News
& Politics
Gun
Ownership Becoming a Capital
Idea
by Deneen Borelli
For years, Shelly Parker faced
intimidation and harassment from
the drug dealers and
gang-bangers who roamed her
neighborhood. Already
frustrated because the police
never did enough to make her
feel truly safe, she was further
dismayed by the fact that she
could not own a gun to protect
herself.
Parker is a resident of
Washington, D.C., where gun
ownership has been a crime.
Unwilling to just give up,
Parker's tenacity resulted in
action that may mean
Washingtonians can exercise
their constitutional right to
own a gun for the first time in
over 30 years.
In 2003, Parker and five other
D.C. residents filed suit for
the right to defend themselves
by having serviceable guns in
their homes. The U.S. Court of
Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
ruled in their favor in March,
saying that "the Second
Amendment protects an individual
right to keep and bear arms."
Unsurprisingly, the city's
attorneys are appealing the
decision to the U.S. Supreme
Court, where a final ruling in
Parker v. District of Columbia
could have profound national
implications on statist
government regulations that
degrade citizens' Second
Amendment rights.
Since 1976, the ownership of
almost all firearms has been
illegal in America's capital
city. The first offense for
handgun possession is a
misdemeanor charge carrying a
penalty of imprisonment for up
to one year and a $1,000 fine.
A second offense is a felony
that could lead to up to five
years in jail and a $5,000
fine. Trapped between the
street thugs and a government
opposed to individual rights,
Parker was essentially in a
no-win situation: illegally own
a gun and face possible
prosecution or risk being a
victim.
But the situation was simple to
Parker's lawyers: Alan Gura,
Clark Neily III and Robert Levy
of the libertarian Cato
Institute. Levy noted: "Killers
who are not deterred by laws
against murder are not going to
be deterred by laws against
guns. Anti-gun regulations
don't address the deep-rooted
causes of violent crime - such
as illegitimacy, unemployment,
dysfunctional schools and drug
and alcohol abuse. The cures
are complex and protracted. But
that doesn't mean we have to
become passive prey for criminal
predators. Americans who want
to defend themselves by
possessing suitable firearms
should be able to do so."
Research shows that law-abiding
citizens using firearms for
protection can save lives and
deter crimes. In Armed: New
Perspectives on Gun Control,
co-authors Gary Kleck and Don
Kates note that "as many as 2.5
million victims use guns to
defend against crime each year"
and "handguns are actually used
by victims to repel crime far
more often than they are by
criminals in committing crimes -
as much as three times more."
Besides the court's ruling that
D.C.'s gun ban is
unconstitutional, it's also
immoral to deny law-abiding
citizens the right to legally
possess a firearm - especially
within crime-infested
neighborhoods. The government
should understand what the
criminal knows: unarmed citizens
are easy prey.
Consider the recent deaths at
Virginia Tech. What if one of
the victims had a gun of their
own on their person? Although
Virginia allows approved and
registered citizens to carry
concealed firearms, the school
itself will not allow it on
campus.
It was the intent of our
Founding Fathers to liberate us
from statist governments and
monarchies. The verdict to end
the District's gun ban is a
refreshing first step towards
such liberation and restoring
power to the people in a
dangerous world.
Deneen Borelli is a fellow with
the Project 21 black leadership
network. Comments may be sent
to
DBorelli@nationalcenter.org.
Boost to
Ghana’s Economy through oil:
BBC.com
UK firm
Tullow Oil has announced the
discovery of 600 million barrels
of light oil offshore from
Ghana.
“With oil
as a shot in the arm, we’re
going to fly.” John Kufuor,
president of Ghana. To Ghana,
oil will produce the money used
for schools, roads and
hospitals. It must fall into
well managed hands for it to
become useful to Ghana’s
economy.
Tullow
saw its shares rise 10% on the
news, jointly owns the west cape
block where the drilling took
place with Anadarko Petroleum.
The firms share rights to the
adjacent Tano basin, which could
yield more oil. This is one of
the biggest oil discoveries in
Africa in recent times, but it
might take as long as 7 years
for oil to start flowing.
Nigeria-
Unions joins fuel strike
BBC.com
Recent
hike in petrol prices and value
added taxes has fueled a
national strike from Nigeria’s
trade unions. Nigerians are
walking long distances to work
on Monday in their support of
the strike. The new government
of President Umaru Yar’Adua had
been warned two weeks ago to
reverse the increases or face an
uproar. Long queues are already
being reported at petrol
stations soon after the oil
unions went on strike past
Friday.
The
general strike will be
accompanied by street protests
according to the NLC (Nigerial
Labour Congress). All offices,
ports petrol stations and
business premises will be shut
down. All schools, airports,
official and semi official
business premises will be
closed. These next few days will
serve as a test for the new
leader. The union is working to
have president Umaru Musa
Yar’Adua reverse Mr. Obasanjo’s
sale of two of the country’s
refineries.
Nigeria
is Africa’s largest oil producer
as of date, however despite the
oil wealth; most Nigerians still
live in an imbalanced economy.
Female
mutilation is ‘birth risk’
BBC.com
The World
Health Organization has a new
study showing that female
genital mutilation (FGM)
increases the risk of
complications during childbirth
and infant mortality. Premature
mortality rates and Caesareans
were 50% higher in women who
have had the procedure commonly
practiced in parts of Africa in
the name of a maintaining a
girl’s honor. The study involved
30,000 African women and is the
first report of its kind to look
into long term health
consequences of the ritualistic
procedure. There are three types
of FGM. Type one where the
clitoris is removed, type two
where the clitoris and
surrounding labia are removed,
type three, infibulation where
external genitalia are removed
and opening is stitched.
Doctor’s opinions are pointing
out that type 1 and 2 are mostly
harmless since 90% of Egyptian
women are circumcised, but type
3 can create many fertility
problems. Women were studied in
Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya,
Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan. One
hundred million women worldwide
have undergone the procedure,
which happens to three million
girls under the age of 10 every
year. It is carried out by both
Christian and Muslim communities
and is practiced in 28
countries, mostly in sub Saharan
Africa.
Bush,
Caribbean leaders agree to boost
trade, mull IT pact
Caribbean Net News
WASHINGTON, USA (AFP): US
President George W. Bush and his
Caribbean counterparts said
after talks Wednesday that they
intend to negotiate an
information technology agreement
and firm up trading
arrangements.
Bush and
15 leaders of Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) also agreed
to work more closely on
immigration security issues,
including expansion to the
Caribbean region of a pilot
reintegration program for
deportees in Haiti.
"We are determined to strengthen
our existing trade
arrangements," said a joint
statement issued by the White
House.
"We further commit to the
harmonization of customs
procedures consistent with
global standards and the
advancement of technical trade
cooperation."
On
prospective duty free access for
Caribbean products, the
statement noted that Bush would
work with the US Congress to
"extend and update" the
Caribbean Basin Trade Promotion
Act and the Trade and Investment
Framework Agreement.
The leaders also declared their
"intention to negotiate an
agreement on cooperation in
science and technology,
including information
communication technologies," the
statement said.
