Due To Technical Problems Beyond Our Control...: My ISP's mail server was inaccessible for most of this morning, hence the lateness of today's mailing. --- Good Commentary on Heller: ...For years, the liberal press and academia have argued that not only is the Second Amendment an embarrassing relic from a bygone age, but that truly enlightened jurists should just void the thing, substituting judicial whim for the democratic process of debate and legislative deliberation. They put forth anti-gun rights "scholarship" like the 2000 book "Arming America" by Emory University historian Michael Bellesiles, which "proved" that gun ownership was never a major part of American society and that America's "gun culture" is based on nothing more than a myth (which begs the question - what did the pioneers use to settle the frontier? Harsh language?)... http://www.setexasrecord.com/arguments/205257-legally-speaking-gunning-for-a-change-the-court-takes-aim-at-the-second-amendment --- Kerry Pushes Sullivan BATFE Nomination: Sen. John Kerry is urging Idaho's Republican senators to drop their hold on U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan's nomination to become director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives..."Michael Sullivan has spent a lifetime protecting communities from crime," Kerry said in a statement. "I am disappointed that his nomination is now in jeopardy simply because he has responsibly enforced our country's laws. I hope this experienced and capable nominee is confirmed without further delay." http://www.examiner.com/a-1103601~Kerry_urges_GOP_senators_to_back_Sullivan_s_nomination_to_ATF.html Related Commentary: http://www.jpfo.org/filegen-n-z/zel-open-20071212.htm --- Philadelphia Philanthropist Seeks Limits On RKBA: Though her life hasn't been affected directly in any way by violent crime, one well-known Philadelphia philanthropist has decided that illegal guns present the most significant public safety issue to the city and the state, and she's hoping to change the legislative status quo by mobilizing voters to pressure elected officials... http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/14819/ Pennsylvania Prohibitionist Group Hires Full-Time Director: CeaseFire PA, a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing gun violence, announced the hiring of a new executive director with extensive campaign experience to direct a growing statewide coalition that supports stronger handgun laws for Pennsylvania. According to Phil Goldsmith, President of CeaseFire PA, the organization is hiring Joe Grace, an attorney, former journalist and communications professional, to serve as the organization's fulltime executive director. He will assume his position on January 14, 2008... and we're pleased to welcome him aboard." http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071213005189&newsLang=en --- Perhaps If There Had Been An Armed Teacher At Columbine...: Colorado is certainly gaining a worldwide reputation these days. But it's not for our magnificent mountains or fantastic skiing. It's for our horrific murders, first in schools and now in churches. What a reputation! Columbine shook us to the core. Wherever I travel, when I say I'm from Colorado, that's the first thing people ask about. Then we had Platte Canyon. And now the Faith Bible Chapel in Arvada and the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Children mowed down by severely depressed classmates and demented adults. Where will this stop? (The shooting spree in Colorado Springs ended quickly when the murderer was confronted by an armed citizen.) http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_7703425 Different City, Different View: http://www.gjsentinel.com/search/content/news/opinion/stories/2007/12/13/121307_4A_Wagner_column.html While In Michigan...: At issue: A woman using a handgun to stop a killer in a "soft target," a church. Our view: The case shows why Michigan school staff need an option for training and concealed carry, not "gun-free zones." http://www.lenconnect.com/articles/2007/12/12/news/news05.txt USA Today Doesn't Let Facts Get In The Way: ...Gun control laws have had a limited impact, and the pet proposal of the gun lobby - letting people carry concealed weapons - is a nonsensical answer. Even with more people packing heat, the likelihood of such a person being at the scene of a spree shooting is exceedingly low. (The woman who ended the incident at the Colorado Springs church was a congregant and former cop who volunteered as part of the church's security program.) ...The best way forward is to keep at the imperfect but important fixes that can eventually make these shootings less murderous and more rare: Ensuring that people with a history of mental illness aren't able to buy guns; taking disturbed young people seriously and getting them counseling; and reinstating the lapsed ban on assault weapons, despite the opposition of the gun lobby... (Ms. Assam was carrying a handgun as a private citizen with a CWP, not a licensed security officer. No state that has expanded legal CCW has shown an increase in accidental shootings. Traditional hunting rifles fire more deadly rounds than so-called assault weapons.) http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/12/our-view-on-sho.html --- Between A Rock And A Hard Place: ...Simply put, Delores, like no doubt many others in Chicago, have had to choose between survival and violating Chicago's ill-conceived and unconstitutional handgun ban. The last, and most important, of her civil rights are being violated - the right to defend her own life. Where is Jesse Jackson now? He's abetting those that are forcing Delores to the back of the bus... http://www.chicagohandgun.org/2007/12/between-a-rock-and-a-hard-plac.html --- Is This The Only Alternative: Don't want to own your own gun for self-defense? How about creating your own gun-free zone? This video shows how easily you can do so. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7pGt_O1uM8&eurl=http://www.gordonunleashed.com/blog/ Related Cartoon: http://dustinsgunblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/common-denominator-of-mass-shootings.html --- Rule One, Rule Two Reminder: The [Elwood Park NJ] Police Department is conducting an internal investigation into safety procedures at the borough firing range after an officer accidentally shot himself in the hand in late October. Patrolman Ronald Serio, a police officer since September 1996, shot himself on Oct. 29 with a .357-caliber Glock at the River Road pistol range, Police Chief Donald Ingrasselino said Tuesday. (Rule One: All firearms are always loaded. Rule Two: Don't let the muzzle cross anything you're not prepared to shoot.) http://northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0MjYmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcyMzI1MzQmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkz --- Just When Did It Discharge?: A Scottsdale man inadvertently shot himself in the buttocks Thursday morning. Scottsdale police Sgt. Mark Clark says 26-year-old Daniel Leatherman heard a disturbance outside his apartment and saw a man he knew fighting with a cab driver. Leatherman told police that the man, 25-year-old Cody Nunn, had assaulted him in the past, so he grabbed his gun and went outside. Leatherman told police that he accidentally dropped the gun while hiding it behind his back and shot himself in the derriere. (Was this one of the few guns capable of firing on impact with the ground or did Leatherman actually fire the shot while stuffing the gun into his waistband, with his finger inside the trigger guard?) http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2007/12/14/news/state/20071214_arizona_news_50.txt --- What's Happening At S&W?: All is not well at arms maker Smith & Wesson (Nasdaq: SWHC). For the second time in as many months, management issued a warning on sales trends last week, joining a string of companies issuing similar dire forecasts that stretches from Palm (Nasdaq: PALM) toFedEx (NYSE: FDX) toCitigroup (NYSE: C) toLowe's (NYSE: LOW). Having already talked down sales expectations to $325 million back in October, in Thursday's earnings report, S&W predicted just $300 million, 32% gross margins, and about $0.40 per share in profit. That last number, by the way, is 25% lower than management's October estimate - which was itself a 16% reduction from management's guess just three months ago. All told, fully 37% of this year's expected profits have gone poof! http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/12/11/smith-wessons-self-inflicted-wound.aspx -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .