DC Fires Lead Attorney In Heller: The District's acting attorney general has fired the lead lawyer scheduled to argue before the Supreme Court in favor of the city's gun ban, just days before attorneys are scheduled to submit a brief in the case to the high court. Peter J. Nickles, whose controlling style as Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's general counsel was thought to be responsible for the resignation of Attorney General Linda Singer last month, fired Alan B. Morrison last week. Mr. Morrison said he expects to have his office cleared out by Monday. http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080103/METRO/739378878/1001 http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2008/01/top-dc-lawyer-w.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/02/AR2008010201116.html --- NRA Granted Continuance In Katrina Lawsuit: A federal judge has agreed to postpone a trial for a lawsuit that the National Rifle Association filed against city officials for seizing hundreds of guns in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. Last week, NRA attorneys said the lobbying group needs more time to search for hundreds of gun owners whose firearms were confiscated by New Orleans police following the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_la_katrina_confiscated_guns.html --- Huckabee Claims Commitment To RKBA: "People are looking for some consistency when it comes to the support of the second amendment. They're not going to find that I once supported some gun control measure and now I've changed my mind because the polls say I should or because the playbook says I should. I do it because it's a conviction. I think that that's a constitutional right. It's not about hunting; it's about our freedom. It's about protecting ourselves, our families and our futures. If we don't have the Second Amendment, we lose the First as well," Huckabee said. http://www.kcci.com/politics/14963175/detail.html --- Virginia Prepares For Onslaught Of Gun Bills: Expect grieving parents to talk about their slain children as they plead for stricter gun controls. Expect passionate Second Amendment loyalists to argue that a legally armed professor could have halted the Virginia Tech massacre. In all, expect heated discussions and passionate debates about firearms when state lawmakers return to Richmond next week. http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-news_gunlaws_0102jan02,0,3626473.story --- Michigan Bill Favors Judges: Legislation introduced in the state Senate earlier this year to expand exemptions to current concealed weapon laws by allowing judges to carry concealed weapons in "gun-free zones" is moving in Lansing. Senate Bill (SB) 505, sponsored by Sen. Roger Kahn (R-Saginaw), was recently reported to the full Senate floor after spending a few months before the Senate Judiciary Committee. http://www.spinalcolumnonline.com/Articles-i-2008-01-02-54465.113117_Bill_lets_judges_carry_weapons_in_gunfree_zones.html --- Do We Still Need Armed Pilots?: ...Consider this: Arming pilots is not a new idea. In fact, airline pilots flew armed in large numbers from the dawn of commercial aviation to 1987 with no record of incident. When the federal government disarmed pilots in 1987, many pilots predicted cockpit takeover attempts -- including the late Captain Victor Saracini, who, in horrible irony, was the captain of United flight 175 on September 11, 2001 when his Boeing 767 was hijacked and crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. It was the disarming of pilots in 1987 that inevitably led to the September 11 cockpit takeovers... http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080103/EDITORIAL/583177106/1013 --- Oops, Wrong Store: ...A man police later identified as Dwain Smith reportedly ran into the store wearing a ski mask and yelling...Charlie says he responded immediately. "When I heard it I automatically took mine (gun) out." And Charlie says he was ready to act. "If he had raised it (gun) up yes I would have shot him." ...Charlie says was face to face with the suspect. "He just stare and looked at me for a minute. I cocked it back and then, all of a sudden, he laid it down on the counter and put all the money down." (Manually cocking handguns under stress is sufficiently risky that, in the days of revolvers, several large police departments altered theirs so that they could only be fired double-action.) http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=7565465&nav=menu188_2 http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59503 --- Oops, Wrong Car: One man was shot and killed Tuesday morning, but the man who pulled the trigger will likely not face charges, police said. Two vehicles were on Huebner Road, but when they both reached the Fredericksburg Road intersection, one man got out of his vehicle and began attacking the other with a baseball bat, police said. When the man with the bat tried to attack the driver, investigators said, the second driver pulled out a gun and shot the first driver twice. http://www.ksat.com/news/14959073/detail.html --- Rule Four Reminder: A Natchez man shot and killed his wife when he mistook her for an intruder in their home, according to police. Police Chief Mike Mullins said Glenn and Deborah Mizell awoke around 4 a.m. Tuesday to the sound of their barking dog. Mullins said Glenn Mizell went to investigate, taking a pistol with him. Mullins said Glenn Mizell began checking through the house and was unaware his wife had left the bedroom and gone into the kitchen. Mullins said when Mizell saw her figure in the dark, he fired his gun once. (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it.) http://www.wapt.com/news/14962750/detail.html --- Bubble Wrap Company Fights Police Firing Range: The maker of Bubble Wrap - the famously addictive packaging that people love to pop, crackle and stomp on - says the popping of gunshots from a nearby police shooting range is giving its employees a headache. Sealed Air Corp., maker of the cushioned plastic since 1957, says the noise from gunfire at the police department's firing range is "disruptive and unsettling" to its employees, according to a letter sent to borough officials. http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MjQwMDQy --- Les Baer Prepares To Leave Illinois: An Illinois custom gun manufacturer opened the new year at the same old place in Illinois as construction continues on a new facility across the river in LeClaire. Les Baer Custom of Hillsdale, Ill., announced in May it wanted to move out of Illinois and received approval of a development and site plan agreement in LeClaire. Heavy rains in August slowed construction. On Monday, owner Les Baer described the plant as being about 80 percent complete. Exterior work is completed, but some interior work must be finished on the building at the secluded 2.82-acre site between Iowa Drive and Eagle Ridge Road. http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2008/01/01/news/local/doc477acd62de1dd036442551.txt --- US Army Moves Toward "Green" Ammo: ...It's getting to the point where concern over spent ammunition risks hindering military readiness. The Environmental Protection Agency took the unprecedented step in 1997 of ordering a halt to live-fire training and an immediate cleanup of spent ordnance in Camp Edward, Mass. The range reopened in 1999 with "green ammo"--bullets that have a tungsten-alloy core rather than a lead one. But while it was closed National Guard units and others had to travel to New Jersey or elsewhere for live-fire training... (There are serious concerns about the potential carcinogenicity of tungsten.) http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=105001780 --- From AzCDL: Like it says in our brochure, AzCDL is an "all volunteer" organization. We need volunteers to help us at two guns shows in Tucson: 1. The Crossroads of the West gun show on January 12th & 13th at the Pima County Fairgrounds: http://www.crossroadsgunshows.com/gunsched.htm 2. The McMann's Roadrunner gun show on January 26th & 27th at the Tucson Convention Center: http://www.mcmannsroadrunner.com/ If you can spare a few hours we would deeply appreciate your help - the majority of our members join AzCDL at gun shows. Come on down and spend some time observing the other volunteers. When you feel ready, step on in. If proactive selling is not your forte, we still need volunteers to manage the table, help hand out magnets, flyers and brochures, and keep an eye on things. Volunteers who work the AzCDL table for a few hours will get into the gun show FREE! If your membership is coming up for renewal soon, stop on by the table and renew. Sustaining memberships get a FREE AzCDL T-Shirt. Not a member? Not a problem! You can join AzCDL at the gun show! Interested? Drop a line to treasurer@AzCDL.org. 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 © 2008 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved. -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .