[Louisiana] House nixes campus carry bill:
The Louisiana House on Thursday voted down a proposal to allow concealed handguns on university campuses, overwhelmingly rejecting the argument that licensed gun owners would make colleges less prone to bloodshed.
Lawmakers voted 86-18 to reject the bill, which drew heavy opposition from university and police officials. The legislation, by Rep. Ernest Wooton, would have forced colleges in the state to allow people with concealed handgun permits to carry those weapons on the campuses - which are now so-called "gun-free" zones.
Wooton argued that his proposal would make college grounds safer. School administrators and police chiefs from around Louisiana lobbied against it, saying guns would make college campuses more likely to suffer from shootings, both purposeful and accidental. The National Rifle Association has pushed for similar legislation in numerous states, with limited success. ...
Gun advocates wary of Sotomayor nomination:
Gun-rights advocates are using Judge Sonia Sotomayor's involvement in two Second Amendment cases as ammunition to challenge her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, threatening to draw the Obama administration into a debate over firearms laws that it has tried hard to avoid.
The Gun Owners of America, an organization based in Springfield, Va., is telling its 300,000 members to let senators know they oppose Judge Sotomayor's appointment. "Our message will be to the senators [that] it doesn't matter how you voted" on other gun issues, said executive director Larry Pratt. The nomination "is the big one."
The clash between gun-control laws and the breadth of the constitutional right to bear arms is one of several social issues being scoured by people on both sides of the ideological spectrum for clues to Judge Sotomayor's leanings. Her record on the bench provides few hints of her views on such hot-button issues as abortion or gay marriage. ...
Guns, ammo sales still brisk:
No one really expects business to increase 60 percent in a worldwide economic crisis. Unless, of course, you own a firearms store, online ammo shop, or lease a booth at the regional gun show, in which case business is exploding.
Brad DeSaye’s family has been selling guns and ammo since 1946, when his father Joe opened J&G Rifle Ranch in Montana. The business moved in 1977 to Prescott, Arizona, renaming itself J&G Sales. Specializing in guns and ammo for “sportsmen, law enforcement and firearms enthusiasts,” J&G has thrived through multiple wars, recessions, and national panics. But sales have never been as high as they are at the moment, DeSaye says. “Business is probably triple more than normal,” he tells TAC. “It’s unprecedented.”
He’s hardly the exception. Boxes of ammunition of all calibers are reportedly flying off the shelves at double, even triple the normal price in neighborhood mom-and-pops, Wal-Marts, and at gun shows across the country. Big online dealers like Texas-based Cheaper Than Dirt are ordering millions of rounds at a time and slamming up against backorders of six to eight months.
Meanwhile, Dave Hardy, who blogs at armsandthelaw.com, reports that gun shows are becoming surreal. “The last gun show I went to, ammo prices were close to double what they were six months ago,” he says. “I saw three or four people enter with moving dollies, using them to haul out a load of ammo too heavy to carry. I have never seen that before, and I’ve been attending gun shows since the mid-1970s.”
Firearms, especially semi-automatics and handguns, are in high demand. Longtime gun owners are said to be “stockpiling,” while another demographic, the rookie, is beginning to make his mark. Ted Novin, spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said the organization’s introductory gun-safety classes are seeing “an unprecedented level” of attendance. “One of our courses is called ‘First Shots’—it’s jam-packed,” he says. ...
[Connecticut] Gun sales skyrocket:
With its sleek lines and light weight, an AR-15-style weapon is considered desirable as a home protection tool because it’s maneuverable.
It looks like a machine gun. But with models as light as six pounds, it can be leveled at an assailant without tiring the carrier. In the hands of an experienced marksmen, it’s highly reliable at hitting a target.
Local firearms dealers said they haven’t been able to keep that type of firearm on the shelves for months. Scott Hoffman said that since November he hasn’t been able to immediately fill orders for items considered personal weapons. He’s back-ordered in certain kinds of ammunition, too.
“Gun sales have at least doubled,” said the longtime owner of Hoffman’s Gun Center on the Berlin Turnpike. “Business is up at least 50 percent and that’s in a bad economy. It shows you how scared people are.” ...
[South Carolina] Gun, ammo sales see sharp rise:
April was turkey hunting season, but instead of buying hunting gear, gun shoppers at Nichols Store in Rock Hill were loading up on home-safety pistols and self-defense rounds.
Sales at York County gun stores and pawn shops have as much as doubled since November's election of a Democrat for president, local gun merchants report, as customers fear tighter gun control measures could be on the horizon. And since then, the number of federal firearm background checks required to own a gun have surpassed previous years by 25 percent to 50 percent a month, FBI statistics show.
Many gun owners at Nichols Store recently said they were concerned the Obama administration would make it more difficult to own a gun. The hunters, hobbyists and self-defenders said they frequent the store several times a month to buy supplies.
Shannon Gunn, the gun department manager at Nichols Store, said ammunition is tough to keep on the shelves behind his counter. Gunn's most popular rounds are the .380 ACP and .9-millimeter [sic] cartridges, both standard ammo for self-defense pistols. Some customers buy them by the case. ...
[Ohio] More people arming, seeking carry permits:
President Barack Obama's mantra of change meant something positive to a majority of voters, but some local gun owners are afraid that change could threaten their Second Amendment rights and are applying in droves for concealed-carry permits.
Almost four people came in every business day through the first three months of the year, 252 in all, to either renew or seek a new permit to arm themselves discretely in public, according to figures from the Licking County Sheriff's Office.
During the same period in 2008, 107 people sought concealed-carry licenses, or CCLs.
"I'm expecting this year's renewals and original licenses to exceed 1,200," said Ken Richardson, who runs the sheriff's office concealed-carry licensure program. ...
[Utah] Meanwhile, in Utah, permits applications up as well:
Amid an avalanche of new interest in Utah's widely recognized concealed-carry firearm permit, two of the state's best-known gun-rights advocates hosted a no-cost class to acquire the permit for Salt Lake media members on Sunday.
Applications for Utah concealed-carry permits have skyrocketed this spring according to the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification, the agency tasked with issuing and administrating concealed weapon carry permits. Last February's 2,548 applicants jumped to 8,142 this year and March permit seekers more than doubled from 4,412 in 2008 to 10,878 in 2009. ...
[Illinois] Peoria mayor wants his city as test case for concealed carry:
PEORIA — Mayor Jim Ardis wants to see a push for Peoria to become a pilot city for statewide concealed-carry legislation that would allow people to carry guns in a responsible manner, he said Thursday.
Ardis wants to see legislation passed in Springfield allowing Peoria to enact an ordinance permitting citizens the right to carry a concealed weapon.
His comments come one day after a gas station attendant was shot and killed in the East Bluff and a shot was discharged on Newman Golf Course during a botched robbery.
"I'm trying to see if there is an opportunity for (the General Assembly) to enact a concealed-carry ordinance in the city of Peoria for a three to four year test to see (if there is) a reduction in these types of crimes," Ardis said.
Getting concealed-carry legislation passed in Illinois, however, is another matter, because the politically charged issue in Springfield has often met resistance by state lawmakers, particularly those from the Chicago area. ...
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