Stopping the slide of a automatic in close quarters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSTL04OsQqM
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
03-07-11
by permission from Stephen P. Wenger
comments in () by the same
http://www.spw-duf.info
Website Update: I have added an article on the concept of expansion ratio to the Naked Emperor page. On a related note, I appreciate all the favorable comments I have received on yesterday's "diatribe." Perhaps the main reason that I do this so seldom in the mailings is that, when I have something of that length to share, I normally post it on the website. A while back I realized that most list members do not revisit the site on their own initiative, hence my announcements of these updates. For those of you of a broader political bent, I frequently add quotes, typically from the Founders, to my Favorite Quotations page but do not announce those additions. There's a very nice assortment of legitimate Jefferson quotations there.
http://www.spw-duf.info/emperor.html
http://www.spw-duf.info/quotes.html
--
Not That New…: A list member just sent me an e-mail depicting cell-phone guns – disguised .22-caliber pistols. These started turning up in Europe a few years ago. I mention it because, from time to time, cops get in trouble when they shoot someone who proves to be holding a cell phone instead of a gun. Worse, there have been incidents in which gangbangers have actually assumed aggressive shooting stances, aiming cell phones at cops. It may prove very useful to be able to document that you were previously aware that firearms may be disguised as cell phones. If you cannot do so otherwise, feel free to ask me to forward this e-mail to you.
--
Mexico "Requests" Gunwalker Data: The government of Mexico asked the United States for details of the ATF under Project Gunrunner, Operation name "Fast and Furious" implemented by the U.S. Department of Justice that allegedly allowed thousands of weapons into the Mexico. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) reported that Mexican authorities have proceeded with a request of detailed information on this matter to the American authorities, after the media of both countries made known such operation had been conducted by the (ATF). "The government of Mexico is very interested in the investigations announced by both the ATF and the Department of Justice," Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. He stressed that the aim of the governments of Mexico and the United States is to stop arms smuggling on the basis of the principle of shared responsibility. In that regard, he noted that both governments work to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the field…
http://www.mexico.vg/crime/mexico-atf-fast-and-furious/3096
Meanwhile…: Gun rights activists have been trying for weeks to get Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) to use his position as Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, one The Washington Post credits with "almost limitless subpoena power," to initiate hearings on the "Project Gunwaker" scandal. Their efforts were given fresh impetus by Rep. RaúlLabrador (R-ID), who pledged to encourage Issa to conduct such hearings. So far, Issa has been silent on the issue, which is curious when you consider his good record on gun issues, and also a pledge he made when he first decided to run for public office in the 1998 United States Senate campaign… There is one thing that could make it practically impossible for Issa to ignore, but in order to make it happen, we need an 800-Lb. gorilla. We've seen the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms call for Senate Investigations, call to cut off ATF funding, and call for DoJ investigations. We've seen Gun Owners of America call for expanding investigations into the House of Representatives, and provide just the tool to use. Both groups have urged their members to take grassroots action to contact their representatives and ask for direct action…
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/issa-silence-on-project-gunwalker-enabled-by-nra-inaction
--
Speaking of NRA's Inaction…: Linda Walker, Buckeye Firearms Association's Central Ohio Chair, is campaigning for election to the National Rifle Association's Board of Directors. Ballots have been distributed to the NRA's four million members throughout the United States, and are due back to the organization by April 10, 2011. As a member of the NRA's Board of Directors, Walker has promised NRA members that she would fight the encroachment of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on the lawful use of firearms, "stop foolish registration schemes, encourage youth and women to participate in hunting and shooting sports, and do everything in my power to prevent the erosion our God-given rights." … (Linda Walker is the single candidate endorsed this year by the Firearms Coalition, the legacy of Neal Knox.)
http://pressmediawire.com/23978/bfa-linda-walker-runs-for-nra-board.html
--
Good Prospects for North Carolina RKBA Bills: Several bills to relax North Carolina gun laws are under consideration at the N.C. General Assembly, and with the new Republican majority in charge, gun enthusiasts see a good chance of passing them. Legislation strengthening self-defense rights has already passed the state Senate. Bills expanding the places people can carry concealed weapons are in committee in the House. One bill removes the ban on licensed concealed weapons in local parks and restaurants that serve alcohol. The other would make it illegal for business owners to ban guns from their parking lots, provided the guns are legally owned and locked out of sight in a vehicle. It's not clear how far these bills will get, but they're getting public hearings this year, a good sign for any legislation. "I'm pretty optimistic," said Paul Valone, president of Grass Roots North Carolina, which lobbies the legislature to loosen gun restrictions…
http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2011/mar/06/wsmain01-prospects-bright-for-bills-easing-gun-law-ar-837606/
--
Illinois Gunners to Rally: … Anger over Attorney General Lisa Madigan's recent decision to make public the names and other personal information belonging to law-abiding gun owners is expected to swell the ranks of protesters at a gun rights rally scheduled for Thursday, March 10th at the Illinois Capitol. The initial intent of the 2011 edition of Illinois Gun Owners' Lobby Day was to encourage the General Assembly to pass legislation allowing qualified citizens to carry defensive firearms. Illinois is one of only two states that prohibit citizens from protecting themselves and their families by carrying defensive firearms. The other state, Wisconsin, is expected to pass concealed carry legislation later this year. Last week, Attorney General Madigan announced that she plans to release sensitive personal information belonging to the state's 1.5 million firearm owners to newspapers, gun control groups, and just about anyone else who asks her for the information. Madigan's decision to depart from the 40-year tradition of keeping this information secure has caused a shift in the focus of the 2011 IGOLD event. This year, IGOLD has a dual purpose. First, to send the message to Attorney General Madigan that gun owners do not want their privacy invaded. Second, IGOLD will drive home the point that law-abiding citizens want the right to defend themselves and their families with the most effective means available – the defensive firearm…
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/massive-rally-at-illinois-capitol-will-protest-release-of-gun-owner-names-and-personal-information-117510513.html
… Huston, along with other working and retired law enforcement officers, is among the rare class of Illinoisans who can legally carry concealed handguns. Regular, responsible, law-abiding citizens ought to have the same right in Illinois, he says. Some 60,000 Tri-County residents with active Firearm Owners Identification Cards, not to mention new applicants, could get that chance if Illinois passes a concealed carry law this year. The operative words are "if," "might," and Governor Pat Quinn's position. But supporters say they're seeing more momentum to pass a concealed carry law this legislative session than they've seen in more than a decade. With a House committee set to hear testimony Tuesday and the annual Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day on Thursday, gun-rights groups are loading up on political ammo. "Honestly, I think its time has come," says state Rep. Jehan Gordon, D-Peoria. State Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, chief co-sponsor of one of six concealed carry bills introduced in the General Assembly this session, predicts some version of concealed carry will pass in the Senate - if it's called for a vote…
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x945639965/Adams-Gun-rights-groups-to-test-political-strength
--
And in Maryland…: When the House Judiciary Committee meets this week, just days after it finished wrestling with a contentious same-sex marriage proposal, lawmakers will be greeted by another lighting rod issue: Guns. Tuesday is the House committee's annual "gun day," when hundreds of Second Amendment and gun control advocates clash over bills intended to shape how Marylanders purchase, carry and use firearms. This year, a dozen gun bills are on the schedule, including a pair backed by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D). But if recent history is any indicator, the vast majority of firearm proposals debated in the House committee Tuesday are poised to fail. It's the product of what advocates and lawmakers on both sides of the issue have described as the General Assembly's long-running stalemate when it comes to guns… Up to 200 members of the pro-gun community are expected to swarm the committee hearing, said Paul Dembowski, president of the gun-rights group Maryland Shall Issue. Showing up en mass to testify against gun restrictions is the best strategy to ward off new laws, Dembowski said. The group also floods the inboxes of committee members with emails in the days leading up to the hearing…
http://rockville.patch.com/articles/house-gun-day-highlights-stalemate-in-assembly
--
Vote Today on Pennsylvania Castle Doctrine: State Rep. Scott Perry, R-Carroll Township, said the state House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Monday on the Castle Doctrine bill that he sponsored. Under current law, the use of deadly force in self-defense is not justifiable when safe retreat is possible, unless a person is attacked in his or her home or workplace. Perry's legislation would remove the requirement to retreat before using deadly force outside the home or workplace, as well. The term Castle Doctrine refers to the adage that a man's home is his castle. "Right now, the scales are tipped slightly in favor of the criminals," Perry said. Perry anticipates that committee members will approve the bill, because they approved it last legislative session. The same goes for the rest of the House and the Senate, both of which also approved the measure last session. The only reason it didn't pass into law was because former Gov. Ed Rendell vetoed it. But new Gov. Tom Corbett has expressed his support for it, so Perry is optimistic…
http://www.ydr.com/politics/ci_17549552
--
Tennessee Professors Oppose Campus Carry: Faculty at the University of Tennessee have a message for the Legislature: We don't want to carry guns. The Faculty Senate is looking to pass a resolution at its meeting today opposing state House and Senate bills that would allow permit-holding gun owners on the faculty and staff to bring their firearms to campus. "Having a license doesn't make you trained to deal with a crisis, and the police are trained to deal with that, so they should be the ones with the guns," said senate past-President Toby Boulet, an engineering professor who is writing the resolution with fellow member Carole Myers. UT officials are closely watching activity on the issue in Nashville and vehemently expressing opposition to the bill, said Hank Dye, vice president for government relations. They have had multiple conversations with sponsors of the bill and other legislators, he said… (If campus police departments would conduct additional training for those who gain the right to carry on campus – possibly involving professors from the psychology department – it could help create a culture that discourages mass shootings in that environment.)
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/mar/07/ut-senate-vote-against-firearms-legislation-guns/
--
Open Carry in Alabama: … Alabama Open Carry (ALOC) is a grassroots organization dedicated to protecting and fighting for the rights of those who choose to wear their firearms in public… Many people do not know the laws regarding open carry. ALOC fights for it's members that continue to run into legal problems over their choice. "We can give them information about how to handle it. We can give them information from others who have gone through the same situations," says Tony Shifflet, a member of ALOC… ALOC is pushing for new state legislation to try and make open carry an easier and less hassling experience. They have drafted a set of amendments called "The Self Defense Protection Act of 2011." "It's a set of laws to further strengthen our second amendment laws in the state of Alabama. We have a petition going right now that we actually have over 1,200 signatures supporting this legislation," says Jones. The organization is trying to get the bill on the agenda for the current legislative session.
http://www.cbs42.com/content/localnews/story/2nd-Amendment-Supporters-Rally-in-Magic-City/ZZbkB9o4Ekm-r_h3h-heEQ.cspx
--
Life in New Jersey: A Newton pet food store owner kidnapped in front of his shop is appealing a judge's denial of his application to carry a handgun. Jeffrey Muller, 60, applied for a permit after his harrowing ordeal in January 2010. Authorities said Muller, owner of J&G Pet Food Store, was the victim of mistaken identity by three men in search of another Jeffrey Muller who supposedly bilked an acquaintance out of a large amount of money. State Police did a background check on Muller and initially approved his application. Permits to carry handguns in New Jersey need judicial approval, and last August, state Superior Court Judge Philip Maenza in Morristown denied the application. The judge determined that Muller's fear and his experience as a victim did not meet "the justifiable need" required by statute to carry a firearm. Muller has now asked Superior Court Judge David Ironson in Morristown to reconsider the denial. A hearing was supposed to occur Monday but has been postponed. Neither Muller nor his attorney, Dave Jensen, could immediately be reached for comment…
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20110304/NJNEWS/103040302/Kidnap-victim-appeals-to-carry-handgun
--
Oops, Wrong House: … Carmen Glass sat beside her husband, Burnell, as the trial opened for Ray Lemes, a Northwest Side homeowner who is claiming a "castle doctrine" defense in the August 2007 shooting of Tracy Glass, 19, an unarmed college student from San Angelo. In Texas, a person is legally justified in shooting someone who enters his home with nefarious intent. Some reports have suggested Glass might've gone to the wrong house. He was staying with his sister in an unfamiliar neighborhood and was legally drunk. Lemes' house looked similar. The hint of a tragic mistake is what caught my eye. It took me back two decades, to a case involving a 16-year-old Japanese exchange student who was shot to death in Baton Rouge, La. He died after mistaking the home of a man named Rodney Peairs for the scene of a party he was looking for. The man yelled "Freeze!" but the student, Yoshihiro Hattori, didn't speak English well. He kept moving and Peairs shot him… (There's a reason that these incidents are described as tragic but why should a homeowner be forced to presume that an intruder in his home has entered in error?)
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/news_columnists/scott_stroud/article/Castle-doctrine-doesn-t-prevent-pain-1044517.php
--
Oops, Wrong Pharmacy: When Jerome Jay Ersland, has his day in court, Oklahoma's self-defense laws will be tested too. The 57-year-old-pharmacist was charged with first-degree murder as a result of shooting death that took place May 19, 2009. Two teenage boys entered the Reliable Discount Pharmacy in Oklahoma City where Ersland worked, but Ersland was able to chase only one of the youths out the door of the store. The other youth, 16-year-old Antwun Parker, was shot by Ersland six times. Oklahoma was among the first states to enact the self-defense legislation referred to as the Make My Day law. The law, named after Clint Eastwood's character Dirty Harry, provided that Oklahoma residents had the right to defend themselves by using deadly force, if necessary, in their homes without fear of criminal or civil action. In 2006, State Sen. Harry Coates authored legislation that extended those rights of self-defense to include persons in or on motor-operated vehicles and at businesses. That bill, known as the Stand Your Ground law, passed the Oklahoma legislature with only nine opposing votes. At first glance, it would seem Ersland had nothing to fear from the criminal justice system when he protected himself and his female co-workers from the two robbers. But as often happens, there is more to the story…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110306/cm_ac/7991310_oklahoma_pharmacist_case_tests_selfdefense_law
--
Mexicans Arm for Self-Defense: On the ranch lands near the U.S. border, people no longer take security for granted and have turned to weapons to stave off drug thugs. Teachers, ranchers, town officials, business owners and lawyers in rural towns of northwest Chihuahua near New Mexico have armed themselves. Legal or not, they are ready to use their guns for protection. In a country caught in the clutches of a vicious drug war, people have decided it's better to fight than to fall victim to the violence, which has claimed about 35,000 people nationally. It is estimated that 15.5 million weapons – including small-caliber handguns, shotguns and semiautomatic rifles – are owned by residents of Mexico while the army and the police have just under 1 million weapons at their disposal, according to a organization in Australia that tracks weapons worldwide. Fed up with chronic violence, some Mexican residents might be ready to push their government to make weapons more easily available…
http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_17553032?source=most_viewed
--
Scandal Down Under: The Police Minister, Michael Daley, has asked for an investigation into allegations police frequently used a pistol range at the centre of a murder investigation free of charge. The police-run Firearms Registry enforces gun laws and oversees the licences of gun owners and pistol clubs, such as the Sydney Pistol Club in La Perouse, where last August an unlicensed shooter and provisional club member allegedly left the club with a pistol and 30 rounds of ammunition which were later used to shoot her father. After the incident, police indefinitely suspended operations at the club's La Perouse range, in the minister's electorate. But the club fought the suspension in the Administrative Decisions Tribunal and last week police and the club instead agreed on a range of stringent conditions for the shooting range. In a letter the club's lawyer, Stephen Mainstone, pointed out the club ''has always been only too happy to allow NSW Police to use the range at no cost''. The letter, written in September, about three weeks after the alleged murder and part of documents before the tribunal, said NSW police had used the club range weekly when their own, inside the Sydney Police Centre in Goulburn Street, was out of action… (How terrible! A legitimate shooting club extends a helping hand to the local cops.)
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/investigation-into-police-links-with-gun-club-20110306-1bjlm.html
http://www.spw-duf.info/emperor.html
http://www.spw-duf.info/quotes.html
--
Not That New…: A list member just sent me an e-mail depicting cell-phone guns – disguised .22-caliber pistols. These started turning up in Europe a few years ago. I mention it because, from time to time, cops get in trouble when they shoot someone who proves to be holding a cell phone instead of a gun. Worse, there have been incidents in which gangbangers have actually assumed aggressive shooting stances, aiming cell phones at cops. It may prove very useful to be able to document that you were previously aware that firearms may be disguised as cell phones. If you cannot do so otherwise, feel free to ask me to forward this e-mail to you.
--
Mexico "Requests" Gunwalker Data: The government of Mexico asked the United States for details of the ATF under Project Gunrunner, Operation name "Fast and Furious" implemented by the U.S. Department of Justice that allegedly allowed thousands of weapons into the Mexico. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) reported that Mexican authorities have proceeded with a request of detailed information on this matter to the American authorities, after the media of both countries made known such operation had been conducted by the (ATF). "The government of Mexico is very interested in the investigations announced by both the ATF and the Department of Justice," Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. He stressed that the aim of the governments of Mexico and the United States is to stop arms smuggling on the basis of the principle of shared responsibility. In that regard, he noted that both governments work to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the field…
http://www.mexico.vg/crime/mexico-atf-fast-and-furious/3096
Meanwhile…: Gun rights activists have been trying for weeks to get Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) to use his position as Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, one The Washington Post credits with "almost limitless subpoena power," to initiate hearings on the "Project Gunwaker" scandal. Their efforts were given fresh impetus by Rep. RaúlLabrador (R-ID), who pledged to encourage Issa to conduct such hearings. So far, Issa has been silent on the issue, which is curious when you consider his good record on gun issues, and also a pledge he made when he first decided to run for public office in the 1998 United States Senate campaign… There is one thing that could make it practically impossible for Issa to ignore, but in order to make it happen, we need an 800-Lb. gorilla. We've seen the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms call for Senate Investigations, call to cut off ATF funding, and call for DoJ investigations. We've seen Gun Owners of America call for expanding investigations into the House of Representatives, and provide just the tool to use. Both groups have urged their members to take grassroots action to contact their representatives and ask for direct action…
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/issa-silence-on-project-gunwalker-enabled-by-nra-inaction
--
Speaking of NRA's Inaction…: Linda Walker, Buckeye Firearms Association's Central Ohio Chair, is campaigning for election to the National Rifle Association's Board of Directors. Ballots have been distributed to the NRA's four million members throughout the United States, and are due back to the organization by April 10, 2011. As a member of the NRA's Board of Directors, Walker has promised NRA members that she would fight the encroachment of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on the lawful use of firearms, "stop foolish registration schemes, encourage youth and women to participate in hunting and shooting sports, and do everything in my power to prevent the erosion our God-given rights." … (Linda Walker is the single candidate endorsed this year by the Firearms Coalition, the legacy of Neal Knox.)
http://pressmediawire.com/23978/bfa-linda-walker-runs-for-nra-board.html
--
Good Prospects for North Carolina RKBA Bills: Several bills to relax North Carolina gun laws are under consideration at the N.C. General Assembly, and with the new Republican majority in charge, gun enthusiasts see a good chance of passing them. Legislation strengthening self-defense rights has already passed the state Senate. Bills expanding the places people can carry concealed weapons are in committee in the House. One bill removes the ban on licensed concealed weapons in local parks and restaurants that serve alcohol. The other would make it illegal for business owners to ban guns from their parking lots, provided the guns are legally owned and locked out of sight in a vehicle. It's not clear how far these bills will get, but they're getting public hearings this year, a good sign for any legislation. "I'm pretty optimistic," said Paul Valone, president of Grass Roots North Carolina, which lobbies the legislature to loosen gun restrictions…
http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2011/mar/06/wsmain01-prospects-bright-for-bills-easing-gun-law-ar-837606/
--
Illinois Gunners to Rally: … Anger over Attorney General Lisa Madigan's recent decision to make public the names and other personal information belonging to law-abiding gun owners is expected to swell the ranks of protesters at a gun rights rally scheduled for Thursday, March 10th at the Illinois Capitol. The initial intent of the 2011 edition of Illinois Gun Owners' Lobby Day was to encourage the General Assembly to pass legislation allowing qualified citizens to carry defensive firearms. Illinois is one of only two states that prohibit citizens from protecting themselves and their families by carrying defensive firearms. The other state, Wisconsin, is expected to pass concealed carry legislation later this year. Last week, Attorney General Madigan announced that she plans to release sensitive personal information belonging to the state's 1.5 million firearm owners to newspapers, gun control groups, and just about anyone else who asks her for the information. Madigan's decision to depart from the 40-year tradition of keeping this information secure has caused a shift in the focus of the 2011 IGOLD event. This year, IGOLD has a dual purpose. First, to send the message to Attorney General Madigan that gun owners do not want their privacy invaded. Second, IGOLD will drive home the point that law-abiding citizens want the right to defend themselves and their families with the most effective means available – the defensive firearm…
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/massive-rally-at-illinois-capitol-will-protest-release-of-gun-owner-names-and-personal-information-117510513.html
… Huston, along with other working and retired law enforcement officers, is among the rare class of Illinoisans who can legally carry concealed handguns. Regular, responsible, law-abiding citizens ought to have the same right in Illinois, he says. Some 60,000 Tri-County residents with active Firearm Owners Identification Cards, not to mention new applicants, could get that chance if Illinois passes a concealed carry law this year. The operative words are "if," "might," and Governor Pat Quinn's position. But supporters say they're seeing more momentum to pass a concealed carry law this legislative session than they've seen in more than a decade. With a House committee set to hear testimony Tuesday and the annual Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day on Thursday, gun-rights groups are loading up on political ammo. "Honestly, I think its time has come," says state Rep. Jehan Gordon, D-Peoria. State Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, chief co-sponsor of one of six concealed carry bills introduced in the General Assembly this session, predicts some version of concealed carry will pass in the Senate - if it's called for a vote…
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x945639965/Adams-Gun-rights-groups-to-test-political-strength
--
And in Maryland…: When the House Judiciary Committee meets this week, just days after it finished wrestling with a contentious same-sex marriage proposal, lawmakers will be greeted by another lighting rod issue: Guns. Tuesday is the House committee's annual "gun day," when hundreds of Second Amendment and gun control advocates clash over bills intended to shape how Marylanders purchase, carry and use firearms. This year, a dozen gun bills are on the schedule, including a pair backed by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D). But if recent history is any indicator, the vast majority of firearm proposals debated in the House committee Tuesday are poised to fail. It's the product of what advocates and lawmakers on both sides of the issue have described as the General Assembly's long-running stalemate when it comes to guns… Up to 200 members of the pro-gun community are expected to swarm the committee hearing, said Paul Dembowski, president of the gun-rights group Maryland Shall Issue. Showing up en mass to testify against gun restrictions is the best strategy to ward off new laws, Dembowski said. The group also floods the inboxes of committee members with emails in the days leading up to the hearing…
http://rockville.patch.com/articles/house-gun-day-highlights-stalemate-in-assembly
--
Vote Today on Pennsylvania Castle Doctrine: State Rep. Scott Perry, R-Carroll Township, said the state House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Monday on the Castle Doctrine bill that he sponsored. Under current law, the use of deadly force in self-defense is not justifiable when safe retreat is possible, unless a person is attacked in his or her home or workplace. Perry's legislation would remove the requirement to retreat before using deadly force outside the home or workplace, as well. The term Castle Doctrine refers to the adage that a man's home is his castle. "Right now, the scales are tipped slightly in favor of the criminals," Perry said. Perry anticipates that committee members will approve the bill, because they approved it last legislative session. The same goes for the rest of the House and the Senate, both of which also approved the measure last session. The only reason it didn't pass into law was because former Gov. Ed Rendell vetoed it. But new Gov. Tom Corbett has expressed his support for it, so Perry is optimistic…
http://www.ydr.com/politics/ci_17549552
--
Tennessee Professors Oppose Campus Carry: Faculty at the University of Tennessee have a message for the Legislature: We don't want to carry guns. The Faculty Senate is looking to pass a resolution at its meeting today opposing state House and Senate bills that would allow permit-holding gun owners on the faculty and staff to bring their firearms to campus. "Having a license doesn't make you trained to deal with a crisis, and the police are trained to deal with that, so they should be the ones with the guns," said senate past-President Toby Boulet, an engineering professor who is writing the resolution with fellow member Carole Myers. UT officials are closely watching activity on the issue in Nashville and vehemently expressing opposition to the bill, said Hank Dye, vice president for government relations. They have had multiple conversations with sponsors of the bill and other legislators, he said… (If campus police departments would conduct additional training for those who gain the right to carry on campus – possibly involving professors from the psychology department – it could help create a culture that discourages mass shootings in that environment.)
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/mar/07/ut-senate-vote-against-firearms-legislation-guns/
--
Open Carry in Alabama: … Alabama Open Carry (ALOC) is a grassroots organization dedicated to protecting and fighting for the rights of those who choose to wear their firearms in public… Many people do not know the laws regarding open carry. ALOC fights for it's members that continue to run into legal problems over their choice. "We can give them information about how to handle it. We can give them information from others who have gone through the same situations," says Tony Shifflet, a member of ALOC… ALOC is pushing for new state legislation to try and make open carry an easier and less hassling experience. They have drafted a set of amendments called "The Self Defense Protection Act of 2011." "It's a set of laws to further strengthen our second amendment laws in the state of Alabama. We have a petition going right now that we actually have over 1,200 signatures supporting this legislation," says Jones. The organization is trying to get the bill on the agenda for the current legislative session.
http://www.cbs42.com/content/localnews/story/2nd-Amendment-Supporters-Rally-in-Magic-City/ZZbkB9o4Ekm-r_h3h-heEQ.cspx
--
Life in New Jersey: A Newton pet food store owner kidnapped in front of his shop is appealing a judge's denial of his application to carry a handgun. Jeffrey Muller, 60, applied for a permit after his harrowing ordeal in January 2010. Authorities said Muller, owner of J&G Pet Food Store, was the victim of mistaken identity by three men in search of another Jeffrey Muller who supposedly bilked an acquaintance out of a large amount of money. State Police did a background check on Muller and initially approved his application. Permits to carry handguns in New Jersey need judicial approval, and last August, state Superior Court Judge Philip Maenza in Morristown denied the application. The judge determined that Muller's fear and his experience as a victim did not meet "the justifiable need" required by statute to carry a firearm. Muller has now asked Superior Court Judge David Ironson in Morristown to reconsider the denial. A hearing was supposed to occur Monday but has been postponed. Neither Muller nor his attorney, Dave Jensen, could immediately be reached for comment…
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20110304/NJNEWS/103040302/Kidnap-victim-appeals-to-carry-handgun
--
Oops, Wrong House: … Carmen Glass sat beside her husband, Burnell, as the trial opened for Ray Lemes, a Northwest Side homeowner who is claiming a "castle doctrine" defense in the August 2007 shooting of Tracy Glass, 19, an unarmed college student from San Angelo. In Texas, a person is legally justified in shooting someone who enters his home with nefarious intent. Some reports have suggested Glass might've gone to the wrong house. He was staying with his sister in an unfamiliar neighborhood and was legally drunk. Lemes' house looked similar. The hint of a tragic mistake is what caught my eye. It took me back two decades, to a case involving a 16-year-old Japanese exchange student who was shot to death in Baton Rouge, La. He died after mistaking the home of a man named Rodney Peairs for the scene of a party he was looking for. The man yelled "Freeze!" but the student, Yoshihiro Hattori, didn't speak English well. He kept moving and Peairs shot him… (There's a reason that these incidents are described as tragic but why should a homeowner be forced to presume that an intruder in his home has entered in error?)
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/news_columnists/scott_stroud/article/Castle-doctrine-doesn-t-prevent-pain-1044517.php
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Oops, Wrong Pharmacy: When Jerome Jay Ersland, has his day in court, Oklahoma's self-defense laws will be tested too. The 57-year-old-pharmacist was charged with first-degree murder as a result of shooting death that took place May 19, 2009. Two teenage boys entered the Reliable Discount Pharmacy in Oklahoma City where Ersland worked, but Ersland was able to chase only one of the youths out the door of the store. The other youth, 16-year-old Antwun Parker, was shot by Ersland six times. Oklahoma was among the first states to enact the self-defense legislation referred to as the Make My Day law. The law, named after Clint Eastwood's character Dirty Harry, provided that Oklahoma residents had the right to defend themselves by using deadly force, if necessary, in their homes without fear of criminal or civil action. In 2006, State Sen. Harry Coates authored legislation that extended those rights of self-defense to include persons in or on motor-operated vehicles and at businesses. That bill, known as the Stand Your Ground law, passed the Oklahoma legislature with only nine opposing votes. At first glance, it would seem Ersland had nothing to fear from the criminal justice system when he protected himself and his female co-workers from the two robbers. But as often happens, there is more to the story…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110306/cm_ac/7991310_oklahoma_pharmacist_case_tests_selfdefense_law
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Mexicans Arm for Self-Defense: On the ranch lands near the U.S. border, people no longer take security for granted and have turned to weapons to stave off drug thugs. Teachers, ranchers, town officials, business owners and lawyers in rural towns of northwest Chihuahua near New Mexico have armed themselves. Legal or not, they are ready to use their guns for protection. In a country caught in the clutches of a vicious drug war, people have decided it's better to fight than to fall victim to the violence, which has claimed about 35,000 people nationally. It is estimated that 15.5 million weapons – including small-caliber handguns, shotguns and semiautomatic rifles – are owned by residents of Mexico while the army and the police have just under 1 million weapons at their disposal, according to a organization in Australia that tracks weapons worldwide. Fed up with chronic violence, some Mexican residents might be ready to push their government to make weapons more easily available…
http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_17553032?source=most_viewed
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Scandal Down Under: The Police Minister, Michael Daley, has asked for an investigation into allegations police frequently used a pistol range at the centre of a murder investigation free of charge. The police-run Firearms Registry enforces gun laws and oversees the licences of gun owners and pistol clubs, such as the Sydney Pistol Club in La Perouse, where last August an unlicensed shooter and provisional club member allegedly left the club with a pistol and 30 rounds of ammunition which were later used to shoot her father. After the incident, police indefinitely suspended operations at the club's La Perouse range, in the minister's electorate. But the club fought the suspension in the Administrative Decisions Tribunal and last week police and the club instead agreed on a range of stringent conditions for the shooting range. In a letter the club's lawyer, Stephen Mainstone, pointed out the club ''has always been only too happy to allow NSW Police to use the range at no cost''. The letter, written in September, about three weeks after the alleged murder and part of documents before the tribunal, said NSW police had used the club range weekly when their own, inside the Sydney Police Centre in Goulburn Street, was out of action… (How terrible! A legitimate shooting club extends a helping hand to the local cops.)
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/investigation-into-police-links-with-gun-club-20110306-1bjlm.html
Friday, March 4, 2011
03-04-11
by permission from: Stephen P. Wenger
comments in () by the same
comments in () by the same
http://www.spw-duf.info
CBS Pursues Gunwalker Investigation: Federal agent John Dodson says what he was asked to do was beyond belief. He was intentionally letting guns go to Mexico? "Yes ma'am," Dodson told CBS News. "The agency was." An Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms senior agent assigned to the Phoenix office in 2010, Dodson's job is to stop gun trafficking across the border. Instead, he says he was ordered to sit by and watch it happen. Investigators call the tactic letting guns "walk." In this case, walking into the hands of criminals who would use them in Mexico and the United States. Dodson's bosses say that never happened. Now, he's risking his job to go public. "I'm boots on the ground in Phoenix, telling you we've been doing it every day since I've been here," he said. "Here I am. Tell me I didn't do the things that I did. Tell me you didn't order me to do the things I did. Tell me it didn't happen. Now you have a name on it. You have a face to put with it. Here I am. Someone now, tell me it didn't happen." Agent Dodson and other sources say the gun walking strategy was approved all the way up to the Justice Department. The idea was to see where the guns ended up, build a big case and take down a cartel. And it was all kept secret from Mexico. ATF named the case "Fast and Furious." Surveillance video obtained by CBS News shows suspected drug cartel suppliers carrying boxes of weapons to their cars at a Phoenix gun shop. The long boxes shown in the video being loaded in were AK-47-type assault rifles. So it turns out ATF not only allowed it - they videotaped it…
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/03/eveningnews/main20039031.shtml
Someone Else Takes Note: Hoping to score a major prosecution of Mexican drug lords, federal prosecutors and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives permitted hundreds of guns to be purchased and retained by suspected straw buyers with the expectation they might cross the border and even be used in crimes while the case was being built, according to documents and interviews. The decision – part of a Phoenix-based operation code named "Fast and Furious" – was met by strong objections from some front-line agents who feared they were allowing weapons like AK-47s to "walk" into the hands of drug lords and gun runners, internal agency memos show. Indeed, scores of the weapons came back quickly traced to criminal activity. One of those front-line agents who objected, John Dodson, 39, told the Center for Public Integrity that these guns "are going to be turning up in crimes on both sides of the border for decades." Dodson said in an interview that "with the number of guns we let walk, we'll never know how many people were killed, raped, robbed … there is nothing we can do to round up those guns. They are gone." Dodson has taken his misgivings to the Senate Judiciary Committee as a whistleblower after his concerns were dismissed by his supervisors and initially ignored by the Justice Department's inspector general…
http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/2976/
But, According to the L.A. Times…: A federal operation that allowed weapons from the U.S. to pass into the hands of suspected gun smugglers so they could be traced to the higher echelons of Mexican drug cartels has lost track of hundreds of firearms, many of which have been linked to crimes, including the fatal shooting of a Border Patrol agent in December… But several veteran agents were outraged at the shift, saying that there is a big difference between tracking drugs and tracking guns. They saw the change as a violation of a sacred ATF policy: Make the big case or don't make the big case, but don't let the guns go… (So it would appear that F Troop merely "lost track" of the "walked" guns in their effort to "make the big case.")
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-guns-mexico-20110304,0,7581670,full.story
I Not Only Believe in It, I've Actually Seen It: At a joint presss conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Thusday, President Barack Obama responded to a Mexican reporter who asked him if he had the power to veto the right of Americans to keep and bear arms by saying he believed in the Second Amendment… Obama responded: "Well, the Second Amendment in this country is part of our Constitution, and the president of the United States is bound by our Constitution. So I believe in the Second Amendment. It does provide for Americans the right to bear arms for their protection, for their safety, for hunting, for a wide range of uses. That does not mean that we cannot constrain gun-runners from shipping guns into Mexico. And so we believe that we can shape an enforcement strategy that slows the flow of guns into Mexico, while at the same time preserving our Constitution." …Obama did not address the U.S. government sting operation known as "Project Gunrunner," in which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives deliberately moved weapons to suspected gun smugglers in Texas, so the ATF could trace their route to the Mexican drug cartels… (This article also mentions the issue of US agents being disarmed by Mexican law. I'm worried about some quid pro quo on that issue.)
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-appearing-mexican-president-backs
Where's Tom Sawyer when You Need the Whitewash?: Attorney General Eric Holder has asked the Justice Department inspector general to take another look at the efforts of U.S. agents who hunt gun traffickers along the U.S. border with Mexico. Some on Capitol Hill have suggested the current strategy endangers law enforcement officers. The ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, says he has been told by some personnel at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that the agency has allowed assault rifles to be sold to suspected straw purchasers for an illegal trafficking ring. Grassley questions whether agents adequately tracked the weapons after that…
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/justice-inspector-general-look-anti-gun
Now that CBS News has delivered its second definitive report on the scope of "Project Gunwalker" and Senator Grassley has expressed his determination to not allow the Department of Justice to stonewall his investigations, the damage control at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have begun in earnest. From one of the behind-the-scenes confidential sources advising Mike Vanderboegh of Sipsey Street Irregulars and this correspondent, someone who has been instrumental in bringing this story to light from long before major media became involved: "This just hit minutes ago. Panic and chaos are taking place at ATF headquarters in advance of the anticipated media releases today and tomorrow. Below is a message just sent from the subordinate of Jim McDermond from the ATF Office of Public and Governmental Affairs. An emergency request is being issued to all ATF Public Information Officers to find ATF stories with a positive spin to counter-influence was is expected today. Very insulting and very much the character of ATF management. Please respond to me that you received this. I think it will be critical to your stories and for Senator Grassley to further see demonstrated ATF's continued desire to spin and cover up." …
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/atf-begins-spin-wake-of-devastating-press-reports
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From GOA: … Congress has held many hearings looking into this rogue agency; it has tried to cut its budget and otherwise rein in the ATF. In fact, as far back as 1982, a Senate subcommittee noted that ATF "has trampled upon the second amendment by chilling exercise of the right to keep and bear arms by law-abiding citizens." But so far, congressional concern over the agency has not resulted in any substantive action. To the contrary, over the years the agency has continued to grow in its budget, personnel, and mission… GOA's petition asks Congress to exercise its constitutional authority get the ATF out of the firearms regulating business. This is an agency that should not exist, and one that is repugnant to the ideas of liberty the Founding Fathers sought to implement.
Of course, it won't be easy. But if enough Americans make their voices heard we can do away with this unconstitutional agency. So please, click here to sign the petition today, and then help spread the word.
http://gunowners.org/a03022011.htm
http://capwiz.com/gunowners/issues/alert/?alertid=32404501
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Jeff Knox on NRA Board Election: …There is little chance of any injection of new blood in this year's election. The candidate list is a bit larger than usual, but it includes 26 incumbent directors, including the current 76th director, vying for the 25 seats. The Nominating Committee nominated all 25 of the current 3-year directors plus an additional 6 candidates. There were 6 more candidates nominated exclusively by petition of the members. Historically we can expect that at least 23 of the 25 incumbents will win reelection. Since the NRA uses a cumulative total election – the 25 highest total vote getters win – the real race is always between candidates at the bottom of the list. The fact that the committee nominated actor Erik Estrada and members tapped actor and retired Marine Corps NCO R. Lee "Gunny" Ermey, does add some spice to the campaign. Another interesting tidbit is the Nominating Committee's refusal to nominate the current 76th director and perennial candidate, Steve Schreiner – again. Schreiner has run repeatedly for several years. Each time the Nominating Committee has snubbed him, and he has fallen short of the cut. As the next highest vote recipient, however, he has at least twice finished out a term after a death or resignation from the Board, as he is doing currently after the death of long-time Board member Donn DiBiasio… The Firearms Coalition usually endorses a handful of candidates and always advocates voting for only those candidates and no more, but this year the organization is only offering one endorsement: Linda Walker of Ohio. While all of the other candidates seem very qualified, there is only a slight chance of getting maybe one new person on the Board this year, and Linda Walker is the one we think would be best. We encourage NRA voters to mark their ballots for Linda Walker and only Linda Walker, because every other name you mark reduces the chances of Linda Walker being elected. Linda will need at least 65,000 bullet votes to have a chance at a seat. With only about 7 percent of eligible NRA voters actually casting ballots in any given election, it should be relatively easy to find an extra few thousand votes, but when faced with such overwhelming apathy, finding those votes is much easier said than done…
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=269741
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NRA Credits Palin for Rise in Female Membership: Sarah Palin knows how to field dress a moose, but she also knows how to get women to pick up a gun. A National Rifle Association spokeswoman credits the former Alaska governor with the 20 percent jump in female membership. Calling it the "Palin Effect," the NRA's Diane Danielson said the NRA is now "teaching 10,000 new women a year and making more girls want to take up shooting." And gun companies are taking notice of a new demographic in their sights. "Firearm manufacturers are gearing their products towards women. They're scaling down stocks, and shortening trigger pull lengths for our shorter fingers,' Danielson told The Daily Mail. (The issue, Ms. Danielson, is not finger length. "Length of pull" is mostly an issue of arm length, which determines the proper distance between the butt of the stock and the face of the trigger.)
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/50667.html
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Otis McDonald Speaks Today: Otis McDonald, the cornerstone plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court Second Amendment Case McDonald v. City of Chicago, will appear Friday in Chicago, IL at a special event featuring the rolling "Guns Save Lives" billboard sponsored by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Mr. McDonald will appear at a press conference at 3 p.m. at the Jewels Store parking lot at 87th Street and Lafayette on the west side of the expressway. Joining him will be Valinda Rowe, spokesperson for IllinoisCarry.com; Mike Weisman, vice president of the Illinois State Rifle Association; Gerald Vernon and Shawn Gowder of the Chicago gun Owners' Association, and Dr. Paula Bratich with the Second Amendment Sisters. From there, the rolling billboard will proceed south to 95th and Lafayette (Rapid Transit stop) and from there it travels west on 95th Street to the Wal Mart parking lot one block west of Western Avenue…
http://www.ccrkba.org/?p=2548
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A Rabbi Responds to Bloomie: … Mr. Bloomberg, our Jewish tradition tells us that righteous self-defense is not only permissible but an obligation: "If a murderer comes for you, strike him down first." (Talmud Sanhedrin 72a) In your own New York City, hand guns are illegal for all practical purposes, yet the murderers, drug dealers, gangs, and other criminal predators in your City manage to acquire them nonetheless. How do you expect civilians to defend themselves against those who would harm them if we cannot use the most practical tool at our disposal – the handgun? You tell us to "Dial 911"? And then wait ten minutes or more for police rescue? (See "Dial 911 and Die") It deeply troubles me that I – along with millions of others who live and work in your city – are on your "disarmed" list. Mr. Mayor, this is not only immoral, it goes against the fundamental precepts of Judaism that you and I both honor. The Torah teaches: "Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor." (Leviticus 19:16), which Rashi explains means that one who is able to help another escape harm and fails to do so is held culpable in the Heavenly Court for the harm he failed to prevent. You, Mr. Mayor, by disarming your citizens, place them in harm's way every day…
http://jpfo.org/rabbi/rabbi-bloomberg-letter.htm
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This House Is Gun-Free: … The anti-gun lobby has sought to impose what it calls "sensible restrictions" on gun ownership ever since Otis McDonald, a 76-year-old Army veteran who lives in a high crime area of Chicago, won his case before the U.S. Supreme Court saying the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution he fought to protect gives him the right to bear arms. These restrictions vary from training and education requirements to waiting periods to limiting the number of purchases. Some are indeed sensible, but most are simply designed to discourage prospective gun owners with too many hoops to jump through. Gun-rights opponents in Illinois apparently have hit on a new tactic – shame and embarrass gun owners by publicly naming them in much the same manner some communities print the names of johns who patronize hookers in the local paper. In the liberal mind, patronizing a lady of the evening and protecting your family with a firearm are illicit activities that should be discouraged…
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/564926/201103031851/Attention-This-House-Is-Gun-Free.htm
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Interesting Ruling: Federal prosecutors in Washington failed to timely turn over exculpatory information to the lawyers representing a man in a shooting case, a divided appeals court said today in throwing out the conviction and sending the case back for a new trial in D.C. Superior Court. The D.C. Court of Appeals, voting 2-1, said prosecutors "effectively suppressed" favorable information, violating their obligation to disclose exculpatory information to the defense lawyers representing a man named Tyree Miller. At issue in the case: testimony that the shooter held the gun in his left hand. Miller is right-handed… (While this, technically, could be exculpatory, depending on the distance, I could envision a right-handed person who may not be skilled in shooting left-handed shifting a gun to his left hand during a close-range confrontation.)
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2011/03/voiding-assault-conviction-appeals-court-splits-on-whether-to-investigate-prosecutors.html
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Once Again, the Sky Is Falling in Arizona: The Arizona Senate has passed a measure that would allow guns in public establishments and events unless the facility is secured with metal detectors and armed guards. Republicans supported Senate Bill 1201, and Democrats opposed it. The bill now goes to the House for consideration. Debate was emotional. Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Tucson, cried as she spoke. "Has this body no shame, no compassion, no respect?" said Lopez, a good friend of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. "Six people died, and 13 were injured in Tucson ... and we are further loosening gun control in this state. Couldn't this body have the decency to wait until next year?" Sen. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix, said his opposition to the bill has nothing to do with the right to bear arms. He said the bill would allow guns to be carried into Arizona Cardinals, Diamondbacks and Phoenix Suns games… (If Mr. Gallardo is so concerned about drunkenness at sporting events, would it not make more sense to ban the sale and consumption of alcohol in those venues? After all, what's to guarantee that everyone who has a few beers during the game is accompanied by a designated driver?)
http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2011/03/03/20110303arizona-gun-rights-bill-senate-passes.html
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…In Georgia: A year after Georgia lawmakers passed a sweeping gun rights expansion that allowed permit-holders to carry guns into some bars and more parking lots, the Legislature is considering new changes that would allow them to carry their weapons into churches and make it easier for them to renew their licenses. A proposal unveiled Thursday would allow licensed gun owners to carry their weapons into churches, synagogues and other houses of worship with the approval of the congregation. It would also allow them to keep their weapons in locked boxes within school parking lots and safety zones. Another provision would require probate judges to send notices to gun owners at least 90 days before a firearm license expires. The proposal also would no longer require those seeking to renew their license to undergo another criminal background check, although the measure's backers said they expect to delete that language after it came under fire…
http://wsbradio.com/localnews/2011/03/new-bill-permits-guns-at-churc.html
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…In Idaho: Idaho lawmakers gave initial approval Thursday to a bill that would curtail the power of administrators to restrict where students, faculty, staff members and visitors can carry concealed firearms on Idaho's public university and community college campuses. Rep. Erik Simpson, R-Idaho Falls, says his bill is about making campus safer, and the version approved by the House State Affairs Committee would allow people to carry concealed firearms everywhere on campus except in undergraduate residence halls.
Idaho code allows the carrying of concealed firearms in places like the state capital, but not on Idaho campuses… Simpson argues his bill would increase safety at the state's four public universities and community colleges. He said letting students, faculty or others carry concealed guns heightens the chances they could help prevent a violent crime…
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20110304/UPDATE/110303044/New-bill-would-allow-concealed-guns-ID-campuses?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|News|s
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…In Kentucky: Legislation expanding the legal definition of where handguns may be stored in vehicles in Kentucky has cleared a Senate committee. Currently, Kentuckians without concealed carry permits may keep a firearm in their vehicle, but only if it's stored in the glove box. Representative Will Coursey's bill expands the definition to include consoles, enclosed compartments and storage areas originally installed by the vehicle's manufacturer. "That's where I like to keep mine, in the side pocket of the door," says Senator Robin Webb of Grayson "So, I'll be fine doing that now. No question. Well, thank you Rep. Coursey for bringing this. That's the intention of this legislation," says Coursey. "It just allows the law abiding citizen that wishes to exercise his Second Amendment rights to adhere to the laws of the commonwealth," he says. The bill, which already has House approval, is expected to meet little resistance on the Senate floor. (Unfortunately, "storing" firearms in vehicles does not provide great access in an emergency and facilitates their theft.)
http://www.wfpl.org/2011/03/03/concealed-carry-expansion-bill-clears-senate-committee/
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…In North Carolina: There could be more guns in parks, restaurants and workplaces under two bills state legislators are considering. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is something lawmakers have just begun to consider. One bill would make it legal for people with concealed handgun permits to bring their weapons into restaurants and parks. The other would allow gun owners to lock their weapons in their cars while they're at work. And a bill filed Thursday by Youngsville Republican Rep. Glen Bradley would exempt from all federal regulation any firearm, accessory and ammunition made and kept in North Carolina…
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/03/04/2109036/bills-would-allow-guns-in-parks.html
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Oops, Wrong House: Police said a 53-year-old woman shot her ex-boyfriend after he broke into her house and started beating her. Donald Bryant, 40, approached the woman in the 2300 block of West 19th Avenue while she was starting her car, according to a police report. Bryant said he wanted to talk with her about getting back together, the report said. She ran into the house and he chased her inside and pushed in the door while she yelled for her sister to call 911, Lt. Sam Roberts said. Bryant "began punching her with his fist and began to grab and choke her," Roberts said. The struggle continued into the bathroom, where the two fell into a tub. The victim pulled out a gun and shot Bryant in the stomach, police said. He yelled "ouch, ouch" and ran away, Roberts said. Bryant was arrested for residential entry and battery after being transported to Methodist Hospital Northlake Campus in Gary [IN]. The woman was not arrested for shooting Bryant. She had bruising on her face, neck and body, Roberts said. (Note the limited value of shooting someone in "the stomach.")
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/gary/article_facbf182-17fd-5f55-8efc-ef613e6264ab.html
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Canada Drops Gun charges in Self-Defense Case: In a move that acknowledges the difficulty of prosecuting people who feel forced to act in self-defence, Crown attorneys have dropped two gun charges against an Ontario man who shot at masked intruders firebombing his home, saying they had no "reasonable prospect of conviction." The rules around self-defence in Canada are "complex," prosecutors said, and courts have "repeatedly" established that victims can't be expected to thoughtfully examine all consequences of using deadly force while under attack. "Because each case is unique, with widely diverse and sometimes contradictory evidence, no broad policy statement is intended with respect to the use of firearms in the defence of one's home," the Crown brief says…
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/charges+dropped+against+Ontario+self+defender/4380391/story.html
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Winchester Ranger .223 Recall: Olin Corporation, through its Winchester Division, is recalling six (6) lots of its RANGER® 223 Remington 64 Grain Power-Point® (PP) centerfire rifle ammunition (Symbol Number RA223R2). Lot Numbers (last four characters): DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41, and DK51. Through extensive evaluation Winchester has determined the above lots of RANGER® Law Enforcement ammunition may contain incorrect propellant. Incorrect propellant in this ammunition may cause firearm damage, rendering the firearm inoperable, and subject the shooter or bystanders to a risk of serious personal injury when fired…
http://www.winchester.com/library/news/Pages/News-ProductWarningandRecall.aspx
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Tangentially Related: One of the investigators with our group likes to eat, but he doesn't like to cook. He's a delivery or takeout type of guy. He was recounting a story when on a particularly cold day in Phoenix (45 degrees) he thought it best to order in. When he called for the Chinese food delivery, he offered to give the delivery driver the pin number for the gate, so that the driver could enter without calling. The delivery driver stated, in
a polite but dismissive tone, that he didn't need to call, as he had the universal code
for the fire department, and that he could go in and out of any complex as he needed… Then, in a moment of both desperation and curiosity - I remembered the gate card key in the backpack, placed it in the slot, and viola [sic]! The gate opened. This was cool. I continue to use the gate key with great fanfare, especially with impressionable kids in the car, since this is exactly what an investigator should have - a magic gate key. It works in
most every residential community gate I have tried… Note to security people: remove default settings, create a new master code, and to one in particular thank you for the card. I will use it for good and not evil.
http://aegisjournal.com/ejournal/ej201102.pdf
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Wednesday, March 2, 2011
03-02-11
by permission from: Stephen P. Wenger
(comments in () by the same
(comments in () by the same
Website Update: I received a warning about the risks of repeatedly chambering the same round in AR-15-style rifles, which I have posted in the Thoughts on Rifle Ammunition section on the Long Gun Selection page.
http://www.spw-duf.info/longgun.html
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A List Member Replies: Intrigued by my comment to the effect that Chicago's handgun ordinance does not actually place registered handgun owners under house arrest, one list member looked up the ordinance. It reads, in part, "It is unlawful for any person to carry, own or possess a handgun except when in the person's home." (§ 8-20-20) Does Chicago really have its own definition of "ownership," such that it ceases temporarily when one walks out the door?
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UN Lies: "Currently, the United Nations is drafting an Arms Trade Treaty to impose strict controls on firearms and other weapons," David B. Kopel, Paul Gallant and Joanne D. Eisen write in a just-released New York University Journal of Law & Liberty Article. From the Abstract: "In support of hasty adoption of the Treaty, a UN-related organization of Treaty supporters have produced a report claiming that armed violence is responsible for 740,000 deaths annually. This Article carefully examines the claim. We find that the claim is based on dubious assumptions, cherry-picked data, and mathematical legerdemain which is inexplicably being withheld from the public. The refusal to disclose the mathematical calculations used to create the 740,000 factoid is itself cause for serious suspicion; our own calculations indicate that the 740,000 figure is far too high. Further, while the report claims that 60% of homicides are perpetrated with firearms, our review of the data on which the report claimed to rely yields a 22% rate. The persons responsible for the report have refused to release their homicide calculations, or any other calculations." Globalist gun-grabbers fudge numbers to advance an agenda? And then refuse to share their methodologies and data? This is my shocked face…
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/researchers-challenge-un-arms-trade-treaty-gun-death-claims
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I Haven't Heard the Fat Lady Sing: The left has permanently lost the argument on gun control. Despite their best efforts to take advantage of the tragic shooting in Arizona to promote pointless restrictions on things like the size of handgun magazines, the propaganda campaign is unlikely to go anywhere. Instead, the right to keep and bear arms continues to gain steam as state lawmakers around the country are enacting measures that would have been unthinkable not so long ago… Whenever the left is defeated at the statehouse and ballot box, it turns to the courts. The Supreme Court shot down most of these efforts with the District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago rulings reviving judicial recognition of the Second Amendment. Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe received legislation on Monday that forbids local governments from attempting to file liability lawsuits against manufacturers of guns and ammunition. The same bill also prohibits localities from passing any sort of "emergency ordinance" to seize Americans' firearms as happened in New Orleans during the Katrina hurricane…
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/1/no-hope-for-gun-grabbers/
Recent Poll: Since the tragedy in Tucson, Arizona on January 8, Americans' desire for their Second Amendment rights show no signs of weakening. President Obama ignored a change in gun policy in his State of the Union speech, but the White House promised on January 27 that Obama would unveil a push for more gun control in the coming weeks. This push for more gun control from the White House has yet to happen. A poll conducted by Zogby International just ten days after the President's State of the Union speech shows that, if anything, voters have become more supportive of their Second Amendment rights. The poll surveyed 10,000 likely voters and was commissioned by ATI-News and The O'Leary Report. For polling purposes, all 10,000 voters were divided into three camps: 1) Red states that did not vote for Obama in 2008 and are unlikely to do so in 2012; 2) Blue states that did not vote for McCain in 2008 and are unlikely to vote GOP in 2012; and 3) The following battleground "Green" states that could go either way in 2012: FL, IN, IA, MI, MO, NH, NM, NC, OH, PA, VA, and WI.
http://townhall.com/columnists/bradoleary/2011/03/01/poll_shows_voters_of_all_stripes_oppose_more_gun_control/page/full/
Brady Brays: The Brady Campaign has taken upon itself the devilishly tricky task of crowing over the "success" (more on that in a minute) of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (the "Brady Bill," requiring criminal background checks for all gun sales from licensed dealers), while simultaneously decrying the inadequacy of that law, and the need for a whole fleet of new laws to make it actually work. From their press release: "Seventeen years after the Brady Law went into effect on February 28, 1994, Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, expressed pride in the law's accomplishments, but also urged political leaders to do more to protect Americans from gun violence. Helmke outlined 17 common sense measures, including closing loopholes allowing too many gun sales to be conducted without background checks, holding gun dealers and manufacturers accountable, slowing illegal gun sales and trafficking and more." …This year's "17 Common Sense Recommendations for Change," as the Brady Campaign calls them, are not limited to small infringements, either, with just one of them being "Require Licensing of Gun Owners and Registration of Gun Purchases." Sounds as if they're hoping to get back to the heady days of thinking they could pass "Brady II." In the interest of fairness, it must be admitted that the Brady Campaign is at least capable of impressive feats of alliteration, as illustrated in their alternate name for this one: "Stop the Sale of Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines (aka Big Bullet-Blasting Boxes)." Really, Brady Campaign, "Big Bullet-Blasting Boxes"? Seriously? …
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-st-louis/coming-next-year-from-the-brady-campaign-18-new-infringements-on-rkba
http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/press/view/1359/
Meanwhile, in LaLa Land…: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Police Chief Charlie Beck and other top officials voiced their support Wednesday for federal legislation that would ban large-capacity ammunition magazines such as the one used by the alleged gunman in the Tucson shooting rampage. "It boils down to simple math: It's 20 lives," said Beck, describing the difference between a 10- and 30-round magazine attached to a weapon. The pending federal law – H.R. 308, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) – would ban magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Chances of its passage are considered slim amid strong opposition from gun-rights advocates… Displayed on a table beside Beck at a City Hall news conference Wednesday was an array of seized semi-automatic weapons. Such seizures have risen dramatically since a federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich said… (As I recall, when Trutanich ran for city attorney, much of the opposition focused on his being in the same law firm as Chuck Michel, the primary litigator for the California Rifle & Pistol Association. So much for birds of a feather…)
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/03/la-mayor-police-chief-voice-support-for-federal-ban-on-large-capacity-firearms.html
And in Colt's Home State…: Tuesday, Senate Bill 1094 was introduced and referred to the Joint Committee on Judiciary. SB 1094 seeks to prohibit the possession of firearms magazines that accept more than ten rounds of ammunition. If passed and signed into law, any person in possession of any magazine greater than ten rounds, who has not already surrendered the magazine prior to enactment or ninety days after enactment, will be guilty of a class D felony. SB 1094 is a bill in search of a problem, despite the recent media attention given to "large capacity" magazines, no correlation exists between the size or arbitrary capacity of a detachable magazine and violent crime. Owners of "large capacity" magazines are not criminals or individuals intent on committing atrocious acts; they are sportsmen or firearm enthusiasts who own the magazines for a variety of reasons, including sport, competition or self-defense.
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/connecticut-moves-to-ban-%E2%80%9Clarge-capacity%E2%80%9D-gun-magazines
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Illinois AG – Out Gun Owners: Illinois State Police stood their ground today after the state's attorney general determined the agency must disclose the names of people authorized to own guns in Illinois to comply with public records law. Attorney General Lisa Madigan's public access counselor issued a letter Monday night rejecting state police arguments that releasing the information is an unwarranted invasion of privacy prohibited by the state public records law or that its disclosure would automatically endanger the lives of gun owners or those who don't have firearms. State police determine who gets Firearm Owners Identification cards but have always kept the information confidential. Despite the decree, the names likely won't be uncloaked soon. A state police lawyer indicated in a letter Tuesday the agency planned to ask a judge to decide the matter. And Republican lawmakers have filed legislation to make names permanently private. Through the Freedom of Information Act, The Associated Press requested in September the names of each FOID cardholder in the state and the expiration date of each card. State police denied the request, prompting the public access counselor's intervention… (These are not carry permits – there currently is no such thing in Illinois – these are the permits required to own firearms and ammunition in Illinois.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chibrknews-atty-general-illinois-should-release-foid-card-list-20110301,0,6114050.story
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Illinois Gunners to Rally Next Week: Illinois gun owners will gather March 10 in Springfield for Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day (IGOLD) and the largest show of support for an Illinois Right to Carry law the state has ever seen… An expected crowd of 7,000 to 10,000 will gather at the Prairie Capitol Convention Center at the corner of Adams and 8th streets. Doors open at 10:30, with the pre-rally program set to begin at 11:45. Leaders of the Illinois State Rifle Association will present a legislative briefing before sending attendees on a march to the State Capitol through the streets of Springfield. A reception for attendees and legislators will be held later that evening at the State House Inn, 6 p.m., 101 E. Adams St. All Illinois gun owners are urged to attend. IGOLD organizers have scheduled charter buses from all corners of the state to make travel to the event worry free. Buses will depart from the Marion Sam's Club parking lot and the Wal-Mart parking lot in Mt. Vernon. Advance reservations required. To reserve a seat on the bus and avoid the hassles of driving and finding parking places, or for more information, go to IGOLD.isra.org or call 815-635-3198.
http://www.carmitimes.com/newsnow/x868510556/Southern-Illinois-gun-owners-to-converge-on-state-capitol
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Constitutional Right to Prompt Hearing: From Razzano v. County of Nassau (E.D.N.Y. decided yesterday), an interesting decision holding that the gun owner wins under the Due Process Clause, and might also win under the Fourth Amendment (if he amends his complaint to plead it properly)… Gabriel Razzano ... asserts that the defendants, all associated with the Nassau County Police Department, violated his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights by failing to provide him with an adequate opportunity to recover rifles and shotguns that the defendants had confiscated from his residence.... Along with protesting for stricter enforcement of the immigration laws, Razzano has also repeatedly contacted local and federal legislators relating to immigration. One such legislator was United States Representative Carolyn McCarthy. In the six years leading up to the events precipitating this lawsuit, Razzano telephoned McCarthy's office approximately one hundred times, and visited the office approximately six times… As Razzano was not offered this type of hearing, Nassau County violated his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights....
http://volokh.com/2011/03/01/court-finds-due-process-clause-violation-in-nassau-county-n-y-failure-to-provide-prompt-hearing-as-to-return-of-citizens-guns/
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Empty-Holster Protests Planned in Oklahoma: University officials and student governments at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University have been against weapons on campus for years. But students in favor of concealed guns at schools are planning to don their holsters in larger numbers during April across several campuses, according to OSU graduate student Adrienne O'Reilly, the Oklahoma director of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. "Some of us are wearing empty holsters as a symbol of not only showing we are in support of the concealed-carry laws being changed, but we also want people to see that there are people on campus who do have their concealed-carry license," O'Reilly said. "Though the official empty holster protest will come in April, some of us want people to see that concealed-carry license holders are just like everyone else instead of continuing to allow people to stereotype us." Proponents of the bills say they are fighting misinformation, O'Reilly said…
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=19&articleid=20110302_11_A1_CUTLIN929455
While in Texas…: Student Congress took an overwhelming stance, 36–6, against concealed carry on campus Tuesday night. SC held an official vote on behalf of the student body to decide what position UTA would take on carrying concealed guns on campus. The vote is in response to three bills currently in the Texas legislature that would allow licensed holders to carry on campus. According to the bill's author, Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland, 81 of 150 Texas House members have already signed on as co-authors to House Bill 750. The floor opened for discussion 45 minutes before congress made a private vote. Senators were allowed two minutes a piece to speak, and all remarks were solely made to SC President Aaron Resendez. Resendez said he is going to the UT System Student Advisory Council Friday to inform them on the campus' stance. Once legislation allows, he said the executive board will go to Austin to speak with legislators…
http://www.theshorthorn.com/index.php/news/university/1048-guns-on-campus-shot-down-by-student-congress
And in Florida…: A new bill in Florida would allow for the open-carry of firearms in the state, including on the campuses of Florida's universities. Sen. Greg Evers (R-Crestview) introduced the legislation, SB 234, which is currently in committee. If passed, the bill would allow anyone with a concealed weapons permit to also carry a firearm visible to the public. Florida is one of seven states in the country that currently does not allow a person to do that. The legislation would also allow people to openly carry a firearm on campus at a Florida university. Under current law, they are not allowed to do that. Even if the bill passes, people will still not be allowed to carry a gun into a police station, jail, courtroom, government building, professional sporting event, or public school. A group of university police chiefs, including Chief Thomas Longo from the University of South Florida, have written a letter to the Florida Legislature asking them to not change the law. They believe open carry would make their campuses more dangerous… (Hidden guns on campus, flaunted guns on campus – how's a gun-banner to know which to paint as the greater evil?)
http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_tampa/Bill-would-allow-guns-to-be-carried-openly-at-Florida-universities
Louisiana Campus-Carry Poll:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-poll-concealed-weapons-college-campus-022511,0,109338,post.poll
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Pennsylvania Self-Defense bill Advances: A measure that would expand Pennsylvania's so-called Castle Doctrine passed the state Senate Judiciary Committee in an impromptu meeting held just off the Senate floor today. The bill by state Sen. Richard Alloway, R-Franklin County, would allow residents to use deadly force to defend themselves outside their homes and vehicles without first having to retreat. The committee voted 10-3 to advance the proposal to the full Senate. Virtually the same plan also passed last year, but it was amended into another bill pertaining to closing loopholes in the state sex offender reporting law, Megan's Law. Former Gov. Ed Rendell vetoed the bill saying it was unconstitutional because it contained two different subjects. Rendell later said he might have signed the bill if it had closed the "Florida loophole," which allows Pennsylvanians to obtain a gun permit from another state even if they are denied one here… (Let me see if I got that straight – Rendell would have signed a bill he thought was unconstitutional if it had only had one more provision that he desired?)
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/03/state_senate_panel_approves_ca.html
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Clayton Cramer vs. Open Carry: It has been over a year since I ran a series of articles chastising Clayton Cramer for criticizing both open carry and the gay community in his Shotgun News column as well as for his follow-up attack on open carry in his Pajamas Media column. Given the vitriol with which Mr. Cramer attacked open carriers in those instances, I suppose it is little surprise that he has once again taken aim (pun intended) at open carry. This time, his target is Michigan Open Carry and their efforts to force the Capital Area District Library (CADL) in Lansing Michigan to comply with Michigan's preemption law that forbids local units of government from regulating the otherwise lawful carry of firearms. And while there are a number of interesting legal issues surrounding this preemption battle that I will address in next week's column, today I want to talk about Mr. Cramer's latest attack on open carry… (Cramer is known to many in the RKBA community for his essay "The Racist Roots of Gun Control." He also exposed Michael Bellesiles' fabrications in the latter's book Arming America and used that research as the basis of his own outstanding book Armed America. To the dismay of the open-carry community, he has expressed concerns that using open carry as a political statement may backfire. In the CADL case, it's pretty hard to protest by carrying discreetly.)
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-minneapolis/with-friends-like-this-part-ii
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin…: An "open carry" rally is 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at the Holiday Gardens in Potosi. The event features antique gun appraisals, sporting goods vendors and a discussion on Second Amendment rights. Gun-rights advocates are confident that a concealed-carry law will be implemented in Wisconsin this year. Gov. Scott Walker has expressed support for the idea. The event carries a $5 suggested donation and proceeds will benefit the Wisconsin Badger Camp located in northern Grant County. Lunch will be available. The event is sponsored by the Grant County Republican Party. (With no current lawful options for discreet carry, Wisconsin leaves little alternative to open carry.)
http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=313371
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Comedy of Errors?: …When questioned by authorities, Allen Jones stated he had taken his Glock .40 handgun from the glove compartment of his truck. He was walking to the house when he tripped and fell. The gun discharged, and he was hit in the leg just above the knee, he told police. Jones yelled to his wife for help. Aleisha Jones was upstairs bathing their young son when she heard her husband's call for help. When she arrived on the screened porch, she tried to secure the gun but her son beat her to it. As she attempted to take the gun from the child, a round fired. Aleisha Jones was hit in the left side of her neck. A neighbor heard the gunshots and cries for help and came to Aleisha Jones's aid. The neighbor's husband called 911. When authorities arrived, Allen and Aleisha Jones were transported to USA Medical Center in Mobile [AL]. Investigators say the individuals' stories parallel each other. At last report, the Joneses were in stable condition with injuries that did not appear life-threatening. No charges have been filed. (The Rules are posted at http://www.spw-duf.info/safety.html. The car-gun concept is discussed at http://www.spw-duf.info/emperor.html#car%20gun. It sounds as though the injuries could have been prevented by the use of some sort of holster, such as the Safepacker mentioned in the car-gun article.)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41837186/ns/local_news-mobile_al/
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The Horror of It!: A startled man has told how he found a bullet lying in a York city-centre street. Tim Stark said he was unloading items into the MOR Music store where he works in Fossgate yesterday morning when he spotted what he believed to be a live .22 bullet gleaming in a puddle. He said he immediately called police, who came and took it away… A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said the bullet had been put into safe storage, and CID had confirmed it was not thought to be connected with any incident currently under investigation… (It appears that British journalists also fail to understand the difference between a bullet and an entire cartridge.)
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/8805022.Fossgate_bullet_find_mystery/
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http://www.spw-duf.info/longgun.html
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A List Member Replies: Intrigued by my comment to the effect that Chicago's handgun ordinance does not actually place registered handgun owners under house arrest, one list member looked up the ordinance. It reads, in part, "It is unlawful for any person to carry, own or possess a handgun except when in the person's home." (§ 8-20-20) Does Chicago really have its own definition of "ownership," such that it ceases temporarily when one walks out the door?
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UN Lies: "Currently, the United Nations is drafting an Arms Trade Treaty to impose strict controls on firearms and other weapons," David B. Kopel, Paul Gallant and Joanne D. Eisen write in a just-released New York University Journal of Law & Liberty Article. From the Abstract: "In support of hasty adoption of the Treaty, a UN-related organization of Treaty supporters have produced a report claiming that armed violence is responsible for 740,000 deaths annually. This Article carefully examines the claim. We find that the claim is based on dubious assumptions, cherry-picked data, and mathematical legerdemain which is inexplicably being withheld from the public. The refusal to disclose the mathematical calculations used to create the 740,000 factoid is itself cause for serious suspicion; our own calculations indicate that the 740,000 figure is far too high. Further, while the report claims that 60% of homicides are perpetrated with firearms, our review of the data on which the report claimed to rely yields a 22% rate. The persons responsible for the report have refused to release their homicide calculations, or any other calculations." Globalist gun-grabbers fudge numbers to advance an agenda? And then refuse to share their methodologies and data? This is my shocked face…
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/researchers-challenge-un-arms-trade-treaty-gun-death-claims
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I Haven't Heard the Fat Lady Sing: The left has permanently lost the argument on gun control. Despite their best efforts to take advantage of the tragic shooting in Arizona to promote pointless restrictions on things like the size of handgun magazines, the propaganda campaign is unlikely to go anywhere. Instead, the right to keep and bear arms continues to gain steam as state lawmakers around the country are enacting measures that would have been unthinkable not so long ago… Whenever the left is defeated at the statehouse and ballot box, it turns to the courts. The Supreme Court shot down most of these efforts with the District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago rulings reviving judicial recognition of the Second Amendment. Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe received legislation on Monday that forbids local governments from attempting to file liability lawsuits against manufacturers of guns and ammunition. The same bill also prohibits localities from passing any sort of "emergency ordinance" to seize Americans' firearms as happened in New Orleans during the Katrina hurricane…
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/1/no-hope-for-gun-grabbers/
Recent Poll: Since the tragedy in Tucson, Arizona on January 8, Americans' desire for their Second Amendment rights show no signs of weakening. President Obama ignored a change in gun policy in his State of the Union speech, but the White House promised on January 27 that Obama would unveil a push for more gun control in the coming weeks. This push for more gun control from the White House has yet to happen. A poll conducted by Zogby International just ten days after the President's State of the Union speech shows that, if anything, voters have become more supportive of their Second Amendment rights. The poll surveyed 10,000 likely voters and was commissioned by ATI-News and The O'Leary Report. For polling purposes, all 10,000 voters were divided into three camps: 1) Red states that did not vote for Obama in 2008 and are unlikely to do so in 2012; 2) Blue states that did not vote for McCain in 2008 and are unlikely to vote GOP in 2012; and 3) The following battleground "Green" states that could go either way in 2012: FL, IN, IA, MI, MO, NH, NM, NC, OH, PA, VA, and WI.
http://townhall.com/columnists/bradoleary/2011/03/01/poll_shows_voters_of_all_stripes_oppose_more_gun_control/page/full/
Brady Brays: The Brady Campaign has taken upon itself the devilishly tricky task of crowing over the "success" (more on that in a minute) of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (the "Brady Bill," requiring criminal background checks for all gun sales from licensed dealers), while simultaneously decrying the inadequacy of that law, and the need for a whole fleet of new laws to make it actually work. From their press release: "Seventeen years after the Brady Law went into effect on February 28, 1994, Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, expressed pride in the law's accomplishments, but also urged political leaders to do more to protect Americans from gun violence. Helmke outlined 17 common sense measures, including closing loopholes allowing too many gun sales to be conducted without background checks, holding gun dealers and manufacturers accountable, slowing illegal gun sales and trafficking and more." …This year's "17 Common Sense Recommendations for Change," as the Brady Campaign calls them, are not limited to small infringements, either, with just one of them being "Require Licensing of Gun Owners and Registration of Gun Purchases." Sounds as if they're hoping to get back to the heady days of thinking they could pass "Brady II." In the interest of fairness, it must be admitted that the Brady Campaign is at least capable of impressive feats of alliteration, as illustrated in their alternate name for this one: "Stop the Sale of Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines (aka Big Bullet-Blasting Boxes)." Really, Brady Campaign, "Big Bullet-Blasting Boxes"? Seriously? …
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-st-louis/coming-next-year-from-the-brady-campaign-18-new-infringements-on-rkba
http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/press/view/1359/
Meanwhile, in LaLa Land…: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Police Chief Charlie Beck and other top officials voiced their support Wednesday for federal legislation that would ban large-capacity ammunition magazines such as the one used by the alleged gunman in the Tucson shooting rampage. "It boils down to simple math: It's 20 lives," said Beck, describing the difference between a 10- and 30-round magazine attached to a weapon. The pending federal law – H.R. 308, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) – would ban magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Chances of its passage are considered slim amid strong opposition from gun-rights advocates… Displayed on a table beside Beck at a City Hall news conference Wednesday was an array of seized semi-automatic weapons. Such seizures have risen dramatically since a federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich said… (As I recall, when Trutanich ran for city attorney, much of the opposition focused on his being in the same law firm as Chuck Michel, the primary litigator for the California Rifle & Pistol Association. So much for birds of a feather…)
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/03/la-mayor-police-chief-voice-support-for-federal-ban-on-large-capacity-firearms.html
And in Colt's Home State…: Tuesday, Senate Bill 1094 was introduced and referred to the Joint Committee on Judiciary. SB 1094 seeks to prohibit the possession of firearms magazines that accept more than ten rounds of ammunition. If passed and signed into law, any person in possession of any magazine greater than ten rounds, who has not already surrendered the magazine prior to enactment or ninety days after enactment, will be guilty of a class D felony. SB 1094 is a bill in search of a problem, despite the recent media attention given to "large capacity" magazines, no correlation exists between the size or arbitrary capacity of a detachable magazine and violent crime. Owners of "large capacity" magazines are not criminals or individuals intent on committing atrocious acts; they are sportsmen or firearm enthusiasts who own the magazines for a variety of reasons, including sport, competition or self-defense.
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/connecticut-moves-to-ban-%E2%80%9Clarge-capacity%E2%80%9D-gun-magazines
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Illinois AG – Out Gun Owners: Illinois State Police stood their ground today after the state's attorney general determined the agency must disclose the names of people authorized to own guns in Illinois to comply with public records law. Attorney General Lisa Madigan's public access counselor issued a letter Monday night rejecting state police arguments that releasing the information is an unwarranted invasion of privacy prohibited by the state public records law or that its disclosure would automatically endanger the lives of gun owners or those who don't have firearms. State police determine who gets Firearm Owners Identification cards but have always kept the information confidential. Despite the decree, the names likely won't be uncloaked soon. A state police lawyer indicated in a letter Tuesday the agency planned to ask a judge to decide the matter. And Republican lawmakers have filed legislation to make names permanently private. Through the Freedom of Information Act, The Associated Press requested in September the names of each FOID cardholder in the state and the expiration date of each card. State police denied the request, prompting the public access counselor's intervention… (These are not carry permits – there currently is no such thing in Illinois – these are the permits required to own firearms and ammunition in Illinois.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chibrknews-atty-general-illinois-should-release-foid-card-list-20110301,0,6114050.story
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Illinois Gunners to Rally Next Week: Illinois gun owners will gather March 10 in Springfield for Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day (IGOLD) and the largest show of support for an Illinois Right to Carry law the state has ever seen… An expected crowd of 7,000 to 10,000 will gather at the Prairie Capitol Convention Center at the corner of Adams and 8th streets. Doors open at 10:30, with the pre-rally program set to begin at 11:45. Leaders of the Illinois State Rifle Association will present a legislative briefing before sending attendees on a march to the State Capitol through the streets of Springfield. A reception for attendees and legislators will be held later that evening at the State House Inn, 6 p.m., 101 E. Adams St. All Illinois gun owners are urged to attend. IGOLD organizers have scheduled charter buses from all corners of the state to make travel to the event worry free. Buses will depart from the Marion Sam's Club parking lot and the Wal-Mart parking lot in Mt. Vernon. Advance reservations required. To reserve a seat on the bus and avoid the hassles of driving and finding parking places, or for more information, go to IGOLD.isra.org or call 815-635-3198.
http://www.carmitimes.com/newsnow/x868510556/Southern-Illinois-gun-owners-to-converge-on-state-capitol
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Constitutional Right to Prompt Hearing: From Razzano v. County of Nassau (E.D.N.Y. decided yesterday), an interesting decision holding that the gun owner wins under the Due Process Clause, and might also win under the Fourth Amendment (if he amends his complaint to plead it properly)… Gabriel Razzano ... asserts that the defendants, all associated with the Nassau County Police Department, violated his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights by failing to provide him with an adequate opportunity to recover rifles and shotguns that the defendants had confiscated from his residence.... Along with protesting for stricter enforcement of the immigration laws, Razzano has also repeatedly contacted local and federal legislators relating to immigration. One such legislator was United States Representative Carolyn McCarthy. In the six years leading up to the events precipitating this lawsuit, Razzano telephoned McCarthy's office approximately one hundred times, and visited the office approximately six times… As Razzano was not offered this type of hearing, Nassau County violated his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights....
http://volokh.com/2011/03/01/court-finds-due-process-clause-violation-in-nassau-county-n-y-failure-to-provide-prompt-hearing-as-to-return-of-citizens-guns/
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Empty-Holster Protests Planned in Oklahoma: University officials and student governments at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University have been against weapons on campus for years. But students in favor of concealed guns at schools are planning to don their holsters in larger numbers during April across several campuses, according to OSU graduate student Adrienne O'Reilly, the Oklahoma director of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. "Some of us are wearing empty holsters as a symbol of not only showing we are in support of the concealed-carry laws being changed, but we also want people to see that there are people on campus who do have their concealed-carry license," O'Reilly said. "Though the official empty holster protest will come in April, some of us want people to see that concealed-carry license holders are just like everyone else instead of continuing to allow people to stereotype us." Proponents of the bills say they are fighting misinformation, O'Reilly said…
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=19&articleid=20110302_11_A1_CUTLIN929455
While in Texas…: Student Congress took an overwhelming stance, 36–6, against concealed carry on campus Tuesday night. SC held an official vote on behalf of the student body to decide what position UTA would take on carrying concealed guns on campus. The vote is in response to three bills currently in the Texas legislature that would allow licensed holders to carry on campus. According to the bill's author, Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland, 81 of 150 Texas House members have already signed on as co-authors to House Bill 750. The floor opened for discussion 45 minutes before congress made a private vote. Senators were allowed two minutes a piece to speak, and all remarks were solely made to SC President Aaron Resendez. Resendez said he is going to the UT System Student Advisory Council Friday to inform them on the campus' stance. Once legislation allows, he said the executive board will go to Austin to speak with legislators…
http://www.theshorthorn.com/index.php/news/university/1048-guns-on-campus-shot-down-by-student-congress
And in Florida…: A new bill in Florida would allow for the open-carry of firearms in the state, including on the campuses of Florida's universities. Sen. Greg Evers (R-Crestview) introduced the legislation, SB 234, which is currently in committee. If passed, the bill would allow anyone with a concealed weapons permit to also carry a firearm visible to the public. Florida is one of seven states in the country that currently does not allow a person to do that. The legislation would also allow people to openly carry a firearm on campus at a Florida university. Under current law, they are not allowed to do that. Even if the bill passes, people will still not be allowed to carry a gun into a police station, jail, courtroom, government building, professional sporting event, or public school. A group of university police chiefs, including Chief Thomas Longo from the University of South Florida, have written a letter to the Florida Legislature asking them to not change the law. They believe open carry would make their campuses more dangerous… (Hidden guns on campus, flaunted guns on campus – how's a gun-banner to know which to paint as the greater evil?)
http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_tampa/Bill-would-allow-guns-to-be-carried-openly-at-Florida-universities
Louisiana Campus-Carry Poll:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-poll-concealed-weapons-college-campus-022511,0,109338,post.poll
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Pennsylvania Self-Defense bill Advances: A measure that would expand Pennsylvania's so-called Castle Doctrine passed the state Senate Judiciary Committee in an impromptu meeting held just off the Senate floor today. The bill by state Sen. Richard Alloway, R-Franklin County, would allow residents to use deadly force to defend themselves outside their homes and vehicles without first having to retreat. The committee voted 10-3 to advance the proposal to the full Senate. Virtually the same plan also passed last year, but it was amended into another bill pertaining to closing loopholes in the state sex offender reporting law, Megan's Law. Former Gov. Ed Rendell vetoed the bill saying it was unconstitutional because it contained two different subjects. Rendell later said he might have signed the bill if it had closed the "Florida loophole," which allows Pennsylvanians to obtain a gun permit from another state even if they are denied one here… (Let me see if I got that straight – Rendell would have signed a bill he thought was unconstitutional if it had only had one more provision that he desired?)
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/03/state_senate_panel_approves_ca.html
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Clayton Cramer vs. Open Carry: It has been over a year since I ran a series of articles chastising Clayton Cramer for criticizing both open carry and the gay community in his Shotgun News column as well as for his follow-up attack on open carry in his Pajamas Media column. Given the vitriol with which Mr. Cramer attacked open carriers in those instances, I suppose it is little surprise that he has once again taken aim (pun intended) at open carry. This time, his target is Michigan Open Carry and their efforts to force the Capital Area District Library (CADL) in Lansing Michigan to comply with Michigan's preemption law that forbids local units of government from regulating the otherwise lawful carry of firearms. And while there are a number of interesting legal issues surrounding this preemption battle that I will address in next week's column, today I want to talk about Mr. Cramer's latest attack on open carry… (Cramer is known to many in the RKBA community for his essay "The Racist Roots of Gun Control." He also exposed Michael Bellesiles' fabrications in the latter's book Arming America and used that research as the basis of his own outstanding book Armed America. To the dismay of the open-carry community, he has expressed concerns that using open carry as a political statement may backfire. In the CADL case, it's pretty hard to protest by carrying discreetly.)
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-minneapolis/with-friends-like-this-part-ii
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin…: An "open carry" rally is 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at the Holiday Gardens in Potosi. The event features antique gun appraisals, sporting goods vendors and a discussion on Second Amendment rights. Gun-rights advocates are confident that a concealed-carry law will be implemented in Wisconsin this year. Gov. Scott Walker has expressed support for the idea. The event carries a $5 suggested donation and proceeds will benefit the Wisconsin Badger Camp located in northern Grant County. Lunch will be available. The event is sponsored by the Grant County Republican Party. (With no current lawful options for discreet carry, Wisconsin leaves little alternative to open carry.)
http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=313371
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Comedy of Errors?: …When questioned by authorities, Allen Jones stated he had taken his Glock .40 handgun from the glove compartment of his truck. He was walking to the house when he tripped and fell. The gun discharged, and he was hit in the leg just above the knee, he told police. Jones yelled to his wife for help. Aleisha Jones was upstairs bathing their young son when she heard her husband's call for help. When she arrived on the screened porch, she tried to secure the gun but her son beat her to it. As she attempted to take the gun from the child, a round fired. Aleisha Jones was hit in the left side of her neck. A neighbor heard the gunshots and cries for help and came to Aleisha Jones's aid. The neighbor's husband called 911. When authorities arrived, Allen and Aleisha Jones were transported to USA Medical Center in Mobile [AL]. Investigators say the individuals' stories parallel each other. At last report, the Joneses were in stable condition with injuries that did not appear life-threatening. No charges have been filed. (The Rules are posted at http://www.spw-duf.info/safety.html. The car-gun concept is discussed at http://www.spw-duf.info/emperor.html#car%20gun. It sounds as though the injuries could have been prevented by the use of some sort of holster, such as the Safepacker mentioned in the car-gun article.)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41837186/ns/local_news-mobile_al/
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The Horror of It!: A startled man has told how he found a bullet lying in a York city-centre street. Tim Stark said he was unloading items into the MOR Music store where he works in Fossgate yesterday morning when he spotted what he believed to be a live .22 bullet gleaming in a puddle. He said he immediately called police, who came and took it away… A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said the bullet had been put into safe storage, and CID had confirmed it was not thought to be connected with any incident currently under investigation… (It appears that British journalists also fail to understand the difference between a bullet and an entire cartridge.)
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/8805022.Fossgate_bullet_find_mystery/
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Monday, February 28, 2011
web site about the 21 foot rule
This web site is all about the 21 foot rule.
http://www.21footrule.com
http://www.21footrule.com
Friday, February 11, 2011
02-11-11
by permission from Stephen P. Wenger
http://www.spw-duf.info
(comments in () by the same
F Troop Will Accept Comments until February 14: If you're one of the nearly 71 million Americans who live in the four southwest border states, some of your gun purchases could soon be reported to the federal government. And whether you live in one of those states or elsewhere, your help is needed now to stop the federal government's plan to register Americans' gun purchases. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is demanding the authority to require all of the 8,500 firearm dealers in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to report all sales of two or more semiautomatic rifles within five consecutive business days, if the rifles are larger than .22 caliber and use detachable magazines. For example, a dealer would have to tell the government every time a deer hunter in Sacramento or Amarillo finds a good deal on a pair of semi-auto .30-06s like the popular Remington 7400. The ATF has no legal authority to demand these reports, and the flood of new paperwork will waste scarce law enforcement resources that should be spent on legitimate investigations…
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=6232
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NRA's LaPierre Places Blame for Tucson Shootings: National Rifle Association president Wayne LaPierre harshly criticized gun control advocates, the Obama administration and members of the media at the Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday, arguing that they are lying when they say bans on certain firearms or ammunition clips will protect Americans. LaPierre said U.S. gun laws provide more protection to killers like the Virginia Tech and Tucson shooters than to the victims of their attacks, and suggested the current environment puts women at risk for rape. He condemned "gun-free zones and anti-self defense laws that protected the safety of no one except the killers and condemned the victims to death without so much as a prayer." … LaPierre said that the situation in Egypt shows that the Second Amendment remains necessary, as illustrated by the protests in Egypt. He said that "the presence of a firearm" in the hands of good people "makes us all safer."
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20031399-503544.html
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Late to the Party?: …Last week, I learned something. People who own firearms or at least understand that they are a useful tool will probably tell me I'm late to the party with this little insight, but I'm going to throw it out there anyway: I learned that people who are deathly afraid of firearms and wouldn't dream of handling one, much less owning one, actually may be incapable of seeing them as defensive weapons. I can think of no other way to explain many of the reactions to the column I wrote last week. The point of that piece, in case you're among those who missed it, was that the potential for an interruption of government's ability to protect its citizens is something no one should ignore. The breakdown of order in Egypt was the news peg for exploring the idea. As police and military units reacted to the potential for large-scale violence in central Cairo- as, obviously, they would be expected to do – people in places that weren't central Cairo were left to provide for their own safety…
http://www.cleveland.com/obrien/index.ssf/2011/02/a_few_ideas_for_you_to_shoot_a.html
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South Dakota Cannot Deny Permits to Legal Aliens: …Not decided on Second Amendment or other RKBA grounds. Very straightforward application of existing doctrine on equal protection and legal aliens. In short, state (but not federal) discrimination against legal aliens is subject to strict scrutiny. There is an exception for "governmental functions" which involve discretion in self-governance of the polity–such as voting, teaching in public schools, being a peace officer, etc. Those exceptions were not relevant here, so the South Dakota limitation of concealed carry permits to citizens only is preliminarily enjoined.
http://www.makereadyforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=178&t=62400&p=3415848&e=3415848
http://www.archive.org/download/gov.uscourts.sdd.47987/gov.uscourts.sdd.47987.40.0.pdf
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Arkansas Open-Carry Bill Hits Snag: A bill to allow Arkansans to carry guns openly in holsters received a House committee's strongest rebuke today. The House Judiciary Committee approved a "do not pass" motion on House Bill 1051 by Rep. Denny Altes, R-Fort Smith. The voice vote was not unanimous. The motion prohibits Altes from bringing the bill back before the committee this session unless two-thirds of the members vote to do so… Altes said after the meeting that he has no plans to bring the bill back to the committee. He said he would draft another bill that would clarify or redefine several parts of the law regarding the carrying of handguns. The new measure, he said, also would allow for the carrying of a gun in a holster as long as the person has a concealed weapons permit. During the meeting, Altes read to lawmakers the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and said that the right to bear arms "means to carry." He said the state's poor citizens are being deprived of the right because it costs between $200 and $300 to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon… (While this certainly has the potential to become a civil-rights issue, I doubt that it will.)
http://arkansasnews.com/2011/02/10/panel-rejects-bill-to-allow-open-carry-of-handguns/
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Life in LaLa Land: On February 4, 2011, lawyers for the National Rifle Association (NRA) and California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA) submitted an opposition letter to the Los Angeles City Council's proposed expansion of the City's gun purchaser warning letter program (hereafter, "the Program"). The City's Program originally consisted of sending the so-called "warning letters" to new gun buyers who resided in specific neighborhoods in the City. Gun buyers in the targeted areas received the letter from the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office. It was signed by the City Attorney, Attorney General of California, and Los Angeles Chief of Police and indicated that the gun purchase had been documented. The letter also stated that the new gun buyer might be prosecuted if he or she transferred the gun without completing a "Dealer Record of Sale" (DROS) form, and the gun was subsequently used in a crime. The letters typically arrived a few days into the ten day waiting period on a firearm purchase, and scared some legitimate customers away from completing the sale and picking up the firearm at the end of the waiting period… (Sounds like racial profiling to me.)
http://www.ammoland.com/2011/02/10/nra-crpa-oppose-los-angeles-gun-purchaser-warning-letter/
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RKBA Bills Advance in Virginia: … In the past two years, Virginia's lawmakers have been busy passing multiple pro-gun bills, and their efforts have not gone unnoticed by local residents… The most well-known bill passed last year was the concealed carry law that allows citizens to carry concealed handguns into bars, as long as they do not drink. Virginia is slowly positioning itself close Texas on the list of most gun-friendly states. This year, Roanoke Delegate Bill Cleaveland is sponsoring a '"Castle Doctrine" bill that could allow Virginians to use deadly force against unwanted intruders in their own home… Citizens of Lynchburg say that expanded gun rights are good for Virginia, and they hope the trend of pro-gun bills continues in Richmond… The five bills that passed the House this week must still gain approval in the Senate.
http://www.wset.com/Global/story.asp?S=14008786
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And in Wyoming: … HB 167 – Castle doctrine modifications – passed with amendments on Feb. 2, Harvey said. The original bill allowed citizens to use force in self defense when they were the legal resident of an occupied structure. The amended bill allows citizens to use force against a person, but only when the person is entering their home or semi-permanent dwelling. "It changed it so we're not talking about a warehouse or something like that," Harvey said. She voted aye, citing second amendment rights. "I think people should have the right to defend themselves." …
http://lovellchronicle.com/Read/AllStories/tabid/754/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/4373/House-Bills-passed-on-third-reading.aspx
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More on Illinois Carry Bill: State Rep. Dan Beiser said he is working to bring Illinois in line with 48 other states in co-sponsoring legislation allowing responsible gun owners to carry concealed weapons in public. "As a legislator, I am always advocating for the protection of the Second Amendment and preserving the right of lawful citizens to own firearms," said Beiser, D-Alton. "For too long, we have been preventing law-abiding citizens from being better able to protect themselves and their families by denying them the opportunity to have permits to carry concealed weapons." House Bill 148 creates the Family and Personal Protection Act, which would give county sheriffs the authority to issue concealed firearm permits to qualified applicants 21 years and older who are Illinois residents and U.S citizens. Qualified applicants will have to complete classroom and shooting range instruction and must not have been convicted of a felony, be free on bond or have any arrest warrants pending. Qualified holders of the permit would not be able to carry firearms in certain areas, including police stations, courthouses, airports and churches…
http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/gun-50418-law-alton.html
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While in Maryland…: Delegate Michael Smigiel, a Republican from Cecil and a concealed-carry permit holder, is working with Delegate Tiffany Alston, a Democrat from Prince George's, to clarify language in the state's handgun carry law that Second Amendment advocates have long complained infringes on their rights. At issue is a requirement to show a "good and substantial reason" to carry a gun, a cornerstone of Maryland's law that forces applicants to establish a compelling need for the license. When the General Assembly passed the state's handgun carry law in 1972, giving state police discretion to award permits, it did not define what constitutes a good and substantial reason to carry a gun. As a result, state police have interpreted court decisions over the years to decide whether each applicant fits the criteria for a permit. "The state police are enforcing a law they can't define clearly," said Alston, a lawyer. "The fact they're using case law puts the ball back in our court. We need to go ahead and tackle the issue and get a definition." Almost annually, lawmakers file legislation aimed at repealing the good and substantial clause. Each has died in committee, including proposals filed in recent sessions by a former Harford County Democrat…
http://somd.com/news/headlines/2011/13236.shtml
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Hearings Next Week for Ohio RKBA Bills: Both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly have scheduled hearings next week on pro-gun legislation supported by Buckeye Firearms Association… Both HB45 and SB17 contain the language from SB239 in the 128th General Assembly. The bills seek to allow citizens who hold a valid concealed handgun license (CHL) to carry a firearm in restaurants, and to reduce burdensome restrictions regarding how a license holder must transport a firearm in a car. Both HB54 and SB61 contain the language from SB247 in the 128th General Assembly. The bills seek to align Ohio law with federal statutes regarding the restoration of rights to Ohio firearms purchasers. Ken Hanson, Legislative Chair of Buckeye Firearms Association, said, "These bills addresses three important issues facing Ohio gun owners and concealed carry license holders and seek to align Ohio law with federal law and the laws of our surrounding states." …
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/7654
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Swiss Vote on RKBA Sunday: The Swiss are set to vote Sunday on a referendum that would limit the right to bear arms and upend centuries of tradition of civilians keeping military weapons at home in Europe's most gun-friendly nation. If approved, the referendum would force military reservists to store their government-issued weapons in secure public arsenals. It also would create a national registry for all guns and ban private ownership of weapons defined as highly dangerous, such as pump-action and fully automatic weapons. The issue clearly has touched a nerve and set off an emotionally charged debate over what it means to be Swiss… (If the above statement is accurate, the Swiss leftists regard a pump-action shotgun as more threatening than an autoloading one. Perhaps they base that on the fabled effect of the mere sound of racking the action. If you are unfamiliar wit how interwoven the RKBA is with Swiss identity, be sure to read this entire article.)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/10/arms-friendly-swiss-to-vote-on-gun-curbs/
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Tangentially Related: Any discussion of who's likely to succeed outgoing Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona needs to factor in the following: If Rep. Gabrielle Giffords wants the seat, it's hers. The three-term Democratic congresswoman explored the idea of running for the Senate seat in the event of Mr. Kyl's retirement before she was shot Jan. 8 at a constituent meet-and-greet in Tucson. Her rehabilitation from a gunshot wound to the head reportedly is proceeding faster than expected. Mr. Kyl announced Thursday that he would not seek a fourth term in 2012. If Ms. Giffords decides she's game for a Senate run and if her health permits, she would be virtually impossible to defeat, said Bruce Merrill, Arizona State University professor emeritus and longtime pollster… (This does not give me warm, fuzzy feelings. Despite Giffords' obligatory pose about being a good shot with her Glock 19, she holds a "D" rating from GOA. I'm unfamiliar with Merrill's "batting average" as a pollster and this appears to be a personal opinion, not the claimed result of a poll.)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/10/giffords-is-seen-as-shoo-in-for-kyls-seat/
--
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=6232
--
NRA's LaPierre Places Blame for Tucson Shootings: National Rifle Association president Wayne LaPierre harshly criticized gun control advocates, the Obama administration and members of the media at the Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday, arguing that they are lying when they say bans on certain firearms or ammunition clips will protect Americans. LaPierre said U.S. gun laws provide more protection to killers like the Virginia Tech and Tucson shooters than to the victims of their attacks, and suggested the current environment puts women at risk for rape. He condemned "gun-free zones and anti-self defense laws that protected the safety of no one except the killers and condemned the victims to death without so much as a prayer." … LaPierre said that the situation in Egypt shows that the Second Amendment remains necessary, as illustrated by the protests in Egypt. He said that "the presence of a firearm" in the hands of good people "makes us all safer."
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20031399-503544.html
--
Late to the Party?: …Last week, I learned something. People who own firearms or at least understand that they are a useful tool will probably tell me I'm late to the party with this little insight, but I'm going to throw it out there anyway: I learned that people who are deathly afraid of firearms and wouldn't dream of handling one, much less owning one, actually may be incapable of seeing them as defensive weapons. I can think of no other way to explain many of the reactions to the column I wrote last week. The point of that piece, in case you're among those who missed it, was that the potential for an interruption of government's ability to protect its citizens is something no one should ignore. The breakdown of order in Egypt was the news peg for exploring the idea. As police and military units reacted to the potential for large-scale violence in central Cairo- as, obviously, they would be expected to do – people in places that weren't central Cairo were left to provide for their own safety…
http://www.cleveland.com/obrien/index.ssf/2011/02/a_few_ideas_for_you_to_shoot_a.html
--
South Dakota Cannot Deny Permits to Legal Aliens: …Not decided on Second Amendment or other RKBA grounds. Very straightforward application of existing doctrine on equal protection and legal aliens. In short, state (but not federal) discrimination against legal aliens is subject to strict scrutiny. There is an exception for "governmental functions" which involve discretion in self-governance of the polity–such as voting, teaching in public schools, being a peace officer, etc. Those exceptions were not relevant here, so the South Dakota limitation of concealed carry permits to citizens only is preliminarily enjoined.
http://www.makereadyforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=178&t=62400&p=3415848&e=3415848
http://www.archive.org/download/gov.uscourts.sdd.47987/gov.uscourts.sdd.47987.40.0.pdf
--
Arkansas Open-Carry Bill Hits Snag: A bill to allow Arkansans to carry guns openly in holsters received a House committee's strongest rebuke today. The House Judiciary Committee approved a "do not pass" motion on House Bill 1051 by Rep. Denny Altes, R-Fort Smith. The voice vote was not unanimous. The motion prohibits Altes from bringing the bill back before the committee this session unless two-thirds of the members vote to do so… Altes said after the meeting that he has no plans to bring the bill back to the committee. He said he would draft another bill that would clarify or redefine several parts of the law regarding the carrying of handguns. The new measure, he said, also would allow for the carrying of a gun in a holster as long as the person has a concealed weapons permit. During the meeting, Altes read to lawmakers the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and said that the right to bear arms "means to carry." He said the state's poor citizens are being deprived of the right because it costs between $200 and $300 to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon… (While this certainly has the potential to become a civil-rights issue, I doubt that it will.)
http://arkansasnews.com/2011/02/10/panel-rejects-bill-to-allow-open-carry-of-handguns/
--
Life in LaLa Land: On February 4, 2011, lawyers for the National Rifle Association (NRA) and California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA) submitted an opposition letter to the Los Angeles City Council's proposed expansion of the City's gun purchaser warning letter program (hereafter, "the Program"). The City's Program originally consisted of sending the so-called "warning letters" to new gun buyers who resided in specific neighborhoods in the City. Gun buyers in the targeted areas received the letter from the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office. It was signed by the City Attorney, Attorney General of California, and Los Angeles Chief of Police and indicated that the gun purchase had been documented. The letter also stated that the new gun buyer might be prosecuted if he or she transferred the gun without completing a "Dealer Record of Sale" (DROS) form, and the gun was subsequently used in a crime. The letters typically arrived a few days into the ten day waiting period on a firearm purchase, and scared some legitimate customers away from completing the sale and picking up the firearm at the end of the waiting period… (Sounds like racial profiling to me.)
http://www.ammoland.com/2011/02/10/nra-crpa-oppose-los-angeles-gun-purchaser-warning-letter/
--
RKBA Bills Advance in Virginia: … In the past two years, Virginia's lawmakers have been busy passing multiple pro-gun bills, and their efforts have not gone unnoticed by local residents… The most well-known bill passed last year was the concealed carry law that allows citizens to carry concealed handguns into bars, as long as they do not drink. Virginia is slowly positioning itself close Texas on the list of most gun-friendly states. This year, Roanoke Delegate Bill Cleaveland is sponsoring a '"Castle Doctrine" bill that could allow Virginians to use deadly force against unwanted intruders in their own home… Citizens of Lynchburg say that expanded gun rights are good for Virginia, and they hope the trend of pro-gun bills continues in Richmond… The five bills that passed the House this week must still gain approval in the Senate.
http://www.wset.com/Global/story.asp?S=14008786
--
And in Wyoming: … HB 167 – Castle doctrine modifications – passed with amendments on Feb. 2, Harvey said. The original bill allowed citizens to use force in self defense when they were the legal resident of an occupied structure. The amended bill allows citizens to use force against a person, but only when the person is entering their home or semi-permanent dwelling. "It changed it so we're not talking about a warehouse or something like that," Harvey said. She voted aye, citing second amendment rights. "I think people should have the right to defend themselves." …
http://lovellchronicle.com/Read/AllStories/tabid/754/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/4373/House-Bills-passed-on-third-reading.aspx
--
More on Illinois Carry Bill: State Rep. Dan Beiser said he is working to bring Illinois in line with 48 other states in co-sponsoring legislation allowing responsible gun owners to carry concealed weapons in public. "As a legislator, I am always advocating for the protection of the Second Amendment and preserving the right of lawful citizens to own firearms," said Beiser, D-Alton. "For too long, we have been preventing law-abiding citizens from being better able to protect themselves and their families by denying them the opportunity to have permits to carry concealed weapons." House Bill 148 creates the Family and Personal Protection Act, which would give county sheriffs the authority to issue concealed firearm permits to qualified applicants 21 years and older who are Illinois residents and U.S citizens. Qualified applicants will have to complete classroom and shooting range instruction and must not have been convicted of a felony, be free on bond or have any arrest warrants pending. Qualified holders of the permit would not be able to carry firearms in certain areas, including police stations, courthouses, airports and churches…
http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/gun-50418-law-alton.html
--
While in Maryland…: Delegate Michael Smigiel, a Republican from Cecil and a concealed-carry permit holder, is working with Delegate Tiffany Alston, a Democrat from Prince George's, to clarify language in the state's handgun carry law that Second Amendment advocates have long complained infringes on their rights. At issue is a requirement to show a "good and substantial reason" to carry a gun, a cornerstone of Maryland's law that forces applicants to establish a compelling need for the license. When the General Assembly passed the state's handgun carry law in 1972, giving state police discretion to award permits, it did not define what constitutes a good and substantial reason to carry a gun. As a result, state police have interpreted court decisions over the years to decide whether each applicant fits the criteria for a permit. "The state police are enforcing a law they can't define clearly," said Alston, a lawyer. "The fact they're using case law puts the ball back in our court. We need to go ahead and tackle the issue and get a definition." Almost annually, lawmakers file legislation aimed at repealing the good and substantial clause. Each has died in committee, including proposals filed in recent sessions by a former Harford County Democrat…
http://somd.com/news/headlines/2011/13236.shtml
--
Hearings Next Week for Ohio RKBA Bills: Both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly have scheduled hearings next week on pro-gun legislation supported by Buckeye Firearms Association… Both HB45 and SB17 contain the language from SB239 in the 128th General Assembly. The bills seek to allow citizens who hold a valid concealed handgun license (CHL) to carry a firearm in restaurants, and to reduce burdensome restrictions regarding how a license holder must transport a firearm in a car. Both HB54 and SB61 contain the language from SB247 in the 128th General Assembly. The bills seek to align Ohio law with federal statutes regarding the restoration of rights to Ohio firearms purchasers. Ken Hanson, Legislative Chair of Buckeye Firearms Association, said, "These bills addresses three important issues facing Ohio gun owners and concealed carry license holders and seek to align Ohio law with federal law and the laws of our surrounding states." …
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/7654
--
Swiss Vote on RKBA Sunday: The Swiss are set to vote Sunday on a referendum that would limit the right to bear arms and upend centuries of tradition of civilians keeping military weapons at home in Europe's most gun-friendly nation. If approved, the referendum would force military reservists to store their government-issued weapons in secure public arsenals. It also would create a national registry for all guns and ban private ownership of weapons defined as highly dangerous, such as pump-action and fully automatic weapons. The issue clearly has touched a nerve and set off an emotionally charged debate over what it means to be Swiss… (If the above statement is accurate, the Swiss leftists regard a pump-action shotgun as more threatening than an autoloading one. Perhaps they base that on the fabled effect of the mere sound of racking the action. If you are unfamiliar wit how interwoven the RKBA is with Swiss identity, be sure to read this entire article.)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/10/arms-friendly-swiss-to-vote-on-gun-curbs/
--
Tangentially Related: Any discussion of who's likely to succeed outgoing Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona needs to factor in the following: If Rep. Gabrielle Giffords wants the seat, it's hers. The three-term Democratic congresswoman explored the idea of running for the Senate seat in the event of Mr. Kyl's retirement before she was shot Jan. 8 at a constituent meet-and-greet in Tucson. Her rehabilitation from a gunshot wound to the head reportedly is proceeding faster than expected. Mr. Kyl announced Thursday that he would not seek a fourth term in 2012. If Ms. Giffords decides she's game for a Senate run and if her health permits, she would be virtually impossible to defeat, said Bruce Merrill, Arizona State University professor emeritus and longtime pollster… (This does not give me warm, fuzzy feelings. Despite Giffords' obligatory pose about being a good shot with her Glock 19, she holds a "D" rating from GOA. I'm unfamiliar with Merrill's "batting average" as a pollster and this appears to be a personal opinion, not the claimed result of a poll.)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/10/giffords-is-seen-as-shoo-in-for-kyls-seat/
--
Thursday, February 10, 2011
02-10-11
by permission from Stephen P. Wenger
comments in () by the same
From GOA: …The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is waging a war on innocent gun owners, and not surprisingly, the Obama administration has done nothing to keep them in check. You are no doubt aware of how the agency has been going after honest gun dealers in recent years. Combine that with byzantine federal laws and regulations – subject to BATF interpretation – and it's no wonder the number of FFL holders has decreased almost 80%… The agency also put millions of gun owners in its crosshairs when it reclassified shotguns that are equipped with pistol grips. By decreeing in 2009 that such firearms are not "shotguns," the ATF acted as a de facto legislative-making body... quietly turning millions of gun owners into potential criminals overnight… One Senator on Capitol Hill is looking into the agency's contemptible practices and asking pointed questions of ATF Acting Director Ken Melson… ACTION: Ask your Representative to urge the Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee to hold hearings on the ATF. This agency needs to be on top of the Chairman's list of government abuses to investigate. You can use the Take Action feature below to send your Representative a pre-written message.
http://capwiz.com/gunowners/issues/alert/?alertid=26536771
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DOJ Denies Gunwalker Allegations: The U.S. Justice Department denied a claim made to lawmakers that two guns sold in purchases sanctioned by federal firearms agents were later used in a shootout that left a Border Patrol agent dead near the Arizona-Mexico border. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Ronald Weich said in a letter obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press that the claim that agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sanctioned or knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to straw buyers who then brought them to Mexico is false. Such a claim was made about guns used by bandits in the Dec. 14 fatal shooting of Border Patrol agent Brian A. Terry… Grassley, who was examining the claim received by his fellow Senate Judiciary Committee members, had previously said that he received information that appeared to partially corroborate the claim. Grassley spokeswoman Beth Pellett Levine said the Justice Department denied one aspect of allegations presented by whistleblowers and promised to give the senator a briefing. "However, the briefing has still not occurred, and documents provided with the allegations are not consistent with that denial," she said. "There are many specific questions that need to be answered in full by the Justice Department as soon as possible." …
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jPM9pJmJKqeODDsEAmM63_6YDvOg?docId=cabff60adfe4422b9bd95d1f3accda68
… If one were to ask Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich how this was allowed to happen, he might respond as he did to Senator Grassley's inquiries: "At the outset, the allegation described in your January 27 letter-that ATF "sanctioned" or otherwise knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to a straw purchaser who then transported them into Mexico-is false." Further, Weich makes an accusation typical of the Obama Administration, wherein accusing the accuser is routine. "We also want to protect investigations and the law enforcement personnel who directly conduct them from inappropriate political influence. For this reason, we respectfully request that Committee staff not contact law enforcement personnel seeking information about pending criminal investigations." Assistant Attorney General Weich issued the denial and warning on February 4th, 2011 and raised the stakes in a high-level game of chicken with the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Grassley's response was quick and effective issuing this letter with attached corroboration of the charges…
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/02/sen_grassley_time_for_atf_to_c.html
Senator Charles Grassley has written a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder dated February 9 concerning "serious allegations from ATF whistleblowers." Per Grassley: "ATF agents told my staff that the agency allowed the sale of assault rifles to known and suspected straw purchasers for an illegal trafficking ring near the southwest border. Authorities allegedly recovered two of those weapons at the scene of a firefight near the southwest border on December 14, 2010. Customs and Border Protection Agent Brian Terry lost his life in that firefight and may have been killed with one of those two rifles." … "Unfortunately," Grassley informs Holder, his request that ATF brief his staff has been met with little more than "delay and denial." Citing the Justice Department response to his inquiries denying allegations and requesting that his office not question law enforcement investigators, Grassley reconfirms to Holder "the allegations I received are supported by documentation," and reminds the Attorney General "there is a difference between inappropriate political influence and appropriately holding officials accountable to the American people." …
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/breaking-news-grassley-to-holder-terry-family-deserves-answers
What Can You Do?
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/congressional-research-service-can-be-used-to-expose-project-gunwalker
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Another Look at the 90% Myth: … The remaining 22,800 firearms seized by Mexican authorities in 2008 were not traced for a variety of reasons. In addition to factors such as bureaucratic barriers and negligence, many of the weapons seized by Mexican authorities either do not bear serial numbers or have had their serial numbers altered or obliterated. It is also important to understand that the Mexican authorities simply don't bother to submit some classes of weapons to the ATF for tracing. Such weapons include firearms they identify as coming from their own military or police forces, or guns that they can trace back themselves as being sold through the Mexican Defense Department's Arms and Ammunition Marketing Division (UCAM). Likewise, they do not ask ATF to trace military ordnance from third countries like the South Korean fragmentation grenades commonly used in cartel attacks. Of course, some or even many of the 22,800 firearms the Mexicans did not submit to ATF for tracing may have originated in the United States. But according to the figures presented by the GAO, there is no evidence to support the assertion that 90 percent of the guns used by the Mexican cartels come from the United States – especially when not even 50 percent of those that were submitted for tracing were ultimately found to be of U.S. origin. This point leads us to consider the types of weapons being used by the Mexican cartels and where they come from…
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20110209-mexicos-gun-supply-and-90-percent-myth
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It Sounds as Though…: The White House is pressing ahead with rules meant to slow the flow of weapons to Mexico, a high-ranking U.S. official said on Wednesday, despite fears among gun control advocates that the Obama administration may be backing away from the plan. In an attempt to curb gun running to Mexico, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in December it would tighten reporting requirements for dealers in several southwest states on sales of multiple semi-automatic weapons… The ATF made an emergency request for the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the new rules, which are opposed by the powerful gun lobby. The OMB concluded the request did not qualify for emergency consideration, which would have allowed it to approve the new rules in January, and it could be months before the OMB acts, he said… (While this sloppily written propaganda piece does detail the claim in its opening sentence, it sounds as though F Troop will gain the approval for the multiple-purchase report on long guns, just so long as they allow the normal 60-day period for public comments.)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/09/us-usa-firearms-mexico-idUSTRE7187AV20110209
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A New Poster Child for the Prohibitionists?: The fiancee of a congressional staffer killed along with five others in the shooting that severely injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., urged state lawmakers Tuesday to ban gun magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Authorities said Jared Loughner, who is charged in last month's shootings near Tucson, used a high-capacity magazine to fire 31 shots in 15 seconds from a pistol he purchased legally… Rep. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, has authored House Bill 2711, which would reclassify magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds as prohibited weapons. As such, their manufacture, sale and possession would be a felony… Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., have introduced similar bills in Congress… O'Brien, a nurse in the neurology unit at the Tucson Medical Center, had been engaged to Zimmerman, Giffords' community-outreach director, for six months. They planned to marry next year. She said that although she supports every American's right to bear arms, limiting ammunition magazines to 10 rounds would help prevent mass killings… (A British commentator recently opined that the prohibitionist movement in the US is suffering because James Brady is no longer able to make public appearances. Is O'Brien being set up as the new Brady? Oh yeah, full capacity magazines were not illegal under the old "assault weapon" ban. It was just illegal to sell new ones to private citizens; it was no crime to retain one you had already acquired legally nor even to sell or purchase one that was not marked as post-ban.)
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/02/09/20110209slain-gabrielle-giffords-staff-.html
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NRA's Next President: Two faces that are quite familiar to conservatives nationwide will be moving to some key positions. David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union since 1984, is leaving the helm of the nation's oldest conservative membership organization. Keene, who is also a vice president of the National Rifle Association, is expected to assume the presidency of the NRA once held by the late Charlton Heston… (I'm not convinced that an NRA president can make much difference beyond being a useful figurehead. LaPierre seems to have the bureaucracy well sewn up. In fact, unless someone can convince me otherwise, I don't believe one can get to be NRA president without the support of that bureaucracy.)
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=41701
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Montana Could Upgrade FFA: Lawmakers in the state of Montana who initiated the idea of a Firearms Freedom Act to declare guns made, sold and kept in the state exempt from federal regulations now want to beef up the plan. They want penalties to apply to any "official, agent, or employee" of the federal government "who purposely or knowingly enforces a law, regulation, or order of the United States relating to a personal firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured in this state." The idea follows closely the outline of a provision adopted by Wyoming when lawmakers there originally approved their own Firearms Freedom Act. WND reported when Wyoming included penalties for any agent of the U.S. who "enforces or attempts to enforce" federal gun rules on a "personal firearm." The costs there could be up to two years in prison and $2,000 in fines for an offender. Meanwhile, a number of additional states are considering during their 2011 legislative sessions the provisions of a firearms freedom act, and they could double the number of states with such laws…
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=261893
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"Common Sense" Infringements in Delaware: Gov. Jack Markell announced a package of bills Wednesday aimed at strengthening Delaware's gun laws. Calling the legislation "common-sense bills," Markell immediately drew criticism from gun-rights advocates as well as proponents of tighter controls. Markell outlined a slate of gun-control measures during his 2008 campaign, but these are the first bills he helped draft and recruit sponsors for. As he announced the proposed legislation, Markell was flanked by state and local police, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden and several elected officials. The first-term governor insisted the bills will not affect responsible gun owners, saying he saw them as tweaks to existing laws…
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110210/NEWS02/102100356/1114/entertainment/Markell-announces-package-gun-bills?odyssey=nav|head
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Life in California: A long-term list member just submitted this:
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Oops, Wrong Church: James McAbee, pastor at the Lighthouse Worship Center on West Cardinal Drive, was prepared to defend his church on Sunday when burglars targeted the building. McAbee said he had left church and was traveling on West Cardinal Drive toward U.S. 69 at about 2 p.m. when he saw a young man punching a window out of the church's youth building. The teenager was standing on another teen's back, who was down on all fours. The pastor dialed 9-1-1 as he circled back to the church and was told by a dispatcher that a squad car would arrive in five to 10 minutes, he said. McAbee said he was content to wait on authorities, until he heard items being thrown around inside the youth center, which was being renovated. Not wanting to see the church's progress go to waste, McAbee said he told the 9-1-1 operator that he was a concealed weapon permit holder and was going to tell the men to lie down until police arrived… (All's well that ends well but Texas is more lenient than most states regarding the use of deadly force in the protection of mere property. Had things gone worse, would the potential damage to the church been worth the cost of a legal defense at trial and the pastor's reputation in the community?)
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/crime/article/Pastor-nabs-two-burglary-suspects-at-his-church-1000219.php
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Confronting Burglars: A 38-year-old man was fatally shot while trying to break into a car on the Northeastside, police said Monday. Donnell Dennis, who was homeless, was shot about 11:20 p.m. Sunday by the owner of a 2000 Chevrolet Suburban at 4057 Millersville Road, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Kendale Adams said. Adams said Dennis was armed and ordered two men to the ground. Instead, they opened fire on Dennis. Only Dennis was hit in the exchange of gunfire. The men, identified in a police report as Aaron and Matthew Arnold, both of Indianapolis, have not been charged in the shooting, but the case has been handed to the Marion County prosecutor's office for review. ((Don't assume that just because you are armed the burglar you confront is not. Is it worth the risk?)
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011102010352
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Walmart Fires Four for Disarming Shoplifter: The shoplifter smashed Gabriel Stewart up against a wall. It didn't take him long to realize that pressure against his lower back was from a loaded gun held by a desperate man who didn't want to go to jail. The gunman had a firm grip on Stewart's shoulder, telling him and three of his Walmart co-workers, "Don't make me do this." …Instantly, Shawn Ray and Justin Richins kicked into gear, spinning the gunman around. Lori Poulsen ripped the gun away and secured it. They all held onto the man until police arrived minutes later. The four Layton [UT] Walmart employees felt it was mission accomplished. Police officers told them they had done everything right. But a week later, all four were fired from their jobs. Walmart said their actions had violated company policy and put their fellow workers and shoppers at risk… (I can see Walmart not wanting employees to risk escalation by confronting those known to be armed but this was a situation of an immediate and unexpected threat. Perhaps Walmart should simply stop using "loss-prevention officers.")
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=14319284
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Oops, Wrong Trail – Some Background: A 15-year-old Cordova [TN] teen who was shot to death last Thursday was killed while participating in a robbery, investigators said Monday. Demario Burnett was found just after 3:30 p.m. Thursday, suffering from a gunshot wound, in front of a home in the 2600 block of Breezy Ridge Trail. Burnett was taken to Saint Francis-Bartlett, where he later died. Monday, police said Burnett was participating in a robbery at the time he was shot… After the case was reviewed by the MPD's Homicide Bureau, and presented to the Shelby County District Attorney's Office, it was determined that no charges would be filed in his death. According to police, 18-year-old Avian Jackson shot-and-killed Burnett. Investigators said Jackson agreed to buy a gun from Burnett for $130. But when they met up Thursday afternoon, Burnett put a gun to Jackson's head and robbed him. Jackson told investigators he pulled his own gun and squeezed of five shots, hitting Burnett three times - once in the right arm, once in the right side of his chest, and once in the right side of his back. He will not be charged with a crime, and has been released from jail, after police determined the shooting was "justifiable homicide." …
http://cordova.wmctv.com/news/people/teen-killed-shooting-was-participating-robbery/52013
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Rule Four Reminder: He was on the hunt for pesky birds in the rafters. One landed on the floor. The plant manager allegedly got down, lay low, fired bird shot from a rifle but missed the bird. However, according to a River Falls [WI] police report and a criminal complaint, an employee was hit in the back of the head. A felony charge for injury by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon was filed against the 29-year-old plant manager of Best Maid Cookie in the River Falls industrial park… The victim is a 28-year-old Baldwin man who had just started working at Best Maid. He claimed he was about ready to toss some cookie dough into a bin when he felt something like a bee sting above his ear. He also claimed to extract a tiny piece of lead from his head. The alleged shooter, the plant manager, was unaware of what happened. He thought he'd just missed the stray bird and walked off. The injured employee said he remained at his post for almost another hour because he wasn't allowed to leave his cookie machine unattended… (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it. It sounds as though this mishap occurred with a pellet gun.)
http://www.rivertowns.net/event/article/id/97645/publisher_ID/19
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Ten Way Burglars Check if You're Home: Burglars prefer to break into a home when no one is at home. To determine whether the owners are home or not, burglars have come up with several tricks for finding empty homes to burglarize. If homeowners can eliminate some of these telltale signs of an empty house, they may decrease the chance of being burglarized when they are gone…
http://www.lewrockwell.com/rep2/burglar-tricks.html
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Federal Recalls .45 ACP Ammo: Various products are affected: American Eagle® (AE45A, AE45N1, or AE45A250), Champion™ (WM5233), GoldMedal® (GM45B), Hi-Shok® (45C, 45D) and Federal® Personal Defense® (C45C, C45D). Affected lots are 38X628 through 38X765 and 38T401 through 38T414.
http://www.federalpremium.com/pdf/45_Auto_warning.pdf
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Sabre Defense Indictments: A federal grand jury charged Nashville-based gun manufacturer Sabre Defence Industries and five company officers with illegal international arms trafficking. Sabre's largest customer was the U.S. military until the company shuttered operations late last year… In July 2004, Savage displayed his frustration with United States regulators in an e-mail to Hill and Shearon cited in the indictment: "This Iraq situation has companies banging on our door for M16s because we are the only supplier outside the U.S. since the State Department has a lump of granite up their asses with exporting machine guns to anywhere. … I'm not prepared to have bureaucrats in another country tell me how to run my business in the UK, which is incidentally their only reliable ally on the planet." Multiple subsequent e-mails cited in the indictment show company officials openly discussing skirting authorities…
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110209/NEWS03/102090366/2066/NEWS03/Nashville-gun-maker-Sabre-charged-illegal-arms-trafficking
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But Why?: Gun Digest presents a video of the Taurus/Rossi Circuit Judge revolver carbine. I see no point is firing shot shotshells down a rifled bore and, if I wanted a carbine chambered in .45 Colt, would take a look at Rossi's replicas of the 1892 Winchester – with the caveat that they probably will require smoothing of the internal parts. As to the Winchester buck-and ball loads, I'd rather use a .45 Colt, out of a revolver or a carbine, or a 20-gauge shotgun. No mention is made of placing your ears closer to the barrel-cylinder gap. As H.L. Mencken observed, no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people. If you want one as a toy, at least have the honesty to label it as such.
http://www.gundigest.com/firearm-gun-reviews/video-gun-review-rossi-circuit-judge
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Arizona Gun Laws Debated: … Already some of the least restrictive in the nation, there are now moves to make it easier to carry guns into more places. Arizona State Sen. Steve Gallardo opposes many of the bills now before the legislature; he'll explain why. Also joining us Hildy Salzo, president of Arizonans for Gun Safety, and Alan Korwin, a national gun-law expert. We will take a look at a recent undercover investigation by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg into one Arizona gun show. Bloomberg would like sellers at such shows to do background checks on all potential buyers… (This video clip runs about 11½ minutes. In my opinion Korwin fails to point out that the majority of gun-show transactions involve licensed dealers and that a private citizen can lawfully sell a firearm without a background check at home or any other location in Arizona. I'm not that impressed with the argument for stricter enforcement of existing laws when there are so many bad ones on the books.)
http://www.azfamily.com/news/politics/politics-unplugged-arizona-gun-laws-115295064.html
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http://capwiz.com/gunowners/issues/alert/?alertid=26536771
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DOJ Denies Gunwalker Allegations: The U.S. Justice Department denied a claim made to lawmakers that two guns sold in purchases sanctioned by federal firearms agents were later used in a shootout that left a Border Patrol agent dead near the Arizona-Mexico border. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Ronald Weich said in a letter obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press that the claim that agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sanctioned or knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to straw buyers who then brought them to Mexico is false. Such a claim was made about guns used by bandits in the Dec. 14 fatal shooting of Border Patrol agent Brian A. Terry… Grassley, who was examining the claim received by his fellow Senate Judiciary Committee members, had previously said that he received information that appeared to partially corroborate the claim. Grassley spokeswoman Beth Pellett Levine said the Justice Department denied one aspect of allegations presented by whistleblowers and promised to give the senator a briefing. "However, the briefing has still not occurred, and documents provided with the allegations are not consistent with that denial," she said. "There are many specific questions that need to be answered in full by the Justice Department as soon as possible." …
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jPM9pJmJKqeODDsEAmM63_6YDvOg?docId=cabff60adfe4422b9bd95d1f3accda68
… If one were to ask Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich how this was allowed to happen, he might respond as he did to Senator Grassley's inquiries: "At the outset, the allegation described in your January 27 letter-that ATF "sanctioned" or otherwise knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to a straw purchaser who then transported them into Mexico-is false." Further, Weich makes an accusation typical of the Obama Administration, wherein accusing the accuser is routine. "We also want to protect investigations and the law enforcement personnel who directly conduct them from inappropriate political influence. For this reason, we respectfully request that Committee staff not contact law enforcement personnel seeking information about pending criminal investigations." Assistant Attorney General Weich issued the denial and warning on February 4th, 2011 and raised the stakes in a high-level game of chicken with the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Grassley's response was quick and effective issuing this letter with attached corroboration of the charges…
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/02/sen_grassley_time_for_atf_to_c.html
Senator Charles Grassley has written a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder dated February 9 concerning "serious allegations from ATF whistleblowers." Per Grassley: "ATF agents told my staff that the agency allowed the sale of assault rifles to known and suspected straw purchasers for an illegal trafficking ring near the southwest border. Authorities allegedly recovered two of those weapons at the scene of a firefight near the southwest border on December 14, 2010. Customs and Border Protection Agent Brian Terry lost his life in that firefight and may have been killed with one of those two rifles." … "Unfortunately," Grassley informs Holder, his request that ATF brief his staff has been met with little more than "delay and denial." Citing the Justice Department response to his inquiries denying allegations and requesting that his office not question law enforcement investigators, Grassley reconfirms to Holder "the allegations I received are supported by documentation," and reminds the Attorney General "there is a difference between inappropriate political influence and appropriately holding officials accountable to the American people." …
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/breaking-news-grassley-to-holder-terry-family-deserves-answers
What Can You Do?
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/congressional-research-service-can-be-used-to-expose-project-gunwalker
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Another Look at the 90% Myth: … The remaining 22,800 firearms seized by Mexican authorities in 2008 were not traced for a variety of reasons. In addition to factors such as bureaucratic barriers and negligence, many of the weapons seized by Mexican authorities either do not bear serial numbers or have had their serial numbers altered or obliterated. It is also important to understand that the Mexican authorities simply don't bother to submit some classes of weapons to the ATF for tracing. Such weapons include firearms they identify as coming from their own military or police forces, or guns that they can trace back themselves as being sold through the Mexican Defense Department's Arms and Ammunition Marketing Division (UCAM). Likewise, they do not ask ATF to trace military ordnance from third countries like the South Korean fragmentation grenades commonly used in cartel attacks. Of course, some or even many of the 22,800 firearms the Mexicans did not submit to ATF for tracing may have originated in the United States. But according to the figures presented by the GAO, there is no evidence to support the assertion that 90 percent of the guns used by the Mexican cartels come from the United States – especially when not even 50 percent of those that were submitted for tracing were ultimately found to be of U.S. origin. This point leads us to consider the types of weapons being used by the Mexican cartels and where they come from…
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20110209-mexicos-gun-supply-and-90-percent-myth
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It Sounds as Though…: The White House is pressing ahead with rules meant to slow the flow of weapons to Mexico, a high-ranking U.S. official said on Wednesday, despite fears among gun control advocates that the Obama administration may be backing away from the plan. In an attempt to curb gun running to Mexico, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in December it would tighten reporting requirements for dealers in several southwest states on sales of multiple semi-automatic weapons… The ATF made an emergency request for the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the new rules, which are opposed by the powerful gun lobby. The OMB concluded the request did not qualify for emergency consideration, which would have allowed it to approve the new rules in January, and it could be months before the OMB acts, he said… (While this sloppily written propaganda piece does detail the claim in its opening sentence, it sounds as though F Troop will gain the approval for the multiple-purchase report on long guns, just so long as they allow the normal 60-day period for public comments.)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/09/us-usa-firearms-mexico-idUSTRE7187AV20110209
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A New Poster Child for the Prohibitionists?: The fiancee of a congressional staffer killed along with five others in the shooting that severely injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., urged state lawmakers Tuesday to ban gun magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Authorities said Jared Loughner, who is charged in last month's shootings near Tucson, used a high-capacity magazine to fire 31 shots in 15 seconds from a pistol he purchased legally… Rep. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, has authored House Bill 2711, which would reclassify magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds as prohibited weapons. As such, their manufacture, sale and possession would be a felony… Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., have introduced similar bills in Congress… O'Brien, a nurse in the neurology unit at the Tucson Medical Center, had been engaged to Zimmerman, Giffords' community-outreach director, for six months. They planned to marry next year. She said that although she supports every American's right to bear arms, limiting ammunition magazines to 10 rounds would help prevent mass killings… (A British commentator recently opined that the prohibitionist movement in the US is suffering because James Brady is no longer able to make public appearances. Is O'Brien being set up as the new Brady? Oh yeah, full capacity magazines were not illegal under the old "assault weapon" ban. It was just illegal to sell new ones to private citizens; it was no crime to retain one you had already acquired legally nor even to sell or purchase one that was not marked as post-ban.)
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/02/09/20110209slain-gabrielle-giffords-staff-.html
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NRA's Next President: Two faces that are quite familiar to conservatives nationwide will be moving to some key positions. David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union since 1984, is leaving the helm of the nation's oldest conservative membership organization. Keene, who is also a vice president of the National Rifle Association, is expected to assume the presidency of the NRA once held by the late Charlton Heston… (I'm not convinced that an NRA president can make much difference beyond being a useful figurehead. LaPierre seems to have the bureaucracy well sewn up. In fact, unless someone can convince me otherwise, I don't believe one can get to be NRA president without the support of that bureaucracy.)
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=41701
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Montana Could Upgrade FFA: Lawmakers in the state of Montana who initiated the idea of a Firearms Freedom Act to declare guns made, sold and kept in the state exempt from federal regulations now want to beef up the plan. They want penalties to apply to any "official, agent, or employee" of the federal government "who purposely or knowingly enforces a law, regulation, or order of the United States relating to a personal firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured in this state." The idea follows closely the outline of a provision adopted by Wyoming when lawmakers there originally approved their own Firearms Freedom Act. WND reported when Wyoming included penalties for any agent of the U.S. who "enforces or attempts to enforce" federal gun rules on a "personal firearm." The costs there could be up to two years in prison and $2,000 in fines for an offender. Meanwhile, a number of additional states are considering during their 2011 legislative sessions the provisions of a firearms freedom act, and they could double the number of states with such laws…
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=261893
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"Common Sense" Infringements in Delaware: Gov. Jack Markell announced a package of bills Wednesday aimed at strengthening Delaware's gun laws. Calling the legislation "common-sense bills," Markell immediately drew criticism from gun-rights advocates as well as proponents of tighter controls. Markell outlined a slate of gun-control measures during his 2008 campaign, but these are the first bills he helped draft and recruit sponsors for. As he announced the proposed legislation, Markell was flanked by state and local police, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden and several elected officials. The first-term governor insisted the bills will not affect responsible gun owners, saying he saw them as tweaks to existing laws…
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110210/NEWS02/102100356/1114/entertainment/Markell-announces-package-gun-bills?odyssey=nav|head
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Life in California: A long-term list member just submitted this:
There are about 2,350,000 residents in Riverside County, Ca. and about 625 CCW permits. (0.03%). The County Board of Supervisors recently approved a resolution urging the sheriff to grant concealed firearms permits to law-abiding residents who cite "personal defense" as the reason for wanting one. Even though this resolution passed, it is my belief that "personal defense" is not being accepted by the Sheriff as a reason for issue. I was recently approved after first being denied in 2003. I was told then that my "Good Cause" statement (GC) was not sufficient to pass muster. I believe my 2003 statement was stronger than the one I submitted a few months back but now I know it contained "poison words." Sheriff Stan Sniff has clarified the GC necessary to convince the department that the issue is "warranted" and needed. He has eased (slightly) the "requirements" for obtaining a CCW permit. While an applicant must still comply with all the standard California "Objective" criteria, the GC statement has and still is the lone "Subjective" element…While the rest of his summary does not included his own good-cause statement, if you are in Riverside County, I can forward to you what he did send or ask him if he is willing to be contacted directly.
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Oops, Wrong Church: James McAbee, pastor at the Lighthouse Worship Center on West Cardinal Drive, was prepared to defend his church on Sunday when burglars targeted the building. McAbee said he had left church and was traveling on West Cardinal Drive toward U.S. 69 at about 2 p.m. when he saw a young man punching a window out of the church's youth building. The teenager was standing on another teen's back, who was down on all fours. The pastor dialed 9-1-1 as he circled back to the church and was told by a dispatcher that a squad car would arrive in five to 10 minutes, he said. McAbee said he was content to wait on authorities, until he heard items being thrown around inside the youth center, which was being renovated. Not wanting to see the church's progress go to waste, McAbee said he told the 9-1-1 operator that he was a concealed weapon permit holder and was going to tell the men to lie down until police arrived… (All's well that ends well but Texas is more lenient than most states regarding the use of deadly force in the protection of mere property. Had things gone worse, would the potential damage to the church been worth the cost of a legal defense at trial and the pastor's reputation in the community?)
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/crime/article/Pastor-nabs-two-burglary-suspects-at-his-church-1000219.php
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Confronting Burglars: A 38-year-old man was fatally shot while trying to break into a car on the Northeastside, police said Monday. Donnell Dennis, who was homeless, was shot about 11:20 p.m. Sunday by the owner of a 2000 Chevrolet Suburban at 4057 Millersville Road, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Kendale Adams said. Adams said Dennis was armed and ordered two men to the ground. Instead, they opened fire on Dennis. Only Dennis was hit in the exchange of gunfire. The men, identified in a police report as Aaron and Matthew Arnold, both of Indianapolis, have not been charged in the shooting, but the case has been handed to the Marion County prosecutor's office for review. ((Don't assume that just because you are armed the burglar you confront is not. Is it worth the risk?)
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011102010352
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Walmart Fires Four for Disarming Shoplifter: The shoplifter smashed Gabriel Stewart up against a wall. It didn't take him long to realize that pressure against his lower back was from a loaded gun held by a desperate man who didn't want to go to jail. The gunman had a firm grip on Stewart's shoulder, telling him and three of his Walmart co-workers, "Don't make me do this." …Instantly, Shawn Ray and Justin Richins kicked into gear, spinning the gunman around. Lori Poulsen ripped the gun away and secured it. They all held onto the man until police arrived minutes later. The four Layton [UT] Walmart employees felt it was mission accomplished. Police officers told them they had done everything right. But a week later, all four were fired from their jobs. Walmart said their actions had violated company policy and put their fellow workers and shoppers at risk… (I can see Walmart not wanting employees to risk escalation by confronting those known to be armed but this was a situation of an immediate and unexpected threat. Perhaps Walmart should simply stop using "loss-prevention officers.")
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=14319284
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Oops, Wrong Trail – Some Background: A 15-year-old Cordova [TN] teen who was shot to death last Thursday was killed while participating in a robbery, investigators said Monday. Demario Burnett was found just after 3:30 p.m. Thursday, suffering from a gunshot wound, in front of a home in the 2600 block of Breezy Ridge Trail. Burnett was taken to Saint Francis-Bartlett, where he later died. Monday, police said Burnett was participating in a robbery at the time he was shot… After the case was reviewed by the MPD's Homicide Bureau, and presented to the Shelby County District Attorney's Office, it was determined that no charges would be filed in his death. According to police, 18-year-old Avian Jackson shot-and-killed Burnett. Investigators said Jackson agreed to buy a gun from Burnett for $130. But when they met up Thursday afternoon, Burnett put a gun to Jackson's head and robbed him. Jackson told investigators he pulled his own gun and squeezed of five shots, hitting Burnett three times - once in the right arm, once in the right side of his chest, and once in the right side of his back. He will not be charged with a crime, and has been released from jail, after police determined the shooting was "justifiable homicide." …
http://cordova.wmctv.com/news/people/teen-killed-shooting-was-participating-robbery/52013
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Rule Four Reminder: He was on the hunt for pesky birds in the rafters. One landed on the floor. The plant manager allegedly got down, lay low, fired bird shot from a rifle but missed the bird. However, according to a River Falls [WI] police report and a criminal complaint, an employee was hit in the back of the head. A felony charge for injury by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon was filed against the 29-year-old plant manager of Best Maid Cookie in the River Falls industrial park… The victim is a 28-year-old Baldwin man who had just started working at Best Maid. He claimed he was about ready to toss some cookie dough into a bin when he felt something like a bee sting above his ear. He also claimed to extract a tiny piece of lead from his head. The alleged shooter, the plant manager, was unaware of what happened. He thought he'd just missed the stray bird and walked off. The injured employee said he remained at his post for almost another hour because he wasn't allowed to leave his cookie machine unattended… (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it. It sounds as though this mishap occurred with a pellet gun.)
http://www.rivertowns.net/event/article/id/97645/publisher_ID/19
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Ten Way Burglars Check if You're Home: Burglars prefer to break into a home when no one is at home. To determine whether the owners are home or not, burglars have come up with several tricks for finding empty homes to burglarize. If homeowners can eliminate some of these telltale signs of an empty house, they may decrease the chance of being burglarized when they are gone…
http://www.lewrockwell.com/rep2/burglar-tricks.html
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Federal Recalls .45 ACP Ammo: Various products are affected: American Eagle® (AE45A, AE45N1, or AE45A250), Champion™ (WM5233), GoldMedal® (GM45B), Hi-Shok® (45C, 45D) and Federal® Personal Defense® (C45C, C45D). Affected lots are 38X628 through 38X765 and 38T401 through 38T414.
http://www.federalpremium.com/pdf/45_Auto_warning.pdf
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Sabre Defense Indictments: A federal grand jury charged Nashville-based gun manufacturer Sabre Defence Industries and five company officers with illegal international arms trafficking. Sabre's largest customer was the U.S. military until the company shuttered operations late last year… In July 2004, Savage displayed his frustration with United States regulators in an e-mail to Hill and Shearon cited in the indictment: "This Iraq situation has companies banging on our door for M16s because we are the only supplier outside the U.S. since the State Department has a lump of granite up their asses with exporting machine guns to anywhere. … I'm not prepared to have bureaucrats in another country tell me how to run my business in the UK, which is incidentally their only reliable ally on the planet." Multiple subsequent e-mails cited in the indictment show company officials openly discussing skirting authorities…
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110209/NEWS03/102090366/2066/NEWS03/Nashville-gun-maker-Sabre-charged-illegal-arms-trafficking
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But Why?: Gun Digest presents a video of the Taurus/Rossi Circuit Judge revolver carbine. I see no point is firing shot shotshells down a rifled bore and, if I wanted a carbine chambered in .45 Colt, would take a look at Rossi's replicas of the 1892 Winchester – with the caveat that they probably will require smoothing of the internal parts. As to the Winchester buck-and ball loads, I'd rather use a .45 Colt, out of a revolver or a carbine, or a 20-gauge shotgun. No mention is made of placing your ears closer to the barrel-cylinder gap. As H.L. Mencken observed, no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people. If you want one as a toy, at least have the honesty to label it as such.
http://www.gundigest.com/firearm-gun-reviews/video-gun-review-rossi-circuit-judge
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Arizona Gun Laws Debated: … Already some of the least restrictive in the nation, there are now moves to make it easier to carry guns into more places. Arizona State Sen. Steve Gallardo opposes many of the bills now before the legislature; he'll explain why. Also joining us Hildy Salzo, president of Arizonans for Gun Safety, and Alan Korwin, a national gun-law expert. We will take a look at a recent undercover investigation by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg into one Arizona gun show. Bloomberg would like sellers at such shows to do background checks on all potential buyers… (This video clip runs about 11½ minutes. In my opinion Korwin fails to point out that the majority of gun-show transactions involve licensed dealers and that a private citizen can lawfully sell a firearm without a background check at home or any other location in Arizona. I'm not that impressed with the argument for stricter enforcement of existing laws when there are so many bad ones on the books.)
http://www.azfamily.com/news/politics/politics-unplugged-arizona-gun-laws-115295064.html
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