By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New—Congress is in recess until after Labor Day; California: Los Gatos—On June 20, Los Gatos ordinance that would prohibit concealed carry permit holders from bringing their firearms to schools, public transportation and town property was approved and it goes into effect on August 1, 2023; Illinois: Crime in Chicago is rampant; Massachusetts: Gun Owners Action League is holding a “2A Freedom Celebration” in Quincy to rally against HB4420. The rally will be held on Sunday, August 27; Tennessee: On August 8 Governor Bill Lee signed a proclamation calling the General Assembly back into session and sent out a press release.
US Congress
Congress is in recess until after Labor Day
Let your Representative and Senator know your position on these bills.
S.2226, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024: This bill has passed the U.S. Senate and it includes an amendment sponsored by Chairman Jack Reed (D-IL) that reauthorizes the Undetectable Firearms Act, a 1980s anti-plastic gun bill. When Congress returns in September there will be a clash with the House of Representatives over this bill. It is not a done deal.
H.R. 4366, The Appropriations bill for the Veterans Administration, was amended by Chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Mike Bost (R-IL), with an amendment (#35) that would stop the VA from automatically reporting veterans to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) if someone else (a fiduciary) is handling their financial affairs. This automatic placing of veterans into the background check system because they have sought medical treatment for mental health issue is part of the original NICS law. During discussion of this bill, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, (D-FL), who was essentially removed as Democrat Party Chairperson in 2016, called veterans who need “fiduciary assistance” mentally defective during a floor speech of the U.S. House of Representative. On July 26, the bill passed the House 228-206.
Legislatures/Local communities
The following states are currently in session: California, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Wisconsin. The states that are still in session but in recess are: Alaska, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vermont. All the rest have adjourned for 2023.
California— The legislature is in recess until Aug. 15 (Tuesday). Cities and towns in California appear to be instituting more gun ordinances and restrictions on Right-to-Carry permittees even though state laws are extremely prohibitive and crime is still very high per capital. Los Gatos—On June 20, Los Gatos introduced an ordinance that would prohibit concealed carry permit holders from bringing their firearms to schools, public transportation and town property. On July 2 the ordinance was approved and it wemt into effect on Aug.1.
Illinois: Crime in Chicago—On Aug. 2, CWBChicago.com wrote,“Well, the sun came up again today, so that means we have to publish yet another story about the seemingly endless string of nightly armed robberies in Chicago.”On Aug. 3, CWBChicago.com headline was, “Daytime robbery sprees break out on Thursday; no arrests.” On Aug. 4 CWBChicago.com another headline, “Man robbed 7 women in one night in Lincoln Park.” On Aug. 5 CWBChicago.com wrote, “Gunman robbed posh Rush Street retailer after closing time Friday.” On Aug. 6 CWBChicago.com announced, “Man shot during robbery in Logan Square is at least the 3rd person shot during holdups this week.” On Aug. 7 CWBChicago.com added, “As armed men commit 13 robberies at a time.” After following CWBChicago.com for almost a week, the online news magazine has had problems with their new WordPress site. Thus, for almost a week, they were giving story after story of armed crimes in the city of Chicago.
Massachusetts: Gun Owners Action League is holding a “2A Freedom Celebration” in Quincy to rally against HB4420. The rally will be held on Sunday, August 27. Sign up to register for the event. Door prizes include S&W M&P 15-22, IWI Tavor X-95, and a Keltec Sub-2000 9mm. As of August 12 the following guest speakers have been announced: Jim Wallace – GOAL Executive Director, Cam Edwards – Bearing Arms Cam & Co. – Remote, Jared Yanis – Guns and Gadgets, Charlie Cook – Riding Shotgun with Charlie, Patrick Collins – TheGunFood.com. This is a GOAL members event only, so sign up and join the only statewide organization fighting for gun owners in Massachusetts.
Tennessee: Although we have been discussing the Special Session on Guns since the legislature adjourned, On Aug. 8 Governor Bill Lee signed a proclamation calling the General Assembly back into session and sent out a press release. The press release states “Gov. Lee will present legislative and budget priorities …to keep Tennessee communities safe, support law enforcement and address mental health, all while preserving constitutional rights.” Additionally, the paper reported, “Lee will not push for an extreme risk order in his administrative bill package, despite his insistence over the summer that he would pursue the legislation. The session’s parameters would allow a lawmaker to pitch a similar proposal, though it would face an uphill battle to passage.”
The call for the session is extremely wide-ranging. The website has already received 20,000 public comments as of a week ago. The main newspaper in the state, The Tennessean, has already been promoting and supporting more legislation. They have published at least a dozen articles on the special session to date.
The weekly Judicial update is now published on Wednesdays, as the courts have become a virtual hotbed of activity since the Bruen decision.
