On Friday, a Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled once again that the City of Philadelphia did not have the right to past its own gun control ordinances.
Philadelphia has passed seven gun control laws since 2007. They have included a limitation on handgun purchases (one per month) and a requirement that owners report lost or stolen firearms or face criminal charges.
Each of those laws has required state legislature approval before passage. In each instance, they have been rejected. Consequently, members of the Philadelphia City Council went to Commonwealth Court, asking that court to validate those gun laws.
Instead, the Commonwealth Court concurred with several other opinions saying only the state has the power to regulate guns. Now, the City says it may appeal the verdict to the State Supreme Court.
Last April, the City Council passed a new set of five ordinances - without seeking state approval. Those were challenged by the NRA in Common Pleas Court. Two, an assault weapons ban and the one-gun-a-month law, were tossed out The three remaining laws, on requiring the reporting of lost or stolen guns within 24 hours, and two others restricting possession by anyone under a protection from abuse order or those "deemed to be a danger to themselves" are reportedly going to be enforced.
NRA attorneys say they will file an appeal later today to stay the city's enforcement efforts, citing last week's Commonwealth Court opinion. Subsequently, State Senator Michael Stack says he will introduce a bill this week that will require reporting of lost or stolen handgun statewide.
A "Governor's Gun Raffle" is being held to benefit the University of Vermont's 4-H Shooting Sports program and the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department's Green Mountain Conservation Camps for youth. The drawing for the Governor's Gun Raffle will be held in January at the Yankee Classic Sportsman's Show in Essex, Vermont.
FEATURE
Gun Rights Policy Conference: Old, experienced, young and enthusiastic
Put 400-plus hard-charging gun rights activists together, from the greenest grass roots activist to the veteran of the gun wars since before the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968, and you have the Gun Rights Policy Conference held last weekend in Phoenix, AZ. You also pour into one large room a spectrum of old, young, male, female, clueless, wily, unknown and celebrity -- no to mention the red meat of success.
That success comes down to one word -- Heller.
No one attending this annual gathering of real insiders of the gun rights movement would deny they have been mainlining the D.C. v. Heller decision rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court, and it's a high that will last for decades. The overall feeling was that the anti-gun crowd is on the run, with scores of lawsuits planned by gun rights forces.
 It was standing room only for most sessions of the Gun Rights Policy Conference. |
The Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) is co-sponsored by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the Citizen's Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA).
Even though the presidential election took center stage, with the theme of this year's conference being "Elect Freedom," as much as many speakers hammered the need to elect a President who will support gun rights, the heady buzz of "Heller" still had heads spinning. It also ignited new ideas on how to capitalize on that landmark case.
The star of the event clearly was Alan Gura, the attorney of record in Heller, who reluctantly took on the aura of a rock star in this group. As the person who "saved" the Second Amendment in the eyes of most attendees, Gura's introduction was cut off with thunderous applause and a standing ovation.
Having filed a challenge to Chicago's gun ban within minutes of receiving the Heller decision, and following with suits in California and now West Virginia, Gura described the state of the gun-control forces after Heller.
"The other side is working their way thru the stages of grief. They started with denial, then anger, and we hope they someday reach acceptance."
He went on to say that the anti-gun rights groups, such as the Brady Campaign, have read Heller incorrectly, thinking that it is a very limited decision, and that it doesn't really change much.
"They are in for a rude awakening," said Gura.
He ticked off several cases in the works. Chicago is moving, slowly, but he said that before six more years (the time it took Heller to get to a decision), "There will not be a Chicago gun ban," and Mayor Daley is actually making noises as though he may not fight the lawsuit. San Francisco has already given in on its prohibition on owning guns in public housing. Several cities in Illinois which had gun bans have repealed them rather than face expensive lawsuits which the cities were sure to lose. A case in West Virginia is positioned to return gun rights to those who pleaded to misdemeanor charges which have been classified as domestic violence without knowing that a future action (the Lautenberg Amendment) would retroactively strip them of their gun rights forever.
Gura was then surprised with the presentation of a "Heller Gun," the commemorative Smith & Wesson model 442 revolver which carries the laser engraving of the scales of justice, along with "D.C. vs. Heller."
Former NRA president Sandra Froman spoke of the need to elect Senator John McCain, saying the reason came down to five words -- "The United States Supreme Court."
"The next battle in gun rights will not be fought in the state houses or Congress. They will be fought in the Supreme Court," said Froman.
Only one vote decided the Heller case, and the next president may nominate as many as four justices to the high court. This critical fact wasn't lost on anyone in this crowd.
 The award for Gun Rights Organization of the Year was presented to the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. From left, Michael Guzman, Alan Gottlieb, and Katie Kasprzak. |
As a frequent speaker and attendee of GRPC over the years, I was pleased this year to see some young faces -- something lacking in previous years. One source was Students For Concealed Carry on Campus. This national group emerged the day after the murders at Virginia Tech, and it had a part in 19 states taking up the issue of removing restrictions on adults with permits carrying guns on college campuses. Even though none of those efforts succeeded this year, these young people showed maturity in recognizing that right to carry laws often took several years to pass in most states. These student-activists will not give up. For their efforts, this new organization was named the "Grass Roots Organization of the Year" by CCRKBA.
I had one of those "there IS hope" moments when a proud father introduced me to his 10-year old daughter, who promptly recited the five rules of gun safety her father had taught her. Once she had learned these, she told her Dad that she wanted a "sock gun." Turns out that she remembered he had stored a Ruger Bearcat in a sock, so that's what he bought her!
GRPC is, quite simply, unlike any gathering I've seen. First off, it's free. Totally free. Each person attending not only gets to visit with and exchange ideas with the leaders of the gun rights movement and hear fascinating talks from all parts of the gun rights movement, but he or she comes away with about $100 worth of books, including the latest from noted gun rights author, John Lott. Lunch on Saturday is free, as are drinks and snacks during breaks. The event kicks off on Friday night and runs until noon on Sunday; the packed agenda being run on time by Julianne Gottlieb, publisher of Women & Guns magazine.
Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizen's Committee speaks a couple of times, and he's always there, available for questions or for those who just want to share stories, but the man in the bow tie is a lot slicker than he lets on. The truth is that Alan began encouraging and funding Second Amendment scholarship more than two decades ago, and it was the law journal articles being written and published over that time which helped paved the way for the Heller case. Gottlieb's long-range vision saw that getting a favorable Supreme Court ruling on gun rights would require changing the landscape of Second Amendment constitutional scholarship, so he started doing that a generation ago.
GRPC recognizes organizations and individuals with awards on Saturday. A few (with apologies to those I missed) included John Lott as Gun Rights Scholar of the Year, Malia Zimmerman (of the Hawaii Reporter) as Journalist of The Year, David Hardy (Second Amendment scholar and attorney) was given the Bill of Rights Award, and I was totally surprised to receive the Gun Rights Defender of the Year. That's what happens when you hang around a movement for 40 years!
While the specter of a White House and Congress controlled by those who would ban some guns loomed, it could not dampen the excitement of this year's GRPC. For those grass roots activists who fight the battle, slogging through the anti-gun muck in states such as Illinois, California, and New Jersey, getting together with those fighting the same battles serves as a reminder that they are not alone.
Hearing about the victories such as those in Ohio, Virginia and Pennsylvania reminds gun rights patriots that it can be done, it is being done, and that it must be done. With the scent of victory in their nostrils, these fighters are about to radically change the nature of gun rights in this country.
-- Tom Gresham
