Self-defense laws on the rise

[Bill Glasheen]

"BRIEF FOR FORMER DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OFFICIALS AS AMICI CURIAE
SUPPORTING PETITIONERS" is the one I kind of liked. Not that I agree totally with it's position, but I like its structure and how it's written. And don't think I didn't notice that almost all of the people mentioned at the end were Democrat appointees. But, it is not my intention to get into a debate on gun control laws.

Cheers,
Gene

They're all just opinions, Gene.

It'll all get sorted out by SCOTUS.

Bill

[Rising Star]

This case is scheduled to be heard on March 18, 2008.

John

[RACastanet]

This is an enormous win for self defense. Our Senators and 2nd Amendment groups have done a great job.

Here is a local release from the Virginia Citizens Defense League:

VCDL has just learned that the Department of the Interior (DOI) is
beginning the process of allowing the lawful carry of firearms for
self-defense in National Parks!!!!!

The efforts of VCDL, which includes TWO Petitions for Rule Making
cosigned by Gun Owners of America, Citizens Committee for the Right to
Keep and Bear Arms, and a host of state organizations (the VCDL web
site lists all of the cosigners), as well as the NRA doing a separate
effort in tandem which culminated in a letter from 51 U.S. Senators to
the DOI, has just paid off!

The NRA has just put the announcement up on their web site, along with
a copy of a letter from the Secretary of DOI, Dirk Kempthorne, to U.S.
Senator Mike Crapo.

The letter discusses having the National Parks assimilate the gun laws
of the state where a park is located - exactly what our Petition for
Rule Making was asking for.

The letter says that the plan is for DOI to create a new regulation by
April 30th and to get public comment on it (as is the proper way for
such regulations to be implemented).

Rich

[Bill Glasheen]

Here's a bill in Virginia's General Assembly that caught my eye, or shall we say my ear. I heard it discussed this morning on the local AM radio station. Being the owner of a concealed carry permit and always being the designated driver, it would apply to me.

This from the Richmond Times Dispatch

In Virginia, you can walk into a bar and have an 80 proof bourbon with a .44 magnum -- as long as the gun is visible.

But a proposed change to the state's gun law would allow the gun to be concealed -- provided its owner has a carry permit and doesn't drink alcohol.

The Senate Courts of Justice Committee voted 9-4 yesterday to forward Senate Bill 476 to the full Senate for consideration.

The debate over the measure was not as one-sided as the vote in the Democratic-controlled committee. At least one senator and an advocate for restaurant owners expressed concern that the proposed law would place the decision on whether a gun carrier should consume alcohol solely on the person carrying the concealed weapon.

The current law stipulates that weapons must be visible, and it forbids people from carrying concealed weapons into restaurants where alcohol is served. Opponents said bartenders and others who serve alcohol would have no reliable way of knowing whether someone they were serving was carrying a weapon.

"How are they going to know?" asked Sen. Richard L. Saslaw, D-Fairfax, one of four who voted against the bill, sponsored by Sen. Emmett W. Hanger Jr., R-Augusta.

Hanger, flanked by representatives of the National Rifle Association and three gun-rights groups, countered that the laws are made for law-abiding citizens, and said the overwhelming majority of gun owners with concealed carry permits are law-abiding.

He cited NRA statistics saying that of the 150,000 people licensed to carry a concealed weapon in Virginia, less than half of 1 percent lose their privilege each year.

The current law puts restaurant owners on notice and lets them make the decision on whether to serve a patron, said Tom Lisk of the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association.

"When it's concealed, you take that discretion out of the restaurant owner's hands."

"People make mistakes," Lisk said. "Particularly when alcohol is involved."

The existing law and the proposed law still give restaurant owners the discretion to prohibit people who are carrying firearms from entering their establishments.

[RACastanet]

Here is a good law just signed by the gov:

Wyoming Governor signs emergency powers bill
- Star-Tribune
Gov. Dave Freudenthal on Friday signed into law a bill that prohibits government officials from confiscating guns from law-abiding citizens.

I expect we will see a number of laws like this enacted across the US.

Rich

[Van Canna]

what is the real impact upon gun ownership and right to carry concealed _should the likes of Clinton or Obama get to the oval office?

[RACastanet]

Van: With a Dem run congress things could be bleak. However, if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the of the right to keep and bear arms as an individual right this spring we could see an avalanche of pro gun legislation before the year ends.

Rich

[Van Canna]

Thanks, Rich.

On another note, the other day I mistakenly strayed into Connecticut with a concealed pistol. Don't have a carry license in that state.

What could have happened, had I been found with the gun by the cops?

What can you say to them explaining an honest mistake

[RACastanet]

Wow, could have been a problem. I really do not know CT laws but while not as anti gun as MA they are not gun friendly, and are getting worse.

CT is not shall issue but does issue out of state permits. You might want to apply for one. I might try to get one as my aging in-laws in Hartford may require some assistance soon and I would like to carry if there for an extended period. Also, that would help a bit while transiting MD, NJ and NY as federal law allows me to transport an unloaded handgun, in a sealed container, from a place I am allowed to possess said firearm to a place I am allowed to possess said firearm.

Despite the recent veto of two pro gun bills in VA we are still well off down here. Two bills were signed that improved our second amendment rights, if only a little bit. As long as I stay south of DC and MD I am set all over the southeast. I'm also ok in PA, OH and much of the midwest except for Obama friendly Illionois.

Rich

[Van Canna]

Yeah, could have been a real problem. Was just wondering if the police would have any discretion upon hearing an honest mistake.

Easy to do. Like today I was joy-riding in backwoods country and suddenly found myself into RI

[Van Canna]

Thomas Paine:

“The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms, like laws, discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside… Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them...”—Thoughts on Defensive War in 1775

[Van Canna]

And from the world’s gentlest human being:

“If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”—The Dalai Lama (May 15, 2001, The Seattle Times), speaking at the “Educating Heart Summit” in Portland, Oregon, when asked by a girl how to react when a shooter takes aim at a classmate.

[Van Canna]

And lastly, opinions from a couple of bad guys:

“Gun control? It’s the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I’m a bad guy, I’m always gonna have a gun. Safety locks? You’ll pull the trigger with a lock on, and I’ll pull the trigger. We’ll see who wins.”—Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, Mafia hit man

�A system of licensing and registration is the perfect device to deny gun ownership to the bourgeoisie.�—Vladimir Ilyich Lenin“The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms.

History shows that all conquerors who have allowed the subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty.”—Adolf Hitler (H.R. Trevor-Roper, Hitler’s Table Talks 1941-1944)

[Gene DeMambro]

Don't be too down on a Democratic Cngress. Many of the new Democrats elected into office ran on a pro-gun platform, and many of the others from Southern and Western states know that any real gun control measures might just be the kiss of death for them politically. And besides, gun rights are typically a state issue.

I, too, am interested in what the Nine Wise have to say on the issue.

Cheers,
Gene

[Bill Glasheen]

Indeed the upcoming Supreme Court interpretations of the Second Ammendment - something The Court has conspicuously avoided in the past - could very well trump some of the state-by-state regulations.

We shall see...

- Bill