From GOA: The biggest gun battle of the year is about to erupt on
Capitol Hill. Fueled by the recent Virginia Tech shootings, an odd
coalition is forming to help expand the number of honest people who now
won't be able to buy a gun...Are you, or is anyone in your family, a
veteran who has suffered from Post Traumatic Stress? If so, then you
(and they) can probably kiss your gun rights goodbye. In 1999, the
Department of Veterans Administration turned over 90,000 names of
veterans to the FBI for inclusion into the NICS background check system..

http://www.gunowners.org/a042307.htm

From JPFO: ...It doesn't matter if you needed assistance coping with
the devastating loss of a loved one or combat-related post-traumatic
stress disorder. It doesn't matter if you only stayed for a night to
reassure a worried spouse. Regardless of circumstances, your information
would be still be submitted and you would no longer be permitted to
purchase a firearm.

http://www.jpfo.org/alert20070424.htm
---

Virginia Governor May Expand Mental-Health Database: Virginia Gov.
Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday that he is considering an executive
order to make sure that gun sellers have more information about the
mental health of potential buyers, a move that would have kept Seung Hui
Cho from purchasing the handguns he used to kill 32 people at Virginia
Tech last week.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/24/AR2007042402524.html?hpid=topnews
http://www.jacksonville.com/apnews/stories/042407/D8ON2V500.shtml
---

Legislative Push On Guns Raises Privacy Concerns: An effort in Congress
to enhance federal gun background checks is raising concerns among
leaders in the mental health community, who worry that a legislative
push could unfairly target the mentally ill and deter troubled people
from seeking treatment.

http://www.nysun.com/article/53056
---

From Walter Williams: Conservative economist Walter Williams lays some
of the blame for the Cho incident on the shoulders of administrators at
VPI and advises parents of college students to have a legal document
drawn up where the child gives his parents full and complete access to
any mental, physical and academic records developed during the child's
college career.

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/WalterEWilliams/2007/04/25/murder_at_vpi
---

From Ron Paul: ...Do we really want to live in a world of police
checkpoints, surveillance cameras, and metal detectors? Do we really
believe government can provide total security? Do we want to
involuntarily commit every disaffected, disturbed, or alienated person
who fantasizes about violence? Or can we accept that liberty is more
important than the illusion of state-provided security?

http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul383.html
---

From Judge Roy Moore: The former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme
Court, removed for refusing to remove a monument to the Ten
Commandments, weighs in on the recent Cho incident and the RKBA.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55366
---

What If...?: What if... three or four students/faculty on the second
floor of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech had had weapons concealed on their
persons? What if... it were well known, even advertised, that carry was
allowed, even encouraged, on that campus?

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/george8.html
---

Another Comment On Gun-Free Zones: ...As the nightmare at Virginia Tech
unfolded, many people forgot that the gun control debate actually began
there a year ago. Last spring, a student with a valid concealed carry
permit was punished for bringing a gun to class. But a campus shooting
over the summer prompted many students to push for fewer restrictions on
concealed weapons. Virginia Tech administrators refused to even consider
the idea, ridiculing proponents as "crazy" and "irrational." The gun ban
remained in place...

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/column.aspx?UrlTitle=gun_free_zones&ns=AshleyHerzog&dt=04/24/2007&page=full&comments=true
---

More Common Sense From A College Student: ...Cope used his gun to save
lives and prevent a crime. He was not a police officer or in the
military. He was just an ordinary citizen who owned a handgun for
self-defense purposes and, on July 21, 2006, was able to save a
life...But where was someone like Cope last Monday at Virginia Tech? Why
was a sick, twisted individual able to rampage around the campus, over a
span of three hours, and kill 32 innocent people without an armed
citizen confronting him? Who is responsible for disarming Virginia
Tech's students and leaving them defenseless to Cho Seung-Hui?

http://www.thehoya.com/viewpoint/042407/view6.cfm
---

Pro-Gun Professor Fired For Virginia Tech Discussion: An adjunct
professor at Emmanuel College was fired last week following a classroom
discussion about the Virginia Tech shootings that included him pointing
a marker at some students and saying "pow." Winset pretended to shoot
some students in the class. Then one student pretended to shoot Winset
to illustrate his point that Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho may have
been stopped had another student or faculty member been armed.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/4/24/94306.shtml?s=us

Related Commentary:

http://mensnewsdaily.com/2007/04/25/the-right-to-keep-and-bear-fingers-markers-and-guns%e2%80%a6/
---

Kansas TV Station Defends Rejection Of Bloomberg Ad: The CBS affiliate
in Wichita, Kan., is refusing to air an advertisement that is part of
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's gun control campaign, saying the spot is
misleading..."This is issue advertising, where the station is
responsible for the truth or fairness of the ad, unlike political
advertising, where the politicians can pretty much say what they want,"
Goering said.

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/apr/24/ny_mayors_gun_control_ad_pulled_wichita_tv_station/
---

The Race Card: Black lawmakers are demanding a police investigation of a
banner held at Tuesday's gun rights rally in the Pennsylvania state
Capitol. The banner called for Rep. Angel Cruz, a lawmaker of Puerto
Rican descent, to be "hung from the tree of liberty." Cruz has proposed
a bill that would require a $10-a-gun yearly tax and force gun owners to
submit a recent photograph and be fingerprinted.

http://www.wgal.com/news/13019677/detail.html
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_504344.html
---

"Bill Of Rights" Proposed For Pennsylvania Gun Owners: Touting a "bill
of rights" for gun owners, Pennsylvania House Republicans Tuesday
introduced a package of two bills aimed at easing legal access to
firearms...The first of the two bills sponsored by Metcalfe seeks to
prohibit Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies from maintaining
registries or databases of legal firearm purchases...Metcalfe's second
proposed piece of legislation would provide emergency firearm licenses
for "potential victims of domestic abuse."

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/viewstory.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200704/POL20070425a.html
---

Open Carry Discussed: In Pennsylvania and 43 other states, any
law-abiding resident 18 and older can carry a loaded handgun on his hip
in plain view to shopping malls, restaurants and on strolls down the
street. No permits required, no questions asked. You thought you needed
a permit for that? Nope, only if you conceal the gun. (Open carry may be
legal and a valid political statement but it may not be the wisest
tactical option, particularly when the handgun is carried in a holster
like the one pictured, which offers little if any protection against an
attempt by an assailant to take the gun.)

http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/203279
---

Oops, Wrong Shopper: A 25-year-old Cleveland man shot and killed Arthur
C. Buford, 15, after the boy tried to rob him, police said. Buford was
shot in the chest at 8:30 p.m. Saturday and taken to MetroHealth Medical
Center, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later, according to
Cleveland police spokesman Thomas Stacho...

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1177317268157460.xml&coll=2

A More Comprehensive View:

http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article3688.html
---

Oops, Wrong Pizza Parlor: The owner of an East Oakland (CA) pizza parlor
shot and killed a robbery suspect - and accidentally shot his own son as
well - when three men tried to rob them at gunpoint, police said
today...Holmgren said, "We're not saying that we want citizens to go out
there and arm themselves and take the law into their own hands. We want
citizens to be good witnesses, to be good report-takers and to identify
suspects." (What else do you expect in the San Francisco Bay Area?)

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/20/BAGQFPCJ2820.DTL
---

Another Warning-Shot Case: Richardson County (NE) District Court jurors
found Dennis L. Lockard not guilty of second-degree murder Saturday
morning in the Aug. 18 death of James Nutile, 32, of Humboldt...Lockard
testified during the trial that after he fired a warning shot meant to
stop a fight between Nutile and another man, Nutile rushed Lockard,
grabbing him with one hand while "slashing" him with the other. As
Lockard fell, he felt he was being stabbed, Davis said. (Generally, if
there is not justification to shoot an assailant, there is not
justification to fire a "warning shot" and it is usually a poor tactical
move.)

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2007/04/21/news/local/doc462a3f755e219799814284.txt
---

Firearm Ownership Rate Unrelated To Crime: The Second Amendment
Foundation today said a new report by criminologists Prof. Don Kates of
the United States and Prof. Gary Mauser of Canada that shows the rate of
firearms ownership is irrelevant to the homicide and violent crime rate
should be required reading, especially for reporters, editorial writers
and elected representatives.

http://www.pr-inside.com/saf-applauds-new-kates-mauser-report-on-r103614.htm
---

Arizona Legislature Approves State Militia: The state House on Monday
approved a Senate-passed bill to have Arizona create a volunteer
military force to stand in reserve behind the National Guard. The House
voted 34-21 for the bill (SB1132), which now returns to the Senate for
consideration of a minor change made by the House.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/49304.php
---

Licensed Gun Dealer Feeling The Heat: Open a store or stop selling guns.
That's the message that Congress sent in 1993 to Bryan Pierce of Twin
Falls and about 250,000 licensed gun sellers nationwide...Thirteen years
later, Pierce is chuckling at the irony of a federal government
crackdown on gun dealers in Twin Falls and elsewhere. Only about 70,000
licensed dealers are left nationwide. Once many gun dealers backed the
National Association of Stocking Gun Dealers, a group representing
storefront gun dealers whose efforts helped put so-called "kitchen-table
gun dealers" out of business. The immediate effect was to loosen
competition...

http://www.idahostatesman.com/103/story/80871.html
---

Closing The Barn Door...In Japan: Japan adopted stricter gun control
guidelines for law enforcement agencies Wednesday following a spate of
gangster shootings that have rattled a nation renowned for its
crime-free streets, a government official said. The measures crack down
on the smuggling of foreign guns into Japan by organized crime groups
and focus on getting rid of guns already in circulation, Deputy Chief
Cabinet Secretary Hakubun Shimomura said.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/25/asia/AS-GEN-Japan-Gun-Control.php
---

From AzCDL:

On March 20th, SB 1302, which attempted to make it clear that the
legislature intended to apply the 2006 "Castle Doctrine/Burden of Proof"
legislation to all cases pending at the time it was signed, was vetoed
by the Governor, despite strong bipartisan support in both the House and
Senate.  You can view the Governor's veto letter by going here:
http://azgovernor.gov/dms/upload/NR_030207_SB1302VetoLetter.pdf

On April 4th, a "Strike Everything" amendment was added to SB 1166 in
the House Appropriations committee that substituted the language from SB
1302, as well as modifications intended to address the concerns stated
in the Governor's veto letter.  The text of the new bill is here:
http://tinyurl.com/335m92

On April 17th, the House voted to kill SB 1166 by a vote of 27-31-2.
You can view each Representative's vote here:
http://tinyurl.com/2tj8wz.  Representative Konopnicki then moved that
the House reconsider SB 1166 on Monday, April 23rd where it passed
32-23-5. You can see the results of that vote here:
http://tinyurl.com/29xpfp

SB 1166 is now headed back to the Senate for a "Final Read" before being
sent back to the Governor.  Please send a polite note to Senate members
urging them to vote for SB 1166.

Senate email addresses in comma format:
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], to'[email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected]

Information on this and other bills can be found at the AzCDL website:
http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html

As legislation progresses, we will keep you up to date via these Alerts
and at our website.

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

Copyright � 2007 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights
reserved.

--
Stephen P. Wenger

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

http://www.spw-duf.info