Heller, How a Gang of Libertarian Lawyers Made Constitutional History: ... In retrospect, D.C. v. Heller seems almost inevitable, because of shifting public and academic attitudes toward gun rights. But victory came only after a protracted struggle, with many pitfalls along the way. It was pulled off by a small gang of philosophically dedicated lawyers - not "gun nuts" in any stereotypical sense, but thoughtful libertarians who believe Second Amendment liberties are a vital part of our free republic. Together they consciously crafted a solid, clean civil rights case to overturn the most onerous and restrictive set of gun regulations in the country. In the process, they set the stage for further legal challenges to other firearms restrictions from coast to coast... http://www.reason.com/news/show/129991.html --- The Loophole Lie: Earlier this month, the Virginia State Crime Commission danced back from an opportunity to help reduce crime. It declined - let's hope temporarily - to recommend that the General Assembly close the gun-show loophole. Loophole? Gun-rights advocates never tire of arguing that there's no such thing. There is indeed. Federal and state law require that people buying guns from licensed dealers undergo background checks. It's the front line in the effort to make sure that those whom the state and nation believe shouldn't own guns - convicted felons, the mentally ill, abusive spouses, for example - can't buy them. But at a gun show, any and all of the above can buy a gun - a handgun, a shot gun, an assault rifle. Because vendors who don't have federal licenses are permitted to sell guns at many of the popular gun shows. And, according to State Police, as many as one-third of the gun vendors at state shows are unlicensed... (Federal law does not currently prohibit private-party sales as long as they are not to prohibited possessors; some states do. BATFE requires individuals to obtain FFL's if they are "engaged in the business of selling firearms" but will not grant an FFL solely for conducting business at gun shows. During the Clinton administration, a systematic campaign was launched to do away with "kitchen-table FFL's." This involved raising the standards and fees to obtain an FFL, in most cases making it impossible to obtain an FFL at one's home address. So, who is responsible for the ongoing existence of "unlicensed vendors," beyond the occasional sale of a firearm that is no longer desired?) http://www.dailypress.com/news/opinion/dp-ed_gunshow_edit_1226dec26,0,5875531.story --- The Beat Goes On: Rick Creech opened New Miami [OH] Gun Shop five years ago but said he has never seen sales shoot up as much as they have since Election Day, with scores of customers snapping up weapons and ammunition. A glass display case once fully-stocked with handguns is more than half empty and a 12-foot wide pegboard wall once covered with shotguns, rifles and assault weapons is nearly emptied of its wares. http://www.oxfordpress.com/news/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/12/25/hjn122608gunsales.html Just before Election Day, Roberson Sporting Goods started seeing more people coming into the store to check out a weapon, expressing concerns about what the new administration and Congress might do regarding gun control, said Don Roberson, whose grandfather started the business in 1935. "When Obama got elected they decided they wanted to do it now," he said. "People are worried, there's no doubt about it." ... http://www.middletownjournal.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/12/26/mj122608gunsales.html --- Guns, Greens and Obama: ... Nature hunters are the guns that have joined with the greens. These and other hunters are members of The Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, Ducks Unlimited, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, among other conservation groups - groups that are pro-conservation, and not in the right-wing's pocket. These groups have varied memberships, attracting members from both the left and right, and nature hunters find a happy home in their rolls... (This attempt to split hunters from the rest of the RKBA community stops short only of endorsing the phony American Hunters and Shooters Association, which has also fronted for Big Brother.) http://www.emagazine.com/view/?4484 --- Pennsylvania Sheriff Seeks Dismissal of Lawsuit: Attorneys for Lebanon County (PA) Sheriff Michael J. DeLeo today moved to dismiss a $1 million federal lawsuit brought by Meleanie Hain and her husband, asserting that the suit has no legal basis and should be thrown out. Hain claims she is entitled to $1 million in damages, including "emotional distress" and loss of babysitting clients, after Sheriff DeLeo revoked her license to carry a concealed firearm following complaints from parents that Hain posed a danger to the community by openly carrying a loaded semiautomatic firearm to her 5-year-old's soccer games. Hain's husband is also seeking damages, claiming that the sheriff's actions caused him to lose the "companionship, consortium, society and services" of his wife, according to the Hain's complaint filed in the case... (Let me get this straight - Mrs. Hain's "offense" was to carry her firearm openly, which is completely legal under Pennsylvania law, so Sheriff DeLeo punishes her by revoking her permit to cover it?) http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/release.php?release=1096 --- Oops, Wrong House: On Oct. 4, 1936, then 19, Johnson promised to love and protect his bride, Berlie Mae. On Tuesday, he did. Now 91, he scared off two home invaders with his 38-caliber revolver when the men threatened his wife of 72 years at their home east of Ocoee... Terror erupted in the Johnsons' heavily barred house on Lake Stanley Road shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday as the couple watched TV news. She was sitting in her wheelchair. He was sitting nearby on the sofa. That's when a stranger stepped through the back door... (All's well that end's well but it's not wise to make statements about intent to kill and it's better to carry your handgun in a holster than to hide it under a sofa cushion, where it can be found by a burglar.) http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-hero2508dec25,0,232353.story --- Oops, Wrong Estranged Wife, Texas Version: A woman's 80-year-old grandfather fatally shot her estranged husband after he tried to take their two children from the grandparents' house, Conroe police said Saturday. Brice Wade Boudreaux, 32, died Friday evening at the home on Silver Creek Drive in Conroe, police said in a statement... According to police, Boudreaux's estranged wife and children have been living with her grandparents for about five months. When Boudreaux arrived Friday and tried to take the children, the grandfather intervened and ordered him to leave. Boudreaux refused, pushing the man out of the way, the statement said. The grandfather then allegedly retrieved a revolver from another room and placed it in his back pocket before again advising Boudreaux, who was aware the older man had a gun, to leave, police said... http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6175031.html --- Oops, Wrong Estranged Wife, Washington Version: ... At about 3:55 a.m. Dec. 13, Federal Way police responded to a shooting at the Mariposa Apartment Complex, 28120 18 Ave. S, Federal Way. A 24-year-old white female called 911 to report she had shot her 40-year-old white male husband. Both are residents of Federal Way... Upon initial interview of the female, she stated she had been separated from her husband for several weeks and that they each had a protection order against the other. The female was later transported to St. Francis Hospital by ambulance for minor head injuries and related pain. After treatment, the female was transported to the Federal Way Police Department for interviewing and is cooperating with the investigation. Preliminary investigation indicates the shooting was in self-defense. The scene was processed by the Federal Way Police Department with the assistance of the Washington State Patrol Crime Scene Team... http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/fwm/news/36126434.html --- The Armed Citizen Dilemma: Across the span of the past two decades we have seen a strong evolution in police response tactics in reaction to various violent incidents such as Columbine, Beslan, Virginia Tech and now, Mumbai. Since I am a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment and believe that every legally armed citizen should play a role in "homeland defense" I have gotten the same question a number of times from said civilians: how do we identify ourselves to the arriving police so we don't get shot? ... (This is a real dilemma, both for the private citizen and military and civilian LEO's. It is known that terrorists and sophisticated criminals have obtained police and EMS uniforms and ID's, so uniforms and badges provide no real guarantees to either side. In general, for the private citizen, the most crucial step is not to present a threatening image to responding officers. This is why I have always emphasized holsters that allow one-handed reholstering without the need to take your eyes off the threat. Things become much more complicated if the need arises to break out a long gun.) http://www.officer.com/interactive/2008/12/19/identification-is-mandatory/ --- USMC Weighing Replacement for M249: The Marine Corps has moved one step closer to selecting a next-generation light automatic rifle. On Friday, the Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va., announced contract awards for three competing weapons manufacturers to produce and deliver their final entries to the Corps by the middle of next year, in what signifies a final round of competition that began with ten candidates. The lighter, magazine-fed Infantry Automatic Rifle - or IAR - is intended to replace the belt-fed M249 Squad Automatic Weapon - or SAW - in "the Marine Rifle Squad within infantry battalions and in the scout teams in Light Armored Reconnaissance battalions." ... http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59653 --- Guatemalans Turn to Vigilantism Against Gangs: ... In Guatemala, people have had enough of corrupt police and brutal extortions by gangs. They've turned to vigilantism. Lynch mobs and death squads are now commonplace. Twenty-five years ago, public enemy No. 1 was the leftist guerrillas who were at war with the government of Guatemala. They were branded subversives, delinquents, anti-social elements, and they were disappeared by death squads in the dark of night... Operating under names like the Avenging Angels and the Justice Makers, hired hitmen called sicarios have changed the calculus of risk within which the gangs operate. There was a time when shootouts between gang members were the greatest threat. But today, it's not the same... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98593139&ps=bb3 -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .