Gun Sales Thriving: Americans have cut back on buying cars, furniture
and clothes in a tough economy, but there's one consumer item that's
still enjoying healthy sales: guns. Purchases of firearms and ammunition
have risen 8 to 10 percent this year, according to state and federal
data. Several variables drive sales, but many dealers, buyers and
experts attribute the increase in part to concerns about the economy and
fears that if Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois wins the presidency, he will
join with fellow Democrats in Congress to enact new gun controls. Obama
has said that he believes in an individual right to bear arms but that
he also supports "common-sense safety measures..."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/26/AR2008102602505.html?hpid=topnews
And in Iowa...: Gun sales have shot through the roof as the presidential
election looms. Fears of tighter control were mutual Saturday among
shoppers at the Gun & Knife Show, which ends today at the National
Cattle Congress' McElroy Auditorium. It offers a buffet of rare guns and
hard-to-find accessories. According to the Associated Press, Republican
candidate John McCain supports background checks for buyers at gun shows
and has his name on a law restricting special-interest group
advertising, two positions strongly opposed by the National Rifle
Association. Democratic challenger Barack Obama has been accused of
wanting to put the firearms industry out of business...
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2008/10/26/news/metro/10714379.txt
---
Ohio Columnist Shills for Shill: Ray Schoenke was known as fearless on
the football field, a 6-3, 246-pound offensive tackle for the Washington
Redskins who managed to hold his own for a dozen years against much
larger defensive ends. The Hawaii-born sportsman has now tackled
America's most potent gun group. The president of the American Hunters
and Shooters Association (AHSA), Schoenke is an avid bird hunter,
shooter and conservationist who owns a 300-acre hunting farm on
Maryland's Eastern Shore. Schoenke and the AHSA have been roundly
criticized by the National Rifle Association for, among other things,
campaigning for Barack Obama and having friends and supporters who
aren't fervent gun proponents...
http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/122492358086970.xml&coll=2
---
San Francisco Pays Off: The city of San Francisco is cutting a check to
the attorneys who fought for your Second Amendment rights in the wake of
court decisions striking down the city's gun ban. Victory is sweet, and
it's even sweeter when the anti-gunners who tried to take away your
rights have to pay for it. The six-figure sum means that the NRA can
continue to devote more resources towards other court fights, including
our lawsuit against the San Francisco Housing Authority over its gun ban
in public housing. And when you donate to the NRA Civil Rights Defense
Fund, you can help us take other anti-gun cities and towns to court as
well. (The lawsuit against the San Francisco Housing Authority has the
potential to become the case that could incorporate the Second Amendment
against the states.)
http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=462
---
Pistol Permits an Issue in New York Judicial Race: Pistol permits are an
emotional and controversial issue in New York State as well as across
the nation so it's not surprising that Rensselaer County Judge Patrick
McGrath reached out to holders of pistol permits in his race for the
Supreme Court, saying that he's not going to abandon them should he be
elected to the higher post...According to the Times-Union, McGrath sent
his letter to the thousands of pistol permit holders in Rensselaer
County, saying "my pistol permit is very important to me as I know yours
is to you". However, his efforts are questionable in that as Supreme
Court justice, he would have nothing to do with the issuance of pistol
permits. That's a job for county court judges and if elected to the
Supreme Court, a new judge would be named to fill McGrath's position as
the county court judge in Rensselaer County. The job of issuing pistol
permits would be that of either Robert Jacon, the other Rensselaer
County Court judge, or the new one who would replace McGrath...
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2008/10/25/mcgrath_pistols/
The Times-Union Article:
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=732957
---
While in New York City...: Go ahead, Met fans - make their day. Sluggers
David Wright and Carlos Delgado are two of the city's newest young guns
- both were granted pistol permits over the last year. Wright's permit
allows him to keep a handgun at his $6 million Flatiron District
penthouse. The Met third baseman, a 25-year- old Virginia native, is no
stranger to pistols; his father is a police chief. First baseman
Delgado, 36, applied for a permit to carry a gun - which was denied -
but was granted permission to keep one in his Upper East Side apartment,
according to a source familiar with the process... The number of permits
has dropped to 35,210, following a downward trend since 2003, when there
were 41,173 active license holders, according to the NYPD, which issues
the permits. "The process can be intimidating and grueling. It may take
up to 18 months," said Manhattan lawyer John Chambers, who has
specialized in gun licenses for 20 years. "And New York is probably one
of the most difficult cities in which to get a concealed-carry
license..." (Yet celebrities seem to get them.)
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10262008/news/regionalnews/the_mets_are_loaded_135381.htm
---
Film to Document Loss of Carry Permit: As the producer of director Neil
LaBute's award-winning "In the Company of Men" and other features, Fort
Wayne filmmaker Mark Archer knows a good story when he sees one. He
knows Jim Grimes' story is a good one - and will soon be telling it on
the big screen. "I don't think 'Infringed' will make it into many film
festivals. I'm in the super-minority in the film industry - a Christian
conservative," said Archer, 35, who has spent the last year documenting
the series of events that caused Grimes to lose his license to carry a
gun despite being acquitted of the 2006 charges that led to the
confiscation of his weapon in the first place...
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081025/NEWS/810250334
Details of the Case:
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/SE/20081025/NEWS/810250333&SearchID=73334127198578
---
Oops, Wrong Pawn Shop: ...It happened Saturday evening at the Gulf Coast
Pawn and Jewelry Store, located in the 9400 block of Louetta when,
according to the Harris County Sheriff's Department, the suspect,
identified as Clifford Thomas, entered the pawn shop wearing sunglasses
and a cap. Officials say Thomas approached the owner who was behind the
counter and informed him that he was there to rob the business. Thomas
took out a pair of handcuffs and ordered the owner to kneel behind the
counter, say investigators. Officials say that when the owner refused to
comply with the suspects demands Thomas opened fire, missing the owner.
The owner was able to retrieve a pistol and opened fire on Thomas,
striking him multiple times... (I may be mistaken but "retrieve" implies
to me something different from "draw." If so, I continue to be amazed at
business owners [and others] who choose to stash handguns off-body,
rather than carry them in holsters.)
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=7724915&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1
---
Oops, Wrong House: A South Side resident fatally shot a man he said had
attacked him inside his home on Saturday afternoon, police said. Police
said they were called at 1:31 p.m. to 594 E. Mithoff St. by the
resident, whom investigators did not identify. Police discovered that
Steven M. Schmitz, 32, had been shot by the resident. Schmitz was taken
in critical condition to Grant Medical Center, where he died at 4:04
p.m. The resident said he had shot Schmitz in self-defense after Schmitz
"had attacked him inside his home," according to police...
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/26/manshot.html?sid=101
---
Oops, Wrong Vehicle: A Scioto County man was shot and killed in an
early-morning confrontation today that began when he tried to enter a
vehicle on the property of the resident who shot him, according to a
release from Sheriff Marty V. Donini. Timothy L. Reese, 21, of South
Webster died at the scene of the 4 a.m. shooting outside a residence
along Rt. 140 in Eifort, bordering Jackson County, the release said. The
man who shot him with a handgun was not identified. He told
investigators he caught the victim trying to enter a vehicle on his
property, confronted him and then shot him, the release said. Detectives
think that it was a case of self-defense, but evidence will be presented
to a county grand jury, the sheriff said...
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/26/scioto_fatal.html?sid=101
http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/33331359.html
---
Conviction Overturned In Shootout with Officers: It was dark. A gang of
men, dressed like thugs, carrying guns, were inside. John Bell, a
55-year-old truck driver from Stratford, thought Buzz's Mobil Station on
Bridgeport's East Main Street, where he worked a second job, was being
robbed. So he pulled his gun. More than 17 shots were fired. And Bell,
who was shot twice, was convicted last summer by a federal court jury of
attempting to kill Trumbull Police Detective Scott Murray, a member of
the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, when he fired on Murray, missing both
his shots. All that was too much for Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred
V. Covello, who on Friday overturned Bell's June conviction on three
federal charges that could have landed him in prison for at least 10
years...
http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_10808116
---
Tragic Shooting: An 8-year-old boy died after accidentally shooting
himself in the head while firing an Uzi submachine gun under adult
supervision at a gun fair. The boy lost control of the weapon while
firing it Sunday at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the
Westfield Sportsman's Club, police Lt. Lawrence Valliere said. The boy,
Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn., was with a certified instructor
and "was shooting the weapon down range when the force of the weapon
made it travel up and back toward his head, where he suffered the
injury," a police statement said... (Sometimes we need to realize what
is and what is not appropriate for children. Several years ago a Texas
boy died after he insisted on firing a .454 Casull revolver, which
struck him in the head in its recoil arc. In this case, I have to wonder
if an excessive length of pull [distance from the end of the buttstock
to the trigger] may have allowed the butt to slip below his shoulder. If
so, this is something that should have been noted in advance by the
instructor. )
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,444180,00.html
---
Tangentially Related: ...Last week, Palin presented a slightly different
picture. In answer to a child's question, she said: "A vice president
has a really great job because not only are they there to support the
president's agenda, ... [b]ut also, they're in charge of the United
States Senate, so if they want to, they can really get in there with the
senators and make a lot of good policy changes." Palin's answer has been
viewed askance. Biden's answer fairly reflects the modern conventional
wisdom. And as a matter of constitutional text and history, Biden is
certainly wrong...
http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1202425454524
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
