DC Refuses to Register Heller's Pistol: ...Among the first to arrive
when the doors opened at 7 a.m. was Dick Anthony Heller, 66, who was the
responder in the case District of Columbia v. Heller. However, Mr.
Heller, was told be could not register his 45-caliber semiautomatic Colt
Model 1911 because it is still illegal under D.C. law. He couldn't
register a second gun, a revolver, because he didn't bring the weapon
with him. "Now I'm disappointed," said Mr. Heller, a security guard.
"I've been denied again." Mr. Heller said he will try to register a
nine-shot .22-caliber Harrington and Richardson revolver Friday...
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jul/18/district-begins-licensing-pistols/
..Arriving at 6:30 a.m., accompanied by an adviser, Heller was met
outside the building by various police officials. In an animated
discussion, they explained to Heller that he needed to show authorities
the handgun he wanted to register, and allow it to be test-fired, as
part of the registration process. The adviser, Dane von
Breichenruchardt, president of the Bill of Rights Foundation, a
public-interest group, said that Heller owns at least two handguns - a
45-caliber semiautomatic pistol and a .22-caliber revolver - and that
the weapons have been stored for years with a friend in Maryland.
Although officials said that gun owners in Heller's situation can bring
legally owned revolvers from other jurisdictions into the District to
register them, von Breichenruchardt said he had told Heller not to do so
without written assurance that it was permissible.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/17/AR2008071700621.html?hpid=moreheadliness
..Dick Heller, whose legal challenge prompted the Supreme Court ruling,
said he would challenge new city regulations that continue to ban
District residents from owning semi-automatic weapons. "The city still
does not yet understand the decision of the Supreme Court," Heller said
from the steps of police headquarters. "We have been denied again."
..Dane von Breichenruchardt, president of the Bill of Rights
Foundation, said the city was attempting to make gun ownership as
"difficult and restrictive as possible." "We're going to be back in
court. There is no doubt about that," he said...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-07-17-gun-ban_N.htm?csp=34
Dick Heller is the man who brought the lawsuit against the District's
32-year-old ban on handguns. He was among the first in line Thursday
morning to apply for a handgun permit. But when he tried to register his
semi-automatic weapon, he says he was rejected. He says his gun has
seven bullet clip. Heller says the City Council legislation allows
weapons with fewer than eleven bullets in the clip. A spokesman for the
DC Police says the gun was a bottom-loading weapon, and according to
their interpretation, all bottom-loading guns are outlawed because they
are grouped with machine guns...
http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=74036&catid=158
The District of Columbia has made it legal for residents to own a
handgun after being so ordered by the United States Supreme Court. But
they're not making it easy. The plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that
overturned Washington's strict 32-year-old handgun ban was among the
first to arrive as the city started registering firearms. Dick Heller
showed up early Thursday at the police department, but he's still upset
with the city even after winning his case. He says its strict new rules
for handguns still violate the spirit of the court's ruling defending
the constitutional right to bear arms. They allow handguns to be kept in
the home if they're used only for self-defense and carry fewer than 12
rounds of ammunition. Gun owners can only register one weapon in the
first 90 days. Police say the permitting process could take weeks or
months...
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2008/07/dc_bans_guns_with_red_tape_/
---
UCLA Professor Discusses Heller: ...This was an unusual
right-to-bear-arms case from the beginning. Not only was it
top-down-driven legislation, but also they sought out very sympathetic
plaintiffs. Among the original plaintiffs this includes not just Dick
Heller, who was a security guard who carried a gun during his day job
but wasn't allowed to bring it home with him or protect himself at night
with a firearm - a sympathetic figure, a responsible, law-abiding
person. But there were also other sympathetic figures, such as one gay
plaintiff who claimed that on a previous night the plaintiff had been
surrounded by skinheads and, were it not for brandishing a gun in
defense, the skinheads might have done violence to or hurt the
plaintiff. So, sympathetic victims, to be sure.... That was a very smart
strategy...
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/ii_20080715_4338.php
---
Heller's Future in the Lower Courts: ...The repudiation of this
extensive body of case law suggests that the real test of Heller will
occur once the lower courts, traditionally hostile to an individual
rights interpretation of the Second Amendment, face the inevitable
follow-up cases challenging other restrictive gun laws. Experience with
other seemingly groundbreaking Supreme Court decisions in recent years,
such as United States v. Lopez, suggests that lower-court foot-dragging
may limit Heller's reach, though this time around there will likely be
considerably more scrutiny and more vigorous litigation efforts.
http://colloquy.law.northwestern.edu/main/2008/07/hellers-future.html
---
Another Chicago Suburb Amends Handgun Ban: Evanston aldermen unanimously
voted to amend the city's 27-year-old handgun ban last week at a special
closed-door meeting in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision
that struck down a similar ban in the District of Columbia. The Supreme
Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that laws requiring handguns in homes to
be disassembled and outfitted with trigger locks are incompatible with
the gun rights accorded under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.
On June 26th, the day after the ruling's release, the National Rifle
Association sued numerous cities that ban the private possession of
operative handguns, including Chicago, Morton Grove, Oak Park and
Evanston. After weeks of consideration and consultation with the police,
Evanston city council members authorized a resolution that would rewrite
the ordinance to comply with the Supreme Court ruling...
http://media.www.dailynorthwestern.com/media/storage/paper853/news/2008/07/17/City/To.Avoid.Nra.Suit.Aldermen.Vote.To.Amend.Gun.Ban-3391932.shtml
---
Savage to BATFE - See You in Court: A gun expert who alleges the U.S.
government is retaliating against him for his testimony on behalf of a
man sentenced to prison after his gun malfunctioned now has challenged
the feds to go ahead and confiscate one of his own products. "Your
suggestion for forfeiture of company property is an excellent solution
to this most unfortunate controversy. The initiation of forfeiture
proceedings by ATF against the firearm serial number V1, will afford the
opportunity for both parties to be heard and will provide a fair and
equitable determination of the issues while preserving all processes
that are due for both parties," Len Savage, owner of Historic Arms LLC,
wrote in a document prepared for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives...
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=69910
---
Mother Jones Assaults Rifles: ...Another loophole was created for the
sks semiautomatic carbine, developed in 1945 for use by the Soviet army
until it was replaced by the more rugged AK-47. The Bush administration
reclassified the sks as a "curio," adding it to the atf's list of such
weapons, most over 50 years old and considered collectors' items, that
are automatically authorized for import. However, the atf reported in
2002 that the sks was "the rifle model most frequently encountered by
law enforcement officers" and noted that the guns "are capable of
penetrating the type of soft body armor typically worn by law
enforcement officers." Since being added to the atf's curios list, the
sks has become one of the cheapest assault rifles on the market--less
expensive, at between $89 and $250, than most handguns...
http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2008/07/outfront-bush-to-cops-drop-dead.html
---
Die in the Streets: ...The only two reasons for a citizen to own a
firearm are for hunting or defense of the household from intruders. In
either case, ownership of a handgun, shotgun or rifle is more than
adequate to satisfy these purposes. There is absolutely no need for any
U.S. civilian to own any weapon more powerful or sophisticated than
these. Accordingly, all handguns, shotguns and rifles must be licensed
and registered to the degree necessary to match weapon to owner at the
click of a computer key. Furthermore, if we had prohibited the purchase
of more sophisticated weapons, several innocent victims would not have
died at restaurants, universities and shopping malls.
http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/letters/296573
---
Oops, Wrong Press Conference: Three journalists were injured in
southwest China when a gun went off at a press conference called by
Chinese police to highlight the success of a gun-control campaign, state
media said. The press conference took place in Nanchong in Sichuan
province to publicize the results of a campaign by the city's police to
seize illegal weapons, the Beijing News reported. One of the police
officials mishandled a homemade weapon, releasing the trigger and
dropping it to the ground. It was unclear from the report whether the
gun contained bullets or shotgun pellets but it said one local
journalist needed surgery after being hit in several areas of the body
including his ankle, crotch, and chest.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=606&icid=2&d_str=20080718
---
Changing History: What would you think of a museum dedicated to the life
of Abraham Lincoln that didn't feature a single firearm? The 16th
president guided the Union through the bloody Civil War...Can a gun-free
retelling of the Revolutionary War be far behind? Will "The Shot Heard
'Round The World" be changed to "The Shout Heard 'Round the World"? Will
Lexington and Concord be portrayed not as battles for our independence
.. just spirited debates? Our Second Amendment right to keep and bear
arms is an indelible part of our history. To ignore it isn't just
politically correct, it's intellectually moronic.
http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=421
---
Tangentially Related: A man forces his way into an apartment to rape the
woman who lives there. A guy on a bicycle handcuffs and robs
pedestrians, and another gropes random women on the side of the road. In
each case, men pretending to be police preyed on victims who let down
their guard because they thought they were being stopped by real
officers. Officer impersonation is a nationwide crime, and it has
flourished in recent years with brazen criminals sometimes going to
great lengths to pull off their ruse...
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jul/18/fake-police-trick-victims/
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
