Articles On The Virginia Tech Shootings: Professor Had Sounded Warning - http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55255 Muslim Connection? - http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55242 Professor Gave Life To Save Students - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1665503.ece http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1176152812105&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Reid Cautions Against "Rush To Judgment" On "Gun Control" - http://www.washtimes.com/national/20070418-120633-7974r.htm Shooting Rekindles Issues Of Gun Rights, Restrictions - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/us/18pistols.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Taking A Break Between Shootings Unusual... - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/us/18mental.html Utah Has Been Center Of Guns-On-Campus Debate - http://origin.sltrib.com/news/ci_5684548 --- Commentary On The Virginia Tech Shootings: http://www.gunowners.org/a041707.htm http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichelleMalkin/2007/04/18/wanted_a_culture_of_self-defense http://reason.com/news/show/119694.html http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YWE3YjBiYWUyMTA2NjZkMDgyMWVmZWRmZjdkOGFiOWY= http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200704/CUL20070418a.html http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009956 http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55246 http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55249 http://www.lewrockwell.com/gregory/gregory134.html http://www.lewrockwell.com/katz-j/katz-j15.html http://www.lewrockwell.com/perry/perry32.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,91000.shtml http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8OIORMG0&show_article=1 --- Gun Owners Not Fond Of 2008 Candidates: The deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history may have little impact on the 2008 presidential race because most top candidates already favor gun controls and are unlikely to gain by pushing the issue. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/4/17/163402.shtml?s=ic --- "Gun Control" Tough Sell In Congress: Gun control advocates made little headway after another bloody April shootout eight years ago and acknowledged Tuesday they face similarly tough odds in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings. "It is a tough sell," said Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., the House's most ardent proponent of gun control legislation. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/4/17/133321.shtml?s=lh --- Rule Three Reminder: Two Secret Service officers were injured on Tuesday after a gun held by another Secret Service officer accidentally fired inside the White House gate, according to a spokesman, Darrin Blackford. (Rule Three: Keep your finger out of the trigger guard, up on the frame, until your sights are on the target and you're prepared to fire.) http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyid=2007-04-17T192809Z_01_N17445050_RTRUKOC_0_US-WHITEHOUSE-INCIDENT.xml&src=rss&rpc=22 --- Georgia House Passes Vehicle-Carry Bill: The House approved a measure Monday that would let gun owners carry their firearms anywhere in their vehicles, despite objections from critics who said it could put police officers and children at risk. http://www.wtlv.com/news/georgia/news-article.aspx?storyid=75803 --- Arizona House Kills Retroactive Self-Defense Bill: The House on Tuesday rejected the latest attempt to make a 2006 self-defense law favorable to defendants apply retroactively in some cases...Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed a broader retroactivity bill earlier this year, agreeing with prosecutors who argued it would have applied to numerous cases...The 2006 law made it easier for defendants to claim self-defense, and many supporters expected it would help Harold Arthur Fish, a hiker convicted in a trailside shooting in Coconino County. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0417selfdefense-ON.html --- Ammunition-Restriction Bill Advances In California: California would become the first state in the nation to require instant background checks on handgun bullet buyers under an anti-gang bill that cleared its first, key hurdle Tuesday... "It's unbelievable it's harder to buy a can of spray paint than bullets, and that a gang-banger can walk into a sporting goods store and walk out with a crate of ammunition, no questions asked," Assemblyman Kevin de Leon, the Los Angeles Democrat who authored the bill, told committee members. http://www.insidebayarea.com/timesstar/localnews/ci_5693576 --- In Gun-Free Japan?: The mayor of the Japanese city of Nagasaki was fatally shot in a brazen attack yesterday by an organized crime chief apparently enraged that the city refused to compensate him after his car was damaged at a public works construction site, police said. http://www.washtimes.com/world/20070417-101214-5671r.htm --- Tangentially Related: A law professor at Georgetown University offers some comments on criminal-defense attorneys, an area of potential interest to anyone who might need to use deadly force. http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009952 --- From AzCDL: PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY! SB 1629, which reduces the penalty for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit for otherwise law-abiding citizens, passed the House Rules committee on April 17, 2007. It is now headed for debate and vote by the House Committee of the Whole (COW) on Thursday, April 19th. SB 1629 cleared the full Senate on March 8th by a vote of 20-8. On March 26th, SB 1629 passed out of the House Homeland Security and Property Rights (HSPR) committee by a vote of 6-4. The enemies of your rights have been pulling out all the stops to kill SB 1629, but AzCDL has been countering them every step of the way and, with your help, keeping SB 1629 alive. It's time to put pressure on every House member to vote for this important bill, and send it on to the Governor. If you are not committing, or attempting to commit, a serious or violent crime, SB 1629 reclassifies carrying a concealed weapon without a permit as a petty offense for the first violation, and as a class 3 misdemeanor for subsequent violations. Under current law, if you have not been issued a concealed weapons (CCW) permit, it is a class 1 misdemeanor to carry a concealed weapon. Everyone is treated like a hardened criminal. Sadly, because of a couple of 1994 Appellate Court decisions: · If a casual observer cannot easily see your firearm, you are carrying concealed and could be arrested. · Wearing a gun in a vehicle = concealed carry. Without a permit you are subject to arrest. · Having a CCW permit and wearing a gun in a vehicle puts your non-CCW permit passengers at risk for being arrested for carrying concealed without a permit. SB 1629 separates the innocent mistake by otherwise law-abiding citizens from the cold-blooded actions of hardcore criminals. SB 1629 even adds the "attempted commission of a serious offense" language to the law, to assist law enforcement in arresting the true bad guys. The passage of SB 1629 will not be accomplished without serious support and activism from YOU! Please send a letter to all House members urging that they vote for SB 1629. Below is a cut-and-paste letter you may use or modify. Following the letter are the email addresses of the House members in both semi-colon and comma separated formats. Use the list compatible with your email software. Subject: Vote for SB 1629 Dear Representative: The Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) has informed me that SB 1629 will soon be heard in the House Committee of the Whole (COW). There is solid bipartisan support for this bill. I urge you to vote for SB 1629. Under current law it is a class 1 misdemeanor to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, regardless of the circumstances. Only about 1% of the Arizona population has concealed weapons permits, largely because the Arizona Constitution protects the right to "open carry." However, because of 1994 Appellate Court decisions: · There is no clear, objective standard in statute that I can rely on to determine if I am violating the law. · If a casual observer cannot easily see my firearm, I could be arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. · Even with a permit, wearing a firearm in my vehicle puts my passengers at risk for being arrested. SB 1629 only reduces the penalty for otherwise law-abiding citizens attempting to comply with a statue clouded by court decisions. The bill retains the ability for law enforcement to arrest real criminals. SB 1629 even adds the "attempted commission of a serious offense" language to the law to assist law enforcement in arresting those criminals who are intent on committing a crime while carrying a weapon. Again, I strongly urge you to vote for SB 1629. Sincerely, Your Name Street Address City, AZ zip-code (telephone number) House members in comma format: eableser@azleg.gov, kadams@azleg.gov, malvarez@azleg.gov, manderson@azleg.gov, rbarnes@azleg.gov, nbarto@azleg.gov, abiggs@azleg.gov, tboone@azleg.gov, dbradley@azleg.gov, jbrown@azleg.gov, jburges@azleg.gov, jburns@azleg.gov, ocajerobedford@azleg.gov, chcampbell@azleg.gov, clcampbell@azleg.gov, dclark@azleg.gov, rcrandall@azleg.gov, scrump@azleg.gov, mdesimone@azleg.gov, adriggs@azleg.gov, sfarley@azleg.gov, efarnsworth@azleg.gov, sgallardo@azleg.gov, mgarcia@azleg.gov, tgroe@azleg.gov, phershberger@azleg.gov, jkavanagh@azleg.gov, akirkpatrick@azleg.gov, bkonopnicki@azleg.gov, plopes@azleg.gov, llopez@azleg.gov, dlujan@azleg.gov, lmason@azleg.gov, mmcclure@azleg.gov, jmccomish@azleg.gov, bmcguire@azleg.gov, nmclain@azleg.gov, rmeza@azleg.gov, bmiranda@azleg.gov, rmurphy@azleg.gov, jnelson@azleg.gov, wnichols@azleg.gov, lpancrazi@azleg.gov, jpaton@azleg.gov, rpearce@azleg.gov, tprezelski@azleg.gov, mreagan@azleg.gov, prios@azleg.gov, brobson@azleg.gov, lsaradnik@azleg.gov, dschapira@azleg.gov, ksinema@azleg.gov, bstump@azleg.gov, jthrasher@azleg.gov, atobin@azleg.gov, atom@azleg.gov, tulmer@azleg.gov, jweiers@azleg.gov, jpweiers@azleg.gov, syarbrough@azleg.gov 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 .