comments in () by Stephen Wenger
Tenth Circuit Reinstates Oklahoma Parking-Lot-Storage Law: An appeals
court said Wednesday that Oklahoma's law allowing employees to have
guns at work in their locked vehicles is valid. The Denver-based
court's decision overturns a ruling by U.S. District Judge Terence
Kern in Tulsa, who barred enforcement of the law. Gov. Brad Henry and
Attorney General Drew Edmondson appealed Kern's 2007 ruling. "It was
our opinion that the law is constitutional and the court agreed with
us today," Edmondson spokesman Charlie Price said. "We are thankful
for the assistance of the National Rifle Association and its counsel -
they provided great help." Starting with a 2004 lawsuit, several
companies challenged the law, including Weyerhauser Corp.; Whirlpool
Corp., which later dropped out; and more recently, ConocoPhillips…
http://www.newsok.com/court-allows-oklahoma-workers-to-have-guns-in-vehicles/article/3346987
http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/NewsReleases.aspx?ID=12135
http://www.opposingviews.com/articles/news-nra-wins-fight-to-let-workers-keep-guns-in-cars
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Utah Senate Committee Approve Parking-Lot-Storage Bill: A bill that
would allow gun owners to keep a firearm in their vehicles even while
parked in a private lot passed a Senate committee Tuesday. SB78,
sponsored by Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Eagle Mountain, has cleared House and
Senate panels in the past, but never has made it through the
Legislature. The measure would allow employees to keep a firearm in
their vehicles, but a business could prevent that if it has a secured
parking area, which needs a fence and a security guard. In that case,
it must provide a locker to allow gun owners to stow their weapons
before entering the secured lot…
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_11723049
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The Beat Goes On: The election of Barack Obama has been a boon for gun
dealers, and with more than 200 gun shows a year, few markets are
hotter than Florida. Floridians in record numbers want to carry
concealed weapons, a trend linked to a surge in crime, economic
anxiety and fears of stricter gun laws. And now the state is buried
under a backlog of 95,000 applications for concealed weapons permits,
and it needs to hire a lot more people to handle the paperwork. A
legislative panel Wednesday gave Agriculture Commissioner Charles
Bronson the okay to spend $3.9 million more so he can hire 61
temporary workers… The state reported a surge in applications in
November after the election of President Obama, who has advocated
stricter gun control laws but also campaigned as a defender of Second
Amendment rights. Florida received 75,679 first-time concealed weapons
permit applications in 2007 and 86,269 in 2008, in addition to tens of
thousands of renewal forms. About 541,000 Floridians are permitted to
carry concealed weapons…
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/feb/19/backlog-95000-wanting-concealed-weapon-permits-fla/
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/910739.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29278736/
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/state/article976999.ece
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More Coverage for SCCC: In the wake of the first anniversary of the
massacre at Northern Illinois University, which occurred last
February, gun advocacy groups are trying to persuade schools to allow
students to carry guns on campus. Organizations like Students for
Concealed Carry on Campus argue that allowing legal firearms at
universities could prevent tragedies like the one at NIU. They have
recently made inroads at several upstate New York schools, but have
met opposition at Syracuse University. Members of SCCC, such as
Midwest regional director David Burnett, said that the function of the
group is to dispel common myths about concealed carry and to push
state legislators and administrators to grant handgun license holders
the same rights on college campuses that they enjoy in most other
locations…
Palin Supports National-Park Carry: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin wrote the
Interior Department on Wednesday to express her support for a
last-minute Bush administration regulation that allows the carrying of
concealed weapons in national parks. Palin said the new measure
provides Alaskans with a means of self-defense in a state with vast
swaths of federally-protected wilderness. "As you know, my state
contains vast, pristine areas where the ability to carry firearms can
address a potentially life-threatening situation, enabling citizens to
respond to bear and other wildlife conflicts," Palin wrote in a letter
to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar…
Wyoming Drops Reciprocity with 15 States: …The Wyoming Attorney
General holds that if a misdemeanor drug conviction disqualifies a
Wyoming resident, it also needs to disqualify an out-of-state permit
holder. Due to the difference in how each state handles controlled
substance convictions, Wyoming is also limited in our ability to
maintain reciprocity with states we may have previously. Wyoming
recognizes concealed firearm permits from the following states.
Accordingly, as of March 1, 2009, Wyoming can only honor concealed
firearm permits issued by the following states:
Connecticut
Georgia
Maryland
Massachusetts
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Utah
(This is a good reason to obtain and maintain more than the permit
from your home state, particularly if you don't live in Utah.)
http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/4268/53/
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Illinois CCW Endorsed by House Panel: A state House panel is
recommending that the General Assembly give Illinois residents the
right to carry concealed weapons. The proposals are expected to garner
opposition from Chicago-area lawmakers, who have expressed concern
about increased gun violence. Supporters of a concealed weapon law say
the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last summer overturning a handgun ban
in Washington D.C., and an endorsement of concealed carry by the
Illinois Sheriffs' Association gives a boost to their efforts. House
Bill 245, sponsored by Marion Democratic Rep. John Bradley, would
allow the Illinois State Police to issue the permits. It was endorsed
Wednesday on an 11-1 vote, with Democratic state Rep. Julie Hamos of
Evanston the lone opponent. House Bill 462, sponsored by state
Harrisburg Rep. Brandon Phelps, would allow county sheriffs to issue
permits. (Considering the current state plice backlog in the issuance
and renewal of Illinois's onerous Firearm Owner Identification cards,
issuance by county sheriffs might be a better choice.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-concealedweapons,0,5389135.story
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Tennessee Fast-Tracks RKBA Bills: The legislature began fast-tracking
bills Thursday to let people with carry permits take guns into state
and local parks and establishments serving alcohol - all places where
they are currently banned. The House handgun study committee also
recommended making secret the list of Tennessee's 219,236 gun-carry
permit holders and to penalize any publication of their identities.
Shelby County has 32,934 permit licensees. The panel recommended four
bills on which Chairman Joe McCord, R-Maryville, said there is broad
consensus to approve. All four are set for the criminal justice
subcommittee next week and could reach floor votes in March… The new
Republican majority has made the bills' passage a virtual certainty
after years of defeat. McCord said The Commercial Appeal's posting of
a searchable database of permit holders on its Web site also prompted
swift action…
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/feb/19/tennessee-house-advances-bills-dealing-guns/
---
Mexico's Drug Wars Not the Result of US Gun Laws: A gambit that has
become popular of late with the forcible citizen disarmament lobby is
blaming the violence in Mexico (which sometimes spills across our
Southwestern border) on "lax U.S. gun laws." Mexico, of course, has
extremely restrictive gun laws and extreme levels of violence. One
might think that this would be a pretty strong rebuttal to the idea of
trying to control violence by passing more and more gun laws (as if
using laws to try to rein in the behavior of the lawless makes any
sense). Such an expectation underestimates the stubborn determination
of gun law advocates, who somehow find the energy to perform the
rhetorical gymnastics required to argue instead that violence in
Mexico should be blamed on "weak gun laws" here, where violence is
much less pervasive…
Oops, Wrong House, Ohio Version: An elderly Jackson County woman who
was about to become the apparent victim of a home-invasion burglary
last Saturday afternoon was more than ready to stand up for herself
and protect her property. According to the Jackson County Sheriff's
Office, Ruth Dassel, 82, of 853 Camba Road, Jackson, in Franklin
Township, used a pistol to fire a single shot at an unidentified man
who had apparently just broken into her home at 12:34 p.m. The
intruder was not struck by the bullet, but investigators are
attempting to identify him in what is being categorized as an
aggravated burglary… Dassel immediately picked up a pistol that she
had in the pouch of her walker and pointed it at the intruder. He
said, "don't shoot," and he turned to run from the house. She fired
one shot in his direction, but did not hit him… (While the shot at the
fleeing intruder may not have been justified, the woman showed good
sense in keeping her pistol accessible, in the pouch of her walker.)
http://www.thetelegramnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=6&SubSectionID=83&ArticleID=5311
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Oops, Wrong House, Australia Version: An elderly man shot one of two
intruders at his Perth winery after they broke down his bedroom door
and backed him into a corner, police say. Sergeant Greg Lambert said
the 77-year-old owner of a small winery, in Herne Hill, in Perth's
east, heard someone forcibly enter his home about 9.40pm (WDT)
yesterday. "He is at home with his totally incapacitated wife, he has
heard noises in the house and has heard two men use extreme force to
break into his home through the rear security door and sliding door,"
Sgt Lambert told ABC Radio. "He was in his bedroom, he has armed
himself with his licensed shotgun and he's locked himself in his
bedroom with his wife." The man warned the two men not to enter his
room. "They have broken down his bedroom door and confronted the man,"
Sgt Lambert said. "A struggle has happened during which one round was
discharged from the shotgun, it's struck one of the intruders on the
left abdomen. The elderly gentlemen lost the firearm during the
struggle, one of the offenders has struck him to the head and
forearm…" (This account demonstrates why a handgun, which offers less
leverage for a disarm, is usually a better choice than a shotgun for
home-defense.)
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25076770-29277,00.html
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Arizona to Host Cowboy Shooting Fest: The Old West will come alive
once again when more than 600 men, women and juniors gather for the
18th annual Winter Range hosted at the Arizona Game and Fish
Department's Ben Avery Shooting Facility from Feb. 25 through March 1.
Winter Range is an exciting "Old West" style, five-day event that
provides the backdrop for the Single Action Shooting Society's
National Championship of Cowboy Action Shooting. This annual event
traditionally draws thousands of spectators and Old West enthusiasts.
Cowboy Action Shooting™ is the fastest growing shooting sport in
America, and requires contestants to compete with firearms typical of
those used in the taming of the Old West: single-action revolvers,
lever-action rifles and old-time shotguns. Participants must also
adopt a "shooting alias" appropriate to a character or profession of
the late 19th century - a Hollywood Western star, or an appropriate
fictional character - and then costume themselves accordingly…
http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2009/feb/18/cowboys_show_their_sixshooters/
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Bill Would Scrap Canada's Long-Gun Registry: The Bill C-301, a Private
Greg Rickford MPKernoraMembers' Bill proposes to discontinue the
wasteful long gun registry that has not saved the life of a single
Canadian. "The registry has been a boondoggle since its inception. I
believe members of Parliament from all political parties will see
ample cause to shut it down," said Breitkreuz, "I doubt there has ever
been another government program that has gone 500 times over budget
and been such a miserable failure. I hope everyone here will agree
that our tax dollars should be invested in practical public safety
measures that really do save lives." On February 12th Rickford
seconded Bill C-301, a Private Members' Bill to scrap the decade-old
Canadian long-gun registry. "Gary has been working on this issue for
a long time and I'm very pleased to stand behind in support. We hope
to get the long-gun registry dismantled once and for all," said a
delighted Rickford…
