Michigan Open Carry, Inc.

On April 28, the Montana Legislature adjourned sine die. Governor Brian Schweitzer signed into law three pro-gun bills, each of which will go into effect on October 1. Two other pro-gun bills failed to pass during the 2011 legislative session.

CBS News has obtained secretly recorded conversations that raise questions as to whether some evidence is being withheld in the murder of a Border Patrol agent. The tapes were recorded approximately mid March 2011 by the primary gun dealer cooperating with ATF in its "Fast and Furious" operation: Andre Howard, owner of Lone Wolf Trading Company in Glendale, Arizona. He's talking with the lead case ATF case agent Hope MacAllister.

The state's new prohibition on most local gun restrictions has some cities and counties rolling back their ordinances.

The Conservative government will introduce legislation this fall to kill the controversial long gun registry, according to government House leader Peter Van Loan. "We committed to eliminate once and for all the wasteful and ineffective long gun registry. We will keep that commitment," Van Loan told reporters Monday. "It will be an item of legislation we will deal with in this fall session."

On April 17, when Governor Sean Parnell adjourned the Alaska Legislature, there were four pro-gun bills left pending from the 2011 legislative session. Due to Alaska’s two-year sessions, all pending 2011 bills will carry over and be considered in 2012.

The Nevada Division of State Parks will hold a public hearing on the Nevada Administrative Code’s (NAC) change of regulation to allow for the carrying of firearms in state parks, per the 2011 statutory changes mandated in Assembly Bill 282. The Division proposes to amend NAC Chapter 407, Section 105 to remove prohibitions against possession of a firearm in state parks and to clarify prohibitive firearms discharge to specifically recognize the right to self-defense. This proposal can be downloaded here.

During the 2011 Regular Session of the Mississippi Legislature, House Bill 506, legislation relating to prosecutors carrying weapons, passed with an NRA-supported amendment designed to allow concealed pistol permit holders who complete certain training requirements to protect themselves in locations previously prohibited by law. This measure, was signed into law by Governor Haley Barbour on March 11.

On Gov. Jerry Brown's desk is a bid to bar Californians from openly carrying firearms, legislation that could open a new front in the state's decades old gun control debate.

While demand for concealed carry licenses cooled a little last year in the Sunshine State, interest heated up among women. Area gun stores reported a surge in female attendance in concealed weapon courses, a requirement for the license. Gun sales to women also shot up, bucking stereotype that says only men buy, own and carry firearms.

It's a question of fairness. That's what supporters of a move to legalize Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania -- banned since 1873 -- said at a gathering of the state House of Representatives' game and fisheries committee near Allentown on Thursday night.

During Thursday's meeting of the El Paso Board of County Commissioners (BoCC), Commissioner and NRA Life Member Dennis Hisey brought forward a resolution highlighting the fundraising efforts of local "Friends of NRA" committees dedicated to NRA programs focused on firearms education and safety, shooting range development, conservation education and research, law enforcement firearm competition and other core programs administered through the nationally based organization. The resolution specifically cited "Colorado Friends of NRA" committees for their collective efforts in securing over $845,000 in raised funds and more than $400,000 in awarded grants benefitting NRA affiliated organizations in 2010.

The government has long set its sights on scrapping the long-gun registry a political hot potato that has pitted cities concerned about gun violence against rural areas dependent on hunting and farming.

Over the past half century, the right of citizens in Western countries to defend themselves has eroded. This is partly due to neglect. As our societies have urbanized, we have shown greater willingness to let professional police officers defend our loved ones, our property and ourselves. After all, more of us now live closer to police stations than our parents, or certainly our grandparents. But the erosion of our right to self-defense has also been a deliberate initiative by governments. Increasingly, politicians, policy makers, academics and police have come to think that citizens who take up weapons firearms or otherwise to defend themselves are as dangerous to social peace as criminals.

The Washington Legislature adjourned on April 24 with Governor Christine Gregoire signing into law one pro-gun bill. Several other pro-gun measures are still pending and will carry over to the 2012 legislative session.

In a clear sign the 2012 presidential election campaign is in full swing, the Obama campaign launched a new website this week: AttackWatch.com

On Tuesday, Sept. 13, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security held a hearing on H.R. 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011.

In a clear sign the 2012 presidential election campaign is in full swing, the Obama campaign launched a new website this week: AttackWatch.com.

A gun rights bill long advocated by U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns and the NRA recently took a step forward. The House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security held hearings Tuesday on the proposed National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act, introduced in February by Stearns, an Ocala Republican whose district includes part of Alachua County.