comments in () by Stephen Wenger
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Hayes Loses at Supreme Court: In spite of its recent support for an
individual right to bear arms, the Supreme Court today adopted an
expansive reading of the federal law that bans possession of firearms
by those who have been convicted of felonies or of "a misdemeanor
crime of domestic violence." he meaning of the phrase about
misdemeanors was the issue in United States v. Hayes, decided by a 7-2
vote in a decision available here… Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
writing for the majority, said the 4th Circuit's approach would
"frustrate Congress' manifest purpose" in including domestic violence
crimes among the crimes that would result in loss of firearms. "If the
Fourth Circuit were right in its analysis of the controlling
legislation," Ginsburg said in announcing the ruling from the bench,
"Congress' enactment would have been a dead letter in the majority of
states from the very moment of its passage." Congress added the
domestic violence provision in 1996…
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/02/second-amendment-absent-in-supreme-court-gun-ruling.html
http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/02/24/court_upholds_conviction_in_guns_case?page=full
http://www.dailymail.com/News/200902240224
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/24/AR2009022403423.html
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From GOA: An amendment to repeal the onerous gun ban in the District
of Columbia may come to the floor of the Senate as early as tomorrow,
Wednesday, February 25. Senator John Ensign (R-NV) plans to file the
amendment to the so-called D.C. Voting Rights Act. After the landmark
Supreme Court ruling in Heller striking down Washington's gun ban as
unconstitutional, the city council passed a gun control law that was
almost as restrictive as the old one… In addition to protecting Second
Amendment rights in the District of Columbia, a vote on the Ensign
amendment is an important test for your two Senators. Many of the
provisions in the existing D.C. gun law are also on the wish list of
the anti-gunners. A vote on repealing the D.C. gun ban will be a good
indication of how the Senate will vote on other gun-related issues… It
is vital that you contact your Senators in support of the Ensign
amendment because GOA is the only group that has announced it will
score this vote…
http://gunowners.org/a022409htm.htm
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Advice to Gillibrand: What should Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand do about
guns? As a two-term U.S. representative from upstate New York, she had
a perfect pro–Second Amendment voting record. A week ago, she admitted
to Newsday that she kept two rifles under her bed for family defense.
This has not sat well with the gun-prohibition crowd, although when
Newsday put the question to a reader vote, 97 percent did not mind her
owning guns for this purpose… Before she makes further concessions to
the gun-prohibition lobby, she might consider what happened to the
last politician who caved in to McCarthyism. The 1994 elections were a
Republican landslide; afterwards, President Clinton observed that "the
NRA is the reason Republicans control the House." Among the freshman
Republicans of the NRA landslide was Dan Frisa of Long Island. He
campaigned and won as a pro-Second Amendment candidate…
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MjYxMTZmMzI3OThiNGVlMzYxYmQ2Mzk2MGQ0Mjk5NDM=
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The Microstamping Threat: Every so often a new buzzword strikes a
chord with the anti-gunners, and the one they're pushing now is
microstamping. Microstamping itself isn't new, it was developed over a
decade ago. But now, those seeking new avenues to restrict gun rights
are turning to it as a means to accomplish their goals. Microstamping
is a patented process of engraving a serial number on the tip of a
firing pin. When it functions properly, the number is stamped onto the
primer of a cartridge when it is fired. Gun control advocates claim
this will lead to making it easier to solve gun crimes and restrict
gun trafficking. They don't mind the myriad flaws with the technology,
only that it will help to discourage law abiding gun owners and drive
up the costs associated with firearms ownership…
Open Carry Defended: Recently, I was doing an interview with an NBC
affiliate in Texas regarding the initiative to decriminalize open
carry in that supposedly gun-friendly state. I was discussing the fact
that, despite Texas' nationwide reputation as a bastion of rugged
individualism, they are in fact, out of line with the vast majority of
states where individual gun rights are concerned. During the
interview, the anchor asked me the question "What do you say to those
2nd Amendment supporters who oppose open carry?" I have been asked
this question before and had always answered it by talking about the
political and public policy benefits of open carry. However, it
suddenly occurred to me that the question, as asked, made absolutely
no sense. My answer, paraphrased for brevity, was "If you are a 2nd
Amendment supporter then you are, by definition, a supporter of open
carry because open carry is the right that the 2nd Amendment is
enumerating!" …
Colorado State University to Clarifiy Policy: The Faculty Council at
Colorado State University recently announced it would reword the
student conduct policy to clarify that students with a valid permit
are allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus. The current policy
states that CSU prohibits the, "use or possession on University
property of firearms or simulated weapons; other weapons such as
blades larger than pocket knives; ammunition or explosives; dangerous
chemicals, substances or materials; or bombs or incendiary devices
prohibited by law. Use of any such item, even legally, in a manner
that harms, threatens, or causes fear to others [is prohibited]." CSU
is one of 11 universities in the U.S. that allows students with
permits to carry concealed weapons on campus, along with Blue Ridge
Community College and public schools in Utah…
Alaska Senator Co-Sponsors Reciprocity Bill: In an effort to secure
the rights of individuals to lawfully carry concealed firearms across
state lines, Sen. Mark Begich is co-sponsoring the Respecting States
Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. Currently, Sen. Begich is
the only Democrat of the 19 senators co-sponsoring the legislation
that allows an individual to lawfully carry a concealed firearm across
state lines if they have a valid permit or, if under their state of
residence, they are allowed to do so… (While the intent of this sort
of bill is noble, my fear is that it can open the door for federal
standards in the issuance of state permits.)
http://alaskareport.com/news19/x61981_weapons_begich.htm
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Ohio Prohibitionists Continue Attack on Utah Reciprocity: If the
12-hour required class to get an Ohio concealed weapons permit seems
too burdensome, take the Utah course. It takes about four hours and
you don't have to leave Ohio or fire a gun. In 2004, Ohio signed a
reciprocity agreement with Utah so the two states honor one another's
CCW permits. Toby Hoover, of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence,
said Ohio's 12-hour training requirement is not too much to ask… Ohio
issues permits to Ohio residents, 21 or older, who pass a criminal
background check, complete 12 hours of training - including two hours
of shooting - and meet other requirements. Utah issues permits to
adults who pass a background check and complete a course, according to
Utah Department of Public Safety Lt. Doug Anderson… (Arizona was faced
with residents opting for three-hour Utah courses in place of 16-hour
Arizona course and changed its law so that out-of-state permits are no
longer valid or Arizona residents. Of note, when the Arizona mandate
dropped from 16 hours to eight hours, the application rate for Arizona
permits doubled.)
http://www.western-star.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2009/02/23/ddn022309ccw1a.html
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Arkansas Bill Would Make CCW Confidential: ARCCA has learned that a
bill will be filed Wednesday by Representative Stewart to protect the
privacy rights of Arkansas Concealed Carry holders from further
abuses. The Bill will be modeled after the Tennessee Bill. This is a
good bill, it makes gun-carry permit records confidential and levies
fines for publishing them. As soon as we have a number for the bill
and a link I'll put it in this post as an update so you can read it…
http://www.arkansascca.org/blog/index.php?content=detail&id=277
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California Grand Jury Supports Anti-CCW Sheriff: The Orange County
grand jury has a message for county supervisors, gun rights advocates
and everyone else who disagrees with Sheriff Sandra Hutchens' plan to
reduce concealed weapons permits: "Let the sheriff do her job." That's
the title of the grand jury report to be released today, according to
a confidential copy obtained by The Orange County Register. Hutchens
has spent months arguing with local lawmakers and gun advocates over
her plan to make it tougher to get gun permits…
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/permits-gun-policy-2316575-hutchens-grand
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Rule Three Reminder: A retired St. Paul police officer was wounded
Saturday when a pistol belonging to an off-duty Minneapolis police
officer accidentally discharged at a gun show. Both men were working
security at the Minneapolis Gun Show at the Minneapolis Convention
Center when the accident happened about 1:15 p.m., said Minneapolis
police spokesman Sgt. Jesse Garcia. The semi-automatic pistol went off
when the holster got caught on a chair that the Minneapolis officer
was either leaning back on or getting off of, Garcia said… (Rule
Three: Keep your finger [and other objects] out of the trigger guard…
until your sights are on the target and you're prepared to fire.)
http://www.twincities.com/ci_11761848?source=most_viewed
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Rule Five Reminder: Police in Florence are still investigating the
fatal shooting of a 9-year-old boy and haven't concluded who shot him,
a spokesman said Monday. Florence Detective Walt Hunter said the boy's
father and a 2 1/2-year-old brother were in the house in north
Florence - about 45 minutes southeast of Phoenix - when the shooting
occurred. Hunter said no one else was injured. According to Hunter,
authorities received a 911 call about 10 minutes before noon Sunday.
Hunter said the children's mother was at work. The boy's identity was
not released immediately. Hunter also said family members have been
interviewed and the gun's origin was being investigated. (Rule Five:
Maintain control of your firearm. As the following articles point out,
it's not always black and white with regard to youngsters.)
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/02/24/20090224florence0224.html
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Protecting Children…: … "But surely," some might say, "you don't
oppose taking whatever measures are necessary to keep guns out of the
hands of children--do you?" Actually, I do. No--it's not that I want
to create an army of child soldiers, or even that I am any less
horrified than anyone else by school shootings, or by the rare but
horribly tragic incidents of children finding guns and accidentally
shooting themselves or someone else…
Yesterday, St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner Kurt Hofmann wrote a powerful
piece entitled, "'Protecting' children … from the ability to defend
themselves" in which he discussed the plight of the Carpenter family.
On August 23, 2000, Jonathan David Bruce broke into the Carpenter home
and, armed with a pitch fork, brutally attacked the four children at
home alone, killing two. Although the children were trained in the use
of firearms, the family's guns were locked away in compliance with
California law…
Swiss Army Could Lose Home-Storage of Weapons: Switzerland's part-time
soldiers could lose their famous right to store their weapons at home.
A coalition led by the country's Social Democrat party and the Greens
has collected nearly 120,000 signatures to force a national referendum
on whether the weapons should be stored at military bases. The
coalition of 74 groups says the weapons are involved in too many
suicides and murders in the country and tighter controls are needed.
Switzerland's armed forces consist of just a few thousand permanent
full-time staff, with the rest essentially a militia. Service in the
militia is compulsory for men aged between 19 and 31 and in between
call-ups they store their weapons at home. There are currently around
220,000 conscripts. However, a 2007 law change banned the storage of
ammunition in homes. The coalition is looking to extend this, control
the purchase of military weapons and set up a national gun register.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/02/24/switzerland.gun.army.referendum/index.html
