From: Stephen P. Wenger http://www.spw-duf.info
comments in () by Stephen P. Wenger
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Not from Gun Shows?: …Here on the border, which has given rise to some of the country's most contentious debates, Ms. Napolitano has essentially turned previous policies upside-down, warning Americans that what leaves the country is as much a risk to their security as what comes in. …Here in Laredo, Ms. Napolitano learned that the heightened border security might already be yielding results. A few hours before her arrival, the authorities conducting southbound inspections stopped an American couple and a 5-year-old child in a car carrying 10 grenades, nearly $122,000 in cash, a barrel for a sniper rifle and a cache of high-caliber ammunition, officials said. The man told the authorities that he was a former Marine and that he had obtained the weapons from a military friend linked to drug smugglers in Michigan, officials said…
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/us/06napolitano.html?ref=washington
Meanwhile, on a Larger Scale…: The Department of State has weighed in officially on whether the sale of military weapons to Mexico through U.S. private-sector arms exporters might be a source of the high-caliber firearms now being employed by drug trafficking organizations in the bloody drug war south of the border. The response is not very reassuring. The U.S. State Department oversees a program that requires private companies in the United States to obtain an export license in order to sell defense hardware or services to foreign purchasers — which include both government units and private buyers in other countries. These arms deals are known as Direct Commercial Sales [DCS]. According to an analysis of the DCS reports, some $1 billion in defense hardware was approved for export to Mexico via private U.S. companies between fiscal year 2004 and fiscal year 2007 - the most recent year for which data was available…
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/bill-conroy/2009/04/private-sector-arms-sales-mexico-sparsely-monitored-state-department
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The Beat Goes On: President Barack Obama is the best thing to happen to American gun and ammunition manufacturers since they invented the Defense Department. Convinced that Obama is going to seek drastic limitations on gun ownership and huge taxes on ammunition, people who view the world through Second Amendment glasses are cleaning out handgun ammunition from the shelves of outdoors stores across America and buying handguns and even some rifles like they're going out of style. At Jay's Sporting Goods in Clare [MI], salesman Tim McCall said the store had been largely cleaned out of 9mm pistol ammunition and was experiencing massive sales of .40 and .45 caliber ammo. "Anything for personal protection is selling like crazy," he said. "They're also buying a lot of .223 and 7.6x39 Russian." The latter are common calibers among the so-called "black guns," semiautomatic versions of U.S. and Russian military guns that have a Rambo look but in truth are no more deadly than traditional semiautomatic hunting rifles… (Lethality is a function of the cartridge, not the platform that launches it. "Traditional semiautomatic hunting rifles," at least for big game, usually fire more powerful cartridges than these.)
http://www.freep.com/article/20090405/SPORTS10/904050523/1217/SPORTS/Gun+sellers+see+boost+with+Obama+in+office
Panic buying of ammunition has created shortages for bullets and is slowly pushing up wholesale prices for ammo, according to New Hampshire gun dealers. Some of the shortages have been so severe that it's been tough for dealers to secure certain types of ammunition. The dealers report that ammunition makers are producing as many bullets as they can - but that hasn't yet translated to having plenty of stock in stores. It's also caused wholesale prices to go up a bit, even though the cost of the raw materials going into the bullets has dropped sharply over the past few months. The root cause of the problem is based on the same panic buying that has sent firearms sales skyrocketing over the past few months. When it comes to ammunition sales, the gun dealers describe a situation that could come straight out an economics textbook… (Bullets are merely projectiles. While they are purchased by those who reload their own ammunition, the most severe shortages are of complete cartridges.)
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Panic+buying+yields+ammo+shortage&articleId=f6a307ed-8c8f-40b5-b8f5-fe21b1df492d
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Could Big Brother Ban CCW?: In the wake of Barack Obama's election, the gun community has fallen prey to a variety of fears, some of which seem to me to be little less than preposterously paranoid. One fantastic fear is that Obama will try somehow to repeal the concealed-carry revolution by enacting some sort of national CCW ban. This has inspired me to write a brief history of concealed-carry, within which I shall consider the likelihood of a national concealed-carry ban… There are only two ways the federal government could reverse the concealed-carry tide. Congress - not Obama - could enact a federal law conditioning receipt of some kind of federal funds on every state having a concealed-carry ban with no permit exception… The other way to reverse gains in concealed carry would be for Congress - not Obama - to enact a federal ban. Obama cannot do either except by an act of Congress. And Congress is very unlikely to do either. Congress has more than 190 Republicans, most of whom would vote against either, plus well over 100 Democrats who are at least nominally pro-gun… (Attorney Don Kates, formerly a very prominent spokesman for the RKBA, is probably the best representative of the left wing of the RKBA movement.)
http://www.handgunsmag.com/HG_deathofCCW_200905/
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Democrats and Montana RKBA Bill: …Then the full Senate passed the amended bill, without "Alaska carry" and without other controversial clauses. But because the bill had amendments, it went back to the House for reconsideration, and on April 3, the House voted overwhelmingly (73-27) to reject the Senate amendments. Thus, in that second round in the House, 23 Democrats voted to keep the original House-passed bill intact, including the "Alaska carry" clause. Their reasons were likely complicated, because there were so many Senate amendments. Note: In that round, Bozeman's Phillips voted in the minority for accepting the Senate amendments (meaning, no "Alaska carry"). Next up, maybe Monday or Tuesday, the bill goes to a conference committee that will consist of four House members and three Senate members. Republicans will have a 4-3 majority in that committee. They'll try to hammer out a version of the bill that both chambers will pass. If both pass it, it'll go to the ace Democratic shotgunner, Gov. Schweitzer. If a bill on the governor's desk has the "Alaska carry" clause, he would be on the spot - either sign a law that lets people carry guns concealed by their clothing inside city limits WITHOUT A PERMIT, or veto it, thereby taking a stand AGAINST GUNS… ("Alaska carry" means that no permit is required for CCW but permits remain available for those who need recognition from other states when they travel.)
http://www.hcn.org/blogs/ray/nations-boldest-gun-rights-bill-creates-problems
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Montana Could Challenge Feds on Firearm Regulation: Montana-made guns could spark a court showdown over states' rights if the governor signs a bill to release some firearms from federal regulation. House Bill 246, sponsored by Republican Rep. Joel Boniek of Livingston, seeks to exempt guns made and kept in Montana from federal background checks and dealership licensing. It also applies to ammunition and weapons components. The measure passed the Legislature easily, and now awaits action by Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer. The governor has not taken a position on the bill, which its supporters hope will trigger a legal battle to affirm states' rights. They say it is less about firearms, than testing the Constitutional basis for federal control over the states.
http://www.kulr8.com/news/state/42502582.html
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Illinois Counties Offer CCW Referendums: Two more Southern Illinois counties have included concealed carry advisory referendums on their ballots this Tuesday that proponents say will help convince state lawmakers that laws need to be passed to allow for it… Two Southern Illinois counties - Johnson and Pope - have included the yes-no question on their ballots which asks voters if the state Legislature should enact legislation enabling trained and licensed citizens to carry firearms for self-defense and other lawful uses. Four Southern Illinois counties - Crawford, Franklin, Saline and Union - included the question on their ballots in November and joined six other counties in seeing the referendum approved. Six jurisdictions said no…
http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2009/04/05/front_page/28842268.txt
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Wisconsin Court Candidates Clash over RKBA: The state Supreme Court campaign is ending with a fight over a new issue: Who is the better friend of Wisconsin gun owners? Challenger Randy Koschnick, a Jefferson County circuit judge, told Carroll University Republicans last week that a 2003 dissenting opinion written by Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson showed a "hostility to gun owners" and their constitutional rights. Responding later, Abrahamson said: "Nothing in my record is hostile to gun owners. Nothing in my record is hostile to any group, any individual, any entity… Abrahamson and Koschnick compete in Tuesday's nonpartisan election for a 10-year term. She was appointed in 1976 and has been chief justice since 1996. He has been a circuit judge for 10 years. The latest dispute centers on a conviction for carrying a concealed weapon that the Supreme Court overturned. The charge was filed after Milwaukee police found Munir A. Hamdan, the owner of a grocery and liquor store who had been robbed several times, carrying a handgun in the store in 1999…
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/42481127.html
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Homeowner Arrested for Shooting Auto Burglar: A Greece [NY] man accused of fatally shooting an unarmed teenager who may have been breaking into neighborhood cars has been charged with second-degree murder. Roderick A. Scott, 41, of Baneberry Way was arraigned on the charge this afternoon in Greece Town Court. He pleaded not guilty to the charge. Greece police accuse Scott of acting with a "depraved indifference" to life, according to Lt. Stephen Wise… Earlier in the morning, Greece Police Chief Merritt Rahn told media members near the scene that a man who lived on Baneberry Way heard noises outside his house and had confronted three males in the street whom the man believed were breaking into a neighbor's vehicle or house. Rahn said that the man told officers that during the confrontation, one of the three males charged at him, and he responded by firing a handgun in his possession twice, striking one of the males.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090404/NEWS01/90404001&referrer=NEWSFRONTCAROUSEL
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S&W Touts 50,000-Round Test: Smith & Wesson Corp., announced that after eight months of endurance testing conducted by Professional Instructor Todd Louis Green at pistol-training.com, the full-size M&P9 pistol successfully recorded 50,000 rounds. Throughout the testing, the M&P9 was used by more than 50 people and received only limited maintenance during the evaluation process… During the testing process, which has been documented by Green on the pistol-training.com website, the M&P received limited maintenance during the testing period. In his commentary, Green writes that it was not uncommon for the pistol to go over 5,000 rounds between cleanings. Accuracy tests were conducted at predetermined intervals and involved a 5-shot group at 25 yards from a seated position on a bench. Initial groups at the beginning of the testing measured an average of 1.46 inches and at the conclusion of the endurance testing had only opened up by ¼ of an inch. Over the course of 50,000 rounds, the M&P9 recorded only two stoppages, both attributed to improper maintenance during the stringent testing as well as two minor part breakages… (This is reminiscent of a decades-old test conducted on a S&W M-39. That test was based on concerns about the durability of the aluminum-alloy frame. I have never seen similar concerns expressed about polymer frames. I have, however, heard concerns about the durability of S&W's 9mm and .40 S&W Sigma pistols, which I assumed were based on other components.)
http://www.ammoland.com/2009/03/31/smith-wesson-mp-pistol-fifty-thousand-rounds/
---
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/us/06napolitano.html?ref=washington
Meanwhile, on a Larger Scale…: The Department of State has weighed in officially on whether the sale of military weapons to Mexico through U.S. private-sector arms exporters might be a source of the high-caliber firearms now being employed by drug trafficking organizations in the bloody drug war south of the border. The response is not very reassuring. The U.S. State Department oversees a program that requires private companies in the United States to obtain an export license in order to sell defense hardware or services to foreign purchasers — which include both government units and private buyers in other countries. These arms deals are known as Direct Commercial Sales [DCS]. According to an analysis of the DCS reports, some $1 billion in defense hardware was approved for export to Mexico via private U.S. companies between fiscal year 2004 and fiscal year 2007 - the most recent year for which data was available…
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/bill-conroy/2009/04/private-sector-arms-sales-mexico-sparsely-monitored-state-department
---
The Beat Goes On: President Barack Obama is the best thing to happen to American gun and ammunition manufacturers since they invented the Defense Department. Convinced that Obama is going to seek drastic limitations on gun ownership and huge taxes on ammunition, people who view the world through Second Amendment glasses are cleaning out handgun ammunition from the shelves of outdoors stores across America and buying handguns and even some rifles like they're going out of style. At Jay's Sporting Goods in Clare [MI], salesman Tim McCall said the store had been largely cleaned out of 9mm pistol ammunition and was experiencing massive sales of .40 and .45 caliber ammo. "Anything for personal protection is selling like crazy," he said. "They're also buying a lot of .223 and 7.6x39 Russian." The latter are common calibers among the so-called "black guns," semiautomatic versions of U.S. and Russian military guns that have a Rambo look but in truth are no more deadly than traditional semiautomatic hunting rifles… (Lethality is a function of the cartridge, not the platform that launches it. "Traditional semiautomatic hunting rifles," at least for big game, usually fire more powerful cartridges than these.)
http://www.freep.com/article/20090405/SPORTS10/904050523/1217/SPORTS/Gun+sellers+see+boost+with+Obama+in+office
Panic buying of ammunition has created shortages for bullets and is slowly pushing up wholesale prices for ammo, according to New Hampshire gun dealers. Some of the shortages have been so severe that it's been tough for dealers to secure certain types of ammunition. The dealers report that ammunition makers are producing as many bullets as they can - but that hasn't yet translated to having plenty of stock in stores. It's also caused wholesale prices to go up a bit, even though the cost of the raw materials going into the bullets has dropped sharply over the past few months. The root cause of the problem is based on the same panic buying that has sent firearms sales skyrocketing over the past few months. When it comes to ammunition sales, the gun dealers describe a situation that could come straight out an economics textbook… (Bullets are merely projectiles. While they are purchased by those who reload their own ammunition, the most severe shortages are of complete cartridges.)
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Panic+buying+yields+ammo+shortage&articleId=f6a307ed-8c8f-40b5-b8f5-fe21b1df492d
---
Could Big Brother Ban CCW?: In the wake of Barack Obama's election, the gun community has fallen prey to a variety of fears, some of which seem to me to be little less than preposterously paranoid. One fantastic fear is that Obama will try somehow to repeal the concealed-carry revolution by enacting some sort of national CCW ban. This has inspired me to write a brief history of concealed-carry, within which I shall consider the likelihood of a national concealed-carry ban… There are only two ways the federal government could reverse the concealed-carry tide. Congress - not Obama - could enact a federal law conditioning receipt of some kind of federal funds on every state having a concealed-carry ban with no permit exception… The other way to reverse gains in concealed carry would be for Congress - not Obama - to enact a federal ban. Obama cannot do either except by an act of Congress. And Congress is very unlikely to do either. Congress has more than 190 Republicans, most of whom would vote against either, plus well over 100 Democrats who are at least nominally pro-gun… (Attorney Don Kates, formerly a very prominent spokesman for the RKBA, is probably the best representative of the left wing of the RKBA movement.)
http://www.handgunsmag.com/HG_deathofCCW_200905/
---
Democrats and Montana RKBA Bill: …Then the full Senate passed the amended bill, without "Alaska carry" and without other controversial clauses. But because the bill had amendments, it went back to the House for reconsideration, and on April 3, the House voted overwhelmingly (73-27) to reject the Senate amendments. Thus, in that second round in the House, 23 Democrats voted to keep the original House-passed bill intact, including the "Alaska carry" clause. Their reasons were likely complicated, because there were so many Senate amendments. Note: In that round, Bozeman's Phillips voted in the minority for accepting the Senate amendments (meaning, no "Alaska carry"). Next up, maybe Monday or Tuesday, the bill goes to a conference committee that will consist of four House members and three Senate members. Republicans will have a 4-3 majority in that committee. They'll try to hammer out a version of the bill that both chambers will pass. If both pass it, it'll go to the ace Democratic shotgunner, Gov. Schweitzer. If a bill on the governor's desk has the "Alaska carry" clause, he would be on the spot - either sign a law that lets people carry guns concealed by their clothing inside city limits WITHOUT A PERMIT, or veto it, thereby taking a stand AGAINST GUNS… ("Alaska carry" means that no permit is required for CCW but permits remain available for those who need recognition from other states when they travel.)
http://www.hcn.org/blogs/ray/nations-boldest-gun-rights-bill-creates-problems
---
Montana Could Challenge Feds on Firearm Regulation: Montana-made guns could spark a court showdown over states' rights if the governor signs a bill to release some firearms from federal regulation. House Bill 246, sponsored by Republican Rep. Joel Boniek of Livingston, seeks to exempt guns made and kept in Montana from federal background checks and dealership licensing. It also applies to ammunition and weapons components. The measure passed the Legislature easily, and now awaits action by Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer. The governor has not taken a position on the bill, which its supporters hope will trigger a legal battle to affirm states' rights. They say it is less about firearms, than testing the Constitutional basis for federal control over the states.
http://www.kulr8.com/news/state/42502582.html
---
Illinois Counties Offer CCW Referendums: Two more Southern Illinois counties have included concealed carry advisory referendums on their ballots this Tuesday that proponents say will help convince state lawmakers that laws need to be passed to allow for it… Two Southern Illinois counties - Johnson and Pope - have included the yes-no question on their ballots which asks voters if the state Legislature should enact legislation enabling trained and licensed citizens to carry firearms for self-defense and other lawful uses. Four Southern Illinois counties - Crawford, Franklin, Saline and Union - included the question on their ballots in November and joined six other counties in seeing the referendum approved. Six jurisdictions said no…
http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2009/04/05/front_page/28842268.txt
---
Wisconsin Court Candidates Clash over RKBA: The state Supreme Court campaign is ending with a fight over a new issue: Who is the better friend of Wisconsin gun owners? Challenger Randy Koschnick, a Jefferson County circuit judge, told Carroll University Republicans last week that a 2003 dissenting opinion written by Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson showed a "hostility to gun owners" and their constitutional rights. Responding later, Abrahamson said: "Nothing in my record is hostile to gun owners. Nothing in my record is hostile to any group, any individual, any entity… Abrahamson and Koschnick compete in Tuesday's nonpartisan election for a 10-year term. She was appointed in 1976 and has been chief justice since 1996. He has been a circuit judge for 10 years. The latest dispute centers on a conviction for carrying a concealed weapon that the Supreme Court overturned. The charge was filed after Milwaukee police found Munir A. Hamdan, the owner of a grocery and liquor store who had been robbed several times, carrying a handgun in the store in 1999…
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/42481127.html
---
Homeowner Arrested for Shooting Auto Burglar: A Greece [NY] man accused of fatally shooting an unarmed teenager who may have been breaking into neighborhood cars has been charged with second-degree murder. Roderick A. Scott, 41, of Baneberry Way was arraigned on the charge this afternoon in Greece Town Court. He pleaded not guilty to the charge. Greece police accuse Scott of acting with a "depraved indifference" to life, according to Lt. Stephen Wise… Earlier in the morning, Greece Police Chief Merritt Rahn told media members near the scene that a man who lived on Baneberry Way heard noises outside his house and had confronted three males in the street whom the man believed were breaking into a neighbor's vehicle or house. Rahn said that the man told officers that during the confrontation, one of the three males charged at him, and he responded by firing a handgun in his possession twice, striking one of the males.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090404/NEWS01/90404001&referrer=NEWSFRONTCAROUSEL
---
S&W Touts 50,000-Round Test: Smith & Wesson Corp., announced that after eight months of endurance testing conducted by Professional Instructor Todd Louis Green at pistol-training.com, the full-size M&P9 pistol successfully recorded 50,000 rounds. Throughout the testing, the M&P9 was used by more than 50 people and received only limited maintenance during the evaluation process… During the testing process, which has been documented by Green on the pistol-training.com website, the M&P received limited maintenance during the testing period. In his commentary, Green writes that it was not uncommon for the pistol to go over 5,000 rounds between cleanings. Accuracy tests were conducted at predetermined intervals and involved a 5-shot group at 25 yards from a seated position on a bench. Initial groups at the beginning of the testing measured an average of 1.46 inches and at the conclusion of the endurance testing had only opened up by ¼ of an inch. Over the course of 50,000 rounds, the M&P9 recorded only two stoppages, both attributed to improper maintenance during the stringent testing as well as two minor part breakages… (This is reminiscent of a decades-old test conducted on a S&W M-39. That test was based on concerns about the durability of the aluminum-alloy frame. I have never seen similar concerns expressed about polymer frames. I have, however, heard concerns about the durability of S&W's 9mm and .40 S&W Sigma pistols, which I assumed were based on other components.)
http://www.ammoland.com/2009/03/31/smith-wesson-mp-pistol-fifty-thousand-rounds/
---
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