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To Violence Policy Center Action Network Members: ALITO NEWS-- As you know, in 1996 Supreme Court Nominee Samuel Alito issued a minority opinion arguing for repeal of the 1986 federal ban on the transfer and possession of new machine guns by civilians. As part of its public education efforts, this week the Violence Policy Center released a new, short, web-based video illustrating the firepower of machine guns. You can view the video at http://www.vpc.org/alito-video.htm. Please forward this e-mail to as many people as you can to show them the devastating effects of these banned guns. Please call your Senators at...

Supreme Court Nominee Samuel Alito’s Views Could Imperil Most Federal Gun, Ammo, and Explosives Laws, New Violence Policy Center Backgrounder Shows Washington, DC--The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released a backgrounder on Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito. Key aspects of the document include: Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito voted to strike down the 1986 federal machine gun ban in the case U.S. v. Rybar, [103 F.3d 273 (3d Cir. 1996)]. Judge Alito was the lone dissenter in the decision upholding the conviction of a gun dealer who sold illegal machine guns at a Pennsylvania gun show. Application of...

BRADY CENTER ANNOUNCES OPPOSITION TO NOMINATION OF JUDGE SAMUEL ALITO TO US SUPREME COURT Alito’s Judicial Activism In Machine Gun Case Prompts Brady Center’s First-Ever Opposition to Supreme Court Nominee For Immediate Release: 12-20-2005 Contact Communications: (202) 289-7319 Washington DC - The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence announced today that it is opposing the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. This is the first time the Brady Center has opposed a Supreme Court nomination. Judge Alito’s nomination poses serious dangers to the safety of our communities, our families, and our children, as evidenced by his...

No surprises here.

FBI: Michigan ranks third in number of reported hate crimes DETROIT (AP) — Michigan ranks third in the nation in the number of reported hate crimes, and officials say those figures appear to be growing. Officials of law enforcement and civil rights organizations held a news conference Tuesday in Detroit to try to stem the increase, pointing out their enforcement and education efforts against bias. "The more these things occur, the more resources we're going to pour into them," said Daniel Roberts, special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit field office. Michigan had more than 500 hate crimes in...

Grandmother, 32, faces fake AMBER Alert charge Friday, November 11, 2005 A 32-year-old Muskegon Township woman has been charged with a misdemeanor after her report of a missing baby and teenage mother -- which resulted in an AMBER Alert Tuesday night -- was proven to be false, authorities say. Christina Faith Petrongelli, of 2535 Friendship Lane, may have been afraid state welfare inspectors were going to take her granddaughter away because of recurring care problems, authorities said. She was arraigned Wednesday before 60th District Judge Andrew Wierengo III and is free on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond. Technically, the charge...

Detroit mayor stages come-from-behind win in re-election 11/9/2005, 10:29 a.m. ET By DAVID RUNK The Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Voters gave Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick the second chance he asked for in a come-from-behind victory, although he said he recognized that his tough re-election bid sent many supporters fleeing. The charismatic 35-year-old credited the support of those who remained loyal — religious leaders, campaign volunteers and family — as he gave thanks to God in an early morning speech Wednesday.

18-year-old write-in candidate elected Hillsdale mayor 11/9/2005, 8:30 a.m. ET The Associated Press HILLSDALE, Mich. (AP) — An 18-year-old high school student has been elected mayor after mounting a write-in campaign to oust the 51-year-old incumbent. With all the votes counted, Michael Sessions had 732 votes to 668 for Mayor Doug Ingles, according to unofficial figures posted on the city's Web site. A cheer went up in the Sessions home when the results were announced over the radio. The Hillsdale High School student lives with his parents and 13-year-old sister Sarah. Scott and Lorri Sessions at first had doubts about...

Worst 10 states for auto-deer collisions Pennsylvania has the highest number of accidents, according to a survey by insurer State Farm. November 4, 2005: 12:59 PM EST NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Pennsylvania ranks first among the top ten worst states for vehicle-deer collisions, according to an insurance survey published Thursday. Citing claim statistics, auto insurer State Farm said that drivers in Pennsylvania experienced more deer collisions than any other state between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005. State Farm estimates that 1.5 million vehicles collide with deer every year, resulting in 150 motorists deaths and $1.1 billion in vehicle...

HOW SAMUEL ALITO TOOK A NO-BRAINER CASE AND STEPPED WAY, WAY OUT OF THE MAINSTREAM For Immediate Release: 11-01-2005 Washington, D.C. - In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the McClure-Volkmer Act, which severely weakened federal gun laws, but had one redeeming provision: it banned transfer and possession of machine guns not legally owned when the Act went into effect. Since then, criminals have repeatedly tried to escape culpability for illegal possession of machine guns by arguing that the ban is unconstitutional. The courts have unanimously upheld the law as constitutional; every Circuit Court of Appeal to consider the issue has...

"MACHINE GUN SAMMY," A PERFECT HALLOWEEN PICK For Immediate Release: 10-31-2005 Contact Communications: (202) 898-0792 Washington, D.C. - How could it have gone in any other direction, from a White House that just gave blanket immunity to the gun industry, which refuses to bar terrorists from buying guns, that broke a campaign promise and put Uzis and AK-47s back on America’s city streets, and insisted that records of gun purchases be destroyed before the sun sets on them twice? It had to be a Supreme Court pick that favors legal machine guns. In 1996, Judge Samuel Alito was the sole...

Second Amendment Tea Leaves for Corrigan, Sykes, Luttig and Alito: In Re Four Possible Supreme Court Nominees. In the case of Love v. Pepersack, Judge Luttig concurred in an opinion rejecting a section 1983 claim for an erroneous denial of a handgun license by the state of Maryland. Judge Luttig's concurrence stated, in its entirity: "I concur only in the judgment reached by the majority, and I do so only because Gardner v. Baltimore Mayor and City Council, 969 F.2d 63 (4th Cir. 1992), is the law of the circuit." The Gardner case involved a narrow interpretation of substantive due...

STATEMENT OF CSGV EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JOSHUA HORWITZ ON GUN INDUSTRY IMMUNITY BILL This bill is based on a series of fabrications and half-truths, and its supporters have twisted the facts in an attempt to defend the indefensible -- the idea that gun sellers should be shielded from the legal consequences of their own misconduct. The National Rifle Association and its allies have claimed that civil lawsuits are a threat to the U.S. firearms industry, yet many of the gun makers involved in irresponsible distribution practices that put firearms in the hands of criminals are foreign corporations. The supporters of this...

President Commends House for Passing the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act" I commend the House for passing the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act." Our laws should punish criminals who use guns to commit crimes, not law-abiding manufacturers of lawful products. This legislation will further our efforts to stem frivolous lawsuits, which cause a logjam in America's courts, harm America's small businesses, and benefit a handful of lawyers at the expense of victims and consumers. I look forward to signing this legislation into law.

Soldier leaves gun in toilet A soldier's weapon has been missing for two days after it was left in a supermarket toilet during a military exercise. An army captain put her waistband holster on top of the cistern in a disabled loo during an exercise on and then left it behind, the Sun reports. The captain, reportedly based at barracks in Chicksands, Bedfordshire, soon realised her blunder and rushed back to the Sainsbury's store in Hitchin. But the US-made Sig Sauer 9mm automatic had gone, along with 13 blanks also in the holster. Hertfordshire police said that the loaded pistol...

The Finest Court in the Nation Hooray for Michigan justice. Among the people recently mentioned as potential U.S. Supreme Court nominees, Maura Corrigan and Robert Young were relatively unknown. But both are noteworthy representatives of what may be the finest court in the nation. For the past six years, the Michigan Supreme Court has been a leader in attempting to restore a proper balance between the judiciary, the legislature and the people. The bloc that constitutes the court's frequent majority--Justices Clifford Taylor, Stephen Markman, Corrigan, Young and, often, Elizabeth Weaver--has consistently refused to substitute its policy preferences for those of...

Fieger to run for attorney general SOUTHFIELD - He's baaack. After several years of maintaining a relatively low profile, wellknown legal eagle Geoffrey Fieger announced Tuesday his intention to run for state attorney general in 2006 on the Democratic ticket. Never one to mince words, Fieger used a news conference at his Southfield office to accuse incumbent Attorney General Mike Cox and Republicans in general of bankrupting the state and kowtowing to corporate interests. He singled out Cox, accusing the fi rst-term prosecutor of not doing enough to advance consumer protections and of giving jobs to campaign contributors. "At a...

An oversupply in housing that has been troubling other southeast Michigan communities has hit Washtenaw County in full force. The result has been stagnant home values for the past two years. There's also evidence that values may be depreciating slightly as competition forces down prices. Experts say the poor Michigan economy, coupled with a flood of new houses, has created the strong buyer's market. "The inventory is greater than Ann Arbor really has ever seen,'' said Elizabeth Brien, a leading agent with the Charles Reinhart Co., a real estate firm dealing with properties throughout Washtenaw County. "And I think it's...

Smoke ban 'to include all pubs' Smoking may be banned in all English pubs, rather than just those which serve food, reports suggest. But officials declined to confirm reports that Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt is planning to restrict tobacco in pubs to "smoking carriage" rooms with no staff, no bar and no food. A Department of Health spokeswoman said that there had so far been no change in the policy outlined in this year's White Paper, which would exempt pubs that do not serve food from the smoking ban. But she added: "Ministers are still considering the response to the...

DNR confirms Montcalm County deer found with encephalitis 10/5/2005, 3:41 p.m. ET The Associated Press FAIRPLAIN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has confirmed that a deer found in Montcalm County's Fairplain Township, which is east of Greenville, tested positive for Eastern equine encephalitis. With the addition of this case announced Wednesday, five deer in Michigan recently have tested positive for the deadly disease, which also poses a health risk to humans. Four infected deer were found late last month in neighboring Kent County's Cannon and Plainfield townships. Michigan is only the third state where the...