Second Amendment Foundation ISSN 1079-6169 The G ottlieb TR artaro eport t THE INSIDERS GUIDE FOR GUN OWNERS Issue 192 December, 2010
Dear Subscriber, The Second Amendment had a great election night! Across the nation, the right to keep and bear arms grew stronger than ever, setting the stage for constructive reforms in 2011. U.S. Senate: The net result of the election was a gain of +6 votes on Second Amendment issues. The gun control lobby didnít gain a single U.S. THE SECOND Senate seat. Three open seats switched from anti-gun to pro-gun: Ohio (ROB PORTMAN replacing GEORGE VOINOVICH), AMENDMENT’S West Virginia (JOE MANCHIN taking the seat of the late WINNING ROBERT BYRD), and North Dakota (JOHN HOEVEN replacing BYRON DORGAN). In Arkansas, JOHN BOOZMAN’s victory over ELECTION NIGHT BLANCHE LINCOLN is a significant gain. There were some seats with a partial improvement: Indiana (DAN COATS usu- ally-but-not-always good, replacing always-bad EVAN BAYH), Wisconsin (usually re- liable RON JOHNSON defeating usually unreliable RUSS FEINGOLD), Pennsylvania (solid PAT TOOMEY replacing inconsistent ARLEN SPECTER). Overall, the best news from the Senate was that there are now enough votes to defeat a filibuster on pro-gun bills. In the “stop-and-think” department, HARRY REID’s victory in Nevada is likely to be a good thing. How can that be? It means that pro-gun bills at least have a chance of being brought to the floor, or offered as amendments to other bills. If REID had been defeated, the Majority Leader would have been CHARLES SCHUMER or RICHARD DURBIN, and either would have been a gun rights disaster. Probably the strangest pro-gun Senate victory was West Virginia Democrat Governor JOE MANCHIN’s defeat of Republican JOHN RAESE. MANCHIN says he won because of a TV ad showing him firing a shot through the Cap & Trade bill, which won him approval as a Second Amendment defender and an opponent of the contentious global warming trading scheme. U.S. House: The House already had a strong, bipartisan pro-Second Amendment majority, and that majority has grown even larger. The pro-gun side gained at least 18 votes. Time will tell where some of the less well-known newcomers stand. Tennessee, Arkansas and South Carolina all passed constitutional amendments making hunting and fishing a constitutional right. Arizona voters rejected a similar proposal. Governors and state legislatures: For Governors, the situation is mostly the same as it was before. With only a few exceptions retiring pro- or anti-gun governors were replaced by a similar newcomer. Florida voters elected Republican RICK SCOTT as their new governor. He has indicated he would sign legislation repealing the Sunshine State’s ban on open carry. Florida is one of seven states that prohibits open carry. Wisconsin voters sent Republican SCOTT WALKER to the governor’s mansion. He replaces anti-gun Democrat JIM DOYLE, who twice vetoed sensible concealed carry legislation. WALKER has said he would sign such legislation, and he didn’t add a caveat about first requiring support from anti-gun police chiefs. These highlights cap a highly successful election for gun rights! Also in this issue: Three polls show gun rights gaining SAF sues New Jer- sey over civil rights New York City backs off on gun laws Protests against Andrew Traver for ATF head Mel Gibson gives up guns New Jersey gun laws and a bad judge in our Page 8 ìParting Shotî POLLSTERS GIVE GUN ISSUES THE ATTENTION THEY DESERVE
Three respected polling firms recently took on different aspects of the Second Amendment, and all found response data that should please gun owners. Results from a just-released Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey show that a growing number of Americans support the Second Amendment as an individual right, and oppose more restrictions on that right. Among the Rasmussen survey's highlights: Only 39 percent of Americans say the United States needs stricter gun control; 50 percent are opposed to stricter gun control laws and 11% are not sure; 71 percent of Americans continue to believe that the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of an average citizen GUN NEWS: to own a gun, and; POLLS 63 percent of voters agreed with the Supreme Court’s landmark District of Columbia v. Heller decision, saying the Second Amendment granted individuals the right to own a gun for self-defense. Second, the results of a new Gallup poll (Gallup’s annual Crime Poll), showed that a new low of only 44% of Americans who say the laws covering firearm sales should be made stricter. That is down five points in the last year, and 34 points from the high of 78%, recorded the first time the question was asked in 1990. The Gallup poll also found a new low in the percentage of Americans favoring a ban on handgun possession except by the police and other authorized persons, a question that dates back to 1959. Only 28% now favor such a ban. The poll states that, “Compared with views in 2000, each major demographic or attitudinal subgroup has shown a shift toward a more pro-gun stance on the question about whether gun laws should be more strict or less strict.” In conclusion, the poll found that, “Americans continue to trend toward holding attitudes that are more in favor of gun rights, and Gallup today finds new low points in favor of gun control on two separate measures dating back at least two decades,” and that, “the current poll marks the first time Gallup has not found a significantly higher proportion of Americans preferring tighter gun-sale regulations.” Third, a recent poll conducted by Zogby International for The O’Leary Report found that more voters listened for the message of the tea party than any other group leading up to the recent midterm elections, but also found that a sizeable percentage of voters listened for the National Rifle Association’s message as well. The poll was conducted Nov. 12-15 of 2,062 voters and has a margin-of-error of 2.2 percentage points. The poll asked, "For the following groups, please tell us if you listened to their messages before the election all of the time, most of the time, some of the time or never: Tea Party Organizations, The National Rifle Association." A strong majority of voters (61 percent) say they listened to the message of the tea party all of the time, most or some of the time, and just 38 percent say they never listened to it. Nearly half of all voters (44 percent) say they listened for the NRA’s message all, most, or some of the time. The results of these latest polls make clear — yet again — that Americans overwhelmingly support our Second Amendment rights and reject gun control.
The Gottlieb-Tartaro Report ® (ISSN 1079-6169) is published monthly by the Second Amendment Foundation, Liberty Park, 12500 N.E. 10th Place, Bellevue, WA 98005. Phone (425)454-7012. FAX (425)451-3959. Please call or write if you have a question regarding your subscription. Publishers: Alan M. Gottlieb and Joseph P. Tartaro Editor: Ron Arnold Subscriptions: Eva Hart Published by: Design: Northwoods Studio Second Amendment Foundation Subscriptions $60 per year USA, $70 elsewhere. Single issues $5.00. Copyright © 2010 by Alan M. Gottlieb and Joseph P. Tartaro. Photocopying, reproduction or quotation strictly prohibited without written permission of the publishers. Bulk rates on request. Postage paid at Bellevue, WA. POSTMASTER: send address changes to The Gottlieb-Tartaro Report, 12500 N.E. 10th Place, Bellevue, WA 98005. Page 2 The Gottlieb-Tartaro Report, $30/12Printed issues,in the USA. 12500 N.E. 10th Place, Bellevue, WA 98005 SAF SUES N.J. OFFICIALS FOR DEPRIVATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS In a case about denial of handgun permits, the Second Amendment Foundation has filed suit for deprivation of civil rights in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey against three Superior Court judges, Philip J. Maenza, Rudolph A. Filko, and Edward A. Jerejian, plus Col. Rick Fuentes, State Police superintendent, Hammonton Police Chief Frank Ingemi and New Jersey Attorney General Paula T. Dow. The Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs also joined SAF in the law- suit, along with six private citizens whose applications for permits to carry have been denied on the grounds that they have not shown a "justifiable need." Plaintiffs include a kidnap victim, a part-time sheriff's deputy, a private businessmen who carries large amounts of cash, and a civilian employee of the FBI fearful of Islamic fundamentalist radicals. ON THE Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys David D. Jensen and Robert P. Firriolo with the firm of Duane Morris, LLP in Newark. LEGAL "The horribly drafted law grants uncontrolled discretion to police chiefs and other public officials to deny license applica- FRONT tions even in cases where the applicant has shown a clear and present danger exists." said SAF Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb.
LAWSUITS DROPPED AS SACRAMENTO COUNTY SHERIFF CHANGES GUN LAW Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness has modified his handgun carry per- mitting policy, prompting two Second Amendment advocacy groups to drop their law- suit against the county and its top law enforcement official. The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the Calguns Foundation dismissed their case after McGinness changed the law to state that self-defense is a valid reason to issue a gun carry permit. The organizations will continue their legal battle against Yolo County and its sheriff in an attempt to change their policy.
LAWSUIT DISMISSED OVER CARRYING A GUN AT SOCCER GAME A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by the estate of murdered Pennsylvania woman Melanie Hain who had openly carried a loaded handgun to her child's soccer game in December 2008. Lebanon County Sheriff Michael DeLeo revoked her permit to carry a concealed firearm, but a county judge later overturned the revocation and reinstated Hain's permit. The lawsuit brought by Hain and her husband Scott sought $1 million in damages, but Hain was killed by her husband in a murder-suicide in October 2009. U.S. Middle District Court Chief Judge Yvette Kane said DeLeo could not be sued for violating Hain's Second Amendment rights, and that all other claims were without sufficient factual matter with both plaintiffs deceased.
SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS ADDED SENTENCES FOR USE OF GUNS IN DRUG CRIMES People convicted of possessing a gun while selling drugs are subject to five- year mandatory minimum sentences on top of most other sentences, the Supreme Court has ruled. The ruling was unanimous. But the court’s newest member, Justice Elena Kagan, disqualified herself in light of her work as United States solicitor general.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA GUN LAWS CHALLENGED IN APPEALS COURT Calling the District of Columbia's gun laws the most "radically restrictive" in the country, a lawyer for a group of District residents urged a federal appeals court in Washington to strike down laws that requires gun owners to register all firearms and pass a training course. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals is scrutinizing whether the District's registration laws trample the Second Amendment right of individuals to keep and bear arms. The city’s law bans assault rifles and magazines that hold more than ten bullets. The case is the sequel to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2008 in District of Columbia v. Heller, where the high court declared that individuals have a right to possess a firearm in a house for self-defense. The Gottlieb-Tartaro Report, $30/12 issues, 12500 N.E. 10th Place, Bellevue, WA 98005 Page 3 MAINEíS BIGGEST CITY WANTS GUN CONTROL The Portland, Maine, City Council has approved a resolution asking the state Legislature to ban guns in certain public places in Maine. Councilors voted 6 to 1 after two hours of debate to support the resolu- tion asking lawmakers to amend current laws to prohibit guns in places where crowds gather. In Portland, that could include the Expo, city hall and Fitzpatrick Stadium. From this point on, it will be up to the Legislature to IN THE consider the resolution, but some at the meeting said with Republicans taking over control of the State House, it STATES doesn't seem likely.
NEW YORK CITY FORCED TO BACK OFF ON DRACONIAN GUN LAW “New York is loosening the superstringent rules for obtaining a gun in the city,” the anti-gun New York Daily News recently announced. The newspaper apologized to its readers that, "Because the new reality in American constitutional law, established by landmark rulings against Washington's and Chicago's gun regulations, says that for a city to preserve tough gun restric- tions, it must ensure that they don't amount to near-total bans on firearms." That's to ease the blow of a bill before the City Council that would lower the application fees from $340 to a scale that tops out at $110 for a carry permit - and goes down to $25 for other kinds of licenses, and puts the necessary forms online, eliminating a trip to 1 Police Plaza. "Smartly, the law would keep in place the fingerprinting and rigorous background checks the NYPD does now." Superviolent New York City may see lawsuits anyway.
PENNSYLVANIA STAND YOUR GROUND BILL SENT TO GOVERNOR By a more than 4-1 margin, the Pennsylvania House sent to Gov. Ed Rendell a bill that expands the use of self-defense. Called "stand your ground" legislation, the bill enables people to use lethal force to defend themselves without retreat outside their homes. Currently the law allows those protections within one's home. The bill was approved by a 161-35 vote. Gun groups, many of them from Western Pennsylvania, pushed for the bill's passage over the past five years.
NEW JERSEY PANEL DEMANDS NAMES OF GUN GROUP MEMBERS, OTHERS The New Jersey State Government, Wagering and Tourism Committee approved a bill that would mandate that any “issue advocacy organization” classified under IRS Code as a 501(C)(3), 501(C)(4) or 527 that engages in the election or defeat of any person to state or local elective office; the passage or defeat of any public question; or that provides political information on any candidate, submit the names and addresses of contributors and their employers to the Election Law Enforcement Commission. Introduced by State Senator’s Barbara Buono (D-18) and Loretta Weinberg (D-37), the bill, S2379, exceeds federal reporting requirements by mandating a list of the names and addresses of all members of an advocacy group, not just those who made political contributions. Gun groups would be especially targeted. Environmental groups and churches are not exempted in the bill.
TEXAS LEGISLATION TO CONSIDER FIREARMS FREEDOM ACT As Texas prepares for the convening of the 82nd Legislature on January 11, several important bills affecting the right of Texans to keep and bear arms will come under consideration. Among the gun rights-related bills is HB 145, which was introduced by Rep. Jodie Laubenberg (R-Dist. 89). If HB 145 becomes law, Texas would become the latest state to join the ranks of those which have adopted a Firearms Freedom Act.
Page 4 The Gottlieb-Tartaro Report, $30/12 issues, 12500 N.E. 10th Place, Bellevue, WA 98005 UNPRECEDENTED STORM OF PROTESTS ERUPTS OVER ATF NOMINEE AND ACTIONS Gun rights advocates are unhappy with President Barack Obama’s pick to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Obama announced on Nov. 15 his intent to nominate Andrew Traver, presently the special agent in charge of the ATF’s Chicago office, to be the director of the agency. Both the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) criticized the president’s selection. Alan Gottlieb, chairman of CCRKBA, told CNSNews.com that as ATF director, Traver would exercise vast control ATF: over all levels of the firearm industry. “The big concern that we have is that the agency that ALL-TIME he would be overseeing controls all the firearm regulations against everybody in the United States starting with the OUTRAGE manufacturers and the wholesalers and the distributors down to the gun dealers,” said Gottlieb. The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms was particularly concerned. The group formally announced its opposition to the nomination in a news release. The announcement noted that Traver has a history of working with gun prohibitionists. He served as an advisor to the International Association for Chiefs of Police on that group’s 2007 “Gun Violence Reduction Project,” in cooperation with the anti-gun-rights Joyce Foundation. The project involved several high profile anti-gun-rights advocates, but there was not a single representative from the firearms community on the advisory panel. John Snyder, a former National Rifle Association editor, is Public Affairs Director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and serves on the board of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. Shotgun News named him the senior rights activist in Washington. He said, "This shot against America's 100 million law-abiding firearm owners could be critical in Obama's 2012 reelection campaign," Snyder added. "It certainly is bound to solidify opposition to his presidency." Underscoring Snyder's assessment, the NRA called upon President Obama to withdraw Traver’s nomination. President Obama could exploit his power to make temporary appointments during the end of year adjournment of Congress and bypass Senate approval of Andrew Traver to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Constitution provides that when the Senate is in recess, the President may make a temporary appointment, called a recess appointment, to agency positions without Senate approval (Article II, Section 2, clause 3). Traver’s nomination was not the only outrageous news about ATF. Three strange agency actions drew heavy criticism and concern from gun owners. First came the double-take on air guns. ATF Ruling 2010-4 classifying certain toy replica M-16 airgun lower receivers as “firearms” was quietly introduced on November 5. In a news release, ATF Special Agent Kelvin Crenshaw said the toys can be easily retrofitted into dangerous weap- ons. "With minimal work it could be converted to a machine gun," he said. "In its present state, our firearms technology branch classified this as a machine gun." Less than two weeks later, the ruling was even more quietly removed from public Internet access. We still don’t know why ATF took either action. An interpretation by the ATF that pistol grip shotguns are not shotguns, but are "Destructive Devices," has created an unforeseen legal liability for owners of such firearms. This action has apparently created millions of unregistered Destructive Devices currently possessed by millions of law-abiding gun owners who do not realize they now illegally possess firearms that should be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) system. Experts say that this agency action will not be enforced. But it's still a confusing mess. The National Firearms Act Trade & Collectors Association (NFATCA) said it had learned that ATF was seeking to create a definition of small arms ammunition as an opinion letter and had no input from the firearms community. Some groups were reportedly talking to ATF about the issue, but facts are scarce. The Gottlieb-Tartaro Report, $30/12 issues, 12500 N.E. 10th Place, Bellevue, WA 98005 Page 5 GUNS SAVING LIVES THROUGH SELF DEFENSE