2010 - The Year to Swing for the Fence?: In politics, like baseball, there is a time to bunt and a time to swing for the fence. This year is ripe for home runs. The political climate this year offers a unique opportunity for rights advocates to make major gains - both legislatively and politically. To make those gains we need to pull out all of the stops and go big... With politicians scrambling for support wherever they can find it, rights activists are finding a warmer reception in more political offices than ever before. Republicans are ready to actively back much stronger pro-rights legislation than they have been willing to support in the past and pro-rights Democrats are more willing to demand that their party leaders give them an opportunity to go on the record with pro-rights votes they can use to bolster their support with the GunVoters back home. This is a strategic opportunity. This is the year to introduce and force record votes on bold pro-rights legislation. In this environment, getting critical votes is more likely than in recent years and the chances of passage are as good as anyone has ever seen. But the real beauty is that even if pro-rights legislation fails, as long as we get the record vote, we win! ... http://www.ammoland.com/2010/01/29/big-gains-in-gun-rights/ --- Ignoring the Bill of Rights: Over the years I've made the argument that if we allow our government to take our 2nd Amendment rights away, it won't be long before they come to take the other rights protected by the Bill of Rights. Too often the response I received was "They wouldn't do that!" Now comes Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, not only threw out the time limits for electioneering, but added that the federal government could not set limits on corporations spending whatever they wanted to promote their own political messages during campaigns. The ban violated free speech protections, the court said. A ban on direct donations from corporations to campaigns still exists... Just hours after the Supreme Court decision: Barack Obama said: "I am instructing my Administration to get to work immediately with Congress on this issue. We are going to talk with bipartisan Congressional leaders to develop a forceful response to this decision. [Obama - Politics and Policy, Washington Post, Jan 26, 2010, 1:25 P.M... If these politicians are willing to violate the intent and essence of a Supreme Court decision so quickly what do you think will stop them if our constitutionally enabled ability to resist tyranny - the 2nd Amendment - is taken? "Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty, teeth and keystone under independence. ~ George Washington, January 7, 1790. What will stop them from trampling all of our rights? ... (The Washington quotation is bogus: http://www.guncite.com/gc2ndbog.html.) http://www.examiner.com/x-35389-Pittsburgh-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d27-They-wouldnt-do-that --- The Militia and the Second Amendment: ...Using a militia as an alternative to standing armies had deep roots in English history, and possessed considerable appeal, but it also had some serious problems. Alexander Hamilton, for example, thought the militia system could not serve its purpose effectively, primarily because it violated the basic economic principle of the division of labor. And even those who treasured the militia recognized that it was fragile. The reason it was fragile was the same reason that made Hamilton disparage it: citizens were always going to resist undergoing unpaid military training, and governments were always going to want more professional - and therefore more efficient and tractable - forces. This led to a dilemma at the Constitutional Convention. Experience during the Revolutionary War had demonstrated convincingly that militia forces could not be relied on for national defense, and the occasions requiring a defense of the nation might not always be foreseen very far in advance. The Convention therefore decided to give the federal government almost unfettered authority to establish armies, including peacetime standing armies. But that decision created a threat to liberty, especially in light of the fact that the proposed Constitution also forbade the states from keeping troops without the consent of Congress... (Not discussed in this article is that fact that Hamilton was enamored of the English system and wished to replicate it on the American continent, only with a different king or president for life.) http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/wm2786.cfm --- The Machine-Gun-Conversion Lie: A few days ago, an article by Seattle Gun Rights Examiner Dave Workman looked at some of the political shenanigans pulled by forcible citizen disarmament advocates in furtherance of their "assault weapon" ban agenda in Washington state. One of the people speaking in favor of the ban was Bellevue, WA police chief Linda Pillo. Mr. Workman points out a number of problems with her testimony, but I am going to focus on just one. Chief Pillo made a claim that you just don't hear all that often anymore - that: "Assault weapons can also be easily converted to fully automatic machine guns." There's probably a pretty good reason for that claim to have been largely abandoned by the gun prohibitionists - it's demonstrably untrue (not that that is a reliable deterrent). An old newspaper article, no longer available at the paper's website (but can be seen here) provides a nice description of a reporter's investigation into what would be involved in performing such a conversion... http://www.examiner.com/x-2581-St-Louis-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d29-The-easily-converted-to-machine-guns-myth-makes-a-comeback ...I've been following the debate. One point always seems to go unexplained. Once some concerned police chief declares that semi-automatic rifles are dangerously easy to convert, the discussion leaps elsewhere. No details of the conversion task are forthcoming. So I called a spokesman for Gov. Blagojevich in Chicago. Could you explain, I asked. How do you do this job anyway? Do you need a screwdriver? A power drill? How long does it take? Could the governor's office be a little more explicit about the mechanics of the threat? I gave the helpful spokesman a day to do a little research, then called back. He told me had learned the root of the problem is the "conversion kit," something that allows you to replace a certain part in the rifle and make it a machine gun. I see. Do you know the name of this part? He didn't. In fact, as he readily acknowledged, he knew almost nothing about guns at all. Not that there's anything wrong with that. He did tell me: "It's very easy if you follow the instructions." ... (Not mentioned in either article is that fact that F Troop will not approve for sale in the US any autoloading firearm they consider readily convertible to fully automatic fire. For example, Ohio Ordnance Works [http://www.ohioordnanceworks.com/] sells collector-grade semi-automatic versions of a few military firearms, each of which has a trigger group that has met this standard for F Troop.) http://illinoiscarry.com/forum/index.php?s=2e7f3595b8d999cffbb1d20f29bca7b9&showtopic=2613&st=0&p=20270&#entry20270 --- Another Look at Otis McDonald: ..."I know every day that I come out in the streets, the youngsters will shoot me as quick as they will a policeman," says McDonald, a trim man with a neat mustache and closely cropped gray hair. "They'll shoot a policeman as quick as they will any of their young gangbangers." To defend himself, McDonald says, he needs a handgun. So, in April of 2008, the retired maintenance engineer agreed to serve as the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging Chicago's 28-year-old handgun ban. Soon after, he walked into the Chicago Police Department and, as his attorneys had directed, applied for a .22-caliber Beretta pistol, setting the lawsuit into motion. When that case is argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on March 2, McDonald will become the public face of one of the most important Second Amendment cases in the nation's history. Amid the clamor of the gun-rights debate, McDonald presents a strongly sympathetic figure: an elderly man who wants a gun to protect himself from the hoodlums preying upon his neighborhood. But the story of McDonald and his lawsuit is more complicated than its broad outlines might suggest. McDonald and three co-plaintiffs were carefully recruited by gun-rights groups attempting to shift the public perception of the Second Amendment as a white, rural Republican issue. McDonald, a Democrat and longtime hunter, jokes that he was chosen as lead plaintiff because he is African-American... http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/ct-news-chicago-gun-ban-20100129,0,3152673.story --- Make Sure Brain Is in Gear before Putting Mouth into Motion: A little-known Republican challenging Sen. Evan Bayh is fueling controversy with some comments made before a guns rights group. Political newcomer Richard Behney told a meeting of a Second Amendment Patriot group in Evansville that it's essential to vote in new faces this November. "I've got news for Barack Hussein Obama and, in my case, Evan Bayh. In 2010, we ain't calling you out, we're throwing you out," he said in a speech later posted on YouTube. "Because, if we don't see new faces, I'm cleaning my guns and getting ready for the big show, and I'm serious about that." Behney told 6News' Norman Cox that he wasn't threatening anyone, but simply expressing the fear and concern he's heard from thousands of Hoosiers. He said he believes that if unresponsive politicians continue with out-of-control spending, the United States will wind up like Haiti, with a collapsed economy and broken down society, forcing Americans to arm themselves to defend their homes... http://www.theindychannel.com/politics/22369569/detail.html --- Open Carry Was Side Issue at Washington "AWB" Hearing: Wrapping up this week's coverage of the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on SB 6396 - Sen. Adam Kline's measure to ban so-called "assault weapons" - the story would not be complete without noting an incident that occurred outside the hearing room. Prior to the hearing, as several Open Carry activists gathered in the hallway of the John A. Cherberg Senate Office Building, Washington CeaseFire's Ralph Fascitelli approached a member of the State Patrol's security team and, after pointing out that there were visibly armed citizens in the building, demanded of the trooper: "Do you know if they're loaded?" Sources have confirmed to the Gun Rights Examiner that Fascitelli appeared both irritated and unnerved, and he wanted the State Patrol troopers to check every firearm at the door of the building to see if they were loaded. He was told by the WSP that troopers do not have the authority under state law to do that... (I'm sure it must be a struggle for guys like Workman to keep from typing "Fascistelli" when they write these articles.) http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d29-Fear-and-hostility-toward-open-carry-in-Olympia --- Virginia Poised to Expand RKBA: ...This is gun country, where firearms are a part of the culture and in the hands of those who want them. Now Speight is in jail accused of killing eight people, including four family members. The official causes of death have not been released, but police documents say at least one of the victims was shot. The slayings, like those of 32 people at Virginia Tech three years ago, are unlikely to do anything to slow down proposals to make it easier to purchase and carry guns... Del. Watkins M. Abbitt Jr. said the shootings in his hometown did nothing to dissuade his support for robust gun rights... He said the difficulty lies in identifying people whose mental instability could lead to violence but have not been committed to a facility for mental health problems... The answer lies not in outlawing guns but in an armed, law-abiding populace, said Del. Charles W. "Bill" Carrico, R-Grayson. "The fact is that police officers can't always be there," said Carrico, a former Virginia State Police trooper. "People have to be able to defend themselves when they're not." Carrico was one of several legislators and about 1,000 residents, many with their pistols on their hips, who attended a gun rights rally on Capitol Square the day before the shootings. Carrico is sponsoring several gun-related bills, including those that would allow individuals with concealed weapons permits to renew by mail rather than in person, to allow permit holders to take guns onto school grounds when class isn't in session and to remove from federal regulation firearms that are made and sold in Virginia... http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/ap/gun-bills-flourish-despite-mass-shootings-83148337.html --- Arizona Firearms Freedom Act Clears Committee: The Arizona House Judiciary Committee gave the green light yesterday to a bill that would allow Arizona residents to build and sell their own homemade guns and bullets without having to comply with federal law, paving the way for some highly entertaining experiments in some hillbilly's shed. The bill, HB 2307, was introduced by Bullhead City Representative Nancy McLain, who says the move helps Arizona exercise its 10th Amendment right of state sovereignty. Under the bill's provisions, your everyday person can build and sell anything short of machine-guns and mortar-launchers. You may be saying, "Only in Arizona!" But the Grand Canyon State is not the first to consider legislation like this - Arizona's bill is identical to one passed in Montana last year... (James King knows almost as little about the principles of journalism as he does about firearm laws. Anyone who is not a prohibited possessor can load his own ammunition and there are provisions in federal law to build your own firearm. He completely misses the point that the Firearms Freedom Acts deal with firearms manufactured for sale within the state where they are manufactured.) http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2010/01/house_panel_oks_bill_allowing.php --- New Mexico May Drop Biannual "Qualification" Requirement: State lawmakers are considering of getting rid of one requirement for New Mexicans with concealed-carry gun permits. New Mexico grants concealed-carry licenses good for four years with the requirement that those with the licenses take a refresher course after two years. Most other states do not require that course. Gun-minded lawmakers say the safety course to get the license in the first place should be tough enough to last for four years. Republican Minority Leader Sen. Stuart Ingle said Thursday, "We don't need to have a two year course on a four year license - we just plain don't." Governor Bill Richardson made sure the issue would be on the agenda for the 30 day legislative session. The National Rifle Association also supports the bill. (When New Mexico finally got licensed CCW, the State Police attempted to establish the same standards for private citizens as for their own officers. The requirement to fire a proficiency course halfway through the term of the license appears to be a vestige of that effort. The video clip is worth a moment to watch.) http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S1390568.shtml?cat=500 --- New Mexico RKBA Activists to Host Meeting: The Alamogordo Second Amendment Task Force will conduct a town hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7686, 700 U.S. Highway 70 W. Topics include rights vs. privileges, the difference between a democracy and a republic, and a discussion about the powers of a county sheriff. Otero County Sheriff John Blansett will talk about his execution of the office, and a few candidates for sheriff will make statements and take questions. Janet White, candidate for county commissioner, also will speak and county Commissioner Ronny Rardin will talk about issues he has presented to the county, including a proposal concerning county employees being able to carry firearms to work. (The discussion ofthe powers of a sheriff suggest that someone has been following the work of former Graham County [AZ] sheriff Richard Mack: http://www.usa1911.com/scm/index. Mack argues that sheriffs have the authority and the obligation to resist unconstitutional actions by the federal government.) http://www.alamogordonews.com/ci_14290706 --- Massachusetts Could Establish Uniform Permit Standards: ...An attempt to simplify the state's gun laws, the bill (H 2259) includes a raft of other provisions, reducing four firearm licenses to one and establishing 13 categories that prevent people from owning a gun. The bill, which lists nine Democratic backers and seven Republicans, drew support from both chairs of Public Safety Committee... The bill also centralizes gun licensing authority in the Executive Office of Public Safety, with local police chiefs acting as "licensing agents." "We have close to 351 different licensing standards across the state," Peterson said, referring to local police chiefs who currently have the ability to issue gun licenses. "This clears up that ambiguity and makes the licensing procedure clear-cut." Sen. James Timilty (D-Walpole), the Senate chair of the Public Safety Committee, called it a "great bill" and said he hoped to see "passage in some form this year. There should be one standard for applying for what is a constitutional right," Timilty said... Lauren Hyer, executive director of Stop Handgun Violence, said she is still reviewing the bill, but took issue with one component: She said the licensing authority should stay with police chiefs. "It should be in the hands of the communities," she said. "They know the people in the communities." ... (Something doesn't seem right about "applying for what is a constitutional right." The "local authority" argument is simply a tool to allow anti-RKBA police executives to ignore the state statutes that do not infringe the right as severely as they wish.) http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/news/x562885497/Key-lawmakers-warm-to-bipartisan-bill-overhauling-gun-laws --- Vermont Bill Could Ban All Ammo: The House Fish, Wildlife & Water Resources Committee is currently considering legislation (H. 484) which could potentially ban the sale and use of virtually all ammunition in Vermont. The bill would require the Secretary of Natural Resources to set up a program to identify and ban the distribution of certain toxic chemicals. During questioning before the House committee regarding the potential impact of H. 484, Department of Environmental Conservation Deputy Commissioner Justin Johnson said that it was foreseeable that the enactment of this legislation could outlaw the ammunition you use for hunting, plinking, or self-defense. Following Commissioner Johnson's testimony, proponent Charity Carbine of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG), testified and did not challenge the commissioner's assertion that H. 484 could result in the banning of ammunition. Please call your state lawmakers TODAY and respectfully urge them to oppose H. 484! Contact information for your legislators can be found by clicking here. http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=5337 --- Georgia Bill Would Block "Emergency" Confiscation: State Sen. Preston Smith (R-Rome) filed Senate Bill 342 today to protect legally carrying citizens' gun rights during a state of emergency. Currently, state law grants extraordinary powers to a Georgia governor to suspend or limit the sale, dispensing or transportation of firearms during an emergency. Sen. Smith's bill would repeal that existing statute to remove a governor's power to limit gun rights during an emergency. Just since the 1990's, there have been over 30 occasions where a governor has declared a state of emergency in Georgia. While no governor has yet exercised this extraordinary ability, it is within their power to do so," said Sen. Smith. "I don't believe that a governor should ever prohibit citizens from the legal purchase or transportation of firearms, particularly in a state of emergency when legally-carrying citizens should be able to protect themselves and their personal property." Sen. Smith is a strong advocate of defending those citizens' 2nd Amendment rights who are legally allowed to carry a firearm. This bill will help those citizens protect themselves in extraordinary circumstances. "I believe that during an emergency, having the right to legally bear arms may become even more critical," he added... http://romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/5704739/article-Smith-files-gun-rights-bill?instance=home_news_lead_story --- Bloomberg Attack on Ohio Gun Shows Continues: Last October, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg released video taken by people he paid to attend gun shows in Ohio, Tennessee and Nevada. The anti-gun mayor, who has had several Ohio mayors quit his gun control front group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (with many saying they were misled, and others saying they had never agreed to join the first place), claimed the heavily-edited video was proof of "just how easy it is for criminals and the mentally ill to walk in and buy guns - no questions asked." ...The latest salvo launched in the war against gun shows came last weekend, as a "statewide liberal advocacy group" gathered across the street from a gun show at the Sharonville Convention Center, drawing the attention of a willing media. But even as protest organizer Brian Rothenberg called upon city leaders to impose mandatory background checks on all gun sales, he inadvertently admitted that no such changes in the law are necessary... Not unexpectedly, the news story made no mention of the proactive steps taken by show operator Dave Goodman in the wake of the Bloomberg video release last fall, which included offering a free booth to police and federal firearms agents, strengthening background checks on prospective buyers and educating sellers on how to recognize straw buyers attempting to buy guns for criminals and other prohibited purchasers... http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/7090 --- California Man Sentenced for Arizona Firearm Purchases: An El Cajon man who falsely portrayed himself as an Arizona resident so he could purchase 32 firearms, including a dozen handguns and five AK-47 assault rifles, was sentenced Friday to a year in federal prison. Martin Kristopher Johnson, 27, pleaded guilty last September to three counts of illegal transportation/importation of firearms. According to court records, Johnson posed as an Arizona resident in order to buy the weapons in that state, then illegally transported the guns into California. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller. (My take is that he purchased the firearms in Arizona because they cannot be purchased legally in California. If this is the case, it's worth noting that he was charged in federal court rather than state court.) http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/El-Cajon-Man-Jailed-for-Illegal-Weapons-Purchases/lKu5uV4-kkeTrU7BBc0CxQ.cspx A Few Months Earlier...: A 55-year-old La Mesa man was arrested on suspicion of illegally buying guns and ammunition in Arizona and bringing them to California, federal agents said Tuesday. David Morgan was arrested Thursday by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said ATF special agent Michael Hoffman. Agents seized 48 firearms - including modified firearms, handguns and rifles - and more than 200,000 rounds of various kinds of ammunition from Morgan's home in the 4300 block of Avon Drive in La Mesa, according to Hoffman. Morgan is accused of falsifying information and using a fictitious address to get a valid Arizona identification card, Hoffman said. Investigators said Morgan would then use the identification to buy guns in Arizona, then bring them to his home. "This is a common scheme used by firearms traffickers, where they exploit less restrictive laws in neighboring states to purchase large numbers of firearms and then transport those firearms into California," said John A. Torres, special agent in charge of ATF's Los Angeles office. "We also see this same type of scenario employed by organizations trafficking firearms from the United States into Mexico." Morgan has no known criminal history. Investigators have not said what Morgan intended to do with the guns. (Neither Johnson nor Morgan was charge with any form of trafficking.) http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-11-03/local-county-news/crime/man-suspected-for-illegal-gun-buying --- Rule Five Reminder: Thursday, In McDermott, Ohio a concealed carry permit holder dropped a gun in a school gym. It hit the floor and went off, hitting the grandfather in his own leg. This is a big story for two reasons. Carrying in a school is one of the biggest transgressions for a CCW permit holder, and carrying a pistol loose in a jacket pocket is thunderously bone-headed. He was bringing his grandson a bite of food after school and before a basketball practice. He thought he would shoot some hoops with his grandson before practice began, and in the jump shot his derringer type pistol fell out of his jacket pocket... (Rule Five: Maintain control of you firearm. While this rule was originally conceived to limit liability for unauthorized access to a gun owner's firearms, it also has tactical and safety applications, as demonstrated in this account. While most modern handguns are designed not to fire when dropped, derringers and cheap autoloading pistols are often exceptions.) http://www.examiner.com/x-2944-Denver-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d29-We-are-held-to-a-higher-standard -- 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 .