Heller, the View from the Counsel Table: ...Based on the oral argument, it is possible to identify a few of the amicus briefs that were particularly influential. As Respondent, Gura would have been foolhardy to argue that the Court's leading precedent, United States v. Miller needed to be altered in any respect. That argument was instead in Nelson Lund's excellent brief for the Second Amendment Foundation, and was apparently adopted by Justice Kennedy. Justice Kennedy's view that the militia clause of the Second Amendment emphasizes the importance of the militia, but does not limit the rights clause was supported not only by Gura's brief, but also by a careful textual analysis in the Lund brief, and by a strong historical presentation in the Academics for the Second Amendment brief, written by David Hardy and Joseph Olson... http://volokh.com/posts/1207017761.shtml --- Do I Smell a Trojan Horse?: Gun owners in Pennsylvania, which has the highest per capita National Rifle Association membership in the nation, could provide Sen. Barack Obama with a key inroad to rural white voters who have so far backed Sen. Hillary Clinton, according to gun advocates. "The gun vote matters," says Ray Schoenke, founding president of the American Hunters and Shooters Association. And in Pennsylvania, he says, gun owners who follow key Washington legislation aimed at limiting ownership are moving in Obama's direction because of his support of past legislation to prohibit the use of federal money to confiscate weapons during a disaster like Hurricane Katrina... (AHSA is an organization that masquerades as pro-RKBA. This is a perfect example of its true colors.) http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2008/3/31/its-obama-over-clinton-for-pennsylvania-gun-owners.html --- Lost-Gun Bill Defeated in Pennsylvania House: A proposal to require handgun owners to report to police when their weapons are lost or stolen was defeated Tuesday in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The 75-128 vote was a defeat for gun-control advocates who said it would have helped prevent criminals from using straw buyers to circumvent Pennsylvania's gun sales regulations. "Seventy-five is great, on one hand," Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, said afterward. "The reality is, we want to have a law on the books." Twenty Republicans voted for the measure - all from Philadelphia or its suburbs - and 81 were against it. Fifty-five Democrats supported it and 47 voted no. http://www.timesleader.com/news/ap?articleID=471906 --- Chicago Students Demonstrate Against RKBA: Twenty desks - enough to fill a classroom - sat empty in a downtown plaza Tuesday, each bearing a pair of sneakers and representing a Chicago Public Schools student killed by gunfire this school year. Several hundred more sat empty in city schools, as busloads of teens skipped classes to attend a gun-control rally - their absences sanctioned by the district, whose CEO says he's angry that too many students talk about "if" they grow up, instead of "when." ...National Rifle Association lobbyist Todd Vandermyde said he questioned whether students should be taken out of classes "to serve as cheerleaders for a political stunt." http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCj86hWW40-jiT4G8bRkXgXMRoAQD8VPBGD80 --- George Mason University Students to Discuss Campus Carry: Since the tragedy at Virginia Tech in April of 2007, the debate about whether students, teachers and faculty members should be allowed to carry guns on campus has received a lot of attention. This week, that debate comes to George Mason University. The College Republicans and Students for Concealed Carry will hold a symposium about gun ownership, personal safety and the rules for guns on campus. Monica Block, a junior and chairman of the organization, has been pushing for a policy change. http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=600&sid=1377977 --- Oklahoma Campus-Carry Bill Killed in Procedural Move: A procedural move Monday killed a bill that would have allowed military veterans and others with firearms training to carry concealed weapons on campus. The Senate Appropriations Committee was scheduled to hear House Bill 2513 on Wednesday, but the measure, which received nearly two-thirds support earlier this month in the House of Representatives, was not listed Monday on the agenda. Thursday is the deadline for bills to be passed out of Senate committees. "The bottom line is it's dead," said Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield, D-Ardmore, co-chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. (Meanwhile, unofficial reports suggest that the campus-carry bill on Arizona may be amended to require additional training, beyond that required to obtain a CWP.) http://newsok.com/article/3223647/1207030416 --- Here's a Switch: Two Tucsonans and four Mexicans were arrested in the seizure of a .50-caliber sniper rifle, handguns and 3,500 rounds of ammunition intended for use in Mexico, according to a spokesman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Tucson. Louie Garcia, assistant special agent in charge, said the sniper rifle - similar to those used by hunters - was taken by agents from a car stopped southeast of Tucson over the weekend. Agents had been tipped the car might be carrying illegal weapons... http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/81260.php --- The Appleseed Project: ...The purpose of the Appleseed Project is to raise up American Riflemen once again. The purpose is to gather a group of rifle owners - victims - on Saturday morning and turn them into Riflemen by Sunday afternoon. More than likely, this means you qualify. If you love your country and your freedom enough to cough up the sub-$100 fee, a box of .22 ammo, a couple of hundred rounds of a little longer-range ammo, and a couple of rifles (borrow a .22 and/or a longer-range rifle if you need to), you will be a Rifleman by April 21st. This April 19th there will be fourteen Appleseed Project classes spread across America. Only victims who want to change their future need apply. You can find the closest one here. Load up a group of your friends, people like you and me who talk about our loss of freedoms but don't really do much about it, and get to an Appleseed Project... http://www.lewrockwell.com/perry/perry42.html --- Pizza Driver Speaks Out: A Des Moines pizza driver who was suspended from his job after he shot an armed robber said today he has been overwhelmed by support from people who cheered what happened. "But no one had contacted me directly about a job offer," said James William Spiers III, 38, who was sent home by Pizza Hut managers after he fired multiple shots at a man who put a gun to his head Thursday and demanded money outside the Sutton Hill Apartments, 2100 S.E. King Ave...Spiers, who has a valid handgun permit, said he's been "pretty much in the dark" about his job since the incident. Vonnie Walbert, vice president of human resources at Pizza Hut's corporate offices in Dallas, said last week that employees are not allowed to carry guns "because we believe that that is the safest for everybody." http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080401/NEWS/80401028/1001 -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .