Big Brother May Get to Name Second Supreme: The legal world -- or at least those who watch movements at the Supreme Court closely - is a bit abuzz this morning with the news that Justice John Paul Stevens has confirmed that he has hired only one clerk so far for next year's term. Clerk-watching has long been one of the signals as to whether a justice plans to retire, although clearly not foolproof and definitely not official. Justices usually hire three to four clerks by the beginning of the summer, a year or so before the next term when the clerks would start work. For Justice Stevens, the one hire - for the Supreme Court season beginning in October 2010 - is fueling suggestions that plans to retire may be in the offing... If Justice Stevens does announce plans to retire, his decision could provide President Obama with his second nomination to the court. Justice Sonia Sotomayor was just confirmed to Mr. Souter's seat this summer, and much has been written about whether Republicans held their fire and are laying in wait to more heavily contest a second Obama choice that could alter the outcome of the court's decision-making. (The Sotomayor-rather-than-Souter discussion rests on the understanding that the views of the two, while not identical, would not dramatically shift the balance of the Supreme Court.) ... (A Gerald Ford appointee, Stevens is nonetheless a member of the Court's liberal wing.) http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/02/supreme-court-watch-on-justice-stevens/ http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/09/justice-stevens-exiting-next-year.html --- NRA Applauds House Version of F Troop Reform Act: We would like to applaud the efforts of U.S. Representatives Steve King (R-Iowa), and Zack Space (D-Ohio) for their pro-Second Amendment advocacy in introducing H.R. 2296: The "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act of 2009" (a companion bill - S. 941 - was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)). These bipartisan bills are mainly aimed at one problem: Around the country, gun stores - small and large - have been threatened with closure over minor, unintentional record-keeping violations. The bills would roll back unnecessary restrictions, correct errors, and codify longstanding congressional policies in the firearms arena. These bipartisan bills are a vital step to modernize and improve BATFE operations. Of highest importance, H.R. 2296 and S. 941 rewrite the system of administrative penalties for licensed dealers, manufacturers and importers of firearms. Today, for most violations, BATFE can only give a federal firearms license (FFL) holder a warning, or completely revoke his license... (On the other end of the RKBA spectrum, JPFO argues that the correct course is to disband F Troop, not "reform" it.) http://www.ammoland.com/2009/09/01/nra-ila-applauds-the-efforts-of-u-s-representatives-steve-king-zack-space/ --- GOA Director Seeks to Link Tea Parties, RKBA: Larry Pratt has backed Second Amendment rights for Americans to bear arms for nearly three decades. The executive director of Gun Owners of America has more help now to pressure national government actions as the Tea Party movement attracts thousands of United States residents who are opposed to heavy federal spending, taxes and say in their day-to-day lives. "Americans have increasingly come to the conclusion that our government is out of control," said Pratt in a telephone interview from his office in Springfield, Va. "It's time for elected officials to behave as employees and listen to what the boss wants." He makes his first appearance in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., on Sept. 12 in an event dubbed 9/12 Tea Party. It's hosted by the Northern Michigan Liberty Alliance and Soo Tea Party. The gathering runs from noon to 2 p.m. at Peck and Ashmun streets... http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1724545 --- Arming the Taliban: It's not just corrupt Mexican officials and drug cartels benefiting from U.S. government-supplied and approved weapons exports. Michael Crowley's "Outrageous: Friends Like These" in the September issue of Reader's Digest (posted online as "American Weapons in the Hands of the Taliban") shows the same thing happening on the other side of the globe... Experience has shown us that when corrupt people get their hands on things of value, they divert them from their intended course and exploit them for their personal benefit. It also shows us when this happens in Mexico, U.S. gun owners make for easy fall guys, ones the anti-defense lobby, opportunistic politicians and their "authorized journalist" lapdogs are happy to exploit. And despite the fact that the Middle East is half a world away, the gun grabbers and their cheerleaders haven't been above promulgating the same kind of fraud for that region... (It's not just corruption that puts weapons and ammunition into enemy hands. A basic principle of guerilla warfare is to let your enemy be your logistical support. This is why some countries ban private ownership of firearms chambered in military calibers. Americans, fortunately, are not yet under such restrictions.) http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m9d1-What-role-does-government-play-in-arming-Taliban --- Robert Levy Explains DC CCW Lawsuit: The Supreme Court, in District of Columbia v. Heller, declared that Washington's 32-year ban on all functional firearms violated the Second Amendment. Justice Antonin Scalia's majority opinion, however, applied only to possession of guns in the home. The court did not address, and was not asked to address, firearms carried outside the home. That's the issue posed in a new lawsuit against the District by Tom Palmer (disclosure: my colleague at the Cato Institute) and four other plaintiffs - represented by Alan Gura, the lawyer who successfully argued Heller before the court... Indeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, although she dissented in Heller, cited Black's Law Dictionary to suggest in a prior opinion that the Second Amendment entails a right to "wear, bear, or carry ..... upon the person or in the clothing or in a pocket, ..... armed and ready ..... in a case of conflict with another person." That language, says Michael O'Shea in the West Virginia Law Review, "reads like a literal description of the practice of lawful concealed carry, as engaged in by millions of Americans in the forty-eight states that authorize the carrying of concealed handguns." ... http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-opinions/2009/09/gun_owners_next_victory_in_dc.html Video: A reporter from The Washington Post gets an assignment to purchase a handgun. The assignment was to go through the purchase, then sell the gun. Now he's got second thoughts about selling it back. It's not clear if he went through the process of transferring and registering the gun in DC or if he was merely meeting Maryland's requirements. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2009/08/18/VI2009081801868.html --- Nebraska Recognizes Permits from 34 States: Folks from Iowa, Kansas, Colorado and at least 31 other states are welcome to bring their concealed handguns into the Cornhusker State. But those from South Dakota and 11 other states are not. That's the word from the Nebraska Attorney General's Office, which was required by a new state law to determine which states have comparable concealed handgun permit laws to Nebraska's. That determines which states' residents could legally carry concealed handguns in Nebraska, as well as their home state. The review found that 34 states have standards equal to or greater than Nebraska's. People who have obtained concealed weapons permits in those states have reciprocal rights here and can legally carry concealed weapons in Nebraska, said Leah Bucco-White of the Nebraska Attorney General's Office... (Arizona is one of the 34.) http://www.omaha.com/article/20090901/NEWS01/709019938 --- Updated Arizona CWP Statistics: Arizona currently has 138,348 permits outstanding with 1,600 suspensions and 972 revocations. That's a revocation rate for permittees of 0.7%. By comparison, the revocation rate for instructors is more than double, at 1.9%. Instructors typically get revoked for certifying training they have not provided or have not provided in full. Suspensions for permittees may result from such things as being arrested for an offense that would make the individual ineligible for the permit. If convicted, the permit would be revoked; if acquitted, the permit would be restored. The largest block of male permittees in now the 60-69 age group while for women it is in the 50-59 age group; I suspect this may reflect the tendency of wives to be a few years younger than their husbands. With 21 recognized reservations in the state, American Indians still remain the smallest ethnic block of permittees in Arizona. http://ccw.azdps.gov/Stats.htm --- Tennessee City Drops Park-Carry Ban: Tennessee's new guns-in-parks law goes into effect today. Around Nashville, most communities rushed to institute local gun bans for their parks - but not the City of Fairview. The countywide middle school cross country meet for Bowie Nature Park was nearly cancelled after the city commission chose not to "opt out" of the new state law. That law and the city's decision to uphold it is in direct conflict with a law banning firearms from schools and school activities - including those activities that take place off of school grounds... City officials originally believed the park's deed restriction meant the new law was a non-issue in Fairview. At the August 20 city meeting, Fairview city attorney Larry Cantrell clarified the newly-passed state law supersedes any city law or restriction... (One can only hope that the new patchwork of park-carry bans across the state will be resolved by state preemption in the next legislative session.) http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090901/MTCN06/90901052/City+to+allow+permitted+guns+in+park Cities, towns all over Tennessee have been facing the same question about "opting out" of a new law that permits firearms to be carried in city parks. And while many are passing the opt-out clause and prohibiting guns in public places, they are facing the ire of many residents who believe the law is infringing in their individual right to bear arms - a right guaranteed in the second amendment of the Bill of Rights "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." id the framers of our constitution intend for anyone and everyone to be able to carry a gun anywhere, anytime? Or is that amendment specifically talking about militia - and the right of the people to defend their selves from invasion or tyranny? ... (Since Heller did not incorporate the Second Amendment against the states, perhaps we should look at the Tennessee State Constitution: That the citizens of this State have a right to keep and to bear arms for their common defense; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime. Art. I, § 26 (enacted 1870). http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20090901/STEWART06/90831024 A 60-year-old man who lives in Antioch, which is actually in south Nashville, arrived home about 9:30 p.m. Saturday night and, as he talked to a friend in his car, two younger men approached the automobile where they sat. One, who is 17, had a handgun in his hand while another, age 19, stood nearby with a shotgun. There is no doubt they intended to rob the driver of the car, but the 60-year-old immediately drew his own 38-caliber handgun and shot his 17-year-old assailant in a clear act of self-defense. The younger teenager was shot in the chest, but ran in terror... According to another story in Nashville yesterday, about 70 cities are opting away from a new law that allows firearms to be carried in parks by those who have the permits to do so. Some objectors would lead you to believe it will lead to constant shootings, but that is hardly the reason the law was created - the "bad guys" bring their weapons anyway, in much the same fashion the two Nashville teenagers did last weekend... http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_158025.asp --- More Preaching beyond the Choir: Gun-rights activists in Illinois are making another run at stereotypes in Chicago in less than one week--and they may need some help. Chicago is known across the nation as a stronghold of the gun-control movement, and one way anti-gun politicians have maintained that status for decades is to portray gun rights as a racial issue--a conflict between black and white voters. Voters are told that rural white racists who collect guns and urban black men who can't be trusted with weapons are the culprits behind Chicago's rampant violent crime... If you like the idea of breaking stereotypes, there are two easy ways to help. First, if you live in the Chicago area, consider volunteering your own time to talk to people this weekend; local Chicago grassroots activists have stepped up to take over more and more of the local Chicago events, but more are always welcome. If you can't make it, or you simply live too far away, Illinois Carry is still accepting donations to pay for printing and booth rental. Unlike anti-gun groups who can count on the Joyce Foundation for easy money, pro-gun groups in Illinois operate on shoestring budgets, so donations are always welcome. http://www.examiner.com/x-17034-Chicago-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m9d2-African-Festival-Chicago-Gun-Rights --- Open-Carry Demonstration in California: A group of gun advocates openly carried their unloaded firearms to an Escondido mall Tuesday afternoon. Many of the patrons at nearby restaurants said their actions were intimidating. The six men and two women, ages 24 to 77, drank some beverages from Starbucks at the Signature Pavilion on West Valley Parkway and left after an uneventful hour. The gathering was organized by Escondido Open Carry, founded by Escondido residents Gerald Reaster, 69, and Donna Woods, 77, in response to the growing movement nationwide to openly carry guns. The movement asserts an individual's right to bear arms under the Second Amendment and the privilege to wear an unloaded gun openly in California... (To paraphrase Big Brother, what works in Wisconsin may not work in California. The Wisconsin open-carry movement is intended, by many, to push the legislature to muster a veto-proof vote for shall-issue CCW. In California, where discretionary-issue CCW is already on the books, I think it's more likely to backfire and produce a ban on the carry of unloaded firearms in public places, where it's already illegal to carry loaded ones. I'd love to be proven wrong. As an aside, it can be argued that receiving a permit to carry a concealed firearm in California is a privilege but, currently, openly carrying an unloaded one is still a right.) http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/01/bn01guns-open-carry/?northcounty&zIndex=158915 --- California CCW Suit Delayed: Summary resolution of the Federal suit filed last May 5 against Sacramento Sheriff John McGinness and others, Sykes v. McGinness, was delayed by a September 1 written order from Judge Morrison C. England Jr. His decision gives time to the defendants to determine whether the plaintiffs are qualified to bring the suit, and also waits for a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, rehearing the case of Nordyke v. King. In the Nordyke case, a gun show operator challenged an Alameda County decision to ban gun shows from using the county fairgrounds to hold shows. The appeals court said that the Second Amendment applied to states, just as most of the other provisions in the Bill of Rights do, but that the county's interest in security at its facilities was a legitimate reason to prohibit gun shows. If the ruling that the Second Amendment restricts what states can do stands, then in the western states under the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit, individuals have a personal Constitutional right to bear arms. That principle was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2008 case of District of Colombia v. Heller, but the court limited its application to the case before it, since the District of Colombia is a federal district, not a state... http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/12987/DELAY_IN_WEAPONS_PERMIT_SUIT_AGAINST_SACRAMENTO_SHERIFF --- Second Amendment Event in Michigan: The Second Amendment March, which advocates for protection of the right to bear arms, will hold a Town Hall Style Meeting from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26 at James Clements Airport in Bay City. The meeting will focus on what is happening in Michigan and nation-wide with gun rights and laws, said Glenn Duncan, owner of Duncans Outdoor Shop, 501 Salzburg, in Bay City. The march is set to take place on April 19, 2010 in Washington, D.C. The Michigan march will be held April 13, 2010 in Lansing. Those who wish to attend the meeting are encouraged to bring their own chairs. Terri Stocke, the president of the March, will speak at the event along with representatives from groups like the National Rifle Association and the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners, Duncan said... http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2009/09/second_amendment_march_making.html --- Ohio Auto Shop Welcomes Armed Customers: One of the more frequent complaints from Ohio concealed handgun license (CHL) -holders is the number of "no-guns" signs posted in businesses. Although the number of signs has definitely decreased in the five years since the successful self-defense law was passed, far too many businesses - especially in urban areas - still post signs telling some of their customers that they are not welcome. So it is a welcome change indeed when a business not only refuses to post the offensive and unsafe signs, but actually spends marketing dollars to encourage CHL-holders to shop at their store. And that is exactly what an automotive repair facility in northeast Ohio is doing! ... http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6855 --- NRA Debuts Instructor Website: The National Rifle Association's Training Department is pleased to announce the launch of a new website, NRAInstructors.org. With this new site, NRA Certified Instructors can promote firearms training opportunities, allow online student registration, and streamline the process of reporting courses. This secure web-based environment allows NRA Certified Instructors to advertise their courses, register and manage students, and market future courses to prior and prospective students, all at no charge. Trainers can now view and submit all course reports online via NRAInstructors.org, and even purchase training materials through the site... http://www.ammoland.com/2009/09/01/nras-training-department-website-for-firearms-instructors/ --- Firearm Industry Analysis: From Brownells: ...We believe the insane demand level for tactical firearms is over and future demands for these products will come back down to the industry norms. Keep in mind, though, there have been a huge number of non-traditional firearms buyers making purchases of AR-15's. So there are a lot of customers out there who will still want to accessorize and modify one of the world's most versatile and popular platforms. Definitely still a market for AR-15 "stuff", but a much softer one for the basic platform itself. The conceal carry/home defense market, however, is starting to heat up and right now is the beginning of a "short boom", not as significant as tactical rifles, but one nonetheless. We don't know how much leg this market can get under it or how long it might run. It is getting lots of play right now in the gun press, so take a look at how you can get into it modestly and watch it closely. We strongly believe the reloading and ammo markets are still underserved and have strong growth ahead of them. It will take longer to get these markets back to a norm because the primer shortage. The deep fluctuations/price increases in the metals markets from which most of these ammo components are made - lead, copper, brass has an impact on availability and prices. Our industry's share of these markets is not even a wrinkle, and we have neither control nor any leverage we can bring into play. We just have to wait for the metals markets to settle out. Shotgun and hunting markets did not seem to have the favorable run-up as the tactical weapons market. From what we think we see, there might be some returning strength. It looks like reservations for hunts have still to recover. We definitely expect those to slowly come back, but quite possibly not until folks are more comfortable the economy has settled down and a general recovery is underway. Hunts are discretionary, more easily put off... From the NRA: Despite the surge of sales of ammunition and self-defense firearms that began late last year and has continued until early this summer, all is not roses. Hunting rifles, sporting shotguns and target guns have been gathering dust on dealers' shelves and inventory levels are high at manufacturers and wholesalers alike. "There's a pendulum that swings back and forth. In 1998 there was something like this [current sales slump of sporting guns] when we were four years into the assault weapon ban. There had been tremendously concentrated purchasing leading up to the ban of semi-automatic rifles, semi-automatic pistols and high-capacity magazines," said a longtime industry veteran of one of the major manufacturers who spoke to The Insider on condition of anonymity. "Then you had a transition after the assault rifle ban sunsetted in 2004 with another concentrated buying scenario. Also, from 2004 to 2008, you had a pretty significant wealth effect going into the market. People felt enriched and they were buying stuff, whatever it was - guns and other things..." http://www.americanrifleman.org/ArticlePage.aspx?id=1787&cid=25 --- Where Guns Are Highly Restricted...: As the high-profile attorney general for Ontario, Michael Bryant had championed severe and controversial traffic safety laws. On Tuesday, he was charged with criminal negligence causing death and with dangerous driving causing death in an unusually violent episode of road rage involving a bicyclist. The arrest of Mr. Bryant stemmed from a collision between a bicycle and an automobile in Toronto's most prestigious shopping district late Monday evening. The episode started off as minor but swiftly escalated, leading to the death of Darcy Allan Sheppard, 33, who was identified as a bicycle courier... (It appears that, at least in "civilized" nations, non-gun-owners seem to have more volatile tempers than gun owners. Perhaps that helps explain their hoplophobia.) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/02/world/americas/02toronto.html?_r=1&ref=world --- From AzCDL: We have confirmed the following speakers for AzCDL's Annual Meeting of Members on October 3, 2009 at the Beaudry Event Center, 3200 E. Irvington, in Tucson. Senator Jonathon Paton: http://tinyurl.com/JPaton (District 30, Chair, Arizona Senate Judiciary Committee). Senator Russell Pearce: http://tinyurl.com/n74qjs (District 18, Chair, Arizona Senate Appropriations Committee). Representative John Kavanagh: http://tinyurl.com/JKavanagh (District 8, Chair, Arizona House Appropriations Committee). Jesse Kelly: http://www.votejessekelly.com/ (Candidate for Arizona's Eighth U.S. Congressional District). If you have not already reserved your tickets for AzCDL's annual meeting, we urge you to do so before time runs out. The reservation form can be found at: http://www.azcdl.org/2009RSVP1d.pdf . If you are a Life Member, or if you joined AzCDL or renewed your membership after June 30, 2009, you are eligible to attend the Annual Meeting luncheon for FREE, or at a steeply discounted rate, depending on the cost of your membership. Otherwise, the fee for lunch is $25 per person, which includes a FREE Basic Annual AzCDL membership! If you have any questions, please direct them to Fred: Treasurer@AzCDL.org . Prior to the meeting, a buffet luncheon will be served at 1:00 PM. Lunch will be catered by Port-A-Pit and will feature their Pit Chicken, Country-Style Pork Ribs and Tri-Tip. Side dishes include salads, beans and muffins. Desert is a mixed berry cobbler. Iced tea, water, lemonade and coffee are included. Vegetarian alternatives will also be available. The schedule of events is a follows: Noon - Registration and seating for lunch 1:00 PM - Lunch is served 2:00 PM - Annual Meeting begins 4:00 PM - Adjournment Reservations must be received by Saturday, September 26, 2009. Pre-payment is required to reserve meals. All attendees will be eligible for our door prize drawing of a Front Sight Course Certificate, good for a 4-day Defensive Pistol, Tactical Shotgun or Practical Rifle class. The certificate also allows two people to attend a 2-day version of these classes. Information on these courses can be found here: http://www.frontsight.com/ . As with all our Annual Meetings, the tasteful open carrying of firearms is appreciated. These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Renew today! http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html AzCDL - Protecting Your Freedom http://www.azcdl.org/html/accomplishments.html 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 .