Bloomberg Asks Judge to Ban Reference to Second Amendment: Lawyers for
Mayor Bloomberg are asking a judge to ban any reference to the Second
Amendment during the upcoming trial of a gun shop owner who was sued by
the city. While trials are often tightly choreographed, with lawyers
routinely instructed to not tell certain facts to a jury, a gag order on
a section of the Constitution would be an oddity.
http://nysun.com/news/new-york/gag-2nd-amendment-city-s-aim-guns-suit
SAF Comments: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has moved from outrage to
atrocity by asking anti-gun activist federal Judge Jack B. Weinstein to
ban any reference to the Second Amendment during a civil lawsuit trial
beginning May 27 against Georgia gun dealer Jay Wallace, proprietor at
Adventure Outdoors. The New York Sun reported that Bloomberg's attorneys
made the request. Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment
Foundation, said the move clearly shows that Bloomberg has "total
disregard not only for the Second Amendment, but also the First."
http://www.saf.org/viewpr-new.asp?id=265
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Democrats Sidle Up to Second Amendment: During a campaign debate on
April 16, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were asked if the District of
Columbia's ban on gun possession, now facing a challenge before the
Supreme Court, is constitutional. "I think a total ban, with no
exceptions under any circumstances, might be found by the Court not to
be. But I don't know the facts," said Clinton (Yale Law '73), dodging
the question for the third and final time. Obama (Harvard Law '91) also
pleaded ignorance, confessing he hadn't "listened to the briefs and
looked at all the evidence."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2013926/posts
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Judge Strikes Down Atlanta Park-Cary Ban: It's alright to pack in
Atlanta public parks now. Superior Court Judge Doris Downs Friday struck
down an Atlanta law prohibiting carrying guns in public parks. "She said
the state law is clear," said John Monroe, the lawyer representing
GeorgiaCarry.org, a Second Amendment advocacy group. "The city can't go
out and arrest somebody for carrying a gun in a city park any more or,
if it does, it is in contempt of court."
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/05/09/gunparks_0510.html
http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=115693
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Open Carry in Virginia Restaurants: The patrons at Champps, an upscale
restaurant and bar chain, were eating ribs and drinking beer on a recent
Saturday when customer Bruce Jackson stood up and made an announcement:
He was armed, and so were dozens of other patrons. The armed customers
stood up in unison, showing off holstered pistols and revolvers. Jackson
said a word or two about the rights of gun owners to carry firearms in
Virginia, then thanked everyone for their attention and sat down. And
the diners returned to their burgers and Budweisers. The Virginia
Citizens Defense League organized the dinner at Champps to prove a
point: that the presence of armed customers in northern Virginia
restaurants would elicit little more than shrugs.
http://www.newsadvance.com/lna/business/local/article/guns_in_restaurants_draw_stares_but_little_outcry/4722
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Michigan Could Exempt Service Members from Residency Requirement: The
state House has passed a plan from Rep. Jeff Mayes, D-Bay City, to
change restrictions for obtaining a concealed weapons permit in
Michigan. Currently, an applicant must have been a resident of Michigan
for six months, which is troublesome for active-duty military, Mayes
said in a news release. His plan would clarify the definition of a
qualified applicant to include military personnel that would not
otherwise be prohibited from obtaining a license. The Michigan State
Police, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the National Rifle Association
support the legislation, Mayes said.
http://blog.mlive.com/bctimes/2008/05/house_oks_concealed_weapons_pl.html
---
One More Illinois County Passes Pro-RKBA Resolution: A resolution
opposing new proposed state laws that would infringe on private gun
ownership received near unanimous support from the La Salle County Board
Thursday. Bill Johnson, D-Peru, who along with Bob Greenwalt,
D-Sandwich, abstained on the vote, said the Second Amendment of the
Constitution cited in the resolution as the source of gun ownership
authority was meant to apply to militias...Johnson favors the County
Board waiting until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a gun rights case it
has already heard.
http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=358271
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Rule Two Reminder: A Tucson man arrested Tuesday on murder charges in
the shooting death of his girlfriend told police he shot her and had
smoked marijuana beforehand, court records show...Robinson said Sylvia
shot Mason while playing with a .22-caliber handgun at their home April
28. Sylvia told detectives he "had the gun on safety" when he pointed it
at Mason and pulled the trigger, Robinson said. (Rule Two: Don't let the
muzzle cross anything you're not prepared to shoot. Plenty of people
have done things this stupid without being under the influence of
marijuana.)
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/84789.php
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Handgun-Safety Course Offered in Connecticut: The next three, one-day
National Rifle Association Handgun Safety Courses will take place
Saturday, May 17, Sunday, June 1 and Saturday, June 14. The program is
designed to provide the basic knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary
for using or owning a handgun. The course, which highlights safety and
responsible ownership, instructionally educates anyone who may come in
contact with a firearm. The instructor is a veteran law enforcement
officer in Connecticut. Successful completion of this national course is
a basic requirement prior to applying for a state handgun permit in
Connecticut and most other states.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19675321&BRD=1379&PAG=461&dept_id=162912&rfi=6
---
Interesting Case - Follow-Up: Yesterday I shared a link to an article
about a Pittsburgh police officer who fatally shot a suspect who had
shot the officer's K-9 partner. This article examines the issues facing
K-9 officers in such scenarios.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08129/880085-53.stm
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FBI vs. BATFE: In the five years since the FBI and ATF were merged under
the Justice Department to coordinate the fight against terrorism, the
rival law enforcement agencies have fought each other for control,
wasting time and money and causing duplication of effort, according to
law enforcement sources and internal documents...The squabbling poses
dangers, many in law enforcement say, in an era in which cooperation is
needed more than ever to prevent another terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
Michael A. Mason, a former head of the FBI's Washington field office who
retired in December from a senior post at FBI headquarters, said outside
intervention might be needed.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/09/AR2008050903096_pf.html
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Tangentially Related: ...Only those who have rights in property can
grant licenses over that particular property. The difference between
borrowing a car and stealing it is the license, or permission. Thus, it
is clear that whenever a person owns a particular resource, only he or
she can legitimately decide how to use or not use it. Yet this is not
what we see in everyday reality. In fact, quite the opposite is true.
Upon entering most establishments you are greeted not just by an
employee or manager, but also by a barrage of government papers that are
usually framed and hanging on the walls. Why, one asks, can this be? As
we mentioned before, only the owner of a resource can decide how it
should be used. How, then, can state governments demand permission from
owners before they can engage in certain activities?
http://www.lewrockwell.com/lora/m.lora53.html
---
From AzCDL:
The legislative session is in overtime, and many of the remaining AzCDL
requested and supported pro-rights bills are in a holding pattern in the
Rules Committees in both the House and Senate. All bills must pass
through the Rules Committee in each chamber, which determines if
proposed legislation is constitutional and in proper form.
The House Rules Committee, which has not held a meeting since April
22nd, has yet to hear the following Senate bills:
SB 1070, an AzCDL requested bill that makes it easier for lawful gun
owners who have satisfactorily completed training to obtain a permit, or
renew an expired one.
SB 1106, Senator Chuck Gray's bill that provides for an optional
lifetime CCW permit.
Over in the Senate, HB 2389 finally moved out of the Senate Rules
Committee on May 5th. Its next stop is the Senate Committee of the
Whole, probably next week. HB 2389 is an AzCDL requested bill that
clarifies that it is permissible to carry a weapon, without a CCW
permit, visibly or concealed, anywhere within a means of transportation,
excluding public transit.
The Senate Rules Committee has still not heard HB 2634, 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. Sen. Tibshraeny, the Rules
committee Chairman, has told our lobbyists that he will hear the bill on
the next agenda.
On a more positive note, HB 2629 was heard in the Senate Committee of
the Whole on April 30, 2008 and is waiting to be scheduled for a formal
vote by the full Senate. HB 2629 is an AzCDL requested bill that
clarifies when a defensive display of a firearm is justified.
The pressure you put on the Rules committees last week had an impact!
AzCDL's full-time volunteer lobbyists are at the Capitol, tirelessly
working to get these important bills through the legislature and to the
Governor. Stay tuned!
Information on these and other bills can be found at the AzCDL website:
http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html
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
