Paradigm Shift?: When I first started sharing news items via e-mail, some recipients complained about receiving links to some of the left-leaning news sites that required registration (e.g., N.Y. Times, L.A. Times, etc.) As you may know, traditional print newspapers are in financial trouble and will be shifting increasingly to an internet model. Recently, The New York Times announced that it will begin charging for access to much of its site. I suspect that this will eventually become the new paradigm. My question is whether list members want to receive links to articles that may require payment to view. I myself am inclined to limit paid subscriptions to those news sources that more closely reflect my own politics. At this time, I have no idea how much it would cost me to subscribe to sites such as The New York Times. Your input may help me decide when I am faced with the actual decisions. --- A Liberal Looks at McDonald: ... In the city's attempt to preserve its weapons ban, it proves too much, essentially urging the Supreme Court to find that protection of the Bill of Rights and other fundamental liberties against state infringement has no basis in constitutional text or history, and is instead achieved solely by judicial implication. To make matters worse, Chicago's brief makes common cause with precedent that has been properly labeled by civil rights leaders as "among the most misdirected in the history of the Court" and celebrates a post-Civil War Court that looked the other way while Jim Crow perpetuated decades of discrimination and violent rights suppression. Accordingly, even gun-control advocates, who might otherwise support the city's argument in this case, should think twice about selling out substantive rights protection in order to protect gun laws (especially when strong arguments, like those made by the Brady Center and others, can be made in support of most gun restrictions without undercutting the 14th Amendment)... http://balkin.blogspot.com/2010/01/has-chicago-gone-too-far-in-defending.html --- More on the Scott Brown Victory: The national political landscape has been (apparently) shaken by Republican Scott Brown's improbable U.S. Senate victory over Democrat Martha Coakley in Massachusetts. Amidst the cheering and congratulations, we gun owners need to ask ourselves what this means as far as our right to keep and bear arms is concerned... I don't want to rain on everybody's parade, but I think gun owners will be right at this point to breathe sigh of relief but keep their enthusiasm in check. True, we dodged a bullet, no question. But how will Senator Brown now handle our trust? The thing I noticed about his victory speech last night that most raises my concern is this: "I go to Washington as the representative of no faction or interest, answering only to my conscience and to the people." Only? Answer to the Constitution, Mr. Senator-elect. If you do that, we'll get along just fine... (Having made a small online contribution to the Brown campaign, I was quite annoyed yesterday to receive two automated phone calls from Brown telling me how grateful he is to John McCain for his support and urging me to support McCain in his bid for re-election. Politically aware Arizona gun owners have been trying to dump McCain for years. As the saying goes, hope for the best but prepare for the worst from this guy. I fear that using his victory speech to "tout" his own daughters may be indicative of what we can expect.) http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d20-What-does-Scott-Brown-victory-mean-for-gun-owners Arizona Sen. John McCain has enlisted high-profile Republican support in his bid for re-election, including the GOP's man of the hour, Sen.-elect Scott Brown, R-Mass. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate in the 2008 presidential race who remains popular among conservative voters, also is expected to lend a hand: She visits Arizona on March 26-27 to help McCain raise money and campaign... McCain is facing Republican challengers Chris Simcox and Jim Deakin in this year's Aug. 24 primary. Former Republican Rep. J.D. Hayworth, a conservative talk-show host on KFYI-AM (550), also may challenge. In anticipation of a possible tough fight, McCain has been burnishing his conservative credentials... (So far, I'm supporting Deakin.) http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/01/21/20100121mccain0121.html --- GOA Endorses Illinois Senate Candidate: Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund is pleased to endorse Patrick Hughes for U.S. Senate in the February 2nd Illinois Republican primary. Patrick Hughes' commitment to the right to keep and bear arms is unwavering. Mr. Hughes understands that gun prohibitions turn law-abiding citizens into easier targets for violent criminals. Unlike his primary opponent, Patrick Hughes does not support laws that treat people who simply want to own a gun to protect their families like second class citizens. The contrast between Patrick Hughes and his opponent could not be clearer, as he is running against the most anti-gun Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives... Mark Kirk has not only voted consistently against your Second Amendment rights - he is an anti-gun leader as well. In 2004, Kirk urged then-Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert to extend the Clinton ban on semi-automatic firearms. After its expiration, Kirk introduced his own bill to reinstate the gun ban. In the current session of Congress, Kirk has cosponsored a bill that will regulate gun shows out of existence and a bill to deny Second Amendment rights to the hundreds of thousands of people on the government's "watch" list... (As I recall, this is Big Brother's former seat in the Senate.) http://www.cdobs.com/archive/syndicated/gun-owners-of-america-endorse-hughes-for-u-s-senate,118649 --- Legalize Guns, Lower the Homicide Rate?: More guns in law-abiding hands mean less crime. The District of Columbia proves the point. Reading most press accounts, one would be forgiven for thinking Armageddon had arrived after the Supreme Court struck down the District's handgun ban in 2008. Predictions sprung forth from all directions that allowing more citizens to own guns and not forcing them to keep them locked up was going to threaten public safety. According to D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, more guns in homes would cause more violent crime. This has never been the case. Local politicians enthusiastically embraced the 1977 handgun ban predicting it would make Washington a safe place by dramatically reducing murder rates. But they were as wrong three decades ago as they are now. A telling story is illustrated by the murder numbers since the handgun ban and gun-lock bans were struck down. Between 2008 and 2009, the FBI's preliminary numbers indicate that murders fell nationally by 10 percent and by about 8 percent in cities that have between 500,000 and 999,999 people. Washington's population is about 590,000. During that same period of time, murders in the District fell by an astounding 25 percent, dropping from 186 to 140. The city only started allowing its citizens to own handguns for defense again in late 2008... (I will agree that the Heller decision, which increased the number of lawfully owned handguns in DC and may have taken the locks off some of the long guns, certainly did not increase the rate of violent crime. I continue to remain cautious about crediting it with dropping the rate of criminal homicides, particularly since it did not legalize carry outside the home. Crime rates are influenced by many factors and I think it's risky to base RKBA arguments on them.) http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/21/guns-decrease-murder-rates/ --- Green Eggs and Hamm: (After the controversy over the Austin gun show situation, perhaps a bit of humor is necessary to lighten the mood. Regarding the hot-button topic of gun control, the following satirical poem is a whimsical take on the Brady Campaign agenda.) ... http://www.examiner.com/x-2879-Austin-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d21-Ode-to-the-Brady-Campaign --- Ohio Restaurant-Carry Bill Heard in Committee: Yesterday, House Bill 203, the bill Ohioans For Concealed Carry drafted the initial version of in conjunction with Representatives Danny Bubp and Jarrod Martin, had proponent testimony before the Public Safety and Homeland Security committee. This important fix would add restaurants to the current exemption that covers class D retail stores provided the licensee is not consuming alcohol... For those who don't know her, Nicole was being terrorized by a stalker and obtained a Tennessee gun permit to carry a firearm for protection. Unfortunately, it was while in a restaurant that served alcohol that her stalker chose to strike. Nicole's gun was locked in her car as mandated by Tennessee law just like Ohio's law currently requires. She was helpless to stop the attacker as he shot and killed her husband right in front of her. The testimony went very well overall with Nicole's being called some of the most compelling, relevant, and meaningful ever heard. We were very grateful to have her there to speak. She serves as an example that this is not rhetoric and that bans on self-defense while in a restaurant that happens to serve alcohol can cost lives... http://ohioccw.org/201001204764/restaurant-carry-hearing-recap.html http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-2206-Cleveland-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d20-Testifying-for-gun-rights-in-the-Ohio-legislature --- Wyoming May Fix Reciprocity Blunder: Thumbs up to Senator Cale Case, he has introduced legislation to fix the conceal-carry blunder from earlier this year. SF 26 - Eligibility concealed weapons permit, will fix what Freuedenthal's appointee decided was a problem. Ultimately, WyGO / Wyoming Gun Owners supports legislation that lets anyone with a permit from any state carry in Wyoming. If an individual has a concealed carry permit from their own state, no matter what we interpret from their state law, who are we to say they cannot carry in Wyoming? Even if that state doesn't reciprocate, we must lead by example. Also, can we say we should be able to carry anywhere in the country only to restrict others visiting here? Certainly not... http://www.examiner.com/x-25069-Cheyenne-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d18-Wyoming-Senator-Cale-Case-introducing-a-fix-to-conceal-carry-reciprocity --- Colorado State University Carry Ban Advances: The Colorado State University System has released a draft of a proposed policy that would ban weapons from its Fort Collins and Pueblo campuses. The draft, issued Wednesday, provides exemptions for certified law enforcement officers, military personnel and ROTC drill teams. It also allows the CSU police chief to grant exemptions for educational purposes and to people who face a serious threat, if they have a concealed-carry permit. It would allow the CSU police to store weapons for employees, students and visitors. CSU officials said suggestions on the policy's definitions, exemptions, storage plans and timelines will be accepted through Jan. 29. The CSU System Board of Governors will consider the final draft at a meeting in Pueblo in February. (If this policy is adopted as drafted, I wonder if we will see protests in which the capacity of the CSU police to store firearms for employees, students and visitors will be overwhelmed.) http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/22283991/detail.html --- Kids Need Firearms Training: When it comes to youth firearm training, many Americans are fearful. Don't teach kids about guns, many urge. Truth is that youth with guns get hurt because they don't know a thing about them. In Western New York, thanks to the NRA's Eddie Eagle program training in many elementary schools, children in grades one through six are taught "If you find a gun, don't touch it, leave it alone, call an adult!" Very effective! This 15-minute classroom training is credited with saving hundreds of lives across the country each year... There is help in the forecast. Thanks to NYS-DEC sponsored youth hunting days in New York State and other states, trained and safety-certified youngster numbers in the woods are increasing hunter populations. It is a fact that young shooters and hunters have the fewest number of safety related violations/incidents and firearm accidents logged across the country. Kids today are keen on caution when it comes to understanding danger and safety. Some older hunters and non-hunting parents, need to learn about such facts and data! When trained properly, youth do not violate the rules, not even close! They know the law. They know about safety. They never shoot blind. They are truly safe. High credits to these properly trained youth of today. That's if you can get them interested! The big IF all needs to start with the parents, so parents, it is up to you... (Eddie Eagle is a very limited program. This was intended to reduce resistance to its use in left-leaning schools, a tactic that has not proven particularly effective. I'm glad to see that this article goes beyond Eddie Eagle.) http://www.metrowny.com/cj_story.php?time_hash=6c76c947b53cba56cbe47e06929ccc17 --- NRA Taking Youth Education Summit Applications: The National Rifle Association is currently accepting applications from qualified high school sophomores and juniors to participate in the National Youth Education Summit (Y.E.S.) from July 12-18, 2010. Over 40 outstanding students from across the United States are chosen each year to travel to the nation's capital, where they participate in the weeklong, educational opportunity. The summit encourages young adults to become active and knowledgeable U.S. citizens by learning about the Constitution and Bill of Rights, the federal government, and the importance of being active in civic affairs... http://www.ammoland.com/2010/01/20/nra-youth-education-summit-applications/ --- Oops, Wrong Store: What happened inside a North Memphis [TN] convenience store doesn't come as a surprise to most folks in the area. In fact, they say the suspected crook got what he deserved... Around eleven Sunday morning police say an armed, 17-year old boy tried to rob Ben Call market. The robbery attempt failed when the store manager pulled a gun and shot him. Nate Whitlock, a cab driver, who frequently stops at Ben Call says you can never be too careful. "You've got to do what you got to do. These people out here are desperate," said Whitlock. The teen was taken to the med and is in critical condition. The store owner didn't have anything to say about what happened but Edward Howard did. "He didn't do nothing wrong he was protecting his life and property." He says the area where the shooting took place is plagued with crime and believes the store manager's reaction was justified... http://www.wreg.com/news/wreg-teen-shot-by-store-clerk,0,1499475.story --- Rule Four Reminder: The 13-year-old son of Republican gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine shot and wounded a 59-year-old man Sunday while hunting on a North Georgia preserve owned by a prominent insurance executive with close political ties to Oxendine. The victim was hit with 30 pellets in his right leg. Oxendine, the state's insurance commissioner since 1995, was hunting with his teenage sons at the Northwest Georgia Quail Preserve, co-owned by Delos "Dee" Yancey III, who is CEO of State Mutual Insurance Co., based in Rome. "I still believe in hunting and I still believe in guns," Oxendine said Wednesday. "I still will hunt and my family will still hunt." On Tuesday, when the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first learned of the shooting, Oxendine's staff said only that Oxendine himself was not the shooter or the victim. Oxendine said Wednesday that he did not identify his son as the shooter because he wasn't sure until the DNR report came out. The report says four hunters fired at the same quail. Oxendine was positioned near his son at the time of the shooting... (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it. Hunting upland fowl such as quail requires very quick responses to rapidly moving targets and becomes much trickier as the number of hunters increases. This may not be too dissimilar from a gunfight, which is why most instructors recommend ammunition which is not likely to penetrate beyond the intended target.) http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/oxendine-s-son-accidentally-279433.html --- Warning Shots, Again: Gunfire erupted during a robbery in a Northwestside beauty shop last night. No one was injured in the exchange at Diana's Beauty Shop, 7011 N. Michigan Rd., but the robber escaped with $340, according to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report. Shop employee Hendry Rodriguez, 23, Indianapolis, told police that a gunman entered the shop at 7 p.m. and demanded money. Rodriguez gave the man about $30 from his pockets and opened the cash register for him. The robber then told Rodriguez to go into a backroom while he cleaned out the cash drawer. When Rodriguez reached the rear of the shop he pulled out his own gun, a Glock with a 14 bullets in it, and fired a shot into the ground to scare the robber. The bandit fired one shot at Rodriguez, missing him, and ran out the front door, according to the report... (All's well that ends well but Rodriguez could have gotten himself killed firing that warning shot. If he lacked the justification to shoot the robber at that point, he should not have fired at all.) http://www.indystar.com/article/20100114/NEWS02/1140482/Guns-fired-during-beauty-shop-robbery --- Some Cheese to Go with that Whine?: An Amtrak police officer is suing the railroad, claiming it's liable for a woman who grabbed his gun and shot him in the foot. Sixty-five-year-old James Bullard says he was working at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station last March when he tried to remove a disruptive woman from a McDonald's restaurant. He says she grabbed his gun from his holster and shot him in the foot. In the lawsuit, Bullard claims that he had a worn-out gun holster and that Amtrak didn't provide a new holster when he requested one. Calls to both Bullard and his attorney, Steven Lafferty, were not immediately returned. An Amtrak spokesman declined to comment. (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm. The integrity of your holster is crucial to maintaining control of a handgun you carry. If it is carried openly, the demand is higher, as is demonstrated in this incident; I have always counseled that those who opt for open carry need to use a holster with a minimum of one level of retention device. Knowing that his holster was no longer meeting that requirement, this officer's refusal to buy his own, after his employer failed to provide him a new one, is reminiscent of deputies with whom I used to work who argued, "if I needed that training, the department would give it to me.") http://townhall.com/news/us/2010/01/21/amtrak_cop_worn-out_holster_led_to_foot-shooting --- Legitimizing "Evil Black Rifles": If Jim Zumbo had the National Shooting Sports Foundation in his corner a few years ago, he might still be the hunting editor of Outdoor Life magazine. Zumbo was literally driven from the temple after expressing discouraging words in his web site blog about the viability of so-called "black rifles" or AR-15-style guns as hunting firearms. Unfortunately, Zumbo expressed his opinions just at the time black rifles were gaining traction in the shooting sports world, and his comments touched off a firestorm of protests... It is to reduce the likelihood of such faux pas that the NSSF announced here at the SHOT Show an ongoing effort to educate shooting sports enthusiasts about black rifles, euphemistically termed "modern sporting rifles" by the organization and its members that manufacture the firearms. Hopefully, what such traditionalists as Zumbo will learn from the project will rub off on the general public, though the process of osmosis might be unclear at this point... http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/hunting/news/story?id=4843094 --- Colt Waffles on Double-Action Revolvers: ... A Colt exec told me that rumors of a new double action revolver from this fabled old company are false...for now. He indicated, however, that both plans and equipment are in place for this to happen, somewhere down the road. My fellow gun writer Wiley Clapp was at the Colt booth, justifiably proud that he had convinced the company to bring out a Series '70-type Lightweight Commander .45, a popular model that hasn't been offered since the early '80s... (I have maintained for years that a business professor could offer at least a year's worth of courses on how not to run a business using Colt as a case study. Almost everyone else in the industry has realized the renewed demand for concealable revolvers as lawful CCW increases across the nation. Many people would love to get six .38 Special rounds in place of five in a small-frame revolver. Colt already simplified the manufacture of its Detective Special by converting to coil-spring versions: DS II, SF VI and Magnum Carry.) http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/2010/01/20/shot-show-day-2/ --- Tangentially Related: The Supreme Court has ruled that corporations may spend freely to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, easing decades-old limits on their participation in federal campaigns. By a 5-4 vote, the court on Thursday overturned a 20-year-old ruling that said corporations can be prohibited from using money from their general treasuries to pay for campaign ads. The decision, which almost certainly will also allow labor unions to participate more freely in campaigns, threatens similar limits imposed by 24 states. The justices also struck down part of the landmark McCain-Feingold [emphasis added] campaign finance bill that barred union- and corporate-paid issue ads in the closing days of election campaigns... The decision, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, removes limits on independent expenditures that are not coordinated with candidates' campaigns... The case also does not affect political action committees, which mushroomed after post-Watergate laws set the first limits on contributions by individuals to candidates. Corporations, unions and others may create PACs to contribute directly to candidates, but they must be funded with voluntary contributions from employees, members and other individuals, not by corporate or union treasuries. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/21/AR2010012101724.html http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2010/01/21/supreme_court_rolls_back_campaign_spending_limits ...The chamber, as well as the GOP-aligned National Rifle Association [emphasis added], filed briefs in the case supporting the conservative non-profit group challenging the rules, though so did the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations or AFL-CIO. The Democratic National Committee, however, in a brief filed by then-DNC general counsel Bob Bauer, who has since been tapped as White House general counsel, argued in favor of keeping the rules, asserting that opening the door to more corporate spending in elections would discourage the types of small donors who he contends helped power Obama to victory in 2008. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31786.html ...But the hundreds of comments the article received from readers - both online and via e-mail - included surprises. Seems lots of people share names with people suspected of being terrorists. My personal favorite came from readers who pointed out that they have top-secret security clearance. Yet they still cannot get through an airport without a struggle... (Recall that there are those who would deny lawful firearm purchases to those whose names appear on no-fly lists.) http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/mikey-youre-not-alone/ -- 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 .