From Stephen P. Wenger by permission.
http://www.spw-duf.info
76 Reasons to Have a Gun: In four decades and thousands of transactions with my fellow man I've neither initiated nor accepted force as a means to accomplish anything. And yet, I've decided to become more skilled in the use of a gun to keep force, violence, crime and tyranny out of my life where they belong. Even with a perfect record of non-violence my intuition tells me I've got some gun work to do – to keep it that way. And like car insurance, wearing a seatbelt or taking vitamins the most it will do is keep things the same, because: Investments in self-defense return a maximum of keeping what you already have. Most of the efforts of arming myself have been spiritual and intellectual. In fact, I've put 1000 times more effort into avoiding violence than on fighting skills. That seems low but 1000-to-1 is probably normal. My job doesn't involve teaching karate or any kind of self-defense training. This article is about increasing the "1" side of this ratio to "2" and I'll give 76 reasons for doing so…
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig10/gillespie1.1.1.html
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Why Does Tory Media Ignore F Troop Corruption Charges?: Last Wednesday we looked at a group of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives employees who are fed up with corruption and incompetence. On Thursday, we saw a convenient way we could demand hearings into ATF corruption allegations. But here's the thing: the "authorized journalists" in traditional media outlets don't even appear to have this story on their radar, and very little is likely to happen without the exposure they can provide. Before I jump to the conclusion that this is yet another in a long line of what economist and columnist Walter Williams calls "sins of omission," I thought it best to give them the benefit of the doubt… As of Friday, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and the Chicago Sun-Times can no longer claim ignorance. If we don't see anything from them over the next few weeks we can probably assume they're not interested in informing their readers…
http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m9d13-Why-is-mainstream-media-silent-on-ATF-corruption-charges
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The Beat Goes On, Slowly in New York: It was time, Beth Salvesen felt, to buy a gun. She'd thought about it for a long while, and finally pulled the trigger. "It's my right and I'm 50," the Greene County resident said. Salvesen started the permit process last December and by the end of June, she had her permit [emphasis added]. She is now the owner of a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver that she bought for $550. Her partner, Sherri Roff, also 50, went through the process with her and owns a Ruger Lightweight Compact Pistol .380 that runs $350. Roff, the director of a rehabilitation center for women in Albany, said having the pistol "makes me feel safer. I have a much better chance of defending myself. Hope I never have to use it." "We didn't want to wait any longer because you hear in the news the gun laws could change," said Salvesen, who works in construction as a painter. "I don't know if that's something against the President that the Republicans are saying or whether it's the gun people because they're the ones benefiting from it." The two women from Freehold have joined thousands of Americans this year in becoming first-time handgun owners…
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=841433
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NRA to Endorse Virginia Republican: Republican and Democratic operatives say the National Rifle Association will endorse Republican Robert F. McDonnell for Virginia governor. The gun-rights group plans to announce its endorsement in a Monday-afternoon conference call for reporters. People with knowledge of the NRA's decision confirmed the endorsement on the condition they not be identified because the announcement was pending. Both Mr. McDonnell and his Democratic opponent, R. Creigh Deeds, have supported gun rights. Four years ago, the NRA endorsed Mr. Deeds over Mr. McDonnell in their race for attorney general.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/14/gun-rights-group-back-mcdonnell/
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South Carolina Mayor Targeted for Bloomberg Membership: The National Rifle Association is targeting a South Carolina mayor for criticism for his membership in a group that opposes illegal guns. The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Sunday that Charleston Mayor Joe Riley is a member of Mayor Against Illegal Guns. The NRA urged its members to contact the mayor and "help him make the right choice between protecting your Second Amendment rights or continuing to be associated with those who actively oppose and undermine your firearm freedom." Riley said he's seen the postcard, and has received some phone calls from people who received it, but he supports the group and has no plans to withdraw from it. About 450 mayors nationwide have joined the group.
http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11122465
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New Yorkers Attend RKBA Conference: More than 700 people showed up at Sunday's Firearm Civil Rights Conference, sponsored by the Sportsmen's Association for Firearms Education Inc., to talk about the right to bear arms. Among the crowd at the Sheraton Long Island Hotel in Smithtown were at least a dozen politicians showing their support two days before primaries and two months before Election Day… At the conference, speakers addressed what they characterized as misinformation about gun violence and faulted the mainstream media which one speaker, Wayne R. LaPierre Jr., vice president of the National Rifle Association, said had given up "being watchdogs and become lap dogs." …Cushman told the crowd that SAFE has a lawsuit pending against Nassau County for its law banning any firearm that isn't gold, silver, brown, or black. The legislature banned brightly colored guns because they could be mistaken for toys. And Dick Anthony Heller spoke of the lawsuit he filed against the District of Columbia, which reached the U.S. Supreme Court last year…
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/hundreds-of-gun-rights-advocates-attend-conference-1.1444646
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Alaska 9/12 Protestors Brought Guns: As tens of thousands of anti-Obama protesters marched in Washington, D.C., Saturday, about 150 gathered in Anchorage and expressed their anger at the direction of the nation. They talked about the Constitution, gun rights, and what they called the "socialist" President Obama… Hicks said she's been a part of both the 9/12 project, which describes itself as being for liberty and small government, and the Anchorage second amendment task force. Groups like those helped get the word out about the event, attendees said, and it at least partially sprung from the "tea party" movement that began last spring. Miller said the second amendment exists to protect the right of people to be a threat to their government. One man carried a gun on a holster. Another had a rifle. Signs decried "Obamacare" and warned of creeping communism…
http://www.adn.com/news/politics/story/933166.html
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San Diego County Sheriff Candidates Unable to Duck CCW Question: It should be no surprise that a sheriff's candidate debate hosted by a gun store and preceded by a TEA Party event in the "friendly territory" of the East County of San Diego might draw a few gun rights advocates. It did. What was a bit of surprise was what happened when those advocates felt as though they had been skipped over in the queue for public questions. They got angry, and they let everyone know about it very quickly… Mr. Amato, obviously sensitive to the concerns of his fellow citizens, decided on the spot to allow me to ask my question, limiting the response time to one minute per candidate. The still uncomfortably silent crowd now waited to hear this question with baited breath, which had transformed before my eyes as the question of the "angry dissenters". In shock, realizing that all eyes were now upon me, I clawed through my pockets, looking for my notepad that had that critical question scribbled upon its pages. For a second, I could not find it, and a wave of embarrassment began welling up in my chest. Thankfully, I soon found it, stepped up to the microphone and asked the question: "If elected Sheriff in 2010, would you consider individual self protection as a sufficient justification for the issue of concealed weapon permits for the citizens of San Diego, including these law abiding citizens sitting in front of you today?" The entire amphitheater erupted in applause and cheers at the question, thankfully breaking the tension that had shockingly appeared like an earthquake and now thankfully subsided just as quickly. It appears this issue was on the minds of more people than I had anticipated…
http://www.examiner.com/x-22950-San-Diego-Law-Enforcement-Examiner~y2009m9d13-Gun-rights-advocates-demand-to-be-heard-at-San-Diego-Sheriff-Debate
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Iowans Seek Shall-Issue CCW: …Essentially, this continues the current practice of asking an applicant why a permit is requested, and it gives the Sheriff the ability to place restrictions on permits. This is wrong. There is no reason that anyone should have to give a reason for the application of a permit. By requiring a reason for issuance, a person is presumed to be unworthy of a permit until proven otherwise. The burden of proof should be on the Sheriff to prove that the citizen is unfit to obtain a permit. That would be called "innocent until proven guilty." Likewise, part of the problem as it currently exists in Iowa has to do with the obscene restrictions that are placed on some permits. (Examples are available on our website.) We cannot continue to allow any Sheriff to place restrictions on a permit that do not conform to a statewide standard or law. It is totally ludicrous that residents in one county can obtain a PCW that has no restrictions on it, while over the county line, citizens there receive permits that have restrictions such as "Invalid in restaurants that serve alcohol" or "Valid only when carrying $500 or more." There are certain restrictions on carrying a weapon in Iowa. All of these restrictions are spelled out in Section 724, and those are the only restrictions that need to be placed on any holder of a PCW…
http://www.ammoland.com/2009/09/13/iowa-firearms-carry-bills/
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Oops, Wrong Homes: With handguns and baseball bats, South Florida residents in recent days have been striking back at home invaders, beating and even killing those who violate the sanctity of their homes. Two cases occurred in Palm Beach County. Thursday night, during a struggle, a Wellington homeowner shot and wounded one of two men who broke into his home. On Sept. 5, a group of men in a Lake Worth home turned the tables on a burglar, seizing his baseball bat and using it to break his arm. And early Thursday in Miami, a man who jumped a fence and entered a home's yard ended up dead after a confrontation with the father and son who lived there. His manner of death has not been released by police, who still are investigating. Such instances are hardly a trend, experts say, but rather a fluke of circumstances. And they probably don't represent an increase in frustrated homeowners fighting back… Use of deadly force against intruders is allowed under Florida law, but prosecutors and criminologists caution homeowners that there are limits to when they can harm an intruder. Florida's Castle Doctrine has long provided that homeowners can use deadly force against intruders, but the homeowner must have a reasonable belief that he or she is in danger of death or great bodily harm. When acting within the limits of the law, homeowners who kill or injure intruders typically are not charged… (Would the Sun Sentinel have us believe that these poor home-invaders are the victims of frustrated homeowners, who are really not in fear of life and limb?)
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/sfl-homeowners-fight-back-b091109,0,7326423.story
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Rule Four Reminder: Turkey season opened this year in Vermont on May 1. So that's when St. Johnsbury computer consultant Kevin Kadamus and his 17-year-old son Jacob went out hunting. Decked out in camouflage, the two separated, keeping in touch by radio as they tracked their prey. But somehow they confused their positions, and when Kevin Kadamus saw what he thought was the movement of a turkey, he fired. The movement wasn't a turkey. It was his son Jacob, who later died from his injuries. "It serves a purpose to bring charges," Vermont State Police Detective Lt. J.P. Sinclair told USA Today about the case, "because it shows there has to be accountability." Caledonia County prosecutor Lisa Warren agreed. Last month, after a public backlash prevented Kadamus from facing a more serious manslaughter charge, the grieving father plead no contest to involuntary manslaughter. Under the plea deal, he'll get a three-year deferred sentence, and is barred from owning firearms or hunting for 10 years… But is there something else going on as well? … (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it.)
http://reason.com/news/show/136037.html
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Mixing Alcohol and Firearms: A man who makes a living as a security guard got into trouble overnight after he took a shot at the family cat for soiling his bed, according to reports. Robert J. Taylor, 43, is charged with shooting into an occupied dwelling and using a firearm while under the influence… Taylor's girlfriend, Deborah Blake, 46, told officers the couple argued about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at their home at 29 Hawthorne Lane, near Congress Avenue and Hypoluxo Road, because the cat had defecated on their bed. She said Taylor grabbed the animal, shouted, "I'm going to shoot this f——- cat!" and took it to the garage. Moments later, Blake said, she heard a loud bang from the garage and called police. Taylor later admitted he had consumed several beers and fallen asleep in bed, and that as he slept, the cat jumped onto the bed and did its business. Taylor said he lost his cool. He said when he got to the garage, he let the cat go and it ran off. He said he got his pistol from a case in the garage, loaded it, and fired once into some life jackets that were on the floor. Taylor told police he wasn't trying to kill the cat, just scare it, the report said…
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/local_news/epaper/2009/09/10/0910catshoot.html
