Senators Weigh in on McDonald: Two pro-gun rights senators are wading into a lawsuit pending before the Supreme Court that could further expand the Second Amendment and restrict governments' ability to police the flow of firearms. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) are joining Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) in filing a joint amicus brief before the Supreme Court - repeating an effort they first made last year in the District of Columbia's gun-rights case. The lawmakers say they plan to ask justices to apply the Second Amendment more forcibly to states, siding with the National Rifle Association in seeking to overturn the city of Chicago's handgun registration laws... http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/62105-hutchison-tester-souder-wading-into-supreme-court-gun-rights-case# From SAF: The U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear the case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, and decide whether the right to keep and bear arms secured by the Second Amendment protects Americans from overreaching state and local governments. The Supreme Court case is of paramount importance to American citizens, to see that their constitutional rights are respected not only by the Congress, but by state and local governments... Protecting our gun rights is expensive and it's impossible to put a price tag on. This time freedom will cost $250,000 to defend your Second Amendment rights in this challenge to the Chicago gun ban. SAF stands firmly committed to defend these rights and we are asking you to stand with us and we need your help to stop the anti-freedom extremists now! We urgently need you to demand that all State Attorneys General file an Amicus Brief stating they agree that the individual right to keep and bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and applies to all 50 states... https://secure.conservativedonations.com/saf_faxag/?a=3074 The Good News: ...Most experts seem to agree that this recitation of ancient cases coupled with the court's eagerness to take up the issue of incorporation even with no conflict among the lower circuits indicate that a majority of Justices are not satisfied with the status quo. Recently, Steve Chapman reported in the Chicago Tribune that "law professor Ronald Rotunda of Chapman University told me that he gives the Chicago law only a one in five chance of surviving." And Rotunda is not alone. Avery Friedman, one of television's favorite civil liberty experts and legal consultants, told the Chicago Gun Rights Examiner yesterday that although he isn't personally opposed to most local gun control ordinances across the country, he sees little hope for Chicago's gun ban at the Supreme Court. "Unless Justice Kennedy does an about-face," Friedman says, "the chances of the survival of Chicago's ordinance are about as high as Sonny Corleone in the toll booth." http://www.examiner.com/x-17034-Chicago-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m10d6-Legal-Expert-Avery-Friedman-sees-little-hope-for-Chicago-at-the-Supreme-Court --- Meanwhile, from the Chicago City Council...: ...Driving a cab is a dangerous job. A new survey from the University of Illinois at Chicago, to be released today, found that one in five Chicago cabdrivers has been physically attacked on the job... On average, drivers report being attacked three to four times during their careers. Some report being attacked up to 60 times, according to the survey, which interviewed 920 of about 10,500 licensed cabdrivers in Chicago... The council is advocating two reforms that they say will help protect cabdrivers. One of the reforms would require a sign in cabs to remind passengers that attacking a cabdriver is a class 3 felony... The second reform proposed by the council would allow drivers to park on business streets in the 49th and 50th wards, which include the Rogers Park neighborhood, home to many immigrants. Cabdrivers aren't allowed to park on residential streets or on streets with retail businesses between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. in all but the 46th Ward... (No doubt, the council will vigorously oppose any effort to let cabbies carry firearms, even after the city loses in McDonald.) http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/1810958,CST-NWS-cab07.article# --- Poll Shows Decreased Support for Infringements: Only days after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to one of the nation's most egregious gun laws, a new Rasmussen poll shows waning support for stricter gun laws. The Citizen's Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today that the poll results indicate strongly that "America's philosophical pendulum is definitely swinging back in favor of gun rights and individual liberty." "Whether Congressional anti-gunners like it or not," observed CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, "the American public has wised up to the fact that prohibitive gun control measures, like the gun ban in Chicago that is now being challenged in the Supreme Court, have not stopped violent crime and only disarm the victims. Americans are concerned about their personal safety and the safety of their families, and they have had it with Utopian gun bans that leave them defenseless against merciless thugs." ... http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ccrkba-lauds-new-poll-showing-less-support-for-stricter-gun-laws-63688422.html --- Bloomberg Targets Gun Shows: Undercover investigators working on behalf of the New York City mayor's office repeatedly bought guns from unlicensed dealers at gun shows even though they disclosed they probably couldn't pass a background check...The investigation tested private, unlicensed dealers at the shows in Nevada, Ohio and Tennessee to see whether they would sell weapons to someone who said he or she probably could not pass a background check. It also tested licensed dealers at the same shows to see if they would sell to a gun to a person who was buying the weapon for someone else, or what is called a "straw purchase." Combined, 74 percent of the sellers failed the integrity tests, the mayor's office said. The report, which was released on the Internet along with footage of the transactions, calls for background checks for all gun-show purchases and for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to better police the thousands of events held each year... Overall, 19 of the 30 private sellers failed the integrity test, and 16 out of 17 licensed dealers "willingly sold to an apparent straw purchaser." ... (While is surprising that licensed dealers would take the risk of participating in an obvious straw purchase, 47 sellers, spread over three states, is a fairly small sample.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/07/AR2009100702261.html In one video, a man trying to buy a gun at a gun show in Ohio tells the dealer that he probably couldn't pass a background check. The dealer, smiling, says that does not matter, "Because I wouldn't pass either, bud." In another video, this time at a gun show in Nashville, a man asks a female friend to buy a Glock handgun on his behalf, in what appears to be violation of federal law. Instead of asking the actual buyer to fill out the paperwork, the dealer, who is aware that the buyer is trying to evade disclosure, asks the friend for a piece of identification, then sells the gun to her... One gun seller, in Niles, Ohio, did stop the sale of a Ruger to an investigator after he insisted on having a woman with him fill out the paperwork. Overall, out of 47 purchases, 35 were classified by the city as illegal... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/nyregion/08guns.html?ref=nyregion ...The 11 sellers terminated the sale confirmed that private sellers know the law. As one seller in Columbus, Ohio, explained "I mean even as a private citizen, I'm kind of allowed a certain latitude, but once you say that [you can't pass the background check], I'm kind of obligated not to....I think that's what the rules are." The investigation also revealed that some private sellers are in fact apparently "engaged in the business" of selling firearms without a federal license, in violation of the law. For example, one seller sold to investigators at three different gun shows and acknowledged selling 348 assault rifles in less than one year... Through the licensed and private seller scenario, investigators purchased 38 guns in total, 36 semi-automatic handguns and 2 assault rifles... (If these guns were to be misused, no doubt the victims would be deader if they were shot with an autoloading firearm.) http://www.woio.com/Global/story.asp?S=11273310 Republican Tennessee gubernatorial candidate Zach Wamp is speaking out against an investigation by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg into questionable gun sales at gun shows in Tennessee and two other states. Bloomberg said private investigators were sold guns despite saying they probably could not pass a background check. Wamp, a congressman from Chattanooga, said in a Twitter posting Thursday that: "Bloomberg and his anti-gun cronies should stay the heck out of Tn." Wamp said Tennessee will defend its Second Amendment rights and that armed citizens "keep streets safe." A copy of Bloomberg's report is being sent to every member of Congress and the findings will be shared the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. http://www.whnt.com/news/sns-ap-tn--tennesseegovernor-gunsting,0,460438.story Commentary: http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m10d7-Antigun-Michael-Bloomberg-goes-undercover http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6925# Brady Bunch Chimes In: "Many transactions at gun shows are a threat to public safety. We need leadership on this issue from the White House and we don't have it right now. President Obama supported tightening the rules at gun shows as a Senator and as a candidate for President in 2007 and 2008. But since taking office, he has refused to engage on this issue, and he appears to have silenced his Cabinet secretaries as well. The President needs to urge Congress to close this dangerous loophole, and his Administration needs to provide the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives the resources to effectively enforce federal gun laws. Thanks to Mayor Bloomberg and the New York City Police Department, the public can see firsthand what goes on at these weapons markets. Private sellers trade AK-47s for cash without even seeing identification, and straw purchases occur regularly without oversight..." http://www.opposingviews.com/articles/opinion-brady-campaign-applauds-bloomberg-s-gun-show-sting-r-1254940193 --- RKBA Advocate Resigns Ministry: A Kentucky pastor who hosted a rally celebrating God and guns a few months ago has resigned his ministry to promote gun rights and church security. Ken Pagano held the "Open Carry Celebration" at New Bethel Church in south Louisville in June. But he is now working part time at a local gun range and helped form the International Security Coalition of Clergy. He formed the group with a New York rabbi who [sic] and they are promoting the use of armed and trained security at houses of worship. Pagano told The Courier-Journal the church supported the rally, but he felt like a liability and he brought too much attention to the small congregation. He also said he was burned out with the ministry. http://www.newsmax.com/us/us_guns_in_church/2009/10/08/269875.html --- Virginia County Drops Park-Carry Ban: Loudoun County officials approved a measure Tuesday lifting the county's ban on carrying weapons in public parks and community centers. The move brings Loudoun in compliance with state law. The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the ordinance amendment, which still allows Loudoun to prohibit the discharge of weapons - including firearms, slingshots, dart devices and bows and arrows - in public parks and centers. The county code previously restricted the carrying of those weapons, as well. The amendment was deliberated in May at the board's Public Safety and Human Services Committee meeting. But when it came before the full board in June, supervisors sent the measure back to the committee after they could not agree on whether visitors to parks and community centers should be given an explicit right to fire a gun in self-defense... The state had previously barred counties from restricting the carrying of guns unless the restriction was enacted before 1987, an exception that allowed Loudoun to keep enforcing its ban. But the Virginia General Assembly removed the grandfathering clause in 2004... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/06/AR2009100604192.html --- Idaho Open-Carry Dinner Rejected by Two Eateries: First, they were turned away from Fuddruckers, then Idaho Pizza Company, farther out. But here at Shari's, just west of the Idaho State Police building in Meridian, John Carter and Mike Ludlow are finally able to sit down to dinner, black Glocks still strapped to their hips. The evening, up to this point, had certainly taken on a no-room-at-the-inn feel. Their objectives were simple: to sit down in a restaurant with their handguns clearly hanging in hip holsters, and to enjoy dinner with other like-minded and explicitly armed individuals. Carter and Ludlow are two pro-Second Amendment, gun-carrying activists trying to establish a local gun-rights advocacy group. On this night, however, their interest goes beyond your everyday, "to keep and bear arms" right. The firearms right that Carter and Ludlow are interested in advocating, exercising and promoting is called "open carry." They're not only advocating carrying a gun for the entire Glock-fearing or, as the case may be, Glock-loving world to see, they also have a strong interest in seeing you openly carrying a firearm, too... http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/no-pizza-for-open-carry-gun-families/Content?oid=1225835 --- Meanwhile, in Michigan...: A few days ago I got a call from a Michigan Sheriff who told me: "The Michigan Municipal League is making a presentation on open carry at the Sheriff's convention. I'll let you know what they say." This is the same municipal league who fought hard against the concealed carry law, so naturally I thought the worst. I just assumed they'd found a new strategy for arresting open carriers. (The old strategy wasn't working because sometimes when a misguided LEO arrests someone here a lawsuit against the municipality is filed.) I called Brian Jeffs, President of Michigan Open Carry, and gave him a heads up thinking that he might want to attend the meeting. He did attend and afterward sent me the following email: "Boy did you get it wrong. The talk wasn't about how to arrest OCers, just the opposite. It was about how you can't arrest them without facing a law suit." ... http://www.examiner.com/x-18561-Grand-Rapids-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m10d7-Open-Carry-Making-Headway --- When You Least Expect It...: A mother of three who gained national notoriety after she openly carried a loaded handgun to her daughter's soccer game was shot dead along with her husband in what appeared to be a murder-suicide. Meleanie Hain, 31, and Scott Hain 33, were pronounced dead shortly after 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at their 1 1/2-story brick home in Lebanon, a small city about 80 miles west of Philadelphia... Some neighbors told the Lebanon Daily News they heard or saw the children - a 10-year-old boy and girls aged 2 and 6 - running from the house and screaming "Daddy shot Mommy!" shortly before the 911 emergency center was alerted at 6:20 p.m... Neighbor Mark Long said the Hains had been having marital problems for about a week. He said Scott Hain had left home on Tuesday, and Meleanie Hain didn't know where he was, but that he returned Wednesday... Scott Hain worked as a parole officer in neighboring Berks County, the News reported. He was formerly a guard at the Camp Hill state prison, according to the newspaper... (Not to minimize the tragedy but the Tory media will likely focus on the wife's ownership of firearms as a private citizen rather than the husband's role in law enforcement.) http://townhall.com/news/us/2009/10/08/gun-toting_pa_soccer_mom,_husband_found_shot_dead?page=full --- Florida Man Acquitted in 2006 Shooting: Carlos Moz never denied he shot a man in the head, but he claimed it was to defend himself and his brother. On Thursday, a jury agreed, finding Moz, 34, not guilty of aggravated assault... The man Moz shot, 21-year-old Nathan Tony Monson, was released from a hospital just days after sustaining a bullet wound in front of his left ear. He survived the shooting with some hearing loss but no other permanent injuries, according to Brett Willis, the assistant circuit defender who successfully defended Moz. Willis said his client fired the shot from a legally owned 9 mm handgun on the night of Oct. 1, 2006, after his client's older brother was severely beaten by an unruly mob of at least six eenagers in front of California Records, a store next to the Kangaroo convenience store on Park Hill Drive. The beating victim, Juan Moz, was injured by large chunks of asphalt hurled at him by "a group of ne'er-do-wells harassing a couple of guys who were just walking," Willis said... http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/article/24284/# --- Oops, Wrong House: Two village residents who police said were shot by the owner of a Warren Avenue home after they broke into the residence are in jail facing felony burglary and robbery charges. Julio Urena, 17, and Juan Martinez, 25, pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday afternoon in Village Court. Haverstraw [NY] Village Justice Ronald DeCaprio set bail at $50,000 for each suspect. Urena was shot in the buttock and Martinez was shot in the arm after a home on Warren Avenue was broken into shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday... The homeowner shot both suspects with a rifle, he said. No charges were brought against the homeowner. Permits are not required to own a rifle... (This shooting was mentioned in another item, shared yesterday.) http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009910060342 --- Oops, Wrong Store Owner: A Chicago man suspected in an attempted armed robbery was shot and killed Thursday night in what Akron [OH] police are calling a confrontation with the owner of a neighborhood market at Raymond and Campbell streets. Akron Police Lt. Rick Edwards said the store owner, Ali Ahmed, 59, had closed for the night and was walking to his vehicle in the rear parking lot at about 7:30 when the suspect approached. There was an exchange of gunfire - witnesses reported seven or eight shots - and both men were hit, Edwards said. Ahmed was taken by ambulance to Akron General Medical Center with wounds that were not life threatening, Edwards said... According to police radio traffic moments after the shooting, one man was shot in the head and the other in the hand... Ocie Priester, a 60-year-old who does interior remodeling, said Ahmed was aware of the dangers of owning such a store and took measures to protect himself. Ahmed had a .44-caliber handgun, he said, and showed it to him once... (Note the shot to the hand, presumably Ahmed's. I have long cautioned that guns, gun hands and gun-hand arms and shoulders are often hit in gunfights. This is why it's important to learn to shoot with either hand and to have a firearm available to either hand. I recognize that it is possible that the hand struck was not the gun hand but one used in a defensive movement.) http://www.ohio.com/news/63381637.html --- Rule Five Reminder: An Adams County, Colorado man is trying to find the person who broke into his home on two separate occasions. After the first break-in, Guy Sitzman decided to purchase a home security system in case the burglar came back. Apparently, he did... Toward the end of the tape, Sitzman noticed the man walking around the side of his house. When the tape ran out, the system went back to "live" mode. That's when Sitzman saw the man leaving through his back door. The man was carrying a rifle and a pistol. Despite his initial fear, Sitzman decided to grab another gun and ran after him. "I ran out back and fired two shots off at him," Sitzman said. The man dropped the items he stole from Sitzman's house and took off... (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm.) http://www.wbir.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=101312&catid=141 --- Dumb Crook Award?: When a friend was critically wounded in Northeast Washington in May last year, Deonte Marshall immediately got on a cellphone and dialed 911 for help. That call led to his conviction on a federal gun charge Tuesday. Authorities said Marshall was standing next to a male friend critically wounded by two gunmen May 10 in the 1700 block of North Capitol Street. Marshall called 911. Detectives, who listened to 911 tapes, could hear Marshall asking a dispatcher to send an ambulance. Then, authorities alleged, Marshall apparently turned to someone at the scene and said "give me your [gun] before the police come." ...Police believed that Marshall, 29, had spirited a gun away from the scene. While searching his home in the unit block of Randolph Place NW two weeks later, they found a loaded .32-caliber revolver, authorities said in court papers. Marshall was precluded from having such a weapon because he is a convicted felon. His criminal record, prosecutors wrote, included convictions for unauthorized use of a car, possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it, drug distribution and being a felon in possession of a firearm... (We normally teach that 911 recordings can be your friend but not if you say stupid things while you're on the phone.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/07/AR2009100701182.html?hpid=sec-metro --- New Club in Tucson Area: ...Shortly after Jones took a concealed weapons class through Marana Parks and Recreation, Marana farmer Ron Wong approached him and offered to let him form a shooting club at a private shooting range on Wong's property... The range itself can be reached by traveling a long dirt road east from North Sanders Road in Marana, until you reach a giant, dug-out hole in the ground that's about 400 yards long and about 250 yards wide. The walls are 20 to 30 feet deep... In June this year, the Marana Shooting Club officially launched as a limited liability corporation with eight board members and a bit of money to get started. The group got the money together on its own, without grants or sponsorships. Its members didn't want to be beholden to anyone, Jones said. "And we were able to do it," he said. "We are solvent. Not by an awful lot, but the bills are all paid." That includes insurance and paying for the club telephone line. And by forming a club, the group gets to maintain a family-friendly setting with a focus on safety - outsiders can't just drop in... (Not specifically mentioned is the decision not to involve the Arizona Game and Fish Department.) http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/312090 -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .