Good Guys with Guns: Oct 5, 2009

by permission from Stephen P. Wenger http://www.spw-duf.info>
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Massachusetts Supremes to Hear Licensing Challenge: The Massachusetts
Supreme Judicial Court is expected to decide whether a state law that
requires residents to apply for gun licenses with their local police
departments is unconstitutional. The challenge is being brought before
the court by Paul W. Patten, a Fall River defense attorney who is
representing Nathaniel DePina, 19, a New Bedford man serving a 2-year
jail sentence after being convicted last year of illegally carrying a
firearm. Patten is appealing DePina's conviction on the grounds that
the state gun licensing statute is "vague and overbroad," inconsistent
in application and violates an enumerated, fundamental right protected
by the Second Amendment… Rather than going through the appellate
courts, Patten appealed directly to the SJC, saying the DePina case
concerned basic constitutional rights that required a final
determination by the state's highest court. On Sept. 16, the SJC
agreed to hear the case, and put out a call for amicus briefs. The
Bristol County District Attorney's Office is expected to file its
response later this month…

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091004/NEWS/910040331
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Oregon Senate to Examine Campus Carry: After two recent lawsuits
raised questions about the legality of state universities' bans on
concealed handguns, the state Senate decided Wednesday to weigh in on
the subject. t an informal hearing before the Senate's Judiciary
Committee Wednesday morning, Bend lawyer and former Sen. Neil Bryant,
who served on the committee for eight years, requested the legislature
form a working group to attempt to resolve the legal issues
surrounding the bans. The main case in question was filed by the
Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation and petitions the court to
determine the validity of the Oregon University System's handgun ban,
which affects those licensed to carry concealed handguns. "It's a
basic question of whether or not educational institutions have the
authority to regulate weapons on their campus," Bryant said. However,
Bryant said oral arguments in the case will to be heard until early
spring of 2010. In the meantime, he urged the Senate to "be
proactive." …

http://www.dailyemerald.com/handgun-ban-gets-second-look-1.624001

Related Lawsuit Discussed:

http://www.dailyemerald.com/news/oregon-university-system-sued-over-campus-handgun-policy-1.622200
---

Pennsylvania Student Regains Right to Advocate: After months of
national media attention, a student threatened with punishment for
attempting to form a gun-rights group at Community College of
Allegheny County (CCAC) is finally allowed to distribute pamphlets
about the group on campus. The college has also rescinded its
unconstitutional policy demanding "prior written approval" for
"personal contact with individuals or groups related to non-sponsored
college material or events." After Christine Brashier, who wanted to
form a chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC), was
told that her pamphlets were unacceptable "solicitation" and that any
further efforts would be considered "academic misconduct," she turned
to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help…

http://www.thefire.org/article/11152.html
---

The Beat Goes On: A nationwide ammunition shortage for handguns has
gripped self-defense gun enthusiasts as the demand has gone through
the roof in the past year, and there won't be any relief soon in East
Texas, according to local suppliers. Gun sales spiked a year ago when
it became clear President Barack Obama would be elected to office. The
FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System reported 9
million background checks for gun sales issued January through August,
an increase of 21 percent from the same period the year before.
Criminal background checks for gun sales in Texas were at 650,429
during the time frame - a 26.9 percent increase compared to the same
period in 2008. Texas gun sales in the U.S. are No. 2 in that same
time range. More guns sold means more demand for ammunition…

http://www.lufkindailynews.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/10/04/ammunition_sales.html?imw=Y

Karen hadn't needed a handgun in 30 years. That was back when the
Fruita bookkeeper, now 66, worked alongside prisoners, riding back and
forth daily from various hospitals in California as a deputy of the
Orange County Sheriff's Department… Spurred earlier this year by what
she called rumors of new restrictions looming from Washington, D.C.,
she bought a new .22-caliber handgun and surfed the Internet for local
firearms safety classes. Her new concealed weapons permit recently
arrived in the mail… While surveys suggest Mesa County residents feel
safe in their neighborhoods, they've also armed themselves with
concealed guns at a rate that has increased fourfold over five years.
In line with state and nationwide trends, yearly 2009 totals through
Sept. 23 for concealed weapon permit applications to the Mesa County
Sheriff's Department stood at a record 1,033, according to department
figures. Of those, 873 permits had been approved or were awaiting a
decision. Colorado is on a pace to shatter last year's record of
20,998 applications, the highest since the Legislature in 2004 set
statewide standards for concealed handguns and put county sheriffs in
charge of issuing permits… (I'm disappointed to hear that a former
deputy sheriff has settled for a .22 but it does beat a pocketful of
rocks.)

http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2009/10/03/100409_1a_conceal_carry_permit.html

For many small business owners in New York, the current economic state
has led to poor sales and dwindling profits. But that's not the case
for Kordell Jackson, Charlie Morris and Chuck Sherwood, each of whom
owns a gun store. All three have seen their sales skyrocket since last
November. After the election last year of President Barack Obama, a
Democrat, gun sales and pistol-permit applications have increased
dramatically in New York and across the country, state records show
and experts say… In New York, fingerprints processed for gun
applications are up about 50 percent over last year, though the state
Division of Criminal Justice Services expects the rate to level to a
30 percent increase when the year is finished. The state averaged
2,288 fingerprints per month for pistol permits through July, up from
1,538 in 2008. Also, many counties have had increases in pistol
applications through the first half of the year, records show. For
example, Putnam County received 203 through June, six more than in all
of 2008…

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009910050326
---

Updated Arizona CWP Statistics: Arizona is now up to 140,799
outstanding CWP's, as of October 1. The 974 revocations come out to
approximately 0.7 percent. We continue to see a higher rate of
revocation for both instructors (approximately 1.9%) and training
organizations (2%). This generally reflects certifying training that
was not provided or was not fully provided, as in concluding the
course in less than the mandatory eight hours. Suspensions may either
result in revocations or restorations. They usually occur if a
permittee is arrested on a charge that would make him ineligible to
receive the permit and the outcome of the judicial process will
determine if the permit is restored or revoked. Male permittees
continue to outnumber female permittees but women now hold 21.3% of
the outstanding permits.

http://ccw.azdps.gov/Stats.htm
---

Church Shootings Not Uncommon: The Rev. Lawrence Adams teaches his
flock at the Westside Bible Church to turn the other cheek. Just in
case, though, the 54-year-old retired police lieutenant also wears a
handgun under his robe. Adams is one of several Detroit clergymen who
have taken to packing heat in the pulpit. They have committed their
lives to a man who preached nonviolence and told followers to love
their enemies. But they also say it's up to them to protect their
parishioners in church. "As a pastor, I'm referred to as a shepherd,"
Adams said. "Shepherds have the responsibility of watching over their
flock. Do I want to hurt somebody? Absolutely not!" Responding to a
break-in at his church Sunday evening, Adams surprised a burglar
carrying out a bag of loot and shot the man in the abdomen after the
man swung the bag at him. The burglar survived - for which Adams is
grateful - but the reverend said he could have been hurt or killed if
he had not been armed… The clergy in Detroit who arm themselves say
they do so because of the high overall crime rate. But churchgoers
elsewhere have been the target of violent attacks several times in
recent years…

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hmhf3HFNtbJdQq0ddx0sK5POu_pwD9B2HVLO0
---

Oops, Wrong House: A homeowner shot and wounded a burglar who entered
his bedroom while he was on the phone with a 911 operator, deputies
with the Harris County [TX] Sheriff's Office said this morning. Around
2:30 a.m., a homeowner in the 13000 block of Lima near Beechnut in
southwest Houston called 911 to report an intruder. The burglar,
possibly hearing something coming from the bedroom, opened the door
and was shot in the arm, deputies said. The 19-year-old suspect was
taken to a hospital with a non-life-threatening injury and was
expected to be booked into jail once he was treated. A woman in a car,
apparently an accomplice, also was arrested outside. According to
deputies, the burglar entered through a kitchen window and was bagging
up electronics and other loot in the living room, which woke up the
homeowner. Names of those involved were not immediately available.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6652606.html
---

Oops, Wrong Car: A District police officer traded gunfire with
would-be carjackers in Prince George's County [MD] Sunday in the
second such incident in the county in less than a week, Prince
George's police said. The off-duty police officer involved in Sunday's
incident in Capitol Heights was not hurt. It was not clear whether he
wounded either of the two people who tried to take his car at
gunpoint, police said. They were at large Sunday night… In Sunday's
incident, the D.C. officer, whose name was not released, had just
parked his vehicle on Brooks Drive about 6:20 a.m. As he got out, he
was approached by two people, county police said. One showed a gun and
demanded the officer's keys. The officer got his service weapon and
fired, police said. As the two people ran, one fired back, police
said. The incident was similar to a confrontation Wednesday night in
which an off-duty county police officer was shot by a man who
approached him as he was getting out of his car in a parking lot on
Jaywick Avenue in Fort Washington… (It must usually be pretty safe for
robbers to target drivers coming out of DC as regular, law-abiding
folks cannot legally carry firearms in the District.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/04/AR2009100402782.html?hpid=sec-metro

Speaking of Which…: We are now presented with a new challenge to our
D.C. gun laws and regulations. In this new lawsuit, celebrated last
month by a commentary on this page, the courts are asked to decide
whether an individual's Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms
includes the right to carry firearms openly or concealed in public for
personal protection. This issue arises in the wake of the historic
Supreme Court decision in Heller v. District of Columbia and the
changes to the District's firearms laws that followed… As the attorney
general for the District, I will continue to defend vigorously the
current laws confining firearms to legitimate uses in the home, in
businesses and for recreation. No court has yet ruled under Heller
that an individual's Second Amendment rights include carrying firearms
in public. Indeed, the Supreme Court specifically stated that an
individual's Second Amendment right, "like most rights . . . is not
unlimited." The right is not a right "to keep and carry any weapon
whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose." … (It's
pretty sad when the attorney general confuses District of Columbia v.
Heller with Heller v. District of Columbia. It was the District that
chose to take the case to the Supreme court.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/02/AR2009100202210.html
---

Rule One, Rule Two Reminder: The 80-year-old tractor salesman was tied
up, beaten to a pulp, and left to die in a tub full of his own blood
by a pair of sadistic robbers in his Groveport, Ohio, home. Then four
days after the Sept. 20 torture, Needs' son accidentally shot him in
the hand during a self-defense lesson meant to ward off future
robbers… He has a broken nose, crushed sinuses, and a gunshot wound in
his pinkie and thumb - but says he'll recover… (Rule One: All firearms
are always loaded. Rule Two: Never let the muzzle cross anything
you're not prepared to shoot. It sounds like the son may have been
teaching a disarming technique with a loaded gun. Most of us who teach
that stuff use dummy guns for the training.)

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/10/03/2009-10-03_beaten_ohio_man_shot_during_selfdefense_lesson_.html
---

What Happened Here?: A Tampa couple and an Irish tourist were shot at
a Lakeland gun range after a handgun accidentally fired. Polk County
[FL] sheriff's deputies say it's not entirely clear how many times
Michael and Sherri Thourot's 9mm accidentally went off Saturday, or
what caused the handgun to fire. The pistol was a Jennings make. The
man in an adjacent stall, 29-year-old Gary Flynn, of Ireland, was most
seriously injured. He underwent surgery after being hit in the
shoulder and throat, and was listed in stable condition. Michael
Thourot was shot in the left hand, and Sherri Thourot was hit in the
left arm. Both were also listed in stable condition. (While the facts
reported are insufficient to draw a conclusion, I suspect that the
notoriously inexpensive Jennings pistol may have gone full-auto and
"run away.")

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,559904,00.html?test=latestnews

The Navajo County [AZ] Sheriff's Office reported an accidental
shooting that resulted in the death of a man on Butler Trail, outside
of Snowflake. Deputies were called to the scene on Sept. 26 and found
Charles Weissert, 44, of Mesa shot. He was pronounced dead at the
scene. An investigation revealed Weissert reached into the back of a
pickup to move a handgun. As he was handling the gun, it went off and
the bullet struck him in the chest. (Was this a Rule Three violation
[finger or other object inside trigger guard] or dropped older-style
single-action revolver with round under the hammer? Not enough
information to make the call.)

http://www.wmicentral.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20375289&BRD=2264&PAG=461&dept_id=505965&rfi=6
---

The Best Gun in the World: The best gun in the world is the one you'll
have with you when you need it. Seriously, the features of a gun you
don't have with you don't matter. Like most tools there's an optimal
gun for every task under the sun. The task here is to ensure you'll
always have it with you when you need it. This article will talk about
the features of a gun tool that will get that job done. And yes, I
have a specific make and model in mind… It would be a very special gun
that had none of the drawbacks and all of the advantages listed above.
You might even say it would be the Best Gun in the world. The Ruger
SP101 .357 magnum fits that description and is my choice for the
title. I prefer the model with the 3 1/16" barrel for more accuracy
and better performance of the magnum rounds. I also prefer it with the
hammer for more deliberate round placement when the situation calls
for it. Hammerless and with the shorter barrel is better for concealed
carry. For me, that's not worth giving up the accuracy and better
performance of the magnum round… (Differences of opinion are what make
horse races. Gillespie's initial line of thinking is similar to Ed
Lovette's observation in The Snubby Revolver that, while CIA trainees
may have preferred shooting the Browning High Power, when they
experienced life in the field, they generally opted for the more
easily concealed S&W 640. I carry three of the latter, in two
generational variants, but have been known to recommend the three-inch
SP101, with the caveat that it will need a trigger job. Personally, I
no longer carry Magnum rounds because I feel that the odds are that I
will fire from a compressed position, where I will not appreciate the
added blast and flash.)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig10/gillespie4.1.1.html
---

Tangentially Related: "You don't need to know. You can't know." That's
what Kathy Norris, a 60-year-old grandmother of eight, was told when
she tried to ask court officials why, the day before, federal agents
had subjected her home to a furious search. The agents who spent half
a day ransacking Mrs. Norris' longtime home in Spring, Texas, answered
no questions while they emptied file cabinets, pulled books off
shelves, rifled through drawers and closets, and threw the contents on
the floor. The six agents, wearing SWAT gear and carrying weapons,
were with - get this- the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Kathy and
George Norris lived under the specter of a covert government
investigation for almost six months before the government unsealed a
secret indictment and revealed why the Fish and Wildlife Service had
treated their family home as if it were a training base for suspected
terrorists. Orchids. That's right. Orchids. By March 2004, federal
prosecutors were well on their way to turning 66-year-old retiree
George Norris into an inmate in a federal penitentiary - based on his
home-based business of cultivating, importing and selling orchids.
Mrs. Norris testified before the House Judiciary subcommittee on crime
this summer. The hearing's topic: the rapid and dangerous expansion of
federal criminal law, an expansion that is often unprincipled and
highly partisan…

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/05/criminalizing-everyone/

"Did you really think we want those laws to be observed?" said Dr.
Ferris. "We want them broken...There's no way to rule innocent men.
The only power any government has is the power to crack down on
criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them.
One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible
for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law
abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the
kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively
interpreted - and you create a nation of law breakers - and then you
cash in on guilt..."

- Ayn Rand (1905-1982), spoken by Dr. Floyd Ferris in Atlas Shrugged, 1957

Good Guys with Guns

Monday, October 5, 2009

good guys with guns 10-05-09

10-05-09

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