From GOA: With the retirement of the liberal justice John Paul Stevens from the U.S. Supreme Court, there has been fervent speculation over the weekend as to which anti-gun crazy will be nominated by Barack Obama to succeed him. The successor could cast the deciding vote on the constitutionality of ObamaCare. And there has also been speculation whether Senate Republicans -- fresh from their bumbling, feckless ObamaCare strategy - will pull their punches on a Supreme Court nominee in order not to appear "obstructionist." Senate Campaign Committee Chairman and Texas Senator John Cornyn said Republicans would "bend over backwards both in appearance and in reality to give the nominee a fair process." You may remember this was the same Senate leadership team that "bent over backwards" on ObamaCare. And Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi took advantage of their "bent-over-backwards" position to kick them in the rear... If you have at least one Republican senator, you can help. If all Senate Republicans stand together, we can stop Obama from putting another anti-gun justice to the Supreme Court... (Link will let you generate a letter or e-mail to your Republican senators.) http://gunowners.org/041310.htm Democratic senators are urging President Barack Obama to abandon any hope of winning broad Republican support for his upcoming Supreme Court pick - and to nominate, instead, a dominant liberal voice who will counteract the current conservative majority. Top Democrats say the partisan fights over health care reform, the stimulus and other issues show that the GOP won't play ball and that Obama shouldn't compromise his principles - or theirs - in an attempt to win more than a handful of Republican votes... Republican leaders insist they are keeping an open mind about Obama's second Supreme Court pick, saying they will do their due diligence in thoroughly reviewing the nominee's record before taking positions. Arizona's Sen. Jon Kyl, the No. 2 Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said that most Supreme Court nominees have been approved by wide margins - and there's hope this one could be as well, despite the raging judicial wars in recent years... http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35773.html ..."Who will succeed Stevens?" people in the know and out of it chorused over the weekend. No one, of course, yet knows whom Barack Obama will select to fill the second vacancy on the High Court of his presidency. But by Monday, the guessing game had come down to a " Big Three" : U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan, and U.S. Court of Appeals Judges Merrick Garland (D.C.) and Diane Wood (Chicago). For now, the odds favor the 57-year-old Garland, Harvard Law graduate and former Clinton Administration official. Considered a liberal, although not as far left as Stevens, Garland nonetheless has offended few Republicans. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R.-Utah), a past Judiciary Committee chairman, speaks highly of Garland and is considered likely to back him if he's nominated. Prominent in both national legal circles and on the Washington social scene, Garland first gained notice for doing much of the legal work after the Oklahoma City bombings in 1995... (David Kopel rated Garland "Limited but clearly negative record on right to arms.") http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=36499 --- Alan Korwin's Analysis - McDonald Oral Arguments: In reviewing the oral-argument transcript for the McDonald v. Chicago case, I can see now why some was so hard to follow in the courtroom. Aside from bad audio in the room during parts, much of the dialog depended on knowing other cases everyone referred to. If you didn't know the case, you couldn't tell what they were talking about. The Justices didn't miss a beat. I missed several. Also, a lot of the dialog was in sentence fragments, disjointed, poorly thought out, and hard or impossible to assemble meaningfully... Before I begin let me say I like Alan Gura, consider him a friend, and marvel at his accomplishments so far in the gun-rights battle. In the end I think we will be OK with this case, enough Justices seemed to lean toward protecting 2A, but it's probably not an oral argument Alan will look back upon as his finest hour. He does not shine well in my analysis that follows, because he got such a serious whupping from the Court. That's just the way it is. They rejected his core arguments. They threw him lifelines more than once but he either didn't recognize it in the heat of the moment, or chose not to grab on for dear life. I believe he has a stellar future for himself and for us, but this black hole sucked all the oxygen out of our lungs. In the chatter afterwards, many of the assembled experts hung their heads and confided about how dismal it appeared to them. I saw little with which to disagree... (I am not a legal scholar. I don't know if there is any consistent "rule" about how much oral arguments affect the outcome of a case before SCOTUS. Recall that briefs have been submitted and, presumably, read before the oral arguments. My impression is that the justices use the oral arguments to clarify what they have read in the briefs and may already have decided, at least individually.) http://www.gunlaws.com/McDonald_v_Chicago_Orals.htm --- Second Amendment March: Next Monday, April 19, is the scheduled date for a pair of pro-gun rallies in the Washington, D.C. area, the first being the Second Amendment March/Rally at the Washington Monument and commons in the city, and the other being an event called the "Restore the Constitution Rally" at Fort Hunt, just across the Potomac River from the District of Columbia. Gun prohibitionists have already started a media drumbeat to demonize these events, primarily by quoting some of the individuals involved. These folks have admittedly made some pretty interesting remarks at times, which the anti-gunners are exploiting. This may, or may not, be fair to everyone planning to participate; it is no crime to turn out in support of a constitutionally-protected civil right, even when some event organizers might be subject to criticism. It's an exercise of the First Amendment in support/defense of the Second, after all. That freedom of speech thing; it protects all kinds of comments, whether one agrees or disagrees. All citizens are entitled to exercise it, whether some like it or otherwise... http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m4d13-2A-marchers-will-probably-be-demonized-regardless-of-conduct ... Desperately seeking relevance in this latest battle of the War on Guns, Josh Horwitz of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (renamed from the National Coalition to Ban Handguns to mask its intent, although that goal remains) waves his arms, screams "Me too!" and doesn't miss a talking point, from conflating the purpose of the Second Amendment March and Restore the Constitution Rally with the Oklahoma City bombing, to painting the participants as violent haters. If we're to believe him, the peaceable exercise of the First Amendment in support of the Second is "an open threat." Just to show you what bad Group W bench hombres those of us speaking at the rallies are, CSGV presents a "rogue's gallery" of sorts, complete with damning quotes. Scroll to the bottom of this linked page to see their entry for me... http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m4d13-Gun-ban-group-lies-aboutme The much-discussed group that gives military veterans an oath to defend their country against their government is pulling out of an April 19 rally that was set to attract considerable media attention. The reason: reports of inflammatory rhetoric from organizers of the rally, who planned to display their guns... Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes will, however, speak at a pro-gun rights rally later that day in Washington - where no firearms will be on display. Both rallies had been catching flack for being scheduled on the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, which activists point out is also the anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. (As I understand it, Oath Keepers merely asks those who have already taken oaths to uphold and support the Constitution to pledge not to follow orders that violate that oath. It appears that Rhodes will not appear at the Restore the Constitution Rally in Virginia.) http://voices.washingtonpost.com/right-now/2010/04/oath_keepers_bails_on_open-car.html --- The state Capitol was swarming with supporters of the Second Amendment today, as about 250 people gathered on the steps for a rally and tour of the building in preparation for a larger rally next week in Washington, D.C. Although not as loud or as large as many past demonstrations (for gun rights and other causes), today's event was distinctive in one way - many if not most of the participants were openly carrying firearms. Although they remained holstered or slung over shoulders, the armed citizens were conspicuous as they strolled the corridors and watched a session of the state House from a gallery above the floor after the outdoor rally. Under Michigan law, those who can legally own a firearm are permitted to carry it openly in most public places. But today's demonstration tested the limits. Officers at the State Police post at the Capitol said they initially believed only handguns would be permitted inside, but later relented for those with shotguns and rifles. The House and Senate chambers are gun-free zones by rule of the individual chambers. Speaker Andy Dillon waived the rule on the House side during their afternoon session. Brian Jeffs, one of the organizers of the Michigan Second Amendment March, said that neither open or concealed carry will be permitted at the nation's capital, which has strict (gun rights advocates call them oppressive) restrictions on firearms... http://www.freep.com/article/20100413/NEWS06/100413071/Dozens-of-gun-rights-advocates-rally-in-Lansing The third annual Patriot's Day Open Carry Walk will be held in Urbana Saturday in commemoration of the "shot heard round the world" that started the American Revolution 235 years ago. Thomas Horch of Urbana said he and other advocates will gather to celebrate freedom and exercise "the right to keep and bear arms" protected by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Horch said open-carry is legal in Ohio and that many residents need to be reminded of that fact, so public education is the primary purpose of the walk. Participants can walk with holstered handguns, but long guns should be unloaded, with detachable magazines removed, he said. Organizers will provide open bolt/chamber indicator flags for anyone who needs one... http://www.urbanacitizen.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=5&ArticleID=153637 --- Aftermath of the Katrina Gun Grab: ... According to Assistant City Attorney Victor L. Papai, as of last October only three applicants had turned in paperwork to get their guns back. Papai does not return calls any longer regarding the tally. The city does not have their guns and it only has to comply with the court order until October 2010. Local tavern owner JoAnn Guidos is one of those applicants. She owns Kajun's Pub on St. Claude Avenue and boasts that her establishment "never closes" and that people feel safe there because they know that Guidos knows how to use firearms. During the aftermath of Katrina, she kept the pub open for two weeks, running generators and serving ice-cold beer and hot grilled food to the neighborhood, press and visiting law enforcement. Meanwhile, around her, shooters and looters, along with law enforcement, used St. Claude Avenue as the only highway to and from the Lower 9th Ward... On November 12, 2008, Guidos filed paperwork to get her five guns back and hand-delivered it to a sergeant at a police station on Earhart in New Orleans. By January 2009, when she had not heard anything, she contacted Holliday. He contacted Papai, who told Holliday that he [Papai] already had contacted Guidos by phone and by letter. Holliday then sent Guidos a copy of the letter that Papai claimed to have sent her, dated Oct. 24, 2008 - supposedly written to her three weeks before she turned in her claims. Guidos said, "I found it rather odd that the letter they sent to me in response to my forms was written a month before I turned in my forms." She says he never called her... (It's not clear why this article has been removed from the Human Events website.) http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:itrFD_Q_KIMJ:www.humanevents.com/article.php%3Fid%3D36441 --- Virginia Governor Signs Restaurant-Carry Bill: Governor Bob McDonnell has signed into law a NRA-backed measure allowing right-to-carry permit holders to carry a concealed firearm for self-defense in restaurants, providing they do not consume alcohol. State Senator Emmett Hanger (R-24) and Delegate Todd Gilbert (R-15) were the principal sponsors of Senate Bill 334/House Bill 505... This law will take effect July 1, 2010. In addition, Governor McDonnell has also signed the following pro-gun bills into law... Virginians can thank Governor Bob McDonnell for his Second Amendment support at (804) 786-2211 or click here to thank him via email. (As with most news reports, the NRA release is misleading. Virginians, with and without permits can not only lawfully carry exposed firearms into establishments that serve alcohol, they can even consume alcohol while doing so. The new bill allows those with permits to carry their firearms discreetly [see vocabulary item, below], in exchange for promising not to consume alcohol while doing so.) http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?id=5720 --- Would Georgia Bill Create Campus Carry?: Depending on the outcome of Senate Bill 308, concealed weapons could be allowed on the grounds of the University of West Georgia... The bill, introduced by state Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, R-Sharpsburg, is currently being reviewed by the Georgia House of Representatives. The legislation would give the University System of Georgia's Board of Regents the option of banning weapons on campus, but UWG Police Chief Tom Mackel does not think the law is needed or clear. He said allowing students or staff to carry concealed weapons would not make for a safer campus. "What happens then when someone brings a gun on campus? Is it a matter of policy violations or did they break the law?" Mackel asked. "I think there would be many more deaths as a result." ... Seabaugh said that about 400,000 people have permits to carry a gun in the state of Georgia. He said Georgia is one of two states that has a 1,000-foot protection zone around campuses. "A license to carry a firearm is not a license to commit a crime. ... The people who have licenses to carry firearms are not the ones committing random acts of violence," he said. "They consider it a privilege and they're not going to do anything to jeopardize that privilege." ... http://www.times-georgian.com/view/full_story/7063981/article-UWG-officials-express-concern-over-gun-bill?instance=TG_home_story_offset --- Wisconsin Alert: This Thursday, April 14, the Wisconsin State Assembly will be considering legislation (Assembly Bill 558, Assembly Bill 559, and Assembly Bill 737) that could have a severely detrimental impact on our Second Amendment freedoms. Please contact your State Representative immediately and urge them to oppose all three of these bills. To find contact information for your State Representative, please click here. AB558 would expand the definition of "misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence" well beyond the scope of current federal law in order to create a new class of people who would be stripped of their Second Amendment rights. Law enforcement agencies already have the tools to prosecute these crimes and they are clearly spelled out in Wisconsin statutes. A sweeping new definition is not the solution. The current definition of domestic violence under state law is already broader than federal law and this bill will add more types of relationships to it... (This action has apparently been postponed until April 15.) http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?id=5719 A fast-tracked bill introduced in the state Legislature at the end of March would ban the private sale of most firearms in Wisconsin and would for the first time extend a prohibition on the possession of firearms to those convicted of certain misdemeanors. State Sen. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee) and Rep. Tony Staskunas (D-West Allis) are the principal authors of the legislation, which received public hearings in both the Senate and Assembly this past week. The bill would essentially require all firearm transfers to be conducted through a federally licensed firearms dealer, except transfers to family members, law enforcement and military agencies... http://www.lakelandtimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=9&SubSectionID=9&ArticleID=11229 --- Anti-CCW Incumbent Currently Leads California Sheriff Race: Sheriff Sandra Hutchens holds a double-digit lead over her closest rival as the June 8 election nears and preparations begin for the final months of the campaign, according to the results of a Voice of OC/Probolsky Research poll released Wednesday. The poll shows Hutchens garnering 26.7 percent of the vote if the election were held today, giving her a significant advantage over challengers Bill Hunt and Craig Hunter, who polled at 11.3 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively. But more than half the 326 likely voters polled said they remain undecided, which means that either Hunt or Hunter could still force a November runoff despite their weak poll numbers at this juncture... Hunt, a former deputy sheriff, last month won the endorsement of rank-and-file deputy sheriffs. Hunter, the current deputy police chief of Anaheim, is seen as a staunch supporter of gun rights and a more liberal concealed weapons policy... (It's very rare for an incumbent sheriff to be voted out in an urban county in California but few have generated as much organized opposition as Hutchens, who was never elected in the first place. Unfortunately, as is often the case, her opposition is split.) http://voiceofoc.org/article_6eefd838-478b-11df-8094-001cc4c002e0.html --- KC Chamber of Commerce Opposes RKBA: The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee has voted to oppose legislation in Kansas that would allow the carrying of concealed handguns in college, city, county, state, or municipal buildings and other sensitive areas. Current Kansas law prohibits someone licensed to carry a concealed gun from entering such buildings with a gun. However, a bill recently approved by the Kansas House of Representatives will allow license gun owners to bring concealed guns into these buildings, even if security measures in the buildings are not adequate. The bill goes to the Kansas Senate next for debate. If this bill becomes law, colleges and government buildings will have to install metal detectors at all building entrances and hire additional security staff at a time when college and government budgets are strained. http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/40784/ --- Fuddruckers/KooKooRoo Chicken Don't Want Our Business: ... Regarding the open carry laws, Fuddruckers decision not to allow guns in the restaurants is not a statement about gun rights or laws. It is however, a statement about the primary importance of creating and maintaining a comfortable environment for all of Fuddruckers guests. Open carry laws are changing in various states. Therefore, restaurants are more clearly communicating their policies to guests. Fuddruckers has had a no weapons policy for several years but it wasn't being enforced in all locations. By enforcing its no-weapons policy, Fuddruckers is enforcing its rights as a private business to create the sort of dining environment we believe best suits and appeals to all or the majority of our guests... http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2010/04/fuddruckers-to-gun-owners-fuddruck-you.html --- Oops, Wrong Car: The Jacksonville [FL] Sheriff's Office announced Friday that the shooting death of a man whose body was found in a car on April 1 was a justifiable homicide... Officers said Christopher Alfaro, 24, was driving in a car when he was shot to death by someone in another car by one shot to the head. Police said Alfaro rammed another car during a road rage battle. They said the other driver started spinning out, and that's when he grabbed his gun and started shooting. "He fired one shot from his car at the other vehicle driven by Mr. Alfaro," JSO Lt. Larry Schmitt said. "The bullet struck Mr. Alfaro in the head. That car continued to drive southbound on Cassat Avenue until it crashed on Shirley Avenue." Police said the 38-year-old shooter called them immediately after the shooting. They said he does have a concealed weapons permit. Officers said when Alfaro rammed the other car, the other driver became the victim of an aggravated battery, which is why police said the shooting was justifiable... (All's well that ends well but shooting into another vehicle is a very tricky proposition, particularly while "spinning out." My CWP students get rudimentary instruction in how to use their own vehicle as a weapon.) http://www.news4jax.com/news/23101347/detail.html --- Oops, Wrong Cell Phone: Cincinnati [OH] Police are investigating a shooting where it appears a robber left the scene with the victim's cell-phone in his hand, and a slug from the victim's gun in his lower abdomen. Police say the robber ran into someone with a concealed-carry permit, and at some point the would-be victim was able to get his gun out and shoot the suspect, who took off running from the shooting scene on Rosemont Avenue south of Glenway in West Price Hill. He dropped the permit-holder's cellular phone somewhere on a six block run to West Liberty Street just west of Manss Avenue. That is where the suspect dropped to the ground and was found suffering from a gunshot wound. The suspect was taken to the hospital and District Three officers were given the case... http://www.wxix.com/Global/story.asp?S=12299813 --- Oops, Wrong House: When a teenager tried to break into a DeLand house, he didn't count on the homeowner coming home as he was crawling through a window. DeLand homeowner Daven Woulard opened fire on the 16-year-old he saw breaking into his house on East New Street (see map) Monday. The bullet didn't hit the teen, but the homeowner still helped police make an arrest; the homeowner held down the suspect until the police got there. The man was driving down the road, coming back from the store and, as the man and his wife glanced toward their yard, they saw 16-year-old Jarrett Holloman's legs sticking out of their son's bedroom window. The window had been smashed with a brick... Woulard had his 18-month-old son and his wife with him. Even though he didn't know who or how many people were in his home, he said he wasn't about to back off... After quickly pulling into his yard, Woulard grabbed his .44 Magnum handgun out of the car, a weapon he's carried with a permit for four years. He ran to the window and ordered the teen out. "'Get down! 'Freeze!'" he said he yelled before firing a shot into the ground to back the order up. Woulard said the teen didn't say anything as he held him to the ground and waited for police to show up... (Again with the warning shots. Not knowing how many potential assailants he might have, Mr. Woulard decided to waste one-fifth or one sixth of the ammo in the gun, not to mention unnecessary short-term and long-term risks to his own hearing, particularly if he was actually carrying Magnum loads.) http://www.wftv.com/countybycounty/23124408/detail.html --- Rule Five Reminder: Baltimore police are investigating after a D.C. police officer was carjacked in a gritty section of the city. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says the Metropolitan Police Department officer told investigators he was on his way home late Monday night when he stopped at a traffic light in northeast Baltimore. A woman stepped in front of his 2009 Dodge Magnum and was joined by a man carrying a handgun who ordered him to unlock the doors. They got in the car and drove off. Guglielmi says police later recovered the car and arrested the woman, identified as 18-year-old Keara Moodie. The officer's department-issued handgun was in the car when it was stolen and was not recovered. The male carjacker remains at large. (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm. It's difficult to say whether the officer should have resisted the carjacking but, if his "officer's department-issued handgun was in the car when it was stolen," rather than on his person, it doesn't sound as though he was prepared to exercise that option.) http://voices.washingtonpost.com/crime-scene/baltimore/dc-officer-carjacked-gun-stole.html?hpid=newswell --- Alan Korwin's Vocabulary Lesson: You know I'm a words guy. I think we give up ground in the gun-rights debate hen we talk about concealed carry. Concealed means you're hiding something. You have something to hide. People who conceal things may be up to no good. The AP story on Constitutional Carry relied on saying our guns are hidden. We have guns to hide. This does not help. It hurts. It's a slur. What I want is to carry a firearm discreetly. I'm glad we are close to getting discreet carry in Arizona. The right to bear arms discreetly is an important right. When I'm armed, under routine circumstance in public, there is value in being unobtrusive. Although open carry has its merits, and I'm looking forward to the open-carry picnic scheduled for the capitol on April 19 at noon, being unobtrusive often is a good thing. You won't find "concealed" or "hide" escaping my lips. And when I'm discreetly armed, you won't know it. Because being unobtrusive is a good thing in this day and age. If the law is enacted, when I put out my announcement about it nationwide, you'll see careful use of language that defies the hate mongers and hoplophobes in the "news" media covering the story. And you will not see that we are now "allowed" to carry discreetly. You'll see we are now free to be discreet. Hopefully, eventually, some of them will pick up on it. I certainly hope you all will... --- When Guns Are Outlawed...: Last January I wrote about the decision of the Philippine government to ban all guns outside the home for their entire election season to control the violence that has troubled their elections in recent years. So far, no magic. In fact, this election cycle is more violent than the last one. The US State Department has issued a travel warning to Americans to avoid travel to the Philippines and if they have to go, to avoid large groups. The Philippine National Police note that there are now 112 private armies, even though they have been specifically trying to suppress these armed camps since the first of the year... (I do believe I have some insights into Filipino politics, where local elections determine who controls gambling and prostitution, in conjunction with local military commanders. Similarly, private armies are created when a large-scale landowner purchases a quantity of M16's, donates them to the army, vial the local military commander, only to have himself and his employees deputized by the commander and issued the rifles. This practice generally occurs in areas threatened by jihadists or the Communist New Peoples Army.) http://www.examiner.com/x-2944-Denver-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m4d13-Philippine-gun-ban-experiment-fails --- Tangentially Related: Americans attacking Americans because of U.S.-based extremist ideologies - comes in many forms in our post 9/11 world. To help educate the public, we've previously outlined two separate domestic terror threats - eco-terrorists/animal rights extremists and lone offenders. Today, we look at a third threat - the "sovereign citizen" extremist movement. Sovereign citizens are anti-government extremists who believe that even though they physically reside in this country, they are separate or "sovereign" from the United States. As a result, they believe they don't have to answer to any government authority, including courts, taxing entities, motor vehicle departments, or law enforcement... (One can only hope that the FBI is devoting resources to counter jihadist terrorism in proportion to the relative threat from each source.) http://www.fbi.gov/page2/april10/sovereigncitizens_041310.html -- 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 .