Mystery Solved: Yesterday I commented on an apparent discrepancy between a traveler in New York being charged with possession of a loaded handgun and the eventual dropping of the charge due to the federal Firearm Owners' Protection Act, which requires that firearms be transported unloaded in order for the owner to be protected. A list member has pointed out that New York law considers a handgun to be loaded if the possessor also possesses ammunition of the same caliber. --- Obama Campaign Fights Ads: A team of Obama-supporting prosecutors and sheriffs in Missouri is preparing to pursue legal challenges to any presidential campaign ads deemed to be false or misleading. KMOV-TV in St. Louis reports District Attorney Robert McCulloch, a past president of the National District Attorneys Association, said that whether the ads could be attributed to an opponent's campaign itself, or another organization, "If they're not going to tell the truth, somebody's got to step up and say, 'That's not the truth. This is the truth.'" The effort appeared to be part of a move by the Obama campaign to block advertisements to which it objects. The campaign also sent "threatening" letters to several news agencies in Pennsylvania and Ohio demanding they stop airing ads exposing Obama's gun stance, according to the National Rifle Association... http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=76308 Related Commentary: http://stlcofcc.wordpress.com/2008/09/24/obamination-obama-suppoerters-bob-mcculloch-jennifer-joyce-threaten-to-prosecute-people-for-criticizing-obama/ http://www.reason.com/blog/show/129059.html --- "What Works in Chicago May Not Work in Cheyenne": "What exactly do you think is working in Chicago," Sen. Obama? Sadly, the hometown we share reached another deadly milestone this summer due to the decision to disarm law-abiding citizens. CBS2chicago.com reported recently that 123 people were killed over the summer in Chicago, compared with 65 soldiers killed in Iraq...To say it's become easy to mock the Chicago leadership because of their willingness to cling to gun control and their bitterness over the city's continuing increase in violent crime is an understatement. How they can push for more gun control when it failed citywide is breathtaking in its arrogance. Although the city will most likely drop the fight to keep the ban of handgun ownership, it is unlikely that Mayor Daley will ever willingly allow concealed carry in HIS city. Likewise, we know that Barack Obama opposes concealed carry - he confirmed it to a Pittsburgh newspaper this last April... http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6010 --- Philadelphia Can't Regulate Firearms: A state court ruled Friday that Philadelphia was not entitled to set its own gun laws, invalidating five measures passed by the City Council last year and striking a blow against the city's efforts to strengthen gun control. The Commonwealth Court dismissed a petition by two City Council members, Darrell L. Clarke and Donna Reed Miller, who filed suit last year arguing that the state's Uniform Firearms Act did not pre-empt Philadelphia's gun laws...The city measures, passed unanimously last fall, were not put into effect because of a court challenge by the National Rifle Association and a declaration by the district attorney, Lynne Abraham, that she would not enforce the laws because they were at variance with a ruling by the State Supreme Court... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/us/27gun.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin http://www.nbc10.com/news/17566061/detail.html?dl=headlineclick --- Pennsylvania Open-Carry Case Draws Attention, Lawsuit: Across Pennsylvania, open-carry advocates - those who support the right to openly carry a holstered firearm - are paying close attention to Lebanon after a woman's concealed-weapon license was revoked for wearing a loaded handgun on her hip at her daughter's soccer game. Lebanon County Sheriff Mike DeLeo revoked Meleanie Hain's license this week after he received complaints from a parent who attended a game played by 4- and 5-year-olds on Sept. 11 at Optimist Park. DeLeo's action will not prevent the Lebanon woman from carrying a gun in the open, but she will not be allowed to wear it concealed on her body or carry it in her vehicle... http://www.ldnews.com/ci_10565770?source=most_emailed -- Ohio Papers Complain of Court Ruling: The editors of The Plain Dealer and the Toledo Blade are throwing virtual temper tantrums this morning over OFCC's win in Ohioans For Concealed Carry v. the City of Clyde in the Ohio Supreme Court. According to the Blade, we're all a bunch of "gun-rights zealots" who won't let cities "safeguard their communities" by banning guns in parks or anywhere else they choose. They can't wrap their heads around the fact that the Ohio legislature moved to make gun laws uniform so that we could safeguard ourselves... http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/4074/53/ --- Texas Students Debate Campus Carry: As a result of shootings at universities, especially the Virginia Tech shooting last year, people are seeking more preventive measures like carrying concealed firearms, rather than reactive measures that rely on law enforcement officers' response...No matter how efficient and rapid the response of law enforcement officers to such a tragic event, all a shooter needs is a few minutes to kill several people. In addition, there has not been a single case reported in which a concealed handgun permit carrier committed an act of shooting similar to the recent campus shootings... ...The ability, or inability, of a public safety department to efficiently and successfully "protect and serve" its community needs to be vigorously scrutinized daily. Every student should have sufficient knowledge of the necessary actions to prevent violent situations from occurring. From town hall meetings to weekly e-mailed tips, officers need to be more involved in the daily operations of college campuses. Students should see them as they walk to class, students should be able to have conversations with them and ask questions. We should not only see the people who are dedicated to protecting our lives every time something bad happens... http://media.www.theranger.org/media/storage/paper1010/news/2008/09/26/Opinion/Both-Sides.Guns.On.Campus.Debate-3453047.shtml --- California Reporter Learns What It's Like: Beads of sweat formed on my forehead, my hands shook while gripping the pistol and my heart pumped faster as I ran down a fleeing suspect. Two gun shots blasted off. They were aimed at me. I returned fire at the vigilante who was now fleeing. What seemed like an eternity in a tense chase and gunfight was just a few seconds in an officer involved shooting exercise. The adrenaline rush was nothing new to a seasoned Bakersfield Police Department officer. It was a unfamiliar feeling for me... http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/557586.html --- Smith & Wesson Cuts 80 Jobs: Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. said Thursday it has eliminated about 80 jobs at a Rochester, N.H., plant that makes hunting rifles. The firearms maker cited the U.S. economic downturn. "As we have discussed over the past several months, economic conditions and their impact on consumer discretionary spending have negatively impacted the hunting-related long gun portion of our business," said Michael Golden, president and chief executive... http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/09/25/ap5473022.html --- Canadian Officers Receive Patrol Rifles, Training: New assault rifles, touted as safer and more accurate, will be in the hands of some Calgary police officers by Sunday. The Colt C8A2 rifles will be issued to 120 officers after they undergo 40 hours of training, including one night session designed to teach how to handle the weapon in low-light situations. The first group of 12 officers completed training on Friday. Calgary Police Association president John Dooks said he supports the move... (Recall that some Canadian border guards objected to being armed.) http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=cb69a7e7-7705-4540-820a-bd1df556b7b4 --- NRA-ILA Alerts: Alerts for the week are posted on 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 .