Missouri Passes Concealed Carry, Stand Your Ground Laws

From the American heartland to the coasts, state after state have introduced various measures to ensure that their citizens’ right to bear arms are not abridged. Even the staunchly liberal Massachusetts has joined in on the action, with residents rising up to defeat anti-gun laws and protect their constitutionally-guaranteed liberties:

“Beginning with a concealed-carry law in 2004, Ohio has continued to pass a steady stream of pro-gun laws, with more in the pipeline. Of 25 bills dealing with firearms in the state’s present legislative session, 14 would expand gun rights, while just seven would restrict them. And most of those restricting gun rights end up never getting out of committee.

The next step in Ohio is passing House Bill 48, which would remove present restrictions against carrying concealed into university buildings, day-care centers, school zones, private aircraft, government buildings, and the public areas of airports and police stations. Opponents are calling HB 48 a ‘guns everywhere’ bill, while supporters say it will further reduce ‘gun-free’ zones and their attractiveness to would-be shooters seeking unarmed targets.

In recent years, Ohio has passed and then expanded the ‘castle doctrine’ to include not only private homes but personal vehicles as well. National reciprocity with other states has been expanded, as has carrying concealed into bars and restaurants.

In Kansas, Governor Sam Brownback just signed into law a bill that allows public employees to carry concealed while going about their daily duties. This followed a law passed last year that eliminated a state requirement that a citizen applying for a permit must take an eight-hour class first. Now Kansans are free to determine if they need to take such a class, or not.

Even in Massachusetts, a state traditionally noted for its anti-Second Amendment stance, pushback at a local level ended anti-gunners’ attempts to restrict its citizens’ rights. On May 10, nearly 1,000 of Longmeadow, Massachusetts’ 15,000 residents showed up at a town meeting to protest bills that would have imposed a $300 fine for anyone carrying a gun in public or for possessing an “assault” weapon, and would have required all citizens to register their firearms with the police department. The debate extended into the wee hours of the morning before each of these intrusions was overwhelmingly voted down.”

Source: The New American