Shortshots

Firearm manufacturers had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruling allowing individuals who allege injuries stemming from gun violence to proceed with strict-liability-based public-nuisance claims against the manufacturers.

The District of Columbia has strict rules about gun possession, and justices had been told that its law interfered with the gun commerce in oth...

Our story on high-retention duty holsters later in this issue brought up the topic of how dangerous law-enforcement jobs are compared to other careers. How to prevent a law-enforcement sidearm from being used on its owner is always a worry, mainly because the policing environment, by definition, is filled with bad guys. But, we wondered, what about other jobs in which the civilian worker may not be legally armed, or, worse yet, may be prevented by workplace rules from protecting himself?

Workplace disarmament, and the resulting injuries and deaths such policies cause, are a bigger problem than you might think. For instance, banning g...

Senate Passes Legislation To Protect Gun Manufacturers

On July 29, the Senate passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, a landmark victory for the firearms industry and gun owners.

With passage in the Senate, this legislation is expected to quickly pass the House. President Bush has said hell sign the bill when it reaches his desk. The new law will block wrongful civil liability lawsuits - an ongoing scheme to litigate firearms manufacturers into bankruptcy - promoted by anti-gun organizations.

I want to thank the many individuals and publications in the outdoor media for the tremendous job they did in making their readers aware of the seriousness of the thre...

Columbus, Ohio, City Councilman Michael C. Mentel has proposed banning further sales of semiautomatic firearms and giving people who bought semiautomatic firearms before the ban 90 days to register them. The city has tried twice before to ban different classes of guns, but has been rebuffed both times by the courts. If such a ban passes again, it could affect whether the annual convention is held in the city in two years.

The courts overturned similar bans in the 1990s. In 1994, a federal court overturned Columbus 1989 ordinance, ruling the citys attempt to ban 46 makes and models was unconstitutionally vague. Colum...

Wisconsin to Retired Police Officers: Thanks, but No Thanks
Dozens of Wisconsin police agencies are balking at implementing a federal law that allows qualified retired police officers and sheriffs deputies to carry firearms, even in states such as Wisconsin that have concealed carry bans.

The Wisconsin agencies say they do not want to be held liable for potentially deadly incidents involving their former workers. However, retirees from other states can carry their weapons while in Wisconsin.

The federal law, which took effect in January, allows retired officers who served for more than 15 years to carry a weapon as long as they have identification from their former agen...

USA Shooting To Partner With Texas Facility For Competitions
At USA Shootings biannual board of directors meeting on April 2, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the board unanimously passed a resolution to partner with Hill Country Shooting Sports Center (HCSSC) in Kerrville, Texas, as a future location for a majority of USA Shooting events.

USA Shooting is recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) as the national governing body for the Olympic and international shooting sports in the United States.

USA Shooting has been looking for a full-service shooting range since the 1996 Olympic Shooting Range in Wolf Creek...

Multiple-Victim Shootings: Were People Left Defenseless?
March saw three multiple-victim public shootings: the Atlanta courthouse attack that left four murdered; the Wisconsin church shooting, where seven were murdered, and a high-school shooting in Minnesota, where nine were murdered.

John R. Lott, Jr., a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and author of The Bias Against Guns and More Guns, Less Crime, has asked: What can be learned from these attacks?

He argues that the events require different responses, but he notes the common thread between them: The lack of an armed citizen response.

He wrote, The lessons from the courthouse shooting are likely...

S&Ws New Products 2005: Interesting Choices In Store
The January 2005 SHOT Show saw longtime revolver maker Smith & Wesson introduce a range of firearms products ranging from the Model 460XVR (eXtreme Velocity Revolver) to the extension of the 1911 pistol series. Strolling through the S&W booth brought on a feeling of extreme anti dj vu - utter surprise at the companys rebound from a few years ago, when gunowners were boycotting the firm.

But it seems time heals all wounds, and the 2005 new Smith products suggest the company is following an ambitious expansion plan.

Said Mike Golden, Smith & Wessons president and chief executive officer, We are actively exploring c...

DOJ Memo: 2nd Amendment Is Individual Right
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has declared that the Second Amendment explicitly recognizes the right of individual Americans to own and carry firearms. The Memorandum Opinion for the Attorney General released on the Internet in December is entitled, Whether the Second Amendment Secures an Individual Right.

The reports 103 pages conclude that, ... the Second Amendment secures a personal right of individuals, not a collective right that may only be invoked by a State or a quasi-collective right restricted to those persons who serve in organized militia units.

Further, the report says that conclusion is based ... on...

Gun Makers, Gun Owners Win Two Major Victories in Illinois
Illinois gun owners won two large battles toward the end of 2004. In a closely-watched court case, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that firearms manufacturers are not responsible for Chicago street violence or of knowingly supplying guns to criminals. The city of Chicago sued 18 gun manufacturers, four distributors and 11 dealers - asserting the firearms industry is liable for causing a public nuisance - and demanded $433 million for health care costs and city emergency expenses.

And on the legislative front, Illinois lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to give new legal protection to homeowners who use a banned handgu...