Obamacare vs. the RKBA: Gun Owners of America (GOA) has been alone on the national stage in warning of the dangers of centralized health care to the rights of gun owners. The NRA, by contrast, has been largely silent on the issue and has even defended passage of legislation (H.R. 2640) which began the process of centralizing mental health records - centralization which health care legislation could eventually build upon to create vast numbers of people prohibited from owning firearms... While the NRA was technically correct in arguing H.R. 2640 did not expand the list of prohibited persons, existing vague language in United States Code could already be construed to prohibit tens of thousands of people from owning guns, including (but not limited to) diagnoses of depression, bipolar disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), chemical dependency, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Moreover, those "adjudicated" as "mental defectives" might never have the benefit of a day in court. By creating a centralized reporting system, H.R. 2640 paved the way for centralized healthcare to dramatically increase the number of people barred from owning guns... http://www.examiner.com/x-2698-Charlotte-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m9d3-Is-a-vote-for-health-care-reform-a-vote-against-gun-rights Meanwhile, in Britain...: Christopher Foster killed his wife and daughter last August bank holiday before setting fire to their home at Maesbrook, near Oswestry, and killing himself. An inquest into the deaths revealed Mr Foster had been suffering from depression and had mentioned suicidal thoughts to his GP. John Ellery, the coroner handling the case, has recommended closer links between the medical profession and police in issuing gun licences. The British Medical Association (BMA) has since announced it is about to update its ethical guidance on firearms and it is in discussions with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) over ways that doctors can be made aware of patients who own firearms. The new guidance could result in medical records informing doctors that their patients either held a firearms or shotgun certificate, or had applied for one... http://www.policeprofessional.com/news.aspx?id=9329 --- The Rest of the Story: It turns out that the reporter from The Washington Post, who was featured in the video I linked yesterday, does live in DC and did transfer and register his legally purchased revolver in the District. "It took $833.69, a total of 15 hours 50 minutes, four trips to the Metropolitan Police Department, two background checks, a set of fingerprints, a five-hour class and a 20-question multiple-choice exam. Oh, and the votes of five Supreme Court justices. They're the ones who really made it possible for me, as a District resident, to own a handgun, a constitutional right as heavily debated and rigorously parsed as the freedoms of speech and religion..." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/01/AR2009090103836_pf.html --- Bloomberg Proposes Ban on Carrying under the Influence: The [NYC] mayor is proposing a local law that would impose a one-year jail sentence and fine of up to $10,000 for offenders. The law would use the same definition of intoxicated as the legal limit for driving. A bill was introduced in the state Assembly earlier this year that would suspend or revoke the firearm license of a person in possession of a firearm while drunk. Many states, including South Dakota and Missouri, have laws similar to what Bloomberg is proposing for the city. (States such as Nevada and Utah have chosen to ban carrying while under the influence, as opposed to banning carry where alcohol is served. Under Arizona's new law, effective September 30, CWP-holders can carry concealed where alcohol is served so long as they do not drink and the establishment is not posted "no firearms;" that would appear to be an even stricter standard as most adult can consume at least one drink without fitting the legal criteria for being under the influence.) http://www.1010wins.com/Bloomberg-Pitches-Package-of-Gun-Control-Laws/5137317 --- Wisconsin City Recognizes Open Carry: The Green Bay City Council voted to receive and place on file a proposed ordinance that would have limited the carrying of unloaded firearms in city parks to an enclosed "carrying case." The council's action effectively ends efforts to limit people from openly carrying firearms in parks. Much of the debate during the City Council's meeting Tuesday centered on the U.S. Constitution, with both sides evoking rights in that document as reason to pass or discard the proposed ordinance... It's legal in Green Bay to carry a holstered gun in the open, as long as you're not in a school zone or other public building or in a place where alcohol is bought or consumed. The issue came to the forefront after a gathering of armed people held a picnic in celebration of the right to bear arms last month at Ted Fritsch Park... (Recall that Wisconsin is one of two states that lack a statutory provision for CCW by private citizens. The governor, who has vetoed more than one bill to create licensed CCW, has told his "subjects" that, if they want to carry a gun, to carry it openly.) http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090902/GPG0101/909020636/1207/GPG01/Green-Bay-City-Council-preserves-open-carry-of-guns --- Funds from West Virginia CWP's Subject to Misuse: Selling concealed pistol permits for $60 each is lucrative for West Virginia sheriffs. It generates large "slush funds" to be spent without controls or supervision. What do sheriffs do with the money? ...Mercer's mess shines a spotlight on the problem of semi-secret sheriff stashes. State Code 61-7-4(c) says the $60 gun permit fees must be kept in interest-bearing bank accounts and used to pay (tiny) clerical costs of issuing the pistol-packer licenses. Leftover money "may be expended for other law-enforcement purposes or operating needs of the sheriff's office, as the sheriff may deem appropriate." In other words, sheriffs may do almost anything they want with the cash, as Sheriff Wills demonstrated. Former Kanawha Sheriff Dave Tucker used $3,000 for flattering photos of himself and selected officers. He also spent lavishly for Indian teepees, $180 jackets, historic costumes, expensive diving watches, non-uniform clothing and other dubious items... http://www.wvgazette.com/Opinion/Editorials/200909020006 --- California Gun Store Offers Buyback Program: At Herb Bauer Sporting Goods in Fresno, Barry Bauer is preparing for a gun buy-back program of his own. "This is the commercial version of the city's version," Barry Bauer, owner, said... "In terms of, is it going to stop any crimes, are the bad guys gonna have guns? Of course the bad guys are still gonna have guns. It's only the honest citizens that are probably turning them in," Bauer said. Bauer says taking in used guns is something he's done for years. Now he's simply following the lead of the police department and making it an actual program. "We're offering to take guns I guess off the street or from people who don't want them anymore. I'm calling it unwanted guns. And we're recycling them back into the community," he said. Bauer says his program is different than the city's because it will pay people more for their guns and cost the city nothing... But Fresno police aren't amused... http://www.kmph.com/Global/story.asp?S=11038524&nav=menu612_2_1 --- California Prohibitionist Renews Attack on Gun Shows: A University of California, Davis study finds that gun shows are a major source of weapons used in violent crimes in Northern California. The report, "Inside Gun Shows: What Goes On When Everybody Thinks Nobody's Watching," includes undercover video at guns shows in 19 states to spot illegal gun sales. Researcher and emergency medicine professor Dr. Garen Wintemute shot the footage. "Gun shows are an important source of crime guns in California. Those guns show don't happen to be in Northern California, they are in Nevada," Wintemute said. In one take, one man paid another to buy a gun. The legal buyer filled out forms and passed the background check. The legal buyer then picked up the gun and handed it to the straw purchaser, who carried it all the way to their car... (If criminals can find straw purchasers for gun shows, they can find them just as easily for gun shops.) http://www.kcra.com/mostpopular/20696652/detail.html http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/2157243.html?mi_rss=Our%2520Region --- No Charges Anticipated for Man Who Defended Home: Police do not expect to charge a 65-year-old Faucette Mill Road homeowner who shot an intruder Friday night. "At this point we believe he was acting in self-defense," Lt. Davis Trimmer of the Hillsborough Police Department said Tuesday. "He was alone in his house. He came out and found three men in his living room." The case will be reviewed by the district attorney's office, Trimmer said... North Carolina law recognizes people's right to defend themselves, others or their homes. In cases of defending one's home, the law allows the use of deadly force against an intruder to prevent entry and to terminate unlawful entry if a person thinks doing so will prevent death, injury or the commission of a felony... http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1671490.html --- Rule Four Reminder: A San Antonio police officer accidentally shot and killed a man who was being robbed and beaten this weekend, but authorities said Tuesday the rookie officer likely will would not face charges. Officer William Karman - who was described Tuesday as shocked by the incident - fired his weapon five times early Sunday as the victim's assailant approached with a gun drawn, police said. Four bullets struck the suspect, who survived, and one hit James Lee Whitehead, 45, in the chest as he lay beaten on the ground. Whitehead - who was attacked after he left the Saint, a gay nightclub -- died three hours later. On Tuesday, District Attorney Susan Reed said she had "verbally cleared" Karman, a one-year member of the Police Department... (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it. It sounds as though Karman initially jerked his shots low. I am not sufficiently familiar with Texas law to speculate as to whether a private citizen would be prosecuted under similar circumstances.) http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/Police_Officer_accidentally_shot_victim.html --- Soldiers Coach Civilians at Camp Perry: Every summer at Camp Perry, Ohio, prior to the National Rifle and Pistol Trophy Matches, Soldiers from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit take time out of their own training to pass their knowledge and shooting skills on to the next generation of American shooters. The Small Arms Firing School was instituted in 1918 by the Department of Defense and is conducted by the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. The school is held so the military can teach the efficient application of the fundamentals of marksmanship, said Sgt. 1st Class Jason St. John, USAMU. His team is assisted by members of the Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Army Reserve and National Guard. The concept sprang up so that civilians would have familiarity with the weapon and could make a smooth transition from civilian to Soldier if the nation's security situation became unstable. More than 1,000 eager-to-learn shooters took part in this year's class... http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6853 --- South Africa Police Ordered to Compensate for Surrendered Firearms: The Cape High Court has given Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa 90 days to draw up guidelines for compensation for firearms surrendered under the gun control law. The ruling could result in pay-outs totalling millions of rands for gun owners who have handed in weapons since 2004. The order was handed down on Monday by Acting Judge President Jeanette Traverso, who at the same time slapped down an attempt by Mthethwa to distance himself from the bungling of his predecessor. It followed an application by the Justice Alliance of SA (Jasa) and the False Bay Gun Club... http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20090901035819829C152905 -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .