UT:Sign it, governor

Salt Lake’s Catholic Bishop John C. Wester says that HB76, which would allow people to carry a concealed firearm without a permit, "establishes a culture in Utah that prioritizes deadly weapons over human life" ("Capitol opposes firearm controls," Tribune, March 15).

I disagree with Wester’s assessment and his call for the governor to veto this constitutional-carry gun bill.

I, too, have been a bishop (the Latter-day Saint kind) — for almost 14 years on three different occasions in three different states — and I say that allowing good citizens to be armed actually protects life.

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Atlantic Wire suggests NRA threatened from surprising direction

Since the Sandy Hook Elementary atrocity, a theme one sees repeated ad nauseum is that the "gun lobby" (generally presented--falsely--as synonymous with the NRA) is dead, or at least mortally wounded. U.S. News and World Report quotes United States Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) gloating about a "turning point":

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How is that a problem for the NRA? Atlantic Wire's reasoning is that when people can "print" their own guns, they will no longer need a lobbying powerhouse defending their right to buy them.

Or, farther in the future: Why donate to the NRA every month when you have access to any weapon you could want, on demand?

more here

Blacks thank the NRA

MI:Hundreds gather for pro-gun rally at state Capitol

Hundreds of people came to the state Capitol today to voice their support for pro-gun legislation.

Many openly carried firearms, which is allowed in and around the Capitol building.

Jim Gulliksen is with the Michigan Militia Corps of Wolverines.

He says he’s happy that state lawmakers have taken up a number of pro-gun bills recently.

“Lansing has shown some trends lately to reduce some of the restrictions, as far as like the pistol purchase permit and some of the controls on where you can carry weapons. We do like to see that.”

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ND:Leftists oppose commonsense gun legislation

BISMARCK — State officials took stands against two gun-related bills Tuesday.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem urged lawmakers to defeat legislation that he says would pit local and federal law enforcement against one another; while Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler testified against allowing concealed weapons in public schools.

Stenehjem told the Senate Judiciary Committee that House Bill 1183, which would prohibit state law enforcement from enforcing any new federal firearm law passed after Jan. 1, 2013, is overreacting to the threat of federal firearm bans, since no laws have been passed yet.

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Is Bloomberg starting to ‘get it’ about semi-auto rifles?

Buried in a new CNN report about anti-gun New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s sudden shift of attention almost totally to background checks is an indication that the Big Apple billionaire may be starting to understand the futility of arguing that a ban on semiautomatic rifles will have much of an impact on deadly crime.

Bloomberg has not experienced an epiphany; these things happen slowly, but at least according to CNN yesterday, the co-founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns acknowledged, “This year in America, 12,000 people will be killed with handguns. Four hundred people will be killed with assault weapons or high capacity magazines. So it is the vast bulk of - of the, uh, murders are done with handguns.”

Well, that’s not quite accurate. As this column reported, FBI crime data for 2011 – the most recent year for which statistics are available – handguns accounted for less than half of the total homicides. The data shows that, “Firearms were used in 67.8 percent of the nation’s murders, 41.3 percent of robberies, and 21.2 percent of aggravated assaults (data on weapons used during forcible rapes is not collected).”

That year, there were 12,664 murders, of which 6,220 were committed with handguns and only 323 were positively linked to rifles. There were 1,587 cases in which the type of firearm was not identified. Overall, 8,583 murders involved firearms, another 1,694 were committed with knives or “cutting instruments,” and 728 – more than twice the number killed with rifles – were beaten or stomped to death and another 85 were strangled. Here is a breakdown of all 50 states.

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INFORCE APL (Self Defense Pistol Light)

A review of a new pistol light by Moderno

INFORCE APL

A while back I reviewed the INFORCE WML, a lightweight, polymer body weapon light that attaches to a rifle, carbine or shotgun. The short version of that review is that I was, and continue to be, very impressed. I actually run a WML on all of my carbines now, and I’ve even used them hog hunting (a bit outside of their intended use haha).

Just about everyone who has used a WML has said the same thing – awesome, now make one for my pistol. Well INFORCE did, and it’s called the APL.

The APL, which stands for Auto Pistol Light, is a 200 lumen light that attaches to both Universal and MIL-STD-1913 rails. The APL came out late 2012, and I’ve been testing one for a few months now. I’ve been very impressed.

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Fourth Circuit gets it right on Open Carry

Does Open Carry, in an Open Carry state, give police a reasonable articulable suspicion that a crime is occurring?

Cops can’t just stop you, frisk you, or demand identification from you. Terry v. Ohio decided that a police officer must have “reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime and has a reasonable belief that the person “may be armed and presently dangerous” before he can detain you. But does that change if you’re hanging out with a person who openly carries a firearm?

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Police: Fla. College Student Plotted Attack

ORLANDO, Fla. — James Oliver Seevakumaran (pictured), a college student with two guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and a backpack filled with explosives pulled a dorm fire alarm Monday in an apparent attempt to force other students out in to the open so that he could slaughter them, authorities said. But he instead put a bullet in his head as police closed in.

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Campus gun ban had no deterrent effect on UCF shooting

That a former University of Central Florida student still living on campus did not carry out a wider plan to shoot others in his dormitory and instead turned his gun on himself was a mere matter of luck for his potential victims, the Orlando Sentinel is reporting this morning.

“James Oliver Seevakumaran, 30, was found in his dorm room in Tower 1, a seven-story structure near the UCF Arena,” the story reports. “He died from a single shot to the head fired by one of his newly purchased guns, police said.”

He had a handgun, what police call an “assault weapon,” hundreds of rounds of ammunition and “handmade explosives” which another report describes as “four bombs.” Writings found in his room reveal he had planned a wider attack, which he evidently decided against.

Had Seevakumaran decided on that other course, anyone obeying UCF policy would have been defenseless in a face-to-face encounter.

More Here at Gun Rights Examiner

Now 340 sheriffs refuse to enforce gun control

A Colorado sheriff has joined the list of at least 340 sheriffs who have vowed to uphold the Constitution against gun-control measures that violate Americans’ Second Amendment rights.

Weld County Sheriff John Cooke said he and many other county sheriffs “won’t bother enforcing” laws poised to go into effect in Colorado because it would be impossible to keep track of whether gun owners are meeting the new requirements.

More Here at WND

VA:Caleb Gordley shot and killed in Sterling

An investigation into what exactly led to the Sunday morning shooting of a 16-year-old at a Sterling home continues, but details are still murky as to what exactly happened.

Loudoun County Sheriff's officials say that between 2:30 and 3 a.m. Sunday, a homeowner in the 4500 block of Pullman Court shot and killed a juvenile intruder.

Before the shooting, an alarm was activated inside the home, and the homeowner says he discovered 16-year-old Caleb A. Gordley on the stairwell.

Gordley lived two doors down from the home - both of which look similar. Authorities add he had been drinking earlier that evening.

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Both sides hitting Herbert on 'constitutional carry' gun law

SALT LAKE CITY — Telephones rang constantly in the governor's office Monday as people weighed in on the so-called "constitutional carry" gun law the Utah Legislature passed last week.

Emails and letters also were streaming into the Capitol urging Gov. Gary Herbert to veto or sign controversial HB76.

West Jordan resident Steven Beckstead, a National Rifle Association certified instructor, wrote the governor asking him to reject the bill. He contends the law is a step in the wrong direction because gun carriers wouldn't have to receive instruction in self-defense law.

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Boyfriend tackles burglar while girlfriend holds shotgun, calls cops

EUGENE, Ore. - A Eugene couple caught a burglar in the act and made a citizens arrest with a shotgun early Sunday morning, Eugene Police said.

Derek LeBlanc was headed to work around 5 a.m. Sunday when he saw a pair of feet hanging out the shattered rear window of his pickup truck parked at his north Eugene home on Kenmore Street.

"At this point I had my car keys in my hand. I threw them, and as soon as he got to his feet I just instinctively took him down," LeBlanc said. "You never know what you're going to do until it happens, but I sure as hell wasn't going to be a victim."

After he tackled a man in his front driveway, LeBlanc said he began calling to his girlfriend for help.

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37 gun rights groups form 'Coalition Against Universal Background Checks'

Last Monday a "divided Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday narrowly approved a Democratic bill expanding required federal background checks for nearly all gun [transfers and not just] purchases . . . by 10-8, supported by all Democrats and opposed by every Republican." But now a broad coalition of 37 gun rights groups from across the United States has stood up to stop the bill.

Calling themselves the Coalition Against Universal Background Checks, these groups, normally focused on state legislation and elections, are poised to enter the fray with all their "grass roots" blazing to stop what they view as a “prior restraint” which will: destroy gun shows, and cost gun owners over $1.04 billion per year (1). In a press release, posted below, John Pierce from one of the Coalition's national groups, OpenCarry.org, said that

the Senate bill will "strip 18-20 year old adults of their right to buy a handgun and turn you, friends, neighbors, and un-married domestic partners into felons.(2)"

Time will tell if the Senates bill will garner 60 votes in favor of cloture, but in the mean time, 37 gun rights groups stand ready to play hard ball. According to Mr. Pierce, both a Virginia attorney and co-founder of OpenCarry.org, politicians know that gun rights are a bigger "voting issue" for pro-gun voters than nominally anti-gun voters. And he adds that

"local state gun rights groups ARE the local ground game, and they do know how to primary members of Congress who vote against gun rights, just ask President Bill Clinton who watched a 1994 Democratic majority in Congress be eviscerated after voting for a ten year ban on new sales of so-called ‘assault weapons.’"

“It’s kind of like that Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams (5),” chuckles Pierce: “If they vote for it, we will come - and primary them.”

Defense Distributed has its Federal Firearms License (3D printed Guns)

Defense Distributed has now obtained its Federal Firearms License for manufacturing.

Cody Wilsons has said in an arstechnica article, that he will wait for the add on license that allows for manufacture of fully auto firearms before selling some of the guns - or at least receivers - that Defense Distributed prints.

Link to arstechnica article

GIFFORD: Gun-grabbers blowing smoke It’s about confiscation

If no serious crisis is to be wasted as a chance to sneak laws onto the books that fail the rational reflection test, all “gun control” proposals hastily put forward after the Connecticut elementary school slaughter by a mentally disturbed young man should be seen for what they actually are. They are gradual steps toward the confiscation of firearms from private hands, the “Holy Grail” of “gun control” activism.

Should that assessment seem overly distrustful of legislator and anti-gun activist bloviation about reducing gun violence and preventing mass shootings “from ever happening again” (mass shootings will happen again no matter what laws are passed), conservative Fox News pundit Charles Krauthammer must have surprised many fans in 1996 when he articulated and justified the gun free society case for confiscation in his Washington Post column while the Clinton administration’s law banning “assault weapons” was up for repeal.

“[E]ven a cynic must marvel at the all-round phoniness of the debate over repeal of the assault weapons ban. … The claim of the advocates that banning these 19 types of ‘assault weapons’ will reduce the crime rate is laughable. … In fact, the assault weapons ban will have no significant effect either on the crime rate or on personal security. Nonetheless, it is a good idea, though for reasons its proponents dare not enunciate. I am not up for reelection. So let me elaborate the real logic of the ban. … Its only real justification is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation. … Yes, Sarah Brady is doing God’s work. Yes, in the end America must follow the way of other democracies and disarm.”

Whether you agree or disagree that Mr. Krauthammer’s statist confiscation goal is a desirable objective, it is the actual goal of those seeking to sacrifice the Second Amendment for a phony notion of public safety. This means the Second Amendment needs to be gutted on the same public altar for all to see, and candidly discussed, even if most of our First Amendment-protected media refuses to do so.

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PA:More Private Gun Sales at "Political Theater" in Coatesville at "buyback"

A group of about 15 people offered cash to buy guns that were brought to the organized turn in event at Coatesville Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Only about 40 mostly rusted firearms were turned in at the event, while the private purchasers saved at least two of the more valuable items.

From the Daily Local News:

Darren Wolfe, a blogger and political activist who organized the gathering outside the buy back, questioned the motivations and effectiveness of gun buy back programs like this one.

Wolfe described the event as “political theater” while questioning its effectiveness at increasing public safety. He also claimed events like this one demonize gun ownership and increase the stigmatization of firearms.

This type of opposition could not occur if the "background check" registration scheme of Senator Schumer were implemented.

The First Amendment and the Second Amendment complement and support each other.

"Buyback" is an obvious propaganda term, as none of the firearms were originaly owned by the government.

These "buyback" events are being opposed by private buyers all over the country.

At least one turn in effort joined Constitutional rights and anti-gun forces in an effort to remove unwanted guns from homes, sell them to responsible people, and use the proceeds for charity.

Falmouth Maine program raises money for special Olympics

Link to Daily Local News

©2013 by Dean Weingarten Permission to share granted as long as this notice is included.

AR:Little Rock store owner shoots armed robber

A Little Rock grocery store owner on Thursday, March 15, protected his property and family when an armed man came into the store for what he thought would be easy cash. Arkansas Online states that before the robber got out of the store with the money, he also got a bullet in his left foot.

According to reports, 21-year-old Alvin Aikens entered the Santa Maria Mexican grocery store on Baseline Rd. in Little Rock, put a gun to the owner’s back and demanded cash. After taking the cash, Aikens then shot at the store owner when he saw him reaching for something. The store owner shot Aikens, hitting him once in the foot.

Aikens fled the scene and later led police on a chase before they detained him. He was arrested for aggravated robbery, theft of property and fleeing, after being treated and released from UAMS Medical Center.

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Marine veteran stops beating, holds man at gunpoint for police

Blackmore was driving home from work at about 4 a.m. Tuesday on W. Lincoln Ave. near S. 102nd St. in West Allis when he saw a man kicking someone on the ground. He jerked his steering wheel to pull over, turned his ignition off and stepped out.

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Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. praised Blackmore Wednesday, issuing a statement that read, in part, "I want to get to a day when acts like this are viewed as a citizen doing their civic duty. Criminals have got to be reassessing things right now. They have to be asking themselves if it is worth it anymore, might they face resistance or be shot? That's a good thing."

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