United States
Gun Laws: US Supreme Court Should Toss Out Chicago Handgun Ban
El Paso Times, Editorial
3 March 2010
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a strict handgun ban in the District of Columbia. Now the court is considering a strict gun ban in Chicago. But there's a big difference between the two cases. The D.C. case covered only federal jurisdictions. According to a McClatchy Newspapers story, "District of Columbia v. Heller applied only to federal jurisdictions, because the Bill of Rights, as originally written, covers federal... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Another Landmark Constitutional Duel Over Right to Bear Guns in America
Wall Street Journal
2 March 2010
The Supreme Court today is the scene of a Constitutional duel in a case that will decide if the Second Amendment's guarantee of an individual right to bear arms applies to the states. The answer will determine whether the Court's landmark 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller is a hollow legal anomaly, or if it extends nationwide. In McDonald v. Chicago, the Justices will consider whether the Windy City's ban on handguns... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
At Least 5 US Supreme Court Justices Poised to Relax US Gun Controls
New York Times
2 March 2010
WASHINGTON -- At least five justices appeared poised to expand the scope of the Second Amendment's protection of the right to bear arms on Tuesday, judging from comments at an unusually intense Supreme Court argument. By its conclusion, it seemed plain that the court would extend a 2008 decision that first identified an individual right to own guns to strike down Chicago's gun control law, widely considered the most restrictive... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
High Court Justices Suggest They May Overturn More US Gun Control Laws
Associated Press
2 March 2010
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court suggested Tuesday it will strike down U.S. cities' outright bans on handguns, a ruling that could establish a nationwide ownership right fervently sought by gun advocates. But the justices indicated less severe limits could survive, continuing disputes over the "right to keep and bear arms." Chicago area residents who want handguns for protection in their homes are asking the court to extend its 2008... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Likely to Strike Down Some US Gun Laws, But How Many?
Talk Radio News (USA)
2 March 2010
Even liberal Justices seemed to agree in today's Supreme Court oral arguments that the Second Amendment must prevent cities and states from passing certain gun regulations. The Supreme Court in 2008 ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to bear firearms, but that ruling applied to only the federal government, and today's case, McDonald v. Chicago, raised the question of whether states as well are prevented from restricting... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Poised to Rule on Chicago's Longstanding Handgun Ban
ABC News (USA)
2 March 2010
Otis McDonald, 76, is afraid for his life in his crime-saturated Chicago neighborhood and he is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his city's strict ban on handguns in the home. "In my home, this is the only time I worry," McDonald said. "There's more guns coming into this city than the police can take away from them. So if I've got a gun, and if others have guns in their homes to protect themselves, then that's one thing... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Seems Ready to Up-end Gun Control in US Cities, States
Christian Science Monitor
2 March 2010
WASHINGTON - The US Supreme Court appears to be on verge of extending the constitutional protection of the Second Amendment's right to keep and bear arms to every jurisdiction in the nation. During an hour-long oral argument at the high court on Tuesday, several justices exhibited a willingness to enforce their landmark 2008 gun-rights decision at the state and local level. If they do so, the decision may doom not only... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Chicago Handgun Ban Presents Quandary for US Supreme Court Justices
Washington Post
1 March 2010
As a member of the Junior ROTC, teenager Antonin Scalia toted his rifle on the subway ride back and forth to Queens. As a hunter, he speaks lyrically of stalking wild turkeys. And as a justice, he may have reached the pinnacle of his more than two decades on the Supreme Court when he wrote the majority opinion that said the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to own a firearm. But when the justices on Tuesday confront... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Second Amendment Has Become a Frivolous Challenge to Gun Law
San Francisco Chronicle, Opinion
1 March 2010
In 2006, Harvey Jackson pleaded guilty to illegal drug distribution and firearm possession after he was caught selling cocaine out of his home. Two years later, when the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment protects a right to possess a firearm in the home for self-defense, however, Jackson challenged his conviction, arguing that the amendment guaranteed his right to keep a gun to protect himself while conducting his home drug... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Decision Could Further Weaken Gun Laws Across America
USA Today
26 February 2010
WASHINGTON -- In 2008, when national gun rights advocates were looking for residents to challenge Chicago's ban on handguns, Otis McDonald was in effect looking for them. McDonald, 76, says he had seen his neighborhood on the far South Side of Chicago turn from bad to worse over the years with "gangbangers and drug dealers." "My wife and I are here alone all the time now," says McDonald, a retired maintenance engineer, who with... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Gun Lobby Groups Fight for the Limelight in Crucial High Court Case
Washington Post
8 February 2010
The National Rifle Association was on the outside looking in when the Supreme Court handed gun rights activists a landmark victory in 2008. After the court ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to gun ownership and that the District's handgun ban was unconstitutional, it was an upstart band of libertarian lawyers that celebrated on the marble steps and received the glory for the breakthrough decision. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Gun Lobby Carefully Chose an African-American for Pivotal Court Case
Chicago Tribune
30 January 2010
From behind the wheel of his hulking GMC Suburban, 76-year-old Otis McDonald leads a crime-themed tour of his Morgan Park neighborhood. He points to the yellow brick bungalow he says is a haven for drug dealers. Down the street is the alley where five years ago he saw a teenager pull out a gun and take aim at a passing car. Around the corner, he gestures to the weed-bitten roadside where three thugs once threatened his life. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
21 Face Gun-trafficking Charges in Philadelphia Crackdown
Philadelphia Daily News
30 December 2009
A 61-year-old man who shot his 16-year-old autistic son to death last month, then shot himself, got his gun from a straw purchaser, authorities said yesterday. Segundo Duque shot his son, Fabian, once in the head after pulling over in his minivan at Wyoming Avenue and H Street, in Juniata Park, on the morning of Nov. 9, police have said. He then drove nearly two miles to Sanger Street and Loretto Avenue, in Summerdale,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
No Right to Bear Unlicensed Machine Guns, Says US Federal Court
Christian Science Monitor
30 December 2009
A former commander in the Tennessee State Guard has lost an appeal to overturn his conviction for trying to provide his soldiers with homemade machine guns for possible use in defending the state. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court in Cincinnati threw the case out of court. "Whatever the individual right to keep and bear arms might entail, it does not authorize an unlicensed individual to possess unregistered machine... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Battle Lines Forming in Chicago Gun-Control Ordinance Case
Wall Street Journal, Blog
28 December 2009
In a few months time, the Supreme Court will revisit the Second Amendment in McDonald v. City of Chicago, which challenges a gun-control ordinance in the city. Not surprisingly, the case is attracting heavy interest around the country. The Sacramento Bee today reports that Sacramento's City Council has voted to join other cities arguing in support of Chicago's right to regulate the posssesion and use of firearms. Other... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Wife Shooter, Felon Fails in Michigan Appeals Court 'Right to a Gun' Case
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
14 December 2009
It's common to hear about Second Amendment lawsuits dealing with gun rights. But nearly all state constitutions include similar legal protections, sometimes with language that is more emphatic than the wording in the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights. Take the recent case involving a Michigan man named Ricky Lee Baldwin, convicted by a jury of assault with intent to commit murder and unlawful possession of a firearm during a felony.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Looming Gun Law Ruling Could Trigger Unhinging of American Culture
Washington Times, Opinion
11 December 2009
Many have heard about the historic gun rights case going to the Supreme Court. Fewer have heard that this is also a major case for businesses and family values. It could lead to anything from court-ordered Obamacare to same-sex marriage. This is the biggest case of the year, and everyone has a stake in it. On March 2, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in McDonald v. City of Chicago. It is a gun rights case, challenging Chicago's... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States,United Nations
Fear, Fundraising Drive US Misinformation Attack on UN Gun Trade Treaty
FactCheck.org (USA), Fact sheet
5 December 2009
International Gun Ban Treaty? Q: Has Obama found a "legal way around the Second Amendment"? A: The administration's agreement to talk about writing a United Nations treaty to regulate arms exports and imports is a far cry from banning possession of firearms, which Obama says he doesn't want to do and the Supreme Court has said can't be done anyway. FULL QUESTION Is this correct? Obama Finds Legal Way... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Scramble to Influence US Supreme Court's Next Major Gun Control Case
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
30 November 2009
The U.S. Supreme Court has set a date to hear the landmark civil liberties case that will determine whether the Second Amendment prohibits state and local governments from enacting stiff anti-gun laws. Oral arguments in the lawsuit, McDonald v. City of Chicago, will be held on the morning of March 2, 2010. A decision is expected by late June or early July. It's also worth noting the amicus briefs that have been filed in... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Some Criminals, Abusers Have Right to Carry Guns, Rules US Court
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
19 November 2009
A federal appeals court has overturned the conviction of a Wisconsin man barred from owning firearms because of his criminal record, ruling the lifetime prohibition may violate Americans' Second Amendment rights and calling into question the future of a 13-year old gun control law. In a 3-0 decision on Wednesday, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a trial judge to take a second look at the evidence that a 1996 federal... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Massachusetts Supreme Court Hears Challenge to Gun Storage Law
Associated Press
5 November 2009
BOSTON -- Gun control proponents argued before the state's highest court Thursday that a Massachusetts law requiring gun owners to lock weapons in their homes saves lives while gun advocates pointed to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling holding that people have a constitutional right to keep weapons for self-defense. The case involves a Billerica man whose mentally disabled son allegedly shot at a neighbor with a BB gun. The 18-year-old... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Maryland Judges Say Second Amendment No Obstacle to Gun Control
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
4 November 2009
I've written recently about how courts in New Jersey and Illinois have concluded that the Second Amendment poses no obstacle to local governments enacting stringent anti-gun laws. Now a Maryland appeals court has followed suit. A three-judge panel ruled last Thursday that the Second Amendment does not interfere with a Maryland law that generally restricts state residents from carrying handguns. That's not much of a surprise.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Americans Have No Right To Buy Handguns - New Jersey Appeals Court
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
28 October 2009
A New Jersey appeals court has concluded that Americans have no Second Amendment right to buy a handgun. In a case decided last week, the superior court upheld a state law saying that nobody may possess "any handgun" without obtaining law enforcement approval and permission in advance. That outcome might seem like something of a surprise, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year in the D.C. v. Heller case... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Guns, Insurrection, Second Amendment Used to Attack US Democracy
Express (Milwaukee)
21 October 2009
Those armed protesters at anti-tax and health care reform rallies aren't an anomaly, argues Joshua Horwitz, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. They're part of a fringe element of the gun rights movement that supports armed rebellion against what they see as tyrannical government control. But Horwitz, author of Guns, Democracy and the Insurrectionist Idea, argues that this viewpoint is rooted... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Case Puts Gun Control on US Culture War's Front Burner
United Press International
18 October 2009
