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IL: Is Chicago's gun ordinance missing biblical ethic like court ruling?
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I understand that slightly more than half of the members of the U.S. Supreme Court believe that the Second Amendment right to own a firearm in this country is inviolable. They have now made that clear in their 5-4 decision on McDonald v. City of Chicago, striking down the Chicago’s 30-year old handgun ban and extending to all the states the protections of the amendment. Okay, I get that.
What I don’t understand is why that unassailable right to “keep and bear arms” trumps the right to public safety. And I really can’t grasp how expanding the number of guns and the people who have them will reduce the volume of gun violence in this country. |
IL: Gun Laws: Chicago Politicians Think You're Stupid
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...are a restriction to one gun per household and a continued ban on sale within the city limits of Chicago. None of this is surprising to anyone following the continuing saga of gun ownership rights in Chicago and across the nation. What is surprising, is the notion, promoted by "city leadership" that these tough new restrictions are necessary to prevent an outbreak of handgun violence in the city.
Hello! Planet Earth calling. This is Chicago, Illinois we're talking about, right? The same city that earlier this very year was contemplating calling in the National Guard to help with the outbreak of violence in the city? The very type of outbreak about which they are warning us now? Is that really the position they are taking? |
Future of Guns Laws After McDonald
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Listen carefully to the members of the gun lobby; in particular, Wayne LaPierre, the head of the NRA. Listen carefully not just to what is said, but what isn't. If you listen, you'll hear that even after the landmark Heller and McDonald decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court that gave individuals across the country a right to have a gun in the home for self-defense, the gun lobby still isn't happy.
While Heller and McDonald have taken the extremes in the gun debate off the table, and given us the opportunity to decide what kind of gun restrictions make sense in our communities, that's not the way Wayne LaPierre wants to proceed. |
IL: Chicago's Tough New Gun Law Under Fire Already
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Bucking a national trend toward more tolerance for firearms, Chicago today begins enforcing the toughest gun law in the nation -- and it's already under fire.
Two lawsuits have already been filed against the ordinance, which bans gun shops in the city and limits permit holders to one ready-to-fire weapon inside the home -- excluding the porch, the garage or the yard. People are allowed to own more guns, but they cannot be loaded.
Legal experts say the law is not bulletproof and could be headed toward the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in June that Americans have the right to possess handguns for self-defense. |
OH: Buckeye Firearms Association endorses Ted Strickland for Governor
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Buckeye Firearms Association (BFA) has endorsed Governor Ted Strickland (D) as their first endorsement of the 2010 general election cycle.
BFA made the announcement on Sunday during a fundraising event at the Pickaway County Sportsman's Club in Circleville, Ohio, with the Governor in attendance.
Governor Strickland has continued his long tradition of supporting Second Amendment rights during his first term as Governor. As a Congressman, his many pro-gun votes, including opposing President Clinton by voting against the assault weapons ban, consistently earned him an "A" rating from the NRA. |
Navigating the Second Amendment in Washington, D.C.
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"When you get mugged, there are certain rules you must follow," my friend and his wife explained to me as we walked from a Washington, D.C., pub to their condo.
"When I get mugged?"
"Muggers are polite when you follow their instructions, but they get surly when you are rude," said his wife.
"How can you be rude to a mugger?"
"Ignoring the mugger is rude," said my friend. "This will give him license to strike you with a blunt object."
"I see."
"Making eye contact is also rude," said his wife. "Look only at the mugger’s feet."
"Why not just run?"
"Running might affect the mugger’s self-esteem," said my friend. "You’ll give him little recourse but to club you with a blunt object." |
ME: Former Marine shot at Togus to receive full military honors
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Popkowski had carried a gun, which witnesses tentatively identified as a rifle, “in a threatening manner,” investigators said.
Maine State Attorney General’s Office investigators will determine whether in the moment of firing the officers reasonably believed that lives, their own or others’, were endangered and that the deadly force used to subdue Popkowski provided the only means to end the danger, officials have said.
Witnesses have said several shots were fired, possibly in response to a round being discharged. Some said they did not see Popkowski act aggressively before he was shot. A spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office has declined to provide more details of the shooting or the events immediately preceding it. |
Justice Thomas’ extraordinary opinion in McDonald v. Chicago
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In an article for Reason, Damon W. Root writes about Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion in McDonald v. Chicago. Justice Thomas gives a strong and impassioned historical overview of the 2nd amendment as a means for African Americans to defend themselves from racists:
“It’s my understanding that we had almost 100 years of lynching and activity in the South by the Knights of Camellia and the Ku Klux Klan, and this was a reign of terror and the cross was a symbol of that reign of terror,” Thomas told Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben during oral arguments. |
WA: Deadly shooting was self-defense, say detectives
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Detectives say the owner "instinctively" fired his gun toward the lights in an attempt to protect himself from what he believed was a threat. Investigators say the owner considered himself in danger because the suspects did not retreat after he shot at their vehicle.
As a result, the sheriff's office says it won't take the homeowner into custody. The case will still be forwarded to the Lewis County Prosecutor's Office to determine whether he will face charges.
... "People have a right to protect themselves, their families, and property in a lawful manner as defined by the laws of this state. If you create or put yourself in a situation where someone has a legal right to use deadly force against you that is a risk you take." |
TX: Neighbor: Man said dogfight led to fatal shooting
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“He was saying the dogs attacked each other and Eric kicked his dog away,” Jaramillo said. “I don’t know if that’s a reason to shoot someone.”
The man told police he fired his handgun in self-defense. Police said several shots were fired at Shely who was pronounced dead at the scene. No charges have been filed. The investigation is continuing into the city’s ninth homicide of the year, police said.
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Shely’s mother says the 39-year-old landscaper battled issues with depression in the past and was prescribed medication for bipolar disorder. But she said he hadn’t been taking his medication lately because it made him feel like a zombie. |
Beyond Guns: N.R.A. Expands Agenda
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Fresh off a string of victories in the courts and Congress, the National Rifle Association is flexing political muscle outside its normal domain, with both Democrats and Republicans courting its favor and avoiding its wrath on issues that sometimes seem to have little to do with guns.
The N.R.A., long a powerful lobby on gun rights issues, has in recent months also weighed in on such varied issues as health care, campaign finance, credit card regulations and Supreme Court nominees. |
PA: Smith House tied to right to bear arms
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The recent Supreme Court ruling on the right to bear arms has possibly elevated the status of the Smith House in Mercersburg, and generated more discussions about preserving the building at its current location off of Main Street.
"It is obvious that Pennsylvania is key to understanding important elements of the political and constitutional foundations of the American past," wrote Assistant Professor Nathan Kozuskanich of Nipissing University, Canada. "The William Smith house, while not as impressive as Independence Hall, was nonetheless an important focal point on Pennsylvania's road to the Revolution." |
Gun Liberty and McDonald
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It has been said that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. This is especially true when it comes to gun liberty, since there are many organizations and government officials in “the land of the free” that would like nothing better than to disarm or severely limit the gun rights of law-abiding American citizens. The recent pro-gun decision in the Supreme Court case of McDonald v. City of Chicago doesn’t change our need for due diligence when it comes to gun liberty. |
NRA’s beef with Kagan? Sotomayor
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The ad, urging a filibuster or “no” vote on Kagan, notes that she pays lip service to the second amendment just as Sotomayor did in her confirming...
The ad says: “Last year, Sonia Sotomayor deliberately misled the American people by claiming she believed it was ’settled law’ that the Second Amendment protected an individual right to keep and bear arms. This year, she proved she never really believed that by voting against the Second Amendment in McDonald v. City of Chicago. Elena Kagan used the same phrases—’settled law’ and ‘precedent’ —to describe her view of the Second Amendment in the hearings. It is critical that the members of the U.S. Senate not fall for the same trick twice.” |
UN starts talks on global arms trade treaty
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The United Nations began negotiations on a legally binding treaty aimed at regulating the global arms trade to help prevent the illegal transfer of guns that kill and injure thousands of people every day.
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Argentina's U.N. Ambassador Roberto Garcia Moritan, ...said "there is a very strong gun lobby that is very vocal sometimes." That lobby is especially strong in the United States, where the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees citizens the right to "keep and bear arms."
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While such a treaty would not "solve all problems," he said, it would provide guidelines for buying and selling arms ... |
Moran introduces gun protection act
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Congressman Jerry Moran recently introduced legislation, H.R. 5700, to protect the Second Amendment rights of service members and civilians working for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). Some U.S. military installations are planning to require the registration of privately owned firearms kept off-base, and are working to prohibit service members from carrying firearms for protection off-base, even if they posses firearm-carrying permits. H.R. 5700 ensures Second Amendment rights are not violated by prohibiting the DOD from requiring registration of or limiting the use of privately owned firearms beyond state and federal law. |
In Disclose Act, a freedom
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The National Rifle Association began a bizarre bazaar when it told Democrats it would not oppose Disclose if it exempts entities with a cynically constructed set of attributes that only the NRA has.
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Beware when the political class preens about protecting us from 'special interests." The most powerful, persistent and anti-constitutional interest is the political class. Bradley Smith, former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, says Disclose should stand for Democratic Incumbents Seeking to Contain Losses by Outlawing Speech in Elections. It is a reason for voters to multiply those losses. |
The Court, Kagan, and the Right to Bear Arms
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The Supreme Court’s decision in McDonald v. Chicago underscores just how close this country came to losing the fundamental right to bear arms and just how important the debate over President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan, will be.
By a narrow 5-4 margin, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment guarantee enshrined in the Constitution applies equally to state and local governments. In an earlier decision, District of Columbia v. Heller, the Court held by a narrow 5-4 margin that this fundamental guarantee applies to the federal government. |
KY: Armed homeowner defends his family from 2 home invaders
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A homeowner reportedly used his gun to stop a pair of armed and violent intruders.
Police say that a man was at home, asleep, along with his children at 3:45 AM when the burglar alarm in their Louisville, KY home went off. The homeowner reportedly grabbed his self defense gun and investigated, at which point he was confronted by a pair of armed intruders. Gunfire was exchanged, and at least one of the intruders was hit, causing the other intruder to flee, according to news reports. A suspect was reportedly taken to a local hospital in serious condition with a gunshot wound to the head, and no injuries to the homeowner, his children, or any neighbors were reported. |
Extremist Christians Aim to Create Armed Militias Against "Godless" Federal Government
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Herb Titus, a lawyer for the far-right Gun Owners of America, is jubilant over last week’s Supreme Court decision in the case McDonald v. City of Chicago, finding that state and local regulation of gun ownership must comport with the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
The decision has also pleased the National Rifle Association, which sees it as ammunition for challenging gun control laws across the country. But for Titus, who thinks the NRA “compromises” on gun rights, the Second Amendment isn’t solely about “firepower,” he says. “You have to see it in its spiritual and providential perspective.” |
CA: Gun Show Second Amendment Case Sent Back to Original Court
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Today, the Ninth Circuit sent the case [Nordyke v. King)] back to the original 3-judge panel, instructing the panel to consider it further “in light of McDonald v. City of Chicago.” But since the Supreme Court in McDonald v. City of Chicago (1) agreed with the panel that the Second Amendment was indeed applicable to state and local governments, and (2) did not opine on the scope of the “sensitive places” exception, I’d expect that the Ninth Circuit panel would just reaffirm its original decision. The gun show organizers will therefore likely lose, as they lost originally. |
VA: Virginia's 'separate reality' on handguns
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One curious thing about the Old Dominion is the "separate reality" that one experiences between what the talking heads say and what really is.
Take the concealed handgun issue. As in many states, the more vocal Virginians who constantly see their Second Amendment rights in jeopardy have raised a cry that Barack Obama's ascension into the presidency would mean new, police state crackdowns on personal firearms.
This fear, which has about as much credibility as the one that Obamacare would lead to "death panels" selecting which among the elderly will die, has been repeated by groups including the Tea Party types to "Going Rogue" Sarah Palin-ites to militamen and others. |
KY: Man Shot In Head During Break-In
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A frightening scene overnight for one Louisville family when an attempted burglary ended with one man shot and another running away.
The incident happened around 3:30 a.m. Monday in the 900 block of marshal Street in the Shelby Park neighborhood.
Police are calling it a case of self-defense; neighbors call it a sad reminder of the times they live in.
"It sounded to me like someone was throwing firecrackers at first then knew it was gunshots," said neighbor Charledesha Clark.
The family who lives in the one-story home got an unexpected wake up call. |
NM: Six dead in office shooting
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A gunman opened fire at a solar and fiber optics manufacturer on Monday, killing five people and wounding four others before killing himself in a domestic violence dispute, police said.
The shooting at Emcore Corp. appeared to involve the 37-year-old gunman's ex-wife or girlfriend, police Chief Ray Schultz said. It was not immediately clear whether she was among the dead, or what caliber weapon he used.
Schultz said the gunman was a former employee, but did not release his name.
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MN: Bouncer shoots knife-wielding attacker
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A man armed with a knife slashed at a bouncer at a northeast Minneapolis bar before the bouncer shot and killed him early Sunday morning, police said.
NOTE: Don't bring a knife to a gun fight |
TX: Would-be robber shot during Break-in
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A man with a criminal record and a known burglar was attempting to break into a home in San Antonio, Texas and was shot by a man in the home who was armed with a shotgun. The burglar died as a result of the gunshot wounds he received. |
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