About once a month, Dave Kopel produces a free e-mail Newsletter containing short summaries and links to important new research and writing involving the Second Amendment and firearms policy. The newsletter also reports on Kopel's latest writing.
The content of this newsletter is produced by the Second Amendment Project at the Independence Institute, a think tank in Golden, Colorado. The newsletter is electronically distributed by the Second Amendment Foundation in Bellevue, Washington. Thus, the Second Amendment Foundation will be given your e-mail address.
Archive of past issues.
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
Please visit Dave Kopel's website, containing articles on
the Second Amendment and other freedom topics.
1. New by Kopel: Gun-burning festival in Mali. Anti-gun Police Chief
Charles Moose. Victory in Newsom v. Albermarle; Fourth Circuit upholds
Right of student to wear NRA Shooting Sports Camp t-shirt.
New book on Gun Laws of Montana. Hanukkah.
2. Cases: Ninth circuit says feds can't ban intra-state machine gun manufacture.
Crime victim can sue innocent gun company. Lawsuits against new CCW laws in
Missouri and New Mexico. Washington Ct. App. enforces state RKBA.
3. Federal Laws. Patriot Act abuses. Reform of federal record keeping law.
4: State Law. Michigan, Ohio, Utah, Wisconsin
5. International: Vast amount of news, plus new study by Gary Mauser.
6. Terrorism: Obstruction of armed pilot program. More.
7. Politics: Democrats try to shed anti-gun image.
8. Culture: More and more women with guns. New book by Mary Stange
on women who hunt. New website exposes Michael Moore. Dustin Hoffman
brags about his work against Second Amendment. Sister Sledge. Google and
Symantec discriminate against gun owners.
9. Research. New database on armed citizen defense. More.
=================
1. New By Kopel
Newsom Wins One.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals shoots down a school's attempt to punish
a student for weaing a NRA Shooting Sports Camp t-shirt.
National Review Online
Jan. 8, 2004
http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel200401080929.asp
Note: On January 9, the Fourth Circuit denied the school district's
petition for a rehearing en banc.
Up in Flames: Mali's Gun Show
Dave Kopel, Paul Gallant & Joanne D. Eisen
National Review Online
December 05, 2003
http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel-gallant-eisen200312050848.asp
Mali's much-celebrated, by the U.N., at least, public combustion of
surrendered firearms was a publicity stunt that had
little to do with the reduction of violence in the island nation.
Moose Bull: The "D.C. Sniper" police chief's version of history
Dave Kopel & Paul Blackman
National Review Online
December 11, 2003
http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel-blackmun200312110800.asp
Former Montgomery County, Maryland, Police Chief Charles Moose's new
book gives version of the D.C. area sniper shootings and his own career
that the facts do not support.
Unarmed For The Election: Arnold Schwarzenegger Doesn't Know The Basics
Of California Gun Laws
Dave Kopel
National Review Online
September 30, 2003
http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel200309300910.asp
New book: Gun Laws of Montana, by Gary Marbut.
Forward by Dave Kopel:
http://www.davekopel.com/2A/LawRev/MontanaGunOwnersGuide.htm
Website for the book:
http://www.mtpublish.com/mp/
Coming soon on National Review Online:
Article on banning guns under the guise of "consumer safety,"
with Dr. Timothy Wheeler.
Article on Gun control and repression in Sri Lanka,
with Drs. Paul Gallant & Joanne D. Eisen.
Some previous Kopel columns on Hanukkah:
A Rich Tradition. Jewish war lessons.
National Review Online.
Dec. 5, 2002.
http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel120502.asp
Hanukkah's Freedom Fighters
The story of the holiday captures much of the paradox that has faced
Judaism.
National Review Online.
Dec. 22, 2000.
http://www.nationalreview.com/weekend/history/history-hanukkah122200.shtml
===========
2. Cases
Federal Government Cannot Ban Homemade Machine Guns
Decision written by Jude Alex Kozinski
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
November 13, 2003
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0210318p.pdf
Appeals Court Reinstates Wrongful Death Suit Against Gun Industry
David Kravets
The Associated Press, Printed in the San Diego Union Tribune
November 20, 2003
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20031120-1201-ca-gunlawsuits.html
No Trial, No Proof, You Lose Your Business -- That's What The Law Says
Eugene Volokh
The Volokh Conspiracy
November 22, 2003
http://volokh.com/2003_11_16_volokh_archive.html#106936246714448428
Prof. Volokh offers his opinion of the 9th Circuit's decision on the
wrongful death lawsuit.
Judge Permanently Blocks Missouri's Concealed Guns Law
Tim Bryant
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
November 7, 2003
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News
/A591F93F13862EFD86256DD8001916A6?OpenDocument&Headline=Judge+permanently
+blocks+Missouri's+concealed+guns+law
A Missouri judge has issued a permanent injunction against the
concealed carry reform passed by the State Legi slature over the
governor's veto. The Missouri state Attorney General has filed an
appeal to the state supreme court, which will be heard on Jan. 22.
AG Asks Supreme Court To Throw Out Concealed Handgun Challenge
The Associated Press
4KOBTV.com
November 25, 2003
http://kobtv.com/index.cfm?viewer=storyviewer&id=6494&cat=HOME
Much the same is taking place in New Mexico, where an activist group is
suing to prevent a law similar to Missouri's from taking effect.
Washington v. Robert
Decision authored by Judge C. C. Bridgewater
The Court of Appeals Division II of the State of Washington
November 12, 2003
http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/?fa=opinions.opindisp&docid=285070MAJ
Division 2 of the Washington State Court of Appeals ruled that a state
statute criminalizing mere firearms ownership, when the person
has no access to the firearm, by a person
charged with a serious offense, violates the state constitutional right
to bear arms.
=================
3. Federal Laws
Deal Struck on Gun Buyer Data
The Associated Press
Washington Post
November 26, 2003
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14481-2003Nov25.html
Background checks on gun buyers would be retained for 24 hours, instead
of 90 days, under a deal Republicans struck during final negotiations
over an immense spending bill funding dozens of federal agencies.
==============
4. State Laws
Michigan
Gun Permit Rules Too Stringent, Lawsuit Claims
By Kyla King
The Grand Rapids Press
November 04, 2003
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/
base/news-11/1067960984243130.xml
Firearms rights advocates sued the Kent County Gun Board on Monday,
saying its requirements for concealed-weapons permits go beyond what
state law intends.
Ohio
Taft plans to veto bill on hidden weapons
Sandy Theis
The Plain Dealer
November 20, 2003
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1069324432246581.xml
Ohio Gov. Bob Taft said he will veto legislation to allow Ohio
residents to carry concealed weapons - unless it requires the state to
disclose names of those who are issued gun permits. Gun owners
consider such a requirement an invitation to criminal attack.
Utah
Severity Of Utah Gun Laws Not Common Knowledge
Pamela Manson
The Salt Lake Tribune
November 2, 2003
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Nov/11022003/utah/107549.asp
Utah prosecutors are strictly enforcing the state's laws regulating firearms.
Wisconsin
Senate's Gun Veto Override Rests On 4: Doyle's Rejection Sends Bill Back To
Legislature
Steven Walters
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
November 18, 2003
http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/nov03/185947.asp
Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed a bill that would have allowed Wisconsin
residents who qualify for a permit to carry concealed weapons in public,
saying it threatened the safety of police officers and citizens.
The Wisconsin state Senate will try to override.
===========
5. International
Insidious judicial activism through foreign laws
David Limbaugh
Townhall.com
November 7, 2003
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/davidlimbaugh/dl20031107.shtml
Limbaugh notes that there has been a lot of talk recently about
international law and custom seeping into American constitutional law,
not only from academics but from the United States Supreme Court
justices.
Guns and Communism
Richard Poe
MensNewsDaily.com
November 10, 2003
http://mensnewsdaily.com/archive/p/poe/03/poe111003.htm
The current efforts to inculcate a dislike of weapons in society have
elements in common with efforts toward global socialism.
New Movie from JPFO: Innocents Betrayed.
Press Release
December 15, 2003
http://www.jpfo.org/ib-orders.htm
Innocents Betrayed presents accounts of how civilian disarmament made
possible the killing of millions
Amnesty, Oxfam target arms trade
The Associated Press
The Globe and the Mail
October 9, 2003
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/
RTGAM.20031009.warms1009/BNStory/International/
These Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) have launched a campaign
in more than 50 countries aimed at controlling what they call a
dangerously unregulated global arms trade that routinely allows weapons
to reach repressive governments, human-rights abusers and criminals.
Australia
Diamond Gun Ban Stays
Sharon Mathieson
newscom.au
December 21, 2003
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7913702%5E1702,00.html
Reigning Olympic gold medalist Michael Diamond's hope of defending his
title in Athens has slippe d even further, with the shooter banned from
picking up a gun until late December.
Brazil
Kevin G. Hall
The Miami Herald
December 10, 2003
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/7461154.htm
Brazil passes strict new gun law
The BBC News World Edition
December 10, 2003
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3305927.stm
Brazil's gun laws are the toughest in South America, but Brazilians
interviewed consider them ineffective. So the laws are being made
even more severe.
Canada
The Failed Experiment: Gun Control and Public Safety in Canada, Australia,
England and Wales
Gary A. Mauser
A Fraser Institute Occasional Paper, Number 71
November 2003
http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/admin/books/files/FailedExperiment.pdf
Monograph argues that the laws passed in these Commonwealth states
have not delivered on the promises made by their advocates.
England
Police Develop Mobile Weapon Scanner
The BBC News UK Edition
November 8, 2003
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3253073.stm
Shooting incidents rose 35% last year. Police are developing a mobile
scanner that can detect weapons such as guns and knives being carried
under clothing.
Liverpool football player shot in bar: Weekend
attacks show gun crime out of
control'
Helen Carter
The Guardian
October 6, 2003
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,11026,1056801,00.html
A Liverpool Football Club player was one of three men shot in a bar in
the city yesterday just as the government was accused of letting gun
violence in Britain spiral out of control
Dame Kiri Triggers Gun Drama As She Checks In At Hotel
Auslan Cramb
news.telegraph.co.UK
December 5, 2003
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/12/06/nkiri06.xml
The Maori soprano unwittingly spread consternation among staff at the
Holiday Inn Theatreland in Glasgow when she asked to be directed to the
hotel's "gun store". This, she declared, was where she would like to
store her firearms during her stay. Police were called.
Iraq
Baghdad's Murder Rate Irresponsibly Distorted
John R. Lott, Jr.
Investor's Business Daily
December 12, 2003
http://www.aei.org/news19624/
A country where civilians were able to freely own machine guns has a
lower murder rate than our own nation's capital where even handguns are banned.
Iraqis To Form Anti-Guerrilla Militia
The Associated Press
December 4, 2003
NewsMax.com
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/12/3/222046.shtml
Iraqi political parties and coalition authorities are discussing the
creation of a 1,000-member militia to bolster the U.S. military's fight
against a guerrilla insurgency.
Iraq Small Arms Are A Big Threat
Rachel Stohl
The Christian Science Monitor
November 05, 2003
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1105/p09s02-coop.html
International gun prohibition leader calls for
disarming victims of terrorists.
South Africa
South Africa enacting tougher gun control laws
Laurie Goering
Chicago Tribune
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/world/7178174.htm
South Africa: No Roses For Those With Gunz
Borrie la Grange
news24.com
November 26, 2003
http://www.news24.com/News24/
outh_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1451330,00.html
South African gun owners will be limited to a maximum of four guns,
including just one for self-defense. For each weapon they will have to
prove a need for ownership and submit to re-registry every two to five
years, depending on the firearm type.
=============
6. Terrorism
Where are the Armed Pilots?
Tracy W. Price
Washington Times
December 12, 2003
http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20031211-085721-8712r.htm
This 737 captain explains why so few airline pilots have completed
training to improve security in their cockpits more than a year after
Congress cleared the way for pilots to be armed.
Following Hussein Capture, CCRKBA Commends Bush for
Signing Armed Cargo Pilots Bill
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
December 15, 2003
http://www.ccrkba.org/pub/rkba/press-releases/
CC-BushSignsCargoPilots031215.html
"We commend President George W. Bush for signing into law a measure to
provide for the arming of cargo pilots against terrorism," John Michael
Snyder, Public Affairs Director.
Criminal Enforcement Against Terrorists and Spies in the Year
After the 9/11 Attacks
A TRAC Special Report
February 13, 2003
http://trac.syr.edu/tracreports/terrorism/fy2002.html
The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse finds that Federal
investigators have recommended the prosecution of more than 6,400
individuals, but only 5 have been sentenced to twenty years or more.
And the typical or median sentence for those classified as
international terrorists was 14 days in the period covered.
===================
7. Politics
Democrats aim for new support on gun issues
Mary Leonard
Boston Globe
December 14, 2003
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/348/nation/
Democrats_aim_for_new_support_on_gun_issuesP.shtml
The persistence of a reputation for opposing firearms ownership is
examined in this article about problems dogging Democrat candidates on
the campaign trail this year.
Kerry Takes Aim At Dean Over Gun Control Issue
Joel Connelly
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
November 7, 2003
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/147249_joel07.html
Senator Kerry hopes to use his long-term support of firearms
restrictions to win support with Democrats against Howard Dean.
Gun Safety Group Applauds Dean for Rejecting Gore's 2000 Gun Positions
Press Release
Americans for Gun Safety
December 11, 2003
http://www.jointogether.org/gv/news/alerts/reader/0,2061,568111,00.html
Americans for Gun Safety applauds Dean for rejecting Gore's 2000
strategy on guns and staking out a new position on gun safety
for the Democratic Party in 2004.
Democrats Tout Second Amendment, But Voting Records Show Hostility
Robert B. Bluey
Newsmax.com
November 17, 2003
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/11/17/110407.shtml
CNSNews.com's review of the candidates for the Democrat party's presidential
nominations' votes and statements on firearms policy shows that those
with congressional experience have anything but a moderate voting record
================
8. Culture
Heart Shots: Women Write about Hunting.
Mary Zeiss Stange, Ed.
Stackpole Books
August, 2003
http://www.stackpolebooks.com/
1-800-732-3669.
This book includes forty-six writers, whose work represents the very
best of women's thinking and writing about hunting over the past
hundred years or so. Publishers Weekly calls it an "elegantly edited.
. .tribute to the women who have forayed into the male-dominated world
of hunting," and remarks that while the book will be of interest to
hunters (of both sexes)."
Pistol Packin' Ladies
Kathryn Walson
The Valley Morning Star
November 15, 2003
http://www.valleystar.com/rioliving_more.php?id=50812_0_17_0_C
More women are shooting, due to of society's increasing acceptance of
women who engage in masculine activities, said Ethel Cantu, who teaches
the psychology of gender at the University of Texas at Brownsville.
NRA Still On Target With Gun Magazine Aimed At Women: Publication meets
growing demand, organization says
Dana Calvo
Boston Globe
November 28, 2003
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/11/28/n
ra_still_on_target_with_gun_magazine_aimed_at_women/
The National Rifle Association's newest publication, a 75-page magazine
written for its growing female membership, has been such a hit since it
premiered last January within the organization that Wal-Mart began
carrying it on nearly 10 percent of its newsstands nationwide this
month
Michael Moore's credibility: Bowling for Columbine, etc
David Hardy
http://www.mooreexposed.com/
This website collects and features an ongoing examination of Michael
Moore's film and political writings.
Music artists appeal against gun crime
BBC News World Edition
November 5, 2003
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3245067.stm
U.S. Disco diva Sister Sledge arrived at the British House of Commons
to say it was her duty as an entertainer to speak out against the gun
culture which is claiming so many lives in Britain.
Interview with Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman
Rebecca Murray
October 30, 2003
http://romanticmovies.about.com/cs/therunawayjury/a/runawayintgh_3.htm
Actor Dustin Hoffman describes how he consulted the Brady Campaign,
in preparation for his role in the film 'Runaway Jury.'
Symantec Says No To Pro-Gun Sites
slashdot.com
November 2, 2003
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/11/02/1729239
The poster tested and found correct the NRA's announcement that
Symantec's new Internet Security 2004 would block pro gun rights sites
(i.e. NRA sites), while not blocking similar anti-gun rights web
sites.
Google Accepts Porn Ads but Refuses Those for Guns
Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com
October 7, 2003
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\200310\CUL20031007c.html
The Google search engine will accept ads for pornographic websites but will not
accept
ads from licensed gun dealers selling a legal product to adults.
================
9. Research
CDC: Impact Of Gun Laws Cloudy
David Wahlberg
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
October 3, 2003
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/1003/03cdcguns.html
A Center for Disease Control task force has said that more study is
needed before judging the effectiveness of firearms control
legislation.
Maryland State Police Oppose Expanded Gun Data Base
Laura Barnhardt
Baltimore Sun
November 7, 2003
http://www.2ndamendment.com/Miscellaneous/News/20031107-02.htm
After finding substantial problems with the state's ballistic
fingerprinting database, Maryland State Police have recommended that it
not be expanded.
Guns, Drugs and Juvenile Crime: Evidence from a Panel of Siblings and Twins
Naci H. Mocan And Erdal Tekin
IZA Discussion Paper No. 932
November 2003
http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=473589
Two economists, Mocan, at University of Colorado at Denver, and Tekin,
of Georgia State University, employ a nationally-representative panel
data set of U.S. high school students (AddHealth data) that contains a
relatively large sample of siblings and twins, to investigate the
impacts of gun availability at home and individual drug use on robbery,
burglary, theft and damaging property for juveniles.
Search the Armed Citizen Archives
The NRA Institute for Legislative Action
http://www.nraila.org/ArmedCitizen/Default.aspx
This archive contains the 'Armed Citizen' entries from the American
Rifleman from the present back to 1958. The database is searchable by
key word and state and results are displayed in chronological order
according to the month of publication in the magazine.
This newsletter is compiled with help from Dr. Rob S. Rice. Dr.
Rice, no relation to football commentator Jim, is a historian,
writer and factotum of matters electronic to Dave Kopel.
Al Qaeda delenda est! Saddam deletus est.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.
May the New Year bring the blessings of liberty to our nation and the whole
world.
