a lesser charge in the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black honor student who rang the white man’s doorbell by mistake.
Andrew Lester was scheduled to stand trial next week on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of the then-16-year-old, who survived and has since graduated from high school.
As part of a plea deal, Lester pleaded guilty to second-degree assault.
Yarl showed up on Lester’s doorstep after he mixed up the streets where he was supposed to pick up his twin siblings. |
MA: Gun Owners of America and 2A Allies Challenge Massachusetts’ Unconstitutional Ban on Firearms for 18- to 20-Year-Olds
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Gun Owners of America (GOA), Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), the National Rifle Association (NRA), the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), Gun Owners Action League (GOAL), and Commonwealth Second Amendment (Comm2A), alongside plaintiff Mack Escher, have filed a lawsuit challenging Massachusetts’ unconstitutional restrictions on 18- to 20-year-old adults possessing, purchasing, or carrying semiautomatic firearms and handguns. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, argues that the state’s laws violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments by infringing upon the constitutional rights of young adults. |
Democrats react to Trump closing Office of Gun Violence Prevention
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Friday marks seven years since the tragic Parkland School shooting at a time when Democrats worry President Trump is rolling back policies that curb gun violence, but the Trump administration says they’re taking steps to protect 2nd Amendment rights and combat gun crime.
The Biden White House had an Office of Gun Violence Prevention, however President Trump took steps to eliminate that office. Democrats say that was a mistake. |
CO: Colorado Senate gives initial approval to bill banning sale of semiautomatic guns with detachable magazines
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A bill that would ban the manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale or purchase of semiautomatic weapons with detachable magazines was given preliminary approval by the Colorado Senate just before 2 a.m. Friday.
Senate Bill 25-003 would also prohibit the sale or purchase of accessories that increase how many rounds a semiautomatic firearm can shoot.
State Sen. Tom Sullivan, D-Aurora, who lost his son in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting, is one of the sponsors. He said the bill would expand on a 2013 Colorado law that prohibited the sale and transfer of magazines that hold more than 15 rounds. |
IA: Man accused of killing two in former Waterloo nightclub shooting found not guilty
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A man accused of killing two people in a former Waterloo nightclub shooting in 2020 has been found not guilty on all counts.
Two people were killed and others were injured after a shooting broke out at a former Waterloo nightclub on September 26, 2020 after 3:00 a.m.
Willie Saffold Jr. was acquitted on Friday of both first-degree murder charges.
Saffold's defense team argued surveillance video showed Saffold did not fire the fatal shots.
While the defense admitted that the video showed Saffold shooting, they maintained that it was out of self-defense. |
TX: Mother’s Estranged Boyfriend Kicks in Door, Son Shoots Him in Self-Defense
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A man attempting to force his way into an apartment in the early hours of February 13, 2025, was shot and killed by a resident after breaking down the front door and initiating an assault.
According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a 911 call around 1:00 AM at 12459 West Village Drive, unit #C. Upon arrival, they found one man suffering from gunshot wounds and another individual—later identified as the shooter—cooperating with authorities. The wounded man was transported to the hospital, where he later died. |
KS: Rep. Jo Ella Hoye says proposed amendment on guns poses danger to Kansans
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This year, the legislature has revived a dangerous constitutional amendment to strip Kansas of its few remaining gun safety laws. If adopted, a strict scrutiny judicial standard would threaten to eliminate Kansas’s most crucial public safety laws, including prohibitions by convicted felons and domestic abusers.
Even worse, this dangerous attempt to weaken our gun laws is disguised as a pro-Second Amendment expansion for ammo and accessories. |
CO: Colorado Senate adds major exception to ban on sale of certain semiautomatic guns before moving it forward
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The Colorado Senate gave preliminary approval early Friday to a bill that would ban the manufacture and sale of semiautomatic rifles, shotguns and pistols, but the chamber added a major carveout for people who complete a training course to be regulated by and offered through the state.
The exemption, tacked on by Democrats in an effort to appease Gov. Jared Polis, represents a significant watering down of the measure. But proponents of the legislation felt it was needed to advance Senate Bill 3 after two delays to allow for more negotiations with the governor’s office. |
MA: Second Amendment Foundation Challenges Massachusetts Gun Law In Federal Court
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The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), alongside several prominent gun rights organizations, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Massachusetts law that prohibits adults aged 18 to 20 from acquiring, possessing, or carrying semiautomatic firearms and handguns. The case, Escher v. Mason, argues that the law violates the Second Amendment and unfairly denies young adults their constitutional rights.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, targets provisions of Massachusetts House Bill 4885, which Governor Maura Healey signed into law in July 2024. |
Elections Have Consequences – Is That the Sound of Second Amendment Freedom I Hear?
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Years ago, in an unforgettable display of cynicism and arrogance, then-newly elected President Barack Hussein Obama told us that “elections have consequences” as he began the process of attempting to “fundamentally transform America” and dismantle the Second Amendment.
Although he probably has not done so, newly elected President Donald J. Trump could probably say the same thing, and this time, we would all wholeheartedly agree. |
ME: Federal Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction on Maine’s 72-Hour Gun Purchase Waiting Period
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On Feb. 13, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker granted a preliminary injunction against Maine’s 72-hour waiting period on gun sales.
This mandatory waiting period went into effect on Aug. 9, 2024, in response to the Lewiston mass shooting of 2023. A few months after the law was implemented, Gun Owners of Maine and the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine filed a federal lawsuit, with the backing of the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the legal counsel of Second Amendment attorneys from Clement & Murphy, against the state of Maine. |
ME: Federal Court Blocks Maine’s 72-Hour Waiting Period for Firearm Purchases
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A federal judge has ruled against Maine’s recently enacted 72-hour waiting period for firearm purchases, granting a preliminary injunction that halts enforcement of the law. The decision, issued by Chief U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker on February 13, 2025, found that the waiting period violates the Second Amendment by restricting citizens’ ability to acquire firearms without historical precedent. |
RI: Rhode Island Democrats Poised to Push Through ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban
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Anti-gun Democrats in the Rhode Island General Assembly, reportedly led by Gov. Dan McKee, appear poised to pass a sweeping ban on so-called “assault weapons” while the tiny state’s gun owners are girding for battle.
They got some reinforcement from the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, (CCRKBA) which issued a call to grassroots activists to fight.
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IL: When will America accept good people protecting themselves with guns?
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That sounds so very compassionate but in reality twists the issue and obstructs its mitigation.
She wrote, “Guns always win out over people.”
But, as I have written here before, the problem is not guns; it is people who pull triggers. It is not guns that are winning out. It is violent people that are winning out. And only guns can curb violent people. As reassuring as her arguments sound, they’ll never bring safety.
How “people” is used in that headline misdirects us. It conflates bad people with good people. The issue is not that “people” are being shot, but that bad people are shooting good people. |
CO: Colorado bill banning sale, manufacture of certain semiautomatic guns sees major amendment in tight Senate vote
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A bill that would ban the sale of certain high-powered firearms in Colorado now gives exceptions to gun purchasers who go through training under a Senate amendment approved Friday.
Senate Bill 3 would prohibit the sale, purchase and manufacture of semiautomatic firearms that accept detachable ammunition magazines including AR-15 and AK-47 rifles as well as AR and AK-style pistols.
Following a marathon debate on the Senate floor that stretched from Thursday night into the early hours of Friday, Democrats gave initial approval to the bill, which now heads to a final vote expected as early as next week. |
FL: Parkland activists worry about Florida bill on age restriction to buy guns
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The seventh anniversary of the massacre that killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland comes with concerns.
Grieving parents who channeled their grief through activism to prevent another tragedy have been tracking a new Florida bill.
It aims to roll back the law requiring a buyer to be 21 years old or older to purchase a firearm.
“It’s very difficult to hear this. It’s very painful,” said Lori Alhadeff, a Broward County School Board member and activist who was mourning the loss of her 14-year-old daughter Alyssa. |
TN: Tennessee lawmakers push for stricter rules on storing guns in cars
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Lawmakers are working to address the growing number of guns stolen from vehicles in Tennessee. A new bill, SB 807, would make it a Class C misdemeanor to leave a firearm in an unlocked car.
State Senator Jeff Yarbro is leading the effort, arguing that current laws have contributed to an explosion in gun thefts.
In 2013, Tennessee passed the “Guns in Trunks” law, allowing firearms to be stored in vehicles as long as they were out of sight and locked in a secure location. However, there was no penalty for failing to follow those rules. |
Gun Violence
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When looking to the Gun Violence Archive, gun-related violence and incidents have been on the rise each year. In the year 2024, there were 16,725 gun-related deaths, and looking at the current data of 2025, just two months in, there have already been 1,683 incidents. Firearms and the laws surrounding them have been an increasingly hot topic for a few years now, and when looking at the data, it does not seem to be going away anytime soon. |
MA: Escher v. Noble: FPC 2A Challenge to MA Age-Based Gun Ban
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Summary: Federal Second Amendment constitutional challenge to Massachusetts' ban on handguns and semiautomatic firearms to 18-20-year-olds.
Plaintiffs: Mack Escher, Gun Owners’ Action League, Commonwealth Second Amendment, Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, National Rifle Association, and Gun Owners of America
Defendants: Massachusetts State Police Superintendent Geoffrey Noble, Department of Criminal Justice Information Services Commissioner Jamie Gagnon, and Brewster Police Chief Heath J. Eldredge. |
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