2nd Amendment

Reprinted from Third Party Watch.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- According to the Associated Press, the National Rifle Association just endorsed John McCain. As the Bob Barr campaign noted, John McCain has an abysmal record with respect to Second Amendment rights while Barr’s record is impeccable.

The NRA rates Barr, one of their own board members, with an A+ rating. McCain has earned a C+ rating by the same organization.

McCain’s disdain of the Second Amendment has earned the ire of virtually every gun rights organization in the country.

“John McCain tried running for president in 2000 as an anti-gunner,” wrote John Velleco at the Gun Owners of America website. “This year it appears he is seeking to ‘come home’ to the pro-gun community, but the wounds are deep and memories long. ”

Not only does McCain hold a grudge against the Second Amendment, he also holds the NRA in contempt.

Reprinted from WSBT-TV, South Bend.

MISHAWAKA, IN -- A proposed gun ordinance was shot down. The Mishawaka Common Council voted 5 to 4 against banning weapons in four city buildings.

Dozens of people expressed concern at the meeting because nothing besides a piece of paper would stop someone from bringing a weapon inside.

Before the vote was taken, some council members say they had to voted against it because the ordinance did not include any additional building security.

"We're here to address our grievances logically and professionally. Someone that doesn't have that intention you should target," said Chris Templeton, a gun owner.

But Mishawaka Mayor Jeff Rea and his attorney disagreed.

BLOOMINGTON, IN -- Knowing gun safety was lesson number one at the target shoot practice at the LPIN gathering in rural Monroe County this past weekend.

Marion County activist and long-time member Bob Kirkpatrick lectured on the four rules of firearms handling prior to target practice:

• Treat firearms as if they are loaded, no exceptions.
• Never point a firearm at anything you're not willing to kill, destroy or buy.
• Keep your finger off the trigger and outside the trigger guard until your sights are on target and you're ready to shoot.
• Know your target, what's between and beyond, and what your ammunition can do.

View some pictures from the event: (View more photos.)

Jaenelle Antas

ATLANTA, GA -- “Citizens of Washington, D.C. and firearms rights organizations must be prepared to file a quick and clear challenge to the new Washington, D.C. gun control law designed to keep them disarmed,” says Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president. “The City Council is attempting to flout the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Heller that explicitly affirmed an individual’s right to own firearms. The Council is disingenuously doing this by appearing to legalize gun ownership while restricting the right into ineffectiveness.”

For instance, explains Barr, “the District of Columbia will continue to ban semi-automatic weapons, the most common kind of handgun in America. Moreover, residents will be required to keep their guns unloaded and either disassembled or disabled with a trigger lock. Unfortunately, most criminals aren’t going to give homeowners the courtesy of waiting for them to make their weapons operational before striking.”

Reprinted from the New York Times article.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Supreme Court declared for the first time on Thursday that the Constitution protects an individual’s right to have a gun, not just the right of the states to maintain militias.

Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority in the landmark 5-to-4 decision, said the Constitution does not allow “the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home.” In so declaring, the majority found that a gun-control law in the nation’s capital went too far in making it nearly impossible to own a handgun.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - Philadelphia had 406 homicides in 2007, and, at 28 per 100,000 people, it also had the highest murder rate of any major city in the United States. No wonder Philadelphians want things done.

Recently, the city focused on a new tragedy, the murder of a 12-year police veteran and father of three, Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, by three bank robbers with long, violent criminal records.

To Gov. Rendell, Mayor Nutter, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, and freshman U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, the solution is simple: more gun control. After pushes failed for new state and local laws, last Thursday these four politicians announced that the solution to Philadelphia's problems was re-enacting the Federal Assault Weapons Ban.

Reprinted from the online magazine New West.

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. –Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.