Could Ninth Amendment Decide Heller?: ...While it appears unlikely that the Supreme Court will disregard 200 years of precedent by reversing or distinguishing its decisions in Miller and Lewis, it may very well decide that the Ninth Amendment, rather than the Second, provides a qualified individual right to bear arms. The Ninth Amendment, which guarantees all rights of a free people not specifically enumerated in the Constitution, could be applied by the high court to permit reasonable gun legislation protecting the rights of hunters and the right of law-abiding private citizens to possess a gun for personal protection. http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/anothervoice/story/220468.html --- Gun Bans Lead To Increases In Violent Crime: The problem with Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban - as anyone who can look up the crime numbers will see - is that D.C.'s murder and violent crime rates went up, not down, after the ban. Prior to the ban DC's murder rate was falling. After the ban, DC's murder rate rose, and only once fell below what it was in 1976, says John Lott, Senior Research Scientist at the University of Maryland. Further: * The District's ban specifically points to Great Britain's handgun ban in January 1997; but the number of deaths and injuries from gun crime in England and Wales increased 340 percent in the seven years from 1998 to 2005. * The rates of serious violent crime, armed robberies, rapes and homicide have also soared. * Similar experiences have been seen with other bans, such as those in Ireland and Jamaica http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=15315 --- How Does This Judge Get These Cases?: The docket of Judge Jack Weinstein in Brooklyn has long been a magnet for big lawsuits with billions of dollars at stake. In case after case involving guns, cigarettes, Agent Orange, breast implants, typing keyboards, asbestos, and pharmaceuticals, manufacturers have defended their products before the now 86-year-old federal judge...By and large, these suits, about 20 in all, against the tobacco and firearm industries didn't arrive on Judge Weinstein's docket through a "spin of the wheel" - the random case assignment process by which suits are sent to judges. Instead, plaintiffs in the know have long used an administrative shortcut to maneuver lawsuits against the same set of defendants into the courtroom of their choice. Their choice is often Judge Weinstein... http://www.nysun.com/article/67380 --- Controversy Continues Over Texas Shootings: There seems to be some confusion here. Joe Horn is not a hero. The Pasadena homeowner certainly had a chance to be a hero, but he gave up that opportunity as soon as he allowed fear, adrenaline, suburban angst, Old West entitlement or all of the aforementioned to overwhelm his ability to think rationally and consider the consequences of his actions...It will be up to a Harris County grand jury to decide whether Horn's actions were criminal. Although a Texas law allows citizens to use deadly force to protect neighbors' property, some experts say the statute only applies to nighttime incidents. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5349444.html --- ABC Distorts Texas Castle Doctrine: Laura Whitley of ABC Houston affiliate KTRK covering a recent self-defense story where Rodney Shamlin was shot by homeowner Gary Southworth, wrote: A new law that just went into effect in September allows Texans to defend themselves with deadly force in their homes, cars and work places. The Castle Doctrine removes the requirement that a person must attempt to retreat before using deadly force. Whitley's claim that Castle Doctrine supposedly "allows Texans to defend themselves with deadly force in their homes, cars and work places" is revisionism at its best. But she never addresses a primary criteria for including the above paragraph: Does this incident have anything to do with Castle Doctrine or does prior self-defense law apply? http://newsbusters.org/blogs/howard-nemerov/2007/12/03/abc-advocating-biased-concoctions --- Protection Order Fails, Handgun Doesn't: A Colorado Springs woman had a restraining order against a man she shot and killed Monday morning at her east-side home, police spokesman Lt. Skip Arms said. Lisa Jean Hinkle, 52, shot Kyle Levi Haner, 27, once in the chest with a handgun shortly after 9 a.m. at 1222 Lewis Lane near Galley Road and Powers Boulevard, police said. Immediately after the shooting, Hinkle called 911 to report shooting a man in self-defense, according to police. http://www.gazette.com/articles/woman_30463___article.html/police_called.html --- Oops, Wrong Liquor Store: Friends of liquor store owner Charles Kellogg said Wednesday he is having a difficult time coming to terms with taking a life. Tuesday night, the 74-yearold shot to death a young man police say tried to rob the store owner at gunpoint. Wednesday morning, a steady stream of friends and customers came by his store to show their support. Kellogg declined to comment...He said Kellogg is a former Detroit police officer, though the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards could not confirm that Wednesday. He has had the liquor store for more than 20 years, Sigala said. http://www.gazette.com/articles/store_30237___article.html/owner_police.html%20-%2049k%20-%202007-11- --- Not Too Bright: A Clinton Township man woke up Monday to the sound of a burglar in his condo and chased him away with a gun. He thought that would be the end of it, until the man came out of nowhere and charged at him. That's when the gun fired. According to police, the man had returned home after a 10-day hunting trip. He heard a noise and chased the burglar away with a gun. The condo owner then knocked on his neighbor's door and asked them to call police. That's when the suspect came back and charged at him... http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/14758493/detail.html http://www.wxyz.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=401fd700-4dc3-44c8-8ac7-e390f6871a55 --- Shotgun Versus Pit Bull: No charges were filed against a man who shot his neighbor's dog in the face after a deputy determined in was done in self defense. A Crestview woman called authorities after her red nose pittbull came home from chasing a cat with a bloody face, according to a report from the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office... As the dog was approaching, he fired one shot in at its head. The animal ran away after being hit. (It sounds as though the dog was shot with birdshot, which should give pause to those who advocate its use for defensive purposes.) http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/10495 --- Canada Has Trouble Arming Border Guards: Ottawa is facing a multimillion-dollar bill to find work for border guards who can't - or won't - carry guns, newly released documents show. The Canada Border Services Agency began arming its officers with 9-millimetre pistols in August, and so far 150 volunteers have successfully completed the training. Eventually, the agency plans to arm 4,800 border guards at all land and marine border crossings, though not at airports. But an internal analysis indicates that between 25 and 30 per cent of those guards will be unable or unwilling to carry sidearms - as many as 1,440 employees. http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=802470&auth=Dean+Beeby --- Raffle To Benefit Kids With Cancer: Cops4Kids Raffle Package, worth $10,000, includes a vintage Colt Lightweight Commander pistol. This is one of the classic, most-carried Colts from another generation, brought up to date with the finest gunsmithing of the 21st Century. Gunsmith Ted Yost straightened the frame lines, high cut the grip frame, hand cut the checkering of the front strap and mainspring housing, rounded the butt on rear of the mainspring housing, hand made the English walnut stocks, and high cut the grip frame. Georgia pistolsmith John Harrison fit and blended the beavertail grip safety, and custom contoured the thumb safety. Master smith C.T. Brian installed the match barrel & bushing, the oversize ejector and oversize firing pin stop, lowered and flared the ejection port, flattened and serrated the top of the slide (with mirages). He installed the extreme low mount fixed sights, flat-backed and serrated the rear of the slide, put on an American border, made the Hi-Power cuts, re-profiled the slide stop, installed a stainless recoil spring plug, and beveled the slide bottom. The accompanying custom folding knife was built by Jim Burke, one of the finest knife makers working today. The knife's anodized titanium handles incorporate a handsome hole pattern. This year's knife is a custom frame-locking Mini Urban Warrior from Jim. The ceramic blasted and brushed tanto blade is not his normal signature pattern, but he does a fantastic job and it really sets the knife off. The 3 -3/4 inch blade is constructed of 154CPM steel which is perfect for a rugged everyday carry knife. The knife is finished off with matching pocket clip. Josh Bulman of Bulman Gunleather crafted the fine leather for this project. The holster is one of his in-house designs that is reminiscent of the classic Seventrees design. It is perfect for all day concealed carry. The leather package comes with a dual magazine carrier and key fob. The leather pieces are finished in a complimentary honey brown sharkskin. https://www.posacops4kids.com/raffle/sweeps_form.aspx -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .