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Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) has proposed new measures for protecting Second Amendment rights by introducing legislation to limit states authority when it comes to regulating rifles and shotguns, commonly used by sportsmen and sportswomen.

The Second Amendment Guarantee Act (SAGA) would prevent states from implementing any regulations on these weapons that are more restrictive than what is required by federal law. Upon passage of this bill, most of the language included in New York States Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act of 2013 signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo would be void.

This legislation would protect the Second Amendment rights of New Yorkers that were unjustly taken away by Andrew Cuomo,Collins said.I am a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment and have fought against all efforts to condemn these rights. I stand with the law-abiding citizens of this state that have been outraged by the SAFE Act and voice my commitment to roll back these regulations.

Governor Cuomos SAFE Act violates federal regulation and the following provisions would be void under the proposed legislation:

-Cuomos SAFE Act expanded rifle and shotgun bans to include semi-automatic guns with detachable magazines that possess certain features.

-The Cuomo SAFE Act banned the capacity of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.It further limited magazines to seven rounds at any time.

In the Collins bill, States or local governments would not be able to regulate, prohibit, or require registration and licensing (that are any more restrictive under Federal law) for the sale, manufacturing, importation, transfer, possession, or marketing of a rifle or shotgun. Additionally, rifle or shotgun includes any part of the weapon including any detachable magazine or ammunition feeding devise and any type of pistol grip or stock design.

Under this legislation, any current or future laws enacted by a state or political subdivision that exceeds federal law for rifles and shotguns would be void. Should a state violate this law, and a plaintiff goes to court, the court will award the prevailing plaintiff a reasonable attorneys fee in addition to any other damages.

Congressman Collins was joined today by local, county, and state elected officials and citizen supporters of the Second Amendment during events to unveil his bill in Erie and Monroe counties.

Hamburg Rod and Gun Club:

Assemblyman David DiPietro

Erie County Sheriff Tim Howard

Erie County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw

Erie County Legislator Ted Morton

Representatives from SCOPE

Rochester Brooks Gun Club:

Senator Rich Funke

Senator Rob Ortt

Assemblyman Peter Lawrence

Monroe County Legislator Karla Boyce

Representatives from SCOPE

To read the text of H.R. 3576, the Second Amendment Guarantee Act, clickhere.

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Collins proposes new measures for protecting Second Amendment rights - Wyoming County Free Press

BBC News

Migrant crisis: Italy blocks German aid ship at Lampedusa BBC News The Italian Coast Guard is questioning the crew of a German rescue ship on the isle of Lampedusa, amid a dispute over Italy's code of conduct for handling migrants at sea. The Iuventa is operated by German NGO Jugend Rettet, which called the Italian ... Italy enforces NGO boat crackdown as migrant flux slowsYahoo Singapore News all 11 news articles »

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Migrant crisis: Italy blocks German aid ship at Lampedusa - BBC News

Italy is putting its hopes for managing the migrant crisis on a new, Libya-requested mission to support the North African nation's coast guard despite suffering a rebuke by humanitarian groups.

Ministers were briefing parliamentary committees Tuesday on a Cabinet-approved mission that would deploy Italy's navy to assist the Libyan coast guard in patrolling its territorial waters. A vote could come as early as Wednesday.

Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti told a joint meeting of parliament's defense and foreign affairs commissions that Italian ships would respond to specific Libyan requests and that the deployment would not impinge on Libya's sovereignty.

Pinotti also denied the claim from some human rights groups that the mission would constitute a naval blockade.

Premier Paolo Gentiloni says Italy's assistance off the coast of Libya could become a "turning point" in his country's effort to manage the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea.

The U.N. migration agency says 94,802 migrants have reached Italy this year as of Sunday, a number on par with last year and which represents 85 percent of Europe's new arrivals. The agency estimates that 2,221 people have drowned this year while attempting to cross the main Mediterranean route from Libya to Italy.

Italy's bid to get 10 humanitarian groups to agree to new rules of conduct for rescuing people from the Mediterranean failed when at least four, including Doctors Without Borders, refused to sign on Monday.

Amnesty International was the most recent group to criticize the plan, saying that dispatching warships to aid the Libyan coast guard was "a shameful attempt to circumvent the rescue of migrants and refugees."

Objections to the Italian demands include a provision that would permit armed police on the rescue ships. Several non-governmental groups strenuously oppose having weapons on the ships at any time, saying guns and humanitarian operations are incompatible.

The groups also oppose a proposed rule that would prevent them from transferring rescued migrants to other vessels, which would force their boats back to port instead of allowing them to keep doing rescues.

Doctors Without Borders general director Gabriele Eminente said her charity would continue to work in the Mediterranean "but at the moment, I don't understand what the failure to sign means."

The Italian government has said humanitarian groups who do not agree to the new rules could be refused access to Italian ports.

But it seems unlikely that Italy could deprive them of access to its ports. Under international law, vessels that have rescued people must not be subject to undue delay, financial burden or other difficulties, according to the U.N.'s refugee agency.

In Brussels, European Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said that if the groups "adhere to some principles and operational standards, in line with international law, then they will have the assurance that they can access Italian ports."

At least three groups accepted the Italian government's rules: Save the Children, Malta's MOAS and the Spanish group Proactiva. The EU is encouraging more to sign up.

Italy drafted the code of conduct after prosecutors in Sicily alleged that some non-governmental organizations had been colluding with the smugglers who send boatloads of migrants out daily from Libya, for example by signaling their presence in one area of the sea.

Groups including Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders denied the allegations, and said the claims undermined their humanitarian work by creating a climate of mistrust.

This story has been corrected from an earlier version to show that the number of migrants to Italy this year is on par to 2016 figures, not up 11 percent.

Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

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Italy focuses on Libya mission to manage migrant crisis - ABC News

"As you know, the border was a tremendous problem and now close to 80 percent stoppage." President Trump, remarks at a Cabinet meeting, July 31, 2017

"You know, the border's down 78 percent. Under past administrations, the border didn't go down, it went up. But if it went down 1 percent, there was like this was a great thing. Down 78 percent." Trump, speech in New York, July 28, 2017

Curbing illegal immigration is a major promise by President Donald Trump, and he frequently touts successes in doing so. While Southwest border crossings have, indeed, declined as a result of Trump's rhetoric, it's not nearly as dramatic as 78 or 80 percent. Moreover, Trump now says illegal immigration went up under previous administrations which is false.

Let's dig in.

The Facts

Border activity bucked seasonal trends in the fall and winter of 2016. Usually, there's a seasonal lull through winter months, before apprehensions of undocumented immigrants start climbing back up. Apprehensions tend to peak from March to May, before coming down again in the late summer and through the fall.

Yet in fall 2016, apprehensions kept increasing. People rushed to enter the country, which was an indication that Trump's rhetoric may have sent a message to people who had planned to cross the border from Mexico, to do so before the election. Experts say Trump's anti-illegal-immigration rhetoric played a role.

After November 2016, the number of apprehensions and people "deemed inadmissible" at the border declined rapidly. In April 2017, the monthly number of apprehensions and people deemed inadmissible reached the lowest point since at least 2000, Customs and Border Protection data show.

Since April, however, apprehensions started climbing again. This increase is consistent with seasonal trends.

It's unclear exactly what data Trump is using to claim a decline of up to 80 percent in border crossings. The White House did not respond to our inquiry.

His figure is consistent with the change in apprehensions data from the highest point in fiscal 2017 (November 2016, at 47,210) to the lowest point (April 2017, at 11,126), which is a 76.4 percent decline. That is a cherry-picked figure that shows the biggest possible decline in a given fiscal year - including the months before he took office. When you compare the data from his first full month in office (February 2017) with the latest data (June 2017), the decline is between 8 and 14 percent.

Another way to look at this data is using year-over-year trends. From June 2016 to June 2017, the number of people apprehended or deemed inadmissible declined 52.6 percent. As FactCheck.org noted, it's still a significant decline, but not as high as 80 percent.

Clearly, monthly figures are quite susceptible to cherry-picking.

Southwest border apprehensions have steadily declined since their peak at more than 1.6 million people in fiscal 2000. There have been temporary spikes since 2000 most recently, there was an uptick in apprehensions of Central American unaccompanied children and their families in 2016, after a significant drop in 2015. The fiscal 2016 annual apprehensions are back down to early-1970s levels.

So Trump is incorrect that "under past administrations, the border didn't go down, it went up," and that "the border was a tremendous problem" before his administration.

There are many reasons for this decline, including economic and work conditions on both sides of the border. In recent years, there has been a shift in border migration. The number of Mexicans caught trying to cross the border illegally is dropping, and the number of families and children fleeing rampant violence and crime in Central America is increasing.

The Pinocchio Test

When Trump debuted this talking point, we awarded just One Pinocchio for his use of CBP data. He was largely correct about the large declines, but his apples-to-oranges method led to numbers that were slightly off.

But apprehensions are going up again. His figure now reflects the biggest possible decline even though it measures figures from before he became president, and does not use the most up-to-date data. While monthly and annual figures are susceptible to cherry-picking, the decline under his presidency is as low as 8 percent, and the decline in June 2017 compared with June 2016 is 52.6 percent. That places his claim at the Three-Pinocchio range.

Then this talking point spins out of control when Trump falsely says border activity actually went up, not down, before his administration. In reality, illegal border crossings are back down to early-1970s levels, and apprehensions have steadily declined since their peak in 2000, with temporary upticks here and there. Trump earns Four Pinocchios.

Four Pinocchios

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Fact check: Trump's claim illegal immigration went up in past - MyAJC

Federal immigration officers apprehended 650 illegal immigrants last week as part of an operation that targeted people who had been ordered to leave the country, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Tuesday.

Officers with ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations team arrested 73 family unit members, 120 unaccompanied minors, and 457 others from July 23-26.

The 650 arrestees had previously been given a final order of removal from a federal immigration judge, or had no appeals or motions to reopen their case, but had not left.

"Illegally entering the United States as a family unit or UAC does not protect individuals from being subject to the immigration laws of this country," ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan said in a statement. "I urge anyone considering making the dangerous and unlawful journey to the United States: Please do not take this risk. Ultimately, if you have no basis to remain in the United States, you will be identified, apprehended and returned to your home country."

More than 100 of those arrested had criminal convictions on their records, in addition to being unlawfully present in the U.S.

The border operation was launched in January 2016 and again in February 2016 as a way to address a spike in the number of unaccompanied minors and family units arriving at the southern border.

See more here:
Feds arrest 650 illegal immigrants who were ordered to leave the country - Washington Examiner