Stand-Your-Ground Bill Pending in Pennsylvania: Scott Perry (R-92)
introduced House Bill 40 last January. It would eliminate the "duty to
retreat" in self defense situations. Currently, if you're out somewhere,
and an attacker threatens you with a pocket-knife, then, you, pull out
your handgun, you must "retreat", if you feel like you can get out of
the situation safely and avoid the use of deadly force. House Bill 40,
or, the Castle Doctrine, would eliminate that duty, which, Dauphin
County District Attorney Ed Marsico calls a dangerous idea... Currently
in Pa., citizens do not have to retreat if they are defending themselves
from an attacker inside their home or place of work. Marsico says
changing the law and widening the scope of acceptable deadly force will
make it difficult to prosecute daily criminal cases... Supporters, like
the National Rifle Association, believe the duty to retreat protects
criminals, and that victims should always be allowed the right to defend
themselves... (The problem with maintaining a duty to retreat is that it
increases the likelihood that a person who defends himself will need to
prove to a jury that it was not safe for him to attempt retreat.)
http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story/H-B-40-Deadly-Force-Acceptable-in-Self-Defense/T62_07eHIUebwrFes63L0A.cspx
---
Protest Continue over New Hampshire Carry Ban: Gun rights supporters are
protesting against bills making it a felony to bring weapons into the
Statehouse and other New Hampshire government buildings. Some wore
orange stickers saying "Potential Victim" put out by the Hannah Dustin
Defense League, a women's self-defense group. Protesters also carried
signs Monday saying "Tyranny - More Dangerous Than Any Gun." One bill
would make it a felony to enter the Statehouse and Legislative Office
Building with a gun and calls for the installation of metal detectors.
The other bill targets government buildings. Last month, a special
legislative committee - led by Democrats - reinstated a ban on guns and
other dangerous weapons in the Statehouse complex that had been in place
from 1996 to 2006. Republicans hope to overturn the ban.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/northeast/view/20100111protester_rail_against_nh_statehouse_gun_ban/srvc=home&position=recent
..Guns at the Statehouse became a concern last March when a number of
people with guns stood and shouted at lawmakers from the House gallery.
It happened during debate and votes on a resolution to reaffirm the
state's freedom from interference by the federal government, except in
areas where the U.S. Constitution gives it powers. The measure failed to
pass, upsetting supporters... (There's a difference between shouting and
waving a firearm.)
http://wbztv.com/wireapnewsnh/Many.turn.out.2.1418937.html
---
Payoff in Wisconsin?: Former State Bar of Wisconsin President Gary E.
Sherman has been appointed by Gov. Jim Doyle to fill the seat of
retiring Judge Burnie Bridge on the District IV Court of Appeals,
effective in January. Sherman, who served as State Bar President from
1994 to 1995, has represented the 74th Assembly District as a Democrat
since 1999. He has practiced law in Port Wing since 1974. His practice
is currently concentrated in the development of small community drinking
water and wastewater systems. Sherman is also the author of the 1983
version of Wisconsin Practice (West)... (Gary Sherman is remembered by
Wisconsin gun owners as the guy who rolled over on CCW in Wisconsin back
in 04, suddenly changing his mind at the last minute.)
http://www.wisbar.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=News&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=88370
---
Missouri City Council Fails to Override Veto: The Raymore City Council
failed on Monday to override the mayor's veto of a bill allowing council
members to bring a gun into chambers. Bill 2514 was first introduced in
November and passed with a majority vote in December, but the mayor
vetoed it. The bill would have allowed city council members who have
conceal and carry permits to bring those weapons to meetings. "I fall
into the camp that I think if you give as many law-abiding citizens as
much second amendment freedom as possible, that that enhances public
safety rather than detract," said Councilman Jeff Cox, who wrote the
bill. Mayor Juan Alonzo said he couldn't sign off on a bill that would
only allow council members to bring guns to meetings and not citizens...
http://www.kmbc.com/news/22212592/detail.html
---
California Open Carry - Why?: If you watch westerns, you know that every
story line eventually wanders into the local watering hole, where the
townsfolk quench their thirsts and engage in animated conversation,
handguns hanging from their belts. You expect this scene in movies. You
don't expect it at the Panama Red Coffee Co. in Livermore. The place
doesn't even have a faro table, never mind dance-hall girls and
spittoons. That's where more than a dozen gun owners assembled eight
days ago, holstered weapons in plain sight, in celebration of the
freedom to carry unconcealed handguns. "Open carry" is how they describe
it. Important fact No. 1: All the guns were unloaded. That's
California's only restriction on open carry in incorporated areas. No.
2: The participants wisely alerted police of their plans. Neither step
forestalled strong public reaction... One question: Why? "I carry a gun
for self-defense," Stollenwerk said, "and I've found that open carry has
the upside of helping to normalize gun ownership. I don't get much
reaction from people anymore." Maybe that's what the Livermore
demonstrators seek. Either that or they're just puffing up their
underdeveloped egos. (Let's connect the dots - we are seeing most of
these open-carry demonstrations in California in counties were everyday
citizens cannot obtain permits for concealed carry.)
http://www.insidebayarea.com/columns/ci_14166927
A Kern County man is testing his Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Rafael Esqueda said he has been visiting different public places over
the past week with his gun on his belt. "We can openly carry in
California," he said. "The firearm has to be unloaded in plain view, and
the magazine, which is an integral part of the firearm, have to be
exposed, also." In an effort to promote his platform, he, and about four
of his friends, all showed up at River Walk Park on Sunday afternoon
with their guns exposed. Eyewitness News was there to capture reactions
from parkgoers and the event that was to follow... (Kern County is one
of the few California counties that considers personal protection good
cause for the issuance of a CWP. At least Mr. Esqueda appears to use a
security holster for his openly carried pistol - a Blackhawk Serpa
holster -, if the photograph is actually of his pistol.)
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/81193567.html
---
Open Carry in Michigan: ...The answer is that the right to carry a gun
openly is not actually part of the MCL system. Rather, it is laid out in
Article I, Section 6 of the Michigan Constitution, which states: "Every
person has a right to keep and bear arms for the defense of himself and
the state." This clause is more clearly worded than the Second Amendment
to the United States Constitution: "A well regulated Militia, being
necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to
keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Because the Michigan
provision, adopted almost two centuries after the adoption of the US
Constitution, uses the phrase, "defense of himself," there has never
been the level of debate regarding whether the right was an individual
right that there was regarding the Second Amendment. For many years
during the 20th Century, there was confusion in some jurisdictions
brought on by a misunderstanding of the term "Militia" in the Second
Amendment. That confusion was cleared up, for the most part, by the US
Supreme Court's decision in the Heller case recently... Open carry is
the answer when a CPL holder inadvertently exposes his pistol. As long
as he is in a place where he, and his pistol are allowed to be, and he
is not threatening a fellow citizen without justification, the fact that
the pistol was momentarily unconcealed is of no legal consequence
[emphasis added].
http://www.ammoland.com/2010/01/11/open-carry-is-the-law-in-michigan/
---
Oops, Wrong House: Two men face manslaughter charges for a home invasion
where the third suspected burglar was killed by the homeowner. A Shelby
County [KY] grand jury indicted 23-year-old Timothy Carpenter and Joshua
Fast on complicity to manslaughter charges Monday. They'd been in
custody on burglary charges since Friday. Back in October 2008, police
say Carpenter, Fast and a third man, David Fletcher, broke into a
Shelbyville home. A resident killed Fletcher in what police call self
defense. Prosecutors say Carpenter and Fast are responsible for his
death because it happened as part of a crime.
http://www.whas11.com/news/crimetracker/2-men-facing-manslaughter-charges-after-home-invasion-turned-deadly-81170622.html
---
Rule One, Rule Two Reminder: The director of the Red River Regional
Dispatch Center in Fargo [ND] accidentally shot himself in the thigh
while preparing to clean his handgun Sunday evening, Grand Forks Police
Lt. Grant Schiller said Monday. Byron Sieber, 56, was treated and
released from Altru Hospital in Grand Forks - where Sieber lives - for a
wound that was not life threatening. Schiller said the bullet "grazed"
the top of Sieber's left thigh near his knee... Schiller said Sieber was
trying to remove the slide of a .40-caliber Glock pistol so he could
clean the gun shortly after 6 p.m. To properly release the gun's slide,
Schiller said, the ammunition clip should be removed, the chamber
emptied and the trigger pulled. Sieber pulled the trigger to remove the
slide, but in doing so, he fired a round left in the chamber, Schiller
said... (Rule One: All firearms are always loaded. Rule Two: Never let
the muzzle cross anything you're not prepared to shoot. Sieber is lucky
- may others have died after rupturing femoral arteries in a similar
manner. Kahr, Springfield XD and S&W Sigma pistols also normally require
pressing the trigger in order to remove the slide. S&W eliminated this
feature on its M&P pistols.)
http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/265580/
---
Interesting Policy: Eureka [IL] will consider a proposal to allow police
to carry their own weapons, rather than the city-issued Glock
40-caliber guns they have been provided for more than a decade. Police
Chief Eric Luckey said the policy would be modeled after one in Peoria,
but would not require that even off-duty officers always carry a weapon.
The public safety committee will consider the idea. Luckey said the 14
Glocks need to be refurbished, a cost of about $200 each. All but three
are more than a decade old. Range officer Alex Collinge said allowing
officers to carry their own weapons would remove any city liability and
would allow officers to carry a weapon they are comfortable with, he
said. The requirement would likely be .40-caliber or .45-caliber, he
said... (In an era when many departments are returning to the 9mm, I am
surprised to see a contemplated requirement for a larger caliber. Aside
from issues specific to the Glock 22, many departments have realized
that many of their officers simply shoot 9mm pistols better than they
shoot ones in larger calibers.)
http://www.policeone.com/police-products/firearms/articles/1988494-Ill-cops-might-pack-their-own-weapons-soon/
---
Is Walmart Now British-Owned?: A Walmart greeter who was shown on video
getting punched by a customer has been fired. Ed Bauman, 69, said the
act of defending himself cost him his job. Bauman went into Walmart
hoping to get back to work for the first time since police said he was
punched by a customer. Instead, Bauman said he was fired. His
termination notice called the incident an act of "gross misconduct" and
accused Bauman of fighting with a customer. "They told me I did a good
job of defending myself," said Bauman. "Then they turned around and
fired me. I guess they just wanted me to stand there and get beaten." ...
http://www.wesh.com/news/22190479/detail.html
---
When Guns Are Outlawed...: A man opened fire at a bar in western Japan
on Tuesday, killing two people and wounding one seriously before taking
his own life. Guns are strictly controlled in Japan, and shootings are
rare. When such attacks do occur, they are often linked to gangsters
known as yakuza. Police in Habikino City in Osaka prefecture were
investigating the gunman's motive, police official Mitsuyuki Oda said.
The Kyodo News agency said the gunman was a city employee and could have
been targeting his mother-in-law as a result of a family dispute. Police
are trying to confirm if an elderly women who was killed was a relative
of the gunman. Both the elderly woman and a man in his 20s were
pronounced dead at a hospital. A man in his 50s is in critical
condition, Oda said. Oda said the gunman - identified as 49-year-old
Yasuhisa Sugiura - was also pronounced dead at the hospital.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/world/gunman-opens-fire-on-shoots-himself-after-killing-2-wounding-1-at-a-bar-in-western-japan-81234987.html
---
South Africa Continues Push to Disarm Citizens: There will be big
trouble for South Africans who fail to voluntarily hand over their
unregistered or illegal firearms during a four-month amnesty, Minister
of Police Nathi Mthethwa said on Monday. "If they don't volunteer, come
April 11 die poppe gaan dans [the fur will fly]," Mthethwa told the
national press club in Pretoria at the launch of a firearms amnesty.
Added National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele: "Immediately as soon as
amnesty if over, life is going to be really, really rough." The amnesty
gives law-abiding citizens who failed to register or renew their firearm
licenses in 2009 four months to voluntarily hand over their weapons for
destruction... (Not mentioned is that the government made it extremely
difficult for citizens to renew their firearm licenses.)
http://news.iafrica.com/sa/2158940.htm
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
The tactics and skills to use a firearm
in self-defense don't come naturally
with the right to keep and bear arms.
http://www.spw-duf.info
