States with updates this issue: Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, and Tennessee.
KANSAS PASSES “SHALL-ISSUE” RIGHT-TO-CARRY!
On Thursday, Governor Sebelius’ (D) veto of NRA-backed Right-to-Carry legislation, Senate Bill 418, “The Personal and Family Protection Act,” was overridden!
“After 12 years, it took a collective, bi-partisan effort to win this fight,” NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox declared. Kansas now joins 38 other states that respect the Right-to-Carry and allow their citizens to carry a firearm for personal protection.
The Kansas State Senate voted 30 to 10 to override Governor Sebelius’ veto of the Right-to-Carry legislation. Less than a day later, the Kansas House of Representatives voted 91 to 33 to sustain the override.
Cox continued, “We want to recognize the steadfast support of several state leaders. Without their hard work, Kansans would still be deprived of this valuable law. Senator Phil Journey (R-26), Representative Candy Ruff (D-40), and Representative Gary Hayzlett (R-122), worked tirelessly on this measure and we thank them.”
“As always, we appreciate the commitment and participation of our members in Kansas for helping pass this legislation and helping override the Governor’s veto of this law that will serve to protect law-abiding Kansans and their families,” concluded Cox.
SUPPORT H.R. 5005,
THE “FIREARMS CORRECTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS ACT”
On March 16, Representative Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) introduced H.R. 5005, the “Firearms Corrections and Improvements Act,” which would make a variety of technical changes to federal firearm laws. The bill would roll back unnecessary restrictions, correct errors, and codify longstanding congressional policies in the arena of firearms laws.
Among its provisions, H.R. 5005 would: permanently ban taxes or “user fees” on background checks by the federal instant check system--fees that Congress has prohibited in annual appropriations riders since 1998; permanently ban creation of a centralized electronic index of dealers’ records--a threat to gun owners’ privacy that Congress has barred through appropriations riders for a decade; codify limits on disclosure of trace records--which Congress has already limited through a series of appropriations riders over the past few years, out of concern for gun owners’ privacy and the confidentiality of law enforcement records; and repeal of obsolete language from the Brady Act’s “interim” waiting period provisions, that expired in 1998.
On March 28, the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security will hold a Legislative Hearing on H.R. 5005, and the third Oversight Hearing of The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE).
Gun-ban proponent, and Violence Policy Center (VPC) staffer, Kristen Rand, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R), will testify at the hearings. Bloomberg, in his continuing quest to inflict New York City-style gun laws on the rest of the nation, will be testifying against H.R. 5005. Rand, whose organization has long called for a total ban on handgun ownership by law-abiding Americans, will testify, no doubt, in support of BATFE.
Those interested in watching the hearing online may do so at http://judiciary.house.gov/schedule.aspx. The hearing is scheduled to begin at approximately 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28.
Please be sure to contact your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121, and urge him or her to cosponsor and support H.R. 5005, the “Firearms Corrections and Improvements Act!”
PLAN TO ATTEND FREE MILWAUKEE GRASSROOTS WORKSHOP!
The NRA-ILA Grassroots Division will host its FREE Grassroots Workshop in conjunction with NRA’s Annual Meetings in Milwaukee. This Workshop has been a regular part of NRA’s Annual Meetings for a decade. At this event, you will hear from NRA officers, NRA staff, and your fellow NRA members on what you can do in your own community to ensure victory for the Second Amendment in this year’s elections.
We will also discuss how you can work with your local Election Volunteer Coordinator (EVC). Your EVC is a local NRA member who is working with the various pro-gun campaigns in his area to provide critically-needed volunteer support for a variety of activities, including: phone banks, precinct walks, literature drops, voter registration drives, Get Out The Vote & Election Day activities, etc. EVCs also promote NRA-ILA’s legislative agenda at the federal and state levels.
With the 2006 campaign season in full swing, it is critical that we start implementing our grassroots battle plan to ensure we are ready to meet these electoral challenges head on as Election Day 2006 approaches. Rest assured, the anti-gunners are already doubling their efforts to ensure the defeat of pro-Second Amendment candidates in critical elections across the country, so we must ensure we are prepared to defeat their efforts at every turn.
Workshop details are:
NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop-FREE!
Friday, May 19, 2006, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 Noon
(Registration & free continental breakfast-8:00 - 9:00 a.m.)
Hilton Milwaukee City Center
Crystal Ballroom
509 W. Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53203
To reserve your seat, or for more information, please call NRA-ILA at (800) 392-VOTE (8683). You may also register on-line at www.nraam.org/seminars/grassroots.asp. We hope to see you in Milwaukee on Friday, May 19!
NRA-ILA “MIX N’ MINGLES”
How often do you get the opportunity to mix n’ mingle with NRA-ILA Headquarters staff and fellow NRA members in your community, to earn FREE NRA items, and to assist with the efforts of candidates seeking office in your area? Well, in preparation for the 2006 elections, you will have the opportunity to do just that.
This election year, NRA-ILA will be hosting FREE NRA-ILA Mix N’ Mingles across the country. These events will provide NRA members with training on what they can do locally to propel candidates to victory this election season. The meetings also provide attendees the opportunity to meet and socialize with lawmakers, candidates and their staffs, NRA-ILA Headquarters staff, and fellow area NRA members--and to earn FREE NRA fraternal items such as hats, pocketknives, buttons, etc. Mix N’ Mingles, including materials, food, beverages, and NRA items, are FREE!
Mix N’ Mingle events are scheduled for:
- Lorain, OH -- 04/08/06
- Eau Claire, WI -- 05/23/06
- Ashland, WI -- 05/24/06
NRA members who have access to the Internet can go to www.nraila.org/workshops/ to reserve their seats on-line. NRA members are encouraged to check this website address frequently to see if any upcoming “Mix N’ Mingles” are scheduled in their area. NRA members may also contact the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division at (800) 392-VOTE (8683) for details and to reserve their seats.
A LOOK AT THE STATES
(***For all of the action items below, you can find contact information for your legislators by using the “Write Your Representatives” tool at www.NRAILA.org. As always, thank you for your support.***)
States with updates this issue: Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, and Tennessee.
CONNECTICUT
The “Gun Trafficker Protection Act” is back and should now be dubbed the “Gun Trafficker Protection and Law-Abiding Gun Owner Catch 22 Act.” Last year’s legislation sought to make criminals out of burglary victims by making it a crime to fail to report a gun theft to police within 72 hours. This year’s bill, HB 5818, still makes it a crime to fail to report the loss or theft of a firearm within 72 hours of when the owner “knew or should have known” of the theft. In addition, the bill now includes language that would subject gun owners to criminal investigation and jeopardy of prosecution if they report the theft because a court will now be given the ability to decide whether the firearm was stored in such a manner that provided “substantial and unjustifiable risk” that it would be stolen. Even worse, if the police recover the firearm before the gun owner has discovered and reported it missing, it will be considered automatic evidence of guilt of violation of this proposed law, as well as guilt of an illegal transfer. Conviction for an “illegal transfer,” which is a felony, would permanently end your right to own a firearm! HB 5818 must be stopped! Call your lawmakers TODAY at (860) 240-0500, and strongly urge them to OPPOSE HB 5818! Also, please contact Governor Jodi Rell (R) in the greater Hartford area at (860) 566-4840, or toll free at (800) 406-1527, to voice your strong opposition to this bill. Governor Rell, who supports this legislation, should consider saving all the money that the state would spend investigating and prosecuting law-abiding gun owners and use it to fund the state’s now defunct Anti-Trafficking Task Force, which was dedicated to catching real criminals. This is just further proof that Governor Rell, her Department of Public Safety, and the anti-gun crowd aren’t serious about crime-fighting at all--they just want to attack legal gun ownership.
GEORGIA
Today, Friday, March 24, Senate Bill 396, the “Castle Doctrine” bill sponsored by Senator Greg Goggans (R-07), was approved by the full House on a vote of 115-42. This bill removes a citizen’s duty to retreat when faced with attack. SB 396 now goes to Governor Sonny Perdue (R) for consideration. Please be sure to contact your State Legislators and thank them for supporting your right to self-defense.
IDAHO
On Thursday, March 23, Senate Bill 1401 passed out of the House by a vote of 59-6. Sponsored by State Representative Bill Sali (R-21) and State Senator Gerry Sweet (R-20), SB 1401 is NRA-sponsored “Emergency Powers” legislation that will prevent government officials from imposing restrictions on the lawful possession, transfer, sale, transport, storage, display, or use of firearms and ammunition during a state of emergency. Most citizens are aware that some government officials were stripping law-abiding citizens of their firearms in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. This bill will ensure that such abuses will never occur in the State of Idaho.
INDIANA
On Tuesday, March 21, Governor Mitch Daniels (R) signed HB 1028, sponsored by Representative Eric Koch (R-65), making Indiana the third state in the nation to pass a “Castle Doctrine” statute. HB 1028, effective July 1, restores Hoosiers’ right to self-defense by removing the “duty to retreat” in the face of a criminal attack and provides civil immunity in such situations.
LOUISIANA
The Louisiana Legislature convenes on Monday, March 27. Several key measures affecting gun owners and sportsmen have been pre-filed. House Bill 89, and House Bill 1097, “Castle Doctrine” and “Self-Defense Reform,” based on Florida’s landmark law, would establish, in law, the presumption that a criminal who forcibly enters or intrudes into your home, occupied vehicle, or business, is there to cause death or great bodily harm, and you may use any manner of force, including deadly force, against that person. HB 89 and HB 1097, sponsored by Representatives Eric LaFleur (D-38), Troy Hebert (D-49) and Don Cazayoux (D-18), would also explicitly state in law that you have no “duty to retreat” if you are attacked in a place you have a right to be, and provide that persons using force authorized by law shall not be prosecuted for using such force. The bills would also prohibit criminals and their families from suing victims for killing or injuring their attackers. Senate Bill 93 sponsored by Senator Joe McPherson (D-29), House Bill 36 sponsored by Representative Pete Schneider (R-90), House Bill 136 sponsored by Representative Troy Hebert, House Bill 172 sponsored by Representative Danny Martiny (R-79), and House Bill 760 sponsored by Representative Steve Scalise (R-82), the “Emergency Powers Act Amendments,” are all legislative initiatives that would prevent the seizure and confiscation of legally-possessed firearms during a state of emergency. Seizures of firearms from law-abiding gun owners have been documented in New Orleans and neighboring parishes during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. All these bills would prevent similar denial of an individual’s constitutional rights by local officials in the unfortunate event of any future natural disaster in Louisiana. Senate Bill 367 (“Employee Protection”), sponsored by Senator Jody Amedee (D-18), would allow employees to store firearms in their locked personal vehicles on company property and would prohibit employers from enforcing policies that ban such activity. SB 367 would allow workers to protect themselves during their commutes to and from work, to leave directly from work on a hunting trip, and to exercise rights they already have under state law (to possess firearms in vehicles) and state and federal constitutions without the threat of being fired. Senate Bill 30 sponsored by Senator Joe McPherson (D-29), “No-Net-Loss of Public Hunting and Fishing Lands,” would require the opening of compensatory huntable and fishable land if an area is closed to sportsmen, resulting in “no net loss” of public hunting and fishing lands for future generations of hunters and anglers. SB 30 addresses one of the greatest challenges facing sportsmen today--adequate access to hunting and fishing land. Senate Bill 148 (“Hunter/Voter Registration”), also sponsored by Senator Joe McPherson (D-29), would allow sportsmen to register to vote when they purchase a hunting or fishing license. By simplifying the voter registration process for hunters and anglers, this initiative ensures that they will be involved in electing pro-sportsmen candidates to office. Please call and e-mail your State Senators and State Representatives in Baton Rouge and urge them to support these NRA-backed measures! Your State Senator may be reached by calling (225) 342-2040. Your State Representative may be reached by calling (225) 342-6945. E-mail addresses for your State Legislators can be found at www.legis.state.la.us/.
MARYLAND
Yesterday, March 22, the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee approved Senate Bill 907, the NRA-backed range protection bill that protects Maryland’s legacy ranges from frivolous noise lawsuits aimed at shutting them down. This bill preserves Maryland’s rich shooting sport heritage from anti-gun and anti-sportsman zealots who want to put your gun clubs out of business. SB 907, sponsored by Senator John Astle (D-30) and Senator E.J. Pipkin (R-36), now goes to the full Senate for consideration. PLEASE call your State Senator today and respectfully urge him or her to support SB 907 when it comes before them. The Senate will consider SB 907 Friday, March 24, and Monday, March 27, so it is critical that you call your State Senator today. The general phone number for the Maryland General Assembly is (410) 841-3000.
MISSISSIPPI
This week, Governor Haley Barbour (R), signed HB 1141 which was authored by Representative Warner McBride (D-Courtland), and managed on the Senate floor by Senator Charlie Ross (R-Brandon). This NRA-backed bill contains language: (1) allowing hunting to continue on certain land annexed by a city or county, even if that locality has an ordinance banning the discharge of firearms within its limits; (2) prohibiting the seizure and confiscation of firearms by local officials in the unfortunate event of a future natural disaster in Mississippi; and (3) permitting employees to transport and store firearms in their locked private vehicles while parked on their employer's property if the employer does not provide secure parking separate from the public. To view the text of this measure, please visit http://www.mississippi.gov. Thank you for all your calls and emails in support of HB 1141 during the legislative session!
NEW HAMPSHIRE
The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee will be holding a hearing on Senate Bill 318, New Hampshire “Castle Doctrine” legislation. This important measure, sponsored by Senator Peter Bragdon (R-11, Milford), gives back the rights that have been eroded or taken away by the current judicial system. In the face of an unlawful attack, law-abiding citizens should not be forced to retreat from a place they have a right to be. Victims of crime would no longer have to worry about being arrested or prosecuted if they use force to defend themselves or their family. This measure will reinstate the law as it was prior to the time when judges and courts started putting the rights of criminals ahead of the rights of the law-abiding. The hearing is scheduled for March 29, at 10:00 a.m., in room 204, LOB. Please plan on attending to show your support for Senate Bill 318. If you are unable to attend, please call your State Representative at (603) 271-2548 and urge him or her to support this legislation.
NEW JERSEY
The “Campaign Kick-Off Tour 2006” for U.S. Representative Scott Garrett (R-5), will be held tomorrow, Saturday, March 25. The tour schedule for the day is as follows: 10:00 - 11:30 a.m., at the Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum, 705 Kinderamack Road, Oradell; 1:30 - 3:00 p.m., at the American Legion Post 164, Willow Grove, Hackettstown; and 5:00 - 6:30 p.m., at the Wallkill Valley Memorial VFW, 313 Route 94, Vernon. Tickets are $15 per person, and all children will be admitted FREE. To RSVP, please call (973) 300-0470.
OHIO
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee will be holding a hearing for sponsor testimony on House Bill 347 introduced by Representative Jim Aslanides (R-94). This legislative proposal addresses several problems associated with the enactment of House Bill 12, “Right-to-Carry” legislation, which became law in 2004. This proposal would streamline an already successful law, bringing clarity for Ohioans and law enforcement alike. This important piece of legislation would create a clear definition of “plain sight” as well as create statewide preemption for the regulation of firearms and ammunition, therefore avoiding the patchwork of laws currently on the books in Ohio. The Hearing is scheduled for March 29, at 9:00 a.m., in the North Hearing Room. This hearing will surely bring out all of the anti-gun organizations in the state. Please plan on attending to show your support for HB 347. If you're unable to attend, please contact your State Senator at (614) 466-4900 and ask him or her to support HB 347.
TENNESSEE
On Monday, March 20, the Tennessee State Senate passed Senate Bill 2928 by a vote of 28 to 2. SB 2928, sponsored by Senator Mark Norris (R-32), would prohibit the government from confiscating firearms and restricting the sale of firearms and ammunition during declared emergencies. This critical legislation is now advancing to the House of Representatives. SB 2928’s companion bill, HB 3857, sponsored by Representative Chris Crider (R-79), is currently in the House Judiciary’s Constitutional Protections sub-committee and is scheduled to be heard Wednesday, March 29. Please contact your State Representative and ask him or her to support HB3857. The general phone number for the Tennessee House of Representatives is (615) 741-2901.
