Gun Sales Rise in Uncertain Times: Gun sales are on the rise, and gun shop owners say the uncertain economy and upcoming election are the reasons. Some report their sales are up as much as 25 percent from last year. One of those gun shops that is seeing gun sales soar is the Albuquerque Pawn Shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Probably 20 to 25 percent, but inquiries are probably up 50 to 60 percent," said owner Jay Johnston. Johnston says there are a few reasons for the rise in gun sales. He says one reason is the bad economy. Johnston says more people are buying guns to protect themselves. He says he is hearing another reason even more. "If one particular candidate is elected, then rumor has it that there's gonna be a serious gun ban and I think people wanna get the guns while they can," Johnston said... http://www.counton2.com/cbd/news/national/article/uncertain_times_trigger_boom_in_gun_sales/16211/ --- Life After Heller: ... As I am writing it appears that Barack Obama will likely be the next president. If so, we can expect every justice he appoints to the court to be unscrupulously dedicated to reversing Heller. This is not quite as ominous as it seems because Obama may not have a chance to appoint a replacement for any of the five justices who made up the majority in Heller. They are relatively young compared to the four dissenters. Most likely any justices who die or retire during Obama's term in office will be among the four dissenters, so Obama's new appointees to replace them will still be in the minority. But it is always possible that one of the majority will retire or die, whereupon Obama will be able to appoint someone whose vote will reverse Heller... http://www.handgunsmag.com/GA_lifeafterheller_200901/ Tangentially Related: The issue of judicial philosophy has been mostly overlooked in this campaign, but the differences between the two candidates are stark: Obama has the most left-wing position of any presidential candidate in U.S. history. Obama has said he would appoint Supreme Court justices like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter, two of the most liberal judges ever to serve on the Court. (Before her appointment, Ginsburg had served as general counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union, and as a member of the ACLU Board of Directors.) He openly criticized Justice Clarence Thomas. He said he would never appoint someone like Justice Antonin Scalia. He voted against both Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sam Alito during their Senate confirmations... http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NTA2Y2ZjODc5NjFkODM5NWQ4ODM1MmE4N2E1ZGQyNDc= --- Mutually Assured Destruction: There are some who are fond of repeating Jefferson's comment about the tree of liberty needing to be "refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants," though they often skip the part about patriots and choose to only include the tyrants. The problem is that in actual practice you couldn't leave out, "the blood of patriots," because when the blood of tyrants is spilt, the blood of patriots must also be spilt. There is simply no way around it... http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/4092/67/ --- Women Have Right to Own Guns: Alvina Vansickle should not have run afoul of common sense and common courtesy when she attempted to purchase a gun for self-protection. Her outrageous treatment highlights how unfounded prejudicial practices in the application of state laws can be used to interfere with citizens' rights under the Second Amendment. It also revealed a concealed sexist approach to gun ownership being administered by the state... (This is in Joe Biden's home state of Delaware.) http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20081029/OPINION11/810290314/1004/OPINION --- Lost-Gun Ordinances Usually Fire Blanks: Lose a gun in Cleveland and fail to report it to police and you could face a $250 fine and 30 days in jail. But in the 12 years that ordinance has been on Cleveland's books, only two people have been taken to court for failing to report a lost or stolen gun. That experience, and those of other cities, suggests that Pittsburgh's proposed ordinance on reporting lost or stolen guns and others cropping up all over the state and nation warrant neither the fear they are engendering in foes, nor the hope they inspire in advocates... http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08304/923965-53.stm --- Cooper Firearm Update: ...The employees, shareholders and board of directors of Cooper Firearms of Montana do not share the personal political views of Dan Cooper. Although we all believe everyone has a right to vote and donate as they see fit, it has become apparent that the fallout may affect more than just Mr. Cooper. It may also affect the employees and the shareholders of Cooper Firearms. The board of directors has asked Mr. Cooper to resign as President of Cooper Firearms of Montana, Inc. Daily operations will continue with the competent staff currently in place in Stevensville, MT producing the finest, most accurate rifles money can buy... http://www.cooperfirearms.com/ Related Article: (Note the shift from yesterday's statement to today's.) http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2008/10/barack-obama-re.html --- Brady Bunch Jumps on Tragic Shooting Death: The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence is calling on law enforcement to investigate whether a "gun fair" that hosted a machine gun shoot for children where an 8-year-old boy was tragically killed violated a Massachusetts gun law that makes it illegal to furnish machine guns to children. "Massachusetts law specifically prohibits furnishing a machine gun to any person under 18," said Daniel Vice, Senior Attorney with the Brady Center. "It is unconscionable that the gun fair allowed and encouraged young children to fire machine guns..." http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Massachusetts-Gun-Fair-Where-Child/story.aspx?guid={3E5DCA83-92C7-40A7-94C3-0271020C1728} --- Interesting Murder Defense: ...On May 5, 2007, Joe Seals, 64, entered a social club in Bedford-Stuyvesant where he had been a fixture for many years and limped over to a seat at the bar. At the other end of the bar sat a 63-year-old bouncer named Robert Ellis, a man Mr. Seals had known for two decades. Words were exchanged. Mr. Ellis rose from his stool, and Mr. Seals pulled a pistol from his waistband and shot him in the face. Mr. Ellis fell, dead, and Mr. Seals ran, gave the pistol to a stranger, and admitted the shooting to detectives before the sun set... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/nyregion/30club.html?ref=nyregion -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .