Dave Kopel's Second Amendment Newsletter. March 17, 2004.

Dave Kopel's Second Amendment Project is based at the 

Independence  Institute, a free-market think tank in 

Golden, Colorado. 

http://www.independenceinstitute.org 

=============================

Delivery of this newsletter comes courtesy of the

Second Amendment Foundation, in Bellevue, Washington

http://www.saf.org 

=============================

Please visit Dave Kopel's website, containing articles on 

the Second Amendment and other freedom topics.

http://www.davekopel.org

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To subscribe to this free e-mail newsletter, please send

a request to KopelNewsletter@liberty.seanet.com 

=============================

Table of Contents for this issue

1. New by Kopel & The Independence Institute: Armed Freedmen; Shooter 

Anthropology; The Klan and Gun Control

2. Terrorism:  Arizona 'Minutemen,' .50 Caliber Terrorism?

3. International:  Africa; IANSA; UN; New Zealand; the UK; Anti-Terror 

Militias

4. Culture: Excellent NPR story on media treatment of guns. Moore's Star Fades; 

Anti-Gun Gun Criminal; Jewish and Gay Gunowners

5. Law: D.C. Litigation; Firearms Tort Laws; The 2nd Amendment in 

Modern Law

6. The States: 'Make My Day' laws; Maryland's Database

7. Research:  The Old Solution to Crime; Gunfacts v.4; New Colorado 

Blog

=============================

1. New by Kopel & the Independence Institute

Brothers In Arms. How Civil Rights Flowed From A Rifle Barrel: 

Armed Black Resistance To Race Riots In The 20th Century. 

Dave Kopel

Reason.com, Feb. 24, 2005.

http://www.reason.com/hod/dk022405.shtml 

Dave points out that it was not by passive resistance alone that 

American Blacks asserted their claims to freedom and safety in 

post-Civil War America.

The Klan's Favorite Law: Gun Control in The Postwar South.

Dave Kopel

Reason.com

February 15, 2005.

http://www.reason.com/hod/dk021505.shtml 

The continuing desire to disarm America's poor blacks has a pedigree 

wrapped in flowing white sheets.

Humanizing Gun Nuts: An Anthropologist Shoots 

Down Stereotypes about Gun Enthusiasts. 

By Eric Dzinski

Reason.com

February 2005. 

http://www.reason.com/0502/cr.ed.humanizing.shtml 

Independence Institute intern Eric Dzinski reviews Abigail A. Kohn's 

book _Shooters: Myths and Realities of America's Gun Cultures_.

==============================

2. Terrorism

'Minutemen' to Patrol Arizona Border

Volunteer Minutemen, Many Untrained, to Patrol Ariz. 

Border to Curb Illegal Immigration Crossings

Lara Jakes Jordan

The Associated Press

February 21, 2005

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=518371&page=1 

Citizen volunteers plan to patrol the 'most porous stretch' of the 

U.S./Mexican border and report illegal immigrants.  Officials fear the 

Minuteman patrols could cause more trouble than they prevent. At least 

some of the volunteers plan to arm themselves during the 24-hour desert 

patrols.

Big Rifle A Terrorist Tool? 

CBS 60 Minutes Special Report

January 9, 2005

http://cbsnewyork.com/topstories/topstories_story_009191737.html 

CBS News turns its celebrated investigative skills to the putative 

threat of .50 Caliber rifles in civilian hands.

'50 Caliber Terror' Website Launched to Warn of Terrorist Access to .50 Caliber 

Sniper Rifles in the United States

Thom Mannard 

Press Release of Freedom States Alliance

March 1, 2005

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=43680 

This site warns of terrorists shooting down airliners with .50 caliber 

rifles at extended range and urges the pre-emption of that 

possibility.

==============================

3. International

Africa

Disarmament: NGOs Seek Treaty to Hunt Lethal Arms

Thalif Deen

All Africa

January 24, 2005

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1328113/posts  

A coalition of human rights and peace activists is urging 

the United Nations to adopt a legally binding "marking and

tracing system" to track small arms from  the factory to the

user. The coalition includes Amnesty International, Oxfam

International and the International Action Network on 

Small Arms (IANSA).

Belgium

Tough New Gun Law Promised

Expiatica 2005

3 February 2005

http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=48

&story_id=16553&name=Government+pledges+tough+new+gun+law 

Belgium's justice minister has pledged to implement a tough new law on 

the possession of guns.  Some parties such as the Flemish left-wing 

liberals Spirit want to see a total ban on the possession of guns in 

homes.

Gambia

Millions of Small Arms in Civilian Hands Pose a Danger to Public

Security

Gambia Daily News (Banjul)

January 10, 2005

http://www.galleryofguns.com/shootingtimes/Articles/DisplayArticles.asp?ID=6663 

African government spokesmen are meeting to determine upon means to 

control ownership and circulation of small arms in sub-Saharan Africa.

India 

Abjit Singh India Gun Advocacy

Abjit Singh

www.abhijeetsingh.com

A citizen marksman and author of Delhi, India, offers his site for articles

and promotion of firearms ownership and use in India.

New Zealand—Very major pro-rights victory, after years of debate

New Zealand rejects gun registration

New Zealand Press Association

December 24, 2004

http://www.wfsa.net/WFSANEWS/2004/December04.htm  

The New Zealand Police Minister, George Hawkins, has stated that the new 

firearms bill soon to be released does not have a provision for gun 

registration.

Arms Control Bill Introduced To Parliament

New Zealand Press Association

February 19, 2005

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3192392a6160,00.html 

In the place of the bill with registration, New Zealand now considers a more 

general bill on illicit arms manufacturing and sales, as well as 

defining selected air rifles as firearms.

The bill itself may be found at:

http://www.knowledge-basket.co.nz/gpprint/docs/bills/20052481.txt  

Its preamble is enlightening.

Why Gun Registration Fails

Press Release

New Zealand Libertarianz Party

February 8, 2005

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0502/S00074.htm 

A Canadian expert on firearms registration traveled to New Zealand to 

discuss the debacle of Canada's own efforts to register firearms there.

U.K.

Teacher Faces 10 Years For Firing At Yobs With Air Pistol

Nigel Bunyan

The Daily Telegraph (UK)

February 9, 2005

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/

2005/02/09/nwalk09.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/02/09/ixhome.html 

"This lady went home after confronting the youths, armed herself and 

then went out to confront them again. There was no damage and nothing 

was stolen. This lady has clearly overstepped the line."  'Yobs,' 

hoodlums, had vandalized the teacher's home and were in the process of 

trying to damage her son's car.  The weapon in question was a CO2 

target pistol.

Call For New Move Over Gun Laws

Press Release by the Scottish Nationalist Party

Evening Times (Scotland)

January 31, 2005

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5035098.html 

This element of the Scottish parliament wishes to do its own firearms

regulation.

International comparisons of criminal justice statistics 2001

By Gordon Barclay & Cynthia Tavares

With Sally Kenny, Arsalaan Siddique & Emma Wilby

United Kingdom Home Office

Issue 12/03 24 October 2003

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosb1203.pdf  

(PDF format requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

This bulletin brings together statistical information on criminal

justice collected by the Home Office and the Council of Europe. The data

covers all the European Union Member States, the EU accession countries

and selected other countries.

The data in this bulletin covers the period up to 2001 but more recent

information for England & Wales covering the period up to 2002/2003 was

published in July 2003. It shows that over the past year for crimes

recorded by the police

BBC pays burglar shot by Tony Martin 

Owen Gibson, media correspondent

The Guardian 

March 4, 2005

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1430273,00.html 

The BBC paid some £4,500 for an interview to a career criminal shot by

a British farmer whose barn the repeat offender had repeatedly 

plundered.  The farmer has spent much more time behind bars than 

the criminal he wounded.

United Nations/International

Nobel Peace Laureates Promote Arms Trade Treaty 

Press Release

Controlarm.org

December 11, 2004

http://www.controlarms.org/latest_news/nobel_att.htm 

Following the annual meeting of the Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome, 

Italy, a group of Nobel Peace Laureates and Laureate organizations 

restated their support for an International Arms Trade Treaty to 

control the sales and possession of small arms world wide.  Former U.S. 

President Jimmy Carter is among those listed.

Focus on small arms and light weapons at the UN

By Lynne Griffiths-Fulton

Project Ploughshares

Winter, 2004

http://www.ploughshares.ca/CONTENT/MONITOR/mond04g.html 

"At this year's deliberations at the United Nations First Committee on

Disarmament and International Security the growing number of

references to small arms and light weapons (SALW) highlighted 

the prominence of this issue on the international community's

agenda and indicated the political will to find ways to control

these weapons more effectively."

Press Release

Oxfam, Amnesty International and IANSA

March 7, 2005

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/press/releases/women_guns070305.htm  

This coalition attempts to cast their campaign for world small arms registration

and control as a feminist issue.

Putting People First: International Meeting On The Regulation 

Of Civilian Ownership And Use Of Small Arms

Web Page

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 16-18 March 2005

http://www.hdcentre.org/?aid=125 

"The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, in partnership with the Government of 

Brazil and the NGOs Sou da Paz and Viva Rio, is convening an 

international meeting which will bring together the representatives of 

governments, international organisations and civil society to share 

lessons learnt and identify options for future action on the matter of 

effective regulation of the private ownership of weapons by civilians."

Pentagon Plans To Build US-Friendly Militia Network To Combat Terrorism: 

Wolfowitz Suggests Targeting Radical Islamic Clerics

Agence France Presse

The Daily Star (Beirut)

August 12, 2004 

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=

0&categ_id=2&article_id=7196 

The Pentagon has urged Congress to authorize $500 million for building a

network of friendly militias around the world to purge terrorists from

"ungoverned areas."

============================== 

4. Culture

National Public Radio

On the Media: Gun Shy

March 11, 2005

Very fair and tolerant analysis of media treatment of gunowners

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/transcripts_031105_guns.html

Moore now getting less

Kathleen Antrim

San Francisco Examiner

February 28, 2005

http://sfexaminer.com/articles/2005/02/25/opinion/20050225_op05_antrim.txt 

"First, Michael Moore threw his creative weight and his celluloid into

defeating President Bush's re-election. Then he made a big push for an

Oscar nomination. He lost on both counts."

Anti-gun activist arrested after firearm found at home

Jason Piscia

The State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)

March 1, 2005

http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/49173.asp 

A Springfield (IL) woman who began lobbying against gun violence after her

son was shot to death in 2002 was arrested last week when police allegedly 

found an illegal gun and drugs in her home.

Jews And Guns

Robert J. Avrech

The Jewish Press

December 22, 2004

http://www.thejewishpress.com/news_article.asp?article=4518 

A successful Jewish screenwriter asks why Jews, of all people, 

should trust governments with arms more than their fellows.

Stonewall Shooting Sports of Utah

Pro-gay Utah Gun Rights Activists

Web Page

http://www.stonewallshootingsportsutah.org/ 

"We're gender- and sexual-minority firearm advocates and owners in 

Utah... for the legal, responsible and safe use of firearms for our self 

defense and shooting-sport competition and recreation, including those 

of us who are gay and lesbian, and that of our families and friends. 

With hundreds of members, we're the largest such group worldwide."

==============================

5. Law

Seegars v. Ashcroft (sponsored by the NRA)

US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit

February 8, 2005

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/dc/045016a.pdf  

(PDF format requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

The Court (Judge Williams joined by Judge Tatel, over a dissent by

Judge Sentelle) denied standing to all of the Seegars plaintiffs.

The court applied Navegar v. U.S. (DC Cir, 1997), a Commerce Clause

and vagueness challenge to the 1994 assault weapons ban.  That case

granted standing  to manufacturers of specifically named weapons

but not to manufacturers of weapons identified by characteristics

(e.g., magazine size).  Apparently general threats of prosecution

are not sufficient for standing in DC.  The court found that no 

Seegars plaintiff had been exposed to a real and imminent threat 

of prosecution.

Playing Chicken Roulette

Robert A. Levy & Alan Gura

American Spectator

March 15, 2005

Bob Levy describes his own case against D.C. firearms restrictions, Parker v. D.C.  

New York City's Gun Industry Responsibility Act: Why It May Do More 

Harm than Good

Anthony J. Sebok  & Timothy Lytton

Find Law's Writ

March 7, 2005

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary/20050307_lytton.html 

These two anti-gun, pro-lawsuit authors oppose local efforts to assist and national 

legislation to prevent the suing of firearms manufacturers for the 

misuse of their products.

Bloomberg's misfire: Blaming gun makers

Lawrence Keane, General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation

New York Post

January 22, 2005

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1327415/posts 

NYC Mayor Bloomberg recently signed a bill permitting crime victims to sue 

out-of-state gun makers unless they adopt the city's so-called "code of 

conduct.  Attorney Keane argues that law is an unconstitutional attempt 

to regulate interstate commerce, something only Congress can do. 

3rd Circuit Denies Shooting Victim's Appeal in Wal-Mart Suit 

Shannon P. Duffy Shannon P. Duffy

The Legal Intelligencer 

March 7, 2005

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1109859535448 

A Wal-Mart employee who sued the store for previously selling bullets

to her estranged husband that he used to shoot her in the head lost her

bid to revive a negligence suit that said the attack should have been

prevented.

4th Circuit Rules that Gun Show Operator has No Standing to Challenge

De Facto Gun Show Ban on County Fairgrounds

Krasner v. Montgomery County

http://www.myguns.net/Downloads/041030.pdf 

Oregon Measure Protects Gun Makers, Dealers

Charles E. Beggs

The Associated Press

February 17, 2005

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002182534_gunsuits17m.html 

A bill that would shield gun makers and dealers from being sued when 

the firearms they sell are used in crimes drew no opposition at a 

hearing in front of an Oregon House panel.

Putting the Second Amendment to Sleep

Nelson Lund

The Green Bag:  An Entertaining Journal of Law

Second Series, Autumn 2004

http://www.law.gmu.edu/pubs/GreenBagRev2dAmend.pdf 

(PDF format requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Law professor Lund reviews some recent legal scholarship showing how 

some modern authors have lost themselves in interpretations of the 

amendment's text, rather than in the understanding of the 

straightforward language itself.

==============================

6. States

Gun Bill Approved By Senate: Patrons With Weapons Could Enter

Bars If They Didn't Drink

Robbie Sherwood

The Arizona Republic

March 4, 2005

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0304guns-bars04.html 

"Carrying your loaded gun into a bar or restaurant that serves alcohol 

would be legal - as long as you don't drink - under a bill that passed 

Thursday in the Senate."

Lawmakers' Own Experiences Propel 'Shoot The Intruder' Bill 

Paul Flemming

The Pensacola News-Journal

February 10, 2005

http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/news/html/

D0A327CB-CF1C-4997-9BD0-FA605921FDE9.shtml 

Criminal invasions of their own homes prompt some Florida legislators to support

this bill.

Ballistics Statute Faulted

Brian Witte

The Associated Press

January 18, 2005

http://washingtontimes.com/metro/20050117-102901-2749r.htm 

A law requiring Maryland State Police to collect ballistics information

from each handgun sold in the state should be repealed because the 

system is flawed and has not helped a criminal investigation since it was

adopted in 2000, a state police report has concluded.

Legislators Submit Bill To Repeal Ballistics Law

David Snyder

The Washington Post

January 22, 2005

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27873-2005Jan21.html 

...and maintaining the useless data base is rather expensive.

House Oks Self-Defense Gun Bill

Associated Press (MT)

March 2, 2005

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&displa

=rednews/2005/03/03/build/state/69-gun-bill.inc 

"The measure, tentatively approved 68-31, says that simply brandishing 

a firearm in self defense is not a crime. It also bars employers from 

forbidding workers to keep guns in cars or trucks parked at the 

business."

Senate Oks Removal Of Concealed Weapon Permit Shooting Test

James Warden

Associated Press (ND)

March 7, 2005

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/11075510.htm 

"North Dakota senators approved a firearms bill that would eliminate a 

requirement that someone who wants to carry a hidden pistol must 

demonstrate they know how to safely handle and shoot it."

Senate Panel Kills Library Gun Ban 

Hampton Roads Pilot Online

January 26, 2005

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/print.cfm?story=81130&ran=117458  

The panel voted 10-5 to kill a bill proposed by Sen. Mamie E. Locke, 

D-Hampton, that would have permitted localities to prohibit carrying 

guns in libraries. Current state law generally prohibits local 

governments from making their own laws governing the purchase, 

possession or carrying of guns.  Sen. William C. Mims, R-Loudoun, 

offered a pun: "Instead of a shootout at the OK Corral, it would be a 

shootout at the OK carrel, would it not?" 

Senate rejects background checks on all gun-show sales

Associated Press (VA)

January 26, 2005

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=81161&ran=183282 

To quote the AP lead:  "RICHMOND -- Gun buyers, including criminals, 

can continue to avoid background checks by doing business with 

unlicensed dealers at Virginia gun shows."

==============================

7. Research

Taking down outlaws

By Amy Doolittle

The Washington Times

February 22, 2005 

http://www.washtimes.com/culture/20050221-113353-7501r.htm  

"Some of the most notorious outlaws in history were killed or captured 

by ordinary citizens."  

Gun Facts 4.0

http://www.gunfacts.com/

A database and search resource for firearms-related data 

on this site and on the web.

FN 5.7 semiautomatic pistol

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

January 20, 2005

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/firearmstech/fabriquen.htm 

"In response to numerous questions that ATF has received regarding the 

capabilities of the 5.7 X 28mm cartridge, the following technical 

information is provided.  FTB classified SS196 ammunition as not armor 

piercing." 

The Michael Bane Blog

http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/ 

In his own words, "Author and host of the hit Outdoor Channel show 

Shooting Gallery spouts off..."  

==============================

This newsletter is compiled with help from Dr. Rob S. Rice.  Dr. Rice, 

whose work on this newsletter has received warm praise on local radio, 

is also a poet, writer and factotum of matters electronic to Dave 

Kopel.

Al Qaeda delenda est!