This Is the Week: ...What line will Judge Sonia Sotomayor walk during the next few days? Inevitably facing questions on the high court's reversal of her circuit panel's decision in the controversial New Haven, Conn., firefighters' discrimination case, will she shed light on the panel's handling of that case? Will she respond to claims that she is anti-gun by answering questions about the Second Amendment and a ruling she joined that held the amendment does not apply to the states? ...What University of Connecticut's David Yalof calls the "song and dance" over what can be asked and answered gained additional prominence when the so-called Ginsburg Rule - "no hints, no forecasts, no previews" - came back to haunt the hearings on the nominations of Roberts and Samuel Alito Jr... http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202432170996&src=EMC-Email&et=editorial&bu=National%20Law%20Journal&pt=NLJ.com-%20Daily%20Headlines&cn=20090713NLJ&kw=Sotomayor%20hearing%20revives%20old%20battle&slreturn=1 --- If you suspect this week's Senate confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor will be, like "Seinfeld," a show about nothing, you are probably right. To understand why, we need to revisit an era that remade how lawyers and the public think about law, and especially the Constitution... Supreme Court confirmation hearings do not have to be about either results or nothing. They could be about clauses, not cases. Instead of asking nominees how they would decide particular cases, ask them to explain what they think the various clauses of the Constitution mean. Does the Second Amendment protect an individual right to arms? What was the original meaning of the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the 14th Amendment? (Hint: It included an individual right to arms.) Does the 14th Amendment "incorporate" the Bill of Rights and, if so, how and why? Does the Ninth Amendment protect judicially enforceable unenumerated rights? Does the Necessary and Proper Clause delegate unlimited discretion to Congress? Where in the text of the Constitution is the so-called Spending Power (by which Congress claims the power to spend tax revenue on anything it wants) and does it have any enforceable limits? ... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124744026183929741.html#mod=djemEditorialPage ...Democrats are betting that an overly zealous assault on Sotomayor by Republican senators could anger Latinos and accelerate the shift of Hispanic voters away from the Republican Party, particularly in the South and West. Conservatives are hoping to use the Sotomayor hearings as a way to motivate their base if they can successfully portray her as an activist judge whose "empathy" for certain groups guides her rulings more than court precedent or the written law. And activist groups on both sides have already prepared press releases and statements to argue that the Sotomayor outcome says something about where the country's population is on the issues of guns, abortion, affirmative action, race and gender. Liberals hope an overwhelming vote for her confirmation will encourage Obama to consider even more progressive nominees in the future... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/12/AR2009071202338.html Senate Judiciary member John Cornyn (R-Texas) indicated Sunday that Republicans will be careful in their questioning of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor when her confirmation hearings begin on Monday for fear of alienating Hispanic voters. Cornyn, appearing on Fox News Sunday, said Republicans will not filibuster Sotomayor, who would be the Supreme Court's first Latina justice. He noted that's a different approach than the one taken by Democrats, who did filibuster Miguel Estrada's nomination when President George W. Bush named him to the U.S Court of Appeals in 2001. A third of Cornyn's constituency is Hispanic, Cornyn said, and they expect him to give Sotomayor a fair hearing... http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/cornyn-signals-gop-to-be-careful-on-sotomayor-2009-07-12.html ..."It was unheard of to filibuster judges until our friends on the Democratic side filibustered a number of nominees - and unfortunately a gentleman who might have been the first Hispanic nominee to the United States Supreme Court, Miguel Estrada, who was filibustered seven times and denied an up or down vote," Cornyn said. "I don't think that will happen to Judge Sotomayor even though that precedent has been now established. I just don't see it happening in this case." ... http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=32678 --- The Beat Goes On: Gun sales in Sacramento County have grown more than in any other populous county in California since November, according to the state attorney general's office. From November 2008 to May 2009, gun dealers in Sacramento County sold nearly 5,000 more guns than they did in the same period last year, an increase of 40 percent, statistics from the state Bureau of Firearms show. The state increase in gun sales averaged 32 percent. Sacramento County gun owners, advocates and store owners largely attribute the boom to fear. Initially, they said, buyers were concerned that the Obama administration would support further gun controls. More recently, Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness announced layoffs of 202 sworn deputies and 40 non-sworn personnel because of budget cuts to his department - further spurring local gun sales... http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2020626.html --- Bringing a Cricket Bat to a Toy-Gun Fight: Authorities in south Alabama say a gas station employee used a cricket bat to chase away a would-be robber who brandished a toy gun. The Baldwin County Sheriff's office says the suspect entered Bee Gee's gas station near Bay Minette Saturday afternoon and tried to use the fake weapon to steal money. Sheriff's Cpl. Mike Gaull tells the Press-Register of Mobile that the employee noticed the gun had an orange tip on the barrel and grabbed the cricket bat. The suspect then ran out of the store without any money. The 22-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with first-degree robbery. (I hadn't realized that cricket had that much of a following in Alabama. No comment on the robber who left the orange marking on the tip of the replica gun.) http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/300728.php --- How Many Rules Were Violated?: WSPA-TV News Channel 7 has learned that Councilwoman Gracie Floyd was injured at her home on Ramona Drive in Belton. Anderson County Sheriff John Skipper says that Floyd and a relative, identified as a 58-year old Oscar Davis, were inside the home checking a gun at the residence that they believed to be unloaded when it accidentally discharged. Davis was struck in the finger before the bullet struck Floyd in the leg... The 'Anderson Independent-Mail' reports that the Sheriff's spokesperson said that Floyd and Davis were looking at a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun that someone had given Floyd some time back. The report states that Floyd found the gun on Friday and was not sure if there was a cartridge in it and did not know how to clean the gun... (Details are lacking but the comment that Floyd did not know how to clean the gun makes me wonder if it was a model that requires the trigger to be pressed during the disassembly process. The Rules: http://www.spw-duf.info/safety.html) http://www.wjbf.com/jbf/news/state_regional/south_carolina/article/anderson_county_councilwoman_accidentally_shot_at_home/17059/ --- Rule Five Reminder: A Tampa woman is recovering from a gunshot wound she received while using the bathroom at local hotel. Police say Thursday morning, 53-year-old Janifer Bliss was attending a women's health conference at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center on Fowler Avenue in Tampa. She was inside a bathroom stall, when a bullet came from the next stall and hit her in the leg... Police say 56-year-old Debra Monce has a concealed weapons permit and had the gun in the stall next to Bliss. "She had the gun in a holster on her pants. When she went to use the restroom, the gun fell out. It hit the ground. Once it hit the ground it discharged," said Tampa Police Spokesperson Andrea Davis. "[The bullet] went under the stall ... and hit the woman in the leg. "Police say anyone carrying a gun in a holster needs to be very aware of what type of holster they're using. "The type of holster the gun was in is called an open holster. It doesn't have any type of strap or clip holding the gun in," Davis said. (One also needs to be aware of the type of gun being used - most modern handguns won't discharge when dropped, with many derringers being exceptions. And why wouldn't one retain the means of self-defense while attending a medical conference?) http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/hillsborough/Woman_shot_in_bathroom_stall_070909 --- Where Are the Calls for "Car Control"?: Police arrested a Cibecue [AZ] woman for reportedly trying to run over her husband after an argument on June 7. Police answered a call concerning endangerment and risk of life at about 9:45 p.m. on the Deuce of Clubs and contacted Juanica Faye Lawson, 27, of Cibecue. Police said Lawson had been engaged in an argument with her husband of 11 years when things escalated and she allegedly "tried to run him over" three times with a vehicle. Police alleged that in the course of her actions Lawson also hit multiple other cars in the parking lot and when questioned about the incident she reportedly admitted to the allegations. She was booked and held on charges of aggravated assault, assault, criminal damage, alcohol-related domestic violence and endangerment and risk of life. She was referred to adult court. (No mention is made as to whether the vehicle was registered or the driver licensed.) http://www.wmicentral.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20343220&BRD=2264&PAG=461&dept_id=505965&rfi=6 A man crossing a Bronx street with his 6-year-old son was killed on Sunday by a driver who went on a wild 20-block ride and plowed into more than half a dozen cars, the police said. Witnesses told the police that the driver had gotten into an argument in a parking lot at East Gun Hill Road and Allerton Avenue in the Baychester section. The witnesses said the man sped out of the lot, slamming into another car and shoving it into a second parked vehicle. He headed westbound on East Gun Hill Road, the police said, and 10 blocks away, at Knapp Street, he hit the father, whose name was withheld. The child was not hurt, the police said... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/nyregion/13car.html?ref=nyregion A Canyon Country man was arrested on suspicion of murder, hit-and-run and driving under the influence after his pickup truck allegedly struck three bicyclists in the Angeles National Forest, killing one of them, authorities said. Joseph Novotny, 43, of Stevenson Ranch was struck on Bouquet Canyon Road while riding with the Santa Clarita Velo club, California Highway Patrol Officer Jose Nunez said. The two other cyclists were taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital. Marco Valencia, 20, was arrested about 90 minutes after the 10:46 a.m. collision and remained jailed in lieu of $1.1-million bail, according to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department... http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-santaclarita13-2009jul13,0,4687666.story --- Here's a Switch: Authorities in northern Mexico will give arms and training to members of an anti-crime group in a Mormon community after two local residents were killed by hitmen with ties to organized crime, residents said Friday. In a step similar to deputizing local residents, members of the hamlet of Colonia LeBaron say authorities in northern Chihuahua state are helping them create a community police force. "There are 77 residents of Colonia Lebaron who are willing to participate as community police," Chihuahua state Attorney General Patricia Gonzalez said. "We are taking the necessary steps to make them community police." ... http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/07/10/ap6643176.html --- New Zealand to Reclassify Autoloading Rifles: As we've seen in the past few days, gun owners need to be aware of local and global threats. This includes being mindful of restrictions imposed by gungrabbers in other countries. Case in point, New Zealand, where: "Thousands of gun owners will be affected by a decision to reclassify many weapons as military-style semi-automatics." ...That such a draconian and ridiculous change can be considered by anyone in government shows how perverse and meddling it has become. That this can be enacted by the police - and considered enforceable - is nothing short of an act of tyranny... http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m7d12-In-New-Zealand-reclassification-is-another-word-for-gun-ban -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .