comments in () from Stephen P. Wenger
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The Washington Post Takes Notice: The push to give the District its
first full vote in the U.S. House of Representatives, once seemingly
on the cusp of legislative approval, stalled indefinitely yesterday as
key supporters offered no timetable or strategy for scheduling the
D.C. vote bill, which House leaders pulled back this week. In an
afternoon conference call with city officials, House Majority Leader
Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said he did not have enough votes to bring the
bill to the floor without the possibility of amendments, according to
sources with knowledge of the discussion… Hoyer put the bill on hold
Tuesday after learning that the National Rifle Association was urging
its members to use a procedural maneuver to press for amendments that
would repeal many of the city's gun laws. By the end of the call, the
parties, including Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Mayor Adrian
M. Fenty (D) and D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D), agreed to
lobby specific legislators whose support is deemed critical.
Additionally, House leaders plan to mention the dilemma to President
Obama, who during the campaign told Fenty that he supported D.C.
voting rights, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity because the call was private… (The Post appears to be
running at least one day behind The Washington Times in reporting this
story. I have yet to see it reported in The New York Times.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/04/AR2009030403802.html?hpid=topnews
D.C. vote supporters said yesterday that they are targeting more than
60 conservative congressional Democrats in hopes of securing enough
support to bring the voting rights legislation to the House floor
without fear that opponents would be able to add amendments to weaken
the city's gun-control laws. The task of convincing these lawmakers,
who come from places with a strong tradition of gun rights, that they
should not fear repercussions if they support the voting rights bill
without gun amendments could be time-consuming and difficult, D.C.
vote backers said. Ilir Zherka, executive director of DC Vote, a
lobbying group, said the effort would take at least another week…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/05/AR2009030503206.html
Update from The Washington Times: …The NRA's chief lobbyist, Chris W.
Cox, said his organization has no stance on the gun amendments because
no amendment has yet been attached to the bill. But he said the NRA
would "maintain all options on legislation that adversely or
positively affect Second Amendment rights and will communicate those
positions at the appropriate time." If the House bill is passed with
the gun amendments, Democrats would be unable to purge the pro-gun
language in conference committee, where members of both houses iron
out their differences, because gun rights language would exist in both
the House and the Senate versions… The president has expressed support
for the voting rights bill and was a co-sponsor of a similar measure
in 2007, though it is not clear whether he would support the bill with
gun amendments attached…
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/05/gun-planks-stymie-dc-vote/
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Proposed "AWB" Threatens a Fundamental Right: Gun owners across
America weren't surprised last week when the new U.S. Attorney General
Eric Holder stated the intent of the Obama administration to renew the
expired ban on sales of "assault weapons." The proposed ban was part
of the agenda announced during Obama's campaign, and now the head of
the Department of Justice appears to be making it a priority. Whether
or not a ban renewal will pass in Congress is questionable, as similar
bills in 2007 and 2008 never made it out of subcommittee.
Nevertheless, Americans must recognize the ban as a significant
infringement of the Second Amendment…
…When announcing his plan, Holder justified it by saying we needed to
stop American criminals from supplying illegal guns to drug dealers in
Mexico. Wouldn't that a laugher to brighten your day during these
dismal times, if the Attorney General of the United States didn't
actually, apparently, believe it. Be real. The AWB has nothing to do
with Mexico. "The problem of criminals breaking the law to acquire
firearms and illegally smuggling them across the border is not
remedied by legislation that would violate the rights of Americans to
own semi-automatic firearms," agrees Steve Sanetti, NSSF president.
"We can only conclude that certain officials (translate: Eric Holder)
are waiting for any politically advantageous excuse to announce the
intention to seek a new ban on sporting rifles, a ban that would break
the president's campaign promise to gun owners that 'I'm not going to
take away your guns.'" …
http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/obama_get_real_on_assault_weapons_put_a_cork_in_holder/C37/L37/
Is It Mexico's Guns Laws That Are the Real Problem?: Research from the
United Nations (UN) indicates that it may be Mexico's own restrictive
gun control laws which contribute to the country's rising murder
rates. In Mexico, possession of firearms above .22 caliber is
practically prohibited, though there is a second set of rules for the
wealthy. Mexico also requires registration for all civilian gun
owners, and federal and state governments actively discourage firearms
ownership. Nevertheless, over 6,000 Mexicans have been murdered in the
last year - 700 in the past month - due to the battle over the drug
trade…
The Militia, in History and Today: …Recognizing the right of the
people to organize locally for their mutual defense, the Founders
therefore devised a system of government in which military power is
divided between federal forces and a popular militia, between federal
and state governments, with power over the military divided between
the legislative and executive branches of government. Not only does
the right of the people to organize locally for their mutual defense
still exist today, the exercise of that right is every bit as
important today as it was during colonial times…
http://www.thenewamerican.com/history/american/855
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Iraq Veteran Successfully Appeals Permit Denial: Tim Mechaley trained
fellow Marines to fire .50-caliber machine guns. He qualified as a
marksman. He fought in the battle for Fallujah and received a combat
medal with a "V" for valor. Back home, he uses a rifle for target
shooting. Yet, when Mechaley sought to buy a 9-mm Ruger pistol for
protection at his midtown apartment, the Omaha Police Department
rejected his application for a gun permit. "I was trusted by the
{federal} government to carry a loaded weapon, but now I am not
allowed to purchase one by my local government," he said. Mechaley,
32, has received counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder related
to his service in Iraq. While completing an application for a gun
permit, he responded "yes" to a question that asked whether he was
being treated for a mental disorder… "Some of our brave police
officers also suffer from PTSD as a result of trauma in the line of
duty, and they are allowed to carry a weapon," Mechaley wrote in a
letter to the board… The appeals board needed fewer than 10 minutes
before voting 5-0 to grant Mechaley a gun permit.
The "Third Rail" of Race and Guns: In yesterday's post, we touched on
a "third rail". I called it that because, in today's politically
correct environment, the risk of being accused of racism can quell
public discourse and focus the attention on killing the messenger.
That does no one any good, especially the hapless messenger, and
particularly harms minority groups who historically have been
disproportionately held down by the twin scourges of crime
victimization and citizen disarmament. We will proceed anyway and take
our chances…
Arizona House Committee Approves Parking-Lot-Storage: Faced with a
choice between gun rights and property rights, a House panel sided
Thursday with the former. On a 6-2 vote the Judiciary Committee
approved legislation to allow people to drive into privately owned
parking lots with loaded weapons in their vehicles. The wishes of the
business owner would become legally irrelevant. With bipartisan
support, the bill now goes to the full House. The measure is being
pushed by the National Rifle Association, which has convinced
lawmakers in some other states to approve similar measures. Lobbyist
Todd Rathner said people have a constitutional right to be armed. "If
they carry a gun for self-defense, they're not able to exercise that
right if they carry a gun from their home to their place of work,'' he
said, as most companies and property owners do not provide lockers or
other places for the gun owners to store their weapons while they are
inside the office, manufacturing plant or store… (Curiously absent is
any mention of the role of AzCDL.)
http://www.yumasun.com/news/house_48398___article.html/rights_parking.html
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Arkansas House Committee Approves CCW Confidentiality: … Most of the
Committee seemed in favor of the bill, one or two legislators made
mention that they had recieved multiple calls from constituents in
support of HB 1623. Good job you guys. Rep. Dawn Creekmore mentioned
that she was contacted by an undercover officer who was on the
concealed carry list that was published and now was in jeapordy and
feared for his life. Another relayed a call that a constuent's car was
broken into immediately after it was known that the list was published
and his handgun was stolen from his vehicle. Several other legislators
thanked Rep. Stewart for bringing HB 1623 to the committee as a
responsible measure to an undeniably irresponsible act…
http://www.arkansascca.org/blog/index.php?content=detail&id=283#comments
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Texas Campus Carry Bills Still Viable: Jason Bowman would feel safer
walking to his night classes at Tarrant County College if he had his
concealed handgun. But he leaves it behind because state law doesn't
let him carry it on campus. The 23-year-old Benbrook man is among
those hoping that will change soon, as state lawmakers consider the
issue. The expansion of the concealed-carry law is just one of several
firearm proposals ricocheting around the Texas Capitol, drawing fire
from gun safety advocates. Among the bills this year are efforts to
let Texans buy rifles and shotguns in noncontiguous states; allow
counties to regulate noise, which could affect shooting ranges; and
let employees with concealed-handgun permits leave their guns in their
locked cars at work. Even as some proposals seem to be gaining
support, one hot gun topic - letting Texans openly carry handguns -
seems to be losing steam, as supporters fear they won't find a
lawmaker to carry the bill…
South Dakota Preemption Bill Could Be Gutted: Senator Gene Abdallah
(R-Sioux Falls) is at it again. Many will remember that in years past,
Sen. Abdallah supported every single anti-gun bill to be introduced.
In 2006, SDGO took him to task for his anti-gun record, forcing him to
spend 4 times more money to win re-election. As a result, Sen.
Abdallah stopped introducing anti-gun legislation and actually voted
pro-gun several times. But it now appears that he is beginning to
forget the lesson of 2006. Earlier today, Sen. Abdallah joined the
anti-gun crowd in their efforts to create a patchwork of anti-gun
restrictions all over the state. As you may know, city officials are
banning guns in South Dakota. Regardless of whether you possess a
concealed pistol permit, these bureaucrats and politicians say you
cannot carry a handgun to defend yourself on city property. SDGO
introduced HB 1278 to end this outrageous denial of your right to
self-defense. The State House passed the bill, 46 to 20, and soundly
defeated efforts to gut the bill with anti-gun amendments. But now
Sen. Abdallah and six left-leaning members of the Senate State Affairs
committee voted to gut HB 1278 with the very same anti-gun amendment.
They have changed it from a very simple pro-gun bill to one of the
most anti-gun bills to hit South Dakota in years…
http://www.sdgo.org/alertarchive/2009_March4.htm
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Massachusetts Prosecutor Appeals RKBA Rulings: Middlesex District
Attorney Gerry Leone is seeking to preserve gun safety laws by
fighting two court rulings that could loosen gun storage regulations.
Leone's office filed an appeal in the state appeals court, disputing a
Lowell District Court decision to dismiss gun charges against a
Billerica man for improperly storing a firearm and possessing a
firearm without a valid firearm identification card. Richard Runyan's
lawyers argued the charges against him were unconstitutional based on
a Supreme Court case, Washington, D.C. versus Heller, ruling
individuals have a right to posses weapons for self-defense and
requiring that handguns be inoperable while stored restricts that
right…
http://www.wickedlocal.com/billerica/news/x617078096/DA-appeals-court-rulings-in-weapons-case
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Oops, Wrong Store: Waukegan police said a clerk at a
guns-and-ammunition store appears to have shot a man who was trying to
rob the establishment this afternoon. Officers responded at about 1:45
p.m. to Mike Schrank's Smoke 'N Gun, 2010 Washington St., to a call of
a person shot, according to a police news release. There they found a
man who had been shot twice in the chest and once in the leg, and a
shop clerk who had a gun trained on him, the statement said. Witnesses
told investigators that the injured man went behind the counter and
argued with the clerk. The confrontation turned physical and the clerk
pulled a handgun and shot the other man, witnesses said. During the
struggle, the clerk also shot himself in the hand accidentally… (While
it's hard to guess the dynamics that led to the clerk shooting himself
in the hand, my students are taught to index the gun on the pelvis
when dealing with threats where the arm or hand may actually be in
contact with the assailant.)
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/03/police-gun-store-clerk-shoots-robber.html
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/1461485,5_1_WA05_GUNSHOP_S1.article
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The New York Times Distorts Israel CCW Incident: The Palestinian
driver of a construction vehicle flipped an Israeli police car over
and rammed it into an empty bus here on Thursday, wounding two police
officers before he was shot dead, the police said… The driver in
Thursday's attack was shot by other police officers who arrived at the
scene and by at least one civilian, a taxi driver, witnesses said. "I
saw the police car flying in the air," Uzi Ma'atabi, the taxi driver,
told Israel Radio. "He lifted it in the air; he rolled it over twice
and dragged it in the direction of a bus." "I shot at him with my
gun," Mr. Ma'atabi continued. "With four bullets, I finished him. I
used my personal weapon, and the policeman next to me also shot." …
(Other reports give the taxi driver primary credit for terminating the
attack.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/06/world/middleeast/06mideast.html?_r=1&ref=world
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Rule One Reminder: Police say a 12-year-old Michigan boy was shot and
killed when a gun being cleaned by his father went off. Police say Ian
Dunn died Tuesday afternoon at the home about 90 miles west of
Detroit. Police are investigating, but they say the shooting appears
to be accidental. Police Chief Steven Fisher tells WWMT-TV that the
father, 41-year-old Kevin Dunn, was cleaning the rusty gun. Fisher
says it had been in storage for some time and the father had forgotten
that there was a round in it. The boy was struck in the head when the
gun went off. He had been home sick from school. (Rule One: All guns
are always loaded.)
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,505145,00.html
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Rule One, Rule Two Reminder: A Harris County deputy accidentally shot
herself in the leg at a gun range Thursday. It happened in the parking
lot of a range off Atascocita in northeast Harris County. The deputy
was reportedly cleaning her gun in her car when it went off. She was
taken by Life Flight to Memorial Hermann. She's expected to survive.
(Rule Two: Don't let the muzzle cross anything you're not prepared to
shoot. While details are lacking, the scenario seems typical for a
seated user pressing the trigger on a Glock pistol, in order to remove
the slide, without first having cleared the chamber.)
http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou090305_tnt_deputy-shoots-self.7458806.html
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Rule Three Reminder: A South Carolina technical college student was
arrested after authorities said a gun went off in his pocket during
class. Reports released by police Thursday show the 19-year-old
student originally said the gun fell from his pocket and went off
during class at York Technical College on Wednesday. But reports show
the man later changed his story to say he was holding the gun and
accidentally pulled the trigger. No one was injured. Police found the
.40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun in the trunk of his mother's car.
Officers said they don't think he wanted to hurt anyone. The man was
charged with carrying a weapon on school property, carrying a pistol
unlawfully and discharging a firearm within city limits. He's been
suspended from school. (Rule Three: Keep your finger out of the
trigger guard, up on the frame, until your sights are on the target
and you're prepared to fire. Further, don't carry handguns in pockets
without a pocket holster.)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090305/ap_on_fe_st/odd_gun_in_class_1
