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Jackson: Gun Owner Unarmed, Unwelcome in Maryland

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Photo Credit: Reuters

Photo Credit: Reuters

John Filippidis, silver-haired family man, business owner, employer and taxpayer, is also licensed to carry a concealed firearm.

He’d rather he didn’t feel the need, “but things aren’t like they used to be. The break-ins, the burglaries, all the crime. And I carry cash a lot of the time. I’m constantly going to the bank.

“I wanted to be able to defend my family, my household and the ground I’m standing on. But I’m not looking for any trouble.”

Filippidis keeps his gun — a palm-sized Kel-Tec .38 semiautomatic, barely larger than a smartphone in a protective case — in one of two places, always: in the right-hand pocket of his jeans, or in the safe at home.

“There are kids in the house,” Filippidis says, “and I don’t think they’d ever bother with it, but I don’t want to take any chances.” He’s not looking for any trouble, after all…

Read more from this story HERE.

Darrell Issa: Obama Administration Waging ‘a War on Guns’ with ‘Rogue’ ATF Sting Operations

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Darrell-Issa-2853California Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee, accused the Obama administration of waging “a war on guns” after new reports of “rogue” sting operations by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) conducted during 2013.

Issa spoke to Fox News’ Shannon Bream Sunday about a report by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, which claimed that ATF agents operating firearm stings in 6 separate cities “took advantage of the mentally ill, set up stings near churches and schools and made decisions which some claim actually increased crime in their neighborhoods.” Issa and Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley sent a letter to ATF Director Todd Jones this week to demand answers on the tactics and how often they’ve been used.

But Issa believes he already knows what’s going on.

Read more from this story HERE.

Judge Rules Chicago Gun Ban is Unconstitutional (+video)

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

A federal judge ruled Monday that Chicago’s ban on virtually all sales and transfers of firearms is unconstitutional.

“The stark reality facing the City each year is thousands of shooting victims and hundreds of murders committed with a gun. But on the other side of this case is another feature of government: certain fundamental rights are protected by the Constitution, put outside government’s reach, including the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense under the Second Amendment,” wrote U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang.

“Chicago’s ordinance goes too far in outright banning legal buyers and legal dealers from engaging in lawful acquisitions and lawful sales of firearms,” he continued.

Chang explicitly did not rule out other types of regulation, short of a complete ban, in order to “minimize the access of criminals to firearms and to track the ownership of firearms.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Gun Control Efforts Start Again: New Executive Actions on Gun Background Checks Proposed

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Photo Credit: Reuters

Photo Credit: Reuters

The Obama administration on Friday proposed two new executive actions to make it easier for states to provide mental health information to the national background check system, wading back into the gun control debate after a months-long hiatus.

Vice President Biden’s office announced the proposals Friday afternoon. Both pertain to the ability of states to provide information about the mentally ill and those seeking mental health treatment to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

One proposal would formally give permission to states to submit “the limited information necessary to help keep guns out of potentially dangerous hands,” without having to worry about the privacy provisions in a law known as HIPAA.

“The proposed rule will not change the fact that seeking help for mental health problems or getting treatment does not make someone legally prohibited from having a firearm,” the statement said. “Furthermore, nothing in the proposed rule would require reporting on general mental health visits or other routine mental health care, or would exempt providers solely performing these treatment services from existing privacy rules.”

The other proposal would clarify that those who are involuntarily committed to a mental institution — both inpatient and outpatient — count under the law as “committed to a mental institution.” According to the administration, this change will help clarify for states what information to provide to the background check system, as well as who is barred from having guns.

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Colorado’s New State Laws Drive Out One of Country’s Largest Producers of Ammunition Magazines

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Photo Credit: AP/Brennan Linsley

Photo Credit: AP/Brennan Linsley

One of the country’s largest producers of ammunition magazines for guns is leaving Colorado and moving operations to Wyoming and Texas because of new state laws that include restrictions on how many cartridges a magazine can hold.

Erie, Colo.-based Magpul Industries Corp. announced Thursday that it was moving its production, distribution and shipping operations to Cheyenne and its headquarters to Texas, making good on a vow it made to leave Colorado during last year’s gun control debate.

“Moving operations to locations that support our culture of individual liberties and personal responsibility is important,” Magpul CEO Richard Fitzpatrick said in a statement. “Moving to a true multi-state operation will also allow Magpul to utilize the strengths of both Texas and Wyoming as we continue to expand.”

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead said in a statement that Wyoming offers Magpul “a firm commitment to uphold the Second Amendment.”

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People Wait in Line to Register Guns Before New Laws Go into Effect (+video)

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Photo Credit: WFSB

Photo Credit: WFSB

There are only five more days until the new gun laws go into effect for our state, that means a dash to register assault weapons or high capacity magazines.

A long line of people stood outside of the Public Safety Building in Middletown all day Thursday to register firearms.

Specifically, anything the state considers an assault weapon or a high capacity magazine must be registered before Jan. 1, 2014.

“If they were trying to make them illegal, I’d have a real issue, but if they want to just know where they are, that’s fine with me,” said Charles Gillette, who was registering magazines.

“I understand why they’re doing it, but I don’t think it’s constitutional,” said Scott Boccio, who was registering guns.

WFSB 3 Connecticut

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Video: ‘Silent Night’ Used to Push Gun Control

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Photo Credit: Screenshot

Photo Credit: Screenshot

“Silent Night,” the iconic Christmas song about the birth of Jesus, is now part of the nation’s gun control debate.

Americans for Responsible Solutions, the gun control group founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly, have produced a video that shows sad scenes at the Newtown, Conn., school shooting a year ago and asks, “How long do we have to wait for Congress to act?”

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Rumor Check: Did Obama Close a Lead Plant in Order to Enact ‘Backdoor’ Gun Control?

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Photo Credit: Getty ImagesDid the White House shutter the country’s last primary lead smelting plant in Herculaneum, Mo., in a sneaky attempt by to enact “backdoor” gun control and quietly take aim at the gun industry as some people, including former Rep. Allen West, have suggested?

The short answer: Not exactly.

But as is the case with many of these “fact check” stories, this requires some explanation. So let’s start at the beginning.

THE CLOSED MISSOURI FACILITY

The Doe Run Company’s primary lead smelting facility in Herculaneum, Mo., which has been in operation since 1892, will close its doors by the end of 2013, according to a report in The Southern Illinoisan, which was published in November but has gained new life recently.

The company said in a statement on its website that it decided to close the facility it would cost too much to install the “pollution control technologies” required to reduce sulfur dioxide and lead emissions as mandated by the Clean Air Act.

Read more from this story HERE.

Allen West: Backdoor Gun Control is Here, No Lead Means No Bullets

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Photo Credit: allenbwest.comI am one who steers very clear of tinfoil hat conspiracy theories. I often believe progressives plant stories in order to distract and disrupt, enabling them to pursue their true goals and objectives. That’s why I stress the importance of staying focused on the modern liberal socialist policies of the Obama administration, not the sideshow antics.

However, as a former combat commander, I have been trained to look for trends. And I believe we’ve found a very disturbing one. it seems that back door gun control is in full effect in the United States. Why? Thanks to Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), we can no longer smelt lead from ore in the United States.

The first contact the EPA made with The Doe Run Lead Smelter in Herculaneum, Missouri (population 2,800) was in 2008 but it was in 2010 that the EPA finally forced Doe Run to plan a shut down. This plant has been in operation since 1892 but will finally close its doors this month. It was the last lead smelting plant in the US.

The closedown is due to new extremely tight air quality restrictions placed on this specific plant. President Obama and his EPA raised the regulations by 10 fold and it would have cost the plant $100 million to comply.

In response to the Doe Run lead smelter shutdown, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the Doe Run Company “made a business decision” to shut down the smelter instead of installing pollution control technologies needed to reduce sulfur dioxide and lead emissions as required by the Clean Air Act.

Read more from this story HERE.

Judge Rules Colorado Sheriffs Can’t Sue Over State Gun Laws

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Photo Credit: APA federal judge ruled Wednesday that Colorado sheriffs suing the state over new firearm restrictions don’t have standing to proceed with the case as a group, but the legal battle is far from over.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger in Denver doesn’t stop the lawsuit because 21 other plaintiffs who are suing do have standing. The court will still consider whether universal background checks and a ban on ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds are constitutional, the judge said.

“At this juncture, the court is not even considering whether the challenged portions of the laws are constitutional,” Krieger said.

Sheriffs in most of Colorado’s 64 counties filed the lawsuit in May, saying the new regulations violate the Second Amendment. The sheriffs are elected and represent rural, gun-friendly parts of the state.

In her ruling, Krieger said sheriffs can still choose to join the suit in an individual capacity, and they’ll have 14 days to make that decision. But they cannot, as a group, sue the state in their official capacities.

Read more from this story HERE.