Supremes Agree To Hear Heller: ...The court said yesterday it will limit
its ruling to one question: whether D.C. laws "violate the Second
Amendment rights of individuals who are not affiliated with any
state-regulated militia, but who wish to keep handguns and other
firearms for private use in their homes." ...This merits praise because
the court had other options. For example, the city's suggestion read,
"Whether the Second Amendment forbids the District of Columbia from
banning private possession of handguns while allowing possession of
rifles and shotguns." Such a formulation sidesteps the core controversy
- while D.C. does allow "possession of rifles and shotguns," its storage
laws make these weapons useless for self-defense.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/METRO/111210066/1001&template=nextpage
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20071121/EDITORIAL/111210009/1013
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8T1QUNO0&show_article=1
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/20/AR2007112000893.html?hpid=topnews
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119558157276599395-jS1yJPy9j5NINSL_wv_pYxc6wD0_20071220.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/us/21scotus.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-scotus21nov21,1,4804010.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjNlMzIwNjgyMjRiZmZjYWQ4MTNjNGEwYzQxYTZhZjg=
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,228213.shtml
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/11-20-2007/0004709509&EDATE=
http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=336
http://bradycampaign.org/media/release.php?release=945
---
Justice Kennedy Likely To Be Swing Vote: As a general rule, Justice
Kennedy tends to construe the Bill of Rights so its protections apply
broadly but often yield to competing interests. If the question is
whether a constitutional protection applies in an abstract sense to a
new set of facts, Justice Kennedy is often inclined to answer that
question in the affirmative. On the other hand, Kennedy often finds that
the right gives way to competing government interests such as law
enforcement needs, security, finality, etc. (These are obviously
enormous oversimplifications, but I think it's a pretty good first
cut.) What does that mean for the Second Amendment case? Well, I
looked into my SCOTUS 330CLe Model Crystal Ball (patent pending, with
optional GPS system), and it's predicting that Justice Kennedy will
conclude that the Second Amendment does in fact create an individual
right. It also tells me that Kennedy will endorse a relatively
deferential standard of review that will end up allowing a great deal of
gun regulation.
http://volokh.com/posts/1195588501.shtml
---
Heller Will Actually Be 96th Supreme Court Gun Case: ...The High Court
has been ruling on guns and gun rights since 1820, with 31 cases
addressing the subject before Miller and 63 cases afterwards until this
one. The widely quoted Miller case concerned two bootleggers and a
sawed-off shotgun. Miller was murdered before his case could be retried
as directed by the Supreme Court, leaving that short, controversial
decision to be interpreted in many ways...The new case now granted
review, District of Columbia v. Heller, is somewhat different, since the
parties are arguing specifically over the Second Amendment itself, and
not the firearms they choose to bear or how they put them to
use...Discussions of the first 92 cases are compiled in Supreme Court
Gun Cases, published by Bloomfield Press, which for the first time
dispelled the notion that the High Court had been quiet about the
subject of guns. The Court's decisions use some form of the word "gun"
(rifle, shotgun, handgun, firearm, etc.) more than 2,900 times. Fourteen
of the cases deal specifically with using guns in personal self defense.
http://www.gunlaws.com/supreme.htm
Another View: Among legal scholars, it is undisputed that the Supreme
Court has said almost nothing about the Second Amendment. This article
suggests that the Court has not been so silent as the conventional
wisdom suggests. While the meaning of the Supreme Court's leading Second
Amendment case, the 1939 United States v. Miller decision remains hotly
disputed, the dispute about whether the Second Amendment guarantees an
individual right can be pretty well settled by looking at the
thirty-five other Supreme Court cases which quote, cite, or discuss the
Second Amendment. These cases suggest that the Justices of the Supreme
Court do now and usually have regarded the Second Amendment "right of
the people to keep and bear arms" as an individual right, rather than as
a right of state governments.
http://davekopel.org/2A/LawRev/35FinalPartOne.htm
---
Parker Ignored (For Now): ...The city of Washington's appeal (District
of Columbia v. Heller, 07-290) seeking to revive its flat ban on private
possession of handguns is expected to be heard in March - slightly more
than a year after the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that the Second Amendment
right is a personal one, at least to have a gun for self-defense in
one's own home. (The Court took no action on Tuesday on a conditional
cross-petition, Parker, et al., v. District of Columbia, 07-335, an
appeal by five District residents seeking to join in the case. The
absence of any action may mean that the Court has decided not to hear
that case. If that is so, it will be indicated in an order next Monday.
The Court also may simply be holding the case until it decides the
Heller case.)
http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/uncategorized/court-agrees-to-rule-on-gun-case/
---
Giuliani Comments: Rudy Giuliani was the first campaign to react to the
Supreme Court's decision today to hear the challenge to D.C.'s handgun
ban. The former New York mayor said the justices should side with the
lower court ruling that struck down part of the D.C. law. "I strongly
believe that Judge Silberman's decision deserves to be upheld by the
Supreme Court. The Parker decision is an excellent example of a judge
looking to find the meaning of the words in the Constitution, not what
he would like them to mean," Giuliani said. It'll be interesting to see
how this plays out for Giuliani, who as mayor frequently found himself
joining with the gun control advocates he now is opposing.
http://video1.washingtontimes.com/dinan/2007/11/giulianis_gun_control_doover_r.html
---
Polls On The DC Gun Ban: These are just the ones that have come to my
attention. Scroll down the pages to find the polls. Note the wording -
you will probably want to vote "yes," for the Supreme Court to overturn
the DC gun ban.
http://www.wjla.com/
http://www.nbc4.com/index.html
---
Pennsylvania Governor Rebuffed On New Infringements: On Tuesday Governor
Ed Rendell made a rare appearance before the House Judiciary Committee
pushing for tougher gun laws, but despite his efforts the committee
rejected the measures. The first measure would limit most handgun
purchases to one per month. The second measure that was voted down would
have allowed local government to create their own gun control
laws...Legislators tabled a third bill that would require owners to
promptly report lost or stolen guns.
http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=a3a02bb0-415b-461d-87b0-878042c0818c
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_stories/20071121_Rendell_cant_sway_panel_on_gun_bills.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2018114020071120
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?dept_id=455154&newsid=19044876
---
Campus CCW Drive Still In News: Mike Guzman and thousands of other
students say the best way to prevent campus bloodshed is more guns.
Guzman, an economics major at Texas State University-San Marcos, is
among 8,000 students nationwide who have joined the nonpartisan Students
for Concealed Carry on Campus, arguing that students and faculty already
licensed to carry concealed weapons should be allowed to pack heat along
with their textbooks.
http://www.newsmax.com/us/guns_on_campus/2007/11/21/51116.html
---
Is ACLU Defending Second Or Fourth Amendment?: Civil liberties activists
fanned out through Dorchester and Roxbury yesterday, warning people that
a police proposal to ask residents to let their houses be searched for
guns could violate constitutional rights...As the American Civil
Liberties Union passed out fliers yesterday decrying the "Safe Homes"
initiative, police prepared to launch a campaign to reassure residents
about the program. In the coming weeks, they plan to pass out brochures
explaining the proposal and to hold community meetings to persuade
residents that the program is a well-intentioned attempt to remove guns
from the street.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/11/21/police_activists_battle_over_city_antigun_effort/
---
When Guns Are Outlawed...: In a case the Nassau County district attorney
called "the most egregious betrayal of the badge imaginable," a former
Queens police officer has been arrested for selling guns from his
precinct's evidence room on the streets of Long Island. Hubertus Vannes,
30, of Roslyn Heights, was arrested Tuesday, shortly after two men
accused of working with him were also picked up by law enforcement
officials.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-liguns1121,0,7285034.story?coll=ny_home_rail_headlines
---
Risky Business: A Genesee County Sheriff's paramedic ordered an armed
robbery suspect to drop his gun, shot him several times when he refused
- and then proceeded to save the suspect's life. "Our deputy did what he
was trained to do, protect the public and save lives," said Sheriff
Robert J. Pickell said about the wounding early Monday of a Flint man
suspected of robbing a store-gas station in Grand Blanc Township. The
suspect then led police on a chase that came to a violent end in a
subdivision near Clarkston in Oakland County. (Many years ago the NYPD
decided that an officer who shoots a suspect should not be the one to
approach him when he goes down. This was based on the officer's
emotional involvement being a potential deterrent to objective
observation and reaction if the suspect became active again. This lesson
holds even greater value for the private citizen who is not likely to
have others covering if he approaches to render aid to an assailant he
has shot.)
http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/newsnow/2007/11/paramedic_shoots_then_saves_ro.html
---
From AzCDL:
Hopefully, you are well aware that the Supreme Court of the United
States announced on November 20th, that it has agreed to hear District
of Columbia v. Heller (formerly Parker v. District of Columbia):
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/orders/courtorders/112007pzr.pdf
You can find a copy of the "Parker" Appellate Court decision at the
AzCDL website's Educational page:
http://www.azcdl.org/html/educational.html
The Heller case involves the constitutionality of the District of
Columbia's ban on functional firearms. The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled
the ban was unconstitutional. Both sides appealed to the Supreme
Court. For a case to be accepted by the Supreme Court, four justices
must vote to hear the case. With a court split 4-4 along ideological
lines, with one swing vote (Justice Kennedy), it's a coin toss on who
voted to hear the case and it's going to be a nail-biter until the
decision is handed down.
Since the Heller decision will likely be mid-2008 or later, it will
probably be a hot issue for the 2008 Presidential and Congressional
races. Your vote in the upcoming primaries and general election may be
the most important votes of your life.
For further information and opinions on the Heller/Parker case, here are
some recommended links:
CATO Institute:
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8717
Dave Kopel:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_11_18-2007_11_24.shtml#1195586476
"Supreme Court Gun Cases":
http://www.gunlaws.com/supreme.htm
While we await the Heller decision, AzCDL will continue our fight to
protect your Right to Keep and Bear Arms under Article 2, Section 26 of
the Arizona Constitution:
http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/const/2/26.htm
The next legislative session starts in January 2008. We are meeting
with Legislators on pro-rights proposals we have drafted. We expect a
number of them to be introduced as bills in the upcoming session and are
anticipating another successful year. But we can only be successful
WITH YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT. Don't let the Heller case distract you.
Keep focused on restoring, preserving and protecting you rights here in
Arizona.
These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League
(AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots
organization. Join today!
AzCDL - Protecting Your Freedom
http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html
Copyright � 2007 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights
reserved.
--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
