Category Archives: Second Amendment

A professor at the University of Miami School of Law has penned a proposal for a "redo" of the First and Second Amendments in a Boston Globe op-ed.

Mary Anne Franks, the Michael R. Klein Distinguished Scholar Chair at the university, wrote that the first two amendments, which include the rights to free speech, religion and bearing arms, "inspire religious-like fervor in many Americans" and that both are "deeply flawed in their respective conceptualizations."

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"These two amendments are highly susceptible to being read in isolation from the Constitution as a whole and from its commitments to equality and the collective good," Franks wrote.

The professor claims that the two amendments "tend to be interpreted in aggressively individualistic ways that ignore the reality of conflict among competing rights."

This is a copy of the cover of the U.S. Constitution.

The result, according to Franks, is that "the most powerful members of society" benefit from these rights at the expense of vulnerable groups. Franks did not elaborate on individuals in these groups.

Franks proposed that both amendments should explicitly state "individual rights within the framework of domestic tranquility and the general welfare set out in the Constitutions preamble."

For the First Amendment, her proposed "redo" reads:

"Every person has the right to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and petition of the government for redress of grievances, consistent with the rights of others to the same and subject to responsibility for abuses. All conflicts of such rights shall be resolved in accordance with the principle of equality and dignity of all persons."

It continues that the government must respect "the freedom of religion and the freedom from religion."

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For the Second Amendment, Franks said the concept of self-defense should be expanded to include "a meaningful right to bodily autonomy" such as on reproductive matters. Her proposal reads:

"All people have the right to bodily autonomy consistent with the right of other people to the same, including the right to defend themselves against unlawful force and the right of self-determination in reproductive matters. The government shall take reasonable measures to protect the health and safety of the public as a whole."

More here:
Law prof suggests rewrites of First and Second Amendments that do not mention free press or bearing arms - Fox News

Former Senate majority leader and 1996 Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole passed away December 5 at the age of 98. A World War II veteran who was the recipient of two Purple Hearts and two Bronze stars, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and a five-term Senator from Kansas, Dole served his country with distinction throughout his life.

A quarter century has passed since Dole was in the U.S. Senate, but the freedom he helped secure for law-abiding gun owners lives on. A staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, Dole was instrumental in enacting several pieces of legislation that had a profound effect on gun rights.

Dole was first elected to the Senate in 1968, the same year President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Gun Control Act. In the years that followed, Dole would become one of the GCAs staunchest critics.

Describing his position on the GCA in those years at a 1988 candidates forum, Dole explained,

Simply stated, the legislation placed undue burdens on law-abiding gun owners, thereby diverting law enforcement resources away from real criminals. That, coupled with overzealous enforcement by government bureaucrats, eventually made the need for remedial legislation painfully obvious.

Putting this understanding into action, in 1979 Dole co-sponsored the first version of the McClure-Volkmer bill (the Firearms Owners' Protection Act, or FOPA).

In 1982 Dole secured the first legislative rollback of the GCA. At the time, the GCA required federal licensing for all ammunition dealers and required that a record be kept on all handgun ammunition sales by retailers. The senator sponsored a successful amendment to a trade bill that removed .22 caliber rimfire ammunition from the GCAs dealer ammunition sale recordkeeping requirement. Two years later, Dole offered a successful amendment removing the GCAs restrictions on military surplus imports.

Upon becoming Senate majority leader for the first time in 1985, Dole put FOPA at the top of the legislative agenda, securing passage on July 9 of that year. Writing Dole to thank him for his hard work several days after FOPA passed the Senate, NRA-ILA Executive Director J. Warren Cassidy noted,

all of us here in the Institute will never forget that it was your strong, determined leadership that brought about the passage.

If you had not made it known that you intended to bring that bill to a vote, certain parties both pro and anti gun would have once again blocked any positive action.

The House passed FOPA on April 10, 1986. On April 26 of that year Dole served as the keynote speaker at the 115th NRA Members Banquet at the NRA Annual Meetings. During his speech, Dole made clear his intent to shepherd the vital gun rights bill through final Senate approval. FOPA was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on May 19. Pursuant to NRA tradition, NRA presented Dole with a well-deserved flintlock long rifle crafted by master gunmaker Cecil Brooks.

[For more information on the important changes to federal law in FOPA, readers are encouraged to study David T. Hardys excellent work on the subject, here and here.]

Doles obvious work on behalf of gun owners did not stop some of the more outspoken within the gun rights community from, at times, finding perceived fault with the senator. Speaking in 1988 Dole explained,

Ive done more than talk about my commitment. Ive done more than give lip service to gun owners rights. Ive made a difference.

All gun owners should be grateful for the tremendous difference Dole made.

See the original post:
Bob Dole: Veteran, Senator, and Friend to the Second Amendment - NRA ILA

Imagine your 5-year-old child singing in school, to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star:

Lockdown, Lockdown. Lock the door. Shut the lights off, Say no more. Go behind the desk and hide. Wait until its safe inside.

And then being stalked by another child, this one with, for example, a Sig Sauer 9 mm semiautomatic weapon designed for warfare. Imagine the call from the hospital or the police telling you your child or grandchild is dead by gunfire. That you will never see him or her again. Ever.

Every day a police officer goes to work, we are told over and over again on cop shows on TV, their family never knows if theyll come home alive.

We cut cops a lot of slack because they put their lives on the line every day, the Supreme Court even created a doctrine called qualified immunity so if a police officer kills somebody it is extremely difficult to hold them to account.

We also celebrate our Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and Sailors for largely the same reason: they put their lives on the line to protect the rest of us.

We pay them combat bonuses, provide them with a lifetime of medical care including dental and drugs, and even pay for 100% of their college tuition, cover up to 100% of the cost of their housing when studying, and give them up to $1000 a year for books.

And do not forget the special funds for ex-GIs who live in rural areas to travel to college in distant cities. All because they were willing to face gunfire. But our children?

A recent study reported in The American Journal of Medicine found that, in 2017, there were 144 police officers who died in the line of duty [including for medical reasons] and about 1,000 active duty military throughout the world who died [of all causes], whereas 2,462 school-age children were killed by firearms.

The War in Vietnam arguably began in 1963 when JFK sent advisors to that country.

In the years since 1963, nearly 193,000 American children have been killed with guns, far more than the number of U.S. soldiers killed in action in the Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq wars combined.

It can be difficult to parse out how many police have died from gunfire in the line of duty as most police websites and police unions include everything from heart attacks and cancer to car accidents in their lists of line of duty deaths, but a recent report from PBS concluded: For the last four years, the data indicate an approximate average of 40-50 officers were shot, stabbed, strangled or beaten to death each year.

So figure at most 50 police officers a year dying from gunfire, over the 58 years since 1963, and we have about 2,900 police who died by guns since the year JFK was assassinated by gunfire.

And their families generally get generous death benefits (it varies from state to state and city to city), while wounded officers get top-of-the-line medical treatment at little or no cost. Not to mention pensions for the rest of their lives.

But those 193,000 children and their families? They got nothing. Not even a thank you from Congress. In fact, there are fewer than a dozen Republicans in Congress who will even mention those tragic souls.

The 3,371 American children who died from gunfire in 2019 enough to fill 168 classrooms of 20 children each received no protection whatsoever from Republicans for sacrificing their lives to protect the Second Amendment: instead, the GOP continues to fight to keep the gun-show loophole open and increase the number of weapons of war on our streets.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of children suffer lifelong wounds and trauma from gunfire injuries every year.

As the Childrens Defense Fund noted this year:

Just like with tobacco, weare witnessing the result of a decades-long hundred-million-dollar marketing campaign to earn the weapons industry billions in profits while filling America with handguns and other weapons of war. It is literally killing us and our children.

And the millions conservatives on the Supreme Court allowed them to pour into their lobbying campaign kept the US government from even legally compiling gun death statistics. In 2005, a bought-off Republican-controlled Congress passed the Protecting Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, gifting the weapons industry with broad immunity from lawsuits by grieving parents, relatives or communities.

We tolerated hundreds of thousands of tobacco-related deaths every year with no penalty or consequence to the tobacco industry whatsoever until the late 1990s, when a group of plucky lawyers and a few Democratic-controlled states took them on.

People are still dying of lung cancer, but it is harder for kids to get cigarettes now even vending machines were banned because they are so easy for children to use to get tobacco products and it is illegal for tobacco companies to target advertising to children.

There are no such protections for our children from guns and the people who manufacture, market and sell them.

Today in America a child going to school is more likely to die from gunfire in the course of getting an education than a police officer or soldier is to die that way in the line of duty. We spend about half of all discretionary federal dollars on police and our militaryand only nine percent on our children.

Democrats have worked for decades to reduce the number of weapons of war on our streets, passing both the Brady Law and the Assault Weapons Ban. Last week they tried again to advance gun control legislation in the Senate in response to the Oxford, Michigan school shooting, but were blocked by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley.

Republicans and the weapons industry that supports them successfully gutted the Brady Law and refused to renew the Assault Weapons Ban when it expired during the Bush administration; they have, since the election of Ronald Reagan, turned guns into part of their culture war against the American people.

With devastating results to our children.

If you want to know who Republicans in Congress value, look at who they protect and who they let die. By any reasonable standard, America has taken a very wrong and very tragic path.

Read more here:
Distorted Values: Why some Americans are so willing to let children die to protect the Second Amendment - Milwaukee Independent

The Issue: Residents of Beverly Hills, Calif., who are arming themselves in the wake of a rise in crime.

Its hard to muster much sympathy for the denizens of Beverly Hills who are awakening to the dystopian results of leftist policies that they have continued to vote for because it hadnt affected them yet (Up in arms with 9MMs in the 90210, Dec. 11).

They are beginning to understand the Second Amendment gives citizens the right to defend themselves when their government has abandoned that responsibility.

Well, many people have been living with the reality of rampant crime and inadequate police response for a long time.

Everyone needs to wake up and stop voting for pro-crime, anti-self- defense politicians who enjoy government security details for themselves and their families and couldnt care less about yours.

Sharon Wylie

Westport, Conn.

Funny how life works, isnt it? Many of these people are the same ones who want to take away others Second Amendment rights.

Now that crime is coming to their neighborhood, having a gun is just fine. The hypocrisy comes out and shows how ignorant most of these people truly are.

Im glad they get to see firsthand what the judges, district attorneys and bail policies are doing to the country.

Most of these people helped put these clueless officials in office, and hopefully have realized they have been used by a small group of people trying to ruin a once-safe country.

Joe Micare

Malta

Utterly amazing. The very same idiot liberals who voted for radicals to lead them are now arming themselves against the very people they believe to be innocent victims of society.

It cannot be stated too often: This is what you 90210 morons advocated for and voted for. Too bad. You won. Suck it up and quit whining.

Stephen Valentini

Bonita Springs, Fla.

Former 60s radical Vera Markowitz said she is now a radical in the middle and not on the extreme of anything. Ive always believed that when you believe in something, you fight for whatever it is.

Without knowing it, Markowitz has updated the definition of a conservative to a former radical who is afraid of getting mugged.

David Ross

San Diego, Calif.

The Issue: Money donated to the campaigns of leftist district attorneys by George Soros nonprofits.

New Yorkers are about to experience the ill winds of George Soros money after his $1 million backing of incoming Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (Soros $hock & awe game, Dec. 17).

Bragg is no different than the other radical district attorneys funded by Soros who have managed to increase crime in their major cities to alarming rates.

Nicholas Maffei

Yonkers

Day after day, I read about the innocent being slaughtered in our country due to progressive reforms pushed by leftist activists and leftist district attorneys backed by George Soros.

Hardened criminals are arrested and released shortly thereafter to prey on the innocent. When will this madness end?

Michael Greaney

Massapequa

Want to weigh in on todays stories? Send your thoughts (along with your full name and city of residence) to letters@nypost.com. Letters are subject to editing for clarity, length, accuracy and style.

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Letters to the Editor Dec. 18, 2021 - New York Post

The Punch and Judy puppet shows first appeared in England in May of 1662. It was a comedy show that originated in Bologna, Italy, years before making its way to England.

After a Royal Command Performance before King Charles II of England, Signor Bologna, the shows puppet master, was rewarded with a gold chain and medal worth $5,000 in todays money. Soon other puppeteers got into the act and it spread all over England to theatres, taverns, boarding houses, street corners, gardens, and parks.

By 1850, the show had crossed the Atlantic Ocean and became famous all over America. You can look up its complete history and see pictures of the puppets and their makeshift theatres by going on line and typing in the Punch and Judy puppet show that originated in Europe.

In the early 1950s, my grandfather had two dogs named Punch and Judy. As a young boy I was always curious about why he did things, so I asked him why he gave his dogs those names.

He said he used to watch the Punch and Judy puppet shows while stationed in Rome, Italy during the mid-1930s. He explained that the shows were very humorous, a reflection of European culture, and a great display of the puppeteers uncanny ability to make the puppets dance, sing, fight, and tell jokes, while on the ends of their strings. He was then a Colonel in the U.S. Army and the Military Attach to the U.S. Embassy in Rome. Actually, he was collecting information on the strength and whereabouts of Mussolinis Army, Navy, and Air Force units on behalf of the U.S. government.

Fast forward to today. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been in office for nearly one year. Besides mandating COVID vaccinations and mask wearing, it would seem their main objectives were to let the world know that the United States was back on the world stage and wants to be the leader of the New World Order.

They made it perfectly clear they were dumping Former President Trumps America First policy as it is so politically incorrect and out of date [like 1789?]. They are jumping on the climate change band wagon, solar power, wind power, non-polluting electric vehicles, new ways to reduce pollution worldwide, United Nations new world citizenship, relaxed immigration policies, trillion dollar giveaways, and other social programs designed to bankrupt our country.

Why is this happening? The super wealthy Power Elite want it that way. These members of the Billionaires Boys Club are controlling the policies of your federal government and dictating the direction their federal government should take. Joe and Kamala are just along for the ride after getting 900 million in campaign contributions from the Super Pacs and other entities these guys control.

Why would they spend so much money to insure Joe and Kamala got jobs paying $400,000 and $265,000 respectively? I think the answer is obvious. They want all of the aforesaid policies in place in order to move away from a society founded on the rights of the individual, to a society controlled by a strong centralized, socialistic federal government. It would appear its working for them and not for you.

Have you ever noticed how everything has to be so politically correct these day? You knowgender neutral, race neutral, sexual orientation neutral, religiously neutral, class neutral, politically neutral, historically neutral, medically neutral, legally neutral, and hey, my cars transmission is stuck in neutral and I cant go anywhere.

Welcome to the new America where your right to free speech has been significantly curtailed and you are going nowhere. Your other First Amendment right to Freedom of Religion is likewise under attack, and Joe and Kamala are trying to figure out a way to get rid of the Second Amendment. [Ill address this in a later opinion as I dont have enough room in todays]. The rest of the Bill of Rights will also be deleted or modified if the Power Elite have their way.

So what does this article have to do with a puppet show? Everything. Joe and Kamala have become the puppets of the Power Elite who are pulling the strings, just as Signor Bologna did to Punch and Judy so many years ago. I think the time has come to expose the real leaders of our country.

You would be surprised to find out that not only are they living in the United States, but also in the Far East, Europe, and the Middle East. Say welcome to the International Billionaire Boys Club who have hijacked your federal government. Your first clue should have been the horrific inflation rate that the puppet masters ordered Joe and Kamala to ignore.

This is because inflation favors rich investors holding real property, stocks, and other tangible assets (like million dollar exotic car collections), and does not favor middle class workers on a salary or hourly wage. Your second clue should have been the immigration fiasco on our southern border designed to bring in more future citizens loyal to the Democratic-Socialistic Party so they vote for it in future elections.

The Power Elite wants everyone thinking alike, in lockstep, and voting for their handpicked candidates. So next time you see Joe or Kamala on the news, see if you can notice those invisible strings being pulled by their puppet masters

JAMES C. WEART is a retired criminal defense attorney who now resides in Rogersville, TN. He has also authored a book entitled COMMON SENSE A REAL PARTY MOVEMENT. You can email him at jamescrimlaw@gmail.com

See the original post:
Is That Punch and Judy or Joe and Kamala? - Therogersvillereview

The northeastern corner of Arizona that largely includes the state's current 1st Congressional District is again considered up for grabsin the upcoming 2022 election cycle.

The final boundaries for the new district won't be set by the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission for at least several weeks, but the area is expected to retain its traditional political competitiveness.

Arizona has nine congressional districts and Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Ariz., is in his third two-year term on Capitol Hill.

The 1st District is now largely rural and includes Apache, Coconino, Graham, Greenlee, and Navajo countiesas well asparts of Gila, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Pinal and Yavapai counties.

The redistricting commission hopes to complete mapping by Dec.22, and the Arizona Secretary of State's deadline is Jan.2.

At least for now, here are the major candidates running in Arizona's 1st District:

O'Halleran, a relatively moderate Democrat,is the incumbent in the 1st District. He won his seat in the 2016 elections, and won additional terms in 2018 and 2020.

On his campaign website, O'Halleran said he will"continue working across the aisle to find solutions to the challenges our communities face."

O'Halleran's website features alist of campaign issues, including a detailed job plan that highlights issues such as training and education on tribal lands, investing in education, supporting community colleges, and workforce development.

Other priorities cover modernizing taxes and giving Americans a "well-deserved raise."O'Halleran voted to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Also included is fighting against privatizing Social Security and Medicare, ensuring veteran's benefits and health care, and supporting immigration reform to secure the border, keep families together and supporting the DREAM Act.

Before his congressional career, O'Halleran served in the Arizona Senate from 2006 to 2009 and in the Arizona House of Representatives between 2001 to 2006 as a Republican. Heleft the GOP in 2014.

WaltBlackmanserves in the Arizona House of Representatives. Blackman, R-Snowflake,was the first BlackRepublican representative to be elected to the state House.

Blackman'swebsite includes campaign issuessuch as border security, improving health care access for veterans, reforming criminal justice to promote successful reintegration of former inmates,getting tough onChina, protecting the Second Amendment, restricting abortion rightsand protecting election integrity.

Blackman faced a backlash earlier this year after sponsoring an unsuccessful"homicide by abortion bill,"which would have allowed prosecutors to chargewomen who get abortions and the doctors who perform them with homicide.

Blackman took office in 2019 and his current term ends in 2023. Before politics, Blackmanserved in the U.S Army for 21 years.

Veteran and business ownerEli Cranealso aimsto unseat O'Halleran.

His campaign website describesCrane as "a faith oriented, family man and is pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, and unafraid to take a stand against cancel culture and the radical left."

The race is Crane's first time seeking public office. The issues listed on his campaign website include strengthening border laws and "empowering frontline agents and officers to enforce the laws Congressand apprehended and return illegal border crossers."

Crane's other topissuesinclude strengthening the economy by fighting for lower taxes, fewer regulations and pro-growth policies. He wants to make voting more restrictive, in part through tougher ID requirements and by limiting mail-in balloting. Additionally, he favors more aid to veterans andthe military, especially for counter-intelligence.

Crane served in the U.S. Navy from 2001 to 2014 and created Bottle Breacher, a bottle opener company that he says employs and supports veterans.

Ron Watkinsmade headlines after announcing his run for Congress, after he was believed to be the author behind some QAnon conspiracy posts, but he has deniedthe allegations. Watkins' ties to QAnon surfaced after a bulletin board website of his became home to QAnon postings. In his campaign announcement video, Watkins says his run for Congress was motivated by the 2020 election.Watkins has completed paperwork with the Federal Elections Committee but hasnot launcheda campaign website.

John Moore, a "Strong Constitutional Conservative" according to his campaign website, says he is running for Congress to return politicalpower to the American people. Moore is a retired police chief and the current mayor of Williamsin Northern Arizona.The three top campaign issues listed on Moore's campaign website are quality education, border security and VA reform. Moore has filed paperwork with the FEC.

Katherine "Kat"Gallanthas not held public office before but has a political history in Mesa. As a former hair salon owner, Gallant ran for Mesa mayor in 1995 but did not win office. In 1997, Gallant went on a "freedom ride" across the country in protest of a voter-approved1996 law that banned smoking in most public places in Mesa. Gallant's campaign website calls for stronger border security policies, fighting election corruption and fraud, and holding those in office responsible. Gallant has yet to file with the FEC.

Andy Yates is asmall business owner in Arizona. Some of theissues listed on Yates' campaign websiteincludestanding up to China, border security by finishing the wall and a "merit-based" immigration reform, law enforcement empowerment, defending the Constitution and championing deregulation.Yates sayshe can create "commonsense conservativesolutions" to thoseissues. Yates has filed paperwork with the FEC.

Steve Beaver formerly served in the U.S Navy and Army National Guard. According to Beaver's campaign website, Beaver is campaigning on national security, including expanding the defense budget, campaign finance reform, border security, and building a strong community supporting small businesses and tax reductions. Beaver has yet to fill out paperwork with the FEC.

More:
Here are the candidates running in Arizona's 1st Congressional District - The Arizona Republic

Ohio Republican Senate candidate Jane Timken on Friday released a newstatewide ad touting her ties to former President TrumpDonald TrumpSenate confirms 40 judges during Biden's first year in office, the most since Reagan 'Stop the Steal' organizer testified to House panel about contact with GOP reps in lead-up to Jan. 6 Why you shouldn't expect a Biden shake-up MORE and his policies.

The ad, titled "America First," calls Timken a "Trump conservative" who "wiped out the Kasich establishment," referring to Trump critic and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R). The 30-second spot also touts Timken's conservative stances on the Second Amendment, immigration, parents' rights, and the economy. The ad is a part of a previous six-figure media buy.

Timken is one of a number of candidates running the Republican Senate primary, which has become largely defined by their efforts to tie themselves to the former president.The field includes Timken, businessman Bernie Moreno, former Ohio state Treasurer Josh Mandel, author and venture capitalist J. D. Vance, investment banker Mike Gibbons and state Sen. Matt Dolan.

The primary is set for May 3and the campaigns have released a slew of ads that have garnered some national attention. Late last month,Gibbonsrolled out a $500,000 statewide advertising buytargetingVance,which invokesthe anti-Trump stances the author took during the 2016 presidential election.

The conservative group, the Club for Growth, which is supporting Mandel, has also targeted Vance over his past anti-Trump remarks, including in a $1 million television ad buy. Politico reported last month that Trump, himself, called the group's president to complain about the ads in the state, which he won in the 2016 and 2020 elections.

Trump has not made an endorsement in the primary.

There has not been much public polling yetin the primary, but Mandel appears to be the early frontrunner. Timken's campaign has touted a recent internal poll that shows her polling four points behind Mandel.

Read the rest here:
Timken releases ad touting ties to Trump in Ohio Senate primary | TheHill - The Hill

PHOTO PROVIDEDThe junior team was awarded third place overall at the PA State YHEC competition. Pictured from left are Coach Rob Baker and team members Dylan Baker, Collin Ankney, Glenn Hough and Malachi Gotshall. Missing from the photo is Thayne Jeffries.

MILL HALL Many youths in our area are getting the opportunity to participate in a non-traditional sport.

Southern Clinton County YHEC (Youth Hunter Education Challenge) continues to have a strong presence in the program. The team currently has 21 participants and will be holding a registration/informational night at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 10 at Millers Gun Shop to recruit new athletes.

You might be asking What is YHEC?

YHEC provides a fun environment for kids 18 and under to improve their hunting, marksmanship and safety skills. Through its simulated hunting situations, live fire exercises, educational and responsibility events, YHEC helps build upon skills learned in basic hunter education courses and encourages safer, lifelong hunting habits. From rifle, bow, and muzzleloader shooting at life-sized targets, to wildlife identification, map and compass orienteering, and more, YHEC participants can get hands-on training in eight skill areas, giving them expertise in all methods of take and all types of game.

The benefits, both physically and mentally, include strength, endurance, awareness, control, responsibility, stress management, maturity, patience, working through feelings of failure and disappointment, and teamwork all of which build character, and hopefully, self-confidence. Training for, and shooting in, competitions also fosters a real understanding of the nature and practicality of our Second Amendment freedoms.

PHOTOS PROVIDEDHunner Lindsey is shown shooting at the archery event at the Eastern Regional Championships.

SCC YHEC continues to see success in its seasons. This past June, members of the YHEC team traveled to Scotia Range in State College, to participate in the PA State YHEC competition. The Junior team finished third overall taking home first place in shotgun, second place in archery, third place in wildlife ID and second place on the hunter ed exam.

The Junior team consisted of Malachi Gottshall, Dylan Baker, Collin Ankney, Thayne Jeffries and Glenn Hough. Individual Junior recognition went to Malachi Gottshall, who placed third in shotgun and second in wildlife ID and to Collin Ankney, who placed second in archery.

The Senior Blue team had a third place overall finish taking home second place in shotgun, second place in muzzleloader, third place in wildlife ID, and second place in the hunter ed exam. The Senior Blue team consisted of Emery Gunsallus, Wyatt Ripka, Denny Dolan, Lance Bowman and Tyler Weaver. Senior Orange team placed third in shotgun. That team consisted of Hunner Lindsey, Trenton Haagen, Joe Proctor, Gavin Kerstetter and Hunter Jeirles. Individual Senior recognition went to Emery Gunsallus, who had a first-place finish in rifle and wildlife ID and second place in hunter ed exam. Tyler Weaver earned third place in muzzleloader. Gunsallus also took the podium with a third place overall in the senior division.

Six members of the team also traveled to Chemung, N.Y., for the three-day Eastern Regional Championships. The senior team, consisting of Denny Dolan, Emery Gunsallus, Hunner Lindsey, Wyatt Ripka and Tyler Weaver took home a first place in shotgun, second place in archery, third place in rifle and hunter ed exam. They also finished with a third place overall team.

Denny Dolan took home first place in the fun event called Mohawk Marathon and won a new muzzleloader. First-year junior Glenn Hough participated as an individual in the junior division. Although Hough did not make the podium, he did have an impressive fourth place finish in the hunter safety portion of the competition.

PHOTOS PROVIDEDEmery Gunsallus is seen on podium for his Third Place overall finish as an individual in Senior division.

Students are encouraged to take a look at the local shooting sports opportunities available in Clinton County. There is the YHEC, Central Mountain High Schools new clay target team, or indoor rifle leagues such as the Bald Eagle Rifle League. There are also opportunities from spring through fall to shoot sporting clay courses at your local sportsmens clubs.

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Youth Hunter Educational Challenge to hold informational night - Lock Haven Express

Traditionally, the Wisconsin gun deer season launches the weekend before Thanksgiving and runs through the Sunday following the national holiday. This years opening weekend found me on family property in north-central Wisconsin with my back to a huge oak tree and a lever-action rifle sitting across my lap. My blaze-orange coat was zipped up tight in the below-freezing temperature, but I know I had a satisfied smile on face.

Thanksgiving and Wisconsin deer hunting are state traditionsa time to celebrate family and friends, and to give thanks for all that we have in this country. This tradition is founded on the ideals of self-determination and freedom. Perhaps most crucial among the freedoms we enjoy is the Second Amendment, which, in a sense, is well celebrated during this week by Wisconsinites and by millions more around this great nation.

For many Wisconsin families, Thanksgiving itself starts with deer hunters getting out the door in the chilly pre-dawn and making their way to their hunting areas. They then, somehow, get back home early enough to enjoy the bird and all the trimmings with the family. After the meal, these hunters may take a quick nap on the couch while the football game plays on the television, and then itss up and back out for the later afternoon hunt.

Wisconsin is home to nearly 700,000 deer hunters, and those participating in the gun deer season are often called the orange army. While it is legal to use a bow during this season, most volunteers in the orange army head afield with the firearm of their choice. It may be grandpas lever-action or a new semi-automatic; whatever the choice, the experience is the same.

Those who are opposed to our Second Amendment rights have a different idea about the decisions we make as gun owners in a free nation. All too often these same anti-gun types have tried to divide gun owners at this time of the year by saying someone doesnt need this or that type of firearm to hunt deer with.

As A1F.com Editor in Chief Frank Miniter recently wrote: Anti-Second Amendment groups and politicianssuch as President Joe Biden (D) and former senator and presidential candidate John Kerry (D)have tried to divide and conquer gun owners by going hunting or mentioning hunters and then claiming true sportsmen and women dont need this or that type of gun.

Were not going to take away your hunting guns, these anti-gunners claim, just the bad ones that no real hunter would use. You know, those scary black rifles, or some other guns they wish to villify.

This tactic implies that the Second Amendment is essentially a hunting right. And since these anti-gun individuals and organizations arent targeting our hunting guns, well, they think we should be okay with their desired restrictions and bans.

The Second Amendment was written to stop government from infringing on our inherent right to keep and bear arms, as self-defense and self-determination are critical elements of actual freedom.

That said, would we have the hunting culture we do today in the United States and Wisconsin without the Second Amendment? I dont see how.

This deer season, I am using a Henry Arms Big Boy All-Weather Sidegate chambered in .357 Magnum. I like lever-actions, and wanted to try this particular rifle with new .357 mag. hunting ammunition.

Actually, though, my favorite hunting rifle is one of those scary black rifles the anti-gunners despise. Its an AR-10, specifically a DPMS GII Hunter chambered in .260 Rem., and Ive used it to great success on many deer and hog hunts.

Anti-Second Amendment types will tell you no one uses an AR-style rifle for huntingthese people are either misinformed or are intentionally spreading a falsehood. All sorts of American hunters like myself use AR-style rifles for hunting game, large and small, and its their choice to do so.

A vibrant Second Amendment provides somewhere between 14 and 20 million Americans with the right to go afield toting the firearms of their choice (state and local hunting regulations dependent, of course). The hunting we do is an important cultural force in this nation; this is so even though most of us dont need to hunt to feed ourselves and our families.

Hunting connects us to the self-sufficiency of the past. Hunting further connects us to the land and to nature, and every Thanksgiving week, tens-of-thousands of Wisconsin hunters and their families share the hunt as an annual tradition.

And for all that, Wisconsin deer hunters like myself very much give thanks.

Read more from the original source:
Giving Thanks this Thanksgiving: Family, Freedom, the Second Amendment and Hunting - America's 1st Freedom

The National Rifle Association has notched a big milestone: its 150th anniversary.

"For 150 years, millions of Americans from all walks of life, races, colors, and creeds have been proud members of the National Rifle Association of America. From Presidents of the United States, military heroes, those with household names to rank and file Americans like us, all have entrusted the NRA to be the guardians of their Second Amendment, their self-defense and hunting rights, and indeed their freedom as Americans," NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre exclusively told Fox News.

"That is a solemn duty that all of us at the NRA take seriously. That is why the NRA never has and never will shrink from a fight."

Wayne LaPierre, NRA vice president and CEO, speaks to guests at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum at the 148th NRA Annual Meetings Exhibits on April 26, 2019, in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) ()

The NRA was officially founded on Nov. 17, 1871, by Union veterans Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate. The pair launched the group after they became disheartened by the lack of marksmanship among their troops during the war. Church explained in an op-ed at the time that the NRAs primary goal was to "promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis."

NRA founders Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate (Provided by the NRA)

Its history also includes arming Americans so they could fight back against the Ku Klux Klan, and the organization touts that some of its first members were Black Americans looking to defend themselves against Klan members. Nine of its 10 first presidents were also Union veterans who fought to defeat slavery.

NRA INSTRUCTOR TRAINS THOUSANDS OF INNER CITY WOMEN 'TO ENSURE THEYRE NEVER VICTIMS'

The association has repeatedly come under fire from liberals who say it is rooted in racism, which LaPierre also shot down earlier this year at CPAC.

"The fact is, before the color barrier was broken in professional sports, before it was broken in schools, lunch lines, water fountains, in the media, or in Hollywood, before all of that, and since our founding 150 years ago, the National Rifle Association of America has not only welcomed all Americans. We've fought for civil rights and constitutional freedom for all Americans!" LaPierre said at the time.

Through the years, the NRA has remained on target with its founders goal: training Americans.

During World War II, the NRA opened its ranges to the government and developed training guidelines. After the war, it focused on training hunters and established the first hunter education program, which has since spread from New York to across the country and Canada. In 1957, local North Carolina NAACP leader Rob Williams chartered an NRA-affiliated club to help residents of Monroe fight the KKK. And by 1960, the NRA became the only national trainer of law enforcement officers with its Police Firearms Instructor certification program.

The various training courses continue to today. One NRA instructor recently touted that he has trained thousands of women from Detroit on how to safely protect themselves with guns "to ensure theyre never victims."

The group also has also celebrated the many U.S. presidents throughout history who were NRA members, including John F. Kennedy, Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower.

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Conservative political leaders also celebrated the NRAs birthday on social media, heralding the group as one protecting freedom.

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NRA celebrates 150th anniversary: Americans' 'guardians' of the Second Amendment - Fox News