Administrative Details: 1. For those who have been contemplating a training session with me, I have managed to schedule vacation time from October 4 through October 12. First come, first served. 2. A list member recently asked if I accept contributions to defray any expenses involved in producing these mailings. I do not accept contributions but anyone who wishes to support my efforts to disseminate information and common sense is encouraged to purchase one or more copies of my book (http://www.spw-duf.info/book.html). If you do use the PayPal option, be sure to type in the name to whom you want the book autographed in the slot on the linked page. --- DC Police Chief Opposes Gun Bill: D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier assailed a new bill yesterday that would eliminate most of the District's gun laws, telling a congressional panel that the measure would allow residents to carry loaded semiautomatic rifles in the streets, creating a nightmare scenario for homeland security officials. "Imagine how difficult it will be for law enforcement to safeguard the public, not to mention the new president at the inaugural parade, if carrying semiautomatic rifles were to suddenly become legal in Washington," she said... A Secret Service spokesman, Malcolm Wiley, declined to comment when asked why no one from the agency appeared... (Clearly, someone with a semiautomatic SKS presents a greater threat to government officials than a skilled shooter with a scoped bolt-action precision rifle.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/09/AR2008090901998.html A bill before Congress to ease restrictions on guns in the District of Columbia would make it harder to protect federal workers, residents and the president, city and federal officials said Tuesday at a House oversight hearing...But Chris W. Cox, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, which strongly backed the bill, said it was not intended to permit people to carry firearms on the streets. "The legislation permits people to have a weapon in their home, and only in their home, and anyone that says otherwise is flat-out lying," Mr. Cox said, adding that it would allow people to carry firearms only if they were returning from a gun store, headed to a firing range or taking the weapon hunting... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/washington/10guns.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin Liberal and conservative Democrats are squaring off over a D.C. gun bill designed to satisfy the National Rifle Association (NRA). But it's a fight some say the liberals are doomed to lose, at least in the House. While a bill supported by liberals will likely win a committee vote Wednesday, leadership is clearing a path for the NRA bill to get a floor vote, where it would likely pass, said two sources familiar with the negotiations. "Norton and Waxman will have their fun tomorrow," a source who supports the NRA bill said Wednesday, referring to Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D). "Then there will be a fair up-and-down vote on the floor..." http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/liberal-conservative-dems-fight-over-d.c.-gun-bill--nra-legislation-is-likely-to-get-floor-vote-2008-09-09.html Related Editorials: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/09/AR2008090902988.html http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/opinion/10wed2.html --- Virginia Legislators Take New Look at Gun-Show Sales: Disabled and down on his luck, former gun dealer Alfred "Speedy" Mercer sold some of his firearms collection a couple years ago to help pay the bills. He sold some at gun shows, and as a private seller he no longer had to conduct the background checks on buyers that federally licensed dealers are required to perform. That "gun-show loophole" has been debated by gun advocates and opponents in Virginia for more than a decade. But on Tuesday, Republican legislators on the Virginia State Crime Commission took the debate in a new direction. Instead of focusing on whether private sellers at gun shows should be required to do the checks, they argued legislators' time would be better spent determining whether someone such as Mr. Mercer would fit the federal definition of a private seller or a dealer... http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/sep/10/group-to-study-gun-loophole/ --- Battle Continues Over Obama-Rally Arrest: John Noble said he's openly worn a handgun while attending the annual Maple Syrup Festival in Bradys Run Park. He's worn it to a Bridgewater book signing. The Industry man said he's never been confronted by police over his habit of wearing a holstered pistol on his waist - that is until Aug. 29. Noble's arrest at the Barack Obama campaign rally at Beaver's Irvine Park has raised questions about gun rights. "There was no disturbance until (law enforcement) made one," Noble said... http://www.timesonline.com/articles/2008/09/08/news/doc48c31d45df16c948109432.txt --- Anti-RKBA Congressman Expected to Skip Court Appearance: Rep. Maurice Hinchey is not expected to appear in a Hudson Valley court for the first hearing in a harassment case against him. Hinchey was ordered to court to answer the charge Tuesday. A spokesman says a lawyer will appear instead. Paul Lendvay, chairman of the Catskill Regional Friends of the National Rifle Association, claims Hinchey smacked him on the head after he criticized the Democratic Congressman's politics and told him to put down a gun he was examining at a street fair in Rosendale on July 19... http://www.amny.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--hinchey-harassmen0909sep09,0,5462634.story --- When Seconds Count...: Imagine what you can do with twelve minutes of your life. For some, the time is spent making a call to check on their mother, for others, it's a quick smoke break while at work. One deranged murderer used his time to kill twenty people and wound twenty-one others. Just twelve minutes changed the life of at least one hundred people in the Killen, Texas Luby's restaurant, and for some that same twelve minutes was a lifetime. They died during a hellish attack on the innocent. Gun advocates know how Suzanna Hupp lost her parents in the massacre and took matters into her own hands by becoming an advocate for legal concealed carry in Texas. What people don't realize is it took more than twelve minutes for the first responding officer to arrive. Although that officer acted heroically by shooting the rampaging gunman he was too late for at least forty-one people... http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/5977 --- Oops, Wrong House, Mississippi Version: A would be burglar gets more than he bargains for while breaking into a West Jackson home. The homeowner sent the burglar to the hospital. It happened in the 600 block of Hillsdale Drive off Clinton Boulevard. A homeowner on Hillsdale Drive was still in bed around 9:00 a.m. when a burglar woke him from his sleep. "Once he heard Mr. Moore attempt to break into the home he retrieved a weapon and fired a shot striking Mr. Moore," said Jackson Police Lt. Jeffery Scott... http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=8973273&nav=2CSf --- Oops, Wrong House, California Version: A home invasion attempt in Sacramento has left one person dead and the homeowner under investigation. Sacramento police reported receiving a home invasion call around 12 a.m. from a homeowner on Carmelita Avenue and Rio Linda Boulevard. Upon arrival, officers found that the homeowner had shot at the intruder and mortally wounded him. Homicide investigators are now investigating whether the homeowner was within his rights to shoot at the individual. Police are also investigating reports of a second person seen leaving the scene... http://www.news10.net/news/story.aspx?storyid=47473&catid=2 --- Oops, Wrong Store: The fatal shooting of a robbery suspect by a clerk at a southwest Houston cellular phone store will be referred to a Harris County grand jury without charges, police said Tuesday. The shooting happened shortly before 7 p.m. Monday after the man entered the T-Mobile store in the 7500 block of the Southwest Freeway and pointed a pistol at two employees, police said. A third employee, who is licensed to carry a concealed handgun, confronted the man and the two exchanged shots, investigators said. The robbery suspect died at the scene. The employee was not injured... http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5991173.html --- Stupid Is as Stupid Does, Follow-Up: A 21-year-old man arrested in connection with the shooting death of his longtime friend told police that he knew there were two bullets in the revolver but believed the chamber was empty. Courtney L. Robinson was intoxicated when he was playing with the gun, pointed it at 22-year-old Jason M. Brant and pulled the trigger, according to an interim complaint released to the Arizona Daily Star Monday... http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/256686 -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .