"Bullet Control" May Come To New York: "For far too long we have ignored the relationship between bullets and gun crimes," state Sen. Eric Adams (D-Brooklyn), a former NYPD captain, said as he held a hollow-point slug. "We can no longer allow this item, this bullet, to be that silent partner." Adams said he was introducing legislation that would mandate the tracking of ammunition and force buyers to register the bullets they purchase. (Registration of the purchase of ammunition and reloading components was part of the federal Gun Control Act of 1968. It was ended in 1986, after representatives from BATF testified that it had never helped solve a crime.) http://www.nypost.com/seven/03192007/news/regionalnews/guns_arent_enough___pols_want_bullet_control_regionalnews_dan_kadison.htm --- Rudy's "Gun Control" Agenda: GOA's John Velleco takes a look at Rudy Giuliani's track record on RKBA infringement and questions his newly found "federalist" stance that would reconcile banning guns in NYC but allowing other cities and states to make their own laws. "This flirtation with federalism is merely a façade, however, for in the recent interview with Sean Hannity, Giuliani assured gun owners that he supports only gun-control laws that are "reasonable and sensible." He then went on to defend his support of the Brady bill and the semi-auto ban, which are neither." http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=19883 --- Editorials Support Parker Ruling: Editorials or commentaries in The Washington Times and Investors' Business Daily applaud the recognition of the intent of the Second Amendment in the recent appellate ruling in Parker v. District of Columbia. http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=259197110161215 --- Will Illinois Imitate Canada's Registration Debacle?: In an unusual tactic, the Illinois State Rifle Association argues that the registration requirements of an "assault weapon" ban making its way through the state legislature could cost the state upwards of $300 million. (I find it hard to believe that Illinois politicians could actually learn from Canada's firearm-registry debacle.) http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=ind_focus.story&STORY=/www/story/03-19-2007/0004549117&EDATE=MON+Mar+19+2007,+05:01+PM --- Homeowners' Association May Relent On Gun Ban: As reported yesterday, a homeowners' association in Nashville TN recently sent a letter to its members stating that it was illegal for them to have firearms on their property. It now appears that this move was initiated by a property-management company, which may be backing off in the face of protest. http://www.wtvf.com/Global/story.asp?S=6242822 --- All's Well That Ends Well?: An off-duty California police officer is recovering from cuts to her head after she chased a mugger who stole her purse, then tried to shoot her with the unloaded pistol he found inside the purse. (I have long counseled against carrying handguns in purses for this reason. I also usually advise against carrying unloaded firearms. Perhaps this is a case of two wrongs making a right.) http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sbriefs20mar20,1,7410211.story?coll=la-headlines-california --- Fear, Stress Cited In Michigan Road-Rage Shooting: The mother of the woman arrested in a rare case of a driver misusing a legally carried handgun in a road-rage incident blames fear and the stress of caring for ill family members for her daughter's actions. The shooter is facing felony charges that could lead to six years in prison. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070319/NEWS04/703190369/1001/rss01 --- Police In New Jersey Move To M4's: Local police are in the forefront of a nationwide move by law enforcement to upgrade their firepower in the face of high-powered weapons used by criminals...To meet the increasing threat of criminal violence, Codispoti has instituted a requirement that all patrol sergeants have fully automatic weapons in their vehicles... (To quote Clint Smith, full-auto is a good way to turn money into noise.) http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070317/NEWS01/703170306 --- From AzCDL: SB 1301, which rewrites 13-3102.F to clarify that if any portion of a weapon or holster is visible, the weapon is openly carried, will be heard in the House Government committee on Tuesday, March 20, 2007. The current law has two problems. First, open carry is limited in statute to a belt holster, and the holster, NOT the weapon, must be "wholly or partially visible." SB 1301 specifies that either the weapon or the holster can be visible, and removes the "belt holster" restriction. The second problem is the interpretation of the "wholly or partially visible" language in ARS 13-3102.F by a 1994 Appellate court decision. This decision held that it has to be obvious to ordinary observation that you're carrying a weapon. SB 1301 replaces the "wholly or partially visible" language, and refers to "any portion" of a weapon or holster being visible. Please take the time to send a polite note to the committee members and let them know that you want them to vote SB 1301 out of committee with a recommendation for passage by the full House. List of members email addresses: kadams@azleg.gov jpaton@azleg.gov tboone@azleg.gov rbarnes@azleg.gov rcrandall@azleg.gov mdesimone@azleg.gov sfarley@azleg.gov mgarcia@azleg.gov wnichols@azleg.gov lsaradnik@azleg.gov Information on this and other bills can be found at the AzCDL website: http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html As legislation progresses, we will keep you up to date via these Alerts and at our website. 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 Copyright © 2007 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved. SB 1629, which reduces the penalty for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit for otherwise law-abiding citizens, was heard in the House Homeland Security and Property Rights (HSPR) committee on Monday, March 19, 2007. Despite excellent testimony given by Dave Kopp and John Wentling, AzCDL's president and vice-president, the final vote on the bill was 5-5. The committee consists of 6 Republicans and 4 Democrats. As expected, all 4 Democrats voted against SB 1629. The "killer" vote was cast by Republican Representative Nancy Barto, who also voted against the bill, creating the 5-5 tie that prevents SB 1629 from moving on to the full House for a vote. Please take the time to drop Representative Barto a polite note expressing your disappointment with her for voting against SB 1629, and letting her know that you will get the word out about how she turned her back on restoring the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (RKBA) in Arizona. Below is a cut-and-paste letter that you may use, or personalize as you like. Rep. Barto's email address is: nbarto@azleg.gov, and her office phone number is 602-926-5766 Subject: SB 1629 Dear Representative Barto: The Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) has informed me that you were the lone Republican who voted against SB 1629, effectively killing the bill, at the House Homeland Security and Property rights (HSPR) committee hearing on Monday, March 19, 2007. I am extremely disappointed that you voted to keep a law on the books that treats law-abiding citizens like criminals, and I will be spreading the news of your vote to every gun owner that I know. By voting against SB 1629, you are saying that if a victim of domestic violence decides to carry a pistol in her purse because she fears for her life, but has not yet obtained a concealed weapons permit, you favor arresting her, thereby enabling her attacker. As was pointed out during the hearing, a misdemeanor conviction could also have the effect of destroying this person's career and financial well-being. Because you believe in treating otherwise law-abiding citizens like career criminals, you would prevent a domestic violence victim from having the means to defend herself from her attacker because she didn't jump through the bureaucratic hoops to get a concealed weapon's permit. I hope you take this into consideration when considering similar bills in the future. Sincerely, Your Name Street Address City, AZ zip-code (telephone number) We will keep you informed on the progress of SB 1629 and other important legislation. Information on this and other bills can be found at the AzCDL website: http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html 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 Copyright © 2007 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .