Trial date set for Sandy Hook lawsuit against gun companies

A Connecticut judge has set a tentative trial date for a lawsuit filed by families of victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting against the gun manufacturers that created the weapon used by the shooter. CNN reported that Judge Barbara Bellis of the Fairfield District Superior Court in Connecticut ruled…

Apr 20, 2016 11:00 AM CDT

Suit claims cops conspired to cover up murder of lawyer, a Second Amendment advocate

A lawsuit filed by the estate of a Connecticut lawyer claims police officials in Redding dragged their feet in approving his concealed carry permit, then conspired to cover up his murder a year later by declaring his death a suicide. The federal suit (PDF), filed on Tuesday by the estate…

Apr 7, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

Supreme Court cites Second Amendment in stun-gun decision, says state court misapplied Heller

Massachusetts’ top court contradicted Second Amendment precedent in the reasoning it used to uphold a ban on stun guns, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a per curiam opinion. The court granted cert and vacated the judgment without argument. The court ruled in the case of Jaime Caetano,…

Mar 21, 2016 11:34 AM CDT

Assault-weapons case gets rehearing by full 4th Circuit

A full federal appeals court will reconsider a three-judge panel decision last month giving a boost to gun-rights advocates. The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted rehearing en banc on Friday, the Huffington Post reports. The 2-1 decision last month had ordered a Baltimore judge to apply…

Mar 8, 2016 5:45 AM CST

4th Circuit requires strict scrutiny of assault-weapons ban, says it’s not ‘a rubber stamp’

A federal appeals court has ordered a Baltimore judge to apply strict scrutiny when evaluating Maryland’s ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Feb. 4 in a 2-1 decision (PDF), report MSN.com, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal…

Feb 9, 2016 6:15 AM CST

Texas courthouse gun bans are being reconsidered based on state AG’s opinions

Recent opinions by the attorney general of Texas has officials in charge of courthouses around the state rethinking gun bans. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has written several recent opinions relating to the state’s gun laws. Under a 2003 state law, firearms are prohibited in “the premises of any government…

Jan 21, 2016 2:00 PM CST

Are zoos exempt under new Texas open-carry laws?

Can Texas zoos ban visitors from bringing guns on the property? Some zookeepers there hope so, but it may be unclear under recent state legislation. The question centers around two new laws, the Texas Tribune reports. One allows licensed firearm holders to openly carry handguns, and the other penalizes improperly…

Jan 7, 2016 1:20 PM CST

Obama executive action will define who qualifies as a gun dealer required to do background checks

Updated: After failing to persuade Congress to require background checks for all gun purchases, President Barack Obama has announced that he will take executive action that would classify more gun sellers as gun dealers who must conduct such checks. Obama announced his plans on Tuesday in an emotional press conference,…

Jan 5, 2016 7:06 AM CST

Judge didn’t have the authority to rule in Second Amendment case, appeals court says

A federal judge didn’t have the authority to rule when he found a Washington, D.C., gun law likely violated the Second Amendment, a federal appeals court has ruled. The error was “quite understandable,” according to the decision (PDF) on Tuesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of…

Dec 16, 2015 6:15 AM CST

Connecticut governor plans executive action to ban gun sales to those on terrorist watch list

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy says he plans to sign an executive order banning people on federal terrorism watch lists from buying guns in the state. Malloy, a Democrat, said at a news conference on Thursday that he plans to work with the White House to obtain the terrorism lists, report…

Dec 10, 2015 12:59 PM CST

Woman who shot at tires of fleeing shoplifting suspect gets 18 months of probation

A woman was sentenced to 18 months of probation Wednesday for shooting at the tires of a shoplifting suspect fleeing a Home Depot store in suburban Detroit. Charged with a misdemeanor for alleged reckless use of a firearm, Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez, 46, pleaded no contest in Rochester Hills District Court after…

Dec 9, 2015 1:50 PM CST

Told to give up gun after shooting alleged burglar, disabled tenant sues landlord

A former Maine lobsterman has sued his landlord, after shooting an intruder at his government-subsidized Rockland apartment earlier this year and being told he must give up his gun or face eviction. Harvey Lembo, 67, uses a wheelchair. He says he got a gun after being burglarized four times by…

Nov 18, 2015 1:35 PM CST

Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to gun lockup law; dissent sees Second Amendment double standard

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to consider a challenge to a San Francisco law that requires handgun owners to keep their weapons locked up or disabled while they are sleeping. The cert denial prompted a dissent (PDF) by Justice Clarence Thomas, who said the law significantly burdens the Second…

Jun 8, 2015 11:35 AM CDT

Gun ban for committed people violated Second Amendment rights of Michigan man, 6th Circuit rules

A federal ban on gun ownership for people who were committed to mental institutions is unconstitutional as applied to a Michigan man, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit of Appeals said the law violated the Second Amendment rights of 73-year-old Clifford Charles Tyler, report…

Dec 19, 2014 11:53 AM CST

Gun control advocates search for policies which pass 2nd Amendment muster

May 1, 2014 7:40 AM CDT