Past NRA pres. talks gun rights

Sandy Froman went from a life without guns to president of the National Rifle Association.

The attorney and former NRA president discussed on Tuesday the implications and future of the Second Amendment. She shared personal sentiments and her take on past and current gun control cases with law students.

Froman’s talk, “Guns Under Fire: What do the Chicago Gun Case and Heller v. D.C. Mean for Your Civil Right to Bear Arms?” provided a forum for students to hear her opinion and discuss the politics of the Second Amendment.

“I grew up in a milk-toast kind of household – nothing bad ever happened,” San Francisco native Froman said. “Crime never touched me.”

She became involved in work with Second Amendment rights when a man tried to break into her home.

“That night made a believer out of me,” she said. “The next morning, I looked in the phone book, and I went to a gun store. I was there before they even opened.”

Though Froman doesn’t come from the usual background for gun advocacy, she is a strong proponent for upholding the Second Amendment.

She began her talk by discussing previous law cases precedence on the amendment.
She discussed District of Columbia v. Heller and other pertinent cases.

The Heller case asked whether sections of Washington’s code violated an individual’s right to keep and bear arms without being in the state militia, Froman said.

The court affirmed that individuals have the right to bear arms and deemed the Washington ban unconstitutional.

She then discussed the three schools of thought that developed as a result of differing opinions on gun presence in American society: collective, individual and sophisticated collective rights theory.

Collective rights theorists appeared in the 1990s and believe guns should be used only for militia. Individual rights advocates think everyone has the right to bear arms for their protection. Sophisticated or expanded collective rights activists believe those preparing for service in the militia can have firearms.

“The Miller case was so opaque that all views cited Miller as reason for their theory,” Froman said.

The main focus of the talk was on the current case of McDonald v. Chicago. The case will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in February 2010 and will decide if the right to bear arms will become a federal issue instead of a state issue.

“When things are this widespread, it begins to affect a change on the culture,” Froman said. “It’s really important that we all know what our Constitutional rights mean according to these tools.”

After her talk, Froman fielded questions from law students on a wide range of Second
Amendment-related concepts and her role in bringing discussion of the Second
Amendment to the forefront during the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings.

“I found it interesting and insightful,” senior Rhonda Betz said. “She brought up a lot of good points, especially that a gun is a tool, not something to be afraid of.”

By: Therese Kennelly, Indiana Daily Studfent

Ammo Supply Can't Keep Up With Demand

(Newser) – Crime is down, gun control is on Obama's back burner, and Americans are buying more ammunition than factories can produce. While there are economic reasons—supply is off as the war effort eats up necessary materials—Americans have still managed to buy 12 billion rounds in the past year, up from 7 to 10 billion in a regular year, and most agree it’s for fear of tighter gun control laws under a Democratic president.

People are buying ammo for guns they don’t yet have, a retailer tells the Washington Post. They say, “When I get it, ammunition may be hard to get.” Federal tax receipts for gun sales are up 42% over last year; for ammunition, that number is 49%. The pattern of hoarding ammunition under a Democratic administration is nothing new, a gun control advocate says, but “it is a pattern that has tremendous risk attached to it.” Poppycock, counters an NRA official. The activity is perfectly legal, and folks are just “worrying” about whether “they’ll be attacked by politicians.” Presumably via legislation.

By: Harry Kimball, Newser.com

Republicans Alive and Well In Virginia

Tuesday's GOP victory in Virginia proves that if Republicans field good candidates, have a clear message and execute a well-thought out and comprehensive campaign plan, they will win.

Virginia got a lot redder tonight. A state that went for Obama just one year ago and has had a Democratic governor for the past eight years did an about face tonight by overwhelming electing Republicans to the highest offices in the Commonwealth: Bob McDonnell for governor, Bill Bolling for lieutenant governor and Ken Cuccinelli for attorney general.

GOVERNOR: The Republican candidate and current Attorney General Bob McDonnell ran against Democratic State Senator Creigh Deeds. There was no third party candidate. Bob McDonnell ran a textbook campaign. His campaign was on message, disciplined and effective. He stuck to the issues that concern most Virginians and he looked like a governor. McDonnell concentrated on the economy; he talked about creating and keeping jobs in the state, being fiscally responsible and tackling the transportation challenges in congested Northern Virginia.
Creigh Deeds' campaign was not focused and all over the map. He was a poor communicator and campaigner. He was hard to pin down when it came to explaining what exactly what he stood for. Finally, he was wishy washy with regard to increasing taxes or cutting spending to grow the economy.

President Obama had no coattails for Deeds -- in spite of the numerous personal appearances and television ads in his behalf.

LT. GOVERNOR: Bill Bolling, who is currently the Commonwealth's incumbent lieutenant governor in Virginia made a strategic move early on not to challenge Bob McDonnell for the Republican nomination. Instead, he supported McDonnell early on and the two men ran as a team.

This allowed McDonnell and Bolling to run as a team. -- In Virginia the lieutenant governor and the governor run independently. The decks are clear now for Bolling to run for governor in four years. Bolling won handily tonight. His opponent was Democrat Jody Wagner a former member of Governor Kaine's cabinet who served as Virginia's finance secretary from 2006-08. Ms. Wagner had little name recognition in Virginia prior to entering the race and faced with a weak top of the ticket for governor really never had a chance against the incumbent.

ATTORNEY GENERAL: Republican State Senator Ken Cuccinelli had an easy win over State Delegate Steve Shannon. The issues that made a difference in this race were state's rights, gun control, government spending, immigration and crime. Cuccinelli is a strong conservative with bright-line positions that are clear and defined. His opponent never got out of attack mode and spent more time attacking Cuccinelli than advancing his own agenda. Cuccinelli, like McDonnell, enjoyed a lead over Shannon for most of the campaign.

The message delivered by voters tonight in Virginia is pretty clear. -- Republicans are alive and well. If Republicans field good candidates, have a clear message and execute a well-thought out and comprehensive campaign plan, they will win. It is as simple as that.

By: Bradley Blakeman, FOX News