The GVP Report - January 24, 2012

Blogs

Dennis Henigan, Brady Campaign, Gun Industry Suffers Stinging Defeat in Court, examines the recent federal court decision upholding the requirement for gun dealers in border states to report multiple sales of assault rifles.

Josh Sugarmann, Violence Policy Center, New Study Ranks California Counties by Their Youth Homicide Victimization Rates, reports of the VPC annual Lost Youth study.

CommonGunSense, We Remember Dr. Martin Luther King's Struggle for Non-Violence, reflects on the teachings of the slain civil rights leader.

Bullet Counter Points, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Pro-Gun Activists Find Humor in Tributes on One-Year Anniversary of Tucson Massacre,looks at how pro-gun activists mocked the Too Many Victims vigils.

OhhShoot blog, Florida husband mistakes wife for burglar, shoots her.

Advocacy

The Virginia Center for Public Safety held a vigil for victims of gun violence outside of the Virginia State Capitol then went inside to urge legislators to defeat efforts to weaken VA's gun laws and to extend the laws to include criminal background checks on all gun sales. Click to see video of vigil.

Ceasefire Oregon blog New Trajectory, 2011 in Review, looks back on a very busy year of activities for Ceasefire Oregon.

Protect Minnesota's Heather Martens and Mary Lewis Grow, To Reduce Gun Violence, Stop Guns at the Source, urge the Minnesota Legislature to close the gun show loophole and to oppose several gun bills designed to decimate existing gun laws in order to expand the gun market.

Worst of the Week

A dispute about whether a terminally ill woman should have tea and toast or an orange set off 63-year-old Paul Gilkey of Logan, Ohio. Gilkey responded to the argument by retrieving a semi-automatic handgun and killing his two sisters-in-law, ages 70 and 63, and his 38-year-old son. He allowed his stepson to leave the house. "He let me leave because I have kids," said the stepson. Gilkey shot and killed himself a few hours later. His wife, Darlene, who watched as her husband shot and killed her son and her two sisters, died a few days later. Gilkey had served more than a decade in prison for killing a man. As a convicted felon, Gilkey was prohibited from possessing a firearm. The local sheriff speculated that the gun was likely purchased from an individual, flea market, or gun show in order to circumvent the background check. He also noted that it would have been impossible for law enforcement to know if Gilkey had guns because there isn't a registry or database to check.

More Court Victories

A federal judge in Lubbock, Texas threw out a lawsuit from the NRA that challenged Texas law prohibiting 18-to-20-year-olds from carrying concealed handguns, saying "Texas has identified a legitimate state interest - public safety - and passed legislation that is rationally related to addressing that issue."

A federal judge in New Jersey dismissed a case from the Second Amendment Foundation that challenged NJ's strict concealed carry laws, saying "the Second Amendment does not include a general right to carry handguns outside the home."

A federal judge in California upheld Los Angeles County's strong concealed carry laws. Jonathan Birdt filed suit after being denied a ccw permit. The court ruled that LAPD policies "do not infringe upon Plaintiff's constitutional rights."

A federal judge threw out a case backed by the NRA that challenged new reporting requirements for gun dealers in border states, ruling that "multiple sales of certain powerful long guns is a strong indicator of gun trafficking" and the "ATF acted rationally" in asking for sales data in the border states.

The U.S. Supreme Court turned down a California appeal and let stand a state appeals court ruling upholding a California law that imposes a 10-year ban on gun ownership for anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime involving violence or threats of force.

For more post-Heller litigation see LCAV's summary and Brady Center's Hollow Victory?.

In The News

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords announced that she will resigned from Congress in a message posted on YouTube. Giffords has "determined that it will take more time" to recover from being shot in the head in 2011.

Missouri police and prosecutors navigate the castle doctrine. In one recent killing St. Louis police sought second-degree murder charges but prosecutors decline to file them because of the new castle doctrine law.

South Dakota Judiciary Committee voted 7-5 to kill a bill that would have allowed people to carry concealed handguns in public without first having to get a permit.

iWatch, Toys, BB Guns and Pellet Guns Subject to a Confusing Patchwork of Laws, to regulate the sale, use and color of replica guns. "As these guns get more popular, kids are getting shot because of them."

A new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds that Safe Streets Baltimore, a replication of Chicago's CeaseFire program,has effectively reduced gun violence in three of the four violent Baltimore neighborhoods were the program is used. Click here to read the full study.

Community Support

Media Matters, John Lott Uses Distorted Anecdotes to Push for "Dangerous" Gun Laws, corrects Lott's account of two recent cases where travelers to New York City were arrested on gun charges.

David Drake, guest columnist Des Moines Register, This Guy's Not Packin' Heat Any More, talks about why he no longer carries a concealed handgun and the need for mandatory range training before someone can get a ccw permit.

Thomas Fisher, University of Minnesota, Guns Don't Kill People, Bullets Do, details the high cost of gun violence and ponders the possibility of charging the ammunition industry for the costs incurred due to the availability of cheap ammunition.

Dr. Art Kamm, Art on Issues, Sacrificing Our Children in the Name of the Second Amendment, looks at the "grossly disproportionate" rate of firearm deaths in minors in the U.S. as compared to peer countries, and policies that contribute to this ongoing tragedy including "market expansion policies for gun products."

Greg Laden, The X Blog, Legal Guns To Criminal's Hands: Is It Uncontrollable?, argues that "the flow of guns from legal ownership to illegal possession can be affected by the implementation of statue."

Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks, Obama Squandered a Year of Potential Gun Reform After Giffords Shooting, talks about Obama's lack of true follow-up on promised policy proposal on guns. Also see Cenk's commentary Giffords' YouTube Resignation a Viral Hit, But No One's Talking About Guns.

What the Gun Lobby is Doing

First Impressions on the Slide Fire, from the SHOT Show 2012, reports on a new product that increases the speed of fire for AR-15s and AK-47s and enables automatic-like firing speed.

Feeling Ignored, Gun Lobby Threatens to Retaliate Against Harwell and Her Supporters, looks at complaints from the Tennessee Firearms Association that TN House Speaker Harwell isn't doing enough to expand Second Amendment rights despite the large Republican majority in the state legislature.

Group spends Martin Luther King Day Raffling off .50-Caliber Rifle, notes that as part of their rally at the Virginia State House the Virginia Citizens Defense League held a raffle for a Serbu .50 BMG.