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By DENISE LAVOIE AP Legal Affairs Writer

BOSTON (AP) - Jaime Caetano was beaten so badly by her ex-boyfriend that she ended up in the hospital. So when a friend offered her a stun gun to protect herself, she took it.

Caetano, who is homeless, never had to use it but now finds herself at the center of a contentious Second Amendment case headed to the highest court in Massachusetts.

The Supreme Judicial Court is being asked to decide whether a state law that prohibits private citizens from possessing stun guns infringes on their right to keep and bear arms. In an unusual twist, the court is also being asked to examine whether the Second Amendment right to defend yourself in your own home applies in the case of a homeless person.

Arguments before the court are scheduled Tuesday.

Police found Caetano's stun gun in her purse during a shoplifting investigation at a supermarket in 2011. She told police she needed it to defend herself against her violent ex-boyfriend, against whom she had obtained multiple restraining orders.

During her trial, Caetano, 32, testified that her ex-boyfriend repeatedly came to her workplace and threatened her. One night, she showed him the stun gun and he "got scared and left me alone," she said.

She was found guilty of violating the state law that bans private possession of stun guns, devices that deliver an electric shock when pressed against an attacker.

In her appeal, her lawyer, Benjamin Keehn, argues that a stun gun falls within the meaning of "arms" under the Second Amendment. Keehn wrote in a legal brief that the state's ban "cannot be squared with the fundamental right to keep and bear arms." He also argues that self-defense outside the home is part of the core right provided by the Second Amendment.

Massachusetts is among only five states that ban stun guns and Tasers for private citizens, said Eugene Volokh, a constitutional law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has written extensively about Second Amendment issues. The devices are used by law enforcement agencies around the country.

Original post:
Homeless woman's stun gun spurs 2nd Amendment case - Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports

SAFE Act does not prevent citizens from owning guns

While I support an individuals right to own firearms under the Second Amendment, I also support the SAFE Act, which does not preclude gun ownership by law-abiding citizens. About two-thirds of New York voters also support the act, although support varies by location in the state.

Even under the SAFE Act, people can still own as many and varied types of firearms as they desire. The SAFE Act is intended to minimize the harm caused by criminals and people who are mentally ill.

The law does that by provisions that require limiting magazines to 10 rounds of ammunition, background checks for gun and ammunition sales (including private resale), registration of assault weapons, mental health professionals to report patients who credibly threaten harm to others and safe storage of firearms.

The legislators who backed the law are in touch with the people and the harm caused by people who should not have guns.

The Second Amendment states: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. This does not preclude government regulation of gun sales, firearm registration or keeping them out of the hands of criminals. In fact, one might construe the Second Amendment to require membership in a well regulated militia (National Guard) as a requirement to own a gun.

The real problem in America is the National Rifle Association, which was originally started to promote gun safety and shooting competitions. That organization has morphed into gun manufacturers sales lobby that finances and bullies lawmakers to create conditions that foster fear and increase gun sales.

Howard E. Wilcox Jr.

Williamsville

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Letter: SAFE Act does not prevent citizens from owning guns

Tommy Sotomayor Discussing The Second Amendment, Ferguson Thanksgiving!
read more at http://www.sotomayortv.com follow me on twitter http://www.twitter.com/tjsotomayor.

By: MrMadness Sotomayor

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Tommy Sotomayor Discussing The Second Amendment, Ferguson & Thanksgiving! - Video

Apparel and electronics are far from being the only things consumers seek out on Black Fridaymany really like firearm deals as well.

Second amendment enthusiasts sent gun sales surging on Friday, according to a report from CNN.com. The federal government was on track to process more than 144,000 background checks for the purposes of gun ownership, a new record and the equivalent of 3 investigations per second, the report added.

A Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman told the news organization that approximately 600 FBI and contract call center employees sift through thousands of requests within a 3 day span. Traditionally, Black Friday is a peak day for volume, but Friday likely topped last year's requests of 144,758.

Gun sales have been on the rise since at least late 2012, when the Sandy Hook massacre stoked new fears that the federal government could tighten access to firearms. Those concerns proved unfounded, however, as efforts to pass new restrictions have repeatedly failed to pass stiff Congressional opposition.

Of the number of Black Friday requests, approximately 3,000 of them will not be completed because of the need for more information, the spokesman told CNN.com. The agency usually denies around 500 background checks per day due to incomplete applications.

The full report can be found at CNN.com

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2nd Amendment lovers boost Black Friday: Report

BOSTON - Jaime Caetano was beaten so badly by her ex-boyfriend that she ended up in the hospital. So when a friend offered her a stun gun to protect herself, she took it.

Caetano, who is homeless, never had to use it but now finds herself at the center of a contentious Second Amendment case headed to the highest court in Massachusetts.

The Supreme Judicial Court is being asked to decide whether a state law that prohibits private citizens from possessing stun guns infringes on their right to keep and bear arms. In an unusual twist, the court is also being asked to examine whether the Second Amendment right to defend yourself in your own home applies in the case of a homeless person.

Arguments before the court are scheduled Tuesday.

Police found Caetano's stun gun in her purse during a shoplifting investigation at a supermarket in 2011. She told police she needed it to defend herself against her violent ex-boyfriend, against whom she had obtained multiple restraining orders.

During her trial, Caetano, 32, testified that her ex-boyfriend repeatedly came to her workplace and threatened her. One night, she showed him the stun gun and he "got scared and left me alone," she said.

She was found guilty of violating the state law that bans private possession of stun guns, devices that deliver an electric shock when pressed against an attacker.

In her appeal, her lawyer, Benjamin Keehn, argues that a stun gun falls within the meaning of "arms" under the Second Amendment. Keehn wrote in a legal brief that the state's ban "cannot be squared with the fundamental right to keep and bear arms." He also argues that self-defense outside the home is part of the core right provided by the Second Amendment.

Massachusetts is among only five states that ban stun guns and Tasers for private citizens, said Eugene Volokh, a constitutional law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has written extensively about Second Amendment issues. The devices are used by law enforcement agencies around the country.

A ban in Michigan was overturned in 2012 after the state appeals court ruled that a total prohibition was unconstitutional under the Second Amendment and the Michigan Constitution.

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Stun gun spurs Second Amendment case