Does Big Brother Respect the RKBA?: Is President Obama a surprising gun
rights supporter? He might be if the Chicago Tribune's Steve Chapman is
correct. And Chapman isn't the only one. It seems to be shaping up to be
the lefty complaint du jour this week. Reality, however, might say
something different. Chapman makes a classic mistake that many people
make when discussing matters political. He mistakes Washington's
inaction on an issue as some sort of statement on the ideology on that
issue. While there are times when this is true, inaction is not
necessarily a statement of support or opposition to an issue, but often
just a matter of merely not having gotten to it yet, or even not being
able to. In this case Chapman is talking about guns. Is Obama for them,
against them, indifferent to them? Chapman has a sneaking suspicion that
President Obama is for our rights and only supports modest gun control
measures. This is because the president hasn't launched into all sorts
of left-wing attempts to curtail our Second Amendment rights in his one
year in office. But I think Chapman is reading too much into Obama's
inaction. While it is true that Obama has signed a few bills with
measures that have given gun rights advocates reason to celebrate and
while it is true that Obama has not come to the aid of virulent
anti-Second Amendment folks like the Brady Center, this doesn't
necessarily mean that Obama is the NRA's next poster child!...
http://biggovernment.com/wthuston/2010/02/15/obama-the-pro-gun-president/
---
The 90% Lie and the Small Arms Treaty: Early last year the Obama
administration, supported by many in the mainstream press, perpetrated
and perpetuated the notion that ninety percent of all guns used by the
Mexican drug cartels originate from the United States. For many weeks
that myth went largely unchallenged. As a result, many Americans began
to believe the lie. (I refer you now to Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbles
who made famous the concept of "Tell a lie loud enough and long enough
and the people will believe it.") ...I believe that this whole Mexican
Drug Cartel lie was perpetuated as a stepping stone toward the United
Nations Small Arms Treaty passage in the United States Senate. It was
one of those trial balloons that politicians are so fond of floating. In
the end, Fox News and the NRA raised their fifty caliber pens and blew
the rubbery beast out of the sky, as well they should have. But it took
them a few months, and the notion is still out there, floating around,
gathering more hot air and waiting to rise again, and believed by many
who just never check the facts. The words of the late Senator Patrick
Moynahan (no friend to the Second Amendment) come to mind as I think
about it. "You are entitled to your own opinions, but you are not
entitled to your own facts." On the other hand, if no one checks the
facts, if no one debunks the myth, then Hitler and Goebbles were right.
"Tell a lie loud enough and long enough and the people will believe it." ...
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=35601
---
Five More Days: New rules will allow visitors to Zion National Park to
carry semiautomatic rifles as they hike Angel's Landing. Shotguns can
accompany campers' Coleman stoves on Dinosaur National Monument's Split
Mountain beach. Want your pistol on your hip while pitching a tent at
Bryce Canyon National Park's Sunset Campground? No problem, as long as
you don't actually pull the trigger. On Feb. 22, the long-standing ban
on guns in national parks and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service-administered
wildlife refuges will lift, thanks to an amendment Congress attached
last year to a credit-card reform bill. The add-on requires parks and
refuges to conform to state gun-carry laws. For the first time, the
National Park Service won't have a unified regulation for its 391 parks
covering more than 84 million acres in every state (except Delaware),
the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the
Virgin Islands. These areas include national parks, monuments,
battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites,
lakefronts, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, even
the White House. Rangers are trying to get a fix on how to cope with the
new law... Visitors still won't be allowed to bring guns into federal
buildings, including visitor centers, administration buildings and, of
course, the White House. Some park-owned but outsourced concessions -
such as Zion Lodge or the park's shuttles - will remain off-limits to
firearms. Also, visitors cannot pack guns in Everglades National Park or
at the Statue of Liberty, because guns laws in Florida and New York
don't allow it. Other parks, such as Glen Canyon National Recreation
Area, straddle two states whose laws are similar but not identical. In
Yellowstone, armed visitors have to determine whether they are in
Wyoming, Montana or Idaho to stay within the law...
http://www.sltrib.com/outdoors/ci_14403334
---
North Carolina "Emergency" Prompts Review of Other States: Residents of
King, N.C., were startled earlier this month when a declared snow
emergency triggered a law forbidding the possession of firearms in
public. Furthermore, North Carolina isn't the only state where
authorities can ban gun sales, or even possession, upon declaration of
"emergency," even though what constitutes an "emergency" might be deemed
questionable... Pennsylvania's Uniform Firearms Act, for example, states
in Article G, Chapter 61, Statute 6017, that "no person shall carry a
firearm, rifle or shotgun upon the public streets or upon any public
property during an emergency" unless that person is defending their life
or property from immediate attack. Currently in Colorado, State Senator
Scott Renfroe, R-Greeley, has introduced Bill S10-51, which would strike
"firearms" from a list of items the governor may suspend sale,
dispensing and transportation of during a declared emergency. The bill,
however, has been postponed indefinitely in committee. Georgia State
Senator Preston Smith, R-Rome, has filed Senate Bill 342 in his state
for the same purpose. "Personally, I think [North Carolina's] law is
unconstitutional to start with and stupid public policy," said Alan
Gottlieb, founder of Second Amendment Foundation. "It reminded me of the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when New Orleans confiscated guns,"
Gottlieb told WND, "and we went to court to stop that." ...
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=125245
---
Virginia Gun Owners Seek Expansion of RKBA: A little more than a year
ago, Virginia gun owners joined millions of Americans who began
stockpiling weapons for fear that Barack Obama would win the White House
and push for new gun controls... With a new Republican governor,
attorney general and Republican-led House of Delegates, pro-gun
legislators in Virginia are pushing a raft of bills, including some that
would have had little chance in previous years. Among them is a bid to
fend off federal regulation of firearms and ammunition made and sold
only in Virginia and a proposal to repeal the 17-year-old ban on buying
more than one handgun a month, a signature achievement of former
governor L. Douglas Wilder (D). The repeal sailed through the House on
Monday, despite opposition from law enforcement agencies and the
Catholic Church, and delegates also passed the bill on federal
regulation. Both measures face an uphill climb in the Senate... Other
bills are designed to swell the ranks of Virginia's approximately
214,300 concealed-weapons carriers and open more doors to them. On
Friday, the House approved a bill, HB505, that would allow people to
carry concealed weapons in establishments that serve alcohol, as long as
they refrain from drinking. On Tuesday, the Senate is expected to take
up a similar bill, SB334, sponsored by Sen. Emmett W. Hanger Jr.
(R-Augusta)... (Typically, this article ignores the fact that Virginians
cannot only carry exposed firearms into establishments that serve
alcohol, they can consume alcohol while doing so.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/15/AR2010021503292.html
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/state_regional/state_regional_govtpolitics/article/GUNS16_20100215-221004/324508/
---
Shall-Issue CCW for Iowa Still Pending: Iowa legislators are aiming to
standardize gun control. A new bill being considered would make a lot of
changes to current regulations for acquiring a permit to carry a
concealed weapon. Currently, each county has its own standards for
getting a gun permit and it's under the discretion of the local sheriff
to grant the permit. Monroe County Sheriff Dan Johnson says he believes
people should have the right to carry, and if they pass the
requirements, he will grant them. Supporters of the new legislation say
Iowans that pass a background check and proper training should have the
right to carry. "The basic content of the bill still gives some
sheriff's discretion because we don't want for every dirtbag in the
state to get a permit but it will basically make it easier for a law
abiding citizen who takes the proper training and goes through the
proper background checks to get a permit," said Jeff Medina, Appanoose
County Coordinator of IowaCarry, an organization supporting the bill...
(Unless a compromise has been reached, I am under the impression that
there are two competing bills on this issue, with the poorer one being
supported by the NRA.)
http://www.heartlandconnection.com/news/story.aspx?id=416746
---
Nebraska Castle-Doctrine Bill Stuck in Committee: A man's home is his
castle - whether the intruder has a weapon or not. That's the feeling of
Sen. Mark Christensen of Imperial, who is hoping his bill, LB 889,
dubbed the "Castle Doctrine" bill, will stay alive in the state
legislature. The bill would strengthen Nebraska's self-defense laws.
Under his bill, The Castle Doctrine would allow the right to use
firearms when protecting yourself, family, and others while in your
home, with the philosophy also extending to the place of work and
vehicle. But, the bill won't go anywhere unless it advances out of
committee. Under current law, a person cannot use a firearm on an
intruder who breaks into a private residence, unless there is a physical
threat or the intruder has knife or gun. That doesn't sit well with
Christensen. A person who breaks into a home should be considered a
threat the moment the window is broken or the lock jimmied, whether or
not the person has a knife or gun on them, he believes...
http://www.mccookgazette.com/story/1610170.html
---
Restaurant Carry Still Murky in Tennessee: Recent rumblings from
legislative circles in Nashville suggest that gun rights backers
Representative Curry Todd (R-Collierville) and Senator Doug Jackson
(D-Dickson) are planning to legislatively override a judge's opinion
holding that the definition of "restaurants" in the exception to
Tennessee's general ban on gun carry is "unconstitutionally vague."
Reportedly, the legislators plan to more clearly restrict alcohol sales
under state law. But some question the common assumption that
Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman's "void for vagueness" ruling makes it
illegal to carry guns in Tennessee restaurants today. John Pierce,
co-founder of OpenCarry.org and a second year law student who owns a
farm just inside Virginia near Bristol, TN is concerned. Pierce worries
that the void for vagueness doctrine is being misunderstood "as a sword
against criminal defendants instead of the shield from prosecution it
traditionally provides." ...
http://www.examiner.com/x-2782-DC-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m2d15-Gun-carry-may-still-be-legal-in-Tennessee-restaurants-serving-alcohol
---
NYC Notes West Virginia Challenge to Bloomberg: West Virginia has a
message for Mayor Bloomberg: Don't come 'round here to buy our guns. A
legislator there wants to ban the type of undercover stings that
Bloomberg has used to showcase illegal gun sales in other states - and
throw the mayor's investigators in jail if necessary. "It's for us to
handle within our own borders," said state Sen. Jeffrey Kessler, who is
running for governor in 2012. "We jealously guard our gun rights, and
we're vocal advocates for the Second Amendment." He calls his proposal
the "Bloomberg bill" - a reflection of how Bloomberg's anti-gun crusade
has made him public enemy No. 1 to gun lovers. The mayor has spent
millions hiring private investigators to videotape gun dealers seemingly
violating federal law - selling weapons to people who say they couldn't
pass a background check, or who appear to be straw purchasers on behalf
of others...
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010/02/15/2010-02-15_stay_away_ya_varmints_dont_try_stings_here_gunlovin_w_va_pol_warns_mike.html
---
Kansas Crimes Spur Interest in CCW Training: A recent spike in
high-profile crimes across the metro has left many people worried and
looking for ways to protect themselves. But for one metro man, the spike
in violence means an opportunity for new business. As Kansas City,
Missouri, Police search for a suspected serial rapist in Waldo, and
police search for suspects in the robbery and killing of a man in the
West Plaza area, some metro firearms instructors have started putting
out advertisements with warnings like 'Crime All Around You' in the
hopes of getting more people to sign up for conceal and carry firearms
training... The situation in Waldo, as well as other recent high-profile
crimes, led Rhodes to take out an ad offering a coupon for conceal and
carry training. He says that it is an opportunity to reach people who
may have never considered owning a handgun before... According to the
Jackson County Sheriff's Department, more people in the Waldo area than
they had anticpated have applied for conceal and carry permits since the
first of the year, but only a handful more. Rhodes says that he had
already received calls about his course before his ads began running,
and some in Waldo say that as long as the focus on crime remains high,
Rhodes' phone will likely keep ringing...
http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-story-waldo-crimes-firearms-training-021510,0,7561017.story
---
Meanwhile, in Colorado: ...In Wilks' opinion, there was a huge spike in
demand before Obama took office, and supplies diminished, which created
the surge. And now the market is equalizing out, he said... Wilks said
that sales will eventually drop off. However, it's not that gun sales
will drop from normal levels, but rather just return to normal...
However, Wilks said that he's seen a transition from people interested
in purchasing firearms leading up to the 2008 elections, to people
focusing more on educational and training courses to learn the proper
use of the weapon. And, he said, courses like the Concealed Carry Permit
course that he offers have become very popular. And the majority of
people buying guns from Wilks, and who are signing up for personal
protection courses, are women, he said. Where before Wilks would have 12
students a month enrolled in the personal protection courses he offers,
he is now seeing upwards of 36 students a month. And the big switch is
that where the dozen or so were predominantly men, the overwhelming
majority are now women, he said...
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20100215/VALLEYNEWS/100219932/-1/RSS
---
Bringing a Gun to a Knife Fight: No charges have been filed against a
man accused of bringing out a gun during a knife fight. Officers
arrested Matthew Dressler on Friday at a Wal-Mart in Maryville [TN].
According to investigators, the 26-year-old picked a fight with another
customer inside the store. At some point, Dressler pulled a knife.
Another customer, Billy Dunkelberger, 21, tried to help. Officers said
Dressler then pointed his knife at him, so Dunkelberger pulled a gun. No
one was hurt, and police arrested Dressler. He's charged with aggravated
assault. Dunkelberger is not facing any charges because he's a gun
permit holder.
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=113329&provider=gnews
---
Washington Man Awaits Decision on Legal Expenses: A Longview man who was
found not guilty of assault after he drew his gun on four downtown
Longview nightclub employees will have to wait until Feb. 26 to find out
how much money the state owes him. State law allows Brian Barnd-Spjut,
29, to recoup his trial-related expenses because he was found not guilty
by reason of self-defense. He has asked for more than $92,000, including
$75,000 in attorney fees and $12,250 in lost wages. On Jan. 15, a jury
acquitted Barnd-Spjut, who has a concealed weapons permit, of four
counts of second-degree assault after he brandished his gun at Kesler's
Bar and Grill bouncers who had just pushed him into an alley behind the
club. Judge Jim Warme said last month he was delaying a hearing on
Barnd-Spjut's compensation because he wanted to review closing arguments
in the trial. Warme said he thought some of the prosecutor's or
defense's comments to the jury may have been "highly inappropriate and
inflammatory." The judge did not elaborate.
http://www.tdn.com/news/local/article_76d7a8a6-19cc-11df-a4ec-001cc4c002e0.html
..Barnd-Spjut testified Thursday that Brandon Kesler, whom he's known
since childhood, had invited him to the Commerce Avenue bar. When he and
his fiance stopped by around 9 p.m., Kesler's security staff asked them
to pay a $5 cover charge. A scuffle ensued and two bouncers hauled him
out. Kesler rushed from the kitchen and, accompanied by a third bouncer,
followed the fracas down the hallway. Barnd-Spjut, who has a concealed
weapons permit, said he pulled the gun because he'd heard stories of the
bar's bouncers previously attacking other patrons and feared they would
beat him up when they reached the alley. Throughout the trial, Crandall
sought to portray the bar as a "dangerous" place that employs overly
aggressive bouncers. Barnd-Spjut's father, retired Longview police
Captain Don Barnd, testified Thursday he had warned his son to stay away
from the bar because police often were called there. A Longview man, a
friend of Barnd-Spjut, testified that Kesler's bouncers attacked him and
knocked him unconscious in the alley. And Brandon Kesler, who took the
stand for the defense, said he had previously discussed the problems
with Barnd-Spjut and reprimanded some of his bouncers for being too
aggressive... (So why would you even go to a bar like that, much less
take your fianc�e along?)
http://www.tdn.com/news/local/article_3207bc76-0233-11df-b3aa-001cc4c03286.html
---
Washington Range Faces Challenge: A controversial shooting range might
wind up in the line of fire on Wednesday. The Snohomish County Council
is scheduled to hold a public hearing to discuss turning an east county
gravel pit into a no-shooting area at the request of neighbors. If the
pit is closed, the council may solve one problem as it creates another.
"When we try to shut everything down, folks just move to another
location," County Councilman Dave Somers said. "The ultimate answer is
to have a facility that's safe and open to the public." A new shooting
area may not open soon, however, leaving shooters wondering where they
should go. The pit, located at the end of 116th Street SE off of Sultan
Basin Road, didn't always draw complaints. It sat fairly idle until last
year, when the state Department of Natural Resources started directing
target shooters to the spot instead of the Reiter Foothills. The
foothills are temporarily closed to the public... No one can recall an
injury at the pit, but residents living within a mile complain of
constant noise. They hear gunfire after nightfall, when it's illegal to
shoot. Occasionally, they hear explosions...
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100215/NEWS01/702159901&news01ad=1
---
More Details on UAH Shooter: ...Huntsville police spokesman Sgt. Mark
Roberts said his department didn't find out about either of the older
cases until after the shooting on campus. He said police were checking
to confirm details of the pipe bomb probe. Mr. Anderson said his wife
had practiced at a shooting range not long before the shooting. He said
she acted normally while they were at the range and none of her behavior
in recent days foreshadowed Friday's rampage... Mr. Anderson said his
wife didn't reveal why she took an interest in guns. He knew she had a
gun but didn't know when or where she got the weapon. "I really don't
know how she got it or where she got it from," he said. Police have said
Mrs. Bishop had no permit for the gun they believe she used in the
campus shooting, and investigators said they didn't know where she got
it. It's unclear whether it was the same gun that her husband knew
about. (From yesterday's article in The New York Times: Mr. Anderson
said he did not know of any specific incident that could have led to the
shooting, and did not know that his wife allegedly had a gun when she
went to the meeting. "I had no idea," he said. "We don't own one.")
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/16/survivor-ala-university-shooter-fired-suddenly/?page=2
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ALA_UNIVERSITY_SHOOTING?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
---
Tangentially Related: If eternal vigilance is the price of freedom,
incessant distractions are the way that politicians take away our
freedoms, in order to enhance their own power and longevity in office.
Dire alarms and heady crusades are among the many distractions of our
attention from the ever increasing ways that government finds to take
away more of our money and more of our freedom. Magicians have long
known that distracting an audience is the key to creating the illusion
of magic. It is also the key to political magic... The phrase "public
servants" is increasingly misleading. They are well on their way to
becoming public masters - like aptly named White House "czars." The more
they can get us all to resent those they designate, the more they can
distract us from their increasing control of our own lives - but only if
we sell our freedom cheap. We can sell our birthright and not even get
the mess of pottage. (Not all may agree with Thomas Sowell's analyses
and views but, personally, I wish I had started reading his stuff a few
decades ago. I am currently reading his latest book Intellectuals and
Society and wish it had been available and required reading when I first
started college - highly recommended for anyone you're sending to
college today.)
http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2010/02/16/playing_freedom_cheap?page=full
---
From AzCDL:
First, thanks to YOUR action, two bills sailed through the Senate Third
Read on Monday, February 15, 2010.
SB 1021, which incorporates defensive display language into the statutes
for the justification of deadly force, passed by a 21-9 vote.
SB 1172, which makes improvements to the Arizona Gun Safety Program and
expands the categories of qualified instructors, passed by a unanimous
30-0 vote.
These bills will now cross over to the House of Representatives.
If you haven't already done so, there is still time to contact Senate
and House committee members urging them to support SB 1168 and HB 2543.
Both bills strengthen state firearms preemption laws, add firearms
storage and accessories to the list of things political subdivisions
cannot regulate, and remove the prohibition on carrying a firearm in
public parks without a CCW permit.
SB 1168 was scheduled to be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee at
1:30 PM on Monday, February 15, 2010, however proceedings on other bills
ran long and SB 1168 has been rescheduled for the February 22nd
hearing. To send a message to the committee members, urging them to
support SB 1168, go here:
http://capwiz.com/azcdl/issues/alert/?alertid=14676351 .
HB 2543 will be heard in the House Military Affairs and Public Safety
Committee at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, February 17, 2010. To send a message
to the committee members, urging them to support HB 2543, go here:
http://capwiz.com/azcdl/issues/alert/?alertid=14678286 .
You are encouraged to attend these hearings and testify in support of
these bills. If you cannot attend in person, please sign in to the RTS
system and register your support.
Over in the House, AzCDL representatives met with Representative Adam
Driggs on the progress of HB 2347 (Constitutional Carry) on Monday,
February 15, 2010. HB 2347 passed out of the House Military Affairs and
Public Safety (MAPS) by a 5-2 vote on February 3, 2010. House Speaker
Kirk Adams had also assigned the bill to the House Judiciary Committee,
which Rep. Driggs chairs. Up until this point, HB 2347 has not been
withdrawn from the committee or scheduled for a hearing.
Rep. Driggs has assured us that he is in favor of the bill and is not
impeding its progress. However, because the language of the bill has
been revised due to the concerns of numerous stakeholders and an
amendment is pending, he would prefer to see the final version of the
proposed bill before releasing it from his committee. Rep. Driggs has
agreed to withdraw HB 2347 as soon as the amendment language is
finished. At that point, the bill will move out of the House Judiciary
Committee and proceed through the rest of the legislative process.
Stay tuned! When critical legislation moves, we will notify you via
these Alerts.
If you want to get legislative news as it happens, follow AzCDL on
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/AzCDL_Alerts .
AzCDL "tweets" from the Capitol with committee votes and breaking news
as it happens.
You can also follow AzCDL on Facebook:
http://tinyurl.com/FacebookAzCDL .
AzCDL's Political Action Committee (PAC) is also on Facebook:
http://tinyurl.com/FacebookAzCDLPAC .
These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League
(AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots
organization. Renew your membership today!
http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html .
AzCDL - Protecting Your Freedom
http://www.azcdl.org/html/accomplishments.html .
Copyright � 2010 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights
reserved.
--
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
