No Clear Sign from Ninth Circuit: A divided federal appeals court
wrestled Thursday with potentially the most important gun case in its
history, a dispute over a firearms ban at the Alameda County Fairgrounds
that has expanded into a constitutional battle over state and local
authority to regulate gun possession. Some judges on an 11-member panel
of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appeared to agree with
gun-rights advocates that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear
arms, recently interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court to protect an
individual's right to own guns, is binding on states and can be used to
challenge the county ordinance. Others noted that the high court has
never overturned its own 19th century rulings that said the Second
Amendment applies only to the federal government. And one judge
suggested the court should uphold the ordinance as a valid public safety
measure without deciding the constitutional issue... But Chief Judge
Alex Kozinski suggested that the Supreme Court had discarded its 19th
century rulings when it started applying other Bill of Rights
protections to the states in 1929... (List members may wish to read a
quotation from Kozinski at
http://www.spw-duf.info/quotes.html - if you
type Ctrl + F and enter "kozinski," your browser will take you to the
end of the quite, then you can scroll up to the beginning.)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/24/BA0119S7I5.DTL&tsp=1
En banc arguments in a controversial gun rights case were animated
Thursday, but don't be surprised if the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals sits on this one for awhile. A federal appellate court in
Chicago said in June that the Second Amendment should not restrict state
gun control laws until the Supreme Court rules that the right binds the
states. The high court is scheduled to make up its mind next week about
whether to grant cert. "That may well give us an answer, and there would
be no need for us to decide this case," 9th Circuit Judge Stephen
Reinhardt said. Judge Susan Graber also wondered aloud at another point
whether the circuit needed to rule on the constitutional issues... The
9th Circuit appeared split on how far to go with the Second Amendment.
Liberal stalwart Judge Harry Pregerson lambasted gun show attorney
Donald Kilmer Jr., asking whether there would be more guns in California
if Kilmer's side prevailed...
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202434067803&hbxlogin=1
Update 9/24 9:31 p.m.: The Ninth Circuit has just handed down a one-page
order delaying consideration of this case until the U.S. Supreme Court
decides whether or not to hear the lawsuits arising out of Chicago and
New York state. The justices are scheduled to discuss those cases on
September 29, and are likely to announce their decision soon after...
But whether the Second Amendment applies to states remains an open
question. It may seem like an odd one: After all, the First Amendment
starts out by saying "Congress shall make no law," but the Supreme Court
has interpreted that language to prevent states (and even state
universities) from suppressing political speech. The Fourth Amendment
has been interpreted to restrict state police from conducting
"unreasonable searches," and while the right to an abortion is not
clearly found anywhere in the U.S. Constitution, the 1973 Roe v. Wade
decision struck down a Texas law on constitutional grounds. So if much
of the rest of the Bill of Rights applies to state governments - a
concept called "incorporation" - why not the Second Amendment as well? ...
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/09/24/taking_liberties/entry5338307.shtml
---
The Beat Goes On: Patrick Jones has trouble keeping ammunition supplies
on the shelves these days. "Everything is hard to get, especially
certain calibers," said Jones, owner of Action Pawn in Killen.
Ammunition continues to be in high demand, some 10 months after
President Obama's election and eight months into his term. Jones said
380- and .32-calibers are especially difficult to find. The Obama
administration has not proposed anti-gun legislation, but a fear of such
action remains among many gun enthusiasts. "That's what I'm hearing
people worry about, that the president will cut the supply off," Jones
said. "They're afraid it will be taxed more. A lot say they are getting
it for personal protection... I'm lucky to be able to get some types,"
said Lee Smith, owner of the Gunrunner in Florence. "Any revolver
cartridges are hard to come by. It's never been like this before." Smith
recalls sales increasing during the mid-90s, on the heels of the Brady
Bill...
http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20090924/ARTICLES/909245029/1011/NEWS?Title=Regulation-fears-spur-gun-owners-to-increase-stock
---
The Desired Effect: Cabela's recently circulated a letter stating that
if Governor Schwarzenegger doesn't veto pending legislation in
California, Cabela's will no longer sell ammunition to California
customers. Cabela's has no retail outlets in California. California
Assembly Bill 962, which Schwarzenegger must veto by October 11, states
that ammunition can only be sold "in a face-to-face transaction."
Cabella's has been shipping to California customers via remote
transactions (internet, phone, etc.) A source at Cabela's declined to
say how much ammunition normally ships to California, but said they have
"many good customers" there. The only good news is that this ammunition
will be redirected to states which still recognize that the Second
Amendment is about functioning firearms: guns with ammunition. So there
may be some easing of the persistent shortage elsewhere... AB 962 won't
stop drug gangs-which have established, successful smuggling conduits
into the state - from simply adding ammunition to their shopping lists.
The United Kingdom, surrounded by ocean, has seen an increase in "gun
crime" since enacting a nearly-total gun ban in 1997. It's hard to see
how California can secure its borders better than the UK... (AB 962 will
not only terminate ammunition purchases by Californiana from Cabela's
but from all mail-order sources.)
http://www.examiner.com/x-2879-Austin-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m9d24-Cabelas-No-more-ammunition-for-California
The California Association of Firearms Retailers (CAFR) and the National
Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) - the trade association for the
firearms and ammunition industry - are urging Gov. Schwarzenegger to
veto three anti-gun bills in the state. The governor will have until
October 11 to veto the bills: ammunition registration (AB 962),
regulations that duplicate existing requirements under federal law
governing the sale of firearms (SB 41), and prohibitions on the lawful
sale of firearms and ammunition at the Cow Palace exhibition center (SB
585)... AB 962 would require that firearms dealers and other vendors of
ammunition keep a registry of all buyers of handgun ammunition. The bill
would also ban all mail order and Internet sales of handgun ammunition
and reloading components. SB 41 would further burden firearms retailers
by requiring additional paperwork and documentation on the date of
delivery of all firearms to a buyer... SB 585 would prohibit the lawful
sale of firearms and ammunition at the Cow Palace exhibition facility
near San Francisco, located in Agricultural District 1-A, and would make
a violation of that prohibition a crime. Its purpose is to ban gun shows
at the Cow Palace and to set a precedent for the banning of all gun
shows at other state-owned facilities where many sportsmen buy firearms
and ammunition. In California all firearms bought and sold at gun shows
must be transferred through a federally licensed firearms retailer who
is required under federal and state law to run a background check on the
prospective buyer.
http://www.gunreports.com/news/news/CAFR-NSSF-California-Gun-Laws-AB-962-SB-41-SB-585_1541-1.html?ET=gunreports:e531:183810a:&st=email
Related Commentary:
http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m9d24-Will-Gov-Schwarzenegger-sign-ammo-control-bill
---
More Infringements, More Crime: The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence publishes an annual scorecard, rating states on their gun
control laws (e.g., one handgun purchase per month, ballistic
fingerprinting, requiring a permit to purchase a gun, no concealed carry
law, workplace ban). A previous article noted that as Brady 2007 scores
increased, so did violent crime. Depending on which side of this issue
you stand, the news has only gotten worse... Brady tends to ignore
Washington, D.C., which consistently has the highest violent crime rate
in the country. (It's included here because it has a larger population
than Wyoming, and enough autonomy to enact its own gun control laws,
like any state.) This is curious, because Brady always promotes D.C. gun
control laws. For example, Brady filed a brief supporting continuation
of the D.C. gun ban during the Heller case. Brady's scorecard contains
detailed criteria for determining a state's score: Washington, D.C.
would have scored around 95, higher than any state, due to the fact that
it has the strictest gun laws in the country. For example, D.C. has
mandatory reporting of stolen guns, and requires ballistic
fingerprinting when registering a gun. In 2008, this closest
representative of Brady's gun control Utopia had 3.2 times the violent
crime rate and 5.9 times the murder rate than that for the rest of the
country...
http://www.examiner.com/x-2879-Austin-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m9d24-Brady-Campaign-2008-state-scorecard-Higher-score-more-crime
---
Cleveland's Crime Rate Continues to Drop: The overall crime rate
continues its four year decline in Cleveland despite the City's efforts
to overturn state gun laws and once again take gun rights away from
residents. While criminal on criminal violence still continues to be a
problem (mostly gang and drug related), the average citizen has become
increasingly safer in the city over the last four years, which roughly
coincides with efforts at the state level to expand concealed carry and
gun rights in general. As citizens become increasingly able to protect
themselves and thwart the efforts of criminals, those criminals have
shifted their focus to property crimes such as burglary and theft.
Meanwhile, Cleveland continues in its lawsuit against the state of Ohio
(opposed by the National Rifle Association and Ohioans For Concealed
Carry) attempting to circumvent statewide preemption of gun laws so that
it may once again impose stringent restrictions upon gun ownership...
http://www.examiner.com/x-2206-Cleveland-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m9d24-Crime-rate-drops-while-Cleveland-tries-to-kill-golden-goose
---
Twisted Logic: New laws granting employees the right to keep guns in
their vehicles at work raises the risk of every company's worst
nightmare - an active shooter at work. Find out what you need to know -
and what you need to do - about these new laws in just 90 minutes as our
expert faculty examines Guns at Work: Planning for an Active Shooter &
Adapting to New Workplace Weapons Laws. In light of today's heightened
threat of a rampage shooter, this program will provide critical
information about the steps all companies must take to reduce the
threat, improve response, and provide effective emergency notification.
Now that more than 30 states have concealed carry laws on their books,
the burden is on employers to be proactive if they wish to lawfully
restrict guns on their premises. At the same time, some state laws
include privacy stipulations, making it illegal to even ask employees -
or customers or invitees to the company, who also are covered - whether
they have firearms in their cars... (If people who wish to commit
murders are not constrained by laws against murder, why would they be
constrained by laws and company policies regarding bringing firearms to
work?)
http://www.ioma.com/webinars/1299.html
---
What's the Point?: Last February I explained how, counter intuitively,
the DC City Council's 2008 action to repeal the DC Police Chief's power
to issue handgun carry permits made it possible for DC residents to
apply by mail for handgun carry permits from Pennsylvania Sheriffs.
Such applications can be made by filling out a simple form, no
fingerprints, social security numbers, or training required. And these
permits are accepted by many states too. But while applying for gun
carry permits is now easy for DC residents, DC's onerous gun
registration laws makes it hard to acquire a gun. If you don't believe
me, read Christian Davenport's recent article in the Washington Post
about his gun acquisition odyssey as a DC resident... So for
entrepreneurial and mobile DC residents, many of whom already maintain a
residence in another state, or easily could do so, buying a gun without
jumping through a bunch of hoops is really not that hard. What remains
difficult however, at least until Congress repeals DC's onerous gun
registration scheme, is legally bringing that gun to your DC home (or
the Big Apple, if that is where you hang your hat). (As I recall, Dick
Heller already owned at least one handgun, stored outside DC, and his
plea to the court was to let him register it so that he could bring it
into the District.)
http://www.examiner.com/x-2782-DC-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m9d24-How-DC-residents-can-buy-guns-without-registration
---
Utah Could Tighten CFP Requirements: Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday
that he is open to tightening up Utah's concealed weapons permits to
potentially give the state more oversight of those who receive a state
permit to pack a gun. "I think we need to protect the Second Amendment,
that's for sure, and Utah should stand tall in that regard," Herbert
said during his monthly KUED news conference. "That said, I don't want
to be a wholesale clearinghouse for anyone who comes to Utah who we
don't have the ability to track ... and then they go outside our borders
and conduct themselves inappropriately." So far this year, the Bureau of
Criminal Identification has received more than 57,000 applications for
concealed weapons permits, and is on pace for a roughly five-fold
increase from 2006. And, for the first time, the state issued more
permits to out-of-state residents than to Utahns in the last budget
year. Utah's concealed weapons permit is honored in 33 states, although
Nevada recently stopped recognizing Utah's permit because Utah does not
require a live-fire test in order to receive a permit...
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13414251
---
Park-Carry Stance Affects Tennessee Gubernatorial Race: Bill Haslam's
rivals for Tennessee's Republican gubernatorial nomination are finding
ammunition in the Knoxville mayor's position on guns. Senate Speaker Ron
Ramsey of Blountville and U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp of Chattanooga, both vocal
supporters of gun rights, are targeting Haslam's support for a Knoxville
City Council vote earlier this week that keeps in place a ban on
handguns in city parks, playgrounds and sports fields. "Once again Mayor
Haslam comes down on the wrong side of our Second Amendment rights
guaranteed in the Constitution," Wamp said in a statement. The state
Legislature this year passed a law that allows handgun carry permit
holders to bring their weapons into city and county parks. But the law
gives local governments the power to opt out. About 70 cities and
counties have decided against allowing people with permits to go armed
in local parks...
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/sep/24/092409webgunreax/
---
Oops, Wrong House: A Lexington [KY] man is behind bars after police say
he tried to break into the wrong home overnight. A man says he was
taking a shower early this morning at his home on West Fourth Street,
when he heard something just outside his house. He told police he went
around to check it out, and saw a man trying to break in through a
window. That's when the homeowner grabbed a gun and held the would-be
burglar at gunpoint, while he called 9-1-1. Police later caught up with
and arrested Donovan Campbell. He's now in jail, charged with burglary.
That homeowner runs a business out of his home, and he says he was tired
of being broken into, so he decided to put a stop to it.
http://www.wtvq.com/news/273-would-be-burglar-stopped-by-homeowner.html#
Meanwhile, in Tennessee...: A woman in Mount Juliet got a scare this
week when a man broke into her home while she was in the shower. The
intruder quickly ran out, but the woman grabbed her gun and shot at his
car. Police arrested Franklin Fish a short time later. The woman
identified him as the burglar. Detectives believe Fish is wanted for
several other home break-ins. (The use of deadly force in this situation
seems questionable.)
http://www.wsmv.com/news/21107209/detail.html
---
Rule Five Reminder: The accidental shooting death of a 2-year-old girl
in Vacaville [CA] serves as a reminder to parents of the importance of
gun safety. The National Rifle Association set out guidelines for
parents in order to educate their kids about guns. But Lincoln Rifle
Club President Leonard Zick said it's not just the children who need
that education. "If you don't have the working understanding of
firearms, just the fact that you have a firearm in your house is not a
smart thing," Zick said. Lincoln Rifle Club member Martin King said he's
owned guns practically his whole life. "My dad used to let me put a gun
on my bike and ride out to the country and shoot it," King said. But
firearm safety is paramount, he said. In addition to keeping his guns
locked in a safe, King also taught his children about gun safety from a
very early age. "Small children should be taught if there's a gun in the
house they should be taught, that it's not a toy," King said. (Rule
Five: Maintain control of your firearm. This does not mean that all
firearms must be locked in safes but, if a firearm is kept loaded for
defensive purposes, it is best kept on the person of a responsible adult.)
http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=67561
---
Some Thoughts on Self-Defense: ...The primary uses of firearms are
recreation and self-defense. Relatively few people have any issues with
firearms used for the recreational purposes of target shooting and
hunting. More people seem to have issues with firearms used for
self-defense. Every living thing on this planet is born with a natural
right to defend itself. Every bug, every cat or dog, and every human
being. Some people doubt this, at first. To those I ask, "Do you own
your body? Or do the police?" (...pause for reflection...) "If you own
your body, are you not responsible for its well-being and protection?"
Ultimately your self-defense is up to you, not your local police. You
are going to be the first person on the scene of a crime directed at you
or someone close by; not the police. In a case of violent crime
committed against you, the police are for cordoning off the crime scene
with yellow plastic tape, after the fact...
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/node/19859
---
Interesting Observation: The issue of the best SHTF gun has been worked
top to bottom, bottom to top and side to side and back again, it is
nothing new. Some will say a .22 rifle or shotgun, others will suggest
an AR-15 or some other center-fire magazine fed rifle and a few will
tell you a bolt action is the most logical choice. While they aren't
wrong - at least under certain circumstances, they fail to see the big
picture or fail to realize what really happens after a collapse. It
would seem many survivalists have been influenced by Hollywood or
writers of fiction and can't separate reality from illusion. Leave
make-believe to armchair commandos and teenage boys... In a recent study
it was found that 90% of police and civilian self-defense shooting
occurred at ranges of less than 15 feet. With 34% being from contact to
3 feet. I can't find one justifiable civilian self-defense shooting
taking place at 100 yards or beyond - if you know of a documented case
please let us know. Like any firearm, handguns are encumbered by a
number of limitations; namely low power and limited range compared to a
rifle or shotgun - but a handgun can be there when you need it and that
is most important... (I am reminded of an article by the late Skeeter
Skelton in which he argued that if could only keep one firearm it would
likely be a S&W K-22, a six-inch .22-caliber revolver. While a .22 is
not optimal for self-defense, in a survival mode, one is much more
likely to find small game, such as rabbits and squirrels, than large
game, such as deer and elk.)
http://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/2009/09/best-shtf-gun.html
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
