Tuesday, May 4, 2010

05-04-10

by permission from: Stephen P. Wenger
comments in () by the same
http://www.spw-duf.info

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JPFO's Letter to Ted Nugent: First, I personally thank you for the
valuable work you have done, and are doing, for the Second Amendment.
You have used your talent, success, wit, and celebrity to fight for
our freedoms. Additionally, you are a member of the Board of Directors
of the NRA. So this letter is directed to you in strictly that
capacity. Why? Because I believe that you will listen. And you have
the standing and respect within the NRA to actually do something
regarding the issues I'd like to bring to your attention. We at JPFO
recently received a letter from an angry and very articulate fellow
who took the vast majority of gun owners to task for not being NRA
members. He rightly points out that there are more than eighty million
gun owners and only five million members of any pro-gun organization,
the NRA obviously being the largest. I read this fellow's letter a
couple of times, and could not fault him on his spirit or personal
philosophy. What bothered me was that he was asking me to join the
NRA… (JPFO's criticisms of the NRA raise good points. The issue for
gunners is whether we gain or lose by refusing to increase NRA's
membership rolls. Some of us are already Life Members [or higher] and
I see no value in resigning. My money, however, now goes to other
organizations, which may create pressure on the NRA bureaucracy to
take more principled stands. While NRA has a system to mobilize
grasss-roots action, it seems not to be designed to receive feedback.)

http://www.jpfo.org/articles-assd02/nugent-open-letter.htm
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How GCA68 Birthed the Ring of Fire: Early morning sunlight beamed
through windows partially covered by steel Venetian blinds shading the
first patrons at Larry's Coffee Shop, situated not on a typical retail
thoroughfare, but among the concrete tilt-up buildings defining an
industrial park.  Larry, the store's proprietor and three friends sat
bantering about the issues of the day.  The get together had become
their daily ritual. The men's attire, blue collar, working class,
belied a sharp intellect they each possessed.  One of the group's
members, George Jennings, owned a machine shop and manufactured parts
for the aerospace industry.  Another owned a Pawn Shop and had
recently lost the ability to sell inexpensive handguns manufactured
overseas because of recent legislation - The Gun Control Act of 1968…
(Ring of Fire is a term firearm prohibitionists coined to label a
succession of manufacturers, all of whom were originally related by
family, of cheap handguns in California. The current successor is
Jimenez Arms, which had to relocate to Nevada.)

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=36766
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Washington Mothers Arm Themselves: A new group is arming itself
against gang violence. KIMA was there as the Sheriff's office filled
with local moms planning to start carrying pistols in their purses.
And we discovered, they will not be afraid to use them. "I think the
criminals in Yakima need to know we've had enough and they better
think twice before entering a home or car jacking or whatever," said
Autumn Torres. Torres is part of the group, "freedom Loving Moms."
They're encouraging all women to get their concealed weapons permit.
To keep their families safe. " I have a reason to want to protect my
family and myself," said Mary Garent. And because it's their right.
One they're worried about losing if the government cracks down with
tighter gun control laws… So these moms are getting finger printed and
filling out the paperwork to pack heat. Most of them have never shot a
handgun... In fact, most here have never owned one. These women will
tell you they will not be out looking for trouble, unless threatened
at home… (Washington has been a shall-issue state for many decades and
does not have a training requirement for issuance. I suspect that
these women could find good training within the state of Washington
and avoid the travel costs associated with seeking it in Nevada.)

http://www.kimatv.com/news/local/92726994.html
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Oops, Wrong House: A man shot and killed a home invader who held up
the man and his girlfriend early Monday, police said. The man's
girlfriend was visiting him at his North Third Street basement studio
apartment when someone knocked on the door about 12:20 a.m., said Lt.
Ronald Humphrey. Thinking it was her mother - with whom she lives next
door - the woman opened the door and was face to face with a man
pointing a gun at her, Humphrey said. He forced her inside and asked
the 28-year-old woman and her boyfriend, Phillip Jackson, for money.
Fearing for their lives, Jackson, 24, struggled for the weapon,
Humphrey said. Jackson was able to get the gun, shooting the man
several times, Humphrey said. A neighbor, Patricia McNeil, heard the
shots at her home, which is down the block… Home invasions are rare -
only a few occur in Paterson every year - but the victim shooting and
killing the invader is even rarer, Humphrey said… (Again, we see the
more common case of a victim turning the criminal's gun on him, rather
than the nearly mythical opposite, along with another failure of New
Jersey's draconian firearm restrictions.)

http://www.northjersey.com/news/crime_courts/050310_Police_Paterson_man_shoots_and_kills_armed_home_invader.html
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Oops, Wrong Pharmacy: Harry James McCullough took it personally. The
former security guard was standing at a Walgreens checkout counter
when he saw two masked men, one with a sawed-off shotgun, enter the
store. Marquail Thomas, 18, pointed the shotgun at customers and
yelled, "Nobody (expletive) move!'' "There's no doubt in my mind what
they were going to do," McCullough said Thursday. "There was no time
to react. You only have one chance." McCullough pulled out a pistol
and shot Thomas four times. Thomas collapsed outside the store and
died later at a hospital. McCullough chased down the second masked
man, whom Omaha [NE] police have identified as Angelo Douglas, 17, and
held him until officers arrived. Jauvier Perkins, 15, who police said
was the getaway driver, was arrested Wednesday. Prosecutors said all
three are known gang members. McCullough said he had no idea whom he
was dealing with… McCullough will not be charged in the Monday night
shooting, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine has said. McCullough was
cited by police for carrying a concealed weapon. His attorney, James
Martin Davis, said he will seek to have the ticket dismissed.
McCullough said he has had firearms training, shoots guns
competitively and has had security jobs. "I carry my gun everywhere I
go. It's like my wallet," he said. "It's a personal protection and a
safety thing." He has a valid permit to carry a gun in plain view,
typically in a holster. Police said he pulled the pistol from his
waistband. McCullough said he never applied for a state permit to
carry a concealed weapon because it cost "extra money" and he felt
that Omaha's carry permit was "sufficient." …

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100429/NEWS97/100429444#walgreens-shooter-speaks-out

The Nebraska Firearms Owner Association has offered to buy a new
handgun for the man who shot and killed a robbery suspect at an Omaha
Walgreens. Harry "James" McCullough, 32, said he's been overwhelmed by
the support from people appreciative of his actions. On Monday, April
26th, he noticed two men, one of them armed with a shotgun, threaten
the clerk and another customer at the Walgreens on 61st and NW Radial.
That's when he shot the man 4-times, killing him. McCullough then held
down the other suspect until police arrived. "You only have one
chance," is what he told reporters on Thursday about his reaction…
Omaha Police have taken his gun, a Smith and Wesson 40-caliber, for
the investigation. It may take months for him to get it back. Douglas
County Attorney Don Kleine determined the shooting was justified… Andy
Allen talked to Channel 6 News Friday. He tells us enough money has
been promised to buy McCullough a gun. However, when McCullough went
to OPD Headquarters Friday afternoon to apply for a permit to buy a
new gun, his permit was denied. Allen says no reason was given by
police for the denial. (It is unclear if McCullough would have
received a concealed-carry permit under Nebraska's soon to be replaced
may-issue law but it seems foolish for him not at least to have
applied for one. Statements about taking it personally are not
particularly wise either.)

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/92532359.html

Related Video: McCullough's attorney details the incident.

http://www.ketv.com/video/23288954/index.html
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Tangentially Related: A federal judge on Monday ordered that nine
members of an extremist militia accused of plotting to kill police
officers be freed on bond until their trial, saying that prosecutors
did not demonstrate that the defendants would pose a danger if
released… The order, overturning rulings made last month, followed
more than 10 hours of testimony and arguments, during which Judge
Roberts repeatedly asked prosecutors to show that the defendants
planned "imminent" attacks against law enforcement. The defendants'
lawyers admitted that some of their clients made "stupid, hateful"
comments but said that they were not planning any violence… (Inclusion
of this link is not intended as an endorsement of the views of the
defendants but the government's case appears to be crumbling. I took
note of the arrest when it occurred because the same folks who
insisted for decades that the Second Amendment was only intended for
those serving in a militia then use the term as a pejorative, to smear
both gun owners whose guns don't meet their "sporting purpose"
criteria and the conservative movement in general.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/us/04militia.html?ref=us

… I still urge not jumping to conclusions. While I would not be
surprised to find taking on folks likely to generate little public
sympathy was misjudged by the feds to be easy PR, my bet would be they
are trying like hell to manipulate someone to either inform or plea.
And yeah, we can't discount the possibility that they may be able to
prove something. But with that said, I'm not aware of a similar case
where the government couldn't come up with a reason to deny bail and
keep people they knew to be terrorists behind bars. If the best they
can come up with is an agent who doesn't remember anything of
substance, I have to wonder about the entire case.

http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m5d3-Does-freeing-of-Hutaree-on-bond-tell-us-anything-about-governments-case

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