While We Await The Heller Decision: ...You as a citizen would find it impossible or nearly impossible to sue your local government if you suffered harm because a police officer was not readily available to protect you from, let's say, a mugger. If that is true, then how can that same government, the one that owes you little by way of duty of care, strip you of your right to protect yourself, your loved ones or your property? This is an important question since historical data shows criminals do not choose to obey gun laws or gun bans. It is interesting to note that USA Today has been conducting an online poll with its readers, asking them if the Second Amendment gives individuals the right to bear arms. A startling 97 percent of the respondents say yes. The number is significant in that at last count nearly 610,000 people had participated... http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008801240301 --- Militia - Arms Within Easy Reach: ...What is Militia appears throughout the writings of the Founders who show their work, you might way, on how they arrived at what they finally ratified. This is where you find the proof of what they really wanted for us. If you think Bill Clinton loathed the military, you ought to read how the Founders loathed a standing army as nothing more than a centralization of power, and they weren't going to return to what they had just defeated. Militia in the minds of the Founders - which is Original Intent - never meant Military. It, therefore, by law, cannot mean Military today. Instead, when they wrote which would be the law of the land in the new nation and forever, was that the Citizen is Supreme Authority. Never again would people be subject to abuses of power. At the time, Militia was every able-bodied person. What we know as the National Guard [in regard to that at-issue point of state militia] was not even created until 130 years later, so twice we know they didn't mean the Military... http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/5024 --- Justifying Second-Class Status For The Second Amendment: ...The administration's attempt to steer a middle course stems from the fact that the solicitor general has conflicting interests in the case. Ever since Ashcroft's letter, the department has had a philosophical commitment to the individual rights conception of the amendment. Yet Congress has also passed many gun laws, which Clement is bound to defend. He cannot in good conscience urge on the court a standard of review which risks orphaning those laws. Clement has to somehow frame an individual rights conception of the amendment that still permits the ban on machine guns, the Brady handgun law, and restrictions on felons owning firearms. That's by no means impossible under the lower court's ruling, but getting the Supreme Court to adopt a more lenient standard of review would give federal gun laws a bit more breathing space... http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=9cb74240-9ce3-4f88-923b-df45c4a793bd --- Legal CCW In Illinois?: Carrying a concealed firearm would be legal in Illinois under legislation state Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, has proposed. Schock, a congressional candidate, recently introduced the Family and Personal Protection Act, which would require individuals to complete a training course in handgun use, safety and marksmanship before they could receive a permit to carry a concealed firearm in the state...Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said there is little chance Schock's legislation would be called for a vote. Brown said that if Schock has any "innovative ideas" that would make the bill appeal to lawmakers who oppose concealed-carry laws, it might advance. Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, said he supports Schock's proposal but "would be surprised if it sees the light of day." http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/24027.asp On The Other Hand...: A proposed Cook County ordinance that would effectively put several gun shops out of business has enraged gun enthusiasts, but many political observers doubt it will garner the necessary votes to pass. Commissioner Larry Suffredin, an Evanston Democrat running for state's attorney, has proposed banning gun shows and severely limiting gun shop permits...He said the measure would put out of business a South suburban shop whose guns have wound up being used in thousands of crimes. But he concedes it also would put out of business at least 10 other gun shops with better records. In the past, Suffredin has enacted county ordinances banning assault weapons, and he says he has eight votes for this one, needing just one more to pass it. http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=120889&src=1 --- Arizona Bill Would Legalize Campus CCW: Two Mesa lawmakers are crafting legislation to give teachers and some students a chance to shoot back if they're fired upon. The proposals by Sen. Karen Johnson and Rep. Russell Pearce would allow anyone who has obtained a state permit to carry a concealed weapon to bring it onto the campus of public schools, which is now a crime under state law. And it also would overrule similar policies at community colleges and state universities. (Open carry does not require a permit in Arizona) http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2008/01/25/news/state/20080125_arizona_news_40.txt --- Nebraska Could Mandate Trigger Locks: Less than two months since Omaha's Von Maur shooting, a plan for more gun control in Nebraska is being targeted by the National Rifle Association. The NRA is urging its members to fight a bill in the legislature that calls for, among other things, mandatory trigger locks. The NRA is convinced this latest gun control plan would have a "drastic effect" on law-abiding gun owners...The trigger locks would be required on any gun, rifle, or assault weapon. In addition once gun owners know a weapon is lost or stolen, they'd have 48 hours to report it. Finally no one found mentally ill in the last 10 years could buy a gun. (Trigger locks Violate Rule Three by being placid inside the tirgger guard. Further, some guns can actually be fired by twisting the trigger lock.) http://action3news.com/Global/story.asp?S=7769724 --- New York County Offers Bounties To Gun Snitches: Westchester County officials today announced a new reward program designed to get illegal guns off the streets. Starting this week, the county will offer bounties of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of people carrying illegal handguns. It will advertise the program on TV and radio, on county buses and on posters and fliers distributed throughout the county. It will also promote the initiative online on Craigslist. (The problem with this is that most law-abiding citizens cannot legally own and carry handguns in most of New York.) http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008801230409 --- Virginia State Senator Insults Gun Owners: A Bristol Virginia man sparked a statewide political reaction after he said he heard the state Senate's majority leader insult rural gun owners while standing in a public elevator. "He turns to his companion and says, 'You can tell we're debating a gun bill today. Half the cast of "Deliverance" is in town,' " said John Pierce, a local gun-rights activist who was in Richmond to lobby the General Assembly against a bill to close the so-called gun-show loophole..."Deliverance" is a 1972 film based on the novel by James Dickey in which Atlanta businessmen encountered a backwoods Appalachian culture on a canoe trip in the north Georgia mountains, where rape and murder ensue. Sen. Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, did not return calls seeking comment Thursday. http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/news/education.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2008-01-25-0006.html --- Prohibitionist Stallone Endorses McCain: ...If he hopes this will duplicate the popularity that Mike Huckabee has received from Chuck Norris' endorsement He needs to realize that not all action stars are the same. Whereas Chuck Norris is a supporter of the Second Amendment, here is what Stallone has to say about it: "It [2nd Amendment] has to be stopped, and someone really has to go on the line, a certain dauntless political figure, and say, 'It's ending, it's over, all bets are off. It's not 200 years ago, we don't need this anymore, and the rest of the world doesn't have it. Why should we?" ...Another anti-gun action star Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to endorse either McCain, Guiliani or Bloomberg. http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2008/01/anti-gun-sylvester-stallone-endorses.html --- Oops, Wrong City: Memphis Police say two burglars were shot in two separate robbery attempts and one of the crooks is dead. The first robbery attempt happened on East Peebles in South Memphis just before Midnight, Wednesday, January 23, 2008. Investigators say two burglars rammed a car through the Hall Feed and Supply Store. The business owner was in the store at the time and shot one of the crooks, police say...Investigators say the first (sic) robbery attempt happened on North Avalon Street near Jackson Avenue, around 2:00 a.m., Thursday, January 24th. The homeowner told police that he and his wife woke up when they heard a prowler in the garage. Police say the man took his gun and went to checkout the noise when he discovered the robber. According to investigators, the intruder was shot during a confrontation with the homeowner. The homeowner told police that he had no choice, but to shoot the burglar. Police say when they arrived on the scene the robber was dead. http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=c81c2a30-47c9-4c0b-988c-f65beae56503 Related Article: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jan/24/2-burglars-shot-overnight/ --- Firearm Aphorisms: Always practice your response when asked why you carry a gun or what you think of gun control. Through the years several writers and enthusiasts have written great sound bites you can use. Gun people love to exchange gun-related effective statements that are funny, cut to the heart of gun control's evil, promote freedom and defense, or all of the above. (During Jeff Cooper's rule at Gunsite it was popular to deride the 9mm. With modern ammunition developments there is little that other handgun ammo will do that the 9mm won't and the 9mm may be easier to handle under extreme conditions, such as when you gotten a sub-optimal grip on the gun with only one hand.) http://www.lewrockwell.com/perry/perry39.html --- Two Tales Of Penetration: ...The entire affair, of course, was very much tongue in cheek. Taylor had been awakened in the early morning hours of Dec. 17, 2007, when an intruder broke into his home. He investigated the noises with one of his many weapons in hand. When the intruder threatened him with a knife, Taylor warned him, then brought his .22 caliber pistol to bear and shot him right between the eyes. "That boy had the hardest head I've ever seen," Taylor said after his trial. "The bullet bounced right off." The impact knocked the would-be thief down momentarily. He crawled out of the room then got up and ran out the door and down the street. Knoxville police apprehended him a few blocks away and he now awaits trial in the Knox County jail. (While there is room to argue whether the sub-caliber shot might better have been aimed at one of the eye sockets, years of Special Forces training appears to have placed the shot exactly where Taylor wanted it to go.) http://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/01/sufficient-calibers.html A U.S. Border Patrol agent questioning the occupants of a pickup truck clung to the passenger door and shot and wounded its driver Thursday as the man attempted to leave the scene, authorities said...As the agent stood on the passenger side of the truck, the driver attempted to drive off, with the agent trapped somehow by the vehicle's door, Capas said. The agent fired a single shot prior to falling off of the door, which struck the driver one time in the leg," Capas said. (While details are lacking, it sounds as though the round was fired through the door. When the USBP transitioned to autoloading pistols a specific decision was made to use 155 gr. .40 S&W hollowpoints in order to deliver energy comparable to their earlier 110 gr. .357 Magnums after penetrating windshields or pickup tailgates. This was based on a threat analysis that may or may not be valid for any individual private citizen.) http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/75096.php -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .