NRA-ILA FAX ALERT
11250 Waples Mill Road * Fairfax, VA 22030
Phone: (800) 392-8683 * Fax: (703) 267-3918 * GROOTS@NRA.org
Vol. 6, No. 12 4/2/99
FEDERAL COURT UPHOLDS INDIVIDUAL RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS
In what could prove to be an extremely important precedent-
setting decision, a United States District Court for the Northern
District of Texas recently dismissed an indictment against a
defendant based on the opinion that the federal law he was
accused of violating represented an unconstitutional exercise of
congressional power that violated rights protected under the
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The law, which was
buried within the massive 1994 Clinton Crime Bill, prohibits the
possession of a firearm by anyone with a court restraining order.
The defendant's wife had petitioned for a temporary restraining
order against the defendant prohibiting him from making
threatening communications or actual attacks on his wife during
the divorce proceedings. Even though no evidence was presented
that the defendant posed any threat to his wife or other members
of his family, the restraining order was granted, and under the
obscure federal law, he could no longer lawfully own firearms.
Unfortunately, no one ever told him about this law, and when
federal authorities found he possessed firearms, he was indicted.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings granted the
defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that
the law violated both the Second and Fifth Amendments. But the
most important aspect of this ruling centers around the Second
Amendment. Citing a veritable who's-who list of constitutional
scholars and attorneys, Cummings explored the historical context
of the Amendment, its grammatical structure, judicial
interpretations, and how it relates to society today, finding in
all cases that it clearly protects an individual right to arms.
The ruling even discussed the 1939 United States v. Miller case,
which is often misinterpreted by anti-gun proponents like Sarah
Brady and HCI. In discussing the Miller case, the judge stated
that, contrary to the claims of Brady and others, the court did
not rule that the Second Amendment protected a collective right,
rather than an individual right. He even went so far as to
suggest that the Miller case could be used to support the
position that the ban on assault weapons is unconstitutional.
Judge Cummings' decision (excerpts below) will undoubtedly be
appealed by the federal government, and, as courts often move
cautiously in cases of great importance, it may be some time
before the effects of this decision are made clear. Rest assured
that NRA will be following it closely, and we will report any
further developments.
"A historical examination of the right to bear arms...bears
proof that the right to bear arms has consistently been, and
should still be, construed as an individual right."
"The rights of the Second Amendment should be as zealously
guarded as the other individual liberties enshrined in the
Bill of Rights."
"It is absurd that a boilerplate state court divorce order
can collaterally and automatically extinguish a law-abiding
citizen's Second Amendment rights...."
NICS UPDATE
The Department of Justice has proposed a regulation that it
will turn over the identities of lawful firearm transferees to
the BATF so that the BATF can "audit" such persons and the
Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL) from whom they purchased their
guns. FBI proposes to keep these records for three months. This
is clearly illegal under the Brady Act, which requires that
National Instant Check System (NICS) records be destroyed and
forbids (1) "any record or portion thereof" generated by NICS "be
recorded at or transferred to a facility owned, managed, or
controlled by" the United States, and (2) using NICS "to
establish any system for the registration of firearms, firearm
owners, or firearm transactions." The Firearms Owners'
Protection Act of 1986 also made it illegal for BATF to have
these records. We urge those concerned with this proposed
illegal registry to submit comments opposing the regulation by
the comment period deadline of June 1, 1999, to: Emmet A.
Rathbun, Unit Chief, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Module C-3,
1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, WV, 26306-0147.
Also, NRA-ILA appreciates everyone who has been sending
information about problems they have experienced with NICS.
There have been a variety of persistent problems, and pro-Second
Amendment federal lawmakers are being made aware of this, and are
responding. Our thanks go to U.S. Senator Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.),
who recently requested that the General Accounting Office conduct
an audit to examine whether NICS is efficiently designed and
effectively managed.
Finally, we are concerned with a specific problem regarding
NICS, and need information to investigate it further. If you
have been denied the purchase of a firearm through NICS, even
though you know you are not prohibited by law from taking
possession of a firearm, and you have appealed the decision, but
have either not yet been approved, or experienced delays before
you were approved, NRA-ILA wants to know about your case. Please
carefully document your experience, and mail the information
to: NICS Problems, NRA-ILA, 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax,
VA, 22030-7400. We ask that you only send this information via
U.S. Mail, and be sure to include all available contact
information, especially telephone numbers, so that we can contact
you if necessary.
RESEARCH DISCLOSURE COMMENTS NEEDED
Last year's omnibus appropriations bill contained an
NRA-supported provision ordering the White House's Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) to change its rules to require
federally funded researchers -- such as the anti-gun campaigners
supported by the Centers for Disease Control -- to release the
data underlying their research. Unfortunately, OMB is trying to
interpret that provision very narrowly and only require
disclosure of data used "in developing policy or rules." That
would allow anti-gun researchers and their government sponsors to
claim that their studies weren't used in making rules, and
therefore keep their taxpayer-funded data secret. The OMB is
accepting comments on the proposed rule until this Monday, April
5. To make the deadline, you can address your comments to OMB by
e-mail to: fcharney@omb.eop.gov. To read OMB's proposal on the
Internet, go to
whitehouse.gov.
For NRA's comments, see our website at nraila.org.
DEBATE ON RECKLESS LAWSUITS
The University of Pennsylvania Law School chapter of the
Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy Studies will be
hosting a debate concerning the question: "Should cities sue gun
manufacturers for damages resulting from people using guns?" The
panelists will be Professor John Lott, noted economist from the
University of Chicago Law School, and Brian Siebel, an attorney
from HCI. The debate is open to the general public, but all
mayoral candidates for Philadelphia, current Philadelphia Mayor
Ed Rendell, and the ACLU are specifically invited to attend.
Please make plans to attend this event, which will be held at
4:00 p.m., April 8, at the University of Pennsylvania Law School,
3400 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Penn. For additional
information, please contact Jim Harberson at (215) 417-4752. The
debate should last approximately two hours, and members of the
audience will be encouraged to ask questions, so come prepared!
A LOOK AT THE STATES
ARKANSAS: Governor Huckabee (R) signed into law HB 1717, which
prevents municipalities from engaging in reckless lawsuits
against legal gun manufacturers.
CALIFORNIA: On Tuesday, April 6, the Senate Public Safety
Committee will consider SB 130, which would require that most
firearms be sold with a "use limitation device," and SB 15, which
would ban the sale of most used handguns and impose testing
standards on new ones. Please contact members of the committees
and urge them to oppose SB 130 and SB 15. For committee members'
names and telephone numbers contact the NRA-ILA Grassroots
Division at (800) 392-8683.
COLORADO: SB84, the NRA-backed Right To Carry bill, passed the
Senate Judiciary Committee and now awaits consideration in the
Senate Appropriations Committee. Contact the Senate
Appropriations Committee at (303) 866-2316 or Committee Chair
Sen. Elsie Lacy(R-28) at (303) 866-2578 and urge them to support
SB 84. Additionally, the Senate gave initial approval to HB 1305,
which would establish uniform firearms laws throughout Colorado.
The Senate likely will take a final vote on the bill on Monday.
Contact your State Senator at (303) 866-2316 or (888) 473-8136
and urge him to support these bills. Finally, SB 205, which
would prevent municipalities from filing reckless lawsuits
against the firearms industry, passed the Senate earlier this
week.
DELAWARE: HB 71, which would allow guns to be confiscated without
due process in cases of suspected domestic violence, has been
placed on the House's legislative agenda for April 20. Contact
your state representative at (302) 739-4114 and urge him to vote
NO on HB 71.
MONTANA: HB 389, which would provide funding for range
development and improvement, passed the House earlier this week.
Contact your Senator at 406-444-4800 and urge him to support HB
389.
NEBRASKA: Senators who supported LB 476, NRA-backed right to
carry legislation, fell just three votes short of cutting off a
filibuster against the bill led by anti-gun Senator Ernie
Chambers (Dist. 11). Efforts are underway to sway three votes to
our side to bring the bill back up for consideration. Please
visit www.nraila.org or call NRA-ILA Grassroots at (800) 392-8683
to find out how your senator voted. Remember to thank those who
support LB 476 and to urge those who oppose LB 476 to reconsider.
NEW JERSEY: Contact Senator Louis Kosko (R-38), chairman of the
Senate Law & Public Safety Committee, at (201) 712-1221, and urge
him to oppose any bill that mandates "personalized" handguns.
OREGON: The Senate still has not voted on SB 700, an NRA-opposed
bill to prohibit any firearms sale at a gun show (and a number of
other venues) unless it is conducted through an FFL. Call your
State Senator at (503) 986-1187 and urge him to oppose SB 700.
TEXAS: This week, the Senate approved SB 717, which seeks to
prohibit municipalities from filing reckless lawsuits against the
lawful firearms industry, legitimate firearms and ammunition
manufacturers, trade associations, and dealers. The measure now
moves to the House Civil Practices Committee for consideration.
Additionally, on Wednesday, April 7, the House Civil Practices
Committee will hold hearings on HB 1561, the House version of the
gun lawsuit bill, and HB 2399, Rep. Bill Carter's (R-91) shooting
range protection bill. Contact committee members and urge them to
support these important bills. Please visit www.nraila.org or
call NRA-ILA Grassroots at (800) 392-8683 for a list of committee
members.
VERMONT: Continue to call the House Education Committee at
(802)828-2228, and urge its members to support H. 414 instead of
H. 270. H. 414 is a bill that addresses the issue of school
violence without infringing upon the rights of gun owners.
WASHINGTON: SB 5001, which seeks to reinstate limited hunting of
cougars with dogs, is pending executive action in the House
Natural Resources committee. Contact your State Representatives
at (360) 786-7573 and urge them to support SB 5001.
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This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle
Association's Institute for Legislative Action -- www.NRAILA.org
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