Support For Parker Appeal: The Washington Post applauds DC's decision to risk an appeal to the US Supreme Court. "As a matter of public safety and public policy, we support the District's gun control regime (sic). We believe that compelling public safety concerns allow regulation of weapons even if a right to bear arms is recognized." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/18/AR2007071802316.html A Contrary Opinion From The Left: http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/07/gun_control_adv.html Chief Justice Roberts Grants Appeal Extension: http://www.scotusblog.com/movabletype/archives/2007/07/gun_owners_urge_1.html An Overview Of The Case: http://www.gurapossessky.com/parker_vs_dc.htm --- Guns Don't Kill People...: Prediction: The violent crime rate in Chicago is about to rise. Sure, the above prediction is about as surprising as saying "Katie Couric's ratings will continue to drop," but it will probably turn out that way. Why is the Chicago violent crime rate about to go up? Because there are bureaucrats trying to make it go down. That's right, in Chicago it's time for another futile at best, counter-productive at worst, gun buyback program... http://mensnewsdaily.com/2007/07/19/guns-dont-kill-people-idiotic-laws-and-naive-politicians-do/ Daley Throws A Hissy Fit: http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/local_story_200184031.html --- Partial RKBA Victory In Illinois: ...During his May 2006 trip to CherryVale Mall in Cherry Valley, Kranish put the 15-round magazine into a separate pouch on the holster, where he could easily reach it if necessary. Kranish, 21, picked up some tea for his mother, ate pizza at the food court, then noticed two security guards warily following him. Taken into custody, he was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a felony. Earlier this week, a Winnebago County judge dismissed the charge in a ruling that gun advocates hailed as a victory for 2nd Amendment rights in Illinois. Advocates for gun control say the ruling spotlights the need for the legislature to close a legal loophole. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northshore/chi-gunbelt_20jul20,1,1738740.story?ctrack=1&cset=true --- The Boston Globe Columnist Details Illegal Straw Purchase: Twenty months ago, a lifetime in columnist time, I wrote in this space about going to a gun show in New Hampshire. The idea was to see how easy it would be to buy a handgun just across the border from Massachusetts, which has some of the toughest gun laws in the country. The answer: not very hard at all... http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/07/20/the_atf__me/ --- Hogwash From Philadelphia: Article repeats propaganda and sound bites from a prohibitionist seminar at the University of Pennsylvania. (All the information I have seen over two decades indicates that the lethality of gunshot wounds in the US has been declining from around 25 to 20%, as emergency medical treatment improves. When I went to school that was not the same as three out of ten people dying before they even reach the hospital. Of further note is the inclusion of this material in the sports section, a growing trend in the propagation of left-wing doctrine in American journalism.) http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/penn/8618657.html --- Another Look At The Tiahrt Victory: When the Tiahrt Amendment passed the House Appropriations Committee, it meant that law enforcement can continue to use ATF trace data to prosecute criminals, and people like Mike Bloomberg can't use it to try and harass law-abiding gun owners and gun sellers. http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=274 --- From GOA: The gun issue has been in the news a lot lately, despite the strange silence coming from Capitol Hill on the status of the McCarthy bill (HR 2640). Many Senators on the Judiciary Committee are being kept in the dark as to when the legislation will start moving. But The New York Times seems to have let the cat out of the bag this week when an editorial indicated there would be Senate hearings on the bill very soon. The Times ability to glean this information is probably related to the close relationship that their editorial writers have, no doubt, with New York's Chuck Schumer, who is the primary backer of the bill in the Senate... http://www.gunowners.org/a071907.htm --- Illegal Open-Carry Arrest In Virginia: A lawsuit is being prepared in the case of a man arrested in Norfolk, who is charged with violating a local ordinance, which violates state law, for openly a firearm at a city festival... Two other law-abiding gun owners, one black and one white, were each harassed TWICE by the Norfolk Police recently. Both were simply open carrying. (I am not a fan of open carry under most circumstances, if concealed carry is a legal option. However, rights, like muscles, tend to wither if not used.) http://www2.vcdl.org/webapps/vcdl/vadetail.html?RECID=1746595 --- Rule Four Reminder: A Peoria AZ man was arrested after what authorities described Thursday as a reckless exchange of gunfire with a man who broke into his home. One of the rounds blasted through the wall of a house across the street, endangering four adults and three children inside the home, police said. The shooting suspect, Luis H. Olivas Jr., 24, admitted that he fired through a bedroom window with closed curtains, said Mike Tellef, a Peoria police spokesman. (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it.) http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0719gl-peoinvade0719-ON.html --- Tangentially Related: Yesterday's mailing included an article about the resignation of Baltimore's police chief, in the face of an epidemic of drug-related murders in that city. It now appears that the resignation was requested by the mayor, who is also seeking a local registry of "gun offenders." http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070720/METRO/107200075/1004 -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .