NIH Resumes Anti-RKBA "Studies": More than a decade after Congress cut funding for firearms research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), another federal health agency has been spending millions of dollars to study such topics as whether teenagers who carry firearms run a different risk of getting shot compared with suffering other sorts of injuries. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) also has been financing research to investigate whether having many liquor stores in a neighborhood puts people at greater risk of getting shot. Such studies are coming under sharp scrutiny by Republican lawmakers who question whether the money could be better spent on biomedical research at a time of increasing competition for NIH funding. They're also leery of NIH research relating to firearms in general, recalling how 13 years ago the House voted to cut CDC funding when critics complained that the agency was trying to win public support for gun control... http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/19/nih-funds-study-of-teen-firearms/ --- The Beat Winds Down?: A local gun dealer said last week that he saw a flood of orders for firearms just before the election of President Barack Obama, but added that the onslaught has waned since late spring. George Romanoff, owner of Ace Sporting Goods in South Strabane Township, one of the largest gun dealers in Western Pennsylvania, said sales of pistols and semi-automatic rifles increased noticeably from late October through May.... "They've slowed down considerably," Romanoff said Thursday. Part of the reason for the slowdown, he said, "is that a lot of people who wanted to get firearms have purchased them already. Some of the politics concerned (with gun control legislation) are not on the front-burner now." ...What Romanoff and other dealers are noticing now is a shortage of ammunition. While reporting that Ace's supplies of ammunition is good, "they're not where we'd like them to be," Romanoff said. He noted "a very high demand for both ammunition and reloading components, including primers, bullets, powder and brass. "The concern is that government will try to tax components and ammo to the hilt," Romanoff said. http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/biz/10-19-HENRY-RIFLE-SIDEBAR---ACE-SPORTING-GOODS---MON-BIZ --- Hollywood Hypocrisy Nothing New: When it comes to guns, Hollywood suffers from a self-imposed dissociative identity disorder. On the one hand, we have stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger making fabulous careers for themselves portraying heroes who solve problems using guns as tools to fight evil, and on the other hand, we have politicians like Arnold Schwarzenegger signing edicts that infringe on the ability of his audience and constituents to do just that. This isn't new. Here's an example from half a century ago. Regular Gun Rights Examiner and War on Guns readers are by now familiar with an established feature on the Guns Magazine website: Every month, they post a .pdf file of their corresponding month's issue from 50 years ago... (Some European countries require sound suppressors on sporting firearms. In the US they are highly restricted, under the National Firearms act of 1934, thanks to their fraudulent portrayal in movies of that period. A normal revolver's muzzle blast cannot be effectively suppressed due to the barrel-cylinder gap.) http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m10d18-Hollywood-antigun-hypocrisy-not-new --- Tennessee Paper Maligns RKBA Legislation: Legislators in a representative democracy can follow their conscience or vote the wishes of their constituents when important issues are at stake. Or they can take their cues from people with guns. Most likely a mix of motivations drove the Tennessee General Assembly's flurry of pro-gun legislation last spring... Now a survey conducted by students at Middle Tennessee State University under the supervision of university professors has shed some light on the question of how representative the representatives were. In a statewide telephone poll of 716 randomly selected adults, which has an error margin of plus or minus four percentage points, 54 percent opposed allowing permit holders to carry guns in state parks, 60 percent didn't want them to pack in restaurants and 80 percent were against guns in bars. Lest one conclude that MTSU students surely must have been limiting their survey to liberals, they also found that only 46 percent of Tennesseans approve of the way President Barack Obama is handling his job while 48 percent say they disapprove... These are mixed signals, to be sure, but when the issue is expansion of gun rights, the popular support claimed by legislative proponents has clearly been exaggerated. (Polling is not only not an exact science, the results can easily be skewed by how the questions are worded.) http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/oct/19/editorials-shaky-support-on-gun-rights/ --- Tennessee Paper Echoes Bloomberg Line: Every weekend, thousands of Americans all over our country attend gun shows. The shows offer a chance for gun enthusiasts to shop for new and used long guns and handguns, collectibles, accessories and other items such as clothing, books and crafts. The vast majority of vendors and customers at gun shows are law-abiding citizens out to enjoy a day with others who share a common interest. Unfortunately, gun shows have also been proven to be a source of guns used in crimes. According to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), 30 percent of guns involved in federal illegal gun-trafficking investigations are connected in some way to gun shows... (This is the first time I've seen that 30-percent figure. It sounds like a close relative of the 90-percent lie about weapons used by Mexican drug cartels.) http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009910180338 --- Florida Paper Defends Bloomberg Alliance: ...Christensen told this newspaper: "In all of the years that I have been in office, I have never received as much correspondence from people as I have on this." ...Reasonable people would assume membership in such an organization is a good thing. But, the attacks against Christensen and the 450 other mayors who are members have little to do with reasonableness. The attacks are the work of the Institute for Legislative Action, the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association, which sent postcards and e-mails to NRA members in cities with participating mayors accusing the coalition of trying to trample Second Amendment rights and to create new anti-gun laws... (The question has been raised before - what is an "illegal gun"? Is public safety threatened by a pistol that may lack a serial number; a shotgun not registered with the federal government, whose barrel is shorter than 18 inches; or by the behavior of violent criminals? Why did Bloomberg not organize MAVC - Mayors Against Violent Criminals?) http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/oct/18/michael-goforth-nra-misfires-in-its-assault-on/ --- Feingold Now RKBA Champion: ...Gun control and its affect on the Northwoods' economy also came up. "Most of us believe in the right to bear arms," said Feingold. "We didn't have that right in Wisconsin until I wrote legislation that called for those rights not just for hunting, but for self-defense. I wanted it to be an individual right and now it is. I did vote for the Brady bill and against semi-automatic weapons," he continued, explaining the National Rifle Association's lack of support for him. "The NRA has a rule: if you ever vote against them you get an 'F' for life. But I believe in the right to bear arms, and I will oppose gun registration." (Why am I reminded of the joke about the daughter who was jus a little bit pregnant?) http://newsofthenorth.net/article/Government/State_and_national/Senator_Feingold_listens_to_the_Northwoods/27359 --- VCDL Pickets GOP Meeting: On Saturday afternoon, Republican Whip and Short Pump resident Eric Cantor hosted the 2009 Republican Round-Up, an annual rally at the Innsbrook SnagAJob Pavilion. Outside the gates, several hundred members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), protested the event's venue choice. VCDL is the state's largest firearms rights group and has been successful in influencing legislation affecting gun owners' rights in the past. The Innsbrook SnagAJob Pavilion is private property, separate from the rest of the Innsbrook Corporate Center. The venue, home to popular Summer concert series Innsbrook After Hours, does not allow firearms at the concerts or any other event. "Four years ago, a couple of our members showed up and were turned away because of their firearms," VCDL board member Bruce Jackson said. "We found [the Republican Round-Up] another location and they turned that down and said, 'Well it's pro-gun but it doesn't allow alcohol,' and apparently drinking is more important than the Constitution to Eric Cantor." ... http://www.downtownshortpump.com/2009/10/18/states-largest-gun-rights-group-protests-innsbrook-republican-rally/ --- Will Illinois Get Lawful CCW?: ...I wanted to take a second to assure you that we will get concealed carry. I have a feeling it won't be very long either. I'm thinking at least one state if not both will get it next year. Pretty bold statement, right? I try not to blow smoke up skirts, and it's only been recently that I realized we were so close... Organizations like the Illinois Sheriff's Association, Illinois Farm Bureau, and others are coming out supporting a concealed carry law. County advisory resolutions have swept the State of Illinois urging them to pass a concealed carry law. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn recently signed HB182 and HB3714 to protect law-abiding gun owners from wrongful prosecution and the IL Supreme Court just ruled that you can carry an unloaded gun - even with loaded magazines - in the console and presumably other compartments of your car without having to use a second case! I could keep going, but it's not necessary. More info is on our site... http://www.ammoland.com/2009/10/18/firearms-concealed-carry-is-coming/ --- Sandra Froman Returns to California (for a Visit): ...Froman visited Orinda Country Club earlier this month at the invitation of the Lamorinda Republican Women's Club to speak on the importance of the Second Amendment, everyone's favorite constitutional lightning rod... Because the amendment dates to 1791, the authors are unavailable for comment, leaving the matter to advocates such as Froman to provide enthusiastic, if decidedly partisan interpretation... She explained to listeners that she was raised in San Mateo in a gun-free family and surrounded by gun-free friends. She had no interest in drawing a bead on anybody until a thug tried to break into her suburban Los Angeles house late at night nearly 30 years ago. Her call to the defense of the Second Amendment ignited in 1982 with the advent of Proposition 15, which would have ended handgun sales in California... When British soldiers fired on American colonists in 1775, sparking the Revolutionary War, she said, Lt. Gen. Thomas Gage earlier had ordered his men to seize arms and ammunition that colonists had stored in Concord, Mass. "If you remember nothing else about what I say today," Froman said, "remember that the act that sparked the American Revolution was an attempt by the government to disarm the civilian population." ... (If California "progressives" did not view themselves as a separate nation, they might have taken note of the Supreme Court's Heller decision, which was firmly rooted in detailed study of what was meant by the Founders.) http://www.contracostatimes.com/top-stories/ci_13578845?nclick_check=1 --- California Reacts to Ammo-Restriction Bill: Walk into Cold War Shooters gun shop in Highland, and you can pick up a box of .22 caliber rounds, walk to the checkout counter, pay and leave. That transaction will be decidedly different in 2011, when a new state law governing handgun ammunition sales takes effect. "We'll have to rearrange the store," said Hector Garcia, owner of Cold War Shooters, because the new law will force gun and sporting goods stores to keep handgun ammo where customers can't reach it. "But that will be a minor inconvenience compared to the paperwork." ...Chuck Michel, an attorney who represents the NRA and the California Rifle and Pistol Association, said if criminals are buying ammunition from licensed dealers now, they'll find other sources when the new law takes effect... He said there are several potential legal challenges to the law and that the NRA has "some of the best lawyers scrutinizing this." ... http://www.sbsun.com/ci_13588077?source=most_emailed --- Oops, Wrong House: A man who broke into a home near Phoenix was shot and killed Saturday when the homeowners came home, said Oswego County [NY] Sheriff Reuel Todd. The owners of the home at 211 Hilltop Drive in Schroeppel fought with the intruder, Todd said. "There was a violent struggle," the sheriff said. The intruder was shot once with a handgun and died immediately, Todd said. Where the gun came from is under investigation, he said. A source familiar with the case said a woman came home from shopping with an adult son and found the male intruder inside the home. The intruder attacked the woman and the son came to her defense, attacking the intruder, the source said. The woman got a gun in the home and shot the intruder, the source said... http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/police_ambulance_respond_to_sh.html http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/intruder_attacked_oswego_count.html --- Pennsylvania Machine Shop Makes Parts for Henry Rifles: Ron Helsel refers to the 147-year-old Henry Repeating Rifle as the "gun that won the West" and "John Wayne's rifle." More recently, modern-day versions of the rifle, a favorite of hunters and gun collectors, have helped Helsel, who is president of Lesleh Precision Inc., keep his machine shop humming along, despite the sour economy. A little over two years ago, LPI began receiving orders to machine the receivers and trigger plates for Henry's .30-30 brass lever-action rifles and its "Big Boy" line of rifles, a reference to models that take .357 magnum, .44 magnum or .45 Colt pistol rounds... A lot of the growth has come from the work LPI does for Bayonne-N.J.-based Henry, which prides itself on rifles that are completely American-made. The added business also required Helsel to obtain a Class 7 federal license to manufacture firearms, but getting the permit has paid off for the company... http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Story/10-19-LESLEH-PRECISION---HENRY-RIFLES-w-PIX-VIDEO---MON-BIZ --- Saudi Arabia to Legalize Handgun Sales, Ownership: Saudis will be able to buy handguns and other personal firearms openly for the first time, the country's interior ministry has announced. The ministry also stated that it would license privately-owned gun shops. Anyone over 25 with a clean criminal record and a bank guarantee of SR 500,000 (some US$133,000) can apply to open a gun store, Arab News reported. The move is aimed at reining in the widespread illegal ownership of handguns and assault weapons, a Saudi official said. Hunting and sport shooting weapons are currently sold in specialty stores in Saudi Arabia and all weapons have to be licensed. The ministry has also announced its decision to give Saudis permission to run shooting clubs. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=108975§ionid=351020205 Riyadh & Manama Saudi security experts said yesterday the new decision to grant licences to private gun shops for the sale of personal firearms is part of the recent steps to rein in the widespread illegal ownership of handguns and assault weapons from unknown sources. "The security authorities are keen to put an end to the practice of possessing personal weapons in an illegal manner," Dr Muneef Al Qahtani from the Security Sciences College of Riyadh told Gulf News. The decision was greeted with mixed reaction from citizens. "Allowing people to buy guns will help eliminate many societal ills. Now people with criminal intent will think much more carefully before they do anything evil," blogger 'Desert Liberal' posted on the internet. Others were more wary of the news. "Weapons may fall in the hands of young people who in fact need anger management courses. We might have a real social crisis because of widespread sale of weapons," a woman identifying herself as Hanan wrote. In Bahrain and Kuwait, where the possession of weapons is banned, several people have said that they would strongly be against allowing people to have guns. http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/saudis-grant-licences-for-gun-shops-1.516453 --- Tangentially Related: Depending on your perspective, the Oath Keepers are either strident defenders of liberty or dangerous peddlers of paranoia. In the age of town halls, talk radio and tea parties, middle ground of opinion is hard to find. Launched in March by Las Vegan Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers bills itself as a nonpartisan group of current and retired law enforcement and military personnel who vow to fulfill their oaths to the Constitution. More specifically, the group's members, which number in the thousands, pledge to disobey orders they deem unlawful, including directives to disarm the American people and to blockade American cities. By refusing the latter order, the Oath Keepers hope to prevent cities from becoming "giant concentration camps," a scenario the 44-year-old Rhodes says he can envision happening in the coming years... http://www.lvrj.com/news/oath-keepers-pledges-to-prevent-dictatorship-in-united-states-64690232.html Violent crime is down America, across the board, spanning two decades. Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced that the incidence of reported rape had hit a 20-year low. Homicides are down, as are juvenile violence and crimes committed against children. Crime rates have been plummeting since the early 1990s to such an extent that explaining the drop has become something of an obsession among criminologists and sociologists... Whatever one may think of Ayn Rand's political philosophy or ethics, her criminal justice prophecy has proven unsettlingly accurate: In our continuing eagerness to purge American society of crime, we've allowed the government to make us all into criminals. (While there are elements of truth in this commentary, the last year has certainly demonstrated that a large number of Americans, by arming themselves, are starting to turn away from a reliance on government for issues such as personal safety and possibly a great deal more.) http://reason.com/archives/2009/10/19/were-all-felons-now -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .