No Mailing Yesterday: For those who may pay close attention to the dates
on these mailings, I did not find the time to assemble a mailing on my
return to Show Low Monday evening.
---

Citizens Request Access To Federal Ranges: Following Alan Korwin's
revelation that the law requires public access to federally funded rifle
ranges, citizens around the nation have been encountering resistance
from officials.

http://www.sierratimes.com/05/07/11/gunranges.htm
---

Columbus OH Passes "AWB": The Columbus City Council has passed a ban on
a very broad range of cosmetically impaired firearms. Current owners who
wish to retain them in the city can register them but will be banned
from willing or selling them in the future.

http://www.peoplesrights.org/articletemplate.asp?id=69
---

Indiana Homeowner Seeks Return Of Revolver: An Indiana man who was
forced to shoot an intruder describes the incident and bemoans the fact
that police have still not returned his revolver, which he finds more
suitable for home defense than his shotgun.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2005/07/10/local.20050710-sbt-FULL-A1-Haunted_.sto
---

New Jersey Gun Club Seeks To Educate Teachers: The Franklin Rifle and
Revolver Association has begun a program to familiarize school teachers
with the safe use of firearms.

http://www.njherald.com/296928738307366.php
---

South African Motorist Saves Metro Police Officer: In what may have been
primarily an attempt to rob him of his sidearm, a Johannesburg police
officer was attacked by two men. An armed motorist came to the aid of
the officer and ended up shooting one of the robbers. The South African
government is working vigorously to disarm its law-abiding citizens.

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1735302,00.html
---

Professional Hunters Protest License Denials: South Africa's
professional hunters charge that they are being driven out of business
by arbitrary denials of the applications for licenses for firearms and
ammunition.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200507110384.html
---

British Teacher Loses Appeal On Firing: The special-education teacher,
whose jail sentence was suspended following her incarceration for firing
an unloaded air pistol toward the sidewalk during a confrontation with
gang members, has lost the appeal against her firing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4670785.stm
---

Canadian Gun Owners Appeal To UN: A group of Canadian gun owners will
actually appeal to a United Nations conference on the restriction of
traffic in small arms, in the hopes of getting their federal government
to revise a law on the marking of firearms.

http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/soundoff/story.html?id=b449ba80-d4d4-4b2b-8efa-fea69ffff5a4
---

From GOA:

Will the Next Supreme Court Justice Support the Second Amendment?
-- Ask President Bush NOT to nominate the anti-gun Alberto Gonzales

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org

Monday, July 11, 2005

It looks like the judicial rumor mill was right on the money.  There
had been increasing speculation in recent weeks that a Supreme Court
Justice would be stepping down soon.

And while many thought it would be Chief Justice Rehnquist because of
his failing health, many Capitol Hill insiders suspected it would be
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

They were right.  Justice O'Connor retired from the high court
earlier this month, leaving a huge vacancy that President Bush will
now have to fill.

Obviously, no one outside of the President's closest advisors can
definitively know who is on the President's "short list."  But many
insiders are reporting that the initial nod could go to Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales.

In a recent column, columnist Robert Novak reported, "George W. Bush
loves Al Gonzales and would like his former chief counsel to head a
'Gonzales Court.'"

And The Washington Post recently admitted that Alberto Gonzales' name
"echoes in Washington as one of the most likely Supreme Court
candidates" (July 4, 2005).

So what do we know about Alberto Gonzales?  Would he be a plus or a
minus when it comes to the Constitution in general or the Second
Amendment in particular?

As a matter of fact, we know quite a bit about this potential Supreme
Court nominee.  And what we know of the former Texas Supreme Court
Justice is not comforting.  (Gonzales was put on the highest state
court by then-Texas Gov. George Bush in 1999.)

When he testified before the U.S. Senate on January 18, 2005,
Gonzales expressed his unequivocal support for gun control. Fox News
quoted Gonzales on that day as saying, "The president has made it
clear that he stands ready to sign a reauthorization of the federal
assault weapons ban if it is sent to him by Congress.  I, of course,
support the president on this issue."

Lest one think that Gonzales is just being a good soldier supporting
his boss' position, one should realize that his support for gun
control is heart felt.Gonzales referenced his brother, Tony, who is a
SWAT officer in Houston.  "I worry about his safety and the types of
weapons he will confront on the street," Gonzales said.  And he
immediately proceeded to tell his senatorial inquisitors about his
support for the semi-auto ban.

Because he is a gun control supporter, one should immediately
question Gonzales' commitment to the U.S. Constitution.

Here again, the early indications are not good.  Gonzales believes
the Constitution is a "living document" and that only the nine
justices on the court have the capacity to explain what it means.
Such is the report from Joseph Farah, founder and head of
WorldNetDaily.

Farah spent some time with Gonzales at a private dinner meeting, and
in a November 11, 2004 column, reported he was "stunned" and
"horrified" at Gonzales' view of the Constitution."The Supreme Court
tells us what the Constitution says and means," Gonzales said.  And in
his view, the high court actually "makes law" through its
precedent-setting rulings.

Thankfully, not all the potential nominees support gun control or
have such a low view of the Constitution.Several justices who are
currently on the bench would make excellent choices for the new
vacancy.  For example, Justice Janice Rogers Brown is one of the most
recently confirmed judges to the federal courts.  Brown was confirmed by
the Senate last month by a 56-43 vote.

As a Justice on the California Supreme Court, Brown referred to
Roosevelt's New Deal as our "own socialist revolution."  In regard to
taxpayer supported welfare, she said that, "Theft is theft even when
the government approves of the thievery."

On gun rights, Brown sounds like a modern-day Annie Oakley.  She used
language from an amicus curiae brief that was submitted by Gun Owners
of California to argue against Los Angeles' ban on gun shows.

And her most extensive Second Amendment scholarship appeared in the
case involving the California ban on semi-automatic firearms (Kassler
v. Lockyer).  In a decision upholding the California ban on certain
semi-autos (the so-called "assault weapons"), she faulted the U.S.
Supreme Court for picking and choosing which rights it liked.

She most definitely came down on the right side, stating that the
individual right to keep and bear arms is a "right expressly
guaranteed by the Bill of Rights."

There are other conservative judges who are currently on the federal
bench who also have a high regard for the U.S. Constitution.  Judge
Samuel Alito, Jr., in the Third Circuit, has argued that Congress has
no right to regulate the private possession of machine guns.  There
is Edith Jones in the Fifth Circuit who understands that our
"unalienable rights were given by God to all our fellow citizens."

And in the Ninth Circuit, Judge Alex Kozinski has chided his liberal
colleagues for falling prey to the popular delusion that we are
"better off leaving all weapons in the hands of professionals on the
government payroll."  He cites chapter and verse, showing how gun
control has been used to subjugate blacks in the South, as well as
other minorities all across the world."

All too many of the other great tragedies of history -- Stalin's
atrocities, the killing fields of Cambodia, the Holocaust, to name
but a few -- were perpetrated by armed troops against unarmed
populations," Kozinski said.  "Many could well have been avoided or
mitigated, had the perpetrators known their intended victims were
equipped with a rifle and twenty bullets apiece, as the Militia Act
required here."

[To see Kozinski's entire dissenting opinion against the California
semi-auto ban, go to http://www.gunowners.org/op0326.htm on the GOA
website.]

The point should be clear.  There are good judges who can fill the
void on the Court.  Despite his friendship with Alberto Gonzales, the
President should be reminded that millions of people did not flock to
the polls to defeat Al Gore and John Kerry just so he could appoint
liberal anti-gunners to the high court.

ACTION:  Please contact President Bush and urge him to nominate a
constitutionalist to the Supreme Court.  And remind him that American
gun owners do NOT want Alberto Gonzales, or anyone like him, to sit
on the Court.

You can visit the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at
http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send the President the
pre-written message below.  You can also contact the President using
any of the following mediums:

Comments:    202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX:         202-456-2461
E-Mail:      [email protected]

--- Pre-written letter ---

Dear President Bush:With the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor,
you are faced with a tremendous opportunity to appoint a constitutional
scholar who truly understands the rule of law and respects the Bill of
Rights.

Unfortunately, Alberto Gonzales is NOT that man!

As one who respects the Constitution and the Bill of Rights
(especially the Second Amendment), I hope that you will not appoint
someone who holds views similar to those of Gonzales.

You truly made an excellent choice in putting Justice Janice Rogers
Brown on the federal bench.  She understands the Second Amendment
protects an individual right, and she realizes that the Supreme Court
is supposed to interpret, not make, the laws.  I hope that you will
nominate either her or someone like her to the Supreme Court.  Thank
you.

Sincerely,

****************************
---

From The NRA-ILA:

NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert Vol. 12, No. 27 07/08/05

NRA-ILA NEEDS YOUR ACTIVE PARTICIPATION!
CONTACT YOUR LAWMAKERS IN SUPPORT OF OUR TOP LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

As noted in recent Grassroots Alerts, NRA-ILA's top legislative
priorities in Congress continue to be: passage of S. 397/H.R.
800--legislation to end reckless, predatory, and potentially bankrupting
lawsuits against the gun industry, and S. 1082/H.R. 1288--the "District
of Columbia Personal Protection Act"--that seeks to restore the
constitutionally-guaranteed Second Amendment rights of the residents of
the District of Columbia.

We cannot over-emphasize the need for you to remain actively engaged in
your efforts to ensure passage of S. 397/H.R. 800 and S. 1082/H.R. 1288.

With time drawing short before your legislators adjourn for the "Summer
District Work Period" (August 1-September 5), and with a vote on S. 397
expected in the Senate hopefully this month, it is imperative that you
immediately contact your U.S. Senators and your U.S. Representative and
ask them to cosponsor and support this critically important
legislation--without any anti-gun amendments--and put a halt to these
reckless lawsuits once and for all. And be sure to let them know that
you consider any votes in support of anti-gun amendments to this
legislation as votes against the bill itself. For more information on S.
397/H.R. 800, a list of cosponsors, or to send a letter to your
legislator, please go to http://www.nraila.org/stoprecklesslawsuits.aspx.

Also, please be sure to contact your U.S. Senators and Representative
and ask them to cosponsor and support S. 1082 and H.R. 1288. For a list
of Senate cosponsors, please visit
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN01082:@@@P. For a list of
House cosponsors, please visit
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HR01288:@@@P.

You can find contact information for your elected officials by using the
"Write Your Representatives" <http://www.capwiz.com/nra/dbq/officials/>
tool at www.NRAILA.org <http://www.NRAILA.org/>. Or you can call your
U.S. Senators and Representative in their D.C. offices at (202) 224-3121
(Senate), or (202) 225-3121 (House).

A LOOK AT THE STATES

(****For all of the action items below, you can find contact information
for your legislators by using the "Write Your Representatives"
<http://www.capwiz.com/nra/dbq/officials/> tool at www.NRAILA.org
<http://www.NRAILA.org/>. As always, thank you for your support****)

CALIFORNIA
Anti-gun legislation, Senate Bill 357, was re-referred to the Assembly
Committee on Appropriations. The amended version of this bill requires
that all handgun ammunition carry a unique serial number engraved on
both the bullet and the case and be registered to the purchaser. SB 357
bans the manufacture, transfer, and possession of non-serialized handgun
ammunition after July 1, 2009, and possession of non-serialized
ammunition would be a crime. SB 357 would also require ammunition
vendors and manufacturers to register with the Department of Justice.
Please contact members of the Committee and ask them to oppose SB 357.
For a list of committee members and their contact information, please
visit www.assembly.ca.gov/acs <http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs>. Assembly
Bill 352 was re-referred to the Senate Committee on Appropriations. It
is expected to be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee on
Monday, July 11. AB 352 expandsthe definition of "unsafe handguns" to
include semi-automatic pistols that are not designed and equipped with
an array of microscopic characters which identify the make, model, and
serial number of the pistol by imprinting the characters on each
cartridge case when the firearm is discharged. This legislation could
essentially ban all semi-automatic pistols commonly used by California
gun owners. Assembly Bill 88 is also expected to be heard by the Senate
Committee on Appropriations on Monday, July 11. AB 88 would change
existing law by placing additional penalties for violations involving
"assault weapons" and .50 BMG rifles. Please contact members of the
Senate Committee Appropriations and ask them to oppose both AB 352 and
AB 88. For a list of committee members and their contact information,
please visit www.sen.ca.gov <http://www.sen.ca.gov/>.

MICHIGAN
NRA-ILA Election Volunteer Coordinator (EVC) Jerry Kraus (MI-9) would
like to invite you to attend the "Michigan Friends of NRA Celebrity
Shoot" with celebrities such as Dennis Hextal from the Detroit Red
Wings, Mickey Lolitch from the Detroit Tigers, and others! Jerry has
coordinated several events, and participated in several Celebrity Shoots
in the past, and this year's event promises to be a success. Please join
your fellow shotgun shooters for a day of shooting while raising money
for the Friends of the NRA! The event will be held on Friday, August 5,
at 10:30 a.m. at the Detroit Gun Club, 2775 Oakley Park Road, Walled
Lake, MI 48390. Admission prices vary. For ticket information and
additional information, please contact Jerry Kraus at (248)706-1513 or
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>.

OHIO
The Columbus City Council, led by Safety Committee Chair Michael C.
Mentel, will be hosting one more public hearing concerning legislation
that would ban semi-automatic firearms, after which, this ordinance will
be put to a vote by the Council. This legislation goes much further than
the recently expired federal semi-automatic ban, making it the worst of
its kind. Do not let Mr. Mentel and other city council members strip the
law abiding-citizens of Columbus of their Constitutional Right to Keep
and Bear Arms! It is vital that NRA members attend this hearing and
voice their strong opposition to this egregious proposal promulgated by
Mr. Mentel and other Council Members. Please be sure to spread the word
to family, friends, and fellow firearm owners to do the same. The
hearing will be held on Monday, July 11, at 5:00 p.m., on the 2nd Floor
of the Council Chambers, at 90 West Broad Street, in Columbus. If you
are unable to attend the meeting, please call the ColumbusCity Council
at (614) 645-7380 to voice your opposition. Following is a list of your
council members: Matthew Habash--President; Michael Mentel--President
Pro-Tem; Kevin Boyce; Mary Jo Hudson; Maryellen O'Shaugnessy; Charleta
Tavares; Patsy Thomas.

VIRGINIA
The Middlesex Pistol Hunter's Club is sponsoring an NRA Shooting Sports
Camp on August 20, 2005. The NRA Sports Shooting Camp is a fun way for
youths and families to learn firearm safety and proficiency. The Camp is
staffed by NRA-certified instructors and experienced competitive
shooters. Parents are strongly encouraged to participate with their
children, and all participants will receive instruction in, and have an
opportunity to shoot, rifles, handguns, shotguns, air guns, archery, and
black powder firearms. The Camp, which lasts approximately four hours,
will be held on August 20, rain or shine. Prior registration is
necessary to reserve a starting time. Lunch will be available at the
club (proceeds of which will benefit the 4-H Youth Shooting Sports
Club). All firearms, ammunition, and ear/eye protection will be provided
by the Club. Registration is required and must be received by August 12.
To register, or for more information, please contact: Middlesex Pitol
Hunter's Club, c/o Macey White (Club Secretary-Treasurer), 1834 Twiggs
Ferry Rd., Hartfield, Virginia 23071, (804) 776-9861; or via e-mail at:
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>.

--
Stephen P. Wenger

Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.

http://www.spw-duf.info

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