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Campobello, SC – “It’s something else when you come into a home and you didn’t know that somebody’s there, so we need to be ready,” Stewart said. “I can’t sleep at night. I’ve got stomach problems, but I’ll get over it and I’ll get on with my life.”

Stewart pulled the trigger on three intruders inside her deceased mother’s home on Monday evening.

Now, Carolyn Crocker and Amanda Tuck are behind bars. The third person, Wesley Anderson, is in the hospital after being shot in the leg by Stewart who had recently completed concealed weapons training.

“I finished the class three weeks ago prior to this accident and it helped me make some good decisions, wise decisions,” Stewart said.

More Here

Fairfax, VA – Anti-gun advocates frustrated that their federal agenda has been repeatedly rejected by Americans through their elected representatives are seeking to restrict gun rights by way of the private financial system. The goal is to pressure financial services companies into either not doing business with the firearms industry and gun owners or to comprehensively surveille their lawful activity.

On December 24, the gun confiscation supporters at the New York Times ran a thinly-veiled advocacy piece by Andrew Ross Sorkin in the news section, titled, “Devastating Arsenals, Bought With Plastic and Nary a Red Flag.” The piece outlined how some of the perpetrators of high-profile mass murders had purchased firearms and ammunition in the same manner that many ordinary law-abiding Americans do, with credit cards.

The online edition of the piece carried the headline “How Banks Unwittingly Finance Mass Shootings,” suggesting that financial services companies were somehow complicit in violence by facilitating the exchange of lawful goods that were ultimately used for criminal purposes. Under such juvenile logic the U.S. Treasury Department should have to answer for all of the unlawful conduct they’ve facilitated by printing dollars and minting coins.

According to the misbranded op-ed, banks and other financial services companies are “uniquely positioned” to monitor gun owner purchasing habits. Under Sorkin’s preferred scenario, Amendment companies would require retailers to tag firearms-related purchases with additional data that could be used by the credit card companies to compile information on gun owners. The surveillance data could then be used to flag suspicious purchases for law enforcement.

Moreover, the piece suggests that this data collection could be used to restrict certain types of lawful firearms transactions outright. Sorkin suggested,

Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods this year announced that they would not sell firearms to anyone under 21. If banks chose to use the systems they already have in place, they might decide to monitor such customers, perhaps preventing them from buying multiple guns in a short period of time.

To their credit, when asked for comment by the Times’s advocate, the major financial transaction firms expressed a reluctance to violate the privacy of their law-abiding customers. A Visa spokesperson explained, “We do not believe Visa should be in the position of setting restrictions on the sale of lawful goods or services… Asking Visa or other payment networks to arbitrate what legal goods can be purchased sets a dangerous precedent.” A Mastercard spokesperson added that the transaction company values the privacy of their customers’ “own purchasing decisions.”

Sorkin’s “news article” echoes many of the ideas he advocated in a February 2018 Times commentary. Making clear Sorkin has none of the objectivity on this topic one might have expected from a professional journalist pursuing a news story, the earlier piece overtly advocated for leveraging the private financial system to restrict firearms transactions. Sorkin contended that it would take “leadership and courage” on behalf of the financial services industry in order to implement his private firearms restrictions, which included a plan to eliminate commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms “from virtually every firearms store in America.” Were journalistic ethics as integral to the operation of the legacy press as those institutions purport, Sorkin’s authorship of the more recent item may have drawn interest of a forthright editor, ombudsman, or the Columbia Journalism Review.

The Sorkin article is just part of a wider-ranging effort to attack firearms owners through the financial system. In April 2018, Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety expressed their support for increased credit card company surveillance of firearms transactions. Moreover, the anti-gun organization has developed “guidelines” for financial institutions doing business with the firearms industry. Under the guidelines, firearms manufacturers and retailers would be forced to adopt a host of gun control measures in order to do business with financial services providers.

In 2013, Eric Holder’s Department of Justice instituted Operation Chokepoint. Under the program, the DOJ leveraged the power of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to discourage banks from transacting with lawful businesses they deemed to be “associated with high-risk activity,” including members of the firearms industry.

The anti-gun proposals targeting credit card companies should be of grave concern to all gun owners. As the Federal Reserve regularly reports, consumer use of credit and debit cards is growing. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s 2017 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice reported that “[i]n October 2017, the period covered by this DCPC, consumers made most of their payments with cash (30.3 percent of payments), debit cards (26.2 percent), and credit cards (21.0 percent).”

The recent credit card proposals also prompt important questions. Under what a scenario would a gun owner’s purchases be flagged as suspicious or be outright denied? Might the criteria be defined by anti-gun activists to include any volume of firearms-related goods they consider deviant? Gun owners routinely purchase large quantities of firearms products and ammunition for the same reason consumers buy anything in bulk, to save money.

Moreover, gun owners should be aware that any increase in the information that the financial services companies collect may wind up in the federal government’s hands. A June 2013 item in the Wall Street Journal reported that the National Security Agency was scooping large quantities of data from credit card providers. At the time, experts speculated that the NSA would not be able to obtain the exact products an individual purchased, but could see where the purchases were made and the merchant category codes. Changing merchant category code data to be more descriptive is one of the ways control advocates intend to advance their credit card company gun control scheme.

Even those who do not value the right to keep and bear arms but do cherish their other civil liberties should be concerned with the recent credit card transaction proposals. Back in early 2018, when some of these ideas were first floated, Georgetown University Law Professor Adam Levitin pointed out, “There’s a privacy angle here… There’s the slippery slope danger if it’s guns today maybe it is pornography tomorrow and the day after it’s right-wing literature.”

And with even mainstream television fare such as “Friends,” “Seinfeld,” and “The Simpsons” having come under fire by today’s social justice vigilante mob, it’s difficult to imagine any product or service that could be immune from their perpetually outraged sensibilities.

New rules or surveillance procedures imposed by the credit card industry on firearms transactions would have a profound negative effect on gun owners and the firearms industry and pose a broader threat to all liberty-minded Americans. NRA will continue to monitor these efforts and keep our members apprised of any further developments.

The MC1sc is a polymer-framed, striker-fired subcompact handgun with a staggered-stack magazine chambered for 9mm Luger, and it’s a first for Mossberg.

The post Mossberg Enters the Concealed-Carry Market with the New MC1SC – SHOT Show 2019 appeared first on GunsAmerica Digest.

Nevada isn’t considered to be an anti-gun state, but even before the Las Vegas massacre, there were some efforts to restrict guns. A 2016 measure calling for universal background checks passed, but wasn’t implemented due to logistical issues.

Now, the state has even further embraced gun control right about now. They elected a whole slate of Democrats to enact their gun control fantasies. Now that those Democrats are taking office, they’re looking forward to the future.

Those good, law-abiding citizens aren’t the problem, but they’re being treated like they are.

Will anyone in Nevada bother to look back at how these laws have done nothing and repeal them, though? Of course not. Not without a change in attitude throughout the state.

The post Nevada Gun Grabbers Looking Forward To Dem Control appeared first on Bearing Arms.

The Virginia Senate passed legislation this week that would allow firefighters and emergency medial personnel to carry concealed firearms, provided they have obtained a concealed-carry permit and been given permission from the fire chief or emergency medical services chief.

The post Virginia Senate Votes to Allow Firefighters, EMTs to Carry Concealed Firearms appeared first on GunsAmerica Digest.

The idea that a letter to the editor in San Francisco would back gun control isn’t particularly surprising. They live in a completely different world over there, from what I can tell.

However, one letter to the editor hit on what they thought was a brilliant way to undermine the NRA. Get police officers to back gun control!

Faced with gun violence, police officers are on the front line, so why aren’t the police officers’ associations also on the front line in getting guns off the streets? It’s easy for the National Rifle Association to gain support by dismissing their antagonists as liberal hippies or chastising people like James Brady, former Rep. Gabby Giffords and David Hogg as deluded survivors. They would have a much harder time trying to marginalize police officers. Police rightly expect sympathy when one of their own is killed, yet they don’t seem to do much to try to prevent it.

Wow. What a suggestion.

So, why aren’t the police out on the front line of “getting guns off the streets,” as the letter suggests? I mean, this is brilliant! Why not get the police to try and push more and more gun control. People paid by taxpayer money making a political stand never goes wrong or anything, now does it?

Of course, maybe it’s because the police are already on the front lines and many of them have come to the conclusion that gun control is an abysmal failure?

Think about it.

California, of which San Francisco is a large city of, has the strictest gun control laws in the nation. It’s virtually impossible to do anything legally with a firearm without the state knowing everything about what you’re doing. It’s Big Brother using the Second Amendment as toilet paper.

It’s also a state with high rates of violent crime despite the claims of every anti-gun politician ever elected in the state.

And guess who sees this? Police.

Those are the same people who are pulling guns off of gang bangers barely old enough to shave, much less own a gun legally. They’re the ones who have to deal with gang violence committed by people they’ve already locked up a half dozen times on felony arrests. People who are legally barred from owning guns.

Police are the ones who have to respond to calls of someone breaking into a home or robbing a store, only to arrive after the fact and are forced to call the coroner.

The letter-writer is right. These folks are on the front line.

The fact that so few of them advocate for gun control laws should be incredibly telling to people like the letter-writer. The fact that law enforcement officers are often among the staunchest advocates of the right to keep and bear arms to tell them a whole lot.

Gun control has no impact on the criminals out there. It only hurts people who want nothing more than to defend themselves and their families. The criminals aren’t using legal means to get their guns. We know this. The police know this, too.

Oh, you’ll find the odd police officer here or there who thinks otherwise, but my experience says the vast majority of them know better. They understand the realities, which gets to why the letter-writer won’t find them standing on the front line of the gun control debate. Those who sign their paychecks wouldn’t like what side of the line they choose to stand on.

The post Letter To Newspaper Wonders Why Police Aren’t Backing Gun Control appeared first on Bearing Arms.

Kiel, Germany – The managing director of the US sister company of the weapon manufacturer Sig Sauer, Ron Cohen, was arrested in October in Germany. He was released after two weeks against payment of a bail of five million euros back from pre-trial detention, confirmed a spokesman for the prosecutor Kiel on Friday information from the research network of NDR, WDR and “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.

Since August 2018, a Europe-wide arrest warrant has been issued against the 57-year-old arms dealer. Cohen was arrested in Frankfurt and transferred to Kiel. The public prosecutor’s office Kiel is responsible, since Sig Sauer has its seat in Eckernförde in Germany.

The prosecution filed a lawsuit in April against Cohen and four other Sig Sauer executives. They are said to have delivered more than 30,000 pistols to the US and from there to what was then the civil war country of Colombia. Sig Sauer is said to have made false figures for export licenses from 2009 to 2012.

Translated from www.shz.de

Stock image creative commons-M Weber

SHALLOTTE, NC — On Friday evening a snow monkey escaped its backyard cage and attacked a neighbor before an HVAC repairman shot and killed it in the coastal NC community of Shallotte.

According Detective Sgt. John Holman, the monkey bit the woman and scratched her arms and legs, drawing blood. The monkey then ran across the street and banged on a neighbor’s glass door. As the repairman approached, the monkey turned and ran at the man. The repairman shot and killed it with one shot from his small Glock handgun.

The owner of the monkey is said to house many other exotic animals in the home, and has permits to go along with the ownership.

It’s not every day that we hear about a monkey rampage, but it seems to be the same as keeping a dog or any other animal that can be dangerous to the public. Properly securing them so that they are not able to escape is the responsibility of the owner, and it always will be.

Police say the man has a concealed carry permit and will not be facing any charges.

LAKELAND, Fla. – A Central Florida city commissioner who owns a local military surplus store is at the center of death investigation after police say he gunned down a man trying to steal a hatchet.

Lakeland Police were called to a shooting at Vets Army Navy Surplus just after 2:30 Wednesday afternoon. Investigators say the store’s owner, city commissioner Michael Dunn, told them he noticed a man in the store trying to sneak off with a hatchet he didn’t pay for.

Police say a fight then broke out when Dunn confronted the man, 50 year old Cristobal Lopez. That’s when Dunn reportedly shot Lopez, hatchet still in hand.

Police say a fight then broke out when Dunn confronted the man, 50-year-old Cristobal Lopez. That’s when Dunn reportedly shot Lopez, hatchet still in hand.

“He’s not a violent person, I’ve never even seen him get mad,” explained Angelice Smith who owns a hair salon next to Dunn’s shop. “It was probably a him or me situation, unfortunately.”

Newschannel 8 interviewed Dunn about store security last year. As a weapons dealer he said it was a responsibility he didn’t take lightly.

Still in shock from what went down next door, Angelice Smith says it’s a harsh reminder that crime can still hit no matter the precautions you take.

NEWINGTON, N.H.,  – SIG SAUER, Inc. is pleased to announce that Jack Barnes has joined SIG SAUER, Inc. as the Vice President, Commercial Sales. In this position Barnes will establish and carry out strategic sales plans to promote sales growth and customer satisfaction in the commercial market for the complete SIG SAUER product line.

“SIG SAUER is a leader in the shooting, defense, and hunting industry through innovation, and by constantly bringing new, high-quality products to the market that upgrade and enhance the consumer experience. I have seen first-hand that this is a winning combination in retail, and I am looking forward to joining the commercial sales team at SIG SAUER so we can capitalize on this momentum,” said Barnes.

Barnes comes to SIG SAUER with a robust background in retail commercial sales, serving the last nine years at Dick’s Sporting Goods where he was Vice President General Merchandise Manager. While at Dick’s, Barnes focused on the hunting and outdoor categories, and led the development of the Dick’s Sporting Goods, Field & Stream retail stores from concept to grand opening. He further led the continued growth and sustainability for Field & Stream stores through sales, inventory control, and merchandising. Prior to that, Barnes worked for twelve years at Wal-Mart in various management roles. Notably, Barnes gained tremendous firearms experience as a professional competitive shooter, before he began to focus his career in retail sales management.

“Given the tremendous growth that SIG SAUER is experiencing Jack’s background in the retail industry is going to propel our growth as a brand. He is also an accomplished hunter and shooter and enjoys the same passion for our products as our customers and employees. Jack’s insight in both areas will be a huge asset to SIG as we work to expand our commercial sales growth,” said Tom Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, Commercial Sales, SIG SAUER, Inc. “Jack has also shown remarkable integrity and commitment to our industry, and our consumers, throughout his career, and we are excited to welcome him to SIG SAUER.”

Barnes will be located at the SIG SAUER Headquarters in Newington, New Hampshire and lead the sales management team and field staff to grow the SIG SAUER commercial market share and brand.

Baton Rouse, LA – Louisiana’s state bond commission voted 7-6 to ban Bank of America and Citigroup from an upcoming bond sale, citing the banking institutions’ “restrictive” gun policies. The move follows policy changes earlier this year to end lending to firearms manufacturers that make modern sporting rifles and refusal to do business with those who sell firearms to 18-20-year-old adults. U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) tweeted, “If you have zero respect for the U.S. Constitution, then you don’t need to do business with the state of Louisiana.” Sen. Kennedy petitioned the Government Services Administration to cancel Citigroup’s federal contracts following the move, which has caught the attention of the Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) who has demanded answers from both Bank of America and Citigroup, who received taxpayer bailouts in the last economic recession.

Sources: NSSF Govt Relations

George Young, filed a law suit after Hawaiian officials denied his him a permit to carry a gun outside. Hawaii officials claimed that the 2nd Amendment only applies to guns kept at home.  A District Court ruled that the denial did not infringe rights protected by the Second Amendment, but the Ninth Circuit panel disagreed.

The ruling by 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, makes this the sixth U.S. circuit court to interpret the Second Amendment this way and could set the issue on a path toward the U.S. Supreme Court. The ruling comes a week after a Ninth Circuit panel upheld the ruling which blocked California’s “high capacity” magazine ban.

According to Alan Beck, a lawyer for Mr. Young, said he believed the question about openly carrying firearms would eventually end up before the Supreme Court.

NEWINGTON, N.H., – SIG SAUER, Inc. is pleased to announce the Virginia State Police has officially selected the SIG SAUER P320 Pistol as their official duty sidearm. The Virginia State Police is comprised of three bureaus, with over 2,100 sworn personnel, providing exemplary service to the public, and other law enforcement and criminal justice agencies, throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.

“We are proud to earn the confidence of the Virginia State Police through their selection of the SIG SAUER P320 as their official duty pistol,” began Tom Jankiewicz, Executive Vice President, Law Enforcement Sales, SIG SAUER, Inc. “Due to the modularity of the P320 the Virginia State Police now have the ability to easily customize their standard issue firearm for grip preference, without ever compromising the superior SIG SAUER accuracy, reliability, and safety features they have come to rely on.”

The P320 is a modular, striker-fired pistol available in full-size, carry, compact, and subcompact sizing. The serialized trigger group makes the P320 adaptable to multiple caliber, size, and grip options. The P320 is available in 9mm, .357SIG, 40S&W, and .45ACP, with a choice of contrast, or SIGLITE Night Sights. The intuitive 3-point takedown requires no trigger pull for disassembly, and safety features include a striker safety, disconnect safety, and optional manual safety.

The Virginia State Police will begin instruction and training on their SIG SAUER P320 pistols and officially place them into service with the Virginia State Troopers as their official duty sidearm in 2019.

“It’s a tremendous honor for all of us here at SIG SAUER to be given the opportunity to provide the men and women of the Virginia State Police with this particular firearm. We look forward to continuing our relationship with this prestigious law enforcement agency and supporting their mission,” concluded Jankiewicz.

Newington, N.H. – SIG SAUER, Inc. is pleased to introduce the commercial variant of the U.S. Army’s M17 official service pistol called the P320-M17.

After one of the most rigorous and highly competitive review processes in the history of military firearms the SIG SAUER M17 was awarded the Modular Handgun System (MHS) contract for the U.S. Army. The M17 is a P320-based platform, and was selected for its uniquely innovative modularity, uncompromising performance, and unmatched capability. The P320-M17 closely follows the specifications of the U.S. Army’s M17.

“It was truly an honor for SIG SAUER to be chosen as the U.S. Army’s choice with the M17. When the selection was announced, civilian interest in the pistol was immediate,” said Tom Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, SIG SAUER, Inc. “We are proud to bring this P320-M17 to the marketplace to meet the substantial civilian interest, and the high demand, to own the pistol the Army uses as well as the other branches of the U.S. Military.”

The P320-M17 is a 9mm, striker-fired pistol and comes with two 17-round magazines. The pistol features a coyote-tan PVD coated stainless steel slide with the same optic cut as specified by the MHS contract, and black controls just like the pistols currently being shipped to the U.S. Army; it comes equipped with a SIGLITE front night sight and removable Night Sight rear plate. The P320-M17 features a coyote-tan carry-length grip module, available in three sizes, and comes standard with a manual safety. Non-manual safety P320-M17 pistols will be shipped at a later date.

The P320-M17 Specs:

Total length: 8”
Barrel length: 4.7”
Weight (incl. magazine): 29.6 oz.
Height: 5.5”
Width: 1.3”
Sight radius: 6.6”
MSRP: $768.00

The P320-M17 is shipping to stores in August 2018.

To complement the P320-M17, an exclusive M17 Collector’s Case is available for purchase separately at sigsauer.com/store. The case is a solid cherry box, with dark mahogany stain, a tempered glass top, a brushed nickel latch, and a keyhole back for optional wall-hanging. The M17 Collector’s Case features a slate-grey flocked foam insert with an affixed U.S. Army logo, and precision laser placement cuts for the P320-M17 pistol, and included P320-M17 certificate and P320-M17 Official Challenge Coin.

M17 Collectors Case MSRP: $199.99 (sold separately at sigsauer.com/store)

Weatherford, TX  — One of the biggest (and now best-defended) school districts has voted to arm teachers in the classroom, WBAP reports.

These teachers now have the chance to carry concealed, but it’s totally optional. That leaves anyone with the intent of hurting innocent kids with the question of a generation:

Do you feel lucky, punk?

As WBAP reports:

The Defender Program as its being called is completely voluntary for all teachers and staff. District officials say anyone who participates will go through an extensive training process with annual training requirements and undergo a psychological review, fingerprinting, background check and administrative approval.

The program leaves all individuals who participate anonymous and does not allow any citizen with a License to Carry the right to carry a weapon on Weatherford ISD property. Training for students include safety drills and “See Something; Say Something” training on situational awareness. Safety kits containing a safety vest, pepper spray and a trauma kit will also be implemented into classrooms.

Other preventative measures will include one Board Certified Behavioral Analyst, two Intervention Counselors, and an Intervention Teacher that will be provide support to students’ social and emotional needs. This also includes a School Safety Coordinator who will be specifically focused on safety plans and processes for the District as well as a district-wide character education program.

You know, the arguments against this kind of provision are totally ridiculous. Let’s take a look at two of the most common ones I hear:

1. Teachers shouldn’t be armed because forcing teachers with mental illness or conscientious objectors to be armed will be a detriment to the educational community, not a benefit.

The silliness of this argument should be pretty evident. Nobody serious about the safety of our children is talking about arming “all” teachers, and we’re sure as hell not talking about forcing guns on people who don’t want them. Believe it or not, we Second Amendment folks think freedom is pretty groovy, by and large.

If you’ve got a depressive disorder or the like and don’t feel like you’d be able to use one judiciously in an instant of emergency, then we also don’t want you carrying one. We want you to be well, and manage whatever issues you face every day. Seriously, that’s not a dig. We wish you the best, and we don’t want to force guns down your throat.

Why should that prevent other educators from carrying concealed and keeping students safe?

2. Teachers shouldn’t be armed because students could gang up on the teacher, take their gun, and wreak havoc.

Uh, really? OK, let’s break this one down.

First of all, and for the upteenth time, these are anonymous teachers. You know, like students won’t know who they are — that kind of anonymous. Assuming these trained concealed carriers are carrying competently — a must for this whole program — you can’t see these firearms everyone assumes students are all just a-jumpin’ to get their hands on.

Secondly, can one seriously think that overpowering a trained, armed teacher is the easiest way to illegally access firearms? On top of that, how much damage could one possibly hope to inflict with a firearm they’re unfamiliar with before being apprehended?

The argument suggests that concealed carriers are wildly incompetent and that students are evil. There are certainly some disturbed kids in our schools, just like anywhere else, but come on.

The sooner armed teachers are installed all over this good country of ours, the better we all are.

What do you think? Please share this on Facebook and Twitter and let us know!

In People vs Green, an Illinois appelate court struck down a state law banning  guns within 1,000 feet of a school.  The court relied on a previous decision that struck down a ban on guns within 1,000 feet of a park.

Quovadis Green was observed across the street from a school. He was wearing his security guard uniform and had a holstered pistol on his belt. He moved into and out of a van. A teacher, Dan Svoboda, noticed him and notified an assistant principle. The principle approached green and and asked if he was a police officer. Green said no, that he was a security guard. Svoboda called 911 and reported a “man with a gun”.

Green moved the van to another side of the school. When the police approached him they found he had an empty holster and an unloaded Glock pistol in a cooler.  A magazine with 16 rounds of ammunition was found on the floorboards of the passenger seat.

Green was convicted of unlawful use of a weapon (UUW), presumably because the magazine was not in a container. Green possessed a valid Illinois Firearms Owner Identification Card. Firearms are allowed to be transported in Illinois if they are unloaded and in a container. The Illinois Supreme Court had struck down the UUW law as unconstitutional, in Moore. Green was convicted of UUW within 1,000 feet of a school, a separate law.

Another case, Chairez, was pending while Green appealed. In Chairez, the Supreme Court of Illinois found that a statute banning firearms within 1,000 feet of a park was unconstitutional.  Citing Chairez, the Illinois appellate court ruled that the ban on guns within 1,000 feet of a school was also unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. From the decision:

¶ 23 In arguing to the contrary, the State cites Heller, in which the Supreme Court stated that nothing in its opinion “should be taken to cast doubt on *** laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings,” which it described as “presumptively lawful.” District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 626-27, n.26 (2008). But the State conflates regulations banning the carriage of weapons in certain sensitive places (e.g., schools and government buildings) with subsection (c)(1.5), which bans carriage near those places. This distinction is significant. A ban on firearms in specific places imposes less of a burden on the right to bear arms than one that extends to an area of approximately three city blocks around those same places. While a gun owner can simply choose not to enter locations deemed sensitive, it is manifestly more difficult to avoid areas within 1000 feet of those locations, particularly given that there is no notification where the restriction zone begins or ends. Indeed, the ban at issue here, just as the ban 1000 feet around public parks at issue in Chairez, effectively operates as a total ban on the carriage of weapons for self-defense outside the home in Chicago. See Chairez, 2018 IL 121417, ¶ 55.3 As such, it runs afoul of Aguilar, in which the supreme court held that the right to carry firearms is particularly important when traveling outside the home. Id. (citing Aguilar, 2013 IL 112116, ¶¶ 19-20). 

¶ 24 For these reasons, we conclude that sections 24-1(a)(4), (c)(1.5) and 24-1(a)(10), (c)(1.5), prohibiting possession of a firearm within 1000 feet of a school are facially unconstitutional. We further hold that this portion of the challenged statute is severable from the remaining provisions of the statute. See id ¶ 62

The Court goes on to write that laws that ban the carrying of guns in areas precisely adjacent to schools might be constitutional, and would have to be tested in the courts.

The logic applied to the bans of guns within a 1,000 foot of a park or a school apply equally to the clearly unconstitutional Federal Gun Free School Zone ban enacted first in 1990, then again in 1995 with minor modifications, when the first law was struck down in 1995 by the U.S. Supreme Court in U.S. v. Lopez.

In Lopez, the Court struck down the gun ban on the grounds the federal government did not have the power to enact it under the Commerce Clause.

I suspect the 1995 law will eventually come to the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court. Federal prosecutors seem to have been hesitant to charge people under the 1995 law, perhaps for this very reason. The current court has been hesitant to take Second Amendment cases ever since McDonald was heard eight years ago.

President Trump may have an opportunity to change the court from its current make up of four devout leftists, four mostly originalists and textualists, and the swing vote, Justice Kennedy. Ruth Bader Ginsberg is showing her years. Rumors of retirement float around Justice Kennedy. A replacement of either with an originalist and textualist such as Justice Gorsuch could tilt the court back toward the rule of law as it is written.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

TRENTON, NJ — Early on the morning of June 17, an all-night art festival was dramatically interrupted by a mass shooting perpetrated by multiple attackers that left at least one dead and 22 injured, CBS News reported.

One shooter was shot and killed during the chaos which erupted just before three that morning, and two gunman were identified and charged, according to the Princeton Patch. A third suspected gunman was sent to the hospital in critical condition.

Casualties included a 13-year-old boy, who was so badly injured he was whisked to the hospital in critical condition, although he was expected to survive, according to reports.

This was a huge tragedy, and it went by millions of news-savvy people virtually unnoticed.

Why wouldn’t the media want you to know about this particular incident? It’s a pretty big deal, with lots of nice, big numbers that would spark readership.

Well, in the mainstream media’s defense, there was some coverage of the incident. The New York Times and CNN, among others, both ran reports on the shooting, but you’ll notice they didn’t clamor for new laws or manipulate victims to push their agenda nearly as much as they normally might with this one. Why?

Well, there are two really big reasons.

First, as even CNN noted, this violence was gang-related. Gang disputes mean that firearms are obtained illegally about 99.5 times out of 100, and doesn’t correspond to the narrative of lone crazies losing it and going berserk as well as, say, the Las Vegas shooting.

Plus, we can’t go around admitting that the uber anti-gun New Jersey hasn’t magically seen an end to gang-related crime, can we?

That actually brings us to point number two, which is that in anti-gun New Jersey, draconian gun control laws are not panning out like they all hoped.

Love the gun biz? Guns.com is seeking highly motivated individuals to join our support department as Dealer Rangemasters at the Guns.com global headquarters in Burnsville, Minnesota. DRMs will be on the front lines working closely with our valued in-network dealers who play a critical role in our groundbreaking new business model.

The ideal individual will have the ability to exercise good judgment in a variety of situations, nurture and build relationships with dealers and aggressively take ownership of problems and issues that could jeopardize business needs. Strong written, verbal and organizational skills are compulsory; a passion for the 2nd Amendment is part and parcel to success at this job.

For more information, check out the job listing here. If you’re interested in applying, send your resume to resumes@guns.com with “Dealer Rangermaster” in the subject line.

The post Guns.com seeking Dealer Rangemasters appeared first on Guns.com.

Press Release from SIG SAUER:

Sig Sauer, Inc., is pleased to announce the Tampa Police Department will replace their official duty pistol from the Smith & Wesson M&P, to the SIG SAUER P320. The Tampa Police Department has over 1,000 sworn officers, covering three districts that encompass the entire municipality of Tampa, Florida.

“SIG SAUER is honored to earn the trust of the men and women of the Tampa Police Department through their selection of the P320 pistol as their official duty pistol,” began Tom Jankiewicz, Executive Vice president, Law Enforcement Sales, SIG SAUER, Inc. “The modularity of the P320, with its ability to select grip size, combined with the proven reliability, accuracy, and safety of the firearm made it the right choice for this diverse group of officers.”

The P320 is a modular, striker-fired pistol available in full-size, carry, compact, and subcompact sizing. The serialized trigger group makes the P320 adaptable to multiple caliber, size, and grip options. The P320 is available in 9mm, .357SIG, 40S&W, and .45ACP, with a choice of contrast, or SIGLITE Night Sights. The intuitive 3-point takedown requires no trigger pull for disassembly, and safety features include a striker safety, disconnect safety, and optional manual safety.

The Tampa Police Department will acquire 1,375, P320 pistols to replace their current Smith & Wesson M&P’s as the approved official duty pistol.

Hillary Clinton just won’t go away. Despite her historic, embarrassing loss in the 2016 presidential election, the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence awarded Clinton the “Courageous Leadership Award” at their 25th anniversary dinner on Thursday night. Clinton took the opportunity to bash the NRA and received a standing ovation for her efforts.

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