Obama Calls for More Infringements: ...We've got to tighten up our gun
laws. I've said before we should have a much tougher background check
system, one that's much more effective and make sure there aren't
loopholes out there like the gun show loophole. [Or] The Tiahart
Amendment [requiring destruction of gun-purchase records.] Here's an
example of something common-sense: The ATF [federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms] should be able to share info with local
communities about where guns are coming from, tracing guns that are used
in criminal activity. It's been blocked consistently in Congress. As
president, I'm gong to make sure we know if guns are being sold by
unscrupulous gun dealers not abiding by existing laws. We should know
about that...
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/914970,CST-NWS-obama25.article
---
What's the Score in Philadelphia?: The news out of Philadelphia seems to
be changing every day. Mayor Michael Nutter signs gun-control bills and
tells the local police to enforce them. The NRA receives a temporary
restraining order blocking implementation of the law, but at the same
time the district attorney says she won't enforce them. But Nutter says
he's going to try to convince her to prosecute people who violate these
ordinances...
http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=389
---
Hammer v. Levy: While clowning around with my grandchildren one day, I
suddenly shouted, "Look at the sky, it has turned from blue to green."
Try as I might, I could never convince them that it was true, because
they could see and couldn't be fooled. So it is with Robert Levy's
column ("Employers Must Pull The Trigger," Our Opinion, April 22).
Levy claims that our right to have firearms locked in our cars in a
parking lot is not about the Second Amendment but about the mythical
right of corporations to usurp the Constitution and ban guns. But Levy
didn't pull it off because we can see the truth. And the price he's
asking us to pay for permission to do business with an anti-gun
corporation could mean losing our lives - and that price is as clear as
the sky is blue... (Marion Hammer is generally credited with the
lobbying that produced Florida's historic 1987 revision of its CCW law.)
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/apr/25/na-its-about-the-second-amendment-and-nothing-else/
---
Prohibitionists Seek Veto of Georgia Carry Reform: Three weeks after it
slipped through the Legislature, a bill to permit licensed owners to
carry concealed firearms in parks, on public transportation and in
booze-serving restaurants has resulted in a delayed storm of protest
urging Gov. Sonny Perdue to veto the measure. MARTA bus drivers already
have 1,000 signatures on a petition demanding bulletproof shields,
should HB 89 be signed into law. The Georgia Restaurant Association,
wondering how waiters and waitresses are to keep patrons from both
drinking and packing, is prepared to go to court. And on Thursday, led
by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, a group of two dozen political,
business and community leaders warned of increased violence and
citizens-turned-enforcers if Perdue approves the attempt to expand the
list of public venues where firearms can be carried under jackets and in
purses.
http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/stories/2008/04/25/guns0425.html
---
North Dakota Students Challenge Firearm Policy: In Sunday's Student
Senate meeting Jae Baker, president of a new student organization aimed
at empowering women and their second amendment right, Females for
Firearms, made a statement in response to UND's gun control policies,
including the current issue of the forbiddance of weapons in on-campus
apartments. A decision for the policy will be made later this week. "The
function of the club right now is to educate people on all different
aspects of firearms, which include what type they are and what they are
used for," she said. "Some people don't even know the difference between
shotguns and protection pieces." (Many people use shotguns for
protection, often appropriately.)
http://media.www.dakotastudent.com/media/storage/paper970/news/2008/04/25/News/Decision.To.Be.Made.On.Firearm.Policies-3350706.shtml
---
Virginia Campus-Carry Bill: Allowing students to carry guns on college
campuses would give them a "fighting chance" in a repeat of last April's
shootings at Virginia Tech, a National Rifle Association representative
said yesterday at the University of Mary Washington. Brent Gardner, a
grassroots coordinator for the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action,
asked six students in an audience of nine people in a Combs Hall
classroom why an "invisible boundary line" should stop them from
carrying guns if they have permits. People with gun permits who aren't
UMW students can carry firearms on the Fredericksburg campus, which the
school discourages...Metesh, who heads Students for Concealed Carry on
Campus at UMW, wore a shirt that read, "What you don't see can save your
life." "The minute I start paying tuition, I go from citizen to slave,
and they take my rights away," he said.
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/042008/04252008/374535
---
Magazine Math: ...There are numerous problems with this argument, but
perhaps the most telling (and one I don't remember seeing elsewhere),
comes from simple mathematics. From the empty cartridge cases recovered
at the scene, investigators determined that the VA Tech murderer fired
174 shots...To the uninitiated, this may seem an indication that he used
specialized equipment, granting him what might sound like a great deal
of firepower. What that ignores, though, is the number of magazines he
used -17...If he had started with rounds chambered in both his pistols,
and 17 full magazines - even if they were limited to a capacity of 10
rounds, that would account for 172 of his 174 shots...
http://armedandsafe.blogspot.com/2008/04/im-no-mathematician-but.html
---
Oops, Wrong Car: Police are sorting out a shooting that took place early
Friday in northwest Phoenix, resulting in the wounding of a suspected
auto burglar and the closing of 43rd Avenue south of Bell Road. The
injured man, who suffered wounds that were not life-threatening, was
shot by an irate homeowner who told officers he gave chase and fired
after somebody tried to break into his vehicle, police said. There were
no immediate arrests as investigators gathered evidence and tried to
determine whether the shooter, under the facts of the case, was
justified in using deadly force, said Detective Stacie Derge, a Phoenix
police spokeswoman. (Arizona statutes do not support the threat or use
of deadly force to prevent the theft of "tangible moveable property.")
http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2008/04/25/20080425abrk-shooting0425-ON-CP.html
---
The Hazards of For-on-Force Training: A Shelby police officer is being
treated at a hospital after being shot in the thigh during a training
exercise on Friday afternoon. According to a news release from the
Shelby Police Department, officers were using "air soft" weapons during
the exercise, which are designed to replicate real firearms. One officer
mistook his department-issued gun for the "air soft" weapon and fired a
shot in the direction of Officer Todd Vickery. (Force-on-force training
is extremely valuable but should only be conducted with adequate
personnel and a rigorous protocol, to ensure that "live" weapons cannot
get into the training area.)
http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/stories/wcnc-041808-mw-officershot.78d2dd1b.html
---
Oops, Wrong Gun: ...A police news release said Lt. Bill Jones intended
to use his Taser to stop a fight outside the police department, but he
mistakenly drew his handgun and shot the man once in the side. Jones is
on administrative leave pending a Kentucky State Police investigation,
Nicholasville Police Chief Barry Waldrop said...(Both have similar grips
and both are generally carried in belt holsters - is that a clue?)
http://www.kentucky.com/254/story/386375.html
---
Military Snipers Get SWAT Training: Last week, sniper units from the
23rd Infantry Regiment of the 5th Stryker Brigade at Fort Lewis teamed
with Metro SWAT members to learn new techniques and gain experience with
providing sniper support in urban areas. The three-day training was the
first the agencies have done, said Captain Michael Leiva, with Fort
Lewis...Metro SWAT includes police officers from 11 different agencies,
including Puyallup, Bonney Lake and Sumner. There are about 16 snipers
in the Army unit. They've gone through Army sniper school and the cross
agency exercise is additional training they'll receive before being
shipped off to combat areas like Iraq.
http://www.puyallup-herald.com/108/story/2123.html
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
