Gun Policy News
US Supreme Court case: gun control v gun rights
Trump Softens Gun Promises, Gun Rights Not a Priority [ES]
18 November 2016
Newsweek (USA)
[Translated Summary: During his presidential campaign Donald Trump promised to swiftly "unsign" the executive actions President Obama issued in January regarding background checks and to abolish gun-free zones at schools and on military bases. In addition, he promised to allow Americans to carry hidden handguns across all 50 states. However, after the election he softened his tone and it now appears that gun rights are mo longer a priority.]
A lo largo de sus casi 17... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Maker Sees Firearm Sales Soar as US Election Looms
2 November 2016
CNN
Sturm, Ruger (RGR) reported that sales jumped by a third, to $161.4 million, in the quarter ended Oct. 1 compared with the same period last year. Earnings rose 66%. The company's stock rose 2% in early trading Wednesday.
The company said sales are up across the industry, based on FBI data on background checks, which tend to rise and fall along with sales.
Sales were "likely bolstered by the political campaign for next week's election," Chris Killoy, the Sturm, Ruger... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Makers Ban New Handgun Sales in 'Too Strict' California
24 October 2016
LA Times, Editorial
When someone shoots up a neighborhood with a semiautomatic weapon, the shooter usually leaves evidence behind — not only the bullets fired, but also the spent casings ejected from the gun as a fresh round loads. Ballistics experts can match distinctive marks the firing process leaves on the bullets and the casings against fresh samples fired from a gun that investigators believe may have been used in the crime. But first, of course, they must have the gun.
But... (GunPolicy.org)
Trump Supporters Plan to Flaunt Their Guns at Polling Booths
21 October 2016
The Trace (USA)
Eddie Fulmer will cast his ballot for Donald Trump on Election Day with a .45-caliber pistol visibly strapped to his hip. Though he thinks voter fraud is a problem, Fulmer will not be monitoring the polls, and he doesn't believe that other voters in his pocket of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, will recoil at the sight of his gun.
"People are going to vote just like they walk around in daily life," said Fulmer, president of the gun rights group BamaCarry. "It may seem... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA-Backed Taboo on Tracing US Gun Sales Must Change
8 September 2016
Los Angeles Times, Editorial
When police recover a gun from a crime scene, they usually check with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine the weapon's history — who made it, who bought it from whom and when. But because of ludicrous restrictions that Congress has placed on the agency, a gun trace that should take minutes instead takes days, wasting precious time and millions of taxpayer dollars.
The problem is rooted in the gun lobby's fear that the federal... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Advocates for Some Black Gun Owners, But Not Others
21 July 2016
The Trace (USA)
The day after Philando Castile was shot dead by a police officer during a traffic stop, his girlfriend Diamond Reynolds spoke at a march on the Minnesota governor's mansion. Reynolds, who filmed the aftermath of the shooting, made an unusual first demand for an African-American protester decrying police violence: She insisted police treat concealed carriers with respect.
Reynolds says Castile, who held a concealed weapons permit, told the officer that pulled him over... (GunPolicy.org)
JAMA's Article on Australia's Gun Control Fuels Controversy
24 June 2016
Medpage Today (USA)
Does Australia's gun control policy -- a government buy back of civilian-owned guns and strict laws limiting access to guns -- offer useful insights for the U.S.?
No, according Timothy Wheeler, MD, a retired Los Angeles head and neck surgeon, who played a role in Congress's decision to withhold funding for CDC studies of gun violence, who termed Australia's buyback "a full-fledged mass confiscation."
"The 1996 National Firearms Agreement's so-called 'buyback' of... (GunPolicy.org)
US LGBT Groups Tout Benefits of Carrying Hidden Handguns
18 June 2016
NBC News (USA)
The Pink Pistols, a national gun club for gays and lesbians, wants their community to take up arms in self defense in the wake of a deadly shooting massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando.
Spokesperson Gwendolyn Patton, who argues that the LGBT community needs to exercise their Second Amendment rights in order to defend themselves, says the group saw membership soar from about 1,500 members before the Orlando shooting on Sunday to 3,500 on Monday.
The spike in interest... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Control and the Effect of the US 2nd Amendment
15 June 2016
The Conversation
The Second Amendment to the Constitution is a touchstone for the many people who identify with American society's enduring affinity for firearms. And every time there is an atrocity, such as the mass shooting in Orlando, debate inevitably settles on how this part of the Constitution effectively prevents the adoption of workable gun control measures.
But ironically, the Amendment played almost no substantial part in legal or constitutional jurisprudence involving gun... (GunPolicy.org)
18 November 2015
Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia (Puerto Rico)
Gun laws in Puerto Rico regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. As Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States, many U.S. federal laws apply, as well as Constitutional rulings and protections. (1) (2)
Summary Table
Subject/Law? Long guns - Handguns - (Notes)
Permit to purchase? No - No - (Firearms purchases are subject to the requirements of US Federal law)
Firearm registration? No - No
Assault... (GunPolicy.org)
Puerto Rico,United States,Guam
15 July 2015
Pacific Daily News (Guam)
The timing of a recent court ruling from the Commonwealth Court of Puerto Rico could not be better, and may well set in motion a significant ripple effect in other U.S. Island jurisdictions, namely Guam and Hawaii.
The Puerto Rican court recently handed down a ruling on a class action lawsuit that was brought by the Ladies of the Second Amendment, or LSA, with 850 individual plaintiffs. The court ruling, confirmed by the Second Amendment Foundation, or SAF, was a... (GunPolicy.org)
19 June 2015
Second Amendment Foundation News (Washington)
BELLEVUE, WA - A surprising victory for gun rights in Puerto Rico has eliminated the firearms registry and licensing requirements to purchase and carry in the Commonwealth, the Second Amendment Foundation has confirmed.
As of now, according to Sandra Barreras with Ladies of the Second Amendment (LSA), the group that brought the lawsuit, "there is no regulation to purchase or carry (and) all purchases will be handled in accordance with federal firearms regulations." LSA... (GunPolicy.org)
US Supreme Court Makes the NRA Miserable - Again
5 May 2014
Bloomberg (USA)
Presented with an opportunity to expand gun rights, the U.S. Supreme Court took a powder today. It refused to hear a challenge to gun regulation in New Jersey, repeating a pattern of declining every such opportunity since it decided major gun-rights cases in 2008 and 2010.
It wasn't supposed to go this way - not in the world according to gun-rights advocates. The New Jersey case arose from a decision by an appeals court panel, which had upheld the state's ban on... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Laws: How Key US States are Easing or Tightening Restrictions on Firearms
26 April 2014
Guardian (UK)
After Congress failed to pass gun reform last year, the debate over gun violence and Second Amendment rights has largely moved from Washington DC to state capitals. That debate heated up after the December 2012 shooting tragedy at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
Last year, lawmakers in Connecticut and Colorado – another state rocked by a mass shooting in 2012 – passed sweeping new gun-control measures. In January 2013, New York enacted a law... (GunPolicy.org)
Defiant US Rancher Savours Audience After Gun Threat Against Officials
23 April 2014
New York Times
BUNKERVILLE, Nev. — Cliven Bundy stood by the Virgin River up the road from the armed checkpoint at the driveway of his ranch, signing autographs and posing for pictures. For 55 minutes, Mr. Bundy held forth to a clutch of supporters about his views on the troubled state of America — the overreaching federal government, the harassment of Western ranchers, the societal upheaval caused by abortion, even musing about whether slavery was so bad.
Most of all, Mr. Bundy,... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Lobby Reminded by Supreme Court Teens Shouldn't Have Handguns
25 February 2014
Bloomberg (USA), Editorial
The U.S. Supreme Court today told the National Rifle Association something the NRA has always known: Under the U.S. Constitution, gun possession can be legally regulated.
The court declined to review two lower court rulings restricting the rights of Americans under age 21 to own handguns. The decisions run counter to the ferocious liberalization of gun laws throughout the nation after the court's 2008 Heller decision, in which a polarized 5-4 majority blew past the... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Debate: Is Price of an Armed America a More Dangerous America?
2 February 2014
Christian Science Monitor
ATLANTA - Charles Ingram and Robert Webster were neighbors in Florida, but friends said the two older men had little love for each other and often quarreled. On a spring day in 2010, the two men, both gun enthusiasts who had state permits to carry concealed weapons, got into another argument across their lawns.
This time, police later said, both men pulled out their weapons. When Mr. Webster began approaching, Mr. Ingram raised his gun, as did Webster. Two shots rang... (GunPolicy.org)
Federal Judge Upholds US State's Ban on Semi-Automatic Weapons
30 January 2014
Wall Street Journal, Blog
A federal judge has upheld Connecticut's ban on many semi-automatic weapons as constitutional, a win for gun-control advocates who pushed for tighter firearm restrictions following the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Conn.
U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello in Hartford ruled that Connecticut's 2013 prohibition, which expanded the definition of "assault weapon" under a 1993 law, does not violate the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The law currently... (GunPolicy.org)
Both Sides of US Gun Debate Citing Nazis as Reason For, Against Guns
24 March 2013
Washington Post
When the president of Ohio's state school board posted her opposition to gun control, she used a powerful symbol to make her point: a picture of Adolf Hitler. When a well-known conservative commentator decried efforts to restrict guns, he argued that if only Jews in Poland had been better armed, many more would have survived the Holocaust.
In the months since the Newtown, Conn., school massacre, some gun rights supporters have repeatedly compared U.S. gun control... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexico,Guatemala,United States
US Alone in 'Right to Bear Arms' Gun Rights Exceptionalism
7 March 2013
Bloomberg (USA)
What do Guatemala, Mexico and the U.S. have in common? They are among the very few countries throughout history whose constitutions have guaranteed the right to bear arms.
Our study of constitutions going back to 1789 shows that only a minority has ever included gun rights. What's more, the number has dwindled, leaving a small and motley set of bedfellows.
For some, this lonely position is enough to suggest that the U.S. should rethink the current interpretation of... (GunPolicy.org)
How the White House Silenced US Gun Control Groups
7 March 2013
Politico (Washington DC)
President Barack Obama's gun control agenda is looking more doomed by the day, but gun control advocates still haven't said a word to complain.
That's no accident.
The White House knew its post-Newtown effort would require bringing key gun control groups into the fold. So the White House offered a simple arrangement: the groups could have access and involvement, but they'd have to offer silence and support in exchange.
The implied rules, according to conversations... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Control Fight in Danger of Being Lost
3 March 2013
United Press International
WASHINGTON - As the images of 20 first-graders massacred in Connecticut, of the horrific attack on former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others in Arizona, of the slaughter of movie-goers in Aurora, Colo., and of numerous other mass killings in the United States fade in the national memory, the fervor to restrict access to some types of weapons and magazines appears to be abating.
The debate on gun control itself has largely been subsumed in recent weeks by concern over... (GunPolicy.org)
Appeals Court Upholds New York Hidden Handgun Licensing Law
27 November 2012
Reuters
The state of New York can continue to require residents who want to carry a concealed handgun in public to obtain a special license, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York rejected a challenge brought by several Westchester residents and the Second Amendment Foundation against the state's handgun licensing scheme.
Like numerous other states, New York imposes restrictions on individuals who wish to carry concealed... (GunPolicy.org)
New York Man Shot and Killed by Israeli Chef Over Personal Dispute
5 October 2012
Guardian (UK)
A young American shot and killed a chef at a hotel in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat Friday, before forces from an anti-terror unit shot the gunman dead, police said. The incident appeared to be based on a personal dispute.
The attacker was on a Jewish work and study program and was employed at the hotel until earlier this week.
Eilat police official Eitan Gedassis told Israel Radio the attacker snatched a gun from a hotel security guard and fired a number of shots... (GunPolicy.org)
'Carrying a Firearm - That's Being an American' [FR]
23 July 2012
Le Point (France), Transcript
[Translated summary: Aurora's shooting has revived the debate over the right to carry firearms in the United States. Didier Combeau, researcher at the Center of Urban Studies in the English-speaking World, explains why the United States will never ban firearms.]
La fusillade d'Aurora a relancé la question du port d'armes aux États-Unis… Du moins, en apparence.
Didier Combeau, chercheur au Centre d'études urbaines dans le monde anglophone à l'université Paris... (GunPolicy.org)
America's Gun Lobby and Bad Law Block a Crime-busting Tool to Catch Killers
26 June 2012
CNN, Opinion
The gun lobby is fiercely, and so far successfully, blocking what easily could be the greatest technological breakthrough to catching killers and deterring others.
The simple method allows bullet manufacturers to stamp a numeric code on shell casings that would make it very easy to identify the gun that fired the shot. But the National Rifle Association is lobbying against states enacting laws to require such "microstamping."
The gun lobby is likely to prevail, given... (GunPolicy.org)
Battleground America: One nation, under the gun - New Yorker feature
17 April 2012
New Yorker
Just after seven-thirty on the morning of February 27th, a seventeen-year-old boy named T. J. Lane walked into the cafeteria at Chardon High School, about thirty miles outside Cleveland. It was a Monday, and the cafeteria was filled with kids, some eating breakfast, some waiting for buses to drive them to programs at other schools, some packing up for gym class. Lane sat down at an empty table, reached into a bag, and pulled out a .22-calibre pistol. He stood up, raised... (GunPolicy.org)
Is Gun Control Dead in America? Adam Winkler in the Washington Post
13 April 2012
Washington Post, Opinion
Monday marks five years since the massacre at Virginia Tech, where a mentally ill student, Seung Hui Cho, used two handguns he had bought legally to kill 32 people and wound 25 others. Other than a relatively minor law to improve the national database used for background checks, no significant gun-control legislation followed that tragedy.
Since then, there have been several mass shootings, including additional school rampages and the attempted assassination last year... (GunPolicy.org)
'Child-access Prevention' Laws to Prevent Accidental Shootings in US
20 March 2012
Seattle Times, Opinion
Gun owners can help protect others by storing their guns responsibly; a useful site for starters is lokitup.org, says Dr. Frederick P. Rivara, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington.
In our local community and in the nation, parents are grieving for their children who have been injured or killed recently by guns. We have all read the headlines, seen the news reports and shaken our heads about these tragedies. While we all agree that such events... (GunPolicy.org)
Why More Americans Carry Hidden Handguns in Public Places - Feature
11 March 2012
Christian Science Monitor
Leaning against a scrub pine as preschoolers scurry about at his feet, Shane Gazda, father of 3-year-old twins, recalls a conundrum he faced earlier that morning: whether to take his Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun to a Groundhog Day celebration in this town's White Deer Park.
After all, what was once against the law in North Carolina – carrying a concealed gun in a town park, square, or greenway – is now, as of Dec. 1, 2011, very much allowed. To Mr. Gazda, who... (GunPolicy.org)
California Gun Lobby Has High Hopes of Winning Hidden Handgun Fight
20 February 2012
Los Angeles Times
Chuck Michel's strategy for crime-fighting rests on the element of surprise: Keep the bad guys guessing who's armed and who's not.
"If 5% of the ducks could shoot back, you're not going to go duck hunting," said the Long Beach lawyer representing many Californians denied concealed weapons permits and, in his view, their constitutional right to self-defense.
For decades, that argument has fallen flat in the courtroom. Judges have routinely held that denying permits to... (GunPolicy.org)
Super Bowl TV Ad Makes New York Mayor Bloomberg US Gun Control King
4 February 2012
Christian Science Monitor
The gun control movement has faltered in recent years. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has vowed to spend his own fortune to buck that trend, most notably with a Super Bowl ad.
ATLANTA - With little political capital to lose and millions of his own cash to spend, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is determined to check the role of guns in American society.
A 30-second Super Bowl ad featuring Mr. Bloomberg on a couch with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino will go a long way... (GunPolicy.org)
New York, Boston Mayors Lead Influential American Gun Control Group
4 February 2012
Reuters
NEW YORK - Among the slick, million-dollar ads for the likes of Pepsi and Honda during the Super Bowl this Sunday, viewers in Washington will see a far more modest spot. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino will be sitting on a couch touting an issue most politicians avoid like the plague: gun control.
The two mayors, whose local teams face off in the big game, are making the pitch for Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), the organization they... (GunPolicy.org)
'Gun Fight' Over the US Constitution
18 October 2011
BBC News, Editorial
I've just read a fascinating book about one of the big issues in America which divides the US and most puzzles us British: America's gun laws.
Gun Fight by Professor Adam Winkler (full disclosure: a freebie) is intriguing in these partisan times, both because it is a very balanced, objective book and because the author makes the case for a middle way.
He argues for a ground somewhere between an attempt to ban all handguns from cities and the contention that stopping... (GunPolicy.org)
America's Founding Fathers, Towns Once Imposed Strict Gun Control
9 October 2011
New York Times, Book review
In "Gunfight," his provocative, highly uneven new book about the fight over gun control, the constitutional law professor Adam Winkler writes that "gun rights and gun control are not only compatible; they have lived together since the birth of America." He argues that "despite the controversy over the meaning of the Second Amendment, Americans have always had the right to keep and bear arms as a matter of state constitutional law. Today, nearly every state has such a... (GunPolicy.org)
Florida Law That Limited Doctors' Ability to Ask About Guns is Blocked
19 September 2011
Time (USA)
A federal court has blocked a new Florida law that limited the ability of doctors to ask patients if they had guns in the home. Judge Monica Cooke, a Republican appointee, rightly said that the law interfered with both doctors' right to free speech and patients' right to receive information.
