Sotomayor and the RKBA: During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama went to great lengths to convince everyone he was a strong defender of the Second Amendment. He disowned or denied a long list of anti-gun positions and told us time and time again to trust him, that he really did believe the Second Amendment protected an individual right. Was he simply catering to public opinion? The latest poll from Opinion Research found last month that 77 percent of Americans think "individual Americans [have] the right to keep and bear arms for their own defense." Whatever Mr. Obama's true conviction, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, his pick for the Supreme Court, does not view the Second Amendment as guaranteeing an individual right. Yet media from the Los Angeles Times to The Washington Post think they have the proof she is not an "anti-gun radical..." http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/10/sotomayor-and-guns/ After consulting closely with the White House, Senate Democrats announced Tuesday that hearings on Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court would begin on July 13, infuriating Republicans who said that they had been blind-sided and that the timetable would recklessly short-circuit the review process. But as Republican leaders went to the Senate floor yowling in protest on Tuesday afternoon, they seemed virtually powerless to slow the confirmation proceedings. And Democrats forcefully rebuffed the assertion that they were moving too fast, with detailed data showing the timeline consistent with other recent Supreme Court nominations... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/us/politics/10court.html?ref=us Count Sen. Jim DeMint among those Republicans leaning toward voting against Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Though DeMint says he hasn't made up his mind yet, the South Carolina Republican said his meeting with President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee this afternoon failed to sway him. Though Sotomayor was "very personable and engaging," "I didn't hear anything today that eased my concerns," DeMint said in a statement. "She was unwilling to say the Second Amendment protects a fundamental right that applies to all Americans, which raises serious questions about her view of the Bill of Rights. When I asked if an unborn child has any rights whatsoever, I was surprised that she said she had never thought about it. This is not just a question about abortion, but about the respect due to human life at all stages, and I hope this is cleared up in her hearings," DeMint said. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is also undecided but expressed strong reservations after meeting with [Sotomayor] last week. He's a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will vote first on the nomination. http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=74798&catid=142 --- From SAF: The Second Amendment Foundation today appealed its lawsuit against the City of Chicago's handgun ban to the United States Supreme Court. The case, which began as McDonald v. City of Chicago and is now consolidated with a similar lawsuit filed by the National Rifle Association, was filed last year within an hour of the Supreme Court's landmark Second Amendment ruling in District of Columbia v. Dick Anthony Heller. In the Chicago case - which can be followed at www.chicagoguncase.com - SAF is asking the Supreme Court for a definitive ruling that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is incorporated against the states by the Fourteenth Amendment's Privileges or Immunities or Due Process clauses. Earlier this year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the Second Amendment is incorporated as a limit on state and local governments. "We know we are going to win this case," said SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb. "States should not be able to take away rights guaranteed by the federal constitution." ... http://www.saf.org/viewpr-new.asp?id=297 From the Los Angeles Times, No Less: ...It's tempting for supporters of gun control - including this page - to hope that the high court will rule that the 2nd Amendment doesn't apply to the states. That would be a mistake and would give aid and comfort to conservative legal thinkers, among them Justice Clarence Thomas, who have questioned the incorporation doctrine. We were disappointed last year when the Supreme Court ruled that the right to keep and bear arms was an individual right, giving short shrift to the first part of the amendment, which refers to "a well-regulated militia." But we also believe the court has been right to use the doctrine of incorporation to bind states to the most important protections of the Bill of Rights. If those vital provisions are to be incorporated in the 14th Amendment, so should the right to keep and bear arms. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-guns10-2009jun10,0,4246160.story --- RKBA Amendment Halts DC Vote Bill: The District's long quest for a voting member in the U.S. House of Representatives ended in disappointment Tuesday as House Democrats said they put the bill on hold indefinitely. House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer admitted party leaders are stymied by an amendment to the measure that guts the District's strict gun laws. "I don't think we're going to be able to move the bill at this time," the Maryland Democrat told reporters on Capitol Hill... The bill has been stalled for months in the House after winning passage in the Senate with an amendment that prohibited the District from having gun laws more restrictive than the federal government's laws. The amendment by Sen. John Ensign, Nevada Republican, would have overturned the city's current gun laws, which essentially ban ownership of firearms and are among the toughest gun control measures in the country... http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/10/dc-voting-rights-bid-put-hold/ D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton on Tuesday pulled the D.C. Voting Rights Act from consideration by the House of Representatives, as it became clear supporters did not have the votes to reject a pro-gun amendment attached in the Senate. Norton, a Democrat, made the decision to withdraw the measure after meeting with key players over the weekend, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, according to an e-mail she sent to key voting rights backers. The bill would have expanded the House by two seats, one for the District and the other, temporarily at least, for Utah... http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Norton-pulls-voting-rights-bill-47468632.html --- Where Have All the Primers Gone?: We have heard all sorts of theories ranging from dramatically increased military demand to a secret department of the government buying up all the primers on the market so they are unavailable to handloaders. None of those theories could be substantiated. In conversations with the major makers of primers and ammunition (ammunition availability shortages seem to begat primer shortages) it appears to be simple supply and demand, with demand reaching record levels and far exceeding supply and production capacity of both primers and ammunition... One maker described demand for primers as "insatiable," and that firm reported record primer production already for 2009 but still can't keep up with demand. Primers are in extreme demand, and it's difficult if not impossible to quickly and radically increase primer production due to the nature of primer manufacture. Trust me, if you have ever seen primers being made, you don't want them to hurry... http://www.americanrifleman.org/ArticlePage.aspx?cid=24&id=1502 --- Guns and Sexism: ...Happily, President Obama has shown us a way to get around such deadlocks. In his recent commencement address at Notre Dame on a similarly polarized issue, reproductive rights, he acknowledged that "the views of the two camps are irreconcilable" and urged a courteous search for common ground - in that case, a call for "'reducing unintended pregnancies." Inspired by his example, I propose curbing gun violence not by further restricting the availability of guns but by expanding and reorienting it. Men would still be forbidden to walk the streets armed, in accordance with current laws, but women would be required to carry pistols in plain sight whenever they are out and about... http://ethicist.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/give-women-guns/?ex=1259726400&en=70ea1e0dc4fe7471&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=GN-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M100-ROS-0609-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click --- Pennsylvania City Passes Illegal Ordinance: At the June 9, 2009, City Council Meeting, the Council unanimously approved Administration Bill No. 9, "requiring prompt notification to authorities of lost or stolen firearms, and imposing penalties." The new ordinance would require gun owners to report the loss or theft of any registered firearms within 72 hours of their discovery. One city woman addressed the Council to express her concern about the ordinance, citing that, according to her understanding, the bill would violate a state ban on gun registration, compromise a state-sanctioned right to bear arms, and create legal costs for both taxpayers and gun owners... (The ordinance violates state preemption.) http://newslanc.com/2009/06/09/city-passes-missing-gun-ordinance/ --- 91st Illinois County Passes RKBA Resolution: It took three votes - including one that went to a chairman's tiebreaker - but a non-binding resolution in support of the Second Amendment won Kane County Board approval Tuesday...For two years, the group Illinois Pro 2A has asked all of the state's 102 counties to pass a resolution affirming support of the Second Amendment. Pro 2A provides a template that offers a strong objection to certain gun control proposals, but Kane's County's modified version was tempered to be more general. Based on the group's data, Kane becomes the 91st county to adopt such a resolution, although it isn't clear what specific language is used in each of those measures... http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/kane/1613870,Second-Amendment-measure-passes.article --- Senator Hatch Seeks Pro-RKBA Image: In recent weeks, there have been countless statements made by politicians, pundits, and even the Department of Homeland Security, that gun ownership or support for the Second Amendment is connected to, if not synonymous with, violent behavior. Unfortunately, this false assumption has permeated its way into the Utah media's editorials, political cartoons and news stories. Short on facts, those making these accusations have decided to disparage and marginalize those who support the rights of law-abiding gun owners. We saw this in the recent DHS report that equated opposition to gun control legislation with right-wing extremism. I suppose we'd better keep an eye on the Supreme Court, which two years ago found that the Second Amendment confers an individual right to keep and bear arms... (No, Senator, the Second Amendment protects a right conferred by Nature.) http://www.ecprogress.com/index.php?tier=1&article_id=7968 --- More on Arizona Restaurant-Carry Bill: The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Monday to let some gun owners bring their weapons into places where alcohol is served after the Arizona Restaurant Association dropped its objection to the proposal... SB 1113 allows someone who has a state-issued permit to carry a concealed weapon to bring it into a place that has a liquor license and "offers for sale food for on-site consumption prepared in a kitchen located on the premises." ...Sen. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, said he sharpened this year's version to apply only to those individuals who have state-issued licenses to carry concealed weapons. That not only screens out those who haven't been through the training and background checks, but it also ensures no one has a visible gun strapped to a hip. It also preserves language from prior years spelling out that anyone who is armed cannot drink. And it says any restaurant owner who doesn't want patrons carrying guns can keep the weapons out by posting signs to that effect at all entrances...And Gov. Jan Brewer already has said that unlike her predecessor, who vetoed a similar bill in 2005, she's inclined to sign it... http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/296241 --- Oops, Wrong Stores: The Tift County convenience store owner who stared down the barrel of a gun during an armed robbery tells us the thieves are now in custody. An armed woman wearing a ski mask entered the Holiday Market of Highway 319 and demanded the clerk for money. That was when a customer already at the register pulled out his gun and shot the woman in the foot. She dropped her gun in the store and dropped her drivers license in the parking lot as she tried to get away in a Ford F-150. A man was driving that getaway pick-up. The store owner tells us police caught up with that driver later that night... (Did the customer shoot her in the foot intentionally or did he really jerk his shot that low?) http://www.walb.com/global/story.asp?s=10492313 ...Examples of ordinary citizens exercising armed self defense are too numerous too list. Yet there will always be some who offer their opinion that "it will only be taken away and used against you," or that somehow the "untrained" population of Georgia citizens will shoot innocent bystanders inside a store during an armed robbery. This woman armed robber in Macon turned out to be a man in a wig and a skirt. The armed employee who shot him was not injured, did not have the gun taken away and used against him, and did not injure any innocent bystanders in the store. The cross-dressing robber was also arrested at the hospital. Experience demonstrates that armed customers do not make Georgia businesses more dangerous, unless you happen to be an armed robber. http://www.examiner.com/x-5619-Atlanta-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m6d9-Armed-customer-stops-robbery --- Oops, Wrong Check-Cash Business: The two men who were shot by a security guard while trying to rob a Milwaukee check cashing business last week were armed with realistic-looking BB guns, according to a Police Department spokeswoman. Ronald X. Reed Jr., 24, was shot in the back and died at the scene, police said. His cousin, 22-year-old Vidal D. Mason, was shot in the abdomen. The BB guns "looked very much like authentic weapons," police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz wrote in an e-mail. The men also used BB guns while committing a string of armed robberies in 2005, court records show. Reed and Mason were wearing masks when they entered Check Into Cash, 3906 N. 76th St., on Wednesday afternoon and ordered everyone to the floor, including the armed guard, police said at the time. One cousin told the other to shoot the guard, who got up and fired shots at both men, police said. Reed ran from the store and collapsed in a nearby alley. Mason also ran and turned up at a hospital a short time later... http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/47166817.html --- Oops, Wrong Cars: A man who is licensed to carry a concealed firearm shot a suspected auto burglar and carjacker who attacked him at an apartment complex earlier last weekend in northeast Houston, police said... The man and his wife approached Franklin as he was breaking into their vehicle, pulled him away from the car and then called police. Franklin left, but tried to burglarize other cars in the complex and then attempted to carjack another resident, who ran into his apartment, police said. The shooter and his wife saw the attack and again called police. They again approached Franklin, who attacked the man and began fighting with him. The man's wife hit Franklin several times to get him away from her husband. Police said the husband then pulled out a pistol and fired at least once, hitting Franklin in the chest. The man and his wife called for medical help and performed first aid on Franklin until paramedics arrived. Franklin was taken to a local hospital, where he died. (Performing first aid on someone who has recently attacked you is a very risky proposition.) http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6465040.html --- Rule Five Reminder: Authorities are investigating the reported theft of a Minnesota police officer's handgun from his Fargo hotel room, Sgt. Ross Renner said. The officer from Granite Falls, Minn., called police at 12:40 p.m. Saturday from the C'mon Inn at 4338 20th Ave. S., saying he couldn't find his .380 Ruger. Renner said it appears the gun was stolen. The case remains under investigation. (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm.) http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/243125/group/home/ --- National Firearms Training Week: The week of the Fourth of July has been established as National Training Week, when participating gun ranges will offer special discounts and activities and everyone is encouraged to bring a friend to the range. Firearms training is essential to gun safety. The National Rifle Association teaches in their Basic Pistol training program that the two main causes of accidents are ignorance and carelessness. By ignorance, they mean a lack of knowledge of the fundamental rules of gun safety (always keep guns pointed in a safe direction, keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot, keep guns unloaded until they are ready to use, etc.), and by carelessness they mean a failure to apply those rules each and every time a firearm is handled. The best way to be able to consistently handle a firearm safely is through training, whether it be informal training from a friend or relative or formal training from a certified instructor. Firearms training saves lives... http://www.examiner.com/x-2206-Cleveland-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m6d9-National-Firearms-Training-Week-July-4--11-2009 --- Mother and Daughter Offer Training: Thanks to Joy and Faith Ferkel, more than 75 men and women are now better prepared to defend themselves and their families, having taken the National Rifle Association-certified concealed carry courses taught by the mother/ daughter team. Most of the female students have taken advantage of all-women classes. The Ferkels began offering the all-women classes last year as a way to provide a comfortable setting for women to learn how to shoot a gun and obtain a concealed carry permit. "Women have different reasons for choosing a women-only class," Joy said. "Some feel intimidated by those they know have more firearm experience, some have personal protection issues that they believe other women understand, and some want the encouraging camaraderie of a ladies' sewing circle." ... http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200906030830/NEWS01/906030302 --- CBP Ruling Could Outlaw Many Pocketknives: The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency is proposing a new definition that could be used to eliminate 8 of 10 legal pocketknives in the United States right now, according to activists who are gearing up to fight the plan... Ritter said the effect of the proposed change would be that the new design in knives, many of which contain a tiny spring to help the user pull open the blade and lock it into position, would be classified alongside those true weapons where the user just presses a button and the blade is ejected. "They are saying that any knife that you can open quickly or any knife that you can open with one hand is therefore a switchblade," Ritter told WND... A successful campaign to change the definition would mean thousands would be out of work in the knife industry, and the impact would have far-reaching effects. For example, if someone would be caught with a newly-illegal "pocketknife," would the resulting charges be structured to allege that person was dangerous or had an illegal weapon, and how would that change the defendant's right to own a firearm, he wondered. "If this law were to pass and you cross the state line with a folder (pocketknife) in your pocket, it would be a federal felony," he said... http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=100679 --- There's a Reason God Put Those People on an Island: Eight people were arrested following the incident at Sundridge Park Golf Course on Sunday. Two youths, aged 17 and 13 were also taken to south London hospitals with head injuries. The 17-year-old is in stable condition in hospital while the 13-year-old was later discharged and subsequently arrested. According to reports, the players were about to tee off on the fourth hole of the course in Bromley, Kent, when they were confronted by a group of teenagers brandishing planks of wood. Despite the group threatening to attack them if they did not hand over their golfing equipment, the golfers apparently fought back. An eyewitness, who did not wish to be named, said: "Everyone had a weapon and they were just trading blows. "The golfers stood their ground, though. I guess because they had their clubs as protection." ... (British subjects are expected to submit, not fight back.) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/5310445/Golfers-arrested-after-fighting-off-gang-attempting-to-steal-clubs.html -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .