Free Republic

Questions from aldermen about proposed amendments to the City's weapons ordinance led to postponement of the vote to amend the ordinance, scheduled for the July 28 City Council meeting, until at least the Aug. 11 meeting. The Council directed the City's law department to draft an ordinance that would comply with the recent U.S. Supreme Court Decision Heller v. District of Columbia, which held that Washington, D.C.'s ban on the private possession of handguns was unconstitutional. Evanston's present weapons ordinance similarly bans the possession of handguns in the City by civilians, with certain exceptions, such as antique guns and starter...

Last week police confiscated a small arsenal of illegal guns, ammunition and other assorted weapons from the Marstons Mills home of Kenneth Webster. On July 1 police also removed several guns and knives that had been on his person and in his car. In total, more than 50 weapons were taken from Webster including a sawed-off shotgun, an M14 automatic rifle and a sniper rifle. When he was arrested on July 1 Webster reportedly told police that he had a constitutional right to own those guns. If that sounds scary, here's something scarier. There are a lot of people out...

As the District prepares to fight double-barreled attempts to loosen its gun-control laws, some of the city's gun rights pioneers have done what folks in Washington do best — they have formed a lobbying group. About a dozen residents have pledged their support to Capital Gun Owners, a new D.C.-based gun advocacy and education group headed by Northwest resident Amy McVey. "We're at a point where we're feeling our way here," said Mrs. McVey, who was the first D.C. resident to register a handgun after the District's 32-year-old ban on handguns was struck down by the Supreme Court in June....

When Washington, D.C. residents open three of their local papers this morning, they'll see a statement - and an invitation - from the firearms industry. The Full-page ad, running in the Washington Post, Washington Times and The Hill tells residents, media members and the ever-present politicians about a firearms training opportunity put together by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade organization described in the ad as representing a "responsible industry". Click here to see the ad in full-resolution The ad's not exactly the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, but it is an aggressive move from an industry organization I've...

District of Columbia continues to violate civil rights By Charles Bloomer web posted August 4, 2008 In the aftermath of the Supreme Court's decision shooting down the District of Columbia's total handgun ban, the D.C. government passed emergency legislation to regulate handguns owned by its subjects – I mean, citizens. The new gun registration law was developed to be as difficult and inconvenient as possible with no regard for its effectiveness. In fact, the new law retains much of the previous gun ban, including provisions that the Supreme Court called unconstitutional. Despite the Supreme Court ruling, the new law outlaws...

D.C. liberals refuse to follow the Supreme Court's ruling and are so lawless and out of control that the Democrats in Congress have decided that that District officials may be unfit to make their own gun laws.

In the wake of three murders and the recent attack on a federal prosecutor in a New York courtroom, a group representing the nation's federal prosecutors is calling for stepped-up security, including home alarms, self-defense training and the right to carry firearms. Additionally, the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, which represents the country's 5,400 federal prosecutors, wants secure parking for prosecutors, particularly those who handle dangerous criminal cases. "Statistically, we are threatened more than judges," said Steve Cook, chairman of the NAAUSA security committee and a Tennessee federal prosecutor. "Security is a very important issue for us." In a...

It is fair to say that one or two cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court stand out each term. I think it is evident that this term’s most salient case is District of Columbia v. Heller. In that 5-4 decision, the Court struck down the District of Columbia’s ban on the possession of privately owned handguns within District limits. In so doing, the Court clarified the meaning of the Second Amendment for the first time in almost 70 years by endorsing an individual right to keep and bear arms. Aside from its significance in partially resolving the meaning of...

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have agreed to allow a vote next month on a bill that would end local handgun control in the District, making it easier for D.C. residents to acquire pistols, including semiautomatics, while eliminating the strict handgun-storage requirements imposed by the city. Supporters say the bill has a good chance of passing the House, where pro-gun measures are popular. But it is unclear whether it would succeed in the Senate, where complex rules make it harder to push through legislation. "This poses a real danger," Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said, criticizing the...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   Massachusetts: Heller Resolution Passes House!   Monday, August 04, 2008   Please Keep Checking www.NRAILA.org for Further Updates! Before adjourning last week, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed House Resolution 5029, sponsored by State Representative George Peterson (Ninth Worcester), recognizing the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming that the Second Amendment guarantees the individual's right to keep and bear arms. The House voted 115 - 40 to approve the resolution.  To see how your representative voted, click here http://www.goal.org/PDF/SCOTUSResolution.pdf, and please continue checking www.NRAILA.org for further updates!   Text of House Resolution 5029 Whereas, On Thursday, June...

City Hall Reporter/fspielman@suntimes.com Mayor Daley on Friday cracked the door open to abandoning the costly fight to uphold Chicago's 1982 handgun freeze -- if he can fashion a replacement ordinance that protects the safety of first-responders. Until now, Daley had promised to defend Chicago's ordinance all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, despite what he called the dangerous precedent set by the court. RELATED STORIES Daley pushing new gun ban measure Chicago continues to enforce gun ban On June 26, the Supreme Court overturned a Washington, D.C., handgun ban on grounds that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to...

After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the District of Columbia’s ban on firearms was unconstitutional, the City Council approved new firearms legislation that allows residents to apply for handgun permits. This is the normal course of business a governmental body takes when the Supreme Court determines whatever it was doing was unconstitutional. That is unless it’s the D.C. City Council that’s acting unconstitutional. The Associated Press headline was “D.C. will accept gun-permit applications.” But the real headline should have been, “D.C. defies Supreme Court ruling on handguns.” That’s because the City Council refuses to follow the ruling of the...

New Supreme Court Ruling Is Cited Repeatedly in City Gun Cases If New York's strict antigun laws are overturned in the near future, it may be the work of a hot dog vendor. The vendor, Daniel Vargas, is due next month in court to fight misdemeanor charges that he kept an unlicensed revolver loaded on a basement shelf in his apartment. The case, which has generated 23 hearings and been heard by no fewer than 10 different judges as it winds through Brooklyn's lowest criminal court, would be of little general interest, except for the fact that the U.S. Supreme...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683 Bi-Partisan Bill Introduced to Restore the Second Amendment Rights of D.C. Residents Thursday, July 31, 2008  Fairfax, VA -- Today, in a bi-partisan effort,  Congressmen Travis Childers, John Dingell, John Tanner, Mike Ross and Mark Souder, along with 47 of their colleagues,  introduced the Second Amendment Enforcement Act (H.R. 6691).  This critical legislation overturns D.C.'s recently enacted emergency laws that continue to defy the recent Supreme Court ruling by continuing to restrict District of Columbia residents' right to self-defense.  This National Rifle Association-backed bill is needed to enforce the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller.     ...

There is one way for the city to deal with concerns and that’s though bringing gun safety education to Chicago’s gun owners. That’s simple enough. Daley can and should call on the world’s greatest firearm training resource, The National Rifle Association. Daley needs to get facilities open in Chicago for training civilians about safety, the laws and liabilities of the justifiable use of deadly force. The Chicago Police Department needs to work out a protocol with armed civilians to avoid unnecessary tragedies.

Mayor Daley today cracked the door open to abandoning the costly fight to uphold Chicago’s 1982 handgun freeze—if he can fashion a replacement ordinance that protects the safety of first-responders. Until now, Daley had emphatically promised to defend Chicago’s ordinance—all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if need be—despite what he called the dangerous precedent set by the nation’s highest court...

If New York's strict antigun laws are overturned in the near future, it may be the work of a hot dog vendor. The vendor, Daniel Vargas, is due next month in court to fight misdemeanor charges that he kept an unlicensed revolver loaded on a basement shelf in his apartment. The case, which has generated 23 hearings and been heard by no fewer than 10 different judges as it winds through Brooklyn's lowest criminal court, would be of little general interest, except for the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the Second Amendment protects a right to...

D.C. officials are trying to beat back an effort by some lawmakers to send a bill to the House floor that would dramatically weaken the city's gun laws. The gun bill, co-sponsored by Reps. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) and Mark Souder (R-Ind.), was introduced previously and stalled. The measure now stands a good chance of gaining approval by the House of Representatives because of an unusual legislative maneuver, congressional staff members and observers said. Souder said he acted because the D.C. government has made only limited changes to its 32-year-old handgun ban since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that...

GUILDERLAND -- When Lou Matteo got his handgun collection back, town police averted a legal battle based on a new U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding an individual's right to own a gun. Matteo, 75, turned over his firearms in March after a verbal spat with his wife led to an order of protection against him. Guilderland police refused to give the guns back, citing a federal law barring anyone under an order of protection from possessing firearms. But on June 26, the nation's high court struck down a District of Columbia ban on handguns. The ruling also said long-standing provisions...

The District of Columbia is being sued again over its gun control laws, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the city must allow its citizens to arm themselves for self-defense. The Supreme Court ruled late last month that Washington, DC's, handgun ban and its trigger lock requirement were unconstitutional violations of the Second Amendment. Stephen Halbrook is the attorney for Security Officer Dick Heller, who first sued DC over its gun control laws. Halbrook says Heller -- who works as a private security guard in a federal courts building -- is taking the District to court again. "They're trying...