Joe Biden on the RKBA: "I'm the guy who originally wrote the assault
weapons ban." (Video clip from a candidate's debate.)
http://blog.nysrpa.org/?p=1605
One of the more surprising twists in the debut of Joe Biden as Barack
Obama's running mate has been the Democrats' decision to highlight
Biden's work on the 1994 crime bill...It's an odd thing to draw
attention to, however, for a different reason: The crime bill was also
one of the reasons the Democrats lost control of Congress in 1994. In
addition to the funding for President Bill Clinton's 100,000 cops
initiative, the bill also included a ban on certain kinds of assault
weapons. That provision almost sank the whole package in the House, when
anti-gun control Democrats teamed up with Republicans to block the final
bill from coming to the House floor. As ever-colorful Democratic Rep.
Charlie Wilson of Texas put it, asking a lawmaker from an area like his
East Texas district to vote for a gun ban was "like asking someone from
Brooklyn to vote against Israel..."
http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/beyond/2008/08/yes-biden-helped-pass-the-crim.html
---
Obama No Friend of the RKBA: ...On gun owner's rights, Obama's record
clearly shows he is one of the most anti-gun candidates to ever run for
president. Today, as Obama takes aim for the White House, he'll tell
voters he has never favored an all-out ban on handguns. Yet while in the
Illinois Legislature, he endorsed a state ban on the sale and possession
of handguns in that state, he favored denying gun ownership to anyone
under age 21, and he supported banning ammunition sales. Obama has
explicitly stated he views Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban as consistent
with the Second Amendment's right for the individual to keep and bear
arms, saying "just because you have an individual right does not mean
that the state or local government can't constrain the exercise of that
right." But just how constraining is a total ban?
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/08/22/opinion/guest/guest75.txt
---
More on the RKBA And the Democratic Platform: ...Obama's supporters are
prepared to end private transactions of firearms and to ban entire
classes of firearms in the name of "common sense." They are prepared to
tell residents of Chicago that they do not possess the same inalienable
right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that their fellow
Americans in Cheyenne enjoy. Yet they tell us the Second Amendment is
"an important part of the American tradition..."
http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=435
---
And...?: A man who tried to carry two hunting rifles and two pistols
into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's downtown hotel remained in police
custody Sunday. Pelosi and other guests briefly left the hotel during
the Saturday incident but were never in danger, Secret Service spokesman
Malcolm Wiley said. The man, Joseph Calanchini, 29, of Pinedale, Wyo.,
faces a charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon. Police officers at the
Grand Hyatt hotel noticed him carrying a rifle-type case at the entrance
and detained him. Wiley said he didn't know if the weapons were loaded.
"The speaker was never in any danger and she appreciates the quick and
professional response of the police," said Pelosi spokesman Brendan
Daly. (Conspicuously absent from this report is anything indicating that
the man intended any harm to Pelosi. While I don't know the hunting
seasons there, I believe that Colorado enjoys a lot of game hunting.)
http://www.newsmax.com/us/pelosi_hotel_denver/2008/08/24/124496.html
Lo and Behold...: A Wyoming hunter who accidentally caused a security
concern at the Grand Hyatt hotel Saturday says he's sorry for the
problems he caused and didn't know the Democratic National Convention
was in town. When Joseph Calanchini walked into the Grand Hyatt hotel
with 2 rifles and 2 pistols Saturday around 4 p.m., Denver Police
evacuated House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) from the hotel until they
arrested Calanchini and made sure it was safe for Pelosi to return. "I
didn't even know the DNC was in town. I don't watch the news," said
Joseph Calanchini from the Denver City Jail where he's being held on
bond. "If I had known, I would have done things differently. It was a
simple mistake..."
http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=98258&catid=346
---
Seattle Balks at Gun Ban: As summer began, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels
said he was taking steps to prohibit guns on all city-owned property
after three people were injured in a shooting at Seattle Center's
Northwest Folklife festival. But as the Center's summer festival season
concludes with Bumbershoot this weekend, no prohibition has taken
effect. "It's very complex. The city owns numerous properties citywide
and in some areas outside of the city," said Regina LaBelle, legal
counsel for the mayor. "We are going through all of those properties and
developing a legally defensible rule." In the state Legislature,
representatives and senators have asked state Attorney General Rob
McKenna to issue an informal legal opinion on whether state law
pre-empts Nickels' executive order. That opinion may be ready by the end
of September...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008136296_gunfree25m.html
---
What Has "Gun Control" Done for California?: Gun control laws frequently
require the use of technology by law enforcement, as well as placing
requirements on manufacturers and, ultimately, the consumer. Are these
effective? Since I live in California I will focus on local laws, the
#1 state for the Brady Campaign...
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Gun-Control-and-the-Second-by-Mike-Kimball-080823-556.html
---
Utah Students Should Settle for Concealed Carry: ...The requirements of
being allowed to conceal carry are much more stringent than open carry.
To receive a concealed weapons permit you must be 21, have a valid
driver's license, be fingerprinted, have an extensive FBI background
check conducted by the Bureau of Criminal Identification and pass a
written and shooting range test...When you conceal carry, nobody is the
wiser. People who are anti-gun don't have to get nervous, and permit
holders still have their weapons with them on campus. U gun owners
should have appreciation for all they enjoy, not muddle the system with
unnecessary demands. Concealed carry is a perfect scenario and something
many other states can only dream about. Let's just allow open carry to
rest in peace. (While I generally prefer concealed carry for tactical
reasons, a valid argument for open carry is that its abolition will
effectively force those who choose to go armed to go through the permit
process in order to do so. In most states, this is an infringement of a
previously protected right.)
http://media.www.dailyutahchronicle.com/media/storage/paper244/news/2008/08/25/Opinion/Williams.Concealed.Carry.Should.Be.Enough.For.Gun.Owners-3402771.shtml
---
CHP Numbers Rise in Virginia: Since January, Dave Whetzel of Hunter's
Paradise watched an increasing number of Shenandoah Valley residents
enter the shop to get information about concealed-weapon permits, which
are up statewide for the second year in a row. Virginia residents
wanting the right to carry a firearm have filed into circuit courts
throughout the state at a record pace this year, according to statistics
from more than 50 jurisdictions analyzed by the Daily News-Record. (As
an aside, note the Rule Two violation in the process of inserting the
gun into a shoulder holster.)
http://www.rocktownweekly.com/news_details.php?AID=30865&CHID=1
---
Oops, Wrong Truck: Police said a shooting that injured a man early
Sunday may be a case of self-defense. Officers said a man and woman were
fighting at Northeast 28th Street and Santa Fe Avenue when another man
pulled up in a truck. The woman got into the truck, police said, but the
man she was fighting with broke the back window and tried to pull her
through it. That's when the truck's driver shot the man twice. The
victim should recover from his injuries, police said. They have not
arrested the driver who fired the shots.
http://www.koco.com/news/17280460/detail.html
---
Oops, Wrong Apartment: Just after midnight Sunday morning, someone
inside a Wellesley Avenue apartment called police to report an intruder
inside. Just moments later, police arrived on the 5600 block and found
32-year-old Vanderlee Stevenson on the kitchen floor with a gunshot
wound to his chest. There was no one else in the home, not even the man
who called 911. A responding investigator with the Allegheny County
Medical Examiner's office pronounced Stevenson, of East Liberty, dead
right where he was found. City homicide detectives spent Sunday
searching for the residents of the apartment so they could try and piece
together what happened inside their Highland Park home...
http://www.wpxi.com/news/17280747/detail.html
---
Rule Five Reminder: Police said yesterday that they believe a
12-year-old girl who was fatally shot Saturday night at a home in Prince
George's County was hit accidentally by a 14-year-old relative playing
with a shotgun...Police said that family members were having a pool
party and cookout at the home when Glenn and two boys headed to an
upstairs room with a computer. "They found the weapon in the room and
were playing with it when it went off," said Cpl. Stephen Pacheco, a
police spokesman. Authorities said they questioned both youths and
others in the house. They said that they were looking into the
possibility of charges against the relative who owned the shotgun
because it was loaded and not secured. (Rule Five: Maintain control of
your firearm.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/24/AR2008082401921.html
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
