Keep and Bear Arms - Gun Owners Home Page

Can they, or should they?
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Ohio's Attorney General has published an opinion that journalists should be prohibited from writing down, or in any way recording, the names of gun owners kept by county sheriffs." ...

"I'm not a First Amendment expert, but I would think the right to keep one's address from appearing in a news outlet merely because one happens to choose to exercise one's rights would be protected by the right to privacy ..."

"But the bigger question is one of responsibility. I've always maintained journalists should be held accountable for what they publish. To me, the greater question is not whether or not they CAN publish private information about concealed carry permit holders, but whether or not they SHOULD. ..." ...

Guns and Frogs
Submitted by: Anonymous

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"Every gun control law in the United States is unconstitutional. There can be no argument. The Constitution plainly states that the right to bear arms shall not be infringed. The prefatory 'militia' comment is essentially irrelevant. The second amendment could just as well have been written: 'Because there are varmints everywhere, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.'"

"At some point, so-called 'progressives' would have argued that since varmints had been virtually eliminated or forced into the hinterlands, in the modern world the right to bear arms was no longer necessary, and therefore the amendment became open to modification. Voilŕ! Gun control laws galore! ...

Justices Take Up Issue of Gun Ownership Rights
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"After half a century of silence on the issue, the U.S. Supreme Court will tell Americans whether gun ownership is their right under the Second Amendment or a privilege that lawmakers can revoke."

"In deciding yesterday to review whether a handgun ban in the nation's capital violates the Bill of Rights, the federal high court has reopened one of the most divisive questions in national politics. The gun control debate cuts most cleanly along the urban and rural divide." ...

Why We Need Guns
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"The Supreme Court said yesterday that it would rule on the District of Columbia's strong gun-control law. That story has been getting a flood of attention from our Readers Who Comment. Law enforcement officials in D.C. and other big cities generally support such laws and are pleased that the court will review a lower court ruling that called into question its constitutionality. The issue is complicated and has intelligent advocates on both sides, as Robert Barnes points out in his story."

"Our RWC are arguing the central points. What does the Second Amendment really mean? Does this help criminals more than law-abiding citizens? ..." ...

Supreme Court Takes Its 96th Gun Case
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"The Supreme Court this week decided to hear the District of Columbia v. Heller civil-rights case, characterized by many as its first gun case since the Miller case in 1939, a common error."

"The High Court has been ruling on guns and gun rights since 1820, with 31 cases addressing the subject before Miller and 63 cases afterwards until this one. The widely quoted Miller case concerned two bootleggers and a sawed-off shotgun. Miller was murdered before his case could be retried as directed by the Supreme Court, leaving that short, controversial decision to be interpreted in many ways." ...

Tea Leaves, II
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Second Amendment cases in the Supreme Court have numbered only two in the last century. After weeks of speculation that the 1939 Miller v. California would keep its streak alive, the court agreed to hear DC v. Heller, a challenge to the challenge of DC's stringent gun ban ... and the best chance for advocates of gun ownership to make flat-out bans unconstitutional."

"If the lower-court decision is upheld, we may credit one man: Robert A. Levy, Cato scholar, plaintiff co-counsel, and mastermind of this hearing (like many blockbuster SCOTUS cases, a setup). Levy has been running himself ragged publishing on the matter since 2004. ..." ...

Supreme Court takes up D.C. handgun ban; casts spotlight on gun control Submitted by: RPA-PAC Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
"The Supreme Court said Tuesday it will decide whether the District of Columbia can ban handguns, a case that could produce the most in-depth examination of the constitutional right to 'keep and bear arms' in nearly 70 years." "The justices' decision to hear the case could make the divisive debate over guns an issue in the 2008 presidential and congressional elections." ...

Final showdown over gun rights may be forthcoming
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"While local gun rights activists Mike and Valinda Rowe continue their battle here in Illinois to preserve the right to keep and bear arms for the private Illinois citizen, a bigger battle is brewing in Washington, D.C. that may determine once and for all the intent of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."

"Our nation's capital has the strictest gun control laws in America. Private ownership of handguns is illegal. A security guard filed a federal lawsuit against the District of Columbia after he applied for a permit to allow him to keep his handgun he uses at work at his private residence for home protection and the permit was denied." ...

Supreme Court's Historic Opportunity to Restore the Constitution
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"'The decision by the Supreme Court to rule on the DC gun ban gives them an historic opportunity to return to the original meaning of the Second Amendment,' said Gun Owners of America's executive director, Larry Pratt." ...

"'The response of the District of Columbia reflects not only an ignorance of the Constitution, but the bloody record of the gun ban in the District. DC Mayor Adrian Fenty has lamented the excess of handguns in the District, and the citizens who are dying because of them."

"'This is hardly a reason to ignore the Constitution, much less because the Mayor's position is totally false," Pratt continued. ..." ...

Lawyers, Guns & Washington
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"BY deciding yesterday to hear the District of Columbia's appeal of the federal court ruling that overturned DC's gun ban, the Supreme Court has ensured that gun control and gun rights will play a major role in the coming election - and perhaps in the high court's future, too." ...

"This will be a hard case for the Supreme Court to duck. Cases involving state gun laws raise the question of whether the Second Amendment applies to the states. But, where every other US city is legally part of a state government, the district is a direct creature of the federal government. Other issues of legal standing that may have barred some plaintiffs have been overcome in this case, too. ..." ...

NYT Editorial:The Court and the Second Amendment
Submitted by: Anonymous

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"... [T]he Supreme Court has inserted itself into a roiling public controversy with large ramifications for public safety. ..." ...

"A lot has changed since the nation's founding, when people kept muskets to be ready for militia service. What has not changed is the actual language of the Constitution. To get past the first limiting clauses of the Second Amendment to find an unalienable individual right to bear arms seems to require creative editing."

"Beyond grappling with fairly esoteric arguments about the Second Amendment, the justices need to responsibly confront modern-day reality. A decision that upends needed gun controls currently in place around the country would imperil the lives of Americans."

Heller: A test of principle and survival
Submitted by: Guy Smith
Website: http://www.GunFacts.info

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"The test of a nation comes when its established principles are challenged and survive."

"Today the United States Supreme Court accepted the Heller (formerly Parker) case, which is a pure test of the intent and original meaning of the constitution's Second Amendment. This provision, poorly authored as it may have been, preserves the right of the average citizen to own (i.e. 'keep') and use (i.e. 'bear') arms."

"I've written about this case and Second Amendment origins often enough, so today I want to explore this notion of protecting principles. Oft cited originalism for the Second Amendment shows it was considered a 'natural right', one that was inherent in the act of being ..." ...

The Supreme Court Is NOT Going To Abolish the Second Amendment
Submitted by: Barry Bright
Website: http://www.willowtown.com/reality/blacksburg.htm

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"Yesterday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Washington, D.C. gun ban case. The D.C. mayor escalated the case to the Supreme Court when the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. struck down the District's ban on the private ownership of handguns."

"The Supreme Court's ruling could have widespread effects on gun control laws across the nation."

"The pro-gun extremists are getting nervous. In fact, some are spinning the case by saying that the Supreme Court is going to decide whether or not to 'uphold the Second Amendment'. That wording is false and it is (perhaps deliberately) misleading." ...

The Best Explanation of the Second Amendment I Have Ever Heard
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"As Doug reported yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court is going to take its first case on the Second Amendment in almost 70 years. During this period, legal scholars have debated whether the right to bear arms as described in the Second Amendment refers to an individual right or a collective right. ..." ...

"... Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller gave the best explanation of the meaning of the Second Amendment I have ever heard in an episode from their 3rd Season of their Showtime show Bullshit!"

"'A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state,' sure we need an organized military force to defend your country BUT 'the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.'" ...

OH: Armed men ignore sign and rob UDF store near my home
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"According to news reports, a United Dairy Farmers convenience store a few blocks from our home was robbed just before midnight last night by three masked men. The good news is that no one was hurt in the robbery."

"The most shocking part of this story is that in addition to violating several state and federal felony statutes, they ignored the small 'No Weapons' signed displayed on the window next to the entrance door. It appears that the criminals, intent on committing armed robbery, didn't care about UDF's rights as a property owner."

"And they are apparently not alone." ...

Technical Difficulties
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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A technical glitch delayed a mass e-mail to alert the University of New Hampshire to a reported gun incident on the Durham campus Sunday night, the university said Tuesday.

The alert should have gone out Monday evening, when campus police say they learned how serious the incident was, but wasn't transmitted until 8:22 a.m. Tuesday, the university and university police said.

Thank goodness there's a backup system in place, and one can always consult the UNH "Shooting Protocol." Let's see, stay calm, maintain eye contact, try to stall...consult a bunch of pastors and a rabbi, try to run...nope, nothing about returning fire.

Oh, here it is, section 26.1 on page 69. They say you can't.

GA: But armed citizens are banned from school grounds
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"What's more dangerous to children, a registered sex offender or a law-abiding, armed citizen?"

"Georgia's top court overturned a state law Wednesday that banned registered sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, churches and other areas where children congregate."

It's no biggie to have a pervert living within 1000 feet of a school, but most schools prohibit lawful, peaceable citizens from carrying their tools of self defense on school grounds."

"The law had been targeted by civil rights groups who argued it would render vast residential areas off-limits to Georgia's roughly 11,000 registered sex offenders ..." ...

TX: Student Group Wants More Guns on Campus
Submitted by: Anonymous

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"Mike Guzman and thousands of other students say the best way to prevent campus bloodshed is more guns."

"Guzman, an economics major at Texas State University-San Marcos, is among 8,000 students nationwide who have joined the nonpartisan Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, arguing that students and faculty already licensed to carry concealed weapons should be allowed to pack heat along with their textbooks."

"'It's the basic right of self defense,' said Guzman, a 23-year-old former Marine. 'Here on campus, we don't have that right, that right of self defense.'"

"Every state but Illinois and Wisconsin allows residents some form of concealed handgun carrying rights, with 36 states issuing permits to most everyone who meets licensing criteria. ..." ...

OR: Board asks for law rendering teachers vulnerable
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Shirley Katz has been disarmed. She was disarmed by her employer - the Medford, Or. school district - and she was disarmed by the court that claimed her taxpayer-funded employer has the authority to infringe upon her Constitutional right to keep and bear arms."

"Now the Medford fascists want to codify this travesty to ensure that teachers and students are kept disarmed and vulnerable if ever an armed, violent loon decides to victimize them." ...

Strike Two for Mitt Romney
Submitted by: Red's Trading Post Inc.
Website: http://www.redstradingpost.com

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"I originally wrote to Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney about his position on the ATF shutting down gun dealers, the response that I got was interesting. When someone questioned Mitt about his definition of 'Extreme Weapons', Romney continues to avoid answering the questions and simply puts out form letters like this:" ...

"... I recognize there are people in this country who want to remove all guns in our society and I think theyre wrong. ..."

"As Governor of one of the most liberal states in the country, I stood up for the rights of gun owners and sportsmen over burdensome bureaucratic regulation. ..."

"'I also designated May 7 as 'The Right to Bear Arms Day' in Massachusetts ..." ...

JPFO Alert: Some Reader's Comments
Submitted by: Red's Trading Post Inc.
Website: http://www.redstradingpost.com

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"Following up on our alert yesterday about the hypocrisy of the ADL condemning the Ron Paul campaign, we thought we'd share with you some comments from our readers."

"We'd like to draw your attention to an error on our part regarding the word 'democratic', which was included in our description of Nazi - when in fact of course there was nothing democratic about the nazi party. We have corrected the alert which is on our site - http://www.jpfo.org/alerts/alert20071120.htm." ...

MS: Self-defense 'Castle' laws gain ground
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"Kathy Adkins moves from target to target, firing with deadly efficiency a .38-caliber revolver and then a 9mm semiautomatic pistol at human-shaped targets."

"Adkins, 48, owns a real estate firm in nearby Jackson and has been taking firearms training since March. Instructor Cliff Cargill says she's among the new students he has racked up since the Legislature passed a law last year giving citizens expanded legal rights to protect themselves in their homes, cars or businesses."

"The 'Castle Doctrine' law removes the requirement that citizens first must seek a safe retreat from an intruder before using deadly force. Similar laws have passed in 19 other states in two years, in large part because of lobbying by the National Rifle Association (NRA)." ...

AK: Legislature creates sportsmens caucus
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"The Alaska Legislature already has a womens caucus, a fish caucus, and a Bush caucus. Now it has a sportsmens caucus, too."

"Twenty five state lawmakers a little shy of half have joined to bring attention to hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities."

"'It's a group of people that understand our Alaska heritage,' said Rep. Mike Kelly, a Fairbanks Republican and member of the new group." ...

CONSTITUTION OF GOVERNMENT BY THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, First Draught of Hamilton, 1787
Submitted by: GunShowOnTheNet.com
Website: http://GunShowOnTheNet.com/

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"...The President, before he shall enter upon the execution of his office, shall take an oath or affirmation faithfully to execute the same, and to the utmost of his judgment and power to protect the rights of the people and preserve the Constitution inviolate..."

"...Be it enacted by the people of the United States of America...."

"...The laws of the United States and the treaties . . . and which shall be made under this Constitution, shall be the supreme law of the land, and shall be so construed by the courts of the several States..."

"...The citizens of each State shall be entitled to the rights, privileges, and immunities of citizens in every other State..."

Johnny Sutton accused of suborning perjury
Submitted by: AJ

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"A Border Patrol activist group is accusing U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton of protecting the drug smuggler at the center of the Ramos-Compean case from facing perjury charges."

"Andy Ramirez, chairman of the Friends of the Border Patrol, wants a special prosecutor appointed to investigate Sutton and trial prosecutor Debra Kanof for subordination of perjury for allowing drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila to take the stand under 'false pretenses.'"

"Aldrete-Davila was arrested last week at the Mexican border for alleged drug offenses committed while under immunity to testify as the star witness in the case. ..." ...

IN: SWAT Unit Raids Wrong Home, Leaves Mess
Submitted by: jac

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"A homeowner in Lawrenceburg wants some answers after a SWAT team raided the wrong home."

"Police said they were led to the Village Apartments on the trail of fugitive Sean Deaton ..." ...

"Irwin, a single mother of two, said she is unable to live in her apartment and didn't even know the man police were searching for."

"Now, she said, she has been left with the mess and no apology."

"'It's all covered with poison. I don't know where to start over with two kids,' said Irwin. 'How do you start with replacing the items that your kids have had since the day they were born?'"

"She also said one of her pet guinea pigs was killed during the incident." ...

UT: Cops Taser Man For Asking Questions
Submitted by: Clell Adams

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"A man was tased and arrested on a Utah highway after being stopped by an officer and refusing to sign a speeding ticket because he did not understand what offence he had committed or why he had been pulled over."

"The encounter, captured on the police car camera on September 14th and released this week, is the latest in a long string of incidents involving the unacceptable use of Tasers by officers on citizens whom the evidence reveals are in no way threatening, acting unlawfully or resisting co-operation." ...

"The icing on the cake comes at the end of the video when the officer LIES to his own colleague ... stating that he verbally warned Massey he was going to tase him, as is the law, when there was no warning whatsoever." ...

ID: Family Shocked, Outraged after Deputy Shoots Pet Dog in their Yard
Submitted by: Anonymous

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"A Teton County, Idaho family is outraged after they say a sheriff's deputy tried to murder their dog in their own front yard."

"... A few days ago they say a Teton County Idaho Sheriff's Deputy knocked on their door demanding to see the dog."

"Leonel Barboza, Dog Owner: 'He says, 'I'm here to put him down. I'm here to kill him.'"

"The officer told Leo Barboza there had been a complaint Bobby had bitten someone."

"Barboza: 'I said, 'Do you have any proof or anything?' He says, 'I don't need any proof.'" ...

"The Teton County Idaho Sheriff wouldn't say much ... He also said there's been numerous complaints about the Barboza's dog. But when I checked court records, I could only find one complaint filed last year and that was dismissed." ...

MA: Police, activists battle over city antigun effort
Submitted by: motoboy

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"Civil liberties activists fanned out through Dorchester and Roxbury yesterday, warning people that a police proposal to ask residents to let their houses be searched for guns could violate constitutional rights." ...

"ACLU members walked through the neighborhoods police plan to target, passing out fliers that read, 'Know Your Rights.'"

"'We just want to make people understand that they have a right to not give consent,' said Carol Rose, executive director of the Massachusetts ACLU, in a telephone interview. 'When you waive your rights and invite the police to search your home, you're waiving the rights of everyone in the household.'" ...

MD: County denies legal liability for Washingtons actions
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Prince George's County attorneys are asking a judge to declare that they are not responsible for any lawsuits filed against Keith A. Washington, a former deputy director in the county's homeland security department who shot two deliverymen at his home in January."

"Washington has been indicted in the shooting of ... Brandon Clark and ... Robert White while they were apparently delivering furniture to his Accokeek home. Clark died in surgery a week later without giving a public statement."

"Washington has said the shootings were in self-defense. White has said it was unprovoked." ...

Canada: Saskatoon cop says he head-butted man in self-defence
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"A Saskatoon police officer on trial for assault causing bodily harm admits he punched and head-butted the complainant in the case but says it was all in self-defence."

"Const. Brett Maki was charged following a traffic incident last December."

"Maki's version of events is that he was off duty driving his SUV ..."

"Maki said the other man was the aggressor ..." ...

"Brett Wellman, 20, the alleged victim, testified Monday that Maki was the first to use force."

"Wellman said Maki punched him at least three times, knocking in two front teeth and knocking off his glasses. The off-duty cop then left the scene, as neighbours came to Wellman's aid ..."

"Those same neighbours testified Maki seemed to be the aggressor ..." ...

OH: Dann backs limits on Ohio gun-permit data
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann sided with law enforcement and concealed-carry gun advocates in an opinion prohibiting journalists from writing down, or in any way recording, the names of gun owners kept by county sheriffs."

"Ohio law allows reporters to inspect records of concealed-carry permit-holders but prohibits them from obtaining copies of the records."

"The attorney general opinion stated the ban on copying the records extends to a journalist walking out of a county sheriff's office with anything other than what he's committed to memory." ...

WI: Wisconsin Man Sells Hunting Rifles to Buy 100 Turkeys for Needy Families Submitted by: Anonymous	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
"A Wisconsin man has sold his hunting rifles to buy 100 turkeys for needy families this Thanksgiving." "Pat Callahan says his kidneys are failing and he's no longer able to hunt deer, so he decided he'd sell his guns to help others." ...

UK: Man bitten over Ł60 debt
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"A warehouseman bit a neighbour in the chest during a fight over a Ł60 debt."

"Aiden Mohammed claimed Karwan Mohammed had owed him the money for nine months but had made no effort to pay him back."

"The defendant told police he bit the victim in self defence to free himself from a headlock after the pair clashed in the street."

"Aiden Mohammed, aged 27, ... pleaded guilty to common assault on the day he was due to face trial."

"Judge Richard Rundell gave him a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay the victim Ł300 compensation and Ł500 court costs."

"He said the defendant, who has no previous convictions, had acted out of character and was unlikely to be seen at court again." ...

UK: Prison for machete attacker
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"A TREE surgeon who attacked a man with a 15-inch machete during a bust-up at a family party has been jailed for 20 months."

"Kelly Stanley, 34, admitted one count of malicious wounding at Reading Crown Court on Friday, which his defence team described as 'excessive self-defence'."

"The court heard Stanley lashed out at Stephen Beverley after his victim tried to assault him at a gathering at Stanleys uncle Dave Wellingtons home in Romsey Road, Tilehurst, on February 10 this year." ...