New Hampshire lawmakers approve permitless conceal carry bill News
New Hampshire lawmakers approve permitless conceal carry bill

[JURIST] The New Hampshire House of Representatives [official website] on Thursday approved a bill [SB 12 text] that would repeal the law prohibiting state citizens from carrying concealed firearms without a permit. Though similar bills have passed [NRA-ILA report] through the New Hampshire legislature twice, they were vetoed by the former governor, Senator Chuck Morse [official profile], on both occasions. The bill, backed by the National Rife Association (NRA) [advocacy website], would make New Hampshire the twelfth state to allow the concealed carrying of firearms, joining New England states Maine and Vermont. The bill, which passed with a 200-97 vote, must now be reviewed by Governor Christopher Sununu [official website], who is expected to sign it into law.

Gun control and the Second Amendment continue to be controversial topics across the US. In February the US House of Representatives [official website] on Thursday voted to repeal [text, PDF] an Obama-era gun regulation that required mental health information to be shared with the national gun background check system. In December Ohio Governor John Kasich [official website] signed Senate Bill 199 [JURIST report], making it legal to carry concealed weapons at daycare facilities and onto college campuses. In September the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [official website] restored [JURIST report] gun ownership rights of individuals convicted of minor crimes. Earlier that month the New Jersey Second Amendment Society [official website] filed [JURIST report] a lawsuit against the state’s Attorney General in New Jersey’s district court alleging the state’s stun gun ban is unconstitutional. In June the US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that a state law conviction on reckless domestic assault is sufficient to bar possession of a firearm under federal law. Earlier in June Hawaii Governor David Ige signed a bill [JURIST report] requiring gun owners to be listed on an FBI database, notifying police if a Hawaii citizen is arrested in another state and providing a continuous criminal record check on those individuals seeking to possess a firearm.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Montgomery started racially-integrated bus service after boycott

On December 21, 1956, buses in Montgomery, Alabama, started racially integrated service following federal court rulings ending on-board segregation. Bus boycott leaders Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were among the first riders under the new scheme. Learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Stalin born

On December 21, 1879, Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia. In 1922, he became leader of the USSR until his death in 1953. During his time as Soviet dictator, Stalin industrialized his country, which he then led to become one of the world's two superpowers after WWII. Through his infamous purges, show trials and nationwide famines, Stalin also became responsible for millions of deaths.