A Second Amendment Reminder: ... The Bill of Rights did not create rights. It acknowledged them. Right before the July 4 holiday, it shouldn't have been necessary to remind the four Supreme Court dissenters of what Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..." The Framers of the Second Amendment did not say, "The people shall have the right to keep and bear arms." They wrote, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." http://www.townhall.com/columnists/JohnStossel/2008/07/09/the_right_to_self-defense_affirmed?page=full&comments=true --- DC "Needs" to Account for 36,000 Handguns: D.C. interim Attorney General Peter J. Nickles said Tuesday that the city needs to "get a handle on" the whereabouts of thousands of handguns that were registered in the District before its 32-year ban took effect. "The presence of guns in the District is a matter of great concern," Mr. Nickles said during a "Live Chat" session with The Washington Times. "This concern was at the heart of the handgun ban." The Metropolitan Police Department is unable to account for about 36,000 of the 41,000 handguns that were registered before the weapons were banned in 1976, Chief Cathy L. Lanier said Monday... http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jul/09/dc-needs-to-account-for-36000-handguns/ --- More on Mullenix v. BATF: ... Unfortunately for plaintiff, the Supreme Court rejected this argument in Heller. See Heller at *26 (construing United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174 (1939), to hold that "the type of weapon at issue [a sawed-off shotgun] was not eligible for Second Amendment protection"); id. ("Miller stands ... for the proposition that the Second Amendment right, whatever its nature, extends only to certain types of weapons."); id. at *27 (finding it a "startling reading" of Miller to suggest "that the National Firearms Act's restrictions on machineguns ... might be unconstitutional"); id. at *28 ("[T]he right [is] not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever...."). Accordingly, in light of Heller, the court rejects plaintiff's challenge to section 925(d), and rejects plaintiff's claim that the Second Amendment entitles him to possess the BD44 in this case... http://volokh.com/posts/1215395769.shtml --- Disney Suspends Employee for Gun in Vehicle: A new state law went on the books Tuesday saying people could bring guns to work if they kept them locked in their car. Disney, though, said it was exempt from the new law and its 62,000 employees needed to keep their guns at home. Friday, a worker who protested the park's decision told Channel 9 he was suspended. The worker was well aware that he could end up losing his job when he took the gun to work Friday morning, but said that the principle at stake means enough to him that he was willing to take the risk, especially on the day we celebrate the country and our freedoms. As he pulled into work, Edwin Sotomayor recorded Sheriff's Deputies and Disney managers waiting for him. After he refused a car search, managers drove Sotomayor to their offices, questioned him further and then sent him to his normal post. Four hours into his shift, Sotomayor says he was suspended... http://www.wftv.com/print/16792006/detail.html http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080708/NEWS/807080749/-1/RSS --- "God Not Guns" Coalition: ... A project of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the "God Not Guns" coalition includes agencies of the United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, and the National Council of Churches, along with several Jewish groups. The American Humanist Association is also a member, suggesting a very wide definition of "god" in the name of opposing gun ownership and "gundamentalism." http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=50F16307-FA00-455E-969A-80E3F0FE9E5D --- Jews Split on Firearm Ownership: ... The AJ Committee also expressed "disappointment" over the decision, adding: "Gun control protects liberty, rather than restricts it."' However, another Jewish view prevails - that of the successful side of the case (District of Columbia vs. Heller). Here, Alan Gura, lead attorney, said, "Jews, in particular, should take note. It's puzzling. Many Jews seem to prefer heavy government intervention, and it's not a good thing." Jews, he said, "often have the mistaken belief that the government is a beneficent force to always do good and help people out. Statistics indicate that gun ownership tends to reduce crime and increase public safety. Moreover, self-protection is a fundamental right," he added, "because citizens cannot always depend on the government to protect them from criminals or tyrannical rulers." http://www.jpfo.org/alerts02/alert20080708.htm --- Oops, Wrong Infant: An Avondale(AZ) man shot at armed robbers Saturday night when they tried to take his infant during a robbery, according to a police report released Monday. The Avondale family had started to unload groceries at their home near Main Street and Litchfield Road when three men approached the car with guns and demanded money. When the victim, 52, said he didn't have any cash, one robber said, "get the baby", according to Avondale Police Sergeant Memo Espinoza. The victim pulled out a handgun and the three robbers started shooting at the man and the house. The father shot back. The robbers ran away, and one was crawling on the ground as if he had been shot, according to Espinoza. The victim and baby were not hurt in the shootout... http://www.abc15.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=b619dc9c-6734-4215-8eb0-74aed1b316e5 --- Oops, Wrong House: Police say they've arrested a man who tried to tunnel into his neighbor's home. It was early Sunday, investigators say, when Mark Mazur snuck into a yard on San Luis and dug a tunnel under the fence. But his clandestine plan was thwarted by the homeowner's dog. When he heard his dog barking, Robert Cash came outside - armed with a handgun - and ordered the intruder to stop. Mazur, armed with a blowtorch, started towards Cash. Investigators say Cash fired once and missed Mazur, but the shot was enough to convince him to stop and wait for police to arrive. http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6927585&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 --- Rule Five Reminder, Version 1: A group of mothers and children at a Southwest Austin park found the loaded gun of an Austin police officer who did not know for hours that his weapon was missing, officials said Tuesday. Austin police Lt. Donald Baker said supervisors are reviewing how officer Daniel Eveleth's Glock handgun might have fallen from his holster while he was training a police dog about 5 a.m. Monday at the Circle C Ranch Metropolitan Park on Slaughter Creek. Department officials said Tuesday that they could not specifically describe what training exercises Eveleth was conducting with the dog, why they were being done at pre-dawn hours or the type of holster he was wearing... (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm.) http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/09//0709gun.html --- Rule Five Reminder, Version 2: ...Early Wednesday morning, while on a seemingly routine assignment on patrol alone, Francis was shot and killed in a struggle with a woman who had caused a disturbance with a CTA bus passenger less than a block from his police station, police said...When he stopped, the driver and a passenger told him the woman was causing trouble. He radioed for backup and got out of his vehicle. The woman, 4-foot-11 and an estimated 290 pounds, approached him. As he tried to usher her away, she became irate and struggled with him, grabbing his holstered gun, police said. She shot Francis as other officers arrived and rushed forward, they said... (Something to think about, if you carry openly.) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-chicago-police-officer-shot-web-jul03,0,6898894.story --- Most Guns Seized at Canadian Border Are Legitimately Owned: ... Canada Border Services Agency officers regularly discover smuggled guns destined for the Canadian criminal underworld, but most firearms they turn up belong to otherwise law-abiding Americans, according to agency intelligence summaries. "Most of the firearms seized by CBSA at the land ports of entry are the personal firearms of legitimate U.S. travellers who neglected - intentionally or not - to declare their personal firearms," says the agency's strategic intelligence analysis division in an undated report covering the period from 2004 to 2006... http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080707.GUNS07/TPStory/National --- From AzCDL: When the Legislature adjourned, they sent HB 2389 & HB 2626 to the Governor. On Monday, July 7, 2008, Governor Napolitano vetoed both bills. HB 2389 was the AzCDL-requested bill that clarified that it is permissible to carry a weapon, with or without a CCW permit, visibly or concealed, anywhere within a means of transportation, excluding public transit. Current law states that, without a concealed weapons (CCW) permit, it is permissible to carry a weapon or weapons "in a case, holster, scabbard, pack or luggage that is carried within a means of transportation or within a storage compartment, map pocket, trunk or glove compartment of a means of transportation." Unfortunately, in 1994 an Arizona Appellate court decision determined that "within a means of transportation" meant it must be obvious under ordinary observation to someone outside the vehicle that there is a weapon inside the vehicle. This created conflicts interpreting the statute. As a result: · Wearing a holstered firearm within a vehicle = concealed carry, requiring a CCW permit. But, that same holstered firearm in a map pocket, trunk or glove compartment, equally accessible by a vehicle's occupants, does not require a CCW permit. · Possessing a concealed weapons permit and being armed may put other occupants in the vehicle, who do not possess a CCW permit, at risk of arrest because of their proximity to your firearm. Yet, if that same weapon were in a map pocket, trunk or glove compartment accessible by all the vehicle's occupants, no crime is committed. HB 2389 would have benefited law enforcement and the law-abiding, making the law clear and rational, and not subject to confusing roadside interpretations. In her veto letter, Governor Napolitano cited the concerns of a few law enforcement lobbyists as her excuse for ignoring the rights of law-abiding citizens. You can read her veto letter here: http://www.governor.state.az.us/dms/upload/070708_HB2389%20Veto%20Letter.pdf . Also vetoed was HB 2626, Representative Pearce's bill that allowed a sheriff to authorize posse volunteers and reserve officers with firearms training to carry a deadly weapon without a CCW permit. It also excluded individuals who have completed peace officer training from the CCW permit training requirements. Representative Pearce included AzCDL-requested language in HB 2626 that clarified Arizona's "open carry" statute. Due to 1994 Appellate court interpretations, whether a person is legally carrying openly is completely subjective, based largely on the location of the observer. Governor Napolitano cited the open carry reform language as her reason for vetoing HB 2626. Her veto letter is here: http://www.governor.state.az.us/dms/upload/070708_HB2626%20Veto%20Letter.pdf . This session, Governor Napolitano vetoed 5 reasonable bills related to your right to keep and bear arms: HB 2389 - Restored Vehicle carry. HB 2626 - Restored open carry. HB 2629 - Permitted less than lethal "defensive display." HB 2630 - Reduced the penalty for carrying concealed without a permit for those not involved in a crime. SB 1106 - Allowed for an alternative lifetime CCW permit. In her last term in office, the Governor no longer needs to maintain any façade of being pro-rights that she might have needed for reelection, and is now showing her true feelings towards firearms owners. We expect next year, the last year of her term in office, to be even more revealing. Stay tuned! Information on this and other bills can be found at the AzCDL website: http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Join today! AzCDL - Protecting Your Freedom http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html Copyright © 2008 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved. -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .