Shameless Plug: Since there are few news links to share today, I will take a few lines to update you on the progress of my second book. Tentatively entitled Defensive Use of the Handgun: An Instructional Manual, it can be regarded as a greatly expanded version of the skills chapter of my first book, albeit limited to the handgun. Essentially, Jeff Cahill, who illustrated the first book, and I will combine text and drawings to present most of the material that I teach my handgun students. I have rebuilt most of the text that was lost in my July computer crash and have already generated a great deal more. Jeff is due here next month to initiate the illustration process. (Those of you who have read the first book are familiar with the outstanding instructional quality of Jeff's work.) Based on my experience with the first book, I anticipate publication in the latter part of 2008, assuming that Paladin Press wishes to publish the second book. This book should serve as a leg up for those who choose to travel to Show Low to train with me and a guide to evaluate instruction from other sources. As I cannot openly advocate substituting a book for training with a qualified instructor, I will simply say that this book may be useful to other instructors who wish to expand their repertoires. For those who have not yet read the first book and wish to do so, I am still selling autographed copies via http://www.spw-duf.info/book.html. Please note, if you want the book inscribed to you (or the recipient of your gift), you need to provide me with the name to whom the copy is to be inscribed. Otherwise, my autograph is simply preceded by "Stay free, be safe." --- Number Of US Hunters Declines: Hunters remain a powerful force in American society, as evidenced by the presidential candidates who routinely pay them homage, but their ranks are shrinking dramatically and wildlife agencies worry increasingly about the loss of sorely needed license-fee revenue. New figures from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show that the number of hunters 16 and older declined by 10 percent between 1996 and 2006, to about 12.5 million from 14 million. The drop was most acute in New England, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific states, which lost 400,000 hunters in that span. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0903Hunters0903.html --- Firearm Ownership, City Size And Violence: ...The first lesson to know is that there is no simple equation between weapons availability and weapons misuse in any country. That's true worldwide. In the case of the U.K., you have tight regulations and low levels of gun ownership. What you have is a vector - a network of some criminal gangs - and some gangs operating in the poor suburbs, and of course they are having access to weapons being smuggled in. http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070903/FOREIGN/109030020/1003 --- Many Homicide Victims Have Criminal Records: A spike in murders in many cities is claiming a startling number of victims with criminal records, police say, suggesting that drug and gang wars are behind the escalating violence. Police increasingly are exploring the criminal pasts of homicide victims as well as suspects as they search for sources of the violence, which has risen the past two years after a decade of decline. Understanding victims' pasts is critical to driving crime down, analysts say. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0903MurderVictims0903.html --- Colorado Police Link Rise In Violence To Music: ...After a spate of shootings, and with a rising murder rate, the police here are saying gangsta rap is contributing to the violence, luring gang members and criminal activity to nightclubs. The police publicly condemned the music in a news release after a killing in July and are warning nightclub owners that their places might not be safe if they play gangsta rap. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/03/us/03hiphop.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin --- Gun Facts e-Book: Gun Facts is a free e-book that debunks common myths about gun control. It is intended as a reference guide for journalists, activists, politicians, and other people interested in restoring honesty to the debate about guns, crime, and the 2nd Amendment. Gun Facts has 89 pages of information. Divided into chapters based on gun control topics (assault weapons, ballistic finger printing, firearm availability, etc.), finding information is quick and easy. http://www.gunfacts.info/ --- Historical Documents: KeepAndBearArms.com presents a few historical documents of relevance to the RKBA, including the Militia Act of 1792. http://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcInfoBase.asp?CatID=38 --- More References: GunCite offers an extensive collection of articles and links dealing with the issues in the debate over the RKBA. http://www.guncite.com/index.html -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .