Haste Makes Waste: In my rush to assemble some sort of mailing yesterday morning, I misread the BATFE statement on the manufacture of a firearm for personal use. It actually reads: With certain exceptions a firearm may be made by a non-licensee provided it is not for sale and the maker is not prohibited from possessing firearms. However, a person is prohibited from assembling a non-sporting semi-automatic rifle or non-sporting shotgun from imported parts. In addition, the making of an NFA firearm requires a tax payment and approval by ATF. An application to make a machine gun will not be approved unless documentation is submitted showing that the firearm is being made for a Federal or State agency. I mistook the requirement for NFA firearms as applying to all firearms made for personal use. http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/faq2.htm#a6 --- Big Brother Speaks with Forked Tongue: A spokeswoman for President Obama has confirmed what the NRA has been saying all along ... that he supports gun control, including sweeping bans on semi-automatic rifles. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says it received confirmation of Obama's support for gun control laws in an email from spokeswoman Amy Brundage. Of course, the spokeswoman spat out that forked-tongued two-faced doublespeak that's become so familiar - that Obama "believes in the Second Amendment" as well. Doesn't anyone call a lie a lie any more? That's like saying you believe in the First Amendment, but it doesn't apply to radio or cable television. We'll get the same argument from those who want to shut down conservative talk radio before long... http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=496 --- Big Brother Elevates Anti-RKBA Police Chief: Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske has been appointed to a law enforcement post within the Obama administration, which would return him to Washington, D.C., after almost a decade as Seattle's top cop, sources said Tuesday. An administrator in the Seattle Police Department said Kerlikowske notified executive staff that he would be appointed director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, a Cabinet-level post often referred to as the White House "drug czar." ... http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/399533_kerlikowske11.html --- Second Amendment March on DC: A coalition is being assembled to march on Washington to deliver to Congress, the president and even the U.S. Supreme Court a message that the Second Amendment is critical as the single right that allows Americans to ensure continuation of all of the others. The march is being spearheaded by the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners, but also is being coordinated with the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of American, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownerships, Second Amendment Foundation, Virginia Citizens Defense League, Ohioans for Concealed Carry, Virginia Shooting Sports Association and others... http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=88472 --- The Beat Goes On: Selling bullets may be the most secure job in Florida as long as supplies last. After months of heavy buying, gun dealers across the state are experiencing shortages. Some say it began with the election of President Barack Obama. Others say it's about the economic downturn or fear of crime. Whatever the reasons, ammunition has been selling like plywood and bottled water in the days before a hurricane... Demand for bullets is so strong that suppliers are restricting deliveries. "Where we used to get 20 to 30 cases (in a shipment), we may get two to three cases now," said Vic Grechniw of Florida Ammo Traders in Tampa. "The supply just isn't there ... Everybody is pretty much rushing out to get their hands on whatever they can." ... (Typically, the press demonstrates its inability to understand the difference between a bullet and a cartridge.) http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/feb/10/florida-gun-dealers-experiencing-shortage-bullets/ All across the country, gun owners are stockpiling ammunition in anticipation of a series of legislation that would tax bullets. "They (Congress) think that because they now have a democratic president who might be sympathetic to their cause that it might be easier for them to jam it through," said Jeff Pedro, owner of Sim Trainer shooting range in Moraine. "There's kind of a frenzied state." Whether the fears are founded is a matter of opinion, but some say the reaction hurts law abiding gun owners. Local ammunition dealers say supply is down dramatically, and it's causing manufacturers to put limits on orders... http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/national/midwest/nat_WDTN_ohio_gun_owners_stockpiling_ammunition_200902102198969 --- Second Circuit - Second Amendment Not Incorporated: The Second Amendment guarantee of the right to bear arms does not apply to override state firearms bans, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit declared Jan. 28. Under the incorporation doctrine, only certain provisions of the Bill of Rights apply to the states, and the Second Amendment is one of those that does not, the Second Circuit held (Maloney v. Cuomo, 2d Cir., No. 07-0581-cv, 1/28/09). The statute at the center of this case, N.Y. Penal Law §265.01(1), provides criminal penalties for possession of a broad range of items, including weapons used in martial arts. The plaintiff was charged under the statute after police found fighting sticks, or nunchaku, in his home. He ended up pleading guilty to a different charge and then filed a lawsuit against the county prosecutor and others seeking a declaration that the law offends his Second Amendment right to bear arms... http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/crimprof_blog/2009/02/second-circuit.html --- Phony Gun Groups Proliferate, Part 2: Imagine my surprise: While addressing the North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force against proposed gun control legislation, lobbyist Bruce Thompson showed up to represent a new client, "Americans for Gun Safety" (AGS). Having previously lobbied, on behalf of preeminent law firm Parker, Poe, Adams & Bernstein, for North Carolinians "Against Gun Violence" (NCGV), Thompson had a new sugar daddy. Now imagine how my surprise compounded upon discovering that Thompson was not, in fact, registered as a lobbyist for AGS, but instead for an entity called, aptly enough, the "Tsunami Fund." Thanks to an endorsement by then-Governor Michael Easley, we learned the fund had funneled $60,000 to lobby for gun control in NC... http://www.examiner.com/x-2698-Charlotte-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m2d9-Phony-gun-groups-Part-2-Americans-for-Gun-Safety --- Land Bill Threatens Gun Owners: Lost in all the news of the massive bailout bill that just passed the Senate is another enormous bill, one that increases federal control of public and private land. Of particular concern to gun owners is that the bill, S. 22, will greatly expand the amount of land controlled by the National Park Service. NPS land is currently subject to a gun ban. While President Bush took steps in the waning days of his presidency to reverse the ban, the new regulations apply to persons who carry a concealed firearm with a permit. Non-permit holders and open carry are not explicitly addressed... http://gunowners.org/a021009.htm --- Self-Defense Bill Clears Montana House: The House is backing a plan to clarify self defense laws and expand the right to carry concealed weapons, despite criticism it is unnecessary in Montana. The bill would let people carry concealed weapons inside of city limits - even without a permit to do so. It would make clear that those who use a weapon in self defense are innocent until police prove that the situation indeed did not warrant self defense, and makes certain that everyone has the right to self defense without an obligation to first run away. Supporters of House Bill 228 said the law needs to be changed to reflect the gun-rights beliefs of Montanans. "We're living by these rules already, this just puts it in code," said Rep. Krayton Kerns, R-Laurel. But some Democrats, on the losing side of a 58-42 preliminary vote, said the proposal is an unnecessary wedge issue driven by gun groups... http://www.montanastandard.com/articles/2009/02/10/ap-state-mt/d968bjt00.txt --- Meanwhile, in Michigan...: He knocked on the door, ready to confront the man he believed had broken into his apartment. It would be the second time that night that the two men had quarreled, and this time, Jerome A. Washington, 40, showed up with what looked like a gun. It was just a plastic toy. Washington was fatally shot April 23 by the man who said he feared for his life and also had a gun - a real one. His death was ruled a justifiable homicide - one of at least seven in Genesee County last year, a dramatic increase from previous years. An eighth slaying is expected to be classified as justifiable pending review from the prosecutor's office. "I don't feel like someone should be able to take someone's life with a gun, and they still get to face some freedom," said Washington's grandmother Eula Smith. "It just doesn't add up. I don't believe he did go there to start any problems." ... (I guess that's why Washington carried a toy gun - he didn't go there to start any problems.) http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2009/02/justified_homicides.html And Just to Put Things into Perspective...: Before Marshalltown Acting Police Chief Jack McAllister moved into the administrative side of police work, he remembers one call in particular. A male subject was in a car, threatening others with a gun. When the officers arrived and stopped the car, McAllister could see the gun. It looked exactly like a .45-caliber, semi-automatic weapon. The only thing is, it wasn't. It was a toy - a gun that looked like the real thing, copied the real thing in appearance so precisely, even a trained cop couldn't tell the difference at first glance. Fortunately, for both the cop and subject, a teenager, he didn't get shot over the incident... http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/514475.html?nav=5005 --- Campus-Carry Case in Oregon: Representatives Kim Thatcher and Bruce Hanna joined OFF and the Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation today in defense of a college student (and Marine Corps veteran) who was falsely arrested at Western Oregon University last week. The student was charged with "possession of a firearm in a public building." The college has barred him from classes and the state has charged him with the same crime. The student was involved in no unlawful activities nor was he engaged in any actions that would discredit a responsible gun owner. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is one small problem. The student has a valid Oregon concealed handgun license. He is statutorily exempt from the prohibitions on gun possession in public buildings. Apparently neither the college nor the Monmouth Police are acquainted with the law... http://oregonfirearms.org/alertspage/02.06.09%20ALERT.html --- Rhode Island Gun Owners Challenge Permit Policies: A behind-the-scenes tug of war has been going on between the state's police chiefs and gun ownership advocates over how local departments should decide who is allowed to carry a concealed firearm in public. For more than a year, members and volunteers with the Citizens' Rights Action League Rhode Island, a group of gun-rights supporters, have been showing up in police stations across the state, demanding to see the individual department's standards for deciding who gets a concealed-weapons permit. Police departments were required to develop such policies under the terms of a 2002 Superior Court decision in a suit brought by Smithfield resident James W. Archer, head of the gun-rights organization... http://www.projo.com/news/content/LOCAL_GUN_PERMITS_02-08-09_JVBP8FJ_v70.384832c.html --- CWP Furor Grows in California County: Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens appeared one more time Tuesday before an overflowing crowd at a Board of Supervisors meeting to explain her stance on concealed-weapons permits and why she will revoke some of the ones issued under her predecessor. But her explanation did not satisfy the permit advocates - including representatives of the National Rifle Assn. - nor the supervisors. Many of the speakers called for the board to take a no-confidence vote on her management and for Hutchens to resign... Hutchens renewed her pledge to enforce the law regarding concealed weapons, despite the opposition of more than 100 people in the audience. "The fact is, there is a law in California prohibiting a concealed weapon, and I cannot change that," she told the board. "I believe I have taken a common-sense approach to good cause, that you must demonstrate a greater risk than the rest of the general population." ... (Yes, California law prohibits carrying a concealed firearm without a permit. It requires good cause for the issuance of a permit but fails to define good cause as " a greater risk than the rest of the general population.") http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ocsupes11-2009feb11,0,4625413.story Hutchens' CWP Policy: http://thecapistranodispatch.com/uploads/pdfs/2009/News%20Documents/OC%20CCW%20Permits.pdf --- Utah Bill Would Eliminate Out-of-State Instructors: Utah's gun rights activists are breaking ranks with the National Rifle Association for the first time in recent memory and instead are joining forces with gun-control advocates such as Sen. Scott McCoy. They have come together over problems with out-of-state concealed firearm instructors rubber stamping permits instead of properly instructing applicants. "This is an unfortunate but necessary step we in the gun rights community are supporting in order to maintain the integrity and credibility of the Utah permit," said Charles Hardy, policy director for Gun Owners of Utah... Utah has about 1,000 instructors, and two-thirds of them aren't Utahns, said Lt. Doug Anderson, program manager at the Bureau of Criminal Identification, which oversees the permit. He estimates complaints at between 20 and 30, mostly about out-of-state instructors... (Actually, that would be rubber-stamping applications, not permits; the latter are issued by Utah DPS's Bureau of Criminal Identification. The crucial thing about the Utah CFP is not that it's essential to carry in Utah, which recognizes permits from all other states, but that it is so widely recognized across the nation.) http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_11667010 --- Oregon Bill Would Recognize Out-of-State Permits: ...This bill "Provides persons licensed to carry concealed handgun in another state with protections provided to persons with Oregon concealed handgun license." The value of this bill is obvious. With so many states now recognizing CHLs from other locations, Oregon is long overdue to get on board. We have made numerous attempts to achieve this in the past only to face legislative obstruction or vetoes. It's time, and we urge its passage... http://www.oregonfirearms.org/alertspage/02.09.09%20alert.html http://www.leg.state.or.us/09reg/measpdf/hb2400.dir/hb2463.intro.pdf --- Alaskans Organize against More Infringements: ... More than 100 people showed up at the Fairbanks Denny's on Monday night as part of a "Second Amendment Task Force" to discuss legislation that they feel infringes on their right to bear arms. Chief among their concerns is House Resolution 45, introduced by an Illinois Congressman earlier this year, an amendment to the Brady Bill would require a federal or state license for the ownership of any firearm and give the Attorney General's office broad powers to track gun sales. "We've seen it happen in other countries across the world, and we know totalitarian governments see ownership of firearms as a liability they just can't afford," said Schaeffer Cox, the 24-year-old entrepreneur who organized the meeting via e-mail... http://newsminer.com/news/2009/feb/10/fairbanks-group-says-no-gun-legislation/ --- Maybe the Dog Thought So Too: Barton George says his wife spotted the black pit bull that came through the front door of their home. "When I reached down to grab his cable that was attached to his collar, when he lunged at me and tried biting my arm, I knew that's when measures had to be taken." Barton says he used a 38 special and fired four shots. He thinks he hit the dog at least once. "I felt like I had no other choice, me having a one-month old and a 6-year old boy in the house, I had no other choice but to shoot him." ...The woman says the dog came back to her house today, and she took it to a friend's kennel in Columbia County while she looks for the owner. She says the dog had no visible injuries and seems to be fine. http://www.wjbf.com/jbf/news/state_regional/georgia/article/hephzibah_man_shoots_pit_bull_mix/10818/ --- Oops, Wrong House, Florida Version: Two high school football players have been arrested on charges they killed a 55-year-old woman during a botched home invasion robbery. One of the teenagers is paralyzed after one of the robbery victims shot back, according to the Bradenton Police Department... Blake and Sanders are accused of barging into Lerma's home in the 900 block of 25th Street East just before 6 a.m. Sunday in a robbery attempt... The teens did not count on one of the men in the home pulling his own gun, firing and hitting Blake. Police officers and emergency personnel found Blake shot in the driveway. Sanders escaped but Blake's injuries left him paralyzed with a severed spine. Tokajer said detectives have obtained an arrest warrant for Blake on a murder charge, and Pinellas County deputies were expected to serve Blake at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg on Monday night... http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/story/1198759.html --- Oops, Wrong House, Texas Version: An Ellis County man shots a burglary suspect when he drove up on two men pulling away from his home with stolen items, according to sheriff's deputies. According to the Ellis County Sheriff's Office, the homeowner and his family returned to their Bristol home about 11:30 a.m Sunday. They noticed two men leaving in an SUV with some of their belongings. The suspects tried to drive off, slamming into the homeowner's truck. The homeowner and his children were injured in the crash, police said. The man told deputies he then pulled out his small-caliber rifle and fired shots at the SUV. One of the suspects was hit three times and is now in critical condition at a local hospital. The second suspect fled on foot. Ellis County sheriff's deputies arrested a man they believe is the second suspect after a convenience store owner reported seeing someone suspicious. http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/Homeowner_Suspect_Both_Hurt_a --- Rule Five Reminder: A 9-year-old boy took his grandmother's pistol to an El Monte elementary school Tuesday and accidentally discharged it as school was letting out in the afternoon, police said. No one was hurt in the incident at Baker Elementary about 2 p.m., when the boy, who has not been identified, took the .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol out of his backpack and fired a shot into the asphalt of a sports court. A complaint was being prepared against the grandmother for negligence in leaving the gun in an unlocked suitcase where the child apparently found it during a recent visit, said Det. Ralph Batres of the El Monte Police Department... (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm.) http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-schoolshot11-2009feb11,0,6933074.story --- Transportation Considerations: Any discussion of traveling with firearms usually involves the legal transportation of firearms and the duty of the CHL holder to inform law enforcement if the holder is carrying. Some discussion centers on the best gun cases or range bags for use. Like most CHL holders, target shooters and hunters, I suspect, I gave little consideration to how my firearms were secured in a vehicle. Certainly I followed all the laws and I use quality cases. Decisions on how I packed them into my truck or camper, however, centered on what was convenient for the trip. My considerations have changed significantly since December 6, 2008. That was the day I rolled both my truck and camper... http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6481 --- Minnesota City May Sell Thompson: The city of Virginia might sell a vintage Tommy Gun as a way to blast away at expected budget problems. Police Chief Dana Waldron says no one's sure when the city took possession of the Thompson submachine gun. The weapon went into production in 1921 and was popular with Prohibition-era gangsters. But the chief thinks it could fetch up to $25,000. He suggested selling it after the City Council asked for suggested savings to offset expected state cuts in local government aid. Mayor Steve Peterson isn't crazy about the idea. He says the city has a tendency to make decisions it later regrets and suggests building a display case for the gun at Virginia City Hall. http://www.startribune.com/local/39265517.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUF --- "Gun Control" in Iraq: On the outskirts of Karbala, the ancient Shiite holy city, a ramshackle police hut on the side of the highway is like a Kalashnikov coat check, rather mundane and orderly, brimming with an arsenal that would make any American gun show enthusiast envious. The queue of men checking and picking up weapons last Friday was a reminder that this is one heavily-armed country. The formality of the system is an indicator of progress - from the Mad Max days of marauding gunmen in beat-up pickup trucks careening across the country to a not-quite-genteel Wild West... http://baghdadbureau.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/coat-hat-kalashnikov/?hp -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .