Tonight, OFCC Director Daniel White, along with Coordinators Mike Kinsey and Tom McNaughton, joined member Bryan Ledford in meeting with representatives from the City of Willowick (the Chief of Police, a Lieutenant, the Sergeant involved, a City Councilman, and the Law Director) to discuss issues raised as a result of the harassment Bryan received while openly carrying a firearm in the City.
While the discussions were, on the whole, positive and fruitful, we will be continuing to work to try to prevent something like this from happening again elsewhere, and Willowick has indicated they will assist with this goal. |
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The Knox Report
From the Firearms Coalition
(July 1, 2008) Today is the day that Florida’s new; “You can’t ban guns in locked cars in parking lots law” goes into effect. Actually that should be; “You can’t ban guns of concealed carry permit holders hidden in locked cars in parking lots except for parking lots of schools, prisons, and sensitive security areas like nuclear power plants and defense contractors law.”
A similar law was struck down in Oklahoma and a lawsuit has been filed against this one as well. Many expect the law to die in the courts before the end of the month, though the Heller decision might make courts hesitant to reject a “gun rights” law too quickly. The lawsuit is sponsored by the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Retail Federation, with help and support from the US Chamber of Commerce and many local chambers of commerce and business organizations in the state.
Which brings to mind to another story out of Indiana; a true gun rights success story.
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We are aware that many of you are closely following the OFCC Member Detained and Harassed for Open Carry story and we wanted to provide everyone with an update on where we are on this issue.
OFCC Coordinator Mike Kinsey has been in contact with the Willowick Chief of Police and other city officials. OFCC Coordinator Todd Coughlin filed a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain materials relevant to the incident, and I spoke with member Bryan Ledford in length about his experience.
During our investigation, we discovered that the citizen who made the original complaint was an off-duty Eastlake police officer. During the original call, as well as the first dispatch call, it was known that Bryan was carrying his firearm in a holster. We are at a loss to explain how several officers, a sergeant, a detective, and a dispatcher were all unaware that open carry was not an illegal activity (although, one of them is heard on tape stating "We're not saying you can't , but why would you want to?"), leading them to decide to threaten to charge Mr. Ledford with either disorderly conduct or inducing panic. In listening to the phone conversation, the Eastlake officer making the call certainly didn't sound panicked. |
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In parts one and two, we looked in detail at the ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States. In this third part, we will examine the dissenting opinions. Dissenting opinions hold no rule of law, but are oftentimes cited as persuasive authority by those who wish to change laws or file additional lawsuits. They can even be used by a future court to overturn a previous decision.
While we won in this case and SCOTUS affirmed that the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is indeed an individual right and that the DC gun ban is unconstitutional, we came within one justice of losing on both counts. The Dissenting Opinions will help us understand why.
The first dissenting opinion was written by Justice John Paul Stevens, noted by Wikipedia as "widely considered to be the leader of the liberal side of the court". He argues that while the Second Amendment "protects a right that can be enforced by individuals," he feels that the scope of that right is the issue.
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NRA Files Second Amendment Lawsuits In Illinois And California Following Supreme Court Ruling
Friday, June 27, 2008
Following up on yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling that the Second Amendment protects a private right to possess firearms that is not limited to militia service, the NRA today filed five lawsuits challenging local gun bans in San Francisco, and in Chicago and several of its suburbs.
“The Supreme Court held yesterday that the Second Amendment right is exercised individually and belongs to all Americans,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox. “These lawsuits will ensure that state and local governments hear those words.”
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