Author Topic: NRA pushes to rescind ban on guns in Delaware public housing  (Read 7728 times)

Sigarms12

  • deccw.com founder
  • Moderator
  • Life Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1429
NRA pushes to rescind ban on guns in Delaware public housing
« on: March 06, 2010, 08:52:35 PM »
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100306/NEWS02/3060358
For years, possibly decades, Delaware’s four housing authorities have told residents they cannot keep firearms in their homes.


 

The provisions went unchallenged – until now.


The National Rifle Association, one of the most potent lobbying forces in American politics with a bankroll to match, has sent letters to all four authorities asking them to rescind their bans or face a lawsuit.


The threats have left authority officials scrambling for legal advice, sparked a House bill to remove the authorities’ power to implement such policies and prompted an emphatic letter from Gov. Jack Markell that the legislation would reverse other firearms restrictions statewide.


The Wilmington Housing Authority and Delaware State Housing Authority are consulting with their attorneys before deciding what do do. The Dover Housing Authority is seeking an attorney general’s opinion, and the Newark authority rescinded its policy after receiving the NRA’s letter.


Those who would be most directly affected if the bans are dropped – people who live in public housing – have a range of opinions on the subject.
Charles Mcghee, a Newark Housing Authority tenant for almost two years, said it is “my God-given right to own a gun.”


“If the criminals have guns anyway and aren’t locked up, then what good are the rules and laws and regulations?”
Mcghee asked. "Good people have guns to protect themselves against the bad people."
Cathelma Short, who has lived in a Newark Housing Authority home for about 10 years, said having a gun wouldn't make her feel any safer.
"If someone gave me a gun, I'd have to go to classes and would probably end up shooting it the wrong way, anyway. I don't think anyone should have guns. I wouldn't feel safe trying to protect myself," Short said.
A single mother of three, 28-year-old Hamidah Talib, said residents of public housing should have the same access to guns as anyone else.
"If you are able to get a gun legally, then you should be able to have it to protect your family and where you live," said Talib, who lives in public housing in Wilmington's Southbridge.
The housing authorities could be on shaky legal ground if they try to defend the gun bans -- a point even the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence concedes.


 

"I would think that such a policy would be certainly constitutionally doubtful, particularly in light of the Heller decision of two years ago and then the anticipated decision in the McDonald vs. Chicago case," said Dennis Henigan, the Brady Campaign's legal director.
In District of Columbia vs. Heller, the Supreme Court tossed out the district's handgun ban and ruled that the Second Amendment protects residents' rights to have guns in their homes. On Tuesday, the court heard oral arguments in McDonald vs. Chicago, a case that will determine whether the Second Amendment applies to the states, not just Washington.
"I attended the oral arguments and it seems pretty clear [the justices] are prepared to extend the Heller right to the states," Henigan said.
Rare agreement with NRA
This is one of the rare instances where the Brady Campaign and the NRA appear to agree.
John Sigler, a Dover resident and attorney who served two terms as the NRA's president, said it would be a waste of tax dollars to defend the bans.
"This is a losing cause, folks," he said.
Apart from being legally indefensible, Sigler said, such policies deprive public-housing residents of "the God-given right to self-defense."
"You would think they would be the last people you'd want to take this right away from," Sigler said, noting that many public-housing residents live in high-crime areas.
Ikea Tann, 20, said the right to possess guns would allow residents of public housing to defend themselves and their property.
"I would feel safer if I had something in my house," Tann said from her public-housing apartment in Southbridge. "I wouldn't just walk around with it. It's just a peace of mind."
Tann added that just because someone lives in public housing does not mean they are criminals and can be denied legal access to guns.
"A lot of people who live in public housing aren't bad," she said.
Rep. John Atkins, D-Millsboro and sponsor of the bill that would make it clear the housing authorities cannot regulate firearms, agreed.


 

"Just because you live in public-assisted housing doesn't mean you have any less rights than someone who lives in a mansion," Atkins said.
Immediately after the Heller ruling, the NRA filed suit against the San Francisco Housing Authority, challenging its gun ban. City officials vowed to defend it, but in January 2009, they settled the lawsuit and rescinded the ban.
Despite the legal hurdles, a prominent civil rights attorney and expert on constitutional law says Delaware's housing authorities might stand a chance in court -- if they can prove a need for the bans.
David Kairys, a professor of law at Temple University and a force behind city lawsuits against handgun manufacturers, noted that the Supreme Court's Heller ruling doesn't mean all gun laws are invalid.
If he were representing the housing authorities, "I would ask them, 'Has there been any particular problem that led to this particular ban?' " Kairys said.
"I don't know if this evidence exists or what it would be, but that would be a possible avenue: to show there's a particular handgun problem in some of this state-supported housing that makes it very important for handguns to be completely banned from the building," Kairys said.
Ban long taken for granted
Officials from the housing authorities said the bans had been in place for years, and none knew why or when they were implemented.
"It's been that way for as long as I can remember and I've been here since '96," said Christina Hardin, spokeswoman for the Delaware State Housing Authority.
"We've never received a contact from a resident on that issue," Hardin said.
Hardin could find no instance in which a tenant was evicted for violating the policy.
Wilmington Housing Authority Executive Director Fred Purnell called the questions surrounding the ban "a complex issue."
"We sent it over to our attorneys, and we will make a final determination after we get some legal advice," Purnell said. He said his staff is trying to determine if anyone had been evicted under the policy.
Newark Housing Authority Executive Director Marene Jordan did not return calls seeking comment.
Brandon Jones, attorney for the Dover Housing Authority, said he had thought the gun ban was standard language in leases provided by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, but he later learned that was not the case.
Jones said he believed the rationale for the ban was that "it made sense on the grounds of safety," but the authority's board decided it would be prudent to seek an attorney general's opinion.
"The one thing we want to do is abide by the law and do the right thing," he said.
" An armed society is a polite society"
I not sick, I'm twisted. Sick makes it sound like there's a cure.

Rabbit

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 109
Re: NRA pushes to rescind ban on guns in Delaware public housing
« Reply #1 on: March 09, 2010, 12:11:49 AM »
will be mailing this out tommorow


The Honorable Bethany A. Hall-Long
Delaware State Senate
Carvel State Office Building
11th Floor
820 N. French St.
Wilmington, DE 19801

Re: Regulation of Firearms House Bill - 357

Dear Senator Hall-Long:

I am writing to you asking for you to consider supporting House Bill 357. I believe that is a very important piece of legislation that if passed will place the power to regulate the possession of firearms solely in the hands elected officials. As you may be aware various state and local agencies and or administrations are currently able to enact their own rules that prohibit or limit the possession of firearms, this bill will prevent this practice. Recently Governor Markel wrote in a letter to Representative Atkins that asked him to reconsider the bill. I am unable to find the full text of the letter to Rep. Atkins however the News Journal did print portions of the letter in a recent article. According to the article Governor Markel wrote that this bill

“will put the public at significant risk if enacted. This legislation prohibits state and local
governments, our universities and colleges, our schools and others from imposing or enforcing
common sense measures designed to protect our citizens from illegal gun violence.”

I find this misleading. There are State and federal laws that prohibit the possessions of firearms by individuals who have demonstrated that they are unable to safely possess firearms and law that keep guns out of schools and Universities.

•   The Gun control Act of 1968: A federal law that prohibits felons, fugitives from justice, any one subject to restraining orders, individuals convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence and many more probations on who may own/possess a firearm or even ammunition.
•   Delaware State code § 1448. Possession and purchase of deadly weapons by persons prohibited.
•   Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990: Another federal law that prohibits the possession of a firearm within 1000 feet of school property.
•   Delaware State code 1457. Possession of a weapon in a Safe School and Recreation Zone.

Keeping these laws in mind it doesn’t appear that house bill 357 will in any way alter the risk to the general public, as there are already common sense gun laws in effect.

As professor of nursing at the University of Delaware I assume that at one time or another you have worked in a hospital as a nurse and have seen firsthand the result of gun violence. Because of those experiences you may support any legislation, law or departmental rule that will prevent needless tragedies by limiting the access of firearms only to law abiding citizens, and out of the hands of those who will use firearms to commit crimes. I am asking you consider that this law will in no way affect those who illegally possess firearms but will limit the ability of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms to defend themselves, a right granted in the Delaware State Constitutions article 1 section 20 that states

“A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and State, and for hunting and recreational use”

I am patiently waiting for you response to this letter as I wish to know your position on this issue, and after reviewing legislation you have sponsored I am pleased to see you are very active in the area of public health and working toward a healthier Delaware.


Sincerely,
« Last Edit: March 09, 2010, 12:22:52 AM by Rabbit »