Sotomayor On The Second Amendment

Why are people harassing judge Sotomayor on gun rights? In Maloney v. Cuomo (Second Circuit) in a per curiam opinion, the Circuit held that the Second Amendment is only a limitation on the federal government, meaning, states are not bound by the Second Amendment. The holding is reasonable, given that the Supreme Court has never ruled that the Second Amendment applies to the states.

The Heller decision of June 2008 only held that in DC, a federal entity, the Second Amendment protects an individual right to arms.

In NRA v. Chicago, the Seventh Circuit shared the view of Second Circuit. The Ninth Circuit, in Nordyke v. Alameda County, took a view opposite to that of the Second and Seventh circuits.

Gallup Poll on Gun Control

You may look at the poll results here.

Income and Taxes

Getting Richer, Paying More

Chart Data

	% all US income earned by top 1% of households	% all federal taxes paid by top 1% households
1980	7.7 %	14.2 %
1985	10.6 %	14.8 %
1990	11 %	16.2 %
1995	10.3 %	20.1 %
2000	15.5 %	25.5 %
2005	15.6 %	27.6 %

The presidential campaign has sparked debate about whether the rich are paying a fair share of taxes. Above, from a study by the Congressional Budget Office, is the percent of total after-tax income earned and percent of all federal taxes paid by the top 1% of U.S. households. The study includes taxes directly paid by individuals, such as income and payroll taxes (including taxes on dividends and capital gains), as well as estimates of the share of other taxes, such as corporate taxes, borne by each income group based on data on dividends and capital gains on income tax returns. Latest data is from 2005.

Senate Voted 62-36 To Restore Gun Rights In DC

On February 26, 2009, the US Senate voted 62-36 to restore gun rights to DC residents. The amendment, sponsored by Senator Ensign (R.NV), was attached to the bill to give DC a vote in the House. Twenty-two Democrats along with forty Republicans voted "yes". One Republican (Lugar, IN) along with thirty-five Democrats voted "no". Senator Kennedy did not vote. One senate seat from Minnesota is vacant.

YEAs ---62
Alexander (R-TN) Barrasso (R-WY) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Begich (D-AK) Bennet (D-CO) Bennett (R-UT) Bond (R-MO) Brownback (R-KS) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) Byrd (D-WV) Casey (D-PA) Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID)	DeMint (R-SC) Dorgan (D-ND) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Feingold (D-WI) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Hagan (D-NC) Hatch (R-UT) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE) Johnson (D-SD) Kyl (R-AZ) Landrieu (D-LA) Lincoln (D-AR) Martinez (R-FL) McCain (R-AZ) McCaskill (D-MO)	McConnell (R-KY) Murkowski (R-AK) Nelson (D-NE) Pryor (D-AR) Reid (D-NV) Risch (R-ID) Roberts (R-KS) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (R-PA) Tester (D-MT) Thune (R-SD) Udall (D-CO) Udall (D-NM) Vitter (R-LA) Voinovich (R-OH) Warner (D-VA) Webb (D-VA) Wicker (R-MS)

NAYs ---36
Akaka (D-HI) Bingaman (D-NM) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Burris (D-IL) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Dodd (D-CT) Durbin (D-IL) Feinstein (D-CA) Gillibrand (D-NY)	Harkin (D-IA) Inouye (D-HI) Kaufman (D-DE) Kerry (D-MA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Kohl (D-WI) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (ID-CT) Lugar (R-IN) Menendez (D-NJ)	Merkley (D-OR) Mikulski (D-MD) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Reed (D-RI) Rockefeller (D-WV) Sanders (I-VT) Schumer (D-NY) Shaheen (D-NH) Stabenow (D-MI) Whitehouse (D-RI) Wyden (D-OR)

Not Voting - 1

Kennedy (D-MA)

Tenth Circuit Ruled For Guns At The Job

Oklahoma had passed a law making it unlawful for business owners to prevent workers from storing guns in workers' locked cars on the property of business owners. Businesses brought suit in the Northern District of Oklahoma and won a permanent block on enforcing the Oklahoma law. The lower court argued that the law is preempted by federal law, and specifically regulations dealing with work place safety (Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970). The lower court also heard arguments that the Oklahoma law was an unconstitutional taking of property because business owners were deprived the ability to regulate who may enter upon of their property. The lower court dismissed that claim.

On February 18, 2009, the US Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court. You may read the opinion here.

The Cursing Mr. Obama

Go here, and to listen, scroll down and click on the audio links.

President Obama Mistakes Oval Office Window For Door

January 27, 2009