Wednesday, September 28, 2011

PA: Probation terms set him free: "The John who fatally shot a prostitute's pimp and common-law husband after a tryst in December 2009, walked free yesterday. Kalif Lewis, 28, who was convicted Aug. 8 of two gun charges but acquitted of murder, was sentenced by Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina to two concurrent five-year probation terms, ordered to stay employed and to take parenting classes, and to pay court costs and fines. Lewis, of 55th Street near Lansdowne Avenue, West Philadelphia, went to the Residence Inn near the airport to have sex with Shanet Foust, 31, after spotting her ad on Craiglist. After paying her and leaving, he returned and accused her of stealing $100 from his wallet while he was washing up. She used her cellphone to speed-dial her pimp and common-law husband, Tyre West, who burst through the hotel room door. During a shoot-out, West, 28, was hit in the chest and died. In rejecting the murder charge, the jury of five women and seven men apparently believed defense attorney Gerald Stein, who argued at trial that Lewis had acted in self-defense."


NRA, San Francisco battle over gun-control laws: "San Francisco attempted to strengthen two local gun-control laws Tuesday to protect from legal challenges that could strike them from the books. Handguns in someone’s San Francisco residence cannot be left out in the open, but instead must be either locked in a container or disabled with a trigger lock, under a 2007 city law. Another law, adopted in 1994, prohibits the sale of ammunition such as hollow-point bullets, which expand upon impact. The National Rifle Association has sued The City over these two laws in federal court as being unconstitutional. The NRA’s lawsuit said the gun laws violate one’s constitutional right “to possess an operable handgun ready for immediate use and loaded with proper ammunition for self defense” and doing so puts the gun owner at risk of harm or death."


SAF Sues City of Omaha Over Gun Registration Ordinance: "The Second Amendment Foundation today filed suit in federal district court in Nebraska against the City of Omaha, challenging the city's prohibition against anyone who is not a United States citizen from registering a handgun. SAF's lawsuit, on behalf of Armando Pliego Gonzalez, a resident alien living in the city, is joined by the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association. Pliego, a member of both SAF and NFOA, has been admitted legally to this country as a resident alien for permanent residence. He was approved as a permanent resident in October 2008. His wife is also a lawful permanent resident, and the couple has four children. "Yet the City of Omaha makes a distinction by prohibiting legal resident aliens from completing the legal requirements to purchase and own a handgun. This prohibition appears to be in conflict with the Second and Fourteenth Amendments, and with the Nebraska State Constitution."

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