Prohibitionists Crow Over California Microstamping Bill: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill whose backers say will better help police use shells from hand guns as evidence in criminal investigations, a spokeswoman said on Sunday. The legislation marks a victory for gun-control activists and the second time Schwarzenegger signed one of their priority bills. In 2004 he approved a ban on private citizens owning .50 caliber rifles. Activists had called for the legislation, which requires new models of semiautomatic handguns sold in California to have internal parts that "microstamp" shell casings with codes that identify the guns when they are fired. Revolvers are exempt. (Pistols with polygonally rifled barrels, such as Glocks, HK's and most Kahrs, have no toolmarks to transfer to fired bullets; revolvers generally have cut groove-and-land rifling, which does. Microstamping will significantly increase manufacturing costs.) http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1426669020071014?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&rpc=22&sp=true http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20071014-9999-1n14bills.html http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/Schwarzenegger_bullets/2007/10/14/40794.html Related Commentary: http://blogwonks.com/2007/10/14/gun-control-is-not-where-crime-is-fought-california-microstamping-can-have-frightening-nationwide-repercussions/ http://thereadyline.blogspot.com/2007/10/gov-arnold-opens-floodgates-with.html http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/10/hamhanded_pro-g.html --- Tougher Gun Laws For New Jersey?: The crime prevention strategies announced by Gov. Jon Corzine and state Attorney General Anne Milgram this week may seem like a velvet-glove approach to the violence in our cities. But the iron fist is coming: Anne Milgram wants prison time for anyone caught with an illegal gun in New Jersey. "Our gun laws have to be tougher," she said. "To me, anybody caught with an illegal gun should go to jail, whether that gun is used in a crime or not." (How long does it currently take to get a permit simply to own a handgun in New Jersey?) http://blog.nj.com/njv_mark_diionno/2007/10/the_crime_prevention_strategie.html --- Connecticut Paper Criticizes Gun-Permit Delays: ...That said, legitimate gun owners who are only too willing to play by the rules should not be improperly inconvenienced when it's time for them to renew their permits. Many of these owners are experienced security professionals with clean records who need weapons for their livelihood. Unfortunately, the state police Special License and Firearms unit has fallen into a pattern of denying permit renewals to reputable owners and then delaying their appeal hearings before the state Board of Firearms Permit Examiners by more than a year. The backlog of requests for appeal hearings has risen to nearly 400 a year...But foot-dragging on gun permits for people who want to act responsibly is not the smartest way to fight terrorism or violent crime. http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-gunpermits.artoct15,0,2497771.story --- Oops, Wrong House: A 21-year-old man was critically wounded during an alleged robbery attempt Sunday, the most recent of a rash of similar incidents in which Jackson homeowners have used firearms to protect their property. About 5:30 a.m Sunday, Jerriod Peters of Jackson knocked on the door of a home in the 300 block of McKee Street with a gun in hand, police said..."The occupant of the home obtained a handgun and fired shots at the assailant," Jackson Police Department Sgt. Eric Smith said. "During the course of the invasion, multiple shots were fired by both the occupant and alleged armed robber." Peters was shot multiple times and taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He was listed in critical condition on Sunday night. http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071015/NEWS/710150335/1001/news --- Oops, Wrong Machine Shop: For the second time in three weeks, the owner of a machine shop fatally shot an intruder who had broken into his business, police said. James Walton fired a shotgun Sunday at a man inside Able Walton Machine & Welding, police said. Walton, who lives upstairs from the shop, was alerted to the intruder's presence by a motion sensor system. "He's got a right to defend his property," Dallas police Sgt. Gene Reyes said. "What gives a stranger the right to go in and vandalize or burglarize his business? He's within every legal right to do this." http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5213983.html --- Women Become More Comfortable With Firearms: They're called girls with guns, women with weapons, females with firearm, babes with bullets and there are probably others. But whatever the alliterative phrase, it's a case of what is usually thought of as the gentle gender and a developing relationship with packing hardware. Sandy Froman is woman who might be called slight in stature. Despite her diminutive size, beach bullies don't kick sand in her face because the former president of the National Rifle Association (NRA) carries a gun with her whenever legally allowed to do so. http://www.azbiz.com/articles/2007/10/12/community_lifestyle/doc470faf7f1176f099605978.txt --- Second Amendment Not Just For Conservatives: Law professor Jonathon Turley is lamenting the idea that the NRA is right when it comes to the Second Amendment. But Professor, I'm here to tell you, that's no reason to be sad. Jonathon Turley says coming to this conclusion is hard for "someone raised to believe that the Second Amendment was the dividing line between the enlightenment and the dark ages of American culture." ...Professor Turley may be worried that his recognition of the right to keep and bear arms might get him blackballed from the liberal community, but I don't think he has anything to worry about. From people like Laurence Tribe to the gun blog Pro-Gun Progressive, there are plenty of people on the left who understand the Second Amendment is for them as well. There aren't as many as I'd like, but that's changing every day. http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=318 --- Change The Culture: Maybe the NRA was right. The gun owners' group has been vilified for years by urban leaders and liberal policymakers for its slogan, "Guns don't kill people, people do." ...Toughening gun laws might be part of the solution. But so, too, is confronting the gang and gun culture that has glorified violence and has a firm foothold in neighborhoods where the mayhem is centered. When most teens in those neighborhoods know someone who has carried a gun or who has been shot by one, social norms are out of kilter to a point that only a new kind of culture war can reverse. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/10/14/changing_culture_not_just_tactics_on_guns/ --- One More Brit Bemoans American RKBA: ...Guns, and the violence their possessors inflict, have never been more prevalent in America. Gun crime has risen steeply over the past three years. Despite the fact groups such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) consistently claim they are being victimised, there have probably never been so many guns or gun-owners in America - although no one can be sure, as no one keeps a reliable account. One federal study estimated there were 215 million guns, with about half of all US households owning one. Such a staggering number makes America's gun culture thoroughly mainstream... http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2190804,00.html -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .