Tag: Law

In a 9-1 vote Wednesday, the Illinois Senate Education committee approved a measure that would allow parents or guardians to medicate their children with cannabis while they’re at school. On Thursday, the full Senate is expected to vote on the bill, which sailed through the Illinois House last month.

The measure, dubbed “Ashley’s Law,” was named for 11-year-old Ashley Surin whose family filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Illinois and Schaumburg School District 54 for failing to include public schools among the places people can possess medical cannabis. Surin has been prescribed medical cannabis to treat seizures related to a leukemia diagnosis.

In January, a judge ruled in favor of Surin’s family, allowing the girl to bring her medication to school.

Sen. Cristina Castro (22nd) expects the bill to pass based on its bipartisan support in committee. Castro, who is co-sponsoring the measure, noted that Ashley and her family would be making the trip to Springfield for the vote.

“They will be my guests in the gallery,” Castro said. “They are very excited.”

Despite claims that cannabis legalization will create a windfall of tax revenue, a new report from Moody’s Investors Services shows that taxes from pot sales “provide only modest budget relief” in states that have legalized the drug for recreational use. According to the report, revenues generated by legalization “are a marginal credit positive” for the nine states, plus the District of Columbia, that have legal recreational cannabis laws.

Nevertheless, Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker is continuing to push his plan to make pot fully legal in Illinois. Asked about the Moody’s study, Pritzker’s campaign defended his proposed policy.

“Legalizing marijuana will not just bring tax revenue to the state, but it will help reform a broken criminal justice system that has disproportionately harmed communities of color for far too long,” said campaign spokeswoman Galia Slayen. “JB knows we can legalize marijuana in a safe way that will benefit communities across Illinois and he is ready to do that as governor.”

The billionaire has said he believes legalization could bring in between $350 million and $700 million in revenue, a figure anti-marijuana groups have disputed.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it will bar drone flights over seven major U.S. nuclear sites, including Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

The move is the latest in a series of growing restrictions on unmanned aerial vehicles over U.S. sites that have national security implications.

The new restrictions begin Dec. 29 and include the Hanford Site in Washington State, Idaho National Laboratory, Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina, Pantex Site in Texas and the Y-12 National Security Site and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

The FAA said it is considering additional requests from other federal security agencies to bar drones.

Earlier this year, the FAA banned drone flights over 133 U.S. military facilities. The Pentagon said in August that U.S. military bases could shoot down drones that endanger aviation safety or pose other threats.

The FAA also banned drone flights over 10 U.S. landmarks in September, including the Statue of Liberty in New York and Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, at the request of national security and law enforcement agencies.

It separately barred drone flights over the USS Constitution in Boston, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. The list also includes Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona, Hoover Dam in Nevada and Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state.

Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board said a September collision between a small civilian drone and a U.S. Army helicopter was caused by the drone operator’s failure to see the helicopter because he was intentionally flying the drone out of visual range.

The incident between a U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter and a DJI Phantom 4 drone near Staten Island, New York occurred as concerns mount over the rising number of unmanned aircraft in U.S. airspace.

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ATLANTA —For the first time, students at Georgia’s public colleges and universities will be allowed to legally carry stun guns, starting Friday.

State Rep. Buzz Brockway, R-Lawrenceville, sponsored the bill and told Channel 2’s Lori Geary this is all about safety.

“During the session, I was getting calls, especially from students at Georgia State, because there were three robberies in the library while we were in session, so there were a lot of students who contacted me to say, ‘Hey can I have one now?’” Brockway said.

Brockway said most campus policies prohibited the electroshock weapons on campus but this state law will trump those policies.

Earlier this year, Gov. Deal vetoed the campus carry bill, which would have allowed licensed gun owners to bring their weapons onto campus, excluding dorms, fraternity and sorority houses and sporting events.

Georgia HB 792 allows anyone 18 years or older or currently enrolled in a Georgia public college to carry a stun gun anywhere on campus.

University System of Georgia spokesman Charlie Sutlive released a statement to Geary, saying “Our … institutions are aware of HB 792 taking effect July 1, and we have been working directly with our campus chiefs of police and safety departments in preparation.”

The system’s chief of police sent out a memo to all campus public safety directors alerting them to the change in the law.

Georgia Gwinnett College student Ashley Flagg told Geary she would not carry a stun gun because she’s afraid it would be used against her.

Flagg, though, also said this was about her rights as a student.

“I think we should have the right to be able to carry it because in some cases people feel like they are threatened on campus,” Flagg said.

Chelsea Jackson, also a student at GGC, said stun guns should not be allowed.

“Just something else to give you an excuse to be violent to somebody because you want to. If someone pushes you in the hallway the wrong way or they step on your toe, if that person is having a bad day, then what?” Jackson said.

Brockway said, “We trust college students to fight wars for us, to drive, to get married, to make all sorts of decisions. I think we can count on them to act wisely and protect themselves.”

The law goes into effect Friday.

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A group of 51 suburban families filed a federal lawsuit against their Illinois school district, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday, alleging that the district is violating students’ privacy and safety by allowing transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms of the gender with which they identify.

Northwest suburban Township High School District 211 was forced to do so by the Department of Education, which charged that not accommodating the locker room choice of one transgender student who filed a complaint with the federal agency was a violation of Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.

But the lawsuit filed by Alliance Defending Freedom and the Thomas More Society, on behalf of the 73 parents and 63 students, maintains that the 1972 federal law actually authorizes schools to retain single-sex restrooms and locker rooms, and Title IX is being unlawfully redefined by the Department of Education, which has overstepped into Congress’ purview in broadening its interpretation.

“Protecting students from inappropriate exposure to the opposite sex is not only perfectly legal, it’s a school district’s duty,” said Jeremy Tedesco, senior counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom.

“Allowing boys into girls’ locker rooms, a setting where girls are often partially or fully unclothed, is a blatant violation of student privacy.

The school district should rescind its privacy-violating policies, and the court should order the Department of Education to stop bullying school districts with falsehoods about what federal law requires.”

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A doctor who leads the Illinois Medical Cannabis Advisory Board says she’s not optimistic about the chances of expanding the state’s marijuana program based on previous decisions by Gov. Rauner’s administration.

Board chair Dr. Leslie Mendoza Temple says the advisory board is moving forward and evaluating the 15 health conditions on its agenda. The advisory board is meeting Monday in Springfield.

The meeting could lead to new recommendations from the expert panel. But Rauner’s administration has twice before rejected the board’s suggestions.

Among the new ailments to be considered Monday by the Medical Marijuana Advisory Board are Lyme disease, panic disorders, persistent depressive disorder, and MRSA, a drug-resistant staph infection.

The meeting could lead to new recommendations from the expert panel. But Rauner’s administration has twice before rejected the board’s suggestions.

Among the new ailments to be considered Monday by the Medical Marijuana Advisory Board are Lyme disease, panic disorders, persistent depressive disorder, and MRSA, a drug-resistant staph infection.

Supporters want the med pot program broadened to include painful conditions that don’t respond to conventional treatment, saying the benefits outweigh the risks. But Rauner has called for conservative steps in increasing access to marijuana.

Currently, 39 conditions and diseases can qualify a patient to use medical marijuana in Illinois. The state’s medical marijuana law allows people to suggest new diseases for the program twice annually.

The board, which is made up of doctors, nurses, patients and advocates, has only an advisory role. And Rauner has rejected previous recommendations to expand access, including an effort by veterans that would allow those with post traumatic stress disorder to use medical marijuana.

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Dealing with TSA at the airport may soon be a thing of the past.

Some airports, including the Punta Gorda Airport, are starting to use private security instead.

Some passengers say they are skeptical of the change to private security.

“The world is more nervous about flying than they ever have been,” said Gail Miesner, a traveler in Punta Gorda. “I would say this is not the time to add different entities.”

By the summer, you won’t see TSA at PGD. Instead, you’ll see a company called ISS Action handling security.

Pam Seay with the Charlotte County Airport Authority said the decision was made to make security more efficient and maybe even friendlier.

“I believe this will be better. Most people are never going to notice anything,” Seay said.

She also says the move saves the airport money. In addition, private companies can hire more security agents than the government can. Many hope that means a faster line.

“As long as they are competent in their job, I’m OK with it,” said passenger Kyle Bermel.

There will still be government oversight to make sure the proper safety checks are being made.

ISS is hiring for the new security positions. If you’re interested in applying just click here where you’ll find instructions halfway down the page.

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Kingston Jamaica March 28 2016 Security guards will soon receive training which will enable them to seek employment in the Caribbean and Europe.

Evening and week-end classes for a 12-week training programme are scheduled to begin in May 2016 at the Excelsior Community College (ECC) main campus, 137 Mountain View Avenue, Kingston 3.

The school is collaborating with Security Administrators Limited (SAL) to start the programme.

Principal of ECC Philmore McCarthy and Managing Director of SAL, Captain George Reynolds, recently formalized the partnership with the signing of a memorandum of understanding at the main campus of EEC.

Marketing Manager of ECC, Trudy-Anne Riley told JIS News that the idea to start the training course came about, because of a need to give accredited certification to guards and persons with an interest in a security career.

She said the Private Security Regulation Authority (PSRA) Act 1992 has mandated that all security guards be certified and to submit evidence of their training and certification in the form of a certificate from an approved PSRA Trainer, effective January 1, 2016.

“They had given them a timeframe in which to get the certification. So based on the fact that we are a community college that responds to the needs of the community, we saw it fit to partner with Security Administrators Limited to offer a certification course for security guards,” she said.

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Fort Bragg visitors from some states will no longer be allowed to use only their driver’s license to enter the post.

Officials have said the nation’s largest military installation has begun enforcement of the REAL ID Act, a 10-year-old law meant to help lawmakers detect fake identification following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Fewer than half of all states currently comply with the law, but most others, including North Carolina and Virginia, have received an extension to comply by Oct. 10.

Residents of states without an extension – including Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico and Washington – will no longer be able to use their state-issued identification “effective immediately,” said Fort Bragg spokeswoman Christina Douglas.

Those visitors will need to use some other form of identification, such as a U.S. passport, or be escorted at all times on the installation.

Fort Bragg officials said the process for gaining access to post is unchanged for the vast majority of visitors.

“If you have a DOD-issued ID card, you can use it at the gates as you always have,” said spokesman Tom McCollum.

The REAL ID Act was born out of recommendations from the 9/11 Commission report in 2004.

That report noted that preventing terrorists from obtaining state-issued identification documents was critical to national security.

The law does not create a national identification card or database of driver’s license information, but instead sets national standards for states to use to help prevent the use of fake IDs, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The law serves as a mandate on federal agencies, and participation by states is voluntary, although federal agencies are prohibited from accepting identification from noncompliant states for many official purposes.

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Private K-12 schools and higher education institutions in Tennessee would have the ability to create policy that would permit qualified people to carry handguns in all buildings and on all campuses owned and operated by the private school, according to a newly filed bill by Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville.

The legislation, which was filed on Monday, would require the chief administrative officers of private K-12 schools and higher education institutions to set a policy on carrying handguns on the property and buildings of each school and institution.

According to the legislation, qualified persons include anyone not prohibited from possessing a handgun and who also has a valid Tennessee handgun carry permit.

Although Bell’s legislation would not require a private school to allow all qualified people the ability to bring their guns into a building, it would mandate the school’s chief officer to create a policy.

The private institutions are given the ability to decide who is allowed to carry a weapon on the premises.

Bell told The Tennessean the bill is not a direct reaction to state Attorney General Herbert Slatery’s opinion that was issued last September in which the attorney general said people can’t bring guns to a church, religious entity or private school if the property is being used for a school event.

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Walmart sued over ammo sale

Twenty-year-old Robert Jourdain had been drinking for hours before he walked into a Walmart store early on the morning of July 5 and bought a box of .38-caliber ammunition, court papers say.

Shortly before 3 a.m., Jourdain left the Northampton Crossings shopping center in Lower Nazareth Township and got into the white Mercedes Benz sport utility vehicle where Todd West was waiting with a Smith & Wesson revolver. Within an hour, West allegedly used the bullets to kill three people in a random shooting spree on the streets of Easton and Allentown.

The victims’ families have filed a lawsuit against Walmart that one expert says could succeed despite federal protections for gun and ammo dealers. The families claim that Walmart and its employees were negligent in selling the ammunition to Jourdain because they should have known he was too young to buy it legally and was mentally impaired by alcohol.

“The bottom line here is that Walmart sold .38-caliber handgun ammunition to an underage person in the middle of the night, and that ammunition was used to kill several people,” said Philadelphia attorney Matt Casey, who filed the suit last week.

“Ultimately, a jury will decide whether that sale was consummated in a way that breached Walmart’s duty to the victims,” Casey said.

Killed in the rampage were Kory Ketrow, 22, of Easton, who was shot twice just steps from his Lehigh Street home; and Francine Ramos, 32, and Trevor Gray, 21, both of Allentown, who were attacked as they sat in Ramos’ car at Sixth and Greenleaf streets.


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