McCain Seeks Gun Owners' Support: Sen. John McCain courted his sometime critics within the gun lobby yesterday, telling the National Rifle Association that Democratic Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton would both undermine the rights of gun owners. "If either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama is elected president, the rights of law-abiding gun owners will be at risk, my friends - and have no doubt about it," the Republican nominee-in-waiting told a crowd of several thousand. Mr. McCain acknowledged he has been no darling of gun-rights advocates, having pushed through signature campaign finance legislation gun supporters say has muzzled their free speech. The Arizona senator has also favored tighter restrictions for buying weapons at gun shows. http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080517/NATION/942415808/1002 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/16/AR2008051603640.html http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-mccain17-2008may17,0,4987662.story --- McCain Buys Fishing Tackle to Woo Gun Owners: John McCain visited a gun shop Friday - but bought just a rod, bobbers and other fishing equipment - during the first stop in a day of courtship of the National Rifle Association and Second Amendment devotees. The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting has been no darling of the gun-rights lobby, having pushed through signature campaign finance legislation gun supporters say has muzzled free speech. McCain has also favored tighter restrictions for buying guns at gun shows. http://www.newsmax.com/politics/mccain_guns/2008/05/16/96657.html --- Secret Service Banned Carry at McCain Speech: ...We first told you on WHAS11 news that guns would be allowed at Friday's event with McCain. Now we've learned that's changed... Guns are not barred from the state-owned south wing of the Fairgrounds Convention Center and John McCain's campaign folks said it was fine with them if NRA members with valid concealed carry permits brought guns into his speech. But since our story last week, the Secret Service has stepped in. But NRA members who walk through the doors will be greeted by metal detectors, they won't be allowed to carry in weapons, even if they have a valid concealed carry permit... http://www.whas11.com/news/local/stories/whas11_local_080515_nra.10380f6af.html --- Huckabee's Obama Joke Falls Flat: Republican Mike Huckabee responded to an offstage noise during his speech to the National Rifle Association by suggesting it was Sen. Barack Obama diving to the floor because someone had aimed a gun at him. Hearing a loud noise and interrupting his speech, the former Arkansas governor said: "That was Barack Obama. He just tripped off a chair. He's getting ready to speak and somebody aimed a gun at him and he - he dove for the floor." There were only a few murmurs in the crowd after the remark. http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080517/NATION/921126714/1002 --- RNC Challenges Obama on RKBA: The Republican National Committee has issued a statement citing multiple examples of Obama statements that belie his current claim of supporting the RKBA. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/republican-national-committee-when-will,397284.shtml --- DC Police to Be Issued AR-15's: The D.C. police department's decision to arm patrol officers with semiautomatic rifles is promoted by commanders as a way to stay ahead of criminals. But it is raising concerns among civil rights groups and others, who question whether the weapons are necessary. Hundreds of officers will be issued AR-15 rifles starting this summer, and police say the guns will be a better match for criminals. Although Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier was unable to provide an example of when such firepower would have been needed in the recent past, she said police should not be caught off guard. (Inasmuch as DCMPD got the rifles from DOD, it would appear that they are actually M16's, hence legally machine guns, even if the selectors are blocked or if they are otherwise converted to semi-auto only. However, The Washington Post overlooks that.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/16/AR2008051603682.html --- Chicago Cops to Pass Fitness Test to Carry M4's: Cops who want to shoot an M4 assault weapon will have to flex more than a trigger finger. The Chicago Police Department recently launched physical fitness tests for cops who have applied to carry the semiautomatic rifle. Members of gang, gun and tactical teams are the first ones being asked if they want to take the state-approved exam for officers, called the P.O.W.E.R. test. A male officer between 30 and 40 years old must run 1.5 miles in 14.3 minutes, do 34 sit-ups in a minute, bench press 87 percent of his weight and do a 15-inch sit-and-reach. Mark Donahue, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, questioned why cops need to pass a fitness test to carry M4s. http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/953842,CST-NWS-guns16good.article --- Montana Highway Patrol Swaps M14's for AR-15's: Crack, crack, crack. Three Montana Highway Patrol troopers, firing from the prone position, sent 15 rounds from their new rifles downrange in quick succession recently. The .223 caliber bullets punched easily through the plywood and paper targets, kicking up clods of dirt from the berm behind the range at Glacier Park International Airport. After officers from the sixth district, which covers Flathead, Lake, and Lincoln counties, qualify with the new weapon, every trooper in Montana will be riding shotgun with a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle. http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2008/04/09/news/news01.txt --- Rule Two, Rule Three Reminder: An Aberdeen (SD) police officer shot Wednesday while executing a search warrant was hit by a single round from another officer's weapon, Attorney General Larry Long said today. In a news release, Long preliminarily declared the shooting an accident. Grant Schnabel, a city police officer in Aberdeen, is in stable condition at Avera St. Luke's Hospital, Long said. Fellow officer Tom Tarnowski is on paid administrative leave. Long said Tarnowski's MP5 9mm service weapon was in automatic fire mode when it accidentally fired two shots. One hit Schnabel and the other entered the floor of the Aberdeen home. (Rule Two: Don't let the muzzle cross anything you're not prepared to shoot. 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.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/UPDATES/80513019/1001/NEWS --- Rule One Reminder? Rule Two, Reminder? Rule Three Reminder?: The Concord (NH) police sergeant who accidentally shot a fellow officer during a training exercise May 1 has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the state attorney general's office. In a report issued late yesterday, the state described the shooting as accidental and without the intent that would justify criminal charges. State investigators concluded that Sgt. Steven Smagula did not intentionally draw his gun on Officer Joshua Levasseur and pull the trigger. Instead, it said Smagula's finger accidentally slipped from the side of his gun, into the trigger guard and onto the trigger, "thereby accidentally pulling the trigger and discharging his firearm." Levasseur was wearing a bullet-proof vest and was not seriously injured. (Rule One: All firearms are always loaded.) http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080510/FRONTPAGE/805100339/1043/NEWS01 From the AG's Release: ...Once all the officers arrived at the building they went inside to start the training. Before beginning the training session, Sergeant Smagula emptied his firearm and instructed the other officers to empty theirs as well. Each officer then checked every firearm to ensure that they were unloaded. After ensuring that all four weapons were unloaded, the officers practiced the proper techniques for searching a building for hidden persons. This included searching rooms and interior walls in an unfamiliar location. As the officers practiced searching a room from the hallway or foyer, Sergeant Smagula judged each officers' techniques and instructed them whenever they improperly exposed themselves to danger during their search. At one time, Sergeant Smagula "dry fired" or pulled the trigger of his unloaded firearm to demonstrate that the officers improperly exposed themselves to danger during their search and could have been shot by an armed intruder. After almost an hour and a half of training, at approximately 4:20 a.m., the exercise was concluded. The officers stood inside the building in a line near the entrance and reloaded their firearms. While they were reloading, Sergeant Smagula instructed them and monitored their progress while he reloaded his own firearm from a kneeling position behind the other officers. As the officers prepared to leave the building, Officer Levasseur asked whether they could have searched the building faster using the learned techniques, now that they knew the layout of the building. Sergeant Smagula answered that question by telling the officers that speed was dependant upon practice and proper footwork, rather than knowing the floor plan. At this time, Sergeant Smagula turned away from the officers towards the front of the building facing Route 106, drew his firearm and held it in front of him in the "on-guard" position. He held his firearm with his trigger finger located outside the trigger guard, lying alongside the frame of his gun in a position referred to as "indexed." Sergeant Smagula then demonstrated the proper footwork to use during the building clearing process as he approached the entranceway to the main foyer. After clearing the entranceway, he continued his demonstration by turning left to right and walking down the hallway in view of the other officers. Sergeant Smagula's firearm was now pointed to his left, just slightly away from the other three officers' locations. He still held his firearm in the on-guard position with his trigger finger alongside the frame of his gun. Sergeant Smagula continued walking down the hallway and began passing in front of the three officers, who were standing side by side to his right. The officers were making note of his footwork and the way he carried himself. Once Sergeant Smagula became square with Officer Hughes' and Officer Williams's positions, he turned his head towards his right to make a comment to the officers on the demonstrated technique. During this turn, his arms which were holding his firearm, drifted slightly towards the right. As that happened, Sergeant Smagula's finger moved from the frame of the gun onto the trigger and his finger pulled the trigger. No witnesses recalled seeing Sergeant Smagula place his hands on the trigger or pull the trigger. Sergeant Smagula later stated it was never his intention to place his hand on the trigger or fire his weapon. In addition, he did not remember whether he had de-cocked his firearm after reloading it while he had been simultaneously observing the other officers reloading their firearms earlier... --- Senators Urge FBI-BATFE Cooperation: Battles between the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives threaten national security and are reminiscent of the poor information-sharing that failed to detect the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, two U.S. senators said in a letter urging Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey to fix the problems. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the lead Republican on the committee, said they are "greatly disturbed" by FBI and ATF squabbling that has continued since the agencies were merged under the Justice Department five years ago to coordinate the fight against terrorism. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/16/AR2008051603828.html --- From AzCDL: A number of your have shared with us Senator Waring's response to our Alert on HB 2389, AzCDL's requested "vehicle carry" bill that recently passed in the Senate Committee of the Whole laden with amendments from Senator Waring and two other Senators. You can read Senator Waring's amendment here: http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/48leg/2r/adopted/s.2389waring.pdf We do not wish to get into a war of words with any legislator, and we applaud Senator Waring for taking the to time craft a response to your letters. But we do feel the need to clarify a few key points. We, along with Representative Kavanagh, the sponsor of HB 2389, were aware of Senator Waring's intention to amend HB 2389 with language from several other bills that had not advanced. What we, Representative Kavanagh, and Representative Murphy were not aware of was that the language from HB 2634 (Rep. Murphy's bill that allows former felons whose right to bear arms have been restored to obtain a CCW permit) would be added at the last minute to supposedly satisfy a procedural requirement. If language from another bill was needed to satisfy Senate rules, we would have been happy to be helpful in finding a more appropriate bill to use, had we been consulted. Unfortunately, the general public, including lobbyists, are not allowed to see the language of amendments before the floor session, and since Senator Waring never mentioned it to anyone, we didn't see this coming. Senator Waring added his amendments, supposedly with good intentions, because he claims they would strengthen HB 2389 against a possible veto. Even though nobody asked him to do that, we certainly thank him for that. However, as we have learned from many other bills, if the Governor opposes a bill, additional appeasement language rarely works. If, as the Senator suggests, HB 2389 stands a strong chance of being vetoed, why add language from HB 2634, which enjoys broad bipartisan support, passed in the House unanimously, and has a high probability of becoming law as a stand alone bill? What do we, the law-abiding supporters of the right to keep and bear arms in Arizona, stand to gain from this? Yes, the HB 2364 language can be removed in Conference committee, and we have already requested that this be done. However, unless there are objections, when a House bill is amended in the Senate, the usual route is a concurrence vote in the House, and then the bill is shipped off to the Governor. Had we not discovered that the final language in the amendment was different from what we anticipated, and contained the language from HB 2634, the amended, "two-in-one" bill would likely be headed to the Governor's desk for a probable veto. Finally, AzCDL's unpaid volunteer lobbyists are always attempting to keep lines of communication open with all legislators, but we can't force them to acknowledge our attempts to reach them. We attempted to contact Senator Waring regarding the language of his amendment more than once, unsuccessfully. We finally got a copy of the supposed contents from the original bill's sponsor, but the language from HB 2634 was not included. An accidental omission? Perhaps. While Senator Waring has never introduced or sponsored pro-RKBA legislation, he has routinely voted for bills that AzCDL supports, and we certainly thank him for that as well. However, we'd prefer that he'd leave the overall strategy to us. To put our comments in context, the following is Senator Waring's response to our earlier Alert. "Thank you for your note, but the email you were sent is just wrong. Frankly, you should write your lobbyists and complain about their activities. They've misled you badly in this case. 1. I told the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Kavanaugh, about the amendment about a month in advance. To say otherwise is a lie. In fact, I have an email FROM Rep. Kavanaugh dated 4-23 ASKING for a copy of the amendment we had ALREADY discussed. I know he'd spoken to the lobbyists about it, as he mentioned that to me at least twice. If they had a problem with it, they had plenty of time to tell me about it. They never called, they never wrote. You pay them to sit here all day. You'd think that they could spend the time to at least let me know there was a problem. It's not my job to track down lobbyists and tell them what I'm doing. Frankly, I don't really think you want me just doing what lobbyists want, do you? And this was all public for about a week before the vote. There were no surprises. They just lied to you. 2. The original bill 2389, ACCORDING TO THE SPONSOR, was probably going to get vetoed. He told me that face to face, in front of staff. On its own. If I did nothing. We were adding two senate bills that toughen penalties on murderers and sexual predators, making it much harder for anyone to vote against it, and much harder for the governor to veto it. Are you against toughening penalties on murderers and sexual predators? We HAD to add a fourth bill for procedural reasons, and came up with the Murphy bill. We can easily strip it off in Conference committee. It's no longer needed. IF your lobbyists knew the legislative rules, they would know this can (and will) be easily done. It isn't because they're generating a bunch of form emails. The Murphy part of the amendment simply isn't needed anymore. 3. I believe I have a 100% voting record with your group. So words like sabatoge shouldn't be used in this case, to say the least. They should probably concentrate on trying to either win over or replace members who don't vote for Second Amendment protections, not send out emails trashing those who vote the way I do. This is the danger of blindly following lobbyists. You should be sending them emails, asking them what they're doing down here if they can't handle a small thing like this, don't know the senate rules, etc." Information on bills can be found at the AzCDL website: http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Join today! AzCDL - Protecting Your Freedom http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html Copyright © 2008 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved. -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .