Keep and Bear Arms - Gun Owners Home Page

TX: Guns may be allowed at Texas colleges
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Texans might soon be able to pack heat on college campuses.

That is just one of several proposals that could reach lawmakers next year as they — and legislators nationwide — explore broadening some gun laws.

"It addresses personal protection," said state Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland, who heads the House committee that considers gun bills. "People who do things [like the Virginia Tech shooting] basically know they are walking into a gun-free zone.

Canada: American man fined for trying to smuggle guns into Sask.
Submitted by: Trapper

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It was anything but a happy Fourth of July for one American man who was handed a $10,000 fine for illegally trying to bring several guns across the border into Saskatchewan.

Even though Swart owns the guns legally in the United States, he was told he couldn't enter Canada with the last three guns as possession of those weapons is regulated here.

Following the court appearance, Swart was to be taken into custody and returned to the U.S. by immigration officials who were present at court.

What good can a handgun do against an Army? Submitted by: transsyvaniaphoenix Website: http://transsylvaniaphoenix.blogspot.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
A question all too often asked by anti-gun liberals is answered.

Does the gun ruling hurt the NRA?
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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Here, on the weekend that we celebrate the successful armed rebellion by America's founders, is the thought question of the day. For years, anti-gun activists and others have whispered that the National Rifle Association, the most powerful gun lobby in the nation and one of the most powerful Washington lobbies on any issue, has really never wanted the Supreme Court to define the Second Amendment. Why? Well, the theory went that a ruling such as the one the court handed down last week in District of Columbia v. Heller could dent the group where it hurts the most: fundraising.

UK: The Logic of Knife Control
Submitted by: Rick Schwartz
Website: http://hubpages.com/hub/Jacks-World-Famous-Black-Bean-Soup

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In Great Britain, following decades of increasingly stringent gun control, private ownership of handguns was banned in 1997. And, in fact, there appear to be few firearms in private hands.

But the result has not been what was intended. Crime rates in the U.K. have risen steadily, and violent crime has increased alarmingly in recent years. London is currently in the grip of a crime wave, as one brutal, sensational murder follows another. The perpetrators are nearly always young, and the crimes, often unspeakably vicious, are generally of the type conventionally labeled "senseless." The weapon of choice these days is the knife, and British papers are full of discussion of what to do about "knife crime."

UK: Stabbings, not sex, are the real facts of life
Submitted by: Anonymous

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A message of Gandhi-like passivity turning hordes of docile potential victims into human cash machines
...
The power of the knife is its banality. Guns are illegal (in most circumstances), serial-numbered, maybe not hard to obtain in London or Manchester, but you have to know the go-to guy. Guns are good for only one thing. But how can you legislate against knives when, for every 528 seized by Operation Blunt2, there are a gazillion more in kitchen drawers? After amnesties, sabres and machetes, switchblades and flick-knives are displayed in triumph. Yet you can kill with a Ł3 fruit parer from Sainsbury's.

NY: Expect controversy over courts ruling
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the U.S. constitutions second amendment affirms individuals have the right to bear arms, expect a slew of attempts to overturn restrictive gun laws in major cities across the country. The courts majority opinion gives individuals the right to keep handguns in their homes for self-defense. It does not allow them to carry handguns in public in places where there are laws against it. These are the laws that will be contested. Also, laws that prohibit possession of guns by felons or mentally unstable persons will remain, as they should.

FL: Guns have no business in vehicles
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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The recently-passed guns at work law permits gun owners to keep a loaded gun locked in his or her car. For what conceivable reason escapes me. With 500,000 gun owners in Florida now, and many more on the way, I cant help but feel that this new law will trigger (no pun intended) a rash of unfavorable reactions. For example, it can put loaded weapons into the hands of criminals and bad-apple youths. After all, how difficult is it to break into a parked car and force open the glove compartment?

OH: Camp Perry matches will attract 6,000 shooters
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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As many as 6,000 shooters from across the United States will step up to the firing lines at Camp Perry over the next six weeks during the 101st edition of the renowned National Rifle and Pistol Matches. A First Shot ceremony is set for tomorrow evening, followed by the opening Tuesday of competition in the pistol discipline, featuring revolvers, in what is known as America's World Series of shooting sports. The Matches have been at Camp Perry, just west of Port Clinton off State Rt. 2, since 1907.

Second Amendment is finally getting its due
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." That's the operative clause of the Second Amendment nearly erased from the Constitution in 1939 by a muddled and confusing Supreme Court opinion in United States v. Miller. On June 26, apparently embarrassed by seven decades without a coherent explanation of the right celebrated during the Framing era as "the true palladium of liberty," the court rediscovered the Second Amendment. More than five years after six Washington residents challenged the city's 32-year-old ban on all functional firearms in the home, the court held in District of Columbia v. Heller that the gun ban is unconstitutional.

HI: Ruling should prevent further erosion of gun rights in Hawaii Submitted by: RPA-PAC Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Ten days ago the U.S. Supreme Court released its landmark Second Amendment decision on District of Columbia v Heller, the Washington, D.C., gun ban case. Hawaii gun laws, among the strictest in the nation, are now subject to scrutiny relative to that decision. Will it have an effect here? Attorney General Mark Bennett has announced he will review Hawaii's gun laws.

'Public' online spaces don't carry speech, rights
Submitted by: Anonymous

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Companies in charge of seemingly public spaces online wipe out content that's controversial but otherwise legal. Service providers write their own rules for users worldwide and set foreign policy when they cooperate with regimes like China. They serve as prosecutor, judge and jury in handling disputes behind closed doors.

The governmental role that companies play online is taking on greater importance as their services - from online hangouts to virtual repositories of photos and video - become more central to public discourse around the world. It's a fallout of the Internet's market-driven growth, but possible remedies, including government regulation, can be worse than the symptoms.

DC Gun Ban Lift Empowers Women
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Citizens in the District of Columbia had plenty of reason to celebrate over July 4th weekend. In addition to our nation’s birthday, countless barbeques, and a fabulous fireworks display, citizens of D.C. could finally enjoy their rights as set forth in the Bill of Rights.

For more than thirty years, D.C. has robbed its citizens of their Second Amendment rights through a draconian handgun ban. And D.C.’s gun restrictions don’t stop at handguns. D.C. also requires shotguns and rifles to be bound by a trigger lock or kept unloaded and disassembled. So much for home protection.

PA: Supreme Court upholds gun owners' rights
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Former Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack said he was pleased with the court’s decision. The court previously ruled in Mack’s favor in 1997 when he challenged the legality of some aspects of the Brady Act.

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on Nov. 30, 1993. The law required chief law enforcement officers to perform background checks on an interim basis on persons buying handguns until the federal government’s system was up and running. Mack believed requiring local law enforcement to perform the background checks was unconstitutional.

NY: Right to bear arms is clearly spelled out Submitted by: RPA-PAC Website: HTTP://WWW.RPA-PAC.ORG	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Jay Thomas' June 9 Guest Viewpoint about the "bearing of arms" in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is a fine example of "Big Lie" and "Emperor's Clothes" sophistry. He states (accurately) that the meaning of "bear arms" is a matter of "recent dispute." He fails, however, to point out why. It is because at the time the Second Amendment was written, there was no dispute.

NY: Gun program offers incentives
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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It's an idea that's already being tried in Albany to help get guns off the streets, but now a Pastor in Troy is starting a program to offer gift cards to those who turn in guns. Reverend Willie Bacote of the Missing Link Street Ministry began with a raffle at a community flea market this weekend to raise money to buy the gift cards. Bacote says he is working with Troy Police Chief and the Rensselaer County District Attorney to sort out the legal details and ensure amnesty for those who turn guns in. He says it is an effort that is needed to keep Troy's streets safe.

Chicago gun ban may test high court ruling Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Chicago officials say they have reason to be concerned about the high court's decision. The city appears likely to provide the next crucial test of the justices' ruling as courts decide how far the decision extends to other cities and the 50 states. Within hours of the 5-to-4 decision written by Justice Antonin Scalia, gun rights groups filed fresh challenges to Chicago's restrictions.

The Second Amendment Survives
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that America’s citizens have the individual right to own guns.

Since ratification of the Second Amendment in 1791, District of Columbia v. Heller 07-290 was the first time, the Supreme Court has been asked to conclusively interpret the language of the Second Amendment, which reads: “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.”

As a result, Washington DC’s 32-year-old handgun ban is unconstitutional and void.

Gun bans in other cities will likely now be overturned by the court ruling via other cases.

IN: On guns and Guantanamo, Supremes get it right
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Last month, the Supreme Court was an equal-opportunity disappointer, handing down one decision that enraged conservatives and one that outraged liberals. Permit me to make myself even more unpopular than usual by suggesting that both decisions were correct.

In District of Columbia v. Heller, the high court struck down the nation's most restrictive gun law and finally settled the question whether the Second Amendment protects a personal or collective right -- that is, whether the amendment's authors were referring only to militias, or whether they were also protecting an individual right to gun ownership.

PA: Rights are for individuals, no longer only for states
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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As a liberal, I strongly believe in gun regulation, but Washington D.C.'s law was too expansive and did not pass the constitutional test. The Second Amendment, when viewed through the Fourteenth Amendment, becomes an individual right.

Historically, this reading was only a collective right prior to the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868. Yale constitutional law Professor Akhil Reed Amar argues convincingly in his book, The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction, that the Reconstruction Congress was far more concerned about individual rights.

DC: Sellers Torn As D.C. Officials Draft New Rules
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Besides banning handguns, D.C. law required that rifles and shotguns be kept unloaded and disassembled, or equipped with trigger locks - restrictions Mendelson's bill would still retain. But, bowing to the high court, he offered a broad exemption for guns kept at home for "immediate self-defense."

Gun rights advocates called the bill's wording too narrow, questioning how someone would interpret an immediate need for protection.

"That's a troublesome approach," said John Snyder, of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. He accused the city of trying to make it "as difficult as possible for people to defend themselves."

MD: Easy Getaway
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The man who escaped from a state prison van on his way to Baltimore Circuit Court on Tuesday didn't have a very difficult time of it.

The corrections officer driving the van told a judge yesterday that she didn't normally transport prisoners to court but had missed a morning drop-off in Jessup with other officers who were supposed to take him to Baltimore.

After a conversation with a supervisor, Officer Deborah Barron said, she believed she had orders to bring him downtown herself.

WI: David Olofson's off to jail, and the sun's shining brightly on GOA's lies
Submitted by: David Codrea
Website: http://waronguns.blogspot.com

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"For what it's worth, I believe the BATF experts, and the investigating officers, both local and federal."

Gloating over the Olofson sentence from someone who blogs he is of the "law enforcement family."

For what it's worth, many other affadavits have been posted telling of ATF abuse. And he's dead wrong on a central fact: Intent has nothing to do with it, as demonstrated by trial transcripts. The government's clear position--and what the verdict was based on:"If you pull the trigger once and it fires more than one round, no matter what the cause it's a machine gun."

If so, this "Only One" should be investigated, because he admits the same thing happened to him in this and a prior post.

"Absolved" - Improvised Munitions, Inc.
Submitted by: Concerned American
Website: http://westernrifleshooters.blogspot.com

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The latest from the novella "Absolved":

The Feds always had a theory that a gun enthusiast with political opinions was just this side of a terrorist, and the Clinton administration made sure that their FBI stooges kept close track of militia folk...

Most of them werent evil characters, of course. They were just federal bureaucrats working toward retirement. Of course some of them fit Hannah Arendts definition of the banality of evil... But for the most part they were guys who thought they could do some good fighting bad guys. When an administration took over that defined bad guys as anybody with a gun who didnt hew to the administration political line, well, the agents werent in an easy position to say differently...

NV: Count on these Nevadans to defend gun owners' rights
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Rep. Dean Heller once explained that as proud as he was to have bagged the giant elk whose head is displayed at his home in Carson City, his greatest hunting prize has been persuading his wife, a one-time USC song leader, to go shooting with him.

He did. And she’s a pretty good shot, he said.

Gun culture remains strong in much of Nevada, but particularly so in Heller’s far-flung district, which includes the entire rural North.

Heller, a Republican, has been a fierce advocate of gun owners’ rights during his first term in Congress.

The American Hypocrisy Union Submitted by: Anonymous	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
In order to ensure that every citizen of this nation enjoys the freedom the Constitution sets forth, the ACLU works tirelessly in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee. Unless of course they disagree. Then you are shit out of luck!

DC: Packing Protection or Packing Suicide Risk? Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
What the authors of the Second Amendment did not foresee, however, is that when people own a gun, they unwittingly raise their risk of getting hurt and killed -- because the odds that they will one day use their gun to commit suicide are much larger than the odds they will use their gun to defend themselves against intruders, muggers and killers.