WASHINGTON -- As the U.S. Supreme Court makes its stately way into the new term, a case over the horizon promises to hit the 20,000 gun control laws in this country with the impact of a 9mm round. The prep work came last year in District of Columbia vs. Heller. A narrow 5-4 majority struck down the gun control law in the nation's capital, and for the moment settled an argument over just what the Second Amendment to the Constitution,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Texas Senator Asks Supreme Court to Strike Down Chicago Handgun Ban
Dallas Morning News (Texas)
8 October 2009
WASHINGTON -- Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison renewed her opposition Wednesday to certain gun control measures in anticipation of a major case on the issue coming before the U.S. Supreme Court. Hutchison, a Republican, announced that she and other lawmakers would file a brief urging the high court to rule that Chicago's strict gun control ordinances violate an individual's right to keep and bear arms. The upcoming test... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
In Battle to Influence US Supreme Court, Guns Are the New Abortion
Fox News (USA), Opinion
5 October 2009
With an estimated 90 million firearms owners in America and a huge margin of popular support for a right to keep and bear arms, the gun rights community is a potent political force. But until recently, it had little reason to care about judges. That's all changed with the arrival of a new Supreme Court justice and the Obama administration. As a new Supreme Court term opens today, one issue on the Court's docket stands out, not only... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Owner, Felon Challenge 'Unconstitutional' Massachusetts Gun Laws
South Coast Today (Massachusetts)
4 October 2009
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is expected to decide whether a state law that requires residents to apply for gun licenses with their local police departments is unconstitutional. The challenge is being brought before the court by Paul W. Patten, a Fall River defense attorney who is representing Nathaniel DePina, 19, a New Bedford man serving a 2-year jail sentence after being convicted last year of illegally carrying... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
What Washington, DC Needs Least: More Hidden Handguns on Streets
Washington Post, Opinion
4 October 2009
We are now presented with a new challenge to our D.C. gun laws and regulations. In this new lawsuit, celebrated last month by a commentary on this page, the courts are asked to decide whether an individual's Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms includes the right to carry firearms openly or concealed in public for personal protection. This issue arises in the wake of the historic Supreme Court decision in Heller v. District... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Supreme Court Should Allow States, Cities to Set Own Gun Controls
Washington Post, Editorial
2 October 2009
With its landmark ruling in the 2008 case of District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment bestows an individual right to keep and bear arms. The fact that this case originated in the District -- a federal enclave -- saved for a later day the question of whether the Second Amendment also applied to states, thus extending this right to all citizens. That day has come in the form of McDonald v. Chicago, in... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Justices to Weigh Challenges to More US Gun Laws
Associated Press
1 October 2009
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that it would decide whether state and local gun control laws may be challenged under the Second Amendment. The court also agreed to hear nine other cases from among those that had piled up over its summer break, including one concerning the constitutionality of an antiterrorism law that is a favorite tool of federal prosecutors. The Second Amendment case, McDonald... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Takes Up Gun Lobby Challenge to Chicago Handgun Ban
Wall Street Journal
1 October 2009
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court agreed to decide whether some state gun regulations violate the Constitution, the second phase of the justices' re-examination of the right to bear arms in the 21st century. Last year, the court ruled that the Second Amendment includes an individual right to self-defense, and struck down a Washington, D.C., ordinance that effectively banned possession of handguns within the capital. That... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Advocates Predict Drop in Crime if Chicago Handgun Ban is Lifted
Chicago Sun-Times
30 September 2009
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Wednesday to hear a challenge to Chicago's strictest-in-the-nation handgun ban likely means the other holster is ready to fall on the ban, advocates on both sides of the issue seemed to agree Wednesday. "A year from now there will not be a Chicago handgun ban," said Alan Gura, the attorney representing the gun owners fighting the ban. The high court's five-member conservative majority last... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court to Hear Gun Lobby Challenge to Chicago Handgun Ban
Chicago Tribune
30 September 2009
The Supreme Court set the stage for a historic ruling on gun rights and the 2nd Amendment by agreeing today to hear a challenge to Chicago's ban on handguns. At issue is whether state and local gun-control ordinances can be struck down as violating the "right to keep and bear arms" in the 2nd Amendment. A ruling on the issue, due by next summer, could open the door to legal challenges to various gun control measures in... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Supreme Court Returns to Firearm Fray to Rule on Handgun Ban
USA Today
30 September 2009
The U.S. Supreme Court raised the stakes for its new term and for gun owners nationwide by agreeing Wednesday to hear an appeal from firearms owners in Chicago. The question in the case goes to the heart of the Second Amendment and could become a major test of the court led by Chief Justice John Roberts. The gun owners are challenging an appeals court ruling that the Second Amendment's guarantee of an individual right to guns applies... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
California Gun Show Ban Triggers US Supreme Court Gun Control Case
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
24 September 2009
SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court spent an hour on Thursday wrestling with America's next big gun rights question: Does the Second Amendment prevent states from enacting anti-gun laws? An 11-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals peppered attorneys for both sides with far-ranging questions about the history of the California constitution, if local governments would be able to ban the private ownership of handguns,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
California Attorney General Walks the Political Fence on Gun Control
Recorder (California)
22 September 2009
A hard-fought firearms case is coming to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for en banc arguments Thursday, with the usual gun groups weighing in as amici on the usual sides. Though the case arose in Alameda County, Calif., home to California Attorney General Jerry Brown, he hasn't submitted briefs. But in another case across the country, involving the same issue, Brown filed an amicus that has gun control advocates shaking their... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Boston Disputes Ruling That Loaded, Unlocked Guns Are OK in Homes
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
19 September 2009
BOSTON -- Attorney General Martha Coakley's Office is weighing in on a Billerica gun case that is heading to the state Supreme Judicial Court, urging that court to side with the Middlesex District Attorney's Office and reject the constitutional challenge to the state's safe-firearm storage law. Middlesex DA Gerard Leone is challenging a Lowell District Court ruling -- and in turn a U.S. Supreme Court decision -- that dismissed a... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Courts Uphold Denial of Hidden Handguns, Allow Felon to Own Guns
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
10 September 2009
An appeals court in Washington, D.C. has upheld the city's extremely restrictive law requiring residents to obtain licenses to carry handguns outside of their homes. The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last year in the high-profile D.C. v. Heller Second Amendment case did not invalidate the District of Columbia's licensing requirements, and even appears to have endorsed them, the appeals court ruled. "While the statute indisputably... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
4 Police Visits, Fingerprints, Training, Exams: Getting a Handgun in DC
Washington Post
2 September 2009
It took $833.69, a total of 15 hours 50 minutes, four trips to the Metropolitan Police Department, two background checks, a set of fingerprints, a five-hour class and a 20-question multiple-choice exam. Oh, and the votes of five Supreme Court justices. They're the ones who really made it possible for me, as a District resident, to own a handgun, a constitutional right as heavily debated and rigorously parsed as the freedoms of speech... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Lawyer Predicts Gun Owners' Next Win in DC: Carrying Hidden Handguns
Washington Post, Opinion
1 September 2009
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Supreme Court, in District of Columbia v. Heller, declared that Washington's 32-year ban on all functional firearms violated the Second Amendment. Justice Antonin Scalia's majority opinion, however, applied only to possession of guns in the home. The court did not address, and was not asked to address, firearms carried outside the home. That's the issue posed in a new lawsuit against the District by Tom Palmer (disclosure:... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Appeals Court Rules Government Can Require Gun Registration
CBS News / Taking Liberties, Blog
19 August 2009
An appeals court in Chicago has ruled that the federal, state or local government can require all citizens to register their firearms under penalty of law. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals said that, even after the Supreme Court's high-profile gun rights decision last year, the Second Amendment is no obstacle to mandatory gun registration. The case arose out of the Chicago-area town of Cicero's... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Assault Rifle-toting Obama Protester Could Hurt Gun Rights, Says Kopel
Christian Science Monitor
18 August 2009
ATLANTA -- The appearance of weapons near the president at a speech and a healthcare town hall has been cast as either a danger to the president and public debate or a sign of that gun ownership is gradually losing its stigma. A man in a shirt and tie carried a shoulder-slung rifle near President Obama's entourage in Phoenix Tuesday. Since carrying a gun is legal in Arizona, police did not take action against him or any other gun-carrying... ( gunpolicy.org )
Russia, Thailand, United States
Viktor Bout, the 'Merchant of Death': Gunrunner with Captivating Character
CBC News (Canada)
18 August 2009
Viktor Bout may not be a household name like Osama bin Laden, but to some he is considered no less dangerous. Dubbed the Merchant of Death, the former Soviet air force officer is said to have delivered arms that fuelled some of the world's worst conflicts and is linked to the likes of warlords and dictators. For author and security expert Stephen Braun, one of the "great ironies" surrounding Bout lies in the United States'... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Lobbyists Sue for Hidden Handguns on the Streets of Washington
Washington Post, Editorial
15 August 2009
If Tom Palmer and his fellow plaintiffs have their way, they'll soon be carrying loaded handguns through the streets of the nation's capital. Mr. Palmer, three other individuals and the Second Amendment Foundation sued the District last week, arguing that city laws that "ban registration of handguns to be carried for self-defense by law-abiding citizens" are unconstitutional. Mr. Palmer, a resident of the District, is asking... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun 'Rights' Don't Apply in Domestic Violence, Says US Appeals Court
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
14 August 2009
Last year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment did not, contrary to what you may have heard at the time, resolve very much. Unanswered are questions about carrying firearms in public, gun sales on government property, firearm registration, guns in government housing, handgun restrictions that aren't exactly the same as the District of Columbia's, zoning and gun stores, and so on. And so far, at least, lower courts... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Nominee Faces 'Cheap Shot' Protest from US Gun Lobby
Washington Post, Editorial
28 July 2009
For the first time in its 138-year history, the National Rifle Association is counting the votes on a Supreme Court nominee in its ratings of senators. That means senators -- including members of the Judiciary Committee who are due to vote on Sonia Sotomayor on Tuesday -- will have to choose between voting for the first Hispanic nominee and getting high marks from the premier gun rights organization, which opposes her confirmation. Explains... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
NRA Opposes Sotomayor, Obama's Nomination to US Supreme Court
CNN
16 July 2009
WASHINGTON -- The National Rifle Association announced Thursday that it opposes Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor greets Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, Thursday. "We believe any individual who does not agree that the Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental right and who does not respect our God-given right of self-defense should not serve on any... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Obama's Supreme Court Pick Questioned on Attitude to Gun Control
Wall Street Journal / Washington Wire
14 July 2009
Gun rights haven't been an issue in recent Supreme Court confirmation battles because the Supreme Court hadn't tackled a major Second Amendment case in decades. But that changed with the court's recent decision in the Heller case, finding that the right to bear arms was an individual right and not a collective one. So the issue arose this morning in Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah), a senior... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Is Gun Control Really a Cultural Issue, or Did the Gun Lobby Invent That?
Huffington Post (USA), Blog
22 June 2009
Gun control frequently is referred to -- alongside issues like abortion and gay rights -- as a "cultural" issue. Indeed, it is fashionable in some quarters to refer to the cluster of cultural issues as "God, guns, and gays." The Obama Administration has taken some heat for its failure to show leadership on this set of issues. As the Boston Globe described it, Obama has declared a "cease-fire in the culture wars." But is gun control... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Cities' Gun Restrictions Begin to Topple Under Attack from US Gun Lobby
Christian Science Monitor
20 June 2009
ATLANTA -- It's been a disappointing year for American cities seeking to curb violence via tough gun laws. Since last June, when the US Supreme Court struck down key parts of the District of Columbia's gun-control ordinance, cities have seen the 20,000 local gun regulations enacted over the years begin to slip from their grip, one by one. Philadelphia's ban on assault weapons and limits on handgun purchases are the latest... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Washington, DC Expands List of Allowed Guns to Avert Pro-gun Lawsuit
Washington Post
20 June 2009
The D.C. government released emergency regulations yesterday that greatly expand the models of handguns that District residents can own, a shift designed to stave off another lawsuit over its compliance with the Second Amendment. The new regulations, which come as the District continues to grapple with last year's Supreme Court decision that threw out the city's gun ban, will allow residents to legally obtain at least 1,000 additional... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Obama's Pick for Supreme Court 'Leans in her Heart' to Gun Control
New York Times
19 June 2009
Many conservatives opposed to Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court have argued that she is opposed to gun rights, a view based largely on a New York case in which she took part this year. The latest on President Obama, the new administration and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion. But in an opinion a few weeks ago, in a Chicago gun-control case, a panel of conservative... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico, United States
New Data Emerges on Flood of Guns Smuggled Into Mexico from USA
Christian Science Monitor
18 June 2009
ATLANTA -- Can new evidence that high-powered US firearms are fueling Mexican drug violence change the political course of gun control in Washington? Not likely, a number of gun experts say. The Government Accountability Office information that 87 percent of seized guns given to US authorities by Mexican officials come from the US shouldn't come as a surprise, says Bill Vizzard, a criminologist at the California State University... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Rulings Open Way to US Supreme Court Relaxation of Gun Control
New York Times
17 June 2009
A year ago, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision establishing the constitutional right of Americans to own guns. But the justices did not explain what the practical effect of that ruling would be on city and state gun laws. Could a city still ban handguns? The justices said the District of Columbia could not, but only because it is a special federal district. The question of the constitutionality of existing... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Obama's Supreme Court Pick Raises Fear Levels Among US Gun Lobby
Associated Press
11 June 2009
WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor told a senator Thursday that she would follow a historic ruling affirming Americans' right to own guns for self-defense, but pro-gun activists said they still believe she'd work to limit gun rights if confirmed for the high court. Democratic Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado said Sotomayor told him during a private meeting that she considers the 2008 ruling that struck down a Washington,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Guns 'Clearly Not Fundamental Right' - Obama's Supreme Court Pick
Washington Times, Opinion
10 June 2009
During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama went to great lengths to convince everyone he was a strong defender of the Second Amendment. He disowned or denied a long list of anti-gun positions and told us time and time again to trust him, that he really did believe the Second Amendment protected an individual right. Was he simply catering to public opinion? The latest poll from Opinion Research found last month that 77 percent... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Conservative Judges Back Obama's Supreme Court Pick on Gun Control
Washington Post
3 June 2009
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has been called an "anti-gun radical" by some gun rights activists for joining an opinion this year that said the Second Amendment does not prevent state and local governments from restricting arms ownership. But yesterday a panel of conservative luminaries on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit reached the same decision. The unanimous ruling rejecting a challenge to Chicago's tough... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
To Right's Dismay, NRA Stays Out of Attack on Supreme Court Nominee
The Hill (Washington DC)
28 May 2009
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is staying on the sidelines in the battle over Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, to the dismay of conservative activists who hoped that the gun-rights group would pressure conservative Democratic senators to oppose her. Republicans have repeatedly tried to draw the NRA into court fights over the years but with little success. The Bush administration, for example, tried to persuade the group... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
San Francisco Latest Target of Gun Lobby's 'Nationwide Suit-filing Spree'
San Francisco Chronicle
19 May 2009
The National Rifle Association has filed suit against the city of San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom and Police Chief Heather Fong, taking aim at city laws it contends violate the Second Amendment right to bear arms. The NRA filed the lawsuit in federal court Friday on behalf of six residents and the San Francisco Veteran Police Officers Association. It challenges three provisions of the city's police code that it says interfere... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Armed Conservatism: More Americans Backing Political Belief With Guns
Christian Science Monitor
18 May 2009
PHOENIX -- When Kirby Warner, a trusty Ruger pistol strapped to his hip, sat around and shot the breeze with his fellow gun owners here at the National Rifle Association's annual meeting this weekend, they weren't just chatting calibers and cartridges. Nor did they stop at other tried and trusted fare, such as President Obama and gun control. This year, taxes, bailouts, and the general direction of the country was all on the docket.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Shooters, Heller Litigant Challenge California Hidden Handgun Discretion
CBS News (USA) / Political Hot Sheet, Blog
6 May 2009
In theory, law-abiding Californians who undergo a criminal background check and pass a government training course can receive a permit from their local sheriff to carry a concealed firearm. But in practice, many California counties flatly deny permits to residents who meet the requirements for a concealed carry permit -- a situation that a lawsuit filed in federal court in Sacramento on Tuesday hopes to remedy. The lawsuit... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
California Court's Gun Decision Muddies Second Amendment Waters
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Opinion
24 April 2009
It's been less than a year since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark Heller decision affirming the principle that the 2nd Amendment does indeed protect an individual right to keep and bear arms, and that the right it thus protects is a fundamental right. The High Court last June clearly established: (1) that we -- the people -- possess an individual right to own firearms; (2) that this fundamental right pre-dated the Constitution... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Mexico, Americas
Obama Signals Assault Weapon Ban: US Gun Buying Frenzy Reinforced
Sydney Morning Herald
18 April 2009
WASHINGTON -- Sales of military-style assault weapons should be banned in the US, Barack Obama said as he met his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon, to discuss measures to curb the violence among Mexican drug cartels. But the US President set no timetable for pushing for legislative change -- a move that would be highly controversial in the US. Instead he said he would seek Senate ratification of an inter-American arms trafficking... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Armed Insurrectionism, Gun Lobby Dream Goes Mainstream in America
Huffington Post (USA), Blog
16 April 2009
For years, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) has warned Americans about the dangers of insurrectionist ideology: the idea that individuals have the "right," in the words of National Rifle Association (NRA) CEO Wayne LaPierre, "to take whatever measures necessary, including force, to abolish oppressive government." CSGV has argued that not only does insurrectionism degrade the democratic values and institutions that protect the freedoms... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Surge in US Gun Sales Deeper, Broader: Politics, Fear of Crime the Fuel
Christian Science Monitor
13 April 2009
ATLANTA -- What do an elderly Oklahoma homeowner, a Virginia Citizen Militia member, and a Texas airline pilot all have in common these days? They're all part of America's massive gun-and-ammunition buying spree -- a national arming-up effort that began before last year's election of President Obama and continues unabated. Across the United States, it has led to shortages of assault-style weapons, rising prices, and a broadening... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Democrats Join Gun Lobby to Ensure Gun Control Laws Go Nowhere
Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh)
9 April 2009
The fatal shootings in Binghamton, N.Y., and Stanton Heights prompted renewed calls for stricter gun control from traditional advocates such as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. But such calls haven't echoed in the halls of Congress or in statehouses across the country. "The silence has been deafening," Dennis Goldford, a Drake University political scientist, said of federal lawmakers' response... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Mexico
US Gun-control Crowd Pushes Radical Goal: Stop Gun Running to Mexico
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Opinion
1 April 2009
As the little girl in the 1980s flick, "Poltergeist," said, "They're back." Now, after consciously maintaining a low profile the last two years, even though the Democratic Party maintained a majority in both houses of the Congress, the gun-control crowd is stirring. Yes, they're back. And they're feeling their oats. Smartly, congressional benefactors for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the nation's most notorious gun... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
DC Police Chief Says Pro-gun Bill Would Threaten Security in US Capital
Washington Post, Opinion
21 March 2009
The National Rifle Association has congratulated Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) for "restoring the Second Amendment freedom" to D.C. residents with his amendment to the D.C. Voting Rights Act. Ensign's amendment would repeal most of the District's gun control law, which was revised in response to the Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. Make no mistake, Ensign and the NRA want to substitute their own view of the... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
In 80 Cases Based on US Supreme Court Decision, 'Heller Fires Blanks'
New York Times
17 March 2009
About nine months ago, the Supreme Court breathed new life into the Second Amendment, ruling for the first time that it protects an individual right to own guns. Since then, lower federal courts have decided more than 80 cases interpreting the decision, District of Columbia v. Heller, and it is now possible to make a preliminary assessment of its impact. So far, Heller is firing blanks. The courts have upheld federal laws... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
New Jersey Man Steals 10 Guns, AK-47s, Shoots Up Ex-girlfriend's Home
WTAJ-TV News (New Jersey)
17 March 2009
LOGAN TOWNSHIP, Blair County -- Police have recovered all the weapons connected to an Altoona shooting suspect. Joseph Olecki, 33, is in the Blair County Jail on a straight $300,000 bail. Police arrested him Monday morning after a 36 hour search. Investigators believe Olecki is the man who shot at least 21 rounds into his ex-girlfriend's home on Drexel Lane this past Saturday night. No one was hurt, but the woman said Olecki... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Senate Stabbed Washington in the Back with Gun Lobby Amendment
Washington Post, Column
9 March 2009
In Washington, D.Colony, the politically correct thing to do is to praise the Senate for passing the D.C. House Voting Rights Act. Mayor Adrian Fenty set the pace following passage when he rushed out a press release expressing thanks to "Senators Joseph Lieberman, Harry Reid and Orrin Hatch for their tremendous support and leadership" in steering the bill through the Senate. Other city officials followed suit with hosannas of their own.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Panic Buying of 'Pre-ban' Guns, Ammo Merely 'A Blip' in US Gun Market
LewRockwell.com (USA), Web page
5 March 2009
Since Obama's victory in November, Smith and Wesson and Ruger, the only two publically traded US gun makers, have experienced major increases in their stock prices. Ammo manufacturers are running 24/7 attempting to keep up with demand. Military-pattern semi-automatic rifles, including AR-15's and AK-clones are expensive, stocked-out, or both. Are these price increases "gouging," as some would say, or are they a natural response... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Showdown in Illinois as Gun Lobby Pushes to Encourage Hidden Handguns
St Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)
2 March 2009
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois -- Springfield is headed toward a political showdown over guns, with both sides loading up like they haven't in years. The gun owners lobby is close to getting a floor debate in the Legislature on its pinnacle goal of allowing residents to carry concealed handguns in Illinois, which is one of just two states that still outlaw it. (Wisconsin is the other.) "It's heating up. We think we're close," said... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Despite Appeal, US Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Guns for Abusers
Washington Post
25 February 2009
The Supreme Court yesterday affirmed federal efforts to bar those convicted of crimes involving domestic violence from owning guns. It was the court's first decision concerning gun rights since last year's landmark decision recognizing an individual's Second Amendment right to own a firearm. But the 7 to 2 decision authored by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg contained nary a word about Heller v. District of Columbia, which struck down... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court 'Narrowed' US Gun Control Options, Says Obama Choice
CNN / Political Ticker, Blog
15 January 2009
WASHINGTON -- Attorney General-designate Eric Holder conceded during his confirmation hearing Thursday that the government's options for regulating the possession of firearms have been narrowed in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2008 ruling that the Second Amendment ensures an individual right to bear arms. "Reasonable restrictions are still possible," Holder said, including measures such as a ban on the sale of what are called... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Campaign for More Guns in American Schools 'A Dismal Failure'
AlterNet (USA), Web Page
9 December 2008
First the bad news: Despite its election day smackdown, the NRA and its pals soldier on in their mission to arm god-fearing Americans in ludicrous places. A flurry of news stories earlier this year reported a pioneering solution proposed to the rash of recent campus shootings: instead of redoubling efforts to enforce the whole "gun-free school zone" thing -- a quaint little notion from, like the 1980s -- why not change the rules to let students... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Gun Control Won 90% of its Election Races, Gun Lobby Lost 80%
AlterNet (USA), Web Page
4 December 2008
Last month, voters across the country took a cue from the late Charlton Heston and pried the assault weapon from the NRA's cold, dead hands. Although the gun group unleashed everything in its arsenal to defeat Barack Obama and dozens of down ticket gun-control candidates, it lost by a margin as historic as the war chest it opened in an attempt to convince voters that Democrats were mortal enemies of the Second Amendment. Despite... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Gun Owners Fall for Obama Fearmongering, Gun Dealers' Sales Ploy
Tennessean (Nashville), Column
25 November 2008
From a campaign statement by President-elect Barack Obama on the U.S. Supreme Court Heller decision, June 26, 2008, and taken from the Web site, www.bradyvoter.org: "I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms, but I also identify with the need for crime-ravaged communities to save their children from violence that plagues our streets through common-sense, effective safety measures.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Supreme Court Cops It for Wandering Into Gun Policy, As With Abortion
Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St Paul), Column
22 November 2008
WASHINGTON -- Of conservatives' few victories this year, the most cherished came when the Supreme Court, in District of Columbia vs. Heller, held for the first time that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms. Now, however, a distinguished conservative jurist argues that the court's ruling was mistaken and had the principal flaws of Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 abortion ruling that conservatives execrate as judicial overreaching.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Fear of Obama 'Going British' On Guns Fuels US Weapon-Buying Spree
Sunday Paper (Atlanta)
16 November 2008
Last summer, not long after Democratic presidential primary candidate Hillary Clinton told the people of Scranton, Pa., about how she'd learned to shoot at her family's cottage, while her opponent Barack Obama was counting up his likely electoral college votes and Republican John McCain was talking about buying insurance across state lines, the U.S. Supreme Court quietly issued an interpretation of the Second Amendment that firmly protects... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Obama Victory Reveals Failure of US Gun Lobby's $15m Election Spend
MSNBC-NBC TV News (USA) / First Read, Web Page
6 November 2008
During the Democratic primary, when Barack Obama told donors in San Francisco that "bitter" voters in hardscrabble Pennsylvania "cling to their guns and religion," the words rang like music in his political opponents' ears. Obama foes hoped that the senator's inartful description of economically-strapped gun enthusiasts would cut his support from rural whites off at the knees. The comment also put an exclamation point on Obama's... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
81yr-old Delaware Woman Denied Pistol Permit on Basis of Gender, Age
News Journal (Delaware)
28 October 2008
Delaware State Police stopped Alvina Vansickle from purchasing a .22-caliber pistol for self-defense because she was too old and a woman, said Superintendent Col. Thomas MacLeish. The outrage that followed led to the revelation that Delaware State Police had been keeping lists of gun buyers for years; state law requires them to destroy these records after 60 days. Without so much as a traffic ticket, the 81-year-old Lewes... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Eminent Conservative Judges Slam US Supreme Court's Pro-gun Ruling
Los Angeles Times, Editorial
22 October 2008
In the 1960s, when conservative legal scholars railed about an overreaching, activist Supreme Court, it was the Miranda ruling they denounced, along with its author, Republican Chief Justice Earl Warren. In the 1970s -- and '80s and '90s -- those critics directed their firepower at Roe vs. Wade and its author, Republican Justice Harry Blackmun. Now the complaint arises again. The target this time is none other than the current court's preeminent... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Obama 'Favoured Every Gun Restriction That Came Along in Illinois'
Gazette (Colorado Springs), Editorial
22 October 2008
Brilliantly, Democrats have kept the issue of guns out of the presidential campaign. Guns have barely been mentioned, with the exception of Barack Obama's gaffe about rubes clinging to Bibles and guns, his cautious support of the Supreme Court's Heller decision, and pop culture references to GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin killing moose. Democrats have long been on the losing end of the gun-rights debate, which has cost... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Judges Call US High Court Gun Ban Ruling 'Illegitimate, Activist, Political'
New York Times
21 October 2008
WASHINGTON -- Four months after the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess guns, its decision is under assault -- from the right. Two prominent federal appeals court judges say that Justice Antonin Scalia's majority opinion in the case, District of Columbia v. Heller, is illegitimate, activist, poorly reasoned and fueled by politics rather than principle. The 5-to-4 decision in Heller... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Strident, Dismissive US Supreme Court Sides With Foes of Gun Control
Journal of the American Medical Association / JAMA. 2008;300(13):1575-1577, Editorial
30 September 2008
In District of Columbia v Heller, The Supreme Court held, for the first time in its history, that the Second Amendment grants an individual right to possess and use firearms for personal use, which encompasses the right to keep a loaded handgun at home for self-defense. Justice Scalia, writing for a bitterly divided court that split 5 to 4 along ideological lines, said that the Second Amendment "surely elevates above all other interests... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
New York Handgun Bullet 'Library' Defended as Developing Crime Buster
Newsday (New York) / AP
28 September 2008
