Here is a great post from - American Chronicle

On Bill of Rights Day, Imagine the D.C. Gun Law in 1775

By Stephen P. Halbrook, The Independent Institute

Today is the United States’ Bill of Rights Day, but District of Columbia residents are second-class citizens when it comes to the Second Amendment. President-elect Barack Obama certainly does not support it. When I filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court this June supporting the respondent in District of Columbia v. Heller on behalf of 55 senators, the senate president, and 250 representatives, Obama declined. And his voting record in the Illinois legislature and the U.S. Congress has been as hostile to American gun owners as King George III was in 1775. What’s in store for Second Amendment rights come January?

Imagine that a…

More

Related posts

• NRA Statement on New DC Gun Bill (0)
• Revised “District of Columbia Personal Protection Act” Introduced (0)
• Illegal? (0)
• Congress Has a Duty to Intervene (0)
• Assault Weapons Ban Confusion (0)

NRA-ILA Site Updates

Defending Heller from "Faux Conservatism"

Of the many critiques that followed the Supreme Court’s landmark gun rights decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, perhaps the most interesting came from conservative federal Judge J. Harvey Wilkinson III. In a Virginia Law Review article entitled “Of Guns, Abortions, and the Unraveling Rule of Law,” Wilkinson denounced Justice Antonin Scalia’s majority opinion for engaging in judicial activism and compared the reasoning in Heller to that in the abortion rights case Roe v. Wade (not exactly a compliment from one conservative judge to another).

More

Related posts

• Revised “District of Columbia Personal Protection Act” Introduced (0)
• NRA Statement on New DC Gun Bill (0)
• Assault Weapons Ban Confusion (0)
• Another one Bites the Dust (0)
• On Bill of Rights Day, Imagine the D.C. Gun Law in 1775 (0)

Here is a great post from Snowflakes in Hell

New DC Gun Law

Looks like DC is, once again, doing its level best to skirt the Supreme Court’s ruling in Heller:

The D.C. Council voted unanimously yesterday to give preliminary approval to legislation that would require gun owners to renew their registrations every three years and to notify police annually whether they still own guns.

The Fire Arms Registration Amendment, which would also ban assault weapons, was described as building on legislation passed by the council in September to adhere to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the city’s 32-year handgun ban.

The new legislation also mandates Microstamping, a practice that’s not common in the firearms industry.  It also requires training, submission to a background check every six years.  It also bans any unsafe handgun — whatever that means.

More

Related posts

• Revised “District of Columbia Personal Protection Act” Introduced (0)
• NRA Statement on New DC Gun Bill (0)
• Illegal? (0)
• Heller yeah… (0)
• Gun-ban lawsuit part deux (0)

“I did not think I would live long enough to see the day…” Many are saying this about the election of Obama as the first quasi-black (Nigerian, Hawaiian, Indonesian, whatever) POTUS.  However, I am saying it about recent actions by the NY Judicial system.   I was amazed this week when I heard the NY Courts recognized the rights granted to individuals under the Heller decision, and gave back a firearms permit to one of NY States citizens.  In Colaiacovo v. Dormer the State of New York had revoked a mans firearms permit and CHL/CCW permit because his distraught wife had committed suicide.  While it was gravely unfortunate that the mans wife had taken her own life, the pain was exacerbated by the State of New York in revoking the mans right to defend his home and workplace by stripping him of his gun rights. 

This last week the New York Supreme court handed down the decision (citing Heller) that the State of New York can NOT strip a man of his right to defend himself and his home using firearms.  This is a big blow to New York State, and is a “Smack Down” which is long overdue.  Hopefully the breakthroughs provided by Heller will continue to spread.

Related posts

• Assault Weapons Ban Confusion (0)
• What is with the “funny name?” (0)
• A Positive Public Relations Opportunity (0)
• Revised “District of Columbia Personal Protection Act” Introduced (0)
• Put a Hold on Holder’s Nomination (0)

I decided to investigate this confusion and came to the found the following:

The EXPIRED (1994-Sept 2004 enforcement period) assault weapons ban (officially know as, Federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994) had the following restrictions:

The Federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 specifically prohibited manufacture and sale of:

• Norinco, Mitchell, and Poly Technologies Avtomat Kalashnikovs (all models)
• Action Arms Israeli Military Industries UZI and Galil
• Beretta Ar70 (SC-70)
• Colt AR-15
• Fabrique National FN/FAL, FN/LAR, and FNC
• SWD M-10, M-11, M-11/9, and M-12
• Steyr AUG
• INTRATEC TEC-9, TEC-DC9 and TEC-22
• revolving cylinder shotguns, such as (or similar to) the Street Sweeper and Striker 12

In addition, the bill banned any semi-automatic rifle that can accept a detachable magazine and that also has at least two of the following characteristics:

• a folding or telescoping stock
• a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon
• a bayonet mount
• a flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor
• a grenade launcher;

The bill banned any semi-automatic pistol that can accept a detachable magazine that also has at least two of the following characteristics:

• an ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip
• a threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer
• a shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the
• nontrigger hand without being burned
• a manufactured weight of 50 ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded;
• a semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm
• Finally, the bill banned any semi-automatic shotgun has at least two of the following characteristics:
• a folding or telescoping stock
• a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon
• a fixed magazine capacity in excess of 5 rounds
• an ability to accept a detachable magazine

It should be noted although the Federal ban expired in September 2004, Certain states have maintained restrictions on “assault” type weapons.

Info from NRA (Pre-Heller):

“Assault weapons” are prohibited in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. Some local jurisdictions in Ohio also ban “assault weapons.” Hawaii prohibits “assault pistols.” California bans “assault weapons”, .50BMG caliber firearms, some .50 caliber ammunition and “unsafe handguns.” Illinois: Chicago, Evanston, Oak Park, Morton Grove, Winnetka, Wilmette, and Highland Park prohibit handguns; some cities prohibit other kinds of firearms. Maryland prohibits “assault pistols”; the sale or manufacture of any handgun manufactured after Jan. 1, 1985, that does not appear on the Handgun Roster; and the sale of any handgun manufactured after January 1, 2003 that is not equipped with an “integrated mechanical safety device.” Massachusetts: It is unlawful to sell, transfer or possess “any assault weapon or large capacity feeding device” [more than 10 rounds] that was not legally possessed on September 13, 1994 and the sale of handguns not on the Firearms Roster. The City of Boston has a separate “assault weapons” law. The District of Columbia prohibits new acquisition of handguns and any semi-automatic firearm capable of using a detachable ammunition magazine of more than 12 rounds capacity and any handgun not registered after February 5, 1977. Virginia prohibits “Street Sweeper” shotguns. (With respect to some of these laws and ordinances, individuals may retain prohibited firearms owned previously, with certain restrictions.) The sunset of the federal assault weapons ban does not affect the validity of state and local “assault weapons” bans.

The states and cities that maintained parts of the ban have caused this ban to live on. Thus the root of the pre-ban / post-ban confusion.   Luckily this ban is only in certain geographic areas which have been anti-gun for some time.  Perhaps with some more time and decisions out of the Supreme Court, we can get back to normal.

Related posts

• Revised “District of Columbia Personal Protection Act” Introduced (0)
• NRA Statement on New DC Gun Bill (0)
• Assault Weapons Education (0)
• Ammunition Accountability (2)
• Another one Bites the Dust (0)