Joyce, Obama and Heller: I've mentioned below the Politico article on
how, during Obama's time as a Director of the Joyce Foundation, it
pumped millions into anti-individual rights scholarship. It also goes
into Joyce's essentially "buying up" law reviews to run exclusively
anti-individual rights article, and the effect on the Heller case (i.e.,
groups filing amici in support of DC had been recipients of millions
from the Foundation). Now, Obama's campaign has had to respond. It's
really a nonresponse, more like "well, the Joyce Foundation also gave
money to other things, and Obama says he's really not against the Second
Amendment, believe him." That and Joyce Foundation has some (minor) ties
to Bill Clinton. The last point is downright pitiful...
http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2008/04/joyce_obama_and.php
---
Chicago Misfires on Violent Crime: When a rash of gun murders takes
place, it makes sense for the police to do one of two things: renew
tactics that have been effective in the past at curbing homicides, or
embrace ideas that have not been tried before. But those options don't
appeal to Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis. What he proposes is a
crackdown on assault weapons. I'm tempted to say this is the moral
equivalent of a placebo - a sugar pill that is irrelevant to the malady
at hand. But that would be unfair. Placebos, after all, sometimes have a
positive effect. Assault weapons bans, not so much...
http://reason.com/news/show/126162.html
---
Common Sense from Philadelphia: Here in Philly, where curbing the
gun-violence epidemic was a staple of Michael Nutter's mayoral campaign,
we are witnessing a furor that may reach a national scale. A city judge
last week granted the National Rifle Association's restraining order
that forestalls Nutter's package of gun control measures, passed by the
City Council, and the NRA is calling for Nutter's arrest on the grounds
that he's a tyrant practicing "official oppression." Measures that
broaden cops' authority to confiscate guns and otherwise limit gun
rights may come under discussion in other cities; many agree with Nutter
on their utility in curbing crime...
http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2008/04/24/safety-measures
---
Parking-Lot-Storage Bill Advances in Missouri: The House gives
first-round approval to a bill blocking store owners from barring guns
in their customers' parked cars. It's designed to clarify a law allowing
Missourians to carry concealed weapons. That law allows businesses to
bar guns from their premises. It has sometimes been interpreted to
include parking lots. Bill supporters say it's possible for Missourians
to be barred from taking their gun into a store and prohibited from
leaving it in a vehicle while they shop...
http://www.bnd.com/breaking_news/story/318187.html
---
ABC Lies Again: ... Last year in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre,
Ross and the crack staff of The Blotter lied about the effect 1994 Crime
Bill as it related to pistol magazines used by the shooter, refused to
issue a retraction, and deleted blog comments warning them of how wrong
they were while continuing to get basic facts of the case wrong through
carelessness. Today, Ross and accomplice Richard Esposito continue that
fine ABC News tradition of making up the news, in a story claiming that
the U.S. Second Amendment is to blame for Mexico's drug cartel problems...
http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/archives/260866.php
---
Soldier Says Drive into Mexico Unintended. A U.S. soldier being held by
Mexican authorities said he accidentally drove across the border with
guns, knives and ammunition while looking for a place to park. Spc.
Richard R. Medina Torres said that after a long night of driving, he had
wanted to park in El Paso, Texas, and walk across the border to Ciudad
Juarez for breakfast Monday, but ended up steering his 1999 Honda
Prelude off Interstate 10, over an international bridge and into Mexico.
"It was just an accident, I didn't mean to drive over here," a
teary-eyed Torres said Tuesday afternoon, standing in a hallway of the
Mexican federal building where he has been jailed since Monday morning.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/5724665.html
---
Oops, Wrong Pawn Shop: A robbery suspect is in critical condition at a
hospital after he was shot by a pawn shop manager during an attempted
hold-up, Houston police said. The 17-year-old and two other masked men
were holding pistols and rifles shortly before noon Wednesday when they
forced their way into Mason's Pawn Shop on Cullen near Bellfort, police
said. "They immediately started yelling for everybody to get on the
ground," said Houston Police Sgt. Brian Harris. The teenager jumped over
the counter and threatened to kill everyone inside the store, police
said. "The manager was able to pull a pistol and shoot the man," Harris
said.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5725484.html
---
Oops, Wrong Couple: The victim of a robbery in Queens fatally shot one
of the three intruders early Tuesday morning with a gun they left
behind, police said. A man and his girlfriend were returning to their
Middle Village apartment about 4:50 a.m. when they were confronted by
three men, police said. According to the victim, the men forced the
couple into the apartment, where they tied them up with plans to rob the
place, cops said. Somehow, the victim was able to get loose and grab a
gun one of the suspects had left unattended, he told police. He shot one
of his attackers in the head, killing him. The other two fled.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/04/23/2008-04-23_robbery_victim_kills_intruder-2.html
---
Oops, Wrong House: A 51-year-old man on Tuesday morning shot a suspected
burglar who was trying to break into the house he was renting, police
said. The man, whose name was not released, said he thought the suspect
had a gun in his hand and he was afraid of being harmed, Sgt. Rebecca
Campbell said. Police said the suspect did not have a gun but was
holding a screwdriver he had used to break out a rear window in the
home. The suspect, Nathan Cooper, 31, has prior narcotics convictions
and is on both probation and parole, police said. He was also wanted for
violating parole. ``(The resident) did what he had to do when he felt
his life was in jeopardy,'' said police spokesman Officer Roland Holmgren.
http://www.orovillemr.com/ci_9016451?source=most_viewed
---
RCMP Warns Canadian Gun Owners: The RCMP says if the government allows
an amnesty on rifle and shotgun ownership to expire, police will have no
choice but to fine or jail unregistered long-gun owners. The reprieve
ends May 16. "We follow the rule of law," said Sgt. Derek Strong. "If
there's an amnesty, we follow that. With the lack of an amnesty, it's
business as usual." A summary conviction for a first-time offender who
fails to register and license a long-gun ranges from a fine of up to
$2,000 to six months in prison.
http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/276785
---
From AzCDL:
HB 2629, an AzCDL requested bill that clarifies when a defensive display
of a firearm is justified, is scheduled to be debated in the Senate
Committee of the Whole (COW) on Thursday, April 24, 2008.
Please take the time to send a polite note to your Senator urging them
to vote for the passage of HB 2629. You can find your Senator here:
http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp .
Personalized letters are always preferred. Below is a sample letter you
can use as a template. Please be sure to include your name, address,
and phone number in all correspondence.
If you choose to send a letter to every Senator, following the sample
letter are email lists in both semi-colon and comma separated formats.
Use the format compatible with your email software.
Subject: Support HB 2629
Dear Senator:
The Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) has informed me that HB 2629
will soon be debated on the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW). I urge
you to vote FOR the passage of HB 2629.
The U.S. Department of Justice has estimated that, nationwide, there are
1.5 million defensive uses of firearms each year (National Institute of
Justice, NCJ 155476, May 1997). In about 75% of defensive firearm
instances, a shot is never fired and the threat is dissuaded via a
defensive display or warning (Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz, "Armed
Resistance to Crime: The Prevalence and Nature of Self-Defense with a
Gun," Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 86(1):150-187, Fall 1995).
Unfortunately, Arizona law effectively rules out the use of anything
other than lethal force with a firearm for self-defense. Under current
law, a defensive display can be categorized as "endangerment" (ARS
13-1201), "threatening and intimidation" (ARS 13-1202), "assault" (ARS
13-1203), or "aggravated assault" (ARS 13-1204).
The proposed language clarifies when the defensive display of a firearm
is justified and when it is not justified. Specifically, it is not
justified in the commission or attempted commission of a serious offense
or violent crime, or when there is no lawful justification to display a
firearm.
HB 2629 should reduce the necessity to use lethal force in self-defense
situations while assuring that law-abiding citizens are not unfairly
targeted for prosecution when attempting to diffuse a threatening
situation with a non-lethal defensive display.
Again, I urge you to vote for HB 2629.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Street Address
City, AZ zip-code
(telephone number)
Below are the email addresses of the Senate in both semi-colon and comma
separation formats, along with a simple list of email addresses for
those who encounter email address formatting problems. Use the list
that is compatible with your email software.
Semi-colon 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];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected]
Comma format:
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
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[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]
Stay tuned! As relevant legislation is introduced and progresses, we
will keep you up to date via these Alerts:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AZCDL_Alerts/
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 � 2008 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights
reserved.
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
