Your NRA-ILA Daily Alert 3-19-2016

National Rifle Association of America, Institute For Legislative ActionMinnesota: Pro-Hunting Legislation Advances in St. Paul – On Wednesday, March 16, House File 3209, a bill which would prohibit the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) from adopting and implementing any rule to limit the use of lead shot in Minnesota, passed first read in the House Mining and Outdoor Recreation Policy Committee with an 11-3 vote.  HF 3209 is scheduled for a hearing in the House Government Operations and Elections Policy Committee on Wednesday, March 23 at 10:15am in the Legislature’s Basement Hearing Room.  If you are available, please consider attending this hearing to show your support for this legislation.  Also, please contact the members of the House Government Operations Committee in support of HF 3209. 

LEGAL & LEGISLATION
South Dakota: Carry Permit Legislation Signed Into Law
Earlier this week, NRA-backed bills, House Bill 1190 and House Bill 1138, were signed by Governor Dennis Daugaard (R). 
 
NEWS
Anti-Gun Group Joins Clinton’s Pro-Criminal Campaign
The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (LCPGV), a handful of San Francisco-based lawyers who draft gun control legislation for anti-gun politicians, has added its voice to Hillary Clinton’s perverse campaign against law enforcement officers and the criminal justice system. Like Clinton, the anti-gun group is trying to gain the support of far-left-of-center voters who increasingly constitute their respective political bases.
 
TAKE ACTION
Attend Firearms Law Seminar in Louisville
The Annual National Firearms Law Seminar will be held on Friday, May 20, 2016 as part of the NRA Annual Meetings. The gold standard in firearms law classes, this day-long seminar provides legal instruction for attorneys and all others interested in Second Amendment law. CLE credit for all states is available.   
 
IDAHOREPORTER.COM
Legislature Ignores Bloomberg Lobbying, Advances Gun Rights Bill
Maybe New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s gun-control group could have picked a better audience. His group, Everytown for Gun Safety, may have wasted its time, effort and money trying to persuade Idaho lawmakers to vote against a bill that would give more Idaho adults the right to conceal-carry handguns sans a government permit. On Sunday, Everytown, based in New York, placed a full-page ad in the Idaho Statesman, the Gem State’s largest newspaper, which urged legislators to reject the bill and continue mandated permits. Since then, Everytown has gone 0 and 3, losing at every stage of the game. On Monday morning, the Senate State Affairs Committee approved the measure by a large majority.
 
TAKE ACTION
Make Plans to Attend the Second Amendment Youth Leadership Conference in Louisville!
The NRA-ILA Grassroots Division will be hosting the Second Amendment Youth Leadership Conference during NRA’s Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Louisville, Kentucky! NRA-ILA’s Annual Youth Leadership Conference is designed for current college students and recent graduates who are looking to take an active role on their campus and in their community to defend and promote the Second Amendment.
 
NEWS
European Parliament Takes Initial Steps on EU Gun Control Measures
Since we last updated readers to the European Union’s efforts to enact further gun controls, the transnational government has continued the process of enacting stringent new restrictions across the political bloc. However, recent developments indicate that the final legislation could be dramatically different than the draft measures proposed by the European Commission. While any further additions to Europe’s already onerous gun control regime is unwarranted, some of the European Parliament’s proposed changes to the draft legislation, if adopted, would make the new rules somewhat more tolerable. Unfortunately, other areas that the European Parliament seems willing to explore could exacerbate problems with the proposal.
 
HUNTING LEGAL & LEGISLATION 
Kansas: The Right to Hunt, Fish and Trap Heads to November Ballot
Yesterday, House Concurrent Resolution 5008, the Right to Hunt, Fish and Trap Wildlife, was unanimously passed by the Kansas Senate—meaning, this November, Kansans will have the opportunity to vote on this state constitutional amendment to create permanent protections for sportsmen and conservation.
 
LEGAL & LEGISLATION
Rhode Island: Over a Dozen Gun Bills on House Committee Agenda Next Week
On Tuesday, March 22, the House Judiciary Committee will have a full slate of Second Amendment legislation on the agenda.  The hearing will take place in Room 101 of the Statehouse upon rise of the House.  The committee meeting will feature both pro-gun and anti-gun bills, with over a dozen gun-related bills on the agenda.
 
LEGAL & LEGISLATION
Idaho: Permitless Carry Legislation Passes Final Vote!
Today, Senate Bill 1389, NRA-endorsed permitless carry legislation passed the Idaho House of Representatives with a54-15 vote.
 
LEGAL & LEGISLATION
Maryland: Pro-Hunting and Pro-Gun Legislation Advance through General Assembly
Yesterday, House Bill 1223 was passed in the House of Delegates by a 139-2 vote. 
 
MAGICVALLEY.COM
Idaho: Permitless Carry Heads to Full House
A bill letting Idahoans carry concealed handguns within city limits without a permit cleared another legislative hurdle Thursday.
 
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Arizona: Local governments that don’t follow state laws could lose funding
State lawmakers Wednesday sent Gov. Doug Ducey a bill that will allow him to enforce his demand that local governments fall into line with state policies.
 
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas voters could add hunting to state constitution
Keith Houghton, owner of Ringneck Ranch in North Central Kansas, has hosted hunters on his grain fields for over three decades. Houghton called hunting, fishing and trapping a mainstay of the state’s cultural heritage. But he worries that laws restricting hunting in other states could foreshadow threats to the sports in the future.
 
HATTIESBURG AMERICAN
Miss. Senate committee passes church Right-to-Carry bill
Places of worship would be allowed to designate people with concealed carry permits as security personnel under House Bill 786. The bill also would make “reasonably” acting within that capacity a legal defense against criminal charges if they hurt or kill someone.
 
BOSTON GLOBE
Massachusetts: Lexington man backs off proposed gun ban for the town
A Lexington man who proposed a local ban on “assault weapons” has switched gears after polling his fellow Town Meeting members, and will instead move forward with a nonbinding resolution urging state legislators to strengthen Massachusetts gun laws.
 
LEGAL & LEGISLATION
California: Park District Directors Vote to Close Down 60-Year-Old Chabot Shooting Range
At its March 1, 2016 meeting, the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) Board of Directors voted to not renew Chabot Gun Club’s (CGC) lease. The action spells the end for a shooting range that has been a beloved destination for hundreds of thousands of gun owners throughout the Bay Area for the past 60 years.
 
LEGAL & LEGISLATION
California: Senate Education Committee Update
On Wednesday, March 16, the Senate Education Committee passed SB 1006. The bill is set to establish the California Firearm Violence Research Center as part of the University of California (UC) system.  Contact the Senate Public Safety Committee TODAY!  
 
LEGAL & LEGISLATION
Mississippi: Self-Defense Legislation Advances Out of Committee
Despite weeks of misleading attacks by billionaire gun control advocate Michael Bloomberg and his anti-gun grassroots group, Everytown for Gun Safety, the Senate Judiciary A Committee reported out NRA-backed House Bill 786 late Thursday afternoon.
 
LEGAL & LEGISLATION
California: Coalition for Civil Liberties Announces Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys Opposition to Newsom Ballot Initiative
Yesterday, March 17, 2016, the Coalition for Civil Liberties announced that the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys (ADAA) officially delivered a letter to Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom OPPOSING his gun control ballot initiative misnamed the “Safety for All Act of 2016.”  The Coalition for Civil Liberties Official announcement is below.  We commend the ADAA for taking this position.
 
CHRONICLE.COM
Stop Worrying About Guns in the Classroom. They’re Already Here.
If you work at a Texas college and are worried by the prospect of having guns in your classroom, relax. The new campus-carry law changes your risk of gun violence very little. I can almost guarantee that if you have a few semesters of teaching under your belt, at some point there have been students with guns in your classroom. If those illegally armed students were not moved to violence by the content of your course or the statements of their fellow students, it seems highly improbable that a new group of legally armed students will prove to be more volatile or violence-prone than their scofflaw peers.
 
NEWS
NRA Member Action Needed to Oppose Obama Supreme Court Nominee
Yesterday, the National Rifle Association announced its strong opposition to President Barrack Obama’s nomination of  Merrick Garland to the United States Supreme Court.  NRA-ILA’s executive director Chris W. Cox  has this to say about the nomination: “With Justice Scalia’s tragic passing, there is no longer a majority of support among the justices for the fundamental, individual right to own a firearm for self-defense. Four justices believe law-abiding Americans have that right – and four justices do not. President Obama has nothing but contempt for the Second Amendment and  law-abiding gun owners.  
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