Colorado Prepares for All-Out Gun Fight

Colorado's state legislature is the stage where one of nation's fiercest gun debates will unfold.

A state with a strong tradition of sport shooting and hunting, Colorado is also home to two of the country's deadliest mass shootings.

Recently state legislators have introduced bills on everything from universal background checks, to limiting high-capacity magazines over 10 rounds, to holding gun manufacturers and dealers liable if their products fall into dangerous hands—a bill that actually runs counter to current federal law, which protects gun makers and sellers.

"It's going to be a hard fought and nasty battle," says Tom Mauser, a gun-control activist whose son Daniel was killed at Columbine High School. "The linchpin is that Colorado's been home to two of the worst massacres and the demographics of the state are really changing."

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Maine Governor Paul LePage Vows to Protect Second Amendment

AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage’s remarks to a rally Friday against gun-control legislation under consideration in Congress lasted only a few seconds, but his message was crystal clear.

"While I’m your governor, they will not infringe on our rights," said LePage to approximately 150 people who gathered outside the State House despite swirling snow and single-degree temperatures. "The Second Amendment and our state constitution is very clear, and free people — law-abiding citizens — should have the ability to carry guns. That’s what keeps us safe and free."

With that, LePage descended into the crowd, where he received embraces and encouraging words.

"Wear a hat out here, Paul! We’re going to need you for a second term," yelled one person.

"Keep up the good fight; we support you!" bellowed another.

Friday’s event was held in concert with similar events planned at state capitols across the country, according to Jessica Beckwith of Lewiston, who organized the rally through social media. At issue is an increased focus on gun control since last year’s tragic massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Among the myriad gun control bills under consideration in Congress and in many states is a controversial proposal by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to ban assault weapons.

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Violence Committed by a Person With a Gun

I believe the term "Gun Violence" to be ridiculous and inaccurate. A gun is simply a machine incapable of operating on it's own. The real fault lies in the individual or individuals using the firearm in an unlawful manner. We don't have a gun violence problem in this country, rather we have a violence problem. If liberals want to label it anything different then they should be calling it "violence committed by a person using a gun." There is no model of firearm to blame for any of the tragedies that have struck this nation over the years. Aside from the individuals themselves who committed these atrocities, the blame lies on existing gun laws, or rather law enforcements ineffectiveness at enforcing them, and our extremely poor mental health system.

Veterans suffering from the tragic reality of war return home from warzones across the globe, receive mediocre treatment, and are thrown out into the real world to deal with their PTSD alone. Drugs are prescribed to millions of Americans, some linked to suicides, to treat people without the care of a psychiatrist. Mental health is looked at by many as taboo and ignored, leading to violence and even mass shootings.

When will people wake up and focus their efforts on improving the real problems and stop labeling the 99.9% of gun owners who are law abiding, productive citizens as "crazies?" Yes you are the government, but believe it or not, you don't always know what is best for us. Let the gun sales following President Obama's gun control announcement do the talking. You think because background checks in January decreased by 10% it means we are starting to agree with you? Not quite, the shelves are bare. If there are no guns to buy no background checks are being done. People are turning to private sales and gun shows to get what they need. It's ironic isn't it.

Grossly Ignorant School Policies Lead to Suspensions

In an outrageous display of school policies taken way too far, a Poston Butte High School student in Florence, AZ was suspended from school for have nothing more than a picture of an AK-47 laid a top a flag set as his school issued laptop's wallpaper. There was no violent depictions of people being shot, nobody was being killed, it was simply a picture of a single gun and a flag.

The freshman student, Daniel McClaine Jr, said that a teacher spotted the picture and turned him in. The school responded initially by suspending him for three days.

ABC 15 reported that because the laptop was school property, district policy prohibits "sending or displaying offensive messages or pictures" as well as accessing, sending, creating or  forwarding pictures that are considered "harassing, threatening, or illegal."

Daniel says the picture does not harass or threaten anyone, and I for one agree with him.

When the school was contacted by ABC, school officials backed down and allowed Daniel to return to school.

This isn't the only case of insane school policies at work in our country. Students as young as 5 and 6 are being kicked out of school for making fake guns with their hands, to bringing pink bubble machines with a pistol handle to school, and even imaginary grenades. School officials nationwide, as well as the left's gun control advocates are attempting to scare our youth into submission to their will. They are effectively training them at an early age to either agree with their views or be punished. We are witnessing manipulation at it's finest and I say it needs to stop. Instead of teaching our kids that everything about guns is bad, we should be teaching them about guns in a responsible manner. Children that grow up with a respect for firearms are certainly going to become safer citizens. To keep kids away from guns all together only increases their curiosity and desire to get their hands on them, and that can lead to disaster.

Arkansas Bill Seeks to Make Gun Permit List Secret

Arkansas senators are considering a proposal that would make secret the names of about 130,000 people in the state who are permitted to carry concealed handguns.

The Senate plans to vote Wednesday on legislation that would make the list of concealed carry permit holders exempt from Arkansas' Freedom of Information Act. State law currently only allows the state to release the names and ZIP codes of permit holders.

Republican Sen. Bruce Holland of Greenwood says he proposed the change after a New York newspaper published the list of concealed carry permit holders following last year's school shooting in Connecticut. Gov. Mike Beebe and several media organizations are opposed to the bill.

The current law was the result of a 2009 compromise struck in the Legislature.

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Are We Just Repeating The Past?

How many of you have heard of the Brady Bill? It’s quite difficult to research, probably because it didn’t work as well as the government wanted. With this bill, sheriffs were asked to enforce background checks all over the country.

How well did that work?

Obviously, it didn’t. Some courts had decided that the Brady Bill was overstepping its boundaries. So, if this bill didn’t work out, why are we trying to do this again? It’s only causing a greater argument between the people then it’s worth.

States are even promoting State laws that will keep the federal government or federal officials from enforcing any gun regulations in the state. One of these gutsy states, is Arizona. They know that this is a long shot and that it will be difficult to uphold the state’s ruling versus federal, but they are willing to take it on. Not because they want a legal battle, but because the people of Arizona have asked for this to happen.

Within the last couple of years we have had several changes in the legal systems. How many of these laws have actually made a difference? The Feds still are against Marijuana but there are several states that now consider it legal. Either fully or for medical purposes. The Feds are not taking any action there.

So, who’s to say that the Feds won’t just give up on this as well? How many states are willing to go the same distance that Arizona is? If this is only going to cost us more time and money, what is the point?

Debate Over Gun Control is One-Sided in Idaho

BOISE, Idaho — Somewhere in America, supposedly, there is a debate about regulating guns. But it is hard to find here.

In Idaho’s graceful, striated-marble Capitol, home to one of the more ardent and adamant state legislatures in the nation in standing up for the Second Amendment, lawmakers from both parties say that a torrent of public passion, even panic, about new proposed federal gun rules is pushing in only one direction: toward more guns, not fewer.

If Idahoans, like Americans in many states, have rushed to buy guns out of fear for personal safety in the aftermath of recent mass shootings, or out of fear of tighter legal controls, then democracy has already spoken, many lawmakers said. People have voted with their pocketbooks.

"Enable them to do what they believe is right," said State Senator Marv Hagedorn, a Republican who was designated to be his chamber’s point man on proposed gun legislation in the session that began in January, describing what he sees as his mandate. "There’s a huge call to all of us to protect the Second Amendment rights."

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