March 17, 2014: In California, the 9th Circuit recently issued another victory for firearms owners. The Court followed its previous decision declaring San Diego’s “good cause” requirement to be unconstitutional, and held that Yolo County, California can no longer require residents to prove a threat of violence or robbery to obtain a carry permit.

In Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth Court (an intermediate appellate court) unanimously held that the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act prohibits municipalities from regulating firearms.  As such, the Court struck down a long time ordinance in the City of Erie which prohibited firearms in the city’s parks.

Last week, the Gun-owner Registration Information Protection Act, or GRIP Act, was introduced in the U.S. Senate.  The legislation would prohibit the use of federal funding to support gun registries maintained by any other organization, including state and local governments.  According to the legislation’s primary sponsor, Thad Cochran, “there is nothing in law today that says federal resources can’t be used, either intentionally or otherwise by a state or local government, to collect and store personally identifiable information related to legal firearm purchases and ownership.  This legislation would close that loophole.”

In related news, Ares Armor, a firearms part supplier in California, is making a private stand for firearms owner privacy rights.  The company recently obtained a temporary restraining order against the BATFE’s plan to raid the company for certain 80% AR lowers and the names of customers that purchased them.  A hearing on the dispute is scheduled for March 20th.