Texas Poised To Re-Examine Guns On Campus: Gov. Rick Perry and some Republicans in the Legislature say they are considering repealing a state law that prohibits the possession of firearms on college campuses. Perry and a group of lawmakers who have championed Second Amendment issues say students and faculty members who hold licenses to carry firearms should be allowed to take their weapons onto campus. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/05/02/2guns.html --- Meanwhile, At Emory University...: The recent controversy concerning funding for a College Republicans' trip to a shooting range has brought the issues of gun control and campus safety to the forefront of the Emory discourse...What we cannot condone is the College Republicans' plan to request permission from University President James W. Wagner to carry concealed weapons on campus. http://media.www.emorywheel.com/media/storage/paper919/news/2007/05/01/Editorials/Our-Opinion.Gun.Control-2889391.shtml --- Bloomberg vs. Tiahrt: When handguns with bullets that can pierce body armor showed up on the streets of New Jersey, Sen. Frank Lautenberg asked federal regulators to share data that could help local police figure out where the weapons were coming from...The amendment that bars such sharing of gun trace data has now touched off a feud between its sponsor, Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., and a coalition of more than 200 mayors led by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8ORRTM00&show_article=1 Related Commentary: http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=210 --- Mental-Health Privacy Debated: Momentum is building in Congress behind a measure that would push states to report their mental health records to the federal database used to conduct background checks on gun buyers...Wayne LaPierre, chief executive of the N.R.A., said it was mainly mental health groups that had stood in the way of similar legislation in the past. "We are not an obstacle," Mr. LaPierre said. "We're strongly in support of putting those records in the system." But Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, said his group was fighting the bill... http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/us/02guns.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin --- SAF vs. Alberto Gonzales: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' troubling support of legislation that would allow him and future attorneys general the arbitrary power to block firearms purchases without due process is cause for him to step down as the nation's highest ranking law enforcement officer, the Second Amendment Foundation said today. http://www.pr-inside.com/gonzales-wants-arbitrary-power-to-block-r111010.htm http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200705/CUL20070502b.html --- Sandra Froman on Parker: There is a case working its way to the Supreme Court that might settle one of the biggest unanswered questions in constitutional law: Does the Second Amendment guarantee an individual right to own a gun? Whether or not you own a gun, this is a case you should care about... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/column.aspx?UrlTitle=why_you_should_care_about_parker_v_district_of_columbia&ns=SandyFroman&dt=05/01/2007&page=full&comments=true --- NAACP Leader Comments On Cleveland Shooting Death: "That man had a right to do what he did. If he didn't do it, we'd be sitting here today mourning him rather than the 15-year-old," said Forbes. http://www.newsnet5.com/news/13213830/detail.html Related Commentary: http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article3709.html --- A Response To "The Disarming Of America": Mike Vanderboegh responds to a recently shared editorial that set forth a plan for disarming American citizens, "Kill All They Send..." http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/04/guest-editorial-kill-all-they-send.html --- Idaho Gun Store Wins Injunction Against BATFE: US District Judge Edward Lodge has granted Red's Trading Post an injunction to continue their full operation. The ATF had maintained that Red's was a threat to public safety because of the minor violations which included paperwork errors that amounted to less that one percent. http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/05/breaking-news-reds-trading-post-granted.html --- From Indonesia, Via Qatar: Parliamentarians around the world should press for urgent action on gun control, particularly in view of recent tragedies, the head of a global body representing lawmakers said yesterday. Anders Johnsson, secretary general of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, was speaking after the launch of a handbook aimed at guiding legislators in the area of gun control... http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=146649&version=1&template_id=45&parent_id=25 --- Firearms As Ubiquitous As Chocolate And Edelweiss: Each September the hills around Zurich are alive - with the sound of gunfire. Nobody is alarmed, however, because they know it emanates from a bunch of teenagers doing what comes naturally to nearly every Swiss: sharp-shooting...The Swiss Parliament recently threw out a plan to tighten the gun law. Still, acting on the outrage over the recent shootings and the mounting pressure from left-wing groups, politicians vowed to reconsider the issue in June... http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1616393,00.html --- 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 May 1, 2007 by a vote of 37-18-5: http://tinyurl.com/3agnox SB 1629 cleared the full Senate on March 8th by a vote of 20-8-2. Because it was amended in the House, it must go back to the Senate for concurrence and a Final Read and vote before being sent to the Governor. 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 Senator to vote for this important bill, and send it on to the Governor. As amended by the House, SB 1629 reclassifies carrying a concealed weapon without a permit as a petty offense, unless the violation occurs in the commission or attempted commission of: 1. A "serious offense or violent crime" in which case the CCW offense is a class 6 felony, or 2. Any other felony, in which case it's a class 1 misdemeanor. Additionally, under the petty offense conviction, your weapon will not be forfeited. In a nutshell, if you're a bad guy carrying a concealed weapon, penalties have been stiffened. If you're an otherwise law-abiding citizen, it's a petty offense. Unfortunately, because of a pair of 1994 Appellate Court decisions: · There is no clear objective standard in statute that you can rely on to determine if you are breaking the law. · 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. The passage of SB 1629 will not be accomplished without serious support and activism from YOU! Please send a polite letter to all Senators urging that they vote for SB 1629. Below is a cut-and-paste letter you may use or modify. Subject: Vote FOR SB 1629 Dear Senator: The Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) has informed me that SB 1629 will soon be Final Read in the Senate before being sent to the Governor. There is solid bipartisan support for this bill. I urge you to vote for SB 1629. As passed by the House of Representatives, SB 1629 is a crime-fighting measure. The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) supports it. Under current law, it is a class 1 misdemeanor to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, regardless of the circumstances. SB 1629: 1. Expands the law to allow for arrests during the "attempted commission" of serious offenses or violent crimes. 2. Increases the penalty to a class 6 felony for carrying a concealed weapon while committing or attempting to commit a serious offense or violent crime. 3. Retains the class 1 misdemeanor for carrying a concealed weapon while committing or attempting to commit any other felony. For otherwise law-abiding citizens, the penalty is a petty offense. Over 98% of Arizona citizens do not have 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 increases the penalty for criminals carrying concealed without a permit. It even adds the "attempted commission" language to the law to assist law enforcement in arresting those criminals who are intent on committing a crime while carrying a weapon. It only reduces the penalty for otherwise law-abiding citizens attempting to comply with a statue clouded by court decisions. Again, I strongly urge you to vote FOR SB 1629. Sincerely, Your Name Street Address City, AZ zip-code (telephone number) Senate email addresses in comma format: paboud@azleg.gov, aaguirre@azleg.gov, callen@azleg.gov, marzberger@azleg.gov, tbee@azleg.gov, rblendu@azleg.gov, rburns@azleg.gov, mburtoncahill@azleg.gov, kcheuvront@azleg.gov, jflake@azleg.gov, jgarcia@azleg.gov, pgorman@azleg.gov, rgould@azleg.gov, cgray@azleg.gov, lgray@azleg.gov, ahale@azleg.gov, jharper@azleg.gov, jhuppenthal@azleg.gov, kjohnson@azleg.gov, llandrumtaylor@azleg.gov, bleff@azleg.gov, dmccunedavis@azleg.gov, rmiranda@azleg.gov, to'halleran@azleg.gov, cpesquiera@azleg.gov, rrios@azleg.gov, vsoltero@azleg.gov, jtibshraeny@azleg.gov, tverschoor@azleg.gov, jwaring@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 .