Jessica Mcbride

A Dane County Circuit court ruled against former Independent party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., siding with the Wisconsin Election Commission’s decision to keep Kennedy’s name on the state’s ballot this November, despite his withdrawal from the race and request for removal. Kennedy’s lawsuit argued that, absent a compelling reason, the state’s different treatment for third party candidates violates the Equal Protection Clause and the First Amendment. It claimed the different deadlines for ballot withdrawal for major party candidates versus third-party candidates – Sept. 3 for the former and Aug. 6 for the latter – are unlawfully discriminatory. Judge Stephen E. Ehlke disagreed, saying Kennedy’s request was essentially that the WEC ignore Wisconsin election law, which only allows a certified candidate to exit the ballot in case of death. “Courts are required to apply the law as written, not as some party wishes it were written,” Ehlke said. “Under the statute, t...

  A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court court struck down California’s ban on concealed carry permit users bringing their guns to many places outside the home, following an earlier federal district court’s injunction in December against the ban, then another 9th Circuit judge’s overturning of the injunction. 2023 bill SB 2 took effect on January 1 and banned concealed carry permit holders from bringing their certified firearms to most public places — even privately-owned commercial establishments open to the public unless its operator “clearly and conspicuously posts a sign” indicating license holders may carry their firearms on the property. California concealed carry applicants undergo thorough background checks that include interviews, fingerprinting, reviews through multiple government databases, and pass a state-certified full-day handgun training program designed for concealed carry permit holders. “Extremist judges have overturned CA's gun law and are insisting that...