From: m0102@tnc.UUCP (FRANK NEY)
Newsgroups: dc.general,dc.talk.guns,va.general,talk.politics.guns
Subject: Gun owners lose CT case
Date: 21 Dec 92 19:59:16 GMT
Reply-To: m0102@tnc.UUCP (FRANK NEY)
Followup-To: dc.general
Organization: The Next Challenge, Fairfax, Va.


I have posted six times to the dc.talk.guns newsgroup with no
indication that the system is posting the messages properly.  Until
this problem is resolved, I am returning dc.general to the list of
xposted newsgroups.

From THE GUN OWNER, an official publication of GUN OWNERS OF 
AMERICA, Inc., Suite 102, 8001 Forbes Place, Springfield, VA 
22151, 703-321-8585.  Larry Pratt, Editor and Executive Director.
 
COURT BACKS BATF ON MILITARY FIREARMS BAN
 
   The US District Court of Connecticut ruled in July against gun 
owners in an extremely important case.  A victory could have set 
a precedent for overturning many of the gun control laws in this 
country.
   The case involved Douglas Oefinger, a member of the 
Connecticut Free Militia (CFM) whom Gun Owners Foundation has 
assisted.
   The laws of Connecticut (and federal law) recognize that 
citizens between the ages of 18 and 45 are members of the 
'unorganized militia.'  Oefinger, as a member of the 'unorganized 
militia,' had applied for permission to import 30 M-14s.  The 
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) said no.
   Oefinger took his case to court, stating that the Second 
Amendment recognizes a person's right to own these types of guns.  
The Bush Administration opposed Oefinger, claiming that federal 
law prohibits individuals from importing automatic firearms and 
that the Second Amendment does not guarantee individual rights.
   The Court sided with the government, claiming that Oefinger 
had "no [individual] rights under the Second Amendment."  
Moreover, the Court felt that if any rights were guaranteed to 
individuals, they would still be "subject to [government] 
regulation" (read: infringement).
   The Court also claimed the ban on automatic firearms was an 
important effort in controlling crime.  But absent from this 
claim was any evidence for support.  In fact, had the Court 
examined the experiences of Switzerland and Israel, it would have 
seen a completely different picture.
   Both countries distribute automatic weapons to their citizens 
by the millions, and yet both have two of the lowest murder rates 
in the world.  According to researcher Don Kates of the Pacific 
Research Institute for Public Policy, the armed Swiss only have a 
murder rate of 1.13 per 100,000 people; in Israel, the rate is 
2.0.  The US murder rate is 9.8 per 100,000 people.
 
-30-
 
Personal comments:
 
This court decision is a far cry from the 'ripe for review' 
ruling I saw on the net over a year ago.  Either the ruling came 
from a different judge, or it was the same judge who had been 
'gotten to' by some authority figure.
 
Either way, we've lost this round.  I'm attempting to get the 
full text of the decision, for posting to the net, and to see if 
there is some grounds for appeal.  Considering recent decisions 
concerning the meaning of 'the people' in the Consitution, there 
is definitely conflict.

Frank Ney N4ZHG EMT-A  LPVa NRA ILA GOA CCRTKBA "M-O-U-S-E"
Commandant and Acting President, Northern Virginia Free Militia
Send e-mail for an application and more information
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"Whether the authorities be invaders or merely local tyrants, the 
effect of such [gun] laws is to place the individual at the mercy of 
the state, unable to resist."
       - Robert Heinlein, in a 1949 letter concerning "Red Planet"
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