ALBANY, New York -- New York's 7½-year-old database of handgun "fingerprints" has yet to lead to a criminal prosecution and questions linger about its effectiveness. Still, state police remain committed to the database, saying more time and a long-awaited link to a federal ballistics database could bring success. Since March 2001, identifying information about more than 200,000 new pistols and revolvers sold in New York have been... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Supreme Court Gun Ruling Takes Heat from Conservative Judges
Associated Press
27 September 2008
WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is no stranger to criticism. He gives as good as he gets. But two recent critiques of his opinion in the landmark decision guaranteeing people the right keep guns at home for self-defense are notable because they come from respected fellow conservative federal judges. The judges, J. Harvie Wilkinson of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., and Richard... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Heller Augurs Sensible US Gun Control, Demise of NRA? - David Kennedy
National Law Journal (USA)
23 September 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court's Second Amendment decision last term, with its historic affirmation of an individual right to keep and bear arms, is being read as a harbinger of doom by gun-control advocates, and as cause for celebration by the National Rifle Association and its allies. In fact, it could play out exactly the other way around. District of Columbia v. Heller may finally open the door to sensible gun policy in the United States, and... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
NRA Forces 'Kicking and Screaming' Illinois City to Weaken Handgun Ban
Daily Northwestern (Illinois)
23 September 2008
The Evanston City Council is still discussing what to do next after being "forced kicking and screaming" to amend its handgun ban last month. The change was made following a June 26 Supreme Court ruling, District of Columbia v. Heller, declaring a similar ban in Washington, D.C. to be in violation of the Second Amendment. The day after the landmark decision, the National Rifle Association brought a lawsuit against Evanston alleging... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Gutted DC Gun Ban for Plaintiff in Fear of 'Terrorist Army'
Huffington Post (USA), Blog
23 September 2008
It was national news on June 26 when the Supreme Court overturned the District of Columbia's strict gun laws and declared that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. The media continues to dissect the impact of the District of Columbia v. Heller case on the future of gun control -- and gun violence -- in our country. While the Court's 5-4 decision has remained under the magnifying glass, very little has... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Washington DC Fights for the Right to Curb Gun Deaths, Set Its Own Law
Washington Post, Opinion
21 September 2008
In District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court ruled that individuals have a Second Amendment right to possess handguns and struck down the District's total ban. The court said that the right to have handguns is not absolute, but it gave scant guidance as to what limitations would be permissible. The District now faces a formidable balancing act in that it must honor the right and protect public safety. Our task is especially daunting... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Senate Must Resist NRA Intimidation, Stop Dangerous DC Pro-Gun Bill
Washington Post, Editorial
18 September 2008
The U.S. Senate represents the last, best hope to stop the mindless push to enact a dangerous gun law in the District. And stop it the senators must. The House voted yesterday to adopt a measure that would gut the District's gun laws and that goes far beyond the Supreme Court's finding this summer of an individual right to bear arms. The bill would prohibit the District from requiring that weapons be registered -- the most reasonable... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
One and a Half Miles of Guns, 'Gun-nuttery' at Virginia Weapon Market
Washington City Paper (DC)
17 September 2008
The Nation's Gun Show took place this past weekend in Chantilly, Virginia. I attended looking to meet a few members of armed America and, hopefully, D.C. residents shopping for revolvers -- so far the only handguns they can buy. First things first. After spending several hours trolling "one and a half miles of guns, knives and accessories," I meet only two D.C. residents: two young men in khakis and oxford shirts who blanch as soon... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Congress 'Cowed by Gun lobby' Aims to Strip DC of Right to Set Law
Washington Post, Editorial
8 September 2008
House Democrats make much of their support for the right of the District to self-government. Too bad they are willing to sacrifice this basic tenet of American democracy to the political self-interests of members cowed by the powerful gun lobby. How else to explain a planned vote on legislation so extreme it would strip the District of all power to regulate guns? Since appeals for home rule don't appear to be persuasive these days, let's... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Wisconsin Judge Finds Domestic Violence Gun Ban to be Constitutional
Wisconsin Law Journal
8 September 2008
The ban on possession of firearms by persons convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence is constitutional. In one of the first challenges to the validity of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9), since the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark holding in District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S.Ct. 2783 (2008), U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb held that Heller does not affect the validity of the prohibition. Judge Crabb reasoned, "These persons... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Partners, Children of US Gun Owners Face Higher Risk of Suicide - Study
New England Journal of Medicine 359:10:989-991
4 September 2008
This past June, in a 5-to-4 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court struck down a ban on handgun ownership in the nation's capital and ruled that the District's law requiring all firearms in the home to be locked violated the Second Amendment. But the Supreme Court's finding of a Second Amendment right to have a handgun in the home does not mean that it is a wise decision to own a gun or to keep it easily accessible.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Sarah Palin 'Ideologically Extreme' Even by US Gun Lobby Standards
Huffington Post (USA), Blog
4 September 2008
The recent choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as the vice presidential candidate on the Republican ticket came as a surprise to many and has created an uproar in the national media as reporters and bloggers scramble to learn more about this relatively unknown politician. While Palin's staunch anti-abortion stance has been well documented, less detail is known about her position on gun control. The media's initial description... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
McCain's Running Mate, Lifetime NRA Supporter Promotes Wolf, Bear Kill
Newsweek (USA)
29 August 2008
Like many Alaskans, Gov. Sarah Palin is a lifelong hunter and strong proponent of Second Amendment rights. A longtime member of the National Rifle Association, she told USA Today when she was running for governor as a Republican in 2006 that "We hunt as much as we can, and I'm proud to say our freezer is full of wild game we harvested here in Alaska." Her own parents had just returned from hunting caribou when they learned that she had been... ( gunpolicy.org )
|
|
