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by Mark Barnes
Legal Counsel to N.A.A.S.
FEDERAL
President Bush Signs “Disaster Recovery Personal
Protection” Measure Into Law
On
October 9, 2006, President
George W. Bush signed into law the Department of Homeland Security
Appropriation Bill, which included a prohibition on confiscating legal
firearms from law-abiding citizens during states of emergency.
This Bill has become necessary in the wake of Hurricane Katrina,
after local officials in New Orleans engaged in the confiscation of
citizens’ firearms.
Congressman
Bobby Jindal (R-LA) introduced the House Bill, numbered H.R. 5013 and
titled the “Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act,” and it
passed the House on July 25, 2006 by a broad bi-partisan margin of
322-99. In the U.S. Senate, Senator David Vitter (R-LA) introduced
the Senate version as an Amendment to the Homeland Security
Appropriations Bill, which then passed the United States Senate 84-16.
President
Bush Signs Bill to Save Santa Rosa Island Deer and Elk
On
October 20, 2006, President
George W. Bush signed the 2007 Defense Authorization Act, which included
a provision to save hundreds of elk and mule deer on Santa Rosa Island
off the California coast. Earlier,
a court had ordered the extermination of these animals, set to begin in
2008 and be completed by 2011.
Despite
the fact that the Roosevelt elk and Kaibab mule deer have inhabited
Santa Rosa Island for nearly a century, the National Park Service and
environmental groups sought to exterminate them in favor of a few plant
and animal species that also inhabit the island. Common sense prevailed
with the adoption of this herd-saving provision. Santa Rosa elk and mule
deer are unique and invaluable, as they are free from Chronic Wasting
Disease (CWD) and other ailments that threaten these species on the
mainland.
While
the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Safari Club International,
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the NRA all supported this provision,
California Senators Diane Feinstein (D) and Barbara Boxer (D) were
joined by Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) in opposition to this measure.
The U.S. House passes BATFE Modernization and Reform Bill
The
United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 5092, the “Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) Modernization and
Reform Act of 2006,” after a bi-partisan vote of 277-131 on September
26, 2006. Reps. Howard Coble (R-NC) and Bobby Scott (D-VA) introduced
this legislation in a bipartisan manner after hearings addressing
blatant BATFE abuses in Richmond, Virginia.
Unfortunately,
the U.S. Senate never considered the bill so it will have to be
reintroduced in the next session of Congress, which begins in 2007.
JUDICIAL
Gary,
Indiana lawsuit against 16 gun manufacturers and 6 gun dealers can
proceed
On
October 24, 2006, Lake County Superior Court Judge Robert A. Pete ruled
that Gary, Indiana's lawsuit against 16 gun manufacturers and six
Northern Indiana gun dealers can proceed to trial.
Judge Pete ignored the passage of the 2005 Lawful Commerce in
Firearms Arms Act when making this ruling.
The
case, originally filed in August 1999, arose from a sting against
Northern Indiana gun dealers conducted by Gary police. The dealers'
sales to undercover officers posing as "straw purchasers" were
captured on videotape before the suit was filed.
After President Bush signed the 2005 Lawful Commerce in Firearms
Arms Act, the gun industry filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, as
they did in other similar cases. However,
unlike most of the other cases, which were dismissed, the Gary, Indiana
suit will proceed.
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