DC Wastes Effort On Appeal: ...Assuming the court hears the case (the
odds are very high), Mr. Fenty's main problem is his argument. It relies
heavily on a misreading of the Supreme Court's last gun case, 1939's
U.S. v. Miller. Mr. Fenty interprets Miller to mean that only state
militia members have the right to bear arms. In Miller, the Supreme
Court sided against a man who'd been convicted of possessing a sawed-off
shotgun. The court did in fact note that the Second Amendment was
written to protect militias. However, the court also observed that "the
Militia comprised all males physically capable of acting in concert for
the common defense."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070906/EDITORIAL/109060011/1013
DC Case Could Shape Gun Laws: If the court agrees to take the case, as
most legal experts believe is likely, it could lead to a historic
decision sometime next year on whether the Second Amendment to the
Constitution protects an individual's right to own a gun or simply
imparts a collective, civic right related to maintaining state militias.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/04/AR2007090401977.html
DC Hypocrisy Stunning: When District of Columbia Attorney General Linda
Singer attempted to justify the District's handgun ban as it announced
its appeal of the Parker case to the Supreme Court, she revealed the
depth of hypocrisy that lies at the core of this
case, the Second Amendment Foundation said today. "Whatever right the
Second Amendment guarantees," Singer reportedly said, "it does not
require the District to stand by while its citizens die." That remark
brought a quick reaction from SAF founder Alan Gottlieb.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-05-2007/0004657105&EDATE=
---
Wisconsin Governor Attacks RKBA: An op-ed piece in a Milwaukee newspaper
summarizes Governor Doyle's multi-part proposal to further infringe the
RKBA in Wisconsin. (Note that Wisconsin, along with Illinois, is one of
only two states that have no statutory provision for private citizens to
carry concealed firearms legally.)
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=657938
---
Rabid Bear Attacks Maryland Home: A rabid black bear trying to rip out a
window air conditioner lost its tug of war with a terrified woman when
her husband blasted the beast with a shotgun. The bear rushed the house
after Charlotte Stanton yelled out her screen door to try to scare it
away from a goat pen. Mrs. Stanton, 39, of rural Grantsville said she
was losing her tussle with the 134-pound sow when her husband, Michael
Stanton, pulled the trigger.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070906/METRO/109060061/1004
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/05/AR2007090501472.html
---
Michigan City Approves Indoor Range: Council members and residents were
split on the decision, but with a 4-3 vote, a gun range and training
facility will be allowed to open in Southfield. Dozens of residents -
some for, but most against the new firearm range - turned up at the Aug.
27 City Council meeting, ready to make council see their way. At issue
is the Action Impact Firearms Training Center, which could take over the
9,900-square-foot Studio of Creative Design building on the north side
of Eight Mile Road between Beech and Wakedon roads.
http://www.candgnews.com/Homepage-Articles/2007/9-05-07/VG-GUNRANGE.asp
---
Oops, Wrong House: Though he was slashed several times, a retired pastor
who lives in Greenville County managed to shoot and kill an intruder
Tuesday night, deputies said...Investigators said Judith Willis told
them that she woke her husband after she heard a noise in another room.
William Willis grabbed a gun that he kept in the bedroom and went to
investigate. (It is a wiser tactic to remain in a designated safe room,
typically the master bedroom, call police and force the intruder to come
to you.)
http://www.wyff4.com/news/14046962/detail.html
http://www.wspa.com/midatlantic/spa/news.apx.-content-articles-SPA-2007-09-05-0002.html
---
Don't Blame Homeowner In Celebrity's Death: It's not about a
gun-besotted, trigger-happy Texas gun culture claiming another victim,
nor is it about Mr. Albrecht's fame and popularity, nor is it about
whether he was in the habit of beating up his girlfriend (by universal
accounts, he was not)... It's about the other guy, an ordinary guy who
was in fear for himself and his wife, who had about three seconds to
make a life-and-death decision with which I hope to God I am personally
never confronted.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/localnews/columnists/jfloyd/stories/090607dncolfloyd.2cdf987.html
---
A San Francisco Story: It took someone with a gun to put an end to Allen
Broussard's auto burglary spree - something San Francisco prosecutors,
probation officers and judges had been incapable of doing...On Friday,
police arrested a suspect in Broussard's killing, Jamal Butler, 34, who
also possesses a lengthy criminal record, including attempted murder,
drug dealing, possession of body armor, auto theft and felony evading
arrest.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/06/MNC5RR0E0.DTL&tsp=1
---
Do As I Say, Not As I Do?: Sentenced to probation for shooting two cars
and holding police at bay for seven hours during a psychotic episode
that ended with a trip to the mental-health ward and the discovery of
child pornography on his computer, retired Pennsylvania state trooper
Stanley W. Foss III had one question for Judge John S. Kennedy. He
wanted to know if the judge would lower the felony child pornography
charge to a misdemeanor "so I could keep my weapons."
http://www.ydr.com/newsfull/ci_6805781
---
The Evolution of BATF 4473: The ATF has issued a new 4473 form, this is
the form that you must fill out in order to purchase a firearm. Since I
have worked at Red's the 4473 form has been changed about 5 times (the
pictures show just 3 of the changes). The layout, the questions, the
print, the number of pages (went from 1 to 3) and even the color has
changed. I still get people saying "Where is the yellow form to fill
out?" It is no longer yellow, but white. (This article explains some of
the technical errors that BATFE auditors find.)
http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2007/09/evolution-of-4473-form.html
---
The Sky Is Falling In Scotland: SNP ministers are calling on Westminster
to rapidly transfer control over airgun law to Holyrood so the weapons
can be banned north of the Border. Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny
MacAskill is to write to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith proposing that a
"legislative framework" be established so that the Scottish Parliament
is given powers to legislate on the weapons.
http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1355632007
---
Poll Shows Support For Total Handgun Ban In Canada: Many adults in
Canada would support changes to their current firearm legislation,
according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 52 per cent of respondents
think a complete ban on handguns would be justified, since current
regulations are not working and guns stolen from legal owners are being
used in crimes. Conversely, 40 per cent of respondents believe a
complete ban would be unjustified, as it would affect law-abiding
Canadians such as collectors and target shooters. (As in all polls, it
was the pollsters who got to word the questions.)
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/canadians_ponder_complete_handgun_ban/28098
--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
