No Mailing Yesterday: For those who may pay close attention to the dates on these mailings, I did not find the time to assemble a mailing on my return to Show Low Monday evening. --- Citizens Request Access To Federal Ranges: Following Alan Korwin's revelation that the law requires public access to federally funded rifle ranges, citizens around the nation have been encountering resistance from officials. http://www.sierratimes.com/05/07/11/gunranges.htm --- Columbus OH Passes "AWB": The Columbus City Council has passed a ban on a very broad range of cosmetically impaired firearms. Current owners who wish to retain them in the city can register them but will be banned from willing or selling them in the future. http://www.peoplesrights.org/articletemplate.asp?id=69 --- Indiana Homeowner Seeks Return Of Revolver: An Indiana man who was forced to shoot an intruder describes the incident and bemoans the fact that police have still not returned his revolver, which he finds more suitable for home defense than his shotgun. http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2005/07/10/local.20050710-sbt-FULL-A1-Haunted_.sto --- New Jersey Gun Club Seeks To Educate Teachers: The Franklin Rifle and Revolver Association has begun a program to familiarize school teachers with the safe use of firearms. http://www.njherald.com/296928738307366.php --- South African Motorist Saves Metro Police Officer: In what may have been primarily an attempt to rob him of his sidearm, a Johannesburg police officer was attacked by two men. An armed motorist came to the aid of the officer and ended up shooting one of the robbers. The South African government is working vigorously to disarm its law-abiding citizens. http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1735302,00.html --- Professional Hunters Protest License Denials: South Africa's professional hunters charge that they are being driven out of business by arbitrary denials of the applications for licenses for firearms and ammunition. http://allafrica.com/stories/200507110384.html --- British Teacher Loses Appeal On Firing: The special-education teacher, whose jail sentence was suspended following her incarceration for firing an unloaded air pistol toward the sidewalk during a confrontation with gang members, has lost the appeal against her firing. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4670785.stm --- Canadian Gun Owners Appeal To UN: A group of Canadian gun owners will actually appeal to a United Nations conference on the restriction of traffic in small arms, in the hopes of getting their federal government to revise a law on the marking of firearms. http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/soundoff/story.html?id=b449ba80-d4d4-4b2b-8efa-fea69ffff5a4 --- From GOA: Will the Next Supreme Court Justice Support the Second Amendment? -- Ask President Bush NOT to nominate the anti-gun Alberto Gonzales Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151 Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408 http://www.gunowners.org Monday, July 11, 2005 It looks like the judicial rumor mill was right on the money. There had been increasing speculation in recent weeks that a Supreme Court Justice would be stepping down soon. And while many thought it would be Chief Justice Rehnquist because of his failing health, many Capitol Hill insiders suspected it would be Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. They were right. Justice O'Connor retired from the high court earlier this month, leaving a huge vacancy that President Bush will now have to fill. Obviously, no one outside of the President's closest advisors can definitively know who is on the President's "short list." But many insiders are reporting that the initial nod could go to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. In a recent column, columnist Robert Novak reported, "George W. Bush loves Al Gonzales and would like his former chief counsel to head a 'Gonzales Court.'" And The Washington Post recently admitted that Alberto Gonzales' name "echoes in Washington as one of the most likely Supreme Court candidates" (July 4, 2005). So what do we know about Alberto Gonzales? Would he be a plus or a minus when it comes to the Constitution in general or the Second Amendment in particular? As a matter of fact, we know quite a bit about this potential Supreme Court nominee. And what we know of the former Texas Supreme Court Justice is not comforting. (Gonzales was put on the highest state court by then-Texas Gov. George Bush in 1999.) When he testified before the U.S. Senate on January 18, 2005, Gonzales expressed his unequivocal support for gun control. Fox News quoted Gonzales on that day as saying, "The president has made it clear that he stands ready to sign a reauthorization of the federal assault weapons ban if it is sent to him by Congress. I, of course, support the president on this issue." Lest one think that Gonzales is just being a good soldier supporting his boss' position, one should realize that his support for gun control is heart felt.Gonzales referenced his brother, Tony, who is a SWAT officer in Houston. "I worry about his safety and the types of weapons he will confront on the street," Gonzales said. And he immediately proceeded to tell his senatorial inquisitors about his support for the semi-auto ban. Because he is a gun control supporter, one should immediately question Gonzales' commitment to the U.S. Constitution. Here again, the early indications are not good. Gonzales believes the Constitution is a "living document" and that only the nine justices on the court have the capacity to explain what it means. Such is the report from Joseph Farah, founder and head of WorldNetDaily. Farah spent some time with Gonzales at a private dinner meeting, and in a November 11, 2004 column, reported he was "stunned" and "horrified" at Gonzales' view of the Constitution."The Supreme Court tells us what the Constitution says and means," Gonzales said. And in his view, the high court actually "makes law" through its precedent-setting rulings. Thankfully, not all the potential nominees support gun control or have such a low view of the Constitution.Several justices who are currently on the bench would make excellent choices for the new vacancy. For example, Justice Janice Rogers Brown is one of the most recently confirmed judges to the federal courts. Brown was confirmed by the Senate last month by a 56-43 vote. As a Justice on the California Supreme Court, Brown referred to Roosevelt's New Deal as our "own socialist revolution." In regard to taxpayer supported welfare, she said that, "Theft is theft even when the government approves of the thievery." On gun rights, Brown sounds like a modern-day Annie Oakley. She used language from an amicus curiae brief that was submitted by Gun Owners of California to argue against Los Angeles' ban on gun shows. And her most extensive Second Amendment scholarship appeared in the case involving the California ban on semi-automatic firearms (Kassler v. Lockyer). In a decision upholding the California ban on certain semi-autos (the so-called "assault weapons"), she faulted the U.S. Supreme Court for picking and choosing which rights it liked. She most definitely came down on the right side, stating that the individual right to keep and bear arms is a "right expressly guaranteed by the Bill of Rights." There are other conservative judges who are currently on the federal bench who also have a high regard for the U.S. Constitution. Judge Samuel Alito, Jr., in the Third Circuit, has argued that Congress has no right to regulate the private possession of machine guns. There is Edith Jones in the Fifth Circuit who understands that our "unalienable rights were given by God to all our fellow citizens." And in the Ninth Circuit, Judge Alex Kozinski has chided his liberal colleagues for falling prey to the popular delusion that we are "better off leaving all weapons in the hands of professionals on the government payroll." He cites chapter and verse, showing how gun control has been used to subjugate blacks in the South, as well as other minorities all across the world." All too many of the other great tragedies of history -- Stalin's atrocities, the killing fields of Cambodia, the Holocaust, to name but a few -- were perpetrated by armed troops against unarmed populations," Kozinski said. "Many could well have been avoided or mitigated, had the perpetrators known their intended victims were equipped with a rifle and twenty bullets apiece, as the Militia Act required here." [To see Kozinski's entire dissenting opinion against the California semi-auto ban, go to http://www.gunowners.org/op0326.htm on the GOA website.] The point should be clear. There are good judges who can fill the void on the Court. Despite his friendship with Alberto Gonzales, the President should be reminded that millions of people did not flock to the polls to defeat Al Gore and John Kerry just so he could appoint liberal anti-gunners to the high court. ACTION: Please contact President Bush and urge him to nominate a constitutionalist to the Supreme Court. And remind him that American gun owners do NOT want Alberto Gonzales, or anyone like him, to sit on the Court. You can visit the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send the President the pre-written message below. You can also contact the President using any of the following mediums: Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 E-Mail: president@whitehouse.gov --- Pre-written letter --- Dear President Bush:With the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, you are faced with a tremendous opportunity to appoint a constitutional scholar who truly understands the rule of law and respects the Bill of Rights. Unfortunately, Alberto Gonzales is NOT that man! As one who respects the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (especially the Second Amendment), I hope that you will not appoint someone who holds views similar to those of Gonzales. You truly made an excellent choice in putting Justice Janice Rogers Brown on the federal bench. She understands the Second Amendment protects an individual right, and she realizes that the Supreme Court is supposed to interpret, not make, the laws. I hope that you will nominate either her or someone like her to the Supreme Court. Thank you. Sincerely, **************************** --- From The NRA-ILA: NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert Vol. 12, No. 27 07/08/05 NRA-ILA NEEDS YOUR ACTIVE PARTICIPATION! CONTACT YOUR LAWMAKERS IN SUPPORT OF OUR TOP LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES As noted in recent Grassroots Alerts, NRA-ILA's top legislative priorities in Congress continue to be: passage of S. 397/H.R. 800--legislation to end reckless, predatory, and potentially bankrupting lawsuits against the gun industry, and S. 1082/H.R. 1288--the "District of Columbia Personal Protection Act"--that seeks to restore the constitutionally-guaranteed Second Amendment rights of the residents of the District of Columbia. We cannot over-emphasize the need for you to remain actively engaged in your efforts to ensure passage of S. 397/H.R. 800 and S. 1082/H.R. 1288. With time drawing short before your legislators adjourn for the "Summer District Work Period" (August 1-September 5), and with a vote on S. 397 expected in the Senate hopefully this month, it is imperative that you immediately contact your U.S. Senators and your U.S. Representative and ask them to cosponsor and support this critically important legislation--without any anti-gun amendments--and put a halt to these reckless lawsuits once and for all. And be sure to let them know that you consider any votes in support of anti-gun amendments to this legislation as votes against the bill itself. For more information on S. 397/H.R. 800, a list of cosponsors, or to send a letter to your legislator, please go to http://www.nraila.org/stoprecklesslawsuits.aspx. Also, please be sure to contact your U.S. Senators and Representative and ask them to cosponsor and support S. 1082 and H.R. 1288. For a list of Senate cosponsors, please visit http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN01082:@@@P. For a list of House cosponsors, please visit http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HR01288:@@@P. You can find contact information for your elected officials by using the "Write Your Representatives" tool at www.NRAILA.org . Or you can call your U.S. Senators and Representative in their D.C. offices at (202) 224-3121 (Senate), or (202) 225-3121 (House). A LOOK AT THE STATES (****For all of the action items below, you can find contact information for your legislators by using the "Write Your Representatives" tool at www.NRAILA.org . As always, thank you for your support****) CALIFORNIA Anti-gun legislation, Senate Bill 357, was re-referred to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations. The amended version of this bill requires that all handgun ammunition carry a unique serial number engraved on both the bullet and the case and be registered to the purchaser. SB 357 bans the manufacture, transfer, and possession of non-serialized handgun ammunition after July 1, 2009, and possession of non-serialized ammunition would be a crime. SB 357 would also require ammunition vendors and manufacturers to register with the Department of Justice. Please contact members of the Committee and ask them to oppose SB 357. For a list of committee members and their contact information, please visit www.assembly.ca.gov/acs . Assembly Bill 352 was re-referred to the Senate Committee on Appropriations. It is expected to be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday, July 11. AB 352 expandsthe definition of "unsafe handguns" to include semi-automatic pistols that are not designed and equipped with an array of microscopic characters which identify the make, model, and serial number of the pistol by imprinting the characters on each cartridge case when the firearm is discharged. This legislation could essentially ban all semi-automatic pistols commonly used by California gun owners. Assembly Bill 88 is also expected to be heard by the Senate Committee on Appropriations on Monday, July 11. AB 88 would change existing law by placing additional penalties for violations involving "assault weapons" and .50 BMG rifles. Please contact members of the Senate Committee Appropriations and ask them to oppose both AB 352 and AB 88. For a list of committee members and their contact information, please visit www.sen.ca.gov . MICHIGAN NRA-ILA Election Volunteer Coordinator (EVC) Jerry Kraus (MI-9) would like to invite you to attend the "Michigan Friends of NRA Celebrity Shoot" with celebrities such as Dennis Hextal from the Detroit Red Wings, Mickey Lolitch from the Detroit Tigers, and others! Jerry has coordinated several events, and participated in several Celebrity Shoots in the past, and this year's event promises to be a success. Please join your fellow shotgun shooters for a day of shooting while raising money for the Friends of the NRA! The event will be held on Friday, August 5, at 10:30 a.m. at the Detroit Gun Club, 2775 Oakley Park Road, Walled Lake, MI 48390. Admission prices vary. For ticket information and additional information, please contact Jerry Kraus at (248)706-1513 or jerrykraus@comcast.net . OHIO The Columbus City Council, led by Safety Committee Chair Michael C. Mentel, will be hosting one more public hearing concerning legislation that would ban semi-automatic firearms, after which, this ordinance will be put to a vote by the Council. This legislation goes much further than the recently expired federal semi-automatic ban, making it the worst of its kind. Do not let Mr. Mentel and other city council members strip the law abiding-citizens of Columbus of their Constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms! It is vital that NRA members attend this hearing and voice their strong opposition to this egregious proposal promulgated by Mr. Mentel and other Council Members. Please be sure to spread the word to family, friends, and fellow firearm owners to do the same. The hearing will be held on Monday, July 11, at 5:00 p.m., on the 2nd Floor of the Council Chambers, at 90 West Broad Street, in Columbus. If you are unable to attend the meeting, please call the ColumbusCity Council at (614) 645-7380 to voice your opposition. Following is a list of your council members: Matthew Habash--President; Michael Mentel--President Pro-Tem; Kevin Boyce; Mary Jo Hudson; Maryellen O'Shaugnessy; Charleta Tavares; Patsy Thomas. VIRGINIA The Middlesex Pistol Hunter's Club is sponsoring an NRA Shooting Sports Camp on August 20, 2005. The NRA Sports Shooting Camp is a fun way for youths and families to learn firearm safety and proficiency. The Camp is staffed by NRA-certified instructors and experienced competitive shooters. Parents are strongly encouraged to participate with their children, and all participants will receive instruction in, and have an opportunity to shoot, rifles, handguns, shotguns, air guns, archery, and black powder firearms. The Camp, which lasts approximately four hours, will be held on August 20, rain or shine. Prior registration is necessary to reserve a starting time. Lunch will be available at the club (proceeds of which will benefit the 4-H Youth Shooting Sports Club). All firearms, ammunition, and ear/eye protection will be provided by the Club. Registration is required and must be received by August 12. To register, or for more information, please contact: Middlesex Pitol Hunter's Club, c/o Macey White (Club Secretary-Treasurer), 1834 Twiggs Ferry Rd., Hartfield, Virginia 23071, (804) 776-9861; or via e-mail at: maceywhite@oasisonline.com . -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .