Supremes to Hear McDonald v. Chicago: The Supreme Court on Wednesday
said it will decide whether the right to own guns for self-defense,
announced by the court last year when it struck down the District of
Columbia's ban on handguns, also covers states and other cities with
gun-control laws. The landmark decision in Heller v. District of
Columbia did not address the question of whether the Second Amendment
extends beyond the federal government and federal enclaves like the
District. The case the court accepted Wednesday concerns the city of
Chicago, which bans most handguns... Alan Gura, the Alexandria lawyer
who successfully challenged the District's law, sued the city of
Chicago, which has a handgun ban virtually identical to Washington's,
plus other restrictions. Ruling in that case, the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the 7th Circuit said only the Supreme Court can decide whether the
Second Amendment applies. That was the same position a panel of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit took in a Second Amendment
challenge to a New York state law. The panel included Sonia Sotomayor,
who will now apparently be able to decide the issue as the Supreme
Court's newest justice... (Actually, the case was District of Columbia
v. Heller. Parker, Heller, et al. had already won at the Court of
Appeals and DC decided to gamble on an appeal to the Supremes.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/30/AR2009093001723.html?hpid=topnews
..The court said it will review a lower court ruling that upheld a
handgun ban in Chicago. Gun rights supporters challenged gun laws in
Chicago and some suburbs immediately following the high court's decision
in June 2008 that struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia,
a federal enclave. The new case tests whether last year's ruling applies
as well to local and state laws. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
upheld ordinances barring the ownership of handguns in most cases in
Chicago and suburban Oak Park, Ill. Judge Frank Easterbrook, an
appointee of President Ronald Reagan, said that "the Constitution
establishes a federal republic where local differences are to be
cherished as elements of liberty rather than extirpated in order to
produce a single, nationally applicable rule. Federalism is an older and
more deeply rooted tradition than is a right to carry any particular
kind of weapon," Easterbrook wrote. Evaluating arguments over the
extension of the Second Amendment is a job "for the justices rather than
a court of appeals," he said. (Since English legal philosophers have
long recognized that self-defense is Nature's first law, Easterbrook's
assignment of historical priority to federalism sounds a bit suspect.)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/30/high-court-look-local-gun-control-laws/
..Since the 1st Amendment begins with the words, "Congress shall make
no law respecting" such matters as an "establishment of religion" or
"abridging the freedom of speech," it was understood originally to limit
only Congress and the national government. The same was true of the
other parts of Bill of Rights. After the Civil War, the 14th Amendment
was added to the Constitution, and it says a state may not "abridge the
privileges and immunities" of citizens nor deprive any person of
"liberty . . . without due process of law." In the mid-20th century, the
Supreme Court decided, in a step-by-process, that such fundamental
rights as the freedom of speech, the free exercise of religion and the
freedom from "unreasonable searches" are part of the "liberty" protected
by 14th Amendment. These rulings permit constitutional challenges to
state and local laws... Lawyers for Chicago had urged the court to
reject the appeal. They said that easily concealed handguns pose a
special danger in cities. "Homicides are most often committed with guns,
especially handguns," they said, citing a Justice Department study. The
city also said that while nearly all handguns are illegal, residents are
permitted to have rifles or shotguns at home for self-defense...
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-supreme-court-guns1-2009oct01,0,5955852.story
From SAF: The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that it will hear the
case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, and decide whether the right to
keep and bear arms secured by the Second Amendment protects Americans
from overreaching state and local governments. At issue is a 27-year-old
Chicago law banning handguns, requiring the annual taxation of firearms,
and otherwise interfering with the right of law-abiding individuals to
keep guns at home for self-defense. The case was brought on behalf of
four Chicago residents, the Second Amendment Foundation, and the
Illinois State Rifle Association. Last year, in the landmark case of
District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court held that the Second
Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms. However,
as that case concerned the actions of the District of Columbia
government, a federal entity, the high court was not called upon to
decide whether the right bound states and local governments. Over the
years, almost the entire Bill of Rights has been held to apply to state
and local governments by operation of the Fourteenth Amendment...
http://saf.org/viewpr-new.asp?id=304
---
Questionable Study: In a first-of-its-kind study, epidemiologists at the
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that, on average,
guns did not protect those who possessed them from being shot in an
assault. The study estimated that people with a gun were 4.5 times more
likely to be shot in an assault than those not possessing a gun. The
study was released online this month in the American Journal of Public
Health, in advance of print publication in November 2009... What Penn
researchers found was alarming - almost five Philadelphians were shot
every day over the course of the study and about 1 of these 5 people
died. The research team concluded that, although successful defensive
gun uses are possible and do occur each year, the chances of success are
low. People should rethink their possession of guns or, at least,
understand that regular possession necessitates careful safety
countermeasures, write the authors. Suggestions to the contrary,
especially for urban residents who may see gun possession as a defense
against a dangerous environment should be discussed and thoughtfully
reconsidered... (The chances of success are certainly lower if you
settle for all the training that comes in the box with the gun but the
numerous self-defense incidents shared via these mailings certainly make
one suspect the objectivity of this "study," published in a journal with
a known hostility to the RKBA.)
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/penn-study-asks-protection-or,979178.shtml
---
Kansas Couple Offer Training: Slightly built with gray hair and kind
eyes, Kay Curtis makes candy and stained glass, and has a genteel
politeness rarely seen outside old movies. The Lenexa grandmother makes
her living with guns and self-defense training. She wants women to have
power. So does her husband, Bob, a soft-spoken soul who has spent much
of his life as a Presbyterian minister. Today Bob and Kay, a former
lawyer, are a pistol-packing pair with a federal firearms license who
make and sell their own ammo, train people how to drop a bad guy at 30
feet, and teach women how to fight. Through Equalizer Defense
Instruction & Training, a company they run from their home, the Curtises
teach state-mandated concealed-carry classes for Missouri and Kansas
residents, shooting skills and two kinds of women's self-defense courses...
http://www.kansascity.com/637/story/1477011.html
---
New Mexico City Settles Open-Carry Suit: The city of Alamogordo settled
a civil case Wednesday with Matthew A. St. John for $21,000 over a
violation of St. John's Fourth Amendment right "against unreasonable
searches and seizures," according to federal court records. St. John,
27, also had filed a claim for false arrest and battery, but the U.S.
District Court for the District of New Mexico in Las Cruces denied it.
The settlement came after U.S. District Court Judge Bruce D. Black
issued his opinion and order on Sept. 8. St. John's attorney, Miguel
Garcia, said under the terms of the settlement, the parties agree that
"the defendants were not admitting liability." Garcia said the
settlement awards St. John damages and covers St. John's legal fees...
Black wrote in his opinion and order, "the undisputed facts that Mr. St.
John's seizure and search was unreasonable." Black continued in his
opinion that "the defendants (officers) lacked a justifiable suspicion
that St. John had committed a crime, was committing a crime or was about
to commit a crime." In his written opinion, Black also stated "nor was
there any reason to believe a crime was afoot." He stated in his opinion
that the defendants simply received a report that an individual was
carrying a firearm in a location where individuals could lawfully carry
firearms...
http://www.alamogordonews.com/ci_13441455
http://www.examiner.com/x-2782-DC-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m9d29-Alamogordo-police-pay-21000-to-settle-open-carry-lawsuit
---
Oops, Wrong Truck: Police said one of two men who tried to steal a
pickup truck from a group of people gathered outside a Murray Hill home
was shot several times by a homeowner and his friend. Jacksonville [FL]
Sheriff's Office Lt. Larry Schmitt said when police arrived at the 3000
block of College Street, they found a man shot multiple times. According
to the police report, Keith Loftin was outside the home with some
friends shortly after 2 a.m. when two men asked for a ride in Loftin's
truck. Loftin said one of the men pulled a gun on them and forced Loftin
into his truck. Loftin told officers that his friend, Barry Smith, ran
into the house and returned with a gun and Loftin pulled his own gun
from inside the truck. Police said both Loftin and Smith fired at one of
the men, striking him multiple times. The man shot, identified as Jamel
Mobley, 21, of St. Marys, Ga., was taken to Shands-Jacksonville Medical
Center and was in stable condition. Police said the second man took off.
Police were still looking for him, but they have only a vague description...
http://www.news4jax.com/news/21156773/detail.html
---
Oops, Wrong House, California Version: Three suspects arrested in Sutter
County after an attempted home burglary ran into the worst of luck - a
homeowner with experience fighting off intruders. Two women and a man,
all Sacramento residents, broke into an isolated house at about 2 p.m.
Monday in the 3900 block of O'Banion Road west of Yuba City, according
to Sheriff J. Paul Parker. The owner, David Massey, armed himself with a
handgun and discovered one woman in his kitchen while the other woman
and the man fled out the back door, Parker said. The suspects got into a
Ford Explorer parked on the circular driveway outside and drove it
toward Massey, but he fired six shots toward the vehicle just before it
rolled onto its side, the 63-year-old homeowner recalled Monday night...
Massey's last encounter with suspected burglars also ended in gunfire.
On July 2, 2008, deputies arrived at his house after he reportedly fired
his handgun at a suspected burglar fleeing in a pickup and held another
alleged robber at gunpoint...
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/suspects-87065-sheriff-women.html
http://www.examiner.com/x-18149-SelfDefense-Examiner~y2009m9d29-Armed-CA-homeowner-defends-himself-against-3-burglars
---
Oops, Wrong House, Kashmir Version: A teenage girl says she killed a
militant with his own gun after insurgents attacked their home in
Indian-administered Kashmir. Three militants stormed into Rukhsana
Kauser's home in a remote village in Jammu region on Monday and started
beating her parents in front of her. Ms Kauser, 18, and her brother
turned on the gunmen, killing one and injuring two more. Police praised
their courage. One of the militants wanted to marry Ms Kauser against
her will, police said. The militants escaped and are now being sought by
police who are using their blood trails as clues... Ms Kauser said she
grabbed one of the militants by the hair and banged his head against the
wall. When he fell down she hit him with an axe, before snatching his
rifle. "I fired endlessly. The militant commander got 12 shots on his
body." Her brother, Eijaz, 19, grabbed one of the other militants' guns
and also began shooting... "I had never touched a rifle before this, let
alone fired one. But I had seen heroes firing in films on TV and I tried
the same way. Somehow I gathered courage - I fired and fought till dead
tired." ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8279929.stm
Rukhsana Kausar, 21, was with her parents and brother in Jammu and
Kashmir when three gunmen, believed to be Pakistani militants, forced
their way in and demanded food and beds for the night. Their house in
Shahdra Sharief, Rajouri district, is about 20 miles from the ceasefire
line between Indian and Pakistani forces. It is close to dense forests
known as hiding places for fighters from the Lashkar-e-Taiba group,
which carried out the Mumbai terrorist attack last November. Militants
often demand food and lodging in nearby villages. When they forced their
way into Miss Kausar's home, her father Noor Mohammad refused their
demands and was attacked. His daughter was hiding under a bed when she
heard him crying as the gunmen thrashed him with sticks. According to
police, she ran towards her father's attacker and struck him with an
axe. As he collapsed, she snatched his AK47 and shot him dead. She also
shot and wounded another militant as he made his escape. Police have
hailed the woman's bravery. They said she would be nominated for the
president's gallantry award. She may also receive a �4,000 reward if, as
police believe, the dead terrorist is confirmed as Uzafa Shah, a wanted
Pakistani LeT commander who had been active in the area for the past
four years... (I don't recall Americans receiving awards and rewards for
shooting intruders who break into our homes.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/6244076/Farmers-daughter-disarms-terrorist-and-shoots-him-dead-with-AK47.html
---
S&W Ships Walther PK380 Pistols: Smith & Wesson Corp., the legendary
157-year old firearms maker, announced that it has begun shipping the
new Walther PK380 pistol. The design of the PK380 is engineered on one
of Walther's most popular platforms, the P22. The new Walther
semi-automatic pistol delivers the power of a .380 in a lightweight,
ambidextrous firearm. Versatile, comfortable and nearly the same size as
the P22, the PK380 carries on Walther's longstanding tradition of
innovation and technical expertise... (Aside from my preference for a
more potent cartridge than the .380 ACP [9x17mm], my limited experience
with the Walther P22 would not lead me to base a serious defensive
pistol on that platform.)
http://www.ammoland.com/2009/09/29/smith-wesson-shipping-walther-pk380-pistols/
---
There's a Reason God Put Those People on an Island: When Tracy Ryan
spotted a suspected burglar emerging from the dog sanctuary where she
works, she thought she would have little problem pointing him out to
police. After all, he had a large port-wine stain on his face. But when
police set up an identity parade, they refused to take the man's
distinctive birthmark into account - in case it infringed his human
rights. An officer from the Nottinghamshire force explained that the
mark was too rare to be included in a profile of the burglar when it was
entered into a computer database. It would leave only a small pool of
potential suspects in the electronic ID parade, he said, breaking police
rules... (How much worse can it get in Britain? British subjects are
already targeted by the police when they use force against burglars.)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1216501/Mark-madness-Police-refuse-suspects-birthmark-ID-parade--sale-human-rights.html
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
