June 26/history

[more] What else happened today

1857 — The first investiture of the Victoria Cross in Hyde Park, London. 1888 — Noted firearms expert and author Julian Hatcher was born in Hayfield, Virginia. He is credited with several technical books and articles relating to military firearms, ballistics, and autoloading weapons. 1917 — The first U.S. troops arrive in France to fight alongside Britain, France, Italy, and Russia against Germany, and Austria-Hungary in World War I. 1990 — Canadian Justice Minister Kim Campbell introduces gun control legislation banning "automatic assault weapons;" with a 5 year jail term to anyone convicted of converting a gun to full auto. 2004 — Two days before a federal election, Canadian Liberal PM Paul Martin dropped all fees for transferring firearms. Canadian gun owners weren't fooled and, sure enough, 18 months later, the Liberals would start promising a handgun ban. 2008 — The US Supreme Court, in the case of DC v. Heller, struck down the 30 year-old Washington D.C. gun ban and held that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for private use.