Is he serious? I can't tell.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
12-22-10
by permission from Stephen P. Wenger
http://www.spw-duf.info
comments in () by the same
F Troop Leader Explains Power Grab: A recent initiative by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has caught the attention of national media outlets. I wanted to make sure everyone heard from me about this law enforcement initiative so there isn't any confusion. Recently, ATF announced through the Federal Register our intent to initiate a new Demand Letter requiring the reporting of multiple sales of certain long guns by Federal Firearms Licensees, known as FFLs, in the four Southwest Border States. We took this step as a way to help gain actionable law enforcement intelligence which we believe will help reduce criminal firearms trafficking along the Southwest border. Before we can actually issue the Demand Letter we must receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget for purposes of the paperwork reduction act. We expect to receive that approval in early January, 2011…
http://www.ammoland.com/2010/12/21/atf-announces-demand-letters-for-multiple-sales-of-long-guns-in-border-states/
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Isn't Guatemala South of Mexico?: Security forces seized a small plane, 150 AK-47 assault rifles and the equivalent of nearly $63,000 in cash Tuesday during operations against suspected drug traffickers in the northern Guatemalan province of Alta Verapaz, where a state of siege was imposed over the weekend. Authorities have also arrested 10 suspected members of Mexico's Los Zetas drug cartel since the state of siege took affect at midnight Saturday, police spokesman Donald Gonzalez told reporters. Police found 300,000 quetzales ($37,735) in cash inside a small aircraft impounded at the airport in Coban, while another 200,000 quetzales ($25,157) was discovered during the search of a private residence, Gonzalez said… Gunmen and smugglers working for Los Zetas, the former armed wing of Mexico's Gulf cartel, have been operating in Guatemala for more than two years, becoming one of the bloodiest criminal organizations in the Central American country, officials say.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2010/12/21/guatemala-seizes-plane-guns-cash-anti-drug-raids/
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Feds Seek Dismissal of Post-Office Carry Suit: Last week, Department of Justice attorneys representing the U.S. Postal Service filed a Motion to Dismiss the suit brought contesting the ban on firearms on Postal Service property. This suit was brought by the Mountain States Legal Foundation on behalf of Debbie and Tab Bonidy as well as the National Association for Gun Rights. The Bonidys live outside of Avon, Colorado in an area which does not receive home mail service. As a result, they have to pick up their mail at the Post Office in Avon where they are provided a free mail box. The Bonidys, both of whom have Colorado concealed carry licenses, want to be able to carry a handgun for self-protection on the way to, while, and upon returning from picking up their mail. Current postal regulations prohibit possession of a firearm on USPS property including the parking lots. The Motion to Dismiss the plaintiffs' complaint seeks to have it dismissed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The Postal Service argues that even if all the facts are true as presented, the Bonidys have failed to state a viable claim. They argue that the Bonidy's Second Amendment claim is precluded by existing precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. They summarize their argument as follows...
http://onlygunsandmoney.blogspot.com/2010/12/bonidy-v-usps-postal-service-moves-to.html
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Strange Bedfellows: In the latest example of unexpected political bedfellows: the state's [TX] Republican Land Commissioner – and noted gun enthusiast – Jerry Patterson will be appointed to a post in President Barack Obama's administration, the White House announced tonight. Patterson will be one of five members of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, a panel created last October to work on restoration projects and public health programs in the area. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson will chair the task force. Patterson has been commissioner for six years, but is probably best known as an unabashed firearms supporter. He wrote the state's conceal and carry laws back in the 1990s while serving as a state senator and, while stepping into the fray during this year's heated agriculture commissioner contest, joked that he "would have shot " Democrat Hank Gilbert for his campaign tactics…
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/12/land-commissioner-jerry-patter-1.html
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Brian Aitken Seeks to Clear Name: …Christie's commutation does not clear Aitken's conviction or criminal record, and he has yet to hear from the New Jersey appellate court. He is not content with freedom, though, and plans a return to court… His case, he said, hinges on an exemption in New Jersey's gun laws that allows gun owners to transport their weapons if moving to another residence. Aitken had moved back to New Jersey from Colorado, where he purchased the guns legally in 2007, and claims he was in the process of moving from his family's home in Mount Laurel to Hoboken at the time of the arrest. When police searched his car in Mount Laurel on Jan. 2, 2009, they found handguns, locked and unloaded in a box in the trunk of his car, along with hollow-point bullets and high-capacity magazines. One officer said he also saw boxes of clothes and dishes in Aitken's car. The Burlington County Prosecutor's Office and former Superior Court Judge James J. Morley both said that Aitken's defense team did not present enough evidence at trial to support the moving exemption. Although the jury asked to see the exemption on three separate occasions, Morley refused…
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20101222_Freed__gun-owner_wants_to_clear_his_name.html
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Florida County to Lift Illegal Gun Ban: Basketball, suntan lotion, beach blanket – handgun. The new list of what's allowed in Palm Beach County parks will soon include firearms under revamped county rules that got the initial go-ahead on Tuesday. After years of banning guns from county sports fields, beaches, camp sites and other recreation areas, the local rules are being changed to allow people with concealed weapons permits to bring their guns to county parks. The final vote is Jan. 11. County officials say the change comes after a local resident alerted them that the local ban on firearms in county parks didn't comply with a state law, approved during the 1980s, that allows concealed weapons permit holders to bring their firearms to parks in Florida… (Note what one alert and determined citizen can accomplish.)
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-guns-parks-palm-20101221,0,6366215.story
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More California Businesses Welcome Open Carry: Unless you don't have a computer you know that Starbucks welcomes customers who openly carry firearms (Open Carry), despite a failed campaign from the Brady Campaign to force them to change their policy. Thanks in part to the publicity the Brady Campaign gave to the South Bay Open Carry movement by protesting an Open Carry dinner at Domenick's Pizza House last month, businesses have been contacting Harley Green, the founder of the Open Carry movement in the South Bay letting him know that they too support our right to openly carry guns for the purpose of self-defense. My favorite quote is from Scott Osborn of Osborn's Automotive located at 1001 S. Pacific Coast Hwy in Redondo Beach, CA 90277: "You don't need to check your guns at my business, wear them proudly!" Other businesses welcome openly carried firearms purely because it is good business. The money of Open Carry advocates spends as well as anyone else's money… (The list is interesting and includes Albertson's Market. Unfortunately, open carry in California generally requires that the firearm be unloaded.)
http://www.examiner.com/la-in-los-angeles/businesses-increasingly-welcoming-openly-carried-firearms
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More Guns, Less Crime?: Violent crime continued to decline in Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue during the first half of 2010, according to crime data released Monday by the FBI, yet gun ownership and the number of people licensed to carry in the Evergreen State continues to rise. This revelation, reported in this morning's Seattle Times, will make it tough for Washington CeaseFire and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence to convince state lawmakers, the press and public that more guns in circulation – and more people legally carrying firearms for personal protection – will spawn "Wild West" shootouts and "blood in the streets." It appears to be quite the opposite, and coupled with data this column noted here about more police being killed in auto crashes than shoot-outs, anti-gunners are going to face a hard sell for any new gun control initiatives they may push next month in Olympia. Meanwhile, violent crime was up slightly in Spokane during the first six months, where there were 647 such crimes reported this year, opposed to the 627 reported during the first half of 2009… (I have long cautioned against using crime rates as primary argument for the RKBA because they can vary with a great many factors.)
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/violent-crime-stays-down-as-more-washingtonians-are-packing
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Michigan Likely to Teach Kids Firearm Safety: …The law, which passed both houses and made its way to the governor's desk this week, requires the state's education department to craft a model gun safety program for elementary schools and encourages all public schools to participate. The measure has nothing to do with teaching youngsters to use a gun, said state Sen. John Gleason, D-Flushing, who sponsored the bill. Instead, he added, it's designed to teach kids what guns are, how serious they are and what they should do if they see one: stay away and tell an adult. The lessons can be taught by the teachers and can take as little as ten minutes per year, Gleason said… (Duh! NRA's Eddie Eagle program has been doing that for years. As long as Michigan does not want to use that rather simplistic program, it would make sense to ratchet it up a bit each year, with kids learning to unload and render safe various types of firearms.)
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2010/12/new_law_would_teach_children_g.html
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Rule One, Rule Two Reminder: Five days after marrying her Prescott High School sweetheart, Caitlin Smith became a widow. Her new husband, Airman Steven Crawford, died Monday evening at a Minot, N.D., medical center from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. According to a Minot Police Department report, officers responded to an accidental shooting in an apartment off the Minot Air Force Base at about 7 p.m. Dec. 20… Smith noted that the shooting occurred as Crawford and friends were preparing to go to a shooting range. "From what we were told, his friend was messing around and pointed a gun, which he thought was unloaded, at Steven and pulled the trigger," Crawford stated. The police report noted that Nicholas Rouse was originally arrested for reckless endangerment. When Crawford died, the charge was amended to negligent homicide. Rouse is also in the Air Force… (Rule One: All firearms are always loaded. Rule Two: Don't let the muzzle cross anything you're not prepared to shoot.)
http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1086&ArticleID=88753
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Oops, Wrong House: Police said it was an act of self defense that claimed the life of 37-year old John F. Sharp. Sharp was shot twice after he allegedly forced his way into the home of his ex-girlfriend and began choking her. Police said Mellony Pursel attempted to fight him off and that's when her 17-year old niece intervened. "She gets a gun, fires two shots at the individual (Sharp) who is attacking Mellony and both shots hit him in the chest," said Roy [UT] police Chief Greg Whinham. "Both shots exit through him and strike Mellony[emphasis added.]." According to court documents, Pursel's life was threatened for 36-hours prior to the shooting… (Many people minimize concerns about overpenetration by bullets, citing the high miss rate of American police officers. While details are skimpy, if the wounds to Sharp were fatal, it would appear that the shots were well placed. I still counsel the use of a hollowpoint round, preferably with a known street record, and no intermingling of FMJ bullets for enhanced penetration. You can never predict which round you will need for which shot.)
http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top_stories/story/Roy-police-call-death-act-of-self-defense/vTzBEjb3L0KgxjV0gLl9PQ.cspx
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Five Months Later…: No charges will be filed in a fatal shooting at a Sampson County [NC] racetrack because it was a case of self-defense, District Attorney Dewey Hudson said Friday. Timothy McKoy, 29, of Garland, died after being shot in the head and chest on July 4 at Harrells Raceway. Investigators determined that McKoy pointed a gun on Torrey Tremayne Frederick and threatened to kill him, but the racetrack owner ordered McKoy off the property, Hudson said. A bystander gave a gun to Frederick [emphasis added], who tried to leave the parking lot but couldn't because his keys were locked inside his pickup. As the racetrack owner and a bystander tried to calm Frederick down and get the gun away from him, McKoy, who had returned to the racetrack, drew his gun again and pointed it at Frederick and the two men, Hudson said. Frederick then yelled for the men to move as he shot McKoy. Frederick then threw down the gun and jumped in a car to leave the racetrack, Hudson said… "Based upon the witness statements, it appears that McKoy was, in fact, the aggressor," Hudson said in a statement. "The shooting death of Mr. McKoy, while tragic, was justified under the law." Frederick, 32, of Ivanhoe, was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon in the case. (It is unclear if those charges are still pending. Note that he was handed the gun by a bystander, under exigent circumstances.)
http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/8792652/
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S&W Gets Tax Incentives: Gun maker Smith & Wesson says Massachusetts has approved $6 million in tax breaks over the next seven years, enabling the company to move 225 jobs to its Springfield headquarters. Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. said under the agreement with the state Economic Assistance Coordinating Council finalized on Tuesday it will move its Thompson/Center division from Rochester, N.H. to Massachusetts and expand its headquarters and plant. The division makes hunting rifles. Smith & Wesson announced earlier this month that it planned to end production at the New Hampshire facility…
http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/business/2010/12/smith-wesson-gets-tax-incentives-will-add-jobs
http://www.spw-duf.info
comments in () by the same
F Troop Leader Explains Power Grab: A recent initiative by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has caught the attention of national media outlets. I wanted to make sure everyone heard from me about this law enforcement initiative so there isn't any confusion. Recently, ATF announced through the Federal Register our intent to initiate a new Demand Letter requiring the reporting of multiple sales of certain long guns by Federal Firearms Licensees, known as FFLs, in the four Southwest Border States. We took this step as a way to help gain actionable law enforcement intelligence which we believe will help reduce criminal firearms trafficking along the Southwest border. Before we can actually issue the Demand Letter we must receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget for purposes of the paperwork reduction act. We expect to receive that approval in early January, 2011…
http://www.ammoland.com/2010/12/21/atf-announces-demand-letters-for-multiple-sales-of-long-guns-in-border-states/
---
Isn't Guatemala South of Mexico?: Security forces seized a small plane, 150 AK-47 assault rifles and the equivalent of nearly $63,000 in cash Tuesday during operations against suspected drug traffickers in the northern Guatemalan province of Alta Verapaz, where a state of siege was imposed over the weekend. Authorities have also arrested 10 suspected members of Mexico's Los Zetas drug cartel since the state of siege took affect at midnight Saturday, police spokesman Donald Gonzalez told reporters. Police found 300,000 quetzales ($37,735) in cash inside a small aircraft impounded at the airport in Coban, while another 200,000 quetzales ($25,157) was discovered during the search of a private residence, Gonzalez said… Gunmen and smugglers working for Los Zetas, the former armed wing of Mexico's Gulf cartel, have been operating in Guatemala for more than two years, becoming one of the bloodiest criminal organizations in the Central American country, officials say.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2010/12/21/guatemala-seizes-plane-guns-cash-anti-drug-raids/
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Feds Seek Dismissal of Post-Office Carry Suit: Last week, Department of Justice attorneys representing the U.S. Postal Service filed a Motion to Dismiss the suit brought contesting the ban on firearms on Postal Service property. This suit was brought by the Mountain States Legal Foundation on behalf of Debbie and Tab Bonidy as well as the National Association for Gun Rights. The Bonidys live outside of Avon, Colorado in an area which does not receive home mail service. As a result, they have to pick up their mail at the Post Office in Avon where they are provided a free mail box. The Bonidys, both of whom have Colorado concealed carry licenses, want to be able to carry a handgun for self-protection on the way to, while, and upon returning from picking up their mail. Current postal regulations prohibit possession of a firearm on USPS property including the parking lots. The Motion to Dismiss the plaintiffs' complaint seeks to have it dismissed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The Postal Service argues that even if all the facts are true as presented, the Bonidys have failed to state a viable claim. They argue that the Bonidy's Second Amendment claim is precluded by existing precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. They summarize their argument as follows...
http://onlygunsandmoney.blogspot.com/2010/12/bonidy-v-usps-postal-service-moves-to.html
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Strange Bedfellows: In the latest example of unexpected political bedfellows: the state's [TX] Republican Land Commissioner – and noted gun enthusiast – Jerry Patterson will be appointed to a post in President Barack Obama's administration, the White House announced tonight. Patterson will be one of five members of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, a panel created last October to work on restoration projects and public health programs in the area. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson will chair the task force. Patterson has been commissioner for six years, but is probably best known as an unabashed firearms supporter. He wrote the state's conceal and carry laws back in the 1990s while serving as a state senator and, while stepping into the fray during this year's heated agriculture commissioner contest, joked that he "would have shot " Democrat Hank Gilbert for his campaign tactics…
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/12/land-commissioner-jerry-patter-1.html
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Brian Aitken Seeks to Clear Name: …Christie's commutation does not clear Aitken's conviction or criminal record, and he has yet to hear from the New Jersey appellate court. He is not content with freedom, though, and plans a return to court… His case, he said, hinges on an exemption in New Jersey's gun laws that allows gun owners to transport their weapons if moving to another residence. Aitken had moved back to New Jersey from Colorado, where he purchased the guns legally in 2007, and claims he was in the process of moving from his family's home in Mount Laurel to Hoboken at the time of the arrest. When police searched his car in Mount Laurel on Jan. 2, 2009, they found handguns, locked and unloaded in a box in the trunk of his car, along with hollow-point bullets and high-capacity magazines. One officer said he also saw boxes of clothes and dishes in Aitken's car. The Burlington County Prosecutor's Office and former Superior Court Judge James J. Morley both said that Aitken's defense team did not present enough evidence at trial to support the moving exemption. Although the jury asked to see the exemption on three separate occasions, Morley refused…
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20101222_Freed__gun-owner_wants_to_clear_his_name.html
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Florida County to Lift Illegal Gun Ban: Basketball, suntan lotion, beach blanket – handgun. The new list of what's allowed in Palm Beach County parks will soon include firearms under revamped county rules that got the initial go-ahead on Tuesday. After years of banning guns from county sports fields, beaches, camp sites and other recreation areas, the local rules are being changed to allow people with concealed weapons permits to bring their guns to county parks. The final vote is Jan. 11. County officials say the change comes after a local resident alerted them that the local ban on firearms in county parks didn't comply with a state law, approved during the 1980s, that allows concealed weapons permit holders to bring their firearms to parks in Florida… (Note what one alert and determined citizen can accomplish.)
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-guns-parks-palm-20101221,0,6366215.story
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More California Businesses Welcome Open Carry: Unless you don't have a computer you know that Starbucks welcomes customers who openly carry firearms (Open Carry), despite a failed campaign from the Brady Campaign to force them to change their policy. Thanks in part to the publicity the Brady Campaign gave to the South Bay Open Carry movement by protesting an Open Carry dinner at Domenick's Pizza House last month, businesses have been contacting Harley Green, the founder of the Open Carry movement in the South Bay letting him know that they too support our right to openly carry guns for the purpose of self-defense. My favorite quote is from Scott Osborn of Osborn's Automotive located at 1001 S. Pacific Coast Hwy in Redondo Beach, CA 90277: "You don't need to check your guns at my business, wear them proudly!" Other businesses welcome openly carried firearms purely because it is good business. The money of Open Carry advocates spends as well as anyone else's money… (The list is interesting and includes Albertson's Market. Unfortunately, open carry in California generally requires that the firearm be unloaded.)
http://www.examiner.com/la-in-los-angeles/businesses-increasingly-welcoming-openly-carried-firearms
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More Guns, Less Crime?: Violent crime continued to decline in Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue during the first half of 2010, according to crime data released Monday by the FBI, yet gun ownership and the number of people licensed to carry in the Evergreen State continues to rise. This revelation, reported in this morning's Seattle Times, will make it tough for Washington CeaseFire and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence to convince state lawmakers, the press and public that more guns in circulation – and more people legally carrying firearms for personal protection – will spawn "Wild West" shootouts and "blood in the streets." It appears to be quite the opposite, and coupled with data this column noted here about more police being killed in auto crashes than shoot-outs, anti-gunners are going to face a hard sell for any new gun control initiatives they may push next month in Olympia. Meanwhile, violent crime was up slightly in Spokane during the first six months, where there were 647 such crimes reported this year, opposed to the 627 reported during the first half of 2009… (I have long cautioned against using crime rates as primary argument for the RKBA because they can vary with a great many factors.)
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/violent-crime-stays-down-as-more-washingtonians-are-packing
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Michigan Likely to Teach Kids Firearm Safety: …The law, which passed both houses and made its way to the governor's desk this week, requires the state's education department to craft a model gun safety program for elementary schools and encourages all public schools to participate. The measure has nothing to do with teaching youngsters to use a gun, said state Sen. John Gleason, D-Flushing, who sponsored the bill. Instead, he added, it's designed to teach kids what guns are, how serious they are and what they should do if they see one: stay away and tell an adult. The lessons can be taught by the teachers and can take as little as ten minutes per year, Gleason said… (Duh! NRA's Eddie Eagle program has been doing that for years. As long as Michigan does not want to use that rather simplistic program, it would make sense to ratchet it up a bit each year, with kids learning to unload and render safe various types of firearms.)
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2010/12/new_law_would_teach_children_g.html
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Rule One, Rule Two Reminder: Five days after marrying her Prescott High School sweetheart, Caitlin Smith became a widow. Her new husband, Airman Steven Crawford, died Monday evening at a Minot, N.D., medical center from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. According to a Minot Police Department report, officers responded to an accidental shooting in an apartment off the Minot Air Force Base at about 7 p.m. Dec. 20… Smith noted that the shooting occurred as Crawford and friends were preparing to go to a shooting range. "From what we were told, his friend was messing around and pointed a gun, which he thought was unloaded, at Steven and pulled the trigger," Crawford stated. The police report noted that Nicholas Rouse was originally arrested for reckless endangerment. When Crawford died, the charge was amended to negligent homicide. Rouse is also in the Air Force… (Rule One: All firearms are always loaded. Rule Two: Don't let the muzzle cross anything you're not prepared to shoot.)
http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1086&ArticleID=88753
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Oops, Wrong House: Police said it was an act of self defense that claimed the life of 37-year old John F. Sharp. Sharp was shot twice after he allegedly forced his way into the home of his ex-girlfriend and began choking her. Police said Mellony Pursel attempted to fight him off and that's when her 17-year old niece intervened. "She gets a gun, fires two shots at the individual (Sharp) who is attacking Mellony and both shots hit him in the chest," said Roy [UT] police Chief Greg Whinham. "Both shots exit through him and strike Mellony[emphasis added.]." According to court documents, Pursel's life was threatened for 36-hours prior to the shooting… (Many people minimize concerns about overpenetration by bullets, citing the high miss rate of American police officers. While details are skimpy, if the wounds to Sharp were fatal, it would appear that the shots were well placed. I still counsel the use of a hollowpoint round, preferably with a known street record, and no intermingling of FMJ bullets for enhanced penetration. You can never predict which round you will need for which shot.)
http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top_stories/story/Roy-police-call-death-act-of-self-defense/vTzBEjb3L0KgxjV0gLl9PQ.cspx
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Five Months Later…: No charges will be filed in a fatal shooting at a Sampson County [NC] racetrack because it was a case of self-defense, District Attorney Dewey Hudson said Friday. Timothy McKoy, 29, of Garland, died after being shot in the head and chest on July 4 at Harrells Raceway. Investigators determined that McKoy pointed a gun on Torrey Tremayne Frederick and threatened to kill him, but the racetrack owner ordered McKoy off the property, Hudson said. A bystander gave a gun to Frederick [emphasis added], who tried to leave the parking lot but couldn't because his keys were locked inside his pickup. As the racetrack owner and a bystander tried to calm Frederick down and get the gun away from him, McKoy, who had returned to the racetrack, drew his gun again and pointed it at Frederick and the two men, Hudson said. Frederick then yelled for the men to move as he shot McKoy. Frederick then threw down the gun and jumped in a car to leave the racetrack, Hudson said… "Based upon the witness statements, it appears that McKoy was, in fact, the aggressor," Hudson said in a statement. "The shooting death of Mr. McKoy, while tragic, was justified under the law." Frederick, 32, of Ivanhoe, was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon in the case. (It is unclear if those charges are still pending. Note that he was handed the gun by a bystander, under exigent circumstances.)
http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/8792652/
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S&W Gets Tax Incentives: Gun maker Smith & Wesson says Massachusetts has approved $6 million in tax breaks over the next seven years, enabling the company to move 225 jobs to its Springfield headquarters. Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. said under the agreement with the state Economic Assistance Coordinating Council finalized on Tuesday it will move its Thompson/Center division from Rochester, N.H. to Massachusetts and expand its headquarters and plant. The division makes hunting rifles. Smith & Wesson announced earlier this month that it planned to end production at the New Hampshire facility…
http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/business/2010/12/smith-wesson-gets-tax-incentives-will-add-jobs
Monday, November 29, 2010
11-28-10
by permission from Stephen P. Wenger
http://www.spw-duf.info
comments in () by Stephen P. Wenger
And Now, a Word from Our Sponsor: As we enter the holiday season, you may wish to consider autographed copies of my book Defensive Use of Firearms as gifts. The revised and updated edition, released earlier this year, was actually reduced in price to $12.00. One or two copies ship to the same address for $4.75; three to five copies ship to the same address for $4.85 – Priority Mail in both cases. The normal inscription is:
http://www.spw-duf.info/book.html
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Will 2011 Bring Lawful Discreet Carry to Wisconsin?: The economy will dominate the state's next legislative session, but other issues - such as requiring voters to show ID at the polls and allowing people to carry concealed guns - will also get increased attention with Republicans controlling all of state government. Republicans are unanimous in saying their top goals are creating jobs and righting the state budget, but acknowledge there is broad support among them for the bills on voter ID and concealed weapons… Republicans have passed the bills on concealed weapons and voter ID before, but Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed them. Doyle didn't run for re-election, and Republican Governor-elect Scott Walker supports both measures… Wisconsin and Illinois are the only two states that don't allow people to carry concealed guns, and changing Wisconsin's law is a top priority for gun rights activists. Doyle twice vetoed bills allowing carrying concealed weapons, and an effort to override the vetoes narrowly failed. Republicans wrote those bills in a way to get as much support as they could in an effort to get the two-thirds majority needed for an override. Now, they will need just a simple majority because Walker backs the right to carry concealed guns. That could mean the next bill will include fewer restrictions than in the past on where guns can be carried…
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/110917109.html
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Meanwhile, in New Hampshire…: Right now, the person sitting next to you in the book store or walking past you in the bank lobby or eating lunch at the next table could be carrying a concealed pistol. And doing so legally. And you'd never know it or be affected by it. And that's fine, say the advocates of New Hampshire statutes that allow law-abiding people to carry concealed pistols provided they have obtained a license to do so. Sam Cohen is the executive vice president of Pro-Gun New Hampshire, a firearms and Second Amendment advocacy group. In Cohen's opinion, "more and more people are starting to see that guns are not the evil things that some make them out to be." "More and more women are applying for concealed carry licenses, and that's a good thing,'' Cohen added. "But it's really a cross-section of people: old people, young people, people from all walks of life." The town of Raymond, as one example, has issued 58 concealed carry permits since July 1 to people ranging from 26 to 73 years old, according to Sgt. David Spinney, who said the department's chief, David Salois, handles the permit process. In Lancaster, a North Country town of about 3,300 people, Police Chief John Gardiner said he issues about 50 concealed-carry licenses a year… (I don't know where these "correspondents" moved from but New Hampshire has had shall-issue licensing for discreet carry – unlike its neighbor Vermont, which does not require a license – since long before the "CCW reform movement," started in Florida in 1987.)
http://www.theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Backers%3a+Concealed+carry+finding+favor&articleId=bf5dac7a-5841-4244-9802-f2d1e7b8cb41
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Hardening the Target, Part 1: …I will assume that those of you who are reading this that have had firearms instruction or combat training have heard of the effects that a spontaneous, unexpected threat stimulus has on the body. And I'm sure that we all were taught and all agree that one of the effects is that our fine motor skills go to heck in a hand basket in a high stress environment. In addition to tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, increased heart rate, the adrenaline and cortisol hormone cocktail totally negate your ability to execute fine motor skills in a gross motor skills environment. It is often described as wearing gloves or oven mitts. We've all been taught that. We all agree on that, right? Tell that to a Fight Pilot. Here you have an individual flying at Mach II in the cockpit of a $55 million dollar machine, 20,000 feet in the air, directing flight control over a bank of controls and instruments, both heads up displays and dash mounted, in charge of fire control, cognizant of the rest of his squadron and in contact with them, tracking radar both for position and possible enemy birds or radar lock on his position. In addition the pilot is following his mission directives and reporting status back to command. That is a pretty high stress environment if you ask me. And it sounds like the pilot is using some pretty fine motor skills… (Part of the problem with the overemphasis on adrenaline [epinephrine] and cortisol is that the arguments are often made by people who lack formal training in physiology. Very briefly, these are, respectively, short-acting and long-acting enhancers of reactions in the brain. If the brain does not shift into fright mode, they will not be "dumped" into the bloodstream. At that, epinephrine in the blood does not get into the brain to any significant degree and the brain effects of cortisol are the most likely explanation for the "adrenaline junkie" syndrome.)
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=39983
Hardening the Target, Part 2: was working at one time with the Federal Air Marshals and was asked to give a training evaluation and proposal to them. The cadre that I was working with had recently completed a training evolution with a well known tactical instruction group that sold "state of the art reality based training," as their premise. The Marshals described their experience with the group and they were duly impressed with the instruction. I listened patiently and then simply asked, "How much time did you spend punching the heavy bag while sitting in a chair?" None. I then followed with "How much time did you spend fighting an attacker out of a seated position? How much time did you spend fighting 2, 3 or 4 guys off from a seated position? Did you spend any time trying to fight with a blanket thrown over your head?" The reply was, "But we learned a lot of good takedowns, control holds and wrist locks." … (Many list members do not view themselves as "warriors" but this article is worth reading, if only to assess what sort of training is realistic for you.)
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=40074
---
Tangentially Related: In 2005, leaders in Portland, Oregon, angry at the Bush administration's conduct of the war on terror, voted not to allow city law enforcement officers to participate in a key anti-terror initiative, the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. On Friday, that task force helped prevent what could have been a horrific terrorist attack in Portland. Now city officials say they might re-think their participation in the task force – because Barack Obama is in the White House… What is ironic is that the operation that found and stopped Mohamud is precisely the kind of law enforcement work that Portland's leaders, working with the American Civil Liberties Union, rejected during the Bush years. In April 2005, the Portland city council voted 4 to 1 to withdraw Portland city police officers from participating in the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. Mayor Tom Potter said the FBI refused to give him a top-secret security clearance so he could make sure the officers weren't violating state anti-discrimination laws that bar law enforcement from targeting suspects on the basis of their religious or political beliefs. Other city leaders agreed. "Here in Portland, we are not willing to give up individual liberties in order to have a perception of safety," said city commissioner Randy Leonard. "It's important for cities to know how their police officers are being used." … (Yet the same political correctness is preparing to infringe the individual liberty to keep and bears arms in order to have a perception of safety.)
http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2010/11/politically-correct-portland-rejected-feds-who-saved-city-terrori
---
Advocates for giving the District full voting rights in the House brimmed with confidence four years ago as the Democratic takeover of Congress seemed to move their long-standing goal closer to reality. Two years later, when President Obama was elected, that confidence turned to near-certainty. "I really can't think of a scenario by which we could fail," Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said in November 2008. Yet fail they did. House leaders decided this year to pull a voting rights bill from the floor rather than have it coupled with a measure to weaken the District's gun laws. Now, with Republicans set to take over the House in January, the window to move a voting rights bill appears to have closed, and glum supporters are wondering what - if anything - to do next… As he has before, Chaffetz said that he thinks granting full voting rights to the District would be unconstitutional and that he would rather have the District retain its current status than adopt Norton's proposals. "There are other options," Chaffetz said, suggesting - as other congressional Republicans have - that the District undergo "retrocession" to Maryland. He acknowledged that he did not know exactly how such a process would work or whether Maryland would want to take over the District…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/27/AR2010112703213.html?hpid=newswell&sid=ST2009040102238
---
To [name furnished],If you would like something more specific, including the date, for the recipients, I suggest you use the option of mailing me a check with the detailed instructions.
Stay free, be safe.
S P Wenger
[date purchased]
http://www.spw-duf.info/book.html
---
Will 2011 Bring Lawful Discreet Carry to Wisconsin?: The economy will dominate the state's next legislative session, but other issues - such as requiring voters to show ID at the polls and allowing people to carry concealed guns - will also get increased attention with Republicans controlling all of state government. Republicans are unanimous in saying their top goals are creating jobs and righting the state budget, but acknowledge there is broad support among them for the bills on voter ID and concealed weapons… Republicans have passed the bills on concealed weapons and voter ID before, but Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed them. Doyle didn't run for re-election, and Republican Governor-elect Scott Walker supports both measures… Wisconsin and Illinois are the only two states that don't allow people to carry concealed guns, and changing Wisconsin's law is a top priority for gun rights activists. Doyle twice vetoed bills allowing carrying concealed weapons, and an effort to override the vetoes narrowly failed. Republicans wrote those bills in a way to get as much support as they could in an effort to get the two-thirds majority needed for an override. Now, they will need just a simple majority because Walker backs the right to carry concealed guns. That could mean the next bill will include fewer restrictions than in the past on where guns can be carried…
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/110917109.html
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Meanwhile, in New Hampshire…: Right now, the person sitting next to you in the book store or walking past you in the bank lobby or eating lunch at the next table could be carrying a concealed pistol. And doing so legally. And you'd never know it or be affected by it. And that's fine, say the advocates of New Hampshire statutes that allow law-abiding people to carry concealed pistols provided they have obtained a license to do so. Sam Cohen is the executive vice president of Pro-Gun New Hampshire, a firearms and Second Amendment advocacy group. In Cohen's opinion, "more and more people are starting to see that guns are not the evil things that some make them out to be." "More and more women are applying for concealed carry licenses, and that's a good thing,'' Cohen added. "But it's really a cross-section of people: old people, young people, people from all walks of life." The town of Raymond, as one example, has issued 58 concealed carry permits since July 1 to people ranging from 26 to 73 years old, according to Sgt. David Spinney, who said the department's chief, David Salois, handles the permit process. In Lancaster, a North Country town of about 3,300 people, Police Chief John Gardiner said he issues about 50 concealed-carry licenses a year… (I don't know where these "correspondents" moved from but New Hampshire has had shall-issue licensing for discreet carry – unlike its neighbor Vermont, which does not require a license – since long before the "CCW reform movement," started in Florida in 1987.)
http://www.theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Backers%3a+Concealed+carry+finding+favor&articleId=bf5dac7a-5841-4244-9802-f2d1e7b8cb41
---
Hardening the Target, Part 1: …I will assume that those of you who are reading this that have had firearms instruction or combat training have heard of the effects that a spontaneous, unexpected threat stimulus has on the body. And I'm sure that we all were taught and all agree that one of the effects is that our fine motor skills go to heck in a hand basket in a high stress environment. In addition to tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, increased heart rate, the adrenaline and cortisol hormone cocktail totally negate your ability to execute fine motor skills in a gross motor skills environment. It is often described as wearing gloves or oven mitts. We've all been taught that. We all agree on that, right? Tell that to a Fight Pilot. Here you have an individual flying at Mach II in the cockpit of a $55 million dollar machine, 20,000 feet in the air, directing flight control over a bank of controls and instruments, both heads up displays and dash mounted, in charge of fire control, cognizant of the rest of his squadron and in contact with them, tracking radar both for position and possible enemy birds or radar lock on his position. In addition the pilot is following his mission directives and reporting status back to command. That is a pretty high stress environment if you ask me. And it sounds like the pilot is using some pretty fine motor skills… (Part of the problem with the overemphasis on adrenaline [epinephrine] and cortisol is that the arguments are often made by people who lack formal training in physiology. Very briefly, these are, respectively, short-acting and long-acting enhancers of reactions in the brain. If the brain does not shift into fright mode, they will not be "dumped" into the bloodstream. At that, epinephrine in the blood does not get into the brain to any significant degree and the brain effects of cortisol are the most likely explanation for the "adrenaline junkie" syndrome.)
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=39983
Hardening the Target, Part 2: was working at one time with the Federal Air Marshals and was asked to give a training evaluation and proposal to them. The cadre that I was working with had recently completed a training evolution with a well known tactical instruction group that sold "state of the art reality based training," as their premise. The Marshals described their experience with the group and they were duly impressed with the instruction. I listened patiently and then simply asked, "How much time did you spend punching the heavy bag while sitting in a chair?" None. I then followed with "How much time did you spend fighting an attacker out of a seated position? How much time did you spend fighting 2, 3 or 4 guys off from a seated position? Did you spend any time trying to fight with a blanket thrown over your head?" The reply was, "But we learned a lot of good takedowns, control holds and wrist locks." … (Many list members do not view themselves as "warriors" but this article is worth reading, if only to assess what sort of training is realistic for you.)
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=40074
---
Tangentially Related: In 2005, leaders in Portland, Oregon, angry at the Bush administration's conduct of the war on terror, voted not to allow city law enforcement officers to participate in a key anti-terror initiative, the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. On Friday, that task force helped prevent what could have been a horrific terrorist attack in Portland. Now city officials say they might re-think their participation in the task force – because Barack Obama is in the White House… What is ironic is that the operation that found and stopped Mohamud is precisely the kind of law enforcement work that Portland's leaders, working with the American Civil Liberties Union, rejected during the Bush years. In April 2005, the Portland city council voted 4 to 1 to withdraw Portland city police officers from participating in the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. Mayor Tom Potter said the FBI refused to give him a top-secret security clearance so he could make sure the officers weren't violating state anti-discrimination laws that bar law enforcement from targeting suspects on the basis of their religious or political beliefs. Other city leaders agreed. "Here in Portland, we are not willing to give up individual liberties in order to have a perception of safety," said city commissioner Randy Leonard. "It's important for cities to know how their police officers are being used." … (Yet the same political correctness is preparing to infringe the individual liberty to keep and bears arms in order to have a perception of safety.)
http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2010/11/politically-correct-portland-rejected-feds-who-saved-city-terrori
---
Advocates for giving the District full voting rights in the House brimmed with confidence four years ago as the Democratic takeover of Congress seemed to move their long-standing goal closer to reality. Two years later, when President Obama was elected, that confidence turned to near-certainty. "I really can't think of a scenario by which we could fail," Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said in November 2008. Yet fail they did. House leaders decided this year to pull a voting rights bill from the floor rather than have it coupled with a measure to weaken the District's gun laws. Now, with Republicans set to take over the House in January, the window to move a voting rights bill appears to have closed, and glum supporters are wondering what - if anything - to do next… As he has before, Chaffetz said that he thinks granting full voting rights to the District would be unconstitutional and that he would rather have the District retain its current status than adopt Norton's proposals. "There are other options," Chaffetz said, suggesting - as other congressional Republicans have - that the District undergo "retrocession" to Maryland. He acknowledged that he did not know exactly how such a process would work or whether Maryland would want to take over the District…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/27/AR2010112703213.html?hpid=newswell&sid=ST2009040102238
---
11-29-10
by permission from Stephen P. Wenger
http://www.spw-duf.info
comments in () by the same
http://www.spw-duf.info
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F Troop Resumes Legislating: Recently, the NFATCA took the lead on an issue that could have far-reaching consequences in the NFA and Sporting communities," the National Firearms Act Trade & Collectors Association reports. What issue? "It was learned that ATF was seeking to create a definition of small arms ammunition under the aegis of the Safe Explosives Act. The definition was being created as an opinion letter and had no input from the firearms community." Why is a revised definition needed? What is the impetus behind this effort to increase the Bureau's regulatory control reach? And why exclude the people who it would compel compliance from under force of law? What's the immediate danger? "[I]t could have arrived as a declaration that all ammunition above .50 caliber would now be classified as an explosive." That means that there would be a whole new slew of regulations and licensing requirements – including potentially for currently-owned property. Why? …
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/atf-attempting-to-reclassify-small-arms-ammunition-without-public-input
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Peruta v. County of San Diego, One More Look: … State law gives local police chiefs and sheriffs the discretion to issue CCWs, short for "carry concealed weapon" permits, under the following conditions: The applicant must be a law-abiding citizen, have good moral character, be a county resident and establish good cause. What constitutes "good cause" is at the heart of the debate and the one element that is considered on a case-by-case basis… In a hearing before U.S. District Judge Irma Gonzalez on Nov. 15, the lawyer for the plaintiffs said those kinds of rules are now unconstitutional. The Supreme Court rulings establish self-defense as a fundamental right that can't be squelched so easily, said attorney Carl Michel. "They can't say you have to have a death threat or are being stalked, or you must articulate a specific risk in order to exercise your right to self-defense," he said. "The right to self-defense does not end at the threshold of your home." … Gonzalez is expected to issue a ruling sometime in December… (I will stick with my earlier prediction that the days of discretionary-issue are numbered in California. The sheriff of Sacramento recently settled a lawsuit by Calguns and SAF by agreeing to accept "self-defense" as good cause. I predict that the legislature will eventually go to shall-issue, with as strict standards as they can impose, including state training standards and denial for numerous types of misdemeanor convictions.)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/27/group-sues-over-concealed-weapon-permit/
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Meanwhile, in Hawaii…: … The City and County of Honolulu have consistently restricted and continue to burden the right to keep and bear arms, especially in non-sensitive public places. For a time line exceeding fifteen years, no citizen has been allowed to carry a firearm to defend themselves or their family… Your children and family, however, are not serialized; your children and family are not insured by the government, nor can your child, family member, or friend be replaced. Lastly, in an effort to change these broken laws, a local group, Hawaii Concealed Carry, was formed in 2010 to promote the safe and responsible bearing of firearms, for the purpose of self-defense. They are based on Oahu, and are working to assist all Hawaiian islands in the restoration and exercise of their fundamental right to keep and bear arms. Hawaii residents are encouraged to exercise their fundamental right by applying to their local City and County Police departments for a permit to carry a firearm, openly or concealed, for the purpose of protecting yourself and your family…
http://www.pitchengine.com/hawaii-concealed-carry-firearm-permit-initiative/105234/
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Pennsylvania Governor Vetoes Self-Defense Bill: State Rep. Seth Grove said the Castle Doctrine was easily the issue he heard about most from his constituents during the past two years, and he was genuinely surprised when Gov. Ed Rendell vetoed it Saturday. "I was very disappointed," said Grove, R-Dover Township. Grove had been a co-sponsor of the legislation, which expands the Pennsylvania's "Castle Doctrine" – referring to the adage that a man's home is his castle. Under current law, the use of deadly force in self-defense is not justifiable when safe retreat is possible, unless a person was attacked in his or her home or workplace. The legislation Rendell vetoed would have removed the requirement to retreat before using deadly force outside the home or workplace as well. Grove said that not only were his constituents in favor of the measure, but also a wide, bipartisan majority in the state General Assembly… (Disappointing as this news is, I do not find it surprising. Rendell has a lengthy history of opposing the RKBA.)
http://www.ydr.com/politics/ci_16729906
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Meanwhile, in Nebraska…: Senator Mark Christensen's bill to address self defense issues at home and work, LB 889, got killed in this year's session of the Unicameral but that doesn't mean he's giving up. Prior to adjournment, Christensen got a legislative resolution passed to conduct an interim study on a key element of the bill, commonly know as the Castle Doctrine. Christensen has built a reputation as a big advocate of Second Amendment gun rights. As a result, he wants to make sure people have the right to protect themselves in their homes, workplaces and vehicles without the threat of a civil lawsuit. The Castle Doctrine gets its name from the basis that a person's home is their "castle." As such, one has the right to protection from illegal trespassing and violent attack. Castle laws give people the legal right to use deadly force to defend their "castle" and other people in the home from violent attack or an intrusion which may lead to violent attack. Christensen said many Nebraskans can't understand why Nebraska has the law it does right now. "You have a duty to retreat, if the opportunity presents itself, even from your own home, if it appears safe to do so," he said… (Nebraska has a legislature with only one chamber, hence the term "Unicameral.")
http://www.waunetanebraska.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2457:christensens-castle-doctrine-legislation-gets-attention-during-interim-study-hearing&catid=25:local-news&Itemid=34
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Florida Ain't Arizona: A customer expecting to see great deals waved down authorities after she saw something else: a man packing a gun while waiting in line at a Black Friday sale. Police arrested Christopher D. Scott, 49, as he was waiting in a checkout line at a Wal-Mart in Boynton Beach [FL] on Friday. Officers were on patrol at the store at 3200 Old Boynton Rd., due to the large Thanksgiving night crowd seeking early bargains. Scott is charged with two counts of carrying a concealed firearm and three counts each of carrying a prohibited weapon and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. Scott lives out of state and was visiting his ill mother, he said Friday afternoon. He said he was in the store buying her supplies. He expects the charges will be dropped, he said… Scott said he has a proper weapons permit in Arizona and presumed it was reciprocal in Florida. He also didn't understand why he was charged with carrying a concealed weapon when he wore the gun in plain sight, as advised by colleagues… (Florida recognizes the Arizona CWP, if is held by an Arizona resident, but is one of the few states that does not allow private citizens to carry openly in most public venues. I generally use http://www.handgunlaw.us/ and as my starting points to check the laws of other states.)
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/27/1945068/man-accused-of-packing-gun-at.html#ixzz16Xif13os
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Oops, Wrong House: A Fort Smith [AR] homeowner on Friday shot and killed an intruder who entered his home demanding prescription medication. Police were called to 8401 S. 30th Circle at about 7:42 p.m. after a man was shot twice during a home invasion. The 69-year-old male homeowner and two other people were inside the home with a 4- or 5-year-old child when the 27-year-old male suspect walked into the house. The door was unlocked, said Sgt. Daniel Grubbs of the Fort Smith Police Department. The suspect fired one round into the ceiling and then forced the 69-year-old man to the back bedroom and demanded prescription medication. At some point, the suspect became distracted by the child crying and he walked to the front room and told everyone to stop making so much noise, Grubbs said. The homeowner used that time to grab his own weapon and when the suspect returned to the room, he shot him twice in the upper torso, police said. Law enforcement have initially determined the shooting was justifiable because the suspect entered the home and threatened the occupants… (Again, we see the benefit of keeping a handgun holstered inside the home – what if the child had not created the necessary distraction?)
http://www.swtimes.com/week-in-review/news/article_435f0846-fa3d-11df-be52-001cc4c002e0.html
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Unexplained Tragedy: A 10-year-old boy shot and killed his 7-year-old brother Saturday in a hunting accident near Wingina in Nelson County, according officials. The boys were accompanied by their father on private land when, at about 4 p.m., the 7-year-old shot at a deer with a pellet gun, missing it completely, according to Julia Dixon, spokeswoman for the state's Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The 10-year-old tried to follow up with the .410 shotgun he was carrying, but as he raised the gun, his brother ran into the line of fire, according to a statement from Dixon… It wasn't clear Saturday what type of pellet gun the 7-year-old was using, but under Virginia law, hunters may only pursue deer with rifles of at least .23 caliber. Most commonly available pellet guns and air rifles are of .177 or .22 caliber. Under Virginia law, hunters younger than 12 must be "immediately supervised" by a licensed adult. Additionally, Fauquier and Chesterfield counties have regulations requiring that minors with guns on public roads or lands be accompanied by an adult… (It would certainly seem to be a corollary of Rule Four not to place yourself in front of someone else's muzzle but I have seen students not only do so but place their hands in front of their own muzzles. I have no idea what a pellet gun was doing on a deer hunt.)
http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/2010/nov/27/boy-7-shot-hunting-accident-ar-680054/
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Here's a Thought: I read a lot about mindset and what it takes to be a (insert your favorite here cop, operator, warrior, etc.). Then I take a look at the people who are saying this stuff and I wonder: If you have the warrior mentality, why not use that to push yourself away from the dessert tray? You might think you can "Keep going and continue the fight no matter what" but if you can't even make time for 30-minutes of exercise three times a week... don't tell me how you are going to drive on when the going gets tough. There is not reason at all you can't get up out of bed each morning and do 30 push-ups. Unless you can't do 30 push-ups. And if you won't even try... well then, I'm not too worried about your gun or your knife or your mall ninja cred. If you don't take the smallest step to get yourself in shape, my guess is you don't really tie up a lot of time training you other skills…
http://www.tacticalgearmag.com/profiles/blogs/can-you-step-it-up
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Army Unveils New "Rifle": Since the dawn of modern warfare, the best way to stay alive in the face of incoming fire has been to take cover behind a wall. But thanks to a game-changing "revolutionary" rifle, the U.S. Army has made that tactic dead on arrival. Now the enemy can run, but he can't hide. After years of development, the U.S. Army has unleashed a new weapon in Afghanistan – the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System, a high-tech rifle that can be programmed so that its 25-mm. ammunition does not necessarily explode on impact. Instead, it can be set to detonate either in front of or behind a target, meaning it literally will go through a wall before it explodes and kills the enemy. It also has a range of roughly 2,300 feet – nearly the length of eight football fields – making it possible to fire at targets well past the range of the rifles and carbines that most soldiers carry today. (This is actually an airburst, long-range grenade launcher - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XM25_Individual_Airburst_Weapon_System.)
http://www.nationalreview.com/the-feed/254013/meet-armys-latest-rifle
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/atf-attempting-to-reclassify-small-arms-ammunition-without-public-input
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Peruta v. County of San Diego, One More Look: … State law gives local police chiefs and sheriffs the discretion to issue CCWs, short for "carry concealed weapon" permits, under the following conditions: The applicant must be a law-abiding citizen, have good moral character, be a county resident and establish good cause. What constitutes "good cause" is at the heart of the debate and the one element that is considered on a case-by-case basis… In a hearing before U.S. District Judge Irma Gonzalez on Nov. 15, the lawyer for the plaintiffs said those kinds of rules are now unconstitutional. The Supreme Court rulings establish self-defense as a fundamental right that can't be squelched so easily, said attorney Carl Michel. "They can't say you have to have a death threat or are being stalked, or you must articulate a specific risk in order to exercise your right to self-defense," he said. "The right to self-defense does not end at the threshold of your home." … Gonzalez is expected to issue a ruling sometime in December… (I will stick with my earlier prediction that the days of discretionary-issue are numbered in California. The sheriff of Sacramento recently settled a lawsuit by Calguns and SAF by agreeing to accept "self-defense" as good cause. I predict that the legislature will eventually go to shall-issue, with as strict standards as they can impose, including state training standards and denial for numerous types of misdemeanor convictions.)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/27/group-sues-over-concealed-weapon-permit/
---
Meanwhile, in Hawaii…: … The City and County of Honolulu have consistently restricted and continue to burden the right to keep and bear arms, especially in non-sensitive public places. For a time line exceeding fifteen years, no citizen has been allowed to carry a firearm to defend themselves or their family… Your children and family, however, are not serialized; your children and family are not insured by the government, nor can your child, family member, or friend be replaced. Lastly, in an effort to change these broken laws, a local group, Hawaii Concealed Carry, was formed in 2010 to promote the safe and responsible bearing of firearms, for the purpose of self-defense. They are based on Oahu, and are working to assist all Hawaiian islands in the restoration and exercise of their fundamental right to keep and bear arms. Hawaii residents are encouraged to exercise their fundamental right by applying to their local City and County Police departments for a permit to carry a firearm, openly or concealed, for the purpose of protecting yourself and your family…
http://www.pitchengine.com/hawaii-concealed-carry-firearm-permit-initiative/105234/
---
Pennsylvania Governor Vetoes Self-Defense Bill: State Rep. Seth Grove said the Castle Doctrine was easily the issue he heard about most from his constituents during the past two years, and he was genuinely surprised when Gov. Ed Rendell vetoed it Saturday. "I was very disappointed," said Grove, R-Dover Township. Grove had been a co-sponsor of the legislation, which expands the Pennsylvania's "Castle Doctrine" – referring to the adage that a man's home is his castle. Under current law, the use of deadly force in self-defense is not justifiable when safe retreat is possible, unless a person was attacked in his or her home or workplace. The legislation Rendell vetoed would have removed the requirement to retreat before using deadly force outside the home or workplace as well. Grove said that not only were his constituents in favor of the measure, but also a wide, bipartisan majority in the state General Assembly… (Disappointing as this news is, I do not find it surprising. Rendell has a lengthy history of opposing the RKBA.)
http://www.ydr.com/politics/ci_16729906
---
Meanwhile, in Nebraska…: Senator Mark Christensen's bill to address self defense issues at home and work, LB 889, got killed in this year's session of the Unicameral but that doesn't mean he's giving up. Prior to adjournment, Christensen got a legislative resolution passed to conduct an interim study on a key element of the bill, commonly know as the Castle Doctrine. Christensen has built a reputation as a big advocate of Second Amendment gun rights. As a result, he wants to make sure people have the right to protect themselves in their homes, workplaces and vehicles without the threat of a civil lawsuit. The Castle Doctrine gets its name from the basis that a person's home is their "castle." As such, one has the right to protection from illegal trespassing and violent attack. Castle laws give people the legal right to use deadly force to defend their "castle" and other people in the home from violent attack or an intrusion which may lead to violent attack. Christensen said many Nebraskans can't understand why Nebraska has the law it does right now. "You have a duty to retreat, if the opportunity presents itself, even from your own home, if it appears safe to do so," he said… (Nebraska has a legislature with only one chamber, hence the term "Unicameral.")
http://www.waunetanebraska.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2457:christensens-castle-doctrine-legislation-gets-attention-during-interim-study-hearing&catid=25:local-news&Itemid=34
---
Florida Ain't Arizona: A customer expecting to see great deals waved down authorities after she saw something else: a man packing a gun while waiting in line at a Black Friday sale. Police arrested Christopher D. Scott, 49, as he was waiting in a checkout line at a Wal-Mart in Boynton Beach [FL] on Friday. Officers were on patrol at the store at 3200 Old Boynton Rd., due to the large Thanksgiving night crowd seeking early bargains. Scott is charged with two counts of carrying a concealed firearm and three counts each of carrying a prohibited weapon and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. Scott lives out of state and was visiting his ill mother, he said Friday afternoon. He said he was in the store buying her supplies. He expects the charges will be dropped, he said… Scott said he has a proper weapons permit in Arizona and presumed it was reciprocal in Florida. He also didn't understand why he was charged with carrying a concealed weapon when he wore the gun in plain sight, as advised by colleagues… (Florida recognizes the Arizona CWP, if is held by an Arizona resident, but is one of the few states that does not allow private citizens to carry openly in most public venues. I generally use http://www.handgunlaw.us/ and as my starting points to check the laws of other states.)
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/27/1945068/man-accused-of-packing-gun-at.html#ixzz16Xif13os
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Oops, Wrong House: A Fort Smith [AR] homeowner on Friday shot and killed an intruder who entered his home demanding prescription medication. Police were called to 8401 S. 30th Circle at about 7:42 p.m. after a man was shot twice during a home invasion. The 69-year-old male homeowner and two other people were inside the home with a 4- or 5-year-old child when the 27-year-old male suspect walked into the house. The door was unlocked, said Sgt. Daniel Grubbs of the Fort Smith Police Department. The suspect fired one round into the ceiling and then forced the 69-year-old man to the back bedroom and demanded prescription medication. At some point, the suspect became distracted by the child crying and he walked to the front room and told everyone to stop making so much noise, Grubbs said. The homeowner used that time to grab his own weapon and when the suspect returned to the room, he shot him twice in the upper torso, police said. Law enforcement have initially determined the shooting was justifiable because the suspect entered the home and threatened the occupants… (Again, we see the benefit of keeping a handgun holstered inside the home – what if the child had not created the necessary distraction?)
http://www.swtimes.com/week-in-review/news/article_435f0846-fa3d-11df-be52-001cc4c002e0.html
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Unexplained Tragedy: A 10-year-old boy shot and killed his 7-year-old brother Saturday in a hunting accident near Wingina in Nelson County, according officials. The boys were accompanied by their father on private land when, at about 4 p.m., the 7-year-old shot at a deer with a pellet gun, missing it completely, according to Julia Dixon, spokeswoman for the state's Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The 10-year-old tried to follow up with the .410 shotgun he was carrying, but as he raised the gun, his brother ran into the line of fire, according to a statement from Dixon… It wasn't clear Saturday what type of pellet gun the 7-year-old was using, but under Virginia law, hunters may only pursue deer with rifles of at least .23 caliber. Most commonly available pellet guns and air rifles are of .177 or .22 caliber. Under Virginia law, hunters younger than 12 must be "immediately supervised" by a licensed adult. Additionally, Fauquier and Chesterfield counties have regulations requiring that minors with guns on public roads or lands be accompanied by an adult… (It would certainly seem to be a corollary of Rule Four not to place yourself in front of someone else's muzzle but I have seen students not only do so but place their hands in front of their own muzzles. I have no idea what a pellet gun was doing on a deer hunt.)
http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/2010/nov/27/boy-7-shot-hunting-accident-ar-680054/
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Here's a Thought: I read a lot about mindset and what it takes to be a (insert your favorite here cop, operator, warrior, etc.). Then I take a look at the people who are saying this stuff and I wonder: If you have the warrior mentality, why not use that to push yourself away from the dessert tray? You might think you can "Keep going and continue the fight no matter what" but if you can't even make time for 30-minutes of exercise three times a week... don't tell me how you are going to drive on when the going gets tough. There is not reason at all you can't get up out of bed each morning and do 30 push-ups. Unless you can't do 30 push-ups. And if you won't even try... well then, I'm not too worried about your gun or your knife or your mall ninja cred. If you don't take the smallest step to get yourself in shape, my guess is you don't really tie up a lot of time training you other skills…
http://www.tacticalgearmag.com/profiles/blogs/can-you-step-it-up
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Army Unveils New "Rifle": Since the dawn of modern warfare, the best way to stay alive in the face of incoming fire has been to take cover behind a wall. But thanks to a game-changing "revolutionary" rifle, the U.S. Army has made that tactic dead on arrival. Now the enemy can run, but he can't hide. After years of development, the U.S. Army has unleashed a new weapon in Afghanistan – the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System, a high-tech rifle that can be programmed so that its 25-mm. ammunition does not necessarily explode on impact. Instead, it can be set to detonate either in front of or behind a target, meaning it literally will go through a wall before it explodes and kills the enemy. It also has a range of roughly 2,300 feet – nearly the length of eight football fields – making it possible to fire at targets well past the range of the rifles and carbines that most soldiers carry today. (This is actually an airburst, long-range grenade launcher - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XM25_Individual_Airburst_Weapon_System.)
http://www.nationalreview.com/the-feed/254013/meet-armys-latest-rifle
Thursday, November 18, 2010
11-18-10
From: Stephen P. Wenger
http://www.spw-duf.info
comments in () by the same
http://www.spw-duf.info
comments in () by the same
Big Brother and F Troop: President Obama could exploit his power to make temporary appointments during the end of year adjournment of Congress and bypass Senate approval of Andrew Traver to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. A discussion of the nominee and his anti-gun credentials was presented as a supplement to yesterday's Gun Rights Examiner column. Here's another development: The Bradys are for him. That alone disqualifies Traver from acceptability for gun rights advocates… Say Obama takes advantage of the adjournment and makes a temporary appointment...how long would it last? …So conceivably, if timed right, Traver could be in for basically all of 2011…? If Obama perceives his presidency is going to be a one-termer, or even if he's gambling that conditions will change enough to make the fallout to his next campaign worth the risk of a temporary appointment, what's the downside? After all, what's he going to do—make conservative gun owners not want to vote for him? Is this going to happen? Is this a real danger? Who knows? Maybe not…
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/obama-could-appoint-traver-to-head-atf-without-senate-approval
The latest move to bring in the Chicago Gang's favorite gun grabber, Andrew Traver, to become ATF Director means, among other things, that the Obamanoids intend to try to choke off congressional oversight by saying, "See, we've got rid of that old woman Melson and the criminal fools in the Chief Counsel's Office, so there's nothing to see here, citizen. Move along." …But the prime witness, the one personage which the ATF absolutely does not want to answer questions about is R.A. Bear, the child's stuffed toy which they spent two years and at least a million dollars chasing all over the country…
http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2010/11/help-vindicate-ra-bear-it-is-time-to.html
NRA Opposes Traver Nomination:
http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/NewsReleases.aspx?ID=14485
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Speaking of the Brady Bunch…: The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence today filed a brief in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas urging the court to throw out an NRA lawsuit claiming that teens and young persons ages 18-20 have a constitutional right to carry loaded, concealed weapons in public. "It is dangerous and reckless for the NRA to claim that teenagers should be allowed to carry loaded semiautomatic weapons on our streets and playgrounds. The Second Amendment allows for commonsense gun laws, it doesn't require that we legally allow armed teens in our communities," said Brady Center President Paul Helmke… (I believe that the NRA lawsuit actually challenges the federal law that bans 18- to 20-year-olds from purchasing handguns from licensed dealers, not the Texas law that that establishes the minimum age for a CHL – see second link.)
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/11/17-5
http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/NewsReleases.aspx?ID=14212
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DC Judges Want More in Heller II: …It is, on the court's own motion, ORDERED that the parties file supplemental briefs addressing the following questions:
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Ohio Court of Appeals Limits Restriction of RKBA: …We find the five-year firearm condition/sanction against appellant for a misdemeanor violation of R.C. 2923.15(A) [using a weapon while intoxicated] under these circumstances was unreasonable, overbroad, and an unwarranted implication of his Second Amendment rights. We have herein affirmed appellant's conviction and in no way seek to diminish the danger of using a firearm while intoxicated, and we further recognize that appellant acted injudiciously in firing his weapon into the ground, at night, as a "memorial" to his deceased dog. However, the incident took place entirely on appellant's residential property in an unincorporated area; the State presented no evidence that appellant caused any harm to persons or property, nor that he ever intended to do so. As we noted above, the responding officers did not find it warranted to attempt to confiscate or seize the firearm at that time. Furthermore, the presentence investigation report gives no indication that appellant had been cited for this type of activity before, and his only criminal history appears to be two OVI convictions more than twenty years ago…
http://volokh.com/2010/11/17/five-year-no-firearms-condition-in-sentence-for-misdemeanor-use-of-weapons-while-intoxicated-set-aside-partly-on-second-amendment-ish-grounds/
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Virginia Students Push for Campus Carry: Old Dominion University's College Republicans' petition to allow firearms on campus has already received 10 percent of their goal - and they have yet to begin to push the issue. The group is petitioning the heads of the university to allow students who have concealed-carry weapons permits, or CCWs, to carry firearms to protect themselves on and around the Norfolk, VA, campus. More than 1,100 signatures have been collected by the College Republicans, even without any major advertising about their effort. Enforcing Second Amendment rights on college campuses is not a new idea. Utah passed legislation in 2004 prohibiting public universities from regulating firearms on their campuses. Most recently, Republican Representative-elect David Simpson pre-filed a similar bill, citing a recent incident at the University of Texas at Austin in which a student fatally shot himself in a library and caused a lockdown at the university…
http://www.woio.com/Global/story.asp?S=13520148
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Black NYC Progressive Defends RKBA: …As a black progressive, I am tempted to echo the sentiments of most liberals, who regard this pro-gun turn as a full-fledged civic crisis. For most of them, gun ownership is an expendable rather than inalienable right, one worth ceding in exchange for a more peaceful society. While I understand this position, the price of the ticket, at least for black people, is simply too high… Today's gun control laws may be racially neutral on their face, but they have a clear and disproportionate impact on poor communities of color, which are often left defenseless against predators in their own backyards… But while it would be naive to suggest that guns will solve the problem of urban violence, it would be equally shortsighted to ignore the dangers of further disarming the people who need the most help. (Professor Hill errs in blaming the United States government for the earlier laws that disarmed blacks. Those laws were all passed at state level, during times when it still would have been inconceivable for the federal government to infringe the RKBA.)
http://bronxnews.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/strict-gun-laws-are-bad-for-blacks-why-african-americans-should-value-second-amendment-protections/
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More on California CCW: California's gun laws might become more liberal and soon. In a few weeks, Chief Federal Judge Irma Gonzalez will render her decision in the case of Ed Peruta v County of San Diego et al, a decision that could put a stop to "discretionary licensing" by state permitting authorities. As it stands now, California policy enforcers decide on a whim who can and cannot obtain a license to carry a loaded firearm in public. If Ed prevails in his case, California could join the ranks of "shall-issue" concealed carry permit (CCW) states. When Ed Peruta, a part-time resident of the state, applied for a concealed handgun permit last year, the San Diego County Sheriff denied his request, citing no "good cause." Peruta sued the Sheriff's department and the Sheriff individually in Federal Court under the Civil Rights Act of 1871, namely 42 USC 1983. The sheriff promptly filed a motion to dismiss the case, but Judge Gonzalez issued an 18 page decision in January which not only denied the motion but indicated a few points of law which, if carried to their logical conclusion in December, will end the arbitrary licensing process for those seeking open and concealed carry permits in counties with a population of 200,000 or fewer… (I believe that last sentence should read "concealed-carry permits and open-carry permits in counties with a population of 20,000 or fewer.")
http://caivn.org/article/2010/11/17/federal-ruling-could-mean-more-concealed-weapon-permits-california
For three years, Solano County has been overcharging people applying to carry a concealed gun in the county. The problem has been resolved, according to Solano County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Gary Faulkner. According to a press release sent Wednesday by Calguns Foundation, a nonprofit organization, the group submitted a pre-litigation demand letter in October to Solano County Sheriff Gary Stanton detailing the illegalities of Solano County's current fee structure for concealed-gun-carry permit applications. Spurred by the foundation, Solano County agreed to change their fees to reflect the California statutory structure for gun-carry licensing. "Solano set an example of how other counties can spare their taxpayers from needless litigation -- they did the right thing once the defective policy was brought to their attention," said Gene Hoffman, chairman of the Calguns Foundation, in the press release. "Solano gets it, but we anticipate that many counties will not. It is our goal to address every one of these violations throughout California until all counties are 100 percent compliant in their written and actual policies." …
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_16646037?nclick_check=1
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Some Iowa Sheriffs Undermine Shall-Issue Law: …In other words, Sheriff Johnstone joins a small but vocal group of Sheriffs who say they will support the new law and carry out their orders, but will do so while spreading FUD among the citizens and politicians about how bad the law is. Unfortunately, they do not have the statistics to back up their claims. Iowa is the 39th state to go to a "Shall Issue" system. None of the other 38 states has seen the problems that some of our Iowa Sheriffs are worrying about ever materialize. In fact, those states have seen the opposite happen, as Shall Issue has continued to gain acceptance across the country with no "blood in the streets" or "shootouts over parking spaces" noted… Perhaps the issue should be more about education. Teaching the public that a properly holstered pistol is not a threat should be more important than spreading FUD…
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-des-moines/another-sheriff-hits-the-panic-button
Meanwhile…: Simple signs with a serious message are popping up across Eastern Iowa. The yard signs advertise for concealed weapons classes, taught by the Florida based company, "Equip 2 Conceal Firearms Group." "This is a big deal, we're up here (in Iowa) right now because the instructors that are up here are overloaded, and it's taking some people six to eight weeks to get into class," said company director Rob Shewmake. Why the sudden rush? Last spring Governor Culver signed a bill making Iowa a "shall-issue" state. The law goes into effect January 1, 2011. The change means anyone without a felony on their record will be permitted to carry a gun in public. hewmake said his company will offer ten classes across Iowa this month. He expects to be back in December to do the same, and possibly again in the summer. He said by taking one three hour class an individual will meet the requirements to earn Iowa's Concealed Carrying Permit…
http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Iowa-Gun-Law-Change-Attracts-Florida-Business-108563089.html
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Oops, Wrong House: An elderly house owner proved too much of a match for five robbers yesterday, shooting dead one and sending the others packing. It is understood five men had driven up to the man's house in Jalan SS8/8 about 9.40am. Two of them alighted from the vehicle and climbed over the automatic gate. While one of the pair who was armed with a knife stood guard at the door, his accomplice who was armed with a parang barged into the house. There, the 17-year-old robber confronted two children aged 8 and 10, their father, 30, and the family's Cambodian maid, in her 20s…Unbeknownst to the teen, the children's grandfather had heard the commotion downstairs and grabbed his pump-action shotgun. When the 72-year-old spotted the robber, he fired two shots. Hit in the ribs, the robber tumbled down the stairs. The other robbers fled the scene in a hurry. The shot robber was taken to the University Malaya Medical Centre where he was admitted to the intensive care unit but died shortly after.
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Crime/Story/A1Story20101117-247651.html
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A Fishy Story: An 18-year-old woman died early Wednesday morning after being shot at a home in Seven Fields, Butler County [PA], on Tuesday. Courtney Daily, 18, of Colorado Springs, was found in an upstairs bedroom of the Woodhaven Drive home with a gunshot wound to the upper body, police said. She was taken to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh where she later died. Eric Rutledge, 18, who was at the home when police arrived, was questioned and then charged with criminal homicide. He's currently being held in the Butler County Jail. Rutledge told police that he accidentally shot Daily. Investigators said Rutledge told them that he grabbed a shotgun when he heard noises downstairs. Rutledge said he and Daily then took turns holding the gun. When it was his turn he pointed the gun at Daily and pulled the trigger, according to police. Rutledge said he thought the gun was unloaded… (If Rutledge's account is true, he violated Rules One, Two and Three [http://www.spw-duf.info/safety.html]. However, why would one prepare to confront an intruder with an unloaded gun?)
http://www.wpxi.com/news/25825198/detail.html
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Rule Four Reminder: An Oregon police officer has been fired and three others suspended after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man during a standoff with a white officer. Portland police announced the disciplinary actions on Tuesday, nearly 10 months after police shot 25-year-old Aaron Campbell in the back as he ran away from them. Officer Ron Frashour, who fired the lethal shot, was terminated. He has said he thought Campbell was reaching for a weapon… A Multnomah County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing but said police training, command and communication were inadequate. (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it. This was a fatal and apparently erroneous judgment call but it's not likely that a grand jury would be as sympathetic to a private citizen.)
http://www.policeone.com/legal/articles/2900988-1-officer-fired-3-suspended-in-mans-shooting/
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Rule Five Reminder: Police say child gun play is to blame for the death of 14-year-old Jalil Muhammad. Police say the teen was killed when one of his siblings was playing with a handgun and it went off. Paramedics responded to the boy's home in the 200 block of West 93rd Place around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday to a report of a 14-year old boy who may have suffered a seizure after falling. But when they found that the teen had sustained a gunshot wound to the head police were called and responded to the scene. Muhammad was transported to Comer Children's Hospital where he was pronounced dead… (Not to make light of Jalil's death but I didn't realize that enough time had elapsed for Chicago residents to won handguns.)
http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-teen-killed-shot-in-head-police-nov17,0,4145167.story?track=rss
A police report by the New Orleans Police Department sheds light on the decision by authorities to charge a New Orleans man with second-degree murder in the shooting death of a three-year-old boy. Tryone Brown, 22, was charged with second-degree murder after police were called to a home in the 4500 block of Copernicus Street in Algiers after a three-year-old in his care apparently shot himself with a gun in the living room of Brown's home. According to police, early indicators suggest the shooting was accidental. According to the police report, a witness told a detective that they saw Brown stash two handguns in the sofa cushion in the living room, where Brown would later find Brashaun Blue with a gunshot wound to the head…
http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/Police-report-shed-light-in-shooting-death-of-three-year-old-108704984.html
A Lithonia [GA] police officer faces "The Tough Questions" after someone stole his gun, uniform, police badge and personal pickup truck. A DeKalb County police report indicates the 25-year-old Chevy C-10 belonging to Lithonia police officer Darian Barnes was stolen at around noon Friday, Nov. 12. The officer's gym bag that contained his badge, police uniform and Glock handgun were inside the stolen truck… Sources tell CBS Atlanta Barnes left his truck unlocked. Sgt. Larry Willams is Lithonia's acting police chief. He told McNary to direct his tough questions to DeKalb County police detectives. Barnes was on the job Wednesday wearing a new uniform, badge, gun and belt. "Is it reckless if an officer left his truck unlocked for somebody to steal his truck and all his police gear?" asked McNary. "It will be reckless if that was the case," said Williams…
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/25832560/detail.html
Sauce for the Goose, Sauce for the Gander?: I worked in New York City, where I usually had a partner. One thing I learned is, when your partner gets out of the car, you get out also. If your partner goes into a store for a midnight cup of coffee, you go inside also. Nothing like your partner walking in on a robbery in progress (God forbid), and you're sitting in the car. And remember to focus on why you are out of the car. If it's a traffic stop, focus on the car. Car stops are the most dangerous thing you can do next to domestic violence calls. These days, I sometimes see one officer out of the car on a car stop and the officer on the passenger side, looking around everywhere except into that car. (If this makes sense for cops on duty, maybe the rest of us need to think about it. It may not be practical all the time, particularly if you've got the kids with you but, if only one partner is armed, it may be good practice not to let the unarmed partner walk into the stop-and-rob store alone.)
http://www.policeone.com/Officer-Safety/tips/2899947-Contact-and-cover-Your-partners-safety/
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The Limitations of "Going to the Range": …Most people think that practice means going to the range and firing rounds. And yes this is a form of practice, but at most ranges you are limited to standing stationary and firing at targets from a predetermined distance. A lot of facilities will only allow you to fire one shot every three seconds, and do not permit you to work from holsters. In other words all you can do at the shooting range is shoot. But fighting includes much more than shooting. Movement may be your initial concern. Moving to create distance, trying to keep from being in a wrasslin' match. Moving to get cover between the threat and you. Moving off the line of a charging attacker. You're moving to acquire a clear line of fire on the threat. You need to be moving, and maybe shooting at the same time. We need to communicate with the threat, family members, bystanders, armed partners. When cover is available we need to use it. Should our weapon run empty or malfunction it needs to be fixed. There is a strong probability it will be dark, requiring use of a flashlight. There will likely be multiple threats. It's also a good chance there are bystanders in the environment. And in addition to all of this, we may need to be shooting. The point is that we need to practice our fighting skills, all of them, and not just the shootin' part. What's the best way to practice? Dry. Especially when you don't have a range that will allow you to move, use cover, run malfunctions and shoot rapidly from various distances…
http://www.thetacticalwire.com/archived/2010-11-18_tactical.html
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S&W – The Stock Is Falling!: …In contrast, those who took on Smith & Wesson (SWHC) have lost almost 20% of their funds in the past year. Not even a vote of confidence by Carl Icahn – whose investment company purchased almost a 4% stake earlier this year – was able to stop the pain. One big reason is that Smith & Wesson's problems haven't all hitched to the whims of a cruel economy; besides the usual operational difficulties, the company has spent the last year dealing with a bit of legal Armageddon all its own. Back in 2009, Smith & Wesson's prospects looked downright promising. The election of President Barack Obama brought worries of new gun regulations, and the country's growing economic malaise led talk radio to whisper of coming food shortages and unchecked crime. Such concerns engineered a surprising surge in gun and ammo sales, a trend Smith & Wesson CEO Michael Golden called "pretty exciting." …The problem hobbling the company that allowed James Bond his signature silhouette, and outfitted Dirty Harry with "the most powerful handgun in the world" is that it faces at least one large uncertainty Ruger doesn't have. In January, a Smith & Wesson sales executive was swept up in a massive FBI undercover investigation of bribery in the small arms industry and charged with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The sales executive allegedly attempted to bribe the representative of an African country that was taking bids for a $15 million deal to outfit that country's presidential guard. The representative was an undercover FBI agent…
http://money.cnn.com/2010/11/17/news/companies/smith_and_wesson.fortune/?section=magazines_fortune
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/obama-could-appoint-traver-to-head-atf-without-senate-approval
The latest move to bring in the Chicago Gang's favorite gun grabber, Andrew Traver, to become ATF Director means, among other things, that the Obamanoids intend to try to choke off congressional oversight by saying, "See, we've got rid of that old woman Melson and the criminal fools in the Chief Counsel's Office, so there's nothing to see here, citizen. Move along." …But the prime witness, the one personage which the ATF absolutely does not want to answer questions about is R.A. Bear, the child's stuffed toy which they spent two years and at least a million dollars chasing all over the country…
http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2010/11/help-vindicate-ra-bear-it-is-time-to.html
NRA Opposes Traver Nomination:
http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/NewsReleases.aspx?ID=14485
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Speaking of the Brady Bunch…: The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence today filed a brief in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas urging the court to throw out an NRA lawsuit claiming that teens and young persons ages 18-20 have a constitutional right to carry loaded, concealed weapons in public. "It is dangerous and reckless for the NRA to claim that teenagers should be allowed to carry loaded semiautomatic weapons on our streets and playgrounds. The Second Amendment allows for commonsense gun laws, it doesn't require that we legally allow armed teens in our communities," said Brady Center President Paul Helmke… (I believe that the NRA lawsuit actually challenges the federal law that bans 18- to 20-year-olds from purchasing handguns from licensed dealers, not the Texas law that that establishes the minimum age for a CHL – see second link.)
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/11/17-5
http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/NewsReleases.aspx?ID=14212
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DC Judges Want More in Heller II: …It is, on the court's own motion, ORDERED that the parties file supplemental briefs addressing the following questions:
(1) After the Home Rule Act, Pub. L. No. 93–198, 87 Stat. 774 (1973) (codified at D.C. Code §§ 1–201.01–1–207.71 (2001)), do gun laws passed by the District of Columbia Council have to be "usual and reasonable" within the meaning of the federal Act of June 30, 1906, Pub. L. No. 59–401, which is currently codified at D.C. Code § 1–303.43? Cf. McIntosh v. Washington, 395 A.2d 744, 749–54 (D.C. 1978); Firemen's Ins. Co. of Washington, D.C. v. Washington, 483 F.2d 1323, 1327–28 (D.C. Cir. 1973); Maryland & D.C. Rifle & Pistol Ass'n, Inc. v. Washington, 442 F.2d 123, 125–29 & 125 n.9 (D.C. Cir. 1971); Fulton v. District of Columbia, 2 App. D.C. 431, 438–39 (D.C. Cir. 1894).http://volokh.com/2010/11/17/d-c-circuit-orders-extra-briefing-on-the-post-heller-d-c-gun-law-challenge/
(2) What does the term "usual" mean in this statute? Cf. Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005); Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002); Firemen's Ins. Co., 483 F.2d at 1327–28; Glover v. District of Columbia, 250 A.2d 556 (D.C. 1969); Filippo v. Real Estate Comm'n of the District of Columbia, 223 A.2d 268 (D.C. 1966); Black's Law Dictionary (2d ed. 1910) (defining usual to mean "ordinary" or "customary"). Is the canon of constitutional avoidance relevant to that question? Cf. Fulton, 2 App. D.C. at 438–39…
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Ohio Court of Appeals Limits Restriction of RKBA: …We find the five-year firearm condition/sanction against appellant for a misdemeanor violation of R.C. 2923.15(A) [using a weapon while intoxicated] under these circumstances was unreasonable, overbroad, and an unwarranted implication of his Second Amendment rights. We have herein affirmed appellant's conviction and in no way seek to diminish the danger of using a firearm while intoxicated, and we further recognize that appellant acted injudiciously in firing his weapon into the ground, at night, as a "memorial" to his deceased dog. However, the incident took place entirely on appellant's residential property in an unincorporated area; the State presented no evidence that appellant caused any harm to persons or property, nor that he ever intended to do so. As we noted above, the responding officers did not find it warranted to attempt to confiscate or seize the firearm at that time. Furthermore, the presentence investigation report gives no indication that appellant had been cited for this type of activity before, and his only criminal history appears to be two OVI convictions more than twenty years ago…
http://volokh.com/2010/11/17/five-year-no-firearms-condition-in-sentence-for-misdemeanor-use-of-weapons-while-intoxicated-set-aside-partly-on-second-amendment-ish-grounds/
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Virginia Students Push for Campus Carry: Old Dominion University's College Republicans' petition to allow firearms on campus has already received 10 percent of their goal - and they have yet to begin to push the issue. The group is petitioning the heads of the university to allow students who have concealed-carry weapons permits, or CCWs, to carry firearms to protect themselves on and around the Norfolk, VA, campus. More than 1,100 signatures have been collected by the College Republicans, even without any major advertising about their effort. Enforcing Second Amendment rights on college campuses is not a new idea. Utah passed legislation in 2004 prohibiting public universities from regulating firearms on their campuses. Most recently, Republican Representative-elect David Simpson pre-filed a similar bill, citing a recent incident at the University of Texas at Austin in which a student fatally shot himself in a library and caused a lockdown at the university…
http://www.woio.com/Global/story.asp?S=13520148
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Black NYC Progressive Defends RKBA: …As a black progressive, I am tempted to echo the sentiments of most liberals, who regard this pro-gun turn as a full-fledged civic crisis. For most of them, gun ownership is an expendable rather than inalienable right, one worth ceding in exchange for a more peaceful society. While I understand this position, the price of the ticket, at least for black people, is simply too high… Today's gun control laws may be racially neutral on their face, but they have a clear and disproportionate impact on poor communities of color, which are often left defenseless against predators in their own backyards… But while it would be naive to suggest that guns will solve the problem of urban violence, it would be equally shortsighted to ignore the dangers of further disarming the people who need the most help. (Professor Hill errs in blaming the United States government for the earlier laws that disarmed blacks. Those laws were all passed at state level, during times when it still would have been inconceivable for the federal government to infringe the RKBA.)
http://bronxnews.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/strict-gun-laws-are-bad-for-blacks-why-african-americans-should-value-second-amendment-protections/
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More on California CCW: California's gun laws might become more liberal and soon. In a few weeks, Chief Federal Judge Irma Gonzalez will render her decision in the case of Ed Peruta v County of San Diego et al, a decision that could put a stop to "discretionary licensing" by state permitting authorities. As it stands now, California policy enforcers decide on a whim who can and cannot obtain a license to carry a loaded firearm in public. If Ed prevails in his case, California could join the ranks of "shall-issue" concealed carry permit (CCW) states. When Ed Peruta, a part-time resident of the state, applied for a concealed handgun permit last year, the San Diego County Sheriff denied his request, citing no "good cause." Peruta sued the Sheriff's department and the Sheriff individually in Federal Court under the Civil Rights Act of 1871, namely 42 USC 1983. The sheriff promptly filed a motion to dismiss the case, but Judge Gonzalez issued an 18 page decision in January which not only denied the motion but indicated a few points of law which, if carried to their logical conclusion in December, will end the arbitrary licensing process for those seeking open and concealed carry permits in counties with a population of 200,000 or fewer… (I believe that last sentence should read "concealed-carry permits and open-carry permits in counties with a population of 20,000 or fewer.")
http://caivn.org/article/2010/11/17/federal-ruling-could-mean-more-concealed-weapon-permits-california
For three years, Solano County has been overcharging people applying to carry a concealed gun in the county. The problem has been resolved, according to Solano County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Gary Faulkner. According to a press release sent Wednesday by Calguns Foundation, a nonprofit organization, the group submitted a pre-litigation demand letter in October to Solano County Sheriff Gary Stanton detailing the illegalities of Solano County's current fee structure for concealed-gun-carry permit applications. Spurred by the foundation, Solano County agreed to change their fees to reflect the California statutory structure for gun-carry licensing. "Solano set an example of how other counties can spare their taxpayers from needless litigation -- they did the right thing once the defective policy was brought to their attention," said Gene Hoffman, chairman of the Calguns Foundation, in the press release. "Solano gets it, but we anticipate that many counties will not. It is our goal to address every one of these violations throughout California until all counties are 100 percent compliant in their written and actual policies." …
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_16646037?nclick_check=1
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Some Iowa Sheriffs Undermine Shall-Issue Law: …In other words, Sheriff Johnstone joins a small but vocal group of Sheriffs who say they will support the new law and carry out their orders, but will do so while spreading FUD among the citizens and politicians about how bad the law is. Unfortunately, they do not have the statistics to back up their claims. Iowa is the 39th state to go to a "Shall Issue" system. None of the other 38 states has seen the problems that some of our Iowa Sheriffs are worrying about ever materialize. In fact, those states have seen the opposite happen, as Shall Issue has continued to gain acceptance across the country with no "blood in the streets" or "shootouts over parking spaces" noted… Perhaps the issue should be more about education. Teaching the public that a properly holstered pistol is not a threat should be more important than spreading FUD…
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-des-moines/another-sheriff-hits-the-panic-button
Meanwhile…: Simple signs with a serious message are popping up across Eastern Iowa. The yard signs advertise for concealed weapons classes, taught by the Florida based company, "Equip 2 Conceal Firearms Group." "This is a big deal, we're up here (in Iowa) right now because the instructors that are up here are overloaded, and it's taking some people six to eight weeks to get into class," said company director Rob Shewmake. Why the sudden rush? Last spring Governor Culver signed a bill making Iowa a "shall-issue" state. The law goes into effect January 1, 2011. The change means anyone without a felony on their record will be permitted to carry a gun in public. hewmake said his company will offer ten classes across Iowa this month. He expects to be back in December to do the same, and possibly again in the summer. He said by taking one three hour class an individual will meet the requirements to earn Iowa's Concealed Carrying Permit…
http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Iowa-Gun-Law-Change-Attracts-Florida-Business-108563089.html
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Oops, Wrong House: An elderly house owner proved too much of a match for five robbers yesterday, shooting dead one and sending the others packing. It is understood five men had driven up to the man's house in Jalan SS8/8 about 9.40am. Two of them alighted from the vehicle and climbed over the automatic gate. While one of the pair who was armed with a knife stood guard at the door, his accomplice who was armed with a parang barged into the house. There, the 17-year-old robber confronted two children aged 8 and 10, their father, 30, and the family's Cambodian maid, in her 20s…Unbeknownst to the teen, the children's grandfather had heard the commotion downstairs and grabbed his pump-action shotgun. When the 72-year-old spotted the robber, he fired two shots. Hit in the ribs, the robber tumbled down the stairs. The other robbers fled the scene in a hurry. The shot robber was taken to the University Malaya Medical Centre where he was admitted to the intensive care unit but died shortly after.
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Crime/Story/A1Story20101117-247651.html
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A Fishy Story: An 18-year-old woman died early Wednesday morning after being shot at a home in Seven Fields, Butler County [PA], on Tuesday. Courtney Daily, 18, of Colorado Springs, was found in an upstairs bedroom of the Woodhaven Drive home with a gunshot wound to the upper body, police said. She was taken to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh where she later died. Eric Rutledge, 18, who was at the home when police arrived, was questioned and then charged with criminal homicide. He's currently being held in the Butler County Jail. Rutledge told police that he accidentally shot Daily. Investigators said Rutledge told them that he grabbed a shotgun when he heard noises downstairs. Rutledge said he and Daily then took turns holding the gun. When it was his turn he pointed the gun at Daily and pulled the trigger, according to police. Rutledge said he thought the gun was unloaded… (If Rutledge's account is true, he violated Rules One, Two and Three [http://www.spw-duf.info/safety.html]. However, why would one prepare to confront an intruder with an unloaded gun?)
http://www.wpxi.com/news/25825198/detail.html
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Rule Four Reminder: An Oregon police officer has been fired and three others suspended after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man during a standoff with a white officer. Portland police announced the disciplinary actions on Tuesday, nearly 10 months after police shot 25-year-old Aaron Campbell in the back as he ran away from them. Officer Ron Frashour, who fired the lethal shot, was terminated. He has said he thought Campbell was reaching for a weapon… A Multnomah County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing but said police training, command and communication were inadequate. (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it. This was a fatal and apparently erroneous judgment call but it's not likely that a grand jury would be as sympathetic to a private citizen.)
http://www.policeone.com/legal/articles/2900988-1-officer-fired-3-suspended-in-mans-shooting/
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Rule Five Reminder: Police say child gun play is to blame for the death of 14-year-old Jalil Muhammad. Police say the teen was killed when one of his siblings was playing with a handgun and it went off. Paramedics responded to the boy's home in the 200 block of West 93rd Place around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday to a report of a 14-year old boy who may have suffered a seizure after falling. But when they found that the teen had sustained a gunshot wound to the head police were called and responded to the scene. Muhammad was transported to Comer Children's Hospital where he was pronounced dead… (Not to make light of Jalil's death but I didn't realize that enough time had elapsed for Chicago residents to won handguns.)
http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-teen-killed-shot-in-head-police-nov17,0,4145167.story?track=rss
A police report by the New Orleans Police Department sheds light on the decision by authorities to charge a New Orleans man with second-degree murder in the shooting death of a three-year-old boy. Tryone Brown, 22, was charged with second-degree murder after police were called to a home in the 4500 block of Copernicus Street in Algiers after a three-year-old in his care apparently shot himself with a gun in the living room of Brown's home. According to police, early indicators suggest the shooting was accidental. According to the police report, a witness told a detective that they saw Brown stash two handguns in the sofa cushion in the living room, where Brown would later find Brashaun Blue with a gunshot wound to the head…
http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/Police-report-shed-light-in-shooting-death-of-three-year-old-108704984.html
A Lithonia [GA] police officer faces "The Tough Questions" after someone stole his gun, uniform, police badge and personal pickup truck. A DeKalb County police report indicates the 25-year-old Chevy C-10 belonging to Lithonia police officer Darian Barnes was stolen at around noon Friday, Nov. 12. The officer's gym bag that contained his badge, police uniform and Glock handgun were inside the stolen truck… Sources tell CBS Atlanta Barnes left his truck unlocked. Sgt. Larry Willams is Lithonia's acting police chief. He told McNary to direct his tough questions to DeKalb County police detectives. Barnes was on the job Wednesday wearing a new uniform, badge, gun and belt. "Is it reckless if an officer left his truck unlocked for somebody to steal his truck and all his police gear?" asked McNary. "It will be reckless if that was the case," said Williams…
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/25832560/detail.html
Sauce for the Goose, Sauce for the Gander?: I worked in New York City, where I usually had a partner. One thing I learned is, when your partner gets out of the car, you get out also. If your partner goes into a store for a midnight cup of coffee, you go inside also. Nothing like your partner walking in on a robbery in progress (God forbid), and you're sitting in the car. And remember to focus on why you are out of the car. If it's a traffic stop, focus on the car. Car stops are the most dangerous thing you can do next to domestic violence calls. These days, I sometimes see one officer out of the car on a car stop and the officer on the passenger side, looking around everywhere except into that car. (If this makes sense for cops on duty, maybe the rest of us need to think about it. It may not be practical all the time, particularly if you've got the kids with you but, if only one partner is armed, it may be good practice not to let the unarmed partner walk into the stop-and-rob store alone.)
http://www.policeone.com/Officer-Safety/tips/2899947-Contact-and-cover-Your-partners-safety/
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The Limitations of "Going to the Range": …Most people think that practice means going to the range and firing rounds. And yes this is a form of practice, but at most ranges you are limited to standing stationary and firing at targets from a predetermined distance. A lot of facilities will only allow you to fire one shot every three seconds, and do not permit you to work from holsters. In other words all you can do at the shooting range is shoot. But fighting includes much more than shooting. Movement may be your initial concern. Moving to create distance, trying to keep from being in a wrasslin' match. Moving to get cover between the threat and you. Moving off the line of a charging attacker. You're moving to acquire a clear line of fire on the threat. You need to be moving, and maybe shooting at the same time. We need to communicate with the threat, family members, bystanders, armed partners. When cover is available we need to use it. Should our weapon run empty or malfunction it needs to be fixed. There is a strong probability it will be dark, requiring use of a flashlight. There will likely be multiple threats. It's also a good chance there are bystanders in the environment. And in addition to all of this, we may need to be shooting. The point is that we need to practice our fighting skills, all of them, and not just the shootin' part. What's the best way to practice? Dry. Especially when you don't have a range that will allow you to move, use cover, run malfunctions and shoot rapidly from various distances…
http://www.thetacticalwire.com/archived/2010-11-18_tactical.html
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S&W – The Stock Is Falling!: …In contrast, those who took on Smith & Wesson (SWHC) have lost almost 20% of their funds in the past year. Not even a vote of confidence by Carl Icahn – whose investment company purchased almost a 4% stake earlier this year – was able to stop the pain. One big reason is that Smith & Wesson's problems haven't all hitched to the whims of a cruel economy; besides the usual operational difficulties, the company has spent the last year dealing with a bit of legal Armageddon all its own. Back in 2009, Smith & Wesson's prospects looked downright promising. The election of President Barack Obama brought worries of new gun regulations, and the country's growing economic malaise led talk radio to whisper of coming food shortages and unchecked crime. Such concerns engineered a surprising surge in gun and ammo sales, a trend Smith & Wesson CEO Michael Golden called "pretty exciting." …The problem hobbling the company that allowed James Bond his signature silhouette, and outfitted Dirty Harry with "the most powerful handgun in the world" is that it faces at least one large uncertainty Ruger doesn't have. In January, a Smith & Wesson sales executive was swept up in a massive FBI undercover investigation of bribery in the small arms industry and charged with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The sales executive allegedly attempted to bribe the representative of an African country that was taking bids for a $15 million deal to outfit that country's presidential guard. The representative was an undercover FBI agent…
http://money.cnn.com/2010/11/17/news/companies/smith_and_wesson.fortune/?section=magazines_fortune
Monday, November 15, 2010
11-14-10
From: Stephen P. Wenger
comments in () by the same
http://www.spw-duf.info
comments in () by the same
http://www.spw-duf.info
CCW Push in Hawaii: While Hawaii statutes provide for the issuance of carry permits, they are not issued. A drive is under way to change that:
http://hawaiiccw.com/hawaii/ccw-permits-action-required/
http://www.handgunlaw.us/states/hawaii.pdf
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Meanwhile, in Iowa…: As of Jan. 1, changes to Iowa gun laws will take the discretionary powers of concealed weapons permits away from county sheriffs. Changing the language of the law from "may" to "shall" in Senate File 2379 "standardizes the issuance of concealed weapons permits across the state," according to state Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Adair, who was active in the bill's construction… Baudler said, in its early years, the concealed weapons laws in this state were primitive compared to today's qualifying standards. The sheriff of each county could essentially pick and choose who was fit for carrying concealed weapons and who was not - sometimes based on personal and discriminatory points of view, he said. The level of difficulty in obtaining a permit depended, for one thing, on the county in which the applicant lived. Laws were not consistent or balanced across the state, Baudler said. But one thing held true statewide: When an applicant was denied, there was nothing he or she could do to appeal the sheriff's decision…
http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/534373/Gun-permit-rule-to-change.html?nav=5010
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Prohibitionists Protest at Washington Gun Show: America's gun control debate came to life during a gun show in Yakima. Just a stone's throw away from the Sundome, it was a clash between First Amendment rights and Second Amendment freedoms. "If a person has criminal intent, they're gonna find another weapon... not just a firearm," says gun show director Brian Kjemsmo. "Our community deserves better," says protester Ed Patton. "All over this country, people are losing their loved ones." Smith and Wessons on one side, angry signs on the other. It was Yakima's turn to enter the gun control fray. At the corner of Nob Hill and Fair Avenue, protesters like Patton had a major beef with 2010's gun show: the fact that gun collectors can sell firearms to people without a background check. By contrast, licensed businesses must always perform background checks. The so-called "gun show loophole" is nothing new, but it's still enough to ignite plenty of bickering… (Neither the article nor the video substantiates the claim that there was any sort of "clash" between the First Amendment and the Second Amendment. No one used a firearm or any other weapon to try to silence the protestors.)
http://www.kimatv.com/news/local/107830024.html
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Rule Four Reminder: Two Kansas City [MO] police officers who thought they were being shot at from inside a van returned fire Thursday night. Only later did police realize that the van was actually backfiring and the man inside was not armed. He was not injured by the shots fired by police. Windows of the police car were apparently shot out by the officers as they exited the patrol car. The officers were dispatched on a report of shots being fired from a white van just before 6 p.m. Thursday on Gregory Boulevard near Interstate 435. When the officers got to the area they saw a white van parked on Gregory and pulled up near it. As they were getting out of the patrol car they heard the backfiring and fired their weapons. Police are continuing to investigate the incident. (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it. Several years back, a Border Patrol agent, in the vicinity of Willcox AZ, got into a "gunfight" with a carbide cannon, that had been rigged to fire automatically, in order to scare birds out of a nut orchard. Unfortunately, he persisted after being advised by a Cochise County deputy sheriff what the source of the "hostile fire" was. I believe he subsequently found alternative employment.)
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/12/2425221/kc-police-fire-at-backfiring-van.html
http://www.kctv5.com/news/25770191/detail.html
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A Book to Make You Squirm: The following comments are made on the basis of my first and accelerated reading of a book intended to be controversial. I believe I am being objective in referring to Alan Korwin as a non-attorney student of the laws affecting the ownership and use of firearms. In After You Shoot, Alan makes an impassioned (with an emphasis on "passion") plea for a change in the paradigm that a citizen who uses a firearm in a self-defense incident should make it a point to be the first to call 911 (unless he can have a companion or bystander make the call for him). He couples this with the advocacy of an Adnarim statement – that's Miranda, spelled backward – in which the citizen asserts his rights to the police. Most of the remainder of the book goes on to document Alan's failure to gain a consensus on this from some heavy-hitter attorneys and several prominent firearms instructors (no, I was not one of the ones consulted).
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Tangentially Related: Righthaven is a company that was formed earlier this year with a novel business model: find websites that have copied newspaper articles without permission, and sue them for copyright infringement. Since March, it has sued more than 150 websites and reached settlements with more than 50. But now Righthaven faces its biggest challenge yet. In its lawsuits, Righthaven typically asks for attorney's fees and threatens to take over defendants' domain names. It has used both of those demands very effectively as a hammer to force its targets to settle the lawsuit. A new motion filed by digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation argues that Righthaven doesn't have the right to demand attorney's fees or take over defendants' domains, even if it wins its lawsuits… (One of the websites targeted by Righthaven is Clayton Cramer's The Armed Citizen, which used to be one of my sources.)
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-copyright-enforcer-righthaven-faces-a-new-obstacle/
http://www.thearmedcitizen.com/
While companies such as Righthaven try to protect journalists' copyrights by reflexively suing alleged infringers, online monitoring firm Attributor has pursued a different approach: reflexively trying to strike licensing deals, turning infringing websites into authorized, paying outlets for content. On Monday, Attributor announced the results of a trial run of this approach, finding that a simple request to share revenue or remove unauthorized copies of newspaper articles did the trick 75% of the time…
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/11/attributor-stopping-infringers-without-the-courts-help.html
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This is where the rubber meets the road! After much deliberation and consultation with outside sources, Hawaii Concealed Carry requires your assistance. We need all qualified persons to apply for a concealed handgun permit with the State of Hawaii, in whatever county you reside. We encourage Big Island, Kauai, and Maui to also apply within their respective county. Don't know if you are qualified? Please follow this checklist… Get this information out! We need this to build our plaintiff pool!!For those who may consider a non-resident application, (a) a permit would only be valid in the county (island) in which it were issued and (b) all firearms transported to Hawaii must be registered there within three days.
http://hawaiiccw.com/hawaii/ccw-permits-action-required/
http://www.handgunlaw.us/states/hawaii.pdf
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Meanwhile, in Iowa…: As of Jan. 1, changes to Iowa gun laws will take the discretionary powers of concealed weapons permits away from county sheriffs. Changing the language of the law from "may" to "shall" in Senate File 2379 "standardizes the issuance of concealed weapons permits across the state," according to state Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Adair, who was active in the bill's construction… Baudler said, in its early years, the concealed weapons laws in this state were primitive compared to today's qualifying standards. The sheriff of each county could essentially pick and choose who was fit for carrying concealed weapons and who was not - sometimes based on personal and discriminatory points of view, he said. The level of difficulty in obtaining a permit depended, for one thing, on the county in which the applicant lived. Laws were not consistent or balanced across the state, Baudler said. But one thing held true statewide: When an applicant was denied, there was nothing he or she could do to appeal the sheriff's decision…
http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/534373/Gun-permit-rule-to-change.html?nav=5010
---
Prohibitionists Protest at Washington Gun Show: America's gun control debate came to life during a gun show in Yakima. Just a stone's throw away from the Sundome, it was a clash between First Amendment rights and Second Amendment freedoms. "If a person has criminal intent, they're gonna find another weapon... not just a firearm," says gun show director Brian Kjemsmo. "Our community deserves better," says protester Ed Patton. "All over this country, people are losing their loved ones." Smith and Wessons on one side, angry signs on the other. It was Yakima's turn to enter the gun control fray. At the corner of Nob Hill and Fair Avenue, protesters like Patton had a major beef with 2010's gun show: the fact that gun collectors can sell firearms to people without a background check. By contrast, licensed businesses must always perform background checks. The so-called "gun show loophole" is nothing new, but it's still enough to ignite plenty of bickering… (Neither the article nor the video substantiates the claim that there was any sort of "clash" between the First Amendment and the Second Amendment. No one used a firearm or any other weapon to try to silence the protestors.)
http://www.kimatv.com/news/local/107830024.html
---
Rule Four Reminder: Two Kansas City [MO] police officers who thought they were being shot at from inside a van returned fire Thursday night. Only later did police realize that the van was actually backfiring and the man inside was not armed. He was not injured by the shots fired by police. Windows of the police car were apparently shot out by the officers as they exited the patrol car. The officers were dispatched on a report of shots being fired from a white van just before 6 p.m. Thursday on Gregory Boulevard near Interstate 435. When the officers got to the area they saw a white van parked on Gregory and pulled up near it. As they were getting out of the patrol car they heard the backfiring and fired their weapons. Police are continuing to investigate the incident. (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it. Several years back, a Border Patrol agent, in the vicinity of Willcox AZ, got into a "gunfight" with a carbide cannon, that had been rigged to fire automatically, in order to scare birds out of a nut orchard. Unfortunately, he persisted after being advised by a Cochise County deputy sheriff what the source of the "hostile fire" was. I believe he subsequently found alternative employment.)
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/12/2425221/kc-police-fire-at-backfiring-van.html
http://www.kctv5.com/news/25770191/detail.html
---
A Book to Make You Squirm: The following comments are made on the basis of my first and accelerated reading of a book intended to be controversial. I believe I am being objective in referring to Alan Korwin as a non-attorney student of the laws affecting the ownership and use of firearms. In After You Shoot, Alan makes an impassioned (with an emphasis on "passion") plea for a change in the paradigm that a citizen who uses a firearm in a self-defense incident should make it a point to be the first to call 911 (unless he can have a companion or bystander make the call for him). He couples this with the advocacy of an Adnarim statement – that's Miranda, spelled backward – in which the citizen asserts his rights to the police. Most of the remainder of the book goes on to document Alan's failure to gain a consensus on this from some heavy-hitter attorneys and several prominent firearms instructors (no, I was not one of the ones consulted).
- Alan gets out a lot more than I do and seems to hobnob with a "higher class of people" as well. On the other hand, I don't know if Alan has spent the time that I have in and around the law-enforcement community. This may account for some of our difference in perspective.
- While the term "half-baked" is usually regarded as pejorative, I must use it for this book. Alan's proposed paradigm shift is a desideratum but not yet a strategy he can honestly counsel to employ at this time. I find it much like a new bullet design – I'm not prepared to be the guinea pig to find if it works on the street.
- If for no other reason than to discuss it with or have it evaluated by your attorney, I recommend the small investment to purchase this book. If you don't yet have an attorney, this book may help you structure the initial consultation to develop that relationship – it actually contains a specific chapter on doing so.
- I just purchased two more copies so that I can lend them to attorneys. One copy will initially go to an attorney friend who is not currently practicing but happens to be the wife of the local County Attorney (what is called a District Attorney in most other jurisdictions).
- As I said, this book will make you squirm. If you have not yet taken any formal training that has had the same effect from its discussions of the legal aftermath of using a firearm to defend yourself, that is not a discomfort you can afford to avoid.
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Tangentially Related: Righthaven is a company that was formed earlier this year with a novel business model: find websites that have copied newspaper articles without permission, and sue them for copyright infringement. Since March, it has sued more than 150 websites and reached settlements with more than 50. But now Righthaven faces its biggest challenge yet. In its lawsuits, Righthaven typically asks for attorney's fees and threatens to take over defendants' domain names. It has used both of those demands very effectively as a hammer to force its targets to settle the lawsuit. A new motion filed by digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation argues that Righthaven doesn't have the right to demand attorney's fees or take over defendants' domains, even if it wins its lawsuits… (One of the websites targeted by Righthaven is Clayton Cramer's The Armed Citizen, which used to be one of my sources.)
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-copyright-enforcer-righthaven-faces-a-new-obstacle/
http://www.thearmedcitizen.com/
While companies such as Righthaven try to protect journalists' copyrights by reflexively suing alleged infringers, online monitoring firm Attributor has pursued a different approach: reflexively trying to strike licensing deals, turning infringing websites into authorized, paying outlets for content. On Monday, Attributor announced the results of a trial run of this approach, finding that a simple request to share revenue or remove unauthorized copies of newspaper articles did the trick 75% of the time…
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/11/attributor-stopping-infringers-without-the-courts-help.html
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Friday, November 5, 2010
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