Mea Culpa: Someone sent me an e-mail about Airsoft guns last night or
this morning and I accidentally deleted it before downloading it to my
own computer. Please re-send if you need a response or it was something
to consider for the daily mailings.
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DC Passes "Final" Gun Ordinance: The D.C. Council on Tuesday gave final
approval to regulations governing guns in the District, six months after
the Supreme Court struck down the city's decades-old ban on handguns...
The council unanimously passed legislation requiring D.C. gun owners to
register their weapons every three years and go through a background
check every six years... A bill by House lawmakers that would have
undercut the city's ability to regulate guns passed that chamber but
effectively died in the Senate. Mr. Nickles said he still expects a
legal challenge to the regulations but is confident the law will stand
up in court... Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National
Rifle Association, said the council is undermining the intent of the
Supreme Court ruling by making residents jump through "hoop after hoop"
to own a gun...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/17/dc-gun-regulations-finalized/
..The council voted Tuesday to require gun owners to register their
weapons every three years and receive training by a certified firearms
instructor... Tuesday's bill requires gun owners to spend at least one
hour at the firing range and four hours in the classroom with an
instructor before registering a weapon...
http://www.newsmax.com/us/washington_gun_ban/2008/12/16/162476.html
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When Seconds Count...: Brittany Zimmerman, a 21-year-old college student
who wanted to be a doctor, called 911 as she was being attacked by a
stranger, police say. But the police did not come for 48 minutes. By
that time, Zimmerman was dead. Her fiance found her body. Although the
dispatcher claimed later to have heard nothing, the 911 tape captured
screams, gasps and what sounds like a struggle, according to the court
documents... (Yet there are still those who feel that the police can
provide adequate protection.)
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/16/grace.coldcase.zimmerman/index.html
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Seattle Mayor Conspicuously Absent from Gun-Ban Hearing: When a
cross-section of firearms owners gathered at Seattle City Hall Monday
night to oppose Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels' gun ban scheme, the mayor
was nowhere in sight to defend his plan, and the Second Amendment
Foundation wonders why. If ever an audience reflected the kind of
diversity that elitists like Greg Nickels normally rave about, Monday
night's turnout of gun owners certainly measured up," said SAF founder
Alan Gottlieb. "There were gays, straights, men and women, including one
self-described feminist Democrat party activist. I was proud of the
broad spectrum represented by the firearms community..."
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Nickels-Hides-While-Gun-Owners/story.aspx?guid={E35DDD3A-8720-4AF3-BCE6-A5EDBE111F6D}
Related Article: ...Although it is convenient to characterize the
opponents of Nickels' gun ban merely as a lot of flannel and camo-clad
yokels from Auburn or Kent or Enumclaw, the audience was far more
representative of the city as a whole than one might stereotypically
expect. There were healthy numbers of liberals and progressives,
environmentalists and community activists mixed in with Republicans and
Libertarians who were opposed to the notion that, despite being licensed
to legally carry a concealed firearm, they'd be forced to walk unarmed
in city parks while gang members, stalkers and sundry other criminals
are free to pack heat...
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2008/12/citizens_to_nickels_hands_off.php
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Pittsburgh Mayor Fails to Sign Illegal Gun Bill: A controversial
gun-control law passed by Pittsburgh City Council will take effect
within 10 days without Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's signature. Whether it
will be enforced remains to be seen. The law, which many believe
violates the state Constitution, requires gun owners to report a lost or
stolen gun within 24 hours of noticing it's gone. The measure is
designed to stop the flow of guns into the streets through straw
purchasers.. The law might [also] violate a 1995 agreement between the
city and gun rights advocates, in which the city agreed to leave
gun-control laws to the state, Ravenstahl said...
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_603101.html
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Oklahoma Bill Would Nix Tax on Guns, Ammo: A Tulsa lawmaker said Tuesday
he will file legislation to repeal the sales tax on the purchase of guns
or ammunition in Oklahoma. "As Americans, we should not have to pay a
tax to exercise our constitutional rights - especially our Second
Amendment rights," said Rep. Eric Proctor, D-Tulsa. The measure, by
Proctor and state Sen. Kenneth Corn, D-Howe, D-Poteau, will not affect
any dedicated revenue stream for wildlife or other programs, Proctor
said, adding it would have minimal impact on the state treasury...
"People shouldn't have to pay a tax to the government if they need a gun
in the home for self-protection," Proctor said. "No matter what, the
responsibility to protect your family is greater than the state's need
to generate taxes."
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20081216_11_0_OKLAHO864334
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College Student Sentenced for Gun Theft: A federal judge in the District
sentenced a 22-year-old college student to 16 months in prison today for
stealing guns from a Virginia sporting goods store and then selling them
to drug dealers, prosecutors said. Leon Waddy of Southeast Washington
and an accomplice, Michael Henderson, also 22, broke into the Green Top
Sporting Goods Store in Glen Allen, Va., on June 13 and stole 34
semiautomatic handguns, prosecutors said. They traveled to Waddy's
apartment in Southeast Washington and divided up the guns, prosecutors
said. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives
arrested Henderson on June 20 after he sold several of the guns in
Maryland, prosecutors said...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/16/AR2008121601604.html
---
Rule One Reminder: A staged shootout during a mock train robbery Sunday
in Random Lake turned out to be far too realistic when two people were
shot with a gun mistakenly loaded with birdshot, according to the
Sheboygan County Sheriff's Department. The incident occurred about 11
a.m. as re-enactors were performing the simulated train robbery as part
of the weekend-long Santa Steam Train event, said Capt. Dave Adams. The
re-enactment unfolded with the actors engaging in a simulated shootout
with police on Second Street near Harris Bank, after pretending to steal
dynamite from a local hardware store for use in robbing the train, which
was carrying Santa Claus. However, things turned serious when one of the
guns sprayed 46 shotgun pellets in the arm, leg and abdomen of
re-enactor Thomas E. Rumpff, 49, of Sheboygan. The blast also left a
14-year-old spectator from Random Lake with a pellet embedded in his
index finger and another that bounced off his knee... (Rule One: All
guns are always loaded.)
http://www.sheboyganpress.com/article/20081216/SHE0101/812160374&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL
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Smith & Wesson Stock Down: The gun-buying binge that Americans have
embarked on this year couldn't offset a slump in Smith & Wesson's sales
of hunting weapons as the legendary firearm maker moved into the red in
its second quarter, dragging the stock down Tuesday... Michael Golden,
the company's chief executive, said in the company release accompanying
the earnings report that "while the general environment remained
challenging, we focused on removing costs from the hunting-related
portion of our business while capitalizing on opportunities to grow the
remaining majority of our company." ...In a note to investors, Grant
Govertsen of Deutsche Bank wrote that the trend is apt to continue - to
the company's future benefit. Its "pistol and tactical segments continue
to outperform and should benefit from the election of Obama in future
quarters as consumers look to purchase nonhunting firearms that could be
impacted by tighter gun-control measures," he said. "There was some
benefit in [the second quarter], but bigger positive impact should be
felt in [the third quarter] and going forward." ...
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/smith--wesson-stock-off/story.aspx?guid={2CCBC1DA-1505-43D6-9692-F729BCACD709}&dist=msr_3
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Guatemalan Police Missing 2,000 Firearms: More than 2,000 firearms are
missing from the armories of Guatemala's National Civilian Police, or
PNC, the force's director says. Marlene Blanco was quoted Wednesday by
the press as saying that the inventory is ongoing and that the number of
weapons listed as missing could rise. Among the unaccounted-for weapons
are AK-47 assault rifles and Uzi submachine guns, the PNC chief said,
acknowledging that some of the missing police arms have been used to
commit crimes. Blanco also said that she knew of at least one judge,
whom she declined to name, who was carrying a police-issue Uzi for
personal protection...
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=322827&CategoryId=14092
---
KeepAndBearArms.com Still Needs Funds: (This website is my major source
for the news links I share with you.)
..We have so many urgent needs at the moment. In particular getting
caught up on bills owed by the end of the year.
We are also trying to expand the number of gun owners that visit our
site before Barack Obama and the new Congress and many state
legislatures go into session. To do so requires us to place banner ads
on other sites and ads in search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN.
We plan on hitting the ground running in 2009 with more news,
information, investigative journalism and grassroots action projects to
expose and defeat the enemies of freedom.
Help us send a loud and clear message to the Brady Center, Million Mom
March, Violence Policy Center, and the entire anti-gun rights movement.
BUT, at this time, we need funds. SO, if you can make a year end
contribution RIGHT NOW, it will help us immensely. We still need to
raise $19,370.00 from generous donors to meet obligations by year end...
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
