From James Bardwell's always-useful list, comes a 1996 BATF opinion letter. Its conclusion is that a shotgun that starts out with a pistol grip and a rifled barrel, which is then shortened below 18", becomes a "destructive device" since it is a rifled firearm of over 50 caliber. (I checked, BTW, and even the 28 gauge is over .50 in bore)....

Story here....

Don writes: "I have been asked to comment on the up-coming California gubernatorial election: Of the Republican candidate, an immensely wealthy woman named Meg Whitman, I know nothing except that she is the former Chief Executive Officer of eBay and that she is alleged to be anti-gun by some people who claim to know and that the allegation is not ...

Story here. Sounds like a hazardous occupation: "I don't want to shoot people, but God, this is our eighth home invasion since last May." He ought to get something a bigger than a .22, at that rate!...

The Virginia Citizens Defense League is reporting a very good year indeed at the Legislature....

Story and photo here....

From CleanupATF.org comes this interesting question. ATF has consistently taken the position that a shotgun that leaves the factory with a pistol grip and no buttstock, and is kept in that condition, is a pistol rather than a shotgun. I suppose this was in accord with their desire to construe statutes in ways that increased regulation: here, an 18...

Story here. A demigod deserves at least a day!...

Editorial here. Interesting note: "From sea to shining sea, the climate for guns is changing, and the progress extends beyond Starbucks. Major retailers such as Home Depot, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble apparently also are friendly to people who openly pack heat, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Brady Campaign warns businesses that all...

The "million dollar Luger" is auctioned for half that figure. Hat tip to Sixgun Sarah.......

Over at Calguns, an interesting chart on the subject....

The Department of Education is acquiring a lot of short-barreled shotguns. They're for the Office of Inspector General, in case they have to deploy a SWAT team against cheated on a student loan or a contract. Of course if you or I wanted one, they'd be "assault shotguns"..... Hat tip to reader XD Owner,,,,...

Here are Snowflakes in Hell's recommendations in the ongoing vote for NRA Board members. [Oops. Deleted the double posting!]...

Story here. Cleveland adopted a bar on open carry, maintaining that the legislature's pre-emption statute violates its home-rule powers, under the State constitution. The Court of Appeals agreed with that, but the Ohio Supreme Court, after being petitioned by the state's Attorney General, has agreed to take the case....

Reader Mark Noble emails his thoughts in relation to yesterday's shooting at OSU: I’ve been very disappointed in OSU PD’s handling of public safety. The campus is surrounded on 3 sides by some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Columbus. When I’ve talked to the Columbus Police Community Liaison officer at on-campus safety events they b...

By David Kopel and Clayton Cramer, here. Hat tip to reader Joe Olson......

Some background, at The American Thinker....

The National Firearms Law Seminar is the annual Continuing Legal Education seminar put on in connection with the NRA Convention -- the next one is at Charlotte, on May 14. Here's the program. This year, registration has a bonus. The first 150 to register will get a credit, equal to their registration fee, toward setting up an NFA Gun Trust, court...

While awaiting the result in McDonald, Mayor Daley is lobbying for additional gun laws. ""The aggressiveness of the gun advocates is just one reason it's more important than ever that we work for common-sense gun laws..." He demands "changes to state law that would require background checks for those buying a gun in a private sale, ban assault wea...

Bob Barr has thoughts on both. Personally, I may buy a terribly overpriced cup of coffee, for the first time in my life....

I knew that the Amendment bans release of gun trace data to cities seeking to sue firearms dealers, but I didn't know that it also declares any such data admissible in evidence. This article argues that the latter restriction, as applied to State courts, is unconstitutional. I wonder, however, whether the fact that the restriction pertains to data ...

Here are some that I got that day. Understand, we began waiting at 5 AM. Ahead of me were Sarah Gervase and Steven Jones, who'd been waiting since 4:15 AM, I think he said. He's Otis McDonald's nephew, and a member of the Supreme Court Bar, and was taking no chances on missing his uncle's Supreme Court case. Here are the pictures: Some of us waiti...

Available here. I think five votes for incorporation, there might be one (Thomas) who would go for privileges or immunities. (P or I has all the history and logic behind it, and due process has all the case law, and it certainly looks as if the Court favors the case law). We thought Justice Thomas would ask a question, since toward the end of Chi...

Just got back from oral argument. Short form: I think we have five votes. MIGHT do better than five, but five seem secure. Roberts, Scalia and Kennedy seemed VERY strongly against Chicago's position, Alito seemed against it, Thomas asked no questions but is thorough pro-2a and 14thA, so it looks like the Heller majority holds. Conversely, Breyer at...

A post in the Washington Times. Key theme is conservatives (esp. "judicial activism is my key tenet" such) getting worried. My take: if there are ever five Justices for it, they can do ANYTHING they want under due process incorporation, since it has no leg or popular history underlying it -- it's more of good result, mind the means, rulings. At l...

Story here. An excellent piece, in which the human aspects are all up front, and the complaints toward the back. Hat tip to Sixgun Sarah......

In Heller, the Supreme Court released the audio of the oral argument a few hours after it was completed, but In the case tomorrow they won't. A transcript of it will be online here, sometime later in the day. I'll be out of blogging action for some time, since I'll be in the courtroom (and waiting in line from 5 AM onward). I know Sebastian of Sn...

In the LA Times. Memorable quote: "The 2nd Amendment says, "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." Throughout the 19th century, and until quite recently, the high court maintained that this clause was intended to give states the power to ...

Article by Timothy Sandefur, here....

The story gives new meaning to the term Bar Discipline. Word is that he is now considering a run for the State Senate. Hat tip to reader Saeid Shafizadeh......

Story here. His background is turning into a solid human interest story, which in my experience is rare. "High profile cases" usually have symbolic plaintiffs rather than ones with an interesting life story directly linked to their theme....

Prof. Bob Cottrol comments on that ruling in today's SCOTUSBlog. Hat tip to reader Alice Beard......

At least, concerning its role in the 1994 electoral turnover: "Clinton added that the National Rifle Association also played a bigger role than it's credited in turning over Congress during the 1994 Republican revolution. "They were mad about this whole weapons ban and the Brady Bill, and they probably took 15 of our House members out. That was t...

Here is one of many, many stories about allowing carry of firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges, where State law allows it,...

Complaint, in pdf, here. The plaintiff is an anesthesia tech, working at the university hospital; they fired him over his having a handgun in a car, parked on campus, about a mile away. I haven't checked the KY law, but it certainly sounds like he has a good case. I note they not only fired him, in violation of the statute, but opposed his applica...