Sniping Continues In Heller Case: In this Legal Times story this week and in a BLT post on Friday, we reported on continued wrangling over how and whether to divide up the argument time before the Supreme Court in the Second Amendment gun rights case D.C. v. Heller. Solicitor General Paul Clement is seeking 15 minutes of argument time over and above the 30 minutes allotted for D.C.'s defense of its handgun ordinance and the 30 minutes for the challengers to the law. Alan Gura, lawyer for the challengers, says he does not want Clement's argument time to come out his half-hour, instead agreeing to allow Texas Solicitor General R. Ted Cruz to take 10 of his 30 minutes on behalf of 31 states on his side. Not so fast, says Walter Dellinger of O'Melveny & Myers, who is arguing on behalf of the District of Columbia. In a filing with the Court late Friday, he opposed Texas' request to divide argument time, in part arguing that if Texas gets time, then any state in any future case could also seek time based on the possible impact of a case on its laws... http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2008/02/sniping-continu.html --- The Biggest Irony In Heller?: Robert Levy, the man paying for a U.S. Supreme Court challenge to the District of Columbia's handgun ban, has built his own financial-data business and enrolled in law school as a 50-year-old. The one thing he has never done is own a gun. "Here in Bay Colony, it's not quite the high-risk crime area that might require a gun," he said during lunch by the pool at his Naples, Florida, club. Levy, 66, is a driving force behind a case that may confer a constitutional right for individuals to own a firearm. The libertarian scholar helped put the lawsuit together - over the objections of the National Rifle Association - and now is before the nation's highest court in the only case he has ever filed as a lawyer... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=atP8CmD4vVfg&refer=us --- Montana Secretary Of State On Heller: ...The court must decide in Heller whether the Second Amendment secures a right for individuals to keep and bear arms or merely grants states the power to arm their militias, the National Guard. This latter view is called the "collective rights" theory. A collective rights decision by the court would violate the contract by which Montana entered into statehood, called the Compact With the United States and archived at Article I of the Montana Constitution. When Montana and the United States entered into this bilateral contract in 1889, the U.S. approved the right to bear arms in the Montana Constitution, guaranteeing the right of "any person" to bear arms, clearly an individual right. There was no assertion in 1889 that the Second Amendment was susceptible to a collective rights interpretation, and the parties to the contract understood the Second Amendment to be consistent with the declared Montana constitutional right of "any person" to bear arms... (Third item on page.) http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080219/EDITORIAL/646772049&template=nextpage -- Clinton Calls For "Gun Summit": Another new wrinkle from Hillary Clinton today: she wants a presidential summit on gun control. That came up in the Q-and-A session of her stop in De Pere, after a woman asked about dealing with shootings such as the Northern Illinois University carnage. Clinton started with the line she rolled out a couple days ago about recognizing that there is "no conflict" between letting lawful gunowners have weapons and keeping guns out of the hands of bad guys and the mentally ill. She went on to propose a solution to coming up with a solution for the problem - kind of like her plan to come up with a plan for fixing another politically difficult problem, Social Security. "I believe we really should have a summit where everybody comes together on all sides of this issue," Clinton said. "Let's figure out how we can be consistent with the Second Amendment, which I wholeheartedly support, and do more to keep people safe. (BOHICA - Bend Over, Here It Comes, Again.) http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2008/02/clinton-wants-a-gun-summit.html --- Speaking Of BOHICA...: Moved by the shooting deaths of five students at Northern Illinois University, (Chicago's) Mayor Daley today unveiled his annual package of gun control legislation, even as a state senate sponsor acknowledged that none of the bills could have prevented the tragedy. Once again, Daley wants to ban semiautomatic assault weapons and .50-caliber military-grade rifles, use the State Police to license gun dealers and limit handgun purchases to one a month per person. He also wants to close the "private sale loophole" that allows people to buy guns from each other without scrutiny. But there are a few new wrinkles, like mandating trigger locks and locked containers in homes where guns are accessible to children under 18, instead of 14. Daley also wants to ban the sale and possession of high-capacity magazines and require that some semiautomatic pistols be capable of microstamping ammunition to trace it... http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/801681,021908daley.article --- Ohio Castle-Doctrine Bill To Receive Additional Hearing: Ohio's Castle Doctrine legislation, which has already received three hearings in the Senate, will receive a second hearing Thursday, February 21 in the Ohio House of Representatives. The House Criminal Justice Committee, chaired by Rep. John White (R-38), will hear proponent testimony on Rep. Wachtmann's HB264 (Castle Doctrine). The hearing will be held at 9:30a.m. in Statehouse Room 121. http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/5421 --- Utah Bill Would Allow Open Carry On Campus: If a bill proposed by Utah lawmakers passes, U students with concealed weapons permits won't have to cover up their guns when they go to class. Current U policy requires weapons carriers to keep their guns concealed, a position administrators argue is backed up by state law. House Bill 473 would amend the firearm code to ensure that permit holders are allowed to visibly carry firearms statewide, including the campuses of state universities and public schools. A committee of representatives in the Utah State Legislature unanimously passed the bill Monday. The measure will now move to the full House. http://media.www.dailyutahchronicle.com/media/storage/paper244/news/2008/02/19/News/Bill-Would.Allow.Open.Carry.Of.Firearms-3218762.shtml --- Author Defends Arizona Campus-Carry Bill: Sen. Karen Johnson said she believes the tragedy last week at Northern Illinois University would have been avoided, or at least would have been less tragic, if faculty members and students had been armed. The Mesa Republican on Monday urged colleagues to approve her legislation, which would partially repeal existing laws and regulations banning weapons on campuses of public schools, community colleges and universities. Her proposal, SB 1214, allows those who have a state permit to carry a concealed weapon, which means they must be 21 or older, to have a gun on campus...The police chiefs of the three state universities, however, all told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee more guns on campus actually could result in more deaths... http://www.azstarnet.com/news/225762 Related Articles: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0219guns0219.html http://www.asuwebdevil.com/issues/2008/02/19/news/703748 --- From AzCDL: SB 1214, an AzCDL requested bill, was heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, February 18, 2008. SB 1214 proposes changes to ARS 13-3102 to allow adults with Concealed Weapons (CCW) permits to carry concealed firearms on school campuses, including colleges and universities. Federal law (18 USC § 922(q)(2)(B)(ii)) already allows CCW permit holders to possess firearms on school property. The hearing room was packed and testimony on SB 1214 lasted about two hours. After the gun bigots, professional government lobbyists, and paid shills for the totalitarian groups testified against SB 1214, the media packed up their cameras and note pads and left the room, so don't expect to see any balanced news stories. The remainder of the citizen testimony supported SB 1214 and it was outstanding! A number of AzCDL members took the time to testify along with students and teachers who have to survive in our violence ridden government controlled schools, colleges and universities. We deeply appreciate the education professionals who came forth to testify, knowing they were putting their careers at risk for speaking the truth. Recorded video of the hearing will be available for viewing soon at: http://azleg.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3 . Unfortunately, since all committee members could not be there for the hearing, a vote was not taken on SB 1214 at this hearing. It will probably occur at the committee's next meeting on Monday, February 25, 2008. The position (for or against) of everyone who logged onto to Request To Speak (RTS) system was read into the committee minutes. RTS was heavily used by the opponents of SB 1214 and severely under-utilized by the good guys (our side!). We need to change that. You can access RTS from home, once your account has been set up using one of the kiosks at the Capitol. It's time to show a bigger presence. We urge everyone to set up an RTS account. If you would like our help in setting one up, send an email to President@AzCDL.org. Other bills that we are monitoring passed out of committees on Monday, February 18, 2008. SB 1070, an AzCDL requested bill that proposes changes to ARS 13-3112 regarding the process for obtaining a concealed weapons permit, passed in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, February 18, 2008 with a 5-1-1-0 vote. An amendment was added clarifying the documentation needed to prove you "have ever" completed the required training (e.g., expired CCW permit, etc.). HB 2464, which adds Community Correctional Officers and Special Investigators to the list of law enforcement positions exempt from most weapons misconduct violations, passed in the House Public Institutions and Retirement Committee on Monday, February 18, 2008 with a 7-1-1-1-0 vote. AzCDL OPPOSES this bill because it exempts these individuals from violations regarding prohibited and defaced weapons. HB 2737 passed in the House Homeland Security and Property Rights committee on Monday, February 18, 2008 with a 6-2-0-2-0 vote. HB 2737 prohibits rental agreements from requiring tenants to "waive or forego the peaceful exercise of rights guaranteed under Article II, Constitution of Arizona." Stay tuned! As relevant legislation is introduced and progresses, we will keep you up to date via these Alerts: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AZCDL_Alerts/ These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Join today! AzCDL - Protecting Your Freedom http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html Copyright © 2008 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 .