A List Member Replies: A comment after reading today's mailing containing John Farnam's article about "Serious Ammunition" and discussing the re-chambering of defensive ammunition. The following may not be a consideration for others, but it works for me: For my carry ammunition and rounds that get chambered and then re-chambered, I do the following with those rounds that may be subjected to this re-chambering: Using a "Sharpie" brand permanent marker with an "Ultra Fine Point," I mark a fine line around the bullet where it mates with the case. If setback occurs, I will be able to easily spot the setback prior to reusing that round. The fine permanent marker line will become obscured by the case if there is setback. Usually this is only done with the first few rounds in the magazine. These tend to be the rounds that for me, are subjected to chambering, ejection, and re-chambering. That extra round, beyond the mag capacity, that is in the chamber, when the pistol has a full mag, tends to get rotated among the other top rounds in the mag, depending upon which round is chambered when reloading the pistol. When removing live rounds from the chamber, and when topping off the magazine, I inspect the rounds to see if the marker line is still visible on the bullet. Now this only shows if bullet setback is occurring with rounds "previously" chambered and un-shot. A particular round that is chambered could have been properly seated in the case prior to chambering, and then experience setback with that particular chambering. But, I do get to see if setback is starting to occur with my un-shot carry rounds. And this is of value to me. (I disagree with only recycling the top rounds in the magazine and repeat my advice to rotate ejected rounds to the bottom of the magazine. I am not in a position to test the suggested method myself since I carry only "antiquated" revolvers, which are not prone to this problem. However, it may well have merit and I suggest that those who consider it also use something like a dial caliper to determine whether this sort of marking is fine enough to reveal bullet setback of as little something like 0.005".) --- Liberals Frustrated with Current Impotence: Frustrated liberals are asking why a Democratic-controlled Congress and White House can't manage to close the Guantanamo prison or keep new gun-rights laws from passing... As for trying to keep loaded guns out of national parks, Cummings said, "I don't think he put a lot of energy into it." Issues such as national security and the distressed economy deserve greater attention, at least for now, he said, adding that the president "picks his fights very carefully." Such explanations provide small comfort to left-leaning Democrats after eight years of George W. Bush's presidency and nearly a dozen years of Republican control of Congress. "We'll probably end up passing more gun bills" that expand owners' rights "than we did during the Republican administration," said Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., a leading gun control advocate. "That is what surprises me." She placed less blame on the White House than on ordinary Americans and advocacy groups that are consistently outflanked by gun owners' groups, especially the National Rifle Association... (Are we seeing a paradigm shift here? The discussion appears to have shifted from "gun control" to "gun rights.") http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20090524/US.Obama.Liberals/ ...The NRA exerts enormous sway over members of Congress. Lawmakers are reluctant to be at odds with the gun lobby. As much as this country may be shifting left on many issues, experts say voters remain solidly behind the Second Amendment. Case in point: Every single member of the Nevada delegation voted recently to allow guns to be carried in national parks... Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid blocked the provision from advancing several times. A supporter of gun rights who can comfortably fire a shotgun, Reid nevertheless held off attempts by Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma to attach the gun amendment to other bills... Finally Reid allowed the vote this month, and 67 senators, including Reid and Nevada Republican John Ensign, voted yes. Every member of the Nevada delegation in the House followed suit... http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/may/24/reid-relents-guns-us-parks/ --- Look Who's Packing: Threats against the nation's judges and prosecutors have sharply increased, prompting hundreds to get 24-hour protection from armed U.S. marshals. Many federal judges are altering their routes to work, installing security systems at home, shielding their addresses by paying bills at the courthouse or refraining from registering to vote. Some even pack weapons on the bench... "I live with a constant heightened sense of awareness," said John R. Adams, a federal judge in Ohio who began taking firearms classes after a federal judge's family was slain in Chicago and takes a pistol to the courthouse on weekends. "If I'm going to carry a firearm, I'd better know how to use it." ... Court officials could not say how often judges arm themselves. But the marshals have installed home security systems for most federal judges since the Lefkow incident, and many are removing their photos from court Web sites and shielding their home addresses. Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan in the District said judges who have handled terrorism matters are hesitant to travel to the Middle East, or to South America if they've had drug-trafficking cases... (Are federal judges exempted from firearm prohibitions in courthouses or are they simply above the law?) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/24/AR2009052402931.html --- Spreading Rumors Doesn't Help: We all get them. Emails from Internet friends with dire warnings. They typically never contain a link to a credible source to back up the claims. And more often than not, the sender is oblivious to the simple concept of "Blind Carbon Copy," so our email address is included with dozens of others (God forbid a few decide to "reply to all"), growing to hundreds as the message is forwarded and propagated... But the message is invariably urgent and a strident call to arms. Last time, it was the Ammunition Accountability Act. Yes, the rumors, as many are, were built around a nucleus of truth. But the conclusions being bandied about with apparent certainty were transparently and obviously manufactured... As with that disturbance in the Force, the rumor du jour has its roots in the real world. But what has grown and spread from the seed is not something we want to nurture and cultivate... (I like to think that this mailing keeps its recipients well informed yet I receive forwards of these e-mails by list members who appear to be afraid that I might have missed one of these threats to the RKBA.) http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m5d23-Spreading-gun-law-rumors-distracts-from-real-threats --- Florida Governor Won't Commit on CCW Funds: ... Gov. Crist got a visit last week from Marion Hammer, the former president of the National Rifle Association and the longtime lobbyist for the Unified Sportsmen of Florida. Hammer is upset because lawmakers moved $6 million out of a trust fund in the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services that pays for the processing of concealed weapons permits. The trust fund transfer was part of a broader move by lawmakers to use unspent money in the numerous state trust funds to make up a budget shortfall that once approached $6 billion... As for his meeting with Hammer on Thursday, Crist said: "We had a very good discussion. She's quite an advocate as you know," he added. "I have enormous respect for her and I am a supporter of the Second Amendment." But Crist was not ready to tip his hand yet... http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090525/ARTICLE/905251024/-1/NEWSSITEMAP --- Anti CCW California Sheriff Prepares First Re-Election Campaign: Sandra Hutchens knows there are wolves at the door, hungry and clawing to get at her. But if the thought bothers Orange County's rookie sheriff, she keeps it well hidden. Appointed last June to fill out the term of Michael S. Carona, who had stepped down months earlier after being indicted on federal corruption charges, Hutchens is more convinced than the day she took the job that she's the right person for it, and is primed, at 54, to make her first run for elective office next year when she goes after a full four-year term... Asked to quantify the size of her political opposition, Hutchens replies, "Internally or externally?" The response sounds more ominous than she means it, because she doesn't think there's a vast conspiracy afoot. "I think it's a pretty small group," she said, generally lumping them into camps of people upset with her reversal of Carona's more liberal position on giving out concealed weapons permits and issuing guns and badges to professional volunteers who lent services to the department. That Carona gave some to friends and others in exchange for political favors formed part of the criminal allegations against him... http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hutchens25-2009may25,0,5533943,full.story --- New York County Could Require Ammo Registration: One of the most controversial measures to come before the County Legislature in some time is expected to draw an overflow crowd at a public hearing Tuesday night. At issue is a proposed law that would require gun shops to register sales of ammunition, a measure that has been condemned by gun proponents as a back-door means to register guns and learn what weapons people have. Supporters say it is merely an attempt to close a loophole in state law governing how ammunition is purchased. In the weeks since the March meeting when proposed Local Law A, gun rights advocates have spoken at public forums before the start of legislature meetings. The measure is sponsored by three Democratic legislators: Phil Steck of Colonie and Wanda Willingham and Doug Bullock, both of Albany. In advance of this week's hearing, opponents have distributed fliers at guns shops and sportsmen's clubs, and, for the last week, they have taken to the airwaves... (It appears to have taken the current shortage to convince many gun owners that the supply of ammunition is more vulnerable than the supply of firearms. This is why the prohibitionists attempt this sort of infringement.) http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=803510&category=ALBANY --- Ammo Shortage Hampers Training: More and more people are trying to learn how to use handguns, and at least one local instructor chalks up the interest to fears about the Obama administration. Another, though, says interest in self-defense started with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and has never really abated. Either way, instructors said, they're seeing more women joining men in looking for training on how to handle a handgun. "It used to be about 20 percent" of his students were women, said Linn Armstrong, a National Rifle Association instructor. "After 9/11, it went up to 40 to 45 percent" and has remained at that level, he said. Randy Jones, also an NRA instructor, said he likewise saw an increase after 9/11. "And then it leveled off until last fall" after the presidential election," Jones said. "I hear people say that," Armstrong said, though he added that his classes are as crowded as ever. Either way, Jones said, he's now booked five to six months out, and there's no sign of slackening interest. One hurdle instructors are facing is a lack of handgun ammunition... (It's gotten to the point that I am reloading .38 Special ammo for my students who do not yet own firearms and use my revolvers for their initial training.) http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2009/05/24/052509_2A_Ammo_SIDE_classes.html --- Phoenix PD Adds Patrol Rifles: The sooner Phoenix officers complete mandatory training on 80 new AR-15 Bushmaster assault rifles, the sooner the additional firepower will be available on the street. Police leaders responsible for setting up rifle classes for patrol officers said it might take until January to provide beat officers with the same extensive training provided to SWAT teams and other specialty units. Meanwhile, as Phoenix confirmed its timeline for the new .223-caliber weapons to be added to patrols, investigators continued to search for nine missing rifles... In the past several months, representatives from the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association called for a policy that would allow rank-and-file officers to bring their own rifles to work. Mesa recently approved a similar policy. Phoenix Lt. Jim Burgett, who oversees the city's training bureau, said an influx of individual weapons would complicate training schedules. Rifle ammunition counts for nearly one-third of the $800,000 spent annually on ammunition. He estimated officers use more than 1.2 million rounds for training... http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2009/05/25/20090525rifles0525.html --- Oops, Wrong Parking Lot: A Fairview man's response to a threat led to his conviction for possessing a weapon on school property and 20 days in jail. Tracy C. Clark, 37, said he had gotten into a verbal altercation with a couple on Jan. 30, 2006, in the parking lot at Westwood Elementary School after a recreation league basketball game. The argument started over whether Clark's 9-year-old son had threatened to beat up Steven and Brandy Spann's son. Clark said Steven Spann pulled out a knife and held it up as if threatening to stab him. Clark, who had a handgun carry permit, said he told Spann he had a gun, then pulled a 9 mm handgun from the center console of his pickup and put it on the driver's seat. The gun was not loaded and never left its holster, according to Clark... Williamson County Circuit Court Judge James G. Martin III said Clark may have been better off if he'd used the gun in self-defense. Under state law regulating weapons on school property, Clark might have avoided a conviction if he had actually pointed the gun or used it because that would have demonstrated self-defense, according to Martin... (And a lot of good it does to carry an unloaded gun in the first place.) http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090525/COUNTY090101/905250314/Fairview+parent+convicted+for+gun+at+school --- Tangentially Related: As Barack Obama prepares to nominate his first Supreme Court justice, conservative activists have three words for Senate Republicans: Lock and load... "We are very excited about waging an ideological debate," says Richard Viguerie, the well-heeled conservative fundraiser and direct-mail guru. "We never lose battles. Even if we lose the vote we win, we build the movement." ... Observers on the right say there's no shortage of legislators who might use a Supreme Court nomination hearing to burnish their ideological halos - or to work their way out of political purgatory. All eyes will be on Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the newly minted ranking member on Judiciary, who said last week that the president shouldn't expect to push his nominee through before the August recess. In addition, conservatives are counting on another Judiciary member, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), to come out swinging for their side. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22914.html The Senate's No. 2 Republican on Sunday refused to rule out a filibuster if President Barack Obama seeks a Supreme Court justice who decides cases based on "emotions or feelings or preconceived ideas." Sen. Jon Kyl made clear he would use the procedural delay if Obama follows through on his pledge to nominate someone who takes into account human suffering and employs empathy from the bench. The Arizona Republican acknowledged that his party likely does not have enough votes to sustain a filibuster, but he said nonetheless he would try to delay or derail the nomination if Obama ventures outside what Kyl called the mainstream. "We will distinguish between a liberal judge on one side and one who doesn't decide cases on the merits but, rather, on the basis of his or her preconceived ideas," Kyl said... http://www.newsmax.com/politics/us_obama_supreme_court/2009/05/24/217784.html -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .