Another Dumb Idea: Earlier this month, Washington's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) announced its newest crime-fighting initiative: the SafeHomes program, which encourages households to allow police to search their property for guns and drugs in return for partial amnesty. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the program is aimed at parents who worry that their children or another family member has a gun in the house but do not want to face legal repercussions...The SafeHomes program (like the gun buyback program) misses the mark. The police department should stop wasting tax dollars and untold manpower hours on initiatives that give criminals a free ride. Mayor Adrian Fenty should tell Chief Lanier to nix this intrusive program and go back to the anti-crime drawing board. http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080328/EDITORIAL/176514879/1013 Wayne LaPierre Comments: ...It's another example of politicians targeting the gun instead of the violent criminal. It's not going to reduce violent crime. It's only going to tell criminals they can get away with violating the law, while putting officers at increased risk and encouraging an atmosphere of government intervention at all times, in all places. This plan should be scrapped before it can cause any damage. And the politicians and politically appointed police chief should get back to doing what works: locking up violent criminals and taking them off of the streets. http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=376 --- Padlock Blamed in Pilot's Pistol Discharge: Inadequate handgun rules designed by Department of Homeland Security officials are to blame for last weekend's accidental discharge of a pistol by a commercial pilot during landing preparations, a pilots association said yesterday. "The pilot has to take his gun off and lock it up before he leaves the cockpit, so he was trying to secure the gun in preparation for landing, while he was trying to fly the airplane, too," said David Mackett, president of the Airline Pilots Security Alliance. "In the process of doing that, the padlock that is required to be inserted into the holster pulled the trigger and caused the gun to discharge." ("Inadequate"? How about "inappropriate"? If these pilots can be entrusted with the lives of hundreds of passenger when they are seated in the cockpit, why can't they be trusted to wear a discreetly holstered handgun to and from the plane?) http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080328/NATION/927995814/1002 CCRKBA Calls for Independent Investigation: The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today is calling for an independent investigation of an in-flight discharge of a pistol carried by an armed U.S. Airways pilot to prevent any whitewashing, cover-up or scapegoating in the incident. CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb said the incident is alarming because of allegations that the pilot may have been following strict Transportation Security Administration (TSA) rules when the mishap occurred. Those rules came under fire today from the Airline Pilots Security Alliance (APSA), which represents thousands of commercial airline pilots... http://www.sunherald.com/447/story/454279.html --- Philadelphia Prepares Challenge to State Preemption: ...Council's Committee on Public Safety approved legislation to limit handgun purchases to one a month; require owners to report lost or stolen guns to police; allow police to confiscate guns from people considered a risk to themselves or others; require a license from police to bring a gun into the city; ban semiautomatic weapons with clips that hold more than 10 rounds; and establish a registry for ammunition sales...This is a second try: The same legislation passed last year but was never enforced because it called for matching action by the state General Assembly that never came. Clarke sued the General Assembly, and Commonwealth Court is now deciding if the case can go forward. By suing and trying to pass the legislation, Philadelphia is taking two routes to what it hopes is a final destination: A review by the state's Supreme Court of its 1996 ruling that struck down local gun-control laws in Philadelphia. The state House and Senate, joined by the National Rifle Association, have challenged the city's ability to pass its own gun laws... http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20080328_Safety_committee_OKs_gun-control_legislation.html --- GeorgiaCarry.org Presses On: In January, GCO asked the City of Valdosta to repeal two sections of its ordinances. One bans carrying firearms in city parks and the other regulates the sale of firearms in the city. Despite repeated follow-ups to the city manager, GCO has not received a response. GCO now has sent the city a letter advising the city of GCO's intentions to sue the city. http://www.georgiacarry.org/cms/2008/03/26/gco-asks-valdosta-to-repeal-parks-ban-sends-notice-of-intent-to-sue/ GCO has settled its lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court against Union City. GCO sued Fulton County and several municipalities in Fulton County that banned carrying firearms in their parks. Union City has repealed its ordinance and agreed to pay GCO its costs in bringing the lawsuit. Defendants remaining in the case are Fulton County and the cities of Atlanta, Roswell, Sandy Springs, and East Point. http://www.georgiacarry.org/cms/2008/03/24/gco-settles-parks-ban-case-with-union-city/ --- Ohio CHL Renewals Under Way: Four years after issuing the first concealed carry gun licences, the Greene County Sheriff's Office is beginning to do a brisk business renewing them. Those who in April 2004 obtained CCW licences, which permit the holder to carry a gun anywhere not prohibited by law, including in a vehicle, may apply for renewal beginning 90 days before to 30 days after its expiration date...So far, the Greene County Sheriff's Office has renewed 32 of the 2,604 CCW licences it has issued since the law took effect. The sheriff's office has denied 20 applications, revoked 22 and suspended two, pending court proceedings that could result in revocation, according to Maj. Eric Prindle... http://xeniagazette.1upmonitor.