Fox News: Sotomayor's gun control positions could prompt backlash:
Judge Sonia Sotomayor could walk into a firestorm on Capitol Hill over her stance on gun rights, with conservatives beginning to question some controversial positions she's taken over the past several years on the Second Amendment.
Earlier this year, President Obama's Supreme Court nominee joined an opinion with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Second Amendment rights do not apply to the states.
A 2004 opinion she joined also cited as precedent that "the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right."
Ken Blackwell, a senior fellow with the Family Research Council, called Obama's nomination a "declaration of war against America's gun owners."
Such a line of attack could prove more effective than efforts to define Sotomayor as pro-abortion, efforts that essentially grasp at straws. Sotomayor's record on that hot-button issue reveals instances in which she has ruled against an abortion rights group and in favor of anti-abortion protesters, making her hard to pigeonhole.
But Sotomayor's position on gun control is far more crystallized. ...
NRA stays out of nomination battle, for now:
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is staying on the sidelines in the battle over Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, to the dismay of conservative activists who hoped that the gun-rights group would pressure conservative Democratic senators to oppose her.
Republicans have repeatedly tried to draw the NRA into court fights over the years but with little success. The Bush administration, for example, tried to persuade the group to support a number of its nominees, as did Senate Republicans.
...
But a spokesman for the organization said it’s staying on the sidelines for now.
“Right now we have a lot of concerns and questions and we hope to have those addressed during the confirmation hearing and throughout the process,” said Andrew Arulanandam, an NRA spokesman. “As far as our actions, we reserve the right to do anything based on what we find out.
“All options are on the table,” he added. “As we speak today, we’re waiting for the confirmation process. A research team is looking into her record on our issue.” ...
[Ohio] More women buying and carrying guns [video available at the link]:
An unprecedented number of women are taking their protection into their own hands by getting a gun. Gun stores are seeing more women customers than anyone can remember. Many women are also getting permits to carry a concealed weapon.
Local 12 Reporter Liz Bonis shows us why many women are in a hurry to arm themselves.
When Jenny Jeffery recently made the decision to get a license to conceal and carry a weapon she says it wasn't because she feels threatened right now, but rather:
Jenny Jeffery, Gun Owner: "What I saw, where society was going as a whole, and the need to step up and be proactive in my safety and that of my family."
Apparently, Jeffery is not alone. Homer Cole has owned Shooters Supply for nearly a decade. Cole says, when it comes to sales of guns to girls...
[Nevada] Hunters may feel effects of ammo shortage:
It's the last week of May, and Nevada hunters soon will grow anxious awaiting the results of the big game tag draw. Those results should be available before long, but knowing whether you received a tag won't do you any good if you don't have ammo for your favorite hunting rifle.
"Yesterday I ordered two boxes of Remington Express shells in .243 caliber," one concerned reader recently wrote by e-mail. "Cabela's says maybe they will be available by late May. You could do hunters a real service by warning them of the ammo and component shortages. I am afraid if someone waits until the last minute they won't be able to make purchases in time."
My guess is the writer meant those who procrastinate buying ammunition could find themselves out of luck in the fall. I understand his concerns, and so should anyone who has shopped for ammo or reloading components lately. The wait in a Colorado firearms store my brother frequents is often several hours, and that's just to ask the guy behind the counter whether he has a certain caliber in stock. Many times the answer is no. Of course, he'll gladly put your name on a waiting list.
There is no waiting list, however, if you are interested in buying a military surplus rifle with a hard-to-pronounce name and Eastern European origins. For these he has plenty of ammo.
Here in town, a large department store near my home reportedly has limited the amount of ammunition a single buyer can purchase on a given day. But according to a friend who sometimes buys his ammo there, by noon there's not much left. ...
[Tennessee] Gov. Bredesen vetoes restaurant carry bill:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Gov. Phil Bredesen on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have allowed Tennessee handgun permit holders to take their weapons into establishments that serve alcohol.
He made the announcement at a late afternoon news conference where he was joined by police chiefs and district attorneys from around the state.
“Tennessee state law has long prohibited the possession of firearms in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol,” Bredesen said. “House Bill 962 would remove this protection in a manner that I, along with many law enforcement officers, believe to be reckless and lacking basic safeguards to ensure public safety. I respectfully ask the Legislature to rethink this issue.”
The measure passed the state House 66-23 and Senate 24-7 earlier this month. A simple majority is required in each chamber to override a veto. ...
Comment: The bill passed both chambers by wide margins, so I suspect a veto override, which requires only a simple majority in Tennessee, will get the bill passed into law soon.
[Tennessee] NRA says Gov. Bredesen "betrayed trust" by vetoing restaurant carry bill:
NASHVILLE — The National Rifle Association is accusing Gov. Phil Bredesen of having “betrayed” a “trust” by vetoing legislation Thursday allowing handgun-carry permit holders to bring loaded weapons into establishments selling alcohol.
The executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, Chris Cox, in a statement called the veto “a shock and a major disappointment to gun owners and supporters of the Second Amendment because Governor Bredesen had committed to supporting this legislation.”
“During the 2006 campaign, Governor Bredesen assured Tennesseans — and the NRA in writing — that he would support this effort. NRA’s endorsement of Governor Bredesen that year centered largely on this promise. Today, that trust has been betrayed,” Mr. Cox said. [emphasis added] ...
[Washington] Seattle mayor, gun rights advocates in stalemate:
At least eight innocuous signs posted around the Seattle Center over the Memorial Day weekend during the Folklife Festival declared “No firearms allowed at this event or on these premises.”
The signs had no force of law, there was no authority cited, and there are anecdotal reports from some in the gun rights community that armed citizens simply ignored those signs, kept their pistols tucked under cover garments, vests or loose shirts, and contrary to what anti-gun Mayor Greg Nickels would have had everyone believe would happen, nobody got hurt.
For months, the mayor had been blustering and threatening and promising that he would issue an “executive order” banning firearms from all city property, including those carried legally by private citizens. For just as long, the Second Amendment Foundation in Bellevue, its sister organization, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the National Rifle Association, have been waiting.
Those groups are ready to hit Nickels with a lawsuit and he knows it. ...
[Germany] German cabinet approves more gun controls:
BERLIN -- Germany's cabinet approved legislation that would tighten gun restrictions, two months after a teenager shot and killed 12 people.
The law, which requires parliamentary approval, would mean stricter checks on weapons owners and a higher age limit for users of large-caliber weapons.
...
The Interior Ministry said the legislation also foresees an amnesty under which people could hand in illegally held weapons until the end of 2009. The government's plan calls for expanding inspections to determine whether people with weapons licenses are locking up their guns at home securely, as required. ...
[Germany] Another article on the proposed gun controls:
Under legislation to be put to a vote in parliament next month, Germany's gun owners, who number between 10 and 12 million, would be subject to unannounced random checks of how and where they store their weapons. [emphasis added]
If guns are accessible to anyone other than the license holder, that person will be subject to punishment. If a judge finds that someone deliberately allowed adolescents access to firearms, that person will face a prison sentence.
The age of those allowed to use high-caliber firearms will also be raised from 14 to 18. The Social Democrats wanted to ban high-caliber rifles altogether, but the ministers agreed not to go that far.
The bill also tightens up penalties for those who neglect the terms of gun licenses, which are required before being allowed to possess a weapon in Germany. ...
[Georgia] State rep gets county gun ban dropped:
State Representative Timothy Bearden (R - 68) is a member of the National Rifle Association and GeorgiaCarry.Org. He is also the author of the 2008 Georgia bill that removed the restriction on carrying firearms in restaurants that serve alcohol, state parks, and mass transit. So he was rather shocked to discover last week that his home county, Carroll County, had banned the carry of firearms at Snake Creek Reservoir when it opened the reservoir to public fishing. It is rule 3 on this pdf file brochure.
The new gun ban did not last long.
Georgia has a state law preempting local regulation pertaining to the carry or possession of firearms. A telephone call from Rep. Bearden to Carroll County put a quick stop to the new gun ban rule.
Carroll County has assured Rep. Bearden that the sign purporting to ban firearms will come down soon. ...
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment