Due To Technical Problems Beyond Our Control...: My ISP's mail server
was inaccessible for most of this morning, hence the lateness of today's
mailing.
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Good Commentary on Heller: ...For years, the liberal press and academia
have argued that not only is the Second Amendment an embarrassing relic
from a bygone age, but that truly enlightened jurists should just void
the thing, substituting judicial whim for the democratic process of
debate and legislative deliberation. They put forth anti-gun rights
"scholarship" like the 2000 book "Arming America" by Emory University
historian Michael Bellesiles, which "proved" that gun ownership was
never a major part of American society and that America's "gun culture"
is based on nothing more than a myth (which begs the question - what did
the pioneers use to settle the frontier? Harsh language?)...

http://www.setexasrecord.com/arguments/205257-legally-speaking-gunning-for-a-change-the-court-takes-aim-at-the-second-amendment
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Kerry Pushes Sullivan BATFE Nomination: Sen. John Kerry is urging
Idaho's Republican senators to drop their hold on U.S. Attorney Michael
Sullivan's nomination to become director of the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives..."Michael Sullivan has spent a
lifetime protecting communities from crime," Kerry said in a statement.
"I am disappointed that his nomination is now in jeopardy simply because
he has responsibly enforced our country's laws. I hope this experienced
and capable nominee is confirmed without further delay."

http://www.examiner.com/a-1103601~Kerry_urges_GOP_senators_to_back_Sullivan_s_nomination_to_ATF.html

Related Commentary:

http://www.jpfo.org/filegen-n-z/zel-open-20071212.htm
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Philadelphia Philanthropist Seeks Limits On RKBA: Though her life hasn't
been affected directly in any way by violent crime, one well-known
Philadelphia philanthropist has decided that illegal guns present the
most significant public safety issue to the city and the state, and
she's hoping to change the legislative status quo by mobilizing voters
to pressure elected officials...

http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/14819/

Pennsylvania Prohibitionist Group Hires Full-Time Director: CeaseFire
PA, a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing gun violence,
announced the hiring of a new executive director with extensive campaign
experience to direct a growing statewide coalition that supports
stronger handgun laws for Pennsylvania. According to Phil Goldsmith,
President of CeaseFire PA, the organization is hiring Joe Grace, an
attorney, former journalist and communications professional, to serve as
the organization's fulltime executive director. He will assume his
position on January 14, 2008...
and we're pleased to welcome him aboard."

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071213005189&newsLang=en
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Perhaps If There Had Been An Armed Teacher At Columbine...: Colorado is
certainly gaining a worldwide reputation these days. But it's not for
our magnificent mountains or fantastic skiing. It's for our horrific
murders, first in schools and now in churches. What a reputation!
Columbine shook us to the core. Wherever I travel, when I say I'm from
Colorado, that's the first thing people ask about. Then we had Platte
Canyon. And now the Faith Bible Chapel in Arvada and the New Life Church
in Colorado Springs. Children mowed down by severely depressed
classmates and demented adults. Where will this stop? (The shooting
spree in Colorado Springs ended quickly when the murderer was confronted
by an armed citizen.)

http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_7703425

Different City, Different View:

http://www.gjsentinel.com/search/content/news/opinion/stories/2007/12/13/121307_4A_Wagner_column.html

While In Michigan...: At issue: A woman using a handgun to stop a killer
in a "soft target," a church. Our view: The case shows why Michigan
school staff need an option for training and concealed carry, not
"gun-free zones."

http://www.lenconnect.com/articles/2007/12/12/news/news05.txt

USA Today Doesn't Let Facts Get In The Way: ...Gun control laws have had
a limited impact, and the pet proposal of the gun lobby - letting people
carry concealed weapons - is a nonsensical answer. Even with more people
packing heat, the likelihood of such a person being at the scene of a
spree shooting is exceedingly low. (The woman who ended the incident at
the Colorado Springs church was a congregant and former cop who
volunteered as part of the church's security program.) ...The best way
forward is to keep at the imperfect but important fixes that can
eventually make these shootings less murderous and more rare: Ensuring
that people with a history of mental illness aren't able to buy guns;
taking disturbed young people seriously and getting them counseling; and
reinstating the lapsed ban on assault weapons, despite the opposition of
the gun lobby... (Ms. Assam was carrying a handgun as a private citizen
with a CWP, not a licensed security officer. No state that has expanded
legal CCW has shown an increase in accidental shootings. Traditional
hunting rifles fire more deadly rounds than so-called assault weapons.)

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/12/our-view-on-sho.html
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Between A Rock And A Hard Place: ...Simply put, Delores, like no doubt
many others in Chicago, have had to choose between survival and
violating Chicago's ill-conceived and unconstitutional handgun ban. The
last, and most important, of her civil rights are being violated - the
right to defend her own life. Where is Jesse Jackson now? He's abetting
those that are forcing Delores to the back of the bus...

http://www.chicagohandgun.org/2007/12/between-a-rock-and-a-hard-plac.html
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Is This The Only Alternative: Don't want to own your own gun for
self-defense? How about creating your own gun-free zone? This video
shows how easily you can do so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7pGt_O1uM8&eurl=http://www.gordonunleashed.com/blog/

Related Cartoon:

http://dustinsgunblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/common-denominator-of-mass-shootings.html
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Rule One, Rule Two Reminder: The [Elwood Park NJ] Police Department is
conducting an internal investigation into safety procedures at the
borough firing range after an officer accidentally shot himself in the
hand in late October. Patrolman Ronald Serio, a police officer since
September 1996, shot himself on Oct. 29 with a .357-caliber Glock at the
River Road pistol range, Police Chief Donald Ingrasselino said Tuesday.
(Rule One: All firearms are always loaded. Rule Two: Don't let the
muzzle cross anything you're not prepared to shoot.)

http://northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0MjYmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcyMzI1MzQmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkz
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Just When Did It Discharge?: A Scottsdale man inadvertently shot himself
in the buttocks Thursday morning. Scottsdale police Sgt. Mark Clark says
26-year-old Daniel Leatherman heard a disturbance outside his apartment
and saw a man he knew fighting with a cab driver. Leatherman told police
that the man, 25-year-old Cody Nunn, had assaulted him in the past, so
he grabbed his gun and went outside. Leatherman told police that he
accidentally dropped the gun while hiding it behind his back and shot
himself in the derriere. (Was this one of the few guns capable of firing
on impact with the ground or did Leatherman actually fire the shot while
stuffing the gun into his waistband, with his finger inside the trigger
guard?)

http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2007/12/14/news/state/20071214_arizona_news_50.txt
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What's Happening At S&W?: All is not well at arms maker Smith & Wesson
(Nasdaq: SWHC). For the second time in as many months, management issued
a warning on sales trends last week, joining a string of companies
issuing similar dire forecasts that stretches from Palm (Nasdaq: PALM)
toFedEx (NYSE: FDX) toCitigroup (NYSE: C) toLowe's (NYSE: LOW). Having
already talked down sales expectations to $325 million back in October,
in Thursday's earnings report, S&W predicted just $300 million, 32%
gross margins, and about $0.40 per share in profit. That last number, by
the way, is 25% lower than management's October estimate - which was
itself a 16% reduction from management's guess just three months ago.
All told, fully 37% of this year's expected profits have gone poof!

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/12/11/smith-wessons-self-inflicted-wound.aspx


--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY

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

http://www.spw-duf.info