From GOA: ...As the Senate begins debate on socialized health care this week, the White House is pulling out all the stops to get it passed, including an attack on Gun Owners of America and the Second Amendment. Please contact your Senators and warn them that a vote in favor of socialized health care will be considered a vote against the Second Amendment. [A pre-written letter is provided below.] Last week, as Americans were getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, Obama's spin doctors were still in full combat mode, taking shots at Gun Owners of America. On the official White House blog, deputy communications director Dan Pfeiffer denied that the health care bill would affect gun owners. After all, he writes, "there is no mention [of] 'gun-related health data' or anything like it anywhere in either the Senate or the House bills." Well, unlike so many in Congress, GOA attorneys have actually read the bills, something they have been doing since before Mr. Pfeiffer was born. So, how would ObamaCare attack gun rights? ... (The link will generate your choice of a letter or an e-mail to your senators.) http://capwiz.com/gunowners/issues/alert/?alertid=14421761 --- McDonald, Slaughterhouse and the Fourteenth Amendment: ...The 14th Amendment was passed in the historical context of Reconstruction, when many southern governments were violating the rights of newly freed blacks. As many of the briefs in McDonald detail quite convincingly, one of the rights that was almost universally understood to fall under 14th Amendment protection (or to use the lingo, one of the rights meant to be "incorporated" on the states via the 14th) was the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms... Since, as Gura wrote in the brief, "In 1868, the 'privileges' and 'immunities' of American citizenship were popularly understood to include a broad array of pre-existent natural rights believed secured by all free governments, as well as the personal rights memorialized in the Bill of Rights," some right-leaning legal scholars and organizations that want to vindicate the Second Amendment are afraid of a Court emboldened via the Privileges or Immunities Clause to do some serious thinking - and acting - on the basis of such a "broad array of pre-existent natural rights." ...If McDonald is won without the death of Slaughterhouse, it will still be a cheering victory for a core constitutional right. But if Gura wins the way he wants to win, he will have succeeded in creating a constitutional revolution of sorts, one with both promise and peril for keeping government power within prescribed limits... http://reason.com/archives/2009/12/02/killing-slaughterhouse --- Lautenberg Continues Battle against the RKBA: Yesterday, United States Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) announced the introduction of (cue cheesy acronym) the "PROTECT Act." "PROTECT" stands for "Preserving Records of Terrorist & Criminal Transactions." Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today introduced the PROTECT Act, legislation to preserve records of gun sales for longer periods of time to aid law enforcement officials in preventing gun crimes and terrorist acts. Under current law, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) must destroy these records in most cases within 24 hours of allowing a gun sale to proceed." Interesting, isn't it, that Lautenberg's own press release describes the proposed legislation's purpose as being "to preserve records of gun sales for longer periods of time . . . "--but the title of the bill refers only to "terrorist and criminal transactions"? That's pretty clear testimony to what Sen. Lautenberg thinks of gun buyers. Granted, "PROGS (Preserving Records of Gun Sales)" isn't nearly as catchy an acronym, but that's probably not a criterion to which much importance should be attached... http://www.examiner.com/x-2581-St-Louis-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d2-Senator-Frank-Lautenbergs-continued-assault-on-gun-ownership http://www.examiner.com/x-28973-Essex-County-Conservative-Examiner~y2009m12d2-Senator-Lautenberg-introduces-new-guncontrol-measure http://www.ammoland.com/2009/12/02/lautenberg-introduces-bill-to-build-federal-database-of-gun-sales/ --- Cop-Killer Had Stolen Handgun: Maurice Clemmons, the man authorities are convinced fatally shot four Lakewood, WA police officers Sunday morning in a coffee shop in the Parkland area south of Tacoma, evidently left two handguns at the scene of the crime, one of them (as predicted here yesterday) checked out to have been stolen in Seattle... The fact that a stolen handgun was left at the scene came as no surprise to gun rights advocates who have long known that people like Maurice Clemmons do not buy guns at retail gun stores, or even at gun shows, despite what gun prohibitionists repeatedly assert. (The Los Angeles Times published a particularly offensive editorial about this case, blaming firearms instead of the felon who pulled the trigger.) ...Court papers say Officer Tina Griswold was also shot in the head, as was Sgt. Mark Renninger, while Officer Ronnie Owens was shot in the neck. The fact that all four were wearing soft body armor has no bearing, contrary to what the Los Angeles Times intimated in its editorial, as it is clear the shots were intentionally and carefully delivered at almost point blank range. Only Richards had a chance to react. As my colleague, John Longenecker notes here, the L.A. Times is clearly exploiting the Parkland outrage to push its anti-gun agenda... http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d2-Accused-cop-killer-had-surprise-stolen-handgun?cid=exrss-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner Related Commentary: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-2206-Cleveland-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d2-Seattle-cop-slayings-do-not-invalidate-the-idea-of-armed-selfdefense --- When Britain Welcomed American Guns: Many of us involved in gun rights advocacy have seen the poster accompanying this column. It was the terrifying dawn of World War II, and the British, fearing German invasion, were ill-prepared to defend their nation... We learn about the American Committee for Defense of British Homes, and some of the personalities involved. And we learn how the possession of small arms led Bert "Yank" Levy, a "specialist in guerrilla and irregular fighting," to "express...the belief that Home Guard defense was why 'Britain can no longer successfully be invaded.'" ...Sadly, outrageously, we learn that when the danger had passed, government trust in the people went away, and the people for the most part, obeyed in the "cleansing of firearms." ... http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d2-Would-you-still-send-a-gun-to-defend-a-British-home --- Colorado University Debates Campus Carry: Public-safety experts at Colorado State University and the school president's cabinet all agree the campus needs a concealed-weapons ban. CSU student leaders, however, say packing heat keeps everyone safer. They may move tonight to try to keep the university one of the few in the country where concealed weapons are allowed. "I think really it's an issue of if it's not broken, why fix it," said Matt Strauch, spokesman for the Associated Students of CSU. The ASCSU student senate tonight is likely to pass a resolution that asks CSU president Tony Frank to keep current policy, which adheres to the state's concealed-weapons law. It allows someone with a concealed-weapons permit to carry a handgun almost anywhere on campus. Only in residence halls are weapons forbidden... Currently, 23 states allow public campuses or state systems to decide their own weapons policies, with nearly all choosing to be "gun-free," according to the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. CSU is one of the rare exceptions, deciding in 2003 to follow the state's concealed-weapons law. The ASCSU points out that concealed weapons have been allowed at Blue Ridge Community College in Virginia since 1995 and at Michigan State University since June... (Of note, no one appears to have been able to cite any evidence of abuse of CSU's current policy.) http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13905048 http://www.examiner.com/x-2944-Denver-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d2-Should-we-disarm-Colorado-State-University?cid=exrss-Denver-Gun-Rights-Examiner\ --- Alaska City Dumps Outdated Gun Ban: Palmer city law that blocked people from carrying guns in city parks and other places was tossed out last week after a local man pointed out the rule infringed on people's Second Amendment rights... The outdated law prohibited anyone other than a peace officer or Alaskan with a permit to carry a concealed weapon from carrying any weapon, concealed or not, in government office buildings, courthouses, hospitals, schools, places where alcohol is sold or served, domestic violence or sexual assault shelters, city parks, fair grounds and banks. State law says most of those places are off-limits to guns anyway. The problem, Clark said, is that Alaska law changed in 2003 to do away with the requirement for a concealed-carry permit. If you can legally carry a weapon in Alaska, you can also legally carry a concealed weapon. Also, Clark said, the Palmer rule restricted carrying weapons at fair grounds, in parks and in banks. None of those are part of the state law... http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/matsu/story/1036514.html --- Missouri City Council Could Drop Gun Ban: If Raymore City Councilman Jeff Cox gets his wish, he and his colleagues soon will be able to carry a concealed weapon during meetings. "Everyone in the chamber will be safer if this passes," Cox said Tuesday of his proposed ordinance, which would make Raymore one of the first - if not the first - city in the metro area to allow anyone besides police to carry a gun into a city hall. One of Cox's colleagues, Charlene Hubach, hopes that doesn't happen. "I wouldn't feel safer because I doubt any of you can shoot straight," Hubach told the other council members during a recent meeting. The proposed ordinance, which has received preliminary approval and comes up for a final vote Dec. 14, would also allow citizens to carry guns into city parks and other city-owned buildings - even City Hall, except during council meetings. Cox, a lawyer, said the changes would put Raymore in line with what Missouri law allows by repealing ordinances set in place by Raymore and other cities after state voters approved conceal and carry... (It sounds as though the council members should have a field trip to a range, to show Ms. Hubach that they can shoot straight and to introduce her to the joys of shooting.) http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/1605717.html --- Oops, Wrong Car: A 29-year-old man with a permit to carry a gun shot a would-be carjacker in the hip in northwest Detroit on Monday night after he tried to rob the man's girlfriend, police said this morning. The 24-year-old suspect approached the woman at about 10:30 p.m. outside a club at Grand River and Woodbine, according to police. When he demanded her car and her purse, her boyfriend shot him. The girlfriend, caught in crossfire, was shot in the back but is expected to survive, Detroit Police spokesman John Roach said this morning. The carjacking suspect is also expected to survive. (Details are scarce so these comments are speculative: I know of one case in which a man lost his wife to a robber's gunshot because the husband assumed that the robber would turn and run when he saw that the husband was armed. The husband was standing behind his wife and she caught the bullet intended for him. The husband had not really been prepared to fire and only did so after the robber fired the first and fatal shot.) http://www.freep.com/article/20091201/NEWS01/91201013/1003/news01/Man-defends-girlfriend-shoots-would-be-carjacker --- Oops, Wrong Convenience Store: A would-be armed robber apparently had second thoughts when an employee pulled out his shotgun Monday night. It happened at the Salem & Sons Convenience Store on Sunset Avenue in Rocky Mount [NC] around 10:20 p.m. Police say employees were inside cleaning up, and saw a customer at the front door. They let the man inside, but at the same time another man came in as well and showed a black handgun in the direction of an employee. That employee immediately got his shotgun, racked the slide, and pointed it at the would-be robber. The robber then turned around and slowly left the store. Nothing was taken in the robbery attempt... http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/78222452.html --- Oops, Wrong Liquor Store: The U-Save liquor store on Tulare and Maple Avenues in Fresno [CA] was open for business the day after a store clerk turned the table on an armed robber. Police say 29-year-old Fernando Valencia and another man tried to rob the clerk at gunpoint Sunday night. Valencia had a semi-automatic gun, and so did the store clerk. "He had pointed the firearm at the business owner, at some point in time the business owner became fearful, when he found an opportunity to shoot the suspect, he did," said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer. Valencia died inside the store. Valencia has a criminal history, which includes car-jacking, carrying a concealed weapon, and stealing vehicles. The deadly confrontation was all caught on surveillance video. The police chief says the killing looks to be an act of self defense... And the police chief fully supports business owners' rights to arm themselves for protection... http://www.kmph.com/Global/story.asp?S=11595904 --- Rule Five Reminder: Ridley Township [PA] police are looking for a woman in connection with a violent home invasion Monday night that easily could have been deadly. "She knocked on my door and I opened it. And she said she was broke down and could she use my phone." 84-year-old Donald Kaighn let the woman who claimed she had a car breakdown into his house. Within moments she was spraying him with lighter fluid and they were wrestling in the kitchen. The World War II veteran went for one of the many guns he owns. She fled upstairs and he pursued her, gun in hand. "I had one in my hand, loaded, and ready for action. She said something like 'stop or I'll shoot.' I immediately fired the gun." At that point, an all out running gun battle erupted, bullets flying all over his front bedroom. Kaighn believes she grabbed 2 guns from drawers in his room to use against him. He's a gun collector. Eventually he went downstairs to call 911. By the time police arrived she had vanished with his 2 handguns and some jewelry. Fingerprinting revealed she jumped out of a 2nd floor window rather than exchange any more gunfire with Kaighn... (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm. It apparently would not have become a gunfight if the burglar had not found the homeowner's guns in unlocked drawers. Oh yeah, don't let people into your home to make phone calls - offer to make the call for them.) http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/crime&id=7147876 --- Suzanna Gratia-Hupp's Book Debuts: A former Texas state representative from Lampasas and Second Amendment rights enthusiast released her book Tuesday. Privateer Publications released Suzanna Gratia Hupp's book: "From Luby's to the Legislature: One Woman's Fight Against Gun Control," nationwide Tuesday. Hupp is a survivor of the Oct. 16, 1991, Killeen Luby's massacre. She lost her parents during the act of violence, which resulted in 21 other deaths. Hupp believes the fate of that day could have been changed had she had her gun which she had left in her car. Five years after the massacre, Hupp was elected to the Texas House of Representatives and served for 12 years, representing portions of Bell, Coryell and Lampasas counties in District 54. "The book is autobiographical, but only as my life relates to guns," Hupp said Monday. It follows Hupp's life through her early childhood, a time when she was playing cowboys and Indians with her brother and learning to shoot a BB gun. It also tells of her first gun purchase, the Luby's massacre, her fight against stricter gun control and her role as a state representative... http://www.kdhnews.com/news/story.aspx?s=37525 --- Tangentially Related: Christopher Soghoian, a graduate student at Indiana University's School of Informatics and Computing, has made public an audio recording of Sprint/Nextel's Electronic Surveillance Manager describing how his company has provided GPS location data about its wireless customers to law enforcement over 8 million times. That's potentially millions of Sprint/Nextel customers who not only were probably unaware that their wireless provider even had an Electronic Surveillance Department, but who certainly did not know that law enforcement offers could log into a special Sprint Web portal and, without ever having to demonstrate probable cause to a judge, gain access to geolocation logs detailing where they've been and where they are. Through a mix of documents unearthed by Freedom of Information Act requests and the aforementioned recording, Soghoian describes how "the government routinely obtains customer records from ISPs detailing the telephone numbers dialed, text messages, emails and instant messages sent, web pages browsed, the queries submitted to search engines, and geolocation data, detailing exactly where an individual was located at a particular date and time." ... http://arstechnica.com/telecom/news/2009/12/sprint-fed-customer-gps-data-to-leos-over-8-million-times.ars -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. The tactics and skills to use a firearm in self-defense don't come naturally with the right to keep and bear arms. http://www.spw-duf.info .