More Details On Josh Sugarmann's FFL: Apparently this has been known
among RKBA activists for many years and Sugarmann has used it primarily
to gain access to firearm-industry venues, such as trade shows, and RKBA
meetings, such as the Gun Rights Policy Conference.
http://www.ambackforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=54862
Related Commentary:
http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2008/02/is-anti-gun-groups-ffl-illegal-it.html
---
The Various States And Heller: Today thirty-one states, led by Texas,
filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the respondent in the
historic Second Amendment case of D.C. v. Heller. I'm pleased to say
that my own state's attorney general, Oklahoma AG Drew Edmondson, a
Democrat, is among the signatories. The Thirty-One States' brief
suggests that D.C.'s full-blown bans on constitutionally protected arms
should receive strict scrutiny. 31 States Br. at 31-32. Rejecting the
U.S. Solicitor General's call for a remand, the 31 States say that the
D.C. Circuit's judgment should be affirmed in full. Id. at 36. In
another passage of great interest, these States also expressly support
the incorporation of the Second Amendment against the States. Id. at 23
n.6 ("the right to keep and bear arms is fundamental and so is properly
subject to incorporation"). For its part, the District of Columbia
attracted a group of five states as amici (three of which have no state
constitutional right to arms), as well as Puerto Rico. That leaves
fourteen states that have chosen not to participate in Heller as amici
on either side. (Maps are included.)
http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2008/02/maps_of_the_sta_1.html
---
Law Enforcement Groups Back Heller: The Independence Institute brief is
joined by a broad coalition of law enforcement: the Maryland State Lodge
of the Fraternal Order of Police (by far the largest rank-and-file
police organization in Maryland), 29 of California's District Attorneys,
the San Francisco Veteran Police Officers Association, the Texas Police
Chiefs Association, the Southern States Police Benevolent Association,
and many others. Notably, the lead amici in the brief are the two
national organizations of police firearms instructors, the International
Law Enforcement Educators & Trainers Association (ILEETA) and the
International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors
(IALEFI). The brief explains how widespread civilian ownership of
handguns contributes to the efficiency and success of police firearms
training. (I am prouder than usual to be an Active Member of IALEFI and
a Charter Member of ILEETA.)
http://volokh.com/posts/1202755023.shtml
---
GOA Files Heller Brief: Gun Owners of America filed its brief yesterday
before the U.S. Supreme Court in defense of Dick Anthony Heller, who was
denied the right to own a gun in the nation's capital as a result of the
draconian gun ban which exists there. In this hard-hitting brief, GOA
takes aim at the weak arguments put forth by both the DC government and
the Bush Administration. But more than that, GOA examines the favorable
text and context of the Second Amendment in great detail, while also
documenting the pro-gun history that formed the backdrop of its
inclusion into the Bill of Rights. The GOA brief even presents the
greatest reason for the right to keep and bear arms, stating that "the
Second Amendment right is to be exercised as a last resort to guard
against tyranny."
http://www.gunowners.org/a021208.htm
---
SAF Files Heller Brief: The Second Amendment Foundation has filed an
amicus curiae brief in District of Columbia v Heller, the appeal of the
landmark case that overturned the district's handgun ban on the grounds
that it unconstitutionally violates the Second Amendment right to keep
and bear arms. Written by attorney Nelson Lund at the George Mason
University School of Law, the brief has already earned praise of veteran
Second Amendment authority David Kopel, who noted in remarks on a
popular Second Amendment website, "If you want to read a model Supreme
Court brief, this is the brief to read." In the brief, Lund notes that
the Second Amendment right of the people to keep and bear arms would
remain even if the militia were disbanded.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-12-2008/0004754913&EDATE=
---
CCRKBA Files Heller Brief: The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep
and Bear Arms has filed an amicus curiae brief in District of Columbia v
Heller, in the appeal of the historic case that overturned the
district's 31-year-old handgun ban because it violates the
constitutional right to keep and bear arms affirmed by the Second
Amendment. Written by Bellingham, Wash., attorney Jeffrey B. Teichert,
the brief was filed in cooperation with the Evergreen Freedom Foundation
and several university scholars. It carefully details the history of the
Second Amendment, and dismantles arguments by the District of Columbia
that the constitutional right to keep and bear arms was written only to
protect some mythical state's right to organize and maintain a militia.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-12-2008/0004754933&EDATE=
---
Oregon Legislators Join Brief: State Representative Linda Flores
(R-Clackamas) and State Representative Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer, Newberg,
St. Paul) added their names to a new effort to overturn the ban on
handguns in the nation's capitol. The National Rifle Association filed
an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court and Representatives Flores
and Thatcher are among dozens of women legislators across the country
showing their support for the brief.
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/february112008/flores_thatcher_2-11-08.php
---
Heller Draws Diverse Support: Gay gun owners who call themselves Pink
Pistols say they'll be safer if the Supreme Court strikes down
Washington's strict handgun ban. They aren't alone. Jewish gun owners,
women and disabled veterans, among others, also contend that they're
vulnerable and need the protection that only firearms can provide. More
than 65 groups have filed friend of the court briefs in the gun case,
surpassing the attention paid even to such hot-button issues as
affirmative action and abortion.
http://www.topix.net/content/kri/2008/02/gun-case-drawing-diverse-support
---
South Dakota Debates Campus Carry: Melanie Satchell doesn't like the
idea, especially if they're in the hands, dorm rooms and backpacks of
students. So the 20-year-old Nebraska native, who is student-body
president at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, doesn't support
a move by some members of the state Legislature to loosen gun
restrictions on state-owned college campuses. "It would definitely make
me feel uneasy," Satchell said. "But I would have to say that probably
75 percent of the students don't agree with me on this."
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/02/12/news/local/doc47b10bdc8044a543167151.txt
---
Senate May Vote This Week On National-Park Carry: The U.S. Senate is
likely to consider the "National Forests, Parks, Public Land, and
Reclamation Projects Authorization Act," this week. When that happens,
Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican is expected to offer an
amendment to allow state law, rather than federal law, to govern the
carrying and transportation of firearms in national parks and wildlife
refuges. This measure was authored and is supported by the National
Rifle Association, which said in a February 1 letter to its members, "We
have been working on your behalf for nearly five years to facilitate
this policy change and are committed to ensuring that it finally happens
this year."
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2008/2008-02-12-091.asp
---
Elk Upset Park Ecosystems: Elk like to eat. Elk like to eat a lot. This
is a problem for creatures fond of the same greenery coveted by the
weighty elk. It is not so good for the ecosystem, either, according to
the stewards of three national parks in Colorado and the Dakotas that
are faced with growing herds of the herbivorous mammals...Park managers
settled on "lethal reduction," as shooting is called, as the preferred
way to control the herd. Sharpshooters with night-vision goggles and
silencers would target elk after dark. A formal decision is expected to
be released soon, Patterson said, with the program likely to begin next
winter and continue for two decades. (Needless to say, the "solution"
involves government employees, not private citizens licensed to hunt.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/10/AR2008021002215.html
---
Virginia To Defer CWP Confidentiality Bill: Sen. Edd Houck yesterday
asked that the issue be studied another year. Houck's bill would have
originally closed the state police database of permit-holders from the
public, but left the individual permits, filed in courthouses, open.
That was a compromise solution forged by the Freedom of Information
Advisory Council last summer, in the wake of controversy after The
Roanoke Times published the entire database online. But as Houck's bill
moved from committee to the full Senate, amendments were proposed to
close not just the database, but the records in courthouses. Supporters
of closing all the concealed-carry permits cite concerns that victims of
crimes could be endangered by the publication of their private information.
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/022008/02122008/355575
---
Pro-RKBA Bills Blocked In Colorado: Two northeastern Colorado lawmakers
were unable to make any headway again this year in their persistent
legislative attempts to strengthen the right of citizens to bear arms as
a deterrent to crime. With a majority of Democrats in control, the
Senate State Affairs Committee - frequently called "the kill committee"
in the halls of the State Capitol - on Monday dispatched District 1 Sen.
Greg Brophy's gun-related bill to the graveyard on a straight party-line
3-2 vote. Last week, the House Judiciary Committee also voted, 5-4,
along party lines to kill a bill from Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, to
extend the provisions of Colorado's Make My Day law, which allows
homeowners to use deadly force against intruders, to places of business.
Brophy, R-Wray, wanted to give people with concealed carry permits the
ability to sue if they or a family member were wounded or killed in a
location that had been declared a gun-free zone, such as a shopping mall
or college campus.
http://www.journal-advocate.com/articles/2008/02/12/news/local_news/local1.txt
--
From AzCDL:
A bold bill targeting your rights has just been filed under the guise of
HB 2833:
http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/48leg/2r/bills/hb2833p.pdf .
HB 2833 is a back-door attempt to ban ammunition sales in Arizona, right
out of the Brady Campaign playbook.
It targets as yet undefined "assault weapon" ammunition, which is
Orwellian double-speak for almost every caliber of ammunition now
popular. If passed and signed by the Governor, it would be effective in
a little over 10 months, on January 1, 2009, effectively halting all
ammunition sales in Arizona.
HB 2833 requires all ammunition manufacturers to encode a unique serial
number on the base of every bullet and on the inside of every
cartridge. The bullet serial number and cartridge casing serial number
would have to be identical. Say goodbye to reloads.
Ammunition sales would require recordation (i.e., registration) of the
purchaser's name, driver's license, date of birth, etc. DPS would be
required to maintain a database of ammunition coding and buyers.
Anyone possessing ammunition without serial numbers would be required to
dispose of it by January 1, 2011. Would door-to-door search and
seizures soon follow? How soon before traffic stops involving a gun
owner turn into an arrest for unapproved ammunition? How soon will it
be before the State tracks every gun sale so they can send a SWAT team
out to "inquire" about your ammunition purchases?
A tax of � cent would be added to EVERY ROUND of ammunition sold. A
case of ammunition would cost you an extra $5 in tax alone, and this
does not factor in the added costs of manufacturing.
Manufactures and vendors would be steeply fined for not complying. With
the requirements outlined above, what are the odds of any manufacturer
creating "Arizona" ammunition? How about Zip, Nil, Nada, Zero, Zed,
Zilch! You can kiss ammunition sales in Arizona goodbye.
With the current alignment in the State Legislature, the chances of HB
2883 getting to the Governor's desk (who would undoubtedly sign it!) are
slim, so no letters are necessary at this time.
However, this is an election year, and the Legislature is poised for a
dramatic shift in power to an anti-rights majority, unless YOU get
involved in the election process and vote. If the legislature shifts to
the other side this November, bills like HB 2833, HB 2358, HB 2429, HB
2430 and HB 2431 (
http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html) will be
the law in Arizona. If that happens, those that sat around and did
nothing are no different that the rabid supporters of the Brady
Campaign. They are, in essence, supporting YOUR disarmament.
Get involved! Make a difference! Share this Alert with every gun owner
you know.
Stay tuned! As relevant legislation is introduced and progresses, we
will keep you up to date via these Alerts:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AZCDL_Alerts/
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 � 2008 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights
reserved.
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
