Democrats Battle Thune Amendment: A controversial amendment to the Senate defense planning bill that would allow people to carry concealed weapons across state lines has set off a firestorm on both sides of the gun control debate. Democrats were scrambling to defeat the proposal by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., ahead of a Wednesday vote on the measure. Thune argues the amendment, which has 21 Senate co-sponsors, will help reduce crime... Currently, 48 states allow concealed weapons. Thune's amendment would not allow people to carry concealed weapons into the two states - Wisconsin and Illinois - that do not permit them. In states that do allow concealed weapons, Thune's amendment would require anyone crossing state lines to abide by the rules of the state they are in - such restrictions include the types of locations where a firearm can be carried... (In light of the fact that several blue-dog Democrats, along with Senate majority leader Harry Reid, appear to support the measure, I'm not sure how accurate it is to suggest that all Senate Democrats oppose it.) http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/21/senate-democrats-battle-concealed-weapons-amendment/ Bill Boosts Senator's Image: South Dakota Sen. John Thune will step into the national spotlight today when the Senate votes on his measure that would allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons across state lines. The legislation has drawn huge attention in recent days - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called it a "misguided proposal" on Tuesday - which has amounted to a sort of coming-out party for Thune, who has been seen as a star in waiting since he defeated then Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D) in 2004... In other words, Thune's high profile on a gun rights issue both helps him in South Dakota, where the 2nd Amendment is considered sacred, AND boosts his profile among conservatives nationally by pushing an issue that is near and dear to their hearts... http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/morning-fix/072209morning-fix-thune.html?hpid=topnews Does New York Need Fewer Guns?: You can be forgiven if you thought that Republicans are for states' rights. The Republican Party's 2008 platform insists that Congress should respect the limits imposed by the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution, which declares that authority not granted to the federal government is reserved to the states. But for some Republicans, federal preemption of state authority seems just fine if it promotes the possession of guns. That is the message of a bill sponsored by the chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, John Thune of South Dakota. The bill, sprung on us as a proposed amendment to a pending defense appropriations bill, would overrule the laws in states like New York. In New York, the state imposes careful restrictions on who may carry concealed firearms. With the Thune amendment, New York and other states would be obliged to recognize licenses from jurisdictions which choose to issue them practically for the asking... (The Wall Street Journal usually tends to support the RKBA but, for some reason, has chosen to give voice to Mr. Morgenthau today.) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203946904574302300639181752.html#mod=djemEditorialPage Mixing Federalism with Nonsense: Today Congress is slated to vote on a bill that would effectively nationalize permits for those who wish to carry concealed guns. However, those of us who support conceal and carry laws must be concerned that Congress would force states to take the least restrictive and weakest current state laws as the standard. As conservatives we usually oppose nationalizing what is best left to the states... Imagine you are an officer who sees a notorious criminal hanging out on the street corner carrying several guns, likely waiting to make an illegal sale. Under existing law in Virginia and many other states, this person could be arrested on the spot; he would not be eligible for a concealed carry permit. It is likely he would go to prison. But if the Thune Amendment passes, that criminal will have absolutely no problem acquiring a concealed carry permit that would allow him to avoid arrest and continue selling guns illegally on the streets; guns that could be used in robberies, assaults, and murders. In all likelihood, that criminal will not even have to travel out-of-state to get the permit. A black market for the permit will spring up, sure as day follows night... (Huh? What do illegal sales of firearms have to do with carry permits and how will the black-market permits be created? As I recall, pen carry is legal, without a permit in Virginia. I remain concerned that "nationalizing" permits could eventually lead to the highest common denominator for issuance.) http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25261.html Truckers Support Thune Amendment: Truckers with concealed carry permits may be able to protect themselves in more than just their home state if an amendment on the Senate floor moves forward on Wednesday, July 22. Sen. John Thune, R-SD, offered an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act - S1390 - on Monday, July 20. The amendment is set for debate and a vote at noon EDT on Wednesday. Thune's amendment would allow individuals who have concealed carry permits to carry a firearm in other states that also grant concealed carry permits... Thune's efforts to bring states together on concealed carry permits began when, in late April, he introduced a stand-alone bill: "Respecting States Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009." It is not uncommon for stand-alone bills on a very narrow issue to have a tougher time passing Congress and being signed into law. With that in mind, Thune made the move to advance his concealed carry legislation by adding it to the National Defense Authorization bill as an amendment. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has been supportive of Thune's efforts from the get-go... http://www.landlinemag.com/Special_Reports/2009/July09/072109-concealed-carry.htm --- Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics: In response to the VPC report claiming seven murder charges against holders of concealed carry permits in a two-year period, a member of the Arizona Citizens Defense League has documented six murder charges against US police officers, from January 2008 to January 2009. From January 2007 to January 2008, two serving officers were charged with murder, one with attempted murder, and two retired officers were charged with murder. From January 2006 to January 2007, nine officers were charged with murder, including one in the US Virgin Islands and seven New Orleans officers, charged for a 2005 Katrina incident. As with private citizens, a charge does not necessarily mean that each officer was convicted. I believe that there are a great many more citizens licensed to carry in the US than there are police officers. (Details available on request.) ...The "study" purports to show that during the strangely arbitrary period from May 2007 until April 2009, permit holders were responsible for the deaths of 7 police officers and 44 citizens. Now ... the loss of a single innocent life is a tragedy that cannot be taken too seriously. And as an ardent supporter of our nation's law enforcement officers, who are overwhelmingly our brothers and sisters in our struggle to protect and enhance our rights as gun owners, I mourn the loss of these 7 brave officers deeply. But does this "study" hold water as it attempts to capitalize on these deaths politically? Ted Deeds, Chief Operating Officer of the Law Enforcement Alliance of America (LEAA) doesn't think so. "I've only just started looking at it and, no surprise, I think there will be lots of holes in it. As always, one cop injured or killed, one good guy injured or killed is too many. But I suspect that there are A LOT more significant mechanisms of injury/death than what this so-called 'report' hopes to conclude." Let's examine the many, many flaws that render their data virtually meaningless and reduces their "study" to nothing more than the ideological propaganda that is the normal grist of the VPC mill... http://www.examiner.com/x-3253-Minneapolis-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m7d21-Lies-damn-lies-and-VPC-statistics --- A Reminder for Judge Sotomayor: In Congressional testimony, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayer claimed she couldn't think of a self-defense case having come before the Supreme Court, adding, "I could be wrong, but I can't think of one." Independent research shows that fourteen separate Supreme Court cases, from 1895 to 1985, addressed every basic aspect of personal self defense. All of them held that self defense is a valid, justifiable and long-standing tenet of American law... The brief index below is a convenient research and navigation tool, and a way to set the record straight on what the Court has already done. Read the entire case for a thorough understanding of each one. The news media, pundits, Congress and Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayer have unfortunately exhibited complete ignorance of these cases, and public policy is harmed by that lack of knowledge... http://pagenine.typepad.com/page_nine/2009/07/sotomayer-overlooks-all-14-supreme-court-self-defense-cases.html#more --- Oops, Wrong House, Arizona Version: A 27-year-old man who died during an apparent home invasion last Friday was a corrections officer, his employer confirmed Tuesday. Danny Torres had worked at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy for about two years, said Louise Grant, a spokeswoman for Corrections Corporation of America, which runs the private medium-security facility. Torres was found wounded outside a home in the 4400 block of East Benson Highway by Pima County Sheriff's deputies, who were responding to a 911 call from a neighbor who said armed gunmen had entered a nearby house, spokeswoman Deputy Dawn Barkman said. Torres, who was pronounced dead after being taken to University Medical Center, was shot by the neighbor's son after the gunmen fired at the neighbor, Barkman said. Torres was one of three men involved in the attack, Barkman said. He and two other men arrived in a dark-colored van, entered the house and pistol-whipped a man who lived there while his wife and child were in the home, Barkman said. "He was involved. He was a suspect. I don't care if he was a corrections officer," Barkman said... http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/301902.php --- Oops, Wrong House, Florida Version: Bradley Harvell, an 82-year-old veteran who suffers from emphysema, has owned a .357 magnum for 25 years, but until Sunday night, he'd never fired it. It was the powerful handgun that Harvell used to shoot and kill the man he described as resembling a western-style "train robber" who barged into his house, shot him twice with a stun gun and tried to steal his money. Harvell shot the man twice, first in the stomach area and then in the head, during the struggle at Harvell's home on County Road 333, according to the Liberty County Sheriff's Office. The man is identified as Octavius Barnes, 24, of Sanford, who had been staying with relatives in Bristol. Deputy Sheriff Lt. Brigham Shuler described Barnes as dressed like a ninja. "He had on a black shirt and black trousers over his clothes that you see martial arts people wear," Shuler said. Barnes also wore black shades and a blue bandana over his mouth. Shuler said his department will complete its investigation and forward that report to the State's Attorney's Office to decide if it should go before a grand jury for review... http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20090721/NEWS01/907210309/1010/NEWS01 --- Oops, Wrong House, Kentucky Version: Kentucky State Police are investigating a shooting early Tuesday in Garrard County in which one man died. Dallas Richard Helton, 40, of Paint Lick was pronounced dead at 1:42 a.m. Tuesday at the scene of the shooting, Coroner Daryl Hodge said. The shooting occurred at 1524 Old Richmond Road North in Cartersville, about 8 miles east of Lancaster, Hodge said. At 12:46 a.m. Tuesday, the homeowner, Hurlin McQuerry, called 911 to report that a man had forcibly entered his home and that the homeowner had shot him with a .410-gauge shotgun, state police said in a release. Upon arrival, state police found Helton dead of a single gunshot wound to the chest. Helton was wearing a ski mask and gloves and had a crowbar when he entered the house, state police said. At the time of the shooting, two people were waiting outside in a vehicle, state police said... (I'm gad to hear that the .410 shotgun did the trick - it would not be my recommendation for a defensive firearm.) http://www.kentucky.com/latest_news/story/868918.html --- Oops, Wrong Party: Neighbors in one community said a man was shot and killed early Sunday morning after he interrupted a neighborhood party and robbed some of the partygoers. "It's like playground rules. They just broke one of them by going in and robbing and turning your back on someone," neighbor Andre said. Andre said 29-year-old Gregory Scott interupted a dice game in the basement of a house in the 300 block of Seward Street in Pontiac at about 3:30 a.m. Andre said Scott pulled a gun on partygoers and robbed them. "He goes in, pulls out a gun, let off a shot or two to make the person come out his money, and he was fine with that and turned his back," Andre said. "But everybody had pistols ... lights went off on him then." Andre said the man was shot several times as he ran up the stairs and out of the house. "He made it outside. He fell outside," Andre said. Neighbors said two other people were also wounded but were able to walk away from the scene... http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/20108423/detail.html --- No Charges for Virginia Store Owner: No charges will be filed against a man who shot and killed a would-be robber in his store, the Suffolk commonwealth's attorney announced Thursday. On the morning on June 21, the alarm went off at James Durden's Whaleyville store - J&L Food Mart. Durden, who lives close by, grabbed a gun and went to the store. His brother told 13News that Durden opened fire because he thought the man pointed a gun at him. That man, identified as Ernest Scott Roop, was struck four times. Detectives determined Roop was wearing camouflage clothing with his face concealed in a "ninjna" style fashion. They also said Roop had a hunting knife and crowbar and was wearing heavy construction gloves... http://www.wvec.com/news/suffolk/stories/wvec_local_071609_suffolk_shootnig_no_charges.4838bd87.html --- Arizona AG to Appeal Fish Ruling: A retired Tolleson teacher whose murder conviction was overturned walked out of prison Tuesday to hugs from his family after serving three years of a 10-year sentence. Harold Fish, 62, left the Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis near Buckeye where he was incarcerated for the fatal shooting of Grant Kuenzli, 43, on a forest trail north of Payson in May 2004. Fish claimed self-defense, and there were no witnesses. Fish's case rippled through the Arizona legal and political arena and drew national attention from gun-rights advocates. After Fish was charged, legislators rewrote Arizona's self-defense laws. The Arizona Court of Appeals last month ordered a new trial in the second-degree murder case, ruling that testimony was improperly kept out of Fish's trial. The Coconino County attorney then said he would not retry the case and agreed to Fish's release. Fish's legal ordeal is not over. As he was being set free, the Arizona Attorney General's Office announced plans to challenge the appellate-court ruling. The attorney general will ask the Arizona Supreme Court to review the case, said Steve Wilson, a spokesman for Attorney General Terry Goddard... (The original statement of the Coconino County Attorney was that he would not retry Fish if the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the ruling from the Court of Appeals.) http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/07/22/20090722hikershooter0722.html ...An order signed Tuesday morning by Coconino County Superior Court Judge Mark Moran allowed Harold Fish to be released from the Lewis prison in Buckeye, pending a new trial in the case. Fish said he acted in self-defense when he shot Grant Kuenzli in May 2004 while hiking in the Coconino National Forest. Prosecutors said Fish overreacted and that self-defense was not justified. A jury convicted the 62-year-old Fish of second-degree murder, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. But a state appeals court overturned the conviction last month and ordered a new trial, saying the judge's jury instructions failed to adequately describe the law of self-defense. Prosecutors have said they do not plan to retry Fish. They cited a new law that shifts the burden of proof in self-defense claim cases from the defendant to the prosecutor. Gun-rights supporters, who said Fish's conviction represented a threat to their right to protect themselves, prompted the change in the law... http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2009/07/22/news/20090722_front_200359.txt ...Fish's release from prison doesn't guarantee that he will remain free. A spokesman for Attorney General Terry Goddard, Steve Wilson, said the office will file a petition with the state Supreme Court to review the lower court's decision by the end of the month. The deadline is Aug. 5. Wilson said the office disagrees with the appellate court's reasoning that the trial judge may have erred in barring evidence of Kuenzli's prior acts of violence related to dogs. The constitutionality of the new self-defense law also could be challenged. It doesn't go into effect until September but applies retroactively to Fish's case. A challenge to the new law or appeal could take months or years to play out. "It's up in the air," Phillips said. "I'm hopeful that the state will be persuaded once Mr. Fish is back home with his family that enough is enough and they will just let this go." ... http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/301849 The Fish family can use help with accumulated legal fees: http://www.haroldfishdefense.org/ --- MasterPiece Arms Offers Pistol-Caliber Carbines: MasterPiece Arms, the nation's only true MAC-10 manufacturer, introduces four models of carbine rifles to their line. Known for their innovative alterations to the traditional MAC-10, MasterPiece Arms has taken the simplicity of the firearm's function and added rifle barrels and several stock options to form a rifle line that is sure to please any varmint hunter or collector... (I discuss true pistol-caliber carbines briefly at http://www.spw-duf.info/longgun.html. Advantages are lower recoil and lower ammunition costs than a .223 carbine, whose round is generally less likely to exit a home than a pistol round fired from a carbine. The usual caveat applies - it's wise to wait a year to allow for complete debugging.) http://www.ammoland.com/2009/07/21/masterpiece-arms-rifle-version-of-mac10-pistols/ --- From MSSA: Dear MSSA Friends, There's been a lot of chatter on the Net today about the "open" letters the BATFE has recently issued to Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) in Montana and Tennessee claiming that the Firearms Freedom Acts passed in Montana and Tennessee are trumped by federal law. Two primary news stories about this today are at CBS News and World Net Daily. Such a response to the state-made guns bills by the BATFE has been expected, and is not particularly disturbing, for several reasons: 1) The letters are addressed only to FFLs and purport to assert authority only over those licensees already under the federal thumb because of their licenses. We've always assumed that people with existing FFLs would not be players in the state-made guns exercise because they will not wish to risk thwarting the earned reputation the BATFE has for vindictiveness. The letters are not addressed to non-FFLs, those folks who are potential participants in the state-made guns business. 2) The BATFE letters may lack any official import because they are not signed by the official who appears in the signature block, but by some unknown other person. It's difficult to place much credence in a missive upon which the purported issuing person is unwilling to put his signature, and for which the signer is unknown. 3) The essence of the letter is a declaration that the laws that the BATFE enforces supercede the U.S. Constitution and the Tenth Amendment. I understand that the BATFE hopes that is so, but that's far from proven yet. (We still recommend that nobody make these state-made guns until we can litigate and vet the principles involved.) 4) The letters, if they are official even though unsigned by the issuer, will help us establish standing to get this issue squarely before the federal courts. The feds have thrown down the gauntlet. That's why MSSA is asking for donations - so we can get this into court ASAP. Our target date for filing our lawsuit is about a month away. Please send whatever you can. You can make your check payable to "MSSA", and mark "MFFA" (for Montana Firearms Freedom Act) in the memo line. Any such donations to MSSA are not tax deductible (hey, we don't want the hassle or political limitations associated with becoming a tax exempt entity). Mail your check to: MSSA P.O. Box 4924 Missoula, Montana 59806 OR, you can use the PayPal button in the upper left of the MSSA Website front page to make a credit card donation. Just go to: http://www.mtssa.org Gary Marbut, president Montana Shooting Sports Association http://www.mtssa.org author, Gun Laws of Montana http://www.mtpublish.com Related Article: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=104674 --- From AzCDL: After spending nearly 3 years in prison for defending himself while hiking, Harold Fish was released from custody today, thanks in large part to the passage of SB 1449, sponsored by Senator Linda Gray, which was signed by the Governor on July 13, 2009. SB 1449 retroactively applies the restoration of the "innocent until proven guilty" language, that passed out of the Legislature via SB 1145 in 2006, to cases pending at the time of SB 1145's passage. The most egregious of these was the trial of Harold Fish. Harold Fish was hiking in Coconino County when a man with a violent history and his two dogs attacked him. Mr. Fish was forced to fire at his attacker, killing him. What Mr. Fish did not know, and could not know, was the violent history of his attacker. A history, among many other facts of the case, that the judge and prosecutor would not allow in court for the jury to consider. Before Mr. Fish's trial, the Arizona Legislature returned the law from "guilty until proven innocent", back to "innocent until proven guilty" in self defense cases via SB 1145. Unfortunately, the trial was conducted under the old law and Mr. Fish was convicted. A state appeals court overturned the conviction on June 30, 2009 and ordered a new trial, saying the judge's jury instructions inadequately described the law of self-defense. On July 13, 2009, Governor Brewer signed SB 1449. Even though SB 1449 is not due to become law until September 30, 2009, prosecutors cited the new law along with the appellate court decision as reasons not to retry Mr. Fish. You can read more about Harold Fish's release here: http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/justice/harold_fish_released_07_21_2009 . You can also find out more about Mr. Fish's case at: http://www.haroldfishdefense.org/ . What makes Harold Fish's story important is that it could have happened to any law-abiding gun owner. In 1997, the Legislature and Governor passed a law that completely stripped away our supposedly Constitutional right of presumed innocence, a mistake that wasn't corrected until 2006. We must remain vigilant and never allow such a travesty to happen again. These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Renew today! AzCDL - Protecting Your Freedom http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html Copyright © 2009 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved. -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .