Joe Biden on the RKBA: "I'm the guy who originally wrote the assault weapons ban." (Video clip from a candidate's debate.) http://blog.nysrpa.org/?p=1605 One of the more surprising twists in the debut of Joe Biden as Barack Obama's running mate has been the Democrats' decision to highlight Biden's work on the 1994 crime bill...It's an odd thing to draw attention to, however, for a different reason: The crime bill was also one of the reasons the Democrats lost control of Congress in 1994. In addition to the funding for President Bill Clinton's 100,000 cops initiative, the bill also included a ban on certain kinds of assault weapons. That provision almost sank the whole package in the House, when anti-gun control Democrats teamed up with Republicans to block the final bill from coming to the House floor. As ever-colorful Democratic Rep. Charlie Wilson of Texas put it, asking a lawmaker from an area like his East Texas district to vote for a gun ban was "like asking someone from Brooklyn to vote against Israel..." http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/beyond/2008/08/yes-biden-helped-pass-the-crim.html --- Obama No Friend of the RKBA: ...On gun owner's rights, Obama's record clearly shows he is one of the most anti-gun candidates to ever run for president. Today, as Obama takes aim for the White House, he'll tell voters he has never favored an all-out ban on handguns. Yet while in the Illinois Legislature, he endorsed a state ban on the sale and possession of handguns in that state, he favored denying gun ownership to anyone under age 21, and he supported banning ammunition sales. Obama has explicitly stated he views Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban as consistent with the Second Amendment's right for the individual to keep and bear arms, saying "just because you have an individual right does not mean that the state or local government can't constrain the exercise of that right." But just how constraining is a total ban? http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/08/22/opinion/guest/guest75.txt --- More on the RKBA And the Democratic Platform: ...Obama's supporters are prepared to end private transactions of firearms and to ban entire classes of firearms in the name of "common sense." They are prepared to tell residents of Chicago that they do not possess the same inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that their fellow Americans in Cheyenne enjoy. Yet they tell us the Second Amendment is "an important part of the American tradition..." http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=435 --- And...?: A man who tried to carry two hunting rifles and two pistols into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's downtown hotel remained in police custody Sunday. Pelosi and other guests briefly left the hotel during the Saturday incident but were never in danger, Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said. The man, Joseph Calanchini, 29, of Pinedale, Wyo., faces a charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon. Police officers at the Grand Hyatt hotel noticed him carrying a rifle-type case at the entrance and detained him. Wiley said he didn't know if the weapons were loaded. "The speaker was never in any danger and she appreciates the quick and professional response of the police," said Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly. (Conspicuously absent from this report is anything indicating that the man intended any harm to Pelosi. While I don't know the hunting seasons there, I believe that Colorado enjoys a lot of game hunting.) http://www.newsmax.com/us/pelosi_hotel_denver/2008/08/24/124496.html Lo and Behold...: A Wyoming hunter who accidentally caused a security concern at the Grand Hyatt hotel Saturday says he's sorry for the problems he caused and didn't know the Democratic National Convention was in town. When Joseph Calanchini walked into the Grand Hyatt hotel with 2 rifles and 2 pistols Saturday around 4 p.m., Denver Police evacuated House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) from the hotel until they arrested Calanchini and made sure it was safe for Pelosi to return. "I didn't even know the DNC was in town. I don't watch the news," said Joseph Calanchini from the Denver City Jail where he's being held on bond. "If I had known, I would have done things differently. It was a simple mistake..." http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=98258&catid=346 --- Seattle Balks at Gun Ban: As summer began, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said he was taking steps to prohibit guns on all city-owned property after three people were injured in a shooting at Seattle Center's Northwest Folklife festival. But as the Center's summer festival season concludes with Bumbershoot this weekend, no prohibition has taken effect. "It's very complex. The city owns numerous properties citywide and in some areas outside of the city," said Regina LaBelle, legal counsel for the mayor. "We are going through all of those properties and developing a legally defensible rule." In the state Legislature, representatives and senators have asked state Attorney General Rob McKenna to issue an informal legal opinion on whether state law pre-empts Nickels' executive order. That opinion may be ready by the end of September... http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008136296_gunfree25m.html --- What Has "Gun Control" Done for California?: Gun control laws frequently require the use of technology by law enforcement, as well as placing requirements on manufacturers and, ultimately, the consumer. Are these effective? Since I live in California I will focus on local laws, the #1 state for the Brady Campaign... http://www.opednews.com/articles/Gun-Control-and-the-Second-by-Mike-Kimball-080823-556.html --- Utah Students Should Settle for Concealed Carry: ...The requirements of being allowed to conceal carry are much more stringent than open carry. To receive a concealed weapons permit you must be 21, have a valid driver's license, be fingerprinted, have an extensive FBI background check conducted by the Bureau of Criminal Identification and pass a written and shooting range test...When you conceal carry, nobody is the wiser. People who are anti-gun don't have to get nervous, and permit holders still have their weapons with them on campus. U gun owners should have appreciation for all they enjoy, not muddle the system with unnecessary demands. Concealed carry is a perfect scenario and something many other states can only dream about. Let's just allow open carry to rest in peace. (While I generally prefer concealed carry for tactical reasons, a valid argument for open carry is that its abolition will effectively force those who choose to go armed to go through the permit process in order to do so. In most states, this is an infringement of a previously protected right.) http://media.www.dailyutahchronicle.com/media/storage/paper244/news/2008/08/25/Opinion/Williams.Concealed.Carry.Should.Be.Enough.For.Gun.Owners-3402771.shtml --- CHP Numbers Rise in Virginia: Since January, Dave Whetzel of Hunter's Paradise watched an increasing number of Shenandoah Valley residents enter the shop to get information about concealed-weapon permits, which are up statewide for the second year in a row. Virginia residents wanting the right to carry a firearm have filed into circuit courts throughout the state at a record pace this year, according to statistics from more than 50 jurisdictions analyzed by the Daily News-Record. (As an aside, note the Rule Two violation in the process of inserting the gun into a shoulder holster.) http://www.rocktownweekly.com/news_details.php?AID=30865&CHID=1 --- Oops, Wrong Truck: Police said a shooting that injured a man early Sunday may be a case of self-defense. Officers said a man and woman were fighting at Northeast 28th Street and Santa Fe Avenue when another man pulled up in a truck. The woman got into the truck, police said, but the man she was fighting with broke the back window and tried to pull her through it. That's when the truck's driver shot the man twice. The victim should recover from his injuries, police said. They have not arrested the driver who fired the shots. http://www.koco.com/news/17280460/detail.html --- Oops, Wrong Apartment: Just after midnight Sunday morning, someone inside a Wellesley Avenue apartment called police to report an intruder inside. Just moments later, police arrived on the 5600 block and found 32-year-old Vanderlee Stevenson on the kitchen floor with a gunshot wound to his chest. There was no one else in the home, not even the man who called 911. A responding investigator with the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office pronounced Stevenson, of East Liberty, dead right where he was found. City homicide detectives spent Sunday searching for the residents of the apartment so they could try and piece together what happened inside their Highland Park home... http://www.wpxi.com/news/17280747/detail.html --- Rule Five Reminder: Police said yesterday that they believe a 12-year-old girl who was fatally shot Saturday night at a home in Prince George's County was hit accidentally by a 14-year-old relative playing with a shotgun...Police said that family members were having a pool party and cookout at the home when Glenn and two boys headed to an upstairs room with a computer. "They found the weapon in the room and were playing with it when it went off," said Cpl. Stephen Pacheco, a police spokesman. Authorities said they questioned both youths and others in the house. They said that they were looking into the possibility of charges against the relative who owned the shotgun because it was loaded and not secured. (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/24/AR2008082401921.html -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .