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
**KOPEL CITED IN DOJ REPORT AFFIRMING RKBA**
1. New by Kopel: Micro-disarmament; Essays of the Season
2. Self-defense: Ohio shooting; Expert Advises Corporate Gun ban;
3. International: Pro-gun supermodel; Pistol-Packing Priest Redux; U.K. Knife Ban and Burglar's Rights; U.N. Abuse Scandal
4. The States: Hunting Ban in NJ; Oklahoma Professor Punished; Philadelphia Scissor Girl
5. Culture: Zero Tolerance; Assault Weapon Watch!
6. History: Jewish Partisans; Washington's Gun Collection
7. Law: Chicago Suit; Putative Laws,
8. Research
Department of Justice Affirms Second Amendment Individual Right:
Cites Independence Institute's David B. Kopel 7 Times
On Dec. 17 the United States Department of Justice today released
the
most thorough analysis of the Second Amendment ever conducted by the
Executive Branch of the United States government. The title of the
93
page report, with 437 footnotes, is "Whether the Second Amendment
Guarantees an Individual Right." As the report's subtitle states,
"The
Second Amendment secures a right of individuals generally, not a
right
of States or a right restricted to persons serving in militias."
The report cites the Second Amendment historical research of David
B.
Kopel seven times. (See notes 33, 90, 290, 342, 403, 428, 437 and
accompanying text.) The report also frequently cites Stephen
Halbrook,
Don Kates, and David Hardy.
The report cites the following Kopel articles:
"It isn't about Duck Hunting: The British Origins of the Right to
Arms"
(book review of Joyce Malcolm's To Keep and Bear Arms), 96 Michigan
Law
Review 1333 (1995).
http://www.davekopel.org/2A/LawRev/It_Isn't_About_Duck_Hunting.htm
"The Second Amendment in the Nineteenth Century," 1998 BYU Law
Review 1359.
http://www.davekopel.org/2A/LawRev/19thcentury.htm
"Tench Coxe and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in the Early
Republic,"
7 William and Mary Bill of Rights Journal 347 (1999). With Stephen
Halbrook.
http://www.davekopel.org/2A/LawRev/hk-coxe.htm
Although Attorneys General in the Nixon and Clinton administrations
had
adopted the position that the Second Amendment does protect
individual
rights, Kopel's research has shown that Attorneys General from the
administrations of Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson,
Benjamin Harrison, Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan recognized
an
individual Second Amendment right.
http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel052901.shtml
Thus, the current Bush administration position is very much within
the
mainstream of historical policy. However, the new DOJ memo is much
more
thorough and persuasive than anything the Department of Justice has
ever
produced on the subject.
A. Law Review Article
"Microdisarmament: The Consequences for Public Safety and
Human Rights."
Dave Kopel, Paul Gallant, and Joanne D. Eisen
UMKC Law Review (forthcoming 2005).
http://www.davidkopel.org/2A/Foreign/MicroDisarmament.pdf
This article examines UN-sponsored programs to disarm people in
Cambodia, Bougainville, Albania, Panama, Guatemala, and Mali. In
PDF,
requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view.
B. Shorter articles-Dave is filling in for Glenn Reynolds of the
MSNBC 'Slate' Opinion Page.
Defending the Home.
MSNBC 'Slate'
December 7, 2004
http://www.msnbc.msncom/id/6662217/#041207
Home defense against burglary in Great Britain, the fox-hunting ban,
and the Civil Contingencies Act.
Audacious Judith. The Jewish heroine.
MSNBC 'Slate'
December 8, 2004
http://www.msnbc.msncom/id/6662217/#041208
Judith's resistance to invading Babylonians was not solely verbal.
Armed Jews Week. The Jews who fought the Nazis embodied the spirit
of Hanukkah.
MSNBC 'Slate'
December 10, 2004
http://www.msnbc.msncom/id/6662217/#041210
The ancient inhabitants of Israel brandished more than menorahs.
[For
more on Jewish armed resistance, see the Jewish Partisans site, in
'Culture,'
below.]
2. Self-defense
Columbus Nightclub: Disarmed CHL-Holder Watched Helplessly As People
Died
Monday, December 13
Ohioans for Concealed Carry News Page
http://www.ohioccw.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2603
Ohio's ban on carrying legal firearms where liquor is served saved
the
life of a gunman, forcing a permit holder to watch helplessly as the
killer opened fire in a Columbus nightclub.
Where does a company's right to prohibit guns stop?
By Repps Hudson
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
December 6, 2004
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/columnists.nsf/reppshudson
/story/FAC48403B204BCF986256F5F0037C828?OpenDocument&Headline=Where+does+a+company's+
right+to+prohibit+guns+stop%3F
Dan Consalvo, Security chief for State Farm Insurance's corporate
office in Bloomington, Ill and incoming president of ASIS
International, formerly the American Society for Industrial
Security,
had this advice for companies on the subject of concealed carry:
"People get intimidated even when other people talk about weapons at
work. The potential for workplace violence is the big issue. People
are
stressed and pressured to the limit - work and family issues,
including
financial. The best course is for any employer to prohibit firearms
on
its property and wait for the courts to decide."
For more on Dan Consalvo:
http://securitysolutions.com/mag/security_dan_consalvo_ensures/
Who's Packing? A Lawsuit At The University Of Utah May Trigger A
Change
In The State's Concealed Weapons Law
Sam Garfield
NetXNews
November 28, 2004
http://www.netxnews.net/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/11/28/41ab503a826ba
The University of Utah wants to ban the legal carrying of concealed
weapons on campus-in direct conflict with state law. Legal action
impends.
3. International
Australia
The Australian/American Gun Law Debate
Gabrielle Reilly
Gabrielle Reilly Weekly 2004-2005
December, 2004
http://www.gabriellereillyweekly.com/gabrielle_reilly/
politics/gun_laws_australia_america.htm
An articulate essay by a pro-gun Australian-American supermodel.
Mexico
Padre Packs Pistol, Super-Sized Persona: Unorthodox Mexican Priest
Builds a Following at Home and in the U.S.
By Mary Jordan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, May 31, 2004
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/
articles/A3152-2004May30.html?referrer=email
More about Alfredo Gallegos Lara, a Mexican priest defrocked for his
habit of wearing a pistol beneath his robes, despite strict laws
in Mexico banning private citizens from carrying guns. Also known
for
his love of cowboy boots and country music, Gallegos says he only
carries a gun for protection, noting several of his friends have
been
killed over the years.
U.K.
An Englishman's home is his dungeon
Mark Steyn
The Daily Telegraph (UK)
December 7, 2004
http://www.ivanyi-consultants.com/articles/home.htm
"An Englishman's home is not his castle, but his dungeon and ever
more
so - window bars, window locks, dead bolts, laser security, and no
doubt biometric recognition garage doors, once the Blunkett national
ID
card goes into circulation."
Knife culture? Cut the crap!
Brendan O'Neill
Spiked Online
December 16, 2004
http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CA825.htm
There is little evidence for a 'rising tide of knife crime' in Britain.
So what do you do when your home is burgled?
Dr. Ian Stephen
The Scotsman
December 1, 2004
http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1377062004
It takes more than repairing the locks and replacing lost valuables
for
victims to get over the trauma of a break-in, as Dr. Stephen
illustrates. He is an Honorary Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at
Glasgow Caledonian University. A major cause of such stress is the
need under current law to override the natural urge to defend
oneself
against an intruder.
Murderous London is like old New York
Janet Daley
December 1, 2004
The Daily Telegraph
http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/12/01/do0102.xml&sSheet=/
opinion/2004/12/01/ixopinion.html
Nowadays, it is the British who do not dare to venture out of doors
after dark, not the citizens of the United States.
Under-18s To Face Knife Ban
The Guardian
December 15, 2004
http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,2763,1374328,00.html
"In an attempt to allay fears about rising levels of violence, shops
will be banned from selling knives to under-18s (they currently
cannot
sell to those under 16) and stiffer penalties will be imposed on
those
caught carrying knives on the street."
'Burglars Have Rights' Says Government's Top Lawyer
Tim Moynihan
Scotsman.com
December 11, 2004
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3876660
"We must protect victims and law-abiding citizens. But we have to
recognise that others have some rights as well. They don't lose all
rights because they're engaged in criminal conduct." This from
Britain's Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith.
United Nations
Kerry Spot: U.N. PEACEKEEPERS GET INTO THE PEDOPHILIA BUSINESS
Jim Geraghty
The National Review Online
http://www.nationalreview.com/kerry/kerry200412161112.asp
The United Nations has received a report from its own investigators
detailing years of sexual abuse, extortion, and bribery in its own
peacekeeping operation in Congo.
4. The States
New Jersey
Group takes aim at full state ban on hunting
Terrence Dopp
The Gloucester County Times (NJ)
December 8, 2004
http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/index.ssf?/
base/news-2/1102497365224180.xml
Buoyed by the defeat of a planned black bear hunt this year, one
animal
rights group has announced it has a statewide hunting ban in its
sights.
Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma Administration Plots to Punish Professor for
Political Beliefs, Whistleblowing
Press Release
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
December 8, 2004
http://www.thefire.org/index.php/article/5076.html
The University of Oklahoma removed Professor David Deming,
a faculty member who spoke out on behalf of Second Amendment rights,
from his department and moved his office to the basement - all
the while claiming to respect the principles of academic freedom.
Harassed Professor Files Suit Against Univ. of Oklahoma
Jim Brown
Agape Press
December 10, 2004
http://www.thefire.org/index.php/article/5078.html
"Tenured geology professor David Deming has filed a lawsuit against
OU
for stripping him of his office and most of this courses. The
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which has
advocated on his behalf, claims OU administrators plotted to
ostracize
Deming for his outspoken political views and attempts at whistle
blowing."
Philadelphia Police Chief and School Leader Apologize for
Schoolgirl's
Arrest and Handcuffing Over Scissors
Maryclaire Dale
The Associated Press
December 13, 2004
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBW7XCHP2E.html
Police officers decided a 10-year-old Philadelphia girl who took
scissors to school hadn't committed a crime and let her go, but
school
officials suspended her for five days, later reduced to two. The
scissors were discovered while students' belongings were being
searched
for property missing from a teacher's desk.
5. Culture
School Fight Captured On Camera
Pam Dixon
7 KLPC
December 15, 2004
http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2698459&nav=0nqxUFSy
"Even though another student is seen hitting Donald first, Donald,
too,
is facing an arrest through the school system's zero tolerance
fighting
policy."
Additional examples of 'Zero Tolerance' in action may be found at:
and
http://www.neoflux.com/content/horrible/
Bellicose Women's Brigade
Home Page
http://www.nukevet.com/mt/bwb/Welcome2.htm
An effort to present information on the subject of self-defense to women.
Assault Weapon Watch
Home Page
The Coalition to Prevent Assault Weapon Violence
http://www.assaultweaponwatch.com/
This page allows viewers to do their own part to prevent assault
weapon
violence on-line. Strongly recommended.
Hey, At Least He's Consistent
Clayton Cramer
Clayton Cramer's Blog
December 13, 2004
http://www.claytoncramer.com/weblog/
2004_12_12_archive.html#110295655858702905
Another life-saving device Arthur Kellerman doesn't want you to have in a home.
Americans Softening on Tougher Gun Laws?
Darren K. Carlson
The Gallup Organization
November 30, 2004
http://www.gallup.com/poll/content/login.aspx?ci=14185
This article requires a paid subscription to read, but
The People's Rights Organization
http://www.peoplesrights.org/articletemplate.asp?id=78
An Ohio-based 2nd Amendment advocacy group, provides a précis, excerpted here:
"Public support for stricter gun laws has declined 17 percent in the
past decade, and nearly two-thirds of the American public would not
support banning handguns for anyone but police and other "authorized
persons," according to the results of an October Gallup crime
survey.
In its report on the survey, "Americans Softening on Tougher Gun
Laws?"
Gallup noted that even after the 10-year ban on so-called assault
rifles came to an end, only 54 percent of those surveyed said laws
covering the sale of firearms should be more strict. This is a drop
from the 71 percent who supported tougher laws during the period of
1990-1993, the report said. "The results," said Gallup's report,
"portray a populace that has become more hesitant in recent years to
say gun laws should be made more strict..."
6. History
Jewish Partisan Educational Organization
Home Page
http://www.jewishpartisans.org/
"Most people don't know there were 20,000-30,000 Jews who fought
back
against the Nazis as Jewish partisans. These Jews were responsible
for
blowing up thousands of Nazi trains, sabotaging armored convoys, and
thwarting the Nazi War Machine in countless ways. This information
has
the power to transform people's perception of the Jewish experience
during the Holocaust."
Truth and Guns
Larry Bronstein
Reader Responses
The Wall Street Journal
December 1, 2004
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/
bminiter/responses.html?article_id=110002639
"It is interesting to note that George Washington's collection of
swords
and guns is sheltered from public scrutiny. Our Founding Fathers
knew
that arms were necessary first to gain freedom and then to protect
it.
Hence the wisdom of our Second Amendment that provides each citizen
the
right to bear arms. The public would do well to be reacquainted with
the
times and wisdom of Mr. Washington."
7. Law
Felon may have right to 'just compensation' for guns police seized;
Court rules Balto. County cannot keep the firearms
Lisa Goldberg
The Baltimore Sun
December 15, 2004
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.guns15dec15,0,2026947.story?coll=bal-local-headlines
A man who has been fighting for the return of guns seized by
Baltimore
County police after his 1999 conviction and sentencing for auto
manslaughter may be entitled to compensation for them, Maryland's
highest court has ruled.
Chiago v. Beretta
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?
court=il&vol=/sc/2004/95243&invol=3
The State Supreme Court of Illinois threw out Chicago's lawsuit
against
gun manufacturers on November 18th. Writing for the court, Justice
Rita Garman said the city's claims are "the result of numerous
unforeseeable intervening criminal acts by third parties not under
defendant's control."
Anti-Hunters Create Litigation Division: Humane Society Of The
United
States To Challenge Hunting Via Courts
Press Release
U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance
December 3, 2004
http://espn.go.com/outdoors/conservation/news/2004/1203/1938114.html
An Animal Protection Litigation section was created in the wake of
the
recent merger of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and
the
Fund for Animals. The organization will seek to eradicate hunting
through suits in the courts.
Proposed laws
S.F. ballot will have sweeping ban on handguns
Lisa Leff
The Associated Press
December 16, 2004
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041216/news_1n16guns.html
San Francisco's 10 legal concealed carry holders would lose their
weapons if the initiative placed on next year's ballot by San
Francisco's board of supervisors passes. As an aide put it,
"...Officers will have an opportunity to interact with folks and, if
they have a handgun, that will be reason enough to confiscate it."
Draft Bill
2005 Montana Legislature
Prepared by Montana Legislative Services
December 2, 2004
http://data.opi.state.mt.us/bills/2005/lchtml/LC0565.htm
A proposed bill in this state aims to remove Federal control over
purely intrastate firearms ownership and manufacture.
=======================
8. Research
Reducing Gun Violence: The St. Louis Consent-to-Search Program
The National Institute of Justice
November, 2004
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/191332.htm
The St. Louis Consent-to-Search Program used community-based sources
to
identify homes where juveniles might be harboring guns. Police then
sought parental permission to search for and confiscate any illegal
guns. This report describes the program's setbacks and implications
for
community policing. (Report itself requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Welcome! from THE GUN GUY
Home Page
http://www.webcom.com/gun_guy/home.html
This site is a collection of thousands of firearm-related web links.
Accidental Firearm-related Fatalities Drop to All-time Low
Press Release
The National Shooting Sports Foundation
December 7, 2004
http://www.nssf.org/news/PR_idx.cfm?AoI=generic&PRloc=common/PR/&PR=120704.cfm
A report from the National Safety Council shows that accidental
firearm-related fatalities continue to decline and are at the lowest
level in the history of record keeping. Statistics in the council's
"Injury Facts 2004" reveal a 54 percent decrease over a 10-year
period
ending in 2003.
Gun Facts Booklet
Guy Smith
Gun Facts
http://www.gunfacts.info/index.html
Guy Smith's Gun Facts booklet, version 4.0,is now online in PDF
format.
"Gun facts is a free e-book that debunks common myths about gun
control."
Four Square Plan
Guy Smith
Gun Facts
http://www.gunfacts.info/notes/four-square.html
Guy Smith presents a list of objectives and means to achieve them
for
firearms rights activists.
Mental Illness & The Mass Murder in Columbus
Clayton Cramer
Clayton Cramer's Blog
December 9, 2004
http://www.claytoncramer.com/weblog/
2004_12_05_archive.html#110271150594771461
"The swing from the 1950s--when an adult in Florida was
institutionalized just on the say-so of his parents--to the current
situation, where mentally ill people get no help until they kill
someone--has gone too far. This recent mass murder in Columbus has a
lot of mentall illness fingerprints on it."
Smart Gun Requirement Still at Least Five Years Away
Steve Strunsky
Associated Press
December 9, 2004
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/10379411.htm
Researchers are making progress in developing "smart gun"
technology,
but it will still be at least five years before a 2002 New Jersey
law
requiring it can take effect, officials said Thursday.
This newsletter is compiled with help from Dr. Rob S. Rice. Dr.
Rice,
is also a poet, writer and factotum of matters electronic to
Dave Kopel.
Al Qaeda delenda est!
