Senator Would Restore Veterens' RKBA: Since a severely mentally ill man
rampaged through Virginia Tech last year, killing 32 people before
turning a gun on himself, Congress and several states have been working
to tighten rules on who can legally purchase a firearm. But a push in
the U.S. Senate would remove from the national background check the
names of 115,000 veterans who have been declared "mentally defective" -
and would prevent the Department of Veterans Affairs from adding any
more names unless the agency goes through a judicial system. The
problem, says the senator behind the efforts, is that the veterans were
added not because they were a danger to themselves or to others, but
because they were assigned fiduciary guardians by the Department of
Veterans Affairs...
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/244/story/45466.html
---
Decision Soon on National-Park Carry: ...Morris and Yates are on
opposing sides in the latest showdown over U.S. gun rights, which would
ease the ban on loaded weapons within some of the 58 national parks and
333 other sites managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The dispute
involves a proposed rule change that would allow visitors with concealed
weapons permits to carry their firearms in national parks, as long as
doing so also would be legal under state law. Rifles and shotguns and
"open carry" of loaded handguns would remain illegal in the parks. The
NRA's long campaign to ease the ban appeared to be close to succeeding a
month ago, but lost momentum when the Interior Department extended the
period for public comments on the plan until Aug. 8... (Note poll.)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25630796/
---
Trojan-Horse Organization Spins Heller: I wanted to share an op-ed I
wrote for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. My main point is that the recent
Supreme Court decision on the Second Amendment provides a chance to
finally move forward on issues that impact hunters and shooters. My
organization, the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA), is a
gun rights organization, but we believe in a balanced approach. It's
time to change the extreme politics that mark the debate over American's
gun policy...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ray-schoenke/on-gun-policy-time-for-ba_b_114076.html
---
John Lott on Obama and the RKBA: Sen. Barack Obama claims there has been
only a "shift in emphasis," not "wild shifts," in his political
positions. Many already know the list: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act, NAFTA, public financing of campaigns, abortion, gay marriage,
Social Security taxes, the death penalty and negotiating with rogue
nations. Possibly one of the more remarkable changes has been his
position on guns...Unfortunately, however, Obama personally voiced
support for the D.C. ban at other times. In February, he did this
himself, not something that he could blame on a staffer...
http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1502&status=article&id=301788003675519
---
CCRKBA Praises Repeal of Wilmette Handgun Ban: ...Wilmette Village
President Chris Canning was quoted by a local newspaper noting that "I
think the strongest option that would give a clean slate to the whole
situation would be to repeal the ordinance." "What about cleaning the
slate for any otherwise law-abiding citizen who was convicted and fined
under the provisions of this Draconian ordinance," Gottlieb questioned.
"Any such persons should have their records cleared and their fines
returned..."
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/ccrkba-says-wilmette-trustees-acted/story.aspx?guid=%7B00BAC509-5BF8-4F7B-9F5D-10D48BBA94E1%7D&dist=hppr
---
Chicago Advised to Stand Firm on Gun Ban: Chicago's gun laws have been
challenged in federal court since the Supreme Court's decision on the
D.C. ban. But, City Corporation Counsel Mara Georges has told two City
Council committees she's confident Chicago's law will stand. Georges
tells Aldermen the Supreme Court's decision on Washington, D.C.'s
handgun ban shouldn't apply to Chicago, because previous Supreme Court
rulings have said Second Amendment "right to bear arms" doesn't apply to
local governments, like Cities. She says D.C. is a federal jurisdiction.
And Georges is confident that, and other arguments, will prevail, at
least in the lower courts. But, she admits, it's hard to predict what
the current Supreme Court will do. Still, it could be years before we
find out. (That's the crux of the issue - whether the Supremes will
"incorporate" the Second Amendment. Like DC, Chicago appears willing to
risk to gamble on that ruling.)
http://www.wbbm780.com/pages/2661137.php?
---
Oklahoma Legislator Barred from Bringing Gun into Capitol: A state
representative who gained national notoriety with an anti-homosexual
rant was stopped from entering the state Capitol Wednesday when she was
found to have a loaded handgun in her purse, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol
said. Patrol spokesman Chris West also confirmed a second incident in
which Rep. Sally Kern was in the building with a gun in June...Kern, an
Oklahoma City Republican, told The Associated Press Wednesday that both
incidents were simple mistakes. In the first incident, the weapon got
through the security checkpoint, she said. "I got all the way up to my
office before I realized I had it, so I reported it," she said. This
time, she said she forgot to take the .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun
out of her purse after she stopped to talk to a colleague. "It was an
honest mistake from being out of my routine, you know," she said...
http://www.durantdemocrat.com/articles/2008/07/24/news/doc4888a0f0ecfad232246278.txt
---
Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't: A 71-year-old man from
Pennsylvania thought he was doing the proper thing Tuesday when he
stopped at the state police station here to surrender a handgun he had
brought into the state. Erwin Spethmann's proactive approach cost him a
$100 fine...Mr. Spethmann, from New Ringgold, near Pottsville in eastern
Pennsylvania, was on his way to Canada when it occurred to him that he
might have a problem at U.S. Customs on Wellesley Island, according to a
state police investigator. He was carrying a .22-caliber semiautomatic
pistol. Before approaching the Thousand Islands International Bridge,
Mr. Spethmann got off Interstate 81 and drove to the state police
station to turn in his gun...
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20080724/NEWS03/691090792/-1/news/Gun+s+owner+cited++fined
---
Open-Carry Demonstration in Michigan: Dozens of people banded together
in Hastings Thursday night to walk the streets with guns in plain sight.
Upwards of 50 people walked up and down the streets of downtown
Hastings, most of them carrying holstered pistols. They say it's to
celebrate and exercise their God-given right to keep and bear arms,
which is also guaranteed in the second amendment...Despite some
objections, Hastings Police decided not to intervene in anyway because
it is legal in Michigan to carry a holstered side arm in public, without
a permit, as long as it's visible and the owner obtained the gun legally...
http://www.wwmt.com/news/hastings_1351572___article.html/guns_banded.html
---
Clayton Cramer on Open Carry: ...Do you know how to upset people, really
fast? Force them to confront the reality that many people own and carry
guns. It isn't even like open carry has some great advantage over
concealed carry when it comes to self-defense. It's a bit quicker to
draw, sure, but if a random spree killer is deciding who to attack
first, guess who's first? The person who is obviously armed. Open carry
may make you as an individual somewhat safer from criminal attack,
because it encourages those criminals who don't have a death wish to go
look for an easier target. Concealed carry, however, makes everyone
safer - because the criminal doesn't know if his intended victim is
going to draw a gun - or perhaps a bystander is going to do so. Open
carry is constitutionally protected, as the Idaho Supreme Court has
ruled in the decision In re Brickey (Ida. 1902). But that doesn't mean
that this is the most appropriate or most polite way to carry a gun...
http://www.claytoncramer.com/weblog/2008_07_20_archive.html#9028545918809328231
---
Prohibitionist on Concealed Carry: ...I never understand the idea of
concealed weapons for "good guys." If you feel your carrying a gun is a
deterrent against a bad guy committing a crime against you, wouldn't you
want that bad guy to see your gun? If you're wearing your gun in a
holster like old-time cowboys, a mugger will probably move onto somebody
else. But if you've got that gun hidden in your pants, how is that going
to stop a bad guy from trying to hurt you?
http://www.lloydgarver.com/2008/07/land-of-10000-lakes-and-even-more-guns.html
---
Armed Missionary Interviewed: ..."What was previously considered
repulsive, i.e., carrying a firearm to church or protecting one's life
with lethal force, appears to have gained the upper moral ground -
unfortunately, I must add that much of the 'changed minds' has been due
to victims suffering at the hands of homicidal maniacs," he said. He
cited specifically an attacker who shot and killed two Christian
missionaries at a Youth With A Mission location in a Denver suburb in
late 2007, and then hours later shot and killed two parishioners of a
Colorado Springs church. "If the liberal establishment had not forced
their gun-free agenda, many lives might have been saved by armed
citizens," van Wyk said...
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=70372
---
Oops, Wrong House, Florida Version: Sheriff's officials say an armed
home invader was shot and killed by a resident early Wednesday morning
after the robber - one of two who had broken into the house - reportedly
pointed a gun at him...Roger Dan Garrison, 49, told investigators that
he was sleeping in his bedroom when he heard his dog barking. He went
into his living room and saw two men dressed in black with their faces
covered, according to the Sheriff's Office report. Garrison's brother,
Martin Randy Garrison, 54, was sleeping in the living room on a couch
that had a handgun underneath it. Martin Garrison told investigators
that he grabbed the gun and shot Gaal at point blank range after Gaal
pointed a gun at him...
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080723/news/507543950&tc=yahoo
---
Oops, Wrong House, Kentucky Version: Police have not filed any charges
against a Pulaski County man who they say shot and killed someone in
self-defense. Last night, officers were called to a home on West
Highway, in Science Hill, to investigate a shooting. They say three
people, one armed with wooden club, went to the home to start a fight -
which they did. After a short time, police say the homeowner, Joshua
Pyles, got a shotgun and asked the suspects to leave his home and
property. They refused and continued to make threats, so Pyles fired
one shot. One of the suspects, 34-year-old Jim Goff, was hit. He was
pronounced dead at the scene...
http://www.wtvq.com/news/1-latest/963-man-shot-a-killed-in-self-defense.html
---
Complicated Case: An illegal immigrant tasked with guarding a
convenience store shot and killed a teenager who attempted to burglarize
it, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevi�o said Monday. Silvestre
Delgadillo, 28, remained on the run and authorities had "no idea"
whether he fled to Mexico, Trevi�o said. Delgadillo, who was convicted
in 2005 on a felony drug charge, has been charged with unlawful
possession of a firearm by a felon, a third-degree felony. But the
actual homicide is complicated by Texas' castle law, which allows people
to use lethal force to defend themselves and their property...
http://www.themonitor.com/news/immigrant_14883___article.html/burglar_sheriff.html
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
