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Weekly Reminder: HR 45 has not even gained one co-sponsor in committee
and S 2099 died nine years ago. It is not necessary to forward the
hysterical mailings to me.
Friday, January 23, 2009
U.S. Representative Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) recently sponsored H.R. 45,
also known as "Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act."
The bill is, at its core and as its name implies, a licensing and
registration scheme.
The measure calls for all handgun owners to submit to the federal
government an application that shall include, among many other things:
a photo; an address; a thumbprint; a completed, written firearm
safety test; private mental health records; and a fee. And those are
only some of the requirements to be licensed!
The bill would further require the attorney general to establish a
database of every handgun sale, transfer, and owner's address in
America. Moreover, the bill would make it illegal to own or possess a
"qualifying firearm" -- defined as "any handgun; or any semiautomatic
firearm that can accept any detachable ammunition feeding device…"
without one of the proposed licenses.
Additionally, the bill would make it illegal to transfer ownership of
a "qualifying firearm" to anyone who is not a licensed gun dealer or
collector (with very few exceptions), and would require "qualifying
firearm" owners to report all transfers to the attorney general's
database. It would also be illegal for a licensed gun owner to fail to
record a gun loss or theft within 72 hours, or fail to report a change
of address within 60 days. Further, if a minor obtains a firearm and
injures someone with it, the owner of the firearm may face a
multiple-year jail sentence.
H.R. 45 is essentially a reintroduction of H.R. 2666, which Rush
introduced in 2007. H.R. 2666 contained much of the same language as
H.R. 45, and was co-sponsored by several well-known anti-gun
legislators--including Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.
H.R. 45 currently has no co-sponsors.
Rest assured that NRA-ILA will continue to monitor this bill closely,
and will keep you informed of any developments if they materialize.
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=4329
Friday, May 29, 2009
In the last few weeks, NRA-ILA has received hundreds of e-mails
warning us about "SB-2099," a bill that would supposedly require you
to report all your guns on your income tax return every April 15.
Like many rumors, there's just a grain of truth to this one.
Someone's recycling an old alert, which wasn't even very accurate when
it was new.
There actually was a U.S. Senate bill with that number that would have
taxed handguns - nine years ago. It was introduced by anti-gun Sen.
Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and it would have included handguns under the
National Firearms Act's tax and registration scheme. This has nothing
to do with anyone's Form 1040, of course.
Fortunately, S. 2099 disappeared without any action by the Senate,
back when Bill Clinton was still in the White House. We reported
about it back then, just as we report about new anti-gun bills every
week. Now, it's time for gun owners to drop this old distraction and
focus on the real threats at hand.
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=4925
---
More on McDonald v. Chicago: …In a 5-4 decision last year written by
Justice Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court overturned a draconian
District of Columbia gun ban enacted 32 years ago that barred private
ownership of handguns at all. Scalia wrote that an individual's right
to bear arms is supported by "the historical narrative" both before
and after the Second Amendment was adopted. The court ruled that the
Second Amendment indeed protected an individual's right to possess a
firearm unconnected with service in a militia and to use that firearm
for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the
home. But it left unclear whether the ruling applied outside the
nation's capital. The joy of Second Amendment defenders was
short-lived. A three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals
rejected subsequent suits brought by the National Rifle Association
against the city of Chicago and suburb Oak Park that similarly believe
the Constitution prevents citizens from defending themselves. That
decision was written by Judge Frank Easterbrook, and his reasoning was
fascinating. According to Easterbrook, the Revolution was fought and
independence won so that the Founding Fathers could write a U.S.
Constitution with a Bill of Rights that applied only to the District
of Columbia… (Investors' Business Daily is a staunch supporter of the
RKBA but this editorial oversimplifies the issue of whether the Bill
of Rights applies outside of DC by ignoring the Fourteenth Amendment.)
