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SHOT Show 2023: Day Three Finds
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The POLICE editorial staff is spending the week in Las Vegas at the annual Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show. Our coverage has included Industry Day at the Range and our staff's favorite items from the first, second, and now the third day of exploring the exhibit floor.
Among the items we checked out today were armor options, duty ball caps, a sight pusher, and more. |
Biden to Turn Law-Abiding Gun Owners into Felons Overnight
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Last week, the Biden administration finalized a new rule restricting law-abiding gun owners’ use of pistol braces.
The rule requires Americans to register or surrender their pistol brace to the federal government.
The Biden administration claims these braces, often used by disabled veterans, turn pistols into short barreled rifles and therefore should be held to the same registration standards.
The reality is, this rule will turn law-abiding gun owners into felons overnight.
The penalties could be as bad as 10 years in jail and a fine of up to $250,000. |
Gun Laws Have Disproportionate Impact on Black Communities
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The Second Amendment guarantees our right to bear arms. And if you look at the lives that are taken by gun violence, it's a very minuscule percentage that are taken by these so-called weapons of war, which are not weapons of war. These are not weapons that the military uses. People actually use AR 15s for hunting. There's a lot of people who do. There's a lot of people who use it for home defense. And you have the right to have that. And to me, this whole assault weapon hysteria is just a precursor to putting restrictions on the more commonly used guns that are actually used in gun violence: handguns. There's no good reason to deprive responsible law-abiding citizens of the right to bear these arms.
Ed.: Also audio podcast. |
HI: Hawaiʻi Attorney General joins amicus brief supporting New York’s concealed-carry law
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Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez joined a coalition of 15 attorneys general supporting the constitutionality of New York’s concealed-carry laws by asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reverse a lower court decision that preliminarily enjoined certain aspects of New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act, also known as CCIA.
In an amicus brief filed in Antonyuk v. Nigrelli, the coalition argues that the CCIA’s provisions — which include new concealed-carry license requirements and restrictions on carrying firearms in certain sensitive places such as schools, public parks, and airports — are constitutional. |
FL: Florida Supreme Court rejects challenge to gun law
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In a case stemming from the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to a state law that threatens stiff penalties if local officials pass gun-related regulations.
The 5-1 ruling was a blow to 33 cities and counties and dozens of local officials who contended that penalties in the 2011 law were unconstitutional. It was a victory for state Republican leaders and Second Amendment advocates such as the National Rifle Association. |
WV: Resolution passed declaring Daviess County a Second Amendment ‘safe harbor’
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A resolution was passed by Fiscal Court on Thursday declaring Daviess County a Second Amendment “safe harbor.” The resolution in essence is a statement supporting gun rights as already provided by the U.S. and Kentucky constitutions; it is not an ordinance or law.
The resolution passed unanimously without comment from any Fiscal Court members. The resolution’s passage is the result of advocacy efforts by the Daviess County chapter of Kentucky United. The statewide group formed in 2020 in response to proposed gun control bills. County chapters began forming in hopes of getting similar resolutions passed. |
The 9 States That Have Banned Assault-Style Weapons
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Illinois just became the ninth state in the country to effectively ban the sale or possession of assault-style weapons. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the ban into law on Jan. 10, 2023, the first full day of his second term and one day after it won approval in the state legislature.
The new legislation came six months after a mass shooting in a Chicago suburb left seven dead. Pritzker says the new law will make Illinois a safer place, though gun rights advocates claim it is a violation of the Second Amendment and have promised a litany of legal challenges. |
MO: Missouri AG prioritizing Biden social media collusion lawsuit, defending Second Amendment law
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A lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s administration for alleged collusion with social media companies and defending Missouri’s Second Amendment Preservation Act are priorities for Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey.
Litigation in both cases began while Republican U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt was serving as Missouri’s attorney general. After the State of the State address on Wednesday, Bailey, who was appointed in November to replace Schmitt, said depositions in the social media collusion case are leading toward an injunction. |
IL: New Lawsuits Challenge Legality of Illinois ‘Assault Weapon’ Ban
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A federal lawsuit filed this week is one of several new complaints seeking to assert that a recently signed Illinois gun ban is illegal.
The Protect Illinois Communities Act, or House Bill 5471, runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment, the new 28-page suit charges.
“‘The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees ‘the right of the people to keep and bear Arms.’ Under this constitutional provision, Plaintiff Harrel, and all other law-abiding, responsible Illinoisans have a fundamental, constitutionally guaranteed right to keep and bear common firearms for defense of self and family and for other lawful pursuits,” it states. |
OH: Fatal shooting of Black teenager ruled as homicide after white gunman claimed self-defense
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An autopsy report has determined that the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old Black boy by a white man in Columbus, Ohio, was a homicide.
This information arrives months after the charges against the accused shooter, who claimed he shot the child in self-defense, were dropped.
The report from the Franklin County coroner’s office released on Tuesday revealed that Sinzae Reed suffered two gunshot wounds, one to the chest and one to the hand, on 12 October, 2022. Homicide is one of five determinations used to determine the manner of a person’s death, and a coroner’s determination of homicide does not necessarily mean a crime has been committed. |
WV: Proposed bill would allow concealed carry on some campuses
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Senate Bill 10 is known as the Campus Self-Defense Act. It was introduced by Upshur County delegate Carl Martin.
The bill would allow only people who have a state concealed-carry license to bring their weapons on campus at public universities, like WVU and Marshall.
Gordon Gee and Brad Smith, the presidents of those universities, are expressing their opposition to the bill.
They said in a letter to the West Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee, “We believe that our boards of governors are best suited to decide whether guns should be permitted on campus. We therefore do not support statewide campus carry.” |
VT: Jury finds Kevin Parker not guilty in homicide trial
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A jury found Kevin Parker not guilty of second-degree murder.
“It took six long years, but we always knew that he was not guilty and I’m so glad justice has been done,” said defense attorney Chris Montgomery.
After reaching the verdict Thursday, Judge Katherine Hayes thanked the jurors for their “extremely attentive, thoughtful approach to this case.”
The trial began last Wednesday after a delay of six years because of procedural issues and the COVID-19 pandemic, when jury trials were postponed for more than a year. A week after its start, the case went to the jury to deliberate. |
What Exactly Is "Manslaughter" in the Alec Baldwin Case?
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Alec Baldwin is expected to be charged for involuntary manslaughter for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins:
Baldwin has long maintained his innocence, saying in televised interviews that gun safety wasn't his responsibility and that he did not pull the trigger.
Reports prepared by FBI analysts in Virginia, however, cast doubt on that claim, saying a replica of a vintage Pietta Colt .45, "functioned normally when tested in the laboratory."
The FBI report also noted that, in order for the revolver to fire, the trigger would have been pulled. |
NV: Event featuring Kyle Rittenhouse on Las Vegas Strip canceled
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An event that was being promoted as a private reception with Kyle Rittenhouse at the Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip was canceled, according to hotel officials.
Flyers circulated on social media stating the event would take place in the Oak Room on Wednesday, January 18 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
"You guys aren't going to want to miss out on this one!" Rittenhouse told his Twitter followers.
A spokesperson for the Grand Canal Shoppes said tenants reached out to officials to announce that the event was canceled.
"We do not speak on behalf of our tenants, but want to emphasize this event did not align with our property’s core event guidelines," officials said in a statement. |
New For 2023: Liberty Ammunition OverWatch
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Liberty Ammunition has announced OverWatch, an all-new ammunition line for 2023 designed exclusively for defensive use, whether for law enforcement and government objectives or civilian self-protection use.
Speed is the exponential factor of the energy equation and, with that, Liberty Ammunition remains focused on providing hard-hitting defensive bullets that are, by design, intended to create maximum upset, thanks to open-cavity bullet and ultra-fast muzzle velocity. |
CT: Connecticut man files lawsuit to allow guns in state parks for protection
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A Connecticut man has filed a federal lawsuit to allow guns in state parks for protection.
On January 14, David Nastri of Cheshire filed a federal lawsuit against Katie Dykes, the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Nastri is challenging the constitutionality of Connecticut’s state regulation that bans carrying handguns in state parks for self-defense.
Connecticut law prohibits carrying guns, archery equipment, or other weapons in state parks and forests unless DEEP authorizes their carrying. Violation of this is punishable by a $35 fine. |
NY: Supreme Court rejects latest challenge to NY's gun laws
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The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up a lawsuit by New York gun dealers challenging the state's recently approved gun control measures.
The lawsuit filed by 10 gun shop owners alleges a series of firearm control measures approved by the state last year violate the Second Amendment by creating a "de facto ban" on carrying firearms in public, and preempted by federal law.
"The new laws treat state-licensed dealers in firearms as if they are a highly selective group inherently suspect of criminal activities," attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote in the 116-page complaint.
But on Wednesday, Justice Sonia Sotomayor rejected the plaintiff's motion for an injunction without comment, per the high court's practice. |
The NRA’s History of Success Continues
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The Second Amendment was ratified centuries ago in 1791 and for much of this time, it was understood as part of the very fabric that makes up this very country; however, this freedom came under attack and, for a period, seemed as if it may cease to exist.
The Second Amendment, which has colloquially been coined as the one amendment that protects all of the others, was ignored in the courts, infringed upon by politicians and the press turned the other way. It seemed, almost incomprehensibly, that this freedom would fade entirely, but then something else happened. |
IL: Most Illinois Sheriffs Say They Won’t Enforce New Assault-Weapons Ban
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Almost every sheriff in Illinois has vowed not to enforce a new ban on military-style semiautomatic weapons, posing a challenge to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who championed the law in the wake of a July 4 mass shooting by a gunman wielding an AR-15-style rifle.
The protest appears to be more widespread than moves by sheriffs in several other states that have passed restrictive new gun laws in recent years. The Illinois sheriffs assert their objections to the law on Second Amendment grounds but say their refusal to enforce the measure applies only to cases where individuals aren’t accused of another crime. |
WY: University of Wyoming launches nonpartisan Firearms Research Center
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As the debate over the relationship Americans have with guns has intensified, a University of Wyoming law professor is setting out to change how firearms are discussed and understood.
George A. Mocsary is the co-founder and director of the Firearms Research Center, which officially launched in the University of Wyoming College of Law this week; his co-founder Ashley Hlebinsky is the former curator of the Cody Firearms Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center, which is one of the largest firearms museums in the country.
Mocsary’s father was a political prisoner in Slovakia for 16 years during the Communist regime. He was eventually released in the 60s because “it was easier to release them than execute them all,” he said. |
WV: Senate Judiciary Advances Campus Carry Bill
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The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a bill to the Senate floor Thursday that would allow the concealed carry of handguns on the state’s university campuses.
Senate Bill 10 would allow holders of concealed handgun permits to carry concealed on all of the state’s higher education campuses, regardless of existing restrictions. The presidents of the state’s leading public universities have said they oppose the measure.
Eleven other states currently require colleges and universities to allow concealed carry including Arkansas, Kansas and Georgia which all passed similar legislation in 2017. |
TX: NSSF Hails Texas Attorney General’s Stand Against ‘Woke’ Banking Discrimination
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NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, praised Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton’s determination that Citigroup’s antigun discriminatory policies of refusing to conduct business with Constitutionally-protected firearm businesses violates state law.
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 19, the Firearm Industry Nondiscrimination (FIND) Act, into law in 2021, which requires corporations competing for municipal contracts in The Lone Star State to certify they do not hold discriminatory policies against lawful firearm businesses. Citigroup submitted a certification letter attesting they do not hold such policies. |
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