OK folks. Snap poll: "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." - The second amendment to the constitution of the United States
1. This proclaims an individual right. 2. This proclaims a state right. My rant will follow. Tim -----Original Message----- From: Howie Hamlin [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 12:15 PM To: CF-Community Subject: Court Upholds Calif. Assault Weapons Ban Court Upholds Calif. Assault Weapons Ban Thu Dec 5,10:36 PM ETAdd U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo! By DAVID KRAVETS, Associated Press Writer SAN FRANCISCO(AP) - A federal appeals court unanimously upheld California's ban on assault weapons Thursday, saying individuals had no right to bear arms under the Second Amendment. "The historical record makes it equally plain that the amendment was not adopted in order to afford rights to individuals with respect to private gun ownership or possession," Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision. Weapons owners challenged amendments to a 1989 law that originally outlawed 75 high-powered weapons with rapid-fire capabilities. The Legislature passed the nation's first law banning such weapons after a gunman fired a semiautomatic weapon into a Stockton school yard, killing five children and injuring 30. Following California's lead, several states and the federal government passed similar or even stricter bans. In 1999, California lawmakers amended the law to ban assault weapons based on a host of features instead of specific makes and models - a move that outlawed hundreds of so-called copycat weapons not clearly defined in the initial law. "While I respect the rights of Californians to pursue hunting and sports shooting, and of law-abiding citizens to protect their homes and businesses, there is no need for these military style weapons to be on the streets in our state," said Bill Lockyer, California's attorney general. The National Rifle Association said it was disappointed with the ruling. "From an organizational standpoint, for 131 years we've been standing steadfastly to protect the freedoms of all law abiding Americans and stand steadfastly that the Second Amendment is an individual right and will continue to do so," said NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam. Arulanandam said it was too early to tell what the effects of the decision would be. Attorneys for the suing gun owners did not immediately return phone calls Thursday. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=5 This list and all House of Fusion resources hosted by CFHosting.com. The place for dependable ColdFusion Hosting. Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
