Legislation to treat concealed carry permits like drivers’ licenses nationwide is gaining steam in Congress while opponents dig in.

Introduced by U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-NC, on the first day of session in the new House, the bill now enjoys the support of Hudson and 199 co-sponsors from 42 states. The bill is largely Republican, with three Democrats crossing the aisle, and is currently one of the top 10 most-viewed bills in Congress.

“Your driver’s license works in every state, so why doesn’t your concealed carry permit?” says a backgrounder on the bill circulated by Hudson’s office. “Just like your privilege to drive, your Second Amendment right does not disappear when you cross state lines. However, conflicting state codes have created a confusing patchwork of reciprocity agreements for concealed carry permit holders.”

Hudson’s bill would amend federal law to allow those eligible to possess a firearm to have a concealed handgun in any state that allows individuals to carry a pistol or revolver. Those who do so would have to carry a valid permit with them as well as a photo ID. The bill also applies to nonresident permit holders.

A companion measure, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s S.446, has 37 co-sponsors, all Republican.

While Second Amendment groups large and small support the legislation, gun control advocates have drawn a line in the sand to stop the bill, with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown organization pledging as much as $25 million to derail the campaign.

Astronaut and Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, co-founder with his wife– former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — of Americans for Responsible Solutions, has often argued that national reciprocity violates states’ rights and constitutes a public safety threat, going on to describe it simply as “bad legislation” when speaking recently in the aftermath of an attack on House Republicans at a charity baseball practice.

The measure has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, but is not scheduled for a hearing.

 

A former gang boss and convicted felon in Chicago pleaded guilty Thursday to federal weapons charges after he fired a gun at a suburban shooting range and bragged about it on social media.

Labar Spann, 38, fired a Glock 19 at Midwest Sporting Goods in Lyons, Illinois in September 2014, according to a press release from the U.S. attorney’s office.

Spann, also known as “Bro Man,” used to lead the Four Corner Hustlers on Chicago’s West Side. Prosecutors say he went to the gun range in 2014 with two other people and posted a number of photos and videos to social media.

“(Spann) posted one photograph of a shooting target depicting the silhouette of a person with holes in the head and chest,” his plea agreement says. “(He) posted a caption related to the photograph that read: ‘y’all know I had to go first just to show my bitch how this shit work lmao I do this shis.’”

Spann, who uses a wheelchair after being wounded in a shooting, has felony convictions dating back to 1996. In 2003, he was acquitted of the murder of a Latin King gang member.

He pleaded guilty to one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon, three counts of obstruction of justice, and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, “namely, a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base.”

As a felon, Spann was not lawfully allowed to possess a firearm.

The obstruction charges stem from Spann’s efforts to impede witness testimony. Initially, a witness told law enforcement that Spann had handled and fired the gun at the range. Later, the witness, Ladonah Hampton, said she didn’t recall seeing Spann firing the gun, according to court records.

He’s scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 5, and faces up to 70 years in prison.

Democrats on Capitol Hill introduced legislation Thursday backed by gun control groups to strip Second Amendment rights from those who commit misdemeanor hate crimes.

The measure, termed the Disarm Hate Act, comes near the anniversaries of the mass killings at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando and Emanuel AME Church in Charleston and would ban the sale of firearms to those convicted of vandalizing a place of worship or assaulting someone based on their perceived race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

“If you commit a hate crime, you shouldn’t be allowed to own a gun. Period,” said sponsor, U.S. Rep. David N. Cicilline, a Rhode Island Democrat. “There is a clear link between these horrific hate crimes and gun violence. We know that those who commit hate crimes become increasingly violent as time goes on. No American family should have to suffer because of this loophole.”

Introduced Thursday as H.R.2841 in the House with 18 co-sponsors, and S.1324 in the Senate by Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Casey with 10 co-sponsors, the legislation would make convictions of misdemeanor hate crimes under state, federal or tribal laws sufficient to deem an individual a prohibited firearms possessor in the eyes of the federal government. The bill goes on to define such an offense as any that came about because of a victim’s race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

The proposal has the early support of several anti-gun groups including Sandy Hook Promise, the Brady Campaign, Everytown and Moms Demand Action.

“A year ago, a man filled with hate was able to get his hands on a gun and unleash tragic violence in Orlando’s Pulse nightclub,” said Brady President Dan Gross. “We have to do better than the world that made it so easy for him, and so many other dangerous people, to get guns.

Casey’s measure has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. In the House, Cicilline’s bill, a carbon copy of one he introduced without success last session, has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. None have a Republican co-sponsor, which does not bode well in chambers under GOP control.

Police are investigating the mysterious death of a federal prosecutor whose body was found washed up on a beach in Hollywood, Fla., Wednesday, May 24.

Police identified the deceased man as 37-year-old Beranton Whisenant Jr., who authorities said might have suffered a head wound caused by a gun shot or other type of trauma, the Miami Herald reported. His death is being investigated as a crime.

“The investigation is still very preliminary,” Hollywood Police Department spokeswoman Miranda Grossman told reporters, adding that detectives and Broward County’s medical examiner’s office are “still looking at it.”

Whisenant, a graduate of the University of Florida’s law school, joined the major crimes unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami earlier this year, according to the newspaper. Court documents showed that he’d been working on visa and passport fraud cases before his death and taught a paralegal program at the University of Miami.

Colleagues, family and friends were shocked to hear of the prosecutor’s passing.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office family was deeply saddened and shocked to learn of Beranton’s death,” Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin Greenberg said. “He was a great lawyer and wonderful colleague, and we will miss him deeply. Our thoughts are with Beranton’s family and friends.”

Lawyer Michael Feiler, a friend of Whisenant, described his pal as the “epitome of a gentleman and possessed an exceptional legal mind.” Feiler added that the husband and father of two was motivated by public service and planned to become a judge someday.

The exact cause of the prosecutor’s death is still being investigated.

 

A man from Tampa Bay, Florida, has been charged with possessing an unregistered destructive device and unlawful storage of explosive material.

Tampa Bay police found the explosive devices in the Tampa Palms apartment of 21-year-old Brandon Russell, a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi and Florida National Guardsman, after responding on May 19 to reports of a double homicide.

According to a Justice Department news release, the two deceased men, Russell, and the alleged shooter, 18-year-old Devon Arthurs, had been living together at the apartment.

Previously on May 19, police had arrested Arthurs at nearby Green Planet Smoke Shop after receiving a call regarding a male who was possibly armed at the shop, according to a Tamp Bay Police press release.

Officers then interrogated Arthurs, who admitted to killing two of his roommates. Arthurs said he and his roommates had previously shared neo-Nazi beliefs and that Russell often threatened to kill people and bomb infrastructure in online neo-Nazi chat rooms.

The Tampa Bay Times reported Arthurs told police he had converted to Islam and killed his two roommates, identified as 22-year-old Jeremy Himmelman and 18-year-old Andrew Oneschuk, for not respecting his faith.

While searching the apartment, police found a cooler containing the explosive HMTD (hexamethylene triperoxide diamine), as well as a number of explosive precursors nearby, including potassium chlorate, potassium nitrate, nitro methane and more than a pound of ammonium nitrate.

Russell also possessed Nazi and white supremacist propaganda in his bedroom, including a framed photograph of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Police arrested Russell in Key Largo on May 21. During questioning, Russell admitted to manufacturing the HMTD in his garage and to being a national socialist and member of the white supremacy group Atomwaffen, which is German for “atomic weapons.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating the case, with assistance from the Tampa Police Department and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

 

 

 

 

 

Police are investigating a Detroit-area firearms instructor who accidentally shot and injured a student Saturday.

CBS Detroit reported that Livonia Police Capt. Robert Nencarini indicated the accidental shooting occurred while the 44-year-old Farmington Hills man was teaching a concealed pistol license class at the Firearms Exchange in Livonia, Michigan.

“I’m not sure what he was demonstrating,” Nencarini said, “but he pulled his handgun out of his holster and aimed it at a door and fired a round, which ended up going through the door.”

A 39-year-old Detroit man was hit while taking a class next door and suffered gunshot wounds to both of his thighs.

Nencarini said the instructor was in the middle of demonstrating to his students what not to do when he fired his handgun.

“I’m assuming he thought his gun was unloaded,” Nencarini said. “But you can never be too safe and you have to check and recheck before you squeeze the trigger on a gun. … They sure got an eye-opener in that class.”

The police captain said prosecutors are considering a warrant request and that negligent discharge of a firearm would be the most likely charge if any were pressed.

The instructor’s name has not yet been released