From GOA: The biggest gun battle of the year is about to erupt on Capitol Hill. Fueled by the recent Virginia Tech shootings, an odd coalition is forming to help expand the number of honest people who now won't be able to buy a gun...Are you, or is anyone in your family, a veteran who has suffered from Post Traumatic Stress? If so, then you (and they) can probably kiss your gun rights goodbye. In 1999, the Department of Veterans Administration turned over 90,000 names of veterans to the FBI for inclusion into the NICS background check system.. http://www.gunowners.org/a042307.htm From JPFO: ...It doesn't matter if you needed assistance coping with the devastating loss of a loved one or combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder. It doesn't matter if you only stayed for a night to reassure a worried spouse. Regardless of circumstances, your information would be still be submitted and you would no longer be permitted to purchase a firearm. http://www.jpfo.org/alert20070424.htm --- Virginia Governor May Expand Mental-Health Database: Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday that he is considering an executive order to make sure that gun sellers have more information about the mental health of potential buyers, a move that would have kept Seung Hui Cho from purchasing the handguns he used to kill 32 people at Virginia Tech last week. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/24/AR2007042402524.html?hpid=topnews http://www.jacksonville.com/apnews/stories/042407/D8ON2V500.shtml --- Legislative Push On Guns Raises Privacy Concerns: An effort in Congress to enhance federal gun background checks is raising concerns among leaders in the mental health community, who worry that a legislative push could unfairly target the mentally ill and deter troubled people from seeking treatment. http://www.nysun.com/article/53056 --- From Walter Williams: Conservative economist Walter Williams lays some of the blame for the Cho incident on the shoulders of administrators at VPI and advises parents of college students to have a legal document drawn up where the child gives his parents full and complete access to any mental, physical and academic records developed during the child's college career. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/WalterEWilliams/2007/04/25/murder_at_vpi --- From Ron Paul: ...Do we really want to live in a world of police checkpoints, surveillance cameras, and metal detectors? Do we really believe government can provide total security? Do we want to involuntarily commit every disaffected, disturbed, or alienated person who fantasizes about violence? Or can we accept that liberty is more important than the illusion of state-provided security? http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul383.html --- From Judge Roy Moore: The former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, removed for refusing to remove a monument to the Ten Commandments, weighs in on the recent Cho incident and the RKBA. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55366 --- What If...?: What if... three or four students/faculty on the second floor of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech had had weapons concealed on their persons? What if... it were well known, even advertised, that carry was allowed, even encouraged, on that campus? http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/george8.html --- Another Comment On Gun-Free Zones: ...As the nightmare at Virginia Tech unfolded, many people forgot that the gun control debate actually began there a year ago. Last spring, a student with a valid concealed carry permit was punished for bringing a gun to class. But a campus shooting over the summer prompted many students to push for fewer restrictions on concealed weapons. Virginia Tech administrators refused to even consider the idea, ridiculing proponents as "crazy" and "irrational." The gun ban remained in place... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/column.aspx?UrlTitle=gun_free_zones&ns=AshleyHerzog&dt=04/24/2007&page=full&comments=true --- More Common Sense From A College Student: ...Cope used his gun to save lives and prevent a crime. He was not a police officer or in the military. He was just an ordinary citizen who owned a handgun for self-defense purposes and, on July 21, 2006, was able to save a life...But where was someone like Cope last Monday at Virginia Tech? Why was a sick, twisted individual able to rampage around the campus, over a span of three hours, and kill 32 innocent people without an armed citizen confronting him? Who is responsible for disarming Virginia Tech's students and leaving them defenseless to Cho Seung-Hui? http://www.thehoya.com/viewpoint/042407/view6.cfm --- Pro-Gun Professor Fired For Virginia Tech Discussion: An adjunct professor at Emmanuel College was fired last week following a classroom discussion about the Virginia Tech shootings that included him pointing a marker at some students and saying "pow." Winset pretended to shoot some students in the class. Then one student pretended to shoot Winset to illustrate his point that Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho may have been stopped had another student or faculty member been armed. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/4/24/94306.shtml?s=us Related Commentary: http://mensnewsdaily.com/2007/04/25/the-right-to-keep-and-bear-fingers-markers-and-guns%e2%80%a6/ --- Kansas TV Station Defends Rejection Of Bloomberg Ad: The CBS affiliate in Wichita, Kan., is refusing to air an advertisement that is part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's gun control campaign, saying the spot is misleading..."This is issue advertising, where the station is responsible for the truth or fairness of the ad, unlike political advertising, where the politicians can pretty much say what they want," Goering said. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/apr/24/ny_mayors_gun_control_ad_pulled_wichita_tv_station/ --- The Race Card: Black lawmakers are demanding a police investigation of a banner held at Tuesday's gun rights rally in the Pennsylvania state Capitol. The banner called for Rep. Angel Cruz, a lawmaker of Puerto Rican descent, to be "hung from the tree of liberty." Cruz has proposed a bill that would require a $10-a-gun yearly tax and force gun owners to submit a recent photograph and be fingerprinted. http://www.wgal.com/news/13019677/detail.html http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_504344.html --- "Bill Of Rights" Proposed For Pennsylvania Gun Owners: Touting a "bill of rights" for gun owners, Pennsylvania House Republicans Tuesday introduced a package of two bills aimed at easing legal access to firearms...The first of the two bills sponsored by Metcalfe seeks to prohibit Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies from maintaining registries or databases of legal firearm purchases...Metcalfe's second proposed piece of legislation would provide emergency firearm licenses for "potential victims of domestic abuse." http://www.cnsnews.com/news/viewstory.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200704/POL20070425a.html --- Open Carry Discussed: In Pennsylvania and 43 other states, any law-abiding resident 18 and older can carry a loaded handgun on his hip in plain view to shopping malls, restaurants and on strolls down the street. No permits required, no questions asked. You thought you needed a permit for that? Nope, only if you conceal the gun. (Open carry may be legal and a valid political statement but it may not be the wisest tactical option, particularly when the handgun is carried in a holster like the one pictured, which offers little if any protection against an attempt by an assailant to take the gun.) http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/203279 --- Oops, Wrong Shopper: A 25-year-old Cleveland man shot and killed Arthur C. Buford, 15, after the boy tried to rob him, police said. Buford was shot in the chest at 8:30 p.m. Saturday and taken to MetroHealth Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later, according to Cleveland police spokesman Thomas Stacho... http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1177317268157460.xml&coll=2 A More Comprehensive View: http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article3688.html --- Oops, Wrong Pizza Parlor: The owner of an East Oakland (CA) pizza parlor shot and killed a robbery suspect - and accidentally shot his own son as well - when three men tried to rob them at gunpoint, police said today...Holmgren said, "We're not saying that we want citizens to go out there and arm themselves and take the law into their own hands. We want citizens to be good witnesses, to be good report-takers and to identify suspects." (What else do you expect in the San Francisco Bay Area?) http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/20/BAGQFPCJ2820.DTL --- Another Warning-Shot Case: Richardson County (NE) District Court jurors found Dennis L. Lockard not guilty of second-degree murder Saturday morning in the Aug. 18 death of James Nutile, 32, of Humboldt...Lockard testified during the trial that after he fired a warning shot meant to stop a fight between Nutile and another man, Nutile rushed Lockard, grabbing him with one hand while "slashing" him with the other. As Lockard fell, he felt he was being stabbed, Davis said. (Generally, if there is not justification to shoot an assailant, there is not justification to fire a "warning shot" and it is usually a poor tactical move.) http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2007/04/21/news/local/doc462a3f755e219799814284.txt --- Firearm Ownership Rate Unrelated To Crime: The Second Amendment Foundation today said a new report by criminologists Prof. Don Kates of the United States and Prof. Gary Mauser of Canada that shows the rate of firearms ownership is irrelevant to the homicide and violent crime rate should be required reading, especially for reporters, editorial writers and elected representatives. http://www.pr-inside.com/saf-applauds-new-kates-mauser-report-on-r103614.htm --- Arizona Legislature Approves State Militia: The state House on Monday approved a Senate-passed bill to have Arizona create a volunteer military force to stand in reserve behind the National Guard. The House voted 34-21 for the bill (SB1132), which now returns to the Senate for consideration of a minor change made by the House. http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/49304.php --- Licensed Gun Dealer Feeling The Heat: Open a store or stop selling guns. That's the message that Congress sent in 1993 to Bryan Pierce of Twin Falls and about 250,000 licensed gun sellers nationwide...Thirteen years later, Pierce is chuckling at the irony of a federal government crackdown on gun dealers in Twin Falls and elsewhere. Only about 70,000 licensed dealers are left nationwide. Once many gun dealers backed the National Association of Stocking Gun Dealers, a group representing storefront gun dealers whose efforts helped put so-called "kitchen-table gun dealers" out of business. The immediate effect was to loosen competition... http://www.idahostatesman.com/103/story/80871.html --- Closing The Barn Door...In Japan: Japan adopted stricter gun control guidelines for law enforcement agencies Wednesday following a spate of gangster shootings that have rattled a nation renowned for its crime-free streets, a government official said. The measures crack down on the smuggling of foreign guns into Japan by organized crime groups and focus on getting rid of guns already in circulation, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hakubun Shimomura said. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/25/asia/AS-GEN-Japan-Gun-Control.php --- From AzCDL: On March 20th, SB 1302, which attempted to make it clear that the legislature intended to apply the 2006 "Castle Doctrine/Burden of Proof" legislation to all cases pending at the time it was signed, was vetoed by the Governor, despite strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. You can view the Governor's veto letter by going here: http://azgovernor.gov/dms/upload/NR_030207_SB1302VetoLetter.pdf On April 4th, a "Strike Everything" amendment was added to SB 1166 in the House Appropriations committee that substituted the language from SB 1302, as well as modifications intended to address the concerns stated in the Governor's veto letter. The text of the new bill is here: http://tinyurl.com/335m92 On April 17th, the House voted to kill SB 1166 by a vote of 27-31-2. You can view each Representative's vote here: http://tinyurl.com/2tj8wz. Representative Konopnicki then moved that the House reconsider SB 1166 on Monday, April 23rd where it passed 32-23-5. You can see the results of that vote here: http://tinyurl.com/29xpfp SB 1166 is now headed back to the Senate for a "Final Read" before being sent back to the Governor. Please send a polite note to Senate members urging them to vote for SB 1166. Senate email addresses in comma format: paboud@azleg.gov, aaguirre@azleg.gov, callen@azleg.gov, marzberger@azleg.gov, tbee@azleg.gov, rblendu@azleg.gov, rburns@azleg.gov, mburtoncahill@azleg.gov, kcheuvront@azleg.gov, jflake@azleg.gov, jgarcia@azleg.gov, pgorman@azleg.gov, rgould@azleg.gov, cgray@azleg.gov, lgray@azleg.gov, ahale@azleg.gov, jharper@azleg.gov, jhuppenthal@azleg.gov, kjohnson@azleg.gov, llandrumtaylor@azleg.gov, bleff@azleg.gov, dmccunedavis@azleg.gov, rmiranda@azleg.gov, to'halleran@azleg.gov, cpesquiera@azleg.gov, rrios@azleg.gov, vsoltero@azleg.gov, jtibshraeny@azleg.gov, tverschoor@azleg.gov, jwaring@azleg.gov Information on this and other bills can be found at the AzCDL website: http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html As legislation progresses, we will keep you up to date via these Alerts and at our website. 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 Copyright © 2007 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved. -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .