It's Official...: The National Rifle Association is endorsing Republican
presidential nominee John McCain despite differences with the Arizona
senator on gun-show rules and campaign finance restrictions. NRA
Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and the chairman of the NRA's
political action committee planned stops Thursday in Pennsylvania,
Missouri, Colorado and Nevada to talk about the move. LaPierre said the
two agree on many issues important to the group. "He's cast more than 60
votes in the Senate in support of the Second Amendment," LaPierre said...
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/nationworld/99102.php
http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2008/10/09/national_rifle_association_endorses_mccain?page=full
..There's a pretty straightforward correlation between NRA endorsements
and Republican presidential victories. Since 1980, they endorsed Reagan
twice, George H.W. Bush the first time but not the second, and George W.
Bush twice.
http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWIzZGY1ODUyOGJjODBmMTYzZDhmYzYyYWIxZTExMzg=
---
Politics Certainly Makes Strange Bedfellows: The National Rifle
Association is turning to Hillary Rodham Clinton to bolster its
criticism of Barack Obama's positions on gun issues. The NRA's Political
Victory Fund planned a national newspaper ad Thursday reviving a Clinton
mailing that accused Obama of waffling on gun issues. Clinton's campaign
sent the mailing when the New York senator was challenging Obama for the
Democratic presidential nomination. It accuses Obama of changing his
statements on gun issues to try to fit the audience he was addressing.
"Hillary was right: You can't trust Obama with your guns," says the NRA
political action committee's ad, scheduled to run in USA Today. The PAC
has spent at least $2.3 million on anti-Obama efforts, including more
than $100,000 on the new USA Today ad...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2008-10-08-777904702_x.htm?loc=interstitialskip
---
A Jew Who Will Cling to His Guns and Religion: This Jew will cling to
his guns and his religion if (G-d forbid) Barack Hussein Obama is
elected President of the United States. Having grown up in New York
City, on Manhattan's Upper West Side, during the turbulent 1950s and
'60s, this Jew - a lifelong Zionist and National Rifle Association
member - saw his neighborhood - in fact, his entire city--practically
destroyed by left-liberal policies and ideology...
http://chinaconfidential.blogspot.com/2008/10/notice-this-jew-will-cling-to-his-guns.html
---
NSSF Claims Obama Campaign Stole List: The Obama campaign in Indiana, on
September 27, unlawfully obtained and made unauthorized use of a
proprietary media list belonging to the National Shooting Sports
Foundation (NSSF) - the trade association for the firearms industry.
Sen. Obama used this list to e-mail a press release concerning National
Hunting and Fishing Day. Earlier today, NSSF sent a "cease and desist"
letter to the Obama campaign demanding that they immediately stop any
further unauthorized misuse of its proprietary media list. The list
contains the names and addresses of members of the media that attended
the NSSF Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show) - the
world's largest firearms trade show and the 23rd largest trade show of
any kind in North America...
http://www.nssf.org/news/PR_idx.cfm?PRloc=share/PR/&PR=100808.cfm&CFID=2387391&CFTOKEN=eef57b5ce593410a-DDFB32F0-CA97-A2A5-608387E32A2598C2&jsessionid=f030ac8cb0cfb706b493247385c2b35554c6
---
Palin Picture Used for California Fundraiser: The picture of vice
presidential candidate Sarah Palin holding a rifle is definitely
generating a lot of talk. Now, the Fresno County Republican party joined
forces with the NRA in a first-time fundraiser, using that much talked
about picture as their centerpiece. This is the picture local
Republicans say has so much pull: vice presidential candidate Sarah
Palin packing heat. "I think using it as a tool to get votes is a
reasonable," said NRA member Barry Bauer. "The other party is very
anti-gun." The image was used on the invitation for the first-ever joint
fundraiser between the Fresno County Republican party and the National
Rifle Association...(I doubt it's accidental that they chose a photo
with a rifle that is banned in California.)
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/strange/news-article.aspx?storyid=120717&provider=rss
---
Settlement at hand Over Katrina Gun Seizures: The National Rifle
Association and the city of New Orleans have agreed to settle a lawsuit
over the seizure of firearms by police officers in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina. A court filing Tuesday says the NRA and Second
Amendment Foundation will drop the case if the city follows a plan for
returning guns to owners who had them confiscated by police after the
2005 hurricane. Both sides also are asking a federal judge to sign off
on the deal and issue a permanent injunction barring the city from
seizing lawfully possessed firearms...
http://www.wdam.com/Global/story.asp?S=9145307
More Details:
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/oct/09/nra-settles-suit-on-gun-seizures/
http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base//library-157/1223530854135840.xml&coll=1
---
Some People Never Learn: I was all set to report on the Virginian Pilot
story about the Norfolk City Council meeting last night...but, in the
comments to that story, it was stated that Dan Moore was ARRESTED
shortly after the meeting last night...for open carrying... As of right
now, this story is unverified, but has the ring of truth. Hopefully
someone who was there can shed more light on what happened.
http://blog.vcdl.org/index.php?/archives/300-HOLY-CRAP!.html
Hours after guns-rights activists marched on City Hall to demand police
leave them alone, they said one was charged after refusing an order to
leave Waterside because he was openly carrying a weapon. Danladi Moore -
whom the city paid $10,000 in July to avoid litigation after being
stopped by police for suspected weapons violations - was charged with
trespassing at the downtown entertainment complex Tuesday night. The
24-year-old Hampton resident said police told him to leave because he
had a gun. Moore said he refused because the law allows him to display a
weapon in public places. He said he was handcuffed, charged and led out
of the building...
http://hamptonroads.com/node/483422
Report on the Council Meeting:
http://blog.vcdl.org/index.php?/archives/299-Norfolk-City-Council-Meeting.html
---
Minnesota Looks Back on Five Years of Shall-Issue CCW: ... The course is
taught by Joel Rosenberg, a firearms instructor with a long history of
pistol-carry activism. He suggests that after five years, mild-mannered
Minnesotans have finally learned that a gun tucked into a waistband
isn't the sign of a blood-hungry nutcase... Five years ago, if Sirek had
wanted to carry a pistol, he would have had to convince his local
sheriff that he had good reason to do so. But in 2003, Gov. Tim Pawlenty
signed the Minnesota Citizens' Personal Protection Act, commonly
mislabeled the "concealed carry" law (the MCPPA allows a permit holder
to wear a pistol in public either openly or concealed)... (65
revocations out of over 50,000 permittees is less than 0.13%.)
http://www.citypages.com/2008-10-08/news/settled-dust-reveals-concealed-carry-stalemate&page=1
---
Judge Rules Drug Users Not Protected by Second Amendment: The U.S.
District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin has issued what
appears to be first opinion in the country since D.C. v. Heller, 128
S.Ct. 2783 (2008), to consider whether the federal ban on possession of
firearms by users of controlled substances runs afoul of the Second
Amendment. On Oct. 3, Judge Barbara B. Crabb denied a motion to dismiss
the charge, concluding that the right to bear arms does not extend to
drug users...
http://www.wislawjournal.com/article.cfm/2008/10/13/Drug-users-lose-right-to-bear-arms
---
Just So Long As It's Not a Handgun: What's the easiest way to get a
25-foot-long missile into Manhattan? Apparently, the Queens Midtown
Tunnel. A Long Island man offered up that astonishing answer yesterday
to an incredulous judge in Manhattan federal court... Sachs, from West
Babylon, said cops just laughed as he passed through the Queens Midtown
Tunnel on his way into the city Sept. 8. Sachs also claimed he drove his
"missile" through the Lincoln Tunnel five times, and was only stopped
twice. "They checked license and registration, but not the missile," he
said. "You're telling me that when you drove up to the Lincoln Tunnel -"
Pauley said. "They saluted," said Sachs, who is representing himself in
court...
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10082008/news/regionalnews/missile_blowers_132641.htm
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/10/08/national/a125118D99.DTL
---
Zoning Away the RKBA: Have you heard about the attempts in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, to zone away your Second Amendment rights? A new zoning
ordinance in the city prohibits the opening of any "firearms-related
business" in the city limits- a clear violation of Pennsylvania's
pre-emption laws. It's just one of the many new ways anti-gunners are
trying to obstruct, delay, tax and deny your Right to Keep and Bear Arms
in the wake of the Heller decision. The good news is that the NRA found
out about this attempt, and we're fighting the anti-freedom politicians
in Pittsburgh. If you hear about any similar attempts to regulate the
Second Amendment out of your town, don't hesitate to call the NRA so we
can fight for you as well.
http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=454
---
Oops, Wrong Stepfather: A Battle Creek man who allegedly shot and killed
his stepson Monday night has been released from custody as the police
investigation continues. Gary Prado, 49, was questioned and then
released after Battle Creek police said he shot James L. Keck, 30, of
Scotts. Detectives said it appears Keck broke into the house at 51 S.
Mason St. and was shot as he was attempting to force his way into a
bedroom where Prado, Darlene Prado, 48 - his wife and Keck's mother -
and Gary Prado's 11-year-old daughter had taken refuge. An autopsy
Tuesday showed Keck was shot four times, including once in the center of
the chest, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Police reported the
shooting at 6:57 p.m...
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081001/NEWS01/810010373/1001/NEWS
---
Oops, Wrong Couple: A Columbus man was killed this evening when,
witnesses told police, he tried to rob a couple in a North Side parking
lot. Thomas E. Goldsmith Jr., 27, was pronounced dead at the scene
around 5 p.m. Franklin County records had addresses for him on Roche
Drive and Linden Avenue on the North Side. Witnesses told police that
Goldsmith approached a couple in their car at Kenmore Square Apartments
holding a gun and demanded money from the man at the steering wheel,
witnesses said. Goldsmith's gun misfired and the man in the car,
identified as Deandre R. Henry, began shooting his own gun... (I have
occasionally been called a "gun snob" in internet forums for advising
people not to use cheap guns for self-defense. My guess is that the
fortuitous misfire occurred with an inexpensive pistol.)
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/07/homi08.html?sid=101
---
Oops, Wrong Pizza Man: Victor Greenwood said he plans to take a week off
work after a man attacked him with a brick as he tried to deliver a
pizza... "As soon as I got back down the stairs, one of them hit me in
the head with a brick," Greenwood said. "A few seconds later, he was
charging me. I dropped the food and grabbed my pistol." Dothan [AL]
police Capt. Larry Draughon said Khiry Terrel Beachum, 18, of East
Lafayette Street, suffered a gunshot wound to the leg during the
robbery, and was caught shortly afterward by police. Police are still
looking for Michael Pope, who they say ran after gunfire erupted. Police
said the robbery happened about 10 p.m. Sunday in the 400 block of East
Crawford Street. Police said Beachum was treated and released from
Southeast Alabama Medical Center for an injury to lower right leg...
http://www.dothaneagle.com/dea/news/crime_courts/article/dothan_pizza_delivery_man_fends_off_robber_with_gunfire/39777/
---
Oops, Wrong House: Police sources tell Action News the two shot were the
teenagers committing the home invasion. Those sources say it all
happened around 4:30 a.m. when a 19 year old man and a 15 year old boy
broke into the front door of a home in the 1700 block of Pierce Street.
Police say a resident inside the home pulled out a gun and began firing
at the two teenagers, striking them both. The 19 year old male was shot
in the abdomen and is in critical condition at the Hospital of the
University of Pennsylvania. The 15 year old male teenager is in stable
condition at HUP. No word yet on any charges as police investigate.
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=6417157
---
The Stupidity of "Smart Guns": ...Ayoob identified three categories of
"smart gun" application that have not changed in the intervening years.
There is fingerprint technology. This is currently unreliable in any
sort of handgun platform, and easily defeated by anything but a
perfectly clean mating of fingers to grip. There is electronic
transponder technology, which relies on the sending and receipt of a
signal to or from components in the gun and/or in an on-body device.
This is subject to power failure but, more importantly, is impractical
with regard to the range of the transponder. (If a police officer is
grappling with a subject for control of the gun, the gun is still within
the practical range of the officer's on-body transponder, for example.
Shorten the range and the officer could effectively put his gun out of
range of his own authorization device by changing his body position or
switching hands.) Finally, there is magnetic technology, which has
existed for revolvers since 1975 - and while this is physically workable
and mechanically simple, it is not advisable to walk around with a
powerful magnetic ring on your hand in today's electronic age...
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=77378
---
Tangentially Related: ... Scalia's speech was entitled, "Methodology of
Originialism." The 60-minute lecture was part explanation and part
defense of his commitment to originalism as a tool for interpretation of
the Constitution. At the outset, Scalia placed originalism in the
context of competing methodologies of interpretation, much as he does in
his written opinions. He said that his task runs counter to the
prevailing notion of a Constitutional consequentialist's interpretation
and a living Constitution. Scalia singled out Chief Justices John
Marshall and Earl Warren as jurists who placed the Court on a crooked
path. Rather than say originalism was perfect, Scalia noted that
originalism is not and need not be perfect, "It just beats the other
alternatives and that is not difficult..."
http://media.www.hlrecord.org/media/storage/paper609/news/2008/10/09/News/Justice.Scalia.Defends.Originalism-3478570.shtml
---
From GOA: With the election less than one month away, Gun Owners of
America is doing its best to keep gun owners informed about who is
protecting your rights in the Congress. Many gun owners are familiar
with the differences between the candidates at the presidential level,
but how well do they know the views and actions of those who are running
at the congressional level? ...While the White House may be up for
grabs, liberal Democrats are in firm control of both chambers of
Congress. With all the media attention on the race at the top of the
ticket, it is important to remember that it is in the Congress where
most of the battles over gun rights occur. GOA's Voter Guide will soon
be landing in mailboxes around the nation. But you can also view an
online version of this guide at:
http://www.gunowners.org/votetb08.htm
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
