Virginia Citizens Defense League Scores Victory For Service Members: You may recall that Judge Pugh of the Newport News Circuit Court was not issuing CHPs to members of the military stationed in Newport News unless they met with him personally and offered proof that they planned on staying in Virginia when their term in the military was over...The Court of Appeals, after giving the Judge some basic English lessons (I can just picture the Court of Appeals rolling its collective eyes), ordered Judge Pugh to cease denying permits to the military stationed in his jurisdiction solely because they are not permanent residents! http://www2.vcdl.org/webapps/vcdl/vadetail.html?RECID=1236321 --- Senate Hearing Scheduled For Ohio Castle-Doctrine Bill: Senate Bill 184, Ohio's Castle Doctrine bill, has been added to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Criminal Justice's agenda for Sponsor-only testimony on October 17 at 10:15 a.m. in the Senate Building's North Hearing Room. The purpose for Wednesday's hearing is so that the committee may hear testimony on SB184 from its primary sponsor, Sen. Steve Buehrer. Sen. Buehrer will no doubt enjoy having a full hearing room to speak to, so if your schedule allows, please consider making the trip to Columbus to support SB184 and its sponsor, Sen. Steve Buehrer. Filling these hearing rooms as this legislation moves forward will make a serious statement of support. http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article3994.html --- Important California Bills Still Unsigned: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is currently considering three important pieces of firearm-related legislation. Assembly Bill 1471 mandates that the manufacture, sale, and transfer of handguns that do not imprint their identifying information on a cartridge case upon firing would be a crime. Assembly Bill 821 would ban the use of lead ammunition for hunting in various hunting zones around the state that contain California condors. Also on the governor's desk is Assembly Bill 1645 which will protect law-abiding gun owners during a declared state of emergency from the seizure or confiscation of any lawfully carried or possessed firearm or ammunition. Please contact the governor and respectfully urge him to veto AB1471 and AB821. Also remind him to protect your Second Amendment rights during a state of emergency by signing AB1645. Governor Schwarzenegger can be reached by phone at (916) 445-2841, fax at (916) 445-4633, or visit http://gov.ca.gov/interact#email to send him an email. --- Connecticut Gun Board Halts Hearings: The Board of Firearms Permit Examiners refused to hear any gun permit cases at its regular meeting Thursday, saying a lawsuit brought against the state police by one of its own board members may constitute a conflict of interest. M. Peter Kuck, a member of the board, recently filed a federal lawsuit against the state police, claiming that his gun permit was not renewed in a timely manner and that he and others have had an average delay of 17 to 20 months to wait for a hearing... Kuck says the state police firearms unit has abused its authority by punishing gun owners with long delays and making policies that have no basis in law. Kuck's claims are echoed by James Goldberg of Glastonbury, who also plans to file a lawsuit over the long delay to get his gun permit back. Goldberg's permit was revoked after he was charged with breach of peace when a restaurant employee called police after seeing his gun under his shirt. The charges were dropped in court. http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ctcspguns1012.artoct12,0,4900446.story Related Commentary: http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/10/right-to-bear-arms-placed-on.html --- Good Commentary On Oregon Teacher's CCW Lawsuit: ... Unfortunately, Wednesday's school shooting in Cleveland, Ohio, emphasizes the foolish perils of gun-free zones and wishful thinking. Equipped with metal detectors and an armed security guard, Success Tech Academy still failed to prevent a fourteen-year-old juvenile delinquent from entering the school prepared to kill defenseless people. Imagine the horror that a determined adult or worse a well-trained terrorist could have inflicted. Thanks to a miracle - not wishful thinking - all the wounded victims in Ohio are still alive... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/LeeCulpepper/2007/10/12/showdown_at_tombstone_high --- Rape Victim Speaks Out: ... Kathy Smith knows she's not a typical rape victim. She's soft-spoken, but she has a bold message. "I don't want to ever let myself be in that position again," said Smith. "The only one who can really protect me, is me."... But Smith has not been silent. She's now applying for her license to carry a concealed handgun, and she encourages others do the same. "If someone were to break into my home again, they wouldn't find someone pulling the covers up and screaming. They would find a gun pointed at them," said Smith. Smith says she knows the serial rapist could strike again. She wants to warn other women not to let their guard down. http://cbs11tv.com/topstories/local_story_284221117.html --- Right To Carry?: ... But wait another minute - are there not myriad laws in this country that apply to the manufacture, sale, purchase, possession, storage, and bearing of arms? Do we not, as gun rights activists, call it a "victory" every time we manage to successfully persuade another state to allow us the privilege of paying for a license to bear arms (a rather conditional license, at that - subject to further restrictions)? Do we not pat ourselves on the back every time a state throws us a bone and loosens the restrictions on the exercise of this fundamental right? http://armedandsafe.blogspot.com/2007/10/have-to-shut-down-blog.html --- Why No Outrage Over This Incident?: ...This seems, at first glance, rather surprising. As Mr. Hardy points out, the Brady Campaign, for example, has been quick to jump on shootings in which the death toll was significantly smaller. The fact that the killings in Wisconsin were committed with an AR-15 (the dreaded, so-called "assault weapon") makes the silence all the more deafening - the push to ban "assault weapons" is the Violence Policy Center's bread and butter, I thought (didn't their founder and executive director, Josh Sugarmann, invent the "assault weapon" terminology?). http://armedandsafe.blogspot.com/2007/10/i-guess-expressing-outrage-over-this.html --- F Troop Exaggerated Arrest Figures: Results of a recent gang sweep in the Spokane-area were greatly exaggerated, officials acknowledged Thursday. And for nearly two weeks they have resisted efforts to set the record straight... But the reality is, about 35 people were booked into Spokane County Jail during the three-day operation. Some of them have had no gang affiliation, and all but 10 have been released from jail... Only one gun was seized. http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=11922 --- Officer Struck By Ricochet In Cleaning Area: A Grand Island police officer is recovering after being shot during a training exercise at the state's law enforcement training center. Grand Island Police Chief Steve Lamken says the Tuesday afternoon accident happened as his department was finishing up firearms training. Lamken says an officer was preparing to clean his gun when it discharged, ricocheting off a counter top and hitting another officer in the chest. (This sounds suspiciously like another one of those incidents with a pistol that requires that the trigger be pressed in order to remove the slide from the receiver. Check the chamber by sight and feel!) http://www.action3news.com/Global/story.asp?S=7194400&nav=menu550_2 --- Is Something Rotten In The State Of Pennsylvania?: Pennsylvania authorities have been patting themselves on the back for interrupting a Columbine-style attack at a local high school by a youth who had amassed an "arsenal." One list member notes a few discrepancies in the reports, including the fact that "arsenal" consisted of mostly Airsoft, i.e., airguns that shoot plastic pellets. http://blogostuff.blogspot.com/2007/10/pa-school-massacre-plot-or-not.html Related Article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071012/ap_on_re_us/student_arsenal --- I Wanna Be In Pictures?: A Fort Bend County (TX) homeowner fought back when he found burglars in his home. "You know there's something about when you hear a pump shotgun click," said Nathaniel Brooks. "It makes everybody think twice... And I walked out of the house and I went around and confronted those guys on the side of the house," he said. "So, I aimed at him and said, 'You sneeze, you're dead man.' And I called the other guy out of the garage. "I watch a lot of movies it sounded like a good thing to say. It got his attention." (Longer-term list members will recall the concept of programming "tape loops" for confrontations; it's generally wiser not to look to movies for the commands you will issue under stress.) http://www.khou.com/news/local/crime/stories/khou071011_tj_cincopark.16021f83f.htm --- Oklahoma Officers Fired In Shooting Death Of Child: All three officers involved in the accidental shooting death of a 5-year-old boy were fired late last week for "just cause," the city manager said Tuesday... The three were fired because of their actions or inactions when they responded to an animal control call that led to one officer shooting at a snake in a birdhouse. A bullet from the gun struck and killed 5-year-old Austin Haley, who was fishing at a pond with family members. (One of the hardest lessons for me to impress upon my students is that up is generally not a safe direction for the muzzle.) http://www.normantranscript.com/localnews/local_story_282235051.html --- Why I Stopped Flying: In June 2000, I completed a four-leg round trip on which five flights were cancelled. Uncertainty about the whereabouts of my luggage, containing two handguns, made me realize that I had reached a point in my life where, if I can't get there driving and can't remain legally armed in the process, I probably don't need to go there. Theft of and from luggage has since increased. If you only read part of the linked series, click the tab for "Theft Investigation." http://www.kirotv.com/airports/index.html --- NRA-ILA Alerts: Alerts for the various states are posted on the NRA-ILA website. http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/State/ -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .