Lock and Load
Here we bring you all things Second Amendment because without the Second Amendment nothing else will matter.
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Fili-Busted: Booker Pal and Staffer Arrested for Carrying Gun on Capitol Grounds
Cam Edwards – Bearing Arms
While New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker was engaging in his marathon bit of bloviating on the Senate floor Monday night, one of his longtime buddies and staff members was getting busted by the Capitol Police for illegally carrying a firearm on the grounds.
The New York Post reports that Booker staffer Kevin Betts, a former law enforcement officer in New Jersey, was arrested on Monday evening after informing Capitol Police that he was carrying.
“Yesterday afternoon a Member of Congress led an IDed staff member around security screening at the Hart Senate Office Building. Later that evening, outside the Senate Galleries, the IDed staff member — who is a retired law enforcement officer — told our officers he was armed,” a rep for US Capitol Police said in a statement Tuesday.
“The staff member, 59-year-old Kevin A. Batts of New Jersey, was arrested for Carrying a Pistol Without a License. All weapons are prohibited from Capitol Grounds, even if…Read more here.
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Dismisses Lawsuit Against Gun Maker
Cam Edwards / BEARING ARMS
Eight years ago, a 13-year-old boy in Pennsylvania named J.R. Gustafson lost his life after his 14-year-old friend picked up a firearm, pointed it at the teen, and pulled the trigger. The 14-year-old maintained that since the magazine had been removed he thought the gun was unloaded, not realizing there was still a round in the chamber.
The 14-year-old was ultimately adjudicated on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in juvenile court, but Gustafon’s parents also brought a civil lawsuit against gun maker Springfield Armory and Saloom Department Store, which sold the pistol to its lawful owner. The Gustafons claimed the design of the pistol was defective, and accused the manufacturer and FFL of negligent design and sale, as well as negligent warnings and marketing in relation to the gun, arguing that their actions were the proximate cause of their son’s death.
A trial court threw out the lawsuit after opining that this type of litigation is prohibited under the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, but an en banc panel of the state Superior…Read more here.
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Veterans’ Gun Rights Still Under Threat
Tom Knighton – Bearing Arms
As a veteran, I’m entitled to certain benefits. They were something that was promised to me when I enlisted, as they’ve been promised to those who came before me and those who came after.
Many of those in both camps deserve them far more than I. While I served during things like Somali and the US intervention in the Balkans, my happy butt was sitting stateside for all of that. I still remember being in Hospital Corps “A” School when the Battle of Mogadishu (Blackhawk Down) happened, and I can tell some stories of how our instructors used that as a lesson.
But I didn’t do much. Many of my brother and sister veterans did. They deserve the help, and the Veterans Affairs is supposed to provide it.
However, the VA has a history of taking the names of those who need help managing their benefits and submitting them to the NICS database as people who can’t own guns. Read more here.
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National Constitutional Carry Reciprocity Advances in House
Tom Knighton – Bearing Arms
Constitutional carry is kind of the Holy Grail for gun rights in most states. When you get that, you tend to have pretty permission laws on the books. Sure, they might not be perfect, but if you can get permitless carry, you tend to have the right environment to get anything else pro-gun you need to get passed.
Unless you’re in Florida, apparently.
Anyway, one issue with constitutional carry, though, is that if you’re traveling to a non-constitutional carry state, you have to go through the permitting process of your home state if you want to carry in that other state. That is, of course, assuming that your state has reciprocity with your destination.
National reciprocity has been high on gun rights advocates’ wish lists for quite some time. Constitutional carry reciprocity is even better, and it just advanced in the House.
Allowing people with state-issued concealed carry licenses or permits to conceal a…Read more here.
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