No National-Park Carry for Nine Months: The Interior Department says a new law allowing loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges will not take effect until next year. President Barack Obama signed the gun law Friday as part of a measure creating new rules for the credit card industry. But the Interior Department says that because the credit card law won't take effect until nine months after it is signed, the gun measure also will be delayed. Spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff said the Interior Department will follow Congress's directive and put the new firearms law in effect in late February. Until then, rules adopted under the Reagan administration will remain in place. The rules severely restrict guns in the national parks, generally requiring that guns be locked or stored. http://www.newsmax.com/us/us_guns_national_parks/2009/05/22/217376.html From The Firearms Coalition: ...Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) is pledging to attach his National Park gun ban repeal amendment to every bill that comes through the Senate until the repeal is enacted. This after President Obama and the Interior Department declared that the repeal passed and signed into law this week will not go into effect for another 9 months. The delay is based on the fact that the underlying bill, a credit card reform measure, has a delay built into it to allow credit card companies to adapt to the new rules. The National Park Service need no such adjustment period, particularly since a similar regulation was adopted last year and then set aside by a federal judge. It is clear that the Obama administration is forcing the delay out of spite toward gunowners and the "gun lobby." The Coburn amendment is actually a substantial improvement over the regulatory reform adopted by the Bush administration late last year. Under the Bush administration regulations only licensed concealed weapons were permitted in the parks, but under the Coburn amendment National Parks and Wildlife Refuges fall under the laws of the states in which they are located just as Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands have done for decades... National-Park Carry Debated: http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/22/guns-in-parks-safe-scary-or-a-sideshow/ --- Another DC Gun Case: Robert Ord says he stays away from the District of Columbia because he fears he will be arrested on a gun charge. The private security officer unsuccessfully sought a declaration in federal court that he is immune from prosecution on D.C. gun laws. His suit was tossed for a lack of standing. Ord is challenging the dismissal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where the Second Amendment Foundation and the ACLU National Capital Area are participating as amicus curiae in support of Ord, saying his case against the city should move forward. At issue on appeal is whether Ord has standing to sue the District. For background, Ord runs a private security business, Falken Industries, and is considered a special conservator of the peace under Virginia law. That means Ord, who is a "qualified" law enforcement officer in the eyes of Virginia, allowed to carry a gun there. Ord thinks he should be allowed to carry a gun in D.C. for his line of work. But he's not willing to test the authorities - not after police in April 2008 applied for and received a warrant for his arrest on the charge of possession of an unregistered firearm, a misdemeanor... http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/05/dc-gun-case-triggers-amicus-support-in-dc-circuit.html --- The Beat Goes On: ...With Democrats in charge and so many sensational incidents of gun violence recently, why isn't gun control advancing? For one thing, the election created anxiety among gun owners. A lawyer interviewed at a Texas gun show said, "If [President Obama] and the people in control of Congress right now could have what they want, they would heavily restrict or eliminate guns from this country." A gun shop manager at a Virginia gun show said, "We have Obama, who is the most anti-gun president we have had.... We have a Democratic Congress that is one runoff election away from being filibuster-proof.... We have Eric Holder saying they want to bring back the assault weapons ban." For more than six months, gun sales have been surging nationwide. Asked why an automatic rifle costs $2,200, a Texas gun dealer said, "Right now, they're just about impossible to find. Everybody kind of got scared. The market got depleted." ... http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/pl_20090523_6473.php ...The White House line is that any fight for the restoration of the assault-weapons ban would distract Congress at a time when the economic and health-care crises deserve top priority. That's true, as far as it goes; tangling with the National Rifle Association, and putting the squeeze on pro-NRA Democratic lawmakers, would require the expenditure of precious political capital. Obama's reluctance is merely the latest manifestation of Democratic skittishness, stretching back nearly a decade. The party's surrender isn't necessarily rooted in the belief that the gun-control argument lacks merit; rather, the party has made a practical determination that the issue hurts them with blue-collar white guys.who view all gun curbs as akin to confiscation or privacy invasion. http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009905210352 --- RKBA, Like Other Rights, Is Not Absolute: ...Freedom of religion does not allow one to practice human or animal sacrifice. Freedom of speech does not allow yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater. Freedom of the press does not allow us to libel others. Do we have the absolute right to carry firearms in a deliberately provocative or dangerous manner; that is, to intentionally shock, intimidate or endanger others? If you answer "No" to the last one, then the Second Amendment in a strict sense is not "absolute" at all, but subject to "reasonable restriction." Perhaps we are not talking about an "absolute" right but a "fundamental" right. As such, this right would be a "basic principle, rule, law, or the like, that serves as the groundwork of a system; (an) essential part." ... http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m5d22-Philosophy-101-Is-there-such-a-thing-as-an-absolute-right --- No Appeal against Oklahoma Law: A 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that allows Oklahomans to store firearms in locked vehicles parked on company property will stand after the filing deadline passed for further legal appeals, Attorney General Drew Edmondson announced. Edmondson's office, in partnership with the National Rifle Association (NRA), defended the constitutionality of two Oklahoma gun laws that prohibit businesses from forbidding their employees to store firearms in locked vehicles parked on company property... The plaintiffs, Ramsey Winch Inc., Auto Crane Co., ConocoPhillips, Norris, DP Manufacturing Inc., and Tulsa Winch Inc., could have appealed the ruling to the United States Supreme Court within 90 days, but that has deadline passed... http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2009/05/22/100766.htm --- Armed Self-Defense, Part 3: The third in a five-part series intended to guide the many thousands of new handgun owners created by the Obama administration, "Getting a concealed handgun permit" will discuss laws, equipment, training and legal considerations involved. As with other segments, it will feature Q & A with defensive firearms instructor Tom Iradi of Eagle Rock Training Systems... (My views on holster selection are posted at http://www.spw-duf.info/holster.html. While the 1987 reform of Florida's CCW did precipitate the major wave of shall-issue legislation, there were a bit more than a handful of shall-issue states prior to that time. The trend is demonstrated graphically at http://www.gun-nuttery.com/rtc.php.) http://www.examiner.com/x-2698-Charlotte-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m5d22-Armed-selfdefense-Getting-a-concealed-handgun-permit?cid=exrss-Charlotte-Gun-Rights-Examiner An Example from Colorado: ...The process to obtain a permit in Jeffco is straightforward enough. The requirements, and discretionary help, can be found on the website for the Jefferson County Sheriff's office. Primarily, a certificate from a class on handgun safety needs to be presented with an application and a form of government identification. The class needs to cover safety, Colorado laws regarding the use of deadly force, and the Colorado revised statutes pertaining to concealed carry. The application must be filled out entirely, except for the signature, and accompanied by a money order or cashiers check made payable to the Sheriff's department. The fee in Jefferson County is $100. (Isn't it nice we have to pay to exercise our rights?) Another money order in the amount of $52.50 must be made out to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to assist in the extensive back ground check. After all this is prepared, it must be presented - in person - to the sheriff's department between the hours of 8am and 4pm on any Tuesday or Thursday... http://www.examiner.com/x-11748-Jefferson-County-Conservative-Examiner~y2009m5d22-Concealed-carry-in-Colorado --- Seattle Gun Dispute May Come to Head: In the wake of last year's shootings at Seattle's Folklife Festival, Mayor Greg Nickels pledged to ban guns on city property. But except for one public hearing, there's been little sign of activity. Now as the festival kicks off this weekend at Seattle Center, city officials say the new policy is in effect... Scales: "The state preemption clearly prohibits the city from passing a law. A rule is not a law. What a rule is, is essentially a formalized policy." And if someone breaks that rule by bringing a gun to Seattle Center or City Hall, there won't be any penalty. The penalty will be a citation for criminal trespass, if the person is asked to leave and refuses. Alan Gottlieb heads the Second Amendment Foundation in Bellevue. He's been a vocal critic of the Seattle gun rule. He says it violates state law and he'll be in court as soon as the city implements it... http://kuow.org/program.php?id=17609 --- Louisiana Tax-Holiday Bill Advances: Gun, ammunition and other hunting-related purchases would be exempt from sales taxes one weekend a year under a bill approved Thursday by the Senate. The Senate voted 34-0 to establish an annual Second Amendment sales tax holiday the first weekend in September. The tax break would cover sales between Friday and Sunday. State and local government would lose about $263,000 in revenue, according to a fiscal note on the measure from lost sales taxes. State Sen. Rob Marionneaux, D-Grosse Tete, said his Senate Bill 52 had the support of the National Rifle Association and hunting supply stores. The tax break only applies to consumer purchases... http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/45826472.html --- Tennessee Widow Comments on Guns in Bars: The wife of Ben Goeser, who was shot and killed in a Nashville sports bar, is speaking out for the legislature's bill to allow handguns into places that serve alcohol. In a Tennessean column today, Nikki Goeser writes: "My husband was gunned down on April 2 right in front of me at Jonny's Sports Bar on Nolensville Road here in Nashville. I am a permitted gun owner here in the state of Tennessee. If I could have been allowed to carry my gun that night, perhaps I could have saved my wonderful husband. ...I can tell you that the odds would have been more in our favor. I had to leave my gun locked in my car in the parking lot that night because we have a law in place right now that makes innocent people 'helpless' and at the mercy of people with horrible intentions." ... http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/pitw/2009/05/wife_of_murder_victim_joins_su.php http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090522/OPINION03/905220369/1007/OPINION/If+bar+handgun+bill+existed++my+Ben+might+be+alive --- Oops, Wrong Grandmother: ...When the man approached, the victim had her eight-year-old grandson with her. "I said, 'I'm not giving you [expletive]," she said. While the robber didn't give up, the grandmother tried to deter him. "I said, we'll see. Let me get my gun then." The woman didn't really have a gun, but she walked back to her trunk anyway. That's when she says the man took off his shirt and punched her in the face. Though she was dazed by the attack, the victim reached in her trunk, grabbed her car jack, and started beating the man with it... (All's well that ends well but I question the wisdom of announcing that you have a gun when you really don't.) http://cbs11tv.com/watercooler/grandma.attacked.granny.2.1016344.html --- Rebuffed in California: A guy uses a letter to push the Brady Bunch line in a California newspaper. Readers respond with some very good arguments. http://www.thevillagenews.com/story.php?story_id=37960 --- From AzCDL: Last week, the Legislature wrapped up "fixing" the fiscal year 2009 budget. On May 21, 2009, the Senate Appropriations committee passed the 10 bills comprising the 2010 budget ( http://tinyurl.com/AZ2010Budget ). There are a number of steps still required before the 2010 budget gets to the Governor's desk. Meanwhile, non-budget bills are languishing. A few pro-rights bills have progressed in the House. HB 2439 passed out of the House Third Read and was transmitted to the Senate on May 6, 2009. HB 2439 is the AzCDL-requested CCW training reform bill. HB 2474 passed out of the House Third Read and was transmitted to the Senate on May 13, 2009. HB 2474 prevents any private or public employer, property owner, etc. from banning any person from keeping a firearm in a locked vehicle in a parking area on the property, with specific, limited exceptions. HB 2177, which allows a person with a valid concealed weapons permit to possess, transport or carry a weapon within a game refuge, passed out of the House Committee of the Whole (COW) on May 6, 2009. From here, it waits to be calendared for the House Third Read (final vote before being transmitted to the Senate). In the Senate, non-budget bills have still not been assigned to committees while the Senate continues working on the 2010 budget. Stuck in this legislative limbo are several AzCDL-requested bills, including SB 1270 (Constitutional Carry) and SB 1243 (Defensive Display), along with HB 2439 and HB 2474 which recently passed out of the House. When the 2010 budget passes, the Senate is facing a tsunami of non-budget bills conflicting with their urge to end the session and go home. AzCDL's full-time volunteer lobbyists have been meeting with key legislators on strategies to prevent critical pro-rights bills from being axed to accommodate streamlined schedules. Stay tuned! When critical legislation moves, we will notify you via these Alerts. 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 .