Heller Decision Expected This Week: ...If the ban is overturned, it will
probably be a few weeks before it takes effect in the city, said Clark
Neily, an attorney for plaintiffs seeking to overturn the handgun ban.
If the city loses, the District could ask for time to adjust D.C.'s law
from an outright ban to regulations that meet the court ruling, which
could take weeks or months, said District officials who declined to
comment on camera. City officials said they're prepared for any ruling
but upholding the ban would be a victory for citizen safety. Some
attorneys said a broad ruling upholding the law could tempt other
jurisdictions to toughen their gun laws - but not without a major
political fight. The Supreme Court also could return the case to lower
courts for more arguments.
http://www.nbc4.com/politics/16689571/detail.html
---
Scalia Writing Heller Decision?: ...Thomas Goldstein, a Supreme Court
advocate who runs a must-read blog for court-watchers called ScotusBlog,
plays a bit of a parlor game in trying to figure out which justice is
writing which decision. By his reckoning, which you can read here,
Justice Antonin Scalia is likely writing the controlling opinion in the
D.C. gun case. That, of course, is bad news for those who who favor
strong gun control restrictions. Scalia is likely to take a more
absolutist stance on the Second Amendment than say a more moderate
justice such as Anthony Kennedy or even Samuel Alito. Which means if
Scalia is writing the opinion, you can pretty much bet your bottom
dollar that the gun-ban will be overturned...
http://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dws/txcn/houston/stories/khou080623_tnt_joehornlatest.304e1ae1.html
Related Commentary:
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/06/23/too-good-to-check-scalia-writing-the-majority-opinion-in-the-upcoming-second-amendment-case/
---
Seattle Mayor Exploits "Gun-Show Loophole": Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels,
behaving like the would-be ruler of a "city state," has decided to
ignore Washington's longstanding firearms statute regarding the legal
carry of concealed handguns by licensed private citizens on city
property...Nickels believes he has found a "loophole" in the state
statute, thanks to a Washington Supreme Court ruling last year. That
ruling dealt with the city of Sequim's ability to regulate a private gun
show on public property, but that case did not address licensed
concealed carry - only the regulation of a commercial enterprise. How
odd that a man who has loudly complained about a so-called gun-show
loophole would now be exploiting what he believes to be such a loophole...
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/368086_beararms24.html
---
Pressure Scuttles West Virginia City Gun Ban: The Ranson City Council is
expected to abandon efforts to pass a proposed ordinance that would ban
firearms from city-owned property due to pressure from gun rights
groups. Groups such as the National Rifle Association and the West
Virginia Citizens Defense League have sent letters to city officials
decrying the proposed ordinance and have threatened to take action
should the council attempt to pass it. "I think it's enough to say that
we've heard from the interested parties - without being specific about
who the interested parties are - and we feel that it is probably in our
best judgment to forgo any further action relative to this situation,"
Ranson Mayor A. David Hamill said Monday.
http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/507941.html?nav=5006
---
Thousands of Texans Petition for Open Carry: Despite the Lone Star
State's love affair with the gun, there's at least one firearms
restriction that some Texans want lifted. Texas is just one of six
states in which handguns can't be worn in plain view. The other 44
states, in the parlance of gun advocates, are known as "open-carry"
states. More than 3,500 people have signed an online petition asking
Gov. Rick Perry and the Legislature to permit Texans to wear their
handguns without concealing them. The Texas Citizens Defense League
supports the petition, which requests that people who legally buy
handguns be allowed to carry them openly, except in places prohibited by
law... (While I tend to favor concealed carry for tactical reasons,
legalizing open carry lessens the risk of being prosecuted for
unintentionally exposing your firearm.)
http://www.nbc5i.com/news/16685864/detail.html?dl=headlineclick
---
Where Have I Heard This Name Before?: Amid concern about the growing
popularity of look-alike guns, the Consumer Product Safety Commission
has been asked to investigate safety issues, deaths and other incidents
related to the firearms replicas. The investigation was requested by
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) after a Washington Post report Sunday
that detailed confrontations between police and teenagers using the
realistic-looking BB and pellet guns, some of which are known as airsoft
guns...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/23/AR2008062302483.html
---
Grand Jury Still Weighing Joe Horn Case: A Harris County grand jury was
back at work Monday, trying to decide if Joe Horn should face charges
for shooting two suspected burglars. Horn opened fire on the men in
Pasadena in November, killing them after he saw them breaking into the
home next door. Horn claims the shooting was in self defense, but
autopsy reports indicate the men were shot in the back.
http://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dws/txcn/houston/stories/khou080623_tnt_joehornlatest.304e1ae1.html
---
More Tennesseans Licensed to Carry: Sometime during the course of your
day, someone with a loaded weapon probably is near you. And those are
just the legal weapons. Nearly 8,000 people in Hamilton County have
valid concealed weapons permits, records show, allowing them to carry
loaded firearms just about anywhere. Applications for Tennessee carry
permits statewide have skyrocketed over the last five years, increasing
from 237 in 2003 to 195,251 in 2007. Applications more than tripled
between 2006 and 2007, records show...
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/jun/23/chattanooga-packing-licensed-heat/?local
Related Video:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/jun/23/video-training-gun-owners/
---
Miss Tennessee Packs Heat: She's a daddy's girl. But don't think this
year's Miss Tennessee is a pushover. Ellen Carrington, 21, who was
crowned Miss Tennessee on Saturday night, has a concealed weapons
permit. "I have a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber," Carrington told reporters
on Sunday, "(with a) silver top and black body." A Jackson native and
senior at Union University, Carrington decided to get the permit because
she was spending a lot of time traveling to and from Nashville at night.
She said spending time at shooting ranges with her father, Pat, helped
create an even deeper bond between the two...
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=59868&catid=2
---
M4's Days May Be Numbered: Perhaps the single most exciting thing that
happened at NDIA International Infantry & Joint Services Small Arms
Systems Symposium 2008 - away from the firing range, of course - was a
confrontation between Jim Battaglini (Retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen.
James R. Battaglini) of Colt Defense and U.S. Air Force Col. Robert
Mattes, the director of the Comparative Test Office for the Deputy
Undersecretary of Defense for Advanced Systems and Concepts, while Col.
Mattes was giving a speech and promoting the idea of an open competition
to determine the best infantry/assault carbine that can be supplied to
U.S. military infantry warfighters. Specifically, the purpose of the
competition would be to determine whether or not the Colt M4 Carbine is
still the best carbine solution for our warfighters, and if there might
be a better (i.e. more reliable and combat-effective) carbine out there
[sic] M4...
http://www.defensereview.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1144
---
The Plot Thickens: An American ambassador helped cover up the illegal
Chinese origins of ammunition that a Pentagon contractor bought to
supply Afghan security forces, according to testimony gathered by
Congressional investigators. A military attach� has told the
investigators that the United States ambassador to Albania endorsed a
plan by the Albanian defense minister to hide several boxes of Chinese
ammunition from a visiting reporter. The ammunition was being repackaged
to disguise its origins and shipped from Albania to Afghanistan by a
Miami Beach arms-dealing company... (Albania was China's main client
state during the Sino-Soviet split so I don't find it surprising that
there would have been large supplies of Chinese ammunition there.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/washington/24arms.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
