Free Republic

Democrats in Colorado’s Senate passed legislation barring licensed concealed carry permit holders from being armed for self-defense in five new places on Wednesday. The bill, SB 24-131, uses the moniker “sensitive places” to describe the new areas in which licensed concealed carriers will not be allowed to have guns to defend their lives. KDVR quoted state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis (D), a SB 24-131 cosponsor, saying, “We aligned the bill with the Supreme Court rulings of Bruen and Heller. So now the five sensitive spaces are legislative assemblies, polling centers, schools, government buildings and courthouses.”

The South Carolina legislature has approved the Constitutional Carry bill, H*3594, as recommended by the Conference Committee. The House approved the Conference report on March 5, 2024, with a vote of 86 to 33. The Senate approved the Conference report on March 6, 2024. The bill is expected to be sent to Governor McMasters in a few days. The bill is close to what was passed by the Senate, according to the Greenville News:Ultimately, the Senate version of the bill emerged mostly intact including the addition of enhanced penalties for repeat weapons offense violators. The committee also settled on places...

Louisiana will likely become the twenty-eighth state to restore Constitutional Carry (permitless carry). South Carolina is in the process of rectifying versions of a (permitless) Constitutional Carry bill in a conference committee. There is a good chance South Carolina will pass a bill acceptable to both the South Carolina House and Senate. Louisiana already passed a Constitutional Carry bill in 2021. The bill passed with veto-proof majorities, but Governor Bel Edwards (D) was able to sustain a veto with a combination of arm-twisting and promises.In 2023, Louisiana voters elected Governor Jeff Landry (R). Governor Landry has promised to sign a...

On February 13, 2024, the South Carolina House rejected changes to the Constitutional Carry bill, which was passed in the South Carolina Senate in January. The House re-passed the bill as it was previously overwhelmingly passed by the House in 2022. The vote for H 3594 was 85 to 26, with 8 house members not voting and four house members on excused absences. The House Majority leader, Davey Hiott explained the action. From X: “While I respect the intentions and efforts of the Senate, the House Republican Caucus remains united in our decision to non-concur with the senate’s changes. We...

After nearly six full days of debate, South Carolina’s Senate approved a Constitutional Carry bill on Thursday by a vote of 28-15, removing the last major hurdle for the state to become the 28th in the nation to recognize the right to bear arms without the need for a government-issued permission slip. The bill, which was already approved by the House last year, still needs to return to the lower chamber for a final concurrence vote since the Senate did amend the legislation before giving it their stamp of approval. The amendment would allow people 18 and older to carry...

Afederal judge has declared that a law banning Americans from possessing guns in postal offices is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Florida ruled Friday that a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 2022 made the postal office gun ban illegal. As part of the decision, she dismissed part of an indictment charging postal worker Emmanuel Ayala with illegally possessing a gun in a federal building. She said the criminal charge violated Ayala’s 2nd Amendment rights. [link to judge's opinion included in article]

On December 20, 2023, United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney issued an order granting the plaintiffs motions for Preliminary injunction in the case of Reno v Bonta. The case involves the multitudinous restrictions placed on where people are allowed to bear arms in California. Judge Carney ruled the challenged provisions of the law deprive people who have already been vetted by the state of their right to bear arms and are therefore prevented from taking effect. Following are excerpts from the order with commentary.From the beginning, Judge Carney notes we live in dangerous times, and the right to self-defense...

Canada has some quirky laws about what firearms are easily available and what are not. They are frequently more restrictive than the laws restricting firearms in the United States. However, Canadian gun laws are less restrictive in one area than in the USA. Manually operated shotguns, designed to be fired from the shoulder, are not limited in barrel length. Shotguns that have barrel lengths as short as 9.8 inches are available in Canada for sale as unrestricted firearms. In particular, there is the Tactical Imports SS-211, which has barrels of 9.8 or 12.2 inches in length, with an overall length...

In 2023, Constitutional Carry (permitless) was restored to 26 states. Vermont always had Constitutional Carry. Those states make up 65% of the land area of the United States of America. According to John Lott, those 27 states contain 44% of the population of the United States. When will a majority of the people in the United States enjoy permitless carry, as well as a majority of the states? It is highly likely Louisiana will join the Constitutional Carry Club in early 2024. Louisiana’s inclusion will increase the percentage of the land area with constitutional carry from 65.3% to over two-thirds,...

Louisiana is likely to pass a Constituional Carry bill and enact it into law in 2024. The particulars of the bill are unknown. The 56th Governor of Louisiana is John Bel Edwards. Edwards vetoed a constitutional carry bill in June of 2021. The next governor of Louisiana was elected on October 14, 2023. Louisiana has an unusual primary election, where all candidates are on the ballot. If one candidate obtains more than 50% of the vote in the primary, they are elected governor. On October 14, Jeff Landry (R) won the primary with 51.6% of the vote. Landry is expected...

Israel War Room @IsraelWarRoom: #BREAKING: Elderly Jewish Man Dies After Vicious Assault At Palestinian Protest | The Yeshiva World https://theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2237571/tragedy-in-los-angeles-elderly-jewish-man-dies-after-vicious-assault-at-palestinian-protest.html 7:09 PM · Nov 6, 2023

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed three new gun control bills Tuesday, one of which expands areas where concealed carry for self-defense is banned. State Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-Glendale) sponsored the expanded ban contained in SB2. He spoke prior to the signing, saying, “Do you need a gun to go to your daughter’s…soccer game? I would say you need a water bottle and orange slices.” He said, “When you go to the mall, do you need a weapon to go shopping, or do you need a credit card? You need a credit card.”

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb (D) blamed the Sunday morning shooting that wounded nine people on constitutional carry and Ohio Republicans and called for the state legislature to give him the ability to enact more gun control. The Cleveland shooting took place in the Warehouse District around 2:30 a.m. The shooter fled the scene after opening fire, as Breitbart News reported. There were no fatalities.

Beer lovers from across the globe have taken part in the world wife-carrying championships in Finland to win their partner's weight in beer. Husbands were pictured purple in the face as they struggled to lug their wives around a sand obstacle course and deep water pool in the middle summer. Contestants headed to the small town of Sonkajärvi, Finland, armed with only a helmet and belt this weekend to win their wife's weight in beer. They have to be aged at least 17 and have to weigh at least 49kg, meaning the winning prize will secure their husbands at least...

The right to keep and bear arms necessarily includes the right to obtain arms. Arms can be obtained in several ways. Those include: making your own arms; buying your arms from someone else; having your arms given to you; finding arms that have been lost or discarded; and stealing arms that belong to someone else.The most common method of obtaining arms is to buy them. The right to buy arms is clearly included in the right to keep and bear arms as an ancillary right necessary to maintain the right to keep and bear them. Ancillary rights necessary to preserve...

U.S.A. — In 1791, when the Bill of Rights was ratified, no permit was required for a citizen of the United States to carry arms, including loaded handguns, in nearly all public spaces. By 1986, only Vermont still had the right to carry loaded, concealed handguns without a permit. A significant number of states continued to maintain the right to carry loaded handguns openly, but the right was severely constrained in practice.In 1986 there were eight states which had “shall issue” laws for concealed carry permits. Those states were Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and...

For years, North Dakota stood out as one of a couple of states which had Constitutional Carry but did not grant the right to carry without a permit to people who were not residents of the state. Wyoming restricted permitless carry to residents but reformed its law in 2021. In the 2023 legislative session, the North Dakota legislature passed two bills restoring and protecting the right to keep and bear arms. Both bills were signed by Governor Doug Burgum (R) of North Dakota in mid-April. One of those bills, HB 1339 extended the Constitutional (permitless) Carry provisions to people who...

GREENSBORO, N.C. — North Carolina House representatives will be voting on house bill 189 today pertaining to concealed carry permits. Republican lawmakers advanced legislation yesterday to make it to where anyone would be able to carry a concealed handgun without getting a permit from a local sheriff. This comes barely a month after the Republican-controlled General Assembly agreed with gun-rights groups and repealed — overriding Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto — another kind of permit issued by sheriffs before someone could buy a pistol. Those groups now are lobbying to eliminate the concealed handgun permit mandate, which has been in...

The Nebraska Legislature passed LB77, the Constitutional Carry bill today at 11:28. The vote was 33 to 14 for the third cloture vote. Each closure vote requires 33 votes to move the legislation forward. Nebraska Governor (R) Jim Pillen has said he will sign the bill. Nebraska will be the 26th state to restore Constitutional Carry. Florida has enacted permitless carry. There are 27 permitless carry states. All Constitutional Carry states have permitless carry, but Florida does not allow general open carry, so is not a true Constitutional Carry state.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed legislation Monday making Florida the 26th constitutional carry state in the Union. This means the majority of states in the USA are constitutional carry. The NRA tweeted: DeSantis’ signature tips US into majority 'constitutional carry' nation with new Florida gun rights law https://t.co/8MtZsg9lyn — Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) April 3, 2023 The Tampa Bay Times reported the new law takes effect July 1, 2023.