Laurence Tribe On Heller: ...The court would be foolhardy to accept
either side's invitation that it plunge headlong into the culture wars
by accepting these extreme ways of framing the issue. It is true that
some liberal scholars like me, having studied the text and history
closely, have concluded, against our political instincts, that the
Second Amendment protects more than a collective right to own and use
guns in the service of state militias and national guard units.
Opponents of the District's flat ban on handgun possession have cited my
words to the court and in newspaper editorials in their support... (I
think it would be fair to say that RKBA supporters cite Tribe only in
the sense that even some "progressive" Constitutional scholars concede
that the Second Amendment protects an individual right, not as the
ultimate arbiter of how far it goes.)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120459428907209205.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
---
BATFE Whistle-Blower Complains Of Retaliation: Edgar A. Domenech says he
thought Justice Department officials would welcome information about
mismanagement at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives. Instead, the 23-year ATF veteran says, Justice officials
ignored his complaints and later retaliated against him by demoting him,
denying him a bonus and attempting to give him a poor job
review...Domenech filed a 13-page complaint yesterday with the Office of
Special Counsel, saying that ATF and the Justice Department punished him
for raising questions about the performance of former ATF director Carl
J. Truscott, who resigned in August 2006 while under investigation for
alleged financial mismanagement.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/03/AR2008030302684.html?hpid=sec-nation
---
Obama - Guns No, Porn Yes: ...As Corner contributor Dave Kopel and David
Bernstein note, Barack Obama proposed a few years ago a federal law
against licensed firearms dealers operating within five miles of a
school or park. As Kopel notes, "Every town I've ever visited which has
more than a few dozen inhabitants has either a school or a park.
Hypothesizing that the ban would apply to city parks (e.g., Central Park
in New York City) but not to National Parks, pick a geographical region,
and describe where a licensed firearms dealer could operate. Or pick a
geographic point (e.g, Houston)and identify how far a peson would have
to drive in order to get to the closest point where a gun store could
legally be located. Extra credit for illustrative maps." As the
commenters noted, this would effectively ban gun shops from most of the
country, and just about every city...
http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Y2IwYjAyNjhjY2RiOTdiOWMyYTJmMDMwYTg3ODMzMjc=
---
Wyoming Senate Advances Castle-Doctrine Bill: The Wyoming State Senate
today (Monday) gave preliminary approval to a bill that would specify
people wouldn't have to retreat before using deadly force to repeal a
criminal attack. The bill also would specify that a person who uses
deadly force against an intruder who enters their home could not be
found liable for civil damages. The Senate passed the so-called "castle
doctrine" bill on its first reading by a vote of 20-9. But some senators
who voted in favor of moving it along in the process say it needs to be
amended when it comes up again tomorrow (Tuesday).
http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=7960479&nav=menu554_2_2
---
Virginia Debates CCW Where Alcohol Is Consumed: ...The handful of folks
sitting at the dark, smoky bar mostly agreed with Boggs, and over a
couple of beers and a few cigarettes, they discussed a bill passed by
the Virginia General Assembly recently that would allow people with
permits to take concealed weapons into restaurants that serve alcohol.
"As far as the bar goes, it's just geography," Boggs said. "If they're
gonna shoot someone, then they're gonna shoot someone." The existing law
allows those with the proper permits to take guns into places that serve
alcohol as long as the weapon is openly carried. The bill would add
provisions that would let people carry hidden handguns, as long as they
had a permit to do so, and they consume no alcohol...
http://www.nbc4columbus.com/tristate/tri/news.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2008-03-03-0005.html
---
Arizona Campus-Carry Bill Receives National Publicity: Arizona lawmakers
hope to stem the wave of unarmed students killed in campus slayings
through a plan that would let adults carry firearms onto the grounds of
the state's universities...In Arizona, legislation that would allow
people to carry their guns onto community college or university campuses
has been advancing, and now awaits further Senate action, after critics
demanded public schools be removed from the plan. State Sen. Karen
Johnson, the bill's sponsor, said she was reluctant to make that change,
because "I still feel our little kindergartners are sitting there as
sitting ducks," she told the Arizona Republic. But Johnson said the
remaining bill now has a better chance to move forward...
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=57942
---
Oops. Wrong Dog Owner: An eastern Kentucky man is in the hospital after
being shot Saturday morning while allegedly trespassing on a neighbor's
property. Police tell LEX 18 News the shooting happened on Patoker Road
just before 9am and according to neighbors it's a case of self defense.
Witnesses say Everett J. Gayheart, known by many as Jimmy, killed his
neighbor's dog then went gunning for the dog's owner. Police say the
property owner, whose name has not yet been released, shot Gayheart. "He
ran back in the house and hollered what are you doing. he come back to
the door, raised the gun on him again. He had a shotgun with a birdshot
in it and shot him to keep from being killed," said neighbor Dave
Trimble. (Birdshot is not the best choice for self-defense.)
http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=7954283&nav=menu203_2_6
---
Rule One, Rule Two, Rule Three Reminder: Griffin police say a former
Fulton County sheriff's major accidentally shot and killed his wife
while unloading his gun. Police say 54-year-old Riley Taylor was at a
family function when the gun discharged Friday and the bullet struck his
wife, 54-year-old Denise Taylor. Griffin police spokesman Corporal Bryan
Clanton says the woman was flown by helicopter to Grady Memorial
Hospital in Atlanta, where she was pronounced dead. Clanton says no
criminal investigation will be done since the shooting was accidental.
(In Arizona a fatality from an accidental shooting could be prosecuted
as a negligent homicide or manslaughter, depending on whether the
conduct had merely been negligent or reckless.)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,334544,00.html
Rule Five Reminder: A woman is accused of borrowing a gun from a
neighbor and then shooting and killing her husband Monday in their home
south of Macclenny, according to the Baker County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators said Meloney Jackson borrowed a gun from a neighbor,
entered the home in the 7000 block of John Rowe Street and shot Kevin
Jackson...The couple was apparently in the process of getting a divorce,
WJXT reported. It was to be finalized on Tuesday.
http://www.local6.com/news/15476648/detail.html
The Rules:
http://www.spw-duf.info/safety.html
---
Known By The Company He Keeps: NRA's right wing attack dogs have been
having quite a time this past week trying to weave a web of deception
designed to discredit me and the leadership of the American Hunters and
Shooters Association (AHSA). In my recent diaries at Daily Kos (here and
here), I have carefully laid out how AHSA, a new progressive gun rights
organization, tapped into the concern of rural hunters and shooters over
NRA's failure to address access to public land and environmental issues
resulting in a stunning NRA defeat in the hotly contested 2006 Missouri
US Senate race. I'm sure many Kos readers were as surprised as I was
that NRA, once again, acknowledged AHSA's campaign made the difference
for Claire McCaskill in that key 2006 Senate race. (If posting at Daily
Kos and Huffington Post does not adequately show the true colors of
AHSA, I don't know what does.)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ray-schoenke/oh-what-a-mighty-web-the_b_89646.html
---
From AzCDL:
Information on these bills and other legislation that AzCDL is tracking
can be found at:
http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html .
The House of Representatives is just now posting their "Third Read"
calendar for Tuesday, March 4, 2008
(
http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/calendar/h030401486.doc.htm).
Third Read is the last vote before bills are sent to the Senate.
HB 2630, an AzCDL requested, is on the Third Read calendar for March 4,
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.
Another bill we are expecting to see on the Third Read agenda is HB
2389, an AzCDL requested bill decriminalizing carrying weapons in
vehicles without a CCW permit. HB 2389 passed out of the House
Committee of the Whole (COW) on Monday, February 25, 2008. An amendment
was added in the House COW that clarified that "misconduct with weapons"
does not apply to a person carrying a weapon (without a CCW permit) "in
or on a means of transportation, excluding any public transit."
Please take the time to send a polite note to your Representative urging
them to vote for the passage of HB 2630 and HB 2389. You can find your
Representative here:
http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp .
In other news, we have learned that HB 2634 will be on an upcoming House
COW agenda. The COW is where bills are debated before going to Third
Read. HB 2634 is an AzCDL requested bill that clarifies that a person
with an expunged or set-aside felony conviction, or one who has had
their rights restored, may obtain a concealed weapons permit.
We have learned that Representative Steve Gallardo (D-13) will propose
an amendment, during COW, on HB 2634. Representative Gallardo has a
reputation for trying to attach poisoning anti-rights amendments on
pro-rights bills, while making speeches demonizing gun ownership. He is
also the sponsor of freedom crushing bills like:
HB 2429 -
http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html#hb2429
HB 2430 -
http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html#hb2430
HB 2431 -
http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html#hb2431
Please take the time to contact your Representative and urge them to
vote for HB 2634 in the House COW without any amendment offered by Rep.
Gallardo.
Stay tuned! As relevant legislation 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
