On The Eve of a Heller Decision...: The District of Columbia police
department is preparing to launch a massive new home-by-home search
program to confiscate and destroy handguns, despite arguments pending
before the U.S. Supreme Court that challenges the constitutionality of
its ban on residents having such weapons. "Right now we're working under
the laws that we have, and we'll continue working under the laws that we
have," Police Chief Cathy Lanier said in announcing the program that
targets all handguns in the district.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=58825
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/12/AR2008031202717.html
SAF Comments: A plan to conduct "consent searches" for guns in District
of Columbia residences is "an outrageous exercise of police state
demagoguery," the Second Amendment Foundation said today. SAF founder
Alan Gottlieb condemned the plan as "a public relations effort designed
to influence, through crass dramatics, Tuesday's scheduled oral
arguments on the constitutionality of the District's handgun ban before
the Supreme Court. Launching this effort," he stated, "on the eve of
Supreme Court arguments over the city's horribly failed handgun ban
underscores the Draconian mentality that lies at the root of gun laws
like the District handgun ban. Arthur B. Spitzer with the American Civil
Liberties Union in Washington, D.C. was right when he told the
Washington Post that this 'sends a message to the public that the police
ought to be able to search your house anytime for any reason.'"
http://www.sunherald.com/447/story/430375.html
---
Standing Room Only at SCOTUS?: John Payton, the NAACP Legal Defense
Fund's president and director-counsel, says "it will be really hot"
Tuesday at the U.S. Supreme Court. So hot, in fact, that he is not
certain he will get a seat when crowds line up to hear oral arguments in
the gun-control case, District of Columbia v. Dick Heller...That the
Heller hearing, which will determine the legality of the District's 1976
handgun ban, will be hot is about the only thing Mr. Payton and two
other panelists agreed upon during yesterday's American Constitutional
Society for Law and Policy forum at the National Press Club. In what
could only be described as a "Hardball" preview to Tuesday's showdown
before the Supreme Court, Mr. Peyton, Roger Williams University law
professor Carl T. Bogus and David B. Kopel, research director of the
Independence Institute, voiced their respective legal opinions...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080314/METRO/266988623/1004
---
Bush Cares About Second Amendment, Just Not Very Much: Robert Novak
reports that "disorganization and weakness in the eighth year of
[Bush's]presidency" are responsible for the bizarre split within the
Bush administration over whether the Supreme Court should uphold the
D.C. Circuit decision overturning the District of Columbia's gun ban. To
the dismay of gun rights advocates, Solicitor General Paul Clement is
asking the Court to send the case back to the D.C. Circuit to consider
whether the District's laws can withstand "intermediate scrutiny" under
the Second Amendment...Lord knows Novak's sources are much better than
mine, but I'm not sure I buy this. If Bush cared enough about the issue,
he could and would have intervened...
http://reason.com/blog/show/125481.html
---
US News Gets It Wrong: ...While many federal courts have taken to this
idea, there are two important falsehoods here: The interpretation has
not held sway for "most of American history," and the Supreme Court has
never accepted it (or "favored" it, whatever that means). The
collective-right view stems not from the 1939 Supreme Court case U.S. v.
Miller - which itself wouldn't even constitute a majority of American
history - but from a subsequent misreading of it by circuit courts. In
the case, two bootleggers challenged a sawed-off shotgun ban on Second
Amendment grounds. The court upheld the ban, but not because the men
were bootleggers rather than militia members. Rather, the logic was that
the Second Amendment protects ownership of guns of the type a militia
could use, and the men had not proved such was the case for a sawed-off
shotgun...
http://media.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YWY1NzY0ZjNmZDhmMzZmMGZiMzM0ZmRhODNjNzQ1NzA=
---
More Comments on Heller: ..."This is one of the only cases in our
lifetime when the Supreme Court will interpret meaning," said legal
expert Randy Barnett, a professor of legal theory at Georgetown
University Law Center, on a conference call yesterday afternoon. Barnett
recently signed an amicus brief filed on behalf of Academics for the
Second Amendment that intends a focus on the original meaning of the
amendment...The swing vote in the Supreme Court may - as it often is -
be Justice Anthony Kennedy, the only firm moderate on the Court. If the
ban is overruled, Barnett said he could think of no gun law that would
be threatened by this case - aside from Chicago, where similar gun laws
are in place...
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=25504
---
Prohibitionist Senator Howard Metzenbaum Dies: ...Mr. Metzenbaum,
nicknamed Headline Howard for his love of publicity, denounced big oil
companies, the insurance industry, savings and loans and the National
Rifle Association, among many targets. At the Senate Judiciary
Committee's 1991 hearings on the nomination of Judge Clarence Thomas to
the Supreme Court, he hammered Mr. Thomas relentlessly on accusations of
sexual harassment. Finally, Judge Thomas responded, "God is my judge,
not you, Mr. Metzenbaum." (During his Senate tenure, Metzenbuam authored
numerous anti-RKBA bills, including the first Gun Free School Zones Act,
which was subsequently overturned by the Supreme Court, and the original
version of the Brady Bill.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/14/us/14metzenbaum.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries&oref=slogin
Some of Metzenbaum's History:
http://snipurl.com/21rvh [www_gunowners_org]
Statement of Sarah Brady:
http://bradycampaign.org/media/release.php?release=969
---
Obama Claims Little Difference with Clinton on Firearms: ...I think our
positions are fairly similar. I'd let her characterize her own position.
I certainly believe in the Second Amendment right, that people have the
right to bear arms. But I also believe it is important to have some
common-sense gun laws in place to make sure that straw purchasers aren't
being used to fill up our streets with illegal firearms, and that we
have stronger background checks so we keep firearms out of the hands of
people with mental health problems or young people or those who have
committed crimes. I think it is important for us to strengthen our
ability to trace guns that have been used in crimes to gun dealers to
make sure they are not operating in an illegal way. I think it's
possible to reconcile the tradition of gun ownership, and the rights of
sportsmen, hunters and those who want to protect their families, with
keeping handguns that are used in crime off the streets. You can protect
the rights of gun owners and at the same time keep guns out of the hands
of criminals.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_557231.html
---
Virginia Governor Endorses Double Standard: Gov. Tim Kaine incurred the
wrath of gun rights advocates when he vetoed two bills that would have
relaxed concealed-carry laws. Now that he has signed legislation to
expand the right of certain gun owners to carry hidden handguns, he's
under fire again. The bill, signed Friday, will allow prosecutors and
assistant prosecutors to carry a hidden firearm without the standard
training or certification - which the Virginia Citizens Defense League
said would create a "double standard" of state gun laws...Kaine's
signature stands in contrast to his vetoes earlier this year of a bill
that would have let a person keep a gun in a glove box without a
concealed-carry permit, and another to allow someone to enter a bar or
restaurant with a hidden firearm - if they had a permit and didn't drink...
http://www.examiner.com/a-1275766%7EKaine_signs_concealed_carry_expansion__some_protest.html
---
South Carolina Could Approve Campus Carry: ...A bill making it's way
through the South Carolina State House may allow people with concealed
weapons permits to be allowed to take guns on state property, including
universities. "Our law enforcement community tells us that this is not
in the interest of campus safety," said Winthrop spokesperson Rebecca
Masters..."Well, if you're a perpetrator, you take guns onto school
property any way... You can look at Virginia Tech as a clear example,"
said State Representative Gary Simrill, who has a Concealed Weapons
Permit, and takes his gun with him to the state house. He said, "As soon
as I pull into the state house parking deck I am in violation of the
law." He says the bill is to clear up some of those loop holes in the
law to allow those who legally have permits, who have gone through SLED
training, and intensive back ground checks to carry weapons in
accordance to the law...
http://www.wbtv.com/news/topstories/16651416.html
---
Diluted Campus-Carry Bill Advances in Oklahoma: The state House on
Thursday easily passed a weakened bill that would allow military
veterans and trained law enforcement personnel to carry concealed
weapons onto college campuses. Before the bill was passed, 65-36, it was
stripped of more liberal provisions that would have allowed anyone age
21 or above with a concealed carry permit to be armed on campus.
Lawmakers argued over whether arming some students would make campuses
more safe or dangerous. Rep. Jason Murphey, R-Guthrie, who noted the
National Rifle Association supports the bill, said, "We're not going to
tell a veteran that he cannot defend himself."
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080313_1__OKLAH52415
---
CWP Applications Surge in Colorado: Applications for concealed-weapon
permits have skyrocketed in Colorado, with the increase fueled by
everything from heavily publicized mass shootings to routine renewals,
according to the state's sheriffs. In 2007, 9,880 people statewide
sought permits, compared with 6,649 people in 2006 and 6,670 people in
2005, according to the County Sheriffs of Colorado. And the surge has
continued into 2008 in several counties. Law-enforcement experts have
different ideas on why more people want to carry concealed weapons. Some
believe it is due to a rash of violent outbreaks at Virginia Tech,
Northern Illinois University and a mall in Utah. Some sheriff's offices
believe churches concerned about protecting their flocks are seeking
concealed-carry permits. Another official believes many of the initial
batch of five-year permits in the state are expiring soon and that
people are simply renewing applications. Those seeking permits are not
required to explain why they want to carry a weapon. Whatever the
reason, the trend is real.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_8538818
---
Oops, Wrong House: Two gunmen involved in a home invasion were chased
away by the victim's wife...The men reportedly tried to force
"Michelle's" husband to open the door to his home. But the former
security guard fought back. "Michelle" says she was watching it all from
inside her home. She tells us, "I reached for the gun. It was up here.
Then I got some shells from in here." She says, "I keep telling him,
'Duck and I'll shoot! Duck and I'll shoot.' And he said, 'No, don't!
Don't!' And I was debating whether to shoot or not. Then I just shot
that way. The truck was right there." The shots spooked the intruders
and forced them to flee. A tree outside is still marked by the pellets.
"You hear about thing like this happening, but you never think it will
happen to you," "Michelle" tells us. The shotgun was taken by deputies
for the investigation. But the couple says they'll be buying another
gun... (And maybe some more training than what comes in the box with the
gun?)
http://www.newschannel5.tv/2008/3/12/988076/Victim-s-Wife-Shoots-at-Home-Invaders
---
Security Tips for "Senior Citizens": Some of these recommendations are
good enough to be valid for "junior citizens" as well. Conspicuously
absent is the recommendation to learn how to use a firearm and carry one
wherever it is legal to do so.
http://www.newsmax.com/us/crime_prevention/2008/03/14/80405.html
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
