If only more courthouses allowed the public to carry there, too . . . Under siege, more judges opt to arm themselves for protection
As violence inside and near courthouses grows, judges increasingly are choosing to carry concealed weapons, experts say.
Judge Eugene Lucci, who presides over cases in an Ohio county courthouse and sits on the board of the American Judges Association, says there’s a clear concern among his colleagues in the judicial world about safety.
Lucci, who delivers talks to judges about protecting themselves, says he’s seen an unmistakable interest in carrying concealed firearms.
Pajama boy goes shooting with the Mrs. . . . Me, My Liberal Wife and What Happened When We Went to a Gun Range
Cassandra asked me to take her to a shooting range for her birthday this year, so I called my friend Chris Cognac, who co-founded the international Coffee with a Cop program, for suggestions. Instead, Cognac invited us to the range at his station. …
On the drive home, Cassandra said she’d like to go to a shooting range again, this time with a female instructor and using only a handgun. When I asked if she was still considering keeping a gun in the house, which I am firmly against, she said, “I don’t want you to say in the story whether or not I have a gun in the house.” Then, a second later, she added, “Maybe I do have a gun in the house, and I’m hiding it from you.” And then: “I have a gun in the house, Joel. I’m telling you right now, I have a gun in the house.”
I am not sure I can survive this presidency. Literally.
We wish him well, but don’t have high expectations here . . . South Florida Uber Driver Sues to Carry Gun on the Job
When a South Florida Uber driver shot and killed an armed attacker late last year, Jose Mejia thought the company should have congratulated the guy. Mejia, who’s also a local driver, couldn’t believe it when the man’s job was called into question instead, thanks to an Uber policy barring firearms.
After watching the story unfold, Mejia, who has a concealed carry permit and calls himself a proud Second Amendment supporter, decided the policy had to go. Now he’s suing Uber in a case that could have far-reaching implications, arguing that drivers should be allowed to carry firearms for protection.
“It’s very unfortunate when you have a huge corporation like this making money on the backs of others, and then, on top of that, they allow these individuals to be in precarious situations,” the 28-year-old driver says.
OMG! Blood in the streets! The Wild West! OMG! . . . Manhattan DA: This bill could turn your city into the Wild West
I’m proud to say that New York remains the safest big city in the nation, at least according to the Economist’s Safe Cities Index.
But this progress could come to a screeching halt if the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, known as CCRA, passes Congress. Every state has had the right to craft its own firearms licensing laws. In New York, we have crafted our laws to consider unique factors like our state’s population density, culture and history. The CCRA would override our state’s restrictive concealed-weapons permitting system and force New York to honor concealed-carry firearms privileges issued in other states, even though many other states have much looser standards.
The National Park Service has several big problems with NRA-backed legislation that would restrict the agency from regulating hunting and fishing within park boundaries. But according to a leaked memo obtained by McClatchy, the Trump administration has so far prevented the parks from voicing such concerns.
National Park Service Acting Director Michael Reynolds prepared a June 30 memo detailing his agency’s objections to the draft legislation, the “Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act.”
Under the bill, the National Park Service would be prevented from regulating the hunting of bears and wolves in Alaska wildlife preserves, including the practice of killing bear cubs in their dens. It also would be prevented from regulating commercial and recreational fishing within park boundaries and from commenting on development projects outside park boundaries that could affect the parks.
Why not? . . . Why Handgun Hunting?
Kevin Steele of Petersen’s Hunting Adventures talks about the challenge versus the rifle and getting up closer to the animals.
Law enforcement is so much easier when the morons self-identify . . . Stolen gun selfies lead law enforcement to Colorado smash-and-grab thief
A suspected burglar’s boast of getting “poled up” — slang for arming with guns — was one of many texts federal agents used to collar him in one of a rash of smash-and-grab gun shop burglaries across the Denver metro area.
Viet Trinh, 18, was charged Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Denver with theft from the inventory of a federal firearms licensee. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to federal charges.
Don’t tell PETA, but . . . SC has thousands of wild hogs. Feds use helicopters to kill them
Federal wildlife agents have shot more than 1,000 pigs from helicopters in South Carolina during the past five years – and they’re looking for more places to hunt nuisance swine.
Virtually all of the helicopter hunting has occurred in and around wildlife refuges in the Charleston and Georgetown areas, where hogs roaming in open marshes are easy targets for federal shooters.
Now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it is considering expanding the service to other areas as part of the agency’s war on nuisance pigs.
A tough row to hoe . . . Oregon lawmakers set out to repeal gun control bill pushed by fellow Republican
Two state representatives and a former candidate for the state House filed a referendum Tuesday that would repeal a new state law that allows officials to seize a person’s firearms if they pose a danger to themselves or family members.
Rep. Mike Nearman, R-Independence; Rep. Bill Post, R-Keizer; and one-time candidate Teri Grier will now begin an attempt to gather the more than 80,000 valid signatures required to get their referendum on the November 2018 ballot.
I’ve shot in a few of these…good time and a good cause . . . Ruger Helping Families in Need Through the Kids & Clays Foundation
Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc., one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of rugged, reliable firearms, has made a major donation to the Kids & Clays Foundation to support their national series of sporting clay events. Proceeds from these events benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities, an organization that provides housing and other help to thousands of critically ill children and their families across the country each year.
“We are incredibly honored to support the Kids & Clays Foundation and its mission of helping children and their families when they need it the most,” said Chris Killoy, Ruger CEO. “This foundation does such important work and we are proud to contribute to this very worthy cause.”
Who wants to be the one to tell him how much guns are already taxed? . . . John Stoehr: Time is right to talk gun tax
Now’s a good time to start thinking about a gun tax.
To be clear, nothing will happen. Not soon. The governor and the General Assembly do not have a budget even after weeks of negotiation, and if they don’t have one by September, there will be hell to pay. Given everyone’s attention is on the budget, or on vacationing when they should be working, the odds of lawmakers in Hartford talking about a gun tax are approximately zero.
But there are three reasons why right now is a good time for the rest of us to be thinking about a gun tax.
Want to know who not to vote for in New Jersey? . . . Gabrielle Giffords Endorses Philip Murphy for New Jersey Governor
Gabrielle Giffords, the former congresswoman from Arizona who emerged as a high-profile advocate for tighter gun laws across the country after she was wounded in a mass shooting, endorsed Philip D. Murphy for New Jersey governor on Thursday.
Her political action committee, Americans for Responsible Solutions, praised Mr. Murphy, a Democrat, as a “strong advocate for responsible gun violence prevention policies.” The organization has backed candidates who are in favor of more gun control in races nationwide; this month, it announced support for Democrats running for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general in Virginia.
Terri DeWitt named as SCTP National Team Head Coach
The Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) has formalized an agreement to name Terri DeWitt as the 2017/2018 Head coach of the newly developed SCTP-USAS National Team!
DeWitt, a 20 year member of the US Army Marksmanship Unit’s shotgun team and 1996 Olympian in Woman’s Double Trap has agreed to head up the 12 person team (6 men / 6 ladies) that formally starts September 1st 2017 and runs through August 31st of 2018. Team members must earn their way on to the team by placing in the top 3 positions in Bunker Trap and International Skeet at the SCTP’s International National Championships held at the US International Shooting Park in Colorado Springs, CO. each year.