The ruling, which came down last week, struck an important blow for freedom of expression. But it did something more: it dealt a rare setback to a gun-rights lobby that is... (GunPolicy.org)
400 Failing Court Cases Suggest US 2nd Amendment Ruling May Be 'Hollow Victory'
15 August 2011
Washington Post
A funny thing has happened in the three years since gun-rights activists won their biggest victory at the Supreme Court.
They've been on a losing streak in the lower courts.
The activists found the holy grail in 2008 when the Supreme Court's 5 to 4 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller said the Second Amendment guaranteed an individual right to own a firearm unconnected to military service. The court followed it up with McDonald v. Chicago two years later,... (GunPolicy.org)
In America's Gun Battle, Both Sides Have Distorted History and the Law
9 August 2011
Atlantic (USA)
The Ku Klux Klan, Ronald Reagan, and, for most of its history, the NRA all worked to control guns. The Founding Fathers? They required gun ownership — and regulated it. And no group has more fiercely advocated the right to bear loaded weapons in public than the Black Panthers — the true pioneers of the modern pro-gun movement. In the battle over gun rights in America, both sides have distorted history and the law, and there's no resolution in sight.
THE... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona Relaxes Law to Allow Hunting in Cities, Hidden Handguns in Bars
19 June 2011
Arizona Republic
Gun advocates were shocked in April when Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed bills that would have relaxed restrictions on guns in public facilities and on college campuses.
While those measures failed, four less-controversial gun bills will take effect July 20.
The bills involve hunting within city limits, concealed-carry licensing, carrying firearms in wildlife refuges and firearm rights for those who have been rehabilitated from mental illness. All four either modify or repeal... (GunPolicy.org)
California Gun Control Law Could Lead to More People Carrying Guns
24 May 2011
Los Angeles Times, Opinion
What if we passed a gun control law but it led to more people carrying guns on our streets? That may be exactly what happens if a bill passed last week by the California Assembly becomes law.
AB 144 would prohibit the carrying of visible firearms in California cities. It was inspired by the spectacle of gun-rights advocates showing up last year at Starbucks shops with their handguns prominently displayed. That's legal, as long as those guns are unloaded.
If, however,... (GunPolicy.org)
Looking Down the Barrel of Debate - Oscar Winner's Take on Guns in USA
13 April 2011
New York Times, TV preview
Barbara Kopple's engrossing, frustrating documentary "Gun Fight" — it's not liable to inspire happy thoughts in people on either side of the gun-control debate — begins with eerie cellphone video footage taken during the Virginia Tech shootings in April 2007, and the aftermath of that rampage provides the film's emotional ballast.
But events have rushed along since Virginia Tech, and Ms. Kopple has had to account for, among other developments, the Supreme Court... (GunPolicy.org)
30 Years After the Reagan Shooting, Gun Violence Still Reigns in America
29 March 2011
Washington Post, Opinion
Sometimes I remember the early days of my life with Jim Brady, a man possessed of so much intelligence, wit and charm. There was the vivacious Washington life we shared, Jim's rise to White House press secretary and the laughter of our toddler reverberating through our home.
Sometimes it's hard to believe that it's been 30 years since a mentally ill man tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan because of a romantic figment of his imagination. On March 30, 1981, a... (GunPolicy.org)
America's Left Has Permanently Lost the Argument for Gun Control
1 March 2011
Washington Times, Editorial
The left has permanently lost the argument on gun control. Despite their best efforts to take advantage of the tragic shooting in Arizona to promote pointless restrictions on things like the size of handgun magazines, the propaganda campaign is unlikely to go anywhere. Instead, the right to keep and bear arms continues to gain steam as state lawmakers around the country are enacting measures that would have been unthinkable not so long ago.
On Monday, Wyoming lawmakers... (GunPolicy.org)
Republican 'Super Majority' Rushes to Slacken More Gun laws in Arizona
24 February 2011
Daily Star (Arizona), Editorial
We join most Americans in supporting and embracing our constitutional right to keep and bear arms. We differ from some - and they are a minority - by also insisting that our society must demand that each of us exercise that right responsibly.
Moreover, we believe that in Arizona the discussion about gun rights has come to be framed too narrowly and too emotionally.
In truth, we don't have to choose between being "a Second Amendment state" and one that requires... (GunPolicy.org)
US Should Follow Canadian Example of Tougher Gun Registration
21 February 2011
News-Press (Florida), Opinion
Taking on the gun lobby is an exercise in futility. No politician - Democrat or Republican - will risk having the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA) campaign against them at election time. It would have been a losing battle especially in the face of the 2008 Supreme Court 5-4 majority opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller which held that the second amendment was not limited to a "well regulated Militia" but secures an individual's right to own firearms.
In... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Rights vs. Gun Control: Arizona Legislators Push to Weaken Gun Law
20 February 2011
Daily Star (Arizona)
It didn't take much effort for the accused gunman in Tucson's Jan. 8 mass shooting to buy a semiautomatic handgun and ammunition - quick trips to the Sportsman's Warehouse and Walmart near his home.
It didn't take long - 15 seconds - for him to shoot 19 people, killing six, when he fired 31 rounds using a high-capacity magazine. That's roughly double the standard number for the Glock pistol he used.
And even if police could go back in time, they wouldn't have been... (GunPolicy.org)
Why Barack Obama's Silence, 'Passivity' on Gun Control Pleases No One
7 February 2011
Time (USA)
There are some issues Democratic Presidents can't seem to win, and gun control is one of them. As a legislator, Barack Obama backed tighter gun laws; as a presidential candidate, he pledged restraint. "I'm not going to take away your guns," he said at a Pennsylvania glass factory in September 2008. He hasn't. Last year the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, citing "extraordinary silence and passivity," graded Obama an F on gun control.
During his tenure, the... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Control Measures Don't Stop Violence: None Worth Trying in US
19 January 2011
CNN
Against the horrific backdrop of the Tucson, Arizona, tragedy, new gun control proposals are on the way. Some of our legislators will be tempted to apply Rahm Emanuel's aphorism, "Never let a good crisis go to waste."
For example, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-New York, wants to outlaw magazines with more than 10 rounds -- even those already in circulation. She hasn't explained how a ban on previously sold magazines would deter anyone but law-abiding citizens.
Still, the... (GunPolicy.org)
Openly Carrying Guns, $5million Fine for Doctors Go Too Far in Florida
18 January 2011
News-Press (Florida), Editorial
After the Tucson shootings, one can imagine how potentially provocative it would be for a concealed weapon permit holder to be striding down the street openly carrying a firearm.
Picture the reaction of families when someone enters a restaurant or crosses a university campus with weapon at the ready.
All that and more would be legal under Senate Criminal Justice Chairman Sen. Greg Evers' Senate Bill 234 that would allow concealed-weapons-licensed gun owners to openly... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Lobby Solution to Arizona Shootings: Hidden Handguns in Classrooms
15 January 2011
Wall Street Journal
The Arizona shooting has emboldened pro-gun groups that plan to lobby politicians for proposed laws that could expand the right to carry concealed weapons on the state's college campuses.
At least two bills are on the table in Arizona, which resumed its legislative session this week. One would allow faculty members to carry concealed weapons on campus. The other would prevent colleges from stopping people with a valid permit, including students, from carrying them on... (GunPolicy.org)
Business Brisk at Tucson Gun Show Just a Week After Shooting Rampage
15 January 2011
Reuters
TUCSON, Arizona - Thousands of shoppers browsed for guns at a trade show in Tucson on Saturday, a week after a shooting rampage that killed six people and raised questions about permissive gun laws in the United States.
"People see it as either guns are going to get banned, or I'm going to get shot," said stall holder Randall Record, 27, explaining the mood at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show on the outskirts of the city. "Either way, it drives sales."
The show was... (GunPolicy.org)
Five Reasons Why Gun Control Has Been Disarmed in the United States
14 January 2011
Globe & Mail (Toronto)
The long arm of the Bush-era Supreme Court
During the most recent Bush administration, the Supreme Court largely sided with gun proponents in its interpretation of the Second Amendment:
"A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed," it reads.
The gun-control lobby has always argued the second part of the amendment refers to the "well-regulated militia," meaning the... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns Missing from US Shooting Debate, and That Suits the Firearm Lobby
11 January 2011
Politico (Washington DC)
In the wake of the attempted assassination of a member of Congress, politicians on both sides of the aisle are passionately debating the role of incendiary rhetoric.
Very few of them are talking about guns.
Those who have brought up gun control in light of the Tucson shooting have largely been the issue's regular standard-bearers on Capitol Hill. Even gun-control advocates aren't very optimistic about their chances.
The fact that the shooting does not appear to be... (GunPolicy.org)
Why Gun Control Is Dead in America: Democrats Have Ceded to the NRA
11 January 2011
Salon (USA)
As the immediate shock of the mass shooting in Arizona subsides and the conversation turns to gun control, it's becoming increasingly clear that there is little chance that new anti-gun measures will pass the Republican-dominated Congress.
But a picture is also coming into focus of a gun control movement that has been on the retreat for at least a decade, facing setbacks not only in Congress, but also in the courts and in public opinion polls, and of a Democratic Party... (GunPolicy.org)
Tucson Suspect's Mental Health Troubles Didn't Prevent Him Buying a Gun
11 January 2011
Associated Press
Jared Loughner had trouble with the law, was rejected by the Army after flunking a drug test and was considered so mentally unstable that he was banned from his college campus, where officials considered him a threat to other students and faculty.
But the 22-year-old had no trouble buying the Glock semiautomatic pistol that authorities say he used in the Tucson rampage Saturday that left six dead and 14 injured, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Loughner's personal... (GunPolicy.org)
Focus Turns to Arizona's Gun Laws: 'More People Should Be Carrying'
10 January 2011
Los Angeles Times
TUCSON - It was a busy day at the Tucson Mountain Park shooting range Sunday, where the aroma of gunpowder filled the air one day after 20 people were shot, six fatally, at a shopping center.
Alex Anderson, 24, was armed with a 9-millimeter Taurus, the same caliber as the gun that authorities say Jared Lee Loughner used in the shootings. Anderson, who works at the Home Depot next to the Sportsman's Warehouse where the gunman's weapon was purchased, has a permit to... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona's Most Likely Response to Mass Shooting is Reduced Gun Control
10 January 2011
Slate (Washington DC)
Arizona's Legislature began its new session Monday, guns in tow. At a rally outside of the state Capitol, a 73-year-old Tea Party activist named Arthur Olivas Jr. was photographed wearing a holstered pistol. Anyone who blamed the Tea Party for the slaughter outside a Tucson Safeway, he said, didn't understand the movement and didn't understand gun rights.
"If you see 20 guns out there," Olivas told Politico, "you would not be stupid enough to hold up a bank or shoot... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Control Timeline: 7 Big Events in the Federal Gun Control Debate
10 January 2011
Huffington Post (USA), Blog
The deadly shooting at Rep. Gabrielle Giffords's political event in Tucson, Ariz. on Saturday is re-energizing gun control advocates. But Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said he fears there will be little legislative response from Congress.
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), whose husband was killed and son was injured in a 1993 shooting on the Long Island Rail Road, took on the challenge on Sunday, promising to... (GunPolicy.org)
After Tucson: Why Are the Mentally Ill Still Bearing Arms in America?
10 January 2011
Time (USA)
When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the handgun ban in the nation's capital in 2008, Representative Gabrielle Giffords applauded the ruling, calling gun ownership "an Arizona tradition." That she had co-signed a congressional amicus brief against the ban came as no surprise: she has always been pro-gun, and she represents a state with a history of proud gun ownership and lax gun laws.
So there is at least a touch of irony to the fact that her name is being invoked,... (GunPolicy.org)
Shot Democrat Congresswoman a Longtime Supporter of US Gun Lobby
9 January 2011
Fox News (USA)
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona Democrat targeted in a Saturday shooting that killed six and injured 13 at an event for constituents, was holding a similar "Congress on Your Corner" gathering at a Safeway grocery store in 2009 when a man dropped a loaded gun onto the ground. Citing safety concerns, staffers called the police.
But Giffords, a centrist Democrat in a conservative-leaning desert district, later made light of the 2009 encounter with an armed man. "When... (GunPolicy.org)
Another Setback for Gun Grabbers: DC Court of Appeals Lifts Gun 'Stigma'
7 January 2011
Washington Times, Editorial
Fourteen years after being forced to plead guilty to the "crime" of owning a gun in Washington, the blot against the record of Dave Magnus may be cleared. On Thursday, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals recognized that one should not bear a stigma for the past possession of a firearm in the nation's capital for the purpose of self-defense. "A conviction for conduct that is not criminal, but is instead constitutionally-protected, is the ultimate miscarriage of... (GunPolicy.org)
Encouraging Teens to Carry Hidden Handguns Seen as OK in Nevada
28 November 2010
Las Vegas Review Journal (Nevada), Editorial
The U.S. Supreme Court has been, of late, restoring Second Amendment rights taken away by states and cities -- specifically in the overturning of handgun prohibitions in the Heller case out of Washington, D.C., and the McDonald case from Chicago.
But at what age does the constitutional right to own and carry a handgun accrue?
The National Rifle Association has filed suit in federal court in Lubbock, Texas, challenging federal and Texas laws limiting the right to... (GunPolicy.org)
Is Obama's New Choice for US Gun Regulator Chief an 'Antigun Zealot'?
19 November 2010
Christian Science Monitor
ATF special agent Andrew Traver, who last year let a TV reporter fire an AK-47 from her hip to demonstrate the weapon's lethality, is set to become America's chief firearms inspector. But Mr. Traver, currently the Chicago ATF chief, faces a tough nomination battle as gun-rights groups amass their forces in opposition.
The nomination of the Naperville, Ill., native to be top gun cop is applauded by gun-control activists, who say the 5,000-employee ATF has lost ground in... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Owners Appeal to Weaken Revised Washington, DC Firearm Law
16 November 2010
Bloomberg (USA)
Gun owners in Washington told a federal appeals court that the city's firearm registration process and a ban on some assault rifles violate their constitutional rights.
The lawyer for Dick Heller, the plaintiff in a U.S. Supreme Court case in 2008 that expanded Second Amendment rights, argued to the three-judge panel today that the District of Columbia's regulations are so burdensome that gun owners are deprived of their constitutional rights. The rules are... (GunPolicy.org)
In 'Heller II,' Gun Owners Appeal to Weaken Washington, DC Firearm Law
14 November 2010
Bloomberg (USA)
Washington, D.C. gun owners told a federal appeals court that the city's firearm registration process and a ban on certain types of weapons violate their constitutional rights.
The lawyer for Dick Heller, the plaintiff in a U.S. Supreme Court case in 2008 that set a national standard for Second Amendment rights, and three other plaintiffs said Washington's regulations are the most stringent in the U.S. and inconsistent with Supreme Court rulings.
The case, known as... (GunPolicy.org)
Right to Carry Guns in Michigan a Hot Topic After Recent Headlines
2 November 2010
Macomb Daily (Michigan)
Earlier this year, deputies stopped Amir Hudson's vehicle and found a handgun under his front seat. They also found a loaded, semiautomatic AK-47 in his trunk.
Hudson was charged with two weapons offenses, but his attorney argued in court filings that they should be dismissed because they violate his constitutional rights. Prosecutors disagreed.
The case is another recent example of issues involving guns and gun rights being in the public eye.
In the summer, gun... (GunPolicy.org)
Bad Driver? In Debt? Proposed NYC Law Would Prevent You Owning Gun
26 October 2010
Fox News (USA)
New York City residents who want to own a gun may soon be denied permits if they are litterbugs, if they are bad drivers, or if they have fallen behind on a few bills.
Under proposed revisions to the police department's handgun, rifle and shotgun permit procedures, the NYPD can reject gun license applicants for a number of reasons, including:
If they have been arrested or convicted of almost any "violation," in any state; having a "poor driving history"; having been... (GunPolicy.org)
Taser Dealers Lobby to Include Stun Guns in US 'Self Defence' Guarantee
14 October 2010
Columbia Missourian (Missouri)
COLUMBIA — If Columbia voters decide on Nov. 2 to outlaw Taser use in the city by approving Proposition 2, private residents as well as law enforcement would be prohibited from using them.
Tasers and stun guns are available for private use, and they can be purchased at sporting goods and electronics stores for $50 to $360, depending on the model.
Because they are sold as self-defense weapons, a ban on Tasers and similar devices could violate the Second Amendment,... (GunPolicy.org)
Don't Water Down New Jersey's Tough, 'Unrivalled' Hidden Handgun Law
10 October 2010
Daily Record (New Jersey), Opinion
Few public policy issues in this country — and in New Jersey — are as controversial and poorly understood as gun control.
Despite an endless stream of senseless and horrific gun crimes in our state, some still vehemently oppose New Jersey's comprehensive handgun permitting scheme — and indeed any handgun regulation at all.
As professors at Seton Hall Law School who are distressed at the recent tragic shooting death of a Seton Hall college student, and as lawyers... (GunPolicy.org)
Right Wing Militias, US Gun Lobby Act as Second Amendment Soulmates
8 October 2010
Huffington Post (USA), Blog
This week's Time magazine cover story on "The Secret World of Extreme Militias" sounds an alarm that cannot be ignored. The threat of terrorism is real, but it does not originate with Al Qaeda alone. The danger of homegrown right wing political violence is just as real.
The Time article describes, in chilling terms, the proliferation of heavily armed, right wing militias engaged in paramilitary training to resist the perceived "tyranny" of government authority. Time... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Teen Denied Handgun at 18, Sues to Force Federal Law Change
14 September 2010
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (Texas)
A Lubbock courtroom could be the location of a major change in national gun laws.
James A. D'Cruz, 18, has asked a federal judge to declare unconstitutional the ban on handgun sales by federally licensed dealers to 18-20-year-olds.
The suit against the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and explosives was filed just days after D'Cruz visited Sharp Shooters, Inc. and asked if he was legally able to buy a handgun. The employee told him he couldn't.
According... (GunPolicy.org)
In Failure to Reject 2 Women Justices, US Gun Lobby Lost Battles, Clout
2 August 2010
The Hill (Washington DC)
The Supreme Court nomination of Elena Kagan presents a political conundrum to the National Rifle Association (NRA), one of the nation's most powerful grassroots lobbying groups.
Republicans lawmakers and conservative activists fear Kagan will emerge as a strong voice on the high court against gun-ownership rights.
But five Republican senators have pledged to vote for Kagan, making her a shoo-in for confirmation.
This puts the NRA in the tricky position of having to... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Sales Tipped to Shoot Up in Wake of New US Supreme Court Ruling
16 July 2010
ABC News (USA)
After a Supreme Court decision affirming the right to bear arms was handed down in June, the owners of Midwest Sporting Goods, just outside of Chicago, started noticed something any retailer would find encouraging an increasing number of customers.
With Chicago's 28-year ban on handgun ownership rendered unconstitutional, more people were coming into Midwest, in Lyons, Illinois, to exercise their Second Amendment rights, according to Noel, the store's owner. He asked... (GunPolicy.org)
More Guns, Less Violence Idea 'Entirely Without Basis' in United States
12 July 2010
Independent Record (Montana), Opinion
The Supreme Court, through its 2008 DC v. Heller decision and its recent McDonald v. Chicago decision, has held that the Second Amendment to the Constitution confers an individual right of self-defense by firearms — and that this right constrains federal, state and local regulatory authority over the ownership and use of guns.
However, as the court's ruling in both of these cases stresses, these Second Amendment rights are not in any way more basic than others in the... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court Swayed by 'Gun Rights for African Americans' Argument
11 July 2010
Poughkeepsie Journal (New York), Opinion
Lobbyists for gun possession owe black Americans a historical debt of gratitude.
The Supreme Court reminds us of this debt in its recent decision to overturn Chicago's sweeping prohibition of firearm possession. The decision rests on more than the Second Amendment. It also rests on the 14th Amendment, which brought equal protections under law to freed slaves after the Civil War.
How times do change. An amendment that helped blacks protect themselves from Ku Klux Klan... (GunPolicy.org)
Chicago's 'Racist' Gun Laws Will Disarm Poor, Vulnerable, Black Citizens
6 July 2010
Washington Times, Opinion
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Chicago's handgun ban. Gun rights groups hailed the ruling as a seminal moment in their ongoing fight to roll back restrictive gun-control legislation. As far as the National Rifle Association (NRA) is concerned, McDonald settles the matter once and for all: "This decision makes absolutely clear that the Second Amendment protects the God-given right of self-defense for all law-abiding Americans, period." Be that as it may,... (GunPolicy.org)
Wisconsin Gun Dealers Revel in Sales, Applaud Supreme Court Decision
6 July 2010
Fond Du Lac Reporter (Wisconsin)
Some gun merchants in the Fond du Lac area are calling a recent Supreme Court ruling a win for citizen's rights and the industry.
On June 28, the United States Supreme Court overturned a ban on guns, ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago that everyone in the city has the right to bear arms.
On its surface, the ruling appears to affect only Chicago. But on a national scale, citizens, politicians, entrepreneurs and interest groups are sharing their opinions through... (GunPolicy.org)
DC Residents Complain About Gun Unavailability Even After Court Ruling
5 July 2010
National Public Radio (USA)
The Supreme Court ruled last week that states and localities cannot ban handguns intended for self-defense. That could overturn local bans, just the way a similar ruling two years ago ended a ban in Washington, D.C.
Hundreds of district residents have taken advantage of the new law. Still, many residents complain it's still too difficult to get a gun in the nation's capital.
Costs And Fees
The toughest thing about getting a gun in the district is finding a gun store.... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Declares 'No Reason to Trust' US Supreme Court Nominee Kagan
2 July 2010
Globe & Mail (Toronto)
Elena Kagan did everything short of sign a covenant in her own blood to reassure gun-loving senators that she would never seek to undo a watershed Supreme Court decision extending the right to bear arms.
The Monday ruling set the tone for the repeated gun-related exchanges between Ms. Kagan and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who, that very day, began hearings to evaluate her worthiness for the country's highest tribunal.
In McDonald v. Chicago, the court... (GunPolicy.org)
US Supreme Court Chicago Decision 'Proves Gun Control Does Not Work'
29 June 2010
National Review (USA)
The Supreme Court's rejection of Chicago's handgun ban in McDonald v. City of Chicago is more than a recognition that the Second Amendment applies to the states as well as the federal government. The McDonald decision is a harbinger for the end of gun prohibition as an idea. The simple, undeniable truth is that gun control does not work.
McDonald brings the law up to speed with reality, where advocates of gun control have been wrong since the issue became a national... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court Chicago Decision Unsettles US State and Local Gun Laws
29 June 2010
Philadelphia Inquirer
WASHINGTON — A split Supreme Court ruled Monday that Chicago's strict handgun ban violated an individual's right to own firearms, enshrined in the Second Amendment, a landmark decision that casts state and local gun laws into question.
The 5-4 ruling marks the first time the court has determined that the Constitution restricts state and municipal gun-control powers.
"Self-defense is a basic right, recognized by many legal systems from ancient times to the present... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court Rules Chicago, US Cities Cannot Ban Handguns at Home
29 June 2010
San Francisco Chronicle
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Monday that Americans have a constitutional right to have a handgun at home for self-defense, even in cities that until now have outlawed handguns.
The 5-4 decision reversed a ruling that had upheld Chicago's ban on handguns and all but declared the 1982 ordinance unconstitutional. The justices ordered a federal appeals court in to reconsider its ruling.
Monday's ruling extends the reach of the Second Amendment and will open... (GunPolicy.org)
US Supreme Court Rules 2nd Amendment Invalidates City Handgun Bans
29 June 2010
New York Times
WASHINGTON — The Second Amendment's guarantee of an individual right to bear arms applies to state and local gun control laws, the Supreme Court ruled Monday in a 5-to-4 decision.
The ruling came almost exactly two years after the court first ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own guns in District of Columbia v. Heller, another 5-to-4 decision.
But the Heller case addressed only federal laws; it left open the question of whether Second... (GunPolicy.org)
US Supreme Court Decision Consigns Handgun Ban to 'Dust Bin of History'
29 June 2010
Wall Street Journal, Opinion
There is a remarkable academic consensus that the original meaning of the 14th Amendment protected an individual right to keep and bear arms against interference by state governments. Yesterday's Supreme Court decision in McDonald v. Chicago affirmed that this is indeed the case. It is, therefore, a great victory for enforcing the original meaning of the Constitution. Thankfully for the rights of Americans, the Chicago gun ban at issue will soon be consigned to the dust... (GunPolicy.org)
US Supremes Reach 'Historic Conclusion,' Ban Chicago's Handgun Ban
29 June 2010
Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court Monday extended nationwide the right to armed self-defense, a historic conclusion to an age-old battle over the meaning of the Second Amendment.
The decision gives federal judges the power to strike down state and local weapons laws for violating the Constitution. But the court said that the right isn't unfettered, and the decision is likely to lead to years of litigation as lower courts try to determine what restrictions are... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court Reaffirms Fundamental Right of Americans to Have Guns
29 June 2010
Washington Post
The Second Amendment provides Americans a fundamental right to bear arms that cannot be violated by state and local governments, the Supreme Court ruled Monday in a long-sought victory for gun rights advocates.
The 5 to 4 decision does not strike down any gun-control laws, nor does it elaborate on what kind of laws would offend the Constitution. One justice predicted that an "avalanche" of lawsuits would be filed across the country asking federal judges to define the... (GunPolicy.org)
Chicago 'Not Going to Roll Over' if Supreme Court Removes Handgun Ban
24 June 2010
Associated Press
CHICAGO — If the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Chicago's handgun ban, the city will likely do what Washington, D.C., did when its own ban was overturned two years ago: Put in place all sorts of restrictions to make it tougher to buy guns and easier for police to know who has them.
Prospective gun owners in D.C. now are required to take training courses that include spending one hour on a firing range and several hours in a classroom learning about gun safety. They... (GunPolicy.org)
Five Myths About Gun Control - US Professors Critique the Bumper Stickers
13 June 2010
Washington Post
Gun regulation is as American as Wyatt Earp, the legendary frontier lawman who enforced Dodge City's ban on gun-carrying within town limits. But two years ago in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court decided for the first time that the Second Amendment grants a personal right to keep and bear arms, a decision that cast doubt on the future of gun control regulations in this country. Now, the court is considering a challenge to Chicago's ban on handgun... (GunPolicy.org)
Rare US Court Case Mulls Right of Domestic Abusers to Keep Their Guns
27 May 2010
Wisconsin Law Journal (USA)
In a rare en banc hearing, the Seventh Circuit considered the constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9), which makes it a federal crime to possess a firearm after having been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
A three-judge panel, in an opinion by Judge Diane S. Sykes, vacated a conviction under the statute in November, concluding that the government failed to establish a reasonable fit between reducing domestic gun violence and total disarmament of... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Lobby Suspicious, Could Block New US Supreme Court Nominee
27 May 2010
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - In her first weeks as dean of Harvard Law School in 2003, Elena Kagan put the warring sides of the gun rights debate in a room and let them fight it out.
The debate between gun control advocates and 2nd Amendment purists was sponsored by the law school's target shooting club, and Kagan showed her support by moderating the exchange. But her own views on gun rights went unaired.
With her Supreme Court confirmation pending, those views have become of extreme... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court Decision on Chicago Gun Ban May Weaken US Gun Laws
23 May 2010
Philadelphia Inquirer, Opinion
The case of Otis McDonald, a 76-year-old black man living in a drug-infested neighborhood of Chicago, is now being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. McDonald's home has been broken into three times, and drug dealers have threatened him. He would like a gun to protect himself.
Two years ago, in the landmark case District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court affirmed that the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees individuals such as McDonald the right... (GunPolicy.org)
Attack on Chicago's Handgun Ban Could Undo a Winning Police Tactic
23 May 2010
Philadelphia Inquirer, Opinion
In its 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a D.C. law banning handguns violated the Second Amendment to the Constitution. The Second Amendment, however, is a limitation only on federal law. Now, in McDonald v. City of Chicago, gun-rights advocates have asked the court to apply the right to bear arms to state and local gun-control laws.
The Second Amendment says: "A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of... (GunPolicy.org)
Chicago Handgun Ban Faces Serious Challenge in US Supreme Court
21 May 2010
CBS News (USA)
Chicago's ban on handguns is facing a serious challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court, and when a reporter asked if the ban is working, Mayor Richard M. Daley didn't mince any words.
Chicago Reader reporter Mick Dumke asked whether the ban is effective, given the amount of gun violence that continues to plague the city.
"It's been very effective," Mayor Daley replied at the City Hall news conference Thursday, smiling as he walked away from the podium. He then picked up a... (GunPolicy.org)
Washington DC's New Gun Rules Shift America's Constitutional Debate
17 May 2010
Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON — Mark Snyder, an amateur biathlete, wanted to buy a .22-caliber bolt-action rifle for target shooting and figured the process would take about a week. After nearly six weeks, six visits to police departments and $300 in fees, he secured his rifle.
"I was not expecting a free ride," said Mr. Snyder, 45, "but this is an obstacle course they put in place."
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the District of Columbia's 32-year ban on handguns in 2008, a... (GunPolicy.org)
New York Moves to Simplify 'Byzantine' Hidden Handgun Permit System
15 May 2010
New York Times
The Bloomberg administration announced on Friday that it was moving to simplify the process for New Yorkers to obtain gun permits, thus speeding up a set of byzantine licensing requirements that gun-rights advocates have long criticized as among the most restrictive in the country.
Administration officials said that the move was forged by a City Hall focused on efficiency and that it would allow for better investigation of applicants who might not qualify for a gun... (GunPolicy.org)
Availability of Guns in America 'Stunningly Negligent Public Policy'
3 May 2010
Philadelphia Inquirer, Opinion
After graduating from college, I served four years as an infantry officer in the Army's 25th Infantry Division. I fired everything from 9mm pistols to .50-caliber machine guns, routinely qualifying as "expert" with an M16A2 rifle.
It's not despite such experience, but precisely because of it, that I think the availability of guns in America is stunningly negligent public policy. And it may get worse.
One needn't be a constitutional law scholar to discern the Founding... (GunPolicy.org)
Recent American Trend Is to Normalise Carrying Loaded Guns in Public
20 April 2010
Washington Post
In Virginia, they carried handguns on their hips and rifles slung over their backs.
In the nation's capital, where possession of guns is strictly regulated, they came carrying only signs and handbills, which one man had thrust into an empty holster.
The protest by hundreds of gun-rights advocates, billed as a national march in support of the Second Amendment, drew small but fervent groups to the Washington area. As many as 2,000 gathered in the shadow of the... (GunPolicy.org)
Next Challenge to US Gun Control Heads to DC Federal Appeal Judge
5 April 2010
National Law Journal (USA)
A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., will have the chance to examine the latest version of the District of Columbia's gun restrictions, in a possible test of how to apply the U.S. Supreme Court's 2008 decision in D.C. v. Heller.
Lawyers for Dick Heller, a name party in the earlier case, filed a notice Thursday that they will continue fighting in this follow-up case. They are appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to reverse a March 26... (GunPolicy.org)
Washington Gun Grabbers Celebrate as Federal Judge Upholds DC Law
30 March 2010
Washington Times, Editorial
The gun grabbers in Washington are celebrating a federal ruling handed down Friday that upheld the tangle of rules that effectively prohibit District residents from owning firearms for the purpose of home defense.
While the Supreme Court in its landmark 2008 Heller decision recognized the individual's right to own a gun, it also conceded that reasonable regulations on gun ownership might be acceptable. U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina took this concession as a... (GunPolicy.org)
Federal Judge Upholds Washington DC's 'Post-Heller' Firearm Restrictions
29 March 2010
National Law Journal (USA)
Judge Ricardo Urbina of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Friday that the Washington, D.C., firearm ordinances enacted after the Supreme Court's D.C. v. Heller decision in 2008 "permissibly regulate the exercise of the core Second Amendment right to use firearms for the purpose of self-defense in the home." Urbina dismissed a case brought by Dick Heller, the same plaintiff who challenged the previous D.C. ordinance in the Supreme Court.
Heller... (GunPolicy.org)
US Federal Court Upholds DC Gun Registration, Assault Weapon Ban
26 March 2010
SCOTUS Blog, Blog
A federal judge in Washington, applying the Supreme Court's 2008 decision creating a constitutional right to have a gun, ruled on Friday that three new gun control restrictions in the Nation's capital city survive a Second Amendment challenge. In the ruling by U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina, the District of Columbia government's laws requiring that guns be registered and banning assault weapons and large-capacity bullet-feeding devices are valid. The case is... (GunPolicy.org)
Judge Approves Washington, DC's Assault Rifle Ban, Gun Registration Law
26 March 2010
Christian Science Monitor
A federal judge has upheld the new regime of gun laws passed in Washington, D.C., after the US Supreme Court invalidated the city's handgun ban in a landmark Second Amendment ruling two years ago.
The plaintiff in the new case was the same man, Dick Heller, who brought the initial challenge to the handgun ban and won the historic 2008 ruling.
Mr. Heller did not fare as well in his latest round of legal challenges.
US District Judge Ricardo Urbina ruled on Friday that... (GunPolicy.org)
After Supreme Court Loss, Washington DC's Gun Control Laws Pass Muster
26 March 2010
New York Times
Washington can restrict the right of its residents to own guns — again — a federal judge ruled Friday.
In his opinion, Judge Ricardo M. Urbina of Federal District Court for the District of Columbia found that new gun laws, which were passed after the United States Supreme Court struck down a previous firearms ban, are constitutionally sound.
The 2008 Supreme Court case, District of Columbia v. Heller, recognized an individual right to keep and bear arms in the... (GunPolicy.org)
Washington, DC's Post-Heller Firearm Restrictions Upheld by Federal Court
26 March 2010
Legal Times (USA)
Judge Ricardo Urbina of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has just ruled that the D.C. firearm ordinances enacted after the Supreme Court's D.C. v. Heller decision in 2008 "permissibly regulate the exercise of the core Second Amendment right to use firearms for the purpose of self-defense in the home." Urbina dismissed a case brought by Dick Heller, the same plaintiff who challenged the previous D.C. ordinance at the Supreme Court.
Heller challenged... (GunPolicy.org)
Federal Court Upholds Washington DC's Handgun Limits, Gun Registration
26 March 2010
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A federal judge on Friday upheld limitations on gun ownership that the District of Columbia put in place following a 2008 Supreme Court decision overturning the city's outright ban on handguns.
Dick Heller, the plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case, had challenged the new regulations, claiming the registration procedures, a ban on most semiautomatic weapons and other limitations violated the intent of the high court's decision.
U.S. District Judge... (GunPolicy.org)
Victory for Gun Safety in Massachusetts Supreme Court Storage Ruling
17 March 2010
Providence Journal (Rhode Island), Editorial
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has issued a welcome decision upholding rules on gun storage in the home. Under state law, when the owner is not present, guns must either have a trigger lock activated or be stored in a locked container.
These are sensible safety measures that do very little to inconvenience gun owners and much to prevent tragedy. Trigger locks in particular are easy and inexpensive to use.
Yet how long the high court's ruling will stand is... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Owners, Gun Criminals Lose Again in Massachusetts Supreme Court
11 March 2010
Boston Globe
In a case that drew attention from the Gun Owners Action League and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the Supreme Judicial Court yesterday upheld a state law requiring trigger locks on guns kept in people's homes.
In what was seen by some as a victory for law enforcement and advocates of gun control, the state's highest court ruled that the Second Amendment does not restrict the right of Massachusetts to impose its own rules on gun ownership.
"We conclude that... (GunPolicy.org)
Massachusetts Supreme Court Rules Gun Storage Law Not Unconstitutional
10 March 2010
Associated Press
BOSTON, Massachusetts - The highest court in Massachusetts on Wednesday upheld the constitutionality of a state law that requires gun owners to lock weapons in their homes in a ruling applauded by gun-control advocates.
The case had been closely watched by both gun-control and gun-rights proponents.
Massachusetts prosecutors argued that the law saves lives because it requires guns to be kept in a locked container or equipped with a trigger lock when not under the... (GunPolicy.org)
America's Love Affair With Firearms Won't Be Quelled by Mere Statistics
6 March 2010
Irish Times
AMERICA -- Cities and states that restrict gun ownership are seeing that prerogative threatened by the Supreme Court
"We Americans, we cling proudly to our guns and religion," Sarah Palin, the failed vice-presidential candidate and darling of the Tea Party movement, said at a recent rally for Rick Perry, the Republican governor of Texas.
The historian Richard Hofstadter coined the phrase "gun culture" to describe America's love affair with firearms. An estimated 25... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Laws: US Supreme Court Should Toss Out Chicago Handgun Ban
3 March 2010
El Paso Times, Editorial
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 but not state and local... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court Likely to Strike Down Some US Gun Laws, But How Many?
2 March 2010
Talk Radio News (USA)
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 access to guns.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
At Least 5 US Supreme Court Justices Poised to Relax US Gun Controls
2 March 2010
New York Times
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 in the nation.
While such a ruling... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court Seems Ready to Up-end Gun Control in US Cities, States
2 March 2010
Christian Science Monitor
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 the Chicago handgun ban at the center of... (GunPolicy.org)
High Court Justices Suggest They May Overturn More US Gun Control Laws
2 March 2010
Associated Press
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 decision in support of gun rights in... (GunPolicy.org)
Another Landmark Constitutional Duel Over Right to Bear Guns in America
2 March 2010
Wall Street Journal
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 is Constitutional. Brought by... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court Poised to Rule on Chicago's Longstanding Handgun Ban
2 March 2010
ABC News (USA)
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 that police would have to worry about... (GunPolicy.org)
US Second Amendment Has Become a Frivolous Challenge to Gun Law
1 March 2010
San Francisco Chronicle, Opinion
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 enterprise. Jackson's... (GunPolicy.org)
Chicago Handgun Ban Presents Quandary for US Supreme Court Justices
1 March 2010
Washington Post
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 the question of whether the amendment... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court Decision Could Further Weaken Gun Laws Across America
26 February 2010
USA Today
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 his wife, Laura, reared three children.... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Lobby Groups Fight for the Limelight in Crucial High Court Case
8 February 2010
Washington Post
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.
The NRA, the nation's premier and most... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Lobby Carefully Chose an African-American for Pivotal Court Case
30 January 2010
Chicago Tribune
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.
"I know every day that I come out in the... (GunPolicy.org)
No Right to Bear Unlicensed Machine Guns, Says US Federal Court
30 December 2009
Christian Science Monitor
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 guns for personal use," said the three-judge... (GunPolicy.org)
Battle Lines Forming in Chicago Gun-Control Ordinance Case
28 December 2009
Wall Street Journal, Blog
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 cities invited to file briefs supporting Chicago... (GunPolicy.org)
Wife Shooter, Felon Fails in Michigan Appeals Court 'Right to a Gun' Case
14 December 2009
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
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. He allegedly shot his wife in the... (GunPolicy.org)
Looming Gun Law Ruling Could Trigger Unhinging of American Culture
11 December 2009
Washington Times, Opinion
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 categorical ban on handguns. The... (GunPolicy.org)
Fear, Fundraising Drive US Misinformation Attack on UN Gun Trade Treaty
5 December 2009
FactCheck.org (USA), Fact sheet
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 Around The 2nd. Amendment and Uses It. The Full Article Here... (GunPolicy.org)
Scramble to Influence US Supreme Court's Next Major Gun Control Case
30 November 2009
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
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 the last week or so in support of the Second... (GunPolicy.org)
Some Criminals, Abusers Have Right to Carry Guns, Rules US Court
19 November 2009
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
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 law prohibiting anyone convicted of a... (GunPolicy.org)
Massachusetts Supreme Court Hears Challenge to Gun Storage Law
5 November 2009
Associated Press
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 showed police where his father kept... (GunPolicy.org)
Maryland Judges Say Second Amendment No Obstacle to Gun Control
4 November 2009
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
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. What is remarkable is that Judge Albert... (GunPolicy.org)
Americans Have No Right to Buy Handguns - New Jersey Appeals Court
28 October 2009
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
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 that the Second Amendment guarantees "the... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns, Insurrection, Second Amendment Used to Attack US Democracy
21 October 2009
Express (Milwaukee)
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 in a flawed interpretation of the... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court Case Puts Gun Control on US Culture War's Front Burner
18 October 2009
United Press International
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, part of the Bill of Rights,... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Senator Asks Supreme Court to Strike Down Chicago Handgun Ban
8 October 2009
Dallas Morning News (Texas)
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 of limits on gun control laws follows last... (GunPolicy.org)
In Battle to Influence US Supreme Court, Guns Are the New Abortion
5 October 2009
Fox News (USA), Opinion
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 for its legal significance, but also... (GunPolicy.org)
What Washington, DC Needs Least: More Hidden Handguns on Streets
4 October 2009
Washington Post, Opinion
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 of Columbia and the changes to the... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Owner, Felon Challenge 'Unconstitutional' Massachusetts Gun Laws
4 October 2009
South Coast Today (Massachusetts)
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 a firearm.
Patten is appealing DePina's... (GunPolicy.org)
US Supreme Court Should Allow States, Cities to Set Own Gun Controls
2 October 2009
Washington Post, Editorial
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 which Chicago residents... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court Justices to Weigh Challenges to More US Gun Laws
1 October 2009
Associated Press
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 v. Chicago, No. 08-1521, addresses a question... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court Takes Up Gun Lobby Challenge to Chicago Handgun Ban
1 October 2009
Wall Street Journal
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 decision rested on the District of Columbia's... (GunPolicy.org)
US Supreme Court Returns to Firearm Fray to Rule on Handgun Ban
30 September 2009
USA Today
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 only to federal law, not to state... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Advocates Predict Drop in Crime if Chicago Handgun Ban is Lifted
30 September 2009
Chicago Sun-Times
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 year threw out Washington, D.C.'s gun ban in... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court to Hear Gun Lobby Challenge to Chicago Handgun Ban
30 September 2009
Chicago Tribune
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 cities and states across the nation.
The case... (GunPolicy.org)
California Gun Show Ban Triggers US Supreme Court Gun Control Case
24 September 2009
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
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, and whether this case would be... (GunPolicy.org)
California Attorney General Walks the Political Fence on Gun Control
22 September 2009
Recorder (California)
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 heads.
After the 7th U.S. Circuit... (GunPolicy.org)
Boston Disputes Ruling That Loaded, Unlocked Guns Are OK in Homes
19 September 2009
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
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 gun-storage case against a Billerica... (GunPolicy.org)
US Courts Uphold Denial of Hidden Handguns, Allow Felon to Own Guns
10 September 2009
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
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 imposes a regulatory restriction on... (GunPolicy.org)
4 Police Visits, Fingerprints, Training, Exams: Getting a Handgun in DC
2 September 2009
Washington Post
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 and religion.
Just more than a... (GunPolicy.org)
Lawyer Predicts Gun Owners' Next Win in DC: Carrying Hidden Handguns
1 September 2009
Washington Post, Opinion
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: my colleague at the Cato... (GunPolicy.org)
US Appeals Court Rules Government Can Require Gun Registration
19 August 2009
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
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 mandatory registration requirement for... (GunPolicy.org)
Viktor Bout, the 'Merchant of Death': Gunrunner with Captivating Character
18 August 2009
CBC News (Canada)
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' post-9/11 pursuit of terrorists, which netted... (GunPolicy.org)
Assault Rifle-toting Obama Protester Could Hurt Gun Rights, Says Kopel
18 August 2009
Christian Science Monitor
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 protesters.
Last week,... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Lobbyists Sue for Hidden Handguns on the Streets of Washington
15 August 2009
Washington Post, Editorial
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 Judge Henry Kennedy of the U.S. District... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun 'Rights' Don't Apply in Domestic Violence, Says US Appeals Court
14 August 2009
CBS News (USA) / Taking Liberties, Blog
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 have been overwhelmingly hostile to gun... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court Nominee Faces 'Cheap Shot' Protest from US Gun Lobby
28 July 2009
Washington Post, Editorial
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 NRA Executive Vice... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Opposes Sotomayor, Obama's Nomination to US Supreme Court
16 July 2009
CNN
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 court, much less the highest court in the... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama's Supreme Court Pick Questioned on Attitude to Gun Control
14 July 2009
Wall Street Journal / Washington Wire
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 member and former chairman of the... (GunPolicy.org)
Is Gun Control Really a Cultural Issue, or Did the Gun Lobby Invent That?
22 June 2009
Huffington Post (USA), Blog
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 inherently, and inevitably, a... (GunPolicy.org)
Washington, DC Expands List of Allowed Guns to Avert Pro-gun Lawsuit
20 June 2009
Washington Post
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 types and models of handguns.... (GunPolicy.org)
Cities' Gun Restrictions Begin to Topple Under Attack from US Gun Lobby
20 June 2009
Christian Science Monitor
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 to succumb, struck down Thursday by a state... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama's Pick for Supreme Court 'Leans in her Heart' to Gun Control
19 June 2009
New York Times
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 appellate judges said Judge Sotomayor and her... (GunPolicy.org)
New Data Emerges on Flood of Guns Smuggled Into Mexico from USA
18 June 2009
Christian Science Monitor
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 in Sacramento. "We're the largest... (GunPolicy.org)
Rulings Open Way to US Supreme Court Relaxation of Gun Control
17 June 2009
New York Times
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 city and state gun laws was left... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama's Supreme Court Pick Raises Fear Levels Among US Gun Lobby
11 June 2009
Associated Press
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, D.C., handgun ban as settled law... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns 'Clearly Not Fundamental Right' - Obama's Supreme Court Pick
10 June 2009
Washington Times, Opinion
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 of Americans think "individual... (GunPolicy.org)
Conservative Judges Back Obama's Supreme Court Pick on Gun Control
3 June 2009
Washington Post
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 handgun law could complicate efforts... (GunPolicy.org)
To Right's Dismay, NRA Stays Out of Attack on Supreme Court Nominee
28 May 2009
The Hill (Washington DC)
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 to support a number of its nominees,... (GunPolicy.org)
San Francisco Latest Target of Gun Lobby's 'Nationwide Suit-filing Spree'
19 May 2009
San Francisco Chronicle
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 with their right "to defend themselves... (GunPolicy.org)
Armed Conservatism: More Americans Backing Political Belief With Guns
18 May 2009
Christian Science Monitor
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. He remembers reading a sign at one... (GunPolicy.org)
Shooters, Heller Litigant Challenge California Hidden Handgun Discretion
6 May 2009
CBS News (USA) / Political Hot Sheet, Blog
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 filed by the Second Amendment Foundation... (GunPolicy.org)
California Court's Gun Decision Muddies Second Amendment Waters
24 April 2009
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Blog
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 (in other words, the 2nd... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama Signals Assault Weapon Ban: US Gun Buying Frenzy Reinforced
18 April 2009
Sydney Morning Herald
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 treaty designed to curb the flow... (GunPolicy.org)
Armed Insurrectionism, Gun Lobby Dream Goes Mainstream in America
16 April 2009
Huffington Post (USA), Blog
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 that we enjoy as... (GunPolicy.org)
Surge in US Gun Sales Deeper, Broader: Politics, Fear of Crime the Fuel
13 April 2009
Christian Science Monitor
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 of gun culture to increasingly... (GunPolicy.org)
US Democrats Join Gun Lobby to Ensure Gun Control Laws Go Nowhere
9 April 2009
Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh)
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 to the new incidents of gun... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun-control Crowd Pushes Radical Goal: Stop Gun Running to Mexico
1 April 2009
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Opinion
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 control organization, had lain low; and... (GunPolicy.org)
DC Police Chief Says Pro-gun Bill Would Threaten Security in US Capital
21 March 2009
Washington Post, Opinion
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 Constitution for that of the Supreme... (GunPolicy.org)
New Jersey Man Steals 10 Guns, AK-47s, Shoots Up Ex-girlfriend's Home
17 March 2009
WTAJ-TV News (New Jersey)
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 told her he didn't want to go back to... (GunPolicy.org)
In 80 Cases Based on US Supreme Court Decision, 'Heller Fires Blanks'
17 March 2009
New York Times
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 banning gun ownership by people convicted of... (GunPolicy.org)
US Senate Stabbed Washington in the Back with Gun Lobby Amendment
9 March 2009
Washington Post, Column
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.
Please allow a more modest... (GunPolicy.org)
Panic Buying of 'Pre-ban' Guns, Ammo Merely 'A Blip' in US Gun Market
5 March 2009
LewRockwell.com (USA), Web page
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 to the forces of supply and demand? If... (GunPolicy.org)
Showdown in Illinois as Gun Lobby Pushes to Encourage Hidden Handguns
2 March 2009
St Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)
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 Todd Vandermyde, a National Rifle Association... (GunPolicy.org)
Despite Appeal, US Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Guns for Abusers
25 February 2009
Washington Post
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 Washington's ban on handguns.... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court 'Narrowed' US Gun Control Options, Says Obama Choice
15 January 2009
CNN / Political Ticker, Blog
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 "cop-killer" bullets.
But, he granted,... (GunPolicy.org)
Campaign for More Guns in American Schools 'A Dismal Failure'
9 December 2008
AlterNet (USA), Web Page
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 bring more guns onto... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Control Won 90% of its Election Races, Gun Lobby Lost 80%
4 December 2008
AlterNet (USA), Web Page
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 expending nearly $7 million in a... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Owners Fall for Obama Fearmongering, Gun Dealers' Sales Ploy
25 November 2008
Tennessean (Nashville), Column
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. The Supreme Court has now endorsed... (GunPolicy.org)
US Supreme Court Cops It for Wandering Into Gun Policy, As With Abortion
22 November 2008
Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St Paul), Column
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. Both rulings, says J.... (GunPolicy.org)
Fear of Obama 'Going British' on Guns Fuels US Weapon-Buying Spree
16 November 2008
Sunday Paper (Atlanta)
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 the rights of individual... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama Victory Reveals Failure of US Gun Lobby's $15m Election Spend
6 November 2008
MSNBC-NBC TV News (USA) / First Read, Web Page
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 record on guns, which has drifted to... (GunPolicy.org)
81yr-old Delaware Woman Denied Pistol Permit on Basis of Gender, Age
28 October 2008
News Journal (Delaware)
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 resident should have sailed through the... (GunPolicy.org)
Eminent Conservative Judges Slam US Supreme Court's Pro-gun Ruling
22 October 2008
Los Angeles Times, Editorial
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 originalist,... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama 'Favoured Every Gun Restriction That Came Along in Illinois'
22 October 2008
Gazette (Colorado Springs), Editorial
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 them countless elections.
Quietly,... (GunPolicy.org)
Judges Call US High Court Gun Ban Ruling 'Illegitimate, Activist, Political'
21 October 2008
New York Times
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 struck down parts of a District of... (GunPolicy.org)
Strident, Dismissive US Supreme Court Sides With Foes of Gun Control
30 September 2008
Journal of the American Medical Association / JAMA. 2008;300(13):1575-1577, Editorial
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 the right of law-abiding,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Journal of the American Medical Association / JAMA. 2008;300(13):1575-1577
New York Handgun Bullet 'Library' Defended as Developing Crime Buster
28 September 2008
Newsday (New York) / AP
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 entered into the Combined Ballistic... (GunPolicy.org)
US Supreme Court Gun Ruling Takes Heat from Conservative Judges
27 September 2008
Associated Press
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 Posner of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Forces 'Kicking and Screaming' Illinois City to Weaken Handgun Ban
23 September 2008
Daily Northwestern (Illinois)
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 its ban was unconstitutional.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
Heller Augurs Sensible US Gun Control, Demise of NRA? - David Kennedy
23 September 2008
National Law Journal (USA)
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 it could be the beginning of... (GunPolicy.org)
Supreme Court Gutted DC Gun Ban for Plaintiff in Fear of 'Terrorist Army'
23 September 2008
Huffington Post (USA), Blog
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 been written to date about the... (GunPolicy.org)