NEWS
Double Trap and Skeet Competition begins later today at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Shooting (Shotgun). The 2008 U.S. Olympic team members for Double Trap will be selected on Saturday, while the Skeet team will be named on Sunday, which is the final day of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Shooting (Shotgun). Shotgun athletes are selected to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team based on the aggregate score from both the Fall Selection competition, which was held last August and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Shooting (Shotgun). The USOC has final approval of all U.S. Olympic Team members.
Dominic Grazioli (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina/San Antonio, Texas), along with (Corey Cogdell (Eagle River, Alaska) being selected to the 2008 U.S. Olympic team in Men’s and Women’s Trap.
The National Rifle Association is urging its members to vote for Lones Wigger Jr. for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Class of 2008. Public voting continues through Friday, March 28 with individuals able to vote daily at www.usolympichalloffame.com.
One hundred Kentucky schools will be in Louisville March 19 to participate in the National Archery in the Schools Kentucky state archery tournament. More than 1,800 high school, middle school and elementary school students will be participating. Among those participating are two vision-impaired students using a special aiming aid (shown) that allows them to compete alongside their able-bodied peers.
Shot Business has named Ellett Brothers Distributor of the Year for the second consecutive year, recognizing the seventy five year old company for its contribution to the shooting sports industry
The Arizona Game and Fish Department is seeking public input on a proposal to adjust some of the user fees at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility to meet rising operational costs. These increases are being proposed to keep the Phoenix Point of Pride location functioning and expanding as one of the top shooting facilities in the nation.
FEATURE
Roiling Toward A BoilAs the clock counts down to the Supreme Court hearing on the District of Columbia’s gun ban, we can’t stop wondering if there’s not a change afoot in the “official” government position regarding the District’s longstanding total ban on handguns and regulations that make long guns somewhat less than useless.
That’s because pundits around Washington (that includes virtually everyone from the columnist to the cabdriver) are starting to offer up the possibility that Solicitor General Paul Clement may, in fact, have the last laugh on career bureaucrats in his office. One former colleague of mine (still probably the best wired man in Washington on either side of the party) says Clement’s opinion was shaped – if not dictated – by career lawyers in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. They are, putting it kindly, opposed to individual gun rights. Clement’s arguments before the Supreme Court on Tuesday may, in fact, all but reverse that position.
That internal insurrection theory could explain Vice President Dick Cheney’s signing on with 55 Senators and 250 House members in a brief supporting Senior Judge Laurence Silberman’s ruling on the unconstitutionality of the District’s gun ban.
If that’s the case, Cheney wasn’t going against the wishes of his boss. He was actually voting for the administration while his boss was trying to placate the Democrats. Don’t get me started on the fact that with only a few months left in what has become one of the lamest of lame-duck presidencies, George Bush is still trying to stay in the good graces of the Democrats. But that’s another theory being proffered.
Makes sense. Clement is (or was) presumed to be a conservative- he clerked for Silberman and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. This may be yet another instance of the career bureaucrats not giving a continental damn what their bosses wanted- especially since they’re figuring these bosses are headed out the door in January.
If that does turn out to be the case, it may make for some interesting arguments on Tuesday. It’s darned difficult to refute someone who is no longer arguing against you.
And just in case you think this case isn’t important to DC politicians, word that the District is launching what they call their “Safe Homes Initiative”. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Chief Cathy Lanier are pushing “consent searches” for guns in District of Columbia residences. Civil rights groups are howling in protest at what appears to be a last-ditch effort to sway the Supreme Court in advance of Tuesday’s sessions.
Arthur B. Spitzer with the American Civil Liberties Union says it sends the message to the public that “the police ought to be able to search your house anytime for any reason.” He also told the Washington Post that intimidating citizens into allowing the police into their homes without warrants “cheapens civil liberties and privacy for everyone.”
One district resident, Ronald Hampton, says he will not allow the police to search his home.
Hampton is executive director of the National Black Police Association.
Speaking of Tuesday, some coverage information. The Outdoor Wires are credentialed for the Supreme Court hearing. So many credentials have been requested that the Supreme Court is taking the unprecedented step of making “quick” audio available. For only the third time in its existence, the court will allow an audio feed and copies of the arguments to be made available to the media.
We will be working in conjunction with Michael Bane and his DownrangeTV to assemble and prepare this massive amount of material on Tuesday – and going forward. I’ll be doing live reporting from Washington during the course of the day, and will be taking part in follow-up coverage with Michael and the NRA. On Monday, we’ll offer up some specific information to make it possible for you to keep up with the District of Columbia, et. al, versus Dick Anthony Heller on Tuesday. We wanted to let you know we’re keeping our promise to you to cover important stories as well as we possibly can.
Unfortunately, an effort to get the outdoor television networks to turn some of their attention and resources to the story didn’t pan out.
And yesterday we received confirmation from New Jersey that you can’t keep a persistent legislator down or a bad bill out of that state assembly.
Assemblymen Patrick Diegnan and Herb Conaway, Jr. and Assemblywoman Nellie Pou have introduced Assembly No. 2490 into the 213 edition of the New Jersey Legislature. As the synopsis succinctly states: “Requires handgun ammunition to be encoded with serial number.”
In their collective wisdom, they’ve introduced legislation that would require handgun ammunition to be encoded with a serial number on the base of the bullet and inside of the cartridge casing “in such a manner that it is highly likely to permit identification after ammunition discharge and bullet impact”.
The outside of the ammo boxes should be labeled “with the name of the manufacturer and the same serial number used on the cartridge casings and bases of bullets contained in the box.”
Technical improbabilities and financial impact aside, additional requirements in the bill make its ultimate purpose obvious. The Superintendent of the State Police would be required to maintain a database collected from firearms and ammunition dealers containing the date of each ammunition purchase, manufacturer, caliber, serial numbers, name and birth date of each purchaser, drivers license number (or other appropriate identification number issued to the purchaser by the State or federal government) and – the catch all – “and any other information the Superintendent deems necessary.”
Only serialized ammunition could be sold in New Jersey. Individual violators could be fined up to $1,000 and six months in jail. Manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of ammo could be whacked with up to 18 months in jail and a $10,000 fine.
Ordinarily, this sort of legislation is dismissed as political eyewash- junk bills introduced simply to score political points.
But never underestimate the acumen of the anti-gun New Jersey politician. As Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said, "Anybody who is buying more than one handgun a month is a straw buyer.”
Until we “straw men” stand up to the anti-gun groups who want everyone to believe they represent the majority opinion, these sorts of bills will never go away.
Unfortunately, neither will the politicians who introduce them.
--Jim Shepherd
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