Lies, Damned Lies And Statistics: After Virginia closed a loophole that allowed Seung-Hui Cho to purchase his weapons of mass murder, the hope was that more people with mental health problems like Cho's would be barred from buying guns. That hasn't happened. In fact, the number of gun transactions blocked for mental health reasons has decreased slightly since Gov. Tim Kaine signed an executive order requiring all people who receive court-ordered mental health treatment to be included in a database used to screen potential gun buyers. http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/148429 --- Indiana City Rejects Ban On New Gun Shops: The Goshen City Council collectively made the right decision Tuesday. In a 6-1 vote, the council rejected the city Plan Commission's recommendation that no more gun stores be allowed in the downtown area. The existing store on Third Street would have been "grandfathered" and allowed to remain. A ban would have carried the implication that gun shops are somehow nefarious, and that their clientele are undesirable in a thriving commercial area. The News takes exception to that notion. http://www.goshennews.com/editorials/local_story_025224902.html?keyword=topstory --- Volunteer Hunters To Cull New Jersey Deer Herd: Sharpshooters will take to the trees next week in northern New Jersey's South Mountain Reservation to deal with a problem that has become the scourge of many suburban communities: too many deer. Proponents of the 10-day hunt say the number of white-tailed deer must be reduced because they destroy vegetation, pose a hazard for motorists and spread Lyme disease, which is carried by ticks on the deer. http://www.azstarnet.com/news/222376 --- NRA-ILA Alerts: This weeks alerts are posted on the NRA-ILA website. http://www.nraila.org/GrassrootsAlerts/read.aspx --- From GOA: The Bush administration has continued veering toward gun control. You know it is bad when The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence salutes the administration's support for gun control. Why would anti-gunners praise the Bush administration? For one, signing the first gun control legislation in over a decade, the Veterans Disarmament Act (H.R. 2640). For another, the very anti-gun brief the Solicitor General (the Justice Department's lawyer) filed in the DC gun ban case, D.C. v. Heller. As you know, Rep. Virgil Goode is rounding up other members of the U.S. House of Representatives to join with him on his letter to the President asking him to withdraw that brief...It would be very helpful if you - and as many gun owners as you can recruit to help - would call the NRA and urge them to publicly encourage members of Congress to join with Rep. Goode by signing his letter to the White House. The toll-free number to call at the NRA is 800-392-8683. To maximize your effort, please call rather than e-mail. http://www.gunowners.org/a012508.htm --- From AzCDL: An AzCDL requested bill, SB 1214, has been filed by Senator Karen Johnson, along with 9 co-sponsors. http://www.azleg.gov/DocumentsForBill.asp?Bill_Number=SB1214 SB 1214 proposes changes to ARS 13-3102 to allow adults with Concealed Weapons (CCW) permits to carry concealed firearms on school campuses, including colleges and universities. Federal law (20 USC § 922(q)(2)(B)(ii)) already allows CCW permit holders to possess firearms on school property. The media has launched an assault on this bill: http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/222126.php http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/107354 Every person reading this Alert needs to let the sponsors know you support SB 1214. It's important that the co-sponsors hear from YOU. It affects their support for SB 1214 and other bills they might be asked to support in the future. Please take the time to send them a polite note of thanks, or use the cut-and-paste letter below. Following the letter are email address lists of the co-sponsors in both semi-colon and comma separated formats, along with a simple list of email addresses for those who encounter email address formatting problems. Use the list that is compatible with your email software. Subject: SB 1214 Senator: The Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) has informed me that you are a cosponsor of SB 1214, permitting adults with concealed weapon (CCW) permits to carry on school grounds in accordance with Federal law. With irrational gun bans in place everywhere, anyone determined to do a lot of harm knows that they can literally get away with murder on school grounds, because no one will stop them until it's too late. On April 16, 2007, twenty-seven students and five faculty members at Virginia Tech lost their lives to a madman who possessed one distinct advantage over his victims - he wasn't concerned about the "gun free zone" rules. Nineteen of his thirty-two victims were over twenty-one, the legal age for obtaining a concealed handgun permit in Virginia (and Arizona). The passage of SB 1214 is very important to me, and I will do all I can to support it through the legislative process. Thank you for sponsoring SB 11214. Sincerely, Your Name Street Address City, State & zip-code Telephone Number Below are the email addresses of the cosponsors in both semi-colon and comma separation formats, along with a simple list of email addresses for those who encounter email address formatting problems. Use the list that is compatible with your email software. List of members' email addresses: kjohnson@azleg.gov rblendu@azleg.gov rbarnes@azleg.gov rpearce@azleg.gov tverschoor@azleg.gov abiggs@azleg.gov dclark@azleg.gov scrump@azleg.gov tgroe@azleg.gov wnichols@azleg.gov Information on this and other bills can be found at the AzCDL website: http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html 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. HB 2222, which rewrites 13-3102.F to clarify that if any portion of a weapon or holster is visible, the weapon is openly carried, will be heard in the House Homeland Security and Property Rights committee on Monday, January 28, 2008 (http://www.azleg.gov/CommitteeInfo.asp?Committee_ID=49 ). The current law has several problems. First, open carry is limited in statute to a belt holster, and the holster, NOT the weapon, must be "wholly or partially visible." HB 2222 specifies that either the weapon or the holster can be visible, and removes the "belt holster" restriction. Another problem is the interpretation of the "wholly or partially visible" language in ARS 13-3102.F by a 1994 Appellate court decision, which held it has to be obvious to ordinary observation that you're carrying a weapon. HB 2222 replaces the "wholly or partially visible" language, and refers to "any portion" of a weapon or holster being visible. HB 2222 also clarifies that a concealed weapons permit is not required to carry concealed in your home, business, or real property owned, leased or rented by you, including in "common areas". This exemption also applies to carrying concealed in vehicles on your own property as well. Information on this and other bills can be found at the AzCDL website: http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html Please take the time to send a polite note to the committee members, and let them know that you want them to vote HB 2222 out of committee with a recommendation for passage by the full House. You can also use the cut-and-paste letter below. Following the letter are email address lists of the committee members in both semi-colon and comma separated formats. Use the one that is compatible with your email software. Subject: Support HB 2222 Dear Representative: The Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) has informed me that HB 2222 is being considered in the House Homeland Security and Property Rights Committee on Monday, January 28, 2008. I urge you to vote HB 2222 out of committee with a recommendation for passage by the full House. The current law defining how weapons may be legally carried without a concealed weapons permit has several problems. First, "open" (i.e. not concealed) carry is limited to a holster worn on the belt, and the holster, NOT the weapon, must be "wholly or partially visible." HB 2222 specifies that either the weapon or the holster may be visible, and removes the "belt holster" language. An additional problem gun owners face when attempting to obey the law is the interpretation by a 1994 Appellate Court decision, State v. Adams, which held that "wholly or partially visible" means it has to be obvious to "ordinary observation" that you are carrying a weapon. Under Adams, citizens have been arrested because a law enforcement officer could not readily see the openly carried firearm that was in full view of other observers. The proposed corrections to ARS 13-3102.F would assist law enforcement officers in properly identifying legal instances of open carry. These changes reduce the burden on both law enforcement and the law-abiding public. HB 2222 also clarifies that a concealed weapons permit is not required to carry a concealed weapon in a home, business, or real property that a person owns, leases or rents. Again, I urge you to vote HB 2222 out of committee with a recommendation for passage by the full House. Sincerely, Your Name Street Address City, AZ zip-code telephone number Below are the email addresses of the committee members in both semi-colon and comma separation formats, along with a simple list of email addresses for those who encounter email address formatting problems. Use the list that is compatible with your email software. List of members' email addresses: dclark@azleg.gov rbarnes@azleg.gov nbarto@azleg.gov clcampbell@azleg.gov sgallardo@azleg.gov jpaton@azleg.gov tprezelski@azleg.gov ksinema@azleg.gov jpweiers@azleg.gov As legislation progresses, we will keep you up to date via these Alerts and at our website. 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. --- From John Farnam: 22 Jan 08 Miami, FL Gun Show: I attended a large Gun Show in Miami last Sunday. It was big and extremely well attended. What immediately garnered my attention was the fact that there were several, large, local gun retailers represented, all of whom had spacious and elaborate displays. Prominently exhibited were tables-full of 9mm and 40S&W, self-decocking (DAO), plastic-framed, concealment pistols manufactured by two companies that I had heretofore never heard of: Cobra and Skyy (like the Vodka). Cobra has arisen from the ashes of defunct Jennings," and I'm not sure where Skyy manufacturing came from. These pistols are priced under $300.00, and all the clerks I talked with indicated they were strong sellers. Others I talked with had nothing good to say about either brand. Up until now, most pistols in this price category have been in minor calibers. Not any more! What struck me was that low-income gun buyers who are looking for legitimate, concealment pistols in serious calibers are being deliberately marketed to by these companies, and probably some others. I don't think Glock, SIG. S&W, Beretta, H&K, nor Kahr need worry a great deal, at least for now, and I'll probably not own a gun from either any time soon, but I'm astonished how quickly these new companies come into existence and get product to market. I was seeing and handling both brands for the first time. I'm interested to see if either company will have a booth at the SHOT Show! /John (From the feedback I receive, it appears that the best bet in inexpensive pistols is Kel-Tec. While the double-action stroke is long, the mechanically inclined owner can render it quite smooth [http://www.ktog.org/tecwerks.htm]. Their newer, slim-line PF-9 gets high marks for concealment in some quarters.) 25 Jan 08 M-16 magazines, a perennial issue... This from a friend in the rifle manufacturing business: "Here at the factory test-range, we shoot hundreds of thousands of rounds every year. Even well-made aluminum magazines eventually flair-out at the top. At that point, they become scrap metal! Our preference is stainless-steel magazines! Our favorite manufacturer is C-Products (_www.cproductsllc.com_ (http://www.cproductsllc.com) ). A steel magazine will last many times longer than those made of aluminum or plastic. Indeed, most plastic magazines split at the back (near the notch for the bolt hold-open) within five-thousand rounds. Magpul claims their new plastic magazine adequately addresses all these issues. I sincerely hope they're right! 6.8SPC magazines from C-Products are also stainless-steel, and will outlast most rifles they're used in." Comment: Based on my friend's sage advice, and in view of the fact that it is an election year, I've laid in a good supply! /John (The original M16 magazine was built with an aluminum "tube" because it was intended to be discarded after one use. Personally, I prefer the original 20-round configuration; excessive projection from the bottom of the gun may limit how low you can go in prone positions. The 30-round magazines must have a bend in order for the upper section to fit into the straight-walled magazine well. Like most military-rifle magazines, these should be downloaded by one or two rounds from nominal capacity to allow seating the magazine with the bolt forward.) -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .