Mental Health Records and the RKBA: ...During debate over the bill, the NRA said: "H.R. 2640 does not create any new classes of "prohibited persons" [i.e. prohibited from owning firearms]. The NRA does not, and will not, support the creation of new classes of prohibited persons. H.R. 2640 only requires reporting of available records on people who are prohibited from possessing firearms under existing law." ...Although the NRA claims that H.R. 2640 applies only to people involuntarily committed to mental institutions or adjudicated as "mental defectives" by a court, the fact that existing law includes "boards" and "commissions" says otherwise. And although, technically, the bill doesn't create new classes of "prohibited persons," it creates a mechanism for REINTERPRETING EXISTING VAGUE LANGUAGE - written before mental health treatment became as pervasive as it is today - which will inevitably be used to bar ever-increasing numbers of people from owning guns. With a health care reform bill looming before Congress which stands to not only centralize mental health data, but to remove privacy protections, Americans are at risk of a vast expansion in the number of people prohibited from owning guns. http://www.examiner.com/x-2698-Charlotte-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m9d3-Gun-Rights-101-Mental-health-checks-for-gun-purchases --- Scalia Explains Originalism, Heller: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia entertained and engaged a large crowd at the University of San Diego Wednesday night. Scalia spoke on his approach to interpretation of the Constitution which he labeled "originalist." Scalia described originalism as looking to what the words of the Constitution originally meant. He asserted that was is the only valid way to approach interpreting its meaning. He described the process as looking at the words and asking what those words meant to the people who wrote them. "What else are you going to do?" Scalia asked... Perhaps the most famous and far-reaching opinion discussed was the Heller decision. In Heller, the Court majority found that the Second Amendment right to bear arms was an "individual right." Scalia remarked that Heller was an originalist triumph. This was true because both the seven-member majority opinion he wrote and the two dissenters sought to determine what the framers had in mind in 1791... (The decision, as I recall, was actually 5-4. I suspect that it was the reporter, not Scalia, who confused the numbers.) http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-09-03/news/local-county-news/downtown-hillcrest-mission/justice-scalia-expounds-and-amuses-at-usd-appearance --- The Beat Goes On: Data released by the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 1,074,757 checks in August 2009, a 12.3 percent increase from the 956,872 reported in August 2008. So far that is roughly 9,076,205 gun bought this year! The total is probably more as NICS background checks may cover the purchase of more than one gun at a time. This latest jump in background checks show that Americans are solidly in-favor of keeping firearms in the hands of law abiding citizens and clearly shows that proponents claiming the USA wants more gun control are blatantly wrong. The increased trend of Americans buying firearms at a record pace was once thought to be a one time fluke caused by fears of the new Obama administration expressed lust for more gun control. But now 10 months in and the wrongly named "fear buying" has now become the norm as law abiding US citizen exercise their constitutional right to keep and bear firearms by the millions every month with no sign of slowing down... (NICS data also fails to detect private-party transfers and purchases from dealers that are exempt from the NICS check because the purchaser holds a qualified carry permit.) http://www.ammoland.com/2009/09/04/1000000-guns-added-to-american-homes/ SIG Offers "Cash for Clunkers": Handgun manufacturer Sig Sauer has proposed its own twist on the government's "cash for clunkers" program (the taxpayer-subsidized effort to boost the automobile industry/get more fuel-efficient cars on the road). It's offering a $200 discount to gun owners who turn in their old pistols and buy a brand-new Sig Sauer. And no, you can't get a rebate by turning in a zip gun or a rusty old .22. According to the rules, a qualifying "Klunker" handgun "must be operational and free from cracks in frame or other key components ... [and] must be a semi-auto pistol 9mm or larger, or revolver of .38 caliber or larger." ... (It sounds as though the general public may be getting the sort of deal agencies have gotten for years. Not all models are covered - mostly older pistol models and both rifle and pistol versions of the recent 556 [http://www.sigsauer.com/CustomerService/klunker.aspx].) http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/09/gun-manufacturers-cash-for-clunkers-deal/ --- F Troop Budget Request - $1.1 Billion This Year: A tip of the boonie hat and my thanks to BPWZ for forwarding this link to the ATF's Congressional Budget Submission for Fiscal Year 2010. Dated May 2009, it asks for a total of $1,120,772,000.00, of which $1,114,772,000.00 is "Direct Salaries and Expenses." Well paid jack-booted thugs, ain't they? They also ask for $616,000.00 as part of Operation Gunrunner "to purchase armored vehicles and tracking devices to ensure the safety of ATF personnel." Supposedly this is to protect their roidal asses when they cross over the border into Mexico. For the money, this is probably just for up-armored Suburbans, and hey, in a billion-plus dollar budget, what's a mere $616,000.00? Chump change. At least they don't have an Air Force of their own anymore... http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2009/09/so-let-me-ask-you-something-do-you.html --- Facing the Unthinkable: One of the comments left on this column wondered what kind of people walk around thinking about "which weapon will most adequately dispose of another human life in case someone might threaten them". I can answer that. It is the kind of person who plans for the unexpected. If you get a flat tire, it is no big deal because you carry a spare tire in the car. You can get back on the road fairly quickly because you made provision for that possibility. In case of a fire in your house, you would probably have a fire extinguisher, a plan to get everyone out, and a box with your irreplaceable documents and photos to grab on your way out. Carrying a gun is another point on that same continuum of being prepared to be responsible for your own safety and well-being, and that of your family. If you are accosted on the street, or caught up with several others in a convenience store robbery, being able to defend yourself and others is very important. Time is not rewindable - you have to plan ahead... http://www.examiner.com/x-2944-Denver-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m9d4-Facing-the-unthinkable --- Rabbis Prepare for High Holidays: ... Fearing jihadists will attack synagogues during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a group of badass rabbis has developed a program to turn your average shul-goer into a lean, mean fighting machine. The group, which calls itself the International Security Coalition of Clergy, was founded by Rabbi Gary Moscowitz, who boasts a black belt in karate, teaches martial arts and was an NYPD cop for nine years. He's teaching others basic and advanced fighting moves - how to take down a terrorist by the neck, how to use a table as cover from gunfire and how to execute a nifty running somersault while drawing a gun - that he says can be used by Jews if they're attacked by terrorists during prayer... (While I'm glad to see these rabbis preparing to fight back, tables generally don't stop bullets, hence do not provide cover. My own students do not draw while performing somersaults and I doubt it's part of NYPD training.) http://www.nypost.com/seven/09042009/news/regionalnews/go_ahead__make_my_high_holiday_188045.htm --- Some Arizona Bars, Restaurants Begin Posting: "No Firearms" signs are going up at bars and restaurants near the ASU Tempe campus as businesses prepare for a new state law allowing licensed gun carriers to bring concealed weapons inside. The law, effective Sept. 29, allows licensed gun carriers to bring their concealed weapons into businesses that sell liquor as long as they don't consume alcohol on site. Restaurants and bars can prohibit weapons in their establishments if they post a 6- by-9-inch "No Firearms" sign next to their liquor license, said Lee Hill, communications director for the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control. Hill said it will be interesting to see how the new law is executed. "This is one of those laws that you have to see how it plays because there's really no way to know how a concealed weapon is going to be recognized," Hill said... (Duh! That's what we've been saying about criminals carrying into prohibited venues for years. The actual effective date of the law is September 30.) http://www.statepress.com/node/7253 --- California Citizens, Supervisors Oppose Arbitrary CWP Policy: Citizens unhappy with Sheriff Jeff Neves over permits to carry concealed weapons took their complaints to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors last week. They asked for a resolution that would put pressure on the sheriff to ease restrictions that they say have made it more difficult to obtain such permits. Supervisors voted unanimously to pass a resolution of support but stopped short of accepting all of the wording in the proposal... According to state law the county sheriff "may" issue CCWs, but is not compelled to do so. Using his/her discretion, that official can deny an application based on a determination of good cause such as an applicant's criminal history or unsatisfactory character references. The distinction in the language was referred to as the "shall vs. may" issue... http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20090904/NEWS/909049995/1007/NONE&parentprofile=1056 --- Oops, Wrong House, Arizona Version: A Chandler homeowner, armed with a gun, took one of two juveniles into custody after they broke into his home. The homeowner's 13-year-old son was the only person at the house, in the 800 block of West Elgin Street, when two juveniles knocked on his front door on Monday. The boy did not open the front door. The juveniles forced their way through the back door, police said. The boy ran to a neighbor's home, and his neighbors called police. The boy's father got home before authorities arrived, grabbed his gun and took one of the juveniles into custody. Police apprehended the second juvenile when he jumped from the second story and attempted to flee from the home... http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/2009/09/02/20090902abrk-chandlerburglary.html --- Oops, Wrong House, Ohio Version: A stolen $500 piece of silver and two dead suspects are what's left of a bizarre home invasion that led to a four-hour police standoff. Bradley Fugate said he had just opened the front and back doors to let some cool air into his Huffman Avenue home Monday, Aug. 31, when two men came in the back door and put guns to his head. Less than 24 hours later, both of those men were dead, one at Fugate's home Monday and the other after a Fairborn standoff Tuesday... That man, Danny L. Brown, 30, pushed Fugate's niece down onto a bed while rummaging through a safe in the bedroom, Fugate said. "That was enough for me and it allowed me to get my gun from where I keep it in the bed and I raised up and fired," Fugate said. "We got into the kitchen and he turned around and raised his gun up at me. That's when I shot him in the head. It was a fatal shot." ... (Note the entry through doors opened for ventilation and the fact that the homeowner had to wait until he could get to his handgun, rather than keeping it on his person.) http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/crime/robbery-standoff-end-with-2robbery-standoff-end-with-2-men-dead-275536.html --- Oops, Wrong Card Game: A suspected robber was killed and another man was injured in a gun battle after three masked gunmen ambushed a card game in southwest Houston on Thursday, police said. Around 2 a.m., witnesses said the masked men waited for someone to leave the game, which was held inside an unmarked office park unit behind a shopping center. The gunmen burst in through the open door and began robbing patrons, one of whom pulled his own pistol, said Sgt. Juan M. De La Cruz, a Houston homicide detective. A gunfight ensued. One suspect was killed and one of the patrons suffered a non-life threatening wound and was taken to a nearby hospital. Police, who found multiple 9-millimeter shell casings at the scene, say the other two suspects fled... http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/state/57141797.html --- From AzCDL: We still need volunteers to assist at the Phoenix gun show this month on September 12 & 13 at the Arizona State Fairgrounds (Phoenix). To volunteer, please contact John: john.rosado@AzCDL.org . Volunteers who work at the AzCDL table for a few hours get into gun shows FREE! If your membership is coming up for renewal, stop by our gun show table and renew at the "gun show special" rate ($10 off!). Sustaining memberships get a FREE AzCDL T-Shirt. This weekend (September 5 & 6) you can find our volunteers at the Pima County Fairgrounds in Tucson. AzCDL RECESSION-BUSTER SPECIAL! Make your reservation for AzCDL's annual meeting at any gun show in September and AzCDL will give you a new (or renewed) membership for FREE! Where else can you get such a great deal in the 0bama Economy? You can find more details about AzCDL's annual meeting here: http://www.azcdl.org/html/annual_mtg.html . These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Renew today! http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html AzCDL - Protecting Your Freedom http://www.azcdl.org/html/accomplishments.html Copyright © 2009 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved. -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .