Bill Would Rein In BATFE: Standing up for the rights of gun owners,
Congressman Zack Space (OH-18) today announced the introduction of the
Comprehensive Firearms Reform Act of 2007. Space's legislation would
strike a blow against the excessive infringement of Second Amendment
rights at the hands of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives (BATFE). This bill makes corrections to the BATFE's
jurisdiction to help ensure that overzealous bureaucrats can't go after
gun purchasers. BATFE regulations now are so restrictive that if a
person writes "y" instead of "yes" on a gun purchase form, the
application is frequently rejected. ("Excessive infringement"? What part
of "shall not be infringed" don't these people understand?")
http://space.house.gov/list/press/oh18_space/guntax.html
Related Commentary:
http://armedandsafe.blogspot.com/2007/12/id-rather-see-them-dumped-rather-than.html
---
CCW Approved For Arkansas Hunters: The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
voted Thursday to allow hunters with concealed carry licenses to possess
concealed handguns in situations when possessing firearms is otherwise
prohibited. Specifically, the new regulation will allow concealed
handguns on wildlife management areas and AGFC-owned lakes, said Doyle
Shook, chief of the AGFC's wildlife management division. It also will
allow concealed handguns to be carried by licensees during archery deer
season, muzzleloader deer season and archery turkey season. Currently,
hunters cannot possess centerfire weapons of any kind during those seasons.
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Sports/211302/
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Rule Two Reminder: A 40-year-old Port of Corpus Christi police officer
died from a gunshot wound Wednesday while he and another officer were
sighting in a rifle, the port's police chief said. Officer James
Saavedra was shot once in the chest about 4:55 p.m. and died about an
hour later in the hospital after he and officer Eric Giannamore were at
the department's range off the 4000 block of Rincon Road, said Chief
Luther Kim. (Rule Two: Don't let the muzzle cross anything you're not
prepared to shoot.)
http://www.caller.com/news/2007/dec/20/port_shooting/
http://www.kiiitv.com/news/local/12673272.html
---
Kentucky Sheriff Indicted For Inadequate CCW Training: The attorney for
a county sheriff in western Kentucky indicted for conducting firearms
training courses that weren't up to state standards says his client
doesn't believe he broke any laws...A grand jury indicted Edmonson
County Sheriff Billy Joe Honeycutt on Thursday on charges of providing
incomplete training and misrepresenting the completion of the training.
Both charges are felonies that carry a sentence of up to five years in
prison. State police Lt. Phil Crumpton said Honeycutt turned in
paperwork that falsely said people had completed the course when they
hadn't.
http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/264757.html
---
Chicago Officer Fired For Unregistered Handgun: A Chicago Police officer
has been cleared of charges he operated a gambling parlor but was fired
for keeping an unregistered gun in his police locker...But the board
fired Teresi on Oct. 18 for having an unregistered .44-caliber Taurus
handgun in his locker at the Jefferson Park police district, noting that
his disciplinary record included suspensions for neglect of duty and
abuse of medical leave.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/707465,CST-NWS-gamble21.article
---
From JPFO: ... Having advertised itself for more than a century as the
nation's foremost defender of the Second Amendment, the NRA has once
again given aid and comfort to politicians - all of the "usual
suspects": Carolyn McCarthy, Charles Schumer, Patrick Leahy, Harry Reid,
and that perennial Judas goat John Dingell - as well as to pressure
groups like the Brady Campaign, who are determined to destroy that
right, by assisting passage of a law with the potential to strip
hundreds of thousands of military veterans of their basic right to own
and carry weapons...
http://www.jpfo.org/filegen-n-z/sleep-w-enemy.htm
---
From GOA: (I recently upgraded to Life Member in two organizations -
Arizona Citizens Defense League and Gun Owners of America.)
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
This past year was one of the most dangerous on record. Headlines blared
what many feared would happen after the Democrats took over the
Congress: "New bill has a good chance of becoming the first major gun
control law in more than a decade."
That "new bill" is known as the Veterans Disarmament Act, and the battle
against it has been intense, as it would disarm hundreds of thousands of
military veterans who are suffering the ailments that frequently follow
combat stress.
But you should know that there was only ONE MAJOR GUN LOBBY that was
actively working to stop this legislation... ONLY ONE GROUP that has
been fighting the bill sponsored by notorious gun grabbers like Rep.
Carolyn McCarthy and Senator Chuck Schumer.
That one major lobby group is Gun Owners of America.
In April, Newsweek noted that GOA had "launched a public campaign to
block the [Veterans Disarmament Act] warning that the proposal could
'block millions of additional, honest gun owners from buying firearms.'"
As noted by Newsweek, GOA's main weapon in this fight has been the
grassroots. And that's why you are receiving this e-mail. You can play
an important part in helping the gun lobby that DOES NOT COMPROMISE to
increase its clout on Capitol Hill and stop gun control in its tracks.
Next year, GOA will continue fighting the Veterans Disarmament Act.
That's where you will find GOA... on the front lines in the war to
defend our rights.
But Senators Chuck Schumer and Ted Kennedy want to do more than just
disarm the veterans who fought so bravely for our country. Some of the
other attacks we could expect include: more bullet bans; more aggressive
behavior by the BATFE; a prohibition on gun shows; and, mandatory
"biometric" technology (expensive, unproven firearms that only the
actual owner can use - rendering them useless to your loved ones if your
home is invaded while you are away).
And, of course, the gun grabbers will never cease working on their
perennial favorites, such as a new semi-auto ban, a complete nationwide
outlawing of private sales between individuals, banning additional guns
such as .50 caliber rifles, and raising hunting age limits so that our
children will never experience our heritage... and so much more.
Whether you realized what GOA was up to in 2007, GOA has been YOUR VOICE
in the media, YOUR LOBBYIST on Capitol Hill, and one of your CHIEF
ADVOCATES in the courts.
This e-mail will give you just a glimpse of what GOA was up to in 2007,
and then show you how you can become an important part of this effort to
preserve our gun rights for future generations.
GOA WAS YOUR VOICE IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE IN 2007
As the nation watched the horrifying images coming from Virginia Tech on
April 16, gun control advocates heightened their calls for greater
restrictions. GOA spokesmen spent countless hours on Capitol Hill and in
the media.
In just the first two weeks following the shooting, GOA appeared in
several hundred news outlets across the country -including newspaper
articles, radio talk shows and TV debates. You can go to
http://www.gunowners.org/svtb.htm to see many of the TV debates that GOA
spokesmen engaged in - debates ranging from Fox News to CNN to MSNBC and
more.
GOA HAS BEEN YOUR LOBBYIST ON CAPITOL HILL
1. Stalling the Veterans Disarmament Act.
The April shooting jumpstarted anti-gun legislation sponsored by Rep.
McCarthy and Senator Chuck Schumer. In the name of stopping bad guys
like the Virginia Tech gunman, the Veterans Disarmament Act would disarm
hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Americans - not to mention military
veterans!
Gun Owners of America activated its grassroots network at every stage of
the legislative battle (while still restricting our low-volume e-mail
alerts to only what is truly needed to keep gun owners on top of the
situation). This resulted in thousands upon thousands of
e-mails and phone calls being generated into Congress in opposition to
the Veterans Disarmament Act.
All year long, the media reported that Gun Owners of America was the ONE
GUN LOBBY that was fighting the Veterans Disarmament Act. By October,
Gun Owners had garnered several important allies in the fight against
the gun control bill.
The Politico newspaper stated, "Gun Owners of America... has launched
grassroots efforts across the nation, backed by military groups such as
the Military Order of the Purple Heart and the American Legion."By the
end of 2007, the pressure that GOA and its activists applied - plus, the
work of Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma - had resulted in the
Veterans Disarmament Act being stalled in the Senate.
2. GOA killed anti-gun Kennedy immigration bill.
GOA helped kill an anti-gun immigration bill that was introduced by
Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA). The bill contained harmful language which,
in the hands of a future anti-gun administration, would allow gun shops
to be shut down and classified as "criminal gangs."GOA ginned up the
grassroots in favor of a killer amendment that
brought the huge debate over the amnesty bill to a screeching halt.
That one amendment is credited by Capitol Hill insiders as being THE
BIGGEST reason this anti-gun bill was defeated by a 53-46 vote in the
Senate.
3. GOA lobbied to defang BATFE.
When the Senate recently came within a couple of hours of unanimously
approving anti-gun Michael Sullivan for the position of BATFE Director,
GOA sent an emergency fax to every Senate office, urging them to oppose
the Sullivan nomination. Thankfully, one senator filed an official
objection to Sullivan, and his nomination was temporarily stalled.
GOA then generated a massive outpouring of opposition from its
activists, which resulted in other Senators placing a "hold" on the
Sullivan nomination. The anti-gun appointment has now been put off until
next year.
GOA HAS BEEN AN ADVOCATE FOR GUN OWNERS IN THE COURTS
1. GOA and the Supreme Court.
Gun Owners Foundation (the legal arm of GOA) began preparing an amicus
brief for the U.S. Supreme Court after the justices decide to take up
Washington, D.C.'s appeal when its gun ban was declared
unconstitutional. An appellate court ruled in March that the city's
draconian gun ban violated the Second Amendment of the Constitution. The
DC v. Heller case will likely be heard next spring.
2. GOA protects the rights of gun owners.
Gun Owners Foundation is also continuing its defense of Ignacio Ramos
and Jose Alonso Compean - the two border patrol agents who were
convicted of shooting a Mexican drug smuggler on the U.S. side of the
border. GOF attorneys filed an amicus brief earlier in the year which
argued that Ramos and Compean were falsely convicted of "firing a gun
during the commission of a crime" - a crime that doesn't even exist in
federal law.
While the "firing a gun" charge can serve as a sentence enhancement to
an underlying crime, the prosecutor would have to show that the two
border agents were unlawfully carrying firearms - a ludicrous idea! It
became very clear in December that two of the three judges hearing the
agents' appeal were very familiar with GOF's arguments, as their
questions to the prosecutor repeatedly focused on this particular area
of federal law. Prospects look good for a decision reversing their
conviction next year.
3. GOA beat the Brady Bunch in court.
Finally, GOA won a huge bout with the Brady Campaign in the courts!
Shortly after last year's elections, the Brady Campaign asked the
Federal Election Commission to shut down GOA's ability to post its
candidate ratings on the Internet.
Meanwhile, Gun Owners of America was leading a coalition of
organizations in amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court -
challenging the FEC. When the high court ruled in our favor, it took the
wind out of Brady's sails - as the court's opinion essentially forced
the FEC to dismiss the case against GOA. This means that GOA will be
able to continue posting candidate ratings without restraint.
It should be noted that Gun Owners of America is the ONLY national gun
lobby which provides Second Amendment ratings for every candidate for
federal office regardless of party affiliation. In addition, paying GOA
members will receive our handy Voter Guide in the mail.
PLEASE STAND WITH GOA IN 2008!
If you want to put your money where it really counts, put it with Gun
Owners of America.
With your support in 2008, we will defend the Second Amendment and fight
off all of these new attacks on our rights. We will not permit the
federal government to steal any more of your Second Amendment rights.
And we will renew our fight to restore the gun rights stolen during the
Clinton years.
SO HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO:
1. Please go to
http://www.gunowners.org and join GOA -- the nation's
only no compromise gun lobby. For as little as $20 a year, you can help
deliver a "no compromise" message to the Congress and across the nation.
For just five cents a day, you can support the nation's most aggressive
gun lobby. As former Rep. John Hostettler of Indiana used to say: "Gun
Owners of America is the pit bull of the Second Amendment. They are
relentless and never give any ground whatsoever to the gun grabbers."
2. Even if you cannot afford to join right now, please go to
http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm to sign up for GOA's free e-mail
alerts. You can be assured that we will never share your e-mail address
with anyone. GOA alerts are low-volume (we only contact you when
something is actually happening; the annual average works out to less
than one message per week). You may unsubscribe at any time and
we never send attachments. Most often, an alert will include a link to
our famous Legislative Action Center where a pre-written message will be
waiting for you to send directly to your Member of Congress with ease.
GOA will keep you abreast of the latest information coming from Capitol
Hill. The more gun owners who are willing to send their congressman a
message with the click of a mouse, the louder our voice will be in the
nation's capital. So please sign up today!
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
