Citizens United Decision Loosens Restrictions on RKBA Advocacy: Yesterday, the Supreme Court struck down some longstanding restrictions on political advocacy spending... Gun rights advocacy groups have long chafed under the restrictions, particularly some from the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002. Particularly nettlesome were provisions inserted by late Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN), that extended restrictions on last-minute ads to even non-profit groups--Wellstone mentioned the NRA by name as one of the targets of his amendment. ". . . Wellstone pushed an amendment to extend McCain-Feingold's ban on last-minute ads to nonprofits like "the NRA, the Sierra Club, the Christian Coalition, and others." Under the Wellstone Amendment, these organizations could only advertise using money raised under strict "hard money" limits - no more than $5,000 per individual. In the lead-up to passage of McCain-Feingold, the NRA raised the alarm about the problems with such legislation... http://www.examiner.com/x-2581-St-Louis-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d22-Supreme-Courts-campaign-finance-ruling-loosens-the-gag-on-gun-rights-groups --- Citizens United, Stare Decisis and Mc Donald: ...In his concurrence in yesterday's landmark free speech case Citizens United v. F.E.C., Roberts elaborated on when it is acceptable for the Court to overturn precedent: "... if adherence to a precedent actually impedes the stable and orderly adjudication of future cases, its stare decisis effect is also diminished. This can happen in a number of circumstances, such as when the precedent's validity is so hotly contested that it cannot reliably function as a basis for decision in future cases, when its rationale threatens to upend our settled jurisprudence in related areas of law, and when the precedent's underlying reasoning has become so discredited that the Court cannot keep the precedent alive without jury-rigging new and different justifications to shore up the original mistake." In early March, the Supreme Court will have the opportunity to consider another precedent, this time in a case centering on Section One of the 14th Amendment, which reads in part, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." Specifically, the gun rights case McDonald v. Chicago will address "Whether the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is incorporated as against the States by the Fourteenth Amendment's Privileges or Immunities or Due Process Clauses." ... http://reason.com/blog/2010/01/22/citizens-united-stare-decisis --- AR - "America's Rifle": ...AR15 rifle variants are everywhere. One theme this year of our host, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), is that "AR" stands for "America's Rifle." It's good to see new companies coming in and being innovative. American Spirit Arms introduces an AR15 with a bolt operating lever located on the left side above the magazine, like an FN FAL. This eliminates the one non-ergonomic feature of Gene Stoner's Armalite design in this writer's opinion: the awkward T-handle at the rear of the action. The price is competitive, the action is smooth, and the handling IS faster. Heckler & Koch's take on the American AR, shown as a non-functional prototype last year at SHOT, is shown this time as a functional prototype, and seems to draw much from the company's 416 rifle... (I recall, many years ago, Ayoob "explaining" to me that, in the law-enforcement community, "AR" stands for "assault rifle.") http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/2010/01/22/shot-show-day-four/ Attention, Washingtonians: There are loads of "black guns" - the so-called "assault weapons" that anti-gunners in the Washington Legislature want to ban - at the 2010 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show, and as this event wraps up, Evergreen State gun owners are facing a battle to protect those firearms. Earlier Friday, the Bellevue-based Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms issued an alert advising its thousands of members in Washington that Senate Bill 6396, which would ban new sales of semiautomatic sport-utility rifles, pistols and shotguns is up for a hearing next Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 10 a.m. Senator Adam Kline, the anti-gun Seattle Democrat who also chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, where the bill will be heard... That hearing is scheduled in Hearing Room 1 of the John A. Cherberg Senate Office building. Those who cannot make that hearing may also contact members of the committee, including Kline and co-sponsor Jeanne Kohl-Welles, or other committee members including.. http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d22-Black-guns-plentiful-at-SHOT-Show-in-sights-of-antigun-lawmakers-in-WA --- More Thoughts on the SHOT Show Arrests: ... We can ask why, according to the DoJ press release, this industry was targeted for "the largest single investigation and prosecution against individuals in the history of DOJ's enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act," and why, at a time when the nation's limited resources are needed to secure the Republic from real enemies... We can also ask questions about the sales policies and practices of the companies involved. The saying "it's not about guns, it's about freedom" is true. I confess I have a hard time working up sympathy for those who deal with some of these regimes, which are the same ones the international gun grabbers believe in empowering. As I asked recently (with tongue in cheek) on WarOnGuns, who better to trust with a monopoly on arms than African governments? We can ask all of these things, but just don't expect to see the questions answered. For now, barring new disclosures, all we can do is speculate. And we can reflect on the truth of words attributed to Lenin, of all people, that capitalists will sell the rope by which they will be hanged. Perhaps, as we learn more, the appropriate industry response to the feds will be for suppliers to commit to the same type of response Mr. Barrett gave the state of California. http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d22-SHOT-Show-bust-leaves-more-questions-than-answers --- Austin Gun Show - the Plot Sickens?: In the previous article on the Austin gun show, the promoter mentioned his need to find a new venue. As often happens, there is an untold story that helps explain what happened and why. And there were reasonable questions asked by readers, which are answered below... It appears that the Texas Gun Show event in north Austin was cancelled because: * The promoter didn't follow the rules he originally agreed to. * After TGS agreed last week to uphold the sublease agreement, sales by unlicensed dealers continued inside the venue. * Another illegal alien was arrested for buying a firearm. * Because of prior public notification, a private gun seller is now at risk of federal prosecution. * HEB, being ultimately responsible to abate the nuisance created by the previous year's illegal activity, acted to protect their interests, as any responsible company would. (I'm confused now. I thought one gun show was held, with tables limited to FFL's. Was there a second show scheduled and canceled within a week?) http://www.examiner.com/x-2879-Austin-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d22-Why-was-Austin-gun-show-cancelled --- NRA, TSRA Endorse Perry for Re-Election: Governor Rick Perry Friday accepted the endorsement of the National Rifle Association and the Texas State Rifle Association. "Texas gun owners, hunters and concealed handgun licensees are all in Gov. Perry's debt for his steadfast support and commitment to our invaluable Second Amendment rights," said Alice Tripp, TSRA PAC legislative director. The organization noted that Perry has signed several pieces of legislation that strengthen 2nd Amendment rights, including the castle Doctrine, which allows a homeowner to defend themselves with deadly force. http://www.kvue.com/news/politics/Gun-rights-groups-endorse-Perry-for-governor-82437022.html --- One More Georgia RKBA Bill: ... SB 291 was introduced in 2009 by Sen. David Shafer (R-48). It has already gathered a large number of cosponsors and is being pushed by the NRA and other groups supporting the right to bear arms. Its most relevant provision includes overhauling the concealed carry statute so that it would no longer be illegal for a person with a Georgia firearms license to carry another concealed weapon, such as a knife or expandable baton. At the same time, it would repeal Georgia's law requiring a firearms license to carry a handgun openly, making Georgia's license a true "concealed carry weapons license" rather than merely a firearms license. Many members of the Georgia public are unaware that Georgia is one of only 13 states that requires a license to carry a handgun openly, in addition to requiring a license to carry concealed. Among those other twelve states are New Jersey, Massachussetts, Maryland, and Hawaii. If SB 291 were to pass, Georgia would join the majority of 27 states that also require no license to carry a handgun openly... http://www.examiner.com/x-5619-Atlanta-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d22-GA-Bills-SB-291-a-bill-to-revise-the-law-about-carrying-concealed-weapons --- Indiana Confidentiality Bill Advances: Public access to the state database of people with permits to carry guns would be closed under a bill on its way to the floor of the Indiana House. The bill was filed following complaints over newspaper stories that used information from the database to scrutinize how gun permits are issued, including one that found a permit wound up in the hands of a man who had pressed the barrel of a loaded handgun into the chest of a woman holding a baby. The House Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved the bill Thursday... The bill's author, Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, said she been contacted by constituents who were alarmed that their privacy might be violated by such stories. "It wasn't just people who owned guns," she said. "It was people who didn't own guns and said, 'I don't like the idea that somebody can know I don't have a permit, which may make them think that I don't have a gun and come and rob me,"' Welch said. Welch said she still wants the media and academics to get generic information such as the number of permits issued per county, but not gun owners' names and addresses... http://www.bcdemocrat.com/index.php?id=1104 --- Colorado Background Fee May Have Been Scuttled: Gov. Bill Ritter's proposal to make gun buyers pay for their criminal background checks hit a snag Thursday when Republicans on the Joint Budget Committee refused to support it. And the proposal may not go far after that, the JBC's chairman said. Ritter, a Democrat, in August proposed a number of measures to help balance the budget in the current fiscal year that ends in June. Included in those items was a proposal that would have imposed a $10.50 fee on gun purchases to pay the cost of criminal background checks, which the state currently covers. The fee would have generated an estimated $557,000 over four months in the current budget year and about $1.6 million when imposed over the full 12 months of the following year... http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2010/01/21/gun-check-fee-proposal-running-into-trouble/ --- Florida Bill Would Ban Gun Questions: Adoption agencies would be barred from making prospective parents reveal whether they have guns or ammunition at home under a measure that sailed through a House panel Thursday with the backing of the National Rifle Association. Rep. Mike Horner, R-Kissimmee, said he and his wife are dealing with a "mountain" of paperwork as they attempt to adopt a child through the Children's Home Society of Florida, which assists with adoptions in the Orlando area. But the couple were offended when asked about their weapons cache... Horner's legislation (CS/HB 315) would bar forms demanding weapons information, but would require those seeking to adopt to acknowledge they have received a copy of the state law requiring that anyone owing a loaded firearm keep it safely stored away from minors. The measure cleared the Health and Family Services Policy Council on a 15-0 vote. The only significant challenge came from Rep. Kelly Skidmore, D-Boca Raton, who said she didn't agree with Horner's view about the motives behind the agency's questions... http://www.newsserviceflorida.com/cgi/as_web.exe?rev2010+D+495940 --- California School Board Reverses Expulsion: In the end, the case of a Willows teenager expelled for having hunting guns in his pickup truck parked next to campus didn't focus on gun rights. It became a question of whether the authority of school officials to enforce the state's Education Code extended to the school fence - or a sidewalk's width beyond it. On Friday, members of the Glenn County Board of Education drew the line at the gates of Willows High School. They ruled that officials in the Willows Unified School District had exceeded their authority when they expelled Gary Tudesko - a 17-year-old with a history of disciplinary problems - for leaving two shotguns and ammunition in his truck parked a few feet from the school's tennis courts on a public street... In overturning the teen's expulsion, county Board of Education members cited a state statute that requires a principal to recommend expulsion if a student possesses firearms "at school." The board found Tudesko had not possessed the shotguns "on school grounds." They also said Tudesko did not receive a fair expulsion hearing in November because he wasn't given adequate notice that two dozen prior disciplinary incidents would be presented as evidence against him, and he didn't have a chance to respond... http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2483630.html --- More Open-Carry Events in California: David LaTour rolled out of bed on a recent Saturday morning and prepared for a leisurely lunch: Wallet, check. Car keys, check. Springfield XD 9 mm pistol and ammunition, check. Springfield XD 9 mm pistol and ammunition? The Hayward resident is a member of an organization slowly gaining membership in the Bay Area. Open Carry aims to make it possible for Americans in every state to legally carry loaded guns in public. The loosely organized Bay Area chapter is igniting powerful feelings among law enforcement agencies, gun control advocates and ordinary residents. "I do it to defend myself and my rights. Carrying guns can prevent burglaries and assaults," LaTour said. The San Jose State engineering student meets in public places with fellow members of the group, who all display holstered unloaded pistols. Open Carry advocates rely on a section in the California Penal Code that prohibits concealed weapons. It states that "guns carried openly in belt holsters are not concealed." It is legal to do so as long as the group or individual is 1,000 feet away from a K-12 school... (While some California counties do issue CWP's to ordinary citizens, most of the state is like Wisconsin, where open carry is the only legal option as well as a way to protest the lack of lawful concealed carry. However, open carry in California is riskier because the firearm must be kept unloaded, making the carrier a more likely target of a mugger, who'd love to have the gun to carry illegally.) http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_14241180?nclick_check=1 --- Oops, Wrong House, Florida Version: A man who showed up at the door of a Port St. Lucie home about 3 p.m. Friday forced his way into the residence and was shot dead by the homeowner, Port St. Lucie Police Department Information Officer Tom Nichols said. Identification of the people living in the house in the 2100 block of Southwest Pruitt Street will not be available until early next week. Nichols said the home's resident retreated to a bedroom and retrieved a shotgun after the intruder forced his way in and argued with him. The two struggled with the gun and it discharged, striking the intruder in the upper torso, Nichols said... (All's well that ends well but it's a lot easier for an assailant to disarm a defender of a long gun than a handgun and it appears that this is what was attempted here.) http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/jan/22/home-invader-gunned-down/ --- Oops, Wrong House, New Mexico Version: A man who deputies say was trying to break into a North Valley home was shot and killed early Thursday. Bernalillo County deputies report that they found 43-year-old Dimas Apodaca, dead in a front yard at Pueblo Luna near Second Street and Osuna. Neighbor Orlando Lucero said that he heard "three loud thumps, sounds like they kicked the door in. Come to find out it was a sledgehammer followed by four or five shots and a car speeding off." Sergeant Mark Kmatz of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office says people at the scene have been detained. "We've made contact with everybody here that we have detained, but just for interview purposes," he said. "It doesn't mean they were involved." Nobody else was hurt in the incident that happened at about 3:00 in the morning. Investigators say they've obtained a search warrant for the home and they detained six people for questioning. (The video clip presents the residents of the home in a more favorable light.) http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S1377145.shtml?cat=500 --- Oops, Wrong Trailer: A 17-year-old youth was fatally shot during an apparent burglary of a Houston Valley Road mobile home shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday. Sheriff Steve Burns identified the youth as Michael E.A. Banner, 17, of Wykle Road. Greene County [TN[ sheriff's deputies were notified of the incident at 10:55 p.m. and subsequently were told by Alan Burch, 53, who resides in a mobile home at 2235 Houston Valley Road, that he had been awakened by the sound of someone kicking open the door of his residence, Sheriff Burns said. Burch told officers that he fired shots toward the entrance to the mobile home and subsequently found that at least one of the shots had struck a youth later identified as Banner. Sheriff Burns said three other suspects were believed to have fled the shooting scene and were still being sought this morning... http://www.greenevillesun.com/story/307737 --- Oops, Wrong Liquor Store: A 27-year-old man was fatally shot by a clerk while trying to rob a southwest suburban liquor store Thursday night, the Herald-News is reporting. About 10 p.m., the suspect, who's identity has not been released, came into S and A Liquor at 1480 Cedarwood Dr. in Crest Hill [IL] and demanded money, police said. "There was a struggle and the clerk fired a shot which appears to have hit the robber before he ran out," Crest Hill police Chief Dwayne Wilkerson said. Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet later contacted police after a man arrived with a gunshot wound and investigators were able to identify him as the robber. "He later succumbed to his injuries," Wilkerson said. The incident was still being investigated Friday morning. http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/2005860,crest-hill-liquor-store-shooting-012210.article --- Oops, Wrong Pharmacy: A man who put a container on a pharmacy counter, claimed it was a bomb and demanded prescription drugs left after the pharmacist wielded a shotgun. The pharmacist at the Kansas City, Kan., pharmacy at 4501 Rainbow Blvd. fired at the would-be robber as he drove off in a car, police said. It is not know if the robber or his car was hit in the incident about 11:30 a.m., they said. The bomb squad soon determined that the package was not a bomb. The crime is similar to another incident Jan. 4 in Overland Park where a robber put a clock taped to a box on a pharmacy counter, said it was a bomb and left with a small amount of drugs. Police said they do not know whether the two incidents are related... http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/1696802.html --- Once the Threat Has Ended...: [NY] State police say two attempted burglary suspects are in jail, and the homeowner targeted in the break-in Thursday morning is charged with reckless endangerment after firing shots at their car. There were no injuries in the incident on Akron Road. State police arrested Jenna M. Zsebhazy, 18, of Washburn Street, Lockport, and Anibal R. Cordero, 24, of Dysinger Road, Town of Lockport, on felony second-degree attempted burglary charges. The homeowner, Dennis F. Cherry, 63, 7643 Akron Road, was also arrested during the same incident. He was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, a felony; second-degree criminal mischief, a felony; and second-degree menacing, a misdemeanor... State police investigators piecing together events said the suspects drove to the residence together, and Zsebhazy tried to enter the house through an open garage door. Both suspects were confronted by Cherry, who had a Colt AR-15 rifle, investigators said. Cherry reportedly detained Zsebhazy, while Cordero tried to escape in the vehicle. The homeowner then proceeded to fire approximately 15 rounds from his rifle at the vehicle, according to the report... (New York ain't Texas. Or Kansas, for that matter.) http://www.lockportjournal.com/local/local_story_022003301.html --- A Political Taint to Philadelphia Shooting Arrest?: The victim of a shooting outside of Fox 29's studios in Old City early Sunday is the nephew of city Republican leader Michael Meehan and part of the family that's run Philadelphia's Republican party for three generations. Edward "Eddie" DiDonato Jr., 23, remains in critical condition at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital after being shot six times by Temple Law student Gerald Ung, 28, following a confrontation on Market Street near 4th about 2:30 a.m., police said... Supervisors at the Police Department's Central Detectives and Public Affairs divisions said that the incident remains under investigation and that a motive has not been determined beyond an argument that preceded the shooting... Fox 29, whose surveillance videos caught the shooting on tape, reported that Ung was rushed by a group of people and that "when the video is slowed down, the shooting victim can be seen delivering punches even as the gun is discharging." Lt. Frank Vanore, police spokesman, said that Ung waited at the scene and approached the first officer who arrived... Fox reported that Ung had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, issued to him in his home state of Virginia yet one of the charges against Ung, along with attempted murder, is firearms not to be carried without a license, according to court records... http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20100120_Shooting_victim_is_kin_to_GOP_leader_Meehan.html?cmpid=41144277 --- An Armed Society Is a Polite Society: ... Both of these events were in Illinois. Bear in mind that Illinois is one of two states that does not have a "conceal-carry" law related to firearms. My contention is that this is relative to the behavior in both instances. The third event was much, much more crowded than the first two with the potential for many more problems. It was large gun show in Indianapolis. The scene takes place indoors at the fairgrounds. The parking is hectic with thousands flocking in to go to this event as well as several others on the same grounds. The parking lot is dotted with collectors, vendors, and sportsmen carrying from one to armloads of rifles, shotguns and handguns into and out of the building. Everything is calm and mannerly in the parking lots and surrounding areas. Within the buildings, the safety and security of the armament is foremost to insure the proper type of environment for all involved, but most noticeable is the different demeanor of all involved. The masses moving up and down the aisles were congested but orderly and mannerly. This is a state with a conceal-carry law and an entirely different outlook on their Second Amendment rights than does Illinois. The physical location of this event is not the factor than controls attitude and behavior as much as is the realization and "mind-set" of the participants. It is the knowledge that the vast majority of these people sharing this congested space had the ability, the means, and the right to protect themselves from adversity. It's no different than the bully on the playground; He doesn't pick on the kid with a ball-bat. He picks on a "target" that looks vulnerable... http://www.jg-tc.com/articles/2010/01/21/features/outdoors/doc4b59155bf1007877476896.txt --- An "Accident" Waiting to Happen: Among the booths of firearms and shotguns at SHOT Show 2010, one company's less lethal option stood out. Piexon's powerful less lethal tool, the JPX^(TM) Jet Protector®, is in use across Europe and has become a bestseller since launching in 1999. The hand-held OC delivery system is functional, with a conventional pistol-like design [emphasis added] to ensure solid training and accuracy. The propulsion system launches high-grade OC solution at 430 km/h; effective range is up to 16.5 feet away. Each magazine contains two charges, and snaps on the frame for quick and easy use... (There has been more than one unintentional shooting in the US law-enforcement community when the officer only intended to use a Taser. Packaging less-lethal weapons and restraint devices in pistol-like units increases the chance of confusing defensive tools under stress.) http://www.policeone.com/police-products/less-lethal/articles/1992780-SHOT-Show-2010-Piexon-provides-alternatives-to-OC-spray-canisters/ -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. The tactics and skills to use a firearm in self-defense don't come naturally with the right to keep and bear arms. http://www.spw-duf.info .