[ad_1] DON WALTON Lincoln Journal Star The 2023 Legislature is 40% done and what has happened so far? Not much, if you’re looking at bills enacted into law. Most of the work is being done in committees now and they are quietly determining what to send to the floor for consideration and in what recommended

[ad_1] FRANKFORT — Republican legislation that would ban colleges, universities and any other “postsecondary education facility” from restricting or banning concealed-carry firearms on campuses advanced out of a Tuesday morning House committee meeting.  House Bill 542, sponsored by Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge, was previously an unrelated bill about “workforce development” before the title and

[ad_1] Despite outspoken opposition, Governor Jim Justice signed Senate Bill 10, or the Campus Self-Defense Act, into law on Wednesday morning, Mar. 1, after passing through both the State Senate and House of Delegates. The law allows for the concealed carry of handguns on college campuses state-wide for current concealed carry permit holders—including those from

[ad_1] West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed the campus carry bill Wednesday, despite direct opposition from hundreds of students, parents and educators across the state. “My feelings are really as simple as they could possibly be,” Justice said before signing the bill. “West Virginia has been an unbelievable supporter of the Second Amendment for a

[ad_1] Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed Senate bill 10, known as the Campus Self-Defense Act, into law Wednesday morning, saying it will “strengthen Second Amendment protections in West Virginia,” according to a livestream of the signing. The law, backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), passed through the West Virginia House of Delegates 84 to

[ad_1] In a previous opinion, I argued that Republicans and their NRA sponsors should spend less time worshiping the Second Amendment and more time understanding it. Here, I hope to further that understanding: the “slippery slope” that gun advocates morbidly fear, as a reason not to consider even the smallest gun reforms, is inherent in

[ad_1] The Rand Corporation has put a death toll on last year’s gun-rights Supreme Court ruling, calculating that more permissive concealed-carry permit laws would lead to at least 150 additional firearms deaths each year. In new research released Thursday, Rand modeled combinations of state gun laws to calculate their relative lethality, and came up with

[ad_1] North Carolinians should be allowed to carry concealed guns without the government’s permission, Republican lawmakers proposed in a bill filed Thursday. The so-called Constitutional Carry Act would get rid of the state’s concealed-carry rules for guns. If it becomes law then anyone who can legally possess a firearm can also carry it concealed, in

[ad_1] Democrats are arguing amongst themselves over the location of the 2024 Democratic Convention, citing concerns that Georgia’s gun laws will fail to protect attendees, according to the New York Times. Lawmakers in Chicago, Illinois, and Atlanta, Georgia, are deep in debate over the 2024 national convention, with Illinois lawmakers concerned that Georgia gun laws

[ad_1] The West Virginia House of Delegates voted 84-13 on Feb. 22 to approve a bill that prohibits the state’s public colleges and universities from banning licensed gun holders from carrying their firearms on campus.  With the West Virginia Senate already passing Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act, by a vote of 29-4 on

[ad_1] TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A controversial bill that would allow people in Florida to carry a concealed weapon without a permit has cleared another major hurdle in the state legislature. Inside the Florida Capitol on Tuesday, the bill eliminating permits required for concealed carrying of a firearm cleared its last house committee. “We have to

[ad_1] West Virginia lawmakers voted Tuesday to allow concealed carry holders to carry firearms on the campuses of state colleges and universities, according to the West Virginia Legislature. Senate Bill 10, backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), passed through the West Virginia House of Delegates 84 to 13, and will be sent to Republican West Virginia

[ad_1] BISMARCK — North Dakota lawmakers have made a habit of revisiting an old question when they meet for a legislative session every two years: Who can have guns, and where can they carry them? The state House of Representatives largely held off on answering the question Monday, Feb. 20, and instead advanced a proposed

[ad_1] CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – A West Virginia House committee advanced legislation Wednesday to allow handguns on campus, just hours after more than three dozen speakers urged lawmakers to reject the proposal. The proposal, Senate Bill 10, would allow those with a concealed carry license to carry without fear of punishment by the college. Gwen

[ad_1] Story by David Beard, The Dominion Post  CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The House Judiciary Committee’s Wednesday morning public hearing on the campus carry bill drew 40 people; 38 opposed it. Most of the opponents to SB 10 were university students, faculty and administrators. But Mary Ellen O’Farrell, speaking on her own behalf, summed up the

[ad_1] Guns would make it onto school campuses and into lesson plans under Republican-backed proposals that are echoes of legislation that was rejected last year.  One bill would shield parents who take their firearms with them into gun-free school zones  from prosecution if they have a concealed carry permit. Currently, unloaded guns can be left

[ad_1] click to enlarge In Missouri, Republicans recently voted down a measure that would allow police to stop children who were carrying firearms. This year’s legislative whoring for the gun lobby started out innocently enough in Missouri. The main focus of Missouri Republican politicians was to be an attack on Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner. That’s

[ad_1] Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a high-profile proponent of loosening firearm laws, tried to ban guns at an election event in downtown Tampa last year and blame the city officials for the prohibition, emails obtained by The Washington Post showed. The Post reported that Republican governor’s campaign sought to ban firearms from his re-election party

[ad_1] Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) wanted guns banned from his election-night party in Tampa last year but wanted to blame city officials, according to a new report. Emails obtained by The Washington Post reveal the sensitive request made by DeSantis’ campaign to city officials in Tampa prior to a Nov. 8 election party. DeSantis,

[ad_1] Comment on this story Comment As Gov. Ron DeSantis prepared for an election night party in downtown Tampa last year, city officials received a surprising — and politically sensitive — request. The Republican governor’s campaign wanted weapons banned from his victory celebration at the city-run Tampa Convention Center, a city official said in emails

[ad_1] There were 120 speaker cards on the desk when Rep. Spenser Roach, R-Fort Myers, gaveled the Constitutional Rights, Rule of Law & Government Operations Subcommittee to order for consideration of a bill to allow the permitless carry of concealed firearms in Florida.  HB 543 by Rep. Charles Brannon, R-Macclenney repeals longstanding requirements for a

[ad_1] It is 3 a.m., this column will run Feb. 1, one week from this morning. According to statistics from 2020, by that date 868 people in the United States will have died from gun violence. Now that you see where this is heading, you will know that this is not one of my lighter

[ad_1] California Gov. Gavin Newsom might be trying to build a nascent presidential campaign by lobbing cross-country bombs at his fellow governor in Florida over the Sunshine State’s stance on Second Amendment rights. But the father of a girl who died in a notorious school shooting had a news flash for Newsom this week: Criminals

[ad_1] A week after back-to-back mass shootings left 18 people dead in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, Governor Gavin Newsom threw his support behind a bill to ban concealed weapons in a wide variety of public spaces and raise the minimum age to hold a concealed carry permit.  The bill is driven in part

[ad_1] Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) introduced a pro-Second Amendment bill on Wednesday that would allow gun owners with concealed carry privileges in their home states to exercise those same rights in any other state with concealed carry laws. The bill, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, is co-sponsored by 43 other

[ad_1] California Democrats will try again this year to strengthen concealed carry laws following a string of shootings in the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom joined other high-ranking Democrats Feb. 1 in a press conference to announce the reintroduction of legislation that would raise the legal age of firearm purchases to 21 and increase requirements for

[ad_1] California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for more gun restrictions Wednesday, including limiting where people can carry concealed guns following a series of mass shootings that left many dead and wounded across the state in January.  On Wednesday, Newsom, a Democrat, endorsed legislation that would ban people from carrying guns into churches, public libraries, zoos,

[ad_1] Immediately following the House Speaker announcing the expansion of constitutional carry, Florida Democrats responded to the Republican permitless carry proposal. “Permitless carry is dangerous for Floridians. Responsible gun ownership means knowing how to operate and store your firearm for your own safety and for the safety of those around you,” said Leader Fentrice Driskell,

[ad_1] Good Tuesday morning. Let’s start with some good news about a good person. Longtime Florida Juvenile Justice Association lobbyist Christian Minor is joining the team at Converge Public Strategies as a partner. Minor is known as one of the top juvenile justice reform advocates in the state and has been on the winning side

[ad_1] Legislation introduced by lawmakers in Florida could potentially hand gun owners throughout the rest of the country a significant victory. Republican state Rep. Chuck Brannan and Florida House Speaker Paul Renner introduced HB 543 on Monday. The bill “authorizes person to carry concealed weapon or concealed firearm if he or she is licensed to