We are afraid. How did we come to be so afraid? Consider one Canadian's perspective on our national obsession with the right to bear arms, (h/t Vetwife).
America is Afraid!! Canada Rants!
by Graeme Provencal
To join the Firearms Law and Policy Group send a Kosmail to the group.
Welcome readers and new group members! Please join us below the fold or skip straight to the comments and introduce yourself.
A personal note from your founders - our vision for the group
From LilithGardener:
I support the individual RKBA. I grew up with guns in the house, and was taught to shoot straight at the age of 10. When I served in the military I received additional training/experience with small arms, where I shot at the expert level. Now I live in NYC (unarmed). When we moved here, it was a radical idea for us, this notion of living on a tiny Island with 3 million others, all dependent on public services. We thought about it carefully and discussed the LA riots after the Rodney King verdict. The reports that some Asian neighborhoods didn't burn because they had armed residents on the rooftops warning rioters, "Not this block!" were compelling at the time. What would we do in the event of a crisis like that?
We decided that a gun in the house in NYC would be a bigger liability than it would be elsewhere. Now having lived here through 9/11, major grid power failure, and two hurricanes, I wouldn't have it any other way. People love living in cities like New York because there are a zillion shared moments of cooperation daily.
Anyway. Why this group?
My life experience and my personality enable me to empathize with both sides of the rural/urban divide on gun policy. I'm tired of libertarian arguments about what the 2A means. Whether we think it's a civil rights break through or a flawed decision, the SCOTUS interpretation as articulated in Heller and McDonald is the frame around which we must reconcile hundreds of state and local laws. This group is for those who want to collaborate as we move forward to understand which restrictions are permitted and which are likely to fail on the next SCOTUS review of gun law.
As we saw this past spring, Congress is in a state of gridlock that makes passage of Federal gun laws difficult or impossible. We've all seen the way the sausage is made. Even good legislation can be compromised by amendments that defeat important provisions. I especially want to become an effective advocate for the right of states and local jurisdictions to retain flexibility as they balance expression of the individual right to keep and bear arms with their duty to secure public safety for everyone.
I'm not a constitutional law scholar and I want to understand the law. If you do too will you join us?
Please argue your case the way Wee Mama illustrated in her excellent diary, Make Your Case , attempt to win over your opponent the way akadjian laid out here, and join us for collaborative discussions like this and this.
OregonOak is busy with the beginning of a new semester and he will rejoin us as soon as he can. His first diary to be published with the group will detail what changed for him on December 14, 2012 and why he decided to disassemble his guns and drop them into the sea. Stay tuned!
Glossary of references, resources, and some post-Heller diaries
The following diaries and resources may help orient us to the current complexity, challenges, and unintended consequences of gun law and policy post-Heller and McDonald. Please use the comment section to suggest additional references for our local library. Tell us what the reference is, why it caught your attention, and remember to include a link.
Resources and References |
- Post-Heller Litigation Summary (updated August 2, 2013) - The Law Center for the Prevention of Gun Violence "surveys the landscape of Second Amendment challenges to federal, state and local gun laws asserted in the aftermath of the United States Supreme Court’s controversial landmark decision in District of Columbia v. Heller".
- Rethinking Gun Control (Slate, June 2013) - a digest of the key Priorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearm Related Violence (National Research Council, June 2013). The report is a comprehensive review of gun violence as requested by President Obama in January this year.
- Gun Deaths Shaped by Race in America (The Washington Post, March 2013) - a detailed study mapping homicide and suicide rates by state, showing that whites are more likely to shoot themselves while blacks are more likely to be shot by someone else.
- Congressional Research Service Report on Gun Control Legislation (November 2012)
- A Review of Legislation Restricting the Intersection of Firearms and Alcohol in the U.S. (2010)
- FIREARM INJURY IN THE U.S. - Firearm & Injury Center at Penn (Version 2011) - "The authors of this Resource Book have collective expertise in areas of public health, medicine, nursing, epidemiology, demography, and public policy. The information presented here is based on a wide body of literature representing academic scholars from many different disciplines. Our goal is to offer an inclusive introduction to the field of firearm injury prevention by providing a resource for multiple levels of study."
- CDC - National Vital Statistics Reports - Deaths: Final Data for 2008 (Vol. 59, No. 10, December 2011)
- FBI Uniform Crime Reports (2010)
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Handgun Laws and Practice |
- - The Law Center for the Prevention of Gun Violence Well-organized and clearly written summaries of Heller, McDonald, and Firearms Law for each state. Useful interactive maps.
- Handgun Law - an interactive national map linking to a detailed page of laws and regulations for each state. The site lists shooting sports organizations in each state that advocate for expanded RKBA . Some of them articulate their reasons for challenging state and local gun laws. (Updated regularly)
- Glossary of Firearm Terminology from Handgun Law
- ATF - Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide (downloaded August 2013)
- ATF - Best Practices Guide for Private Transfers (downloaded August 2013)
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To advocate effectively for repeal or passage of firearms legislation we must first know and understand current law and policy, and how both are implemented, where we live. There is enormous variability across the country; the relative utility/relative risk of firearms is different on a 500 acre ranch in Montana than for a 1000 square foot apartment in New York. State and local laws reflect that diversity. We will discuss firearms law and policy with an emphasis on the many historical ethics and ideals of Western Civilization, as opposed to what are currently known as "Libertarian" ideals.
This group is also a study group; a place to learn and discuss which gun regulations are constitutional restrictions in this post-Heller environment. (A law degree is not required). With Congressional gridlock likely to impede any useful national legislation, progress will have to be made at the state and local level.
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Please note: We are not a subgroup of the Daily Kos RKBA group and do not agree with their foundation premise, but hope they will share their insights into state and local laws that work.
To join us send a message to the Firearms Law and Policy Group.
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Fri Sep 06, 2013 at 6:21 PM PT: Added the Glossary of Firearms Terminology from Handgun Law to our list of References.