You boys and girls in Dallas have some work to do...District attorneys nationwide ask Supreme Court to keep gun ban
By SAMUEL MAULL | Associated Press Writer
9:28 PM EST, January 11, 2008
NEW YORK - Prosecutors from across the country, afraid that an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling could erode state gun laws, on Friday asked the high court to uphold a ban on unlicensed handguns.
The district attorneys, from 18 jurisdictions, weighed in on a case in which justices will decide whether the Constitution's Second Amendment can overrule tough Washington, D.C. handgun laws. The prosecutors say a ruling against the ban could impair law enforcement and jeopardize public safety.
...
"We would like for the court to reverse the D.C. circuit," Dwyer [New York County Assistant District Attorney] said, "for them to say there is no individual right to possess a gun, that it (the Second Amendment) enables states to arm militias."
"We hope they don't say anyone can have a gun anytime he wants," Dwyer said.
...
The prosecutors submitted the papers as a friend-of-the-court brief, filed by parties who are not part of the case but who have an interest in its outcome. The district attorneys, who represent a total of more than 25 million people, come from jurisdictions that include New York, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, San Diego, Oakland and Atlanta.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!
Once again, an interesting comment from Dave Hardy's Of Arms and the Law in which he points out the original version of the story I excerpted above:
The story now reads:"in which justices will decide whether the Constitution's Second Amendment bars a conviction under tough Washington, D.C. handgun laws."
"The case stems from the conviction of Dick Heller, a 65-year-old security guard who had a permit to carry a handgun at work but was denied a license to keep one at his home in what had been a high crime neighborhood. He kept one anyway."
"The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed his conviction, saying the city's 31-year-old law against buying, selling or owning an unlicensed handgun was overly broad and offended the Second Amendment's right "to keep and bear arms.""
How does AP make seven errors in a story that is only 11 sentences long?
UPDATE: I emailed Alan Gura, Heller's attorney, and he contacted AP. The story has now been greatly rewritten.
Nothing like having a grasp of your subject matter...The case is centered on Dick Anthony Heller, 65, an armed security guard who sued after the district rejected his application to keep a handgun at his home for protection.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Heller's favor, saying the city's 31-year-old law against buying, selling or owning an unlicensed handgun violated Second Amendment rights of gun ownership.
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