No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.14.22/239 - Release Date: 1/24/2006 Wisconsin Voters Will Remember Doyle CCW Vetoes: "Twice in his current term as governor, Jim Doyle has arrogantly vetoed legislation that would have fulfilled the Wisconsin State Constitution's guarantee that citizens could bear arms for their personal defense, and gun owners may square accounts with Doyle in November," the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today. http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=59643 --- Voting Rights For Felons, How About Firearm Ownership: CCRKBA's Alan Gottlieb takes advantage of a proposal by a Maryland legislator to give voting rights to people convicted of violent felonies. "Each year, thousands of Americans discover that, because of some conviction years ago, perhaps when they were juveniles, they can no longer legally own a firearm. Others find themselves stripped of their gun rights by some misdemeanors, without ever having been convicted of a felony. We're talking about people victimized by insidious gun laws, people who have frequently become model citizens in their communities." http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=59703 --- CCRKBA Credits Gun Owners For Conservative Victory In Canadian Election: "Early indications are that Canadian gun owners were pivotal in throwing out more than 20 Liberal members of Parliament," said Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) Chairman Alan M. Gottlieb, "and they had it coming." http://www.cnsnews.com/news/viewstory.asp?Page=%5CCulture%5Carchive%5C200601%5CCUL20060124a.html --- Canadian Election Second Blow To International Prohibitionists: The Illinois State Rifle Association views the Liberal defeat in the recent Canadian election as a major setback for the international "gun control" movement. http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=59654 --- Italians Gain Right To Shoot Robbers: The Italian parliament has passed legislation that permits the use of guns and knives by people in homes or workplaces to protect lives or belongings. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4645228.stm --- California Man Arrested For Shooting Burglar: A man in Richmond, across the Bay from San Francisco, has been arrested for assault with a deadly weapon after shooting a stranger who was breaking into his home. http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_023150531.html --- Meanwhile, In Central California...: An elderly man fired several shots to defend himself and his wife from three home invaders. One of the robbers is dead and a second is wounded. http://www.1bakersfield.com/news/read/2/62873 --- Oops, Wrong Apartment: Two men forced their way into a Reno NV apartment, demanding money. They changed their mind after the woman resident pointed a handgun at them. http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060124/NEWS01/601240377/1004/NEWS --- SWAT Officer Forgets Rifle At School: An Ohio police officer became distracted by a conversation with his supervisor and drove away from a high-school parking lot, leaving his unloaded, cased AR-15 behind. (I know of several incidents of this sort, in which firearms have been set on roofs of vehicles, on open pickup tailgates, etc. One should probably inventory all firearms before leaving a training area.) http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060124/NEWS01/301240005 --- Man, Son Charged In Unintentional Shooting: A Maryland man and his eight-year-old son both face charges after the boy took his father's revolver to school and shot a classmate in the arm. Note that one of the charges against the father is being a felon in possession of a firearm. http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20060124-111618-2923r.htm --- Arizona Boy Kills Sister With "Unloaded" Pistol: A nine-year-old Arizona boy fatally shot his sister with a pistol he thought had been unloaded. (It's more effective to gun-proof children than to try to child-proof guns. By that age, those children should already have been taught the basic rules of firearm safety.) http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/112914 --- From AzCDL: HB 2526 and HB 2527 have been introduced. On the surface, they look like this year's version of "lock up your safety" but they contain provisions that negatively impact all firearms owners. HB 2526: http://www.azleg.state.az.us/legtext/47leg/2r/bills/hb2526p%2Ehtm HB 2527: http://www.azleg.state.az.us/legtext/47leg/2r/bills/hb2527p%2Ehtm The two bills start with identical language but HB 2527 goes one step further. Both bills make it illegal to "store or keep any loaded firearm on any premises under the person's control if the person knows or reasonably should know that a minor is likely to gain access...." That pretty much describes every firearm that is not unloaded, locked away and rendered useless for self-defense. It gets worse: A person who fails to securely store or keep a loaded firearm would be held strictly liable for damages if a minor obtains the firearm and causes injury or death to himself or others. It's a felony for the firearm owner if the minor injures or kills himself or another person. And, here's the kicker in HB 2527 - Anyone convicted for not locking up their firearms will become a "Prohibited Possessor" and forbidden from owning or handling a gun for the rest of their life. The real objective of these bills is to nullify your right to keep and bear arms by making you liable for the injury or death of any minor who might happen to get hold of your gun unless you render your firearm useless. HB 2527 has been assigned to the House Judiciary committee. HB 2526 remains unassigned at the moment. There is little chance that these bills will get a hearing in the Judiciary committee, but committee member Gallardo is a sponsor of both bills and Representatives Miranda and Downing are undoubtedly sympathetic. You may want to contact the Judiciary committee members, in particular Chairman Farnsworth who controls the agenda, and let them know you want them to oppose these bills. Information on Judiciary Committee members can be found here: http://www.azleg.state.az.us/CommitteeInfo.asp?Committee_ID=54 The following are the names and email addresses of each committee member: Ray Barnes (R) - rbarnes@azleg.state.az.us Ted Downing (D) - tdowning@azleg.state.az.us Eddie Farnsworth (R) - efarnswo@azleg.state.az.us Steve Gallardo (D) - sgallard@azleg.state.az.us Ben R. Miranda (D) - bmiranda@alzeg.state.az.us Jonathon Paton (R) - jpaton@azleg.state.az.us Doug Quelland (R) - dquellan@azleg.state.az.us David Burnell Smith (R) - dsmith@azleg.state.az.us Steven B. Yarbrough (R) - syarbrou@azleg.state.az.us Personalize - send a separate email message to each committee member. Include their name in the Salutation (Dear Representative Name). Below is a sample letter to cut-and-paste into an email message. ============================================================ Dear Representative (Name): I strongly urge you to prevent HB 2526 and HB 2527 from leaving the House Judiciary committee. Disguised as firearms storage bills, they turn firearms owners into criminals if a minor, without permission, obtains their firearm and injures or kills someone. HB 2527 would also bar the firearms owner-victim from ever being able to own or handle a firearm for the rest of their life. Responsibility is shifted from the criminal to law-abiding firearms owners. These bills have less to do with safe storage than with stigmatizing and persecuting law-abiding firearms owners and nullifying the right to keep and bear arms. Please also bear in mind that many members of criminal gangs are "minors" as described under this bill. Again, please oppose these bills and urge your colleagues to do the same. Sincerely, Your Name Street Address City, AZ zip-code (telephone number) ================================== These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Join today! AzCDL - Protecting Your Freedom http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .