No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.6/152 - Release Date: 10/31/2005 Charley Reese On S 397: Sometimes Charley Reese has some good stuff to say; today is one of those days. He presents some fairly simple explanations of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. http://www.lewrockwell.com/reese/reese235.html --- An Assault On Citizen Rights: A newspaper in Pennsylvania editorializes against the seizure of privately owned firearms in post-hurricane New Orleans. http://www.tribune-democrat.com/editorials/local_story_301105142.html --- 83-Year-Old Vet Kills Assailant With WWII Luger: After a strong-arm robbery a few weeks earlier, Walter Swita began carrying a Luger he brought home from WWII. When a man attacked him on his front porch, he fired two shots killing his assailant. http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/285275571786744.php --- Virginia - Falling Out Among Democrats: Former Governor Douglas Wilder, now mayor of Richmond, has announced that he will not support his party's nominee for attorney general because he fears "Deeds would replace the state's concealed weapons permit law with 'an irresponsible new law that says anyone can carry a concealed weapon anywhere the law does not prohibit such weapons without having to get a permit from law enforcement officials.'" (I would think a former governor would have more insight into the legislative process.) http://www.wvec.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8DJBI082.html --- California Police Upgrade Weaponry: Two southern California departments take a different approach to long guns. One will equip motorcycle officers with shotguns; the other will place AR-15's in patrol cars. The area press continues to confuse "semiautomatic" with "automatic." http://www.dailypilot.com/publicsafety/story/28580p-41343c.html --- Modesto Residents Frustrated by Lack Of Police Response: Residents in a section of this central California city are organizing their own responses to crime in the face of a lack of response from their police department. http://www.modbee.com/local/story/11420482p-12164602c.html --- Rule Five Reminder: In a story reminiscent of a recent incident in Britain, a deputy sheriff in Massachusetts left his handgun in a public restroom. The man who found it returned it, in a manner of speaking, by dropping it in a mailbox. (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm.) http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2005/10/31/news/news04.txt --- Familiar Debate - From Russia: Article describes the debate over legalizing private ownership of a wider variety of firearms for common citizens in Russia. http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/88/351/16390_weapons.html --- From Gun Week: Virginia Gun Show Operators Not Suing, Seek Accountability by Dave Workman Senior Editor Virginia gun show operators Annette Gelles and Steve Elliott are not going to file a legal action against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) over a so-called residency check effort in the Richmond area in August, but they are looking for signs that the agency will hold its agents accountable. According to Washington, DC, attorney Mark Barnes, who represents Gelles and Elliott and their shows, C&E Gun Shows and Showmasters Gun Shows, his clients are not seeking litigants for a class action lawsuit, but are referring angry gun show patrons to another attorney, who may pursue such an action. Gelles told Gun Week that she prefers to let media attention to the case run its course. Publicity about a "residency check" operation at an August gun show in Richmond, in which Virginia State Police, and officers from the Henrico County and Richmond Police Departments participated, caused a furor among gun rights activists across the country. Described by critics as a "rogue operation" and "a debacle," fallout from the Richmond operation caused the ATF to announce that it would no longer participate in such activities. Richmond appears to be the only gun show venue in the country where such residency checks have been used. Treatment of Patrons The outrage revolves around how gun show patrons were treated. While gun buyers were still in the process of waiting for their background checks to clear, officers from Henrico County or Richmond were dispatched to their homes. Once there, officers asked whether the prospective gun buyer actually lived at the address, and whether the occupants--whether a spouse or other family member--knew that the person was at a gun show trying to buy a firearm. Gelles and Elliott contended this activity constituted harassment of gun buyers by ATF and local police. In the aftermath, said attorney Barnes, an ATF supervisor in Richmond apparently has been reassigned. Gun Week has filed a freedom of information request to ATF for certain documents relating to the Richmond operation, which the agency has promised to provide. They had not yet arrived by press time. Barnes said his clients have decided to keep their focus on operating their gun shows, rather than on any possible litigation. Public attention appears to have had an effect on how ATF will conduct its activities relating to gun shows. Information Tables The attorney said that ATF has apparently expressed a desire to set up an information table at gun shows, but that "We don't think the time is right for the bureau to come back to the show." He also stated that, "We're satisfied for the moment with the internal executive branch actions that have been taken." Barnes said the board of directors of the National Association of Arms Shows is "in the process" of setting up a meeting with senior Justice Department officials to discuss long-term policy concerns. "We're all for making sure that people don't unlawfully obtain firearms at gun shows," Barnes observed, "but we don't want people being monitored about their lawful purchasing activities." He is hopeful that there will be a "calm, deliberate examination of what happened" at Richmond in August. He wants some accountability. This article is provided free by GunWeek.com. For more great gun news, subscribe to our print edition. -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .