Politic

Judiciary & Public Safety Public Hearing

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Judiciary & Public Safety Public Hearing

David Loriston

David is our representative  in the DMV to advocate and advance gun rights in the area

David will be attending the judiciary council meeting Thursday on our behalf to discuss how DC has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation but yet leads the nation in the top 10 statistics for violent crime , come out and support make sure your voices are heard

Thursday, March 22, 2018

10:30AM

Room 500

The Committee on the Judiciary & Public Safety will hold a Public Hearing on the following Legislation:

  • B22-0193, THE “TEMPORARY PROTECTION ORDER FIREARM RELINQUISHMENT AMENDMENT ACT OF 2017”
  • B22-0400, THE “EXTREME RISK CIVIL PROTECTION ORDER AMENDMENT ACT OF 2017”
  • B22-0588, THE “POSSESSION OF FIREARM AND AMMUNITION PENALTIES AMENDMENT ACT OF 2017” AND
  • PR22-0552, THE “SENSE OF THE COUNCIL IN OPPOSITION TO CONCEALED CARRY RECIPROCITY RESOLUTION OF 2017”
  • PR22-0796, the “Sense of the Council Virginia and Maryland Assault Rifle Prohibition Resolution of 2018”

The Committee invites the public to testify or to submit written testimony. Anyone wishing to testify at the hearing should contact the Committee via email at judiciary@dccouncil.us or at (202) 727-8078, and provide their name, telephone number, organizational affiliation, and title (if any), by close of business Monday, March 19, 2018. Representatives of organizations will be allowed a maximum of five minutes for oral testimony, and individuals will be allowed a maximum of three minutes. Witnesses are encouraged to bring twenty double-sided copies of their written testimony and, if possible, also submit a copy of their testimony electronically in advance to judiciary@dccouncil.us.

Maryland: Several Gun Control Bills Pending

gunlaws | House | News | Politic

 

 

 

 

 

Maryland: Contact your Senators in Opposition to Anti-Gun Bills

 

Yesterday, the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee heard House Bill 819, the House cross-file of Senate Bill 741.  HB 819 seeks to remove citizen oversight regarding the appeals process for Maryland wear and carry permits.  Current law allows individuals who are denied a wear and carry permit to file an appeal to the Handgun Permit Review Board, a group of five members of the public appointed by the Governor.  HB 819 would dissolve this board, thus removing all public oversight, and make it so that all appeals are to be filed through an administrative office, a process potentially designed to sustain permit denials.  Please contact members of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and strongly urge them to OPPOSE House Bill 819.

Currently pending action in the Senate is House Bill 1302 .  Please contact your state Senator and strongly urge them to OPPOSE HB 1302

House Bill 1302 would create an “Extreme Risk Prevention Order” that would allow almost anyone to petition the court for an ex parte order to remove someone’s Second Amendment rights simply because they might consider the person a threat because the individual possesses a firearm.  However This legislation lacks basic due process protections and will lead to abuse.

Again, please contact your state Senator and strongly urge them to OPPOSE Senate Bill 707 and House Bill 1302.

Take Action Click the links below to contact your Senator!

https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/content/contact-senator

/https://www.cardin.senate.gov/

Let them know you look forward to there response and will consider your votes on these important issues the next time you vote at the polls. Thank you.

 

Wyoming: Pro-Gun Legislation Awaits Governor Mead’s Signature

gunlaws | gunnews | House | News | Politic

 

Under House Bill 168, a law-abiding citizen who has not initiated the conflict would have no duty to retreat from any place where the person is lawfully present before using force to defend themselves. The proposed legislation would also clarify that a person who faces a civil lawsuit because of the allegedly improper use of defensive force may apply to a court for a determination of the use of force issue prior to trial. Should a court find that a person’s use of force is legally justified, a court would be authorized to award reasonable attorney’s fees, court costs, and other compensation incurred by the person in defense of any related civil lawsuit. Other changes include definitions, including what constitutes a reasonable use of defensive force.

Wyoming currently has no statutory provision excluding a mandatory duty to retreat for those who are assaulted, without fault, in a place other than the home. These bills recognize the realities of persons forced into situations where defensive force is necessary, and provide additional protection from civil liability and lawsuits arising from the use of defensive force. Victims of crime who resort to defensive force to protect themselves, their families or others shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not they should have pursued other reasonable alternatives, as determined after the fact, or face potentially ruinous civil lawsuits if the use of defensive force was consistent with legal requirements.

Again, please contact Governor Matt Mead and urge him to protect the right to self-defense of law-abiding Wyoming gun owners by signing House Bill 168 into law.​

https://blackgunownersassociation.org/contribute/

How To Effectively Communicating With Your Lawmakers

gunlaws | House | Politic

As a voting constituent, you have a tremendous ability to influence the outcome of legislation. Ask any elected official which individual`s concerns are most important to him, and chances are they all will deliver the same response: his constituents`. All politicians are keenly aware of the fact that it is their constituents who hold the keys to their political futures. Therefore, constituent concerns are of the utmost concern to politicians. The best way you can affect the outcome of legislation is to directly communicate your views to your lawmakers.

REMEMBER: Your lawmakers work for you!

 

WRITING EFFECTIVE LETTERS

One of the most often-utilized methods of communicating with your lawmakers is by writing a letter. As a voting constituent, a letter is an easy way for you to let lawmakers know your views on specific issues, encourage them to vote your way, and let them know you`ll watch how they vote on particular issues and keep those votes in mind on Election Day!

Personally-written letters allow you an opportunity to present your position to your lawmakers without interruption. With that in mind, you`ll want to keep the letter short and to the point, with just enough facts and figures to further enhance your statement. Never lie or make a statement you can`t back up with evidence. Always let your lawmakers know how a specific issue will affect you personally, and make sure he understands that you live and vote in his district or state, and therefore, what affects you may affect your fellow constituents as well. If you own or operate a business, use your company letterhead. If you`re a member of the PTA or other civic group, don`t hesitate to mention that. Taking these steps will enhance your message and ensure your concerns are taken seriously.

  1. How To Address Your Representative. Address your letters to “The Honorable _______,” and begin the letter “Dear Senator” or “Dear Representative.” If writing to a Committee Chairman or Speaker of the House, address him as “Mr. Chairman” or “Mr. Speaker.” (You may obtain your lawmakers` addresses by clicking here https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm
  2. Be Brief, Specific, & Always Be Courteous! Letters shouldn`t exceed one page, and the purpose of your letter should be stated clearly in the first paragraph. If your letter pertains to specific legislation, identify it accordingly (use the bill number, if known, and the title of the bill and/or a brief description). To make sure your letter is as productive as possible, always be courteous, even if you disagree with your representative`s position! Never threaten or use abusive language. This only hurts your cause.
  3. Ask Them To Write Back. Always ask for a response to your letter. You`ll want a hard copy of your legislator`s positions on these issues for future reference and to document their positions.

 

E-MAIL

E-mail is becoming a more popular way to communicate your views to your lawmaker. While not every lawmaker can receive e-mail messages, most are able  and more and more elected officials are utilizing it. Tips for transmitting an effective e-mail message are similar to writing a letter, though this format is usually less formal and allows you to be a bit more brief in your message. A major advantage of e-mail versus a personally-written letter is the speed in which your message will be received. Be prepared for some lawmakers to “respond” to your e-mail message with a canned reflector message that may not specifically address your concern. Whether you receive a specific response to your message or not, be sure that you request your lawmaker`s position in writing so you can document his position easily.

 

ATTEND TOWN HALL MEETINGS

Lawmakers often host town hall meetings in their districts — especially during congressional district work breaks — to tout their achievements and solicit feedback from their constituents. Such meetings are a prime opportunity for you to ask your lawmakers to state their position on firearm-related issues for the record, in an open and public forum. The following guidelines should be helpful when planning to attend town hall meetings.

  1. Get On The Invite List And Attend The Meetings. Write your lawmakers and ask to be put on the invitation list for the lawmaker`s town hall meetings. If they do not have such a list, ask for information on the next meeting. When you receive word that a town hall meeting is scheduled, be sure to make plans to attend, and share this information
  2. Prepare Questions Ahead Of Time. Have specific questions in mind, such as asking for your legislator`s position on a specific bill or issue, e.g., Right-To-Carry, a ban on gun shows, lawsuit preemption, H.R. 123, or S. 456.
  3. Get An Answer. Ask your question clearly, and as simply as possible, e.g., “Do you support Right To Carry/ Do you oppose gun bans?” If your legislator doesn`t answer your question sufficiently, politely repeat the question.
  4. Follow-Up With a Letter. Whether you had the opportunity to ask your question or not, follow up with a letter to your lawmaker. Let him know you attended his last town meeting. Ask your question in your letter if you didn`t have an opportunity to do so at the meeting, or address his response to any firearm-related questions other constituents may have asked. This letter will ensure your lawmakers take you and your views seriously, and will allow you to obtain a written response addressing your concerns

 

20-year-old sues Dick’s Sporting Goods, Walmart over new gun policies

gunlaws | gunnews | News | Politic

 

 

 

A 20-year-old Oregon man has accused Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods of age-discrimination for refusing to sell him a rifle.

Tyler Watson filed Oregon county court lawsuits against the retailers on Monday, six days after they announced they would not sell guns to buyers under 21.The companies added the higher age restriction after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

Oregon law allows state residents to buy shotguns or rifles as of age 18. Federal law also allows people 18 and older to buy rifles or shotguns from licensed dealers.

Watson’s lawsuits may be the first of their kind in the U.S., his attorney, Max Whittington, told The Oregonian/Oregon Live, media outlets that first reported the cases.

NRA files Suit over Florida gun control Bill Signed by Gov Rick Scott

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The National Rifle Association Filed a claim over firearm control enactment by Florida Gov. Rick Scott, saying it disregards the Second Amendment by raising the age to purchase firearms from 18 to 21.

The claim came hours after Gov. Scott, a Republican, signed the bill into law Friday evening.

Legal counselors for the NRA need a government judge to obstruct the new age confinement from taking effect.

The new enactment raises the base age to purchase rifles from 18 to 21, expands a three-day wait period for handgun buys to incorporate long weapons and bans bump stocks that enable firearms to emulate fully automatic fire. It likewise makes a supposed “watchman” program that empowers educators and other school representatives to carry handguns.

The new measures come in the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting frenzy at Marjory Stone man Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that slaughtered 17 individuals.

Florida Law Makers Approve Bill Allowing Teachers To Carry Guns…

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Florida lawmakers shot down an amendment on Monday that would have banned semi-automatic “assault” weapons like the AR-15 used in the Parkland school massacre.

They did, however, agree to raise the legal age for purchasing a firearm to 21 — and approved legislation that would give teachers the right to carry guns in school, NBC-2 reports.

The amendments were introduced as part of a packaged set of bills being offered up following Nikolas Cruz’ alleged shooting spree at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Florida’s Senate Rules Committee spent more than two hours debating the gun-control issues before eventually casting their votes, according to NBC.

Senators also agreed to confiscate guns from people with mental health issues, in addition to raising the legal buying age and giving teachers the right to carry.

A similar packaged set of reforms is scheduled to be taken up by the House Rules Committee on Tuesday.

The meetings come as more and more people continue to show their support for stricter gun-control laws, many of whom own weapons themselves.

Hundreds of activists and students turned out in Tallahassee last week — including survivors of the Parkland massacre — to call on lawmakers to act.

Many gathered at the Capitol on Monday to show their support for the assault weapons amendment, which was rejected by a 7-6 vote.

“Shame, shame, shame!” some of the activists shouted, according to News 13.

The fact that teachers could soon be allowed to carry firearms inside schools wasn’t sitting well with gun-control supporters, either.

“It bothers me to think as a father of two young boys to tell them to not be aggressive to your teacher,” said Sen. Oscar Branynon (D-Miami Gardens).

The lawmaker told the Sun Sentinel that he and other black fathers across Florida will now have to include teachers when talking to their children about how to act around armed authority figures.

“Please don’t make it dangerous for children who look like my children to go to school,” he said.

The Senate’s proposed legislation is slated to go through its second and final committee on Tuesday before being voted on later in the week.

If passed, the bills will have to be signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott.

DOJ awards 9 million 4 community policing active shooter training

House | News | Politic | Training

 

 

The Department of Justice on Monday announced $9 million in funding for community policing efforts and active shooter training.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the funding at the the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Philadelphia, according to a news release.

More than a third of the money, about $3.6 million, will go towards the Community Policing Development Program. The money will fund training and technical assistance and will help develop new community policing strategies.

The funds will go to local police departments, schools and other community groups and non-profits focused on training. Organizations in ten states and the District of Columbia are getting the money.

“Community policing builds trust and mutual respect between communities and law enforcement, and that helps us reduce crime,” Sessions said. “Over the last 23 years, the Department of Justice has invested more than $14 billion in community policing—and I have no doubt that it has saved lives across America.”

Additionally, the Community Oriented Policing arm of the DOJ is awarding $5,392,529 to the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center at Texas State University. The grant has been awarded through the Preparing for Active Shooter Situations Training Program.

The training is “designed to increase public safety by providing funds for scenario-based training that prepares officers and other first responders to safely and effectively handle active-shooter and other violent threats,” according to a fact sheet on the COPS website.

The training developed with those funds will be used to train law enforcement and first responders nationally. Training via e-learning modules could be one way the skills are taught.

“Under President Trump’s strong leadership, this Department of Justice will continue to provide law enforcement officers with the resources and tools they need to make this country safe,” said Sessions.

Gun Debate: Should We Permanently Ban Airsoft Guns Too?

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10/22/17 | by Elizabeth

 

If you follow the news, you’ll notice that right after the Las Vegas mass shooting event the entire focus is set on gun control laws. It’s like our lawmakers don’t have anything else to do besides working on a law that will forever ban anything resembling a gun from American soil!

However, because the citizens understand the danger that’s rising right now, we are stuck in an endless debate and there is a constant verbal fight between two factions: those who want guns to be banned and those who don’t.

And yes, while I agree that not everyone should be allowed to carry a gun, I can’t fully agree with gun banning from our country. After all, America’s history is based on the use of guns. Even more, some of the best gunsmiths in the world were born and raised on American soil. And, the Constitution gives us the freedom to own guns for our own protection and for the protection of our ways of life.

However, besides the quarrel between these two factions, another current is on the rise. This one features a plethora of radical ideas in regards to weapons, and one of the most disturbing thoughts is the ban on air soft guns. I personally find this to be an overreaction to our gun violence problem, but in the interest of debate, let’s take a look and check their arguments.

#1: Air soft Guns are very realistic

This is a valid argument and, if you take a look at goog gun, you’ll see why. Today’s air soft weapons are far away from children’s toys we imagine. They come with metallic bodies, full-length barrels, and lots of power. Producers try to create extremely realistic replicas of the real guns and the result can be seen in air soft guns that, from a distance, look like real guns (if you remove the orange tip).

Even more, an air soft gun that is well-designed can feel like a real gun. It feels good in your hands and offers the same texture and grip as a real one. However, the comparison stops here. Air soft guns use plastic pellets as ammo and, even though they can shoot at 450+FPS, these won’t inflict any fatal wounds.

Yes, it is required to wear protective gear on the field, but this doesn’t mean you will be in mortal danger while playing with these weapons.

#2: It is a Violent Game

All I can say is that, someone who makes this argument has evidently never played airsoft. This is a war game where tactics and strategy are held in high regard. Each team is well organized and every player knows his role.

The main purpose of the game is to defeat the enemy team by outsmarting them in military strategies, not by clubbing them with the airsoft weapons.

And finally, airsoft is a game that builds character and teaches teamwork. It’s a game where you learn about focus and patience, and leaders learn how to care for their team. Companies everywhere send their employees to play air soft as a team building exercise, so you can’t actually say this is a game that will teach kids gun violence.

#3: Kids can be Easily Influenced

There are parents who fear their kids will become cold-blooded killers if they get into an air soft game or buy an air soft rifle. Still, if we follow the same reasoning, we shouldn’t allow kids to play video games, watch TV or movies.

Violence is everywhere, but children need to understand that there is a correct way to reply. Through education we will manage to help out kids understand the responsibility that falls on your shoulders when you hold a firearm. That’s why I think it is best to send them to a gun club, where they can learn how to use a gun correctly, instead of trying to hide them from the real world!

Massachusetts bump stock ban hearing has few takers

House | News | Politic

 

 

Although both chambers of the Commonwealth’s legislature have already passed a ban on bump stock devices, lawmakers held the first public hearing on the subject on Wednesday.

Few people attended the hearing, held by the Joint Committee on Public Safety, and only one speaker, state Rep. Donald Berthiaume, R-Spencer, addressed the panel, local media reported.

Berthiaume, one of just three lawmakers to vote against the sweeping House version of the prohibition last week, said he “never heard of a bump stock ever or trigger crank, and I’ve been shooting since I was a little kid” but was not inclined to support his chamber’s bill to ban them as he felt it was too vague.

That bill would bar the use on any rifle, shotgun or firearm of a device capable of increasing the rate of fire — a broad net that gun rights advocates argued could be interpreted to ensnare any number of gun accessories far beyond bump stocks. With no provision for grandfathering, those found guilty of possession of such devices would face between three and 20 years in prison.

The Senate version, which Berthiaume said he does back, sets more rigid definitions of “Bump stock” and “Trigger Crank,” regulating each in turn.

The Gun Owners’ Action League, the state’s National Rifle Association affiliate, said in a statement they do not support any legislative action on the devices but did credit the Senate version of the bill as stopping the “runaway train” of the robust House proposal which “granted unbridled regulatory authority to the Commonwealth over all firearms maintenance, enhancements, and modifications.”

Jim Wallace, head of the gun rights group, explained to media he chose not to speak at the hearing this week because there was no point in “testifying about something that has already happened.”

Lawmakers now must work out the differences between the two versions passed by the legislature before they can present the ban to Republican Gov. Charlie Baker who said he would sign anti-bump stock legislation “tomorrow” should it be presented to him.

Similar legislation is underway at the state level in Illinois, Maryland, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Washington while at least three federal bills have been filed on Capitol Hill.

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