Free Republic

Idaho is a strong Republican state.  It is known for being Second Amendment friendly.  The reason it took so long to pass permitless or "Constitutional" carry is epitomized by the three Republican committee chairs shown above.  All three chose to vote against permitless carry.  They were the only Republicans in the House to do so. It says a great deal that these powerful people chose this political hill to die on.  Why?  Why not vote for the bill, and at least camouflage your actions?  How many are in the Idaho legislature who did exactly that? These are only the...

Governor C.L Butch Otter reluctantly signed SB 1389, the permitless "Constitutional carry" bill that was passed by the Idaho legislature. His office sent the transmittal letter(pdf) to the President of the Senate today, the 25th of March, 2016. Idaho becomes the eighth state to restore permitless or "Constitutional" carry. Vermont never restricted concealed carry from those who were not felons or mentally defective. Governor Otter stated that he signed the bill with some reluctance, because the bill did not have a training requirement for the carry of firearms. There has never been a legal requirement for training in order to...

Governor C.L Butch Otter reluctantly signed SB 1389, the permitless “Constitutional carry” bill that was passed by the Idaho legislature.His office sent the transmittal letter(pdf) to the President of the Senate the 25th of March, 2016.  Idaho becomes the eighth state to restore permitless or “Constitutional” carry.  Vermont never restricted concealed carry from those who were not felons or mentally defective. Governor Otter stated that he signed the bill with some reluctance, because the bill did not have a training requirement for the carry of firearms.There has never been a legal requirement for training in order to carry firearms,...

With the Idaho legislature’s permitless or “Constitutional” carry bill on Governor Butch Otter’s desk, I read a comment on the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance facebook page that seemed unlikely. It claimed that numerous disarmists were calling the Governor’s office to urge a veto.  From the ISAA facebook page: SB 1389, Constitutional Carry, was delivered to the Governor’s office yesterday (March 21st) at 2:40 p.m. With the Idaho legislature’s permitless or “Constitutional” carry bill on Governor Butch Otter’s desk, I read a comment on the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance facebook page that seemed unlikely. It claimed that numerous disarmists were...

On Friday, 18 March, the Idaho permitless carry bill, S 1389 was passed by the Idaho House of representatives, 54 – 15.  Once a bill has passed both houses, there is a procedure to be followed for it to go to the Governor for consideration.  On Monday, 21 March, S 1389, S 1389 was enrolled and officially sent to Governor Butch Otter of Idaho.  From idaho.gov:   03/21 Returned From House Passed; referred to enrolling             Reported enrolled; signed by President; to House for signature of SpeakeReceived from Senate; Signed by Speaker; Returned to SenateReported signed by the Speaker & ordered delivered to Governor Monday is the official day that S 1389 was sent to Governor Otter.  He has five days, not counting Sunday, to sign or veto permitless carry. From idaho.gov: After...

The House in Idaho has passed S 1389 restore permitless carry. SB 1389 passed the Senate 27-8. It passed out of the House committee yesterday, March 17th. It will be sent to Governor Butch Otter. Governor Otter has been shown to be a Second Amendment supporter in the past. It seems likely that he will sign SB 1389. It is an incremental step that is not far off of existing law in Idaho. Governor Otter signed the Idaho campus carry bill in the face of intense opposition by the powerful higher education lobby in Idaho.The Idaho Sheriffs Association has...

The Idaho Second Amendment Alliance has placed this image on their facebook page.  S 1389 is now on its way to  Governor Butch Otter for signature.  I think the chance of a veto is very low. ©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.  Link to Gun Watch

Image from boiseweekly.com An online poll at BoiseWeekly is showing the strong support for permitless or “Constitutional carry” in Idaho.The question is:Do you think Idahoans should be able to carry concealed firearms without a permit within city limits? Currently the poll is at 81% for restoring the right to bear arms concealed without a permit.Link to the pollOn line polls  measure the ratio of those who are interested enough to answer an online poll. The results here are typical.  Second Amendment supporters typically outnumber those who push for more restrictions by 3-10 to 1. In this case the ratio is...

Idaho moved a step closer to “Constitutional” or permitless carry on 14 March, 2016.  The Idaho Senate passed SB 1389 27-8.  The bill would remove the ban on the carry of concealed weapons inside city limits in Idaho, for those people over 21 who can legally possess firearms but do not have a concealed carry permit.Residents of Idaho already have the right to carry concealed weapons in 99% of the state.  This small incremental step places Idaho with eight other states that have restored most of “Constitutional carry” the state of law that existed when the Bill of Rights...

Image from boiseweekly.com A large crowd of 700 people demonstrated for Constitutional carry at the Idaho Capitol on  February 20th.  Constitutional carry has been introduced for this session of the Idaho legislature.  The current version of the bills are HO422 and HO423.  Statement of purpose of HO422: This legislation would make Idaho a permitless carry state. Currently, permitless carry applies to all areas outside of city limits. This legislation specifies who may carry a concealed weapon without a permit. The bill also adds an age restriction for permitless carry to those 21 years or older. The concealed carry permitting statutes...

Idaho has been a prime candidate for enacting Constitutional carry for decades.  They have introduced bills that looked promising, but ultimately were bogged down in intramural fights among Republicans.  Last year there were several public demonstrations in favor of Constitutional carry, and consideration of a bill was forced over the Republican leadership.  It failed.  This year may be different.  Speaker Scott Bedke was credited for the bills failure last year.  This year, he thinks it might pass.  From clearwatertribune.com: The Post Register (Idaho Falls, 12/14/15) interviewed Idaho House Speaker Scott Bedke, and reported, “Bedke said gun legislation is likely....

California's roadways just got a lot more crowded - with illegal immigrants. Nearly half of all new non-commercial licenses issued in California in 2015 went to illegal immigrants. A new Department of Motor Vehicles program granted 605,000 new drive's licenses out of 1.4 million to illegal immigrants. "This was a major undertaking and never before had the department implemented a program such as this one," Artemio Armenta, spokesman for the Department of Motor Vehicles, told the Orange County Register Jan. 8. "We were surprised, but not unprepared." A local member of the Tea Party Patriots told the newspaper that California's...

Millions of air travelers across the U.S. are potentially at risk of finding themselves grounded in the new year thanks to a post-9/11 law that took a decade to finally come into effect. The REAL ID Act, originally passed in 2005, was meant to tighten standards for government-issued IDs like driver's licenses -- to boot, it banned federal agencies from accepting any IDs that don't meet the bar. That means the TSA technically shouldn't accept driver's licenses from certain states, once the law is in full effect. While Washington let the rules slide for years, the Department of Homeland Security...

The federal government has denied a request from the state's political leaders for more time to get compliant with the new Real ID requirement,but it won't immediately imperil the ability of Minnesotans to board commercial flights after Jan. 1.In a letter sent Monday,two assistant secretaries at the Department of Homeland Security wrote to Gov. Mark Dayton that "Minnesota has not provided adequate justification for continued noncompliance with the Real ID standards that would warrant granting your request for extension,"the letter stated.That means Minnesota driver's licenses are officially not sufficient identification for the general public to be allowed on U.S. military...

It's growing increasingly likely that anyone carrying an Illinois driver's license will face even more hassle at the airport in 2016. The Department of Homeland Security has denied the state's bid for another extension to become compliant with the Real ID Act, which means identification cards currently issued by the Illinois secretary of state's office won't meet federal standards for clearing airport security. More immediately, as of Jan. 10, 2016, Illinois-issued IDs will no longer suffice for accessing U.S. military bases and other federal facilities where an ID is required for entry, the secretary of state's office said. The Department...

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee County community identification card for illegal immigrants, the homeless and others would not include a notice advising the ID is "not for voting," because its supporters don’t want to make "people feel bad." On Wednesday, the Milwaukee County Health and Human Needs Committee unanimously passed a resolution establishing a "Joint Task Force on Community Identification Cards." The proposed task force, to be represented by three appointed members from the county and four from the city, would review and make recommendations related to the creation and issuance of community ID cards, according to the resolution's sponsor, Supervisor...

No public photo yet of what this woman looks like? Feel free to post what you believe she looks like until we get confirmation from authorities and/or the press.

Think you only need a passport to board an international flight? In 2016, some fliers better have one to fly domestic, which means they had better be paying their taxes. It now looks as though your passport could be cancelled if you owe the IRS. The Real ID Act created a national standard for state-issued IDs. It hits air travel in 2016. Some states initially refused to comply, fearing that the feds would make a national database of citizens. Others cited high administrative costs and a 50% increase in fees for drivers. Most states are OK, but millions in Louisiana,...

Did you know that the United Nations intends to have biometric identification cards in the hands of every single man, woman and child on the entire planet by the year 2030? And did you know that a central database in Geneva, Switzerland will be collecting data from many of these cards? Previously, I have written about the 17 new “Global Goals” that the UN launched at the end of September. Even after writing several articles about these new Global Goals, I still don’t think that most of my readers really grasp how insidious they actually are. This new agenda truly...

With a recent decision in Alabama to close 31 DMV offices, the predictable howls of outrage form the Radical Left have come out - "Voter disenfranchisement!' "Jim Crow!" "Taking away our right to vote!" Expect to hear a lot more of this as we lead up to the 2016 election. PJTV's Christopher Coates responds to Contributor at The Nation Ari Berman's new book on voting rights with "Give Us the Ballot". Unsurprisingly, Berman's research leaves out some key facts, like this gem: Another serious omission is Berman's failure to discuss the controversies surrounding lawsuits brought during the George W. Bush administration against...