Geeks With Guns » Federal

FED SUIT END WONT AFFECT SAF/SEATTLE SUIT

donttreadonme — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:21:09 +0000

Thursday’s announcement by a Kent, WA attorney that he has ended his federal lawsuit against the City of Seattle’s parks gun ban does not affect the on-going state-court case filed jointly by the Second Amendment Foundation and National Rifle Association.

SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb noted Friday morning that there has been some confusion about the two cases. SAF and NRA were joined by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, the Washington Arms Collectors and five individual plaintiffs in their lawsuit, which found the city’s parks gun ban to be in violation of state law. That case has been appealed by the city.

“The federal case, as plaintiff Bob Warden noted in his statement, has never been connected to our case,” Gottlieb clarified. “The SAF/NRA case, which was filed first and has already won in King County Superior Court, remains very much alive and we are confident that we will prevail in the state court of appeals. -[source]

EPA Denial On Lead Hunting Ammunition Ban

donttreadonme — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:35:29 +0000

Facing strong opposition from U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and others, a key federal agency denied a petition Friday seeking a ban on lead ammunition used by hunters.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, however, said it would continue to review another section of the petition on the use of lead in fishing tackle.

In denying the request on banning lead ammunition, EPA said the Toxic Substances Control Act does not give the agency the authority needed to address that issue. -[source]

Federal Attempt to Ban Firearm Sales

donttreadonme — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:54:42 +0000

The rush is on to ban private firearm sales at gun shows under the guise of referring to these sales as a “loophole.”

Federal law does not currently restrict private firearm transfers between law-abiding citizens whether they take place at home or at a gun show, and NAGR is taking a stand to keep it that way.

As you no doubt already know, Michael Bloomberg and his millionaire cronies are pouring their money into a media blitz through their anti-Second Amendment group, Mayor’s Against Illegal Guns.-[source]

EPA Considering Ban on Traditional Ammunition

donttreadonme — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:49:41 +0000

With the fall hunting season fast approaching, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Lisa Jackson, who was responsible for banning bear hunting in New Jersey, is now considering a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) – a leading anti-hunting organization – to ban all traditional ammunition under the Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976, a law in which Congress expressly exempted ammunition. If the EPA approves the petition, the result will be a total ban on all ammunition containing lead-core components, including hunting and target-shooting rounds. The EPA must decide to accept or reject this petition by November 1, 2010, the day before the midterm elections.-[source]

LI GROUP GIVES SAF $2K FOR LAWSUIT HELP

donttreadonme — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:55:09 +0000

Long Island Firearms has contributed $2,000 to the Second Amendment Foundation to support its legal actions, including a lawsuit in Westchester County challenging a state law that allows carry licenses to be denied because applicants cannot show “good cause.”

This is the second such contribution from a New York group. Earlier, the Shooters Committee On Political Education (SCOPE) contributed to the SAF legal action effort.

“SAF is very grateful for this level of support from Long Island Firearms,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The level of support we are getting from New York gun owners clearly demonstrates their dedication to correcting the Empire State’s onerous gun laws. For far too long, officials in the Empire State have treated the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms as a highly-regulated privilege. It is time for that to end.”-[source]

National Lawmakers In Chicago To Push Gun Control

donttreadonme — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:23:36 +0000

National lawmakers were in Chicago holding a Congressional hearing on proposed gun control legislation today.

The Closing the Gun Show Loophole Act would require private sellers at gun shows to perform background checks before selling firearms. Illinois passed a similar law in 2005.-[source]

Gun Show Bill A De-Facto Ban

donttreadonme — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 19:59:16 +0000

Rabidly anti-gun Congressman Mike Quigley (IL-5) will be holding a public hearing on a bill he has co-sponsored that would put gun shows under the supervision of the federal government.

The bill, HR 2324, would subject gun show hosts to a slew of pointless, time consuming regulations in addition to heaping all sorts of red tape and record keeping requirements on gun show hosts and participants.

The ultimate goal of Quigley’s bill is to make hosting a gun show too much of a hassle to endure. As a result, this bill would quickly make gun shows disappear all together.

It should be noted that Congressman Mark Kirk (IL-10) is another co-sponsor of this slap to the face of the 2nd Amendment.-[source]

SAF SUES CHICAGO OVER RANGE ON 1A, 2A GROUNDS

donttreadonme — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 03:00:07 +0000

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) today filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City of Chicago’s new gun ordinance, asserting that “by banning gun ranges open to the public…under color of law,” the city is depriving citizens of their right to keep and bear arms in violation of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Joining SAF in this lawsuit are the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA), Action Target, Inc., and three individual plaintiffs including a retired Chicago police detective. They are represented by attorneys Alan Gura of Virginia and David Sigale of Chicago, who teamed up with SAF and ISRA on the landmark case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, which incorporated the Second Amendment to the states, effectively striking down Chicago’s 28-year-old handgun ban.

“While the city has adopted new regulations that make it legal to own handguns,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “they have crafted this new ordinance to make it virtually impossible for prospective gun owners to meet all legal requirements unless they travel outside the city for mandatory training. The new ordinance prohibits public gun ranges inside the city yet the city demands that handgun owners get at least one hour of range training time.

“This is a ‘Catch-22’ scenario,” he continued, “that seems deliberately designed to discourage Chicago residents from exercising their firearm civil rights barely two months after those rights were restored by the Supreme Court.”-[source]

Federal Suit Over Nevada’s State Parks Gun Ban

donttreadonme — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 22:07:11 +0000

A Colorado legal foundation has filed a federal lawsuit challenging Nevada’s law that generally bans the possession of loaded guns in state parks.

Attorneys for the Mountain States Legal Foundation in Denver, along with Elko attorney Robert Salyer, filed suit in U.S. District Court for Nevada this week in behalf of Al Baker, an Idaho outdoorsman who said he was threatened with six months’ jail time if he fired his gun in Nevada state parks — even in self defense.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling that the Second Amendment applies to the states via the 14th Amendment makes it clear that the Nevada law is unconstitutional and must be stricken,” William Perry Pendley, president of the Mountain States Legal Foundation, said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

A spokesman for the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, parent agency of the Nevada Division of State Parks, said the agency hadn’t seen the suit and had no immediate comment on it. State parks in the Las Vegas area are the Valley of Fire, Spring Mountain Ranch and Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort.

The Mountain States Legal Foundations says it is a nonprofit, public interest law firm dedicated to individual liberty, the right to own and use property, limited and ethical government and economic freedom.

In announcing the Idaho lawsuit, Pendley cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 28 ruling striking down a Chicago ordinance banning handgun ownership and finding “the right to keep and bear arms [is] among those fundamental rights necessary to our system of ordered liberty.”-[source]

NRA Opposes Kagan

donttreadonme — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:49:43 +0000

There may be no vote a United States Senator casts that is more important than a vote to confirm a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Now that the Court has clearly stated that the Second Amendment is a fundamental, individual right that applies to all law-abiding Americans, NRA members and gun owners expect a nominee to the Court to fully support, defend and preserve that freedom.

We have carefully examined the career, written documents and public statements of nominee Elena Kagan and have found nothing to indicate any support for the Second Amendment. On the contrary, the facts reveal a nominee who opposes Second Amendment rights and is clearly out of step with mainstream Americans.

Therefore, the NRA is strongly opposed to Kagan’s confirmation to the Court.-[source]