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| LEGAL & LEGISLATION NEWS BREAKING NEWS: Federal Court of Appeals to Review Important Gun Rights Decision | |
| The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit announced this afternoon that it has agreed to an en banc re-hearing in Kolbe v. Hogan. As we previously reported, the Fourth Circuit’s earlier decision in Kolbe has the potential to invalidate Maryland’s ban on common semi-automatic firearms and detachable magazines. The Kolbe decision is extremely important, as it is the first instance where a United States court of appeals required “strict scrutiny,” the most stringent form of judicial review, for a ban on so-called “assault weapons” and detachable magazines. The outcome is the re-hearing is too close to call at this point. We will keep you apprised of further developments of this NRA-supported case as they occur. | |
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| NEWS Chris W. Cox: Freedom's Safest Place | |
| The Hollywood celebrities, political elites and billionaires who attack the Second Amendment want to take our God-given freedom away. Yet at the core of the Second Amendment is the eternal truth that no life is more worthy of armed protection than another. The National Rifle Association fights for the protection of these liberties. The NRA is Freedom's Safest Place. | |
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| GUN LAWS LEGAL & LEGISLATION SECOND AMENDMENT Second Amendment as Second-Class Right? A Dismal Warning | |
| A case involving the scope of firearm prohibitions prompted Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to break his more than decade-long silent streak on the bench. Justice Thomas last asked a question in February 2006, but he made headlines on February 29 by asking a question during oral argument in the case of Voisine v. United States. Unfortunately, commentators seized on the fact that he spoke at all, rather than the troubling implications of what he had to say. | |
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| NEWS Pinocchio's Greatest Hits | |
| Hillary Clinton Always Does What's Right? CNN reported last Friday that former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, now a gun control advocate campaigning for Hillary Clinton for president, told the news organization, “Time and time again, Hillary has done and said what is right.” But if you’re not so sure about that, you aren’t alone. Gallup reports that when asked for the first word or phrase that comes to mind when Clinton’s name is mentioned, 40 percent of Americans say “dishonest,” “liar, “don’t trust her,” “poor character,” “dislike her,” “criminal,” “crooked,” “thief,” “belongs in jail,” or “wouldn’t be good for the country.” And Giffords’ glowing endorsement of Mrs. Clinton was not the only truth-bender that gun control supporters were responsible for last week. | |
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| NEWS Primary Update | |
| After Super Tuesday, with 11 states completing their caucuses or primaries, the presidential race is starting to become a little bit clearer. Hillary Clinton won seven states and Bernie Sanders won 4. While this looks like, and is being hyped as, a big Clinton victory, her camp had really expected to win 10 of 11 (allowing for Sanders to win only his home state of Vermont). That same day, Donald Trump won seven states, Ted Cruz won three and Marco Rubio won one. The results help to solidify Trump as the leader, but it is closer than many believe. The primaries are races to earn delegates to the respective party conventions. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the Democrat nomination and 1,237 to win the GOP nod. Most states with primaries or caucuses before March 15th, including all of the March 1st states, award their delegates on a proportional basis, so it takes a big win to gather up the majority of delegates in any given state. | |
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| NEWS LEGAL & LEGISLATION Gun Control Supporters Distort Iowa Legislation on Youth Handgun Possession | |
| Willful ignorance of firearm function, culture, and law are well-known characteristics of the gun control movement. However, the principals in a recently manufactured controversy, surrounding legislation in Iowa that would allow properly supervised youth to use handguns for the shooting sports, have shown a particular disregard for the facts and prevailing law. Current Iowa law makes it a misdemeanor to transfer a handgun to those under the age of 21, with a few exceptions. A parent, guardian, or spouse over 21 may allow those ages 14-20 to possess a handgun while the minor is under their direct supervision, or while receiving instruction. Iowa has a blanket prohibition on handgun possession for all those under 14, regardless of parental supervision. Current law even prevents those under 14 from engaging in traditional handgun safety instruction. | |
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| NEWS Scotland Sets July Deadline for Airgun Licensing | |
| In a sad turn, the home of the Scottish Enlightenment continues to adopt benighted gun controls. On June 25, 2015, the Scottish Parliament passed the Air Weapons and Licensing Act, with Royal assent following on August 4. The legislation requires airgun owners to acquire a certificate or permit to continue to possess the devices. Late last week, Scottish officials announced July 1, 2016 as the deadline for obtaining the required documentation. Specifically, the law makes it “an offence for a person to use, possess, purchase or acquire an air weapon without holding an air weapon certificate.” If convicted, a violator faces up to two years in prison. | |
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| NEWS Has the VA Deprived You of Your Second Amendment Rights? NRA Wants to Hear From You! | |
| As we have reported several times in the past (including here and here), the Veterans Administration (VA) has been reporting to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) the identities of its beneficiaries who have been assigned a “fiduciary” to manage their benefits. The VA claims that such determinations constitute an “adjudication of mental defectiveness” under federal law, thereby prohibiting the beneficiary (presumptively for life) from acquiring or possessing firearms. The NRA has for several years been supporting legislation to correct this unjustified infringement on Second Amendment rights, including the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act (H.R. 2001, Rep. Jeff Miller, R-FL) and the Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015 (S. 2002, Sen. John Cornyn, R-TX). | |
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| TAKE ACTION Michael Bloomberg is ALL IN to strip away your Second Amendment Rights! Are you ALL IN to make sure he doesn't succeed?! | |
| Billionaire Michael Bloomberg is in a spending freefall attacking our gun rights all across the U.S., on multiple fronts…in Congress, in state legislatures, and on the airwaves. Further, he’s gathering signatures and pouring money into anti-freedom ballot initiatives in states like WA, NV ME, and AZ. In the ’15 VA elections, he spent more than $2 million on a couple of state senate races! If he’s willing to invest that much in VA alone, imagine how much of his BILLIONS he will spend in ’16 all across the nation! | |
VIDEOS
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NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre urged the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland to stand up for freedom this November and take back the country. He said the most effective and surest way to defend freedom is found in four simple words — Thou Shalt Not Lie — and he promised that the NRA would continue to expose the liars about freedom as they've been doing for decades. Truth matters, LaPierre reminded, and he noted that Americans are seeing right through all of the Obama and Clinton schemes because they know a liar when they see one. The NRA chief concluded by encouraging everyone to rise up and make a difference — standing up for truth and freedom — in this election. |
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In this News Minute from the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, Jennifer Zahrn reports that candidates endorsed by the NRA Political Victory Fund had a strong primary day, winning the vast majority of races where we endorsed. |
| STATE GRASSROOTS ROUND-UP |
