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Second Amendment Project Newsletter, April 3, 2000.
The Second Amendment Project is based at the Independence
Institute, a free-market think tank in Golden, Colorado.
http://i2i.org
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Table of Contents for this issue
1. Four new articles by Kopel. Falsehoods from anti-gun advocates;
dangers of gun locks (two articles); an open letter to the people of
Japan.
2. Unanimous win in the Supreme Court: No "firearms exception"
to the Fourth Amendment. Independence Institute & NRA amicus brief.
3. New on the web:
* Photo of Al Gore demonstrating gun safety.
* "Juvenile Murders: Guns the Least of It." From the Christian
Science Monitor.
* Analysis of press release from Legal Community Against Gun
Violence.
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1. New Kopel articles.
"An Army of Gun Lies." Featured on the cover of the April 17 issue
of National Review.
http://www.nationalreview.com/17apr00/kopel041700.html
This article is on the NR website. The print version of the magazine
features two other articles on guns. In one of the articles, John J.
Miller details how the abusive government lawsuits have nearly
destroyed
Colt.
The National Review website, which is updated every weekday, carries
one or two
short commentaries on firearms topics by Kopel each week.
The most recent commentaries are:
Are Gun Locks Like Aspirin Caps?
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment032900b.html
and, "Dangers of Mandatory Gun Locks."
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment032700a.html
The National Review site also has a new interview with John Lott.
http://www.nationalreview.com
The May 2000 issue of Liberty magazine includes two items by Kopel:
"An Open Letter to the People of Japan" urges the Japanese people
to respect cultural difference--and to remember some lessons from
Japanese history--when they think about imposing their
values about firearms on the American people.
http://i2i.org/SuptDocs/Crime/OpenLetterJapan.htm
Kopel has recently become a Contributing Editor of Liberty, and
writes
short items for the magazine's "Reflections" section. In the print
version
of the May issue, Kopel's "The English Eclipse" details how Tony
Blair's
government frightened the English into staying indoors during the
spectacular total eclipse of the sun last August. Kopel suggests
that if
the English don't even know when it's safe to go outdoors, it should
not be surprising that they consider themselves incapable of owning
handguns safely.
Liberty magazine is available at high-quality newsstands.
Subscription
information is at:
http://www.libertysoft.com/liberty/subscription.html
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2. Unanimous Supreme Court: no "firearms exception" to Fourth
Amendment.
In the case of Florida v. J.L., a unanimous Supreme Court
rejected the urging of the Florida Attorney General and the Clinton
administration to create a "firearms exception" to the Fourth
Amendment.
A variety of civil liberties and civil rights organizations,
including the
American Civil Liberties Union, Rutherford Institute,
and the National Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers filed amicus briefs in favor of the position which
the unanimous Court eventually adopted.
Among these briefs was one filed jointly by the National Rifle
Association
and the Independence Institute. The brief pointed out that
peacefully carrying a firearm (the basis for an anonymous tip in the
J.L. case) was a common activity in the United States, was
recognized as constitutionally protected in various state court
decisions, and was not in itself a basis for suspecting
criminal behavior.
The Supreme Court decision is at:
http://laws.findlaw.com/US/000/98-1993.html
The NRA and Independence Institute amicus brief is at:
http://i2i.org/SuptDocs/Crime/Briefs/JL.htm
A Legal Times article quoting Kopel's reaction to the unanimous
decision is at:
http://www5.law.com/dc-shl/display.cfm?id=2959
February article in Legal Times previewing the case, and reporting
on the
broad amicus coalition.
http://www5.law.com/dc-shl/display.cfm?id=2759
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3. New on the Web
a. Must be seen to be believed:
For definitive proof that the Vice-President is superbly qualified
to tell
the rest of the nation all about gun safety, follow the link below
to the
algore2000 website. Observe the second picture on the page.
(It looks best if you double-click on it to enlarge it.)
Note that the posting of this picture on the
Gore campaign site shows that the Vice-President believes that
the photograph enhances his reputation.
http://www.algore2000.com/gorefamily/gorefamily.html
b. "Juvenile murders: Guns least of it."
Iain Murray (Statistical Assessment Service)
Christian Science Monitor, March 27, 2000.
http://www.stats.org/statswork/csm-guns.htm
c. The "Legal Community Against Violence," consisting of several
dozen
pro-control professors recently released a public statement. For an
analysis of
where the professors are right, and where they're wrong, see
Ari Armstrong's exposition in his on-line Colorado Freedom Report.
http://www.co-freedom.com/2000/03/lcav.html
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As always, the Independence Institute website contains
extensive information on:
Criminal Justice and the Second Amendment:
http://i2i.org/crimjust.htm
The Columbine High School murders:
http://i2i.org/suptdocs/crime/columbine.htm and
The Waco murders: http://i2i.org/Waco.htm
The Independence Institute's on-line bookstore. Start your
browsing at the Second Amendment section:
http://i2i.org/book.htm#Second
That's all folks!
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