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Hunters May Swing Wisconsin Election: The NRA seeks to oust Governor
Doyle for vetoing CCW legislation. The League of Conservation Voters
supports him.
http://nbc15.madison.com/news/headlines/4396646.html
---
Florida Shootings To Test Self-Defense Law: Despite a new law that
allows people to avoid prosecution for shooting someone if they are
threatened, grand juries will hear two cases of suspected first-degree
murder in Palm Beach County.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbcwest/content/local_news/epaper/2006/10/13/c1c_westgate_1013.html
---
Castle-Doctrine Bill To Be Introduced In Texas: Mr. Wentworth, R-San
Antonio, this week said he will author a bill that would give potential
crime victims broader powers to protect themselves, their relatives and
their property. It is patterned after a controversial Florida law passed
last year that several states, mostly in the South and Midwest, are copying.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-castle_13wes.ART0.North.Edition1.3e193c8.html
---
Nation On Verge Of Violent-Crime Epidemic: The nation is on the verge of
a crime epidemic, according to a report to be released this weekend at a
conference of police chiefs. The report, compiled by the Police
Executive Research Forum, says violent crime across America is
"accelerating at an alarming pace." (PERF, as I recall, has a record of
opposing CCW by private citizens.)
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/13/national/main2088699.shtml
---
Free CCW Training Offered At Utah Teacher Conference: More than a dozen
teachers and public school employees will spend part of their UEA
weekend in a classroom - learning how to use a gun. Clark Aposhian is
offering a free class today to public school employees seeking to get
their concealed-weapons permit. (It is legal for a permit holder to
carry in Utah schools.)
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0%2C1249%2C650198346%2C00.html
---
..With Everything But Guns: Youngsters in a suburban Fort Worth school
district are being taught not to sit there like good boys and girls with
their hands folded if a gunman invades the classroom, but to rush him
and hit him with everything they got - books, pencils, legs and arms.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4257350.html
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20061013-111017-7569r.htm
---
Louisiana Students Visit Sheriff's Range: As part of a six-week
"Introduction to Emergency Services," a group of high-school seniors got
to fire HK MP5's and .40-caliber pistols. "These are the people that may
be the ones that go in to defend a school," says Williams, "or render
the support students need if there is a shooting."
http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5534801&nav=menu66_3
---
Longenecker vs. Bush, Part 2: John Longenecker continues his commentary
on the proper response to shooting incidents at schools.
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2006/10/13/the-presidents-solution-to-school-shootings-part-ii-november/
---
Taking Aim At Concealed-Carry Signs: A Kansas newspaper editor, who does
not appear to support the new CCW law, has an interesting suggestion:
rather than businesses posting signs banning firearms, let the
businesses who don't oppose them post "Guns Welcome Here!"
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/columnists/randy_scholfield/15743713.htm
Where He Really Stands:
http://blogs.kansas.com/weblog/2006/10/concealed_carry.html
---
Freak Accident?: A ".357 shotgun" is reported to have "detonated" during
a concealed-carry course at a Florida shooting range, with a student
getting shot in the leg as he handed his weapon to the instructor. (Rule
One, Rule Two, Rule Three...)
http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive2/101406/tp6np10.htm?date=101406&story=tp6np10.htm
---
Baysitter Kills 422-Pound Intruder: An Idaho woman, who was babysitting
her niece and nephews, ended up killing a black bear after it charged
them in backyard and appeared to be trying to figure out how to get into
the house. Fortunately, she had a bear tag for the season.
http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com/articles/2006/10/12/news/news02.txt
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BABY_SITTER_BEAR?SITE=PAGRE&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
---
From NRA-ILA:
NRA-ILA SPECIAL ELECTION ALERT 10/11/06
PRO-GUN VICTORIES IN THE 109TH CONGRESS--
Gun Owners' Victories Since the 2004 Elections
Elections matter. Precisely because of our work and success in the 2002
and 2004 elections, we were able to lay the groundwork for the victories
that you will read about below. Now the question before us is, "What
will the future hold?" Two years from now, will we be reporting on more
victories in our quest to protect and preserve the Second Amendment?
Or, will our update contain bad news for gun owners? Election Day --
Tuesday, November 7 -- will be when the next chapter in the history of
the Second Amendment will be written. Your work in the coming weeks
will be what spells the difference between pro- and anti-gun candidates
on Election Day. Thus, you will write the future legislative history of
the Second Amendment.
Following is a list of the major federal victories we have seen during
the 109th Congress:
� Enactment of the "Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act."
Within a year of Hurricane Katrina hitting the Gulf Coast, Congress
passed the NRA-backed H.R. 5013, sponsored by Representative Bobby
Jindal (R-La.), by an overwhelming 322-99 vote. This bill amended
federal emergency laws to prohibit federal, state, and local authorities
from confiscating lawfully-owned firearms during emergencies or
disasters. Senator David Vitter's (R-La.) amendment to prohibit the use
of funds appropriated under the Homeland Security appropriations bill
(H.R. 5441) for the confiscation of lawfully possessed firearms during
an emergency or disaster passed the U.S. Senate by an historic 84-16
vote. The Jindal bill was substituted for the Vitter amendment in the
conference committee and President Bush signed it into law on October 4.
� Enactment of the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act."
President Bush, marking the culmination of six years of hard work by
NRA-ILA and gun owners nationwide, signed "The Protection of Lawful
Commerce in Arms Act" (S. 397) into law on October 26, 2005, thus ending
the campaign of politically motivated lawsuits designed to bankrupt
law-abiding American firearm manufacturers and retailers. The Senate
passed S. 397 by a 65-31 vote on July 29, 2005 and then by the House by
a 283-144 vote on October 20, 2005.
� Enactment of the "Tiahrt Amendment." This amendment protects gun
owners' privacy by prohibiting the release of firearm trace data to any
entity except a law enforcement agency conducting a bona fide criminal
investigation involving the firearm.
� Enactment of a tax exemption for custom gunsmiths. During the
same week the Senate passed S. 397, NRA-ILA helped win an important but
less-publicized victory for small custom gunsmiths. A massive highway
construction bill (which President Bush promptly signed into law)
contained an amendment that exempts manufacturers of fewer than 50
firearms from "manufacturing" excise taxes.
� House Passage of H.R. 5092. The NRA-backed "Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) Modernization and Reform Act,"
by Representatives Howard Coble (R-N.C.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.), passed
the U.S. House of Representatives by an overwhelming bi-partisan 277-131
vote. H.R. 5092 was drafted in large part to address BATFE abuses at
Richmond, Virginia area gun shows last year, which were detailed in
three oversight hearings by the House Crime Subcommittee this spring.
The measure will help curb BATFE's efforts to revoke dealers' licenses
for minor paperwork errors, establish new guidelines for BATFE
investigations, and improve the appeals process for dealers. It will
also provide more accountability and much-needed reform to this federal
law enforcement agency.
� Enactment of critical hunting and conservation legislation.
Sportsmen and wildlife scored a critical victory when House and Senate
negotiators approved a provision in the 2007 Defense Authorization Act
that will save the herds of elk and mule deer on Santa Rosa Island (the
second largest of California's Channel Islands) from court-ordered
eradication. With encouragement from NRA-ILA, this Congress correctly
determined it is in the public interest to maintain this sanctuary for
these two remarkable species of animals.
Clearly, the past two years represent one of the most successful
congressional sessions that gun owners have ever had. But make no
mistake--all of our hard work and vital victories must be protected!
This year's elections are critically important, as their outcome will
determine whether our hard-fought gains will stand or fall.
The House Judiciary Committee has just sent several important pro-gun
reform bills to the floor, but if control of the Congress changes hands,
the new chairman of that committee would be John Conyers of Michigan-the
only House member still serving who voted for the Gun Control Act of
1968, voted against the Firearms Owners' Protection Act of 1986,
denounced crime-fighting proposals (such as Project Exile) that to his
way of thinking "unwisely place a great emphasis on enforcement
programs," and has repeatedly called for a national ban on handgun
ownership and possession!
And while many bills start out in Judiciary, they must all pass through
the House Rules Committee before they go to the floor. The Rules
Committee is a nearly all-powerful body that sets the ground rules for
how a bill will be debated on the House floor-and on the amendments that
can be offered. In line to fill that gate-keeping role: Rep. Louise
Slaughter (D-N.Y.). Rep. Slaughter is a persistent cosponsor of
anti-gun bills, including a bill to ban on .50 caliber rifles, and
another to reverse the Bush administration's policy of destroying
instant check records on law-abiding gun buyers.
Of course, the last check on this anti-gun attack would be the House
leadership itself. But don't look for much hope there, because would-be
Speaker Nancy Pelosi also has a decades-long anti-gun track record.
Pelosi, a close ally of fellow San Franciscan Dianne Feinstein,
co-chaired the 1992 Democratic platform committee that endorsed gun
bans, gun licensing, and gun registration, and joined Conyers in
opposing expansion of Project Exile enforcement programs against violent
criminals. Pelosi's sorry record on Second Amendment issues was
underscored by one of her first acts on joining her party's leadership;
when she was elected House Minority Whip, she hired a former Handgun
Control, Inc. spokesman as her communications director.
None of these pro-gun victories would have been possible with Pelosi,
Conyers and Slaughter in control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The message for gun owners and sportsmen is obvious. Elections matter,
and votes count. We cannot take our past victories for granted; we must
continue the fight. Pro-Second Amendment candidates can only win if NRA
members lend their support to those who support our gun rights and
hunting heritage.
Please refer to the previous two Grassroots Alerts for activities you
need to undertake to ensure victory on November 7--registering to vote,
contacting your EVC, volunteering on pro-gun campaigns, etc. NRA-PVF
grades and endorsements are now available online at www.NRAPVF.org.
--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
