March 29, 2021

Thailand plans quarantine-free entry for vaccinated tourists

https://apnews.com/article/travel-coronavirus-pandemic-prayuth-chan-ocha-bangkok-thailand-c1e4086707bb36663a0e9d9e2a92c3f8

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand plans to allow vaccinated foreigners to visit the southern resort island of Phuket without quarantining on arrival in a step toward reviving the country’s big but battered tourism industry.

Starting in April, the country also is shortening the quarantine period for arrivals from abroad to 10 days from 14.

Thailand’s tourism industry dried up when scheduled passenger flights into the country were barred in April last year to curb the spread of the coronavirus. There has been a limited resumption of flights since then.

The plan for Phuket is set to begin on July 1, and if judged successful, may include other popular destinations such as Samui Island, Krabi, Pattaya and Chiang Mai in October, said Yuthasak Supasor, head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

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Woo-hoo! Just made (refundable, you never know) flight and hotel reservation for a week and half in early July!

March 29, 2021

Officer Eric Talley Would Have Been 'Deeply Offended' if Used for Gun Control Push, Dad Says

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/officer-eric-talley-would-have-been-deeply-offended-if-used-for-gun-control-push-dad-says/ar-BB1f04Cc

The Boulder, Colorado, shooting has reignited the push for gun control, but the father of the police officer who was killed said his son was a gun owner and wouldn't have wanted his death to be used to restrict access to firearms.

A week after eight people were killed at three Atlanta spas, a gunman opened fire at a grocery store in Colorado, killing 10 people. The two shootings compelled lawmakers to call for a ban on certain firearms, a move that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris support.

Homer Talley, the father of Boulder Police officer Eric Talley, who was the first law enforcement officer to arrive on the scene, told TMZ his late son owned an AR-15 he used for target practice.

"My son would have been deeply offended to know his death would be used to promote gun control. Before he was an officer, he enjoyed shooting," Talley told TMZ.

March 26, 2021

Biden's focus on infrastructure after two mass killings angers gun control advocates.

Source: New York Times

After two mass shootings in less than a week, President Biden said he did not need to “wait another minute” to address the epidemic of gun violence, calling on the Senate to pass a ban on assault weapons and to close background check loopholes.

So on Thursday, at the first news conference of his presidency, Mr. Biden left gun control advocates dumbstruck and disappointed when he said the key to legislative success was ordering priorities, and that infrastructure — not guns — was next on his list.

“I’m disappointed he has the nerve and audacity to say he’s going to do things in sequential order,” said Maisha Fields, the vice president of organizing for Brady: United Against Gun Violence, a nonprofit group, on a group conference call Friday morning. “It’s out of order to have to bury your child. It’s out of order to be shopping for eggs and to have your life disrupted.”

At his news conference, Mr. Biden was asked specifically about his plans for gun legislation or executive actions on guns. In response, he pivoted to a lengthy explanation of why infrastructure was a bigger priority.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/26/us/biden-gun-control.html

March 25, 2021

Bump Stocks Are Not Machine Guns, Sixth Circuit Rules

Source: Courthouse New Service

CINCINNATI (CN) — A divided appeals court panel ruled Thursday that several gun rights groups should have been granted an injunction against the enforcement of an ATF rule that defines bump stocks as machine guns and makes it a felony offense to possess one.

The rule, adopted in the aftermath of the 2017 shooting of concertgoers in Las Vegas, criminalized possession of the rapid-fire gun attachments used to increase the rate of fire of semiautomatic weapons.

A federal judge denied Gun Owners of America’s motion for a preliminary injunction in March 2019, and determined the the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ rule was entitled to Chevron deference.

Established after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the 1984 case Chevron USA Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc., the doctrine holds that a court may not substitute its own opinion in the place of a reasonable interpretation made by an administrative agency.

Read more: https://www.courthousenews.com/bump-stocks-are-not-machine-guns-sixth-circuit-rules/

March 24, 2021

Manchin opposes House gun safety bills, underscoring Democratic divide over gun control

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/23/politics/manchin-house-gun-bills-democrats/index.html


(CNN)Sen. Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat from West Virginia, said Tuesday that he does not support the two gun safety bills the House passed earlier this month and instead is still pushing to pass the more narrow Manchin-Toomey compromise bill that he developed with Republican Sen. Pat Toomey -- but failed to pass -- after the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting.

"No, I don't support what the House passed," Manchin told CNN as he left the Senate floor. "Not at all."

Manchin's opposition underscores a major divide among Democrats over how to tackle gun control -- a key priority for their voters -- even as the party now controls Congress and the White House and faces intense pressure to take action in the wake of a massacre at a Colorado supermarket that left 10 dead, including a store manager and a police officer.

The chances the Senate could pass any gun legislation remain highly unlikely given that would require significant Republican support to overcome a filibuster. But Manchin's stance shows that Democratic leaders would not even be able to count on votes from their entire caucus for gun legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled House, making any effort to pass the bills even more challenging and divisive for their party.

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March 24, 2021

Supreme Court to discuss case that could expand Second Amendment rights

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/23/politics/scotus-second-amendment-new-york-boulder-colorado/index.html

(CNN)When Supreme Court justices meet behind closed doors Friday, a conference that comes three days after the country's latest mass shooting, they are scheduled to discuss whether to add a blockbuster issue to the docket for next term: the scope of the Second Amendment.

The court has largely dodged the issue since issuing two landmark opinions in 2008 and 2010, when it held for the first time that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms at home for self- defense.

Gun rights advocates and even some of the justices themselves have expressed frustration that the court has declined to further define the scope of the right as lower courts across the country have upheld restrictions.

Three years ago, for example, Justice Clarence Thomas charged that the "Second Amendment is a disfavored right in this court."

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March 22, 2021

Boulder's assault weapons ban unenforceable for time being after district court ruling

https://www.dailycamera.com/2021/03/19/boulders-assault-weapons-ban-unenforceable-for-time-being-after-district-court-ruling/

Boulder will not be enforcing the city’s assault weapons ban after a district court ruled that a state statute preempts local governments from restricting gun sales and possession.

Judge Andrew Hartman on March 12 ruled that only state or federal laws can prohibit the possession, sale and transfer of assault weapons and large capacity magazines. Colorado has passed laws “that are effectively a scheme preempting local governments from enacting municipal firearms and magazine possession ordinances,” according to court documents.

The complaint, first filed in June 2018 by Boulder residents Robert Lynn Chambers and James Michael Jones against the city, argues that Boulder’s ban is invalid because sections of it conflict with state law.

Boulder staff will be meeting with outside counsel later in the week to discuss next steps, city spokesperson Shannon Aulabaugh said Thursday. In the meantime, the ban will not be enforced.

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Good news.

March 21, 2021

Biden so far avoids talking gun reform post-Atlanta shooting

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/18/politics/biden-gun-policy-atlanta-shooting/index.html

(CNN)In the wake of Tuesday's shootings in Atlanta, President Joe Biden has raised concerns about the spike in hate crimes against Asian Americans and tasked two senior advisers to convene listening sessions on the issue.

But he has not mentioned anything about guns or gun reform in his public remarks or tweets on the incident, even as the White House says he remains personally committed to doing more on gun safety.

The approach is different than former President Barack Obama, who raised the issue of guns in a tweet on Wednesday.

"Yesterday's shootings are another tragic reminder that we have far more work to do to put in place commonsense gun safety laws and root out the pervasive patterns of hatred and violence in our society," he tweeted.

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March 20, 2021

Democrats Are Willing To Rein In Their Gun Control Ambitions To Break The NRA's Hold On Congress

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/paulmcleod/gun-control-senate-democrats-plan-atlanta


WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats have told BuzzFeed News they are considering curtailing their ambitions on gun reform and pushing a narrower piece of legislation that can actually pass, rather than sweeping reforms that would likely be doomed.

The party winning both chambers of Congress plus the White House may have raised hopes for long-sought gun control measures, such as a ban on assault rifles. But Democrats are instead starting to look at smaller measures that can win bipartisan support and break the National Rifle Association’s strong influence over Congress.

With the Senate split 50–50, any gun control measure needs at least 10 Republican votes to overcome a filibuster. The shooting rampage in Atlanta that left eight people dead this week has not softened Republican resistance to any new laws that broadly restrict access to firearms. In interviews with BuzzFeed News, a half dozen Republican senators expressed opposition to universal background checks and said that policy would likely be dead on arrival in the Senate.

That leaves Democrats with a choice between lowering their aims or fighting for an extensive bill and risking coming away with nothing. There does not appear to be much appetite for the latter path.

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March 11, 2021

I received my (only) Covid-19 vaccination last night!

Took me a number of tries to get an appointment. My classification (2 or more risk factors) became eligible in Colorado last Friday, and the first few times I tried for an appointment it was taken by the time I finished the form. Finally got a spot toward the end of the night, and I stopped by King Soopers and got jabbed.

And since it's the Johnson & Johnson variety, that's that...other than the fact that this will likely be an annual ritual, just as getting the flu vaccine is.