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=507886
In announcing on Wednesday that it would review a case that asks
whether individuals have a fundamental right to bear arms under the
U.S. Constitution, the Supreme Court did more than just step into a
heated debate over gun control. Although McDonald v. City of Chicago
is on its face about Chicago's ban on handguns, legal experts say it
also raises a far broader question of constitutional interpretation
that bears on how and whether the Constitution protects a wide range
of rights from state infringement. A finding that the Second Amendment
protects individuals' right to own a gun could therefore have the
unexpected outcome of also providing more solid ground for recognition
of the right to abortion, to sexual privacy, to gay marriage, and to a
wide variety of other rights that conservative justices on the court
and "originalist" constitutional scholars have long opposed. The issue
in the Chicago case, as defined in the petition to the court, is
"[w]hether the Second Amendment is incorporated into the Due Process
Clause or the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment so as to be applicable to the States, thereby invalidating
ordinances prohibiting possession of handguns in the home." …The
libertarian Cato Institute and Institute for Justice similarly wrote
in an amicus brief to the court: "the issue of the Second Amendment's
'incorporation' implicates not only the right to keep and bear arms –
important enough by itself – but the larger debate over the origin,
nature, and extent of all our natural rights and how the Constitution
protects them." …
http://washingtonindependent.com/62209/gun-case-could-broaden-legal-basis-for-wide-range-of-rights
---
Bloomberg Group Petitions Big Brother: A new report from a national
coalition of mayors urges President Obama to adopt dozens of reforms
to help curb gun violence, including steps to crack down on problems
at gun shows and the creation of a federal interstate firearms
trafficking unit. The "Blueprint for Federal Action on Illegal Guns,"
a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post, presents 40
recommendations that "would dramatically improve law enforcement's
ability to keep guns out of the hands of criminals - and, in doing so,
save innocent lives." The strategies outlined by the Mayors Against
Illegal Guns, a bipartisan group of about 450 mayors nationwide, focus
on the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The agency, which has been sent a copy of the report, declined to
comment… "The mayor's coalition created this document for policy
discussion," said Jason Post, a spokesman for Bloomberg's office.
There are no plans for public release of the document, which is being
distributed to key members of Obama's administration and agencies
affected by the recommendations. The 51-page document suggests a
handful of strategies that would tighten ATF oversight of thousands of
gun shows held annually. The study noted that a 2007 inspector
general's probe concluded the "ATF does not have a formal gun show
enforcement program." …And federal prosecutors should more
aggressively prosecute people who fail the background check, the study
says. In 2005, the FBI referred 67,713 cases to the ATF, but federal
prosecutors pursued only 135 of those cases… (What about people who
fail the NICS check erroneously?)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/02/AR2009100205150.html?hpid=topnews
---
Second Amendment March in Ohio: …We will accomplish our mission by a
peaceful march in Washington DC, the United States Capitol, supported
by satellite marches to State Capitols and smaller cities all across
America, including Ohio. Join us in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, April
10, 2010 at the Ohio Statehouse as we send a message loud and clear
that our rights are not up for negotiation and we, as Ohioans and
Americans, cherish them dearly… Leading up to the Ohio March will be a
series of Town Hall Meetings to drum up support and raise funds for
the National March. If you would like to attend or help, please
subscribe to the e-newsletter for the Ohio Second Amendment March.
Together, we can make both events a big success! We will also be
working on getting an Ohio contingent to the National March. The March
in D.C. will take place on Monday, April 19, 2010 on the grounds of
the Washington Monument.
http://www.ohioccw.org/200907204575/ohio-second-amendment-march.html
---
Open Carry Event in Wisconsin: …Gun rights activist and former Afton
resident David E. Olson of Glenwood City has announced that an "Open
Carry Tea Party" will be held the afternoon of Oct. 17, a Saturday, at
Lakefront Park in Hudson, Wis. The purpose of the event is for people
to exercise their First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly
and their Second Amendment rights to own and carry firearms, Olson
said. After holding an open carry event in Glenwood City on Aug. 23,
Olson told other media outlets that he was planning a similar event
for Hudson in mid-October. A Web site with information about the
Hudson event, www.donotinfringe.org, urges people to: "Come exercise
your liberties affirmed by the 1st and 2nd Amendments. Stand against
the path to socialism!" The logo from President Barack Obama's
election campaign is used as the O in socialism. The Web site says
"attendees are encouraged, but not required, to wear a holstered
sidearm to exercise their God-given right to self defense." …
http://www.woodburybulletin.com/event/article/id/32791/group/home/
---
Anti-RKBA DA to Run for California AG: Kamala Harris is San
Francisco's district attorney, a post she has held since December
2003. It was the first uncontested race in the city since 1991, and in
winning she became the first African American/Indian American elected
to the office… In her second term, Harris, 44, is making a bid for the
California attorney general's seat. General elections will be held
Nov. 2, 2010, after a June 8 primary… (Conspicuously absent from the
glowing but abbreviated résumé cited in this article is Harris's
authorship of San Francisco's 2007 gun ban
[http://www.sfdistrictattorney.org/News.asp?id=318], which was
predictably overturned as a violation of the state's preemption of the
regulation of deadly weapons.)
Oops, Wrong House: A pair of crooks picked the wrong Milford [MI] home
to break into. They weren't attacked by the family dog or confronted
by the police. Instead, they were confronted by a 13-year old boy.
Josh Cichy came home Friday night to two men trying to rob his house.
That's when the teen went straight for his spotlight, an airsoft
pistol and his shotgun to scare them away. Cichy says he first shined
the spotlight in their eyes then fired a warning shot. The thieves
took off running. Fox 2's Simon Shaykhet spoke with the teen about how
he defended his home. Click on the video player to the left to watch
his story. (According to the video, he fired one Airsoft pellet,
striking one of the burglars in the face, then fired a "warning shot"
into the air with the shotgun.")
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/Teen_Scares_Off_Burgulars
---
Meanwhile, in Colorado…: Matthew Volk said he was working at Edwards
Liquors Thursday when the night took a strange turn. "Next thing I
know, I see this guy come in and he's got a gun in my face," he said.
The man with the gun shouted at Volk to give him money from the
register. That's when Volk noticed the gun looked fake…. Volk said he
managed to reach down and pop the emergency alarm - right as the
robber sprayed him in the eye with mace… Volk then learned the hard
way that the robber's gun was a pellet gun. "He emptied his whole gun
on me," Volk said. "It hurt. It felt like being hit with a salt gun."
Reeling from the pellet attack, Volk reached under the counter and
grabbed a ball-peen hammer staff keep there for self-defense. He swung
the hammer once at the robber, then chased him out of the store…
Edwards Liquors owner Ken Sady said the incident marked the first
armed robbery at the store since he bought it 10 years ago… Sady said
he's thinking about getting pepper spray for his clerks at the store
at 429 Edwards Access Road, Unit A204… (Get real – pepper spray [and a
ball-peen hammer] against a robber who might be armed with a real
firearm?)
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20091002/NEWS/910029970/1078&ParentProfile=1062
---
Not a Big Surprise: A campaign warning girls not to stash or carry
guns for their boyfriends was launched by London police Wednesday. The
hard-hitting adverts, which are aimed at 15 to 19-year-olds of African
and African Caribbean heritage, are designed to combat a worrying
growth in the number of young women being arrested and convicted of
possessing weapons. "This year's campaign has been designed to tackle
an emerging and concerning trend," said Detective Chief Superintendent
Helen Ball, head of Trident, the Metropolitan Police unit that
investigates gang shootings… (Well, maybe it is a surprise that the
Metropolitan Police speak openly about the racial component of the
gang issue.)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_police_girls
---
Tangentially Related: From a variety of sources, including the novel
Unintended Consequences, many list members may be familiar with the
temporary but disproportionately successful resistance to the German
army by a small band of Jews in the Warsaw ghetto. "Marek Edelman, a
cardiologist who was the last surviving commander of the 1943 Warsaw
ghetto uprising against the Germans, died Friday in Warsaw. He was 90…
Dr. Edelman was one of a handful of young leaders who in April 1943
led a force of 220 poorly armed young Jewish men and women in a
desperate and hopeless struggle against the Germans… The fighting
continued for three weeks. On one side were 220 ghetto fighters,
hungry and relatively untrained youths deployed in 22 units. Each unit
had a pistol, five grenades and five homemade bottle bombs. They also
had two mines and one submachine gun. Ranged against them, on a daily
average, were 36 German officers and 2,054 others with an arsenal that
included 82 machine guns, 135 submachine guns and 1,358 rifles along
with armored vehicles, artillery and air power used to set the ghetto
ablaze…"
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/world/europe/03edelman.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries&pagewanted=all
