Brady Bunch Unhappy with Big Brother: The Brady Campaign isn't happy
with President Obama. According to Brady, Obama was their David come to
destroy the gun-toting Philistines, the Messiah who would toss the
National Rifle Association (NRA) into the outer darkness to languish
with a wailing and gnashing of teeth. A year after Obama became
president, Brady awaits the beginning of what they heralded as a new day
in gun control. In their new report, President Obama's First Year:
Failed Leadership, Lost Lives, Brady wrote:"Barack Obama was elected on
a campaign platform of enacting strong new gun laws." They base this
assumption upon their post-2008 election report claiming the Democrats'
win was a mandate on gun control. That report relied heavily on Brady's
alleged beating of the NRA at the ballot boxes, but detailed research
discovered that Brady:
* manipulated their endorsement process to manufacture an allegedly
dominating winning percentage,
* ignored the fact that voters didn't consider gun control an
important issue,
* ignored voters' frustration with Republicans (Brady endorsed
Democrats almost exclusively), and
* ignored the fact that many pro-gun Democrats were elected...
http://www.examiner.com/x-2879-Austin-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d19-Brady-Campaign-gives-Obama-an-F
..The Brady Campaign's report claimed Obama's record on gun violence is
out of step with promises he made on the campaign trail. From the report:
As a candidate, Barack Obama supported:
* Closing the gun show loophole
* Strengthening Brady background checks
* Banning assault weapons
* Repealing the Tiahrt Amendment that hinders law enforcement and
hides crime gun data
* Opposing concealed carry
As President, Barack Obama so far has:
* Kept silent on closing the gun show loophole
* Maintained Bush-era destruction of Brady background check records
* Silenced administration officials who spoke out in favor of
banning assault weapons
* Maintained the Tiahrt Amendment and added a broad new gag order on
law enforcement
* Expanded concealed carrying into national parks and allowed guns
on Amtrak trains...
(It's worth noting that the amendment tacked onto Big Brother's
must-have Credit Card Reform Act, effective February 22, legalizes any
form of carry in national parks that is lawful in the surrounding state
but that the Amtrak measure only applies to the transport of firearms in
checked luggage, just as on commercial airline flights. Then there's the
insignificant issue that, according to the Constitution, it's actually
Congress and not the president who make the laws.)
http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0110/brady_campaign_f_4e52b8a5-4d03-44ce-9f5c-adbad49ed0bd.html
---
F Troop, Austin PD Bully Texas Gun Show: ...Correspondent Walter L
appears to shed some light: "The Texas Gun Shows have been "ordered" by
the Austin PD and BATF to allow no setups for gun sales from non-FFLs.
All individual sales will have to go through licensed dealers. Chasing
some stuff down, it seems that HEB owns the building they use and the
APD and BATF have gotten to them - threatening with the possibility of
suit if there are sales on their property for non background checked
transactions. Thus it's the 'landlord' not LE who is calling for the
restrictions." ...Is this the way Bloomberg's wet dream to end private
sales will be enacted? Not through rule of law, but through official
intimidation? ...
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2010/01/messin-with-texas.html
..On Thursday, January 14, Mr. Boedeker was asked to meet with
representatives of the ATF and Austin police at a building in Austin
used for police interviews and interrogations. In addition to Boedeker,
the two hour meeting included the participation of HEB, an Austin
grocery retailer. HEB holds the lease on the building where the Texas
Gun Shows events are held on the third week of every month. Police,
under the direction of ATF, told Boedeker he would be required to follow
their "recommendations" or they would close down his event. Boedeker
said he was told "you do what we say or we shut you down." He said the
ultimatum was recorded by the police and ATF. Mr. Boedeker indicated
enforcing the ATF recommendations would destroy his business. He said he
would not issue a public notice unless it indicated the so-called
recommendations were issued by the Austin Police and the ATF. In order
to make their case, the ATF and APD cited numerous alleged criminal
cases associated with a previous gun show organizer. Mr. Boedeker said
the ATF and APD did not seem aware that he is not associated with
previous gun show events at the location...
http://www.prisonplanet.com/obama-administration-shuts-down-oldest-gun-show-in-central-texas.html
Meanwhile, in Tennessee...: Tennessee has followed Texas in demanding
that dealers obtain licenses and turn over a plethora of information to
authorities before being able to host a gun show in another devastating
attack on the second amendment. The legislation, HB 2422, which has not
yet passed, would make it a Class A misdemeanor for any person to
organize, plan, promote, or operate a gun show without government
approval. The bill makes it a crime for anyone who wishes to operate a
gun show unless they follow the following procedures;
(1) Notifies the TBI and the chief law enforcement officer in the county
in which the gun show is to be held of the dates, times, and location of
the gun show;
(2) Verifies the identity of each gun show dealer participating in the
gun show by examining a valid photo identification document of the
dealer, before commencement of the gun show;
(3) Requires each gun show dealer to sign a ledger with information
identifying the dealer, including the dealer's name and address, before
commencement of the gun show; and
(4) Maintains a copy of the records described above in (2) and (3) at
the gun show promoter's permanent place of business for one year from
the date of the gun show.
The legislation also contains a blanket ban on all unlicensed gun sales
within 1,000 feet of an unapproved gun show. The bill would take effect
on January 1, 2011 if signed into law...
http://www.prisonplanet.com/tennessee-follows-texas-in-banning-private-gun-shows.html
---
Virginia Gun Owners Lobby Legislature: A pro-gun, pro-states rights
rally at the state Capitol this morning drew roughly 1,000 people who
were encouraged afterward to file into the General Assembly Building to
lobby their legislators. They are among several groups lobbying state
lawmakers today, including mental-health and public safety advocates and
the anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity. The rally crowd is
interested in two bills in particular. House Bill 10 "protects an
individual's right and power to participate, or to decline to
participate, in a health-care system or plan." House Bill 69 says
firearms and ammunition made in Virginia and retained here are not
subject to federal law or regulation under the authority of Congress to
regulate interstate commerce...
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/state_regional/state_regional_govtpolitics/article/LEGIGAT18_20100118-121003/318434/
Those on both sides of the gun rights issue fired their first shots
Monday, with battles being declared both inside and outside the state
Capitol. Several hundred rallied for gun rights on the morning of Martin
Luther King Jr. Day, followed by an afternoon rally attended by dozens
calling for stricter gun laws. Inside the Capitol, Democrats pushed
through committee changes that will make it more difficult to advance
looser gun laws, while Republicans cried foul. So far, 30 bills have
been filed that would allow concealed handguns to be carried in more
places and make it easier to get both guns and the permits. Gun
supporters had hoped to get more bills enacted this year because
Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, who took office on Saturday, supports gun
rights. Former Gov. Tim Kaine often vetoed pro-gun bills... Democrats in
the Senate made that a little more difficult...
http://www.wtkr.com/news/dp-va--xgr-virginia-guns0118jan18,0,7556256.story
---
Utah Defensive-Display Bill Introduced: More guns may be making
appearances in confrontations across Utah, adding intensity, for better
or worse. Newly proposed legislation would be a green light for
concealed-gun owners to openly carry firearms and, if threatened, draw
or exhibit their weapons and verbally threaten deadly force... The
bill's sponsor, Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, said HB78 clarifies
existing law with "affirmative language" that would provide gun owners
another option to defend themselves or others around them. "This allows
a gun owner to not have to go all the way and actually fire his gun,"
Sandstrom said. "This would still be the very last resort, however. It
doesn't give you the right to just flash a gun at anyone who makes you
mad." The proposal officially allows Utahns to openly carry firearms and
inform others that they are carrying a gun, not currently illegal, but
not codified in law. The bill only applies to individuals who have
concealed weapons permits, and "brandishing" a gun for anything less
than self-defense will still be illegal...
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705359364/Guns-could-be-easily-brandished-under-proposed-law.html
---
Gun Buyback Violated Pennsylvania, Federal Laws: On December 15, 2009,
Goods for Guns of Allegheny County, Inc. hosted its 14th annual gun
buy-back program at a Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services base on the
Boulevard of the Allies near Smithfield Street and the Homestead Police
Department-Municipal Building on East Ninth Avenue... Setting aside the
misguided and na�ve notions of those behind this program, the record is
clear. These programs have never been shown to be effective in stopping
crime or preventing accidents with firearms. Their true purpose is to
continue to intimate a citizen's mere possession of firearms is a
predictor of crime and injuries when, in fact, this is not the case. The
road to hell is paved with good intentions; in the Goods for Guns
program hell should have prison bars because these actions are a clear
and direct violation of Federal and state laws...
http://www.examiner.com/x-35389-Pittsburgh-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d18-Officials-apparently-condone-federal-and-state-law-breaking
---
New Jersey Gun Owners Sue over One-Gun-a-Month Law: New Jersey gun
owners took a parting shot at the waning administration of Gov. Jon
Corzine today, filing a federal lawsuit challenging his
one-handgun-a-month law, claiming it is unconstitutional and that some
towns already make it impossible to obtain one pistol in six months. The
Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, a Gloucester County
sports shop and a Morris County gun-owner filed the action contending
the law, signed by Corzine in August to limit handgun purchases to one
per person, per month, is preempted by federal gun statutes. The lawsuit
also accused Corzine of failing to adequately address the concerns of
gun collectors, competitors, dealers and people who inherit guns through
a task force the governor set up to develop exemptions to the law.
Certain exemptions were included in follow-up legislation Corzine signed
last week. But the lawsuit contends unspecific and unfair requirements
have been set for gun collectors to apply to the superintendent of the
State Police to review each multiple gun transaction...
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/nj_gun_owners_claim_one-handgu.html
---
Support Builds for Expelled Student: Folks in the rural community of
Willows [CA] remember the days, not long ago, when teenagers would go
duck hunting on autumn mornings and then park their pickup trucks on the
Willows High School campus with shotguns displayed in racks. That's why
many residents were upset when school officials in November expelled
16-year-old Gary Tudesko for parking his pickup on a street next to
campus with shotguns in the back seat after a morning hunting waterfowl.
"This is a conservative, redneck hunting town. I'd say 99 percent of
people in town support Gary," said chiropractor Eric Wunsch, a 1985
graduate of Willows High School. He remembered his school's parking lot
filled with firearms. On Tuesday, the Glenn County Board of Education
will hear an appeal in Tudesko's case, with local supporters and
out-of-town activists expected to attend. A prominent gun-rights lawyer
from Southern California represents the teen, and the National Rifle
Association has given its support. The case has attracted national
attention, and some lawyers predict it may end up setting legal
precedent... (It looks as though past infractions, which did not involve
firearms, were taken into account by the school board. Click link for
details.)
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2469453.html
---
Trijicon Places Bible References on Military Sights: Coded references to
New Testament Bible passages about Jesus Christ are inscribed on
high-powered rifle sights provided to the United States military by a
Michigan company, an ABC News investigation has found... One of the
citations on the gun sights, 2COR4:6, is an apparent reference to Second
Corinthians 4:6 of the New Testament, which reads: "For God, who
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts,
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ." Other references include citations from the books of
Revelation, Matthew and John dealing with Jesus as "the light of the
world." John 8:12, referred to on the gun sights as JN8:12, reads,
"Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light
of life." Trijicon confirmed to ABCNews.com that it adds the biblical
codes to the sights sold to the U.S. military. Tom Munson, director of
sales and marketing for Trijicon, which is based in Wixom, Michigan,
said the inscriptions "have always been there" and said there was
nothing wrong or illegal with adding them. Munson said the issue was
being raised by a group that is "not Christian." The company has said
the practice began under its founder, Glyn Bindon, a devout Christian
from South Africa who was killed in a 2003 plane crash... (Horror of
horrors! These are codes that may bring a measure of comfort to
Christians who have volunteered to put their lives on the line to defend
their nation and would likely have gone unnoticed by most other troops
had ABC not elected to publicize it. I guess military personnel should
never be able to use BladeTech holsters because they are marked with the
Christian fish symbol.)
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/us-military-weapons-inscribed-secret-jesus-bible-codes/story?id=9575794
---
Self-Defense Shooter Arrested in Philadelphia: A Virginia man is in
custody after a weekend shooting in front of Fox 29's studio in
Philadelphia that was caught on camera. Temple University grad student
Gerald Ung allegedly shot Villanova graduate Ed DiDonato at 4th and
Market Streets early Sunday morning. Police sources tell Fox 29 an
argument started at a scaffolding next to Fox 29 where the shooting
victim was bumped while doing chin ups at 2:30 a.m. On surveillance
video taken by Fox 29, one man was rushed by another group and then he
pulls a gun. The man who is the shooting victim moves toward the man
with the gun, who shoots several times. When the video is slowed down,
the shooting victim can be seen delivering punches even as the gun is
discharging... Police sources tell Fox 29 that Ung has a firearms permit
issued to him from Virginia. He is charged with attempted homicide,
aggravated assault and related offenses. DiDonato was in critical
condition at Jefferson University Hospital. (The concept of disparity of
force allows for a reasonable perception of a deadly threat when one is
attacked by multiple assailants, even if they don't appear to be armed.)
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/Old_City_Shooting_01_17_10
---
Oops, Wrong Bar: A shootout at a west Charlotte [NC] bar injured three,
including Mark Bowens, a convicted killer from Belmont who police say
initiated the Sunday night shooting... Police say Mark Anthony Bowens,
37, and Rodney Bowens, 45, both of Belmont, were kicked out of the
nightclub and then returned a short time later with at least one handgun
and started shooting. Bar owner Roosevelt Hinton, 67, of Charlotte,
grabbed a handgun and fired back in self-defense, shooting Mark Bowens
in the head and abdomen, police said. Police found Mark Bowens on the
pavement outside the club. Mark Bowens has served four stretches in
North Carolina prisons, including more than six years for a 1991
second-degree murder conviction in Mecklenburg County. He also served
time for a March 2004 drug conviction in Gaston County. Hinton was not
injured in the incident and will not face charges, according to
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police...
http://www.gastongazette.com/news/bar-42671-shooting-belmont.html
---
Oops, Wrong House: A Lubbock homeowner shot and seriously injured a
suspected burglar who was trying to kick in his door Monday afternoon.
The homeowner called police shortly before 2:30 p.m. to report somebody
was trying to gain entry into his house in the 3100 block of 45th
Street, Lt. Neal Barron said. He told police he first heard a knocking
sound at his front door and then the sound of his back door being kicked
in. The homeowner opened the back door, confronted the suspect in his
backyard and shot him with a shotgun. Police wouldn't release the
homeowner's name, but neighbors said he is a Texas Tech graduate
student. Authorities didn't anticipate any charges against him. "A
person does have a right to defend his house," Barron said, noting Texas
law allows homeowners to shoot people trying to burglarize their homes.
The "Castle Doctrine" expanded those rights Sept. 1, 2007, legally
allowing residents to protect themselves and their property if somebody
is forcibly and illegally breaking into their home, vehicle or place of
employment or business. Homeowners are not required to retreat before
using deadly force... (Texas tends to give its residents more latitude
than other states in using deadly force in the protection of property.
In general, it might have been wiser tactically and legally, not to
leave the house to confront the burglar in the yard.)
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/011910/loc_551762211.shtml
---
Man Shoots Way Out of Submerged Vehicle: A Roseville [CA] man escaped
his crushed vehicle that was trapped underwater by an unusual method:
gunfire. Authorities said the 28-year-old man was driving in his station
wagon on Industrial Avenue on the bridge over Pleasant Grove Creek when
a hands-free cell phone device activated, startling him and causing the
vehicle to veer into the chilly waters just before 9:00 a.m. Sunday. The
man, employed as an armed security officer at Thunder Valley Casino,
found himself trapped inside his car about six to eight feet below the
surface in the 50-degree water. The Roseville Fire Department said the
man used his handgun to shoot out his vehicle window, giving himself an
opportunity to escape and swim to safety. The man flagged down a passing
vehicle and was treated for minor injuries by emergency crews.
(Roseville is located in Placer County, which sometimes issues CWP to
ordinary citizens. I suspect that that if he had not been a licensed
security officer, he would not have been able to carry a loaded firearm
in his vehicle legally.)
http://cbs13.com/local/roseville.underwater.car.2.1432423.html
---
Rule Five Reminder: A gun found inside a stall in a women's restroom
located past the security checkpoint on the C concourse at McCarran
International Airport in Las Vegas caused a hold to be placed on flights
Friday, Metro police said. Metro police spokesman Bill Cassell said the
gun belonged to a female law enforcement officer from a jurisdiction in
another state who was leaving Las Vegas. He said the officer was
traveling with the appropriate paperwork, and the weapon was returned to
her. (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm. Nevada is one of the
few states that bans carry inside an airport terminal, even prior to
reaching the security checkpoints.)
http://www.policeone.com/off-duty/articles/1991942-Gun-found-at-Las-Vegas-airport-belonged-to-officer/
---
Tucson JROTC Rifle Team Takes State Championship: Flowing Wells High
School's JROTC Rifle Team finally owns a state title. The award had
eluded the rifle team for a decade, but that changed when Flowing Wells
prevailed over 11 teams at the state championship Saturday at the Ben
Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix... Saturday's final required
competitors to shoot at targets 10 meters away from standing, prone and
kneeling positions. Competitors use air rifles that shoot tiny pellets.
Competition at the state finals was crowded with some of the state's top
shooters, and Larger said it was awesome to be there... Flowing Wells
will next travel to Camp Perry, Ohio, in February to compete in the
national Army JROTC championship. (I suspect there was a time when these
teams used .22 rifles but, these days, it's hard enough to keep using
air rifles in the face of political correctness in schools.)
http://www.azstarnet.com/news/local/education/article_08e789b8-0529-11df-8f51-001cc4c03286.html
---
FBI Reviews Flawed-Data Cases: Three people convicted of murder have
been released from prison because their cases were tainted by a now
discredited theory that bullets found at a crime scene could be linked
to bullets found in possession of suspects. Nearly five years after the
FBI abandoned its so-called comparative bullet lead analysis, the FBI
has yet to complete its review of nearly 2,500 cases where law
enforcement used such evidence to investigate a case... Comparative
bullet lead analysis was based on the theory that lead bullets pick up
trace elements such as copper, antimony, arsenic, bismuth and silver
during manufacturing. When the soft metal is shaped into bullets and
packaged, bullets in the same box would contain similar amounts of the
trace elements, the theory went. FBI lab technicians compared bullet
fragments from a crime scene with bullets possessed by suspects. If the
trace elements closely matched, prosecutors - backed by FBI testimony -
would argue the suspects' guilt. Defense attorneys say the analysis
appeared to be a miracle of science: It required a small nuclear
reactor, once housed at an FBI lab at the Hoover Building in Washington,
D.C., and relied on the expertise of only a handful of qualified FBI
agents. FBI experts wowed jurors by explaining how gamma rays, energy
released from bombarding a bullet with neutrons, could be measured to
make a match... (Antimony is usually an alloying component of lead
bullets, not a trace element.)
http://www.policeone.com/police-products/investigation/evidence-management/articles/1991944-FBI-reviews-cases-where-flawed-evidence-was-used/
---
Beretta Upgrades 92/96 Series, Again: Beretta's new Model 92A1 and 96A1
pistols representing the evolution and integration of the world famous
92FS pistol and the Beretta 90-Two, will be launched at the 2010 SHOT
Show in Las Vegas, Nevada... Combining the best elements of the 92FS and
the 90-Two, these pistols have been designed to improve upon the already
legendary performance of the 92FS in terms of durability, capacity,
ergonomics, ease of accessorizing, and maintenance. Both models feature
high capacity magazines,17 rounds in 9mm in the 92A1 and 12 rounds in 40
S&W in the 96A1, and are completely interchangeable with other 92 family
magazines. An internal recoil buffer increases service life by reducing
stress on the receiver created by the more powerful .40 S&W caliber
ammunition [emphasis added]. Each pistol includes three magazines. The
frame of the 92 and 96A1's have an integral MIL-STD-1913 rail for rapid
attachment of tactical lights and laser aiming devices, removable front
sight allows the user to easily replace a damaged sight or replace it
with an accessory sight. (I am not a fan of the 92/96, which I consider
to be a big pistol for what it offers. Even after the upgrade to
strengthen the slides, LASD had recurrent problems with cracked locking
lugs on the 92FS and USBP instructors were estimating the service life
of their 96G's at 3,000 rounds, with the Patrol's use of the relatively
hot 155 gr. JHP loads. If you want a Beretta pistol, I would recommend
looking at the PX4.)
http://www.policeone.com/police-products/firearms/press-releases/1990951-Beretta-Introduces-its-New-Model-92A1-and-96A1-Handguns-at-Shot-Show-2010/
---
Brits Purchase Unspecified American Rifle: The Ministry of Defence has
spent �1.5million on 440 Sharpshooter rifles for troops on the frontline
in Afghanistan. The weapon, which is US-made and uses 7.62mm ammunition,
is the first new infantry combat rifle to be given to soldiers in more
than two decades. The order follows concern that the Army's standard
issue SA80 A2 assault rifle, which fires smaller 5.56mm rounds, is less
effective because its range is limited to about 300 yards. The new
weapon has the same calibre as the AK47 rifles favoured by the
Taliban... Colonel Peter Warden, Light Weapons, Photographic and
Batteries Team Leader at Defence, Equipment and Support, said: "It is a
versatile weapon which will give our units a new dimension to their
armoury. Initial feedback to the rifle has been very positive and the
Army units deployed in Afghanistan are very keen to get their hands on
it." However one senior Army officer source warned: "The MoD is only
ordering just over 400. There are going to be so few of these rifles
that they will be handed out like a job-share." (My best guess is that
this is some form of Springfield Armory M1A, which is chambered in
7.62x51mm [.308], not the .7.62x39mm round used in the AK-47. I didn't
realize that British media were allowed to report yards in place of
meters; Britain has been pretty dogmatic about its adoption of the
metric system.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7011567/New-Sharpshooter-rifle-for-soldiers-in-Afghanistan.html
---
As Seen from that Infamous Island...: Armed and ready, this family are
fully prepared to take on the terrorist threat. Morgana, six, the
youngest of the eight children, is as comfortable with a lethal .22
calibre rifle as she is with a Barbie doll. Her sister Raven, nine, has
her own .22 as well, bought for her when she was seven. It is in baby
pink. She explains proudly: "My dad says I'm becoming quite a good
shot." Dad is Lee Miracle, of Sterling Heights, Michigan. After the
events of 9/11 Lee, his wife Katerina, 43, and their children aged from
six to 17 are preparing for attacks from foreign invaders. They believe
such readiness - including a house full of 25 FIREARMS - is their civic
duty. Top dog at the South East Michigan Volunteer Militia, 42-year-old
Lee has schooled his military brood in advanced firearm training and
also Ray Mears-style outdoors survival techniques. The couple and their
brood - Morgana, Raven, Elijah, ten, Caleb, 11, Cameron and Megan, both
13, Emily, 15, and 17-year-old Christian - meet hundreds of like-minded
souls once a month on a farm to hone their skills against outside threats...
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2811991/Gun-toting-family-ready-for-terrorists.html
--
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
