States Take Sides On Heller: When the U.S. Supreme Court takes up D.C.'s
gun ban in March, it could open up a new battle between the states.
States across the country are lining up on both sides, filing friends of
the court briefs for or against the District's law banning handguns.
D.C. has the toughest gun control law in the country. Virginia, along
with Arkansas and Texas, are joining the challenge of the ban. "This is
a case of fundamental importance to the interpretation of the
Constitution of the United States that is going to impact every state
and every territory in the Union based on how they rule," Virginia
Attorney General Bob McDonnell says. Maryland, New York, Illinois and
Hawaii are filing briefs backing the law.
http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=1312574
Virginia AG Supports Individual RKBA: Should Americans be allowed to
have guns? Virginia's Attorney General says they should. Bob McDonnell
is supporting a federal court decision that banning guns is
unconstitutional. The case originated in Washington, DC where handguns
have been banned for decades... McDonnel says if justices base their
ruling on the intentions of the authors of the Constitution, they'll
conclude that owning a gun is an individual right. McDonnell says
"Because at the time of its writing everybody was a member of a militia
and today everybody potentially could be called up in some capacity to
help defend their property, their person or their nation."
http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=7515111&nav=menu368_2
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A Look At Miller: ...Although Miller is very limited in scope it does
offer some constitutional guidance. First, the Miller Court clearly
rejected the government's argument that the Second Amendment only
protects States' rights. Hypothetically, if the Court would have
accepted the States' rights position, then logic follows it would have
simply denied the Defendant's Second Amendment claims for like of
standing (i.e., because the Defendants were obviously not States they
could not bring a Second Amendment defense). However, this was not the
case. The Supreme Court viewed the Defendants' Second Amendment claims
as substantively legitimate - but procedurally flawed - and only
remanded the case on the basis of a judicial notice error. Second, the
Miller Court did not raise any inquiries as to whether or not the
Defendants were involved in any sort of militia. Instead, the Court
seems to have presumed that the Second Amendment claim belongs to the
individual Defendants regardless of their military status or their
relation to the State. Third, the Miller Court's emphasis on the exact
type of weapon involved exemplifies the fact that the Court believed
congressional limitations could be placed on "arms" that were neither of
"common use" nor "part of the ordinary military equipment."
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/29811.html
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With Lawyers Like These...: ...I agree with the NRA that Americans
should have unlimited access to the firearms originally intended by the
Founders. In other words, all of you gun enthusiasts can have unlimited
access to all of the muzzleloaders and flintlocks that you want. Every
other weapon is subject to lawful regulation no matter what theory of
constitutional law one adopts. (I suppose that means that freedom of the
press should not extend to typewriters, broadcasting and the internet.)
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071218/OPINION01/712180322/-1/LOCAL17
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Giuliani Claims To Support Second Amendment: Republican presidential
candidate Rudy Giuliani said that he would support the Second Amendment
despite his imposition of a ban on semi-automatic handguns while mayor
of New York City. "I used the gun laws aggressively in New York. I had
to, and it worked well," Giuliani said in response to a question asked
during a brief campaign stop at Goss International on Monday. "As
president of the United States of America, I would be honor bound to
uphold the Second Amendment." ..."If Giuliani's gun control agenda was
really limited 'only' to big cities, that would be disturbing enough,"
Velleco said. "But the record shows that the mayor continually tried to
export his gun control agenda to the rest of the nation."
http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071218/NEWS/712180406
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Romney Claims NRA Endorsement He Never Received: ... Later in the
interview, he added the following: "I just talked about, about guns. I
told you what my position was, and what I, what I did as governor; the
fact that I received the endorsement of the NRA." The problem? He was
never endorsed by the NRA, and didn't have their official support during
his 2002 gubernatorial campaign. The NRA declined to endorse in that
race, as was acknowledged by Romney's spokesman this morning...
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/12/16/romney_claims_nra_endorsement.html?hpid=sec-politics
---
Senators Seek End To National Park Gun Ban: U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo is
leading an effort to repeal federal gun restrictions in national parks
and wildlife refuges, saying that the guidelines are "confusing,
burdensome and unnecessary." In a letter sent Monday, Crapo and almost
half of the U.S. Senate asked Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to
change rules that prohibit visitors to most national parks and wildlife
refuges from carrying active, loaded guns. Such changes would "respect
the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners, while providing a
consistent application of state weapons laws across all land ownership
boundaries" Crapo wrote.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/story/241355.html
Contact Your Senator:
http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3924/83/
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Another Senator Places Hold On Sullivan BATFE Nomination: I just
received word that another Second Amendment Senator has joined Idaho
Senators in placing a hold on ATF Acting Director Michael J. Sullivan's
confirmation to Director. Senator David Vitter has announced that he is
also placing a hold on Sullivan's confirmation. Last week Idaho Senators
Mike Crapo and Larry Craig placed holds on Sullivan's confirmation, this
was followed by Anti-Gun Senator John Kerry demanding that the Idaho
Senators remove their holds...
http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2007/12/another-senator-places-hold-on-acting.html
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Feldman Expos� Greeted With Glee: Every sincere and open-minded
contributor to the National Rifle Association should read the op-ed
piece in the December 16 edition of the Washington Post. The writer,
Richard Feldman, who once worked for the NRA, explains how the
organization is now more about money than hollering about Second
Amendment rights. Feldman accuses the NRA today of morphing from a
reasonable lobby group to a money-making machine for its executives and
well-placed friends...
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/mashek/2007/12/18/nra-survival-skills.html
---
More Details In Tennessee Shooting: It appears that the man who shot a
burglar leaving his daughter's home fired not because the burglar was
fleeing the scene but because the burglar was headed toward the
shooter's wife, who had also arrived at the scene...When Harry Smith saw
Coffey running toward his wife, he faced several unknowns. Smith didn't
know who this man was, according to his daughter. He didn't know his
grandson was hidden in the house. He raised his handgun and ordered the
man to stop or he'd shoot, the family told authorities. How far away her
father was from the burglar when he shot, his daughter doesn't know...
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/dec/17/break-in-motive-unclear/
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Rule Three Reminder: A decorated Iraq war veteran accidentally shot and
killed his wife while practicing drawing a pistol from a holster in the
couple's Tualatin apartment Sunday night, police said...According to
police, 24-year-old Ryan Michael Osbrink called 911 to report the
shooting at the couple's apartment at 6935 S.W. Nyberg St. about 10:30
p.m. When deputies arrived, they found the man giving his wife
first-aid. Ryan Osbrink told police he was drawing a .45-caliber
semi-automatic pistol from a holster when it accidentally fired as his
wife entered the room, hitting her in the abdomen, police said. The man
was scheduled to start work as a deputy for the Clark County Sheriff's
Office on Wednesday but that was put on hold pending results of the
shooting investigation. (Rule Three: Keep your finger out of the trigger
guard, up on the frame, until your sights are on the target and you're
prepared to fire.)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/12603436.html
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
