John Lott on Heller: Thus far the District of Columbia has spent a lot
of time making a public policy case. Their argument in their brief to
the court is pretty simple : "banning handguns saves lives." Yet, while
it may seem obvious to many people that banning guns will save lives,
that has not been D.C.'s experience. The ban went into effect in early
1977, but since it started there is only one year (1985) when D.C.'s
murder rate fell below what it was in 1976. But the murder rate also
rose dramatically relative to other cities. In the 29 years we have data
after the ban, D.C.'s murder rate ranked first or second among the
largest 50 cities for 15 years. In another four years, it ranked fourth...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,336689,00.html
---
Would You Like Syrup on That Waffle?: ...The U.S. Court of Appeals for
the D.C. Circuit disagreed, concluding that the District cannot
constitutionally ban the type of gun most commonly used for
self-defense. But even if Tribe is right that the Second Amendment
allows D.C. to ban handguns, he is wrong to assume D.C. residents are
free to use long guns instead. D.C. requires that all firearms in the
home, including rifles and shotguns, be kept "unloaded and disassembled
or bound by a trigger lock or similar device." That "safe storage"
requirement makes it pretty hard to use any gun for self-defense, except
maybe as a club. It makes D.C.'s gun laws look extreme even compared to
those of other cities that ban handguns. If D.C.-style gun control does
not violate the Second Amendment, it's hard to imagine what sort of gun
control would...
http://reason.com/news/show/125426.html
---
Did This Shooting Trigger Heller?: Dig into the debate over gun rights
that will be argued when the Supreme Court takes up the District of
Columbia's gun ban and you will find the tale of Adrian Plesha and the
burglar. It is not a stretch to say that Plesha's story triggered the
Supreme Court case. On February 4, 1997, Plesha found a burglar in his
Capitol Hill home near Union Station. According to Plesha, he heard the
burglar upstairs, went out to his backyard, saw the man climbing out a
window, and told him to freeze. In Plesha's version, the man climbed
back in. Plesha went inside to get his nine-millimeter Sig Sauer
semiautomatic pistol. He confronted the burglar on his porch. "We were
face to face," Plesha told reporters. "I told him to freeze, and he
reached for the gun. I fired in self-defense." Three times.
http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/6732.html
---
Over 1,200 Gun Owners Protest Illinois Legislation: More than a 1,200
people march in protest at the state capitol. Many are from The Illinois
State Rifle Association and against several gun laws being considered on
the floor. There are about 10 laws in the state house right now.
Everyone here is trying to encourage reps to vote them down. Protesters
are here to send a clear message to state representatives. They're not
happy about proposed gun laws. If passed, one would ban 'assault
weapons,' another would restrict the number of firearms you can buy at
one time. Gun Owner, John Bonn says, "They're trying to take away our
second amendment rights, we as people aren't going to let that happen."
http://centralillinoisproud.com/content/fulltext/?sid=174604a00a110614599bfd25de87f4ac&cid=6723
---
Illinois CCW Bill Stuck in Committee: On a day when hundreds of Illinois
gun owners flooded the state capital to oppose gun-control measures, an
attempt to allow conceal-to-carry stalled in committee. State Rep. Aaron
Schock, a Peoria Republican, proposed to allow uniform standards for
issuing permits to carry concealed firearms. This week is a key deadline
for gaining support from a House committee on legislation to be
considered this session. Schock said Tuesday he's hoping for an
extension to allow his proposal to have a shot at moving onto the House
floor.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=151713&src=1
---
Wyoming Governor Signs Anti-Confiscation Bill: Gov. Dave Freudenthal on
Friday signed into law a bill that prohibits government officials from
confiscating guns from law-abiding citizens. Sponsor Allen Jaggi,
R-Lyman, has said House Bill 57 was prompted by the confiscation of guns
by police in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina... Freudenthal said
he intends to scrutinize a separate self-defense bill, HB 137, that has
cleared the Legislature and is awaiting his action. Freudenthal said he
intends to scrutinize a separate self-defense bill, HB 137, that has
cleared the Legislature and is awaiting his action...
http://www.trib.com/articles/2008/03/08/news/wyoming/103ade415c8eb4e9872574050079bf73.txt
---
Expanded-Carry Bill Still Pending in Georgia: A conference committee
meeting on the gun bill has been set for Thursday at 8 a.m. Whether both
sides show up remains to be seen. The meeting has been called
unilaterally by House conferees, whose lead negotiator - Rep. Tim
Bearden - says he hasn't been able to get the Senate conferees to return
his phone calls. As a result, the negotiating team has not yet had its
first meeting. A letter being delivered today to Senate conferees sets
the date, time and place (Room 132 of the Capitol) for what would be the
first meeting, if the other side shows up...
http://www.insideradvantagegeorgia.com/restricted/2008/March%202008/3-10-07/Gun_Bill_Challenge31019646.php
Related Article:
http://www.insideradvantagegeorgia.com/restricted/2008/March%202008/3-7-08/Gun_Bill3719645.php
---
North Carolina City To Re-Examine Carry Ban: Leaders in Graham are
considering a change to the city's concealed weapon restrictions. Under
the city's current municipal code, those with a permit cannot carry a
concealed handgun on city property and city parks. After a woman was
attacked last month at Cedar Rock Park though, some are calling for an
extension of their Second Amendment rights. "While I can appreciate
people and their right to protect themselves, we have to take into
consideration the people that are there and the safety of the others
that maybe don't have the luxury of carrying a concealed weapon," said
Councilwoman Jennifer Talley...
http://news14.com/content/top_stories/593781/graham-reviews-concealed-weapon-law/Default.aspx
---
Press Intensifies Campaign Against Arizona RKBA Bills: An Arizona bill
that would allow concealed guns on college campuses has gained national
attention, sparking a debate over whether to let students and teachers
arm themselves. But it's only one of at least 15 measures in the
Republican-led Legislature this year aimed at loosening gun controls in
a state that has long had a fascination with firearms. Although polls
indicate that a growing number of Arizonans favor stricter gun laws, GOP
legislators and pro-gun activists continue their fight to expand the
right to bear arms...
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0312guns0312.html
---
How Did This Happen?: An accidental shooting at an outdoor gun range in
Midland County has left a 48-year-old man dead. The Saginaw News,
WNEM-TV and WSGW-AM report Michael Laurson was alone Sunday at the
Midland County Sportsman's Club in Larkin Township when he slipped and
fell. The sheriff's department says a handgun he was carrying went off,
fatally wounding him. Authorities say he had several guns. (My best
guess is that the man tried to catch a handgun he had let slip from his
grasp. Don't do that! Let dropped guns fall to the ground and don't keep
a round under the hammer of single-action revolvers that lack a
mechanical feature to make that practice safe.)
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-51/1205165641155810.xml&storylist=newsmichigan
---
Army Takes HK416's from Asymmetric Warfare Group: The Army has stripped
the Asymmetric Warfare Group of its weapon of choice - the Heckler &
Koch 416 - saying that its mission requires the unique outfit to carry
the standard issue M4 carbine. The decision reverses a policy that
allowed the AWG to buy 416s instead of carrying M4s when it was
established three years ago to help senior Army leaders find new tactics
and technologies to make soldiers more lethal in combat. Members of the
AWG have declined to comment on the issue, but sources in the community
told Army Times that the unit fought to keep its several hundred 416s,
arguing that they outperform the Army's M4 and require far less maintenance.
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/03/army_no416s_031008w/
---
Iraq War Vet to Re-Enlist after Expulsion from College: Steven Daniel
Barber, 23, says a culture of fear has displaced rational thought. The
Iraq War veteran's comments came Tuesday, shortly after learning his
expulsion from the University of Virginia at Wise had been upheld. He
has been prohibited from attending classes since Feb. 29 -- the day
after sharing a story in which a character contemplates murdering his
professor, then turns to thoughts of suicide. Barber wrote the piece for
his creative writing class....
http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9005496
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
