The Republican lawmaker who presides over the state Assembly said Friday he’s been carrying a concealed weapon during floor sessions. Speaker Pro Tem Bill Kramer of Waukesha controls the chamber during debate. He presides over the chamber’s procedures, is responsible for upholding decorum and can order spectators out of the chamber if he so chooses.

Hearings are coming up in the legislature this week on three gun related bills including one to bar holders of concealed handgun licenses from being armed on college campuses. Sen. Ginny Burdick, D Portland, offered two bills to nullify last year’s appeals court ruling — won on behalf of a young Lebanon man who was expelled from Western Oregon University — that struck down the Oregon University System rule against anyone, including CHL holders, carrying guns on campus.

Arthur Schofield (Your Views, Jan. 29) questions my thinking on Second Amendment guarantees in the Bill of Rights. He suggests that restoring the basic applications of the Second Amendment that Oklahomans enjoyed until only the last few decades will invite problems. His assertion plays to the oft used excuse that the free exercise of our most essential right as Americans will only create lawlessness and blood in the street scenarios. This doesn’t square with the facts. I’ve lived in several states with open carry laws. None of Schofield’s assertions hold up in those states. Further, we heard these same arguments during the debate about our concealed carry laws. They never happened. Law abiding Oklahomans will surprise Schofield about how law abiding they are, just as they’ve shown in the past 15 years with our concealed carry and other gun laws. Sadly, Schofield then resorts to the opinion that it doesn’t meet his desires and that it makes people nervous.

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D W.Va.) and his Republican colleague Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) today introduced bipartisan legislation that protects open access and the rights of recreational hunters and fisherman on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service Lands.

Bills saying it is all right to use deadly force against intruders in your home, including one from Del. Richard P. “Dickie” Bell, R-Staunton, are moving easily through the General Assembly.

On January 31, the House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed House Bill 1508, originally a solid shooting range protection bill, and House Bill 2471, a background check reform bill.

Senate Bill 2975 is slated to be heard in the Senate Public Safety, Government Operations and Military Affairs Committee (PGM) on Thursday, February 9th at 2:45 p.m. in conference room 224.  Introduced by state Senator Shan Tsutsui (D-4), this anti-gun legislation would mandate that all Hawaii gun owners report the theft of a stolen firearm within 72 hours of discovering that theft.

This Monday, February 6, the Virginia Senate is expected to cast its final vote on Senate Bill 323, legislation which would repeal the archaic prohibition of purchasing more than one handgun per month.  This vote is expected to be very close so it is important that you continue to contact your state Senator and urge him or her to vote for this legislation on Monday.