National-Park Carry Expected to Become Law: Gun rights advocates have found a sweet spot in Democratic-dominated Washington, and they are using it to aggressively push legislation. Their latest victory came yesterday when the House passed a bill that will allow people to bring concealed and loaded guns into national parks. Advocates won with the help of moderate Democrats. Those Democrats, many from states in the South and Midwest, joined nearly all House Republicans to back yesterday's provision, which has passed in the Senate and could become law this week. The gun bill passed 279 to 147 in the House with the help of 105 Democratic votes; 145 Democrats opposed the bill. The legislation was the latest defeat for gun-control advocates, who had expected more success with a Democratic president and Democratic majorities in both chambers of Congress...Yesterday's provision, originally sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), would allow gun owners to bring the weapons into national parks and wildlife refuges as long as they are permitted by the laws of the state in which the park is located. The bill codifies a change the Bush administration had sought in its final months, but a federal judge blocked the effort in March... (Proportionally to their gamble, the prohibitionists lost more this time than in Heller. The NPS rule they got barred in court only allowed licensed CCW. The Coburn Amendment appears to allow any form of carry that is legal in the surrounding sate, which, in many venues, includes unlicensed open carry. While Heller has broader impact, the ruling was a very limited one, leaving room for many infringements, including prohibition of carry outside the home.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/20/AR2009052003613.html?hpid=sec-nation 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... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/us/politics/20cong.html?_r=1&hp From GOA: Good news! The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill today that included an amendment to repeal the gun ban on National Park Service (NPS) land and wildlife refuges. The amendment, sponsored by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) and attached to a credit card industry reform bill, passed the House overwhelmingly by a vote of 279-147. For decades, law-abiding citizens have been prohibited from exercising their Second Amendment rights on NPS land and wildlife refuges, even if the state in which the land is located allows carrying firearms... Of course, many more battles lie ahead. President Obama continues to push for the Senate to ratify massive international gun control treaties. There is a battle over a Supreme Court nominee coming up. Anti-gun zealots in Congress are aggressively pushing to renew the Clinton gun ban and close down gun shows... http://gunowners.org/a052009.htm From CCRKBA: With passage by the House earlier today of legislation that will allow legally armed citizens to carry loaded firearms in national parks, Congress has taken a responsible step toward increasing park safety for millions of visitors, whether they are armed or not, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said. The measure passed the Senate last week on a lopsided 67-29 vote with 27 Democrats and one Independent joining 39 Republicans. Today's House vote was equally lopsided, with 279 voting in favor of the measure and 147 voting against it. "This is a great victory for gun rights and common sense," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "The gun prohibitionist lobby thought they had outmaneuvered the constitution with a lawsuit in March that blocked a new National Park Service rule to allow licensed concealed carry in parks. However, this legislation, which we expect President Obama to sign, essentially moots that lawsuit... http://www.ccrkba.org/pub/rkba/press-releases/parks.ccw.win.htm Brady Bunch Whines: The U.S. House vote today to allow loaded firearms to be carried both concealed and openly in most of our national parks, in urban areas as well as rural areas, moves us one step closer to reversing the safety-oriented gun responsibility rule adopted early in the Reagan Administration. This vote ignored the concerns of law enforcement officials responsible for safety in our national parks as well as the vast majority of park users who submitted comments in opposition to changing these rules. By attaching this language to an unrelated bill designed to protect credit card users, those pushing more guns in more places have insulated themselves from any possible chance of a veto by President Obama. When he signs this bill, however, we call on President Obama to re-affirm his long-standing concern about more guns being carried in more places, and promise the American people that he will be taking steps in the near future to help reduce the gun violence in this country that unnecessarily touches so many each year... http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/release.php?release=1138 --- Will the Senate Block Anti-RKBA Treaty?: President Obama voiced his support for an anti-gun treaty with such wide ranging implications that it could ban everything from assembling guns in kits to repackaging spent shells. The treaty was signed by former President Clinton, but never approved by Congress. It has gained approval in 29 other countries. Obama put his weight behind it during his whirlwind tour abroad late last month. Yesterday's passage of legislation that revoked the longstanding ban on guns in national parks proved that this treaty would probably fall by the wayside once more, said Larry Provost, President of Gun Owners of America. But the fact that Obama voiced his support for it speaks volumes about the President's view of the Second Amendment, after his famous claim to not "take away guns" from law-abiding Americans... http://townhall.com/columnists/JillianBandes/2009/05/20/obama_may_grab_for_guns?page=full --- VPC Actually Proves More Guns, Less Crime: ...While VPC cites alleged household gun ownership rates in the press release, they exclude these values in their full table. They also exclude the District of Columbia, which undoubtedly has the lowest gun ownership due to its recently overturned ban on functioning firearms, yet has the highest rate of "gun death" of any state, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). One attribute VPC's "weak" states have in common is that they are all right-to-carry (RTC) states, where law-abiding citizens have a broad right to carry concealed handguns, whereas four of their five "strong" gun law states are not RTC. VPC confirms this criteria in their press release... When it comes to homicide and overall violent crime, Table 2 tells a different story. Where "weak" states had much higher murder and violent crime rates in Table 1, the full dataset shows that "weak" states are safer: 19.8% lower firearms homicide and 6.8% lower non-firearms homicide rates. Moreover, the "weak" states had 21.5% less violent crime... http://www.examiner.com/x-2879-Austin-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m5d20-Violence-Policy-Center-proves-that-more-guns-means-less-violent-crime-murder --- Nebraska Nixes Local CCW Bans: Two state senators hailed the signing of a new law on carrying handguns as a way to make certain law-abiding citizens aren't breaking the law. Nebraska has had a concealed carry law for three years. More than 4,500 permits have been issued. But State Sens. Tony Fulton of Lincoln and Mark Christensen of Imperial said passage of LB 430 this year will make sure that holders of permits will not run afoul of city ordinances that prohibit concealed carry. Christensen cited the example of a motorist speeding down Interstate 80 through Kearney, where concealed handguns were banned. Under LB 430, those who obtain state concealed carry permits would be exempt from any city ordinances banning such gun possession. A handful of Nebraska cities, including Kearney and Beatrice, have rescinded their bans on concealed handguns in reaction to LB 403, which was signed into law by Gov. Dave Heineman on Tuesday. One aspect of LB 403 that stirred controversy is a clause that now allows churches to permit their security guards, if they have a state permit, to carry concealed guns. http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10638148 --- The Texas Campus-Carry Debate: Texas concealed handgun license holders could carry weapons into public college classrooms and dorms under a bill given preliminary approval Tuesday by the state Senate. Supporters say the bill reinforces the constitutional right to bear arms and could prevent mass murders such as the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech. Opponents say it would make campuses more dangerous - adding the potential for typical college disputes over grades, romances and fraternity rivalries to become deadly - and also could lead to more suicides. Wentworth said similar dire warnings were made in 1995 when Texas passed its concealed weapons law. "Opponents predicted it would be the wild, wild west; there would be blood on the streets," Wentworth said. "None of that has happened." ... (Among the issues not mentioned in the article, Charles Whitman's killing spree virtually ended when numerous students retrieved their hunting rifles from frat houses and initiated what was only suppressive fire because of the angle to the parapet behind which Whitman was firing. List member Tim Gottleber appears in the video clip - worth watching.) http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/education/Senate_Takes_Up_Guns_on_Campus --- Iowa Councilman Stands Up for RKBA: Sioux City city councilman Aaron Rochester is speaking out about national gun control legislation. He says talks of allowing authorities to search homes for unregistered guns goes against the right to bear arms, and he wants to make sure Sioux City police know it. Aaron Rochester, City Council Member:"I think it's going against constitutional rights, and I think our police department in Sioux City should really know every bit of the second amendment so that they can interpret it and do things according to what our founding fathers meant." Rochester's given council direction to make sure all new police officers have a thorough review of the second amendment. He also suggested making them memorize it, like they do with the fourth amendment, or the right to search and seizure. http://www.ktiv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10384520 --- San Francisco to Fight NRA Lawsuit: A spokesman for San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said today the city will defend three gun control measures against the latest lawsuit filed by the National Rifle Association. "We don't think there's anything in current federal law that endangers anything in San Francisco gun control provisions," spokesman Matt Dorsey said. But Dorsey said he thinks the lawsuit is part of an effort by the Virginia-based NRA to "push the envelope" of the constitutional Second Amendment right to bear arms in the wake of a key U.S. Supreme Court decision last year. In that ruling, which overturned a Washington, D.C. handgun ban, the high court said the Second Amendment encompasses an individual right to possess guns for self-defense... (This is one of two lawsuits that seek a Supreme Court ruling incorporating the Second Amendment against the states.) http://cbs5.com/localwire/22.0.html?type=bcn&item=NRA-GUN-LAWSUIT-baglm --- Oops, Wrong House: One burglar may be considering a different profession after nearly losing his life during a break-in, last Wednesday. Heather Fitzgerald says she was checking e-mail in her garage with the garage partially open. Shortly before 3:00 a.m., however, an intruder crawled in. Heather immediately worried for her children, who were sleeping inside the home. She grabbed her 9-milimeter pistol and fired two shots at the man. Police do not believe he was hit because they found no blood at the scene. As he was running away, she says she lined up the gun's laser sight on his back, but did not pull the trigger again, most likely sparing his life... Police say she was well within her rights to use deadly force to protect herself on her property, which follows an Oklahoma statute known as the "Make My Day" law. http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-news-homeowner-shoots-story,0,2893349.story --- Oops, Wrong Liquor Store: A Central Georgia man is recovering from a gunshot wound; he got shot after robbing a Macon liquor store at gun point. A news release from Sgt. Melanie Hofmann with the Macon Police says 50-year-old Ricky Nell Johnson robbed the ABC Liquor Store at 1194 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. on Saturday. The release says Johnson entered the store around 6:45 p.m. wearing a wig and skirt. It says he showed a handgun, jumped on the counter and demanded money. After getting some cash, Johnson fired a shot and ran out of the liquor store. The release says an employee returned fire. According to the release, Johnson was found near a parking deck at the Medical Center. He was taken by ambulance to the emergency room, where doctors treated him for a gunshot wound to the torso near the buttocks... http://www.13wmaz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=64259&catid=175 -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .