Norfolk County League of Sportsmen's Clubs: News

Smith & Wesson to commemorate landmark gun ruling

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:26:00 GMT

Boston Globe: SPRINGFIELD, Mass.—Smith & Wesson is manufacturing a commemorative revolver in honor of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that backed the right of individuals to own guns for self-defense.

The Springfield-based gun maker announced Monday it would present engraved Model 442 revolvers to the six plaintiffs in the lawsuit that led to the high court's June 26 decision striking down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia.

The commemorative revolvers, made in partnership with the Second Amendment Foundation, will be sold in the fall, with a portion of sales going to the pro-gun legal group.

Smith & Wesson said the gun's right-side plate will be engraved with the words "D.C. vs. Heller" on a scale of justice, which is tipped toward Heller. "Second Amendment" and "The right to keep and bear arms" will appear below the scale.

Animal groups fight shark hunting’s bite

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:39:00 GMT

Boston Herald: OAK BLUFFS - Several tourists circled a table set up in Post Office Square to protest the annual shark hunt that makes its home here.

They were glancing at the huge posters, smaller blue shark magnets and buttons when one closed in and grabbed a magnet, picking it up by just a corner.

“Would you like to sign our petition to stop the shark hunt?” said Katheryn Krullberg, a campaign manager with The Humane Society of the United States. “Let’s hope this is the last year.”

Despite the name, the animal rights organization is not affiliated with dog and cat shelters or spaying and neutering programs, but works instead to advance animal rights causes such as reducing consumption of eggs, beef, chicken and pork in order to save animals.

And the whack jobs at HSUS are it again....

10 arrested during series of Lowell gang raids

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:30:00 GMT

Boston Globe: Police arrested 10 people and seized weapons ranging from a MAC-11 machine pistol to semiautomatic handguns as well as bags of marijuana and $69,500 in cash during a series of gang raids Friday in Lowell.

Now tell us again how illegal possession of drugs and illegal possession of firearms aren't nearly always related with one another? When any High School student can purchase any drug they want - we've lost the war on drugs. We've lost the war because people are too afraid to report these purchases and continue to live in fear in their own neighborhoods. It's nice to see a small victory every once in awhile however.

D.C. Disses Supremes on Gun Law

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:47:00 GMT

It shouldn't have come as any surprise that the District of Columbia decided that it can and will continue to all but completely disarm its law-abiding citizens -- not even when it's less than three weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled otherwise.

After all, this is the same D.C. that was home to the most restrictive firearms laws in the country -- until the Court struck them down. The same D.C. that banned its law-abiding citizens from possessing any handgun. The same D.C. that forced its law-abiding citizens to keep the few firearms they could possess both unloaded and disassembled or locked at all times. In other words, the same D.C. that has disarmed its law-abiding citizens for decades despite achieving the title of "murder capital of the United States" and other dangerously dubious distinctions.

Nevertheless, it's disheartening -- actually downright disgusting -- that the Mayor, the City Council and the Attorney General of our nation's capital would flagrantly flout a constitutional decision from the highest court in the land -- not to mention bragging about it to the media. But that's exactly what happened earlier this week.

No Shame in the Second

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:30:00 GMT

The Boston Globe and one of its columnists, James Carroll, have sunk to a new low. In a screed against open carry, Carroll makes the claim that our sense of shame comes from our earliest ancestors and their use of weapons for hunting. Carroll claims the earliest exercise of religion was the result of this shame, which in his words, "spawned post-hunt rituals of sacrificial atonement, the genesis of religion." Gun owners, he argues, "forgo the primordial shame the weapon still generates." I've gotta tell you, I've seen a lot of columnists blame law-abiding gun owners for almost every one of society's ills, but this is the first time I've ever seen original sin laid squarely at our feet.

The truth is, of course, that there is no shame in hunting, and our ancestors knew that. Without the hunt, humans would not have survived. I'm not an anthropologist, but I'd be shocked if the post-hunt rituals of the earliest humans were based on atonement, rather than thanksgiving.

There's no shame in being a gun owner, either. James Carroll might not be a writer for an independent Boston newspaper if it weren't for a ragtag band of citizens who took on the British. I suggest that Carroll take a drive out to Bunker Hill, Lexington and Concord to think about history. Our Founding Fathers didn't relish having to use arms to gain their freedom, but they certainly weren't ashamed of the guns they owned and used.

It's another pathetic attempt to demonize gun owners, and I'm sure we'll see many more now that the Heller decision has been released. After all, we know the gun control crowd can be pretty shameless themselves.

Coyotes have been 'playing' on Highland Country Club, just a chip shot from downtown

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:16:00 GMT

Sun Chronicle

As if golf was not frustrating enough, imagine walking toward your next shot with the ball placed neatly in the middle of the fairway only to have it snatched up and taken away by a coyote.

GOAL Files Resolution Recognizing SCOTUS Ruling

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:37:00 GMT

State Representative George Peterson has file a joint resolution (House & Senate) on behalf of Gun Owners' Action League to recognize and acknowledge the June 26, 2008 Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruling on the Second Amendment.(See SCOTUS Heller Case Decision)

"This Resolution is a very important step in beginning to reverse the long history of the persecution and ill-treatment of lawful gun owners in the Commonwealth," said Jim Wallace Executive Director of GOAL. "Correcting over three decades of discrimination and abuse won't happen overnight, but at least we seem to be on that path now."

GOAL is urging all of our members to contact their state senators and representatives and ask them to sign onto this resolution. They may do so by contacting Rep. George Peterson's office (617-722-2100) before 5:00 pm Wednesday, July 16, 2008 and request that their name be attached to the resolution.

Whereas, On Thursday, June 26, 2008 the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed that the Second Amendment to the Constitution protects an individual's civil right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia; and

Whereas, On Thursday, June 26, 2008 the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed that the Second Amendment to the Constitution protects an individual civil right to use arms for traditionally lawful purposes; and

Whereas, On Thursday, June 26, 2008 the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed that the Second Amendment to the Constitution protects the lawful use of arms for self-defense within the home; and

Whereas, On Thursday, June 26, 2008 the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed that the core lawful purpose of the Second Amendment is self defense; and Whereas, The term firearm used in this resolution is a generic term not specific to any class of guns; now therefore be it

Resolved, That the Massachusetts General Court joins in the opinion of the United States Supreme Court and officially recognizes that the Second Amendment to the Constitution and Article XVII Part of the First of the Massachusetts Constitution does protect an individual civil right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia and protects an individual civil right to use arms for traditionally lawful purposes and protects the lawful use of arms for self-defense within the home and officially recognizes that the core lawful purpose of the Second Amendment to the Constitution and Article XVII Part of the First of the Massachusetts Constitution is self defense; and be it further

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted forthwith by the Clerk of the House of Representatives to Gun Owners' Action League.

Thanks for the ride, now give me your cash

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:10:00 GMT

Sun Chronicle

NORTH ATTLEBORO - A hitchhiker turned a gun on a man who gave him a ride and robbed him in the parking lot of a Route 1 motel over the holiday weekend.

The robber escaped with a small amount of cash he took from the victim in the 8:30 a.m. robbery Saturday, Detective Lt. David Dawes said.

Dawes said police have identified a suspect and have notified surrounding police departments.

The robber approached the victim at a Bank of America automatic teller machine near McDonald's on Route 1 and asked the victim for a ride to the Super 8 Motel.

When the victim pulled into the parking lot, Dawes said, the robber pulled out a gun and put it to the side of the victim and demanded money. The robbery is under investigation by Detective Daniel Arrighi.

[Apparently the driver didn't learn what his Parents should have taught him: Rule #1 never pick up a hitchhiker or give anyone unknown to you to provide a "ride". This is just asking for trouble.

Rule #2, Criminals will always find a way to have a gun - illegally - no matter what laws the Massachuetss Legislature pass. They buy them off the black market just like drugs and we all know how successful the drug war has been.]

July 4, 2008

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:05:00 GMT

Today is, July 4, 2008, Independence Day in the United States. An important holiday, it's a time for citizens to enjoy their families in the outdoors. There will be cookouts, guns, fireworks, and get-togethers. In point of fact, our second President, John Adams, would have approved! "I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival," he wrote his wife, Abigail. "It ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other..."

It's also a time to reflect on aspects of American Culture that differentiate us from citizens-subjects of other nations. One of those aspects was examined by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), the findings of which were reported on Thursday, June 26, 2008. The case, for those who may have been hiding under a rock, was District of Columbia v. Heller.

The decision struck down D.C.'s handgun ban and reinforced the individual's right - by saying that the Second Amendment was an enumerated right. In a twisted argument, the minority stated that the Second only gave the states a right to have a militia and to prevent federal authorities from disarming state militias.

Where in history is it reported that there was a fear of the danger of federal supremacy extending to disarming local authorities? That is unreported. What the legislative surrogates of the minority have declared in the aftermath of Heller is more instructive. That is, the unsupported and fiercely held belief, in spite of relevant research to the contrary, “that gun laws make us safer," that safety is only available from government resources, and that safety is more important than individual liberty.

It is a group fantasy or group delusion that gun control is necessary for public safety or that it in any way contributes to public safety. It is central to their theme which tends to be: "Anything American is bad."

The western rugged individualist model is attacked fearfully while thousands spend money to watch motion picture variations of the type. That very model is a key to the phenomenon of concealed carry - 48 of fifty states has some form of license to allow concealed carry in public. The divided U.S. Congress passed and the President signed HR 218, the Law Enforcement Officer's Safety Act, effectively giving concealed carry to active LEOs when out of home state and to retired LEOs. Concealed carry by all citizens and lawful possession of firearms in homes and places of business reflect this simple motto: "911: When seconds count, help is only minutes away!"

That's why there is a Second Amendment.

Another, even more serious, element to the Second is that governments that disarm citizens do so at least partly to consolidate government power over private lives. Our "Most Important Amendment" is there to stall delusional politicians like Senators Schumer, Feinstein (former California Concealed Weapon Permit-holder), and Kennedy. They want their constituents to be helpless and dependent upon THEIR version of OUR Government.

We refer to these politicians as delusional for good reason: In Munro, A. (1999) (Delusional disorder. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), aspects of delusions are listed. While the editor is no physician, the similarities are striking:

• "The patient expresses an idea or belief with unusual persistence or force.”
• "The individual tends to be humorless and oversensitive, especially about the belief.”
• "An attempt to contradict the belief is likely to arouse an inappropriately strong emotional reaction, often with irritability and hostility.”
• "The belief is, at the least, unlikely.”
• "The patient is emotionally over-invested in the idea and it overwhelms other elements of his psyche."

According to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken February 8-10, 2008, 73% of Americans believe the Second Amendment is about the individual's right to own a firearm.

The SCOTUS minority and our delusional legislators should listen to them.

Happy 4th of July 2008 to you all, and God Bless the United States of America!

Amendment, ruling provide safeguards

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:56:00 GMT

KATHRYN GRAMMER, West Falmouth

I DO not like guns, but I like less a government denying me or any citizen the right "to keep and bear arms." While some may argue that the Second Amendment grants citizens this right for the purpose of forming "well-regulated" state militias, that is not what the amendment says. Just as the First Amendment addresses the rights of free speech, peaceable assembly, freedom to worship, etc., as those accorded to individuals, so, too, does the Second Amendment address the right "to keep and bear arms" as an individual's right and not the right of the state over the individual.

Whether at the state or national level, government in this country rules by the consent of the governed. We the people are the masters of government, not the other way around. When a government is allowed to disarm the people or to make it illegal to keep arms, that government is on a slippery slope toward tyranny.

Ironically, the 30-year ban on guns in Washington, D.C., has resulted in a rise in gun-related crimes. Law-abiding citizens, when deprived of their constitutional right to own guns, fall prey to those who have not qualms about acquiring illegal firearms. I am grateful that the justices have not so politicized the Supreme Court that they would surrender to public pressure and disregard the intent of the first 10 amendments of the US Constitution. The Second Amendment, like all the others comprising the Bill of Rights, was written specifically to safeguard our rights as individuals.

More restrictions, laws aren't needed

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:47:00 GMT

ERIC CHAMBERS, Dedham

BEFORE THE ink dried from the Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, Mayor Thomas M. Menino joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York to author an Op-ed published in Monday's Wall Street Journal. In it, the mayors point out and agree with the fact that most criminals purchase or possess firearms in violation of existing federal laws. However, that doesn't stop them from pushing new restrictions on sales and ownership.

Antigun forces can be counted on to routinely and frequently refer to the "gun show loophole." This canard is really just a way to outlaw sales between private individuals. Every federally licensed gun dealer is required to perform a background check prior to a sale. In addition, there are requirements for private sellers and buyers to report sales transactions. So, again, why not enforce the existing laws instead of repeatedly trying to create new ones?

The mayors attempt to substantiate their case by stating that 34 Americans are killed every day by a firearm. This statistic is designed to elicit support for further restrictions. However, in 2005 roughly 115 Americans were killed in automobile crashes every day. A little perspective changes the impact of their statistic.

Also, how many of those gun homicides are gang- or drug-related? Why not target the underlying source of the problem, which I believe often isn't the ability of law-abiding citizens to purchase, own, and carry a firearm.

[Governor, Deval Patrick are you listening??]

After child's shooting, a cease-fire call

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:40:00 GMT

Boston Globe

40-day halt to violence sought? Surely you jest! Why stop there? How about behaving like law-abiding, civil human beings for at least 365 days? How about the rest of your lives? Oh, we forgot this is Roxbury and behavior like this is ... well ... normal.

Yesterday afternoon, 40 to 50 people gathered in the City Council Chamber at City Hall to announce an effort known as the "40-Day Moratorium."

A silver bullet for Obama?

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:22:00 GMT

Boston Globe

WHEN IT comes to gun control, the Democratic Party is a house divided against itself. That helps explain Barack Obama's dizzyingly inconsistent positions on District of Columbia v. Heller, the landmark Second Amendment case decided by the Supreme Court last week.

....

The problem for Democrats is that such views are well beyond the American mainstream. There are as many as 283 million privately owned firearms in the United States, and nearly half of all US households own at least one gun. Even before the Supreme Court ruling, a large majority of Americans - 73 percent, according to Gallup - believed the Second Amendment guaranteed the right of private citizens to own guns. Nearly 7 in 10 opposed any law making handgun possession illegal.

....

Still, for many Democratic liberals, the antigun animus is reflexive. Senators Ted Kennedy and Dianne Feinstein wasted no time deploring the court's ruling in Heller last week; Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago denounced it as "very frightening." Over the years, such attitudes have been a political boon to Republicans, helping them paint Democrats as out-of-step elitists who hate something millions of Americans love. John McCain's statement hailing the decision pointedly referred to Obama's infamous statement that Middle Americans "cling to guns or religion" when "they get bitter."

[Unlike the Boston Globe Editorial Board, at least Jeff Jacoby gets it.]

Wilmette, Illinois Suspends Local Handgun Ban

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 20:27:00 GMT

Wilmette gets it. The Brady Campaign and the Chicago Tribune "Repeal the Second Amendment don't. While we're at it why don't we just repeal the whole United States Constitution including the First Amendment?

Wilmette has suspended enforcement of its 19-year-old ordinance banning handgun possession in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that appears to invalidate such bans.

High Court gun ban veto triggers review of Mass. law

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:10:00 GMT

Boston Herald - "Yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down the District of Columbia’s 32-year-old ban on handguns will force Massachusetts officials to review the state’s gun laws, long considered among the toughest in the nation." ...

... “I feel that it opens the door for fewer regulations, which has the potential of resulting in increased deaths,” Davis said.

[We would like to know why this ruling is going to be an increased public safety concern, Commissioner Davis. Wherever the gun bans are, especially "Gun Free Zones" or the like, violence is still a major problem and continues to rise.

Anywhere law-abiding citzens are allowed to exercise their Constitutional civil rights...crime goes down!! Why? Even Thomas Jefferson can tell you why!

"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."

This is what happens when they graduate from our public shool system where revisionist history is taught - instead of the truth!

Yesterday was indeed great day for the United States Constitution!]

D.C. vs. Heller Quotes

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:58:00 GMT

Quotes from the opinion:

“Logic demands that there be a link between the stated purpose and the command.”

“We start therefore with a strong presumption that the Second Amendment right is exercised individually and belongs to all Americans.”

“the most natural reading of ‘keep Arms’ in the Second Amendment is to “have weapons.”

“The term was applied, then as now, to weapons that were not specifically designed for military use and were not employed in a military capacity.”

“Putting all of these textual elements together, we find that they guarantee the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.”

“Thus, we do not read the Second Amendment to protect the right of citizens to carry arms for any sort of confrontation, just as we do not read the First Amendment to protect the right of citizens to speak for any purpose.”

“The prefatory clause does not suggest that preserving the militia was the only reason Americans valued the ancient right; most undoubtedly thought it even more important for self-defense and hunting.”

“It was plainly the understanding in the post-Civil War Congress that the Second Amendment protected an individual right to use arms for self-defense.”

“Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.”

“Although we do not undertake an exhaustive historical analysis today of the full scope of the Second Amendment, nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.”

“We also recognize another important limitation on the right to keep and carry arms. Miller said, as we have explained, that the sorts of weapons protected were those ‘in common use at the time.’ 307 U. S., at 179.”

Court: A constitutional right to a gun

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:56:00 GMT

Answering a 127-year old constitutional question, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to have a gun, at least in one’s home. The Court, splitting 5-4, struck down a District of Columbia ban on handgun possession.

Justice Antonin Scalia’s opinion for the majority stressed that the Court was not casting doubt on long-standing bans on carrying a concealed gun or on gun possession by felons or the mentally retarded, on laws barring guns from schools or government buildings, and laws putting conditions on gun sales.

In District of Columbia v. Heller (07-290), the Court nullified two provisions of the city of Washington’s strict 1976 gun control law: a flat ban on possessing a gun in one’s home, and a requirement that any gun — except one kept at a business — must be unloaded and disassembled or have a trigger lock in place. The Court said it was not passing on a part of the law requiring that guns be licensed. It said that issuing a license to a handgun owner, so the weapon can be used at home, would be a sufficient remedy for the Second Amendment violatrion of denying any access to a handgun.

V-Day!

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:50:00 GMT

Today is a time to celebrate. After decades of being on the defensive and reminding the country that the Bill of Rights is about individual rights, the Supreme Court has defined the 'people' of the Second Amendment the same as the every other amendment.

And, after years of being told they support unconstitutional proposals, the Brady Campaign finally got slapped by the group that really counts - the Supreme Court. Instead of pausing to contemplate the real meanings in the ruling, the Brady Campaign is already declaring victory despite being at the birth of their largest defeat in history. Their acknowledged end desire is forever out of reach.

Before the day is out, expect Brady to begin a new fund raising campaign.

TODAY: D.C vs. Heller

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:42:00 GMT

http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/

The Justices are expected to release opinions in all three remaining cases, including the decision in District of Columbia v. Heller (07-290) on the scope of the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment.

At ten this morning (Eastern), the Supreme Court of the United States is scheduled to release their opinion on the landmark case of Heller v. District of Columbia. That decision, widely regarded as the most important Second Amendment ruling in the history of the nation, will answer the question: is the right to keep and bear arms and individual right?

That answer will also decide the fate of the 32-year old District of Columbia ban on all handguns, and regulations that, if followed, make legal firearms virtually useless in any need for self-defense. If that opinion goes against the District, The Norfolk County League of Sportsmen’s Clubs has learned that other lawsuits, challenging the remaining firearms bans in municipalities across the nation, are ready to be filed.

In other words, it will be a big morning for the nation.

Gunman sought revenge, police say, Baby is called victim in feud between gangs

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:23:00 GMT

Boston Globe

As detectives cordoned off the area, scoured the balcony, and sawed off railings in search of evidence, police officials said they were receiving only "limited cooperation" from the victims' family.
Last September, Alinson Peguero's 20-year-old son, Alan, was shot to death as he worked at the family's convenience store in Dorchester. Several law enforcement officials said Alan Peguero was a gang associate, though one of the officials said Peguero was a minor player.

So…explain to me how this affects the law-abiding gun owner? What were the results of the firearms trace that was surely conducted by the Police? Where did the gun come from that was used?

These are the tough questions. Does anyone know how to find out or is it easier to just blame a legal law-abiding gun owner for this crime and move on?

"As a father and a member of law enforcement, it is reprehensible to me that an infant child is an innocent victim of reckless gun violence and ongoing gang activity," Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said in a prepared statement. "The coward responsible for this act deserves the most severe sentence."

This is the FIRST sensible thing Edward F. Davis has ever said as Police Commissioner…oh no blaming the NRA today?

Police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said that the shooting of the baby is gang related and that police have received little cooperation from the family. Lack of cooperation, even from victims' relatives, has been a problem that has plagued police for the last several years.

Isn't not cooperating with a Police investigation is obstruction of justice? They should all be treated as if they pulled the trigger themselves! That’s the obvious solution to this issue. Why is this so hard for our officials to understand?

Councilor Charles Yancey, who has been pushing to improve 911 response, said last night that he plans to call for a public hearing to determine whether it took too long for the ambulance to arrive at the shooting scene. Police said the ambulance came in about 8 minutes.
"Minutes can make the difference between life and death," said Yancey, who spoke from the scene of another shooting in Dorchester last night.

Wow. Really? This is EXACTLY what we tell them all the time. When you’re in danger, fearing for your life, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away….