Firearms Policy Coalition

Richard August of the Providence Journal reports:

The Associated Press reports:

Concealed weapons would be permitted in places such as colleges and day cares and on private aircraft, under legislation approved by an Ohio House committee Wednesday.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Ron Maag, a Republican from Lebanon, still permits those places to ban guns if they want. An updated version of the bill removed houses of worships from the list of places where the weapons would be allowed.

The bill only applies to people allowed to carry concealed weapons under law, Maag said in testimony earlier this year.

“It is meant to facilitate lawful gun ownership so that citizens are able to protect themselves and their family from crime,” Maag said.

Read the full story at the Fairborn Daily Herald.

Daniel Terrill for Guns.com reports:

Theodore Schleifer for CNN reports:

Alan Boinus for The Hill writes:

Lauren Kelley for Rolling Stone reports:

Chris Eger for Guns.com reports:

Over the weekend, an angler detained by police in Florida and warned to stay away from the pier under threat of trespassing charges was apparently done so in error.

The incident occurred at the public pier at Ballast Point on Tampa Bay when police stopped a member of a state gun rights group, Florida Carry.

“…Last weekend one of our members, George Freeman, was detained for over an hour after a Tampa Police Officer unsuccessfully attempted sneak up behind him while fishing and grab his holstered handgun,” said the group in a statement.

The group maintained that Freeman was detained for over an hour and then released with a warning to stay away from the public pier under threat of trespassing charges.

This, in turn, has led to Florida Carry planning a lawsuit against the department and establishing a crowd-funding drive to pay for legal services.

With this, authorities advised Guns.com that the weekend incident was all a big mistake.

Read the full story at Guns.com.

Dear President Barack Obama,

Chris Eger for Guns.com provides an update on the specifics of last month’s biker shootout in Waco, Texas:

The event that erupted on May 17 left 9 dead, 18 wounded and 239 detained, prompting a massive police response that included local, state and federal agencies.

Authorities with the Waco Police Department late Friday provided an update into progress made thus far in the search for answers to just what happened that day.

“As of this release, there are a total of 44 shell casings recovered from the Twin Peaks scene. This number does not include the revolver rounds fired by non-law enforcement shooters,” advised the update.

…This contrasts with reports earlier this week from an eyewitness, a Marine, who told local media he heard a small number of pistol shots, followed by a “barrage” of “overbearing suppressing fire” by M4 assault rifles used by the police.

Read the full story at Guns.com.

Bob Owens from Bearing Arms reports:

For every essential freedom, there is an equal and opposite Democrat reaction. The Handgun Purchaser Licensing Act of 2015, introduced yesterday, is a perfect example of their insatiable desire to constrict your liberties.

The bill would require lawful residents of the United States nationwide to be 21 years old, submit to a background check and criminal history check, and submit fingerprints and photographs  to even hold a handgun.

Predictably, this cabal uses intentionally skewed “data” from the Michael Bloomberg-funded Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research to provide a fig-leaf of respectability for their totalitarian desires.

Read his full blog at Bearing Arms.

Dave Workman for The Gun Mag reports:

Several leading gun rights organizations have thrown their weight behind federal legislation that would replace the “sporting purposes” and “sporting use” standards set down in the 1968 Gun Control Act, and ostensibly rein in what the bill’s sponsor called “the over-reaching hand of the federal government.”

Congressman Rob Bishop’s H.R. 2710 is seen by a growing number of people as a slap at abuses and arbitrary regulation of arms and ammunition by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

In a statement introducing his bill, Rep. Bishop noted, “The founding fathers recognized that the right to bear arms is fundamentally tied to self-defense. This is as true today as it was over two centuries ago when the Bill of Rights was ratified.

“The ATF,” Bishop said, “has exploited vagaries present in federal gun law to chip away at basic rights. This legislation will slap the over-reaching hand of the federal government and restore some of the freedoms our grandparents enjoyed.”

Read the full story at the Gun Mag.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 12, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 12, 2015

Chris Eger from Guns.com reports:

Following a warning issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on the potential dangers of misusing exploding targets, Guns.com spoke with Tannerite’s CEO, Dan J. Tanner.

When asked for comment Thursday, Tanner, head of Tannerite Sports, the company most often associated with binary reactive targets, was candid about the safety of his products.

“Factually, there has never been an injury by shooting Tannerite as recommended on all written and published literature and instructions,” Tanner said.

…However, this has not stopped lawmakers from attempting to pull exploding targets off the shelves. A little-known measure in Louisiana last year to regulate large quantities of binary target indicators the same way as high explosives, was made law by Gov. Bobby Jindal.

“Tannerite is already regulated. Its use is limited to a long range shot-indicator, for personal use non-commercial shooting exercise only,” Tanner said.

Read the full story at Guns.com.

Joel Currier for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports:

Jeffry Smith has announced plans to go to the St. Louis Zoo Saturday afternoon, armed with a handgun, to challenge the legality of the zoo’s ban on firearms. He has invited others to join him.

But the zoo was granted a temporary restraining order Friday that bars Smith from entering the zoo with a gun or weapon. The order was signed by Circuit Judge Joan Moriarty and is in effect until a hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on June 22.

“I consider this a win,” he said. “It’s a win in that they have finally shown their hand.”

Smith says the zoo “clearly isn’t an amusement park” and that the law the zoo has cited to back up its policy applies only to concealed weapons, not those openly carried in a hip holster.

Read the full story at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Tom Benning for The Dallas Morning News reports:

Gov. Greg Abbott is scheduled on Saturday to sign “legislation to expand Second Amendment rights,” with the headliners expected to be proposals to allow open carry and campus carry.

…There’s been little drama over whether Abbott would OK the session’s high-profile gun bills, given that he said in February that he would sign any legislation that “expands Second Amendment rights in Texas.” Abbott owns three guns – two pistols and a shotgun.

The open carry bill would allow licensed Texans, starting in January, to openly carry handguns in belt or shoulder holsters. The state already permits the open carrying of long guns, such as rifles and shotguns.

Abbott tweeted his support for open carry just minutes after it received final legislative approval: “Open Carry just passed in both the Texas House & Senate. Next destination: My Pen.”

Read the full story at The Dallas Morning News.

Susan Haigh from the Associated Press reports:

Members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation announced Thursday they have introduced new federal legislation to encourage other states to develop handgun permitting programs similar to the system currently operating in Connecticut.

The proposed “Handgun Purchaser Licensing Act” would authorize a new grant program at the U.S. Department of Justice. The funding would help states offset the cost of developing and implementing initiatives that require individuals seeking a handgun license to apply at a law enforcement agency in their state. Applicants would also have to submit to background checks and fingerprinting, prove they’re at least 21 and a lawful U.S. resident, and be eligible to purchase a handgun under federal law.

Connecticut has had a similar handgun licensing law in place since 1995.

Read the full story at Hartford Courant.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 11, 2015

So argues Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s constitutional literacy adviser:

Calguns Foundation reports again on the Silvester v. Harris case: