Oops: Yesterday I erroneously introduced an article about a bill to loosen carry restrictions as being in Pennsylvania. The bill discussed is actually being considered in Mississippi. I was misled when I followed a link to the article from KeepAndBearArms.com. I should have paid more attention to the statement about local carry restrictions in parks and checked the address of the newspaper, as I often do. --- From GOA: He's like a playground bully - on steroids! According to a recent poll, only 23% of the American people want Congress to pass the anti-gun ObamaCare bill. And the President's response to this? He believes Americans are just too stupid to understand what geniuses like him, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid are trying to do for us. So what is Obama's current plan? Cheat. ObamaCare is already the product of fraud, secrecy, bribery, and corruption. But Obama is preparing to ratchet up this corruption to a whole new level... (Second link will allow you to generate a letter or an e-mail to your senators.) http://gunowners.org/a022510.htm http://capwiz.com/gunowners/issues/alert/?alertid=14728791&PROCESS=Take+Action --- From SAF: The Washington State Supreme Court has issued a precedent-setting opinion in the case of State v. Christopher William Sieyes which holds that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights "applies to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment..." This outstanding opinion was authored by Justice Richard B. Sanders, a Supreme Court veteran who clearly understands the history of both the state and federal constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Perhaps what makes the Sanders opinion so remarkable is that it places the Washington Supreme Court ahead of the United States Supreme Court in recognition that the U.S. Constitution's recognition of the right to keep and bear arms applies to all citizens, and should also place limits on state and local governments, as it does on Congress. Quoting Justice Sanders, "Lower courts need not wait for the Supreme Court...the Constitution is the rule of all courts--both state and federal judiciaries wield power to strike down unconstitutional government acts." ...This state high court opinion, among other things, effectively "puts on notice" anti-gun groups in the Evergreen State that their continued efforts to impair the rights of legally-armed citizens will face not only growing legislative resistance, but intense legal scrutiny. Though not binding on other states, it clears a path for other state supreme courts to follow... (Of note, it was from Washington that Arizona borrowed the RKBA provision of its constitution, "The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or the state shall not be impaired..." While the incorporation portion of Sieyes is welcome, I wonder why more has not been made of the state provision.) http://www.saf.org/viewpr-new.asp?id=313 --- Palin to Headline NRA Meeting: Sarah Palin will headline the National Rifle Association's annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina in May, the gun rights group told CNN on Thursday. Her May 14 appearance at the Charlotte Convention Center will offer Palin, a hunter and fierce advocate of gun rights, an opportunity to appeal to one of the conservative movement's most prominent interest groups. "Governor Palin is one of the most requested speakers in America today," Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's executive director, told CNN in a statement. "She's an outdoorsman, hunter and a steadfast supporter of our Second Amendment freedom. We are pleased to have a fellow NRA member speak at our 139th annual meeting in Charlotte this May." If the former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee is indeed considering a White House bid in 2012, then the visit will also come with a not insignificant perk: the Charlotte media market spills over into heavily-Republican parts of South Carolina, a crucial early primary state. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/25/first-on-the-ticker-palin-to-headline-annual-nra-meeting/?fbid=D9zkm9BH5Pk Still Pending: I got a letter in the mail last week. It was from Sarah Palin. I wasn't expecting it. After all, I don't even know her. But, nonetheless, there it was, lying in my mailbox, a letter from Wasilla, Alaska, the office of Sarah Palin. I've gotten mail from lots of famous politicians in my time: George W. Bush, John McCain, George H.W. Bush, and even from Ronald Reagan himself. But all of them had two things in common: 1) They had no idea who I was, and, 2) They were asking me for money... "Dear Skip, Thank you so much for the copies of your books and for your generosity. Todd and I were happy to receive your encouraging message and we appreciate your thoughtfulness for taking the time to write. God bless you. Thank you again and all the best to you and your family. Sincerely, Sarah Palin" As you know, I'm the Founder of the Second Amendment March, and I had written Sarah asking her to speak at our event on April 19th, 2010 in Washington D.C. The letter was hand-delivered to her house by our Alaska State Coordinator along with signed copies of all my books. (That's right. I was sucking up to her. I figured it couldn't hurt.) ...Sarah from Wasilla - don't let me down. http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=35716 --- Texas Professor Joins McDonald Brief: Raymond G. Kessler, a Sul Ross State University professor of criminal justice, is one of the amici (friends of the court) in a brief filed in the Supreme Court case of McDonald v. Chicago, according to a release provided to the Avalanche by Kessler... Kessler joined the brief for petitioner McDonald, filed by attorney David Kopel of the Independence Institute. Among others joining the brief were the Congress of Racial Equality, the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, and the Texas Police Chiefs Association. Kessler said the brief presents data and analyses showing that handgun bans are not effective against violent crime. Kessler and his colleagues contend such bans are, in fact, counterproductive as they deprive potential victims of an effective means of self-defense. The brief also responds to the Seventh Circuit's opinion (not applying the Second Amendment against the states), which argued that self-defense was merely a legislatively granted privilege. The brief demonstrates that self-defense is a fundamental right, and that the handgun is, overall, the most practical, effective and widely used weapon for self-defense, Kessler said... http://www.alpineavalanche.com/articles/2010/02/25/news/news09.txt --- Katrina - The Plot Sickens: It became a national disgrace that prompted a landmark federal lawsuit, and led to the passage of legislation in several states to make sure nothing like this ever happened again on American soil: the unilateral disarmament of law-abiding citizens in the wake of a disaster. And now the story has taken an even darker turn than it did in the months following Hurricane Katrina's devastation of New Orleans, when police and National Guard units illegally and unconstitutionally seized, often at gunpoint, firearms held by private citizens who had done nothing wrong. No police or public official has ever been held accountable for that outrage, and that possibility will likely take a distant back seat to holding several police officers responsible for gunning down unarmed citizens on the Danziger Bridge on Sept. 4, 2005. "When another police investigator told Lieutenant Lohman that he was going to plant a gun under the bridge to bolster the story that the officers were being fired at, Lieutenant Lohman went along, and even asked if the gun was traceable, the authorities said." ...Perhaps now that the Danziger Bridge scandal is unravelling, the probe will expand well beyond this case, and ultimately find out who issued the illegal confiscation order. Would it be asking too much that the person or persons responsible, along with the officers who conducted those seizures at gunpoint, be held accountable? http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m2d25-New-Orleans-case-should-send-chilling-message-to-those-who-think-only-cops-should-have-guns Admitting a cover-up of shocking breadth, a former New Orleans police supervisor pleaded guilty to a federal obstruction charge on Wednesday, confessing that he participated in a conspiracy to justify the shooting of six unarmed people after Hurricane Katrina that was hatched not long after police stopped firing their weapons. The guilty plea of Lt. Michael Lohman, who retired from the department earlier this month, contains explosive details of the alleged cover-up and ramps up the legal pressure on police officers involved in the shooting and subsequent investigation. It's unclear when Lohman's cooperation with federal authorities began, but he presumably is prepared to testify against the officers he says helped him lie about the circumstances of a shooting he immediately deemed a "bad shoot." ... http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2010/02/former_police_officer_pleads_g.html --- Alabama Debates Parking-Lot Storage: A House committee is considering a bill that would prohibit most private employers from telling employees they cannot keep a legal firearm in their locked vehicles while parked at work. Major business groups opposed the bill by Rep. Craig Ford, D-Gadsden, during a hearing Wednesday before the House Commerce Committee... A lobbyist for the National Rifle Association said the government cannot violate the U.S. Constitution, and said it guarantees the right to possess firearms. "The civil rights of private citizens cannot be obstructed or violated by the government in disregard of their safety of going to and from work," said Michael Sullivan, a lobbyist for the NRA. The bill would allow a citizen who has a pistol permit issued by the sheriff to keep that firearm in his or her vehicle while parked at work. Many employers have policies prohibiting their workers from keeping firearms in their vehicles when on company property... http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100225/NEWS/100229722/1007?Title=Alabama-House-panel-considers-bill-to-prohibit-employers-from-banning-legal-firearms Two weeks after a professor was charged with fatally shooting three colleagues at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, the Alabama Senate passed legislation Thursday that would make it easier for people to keep guns in their cars. At the urging of the National Rifle Association, Democratic Sen. Roger Bedford of Russellville got the Senate to vote 26-2 for his bill. His bill would ban businesses from having policies that prohibit legal firearms from being transported to the businesses' parking lots. But the guns must be locked out of sight in the glove box or trunk of private vehicles. Sen. Dell Marsh, R-Anniston, said many companies, including his own firm, Industrial Plating Co., have policies against bringing guns to work because they want to provide a safe workplace. He criticized the bill, but ended up voting for it. Bedford's bill still must pass the House and be signed by the governor to become law. Bedford is optimistic about its chances because a similar bill passed the House 72-0 last year and died in the Senate after drawing opposition from some business groups concerned about workplace safety. Bedford said this year's bill had more success because all members of the Legislature are standing for election and NRA members have been calling senators about the vote... http://www.pddnet.com/news-ap-ala-senate-votes-to-allow-guns-in-cars-at-work-022510/ --- Oklahoma Will Reconsider Limited Campus Carry: The Oklahoma Public Safety Committee will once again decide whether to allow licensed faculty and staff to carry concealed firearms on the campuses of Oklahoma's public universities, including UCO. House Bill 1083, a proposal held over from last year's committee session, must be addressed by next week if it's going to be considered by the Oklahoma House and Senate in 2010. The bill, written by Oklahoma Rep. Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie), would grant concealed weapon rights to "any person who possesses a valid concealed handgun license issued pursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act ... and who is a member of faculty who is primarily charged with classroom teaching responsibilities," according to Section E of the bill's text, the most controversial piece of the firearm legislation. "Some college populations are larger than small Oklahoma towns, and they have these red lines around them (that restrict concealed weapon possession)," Murphey said. Murphey initially introduced the bill shortly after the Northern Illinois University shooting killed six and injured another 18 in February of 2008... http://uco360.com/?p=4200 --- Maine May Nullify National-Park Carry: Lawmakers in Maine, home to one of the nation's most-visited national parks, are considering whether to override a new federal law that allows guns in the sanctuaries. A law that took effect Monday lets licensed gun owners take firearms into national parks and wildlife refuges - provided state law doesn't say otherwise. No states have laws that supersede the new policy, officials say. The Maine bill would outlaw guns in Acadia National Park and the St. Croix Island International Historic Site. "There are places where we don't carry guns. There's families in this state that really appreciate that," said Sen. Stanley Gerzofsky, a Brunswick Democrat who is co-chairman of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee - and a hunter and gun owner. "Now, there's also families in the state that also want to be able to pack bazookas, but that's a little different story." But Wayne Bosowicz, a seasoned hunter and licensed guide from Sebec, said Wednesday that he wished he'd been allowed to carry a gun when a bear confronted him in Yellowstone National Park two years ago... http://www.kpvi.com/Global/story.asp?S=12039067 --- California May Restrict Lead Shot: Ventura County Assemblyman Pedro Nava, who three years ago authored a landmark law that barred the use of lead bullets by those hunting deer in areas where condors are known to forage, introduced new legislation Wednesday that would ban the use of lead shot by those hunting pheasant, quail, doves and other birds in California wildlife areas. Nava said his measure is modeled after the long-standing federal ban on lead shot in the hunting of ducks, geese and other waterfowl. That ban was enacted in 1991. "It has demonstrably improved the health of waterfowl," Nava said. "But there are 37 other species besides waterfowl that are also known to suffer from lead poisoning." He cited golden eagles and wild turkeys as two examples. Nava, D-Santa Barbara, was joined at a Capitol news conference by representatives of the Audubon Society and Defenders of Wildlife... http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/feb/24/lawmaker-introduces-rule-to-ban-lead-shot-in/ --- New York County Opposes Further Infringements: The Delaware County Board of Supervisors passed resolutions Wednesday opposing proposed antigun owners legislation and protesting the closing of Oquaga Creek State Park. Delhi Supervisor Peter Bracci presented a resolution opposing bills passed in the state Assembly that he said would have a detrimental effect on hunters, sportsmen and legal gun owners and would curtail rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment. The list included 11 bills that include provisions requiring the renewal of firearms licenses after five years, stringent restrictions on firearms dealers, new training requirements, banning the sale of weapons that are .50-caliber or larger, and others. One of the bills outlaws handguns capable of being fired by a 5-year-old child or younger, making all current handguns illegal, according to the resolution. "I was in law enforcement for 38 years and none of these laws would do anything to reduce crime," Bracci said. "These bills point out the difference between the upstate and downstate culture." Middletown Supervisor Len Utter said, "This is probably the most important resolution we will pass in a long time. There is a movement in our country to dismantle the Constitution and this is just one step." ... http://www.thedailystar.com/local/local_story_056082707.html --- Oops, Wrong House: A Decatur [GA] homeowner will not be charged for shooting an intruder Wednesday morning. DeKalb County police said 40-year-old Dexter Tucker was justified in shooting a 17-year-old who broke into his home. Tucker said he had run the scenario of an intruder in his mind many times before, but he never thought it would actually happen. Tucker said he was asleep when he heard knocking at the front door. The Decatur man said he peered through the shades but didn't answer the door. "Then he started beating on the door," Tucker recalled. Tucker said he saw a young man run to the back door and that's when he grabbed his gun. "I couldn't believe he was kicking in my door and it took him like four kicks to get in so by the time he got in I was ready for him," Tucker said. Tucker said he shot the intruder three times, striking him once in the thigh. The homeowner said he then saw another young man running away... (Poor shooting for someone who had rehearsed the scenario in his mind and had the time to get ready. A hit to the thigh sounds consistent with pushing the shots low and to the non-dominant side.) http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/decatur-man-shoots-robbery-suspect-022410 --- Serial Rapist Boosts Kansas City Gun Sales: A serial rapist on the loose means that many metro women are on edge, and some of them are walking into a place where they might not have ever gone before - a gun store. Gun stores and shooting ranges across the area are reporting an increase in Waldo women looking to learn how to shoot a firearm. Firearm instructor Don Pind says that he taught six Waldo women how to shoot just last week... Anderson says that officers will always come to your home to give it a free safety survey. But he says that the key is to always have a plan. A plan that, for some metro residents, involves a firearm. "If I'm a first responder, and someone is unconscious, I do CPR," said Eric Conyers, who was practicing his shooting at a metro firing range on Monday. "If I'm a first responder in my home, and they cops aren't there, I've got this as a last resort. God forbid I have to use it." ... http://www.fox4kc.com/wdaf-story-waldo-rapist-guns-training-022210,0,7241357.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wdaf-news+%28FOX4KC+Local+News%29 --- Rule Two, Rule Three Reminder: An employee at a Milwaukee bar accidentally shot another man in the leg after last call Thursday morning. The shooting at the bar in the 8300 block of W. Lisbon Ave. happened at 2 a.m., Milwaukee Police Department spokesman Sgt. Mark Stanmeyer said. A 26-year-old man was working at the bar and accidentally fired a round from a handgun that hit a 57-year-old man, Stanmeyer said. Police are forwarding their reports to the Milwaukee County district attorney's office to consider possible charges. (Rule Two: Don't let the muzzle cross anything you're not prepared to shoot. Rule Three: Keep your finger out of the trigger guard, up on the frame, until your sights are on the target and you're prepared to fire.) http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/85356782.html --- Rule Five Reminder: A loaded Portland police handgun, Taser stun gun and bulletproof vest were stolen from a Portland police officer's take-home unmarked police car sometime Sunday night or early Monday. The car was parked in the driveway of the narcotic enforcement officer's Southeast Portland home. Police said the officer reported the theft early Monday morning. The police equipment was stored in a locked container secured to the vehicle, said Detective Mary Wheat, Portland police spokeswoman. Wheat would not say where the container is located in the car but said keeping the equipment locked in the car is within Portland police policy. The culprits dismantled the car alarm, forced their way into the vehicle and then broke open the locked container... (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm. This burglary appears to have been well planned. Around the nation we have been seeing police vehicles targeted in this manner, raising some question as to the wisdom of leaving firearms in parked police vehicles.) http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/02/a_loaded_portland_police_handg.html --- Airguns Can Be Lethal: Rhys Johnson of Llansamlet in Swansea died in hospital on 27 September. An inquest heard he and a friend were using his father's airgun without his knowledge in a lane behind his home. Recording a verdict of accidental death coroner Philip Rogers was told Rhys's friend did not mean to shoot him as they were taking 'pot shots' at cans. Mr Rogers heard Rhys and his 12-year-old friend were playing in the lane behind his house. Det Sgt Nigel Morgan said the friend was holding the .22 calibre air rifle when he thought he heard Rhys call to him. "Rhys was standing to his left calling him and laughing," he said. "The boy held the rifle at the butt in his right arm with his finger on the trigger."As he turned he felt the gun to be heavy. As it fell away he pulled it towards him and accidentally fired the trigger... Surgeons in Swansea battled for several hours to save the schoolboy but he died in the early hours of the morning of the following day. The medical cause of death was an airgun wound to the heart... (While this is an extremely rare incident, it is a reminder that simply because we train our own children to handle firearms safely is no guarantee that their friends know ho to do so.) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/8536969.stm --- Rambo Rifles for Weekend Hunters: ...Sturm Ruger (RGR), one of the largest American gunmakers, introduced the SR-556 last May. It retails for about $2,000 and features a flash-suppressor, telescoping stock, pistol grip, and three 30-round magazines. It looks like the weapons that U.S. soldiers use to shoot Taliban insurgents... For generations, rifle models first used by soldiers have become profitable sellers in the domestic market. The 1903 bolt-action Springfield adopted by the U.S. Army in World War I begat the wooden-stock rifle carried by generations of deer hunters. The higher-capacity Garand issued to troops in World War II also spawned versions used to hunt big game. The modern sporting rifle, assuming the label sticks, traces its roots to the M-16 that first saw combat in Vietnam. The main difference between the military weapon and its civilian counterpart is that the Pentagon's version has the capacity to fire bursts of bullets with a single pull of the trigger. The cosmetically similar MSR fires only one round with each trigger pull. Some of the confusion over these rifles stems from the tendency of gun-control advocates to refer to all of them -fully automatic and semiautomatic - as "assault weapons." The confusion has been compounded by some manufacturers that use SWAT-team imagery in their advertising and stress how closely their civilian products match military specifications. Since the election of 2008, gun retailers have helped drive semiauto sales by stirring the fear - so far unrealized - that President Barack Obama would try to ban them... (Some of the confusion stems from "gun-control" advocates? It's been an orchestrated campaign. I think Big Brother's record as a legislator and board member of the Joyce Foundation had a lot more to do with the surge in demand and resultant price swings than anything done by retailers.) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_10/b4169060665633.htm --- For Whatever It's Worth...: Combatives is what the U.S. Army calls its hand-to-hand fighting training, which is based on combat experience, and martial arts. The army has recently upgraded its Combatives Program to reflect the experience of nearly a thousand soldiers who have participated in hand-to-hand combat in Afghanistan or Iraq. A survey of these soldiers reinforced what the Combatives program already concentrates on (grappling and striking), but also pointed out that 30 percent of the hand-to-hand encounters studied ended with gunfire (as many of these fights are struggles for control of a firearm). The large number of hand-to-hand encounters over the past eight years results from the nature of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In both places, many of the missions are raids, with the objective of arresting suspects. Since you want to take them alive, and they often don't want to be taken, a tussle frequently results... http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htinf/articles/20100226.aspx --- Tangentially Related: Prominent Harvard law professor Laurence H. Tribe will join the Justice Department next week to lead an effort focused on increasing legal access for the poor, two federal sources said Thursday. Tribe, 68, long viewed as a contender for a Supreme Court nomination in a Democratic administration, will serve as a senior counselor for access to justice... In recent weeks, speculation within legal circles about Tribe's move to Washington had focused on a troubleshooting role that the law professor might play in hot-button areas, such as national security and international issues. But department officials Thursday said his portfolio would involve domestic affairs, and that he would report to Tom Perrelli, the associate attorney general and a Harvard Law School graduate. Tribe supported Barack Obama's presidential aspirations and has called the president the most impressive student he taught in a career that spans four decades... (From Wikipedia: "...Tribe is generally recognized as one of the foremost liberal constitutional law scholars and Supreme Court practitioners in the United States. He is the author of American Constitutional Law (1978), the most frequently cited treatise in that field, and has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court 34 times..." Recall that in the US, "constitutional law" is not the study of the Constitution but of what the federal judiciary has done to it.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/25/AR2010022505697.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 .