GOA on Ammunition Serialization: The latest back-door gun control scheme has come to a number of state legislatures, and California has already enacted it. The latest way to solve crime, and thus make criminals shake in their boots before they commit another crime, is to put unique serial codes on bullets and the cases in which they sit. The theory goes that even if a case is not recovered at the scene of the crime, the bullet will have the unique marking that will enable it to be traced back to the perpetrator. Assuming that any manufacturer can afford to manufacture such ammunition at a price that individuals are willing to pay (a big assumption), here are the other problems with ammunition encoding. Bullets that are best for self defense (or harming victims) are quite likely to be so deformed or disintegrated that they will offer no possibility of identifying a unique marking on the bullet... http://www.borderfirereport.net/guest-authors/encoding-ammunition-will-only-aid-criminals.html --- New Jersey Could Imprison Gun Owners for Legal Purchases: If you buy a lawful product that is later banned, should you go to jail for 10 years, even though you didn't know it was banned, and the government that banned it now criminalizes any method to dispose of it? In the world of gun ban extremist Bryan Miller of CeaseFire NJ, the answer to this question is yes...At a March 6 legislative hearing on S1304, which would increase the penalty for possession of such firearms to a potential 10-year prison term, I argued that the higher penalty should apply to violent criminals with guns, but that otherwise law abiding citizens who had purchased the guns when it was legal to do so, who may not know they are banned due to the law's judicially acknowledged vagueness, who are not involved in criminal activity, and who presently have no legal means to comply with the law, should not be facing 10 years in prison. http://blog.nj.com/njv_scott_bach/2008/03/buy_it_yesterday_ban_it_today.html --- Illinois Gun Owners to Rally Today: Hundreds of law-abiding Illinois firearm owners disgusted by the General Assembly's continued attacks on their rights will descend on the Capitol for a major rally Tuesday, March 11th. Sponsored in part by the ISRA, the event will kick off with a Noon rally and legislative education session in the Grand Ballroom of the Springfield Hilton. At 1:30 PM, the group will march to the Capitol and then disperse to attend committee hearings and make office calls on their respective State Senators and Representatives. The day will conclude with a 5:00 PM reception in the lobby of the Illinois State Library... http://www.sunherald.com/447/story/418348.html --- Idaho to Set Noise Limits for Ranges: A bill designed to protect state-owned shooting ranges from being shut down by neighbors who complain about noise has passed both houses of the Idaho Legislature. The Senate unanimously approved a bill on Monday that would set a noise limit of 64 decibels at a spot 20 feet from the nearest home, school, hotel, hospital or church. In exchange, the measure would prevent local noise ordinances from applying to shooting ranges. Sen. Mike Jorgensen, R-Hayden, says the proposal is designed to benefit the shooting range at Farragut State Park near Lake Pend Oreille. Expansion plans for the range have been limited as a result of noise complaints and lawsuits from neighbors. http://www.kidk.com/news/local/16468126.html --- Parents Sue Over Son's T-Shirt Suspension: One day in December, Donald Miller III wore a gun to school. As you might imagine, it got him in trouble. But the gun wasn't loaded; indeed, it wasn't a real gun at all. It was the image of a gun, printed on the front and back of a T-shirt - a shirt the Penn Manor freshman wore to honor his uncle, a soldier in the U.S. Army fighting in Iraq. On the front pocket, in addition to the picture of the military sidearm, were the words: "Volunteer Homeland Security." On the back, superimposed over another image of the weapon, the words "Special issue - Resident - Lifetime License - United States Terrorist Hunting Permit - Permit No. 91101 Gun Owner - No Bag Limit." ... And now a lawsuit has been filed in federal court, accusing Penn Manor of violating Miller's First Amendment rights. The Millers and their attorney, Leonard G. Brown III of the Lancaster firm Clymer & Musser, accuse the school district of following a "vague Orwellian policy" that throttles both patriotism and free speech... http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/217898 --- Grand Jury Upholds Texas Castle Doctrine: ... In one of the first tests of the "Castle Doctrine" in the Amarillo area, a Randall County grand jury did not indict an Amarillo man last week for fatally shooting another man during an altercation on the Amarillo man's property. It is tragic that violent force had to be used, but the legal system determined that the Amarillo man acted according to the law, and that decision must be respected and followed. The Castle Doctrine, which was passed overwhelmingly in the Legislature last year and pushed by state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, allows Texans the legal right to defend themselves with deadly force in their homes, cars and workplaces. The bill states that a person has no duty to retreat from an intruder before using deadly force. http://www.amarillo.com/stories/031008/opi_9802991.shtml --- West Virginia Legislators Extend Castle Doctrine: The West Virginia Legislature has extended civil and criminal immunity to individuals who use proportionate force on an intruder or attacker. The bill passed on the final day of the regular legislative session extends protection for victims beyond their residence or in defending themselves. Previously, the state law provided immunity for property owners who use reasonable or proportionate force upon an intruder. The new amendment adds motor vehicles "or any location where another has the right to be" to the list of protected locations. Individuals entering such spaces for the purpose of engaging in criminal conduct assume the risk for their injury or death from a property owner or their agent resisting the commission of a criminal act. http://www.huntingtonnews.net/local/080310-rutherford-localselfdefensestatute.html --- Oops, Wrong House: A suspected burglar has been released from the hospital after a homeowner shot him in Harrison County late Sunday night. The sheriff says a man who lives on Old Lair Road came home to find two burglars on his property. The owner shot one of the men, Thomas Terysian, 25, while the other suspect got away. Terysian, who's from Paris, went to the hospital with gunshot wounds to a hand and forearm. He's expected to be all right. Police don't have a name for the second suspect. Police say two other homes on Old Lair Road were broken into Sunday night and burglars tried to break into two more homes. The sheriff says the homeowner won't be charged. (It sounds as though the burglar brandished a weapon if he was shot in the hand and forearm. Shots to to go where the mind perceives the threat.) http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/16443521.html --- Oops, Wrong Yard: A southwest Macon man reported shooting a woman who lives nearby in the abdomen on Saturday, after she came at him with a butcher knife, according to a police report. Tyrone Woodard, of Deeb Drive, told police he fired two warning shots into the ground after Candice Hughes, of Leone Drive North, threatened him in his yard Saturday. When she charged him with the knife, Woodard said he shot Hughes in the lower abdomen, the report states. Hughes left, but police found her at her Leone Drive address. She was taken to the Medical Center of Central Georgia, according to the report, but an update on her condition was not available from the hospital Monday. http://www.macon.com/149/story/291148.html --- Michigan Reporter Learns to Shoot: This year I decided to break out of my somewhat predictable routine and learn new skills. One of those skills is shooting. Yes, a gun ... with real bullets. Some people are afraid of guns. It would be scary to drive a car too if you never took driver's training. So a week ago I took my first gun class, the NRA's First Steps Pistol Orientation, at Fenton Lakes Sportsman's Club on Butcher Road in Fenton. Before I go any further, let me just dislodge any preconceived notions you may have of the National Rifle Association. In recent years many have come to think of the NRA as a political organization. The group does fight to protect the rights of gun owners. But the backbone of the NRA is its gun safety and shooting courses. So if you're one of those people who flinch when the NRA is mentioned, think of them as driver's safety instructors... http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/voices/index.ssf/2008/03/fenton_press_columnist_learns.html --- Canada Extends Registration Amnesty: In the March 1 Canada Gazette, the federal government proposed "three independent initiatives... to enable previously lawful firearms owners to bring themselves back into compliance." (Interestingly, the French translation blurs the "previously lawful" and the "bring themselves back.") Disregarding a minor fee waiver and other aspects of the regulatory jungle, these initiatives would extend for a third year the 2006 amnesty for long-gun owners who have neglected to renew their possession and acquisition licences, or have not registered all their guns, or have let the non-renewable possession-only licences expire. http://westernstandard.ca/website/article.php?id=2752 --- There's A Reason God Put Those People on an Island: Burglars and thieves who steal to fund an addiction to drugs, gambling or drink could escape jail even if they target a vulnerable victim such as an elderly shopkeeper, under new official guidelines. Judges and magistrates have been told to take an offender's dependency into account when sentencing. Crimes committed out of "desperation or need" will also be considered a mitigating factor when deciding whether the offender should be jailed. With the prison population at a record high, the guidelines will be interpreted as an attempt to keep more criminals out of jail. (So, in Britain you can now risk addiction to drugs with the knowledge that you will not be held accountable for that decision.) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/11/nsentences111.xml&DCMP=EMC-new_11032008 -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .