SIG Replies: One list member has been very determined to get to the bottom of the RuBee chip issue with SIG pistols. He redeived the following reply to his e-mail: Thank you for your email. Rubee Technology is not being embedded in production SIG SAUER products without the knowledge of our customers. RuBee real time management of high value and high security assets is, however, of significant interest to our customers in the military and government sector where the ROI for inventory control and maintenance is very valuable. This is a partnership with our customers and not a catalog production offering. A quick search of SIG SAUER and RUBEE will yield a wealth of press release and technical journal articles on the development of our RuBee technology for specialized high security government, military, and law enforcement customers. Let me assure you that our RuBee tags are not routinely installed in our product line and are only available as a customer requested option. Visibility to the tags is controlled to assure that they present no tempest or targeting threat. Our customers would never allow this technology in secure locations if it could be tracked from a distance or used as an eavesdropping or targeting device. RuBee tags meet stringent security tests, and are in use within some of the most secure sites in the USA where all other wireless technologies (RFID, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee) are banned. RuBee is the only wireless technology that can dynamically manage range to prevent eavesdropping. Again, you will not find our RuBee technology in our standard product line. Sincerely, Sig Sauer, Inc. --- Heller Makes Strange Bedfellows: The Supreme Court's 2008 ruling in D.C. v. Heller was a constitutional earthquake, breathing life into the Second Amendment as a guarantee of an individual right to bear arms. But the aftershock of that decision is beginning to transform the constitutional landscape well beyond gun rights, in ways that have liberals cheering and even joining hands with onetime adversaries like the National Rifle Association. In a follow-on case pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, a progressive legal group and liberal law professors including Yale Law School's Jack Balkin earlier this month joined gun-rights advocates in urging that the right established in Heller, which involved only the District of Columbia, be extended to apply against gun restrictions in the 50 states. The case is McDonald v. Chicago, a challenge to that city's strict gun control law and, no matter what, the outcome is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court... http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1202428376741 --- Big Brother Doesn't Get to Pick, Yet: Looking strong and cheerful, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg returned to the bench this morning, just 18 days after major surgery related to her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Ginsburg, 75, took her place on the bench with a smile. As is the Court's custom, no note was made of her return or her illness. Almost immediately after arguments began, she started asking questions of the advocates before her... During her Feb. 5 operation at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, surgeons removed Ginsburg's spleen and part of her pancreas, and found one small malignant tumor as well as a benign tumor. A day later, she let it be known she planned to return to the bench today, after the Court's long winter recess. Some still predicted she would be too weak to resume work so quickly. But her appearance confirmed her determination to continue work without interruption. During her bout with colorectal cancer in 1999, Ginsburg did not miss a day of oral argument. http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/02/justice-ginsburg-back-on-the-bench.html --- From GOA: An alert last week asked you to urge your representative to oppose a massive land bill that was scheduled to come before the full House at any time. The good news is that opposition to the bill grew so loud that the leadership pulled it from the calendar so they would have more time to muster enough votes to pass it. Well, that also gives you another chance to contact your own representative to tell him to OPPOSE the anti-Second Amendment Omnibus Land Act. The bill, S. 22, is now scheduled to be voted on this week. S. 22 is a mammoth bill comprised of over 190 separate pieces of legislation and will come to the floor with a rule that will not allow pro-gun representatives to offer amendments. There are serious Second Amendment concerns with this legislation. S. 22 will greatly expand the amount of land controlled by the National Park Service (NPS). Because the rights of lawful gun owners are restricted on NPS land, the bill will create even more "anti-Second Amendment" zones... http://gunowners.org/a022309htm.htm --- HR 45 - a Ticking Time Bomb: Tucked away in committee on Capitol Hill is a firearm licensing bill that Second Amendment advocates worry may just be waiting for the right "Columbine moment" to emerge and effectively ban handguns in the U.S. As WND reported, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., sponsored H.R. 45, an extensive licensure law that creates a national database of current firearm owners, requires psychiatric testing and fingerprinting to obtain a license and places new restrictions on gun use and storage... H.R. 45 is a resurfacing of 2007's H.R. 2666, which contained much of the same language and was co-sponsored by 15 other representatives and Barack Obama's current chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel. H.R. 2666 was also assigned to the House Judiciary committee, where no action was taken. H.R. 45 currently has no co-sponsors and is likewise assigned to the House Judiciary committee. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=89830 --- Big Brother Lied to Idaho Gun Owners: Remember back in February 2008 when President Obama came to Boise and spoke at a big rally? He made a big point of saying, "I won't take away your guns," because those nasty, dishonest Republicans were saying that Obama was going to do that. It sure didn't take long for Obama to reveal his intentions. The afternoon of the inauguration, the White House Web site's Urban Policy page admitted that he is indeed going to try and do exactly that. "Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent." ... http://www.idahostatesman.com/ReadersOpinion/story/675677.html --- Montana Bill Could Trigger Showdown with Feds: Montana lawmakers are betting the words 'Made in Montana' might be able to trigger a court showdown with the federal government, while also freeing some gun owners and dealers from background checks and licensing requirements. Under a proposed law before the Legislature, firearms, weapons components and ammunition made in Montana and kept in Montana would be exempt from federal regulation, potentially releasing some Montanans from national gun registration and licensing laws. The legislation could also free gun purchasers in the state from background checks... The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has not offered a position on the bill and did not return calls for comment... http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2009/02/23/news/mtregional/news07.txt --- Gun Bill Stalled in New Jersey Senate: Senator Marcia Karrow, R-Hunterdon, said she was pleased that she was part of a successful effort to ensure the so-called "one-gun-a-month" bill was held in the state Senate today. The bill was held after she made her Senate floor speech in opposition to this bill. "It's hard to hear about the death and pain that criminals cause with firearms, and not want to do something about it. However, the 'One-Gun-A-Month' bill is an ineffective attempt to address this very serious problem. Now that it has been held, I hope its backers withdraw it from further consideration..." http://www.senatenj.com/index.php/karrow/karrow-one-gun-a-month-bill-violates-constitution/2334 --- Campus Carry Debate in Texas: John Woods' heart still jumps when he hears hammering or shouting outside his window, even two years after his girlfriend was shot and killed in the Virginia Tech massacre. The routine emergency sirens at the University of Texas, where he's now a molecular biology graduate student, tie his stomach in knots. Now, Texas lawmakers are proposing the worst thing he could possibly imagine: allowing people with concealed handgun permits to carry weapons on college campuses... Gun-rights advocates took a much different lesson from the Virginia Tech case and a similar massacre at Northern Illinois University last year, arguing that the measure, expected to be introduced in the Legislature this week, will give students and professors the chance to protect themselves. Right now, Texas universities are gun-free zones, they say, leaving them virtually defenseless until campus police can respond... http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/022409dntexcampuscarry.46a6dd99.html --- Ohio Reporter Attacks Reciprocity: Gun rights advocates call it "license bingo" - the game they play to get exactly the right combo of states' concealed weapons permits that will allow them to legally take their hidden guns all the way to Florida or Pennsylvania or other states. Firearms instructor John Farquhar said it's not unusual for students to ask which state permits they need to legally carry concealed weapons for their entire vacation route... With only an Ohio CCW permit in your wallet, you'd be forced to disarm at the state lines of Pennsylvania or Georgia, or on the way from South Dakota to North Dakota. Firearms enthusiasts often add licenses from other states that have more reciprocity agreements and also allow permitting of nonresidents... (And disarming Ohioans who travel to other states would benefit Ohio how?) http://www.middletownjournal.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2009/02/23/ddn022309ccwinside.html --- Lawsuit Can Proceed against Utah Pawnshop: Utah Third Judicial District Court Judge Glenn Iwasaki has ruled that a lawsuit against pawn shop Sportsman's Fastcash may proceed to trial. The suit charges that the pawn shop illegally sold a pistol grip shotgun to Trolley Square shooter Sulejman Talovic... Federal gun laws prohibit gun dealers from selling pistol grip shotguns to anyone under 21 because of the special danger these weapons pose to the public. The lawsuit charges that Sportsman's Fastcash illegally sold Sulejman Talovic a pistol grip shotgun even though Talovic informed the shop that he was only 18 years old. ATF has repeatedly warned gun dealers that it is illegal to sell pistol grip shotguns "to any person less than 21 years of age." The suit also charges that the pawn shop failed to comply with laws requiring additional documentation from resident alien gun buyers... (I know a fair amount about ballistics and am unable to fathom why a pistol grip on a shotgun poses a special danger to the public.) http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/release.php?release=1111 --- Remember the Rules: It's said that guns don't kill people, people kill people. That saying applies to more than just bad guys. Aside from the criminal aspect, it is human error that can do the killing or, more commonly, the injuring. In just over a week's time earlier this year, at least four city gun owners suffered injuries - one of whom died - while cleaning or handling firearms. "A conscious gun owner knows what they're doing with their weapon," said Lt. Matt Enyeart, a Fort Wayne Police officer who handles gun training for recruits at the police academy. "Unfortunately, though, we get other people that aren't conscious." That's when gun ownership can become dangerous... http://www.fortwayne.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/SE/20090223/NEWS/902230308 The Rules: http://www.spw-duf.info/safety.html --- Arizona Hunters Participate in Voluntary Condor Program: More Arizona big-game hunters are participating in a voluntary program aimed at preventing California condors from being poisoned by lead, state officials say. Ninety percent of hunters with permits for deer, elk and other big game in 2008 took steps including using non-lead ammunition and removing so-called gut piles that condors scavenge, according to a survey by the Arizona Game and Fish Department. That's up from 80 percent in 2007... At least 12 California condors have died of lead poisoning since the species was reintroduced to northern Arizona in 1996, and others have been treated for lead exposure. There have been no reported deaths from lead since 2006, when four condors died. However, leaders of some environmental groups contend that any lead in the condors' habitat is too much. They would like to see Arizona follow California, which in 2007 enacted a law requiring non-lead ammunition for hunting big game and coyotes in areas where condors scavenge... http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/110756.php --- From AzCDL: HB 2439, the AzCDL-requested CCW training reform bill, has been scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday, February 25, 2009 in the House Military Affairs and Public Safety (MAPS) committee. HB 2439 provides for an alternative 3 hour CCW course, dealing only in legal issues, for qualified individuals who can show proof of prior firearms training, such as: - Completion of an NRA pistol course. - Completion of pistol related courses at the college level, or at places like Front Sight or Gunsite. - Completion of certain law enforcement training. - Current military service or an honorable discharge. - A competitive rating or ranking in an organized shooting competition. - A CCW permit from another jurisdiction that required training or testing to obtain. Please contact the members of the House MAPS committee and respectfully urge them to support HB 2439. Below are the email addresses of the committee members in both semi-colon and comma separation formats. Use the list that is compatible with your email software. Semi-colon format: jpweiers@azleg.gov; dgowan@azleg.gov; rbarnes@azleg.gov; pfleming@azleg.gov; scrump@azleg.gov; bmcguire@azleg.gov; dpatterson@azleg.gov; cseel@azleg.gov Comma format: jpweiers@azleg.gov, dgowan@azleg.gov, rbarnes@azleg.gov, pfleming@azleg.gov, scrump@azleg.gov, bmcguire@azleg.gov, dpatterson@azleg.gov, cseel@azleg.gov Stay tuned! When critical legislation comes before committees, we will notify you via these Alerts. These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Join 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 .