Chicago Second Amendment Rally: If you can get to Chicago (and even if
you normally make a point of avoiding Chicago--an easily understandable
policy) on July 11th, you need to do so. The Illinois gun rights
movement, with the help of ISRA and Illinois Carry, has a little
surprise for the purveyors of the forcible citizen disarmament agenda in
Illinois. That's right - a Second Amendment rally in downtown Chicago,
featuring Suzanna Hupp (if you don't know who she is, or how compelling
she is as a speaker, see this)...
http://armedandsafe.blogspot.com/2008/06/second-amendment-rally-in-belly-of.html
---
Michigan Judge Nixes "No Guns" Signs: At a time when even nail files and
pocket knives are barred from courts, Hillsdale County has reopened its
historic courthouse to citizens who legally pack weapons. Circuit Judge
Michael Smith recently ordered the "no guns" signs removed at the
courthouse in downtown Hillsdale, saying the ban is against state law.
Smith said that courthouses are not exempt from state concealed-weapons
laws, so there's no way to lawfully stop people from carrying a
concealed weapon if they're licensed properly. The ban against citizens
carrying guns in courts is based on a 2001 administrative order by the
Michigan Supreme Court, not on legislation...
http://www.mlive.com/news/citpat/index.ssf?/base/news-25/1211983506200620.xml&coll=3
---
Ooh, Nasty Celebrities: ... Apparently, The Hills stars Heidi Montag and
Spencer Pratt have spent a reported $10,000 on guns, according to In
Touch Weekly. When questioned about the reasoning behind the purchase of
two Wilson close quarter combat 45-caliber pistols, two Benelli
semiautomatic M4 tactical shotguns, and one Scout semiautomatic rifle, a
friend told In Touch Weekly, "Spencer does have a few enemies." However,
who needs five guns, honestly? Does he really think that his "enemies"
are going to come after him and Heidi? According to 24-year-old Spencer,
his appearances on the MTV reality show brought the loathed couple some
tremendously negative attention. This led to the couple going to Culver
City, CA to purchase the weapons on June 7 in order to protect
themselves. As Perez Hilton said in his blog, "He's alienated a lot of
people now that he's rich and famous."
http://thecelebritycafe.com/features/17141.html
---
Oops, Wrong House: Three people are in custody after an all-day manhunt
after an attempted home burglary on Sherrilltown Road in the Norene
Community, south-southeast of Lebanon, on Thursday. Wilson County
Sheriff Terry Ashe said the incident began around 7 a.m. yesterday when
a home on Sherrilltown Road was allegedly broken into. Alan Ricketts,
brother of the man who owns the home, and their father, heard the
break-in and ran and confronted the three suspects as they were leaving
the residence. Ricketts and their father reside nearby. Ashe said the
three suspects tried to run over Ricketts and his father in their truck.
Ricketts and his father then began shooting at the three. The gunshots
damaged the truck which ended up in a ditch. The three suspects escaped
on foot...
http://www.wilsonpost.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=280&Itemid=13
---
Dealer Charged with Selling Chinese Ammo: The 22-year-old president of a
Miami Beach arms-dealing company and three other people were charged
Friday with selling prohibited Chinese ammunition to the Pentagon to
supply Afghan security forces, federal officials said. A federal grand
jury in Miami indicted the munitions dealer, Efraim E. Diveroli,
president of AEY Inc., as well as two former employees and a business
associate, on charges of fraud and conspiring to misrepresent the types
of ammunition they sold to the Defense Department as part of a $298
million Army contract.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/21/washington/21arms.html?_r=1&ref=washington&oref=slogin
---
South Sudan to Disarm Civilians: Southern Sudanese authorities have
begun a campaign to collect large quantities of weapons held by
civilians following decades of civil war. South Sudan's Minister of
Internal Affairs, Paul Mayom, said only a few guns had been handed in
voluntarily and new measures were required. Disarmament had to be backed
by the army and take place simultaneously across communities, he said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7465289.stm
---
Britain Charges 90-Year-Old Man with Firearm Possession: A 90-year-old
Teignmouth man has appeared in court on firearms charges. John Loud, 90,
of Long Orchard, Pound Road, is accused of possessing a .22 air rifle
without holding the required firearms certificate at Shaldon on February
12. The other offence alleges on the same day he had 13 .22 rimfire
cartridges without being a firearms certificate holder. The case was
adjourned to July 7 to the court sitting in Torquay.
http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=135239&command=displayContent&sourceNode=135077&contentPK=20913267&folderPk=79060&pNodeId=134831
---
Britain Is World's Largest Arms Exporter: Britain was the world's
biggest arms seller last year, accounting for a third of global arms
exports, the Government's trade promotion organisation said. UK Trade
and Investment (UKTI) said that arms exporters had added �9.7 billion in
new business last year, giving them a larger share of global arms
exports than the United States... UKTI said that the figures were
boosted by orders for Eurofighter Typhoon jets from Saudi Arabia, the
world's biggest arms buyer, which has imported $31 billion (�16 million)
in weapons over the past five years. There were also orders from Oman
and Trinidad and Tobago for offshore patrol vessels... (It appears that
these sales are politically correct because they don't involve small
arms, suitable for ownership by private citizens.)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4161341.ece
---
Tangentially Related: ... Today, McCain calls himself a thorough-going
conservative, and he's got the statistics to prove it. He has voted with
his party almost 90% of the time this term, which puts him ahead of 29
other Republicans. According to data analyzed at VoteView.com, McCain's
voting record in 2005-06 would place him second in the contest for
America's most conservative senator in the 109th Congress and eighth in
the 110th Senate. McCain supported Bush in 95% of his votes in 2007 and
has managed to achieve a perfect 100% score so far in 2008... (Consider
the source. It's the ten percent that worries me.)
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-alterman20-2008jun20,0,371551.story
---
NRA-ILA Alerts: Alerts for he week are posted on the NRA-ILA website.
http://www.nraila.org/GrassrootsAlerts/read.aspx
---
From Alan Korwin:
..With thanks to deputy public information officer Estrada at the U.S.
Supreme Court:
1. Heller does not have the highest number of amicus briefs in the
Court's history, it is third, at 66. The highest was 107 in the
affirmative action case Grutter (539 U.S. 306 in 2003), followed by the
abortion case Webster (492 U.S. 490 in 1989) at 78.
2. The Heller decision could actually come later than June 23, the
widely anticipated last scheduled day of proceedings for the session.
The Court can add days to its calendar for additional decisions if it
needs to, but these would typically come before the end of the week
(June 27). Absolutely no way to know for sure until they act.
3. Lead attorney Alan Gura pointed out in an email to me (6/19/08) that
the Court still has ten decisions left to issue, including three
biggies, so it's highly likely they will add days to the calendar.
4. My conjecture: The decision must be signed and sealed now for at
least days if not weeks, to allow for proofing, typesetting, printing,
binding, pre-mail activity, web prep, syllabus draft, etc. My guess is
they would rather release it at the end, so the national hub bub doesn't
impinge on other work they have. Requests for interviews, phone calls
from friends and close associates, shouting in the press, a ton of
activity can be expected, might as well finish off the term first, no?
5. The best site for immediate download of the decision will be the Slip
Opinions page, and web-traffic overload has not been a problem in the
past according to the PIO (but we shall see on this one, eh?)
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07slipopinion.html
Every "news" outlet on the planet will cover this story, where SOP is to
a) read and partially understand only the Court's summary, or b) copy
"wire services" which are routinely spin machines on this subject, and
then release a mixture of fact, hype and editorial where the news is
supposed to go.
6. My book on the Heller case is already underway, will include
summaries and background on all 96 gun cases the High Court has heard so
far, and the most thorough coverage of Heller you're likely to find
anywhere. Many experts have agreed to contribute. Watch for the
announcement when it goes on press...
---
From AzCDL:
Remember HB 2389, the 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?
HB 2389 passed out of the Senate Third Read on Monday, May 19, 2008.
Prior to that it, in the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW), Senators
Waring, Cheuvront and O'Halleran amended HB 2389 with language that
didn't alter HB 2389, but advanced the Senators' issues.
Because the original House version of HB 2389 differs from the version
passed by the Senate, it must go through a conference committee where
the differences can be worked out. The House has assigned conferees,
but the Senate has not. The Legislative session is about to end, and
unless HB 2389 gets a conference committee hearing soon, it will die a
quiet death despite passing in both chambers of the Legislature.
It's time to "encourage" Senator Tim Bee, the Senate President, to
assign Senators to the HB 2389 conference committee so that it will get
to the Governor's desk before the session ends. Senator Bee can be
reached at (602) 926-5683. His email address is
[email protected].
Please take the time to send a polite note to Senator Bee encouraging
him to assign Senate conferees to HB 2389. You can use your own words,
or the template provided below. Be sure to include your name, address
and telephone number in all correspondence.
Subject: HB 2389
Dear Senator Bee:
The Arizona Citizens Defense League has informed me that HB 2389, a bill
that clarifies that it is permissible to carry a weapon, without a
concealed weapons permit, visibly or concealed, anywhere within a means
of transportation, excluding public transit, is awaiting the assignment
of Senate conferees in order to progress to the Governor's desk before
the end of this legislative session.
After passing in both the House and Senate with bipartisan votes, it
would be a shame to see this important legislation die because the
Senate did not participate in a conference hearing. The House has
already assigned conferees and is awaiting your move.
Senator Bee, I urge you to delay no longer, assign conferees to HB 2389
and allow it to be sent to the Governor.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Street Address
City, State, zip-code
Telephone number
Stay tuned! Information on this 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
