The Heller Decision: Obviously, this is the big news of the day. Since I
have to get to my day job, I will dispense with the usual introductions
and simply list the source for each of these links. As I have said
earlier, the devil is in the details and there are plenty of details
left to be settled.
The Decision:
http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/07-2901.pdf
Second Amendment Foundation:
http://www.saf.org/viewpr-new.asp?id=269
Jews for the Preservation of Firearm Ownership:
http://jpfo.org/alerts02/alert20080626.htm
American Jewish Committee:
http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=849241&ct=5613801
Brady Bunch:
http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/release.php?release=992
Violence Policy Center:
http://www.vpc.org/press/0806heller.htm
WorldNetDaily.com:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=68046
The Washington Times:
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jun/27/dc-gun-struck-down/
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jun/27/officials-upset-by-court-decision/
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jun/27/candidates-differ-on-overturned-gun-ban/
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jun/27/justice-kennedy-once-again-casts-decisive-vote/
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jun/27/ruling-galvanizes-pro-gun-groups-opposition/
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jun/27/gun-control-in-most-countries-more-stringent-than-/
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jun/27/gun-control-in-most-countries-more-stringent-than-/
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jun/27/gun-ban-ruling-praised-in-state/
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jun/27/the-gun-ban-ends/
The Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/26/AR2008062604247.html?hpid=topnews
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/06/23/ST2008062300649.html?hpid=topnews
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/26/AR2008062604129.html?hpid=topnews
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/26/AR2008062604325.html?hpid=topnews
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/26/AR2008062603988.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/26/AR2008062600615.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/26/AR2008062603509.html
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/dc/2008/06/dc_gun_ban_decision_poll_and_c.html?hpid=topnews
(Poll)
---
Townhall.com:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/LindaChavez/2008/06/27/right_to_bear_arms
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichaelReagan/2008/06/26/liberty_wins_a_big_one
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/AmandaCarpenter/2008/06/26/dc_gun_ban_overturned_by_supreme_court
Reason.com: Alan Gura, Glenn Reynolds, Randy Barnett, Brian Doherty,
Sanford Levinson, Jacob Sullum, and Dave Kopel respond to D.C. v. Heller.
http://reason.com/news/show/127201.html
Newsmax.com:
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/candidates_guns/2008/06/26/107698.html
The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/washington/27scotus.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1214568580-DZBLy+YLQmWSY0gcUiDapg
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/washington/27guns.html?hp
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/washington/27React.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1214568813-2ZcJRatvo71S9mX+5kYzzA
Los Angeles Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-scotus27-2008jun27,0,6740044.story
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-legal27-2008jun27,0,3173451.story
Legal Times:
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2008/06/supreme-court-1.html
HumanEvents.com:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27223
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27217
CNSNews.com:
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200806/NAT20080626e.html
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200806/NAT20080626f.html
---
Chicago's Next: Following Thursday's 5-4 ruling by the U.S. Supreme
Court in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second
Amendment protects an individual civil right to keep and bear arms, and
that a municipal gun ban violates that right, the Second Amendment
Foundation (SAF) and the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) filed a
federal lawsuit challenging the City of Chicago's long-standing handgun
ban. The case is McDonald v. City of Chicago.
http://www.saf.org/viewpr-new.asp?id=270
The National Rifle Association, with today's U.S. Supreme Court opinion
rejecting the District of Columbia's handgun ban, has launched plans for
further legal challenges in cities like Chicago and San Francisco where
other bans now exist..."We are very pleased with the Supreme Court's
ruling today. This is a win for all Americans, and it vindicates the
individual's right to keep and bear arms," Rachel Parsons, a spokeswoman
for the NRA, told WND. "We are now going to go after other cities' laws
that unlawfully ban gun ownership by law-abiding people."
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=68093
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/supreme.court.handguns.2.757471.html
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200806/NAT20080627b.html
---
Ruling Won't Affect New York Laws?: Local law enforcement officials
don't expect any problems enforcing state and city gun laws in the wake
of a momentous U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday defining a person's
right under the Constitution to have a firearm in the home. New York
City prosecutors believe that current gun licensing laws are reasonable
regulations that are safe from the kind of challenge that scuttled the
District of Columbia's ban on handgun possession...
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-liguns0627,0,2670709.story
---
Bloomberg Makes Lemonade: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today's
U.S. Supreme Court decision will help mayors keep guns out of the hands
of criminals...Bloomberg said the coalition of 320 mayors have always
said fighting illegal guns has nothing to do with Second Amendment
rights. "Today's decision by the Supreme Court upholding those rights
will benefit our coalition by finally putting to rest the ideological
debates that have for too long obscured an obvious fact: criminals, who
have no right to purchase or possess guns, nevertheless have easy access
to them," he said in a written statement. "Mayors and police chiefs have
a responsibility to crack down on illegal guns and punish gun criminals,
and it is encouraging that the Supreme Court recognizes the
constitutionality of reasonable regulations that allow for us to carry
out those responsibilities."
http://www.1010wins.com/Bloomberg--Fed-Gun-Ruling-Will-Help-Crime-Fight/2488825
---
Heller's Effects in Arizona Debated: Thursday's U.S. Supreme Court
decision voiding an absolute ban on guns in Washington D.C. could have a
ripple effect here, even though Arizona already has some of the most
permissive gun laws in the country. Two areas where the potential for
conflict exists, local experts said, are keeping guns out of the hands
of people involved in domestic-violence cases, and sorting out the
rights of people who live in places where guns are prohibited, including
college campuses...
http://www.azstarnet.com/news/245758
---
Colt Hails Heller Decision: New England's prominent gun makers said
Thursday's landmark Supreme Court ruling that affirms the right to keep
guns at home for self-defense is a moral victory for their beleaguered
industry and law-abiding gun owners..."It really is a good day. This is
just incredible," said Carlton Chen, a vice president and general
counsel at Colt's Manufacturing Co. in West Hartford, where the 500-plus
employees all received copies the court's decision Thursday...
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct--gunruling-reax0626jun26,0,4479598.story
---
Smith & Wesson Shares Rise on Heller Decision: Shares of Smith & Wesson
Holding Corp. climbed Thursday, breaking free of a downturn in the
broader market after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a handgun ban in
Washington DC...Smith & Wesson shares rallied in heavy trading, rising
44 cents, or 8.6 percent, to $5.55. Analysts said the ruling will have
little effect on Smith & Wesson's sales, however. Cowen & Co. analyst
Cai von Rumohr said the Washington DC restrictions were far tighter than
most others in the country, and DC is a small market...
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/06/26/ap5158988.html
---
More New York Women Buying Firearms: More women are turning to firearms
for sport and protection, according to a local gun shop. At B&J Guns in
Colonie, women now comprise 30 percent of the clientel, up from three
percent just a few years ago. The National Rifle Association also
reports an increase. "The women are buying everything from handguns to
assault-type rifles to shotguns," said Jeff Gildersleeve, general
manager at B&J's. "Some are (for) sporting purposes and a great deal are
for self-defense purposes...maybe not a direct threat, but something
that just had occurred in the area that made them worry and just got
them thinking about self-defense."
http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/protection_1255879___article.html/gun_shop.html
---
Feds Raid Blackwater Armory: Federal agents raided Blackwater Worldwide
this week as part of an investigation into whether the private security
company sidestepped federal laws prohibiting the private purchase of
automatic assault rifles, the company said Thursday. Blackwater
spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searched Blackwater's armory at its
corporate headquarters in Moyock on Tuesday as part of the
investigation. Court documents show that agents seized 22 guns as
evidence from a vault dedicated to county authorities...
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jun/27/feds-raid-blackwater-armory/
---
From AzCDL:
In an historic ruling, the Supreme Court, in the D.C. v. Heller
decision, affirmed that the pre-existing individual right of firearms
ownership is protected by the Second Amendment. A copy of the decision
is available at AzCDL's "Educational" page:
http://www.azcdl.org/DCvHeller1.pdf .
We'll let the pundits and experts dissect and spin the minutiae of the
decision. A web site to get the latest reviews and opinions on this and
other Supreme Courts cases is
http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/ . Alan
Korwin, AzCDL member and author of many books on gun laws
(
http://www.gunlaws.com/) is preparing a book on the Heller decision
that is expected to be published shortly.
The impact of the Heller decision in Arizona appears to be negligible.
The Arizona Constitution has its own version of the Second Amendment in
Article 2, Section 26:
http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/const/2/26.htm .
In DC v. Heller, the Supreme Court upheld virtually all existing Arizona
laws and court decisions affecting your right to keep and bear arms.
AzCDL deals with the reality of Arizona law. Our focus will continue to
be the successful restoration of your rights through the legislative
process.
Like many recent Supreme Court decisions, Heller won by a narrow 5-4
majority. The Supreme Court is composed of two factions. Four justices
want to impose a Marxist dystopia in America using creative
interpretations of the Constitution as a "living document." Another
four justices lean towards reading the Constitution as it was written.
In the middle of these two factions is a "wind-sock" justice that blows
more left than right. A number of the justices are elderly and some are
dealing with serious illnesses. It is certain that whoever the next
President is will be appointing at least one replacement Supreme Court
justice. Who makes that choice is dependent on how YOU vote this
November. If you sit out the election, you are voting FOR a future
Supreme Court that might overturn today's Heller decision. The choice
is yours. Choose wisely.
Right now, we urge everyone to celebrate today's historic Supreme Court
decision by exercising your Second Amendment right at a local gun store
or shooting range. A right not exercised is a right lost.
Information on pro-rights legislation in Arizona 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.
We apologize for pulling your attention away from today's D.C. v. Heller
victory (an Alert is in the works), but your activism is needed on an
important pro-rights bill, HB 2389, at the Arizona Legislature.
HB 2389 is 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 has passed both the House and Senate but, because of amendments
added in the Senate, it needed to go through a conference committee
where the differences could be worked out. The House had assigned
conferees, but not the Senate. Thanks to the pressure YOU put on the
Senate Leadership last week, Senate conferees were finally assigned, a
meeting was held, the differences were ironed out, and HB 2389 passed
out of committee.
Before being sent to the governor, HB 2389 must now pass a final vote in
both the House and Senate. The 2008 Legislative session is expected to
end any day now. Unless HB 2389 gets through a final vote in both
chambers, it is dead for the year. We need to once again remind the
Legislature and their leadership to do the right thing.
Please take the time to send a polite note to Senate President Tim Bee
(
[email protected]), Speaker of the House Jim Weiers (
[email protected]),
and your own Senator and Representatives, encouraging them to pass HB
2389 so that it can be sent to the Governor. You can use your own
words, or the template provided below. You can find your Senator and
Representatives here:
http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp .
Be sure to include your name, address and telephone number in all
correspondence.
Subject: HB 2389
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, recently passed out of a
House/Senate Conference Committee and is awaiting final floor votes in
both chambers before being sent to the Governor.
I urge you to schedule a floor vote on HB 2389 in order to allow it to
progress to the Governor's desk before the end of this legislative session.
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
