Sotomayor and the RKBA: Recently, as citizens across America were learning about Judge Sotomayor's troubling Second Amendment rulings, a new story broke that increased concerns. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled to uphold a Chicago law banning handguns and automatic weapons within city limits. This is exactly the type of ruling Judge Sotomayor would uphold, as she was one of three federal appellate judges to say that Second Amendment protections do not apply to state law... I also disagree with the 7th Circuit's reasoning that their ruling is upheld by the precedent of PRESSER v. ILLINOIS (1885). That majority opinion did say that the Second Amendment only applies directly to the federal government, but it also states that "the States cannot prohibit the people from keeping and bearing arms, so as to deprive the United States of their rightful resource for maintaining the public security" or restrict their "privileges and immunities as citizens of the United States." ... http://townhall.com/columnists/PaulBroun/2009/06/09/judge_sotomayor_and_the_second_amendment?page=full Citing not the Constitution but judicial supremacy through legal precedent, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld strict gun control ordinances in Chicago and suburban Oak Park, Ill., stating the 2nd Amendment applies only to federal laws. This is one of the rare times you will see the federal government deciding in favor of states. Except in this case, it's misapplied and incorrect, because the Bill of Rights, wherein the Second Amendment is contained, takes precedence over any states' infringement or cancellation of specific rights granted thereof. The Bill of Rights was meant to prohibit states from trampling on the rights of the people, just as much as it was meant to rein in such attacks from the federal level; it was meant to be a limitation on any government power... http://www.jbs.org/jbs-news-feed/4956 --- Dear Liberal, It'sTime We Talk: The debate over gun control is not about guns, it's about culture, and here is how it works: You point to school shootings and other violence and say that it's my fault because I support the right to keep and bear arms. I point to violent video games and sociopathic teenagers, and I say the problem is your fault, thanks to inadequately internalized values and morals. But here's the thing: Between guns and culture, only one thing has changed. Weapons have been in the hands of man since time immemorial. There is nothing special about semi-automatic "assault weapons." In fact, until 1934 people could go out and buy fully automatic Thompson submachine guns, hand grenades or just about any other implement of destruction they could afford. Admittedly, there were a limited number of mafia "hits" in which those weapons were used by unsavory characters to snuff out other unsavory characters. But I defy you to find a single instance in which a child of the 1930s took Daddy's "Tommy Gun" to school and shot up his classroom... http://www.examiner.com/x-2698-Charlotte-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m6d8-The-gun-debate-explained-for-liberals --- Tennessee Senate Passes Firearms Freedom Act: The State Senate approved legislation today "that seeks to combat the destruction of the 10th Amendment of the Constitution by the Federal government in their attempt to infringe upon states' rights." Senate Bill 1610, known as the "Tennessee Firearms Freedom Act," sponsored by Senator Mae Beavers, "takes a step in the right direction to restore to the states control of intra-state commerce and the regulation of firearms manufactured and sold within Tennessee," she said. "Be it the federal government mandating changes in order for states to receive federal funds or the federal government telling us how to regulate commerce contained completely within this state - enough is enough," urged Judiciary Chairman Beavers... http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_152526.asp --- Amended Restaurant-Carry Bill Clears Arizona Committee: The National Rifle Association did the heavy political lifting on a bill approved by a Senate committee Monday that would allow people with concealed weapons permits to bring their handguns into a restaurant that serves alcohol and probably into some bars that have kitchens as well. A version of the bill has moved through the Legislature year after year, only to fall short because of opposition from the Arizona Restaurant Association and the Arizona Licensed Beverage Association. Sen. Jack Harper, the bill's sponsor for the past four years, said this year he let the NRA do all the negotiating with the restaurant and beverage associations. ALBA is still opposed to the bill but the restaurant association is now taking a neutral position. That was enough to get the bill through the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 4-3 party-line vote. Harper said the bill was substantially "watered down" from prior years... (See comments from AzCDL, below.) http://www.arizonaguardian.com/az/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=823:senate-committee-oks-guns-in-restaurants&catid=34:legislature&Itemid=54 --- BS from NYS: In March, four police officers in Oakland, Calif., were gunned down in the line of duty. Days later, three police officers in Pittsburgh were murdered, also with guns. And they were far from alone. Every year, dozens of law enforcement officers across the country are killed with guns. Here in New York, 21 police officers were shot and killed between 1998 and 2007, including officers in Albany, Oneida, Essex, Chemung, Suffolk, and Chautauqua counties... Microstamping allows police officers to identify the buyer and seller of a gun used in a crime - even if the gun is not recovered at the crime scene. Tracing shell casings found at the scene is no different than tracing a crime gun... (And how does this prevent a criminal from shooting a police officer [or anyone else] in the first place?) http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=807978 --- Buying a Gun in California: ...I have never purchased a gun in the state of California. I had been through a gun class recently, so I was aware that there was a 10-day waiting period. I guess that helps stop "crimes of passion" where people rashly go out and buy a gun to do someone in. I'm really glad we have that law. Now, instead of guns, all these angry people can use knives, baseball bats, rat poison and any one of myriad other methods to kill someone. That's much more humane... Fortunately, I found exactly what I wanted over at our local Big 5 sporting goods store by the mall. It was a bolt-action .22 with a black stock and notch sights. After checking out the goods, I decided to get it. Little did I know I was going to fall into Gun-Control Hell. The pimply-faced, 18-year-old employee told me that there were a few formalities to take care of before our transaction was complete. After fingerprinting me, verifying my driver's license, doing the laser eye retina scan and testing my DNA, he presented me with a small form to fill out. "Small" is a relative term, of course. The extensive list of questions included queries about my criminal record, my relative mental stability, and whether I was a fugitive from the law... http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/14177/ --- Don't Settle for the Training That Comes in the Box with the Gun: ...Often, people make the mistake of thinking they can just have a loaded pistol on a nightstand and a rifle standing in the corner and they're good to go. Not true. Individuals must be mentally prepared as well as proficient in the use of their firearms. You owe it to yourself to seek additional, specialized training to develop a mindset of preparedness and preservation. That's where a top-notch instructor comes into play. You should seek a mentor who will teach you the mental preparation aspects of self-defense as well as the act of mastering your firearm(s). A one-on-one session, or a session with a small group of people, is invaluable for receiving personal insight and understanding where you are in terms of vigilance. Gaddy ran our small group through a series of drills over two days, and he schooled his trainees to think about and deal with various real-life scenarios and potential weaknesses. We practiced shooting behind barriers, shooting without using the sights, and using our weak hands, and these are all things that a lot of folks don't think about often enough. We also rehearsed the act of picking out friendly vs. enemy targets under pressure. We created ways to raise our heartbeat (running sprints) before shooting to try and simulate the adrenaline rush that someone in the act of self-defense will experience... (I don't know how long it will take to correct the fallacy that epinephrine [adrenaline] is responsible for performance deficits that are actually a function of "short circuits" in the brain.) http://www.lewrockwell.com/decoster/decoster155.html --- No Vet Bill for Man Who Shot Dog: A man who shot and wounded a dog that threatened the safety of his 4-year-old son does not have to pay a $2,156 veterinarian bill, a Yuba County [CA} Superior Court judge ruled Monday. "The Second Amendment does apply in this country," Judge Julia Scroggin said in court. "You don't have to put up with somebody else's growling dog on your property." Anthony Moua, 37, was sued in small-claims court by the dog's owner, Ernest Williams Harris, who said Moua didn't call Animal Control first to pick up the dog after it entered his property when getting out of the his yard two houses away in the 2100 block of Erle Road on Feb. 5. Moua said after the judge's ruling that the animal, which he described as a large black dog, had his teeth on the 4-year-old's shirt and was pulling the boy... http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/dog-78401-moua-judge.html --- Remington to Acquire Dakota Arms: Remington Arms Company, Inc. through its fully owned subsidiary DA Acquisitions LLC has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire certain assets of Dakota Arms, LLC including the Dakota, Miller Arms, Dan Walter and Nesika Bay Precision brands. The transaction closed on June 5, 2009.Established in 1982 and headquartered in Sturgis, South Dakota, Dakota Arms is the leading manufacturer of custom and semi-custom rifles for the sporting markets... (Not mentioned is the fact that Remington itself is owned by Cerberus Capital Management, which owns several firearms companies and one of whose directors just ran for the NRA board.) http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/06/prweb2508044.htm --- From KeepAndBearArms.com: (This is the website where I find most of the news links I share with you.) Our website is experiencing a critical cash flow problem this spring and summer. We have so many urgent needs at the moment. In particular getting caught up on bills owed. We are also trying to expand the number of gun owners that visit our site before Congress and many state legislatures take up new gun control measures. To do so requires us to place banner ads on other sites and ads in search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. We plan on expanding our reach with more news, information, and grassroots action projects to expose and defeat the enemies of freedom. Help us send a loud and clear message to the United Nations, Brady Center, Million Mom March, Violence Policy Center, and the entire anti-gun rights movement. BUT, at this time, we need funds. SO, if you can join, renew, and/or make a mid-year contribution RIGHT NOW, it will help us immensely. We need to raise $9,870.00 from generous donors to meet our obligations. https://www.keepandbeararms.com/CustAccount/default.asp?RS=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.keepandbeararms.com%2Fdonations%2FDefault.asp http://www.keepandbeararms.com/members/mail.htm --- From AzCDL: On Monday, June 08, 2009, SB 1113 and SB 1243 passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. SB 1113 is a Restaurant Carry bill that permits firearms in certain restaurants if signs are not posted forbidding firearms, and the person possessing the firearm does not consume alcohol. SB 1113 was amended to apply only to concealed weapon (CCW) permit holders who are carrying concealed firearms. The amended version was approved by a 4-3 vote. AzCDL will not oppose SB 1113 because it is a step in the right direction, but since the amended version does not apply to all law-abiding gun owners, we cannot actively support SB 1113 either. There is always the possibility that SB 1113 can be improved with an amendment on the Senate floor. SB 1243, the AzCDL-requested bill that clarifies when a defensive display is justified, passed with a 5-2 vote. Both bills now must be heard by the Senate Rules Committee before moving on the debate and vote in the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW). Stay tuned! When critical legislation moves, we will notify you via these Alerts. These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Copyright © 2009 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 .