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Pediatricians, Butt Out: A bill passed in the Virginia House of
Delegates, if also passed by the Senate, will bar pediatricians from
asking parents about firearms in the home unless the question is related
to a patient complaint or an injury.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&%09s=1045855935264&c=MGArticle&cid=1137834076858&path=%21news%21politics
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Experienced Hunters Fault Cheney In Shooting: Echoing the sentiments of
a few list members who e-mailed me, all the hunters who were interviewed
by The Washington Times, the largest conservative national newspaper,
put the blame squarely on the vice-president for shooting a hunting
companion.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060214-111127-7044r.htm
The Wall Street Journal On the Cover-Up:
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007970
Putting It All Into Perspective:
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/tonyblankley/2006/02/15/186541.html
---
SWAT Weapons Stolen From Vehicle: A Virginia Beach VA SWAT team member,
in San Antonio TX to train with the local SWAT team, had some weapons
stolen from his vehicle as he returned to his hotel room to get some
more items. (John Farnam counsels against carrying firearms in cases
that suggest their contents.)
http://www.ksat.com/news/7013679/detail.html?subid=22100443&qs=1;bp=t
---
Tacoma Mall Shooting Victim On Road To Recovery: The man who was too
slow on the trigger when confronting an active shooter in a Tacoma WA
mall is making surprising steps on the road to recovery. Note his
account of how he got shot.
http://www.katu.com/team2/story.asp?ID=83365
---
Arizona Trail-Shooting Trial Postponed At Least 30 Days: Article
summarizes issues and the recent ruling on admissibility of evidence.
More defense motions will be filed.
http://www.paysonroundup.com/section/localnews/story/22182
Defense Attorney Arrested For Suspicion Of DUI: (from The Arizona Daily
Star)
PHOENIX -- A former U.S. attorney for Arizona was arrested on suspicion
of driving while impaired Tuesday following a minor traffic accident,
authorities said.
A. Melvin McDonald, now a prominent Phoenix defense attorney, was booked
into a Maricopa County jail Tuesday afternoon and was released on his
own recognizance, said county sheriff's spokesman Lt. Paul Chagolla.
Authorities said McDonald's car appeared to rear-end another vehicle
while exiting Interstate 10 near downtown Phoenix. No one was injured,
but the other driver suspected McDonald might be impaired and called
authorities, according to state Department of Public Safety spokesman
Rick Knight.
"I'm a diabetic. I take insulin four times day. I may have had diabetic
reaction," McDonald said in a telephone interview. "I do not drink, and
I am an advocate against drinking and driving."
---
Ontario Government Leads Burglars To Gun Owners: Government agencies
released a map showing the concentration and general location of
licensed firearms owners in Ontario. This highly private information was
recently posted on the Toronto Star's website.
http://www.ccnmatthews.com/news/releases/show.jsp?action=showRelease&searchText=false&showText=all&actionFor=579966
---
Modern-Day Silly Talk: In the middle of Walter Williams' commentary is
an insight into the CDC agenda to end private ownership of firearms in
the US.
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/walterwilliams/2006/02/15/186329.html
---
From Gun Week:
Front Sight Suit Appears Headed to California Court
by Dave Workman
Senior Editor
Despite early hopes that a class-action lawsuit against Dr. Ignatius
Piazza, founder of the Front Sight Firearms Training Institute near Las
Vegas, NV, might be settled out of court, it now appears that the case
will wind up before a judge.
While that prospect looms on the legal horizon, it has now been revealed
that Piazza's once-coveted "special deputy" status with the Nye County,
NV, Sheriff's Department was not renewed in 2003 when a new sheriff took
over the agency. Prior to that, according to The Pahrump Valley Times
and documents obtained by Gun Week, it appears that Piazza used his
"special deputy" status to fly armed aboard commercial aircraft.
Gun Week reported last Fall that Piazza and Front Sight Management Inc.
are being sued by several Front Sight students under consumer protection
laws in the state of California. C. Keith Greer, attorney for the
plaintiffs, had initially told Gun Week that he was hoping the issue
could be settled amicably, but more recently, he has indicated that the
case will go to trial.
Gun Week has left repeated requests with Piazza's attorney for comment,
but he has not returned several calls. Piazza declined to discuss the
lawsuit last Autumn, telling Gun Week instead that his attorney would
respond.
Investors
The lawsuit was brought by people who had invested considerable sums of
money in Front Sight memberships, believing that they were getting, as
part of the agreement, building lots on which to construct homes in what
Piazza had envisioned would become a shooting community, growing up
around the firm's world-class training facility. Years have passed, and
the development has not materialized.
According to The Pahrump Valley Times, a community newspaper, Nye County
Sheriff Tony DeMeo stripped Piazza of his special deputy status, along
with several Front Sight instructors, when he came into office in 2003.
Piazza reportedly had gotten deputy credentials from former Sheriff Wade
Lieseke, who was defeated by DeMeo. DeMeo is facing re-election this Fall.
In an interview with Gun Week, DeMeo said the situation of the special
deputy designations is only now coming to light because of the attention
being paid to the federal lawsuit against Piazza and Front Sight.
DeMeo told Gun Week that he first learned of the special deputy program
when he joined the department in 1999, after having retired from a law
enforcement career in Jersey City, NJ, and moving west to be near his
parents. After serving with the Nye County agency for about three years,
he ran for sheriff on a shoestring budget and a very grassroots
campaign, and won.
Still clinging to his New Jersey accent, DeMeo said he was first
approached by one of his own deputies in early 2003 about renewing
special deputy status for Piazza. Instead, due to legal requirements
that have been adopted over the past several years pertaining to reserve
deputies, he decided to quash the special deputy system. He said he even
placed an advertisement in the newspaper, asking for the return of all
special deputy badges. He estimated that about 100 of the badges had
been issued at the time he was sworn in as sheriff.
Piazza reportedly had contributed $8,000 to Lieseke's campaign, but
DeMeo denied that his decision to strip Piazza of his badge had anything
to do with politics. The sheriff insisted to Gun Week that his sole
interest was to protect Nye County from liability because Piazza had
apparently never gone through the required law enforcement training to
be a reserve deputy, and there are very strict guidelines on who may
bring firearms aboard commercial aircraft. Piazza is known to have had
extensive firearms experience.
Letter
However, according to a "To Whom It May Concern" letter written on
Piazza's behalf by the former sheriff, "Ignatius Piazza has received an
extensive amount of specialized and advanced firearms training." This
letter, on Nye County Sheriff's Office letterhead, was dated Sept. 16,
2002 and was apparently provided to Piazza to allow him to fly while
armed on commercial airliners. Gun Week has obtained a copy of that letter.
When Piazza personally visited DeMeo in 2003, only to learn that the new
sheriff would no longer allow him to have a badge, "Piazza was not
pleased," DeMeo recalled.
"It was just too problematic, too troubling to me," DeMeo explained.
He also told Gun Week that his deputies no longer train at the Front
Sight facility.
DeMeo was also concerned about the appearance of propriety when Front
Sight instructors who had received special deputy badges would be
teaching firearms courses and apparently intimated to students that they
were Nye County sheriff's deputies.
This article is provided free by GunWeek.com.
For more great gun news, subscribe to our print edition.
---
From AzCDL:
On February 13, 2006, amendments to SB 1145 and SCR 1001, adopted by the
Senate Judiciary Committee, created the most significant legislation
affecting anyone faced with a self-defense situation in Arizona.
SB 1145 and SCR 1001 stand out among the half dozen or so "castle
doctrine" bills introduced this legislative session. These bills are
essentially identical. Where SB 1145 proposes changes to Arizona
statutory law, SCR 1001 creates a referendum for proposed changes to the
Arizona Constitution. The text of each bill can be found here:
http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/47leg/2r/bills/sb1145p.pdf (SB 1145)
http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/47leg/2r/bills/scr1001p.pdf (SCR 1001)
On February 10, 2006, Senators Dean Martin and Jack W. Harper introduced
amendments to SB 1145 and SCR 1001 that would reestablish "innocent
until proven guilty" (affirmative defense) in self-defense situations in
Arizona:
http://tinyurl.com/cmpbh (SB 1145)
http://tinyurl.com/d58tx (SCR 1001)
The Senate Judiciary committee on February 13, 2006, with broad
bi-partisan support, passed the amendments and the bills out of
committee by a 7-1 vote.
http://tinyurl.com/8b39o
The amended versions of SB 1145 and SCR 1001 represent an historic
opportunity to reestablish "innocent until proven guilty" in Arizona
law. From territorial days until 1997, Arizona properly treated
self-defense as a case of innocent until proven guilty. In 1997 all
that was changed with A.R.S. 13-103:
http://tinyurl.com/bn5ks
Since 1997, in self-defense cases, you are now in effect guilty unless
you can prove your innocence. You must admit to the underlying criminal
conduct and then demonstrate that the guilt you admitted is false, by
proving you were justified. It is a prosecutor's dream and the public's
worst nightmare. A criminal now has better legal protection than a
person who claims self-defense after an attack.
Arizona and Ohio are the only states in the nation that have this insane
law. We now have an opportunity to restore "innocent until proven
guilty" in Arizona by pushing for the passage of HB 1145 and SCR 1001.
AzCDL is closely monitoring SB 1145 and SCR 1001 and will "alert" you
when it's time to put pressure on your Senators.
These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League
(AzCDL), an all-volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots
organization. Join today!
AzCDL - Protecting Your Freedom
http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html
--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
