GOA on Ammunition Serialization: The latest back-door gun control scheme
has come to a number of state legislatures, and California has already
enacted it. The latest way to solve crime, and thus make criminals shake
in their boots before they commit another crime, is to put unique serial
codes on bullets and the cases in which they sit. The theory goes that
even if a case is not recovered at the scene of the crime, the bullet
will have the unique marking that will enable it to be traced back to
the perpetrator. Assuming that any manufacturer can afford to
manufacture such ammunition at a price that individuals are willing to
pay (a big assumption), here are the other problems with ammunition
encoding. Bullets that are best for self defense (or harming victims)
are quite likely to be so deformed or disintegrated that they will offer
no possibility of identifying a unique marking on the bullet...
http://www.borderfirereport.net/guest-authors/encoding-ammunition-will-only-aid-criminals.html
---
New Jersey Could Imprison Gun Owners for Legal Purchases: If you buy a
lawful product that is later banned, should you go to jail for 10 years,
even though you didn't know it was banned, and the government that
banned it now criminalizes any method to dispose of it? In the world of
gun ban extremist Bryan Miller of CeaseFire NJ, the answer to this
question is yes...At a March 6 legislative hearing on S1304, which would
increase the penalty for possession of such firearms to a potential
10-year prison term, I argued that the higher penalty should apply to
violent criminals with guns, but that otherwise law abiding citizens who
had purchased the guns when it was legal to do so, who may not know they
are banned due to the law's judicially acknowledged vagueness, who are
not involved in criminal activity, and who presently have no legal means
to comply with the law, should not be facing 10 years in prison.
http://blog.nj.com/njv_scott_bach/2008/03/buy_it_yesterday_ban_it_today.html
---
Illinois Gun Owners to Rally Today: Hundreds of law-abiding Illinois
firearm owners disgusted by the General Assembly's continued attacks on
their rights will descend on the Capitol for a major rally Tuesday,
March 11th. Sponsored in part by the ISRA, the event will kick off with
a Noon rally and legislative education session in the Grand Ballroom of
the Springfield Hilton. At 1:30 PM, the group will march to the Capitol
and then disperse to attend committee hearings and make office calls on
their respective State Senators and Representatives. The day will
conclude with a 5:00 PM reception in the lobby of the Illinois State
Library...
http://www.sunherald.com/447/story/418348.html
---
Idaho to Set Noise Limits for Ranges: A bill designed to protect
state-owned shooting ranges from being shut down by neighbors who
complain about noise has passed both houses of the Idaho Legislature.
The Senate unanimously approved a bill on Monday that would set a noise
limit of 64 decibels at a spot 20 feet from the nearest home, school,
hotel, hospital or church. In exchange, the measure would prevent local
noise ordinances from applying to shooting ranges. Sen. Mike Jorgensen,
R-Hayden, says the proposal is designed to benefit the shooting range at
Farragut State Park near Lake Pend Oreille. Expansion plans for the
range have been limited as a result of noise complaints and lawsuits
from neighbors.
http://www.kidk.com/news/local/16468126.html
---
Parents Sue Over Son's T-Shirt Suspension: One day in December, Donald
Miller III wore a gun to school. As you might imagine, it got him in
trouble. But the gun wasn't loaded; indeed, it wasn't a real gun at all.
It was the image of a gun, printed on the front and back of a T-shirt -
a shirt the Penn Manor freshman wore to honor his uncle, a soldier in
the U.S. Army fighting in Iraq. On the front pocket, in addition to the
picture of the military sidearm, were the words: "Volunteer Homeland
Security." On the back, superimposed over another image of the weapon,
the words "Special issue - Resident - Lifetime License - United States
Terrorist Hunting Permit - Permit No. 91101 Gun Owner - No Bag Limit."
.. And now a lawsuit has been filed in federal court, accusing Penn
Manor of violating Miller's First Amendment rights. The Millers and
their attorney, Leonard G. Brown III of the Lancaster firm Clymer &
Musser, accuse the school district of following a "vague Orwellian
policy" that throttles both patriotism and free speech...
http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/217898
---
Grand Jury Upholds Texas Castle Doctrine: ... In one of the first tests
of the "Castle Doctrine" in the Amarillo area, a Randall County grand
jury did not indict an Amarillo man last week for fatally shooting
another man during an altercation on the Amarillo man's property. It is
tragic that violent force had to be used, but the legal system
determined that the Amarillo man acted according to the law, and that
decision must be respected and followed. The Castle Doctrine, which was
passed overwhelmingly in the Legislature last year and pushed by state
Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, allows Texans the legal right to
defend themselves with deadly force in their homes, cars and workplaces.
The bill states that a person has no duty to retreat from an intruder
before using deadly force.
http://www.amarillo.com/stories/031008/opi_9802991.shtml
---
West Virginia Legislators Extend Castle Doctrine: The West Virginia
Legislature has extended civil and criminal immunity to individuals who
use proportionate force on an intruder or attacker. The bill passed on
the final day of the regular legislative session extends protection for
victims beyond their residence or in defending themselves. Previously,
the state law provided immunity for property owners who use reasonable
or proportionate force upon an intruder. The new amendment adds motor
vehicles "or any location where another has the right to be" to the list
of protected locations. Individuals entering such spaces for the purpose
of engaging in criminal conduct assume the risk for their injury or
death from a property owner or their agent resisting the commission of a
criminal act.
http://www.huntingtonnews.net/local/080310-rutherford-localselfdefensestatute.html
---
Oops, Wrong House: A suspected burglar has been released from the
hospital after a homeowner shot him in Harrison County late Sunday
night. The sheriff says a man who lives on Old Lair Road came home to
find two burglars on his property. The owner shot one of the men, Thomas
Terysian, 25, while the other suspect got away. Terysian, who's from
Paris, went to the hospital with gunshot wounds to a hand and forearm.
He's expected to be all right. Police don't have a name for the second
suspect. Police say two other homes on Old Lair Road were broken into
Sunday night and burglars tried to break into two more homes. The
sheriff says the homeowner won't be charged. (It sounds as though the
burglar brandished a weapon if he was shot in the hand and forearm.
Shots to to go where the mind perceives the threat.)
http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/16443521.html
---
Oops, Wrong Yard: A southwest Macon man reported shooting a woman who
lives nearby in the abdomen on Saturday, after she came at him with a
butcher knife, according to a police report. Tyrone Woodard, of Deeb
Drive, told police he fired two warning shots into the ground after
Candice Hughes, of Leone Drive North, threatened him in his yard
Saturday. When she charged him with the knife, Woodard said he shot
Hughes in the lower abdomen, the report states. Hughes left, but police
found her at her Leone Drive address. She was taken to the Medical
Center of Central Georgia, according to the report, but an update on her
condition was not available from the hospital Monday.
http://www.macon.com/149/story/291148.html
---
Michigan Reporter Learns to Shoot: This year I decided to break out of
my somewhat predictable routine and learn new skills. One of those
skills is shooting. Yes, a gun ... with real bullets. Some people are
afraid of guns. It would be scary to drive a car too if you never took
driver's training. So a week ago I took my first gun class, the NRA's
First Steps Pistol Orientation, at Fenton Lakes Sportsman's Club on
Butcher Road in Fenton. Before I go any further, let me just dislodge
any preconceived notions you may have of the National Rifle Association.
In recent years many have come to think of the NRA as a political
organization. The group does fight to protect the rights of gun owners.
But the backbone of the NRA is its gun safety and shooting courses. So
if you're one of those people who flinch when the NRA is mentioned,
think of them as driver's safety instructors...
http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/voices/index.ssf/2008/03/fenton_press_columnist_learns.html
---
Canada Extends Registration Amnesty: In the March 1 Canada Gazette, the
federal government proposed "three independent initiatives... to enable
previously lawful firearms owners to bring themselves back into
compliance." (Interestingly, the French translation blurs the
"previously lawful" and the "bring themselves back.") Disregarding a
minor fee waiver and other aspects of the regulatory jungle, these
initiatives would extend for a third year the 2006 amnesty for long-gun
owners who have neglected to renew their possession and acquisition
licences, or have not registered all their guns, or have let the
non-renewable possession-only licences expire.
http://westernstandard.ca/website/article.php?id=2752
---
There's A Reason God Put Those People on an Island: Burglars and thieves
who steal to fund an addiction to drugs, gambling or drink could escape
jail even if they target a vulnerable victim such as an elderly
shopkeeper, under new official guidelines. Judges and magistrates have
been told to take an offender's dependency into account when sentencing.
Crimes committed out of "desperation or need" will also be considered a
mitigating factor when deciding whether the offender should be jailed.
With the prison population at a record high, the guidelines will be
interpreted as an attempt to keep more criminals out of jail. (So, in
Britain you can now risk addiction to drugs with the knowledge that you
will not be held accountable for that decision.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/11/nsentences111.xml&DCMP=EMC-new_11032008
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
