San Francisco Handgun Ban Overturned: San Francisco's ban on handguns, blocked by a legal challenge since voters approved it in November 2005, suffered a possibly fatal blow Wednesday when a state appeals court ruled that local governments have no authority under California law to prevent people from owning pistols. The First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco agreed with a June 2006 ruling by Superior Court Judge James Warren, who said state laws regulating gun sales, permits and safety leave no room for a city or county to forbid handgun possession. (This news was conspicuously absent from the Los Angeles Times.) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/10/BAQIUC21G.DTL http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=5880723 SAF Comments: In a unanimous decision today, the California Court of Appeals ruled that the City of San Francisco's handgun ban is illegal under state law, upholding a lawsuit filed by the Second Amendment Foundation and several other groups. "This is a great day for gun owners and civil rights in California," said SAF Founder Alan M. Gottlieb. "This is the second time we successfully fought a gun ban in San Francisco, and what this demonstrates is that the city's leadership is as horribly out of touch with the law as it seems to be out of touch with reality." SAF was joined in the lawsuit by the National Rifle Association, Law Enforcement Alliance of America, California Association of Firearms Retailers and several private citizens. http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-09-2008/0004733880&EDATE= --- Straw Purchase, Final Hope Of Prohibitionists: Since 1987 when Florida passed the now landmark concealed carry law, each of the anti-gun movements sacred cows has been destroyed. One by one, the falsified statistics and claims of blood running in the street proved to be untrue, leading the tide of public opinion to turn slowly against the anti-gun movement... The new holy grail of gun control as determined by its latest self-appointed leader, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is the straw purchase. Bloomberg contends that most guns used in crimes are legally purchased by people who can buy guns, and then sold or given directly to criminals. By implying that gun shops don't do enough to stop straw purchases, Bloomberg tries to convince people that there needs to be more regulation on the sale of guns... http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article4129.html --- Wishful Thinking?: Is America, land of shooting massacres in schools and public places, slowly falling out of love with guns? The answer is yes, and it runs counter to popular perceptions of the United States as a country where most citizens are armed to the teeth and believe it is every American's inalienable right to buy an AK 47-style assault rifle with the minimum of bureaucratic paperwork. But in fact, gun ownership in the United States has been declining steadily over more than three decades, relegating gun owners to minority status. At the same time, support for stricter gun controls has been growing steadily and those in favor make up a majority. http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersComService4/idUSL099229120080109?sp=true --- NBA, NFL Go Anti-Gun: Last year, Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor got out of bed upon hearing intruders entering his home. The house was situated in a wealthy, gated community on the outskirts of Miami. It was the middle of the night. To protect himself, his girlfriend, and their young child, Taylor grabbed a machete he kept nearby and crept to his bedroom door. So Taylor, in fear, and concerned for the safety of his family, armed himself with a large knife used to hack away at jungle foliage. The intruder shot and killed him. Many have asked why Taylor felt it necessary to have a machete nearby, but it's probably worth asking (as his friends and peers in professional sports certainly are), "What if it had been a gun?" Certainly, the outcome may have been different... http://www.reason.com/news/show/124272.html --- BATFE Targets Guns, Drugs: Federal agents and police fanned out over Prince William County one July day in 2006, arresting suspects and seizing firearms in a high-profile crackdown on gun and drug trafficking. Since then, 109 people have been charged and nearly 100 convicted in federal and state courts in what has become one of the largest law enforcement efforts against guns and narcotics not only in Northern Virginia but throughout the Washington region, officials said last week... ATF agents made dozens of undercover firearms and narcotics buys in the Route 1 area and then worked to identify the suppliers, who were traced to as far away as New York and Atlanta, Campbell said. (I thought "illegal guns" in New York came up from the South, where gun laws are "lax.") http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/08/AR2008010805508.html --- Lead-Bullet Ban Could Hit Arizona: On Friday, January 18, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission (AZGFC) will be holding a public meeting to discuss issues concerning gun owners and hunters. Of greatest interest are briefings on shooting range funding and development (Item #3) as well as general issues associated with lead from spent ammunition (Item #10). Since last year, when California passed its unjustified ban on lead ammunition for all hunting in condor range, the NRA has been keeping a close eye on the same issue in Arizona. The Grand Canyon State has an experimental population of condors and some extremists in Arizona are advocating for a California-style ban! While the Commission agenda does not specifically mention a potential ban in Item #10, gun owners and hunters must be vigilant to ensure that this bad public policy does not spread! http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=3343 --- Smith & Wesson Stock Rises: Shares of Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. rose Wednesday after Susquehanna Financial initiated coverage on the handgun maker with a positive rating, saying new products and the potential for an Army contract could boost the company's top line. Smith & Wesson recently launched a line of bolt-action rifles, which, in addition to a new line of hunting rifles, have already been covered by 11 industry magazines, Susquehanna told clients... Another major potential boost to the company's top line could come if the U.S. military makes good on a plan to switch to .45 caliber pistols from the current .40 caliber. (I don't think I'll take investment advice from Susquehanna if they think that the current US military handgun is chambered in .40 caliber. The Coast Guard uses .40's but they're part of DHS.) http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-22140148.htm --- Oops, Wrong House: For the second time in a week, sheriff's detectives have responded to home invasion reports that ended with a shootout in one case and a death in another. In the most recent incident, Geoffrey Green told deputies that he and five other people were playing cards in the kitchen of a Summerfield home early Tuesday. Green said three men barged in and demanded they put their hands in the air and get on the floor... One of the men reportedly went into the bedroom of Kenneth Green, Geoffrey Green's father. Kenneth Green told deputies he heard the gunshot and the commotion in the house. He said he grabbed his rifle and waited behind his bed. The weapon is a WASR-10 semi-automatic assault rifle that fires 7.62x39mm ammunition. According to the AK-47 Web site, the rifle is nearly identical to the SAR-1 Romanian AK. Officials said the man who opened the door reportedly told his accomplices, "Let's get the [expletive] out of here!" once he saw Green with the rifle... http://www.ocala.com/article/20080109/NEWS/801090346/1001/NEWS01 --- Italian Man May Be Charged In Death Of Burglar: Diego Caioli, the 30 year-old AMA employee who yesterday night attacked one of the burglars who broke into his house in Via Casal Morena, killing previous offender Franco Frere', aged 58, is now under investigation for murder, albeit out on bail... Caioli, who runs a solarium in the Centocelle district, was attacked by the burglars when he got home. They pointed the gun at him and tied him up, along with his woman. However, he then took advantage of Frere's distraction as he had opened the safe to grab 10,000 euro (the other burglar had fled in the meantime) and attacked him, then the brawl ended tragically... http://www.agi.it/italy/news/200801081736-cro-ren0083-art.html --- From CCRKBA: Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine has fallen back on one of the oldest, and most shoddy, tactics in the gun grabber playbook by using the Virginia Tech tragedy to launch an attack on gun shows, when the crime had nothing to do with gun shows, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today. "Neither of the guns used by Virginia Tech killer Seung-Hui Cho was purchased at a gun show," noted CCRKBA Legislative Liaison Joe Waldron. "Attacking some mythical 'gun show loophole' will do nothing to prevent criminals from getting their hands on guns illegally, because it has been shown statistically that criminals rarely get firearms at such shows." http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-09-2008/0004733933&EDATE= --- From AzCDL: An AzCDL requested bill, SB 1070, has been filed by Senator Chuck Gray. SB 1070 proposes changes to ARS 13-3112 regarding the process for obtaining concealed weapons permits that: · Provides that if an applicant has ever satisfactorily completed the required firearms safety training, they have met the training requirement for a permit. Current law (ARS 13-3112.E.6) does not place any time limit on when a person must complete training. However, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) has established arbitrary dates for training validation. In 2007, DPS stated that training must occur within 12 months of an application (Administrative Rule R13-9-202.2.a). Prior to 2007, DPS set this period to be only 6 months. Once a person has obtained a permit, the initial training is good as long as a permit holder submits timely renewals (ARS 13-3112.L). The proposed language recognizes that the training has no expiration date, and aligns the initial permit requirements with the permit renewal requirements. · Removes the restriction that instructors must create, or be part of, a training organization (ARS 13-3112.O). This eliminates an artificial restriction on instructors, and should result in an increase in available training. · Codifies DPS Administrative Rule R13-9-307 that National Rifle Association (NRA) certified instructors meet the eligibility requirements for DPS certification. It allows that training can be conducted by NRA certified pistol or personal protection instructors as well as DPS certified instructors (ARS 13-3112.O.4). Now comes YOUR part - Take the time to thank the co-sponsors with a little note. Below is a cut-and-paste letter along with email address lists in both semi-colon and comma separations (depending on your email software). It's important that the co-sponsors hear from YOU. It affects their support for these bills and others they might be asked to support in the future. Please take the time to send them a polite note of thanks, or use the following message: To: (semi-colon separations) cgray@azleg.gov; lgray@azleg.gov; To: (comma separations) cgray@azleg.gov, lgray@azleg.gov Subject: SB 1070 Senator: The Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) has informed me that you are a sponsor of SB 1070; reforming Arizona's concealed weapons (CCW) permit process. This bill is very important to me and I look forward to its passage. Thank you for sponsoring SB 1070. Sincerely, Your Name Street Address City, State & zip-code Telephone Number Stay tuned! As relevant legislation is introduced, we will keep you up to date via these Alerts: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AZCDL_Alerts/ (Feel free to share them with other pro-rights activists) 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 © 2008 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved. (For the first year since I have been back in Arizona, DPS does not appear to be scheduling courses for those seeking to become approved instructors nor continuing education for those, such as myself, who are already approved. My best guess is that this is a budgetary issue but, in light of the fact that the appliation rate doubled after mandated training for the CWP was reduced from 16 to eight hours, it does not seem appropriate to limit the number of sources for that training.) -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .