Why The DC Gun Ban Is Unconstitutional: ...The historians' Heller amicus
brief begins with a look at the English Bill of Rights, which limited
only the king, not the legislative branch of government. James Madison
indicated during his speech to Congress introducing the Bill of Rights
provisions that the comparison was inapplicable. The reason was because
their purposes were different. England's Bill of Rights did not limit
the legislative branch at all, while the fundamental rights protections
in American bills of rights were understood as limiting all branches of
government...
http://www.hnn.us/articles/47238.html
---
Heller Draws Top Legal Guns: Walter Dellinger estimates that when his
firm, O'Melveny & Myers, briefs and argues a Supreme Court case on a pro
bono basis, it usually eats up about $500,000 worth of otherwise
billable hours. But when the District of Columbia called on him in early
January to ask him to defend its handgun laws in the Second Amendment
case of D.C. v. Heller, Dellinger did not hesitate. He said yes, even
though he now estimates that the cost to his firm in lost fees will be
"well over $1 million." ...On the pro-gun rights side, by contrast, the
case is still being controlled by Alan Gura, a dedicated small-firm
lawyer practicing in Alexandria, Va...Gura has also blocked interference
from the powerful National Rifle Association, a natural ally. At an
earlier stage of the case, Gura accused the association of trying to
sabotage his lawsuit and elbow him aside. Now, says Cato's Levy,
"whatever abrasions there were with the NRA have been healed." The NRA
filed a brief supporting Gura. As for fees, Gura, too, estimates his
billable hours at more than $1 million, which he hopes to extract from
the D.C. government if he wins. "Defending the Bill of Rights?
Priceless," he says.
http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1202815245538
---
Same Tune, Different Singer: ... Clinton told an audience she supported
gun rights, two days after a student opened fire on the campus of
Northern Illinois University, killing five before turning the gun on
himself. Clinton said she believed in getting guns out of the hands of
criminals and the mentally ill even as she favored protecting the rights
of law abiding gun owners. "I've gone hunting," she said. "I know you
may not believe it, but it's true. My father taught us to shoot."
Clinton told reporters later she had once shot a duck in Arkansas, along
with "a lot of tin cans, targets and some skeet."
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8US5AK01&show_article=1
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2008/02/hillary-the-huntress.html
---
Meanwhile, From The Other Guy...: Barack Obama said Friday that the
country must do "whatever it takes" to eradicate gun violence following
a campus shooting in his home state, but he believes in an individual's
right to bear arms. Obama said he spoke to Northern Illinois
University's president Friday morning by phone and offered whatever help
his Senate office could provide in the investigation and improving
campus security. The Democratic presidential candidate spoke about the
Illinois shooting to reporters while campaigning in neighboring
Wisconsin. The senator, a former constitutional law instructor, said
some scholars argue the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees
gun ownership only to militias, but he believes it grants individual gun
rights. (Obama is a former board member of the Joyce Foundation, a major
source of funds for prohibitionists.)
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UQTAS80&show_article=1
---
I Thought The Democrats Had Backed Off From Infringements: Sen. Charles
Schumer (D-N.Y.), at a news conference yesterday in Manhattan, said he
and congressional colleagues plan to step up efforts to close loopholes
in gun-control measures and create a federal task force to come up with
national school safety guidelines. They also plan to push for
congressional hearings on links between mental illness and school
violence...That measure includes only "adjudicated" mentally ill
patients, Schumer said. While it would have applied to Seung-Hui Cho,
the gunman at Virginia Tech, it would not have revealed Illinois campus
shooter Steven Kazmierczak, because he never was ruled mentally ill.
(One reason I do not support federal legislation to mandate nationwide
CCW reciprocity is because I believe it would eventually lead to
requirements such as psychiatric screening.)
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nyskul175581386feb17,0,6040940.story
---
Local Philadelphia Infringement Drive Headed To Court: The Philadelphia
City Council took drastic action last year to address the tide of gun
violence engulfing the city. The council passed ordinances to license
firearms, reduce straw purchases, regulate ammunition sales and ban
possession of assault weapons. None has become law. That's because a
1974 state law says only the General Assembly can regulate guns. Two
Philadelphia City Council members want that restriction overturned. And
their lawsuit against the state Legislature and the National Rifle
Association is scheduled to land before a full Commonwealth Court panel
next month. Pennsylvania does not permit local governments to pass their
own gun ordinances. The state Supreme Court upheld the law as recently
as 1996.
http://www.whptv.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=353d27de-88f1-4deb-8037-56dbc0743295
---
Arm Responsible Women: ...Illinois is one of just two states that
doesn't allow some type of a "concealed carry" provision for guns. After
the Lane Bryant shootings, I wondered if such a law here might have
saved the victims. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense
that women be allowed to carry concealed weapons...It's one reason I'm
proposing that women be armed. That, to me, means the vast majority of
women in this country should be carrying firearms, undergoing training
in responsible weapons use and sending out the ultimate "don't mess with
me, fella" message...
http://www.southtownstar.com/news/houlihan/796443,021708houlihan.article
---
What's Sauce For The Goose Is Sauce For The Gander: I have written in
the past about the BATFE's own record keeping: here and here. Since the
ATF demands 100% compliance out of dealers, it is only natural to look
at how their own record keeping compares. When the Department of Justice
Inspector General published this report on its "review" of the National
Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR), the findings were
that ATF's records were more inaccurate than those of Federal Firearms
License holders who had paid the Special Occupational Tax (SOT) to deal
in National Firearms Act (NFA) firearms, such as short-barreled
shotguns, machine guns, silencers, and so forth...
http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2008/02/double-standard-atfs-own-record-keeping.html
---
Arm Thyself: President Bush has embarked on the final phase of Pax
Americana and is ushering in an advanced imperial stage that will
endanger every living American. The coming election will assure us that
every American will have his Second Amendment rights infringed or
predated upon in some fashion no matter which party succeeds (is there a
difference except the spelling?). ... I want to offer a bare-bones
primer on how to get started in amassing your personal armory (contrary
to what the government says, an arsenal is where weapons are
manufactured) and using the weapons you obtain. I have a military
background that spans two decades, shoot competitively and currently
instruct tactical firearms so I have left the armchair a few times...
(There is some useful information interspersed among the libertarian
ranting.)
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig4/buppert8.html
---
Gun Show Misinformation: ...Nw he sells guns strictly out of his shop,
Ron's Gun Repair and Sales Inc., which means he must possess a Federal
Firearms License (FFL) - even though a large percentage of vendors at
gun shows are not licensed, nor are they required by law to be. As
private collectors selling from their own collection, federal and state
law does not define them as a dealer "engaged in the business of selling
guns." "A lot of individuals (at gun shows) sell more guns than
dealers," Greenwell said. "People off the street don't want to do the
paperwork." For dealers, "a lot of paperwork has to be done to sell
legally," he said. "(Individuals) sell to each other and out the door
they go." (Unless guns shows in Indiana really differ from those in
Arizona, most vendors hold FFL's. BATFE has charged many individuals
across the country for routinely selling firearms at gun shows without
being licensed, when they were able to prove that they were not merely
selling off their own collections. Gun-show vendors are not necessarily
licensed in the county where the show is conducted - they may even have
crossed state lines to attend a particular show.)
http://www.news-tribune.net/homepage/local_story_047193424.html?keyword=leadpicturestory
---
Speaking Of Vendors Crossing State Lines...: Porter County resident
John Hamilton has come to the annual Dunes Rifle show for the past few
years. "I like to see what's available," said Hamilton, lined up in the
entranceway of the Porter County Expo Center on Saturday. About 2,000
people are expected to attend the show, which continues today. The event
drew 150 venders from Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and
Kentucky, said George Horton, executive officer of the Dunes Rifle and
Pistol Club of Northwest Indiana.
http://www.post-trib.com/news/798495,vrifle.article
---
I Guess It Took A While For This News To Cross The Border: ...Since late
2005, 5.7 X 28 mm weapons have been appearing in the hands of Mexican
criminals with increasing frequency. In many cases, the weapons have
appeared among other armaments in weapons caches seized by authorities.
In other cases, the weapons have been used in crimes, including murder
of police officers...Only two firearms use 5.7 X 28 mm rounds - the FN
Five-seveN semi-automatic pistol and the FN P90 submachine gun. The FN
Five-seveN is a lightweight, polymer-frame pistol designed to be a
backup weapon for a urban combat, special operations, or law
enforcement. The P90 is a compact, lightweight, semi-automatic/automatic
carbine designed for urban or jungle warfare. A semi-automatic-only
version, the PS90, is available for public sale. (Two types of 5.7x28mm
ammo are sold in the US - a restricted armor-piercing round and a
non-restricted round. I am aware of one incident, March 25, 2006, in
which an FN Five-seveN pistol may have been fired at American police
officers.)
http://www.cjimagazine.com/node/13
---
If At First You Don't Succeed...: Millions of Britons will be subjected
to routine metal-detector screening under a crackdown on knife crime. It
is understood the police will make use of collapsible arches, small
enough to be taken in the boot of a car, for use wherever there are
fears that knives are present. Mobile police units will be issued with
hundreds of hand-held scanners - or "wands" - to check revellers for
weapons on the streets. (One definition of insanity is repeatedly doing
the same thing and expecting different results. Knives can be
manufactured or improvised from non-ferrous materials. When knives are
outlawed, only outlaws and outlaw cops will have knives. A while back
one of John Farnam's American students reported that he had traveled to
Britain without realizing that his lock-back folding knife was illegal
there and, when he attempted to enter a building with a metal detector,
had lost the knife to a police officer who was obviously taking it for
his personal use or collection.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/18/nknife118.xml&DCMP=EMC-new_18022008
---
When Guns Are Outlawed...: Gunmen killed 12 people, including three
police officers, in a Sunday night assault on a small town in Guyana,
authorities said. It was the second major attack blamed on gangs in
recent weeks. Police said men dressed in military fatigues and armed
with assault rifles invaded a police station and made off with
ammunition and weapons in the southwestern township of Bartica...
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Guyana-Violence.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin
---
Tangentially Related: With the Republican nomination all but secured,
John McCain's attention will soon turn to the vital choice of running
mate for the November presidential election. As Washington begins one of
its favourite guessing games, the Arizona senator has refused to divulge
any names. But aides have admitted that Tom Pawlenty's will be near the
top of the shortlist. Aged 47, the Minnesota governor will provide a
youthful contrast to the 71-year-old war veteran, and is only a year
older than Barack Obama, the Illinois senator who is the narrow Democrat
favourite. As a conservative, he will help Mr McCain convince the
party's base that their causes will not be ignored. Although he will
wrap up the nomination soon, Mr McCain still has to persuade
Right-wingers to forget his support for immigration and campaign finance
reform in Congress and to put their shoulder behind his candidacy. (Like
former Texas governor George Bush, Governor Pawlenty readily signed a
long-awaited shall-issue concealed-carry bill in Minnesota.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/18/wuspols218.xml
Related Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/us/politics/18mccain.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1203348769-kW7+aMSjslRAlGWJfiOhXA
---
Gun Laws Author In Online Chat This Evening: Alan Korwin, the author of
"Gun Laws of America," will answer readers' questions in an online chat
at 6:30 p.m. today. With proposed Arizona legislation to allow concealed
weapons on school campuses and yet another school shooting - Thursday at
Northern Illinois University - the discussion is timely. At least a
couple dozen more bills are under consideration during the current
legislative session, both to expand or restrict gun rights. Readers can
add their questions now at azstarnet.com/special/gunchat - or return
this evening to join the hour-long, moderated conversation.
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/225593
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
