VPC Returns to the Racist Roots of "Gun Control": The Violence Policy
Center (VPC) - the anti-gun rights group that Barack Obama repeatedly
voted to fund while he was a director of the Joyce Foundation - believes
that African-Americans are too violent to deserve the entire
Constitution. Thus, it wants to reduce their access to firearms. From
the Violence Policy Center's latest report... For blacks, like all
victims of homicide, guns - usually handguns - are far and away the
number one murder tool. Successful efforts to reduce America's black
homicide toll must put a focus on reducing access to firearms. For an
organization to make a public declaration that suggests an entire race
be denied the same level of constitutional protections as others is both
shocking and bewildering. The study received financing from left-wing
groups dedicated to social engineering, including the David Bohnett
Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, and the Public Welfare Foundation...
The David Bohnett Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, and the Public
Welfare Foundation were all contacted this week by Pajamas Media and
asked whether or not they stood behind the Violence Policy Center's call
to limit the rights and liberties of African-Americans. Not one of these
organizations has responded with a condemnation of the VPC's conclusions.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/violence-policy-center-reinstate-the-black-codes/
---
Feds Claim Authority to Regulate In-State Firearms: The federal
government is claiming in court documents demanding the dismissal of a
gun-law challenge in Montana the authority to regulate in-state commerce
under the Constitution's Commerce clause. But the plaintiff in the case
says the court needs to review that provision in its amended form -
since the 10th Amendment, adopted after the Commerce Clause, can be
viewed as modifying the Constitution's provisions regarding the
regulation of commerce, specifically granting additional authority to
states. The argument is arising in a lawsuit filed in Montana against
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and others. The complaint seeks a
court order that the federal government stay out of the way of Montana's
management of its own firearms within state boundaries... (I will be
amazed if the Supreme Court upholds the concept of the Firearms Freedom
Acts [in which state can you build a firearm entirely from components
that originated in that state?] but I believe it is a very important
battle - just look at the map in the article of how many states have
either passed or are considering such bills.)
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=123419
---
Pennsylvania State Police Back Off Registration Scheme: In July of 2009,
the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) mysteriously told federal gun
dealers doing business in Pennsylvania that they were required to report
to the PSP all purchasers' identity and item serial number information
for transfers of certain long gun "frames" or "receivers" for guns such
as the popular AR-15 rifle, just like Pennsylvania's Uniform Firearms
Act (UFA) requires for handguns. Some gun dealers told the State Police
"no way," noting that compliance with the State Police demarche
constituted a criminal violation of the UFA... But while Banks and a
loose network of gun sealer allies were in a tense standoff with the
PSP, essentially yelling "molon labe" (Greek for the "come and get
them," allegedly shouted in 280 BC at the Persian Army by Spartan King
Leonidas at the Battle of Thermopylae when the Persians demanded that
they put down their weapons), another source of pressure was being
exerted on the PSP. Just as the Greek navy led by a politician names
Themistocles pressured the Persians at sea while Leonidas held them back
on land, the Potter Leader-Enterprise reports that Representative Martin
Causer (R - Cameron, Mckean, and Potter Counties) fired volleys of
"sharp letters" at the Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner, Colonel
Frank E. Pawlowski, demanding to know why Pawlowski did an end- run
around both the Legislature and Attorney General to enact a de facto
long gun registration rule. And a few days ago, without fanfare, the PSP
quietly rescinded their July 2009 rule by way of its January 2010
Pennsylvania Gun Dealer Newsletter. What's left to do now? According to
Banks, the State Police must "destroy the records collected by the
illegal edict."
http://www.examiner.com/x-2782-DC-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d31-Pennsylvania-state-police-back-down-on-rifle-registration-scheme
---
New Mexico Sheriff Talks the Talk: Sheriff John Blansett talked about
the sheriff's office, its powers and function Saturday at the Second
Amendment Task Force town hall-style meeting at the Veterans of Foreign
Wars. "The sheriff's department isn't mine," Blansett said to begin. "I
borrowed it from you folks for eight years to protect you folks from
tyranny, domestic and foreign, and to enforce the laws of the state of
New Mexico... Boy, there sure is a lot of firepower in this room," he
remarked. The crowd, many of whom were open carrying holstered guns,
laughed. Later, Blansett encouraged everyone at the meeting to carry
their firearms responsibly. "Know where it is at all times," he said.
Blansett said the Southwest Border Sheriff's Alliance, of which he is a
member, is not in support of gun control... Blansett then showed a video
of Richard Mack, former sheriff of Graham County, Ariz. According to
Mack's Web site, sheriffmack.com, Mack now gives talks on
"constitutional issues relating to gun control, law enforcement, states'
rights, the farce, otherwise known as the drug war, and the oath of
office." Blansett said the Second Amendment Task Force has booked Mack
for a speaking engagement Feb. 13 at the Flickinger Center for
Performing Arts.
http://www.alamogordonews.com/ci_14304018
---
New Mexico CHL's Increase: It's a hidden change - that's the point.
Almost 10 times as many Do�a Ana County residents are permitted to carry
a concealed firearm today than were six years ago, when the state's
concealed-carry laws went into effect. Many want to prevent becoming a
first-time victim of crime - or prevent it from ever happening again.
One Las Cruces single mother, a former law enforcement officer who
requested anonymity due to concerns about her safety, said
self-protection was the motivation to get a permit in 2005. "I have a
5-year-old son, so when we go on trips or it's him and me on the
interstate, driving from my parents' house and it's 9 o'clock at night,
I feel I can protect myself if something happened and we would be out in
the middle of nowhere," she said. There were noticeably more women when
she renewed her license to carry her The state Legislature approved the
law allowing concealed handguns in 2003, with the first licenses issued
in January 2004. Changes were approved by the Legislature the next year
allowing New Mexico to establish reciprocal agreements with other states
that allow concealed carry, and for the license to be renewed every four
years, with 15 hours classroom and range training required every two
years. In 2009, rates of concealed carry permits ranged from .2 percent,
in Lordsburg's Hidalgo County, to 3.3 percent of the population in
Catron County... (Do�a Ana County is west and north of El Paso TX and
Catron County is the one county away from me, just over the Arizona-New
Mexico line. I have heard that Catron County has a mandatory firearm
ownership ordinance.)
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_14304341
---
Indianapolis Could Drop Park-Carry Ban: A proposal to allow guns in
Indianapolis parks will go before the City-County Council Monday, a
measure its sponsor admits will be controversial. Current law bans
weapons in city parks, but they are permitted in state parks and will
soon be allowed in national parks, 6News' Joanna Massee reported. If
passed, the law would allow anyone with a permit to carry a weapon to do
so in a city park. City-County Councilor Ed Coleman, a member of the
National Rifle Association, said he's ready to debate the merits of his
proposal. "I didn't say I'm allowing guns just by everybody," Coleman
said. "I'm saying that law-abiding citizens who are properly licensed to
carry firearms would be allowed to carry those in parks." Coleman is an
unabashed supporter of the right to keep and bear arms and argues that
the measure would allow people to be equipped to defend themselves in
city parks. "Criminals don't care if there's a law, and they're going to
bring it there anyway," Coleman said. "I think I would feel safer
knowing that there's a chance an adult might actually have one, and it
might make the criminal second guess whether he might want to do
something stupid in a city park." ...
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/22394972/detail.html
---
New Yorker Faces Felony Charges for Shooting at Fleeing Vehicle: Hunting
season has been in full swing for a couple of weeks, at least in Niagara
County, but the prey isn't deer or turkeys. Burglars have been dodging
bullets. Homeowners are mad as heck, and they're fighting back at the
intruders. Three times in Niagara County over a one-week period - and
once in Buffalo last April - homeowners confronted home invaders with
gunfire. Not all the shots found their marks, but the four incidents
left one burglar dead, another shot in the chest, and one homeowner who
didn't hit anyone charged with two felonies... Cherry, a soft-spoken and
polite Army veteran, said he was protecting himself from a home burglary
at about 11:20 a.m. Jan. 21, when he fired 15 shots from a
military-style assault rifle at the vehicle of a fleeing intruder. This
shooting occurred during the second burglary in three days at his Akron
Road home, and Cherry said he believed the two burglars - one was his
stepdaughter - had stolen a handgun. He claimed he knew they were on
drugs, knew they were coming back and was afraid they were armed...
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/941022.html
---
Washington Police Chief Challenged to Demonstrate Full-Auto Conversion:
Seattle Gun Rights Examiner Dave Workman first brought us news of
Bellevue Police Chief Linda Pillo testifying at a Washington State
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, supposedly as a private citizen, but
conveniently in uniform and armed, to urge a ban on so-called "assault
weapons." One of her reasons: "Assault weapons can also be easily
converted to fully automatic machine guns." ... I notified WaronGuns
readers and urged them to ask Chief Pillo to personally demonstrate how
easy it is. After all, she offered that as expert testimony based on her
"law enforcement background." Writer Carl Bussjaeger ran with that, and
shared his email to the Bellevue PD: "I challenge Chief Pillo to
demonstrate the ease of such a conversion, making a video of her
performing the procedure available to the public on the Internet. And
since she is a supporter of SB 6396, I challenge her to do this with
this SB 6396-defined assault weapon..." ... If lawmakers are trying to
enact legislation based on what she tells them is "easy," it shouldn't
be too much to ask...
http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d31-Will-Bellevue-Chief-Pillo-demonstrate-how-easy-it-is-to-convert-a-semiauto-to-a-machine-gun
http://www.bussjaeger.org/pillo_challenge.html
---
Why the Offer to Trade Now?: Two prominent law enforcement officials are
ready to back Wisconsinites' ability to carry concealed handguns with a
permit if the law includes tough gun regulations that have been hard to
obtain. We have long been opposed to concealed carry for Wisconsin. But
an argument, being made by Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn and
District Attorney John Chisholm, makes sense to us. The state should
have this law if it is truly part of a larger package that includes
closing the gun show loophole, making it a felony to act as a straw
buyer and also a felony to carry a concealed handgun without a permit.
Law enforcement officials feel that their hands are tied. While it's
illegal to carry a concealed weapon in Wisconsin, the penalties for
doing so are among the weakest in the country. Last week, Flynn told the
Editorial Board that his frustration mounts after his department arrests
someone carrying a gun, but the person is punished with a relative slap
on the wrist. We all should be willing to live with concealed carry if
it is part of comprehensive firearm reform and if prosecutors are given
the ability to severely punish those illegally carrying guns. In other
words, the trade-off is worthy if also included are tools that, as Flynn
describes it, make it just as dangerous for folks to carry illegal guns
as they think it is to go without them... (I suspect that the paper, the
chief and the DA see lawful CCW as inevitable in Wisconsin and are
trying to get it their way. Open carry, with no permit, remains legal in
the sate, if the carrier is not a prohibited possessor.)
http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/83069452.html
---
Memo Defends NRA McDonald Role: Chuck Michel, an attorney for the NRA
and the California Rifle and Pistol Association, walks step by step
through the NRA's involvement in post-Heller lawsuits and how and why
the NRA sought and gained time to present oral argument in the
forthcoming McDonald hearing. This is a rather legalistic document and
may only interest the attorneys on the list.
http://calgunlaws.com/images/stories/Docs/NRA_McDonald_Chicago/154007_1.pdf
---
India Experiences Demand for RKBA: In the land of Mahatma Gandhi, Indian
gun owners are coming out of the shadows for the first time to mobilize,
U.S.-style, against proposed new curbs on bearing arms. When gunmen
attacked 10 sites in Mumbai in November 2008, including two five-star
hotels and a train station, Mumbai resident Kumar Verma sat at home
glued to the television, feeling outraged and unsafe. Before the end of
December, Verma and his friends had applied for gun licenses. He read up
on India's gun laws and joined the Web forum Indians for Guns. When he
got his license seven months later, he bought a black, secondhand,
snub-nose Smith & Wesson revolver with a walnut grip... Verma said he
plans to join the recently formed National Association for Gun Rights
India to lobby against new gun controls that the government has
proposed, blaming the proliferation of both licensed and illegal weapons
for a rise in crime. Although India's 1959 Arms Act gives citizens the
legal right to own and carry guns, it is not a right enshrined in the
country's constitution. Getting a license is a cumbersome process, and
guns cannot be bought over the counter - requirements that gun owners
describe as hangovers from the colonial past, when the British rulers
disarmed their Indian subjects to head off rebellion... (Some list
members will recall that in Mumbai some police officers were still armed
with British-era SMLE rifles that had been converted to single-shot .410
shotguns, to minimize the potential damage if they were ever turned
against English forces.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/31/AR2010013102079.html?hpid=moreheadlines
---
Meanwhile, in Cuba...: Cuba has declared a two-month amnesty for
citizens to register unlicensed guns, and says those passing aptitude
and psychological tests will be allowed to keep their weapons. The move
is unusual in a state where almost no one except some active military
personnel and plain-clothed state security agents are allowed to possess
weapons. Even most police officers are required to leave their pistols
at the station or in a regional barracks when on vacation or leave, and
young men participating in mandatory military service are given unloaded
firearms for most exercises. Starting Feb. 12, Cubans will have the
"exceptional and one-time only" chance to register their guns with
police, and will be allowed to keep them provided they are over 18 and
have passed the proper tests administered at police stations. There was
no explanation for why the drive to legalize unlicensed weapons is
coming now, though the state-run news agency Prensa Latina said the move
grew out of a November 2008 law regulating possession of guns and
ammunition... (When Fidel Castro openly aligned himself with the former
Soviet Bloc, AK-47's were widely distributed to "militia" members; from
what I've been told, ammunition for them was an entirely different matter."
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/world/cuba-declares-2-month-amnesty-for-its-citizens-to-register-unlicensed-guns-83256092.html
---
NRA-ILA Alerts: List members are encouraged to check the alerts for the
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.
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
