Has the Beat Wound Down?: For the past few days we've been asking our industry contacts, insiders and observers a simple question: has the Obama gun-bubble burst? Since President Obama's election, certain segments of the firearms industry have been running at full -and beyond- capacity. Some, myself included, were quick to attribute the early surge in firearms and ammunition purchases to a fear that the Obama administration would move - quickly- against firearms. That, fortunately, has not happened. Over the past few weeks, we've been hearing - quietly- of cutbacks, layoffs and other "right-sizing" going on at companies where extra shifts were the order of the day only a few weeks ago. With ammo supplies building up, components for reloading becoming more readily available, and the economy still wavering, it seemed the firearms industry might be slowing. With that in mind, we've visited retailers, talked with distributors, manufacturers and industry observers with a single, simple question: has the Obama bubble burst? ... Knowing the industry will eventually catch up with supply and demand, what can the firearms industry and longtime enthusiasts do to keep new shooters enthused and involved? That is a question we'd all best ponder. Over the next few weeks, we're going to be looking at some of the more innovative ideas, including some of our own. From television to the internet and new sales channels, there are big ideas emerging. (I just did a quick check via AmmoEngine.com and AmmoMan.com and still cannot locate Federal's reintroduced 125 gr. standard-pressure .38 Special Nyclad hollowpoint load, my favorite defensive load for lightweight revolvers in that chambering.) http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/7205 --- Ohio Judge Urges Citizens to Carry Firearms: One judge's solution for citizens feeling less secure because of budget cuts in an Ohio county: Carry a gun. Judge Alfred Mackey of Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court advised residents Friday to be vigilant and arm themselves because the number of deputies has been cut about in half because of a tight budget. He also urged neighbors to organize anti-crime block watch groups. "They have to be law-abiding, and if they are not familiar with firearms they need to take a safety course so they are not a threat to their family and friends and themselves," Mackey said Friday. Mackey, whose comments were first broadcast Thursday by WKYC-TV in Cleveland, was expressing concerns with budget cuts that have trimmed the sheriff's department from 112 to 49 deputies in the county, which is Ohio's largest by land area... http://newsmax.com/US/judge-Alfred-Mackey-Ashtabula/2010/04/09/id/355308 --- Pro-RKBA Elements in the Medical Community: To recap what we've reviewed so far, on Tuesday we noted how some doctors are presuming to give one-size-fits-all "safe storage" advice that could get you killed. On Wednesday, we challenged such doctors to either document their credentials to advise in this area, or admit they have none. And yesterday, we saw how much of the anti-gun sentiment within the medical establishment is driven down from the top, and has been for some time. So - what can we as non-medical professionals do about that? For starters, we can use the form presented in Wednesday's column, should our doctor presume to advise us to not have a gun in the first place, or if we do, to render it useless for home defense. Next we need to find out who are friends are. We have them in the medical community, you know. I've been following some of their work for years. I'm going to pass on a few resources, names and publications as a starting point... http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m4d9-Gun-owners-can-build-bridges-with-medical-community --- Ohio Restaurant-Carry Bill Heads to New Hearing: The Senate Judiciary on Criminal Justice Committee, chaired by Sen. Tim Grendell (R-18), will hear proponent testimony on SB239, sponsored by Senator Shannon Jones and Senator Tim Schaffer to allow citizens who hold a valid concealed handgun license (CHL) to carry a firearm in restaurants, and to reduce burdensome restrictions regarding how a license holder must transport a firearm in a car, on Wednesday, April 14 at 10:15 AM in the Senate Building's South Hearing Room... http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/7221 --- Nebraska Legislature Nixes Omaha Registration: Omaha will likely be forced to stop requiring those with concealed-carry gun permits to register their firearms with the city. On Thursday, lawmakers gave final approval to a bill (LB817) that would stop the practice in Omaha. Gov. Dave Heineman must now decide whether to sign the measure. The approval of the bill follows an opinion from Attorney General Jon Bruning's office that Omaha has been violating state law by forcing people who have permits to carry concealed guns to also register their guns. A law already bars cities from preventing concealed-carry permit holders from carrying concealed guns inside city limits. Background checks, training and fingerprinting are required to get concealed-carry permits. http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=12280256 --- Retired California Cop Denied CWP: Matt Speckman, a former Turlock police sergeant, used to be in charge of processing concealed gun permits. Now retired, he'd like one himself. "I'm not a gun nut," Speckman said. "But I've been involved in investigations of people now getting paroled who have probably been throwing darts at my picture in their cells." Speckman, 49, attended the FBI academy, trained at a nationally recognized firearms course, earned an MBA, is studying for a Ph.D, toted a gun for 30 years and screened gun permit applicants for seven years. Yet Turlock Police Chief Gary Hampton and Sheriff Adam Christianson, both of whom have approved gun permits for politicians and prominent businessmen, turned him down. Speckman since has moved from Turlock and says he doesn't obsess about his safety. But reports about people who find favor with law enforcement executives despite relative lack of experience, he says, point up the arbitrary nature of concealed gun permits in California, where many agencies endure charges of political favoritism... http://www.modbee.com/2010/04/09/1122196/ex-turlock-cop-denied-concealed.html --- Oops, Wrong House: Police in Carter County are investigating after a shooting Wednesday morning that left a man dead. The shooting happened at about 6 a.m. at a home on Clark Hill Avenue in Olive Hill. Police say Boyd E. Littleton II, 45, was shot to death by homeowner Carl Bright when Littleton attempted to forcibly gain entry into Bright's residence by kicking both rear and front doors of the house. Littleton was shot after he managed to kick in the front door. There have been no charges filed against Bright by the Kentucky State Police at this time. The case will be investigated and presented to the Carter County Commonwealth Attorney's office. The Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) officer was summonsed to the scene in which a large amount of alcohol was confiscated from Bright's residence. Bright was cited to court by ABC for the charges relating to the sale and possession of alcoholic beverages in a dry territory. (I usually don't share accounts involving home invasions where they appear to have been motivated by a desire to steal illegal drugs. I forget that alcohol is still an illicit drug in some parts of the country.) http://www.lex18.com/news/man-shot-to-death-while-forcing-his-way-into-carter-county-home/ --- Learning Something New: The patient arrived in critical condition last month at the Bagram Air Base hospital in Afghanistan, with what American military doctors at first thought was an all too typical war injury: metal shrapnel from an improvised bomb lodged in his head. A CAT scan showed that the piece of metal, about two and a half inches long, was probably a cartridge fragment - again, not at all unusual. But as the patient, an Afghan soldier in his 20s, was prepared for surgery, the chief radiologist, Lt. Col. Anthony Terreri, took a closer look at the CAT scan. Stunned, he realized the object was an explosive round, primed to go off... (I was aware of incendiary .50-caliber BMG rounds but not of explosive ones. It turns out they do exist - http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/mk211.htm - but I imagine that this one would more likely have been from a Russian weapon, not an American one.) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/10/world/asia/10military.html?ref=health --- Tangentially Related: Liberal leaders see the resignation of Justice John Paul Stevens as a once-in-a-term opportunity for Obama to nominate an unabashed liberal to balance an increasingly conservative high court - while energizing the demoralized Democratic base just in time for the midterms. But few if any of the eight to ten potential nominees being mulled by the White House are progressive firebrands, and White House officials aren't keen to pick a major new fight after the year-long health care battle, according to people close to the process. "The bottom line," said an administration official, "is that we want to walk in there with someone who is confirmable." Obama exuded moderation during his brief announcement in the Rose Garden Friday, avoiding the empathy criterion he famously espoused prior to picking Justice Sonia Sotomayor... http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35604.html ...Of the three most frequently mentioned nominees - Solicitor General Elena Kagan, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Merrick Garland and Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Diane Wood - each poses different challenges for Mr. Obama. Ms. Wood is considered a solid liberal and has some hometown appeal for Mr. Obama but leaves a long paper trail that includes controversial abortion cases. Mr. Garland has solid credentials but may not satisfy a President whose goal is transforming government and would like to fill the Stevens seat with a liberal heavy-hitter while he still has the Senate seats to do it. Ms. Kagan has drawn some support from conservatives for her views on executive power and the tendency to be a consensus seeker. As Dean of Harvard Law, she got credit for hiring a handful of conservative professors (shock and awe), but those issues make her suspect in some corners of the leftist blogosphere. While she isn't a crusading liberal, her views on social issues would put her solidly on the left of the current Court. Whatever the legal merits of Mr. Obama's nominee, the politics will be less than congenial for getting a full-throated liberal through the Senate. Mr. Obama used up a year's worth of political capital forcing through his health-care bill and Democrats from moderate states, including Majority Leader Harry Reid, put their careers at risk for it... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304222504575173850207036346.html?mod=djemEditorialPage_h ...Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, 52, enjoys a close relationship with the president and would be an "outside the judicial box" candidate, but may be roundly criticized for her comments after the arrest of Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab, who attempted to bring down a Northwest Airlines flight with explosives. Napolitano initially told ABC News, "Once the incident occurred, the system worked." A day later, she had a slightly different message on NBC News: "Our system did not work in this instance," she said. Obama later ordered an extensive review. http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Supreme_Court/justice-steves-retires-white-house-ready-potential-supreme/story?id=10330941 In Justice v. Town of Cicero, 577 F.3d 768 (7th Cir., Aug. 14, 2009), Judge Wood upheld the handgun registration ordinance of Cicero, Illinois. The opinion accurately explained that under the then-current law of the Circuit, the Second Amendment was not incorporated in the Fourteenth. Surprisingly, Judge Wood then asserted that even if the Second Amendment were incorporated, the registration requirement is constitutional. Judge Wood quoted Heller's paragraph stating that the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. As examples, the Heller Court listed prohibitions on carrying concealed weapons, bans on gun possession by convicted felons or the mentally, bans on guns in "sensitive places," and " laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms." A footnote explained: "26. We identify these presumptively lawful regulatory measures only as examples; our list does not purport to be exhaustive." ... http://volokh.com/2010/04/09/diane-wood-on-the-second-amendment/ Justice Stevens' retirement from the Supreme Court creates a potential game-changer for the midterm elections. If Republicans respond correctly to this, they can recapture the House, make big gains in the Senate, and bring most of the Tea Party crowd back into the GOP fold... By announcing in April his intent to retire, Justice Stevens has completely changed the White House's prospects for the year. The president was shifting focus to taking over the banking industry, then was going to move on several other liberal priorities, including granting amnesty to 12 million illegal immigrants... Of all these issues, none is bigger than gun rights. This June the Court will decide McDonald v. Chicago, asking whether the Second Amendment extends the right to keep and bear arms against state and local gun-control laws. That case - in which the National Rifle Association is a party - will come down right before Justice Stevens retires... http://townhall.com/columnists/KenKlukowski/2010/04/09/the_gop_must_take_charge_on_stevens_replacement?page=full Conservative judicial activists say they won't ask their Republican allies to go to the mat over President Barack Obama's nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens by pressing for the ultimate weapon in a court fight - a filibuster. Instead, they say the nomination of a Democrat to the court will be an opportunity to cement the support of the tea party movement, broaden their base, and motivate supporters to turn out to support Republicans in the mid-term elections in November. The measured strategy is a tacit acknowledgement of political reality: Conservatives would find it difficult, if not impossible, to play the filibuster card... http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35613.html ... Stevens wrote the dissenting opinion on District of Columbia v. Dick Anthony Heller in 2008, and regardless how illustrious his career, he will always be remembered by Second Amendment activists as the jurist who infamously wrote, "Neither the text of the Amendment nor the arguments advanced by its proponents evidenced the slightest interest in limiting any legislature's authority to regulate private civilian uses of firearms. Specifically, there is no indication that the Framers of the Amendment intended to enshrine the common-law right of self-defense in the Constitution." ... http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m4d9-EXTRA-Say-goodbye-to-Stevens-say-hello-to-more-armed-citizens-in-WA The hypocrisy of Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy knows no bounds. The Vermont Democrat insists on expediting a hearing for the wildly leftist, fundamentally dishonest appellate court nominee Goodwin Liu before committee members have received adequate access to Mr. Liu's records. Throughout his career, Sen. Leahy has insisted on seeing - and sometimes leaking - records that properly should remain private. Yet in this case, concerning records everybody agrees should be public, the senator acts as if they are irrelevant... This is the same senator who helped lead a permanent filibuster that killed the nomination of superbly qualified lawyer Miguel Estrada on the pretext that he needed to see several memorandums from Mr. Estrada's work for the U.S. solicitor general. Never mind that all seven living former solicitors general, from both parties, said in no uncertain terms that it would be highly improper, legally, to release those memos... http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/12/dont-rush-to-judgeship-for-liu/ --- From AzCDL: SB 1108, the Constitutional Carry bill, has passed the Legislature and will soon be transmitted to the Governor. SB 1108 eliminates the prohibition and penalties for law-abiding adults who carry a concealed weapon without a permit. A letter to the Governor, urging her to sign SB 1108, has been prepared and is waiting for you at AzCDL's Action Center: http://azcdl.capwiz.com/azcdl/issues/alert/?alertid=14907736 We have been hearing from numerous members that 550 KFYI, the supposedly "conservative" Valley talk radio station, has been running a campaign to ask its listeners to call Governor Brewer's office and ask her to veto the bill. The Barry Young Show and the Mike Broomhead Show have both encouraged listeners to take such action. We at AzCDL fail to understand how anyone can oppose a bill restoring the fundamental right to bear arms to the citizens of Arizona and still call themselves "conservative". While we certainly support everyone's right to have an opinion, a little ideological consistency would be nice. We encourage our members to contact KFYI and share your opinions with them. You can reach them by phone at 602-260-5394 or by email at mailto:kfyinews@clearchannel.com . We also encourage you to continue to contact Governor Brewer's office and urge her to sign SB 1108. You can use the letter provided above, or you can call her office at 602-542-4331 or 1-800-253-0883. Stay tuned! When critical legislation moves, we will notify you via these Alerts. If you want to get legislative news as it happens, follow AzCDL on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AzCDL_Alerts . AzCDL "tweets" from the Capitol with committee votes and breaking news as it happens. You can also follow AzCDL on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/FacebookAzCDL . AzCDL's Political Action Committee (PAC) is also on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/FacebookAzCDLPAC . These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Join today! http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html . AzCDL - Protecting Your Freedom http://www.azcdl.org/html/accomplishments.html . Copyright C 2010 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved. -- 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 .