Montana v. U.S.?: : But officials in Montana, including dozens of state
lawmakers as well as Secretary of State Brad Johnson, have joined
together in a statement that the U.S. already has determined the
application, and 2nd Amendment rights apply to "any person." In a joint
resolution from the Montana leaders, including Congressman Denny
Rehberg, they caution that should the Supreme Court decide to change the
U.S. interpretation of the 2nd Amendment and allow those rights to apply
only collectively, it would violate the contract under which Montana
entered the union as a state. "The Montana Resolution cautions that a
collective rights decision would violate the Montana contract for
statehood because when that contract was entered the collective rights
interpretation had not yet been invented and the individual rights view
was an accepted part of the contract," an announcement from the leaders
said...
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=56914
Related Article:
http://reason.com/blog/show/125075.html
---
DC Handgun-Ban Backers Oblivious To Reality: Since 1976, the criminals
of the city have carried handguns and killed with impunity, while the
law-abiding have cowered in their midst. This is not what the D.C.
Council imagined 32 years ago when it enacted what is regarded as the
strictest gun-control measure in the nation. The law did not work out as
envisioned, because criminals, serial killers and nut jobs who go postal
do not follow the law. This elementary observation inevitably escapes
the thought process of the well-meaning. Instead, the well-meaning point
to the easy availability of handguns in Maryland and Virginia being the
bane on the ban in the city, which is fair enough. So let's imagine a
national ban on handguns, just as there is a national ban on cocaine and
heroin and other assorted substances. You know how this hypothetical ban
would go down. A vast, unregulated black market suddenly would move into
place to answer the demand, and the flow of handguns would remain as it
ever was...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080221/METRO/905802279/1004
---
One More Senator Joins Opposition To Sullivan BATFE Nomination:
Louisiana Sen. David Vitter has joined two other Republican senators to
block the nomination of Michael Sullivan to head the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms on grounds that he hasn't offered specific steps to
end what Vitter calls the bureau's overzealous regulation of legal gun
dealers. Vitter said last week that he is continuing his hold on the
Bush nomination after receiving Sullivan's responses to his questions,
which the senator labeled a disappointment. "The ATF is continuing
policies that place an impossible standard on gun owners when it comes
to apply for a license, as well as not allowing for a reasonable method
for gun owners to challenge those overly burdensome regulatory
policies," Vitter said. "The nominee seems to support the ATF's current
inadequate polices and exhibits a lack of willingness to address these
problems."
http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-2/120348842937790.xml&coll=1
---
Daley Dances In Slain Students' Blood: Almost as if on cue, anti-gun
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has danced in the blood of slain Northern
Illinois University students to push his gun control agenda, yet none of
the things on his wish list would have prevented the tragedy at DeKalb,
the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.
"Mayor Daley has virtually the same agenda he's been pandering for
years," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "He wants to ban .50-caliber
target rifles and semiautomatic sport utility rifles. He wants to punish
people who sell firearms to friends and relatives; he wants
microstamping and trigger locks, and limit handgun purchases to one per
month. These measures have nothing remotely to do with last week's
shooting in a gun-free college zone, and he knows it. "Even State Sen.
John Cullerton from Chicago admitted that none of these proposals would
have stopped Steven Kazmierczak from carrying out his attack," Gottlieb
continued. "In the middle of this soap opera, Mayor Daley assumes this
noble pose by insisting that 'You don't want a tragedy to give you
momentum.' He's a liar. Of course he wants this tragedy to give momentum
to his extremist anti-gun rights agenda. That's why he mentioned it.
http://www.ccrkba.org/pub/rkba/press-releases/daley_dancing_ILL.htm
---
Follow The Money: It appears that a manufacturer's lobbying group is
behind the various bills to mandate encoded ammunition: The web site
Ammunition Accountability apparently is administered by the lobbying
firm of Ammunition Coding Systems, who ultimately pays for the site, and
who conveniently produces the system that does this type of encoding. I
just heard Russ Ford of ACS admitting to this on Cam Edwards' show.
There's a per round royalty their company plans to charge for this.
Nothing like succeeding in the marketplace by having the gov[ernment]
force your product on the consumer, whether they want it or not.
Seriously, these guys are hoping to get state legislatures to basically
pass a tax on ammunition that gets passed on to them.
http://armedandsafe.blogspot.com/2008/02/good-gig-if-you-can-get-it.html
---
Georgia Restaurant Association Opposes Expanded CCW: It's not the
law-abiding gun owner who Ron Wolf worries about. It's the law-abiding
gun owner who's had one too many. In a long career as a restaurant and
nightclub manager, Wolf has seen what a few drinks can do. He's
concerned that Georgia is considering a volatile mix - allowing people
carrying guns to enter restaurants serving alcohol...Meanwhile, although
the legislation appears to be stuck, state lawmakers have considered
rules that would allow people to take guns into a range of public
spaces, including churches, restaurants that serve alcohol, and on
public transportation. (Obviously, Mr. Wolf is more concerned about
law-abiding gun owners than criminals, who simply ignore the laws.)
http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2008/02/18/guns_0219.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13
---
Another Try For CCW Confidentiality In West Virginia: Supporters of a
bill aimed at restricting public access to concealed weapons permit
records are trying a new tactic this year. Previous bills have failed to
win approval from West Virginia's Legislature, but those were usually
couched in terms of privacy. Supporters of the bill this year say they
don't want newspapers and other members of the public to have access to
the records as a way of protecting victims of domestic violence.
National Rifle Association spokeswoman Ashley Varner says publishing the
names and addresses of permit holders in newspapers can endanger the
safety of domestic violence victims seeking to get away from their abusers.
http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/15813112.html
---
From AzCDL:
HB 2630, an AzCDL requested bill that reduces the penalty for carrying a
concealed weapon without a permit to a petty offense (except in the
commission of a crime), will be heard in the House Committee of the
Whole (COW) on Thursday, February 21, 2008.
If you are not committing, or attempting to commit, a serious or violent
crime, HB 2630 reclassifies carrying a concealed weapon without a permit
as a petty offense.
Under current law, if you have not been issued a concealed weapons (CCW)
permit, it is a class 1 misdemeanor to carry a concealed weapon.
Everyone is treated like a hardened criminal. Sadly, because of a
couple of 1994 Appellate Court decisions:
� If a casual observer cannot easily see your firearm, you are
carrying concealed and could be arrested.
� Wearing a gun in a vehicle = concealed carry. Without a permit
you are subject to arrest.
� Having a CCW permit and wearing a gun in a vehicle puts your
non-CCW permit passengers at risk for being arrested for carrying
concealed without a permit.
HB 2630 separates the innocent mistake by otherwise law-abiding citizens
from the cold-blooded actions of hardcore criminals. HB 2630 even adds
the "attempted commission of a serious offense" language to the law, to
assist law enforcement in arresting the bad guys.
Please take the time to send a polite note to your Representative urging
them to vote for the passage of HB 2630. You can find your
Representative here:
http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp .
Below is a sample letter you can use as a template. Please be sure to
include your name, address, and phone number in all correspondence.
Subject: Support HB 2630
Dear Representative:
The Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) has informed me that HB 2630
will be heard in the House Committee of the Whole (COW) on February 21,
2008. I urge you to vote FOR the passage of HB 2630.
Under current law it is a class 1 misdemeanor to carry a concealed
weapon without a permit. However, because of 1994 Appellate Court
decisions:
� There is no clear, objective standard in statute that I can
rely on to determine if I am violating the law.
� If a casual observer cannot easily see my firearm, I could be
arrested for carrying a concealed weapon.
� Having a firearm in my vehicle puts my passengers at risk for
being arrested.
HB 2630 only reduces the penalty for otherwise law-abiding citizens
attempting to comply with a statue clouded by court decisions. HB 2630
retains the ability for law enforcement to arrest real criminals. HB
2630 even adds the "attempted commission of a serious offense" language
to the law to assist law enforcement in arresting those criminals who
are intent on committing a crime while carrying a weapon.
Again, I urge you to vote for HB 2630.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Street Address
City, AZ zip-code
(telephone number)
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
