A List Member Responds: In regard to the Investors Business Daily
article on Arthur Savage:
There are a couple of errors in the above piece:
1. The rifle Savage introduced in 1893 was the Model 1893. He
refined it and introduced the Model 1899 six years later.
2. The .303 Savage is a completely different round than the .303
British, and uses standard .308 bullets, rather than the .312
bullets of the .303 Brit.
---
Clinton Fails to Gain Traction with "AWB": Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton is now the second member of President Obama's cabinet to get
shot down by the White House over the politically sensitive issue of
assault weapons. After meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calder�n,
Clinton said that reinstating the U.S. ban on assault weapons - which
was passed in 1994 and expired in 2004 - is one step this country could
take to curb the flow of guns to Mexico's drug cartels. "These
military-style weapons don't belong on anybody's street," Clinton told
NBC. Within hours, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told
reporters that he was unaware of "any plans" to push for such a ban -
even though Obama had backed one during last year's campaign... NRA
executive vice president Wayne LaPierre told NEWSWEEK that Hill
Democrats have "learned their lesson" from 1994, when they enacted the
ban and subsequently lost control of Congress. They've also learned that
cozying up to the NRA can pay big dividends. Last year Democrats
received 20 percent of the nearly $1.2 million that the NRA pumped into
congressional campaign coffers - more than twice what it gave to Dems
just six years earlier. The way things are going, this could be more
than a shotgun wedding.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/191414
Related Commentary: It's as if the feds finally woke up and said, "Hey,
we have ourselves a violence problem on the southern border." For years,
border states have been begging the federal government for help in the
form of money, equipment and "boots on the ground" to help secure the
border and prevent violence from spilling over into the United States...
While it's good to have more agents trying to interdict the southward
flow of weapons into Mexico, the knee-jerk response of tightening gun
control must be avoided. Instituting more inspections on the U.S. side
of vehicles going into Mexico is a good idea. Catch the guns and money
before they get south of the border and into the hands of drug cartels.
What must not happen is having the violence in Mexico dictate the
imposition of draconian gun-control measures in the United States. U.S.
Attorney General Eric Holder, an avowed foe of gun ownership, has
suggested resurrecting a ban on certain semiautomatic weapons. The 1994
ban was over in 10 years. And Obama has indicated some interest in
ratcheting up restrictions on guns. Fortunately, Holder and his ilk
can't seem to arouse much interest in Congress in dredging up another
gun ban...
http://www.elpasotimes.com/opinion/ci_12020796
---
NRA-Democrat Alliance?: When Democrats acted last month to give the
District of Columbia long-denied voting rights in Congress, the powerful
gun lobby saw a target too good not to take a shot at. The National
Rifle Association's lobbyists made it clear to lawmakers that they
believed the bill should include a measure to overturn the capital's gun
control laws. Left mostly unsaid, but well understood by all 535 members
of the House and Senate, was that failure to do so would unleash a
barrage of political pain on resisters. The result showed the strong
sway the NRA has even over a Congress dominated by liberal Democrats who
mostly disagree with the organization's positions. The Senate voted
overwhelmingly to add the gun-rights proposal. House Democratic leaders,
fearing a tough vote on the issue, swiftly scrapped plans to consider
the D.C. voting legislation...
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/194/story/631522.html
---
Montana Democrats Support RKBA: Two Montana Democrats are leading the
charge against gun control - even helping force the military to continue
selling surplus brass to gun aficionados who want cheaper ammunition.
U.S. Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester are not simply placating gun
advocates with a vague promise to vote against gun control in Congress.
They are forcing former political foes to recognize that Democrats could
be their strongest allies while the party controls Washington D.C. It's
creating uncertain bedfellows on an issue that wins or loses races in
places like Montana. The pair have been taking the lead on issues that
only the most ardent gun rights advocates were talking about. Just last
week they joined Republican U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg of Montana to
pressure the Defense Department in a move that is credited with
overturning a short-lived brass ban...
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20090329/NEWS01/90329001
---
The Beat Goes On: Concern that the Obama administration could impose a
new ban on some semiautomatic weapons is driving worried gun owners to
stockpile ammunition and cartridge reloading components at such a rate
that manufacturers can't meet demand... "We have heard from all across
the country that there is a tremendous shortage of ammunition," said
Lawrence Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports
Foundation. "We've heard this from the manufacturers, that their
customers are calling them trying to get supplies for inventory, and
that the manufacturers are going full-bore, pardon the pun." ...He said
the current ammunition shortage followed the increase in gun sales.
While the current shortage includes cartridges for popular semiautomatic
rifles and pistols that were covered by the Clinton-era weapons ban, it
also extends to other common varieties including common revolver
cartridges and .22 rimfire cartridges used for hunting or target
shooting... "You know there's something wrong when I've got little old
ladies coming in buying 5,000 rounds of .22 shells," Holtz said...
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hHN8azPdktiyq5rfkevDE2rauhnwD977SAKG0
---
Massachusetts Gun-Storage Law Unconstitutional: After a police officer's
12-year-old son got access to the officer's handgun, the officer was
prosecuted for violating Mass. Gen. Laws. ch. 140, � 131L... Last month,
the court held the statute was unconstitutional (Commonwealth v.
Bolduc), and dismissed the prosecution. I only just now managed to get a
copy of the opinion, and here's the relevant discussion: The locking
mechanisms [required by the statute] are the functional equivalent of
those enumerated in the D.C. statute struck down in Heller. In Heller,
the Court held that the Second Amendment not only protects an
individual's right to possess firearms but that the right requires that
the firearms be available for "the purpose of immediate self-defense."
The Massachusetts statute mandating lock boxes or similar devices would
frustrate an owner's ability to immediately access an operable weapon...
Interestingly, the court seemed to assume that the Second Amendment
applies to state laws - what lawyers call the "incorporation" issue -
which is something Heller pointedly declined to resolve.
http://volokh.com/posts/1238111035.shtml
---
Texas Campus-Carry Bill Gets Hearing Today: ...Today, Woods is among the
leaders in a fight against bills in the Texas Legislature that would
allow licensed concealed gun carriers to take their weapons to school. A
public hearing is set for Monday in the House Public Safety Committee on
one bill, sponsored by Rep. Joe Driver, a Garland Republican...
Supporters say the bills would protect the rights of those licensed to
carry concealed weapons and help prevent a massacre on the scale of what
happened at Virginia Tech and another shooting last year at Northern
Illinois University, where five were killed and 18 wounded. Texas issued
73,090 licenses in fiscal year 2008. The state requires applicants to
pass a training course, pass a criminal background check and be at least
21 years old. Texas campuses are gun-free zones... Texas is one of seven
states currently considering legislation. "We hope Texas will serve as a
leader and have a domino effect," Kasprzak said...
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090329/D977QL6G1.html
---
Parking-Lot-Storage Bill Advances in Texas: Last week the Texas Senate
unanimously passed a bill that would allow Texans to take their guns and
ammunition to work as long as they leave the weapons in their car - even
if their bosses object. "Here in Texas people like their firearms," Sen.
Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, the author of the bill, said. "If they want to
bring them to the workplace they are going to do it whether there is a
policy or not." Although Hegar's bill is now in the House where it faces
more scrutiny, it is not the only gun-related legislation in the 81st
Legislature. There are several other gun-related bills this session,
including one that would allow Texans with concealed weapon licenses to
carry their firearms on college campuses and another that would exempt
the purchase of guns, rifles, shotguns and ammunition from the state
sales tax if the items are bought the last weekend of August, both filed
by Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio...
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/033009/loc_416184813.shtml
---
Alabama Weighs Parking-Lot-Storage Bills: Alabama employers could one
day find that their employees are bringing more than lunch and
briefcases to work each day. They could be bringing a gun, and under a
bill moving through the Alabama Legislature there might be very little
an employer can do to stop them. Democratic lawmakers in the House and
the Senate are sponsoring bills that would prohibit employers from
establishing policies or rules that stop gun permit holders from keeping
a gun locked in their car while they're at work. Backed by the National
Rifle Association, the bills would make it a Class A misdemeanor if an
employer establishes, maintains or enforces such a policy. The NRA has
been successful in getting similar legislation passed in nearly 10
states. Both the House and Senate versions have cleared committees in
each chamber and await full debate...
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20090329/NEWS0201/903290315/1009
---
Kansas RKBA Referendum Approved: Next year, Kansans will vote whether to
change the state constitution to guarantee individual gun rights. "It is
the law of the land today in every state. They (supporters) would like
to make sure it stays that way in Kansas," said Senate Majority Leader
Derek Schmidt, an Independence Republican. Supporters of a resolution
that passed the House and Senate say the move is needed in case the U.S.
Supreme Court ever decides that the Second Amendment does not protect
individual gun ownership. In 2008, the court ruled that the Bill of
Rights covers an individual's right to own firearms. Before that Supreme
Court decision, some lower courts had ruled that the intent of the
Second Amendment was to tie the right of gun possession to militia
service, such as a state National Guard unit, rather than an
individual's right to own a gun...
http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/1113251.html
---
Plea Deal Considered in Burris Case: A plea deal is being seriously
considered in the gun possession case against Plaxico Burress, the New
York Giants' wide receiver, and it appears likely that any agreement
would require him to serve at least some time behind bars, a law
enforcement official said on Sunday... Mr. Burress, 31, who caught the
winning touchdown in the Giants' Super Bowl victory in February 2008,
turned himself in to the police on Dec. 1, nearly three days after he
accidentally shot himself in the leg with an unlicensed handgun at a
nightclub in Manhattan. Mr. Burress was charged with two counts of
second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, which carry a mandatory
minimum sentence of 3 � years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors
commonly offer reduced charges in gun possession cases, taking into
consideration things like a defendant's criminal history, the reason for
carrying the gun and the circumstances surrounding an arrest...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/nyregion/30plaxico.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion
---
Open Carry in Washington State: A gathering of residents in the Willow
Lake Apartments of SeaTac, the south King County community where some
citizens have evidently "had enough" of criminal activity is nothing to
be alarmed about. They met for an informal gathering on March 28 to
discuss crime problems in their neighborhood. Most of the people who
attended this event were openly carrying sidearms. That's legal, it is
protected by the state constitution and a couple of state appeals court
rulings, State v. Spencer and State v. Gregory Casad. Organized by James
Beal, a member of the internet forum OpenCarry.org, the event attracted
the attention of KING5 News and KIRO Eyewitness News...
http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m3d29-SeaTac-open-carry-gathering-sends-signal-to-criminals
---
Oops, Wrong Store: A man allegedly attempting to rob a northwest Harris
County [TX] cell phone store died after he was shot by the business
owner and then hit by a car as he attempted to flee, authorities said.
Deputies answered a call around 6:15 p.m. Saturday at a cell phone store
in the 5200 block of Barker Cypress, where they learned that two armed
men dressed in black allegedly attempted to rob it, said Sheriff's
Office spokesman Lt. John Legg. The store owner produced his own handgun
and the alleged robbers fled the business, Legg said. As the men ran
into the parking lot, the store owner chased them. One of the men fled
the scene in a 90s model red Ford Taurus, while the other man stopped
and turned toward the store owner, Legg said. "At that time, the owner
of the store fired several shots towards the suspect, hitting him once,"
Legg said...
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6348060.html
---
Controversial Shooting in Canada: Sometimes in farming country, in the
fields between Bashaw and Clive, many things worth stealing are the
things outdoors. Pickup trucks, snowmobiles, 4X4s and tractors - on a
farm, that's capital; hard-earned cash. And if someone tries to steal
them, some people say, farmers have a right to stop them, any way they
can. That's not a view shared by the RCMP. On Friday, police charged a
Clive-area farmer accused of what might be described as an alleged
vigorous defence of his property. Brian Knight, 38, chased a 4X4 thief
off his land, rammed him into a ditch, then shot him as he tried to run,
RCMP allege. He then gathered a posse to track the wounded man and bring
him in before calling police, they allege. Knight is charged with
criminal negligence causing bodily harm, assault and dangerous driving...
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/would+have+shot/1439057/story.html
---
Second Amendment - the Video: This is a good review and may be of
particular value to share with those who may not yet grasp the concept
of the RKBA.
http://www.thehopeforamerica.com/play.php?id=693
---
NRA-ILA Alerts: List members are encouraged to check the alerts for the
past week, posted on the NRA-ILA website.
http://www.nraila.org/GrassrootsAlerts/read.aspx
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
