Officer Fired For Unsecured Handgun: A Florida police officer was fired
and cited for unsafe storage of a firearm after her oldest daughter had
armed herself with the absent officer's service pistol in response to a
possible prowler. Of note, the federal restrictions on juvenile
possession of handguns provide an exemption for self-defense at the
juvenile's residence.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/orl-lklofficer29072905jul29,0,4464672.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-lake
http://www.local6.com/news/4784474/detail.html
---
Arizona Trail Shooter Loses Round In Court: A judge denied a defense
request to take prosecution of the case against a retired teacher who
shot a man who threatened him on a hiking trail away from the Coconino
County Attorney's Office.
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=112718
---
Is Your Fanny Pack Breeding Terrorists?: Interesting commentary on
warantless searches touches on the issue of illegally carried firearms.
http://www.reason.com/sullum/072905.shtml
---
Of Guns And Men: Meandering essay includes discussion of freedom,
firearms and crime in Switzerland and how American trial lawyers have
sought the destruction of the firearm industry.
http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/archive/r/ross-eric/2005/ross072905.htm
---
Smith & Wesson Hires 2 Glock Executives: Smith & Wesson has hired two of
Glock's sales executives in an apparent bid to challenge Glock's share
of the law enforcement market. S&W will be resurrecting the the Military
and Police model name with a forthcoming pistol in .40 caliber.
http://www.masslive.com/business/republican/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1122651765315980.xml&coll=1
---
Beware Of Phony Organization: There appears to be a new prohibitionist
organization masquerading as the American Hunters and Shooters Association.
http://www.nraila.org/HuntingAndConservation/Diggerscorner/?ID=23
---
More Infringements In Illinois: Governor Blagojevich has signed a
measure mandating background checks for private-party transfers at gun
shows and has vetoed one that would have required the state police to
destroy records of those background checks after 90 days. (My
recollection is that the state NRA-affiliate supported the former in
exchange for the latter.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0507290247jul29,1,6045153.story?coll=chi-news-hed
---
New York County Bans Weapons In Buildings: Chautauqua County has passed
an ordinance to post "no weapons" at all county buildings.
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050729/1061999.asp
---
Senate Passes Lawsuit-Protection Bill: The Senate has passed the
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Bill with one significant
amendment. The New York Times appears to be the first source to
emphasize that failure of a manufacturer to provide "child-safety locks"
would invalidate the protection from lawsuits.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/30/politics/30cong.html?ei=5094&en=83d2b13b76ada43a&hp=&ex=1122782400&partner=homepage&pagewanted=all
From The Firearms Coalition:
As I write this, the Senate has voted 65-31 in favor of S. 397, the
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. The bill sailed through
today on rails that have been admirably greased by Larry Craig.
Except for a requirement that dealer sales of handguns include a trigger
lock, the bill that passed is clean. Absent are truly harmful
amendments such as the McCain gun show language, a reinstatement of the
bogus "assault weapons" ban, or expansions of gun laws such as bans of
the Herstal-FN Five-seveN and of .50 BMG rifles.
The bill is not completely without controversy. I had a friendly
discussion with one reader who sent a link to an article on the Cato
Institute (
http://www.cato.org/dailys/05-27-02.html) web site by
Constitutional scholar Robert A. Levy. Levy correctly points out that
not every problem is a federal problem.
The fundamental principle is this: No matter how worthwhile an
end may be, if there is no constitutional authority to pursue
it, then the federal government must step aside and leave the
matter to the states or to private parties. The president and
Congress can proceed only from constitutional authority, not
from good intentions alone.
I have to confess that I agree, but the fact of the matter is that the
principle has already been violated in spades. It's all well and good
to operate in a mode of Constitutional and ideological purity but it's
also a good way to get steam-rolled. A court system that appropriatly
enforces the Ninth and Tenth Amendments will likely also enforce the
Second. Until then, we have to fight with the tools and tactics at hand.
Congratulations to Senator Larry Craig of Idaho for spearheading this
effort and to NRA-ILA staff as well as to NSSF for all their hard work.
Finally, I commend to you a useful web site,
http://www.gunlawnews.org/.
We have no connection with gunlawnews.org, however I've found it to be
useful and reliable. Check in on it as the Protection in Lawful
Commerce in Arms Act moves on to the House.
Chris Knox
---
From GOA:
Senate Passes Gun Control Amidst Protection For Gun Makers
-- Now the House has to clean up the Senate's mess
Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org
Friday evening, July 29, 2005
The U.S. Senate passed legislation (S. 397) protecting the gun industry
from frivolous lawsuits by a vote of 65-31 this afternoon.
It should have been a joyous occasion for the entire gun community. But
just when it seemed that the majority party was about to deal a knockout
blow, the Republican leadership dropped their gloves and allowed
anti-gun Democrats to land a hard uppercut on the chin.
As a result of that lack of resolve, America will be saddled with
mandatory trigger locks unless the House of Representatives acts in a
more responsible manner.
True, the underlying bill is significant legislation, supported by GOA,
which will help the firearms industry defend itself from the slew of
frivolous lawsuits you've been hearing about for years. It's not great
protection, but it's a nice first step.
However, "nice first step" should never be an excuse for the passage of
more gun control. By the way, you will no doubt be reading news reports
touting the bill as a great victory for gun owners, while dismissing the
trigger lock amendment as "minor." Wrong, and more on that later.
But first: how did this thing blow up in our faces?
IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GOOD, THEN IT WENT BAD
Remember that Gun Owners of America had asked its members and activists
to lobby Majority Leader Bill Frist to use whatever means possible to
block anti-gun amendments? At first, his office had been telling us
this couldn't be done.
Frist's office told us there was no Senate rule allowing the majority
party to block bad amendments.
But after GOA members and activists applied the heat, Frist took another
look. He then used parliamentary rules to "fill the amendment tree,"
which is exactly what we asked him to do. "Filling the amendment tree"
is a technical term which explains how the majority party can offer
amendments in such a way as to block the minority party from offering
other amendments.
So far so good. But then... Frist blinked. You see, there were a
handful of "moderate" Democrats, mainly from pro-gun states, who had
cosponsored the original bill -- enough to make the measure
filibuster-proof. Fearing that the other side would get those guys to
bolt from the bill, Frist caved and allowed people like decidedly
anti-gun Senator Herb Kohl to offer amendments.
Frist should have stood firm and let any rats jumping ship go home and
explain to their constituents why they didn't support needed tort reform.
But he did not, and the trigger lock amendment passed. Those who think
it's no big deal will tell you that even though the provision requires
gun dealers to include the sale of a "lock-up-your-safety" device with
every handgun sold, there are no penalties for the gun owner if he or
she does not use the trigger lock. Right. NOT YET.
Remember seat belts? First they had to be installed in every new car
sold. Then, it became mandatory that you wear them. You can almost
hear the debate in the next Congress: "It does no good to provide
trigger locking devices if gun owners aren't required to use them. We
need to punish any gun owner who fails to lock up his or her handgun!"
Remember also that some us don't like a "tax" on the price of our next
gun, which we have to pay to get a piece of equipment we know can
endanger our lives should we install it.
IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE
At least your hard work convinced Frist to fill the tree in the first
place. Otherwise, any anti-gun Senator could have added anything
including the word "firearm" and who knows what we would have ended up
with. It's an utter shame that Frist lost his nerve right when total
victory was in our grasp.
Even worse, perhaps, 70 Senators went along with the trigger lock
amendment when they could just as easily have voted "No" and passed a
clean bill thereafter. Were your Senators among those who need to be
spanked for toying with your rights? Go to
http://www.gunowners.org/cgv.htm for a complete run-down of the trigger
locks vote.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
The bill now moves to the House. Some pro-gun spokesmen have been
promising that the trigger lock amendment can be stripped out in a
conference committee. As mentioned in a previous alert, this is a
dangerous strategy which frequently does NOT work -- such as when we got
stuck with the Feinstein semi-auto ban in 1993-94 and the Incumbent
Protection Act in 2002.
Actually, a clean bill already exists in the House. Why not pass that one?
Congress is in recess during August. But the back-room deals are
certain to continue inside the Beltway.
To counter those expected compromises, GOA will need your help at
specific times over the remainder of the summer. Please stay tuned...
gun owners will need to pressure their Representatives with one simple
message: a vote for ANY bill, should it contain new gun control, is NOT
something we're prepared to swallow without a fight.
---
From The NRA-ILA:
NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert Vol. 12, No. 30 7/29/05
S. 397 PASSES U.S. SENATE!!!
Thanks to your efforts, today, the U.S. Senate passed S. 397 by a strong
bipartisan vote of 65-31! While this doesn't assure the bill will be
enacted into law, it represents a MAJOR first step toward ending the
anti-gun lobby's reign of extortion through reckless lawsuits against
the firearm industry. The fight now moves to the U.S. House of
Representatives, so it is critical that you once again contact your U.S.
Representative and urge him/her to pass S. 397--"The Protection of
Lawful Commerce in Arms Act."
As reported yesterday, an amendment by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) passed,
which requires federally licensed dealers to provide a "secure gun
storage or safety device" with the sale/transfer of every handgun (does
not apply to long guns). It does not require gun owners to use the
device, does not apply to private transfers, and does not create any new
civil liability for gun owners who choose not to use these storage
devices. Virtually all new handguns today are sold with some type of
secure storage or safety device. The amendment has no significant
impact on current law or S. 397 itself.
The U.S. Senate rejected a slew of anti-gun amendments to S. 397 including:
* Special "carve out" amendments by Sens. Corzine (D-N.J.) and
Lautenberg (D-N.J.) that would have permitted reckless lawsuits by
law enforcement and juveniles to continue unabated. Both were
soundly defeated;
* A ban on "armor piercing" ammunition (Kennedy-D-Mass.) (by a vote
of 31-64) that would have banned virtually all hunting ammunition.
Similar efforts have been continuously defeated by Congress, and
Sen. Kennedy's most recent attempt was nothing more than anti-gun
political posturing. (The Senate did adopt an amendment by Sen.
Larry Craig (R-Idaho) calling for increased penalties if "armor
piercing" handgun ammunition is used in the commission of a
crime.), and;
* A "gutting" amendment by Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) that sought to
continue to allow the very types of suits S. 397 prohibits (by a
vote of 33-63).
This long overdue victory marks the culmination of your tireless
efforts--your phone calls, faxes, letters, e-mails, and personal
meetings--over the past few days, and over the past many years. As
critical as these efforts were, this victory also highlights your
importance in volunteering and voting for pro-gun candidates running for
office. Without your steadfast work in past election years to elect
more pro-gun U.S. Senators, we simply would not have had enough votes to
pass this bill in the Senate.
Defeating former Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) in the 2004
elections (Daschle, as you'll recall was the architect who last year
allowed the bill to be loaded up with anti-gun amendments), and thus
elevating Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), a consistent and longstanding
supporter of S. 397, to that leadership position represented a major
step toward guaranteeing we finally received a fair procedure to bring
this measure up for a final vote, and carried out the will of a majority
of the U.S. Senate. And of course, members should express their
gratitude to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), Senator
Minority Leader Harry Reid, and bill sponsors Sens. Larry Craig and Max
Baucus (D-Mont.) for their leadership and stewardship on S. 397.
While this fight is far from over, the Senate's action today enabled us
to overcome a major hurdle in enacting this legislation into law. All
of us at NRA-ILA thank you from the bottoms of our hearts for your
continued vigilance in seeing this bill through the U.S. Senate. You
deserve a lion's share of the credit, and we know you will help us
finish the job once and for all by now contacting your U.S.
Representative and urging him/her to support "The Protection of Lawful
Commerce in Arms Act."
(For a list of roll call votes on these amendments and final passage of
S. 397, go to www.NRAILA.org <
http://www.NRAILA.org/>. Take note of how
your Senators voted, and please thank those who voted in support of gun
owners and let those who voted against our rights know that you will
keep their votes in mind when they are up for re-election. BE SURE TO
ALSO ATTEND ANY OF YOUR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE'S TOWN HALL MEETINGS DURING
THE "SUMMER DISTRICT WORK PERIOD" [Aug. 1-Sept. 5] and encourage him/her
to bring up and pass S. 397 as soon as possible.)
--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
