Obama Not at Home in West Virginia: Here in the Mountain State, where faith, firearms and patriotism are bedrock, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama is failing to connect, trailing in the run-up to today's primary election by 40 points in some polls...But voters in West Virginia - where students are regularly excused from classes for the opening of hunting season and where more than 70 percent of registered voters own guns - also might remember his remarks at a San Francisco fundraiser classifying rural Americans as sometimes "bitter" and choosing to "cling" to guns and religion. "I was talking to a lawyer friend who totally believes Obama will take his guns," said Charleston lawyer Pancho Morris. "There is a huge amount of love for guns and for hunting here. And Obama's not a hunter." http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/NATION/863327237/1001 --- Colorado Sheriff Defends RKBA: ...Make no mistake about where I stand in this debate; the Bill of Rights was written to protect the rights of the individual and not that of the state or the federal government. I am a fervent proponent of the individual's right to bear arms...Government has no right to know who has a concealed weapons permit or who owns a gun. That's why I am so proud of the Weld County Sheriff's Office's most recent milestone. I just issued our 2,000th permit. From a safety perspective, I am happy that the number keeps growing. People have a right to self-protection and to live free from the fear of crime. Having a firearm and a concealed weapons permit help achieve those goals. http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20080511/READERS/693812429 --- Georgia Castle Doctrine Protects Homeowners: It's 3 a.m. and you hear a noise downstairs, but the dog's at the vet's clinic and you're supposed to be alone in your home. Your sidearm in hand, you make your way downstairs and see two furtive figures sacking up your family's valuables. When you yell, "Halt!" one of the figures runs toward you and you fire. The figure falls to the floor - dead of a single gunshot wound - and the other flees. So what happens when the police arrive? Are you in trouble with the law, or is the law on your side? http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/story/319795.html --- Rule Three Reminder: A Cape Breton police officer is expected to make a full recovery after his gun accidentally went off and a bullet struck him in the leg during a drug raid at a North Sydney-area home. Police say the 41-year-old male officer, whose name has not been released, was injured when his service pistol "unintentionally" discharged during one of a series of drug raids that took place on Friday night. The officer underwent surgery for the non-life threatening injury at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, where he remained yesterday. Staff Sergeant Ron Donovan described the injured officer as an experienced member of the police force, who works out of central division. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080512.NATS12-3/TPStory/National --- Fire at Indoor Range: The Virginia Beach Fire Department says seven people were injured in a flash fire at an indoor shooting range. Battalion Chief Leon Dextradeur says 2 of the injured are in critical condition with burns to their faces and smoke inhalation. Four people with less serious injuries also were taken to hospitals, and one declined to go to the hospital. The fire started about 1:30 p.m. Sunday at A&P Arms' Lynnhaven Shooting Range. Dextradeur says there are three shooting ranges in the facility. An explosion at the end of range three started a flash fire that spread quickly toward people at the other end. The cause of the fire has not been determined. (I saw one small fire start when unburned granules of 2400 powder that had accumulated in a piece of carpeting on the shelf in a shooter's booth were ignited by a the flash from the barrel-cylinder gap on a follow-up shot off a pistol rest.) http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=8308602 --- More British Police Injured by Gunfire: The number of police officers wounded in shootings has increased by 60% in four years, according to figures released by the Conservatives. The statistics, which cover officers in England and Wales shot while on duty, show the number rose from 12 in 2002/03 to 19 in 2006/07. Shadow Home Office minister David Ruffley said the figures showed the Government was failing "to tackle the scourge of gun crime". He said: "With the trade in illegal weapons soaring through porous borders, ministers are presiding over a service with falling number of armed officers. Now we see a rise in the number of police getting injured in the line of duty. (This article fails to distinguish the number of officers shot by themselves or their colleagues, which is fairly high in Britain.) http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5heZ00M_5qGPAJr3l6y8oY9aUlchw --- From AzCDL: Your emails, letters and phone calls worked again! HB 2629, an AzCDL requested bill that clarifies when a defensive display of a firearm is justified, passed in the Senate Third Read on Monday, May 12, 2008 by a vote of 19-7 with 4 Senators not voting. From here, HB 2629 will go back to the House for concurrence before being sent to the Governor. We have some other good news. HB 2634, an AzCDL requested bill that clarifies that a person with an expunged or set-aside felony conviction, or one who has had their rights restored, may obtain a concealed weapons permit, has finally moved out of the Senate Rules Committee (thanks to YOUR pressure). The next steps are debate in the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW) followed by a formal vote in Third Read. Meanwhile, HB 2389, an AzCDL requested bill decriminalizing carrying weapons in vehicles without a CCW permit, has been scheduled for debate in the Senate COW on Tuesday, May 13, 2008. Please take the time to send a polite note to your Senator urging them to vote for the passage of HB 2389. You can find your Senator here: http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp . Personalized letters are always preferred. Below is a sample letter you can use as a template. Please be sure to include your name, address, and phone number in all correspondence. If you choose to send a letter to every Senator, following the sample letter are email lists in both semi-colon and comma separated formats. Use the format compatible with your email software. Subject: Support HB 2389 Dear Senator: The Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) has informed me that HB 2389 will be debated in the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW) on Tuesday, May 13, 2008. I urge you to vote for the passage of HB 2389. As written, current law (ARS 13-3102.F) allows a holstered or cased weapon to be carried "within a means of transportation" or "within a storage compartment, map pocket, trunk or glove compartment of a means of transportation." Unfortunately, in 1994 an Arizona Appellate court (State v. Adams, 189 Ariz. 235, 941 P.2d) determined that "within a means of transportation" meant it must be obvious under ordinary observation to someone outside the vehicle that there is a weapon inside the vehicle. This created conflicts interpreting the statute. As a result: · Wearing a holstered firearm within a vehicle can be considered concealed carry, requiring a CCW permit. But, that same holstered firearm in a map pocket, trunk or glove compartment, accessible by any of the vehicle's occupants, does not require a CCW permit. · Possessing a concealed weapons permit and being armed puts other occupants in the vehicle, who do not possess a CCW permit, at risk of arrest because of their proximity to the firearm. Yet, if that same weapon were in a map pocket, trunk or glove compartment accessible by all the vehicle's occupants, no crime is committed. The proposed language clarifies that it permissible to carry a weapon, visibly or concealed, anywhere within a means of transportation, excluding public transit. Again, I urge you to vote for the passage of HB 2389 during Senate COW and in Third Read. Sincerely, Your Name Street Address City, AZ zip-code telephone number Below are the email addresses of the Senate 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. Semi-colon format: paboud@azleg.gov; aaguirre@azleg.gov; callen@azleg.gov; marzberger@azleg.gov; tbee@azleg.gov; rblendu@azleg.gov; rburns@azleg.gov; mburtoncahill@azleg.gov; kcheuvront@azleg.gov; jflake@azleg.gov; jgarcia@azleg.gov; pgorman@azleg.gov; rgould@azleg.gov; cgray@azleg.gov; lgray@azleg.gov; ahale@azleg.gov; jharper@azleg.gov; jhuppenthal@azleg.gov; kjohnson@azleg.gov; llandrumtaylor@azleg.gov; bleff@azleg.gov; dmccunedavis@azleg.gov; rmiranda@azleg.gov; tohalleran@azleg.gov; cpesquiera@azleg.gov; rrios@azleg.gov; vsoltero@azleg.gov; jtibshraeny@azleg.gov; tverschoor@azleg.gov; jwaring@azleg.gov Comma format: paboud@azleg.gov, aaguirre@azleg.gov, callen@azleg.gov, marzberger@azleg.gov, tbee@azleg.gov, rblendu@azleg.gov, rburns@azleg.gov, mburtoncahill@azleg.gov, kcheuvront@azleg.gov, jflake@azleg.gov, jgarcia@azleg.gov, pgorman@azleg.gov, rgould@azleg.gov, cgray@azleg.gov, lgray@azleg.gov, ahale@azleg.gov, jharper@azleg.gov, jhuppenthal@azleg.gov, kjohnson@azleg.gov, llandrumtaylor@azleg.gov, bleff@azleg.gov, dmccunedavis@azleg.gov, rmiranda@azleg.gov, tohalleran@azleg.gov, cpesquiera@azleg.gov, rrios@azleg.gov, vsoltero@azleg.gov, jtibshraeny@azleg.gov, tverschoor@azleg.gov, jwaring@azleg.gov Stay tuned! As relevant legislation is introduced and progresses, we will keep you up to date via these Alerts: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AZCDL_Alerts/ 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. -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .