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Dave Kopel's Second Amendment Newsletter

May 7, 2007
Dave Kopel's Second Amendment Project is based at the Independence Institute,
a free-market think tank in Golden, Colorado.
http://www.independenceinstitute.org

The Independence Institute publishes several newsletters on other topics, plus a weekly newsletter containing our most recent op-eds and news of our activities. E-mail subscription to any of these newsletters is free.

Delivery of this newsletter comes courtesy of the Second Amendment Foundation, in Bellevue, Washington.
http://www.saf.org

Please visit Dave Kopel's website, containing articles on the Second Amendment and other freedom topics.
http://www.davekopel.org

To subscribe to this free e-mail newsletter, please send a request to:
kopelnewsletter@liberty.seanet.com

Table of Contents

1. New By Kopel, Research: Human Right of Self-Defense; Comment on Ludwig
2. New by Kopel, Kopel vs. The Economist: VT; Politics of Gun Control; International Issues; Myths about Guns; Gun Solutions;
3. New by Kopel, The Virginia Tech Murders: "Gun Free" Zones; Publicity for Killers; Effectiveness of Gun Laws; Radio Netherlands; The Worst Recent Mass-Killing
4. New by Kopel, Articles Quoting Kopel at Length: Pretend 'Gun Free' Zones; No 'Gun Free' Guarantees
5. Lautenberg and Gonzales Double-Team Due Process
6. Victims Should Fight Back... Danziger on Empowerment; A Culture of Self-Defense; U.C. Students Swarm Gunman; Miss America '44 with a .38
7. Especially When the Police Aren't Coming in Time... Virginia Tech; Even after Columbine
8. Pretend 'Gun-Free' Zones: Tennessee Guns in Public Areas; Self-defense on Campus; Liability for Gun-Banners; Thompson on Self-Defense; Nevada forbids School Carry; Gays with Guns Change Policy
9. International: Japan; Switzerland; U.K.; U.N.
10. Culture: Horror at Virginia Tech; Campus Loathing for the U.S.; Memorial to OU Suicide Bomber; Michael Eisner Abandons Reason
11. The N.R.A. Pew Polling; Current and Past Presidents; Anti-Semitic Libel; Biggest Convention Ever
12. Bloomberg's Falsehoods: Tiahrt Amendment; Kansas Station Won't Air Bloomberg's Ad
13. The States: Arizona; Florida; Georgia; Massachusetts; Missouri
14. Research: Studies on Firearms and Suicide

New by Kopel

Research

The Human Right of Self-Defense

With Paul Gallant & Joanne D. Eisen
BYU Journal of Public Law 22
Forthcoming, 2007
http://www.davekopel.com/2A/LawRev/The-Human-Right-of-Self-Defense.pdf
PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader or similar software.

This is a 119 page law review article that responds to the claim of the United Nations Human Rights Council that there is no human right of self-defense.

 

Comment on Cook & Ludwig, "Guns and Burglary"

Evaluating Gun Policy: Effects on Crime and Violence
Brookings Institution
2003
http://tinyurl.com/2qu5o5

In this old article newly on the web, Dave discusses the questionable claim that higher gun density causes more burglary.

 

Kopel vs. The Economist

Debate with Christopher Lockwood, Day One: The Virginia Tech Murders

With Christopher Lockwood
latimes.com
April 23, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/yqa82t

 

Debate with Christopher Lockwood, Day Two: The Politics of Gun Control

With Christopher Lockwood
latimes.com
April 24, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/yqa82t

 

Debate with Christopher Lockwood, Day Three: International Issues

With Christopher Lockwood
latimes.com
April 25, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2r57ap

 

Debate with Christopher Lockwood, Day Four: Myths about Guns

With Christopher Lockwood
latimes.com
April 26, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2r8sml

 

Debate with Christopher Lockwood, Day Five: Gun Solutions

With Christopher Lockwood
latimes.com
April 27, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2laxxb

On the Los Angeles Times website, Dave engaged in a five-day debate about gun control with Christopher Lockwood, the U.S. editor of The Economist. Each day contained an essay by each writer.

 

Kopel on the Virginia Tech Murders

Gun-Free Zones

Wall Street Journal
April 18, 2007
http://www.davekopel.com/2A/OpEds/Gun-Free-Zones.htm

The murders at Virginia Tech University, like similar attacks, were facilitated by pretend "gun-free zones."

 

Airing, Publishing Killer's Photos, Rants Reckless

The Rocky Mountain News
April 21, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2mvd44

In his bi-weekly 'Media Critic' column in the Rocky Mountain News, Dave points how NBC's decision to publish material from a packet sent by the Virginia Tech killer in between his murders makes publicity an added inducements to such mass-murderers to perpetrate their slaughters.

 

Shooter's Purchase of Handguns Raises Questions About Gun Control Laws

The News Hour with Jim Lehrer
April 19, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2jo5l5
http://tinyurl.com/3y6yna
http://tinyurl.com/33nuwh

The first URL links to the transcript of Dave's appearance on The News Hour. For Streaming Real audio, look here http://tinyurl.com/3y6yna. For an MP3 Podcast, look here http://tinyurl.com/33nuwh.

 

Discussion with Martin Boess and Adele Kirsten

Radio Netherlands
April 21, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2nocmp
http://tinyurl.com/ynqrn8
http://tinyurl.com/yqtvps
http://tinyurl.com/2fxjhn
http://tinyurl.com/24q77u

In the course of the broadcast, Dave discusses the role of guns in society with Martin Boess of the Swiss Crime Prevention Agency and Adele Kirsten, a small arms analyst and researcher and former head of Gun Free South Africa. At the first URL are the MP3 files (right-click them to open or save) divided as follows: Opening (1 minute) http://tinyurl.com/ynqrn8; First segment (13:55) http://tinyurl.com/yqtvps; Second segment (20:00) http://tinyurl.com/2fxjhn; Third segment (18:00) http://tinyurl.com/24q77u.

 

One of the Worst Mass Killings in Modern American History

iVoices
April 19, 2007
http://www.i2i.org/ivoices/audio/iipodcast113.mp3

Here is Dave's interview with ivoices as a podcast, 18:50, in MP3 format.

 

Articles quoting Kopel at Length about Pretend “Gun-Free Zones”

A Disarmed Campus

John Tabin
American Spectator
April 17, 2007
http://spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=11306

Virginia Tech opposed a recent attempt by the state legislature to allow its students with permits to carry concealed, on the grounds of avoiding liability. The University may now be held liable for not warning students of the danger in the time between the killer's first and second attacks.

 

'Gun-free,' but with No Guarantees

Rick Montgomery
The Kansas City Star
April 29, 2007
http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/87792.html

The Virginia Tech killer ignored the 'Gun Free' signs posted by the University's administration throughout the campus.

 

Attorney General Gonzales and Senator Lautenberg Join Forces to deny Gun Purchases without Due Process

Justice Department and Senator Endorse Bill to Bar Gun Sales to Terrorism Suspects

Laurie Kellman
Associated Press
April 27, 2007
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269007,00.html

"The Justice Department and a Northeastern Democrat have formed a rare alliance intended to restrict gun sales to terror suspects." The mere presence of a citizen's name upon one of the government's 'Terrorism Watch Lists' would be grounds for the Attorney General to deny that citizen the right to purchase a firearm under legislation introduced by New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has endorsed Lautenberg's bill.

 

No Fly, No Buy

Dave Kopel
America's 1st Freedom
October 2005
http://davekopel.com/2A/Mags/No-Fly-No-Buy.pdf
PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader or similar software.

Two years ago, Dave wrote this response to similar proposals that people whose names appear on secret government lists to be denied their constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

 

Victims Should Fight Back...

Teaching a new Doctrine in Light of the Virginia Tech Massacre

Marc Danziger
examiner.com
Apr 27, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2d87nn

"The students didn't fail to act correctly by not attacking their attacker. The doctrine they were operating under--the one we have trained them in all their lives--failed them."

 

Wanted: A Culture of Self-Defense

Michelle Malkin
National Review Online
April 18, 2007
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MjdiNzFkMDNlOWE3MjY4YTVkOGIzMTcwMjVhMGFhMDA=

"Enough is enough, indeed. Enough of intellectual disarmament. Enough of physical disarmament. You want a safer campus? It begins with renewing a culture of self-defense—mind, spirit, and body. It begins with two words: Fight back."

 

USC Students Swarm Gunman

Associated Press
boston.com
April 24, 2007
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/24/cops_usc_students_hold_off_gunman/

"Students wrested a gun away from a University of Southern California student who had been asked to leave an off-campus party after threatening a young woman, police said Tuesday."

 

Armed Miss America 1944 Stops Intruder with Her Handgun

Associated Press
Forbes.com
April 21, 2007
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/04/21/ap3637737.html

"She had to balance on her walker as she pulled out a snub-nosed .38-caliber handgun."

 

...Especially when the Police Aren't Coming in Time

5-Minute Delay Crucial in Tech Shooting

Kristen Gelineau
Associated Press
April 26, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2eazp7

"The five minutes police spent breaking into the building proved to be crucial as Cho moved through Norris Hall unimpeded."

 

Change in tactics: Police Trade Talk for Rapid Response

Jillian Lloyd
The Christian Science Monitor
May 31, 2000
http://www.csmonitor.com/2000/0531/p2s2.html

Law enforcement after the Columbine High School shootings of 2000 admitted and planned to rectify the slowness of their response.

 

Pretend "Gun Free" Zones

TN Moves to Allow Guns in Public Buildings

Knoxville News Sentinel
April 18, 2007
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/article/0,1406,KNS_348_5491437,00.html

"In a surprise move, a House panel voted today to repeal a state law that forbids the carrying of handguns on property and buildings owned by state, county and city governments -- including parks and playgrounds."

 

What Exactly is the Reason Not to Allow Professors to Carry Guns?

Eugene Volokh
The Volokh Conspiracy
April 19, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/ytgeb5

"If Virginia and other states have found that it's safe to let law-abiding citizens carry guns on streets, in shopping districts, in parks, and the like, why wouldn't it be equally safe to let law-abiding professors and staff to carry guns in the university?"

 

Let's be Realistic about Reality

Mark Steyn
The Chicago Sun-Times
April 22, 2007
http://www.suntimes.com/news/steyn/351710,CST-EDT-STEYN22.article

"I think we have a problem in our culture not with "realistic weapons" but with being realistic about reality."

 

Don't Curb Self-defense on Campus

Professor Murray Sabrin
The Record (Northern NJ)
April 27, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/35cxny

"Advocates of allowing trained citizens to carry firearms on college campuses and other locations where a mass murder could commit his act with impunity is the most humane position is a world where mass murder periodically occurs."

 

The Gun-Free-Zone Liability

Alan Korwin
gunlaws.com
2007
http://www.gunlaws.com/GFZ/index.htm

"If you create a gun-free zone, you're liable for any harm it causes." Mr. Korwin links to legislation that would enforce liability on those who are responsible for the defenselessness of crime victims.

 

Signs of Intelligence?

Fred Thompson
National Review Online
April 20, 2007
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OTIwYzMyZmQ1YzQ1MDNmZTMyYzQ1Y2U3YTU4YzNmNGE=

Actor, Lawyerand former United States senator from Tennessee wonders why the Virginia Tech victims were left helpless before the killer's onslaught.

 

Unarmed and Dangerous

House Editorial
Investor's Business Daily
April 19, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/ypn7wk

"Five years ago, armed college students subdued a gunman embarking on a college killing spree. Last year, Virginia Tech applauded the fact that its students couldn't do the same."

 

Professor Axed for VT stunt: Re-enacted Tragedy to Tout Pro-gun Perspective

Casey Ross
BostonHerald.com
April 21, 2007
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=195909

"An Emmanuel College professor has been fired after re-enacting the Virginia Tech massacre in his classroom in order to air a pro-gun viewpoint that offended students at the Catholic liberal arts school, the professor charged yesterday."

 

Nevada Lawmakers Vote against Allowing Teachers to Carry Guns

Joe Mullin
Associated Press (NV)
April 12, 2007
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2007/apr/12/041210290.html

"'How will we be able to tell the good guys from the bad guys when the cops come in?' asked Sen. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas."

 

Sheriff Asks State To Place Guns In Schools

Cincinnati News
April 19, 2007
http://news.yahoo.com/s/wlwt/20070419/lo_wlwt/12525764

"Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones sent letters Thursday to Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and State Rep. Courtney Combs calling for mandatory armed personnel in all public and private Ohio schools."

 

Gay Event Unravels Weapons Ban

gaywired.com
247gay.com
April 21, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/3c2ho2

"A planned gay and lesbian Queer Prom on April 21 was the unlikely thread that unraveled a little known weapons ban at the Salt Palace Convention Center."

 

International

Japan

Japan Tightens Gun-control Laws Following Gangster Gun Shootings

Kana Inagaki
Associated Press
April 25, 2007
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/25/asia/AS-GEN-Japan-Gun-Control.php

"Japan adopted stricter gun control guidelines for law enforcement agencies Wednesday following a spate of gangster shootings that have rattled a nation renowned for its crime-free streets, a government official said."

 

Switzerland

An Armory in Gun-Shy Europe; Switzerland Weighs Curbs on Its Culture of Firearm Ownership

Kevin Sullivan
The Washington Post
April 29, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/ywjzrr

"Anti-gun activists said they were pessimistic about winning major gun-law changes in a country where guns are a commonly accepted part of life."

 

United Kingdom

Britain's Gun Laws Seen as Curbing Attacks

Mary Jordan
washingtonpost.com
April 24, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/ywh3wn

"Although England already had tough restrictions in place, champions of the gun control laws say the new limits have been vital in keeping fatal shootings relatively rare."

 

The U.N.

Hopes That Massacre Will Spark Treaty

Edith M. Lederer
Associated Press
April 24, 2007
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nat-gen/2007/apr/24/042400661.html

"The former U.N. human rights chief hopes that last week's massacre at Virginia Tech will generate U.S. support for a global treaty to control the international small arms trade."

 

Culture

The Making of a Mass-Murderer-- In English Class

Mary Grabar
Townhall.com
April 24, 2007
http://www.townhallmail.com/upjpafd_krkbskv.html

"If you were a student at Virginia Tech last fall and had a propensity for the gruesome and violent you could have satisfied your thirst for the bloody and course requirements by enrolling in Professor Brent Stevens's English 3984 class, 'Special Studies: Contemporary Horror.'"

 

Virginia Tech's Professor of Hate

Steve Sailer
Front Page Magazine.com
April 30, 2007
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=28018

The tone of the VA Tech killer's writings are not dissimilar to those of Nikki Giovanni, one of his professors.

 

The Virginia Tech Shooter's Problem with America

Jerry Bowyer
Townhall.com
April 19, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2p68f4

"ItÂ’s like poisonous mercury in the ocean. For some reason, a number of fish pick it up but never purge it. The poison grows in concentration, until the life is irreparably lost."

 

Ismail Ax: The Shooter Was Another 'Son of Sacrifice'

Jerry Bowyer
TCS Daily
April 18, 2007
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=041807B

"Precisely how many mass shooters have to turn out to have adopted Muslim names before we get it?"

 

Oklahoma U. Bomber Honored

Michelle Malkin
michellemalkin.com
April 26, 2007
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/007390.htm

"A stone with the name of Joel Hinrichs III was placed outside the OU student union by the student affairs division. Hinrichs died Oct. 1, 2005, when the bomb he built detonated as he sat on a campus bench near Memorial Stadium while a football game was under way."

 

Video: Eisner Says It's Time to Get the Public "Emotional" about Gun Control

'Ian'
Hot Air
April 18, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2uhss3

Former Disney corporation CEO Michael J. Eisner believes that the time has come to abandon reason in favor of media-manipulated emotion in the cause of gun control. This page features a link to him saying so on CNBC's 'Power Lunch' program, and also includes a transcript of Eisner's remarks.

 

The NRA

The NRA's Image Improves as Support for Gun Control Slips

Shawn Neidorf
The Pew Research Center
April 16, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2frw44

"As attitudes toward the NRA have warmed, attitudes toward more restrictive gun control have cooled."

 

NRA President Speaks on Gun Ownership

Rebecca Agule
Record-Harvard Law School (MA)
April 12, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/34svjv

"The Forum's Vice President for Publicity, Benjamin Gould, made short opening remarks, first dedicating the evening to the memory of Law School students killed in World War II, then noting that Froman, 'publicly promotes NRA as a civil rights organization.' Gould also carefully provided the caveat that, 'the opinions expressed by the Forum's invited guests do not represent the views of the Forum'"

 

NRA: The Largest Civil-rights Group Ever

Sandy Froman
World Net Daily
April 12, 2007
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55148

Froman makes that point in the debut issue of a new column by the NRAÂ’s immediate past President.

 

Ex-Dover Police Captain Poised to Lead NRA

Lee Williams
The News Journal (Wilmington, DE)
April 30, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/34xd7y

Jim and Sarah Brady and John Sigler, the newly-elected president of the National Rifle Association, are all from the state of Delaware.

 

Of Octopuses and NRA

David Hardy
Of Arms and the Law
April 19, 2007
http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2007/04/of_octopuses_an.php

"The Associated Press launched a story that, because an NRA cartoon had shown Bloomberg as an octopus trying to take over, and there were Nazi cartoons depicting Jews as octopuses, NRA must be antisemitic."

 

NRA Convention Fills Bill: Tops 60,000

Aisha Sultan
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
April 16, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2acdmh

"The NRA was aiming for 60,000 participants, and organizers say the convention surpassed that, perhaps making it the most highly attended NRA convention ever."

 

Bloomberg's Falsehoods

Acting Director Addresses False Claims

Bullet Points
The National Shooting Sports Foundation
April 30, 2007
http://www.nssf.org/BP/current/

Acting BATFE director Michael Sullivan supports the Tiahrt amendment denying BATFE trace data to New Yor City Mayor Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition in their effort to launch civil suits against gun dealers nationwide.

 

Don't Buy Claims about Tiahrt Gun Amendment

Chuck Canterbury
The Wichita (KS) Eagle
April 24, 2007
http://www.kansas.com/205/story/52390.html

The national president of the Fraternal Order of Police disputes claims by New York city Mayor Bloomberg that BATFE tracing information would be useful if released in matters besides suing the firearms industry.

 

Erasing a Clinton Legacy: Rolling Back Aantigun Regs.

David B. Kopel
The National Review Online
January 27, 2004
http://davekopel.com/NRO/Erasing-a-Clinton-Legacy.htm

Here's Dave's article providing background on the Tiahrt Amendment when it was up for passage in 2005.

 

NYC Mayor's Gun Ad is Shot Down in Kan.

Sara Kugler
Associated Press
April 23, 2007
http://www.kansas.com/205/story/52390.html

"The CBS affiliate station in Wichita, Kan., is refusing to air a television advertisement that is part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's gun control campaign, saying the spot is misleading."

 

The States

Arizona

Governor Vetoes Weapons Measure

Capitol Media Services
Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, AZ)
April 29, 2007
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/180645

"Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed legislation Friday that would have said a weapon is not considered concealed if any portion of the gun or even the holster is visible. The legislation would also have affected swords, which are also considered weapons under the law, if any portion of it or the case can be seen."

 

Florida

Legislature Rejects 'Guns At Work' Bill

Monica Hatcher
Miamiherald.com
April 19, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2vs3tv

"Bringing an end to one of the most fevered debates in Tallahassee this year, a house committee killed an NRA-backed bill on Wednesday that would have allowed employees to keep guns in their cars at work despite an employer's objections."

 

Georgia

Committee OKs Gun-in-car Bill

Carlos Campos
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
April 17, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/39de9c

A committee of the Georgia State Senate has combined and passed two bills designed to give Georgians greater legal access to firearms in their vehicles.

 

Massachusetts

Bar Gun Offenders From Driving? Little Boston Impact Seen

Michael Naughton and Hailey Heinz
The Boston Globe
April 23, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2gu98r

"'We have one of the strongest gun laws in the country and that doesn't deter [offenders]. What makes people think that these people even apply for driver's licenses or have them at all?'"

 

Missouri

Missouri Latest State to Bar Police from Taking Guns

Kelly Wiese
Examiner.com
April 23, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2ryx6o

"Missouri recently joined 12 other states in passing a law in the past two years to prevent government from taking people's weapons during an emergency, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The first was Louisiana. Another dozen are considering the idea, and similar efforts are under way at the federal level."

 

Research

Would Banning Firearms Reduce Murder and Suicide? A Review of International Evidence

Gary A. Mauser and Don B. Kates
Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Volume 30, No. 2
Spring, 2007
http://www.garymauser.net/pdf/KatesMauserHJPP.pdf
PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader or similar software.

Abstract: This article examines a broad range of international data that bear on two distinct but interrelated questions: first, whether widespread firearm access is an important contributing factor in murder and/or suicide, and second, whether the introduction of laws that restrict general access to firearms has been successful in reducing violent crime, homicide or suicide. Our conclusion from the available data is that suicide, murder and violent crime rates are determined by basic social, economic and/or cultural factors with the availability of any particular one of the worldÂ’s myriad deadly instrument being irrelevant.

 

Guns in Homes Strongly Associated with Higher Rates of Suicide

Medical News Today
April 16, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/28mg39

"In the first nationally representative study to examine the relationship between survey measures of household firearm ownership and state level rates of suicide in the U.S., researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) found that suicide rates among children, women and men of all ages are higher in states where more households have guns."

 

This newsletter is compiled with help from Dr. Rob S. Rice. For more on this tenacious, yet assiduous individual, see here: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rrice/rrice_hd.html. Dr. Rice is still restoring 'Winston,' an '84 VW Camper, see: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/search.php?search_author=msinabottle

Al Qaeda delenda est!