News

On June 16, 2016, by a 16-1 vote, the City Council approved a measure that requires every firearm in Philadelphia stored in homes where a minor child is present to be unloaded and locked inside a container with the ammunition further secured in a separate container. The ordinance amended Chapter 10-834 of The Philadelphia Code... [Read More]

The post Keeping Guns and Ammo Stored and Locked Separately is the Law in Philadelphia—For Now! appeared first on U.S. & Texas LawShield.

Last October, Michael Galvin and his family moved into a home they purchased in a Colorado Springs neighborhood. Ten days later, on November 3, 2015, his life changed forever. That evening, Galvin shot and killed an intruder he caught, with at least one bullet striking Robert Carrigan in the back. Carrigan, who grew up in... [Read More]

The post Colorado “Make My Day” Law on Trial appeared first on U.S. & Texas LawShield.

On June 20, 2016, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled unanimously against a law, ACT 192, that allowed gun owners and outside organizations to sue local municipalities for their gun-control rules, whether or not they had been directly affected or harmed by them, and force those municipalities to pay attorney fees. Local governments will now be... [Read More]

The post Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules Anti-Gun Control Law Unconstitutional appeared first on U.S. & Texas LawShield.

In a major ruling issued by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 27, 2016, the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms took a serious blow in a case that was argued before the Court last February. In its decision, the Supreme Court ruled gun ownership rights can be denied to people who commit... [Read More]

The post Supreme Court Rules On 'Voisine' Case appeared first on U.S. & Texas LawShield.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled on a Second Amendment case, finding in Peruta that the court believed there is no Second Amendment-protected right to carry a concealed handgun outside the home. But what does this mean for the average gun owner, if anything, in the rest of the country? We asked Justin McShane, Independent Program Attorney for... [Read More]

The post McShane: Circuit Decisions Lessened by Strong State Gun Laws appeared first on U.S. & Texas LawShield.

The 3rd Circuit has just issued a decision upholding the exclusion of certain weapons from the protection of the Second Amendment. In the decision, the Court held that the same laws governing an individual’s possession and manufacture of firearms also apply to trusts. We asked Edwin Walker, an attorney at the law firm of Walker... [Read More]

The post New Decision on the Second Amendment, Machine Guns, and Trusts appeared first on U.S. & Texas LawShield.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled on a Second Amendment case, finding in Peruta that the court believed there is no Second Amendment-protected right to carry a concealed handgun outside the home. But what does this mean for the average gun owner, if anything, in the rest of the country? We asked three Law Shield attorneys in... [Read More]

The post Three Takes On the 9th Circuit's Second Amendment Decision appeared first on U.S. & Texas LawShield.

A divided federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Thursday, June 9, 2016, that people do not have a Second Amendment right to carry concealed weapons in public. This decision in Peruta vs. County of San Diego, et. al. is likely to be challenged by gun-rights advocates. In 2014, a three-judge panel of the appeals... [Read More]

The post Appeals Court Rules No Constitutional Right to Carry Concealed Guns appeared first on U.S. & Texas LawShield.

By now we’ve all heard the story of the former Oklahoma deputy who said he meant to use his stun gun but instead fatally shot a suspect with his revolver. On April 27, 2016, a jury found him guilty of second-degree manslaughter and on May 31, he received a four-year sentence, the maximum possible. At... [Read More]

The post How Easy is it to Confuse a Gun with a Taser? appeared first on U.S. & Texas LawShield.

On Wednesday, June 8, the Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case, Dale Norman v. State, SC15-650. Mr. Norman was charged with violating the Florida statute that outlaws the open carrying of firearms. The case began on February 19, 2012, when Norman, who had just been issued his concealed carry permit days before,... [Read More]

The post Florida Supreme Court Hears Open Carry Case appeared first on U.S. & Texas LawShield.

In a follow-up to the story we ran two weeks ago, we are pleased to report that NOVA Armory, the suburban Virginia firearms store that came under attack by local residents in an effort to get it shut down, beat back an appeal on May 11, 2016, that asked the Arlington County Zoning Board to... [Read More]

The post Victory for Virginia Gun Store appeared first on U.S. & Texas LawShield.

On May 17, 2016, a federal judge ruled that a key provision of the District of Columbia’s concealed carry law was likely unconstitutional. At issue was a provision in the law that required applicants to show a “good reason” beyond self-defense to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon. The case stems from a... [Read More]

The post Judge Rules D.C.’s Restrictive Carry Law Likely Unconstitutional appeared first on U.S. & Texas LawShield.