Heller Attorneys Request $3.5 Million in Fees: The lawyers who defeated
the District's handgun ban in the Supreme Court, successfully arguing
that Americans have an individual right to arm themselves, want about
$3.5 million for their trouble, according to a motion for attorney's
fees and costs filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District
of Columbia...Acting D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles, responding to
the fee petition, told the BLT, "We obviously are going to have to look
at it closely. That's a lot of money. This is not a situation where
there was a trial. Everything was done on motions. Certain kinds of work
are recognized to be appropriate and certain kinds are not." Nickles
said he was meeting with staff later today to discuss whether to
negotiate with the Gura and the others or to contest the fee petition in
court.
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2008/08/heller-lawyers.html
---
Brady Bunch Praises Obama's VP Choice: The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence praised Senator Barack Obama's choice for his vice presidential
running mate, Senator Joe Biden. "Joe Biden is a straight talker about
the need for common sense laws to keep dangerous people from getting
dangerous weapons," said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to
Prevent Gun Violence. "He has been a solid advocate for sensible gun
laws that protect our police officers and our families. I was proud to
stand with him just weeks ago in Philadelphia when he joined with our
nation's mayors in supporting tough crime fighting laws, and also last
year when police leaders urged passage of common sense measures to
protect law enforcement officers. Our nation would be well served with
Joe Biden as our Vice President..."
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/08-25-2008/0004872897&EDATE=
Tangentially Related: Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) may be best remembered for
his long tenure on the Senate Judiciary Committee - especially for the
way that he has handled judicial nominations... Liberals are pleased
with his record, especially his opposition to the recent Supreme Court
nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito... But conservatives say
that for 27 years, Biden has served as a liberal front man for attacking
conservative judicial nominees and principles - notably during the
confirmation hearings of Judges Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas...
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=34674
---
And I've Got a Nice Oceanfront Condo for Sale in Tucson..: Gun owners in
West Virginia turned their backs on Democrats in the last two
presidential elections largely over Second Amendment fears, but one
veteran hunter says none need fear a Barack Obama administration. In
fact, says add-on superdelegate Pete Cuffaro, gun rights are the least
of concerns of the Illinois senator...For the record, Cuffaro is a
card-carrying member of the National Rifle Association who hunts and
fishes, is a frequent visitor at rifle ranges and the owner of a permit
to pack a concealed weapon...
http://www.register-herald.com/local/local_story_239221904.html
---
Larry Pratt on Oklahoma Gun Dragnet: A June 8 murder of two young people
in rural Waleetka has provided the excuse for the Oklahoma State Bureau
of Investigation, or OSBI, to behave as if the Bill of Rights is an
impediment to be overcome in order to employ effective police
procedures. In their search for the killer, the OSBI sent a letter to
some 60 owners of .40-caliber handguns (the same caliber as used by the
murderer) in the community where the victims had lived. The letter
"invited" the owners to bring the guns in for testing. This letter
raises disturbing questions... (As far as I can tell, the list of
"registered owners" was compiled by visiting local dealers and going
through recent 4473's.)
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=73473
---
School Opens In Harrold TX: Along with normal first-day jitters and
excitement, students in this tiny district started school this week
wondering which teachers might be toting firearms...Mr. Thweatt said the
board took extra precautions, such as requiring employees to use bullets
that will minimize the risk of ricochet, similar to those used by air
marshals on planes... (As far as I know, Federal Air Marshals use
conventional hollowpoints. A recent discussion in Evan Marshall's
Stopping Power Forums indicates that the Glaser Silver Safety Slug gives
phenomenal performance at very close distances but offers unreliable
performance as distances extend beyond five yards.)
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/aug/27/teachers-armed-for-school/
---
No Safe Places: Recently, there were two Christian musicians who were
leaving a recording studio and were murdered for two dollars and their
car. Initially, I paid little attention to the news reports nor did I
listen to the names of the two victims. Three days later, I received an
e-mail from a woman friend who had received her CHL by taking my course
along with her son and daughter. The e-mail read, "Hi Don, my son,
Steve, was murdered Thursday. His funeral is at...."
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/5902
---
Texas DA Wants to Disarm His Assistants: Harris County District Attorney
Ken Magidson has asked the state's top lawyer if he can legally stop his
assistants from taking handguns into courtrooms despite a new law
removing most restrictions on where prosecutors with gun licenses can
carry their weapons. Magidson requires members of his staff, even those
with concealed handgun licenses, to obtain his permission, as a
condition of employment, before they can carry a firearm into a court.
He is seeking Attorney General Greg Abbott's opinion on whether he can
continue his policy, despite a 2007 law that allows prosecutors with
handgun licenses to pack their pistols anywhere except jails or prisons.
They also are prohibited from carrying while intoxicated...
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5965737.html
Related Commentary:
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2008/08/what-ken-allows.html
---
Feedback on the Appleseed Project: Last Saturday, an instructor said to
me, "Learning to be a rifleman at an Appleseed is like drinking from a
fire hose." He wasn't kidding. I spent a lot of time saying, "Huh?" and
"What am I doing?" and "Help!" But by the end of the day, I could
definitely say that I learned something...
http://thebredafallacy.blogspot.com/2008/08/american-tradition-appleseed-pt1.html
http://thebredafallacy.blogspot.com/2008/08/rifleman-persists-appleseed-pt-2.html
http://thebredafallacy.blogspot.com/2008/08/cooked-appleseed-pt-3.html
---
Oops, Wrong Tattoo Parlor: A 27-year-old man who police said tried to
torch a tattoo parlor on the city's near north side was shot and killed
by the business owner early Tuesday...Police said Shawn Deegan, the
owner of Perfection Tattoo in the 3500 block of Blanco Road, woke up to
sound of breaking glass at 2:30 a.m. Moments later, Davis tossed a
Molotov cocktail, which crashed through the window, police said. Fearing
for his life, Deegan opened fire on Davis with a shotgun, police said.
Davis was struck once in the neck and died at the scene. Charges are not
expected to be filed against Deegan, police said...
http://www.ksat.com/news/17297594/detail.html
---
The Olofson Appeal Brief - the Plot Thickens: ...On July 13, 2006,
Defendant Olofson loaned Robert Kiernicki ("Kiernicki") an Olympic Arms
AR-15-type CAR-AR semi-automatic firearm (hereinafter "AR-15") and a
supply of ammunition "to keep [his] training up and to keep the skill of
shooting" at a nearby shooting range, the Conservation Club ("the
Club"). Tr. 37, l. 8 - 38, l. 14. Kiernicki noticed the selector switch
on the rifle could be rotated to a third position, other than "safe" and
"fire." Olofson told Kiernicki not to use the "third position" for then
it would malfunction by firing a "three-round burst" and then jam up.
Tr. 38, ll. 8-21; Tr. 46, ll. 11-15. Nevertheless, at the Club,
Kiernicki "more than once," placed the weapon "in the unmarked third
position." After pulling the trigger only once each time, the firearm
shot "three rounds or maybe four ... and then it jammed" (Tr. 39, ll.
15-16), even though there was still ammunition in the gun and he had not
released his finger from the trigger. Tr. 46, l. 22 - 47, l. 8...
http://www.jpfo.org/pdf02/us-v-olofson-appellant-brief.pdf
---
Canada's East Coast Most Heavily Armed: If the federal government's
numbers are right, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are Canada's most
heavily armed citizens, but also its least trigger-happy. According to
the most recent numbers from the Canada Firearms Centre, the province
has 70,977 registered firearms. Statistics Canada's latest numbers
estimate the province's population at 508,270. That's one gun for every
7.2 people, the highest ratio of guns to people of any province in the
country. Statistics Canada's most recent numbers on gun crime also
reveal the province has the lowest annual rate of victims of
firearm-related crime in the country, with just 11.4 victims for every
100,000 people... (If the federal government's numbers are right, but
resistance to long-gun registration has probably been strongest in the
west.)
http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=165106&sc=79
---
When Guns Are Outlawed...: A man has been found guilty of turning
replica guns into live weapons linked to more than 50 shootings,
including the murder of Pc Sharon Beshenivsky. Grant Wilkinson, 34, was
convicted at Reading Crown Court of seven offences of converting and
supplying firearms and ammunition linked to eight murders. Wilkinson, of
no fixed abode, adapted replica Mac-10 guns in a shed in Three Mile
Cross, near Reading, Berkshire... ("Pc" would be "Police Constable.")
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/berkshire/7576925.stm
---
Meth Heads Posed No Credible Threat to Obama: Authorities charged three
Colorado men Tuesday with gun and drug violations but said they posed
"no credible threat" to Sen. Barack Obama, despite an investigation that
revealed they had discussed several assassination plots and possessed
high-powered rifles, camouflage and other gear that could have been used
in an assault. U.S. Attorney Troy A. Eid said the three men, who were
arrested in suburban Denver on Sunday, had been more "aspirational than
operational" in their threats and therefore did not warrant being
charged for those actions...
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/26/AR2008082603791.html
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
