Heller Decision Expected This Week: ...If the ban is overturned, it will probably be a few weeks before it takes effect in the city, said Clark Neily, an attorney for plaintiffs seeking to overturn the handgun ban. If the city loses, the District could ask for time to adjust D.C.'s law from an outright ban to regulations that meet the court ruling, which could take weeks or months, said District officials who declined to comment on camera. City officials said they're prepared for any ruling but upholding the ban would be a victory for citizen safety. Some attorneys said a broad ruling upholding the law could tempt other jurisdictions to toughen their gun laws - but not without a major political fight. The Supreme Court also could return the case to lower courts for more arguments. http://www.nbc4.com/politics/16689571/detail.html --- Scalia Writing Heller Decision?: ...Thomas Goldstein, a Supreme Court advocate who runs a must-read blog for court-watchers called ScotusBlog, plays a bit of a parlor game in trying to figure out which justice is writing which decision. By his reckoning, which you can read here, Justice Antonin Scalia is likely writing the controlling opinion in the D.C. gun case. That, of course, is bad news for those who who favor strong gun control restrictions. Scalia is likely to take a more absolutist stance on the Second Amendment than say a more moderate justice such as Anthony Kennedy or even Samuel Alito. Which means if Scalia is writing the opinion, you can pretty much bet your bottom dollar that the gun-ban will be overturned... http://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dws/txcn/houston/stories/khou080623_tnt_joehornlatest.304e1ae1.html Related Commentary: http://hotair.com/archives/2008/06/23/too-good-to-check-scalia-writing-the-majority-opinion-in-the-upcoming-second-amendment-case/ --- Seattle Mayor Exploits "Gun-Show Loophole": Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, behaving like the would-be ruler of a "city state," has decided to ignore Washington's longstanding firearms statute regarding the legal carry of concealed handguns by licensed private citizens on city property...Nickels believes he has found a "loophole" in the state statute, thanks to a Washington Supreme Court ruling last year. That ruling dealt with the city of Sequim's ability to regulate a private gun show on public property, but that case did not address licensed concealed carry - only the regulation of a commercial enterprise. How odd that a man who has loudly complained about a so-called gun-show loophole would now be exploiting what he believes to be such a loophole... http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/368086_beararms24.html --- Pressure Scuttles West Virginia City Gun Ban: The Ranson City Council is expected to abandon efforts to pass a proposed ordinance that would ban firearms from city-owned property due to pressure from gun rights groups. Groups such as the National Rifle Association and the West Virginia Citizens Defense League have sent letters to city officials decrying the proposed ordinance and have threatened to take action should the council attempt to pass it. "I think it's enough to say that we've heard from the interested parties - without being specific about who the interested parties are - and we feel that it is probably in our best judgment to forgo any further action relative to this situation," Ranson Mayor A. David Hamill said Monday. http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/507941.html?nav=5006 --- Thousands of Texans Petition for Open Carry: Despite the Lone Star State's love affair with the gun, there's at least one firearms restriction that some Texans want lifted. Texas is just one of six states in which handguns can't be worn in plain view. The other 44 states, in the parlance of gun advocates, are known as "open-carry" states. More than 3,500 people have signed an online petition asking Gov. Rick Perry and the Legislature to permit Texans to wear their handguns without concealing them. The Texas Citizens Defense League supports the petition, which requests that people who legally buy handguns be allowed to carry them openly, except in places prohibited by law... (While I tend to favor concealed carry for tactical reasons, legalizing open carry lessens the risk of being prosecuted for unintentionally exposing your firearm.) http://www.nbc5i.com/news/16685864/detail.html?dl=headlineclick --- Where Have I Heard This Name Before?: Amid concern about the growing popularity of look-alike guns, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has been asked to investigate safety issues, deaths and other incidents related to the firearms replicas. The investigation was requested by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) after a Washington Post report Sunday that detailed confrontations between police and teenagers using the realistic-looking BB and pellet guns, some of which are known as airsoft guns... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/23/AR2008062302483.html --- Grand Jury Still Weighing Joe Horn Case: A Harris County grand jury was back at work Monday, trying to decide if Joe Horn should face charges for shooting two suspected burglars. Horn opened fire on the men in Pasadena in November, killing them after he saw them breaking into the home next door. Horn claims the shooting was in self defense, but autopsy reports indicate the men were shot in the back. http://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dws/txcn/houston/stories/khou080623_tnt_joehornlatest.304e1ae1.html --- More Tennesseans Licensed to Carry: Sometime during the course of your day, someone with a loaded weapon probably is near you. And those are just the legal weapons. Nearly 8,000 people in Hamilton County have valid concealed weapons permits, records show, allowing them to carry loaded firearms just about anywhere. Applications for Tennessee carry permits statewide have skyrocketed over the last five years, increasing from 237 in 2003 to 195,251 in 2007. Applications more than tripled between 2006 and 2007, records show... http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/jun/23/chattanooga-packing-licensed-heat/?local Related Video: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/jun/23/video-training-gun-owners/ --- Miss Tennessee Packs Heat: She's a daddy's girl. But don't think this year's Miss Tennessee is a pushover. Ellen Carrington, 21, who was crowned Miss Tennessee on Saturday night, has a concealed weapons permit. "I have a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber," Carrington told reporters on Sunday, "(with a) silver top and black body." A Jackson native and senior at Union University, Carrington decided to get the permit because she was spending a lot of time traveling to and from Nashville at night. She said spending time at shooting ranges with her father, Pat, helped create an even deeper bond between the two... http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=59868&catid=2 --- M4's Days May Be Numbered: Perhaps the single most exciting thing that happened at NDIA International Infantry & Joint Services Small Arms Systems Symposium 2008 - away from the firing range, of course - was a confrontation between Jim Battaglini (Retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. James R. Battaglini) of Colt Defense and U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Mattes, the director of the Comparative Test Office for the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Advanced Systems and Concepts, while Col. Mattes was giving a speech and promoting the idea of an open competition to determine the best infantry/assault carbine that can be supplied to U.S. military infantry warfighters. Specifically, the purpose of the competition would be to determine whether or not the Colt M4 Carbine is still the best carbine solution for our warfighters, and if there might be a better (i.e. more reliable and combat-effective) carbine out there [sic] M4... http://www.defensereview.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1144 --- The Plot Thickens: An American ambassador helped cover up the illegal Chinese origins of ammunition that a Pentagon contractor bought to supply Afghan security forces, according to testimony gathered by Congressional investigators. A military attaché has told the investigators that the United States ambassador to Albania endorsed a plan by the Albanian defense minister to hide several boxes of Chinese ammunition from a visiting reporter. The ammunition was being repackaged to disguise its origins and shipped from Albania to Afghanistan by a Miami Beach arms-dealing company... (Albania was China's main client state during the Sino-Soviet split so I don't find it surprising that there would have been large supplies of Chinese ammunition there.) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/washington/24arms.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .