Excuse Me While I Get My Gun: ... Much hinges on what counts as a
"reasonably perceived threat." If you're awakened in the middle of the
night by a crash, may you carry a loaded gun with you as you
investigate? Evidently not. The Washington Post reports that D.C.'s
acting attorney general, Peter Nickles, "said residents could neither
keep their guns loaded in anticipation of a problem nor search for an
intruder on their property." According to Nickles, if you see an armed
criminal charging your home, or in the event of "an actual threat by
somebody you believe is out to hurt you," you're allowed to get your
gun, unlock it, and load it...
http://reason.com/news/show/127686.html
---
NRA Presses Democrats on DC Gun Law: The National Rifle Association is
putting the election-year squeeze on conservative Democrats, demanding
that they buck their leadership to support a bill to erase more of the
District of Columbia's gun laws. Democratic gun rights supporters will
risk losing their A-plus rating if they don't sign a discharge petition
to be filed Wednesday bringing the gun-rights bill directly to the
floor. It will be the first time in more than 20 years that the NRA has
"scored" a discharge petition in determining the grades it gives
lawmakers before the November election, said spokesman Andrew Arulanandam...
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/dems-pressured-on-guns-2008-07-22.html
---
Robert Levy on Heller's New Paradigm: ...A few observations: First, the
so-called Heller paradox depends on demonizing the gun lobby. That
bogeyman may be rhetorically useful for Henigan, but it wasn't the gun
lobby that filed the lawsuit, picked the right time, provided the
lawyers, identified the issues, selected the plaintiffs, chose the
venue, decided on the legal strategy, wrote the briefs, argued in court,
and won the case. The NRA can speak for itself, but our goals were not
grounded on wedge issues or a cultural base. First and foremost, our
interest was to ensure that the D.C. government complied with the text,
purpose, structure, and history of the Second Amendment. For us, Heller
was about the Constitution; guns merely provided context...
http://www.cato-unbound.org/2008/07/22/robert-a-levy/looking-ahead-to-hellers-new-paradigm/
---
Chicago Plans Lawsuit Defense: City officials will meet with their
lawyers this week to discuss how to defend Chicago's strict handgun ban
from legal attacks in the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision
overturning a similar ban in Washington, D.C. Corporation Counsel Mara
Georges and other members of the city's legal department will address
the issue at a joint meeting of the Committee on Police and Fire and the
Committee on License and Consumer Protection on Thursday... The Court's
ruling did not address whether the Second Amendment protections it said
were violated by the D.C. ban would apply to local and state governments
as well, a factor which could work to maintain the ban's legal standing,
Fioretti said...
http://www.chitowndailynews.org/Chicago_news/Defense_of_citys_gun_ban_to_be_focus_of_hearing,15266
---
Chicago Suburb Expected to Repeal Handgun Ban: The village board in
north suburban Wilmette Tuesday is expected to repeal the community's
handgun ban...The ban has not been enforced since last month's U.s.
Supreme court ruling affirming individual gun ownership rights under the
Second Amendment. Repeal of the 19-year-old ban is being done quietly,
in stark contrast to the intense debate that marked its 1989 passage and
subsequent enforcement. No one indicated a desire to speak on the ban
when the repeal ordinance was introduced two weeks ago, either from the
public or on the board... Levin said he predicted the High Court's
ruling as far back as 1971. "The Supreme Court's ruling brings any gun
control ordinance into question," he said...
http://www.wbbm780.com/Wilmette-Expected-To-Repeal-Handgun-Ban-Tuesday-Ni/2643057
It's a Done Deal:
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/wilmette/news/1069850,wi-handgun-072308-s1.article
---
Don Kates on Felons and Firearms: ... The high-court opinion vindicated
the constitutional right of ordinary, responsible law-abiding adults to
have a handgun to protect their families, homes and themselves. It also
flatly stated that this right does not apply to criminals. Federal and
state laws against convicted felons having guns are still valid: The
Second Amendment protects a right of self-defense for "good" people
only...In sum, the constitutional right to arms simply does not extend
to people convicted of serious criminal offenses. By "serious," I refer
to the early common law - under which felonies were real wrongs like
rape, robbery and murder. Unfortunately, modern legislatures have added
a host of trivial felonies. For instance, in California an 18-year-old
girl who has oral sex with her 17-year-old boyfriend has committed a
felony. The courts should rule that conviction of such a trivial felony
can't deprive such a "felon" of her right to arms. But the fact remains
that people who have been convicted of serious criminal offenses have
thereby lost their rights under the Second Amendment. They are subject
to our laws against felons possessing firearms. (Don Kates probably
represents the most liberal wing of the RKBA community. I see no plan in
his commentary for distinguishing "trivial" and "serious" felonies.
Arizona, historically, has distinguished violent and non-violent
felonies, with those convicted of the latter being eligible for
restoration of the RKBA; the FBI, who runs NICS, has recently rejected
such restoration.)
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07222008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/gun_rights_for_felons__120908.htm
---
Mississippi Congressman Want Airport Gun Ban: The chairman of the House
Homeland Security Committee says he might pursue new gun restrictions in
response to a recently enacted Georgia law that could allow people to
carry concealed firearms in parts of the Atlanta airport. Apparently
surprised that some airports long have allowed guns in unsecured areas,
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said the new Georgia legislation
represents a significant hole in national security and a threat to
travelers...TSA spokesman Christopher White said Tuesday that no federal
prohibitions apply to areas outside security checkpoints and that the
agency follows local regulations. He said he didn't know how many
airports allow firearms and declined to say whether the agency has a
position on the matter, maintaining that it is focused on keeping guns
from getting through security...
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jul/22/lawmaker-wants-no-guns-at-airports-cites-ga-law-1/
---
Another Lesson from Israel: For the second time in three weeks, an Arab
bulldozer driver from east Jerusalem rammed his construction vehicle
into a city bus and several cars on a central thoroughfare in the
capital on Tuesday, wounding 15 people before being shot dead by a Druse
border police officer and a civilian passerby...The carnage quickly
ended when a passing driver shot the assailant dead. The motorist, Yaki
Asa-El, 53, from the Sussiya settlement in the Southern Hebron Hills,
jumped out of his car and shot Abu Tir through the window of his
bulldozer. A former company commander in the Armored Corps, Asa-El was
talking on his speaker phone with his son when he came upon the
attack...In contrast to the previous bulldozer attack in the capital, a
border police officer who rushed to the scene then quickly "verified"
that the assailant was dead, shooting at him from the ground and then
from close range. (Rep. Thompson, take note.)
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1215331056523
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7519404.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/world/middleeast/23israel.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin
---
Surprise - Minnesota's Streets Don't Run with Blood: ... It has been
five years since lawmakers approved a measure allowing easier access to
handgun permits. With the permits issued the first year set to expire
this year, area sheriffs' offices are seeing a rush of residents seeking
to renew them... Should residents be concerned about handgun permit
holders? Local authorities say no. Rochester Police Chief Roger Peterson
said the July Fourth incident is the only case he can recall since the
law was passed where a crime was linked to the handgun permit law. "I
think the fears and concerns didn't materialize, and I don't think (the
law) has had a significant impact on crime, frankly, one way or the
other," Peterson said...
http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=352688
---
Massachusetts Governor Provokes Gun Owners: Many hunters and gun owners
were shocked to learn that last Sunday Gov. Deval L. Patrick filed a
supplemental appropriations bill for fiscal year 2008, which, if passed,
would greatly affect their pocketbooks and indirectly infringe on their
second amendment rights. Four sections of the bill would drastically
increase the cost of certain firearm licenses. Two sections would affect
lawfully licensed firearm dealers by increasing their license fees from
$100 for three years to $250. It also adds a $100 inspection fee in
years two and three of the license. This would now turn a $100
three-year dealer's license into a $450 three-year license. Another
section would increase a resident License to Carry fee from $100 for six
years to $200 for six years. Another section would increase a
non-resident LTC fee from $100 for one year to $250 for one year...
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_9956598
---
Ohio Open-Carry Incident - Follow-Up: Brian Ballenger, law director for
Northwood, followed through on his promise to contact us this week to
continue working to resolve the Northwood Incident. In a phone call with
me yesterday, he again confirmed that his office is aware that open
carry is legal, and that he has communicated that information to the
Northwood Police Chief. Ballenger also reiterated that no charges were
going to be filed against OFCC member Edwin Farbrother, an obvious fact
since he broke no law. However, he repeatedly stated that he advises
against open carry to avoid panicking citizens who may not be aware that
such an action is legal (although I pointed out that the last two people
"panicking" were off-duty police officers)...
http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/4029/83/
---
Prohibitionist Knocks Heller Revolver: When last heard from, Smith &
Wesson was gaining public attention from their marketing of a
high-powered revolver that could penetrate the body armor most commonly
worn by America's law enforcement personnel. Now the company is working
to wheedle its way back into the news cycle with the announcement that
they're producing a "commemorative" snub-nosed "lightweight carry
revolver" celebrating the recent Supreme Court decision in District of
Columbia v. Heller. Highlighting the gun industry's insularity and
ubiquitous tin ear for irony is the fact that a portion of the profits
from the handgun's planned sale in the fall will go to the Second
Amendment Foundation - an organization founded by Alan Gottlieb, a
convicted felon who at one time lost the ability to possess guns. (He
later regained the ability to own guns through the now-defunct federal
"relief from disability" program, a multi-million dollar program that
re-armed convicted, often violent, felons, at taxpayer expense.) (I
think the operative term here is "ad hominem.")
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-sugarmann/smith-wesson-snubs-police_b_114348.html
---
Oops, Wrong Store: A would-be robber picked on the wrong victim in
Manheim early Tuesday, according to police. Kevin Smith, 19, of
Lancaster City was shot twice in the chest and died hours later at a
local hospital. The botched holdup occurred just after 5 a.m. when two
men followed the operations manager of Power Pro Battery into his
office. Police said knowing he was about to be robbed, the manager
pulled out his own handgun, turned and fired twice, hitting one of the
robbers. The other man got away. Police are now trying to learn who he
is and where he might be. Investigators said they believe the manager
acted in self-defense...
http://www.wgal.com/news/16950588/detail.html
---
Close But No AK-47: The two students arrested at Pinole Valley High
School on Friday following a six-hour lockdown of the campus are
suspected of bringing an AK-47 assault rifle to school, Pinole police
said Monday. The male students, whose ages were not released, both were
arrested on suspicion of possession of an illegal assault weapon,
possession of a machine gun, bringing a firearm onto school grounds,
being a minor in possession of live ammunition, being a minor with a
concealed weapon, being a minor in possession of a firearm with prior
conviction, a probation violation and marijuana transportation. Both
have previous gun and ammunition possession arrests or convictions on
their records, police said. Despite the charges and contrary to earlier
reports, no gun or ammunition was found on the students or recovered at
the school, Pinole police Cmdr. Pete Janke said...
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_9951979
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
