Another Republican Defects: It came as no surprise when Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond declared moments ago that he would support President Obama's choice of Sonia Sotomayor to become a Supreme Court justice. Bond, R-Mo., decried the effects of partisanship "infecting" the political system and said that nothing had emerged in Senate hearings that cast doubt on her capacity to serve on the high court. If Republicans want conservative justices, he said, then they need to work harder to win presidential elections... "I disagree that the Second Amendment's protection of an individual's right to bear arms does not apply to States. But I do agree that Judge Sotomayor has proven herself a well qualified jurist..." http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2009/08/citing-constitution-bond-votes-yes-on-sotomayor/ Enzi Will Vote No on Sotomayor: Wyoming Republican Sen. Mike Enzi says he will vote against confirming Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite opposition from most Republicans, Sotomayor is expected to be confirmed as the first Hispanic and third female Supreme Court justice. Enzi says he's concerned about the judge's positions on the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, abortion, international law and judicial impartiality. Wyoming's other U.S. senator , John Barrasso, has not publicly stated whether he will vote to confirm Sotomayor. http://cbs4denver.com/wireapnewswy/Wyoming.Sen.Mike.2.1116302.html Ensign Will Vote No on Sotomayor: U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said he will oppose Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ensign said Tuesday that Sotomayor is an "impressive role model," but left him uncertain and doubting she would "rule with a fair and impartial adherence to the rule of law... Judge Sotomayor's record and testimony provide uncertainty and doubt that she will rule with a fair and impartial adherence to the rule of law. I feel she has given no assurances that the Second Amendment is an individual, fundamental right - a right I believe is central to the Constitution. I believe she has demonstrated a propensity to rule with purpose-driven results and has indicated a particular interest in international standards or laws to decide U.S. constitutional questions. Therefore, I respectfully oppose her nomination." Sotomayor would become the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice. Ensign's vote could alienate some of the state's Hispanic voters, who make up a growing bloc. http://www.rgj.com/article/20090805/NEWS/908050441/1321/NEWS Related Commentary: ...So far, 30 Republican Senators have announced that they will vote against Sotomayor's confirmation. The last time a Supreme Court nominee selected by a Democratic president received more votes against confirmation was 1894. Those 30 Senators deserve an enormous amount of credit for standing up to Judge Sotomayor's boosters in the Senate and the some liberal commentators in the media who have perpetuated the falsehood that a vote against Sotomayor is somehow a vote against Hispanics. Nothing could be further from the truth... It takes a lot of chutzpah for some in the media, like Thomas B. Edsall of the Huffington Post, to suggest that Republicans are risking alienating Hispanic voters by opposing Sotomayor's nomination. It was, after all, the Republicans who sought to elevate Miguel Estrada, a Honduran immigrant who rose from poverty to editor of the Harvard Law Review, to sit on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Democrats on the Judiciary Committee delayed and ultimately obstructed Estrada's nomination with partisan political attacks and ultimately the threat of a filibuster. They waged a smear campaign against Estrada that still ranks as one of the low moments in the modern history of the Senate. Republicans in the Senate fought like champions to save his nomination. The GOP's record of fighting for Hispanics to sit on our nation's highest courts is clear... http://bench.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZDk3ZGMzMzgzZTYxMTQ2YzlmOTQzNzMwYzJmNGMyMjc= --- Where Do Mexican Gangs Get Those Grenades?: ...Where did the grenade come from? South Korea. How did the Mexicans get them? "The United States and South Korea rank as the top two producers of the grenades seized in Mexico, according to the ATF." Here's the thing: The U.S. government adheres to very strict ITAR regulations for munitions transfers to foreign entities. South Korea, as an ally and beneficiary of American military support, also complies with arms controls in its international dealings. Congress even certified it. Which means: There are either corrupt elements in the U.S. and South Korean governments skirting the audited systems and allowing arms shipments to unauthorized private individuals, and/or the corruption lies with the Mexican government. Hmmm... This isn't the first time we've discussed the impact of authorized weapons exports in the equation. And just a few days ago, we were wondering if some machine guns seized in the U.S. might not have come from the government-controlled supply chain. The picture sure is shaping up to look a lot different than we were initially led to believe, isn't it? And we all remember why we were being led to believe that? http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m8d5-Who-is-supplying-Mexican-drug-cartels-with-grenades A senior Mexican official spoke with reporters today, in advance of the North American Leaders summit this weekend. The official, speaking on background, explain that this summit is basically laying the ground work for future endeavors, and advised not expect to see any obvious deliverables - that developing the relationship is essentially the goal... Mexico also wants more gun control in the U.S., particularly when it comes to assault weapons. "I would like to see the assault weapons ban reinstated - it's not philosophical, it's because of what we have seen on the ground...There is a direct correlation between the assault ban and expiring in 2004 and the numbers - simply the sheer numbers - of assault weapons that we seize in Mexico...We are both cognizant of what can and cannot be done right now - we will softly, diplomatically...continue to say that this is an important issue for us but I think the real perspectives of this moving on Capitol Hill these days are slim to say the least," the official said... (I'm not sure what qualifies this Mexican official to speak on the origins of the Second Amendment but our Founders had to contend not only with seizures of arms, powder and lead by British troops but also with concerted efforts by the Crown to block their importation by the rebellious colonies.) http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/08/mexican-official-says-nal-summit-will-focus-on-security-and-trade.html --- It's Those Southerners, Again: Gun dealers in states with weak gun laws supply guns to criminals in other states at a rate more than five times higher than dealers in states with stronger gun laws, according to a Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence analysis of newly released ATF crime gun trace data. The data was released Monday by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) for crime guns recovered and traced in 2008. The data shows that in states with strong gun laws, criminals find it more difficult to obtain guns from local sources and frequently must obtain guns from traffickers supplied by out-of-state gun dealers. This fuels the "iron pipeline" described in past federal law enforcement reports... The Brady Center analysis also ranked the states based on their contribution to interstate gun trafficking. The Center measured each state's per capita rate of crime gun exports - guns moving across state lines before being recovered in crime. Mississippi was number one with the highest rate of crime gun exports, followed by West Virginia, Alabama, Virginia, and South Carolina... (And maybe a significant proportion of people involved in crime in the "strict-law" states have migrated there from the states where they return to buy guns.) http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/release.php?release=1167 --- No, It's the NRA: Chicago Sun-Times columnist Carol Marin today launched the latest attack on Chicago's favorite Enemy of the People, the National Rifle Association. This time the charge is that the NRA is standing in the way of progress by preventing research into gun violence. The fact that "gun violence" is actually studied quite a bit doesn't seem to give Mrs. Marin pause, nor does the terrible quality of most of the "studies" of which she seems to approve (that is, studies beginning from the assumption that guns in civilian hands are bad and gun control is good.) ... Marin says that the NRA's Todd Vandermyde "makes no bones about its attempts to inhibit or limit research . . ." What she seems to ignore is what Vandermyde actually says about the research in question. Marin implies that research and studies are by nature positive and that to stand in the way is at best obstructionist, at worst anti-empiricist, but certainly negative. Vandermyde obviously doesn't believe that all research is created equal; yes, he says, the NRA has lobbied against government funding earmarked for anti-gun studies. But why? ... http://www.examiner.com/x-17034-Chicago-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m8d6-Yet-another-antiNRA-hit-piece-misses --- The Beat Goes On: Columbia County [GA] residents are arming themselves. "I think a lot of people are afraid their Second Amendment rights will be trounced on," said Eddie Hulsey, of Evans, a gun expert and recently published author. "So they are going ahead and getting (guns)." Hulsey hopes to educate this wave of new gun owners with his book, Defensive Handgun for the Armed Citizen. While conducting research for another project, Hulsey discovered that gun and ammunition sales, concealed weapons permit applications and memberships in pro-gun organizations have drastically risen. He's also concerned that violent crime will follow the population's flight from inner cities to suburban areas. In Columbia County, 689 people applied for the gun permits from January through April, nearly twice as many as during the same time frame in 2008, according to the Columbia County Probate Court. The office saw a spike starting in November, when the average number of applications rose from 111 to more than 200 per month... (This is the first I have heard of Hulsey's book so I am unable to offer comments on it.) http://newstimes.augusta.com/stories/2009/08/05/new_543204.shtml During a time period of great economic uncertainty, firearm and ammunition sales have continued to increase throughout the country. According to the most recent Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax Collection Report, released earlier today by the Department of the Treasury, firearm and ammunition manufacturers paid more than $109.8 million in the first calendar quarter of 2009; up 43% over the same time period reported in 2008. This dramatic increase follows a 31.3 percent increase in excise taxes from the previous quarter (4Q, 2008) and eight straight months of increased FBI background checks - another strong indicator of firearm sales. A third reliable source, the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA), reported that in 2008, "Hunting and Firearms" equipment was the only category to grow double digits and only one of seven categories that exhibited growth. NSGA's forecast for 2009 shows "Hunting and Firearms" as one of only two categories to exhibit growth. Manufacturers of firearms and ammunition pay a federal excise tax - a major source of wildlife conservation funding - on all firearms and ammunition manufactured (11% on long guns and ammunition and 10% on handguns)... http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6814 --- New Infringements Stall in New York Senate: Handgun owners in New York can breathe at least a temporary sigh of relief, because two major gun bills that passed the Assembly in April won't be heard any time soon in the Senate. Legislation that would establish mandatory micro-stamping of all pistol ammunition - a move that essentially makes the ammunition unavailable since no manufacturer could afford to produce it - won't get out of committee, according to Sen. Thomas W. Libous, R-Binghamton. He also pointed out that a bill that would require handgun permits to be renewed, at a considerable cost, every five years is similarly tabled... Libous noted that the bills were going to be brought up for a vote by the New York City bosses later on in June but were set aside during the Senate brouhaha and will be ignored for the near future. "While we stopped these anti-Second Amendment rights bills for now, the New York City bosses will try again to pass them," Libous warned. "They may not be on the agenda for Thursday's session, but they may be in September." http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20090806/SPORTS/908060336/State+Senate+will+ignore+anti-gun+bills+for+now --- Buy a Harley, Get a Gun: More than a few eyebrows have been raised around the country since news broke the other day that a Bellevue, WA motorcycle retailer had been offering a $500 voucher toward the purchase of a firearm or gun-related accessories for anyone who purchase a Harley-Davidson Big Twin Harley. Eastside Harley-Davidson even posted a somewhat satirical video on its website, proclaiming "Our government guarantees certain rights, one of which is the right to bear arms. Eastside Harley-Davidson is adding to that list the right to a new Harley." ...These vouchers are redeemable at Wade's Eastside Gun Shop and indoor shooting range, one of the busiest such facilities anywhere in the country. Surprisingly, in a city just across Lake Washington from ultra-Liberal Seattle, business at Wade's belies the notion that Washington is entirely populated by airhead lefties who reflexively dislike guns and people who own them... http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m8d5-Have-Gun--Will-Travelpreferably-on-a-HarleyDavidson --- Oops, Wrong Burglar: A Kingsport man may face an aggravated assault charge for shooting a fleeing burglary suspect outside a neighbor's home. Dustin Eads, 29, 132 Gravely Road, Kingsport, was listed in fair condition Tuesday afternoon after being shot by Dennis McClanahan, 52, 2670 Pratt Road, Kingsport, Monday afternoon following an alleged attempt to burglarize the home of Lisa Berry, 47, 2644 Pratt Road, Kingsport. While one Sullivan County Sheriff's Office report indicates a burglary charge is pending against Eads, a separate report lists McClanahan as a suspect on an aggravated assault charge. At 2:24 p.m., McClanahan called 911 to report a possible break-in at Berry's trailer. The call lasted three minutes and eight seconds. As McClanahan was talking to a Sullivan County dispatcher, Eads apparently came out of Berry's trailer... http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9015777 ... This case is interesting due to the many factors involved. Was McClanahan's attempt at a citizen's arrest proper or should he have let Eads escape unharmed to burglarize or rob another home? Did McClanahan know his neighbor wasn't at home at the time or was he fearful her life may have been in danger? Did Eads escalate the situation into a justifiable self-defense situation when he tried to take McClanahan's gun? Did his willingness to attack an armed man demonstrate a danger to the public by allowing him to escape? The bottom line is that these questions will need to be answered by a jury, yet it was the criminal who was harmed and not an innocent civilian. To me, that is a check in the win column. http://www.examiner.com/x-2206-Cleveland-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m8d5-TN-man-charged-with-assault-for-shooting-burglar --- Home Insurer Not Required to Defend Intentional Acts: Does a liability insurer have a duty to defend its insured if the insured deliberately commits assault and battery in self-defense? According to the Supreme Court of California, the answer is no, because the act of having to defend oneself does not fall within the policy's coverage of an "accident." According to court documents in Jonathan Delgado v. Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club of Southern California (ACSC), Delgado was injured on Nov. 7, 2003 by Craig Reid, who had a homeowners insurance policy providing liability coverage for up to $100,000. In March 24, Delgado sued Reid, saying Reid struck, battered and kicked him unprovoked. The second cause of action alleged that Reid "negligently and unreasonably believed" he was engaging in self-defense when he injured Delgado. As a result, Reid turned to ACSC to provide defense in Delgado's lawsuit. ACSC said defense was not covered, because the assault was not an "occurrence," which was defined in the policy as an "accident." The insurer said Reid's actions were intentional, which fell under a policy exclusion... http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2009/08/05/102768.htm --- Rule Two, Rule Three Reminder: 21-year-old woman survived a gunshot to the head after her boyfriend accidentally shot her in a desert area in Phoenix on Tuesday evening, authorities said. According to police, the woman was with a group of friends shooting in the desert along the stretch of 5100 West Carefree Highway about 6:30 p.m. The woman's boyfriend, also 21, was changing the magazine on a .22-caliber gun when he accidentally pulled the trigger and a bullet struck the side of her head, said Officer Luis Samudio, a Phoenix police spokesman. Friends transported the woman to John C. Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital where she was able to provide an account of the incident, Samudio said. Authorities said she is expected to survive. Police plan on interviewing her further once she fully recovers. (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.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/08/05/20090805B1-talker0806.html --- Northern Arizona May Get Smaller Range: Arizona Game and Fish is backing away from a large shooting range proposed northwest of Munds Park and is instead eyeing a smaller location east of Flagstaff. The agency is now considering two small areas for rifle sighting, pistols, shotgun and use of clay pigeons to the east or the north of Winona. Unlike the site proposed at Willard Springs, off Interstate 17, these would be 60-80 acres in size instead of 300 to 600 acres and wouldn't accommodate camping - at least not at first. Each of the sites is within a 30 minute drive of Flagstaff, has somewhat milder winters and has the capacity to expand. The Arizona Game and Fish Commission asked its staff to take another look at possible shooting range locations this spring, following some opposition among residents in Munds Park and a finding from the Coconino National Forest that a possible land swap would likely take until 2019 to accomplish... (A few years ago, Game & Fish proposed selling the world-class Ben Avery Shooting Facility, near Phoenix, promising to replace it with a similar facility in northern Arizona. We still don't have a site, much less the promised range, in northern Arizona.) http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2009/08/06/news/20090806_front_201251.txt --- Taurus Introduces Slimline Nine: SLIM is the name of this suave new entry into the Taurus line. Elegant with slides in blue, stainless and titanium, this small pistol offers incredible performance in a lean, lightweight handgun. No revealing lumps or lines make concealed carry easier than larger capacity guns. Cool, neat and ready to go, the Taurus SLIM is the ideal companion for years to come. The SLIM, available in 9mm, features a short, crisp single action/double action trigger pull, included 7+1 and 9+1 (extended magazine) shot capacity magazines and low-profile fixed sights for easy and comfortable concealment carry. Finger indexing Taurus Memory Pad along the frame provides an automatic finger locator and off hand thumb rest for safe firearm handling, and unique takedown levers offer fast Field stripping. Lean and lightweight in design the pistol weighs just 19 ounces, measures a mere six inches long and is less than an inch thick. For the ultimate in discrete, concealed carry Taurus offers the SLIM in a titanium slide version, weighing only 17 ounces... (Maybe... I think many people err in selecting handguns that are too light. In any event, the usual caveat applies - wait at least a year to make sure it's fully debugged. Conceptually, it seems a better idea than the Taurus Judge, which I view as a joke.) http://www.ammoland.com/2009/08/05/taurus-slim-9mm-pistol/ --- DOJ Sues Another Maker of Zylon Vests: The federal government has targeted a fourth company in a series of lawsuits that allege thousands of American police officers were sold defective bullet-proof vests, including one officer who was killed wearing a bad vest and one who was seriously injured. The U.S. Department of Justice announced its most recent suit on Aug. 3 against First Choice Armor & Equipment Inc. and its founder, Edward Dovner, accused of selling more than $1.37 million worth of defective vests to the U.S. government. In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, they are charged with submitting false claims for more than 5,000 bullet-proof vests purchased by the U.S. government for federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies. According to the Justice Department, the Braintree, Mass.-based company and its founder knew that the vests' Zylon fiber "degraded substantially and quickly and, thus, did not meet their five-year warranty," but sold the vests anyway. When the department's National Institute of Justice in 2005 tested eight of First Choice's vests, all failed, the government said... The Justice Department has sued Toyobo, as well as Second Chance Body Armor and Honeywell International Inc., two other companies that manufactured Zylon vests or components for those vests. And the government has settled for more than $47 million with five other entities that were involved in the manufacture or sale of allegedly defective Zylon vests... http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202432821642&src=EMC-Email&et=editorial&bu=National%20Law%20Journal&pt=NLJ.com-%20Daily%20Headlines&cn=20090806NLJ&kw=DOJ%20sets%20sights%20on%20another%20maker%20of%20bullet-proof%20vests&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1 --- When Guns Are Outlawed...: A two-year government ban on firearms in Yemen claimed only modest success as locals prefer customs over formal judicial measures, the U.N. reports. The Interior Ministry in 2007 imposed a ban on firearms to control the spread of weapons in major cities. The government says nearly 293,000 unregistered weapons have been seized since the ban was instituted... Khalid al-Ansi, a lawyer for the National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedom, tells the U.N. humanitarian news agency IRIN that the despite the weapons seizures, the ban is only somewhat effective... Abdul Rahman al-Marwani, chairman of the anti-violence Dar Al-Salam Organization, says many locals simply, meanwhile, embrace a culture of weapons as trust for the national justice system declines, adding as many as 1,200 people are killed or injured by firearms each year. http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2009/08/05/Gun-ban-in-Yemen-ineffective/UPI-13171249492827/ -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .