Press Releases (2008)
June 26, 2008
U.S. Supreme Court rules (5-4) that 2nd Amendment protects an individual right to possess a handgun. However, decision also supports a system of strong gun laws.
As you may know, earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the 2nd Amendment in the case, District of Columbia v. Heller. While we disagree with Justice Scalia's majority opinion conferring an individual right to bear arms, the sky has not fallen for those of us involved with gun violence prevention. Yes, the court decided to ignore long standing precedent that included over 200 federal court cases on the subject (not to mention a few Supreme Court cases).
Nevertheless, Justice Scalia and the majority have provided us with two important things:
- They have affirmed, what many people, including the gun lobby, a number of politicians, and some members of the general public chant as a mantra, which is the 2nd Amendment confers an individual right to bear arms. Great, that's one less excuse politicians can hide behind and destroys the number one talking point for the gun lobby.
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More importantly, the court also stated that reasonable regulations can be imposed on the carrying and sale of guns, and acknowledged that "Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited and [The Court's] opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms," (p. 54-55). In addition, an important footnote added: "We identify these presumptively lawful regulatory measures only as examples; our list does not purport to be exhaustive."(footnote 26, p. 55)
After reviewing the Heller decision, we firmly believe that most, if not all of our current gun laws (including background checks, licensing, and bans on assault weapons) can pass constitutional muster. More importantly, we have been provided with a road map in which to move forward with legislation that can promote public safety by targeting illegal guns and weapons of war.
Our fight to reduce the 30,000 gun deaths in our country continues and we need you to remain committed to the cause and help bring others in.
If you would like to read the Heller decision, click here: http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/07-290.pdf
Sincerely,
Andy Pelosi
April 3, 2008
Gun Distributor Warns That Brooklyn Gun Manufacturer Henry Repeating Arms Company May Have Shipped Rifles For Sale Loaded With Ammunition
Suspected Rifles May Include ‘Youth’ Rifles for Children
Washington, DC–According to an “Urgent Notice” for gun dealers issued by firearms distributor Sports South, Inc., Brooklyn rifle manufacturer Henry Repeating Arms may have shipped rifles for sale loaded with ammunition. The warning (http://www.vpc.org/henry.htm) was posted on the distributor’s web site (http://www.sportssouthinc.com) up until Wednesday, April 2, and stated:
“URGENT ATTENTION REQUIRED!!!!
We have been notified by Henry Repeating Arms that some rifles may have been shipped by them loaded with ammunition. If you have any Henry Rifles in inventory they must be inspected to make sure they do not contain ammunition. Also, please inspect any incoming Henry Rifles. This does not relate to a specific model or date. Each gun in your inventory must be checked for ammunition. Henry Repeating Arms apologizes for any inconvenience that this may cause.”
The warning has recently been removed. No mention of the possibly loaded rifles is made on the Henry Repeating Arms web site (http://www.henryrepeating.com) which promotes some of its rifle lines as “youth” rifles for children.
Andy Pelosi, executive director of New York-based GunFreeKids.org, states, “Henry Repeating Arms should move swiftly to make the general public aware of the threat posed by these loaded guns. An ‘apology’ for any ‘inconvenience’ to gun dealers is inadequate. State and local authorities need to know how this occurred and what steps may be necessary to prevent future incidents.”
Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center adds, “The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives should move immediately to identify any federal laws or regulations that have been violated while doing everything in its power to make sure that each and every one of these guns is identified and that proper safeguards are put in place to ensure that such a public safety threat is never again repeated.”
The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals. The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related death and injury.
