Heller Starts Revolver Registration, Announces Congressional Bid: ...The
registration of his revolver is not complete, but D.C. police Friday
allowed the man who successfully challenged the District's gun ban to
take the weapon home pending the required background investigation. Mr.
Heller brought his nine-shot, .22-caliber Harrington and Richardson
revolver Friday to Metropolitan Police headquarters to begin the
registration process - which included filling out forms and submitting
the gun for ballistics testing...Mr. Heller used the occasion Thursday
to announce his candidacy for the District's non-voting seat in the
House of Representatives. He is seeking to gather 3,000 signatures to
run as a Libertarian candidate against incumbent Democrat Eleanor Holmes
Norton.
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jul/19/court-litigant-awaits-handgun-approval/
..Moments later, at a reception desk set up in the lobby for
gun-registration applicants, Heller unzipped the bag for four police
officers at the counter and gingerly handed one of them the weapon: a
nine-shot Harrington & Richardson "Longhorn" model with a six-inch
barrel, designed in the style of an Old West sidearm. Heller said he
owned the revolver "way before the ban was implemented" 32 years ago.
Although the 1976 law barred new handgun registrations, residents who
owned revolvers before the ban were allowed to keep them in their homes,
unloaded and either disassembled or fitted with trigger locks. They
could not be used legally even for self-defense...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/18/AR2008071801212.html
---
Why a New Revolver Is Still Out of Reach: District residents in the
market for handguns could face a long wait - only one dealer has stepped
up so far, and his license isn't active. Charles Sykes Jr. has been
selling guns since 1994 to active and retired police officers and
security companies out of an unmarked office in Anacostia. But right now
his business, CS Exchange, is on hold because he recently changed
locations on Good Hope Road SE and his permit needs to be amended. Sykes
said the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told
him that it could be 30 to 90 days before his papers are in order again...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/17/AR2008071702680.html
---
DC Defiant on Heller Ruling: For 32 years, it was all but impossible for
law-abiding U.S. citizens living in the District of Columbia to exercise
their Second Amendment rights. When the Supreme Court last month struck
down the gun ban in the nation's capital, it also ruled that other
restrictions designed to keep people from using guns for self-defense,
such as trigger-lock requirements, were also unconstitutional. Larry
Pratt of Gun Owners of America is convinced that liberal, gun-hating
politicians in the District have no intention of allowing law-abiding
citizens to defend themselves from violent criminals. "They're making it
so that, if you're willing to crawl over glass and walk through
concertina wire, then you might be able to get a license," he says.
"But, of course, that office will only be open between 2 and 4 on,
maybe, a couple of days a week, or some such thing as that. So lots of
luck." (It sounds as though Pratt is describing New York City.)
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=182582
---
Speaking of New York City...: ...New York City has some of the strictest
gun ownership regulations in the country, according to Thomas King,
president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association. "I think
they're unreasonable," he said. "It's extremely difficult to get a rifle
and shotgun permit and near impossible to get a handgun permit." It
costs $434.25 to apply for a handgun license in the City, including a
$340 application fee and a $94.25 fingerprint fee. The New York City
Police Department says the licensing process typically takes three to
six months. King says the fees and processing time are inhibitive [sic]
and that the NYPD is extremely selective in the licensing process. But
officials say the restrictions are a necessary and reasonable deterrent
to keep guns off of the streets and out of the hands of criminals.
"Public safety and individual gun rights have nothing to do with each
other," King snapped back, citing statistics he said showed a majority
of violent gun crimes being perpetrated by illegal gun owners...
http://www.queenstribune.com/news/1216391821.html
---
The Devil Is Still in the Details: Gun-rights supporters are going to
have to come down from their post-Heller high a little earlier than
they'd hoped. There's already a considerable amount of legal maneuvering
taking place, and for much of it, a bullseye is uncertain. Most
promising are challenges to gun bans nationwide. Since the Supreme Court
struck down the capital's ban, it's almost a no-brainer to predict the
Court will strike down those in places like Chicago and its suburbs as
well...What this all means is that it's going to be a battle. D.C. has
stepped back into its role as a testing ground for various gun-control
measures. There are better things for the city to spend money on than
the defense of ineffective crime measures, but at least the Second
Amendment ball is at last rolling full tilt.
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13557
---
Heller, Felons and Guns: Twice convicted of felonies, James Francis
Barton Jr. faces charges of violating a federal law barring felons from
owning guns after police found seven pistols, three shotguns and five
rifles at his home south of Pittsburgh. As a defense, Barton and several
other defendants in federal gun cases argue that last month's Supreme
Court ruling allows them to keep loaded handguns at home for
self-defense..."Many felons may need self defense more than you and I,
but the government has extra justification for limiting that right
because they have proven themselves to be untrustworthy," Volokh said.
Judges may find it harder to resolve cases in which nonviolent
criminals, particularly those whose only offense happened long ago, are
charged with gun possession...The Supreme Court has a case on its
calendar for the fall that could indicate whether the justices are
inclined to expand their ruling...
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jul/19/guns-ruling-spawns-legal-challenges-by-felons-1/
---
Georgia "Progressive" Prefers Texas Gun Laws: ...A good comparison, and
example of what Georgia perhaps should seek to add to its array of laws
other than entering airports with firepower, is Texas. Yep, Texas of the
old Wild West and the hang 'em high reputation. For example, until this
year drunken driving was not a felony in Georgia. Convicted felons, of
course, aren't supposed to be given concealed-carry permits. In Texas,
one DUI means being barred from a gun-carry permit for five years and
two convictions means being banned for life. After all, not only are
habitual drunks unlikely to have reliably good judgment, they're also
unlikely to be able to shoot straight...
http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/680/public/news915013.html
---
Three Misguided Moms Run for Missouri Legislature: Three area women who
took part in Million Mom Marches (MMM) against gun violence are putting
their convictions to the test in this year's races for the state
legislature. All of them have a respect for the Second Amendment,
although they put the emphasis on "well-regulated" in the Constitutional
wording. All are unhappy with the 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision in
June, which they contend promotes the availability of weapons over the
safety of people..."I became furious when our state legislators tried to
ignore the people's vote in 1999 against concealed weapons," said Stacey
Newman, who is running in House District 73, which takes in northeast
Webster Groves...
http://www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com/Articles-i-2008-07-18-78330.113117_Trio_Of_Million_Mom_Marchers.html
---
Reality Show Will Film in Colorado Gun Shop: Showtime cable will use
hidden camera footage from inside a Colorado gun shop to mount a new
reality series, "Lock 'n Load," premiering in 2009. The half-hour,
six-episode series follows salesman Josh Ryan and his customers at The
Shootist, a family-owned store in Englewood with a shooting range in the
basement. A range of customers, from housewives seeking protection to
hunters, do business at the shop to the background sounds of guns firing
downstairs. The network does not intend the series to take sides in the
charged political debate surrounding gun culture. Rather, Showtime
executives stress the relevance of the show. "In light of the U.S.
Supreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment," reinforcing the right to
bear arms, "it is interesting to look at the fascination with guns in
this country," said Showtime President Bob Greenblatt.
http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_9925949
---
The New York Times Blames US for Illicit Small Arms Trade: Diplomats
from the world's governments met throughout this week on agreements to
cut the global illicit trade in small arms, but their work was curtailed
in part by the near-boycott of the meetings by the United States...The
work to date, which the State Department says it supports, has helped
spur small-arms control programs around the world, including disarmament
efforts, reintegration centers for child soldiers and the creation in
many countries of arms-brokering laws. But initiatives toward a more
comprehensive and binding agreement have been vehemently opposed by
gun-owner organizations. The National Rifle Association, America's
largest gun lobby, has labeled the process a thinly masked effort to
undermine lawful civilian gun ownership and urged the United States to
resist the measures...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/19/world/europe/19guns.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=us&pagewanted=all
---
Oops, Wrong House: Police say a man who allegedly broke into a Lakewood
(NJ) home and was shot in the head by the owner remains in critical
condition. The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office says 31-year-old Eric
Tucker of Lakewood was shot by an elderly man who confronted him when he
broke in through a kitchen window around 5 a.m. Friday. Police have not
released the homeowner's name, but say the gun used in the shooting was
registered to him and that he called 911 to report the incident. Two
other men have been arrested and charged with burglary in connection
with the break-in.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--homeshooting0718jul18,0,2955083.story
---
Oops, Wrong Apartment: One man is hospitalized after being shot during a
home burglary. It happened just after noon Thursday at the Elton Park
Apartments on Elton Road in south Jackson (MS). Police say a tenant in
Building 11 came home to find his apartment door kicked in. The resident
then approached his home and yelled for anyone inside to come out.
Authorities say when three men ran out of the apartment, the resident
started firing shots. The suspected burglars escaped through a hole in a
fence surrounding the complex. Police later found one of the culprits
hiding in a nearby culvert with two gunshot wounds. Paramedics took him
to University Medical Center, but the other two got away...Authorities
have not released the names of anyone involved, and the resident has not
been charged with a crime.
http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=8693807&nav=2CSf
---
Arizona Woman Gets Probation in Manslaughter Plea: ...McFarland told
authorities Thorn kept her naked and tied up the five days before his
death, starved her and denied her access to the restroom. She said she
overheard Thorn telling someone on the phone he planned to kill and bury
her. She was also choked to unconsciousness at one point, she said. When
she refused to overdose on medication, McFarland said, Thorn forced her
to write out a contract in her blood promising to help him kidnap, rape
and murder a prepubescent girl. After writing out the contract,
McFarland managed to get Thorn's gun. When she pointed the gun at him,
Thorn laughed and told her if she didn't shoot him, he was going to
restrain her, kill her mother, carry out his plot to kill a child and
then kill her...
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/249006
---
From Gun Week:
Inventive British homeowner runs afoul of police policies
Joe Watson-Webb, a good subject of the Queen in Great Britain, probably
would never be allowed to own a gun for defense of life and property,
and even if he could, he'd never be able to use it against burglars and
vandals who keep trespassing and burglarizing his property in
Nottinghamshire.
According to The London Daily Mail, the 70-year-old former circus
performer has had to resort to the most unusual weapon of choice to
fight back that Gun Week has ever heard of. He's built himself a
catapult, from which he plans to launch devastating payloads of chicken
manure at arsonists and robbers who are apparently causing him grief.
Now, what makes this situation really chicken - is not his choice of
"ammunition," but the attitude of the local coppers, who reportedly have
threatened Watson-Webb with prosecution should he ding with dung any
dirtbag who does him or his property wrong. According to the newspaper,
he has "pooh-poohed" the cops.
Watson-Webb built the ancient weapon out of iron, and it measures 30
feet from one end to the other. He fills the bucket every day with
chicken droppings from a nearby farm.
Nobody can claim Watson-Webb hasn't given fair warning to the "yobs"
that have been tormenting him. He has posted signs that tell of
impending unpleasantness from flying "SmartPoo."
The story has a serious side, as Watson-Webb told the newspaper, "People
all over Britain are sick and tired of feeling like prisoners in their
own homes and seeing yobs get away with it." He further insisted, "I'm
not out to kill anyone or even hurt them. I just want to keep yobs off
my land."
Further, he told the newspaper, "The police seem to be hoping I'm just
having a bit of a laugh at their expense, but they're the ones who have
lost all sense of reality....It's absolutely typical of this country
that the person whose life has been made a complete misery is the one
most likely to end up in court."
Weston-Webb reportedly has gotten "hundreds of calls" from supporters
who are weary of being victimized by criminals, and then victimized by
their own government if they fight back.
And that is really...well, you figure it out.
This article is provided free by GunWeek.com.
For more great gun news, subscribe to our print edition.
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