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=158851&TM=30316.52 --- "Always Think Forfeiture": ...The federal agency in question was the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Tobacco - that fine, upstanding example of government "help" that we all remember so well from their part in the massacre of dozens of innocent men, women, and children at Mount Carmel near Waco, not to mention their racist company picnic, the Good Ol' Boy Roundup, or the fact that their principal stock in trade is enforcing a 40 year old unconstitutional law cribbed directly from the above-mentioned Nazis. These are the same worthies who are instructed by their bosses to lie in court if that's what it takes to get a conviction, who employ "testing procedures" - with no written or objectively established protocols - to incriminate innocent gun owners, and who think nothing of destroying the businesses of gun dealers based on questionable evidence. What these latterday goose-steppers wanted, from the lowest bidder willing to supply them, was 2000 Leatherman Micra combination tools... http://www.jpfo.org/smith/smith-engraved.htm --- Rule Four Reminder: A woman shot and killed an intruder and accidentally wounded her husband in a northeast Harris County home invasion, investigators told KPRC Local 2 Thursday..."The husband got into a physical altercation with the suspect," Harris County Deputy A.J. Kelly said. "The wife was able to retrieve a handgun that they had up in the room and she fired shots, striking and killing the suspect." The husband was also shot. Deputies said he was hit in the arm. They believe he may have been hit by friendly fire from his wife. (While conventional wisdom has been for the armed defender to create distance, sometimes it is wiser to move in, particularly in case such as this, where a close-range shot may be the only way to ensure that the selected target is the one hit. Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond [or around] it.) http://www.click2houston.com/news/15720922/detail.html More Details: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5653636.html --- Meanwhile, in Tennessee...: A car thief and home invasion robber is dead after a shootout with a homeowner in Hickory Hill...Investigators say a man who had been breaking into cars on Hyacinth forced his way into a home around 2:30 a.m. Friday, March 28, 2008. Once inside, the crook got into a gunfight with the homeowner. The intruder was killed and the homeowner was rushed to The Med with a gun shot wound. He is in non-critical condition and preparing to give police a statement. http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=fa05ddd4-6ef7-40fc-9031-9d6a69414618 --- While in California...: Deputies from the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office arrested a man yesterday afternoon after neighbors in Blue Lake allegedly caught him during a home burglary, a news release stated. At about 2:45 p.m. a woman reported to the Sheriff's Office that she saw a man enter her next-door neighbor's residence on the 400 block of Chartin Way. The woman told the Sheriff's Emergency Dispatchers that her son, Steven Wilson, 49, armed with a handgun, had attempted to apprehend the suspect inside the residence and was now chasing him toward Rancheria Road... http://eurekareporter.com/article/080327-neighbor-apprehends-burglar-after-pursuit --- Oops, Wrong Marine: A boy in his mid-teens learned Wednesday afternoon that it is not a good idea to try to rob a former U.S. Marine at knifepoint, even if the former Marine is 84 years old, police said today. Santa Rosa police Sgt. Steve Bair said that's what happened around 2 p.m. in the 1600 block of Fourth Street. The elderly man was walking with a grocery bag in each arm when the boy approached him with a large knife, Bair said. The boy said, "Old man, give me your wallet or I'll cut you," Bair said. The man told the boy he was a former Marine who fought in three wars and had been threatened with knives and bayonets, Bair said. The man then put his bags on the ground and told the boy that if he stepped closer he would be sorry. When the boy stepped closer, the man kicked him in the groin, knocking him to the sidewalk, Bair said. The ex-Marine picked up his grocery bags and walked home, leaving the boy doubled over, Bair said. http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8716808?source=most_viewed --- Former Ruger Exec to Head NSSF: The National Shooting Sports Foundation's Board of Governors has announced that Steve Sanetti has accepted the position of president and chief executive officer of NSSF, effective May 1. The Board of Governors began the search for a new president and CEO following its annual meeting in late February. Sanetti is well known throughout the firearms industry, having spent 28 years with Sturm, Ruger and Company as an executive and general counsel, and been a member of the NSSF Board of Governors and the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) Board of Directors. http://www.nssf.org/news/PR_idx.cfm?PRloc=share/PR/&PR=032608.cfm --- Al Jazeera Video about Montana Gun Owners: From Gary Marbut: I finally received a copy of the news segment the Al Jazeera news network did about guns in Montana. The goal was to expose people of other cultures around the World to our culture here in Montana. Al Jazeera wanted to know, why is the Heller case important in Montana. This news clip was supposedly seen by 100,000,000 (one hundred million) English-speaking people around the World. This news segment was in Al Jazeera's hour-long news program on March 19th, 2008. This news program repeated every hour for several hours. http://www.marbut.com/videos.html (In related news, al Jazeera's American anchor has resigned due to loss of "autonomy." http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/03/american_aljazeera_anchor_quit.html) --- Hydrostatic Shock Revisited: The debate between proponents of bullets that are "light and fast" vs. bullets that are "slow and heavy" often refers to a phenomenon called hydrostatic shock. This term describes the ability of a penetrating projectile to produce remote wounding and incapacitating effects in living targets in addition to local effects in tissue caused by direct impact. There is significant scientific evidence that "Hydrostatic shock" can produce remote neural damage and produce incapacitation more quickly than blood loss effects... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrostatic_shock http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/0803/0803.3051.pdf http://www.eotacforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=55735&p=3363968#p3363968 -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .