From GOA: Get ready to pinch yourself. After eight years of clashing with anti-gun bureaucrats and congressional leadership hostile to gun rights, we have never been closer to victory in the battle to repeal the National Park Service (NPS) gun ban. As you are by now undoubtedly aware, NPS land is subject to a blanket gun ban. A Bush administration regulation partially reversing the ban was singlehandedly negated recently by an activist judge in Washington, D.C. Gun Owners of America reported last week about an amendment to repeal the gun ban, sponsored by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), that passed by an overwhelming 67-29 vote. Senator Coburn attached his amendment to a fast-moving "must pass bill," H.R. 627, dealing with credit card industry reform... Bottom line: we just need to make certain that the gun ban repeal amendment passes in the House, after which it will be joined back up with the main bill and signed into law. That's why the action item below - asking you to urge your Representative to vote for repealing the NPS gun ban - is so crucial... (Second link will allow you to generate a letter or e-mail to your Congressman.) http://gunowners.org/a051909.htm http://capwiz.com/gunowners/home/ The Democratic-controlled Congress is moving to restore a Bush administration policy that allowed loaded guns in national parks. The Senate voted Tuesday to allow guns in national parks and wildlife refuges, and the House could follow suit as soon as Wednesday. The measure is included in a popular bill imposing new restrictions on credit card companies. Democratic leaders have said they hope to send a final version to the White House for the president's signature by week's end. The Senate vote is a stark reversal from what many gun-control advocates expected when a federal judge blocked the Bush policy in March. The decision reinstated restrictions that had been in place since the Reagan administration. The rules severely restrict guns in the national parks, generally requiring them to be locked or stored... http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2009/05/19/loaded_guns_allowed_in_national_parks_under_bill?page=full Advocates of gun rights are poised to win a Congressional victory that eluded them under a Republican president. To the frustration and discouragement of many Democrats, House and Senate lawmakers and aides say it now appears likely that President Obama will this week sign into law a provision allowing visitors to national parks and refuges to carry loaded and concealed weapons. The White House is lukewarm at best on the gun provision, which was added to a popular measure imposing new rules on credit card companies. But the Democrats who now control both Congress and the White House appear ready to allow it to survive rather than derail a consumer-friendly credit card measure that Mr. Obama is eager to sign as Congress heads off for a Memorial Day recess. "Timing is everything in politics," said Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma and the champion of the gun proposal... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/us/politics/20cong.html?_r=1&ref=us A coalition of House Democrats, retired rangers and supporters of national parks called on House leaders Tuesday to kill a Senate-passed amendment by U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., to allow loaded guns in national parks. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, conceded the group faced an uphill battle. That did not stop Grijalva and other members of the coalition from describing the Coburn amendment and its consequences in stark terms. Grijalva warned the Coburn provision would be dangerous and accused the senator of hijacking a popular credit card measure for no other reason but to score political points. He dismissed Coburn's claims his language was about protecting Americans' Second Amendment rights, adding the regulations that barred loaded guns from parks have been in place for decades and never drew a constitutional challenge... (And then there was Heller.) http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=298&articleid=20090519_51_0_WASHIN667026&allcom=1 House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer admits that Democrats are conceding the gun issue to Republicans for now. Republicans have been increasingly using pro-gun amendments to throw a wrench into Democratic legislation, attaching amendments to seemingly unrelated bills allowing for expanded gun carrying privileges in national parks. The tactic seems to be working, with Democrats acknowledging that pro-gun members rule in both chambers. "There clearly is a majority in both houses that the Second Amendment rights ... that relate to the national parks are too restricted," Hoyer told reporters Tuesday. "The reality is that a majority in both houses agree with that position." Republicans have slowed down a D.C. voting rights bill using the tactic, though a credit card bill with an amendment allowing for expanded ability to carry guns in national parks is widely expected to pass both houses. Hoyer vowed Tuesday that the D.C. voting rights bill would pass "one way or another." "It's gonna happen," he said. (Voting rights for D.C. are a direct violation of the Constitution.) http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22703.html --- NRA Convention Reviewed: Money talks and B.S. walks. That about sums up the state of the gun prohibition movement in the United States now that the National Rifle Association has left town. But in its wake, according to estimates from Mayor Phil Gordon, the NRA left about $70 million, and enough good will to suggest that if the Violence Policy Center and Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence had shown up to protest, they might have been ridden out of town on a rail... Is the battle over gun rights essentially over? Not according to NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, who made it abundantly clear in a speech to the annual members' meeting - at which attendance was surprisingly light, with only about half of the chairs in the meeting hall occupied - and during his strolls around the exhibit hall that anti-gunners are merely biding their time, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Gun owners, he said, must remain on alert... (I find it intriguing that the convention attracted a record number of attendees but so few attended the annual members' meeting.) http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m5d19-Did-recordsetting-NRA-convention-cement-decline-of-antigun-lobby --- The New Prohibition: My oldest daughter patted my hand indulgently and said "Dad, I can assure you that nobody is going to come take your guns." We were again discussing gun rights and she cannot fathom my trepidation about the current trend in our federal government. I agree that the current legislation being considered doesn't empower the police to come confiscate our guns, but it does put in place a national permit system to oversee citizens rights to own a gun. That is step one: make it an earned privilege to own a gun. Step two is to raise the bar so high that practically nobody is clean enough or trained enough or sane enough to actually own one. After the basic permit is in place and all guns registered, each time someone forgets to renew or the government agency adds a requirement like "successful completion of the FBI Academy firearms training protocol paid for by the permit holder" that many could not afford, the permit is yanked and the guns taken away. Eventually, the number of legal owners of firearms would be about the same as Mexico currently has, a few thousand. That's a feasible scenario... (Bidstrup appears to be referring to HR 45, a hideous pie of legislation which, fortuitously, appears to be stalled in committee. However, I have similar concerns about any federal intended to mandate nationwide CCW recognition.) http://www.examiner.com/x-2944-Denver-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m5d18-The-new-Prohibition --- The Romanian Experience: ...You see, before the Soviet communization of Romania, the people had the right to have guns. I remember my father telling me my granfather owned a double barreled shotgun he used to hunt doves and rabbits with and a Luger pistol from when the German troops were retreating - they were getting rid of all the equipment by simply throwing it out of the troop transport trains. When the communists took power in 1947 following falsified elections, the first law they enacted was total gun confiscation (for the greater good of course). Then after they made sure the population was disarmed they started the arrests, imprisonments, reeducation camps and killings. So practically since 1947 it was illegal to own any firearms in communist Romania. The only exception was for hunting purposes: only single and double barreled shotguns, only with a special permit form the police, the owner was required to be a member of a state run hunting association and the guns must be registered and locked at the police station any time the dictator was in town... http://transsylvaniaphoenix.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-gun-rights-in-romania-were-lost-and.html --- RKBA Gains More Adherents: Attitudes on gun control are more conservative this year than last, mostly with men than women. Nearly as many people believe gun ownership rights to be important at 45% than to control it at 49%. Last year 58% believed control over guns was important as opposed 37% protecting gun rights. Women by themselves have a different view, with 60% of them believing it is more important to control guns compared with 30% placing emphasis on protection of gun ownership. It is only in the East Coast that controlling guns has greater priority and there has been no change of opinion. Other regions of the country have moved at least 7 points towards gun ownership being important, indicating a growing movement toward the conservative view on guns... http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/272811 --- The Beat Goes On: Gun sales have been shooting into the stratosphere this year since many people are jittery about uncertain times during the recession. New gun owners have been flocking to training courses. "Gun sales are going through the roof," said Bill Bunting, a Republican state committeeman, long-time leader of the Pasco County [FL] Republican Party and life member of the National Rifle Association. Democrats swept control of both the White House and Congress last November, prompting a buying spree at gun shops. Bunting specializes in teaching classes so people can obtain concealed weapon permits. One recent student was none other than former state senator Jack Latvala. The Pinellas County Republican said he thought it wise to protect himself since he likes to hike through woods... http://suncoastpasco.tbo.com/content/2009/may/19/200000/pn-people-flocking-to-firearm-training-courses/ The upward trend in firearms sales continued in April, marking the sixth consecutive month of significant increases. Data released by the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 1,225,980 checks in April 2009. This figure is a 30.3 percent increase from the 940,961 reported in April 2008. FBI background checks are required under federal law for all individuals purchasing either new or used firearms from federally licensed retailers. The checks serve as a gauge of actual sales but do not reflect the actual number of firearms sold, since, following a background check, a customer may decide not to purchase a firearm or may purchase more than one firearm. The April increase follows a 29.2 percent gain in March and rises of 23 percent in February, 28 percent in January, 24 percent in December and 42 percent in November when a record 1,529,635 background checks were performed... http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6682 --- FOPA 86 Anniversary: Twenty three years ago, 18 U.S.C. § 921 (the Firearm Owners Protection Act) was codified into law. This Act was intended to restore rights to U.S. citizens and reform the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. However, a last minute midnight amendment added a sweeping new gun ban. In 1982, a bipartisan subcommittee of congress issued a report which, in part, found as many as 75% of the BATF prosecutions "disregarded rights guaranteed by the constitution and laws of the United States." This lead to attempts at reform that culminated in the FOPA in 1986. Some of the issues addressed included easing restrictions on interstate purchases of long guns, abolishing the ammunition registry, prohibiting gun registration, and enacting "safe passage" protections for travelers so they might transport guns and ammunition through more restrictive states provided the arms were legal at the origin and destination of the trip. In addition, more stringent regulations for the BATF were put into place... (The last-minute amendment to FOPA 86 is a good thing to point out when the prohibitionists whine about the Coburn amendment to the credit-card bill.) http://www.examiner.com/x-2206-Cleveland-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m5d19-Firearm-Owners-Protection-Act-anniversary --- Texas Campus-Carry Bill Clears First Vote: College students and faculty members with a concealed handgun license would be able to pack their firearms on campus under a bill that the Senate tentatively approved on Tuesday. The measure, passed on a 20-10 vote, was offered by a state senator who said he wants to give Texas students protection against mass shootings such as occurred at Virginia Tech University in 2007. Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, said the right-to-carry measure also would protect students from other life-threatening situations... The measure, which needs a final vote in the Senate, faces an uphill battle in the House, which allowed a similar bill to die on its calendar last week. Higher education officials are expected to lobby against the measure on the House side, using the argument that it infringes on their authority and could endanger students and faculty. The Senate bill does not affect a current prohibition on firearms at sporting events. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/yahoolatestnews/stories/051909dntexhandgun.1be30bb7.html From NRA-ILA: ...In the Texas Senate, 21 out of 31 Senators need to vote to suspend the regular order of business to bring any bill to the Senate floor for consideration. Then a simple majority of Senators are needed to vote to pass a bill. Your State Senator, Tommy Williams, cast key votes to suspend the regular order of business and to pass SB 1164 on second reading. Tomorrow (Wednesday, May 20), again, 21 Senators need to suspend the regular order of business and then a majority need to vote to pass SB 1164 on third reading, which will send the bill to the Texas House and keep the issue alive for the session. The Senate will convene at 11am tomorrow. Please contact your State Senator, Tommy Williams, before 11am at (512) 463- 0104, thank him for voting to suspend the regular order of business and to pass SB 1164 today, and urge him to do the same again on third reading. --- Louisiana "AWB" Dies in Committee: Legislation designed to impose a statewide ban on semi-automatic weapons was killed 10-2 by the House Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice today. House Bill 387 by Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, is dead for the session unless he can amend it on to another bill or get the full House to order the panel send it the bill. Richmond said his fallback position will be to ask the New Orleans City Council to adopt a local ban on automatic weapons. Richmond said under recent court rulings, cities can enact their own ban on the automatic weapons that he called "tools of mayhem.'' The bill originally sought to ban all automatic weapons as of Jan. 1 or require those who have them to register with the state. Before it was killed, Richmond tried to salvage it by amending the measure to make it applicable just to AK-47s, which he said give the New Orleans Police Department and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office problems... (It's amazing how semi-automatic firearms become automatic firearms in the space of three sentences. I wonder if BATFE is investigation that conversion.) http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/05/house_panel_kills_bill_banning.html --- Wisconsin Open-Carry Picnic: This past Sunday afternoon, I was busy taking my final exam as a first year law student. However, if I had not found it necessary to spend the day focused on a thorough examination of the intricate and eerily beautiful mysteries of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, I would have been down in Onalaska Wisconsin. Why Onalaska? Because that is where Wisconsin gun owners, emboldened by Attorney General Van Hollen's recent memo making it clear that legal open carry of a handgun is protected by the Wisconsin constitution and not grounds for disorderly conduct charges, held a massive open carry picnic at the Marvin Gardens Park. There was an astonishing turnout. According to picnic organizer Hubert Hoffman, there were 213 attendees who signed in, 99 of which were open carrying. He also noted that he served 100 hamburgers, 100 brats, and 50 hotdogs to those in attendance... http://www.examiner.com/x-3253-Minneapolis-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m5d19-A-great-couple-of-days-in-the-Midwest --- RKBA Smears Fail in L.A. Attorney Race: San Pedro lawyer Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich claimed victory Tuesday in the race to become the next Los Angeles city attorney, a result that marked an apparent defeat not just for his rival, City Councilman Jack Weiss, but also for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who had backed him... Trutanich surprised many City Hall insiders by mounting a strong challenge to Weiss, securing endorsements from Sheriff Lee Baca and Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley. Out of a field of five candidates in the March 3 primary, Weiss and Trutanich came in first and second, drawing 36% and 27% respectively. Since then, they have steadily lobbed attacks at each other, with Weiss calling Trutanich a defender of polluters and gun owners, and Trutanich portraying Weiss as an absentee councilman with little legal experience... http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-city20-2009may20,0,7004158.story --- From AzCDL: On July 4th, 2009, the fourth annual AzCDL Independence Day Action Rifle Match will be hosted by the Phoenix Rod and Gun Club ( http://www.phoenixrodandgun.org/ ). Celebrate Independence Day in a way that would make our Forefathers proud! Be sure to get your application in early. The match is limited to 60 shooters. There is still time to make a reservation if you act now. Entry fee is $40 and includes a free AzCDL Basic Annual membership. If you are already an AzCDL member, you membership will be renewed. All proceeds (minus range and target expenses) will be donated to AzCDL. Spend the day like a true patriot exercising your rights, supporting a good cause, and having FUN! Match rules and applications can be found at AzCDL's website: http://www.azcdl.org/html/rifle_match.html . There will be 4 stages this year. At least half the match will be long range oriented (100-400 yards). Sign in will start at 6:30 AM. Shooter's meeting will be held at 7:00 AM. Range goes "hot" by 7:30 AM. All shooting is finished by 1:00 PM Awards will be handed out and a Prize Raffle conducted following range clean up and tear down. All questions should be directed to Russell Phagan ( SinistralRifleman@hotmail.com ) As in past years, this year's primary sponsor is Cavalry Arms ( http://www.cavalryarms.com/ ). Want to see how much fun this will be? Check out the pictures from last year's match: http://www.cavalryarms.com/ID4/2008pics/2008-ID4-1.html . 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 .