Congressman Asks Bush To Reverse DOJ Stand On Heller: A Republican congressman from Virginia is asking President Bush to order the Justice Department to submit a brief in a U.S. Supreme Court case that supports the rights afforded U.S. citizens under the Second Amendment. The request from Rep. Virgil Goode concerns a filing submitted by the Justice Department in a Supreme Court case over the legality of a handgun ban imposed by the District of Columbia..."If this view prevails, a national ban on all firearms - including hunting rifles - could be constitutional, even if the court decides - on ample historical evidence - that the Founders intended the Second Amendment as an individual right," his letter said. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59846 http://www.gunowners.org/a012308.htm Related Commentary: http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/EDITORIAL/849874155/1013 http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZWUyM2ZjYzM2MzVlMDZmNDQzNzI1ZGU2ODFiY2YwNjQ= From The Left: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-helmke/the-bush-administrations_b_82890.html --- Second Virginia Gun-Show Bill Rejected: The heartbroken families of the Virginia Tech shooting victims suffered a second and probably final legislative defeat yesterday in their bid to prevent criminals and the mentally ill from buying firearms at gun shows. The Courts of Justice Committee voted 9-6 yesterday to reject legislation closing the so-called gun-show loophole, then sent the measure to the Virginia State Crime Commission for a year of study. Because a House committee last week rejected similar legislation, the issue appears to be dead for this General Assembly session. (Cho, the Virginia Tech murderer, did not buy either of his handguns at gun shows.) http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/METRO/471133733/1004 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/23/AR2008012303558.html http://www.newsmax.com/us/gun_show_loophole/2008/01/23/66886.html --- Shall-Issue Bill In Maryland: Gun advocates seeking to make it easier for average citizens to carry handguns for their own protection were back in force again at the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. They urged lawmakers to join 37 other states that require no special reason for getting a permit to carry a weapon. "Will there be more guns?" asked the sponsor of HB2, Del. Dan Riley, a Harford County Democrat. There will be, but "those guns will be in the right hands." http://www.examiner.com/a-1174311~Gun_measure_seeks_to_make_it_easier_for_average_citizens_to_carry_firearms.html A List Member Speaks To The Press: (This is an MP3 audio file.) http://wbal.com/stories/articlefiles/1040-donpollackbowie.mp3 --- Campus-Carry Bill In South Dakota: Some South Dakota legislators want to make sure that the Board of Regents cannot ban guns on college campuses. A bill introduced Tuesday would bar the regents from outlawing firearms on state university campuses. HB1261 says the universities cannot expel or discipline anyone who legally carries a gun onto campus. But the proposal would allow campuses to require that all firearms in dormitories be locked up in gun safes if not in a person's immediate possession. http://www.kxmc.com/News/200814.asp --- Et Tu, Idaho?: Idaho could well lead the way on a national issue that has been all but ignored during volatile debates on gun rights. Toy guns that look real. Although statistics are difficult to find, now and then the news includes the story of a person, sometimes a child, being shot by police who believed the victim was carrying a real firearm, but which sadly turned out to be a plastic toy. A call for an outright ban on real-looking toy guns, or rigid controls that require clearer distinctions, has been proposed by Shoshone-Bannock tribe spokesman Dave Archuleta, who cites recent episodes in Bannock County where police have responded to calls involving children with realistic firearms. http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005119038 --- Let Guns Back Into Schools: A popular saying tells us that one sign of insanity is continuing to do the same thing while expecting different results. This statement was never more true than in the case of the so-called "gun free zones." It's time for a serious re-evaluation of this failed policy. No matter how well intended, any policy that results in the loss of innocent lives should be examined in the stark light of reality. http://www.charlotte.com/171/story/456971.html --- Ohioans Begin Renewing Carry Licenses: The Licking County Sheriff's Office is bracing for an influx of concealed carry license holders seeking renewals in the coming weeks, Sheriff Randy Thorp said. In 2004 - the first year Ohioans were allowed to carry concealed firearms -507 licenses were granted, Thorp said. "It's a very good possibility that all those folks - I would have to assume that at least a good number - are going to come back in and reapply," he said. The first licenses awarded had four-year life spans and holders have 120 days - 90 before their date of expiration and 30 after - before the permit becomes invalid, according to Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann's Web site. http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080123/NEWS01/801230302/1002 --- Ohio Licensee Wants His Gun Back: Grassroots gun owners have likely not forgotten the name Damon Wells, the concealed handgun license (CHL)-holder who defended himself from a violent attempted robbery in his front yard back in April 2007. Though CHL-holders have defended their lives in many other instances, Mr. Wells' situation played in the media for days and weeks after because of the reaction of his gang-infested neighborhood (they broke out his windows and hoisted memorials to his thug attackers). The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Regina Brett recently reported that not only was Damon Wells made victim by his attackers, and subsequently his neighbors, he is now being made victim by the City of Cleveland's police department. That's because, 9 months later, Wells is still waiting for CPD to return his confiscated firearm. http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/5020 --- Standing Her Ground In Florida: Prosecutors won't file charges against an activist accused of threatening to kill a registered sex offender, saying she acted in self-defense, according to documents released Tuesday. Valerie Parkhurst, 52, faced felony charges of aggravated assault with a firearm and carrying concealed weapons after she pointed two guns at Dale Weeks, 49, in Davie on Dec. 1. Parkhurst and her attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, met with prosecutors in early January, and the State Attorney's Office decided Friday not to file formal charges. "The defendant appears to have acted in self-defense having knowledge of Weeks' prior violent sexual offender conviction," Assistant State Attorney Jules R. Cohn wrote in a memo. He added there would be "no likelihood of conviction." http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbparkhurst0123sbjan23,0,2321701.story --- Oops, Wrong House: Shot twice in the chest Sunday night after forcing his way into his ex-girlfriend's house, John Peach turned and ran about 30 feet, fell into a friend's arms and then onto the frozen earth. The man suspected of shooting him, Minneapolis firefighter and emergency medical technician Kyle Huggett, grabbed a pair of leather work gloves, ran to Peach, took his pulse and attempted to perform CPR, authorities said. (I counsel against trying to give first aid to someone who has just tried to kill you - he may still be a threat and your emotions may prevent you from recognizing that.) http://www.startribune.com/local/14168186.html --- Bringing A Car To A Gunfight: After 2.5 hours of deliberations, a jury acquitted a man Wednesday of criminal charges in the shooting of his estranged wife in a motel parking lot...Banks said he acted in self-defense by firing a handgun at his wife as she tried to run him down with her car. She was shot in the leg...Additionally, Banks, who had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, never emptied his gun, Kluge said. "If he had really and truly wanted to kill someone why not fire more bullets," Kluge said. (Normally, I'd put my money on the greater kinetic energy of the automobile.) http://www.limaohio.com/story.php?IDnum=48344 --- Rule One, Rule Two Reminder: An accidental shooting has been cited as the cause of death of a 19-year-old Marine lance corporal who was scheduled to leave for Iraq later this year. Lance Cpl. Cameron M. Babcock was shot once in the chest shortly before midnight Sunday in his barracks at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, according to a release issued at Camp Pendleton on Tuesday. "Thus far, information does not indicate that the shooting was self-inflicted or intentional, but rather was the result of the negligent handling of a privately owned weapon," the release stated. (Rule One: All firearms are always loaded. Rule Two: Don't let the muzzle cross anything you're not prepared to shoot.) http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/01/23/military/12_06_471_22_08.txt --- Rule Five Reminder: A passenger who went through an airport security checkpoint - before remembering that he had a loaded gun - is facing charges after going back to report his error, authorities said. Gregory Scott Hinkle, 53, of Davis, West Virginia, went through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, an airport spokeswoman said. After the traveler evidently recalled having the gun, he returned to the checkpoint and disclosed the weapon, authorities said. (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm.) http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/23/airport.gun/index.html?iref=mpstoryview --- Colt Expert R.L. Wilson Acquitted: After a six-week trial and 11 hours of deliberation, a U.S. District Court jury today acquitted a gun dealer and his wife on charges of conspiring to defraud Owsley Brown Frazier and his museum by overcharging him for historic weapons...A third defendant, R.L. Wilson, a world-renowned expert on antique weapons, was found not guilty of aiding and abetting a false tax return by overvaluing weapons that Frazier donated to the museum. http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080122/NEWS01/80122038/-1/UPDATES -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .