No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.4.0/304 - Release Date: 4/7/2006 Stand-Your-Ground Bill Clears Missouri House: Article gives a fair amount of space to the opposition for a bill that passed 132-23. The bill now heads to the Senate. http://columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=19288 --- State Representative Takes Home "Assault Rifle": A South Carolina state representative has ended up with the AK-47 look-alike that was that ws raffled by a conservative newspaper at Clemson University. The rifle came with a training session. http://www.theitem.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060407/APN/604070523 --- DC Mom Narrowly Escapes Gun Charge: A woman whose daughter mistakenly carried mom's bag, containing a loaded pistol, into school has had felony firearm-possession charges dismissed. She could still face prosecution on misdemeanor charges for having the pistol in the trunk of her car. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/07/AR2006040700012.html --- Don't Let Prohibitionists Exploit Capitol Hill Tragedy: CCRKBA's Alan Gottlieb and Joe Waldron debunk some of the hysteria that has followed a mass-shooting incident in Seattle. The op-ed piece appears in The Seattle Times, http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2002915780_guns07.html --- Here We Go Again: A Long Beach CA SWAT officer was shot by a colleague as they "prepared to unload and clean their weapons," after a two-day training session. http://www.presstelegram.com/portlet/article/html/fragments/print_article.jsp?article=3682098 http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/14288462.htm --- Iraqi Temple Bombing Spurs Gun Sales: Since the bombing of a major Shi'ite temple in February, demand and prices for privately owned firearms have surged in Iraq. Note (a) that firearms are deeply enough embedded in the culture as to preclude their ban and (b) the relative prices and price increase for AK-47 rifle and pistols. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060407/NATION/604070343/1020 --- From AzCDL: One of the most important bills in the last decade, SB 1145, which restores "innocent until proven guilty" in self-defense situations, is in jeopardy of being gutted of the floor of the House. Information on SB 1145 can be found here: http://www.azleg.gov/DocumentsForBill.asp?Bill_Number=SB1145 SB 1145 (self-defense; home protection) restores the presumption of innocence in cases of self-defense. On February 13, 2006, amendments adopted by the Senate Judiciary Committee changed this "castle doctrine" bill into the most significant legislation ever introduced affecting anyone faced with a self-defense situation in Arizona. The text of SB 1145 as amended can be found here: http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/47leg/2r/bills/sb1145s.pdf Present law, passed in 1997 without proper discussion or debate, places the burden of proof on the VICTIM in self-defense cases. You are now in effect guilty unless you can prove your own innocence. You must admit to the underlying criminal conduct, and then demonstrate that the guilt you admitted is false by proving you were justified to a jury - at your expense. It is a prosecutor's dream and the public's worst nightmare. A criminal now has better legal protection than a person who claims self-defense after an attack: http://tinyurl.com/bn5ks SB 1145 passed the Senate by a unanimous bipartisan (28-0) vote. On March 16, 2006, SB 1145 passed the House Judiciary committee by a vote of 6-3 and was referred to the Rules committee where, after an uncommon delay, it passed 7-0-2 on April 6, 2006. It is now, finally, headed to the House Committee of the Whole (COW). The delay in the House Rules committee gave the Arizona Association of Prosecuting Attorneys extra time to lobby for an amendment to gut the provisions that would restore YOUR right to be "innocent until proven guilty" in a self-defense situation. We must not let this critical legislation become the victim of political shenanigans and back-room deals! You must contact your Representatives and let them know that they must support SB 1145 without any hostile amendments. To find out who your Representatives are, follow this link: http://tinyurl.com/bmfwn If you want to email all Representatives, following the sample letter below are two lists that you can cut-and-paste. One uses semi-colon separation. The other uses comma separation. Choose the one that is compatible with your email program. Below is a sample letter to cut-and-paste into an email message. ============================================================ Dear Representative: The Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) has informed me that SB 1145 will soon be heard by the House Committee of the Whole (COW). I strongly urge you to vote for this critical legislation without any damaging amendments. In its current form, SB 1145 passed the Senate by a unanimous 28-0 vote. SB 1145, a "Castle Doctrine" bill, is modeled after legislation recently passed in Florida and introduced this year in many states. It bolsters the right of self-defense against violent criminal attack. However, the most critical component of this legislation was adopted as a Senate committee amendment. SB 1145 also restores the burden of proof in self-defense cases to the state, where it appropriately rested from Arizona's territorial days until a change was quietly inserted into the Omnibus Criminal Code Bill of 1997. This change in the law runs contrary to one of the basic tenets of the American justice system - a citizen is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, a belief held dear for centuries. The current burden of proof in self-defense cases is unjust by every objective measure. Current law favors the conviction of an innocent citizen. This is contrary to the foundation of the American justice system. It is wrong to deny Arizona citizens fundamental rights enjoyed by citizens in 48 other states. As a law-abiding citizen of Arizona, I am requesting in the strongest possible terms that you support SB 1145 and vote for passage of this critical legislation, without any damaging amendments, in the COW and during the Third Read. Sincerely, Your Name Street Address City, AZ zip-code (telephone number) ================================== Please forward this alert to anyone on your contact list that would be concerned about their right to defend themselves and their families. We may never again have the opportunity to pass this legislation with such a strong bipartisan majority, but any hostile amendments must be defeated first! Below are semi-colon and comma separated lists of all House members: (Semi-colon separation) aaguirre@azleg.gov; jallen@azleg.gov; malvarez@azleg.gov; manderson@azleg.gov; rbarnes@azleg.gov; nbarto@azleg.gov; abiggs@azleg.gov; tboone@azleg.gov; dbradley@azleg.gov; jbrown@azleg.gov; jburges@azleg.gov; jburns@azleg.gov; mburtoncahill@azleg.gov; ocajerobedford@azleg.gov; tcarpenter@azleg.gov; cchase@azleg.gov; tdowning@azleg.gov; efarnsworth@azleg.gov; sgallardo@azleg.gov; mgarcia@azleg.gov; pgorman@azleg.gov; tgroe@azleg.gov; phershberger@azleg.gov; shuffman@azleg.gov; rjones@azleg.gov; akirkpatrick@azleg.gov; lknaperek@azleg.gov; bkonopnicki@azleg.gov; llandrumtaylor@azleg.gov; plopes@azleg.gov; llopez@azleg.gov; dlujan@azleg.gov; lmason@azleg.gov; mmcclure@azleg.gov; jmccomish@azleg.gov; ddavis@azleg.gov; nmclain@azleg.gov; rmeza@azleg.gov; bmiranda@azleg.gov; rmurphy@azleg.gov; jnelson@azleg.gov; wnichols@azleg.gov; to'halleran@azleg.gov; jpaton@azleg.gov; rpearce@azleg.gov; gpierce@azleg.gov; tprezelski@azleg.gov; dquelland@azleg.gov; mreagan@azleg.gov; prios@azleg.gov; brobson@azleg.gov; crosati@azleg.gov; ksinema@azleg.gov; bstump@azleg.gov; atom@azleg.gov; stully@azleg.gov; jweiers@azleg.gov; jpweiers@azleg.gov; syarbrough@azleg.gov; kadams@azleg.gov (Comma separation) aaguirre@azleg.gov, jallen@azleg.gov, malvarez@azleg.gov, manderson@azleg.gov, rbarnes@azleg.gov, nbarto@azleg.gov, abiggs@azleg.gov, tboone@azleg.gov, dbradley@azleg.gov, jbrown@azleg.gov, jburges@azleg.gov, jburns@azleg.gov, mburtoncahill@azleg.gov, ocajerobedford@azleg.gov, tcarpenter@azleg.gov, cchase@azleg.gov, tdowning@azleg.gov, efarnsworth@azleg.gov, sgallardo@azleg.gov, mgarcia@azleg.gov, pgorman@azleg.gov, tgroe@azleg.gov, phershberger@azleg.gov, shuffman@azleg.gov, rjones@azleg.gov, akirkpatrick@azleg.gov, lknaperek@azleg.gov, bkonopnicki@azleg.gov, llandrumtaylor@azleg.gov, plopes@azleg.gov, llopez@azleg.gov, dlujan@azleg.gov, lmason@azleg.gov, mmcclure@azleg.gov, jmccomish@azleg.gov, ddavis@azleg.gov, nmclain@azleg.gov, rmeza@azleg.gov, bmiranda@azleg.gov, rmurphy@azleg.gov, jnelson@azleg.gov, wnichols@azleg.gov, to'halleran@azleg.gov, jpaton@azleg.gov, rpearce@azleg.gov, gpierce@azleg.gov, tprezelski@azleg.gov, dquelland@azleg.gov, mreagan@azleg.gov, prios@azleg.gov, brobson@azleg.gov, crosati@azleg.gov, ksinema@azleg.gov, bstump@azleg.gov, atom@azleg.gov, stully@azleg.gov, jweiers@azleg.gov, jpweiers@azleg.gov, syarbrough@azleg.gov, kadams@azleg.gov These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Join today! AzCDL - Protecting Your Freedom http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html --- From NRA-ILA: Arizona's State Representative Gorman working with NRA! After working closely with National Rifle Association (NRA) leadership in Arizona, State Representative Pamela Gorman (R-6) has agreed to withdraw her amendment regarding state operated shooting ranges from SB 1291. Representative Gorman, who is an avid shooter and has always been a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights, withdrew her amendment when she was assured that your NRA would work with her to protect the future of the Ben Avery Shooting Facility (BASF) and future Arizona ranges. NRA realizes we have a strong ally in Representative Gorman, who is willing to work to protect Arizona ranges and your Second Amendment rights. Please take a moment to send Representative Gorman a note thanking her for working with the NRA to resolve this issue and encourage her to continue to work with us to protect Arizona's gun owners and sportsmen. State Representative Gorman's email address is pgorman@azleg.gov -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .