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AK: From boulders to biathlon: How Anchorage’s Haley Finch became a junior champion in just 4 years
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Four years ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic caused the sports world to come to a halt, Anchorage’s Haley Finch was a competitive rock climber.
“Everything shut down, and I was looking for something to do outside,” she said. “I was actually going to (try) cross-country running, but to do that, I had to join a ski program.”
Finch, a 17-year-old junior at Service High, had never skied before. And it was the middle of the summer.
But she bought a pair of roller skis, learned the basics and was encouraged to participate in a biathlon camp. The sport quickly turned into an unexpected new passion, and Finch has developed into one of the top junior biathletes in the nation.
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PA: PA Supreme Court sides with Monroe County township over its ban of a backyard gun range
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A township ordinance that limits firing guns to indoor and outdoor shooting ranges and zoning that significantly restricts where the ranges can be located do not violate the Second Amendment, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The man who challenged Stroud Township’s gun laws, Jonathan Barris, began to draw complaints about a year after he moved to the home in the Poconos in 2009 and installed a shooting range on his 5-acre property. An officer responding to a complaint said the range had a safe backstop but the targets were in line with a large box store in a nearby shopping center. |
ME: Maine would become 27th state to ban paramilitary training under bill passed by House
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Maine would become the 27th state to ban paramilitary training, under a bill the House narrowly passed Wednesday.
The proposal, designed to block groups hoping to create civil unrest, passed 66-60. It was sponsored by Democratic Rep. Laurie Osher of Orono.
The measure comes in the wake of a rise in public demonstrations by white nationalist groups in the state. Supporters, including Osher, have said it would prevent groups from organizing for the purpose of terrorizing marginalized groups. |
CA: Judge blocks California from suing makers of 'abnormally dangerous' guns
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A federal judge on Wednesday blocked California's attorney general from enforcing a new law that allows residents, the state and local governments to sue members of the firearms industry that manufacture or sell "abnormally dangerous" guns.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Schopler in San Diego sided with a firearms industry trade association in finding that part of a gun control measure signed into law by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022 was likely unconstitutional.
It is the first ruling in a case challenging the constitutionality of California's Firearm Industry Responsibility Act. |
NRA opposes bipartisan Senate gun safety bill
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The National Rifle Association (NRA) has announced that it will not support the Senate gun safety legislation, saying the new bill will open the door to “unnecessary burdens on the exercise of Second Amendment freedom.”
The association in a statement on Tuesday said it will support proposed legislation that will improve school safety, promote mental health services and help reduce violence, but will not support legislation that it claims attacks the second amendment.
“We will oppose this gun control legislation because it falls short at every level,” the association said in its statement. |
FL: These Naples gun shops sold the guns used in crimes, according to new federal list
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The federal government is doing its best, despite legislative roadblocks, to track guns used in crimes back to where they came from. And of the newly revealed list of gun and pawn shops that have sold the most crime guns, three of the more than 100 on the list in Florida are located in Naples.
Since 2003, the list of which gun stores sell the most crime guns has been kept secret, but USA TODAY, the parent company of the Naples Daily News, filed a Freedom of Information Act request to see one from an obscure federal program called Demand 2, a report of firearms transactions. |
TN: See which Tennessee gun stores made ATF list of places that sold most firearms used in crime
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The federal government is keeping an eye on which gun stores are selling the most firearms used in crimes. And they have identified 47 in Tennessee.
More than 1,300 gun stores across the nation are on the watch list which has been kept secret for more than two decades, since 2003 under the George W. Bush administration. A Freedom of Information Act request by USA TODAY brought the information to light.
The information gained in the request showed that the vast majority of guns used in crimes are sold by a small fraction of America’s gun shops, including these 47 spread across Tennessee. |
NM: Jury found Tanner Shoemaker not guilty
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A Lea County jury returned a verdict of not guilty for a Hobbs man charged with voluntary manslaughter, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence.
Fifth Judicial District Attorney Diana Luce said in an email to the News-Sun that on Feb. 12, a jury found Tanner Shoemaker not guilty of all charges due to self-defense.
The trial was held in the Fifth Judicial District Court in Lovington and was presided over by District Judge Efren Cortez.
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Supreme Court Must Slap Down Fourth Circuit’s Lawless Actions
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Second Amendment Plaintiffs have been forced to take drastic measures following a series of highly questionable actions by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit located in Richmond, Virginia. In Bianchi v. Brown, Plaintiffs (who include the Firearms Policy Coalition and the Second Amendment Foundation) are seeking a writ of certiorari before judgment from the United States Supreme Court.
The case involves a ban on popular semi-automatic rifles (that a handful of states erroneously call “assault weapons”).
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28 States Sign Letter to Biden Administration: Do Not Restrict Ammo Sales to Public
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On January 24, 2024, 28 states responded to the NY AG letter with their own. In summation, their response was as follows. Guns and ammunition are protected under the Second Amendment. An armed society is a positive good. Americans who exercise their Second Amendment rights aid in the common defense. When Lake City sells ammunition to Americans, it is a good thing that enhances the military capabilities of the United States. Here is the first paragraph of the response letter from law.alaska.gov, sent to President Biden and Director Feldman: |
NY: GOA Ask SCOTUS to Hear Case Against New York’s Concealed Carry Law
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Gun Owners of America (GOA) has petitioned for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court to review the decision of the United States Second Circuit of Appeals in a decision that allowed many provisions of the New York State’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA) to stand.
The CCIA was passed shortly after the landmark SCOTUS decision in New York Rifle Pistol Association v. Bruen. The Bruen opinion knocked down New York State’s “may issue” concealed carry law. The decision declared that the Second Amendment covers the right to bear arms outside the home. It also stated that any law regulating firearms must be consistent with the original text, tradition, and history of the Second Amendment. |
MN: Enough is enough, put down the guns
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Enough is enough. We need to put down the guns.
Two police officers and an EMT gunned down while on duty in Burnsville over the weekend was the final straw. We need to put down the guns.
My heart breaks for the families involved in this latest tragedy — and while I offer my thoughts and my deepest prayers, we need to unite and stop the violence that the proliferation of weapons has caused.
Guns do not belong in the hands of party revelers celebrating a Super Bowl win, surrounded by scores of happy fans and children. |
MD: Ghost gun parts maker to stop selling in Maryland, pay $1.2 million
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The largest maker of “ghost gun” parts — the gun frames and receivers that have no serial numbers and cannot be traced when used in a crime — agreed Wednesday to stop selling their products in Maryland and pay $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit filed in 2022 by the city of Baltimore. Baltimore joins D.C. and Los Angeles as cities which have successfully used lawsuits to keep ghost guns off their streets, and Wednesday’s settlement also requires the manufacturer to file regular reports documenting its compliance. |
MI: Michigan bill would ban raffling guns on school grounds
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Michigan lawmakers continue seeking to reduce gun violence after approving legislation in 2023 that established a red flag law, requirements for gun storage and universal background checks on firearm purchases.
A bill introduced to the Michigan Legislature Tuesday aims to ban raffles from awarding firearms as prizes on school grounds.
State Rep. Julie Rogers, D — Kalamazoo, introduced House Bill 5453, which was referred to the House’s Regulatory Reform Committee. |
MD: Polymer80 to pay Baltimore City $1.2 million in damages over ghost guns
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Baltimore City on Wednesday agreed to settle a lawsuit against national gun manufacturer Polymer80, Inc.
The City sued back in June 2022, accusing Polymer of "flooding" the streets with untraceable and unserialized firearms, creating a "public health crisis."
As part of the reported settlement, Polymer will pay the City $1.2 million in damages. Other conditions prevent the company from all future advertising, customer support and in-state gun sales, including online and retail. |
FL: Proposed gun laws move forward in Florida House; Some would roll back post-Parkland changes
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The Florida House of Representatives is getting ready to vote on several proposals to make buying a gun in the Sunshine State easier. A House committee advanced proposals that would roll back laws passed after the deadly shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.
Now, anyone wanting to buy a gun in Florida has to wait a minimum of three days for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to run a background check. A bill requiring those checks to be done in no more than three days passed the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Florida Gun Owners director Luis Valdes said this will put Florida in line with the federal government. |
CA: Court Rejects California's Request to Rehear Case on Gun Ad Bans
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The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which almost always sides with California state officials on matters of gun control, took the rare option this week to rebuff Sacramento's request to void a victory earned by pro-gun advocates.
The notoriously left-leaning circuit on Tuesday denied a request by the California Attorney General's office to vacate the decision in Junior Sports vs. Bonta and rehear the case en banc in front of the full circuit. A three-judge panel of court last September held that the new California law that banned the "marketing of firearms and related products" by the firearm industry to minors in the state, ... |
In guns we trust?
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There’s been another shooting. It doesn’t matter what day this column publishes, because there will likely be another one between the time of writing and when it prints.
Are we doing anything except wringing our hands? So many ask, “what can we do?” And it bothers me a great deal that we can’t seem to look the obvious in the face.
It’s the guns.
Acts of violence are not limited to guns. I don’t believe anyone is arguing that fact. But we certainly see more mass shootings than we see anything else. |
FL: Senate OKs shooting bears in self-defense
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A controversial effort to strengthen self-defense arguments for people who shoot bears on their property is headed back to the Florida House.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 24-12 on Wednesday to approve a bill (HB 87) that critics contend will result in increased deaths of the once-threatened species. |
FL: FL Senate votes to allow people to kill Florida black bears in self-defense anywhere in the state
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The Florida Senate has approved a controversial measure to allow people to kill black bears in self-defense anywhere in the state. Democrats opposed the bill.
The proposal, called the “Self-Defense Act” (SB 632), says that an individual would not be subject to any criminal or civil penalty for shooting and killing a bear if the person believed that they were in an “imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to himself or to others.”
It would also be legal as long as the person did not lure the bear with food or “attractants for an illegal purpose,” such as training dogs to hunt bears. |
MN: Minnesota man who shot 2 officers and a firefighter wasn't allowed to have guns
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A man who killed himself after fatally shooting two police officers and a firefighter in a wooded Minneapolis-area neighborhood wasn't legally allowed to have guns after a previous assault conviction and was entangled in a yearslong dispute over the custody and financial support of his three oldest children, court records show.
Authorities on Monday identified Shannon Gooden, 38, as the man who opened fire on police in the affluent suburb of Burnsville after they responded to a domestic disturbance call early Sunday. The unidentified caller reported that Gooden had barricaded himself in his home with family members, including seven children aged 2 to 15. |
MN: Minnesota bills requiring safe storage, mandatory reporting of stolen guns get a second look at the capitol this year
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Gun safety advocates are urging the state legislature to pass two measures this year that would implement new rules for firearms owners on how to secure their guns and what to do if they go missing.
Protect Minnesota, a local group working to end gun violence, hosted a news conference Wednesday to outline its legislative agenda, which includes a safe storage law and a mandatory reporting requirement for lost or stolen guns. The two proposals were tabled last year as the focus became expanding background checks and implementing a "red flag" law—both of which cleared the DFL-controlled capitol after a years-long effort. |
CA: San Diego Judge Blocks California From Suing Makers of ‘Abnormally Dangerous’ Guns
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Mark A. Taff
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A federal judge on Wednesday blocked California’s attorney general from enforcing a new law that allows residents, the state and local governments to sue members of the firearms industry that manufacture or sell “abnormally dangerous” guns.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Schopler in San Diego sided with a firearms industry trade association in finding that part of a gun control measure signed into law by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022 was likely unconstitutional.
That law, the Firearm Industry Responsibility Act, was enacted shortly after the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in June 2022 concerning the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment that significantly expanded gun rights. |
MO: Should Kansas City have more say over guns? Democrats will push plan after mass shooting
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Missouri House Democrats on Monday outlined a proposed state constitutional amendment that would allow Kansas City and other local governments to set stricter limits on guns following the mass shooting last week at the Chiefs Super Bowl victory rally.
House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a Springfield Democrat running for governor, said Democrats plan to introduce measures on Tuesday that would restore the power of counties and cities such as Kansas City and St. Louis to set rules limiting guns. |
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| QUOTES
TO REMEMBER |
| If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed in my country I never would lay down my arms, never! never! never! — William Pitt, Earl of Chatham (1708-1778) Speech, Nov. 18, 1777 |
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