Sen. Warner Seeks Revival Of NICS Improvement Act: Sen. John W. Warner today urged Senate leaders to bring up for debate on the Senate floor a bill passed by the House and spurred by the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech...Both the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the National Rifle Association support the legislation. Family members of some of the Virginia Tech victims came to Washington this week to press Congress to take action; one senator's objections have helped stall the bill in the Senate. (HR 2640 has been dubbed "Veterans Disarmament Act" by GOA and is opposed by many veterans' groups as well.) http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2007-10-19-0245.html Related Article: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1007/6351.html Related Commentary, With An Illinois Twist: http://armedandsafe.blogspot.com/2007/10/vietnam-veteran-subjected-to-outrageous.html --- CCRKBA Supports Empty-Holster Protest: The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today endorsed the upcoming Oct. 22-26 "National Collegiate Empty Holster Protest" being sponsored by Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a grassroots organization that formed in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy last April. CCRKBA Executive Director Mark A. Taff met with Michael Flitcraft, an SCCC chapter leader at the University of Cincinnati during the recent Gun Rights Policy Conference. The fledgling student organization is a non-partisan group that believes legally-licensed students and instructors should be able to carry defensive handguns on campus, providing another layer of defense against the rare, but deadly occurrence of a campus shooting. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,202563.shtml --- John Lott On Gun-Free School Zones: ...More importantly, there is a lot of experience with permitted concealed handguns on school property. Prior to the end of 1995 when the Federal Safe School Zone Act was passed, states with concealed handgun permits allowed permit holders to carry guns on school property. Many of these states allowed this practice for many decades. Even since 1995, Oregon, New Hampshire, and Utah have let permit holders carry guns anywhere at school. Many other states enacted limits such as allowing a gun only in the school parking lot or only when someone is going to pick up a student. Yet, with all this experience there is not a single example of an accidental gun shot or any improper use of a permitted concealed handgun on elementary, middle, or high school property. http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=101907B --- Virginia High-School Students Head To Range To Learn Safety: ...The 35 students were at the range for a field trip offered as part of a 10th grade physical education course that focuses on individual and dual sports. The optional trip provides the students with a taste of the reality of guns. It includes instruction on safety and history, and also provides students a chance to shoot a variety of handguns, rifles and shotguns...Shooting and gun safety instruction is included in the curriculum at the other Roanoke County high schools, too. On Wednesday, students from William Byrd were at the range. The club hosts nine such training sessions in a typical year. http://www.roanoke.com/outdoors/wb/135454 --- Meanwhile, In Texas...: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced it's trying to start a pilot program similar to the Archery in Schools initiative, the new program entitled Clay Sports in Schools. The pilot is designed to introduce 6th through 12th grade level youth to competitive shotgun clay target shooting through the Wildlife Management and Recreation curriculum in the Agricultural Science program in high schools. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/tomball/sports/5212971.html --- Rule Two, Rule Three Reminder: An off-duty Rosenberg (TX) police officer was wounded in the ankle this morning when her pistol accidentally discharged. Sugar Land Police spokesman Doug Adolph said the officer who was off duty and in civilian clothes shot herself as she sat in her car. The incident occurred about 9:25 a.m. in a shopping center parking lot in the 16000 block of the Southwest Freeway. (Rule Two: Don't let the muzzle cross anything you're not prepared to shoot. 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://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/5217890.html --- Hunting Benefits Animals, Vegetarians: ...With hunting season starting in various parts of the country, it may be time to acknowledge what vegetarians, as well as hunted animals, owe to hunters. Deer, rabbits, and various rodents cause extensive crop damage. Not killing those animals would raise the total expenditures on vegetables for the average American by some $500 more per year. Vegetarians, who consume even more vegetables, would presumably have to pay even more. Are vegetarians and members of PETA willing to pay that higher price to prevent such animal "cruelty"? http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NGYzZjdjNzJiYWQwMWFkYmMyNTA1MzY1ZjFlMDAyODQ= --- NRA-ILA Alerts: Alerts for the various states are posted on the NRA-ILA website. http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/State/ --- No RKBA? Try Hiding: On a narrow Tokyo street, near a beef bowl restaurant and a pachinko parlor, Aya Tsukioka demonstrated new clothing designs that she hopes will ease Japan's growing fears of crime. Deftly, Ms. Tsukioka, a 29-year-old experimental fashion designer, lifted a flap on her skirt to reveal a large sheet of cloth printed in bright red with a soft drink logo partly visible. By holding the sheet open and stepping to the side of the road, she showed how a woman walking alone could elude pursuers - by disguising herself as a vending machine. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/20/world/asia/20japan.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .