comments in () by the same
http://www.spw-duf.info
The Real Bloomberg: …Mr. Bloomberg, who owns a waterfront estate here,
has walled off his life in Bermuda from voters in New York, arguing it
is none of their business. He steadfastly refuses to say when he is on
the island, and to blindfold prying eyes, he has blocked aviation Web
sites from making public the movements of his private planes… The
mayor also takes along a police detail when he travels, flying two
officers on his private plane and paying as much as $400 a night to
put them up at a hotel near his house; the city pays their wages while
they are there, as it does whether Mr. Bloomberg is New York or not.
Guns are largely forbidden in Bermuda - even most police officers do
not use them - but the mayor's guards have special permission to carry
weapons. A spokesman for the Police Department declined to comment… (I
have a hunch that I could not get "special permission to carry
weapons" if I were ever forced to visit New York City.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/nyregion/26bermuda.html?th=&emc=th&pagewanted=all
---
Meanwhile, from Brady Bunch…: We are going to close the gun show
loophole. In January, you helped us to reach our goal of more than 100
official or committed cosponsors for the bill in the U.S. House to
close the gun show loophole. Right now, people can buy as many guns as
they want from unlicensed dealers at gun shows without a Brady
background check. No questions asked. That's how the Columbine killers
got three of the four weapons used eleven years ago this month - and
how the Pentagon shooter, who shot two law enforcement officers just
last month, got his. The momentum is building. Our goal is now 150
commitments by Memorial Day. We can get this bill passed. We can make
this happen - with your support. Last April, U.S. Senator Frank
Lautenberg and Representatives Mike Castle and Carolyn McCarthy
introduced bills in the Senate and House. Since then, we've been
pressing Congress to make requiring Brady background checks on all gun
sales a priority, starting with the gun show loophole… (Whether
"people can buy as many guns as they want from unlicensed dealers at
gun shows without a Brady background check" actually depends on state
law, what's available for sale and how much money they have. They
certainly can buy a wide variety of firearms without a background
check on the streets of most major American cities and no new law will
change that.)
http://www.bradynetwork.org/site/MessageViewer/?em_id=40721.0&dlv_id=41221
---
Iowa Governor to Sign Shall-Issue Bill: Governor Chet Culver said
today he'll sign into law a bill that would set a statewide standard
for issuing permits to Iowans who want to carry a concealed weapon.
Under current law, Iowa's 99 county sheriffs get to decide who can and
cannot get a concealed weapons permit. The new law will require a
permit to be issued, in nearly every case, if the applicant has taken
safety courses and hasn't been convicted of a felony. During his stop
in Mason City today, Culver said he wants to make sure it's a fair
process statewide for those who apply for a permit. "I'm a strong
supporter of the Second Amendment," Culver said. "I think we have to
level the playing field to make all of the rules universal in terms of
concealed weapon permits in all 99 counties and I want to make sure
that if people want a concealed weapon permit, and they are eligible
for one, that they get one." Culver indicated he'll sign the bill into
law on Thursday.
http://www.radioiowa.com/2010/04/26/governor-says-hell-sign-gun-permit-bill-into-law/
---
Tennessee Restaurant-Carry Bill Hits Snags: A compromise to allow guns
in restaurants, but not bars, is in doubt amid questions from
lawmakers and Second Amendment advocates as the measure moves to full
votes in the state House and Senate. A House committee last week
approved Rep. Harry Tindell's amendment to a guns-in-bars measure that
would allow permit holders to carry guns into establishments that
serve alcohol, but force any establishment with less than 50 percent
food sales to post signs banning firearms. Tindell said legislators
should keep their word from a year ago, when they said they would
deliver a bill that would allow guns in restaurants, but not bars…
Harris pointed out that Tindell's proposal would inadvertently apply
to various other establishments that serve alcohol, such as hotels,
bed-and-breakfasts and art galleries. Sen. Doug Jackson, a Dickson
Democrat and lead sponsor of the bill in the state Senate, also
questioned whether Tindell's proposal had any enforcement mechanism if
an establishment failed to post but didn't meet the 50 percent food
service requirement… (It sounds as though they did it backwards – in
Texas, carry is banned if the establishment derives 51% or more of its
income from the sale of alcohol for on-premises consumption.)
Meanwhile, in Ohio…: This Wednesday, two weeks after the last hearing,
the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee will hold the final hearing for
Senate Bill 239, the bill that would allow concealed handgun licensees
to carry their handguns into locations which serve alcoholic beverages
as long as they don't drink any themselves. The bill also removed
multiple restrictions on how a licensee can transport a firearm in a
motor vehicle. Many opponent are promoting this as "drunks in bars"
legislation, which of course could not be further from the truth.
Approximately 40 states, including every state surrounding Ohio, has
similar legislation on the books and these wild-eyed prediction do not
happen in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, or Michigan.
Nor in any other state for that matter. Like all the other
fear-mongering, these predictions will also fail to come true.
However, one very real effect will happen, and that is the fact that
there will be fewer guns left vulnerable to theft….
And the Sky Is Falling in Georgia: If the state Legislature passes a
gun bill under consideration this week, it will be legal to enter a
bar or restaurant with a licensed concealed weapon and get drunk. It
will still be illegal, though, to fire that weapon while drinking,
thanks to a blanket prohibition against discharging weapons while
intoxicated that's already in state law. At issue is Senate Bill 308,
which strikes down the current state prohibition that keeps even
licensed gun owners from legally carrying their weapons into bars. The
bill would allow bar owners to decide whether to allow concealed
weapons in their establishments, as well as change other things in an
effort to clarify the state's confusing tapestry of gun laws. But in
doing so, SB 308 would do away with a restriction against drinking
while carrying a gun put into law in 2008, when the state Legislature
decided to allow licensed owners to carry in restaurants. That
legislation, House Bill 89, allows people to carry guns in
restaurants, provided they don't drink. That language would be removed
under Senate Bill 308…
http://www.macon.com/2010/04/27/1108239/bill-to-allow-guns-in-bars-stirs.html
---
Texas Officials Not Concerned by National-Park Carry: Local officials
say a new federal law that allows people to bring firearms into
national parks and onto federal land isn't expected to have a big
effect in the Texas Panhandle. But gun rights advocates said the new
rules will offer visitors an extra measure of personal safety. The
federal law, which went into effect Feb. 22, allows those legally
permitted to carry concealed firearms to bring them into national
parks. Local parks affected by the change include: Lake Meredith
National Recreation Area, Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument,
Rosita Flats, Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge and some local
Bureau of Land Management property. "It doesn't really change how we
do business because we allow hunting here," said Paul Jones, chief
ranger at Lake Meredith. Jones said the only effect is to carrying
concealed handguns inside park limits, which had previously been
prohibited. "If you've got a gun and it's legal to carry it in
Amarillo, Texas, it's probably legal to carry it in the park," he
said. Those who want to carry handguns must have a concealed handgun
permit…
http://www.amarillo.com/stories/042410/new_news2.shtml
---
Nevada Gunners Resist REAL ID: For some reason Nevada State
Legislators still want to push us into a federally mandated National
Identification program. Currently, 16 states have refused to implement
REAL ID. Legislators in these states have made it impossible for the
Feds to inforce Real ID. Yet, in all of these states, citizens are
still allowed to board planes and enter federal buildings. Nevada
should opt for independence and become the 17th state to choose
sovereignty over a Federal run disaster like REAL ID. We must insist
that our legislators do NOT comply with the demands of the Federal
Government. The Fed wants more and more of our personal data. We must
resist and this is where we need your help…
http://gonv.org/Alert_REAL_ID_Sovereignty.htm
---
Reflections from Seattle: Late Saturday night in Seattle shots were
fired and a 15-year-old boy was hit in the leg. The incident led to a
shutdown of Martin Luther King Way, police rounded up six people,
including some for outstanding warrants, and at least one gun was
confiscated. When is the last time something like this happened in
Issaquah or Snoqualmie? … Living in the inner city does not give
anyone the right to behave like a fool, especially with guns involved.
On the subject of responsibility, what's a 15-year-old youth doing at
a late-night party in the first place? Where are that kid's parents?
The great American comedian and perhaps a philosopher, Bill Cosby,
addressed this issue a couple of years ago in a speech to the NAACP.
It should be required reading for parents of 15-year-olds who end up
getting shot at late-night parties… Finally, I could not possibly
ignore something else that happened Saturday, that gun rights rally in
Olympia. The Daily Olympian estimated the crowd size at about 200; I
though there were fewer people. All were well-behaved, they
represented a broad cross-section of Americana, and there should have
been ten times that many… And here's something to think about: I would
estimate 75 percent of those in attendance were armed, and many of
them openly. These people are often portrayed as right wing kooks,
lunatic rednecks and worse, yet with all of those guns, nobody
suffered so much as a scratch. What a contrast between them and the
knuckleheads at that south Seattle party Saturday night.
With Friends Like These…: An Ohio sheriff has suspended the concealed
weapons permit of a man carrying a gun who was arrested in North
Carolina after allegedly telling authorities he wanted to see the
president. Coshocton County Sheriff Tim Rogers said Tuesday he sent a
notice of suspension to Joseph Sean McVey, informing him he was
suspending McVey's concealed-carry handgun license. Rogers cited
McVey's arrest Sunday on a misdemeanor charge of going armed in terror
of the public. A sheriff's office report from January released to The
Associated Press indicates McVey had a permit to carry a .40-caliber
handgun. McVey, whose mother lives in Asheville, N.C., was arrested at
that city's airport after Obama's plane left. He is being held under a
$100,000 secured bond. (I did not know that Ohio CHL's are
weapon-specific.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/27/AR2010042702596.html
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/nation/ohio-sheriff-suspends-concealed-weapons-permit-of-armed-ohio-man-who-wanted-to-see-obama-in-nc-92195694.html
---
Oops, Wrong House: Armed with a double-barreled, 12-gauge shotgun, the
resident of a Botetourt County [VA] home fatally shot an intruder
Friday night, authorities said. A family living in the home heard
someone yelling, cursing and pounding on their house about 10:40 p.m.,
according to a release Saturday from Botetourt County Sheriff Ronnie
Sprinkle. A man living there called 911 and secured his family members
in a locked bedroom, then loaded the shotgun. The intruder used a
wrought iron patio chair to break a glass sliding door and come into
the house, and the male resident shot him. "From what I'm told, he
showed some restraint," Botetourt County Commonwealth's Attorney Joel
Branscom said about the shooter. "But it got to the point where he
didn't have much of a choice." … (This report is about two weeks old
but I share it because it demonstrates the use of a safe room and the
appropriate use of a long gun in an ensconced position, not while
searching for an intruder.)
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/200867
---
Rule Four Reminder: An Oklahoma City police officer was accidentally
shot in the leg by a fellow officer Friday night, a police spokeswoman
said. Just before 7 p.m., officers were responding to a burglary call
in the 2700 block of SW 30, Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow said. A dog charged
the officers, she said, and one of the officers discharged his weapon
in the direction of the animal. The bullet hit a fellow officer in the
leg. The officer has been treated and released from Integris Southwest
Medical Center, she said. The dog escaped the scene. Two burglary
suspects have been arrested, but their identities were not released by
police… (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond
it. This is a recurrent theme, often involving ricochets. At the 2005
IALEFI conference I witnessed a drill in which an plastic jug is
filled with water and a rope tied to its handle; the rope is then
threaded through an eye bolt driven into the ground and pulled
rapidly, to simulate a charging dog. While there is nothing about this
training that will keep a bullet from ricocheting if it goes through
the dog, it does prepare the officer for this sort of scenario better
than shooting at upright, stationary targets.)
Rule Five Reminder – Update: …The emergency call came into the Eagar
[AZ] police a little after midnight. The caller stated that a girl was
being held at gunpoint. When police arrived at the scene they found
that a weapon was not involved prompting an Eagar officer to place his
rifle in the back of his patrol car. Reed was arrested for disorderly
conduct and assault involving the 20-year-old daughter of his
girlfriend. His hands were cuffed behind his back, and Reed was placed
in the rear seat of a patrol car. In the confusion, officers failed to
realize the rifle was lying on the backseat of the car. Reed was left
alone in the patrol car while police arrested Alfonso Michael Lopez,
24, who was with Reed and who had a parole violation in connection
with a felony aggravated assault charge. When officers checked on Reed
they found that he had somehow managed to bring his cuffed hands from
behind him to the front of his body. Reed was pointing the officer's
rifle at himself. Eagar Police Chief Mike Hogan reported that "at no
time did Reed point the rifle at any officers." Springerville police
were called for backup, roads were blocked and the area secured. Local
schools were notified to change bus routes during the 12-hour
stand-off. Police decided to wait Reed out to see if he would fall
asleep. When that failed to happen, the decision was made to call in
the Show Low tactical team and negotiators, who arrived about 8:15
a.m… (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm.)
http://www.wmicentral.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20424983&BRD=2264&PAG=461&dept_id=505965&rfi=6
---
F Troop Bends the Truth: There are numerous inconsistencies and
falsehoods in the news clip from San Diego, at the bottom of the page.
http://www.gunnewsdaily.com/index.php/article-archives/370-27-april-2010-gun-news-headlines
---
Tangentially Related: Toward the end of summer, President Obama came
to this hot city, the capital of Arizona and the Southwest, to address
the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention. Outside the Convention
Center, some citizens staged a little protest, or stunt: They carried
guns, openly, emphasizing their right to do so - and expressing a
concern that such rights are under siege. This created a small
national furor, putting Arizona in the spotlight once again. There's
something about Arizona: It gets under some skin, particularly liberal
skin. The most prominent protester was a Christopher Broughton, who
sported both a rifle and a pistol: the former slung over his shoulder,
the latter holstered at his side. Otherwise, he looked like a typical
businessman, in a white dress shirt and dark tie. MSNBC showed the
middle of his body, only: zeroing in on those weapons. Anchorwoman
Contessa Brewer said, "There are questions about whether this" -
meaning the anti-Obama, pro-gun protest - "has racial overtones. I
mean, here you have a man of color in the presidency and white people
showing up with guns." Embarrassingly for MSNBC - one would think -
Mr. Broughton is black. The Arizona Republic asked him why he had
shown up armed. He answered, "Because I can do it. In Arizona, I still
have some freedoms left." …
http://article.nationalreview.com/432607/something-about-arizona/jay-nordlinger
