DC Council Passes Interim Gun Bill: The D.C. Council on Tuesday night
approved emergency legislation that will repeal the District's
32-year-old ban on handguns while setting stiff regulations for
registering and storing guns inside homes. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, a
Democrat, is expected to sign the bill as early as Wednesday, which
would allow residents to begin registering guns Thursday. The bill
passed unanimously in the 13-member council with minimal discussion,
though several council members acknowledged that more work should be
done on the legislation, which as an emergency bill will only be in
effect for 90 days...
http://www.washtimes.com/news/local/
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hCTDCtVBhc2ugiMV6sP_bPJKdG2QD91UKKMG0
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/15/AR2008071502921.html
Registration:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/15/AR2008071502626.html
Will Prohibitive Regulations Replace Ban?: Yesterday the District of
Columbia unveiled new firearm rules that are meant to comply with the
Supreme Court's recent ruling overturning D.C.'s 32-year-old handgun
ban. The proposed legislation makes an exception to the ban for handguns
kept in the home for self-defense, and it "clarifies that no carry
license is required inside the home." It also "clarifies" the storage
rule for firearms, saying a gun can legally be unlocked and loaded
"while it is being used against [a]reasonably perceived threat of
immediate harm to a person." Otherwise "firearms in the home must be
stored unloaded and either disassembled [or] secured with a trigger
lock, gun safe, or similar device." The mention of gun safes is new and,
depending on the kind of safe, could allow faster retrieval of a weapon
in an emergency. But the requirement that even guns in safes be kept
unloaded seems like an unreasonable impediment to self-defense that
could be open to challenge...
http://reason.com/blog/show/127571.html
Indiana Congressman Would Rein in DC: The mayor and other officials in
Washington, D.C., are trying to circumvent the Supreme Court's rejection
of the city's gun ban, Rep. Mark Souder, R-3rd, says. So he is trying to
repeal all restrictions the city has on guns. "Their intent is basically
to try to get around the court ruling," Souder said. "In other words,
ban the gun, keep all the strict registration, track all the ammunition
and, in effect, keep a D.C. gun ban fully operating as if there hadn't
been a court decision." He's pushed the congressional levers to force a
vote on his bill to overturn the city's ban of semiautomatic handguns,
its registration requirements and its limits on ammunition...
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080715/NEWS03/806972832
---
Robert Levy on Heller - What's Next?: ...Ultimately, the Court agreed
with Heller that D.C.'s ban on all functional firearms in the home is
unconstitutional "under any of the standards of scrutiny the Court has
applied to enumerated constitutional rights." But the Court did not
choose a specific standard, and may hereafter apply something less than
the strict scrutiny standard Heller had suggested. On the other hand,
the Court categorically rejected "rational basis" scrutiny, which has
been a rubber-stamp for virtually all legislative enactments. And the
Court also rejected Justice Stephen Breyer's "interest-balancing" test,
which is no more than a repeat of the process that legislatures
undertake in crafting regulations. Something higher is demanded, said
Scalia, when an express constitutional right is at issue. At a minimum,
it appears that the Court will adopt some version of intermediate or
heightened scrutiny, as urged by the Justice Department...
http://www.cato-unbound.org/2008/07/14/robert-a-levy/district-of-columbia-v-heller-whats-next/
---
Morton Grove May Relax Handgun Ban: Morton Grove residents will be able
to keep handguns at home under an ordinance being considered by the
village board. The measure, an amendment to the village's deadly weapons
ordinance, would repeal Morton Grove's 27-year-old handgun ban. Village
officials say they need to lift the handgun ban in order to bring the
village law into compliance with a recent U. S. Supreme Court decision
that overturned a Washington, D.C. handgun ban...
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/mortongrove/news/1056562,mg-handgun-071508-s1.article
---
Heller Dissenters Erred Repeatedly: District of Columbia v. Heller was
historic, the first Supreme Court decision to clearly hold that the
Second Amendment right to arms was an individual one not linked to
militia service. But it was historic for another reason: the sheer
number of mistakes made in the dissenters' opinions. Given that all four
dissenters co-signed the Stevens and Breyer dissenting opinions, this
means that the mistakes must have escaped, not only four members of the
highest court in the land, but their sixteen research clerks!
http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/guest/2008/dth_07151.shtml
---
Georgia Governor Defends Airport Carry: Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue said
Monday that guns should be allowed in public areas of the nation's
busiest airport. And he suggested his own wife might want to pack a
firearm for long walks between the parking lot and the terminal at
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International. "If my wife wanted to carry a
gun, if she was going from the parking lot, walking from one of those
far parking lots to pick up a grandchild or something like that, I think
that's a good idea, yes," he said Monday...On the day the new law took
effect, Atlanta officials who oversee the airport declared it a
"gun-free zone" and said anyone carrying a gun there could be arrested
and charged with a misdemeanor. Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin argued
that allowing guns could endanger people because airports remain
attractive targets for terrorism... (Why is it that these people can't
see that the maintenance of gun-free zones increases the risk of terror
attacks?)
http://cbs11tv.com/politics/Sonny.Perdue.guns.2.771124.html
---
Massachusetts Governor Proposes License-Fee Increases: On Sunday July,
13, 2008 Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick filed a special
appropriations bill for fiscal year 2008. (As of the filing of this
report, the bill had not yet received a number.) Within this bill
sections 24 - 27 drastically increase certain firearm licenses. Sections
24 & 25 attack lawfully licensed firearm dealers by increasing their
license fees from $100 for three years to $250. Then it adds a $100
inspection fee in years two and three of the license. This tactic would
now turn a $100 three year dealer's license into a $450 three year
license. Section 26 would increase a resident License to Carry fee from
$100 for six years to $200 for six years. Section 27 would increase a
non-resident License to Carry fee from $100 for one year to $250 for one
year...
http://www.goal.org/news/Legislative/DevalLicenseTax.htm
http://www.wickedlocal.com/belmont/news/x223009210/Gun-owners-lawmakers-lash-out-at-Guvs-proposed-firearm-fees
---
More Young Texans Seek CHL's: Since the beginning of the year, Texas has
seen a surge in citizens seeking concealed handgun licenses, with an
increase in first-time applicants younger than 26. The Texas Department
of Public Safety recorded a 24 percent increase in applications from
citizens in their early 20s during the first five months of 2008,
compared with the same period in 2007. Five percent of the 300,000
active license holders are younger than 26, according to the department.
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a non-partisan organization with
31,000 members nationwide, including one chapter at UT and 24 chapters
in Texas, contends that the gun ban on university campuses only serves
to disarm the law-abiding students who might be able to stop tragedies
like the Virginia Tech shooting. Texas Republican Rep. Joe Driver, of
Garland, plans to file a bill in the upcoming legislative session that
calls for lifting the gun ban on college campuses in Texas...
http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2008/07/16/TopStories/Concealed.Handgun.Licenses.Surge.Among.Young.Texans-3391339.shtml
---
Iowa City Considers Firearm Restrictions: Councilman Aaron Rochester
voted against first-round approval toughening up the transport of
weapons in vehicles and requiring people to obtain permits in order to
target practice in their yards. Mayor Mike Hobart and Councilmen Dave
Ferris and Jim Rixner voted for the changes to the firearms and weapons
ordinances. Councilman Brent Hoffman was out of town. The council will
need to take two more votes on both proposals...
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2008/07/15/news/local/090c7e26d8477eca86257487000aa5e1.txt
---
Michigan Eases Handgun Registration: Revisions to post-purchase pistol
registration requirements have been signed into law by Gov. Jennifer
Granholm. Sponsored by state Sen. Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, the new
law gives pistol owners the option of mailing the registration within 10
days after the pistol was purchased or hand delivering it. "The new
registration process will be simpler and more convenient for law-abiding
gun owners," said Sen. Richardville in a press release. "I heard from
several residents in my district who felt the previous registration
requirements were burdensome and redundant. Although inspections were
required, many times the pistols were not even inspected." Previously,
the law required the owner to take the pistol to a local law enforcement
officer for an inspection and turn in a different registration form...
http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080715/NEWS01/855641450/-1/NEWS
---
Toilet-Paper Maker Defies Florida Law: A popular American pulp and paper
company has banned employees at its toilet paper plant from storing
concealed weapons in their cars while on company property - a move that
defies Florida gun law. Georgia-Pacific cited a Homeland Security
exemption from a statute authorizing workers with concealed-weapons
permits to have guns locked in their cars because it says the plant
handles large amounts of explosive fuel, the Miami Herald reported. The
Palatka, Fla., toilet paper mill's choice to ban concealed weapons has
infuriated representatives of the National Rifle Association and
highlighted the state legislature's troubles with creating unambiguous
laws during its 60-day session...
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=69753
---
Oops, Wrong House: A Laurens County man told deputies that after he
heard a noise early Tuesday morning, he shot and killed an
intruder...The man said he was asleep when heard a noise coming from the
living room area. He said he went into the living room armed with a
shotgun. He said when the intruder startled him, he fired two shots at
him, hitting him in the stomach and neck area. The coroner's office said
that the man, later identified as 20-year-old Lamont Carton Darden,
broke into the home on Stevens Street around 12:30 a.m. Darden died as a
result of those injuries. Chastain said it seems unlikely that the man
would be charged in the shooting...
http://www.wyff4.com/news/16885330/detail.html
---
Shooter's Acquittal Worries Vermont Authorities: Matthew Martel is
polite and has soft, boy-band looks. He was home-schooled and lives with
his genial parents, Bob and Deborah, in a rustic white house with a
wraparound porch that overlooks Route 105. Martel does not look like
a member of the Franklin County Sportsman's Club, but he is. He does not
come off as someone who would buy a $450 handgun for target practice,
but he did. Nor does he strike you as someone who pocketed a loaded
handgun for protection four or five times during the last three years,
but he has. Carrying a loaded handgun is not against the law in Vermont,
and St. Albans City ordinances only prohibit guns in parks...
http://www.samessenger.com/NewsView.asp?ID=3458
---
Brits Regain Some "Castle" Rights: Home owners and "have-a go-heroes"
have for the first time been given the legal right to defend themselves
against burglars and muggers free from fear of prosecution. They will be
able to use force against criminals who break into their homes or attack
them in the street without worrying that "heat of the moment"
misjudgements could see them brought before the courts. Under new laws
police and prosecutors will have to assess a person's actions based on
the person's situation "as they saw it at the time" even if in hindsight
it could be seen as unreasonable...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/2303004/Have-a-go-heroes-get-legal-right-to-defend-themselves.html?DCMP=EMC-new_16072008
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
