Excerpts From Heller Briefs: Dozens of organizations have weighed in on both sides of District of Columbia. v. Heller, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that will consider whether the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to bear arms. Not surprisingly, the case has drawn a great number and variety of voices. The amicus, or friend-of-court, briefs have exposed some odd bedfellows, along with internal divisions among government branches. Some former U.S. Justice Department officials--including Republican Attorneys General Edwin Meese and William Barr - support Heller, while another group of former Justice Department officials - among them Clinton-era Attorney General Janet Reno - comes down on the side of the District... http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2008/03/07/excerpts-from-friend-of-court-briefs.html --- Analysis Of Heller Briefs: Several of the amicus briefs filed in support of Washington DC's handgun ban in the Heller case rely on historical arguments and documents. There is one major historical flaw in all of these briefs. It is their tendency to set aside the Bill of Rights development, nature, and context of the Second Amendment...One of the most surprising briefs is that filed by fifteen professional academic historians. Amazingly, this brief contains clear errors of fact, as well as statements of views that are directly contrary to those expressed by the primary Framers of the Second Amendment, George Mason and James Madison. http://www.secondamendmentinfo.com/DCvHeller/index.html --- When Liberals Rationalize: Professor Laurence Tribe has published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that has some folks scratching their heads bloody. In this piece, Tribe interjects his opinion on the D.C. v. Heller case about to be argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. Typical of his genus (liberis thinkeumsupremis), Tribe's piece is a splendid example of intellectual obfuscation... To Tribe's credit, he is one of the few members of the liberis caste who concedes that the Second Amendment means what it plainly says, and he does not buy into the collectivist hoax that the nation's appellate courts and their complicit main-stream media have tried to foist on the unsuspecting public. Tribe is one of the admitted liberal opinion leaders who concludes that the Second Amendment confirms the individual right to own firearms... http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/5501 --- Media Ignore Role Of Armed Israeli Student: A gun rights organization in the United States is accusing the media of trying to conceal the fact that a gunman who attacked students at Jerusalem's Mercaz Harav seminary was stopped by an armed student at the school. Authorities report that Ytizhak Dadon, 40, was a "private citizen who had a gun license and was able to shoot the gunman with his pistol," according to a statement released today by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. In its earlier reporting on the tragedy, WND confirmed, "One terrorist reportedly was shot to death by a student who was armed..." However, the gun rights organization said "the American press is downplaying his heroism because it proves that armed students can stop campus gunmen." http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=58323 http://www.ccrkba.org/pub/rkba/press-releases/israeli.student.gun.htm --- Ammo Serialization Bill Fails In Maryland: House Bill 517, Maryland's ammunition serialization bill, received an "unfavorable" status in the House Judiciary Committee and was formally withdrawn on Friday, February 29. HB517, introduced by State Delegate Emmett Burns (D-10), would have required ammunition manufacturers to encode a serial number on all ammunition for regulated firearms (handguns and "assault weapons") sold in the state and would require the registration of the ammunition to the purchaser. Only shotgun ammunition would have been exempted. All non-encoded ammunition privately possessed would have to be disposed of by January 1, 2009. HB517 would have also allowed the State Police to create an extensive and intrusive database on all ammunition purchasers, paid for by a tax of 5 cents per round. http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?id=3609 --- However, In Washington...: Legislation has been proposed in Olympia that poses a very serious threat to our Right to Keep and Bear Arms and it needs to be stopped immediately. House Bill 3359, sponsored by State Representatives Al O'Brien (D-1), Brendan Williams (D-22), Dennis Flannigan (D-27), and Jamie Pedersen (D-43), would require that all handgun ammunition manufactured or sold in Washington to be coded with an individual serial number, and entered into a statewide database at the time of sale. Encoded ammunition would be registered to the purchaser and would include the date of transaction, the purchaser's name, date of birth, driver's license number, and the serial number of the ammunition. http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?id=3490 --- While In Rhode Island...: Pending consideration in Providence are Senate Bill 2720, introduced by State Senators, Harold Metts (D-6), Juan Pichardo (D-2), and Paul Jabour (D-5), and its companion, House Bill 7834, sponsored by State Representatives Joseph Almeida (D-12), Edith Ajello (D-3), Anastasia Williams (D-9), Grace Diaz (D-11), and Joanne Giannini (D-7). Both bills seek to ban the sale of semi-automatic handguns not equipped with so-called "microstamping" technology. Microstamping is an unproven technology that would require identifying marks to be etched into the firing pin and breech face of a firearm. The technology can easily be defeated with household tools, has no public safety value, and would add substantially to the cost of the firearm. Both measures are pending in the Senate and House Judiciary Committees respectively. http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=3631 --- "Ballistic Imaging" Scam - The Canadian Connection: Despite a recent negative report on the potential value of a national "ballistic imaging" database, commissioned by the US DOJ and issued by the National Research Council, a Canadian firm has been issued a contract worth over $60 million by BATFE to support precisely such a project... The new contract marks the fifth contract between Forensic Technology and ATF marking over 15 years of continuous IBIS service. http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=829943 --- Wisconsin Still Balking At Licensed CCW: As states across the country continue to pass laws allowing concealed weapons on college and university campuses, Wisconsin shows no signs of following suit. Since 1871, the state of Wisconsin has had a ban on carrying concealed weapons. Now, it is one of only two states in the country to still have a ban on concealed carry, the other state being Illinois. Even though most states allow the carrying of a concealed weapon in the general public, almost all universities and colleges around the country have had a ban on their campuses. The Arizona state Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill last week that would allow people ages 21 and up with concealed weapon permits to carry guns on college campuses in the state. There are 15 states around the country considering similar legislation... http://badgerherald.com/news/2008/03/07/still_no_go_for_conc.php --- A Colorado Editorial On Arizona Campus-Carry Bill: Imagine a place where politicians found a way to protect students from suicidal maniacs who commit mass murder. Pretend the lawmakers enacted the measure, but only to help college kids. Younger, more vulnerable students - even little kindergartners - were left to the whims of psychotics with guns. Welcome to Arizona, where lawmakers are moving forward a bill that would restore the rights of adults to carry guns for self-defense on the grounds of state colleges and universities. Shockingly, the bill was stalled until its sponsor caved to pressure from critics to remove a provision that would have allowed faculty and administrators to carry guns at public elementary and high schools... http://www.gazette.com/opinion/gun_33876___article.html/carry_students.html --- University Regents Oppose Arizona Campus Carry: No guns on college campuses - period. That was the message the Arizona Board of Regents symbolically sent to the state Legislature on Friday when adopting a resolution reaffirming the board's longstanding policy of having the state's three universities be gun-free...."Being a country boy, I'm a big supporter of the Second Amendment," said President Fred Boice. "But there's a time and a place for everything, and the place for guns is not on campus." Regent Ernest Calderón said that he was proud to be a member of the National Rifle Association, but there was no way to know if everyone carrying a gun was a responsible gun owner. http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/78978.php --- Meanwhile, In Oklahoma...: House Bill 2513, an extremely important self-defense bill authored by State Representative Jason Murphey (R-31), has stalled in the House of Representatives. Representative Murphey's proposal establishes that law-abiding Right-to-Carry permit holders cannot be prohibited from carrying a concealed firearm on Oklahoma's public university and college campuses. Please contact your State Representative and strongly encourage him or her to protect your right to self-defense by voting for HB2513! http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=3637 --- Nevada To Consider Campus Carry: ...Nevada is one of 14 states being tracked by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence for trying to pass laws or policies that would have allowed properly trained students and teachers to bring firearms into the classrooms... During the 2007 Legislature, state Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, proposed a bill to permit teachers and other school personnel who completed firearm safety courses to carry a gun in classrooms. His proposal, prompted by gun violence by students in the Clark County School District, died in the Senate. Beers said he would have to poll members of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee before deciding if he will introduce the measure in 2009. A proposal by a member of the Nevada Board of Regents, the agency that oversees public colleges and universities, would have let employees carry firearms if they completed the same training program as police officers. That proposal, made by Regent Stavros Anthony, was voted down by the board... (Nevada's legislature only meets in alternate years.) http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080307/NEWS02/803070526/1016/NEWS --- University Of Pennsylvania Rejects Campus Carry: Despite recent discussion nationwide about allowing licensed students to carry concealed weapons on campus, Penn does not plan on changing its existing policy. The University is "absolutely not" looking into revisiting its policy, which prohibits faculty, staff and students from carrying weapons or firearms on campus or in any Penn building, said Vice President of Public Safety Maureen Rush. The sentiment is different elsewhere. The Arizona legislature is weighing a bill that would allow students and staff with concealed-weapons permits to carry their firearms on campus at public universities, and the Cornell University student government is also considering the issue... http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2008/03/07/News/Rush-Shoots.Down.Allowing.Guns.On.Campus-3257911.shtml --- Meanwhile, At Penn State...: Nathaniel Sheetz, 23, a Penn State graduate student in industrial engineering, often carries a handgun. And he can: He has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. The moment he steps on campus, however, the permit is no good. Like most other U.S. universities, Penn State prohibits concealed guns on campus, including for those licensed to carry them... He and roughly 50 to 100 other Penn State students have loosely aligned themselves with Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. SCCC, a national lobbying group that promotes the cause, has grown to include some 20,000 supporters over the past 10 months... http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/450912.html --- Home Alone, Colorado Version: A boy fired a gun and chased away a burglar who tried to break into a house north of the city this afternoon, deputies said...Dohoney fired a shot to scare the burglar off. The burglar fired one shot, ran out the door and ran from the property, deputies said. The burglar was dressed in black and wore a mask, deputies said. Deputies did not say who fired the first shot, though both were fired inside the house. No one was injured. http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=7045 --- Tough Call In Texas: The Kaufman man who shot a 15-year-old boy standing near his front window last weekend says he feared - and still believes - the teen and his friend intended to break into his house that night. W.C. Frosch, 74, rejected Brandon Robinson's contention that he and Devin Nalls, 16, innocently cut across the Frosch property on their way from Devin's home next door to check out a party down the street. Mr. Frosch says he saw what he thought were prowlers before he told his wife to call 911, retrieved his handgun and fired one shot through his front window... In declining to arrest Mr. Frosch, authorities have cited the state's "castle law." Passed last year, it gives property owners the right to use deadly force against another person in defending themselves if they reasonably believe the person is committing or is attempting to commit certain crimes. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/030708dnmetkaufmanfolo.7bcd86.html --- Vets Have High Rate Of Hearing Loss: Soldiers and Marines caught in roadside bombings and firefights in Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home in epidemic numbers with permanent hearing loss and ringing in their ears, prompting the military to redouble its efforts to protect the troops from noise... Also, much of the fighting consists of ambushes, bombings and firefights, which come suddenly and unexpectedly, giving soldiers no time to use their military-issued hearing protection. "They can't say, 'Wait a minute, let me put my earplugs in,' " said Dr. Michael E. Hoffer, a Navy captain and one of the country's leading inner-ear specialists. "They are in the fight of their lives." In addition, some servicemen on patrol refuse to wear earplugs for fear of dulling their senses and missing sounds that can make the difference between life and death, Hoffer and others said. Others were not given earplugs or did not take them along when they were sent into the war zone. And some Marines weren't told how to use their specialized earplugs and inserted them incorrectly. (It's not clear if "specialized earplugs" contain electronic circuitry to allow normal sounds to be heard or even amplified.) http://www.azstarnet.com/news/228702 --- Gun Control Is Hitting Your Selected Target: A car thief who said he didn't want to go back to jail engaged a St. Louis police officer in a gun battle Thursday that left the officer out of bullets and using his police car as a shield, police said...The officer used his police vehicle to shield himself after he fired all his ammunition, including the rounds in his gun and on his belt, police said. The car thief continued firing as he climbed into the officer's patrol car and drove away. Other officers arrived and also fired. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/63E51932E319761D862574050017D8FD?OpenDocument --- States Seek To Revive Hunting: ...Hunting is on the decline across the nation as participation has fallen over the last three decades, and states have begun trying to bolster this rural tradition by attracting new and younger people to the sport. In West Virginia, state lawmakers gave final approval on Friday to a bill that allows hunting education classes in all schools where at least 20 students express interest. The goal is to reverse a 20 percent drop in hunting permits purchased over the last decade, which has caused a loss of more than $1.5 million in state revenue over that period. At least six other states are considering similar legislation... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/08/us/08hunting.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all --- NRA-ILA Alerts: I have linked several individual alerts this week but recommend that you visit the NRA-ILA website for additional ones. http://www.nraila.org/GrassrootsAlerts/read.aspx --- Glock 21 Alert: (This comes from one of the smaller police departments in the Phoenix area.) I am sending this out to everyone that you know and let everyone know to send it to everyone they know. This is a huge officer safety issue for those agencies that carry the .45 Cal. Glock 21. Mesa PD came across a failure to fire issue with a Glock 21. The initial inspection revealed nothing. A call was made to Glock who said, 'oh you have the bad trigger bars.' Apparently Glock 21's manufactured with serial #'s EFG might have received a short trigger bar assembly. The bad trigger bar assemblies have the numbers 4256 stamped on them. The new, correct trigger bar should have the stamping #'s of 4256-1. FYI... of the guns pulled by Mesa PD, 3 more were found to be bad. Mesa PD is/has pulled all of their Glock 21's off of the road. Glock was asked to overnight ship the new trigger bars; however, they said they wouldn't be shipped until Monday 3-3-08. Please call Glock to order the new trigger bars. I am a current Glock Armorer and I was not notified; therefore, I doubt if anyone knows about the problem. Apparently Mesa called Phoenix PD and they have seen some of the same problems, but they were not notified by Glock either. Take care, Jim -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .