Congressman Asks Bush To Reverse DOJ Stand On Heller: A Republican
congressman from Virginia is asking President Bush to order the Justice
Department to submit a brief in a U.S. Supreme Court case that supports
the rights afforded U.S. citizens under the Second Amendment. The
request from Rep. Virgil Goode concerns a filing submitted by the
Justice Department in a Supreme Court case over the legality of a
handgun ban imposed by the District of Columbia..."If this view
prevails, a national ban on all firearms - including hunting rifles -
could be constitutional, even if the court decides - on ample historical
evidence - that the Founders intended the Second Amendment as an
individual right," his letter said.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59846
http://www.gunowners.org/a012308.htm
Related Commentary:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/EDITORIAL/849874155/1013
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZWUyM2ZjYzM2MzVlMDZmNDQzNzI1ZGU2ODFiY2YwNjQ=
From The Left:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-helmke/the-bush-administrations_b_82890.html
---
Second Virginia Gun-Show Bill Rejected: The heartbroken families of the
Virginia Tech shooting victims suffered a second and probably final
legislative defeat yesterday in their bid to prevent criminals and the
mentally ill from buying firearms at gun shows. The Courts of Justice
Committee voted 9-6 yesterday to reject legislation closing the
so-called gun-show loophole, then sent the measure to the Virginia State
Crime Commission for a year of study. Because a House committee last
week rejected similar legislation, the issue appears to be dead for this
General Assembly session. (Cho, the Virginia Tech murderer, did not buy
either of his handguns at gun shows.)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/METRO/471133733/1004
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/23/AR2008012303558.html
http://www.newsmax.com/us/gun_show_loophole/2008/01/23/66886.html
---
Shall-Issue Bill In Maryland: Gun advocates seeking to make it easier
for average citizens to carry handguns for their own protection were
back in force again at the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. They
urged lawmakers to join 37 other states that require no special reason
for getting a permit to carry a weapon. "Will there be more guns?" asked
the sponsor of HB2, Del. Dan Riley, a Harford County Democrat. There
will be, but "those guns will be in the right hands."
http://www.examiner.com/a-1174311~Gun_measure_seeks_to_make_it_easier_for_average_citizens_to_carry_firearms.html
A List Member Speaks To The Press: (This is an MP3 audio file.)
http://wbal.com/stories/articlefiles/1040-donpollackbowie.mp3
---
Campus-Carry Bill In South Dakota: Some South Dakota legislators want to
make sure that the Board of Regents cannot ban guns on college campuses.
A bill introduced Tuesday would bar the regents from outlawing firearms
on state university campuses. HB1261 says the universities cannot expel
or discipline anyone who legally carries a gun onto campus. But the
proposal would allow campuses to require that all firearms in
dormitories be locked up in gun safes if not in a person's immediate
possession.
http://www.kxmc.com/News/200814.asp
---
Et Tu, Idaho?: Idaho could well lead the way on a national issue that
has been all but ignored during volatile debates on gun rights. Toy guns
that look real. Although statistics are difficult to find, now and then
the news includes the story of a person, sometimes a child, being shot
by police who believed the victim was carrying a real firearm, but which
sadly turned out to be a plastic toy. A call for an outright ban on
real-looking toy guns, or rigid controls that require clearer
distinctions, has been proposed by Shoshone-Bannock tribe spokesman Dave
Archuleta, who cites recent episodes in Bannock County where police have
responded to calls involving children with realistic firearms.
http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005119038
---
Let Guns Back Into Schools: A popular saying tells us that one sign of
insanity is continuing to do the same thing while expecting different
results. This statement was never more true than in the case of the
so-called "gun free zones." It's time for a serious re-evaluation of
this failed policy. No matter how well intended, any policy that results
in the loss of innocent lives should be examined in the stark light of
reality.
http://www.charlotte.com/171/story/456971.html
---
Ohioans Begin Renewing Carry Licenses: The Licking County Sheriff's
Office is bracing for an influx of concealed carry license holders
seeking renewals in the coming weeks, Sheriff Randy Thorp said. In 2004
- the first year Ohioans were allowed to carry concealed firearms -507
licenses were granted, Thorp said. "It's a very good possibility that
all those folks - I would have to assume that at least a good number -
are going to come back in and reapply," he said. The first licenses
awarded had four-year life spans and holders have 120 days - 90 before
their date of expiration and 30 after - before the permit becomes
invalid, according to Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann's Web site.
http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080123/NEWS01/801230302/1002
---
Ohio Licensee Wants His Gun Back: Grassroots gun owners have likely not
forgotten the name Damon Wells, the concealed handgun license
(CHL)-holder who defended himself from a violent attempted robbery in
his front yard back in April 2007. Though CHL-holders have defended
their lives in many other instances, Mr. Wells' situation played in the
media for days and weeks after because of the reaction of his
gang-infested neighborhood (they broke out his windows and hoisted
memorials to his thug attackers). The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Regina
Brett recently reported that not only was Damon Wells made victim by his
attackers, and subsequently his neighbors, he is now being made victim
by the City of Cleveland's police department. That's because, 9 months
later, Wells is still waiting for CPD to return his confiscated firearm.
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/5020
---
Standing Her Ground In Florida: Prosecutors won't file charges against
an activist accused of threatening to kill a registered sex offender,
saying she acted in self-defense, according to documents released
Tuesday. Valerie Parkhurst, 52, faced felony charges of aggravated
assault with a firearm and carrying concealed weapons after she pointed
two guns at Dale Weeks, 49, in Davie on Dec. 1. Parkhurst and her
attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, met with prosecutors in early January, and
the State Attorney's Office decided Friday not to file formal charges.
"The defendant appears to have acted in self-defense having knowledge of
Weeks' prior violent sexual offender conviction," Assistant State
Attorney Jules R. Cohn wrote in a memo. He added there would be "no
likelihood of conviction."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbparkhurst0123sbjan23,0,2321701.story
---
Oops, Wrong House: Shot twice in the chest Sunday night after forcing
his way into his ex-girlfriend's house, John Peach turned and ran about
30 feet, fell into a friend's arms and then onto the frozen earth. The
man suspected of shooting him, Minneapolis firefighter and emergency
medical technician Kyle Huggett, grabbed a pair of leather work gloves,
ran to Peach, took his pulse and attempted to perform CPR, authorities
said. (I counsel against trying to give first aid to someone who has
just tried to kill you - he may still be a threat and your emotions may
prevent you from recognizing that.)
http://www.startribune.com/local/14168186.html
---
Bringing A Car To A Gunfight: After 2.5 hours of deliberations, a jury
acquitted a man Wednesday of criminal charges in the shooting of his
estranged wife in a motel parking lot...Banks said he acted in
self-defense by firing a handgun at his wife as she tried to run him
down with her car. She was shot in the leg...Additionally, Banks, who
had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, never emptied his gun, Kluge
said. "If he had really and truly wanted to kill someone why not fire
more bullets," Kluge said. (Normally, I'd put my money on the greater
kinetic energy of the automobile.)
http://www.limaohio.com/story.php?IDnum=48344
---
Rule One, Rule Two Reminder: An accidental shooting has been cited as
the cause of death of a 19-year-old Marine lance corporal who was
scheduled to leave for Iraq later this year. Lance Cpl. Cameron M.
Babcock was shot once in the chest shortly before midnight Sunday in his
barracks at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine
Palms, according to a release issued at Camp Pendleton on Tuesday. "Thus
far, information does not indicate that the shooting was self-inflicted
or intentional, but rather was the result of the negligent handling of a
privately owned weapon," the release stated. (Rule One: All firearms are
always loaded. Rule Two: Don't let the muzzle cross anything you're not
prepared to shoot.)
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/01/23/military/12_06_471_22_08.txt
---
Rule Five Reminder: A passenger who went through an airport security
checkpoint - before remembering that he had a loaded gun - is facing
charges after going back to report his error, authorities said. Gregory
Scott Hinkle, 53, of Davis, West Virginia, went through a Transportation
Security Administration checkpoint at Ronald Reagan Washington National
Airport about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, an airport spokeswoman said.
After the traveler evidently recalled having the gun, he returned to the
checkpoint and disclosed the weapon, authorities said. (Rule Five:
Maintain control of your firearm.)
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/23/airport.gun/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
---
Colt Expert R.L. Wilson Acquitted: After a six-week trial and 11 hours
of deliberation, a U.S. District Court jury today acquitted a gun dealer
and his wife on charges of conspiring to defraud Owsley Brown Frazier
and his museum by overcharging him for historic weapons...A third
defendant, R.L. Wilson, a world-renowned expert on antique weapons, was
found not guilty of aiding and abetting a false tax return by
overvaluing weapons that Frazier donated to the museum.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080122/NEWS01/80122038/-1/UPDATES
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
