RKBA Could Be Key Issue in Sotomayor Hearings: This week a federal appeals court held that the Second Amendment does not apply to state or city gun laws. Supporters of Judge Sonia Sotomayor incorrectly argue that this affirms her recent gun-control case. Now the NRA is petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case, and in doing so heats up the gun-rights issue to potentially become the dominant topic in Sotomayor's confirmation hearings. On June 2, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit handed down its decision in NRA v. Chicago. The city of Chicago has a ban on handguns almost as severe as the one invalidated by the Supreme Court last year in D.C. v. Heller. The National Rifle Association filed suit, seeking to have the Chicago gun ban struck down. The Seventh Circuit held that the Second Amendment right to bear arms does not apply to state or city laws. All three judges on the panel hearing the case were appointed by Republican presidents. In January, Sotomayor was on a three-judge panel from the Second Circuit that similarly held that the Second Amendment affects only federal law, not state or local law. Supporters of Sotomayor are touting the Chicago ruling as proof that her Second Circuit case, Maloney v. Cuomo, was a mainstream opinion, arguing that the Seventh Circuit agrees with her. But that's not exactly correct. It's true that both courts reached the same conclusion. It's also fair to say that this is not a "pro-gun" opinion, so gun owners shouldn't be thrilled with it. But it's not an "anti-gun" ruling, either. The circuit court here released a nine-page analysis delving into this issue in an even-handed manner, written by one of the best-regarded appellate judges in the nation... (This is a link worth clicking.) http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/06/04/klukowski_gun_issue_sotomayor/ ...In a 5-4 decision written by Justice Antonin Scalia, the court ruled that the 2nd Amendment indeed protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia and to use that firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. An individual right to bear arms is supported by "the historical narrative" both before and after the 2nd Amendment was adopted, Justice Scalia wrote. Not so fast. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected subsequent suits brought by the National Rifle Association against the city of Chicago and its suburb of Oak Park, both of which believe the Constitution prevents citizens from defending themselves. The Circuit Court decision was written by Judge Frank Easterbrook and joined by Judges Richard Posner and William Bauer. Easterbrook's reasoning is fascinating. According to him, the Revolution was fought and independence won so that the Founding Fathers could write a Constitution with a Bill of Rights that applied only to the District of Columbia... (This is another link worth clicking.) http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=329007151728356 --- Fort Bliss Requiring Firearm Registration: Another major U.S. military base is requiring soldiers who live off the premises to provide descriptions, serial numbers, calibers, makes and models of any of the guns they own privately, and do not take onto the premises of the installation. According to a copy of a "Weapons Registration Form" submitted to WND by a soldier from Fort Bliss in Texas, the soldiers have to provide their own information including Social Security number, a physical description and addresses and telephone numbers, along with the serial number, type, action, make, caliber, finish, location stored, model, overall length and barrel description of each weapon they own. Base public information officer Jean Offutt told WND that registration of privately owned weapons is suggested and recommended, but there's no enforcement procedures available to the military if someone chooses not to submit that off-post information... A spokesman at Army headquarters, Lt. Col. Lee Packnett, told WND that he wasn't aware of a systemwide effort to have solders' privately owned weapons registered, but confirmed that individual installations could be taking that action... http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=100151 --- From JPFO: ... It is at this point that we must acknowledge that if something is true in the temporal sense it must be provable. Let us then consider the case of David Olofson, the National Guard reservist from the state of Wisconsin, who at this moment sets in federal prison because he believed he was free to own a firearm in the United States of America without fear of unjust persecution by the BATF. He found out very quickly that if you happen to be singled out by this rogue bureaucracy (which is now more well known for its harassment of law abiding citizens than it is for its apprehension of criminals) you can lose any and all of your freedom. Olofson had loaned an older AR-15 (manufactured by Olympic Arms) to Robert Kiernicki and at some point when Kiernicki was firing the rifle a malfunction occurred and three rounds went down range with a single squeeze of the trigger. The weapon had not been modified in any way. It was simply a malfunction. But it was a malfunction that someone at the range took note of and called the police... (As I recall, Olofson's Olympic Arms AR-15 actually had a minor modification - the safety lever had been replaced with one from an M16, a change that one would not have expected to induce the malfunction, which BATFE was only able to replicate with one brand of ammunition.) http://www.jpfo.org/articles-assd/my-neighbors-freedom.htm --- Nevada Governor's CFP Scrutinized: Gov. Jim Gibbons said today he never carries a concealed gun, even though he has a permit to do so. And he said he once surrendered his weapons permit but he was never disciplined... The governor displayed his concealed weapons permit to newspaper reporters Tuesday and on the back it shows he is qualified to carry nine types of weapons. In January last year, Gibbons delayed getting the required training to qualify for carrying one of the guns. When the Washoe County Sheriff's Office raised the issue, Gibbons surrendered the license. There was never any disciplinary action taken, he said. The governor than said he took the additional training and qualified. He suggested he has had more training and gun experience than many of those people who train people on how to use weapons. A reporter for the Reno Gazette-Journal heard that the concealed weapon permit may have been suspended or revoked. Anjeanette Damon asked the sheriff's office for the information but it refused to disclose anything. The newspaper filed suit, appealing the ruling of Washoe County District Judge Janet Berry, who ruled the information was confidential... http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jun/02/gibbons-says-he-has-permit-doesnt-carry-concealed-/ --- From CCRKBA: Today's override by the Tennessee Legislature of Gov. Phil Bredesen's veto of a bill allowing law-abiding citizens to carry firearms into restaurants and bars that serve alcohol will help dispel the myth that armed citizens cannot be trusted in such environments, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms stated. The new statute retains the prohibition against armed citizens actually consuming alcohol, and it also allows restaurants to ban guns in their establishments. It takes effect on July 14 following a bipartisan 21-9 override vote in the Senate Thursday... http://www.ccrkba.org/pub/rkba/press-releases/tennesse.override.htm Handguns will soon be allowed in bars and restaurants in Tennessee under a new law passed by state legislators who voted to override the governor's veto. The legislation that takes effect July 14 retains an existing ban on consuming alcohol while carrying a handgun, and restaurant owners can still opt to ban weapons from their establishments. Thirty-seven other states have similar laws... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/05/AR2009060500900.html In a strong reaffirmation of the self-defense rights of Tennesseans, the Tennessee House and Senate have successfully overridden Governor Phil Bredesen's veto of House Bill 962. This NRA-supported bill will enable law-abiding right-to-carry permit holders to carry firearms for self-defense in restaurants. HB 962 passed both the House and Senate with broad bipartisan support, but Gov. Bredesen vetoed the bill on May 28, disappointing more than 200,000 right-to-carry permit holders in his state. While an override of the veto only needed a simple majority vote to pass, it cleared both chambers with overwhelming, bi-partisan support. Passage of the measure will allow law-abiding Tennesseans to protect themselves and their families. This measure was overridden today in the Senate by a margin of 2 1-9... http://www.opposingviews.com/articles/news-tenn-overrides-bresden-s-veto-allows-guns-in-restaraunts I have long been an advocate for the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms, in accordance with our Second Amendment right. A well-armed citizenry is one of the best defenses against crime. Our elected representatives in Nashville recently proposed legislation that would allow qualified citizens to carry firearms into state parks, restaurants and other places that serve alcohol, provided the carrier does not drink. They are to be commended for their pro-gun position, as well as for overriding the governor's veto of that gun bill. I support self-defense rights and every law-abiding citizen deserves the option of protecting themselves, even in those places where alcohol is being served, as long as they, themselves, are not consuming alcohol... http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_152578.asp --- New York State Senator Seeks Ban on Park Carry: Senator José M. Serrano moved quickly to ensure safety at state parks, in the wake of a reckless pro-gun provision that moved through Congress last month. The provision, tucked into a bill on credit card rules, allows park visitors to carry concealed weapons in national parks unless otherwise prohibited by state law. The Serrano bill (S.4753) would expressly ban concealed weapons in state parks, and thus ban them in New York's national parks as well. On Thursday, it passed the Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks & Recreation Committee - chaired by the Senator - and will now proceed to the Codes Committee... http://www.nysenate.gov/press-release/serrano-bill-strengthen-gun-control-ny-state-parks-passes-cultural-affairs-tourism-par --- Justifying Deadly force, Part 3: In the previous article, we examined the first criteria necessary for justifiable use of lethal force: the ability of the attacker to successfully inflict serious injury or death on their victim. But it takes more than ability to justify using deadly force in self-defense... The elderly pharmacist Bill Wynn in San Antonio and Jerome Ersland in Oklahoma City, recovering from recent back surgery, had guns aimed at them by criminals who had announced their intentions to commit the violent act of robbery: They were in jeopardy... Because the pharmacy robbers had already declared their intentions to take money and property, and shown their intention to use force by pointing guns at the victims, any group of jurors would find it reasonable to conclude that the pharmacists were in jeopardy, justifying the defensive use of deadly force... http://www.examiner.com/x-2879-Austin-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m6d4-Justifying-deadly-force-Part-3 --- An RKBA Reminder: ... Do you really believe that the men who had just fought a long and bloody war against the British and were writing what we call the Bill of Rights had this conversation: "Well, let's see. We've guaranteed freedom of assembly, of religion, of speech and of the press. Oh, my gosh, we've forgotten the duck hunters. They'll raise heck if we leave them out, so we'd better write an amendment for them." The Second Amendment has nothing whatsoever to do with hunting. It states: "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." The men who wrote these amendments were pretty darn fluent in English. If they had intended the right to keep and bear arms to apply only to the militia, they would have said so. They would have written "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the states to arm their respective militias shall not be infringed." ... http://www.lewrockwell.com/reese/reese463.html --- Ammo Situation Improving?: Over the last few days I have received a couple of e-mail flyers from Natchez Shooters Supplies advertising ammunition in some of the more common handgun calibers. Tuesday afternoon I attempted to purchase some Federal American Eagle 130 gr. FMJ .38 Special ammo for use by my students and they were already out. I took advantage of their e-mail alert system and, within about two hours, was able to place an order for ten 50-round boxes. I am hopeful that this may indicate that we are starting to move back into an elastic phase of the supply-and-demand curve. Historically, Natchez has offered reasonable, if not bargain-basement prices. I have no financial interest in this firm and share this as a possible source for those who may be out of ammo in certain calibers. http://www.natchezss.com/ -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .