Supreme's Expected To Accept Or Reject Heller Case By Tuesday: The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to announce by Tuesday whether it will hear the District"s appeal of a federal court ruling that lifted the city"s ban on handguns. The high court"s decision, which could come as early as today, may signal the end of the 30-year-old ban, considered to be among the most restrictive gun laws in the nation. If the court denies the appeal, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will issue an injunction that will stop the District from enforcing some laws that ban residents from owning and registering handguns, city officials said yesterday. http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071109/METRO/111090069/1004 --- A Question Of Commas: When Supreme Court justices sit down Friday to ponder whether they should rule on the constitutionality of Washington, D.C.'s strict gun control ordinance, they should be forewarned that they are stepping into a quagmire. No, not the political quagmire over gun control. Another suddenly intense debate is enveloping the case - this one over what all those commas in the Second Amendment meant in late 18th-century America. It may sound way beyond trivial, but it's not: The grammar war is under way. http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1194429843256 --- Dade County Officials Join The Chorus: Miami-Dade County commissioners on Tuesday joined a growing chorus to reinstate the assault weapons ban that President Bush let expire in 2004. The commission ordered their lobbyists to pressure Congress to renew the law, and urged the Florida Legislature to institute a ban on assault weapons, and to lift a preemption in place that keeps local governments from imposing the ban. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/299867.html --- Oklahoma Appeals Parking-Lot Law Ruling: Oklahoma has appealed an October federal court ruling that blocked enforcement of a 2004 state law that would restrict employers' right to ban guns in the workplace. In October, U.S. District Judge Terence Kern handed down a permanent injunction, saying the 2004 statute conflicts with federal laws that protect workers on the job, including the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970. http://www.journalrecord.com/article.cfm?recid=83408 --- Why Would They Pick Those Two Cities?: The FBI is warning that al Qaeda may be preparing a series of holiday attacks on U.S. shopping malls in Los Angeles and Chicago, according to an intelligence report distributed to law enforcement authorities across the country this morning. (Could it be that these are two of the three largest cities in the US where shoppers are likely to be unarmed?) http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/11/exclusive-fbi-a.html Related Article: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/1109terror-threat1109.html --- Oops, Wrong Bodega: On Wednesday night in the Woodside section of Queens, one fed up store owner simply had enough. He was being robbed at gunpoint when he decided to fight back. With a machete. Things did not turn out too well for the alleged thief. The would-be robber was carried dazed and bloodied from the bodega. The scene inside the store was such a mess detectives almost missed the man's severed digit lying on the linoleum. http://wcbstv.com/topstories/machete.bodega.queens.2.552241.html --- Oops. Wrong House: ...An apparent home invasion Monday night ended with the homeowner shooting and killing the intruder, sheriff's officials said. Ulises Aaron Espino, 19, was shot to death after trying to force his way through a bedroom window into the Rosedale home of Steven Stewart...According to a sheriff's report, Espino was in possession of a flammable liquid while breaking into Stewart's home and they appeared to be entering to set the home on fire. http://www.turnto23.com/news/14533627/detail.html --- Sullivan Backed By Senate Committee For BATFE Director: Michael J. Sullivan, the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts, won a key congressional approval today in his bid for the post of director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives...US Senator John Kerry said in a statement that Sullivan was a "good law enforcement officer who should do a fine job. ... Stretched way too thin over the past year caught between two full time jobs, he's still stood out as a highly competent professional and a person of character." http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/11/senate_judiciar.html --- Michael Mukasey Supports Second Amendment?: Take another unsettled legal question: whether the Second Amendment secures an individual right to bear arms. Here is what Judge Mukasey told me: "Based on my own study, I believe that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms." (Source - Sen. Dick Durbin) http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/48736707_michael_mukasey_committee_markup_vote_attorney_general_nominee_michael_mukasey --- Hillary Clinton Supports Second Amendment?: Is there nothing Hillary Clinton won't do or say in her quest to win the White House? She actually had the nerve to say that she supports the 2nd Amendment. What a load of bull. Hillary Clinton a friend to gun owners? That's like me inviting Michael Moore over for dinner. It's just not gonna happen. http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=329 --- Texas RKBA Hero: One of my favorite gun rights quotes was coined by Dr. Suzanna Hupp - one of the great heros of gun rights advocacy. Her efforts were a major force in getting the Texas legislature to pass their shall issue CCW law in 1995 that finally "allowed" it's citizens to keep and bear arms - prior to that Texas did not allow either concealed or open carry of handguns in public at all, unless you were part of a government agency... http://dustinsgunblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/texas-gun-rights-hero-dr-suzanna-gratia.html --- Gunman's Father Sentenced To 40 Months: The father of a mentally disturbed teenager who shot and killed two Fairfax County police officers last year has been sentenced to 40 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for illegal weapons possession...Prosecutors said Kennedy admitted that he had used marijuana for the past 10 years and that he illegally had 20 firearms and about 2,500 rounds of ammunition in his home on the day his mentally disturbed 17-year-old son, Michael, opened fire on the Sully District Station. Detective Vicki Armel and Officer Michael Garbarino were both killed in the ambush. Police shot and killed Michael Kennedy. http://www.nbc4.com/news/14539616/detail.html?dl=mainclick http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/08/AR2007110801407.html --- School Shooting Draws Attention To Finland's RKBA: ...The right to bear arms is deeply ingrained in Finnish culture, and gun clubs are a social fixture. West Shooters, located in an old bunker a few blocks from Helsinki's luxury shopping streets, counts 300 regular members and is a popular place for bachelor parties and corporate events...In Finland, there are an estimated 56 guns for every 100 people, according to the Small Arms Survey, a research organization based in Switzerland. That figure is higher than for any other countries except the United States and Yemen. In comparison with those two nations, however, Finland has largely avoided the bloodshed and crime associated with firearms, at least until this week. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/08/AR2007110802496.html http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-11-07-finland-guns_N.htm -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .