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Oral Arguments in Mcdonald V. Chicago Second Amendment Case Eyewitness Report
Mar. 2, 2010
By Alan Korwin

People Lining Up for McDonald v. Chicago

Gunlaws.com

Washington, DC - -(AmmoLand.com)- This case was way more complicated than Heller.

Both attorneys faced hostility from the bench. Chicago’s lawyer got hit from all sides with little in the way of what you might call support. But the surprise was the way Alan Gura got blasted, even by the best friend gun-rights has up there, Justice Scalia.

Whoever or however we believed the Court might be ready to review the Privileges or Immunities clause of 14A was totally wrong. Every Justice had problems with the scope of such a decision, and poor Gura had to withstand withering assaults on his reasoning and approach.

I definitely need a transcript to go over what exactly happened, I thought audio was weak in chambers, complexity was way large, and in chatter afterwords found I wasn’t the only one.

How those aging Justices keep up — and they did, note for note, cite for cite — is a bloody miracle.

BOTTOM LINE
It looks like the Heller majority may hold together for this case, and the Second Amendment will be incorporated against the states, under the familiar selective incorporation of Due Process. The same 2A that controls federal activity will apply to the states, no more, no less, though that issue of degree got a lot of attention. Not that the scope of 2A is all the well defined, but there was animus to the idea that incorporation would yield a “shadow” version for the states.

Gura may get the win, but not for any brilliant strategic planning — there was open hostility to the idea, central to his arguments, of 2A being a Privilege or Immunity of citizenship (I’ll discuss soon). The win, if there is one, may be more of a result of the bench being unprepared to treat 2A as some special bastard child the states do not have to follow, unlike the rest of the Bill of Rights that has been incorporated so far.

And let me tell you, thank God for the NRA. They took a lot of heat for asking for and getting some of Gura’s oral argument time, using Paul Clement who had argued the government’s unsavory position for a low standard of scrutiny in Heller, getting their hat in the ring.

That turned out to be baloney, they were life savers. Considering the ferocity with which Gura and P&I were attacked, we were lucky to have at elegant, articulate, eloquent voice to apply 2A through Due Process. (Don’t get me wrong, Chicago fared just as poorly, but for different reasons.)

Clement’s arguments were so well made and so compelling, he got to speak at length without interruption, with the Justices in rapt attention. I asked him about that afterwords and he said yeah, it was really nice getting some “air time.”

There’s so much more to tell, the back-and-forth over substantive and procedural due process, and the – un-frickin-believable – lengthy consideration by the Justices of how much RKBA we’d enjoy if there was “no Second Amendment” (protected instead as a privilege or immunity), plus Breyer’s astounding hostility towards guns in general (”guns kill!”), and Stevens’ ‘parading around with guns’ concerns… it’ll have to be later (been on the go since 5:30 a.m), probably when I return to Phoenix, beginning of next week.

It was an honor and a thrill witnessing it all.

Supreme Court official website: http://www.supremecourtus.gov

Guns Saves Lives: Click If You Agree

Alan Korwin
Bloomfield Press
“We publish the gun laws.”
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Bullet Choice Gives You the Advantage in a Fight
By Robert Lee Mullins

Extreme Shock Ammunition

CLINTWOOD, VA --(AmmoLand.com)- In regards to self-defense with a firearm, you always plan for the worst case scenario. That’s why it’s best to choose a bullet that will put the maximum advantage in your corner. Extreme Shock frangible ammunition is the logical choice.

However, before going into the reasons why, I cannot stress heavily enough on the importance of training. A person who has practiced once a week with a .32ACP will beat a person who carries, but has never fired a .44 Magnum. Whichever firearm you decide to use, you must practice firing hundreds of rounds in realistic scenarios. Marksmanship and Tactics win gunfights. I cannot teach these things in this article, but I can recommend solid ammunition.

The important question to be asked, of course, is: What makes a good self-defense ammunition?

Simply put, the point is not to wound or kill your attacker. The point is to stop him in his tracks from hurting you. This is commonly referred to as either “Stopping Power” or “Knock-Down Power”. This is a bullet’s ability to incapacitate an assailant – the greater the ability, the less chance your attacker will be able to do you harm after he is shot.

Extreme Shock 9mm AFR ammunition in Perma-Gel Bullet fragments to release ALL of it's energy.

Extreme Shock frangible bullets usually expand and stop in the human body, and thus the attacker absorbs all of the bullet’s kinetic energy than if the bullet had merely zipped through him and left two small holes. This is pure “Stopping Power”.

A common concern for people when trying to decide which bullet to choose for self defense is over-penetration inside the home. Extreme Shock’s lead-free, frangible ammunition is designed to transfer ALL (100%) of its kinetic energy into the target thus maximizing your “Knock-Down Power” and stopping the threat.

The Extreme Shock Air Freedom Round (A.F.R.) was designed for use by the US Air Marshalls on board aircraft and is the ideal round for the home defense firearm. The bullet is specifically engineered not to over-penetrate a target. The added benefit of the AFR is that it will not ricochet and thereby reduces the likelihood of incurring secondary casualties.

Extreme Shock also has a proven track record. It has been adopted by various government and law enforcement agencies. When facing an attacker, the reliability of one’s self defense ammunition can be a matter of life or death. Extreme Shock has endured and passed rigorous government testing and certification. Thus you can be assured that Extreme Shock ammunition is reliable.

“But,” you say, “there’s no way it’s THAT important to have a frangible bullet over my favorite lead-core round.” That may be well and true. I know you’re not planning on missing, and that you figure you’ll be able to put a couple of shots center-of-mass with no problems…but.

Do not overestimate your ability when the bullets start flying. There won’t be a perfect Weaver stance involved, trigger discipline will degrade, and carefully aimed shots will be non-existent- due to adrenaline or situation.

So we find ourselves back at the original question; what makes a good self-defense ammunition?

1. You are safer because your attacker is incapacitated after one or two shots and thus unable to do you injury.
2. Innocent bystanders and third parties are safer because frangible bullets will not exit the body and go on to injure someone else.
3. The ricochet danger is eliminated thus reducing secondary casualties stated above.
4. Furthermore, frangible bullet’s stopping power takes the target down quickly so that they won’t be spraying wild lead core bullets around again endangering uninvolved third parties
5. This ammunition is reliable. You entrusting your most valuable possession to it’s dependability, your life.
6. Lastly, use of Extreme Shock will strengthen your defense in court in the ensuing aftermath. Use of Extreme Shock shows that you had concern for the safety of others, used the minimum of force to eliminate the threat ( you didn’t use a magazine of ammo), and reduced your collateral damage.

It is my hope that no one who reads this article ever finds themselves in a situation that warrants the use of a firearm to defend him or herself. But remember, Plan for the worst. Be safe, stay vertical.

To learn more about the full range of products offered from Extreme Shock Ammunition, please visit www.extremeshockusa.net, call Extreme Shock USA at (276) 926-6772

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