Holder to Be Confirmed as AG: Brushing aside Republican senators' concerns, Sen. Patrick Leahy issued a "guarantee" Thursday that Eric Holder Jr. will be the next attorney general. "Every senator has the right to vote for or against a nominee. I can guarantee you this: Eric Holder is going to be confirmed as attorney general of the United States," said Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, at a news conference. Leahy (D-Vt.) further predicted that Holder would be confirmed with "an awful lot of Republican votes." ... http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/01/leahy-eric-holder-is-going-to-be-confirmed.html Ten prominent Republican lawyers, including former Attorney General William Barr, have signed a letter endorsing Eric Holder Jr. as the next head of the Justice Department, giving Holder some much-needed bipartisan support a week before his confirmation hearing.... http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/01/gop-lawyers-sign-up-in-support-of-holder.html --- Brady Bunch Proposal for Big Brother: America's gun violence problem must be addressed if we are to effectively respond to the crises facing our health care system, urban communities, and homeland security. In this country, it is too easy for dangerous people to obtain dangerous weapons. There are only a few federal gun laws, and even those have loopholes. This leads to senseless gun deaths and injuries affecting thousands each year. We should implement stronger laws and policies that will protect our families and communities from gun violence by making it harder for convicted felons, the dangerously mentally ill, and other prohibited persons to obtain guns... (Don't fail to click this link - the proposal is very extensive.) http://www.bradycampaign.org/xshare/pdf/politics/obama-transition-memo.pdf Alan Korwin Comments: http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/01/08/gun-law-update-brady-gun-ban-strategy-outlined/ More from the Brady Bunch: In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy in April 2007, nearly all elected officials, as well as the public, agreed about one important policy change: the Federal Brady background check system needed strengthening to make it harder for dangerous people like the Virginia Tech killer to purchase dangerous weapons... To give states stronger incentives to submit records of prohibited purchasers to the FBI, which takes the lead role in processing background checks, Congress passed and President Bush signed the NICS Improvement Act with nearly unanimous bipartisan support... http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-08-2009/0004951559&EDATE= --- The Beat Goes On: Sales have increased dramatically at local gun stores since last year, with customers aiming to buy handguns and assault rifles over fears of a ban or tax on the weapons by a new administration. "We've been wiped out on the AR-15 for months," said Denny Salem, 50, owner of Sporting Goods Discounters of Johnstown. The AR-15, a popular semi-automatic rifle modeled on the military's fully automatic M-16, is the poster child for the fight between wholesale supporters of the Constitution's Second Amendment and those favoring a ban on assault weapons... http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2009/01/07/news/news/news198.txt --- More California Police Cars Targeted for Guns: Burglars who forced their way into a secured Contra Costa County sheriff's lot ransacked several patrol cars and stole weapons inside, the Sheriff's Office said Tuesday. Three Colt semi-automatic assault rifles and a Remington shotgun were taken from cars parked in the lot at 1900 Muir Road between Monday night and Tuesday morning, said sheriff's Capt. Daniel Terry. The break-in is similar to one in mid-December at a California Highway Patrol field office lot a little more than a mile away, at 5001 Blum Road, during which CHP cruisers were broken into and rifles and ammunition were stolen. Terry said investigators could not say if the two burglaries were connected... (This raises the question of the wisdom of putting stickers on privately owned automobiles that would identify them as belonging to gun owners.) http://www.officer.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=44910 --- Just a Little Misleading: The National Parks Conservation Association and the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees filed suit this week in U.S. District Court to stop enforcement of a new regulation allowing loaded, concealed firearms in national parks, including the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The rule is scheduled to take effect Friday. The Bush administration in December finalized a National Rifle Association-driven rule change to allow loaded, concealed firearms in all national parks except those located in two states: Wisconsin and Illinois... (Just because some states, such as Hawaii, have statutory provisions on the books for licensed CCW does not mean that they actually issue permits or recognize those from other jurisdictions. I'm still under the impression that the state has to accept CCW in its state parks in order for it to be legal in the national parks within its borders.) http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/01/lawsuit_filed_to_keep_loaded_g.html Related Article: ...You can carry loaded, concealed guns in a park controlled by the National Park Service or a wildlife refuge controlled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service if the state laws where the parks and refuges are located allow concealed firearms - which Arizona does - and you have the proper concealed weapons permit. The rule change, however, does not allow the guns to be taken into federal buildings in the national parks and refuges. A ban remains on hunting and target shooting in national parks... http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/275171 --- North Carolina Prohibitionists Would Require Ammunition Permits: An effort to get Durham officials to seek legislation that would require people buying ammunition to first obtain a permit has touched off a lobbying campaign by both supporters and opponents. The Rev. Melvin Whitley of Durham has been lobbying to get what he calls the "Bullet Ownership Bill" on a list of legislation sought by Durham officials in the coming legislative session. Among the bill's provisions: required permits for buying ammunition and a prohibition on ammunition purchase by several classes of people, including convicted felons, drug addicts and the mentally ill... http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1358775.html --- Oops, Wrong House: Police say two men attempted to break into a home on the 4100 block of South Hughes in Amarillo [TX] this morning. The homeowner, police say, used a long gun to shoot one of the suspects. The other alleged robber managed to run away. When police arrived at the home, 4117 S. Hughes, they found one of the suspected robbers lying on the ground with several gun shot wounds. They attempted to resuscitate him, but were unsuccessful... http://www.newschannel10.com/Global/story.asp?S=9633273 --- Arizona CWP Statistics: Arizona lists 117, 684 active permits, effective January 2, 2009. Since the concealed-carry law took effect, in July 1994, 971 permits have been revoked. (For those who are not familiar with Arizona, Phoenix is located in Maricopa County and Tucson is located in Pima County.) http://ccw.azdps.gov/Stats.htm --- ATF Superstar Sues: A federal agent who sued the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for failing to protect his family from death threats now says administrators sought to portray him as a suspect in an arson-caused fire at his Tucson home last summer. Special agent Jay Dobyns, who penetrated the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club while working undercover for several years, filed a $4.5 million claim against the ATF in October. His suit is supported by an Inspector General's finding late last year that the ATF failed to provide security or fully investigate a series of threats... Dobyns is among the agency's most celebrated investigators. From 2001 to 2003, he was lead agent in Operation Black Biscuit, the first-ever infiltration of the Hells Angels. After the case ended, he and his family allegedly were targeted by murder contracts and rape threats from the biker club, the Aryan Brotherhood and other groups... http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/01/09/20090109atf0109.html --- Smith & Wesson Lands Australia Contract: Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (Nasdaq: SWHC), parent company of Smith & Wesson Corp., the legendary 157-year old company in the global business of safety, security, protection and sport, announced today that it has received confirmation from the South Australia Police Force (SAPOL) that it will arm its 4,000-officer frontline force with the Company's M&P40 pistols. SAPOL conducted a field trial during 2008 in which 502 operational country and metropolitan police officers received training in the safe handling and use of the M&P pistol and carried the firearm in an operational environment. Deputy Police Commissioner Gary Burns, said, "Feedback from our officers was very positive and they welcome the introduction of the semi-automatic M&P40. The M&P40 has a number of enhanced features and is a good fit for policing purposes in South Australia. It will replace the Smith & Wesson .357 revolver which was previously standard issue." ... http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/01-07-2009/0004950660&EDATE= -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .