Latest news with #117thCongress
Epoch Times
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
2 Dozen AGs Urge Congress to Adopt Constitutional Concealed Carry Bill
Two dozen Republican attorneys general called on Congress in a letter to pass a House bill that would allow people with concealed carry permits to carry firearms in all states that allow the practice. 'Concealed carry is a constitutional right, and it can have substantial public safety benefits by allowing people the means to respond to emergent threats to themselves or others when police are not immediately available to intervene,' wrote 24 state attorneys general in a May 21 'Our constituents are threatened with arrest, prosecution, and mandatory prison time for technical violations of licensing or possession laws involving conduct that is perfectly legal in all but a handful of states, most of which have well-established history and practice of suppressing the right to keep and bear arms,' they added, describing the situation as unacceptable. Earlier this year, HR 38, or the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, was In urging the bill's passage, the state officials said that 'criminals ... do not wait for permission to carry guns,' meaning that HR 38 would not be for them. 'It is for honest and law-abiding citizens who deserve to have the means to protect themselves, should they have the misfortune of needing to use a firearm in self-defense or the defense of their loved ones,' they wrote. Johnson, who was a co-sponsor of the bill when it was introduced in the 117th Congress, has not made any public comments on the measure. The Epoch Times has contacted his office for comment. Related Stories 5/16/2025 5/14/2025 Groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety have been critical of Republican-backed congressional measures that would expand concealed carry reciprocity in states. In a March article that appeared to oppose HR 38, Everytown But by adopting such a measure, the group argued, it 'would jeopardize public safety and tourism' in places such as New York City as well as 'in cities and towns across the country by undermining the permitting systems that keep people safe and that reflect the will of local voters.' The letter comes about a month after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a case that had challenged gun laws in New York that ban firearms from certain locations and require that handgun owners be of 'good moral character.' The high court did not give an explanation on why it chose not to hear the case. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, applauded the high court's decision at the time not to hear a challenge to the law on Monday, saying that 'New York's strong gun safety laws save lives.' In June 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in a separate case involving New York that people have a right to carry a firearm for self-defense outside the home and that a state law that required a person show 'proper cause' or a 'special need' to obtain a license to carry a pistol was unlawful. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
How many states have joined Florida to make daylight saving time permanent? See the list
Faster than you can say spring forward, it'll be time to change our clocks. Again. Florida is one of more than dozen states that have been trying for years to stop the annual time changes and stay on daylight saving time permanently. A few states prefer staying on standard time permanently, a switch more easily made since it doesn't require congressional approval and a signature from the president. Here's what to know. Daylight saving time in the U.S. begins on the second Sunday in March, when clocks are moved forward one hour. We switch back to standard time the first Sunday in November. Daylight saving time will start at 2 a.m. March 9, 2025. Countdown Timer Daylight saving time will end 2 a.m. Nov. 2, 2025, when we turn our clocks back one hour and return to standard time. In 2018, Florida became the first state to pass legislation — the Sunshine Protection Act — to remain on daylight saving time permanently. No more changing clocks forward or back. While the Sunshine Act was approved by then-Gov. Rick Scott, it has repeatedly failed to get congressional approval to be implemented. The U.S. Senate passed it in 117th Congress, but the House of Representatives did not and it has never been signed into law by any president. Almost every state, since 2015, has considered multiple time zone bills, but none of significance passed until 2018, when Florida became the first state to enact legislation to permanently observe DST, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Over the next six years, "20 states have enacted legislation or passed resolutions to provide for year-round daylight saving time, if Congress were to allow such a change, and in some cases, if surrounding states enact the same legislation." States wanting to make daylight saving time permanent are: Alabama Colorado Delaware Florida Georgia Idaho Oklahoma Kentucky Louisiana Maine Minnesota Mississippi Montana Ohio Oregon South Carolina Tennessee Utah Washington Wyoming "Ditch Daylight Saving Time. Permanent Standard Time lets us sleep later for health, mood, safety, education, economy, environment," said Save Standard Time on X, formerly known as Twitter. Arkansas has introduced a bill to make the state remain permanently on standard time, according to 4029 News. A Massachusetts bill also calls for permanent standard time, but only if two or more neighboring states also make the change, according to 22News. Before he took office Jan. 20, Trump posted on Truth Social: "The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn't!" Trump wrote on his social media site, Truth Social. "Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation." Trump has not passed any executive legislation to permanently end daylight saving time. USA TODAY has reached out to the White House for comment. Now a U.S. senator, Scott introduced bipartisan in January of this year — Sunshine Protection Act — to officially 'lock the clock' and end the twice-yearly time change and make daylight saving time the national year-round standard. "I hear from Americans constantly that they are sick and tired of changing their clocks twice a year — it's an unnecessary, decades-old practice that's more of an annoyance to families than benefit to them. ➤ 'Stupid practice!' Sen. Marco Rubio renews push to stop changing time twice a year "I'm excited to have President Trump back in the White House and fully on board to LOCK THE CLOCK so we can get this good bill passed and make this common-sense change that will simplify and benefit the lives of American families.' Federal law allows a state to exempt itself from observing daylight saving time, upon action by the state legislature, but does not allow the permanent observance of daylight saving time. Simply put, states can choose to stay on standard time all year. But if they want to stay on daylight saving time all year, that requires congressional approval and the signature of the president. Daylight saving time would mean later sunrises and sunsets, which means more time for outdoor activities in the evenings. Standard time would mean earlier sunrises and sunsets, which some argue increases safety in the mornings for school children and is more in line with biological circadian rhythms. Should we end the practice of changing our clocks twice a year? If so, which should be permanent, daylight saving time or standard time? Let us know your preference. Two states, Arizona — with the exception of the Navajo Nation — and Hawaii do not recognize daylight saving time. They remain on standard time all year. Also remaining on standard time permanently are the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Daylight savings permanent? States not wanting Standard time change
