Obama Would Block Gun Sales Within Five Miles of Schools: Reader Henry Bowman had a comment blocked by the spam filter, and merits a separate post. He writes: "Barack Obama supported a proposal to ban gun stores within 5 miles of a school or park, which would eliminate almost every gun store in America." is more than just a little exaggeration. You think so? Let's go to the website of somebody who has done the homework you should have done. Check out the map there, and the other maps linked on that page. Every one of those dots is merely 1,000 feet in radius - the size of the current "school zone" for the federal law... http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2008/06/obamas_proposal.php --- Pennsylvania Police Department Sued Over Open-Carry Incident: Four of the people involved in the incident in Dickson City have filed a lawsuit under 42 USC Section 1983 in US District Court. You can see the document filed here. Police departments in the Commonwealth need to start training their officers that open carry is a lawful practice except in a city of the first class (where you need a LTCF), and that a gun not having a record of sale is no evidence to seize it. Dickson City is about to be made an example of why this needs to happen forthwith. http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/2008/06/11/dickson-city-incident-update/ --- Illinois Sheriff Supports Concealed Carry: Winnebago County Sheriff Dick Meyers lent his considerable support to the county's concealed carry debate. Meyers was the last of 30 speakers to take the podium, and he received a standing ovation for his efforts. "Let me get it out of the way," he told the crowd. "I do not have a problem with concealed carry." He said that "20 years ago, I would have told you different," but "we're at a point where we don't have a choice." The County Board is drafting a resolution that will authorize the sheriff to issue gun permits to qualified citizens. Although the resolution is still in draft form, at least 13 of the 28 board members have already signed on... http://www.rrstar.com/communities/x816777156/Concealed-carry-proposal-gets-support-of-sheriff --- Atlanta Transit Police Prepare for Expanded Carry: ...Meeting at MARTA headquarters at Lindbergh Station, the board also heard a presentation from MARTA police on how they intend to deal with the new law allowing licensed gun owners to carry their firearms on MARTA. One concern was the MARTA station at Hartsfield-Jackson airport. MARTA police plan to ask passengers with visible guns to conceal them. They will ask the public not to approach fellow passengers with guns, but to contact MARTA police... http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2008/06/09/MARTA_cutting_jobs.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 --- Olofson Loses Bid to Stay Out of Prison: A Wisconsin man convicted in federal court of transferring a machine gun has been denied a request to stay out of prison while he fights the conviction. David R. Olofson, 36, of Berlin, who remains a member of the Army Reserve, was convicted by a jury in January and sentenced last month to 30 months in prison. Olofson's attorney argued that the gun Olofson loaned to another man malfunctioned when it fired multiple rounds and Olofson didn't know it would do that... (The AR-15 clone Olofson lent a friend fired full-auto due to a mechanical defect, not an intentional modification.) http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=759535 --- Remembering Robert Williams: ...In 1925, Robert F. Williams was born into the nasty era of Jim Crow, a time when a man's skin color determined his place in the world; often he was barely even considered a man. The white establishment bullied and oppressed blacks as a matter of custom, and justice was anything but blind... As head of the local chapter of the NAACP, Williams (who was also a World War II veteran) organized a militia unit he called the Black Armed Guard, trained black men and women to use rifles, and fortified his entire neighborhood by stacking sandbags and stockpiling weapons. It worked. But not everyone approved. Wrote biographer Timothy B. Tyson, "Williams' advocacy of violence made him into an example at the 1959 NAACP convention. He had been removed from his post as Monroe NAACP president, and he listened at the convention as 40 speakers denounced him. He responded that he had called for self-defense, not acts of war: 'We as men should stand up as men and protect our women and children. I am a man, and I will walk upright as a man should. I will not crawl." http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A46835 --- South Carolina School Delays Shooting Policy: Citing additional insurance concerns, Wake County schools staff will wait until August before presenting draft revisions to the district's deadly weapons bans aimed at allowing student marksmanship teams to participate in approved firearms competitions. In response to the public outcry after an East Wake High School club team was banned from competing in a state-sponsored marksmanship tournament, school board members asked staff to draft a policy to allow teams to compete. In March, the team at East Wake was barred from competing in the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Hunter Education Tournament one day before a regional competition. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1103702.html --- Exclusive Gun Club Debated in Virginia: A proposal to build a gun club in Ashburn has its supporters and critics. What's surprising, though, is that both groups are gun owners. Being considered by the Board of Supervisors is a plan by Merritt Properties LLC to construct a pricey gun club in Ashburn's Beaumeade Corporate Park, just south of the Washington and Old Dominion Trail. Much to the chagrin of some gun owners, the private club will charge annual membership fees similar to those found at country clubs, according to MVM Inc., which will run the facility. The 64,000-square-foot club would feature three indoor shooting ranges, an executive lounge, a gym and an area where law enforcement agencies and private security firms can conduct simulated training. Members will be subject to background checks... http://www.loudountimes.com/news/2008/jun/10/pricey-club-has-gun-owners-grumbling/ --- Historic, Embattled Idaho Gun Shop to Move: Monday we told you that the city of Twin Falls got the okay to buy the Red's Trading Post Building for $200,000. The building was first built in 1912 and Red's Trading Post moved in, in 1936. The current manager at Red's says that the city is more interested in the lot than the building. But red's has already picked out its new location in 'Old Towne' Twin Falls. Ryan Horsley, Co-Owner, says, "It's gonna be what's currently the Tribes building. And just over by Lamphouse Theatre, Gem State Paper. Great location, actually it's gonna have more room." Horsley says Red's will probably close for about 30 days beginning at the end of this month. That's so they can move to their new building. He says he wants Red's to be 'up and running' in time for hunting season - "hopefully" by the first of August. http://www.kmvt.com/news/local/19734229.html --- Bears Don't Always Run Away: When the bear just up the hill roared, Joshua McKim's first thought was that he had never heard a bear make a sound like that. His second thought, almost instantaneous with the first, was that he was awfully glad he had brought his pistol on this mushroom-picking trip...McKim fired the first of the eight bullets in the .45's clip. "The first shot hit him in the shoulder." The bear tumbled, rolling for about 10 feet until it came to a flat place...McKim fired the first of the eight bullets in the .45's clip. "The first shot hit him in the shoulder." The bear tumbled, rolling for about 10 feet until it came to a flat place... (The first shot, to the shoulder, appears to have been relatively effective, particularly considering the caliber. It's not clear whether the subsequent shots were also directed to shoulder or pelvis, which would have been my choices.) http://www.bakercityherald.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=6690 --- Our of the Woodwork...: Two women arrested during a traffic stop were apparently trying to trade a rare World War II-era Japanese machine gun for crack cocaine, police said, according to a report from FLORIDA TODAY news partner WKMG Local 6 News...When police searched the rest of the vehicle, they found the Nambu machine gun used by Japanese soldiers...The women claim one of their grandfathers gave the weapon to them but federal agents believe it was smuggled into Florida. Officers said the gun could still fire shots. Davis said investigators suspect the women were planning to trade the rare gun for crack cocaine. http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080611/BREAKINGNEWS/80611006/1086 --- Australian State May Relax Gun Laws: The Greens have accused the New South Wales Government of courting the Shooters Party to help ease the passage of controversial legislation to ease the state's gun controls. The Bill, introduced to the Upper House by Shooters Party MP Roy Smith, would relax some safeguards and remove the 28-day waiting period for people with a registration waiting for a second gun...The legislation would also remove the need to register guns made before the 1900s and allow more people to apply for a self-loading or pump-action shotgun to use in clay target shooting competitions. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/11/2270888.htm?section=justin -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .