You Can Please Some of the People Some of the Time: A list member responds to the links regarding concealed carry in national parks: While I appreciate your following this isue, I would ask that you post a correction. Virginia Citizens' Defense League (VCDL) www.vcdl.org submitted a petition for rule change years before the NRA decided to climb on the bandwagon. In fact, NRA tried several times to get VCDL and other organizations to withdraw the petition as NRA was "afraid" the timing was not politically ripe. Second, the effective date of the new rule is 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register. As of this morning it was not published. Therefore, your 1/1/09 effective date is not accurate. Do not let folks lose their gun rights by announcing an incorrect effective date. (There are currently 575 people on the list. Most have been on the list long enough that I did not feel that it was crucial to repeat that the rule change was a project of VCDL. However, the point is well taken that, like the Heller case, this was not initially a project of the NRA. See next item for implementation date.) --- More on National-Park Carry: The Bush administration has officially lifted a 25-year ban on licensed possession of loaded concealed weapons in national parks and wildlife refuges - and the new rule is set to be published in the Federal Register Wednesday. The U.S. Department of the Interior issued a Dec. 5 statement announcing it has updated its regulations to allow individuals with concealed weapons permits to carry their loaded guns into parks if allowed to do so under their state law... The regulation will go into effect in January before Barack Obama's inauguration. Some opposed groups are considering filing lawsuits. They fear changing the new guideline would prove to be a long and bureaucratic task after it takes effect. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=83055 Related Commentary: http://www.news-leader.com/article/20081208/OPINIONS/812080319/1006 --- FDA Denies Approval of Palm Pistol: ...After a flurry of calls generated by the manufacturer of the Palm Pistol, a single-shot 9mm handgun that rests in the palm and fires when squeezed, the FDA told the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence on Monday that it certainly had not approved the device. Shortly after the Brady organization contacted FDA, the agency issued a statement saying "the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has determined that the Palm Pistol, manufactured by Constitution Arms, is not a medical device under the Federal Food, Drugs, and Cosmetic Act. The manufacturer registered and listed the product in the FDA's electronic database on Dec. 2, 2008. Because the FDA has determined the product is not a medical device under section 201(h) of the Act, FDA is canceling the registration and will return its registration fee." ... http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/A-Good-Cigar-May-Be/story.aspx?guid={7288E993-4519-4611-BA52-57714F80D6FE} --- New Jersey Bill Would Limit Firearm Purchases: A consequence of lax gun laws is the proliferation of violence and funerals, Atlantic City Councilman Bruce Ward said as he advocated for a bill Monday that would limit most New Jersey gun owners to buying 13 or fewer firearms per year. Others said the proposal would do little to stem the flow of firearms to criminals from illicit sources. The state Senate Law and Public Safety and Veterans' Affairs Committee approved the bill by a 3-2 vote. It now goes the full Senate. The Assembly approved a companion measure June 23 by a 47-28 vote with four abstentions. Current state law does not limit firearm purchases... http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/184/story/340395.html --- Los Angeles Readies More Infringements: The Public Safety Committee of the Los Angeles City Council approved a package of gun control measures Monday that would make it easier for landlords to evict tenants with illegal firearms and ammunition, place new requirements on ammunition vendors and allow the city to permanently seize cars from some gang members... The committee also approved measures requiring ammunition vendors to obtain permits from the Police Commission for sales and to conduct those sales face-to-face with buyers. Under one of the proposed ordinances, the employees handling ammunition would also be subject to a background check. Another measure creates a requirement for gun dealers to inspect their inventory twice a year - reporting any lost or stolen weapons to the Police Department and providing an affidavit of the inspections. The committee also approved an ordinance banning the sale of .50-caliber ammunition... http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-safety9-2008dec09,0,4596644.story --- Black Friday, Black Rifles: Gun sales have been hitting all-time highs this holiday season in Jackson County and Oregon, propelled by fears that President-elect Barack Obama's administration will enact laws clamping down on assault rifles and ammunition. The Oregon State Police reports that on Nov. 28 - the biggest shopping day of the year known as Black Friday - there were 2,198 background checks, 25 percent higher than the previous record on the same shopping day in 2005, when 1,731 checks were conducted. "It was unanticipated to be that high," said Marie Severson, firearms manager for the OSP... http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081208/NEWS/812080305 --- Oops, Wrong House, New York Version: Two would-be burglars chose the wrong house to invade when they broke into an Inwood home early yesterday morning. They were greeted by the resident, who opened fire on them with his AK-47-style assault rifle, Nassau police said. It was 5:32 a.m. Sunday when the male resident, 36, "heard suspicious noises coming from the front door of his home, and armed himself with a Romanian SAR-1 rifle," a variant of the Soviet AK-47 assault weapon, a police report said. The two men "broke through the front door and were confronted by the victim, who shot four times toward the subjects," the police report said. The burglars ran off, apparently uninjured, and four rifle shell casings were later found at the house, police said. One of the men appeared to have been carrying a knife, the resident reported. Fourth Squad detectives are investigating. (Poor shooting or "warning shots"? The latter are discouraged, in part, as they have to stop somewhere, as do misses.) http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ny-etmustopb5955749dec08,0,3086165.story --- Oops, Wrong House, Virginia Version: Arlington County Police tell 9NEWS NOW that a man shot and killed an alleged home intruder. Police say that they received a call at approximately 4 AM from a man who said that he had shot an intruder in his home and that the man could be dead. Police say that when they arrived at the home on the 2100 block of Arlington Ridge Road, they found one man dead and that the man who called turned himself in to them. Arlington Police are still investigating the incident and could not confirm any more details... http://www.wusa9.com/news/breaking/story.aspx?storyid=79268&catid=158 --- North Carolina Self-Defense Law Reviewed: The self-defense law generally excuses a person for assaulting or killing another person if the defendant's fear of harm was reasonable, as determined by a jury, and necessary to protect himself or herself. The "perfect" right of self-defense may be used to excuse a killing altogether if four elements are determined to have existed by the jury. Those elements are... If the jury finds all four elements existed, the defendant cannot be found guilty of first- or second-degree murder... http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/content/2008/dec/09/north-carolina-self-defense-laws/news-local/ -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .