Saturday, April 18, 2009

04-18-09

From: Stephen P. Wenger http://www.spw-duf.info>
comments by the ()
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Hidden in the Treaty: Having backed off - for now - from the politically difficult push for a ban of so-called "assault weapons," President Obama hopes to assuage Mexican President Felipe Calderón's disappointment with a promise to push the Senate to ratify the Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and other Related Materials, a treaty signed in 1997, but never ratified in the U.S… I can only assume that this would mandate that anyone who reloads ammunition to save money (and rather a lot of it, given today's ammo prices) acquire a government issued license to do so.  What about people who purchase incomplete firearms frames, treated under current U.S. law as inert hunks of metal, and complete the firearm themselves?  Would that now require licensing?  It certainly seems so.  Unacceptable. The larger issue, of course, is that suddenly that which shall not be infringed would become subject to international regulation, and as restrictive as gun laws in the U.S. have become, they're still not draconian enough for the tastes of much of the rest of the world.  That's their problem, and it needs to remain their problem.

http://www.examiner.com/x-2581-St-Louis-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d17-Senate-must-reject-InterAmerican-Arms-Treaty

Related Commentary:

http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d17-Obama-using-treaties-with-foreign-powers-to-enact-domestic-gun-control
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Feds Will Not Appeal Park-Carry Ruling: The Obama administration says it will not appeal a federal court ruling that prohibits carrying loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges. Instead, the Interior Department says it will conduct a full environmental review of an earlier policy that allowed concealed, loaded guns in parks and refuges. A federal judge struck down the gun policy last month. The judge said the policy, issued in the waning days of the Bush administration, was severely flawed and that officials failed to evaluate the possible environmental impacts of the rule change. The judge set an April 20 deadline for the Interior Department to indicate its likely response to her ruling. (This is essentially what I predicted – Big Brother will let the courts take the heat for reversing the NPS rule change. I hold no great hopes for the environmental-impact reports.)

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/18/interior-review-guns-parks-policy/
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FactCheck.org on the 90% Lie: There's no dispute that thousands of handguns, military style rifles and other firearms are purchased in the U.S. and end up in the hands of Mexican criminals each year. It's relatively easy to buy such guns legally in Texas and other border states and to smuggle them across. But is it true as President Obama said, that "More than 90 percent of the guns recovered in Mexico come from the United States?" No, it's not. The figure represents only the percentage of crime guns that have been submitted by Mexican officials and traced by U.S. officials. We can find no hard data on the total number of guns actually "recovered in Mexico," but U.S. and Mexican officials both say that Mexico recovers more guns than it submits for tracing.  Therefore, the percentage of guns "recovered" and traced to U.S. sources necessarily is less than 90 percent… (FactCheck.org tends to lean toward the left. Absent from this discussion is how many firearms traceable to the US were actually provided to Mexico as military aid.)

http://www.factcheck.org/politics/counting_mexicos_guns.html
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The Beat Goes On: To hear the partisan press, gun prohibitionists and even some in law enforcement tell it, rightwing paranoia about the economy, a Democrat-controlled Congress and an Obama White House is fueling the proverbial land office business in guns and ammunition. Two fairly well-balanced pieces in the Seattle Times and the on-line Seattle Post-Intelligencer provide good contrast to some of the other screed that has substituted lately for journalism – the greatest offender being that ABC 20/20 hit piece by Diane Sawyer on April 10 – and both local stories have been revealing. Combined with coverage of State Sen. Tim Sheldon's on-point observations several days ago about citizens taking care of themselves in an environment of law enforcement cutbacks, instead of questioning why so many people are buying guns, the more logical query would be, "Why aren't more people arming themselves?" …

http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d17-Paranoia-not-fueling-gun-sales-its-the-other-way-around
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2009073302&zsection_id=2003925728&slug=gunsurge17m&date=20090417
http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_041709WAB-handgun-applications-LJ.e33bfaf5.html?rss
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Bloomberg's Deal with a Gunrunner: David P. Winfield was just the kind of gun trafficker that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has been trying to drive from the city's streets. He was arrested in 2005 and accused of using his wife and others as "straw buyers" to acquire more than two dozen sawed-off shotguns, semiautomatic pistols and rifles in Virginia, most of their serial numbers obliterated, and selling them for thousands of dollars in New York City. He faced up to five years in prison if convicted. But when federal prosecutors rejected his bid for a deal in which he would plead guilty and assist them in return for a lesser sentence, his lawyers took an unusual step: They offered his services to the Bloomberg administration, which had sued gun dealers in Virginia and other states because their illegal weapons were ending up on the streets of New York…

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/18/nyregion/18guns.html?ref=nyregion&pagewanted=all
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Arizona Gun Shops, Gun Shows Faulted: It seemed a fortuitous alignment of justice and politics, George Iknadosian's trial beginning just as President Obama called for new attention to the flow of weapons from the United States to the drug cartels inside Mexico. The Phoenix gun dealer stood charged with selling hundreds of AK-47 assault rifles and pistols, and the case appeared airtight: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had secret recordings, confessed confederates and a list of weapons traced from Mexican shootouts to X-Caliber Guns, Iknadosian's shop here on Cave Creek Road. But on March 18, before the prosecution had rested, a Maricopa County judge ordered the defendant freed. And what seemed a showcase for Washington's vigorous new campaign against gun trafficking instead became a reminder of the bedrock reality challenging the effort: This is gun country… (I predict that the Allerd family will be receiving an unfriendly visit from agents of the BATFE; if they are offering to procure specific firearms for sale, they probably don't qualify as selling from their private collection. Pinetop, by the way, is just up the road from me.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/18/AR2009041800753.html?hpid=topnews
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Alaska House Approves Firearms Freedom Act: On the same day they rejected an attorney general designee who is a board member of the National Rifle Association, members of the state House on Thursday approved a bill exempting guns and ammunition manufactured and kept within Alaska from federal firearms regulation. House members voted to reject Gov. Sarah Palin's nominee to head the Department of Law, Wayne Anthony Ross, but voted 32-7 in favor of the Alaska Firearms Freedom Act, which would apply to firearms built, sold and kept in Alaska. Critics denounced the bill as unconstitutional. They say it's a threat to Alaskans who act on the measure and face federal prosecution. Prime sponsor Mike Kelly, R-Fairbanks, attracted 10 co-sponsors and said the bill is both a measure to allow manufacture of guns and a statement that Alaska intends to reclaim some of its rights. Alaska has seen rights eroded in the oversight of navigable waters, fish and game, and access to natural resources, Kelly said, but can reclaim rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment… (It would be one thing to call the bill irresponsible, if one thought it could expose innocent people to federal prosecution, but I don't see how one can argue that it is unconstitutional.)

http://ap.alaskajournal.com/stories/state/ak/20090416/430052778.shtml
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Press Distorts Defensive Gun Use: There's nothing like a justifiable homicide to bring out the bigotry resting in the heart of Old Media reporters. Last week, Demario Brown, on the run from police, held up two women at gunpoint and forced them into the house they were visiting, and then held two additional victims at gunpoint while demanding money he claimed was stolen from him. Then things began to go wrong for Mr. Brown as one of the victims, Timothy King, fought back with his own gun. In the exchange of fire, Mr. Brown was fatally wounded, ran out of the house and collapsed a short distance away. Even though one article's title was accurately stated as "Robbery suspect shot dead by intended victim," North Charleston's Live 5 News still chose the "concerned neighbor" gambit to condemn the shooting…

http://www.examiner.com/x-2879-Austin-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d17-Armed-hero-saves-4-lives-during-home-invasion-robbery
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Oops, Wrong Family:
A local woman's act of self-defense might have saved her life and the lives of four family members, the Winter Haven Police Department reported. According to police, a Winter Haven man who threatened early Tuesday to shoot and kill members of his family instead was shot by his wife. The man, 34-year-old Troy A. Christoff, was treated for multiple gunshot wounds at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, according to a police report. He was charged with five counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm and, after being released from the hospital under police custody, was booked without bond into the Polk County Jail in Bartow… Witness statements and an examination of physical evidence indicate that Troy Christoff intended to shoot several members of his family who lived with him, according to the police report. Prior to the shooting, he had armed himself with a handgun and begun to load the weapon, stating which member of his family each bullet was intended for…

http://www.newschief.com/article/20090414/NEWS/904149993/1003/NEWS?Title=Wife-shoots-husband-in-self-defense-Winter-Haven-police-say
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Oops, Wrong Apartment, California Version: Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies said they responded to the scene of a home invasion where the home owner opened fire on the thieves. Deputies said a man reported four men kicked in the door at an apartment on Ethan Way near Arden Fair Mall. Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies said they responded to the scene of a home invasion where the home owner opened fire on the thieves. Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies said they responded to the scene of a home invasion where the home owner opened fire on the thieves. Deputies said a man reported four men kicked in the door at an apartment on Ethan Way near Arden Fair Mall. Deputies said a man reported four men kicked in the door at an apartment on Ethan Way near Arden Fair Mall. (These were not thieves or burglars – they were robbers.)

http://www.kcra.com/news/19184363/detail.html
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Oops, Wrong Apartment, Texas Version: A 26-year-old woman fatally shot a man who lived in her Red Bird apartment complex and broke into her unit Tuesday night, Dallas police said. Two women were inside their apartment in the 8000 block of Leigh Ann Drive, which is just north of Danieldale Park and Interstate 20, when the 55-year-old man knocked on the door about 11 p.m, police said. One of the women called police as the man tried to get inside, and the other woman shot him as he entered, causing him to stumble out the door and collapse in the grass, police said…

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa090415_wz_fatalbreakin.d8e909e4.html
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Oops, Wrong House: When Christopher Duhan kicked open the back door of a Seabrook residence to commit a Monday afternoon burglary, he was met by the lady of the house who chased him off with her handgun, according to police. Duhan, 28, of 147 Ashworth Ave., Hampton Beach, was arraigned Tuesday in Portsmouth District Court on a felony count of burglary. According to an affidavit by officer Scott Mendes, Seabrook patrol officers were dispatched to a B Street residence at 12:30 p.m. Monday, for an "active" daytime burglary. The homeowner told police she was about to take a shower when she heard "loud crashing," so she grabbed her pistol and came face-to-face with the intruder, who she recognized as Duhan, a drug-dependent friend of a family member, according to court documents. Gun in hand, the homeowner told Duhan she was calling the police before he fled across Route 1, police allege. Based on a clothing and vehicle description, Seabrook police arrested Duhan at a Hampton hotel where he has been residing, according to the affidavit…

http://seacoastonline.com/articles/20090415-NEWS-904150366
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Oops, Wrong Pharmacy: This link is strictly a video (no text). Judge for yourself the wisdom of the pharmacist in searching for the robber inside the pharmacy once the robbery appeared to have been completed. The big question, in my mind, was whether the robber still posed a threat to innocent parties.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfMZVRoODDc
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Phil Spector Had History of Mishandling Firearms:
…In some circles, Mr. Spector's disregard for gun safety was as legendary as his productions. He greeted guests at his home wearing a .38 in a shoulder holster. In 1972, he was arrested in Beverly Hills for pointing a gun at a woman; charged with carrying a concealed weapon and a loaded firearm in a public place, he paid a $200 fine and was placed on one year's probation. Three years later, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge after he aimed a gun in the face of a valet at the Beverly Hills Hotel. During his two trials for Ms. Clarkson's murder, the first of which ended in a deadlocked jury in 2007, five women testified that Mr. Spector threatened them at gunpoint…

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123983464573522639.html#mod=djem_we
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Canada Requests Sexual History for Gun Permit: …Pierre Lemieux is an economist whose most recent book, Comprendre l'économie, just won the prestigious Prix Turgot in Paris. When it comes to guns, he's a hobbyist, not a lobbyist, but in his spare time he has been trying to make the authorities comprehend something about the relationship between public safety and his love life. Not because he thinks there's a nexus, but because the government does. Before renewing his gun permit in 2007, the authorities decided to inquire into Lemieux's bedroom history. Did he divorce anyone in the last two years? Did he break up with a girlfriend? If yes, use a separate sheet to explain…

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/04/15/george-jonas-want-a-gun-permit-tell-us-about-your-sex-life.aspx
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Department Experiences Problems with G22 Magazines: The Milwaukee Police Department found that there is a serious problem with its guns. Officer Vidal Colon was injured over the weekend in a shootout, in which his gun jammed. The police chief has known about the problem for a year, but he is now taking immediate action following Saturday's shooting. The chief sent a memo to the entire police department about the weapon problem… But, the memo to the department revealed that the problem could be with the gun itself. "We had experienced a number of issues on the range with our issued Glock model 22, .40 caliber duty pistol magazines, which represents 45 percent of our issued weapons," said Flynn in the memo. The chief became aware of the problem in January 2008. Since then, "Glock has replaced 2,700 pistol magazines at no cost to the Milwaukee Police Department," said Flynn in the memo… (So the magazine exchange was not done on an urgent basis because the problem had only been observed on the range. Even in a department that only requires "qualification" once a year, wouldn't virtually every officer fire more rounds on the range than on the street?)

http://www.wisn.com/news/19203902/detail.html?treets=mil&tid=2659196343813&tml=mil_12pm&tmi=mil_12pm_1_12000104172009&ts=H

G22's Have Had Numerous Problems in Law Enforcement: We hosted the Glock armorer course and instructor workshop at our range over the past week (very cool to have THE Dennis Tueller as the instructor). We just got our shipment of Glock 22s in last Friday, and the ammo in on Monday (CCI Blazer and Gold Dot 165gr), we were also planning on deploying the M3X lights for our new guns for the tac and K9 guys (we previously issued the S&W TSW and the M3 lights). In live fire we quickly figured out that the combo of a G22, 165gr ammo (especially the Gold Dot) and the mounted lights leads to a nasty feed ramp/front of mag nose dive stoppage. It's not a limp wrist issue, in fact it's the opposite. I could really limp wrist the gun and it would work, when one gets on the gun like one should it's instant choke. I believe that the .40 and .357 Sig Glocks are under sprung recoil spring wise, and that the round is cycling the slide so fast that the mag spring can't keep up. I'm not hold my breath that Herr Glock takes my suggestion and comes up with a recoil spring just for the .40/.357s. I should note that a couple of our guns weren't 100% even without lights, but that could have been new gun issues, although they would be the first Glocks I've seen need a break in… (From an eleven-page thread on Evan Marshall's Stopping Power Forums; this thread has run for two years. Based on my observation and experience, I believe that the "limp-wristing" phenomenon is actually a matter of letting the finger fly off the trigger when the pistol is fired; this sympathetically relaxes the remaining fingers of the gun hand. The cure is the trigger reset or "catching the link," as John Farnam call it. This tends to keep the trigger pressed into the frame until the gun starts its return from recoil.)

http://www.stoppingpower.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11118
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Copper Prices Rebound: After a year of eye-popping profits in the copper industry that gave way to massive losses and layoffs, it appears 2009 may bring stability. While nowhere near the record-breaking prices that copper producers enjoyed last summer - when prices soared above $4 a pound - the price of copper has steadily ascended this year… In the past 60 days, copper prices have risen from around $1.40 per pound to $2.18 on Thursday… (As noted yesterday, copper is a crucial component for most ammuntion.)

http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/289062
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Right Wing Extremists: …My fellow Patriot "right-wing extremists" (or as Barack Obama prefers to describe you, those "bitterly clinging to guns or religion"), it is no small irony that, in the same week the central government demands payment of any income tax they hadn't already withheld (read: "pilfered") from our paychecks for redistribution, we observe Patriots Day. April 19th marks the 234th anniversary of the early morning ride of Paul Revere and William Dawes to Concord, Massachusetts, in order to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that British troops were coming to arrest them and seize their weapons. Revere was captured but Dawes and Samuel Prescott, who had joined them along the way, escaped and continued toward Concord. Dawes later fell from his horse, but Prescott, who knew the area well enough to navigate at night, made it to Concord in time to warn the Sons of Liberty…

http://www.patriotpost.us/
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NRA-ILA Alerts: List members are encouraged to check the alerts for the week, posted on the NRA-ILA website.

http://www.nraila.org/GrassrootsAlerts/read.aspx

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Oath keepers

04-16-09


From: Stephen P. Wenger <spwenger@spw-duf.info>
comments in () by Stephen P. Wenger
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From CCRKBA: A volatile "assessment" of so-called "Rightwing Extremism" by the Obama administration's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is an insult to political conservatives, military veterans and American gun owners, and demands an immediate apology, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today. "We recognize that many conservative gun owners will feel threatened by this Obama administration report," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "It appears that DHS under Janet Napolitano is trying to demonize political dissent." The chilling nine-page document likens citizens opposed to new firearms restrictions, returning veterans and conservatives to "rightwing extremists" and associates them with white supremacists and violent antigovernment groups…

http://www.ccrkba.org/pub/rkba/press-releases/dhs.report.htm

GOP Calls for Apology to Veterans: Republicans on Wednesday said a Homeland Security Department intelligence assessment unfairly characterizes military veterans as right-wing extremists. House Republican leader John Boehner described the report as offensive and called on the agency to apologize to veterans… The assessment also said that returning military veterans who have difficulties assimilating back into their home communities could be susceptible to extremist recruiters or might engage in lone acts of violence. "To characterize men and women returning home after defending our country as potential terrorists is offensive and unacceptable," said Boehner, R-Ohio…

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=7344776

J No Stands by Report: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that she was briefed before the release of a controversial intelligence assessment and that she stands by the report, which lists returning veterans among terrorist risks to the U.S. But the top House Democrat with oversight of the Department of Homeland Security said in a letter to Ms. Napolitano that he was "dumbfounded" that such a report would be issued. "This report appears to raise significant issues involving the privacy and civil liberties of many Americans - including war veterans," said Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, in his letter sent Tuesday night… (Of note, no concern is expressed over the numbers of gang members who have joined the US military in order to obtain training that will be shared with their respective gangs.)

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/16/napolitano-stands-rightwing-extremism/

Related Commentary:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=95149
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More BS from DHS:
Yesterday, we talked about Homeland Security's "Rightwing Extremism" report. I was able to give you a link to the document itself because it has been unclassified. The picture on the right is the cover of their "Intelligence Report: United States Southbound Weapons Smuggling Assessment." I can't refer you to the document itself because it is marked "OFFICIAL USE ONLY - LAW ENFORCEMENT SENSITIVE." What I will do is share a few highlights that are germane to recent discussions we've been having…

http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d15-Why-does-Homeland-Securitys-gun-smuggling-report-mislead-law-enforcement
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Mexico to Press Big Brother on Guns: When President Obama lands in Mexico City Thursday, there will be one main subject on Mexican officials' minds. "For Mexico, the No. 1 priority is guns. The No. 2 priority is guns. The No. 3 priority is guns," Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina-Mora told USA TODAY. The Mexican government wants Obama to take more steps to stop arms sold in the USA from flowing across the border, where they are frequently used by cartels in Mexico's drug war. That issue and other contentious subjects, including a brewing trade dispute, will be on the agenda as Obama makes his first official trip south… (Any bets on whether Big Brother will press Mexico to secure its own armories and borders?)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-04-15-mexicoobama_N.htm
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The Beat Goes On: Gun City USA, the largest gun store in Nashville, Tennessee, has sold arms to country music stars Hank Williams Jr., George Jones and their entourages. What it can't sell them much of right now is ammunition to reload… Efforts to meet the surge in consumer demand for ammunition are also being stifled by the need to support production for U.S. conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems, the military's largest supplier of cartridges for M-16 rifles, has quadrupled production under its Army contract in the past nine years to more than 1.4 billion rounds… Olin's Winchester Ammunition unit has seen demand for its products "increase significantly since last fall," the company said in a statement. To meet demand, "operations are running 24 hours a day, seven days a week," it said. Valerie Peters, a spokeswoman for Winchester, declined to elaborate…

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=axeZXGgWdAWM

The way Jay Chambers sees it, the semiautomatic weapons in his firearm collection might be the most promising investment in his financial portfolio. Like many gun enthusiasts, Mr. Chambers, a manager for a door wholesaler here, believes President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress soon will reimpose a version of an expired federal ban on the sale of so-called assault weapons. If such a law passes, he figures his collection - enough guns, ammo magazines and weapon parts to assemble about 30 AK-47s, AR-15s and other semiautomatic rifles - could triple in value. "A guy could easily make a lot of money," says Mr. Chambers, 47 years old, while at Autrey's Armory, a gun store about 20 miles south of Atlanta…

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123984046627223159.html

Since November, more than seven million people applied for criminal background checks in order to buy guns, according to the FBI. That figure excludes anyone buying a weapon at the thousands of gun shows in states such as Virginia, without facing any checks. The sudden run on weapons has also stripped gun shops in some parts of the country almost bare and led to a national ammunition shortage, the Guardian reports. Gun-shop owners and the National Rifle Association claim the surge is driven by concerns that Mr Obama is planning to ban many types of firearms and that the deepening economic crisis will fuel a crime wave…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5147032/Firearm-sales-surge-after-Barack-Obamas-election.html
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Plain Dealer
Editorialist Gets It Right:
When it comes to the futility of addressing the epidemic of inner-city violence with impotent gun control laws, it would seem there are at least a two people at the Cleveland Plain Dealer who "get it." Last year Plain Dealer columnist Regina Brett's series on the thug culture earned her title as a top-three finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in Commentary, and since then she has written articles that prove she "gets it." Plain Dealer editorial writer Phillip Morris, on the other hand, has a more spotty history of support for armed citizens. But his latest op-ed indicates that he is now prepared to join Brett in the effort to lead the newspaper into becoming a positive force for change in the city of Cleveland…

http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6628
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Iowa CCW Suit to be Heard Next Year: A trial date is set for next year for a father and son from Osceola County who filed a federal lawsuit challenging an Iowa law giving local authorities power to decide who gets permits to carry weapons.  The lawsuit was filed last fall by Paul Dorr and his son Alexander Dorr, both of Ocheyedan. The suit names Osceola County Sheriff Douglas Weber, the sheriff's department and the county. It claims the law used to deny them nonprofessional carry permits is unconstitutional. According to the lawsuit, Paul Dorr was issued nonprofessional permits to carry a weapon from 2001 to 2006, but his application was denied in 2007. The Dorrs believe the sheriff's denial was personal. (Let's see – the suit was filed last fall and will not be heard until next June; why am I thinking justice delayed is justice denied?)

http://www.kcci.com/news/19108407/detail.html
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Pennsylvania Governor Calls for Semiauto Ban:
Just yesterday, Governor Ed Rendell spoke out about gun control laws. Today, the governor asked federal and state lawmakers to do more to protect police. Governor Rendell, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Police Chief Nate Harper gathered with other officials in Harrisburg to discuss how Pennsylvania can prevent situations like the death of three Pittsburgh Police officers from ever happening again… With those words, Governor Rendell called on the public to push lawmakers to enact common sense gun measures to protect local police beginning with a ban on AK47s and other semiautomatics. "These weapons have absolutely no purpose but to kill," said Rendell. "They can't be used for sport; they certainly aren't used for hunting." … (While I'm afraid that the NRA will fall into the trap of simply defending the sporting use of autoloading rifles and shotguns, Rendell certainly put his foot in his mouth with that claim. Several years ago I was told that the SKS had become the most widely used deer rifle in North Carolina/)

http://kdka.com/local/automatic.weapons.Rendell.2.985879.html
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Governor Signs Montana Sovereignty Bills:
Gov. Brian Schweitzer has signed into law a bill that aims to exempt Montana-made guns from federal regulation. House Bill 246 was sponsored by Republican Rep. Joel Boniek of Livingston. It applies only to guns made and kept in Montana. Its supporters hope it triggers a court case to test the legal basis for federal rules governing gun sales. The measure is one of many introduced this year by state lawmakers across the nation that seek to assert state sovereignty. Along with the gun bill, Montana legislators are also considering a resolution that affirms the federal government only has those powers listed in the U.S. Constitution…

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/04/15/news/state/24-sovereignty.txt
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Nebraska Bill for Limited Church Carry: A Nebraska bill that would allow church security guards to carry concealed handguns advanced in the state legislature on Thursday. The church provision was tacked on as an amendment to a measure that prohibits cities from having their own ban on concealed weapons. State lawmakers voted 29-15 to adopt the amendment and 40-4 to advance the bill… Sen. McCoy, who attends Westside Church in Omaha, is convinced that the amendment would enhance safety in churches. He pointed to the 2007 shooting at New Life Church in Colorado Springs that could have resulted in numerous deaths but ended when a church security guard shot the gunman. Months after the shooting, New Life's senior pastor, the Rev. Brady Boyd, recommended that all churches have armed guards… (It's not clear who qualifies as a church security guard in Nebraska.)

http://www.christianpost.com/church/General/2009/04/neb-lawmakers-advance-guns-in-churches-bill-03/
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Some Holster Insights: My recent experience wearing a kydex holster got me to thinking back to when I bought my first holster. They say most people who carry a gun for personal protection have a box full of holsters that didn't work. For me, I kind of lucked out because I hit a home run on my first swing… I had done a lot of research on the internet while my boss was on vacation, and learned all about the pitfalls which could lead to the proverbial box o' holsters. I learned about the different types of materials and the pros and cons of each. I decided that an inside-the-waistband (IWB) type was right for me as they tend to be more concealable and less prone to accidental exposure… (The Versa Max 2 is an outstanding holster, particularly for autoloading pistols that carry lots of rounds in the butt. The comments about the belt are absolutely correct.)

http://www.examiner.com/x-2206-Cleveland-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d15-Buying-my-first-holster
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Good Book: If you don't already own a copy of the classic Hatcher's Notebook, NRA affiliate Palladium Press is offering a very high quality reprint. I have an original version of this book but purchased the Palladium reprint of Sharpe's The Rifle in America some time ago and the quality is impeccable.

http://www.palladiumpress.com/store/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=1739

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

links

texas gun training
http://www.tigervalley.com/

Ak and saiga conversions
http://www.tromix.com/
http://www.elitefirearms.net/

Fwd: DUF Morning Mailing, 04-13-09


From: Stephen P. Wenger <spwenger@spw-duf.info>



Registration Leads to Confiscation, Not Solving Crimes: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, announced last week that she wants to register guns. Her next move will be to try to confiscate them… Politicians and bureaucrats routinely claim that registration helps solve crimes. If a registered gun is used in a crime and left at the crime scene, registration supposedly lets the police trace the gun back to the criminal. Though this turn of events might work on fictional TV crime shows, it virtually never occurs in real life. Criminals' guns are rarely left at crime scenes. When guns are left behind, it usually is because a crook has been seriously injured or killed and the police are poised to catch him anyway… Because registration doesn't help solve crime, it is important to ask why government wants to register the people's firearms. History provides the answer. In countries from Australia to England, registration has been used to create lists of guns that later were confiscated by their governments. Despite Mrs. Pelosi's assurances to the contrary, Americans' fear that registration will lead to confiscation is well-founded. Indeed, Mrs. Pelosi's own state of California already has used existing registration lists to confiscate so-called assault weapons just a half-dozen years ago… (California's "assault weapon" registration, as I recall, is a dead-end street – it severely restricts use of the firearms and bans their inheritance. The confiscation I recall involved a an overturned ruling by the AG that allowed SKS rifles modified to accept detachable magazines to be registered after the statutory deadline. There may be more recent confiscations of which I am unaware.)

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/13/39we-want-them-registered39/
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Newsweek
Chides Big Brother et al.:
…In the past, national political leaders might have raised troubling questions about how such an unstable character could obtain easy access to high-powered weapons. They might have been even more motivated given that Poplawski's cop-killing spree was part of a near epidemic of mass homicides that have left 58 people dead over the past month. Or given that Mexico's insanely violent drug cartels are arming themselves with high-powered assault weapons purchased at U.S. gun stores and later smuggled south of the border. Yet many past champions of stricter gun-control measures are silent. These include top Obama White House officials who have squelched any talk within the administration about pushing further gun-control measures."It's weird," says Peter Hamm, the communications director for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "When you see people like [Attorney General] Eric Holder or Hillary Clinton or [White House chief of staff] Rahm Emanuel become muted on this issue, you feel like you want to call up a friend and say, 'What's up?' " …

http://www.newsweek.com/id/193589

CNN Chimes In: During the 7:00 p.m. hour of Saturday's CNN Newsroom, anchor Don Lemon pushed the view that Barack Obama should try to emulate European gun laws as a way of reducing gun violence in America as he discussed the subject with four guests. During an interview with former FBI agent Gregg McCrary, who expressed support for an assault weapons ban, Lemon suggested Obama learn from the Europeans: "The one person who can probably weigh on this and may have the most influence is the President. Since he's over there in Europe now, and they're, you know, they're not perfect, but it seems that their gun laws seem to be at least working in a way that ours are not." …

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2009/04/10/cnn-s-lemon-suggests-obama-learn-europe-s-strict-gun-laws
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Mexico Repeats 90% Lie:
Stopping the flow of money and weapons from the United States into Mexico is critical to dealing with the violent drug cartels creating havoc on the border, the Mexican ambassador to the U.S. said Sunday. Mexican officials think that 90 percent of the weapons seized in their country can be traced to the U.S., Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan said. "The key issue right now is how can the United States help to shut down those guns and shut down that bulk cash that is providing the drug syndicates in Mexico with the wherewithal to corrupt, to bribe, to kill," Mr. Sarukhan said on CBS' "Face the Nation." …Although Mr. Sarukhan contended that the cartels' use of assault weapons rose dramatically after the U.S. ended its ban on the firearms in 2004, he stopped short of advocating that Congress reinstate the ban. "What we will say is ... by reinstating the ban, that could have a profound impact on the number and the caliber of weapons going down to Mexico," he said…

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/13/mexico-us-guns-money-fueling-drug-war/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7996196.stm

It's been confidently reported, as of late, that the United States is the source of 90% of all the weapons utilized in Mexican crime.  This has become a dogma, repeated by no less than Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others.  It's an impressive-sounding statistic – but is it true?  In a word, no.  It's not correct.  The 90% figure was originally based upon a misunderstanding, and thereafter it has been constantly repeated in the media and political world.  According to a spokeswoman for the ATF (U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives), "over 90 percent of the traced firearms originate from the U.S." To borrow a Shakespearean expression, "there's the rub." The fact that 90% of the "traced weapons" were from the U.S. was transformed in the media to the false report that 90% of the weapons used for criminal purposes in Mexico were from the U.S…

http://www.mexidata.info/id2226.html
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Speaking of Lies…:
…The following transcript is from Oct. 1995. The speaker was Thomas Busey, then chief of ATF's National Firearms Act Branch. The subject was the NFRTR, the National Firearms Registry and Transfer Record. It's the official record the government keeps on all National Firearms Act-registered weapons, such as machine guns, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, suppressors, destructive devices and AOWs, or "Any Other Weapons" the agency deems taxable/requiring registration. Here's what Mr. Busey said about it: "Let me say that when we testify in court, we testify that the data base is 100 percent accurate. That's what we testify to, and we will always testify to that. As you probably well know, that may not be 100 percent true." …

http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d11-If-we-cant-trust-ATF-under-oath-when-can-we-trust-them
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Brady Pants Also on Fire:
In May of 2007, the Brady Center, research arm of the Brady Campaign,  published a report entitled No Gun Left Behind: The Gun Lobby's Campaign to Push Guns Into Colleges and Schools. Though nearly two years have passed, numerous inaccuracies remain which, having persisted this long in a publicly-accessible document, call into question the Brady Campaign's ability to publish credible reports and/or their capacity for telling the truth…

http://www.examiner.com/x-2879-Austin-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d12-Brady-Campaign-Biased-inaccurate-research
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20/20 Gun "Report" Analyzed: …At the very end of the program, Ms. Sawyer said that they could not find any studies supporting the numbers of self-defense shootings which seem to have inspired this entire report — the idea that an armed citizen can blunt or even stop a killing. The exact quote is: "And by the way, if you're wondering where all the studies about the effectiveness of guns used by ordinary Americans for self defense are, well, keep searching. we could not find one reliable study and the ones we found were contradictory." This statement is perhaps the most outrageous of the entire report. It could be her misguided opinion, perhaps her staff misled her, but the statement is entirely untrue. She just misled the American Public, intentionally or not. That ABC News could not find what Professor John Lott, Gary Kleck et al, our own Department Of Justice, beat police officers and researchers could find from professional experience and from FBI crime data does not pass the test of reasonable expectation. We found it. So can ABC News. Ms. Sawyer's closing line is the exquisite example of the kind of movement blatantly opposing liberty in discouraging the armed citizen by way of hiding facts, values and discouraging the American spirit of Independence from our servants. The thing that gets tens of millions of gun owners is that these people are fighting us instead of fighting crime…

http://www.examiner.com/x-2323-LA-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d11-If-I-Only-Had-A-Gun-misfires-for-2020-when-they-cannot-stay-on-topic?cid=examiner-email
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The Beat Goes On:
Ralph Scott has an easy explanation for why sales at his gun shop - the Lock, Stock and Barrel - have been booming since Barack Obama's election last November. "Here's the sad fact of the matter - our business thrives on bad news," he says. Scott's firearms store in Portsmouth, Ohio, an economically stressed river town on the edge of Appalachia, has seen a 40 to 50 per cent spike in sales over the past five months, reflecting a national surge in demand for personal-use weapons that dates to just before the Nov. 4 election. Across the United States, firearms buyers have reported difficulty finding ammunition at major retailers like Walmart, while manufacturers like Winchester and Remington Arms say they are running at full capacity. The evidence of a sustained run on guns isn't just anecdotal. The FBI says the number of criminal background checks - required for guns bought from licensed dealers - conducted from November through February jumped by almost 30 per cent from the previous year…

http://www.canada.com/news/news+good+news+dealers/1487633/story.html

If the rash of mass shootings nationwide is leaving you thinking that there are too many guns in Buffalo and in America, just wait. Gun sales are booming nationwide - and in Erie County, applications for pistol permits are rolling in at nearly three times last year's rate, the county clerk's office reports. Meanwhile, in the nation's capital, gun control has become, in essence, dead on arrival. Chalk it all up to the election of a Democratic president with a long record of supporting gun restrictions and a Congress that includes a surprising number of pro-gun Democrats from rural areas. The election of Barack Obama as president is sparking a run on firearms and ammunition in both Buffalo and nationwide, according to gun dealers and experts on the issue… (Wait a minute – pistol permits in New York are a form of registration. I thought that was what these folks wanted.)

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/638237.html
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University President Opposes Campus CCW:
University of Missouri system President Gary Forsee has denounced legislation approved by the state House that would allow concealed weapons to be brought onto college campuses. Forsee said in a written statement Friday that the legislation "increases the risk that our university family could be put in harm's way." He added: "Missouri's college students should be allowed to learn and exchange ideas in an environment free from the threat of concealed guns." Forsee, who was hired December 2007, leads a four-campus university system that governs public institutions in Columbia, Kansas City, Rolla and St. Louis… (Why do legally concealed firearms pose a greater threat to academic freedom than criminals who don't care which laws they violate? Would Forsee be happier if the firearms of law-abiding students were carried openly?)

http://www.nbcactionnews.com/news/local/story/MU-President-Denounces-Concealed-Gun-Bill/ONrQ1TpUo0WjSX2sVajHrw.cspx
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Oops, Wrong House: Armed with a double-barreled, 12-gauge shotgun, the resident of a Botetourt County home fatally shot an intruder Friday night, authorities said. A family living in the home heard someone yelling, cursing and pounding on their house about 10:40 p.m., according to a release Saturday from Botetourt County Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle. A man living there called 911 and secured his family members in a locked bedroom, then loaded the shotgun. The intruder used a wrought iron patio chair to break a glass sliding door and come into the house, and the male resident shot him. "From what I'm told, he showed some restraint," Botetourt County Commonwealth's Attorney Joel Branscom said about the shooter. "But it got to the point where he didn't have much of a choice." …

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/200867
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Solution to Somali Piracy:
…I don't fish as often as I did in the Texas Gulf Coast in the 1970s. But I do get an occasional invite to go deep sea fishing off the Carolina coast with three good friends. Two of these friends work in a national security capacity for the federal government (please pardon the pseudonyms). So it should go without saying that we have the hardware and skills to defeat a small (or large) band of pirates whenever we venture into the Atlantic Ocean. We don't have any evidence of piracy off the Carolina coast. But we all subscribe to the belief that it is better to have a gun and not need one than to need a gun and not have one… I understand quite well that there are ports that will not allow entry to boats that are carrying firearms. And I understand that they are in places where we would like to deliver humanitarian aid. But the solution is not to go into these areas unarmed. The solution is to tell the nations in which these ports are located that they must change their laws or forfeit charitable goods coming from our generous Christian nation.

http://townhall.com/columnists/MikeAdams/2009/04/13/the_solution_to_somali_piracy?page=full
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I Guess We're All "Rightwing Extremists":
So, if you disagree with Obama on amnesty for illegals or stand up for the Second Amendment, you are branded a "rightwing extremist" by the Department of Homeland Security and become the subject of scrutiny by some 850,000 local and state law enforcement personnel. The assessment goes on to link concerns about the economy, and the stockpiling of emergency food supplies and weapons and ammunition to violent militias and extremist "rightwing" groups. In my state of California, the state government urges all citizens to keep emergency food supplies in case of earthquake. And who isn't concerned about the economy? Most disgusting of all, it targets veterans for increased law enforcement scrutiny. "Returning veterans possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to rightwing extremists. DHS/I&A is concerned that rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to boost their violent capabilities." …

http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=94799
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Another Look at British "Gun Control": …The Home Office was worried by the 1917 Russian Revolution: perhaps British "working class" soldiers would do the same thing and overthrow the British establishment when they came home at the end of WW1. In the eyes of the Home Office these men, who had been fighting and dying for their country, could not be trusted. The Home Office was much more concerned by the fact that, in fighting for their country, such men had become familiar with firearms, than the greater truth that they had also been prepared to die for their country – and had done so in vast numbers. Clearly guns should only be permitted in the hands of those "approved" by the State… (I have been under the impression that it was the earlier independence movement in Ireland that had prompted Britain's early 20th century restrictions on firearms. While there were several mutinies of working-class soldiers and sailors in WWI, I recall them as being among the French and the Russians.)

http://www.firearmscoalition.org/images/stories/british%20faith%20re%20gun%20control%2C%2011apr09.pdf
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Some Partisan Humor:
Do you have an Anti-gun Democratic friend who doesn't seem as 'joyous' as they were after the election of the "Great One"? Maybe they're worried about their 'security' at home with the increasing "residential crime" they've been reading about. Also, maybe they realize now that the police can't be everywhere to protect them within seconds. Well here's 'good news' for them, and those of us familiar with firearms. Smith & Wesson has just announced a new handgun designed just for the left-wing person who is un-familiar with and possibly afraid of handguns, yet wants to have adequate home protection…

http://www.federalobserver.com/2009/04/12/tell-your-friends-the-answer-is-here/
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04-15-09


From: Stephen P. Wenger http://www.spw-duf.info
comments in () by Stephen P. Wenger

================



Here It Comes: …The case highlights a major obstacle facing the United States as it tries to meet a demand from Mexico to curb the flow of arms from the states to drug cartels. The federal system for tracking gun sales, crafted over the years to avoid infringements on Second Amendment rights, makes it difficult to spot suspicious trends quickly and to identify people buying for smugglers, law enforcement officials say. As a result, in some states along the Southwest border where firearms are lightly regulated, gun smugglers can evade detection for months or years. In Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, dealers can sell an unlimited number of rifles to anyone with a driver's license and a clean criminal record without reporting the sales to the government. At gun shows in these states, there is even less regulation. Private sellers, unlike licensed dealers, are not obligated to record the buyer's name, much less report the sale to the A.T.F… Federal agents say about 90 percent of the 12,000 pistols and rifles the Mexican authorities recovered from drug dealers last year and asked to be traced came from dealers in the United States, most of them in Texas and Arizona…  (Clearly, a demand from Mexico outweighs our on Constitution.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/us/15guns.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all
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From Which American Gun Shop Was This Purchased?:
A woman was arrested guarding an arsenal that included an anti-aircraft machine gun - the first weapon of its kind seized in Mexico, police said Tuesday. The arsenal belonged to a group linked to the powerful Beltran Leyva drug cartel, federal police coordinator Gen. Rodolfo Cruz said. It also included ammunition, five rifles, a grenade and part of a grenade launcher. Mexican drug cartels, battling a fierce crackdown by soldiers and federal police, have increasingly gotten hold of higher-powered weapons, even military-grade arms such as grenades and machine guns. That has left police - particularly state and municipal forces - grossly outgunned, and many officers have quit following attacks. Cruz said the confiscated .50-caliber, anti-aircraft machine gun can fire 800 rounds per minute and is capable of penetrating armor from more than 5,000 feet. Police on a routine patrol Monday found the gun fitted atop an SUV at a house in northern Sonora state. Authorities did not release any other details about the gun, including its make, where it was manufactured, or where it was sold… The ATF says the grenades are mostly smuggled in through Central America, and have been traced back to the militaries of many countries, from South Korea to Spain and Israel. Some may be leftovers from the Central American civil wars…

ttp://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2009/04/15/news/world/20090415_world_194531.txt

Police in Mexico have seized an anti-aircraft machine gun in the state of Sonora, near the US border. They also found ammunition and other heavy weapons. A woman has been arrested. The seizure took place two days before US President Barack Obama is due to visit his Mexican counterpart, President Felipe Calderón. High on the agenda of the talks between the two will be the bloody drug war currently being waged, mainly with US weapons, by the Mexican drug cartels. Mr Calderón has made ending the drug war the spearhead of his term in office. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has promised him both financial and material aid to accomplish his goal. It is also in the interests of the US to curb the violence of the drug gangs as it often spills over the border into the United States.

http://www.radionetherlands.nl/news/international/6258148/Mexican-police-seize-antiaircraft-gun
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ABC Lies Exposed: "If I only had a gun," ABC's recent segment of "20/20," treated viewers to a biased and deeply flawed "study" promoting the opinion that armed citizens are incapable of stopping active killers in mass homicides. On Monday, "Myths of Armed Self-Defense" exposed "20/20's" fallacy of the omnipotent killer, noting that personality characteristics of such killers actually make them more, not less, vulnerable to armed defense. Today, we discuss the advice "20/20" gave viewers unfortunate enough to find themselves in active killer scenarios…

http://www.examiner.com/x-2698-Charlotte-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d15-Armed-selfdefense--The-Stopwatch-of-Death

New information has surfaced about the depth of bias that surfaced on ABC's 20/20 hit piece that aired Friday, April 10 with Diane Sawyer as the host. The National Shooting Sports Foundation revealed Monday that it had been "asked numerous times by 20/20 Senior Producer Muriel Pearson to participate in the story, but understanding the piece was a set-up, we refused." NSSF is a firearms industry umbrella group that offers education about firearms safety and programs including "Don't Lie for the Other Guy," aimed at helping the industry deter illegal straw purchases. Its biggest annual effort is the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, a huge exhibition of new products in the shooting, hunting and law enforcement fields…

http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d14-ABCs-antigun-bias-revealed-in-2020-antigun-hit-piece?cid=exrss-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner

Do you think it's a good idea to be armed during a mass shooting? Diane Sawyer and the producers of ABC's 20/20 aren't so sure. In fact, on Friday, April 10, 2009, Sawyer spent a full hour trying desperately to prove how dangerous guns are and how ordinary people can't possibly defend themselves with firearms. The show's snarky title: "If I Only Had A Gun." Slanted information filled the report, seemingly pulled from the press releases of the Brady Campaign, with not a single dissenting opinion. The most egregious slight of hand was a rigged experiment that struggled to show why having a gun would do you no good in a Virginia Tech style mass shooting… (I believe that's "sleight" of hand.)

http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6631
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The Beat Goes On: Gun sales in Rhode Island spiked during 2008 to their highest level in at least a decade as firearms purchases in the state mimicked a national trend. The surge continues in 2009 as gun sales in Rhode Island are on track to rise nearly 50 percent, to 13,000 firearms. Politics and economics are the prime causes, say gun dealers and others. "I'm hearing two things," said Pawtucket police Chief George L. Kelley III, president of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association. "The first is [people] are afraid the president may change some of the laws, and the second is the economy." Longtime gun owners agreed with Kelley. "A year ago I would have leaned toward [saying] people were reverting back to putting sustenance on the table," said Dennis Etchells, president of the Federated Rhode Island Sportsmen's Clubs, an association of about 20 hunting and fishing clubs in the state. "Now a lot of it has to do with the current presidential administration. The firearms industry exploded after the election; a lot of people fear their Second Amendment rights will be taken away." …

http://www.projo.com/news/content/BZ_GUN_SALES_UP_15_04-15-09_B9DTTJS_v122.28ed6df.html

Fred Calcagno has owned American Sportsman, a gun shop in East Rochester for 22 years. But since Barack Obama became president he's noticed a spike in business. "Since the election sales have been up because across the country, people are nervous that there are going to be more restrictions on fire arms." He estimates sales have jumped between 10 and 25% in the last six months. "There's a huge demand across the country and firearms, manufacturers are back-ordered so long that distributors cant get items to sell," says Fred Calcagno. News 8 has also discovered more people are carrying concealed weapons locally. In Monroe County, gun permits are up. From January to April of 2008, there were 511 applications. This year, that number is 634.  That's an increase of almost 20 percent…

http://rochesterhomepage.net/content/fulltext/?cid=84292
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Open-Carry Suit Filed in Wisconsin: Today civil rights attorney John Monroe filed a federal lawsuit against West Milwaukee and it's police force for gross abuses of power against a man solely because the man was legally carrying a holstered gun.  A copy of the lawsuit can be found here. The complaint alleges that police illegally detained, harassed, and arrested Jesus Gonzales without cause in violation of the federal constitution.  Further, the complaint alleges that police unlawfully demanded Gonzales' social security number in violation of Section 7 of the Federal Privacy Act, arguably a felony under the Social Security Act at 42 USC 408. Mr. Gonzales was never actually tried in court, but the complaint alleges that the police have refused to return the property confiscated from Mr. Gonzales.  OpenCarry.org's co-founder John Pierce, a law student at nearby Hamline University in Minneapolis, MN where open carry is also legal, says that "the police have no more power to confiscate openly carried handguns that they do to confiscate openly carried cell phones." In Wisconsin, like most states, citizens can openly carry handguns in public without any permit. Recently a Wisconsin judge ruled that mere open carry of holstered handguns is not "disorderly conduct" in Wisconsin…

http://www.examiner.com/x-2782-DC-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d14-Breaking-News-Federal-civil-rights-lawsuit-filed-against-West-Milwaukee?cid=exrss-DC-Gun-Rights-Examiner

The Complaint:

http://www.jpfo.org/pdf02/complaint.pdf
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Pennsylvania Governor Calls for More Infringements: Prodded by the shooting deaths of police officers in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Gov. Ed Rendell will ask lawmakers today to enact a series of measures to control gun violence. The Democratic governor will detail his proposal at a Harrisburg news conference. Previewing the measures in Pittsburgh yesterday, Mr. Rendell recalled the memorial service last week for the three Pittsburgh police officers gunned down in Stanton Heights. Noting that any number of legislators had attended similar events during years of increasing gun violence, he argued that those lawmakers could pay a more effective tribute to fallen officers by enacting common-sense gun control laws… Mr. Rendell has advocated gun control measures in Harrisburg in the past with little success. In particular, he has called for a limit of one gun purchase a month to curb the problem of straw dealers who legally purchase guns but then resell them on the black market… (As I recall, Poplawski bought all of his firearms through legal channels.)

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09105/962854-53.stm
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Maine Committee Rejects Gun-Show Infringement: A gun control bill supported by the father of one of the students killed at Columbine High School was rejected by a legislative committee Monday in favor of a voluntary measure. The Legislature's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted down a bill sponsored by Rep. Anna Blodgett, D-Augusta, that would have required unlicensed and private gun dealers to perform instant background checks at gun shows. "I think I did as much as anybody could do for that bill," Blodgett said. Last week, Tom Mauser - whose son, Daniel, was one of 15 people killed in 1999 at the Colorado high school - traveled to Maine to urge legislators to support the bill. Blodgett said that, despite weeks of hard work, the bill faced tough opposition from gun rights groups. "This is not against anybody except the people who shouldn't own the guns," she said. The committee rejected Blodgett's bill and two other gun-related bills…

http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/6200525.html
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Ohio Could Eliminate Permit Requirement: Representative John Adams (R-78) of Sidney, Ohio has introduced House Bill 129. The bill is identical to Adam's HB225 from 2007, and substantially similar to HB91 from 2005 and HB559 from 2004, the latter two having been sponsored by Representative Tom Brinkman. HB129 would repeal many of the onerous provisions of our current concealed carry law and allow law abiding citizens to carry concealed without a license. Alaska-style CCW is an exciting possibility for gun owners in Ohio. It shows Rep. Adams is in touch with the most conservative of the gun owner base/constituency. It is an important philosophical position. Vermont and Alaska already allow citizens to carry concealed handguns without a license, but all other states require a license (CHL) to carry a concealed handgun. Like Alaska, this bill would leave the license in place so that people who travel outside Ohio can have a license to take advantage of the many states that already honor Ohio's license…

http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6627
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Ohio County Backs Off from Gun Ban: Last week, the northeast Ohio county of Summit announced they were considering passing an ordinance to prohibit county workers from carrying firearms while working or doing county business, even while in personal vehicles. At the time, it was stated that the reason for the proposed ban was "liability purposes", according to Jason Dodson, chief of staff for County Executive Russ Pry. Councilwoman Gloria Rodgers, who has stated she is planning to obtain a concealed handgun license, immediately came out in opposition to the proposal, calling it unnecessary and reminding that "people have a right to protect themselves." Tom Morneweck, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1229 which covers county employees, stated that the Union has no opposition to employees being legally armed and questioned whether banning in personal vehicles would even be within the county's authority…

http://www.examiner.com/x-2206-Cleveland-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d14-Summit-County-backs-off-on-employee-gun-ban-proposal
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Alaska Congressman Supports RKBA: Rep. Don Young was packing heat at a public meeting, and the crowd fully supported it. Young addressed the Second Amendment Task Force, a gun rights group, Monday in Fairbanks. Young went straight to the meeting from the airport so he didn't have a gun with him. But he gladly strapped on a borrowed holster with a Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum in it. He said "this feels pretty good," and posed for pictures with group members. About two dozen people in the restaurant audience also had handguns holstered at their sides. Young is a strong supporter of gun rights and praised the group's goals. He said, "You can't have all the other parts of the Constitution unless you have the Second Amendment."

http://www.aksuperstation.com/news/local/42985712.html
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Colorado Congresswoman Opposes "AWB": Last month, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Obama administration intends to push for the reauthorization of the federal assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004. However, the administration is meeting resistance from many within its own party, including Colorado Congresswoman Betsy Markey. In the Fort Collins Coloradoan, Markey said: "I am a staunch supporter of Second Amendment rights. I believe it is a mistake to deny constitutional rights to all Americans because of the misdeeds of a few." A statement like Markey's fails to see compromise in the complexities of the gun control debate, and it thwarts common-sense efforts to keep the most dangerous weapons out of the hands of criminals and extremists…

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090414/OPINION04/904140326/1014/OPINION
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Oops, Wrong Terrier: A 26-year-old man shot three Pit Bulls who were allegedly attacking his dog, killing two, Thursday afternoon. The incident occurred around 12:30 p.m. in the 5100 block of Pritchard Drive. According to Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office spokesman John Fortunato, the man said that his girlfriend alerted him to the fact that their dog was being attacked by other dogs and he went into his rear yard and found three Pit Bulls mauling his pet. Fortunato said the suspect told officers that he tried to chase the dogs away, but when that didn't work, he shot his gun at them, killing two of the dogs and causing the other one to flee. The resident retrieved his injured Terrier and transported it to a local veterinarian for treatment. No charges were filed against the resident involved.

http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stories/wwl040909tppitbulls.bb86c906.html
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Unusual Seizure: Assault rifles, thousands of rounds of ammunition, electronics and a number of other stolen goods were seized Tuesday in connection with a crime syndicate that was busted last week, law enforcement officials said. Many of the guns were antiques and included hard-to-find firearms, such as a Tommy gun and a 30 caliber, belt fed, tripod mounted Browning machine gun worth between $20,000 and $30,000, officials estimate. The stolen goods were linked to Craig R. Erhorn, 23, who was arrested last week in connection with a number of violent home invasions, drug thefts and burglaries, Tucson police said…

http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/288749
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Interesting Body Armor:
Local media reported that the woman was travelling on the bus on Saturday in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia when it was held up by two armed men. The incident took place in Bahia's capital, Salvador, where 58-year-old Ivonete Pereira travelling to her summer home in the nearby town of Lauro de Freitas. Because of frequent bus attacks in the region, she hid 150 reals (£45) in 20 and 10-real notes coiled inside the left cup of her bra. When the bus passed through the Boca do Rio neighborhood, the robbers suddenly announced their intention. A shoot out ensued with a police officer on the scene and a stray bullet hit Miss Pereira. Her bra was stuffed with just enough cash to absorb most of the impact, although she still had to be taken to hospital to have the bullet removed. A retired police sergeant was shot dead during the clash with the assailants, who managed to escape.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/brazil/5152632/Bra-saves-womans-life-in-robbery-shooting.html
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You Just Might Be a Right-Wing Extremist…: What and who exactly are President Obama's homeland security officials afraid of these days? If you are a member of an active conservative group that opposes abortion, favors strict immigration enforcement, lobbies to protect Second Amendment rights, protests big government, advocates federalism or represents veterans who believe in any of the above, the answer is: You…

http://townhall.com/columnists/MichelleMalkin/2009/04/15/you_might_be_a_radicalized_right-wing_extremist_if%E2%80%A6?page=full
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/04/dhs_rightwing_extremism_and_in_1.html

04-05-09


From: Stephen P. Wenger http://www.spw-duf.info
comments in () by Stephen P. Wenger
================================
:


Mexican Drug Violence Versus the RKBA: As Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder visited Mexico on Thursday to discuss disarming Mexico's drug cartels, experts from both sides of the gun-control debate said the measures are missing the mark. "It's hard for me to take all this stuff seriously, considering how incredibly sporadic Mexico is about its own enforcement of its own border," said David Kopel, research director for the Independence Institute, a Colorado think tank that advocates for gun rights. The United States should pressure Mexico to stop complaining about border fences; crack down on corrupt Mexican cops who sell their weapons; and stop tolerating migrant smugglers, Kopel and other gun-rights advocates say… Mexico also needs to crack down on Mexican police and military deserters who take their weapons with them, said Chris Cox, chief lobbyist for the National Rifle Association. Rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank weapons and fully automatic assault rifles are hard to obtain in the United States and are likely coming from somewhere else, he said. "These are things that are either coming from the Mexican government - the military or police deserters who have gone to work for the cartels - or from Central or South America," Cox said.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/04/03/20090403mexicoguns0403.html

While it is frequently reported that 90 percent of the guns used in drug-cartel violence in Mexico come from the United States, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told CNSNews.com that the number is defined in a very strict way, referring only to gun information relayed by Mexican authorities to the ATF. An ATF spokesperson explained to CNSNews.com that the bureau does not actually count, acquire, inspect, or warehouse the weapons confiscated in Mexico; and it does not know for sure how many guns in total have been confiscated by Mexican authorities, or how many confiscated guns may not have serial numbers. Also, the ATF spokesperson said there are warehouses in Mexico full of confiscated guns, the serial numbers for which may or may not have been sent to the bureau…

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=46080
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Campus Carry Still Pending in Texas: Holders of concealed handgun licenses could bring their weapons to college campuses if Rio Grande Valley lawmakers have their way. A proposal working its way through the state Legislature would lift a ban on handguns on campuses of both private and public institutions. Proponents of the bill view it as a way to preserve gun owners' rights while promoting safety on campus, arguing that if students or staff on campus had weapons, they would have a better chance defending themselves against a Virginia Tech-style shooting. Rep. Kino Flores, D-Palmview, one of the bill's co-authors, said he views the measure as a "defensive mechanism" at universities…

http://www.themonitor.com/articles/campus_25043___article.html/way_shooting.html
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Lance Thomas Speaks: Those who have read The Deadliest Men will likely agree that the chapter on Lance Thomas is the best, probably because it was the only one based on actual interviews. While that chapter is much more comprehensive, this Discovery Channel segment is worth watching. Notice the diversity of handguns he purchased, not a choice I would recommend. Placing multiple guns on the limited-access countertop seems to have worked for Lance but I would want to have at least one holstered handgun on my person, which would have been legal in California, at one's own place of business, even without a CWP. I am still amazed that the knuckleheads kept hitting the store, even though it was common knowledge that other robbers had died there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkWgp2abM2w
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Some Thoughts on Trigger Control: More attention should be given to one of the most fundamental shooting skills - trigger control. I've come to realize that trigger control is not well understood. In an article on a gun forum, for example, the author stated that trigger control was not at all important. According to the author, police gunfights occur at such close ranges that worrying about trigger control is unnecessary. My thoughts: If you don't properly control the trigger, the muzzle will go off target and you will miss… (In my analysis, the most important contribution of resetting the trigger or "catching the link," as John Farnam calls it, is that it ensures that the trigger finger does not fly off the trigger and sympathetically relax the grip on the gun at the moment that the gun fires. This is particularly crucial with an autoloading pistol, which may fail to cycle if this occurs. In my observation, this is much more crucial than whether the wrist is "locked" or loose.)

http://www.lawofficer.com/news-and-articles/articles/lom/0503/firearms_trigger_control.html
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Tangentially Related: A pair of bills introduced in the U.S. Senate would grant the White House sweeping new powers to access private online data, regulate the cybersecurity industry and even shut down Internet traffic during a declared "cyber emergency." Senate bills No. 773 and 778, introduced by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V., are both part of what's being called the Cybersecurity Act of 2009, which would create a new Office of the National Cybersecurity Advisor, reportable directly to the president and charged with defending the country from cyber attack. A working draft of the legislation obtained by an Internet privacy group also spells out plans to grant the Secretary of Commerce access to all privately owned information networks deemed to be critical to the nation's infrastructure "without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule or policy restricting such access." …

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=93966
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04-12-09




From: Stephen P. Wenger http://www.spw-duf.info
comments in () by Stephen P. Wenger
===========================================


Recent Shootings Produce No New Infringements, Yet: Fatal shootings in Binghamton, N.Y., and Pittsburgh prompted renewed calls for stricter gun control from traditional advocates such as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. But such calls haven't echoed in the halls of Congress or in statehouses across the country… In the late 1980s and 1990s, gun-control debates were a staple of political discourse. But in more recent years, the national Democratic Party - intent on expanding the party's natural constituency - has essentially abandoned efforts to impose new restrictions on gun ownership. "On the national level, the issue is considered toxic by Democrats," said Ross Baker, an expert on Congress at Rutgers University. "I think part of it has to do with (the Democrats') remarkable success in capturing seats previously held by Republicans. Many of these new Democrats ran on platforms of not tampering with Second Amendment rights, and they don't want to pull the rug out from under them." …

http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/42415
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Virginia Senate Fails to Override Veto: The Senate has upheld Gov. Tim Kaine's veto of a bill that would have allowed those with concealed carry permits to take handguns into restaurants as long as they don't drink alcohol. The Senate came up three votes shy of the two-thirds majority needed to override Kaine's veto Wednesday. It was the second year the body upheld Kaine's objection to the bill on the grounds that it puts the public at risk. Retired law enforcement officers likely will be allowed to carry concealed guns into bars. The Senate voted 30-10 to override Kaine's veto of that bill. The House had not taken up the issue. Currently, guns can be taken into restaurants as long as they are out in the open. (Yet the headline for this story refers to "guns in bars," which have always been legal in Virginia.)

http://www.news8.net/news/stories/0409/611600.html
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Meanwhile, in Tennessee…: The House on Monday passed a bill to allow people with handgun carry permits to bring their weapons into establishments that serve alcohol. The chamber voted 70-26 in favor of the bill sponsored by Rep. Curry Todd, a Collierville Republican and a retired police officer. "It's a matter of public safety," Todd said after the vote. "It's a matter of them protecting themselves, which they have a right to do. "And to make them leave their guns in the car is just asinine," he said. Todd said his proposal is supported by the National Rifle Association…

http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009904070308
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Grand Canyon Gun Bust: A convicted felon from Yavapai County was arrested in Grand Canyon National Park on charges he illegally possessed three firearms. According to information from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Flagstaff, a Park Ranger stopped the driver of a Dodge pickup truck for speeding in a school zone in the park on April 6. During the stop, Rangers found a .45-caliber pistol, a 30-30 rifle and a .22 caliber rifle in the truck. The passenger of the truck, a man convicted for a felony DUI, admitted the guns were his and that he was prohibited from possessing firearms because he is a convicted felon. Donald A. Smith, age not listed, was charged with three counts of illegally possessing a firearm. (It sounds as though the key issue here was of being a prohibited possessor, not of violating the NPS gun ban. It's hard to say what triggered the search of the vehicle.)

http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2009/04/11/news/local/20090411_local_194337.txt
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Weapon-Mounted Lights: A list member in the holster business comments:
I get many requests for us to build holsters for guns with lights attached. We make special versions of our Silent Thunder leather-lined holsters for some gun/light combinations but usually for LEO's or military use… Here's a tactical flashlight that has caught my attention. This may be a better choice than mounting a light on the accessory rails of your prized pistol for home defense. One advantage is that you can illuminate the scene without pointing a loaded firearm at someone who may not be a threat… (If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. If the only light you carry is wedded to a firearm, you must either search with the muzzle [Rule Two violation] or find a light-colored surface off which to reflect the beam. Weapon-mounted lights are adjuncts to, not substitutes for lights that can be operated independently of the firearm.)
http://www.tuckergunleatherblog.com/
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Law Enforcement Must Adjust to Open Carry: You are tooling down Main Street and see the...gentleman...pumping gas into his chopped Harley at the Stop and Rob. Wearing a full beard and hair down to his shoulders, dirty denim jeans, square-toe boots, a denim vest with some design across the back, and a holstered Glock 21 on his right hip. As you pull in and approach him, he nonchalantly continues to pump gas. As he finishes and puts the nozzle away, you tell him to keep his hands out, and that you are going to remove his pistol. He complies, even as a back-up arrives. Politely, he provides his identification, registration, and insurance card. As you prepare to hook him up, he looks at you, and says "I am allowed to carry openly. It's the law." Nonetheless, you hook him up and deliver him to lockup. A month later you are notified by the prosecutor that they have dropped all charges because his attorney pointed out eloquently that your state, to your and his bewilderment, permits open carry of firearms. Oh, and Billy the Biker will see you in federal court for his civil rights violation… (I believe that Larry Smith and his fellow DPS officers are fortunate that they were not sued for running serial numbers through NCIC without probably cause. His comments surprise me as I believe that his experience largely predates licensed CCW in Arizona. While I can't say that open carry is common these days, I have never seen anyone attract undue attention or be harassed for it. At least one student of mine told me that he preferred to carry openly while riding his motorcycle as it dissuades "aggressive driving" directed at motorcyclists by others in automobiles.)

http://www.lawofficer.com/news-and-articles/columns/Laska/carry_on.html
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NRA-ILA Alerts: List members are encouraged to read the alerts for the week, posted on the NRA-ILA website.

http://www.nraila.org/GrassrootsAlerts/read.aspx
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Free NRA Membership: To take a stand for the defense of firearms freedoms and accept this offer of a one-year NRA trial membership, please enter your information below… (In the event that you are not an NRA member and may be reluctant to give scarce funds to that organization, taking advantage of this free offer will at least increase the membership ranks, a factor that gives the NRA a bit more clout in the political arena.)

https://www.nrahq.org/nrabonus/accept-membership.asp
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Tangentially Related: In wide-ranging remarks here, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg defended the use of foreign law by American judges, suggested that torture should not be used even when it might yield important information and reflected on her role as the Supreme Court's only female justice. The occasion was a symposium at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University honoring her 15 years on the court. "I frankly don't understand all the brouhaha lately from Congress and even from some of my colleagues about referring to foreign law," Justice Ginsburg said in her comments on Friday. The court's more conservative members - Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas - oppose the citation of foreign law in constitutional cases… (For at least two centuries, our Constitution was regarded as unique. Among other things, it includes protections, such as the RKBA, which don't exist in most other countries.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/us/12ginsburg.html?_r=1&ref=world
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04-08-09


From: Stephen P. Wenger http://www.spw-duf.info
comments in () by Stephen P. Wenger
===========================================



Pelosi Reveals Plans for New "AWB": The ball is in Congress's court to craft a compromise in reinstating regulations on assault weapons, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) acknowledged Tuesday. During an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America," Pelosi said that the Congress will work to find some middle ground between the previous ban, which expired in 2004, and the precedent laid by the Supreme Court in a ruling enumerating more concrete gunowners' rights last term… Pelosi indicated that new regulations might entail registration and prohibitions on transporting some firearms across state lines. The Speaker also expressed displeasure at the attachment of a gun rights provision to legislation that would grant Washington, D.C. a voting member of Congress…

http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2009/04/07/pelosi-pledges-compromise-on-assault-weapons-ban/
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"Gun Control" Restricts Those Least Likely to Commit Violent Crimes: The March 21 murder of four Oakland police officers by Lovelle Mixon, a convicted felon wanted for a recent parole violation, epitomizes the futility of "gun control," or the banning and restricting of gun ownership for law-abiding adults. Using the officers' tragic deaths to further an unrelated agenda - stripping away the Second Amendment rights of honorable citizens - is both harmful and distracting. Mixon was not an anomaly. Felons commit over 90 percent of murders, with the remainder carried out primarily by juveniles and the mentally unbalanced. The United States already has laws forbidding all three groups from owning guns, which, by definition, are ineffective against the lawless. "Gun control," therefore, only "controls" those who have done nothing to merit such regulations…

http://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/Gun-control-restricts-those-least-likely-to-commit-violent-crimes--42507652.html
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The Logic of Gun Bans: The press has sensationalized recent sprees of mass shootings across the nation. From Jiverly Wong's murder of 13 (plus killing himself) in a Binghamton, New York, language center to the shooting of three police officers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the murder of eight by another gunman in a Carthage, North Carolina, nursing home just weeks earlier, the incidents are all over the press… The logic of the gun-grabbers is that if they can take guns away from the law-abiding people then criminals will readily surrender their weapons, and shootings would all but disappear. But areas with gun control have the highest rates of crime and violence, including gun violence… Meanwhile, nobody's saying that police can save people from mad shooters. At the Binghamton shooting spree, police took more than 40 minutes to respond after the first 911 call was placed. "Nobody could have been saved if the police walked in the door that first minute," Broome County District Attorney Gerald Mollen told reporters at a press conference, excusing the extended police delay in response…

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/election/970
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Not True: They had more in common than unleashing carnage - nearly every gunman in this monthlong series of mass killings was legally entitled to fire his weapons. So what does that say about the state of gun control laws in this country? One thing appears certain: the regulations aren't getting stricter. Many recent efforts to change weapons laws have been about easing them. Despite eight rampages that have claimed 57 lives since March 10, "it hasn't sparked any national goal to deal with this epidemic. In fact, it's going the other way," said Scott Vogel of the Freedom States Alliance, a gun control activist group… (No, legal ownership of firearms and even legal concealed carry of them does not make it legal to fire them at others without justification.)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30094954

Tangentially Related: Federal agents yesterday sought records from a Wilkinsburg gun dealership where Richard Poplawski, the accused killer of three Pittsburgh police officers, is believed to have purchased guns… "Every gun purchase he ever made was legal," Mr. Perkovic said. "How did he pass all those background checks? Who let him have these guns if technically, legally he wasn't allowed?" …Two aspects of Mr. Poplawski's past - his discharge from the Marine Corps in 2005 and a protection-from-abuse order obtained by his girlfriend the same year - would not necessarily preclude him for buying or possessing guns. Mr. Poplawski's mother told police he was kicked out of the Marines during basic training for assaulting a drill sergeant. Citing privacy laws, the Marine Corps refused to divulge whether Mr. Poplawski was given a dishonorable discharge, a severe penalty that would have made it illegal for him to buy or own guns or ammunition, or a less-severe type of discharge that did not carry such a prohibition… (There has been some internet discussion alleging that Poplawski was a prohibited possessor due to his USMC discharge, which appears to have been an administrative one.)

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09097/961071-53.stm
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Out of Both Sides of Their Mouths: In a recent editorial entitled "Gun Lobby Working Overtime to Normalize Abnormal Behavior," the Joyce Foundation's anti-gun blog "GunGuys" asked if readers would be willing to "sip hot chocolate with your toddler at Starbucks while a fellow patron openly displays a gun at the table next to you?" But before they chide gun rights activists for advocating the practice of open carry, they might want to consider some of the comments made by their fellow gun ban extremists in Ohio during the battle to establish a concealed carry law in the Buckeye state. Before Ohio's concealed handgun licensure law was established in 2004, citizens had suffered under a ban on the carrying of concealed firearms for more than a century. Despite the enumeration of a right to bear arms for self-defense in the state constitution, Ohioans were told that the archaic ban was not unconstitutional, because the practice of open carry was still legal…

http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6598
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California Prosecutors Disagree over Open Carry: …Last December the Los Angeles District Attorney issued an erroneous legal opinion stating that police officers could detain persons openly carrying guns in order to run serial numbers of guns, and further, could demand identification from the gun carriers to run background checks.  OpenCarry.org contacted the LA DA and pointed out their mistakes with citations to pertinent California and federal authorities. But the LA DA stood his ground. And now comes San Diego Assistant District Attorney  at saying that "Los Angeles DDA Desallis Rutledge" was mistaken is opining that police officers had the power to detain open carriers to check gun serial numbers or demand IDs from gun carriers to run background checks… (Note that the open carry referred to in California pertains to unloaded handguns. California bans the permitless carry of loaded firearms in "public places.")

http://www.examiner.com/x-2782-DC-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d6-San-Diego-District-Attorney-says-LA-DAs-memo-on-open-carry-is-wrong?cid=exrss-DC-Gun-Rights-Examiner
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Montana Passes "Firearm Sovereignty" Bill: In the wake of the easy passage through the Montana legislature of Montana House Bill 246, Governor Brian Schweitzer's signature is all that is needed to set up a potentially explosive battle between state sovereignty on the one hand, and smothering, centralized federal power on the other… Whether or not Governor Schweitzer will sign the bill is open to question.  Although considered a reliably "pro-gun" Democrat, I cannot help but raise an eyebrow over his enthusiastic support of Obama's candicacy, and defense of Obama's position on private gun ownership… Whatever the outcome, the people of Montana should soon gain some insight into whether their governor's true loyalty lies with them and the Constitution, or with his party and president.

http://www.examiner.com/x-2581-St-Louis-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d7-Gun-fight-with-the-feds-in-Big-Sky-Country?cid=exrss-St-Louis-Gun-Rights-Examiner
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Arkansas House Committee Kills RKBA Resolution: A resolution asking President Obama not to renew the 1994 federal ban on assault weapons narrowly failed in a House committee Tuesday. In a 10-7 vote, with 11 votes needed to advance, the House Judiciary Committee rejected House Resolution 1032 by Rep. John Woods, R-Springdale. Woods and Rep. Eddie Cooper, D-Melbourne, who spoke for the measure, said later they would probably bring the back to the panel Wednesday for reconsideration. Woods told the committee U.S. Reps. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, and Marion Berry, D-Gillett, along with 65 other congressmen recently sent a letter to the president asking that the assault weapons ban not be reinstated because there was no statistical evidence to show that crime had been reduced…

http://arkansasnews.com/2009/04/07/resolution-opposing-assault-weapons-ban-fails/
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Maryland Governor Objects to DC Gun Rule: As D.C. officials fret over the public safety implications of a congressional push to limit gun control in the city, the administration of Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) has voiced its own objections, arguing that the legislation would put a costly burden on the state's system for regulating firearms. In Virginia, however, a spokesman for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) expressed no immediate alarm over the measure, saying Kaine and the Virginia State Police want to study the proposal before offering an opinion. At issue for the District's neighbors is a key provision in a much-debated amendment to the D.C. voting-rights bill on Capitol Hill. Besides stripping the District of much of its power to regulate guns, the amendment would create an exception in federal law for D.C. residents, allowing them to buy handguns in Maryland and Virginia… (It sounds as though Maryland has created the problem by requiring a much more extensive check than NICS.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/07/AR2009040703853.html?hpid=sec-metro

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