The Beat Goes On: Throughout months of campaigning, he wanted people to know that "Change is Coming." And although Barack Obama hasn't been sworn in as president just yet, some people are already preparing for some changes they fear may be backed by the new president that could limit gun ownership. Recently, Dan Erdmann talked with a local [ND] firearms retailer to discuss some of their post-election sales trends... http://www.kxmc.com/News/311882.asp --- Michigan SCCC Chapter Gets More Press: A new student group at Grand Rapids Community College has formed to push the debate on the issue of carrying concealed weapons on college campuses, according to the Grand Rapids Press. GRCC student Josh Eberly formed the group Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, as a chapter of a national organization by the same name. The national organization was formed after the Virginia Tech shootings. Eberly told the Grand Rapids Press that weapons on campus will help make the space safer... "I'm a firm believer in Second Amendment rights in the appropriate setting, and a college campus is not an appropriate setting," said GRCC Police Chief Cindy Kennel. "I don't think campus would be safer." ... (I'll bet that Chief Kennel carries a firearm on campus.) http://michiganmessenger.com/10645/student-group-urging-concealed-weapons-on-grand-rapids-community-college-campus --- Texas Man Acquitted in Shooting: ...Wesley Tudor, 27, was found not guilty and acquitted on all charges of murder for the September 2007 shooting death of Glover at a house party just south of Huntington off U.S. 69. Glover, 23, was shot point blank between the eyes with a .25-caliber handgun after he allegedly tried to pull Tudor from his vehicle during a confrontation. Tudor has maintained that he feared for his life when he fired his gun at Glover and acted in self-defense. As the verdict was read tears were shed on both sides of the courtroom, while Tudor embraced his attorney and exchanged smiles with his family... "My client was dealing with a pack of violent men," Deaton said. "I find it hard to believe that the state doesn't think a serious altercation occurred before the gunshot." ... (The operative term here appears to be "disparity of force," in which an attack by a group justifies resort to deadly force.) http://www.lufkindailynews.com/hp/content/news/stories/2008/12/23/Murder_Verdict.html?imw=Y --- Bad Cases Make Bad Law: Gun politics make strange bedfellows - ask the Fullerton-based California Rifle and Pistol Association. CRPA strictly monitors all perceived threats to Californians' right to bear arms - and sometimes finds itself cheering on court case whose litigants it might otherwise cross the street to avoid. Take CRPA's reaction to the California State Court of Appeals' ruling last week, in which it upheld a state law banning individuals from carrying concealed weapons in a public place - like someone's driveway... (The problem with our legal system is that one must often defend the rights of criminals in order to protect the rights of the law-abiding. Rarely does a case like Heller come along, where the litigant is squeaky clean.) http://blogs.laweekly.com/ladaily/city-news/big-bang-theorists/ --- Police Chief Pleads Not Guilty in Uzi Death: A police chief in western Massachusetts pleaded not guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter in the death of an 8-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself with an Uzi at a gun show. Pelham Chief Edward Fleury owns COPS Firearms & Training, which promoted the October show where Christopher Bizilj (bah-SEEL') shot himself in the head. Fleury's lawyer, David Kuzmeski, also entered not guilty pleas on Fleury's behalf to four counts of furnishing a machine gun to a person under 18. Fleury did not appear at the arraignment in Hampden Superior Court. Fleury could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter and up to 10 years if convicted of furnishing the weapon to a minor... (The event is inaccurately described as a gun show. Traditional gun shows are where guns are displayed, sold and swapped, not fired.) http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hl-VtQImXVuBfNXTpNMvOgFOxj2wD957U5G80 --- Machine Guns Stolen from Dealer: Federal investigators are offering a $10,000 reward for help in finding thieves who took more than 20 firearms, including machine guns, from a Pittsburgh-area based gun dealer near King of Prussia in Eastern Pennsylvania last night. The firearms, with a value of $200,000, were stolen from the gun dealer's vehicle in the parking lot of a restaurant, according to Upper Merion Township Police. The dealer, who authorities haven't identified, was traveling back to Pittsburgh after participating in a gun show at the Valley Forge Convention Center. The dealer has a federal license to sell machine guns, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives... (I seem to recall a similar incident in which an FBI van was targeted a few years ago.) http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08357/936915-100.stm --- Oh, Those Evil Guns: The crime took place about two hours from Washington, on the outskirts of Richmond: Two masked burglars smashed into a sporting-goods store and walked away with 34 semiautomatic handguns. The two novice criminals, college-educated men who had been friends since their high school years in Greenbelt, pulled off the heist in June with plans to sell the guns for quick cash in and around the District. Federal agents and D.C. police arrested them about a week after the theft, but not fast enough to keep the guns off the market... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/21/AR2008122101994.html --- Oh, Those Evil Bottom-Feeding Pistols: When it comes to killing, semi-automatic handguns appear to be the weapon of choice in Chicago. Semi-automatics topped revolvers as the weapon most often sent to federal authorities for testing last year, records show. Of 106 guns linked to homicides in Chicago, 54 were semi-automatic pistols, 44 were revolvers and eight were rifles, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives... (Author Massad Ayoob has pointed out that Americans tend to emulate the police in their choice of firearms. This appears to apply to gangbangers as well.) http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1342827,CST-NWS-shootguns22.article --- David Spade Donates Funds for Police Rifles: An unexpected donation from actor David Spade is expected to provide Phoenix police with enough money to buy an additional 50 semi-automatic rifles for patrol officers in 2009. The $100,000 gift announced Monday means as many as 300 officers could soon be armed with Bushmaster AR-15s, even in light of recent debates between police and union officials about the availability of the high-powered weapons during the city's ongoing budget strife... Spade, a Scottsdale Saguaro High School graduate, provided the money to a non-profit police foundation after seeing a jarring television news report about gun violence. Police leaders said Spade told them he was inspired to help keep the community safe... http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/12/23/20081223rifles1223.html http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/105789.php http://www.newsmax.com/entertainment/people_david_spade/2008/12/22/164534.html --- Gunfight Video: This video appears to have been released following the conviction and death sentence of the motorist, in the death of Texas game warden Justin Hurst. The video ends when the camera is struck by a round from the defendant's AK-47 clone. Note the clue of his intent to fight from the way he angles his vehicle. While his use of cover is not the best, it suggests why people like John Farnam are interested in ammunition that will penetrate auto bodies. Modern pickup beds, unless loaded, offer relatively light resistance. http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/wharton_county/story/352636-a352663-t32.html -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .