Oops: Yesterday I erroneously credited Sen. Barbara Boxer with the statement that the federal ban on "assault weapons" would be reinstated at the time of her choosing. It was actually Sen. Dianne Feinstein who made that statement, in an interview on 60 Minutes. (One advantage of the list membership having grown as much as it has it that I have over 680 proofreaders to catch these errors.) --- Gunfight at Turtle Bay?: Historically speaking, today is a date that shall live as part of American folklore like no other: It is the 128th anniversary of the most famous gun battle in Old West history... There is another gunfight brewing, not to be waged face-to-face with a lot of lead in the air, but in two very different arenas: political and legal. Yet these battles will be just as significant and for many just as desperate as the half-minute spent between the warring factions of an Arizona mining camp in an empty lot next to Fly's Photographic Studio and not even in the O.K. Corral... International gun prohibitionists have been pushing the United States to sign an arms trade agreement for several years. With Barack Obama in the White House and Hilary Clinton at State, this could happen. Barr's column is a "must read" for anyone interest in that controversy. He calls it the "Perfect Storm" for the UN gun control agenda... http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m10d26-Gunfights-then-and-now-on-significant-anniversary --- Second Amendment March Builds Support in Michigan: Michigan has been very active in organizing town hall meetings and other events to inform the public about the Second Amendment March in Washington D.C. on April 19th, 2010. We have had over 25 events ranging from picnics, town hall meetings, shooting competitions, a CPL course fundraiser, talks at the Capitol and manning tables at Cabela's and Jay's Sporting Goods stores. Along with information these events have been an opportunity to raise not only awareness but much needed funds for the March. The people of Michigan have made donations and bought fundraising items for a total to date of over $11,000, which is over a third of the total raised so far nationally. Well done Michigan. But it can't stop there; we must become more active in preserving our 2nd Amendment rights. In order for this March to be as successful as we hope we need to raise nearly $500,000. It is amazing how many hoops need to be jumped through and how much money is needed to have 5000,000 people gather in D.C... http://www.ammoland.com/2009/10/26/mcrgos-work-with-the-second-amendment-march/ --- Indiana Mayor Criticized for Bloomberg Affiliation: A number of Goshen residents are upset that Mayor Allan Kauffman joined Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a national lobbying coalition of mayors. The opposition isn't as much about the coalition's stated goals as it is about concerns over the potential for erosion of Second Amendment rights. "As a non-partisan group of more than 450 mayors, the coalition's principal focus is fighting crime," Kauffman says in a prepared statement he sends to people concerned about his membership in MAIG. Doug Nisley, one of the people concerned with Kauffman's membership in the group, said, "I just think that the name of this group is a cover-up for attacking our Second-Amendment rights. It's just like anything else. It's got to start somewhere." Nisley said he'd like people to petition Kauffman to reconsider his membership in the group... http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?id=496728 --- New Hampshire Could Overturn Knife Restrictions: State Representative Jennifer Coffey (R) has introduced a bill to legalize "stilettos, switch knives, daggers, and dirk-knives" for all law-abiding citizens in New Hampshire. Heretofore, these knives, which are not well-defined in the state law, have been restricted in the state, even though New Hampshire has some of the most liberal gun carry laws in the nation. The bill has received broad bipartisan support according to our sources and stands a good chance of passage. Knife Rights member and Second Amendment legal advisor, Evan Nappen, has been actively involved in developing and promoting this bill. Knife Rights is planning on testifying in support of this bill as it moves through the legislative process. Rep. Coffey's bill removes the prohibition on these knives and focuses the law on CRIMINAL USE of the knives. Knife Rights supports efforts that remove restrictions on ownership, carry and legitimate use of knives as tools and arms and recognizes that it is the criminal use of knives that should garner the law's attention... http://www.ammoland.com/2009/10/26/new-hampshire-introduces-knife-rights-bill/ In Case You Missed It...: Back in June, we reported on a proposed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) rule change that would have expanded the Switchblade Knife Act of 1958 to include spring-assisted or one-handed-opening knives, and would have directly targeted the importation of "assisted opening" folding knives. Assisted opening knives are frequently used by hunters, anglers, farmers, ranchers, firefighters, law enforcement and emergency personnel and anyone else who may need to open a knife with only one hand. The proposed regulations would have designated all such knives as "switchblades" - despite the fact they do not fall under the federal definition of "switchblades" - and would have made them illegal for import into the United States. Fortunately, in July, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed an amendment to the Federal Switchblade Act as part of the Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2010. This NRA-supported amendment then headed to a House-Senate conference committee. Last week, the U.S. House passed the amendment. We are happy to report that this week, the U. S. Senate passed the measure as well. http://www.ammoland.com/2009/10/26/congress-passes-legislation-protecting-pocketknives/ --- Oops, Wrong House: Two men, armed with a knife and tire iron, reportedly forced their way inside a Port Charlotte home Saturday night, only to find the occupants had guns. The botched home invasion robbery ended quickly when one of the suspects sustained a nonfatal gunshot wound to the stomach, according to the Charlotte County [FL] Sheriff's Office... The incident occurred around 10 p.m. as Peter L. Gilmore, 69, and his 25-year-old son, James S. McGlone sat inside their home. The Sheriff's Office said McGlone went to answer the front door when it was kicked open by two men wearing stockings over their faces. The men, later identified as Keith Sowers, 32, of Punta Gorda, and Port Charlotte resident Joshua Eugene Becerril, 29, entered. Becerril reportedly held a large knife at Gilmore's face and threatened to kill him. McGlone, however, ran into his father's bedroom, where Gilmore kept several guns. Sowers, toting a tire iron, chased him. Detectives say McGlone pointed a handgun at Sowers and told him to leave, a Sheriff's Office report said. Sowers allegedly hit McGlone over the head with the tire iron, at which point McGlone shot Sowers in the stomach. Sowers reportedly hobbled out of the house with Becerril... (Once again we see the advantage of keeping a handgun in a holster or pocket, even inside the home.) http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20091026/BREAKING/910269962/2055/NEWS?Title=Port-Charlotte-man-shoots-would-be-robber http://www.examiner.com/x-18149-SelfDefense-Examiner~y2009m10d26-Armed-son-saves-himself-and-his-father-from-violent-home-invaders --- Oops, Wrong Dog-Walker: Police said that a robbery victim acted in self-defense when he shot a man who was trying to rob him late Monday morning. The incident occurred at about 11 a.m. behind a Wendy's restaurant, located on Broadway. Investigators told 10TV's Glenn McEntyre that a man was walking his dog when another man approached him with a gun and demanded his wallet. The victim complied and then pulled out his own gun, shooting the robber, police said. The accused robber, Keith Walker Jr., ran to a nearby neighborhood where he collapsed. Walker underwent surgery at Grant Medical Center in Columbus, McEntyre reported... (The dynamics of this incident are unclear. Generally, the shooting might lack justification once the wallet had been surrendered unless the robber still posed a threat to life or limb.) http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2009/10/26/story_grove_city_robbery.html?sid=102 --- But It Was a Gun-Free Zone: A graduate student apparently shot and killed himself Monday morning at a professor's office in the Design College at Arizona State University, authorities said. The shooting took place about 11:40 a.m. The student apparently walked into the professor's office, pulled out a gun and shot himself without warning, ASU police Cmdr. James Hardina said. The student was an architecture student. Hardina said that the incident appeared to be isolated and that there was no additional threat to students or faculty. The student apparently had battled depression for most of his life, Hardina said. He was a third-year grad student on track to graduate. He had been a student of the professor's, but Hardina said he was unsure if he was currently in the professor's class. The suicide took place in the Architecture South Building on the main Tempe campus... http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/10/27/20091027asusuicide1027.html --- There's a Reason God Put Those People on an Island: Scotland Yard has abandoned plans for armed foot patrols and marksmen on motorbikes in gun crime hotspots in the face of mounting political criticism. Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, was forced to withdraw the proposal before a meeting of his police authority on Thursday, where he would have faced fierce criticism. The plan to deploy armed officers on the beat as a response to rising gun crime in the capital was announced last week when Sir Paul was out of the country. A team from CO19, the unit that shot dead Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005, had already mounted pilot patrols in Brixton and Tottenham and had planned to use marked motorcycles carrying armed officers in its search for gunmen who escaped on powerful motorbikes after two murders... (Mr. De Menezes was an illegal alien from Brazil who was mistaken for a terrorist and summarily executed when he panicked and ran from the armed officers whose attention he had drawn.) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6892355.ece http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23761128-scotland-yard-in-disarray-over-gun-patrols.do --- From AzCDL: AzCDL will have tables at two gun shows in November - one in Tucson and one in Mesa. Tucson volunteers please contact Tom: tom.woodrow@azcdl.org . Mesa volunteers please contact John: john.rosado@azcdl.org . (Please do not reply to this email to volunteer for the gun shows) The Tucson gun show will be on November 7 & 8 at the Pima County Fairgrounds. Please contact Tom (tom.woodrow@azcdl.org) for more information. The Mesa gun show will be on November 21 & 22 at the Mesa Centennial Hall. Please contact John (john.rosado@azcdl.org) for more information. If you can spare a few hours to volunteer at either of these gun shows, we would deeply appreciate your help. AzCDL's phenomenal growth is primarily because of the hard work of our volunteers all over Arizona. Gun shows and other events provide a great opportunity to educate potential members about our goals and hard won successes (http://www.azcdl.org/html/accomplishments.html). Volunteers who work the AzCDL table for a few hours get into events FREE! If your membership is coming up for renewal soon, stop by the AzCDL table and renew at the "event special" rate ($10 off!). Sustaining memberships get a FREE AzCDL T-Shirt. These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Renew today! http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .