About once a month, Dave Kopel produces a free e-mail Newsletter containing short summaries and links to important new research and writing involving the Second Amendment and firearms policy. The newsletter also reports on Kopel's latest writing.
The content of this newsletter is produced by the Second Amendment Project at the Independence Institute, a think tank in Golden, Colorado. The newsletter is electronically distributed by the Second Amendment Foundation in Bellevue, Washington. Thus, the Second Amendment Foundation will be given your e-mail address.
Archive of past issues.
Dave Kopel's Second Amendment Project is based at the
Independence Institute, a free-market think tank in
Golden, Colorado.
http://www.independenceinstitute.org
1. New by Kopel. Radio debate with Jim Hightower on Michael Moore.
Unlawful combatants case has 2d Amendment lesson. Catholic roots
of the right to resist tyrants.
2. Bigotry, including that of Michael Moore: It's not the hate, it's
the stupidity.
3. International. Thailand arms school teachers. More controls
proposed
in U.K. Italy to legalize armed home defense.
4. Culture. New NRA News service. Teaching kids archery promotes
good citizenship.
5. Women & Guns. Pro-freedom women advance; prohibitionists dwindle.
6. Law. Judge says NYC can obtain BATFE records on law-abiding gun owners.
7. Terrorism. Treaty could endanger U.S. rights.
Explaining Eisentrager: The Second Amendment is for individual gun
owners
National Review Online
April 20, 2004
http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel200404200903.asp
The Influence of Michael Moore.
"On Point,"
Tom Ashbrook, Host
WBUR radio Boston (nationally syndicated)
http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2004/05/20040526_a_main.asp
Kopel and Jim Hightower discuss Michael Moore, beginning at 17:30
into
the show. Archived for Real Player.
Possibly big U.N. scandal slighted. News better at covering
investigation into potential oil-for-food program corruption.
Rocky Mountain News/Denver Post
May 8, 2004
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/
news_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_86_2869561,00.html
Not directly about guns, but the U.N. corruption should raise
warning
signs about other U.N. issues.
God, Man, and Tyrants. John of Salisbury and the Bestselling Book of
the Twelfth Century.
Liberty
May 2004.
http://www.libertysoft.com/liberty/
Intolerance Of Gun Owners Nation-Wide Problem
The Oshkosh Northwestern
Pat Durkin
May 16, 2004
http://www.wisinfo.com/northwestern/sports/stories/sports_16123481.shtml
Legal gun owners find themselves being treated with fear and
suspicion
nation wide.
Michael Moore and Me
Fred Barnes
The Weekly Standard
May 31, 2004
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/127ujhuf.asp
Lies and more lies from the leftist filmmaker.
Had By Another Michael Moore Hoax
Andrew Gumbel
The Independent
7 May, 2004
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=518901
"Less than 24 hours after accusing the Walt Disney Company of
pulling
the plug on his latest documentary in a blatant attempt at political
censorship, the rabble-rousing film-maker Michael Moore has admitted
he
knew a year ago that Disney had no intention of distributing it."
Michael Moore's critics strike back
CBC News
May 21, 2004
http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/news/2004/05/21/Arts/moore20040521.html
Legendary French director Jean-Luc Godard, who helped to launch the
New
Wave film movement in the 1960s, had this to say about America's most
celebrated : [Michael] Moore doesn't distinguish between text and
image. He doesn't know what he's doing. He is halfway intelligent.
He's
not even hurting Bush. He's helping him in an underground way. Bush
is
either less stupid than he looks or so stupid you can't change him."
3. International
Canada
A Knock On The Door In The Night
Pierre Lemieux
Le Québécois Libre
April 15, 2004
http://www.pierrelemieux.org/artknock.html
A Canadian homeowner is in equal terror of nocturnal invaders and
Canada's convoluted gun laws.
Ireland
Mcdowell Plans To Bring In Tougher Gun Laws
eircom.net
Monday, 5th April, 2004
http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/breaking/2959256?view=Eircomnet
The Minister for Justice has said he will bring in new measures in
an
effort to tackle gun crime. Presumably, the goal is the same as that
of draconian British laws-the results are likely to be identical.
Italy
Italy Plans Law To Allow Property Owners To Shoot Intruders
John Hooper
The Guardian
April 19, 2004
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1194664,00.html
In the words of Italian Justice Minister Roberto Castelli: "The
principle that anyone who is at home should be considered a priori
under attack [from a burglar] and may legitimately regard himself to
be
in danger of his life." In these instances, "any action must be
considered legitimate defence. [By changing the law in this way]
"The
legitimate use of firearms will be better disciplined without
turning
the country into the Wild West and without turning members of the
public into sheriffs." For a lovely example of 'journalistic
neutrality,' observe the topic sentence.
For background on Italian law, see
Gianni, Get Your Gun. The Surprising Emergence Of Gun Rights In
Italy.
Dave Koel with Carlo Stagnaro.
Chronicles
Dec. 2001
http://www.davekopel.org/2A/Mags/Italy.htm
Switzerland
Army Rifles Remain Racked At Home
Swissinfo
Swiss Defense Ministry statement
May 15, 2004
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=4929352
"Everybody who has served in the army is allowed to keep their
personal
weapon, even after the end of their military service." Isolated
crimes
have produced calls in Switzerland for firearms restriction.
Thailand
Thai Teachers Allowed To Carry Guns In South
Overseas Advisory Research Council
The Associate Press
April 27, 2004
http://www.ds-osac.org/view.cfm?KEY=7E4251464B52&type=2B170C1E0A3A0F162820
Teachers, who are mostly Thai-speaking Buddhists, have been prime
targets of the militants along with monks, policemen and village
headmen. Those who are willing to stay want to carry guns to protect
themselves.
United Kingdom
Blunkett Orders Overhaul Of Outdated Firearm Laws
By Sophie Goodchild and Francis Elliott
The Independent
09 May 2004
http://www.blackchat.co.uk/theblackforum/forum32/2758.html
The Government will attempt to tackle Britain's gun culture with
plans
to be unveiled this week for an overhaul of outdated firearms laws.
The goal is to make the laws MORE restrictive despite the failure of
previous laws.
Tories to review gun ban
The Daily Record
May 13 2004
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=1423550
3&method=full&siteid=89488&headline=
tories-to-review-gun-ban-name_page.html
The more conservative of the British political parties is exploring
the
ideas of rolling back some of Britain's unsuccessful firearms
restrictions.
Zimbabwe
Zim Farmer Claims Self Defence
ZWNews.com
27-May-2004
http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=9370
The Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe has filed murder charges against a
white
farmer who apparently shot one person in an armed mob of people who
had
invaded his land. The Mugabe regime has been disarming potential
victims of government violence (including white farmers), and has
been
stealing land to give to thuggish young gangsters who support the
tyrant in exchange for impunity to rape, rob, murder, and pillage
the
rest of the population.
4. Culture
NRA News Web site,
The National Rifle Association
http://www.nranews.com/nra.html
The National Rifle Association is becoming more aggressive in
getting
out news that for apparently ideological reasons the 'mainstream'
media
chooses not to emphasize.
Archery in the Schools
ESPN Outdoors
James A. Swan
May 28, 2004
http://espn.go.com/outdoors/general/columns/swan_james/1782474.html
Teaching kids about arms and safety may be more effective to reduce
violence than 'zero tolerance'
5. Women and Guns
More Women Discover Guns
Hayli Fellwock
Bowling Green Daily News
May 28, 2004
http://www.bgdailynews.com/cgi-bin/
view.cgi?/200403/14+guns20040314_top-feature.html+20040314
Ponytails and manicured nails are becoming a more common sight at
shooting ranges, indicating a turning tide for the gun industry.
Women's Gun Lobby Is A Growing Political Force
Wyatt Buchanan
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Saturday, May 8, 2004
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/172468_pot08.html
Groups such as the Second Amendment Sisters have formed to represent female gun owners, a population the Sisters number at 17 million.
Next year, the 'Several Moms March'?
Bob Caylor
Fort Wayne News Sentinel
May 11, 2004
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/editorial/8640292.htm
The second "Million Mom March" took place in Washington Sunday to
promote gun control, and it fell 99.7 percent short of its billing.
Guns, Like Abortion, Are a Matter Of Choice
Mary Zeiss Stange
USA Today
May 6, 2004
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-05-05-stange_x.htm
The option of arming oneself for protection is a matter of personal
choice in many of the same ways, and for the same reasons, as the
option of ending a pregnancy.
Judge Maurice A. Ross
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
April 22, 2004
http://www.dcbar.org/dcca/pdf/02cf1455.pdf
An appellate court last week unanimously upheld a trial court ruling
dismissing the District of Columbia's claims that the 2nd Amendment
is
a 'collective' right.
BATFE's Ruling on temporary importation of NFA firearms:
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
The ATF Online
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/rules/2004-2.htm
Some restrictions on the import of weapons labeled Class III
Firearms
under the National Firearms Act have been eased.
NYC Wins Ruling To Obtain Firearm Trace Data
William Glaberson
May 21, 2004
New York Times
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1139639/posts
On Wednesday, a federal magistrate ruled that the city was entitled
to
federal data that traces the path of guns used in crimes, overruling
objections by the Justice Department. Lawyers say that without the
data
the city would have difficulty proving its claim that the gun
industry's marketing and distribution practices amount to a public
nuisance.
Background by Kopel:
"When Must the Government Disclose Gun Owners' Names and Addresses?"
Preview of U.S. Supreme Court case Department of the Treasury v.
City of Chicago.
American Bar Association Preview of Supreme Court Cases
March 2003, pp. 289-93.
http://www.davekopel.org/2A/Mags/Treasury-versus-Chicago.pdf
7. Terrorism
Could treaty with UK target U.S. founders?
WorldNetDaily.com
May 19, 2004
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38555
Critics say a new anti-terrorism treaty between the U.S. and the
United
Kingdom could conceivably result in Great Britain seizing the assets
of
dead enemies - like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John
Adams.
There is no statute of limitations.
8. States
Illinois
Guns Protect City Official, But Not Her Constituents, Group
Complains
Susan Jones
Cybercast News Service
May 11, 2004
http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewCulture.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\200405\CUL20040511b.html
A Second Amendment group says a Chicago city councilwoman is a
hypocrite for insisting that she deserves special police protection
-
while her "legally disarmed constituents are left like defenseless
sheep in a city of wolves." "Deserve it? Damn right. I should
receive
the protection I am receiving. I am an elected official. You're darn
right."
Michigan
Granholm Signs Bills Allowing Antique Gun Purchases Without License
Detroit Free Press
May 13, 2004
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw97769_20040513.htm
Antique gun collectors won't need a license or safety inspection for
their old weaponry under legislation signed Thursday by Gov.
Jennifer
Granholm.
Missouri
Gun Permit? Need A New Driver's License
Robert Sandler
The Associated Press
May 18, 2004
http://www.news-leader.com/today/0518-Gunpermitm-90177.html
"Under the state's new law legalizing concealed guns, Missourians
licensed to conceal and carry must get a new driver's license that
will
announce a person's concealed-gun permit in bright red type, the
Department of Revenue said Monday."
Ohio
Gun Group Takes Battle To Businesses
Ohio News Now
May 28, 2004
http://www.onnnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=1856335&nav=LQlCN0i0
A group that pushed for approval of the state's new concealed
weapons law is
asking gun permit holders to boycott businesses that prohibit people
from
carrying hidden guns.
South Carolina
Ban On Buying More Than One Gun a Month Passes, Awaits Governor's OK
Lauren Markoe and Aaron Gould Sheinin
The State.
May 15, 2004
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/8672554.htm
The Governor has signed the bill, repealing the first gun rationing
law
in the U.S.
Background on gun rationing:
Eating Away At The Fabric Of Freedom. Gun Rationing Laws Lay The
Foundation For A Total Firearms Ban
David Kopel
America's 1st Freedom
July 2003.
http://www.davekopel.com/2A/Mags/Eating-Away.htm
This newsletter is compiled with help from Dr. Rob S. Rice. Dr. Rice
is a historian, poet, writer and factotum of matters electronic to
Dave
Kopel. The following appeared in National Review Online's 'The
Corner':
The Crisis
By Rob S. Rice
In these dull dreary days the truly brave man knows
That steel, true steel, is tempered by blows.
Fools sneer and deride, let them cheer for our foes
So much harder steel that they temper with blows.
Honor is eternal, though fools disregard
The tests they despise, or consider 'too hard.'
Or in scheming for power they chatter, like crows,
But steel, true steel, is still tempered by blows.
We face scheming murderers with calm defiance.
They have soulless evil, we have self-reliance.
They butcher civilians, their cruelty shows.
Our steel, true steel, is tempered by blows.
Let them come and dare face us, or run, if they choose.
In battle or treachery, the wicked shall lose.
For the acts of their madness are in truth their death throes.
They'll die on our steel that they've tempered, with blows.
