Texas Poised To Re-Examine Guns On Campus: Gov. Rick Perry and some
Republicans in the Legislature say they are considering repealing a
state law that prohibits the possession of firearms on college campuses.
Perry and a group of lawmakers who have championed Second Amendment
issues say students and faculty members who hold licenses to carry
firearms should be allowed to take their weapons onto campus.
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/05/02/2guns.html
---

Meanwhile, At Emory University...: The recent controversy concerning
funding for a College Republicans' trip to a shooting range has brought
the issues of gun control and campus safety to the forefront of the
Emory discourse...What we cannot condone is the College Republicans'
plan to request permission from University President James W. Wagner to
carry concealed weapons on campus.

http://media.www.emorywheel.com/media/storage/paper919/news/2007/05/01/Editorials/Our-Opinion.Gun.Control-2889391.shtml
---

Bloomberg vs. Tiahrt: When handguns with bullets that can pierce body
armor showed up on the streets of New Jersey, Sen. Frank Lautenberg
asked federal regulators to share data that could help local police
figure out where the weapons were coming from...The amendment that bars
such sharing of gun trace data has now touched off a feud between its
sponsor, Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., and a coalition of more than 200
mayors led by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor
Thomas Menino.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8ORRTM00&show_article=1

Related Commentary:

http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=210
---

Mental-Health Privacy Debated: Momentum is building in Congress behind a
measure that would push states to report their mental health records to
the federal database used to conduct background checks on gun
buyers...Wayne LaPierre, chief executive of the N.R.A., said it was
mainly mental health groups that had stood in the way of similar
legislation in the past. "We are not an obstacle," Mr. LaPierre said.
"We're strongly in support of putting those records in the system." But
Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, said his group
was fighting the bill...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/us/02guns.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin
---

SAF vs. Alberto Gonzales: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' troubling
support of legislation that would allow him and future attorneys general
the arbitrary power to block firearms purchases without due process is
cause for him to step down as the nation's highest ranking law
enforcement officer, the Second Amendment Foundation said today.

http://www.pr-inside.com/gonzales-wants-arbitrary-power-to-block-r111010.htm
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200705/CUL20070502b.html
---

Sandra Froman on Parker: There is a case working its way to the Supreme
Court that might settle one of the biggest unanswered questions in
constitutional law: Does the Second Amendment guarantee an individual
right to own a gun? Whether or not you own a gun, this is a case you
should care about...

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/column.aspx?UrlTitle=why_you_should_care_about_parker_v_district_of_columbia&ns=SandyFroman&dt=05/01/2007&page=full&comments=true
---

NAACP Leader Comments On Cleveland Shooting Death: "That man had a right
to do what he did. If he didn't do it, we'd be sitting here today
mourning him rather than the 15-year-old," said Forbes.

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/13213830/detail.html

Related Commentary:

http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article3709.html
---

A Response To "The Disarming Of America": Mike Vanderboegh responds to a
recently shared editorial that set forth a plan for disarming American
citizens, "Kill All They Send..."

http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/04/guest-editorial-kill-all-they-send.html
---

Idaho Gun Store Wins Injunction Against BATFE: US District Judge Edward
Lodge has granted Red's Trading Post an injunction to continue their
full operation. The ATF had maintained that Red's was a threat to public
safety because of the minor violations which included paperwork errors
that amounted to less that one percent.

http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/05/breaking-news-reds-trading-post-granted.html
---

From Indonesia, Via Qatar: Parliamentarians around the world should
press for urgent action on gun control, particularly in view of recent
tragedies, the head of a global body representing lawmakers said
yesterday. Anders Johnsson, secretary general of the Inter-Parliamentary
Union, was speaking after the launch of a handbook aimed at guiding
legislators in the area of gun control...

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=146649&version=1&template_id=45&parent_id=25
---

Firearms As Ubiquitous As Chocolate And Edelweiss: Each September the
hills around Zurich are alive - with the sound of gunfire. Nobody is
alarmed, however, because they know it emanates from a bunch of
teenagers doing what comes naturally to nearly every Swiss:
sharp-shooting...The Swiss Parliament recently threw out a plan to
tighten the gun law. Still, acting on the outrage over the recent
shootings and the mounting pressure from left-wing groups, politicians
vowed to reconsider the issue in June...

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1616393,00.html
---

From AzCDL:

PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY!

SB 1629, which reduces the penalty for carrying a concealed weapon
without a permit for otherwise law-abiding citizens, passed the House
May 1, 2007 by a vote of 37-18-5:  http://tinyurl.com/3agnox

SB 1629 cleared the full Senate on March 8th by a vote of 20-8-2.
Because it was amended in the House, it must go back to the Senate for
concurrence and a Final Read and vote before being sent to the Governor.

The enemies of your rights have been pulling out all the stops to kill
SB 1629, but AzCDL has been countering them every step of the way and,
with your help, keeping SB 1629 alive.  It's time to put pressure on
every Senator to vote for this important bill, and send it on to the
Governor.

As amended by the House, SB 1629 reclassifies carrying a concealed
weapon without a permit as a petty offense, unless the violation occurs
in the commission or attempted commission of:

1.      A "serious offense or violent crime" in which case the CCW
offense is a class 6 felony, or

2.      Any other felony, in which case it's a class 1 misdemeanor.

Additionally, under the petty offense conviction, your weapon will not
be forfeited.

In a nutshell, if you're a bad guy carrying a concealed weapon,
penalties have been stiffened.  If you're an otherwise law-abiding
citizen, it's a petty offense.  Unfortunately, because of a pair of 1994
Appellate Court decisions:

�        There is no clear objective standard in statute that you can
rely on to determine if you are breaking the law.

�        If a casual observer cannot easily see your firearm, you are
carrying concealed and could be arrested.

�        Wearing a gun in a vehicle = concealed carry.  Without a permit
you are subject to arrest.

�        Having a CCW permit and wearing a gun in a vehicle puts your
non-CCW permit passengers at risk for being arrested for carrying
concealed without a permit.

The passage of SB 1629 will not be accomplished without serious support
and activism from YOU!  Please send a polite letter to all Senators
urging that they vote for SB 1629.  Below is a cut-and-paste letter you
may use or modify.

Subject:  Vote FOR SB 1629

Dear Senator:

The Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) has informed me that SB 1629
will soon be Final Read in the Senate before being sent to the
Governor.  There is solid bipartisan support for this bill.  I urge you
to vote for SB 1629.

As passed by the House of Representatives, SB 1629 is a crime-fighting
measure.  The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) supports it.  Under
current law, it is a class 1 misdemeanor to carry a concealed weapon
without a permit, regardless of the circumstances.  SB 1629:

1.  Expands the law to allow for arrests during the "attempted
commission" of serious offenses or violent crimes.

2.  Increases the penalty to a class 6 felony for carrying a concealed
weapon while committing or attempting to commit a serious offense or
violent crime.

3.  Retains the class 1 misdemeanor for carrying a concealed weapon
while committing or attempting to commit any other felony.

For otherwise law-abiding citizens, the penalty is a petty offense.
Over 98% of Arizona citizens do not have concealed weapons permits,
largely because the Arizona Constitution protects the right to "open
carry."  However, because of 1994 Appellate Court decisions:

�        There is no clear, objective standard in statute that I can
rely on to determine if I am violating the law.
�        If a casual observer cannot easily see my firearm, I could be
arrested for carrying a concealed weapon.
�        Even with a permit, wearing a firearm in my vehicle puts my
passengers at risk for being arrested.

SB 1629 increases the penalty for criminals carrying concealed without a
permit.  It even adds the "attempted commission" language to the law to
assist law enforcement in arresting those criminals who are intent on
committing a crime while carrying a weapon.  It only reduces the penalty
for otherwise law-abiding citizens attempting to comply with a statue
clouded by court decisions.

Again, I strongly urge you to vote FOR SB 1629.

Sincerely,
Your Name
Street Address
City, AZ zip-code
(telephone number)

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]

We will keep you informed on the progress of SB 1629 and other important
legislation.

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

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

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