Tenth Circuit Reinstates Oklahoma Parking-Lot-Storage Law: An appeals court said Wednesday that Oklahoma's law allowing employees to have guns at work in their locked vehicles is valid. The Denver-based court's decision overturns a ruling by U.S. District Judge Terence Kern in Tulsa, who barred enforcement of the law. Gov. Brad Henry and Attorney General Drew Edmondson appealed Kern's 2007 ruling. "It was our opinion that the law is constitutional and the court agreed with us today," Edmondson spokesman Charlie Price said. "We are thankful for the assistance of the National Rifle Association and its counsel - they provided great help." Starting with a 2004 lawsuit, several companies challenged the law, including Weyerhauser Corp.; Whirlpool Corp., which later dropped out; and more recently, ConocoPhillips... http://www.newsok.com/court-allows-oklahoma-workers-to-have-guns-in-vehicles/article/3346987 http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/NewsReleases.aspx?ID=12135 http://www.opposingviews.com/articles/news-nra-wins-fight-to-let-workers-keep-guns-in-cars --- Utah Senate Committee Approve Parking-Lot-Storage Bill: A bill that would allow gun owners to keep a firearm in their vehicles even while parked in a private lot passed a Senate committee Tuesday. SB78, sponsored by Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Eagle Mountain, has cleared House and Senate panels in the past, but never has made it through the Legislature. The measure would allow employees to keep a firearm in their vehicles, but a business could prevent that if it has a secured parking area, which needs a fence and a security guard. In that case, it must provide a locker to allow gun owners to stow their weapons before entering the secured lot... http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_11723049 --- The Beat Goes On: The election of Barack Obama has been a boon for gun dealers, and with more than 200 gun shows a year, few markets are hotter than Florida. Floridians in record numbers want to carry concealed weapons, a trend linked to a surge in crime, economic anxiety and fears of stricter gun laws. And now the state is buried under a backlog of 95,000 applications for concealed weapons permits, and it needs to hire a lot more people to handle the paperwork. A legislative panel Wednesday gave Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson the okay to spend $3.9 million more so he can hire 61 temporary workers... The state reported a surge in applications in November after the election of President Obama, who has advocated stricter gun control laws but also campaigned as a defender of Second Amendment rights. Florida received 75,679 first-time concealed weapons permit applications in 2007 and 86,269 in 2008, in addition to tens of thousands of renewal forms. About 541,000 Floridians are permitted to carry concealed weapons... http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/feb/19/backlog-95000-wanting-concealed-weapon-permits-fla/ http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/910739.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29278736/ http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/state/article976999.ece --- More Coverage for SCCC: In the wake of the first anniversary of the massacre at Northern Illinois University, which occurred last February, gun advocacy groups are trying to persuade schools to allow students to carry guns on campus. Organizations like Students for Concealed Carry on Campus argue that allowing legal firearms at universities could prevent tragedies like the one at NIU. They have recently made inroads at several upstate New York schools, but have met opposition at Syracuse University. Members of SCCC, such as Midwest regional director David Burnett, said that the function of the group is to dispel common myths about concealed carry and to push state legislators and administrators to grant handgun license holders the same rights on college campuses that they enjoy in most other locations... http://media.www.dailyorange.com/media/storage/paper522/news/2009/02/19/News/National.Lobbyist.Group.Pushes.For.Weapons.Rights.On.Campus-3638220.shtml --- Palin Supports National-Park Carry: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin wrote the Interior Department on Wednesday to express her support for a last-minute Bush administration regulation that allows the carrying of concealed weapons in national parks. Palin said the new measure provides Alaskans with a means of self-defense in a state with vast swaths of federally-protected wilderness. "As you know, my state contains vast, pristine areas where the ability to carry firearms can address a potentially life-threatening situation, enabling citizens to respond to bear and other wildlife conflicts," Palin wrote in a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar... http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/02/19/palin-defends-rule-allowing-loaded-weapons-in-national-parks/ --- Wyoming Drops Reciprocity with 15 States: ...The Wyoming Attorney General holds that if a misdemeanor drug conviction disqualifies a Wyoming resident, it also needs to disqualify an out-of-state permit holder. Due to the difference in how each state handles controlled substance convictions, Wyoming is also limited in our ability to maintain reciprocity with states we may have previously. Wyoming recognizes concealed firearm permits from the following states. Accordingly, as of March 1, 2009, Wyoming can only honor concealed firearm permits issued by the following states: Connecticut Georgia Maryland Massachusetts Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Utah (This is a good reason to obtain and maintain more than the permit from your home state, particularly if you don't live in Utah.) http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/4268/53/ --- Illinois CCW Endorsed by House Panel: A state House panel is recommending that the General Assembly give Illinois residents the right to carry concealed weapons. The proposals are expected to garner opposition from Chicago-area lawmakers, who have expressed concern about increased gun violence. Supporters of a concealed weapon law say the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last summer overturning a handgun ban in Washington D.C., and an endorsement of concealed carry by the Illinois Sheriffs' Association gives a boost to their efforts. House Bill 245, sponsored by Marion Democratic Rep. John Bradley, would allow the Illinois State Police to issue the permits. It was endorsed Wednesday on an 11-1 vote, with Democratic state Rep. Julie Hamos of Evanston the lone opponent. House Bill 462, sponsored by state Harrisburg Rep. Brandon Phelps, would allow county sheriffs to issue permits. (Considering the current state plice backlog in the issuance and renewal of Illinois's onerous Firearm Owner Identification cards, issuance by county sheriffs might be a better choice.) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-concealedweapons,0,5389135.story --- Tennessee Fast-Tracks RKBA Bills: The legislature began fast-tracking bills Thursday to let people with carry permits take guns into state and local parks and establishments serving alcohol - all places where they are currently banned. The House handgun study committee also recommended making secret the list of Tennessee's 219,236 gun-carry permit holders and to penalize any publication of their identities. Shelby County has 32,934 permit licensees. The panel recommended four bills on which Chairman Joe McCord, R-Maryville, said there is broad consensus to approve. All four are set for the criminal justice subcommittee next week and could reach floor votes in March... The new Republican majority has made the bills' passage a virtual certainty after years of defeat. McCord said The Commercial Appeal's posting of a searchable database of permit holders on its Web site also prompted swift action... http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/feb/19/tennessee-house-advances-bills-dealing-guns/ --- Mexico's Drug Wars Not the Result of US Gun Laws: A gambit that has become popular of late with the forcible citizen disarmament lobby is blaming the violence in Mexico (which sometimes spills across our Southwestern border) on "lax U.S. gun laws." Mexico, of course, has extremely restrictive gun laws and extreme levels of violence. One might think that this would be a pretty strong rebuttal to the idea of trying to control violence by passing more and more gun laws (as if using laws to try to rein in the behavior of the lawless makes any sense). Such an expectation underestimates the stubborn determination of gun law advocates, who somehow find the energy to perform the rhetorical gymnastics required to argue instead that violence in Mexico should be blamed on "weak gun laws" here, where violence is much less pervasive... http://www.examiner.com/x-2581-St-Louis-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m2d19-Mexicos-bloody-drug-war-is-not-the-fault-of-lax-US-gun-laws --- Oops, Wrong House, Ohio Version: An elderly Jackson County woman who was about to become the apparent victim of a home-invasion burglary last Saturday afternoon was more than ready to stand up for herself and protect her property. According to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Ruth Dassel, 82, of 853 Camba Road, Jackson, in Franklin Township, used a pistol to fire a single shot at an unidentified man who had apparently just broken into her home at 12:34 p.m. The intruder was not struck by the bullet, but investigators are attempting to identify him in what is being categorized as an aggravated burglary... Dassel immediately picked up a pistol that she had in the pouch of her walker and pointed it at the intruder. He said, "don't shoot," and he turned to run from the house. She fired one shot in his direction, but did not hit him... (While the shot at the fleeing intruder may not have been justified, the woman showed good sense in keeping her pistol accessible, in the pouch of her walker.) http://www.thetelegramnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=6&SubSectionID=83&ArticleID=5311 --- Oops, Wrong House, Australia Version: An elderly man shot one of two intruders at his Perth winery after they broke down his bedroom door and backed him into a corner, police say. Sergeant Greg Lambert said the 77-year-old owner of a small winery, in Herne Hill, in Perth's east, heard someone forcibly enter his home about 9.40pm (WDT) yesterday. "He is at home with his totally incapacitated wife, he has heard noises in the house and has heard two men use extreme force to break into his home through the rear security door and sliding door," Sgt Lambert told ABC Radio. "He was in his bedroom, he has armed himself with his licensed shotgun and he's locked himself in his bedroom with his wife." The man warned the two men not to enter his room. "They have broken down his bedroom door and confronted the man," Sgt Lambert said. "A struggle has happened during which one round was discharged from the shotgun, it's struck one of the intruders on the left abdomen. The elderly gentlemen lost the firearm during the struggle, one of the offenders has struck him to the head and forearm..." (This account demonstrates why a handgun, which offers less leverage for a disarm, is usually a better choice than a shotgun for home-defense.) http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25076770-29277,00.html --- Arizona to Host Cowboy Shooting Fest: The Old West will come alive once again when more than 600 men, women and juniors gather for the 18th annual Winter Range hosted at the Arizona Game and Fish Department's Ben Avery Shooting Facility from Feb. 25 through March 1. Winter Range is an exciting "Old West" style, five-day event that provides the backdrop for the Single Action Shooting Society's National Championship of Cowboy Action Shooting. This annual event traditionally draws thousands of spectators and Old West enthusiasts. Cowboy Action Shooting^(TM) is the fastest growing shooting sport in America, and requires contestants to compete with firearms typical of those used in the taming of the Old West: single-action revolvers, lever-action rifles and old-time shotguns. Participants must also adopt a "shooting alias" appropriate to a character or profession of the late 19th century - a Hollywood Western star, or an appropriate fictional character - and then costume themselves accordingly... http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2009/feb/18/cowboys_show_their_sixshooters/ --- Bill Would Scrap Canada's Long-Gun Registry: The Bill C-301, a Private Greg Rickford MPKernoraMembers' Bill proposes to discontinue the wasteful long gun registry that has not saved the life of a single Canadian. "The registry has been a boondoggle since its inception. I believe members of Parliament from all political parties will see ample cause to shut it down," said Breitkreuz, "I doubt there has ever been another government program that has gone 500 times over budget and been such a miserable failure. I hope everyone here will agree that our tax dollars should be invested in practical public safety measures that really do save lives." On February 12th Rickford seconded Bill C-301, a Private Members' Bill to scrap the decade-old Canadian long-gun registry. "Gary has been working on this issue for a long time and I'm very pleased to stand behind in support. We hope to get the long-gun registry dismantled once and for all," said a delighted Rickford... http://lakesuperiornews.info/News/News2009/RickfordSecondsBillScrapLongGunRegistry/tabid/1026/Default.aspx -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .