Two Important
Please Contact Your State Legislators Today!
Two bills of importance to
House Bill 453 passed the House on Tuesday, March 16 by a vote of 92-4. It is now en route to the Senate for a committee assignment.
Authored by State Representative Will Coursey (D-6), HB453 would allow an individual to carry a loaded or unloaded firearm in an enclosed compartment originally installed by the manufacturer in a motor vehicle. The firearm would not be considered a concealed firearm under state law.
House Bill 542, introduced by State Representative Terry Mills (D-24), was passed by the House Elections, Constitutional Amendments, and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday, as well. HB542 now heads to the House floor for consideration.
This bill would direct the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to include a voter registration application form as part of an application for a hunting license or permit. In addition, HB542 would also provide that any change of address form submitted for purposes of a hunting license or permit would serve as a change of address for voter registration. Hunter-Voter legislation will encourage sportsmen’s involvement in the political process and is an important method for preserving
Please contact your State Senator TODAY and respectfully urge them to support HB453. Also, please contact your State Representative to voice your support for HB542. Contact information for your State Legislators can be found by clicking here.
Concealed Carry Reform Legislation
On Thursday, March 11, House Bill 19 was signed by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear(D).
Sponsored by State Representative Fitz Steele (D-84) and State Representative BobDamron (D-39), HB19 will now enable military personnel who are on active duty to renew their concealed carry licenses early and by mail. It also allows for those military personnel whose license expires while on active duty to renew their license within 90 days after the end of their deployment, with no late fees or other penalties.
Thank you to all those who contacted their legislators during this process.
(and KC3's special thanks for Rep. Bob Damron's continuing efforts on our behalf - CR)
On February 22, a new law took effect that applied state firearms laws to national parks and wildlife refuges across America.
The implementation of the new law, which the National Park Service (NPS) has planned for since passage of H.R. 627 last May, has so far been without major problems. NPS management reports that it has worked with the 493 individual parks, promoting a consistent message on several key points:
This last point—and especially the definition of "federal facility"—may be the one most likely to cause confusion for visitors. The National Park Service has indicated that, according to its apparently broad interpretation of the law, the law prohibits firearms not only in buildings (such as visitor centers, ranger stations, and administrative offices) but also in other areas that are regularly staffed by federal employees (such as developed caves and gated outdoor performance areas). However, NPS officials stress that all prohibited locations will be marked with signs.
The ban on carry in "federal facilities" does not apply to buildings that are located in parks, but not staffed by the federal government—such as many restaurants, lodges and gift shops. However, private operators of those places are free to make their own rules subject to state law.
Needless to say, anti-gun activists and the media have redlined their hysteria meters, with one newspaper claiming that "there assuredly will be more gun violence" in parks, and another suggesting that park visitors "might want to toss a Kevlar vest into the SUV." And the Brady Campaign is still looking for ways to use the courts to reverse the new law.
Needless to say, media fears are unlikely to be realized, and NRA-ILA will fight any effort to reverse this hard-won victory. As always, be sure to watch this alert and www.nraila.org for any new developments.
See the link to this information here
Pro-Hunting Bill Scheduled to be Considered Tomorrow!
Please Contact the Members of the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee!
Tomorrow at 9:00 a.m., the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee will consider a bill that, if passed, would overhaul the structure and operation of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
House Bill 429, sponsored by State Representative Bob Damron (D-39), would, among other things, permit a person to carry a firearm for self-defense during bow hunting season. The bill would also create a “no-net-loss” hunting policy for public hunting lands, requiring that the Commonwealth maintain at least the same amount and quality of available public hunting land as currently exists. It requires that additional lands be opened to hunting if land that is currently open to hunting is closed.
Please contact the members of the committee TODAY and respectfully urge them to support HB429. Contact information for the committee can be found here.
A University of Kentucky graduate student has sued the university and others, claiming he was wrongfully fired from his job at the UK Chandler Medical Center because he had a handgun in his car.
The car was parked at Commonwealth Stadium while he was at work.
Michael Mitchell, who had a permit allowing him to have a concealed weapon, was working as an anesthesia technician at the medical center in April 2009, when he was fired
Read the story here.
“If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
