Republican senator’s plan to let guns on Amtrak moves closer to reality

The GAO ruled Thursday that an amendment inserted into a transportation funding bill by Republican Sen. Roger Wicker R-MS was permanent law, erasing doubts that Amtrak would have to comply. The mandate would force Amtrak to reverse a longstanding rule banning passengers from bringing guns onto trains instituted after 9/11.

NRA-ILA :: Michigan: Legislation to Repeal “Permit-to-Purchase” to be Heard on Tuesday, June 8:

House Bill 5972, sponsored by State Representative Kim Meltzer (R-33), and House Bill 5973, authored by State Representative Joel Sheltrown (D-103), would eliminate this bureaucratic obstacle, which has been obsolete since the national instant check system went into effect in 1998. Under the current system, gun buyers must apply with their local law enforcement agency and pass a written test before being authorized to buy a handgun. The “permit” is good for only one gun and it expires after 10 days.

This permit is pain the axe, though those with Concealed Pistol Licenses do not need to get one. You basically need to go down to the police, get a permit for one gun, and then use it within 10 days. Some jurisdictions require that you return unused permits to purchase within the 10 days. Ridiculous.

Making it even worse is that many jurisdictions do NOT keep their firearms desk open during all normal business hours, with only limited hours on certain days. This despite a state law requiring the desk to be open and manned during all hours that they’re open for business.

Daley won’t say if 80-year-old will be charged under gun ban – Chicago Breaking News

Mayor Richard Daley refused to say today whether an 80-year-old Army veteran who shot and killed an intruder will be charged under the city’s handgun ban.

Asked about the possibility of charges, the mayor ended a news conference he had called about summer curfew in the city.

“I don’t know. Thank you very much,” Daley said and stepped away from the microphone.

Before walking away, Daley acknowledged people's frustration over the issue of gun control but insisted “I don’t think the answer is guns.”

A parolee with a record of drug and gun arrests broke in an reportedly fired two shots before the homeowner dispatched him.

The man has been hailed as a hero by his family and neighbors, but Daley cautioned that “guns is not the answer to the problems that we see in a home, in the streets of America. It’s as simple as that.”

Actually, Mayor Daley, I think that this story illustrates that you are just plain wrong. As simple as that.

A round-up of Supreme Court links at SCOTUS Blog.

Via The Firearm Blog:

U.S. charges 22 with bribery in arms sting

An executive of Smith & Wesson (SWHC.O) and 21 others have been charged with violating U.S. bribery laws after an undercover sting in which federal agents posed as arms-buying representatives of an African defense minister.

The defendants, including a senior Smith & Wesson sales official Amaro Goncalves, were accused of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, and conspiracy to commit money laundering tied to the sale of guns, body armor and other law enforcement equipment.

The FCPA prohibits the payment of bribes to foreign officials in order to secure business contracts.

Twenty-one of the men were arrested in Las Vegas, where they were attending the SHOT Show, a large shooting-sports and hunting convention. The 22nd defendant was arrested in Miami.

I didn’t see or hear anything about this while at the show today.

Just yesterday I posted a story about a Washington state ex-felon who is going to prison because his wife owns guns and he’s not allowed to “possess” firearms.

Now a federal court has ruled that the state cannot bar incarcerated felons from voting.

Can vote while in prison but can’t live with someone who has a gun years after getting out?

The ruling is going to be appealed.

Bremerton man faces prison sentence for wife’s guns

Luke T. Groves was convicted of a felony in 1990. In 2008, he called police after his home was broken into. His wife owns two guns (and owned them since before they were married, I understand) so the guy goes to prison for being a felon in possession of guns. 31 to 41 months.

This is brilliant:

During closing arguments, Deputy Prosecutor Giovanna Mosca painted a simple picture for jurors: Groves had the guns in his “dominion and control,” and that was enough for a conviction.

Mosca used a metaphor to make her case: When you rent a movie or check out a book from the library, “you don’t own it, but you possess it,” she said.

But Groves didn’t “rent” the guns or “check out” the guns, did he? His wife did.

I will admit that I guess I didn’t realize this worked like this. The comments are full of people saying things to the effect of “c’mon, everyone knows felons can’t have guns” and even some who defend him say “he didn’t hurt anyone, he only wanted to protect his family.” Neither of these have any bearing on the case.

What matters is if guns owned by his wife were “possessed” by him. Apparently, the fact that he knew where they were made a big difference. If she had hid the guns from him, would he still have been in possession of them?

It’s not said whether the guns were secured, only that he led police to them and that they were in the couple’s bedroom.

I certainly am in favor of making people follow the rules. If the rules are bad, get the rules changed. Don’t break them.

But I’m not sure I’m buying the idea that a man who committed a crime when he was 17 can marry a gun owner when he’s 31 and she has to get rid of her guns. If that’s accurate (and it apparently is) I think it needs to be looked at again.

The story is short on details that may affect my opinion. Besides not telling us how the guns were stored, it doesn’t tell us what plea bargain he turned down and what evidence he wanted to use that was not allowed.

They plan to appeal the ruling.

Coming Soon: Stupid Warning Labels on Baseball Bats for Stupid People Thanks to Stupid Lawyers and a Stupid Jury

The parents of a boy killed in baseball game win $850,000 because the bat didn’t have a label warning that it could hit baseballs hard.

Illinois: Court OKs storing guns in car consoles

Illinois law lets people carry guns in their cars if they are unloaded and enclosed in a case or other container. The question was whether a compartment for items like CDs and sunglasses meets the legal definition of a “case” for carrying guns.

In issuing its ruling Thursday, the Supreme Court overturned a 2003 appellate court decision that said a glove compartment is not a “case” under the law.

Via Instapundit.

State to mom: Stop baby-sitting neighbors’ kids

Michigan:

Each day before the school bus comes to pick up the neighborhood’s children, Lisa Snyder did a favor for three of her fellow moms, welcoming their children into her home for about an hour before they left for school.

Regulators who oversee child care, however, don’t see it as charity. Days after the start of the new school year, Snyder received a letter from the Michigan Department of Human Services warning her that if she continued, she’d be violating a law aimed at the operators of unlicensed day care centers.

The law states that no one may care for unrelated children in their home for more than four weeks a year without being a fully-licensed day-care provider.

[Michigan Governor Jennifer] Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said the agency was following standard procedure in its response. “But we feel this (law) really gets in the way of common sense,” Boyd said.

Like a lot of laws about a lot of things.