From GOA: Gun owners won a long-fought victory in the U.S. Senate yesterday with the passage of an amendment to repeal the gun ban on National Park Service (NPS) and National Wildlife Refuge System land. GOA was the driving force behind this amendment and lobbied Senators hard prior to the vote to get the provision passed. The amendment, offered by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 67-29. People can see how their Senators voted on the Coburn amendment by clicking here. NPS and Wildlife Refuge land is treated differently with regard to gun rights than other federally controlled land. For instance, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) allows state and local laws to govern firearms possession. However, carrying firearms on NPS land and Wildlife Refuges is prohibited, even if the state in which the land is located allows carrying firearms... http://gunowners.org/a051309.htm --- From CCRKBA: A key amendment that would allow national park visitors to carry concealed firearms in accordance with state statute is a common sense provision that deserves support, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today. Sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), the amendment - added to House and Senate credit card legislation - was adopted by an overwhelming 67-29 Senate vote Tuesday, showing broad bipartisan support. If passed into law, Coburn's amendment will essentially restore a new national parks concealed carry rule that became effective in January, but was challenged in court by the gun ban lobby. In a statement, Coburn noted that, "If an American citizen has a right to carry a firearm in their state, it makes no sense to treat them like a criminal if they pass through a national park while in possession of a firearm." ... http://www.ccrkba.org/pub/rkba/press-releases/coburn.amendment.htm --- They Wouldn't Lie, Would They?: Mexican federal police commander Gen. Rodolfo Cruz Lopez described a weapon seized last month from one of the nation's deadly "drug cartels" as a .50 caliber anti-aircraft gun that fires 6-inch armor-piercing bullets at the rate of 800 rounds per minute. The mainstream media coverage on both sides of the border trumpeted the capture of this Rambo-style machine gun as evidence of the increasing danger the drug-trafficking organizations pose to civil society. A report on the seized "anti-aircraft" weapon by the Associated Press noted that "assailants have fired on government aircraft performing anti-drug missions in Mexico in the past, but apparently never with the caliber of weapon found Monday [April 13 in northern Mexico]." But there is just one problem with this narrative. According to U.S. law enforcers, specifically the ATF, the captured weapon is not what it appears to be, or at least what it was purported to be by the Mexican police commander... http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/bill-conroy/2009/05/was-anti-aircraft-gun-seized-mexico-big-hoax --- Time Takes Note: ...Montana has passed a law allowing local gun manufacturers to sidestep federal regulations as long as the weapons they make are sold within the territory of the state. "It's a gun bill, but it's another way of demonstrating the sovereignty of the state of Montana," Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer said, according to the AP, as he signed the bill into law in mid-April. "I like big guns, I like little guns, I like pistols, I like rifles, and I would like to buy a gun that's made in Montana." In Texas (which recently saw Governor Rick Perry joking that the Lone Star State might take up the ultimate state right and secede from the Union), a similar bill is in committee as the legislative session winds down. Tennessee and Alaska "Firearms Freedom Acts" are working their way through the process. Utah may take up a bill next year... http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1897601,00.html?imw=Y --- The Beat Goes On: ...The first driving force has been the huge demand for loaded ammunition through 2008 and continuing into 2009. The large primer manufacturers like ATK (which would include Federal and CCI), Winchester, and Remington are directing the majority of their primers into loaded ammunition. Ammunition sales are going through the roof as individuals stock up because of political concerns. The huge consumer demand for ammo is in addition to the demand from law enforcement agencies and our military to re-supply their own inventories. I know that smaller ammunition manufacturers have been impacted drastically by the primer shortage since their demands are higher than normal for primers that they have to obtain through Federal, CCI, Winchester, Remington, etc. Many of these smaller manufacturers have had to go to other sources to get quality primers. Because of this situation, some of them cannot keep up with their own ammunition production. Unfortunately, these smaller ammo makers can't control their own destiny since they don't have the capacity or tooling to make primers... http://blog.sinclairintl.com/2009/05/12/primer-availability-2/ --- NRA to Meet in Phoenix: When tens of thousands of gun rights activists, collectors, target shooters and hunters - all members of the National Rifle Association - descend on the Phoenix, Ariz. Convention Center this weekend, it could be a pretty rambunctious gathering. American gun owners, many of whom voted for Democrat Barack Obama because they wanted "change," are apparently now suffering from "buyer's remorse." The evidence is there in the sharp increase in NRA membership renewals and applications, combined with a frenzy of gun and ammunition buying since last November's election. The NRA is an organization that historically fights best from circled wagons. Right now, gun owner fear about a Democrat-controlled Congress and Oval Office has those wagons circled tightly, waiting for attack... http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m5d13-NRA-gathering-in-Phoenix-this-weekend --- Arizona House Approves Parking-Lot-Storage Bill: The state House has overwhelmingly approved a bill that would permit a gun owner to keep a weapon out of sight in a locked vehicle in a parking lot or garage. House approval of the bill on Wednesday on a 41-10 vote sends it to the state Senate, which has not yet begun considering non-budget bills during the current session. Supporters said the bill would serve Arizonans who want to have guns in vehicles for self-defense and recreational purposes. Critics said it tramples on private property rights and overturns employers' bans of weapons on their property... http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/116458.php http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2009/05/13/20090513houseguns.html --- Missouri Campus-Carry Bill Needs Help: I've written about Missouri House Bill 668 before (with more here). The bill has several pro-self-defense provisions, including lowering the age of eligibility for carry permits from 23 to 21, and expanding the circumstances in which the "Castle Doctrine" applies. The biggest part of HB 668, though, came in an amendment that would end the status of Missouri college and university campuses as self-defense-free zones. Students, faculty, and staff, in other words, who are licensed to carry a defensive firearm nearly everywhere else in the state of Missouri would now be able to do so on campus, as well... http://www.examiner.com/x-2581-St-Louis-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m5d13-Missouri-campus-carry-bill-needs-help --- Oops, Wrong House: A homeowner on the Detroit's east side thwarted three robbers by firing out of her bedroom as the men made their way up the steps inside her home, according to police. A neighbor at 5 a.m. today noticed the three men breaking in the kitchen window of the home in the 900 block of Algonquin, according to Detroit Police. He called the cell phone of the man who lives there, who was on his way home from work. The homeowner then called his wife, woke her and told her to get their gun. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, she fired a number of shots, missing the thieves. The husband arrived home just as the men were climbing back out of the window, and they escaped. (It sounds as though the woman could use some more range training and the reporter needs to learn the difference between theft, robbery and burglary.) http://www.freep.com/article/20090513/NEWS01/90513035/1001/rss01 --- Oops, Wrong Auto Shop: An off-duty cop shot and killed an armed robber during a brazen stickup in a Brooklyn auto shop Saturday, police and witnesses said. Ray Williams, 49, was getting his 1998 Lexus repaired at Mel's Auto Specialist in East Flatbush when two men walked in and asked for a used car battery, witnesses said. One of the men, his hand palming a concealed .45-caliber handgun, pulled out the weapon and announced a robbery, sources said. "Everybody get on the ground! Everybody get on the ground!" the gunman yelled, a witness told the Daily News. The stunned customers and a manager froze. A moment later, Williams, a narcotics detective, identified himself and drew his gun. That's when the bullets started flying at the E. 42nd St. shop. It was unclear who shot first, police said. Williams was on target, hitting the gunman in the neck, police said... http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/10/2009-05-10_1_brave_cop_1_dead_robber.html#ixzz0FU4S7gRA&A http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/10/2009-05-10_1_brave_cop_1_dead_robber.html --- Codger Gets His Gun: ...After an already full lifetime of 71 years, three months ago he decided to get his concealed carry permit. This intrigued me because he is a man who admires firearms, can shoot straight, but is not one who typically enters any government building that he does not have to enter. The application, background check, and fingerprint requirements go against all he believes. Given how well he influenced my life, I wanted to ask him a few questions related to his new concealed carry permit and the new handgun he now has with him. All of us can benefit from what a 71-one year-old gentleman has to say... http://lewrockwell.com/perry/perry49.html --- UN - It's for the Children: U.N. child's rights advocates believe, teach and promote the idea that all private gun ownership is dangerous for children, and children have the right to grow up in a community that is free from all guns. Limiting the rights of gun ownership is not some secret agenda of the U.N. but is open for all to see. UNICEF, the official U.N. agency charged with the worldwide advancement of children's rights, has published a four-color brochure entitled: "No Guns Please, We Are Children." ... http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=97984 --- From AzCDL: HB 2474 passed out of the House "Third Read" on Wednesday, May 13, 2009, by a vote of 41-10 with 9 members not voting. You can see how your Representatives voted here: http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/49leg/1r/bills/hb2474.hthird.1.asp . From here HB 2474 will be transmitted to the Senate. HB 2474 stipulates that property owners, tenants, public or private employers, and business entities must not prohibit the transport or storage of legally owned firearms in locked and privately owned motor vehicles parked within parking lots, parking garages, and other designated parking areas. It exempts property owners, tenants, public or private employers, business entities, and their employees or agents from civil liability for damages resulting from or arising out of an act involving a legally owned firearm that is transported or stored within a locked and privately owned vehicle. It allows employers and business entities to prescribe policies mandating that owners keep firearms out of the plain view of the public when stored or transported in locked and privately owned vehicles. And, it specifies inapplicability stemming from state and federal prohibition, and motor vehicle ownership. Note: Because AzCDL's directors and officers will be attending the NRA Annual Meeting this weekend, there will not be any additional Alerts this week. These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. AzCDL - Protecting Your Freedom http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html Copyright © 2009 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved. -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .