Obama - Small-Town Americans Cling to Guns in Bitterness: Sens. John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday criticized Sen. Barack Obama as a condescending, out-of-touch elitist over remarks made Sunday and again last night in which the Illinois senator said small-town Americans are "bitter" and cling to guns and religion as symptoms of frustration... In the remarks earlier this week, which surfaced yesterday on the Huffington Post Web site, Mr. Obama told the closed-door fundraiser that "you go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them." Mr. Obama told the San Francisco crowd that these economic struggles would unsurprisingly make small-town residents become bitter or back conservative social issues. "It's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," he said. http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080412/NATION/485473677/1001 http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_bitter_voters/2008/04/11/87356.html --- Philadelphia Mayor, Council Defy State Law: Mayor Nutter likened himself and City Council members yesterday to the band of rebels who formed this country as he signed five new gun-control laws that defy the state legislature and legal precedent. "Almost 232 years ago, a group of concerned Americans took matters in their own hands and did what they needed to do by declaring that the time had come for a change," Nutter said as he signed the bills in front of a table of confiscated weapons outside the police evidence room in City Hall. "We are going to make ourselves independent of the violence that's been taking place in this city for far too long," he said. http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080411_Nutter_defiantly_signs_five_gun_laws.html SAF Comments: http://www.sunherald.com/447/story/484597.html --- CHP Applications Rise in Virginia: Doug and Cheryl Camden were raised around guns but agreed not to keep them in their house after they got married and began raising five children of their own. Then violent crime began to dominate daily news reports. Several businesses near their Chester, Va., restaurant were robbed, home invasions seemed to increase and the world just seemed to be getting much more dangerous. "It's to the point where you can't walk through the park without getting attacked," Mr. Camden said. So the Camdens are following the path taken by a sharply increasing number of Virginians: They're applying for concealed weapons permits so they can begin carrying a gun for self-protection. http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080412/METRO/225668733/1004 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/11/AR2008041103711.html --- Ohio Castle-Doctrine Bill Amended in Hearing: On Wednesday, April 9, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Criminal Justice held a 5th hearing for Senate Bill 184, the Castle Doctrine bill. Amendments to the bill were adopted via a Substitute Bill, which can be downloaded via a link below. Sub SB184 offers a revised and more descript language to Castle Doctrine compared to the language originally introduced. The bill spells out that the criminal must be engaged in a felony act against a victim at the time a victim defends themselves. Examples included rape, murder, kidnapping and felonious assault, among a few other violent acts. The bill will also extend the "no duty to retreat" language to the victim's vehicle. Castle Doctrine will shift the burden of proof to the prosecutor instead of the victim in proving whether it was clearly an act of self defense. http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/5590 --- New York County Hesitates on Weapon Ban: There's no ban on weapons in Oswego County government buildings, at least for now. After hearing from six county residents who opposed the ban including the pistol permit holder whose actions prompted the proposal and one judge who supported it, legislators voted Thursday to send the proposed law back to committee. "For further discussion," said Legislature Chairman Barry Leemann, R-Amboy, "or they may throw it out." As proposed, the law would have banned rifles, shotguns, handguns, imitation pistols, explosives, knives and items such as scissors from being brought into county buildings. http://www.syracuse.com/poststandard/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1207904188107241.xml&coll=1 --- Universities Consider Concealed-Carry Laws: After the North Illinois University and Virginia Tech shootings, college students must not only worry about the rising cost of tuition or whether they failed their math tests, but also whether their campuses are safe. This need for safety has some people advocating permission to carry concealed weapons on campus, which is not permitted at the UA. Supporters argue that "carrying" could help stop shootings on campus before they escalate. If something were to happen and a person with a weapon was there, the aggravator could be stopped before he managed to do more harm, said Travis Robinson, member of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a nationwide organization advocating guns on campus. http://media.www.thetraveleronline.com/media/storage/paper688/news/2008/04/11/News/Universities.Consider.ConcealedCarry.Laws-3318036.shtml --- Wisconsin Students Call for Campus Carry: In the wake of the recent killings in the Madison area, a student group advocating for the concealed carrying of weapons on campus has been gaining more attention. Bret Bostwick, campus leader of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, said he first thought of starting a University of Wisconsin chapter of the group after the Virginia Tech shooting last year. After the shooting, he said he wondered whether the tragedy "could have played out any differently. We can't say for sure that a concealed handgun license holder in one of those classrooms would have prevented the shooting, but we can say for certain it would even the odds," he said... According to Bostwick, concealed carry laws are actually the norm in the country, and Wisconsin and Illinois are the only two states that don't have some form of a concealed carry law. http://badgerherald.com/news/2008/04/11/students_advocate_fo.php --- Texas Professor Organizes SCCC Chapter: Don't be surprised if some of your North Lake classmates show up wearing an empty holster during the week of April 21. It's all part of a nationwide effort to focus attention on a ban barring students (and faculty) from bringing weapons onto campus - even if they have concealed-carry permits. Leading the charge is Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, or SCCC, a grassroots movement of more than 22,000 college students scattered across the country. Tim Gottleber, a North Lake UNIX instructor, said he recently became the SCCC's campus leader for North Lake because of a sense of obligation to his students. http://www.northlakecollege.edu/newsregister/2008/03_31_08/UpInArms.html --- California City Proposes Warrantless Gun Searches: A six-month pilot program where Oakland police officers would knock on doors and ask permission to search homes for guns got the green light from the City Council's public safety committee Tuesday night. It goes to the full council Tuesday, when the council will meet at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza. The consent-to-search program, as it is called, is based closely on a similar effort launched in St. Louis in 1994 and on ongoing programs in Boston and Washington, D.C. The idea is simple: To ask parents for permission to search their homes for weapons their children may be hiding...The St. Louis effort fizzled after initial success, but Oakland's Deputy Police Chief David Kozicki said that in Washington, police officers say they cannot keep up with requests from parents to search their homes. Such is the interest in the program, he said. (I seem to recall that police in Boston and DC have backed off in the face of organized opposition from their communities.) http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_8868701?source=most_viewed --- Oops, Wrong House: A home intruder was shot by a homeowner in Moore on Friday, police said, amid reports that another culprit might have escaped. Police said a resident at 1300 Odom Way, near 12th Street and Santa Fe Avenue, found a burglar inside the home and shot him in the buttocks. The homeowner held the burglar at gunpoint until police arrived. A neighbor told authorities that another possible burglar was seen getting away. http://www.koco.com/news/15857154/detail.html --- Rule Three Reminder: Howard County police said that an undercover officer questioning two teenage boys accidentally fired a round from his gun, shooting both teens...According to police, two undercover officers were patrolling the area for drug activity and attempted to question the two teens. Officials said that when one of the officers was getting out of his patrol car, his gun accidentally went off, shooting through both boys with one round. (Rule Three: Keep your finger out of the trigger guard, up on the frame, until your sights are on the target and you're prepared to fire.) http://www.wbaltv.com/news/15818917/detail.html --- No Charges in Rule Four Violation: Prosecutors are not expected to file charges against a Missouri man who fatally shot his wife while he was trying to install a satellite TV system in their home. Henry County investigators ruled that Patsy Long's March 22 death was accidental. Her husband, Ronald Long, fired his .22 caliber pistol from inside their Deepwater home after he couldn't punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means. The sheriff's office said the 34-year-old woman was hit in the chest by the second of two shots. (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it.) http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/missouristatenews/story/9A89796AB2D16A9C86257426004E47CD?OpenDocument --- Ruger Recalls SR9 Pistols: We have determined that some Ruger SR9 pistols manufactured between October 2007 and April 2008 can, under certain conditions, fire if dropped with their manual safeties in the "off" or "fire" position. The pistols will not fire if the manual safety is in the "on" or "safe" position. We will retrofit all Ruger SR9 pistols starting with serial number prefix "330" (330-xxxxx) with these new parts at no charge to our customers. (Recall that I and others generally counsel against purchasing a newly designed firearm until it has been in production for at least one year.) http://www.ruger.com/SR9Recall/ --- The Newhall Incident, CHP Summary: As mentioned earlier, the murder of four young California Highway Patrol officers in an April 1970 incident is generally credited with having prompted the concept of survival training for American police officers. Much of what is taught as tactics to private citizens is the spillover from that movement. http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/1255/ --- NRA-ILA Alerts: Alerts for various states are posted on the NRA-ILA website. http://www.nraila.org/GrassrootsAlerts/read.aspx --- CCRKBA Urges Calls to Georgia Governor: The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms urges Georgia gun owners to contact Gov. Sonny Perdue in support of HB-89, which will update Georgia's right-to-carry statute. "This sensible reform legislation passed by overwhelming numbers," said CCRBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "Not only does it resolve some problems for legally-armed Georgia citizens, it also prohibits entrapment of gun dealers in the kind of stings mounted two years ago by anti-gun billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg that recently put at least one Georgia gun dealer out of business. "By passing this responsible update," he continued, "Georgia lawmakers have shown they trust armed citizens, and Gov. Perdue should follow their lead and sign this measure." http://www.ccrkba.org/pub/rkba/press-releases/call.ga.governor.htm --- From GOA: Gun Owners of America alerted you on Tuesday to the looming battle over Senate legislation that will determine whether or not you will be able to carry a gun on lands controlled by the National Park Service. The showdown has been postponed until later, as Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma (who had planned to offer the pro-gun amendment) determined he didn't have enough votes. Senator Coburn does plan to find another vehicle to offer his amendment at a later date. So please stay tuned...Nickelodeon has contacted Gun Owners of America and offered us a wonderful opportunity to get out the pro-gun message to young people. They want some teenagers (between 11-15 years of age) to appear on the May 13 taping of Nick News which will run later that month... http://www.gunowners.org/a041108.htm -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .