Wednesday, March 11, 2009

03-11-09

From: Stephen P. Wenger http://www.spw-duf.info
Comments in () by Stephen P. Wenger
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From GOA: Gun Owners of America does not sound the "Emergency alarm" often - and when we do, we mean it. Remember the massive land bill, S. 22, that passed out of the Senate last month? It was expected to pass quickly in the House, but your opposition to an expansion of gun control contained in the bill forced it to be pulled from the floor. GOA has just learned that after some backroom deals, the bill is headed to the floor WEDNESDAY MORNING, without any amendments to truly protect your Second Amendment rights on National Park Service (NPS) land. You have fought the battle over the NPS gun ban for a long time. Unlike U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, which allow for state and local law to govern firearms possession, NPS land is subject to a complete gun ban for any citizen who does not hold a concealed carry permit. The bill coming to the floor March 11 greatly expands NPS land, thus spreading the agency's anti-gun regulations into more areas…

http://gunowners.org/031009.htm
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Get Real: A D.C. woman filed suit in U.S. District Court yesterday, claiming that the city would not let her register a pistol because of its color. Tracey A. Hanson argued that her application to register a .45-caliber semiautomatic was denied because the gun is not on the California Safe Handgun Roster, which is the standard in the city. Hanson tried to register a two-tone, stainless steel/black pistol, according to the suit. But the list has that model in olive drab green, dark earth or black, not in two-tone, stainless/black, the suit asserts. Hanson said rejection for that reason "seemed so arbitrary." …Peter Nickles, the city's attorney general, said he had not seen the lawsuit and could not discuss its details. But he said he is confident that the D.C. regulations are "completely appropriate" under the Second Amendment.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/09/AR2009030903240.html?wprss=rss_metro
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Democrats Try to Negotiate DC Congressional Vote: House Democratic leaders are offering the National Rifle Association (NRA) a separate vote on legislation that would weaken the District of Columbia's gun laws, trying to wriggle out of a conundrum created by their centrist members. An amendment supported by the powerful gun-rights lobbying organization is holding up a bill that would give the District of Columbia a voting member of Congress. That legislation is a priority for Democratic leaders… The offer from Democratic leaders could create a tough choice for the gun lobbying group. It's unlikely the NRA will get a vote on the gun amendment as part of the D.C. vote. Even if it did, the gun amendment would likely get attached and then the overall bill would fail. That's because Republicans and gun-rights Democrats would unite to add the gun amendment. Then Republicans who don't want to give D.C. a vote in the House would unite with anti-gun Democrats to defeat the overall bill…

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/democrats-offer-nra-gun-vote-to-move-d.c.-voting-rights-act-2009-03-10.html

Republican Sen. John Ensign has engineered a major political coup that could leave the District of Columbia with weaker gun laws than those of Las Vegas and thwart a long-sought effort to give residents of the capital voting rights in Congress. In a victory for gun rights advocates, the Nevada lawmaker led Senate efforts to strike down a gun control law in the capital by adding an amendment to a long-fought bill to give the district a voting representative in Congress… Ensign's amendment would allow gun owners greater rights than they enjoy in Clark County, where residents buying their first gun face a 72-hour cooling-off period before they can take possession. The district had instituted a 10-day cooling-off period, but Ensign's measure would strike it down to follow the federal instant-check model…

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/mar/10/ensign-wants-price-dc-voting-right-loosened-gun-la/
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Montana Senators Tell Holder to Back Off: Democratic Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester have a message for the Obama administration: they will oppose any gun restrictions the new administration may be considering. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the two Montana senators said the Justice Department should enforce existing laws rather than propose additional laws they said could infringe on Second Amendment rights… Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has said she plans to push legislation to reinstate a federal ban on some assault weapons that became law during the Clinton administration in 1994 but expired in 2004 under President Bush. Feinstein also has backed a plan to require gun shows to conduct background checks before selling firearms… During last year's presidential campaign, Tester said that he had no qualms about backing Barack Obama for president, calling him an "ordinary person" who is no threat to gun owners…

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20090310/DC5/903100349
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The Beat Goes On: The November election produced an unintended stimulus package for one industry: gun sales. About as soon as Democrats took control of both the White House and Congress last fall, people began lining up to buy guns at local shops. Ammunition has been flying off store shelves, merchants say. "Yes, there was a big rush," Christopher W. Drum, owner of CRS Weaponry in Port Richey, said. Sales boomed as much as 60 percent since November, although sales seem to be leveling off of late, he estimates. "It was kind of wild for a while," Drum observed, with even grandmotherly types shopping for firearms. Costs of guns have been going up accordingly, with 21 manufacturers raising prices. "Gun sales are going through the roof," said Bill Bunting, a Republican state committeeman, long-time leader of the Pasco Republican Party and life-time member of the National Rifle Association. "Guns, guns and more guns!" proclaims an advertisement for the first Sportsmen's Dinner the Republican Party of Pasco will hold Thursday, April 2. The dinner will feature auctions and drawings for guns…

http://suncoastpasco.tbo.com/content/2009/mar/10/110000/pe-gun-sales-shoot-into-the-stratosphere/

Al Bacon is explaining to one of his regular customers why the ammo he wants is out of stock. Meanwhile, three more people enter the tiny gun shop, doing an awkward two-step around other customers patiently waiting for a word with Bacon. It will be nearly an hour before Bacon catches his breath. "It's been like this all day, every day," he said of the constant traffic to his store, Al's Gun and Reel Shop, on Linwood Avenue. "It's difficult to keep up. In all my years here, it's never been like this." The concern in Bacon's voice doesn't make sense, at first. What businessman wouldn't want a steady stream of customers at a time when the rest of the economy is stalling? …

http://www.theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Anxious+time%3a+More+people+want+weapons&articleId=088f191a-49e8-4290-9ec1-70a6fd56b4fd
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The Chicago Contradiction: You cannot legally buy a handgun in Chicago, the nation's most murderous city. You can own one, but only if you've owned it since before 1982 and you register it every year with the Chicago Police Department. Gun-control advocates and gun-rights advocates don't – or can't – agree on how a city with a handgun ban can lead the nation in murders. To proponents of owning guns it means the ban doesn't work. "Laws are only for law-abiding citizens anyway," said John Riggio, owner of Chuck's Gun Shop and Pistol Range in Riverdale. "Criminals by definition don't follow the law." To proponents of regulating guns it means the ban isn't big enough…

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=122301
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Trigger Angry: Odds are you've either heard of the phrase "trigger happy" or you've never been in a discussion about gun control. Leftists love to use the phrase "trigger happy" when they are justifying fascistic gun control policies that would curtail the rights of ordinary citizens. When leftists use the term "trigger happy" they get a mental image of a person who is just itching to kill a fellow citizen. I use a similar term, "trigger angry." And when I use it I get a mental image of Professor Paula Anderson. John Wahlberg gave a speech in Professor Anderson's communications class at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). The topic was a general one on relevant issues in the media. John decided to argue that concealed weapons permits would reduce violence and, more specifically, would have saved lives during the Virginia Tech massacre of 2007… (Worth reading.)

http://townhall.com/columnists/MikeSAdams/2009/03/11/trigger_angry?page=full

Related Article:

http://www.thefire.org/index.php/article/10309.html
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Pizza Shooting, Comments Sought: We've been tracking the story of Christopher Miller since Sunday.  He's the man who shot and killed a teenager late Saturday night while trying to deliver a pizza in the St. Andrews Road area.  The young man killed, 17-year old Paul Sturgill, Jr. bled to death according to Lexington County Coroner Harry Harman… Is it fair that Miller has to give up his job because he chose to take measures to provide security that his company would not?  Aren't delivery drivers entitled to feel safe at work?  Should Pizza Hut, or any other business that offers late-night delivery, really expect drivers to put their lives on the line to make sure someone gets their $20 pizza in 30-minutes or less? I doubt it, but what do you think?

http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=271341
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