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OH: Jury acquits Ohio man who said assault rifle shooting was self-defense
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A Franklin County jury found a South Linden man not guilty of murder and other charges despite video evidence showing him firing more than 20 rounds from an assault-style rifle at his victims.
Thomas Hampton, 33, was charged with murder, attempted murder, felonious assault and other charges related to the June 26 fatal shooting of 31-year-old James Cunningham. Another man was injured in the shooting but survived.
The jury deliberated for about three hours before acquitting him on all seven counts. One juror wiped tears away as the verdicts were read. |
NH: House revives gun bill mandating NH share mental health data for FBI background checks
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The sole bipartisan gun bill of the legislative session was revived Thursday in the New Hampshire House, prompting a heated argument among House Republicans.
A bill to require serious mental illness information to be reported to the FBI’s background check system for firearm purchases was killed last week by the Senate, but its language was added as an amendment onto SB 476, a bill having to do with the replacement of the men’s New Hampshire state prison, on the House floor. |
RI: Safe weapons storage bill advances to House floor
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Gun safety advocates erupted in applause Thursday evening as the House Judiciary Committee voted 9-5 to advance two Democratic bills seeking to strengthen the state’s gun storage law to the State House floor.
“This is a big deal, this will save lives,” Tony Morettini, a volunteer for Moms Demand Action Rhode Island, said after the vote. |
SC: Solicitor supports Gov. McMaster's veto to expunge certain gun violation records
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Governor Henry McMaster vetoed a bill this week that would have allowed those convicted of certain gun violations to have their records expunged.
If signed into law, Senate Bill 1166 would have erased the convictions for the unlawful possession of handguns that occurred before the enactment of the S.C. Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act of 2024.
On Wednesday, ABC15 caught up with the governor and asked him why he wouldn’t pull the trigger and make it a law.
He told us that if someone committed a crime they needed to be held accountable. |
MD: US Supreme Court rebuffs appeal over Maryland assault weapons ban
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The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a challenge to a Democratic-backed ban in Maryland on assault-style rifles such as AR-15s, steering clear of the dispute while the litigation continues in a lower court.
The justices turned away an appeal by commercial firearms dealers, gun rights groups and several Maryland residents who have argued that the ban violates the right to keep and bear arms under U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.
The challengers had asked the Supreme Court to decide the legality of the ban before the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issues a ruling in the case. |
CA: Animal Abusers Banned From Owning Guns Under CA Bill
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A bill that would place a 10-year firearms ban on people convicted of misdemeanor animal cruelty in California has passed a major hurdle.
The 2024 Gun Violence Prevention Act passed the state Senate on May 16 with a 36-1 bipartisan vote. It now moves on to the state Assembly for consideration.
Otherwise known as SB 902, the bill was introduced by Senators Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside) and Anthony Portantino (D-Burbank). |
If Only I Were Wealthy
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A couple of weeks ago, one of my social media pals asked me what it was like testing guns and what gun writers did with them afterward.
I assured this fellow that I sent those test guns right back to the manufacturer unless I was so impressed I bought the gun, which was a rare event on my budget. “Otherwise,” I told him, “they’d just be cluttering up my house.” Oh, the humanity!
Over the years, there were definitely some guns I would have been delighted to keep, because they were just so darned much fun to shoot. A few would have made great personal packing pistols, and one or two were absolute gems. But I got reminded more than once, “You have enough guns.” |
Word of the Week: Originalism. (Bring back public shaming and pillorying?)
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Rahimi’s argument is that his conviction is inconsistent with the history and tradition of gun regulation in America, relying primarily on laws enacted when the Second Amendment was adopted in 1791.
Rahimi’s lawyers argue that earlier generations addressed the problem of domestic abuse by different means than taking away an abuser’s gun. For example, wife-beating was grounds for divorce, punished by public shaming and being put in the stocks.
Rahimi’s lawyers contend: “The Founders could have adopted a complete ban on firearms to combat intimate-partner violence. They didn’t.” |
Rogue ATF Rule Making on Trial ~ U.S. Supreme Court To Hear Garland v. VanDerStok
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The U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari in the case of Garland v. VanDerStok, which involves a challenge of the Biden administration’s “Final Rule” on frames and receivers, and which was joined by the Second Amendment Foundation in 2022.
Houston, Texas, attorney Chad Flores represents SAF and Defense Distributed in their intervention and has received the briefing and argument schedule from the high court. June 25 is the briefing deadline for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Aug. 13 is the deadline for SAF and its fellow appellants to submit their briefs. |
Cornyn, Tillis, Colleagues Introduce Resolution to Block Unconstitutional Biden ATF Rule
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U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and 43 Senate Republicans introduced a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to strike down the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) rule on the definition of “Engaged in the Business” as a Dealer in Firearms, which ignores the law and congressional intent and flagrantly violates the Constitution to try to require anyone who sells a firearm to register as a federal firearm licensee:
Ed.: Cornyn caused this problem himself by voting to weaken the federal law that protected normal gun owners when they sold their personal guns. |
FL: Man who fired AR-15 rounds at his ex and her husband cleared in Stand Your Ground case
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A Kendall man charged with attempted murder after firing several rounds from a semi-automatic rifle at his ex-wife and her husband two years ago was cleared this week by a judge who said he felt rightly threatened — despite never being fired upon. Rafael Martinez argued he crashed his vehicle into a curb while being chased by his former wife and her new husband. Then, he said, he unloaded four rounds from his AR-15 at the couple as a green laser sight from a gun in the couple’s possession was pointed at him. No one was struck or injured by gunfire. No rounds were found from the alleged gun with the laser. And versions of the incident relayed from several witnesses varied.
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FL: DeLand Resident Defends Home, Shoots Two Intruders
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Four men have been charged in connection with an armed DeLand home invasion robbery, which ended with two of the suspects being shot by their intended target, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s officials reported that deputies responded to a call around 5:45 p.m. Wednesday at 931 Clark Ave. concerning several shots fired during a home invasion robbery. It was determined that the suspects had entered the home with the intention of robbing the occupant, someone they knew from previous narcotics transactions. |
Digital Second Amendment: Preserving Bitcoin Rights
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The US is well-known for the Second Amendment. Actually, the right to arms may be described as one of the national characteristics of the US state. Some will say that without second amendments the US would just remain an overseas Europe. And what is happening now in bitcoin regulation might become the same legal pillar of the US nation. |
Hunter Biden's attorneys spar with prosecutors over definition of 'addict'
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One issue defense attorneys raised in the filing is whether Hunter Biden believed he was a drug user or addict at the time of purchasing and possessing the firearm.
“The terms ‘user’ or ‘addict’ are not defined on the form and were not explained to him,” the defense attorneys wrote. “Someone, like Mr. Biden who had just completed an 11-day rehabilitation program and lived with a sober companion after that, could surely believe he was not a present tense user or addict.”
The filing also highlights several arguments surrounding the Second Amendment.
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ID: Labrador Defends American Firearms Manufacturers from Liability for Mexico’s Gun Violence
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Attorney General Raúl Labrador joined a coalition of 27 states in defending American firearms manufacturers against attempts to hold the companies liable for gun violence in Mexico. If a lower court’s ruling is allowed to stand, Americans’ Second Amendment rights could be threatened.
In their petition, the attorneys general ask the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to correct a lower court’s ruling in Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc., et.al, v. Mexico to keep other nations, like Mexico, from using American courts to limit the rights of American citizens. |
FPC, NRA File Briefs With Supreme Court Over Mexico Lawsuit
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The case involving Mexico’s lawsuit against U.S. gun manufacturers and retailers for violence south of the border is beginning to see some action from pro-gun rights organizations.
On Wednesday, both the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and the National Rifle Association (NRA) filed briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking a review of lower court decisions regarding Mexico’s attempts to impose its gun-control preferences on Americans. |
GOP Senators Challenge Biden Administration’s ATF Rule on Gun Sales
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Republican Senators are pushing back against the Biden administration rule that broadens the definition of who must register as a federal firearms dealer, arguing it imposes unconstitutional restrictions on gun sales.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) joined Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) in introducing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rule, which they claim effectively enstates universal background checks. |
TN: On guns and abortion, polling shows Tennesseans at odds with their elected lawmakers
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On guns, there has been steady bipartisan agreement that some gun reforms are needed. Some 76% of Tennesseans favor a law to temporarily restrict access to guns for people at risk of harming themselves or others.
There’s more of a divide on arming teachers at school — a measure passed this year. The poll found 47% in support and 47% opposed, with a sharp partisan division.
A large share (71%) oppose an extension of the state’s permit-less handgun carry law to include long guns. |
Two men killed while pointing guns at the ground. Should police have waited?
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Ten days later, another man holding a gun pointed down was shot and killed by police during a domestic disturbance call, this time in Anchorage, Alaska. The morning after the shooting, Police Chief Bianca Cross said the man, Kristopher Handy, had “raised the long gun towards officers,” but a video released later by one of Handy’s neighbors appears to contradict that. It shows Handy outside the apartment building, walking toward officers with an apparent long gun held roughly parallel with his legs. Like Fortson, Handy was shot within moments of facing the police.
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