PMVA-ALERT: VCDL Update 7/25/11 Part 2

[Taggure]

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16. Democrats to introduce gun control legislation tomorrow
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Looks like the anti-gunners want to divert attention from Operation Fast and Furious by attacking gun owners.
Stephen P. Wenger emailed me this:
From Townhall: http://tinyurl.com/69kgoty
By Katie Pavlich July 14, 2011
Democrat Representatives Maloney, Cummings and McCarthy, all members of the Minority on the House Oversight Committee chaired by Republican Congressman Issa, plan to hold a press conference tomorrow to announce new gun control anti-gun trafficking legislation in light of Operation Fast and Furious. The "Stop Gun Trafficking and Strengthen Law Enforcement Act," is designed to "keep high powered firearms out of the hands of dangerous criminals, including Mexican drug cartels."
U.S. Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) will join other members and a leading law enforcement organization for an event Friday, July 15th, 11:00 a.m. at the House Triangle to introduce the "Stop Gun Trafficking and Strengthen Law Enforcement Act," which establishes a dedicated firearms trafficking statute to empower law enforcement to keep high-powered firearms out of the hands of dangerous criminals, including Mexican drug cartels.
So let me get this straight, democrats want to punish law abiding Americans and impede on Second Amendment rights with new legislation "to prevent gun trafficking to Mexico," however, aren't willing to focus on the ATF and DOJ's role in deliberately putting high powered firearms into the hands of criminals including Mexican drug cartels? It doesn't matter how many gun control laws we have on the books if the federal government is willing to break them to push a political agenda, however, this is not surprising.
FLASHBACK:
"Allowing loads of weapons that we knew to be destined for criminals, this was the plan. It was so mandated." -Special Agent John Dodson ATF Phoenix Field Division.
Damning new evidence from Capitol Hill shows that ATF Directors and Justice Department Officials knew about and encouraged the purposeful trafficking of thousands of weapons across the southern border, despite strong objections from ATF agents. Thousands of innocent lives were taken as the result, including those of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and ICE Agent Jamie Zapata.
The announcement of new legislation comes just a day after Townhall obtained emails showing Operation Fast and Furious was designed to promote gun control and four days after the DOJ Deputy Attorney General James Cole, who is under investigation for his involvement in the scandal, released new reporting requirements for multiple sales of certain semi-automatic rifles.
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17. What gun control gets you
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Christopher Stacy emailed me this
From Yahoo! News: http://tinyurl.com/5wrmq8h
By Jonathan Allen
July 8, 2011
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Small restaurants in the city of Newark, New Jersey will be required to have an armed security guard at night under a new law approved by the city council.
The rule comes in the wake of a drive-by shooting in May at the Texas Fried Chicken and Pizza restaurant, where an off-duty Newark police officer was killed.
Under the ordinance, approved by the council unanimously on Thursday, restaurants that serve 15 or fewer people must hire an armed guard to stand watch after 9 p.m. Those unwilling to pay for a security guard must close by 10 p.m.
"If they want to stay open that late, they should provide security. If not, they should close," said Councilman Ras Baraka, who wrote the bill, in a telephone interview.
"These restaurants who serve 15 or less people, walk-in eateries where you get your food and you leave, they are havens for criminal activity," said Keith Hamilton, an aide to Baraka.
Jamil Nahiam, owner of the restaurant where the shooting occurred, said he opposes the ordinance, saying it places an expensive and unfair burden on small business owners to do something that should be the responsibility of the police.
"The ordinance is going to put us out of business. If that's what his intention was, I think he's going to succeed," Nahiam said in a telephone interview.
He said it was unrealistic to expect him to turn his business into a sit-down dining establishment.
"My location is right next to the hospital. The customers that come in are working-class people. They have 20 minutes, half an hour for lunch," he said.

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18. Who needs a gun at a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant?
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Another attack at an anti-freedom Buffalo Wild Wings.
John Oliver emailed me this:
Nobody could have seen THAT coming!
From WBNS-10TV News: http://tinyurl.com/6chsme6
July 9, 2011
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Three people were robbed at gunpoint early Friday morning as they left the southwest side restaurant where they work.
The robbery happened shortly after 1:30 a.m. at the Buffalo Wild Wings on Georgesville Road, 10TV News reported.
Three employees were leaving the restaurant when a man with a gun forced them back inside and stole money.
The man smashed the employees' cell phones before fleeing. None of them were injured.
Authorities said the man was driving an older Chevrolet Trailblazer or GMC Jimmy that was burgundy or maroon in color.
Watch 10TV News and refresh 10TV.com for additional information.
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19. Critics take aim at new D.C. handgun legislation
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Rather than just simply fixing their zoning ordinances to allow gun stores in DC, City Council is going to put a gun store in a police station. ONLY IN DC!
From The Washington Examiner: http://tinyurl.com/63x4yj8
By Liz Essley July 10, 2011
D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson released the text of his emergency legislation to make the District a federal firearms licensee, able to sell and transfer guns to citizens.

The resolution calls on Mayor Vince Gray to appoint an agency to act as the FFL for the city, which currently has none and therefore no way to legally transfer handguns into the city since proprietor Charles Sykes closed the sole gun shop in D.C. in April.
Federal and district laws require handguns crossing the D.C. border to be shipped to an FFL before the owner can take possession of them. But critics say Mendelson's new measure won't do anything to get D.C. out of a lawsuit that's about to get pricey, and won't do anything to change the strict zoning rules that are keeping Sykes from reopening in the first place.
"They need to come to terms with the fact that the Second Amendment applies to them," Alan Gura, the attorney who is bringing the new lawsuit against D.C., said.
Gura filed suit in federal court in May on behalf of the Second Amendment Foundation and three D.C. residents who legally own handguns in other states but can't bring them into the city under current law. Right now the United States, Virginia and D.C. are all defendants, but Gura said that could change if D.C. would just drop its FFL rule.
"All they're doing by maintaining it is buying themselves a lawsuit -- I've told them this," Gura, who won the 2008 landmark Supreme Court case against the District forcing it to lift its handgun ban, said. "The D.C. government is playing games. ... This is going to wind up once again costing the taxpayers."
Sykes would appreciate it if the District redrew its zoning regulations. He said he has proposed several new addresses for his business to the District since being forced to relocate, and all of them have been rejected. He said the District was making it very difficult for any gun shops to open in the city.
"If I'm having a problem finding office space, and I've been in business since 1994, what do you think someone new is going through?" he said.
The D.C. council is expected to vote on the emergency measure at its last legislative meeting for the summer on Tuesday.
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20. Who would ever need a gun in a Cracker Barrel?
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John Treaster emailed me this:
From WTVR News: http://tinyurl.com/67doarz
By Alix Bryan July 9, 2011
Former sheriff's deputy arrested for hiring hit man
A former Virginia Sheriff's deputy has been arrested for trying to set up a murder for hire.
The target was her ex-husband.
Enid Collins, who used to be a deputy in Virginia Beach, now lives in Georgia. Federal authorities say she wanted to have her ex-husband killed at a Cracker Barrel, north of Charlotte, N.C.. The two were scheduled to meet there last week with their children. A witness to the plot came forward and the scheme was thwarted. Court documents say Collins was willing to pay $1500 dollars and also pay for the gun to commit the murder. She is currently behind bars in North Carolina.
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21. ACTION ITEM: Madison County Fair is anti-freedom
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Justin Melvin had an email exchange with the Madison County Fair management about their "no guns" policy. They are digging their heels in. Since they are private property they can legally have such a ban and all of you can just as legally spend your money somewhere else!
If you would like to contact the Madison County Fair on their anti-freedom stance, here is their email:
madisoncountyfairva@gmail.com
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22. T.G.I. Fridays is a gun-free zone
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VA-ALERT reader "Phil" emailed me this:
From: "TGIF Guest Relations" <tgif-gstrel@casupport.com>
To:
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2011 3:52:58 PM
Subject: Case# 3052501
Dear Phil:
Thank you for notifying Guest Relations at T.G.I. Friday's. We realize the importance of your time and appreciate you bringing this to our attention.
Yes, it is a corporate policy across all of our restaurants to prohibit firearms in our establishments. We feel this is the safest policy for our guests and our team members, and we're uncomfortable having firearms present where alcohol is served. I appreciate your feedback and hope you'll understand our position on this issue. [PVC: We don't understand how disarming good people makes any except criminals safe. There are plenty of other restaurants for gun owners to go to.]
We hope to provide the best possible service during your next visit. If you have any additional questions or concerns, you may contact Guest Relations at 1-800-FRiDAYS (1-800-374-3297).
Kind regards.
April
Guest Relations
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23. Windsor ordinance update
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Joe Ferguson emailed me this:
Here is the latest on what they are trying to do to regulate guns in Windsor, Va. There are pro-freedom comments at the article tail end. . . .
Joe Ferguson
From Tidewater News: http://tinyurl.com/66zmvpt
By Merle Monahan
July 15, 2011
WINDSOR - An ordinance that would make it illegal to shoot a gun in Windsor will be presented to the Town Council during its Aug. 9 meeting.
Town Manager Michael Stallings said there have been complaints about guns being fired. Council members asked him and Police Chief Vic Reynolds to draft an ordinance.
"We've tried to take everything into consideration," Stallings said. "Hopefully this will work."
The proposed ordinance would prohibit shooting rifles, but residents with large lots could fire shotguns and handguns as long as they are 100 yards from any structure.
A public hearing on the ordinance could be held in September.




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24. Proposed U.N. arms treaty slammed as Dems 'dance of distraction' continues
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From Dave Workman, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner:
From Examiner.com: http://tinyurl.com/6j84hjw
By Dave Workman July 15, 2011
[SNIP]
SAF, NRA slam U.N. arms treaty as Dems push new gun control scheme
Two national gun rights organizations, including the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation, drew lines in the sand Thursday against a proposed United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, while anti-gun Congressional Democrats push a new gun control measure
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25. SAF's final U.N. Arms Trade Treaty report
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From the Second Amendment Foundation's newsletter:
From The Second Amendment Foundation: http://tinyurl.com/69ms7p8
By Julianne Versnel
July 15, 2011
With the Chairman's Draft Paper distributed on July 14, 2011, it is apparent that small arms and ammunition will be included in the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) final draft that will be hammered out at the month-long negotiating conference in July 2012. Small arms and ammunition have been the focus of much of the discussions by the delegates. While this was expected from many less developed states, the vehement and strident comments suggesting the scope of the proposed ATT be broadened by Australia, Sweden, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Ireland and Norway were somewhat surprising.
This meeting had over 375 requests for registrations by Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other interested parties. This was not an open meeting and specific permission had to be received so that registration could even be made. This is an unprecedented number.
A member of the UN staff asked me on the first day of the meeting why there were so many people who wanted to attend this conference. The First and Second Prep Comms meetings had had about 100 and 125 NGOs in attendance respectively. As the week progressed, the answer to the question became obvious. This conference is about firearms and ammunition. Just as this is an emotional issue that elicits strong feelings from Americans, so it is in the rest of the world.
The great majority of those attending were from organizations that deal almost exclusively with small arms. On July 14, 2011, NGOs were allocated one hour to make statements. Control Arms, a Survivors' Declaration and International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) spoke and were followed by remarks by the National Rifle Association, World Forum for the Future of Sports Shooting Activities and Defense Small Arms Advisory Committee. There was no presentation that discussed any part of the scope of the treaty beyond firearms and ammunition.
The fourth and final Prep Comm is to take place in mid February 2012. While this has been described as a technical conference, there is little likelihood that there will actually be further discussion for expanding the scope and reach of the ATT to be presented the following July.
The Second Amendment Foundation remains vigilant in covering the progress of the upcoming United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. In addition to the landmark McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court Case, SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; New Orleans; Chicago and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and numerous amicus briefs holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.
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26. RT LTE: In support of air guns on private property
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Dave Hicks emailed me this
From The Roanoke Times: http://tinyurl.com/68k6dqq
I am a proponent of the new air gun law lamented in Dan Casey's July 5 column, "State missed repercussions in passing air gun law." Why would city council oppose this law? Doesn't the law require that the air rifle projectile remain on the private property on which it is fired? Even if a landowner elects to use a dreaded Benjamin Rogue air rifle, as long as the range and backstop effectively keep the pellet from leaving the property, why not? Those in compliance with this law are no threat to the public.
As Casey points out, the old ban on air guns in the city did not prevent hoodlums from vandalizing citizens' property.

Air gun safety depends on the user. This is also true for swimming pools, lawn mowers and bicycles -- all are dangerous if misused.
A safe and enjoyable air gun range requires little space. An official BB target range is 5 meters (16 feet, 4 Û inches). The Olympic air rifle range is 10 meters.
Backyard shooting of air guns is a cherished activity for many families. Children and inexperienced shooters should always be supervised and the rules of gun safety always followed. Fear not, this time the General Assembly should be commended for strengthening private property rights.
ALLEN MEEK
DRAPER
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27. Ahmed Farajallah accused of illegally buying weapons
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Board member Bruce Jackson emailed me this:
From WJLA News: http://tinyurl.com/5vhpuhc
By Stephen Tschida July 14, 2011
A Loudoun gun store features rifles, including assault weapons, on its website. These guns apparently drew three northern Virginia men to illegally purchase 26 rifles and attempt to buy four more.
Ahmed Farajallah allegedly enlisted two American citizens to assist in purchasing rifles. After an American filled out the paperwork and bought the guns, they would be turned over to Farajallah or the other alleged accomplice.
The brother of the alleged mastermind of the gun buying scheme didn't want to talk.
During a Thursday hearing in federal court, a judge wanted to know why Farajallah bought the guns and what he intended to do with them.
Farajallah is a Palestinian whose immigration status is in question. He recently spent time in Algeria, the North African country that is believed to be home to thriving Islamic terrorist organizations.
"We don't know what he will do with them (the guns)," said Ali Al Kuson, a neighbor. "May be he will take them to the terrorists."

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28. D.C. wants to open gun shop in police facilities
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More on having a gun shop in a DC police station:
From The Washington Examiner: http://tinyurl.com/4ynbszk
By Freeman Klopott July 14, 2011
D.C. Mayor Vince Gray's administration is asking for a zoning change that would allow a gun dealer to set up shop in police headquarters and other police facilities.
Zoning rules and a small gun market have left the city without a licensed federal arms dealers since April, making it impossible for District residents to legally buy guns. Earlier this week, D.C. Councilman
Phil Mendelson chose not to introduce a bill he wrote that would have created a city agency to play the role of gun dealer, because Mendelson said the Gray administration was close to finding a solution for the city's lone gun dealer. It appears the solution is to allow licensed dealers to sell their wares from inside police stations.
The measure proposed on Thursday by the Gray administration would add to city regulations an allowance for federally licensed gun dealers to open shop in "an establishment located at a District law enforcement ... agency."
Police Chief Cathy Lanier did not respond to request for comment.
In a statement attached to the new rule, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Paul Quander said the change is needed to ensure guns are available to D.C. residents.
"There is an immediate need to preserve the safety and welfare of District residents by providing access to a District owned or controlled location for the operation of [a federally licensed dealer], so that the District's residents will have a reliable means to complete out of state handgun purchases and thereby register handguns for use in self-defense within their homes," Quander wrote.
Federal law requires licensed dealers to play the role of middleman when guns need to cross state lines. Charles Sykes has been the only licensed gun dealer in the District since the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the ban in 2008. But he closed down in April because of issues with his building and says the city's zoning regulations have made it impossible to find a new home.
In May, D.C. resident Michelle Lane filed a lawsuit against the city saying the lack of licensed dealer violates her Second Amendment right to bear arms. She purchased two handguns in Lorton in April, but hasn't been able to have them shipped to the District because there's no licensed dealer to receive them.

Quander said despite the city's efforts to open a gun shop in a government building, it's still "strongly opposing the lawsuit."
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29. Wisconsin Governor signs concealed-carry bill into law
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Illinois now stands alone.
From Newsmax: http://tinyurl.com/62hwrch
July 9, 2011
ROTHSCHILD, Wis. (AP) ˘ Wisconsin has become the 49th state to legalize the carrying of concealed weapons.
Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill Friday removing the state's ban. Except for a few minor aspects, the bulk of the law goes into effect in November.
Gun supporters say legalizing concealed carry in Wisconsin has been long overdue. Opponents argue that it won't curb crime and will put more guns on the street.
Under Wisconsin's law, people who obtain a permit and go through training will be allowed to carry concealed weapons in most public buildings, including the state Capitol and city halls, unless a sign is posted saying they are not permitted.
With the legalization in Wisconsin, Illinois is now the only state that doesn't allow concealed carry.
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30. Wyoming gun owners could violate federal law
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Grant Chapman emailed me this:
From the Star-Tribune: http://tinyurl.com/6cwj3yw
By Joan Barron
July 11, 2011
CHEYENNE - A traveler driving along Interstate 25 at Cheyenne will come within 1,000 feet of Jessup Elementary School.

If that Wyoming driver is carrying a weapon in the vehicle without a concealed weapon permit, he or she is in violation of a little-known federal law.
The Federal Gun Free School Zone Act of 1995 makes it a crime to possess a functional firearm on public property, such as sidewalks, roads, highways, parks or fairgrounds within 1,000 feet of the property line of any elementary, middle or high school.
The penalty for violations is up to five years in federal prison and the permanent loss of the offender's right to own a firearm.
The National Coalition for Amending the Federal Gun Free School Zone Act of 1995 is alerting Wyoming residents to the existence of the federal ban, given that the state's new law allowing residents to carry handguns without permits is in effect.
"Anyone who carries in a populated area without a Wyoming permit is unavoidably committing multiple federal felonies," said Grant Chapman of Oklahoma.
Chapman is working with the coalition and other gun rights organizations, including the Western Wyoming Riflemen's Association based in Afton, to get the federal law changed.
An exemption in the law applies to gun permit holders, but only in the states where they obtained the permits.
Although Wyoming concealed-carry permits are recognized in 34 other states, the owners risk federal prosecution of the gun-free school zone law in all of them, Chapman said.
The federal law apparently never has been enforced in Wyoming.
The U.S. attorney's office has not filed charges under the law for at least 15 years, spokesman John Powell said last week.
Powell said the scenario of the I-25 driver who has a weapon in his vehicle and inadvertently breaks the law boils down to a matter of "common sense."
"Why would we charge anyone with that?" Powell said.
Cheyenne Police Chief Brian Kozak said the department has never been in a position where it had to enforce the federal law.
Tim Hare of the Western Wyoming Riflemen's Association said he first learned of the federal law last year from Chapman.
"I started investigating, and sure enough. It doesn't matter if you have a carry permit in Wyoming" and get stopped in a school zone in another state.
"If you're from out of state and you're in a gun-free school zone and are in possession of a weapon, you are guilty of a federal felony," Hare said.
"They (Congress) wrote it up so the permit does not matter," he said.
The law is another example of government chipping away at citizens' constitutional rights, he said.
Hare said his group is only about five years old and is trying to develop a firing range in the Star Valley area.
Mark Spungin of Guernsey, president of the Wyoming State Shooting Association, said the federal law is unconstitutional and should be repealed.
The U.S. Supreme Court, he noted, ruled the law unconstitutional but Congress passed it again.
"It's been ignored ever since it passed," Spungin said. "I don't see it being an issue here."
The operative word in concealed carry is "concealed," he pointed out.
Alan Korwin, an Arizona gun rights activist and author, said the federal law was never intended to be enforced.
"It's a feel-good, do-nothing law and because of that it should be rescinded," Korwin said.
The law, he added, has been used in other states as an add-on to drug charges, for example.
Korwin commended Wyoming for passing a "constitutional carry law," but because of it questions could be raised about restrictions in the federal law, he said.
"If Wyoming was going to do it right, they would stand on states' rights and say we reject this law because it makes no sense. That would get the attention of the federal government," Korwin said.
Chapman said that while he agreed the law has historically been a low enforcement priority, it is necessary to change it because permit holders don't want to violate any law.
Moreover, because of the law's penalty, people who carry in violation of it are taking a serious legal gamble which they should not be forced to take, Chapman said.
The national coalition is pushing for amendments to exempt any firearm carried in accordance with the laws of the state where the school is located.
Another exemption would be for off-duty law enforcement officers who now also are barred from carrying weapons within 1,000 feet of schools.


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31. Legislation will protect gun rights on Army Corps of Engineers land
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From The Gun Owners of America: http://tinyurl.com/6dr4sbg
July 13, 2011
Vote on Pro-gun Amendment Could Come in the House This Week
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) plans to offer an amendment this week protecting gun rights on land controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Currently, guns are prohibited on Corps land, even when gun possession is otherwise allowed by state law. Rep. Gosar's legislation would simply remove federal restrictions and allow for the law of the states (in which such land is located) to govern firearms possession.
The Gosar amendment, modeled after the Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act (H.R. 1865) introduced by pro-gun Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH), is similar to a 2009 law repealing the gun ban on National Park Service land. Army Corps of Engineers land was not part of that bill, something the Corps was quick to point out after that law took affect.
The Corps said, in a statement: "Public Law 111-024 does not apply to Corps projects or facilities . . . [and the Army Corps] will continue to prohibit loaded concealed weapons on Corps properties regardless of the new law and notwithstanding any contrary provisions of state law."
The amendment will reverse the Corps' decision and remedy the "oversight" of the lands bill.
"The Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act is a bipartisan effort that seeks to correct this oversight and restore Second Amendment rights to law-abiding citizens while they are legally camping, hunting, and fishing on the 11.7 million acres of Army Corps recreational property," Rep. Gibbs said.
Rep. Gosar notes that "this amendment will restore continuity to federal lands and ensure that constitutional rights are consistently protected."
Nationally, the Army Corps of Engineers controls 400 lake and river projects, 90,000 campsites and 4,000 miles of trails. A vote on the Gosar amendment could come as early as Thursday.
ACTION: Please contact your Representative and urge him or her to vote YES on the Gosar amendment.



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32. A gun activist takes aim at U.S. regulatory power
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Bill Cowardin emailed me this:
From The Wall Street Journal: http://tinyurl.com/66c4wzr
By Jess Bravin July 14, 2011
MISSOULA, Mont. With a homemade .22-caliber rifle he calls the Montana Buckaroo, Gary Marbut dreams of taking down the federal regulatory state.
Montana passed a law that tries to exempt the state from federal gun regulation. But the law is now before the courts, in a test of states' rights. WSJ's Jess Bravin reports.
He's not planning to fire his gun. Instead, he wants to sell it, free from federal laws requiring him to record transactions, pay license fees and open his business to government inspectors.
For years, Mr. Marbut argued that a wide range of federal laws, not just gun regulations, should be invalid because they were based on an erroneous interpretation of Congress's constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce. In his corner were a handful of conservative lawyers and academics. Now, with the rise of the tea-party movement, the self-employed shooting-range supplier finds himself leading a movement.
Eight states have adopted his Firearms Freedom Act, which Mr. Marbut conceived as a vehicle to undermine federal authority over commerce.
Ten state attorneys general, dozens of elected officials and an array of conservative groups are backing the legal challenge he engineered to get his constitutional theory before the Supreme Court. A federal appeals court in San Francisco is now considering his case.
Mr. Marbut isn't basing his pro-gun effort on the Second Amendment, the one that talks about a right to bear arms, but on the 10th, which discusses the limits of federal power.
"This is really about states' rights and federal power rather than gun control," Mr. Marbut says. There is "an emerging awareness by the people of America that the federal government has gone too far," he maintains, "and it's dependent on a really weird interpretation."
He is talking about the 1942 Supreme Court case of Wickard v. Filburn, which looms for him the way the Dred Scott decision denying rights to blacks did to antebellum abolitionists.
The narrow question in 1942 was whether the federal government could regulate wheat a farmer grew for use on his own farm. But the constitutional issue concerned how far Congress's authority to oversee interstate commerce stretched.
The court ruled Congress could regulate almost any activity that might interfere with national policy. That set the legal basis for a panoply of federal laws.
The principle underpins the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Controlled Substances Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Consumer Product Safety Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Congress drew on its commerce power to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed segregated hotels, restaurants and theaters because these could serve "interstate travelers" or sell food that crossed state lines.
More
* Court View of Commerce Power Has Waxed, Waned
The ruling is also at the center of a challenge to part of last year's health-care overhaul, requiring most Americans to carry insurance. In June, a federal appeals court in Cincinnati cited the Wickard case in upholding that. Several other suits against the act are pending.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who filed a brief representing 10 states in support of Mr. Marbut's case, says it will be tough to get the Wickard decision overturned outright.
But he believes today's Supreme Court could be persuaded to narrow Congress's commerce-regulation authority.
In recent years, the court's conservative majority has overturned precedents to strike down laws restricting handguns and regulating corporate political spending.
"Clearly, since Wickard, the federal government has gone way beyond" its authority, Mr. Shurtleff says. "We would like to see that rolled back."
Mr. Marbut wants the court to declare that the Wickard case "was wrongly decided, and the whole trail of cases that rely on it were wrongly decided."
Mark Meckler, national coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots, says Mr. Marbut has engineered "a wonderful legal approach to doing" what he considers "the fundamental issue of our time putting government back in the box."
Mr. Marbut says he doesn't belong to a tea-party group, though "I get along with them, philosophically."
The Montana Firearms Freedom Act, which he drafted and pushed through his state's legislature, declares that guns made in Montana, stamped "Made in Montana" and staying in-state aren't subject to federal regulations.
After the state enacted it, he announced plans to manufacture the Buckaroo, a miniature rifle that is based on an 1899 Winchester model and intended for children between ages five and 10. Orders, at $200 apiece, poured in. Some came from lawmakers.
"I have four grandkids on the ground, two more on the way, and my youngest gets married on June 12th, so I expect results from him by mid-winter," Republican State Rep. Krayton Kerns told Mr. Marbut by email last year. "Put me down for seven with the option to purchase more."

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was less enthusiastic. It wrote to Mr. Marbut saying: "Federal law supersedes the [Montana Firearms Freedom] Act, and all provisions of the Gun Control Act and the National Firearms Act" remain in force.
Mr. Marbut went to court. The "Constitution confers no power on Congress to regulate the special rights and activities contemplated by the MFFA," his petition argued, while the Ninth and 10th Amendments assign "all regulatory authority of all such activities within Montana's political borders" to "the sole discretion of the State of Montana."
The Wickard case involved a challenge to a 1938 law that sought to keep farmers from going bankrupt. It said if the size of a year's wheat crop was projected to exceed the norm by 35%, the Agriculture Department could prop prices by setting a cap on wheat acreage. A farmer who ignored it had to surrender his excess production or pay a penalty.
Ohio farmer Roscoe Filburn, who had planted double his allotted 11.1 acres, preferred to do neither. Saying he planned to use the excess wheat himself, he argued that it fell beyond federal regulation by never entering the stream of commerce.
The Supreme Court disagreed, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Robert Jackson.
He invoked an 1824 case in which Chief Justice John Marshall said federal interstate-commerce power doesn't stop at state boundaries but reaches any activity that "may affect other States." Thus, even local, noncommercial activity "may still be reached by Congress if it exerts a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce," he wrote.
The idea was that every bushel Mr. Filburn grew was one less he needed to buy, reducing demand; if every farmer did the same, the price pressure would be "far from trivial," the court said.
Coming at the end of a string of similar rulings, the decision wasn't controversial at the time, says Jackson scholar John Barrett, a law professor at St. John's University in New York. It was seen as reflecting the framers intent to create a powerful federal government.
In drafting the Constitution, "there really was an interest in creation of a national market and an empowering of the government to oversee a national market," he says.
Some conservatives never accepted the reasoning; a 1988 Reagan Justice Department document said it stretched "the power of Congress to regulate pursuant to the Commerce Clause to the breaking point."
A 2005 suit contended the commerce power shouldn't permit federal authorities to prosecute someone for growing marijuana if his state's law let him do so for personal medical use. Invoking the Wickard reasoning, the Supreme Court held otherwise, 6-3.
Until Mr. Marbut, few imagined overturning it. He quotes science-fiction author Robert A. Heinlein: "When it's time to railroad, people start railroading."
He might seem an unlikely candidate to lead a constitutional counterrevolution. Mr. Marbut, 65, lives alone outside Missoula, in a solar-powered geodesic dome he built from a kit, on the remnant of a cattle ranch his family once owned. He started college but didn't finish. After Army service, he knocked around Alaska before coming home to devote himself to guns, his passion.
After a dispute with others in the state's National Rifle Association affiliate in the late 1980s, Mr. Marbut set up his own lobbying organization, the Montana Shooting Sports Association.
He teaches gun-safety classes, has self-published a book on Montana gun laws and manufactures targets for sale to shooting ranges. The NRA didn't respond to requests for comment.
Though he lost a bid for the Montana Legislature, he became the state's pre-eminent firearms advocate because of his singular focus. He organizes shooting matches to raise money for pro-gun politicians. He writes legislation for the lawmakers he helps elect. Montana lawmakers have enacted dozens of his bills, most of which relax gun regulations.
But Montana couldn't alter federal law. That led Mr. Marbut to the source of congressional authority over guns in the state, the Wickard case.
He concluded the Supreme Court had twisted the words of the commerce clause, which grants Congress authority to "regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States."
Last year, in an essay that incorrectly attributed Justice Jackson's opinion to Justice Owen Roberts, he wrote: "It's time for the [Chief Justice John] Roberts of 2010 to trump the squishy [Owen] Roberts of 1942."
He conceived of the Firearms Freedom Act as a way to get it reconsidered. He says he focused on the commerce clause, rather than Second Amendment theories popular with firearms enthusiasts, to prompt a broad ruling that would rein in federal power.
The bill failed twice but passed in 2009, after Republicans won statehouse majorities. The Legislature's nonpartisan legal adviser said it would probably be found unconstitutional.
Gov. Brian Schweizter, a Democrat, signed it anyway. "It's a gun bill, but it's another way of demonstrating the sovereignty of the state of Montana," the governor said at the time.
State Rep. Robyn Driscoll, a Democrat who got a grade of F from Mr. Marbut's political-action committee, called the bill "absolutely appalling," saying legislators "would not support funding for education or women's clinics or anything like that, but they'll pass this blatantly unconstitutional bill and pay for the Supreme Court fight."
Infusing the dry concept of commercial regulatory authority with the emotional issue of gun rights was political "genius," says Barak Orbach, a University of Arizona law professor who has studied Mr. Marbut's impact on lawmaking.
On his website, Mr. Marbut posted a seven-step plan for attacking the federal commerce power, centering on passage of Firearms Freedom Acts. Enthusiasts got them introduced in more than 20 states. Nine legislatures passed them. Only one governor vetoed the bill, Democrat Brad Henry of Oklahoma.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, signed, even as she vetoed a similar measure applying to light bulbs. "Both bills invite lawsuits that would restore our Founding Fathers' vision of a limited federal government based on the 10th Amendment," said her veto message, but "the Firearms Freedom Act is the more immediate and practical vehicle for achieving the objective."
Following a strategy pioneered by Thurgood Marshall and the civil-rights movement, Mr. Marbut rounded up allies to file friend-of-the-court briefs. In addition to gun groups, conservative advocacy organizations such as the Goldwater Institute filed briefs backing the court challenge.
Mr. Marbut took an even more restrictive view of federal commerce power than did farmer Filburn. Where the farmer claimed his wheat was beyond congressional regulation because he didn't seek to market it, Mr. Marbut says Congress lacks authority over products even when they're sold, if not sold over state lines.
As he predicted, he lost the first round in federal court. Federal District Judge Donald Molloy wrote that the Montana legislature was free "to riddle the statutory code with 'political statements'" but not to invent its own constitutional law.
Mr. Marbut expects to fall short at the appeals court, as well. If he gets to the Supreme Court and loses there, he is readying a Plan B. He calls it "Sheriffs First," a bill that would authorize Montana sheriffs to arrest federal lawmen who enter their counties without permission.





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33. Teaching kids to act safely around guns starts at home
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News channel gets gun laws wrong.
Board member Bruce Jackson emailed me this:
From NBC29 News: http://tinyurl.com/62r7h68
July 14, 2011
Locked but not loaded is the law when guns are near kids in Virginia homes. [PVC: NO, it isn't! One must simply make sure a child doesn't get access to a gun due to recklessness or carelessness.]
Virginia law holds gun owners responsible for safely keeping weapons away from kids, but law enforcement and schools are targeting kids and teens with education about gun safety.
It's simple to lock up a firearm, according to Deputy Frank Moore with the Albemarle County Sheriff's Office. He says even a padlock does the trick, and while that may not prevent theft, it can keep a tragedy from happening. "That padlock through the trigger guard, behind the trigger. That gun cannot possibly be fired," he stated.
Moore recommends investing in a lockbox for stronger security against kids getting their hands on a gun. Police and sheriff's departments also give away basic chain and key child safety locks at no cost.
Moore said, "There's no excuse to not have this except ignorance. And ignorance can be fixed with education."
Deputy Moore and his wife teach kids and teens about guns through the National Rifle Association's (NRA) Eddie Eagle Program. It offers free firearms safety education seminars in classrooms and camps across the county.
It teaches kids to "Stop. Don't touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult. Then, they're armed with something that will help keep them safe," explained Moore.
Police say the worst thing you can do with your kids is pretend that guns don't exist in your neighborhood; there are guns in 50 percent of American homes. Chances are your child will end up in one of those homes at some point.
Homeowners are not responsible for telling you there's a gun in the house.
"Don't be afraid to ask - do you have guns and we want to make sure they're unloaded or not in a location my child can reach," stated Michie Hamlett Attorney Bryan Slaughter. Gun owners can be charged with criminal negligence if a child under the age of 14 gets a hold of a gun. Slaughter said, "It's actually a violation of the law to have a loaded firearm in a place where a child can reach it."
Deputy Moore makes it clear to kids that guns are not toys but he says keeping guns out of their reach is ultimately up to adults. "You have a responsibility to keep it secure and out of the hands of children," he stated. A Virginia Department of Health report counted just 16 accidental gun-related child and teen deaths in the commonwealth between 1999 and 2007. To learn more about the Eddie Eagle GunSafe program, including how to schedule a seminar for a group of kids, click here or call the Albemarle County Sheriff's Office at (434) 972-4001.
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34. Burglar messes with wrong dude (Video)
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James D. Durso emailed me this:
From Fox News: http://tinyurl.com/6yxdjfj

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VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org [http://www.vcdl.org/