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The committee meets at 2 p.m. in Senate Hearing Room 1, 1700 W. Washington St., Phoenix. The hearing is open to the public and anyone may register to speak for or against the bills. The four bills do a variety of things.

Hearings are coming up in the legislature this week on three gun related bills including one to bar holders of concealed handgun licenses from being armed on college campuses. Sen. Ginny Burdick, D Portland, offered two bills to nullify last year's appeals court ruling -- won on behalf of a young Lebanon man who was expelled from Western Oregon University -- that struck down the Oregon University System rule against anyone, including CHL holders, carrying guns on campus.

The Republican lawmaker who presides over the state Assembly said Friday he's been carrying a concealed weapon during floor sessions. Speaker Pro Tem Bill Kramer of Waukesha controls the chamber during debate. He presides over the chamber's procedures, is responsible for upholding decorum and can order spectators out of the chamber if he so chooses.

A group of Central Illinois lawmakers is calling for a bipartisan coalition of downstate legislators to unite in support of job creation and in opposition to gun control laws, state Rep. Chapin Rose said at a Thursday news conference in Decatur. State Reps. Adam Brown of Decatur and Bill Mitchell of Forsyth joined the Mahomet Republican near the Law Enforcement Center on Franklin Street to discuss the coalition and recent legislation they said "bans hunting" in Illinois. Rose cited House Bills 1294, 1599 and 1855. According to versions of the bills posted on the General Assembly's website, they ban the manufacture, sale or transportation of weapons that include semiautomatic firearms that accept a detachable magazine. It also bans possessing attachments such as pistol grips, thumb hole stocks or muzzle shrouds.

Arthur Schofield (Your Views, Jan. 29) questions my thinking on Second Amendment guarantees in the Bill of Rights. He suggests that restoring the basic applications of the Second Amendment that Oklahomans enjoyed until only the last few decades will invite problems. His assertion plays to the oft used excuse that the free exercise of our most essential right as Americans will only create lawlessness and blood in the street scenarios. This doesn't square with the facts. I've lived in several states with open carry laws. None of Schofield's assertions hold up in those states. Further, we heard these same arguments during the debate about our concealed carry laws. They never happened. Law abiding Oklahomans will surprise Schofield about how law abiding they are, just as they've shown in the past 15 years with our concealed carry and other gun laws. Sadly, Schofield then resorts to the opinion that it doesn't meet his desires and that it makes people nervous.

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D W.Va.) and his Republican colleague Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) today introduced bipartisan legislation that protects open access and the rights of recreational hunters and fisherman on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service Lands.

Gun rights advocates are poised to win a marquee victory in the Virginia General Assembly, perhaps as early as today, with the potential repeal of the state's one handgun a month limit. Overturning Virginia's two decade old restriction on pistol purchases has long been a high priority of gun enthusiasts, and the repeal effort has grabbed the spotlight in an Assembly session widely seen as the most gun friendly in years.

Bills saying it is all right to use deadly force against intruders in your home, including one from Del. Richard P. "Dickie" Bell, R-Staunton, are moving easily through the General Assembly.

On January 31, the House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed House Bill 1508, originally a solid shooting range protection bill, and House Bill 2471, a background check reform bill.

On Wednesday, February 8, three NRA-opposed bills will be heard in the state Senate Judiciary Committee in Hearing Room 343 of the State Capitol, at 1:00 p.m.

Senate Bill 2975 is slated to be heard in the Senate Public Safety, Government Operations and Military Affairs Committee (PGM) on Thursday, February 9th at 2:45 p.m. in conference room 224.  Introduced by state Senator Shan Tsutsui (D-4), this anti-gun legislation would mandate that all Hawaii gun owners report the theft of a stolen firearm within 72 hours of discovering that theft.

This Monday, February 6, the Virginia Senate is expected to cast its final vote on Senate Bill 323, legislation which would repeal the archaic prohibition of purchasing more than one handgun per month.  This vote is expected to be very close so it is important that you continue to contact your state Senator and urge him or her to vote for this legislation on Monday.

Arizona House Bill 2728, NRA-backed pro-hunting legislation introduced earlier this week by state Representative David Gowan (R-30), is scheduled to be heard by the House Committee on Military Affairs and Public Safety on Wednesday, February 8th.  Enactment of HB 2728 would allow hunters in Arizona to use lawfully-possessed suppressors (also referred to as silencers) on firearms for hunting.  This bill needs your support!  Please contact committee members and request their support of this pro-hunting legislation.

Arizona House Bill 2728, NRA-backed pro-hunting legislation introduced earlier this week by state Representative David Gowan (R-30), is scheduled to be heard by the House Committee on Military Affairs and Public Safety on Wednesday, February 8th.  Enactment of HB 2728 would allow hunters in Arizona to use lawfully-possessed suppressors (also referred to as silencers) on firearms for hunting.  This bill needs your support!  Please contact committee members and request their support of this pro-hunting legislation.

House Bill 4045 is scheduled for a hearing and possible work session in the House Judiciary Committee on Monday, February 6, at 8:00 a.m.  Introduced by state Representative Kim Thatcher (R-25), HB 4045 would provide for the confidentiality of Concealed Handgun License (CHL) holders’ personal information.  A similar measure was introduced last session and passed in the state House, but was held up in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Senate Bill 26, sponsored by state Senator Bill Payne (R-Albuquerque), received a “do pass” recommendation in the Senate Public Affairs Committee on January 31.  This legislation is now expected to be considered in the Senate Judiciary Committee TOMORROW (Saturday, February 4) although at press time an exact time is not known.  Senators will be working this weekend, so please call Senate Judiciary Committee members on Saturday morning and urge them to support SB 26.  Contact information for the Committee Members can be found here.

The 2012 Florida legislative session is well underway and the NRA is working on numerous firearm-related bills.  See below for the list of those pro-Second Amendment and anti-Second Amendment bills.  No grassroots action is necessary at this time.  We will send update alerts and action items as necessary as these bills progress through the state legislature.  Be sure to continue to check www.NRAILA.org and your e-mail for future updates.