Castle Doctrine expansion hangs on Rendell's approval

Legislation to expand the Castle Doctrine remains on the desk of Gov. Rendell, but he's still deciding if he'll sign it.

The current law allows gun owners to use their weapon in self defense within their home. This legislation would expand it into the streets.

The governor said Thursday he actually hasn't got the hard copy of the bill, but he is getting input.

Under current law, a homeowner has all the legal protection he or she needs to defend against an intruder inside a home. With the expansion of the bill, Pennsylvanians legally can shoot an attacker in their driveway or outside their office without first trying to retreat. The bill would remove the duty to retreat before using deadly force against an attacker, except under certain circumstances.

There are several aspects of the bill that are being questioned. Ed Marsico, president of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, said the expansion is dangerous for interpretation in court:

There are other ethical concerns with the bill from some lawmakers. After House members earlier approved a version of this bill, the Senate tacked it onto an unrelated measure that would expand the state's law aimed at protecting children from sex offenders.

Rendell said he is taking the district attorney association's input seriously, and 10 days ago met with Marsico. Rendell expects to discuss details with him again before making his final decision. His decision means looking at every part of the bill, not just the one drawing the most attention.

By: Annie McCormick, WHP-TV Pennsylvania

Gun Owners of America Endorses Ken Paxton for Texas House Speaker

In spite of Texas being such a pro-gun state overall, the current Speaker of the House, Joe Straus, has impeded getting pro-Second Amendment legislation passed.

Although nominally a Republican, he is in bed with Democrats and liberals of both parties. In fact, when he was elected Speaker last session, only 11 Republicans voted for him! Most of those were liberals. The other 65 votes for his Speakership came from Democrats.

That’s right. When Republicans held a majority in the House (albeit a slim one), Straus “reached out” and got more than five times the votes from the other party.

So how did he reward those who took part in this collusion?

With committee chairmanships, of course. Such is the power of the Speaker. Ways and Means — which controls your money — went to a far-left liberal Democrat. And more than a dozen other chairs were given to Democrats as well. But probably the most damaging was installing Brian McCall as Chair of Calendars. That’s a very powerful position, as Calendars basically decides when (if ever) a given piece of legislation makes it to the floor. If you want to avoid recorded votes on pro-gun bills, make sure you have a liberal lackey as Chair of Calendars.

And that’s exactly what RINO Joe Straus did.

For gun owners, it has been a tough two years. As just the most recent example, Straus and his lieutenants made sure that open carry legislation would get stalled. In a typical and disgusting manner, they took pains to run out the clock before action could be taken on the floor of the House.

Unfortunately, it gets even worse.

You see, Straus has been collecting so-called pledge cards to get representatives to promise to vote for him for Speaker when the legislature convenes in January. The only thing really wrong with that is that legislators should listen to their constituents’ wishes before making such a pledge. But Joe Straus hasn’t stopped with just seeking support. We do know that legislators are withdrawing their pledges. We do know that an ethics complaint has been filed. And at least one representative has openly claimed that Straus’ staff threatened to use this year’s redistricting process to literally redraw the map so he wouldn’t have a seat if he didn’t vote for Straus.

Please understand that while GOA is a single-issue (gun rights) group, and never rates a politician on other issues, to understand who Joe Strauss is it helps to look at his overall record: he has literally campaigned for liberal Democrats, gets only 27% from Young Conservatives of Texas, opposed voter ID, supported Incumbent Protection legislation, and the list just goes on and on.

You can make of that what you will — GOA’s position is that conspiring to block open carry ALONE is reason enough to demand a new Speaker. We’re a gun rights group.

Fortunately, Texans have a chance to do a complete turnaround. Conservative and Tea Party grassroots groups all across the state are saying that enough is enough — Joe Strauss has to go.

And there’s an excellent alternative. Representative Ken Paxton, A-rated by GOA, is seeking to defeat Straus.

Please urge your Republican representative to vote for Paxton. There is a lot that needs to be brought to a vote in addition to open carry. Texas needs constitutional carry as in Vermont, Alaska and Arizona. In those states citizens can carry a concealed firearm without seeking permission from a bureaucrat.

Also needed is a Wyoming-style Firearms Freedom Act, which would criminally penalize a federal agent seeking to enforce unconstitutional federal gun laws in contravention of state law. The Firearms Freedom Act nullifies such unconstitutional laws if a firearm is made in the state, is identified as such and stays in the state. That’s because federal gun controls use the Commerce Clause as an excuse, and a gun that never crosses state lines obviously has never been involved in interstate commerce.

Please contact your Republican state representative right away, and urge others to do so, also. Even though the new Speaker will not be officially elected until January, misguided Straus supporters need to be pressured to withdraw their pledges as others have already done.

Massive pro-gun gains were made in the Texas House this election cycle. Let’s not let those go to waste by keeping a RINO as Speaker!

By: Sibyl West, Ramparts 360

New gun law widens permit holders' rights

Under Iowa's new weapons permit law -- starting in 2011 -- a person with a permit could openly walk down Central Avenue with a shotgun slung in a holster across his back.

Plymouth County Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo, explaining the changes to Iowa's permit laws, said such a situation would be legal, but not likely.

As of Jan. 1, people with permits can carry visible guns in public, Van Otterloo said.

Before this, the law allowed Iowa sheriffs to put restrictions on nonprofessional permits to carry weapons.

Those could include restrictions like being valid for concealed carry only or valid for handguns only or not valid while using or consuming alcohol or illegal drugs, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

The law going into effect in 2011 removes that ability to put any kind of restrictions on nonprofessional permits to carry weapons.

Currently nearly 400 people in Plymouth County have a permit to carry a concealed gun -- handguns only.

Van Otterloo said he's not overly concerned people will take the new law to the extreme.

"Of the 400 permits I have out there, 99.9 percent of these people are good, law abiding citizens," he said. "They're not going to draw attention to themselves by strapping the gun on and walking down Main Street. That's just not what they're all about."

He said the sheriff's office may get a call or two from members of the public.

"We will definitely answer the call, see what the situation is," Van Otterloo said. "If for some reason we feel that that individual, even though he holds a permit, is conveying it in a manner that is threatening or assaultive or some circumstance, then I still have the authority to revoke the permit."

That's just the beginning of the changes.

The bill Governor Chet Culver signed into law in April made Iowa a "shall issue" state, meaning county sheriffs would lose some of their discretion to deny a weapons permit.

"The applicant doesn't have to justify to me anymore as to why they want to carry the permit," Van Otterloo said. "If you meet the requirements, which are the training, background check, no felonies, assaults, domestic violence type situations, then you get the permit."

Before this, individuals had to justify why they felt they needed to go armed and have the option to use deadly force.

"I could deny those permits based on the justification they gave me," he said. "Not anymore."

Van Otterloo said there were cases in which he had denied permits to people in the past.

"The justification just didn't quite meet what I felt was necessary to show that they needed to go armed to protect themselves or others," he said.

The most common reason, he said, is that people said they wanted the permit so they could protect their home. However, no permit is needed to carry a gun on one's own property.

Van Otterloo still can deny a permit under the new law, but it has to be in writing, and the applicant can appeal it.

Another change: there will be no specific restrictions included on a person's weapons permit.

Before this, he explained, sheriffs could place restrictions on when a person could carry a gun, even with a permit. For example, some people would want a permit just to carry a gun when they are transporting a large sum of money.

The old permit law also allowed the sheriff to restrict permit holders from carrying weapons into bars.

"It said it right on all the permits -- it was not valid when you were in an establishment that sold alcohol," Van Otterloo said. "The new law changes that. There are no restrictions. You can carry it wherever you want, however you want, whenever you want."

However, the rule does ban permit holders from carrying a gun if they are under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

In Iowa, being under the influence of alcohol is having a blood alcohol concentration of .08.

A private business could set up a policy to prohibit weapons from its property, Van Otterloo said.

"We might see more of those," he said.

Places like schools and the courthouse may have policies prohibiting the carrying of guns onto their property.

Also with the new law, Iowa recognizes weapons permits from all other states, Van Otterloo said.

The new permits will be five-year permits, while the current permits must be renewed every year.

The cost increased to $50 for a five-year permit. Renewals will be $25. Prior to this, the cost was $10 for a one-year permit and $5 for a one-year renewal.

In Plymouth County, the sheriff's office will be issuing a plastic ID card, like a driver's license, along with the paper gun permit.

The card will include the applicant's photo, personal description, the training they took and the expiration date.

The plastic card is not required in Iowa, but Van Otterloo and some sheriffs plan to issue them.

Van Otterloo said the cards will be acceptable in other counties in Iowa.

"I would assume if they have some doubt or question, they'll call Plymouth County," he said.

Permit carriers should also keep their paper permit with them for such cases, he added.

To get a card in Plymouth County costs an additional $5.

Van Otterloo will meet with other Iowa sheriffs in early December for a one-half day training on the new rules.

He plans to post more information on gun permits on the sheriff's office website at www.plymouthcountysheriff.com after that training.

To apply for a new or renewed weapons permit, people must come in person to the sheriff's office of the county they live in.

"They can make application for the new permits after Nov. 30," Van Otterloo said. "They won't actually get the new card until January."

Those applying should also bring a legal ID and proof of their training. They also must pass a background check and be 18 or older.

To get weapons permits renewed, starting Jan. 1, 2011, people must attend a certified training course.

Currently no certified training courses are offered in Plymouth County. Under the new law, someone certified as certified instructors by groups like the National Rifle Association could start an acceptable course in Plymouth County.

Van Otterloo said that most from Plymouth County attend a course at Western Iowa Tech Community College, which involves four hours of classroom study and four hours on the shooting range.

The new law does not require that a person shoot a gun as part of the training, however.

For new gun permits, a person must show proof of completing a certified training course at some point in their life.

For first three months of 2011, while the sheriff's office is still adjusting to the new rules, Van Otterloo asked that people applying for new or renewed permits come in between 8 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m. Monday through Friday only.

The weapons law was changed in Iowa after lobbying by gun rights activists.

Iowa was one of very few states that allowed sheriffs discretion in whether to give weapons permits.

By Magdalene Landegent, Le Mars Sentinel