NRA Brings Guns into Presidential Race: ...Both major candidates have
tried to strike a delicate balance: supporting gun ownership but also
advocating some safety regulations. Attempts to strike that balance have
affected campaign decisions from the latest attack ads and perhaps a
vice presidential choice...Before the verdict was returned, McCain
signed a friend-of-the-court brief that urged the Supreme Court to
overturn the ban. Obama, who endorsed a state ban on the sale and
possession of handguns in Illinois, took a neutral position on the
ruling. He said he agreed that people have a right to own firearms, but
"just because you have an individual right does not mean that the state
or local government can't constrain the exercise of that right..."
http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2008/10/24/nra-brings-guns-presidential-race/
---
No Longer Elliot Ness's Untouchables: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms, and Explosives doesn't bust many bootleggers or rum-runners
these days. Instead, the federal agents who once called Eliot Ness one
of their own are focused on weapons trafficking and violent crime.
Michael Sullivan, who just completed his second year as the acting
director of ATF, also heads efforts against crimes like identity theft,
Internet auction fraud, and terrorism. The agency even sends agents to
Iraq and Afghanistan to lend their explosives expertise to
investigations there. Sullivan spoke with U.S. News about the agency's
anticrime efforts... (This article specifically avoids the issue of why
Sullivan's nomination as BATFE director has been blockade by senators
who are concerned with the agency's history of abuse.)
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2008/10/24/at-the-atf-taking-on-gun-traffickers-gangs-and-violence-crime.html
---
Oops, Wrong House, Florida Version: A Memorial Middle School sixth-grade
teacher shot and killed a man who forced his way into her home about 5
a.m., according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. It happened
at 1010 Kirkland Drive, just south of Palm River Road, deputies said,
when a man later identified as Mark C. Johnson, 40, (pictured) forced
open the front door. The 62-year-old resident, Juanita Enzor, confronted
the man in her bedroom. Enzor armed herself with a gun and fired at
Johnson, shooting him in the upper torso, deputies said. Johnson then
attacked Enzor, and after a brief struggle, she got away and called 911.
When deputies arrived, the man was still inside the home, dead...
(Details are lacking about caliber and shot placement but it's worth
noting that a single shot did not immediately terminate the threat.)
http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2008/10/early-morning-t.html
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=92803&catid=8
---
Oops, Wrong House, Missouri Version: Scott County deputies arrested a
35-year-old Sikeston, Mo., man Wednesday in connection with an attempted
burglary, according to a Scott County Sheriff's Department news release.
Jason Roach allegedly approached a residence on County Road 538 on
Tuesday and rang the doorbell. Police say Roach turned the doorknob and
would have gained entry, according to the homeowner, were it not for the
safety latch on the door. Roach entered the home through a rear garage
entrance where he was greeted by the homeowner, who held a handgun,
according to the news release...
http://www.semissourian.com/article/20081024/NEWS01/710249993
---
Oops, Wrong Bingo Hall: No charges will likely be filed against the
manager of a Pensacola bingo hall who took the law into his own hands.
Escambia County Sheriff's deputies say Chad England shot and killed an
armed robber who stormed into Beachside Bingo on Jackson Street in
Pensacola. Investigators say Alton Prewitt, 20, entered the bingo hall
around 10pm Wednesday. According to witnesses, Prewitt demanded money
and fired at least one shot in the ceiling before England grabbed his
own gun and fired back. Prewitt was pronounced dead on the scene. No one
else in the bingo hall was hurt... (Perhaps England took the law into
his own hands because no official representatives of the law were
present. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.)
http://www.wkrg.com/crime/article/no_charges_in_bingo_shooting/20265/
---
Oops, Wrong Pizza Man: A pizza delivery man who was taking an order to a
house in East Texas pulled out a gun and opened fire on two would-be
robbers, police said. One of the alleged robbers was hospitalized after
getting shot in the back, Lufkin police said. The Papa John's pizza
delivery man, who's licensed to carry a handgun, wasn't hurt. The
shooting was Tuesday night, after the delivery man walked up to a house
and rang a doorbell, Lufkin police said. It turned out the house was
vacant and two armed men approached him from the side of the house, The
Lufkin Daily News reported Thursday. The delivery man drew a .22 caliber
Derringer and fired two shots, and the assailants ran away, police
said... (All's well that ends well but a .22-caliber derringer doesn't
seem like the best choice for a defensive handgun.)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,443822,00.html
---
The Brady Beat Goes On: Last week, the Brady Center released its report
on the impact of military-style semi-automatic assault weapons on
American families and law enforcement after Congress and the President
allowed the federal Assault Weapons Ban to expire...
http://www.bradycampaign.org/blog/2008/10/24/brady-campaign-president-paul-helmke-on-fox-news-defends-sen-obama-against-false-nra-attacks/
---
Southside Youths Protest M4's for Chicago PD: ...A group of about 40
protestors from the Southwest Youth Collaborative chanted slogans like
"Stop the war on the poor, no more M4s" outside of Chicago Police
headquarters before the meeting, holding up signs as they paced in a
large circle...However, a Daily News review of federal firearms
statistics suggests the number of assault weapons seized from Illinois
criminals is not on the rise. Nor is the number of homicides committed
with rifles in the nation. Also, rifles have been responsible on average
for 15 percent of officer deaths each of the last six years...
http://www.chitowndailynews.org/Chicago_news/Police_pushing_ahead_with_plan_to_buy_M4_rifles,17779
---
Oklahoma SWAT Officers Receive Carbine Training: ..."It's unlike
anything we've had in Oklahoma before," said Eufaula Police Chief Don
Murray, who helped arrange financing and instruction for the training of
10 officers from Muskogee, Eufaula and Checotah. "Many (police)
departments are issuing patrol carbines to officers without proper
training except shooting a few targets at a range," Murray said. "That's
not what we want. Officers should be fully trained before using any
equipment..."
http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/local/local_story_298002851.html
---
NRA-ILA Alerts: Alerts for the week are posted on the NRA-ILA website.
http://www.nraila.org/GrassrootsAlerts/read.aspx
---
From AzCDL:
Like it says in our brochure, AzCDL is an "all volunteer" organization.
We need volunteers to help us at gun shows in November and December in
Tucson and Phoenix.
Crossroads of the West will host a gun show in Tucson on November 1 & 2,
2008 (next weekend!) at the Pima County Fairgrounds:
http://www.crossroadsgunshows.com/gunsched.htm .
A month later, Crossroads will host "the" big (three days!) gun show of
the year at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix on December 5, 6 &
7, 2008. At that show, AzCDL will have two (2) recruiting tables and we
need double the volunteers.
Later in December, McMann's Roadrunner will host a gun show at the
Tucson Expo Center on December 20 & 21, 2008:
http://www.mcmannsroadrunner.com/ (Parking is free!). Being the last
show before Christmas, we expect a lot of last minute shopping for
"toys." Tucson volunteers, this is also a great opportunity to get some
stocking stuffers for yourself and family.
If you can spare a few hours we would deeply appreciate your help - the
majority of our members join AzCDL at gun shows thanks to the hard work
of our gun show volunteers. Come on down and spend some time observing
the other volunteers. When you feel ready, step on in. If pro-active
interactions are not your forte, we still need volunteers to manage the
table, help hand out flyers and brochures, and keep an eye on things.
Volunteers who work the AzCDL table for a few hours will get into the
gun show FREE!
If your membership is coming up for renewal soon, stop by the table and
renew at the "gun show special" rate ($10 off!). Sustaining memberships
get a FREE AzCDL T-Shirt.
Not a member? Not a problem! You can join AzCDL at the gun show!
Interested?
For the Phoenix gun show, send an email to
[email protected] (Dave Kopp).
For the Tucson gun show, send an email to
[email protected] (Fred Dahnke).
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
