Gun Rights News Roundup

Articles, news stories, and op-eds of interest to gun owners:

More whimpering from the New York Times about restaurant carry:

Beyond farce in statehouse politics — think New York, Illinois and South Carolina — there can be danger. Think Tennessee, where the Legislature just overrode the governor’s veto and rescinded a law barring patrons from carrying handguns in bars and restaurants.

Once again, politicians caved to the gun lobby’s “right to carry” agenda which insists that there is no place — campuses, workplaces, churches — that should be off limits to guns.

We fear that Gov. Phil Bredesen, a gun owner and hunter, was right when he warned his state: “It’s an invitation to a disaster.”

The governor found no safety in provisions that ban the licensed gun toters from drinking alcohol — is it the honor system or will bartenders do a search? — and allow bar and restaurant owners to opt out by posting a notice prohibiting guns. Unfortunately, there is no requirement for owners to post warnings of the dangers inside at the doorways of gun-friendly places.

The pity is that more than 30 states have similar laws. Travelers might want to check for sensible places to eat, unless they really believe the gun lobby’s propaganda that an armed diner at the next table offers an extra comfort. ...

Comment: What a pathetic, fearful existence it must be to be a New York Times editorialist. Baaa, Baaa, little sheeple.


[Arizona] House OKs guns in parking lots bill:

After lengthy debate, the House passed a bill on Friday that would prohibit property and business owners from banning guns in their parking areas, if the guns are locked in privately owned vehicles.

Legislators also amended Senate Bill 1168 to exempt certain lots. Parking areas that are fenced or guarded, or which provide temporary and secure gun storage, would still be able to prohibit firearms.

[Arizona] Senate passes campus carry bill:

PHOENIX -- Saying it will make people safer, state senators voted Friday to let people with concealed weapons permits carry them onto college and university campuses where they are now forbidden.

The 15-6 vote on the provision in HB 2439 came after backers said they believe that having people who are licensed by the state to have weapons should cut down on the number of massacres that occur on campuses. And Sen. John Huppenthal, R-Chandler, said that has happened in Arizona. He did not refer by name to the 2002 incident at the University of Arizona where three instructors at the College of Nursing were slain by student Robert S. Flores Jr. who then turned the gun on himself.

But Huppenthal said the evidence shows that it makes sense, from a safety standpoint, to let people carry guns.

"The states that have concealed carry (laws) have statistically significant smaller mass shootings," he said. ...

[Tennessee] Murfreesboro defers vote on parks gun ban:

Concerned with how a blanket ban on guns in parks will affect the city, Murfreesboro City Council chose to defer voting on the issue Thursday night.

“I’d like to wait to hear from the TSSAA and see if this would affect Spring Fling,” Mayor Tommy Bragg said.

City Manager Roger Haley proposed a city-wide ban in municipal parks after Tennessee’s General Assembly passed a law that allows carrying guns in state and city parks legal, as along as the individual has a carry permit.

“It’s not our intention to interfere with the Second Amendment rights of the people … (but) to provide for a safe environment for the children and public use our park facilities,” Haley said last night.

Councilman Toby Gilley disagreed in full, saying he wholly supports the new state law. Gilley was the only councilman who voted against deferring the measure.

Haley’s suggestion to outlaw guns in city parks backed is by Murfreesboro Police Chief Glenn Chrisman, Parks and Recreation Department Director Lanny Goodwin and Old Fort Golf Director Tracy Wilkins. ...

[New Jersey] Senate passes "one gun a month" law:

After literally years of effort, the powerful anti-gun forces in New Jersey politics have finally succeeded in passing a "one handgun per month" bill, which now heads to Governor Corzine's desk for his inevitable signature.

A measure sponsored by Senators Sandra Bolden Cunningham and Teresa Ruiz, which would prohibit the sale and purchase of more than one handgun per person, within a 30-day period was approved today by the full Senate by a vote of 21 to 15.

Unless I'm missing a state or two somewhere, that makes New Jersey the fourth to pass this kind of law (or fifth, if you count South Carolina, which repealed its version of the law in 2004, after finding it to be ineffective at reducing violent crime). The others that still have such a law are California (no surprise there, with it's Brady Campaign Number One Tyranny Rating), Maryland (again, no surprise, with Maryland ranking almost as "high" as California), and Virginia. The fact that Virginia is one of only three (soon to be four) states with such a law is probably a surprise to some. Virginia, after all, is blamed for having "lax gun laws" that contribute toward it being part of the so-called "Iron Pipeline" of guns that end up illegally in places like New York City. ...