Why The DC Gun Ban Is Unconstitutional: ...The historians' Heller amicus brief begins with a look at the English Bill of Rights, which limited only the king, not the legislative branch of government. James Madison indicated during his speech to Congress introducing the Bill of Rights provisions that the comparison was inapplicable. The reason was because their purposes were different. England's Bill of Rights did not limit the legislative branch at all, while the fundamental rights protections in American bills of rights were understood as limiting all branches of government... http://www.hnn.us/articles/47238.html --- Heller Draws Top Legal Guns: Walter Dellinger estimates that when his firm, O'Melveny & Myers, briefs and argues a Supreme Court case on a pro bono basis, it usually eats up about $500,000 worth of otherwise billable hours. But when the District of Columbia called on him in early January to ask him to defend its handgun laws in the Second Amendment case of D.C. v. Heller, Dellinger did not hesitate. He said yes, even though he now estimates that the cost to his firm in lost fees will be "well over $1 million." ...On the pro-gun rights side, by contrast, the case is still being controlled by Alan Gura, a dedicated small-firm lawyer practicing in Alexandria, Va...Gura has also blocked interference from the powerful National Rifle Association, a natural ally. At an earlier stage of the case, Gura accused the association of trying to sabotage his lawsuit and elbow him aside. Now, says Cato's Levy, "whatever abrasions there were with the NRA have been healed." The NRA filed a brief supporting Gura. As for fees, Gura, too, estimates his billable hours at more than $1 million, which he hopes to extract from the D.C. government if he wins. "Defending the Bill of Rights? Priceless," he says. http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1202815245538 --- Same Tune, Different Singer: ... Clinton told an audience she supported gun rights, two days after a student opened fire on the campus of Northern Illinois University, killing five before turning the gun on himself. Clinton said she believed in getting guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill even as she favored protecting the rights of law abiding gun owners. "I've gone hunting," she said. "I know you may not believe it, but it's true. My father taught us to shoot." Clinton told reporters later she had once shot a duck in Arkansas, along with "a lot of tin cans, targets and some skeet." http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8US5AK01&show_article=1 http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2008/02/hillary-the-huntress.html --- Meanwhile, From The Other Guy...: Barack Obama said Friday that the country must do "whatever it takes" to eradicate gun violence following a campus shooting in his home state, but he believes in an individual's right to bear arms. Obama said he spoke to Northern Illinois University's president Friday morning by phone and offered whatever help his Senate office could provide in the investigation and improving campus security. The Democratic presidential candidate spoke about the Illinois shooting to reporters while campaigning in neighboring Wisconsin. The senator, a former constitutional law instructor, said some scholars argue the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees gun ownership only to militias, but he believes it grants individual gun rights. (Obama is a former board member of the Joyce Foundation, a major source of funds for prohibitionists.) http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UQTAS80&show_article=1 --- I Thought The Democrats Had Backed Off From Infringements: Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), at a news conference yesterday in Manhattan, said he and congressional colleagues plan to step up efforts to close loopholes in gun-control measures and create a federal task force to come up with national school safety guidelines. They also plan to push for congressional hearings on links between mental illness and school violence...That measure includes only "adjudicated" mentally ill patients, Schumer said. While it would have applied to Seung-Hui Cho, the gunman at Virginia Tech, it would not have revealed Illinois campus shooter Steven Kazmierczak, because he never was ruled mentally ill. (One reason I do not support federal legislation to mandate nationwide CCW reciprocity is because I believe it would eventually lead to requirements such as psychiatric screening.) http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nyskul175581386feb17,0,6040940.story --- Local Philadelphia Infringement Drive Headed To Court: The Philadelphia City Council took drastic action last year to address the tide of gun violence engulfing the city. The council passed ordinances to license firearms, reduce straw purchases, regulate ammunition sales and ban possession of assault weapons. None has become law. That's because a 1974 state law says only the General Assembly can regulate guns. Two Philadelphia City Council members want that restriction overturned. And their lawsuit against the state Legislature and the National Rifle Association is scheduled to land before a full Commonwealth Court panel next month. Pennsylvania does not permit local governments to pass their own gun ordinances. The state Supreme Court upheld the law as recently as 1996. http://www.whptv.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=353d27de-88f1-4deb-8037-56dbc0743295 --- Arm Responsible Women: ...Illinois is one of just two states that doesn't allow some type of a "concealed carry" provision for guns. After the Lane Bryant shootings, I wondered if such a law here might have saved the victims. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense that women be allowed to carry concealed weapons...It's one reason I'm proposing that women be armed. That, to me, means the vast majority of women in this country should be carrying firearms, undergoing training in responsible weapons use and sending out the ultimate "don't mess with me, fella" message... http://www.southtownstar.com/news/houlihan/796443,021708houlihan.article --- What's Sauce For The Goose Is Sauce For The Gander: I have written in the past about the BATFE's own record keeping: here and here. Since the ATF demands 100% compliance out of dealers, it is only natural to look at how their own record keeping compares. When the Department of Justice Inspector General published this report on its "review" of the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR), the findings were that ATF's records were more inaccurate than those of Federal Firearms License holders who had paid the Special Occupational Tax (SOT) to deal in National Firearms Act (NFA) firearms, such as short-barreled shotguns, machine guns, silencers, and so forth... http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2008/02/double-standard-atfs-own-record-keeping.html --- Arm Thyself: President Bush has embarked on the final phase of Pax Americana and is ushering in an advanced imperial stage that will endanger every living American. The coming election will assure us that every American will have his Second Amendment rights infringed or predated upon in some fashion no matter which party succeeds (is there a difference except the spelling?). ... I want to offer a bare-bones primer on how to get started in amassing your personal armory (contrary to what the government says, an arsenal is where weapons are manufactured) and using the weapons you obtain. I have a military background that spans two decades, shoot competitively and currently instruct tactical firearms so I have left the armchair a few times... (There is some useful information interspersed among the libertarian ranting.) http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig4/buppert8.html --- Gun Show Misinformation: ...Nw he sells guns strictly out of his shop, Ron's Gun Repair and Sales Inc., which means he must possess a Federal Firearms License (FFL) - even though a large percentage of vendors at gun shows are not licensed, nor are they required by law to be. As private collectors selling from their own collection, federal and state law does not define them as a dealer "engaged in the business of selling guns." "A lot of individuals (at gun shows) sell more guns than dealers," Greenwell said. "People off the street don't want to do the paperwork." For dealers, "a lot of paperwork has to be done to sell legally," he said. "(Individuals) sell to each other and out the door they go." (Unless guns shows in Indiana really differ from those in Arizona, most vendors hold FFL's. BATFE has charged many individuals across the country for routinely selling firearms at gun shows without being licensed, when they were able to prove that they were not merely selling off their own collections. Gun-show vendors are not necessarily licensed in the county where the show is conducted - they may even have crossed state lines to attend a particular show.) http://www.news-tribune.net/homepage/local_story_047193424.html?keyword=leadpicturestory --- Speaking Of Vendors Crossing State Lines...: Porter County resident John Hamilton has come to the annual Dunes Rifle show for the past few years. "I like to see what's available," said Hamilton, lined up in the entranceway of the Porter County Expo Center on Saturday. About 2,000 people are expected to attend the show, which continues today. The event drew 150 venders from Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Kentucky, said George Horton, executive officer of the Dunes Rifle and Pistol Club of Northwest Indiana. http://www.post-trib.com/news/798495,vrifle.article --- I Guess It Took A While For This News To Cross The Border: ...Since late 2005, 5.7 X 28 mm weapons have been appearing in the hands of Mexican criminals with increasing frequency. In many cases, the weapons have appeared among other armaments in weapons caches seized by authorities. In other cases, the weapons have been used in crimes, including murder of police officers...Only two firearms use 5.7 X 28 mm rounds - the FN Five-seveN semi-automatic pistol and the FN P90 submachine gun. The FN Five-seveN is a lightweight, polymer-frame pistol designed to be a backup weapon for a urban combat, special operations, or law enforcement. The P90 is a compact, lightweight, semi-automatic/automatic carbine designed for urban or jungle warfare. A semi-automatic-only version, the PS90, is available for public sale. (Two types of 5.7x28mm ammo are sold in the US - a restricted armor-piercing round and a non-restricted round. I am aware of one incident, March 25, 2006, in which an FN Five-seveN pistol may have been fired at American police officers.) http://www.cjimagazine.com/node/13 --- If At First You Don't Succeed...: Millions of Britons will be subjected to routine metal-detector screening under a crackdown on knife crime. It is understood the police will make use of collapsible arches, small enough to be taken in the boot of a car, for use wherever there are fears that knives are present. Mobile police units will be issued with hundreds of hand-held scanners - or "wands" - to check revellers for weapons on the streets. (One definition of insanity is repeatedly doing the same thing and expecting different results. Knives can be manufactured or improvised from non-ferrous materials. When knives are outlawed, only outlaws and outlaw cops will have knives. A while back one of John Farnam's American students reported that he had traveled to Britain without realizing that his lock-back folding knife was illegal there and, when he attempted to enter a building with a metal detector, had lost the knife to a police officer who was obviously taking it for his personal use or collection.) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/18/nknife118.xml&DCMP=EMC-new_18022008 --- When Guns Are Outlawed...: Gunmen killed 12 people, including three police officers, in a Sunday night assault on a small town in Guyana, authorities said. It was the second major attack blamed on gangs in recent weeks. Police said men dressed in military fatigues and armed with assault rifles invaded a police station and made off with ammunition and weapons in the southwestern township of Bartica... http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Guyana-Violence.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin --- Tangentially Related: With the Republican nomination all but secured, John McCain's attention will soon turn to the vital choice of running mate for the November presidential election. As Washington begins one of its favourite guessing games, the Arizona senator has refused to divulge any names. But aides have admitted that Tom Pawlenty's will be near the top of the shortlist. Aged 47, the Minnesota governor will provide a youthful contrast to the 71-year-old war veteran, and is only a year older than Barack Obama, the Illinois senator who is the narrow Democrat favourite. As a conservative, he will help Mr McCain convince the party's base that their causes will not be ignored. Although he will wrap up the nomination soon, Mr McCain still has to persuade Right-wingers to forget his support for immigration and campaign finance reform in Congress and to put their shoulder behind his candidacy. (Like former Texas governor George Bush, Governor Pawlenty readily signed a long-awaited shall-issue concealed-carry bill in Minnesota.) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/18/wuspols218.xml Related Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/us/politics/18mccain.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1203348769-kW7+aMSjslRAlGWJfiOhXA --- Gun Laws Author In Online Chat This Evening: Alan Korwin, the author of "Gun Laws of America," will answer readers' questions in an online chat at 6:30 p.m. today. With proposed Arizona legislation to allow concealed weapons on school campuses and yet another school shooting - Thursday at Northern Illinois University - the discussion is timely. At least a couple dozen more bills are under consideration during the current legislative session, both to expand or restrict gun rights. Readers can add their questions now at azstarnet.com/special/gunchat - or return this evening to join the hour-long, moderated conversation. http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/225593 -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .