Statistics Show Licensed CCW No Threat to Cops: Another bogus argument
of gun control extremists - that sensible concealed carry laws create an
increased threat to police officers - has been refuted by statistics
from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and published
by USA Today. The number of officer fatalities due to gunfire is the
lowest in 50 years, noted Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens
Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. A report out Monday said
that this year, 41 officers have died from gunshot wounds, down 40
percent from the 68 who died by gunfire in 2007. Yet the number of
concealed carry permits issued by the states has risen, dramatically in
some areas, in the past 12 months. "Better training and equipment have
contributed to this decline," Gottlieb stated, "but it must be noted for
the record that growing numbers of legally-armed citizens have not
resulted in more police slayings. That has been one of the many lame
arguments offered by gun control fanatics over the past few years when
they fought against expanded concealed carry rights..."
http://www.ccrkba.org/pub/rkba/press-releases/2008.police.deaths.htm
---
Holder Could Face Tough Confirmation Hearing: With Barack Obama anxious
to take office, the public eager for fresh leadership, and the economy
demanding urgent attention, the Senate is likely to defer to the
president-elect and swiftly approve his Cabinet nominees, congressional
aides and political analysts say. But there will be one prominent
exception: The confirmation hearing for Eric Holder, Obama's pick for
attorney general, promises to be bruising, with Republicans determined
to explore Holder's role in controversial pardons under President
Clinton, his views on gun rights, and his involvement in the case of
Elian Gonzalez, the 6-year-old Cuban boy returned to his homeland by
Clinton's Justice Department...
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/12/29/holders_hearing_might_be_rocky/
---
Infringements Could Cost Big Brother Western Support: ... After Obama's
sizeable and sweeping win this November, it's easy to forget how new and
fragile the new coalitions are that created his win. Among them are
western pro-gun politicos who can effectively block any gun control laws
Obama might propose to serve his urban, pro-gun-control constituencies.
It's easy to imagine there are dozens of such issues ready to crack the
political alliances around Obama. It's likely he'll have to surf on the
narrow strip of issues that enjoy broad support among the disparate
coalitions that help elect him.
http://www.bad-news-day.com/jay-stevens-passing-gun-control-legislation-could-cost-obama-the-support-of-western-democrats
---
The Beat Goes On: Some gun owners may soon find they'll have to wait in
line at their favorite target-shooting range. It didn't used to be this
way. At Forest & Field Outdoor Specialties, a Norwalk-based gun
store and shooting range, demand among novices and experienced gun
owners for more training is so great that "classes are now completely
booked for the rest of December, way into January and beyond," says
Scott Moss, a lifelong outdoors man and competitive shooter, "so I've
added classes and am booking [far ahead]. I've never seen anything like
this before." What Moss is referring to is a huge uptick in gun sales
and interest in gun ownership. Call it the Obama effect...
http://www.connpost.com/ci_11325561
Fearing a Democrat-controlled Congress and White House will impose
stricter gun regulations, local firearms merchants have seen sales
spike. "Definitely they have been up. The first couple weeks right after
the election they were quite a bit larger than normal,'" said Kevin
Schupbach, an owner of Schupbach's Sporting Goods, 141 W. Pearl St.
"People said they are worried, definitely, about their gun rights."
Schupbach said he has seen an increase of about 25 percent in sales,
mostly of handguns and semiautomatic rifles, since November, when Barack
Obama became the president-elect and Democrats won control of the Senate
and expanded their House majority...
http://www.mlive.com/news/citpat/index.ssf?/base/news-27/1230563126309820.xml&coll=3
---
The Beat Goes On?: Stacy Jack, a suburban mom of two, is buying a gun.
It seems to Jack, who lives in Prince William County, that crime has
gotten worse lately, and with the economic situation deteriorating, she
is scared. "My husband and I just talked about it and ran through some
worst-case scenarios if we're headed down a bad road economically-wise,"
Jack said of her decision to buy a gun. "What if somebody wants to break
in and take our possessions or our cans of food? A fear of the unknown
is a terrible thing." ... (While most of the nation's press has
connected the surge in the purchase of firearms and ammunition to fears
of infringements of the RKBA by Big Brother's incoming administration,
The Washington Post looks for an alternate explanation.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/27/AR2008122701054.html
On the Other Hand...: Conventional wisdom has it that a bad economy
leads to more crime, as the pressure of high prices and rising
unemployment prompt some to steal just to make ends meet. But a recently
released study of crime and business cycles in 23 cities from Boston to
San Diego found very little relationship between hard times and high
crime, at least in the short run. In fact, overall crime is down 2
percent this year in Louisville, one of the cities covered in the study
by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The study also examined
Louisville's fellow Federal Reserve Eighth District cities of St. Louis,
Little Rock, Ark., and Memphis, Tenn. While there is some variation from
city to city, the study authors found "weak evidence across U.S. cities
that economic conditions significantly influence short-run changes in
crime." ...
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20081226/NEWS01/812260404/1008/rss01
---
Man to Lobby for Arkansas Castle Doctrine: Larry Harr, a Stuttgart
resident and Chairman of Committee for U.S. Constitution for 20 years,
will be lobbying at the State Capitol in Little Rock three times a week
in the upcoming 2009 legislative session for the passage of a "Castle
Doctrine" law. It would enable citizens to use force in any place that
included deadly force without fear of being prosecuted when they felt
like they were being attacked. Harr said the law he is proposing for
Arkansas should model after the Florida "Castle Doctrine" law that took
effect Oct. 1, 2005. He attempted to lobby for a similar bill in the
2007 legislative session, but it was not passed...
http://www.stuttgartdailyleader.com/news/x512366957/Castle-law-lobby-going-on
---
Oops, Wrong House: Police say a 22-year-old man was shot to death by a
Colorado Springs resident while trying to break in to the resident's
home. Officers say they responded to a report of a burglary in process
at the home at 9:50 p.m. Sunday. Whey they arrived, they discovered a
man in the backyard suffering from a gunshot wound; efforts to revive
him were unsuccessful. Authorities say an investigation revealed the man
was trying to forcibly enter the house through the back door when he was
confronted and shot at least once by a resident of the home. Police say
two other people were in the home when the shooting occurred, and no
previous relationship between the man and the home's residents has been
found...
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/dec/29/man-killed-springs-police-respond-burglary/
Sean Kennedy's father says the 22-year-old had been drinking at a party
Sunday night when he drove to the wrong Colorado Springs home, pounded
on the back door and was fatally shot. Police said Monday they plan to
give the case to the district attorney's office to decide whether the
homeowner will be protected under Colorado's "Make My Day" law, which
allows people to use deadly force in self-defense in their homes. Grant
Kennedy says his son moved to the neighborhood four months ago. He says
Sean Kennedy had too much to drink and apparently was confused about
which house was his. Sean Kennedy lived about a block from where he was
shot...
http://www.kjct8.com/Global/story.asp?S=9593398
---
Stupid Is as Stupid Does: ...Back in March of 2008, Scott and his best
friend, Nate, were target shooting with Scott's .22 caliber rifle behind
Scott's home. At the time, both Scott and Nate were firing the .22
caliber rifle utilizing Super Colibri powderless rounds (which are
designated for indoor use with .22 caliber handguns). Nate posed to
Scott what it would feel like to be shot and Nate asked that Scott shoot
him with the .22 caliber Super Colibri round utilizing the .22 long
rifle. In preparation for the event, Nate donned two hoodies
(sweatshirts with hoods) and walked about one hundred yards away. Nate
then turned so his back faced Scott, put his head down, and Scott fired
toward Nate, arcing the round so it would make the one hundred yard
distance...
http://www.jpfo.org/pdf02/bonar-case.pdf
---
Courtroom Shooter Dies: Ellie Nesler, who sparked a national debate
about vigilantism after killing her son's accused molester in a
courtroom in 1993, has died of cancer. She was 56. Nesler died Friday
morning at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, according to hospital
spokeswoman Phyllis Brown. Nesler had battled breast cancer since 1994.
Nesler made headlines when she shot Daniel Driver five times in the head
in a Tuolumne County courtroom during a break in his preliminary hearing
for allegedly molesting four boys, including her then-6-year-old son
William, at a Christian camp. Nesler was convicted of voluntary
manslaughter, but her 10-year sentence was later overturned because of
jury misconduct.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/12/30/20081230a2filler1230.html
---
Lead-Bullet Banners Turn to Utah: Conservationists who have battled for
years to eliminate lead ammunition they say is the biggest threat to the
survival of endangered California condors are now setting their sights
on Utah. Successful programs to limit the use of lead ammunition in
Arizona and California have cut the number of the giant vultures
poisoned from eating bullets in carcasses of animals shot by hunters.
But as the resurgent condors expand their range, wildlife officials know
they must broaden their focus as the birds journey into nearby Utah....
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/12/30/20081230condorrecover1230.html
---
Hornady Critical Defense Ammo - An informal Test: ...The .38 Special
load was fired from a well-used S&W Model 042 with the usual 1 7/8" bbl.
Its average velocity measured 856 ft/sec, far short of the nominal
listed velocity of 1175 ft/sec. These figures are based on 10 shots
fired 10 feet from the chronograph screens... The .38's were fired
following the same protocol and achieved an average velocity of 856
ft/sec with penetration in the soaked newsprint averaging 7.6" or
probably about 11.4" in ballistic gelatin. I was amazed at the extreme
consistency not only the expansion's reliability but the small
differences in speed, shot to shot for each caliber. I could not
differentiate between the expanded bullets fired through the towel and
those that were not...
http://www.thehighroad.us/showthread.php?t=404295
---
When Guns Are Outlawed...: We've always known that knife crime in the
U.K. has been on the rise and a serious problem for the authorities
who've struggled to contain it. It has taken over terrorism as the
Metropolitan Police's No. 1 priority. But we didn't know the full extent
of knife crime until today. The U.K.'s opposition party, which is the
Conservative Party, released some sobering facts and figures that say
knife-related killings have soared to a record high, the highest in
three decades...
http://blogs.abcnews.com/worldview/2008/12/uk-knife-crime.html
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
