Brady Bunch Statement on Kennedy Illness: "Senator Kennedy has always been a courageous champion of efforts to prevent gun violence. Last year he was a leader in ensuring that the Congress passed legislation to strengthen the Brady background check system. This year, he has been the leader in the Senate in pushing legislation to use new technology to help police solve gun crimes. Senator Kennedy and his wife have attended many of our organization's events over the years, most recently last month here in Washington. A year and a half ago, they hosted a warm, memorable party in their home for Brady staff and Board members. He is a cherished friend." http://www.sunherald.com/447/story/574585.html --- Illinois Needs State CCW Law: When Winnebago County Board member Randy Olson, R-1st, asked me what I thought of a concealed carry proposal he and Doug Aurand, D-3rd, planned to present to the board, I said I had no problem with the concept. Forty-eight states allow people to carry concealed weapons under certain circumstances. Only Illinois and Wisconsin do not...So, if liberal states like Massachusetts, New York and California have concealed carry laws and nobody's raising a ruckus over it, the idea can't be that controversial... (Let's not forget that while almost all states do have statutory provision for licensed CCW, several are very restrictive in issuance.) http://www.rrstar.com/news/columnists/x1867425619/State-needs-concealed-carry-law-not-county Related Article: http://www.wifr.com/home/headlines/19088154.html --- Eighty-second Illinois County Approves Pro-RKBA Resolution: The McLean County Board approved a resolution Tuesday opposing legislation that "unreasonably" infringes on the rights of people to bear arms, but the vote wasn't unanimous or without controversy. Seven members voted against the motion, but several of them said it wasn't because they don't support the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Member George Gordon previously made an unsuccessful motion to postpone the issue until the U.S. Supreme Court rules in a District of Columbia gun case. He said he needed that information before voting on the county level. http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/05/20/news/doc4833049fad8bd045586754.txt --- Do As I Say, Not As I Do: Chicago Alderman Richard Mell (33rd) is a former hunter with an arsenal of weapons that reportedly features shotguns, rifles and pistols, including a Walther PPK of James Bond fame. But there's a problem. Mell forgot to re-register the weapons as required every year by the ordinance that he helped to pass as one of the City Council's most senior members. So, what does an alderman do when he finds himself in violation of the law? He writes a new law. Mell has quietly introduced an ordinance that would reopen gun registration in Chicago and create a one-month amnesty for himself and other gun owners in the same predicament... http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/958879,CST-NWS-mell20.article --- NYPD Officers Face Departmental Charges in Bell Shooting: Seven New York City police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Sean Bell, including three detectives who were acquitted in a criminal trial, were formally accused on Tuesday of breaking Police Department rules in the case...Though neither Mr. Bell nor his friends had a firearm, defense lawyers argued at trial the three detectives believed someone in Mr. Bell's car had a gun because of comments they overheard outside the nightclub. Additionally, the evidence suggested the shooting began only after Mr. Bell had twice rammed his car into an unmarked police van... (This case has been a tragedy for all involved and would not likely have occurred if NYC officials were not so paranoid about privately owned firearms.) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/nyregion/21sean.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin --- Control Criminals, Not Guns: ...A few days after the murder of Liczbinski, Gov. Rendell told a news conference, attended by state elected officials and top law enforcement officials, "The time has come for politicians to decide. You have to decide whether you're on their side - the men and women who wear blue - or whether you're on the side of the gun lobby." Instead of saying "whether you're on the side of the gun lobby," Rendell should have said "whether you're on the side of the criminal and the courts, prosecutors, prisons and parole boards that cut soft deals with criminals and release them to prey upon police officers and law-abiding citizens." http://www.townhall.com/columnists/WalterEWilliams/2008/05/21/control_criminals_not_guns --- Oops, Wrong House: A homeowner on Tuesday morning shot a 17-year-old burglary suspect who police said broke into the man's home while he was sleeping. Police said the incident happened in the 2300 block of Larry Drive in east Dallas when the teen, who they said was skipping school, forced his way into the house through the back door. The homeowner awoke and confronted the teen, eventually shooting the boy when he charged the man, police said...Shaw said the man was on the phone with a police dispatcher as he held the burglar at bay, including when he opened fire. The suspect, whom investigators said has a history of burglarizing homes, was struck in the arm. http://www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6584212&version=3&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 --- Rule Three Reminder: A firearms instructor in southern Massachusetts has been assigned to other duties after his gun accidentally went off while he was teaching a class on weapons safety. Officials say the Glock handgun discharged while Maj. Donald Lamar was demonstrating to Bristol County deputy sheriffs how to safely holster the weapon. The bullet ripped a hole in Lamar's pants but missed his leg and foot. Sheriff Thomas Hodgson says the officer made a "gross error in judgment" by not emptying the weapon before the class last week. Lamar, a certified firearms instructor since 2005, was transferred to another division and will not carry a firearm while the incident is being investigated. (Rule Three: Keep your finger out of the trigger guar, up on the frame, until your sights are on the target and you're prepared to fire.) http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008May20/0,4670,ODDInstructorapossGun,00.html --- Life in Virginia: Five men sat around a table at Giovanni's New York Pizza in Leesburg May 19, eating pizza, sipping iced tea and sharing stories of what it's like to be a gun owner. A gun was holstered on each man's hip, in plain view of the customers dining at the family-style restaurant. The men, who are regular citizens, not police officers, were openly carrying their firearms, mainly to exercise their right to do so in the state of Virginia...A recent law passed by the Virginia General Assembly would have allowed restaurants and clubs to decide whether or not concealed-carry permit holders may conceal firearms in their establishments for self-defense, but Gov. Tim Kaine (D) vetoed that bill, saying that guns and alcohol should not mix... (However, as noted, one can even consume alcohol while carrying openly in Virginia.) http://www.loudountimes.com/news/2008/may/20/gun-owners-show-their-rights-leesburg/ --- No Posing by John McCain?: Gun owners have become experts at spotting politicians pretending to be Second Amendment supporters. We've seen Al Gore and John Kerry go through the posing and posturing. We've seen it from Claire McCaskill in Missouri. And of course, we're seeing it from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton right now. The fact that the Democratic presidential candidates are trying to run as pro-Second Amendment candidates isn't surprising. But that they're trying to pull off this charade during the primary campaign is something new... http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=399 --- John McCain - NRA's "C+" Valedictorian: ...'A' rated candidates like Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. Fred Thompson dropped out of the Republican race long ago, and former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr - an 'A-plus' rated NRA Board Member and possible Libertarian nominee - doesn't seem to be getting much respect from the NRA leadership. Instead they seem to be settling for 'C-plus' rated Sen. McCain, someone they once called "one of the premier flag carriers for the enemies of the Second Amendment." Making a 'C-plus' student the NRA valedictorian shows how much they're really 'grading on the curve' this Presidential election year. (Helmke is president of the Brady Bunch.) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-helmke/sen-john-mccain-the-nras_b_102679.html --- A Different View of McCain's NRA Speech: ...The NRA had announced earlier that morning that the event was sold out. I'm not sure how many tickets were sold, but the chairs that had been set up in the room for the "sold out" show was only about 75% full at the start. Several hundred of the best seats, saved right up front for Benefactor level members, sat empty for most of the speeches, delivered by Ollie North, John Bolton, Karl Rove, Govs. Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Mitch McConnell, as well as War On Terror veterans Marcus Luttrell and Greg Stube (more on those speeches shortly). When it got close to McCain time, a couple of what appeared to be McCain campaign staffers came out and tried to shoe people into the empty seats, presumably not wanting the host of media cameras in the room to get a shot of McCain speaking to a bunch of empty seats. The attempt was only partially successful - there were still probably close to empty 100 seats in the first section, front and center, when McCain took the stage... http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/5682 --- Journalist's Guide to "Gun Violence": Guns are a sad fact of life in American culture and are a major topic in modern journalism. A good Journalist has a duty to get involved and make a difference in this important societal debate. By following certain guidelines, the concerned Journalist can be assured of having the maximum impact on this shameful problem. The first principle to remember is that subtle use of terminology can covertly influence the reader. Adjectives should be chosen for maximum anti-gun effect. When describing a gun, attach terms like "automatic," "semi-automatic," "large caliber," "deadly," "high powered," or "powerful." Almost any gun can be described by one or more of these terms. More than two guns should be called an "arsenal." http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/08/05/19/brown.htm -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .