Bush Signs Veterans Disarmament Bill: President Bush signed legislation yesterday aimed at preventing the severely mentally ill from buying guns, a bill backed by both parties after the bloody Virginia Tech University shooting...Seung Hui Cho was able to pass a background check and buy two handguns, even though a Virginia court had deemed him mentally defective. In April, he used those guns as he shot and killed 32 people and injured two dozen others at Virginia Tech. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/08/AR2008010803752.html http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/washington/09brfs-BUSHSIGNSGUN_BRF.html?_r=1&ref=washington&oref=slogin http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jkz0DuVeWjo6RiQ5WQKI5LJiIlPAD8U1VISG0 From GOA: ...It would be a mistake to under-react - or over-react - to the passage of the Veterans Disarmament Act. On the bad side, this bill statutorily validates BATF regulations which could potentially disarm millions of Americans. This is a VERY DANGEROUS turn of events which will have huge ramifications over the next several decades. The extent to which its unconstitutional potential will be realized will be clear only over time - and perhaps a long time - and will depend on whether pro-gunners or anti-gunners are in power. For example, it took a full thirty years for language in the 1968 Gun Control Act to be used to disarm veterans. On the other hand, GOA was able to secure a few modest concessions which should provide some protection to gun owners - though NOT NEARLY ENOUGH PROTECTION TO JUSTIFY SUPPORT of this bill. So having said that, what are the implications of this legislation for Americans with psychiatric diagnoses? http://www.gunowners.org/a010808.htm --- Virginia Governor Proposes Gun-Show Restrictions: An emotional Gov. Tim Kaine yesterday proposed mandated background checks for everyone who attempts to purchase firearms at gun shows - legislation he called critical to helping prevent future tragedies like the shootings at Virginia Tech. Many families of those killed or injured in the April shootings have called on lawmakers to close Virginia's so-called gun-show "loophole," which allows people to purchase firearms from unlicensed sellers at gun shows without having to submit to background checks. Under current Virginia law, only licensed dealers are required to run background checks on customers http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080109/METRO/770152155/1004 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/08/AR2008010804286.html --- Pennsylvania Man Regains CWP: Greg Rotz, a Chambersburg man who wore his handgun to a polling place on Election Day, got his gun permit back Tuesday in Franklin County Court. "The court finds he did not violate any law," President Judge John R. Walker said. "His permit should be returned to him as soon as possible." In front of the judge, county sheriff's solicitor Patrick Redding took Rotz's permit to carry a concealed weapon from the file and handed it to Rotz's attorney Steve Rice, who presented it to Rotz. Nearly all of the 60 people in the courtroom applauded. http://www.publicopiniononline.com/localnews/ci_7917373 --- Tennessee Bill Would Allow Carry In Restaurants That Serve Alcohol: Should you be allowed to carry a gun into a restaurant that serves alcohol? At least one state senator thinks so...It comes less than two weeks after the deadly shooting at Hooter's in Knoxville. While some hope the new law could help prevent such tragedies, others say guns should not be on the menu at all. If you are eating at Beef 'O' Brady's, or any other Tennessee restaurant that serves alcohol, you can't bring a gun inside... http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/13532342.html --- San Francisco DA To Join Brief In Heller: Kamala Harris was sworn in Tuesday for a second term as San Francisco district attorney, promising to do more to get illegal guns off the street and to establish a re-entry center in the city for inmates paroled from state prison...She said her office is joining with district attorneys from across the nation to file "friend of the court" briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court as those justices embark on an examination of the Second Amendment and what it means in terms of gun ownership...Harris said the district attorneys hope to make it clear to the Supreme Court that they oppose any interpretation of the law that would erode their ability to prosecute gun crimes. (San Francisco ignores its own state's pre-emption of the regulation of firearms and SFPD is known to claim that statewide CWP's are not valid in that city.) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/09/BA9AUBNOR.DTL --- Judge Moore Weighs In On RKBA: ...The decision in District of Columbia v. Heller later this year promises to be a landmark ruling that will affect the lives of all Americans regarding one of the most basic liberties we enjoy under the United States Constitution: gun ownership. Those municipalities which have already passed strict gun control measures will be watching closely, as will those on both sides of the gun control debate... http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59601 --- Gun-Store Owner Arrested For Shooting Out Tire: A Tempe (AZ) gun store owner was arrested along with a suspected thief Saturday after the owner fired four rounds at a shoplifter who stole a pistol out of his shop. Police said a man walked out of the S&S Firearms store, 906 S. Priest with an AK pistol worth $750 without paying for it. Store owner Stephen Saridakis, 59, then followed the man outside the business and pointed a .45 caliber handgun at him while demanding his weapon back. The man gave the gun back to the owner, but left right away. Police said the store owner then fired four shots at the thief's vehicle with his handgun, flattening a tire. (Shooting at tires is a poor idea for several reasons. In this case, it may be difficult to prove that deadly force was justified.) http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/106060 --- Oh My! Air Rifles At A Boston School: Shocked city councilors are probing how school officials have allowed a Southie classroom to be used as a firing range by Junior ROTC students. Education and public safety leaders were stunned to hear that a basement classroom in Monument High School on G Street is used by the military group to teach teenagers how to fire air rifles at targets. "I'm shocked and surprised to hear that this is even happening. I don't think it is appropriate at all," said Councilor Chuck Turner, chairman of the council education committee. http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1064706 --- Oh My! Nearly 100 British Youths Hold Firearm Licenses: Nearly 100 gun licences have been handed out to teenagers or children in Cumbria during the past two years. Figures released by the county's police force show 90 shotgun and eight firearm certificates were granted to under-18s. The constabulary stressed anyone under 17 had to be supervised at all times with a shotgun and all candidates, regardless of age, were thoroughly vetted. The Countryside Alliance also defended the role of shooting sports, saying they were "misunderstood activities" that brought benefits to the countryside. http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=584029 --- From CCRKBA: After six years of expanded concealed carry in Michigan, the record speaks for itself: No shootouts at traffic stops, a decline in firearms deaths and suicides, and violent crime is down. Concealed carry works, and the hysteria pandered by anti-gun extremists who opposed the law has been proven false. "Michigan's armed private citizens have provided the evidence we knew would come," said Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. "Lawful concealed carry reduces crime and does not result in mass mayhem as the anti-self-defense crowd wanted us believe. Six years ago, they pulled out all the stops, fabricated every dire prediction they could imagine, and essentially told lies about concealed carry and passed them off as truth, and too many in the media ate it up as if it were manna from Heaven." http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS213009+08-Jan-2008+PRN20080108 -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .