Brady Bunch Unhappy with Big Brother: The Brady Campaign isn't happy with President Obama. According to Brady, Obama was their David come to destroy the gun-toting Philistines, the Messiah who would toss the National Rifle Association (NRA) into the outer darkness to languish with a wailing and gnashing of teeth. A year after Obama became president, Brady awaits the beginning of what they heralded as a new day in gun control. In their new report, President Obama's First Year: Failed Leadership, Lost Lives, Brady wrote:"Barack Obama was elected on a campaign platform of enacting strong new gun laws." They base this assumption upon their post-2008 election report claiming the Democrats' win was a mandate on gun control. That report relied heavily on Brady's alleged beating of the NRA at the ballot boxes, but detailed research discovered that Brady: * manipulated their endorsement process to manufacture an allegedly dominating winning percentage, * ignored the fact that voters didn't consider gun control an important issue, * ignored voters' frustration with Republicans (Brady endorsed Democrats almost exclusively), and * ignored the fact that many pro-gun Democrats were elected... http://www.examiner.com/x-2879-Austin-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d19-Brady-Campaign-gives-Obama-an-F ...The Brady Campaign's report claimed Obama's record on gun violence is out of step with promises he made on the campaign trail. From the report: As a candidate, Barack Obama supported: * Closing the gun show loophole * Strengthening Brady background checks * Banning assault weapons * Repealing the Tiahrt Amendment that hinders law enforcement and hides crime gun data * Opposing concealed carry As President, Barack Obama so far has: * Kept silent on closing the gun show loophole * Maintained Bush-era destruction of Brady background check records * Silenced administration officials who spoke out in favor of banning assault weapons * Maintained the Tiahrt Amendment and added a broad new gag order on law enforcement * Expanded concealed carrying into national parks and allowed guns on Amtrak trains... (It's worth noting that the amendment tacked onto Big Brother's must-have Credit Card Reform Act, effective February 22, legalizes any form of carry in national parks that is lawful in the surrounding state but that the Amtrak measure only applies to the transport of firearms in checked luggage, just as on commercial airline flights. Then there's the insignificant issue that, according to the Constitution, it's actually Congress and not the president who make the laws.) http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0110/brady_campaign_f_4e52b8a5-4d03-44ce-9f5c-adbad49ed0bd.html --- F Troop, Austin PD Bully Texas Gun Show: ...Correspondent Walter L appears to shed some light: "The Texas Gun Shows have been "ordered" by the Austin PD and BATF to allow no setups for gun sales from non-FFLs. All individual sales will have to go through licensed dealers. Chasing some stuff down, it seems that HEB owns the building they use and the APD and BATF have gotten to them - threatening with the possibility of suit if there are sales on their property for non background checked transactions. Thus it's the 'landlord' not LE who is calling for the restrictions." ...Is this the way Bloomberg's wet dream to end private sales will be enacted? Not through rule of law, but through official intimidation? ... http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2010/01/messin-with-texas.html ...On Thursday, January 14, Mr. Boedeker was asked to meet with representatives of the ATF and Austin police at a building in Austin used for police interviews and interrogations. In addition to Boedeker, the two hour meeting included the participation of HEB, an Austin grocery retailer. HEB holds the lease on the building where the Texas Gun Shows events are held on the third week of every month. Police, under the direction of ATF, told Boedeker he would be required to follow their "recommendations" or they would close down his event. Boedeker said he was told "you do what we say or we shut you down." He said the ultimatum was recorded by the police and ATF. Mr. Boedeker indicated enforcing the ATF recommendations would destroy his business. He said he would not issue a public notice unless it indicated the so-called recommendations were issued by the Austin Police and the ATF. In order to make their case, the ATF and APD cited numerous alleged criminal cases associated with a previous gun show organizer. Mr. Boedeker said the ATF and APD did not seem aware that he is not associated with previous gun show events at the location... http://www.prisonplanet.com/obama-administration-shuts-down-oldest-gun-show-in-central-texas.html Meanwhile, in Tennessee...: Tennessee has followed Texas in demanding that dealers obtain licenses and turn over a plethora of information to authorities before being able to host a gun show in another devastating attack on the second amendment. The legislation, HB 2422, which has not yet passed, would make it a Class A misdemeanor for any person to organize, plan, promote, or operate a gun show without government approval. The bill makes it a crime for anyone who wishes to operate a gun show unless they follow the following procedures; (1) Notifies the TBI and the chief law enforcement officer in the county in which the gun show is to be held of the dates, times, and location of the gun show; (2) Verifies the identity of each gun show dealer participating in the gun show by examining a valid photo identification document of the dealer, before commencement of the gun show; (3) Requires each gun show dealer to sign a ledger with information identifying the dealer, including the dealer's name and address, before commencement of the gun show; and (4) Maintains a copy of the records described above in (2) and (3) at the gun show promoter's permanent place of business for one year from the date of the gun show. The legislation also contains a blanket ban on all unlicensed gun sales within 1,000 feet of an unapproved gun show. The bill would take effect on January 1, 2011 if signed into law... http://www.prisonplanet.com/tennessee-follows-texas-in-banning-private-gun-shows.html --- Virginia Gun Owners Lobby Legislature: A pro-gun, pro-states rights rally at the state Capitol this morning drew roughly 1,000 people who were encouraged afterward to file into the General Assembly Building to lobby their legislators. They are among several groups lobbying state lawmakers today, including mental-health and public safety advocates and the anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity. The rally crowd is interested in two bills in particular. House Bill 10 "protects an individual's right and power to participate, or to decline to participate, in a health-care system or plan." House Bill 69 says firearms and ammunition made in Virginia and retained here are not subject to federal law or regulation under the authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce... http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/state_regional/state_regional_govtpolitics/article/LEGIGAT18_20100118-121003/318434/ Those on both sides of the gun rights issue fired their first shots Monday, with battles being declared both inside and outside the state Capitol. Several hundred rallied for gun rights on the morning of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, followed by an afternoon rally attended by dozens calling for stricter gun laws. Inside the Capitol, Democrats pushed through committee changes that will make it more difficult to advance looser gun laws, while Republicans cried foul. So far, 30 bills have been filed that would allow concealed handguns to be carried in more places and make it easier to get both guns and the permits. Gun supporters had hoped to get more bills enacted this year because Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, who took office on Saturday, supports gun rights. Former Gov. Tim Kaine often vetoed pro-gun bills... Democrats in the Senate made that a little more difficult... http://www.wtkr.com/news/dp-va--xgr-virginia-guns0118jan18,0,7556256.story --- Utah Defensive-Display Bill Introduced: More guns may be making appearances in confrontations across Utah, adding intensity, for better or worse. Newly proposed legislation would be a green light for concealed-gun owners to openly carry firearms and, if threatened, draw or exhibit their weapons and verbally threaten deadly force... The bill's sponsor, Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, said HB78 clarifies existing law with "affirmative language" that would provide gun owners another option to defend themselves or others around them. "This allows a gun owner to not have to go all the way and actually fire his gun," Sandstrom said. "This would still be the very last resort, however. It doesn't give you the right to just flash a gun at anyone who makes you mad." The proposal officially allows Utahns to openly carry firearms and inform others that they are carrying a gun, not currently illegal, but not codified in law. The bill only applies to individuals who have concealed weapons permits, and "brandishing" a gun for anything less than self-defense will still be illegal... http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705359364/Guns-could-be-easily-brandished-under-proposed-law.html --- Gun Buyback Violated Pennsylvania, Federal Laws: On December 15, 2009, Goods for Guns of Allegheny County, Inc. hosted its 14th annual gun buy-back program at a Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services base on the Boulevard of the Allies near Smithfield Street and the Homestead Police Department-Municipal Building on East Ninth Avenue... Setting aside the misguided and naïve notions of those behind this program, the record is clear. These programs have never been shown to be effective in stopping crime or preventing accidents with firearms. Their true purpose is to continue to intimate a citizen's mere possession of firearms is a predictor of crime and injuries when, in fact, this is not the case. The road to hell is paved with good intentions; in the Goods for Guns program hell should have prison bars because these actions are a clear and direct violation of Federal and state laws... http://www.examiner.com/x-35389-Pittsburgh-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d18-Officials-apparently-condone-federal-and-state-law-breaking --- New Jersey Gun Owners Sue over One-Gun-a-Month Law: New Jersey gun owners took a parting shot at the waning administration of Gov. Jon Corzine today, filing a federal lawsuit challenging his one-handgun-a-month law, claiming it is unconstitutional and that some towns already make it impossible to obtain one pistol in six months. The Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, a Gloucester County sports shop and a Morris County gun-owner filed the action contending the law, signed by Corzine in August to limit handgun purchases to one per person, per month, is preempted by federal gun statutes. The lawsuit also accused Corzine of failing to adequately address the concerns of gun collectors, competitors, dealers and people who inherit guns through a task force the governor set up to develop exemptions to the law. Certain exemptions were included in follow-up legislation Corzine signed last week. But the lawsuit contends unspecific and unfair requirements have been set for gun collectors to apply to the superintendent of the State Police to review each multiple gun transaction... http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/nj_gun_owners_claim_one-handgu.html --- Support Builds for Expelled Student: Folks in the rural community of Willows [CA] remember the days, not long ago, when teenagers would go duck hunting on autumn mornings and then park their pickup trucks on the Willows High School campus with shotguns displayed in racks. That's why many residents were upset when school officials in November expelled 16-year-old Gary Tudesko for parking his pickup on a street next to campus with shotguns in the back seat after a morning hunting waterfowl. "This is a conservative, redneck hunting town. I'd say 99 percent of people in town support Gary," said chiropractor Eric Wunsch, a 1985 graduate of Willows High School. He remembered his school's parking lot filled with firearms. On Tuesday, the Glenn County Board of Education will hear an appeal in Tudesko's case, with local supporters and out-of-town activists expected to attend. A prominent gun-rights lawyer from Southern California represents the teen, and the National Rifle Association has given its support. The case has attracted national attention, and some lawyers predict it may end up setting legal precedent... (It looks as though past infractions, which did not involve firearms, were taken into account by the school board. Click link for details.) http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2469453.html --- Trijicon Places Bible References on Military Sights: Coded references to New Testament Bible passages about Jesus Christ are inscribed on high-powered rifle sights provided to the United States military by a Michigan company, an ABC News investigation has found... One of the citations on the gun sights, 2COR4:6, is an apparent reference to Second Corinthians 4:6 of the New Testament, which reads: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Other references include citations from the books of Revelation, Matthew and John dealing with Jesus as "the light of the world." John 8:12, referred to on the gun sights as JN8:12, reads, "Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Trijicon confirmed to ABCNews.com that it adds the biblical codes to the sights sold to the U.S. military. Tom Munson, director of sales and marketing for Trijicon, which is based in Wixom, Michigan, said the inscriptions "have always been there" and said there was nothing wrong or illegal with adding them. Munson said the issue was being raised by a group that is "not Christian." The company has said the practice began under its founder, Glyn Bindon, a devout Christian from South Africa who was killed in a 2003 plane crash... (Horror of horrors! These are codes that may bring a measure of comfort to Christians who have volunteered to put their lives on the line to defend their nation and would likely have gone unnoticed by most other troops had ABC not elected to publicize it. I guess military personnel should never be able to use BladeTech holsters because they are marked with the Christian fish symbol.) http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/us-military-weapons-inscribed-secret-jesus-bible-codes/story?id=9575794 --- Self-Defense Shooter Arrested in Philadelphia: A Virginia man is in custody after a weekend shooting in front of Fox 29's studio in Philadelphia that was caught on camera. Temple University grad student Gerald Ung allegedly shot Villanova graduate Ed DiDonato at 4th and Market Streets early Sunday morning. Police sources tell Fox 29 an argument started at a scaffolding next to Fox 29 where the shooting victim was bumped while doing chin ups at 2:30 a.m. On surveillance video taken by Fox 29, one man was rushed by another group and then he pulls a gun. The man who is the shooting victim moves toward the man with the gun, who shoots several times. When the video is slowed down, the shooting victim can be seen delivering punches even as the gun is discharging... Police sources tell Fox 29 that Ung has a firearms permit issued to him from Virginia. He is charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and related offenses. DiDonato was in critical condition at Jefferson University Hospital. (The concept of disparity of force allows for a reasonable perception of a deadly threat when one is attacked by multiple assailants, even if they don't appear to be armed.) http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/Old_City_Shooting_01_17_10 --- Oops, Wrong Bar: A shootout at a west Charlotte [NC] bar injured three, including Mark Bowens, a convicted killer from Belmont who police say initiated the Sunday night shooting... Police say Mark Anthony Bowens, 37, and Rodney Bowens, 45, both of Belmont, were kicked out of the nightclub and then returned a short time later with at least one handgun and started shooting. Bar owner Roosevelt Hinton, 67, of Charlotte, grabbed a handgun and fired back in self-defense, shooting Mark Bowens in the head and abdomen, police said. Police found Mark Bowens on the pavement outside the club. Mark Bowens has served four stretches in North Carolina prisons, including more than six years for a 1991 second-degree murder conviction in Mecklenburg County. He also served time for a March 2004 drug conviction in Gaston County. Hinton was not injured in the incident and will not face charges, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police... http://www.gastongazette.com/news/bar-42671-shooting-belmont.html --- Oops, Wrong House: A Lubbock homeowner shot and seriously injured a suspected burglar who was trying to kick in his door Monday afternoon. The homeowner called police shortly before 2:30 p.m. to report somebody was trying to gain entry into his house in the 3100 block of 45th Street, Lt. Neal Barron said. He told police he first heard a knocking sound at his front door and then the sound of his back door being kicked in. The homeowner opened the back door, confronted the suspect in his backyard and shot him with a shotgun. Police wouldn't release the homeowner's name, but neighbors said he is a Texas Tech graduate student. Authorities didn't anticipate any charges against him. "A person does have a right to defend his house," Barron said, noting Texas law allows homeowners to shoot people trying to burglarize their homes. The "Castle Doctrine" expanded those rights Sept. 1, 2007, legally allowing residents to protect themselves and their property if somebody is forcibly and illegally breaking into their home, vehicle or place of employment or business. Homeowners are not required to retreat before using deadly force... (Texas tends to give its residents more latitude than other states in using deadly force in the protection of property. In general, it might have been wiser tactically and legally, not to leave the house to confront the burglar in the yard.) http://lubbockonline.com/stories/011910/loc_551762211.shtml --- Man Shoots Way Out of Submerged Vehicle: A Roseville [CA] man escaped his crushed vehicle that was trapped underwater by an unusual method: gunfire. Authorities said the 28-year-old man was driving in his station wagon on Industrial Avenue on the bridge over Pleasant Grove Creek when a hands-free cell phone device activated, startling him and causing the vehicle to veer into the chilly waters just before 9:00 a.m. Sunday. The man, employed as an armed security officer at Thunder Valley Casino, found himself trapped inside his car about six to eight feet below the surface in the 50-degree water. The Roseville Fire Department said the man used his handgun to shoot out his vehicle window, giving himself an opportunity to escape and swim to safety. The man flagged down a passing vehicle and was treated for minor injuries by emergency crews. (Roseville is located in Placer County, which sometimes issues CWP to ordinary citizens. I suspect that that if he had not been a licensed security officer, he would not have been able to carry a loaded firearm in his vehicle legally.) http://cbs13.com/local/roseville.underwater.car.2.1432423.html --- Rule Five Reminder: A gun found inside a stall in a women's restroom located past the security checkpoint on the C concourse at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas caused a hold to be placed on flights Friday, Metro police said. Metro police spokesman Bill Cassell said the gun belonged to a female law enforcement officer from a jurisdiction in another state who was leaving Las Vegas. He said the officer was traveling with the appropriate paperwork, and the weapon was returned to her. (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm. Nevada is one of the few states that bans carry inside an airport terminal, even prior to reaching the security checkpoints.) http://www.policeone.com/off-duty/articles/1991942-Gun-found-at-Las-Vegas-airport-belonged-to-officer/ --- Tucson JROTC Rifle Team Takes State Championship: Flowing Wells High School's JROTC Rifle Team finally owns a state title. The award had eluded the rifle team for a decade, but that changed when Flowing Wells prevailed over 11 teams at the state championship Saturday at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix... Saturday's final required competitors to shoot at targets 10 meters away from standing, prone and kneeling positions. Competitors use air rifles that shoot tiny pellets. Competition at the state finals was crowded with some of the state's top shooters, and Larger said it was awesome to be there... Flowing Wells will next travel to Camp Perry, Ohio, in February to compete in the national Army JROTC championship. (I suspect there was a time when these teams used .22 rifles but, these days, it's hard enough to keep using air rifles in the face of political correctness in schools.) http://www.azstarnet.com/news/local/education/article_08e789b8-0529-11df-8f51-001cc4c03286.html --- FBI Reviews Flawed-Data Cases: Three people convicted of murder have been released from prison because their cases were tainted by a now discredited theory that bullets found at a crime scene could be linked to bullets found in possession of suspects. Nearly five years after the FBI abandoned its so-called comparative bullet lead analysis, the FBI has yet to complete its review of nearly 2,500 cases where law enforcement used such evidence to investigate a case... Comparative bullet lead analysis was based on the theory that lead bullets pick up trace elements such as copper, antimony, arsenic, bismuth and silver during manufacturing. When the soft metal is shaped into bullets and packaged, bullets in the same box would contain similar amounts of the trace elements, the theory went. FBI lab technicians compared bullet fragments from a crime scene with bullets possessed by suspects. If the trace elements closely matched, prosecutors - backed by FBI testimony - would argue the suspects' guilt. Defense attorneys say the analysis appeared to be a miracle of science: It required a small nuclear reactor, once housed at an FBI lab at the Hoover Building in Washington, D.C., and relied on the expertise of only a handful of qualified FBI agents. FBI experts wowed jurors by explaining how gamma rays, energy released from bombarding a bullet with neutrons, could be measured to make a match... (Antimony is usually an alloying component of lead bullets, not a trace element.) http://www.policeone.com/police-products/investigation/evidence-management/articles/1991944-FBI-reviews-cases-where-flawed-evidence-was-used/ --- Beretta Upgrades 92/96 Series, Again: Beretta's new Model 92A1 and 96A1 pistols representing the evolution and integration of the world famous 92FS pistol and the Beretta 90-Two, will be launched at the 2010 SHOT Show in Las Vegas, Nevada... Combining the best elements of the 92FS and the 90-Two, these pistols have been designed to improve upon the already legendary performance of the 92FS in terms of durability, capacity, ergonomics, ease of accessorizing, and maintenance. Both models feature high capacity magazines,17 rounds in 9mm in the 92A1 and 12 rounds in 40 S&W in the 96A1, and are completely interchangeable with other 92 family magazines. An internal recoil buffer increases service life by reducing stress on the receiver created by the more powerful .40 S&W caliber ammunition [emphasis added]. Each pistol includes three magazines. The frame of the 92 and 96A1's have an integral MIL-STD-1913 rail for rapid attachment of tactical lights and laser aiming devices, removable front sight allows the user to easily replace a damaged sight or replace it with an accessory sight. (I am not a fan of the 92/96, which I consider to be a big pistol for what it offers. Even after the upgrade to strengthen the slides, LASD had recurrent problems with cracked locking lugs on the 92FS and USBP instructors were estimating the service life of their 96G's at 3,000 rounds, with the Patrol's use of the relatively hot 155 gr. JHP loads. If you want a Beretta pistol, I would recommend looking at the PX4.) http://www.policeone.com/police-products/firearms/press-releases/1990951-Beretta-Introduces-its-New-Model-92A1-and-96A1-Handguns-at-Shot-Show-2010/ --- Brits Purchase Unspecified American Rifle: The Ministry of Defence has spent £1.5million on 440 Sharpshooter rifles for troops on the frontline in Afghanistan. The weapon, which is US-made and uses 7.62mm ammunition, is the first new infantry combat rifle to be given to soldiers in more than two decades. The order follows concern that the Army's standard issue SA80 A2 assault rifle, which fires smaller 5.56mm rounds, is less effective because its range is limited to about 300 yards. The new weapon has the same calibre as the AK47 rifles favoured by the Taliban... Colonel Peter Warden, Light Weapons, Photographic and Batteries Team Leader at Defence, Equipment and Support, said: "It is a versatile weapon which will give our units a new dimension to their armoury. Initial feedback to the rifle has been very positive and the Army units deployed in Afghanistan are very keen to get their hands on it." However one senior Army officer source warned: "The MoD is only ordering just over 400. There are going to be so few of these rifles that they will be handed out like a job-share." (My best guess is that this is some form of Springfield Armory M1A, which is chambered in 7.62x51mm [.308], not the .7.62x39mm round used in the AK-47. I didn't realize that British media were allowed to report yards in place of meters; Britain has been pretty dogmatic about its adoption of the metric system.) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7011567/New-Sharpshooter-rifle-for-soldiers-in-Afghanistan.html --- As Seen from that Infamous Island...: Armed and ready, this family are fully prepared to take on the terrorist threat. Morgana, six, the youngest of the eight children, is as comfortable with a lethal .22 calibre rifle as she is with a Barbie doll. Her sister Raven, nine, has her own .22 as well, bought for her when she was seven. It is in baby pink. She explains proudly: "My dad says I'm becoming quite a good shot." Dad is Lee Miracle, of Sterling Heights, Michigan. After the events of 9/11 Lee, his wife Katerina, 43, and their children aged from six to 17 are preparing for attacks from foreign invaders. They believe such readiness - including a house full of 25 FIREARMS - is their civic duty. Top dog at the South East Michigan Volunteer Militia, 42-year-old Lee has schooled his military brood in advanced firearm training and also Ray Mears-style outdoors survival techniques. The couple and their brood - Morgana, Raven, Elijah, ten, Caleb, 11, Cameron and Megan, both 13, Emily, 15, and 17-year-old Christian - meet hundreds of like-minded souls once a month on a farm to hone their skills against outside threats... http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2811991/Gun-toting-family-ready-for-terrorists.html -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. The tactics and skills to use a firearm in self-defense don't come naturally with the right to keep and bear arms. http://www.spw-duf.info .