Pennsylvania: Indictment for conspiracy to exercise rights: "A Highland Park woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of violating federal firearms laws. Dale LaCourtneya Smith, 26, of Jackson Street, is charged with conspiring with another person to acquire a firearm by lying to a gun dealer. Smith is accused of purchasing a handgun Aug. 24 and giving it to someone she knew had been previously convicted of a felony, prosecutors said."


Montana: Anti-federal bills move forward in House: "Lawmakers in the Montana House of Representatives collectively thumbed their noses at the federal government Monday by approving two bills exempting guns from federal regulations and driver's licenses from national standardization requirements. The bills by Reps. Diane Rice, R-Harrison, and Roger Koopman, R-Bozeman, do different things but are driven by the same concern: the erosion of personal liberties by the federal government."


South Dakota: Bill would end gun show waiting period: "The 48-hour waiting period for pistols should not apply to sales by those who are not federally licensed firearms dealers, a Senate panel decided Monday. The bill would clarify language in an existing law that requires any gun dealer to wait 48 hours after a sale before delivering a pistol. Supporters of the bill have said the waiting period places an undue burden on private sales between gun owners. The measure would mean people who are not licensed dealers could sell guns, even at gun shows, and not have to wait 48 hours before delivering the weapons to buyers. The Judiciary Committee unanimously sent HB1189 to the full Senate."

Arizona: "Guns in bars" bill back for second shot: "Pistols, rifles, shotguns -- Arizonans soon could load them up and tote them into the bar or nightclub of their choice. In a latest tribute to the Wild West, Arizona legislators have come up with a plan to legalize loaded weapons in places that serve alcohol. Senate Bill 1363 breezed through the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 5-2 vote Monday and appears headed toward a promising future in the full Senate and House."



New York: Store owner shoots would-be robber: "'They came in with guns and pointed a gun to my head. They wanted to rob my store. It is as simple as that. I defended myself,' says Barry Fixler, the would-be robbery victim. ... With not one but two assault rifles pointed at his head, Fixler says he was able to lunge away grabbing hold of his personal handgun firing off several rounds. Once the smoke cleared, one suspect was hit and the second man got away."


Minnesota Bill Seeks To Obstruct Law-Abiding Hunters: "A new bill in Minnesota would require all hunters to undergo a background check when purchasing a hunting license. SF 781 would require a background check to determine if the purchaser was ineligible to posses a firearm. Obviously, criminals who are going to violate the law by possessing a gun aren`t going to bother to buy a hunting license, only law abiding citizens would be impacted by this legislation. Call your Senator and respectfully urge him/her to oppose this attempt to scare and obstruct law-abiding hunters."

AUSTRALIA'S SWEEPING GUN CONTROL LAWS HAVE NOW HAD TIME TO SHOW THEIR WORTH

Crime is getting worse, oddly enough

While the US is the murder capital of the world, Australia still has the worst prevalence of crime among 17 industrialised countries, according to a UN-sponsored survey. Federal Government statistics show increases in crimes against people, rather than property. "That's the basic picture in Australia at the moment - we're getting more violent," said Dr Tim Prenzler, head of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University. "It's not a pretty picture."

The 2000 International Crime Victims Survey used a telephone survey to assess the prevalence and incidence of crime in industrialised countries. About 30 per cent of Australians told researchers they had been victimised one or more times in 1999, compared with 26 per cent in England and Wales, 21 per cent in the US and 15 per cent in Japan. England and Wales had the highest incidence of crime, the survey showed.

Property crimes such as breaking and entering and vehicle theft traditionally accounted for much of Australian crime, but that is changing. There were 145,420 violent crimes in 1996. By 2002, the figure had grown to 198,722 - and 80 per cent were assaults......

Recent crime research has tended to focus on property crime, which has decreased because of more sophisticated alarm and surveillance systems. Researchers have no way of telling whether the recent spate of violent crime in Brisbane is a trend or a spike, because good data takes time to collect and study. "We might need another year or two to see if it's a trend," Dr Bond said. "That's the problem with all this trend analysis - you need time, and that's no good for policy-making." ....

Surveys are considered a better way to gauge crime victimisation because many victims do not make reports to police, and the statistics of those who do, vary, because jurisdictions apply different rules and definitions. The ICVS is conducted by Leiden University in Holland.

More here




Stop suicides, close Golden Gate Bridge: "The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) today called upon the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to 'take an important step for public safety' and close the Golden Gate Bridge, which has been a popular suicide platform for more than 65 years. 'Several city supervisors want to ban handguns in San Francisco on the mere presumption that such a law would prevent crimes, accidents and suicides,' said SAF Founder Alan M. Gottlieb. 'Well, it is an absolute certainty that closing the bridge would prevent suicides, and perhaps many accidents, as well.'"




California: Appeals Court dismisses frivolous gun suit: "Late yesterday a San Francisco appellate court unanimously upheld a lower court's decision, dismissing a lawsuit against gun manufacturers. Several California cities and counties, including Sacramento, alleged that gun manufacturers violated the state's unfair business practices law in the way they marketed, distributed, promoted and designed handguns. The plaintiffs claimed the gun makers sold the firearms in a manner 'that facilitates the weapon to be used in violent crimes.' The appeals court ruled that the cities and counties failed to make a connection between the firearms manufacturers' business practices and the use of guns by criminals."

IMPROVEMENTS AFOOT IN FLORIDA

More than a decade has passed since Sen. Jim King woke up to find a man pointing a gun at his head. It's been 15 years since Sen. Evelyn Lynn woke up - twice - to find intruders in her home. But both remember the events as if they were yesterday, prompting both to vote Wednesday for a bill expanding the rights of Floridians to use deadly force when threatened in their homes and cars. The bill (SB436) passed the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice unanimously. It must pass one more committee before heading to the full Senate. An identical bill is working its way through the House.

Under current law, homeowners cannot use deadly force unless they believe an intruder intends to kill them or a loved one, or severely harm them. Although criminal case law tends to favor homeowners, anyone who kills an intruder can be arrested. Under the bill, anyone who breaks into an occupied house or car would be presumed to have deadly intent. Victims would no longer have to determine the intruder's intent. "You can't expect a victim to wait and ask, "Excuse me, Mr. Criminal, are you going to rape me and kill me, or are you just going to beat me up and steal my television?' " said Marion Hammer, lobbyist for the National Rifle Association.

The bill has law enforcement support because it does not allow homeowners to shoot law officers who legally break into homes, such as when they believe someone is in harm or evidence is being destroyed. "I think if you talked to the average Joe or Jane Citizen they would say, "There ought to be a law.' This is your chance to make a law," said David Murrell, lobbyist for the Florida Police Benevolent Association.

The bill does not allow people to shoot intruders outside the home. "If someone was standing over you and you had a gun under your pillow, you could go ahead and shoot him, no questions asked," said Sen. Durell Peadon, the Crestview Republican who is sponsoring the bill. Lynn said police told her she should not keep a weapon near her bed. "They said, "No, you don't want to do that because you will be liable,' " she said.

Source






Virginia: Gun lobbyists to sue over ban at Capitol: "Gun rights lobbyists said yesterday that they will sue the state for its ban on weapons at the state Capitol. 'They've given us no choice, we're preparing to file a lawsuit,' said Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League. The new ban, implemented last year by a handful of powerful lawmakers without a public hearing, forbids anyone without a concealed-weapons permit to openly carry weapons into the Capitol or the General Assembly building nearby."

AN OBJECTIVE STUDY OF GUN-OWNERS AT LAST

If there�s a gun in a scene, an old writer�s adage says, it had better go off. As that bit of advice suggests, there are few symbols more powerful than guns. They can represent liberation from oppression or serve as a weighty physical reminder of a lurking existential threat. No matter the association, the powerful emotional responses that guns elicit are largely responsible for the stagnant and vitriolic nature of the current gun control debate.

In Shooters, anthropologist Abigail Kohn argues that both sides of the debate have become so alienated from one another that they effectively form subcultures, and she studies them accordingly. Kohn calls Shooters an ethnography, an anthropological study conducted from within a culture to gain the �natives� point of view.� Rather than studying gun enthusiasts though literature and statistics, or from behind a duck blind to ensure �objectivity,� Kohn spent time with enthusiasts, interviewing them, taking classes with them, and shooting with them.

Her research methods appear to be scrupulous. She confined her survey to a particular area (the San Francisco Bay area) rather than glossing the gun culture as a whole. She published her standard questionnaire as an appendix to the book, and the citations she offers to support her claims seem to come from both sides of the gun control debate. The result is a fascinating look into the world(s) of gun enthusiasm that puts real, human faces on a gun debate dominated by antiseptic statistics and abstract principles. After reading Shooters, you�ll wonder why no one has done such a study before.

The omission may stem from the typical attitude toward guns among academics, which Kohn addresses in her preface. From �public health� articles proposing gun control as a cure for the �epidemic� of gun violence to highly regarded sociologists who argue that gun research should be informed by �moral principles� rather than hard facts, she confesses her surprise at the ill-informed and often tendentious research conducted by academics. Kohn�s own research for Shooters, some of which appeared in this magazine (�Their Aim Is True,� May 2001), elicited predictable responses. One colleague said she was performing a �social service by researching �such disgusting people.�� Another said that unless Kohn acknowledged the �inherent pathology� of gun enthusiasm, she was disrespecting victims of gun violence.

The characters that emerge from Kohn�s interviews and observations are far more complex and interesting than the �gun nut� stereotypes that such comments suggest. The shooters in Shooters are diverse, including doctors, lawyers, artists, and men and women of various ages and races. Even their political persuasions are not as predictable as you might expect. While most of the people in Kohn�s book describe themselves as conservative, a few are politically liberal and say they regularly vote Democrat.

More (much more) here

GEORGIA: GUNS IN RESTAURANTS?

A bill recently proposed in the Georgia Legislature will allow people with permits to carry their gun into restaurants. The bill hasn�t moved too far at the Capitol yet, but it has started a lot of table talk. In nearly half a century, Manuel's Tavern has seen many political arguments, but managers and regulars said it never gets to the point where they would feel safer with guns in the place. �If there was a problem, you could always call the police to come out and, you know, handle things for you,� said Marilyn Huggins, a restaurant regular. �Just pointing and aiming a gun doesn't mean that you are capable of making rational decisions in an environment such as a pub or a restaurant,� added Curtis Echols, another regular.

But even some uncommitted lawmakers said armed criminals could hurt or kill a lot of diners, unless those diners could arm themselves. �Why do we want to discriminate against those who simply want the right to protect their own family?� said Republican Rep. Jan Jones of Alpharetta. The bill's supporters say a lot of patrons also need protection once they leave the restaurant. Without a weapon, they argue, customers cannot defend themselves from an attacker on the street.

The bill would let customers carry a gun into a restaurant that serves alcohol, but weapons would still be banned at bars that make more money from alcohol than from food.

Source






Armed homes are safe homes : "Recently, three young criminals in Omaha were looking for a home to rob. Their criteria included an interesting condition. Pointing to a particular target, a townhouse in the northwest part of town, one person told them, 'That house has no guns.' And since Nebraska has no concealed carry law, they could be fairly certain that none of the residents would have one on their person, either. Shortly before noon last November 11, the three punks (all of whom did have guns, of course) broke into the townhouse, demanded money and order[ed] residents to the floor. During a struggle in the hallway, all three intruders fired their guns, killing Trevor Lee, a 23-year-old aspiring stock market analyst."

Illinois: Homeowner kills one intruder, injures another: "A would-be burglar is dead and another is hospitalized tonight after the homeowner fought back. It happened Friday night around 10:30 during an attempted home invasion in Genoa on the 700 block of John Court. Genoa police say two men forced their way into the home and pulled a gun on the homeowner. The homeowner wrestled the gun away from the burglars and shot both men. One suspect died at the scene. The other was found at a nearby McDonald's with a gunshot wound to the suspect. Police say the homeowner won't likely face charges for the shooting."




Michigan: Elderly homeowner had enough of robber: "The robber showed up at the victims' house about 7 p.m. Friday asking to use their phone, said Sheriff's Detective Lt. Mark McClellan. The victims, who are in their 60s, allowed the man to use their cordless phone outside. The culprit then asked to use the couple's bathroom, McClellan said. While in the bathroom, deputies said, the man took the couple's prescription medication out of a medicine cabinet. The same man returned to the victims' home on West Rock about 12:40 p.m. Saturday, again asking to use the phone, McClellan said. When the couple refused, the robber shoved them back into the house and went in. While the intruder searched the victims' bathroom and bedroom, the male resident got his pistol and ordered the man to leave, the lieutenant said. A scuffle ensued and the robber ran off, but not before the homeowner fired a shot at him."

"KNIFE CONTROL" ANYONE!?

Post lifted from Astute Blogger

From the BBC - in the heart of TOTALLY GUN-CONTROLLED UK:
(these are BBC HEADLINES ONLY for the last month)

1 Knifeman grabs money in robbery - A robber wielding a knife threatens shop staff and grabs money from the till.

2 A man who murdered his partner in front of her two daughters has been jailed for life at Cardiff Crown Court. Paul Viner, 45, stabbed Donna Brough, 39, to death with a sheath knife at her home in Tylorstown, Rhondda, after she returned home late from a night out.

3 Fresh efforts to cut knife crime - Proposals aimed at helping Scottish police reduce knife crime are setout by ministers at Holyrood.

4 Men held after house knife raid - Police in Grimsby arrest two men in connection with an raid at a house in Nunsthorpe.

5 Knife held to customer's throat - A man holds a knife to a customer's throat during a robbery at a Tyneside petrol station.

6 Armed robbery at service station - Police hunt two men who robbed a petrol service station armed with a handgun and knife.

7 Armed robber holds up nightclub - A hooded robber armed with a knife holds up a nightclub in Derby.

8 Man has knife held to his throat - Two men hold a knife to a man's throat during an assault in a street in Cumbria.

9 Knife-crime battle is stepped up - Police patrols aim to crack down on knife crime in a north London borough.

10 Diamond robber photofit released - Police release an image of a suspected jewellery robber who threatened a couple with a knife.

11 Man with knife robs betting shop - Police are hunting a man armed with a knife who robbed a betting shop in County Durham.

12 Men's sex attack on woman in car - A woman was sexually assaulted by two men carrying a knife who got into her car in central London.

13 Knife gang assaults man in park - A man is punched and threatened by a gang of four as he walks home through a Northampton park.

14 Man still in custody over knifing - Police continue to question a 24-year-old Grimsby man over the stabbing of a New Year's Eve partygoer.

15 Knife attack on video shop staff - A member of staff at a video shop in Rushden is threatened with a knife during a robbery.

16 Man in court over knife rampage - A man appears in court charged with murder and five counts of attempted murder following knife attacks in London.

This PROVES that criminals will commit crimes with whatever weapon they can get their hands on - OFTEN GUNS, OFTEN KNIVES - and that GUN CONTROL does nothing to reduce violent crime, EXCEPT guarantee that potential victims - who are generally law-abiding citizens - will not have the means to defend themselves against vicious thugs.

Actually, GUN CRIME IS UP IN THE UK SINCE THEY ENACTED TOUGH ANTI-GUN LAWS. MORE FROM ALPHECCA, HERE.

An armed citizenry is a bulwark against thuggery.

As the song asks: "When will they ever learn when will they ever learn?"

And check what T.A.T. editor Thomas Lifson has to say about gun control.

FLASH!!!! UPDATE!!!!! THIS JUST IN: FOXNEWS reports that there's been another stabbing in London - at a stampede near a midnight grand opening for a new IKEA! FOX: "The stabbing victim, a man in his 20s, was attacked at around 1:30 a.m. near the IKEA store, a spokeswoman for London's Metropolitan Police said, adding that his condition did not appear life-threatening."

WELL,WELL... I guess the nanny-state Lefties will have to ban knives now - but remember: it's for our own good -- like the banning of our guns, and the banning of our right to smoke in public, and the bannng of hunting with packs of hounds.

After the knife ban goes into effect, I guess all the food in the UK will have to be PRE-CHEWED! Well, we'll just have to get used it: it's for our own good, after all - and THEY know better what's for our own good, DON'T THEY!?

CONCEALED CARRY NOW A PROVEN POLICY IN TEXAS

As the Texas Legislature gears up for the biennial legislative push, the issue of concealed weapons has become just another routine program in need of tweaking. "When it passed, there was a big hue and cry about blood in the streets," concealed handgun permit holder Harold Shirley said of Texas' decade-old experience with letting residents carry hidden firearms. "Obviously, that hasn't happened." Shirley is a retired sergeant major who settled in El Paso for the climate, recreational opportunities and low crime rate. And he is one of about 2,500 El Pasoans who have earned concealed handgun licenses since September 1995. Statewide, more than 225,000 Texans have concealed handgun licenses, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety, which issues the licenses....

But some feel that licensees are not getting the full privileges afforded by state law. Jaime Guillen, who teaches concealed handgun classes on the West Side, said a 2003 change to the law meant to give gun carriers access to government buildings, has been wrongfully applied by municipalities,! includi ng El Paso. "That sign was not meant for government entities," Guillen said of the sign prohibiting concealed weapons in City Hall. "That was made for private businesses." Guillen and others thought the fight over carrying weapons into nonexempt government buildings had ended in 2003 when the Legislature approved a "defense from prosecution" for permit carriers wearing their weapons in noncourt buildings. Cities across the state, however, have fought the exemption, including El Paso.

Assistant City Attorney Elaine Hengen said, however, that the city was within the law because a Municipal Court appeal clerk has an office inside City Hall. Concealed weapons are prohibited in courts and buildings where they have offices, Hengen said. Guillen said the fight could be resolved by a Houston case involving the same types of signs. A victory there, he said, could lead to changes statewide.

John Hubert, who teaches concealed handgun classes on the East Side, said the Texas effort has been successful because of the class time, range time and background checks required. However, a license is not the end of one's responsibility, he said. "Just because you carry a gun doesn't make you proficient," he said. "Walking down the street carrying a guitar wouldn't make me a musician."

Background checks go through the Texas Department of Public Safety and include searches for felonies and misdemeanors, delinquent child-support payments, owed back taxes, and defaults on Texas education loans. License holders must remain "clean," Guillen said, or they lose their privileges. Ken Watters, general manager of Bassett Place, said concerns about the concealed handgun law have faded. "I don't think it's been a huge issue in any way, shape or form," Waters said. "There was some concern initially, but it's a nonissue now." .....

In fact, Guillen's class agreed, the process of getting a concealed handgun license teaches a lot about how to avoid confrontation. Because they carry weapons, any criminal charges could bring substantially more punishment with a conviction.

With the success of the program -- 15 states have reciprocity agreements with Texas, but that does not include New Mexico -- the handgun lobby has a modest agenda for this legislative season. A five-year, instead of four-year, renewal period is being sought, as well as ability to pay fees ($140) with a personal check, Hubert said. License holders say they are treated well by area law enforcement. Indeed, they said, area law officers are usually the only ones who can spot the subtle signs of a hidden firearm. But the biggest reason the program is a success, Guillen said, is that the program prevents crime from happening.

Shirley, who has had his license since 1996, agreed. "I've had to show (my weapon) three times," he said. "But I didn't have to use it. And that's the way it is in almost all cases."

More here





Rising gun crime fears in Australia

Fat lot of good the gun control laws have done

"The daylight robbery of a man at gunpoint near a busy train station has renewed fears of a rise in gun crime in Sydney. The 34-year-old man, who asked to be known only as Paul, said he was walking to Harris Park railway station on his way to work about 6.45am on January 11 when another man approached him and asked for a light. However, when Paul said he did not smoke, the man pressed a gun to his neck and demanded money, escaping with his watch.

Paul said he thought the mugger was joking at first. "I thought maybe it was a finger or something on my neck, but not actually a pistol," he said today. "When I indicated 'Look mate I don't have any money', he said 'Look, I'm not joking, this is a real gun'. "When I realised he had a gun, I guess I was more scared than anything."

The victim was speaking on the day New South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Moroney said more than 40,000 weapons were seized in major crackdowns across the state last year. Mr Moroney said a major audit and compliance check of all firearms in NSW, combined with the State Government's gun buyback, had seized and destroyed 43,000 weapons. In total, 185,000 licensed firearm holders were identified, holding about 600,000 registered firearms between them. As part of the blitz, thousands of weapons were destroyed because police were not satisfied the firearms were being kept securely, or that "possession of that firearm was necessarily further warranted". "Some 43,000 weapons were seized and subsequently destroyed by NSW Police during (20)03-04," Mr Moroney said.

Opposition leader John Brogden said gun crime was surging in Sydney and the Carr Government was trying to spin its way around the problem. "Sydney will end up like New York or Los Angeles if we keep going the way we're going," he said.

More here

California: Off-duty border agent involved in shooting: "An off-duty Homeland Security agent fatally shot a 19-year-old man early Saturday in Mission Viejo after the agent got into a fight with a group of young men, the Orange County Sheriff's Department reported. ... the confrontation began around 1:30 a.m. when the agent heard noises outside his home, about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles. 'He went to investigate and became involved in a verbal altercation with a group of four to six men that turned into a physical altercation,' Amormino said. 'His duty weapon discharged.'"



Oregon: Anti-gun shenanigans: "Well our Old Whacko in Salem, the anti-gun Senator Genny Burdick, pulled off her meeting on the anti-gun bill SB 335. I guess it was a real dog and pony show from what I have been reading. First she held the committee meeting in Portland instead of in Salem. It appears now that there was only about 40 seats in that location. She reserved most of them for anti-gun people and had them seated while making those who were against her bill stand outside. ... Isn't it funny that even our most liberal anti-gun paper in the state, 'The Oregonian,' came out against this bill. I also understand that her bill was improperly amended prior to the meeting, which is an apparent violation of committee rules. ... Anyway, it shows that Burdick and all the anti-gun Democrats will stoop to any shenanigans to stack the deck in their favor when it comes to getting their own way on these bills."

Gun rights fight continues: "Despite a recent article on National Review Online by John J. Miller, the fight to protect and preserve our Second Amendment rights continues. And with that so does the effort of numerous pro-Second Amendment organizations like Liberty Belles, Keep and Bear Arms, Second Amendment Foundation, Gun Owners of America, Armed Females of America, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, and a whole host of others. In addition to organizations that focus specifically on the Second Amendment, there are many other types of non-profits who also support the individual right to keep and bear arms."





Packed, stacked and ready to whack: "One of the basic human rights that constantly has to be defended is the right to keep and bear arms. Why did the original founders of this great American experiment toss this given, no-duh, entitlement into the Constitution? Well, it wasn't so that we would be guaranteed that we could hunt squirrels and woodchucks without serving time, as great as that is. It was for the purpose of defending ourselves against perps when the cops are running a little late, and for the purpose of protecting ourselves against the government should the system go south."

THE ULTIMATE CONCEALED CARRY?

A police spokeswoman called it "unusual" that a 19-year-old almost smuggled a loaded pistol tucked between his buttocks into a county jail this week. Clifton Alexander Carter was transported to the Gwinnett County Jail on Tuesday after a school resource office at Central Gwinnett High School recognized him as a suspect wanted in Barrow County. Upon searching him, officers found a loaded .25-caliber handgun hidden in the man's buttocks. There was a bullet in the chamber, sheriff's spokeswoman Stacey Kelley said. "I don't now how he was able to conceal the weapon in that area. It is very unusual," she said.

The resource officer called Lawrenceville police and Carter was arrested near the campus. He is not a student at the school. Deputies felt something was amiss during their routine search and performed a strip search, Kelley said. "We are proud that our deputy was diligent in his job and was able to locate the weapon," she said. Carter was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, carrying a weapon on a school campus and possession of a weapon by a jail inmate, among other charges. He is being held without bond.

Source




Gun gets the right guy: "A man authorities allege participated in a home invasion was shot in the upper torso early this morning by one of the residents he was trying to rob, police report. About 1:30 a.m., Burlington police responded to a reported burglary in progress at 1109 Rosenwald St. Officers found a man later identified as Tele Richmond, 22, of 231 Kerr Chapel Road in Burlington, lying in the front yard suffering a gunshot wound to his torso. Richmond was one of four men who entered the Rosenwald Street home and tried to rob the residents at gunpoint, police said. One of the residents, apparently acting in self defense, fired at the suspects with a handgun, striking Richmond, police said. The other suspects were last seen running north toward Sharpe Road. None of the residents was injured, police said."



8 February, 2005

Study raises alarm on 1st Amendment, but what about 2nd?: "Schools don't do enough to teach the Second Amendment. In many cases, they don't do anything at all. That's a problem the Second Amendment Foundation has been addressing for more than three decades, and it has been an uphill battle. In today's politically correct classroom environment, it's virtually taboo to talk about firearms, and showing an interest in guns can get your photo banned from the high school yearbook, as happened this year to a New Hampshire student who wanted to appear with his skeet gun and shooting vest in his official senior class portrait."




The last refuge of hate: "People who are terrified of and hate guns -- hoplophobes -- don't care about anything rational, and we waste our time on such arguments. They want guns to go away. They don't trust guns. They don't trust people who have guns, and especially people who like guns. The only exception is 'official' people with guns, meaning, they're from the government, a source of relief. I know, I know, that's irrational. But that's the nature of the disease, and it will not be fixed by DOJ reports. The more intelligent of the hoplophobes may give up their you-have-no-rights argument due to the DOJ report, but it won't stop them one bit."

Study raises alarm on 1st Amendment, but what about 2nd?: "Schools don't do enough to teach the Second Amendment. In many cases, they don't do anything at all. That's a problem the Second Amendment Foundation has been addressing for more than three decades, and it has been an uphill battle. In today's politically correct classroom environment, it's virtually taboo to talk about firearms, and showing an interest in guns can get your photo banned from the high school yearbook, as happened this year to a New Hampshire student who wanted to appear with his skeet gun and shooting vest in his official senior class portrait."




The last refuge of hate: "People who are terrified of and hate guns -- hoplophobes -- don't care about anything rational, and we waste our time on such arguments. They want guns to go away. They don't trust guns. They don't trust people who have guns, and especially people who like guns. The only exception is 'official' people with guns, meaning, they're from the government, a source of relief. I know, I know, that's irrational. But that's the nature of the disease, and it will not be fixed by DOJ reports. The more intelligent of the hoplophobes may give up their you-have-no-rights argument due to the DOJ report, but it won't stop them one bit."

THE "PINK PISTOLS" OPPOSE THE PROPOSED SF GUN BAN

Don't be fooled by the stereotype, said Aaron Thomas, a 30-year-old gay man with ruddy cheeks, an open manner and a 9mm semiautomatic handgun. Gay, gun-loving San Franciscans exist, he said shortly before hunching his back, steadying himself and firing at a target. Not only do they exist, they are steamed up about the proposed law -- supported by five San Francisco supervisors and set to go before voters next fall -- that would ban the ownership of handguns.

The right to own guns may be even more important than the right to marry, Thomas said during the monthly shooting practice organized by the gay gun group the Pink Pistols. "I want to be liberated as a gay man, but I'm not willing to give up the rights I have," he said. "If they can take that away from you, what more can they do?" ....

Gay men and lesbians are at risk of becoming hate crime victims, the group's philosophy goes, and therefore community members should learn how to protect themselves -- with firearms.

More here




One more innocent American entrapped by BATFE : "Danny Peterson is a lot like you and me. Father. Young grandfather. American. Never in trouble with the law. But Danny Peterson holds a federal license to sell guns and in January 2004 he made the 'mistake' of exhibiting at the Las Vegas Gun Show. Eight BATFE agents roamed the aisles at that show that weekend, itching to find somebody to bust. They picked Danny, who had done absolutely nothing wrong. They decided he was their target for the weekend -- even after he refused to go along with their repeated attempts to talk him into breaking the law! Thus one more innocent American gun owner ended up fighting for his very life against corrupt, lying BATFE agents."

THE BALLISTIC FINGERPRINTING IDIOCY

Ballistic fingerprinting was all the rage just a couple of years ago. Maryland and New York were leading the way where a computer database would record the markings made on the bullets from all new guns. The days of criminals using guns were numbered. Yet, a recent report by the Maryland State Police's forensic-sciences division shows that the systems in both states have been expensive failures. New York is spending $4 million per year. Maryland has spent a total of $2.6 million, about $60 per gun sold. But in the over four years that the systems have been in effect neither has solved a single crime. To put it bluntly, the program "does not aid in the mission statement of the Department of State Police."

The systems have drained so many resources from other police activities that ballistic fingerprinting could end up actually increasing crime. In New York, how many crimes could 50 additional police officers help solve? ....

Precisely because friction causes wear, a gun's ballistic fingerprint changes over time � making it drastically different from such forensic evidence as human fingerprints or DNA. The recording of a child's fingerprints or DNA still allows for identification much later in life; the same is not true of the bullet markings. A ballistic fingerprint is less like a human fingerprint than it is like the tread on a car tire.

Brand-new tires are essentially identical, so new-tire tracks at crime scenes leave investigators with pretty limited information. Unless there happens to be a particular imperfection, only the brand and model of the tire can be identified. Imprints on bullets are similar. When a bullet is fired from a new gun, investigators can typically identify only the type of ammunition and the type of gun. Over time, though, friction causes the tread on tires to wear. It would be easy to take the tire tracks left at a crime scene and match them with a suspected criminal's car; but the more the car is driven after the crime, the harder it is to match the tire tracks left at the scene to the tires when they are eventually found. Similarly, the greatest friction on a gun occurs when the gun is first fired � and that dramatically reduces the usefulness of recording the gun's ballistic fingerprint when it is purchased.

Moreover, ballistic fingerprinting can be thwarted by replacing the gun's barrel � just as criminals can foil tire matching by simply replacing their tires. In general, the markings on bullets can be altered even more quickly and easily than the tread marks on tires: Scratching part of the inside of a barrel with a nail file would alter the bullet's path down the barrel and thus change the markings. So would putting toothpaste on a bullet before firing it.....

While registering guns by their ballistic fingerprints is a relatively new concept, we have had plenty of experience using gun registration in general, and it has come up woefully short. A few years ago, I testified before the Hawaii state legislature on a bill to change registration requirements. Hawaii has had both registration and licensing of guns for several decades.

In theory, if a gun is left at the crime scene, licensing and registration will allow the gun to be traced back to its owner. Police have probably spent hundreds of thousands of man-hours administering these laws in Hawaii. But despite this massive effort, there has not been a single case in which police claimed that licensing and registration have been instrumental in identifying a criminal.

From John Lott





Utah: Bill to "allow" loaded guns in cars: "Gun owners -- even those without a concealed weapons permit -- would be allowed to carry their loaded weapons in cars under a bill being prepared for the Utah Senate. Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Lehi, said he is drafting a bill, SB175, that would give gun owners the same access to weapons in their cars that they have in their homes. 'It's called the 'home-castle' principle,' Madsen said. 'If you're in your car, the same right you have in your home extends to your car. It's pretty simple.'"

PROGRESS IN ILLINOIS

Fresh off its success at poking holes in a Wilmette handgun ban, the National Rifle Association has launched a new legislative drive to dismantle strong gun prohibitions in Chicago and test Gov. Rod Blagojevich's wavering commitment to broader gun control. Taking direct aim at Mayor Richard Daley's hard-line stance against the proliferation of guns, the NRA package of state legislation would allow residents of Chicago and other communities that ban handgun ownership to legally keep the weapons in their homes for self-defense purposes. It also would hold Chicago and other places with bans liable for injuries that residents claimed could have been avoided had they been allowed to carry handguns....

The gun-rights group was emboldened by last year's passage in the Democrat-controlled legislature of the so-called Wilmette bill, inspired by the case of a resident of the North Shore suburb who shot an intruder in his home and was then charged with violating a local handgun ban. The legislation created a loophole in handgun bans by allowing someone like the Wilmette man to claim self-defense as they fight such charges in court. Blagojevich vetoed the bill, but lawmakers overrode that action this year and the measure became law "With the situation in Wilmette last year, there was a change in the tone of the debate," said Todd Vandermyde, an NRA lobbyist. "Look at the votes we put on those bills. There were huge majorities."

This year's NRA package would punch a big hole in local handgun bans by creating an exception for residents who say they are keeping the weapons in their homes for self-defense. It would also allow people to sue municipalities with gun bans for injuries suffered as a result of a crime that they say could have been prevented had they been allowed to carry a gun. Another NRA measure would strip Chicago aldermen of the right to carry guns as long as the city continues to ban gun ownership by everyone else.

More here




Wyoming the land of the free: "A House committee on Wednesday recommended a bill that would liberalize Wyoming's concealed weapons law. The measure, sent to the House floor 7-2 by the House Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee, would essentially allow any non-felon to carry a concealed gun without a permit. "You can carry -- simple as that," said the sponsor, Rep. Becket Hinckley, R-Cheyenne. Wyoming would join Alaska and Vermont in not requiring permits for concealed weapons, he said. Hinckley, a deputy prosecuting attorney, was joined in support by Richard Bohling, Albany County's prosecutor, who said law-abiding citizens sometimes have been convicted of illegally carrying a concealed weapon when they had no intent of breaking the law. Bohling, holding a notebook bearing a sticker reading, "I'm the NRA and I vote," cited the case of an elderly Missouri man who was found to have had a loaded pistol in his glove box after a rollover. Bohling said he was forced to prosecute the individual, who was later convicted. The bill would prevent prosecution of people in similar situations who have no ill intent, he said".

VIRGINIA: GUN SHOW RESTRICTIONS

Along with abortion and a few other issues, guns galvanize public passion to an unusual degree. Outside the armed camps of gun-control advocates and gun-rights groups, a largely sensible center supports the right to keep and bear arms within reason. The constant question is just what right reason requires. This newspaper supports gun rights within limits, such as Virginia's one-gun-a-month restriction, which has helped reduce "straw purchases" and gun-running along the East Coast. It also supports laws limiting true assault weapons to police and military forces.

The General Assembly has been considering a proposal to close the "gun-show loophole." The other day the Senate shot the measure down, but count on its reappearance -- either during this session or a future one.

The proposal would require private sellers of firearms -- gun hobbyists, collectors, and so on -- to conduct background checks on potential buyers, as existing licensed gun dealers must do. As in any question involving the infringement of individual liberties, the burden of proof lies on those supporting greater restrictions. Do they meet it? Herewith, some pertinent points to consider:

* The National Shooting Sports Foundation reports that total sales of all guns exceed $2 billion a year. Of all guns sold, only a fraction are purchased at gun shows.

* Of the fraction of weapons bought at gun shows, most are purchased through licensed dealers who must perform background checks.

* Thus individual firearm sales at gun shows account for only a minuscule percentage of all weapons purchases.

The question, of course, is whether that minuscule fraction of weapons purchases accounts for an inordinate percentage of weapons used in crimes. The answer appears to be a resounding no.

* A report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics based on interviews with 18,000 prison inmates shows less than 1 percent of criminals obtain weapons from gun shows. Similar studies -- such as one from the National Institute of Justice -- show similar results.

* Indeed, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence does not stress individual sales at gun shows as a significant source of guns used in crime. Asked about the statistics cited above, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign noted a report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives claiming gun shows are "a major trafficking channel" but said 60 percent of guns used in crimes come from just 1 percent of licensed dealers -- i.e., those dealers already expected to abide by background-check requirements. "The federal government is not going after the crooked dealers upstream," the spokesman said. "In fact, [it is] working to protect them." He noted that Congress rejected a request by the Bush administration to fund a system tracking the source of illegal guns.

* The Brady Campaign does cite other data, such as the fact that "only 50 to 75 percent of the vendors at most gun shows" are licensed firearms dealers. It does not mention that many of the other vendors do not sell guns at all -- but rather books, pepper sprays, swords and knives, storage safes, bumper stickers, clothing, hand-made leather goods, and vintage military paraphernalia such as WWII uniforms and (empty) ammunition boxes.

* The Brady Campaign cites another BATFE report to the effect that 10 percent of the guns used in crimes committed by juveniles were sold "at gun shows and flea markets." Roughly 9 percent of all gun crimes are committed by juveniles. Thus gun shows -- and flea markets -- account for about 1 percent of all gun crimes involving juveniles.

* But -- again -- the "gun-show loophole" applies only to those hobbyists and collectors who might be interested in selling granddad's WWII service sidearm, not to the majority of licensed dealers who, according to the Brady Campaign, constitute the bulk of the gun-crime problem. In short, private sellers of firearms constitute a vanishingly small share of the gun-crime problem in contrast to corrupt gun dealers, theft, and the black market.

Advocates of gun rights still must admit closing the "gun-show loophole" might produce a marginal reduction in the criminal use of guns though such a reduction could be wiped out by one large-scale theft such as the recent incident in Chesterfield. The Assembly must weigh this marginal reduction against the infringement of the right of law-abiding citizens -- what the Brady Campaign disdainfully calls "so-called private sellers" peacefully to exercise their right to keep and bear, and trade in, firearms.

Let's be clear: Most gun-show sales in Virginia occur through licensed dealers who already conduct background checks. Closing the gun-show loophole would place a serious encumbrance on individual rights, with little or no benefit to public safety. The Assembly is welcome to pass a bill anyway, if it is interested in making an empty gesture. If it is interested in reducing violence, it should turn its attention elsewhere.

Source





California: Home intruder shot by occupant: "Greg Collins kept watch in his garage Wednesday night, two loaded shotguns by his side. He was on guard for thieves who had burglarized his Modesto home on Hackberry Avenue six times in three weeks. Collins fell asleep but was awakened about 5:26 a.m. by a loud crash when someone opened the garage door and a large box he had laid against it scraped across the floor. The intruder turned on the lights and walked into the garage, toward a large piece of plywood that covered tools. Still groggy from sleep, Collins grabbed a shotgun and told the intruder to freeze. 'He lunged at me,' explained Collins. 'I was very scared and I was panicky. He took about one step. I aimed low and shot him.'"

GUN HATERS ARE LOVERS OF GOVERNMENT

Which is pretty weird in the light of its vast incompetence

Talk of arming pilots can't help but lead to thoughts of 9/11, an evocative anecdote of its own. And that can't help but remind us that, in a cold, dangerous, and often horrifically cruel world, government is not an efficient, or sufficient, protector, the occasional on-the-ball heroic Columbus cop notwithstanding.

In an America where most of the big minds on the progressive end of the Democratic Party are arguing passionately that the only way for the party to revive its seemingly waning fortunes is to vow even more ferociously and tenaciously that they shall be the covering blanket, the succor, the provider, for all Americans' needs great and small�from prenatal care at the start to education and health care throughout to pension provision in our dying days�it is dangerous to acknowledge the inherent limits of government's ability to make everything OK. This doubtless has something to do with Democrats' fervent belief in gun control (even as some of them argue the Republicans are actively creating a theocratic dictatorship, in which guns in citizens hands could be quite helpful, as those who gave us the Second Amendment in the first place understood so well).

It's undeniable down the line: Guns add enormous tragedy and regret to the world�as well as a fair amount of protection from the tragedies and regrets others might impose. They also provide, for many, opportunities to try out an interesting and rewarding skill�and for many others an opportunity for political posturing and sociological pigeonholing and rhetorical policy warfare.

The debate over how and to what extent, and based on what arguments, the state may interfere with its citizens' rights to self-defense�or to hunt for food with efficient tools, or even just to pursue sheer fun and games with explosive projectiles�will never end until we come to a settled decision on whether, and to what extent, our lives are our own property and our own responsibility. The empirical case as to whether in fact the police power of the state can efficiently protect our lives and property is settled pretty much every day in the favor of gun rights...for individuals, regardless of the overall result of studies like the National Research Council's. It's to individuals that guns are often necessary sources of protection and pleasure. Thus, the Justice Department was right, both historically and politically, to note publicly that the right to own guns�and the responsibilities that naturally arise therefrom�belong to individuals, not collectives, and are not to be blithely abridged.

More here:

Gun rights are important to have a free and safe society: "It's sad to think that there are those in the United States who regard this basic right to self-defense with suspicion or outright contempt. Ironically, it is very often in the most crime-ridden areas that the average citizen is legally banned from carrying a handgun for self-defense ... I could, of course, make a long argument in favor of an armed citizenry from the standpoint of pushing off oppressive government, but we've long since been conditioned by public schools and the corporate media to shut up and do as we're told."





Complex issue requires complex solutions: "The ideal is to control your own self-defense, which often devolves into an issue of skill. In some circumstances, self-defense could mean a gun in the hands of a trained and conscientious owner. Of course, gun ownership may not be an appropriate solution for domestic violence, which may be better answered by assertiveness training or other forms of self-defense, including the act of leaving. Neverless, the point remains: a willingness to defend yourself and acquiring that ability is the responsibility of every individual."

GUNS IN CANADA

Canadian readers of this blog will probably be interested in this site -- a site dedicated to repealing Canada's generally ludicrous gun laws. One excerpt from the current front page: "Dr. Hudson and Jack Wilson, from Saskatchewan attended a Gordon Hitchen Memorial Skeet Shoot at Rock Creek, B.C. on the 31st of October. Many others booked in from other localities in B.C. and Alberta. This shoot featured Conservative MP Jim Gouk, representing the Southern Interior Riding, who took an unregistered shotgun in hand and shot the first bird. The local police declined to attend and compete with us. The shoot was recorded by CHBC and shown on Global TV the next day. Twenty five persons attended and eighteen of them shot with unregistered shotguns.





13 REASONS WHY A HANDGUN IS BETTER THAN A WOMAN:

1) You can buy a silencer for a handgun.

2) You can trade a .44 for two .22's.

3) You can have a handgun at home and another for the road.

4) If you admire a friend's handgun and tell him so, he will be impressed and let you try a few rounds with it.

5) Your primary handgun doesn't mind if you have a backup.

6) Your handgun will stay with you even if you are out of ammo.

7) A handgun doesn't take up a lot of closet space.

8) Handguns function normally every day of the month.

9) A handgun won't ask, "Do these grips make me look fat?"

10) A handgun does not mind if you go to sleep after you're done using it.

11) You can have more than one handgun living in the same house without having problems.

12) A handgun doesn't care how big your trigger finger is.

13) A handgun won't tell all of its friends if you are a "little fast on the trigger".