Ammo Restrictions for Texas Teachers: A tiny Texas school district may be the first in the nation to allow teachers and staff to pack guns for protection when classes begin later this month, a newspaper reported... In order for teachers and staff to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun; must be authorized to carry by the district; must receive training in crisis management and hostile situations and have to use ammunition that is designed to minimize the risk of ricochet in school halls... http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5945430.html ... Only frangible ammunition, i.e., ammunition designed to have reduced ricochet hazard, will be permitted in firearms authorized to be on school property... http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/08/texas-school-di.html (The district is definitely to be commended for recognizing the need for school employees to be able to defend themselves and their students. The ammunition concern is somewhat reminiscent of that for air marshals - one that was fortuitously discarded in that venue. "Frangible ammunition" is a term generally applied for training ammo in which the bullets are designed to crumble on contact with steel targets. Pre-fragmented ammunition, such as Glaser Safety Slugs, have a spotty track record, with some spectacular successes and some spectacular failures, due to inadequate penetration. They are also lighter than normal for caliber and my not cycle reliably in all autoloaders. The first criterion for ammunition is reliability; the second should be terminal performance in the intended target.) Related Article: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/834022.html From GOA: Harrold, Tex. School district trustees and Supt. David Thweatt deserve accolades for changing school policy to allow staff and teachers to carry concealed handguns to protect against school shootings, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today. "When classes open August 25 in Harrold, school buildings will be safer than normal, thanks to this decision," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "Critics of the plan will argue about liability, or suggest that the school could have hired a security officer or off-duty policeman. But we all know that such officers can't be everywhere, and in an emergency, every second counts... http://www.ccrkba.org/pub/rkba/press-releases/harrold.tx.htm Related Commentary: http://www.nolanchart.com/article4512.html --- Florida Students to Push for Campus Carry: A chapter of a national gun advocacy group that supports allowing students to carry weapons to class may open at Florida Atlantic University this fall. Students for Concealed Carry on Campus was created after the April 2007 shootings on the Virginia Tech University campus in Blacksburg, Va., where 32 people and gunman Cho Seung-Hui died. The group, which now claims 30,000 members in 45 states, believes people with concealed weapons permits should be able to carry handguns to school, as they can to many other public places, as a way to protect themselves and others. Two FAU students are spearheading a campaign to start the club on the school's Boca Raton campus, hoping to garner interest with a grass-roots campaign, including an "empty holster protest" in which students wear gun holsters to school... http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/south/epaper/2008/08/14/a1a_gunclub_0815.html --- Disney World Modifies Gun Ban, Slightly: Walt Disney World decided today to narrow its employee gun ban to the actual Disney World property only - and with that move the theme park giant got the blessing of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum for the controversial policy... Now Disney announced it is revising its policy, though only slightly. And McCollum indicated he is satisfied with the revision, which lifts the employee gun ban on employee Disney outposts such as the company's branch offices in Celebration but not on the main Walt Disney World property... http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-disney-gun-ban-081508,0,6358156.story --- West Virginia City Adopts Local Gun Ban: By a 5-1 vote, the Martinsburg City Council on Thursday adopted an amended version of an ordinance that prohibits individuals from carrying a firearm or other deadly weapon in any building that is city-owned, leased or under the municipality's control. In addition to City Hall, the restriction applies to the historic Market House building, the city's train station and buildings in parks deeded to the city. The amendment to the ordinance only exempted the gun carrying restriction from being enforced "on any public property," to avoid any confusion about being applied to sidewalks and streets. But opponents argued the ordinance, which was originally adopted in March 2005, should be removed from the books... http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=201059&format=html http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/509412.html?nav=5006 --- Rule Two, Rule Three Reminder: ... Then, shortly before 9 a.m., Mr. Perry's semiautomatic rifle, a three-foot-long Norinco SKS, the kind once used by Russian soldiers, went off. The bullet soared through the ceiling, from one bed to the other. It struck Bukhari in the head and killed him, the police said. The police later found Mr. Perry at his girlfriend's house, and found his rifle stashed in his girlfriend's car. He was charged with aggravated manslaughter and weapons possession, and is being held in the Essex County Jail pending an arraignment on Wednesday, a law enforcement official said. Mr. Perry told the police that he was trying to unload the rifle when it went off. It left a hole the size of a quarter in the ceiling... (Rule Two: Don't let the muzzle cross anything you're not prepared to shoot. Rule Three: Keep your finger out of the trigger guard, up on the frame, until your sights are on the target and you're prepared to fire. SKS rifles were rarely used by Russian soldiers, except on ceremonial guard duty, because they were largely supplanted in Soviet service by the AK-47. They were, however, exported in large quantities to "national liberation" movements around the world.) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/nyregion/16newark.html?ref=nyregion&pagewanted=all http://www.1010wins.com/PHOTOS--Sleeping-N-J--Teen-Killed-by-Stray-Bullet/2785253 --- Poor Man's Survival Arsenal: Mosin Nagant rifle, single-shot 12-gauge shotgun, S&W Model 10 .38 Special revolver - interesting concept. My only concern is ongoing availability of the 7.62x54R ammunition. http://thesurvivalistblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/poor-man-survival-arsenal.html --- Olympic Shotgunner Profiled: Monrovia resident Kimberly Rhode is currently in Beijing attempting to bring home her fourth Olympic medal. Rhode, 29, is competing in the Skeet shooting competition. A four-time Olympian, Rhode is no stranger to the Olympic podium... One of Kim Rhode's main goals is to involve women and children in the sport of shooting, and to encourage more women to join in the sport at a competitive level... http://beaconmedianews.com/?p=1454 --- NRA-ILA Alerts: Alerts for the week are posted in the NRA-ILA website. http://www.nraila.org/GrassrootsAlerts/read.aspx -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .