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Why Does John Boehner Want to Keep 40 Million Americans From Buying Guns?

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Photo Credit: Yahoo

Photo Credit: Yahoo

By Philip Bump.

Reacting to the shooting at Fort Hood on Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner reiterated a popular NRA talking point: “There’s no question that those with mental health issues should be prevented from owning weapons or being able to purchase weapons.” Those suffering the same diagnosed illnesses as the shooter — depression and anxiety — might be surprised by Boehner’s willingness to take away their Second Amendment rights.

Ivan Lopez, the alleged shooter, was being evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder at the base, where he was stationed and lived with his wife. According to CNN, Lopez “was undergoing a variety of treatments for conditions including depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances,” according to Army Secretary John McHugh. Lopez “was prescribed drugs that included Ambien” and “was fully examined last month by a psychiatrist.”

An estimated one-in-10 Americans suffers from depression, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That’s about 31 million people, skewed told older people and women. The National Institutes of Health puts those suffering from “major depressive disorder” at the lower figure of 14.8 million. As for anxiety? The NIH says that 40 million Americans suffer from that.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: Reuters

Photo Credit: Reuters

Fort Hood Shooter Enraged at Army Over Mom’s Funeral

By Bob Fredericks and Post Wires.

Authorities on Thursday were still investigating why an Iraq War veteran shot and killed three people and wounded 16 others at Texas’ Fort Hood before committing suicide — and have not ruled out terrorism.

“We’re going to keep an open mind. … Possible extremist involvement is still being looked at very, very carefully,” Army Secretary John McHugh told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

Authorities said gunman Ivan Lopez, 34, enlisted in the Army in 2008 and served four months in Iraq but never saw combat and was not wounded in action, but was still being evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder.

“We do not know a motive,” Lt. Gen. Mark Milley said. “We do know that this soldier had behavioral health and mental health issues, and was being treated for that.”

Lopez was a native of Puerto Rico who was married with children and had other relatives living near the Fort Hood area, where 13 people were murdered in 2009 in an attack by a soldier who had embraced radical Islam.

Read more from this story HERE.

Poll: Twice as Many Feel Safer with Gun in the House than Without

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

Photo Credit: Getty Images

By a margin of slightly more than two-to-one, Americans overall would feel safer with a gun in their house than not, but less than a quarter of Democrats agree, according to a new survey.

Pollster YouGov found that 42 percent would feel safer with a gun in the home. Just 20 percent would feel “less safe.”

But the findings were divided politically. Most Republicans, 59 percent, would feel safer with a gun nearby, but only 24 percent of Democrats agree.

Read more from this story HERE.

In Case You Missed It…

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Photo Credit: Brennan LinsleyGun Store Owner Defies ATF Order to Surrender His Private Client List

The owner of an Oceanside store that sells various gun parts to build a rifle from scratch refused to turn over his customer list when he was raided by federal agents Wednesday.

Dimitrios Karras, owner of Ares Armor, said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents were investigating their business, not for what they sell, but for the people who purchase their products.

Karras said the ATF threatened to shutter their business if they didn’t hand over the names of 5,000 customers who have purchased an 80 percent lower receiver (the base) for building an AR-15.

It is legal to build a rifle from scratch without serial numbers only if the base is manufactured to ATF specifications. The base is not considered a firearm if it’s sold separately.

A manufacturer made an 80 percent receiver in plastic with a different material and colors which show exactly where the customer can drill making it easier and cheaper to build. The ATF said it is illegal.

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WATCH: NY Gun Owners Burn Assault Weapon Registration Forms Mandated by ‘SAFE’ Act

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Photo Credit: benwatts / Creative Commons In the state of New York, hundreds gathered near Sarasota Springs in a fiery act of civil disobedience aimed at gun control lawmakers.

According to the Post Star, “nearly a thousand gun registration forms were turned into ashes Sunday.” Under NY’s SAFE Act, those who possess what the State of New York considers to be military-style “assault weapons” have to register by April 15th.

“Once the Second (Amendment) falls, the rest will go with it. It’s an unconstitutional law, done in the middle of the night with no input from the public,” E.J. Stokes told the Post Star.

Read more from this story HERE.

State That Has Long Been Disgraced by Some of the Strictest Gun-Control Laws, Now Has ‘Shall-Carry’

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Photo Credit: HeatherMG / Creative Commons Hawaii, a state that has long been disgraced by some of the strictest gun-control laws in the country, now has “shall-issue” concealed-carry — for now, at least. Per Guns.com:

In a decision released Thursday by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in the case of Baker v. Kealoha, the court followed the lead of the recent Peruta case to declare Hawaii’s restrictions on firearms carry unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.

The case was heard by the same trio of judges who sat on the earlier Peruta and Richards cases in California, which challenged the state’s restrictive ‘may issue’ policies that required concealed carry permit applicants to show “good cause” to warrant a permit. The judges, Diarmuid O’Scannlain, Sidney Thomas and Consuelo Callahan, heard Baker in December 2013 and issued their findings Thursday.

“In Peruta, we concluded that the Second Amendment provides a responsible, law-abiding citizen with the right to carry an operable handgun outside the home for the purpose of self-defense,” wrote O’Scannlain for the two-judge majority decision in a memorandum.

Read more from this story HERE.

Navy Yard Shooting Deemed ‘Preventable,’ but Not for the Fashionable Reasons

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Politico records that a report on the Navy Yard shooting has called it “preventable”:

Supervisors of the gunman who killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard last year noticed his erratic behavior well before the shooting but did not reveal any problems to the government, a Navy investigation has found.

“Had this information been reported, properly adjudicated and acted upon, [Aaron] Alexis’s authorization to access secure facilities and information would have been revoked,” the report said — and the shooting might have been prevented.

An official Navy investigation unveiled Tuesday by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and other top Pentagon officials blamed IT contractor Hewlett-Packard and its subcontractor, The Experts, for deciding not to take any action dealing with Alexis’s deteriorating “emotional, mental or personality condition, even when they had concerns that Alexis may cause harm to others…”

You will note what the report very clearly does not say, which is that anything could have been done to prevent Alexis from obtaining firearms or that a slightly different combination of gun-control laws would have stopped him from shooting up the base. Thus does it stand in stark opposition to the rhetoric of the usual suspects, who immediately attempted to twist the incident into a justification for more authoritarian laws, and of President Obama himself, who gave an extraordinarily political, mawkish, and fact-free speech at the memorial service…

Read more from this story HERE.

This State Could Jail U.S. Agents Who Enforce Federal Gun Laws

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Photo Credit: AP/Orlin WagnerA proposal in Missouri to nullify certain federal gun control laws could actually mean jail for federal agents who try to enforce them.

The nullification legislation passed the House General Laws Committee on Thursday, the Associated Press reported, after having passed the full state Senate last month.

The bill says any federal law impeding Missourians’ Second Amendment rights is null and void. Federal agents enforcing such laws could face civil or criminal penalties up to one year in jail with a $1,000 fine.

The effort might be futile, as courts have generally ruled that states can’t nullify federal laws. However, recent court decisions have also been more friendly to the individual right to bear arms. But it’s unlikely that Missouri Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon would sign the bill, after vetoing a similar measure last year.

Read more this story HERE.

Gun-Grabbing Cop Goes Ballistic: ‘I’m the Master!’

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Photo Credit: WNDA citizen’s phone call to Connecticut state police about a letter ordering gun owners to dispose of their unregistered so-called “assault” weapons and standard-capacity magazines is sending shockwaves through the national gun-rights community after being recorded and posted online.

The heated phone conversation over the document took place amid rapidly escalating tensions between gun owners and state authorities determined to impose more gun control on Connecticut residents.

In the recording, state police spokesman Lt. Paul Vance – who did not know he was being recorded and told WND it was illegal to do so – can be heard telling the woman that anyone who refuses to dispose of their newly banned firearms in accordance with official instructions could face felony arrest.

Analysts believe the vast majority of Connecticut gun owners failed to comply with the controversial new law, with some suggesting that massive statewide civil disobedience may be at work.

Some accounts estimate that as many as 100,000 people or more could be in violation of the statute.

Read more this story HERE.

NJ Gun Law Critic Targeted By State Police 72 Hours Prior To Hearing (+video)

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Photo Credit: Ammolandis breaking that an outspoken critic of New Jersey’s draconian gun laws is being actively targeted with an arrest warrant issued by the New Jersey State Police.

With less then 72 hours before a scheduled Law and Public Safety Committee Hearing on Assembly Bill A2006, a New Jersey proposed law to limit magazine capacity to a maximum of ten rounds of ammunition. Additionally the Assembly Bill A2006 would ban more than 30 models of common .22 plinking rifles. Is it coincidental that the New Jersey State Police should suddenly find need to issue a warrant for Mr. Kaleda’s arrest only days before he would be expected to appear and testify at this type of hearing?

James Kaleda, is a well known outspoken critic of New Jersey gun laws and New Jersey Assembly abuses of parliamentary procedure. Mr. Kaleda was famously thrown out of a similar hearing last year by Democrat George Norcross for being “Out of Order“. Today via social media Mr. Kaleda revealed that he received a phone call from the New Jersey State Police that a warrant has been issued for his arrest over allegations of falsifying portions of an application for a New Jersey Non-Resident Firearms Owner ID Card.

Mr. Kaleda was understandably and wisely reluctant to say exactly what the allegations were when I spoke to him, but he did acknowledge that the State Police contacted him approximately two weeks ago and suggested there was a problem with his paperwork and offered an opportunity to “come in and make corrections”. Mr. Kaleda declined, correctly deducing that presenting himself to make such changes would be viewed as an implicit acknowledgement of actually committing the offense of falsifying the document, essentially admitting to guilt of a technical violation.

Read more this story HERE.

Court Overturns Concealed-Carry Rule in Blow to California Gun Law

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Photo Credit: ReutersBy Dan Whitcomb.

A federal appeals court on Thursday struck down a requirement by San Diego County that residents show “good cause” to carry a concealed firearm, a ruling that could force local governments across California to revisit the way they license handguns.

A three-member panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, acting on a 2009 lawsuit, ruled in a 2-1 decision that San Diego County’s restrictions amounted to an unconstitutional infringement on citizens’ Second Amendment rights to bear arms.

Coupled with a California state law that largely bans the open carrying of firearms in public, San Diego County’s “good cause” rules on concealed weapons effectively bar residents from carrying a gun altogether, the panel said.

“In California, the only way that the typical, responsible, law-abiding citizen can carry a weapon in public for the lawful purpose of self-defense is with a concealed carry permit. And, in San Diego County, that option has been taken off the table,” Justice Thomas O’Scannlain wrote in the 77-page opinion for the majority.

California, which has enacted some of the nation’s strictest gun laws, allows residents to carry a concealed weapon if they meet several requirements, including completing a training course, demonstrating good moral character and establishing “good cause” to have the gun.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: ReutersCalif. concealed weapon law tossed by fed appeals court

By Associated Press.

A divided federal appeals court on Thursday struck down California’s concealed weapons rules, saying they violate the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

By a 2-1 vote, the three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said California was wrong to require applicants to show good cause to receive a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

“The right to bear arms includes the right to carry an operable firearm outside the home for the lawful purpose of self-defense,” Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain wrote for the majority.

Judge Sidney Thomas dissented, writing that the good cause requirement limited the number of people carrying concealed handguns in public to those legitimately in need.

“It limits the risk to public safety by reducing the number of guns in public circulation, but allows those who will most likely need to defend themselves in public to carry a handgun,” Thomas wrote.

Read more from this story HERE.