Excuse Me While I Get My Gun: ... Much hinges on what counts as a "reasonably perceived threat." If you're awakened in the middle of the night by a crash, may you carry a loaded gun with you as you investigate? Evidently not. The Washington Post reports that D.C.'s acting attorney general, Peter Nickles, "said residents could neither keep their guns loaded in anticipation of a problem nor search for an intruder on their property." According to Nickles, if you see an armed criminal charging your home, or in the event of "an actual threat by somebody you believe is out to hurt you," you're allowed to get your gun, unlock it, and load it... http://reason.com/news/show/127686.html --- NRA Presses Democrats on DC Gun Law: The National Rifle Association is putting the election-year squeeze on conservative Democrats, demanding that they buck their leadership to support a bill to erase more of the District of Columbia's gun laws. Democratic gun rights supporters will risk losing their A-plus rating if they don't sign a discharge petition to be filed Wednesday bringing the gun-rights bill directly to the floor. It will be the first time in more than 20 years that the NRA has "scored" a discharge petition in determining the grades it gives lawmakers before the November election, said spokesman Andrew Arulanandam... http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/dems-pressured-on-guns-2008-07-22.html --- Robert Levy on Heller's New Paradigm: ...A few observations: First, the so-called Heller paradox depends on demonizing the gun lobby. That bogeyman may be rhetorically useful for Henigan, but it wasn't the gun lobby that filed the lawsuit, picked the right time, provided the lawyers, identified the issues, selected the plaintiffs, chose the venue, decided on the legal strategy, wrote the briefs, argued in court, and won the case. The NRA can speak for itself, but our goals were not grounded on wedge issues or a cultural base. First and foremost, our interest was to ensure that the D.C. government complied with the text, purpose, structure, and history of the Second Amendment. For us, Heller was about the Constitution; guns merely provided context... http://www.cato-unbound.org/2008/07/22/robert-a-levy/looking-ahead-to-hellers-new-paradigm/ --- Chicago Plans Lawsuit Defense: City officials will meet with their lawyers this week to discuss how to defend Chicago's strict handgun ban from legal attacks in the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning a similar ban in Washington, D.C. Corporation Counsel Mara Georges and other members of the city's legal department will address the issue at a joint meeting of the Committee on Police and Fire and the Committee on License and Consumer Protection on Thursday... The Court's ruling did not address whether the Second Amendment protections it said were violated by the D.C. ban would apply to local and state governments as well, a factor which could work to maintain the ban's legal standing, Fioretti said... http://www.chitowndailynews.org/Chicago_news/Defense_of_citys_gun_ban_to_be_focus_of_hearing,15266 --- Chicago Suburb Expected to Repeal Handgun Ban: The village board in north suburban Wilmette Tuesday is expected to repeal the community's handgun ban...The ban has not been enforced since last month's U.s. Supreme court ruling affirming individual gun ownership rights under the Second Amendment. Repeal of the 19-year-old ban is being done quietly, in stark contrast to the intense debate that marked its 1989 passage and subsequent enforcement. No one indicated a desire to speak on the ban when the repeal ordinance was introduced two weeks ago, either from the public or on the board... Levin said he predicted the High Court's ruling as far back as 1971. "The Supreme Court's ruling brings any gun control ordinance into question," he said... http://www.wbbm780.com/Wilmette-Expected-To-Repeal-Handgun-Ban-Tuesday-Ni/2643057 It's a Done Deal: http://www.pioneerlocal.com/wilmette/news/1069850,wi-handgun-072308-s1.article --- Don Kates on Felons and Firearms: ... The high-court opinion vindicated the constitutional right of ordinary, responsible law-abiding adults to have a handgun to protect their families, homes and themselves. It also flatly stated that this right does not apply to criminals. Federal and state laws against convicted felons having guns are still valid: The Second Amendment protects a right of self-defense for "good" people only...In sum, the constitutional right to arms simply does not extend to people convicted of serious criminal offenses. By "serious," I refer to the early common law - under which felonies were real wrongs like rape, robbery and murder. Unfortunately, modern legislatures have added a host of trivial felonies. For instance, in California an 18-year-old girl who has oral sex with her 17-year-old boyfriend has committed a felony. The courts should rule that conviction of such a trivial felony can't deprive such a "felon" of her right to arms. But the fact remains that people who have been convicted of serious criminal offenses have thereby lost their rights under the Second Amendment. They are subject to our laws against felons possessing firearms. (Don Kates probably represents the most liberal wing of the RKBA community. I see no plan in his commentary for distinguishing "trivial" and "serious" felonies. Arizona, historically, has distinguished violent and non-violent felonies, with those convicted of the latter being eligible for restoration of the RKBA; the FBI, who runs NICS, has recently rejected such restoration.) http://www.nypost.com/seven/07222008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/gun_rights_for_felons__120908.htm --- Mississippi Congressman Want Airport Gun Ban: The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says he might pursue new gun restrictions in response to a recently enacted Georgia law that could allow people to carry concealed firearms in parts of the Atlanta airport. Apparently surprised that some airports long have allowed guns in unsecured areas, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said the new Georgia legislation represents a significant hole in national security and a threat to travelers...TSA spokesman Christopher White said Tuesday that no federal prohibitions apply to areas outside security checkpoints and that the agency follows local regulations. He said he didn't know how many airports allow firearms and declined to say whether the agency has a position on the matter, maintaining that it is focused on keeping guns from getting through security... http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jul/22/lawmaker-wants-no-guns-at-airports-cites-ga-law-1/ --- Another Lesson from Israel: For the second time in three weeks, an Arab bulldozer driver from east Jerusalem rammed his construction vehicle into a city bus and several cars on a central thoroughfare in the capital on Tuesday, wounding 15 people before being shot dead by a Druse border police officer and a civilian passerby...The carnage quickly ended when a passing driver shot the assailant dead. The motorist, Yaki Asa-El, 53, from the Sussiya settlement in the Southern Hebron Hills, jumped out of his car and shot Abu Tir through the window of his bulldozer. A former company commander in the Armored Corps, Asa-El was talking on his speaker phone with his son when he came upon the attack...In contrast to the previous bulldozer attack in the capital, a border police officer who rushed to the scene then quickly "verified" that the assailant was dead, shooting at him from the ground and then from close range. (Rep. Thompson, take note.) http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1215331056523 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7519404.stm http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/world/middleeast/23israel.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin --- Surprise - Minnesota's Streets Don't Run with Blood: ... It has been five years since lawmakers approved a measure allowing easier access to handgun permits. With the permits issued the first year set to expire this year, area sheriffs' offices are seeing a rush of residents seeking to renew them... Should residents be concerned about handgun permit holders? Local authorities say no. Rochester Police Chief Roger Peterson said the July Fourth incident is the only case he can recall since the law was passed where a crime was linked to the handgun permit law. "I think the fears and concerns didn't materialize, and I don't think (the law) has had a significant impact on crime, frankly, one way or the other," Peterson said... http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=352688 --- Massachusetts Governor Provokes Gun Owners: Many hunters and gun owners were shocked to learn that last Sunday Gov. Deval L. Patrick filed a supplemental appropriations bill for fiscal year 2008, which, if passed, would greatly affect their pocketbooks and indirectly infringe on their second amendment rights. Four sections of the bill would drastically increase the cost of certain firearm licenses. Two sections would affect lawfully licensed firearm dealers by increasing their license fees from $100 for three years to $250. It also adds a $100 inspection fee in years two and three of the license. This would now turn a $100 three-year dealer's license into a $450 three-year license. Another section would increase a resident License to Carry fee from $100 for six years to $200 for six years. Another section would increase a non-resident LTC fee from $100 for one year to $250 for one year... http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_9956598 --- Ohio Open-Carry Incident - Follow-Up: Brian Ballenger, law director for Northwood, followed through on his promise to contact us this week to continue working to resolve the Northwood Incident. In a phone call with me yesterday, he again confirmed that his office is aware that open carry is legal, and that he has communicated that information to the Northwood Police Chief. Ballenger also reiterated that no charges were going to be filed against OFCC member Edwin Farbrother, an obvious fact since he broke no law. However, he repeatedly stated that he advises against open carry to avoid panicking citizens who may not be aware that such an action is legal (although I pointed out that the last two people "panicking" were off-duty police officers)... http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/4029/83/ --- Prohibitionist Knocks Heller Revolver: When last heard from, Smith & Wesson was gaining public attention from their marketing of a high-powered revolver that could penetrate the body armor most commonly worn by America's law enforcement personnel. Now the company is working to wheedle its way back into the news cycle with the announcement that they're producing a "commemorative" snub-nosed "lightweight carry revolver" celebrating the recent Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. Highlighting the gun industry's insularity and ubiquitous tin ear for irony is the fact that a portion of the profits from the handgun's planned sale in the fall will go to the Second Amendment Foundation - an organization founded by Alan Gottlieb, a convicted felon who at one time lost the ability to possess guns. (He later regained the ability to own guns through the now-defunct federal "relief from disability" program, a multi-million dollar program that re-armed convicted, often violent, felons, at taxpayer expense.) (I think the operative term here is "ad hominem.") http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-sugarmann/smith-wesson-snubs-police_b_114348.html --- Oops, Wrong Store: A would-be robber picked on the wrong victim in Manheim early Tuesday, according to police. Kevin Smith, 19, of Lancaster City was shot twice in the chest and died hours later at a local hospital. The botched holdup occurred just after 5 a.m. when two men followed the operations manager of Power Pro Battery into his office. Police said knowing he was about to be robbed, the manager pulled out his own handgun, turned and fired twice, hitting one of the robbers. The other man got away. Police are now trying to learn who he is and where he might be. Investigators said they believe the manager acted in self-defense... http://www.wgal.com/news/16950588/detail.html --- Close But No AK-47: The two students arrested at Pinole Valley High School on Friday following a six-hour lockdown of the campus are suspected of bringing an AK-47 assault rifle to school, Pinole police said Monday. The male students, whose ages were not released, both were arrested on suspicion of possession of an illegal assault weapon, possession of a machine gun, bringing a firearm onto school grounds, being a minor in possession of live ammunition, being a minor with a concealed weapon, being a minor in possession of a firearm with prior conviction, a probation violation and marijuana transportation. Both have previous gun and ammunition possession arrests or convictions on their records, police said. Despite the charges and contrary to earlier reports, no gun or ammunition was found on the students or recovered at the school, Pinole police Cmdr. Pete Janke said... http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_9951979 -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .