Philadelphia Challenges NRA's Standing to Sue: City Solicitor Shelley Smith today challenged in court the standing of the National Rifle Association to sue Philadelphia for a package of five gun-control laws passed by City Council on April 10 and signed immediately into law by Mayor Nutter. Smith told PhillyClout her preliminary objections, filed with Common Pleas Court Judge Jane Cutler Greenspan, note that the NRA challenges the legality of the gun control laws but doesn't "allege an actual injury." The NRA sued on behalf of its members in the city, two firearm organizations, two gun shops and four firearm owners. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/cityhall/CIty_Challengs_NRAs_Challenge_Of_New_Gun_Laws.html --- Permit Applications Rise in North Carolina County: More Mecklenburg County residents are arming themselves for protection. Since 2005, there's been a steady increase in applications to buy handguns, capped by a spike so far this year: a 38 percent jump in applications for the first three months compared to the same time a year ago...That need for protection prompted Reynolds to join about 50 others - stay-at-home moms, retirees, postal workers, a pizza delivery man and day-trader - to take a gun training course at Hyatt Gun and Coin. At least two participants in a recent class were crime victims and more than half of the students are awaiting approval of a permit to carry a handgun at all times... http://www.charlotte.com/local/story/599884.html --- Bitter Gun Owners?: Barack Obama just cannot make his comments about "bitter" small-town Americans who "cling to" guns or religion go away. And now the Wall Street Journal's Arthur Brooks makes a fact-based case for just how wrong Obama's comments are. According to the story, gun owners are happier in general than non-gun owning Americans. They earn more money and spend less time feeling "outraged" over the actions of others...But gun owners are angry about things like the D.C. Gun Ban, the attempts to ban semi-automatic firearms and .50 caliber rifles, legislation to track our ammunition purchases and to end private transfers of firearms, and all the other gun-control legislation that's designed to crack down on us instead of violent criminals... http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=390 --- Oregon Paper Gains Access to CHL List: The Mail Tribune in Medford has won a court fight over public access to concealed handgun licenses. The newspaper had sought the list of concealed handgun permits in Jackson County from Sheriff Mike Winters as part of an investigation into news that a South Medford High School teacher had such a permit and wanted to carry her gun at school. The paper contended the list was a public record and took the issue to court. Jackson County Circuit Court Judge G. Philip Arnold granted the paper access in a decision last week. (Oregon law does not ban CHL-holders from carrying in schools.) http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-24/1209404053275370.xml&storylist=orlocal --- Another Back-Door Approach: The Supreme Court will issue a major interpretation of the Second Amendment in coming weeks. But even as both sides in the gun debate await the D.C. v. Heller ruling, the gun industry should set its sights on a different target: certification. It should develop and adopt a private licensing and certification program fashioned on the highly successful scuba diving industry model to provide safety, legal, and marksmanship training to all gun owners and users. Such a private mandate will ensure a base of safer and more knowledgeable gun users and develop a fresh and lucrative revenue source for the whole industry. (Yet I'll bet that these same people decry the Supreme Court upholding a photo-ID requirement to vote because it may cause hardship to the elderly and ethnic minorities.) http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0429/p09s02-coop.html --- Follow the Money: A national movement among urban mayors against illegal guns and the so-called "gun show loophole" has made its way to Knoxville and Memphis. Nashville Mayor Karl Dean said he is exploring joining that cause...With one gun shop in Madison, another on the way in Franklin and his own custom gun manufacturing business, Uselton says he's proudly "150 percent behind the Second Amendment." .. But there's one issue where Uselton breaks the party line and that's on the topic of perceived lackadaisical laws surrounding sales at gun shows. "In this era, the idea that there are places criminals can go and buy guns with no accountability, it doesn't do my business any good and it doesn't do law-abiding gun dealers any good," Uselton said, referring to the loophole... (Note Uselton violating Rule Three for the camera.) http://nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=59815 --- Oops, Wrong Mini Mart: Los Angeles police say a mini market clerk has shot and killed an armed man who was trying to rob the business. Officers responding to a shooting call Saturday afternoon in the San Fernando Valley found 30-year-old Marvin Sanchez lying on a sidewalk shot to death. Investigators say Sanchez walked into the Del Gaudio mini market, pulled a handgun and demanded money. The male clerk grabbed a handgun and shot Sanchez. The incident is under investigation. http://cbs2.com/local/Shooting.LAPD.Fatal.2.709927.html --- Oops, Wrong Restaurant: A restaurant owner fatally shot a man who broke into his east Harris County business on Sunday, officials told KPRC Local 2. Harris County sheriff's deputies said an alarm company notified the owner of 4 Corners BBQ that someone may have been inside the restaurant on Decker Road shortly before noon. Investigators said the owner went to the business and found a broken window and a man inside. The owner fired one shot inside the building, fatally wounding the man. The man's identity was not released. Detectives said the case would be referred to a Harris County grand jury without charges. (In most other jurisdictions this would not likely be ruled a justifiable shooting unless the burglar actually threatened the business owner.) http://www.click2houston.com/news/16029295/detail.html --- Toronto Council Backs Call for Handgun Ban: Toronto city councillors have voted overwhelmingly to ask the federal government to ban handguns. Mayor David Miller did, however, come up three votes short of the unanimous result he had hoped for in an attempt to put maximum pressure on the Stephen Harper government to act on handguns. http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/419373 Toronto, Take Note: "The regular citizen in Chicago cannot go anywhere and buy firearms," says Williams, eyebrows raised. "And yet, in one year, in the 1990s, we had more than 19,000 weapons recovered. In one year. We've been averaging 10,000 weapons recovered every year for the last 10 or 12 or 14 years. And that's with a ban." Toronto Mayor David Miller - who is aggressively pushing the federal government to institute a broad-ranging national handgun ban as gun violence in the city spikes upwards - please take note: The city of Chicago has a broad-ranging firearms ban in place. It has for a long time. It started with handguns in 1981, and then assault weapons in 1992. (It's worth noting that, as Williams explained the litany of recent weapons offences in his jurisdiction, one of them involved three officers being fired on by an AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifle.) http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/418838 -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .