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December 2008
2d Amendment year in review
Very comprehensive story in the Hawaii Reporter.
Reason on 14th Amendment P or I incorporation
Article here.
Permalink · 14th Amendment · Comments (0)
Brady Campaign sues to block Park Service rule
Story here. Pdf complaint here.
Yep, there might be some serious standing issues. Brady Campaign in itself, as a corporation, is not affected by the rule. It has to argue organizational standing, that it should proceed as a surrogate for its members. That requires it to show (1) its members suffer harm in fact (so broadly defined that, yes, they can easily show that. Just get some to say they'll quit going to parks that allow guns, or be apprehensive when doing so). (2) that the harm is "germane" to the organization's purpose and (3) individual participation is not required (again, easily shown).
(2) *might* be a problem. The purported harm in fact is that members don't go to certain parks, and Brady Campaign's purposes do not include getting people into parks. But there was, during my time at Interior, a ruling by the DC Circuit that held that HSUS had standing to sue over hunting in wildlife refuges (which allegedly left their members disgusted at gut piles, etc.) even tho it, too, was not a travel agency. The DC Circuit held that "germane" was a very broad term.
SWAT search and seizure
At Reason Online, Radley Balko posts some interesting data.
Permalink · General con law · Comments (13)
Another take on the Balkanization 14th Amendment article
Clayton Cramer has agreements as to P or I incorporation of enumerated rights, but not nonenumerated ones.
Having spent a fair amount of time studying the legislative history, there are two complicating factors.
(1) When the framers of the 14th referred to the Bill of Rights, they sometimes referred to the first eight, and sometimes to the first ten, amendments.
(2) They also referred to the privileges or immunities clause as meant to include three classes of rights.
(A) Those listed as "privileges and immunities" in case law interpreting that term as used in Article IV, §2 of the original Constitution. There was a circuit opinion by Bushrod Washington that talked of these in very broad and mostly economic terms -- the right to practice a lawful profession, to own and dispose of property, etc.. This was relevant because some Black Codes forbade blacks to engage in certain businesses or to own real estate inside city limits. These were, in the Bill of Right sense, nonenumerated rights.
(B) Rights protected against Federal interference by the original Constitution, e.g., the right to petition for habeas corpus, the prohibition against ex post facto laws.
(C) Liberties protected against Federal interference by the US Bill of Rights. Some Framers insisted that these were meant to bind the States under Article IV, §2, but that provision had no allowance for Congressional enforcement, so it remained a nonbinding moral duty only. (The view in modern case law is that Article IV, §2 only prohibits discriminatory State action against citizens of other States, in relation to "privileges and immunities" of State citizens, but in 1866 there was a very respectable body of opinion otherwise. This had been a staple of antislavery thought before the Civil War, arguing that the Article IV duty to turn over escaped slaves was unenforceable by Congress, and that the fugitive slave acts were unconstitutional).
Update: a respectable argument can be made (and was in fact made by the early commentator William Rawles) that the 2A applies to the States. But the Supreme Court went the other way in Barron v. City of Baltimore, and in many following cases. During the Congressional debates on the 14th, an opponent argued that it wasn't needed because the Bill of Rights already applied to the States (he was a former NY judge, BTW). Sponsor John Bingham had to hunt up a copy of Barron and read it into the record.
Permalink · 14th Amendment · Comments (9)
Balkanization and 14th Amendment incorporation
Over at Balkanization, David Gans and Doug Kendall discuss the issue.
Hat tip to reader Joe Olson....
Permalink · 14th Amendment · Comments (0)
Report on Brady Act and prosecutions
Here, in pdf.
Gist of it: during 2006 there were
8,000,000 plus checks
117,000 denials (125,000 denials, offset by 8,000 reversals on appeal)
77,000 of these were referred to Field Offices for investigation (80% not involving felony records)
273 persons charged, and a whopping
73 convictions.
US Attorneys declining to take cases appears a major factor in the drop from 77,000 to 273. Historically, they were skeptical of felon in possession cases, viewing them as street crimes that didn't merit Federal attention. If 80% of cases referred involve non-felons, I'd imagine they were even more skeptical of taking a case where the defendant had a domestic violence misdemeanor conviction, was an illegal alien, had been committed to an institution, etc..
Permalink · Gun Control Act of 68 · Comments (2)
Eric Holder, AG nominee
An interesting look back in history.
Hat tip to reader B. Taylor.
Nordyke v. King oral argument
Nordyke v. King, presenting the 14th Amendment incorporation issue, is set for argument Jan. 15 at 1 PM. Here's its Wiki page, with links to the briefs. (An appeal has its own Wiki page? I feel so 20th Century at times like this).
The case had already been briefed, with the incorporation issue raised below but not briefed, when DC v. Heller came down. The panel on its own motion directed briefing of that issue. I can see three possible outcomes.
1) 2A is incorporated and binds the States: the regulation at issue is unreasonable and struck down. VERY cert-worthy, and a good shot at the Supreme Court (unless the county decides not to petition).
2) 2A is not incorporated. Cert-worthy, and a petition will be filed.
3) 2A is incorporated, but the regulation upheld as reasonable. The county can't go to the Supreme Court, because they won, even if they don't like how the court reasoned. Plaintiffs can go to the Supreme Court, but odds of getting review are much lower than 1 and 2.
Permalink · Nordyke v. King · Comments (16)
Glad *I* didn't get elected...
I voted the other way, but from this post on Chronicles of Higher Education, Obama has my profound sympathy"
As a professor and an author, I speak with hundreds of female undergraduates and graduate students in their 20s and 30s. I know what they want: They want both careers and families.
They want to be teachers, lawyers, engineers, biologists, doctors, and professors. They want to open new businesses, make scientific discoveries, improve the environment. They believe that finally the barriers have fallen and all careers are open to them. But they also want a family. The members of this new generation will defer marriage and motherhood many years to focus on their careers. Still, they expect to find a life partner and have at least one child before their biological clock runs out.
Gad. The poster only wants President Obama to enable them to open new businesses, get tenure, make scientific discoveries, eliminate the cost of childcare, but also to give every professional a child (which would get Michelle rather miffed, and far exceed the ability of any post-teenage male). At this rate, President O is going to be invoking his limited Article II powers in a hurry.
Permalink · Politics · Comments (8)
Video of Portland driving conditions
Very impressive video. Scroll down to get to the video. A perfect sheet of ice, people who think they can drive on it. The newscrew just got into a good position and watched as the slow speed (and often in reverse) demolition derby unfolded.
The trail that led to Blagojevich...
Began with somebody trying to shake down a grandmother who ran a hospital.
The antigun "gun guys" blog blows its cover
Freedom States Alliance is an antigun organization heavily funded by the Joyce Foundation. And in press release today it states:
"First, the Freedom States Alliance, which oversees our daily news blog, GunGuys.com, does not endorse political candidates."
Permalink · antigun groups · Comments (10)
Interesting thoughts on Europeans and firearms
Right here. The writer's point is that, whatever the laws, people own guns. In nations with loose firearm laws, they own them legally. In nations with restrictive firearms laws, they own them illegally.
Permalink · non-US · Comments (6)
My article on St. George Tucker is online
"The Lecture Notes of St. George Tucker: A Framing Era View of the Bill of Rights," 103 Northwestern U. L Rev. Colloquy 272 (2008).
The pdf version is here and the html version here.
At 277 I get into Tucker's notes on the 2d Amendment. At 278-79, I get into the Stevens dissent in Heller for having claimed that Tucker was ambivalent on the 2A. The majority cited Tucker's great 1803 Blackstone, where he had a number of clearly individual-right statements about the 2A. The dissent says that Tucker was ambivalent, his lecture notes from 1791-92, closer to the Framing, were more state power over the militia.
In fact, the documents cited were from Tucker's lecture on the powers of Congress over the militia, when he mentions the 2A and talks about State power to arm the militia if Congress neglects the issue. He gets to the Bill of Rights 20 pages farther on. And when he does, he discusses it in the same words he would later use in Blackstone, often literally the same words!
Permalink · Academic treatment · Comments (1)
Blagojevich -- the movie!
Casting call here.
Jerry Patterson for TX Senate seat
I've known him, and eaten and drank with him, and this is pure Jerry Patterson:
""After a great deal of consideration, and much soul-searching, I am today formally announcing my intention to join many of my fellow elected officials and not seek the U.S. Senate seat," said Patterson. "I have been urged by many of my fellow Texans to seek this seat . . actually only a few Texans . . . truthfully just a couple members of my staff and a few other officeholders who want my job . . . so I'll sit this one out."
"I will form an unexploratory committee to be sure," said Patterson, " but my heart tells me that I am deeply ambivalent about being a U.S. Senator."
"After all," said Patterson "I don't want to share statewide office with anyone, and D.C. is a tough commute for my thirty-year-old single-engine fabric-covered aerobatic airplane."
Despite the recent D.C. vs. Heller case before the Supreme Court that ruled Washington's prohibition against handguns was unconstitutional, Patterson said he could not live in the Nation's Capital. Patterson is author of the Texas Concealed Handgun Law and a known gun advocate.
"Just like Johnny Cash, I'd definitely take my guns to town," Patterson said. "Living in D.C. would be tough only because of the lack of gun ranges and available ammunition."
Paraphrasing his quote from a recent West Texas land controversy, Patterson added "No guns, no hunting, no Senate.""
Reason commentary on new DC gun laws
Story here.
Ken Salazar at Interior Dept
Sensibly Progressive, who is one of his constituents, has a favorable take on the nominee for Interior Secretary.
Must be the week for 2A lawsuits
A ways back, Bob Barr filed suit for a Georgia FFL (Adventure Outdoor Sports) targeted by Mayor Bloomberg's "stings," alleging that Bloomberg had slandered the owner. Bloomberg's guys got it removed to Federal court, and argued NY law, giving public officials a wide privilege against defamation suits, should apply. (BTW, those are two different issues. A Georgia court, or its federal district court, may still apply New York law under certain conditions). The federal district court ruled that New York law did not apply, and Bloomberg appealed.
Today the 11th Circuit US Circuit Court of Appeals handed Bloomberg his mayorial hindquarters. The news report is confusing, but apparently the appeals court ordered that the US district court should return the lawsuit to State court.
Lawsuit in PA
Filed against Delaware County, which apparently takes the view that if it ever lays hands on a gun, it takes a court order to get it back. It takes a lawsuit? Be careful what you wish for, as sometimes you get it.
New regs on carrying in National Parks and Wildlife Refuges
Pdf of final rule here. They go into effect on January 9. The actual rule is two paragraphs long, at pp. 74971-72, and says that a person may "possess, carry, and transport concealed, loaded, and operable firearms within a national park area in accordance with the laws of the state in which the national park area, or that portion thereof, is located, except as otherwise prohibited by applicable Federal law."
The other para. applies that to National Wildlife Refuges. Neither applies to State or local parks or refuges. Looks as if carry has to be concealed, which in most States means a permit, although the rule itself does not refer to such permits.
UPDATE: I'd guess that "for a lawful purpose" is a general term that has a simple meaning -- for any reason not forbidden by law, such as committing a crime.
Hat tip to reader Carl in Chicago.
Conflict over "may issue" permits in California
In Orange County, conflict over the new sheriff's plan to revoke CCW permits en masse. The former sheriff issued them as political favors, the new one wants to revoke them by the hundreds. The wonderful nature of unbridled discretion.
Permalink · State legislation · Comments (9)
District Judge rules for Chicago
Story here. The article doesn't make it clear, but given that he'd ruled earlier, I assume this means he dismissed the case, that is, entered an appealable order.
Not a surprise to anyone. Even assuming the judge wasn't part of the local machine, the Circuit Court, which is over his head, ruled the other way in the original Morton Grove case, and he can't overrule them. But you have to raise the issue in front of him, anyway, in order to get the right to appeal.
Permalink · Chicago gun case · Comments (6)
Heads up for VA residents
VCDL is sponsoring "Lobby Day" at the State capitol on Monday, January 19. Here's the flyer, in pdf, and here's some video. Several rallies are planned, and they're looking for the best turnout they can generate.
And a VA open carry case settles, too...
Story here. This has not been a good week for those who would bust people for lawful carry....
H/t to reader Ambiguous Ambiguae....
Permalink · State legislation · Comments (2)
Los Angeles decides Calif gun laws are just too loose
Story here. I mean, the State only outlaws .50 caliber rifles, but not possession of their ammunition. It doesn't require registration of ordinary ammunition sales.
Hat tip to reader Robert E. ....
Permalink · State legislation · Comments (8)
Case involving GA open carry settles
Here's the story. Fellow was openly carrying (and both has a license, and is military, either of which suffice to make open carry legal). His gun was seized and they refused to return it. Georgiacarry.org took the case, got return of the gun, damages, and attorney fees.
Here's the settlement order.
DC adds to its gun law
AP release here. DC adds a training requirement before registration, and a re-registration requirement every three years.
Oklahoma move to repeal sales tax on firearms
Story here. Note a sales tax on firearms isn't a real constitutional difficulty: you can have a nondiscriminatory sales tax on things related to the First Amendment (TVs, radios, and even newspapers although I haven't encountered a jurisdiction that taxes the last). I do think there is a problem with places that impose significant costs on firearms permits just for the sake of making them expensive, and unrelated to any real processing cost. A government can charge for a parade permit, but can't arbitrarily charge $500.
Hat tip to reader Ambiguous Ambiguae...
Permalink · State legislation · Comments (8)
Testimony on NFA database
Here's the testimony of on the reliability of the NFA database; the critical part being testimony of Fritz Scheuren in part 6 of the transcript, starting at 1016. Dr. Scheuren's credentials were hard to beat -- among other things, he's Vice President for Statistics at the National Opinion Research Center. I haven't had time to read the transcript, but am told he testified that the NFA database might be reliable enough to start an investigation, but was nowhere near accurate enough to justify a conviction. The result was a hung jury, and there will be a retrial.
Friesen got a good pro-gun lawyer, Mack Martin of Oklahoma City, who set out to nail the prosecution's case.
Permalink · National Firearms Act · Comments (4)
Update on Steve Halbrook book bomb
Just spoke to the folks at Independent Institution. Steve's book is up to No. 327. I reported that Amazon sold out, and they said a resupply is being shipped today, and should be available to fill orders within a couple of days.
Assault charges for squirting fox urine on trespassers
Homeowner learns kids are going to TP his house, loads a squirt gun with fox urine, squirts them and is charged with assault. Snowflakes in Hell has the story.
You'd have thought they'd regard it as one prank deserves another. The hardest part, I'm sure, was forcing the fox to urinate in the squirt gun (grin).
Press releases certain groups wish they could take back
First, from Violence Policy Center:
"VPC Lauds Introduction of Blagojevich Bill to Ban "Pocket Rockets""
Next, from the Brady Campaign:
"Brady Campaign Praises Governor Blagojevich for Standing Up To Special Interests and Protecting the People of Illinois"
And they'd probably like to bury the image in the left margin of this article, too.
Permalink · antigun groups · Comments (5)
Ill Senate seat for sale on Ebay
Right here, and for a lot less than governor Blagie... Bloga... Blagev... the Governor of Illinois was asking, too!
Permalink · Politics · Comments (8)
Launching a "book bomb" for Steve Halbrook
Steve has just brought out his latest book, "The Founders’ Second Amendment." It's getting great reviews -- National Review calls it highly readable and interesting, "Every American who cares about this provision of the Constitution can now arm himself against the sophistries and oversimplifications that have permeated much of the popular and professional discourse..." The distinguished historian Forrest McDonald says it's "first-rate work, utterly convincing."
So here's the plan. Monday, Dec. 15, is Bill of Rights Day. We can launch a "book bomb" on that day. A book bomb consists of lots of people ordering a book on the same day or within a few days. Amazon, for example, has a ranking system which (while details are secret) ... well, it's something like this: a book's rankings on Day X are very heavily influenced by the number of orders received the day before X, influences by orders within, say, 3 days before X, and orders on days 4-10 before day X get only a modest role. The idea is to let Amazon readers know what book is hot right now, not what book was hot two weeks ago. New York Times rankings are somewhat longer-term, and based on reports of sales from mostly brick-and-mortar stores (the identity of the stores surveyed is kept secret).
The long and short of it is that even a modest surge of orders, if concentrated in time, can greatly shoot up a book's Amazon rankings and even its NYT rank.
So on Monday, Bill of Rights day, let's see if we can shoot Steve's book to the front, which will mean exposing it to people who aren't yet 2A devotees, but might be brought in.
Here's the webpage where you can order via Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, etc.. You can enter a pledge (there are already 188 as I type) and be redirected to the online seller that will do the most good. But remember to hold off until Monday!
OSHA idea
In Florida and elsewhere, companies have argued OSHA (as federal law) overrides State laws allowing storage of firearms in locked cars in workplace parking lots. I think the argument relates to OSHA's vague statutory duty to make a workplace safe, rather than any regulations issued, so the following may or may not be relevant, but...
Cass Sunstein, an excellent thinker (apart from being no friend of the 2A, that is) has come out with an article arguing that OSHA is unconstitutional. Congress is supposed to make federal law. In practice, it more often enacts a broad statutory regime, and tells an agency to promulgate regulations to carry it out. That way Congress doesn't have to work out the details of what it is ordering people to do, nor accept the political fallout of those orders. The courts give Congress a LOT of leeway to do that, but at some point there is simply too much delegation to the agency to pass muster. Sunstein's article argues that OSHA goes over the line, handing the Secretary power to "do good things" without saying whether he's supposed to balance them against cost or feasibility, or focus on significant risks, etc..
Permalink · General con law · Comments (7)
Corruption and antigun track record
An interesting thought, from Days of our Trailers:
"he anti's are the ones that claim they're 'honest'.
Is this what they mean?
Blago is the second Brady Campaign endorsed state governor to take a fall for corruption this year. We all remember NY Gov. Elliot Spitzer, right?
Almost half-a-dozen MAIG Mayors have fallen (Daley, we're looking at you next).
Several prominent Million Mommy March leaders have gone down for gun crimes nevermind the fact that their organization folded as an independent group while they were being investigated for tax fraud." etc...
Via SayUncle.
Permalink · antigun groups · Comments (0)
A therapist's suggestion for Christmas carols...
1. Schizophrenia --- Do You Hear What I Hear?
2. Multiple Personality Disorder --- We Three Kings Disoriented Are
3. Dementia --- I Think I'll be Home for Christmas
4. Narcissistic --- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me
5. Manic --- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and.....
6. Paranoid --- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me
7. Borderline Personality Disorder --- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why
8. Attention Deficit Disorder --- Silent night, Holy oooh look at the Froggy - can I have a chocolate, why is France so far away?
9. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder --- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle,Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells
Indian gun rights group speaks out
Story here. As we'd say in Arizona, "that's Indian, as in India," since the vast majority of Indians here descend from folks who came across the Bering Strait about 20,000+ years ago.
Permalink · non-US · Comments (6)
"The Friendless Ninth Circuit"
So says the Blog of Legal Times. It reports a Supreme Court argument, with four advocates speaking (one having gotten his time by pointing out that no one else was defending the decision below), in which not a single advocate defended the Circuit's ruling.
Gov. Blagojevich arrested
Anti-gun IL governor Blagojevich was was arrested this morning on federal corruption and bribery charges. Investigation also involves his choice of pres-elect Obama's replacement in the Senate.
UPDATE: USA Today says that his chief of staff, John Harris, was also arrested. Charges involve soliciting bribes in exchange for the Senate appointment, and threatening to withhold State money from the firm that owns the Chicago Tribune, unless the Tribune fired editors who'd criticized him. It adds that he took office on a pledge to clean up after the former governor, who is serving time for corruption.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Rick Moran reports that the Senate deal was that he'd appoint someone to the seat in exchange for either a lucrative job, or appointment to a cabinet post in the new Administration. He says the evidence reveals
"a man either so corrupt that he saw little downside to his actions or, sadly and perhaps more likely, that the years of investigations had taken a toll on his mental well-being and he had lost touch with reality. With federal investigators swarming about him and his cronies, he came up with the idea to sell Obama’s Senate seat? And the scheme to exchange favors with campaign contributors? And to seek a cabinet posting — with federal investigators ready to indict him? How could he have possibly thought he could get away with all of it?"
Hat tips to readers Carl in Chicago and Jack Anderson...
BTW, blogging will be slow today. Recovering from some "medical issues."
Permalink · Politics · Comments (29)
serious overreaction
10 year old takes cap gun to school, later goes to a kid's house with it and asks if he wants to play. Kid runs back into house and calls 911.
End result: 10 year old is arrested, charged with possessing a weapon (??) at school and with making "terroristic threats" (some States have that as an offense).
Lawsuit in PA
Snowflakes in Hell has the story. It involves the lady who had her concealed carry license revoked -- for open carrying.
Article replying to Judge Wilkinson
I blogged a while ago about the article by Judge J. Harvey Wilkinson, arguing that Heller was essentially non-conservative because it (like Roe v. Wade) was a mark of "judicial activism." Now Prof. Nelson Lund and Dave Kopel have a detailed reply. You can read the abstract there, and download the paper in pdf (see link above its title).
"Part I shows that Judge Wilkinson's analogy between Roe and Heller is untenable. The right of the people to keep and bear arms is in the Constitution, and the right to abortion is not. Contrary to Judge Wilkinson, the genuine conservative critique of Roe is based on the Constitution, not on judicial "values." Judge Wilkinson, moreover, does not show that Heller's interpretation of the Second Amendment is refuted, or even called into serious question, by Justice Stevens' dissenting opinion.
Part II shows that Judge Wilkinson himself does not adhere to the "neutral principle" that he claims to derive from "judicial values." Under the principle of judicial restraint that he articulates, many now-reviled statutes, including the Jim Crow laws of the twentieth century, should have been upheld by the courts. Judge Wilkinson does not accept the consequences of his own supposedly neutral principle, preferring instead to endorse or condemn Supreme Court decisions solely on the basis of his policy preferences. That is not judicial restraint. It is judicial lawlessness."
Permalink · Heller aftermath · Comments (3)
Interesting article
"If each of us carried a gun . . . we could help to combat terrorism".
Perhaps the most interesting aspect is that it's in the Time of London. This will likely stir a bit of controversy.
Permalink · non-US · Comments (4)
Strange nongun cases today
A stockbroker embezzles hundreds of thousands from his clients, and then falls for one of those dumb-arse Nigerian business scams.
A big-time NYC attorney is arrested in Canada for impersonating a different lawyer.
NYC firearm permits
An interesting article. 37,000 permits of one or another type, about half of them to security guards or retired LEOs, most of the remainder only allowing possession but not carry. Only a little over 2,000 full carry licenses.
Mayor says that for the last "you should have to really show that your life is in danger, and that having a gun will protect you, will improve the chances of you surviving.”
Curiously, the last include a fair number of actors, celebrities, and politicians. I wonder why Donald Trump, Robert DeNiro, Tommy Mottola, and Don Imus' lives are in danger to a greater degree than anyone else's.
Permalink · State legislation · Comments (4)
Ken Blackwell running for RNC chair
Ken Blackwell, NRA director, throws his hat into the ring for RNC chair.
"Palm pistol" on FoxNews
Story here.
Hat tip to reader Bret Gallo...
Interior allows carry in National Parks
Press release here.
A 6th Amendment question
It's reported that the US will indict the Blackwater folks involved in the shooting in Iraq.
I think I see one problem. The 6th Amendment says a federal criminal jury must be by "an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law..."
I can't determine in what State and district Iraq is located.
In cases such as that of Noriega, I believe conspiracy was alleged, and they could pin down some coconspirators somewhere in the U.S.. But here it's a straightforward homicide charge.
UPDATE: No idea how the UCMJ deals with the issue. The 6th Amendment has no military exception. The only such is in the 5th Amendment's grand jury requirement, which says it doesn't apply to the military or to militia during a call-up.
Permalink · General con law · Comments (15)
Massacre in Mumbai
Cherry River Blog has deep thoughts.
I'd agree. It's hard to envision hundreds of American civilians or dozens police standing by while four guys shot up a hotel full of people, encountering no resistance. Look to that situation in LA where the attackers had AKs, the outgunned police went to a local gun store and got the owner to loan them serious equipment, and went back into the fight. Or the cowtown experience recounted by Elmer Keith, where a fellow robbed a restaurant, barricaded himself in a hotel room and proclaimed he'd kill anyone who came in.
The locals figured he probably would, so they just took their rifles and shot the hotel room, and the robber, full of holes. He didn't want to be taken alive, and they were agreeable to that.
But at the end, Cherry River has an even better example. I won't spoil it for you.
Busy day for the 14th
In the Chicago case, District Court incorporating the 2nd into the 14th Amendment. Ruling is based on reasoning that he has to obey 7th Circuit precedent, Quilicy v. Morton Grove, until the 7th Circuit changes it. Not unexpected, of course -- this case was going to be settled on appeal.
Can't jump the gun on it, tho. A ruling of this type isn't yet appealable (you have to wait until he dismisses the case).
Hat tips to readers Alice Beard and Gene Hoffman...
Permalink · Chicago gun case · Comments (2)
Arrest in Chicago
Pretty disgusting. Icarry.org has set up a defense fund.
Permalink · arms law victims · Comments (11)
9th circuit 14th Amendment case to be argued
Gene Hoffman reports the argument will be held Thursday, January 15, 2009 in the James R. Browning federal courthouse, Courtroom 1. It's at 95 Seventh St. in San Francisco.
Nordyke is the long-lived case in which the 9th Cir. panel, which astonishingly sound fair or even favorable, requested briefing on the 2A/14A issue.
Permalink · Heller aftermath · Comments (1)
Will be a bit distracted today
Off to a two hour doc's appointment. A bald 7/8s caucasian was not designed for the Sonoran Desert, and so they have to attack diffuse solar kerotoses on my top-knot with something that I gather isn't chemo, but is somewhat like it. Cover your scalp with a chemical that is taken up more rapidly by the abnormal cells, then expose scalp to bright light, which activates the chemical and kills them. (It also leaves you very photosensitive for days). Probably not the most fun thing I'll do this week.
UPDATE: got back. OUCH! You aren't kidding that smarts! Rather like having someone give you a bad sunburn, in 20 minutes.
NJ firearm rationing proposals
Scott Bach discusses it. As he points out, NJ already requires a permit for each handgun purchase, which can take months to obtain. Why add one-gun-a-month? Is there any claim that criminal "straw men" are out there getting a dozen permits a month so they can resell?
Permalink · State legislation · Comments (11)
"Palm pistol" may get approved for Medicare and medical insurance
That's big news!
Matt Carmel is, well, an inventive fellow. He designed a gun for self-defense by the handicapped who can't handle a regular gun, patented it, designed it around ATF's definition of "any other weapon," so that they classified it as an ordinary handgun, and now got the FDA to list it as as "medical device." The last means that a physician can prescribe it. His next move is to become a designated Medicare equipment supplier, and then move on to private insurers.
UPDATE: it's covered, in an article at med-gadgets.com.
Instapunk on Plaxico case
He has some fun with it. He suggests that trying to keep players away from guns is like abstinence only training, "What's urgently needed now is more realistic education programs that teach safe illegal gun ownership." "The current abstinence-only approach to gun education in the NFL, NBA, and Major League Baseball has resulted in a tragic victimization of some of the nation's most beloved and vulnerable stupid people."
Permalink · celebrities · Comments (2)
John Lott's latest
Over at the Fox Forum.
"In India, victims watched as armed police cowered and didn’t fire back at the terrorists. A photographer at the scene described his frustration: “There were armed policemen hiding all around the station but none of them did anything. At one point, I ran up to them and told them to use their weapons. I said, ‘Shoot them, they’re sitting ducks!’ but they just didn’t shoot back.”
Meanwhile, according to the hotel company’s chairman, P.R.S. Oberoi, security at “the hotel had metal detectors, but none of its security personnel carried weapons because of the difficulties in obtaining gun permits from the Indian government.”
India has extremely strict gun control laws, but who did it succeed in disarming?
.....
The attack also illustrates what Israelis learned decades ago. — Putting more soldiers or police on the street didn’t stop terrorist’s machine gun attacks. Terrorists would either wait for the armed soldiers or police to leave the area or kill them first. Likewise, in India, the Muslim terrorists’ first targets were those in uniform (whether police or security guards).
Terrorists only stopped using machine guns to attack Israelis once citizens were allowed to carry concealed handguns. In large public gatherings, a significant number of citizens will be able to shoot at terrorists during an attack — and the terrorists don’t know who has them."
Hat tip to reader Bret Gallo!
Permalink · Crime and statistics · Comments (5)
Another Bloomberg Mayor goes down
Birmingham mayor Larry Langford is the first one listed on open letter from Bloomberg's Mayors group.
And he just got arrested on federal felony charges.
I've lost count, but I think that the fourth member of Bloomberg's organization to wind up in the clink.
Permalink · antigun groups · Comments (4)
Court uses Law Enforcement Officers' Safety Act
Story here.
UPDATE: remember that for folks who take duty seriously, it goes beyond legally-enforceable duty. There are also duties, not enforceable in any court, that arise from (1) you feel them (and will feel dishonored if you do not carry them out, to hell with any court) or (2) your peer group does (i.e., anyone who does not follow them will be ostracized).
While I'm on a roll, here is a great move. I heard about it decades ago, no idea if it still works. There are federal laws against "double dipping" -- serve with one agency long enough to draw a pension, retire, get pension, go with another agency and take salary, too. BUT at least back then, Secret Service pensions were drawn thru the DC police department (reimbursed to them by the Feds), and thus not covered. So any federal LEO could move into or out of Secret Service upon retirement without violating the rule about double-dipping. Under the ordinary Fed rules you could retire at 55 if you started while young, and LEOs got an earlier date since they ran risks beyond paper cuts or repetitive motion injury while typing, so it was possible to retire at an age when a person still had a decade or so of ability to work.
And, yes, every fed bureaucrat thinks about retirement, starting about five years after hiring.
Permalink · State legislation · Comments (25)
Making news fit the theme
I was once at a luncheon of a religious group, and one fellow spoke of his experience. It seemed quite incongruous until I realized there was an accepted format (patterned after the conversion of the disciple Paul) and a speaker must try to make his story fit it, as an art form. Sequence had to be (1) he was leading a terribly bad and dissolute life; (2) a sudden revelation of some manner changed him abruptly; (3) thereafter he is imperfect, of course, but much better and his life is good. The problem the speaker had had was with (1). You could sense at once this guy had always been quite decent. The worst example he could come up with for his days of debauchery was a traffic ticket. For a non-moving violation.
Anyway, the LA Times decides it has to make an anti-gunowner story fit its theme : (1) someone says something antigun and (2) Neanderthal gunowners spew hatred and personal threats but (3) the victim is brave and undeterred.
Doesn't fit very well. Despite reference to "loathing," "ire," and "rabid gun owners," the story reveals that she got a total of 30 emails on her article. The one quoted, which I assume is the roughest one sent, read "I hope you get into a situation that causes you to realize there are times when the ONLY tool that will do what you need to protect yourself is a firearm."
He then says her mother feared for her safety, but she is not worried.
Hat tip to reader Robert E. ....
Permalink · media · Comments (4)
More on Plaxico Burress
Details from the New York Post.
1) A classic example of what happens when a doofus who doesn't know a muzzle from a magazine wants to play gangsta. Sounds like he stuck a Glock in his waistband and when (surprise) it slid down his pants he grabbed for it. And grabbed the trigger, too.
2) I wondered why he didn't get the benefit of "many laws, and all gun and drug laws, do not apply to celebrities." He almost did. The club he was attended knew he was carrying, and didn't report the accident. Hospital workers didn't report the gunshot injury, as required by law.
3) The Giants may have to play without calling a huddle. Ahmad Bradshaw took a dive on a larceny rap. So a huddle would involve consorting with known felons, violating both their terms of probation.