Statistics Show Licensed CCW No Threat to Cops: Another bogus argument of gun control extremists - that sensible concealed carry laws create an increased threat to police officers - has been refuted by statistics from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and published by USA Today. The number of officer fatalities due to gunfire is the lowest in 50 years, noted Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. A report out Monday said that this year, 41 officers have died from gunshot wounds, down 40 percent from the 68 who died by gunfire in 2007. Yet the number of concealed carry permits issued by the states has risen, dramatically in some areas, in the past 12 months. "Better training and equipment have contributed to this decline," Gottlieb stated, "but it must be noted for the record that growing numbers of legally-armed citizens have not resulted in more police slayings. That has been one of the many lame arguments offered by gun control fanatics over the past few years when they fought against expanded concealed carry rights..." http://www.ccrkba.org/pub/rkba/press-releases/2008.police.deaths.htm --- Holder Could Face Tough Confirmation Hearing: With Barack Obama anxious to take office, the public eager for fresh leadership, and the economy demanding urgent attention, the Senate is likely to defer to the president-elect and swiftly approve his Cabinet nominees, congressional aides and political analysts say. But there will be one prominent exception: The confirmation hearing for Eric Holder, Obama's pick for attorney general, promises to be bruising, with Republicans determined to explore Holder's role in controversial pardons under President Clinton, his views on gun rights, and his involvement in the case of Elian Gonzalez, the 6-year-old Cuban boy returned to his homeland by Clinton's Justice Department... http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/12/29/holders_hearing_might_be_rocky/ --- Infringements Could Cost Big Brother Western Support: ... After Obama's sizeable and sweeping win this November, it's easy to forget how new and fragile the new coalitions are that created his win. Among them are western pro-gun politicos who can effectively block any gun control laws Obama might propose to serve his urban, pro-gun-control constituencies. It's easy to imagine there are dozens of such issues ready to crack the political alliances around Obama. It's likely he'll have to surf on the narrow strip of issues that enjoy broad support among the disparate coalitions that help elect him. http://www.bad-news-day.com/jay-stevens-passing-gun-control-legislation-could-cost-obama-the-support-of-western-democrats --- The Beat Goes On: Some gun owners may soon find they'll have to wait in line at their favorite target-shooting range. It didn't used to be this way. At Forest & Field Outdoor Specialties, a Norwalk-based gun store and shooting range, demand among novices and experienced gun owners for more training is so great that "classes are now completely booked for the rest of December, way into January and beyond," says Scott Moss, a lifelong outdoors man and competitive shooter, "so I've added classes and am booking [far ahead]. I've never seen anything like this before." What Moss is referring to is a huge uptick in gun sales and interest in gun ownership. Call it the Obama effect... http://www.connpost.com/ci_11325561 Fearing a Democrat-controlled Congress and White House will impose stricter gun regulations, local firearms merchants have seen sales spike. "Definitely they have been up. The first couple weeks right after the election they were quite a bit larger than normal,'" said Kevin Schupbach, an owner of Schupbach's Sporting Goods, 141 W. Pearl St. "People said they are worried, definitely, about their gun rights." Schupbach said he has seen an increase of about 25 percent in sales, mostly of handguns and semiautomatic rifles, since November, when Barack Obama became the president-elect and Democrats won control of the Senate and expanded their House majority... http://www.mlive.com/news/citpat/index.ssf?/base/news-27/1230563126309820.xml&coll=3 --- The Beat Goes On?: Stacy Jack, a suburban mom of two, is buying a gun. It seems to Jack, who lives in Prince William County, that crime has gotten worse lately, and with the economic situation deteriorating, she is scared. "My husband and I just talked about it and ran through some worst-case scenarios if we're headed down a bad road economically-wise," Jack said of her decision to buy a gun. "What if somebody wants to break in and take our possessions or our cans of food? A fear of the unknown is a terrible thing." ... (While most of the nation's press has connected the surge in the purchase of firearms and ammunition to fears of infringements of the RKBA by Big Brother's incoming administration, The Washington Post looks for an alternate explanation.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/27/AR2008122701054.html On the Other Hand...: Conventional wisdom has it that a bad economy leads to more crime, as the pressure of high prices and rising unemployment prompt some to steal just to make ends meet. But a recently released study of crime and business cycles in 23 cities from Boston to San Diego found very little relationship between hard times and high crime, at least in the short run. In fact, overall crime is down 2 percent this year in Louisville, one of the cities covered in the study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The study also examined Louisville's fellow Federal Reserve Eighth District cities of St. Louis, Little Rock, Ark., and Memphis, Tenn. While there is some variation from city to city, the study authors found "weak evidence across U.S. cities that economic conditions significantly influence short-run changes in crime." ... http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20081226/NEWS01/812260404/1008/rss01 --- Man to Lobby for Arkansas Castle Doctrine: Larry Harr, a Stuttgart resident and Chairman of Committee for U.S. Constitution for 20 years, will be lobbying at the State Capitol in Little Rock three times a week in the upcoming 2009 legislative session for the passage of a "Castle Doctrine" law. It would enable citizens to use force in any place that included deadly force without fear of being prosecuted when they felt like they were being attacked. Harr said the law he is proposing for Arkansas should model after the Florida "Castle Doctrine" law that took effect Oct. 1, 2005. He attempted to lobby for a similar bill in the 2007 legislative session, but it was not passed... http://www.stuttgartdailyleader.com/news/x512366957/Castle-law-lobby-going-on --- Oops, Wrong House: Police say a 22-year-old man was shot to death by a Colorado Springs resident while trying to break in to the resident's home. Officers say they responded to a report of a burglary in process at the home at 9:50 p.m. Sunday. Whey they arrived, they discovered a man in the backyard suffering from a gunshot wound; efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. Authorities say an investigation revealed the man was trying to forcibly enter the house through the back door when he was confronted and shot at least once by a resident of the home. Police say two other people were in the home when the shooting occurred, and no previous relationship between the man and the home's residents has been found... http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/dec/29/man-killed-springs-police-respond-burglary/ Sean Kennedy's father says the 22-year-old had been drinking at a party Sunday night when he drove to the wrong Colorado Springs home, pounded on the back door and was fatally shot. Police said Monday they plan to give the case to the district attorney's office to decide whether the homeowner will be protected under Colorado's "Make My Day" law, which allows people to use deadly force in self-defense in their homes. Grant Kennedy says his son moved to the neighborhood four months ago. He says Sean Kennedy had too much to drink and apparently was confused about which house was his. Sean Kennedy lived about a block from where he was shot... http://www.kjct8.com/Global/story.asp?S=9593398 --- Stupid Is as Stupid Does: ...Back in March of 2008, Scott and his best friend, Nate, were target shooting with Scott's .22 caliber rifle behind Scott's home. At the time, both Scott and Nate were firing the .22 caliber rifle utilizing Super Colibri powderless rounds (which are designated for indoor use with .22 caliber handguns). Nate posed to Scott what it would feel like to be shot and Nate asked that Scott shoot him with the .22 caliber Super Colibri round utilizing the .22 long rifle. In preparation for the event, Nate donned two hoodies (sweatshirts with hoods) and walked about one hundred yards away. Nate then turned so his back faced Scott, put his head down, and Scott fired toward Nate, arcing the round so it would make the one hundred yard distance... http://www.jpfo.org/pdf02/bonar-case.pdf --- Courtroom Shooter Dies: Ellie Nesler, who sparked a national debate about vigilantism after killing her son's accused molester in a courtroom in 1993, has died of cancer. She was 56. Nesler died Friday morning at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, according to hospital spokeswoman Phyllis Brown. Nesler had battled breast cancer since 1994. Nesler made headlines when she shot Daniel Driver five times in the head in a Tuolumne County courtroom during a break in his preliminary hearing for allegedly molesting four boys, including her then-6-year-old son William, at a Christian camp. Nesler was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, but her 10-year sentence was later overturned because of jury misconduct. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/12/30/20081230a2filler1230.html --- Lead-Bullet Banners Turn to Utah: Conservationists who have battled for years to eliminate lead ammunition they say is the biggest threat to the survival of endangered California condors are now setting their sights on Utah. Successful programs to limit the use of lead ammunition in Arizona and California have cut the number of the giant vultures poisoned from eating bullets in carcasses of animals shot by hunters. But as the resurgent condors expand their range, wildlife officials know they must broaden their focus as the birds journey into nearby Utah.... http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/12/30/20081230condorrecover1230.html --- Hornady Critical Defense Ammo - An informal Test: ...The .38 Special load was fired from a well-used S&W Model 042 with the usual 1 7/8" bbl. Its average velocity measured 856 ft/sec, far short of the nominal listed velocity of 1175 ft/sec. These figures are based on 10 shots fired 10 feet from the chronograph screens... The .38's were fired following the same protocol and achieved an average velocity of 856 ft/sec with penetration in the soaked newsprint averaging 7.6" or probably about 11.4" in ballistic gelatin. I was amazed at the extreme consistency not only the expansion's reliability but the small differences in speed, shot to shot for each caliber. I could not differentiate between the expanded bullets fired through the towel and those that were not... http://www.thehighroad.us/showthread.php?t=404295 --- When Guns Are Outlawed...: We've always known that knife crime in the U.K. has been on the rise and a serious problem for the authorities who've struggled to contain it. It has taken over terrorism as the Metropolitan Police's No. 1 priority. But we didn't know the full extent of knife crime until today. The U.K.'s opposition party, which is the Conservative Party, released some sobering facts and figures that say knife-related killings have soared to a record high, the highest in three decades... http://blogs.abcnews.com/worldview/2008/12/uk-knife-crime.html -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .