An Inside Look at Heller: ...Yet Heller was almost derailed on a series of occasions, sometimes by the very people who cherish gun rights and constitutional protections the most, including the National Rifle Association (NRA). Many lacked confidence that the Court was ready to catch up with the legal academy. In the hour of opportunity, many blinked. Victory over these self-doubts provide a powerful reminder that, as Barry Goldwater reminded us, sometimes an overly fearful moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue, and that even decades of bad policy and bad political philosophy can turn around with smart, tenacious efforts... http://reason.com/news/show/129991.html --- The Beat Goes On: The National Rifle Association labels President-elect Barack Obama a radical, a tag that gun-control advocates call a smear. But Valley gun owners aren't waiting until January to find out who's right or how Obama will honor his campaign pledge of "common sense" gun control. Gun-store owners in the Phoenix area say they saw sharp increases in gun and ammunition sales just before and after the presidential election. The FBI reported that, during election week, instant background checks in the U.S., an indicator of firearms sales, shot up 49 percent over the same week in 2007. This was during the most severe economic crunch in decades. From Nov. 3 to 9, the FBI logged nearly 375,000 instant checks. A year before, the number was just shy of 252,000... http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/11/18/20081118obama-gunsales1118.html --- Students Push for Guns on Campus: ...At least 11 colleges and universities already allow students to carry concealed weapons, a practice that is banned by law in 30 states. But since being founded after the Virginia Tech slayings, Students for Concealed Carry has put the issue squarely in the spotlight, starting chapters at about 500 colleges and universities, it says. This week, the organization is organizing a nationwide lobbying effort targeting state legislatures and news organizations... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27666800/ Related Article, for those who missed it: ...Every minute the officer waits for back-up, another three or more people could die. In other words, while it was once considered suicide for a lone officer to take on an active killer, it is now considered statistical homicide for him not to do so... As soon as they're confronted by any armed resistance, the shooters typically turn the gun on themselves. http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=d26c29ff-f134-4202-bc40-947534a6de3c --- New Jersey Residents Have Been Brainwashed: ...Now, let's return to New Jersey. The latest Census estimate the population of NJ is 8.7 million. If two percent of citizens are granted a concealed carry permit, that would be approximately 174,000 people. That also means there will only be 2 people per square mile who would have their permit to legally carry their weapon. There are 10 times more criminals and street gang members in our cities that are illegally carrying concealed right at this very moment! So what exactly are we afraid of??? ... http://blog.nj.com/njv_publicblog/2008/11/weve_been_brainwashed.html --- Shooting Ruled Self-Defense: A Prince George County man acted in self defense when he fatally shot a Hopewell man during a gathering last month, county authorities have determined. After an extensive investigation by Prince George police and the county commonwealth's attorney's office, authorities have concluded that Jeremy W. Atkins, 21, was fatally shot Oct. 11 after pointing a handgun at a resident of the home in the 3000 block of High Peak Lane, authorities said today in a statement. The resident, who was not identified, fired two blasts from a hunting-style shotgun, fatally injuring Atkins, authorities said... http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-11-17-0283.html --- Decision Still Pending in Illinois Shooting: More than a month after a Waukegan store clerk fatally shot a fleeing robber, it's still not known whether charges will be filed. "We haven't completed our investigation yet," Lake County State's Attorney Michael J. Waller said Monday. Waller expects his staff will reach a decision "within a couple weeks." Twenty-year-old Brandon Starks was shot to death Oct. 13 outside People's Market, 901 8th St. The North Chicago resident had just robbed the store at gunpoint and was riding away on a bicycle when the clerk shot him twice, authorities said. The clerk, whose name has not been released by police, did not have a valid firearm owners identification card and therefore was not legally allowed to use a gun, authorities said. Additionally, some legal experts have questioned whether the clerk's deadly actions were covered by laws governing self-defense... http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=251485&src=3 --- Rule Two Reminder, part 1: A Tucson man who shot his girlfriend in the head was sentenced to 10 1/2 years in prison Monday on a manslaughter charge. Anthony Sylvia, 23, shot Danielle Mason, 22, April 28, and she died a week later. Sylvia told police he thought the safety was engaged on his .22-caliber handgun when he cocked the hammer and pointed it in Mason's direction and it went off... (Rule Two: Don't let the muzzle cross anything you're not prepared to shoot.) http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/267687 --- Rule Two Reminder, pat 2: A 15-year-old St. George high school student is dead, killed by a gun used in a school musical. The gun was loaded with blanks, and was being used for sound effects. Police say Tucker Thayer was setting up for the musical at Desert Hills High School Saturday night when the gunshot rang out. He was found lying on the ground with severe head injuries... "The gases, the pressure that it would build up, such a close proximity where the gun was pointed at the individual's head, caused the injury," explained St. George police Sgt. James Van Fleet... (In 1985 actor Jon-Erik Hexum died after shooting himself in the head with a blank; not only does firing a blank produce the mentioned gas, it also propels a wad for a short distance.) http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4812167 --- Rule Four Reminder: A toddler was killed by a stray bullet over the weekend when a New York City deer hunter fired his rifle too close to her grandparents' home in the Hudson Valley, the police said. The hunter, Edward Taibi, 45, of Queens, was being held without bail on Monday after being arraigned on a charge of second-degree manslaughter in the Bethel town court in Sullivan County, the authorities said. They said that Mr. Taibi was hunting from a tree stand on Sunday afternoon in a rural part of the county when he shot a deer. The police said he came down from the stand and fired his .30-caliber rifle again, about 400 feet from a trailer home in Swan Lake, a small community just south of the Catskill Mountains... (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it.) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/nyregion/18hunt.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081117/D94GV7R80.html --- Avoid the Bucket: ...Investigations after the fact turned up some surprising trends. When faced with a madman who didn't care if he lived or died, officers would shoot their revolvers empty and then never get around to reloading. Most of them were found, shot dead by the perp, with six empty cases in one hand and their gun in the other with the cylinder open. Most of the officers never even tried to reload from the extra rounds riding on their belt. But wait, it gets weirder. Witnesses would report that a few officers would even break cover and wander around in the open, staring at their feet. They, too, would have a handful of spent brass and an open gun... (Article makes some very good points and should prompt people to go beyond it and question the street-relevance of anything taught on a range.) http://www.hellinahandbasket.net/2008/11/avoid_the_bucket.htm#more --- From GOA: Last month, we told you how the ATF was trying to prevent the distribution of an electronic 4473 Form. This software has been developed by a private firm, Coloseum Software Corporation, and is intended to protect dealers against the "mistakes" that have allowed the ATF to prosecute or harass them into giving up their licenses. GOA issued a grassroots alert in mid-October explaining how the ATF had been dragging its collective feet for months -- keeping Coloseum from distributing its software, even while the ATF was developing its own competing software (and possibly, violating the copyright which belonged to Coloseum)... http://www.gunowners.org/a111708.htm --- British Man Jailed for Possession of Inoperable Rifle: A memorabilia collector has been jailed for five years for possessing a Second World War rifle listed as a prohibited firearm. The rifle was not in a condition to fire live ammunition. But Stafford Crown Court heard replacing the deteriorated pin would have made that possible. Phillip Peter Kent, aged 29, of Owen Walk, Highfields, Stafford, was arrested in the street by police acting on information at 7.30am on June 20 this year... http://www.expressandstar.com/2008/11/13/collector-jailed-after-rifle-found/ --- Tangentially Related: In summer of last year, Arizona miners were getting signing bonuses and incentives such as free housing to work in Safford. But on Monday, 59 of the town's mineworkers were among more than 500 in Southern Arizona and 600 in all who were told that it was their last day of work for Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., based in Phoenix. The ongoing squeeze on the economy and plummeting copper prices resulted in cuts at four of the company's Arizona mines and one in New Mexico... (If there is no government intervention in the marketplace, falling prices for copper and other base metals should eventually result in lower prices for ammunition) http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/267686 -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .