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Charley Reese On S 397: Sometimes Charley Reese has some good stuff to
say; today is one of those days. He presents some fairly simple
explanations of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/reese/reese235.html
---
An Assault On Citizen Rights: A newspaper in Pennsylvania editorializes
against the seizure of privately owned firearms in post-hurricane New
Orleans.
http://www.tribune-democrat.com/editorials/local_story_301105142.html
---
83-Year-Old Vet Kills Assailant With WWII Luger: After a strong-arm
robbery a few weeks earlier, Walter Swita began carrying a Luger he
brought home from WWII. When a man attacked him on his front porch, he
fired two shots killing his assailant.
http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/285275571786744.php
---
Virginia - Falling Out Among Democrats: Former Governor Douglas Wilder,
now mayor of Richmond, has announced that he will not support his
party's nominee for attorney general because he fears "Deeds would
replace the state's concealed weapons permit law with 'an irresponsible
new law that says anyone can carry a concealed weapon anywhere the law
does not prohibit such weapons without having to get a permit from law
enforcement officials.'" (I would think a former governor would have
more insight into the legislative process.)
http://www.wvec.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8DJBI082.html
---
California Police Upgrade Weaponry: Two southern California departments
take a different approach to long guns. One will equip motorcycle
officers with shotguns; the other will place AR-15's in patrol cars. The
area press continues to confuse "semiautomatic" with "automatic."
http://www.dailypilot.com/publicsafety/story/28580p-41343c.html
---
Modesto Residents Frustrated by Lack Of Police Response: Residents in a
section of this central California city are organizing their own
responses to crime in the face of a lack of response from their police
department.
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/11420482p-12164602c.html
---
Rule Five Reminder: In a story reminiscent of a recent incident in
Britain, a deputy sheriff in Massachusetts left his handgun in a public
restroom. The man who found it returned it, in a manner of speaking, by
dropping it in a mailbox. (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm.)
http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2005/10/31/news/news04.txt
---
Familiar Debate - From Russia: Article describes the debate over
legalizing private ownership of a wider variety of firearms for common
citizens in Russia.
http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/88/351/16390_weapons.html
---
From Gun Week:
Virginia Gun Show Operators Not Suing, Seek Accountability
by Dave Workman
Senior Editor
Virginia gun show operators Annette Gelles and Steve Elliott are not
going to file a legal action against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives (ATF) over a so-called residency check effort in
the Richmond area in August, but they are looking for signs that the
agency will hold its agents accountable.
According to Washington, DC, attorney Mark Barnes, who represents Gelles
and Elliott and their shows, C&E Gun Shows and Showmasters Gun Shows,
his clients are not seeking litigants for a class action lawsuit, but
are referring angry gun show patrons to another attorney, who may pursue
such an action.
Gelles told Gun Week that she prefers to let media attention to the case
run its course.
Publicity about a "residency check" operation at an August gun show in
Richmond, in which Virginia State Police, and officers from the Henrico
County and Richmond Police Departments participated, caused a furor
among gun rights activists across the country. Described by critics as a
"rogue operation" and "a debacle," fallout from the Richmond operation
caused the ATF to announce that it would no longer participate in such
activities. Richmond appears to be the only gun show venue in the
country where such residency checks have been used.
Treatment of Patrons
The outrage revolves around how gun show patrons were treated. While gun
buyers were still in the process of waiting for their background checks
to clear, officers from Henrico County or Richmond were dispatched to
their homes. Once there, officers asked whether the prospective gun
buyer actually lived at the address, and whether the occupants--whether
a spouse or other family member--knew that the person was at a gun show
trying to buy a firearm.
Gelles and Elliott contended this activity constituted harassment of gun
buyers by ATF and local police. In the aftermath, said attorney Barnes,
an ATF supervisor in Richmond apparently has been reassigned.
Gun Week has filed a freedom of information request to ATF for certain
documents relating to the Richmond operation, which the agency has
promised to provide. They had not yet arrived by press time.
Barnes said his clients have decided to keep their focus on operating
their gun shows, rather than on any possible litigation. Public
attention appears to have had an effect on how ATF will conduct its
activities relating to gun shows.
Information Tables
The attorney said that ATF has apparently expressed a desire to set up
an information table at gun shows, but that "We don't think the time is
right for the bureau to come back to the show."
He also stated that, "We're satisfied for the moment with the internal
executive branch actions that have been taken."
Barnes said the board of directors of the National Association of Arms
Shows is "in the process" of setting up a meeting with senior Justice
Department officials to discuss long-term policy concerns.
"We're all for making sure that people don't unlawfully obtain firearms
at gun shows," Barnes observed, "but we don't want people being
monitored about their lawful purchasing activities."
He is hopeful that there will be a "calm, deliberate examination of what
happened" at Richmond in August. He wants some accountability.
This article is provided free by GunWeek.com.
For more great gun news, subscribe to our print edition.
--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
