From CCRKBA: Failing to get traction for his anti-gun agenda in Congress, Barack Obama is trying instead to stack the federal courts with liberal anti-gunners, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today. "President Obama's gun prohibitionist agenda has fallen on deaf ears on Capitol Hill," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "His administration's attempt to revive the ban on semiautomatic sporting rifles by exploiting the Mexican drug war was a bust. He had to sign legislation allowing guns for personal protection in national parks, even after his Justice Department refused to defend the Interior Department against a lawsuit that prevented an earlier firearms rule from taking effect. But now he is picking judicial nominees that will almost certainly legislate from the bench," he continued. "Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has already ruled that the Second Amendment does not apply to the states. We've learned that Sotomayor's nomination is supported by ACORN, the publicly-funded anti-gun group that supported a Jersey City gun control ordinance that was struck down by the court. Obama's nomination of David Hamilton to a position on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals is equally troubling," Gottlieb added, "because Hamilton reportedly is a former ACORN fundraiser. Even the president once worked with the anti-gun rights ACORN as a leadership trainer..." http://www.ccrkba.org/pub/rkba/press-releases/court.stack.htm --- RKBA May Be Sotomayor's Weakest Flank: Judge Sonia Sotomayor could walk into a firestorm on Capitol Hill over her stance on gun rights, with conservatives beginning to question some controversial positions she's taken over the past several years on the Second Amendment. Earlier this year, President Obama's Supreme Court nominee joined an opinion with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Second Amendment rights do not apply to the states. A 2004 opinion she joined also cited as precedent that "the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right." Ken Blackwell, a senior fellow with the Family Research Council, called Obama's nomination a "declaration of war against America's gun owners." Such a line of attack could prove more effective than efforts to define Sotomayor as pro-abortion, efforts that essentially grasp at straws. Sotomayor's record on that hot-button issue reveals instances in which she has ruled against an abortion rights group and in favor of anti-abortion protesters, making her hard to pigeonhole. But Sotomayor's position on gun control is far more crystallized... http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/28/sotomayors-gun-control-positions-prompt-conservative-backlash/ Where's the NRA?: The National Rifle Association (NRA) is staying on the sidelines in the battle over Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, to the dismay of conservative activists who hoped that the gun-rights group would pressure conservative Democratic senators to oppose her... But the NRA has often stayed aloof because few nominees have taken clear stands in favor of or opposed to the Second Amendment and other laws affecting gun ownership. Sotomayor, however, sat on a panel that issued an opinion in a controversial case that could impact gun-owners' rights, Maloney v. Cuomo. Sotomayor and other members of the court ruled that the Second Amendment does not apply to the states, only to the federal government. The plaintiff in the case argued that a state law barring him from owning nunchucks, a martial arts weapon, violated his constitutional right to bear arms. Sotomayor's court also ruled that the Supreme Court's decision District of Columbia v. Heller, which invalidated the District's law against handgun possession, did not go so far as to apply the Second Amendment to state law. This ruling has given some Senate Republican aides and conservative activists hope that the NRA would immerse itself in the debate over Sotomayor. But a spokesman for the organization said it's staying on the sidelines for now. http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/to-rights-dismay-nra-stays-out-of-sotomayor-fight-2009-05-28.html --- From JPFO: ...The biggest impact 2A film in decades - "No Guns for Negroes" - is now online for your FREE viewing. Feared by many 2A enemies, the film has the power and authority to literally destroy the credibility of parasitic Black community leaders and ministers - and main stream media - as they pimp gun control lies for their racist Congressional bosses. Keep the Second Amendment strong and securely protected by immediately viewing and downloading, "No Guns for Negroes" and make sure everyone you know sees the film and passes it on.. http://www.jpfo.org/filegen-n-z/ngn-download-view.htm --- The Beat Goes On: An unprecedented number of women are taking their protection into their own hands by getting a gun. Gun stores are seeing more women customers than anyone can remember. Many women are also getting permits to carry a concealed weapon... When Jenny Jeffery recently made the decision to get a license to conceal and carry a weapon she says it wasn't because she feels threatened right now, but rather: Jenny Jeffery, Gun Owner: "What I saw, where society was going as a whole, and the need to step up and be proactive in my safety and that of my family." Apparently, Jeffery is not alone. Homer Cole has owned Shooters Supply for nearly a decade. Cole says, when it comes to sales of guns to girls... http://www.local12.com/news/local/story/More-Women-Buying-Carrying-Weapons/SsRnkNAXwkCK72h_ldG4kQ.cspx http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6697 It's the last week of May, and Nevada hunters soon will grow anxious awaiting the results of the big game tag draw. Those results should be available before long, but knowing whether you received a tag won't do you any good if you don't have ammo for your favorite hunting rifle. "Yesterday I ordered two boxes of Remington Express shells in .243 caliber," one concerned reader recently wrote by e-mail. "Cabela's says maybe they will be available by late May. You could do hunters a real service by warning them of the ammo and component shortages. I am afraid if someone waits until the last minute they won't be able to make purchases in time." My guess is the writer meant those who procrastinate buying ammunition could find themselves out of luck in the fall. I understand his concerns, and so should anyone who has shopped for ammo or reloading components lately. The wait in a Colorado firearms store my brother frequents is often several hours, and that's just to ask the guy behind the counter whether he has a certain caliber in stock. Many times the answer is no. Of course, he'll gladly put your name on a waiting list. There is no waiting list, however, if you are interested in buying a military surplus rifle with a hard-to-pronounce name and Eastern European origins. For these he has plenty of ammo... http://www.lvrj.com/sports/46354997.html --- A Rose by Any Other Name...: ...I would say that Mr. Woodward's assessment is spot-on, and the parallel between referring to a firearm as a "sniper rifle," when owned by a private citizen, and a "precision rifle," when in the hands of a police tactical unit member, should be obvious... Frankly, I don't really care if the police want to refer to their semi-automatic, detachable magazine fed rifles as "patrol rifles," and their accurized, scoped rifles as "precision rifles" - whatever makes them happy. My objection is to the widespread (thanks in no small part to Big Media) assumption that the very same rifles take on an entirely different nature in the hands of private citizens. http://www.examiner.com/x-2581-St-Louis-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m5d28-The-difference-between-sniper-rifles-and-precision-rifles --- And What Do Cops Use in New Jersey?: A disgruntled casino visitor, having just shot and mortally wounded a worker at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, planned to kill himself in a parking garage but was stopped by police, a casino executive said... Court documents charged Magee with using hollow-point bullets, which are illegal in New Jersey. Magee, wearing jail clothes, made a brief initial appearance Thursday afternoon in state Superior Court in Mays Landing. Looking slightly dazed, his gray hair tousled, he said he understood the murder and weapons charges against him. He asked for a public defender, saying he couldn't afford to hire a lawyer... (Actually, I don't believe that it's illegal for private citizens to posses hollowpoint or similar bullets inside their own homes in New Jersey.) http://www.whotv.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-us-casino-shooting,0,6505785.story --- Tennessee Restaurant-Carry Bill Vetoed: Gov. Phil Bredesen on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have allowed Tennessee handgun permit holders to take their weapons into establishments that serve alcohol. He made the announcement at a late afternoon news conference where he was joined by police chiefs and district attorneys from around the state. "Tennessee state law has long prohibited the possession of firearms in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol," Bredesen said. "House Bill 962 would remove this protection in a manner that I, along with many law enforcement officers, believe to be reckless and lacking basic safeguards to ensure public safety. I respectfully ask the Legislature to rethink this issue." The measure passed the state House 66-23 and Senate 24-7 earlier this month. A simple majority is required in each chamber to override a veto... House sponsor Curry Todd said he will attempt to override the veto... http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9014141 --- No Resolution Yet for Seattle Gun Ban: At least eight innocuous signs posted around the Seattle Center over the Memorial Day weekend during the Folklife Festival declared "No firearms allowed at this event or on these premises." The signs had no force of law, there was no authority cited, and there are anecdotal reports from some in the gun rights community that armed citizens simply ignored those signs, kept their pistols tucked under cover garments, vests or loose shirts, and contrary to what anti-gun Mayor Greg Nickels would have had everyone believe would happen, nobody got hurt... Just one fly in the ointment, however; according to Attorney General Rob McKenna's office, Mayor Nickels does not have the authority to declare such a ban. That authority rests solely with the state legislature, under Washington's model preemption statute. It might also be in direct violation of the State Constitution... http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m5d28-Seattle-mayor-gun-activists-in-stalemate --- Oops, Wrong House: During his deployment to Iraq with the Indiana National Guard, Travis Coulter started each day thinking he might have to use his weapon in a life-and-death situation. Despite risky convoys and the threat of insurgent attacks, it never came to that in the war zone. But back home in Evansville, the 21-year-old Coulter found himself having to fire a gun on Wednesday morning when two intruders burst into his East Side home and started attacking his roommate. Police believe it was a robbery attempt. "We were over there for 10 months, and I never had to shoot anybody," Coulter said of his Iraq experience. I'm back here for four months, and I had to shoot somebody in my own living room." ... (The initial sentence is the epitome of the original sense of Condition Yellow.) http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/may/27/iraq-vet-finds-war-at-home/ --- Oops, Wrong Pharmacy: ...The stranger who had been loitering in the parking lot had walked into the pharmacy carrying a black revolver and a note demanding the narcotic drug OxyContin and some money, according to authorities. Once inside, the gunman handed the note to a clerk behind the counter, Police Chief William McManus said. The clerk was one of three people inside the pharmacy at the time of the robbery attempt. The others were the pharmacy owner, 62-year-old Bill Wynn, and his wife. The details about what happened next are unclear, but McManus said the clerk was able to inform the pharmacy owner of the attempted robbery. Wynn, who had been robbed before, somehow managed to arm himself with a gun. That's when McManus said the robber uttered his last words: "Let's get it on." Police said Wynn reacted quickly, shooting the gunman in the chest... Police arrived to find the gunman, whose identity wasn't released Wednesday, lying on his back in a pool of blood. In his right hand was a cocked revolver... http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/Attempted_pharmacy_robbery_turns_deadly.html --- "Man with a Gun" Shooting: A plainclothes policeman who drew his gun while chasing someone he had found rummaging through his car was shot and killed by a fellow officer who was driving by and saw the pursuit, the police commissioner said. Commissioner Raymond Kelly said 25-year-old Omar J. Edwards died after being shot late Thursday within blocks of the Harlem police station where he worked. Edwards had just finished his shift around 10:30 p.m. when he headed to his car and saw that the driver's-side window had been smashed and a man was going through the vehicle, Kelly said. Edwards struggled with the man, who got away from him by slipping out of his sweater, Kelly said. Edwards chased the man up two streets with his gun drawn, he said. A sergeant and two plainclothes officers in an unmarked police car saw the pursuit and made a U-turn to follow the men, Kelly said. One of the officers jumped out of the car and fired six times, hitting Edwards twice - once in the arm and once in the chest, he said... (This is why I advice the use of holsters that allow one-handed reholstering without the need to take the eyes off the threat - having a gun in your hand when the police respond is not the safest practice. Ironically, most of what I teach in this regard derives from the experience and subsequent training of the NYPD.) http://townhall.com/news/us/2009/05/29/off-duty_nypd_cop_fatally_shot_by_fellow_officer?page=full http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/nyregion/29cop.html?_r=1&hp --- Rule Four Reminder: A statewide SWAT team exercise at a firing range on the secured grounds of a nuclear power plant in Southern Maryland was halted this month after stray bullets shattered glass and struck a command center near the plant's reactors, officials said yesterday... At least five bullets escaped the firing range and traveled more than a half-mile before striking buildings and a vehicle near the reactors, according to the NRC, Constellation and the sheriff's office... Typically, officers shoot southward, away from the plant, while on the firing range, but during the exercise, officers somehow fired eastward. The rounds cleared an almost 30-foot-high berm and flew about 3,400 feet before striking the two office buildings and the door of the parked SUV, Jones said... (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it. With nearly 30-foot berms, I have to suspect that these shots were fired at upward angles, such as from some sort of ground position, at a short distance to the targets. I specifically use shorter target frames for such drills, to reduce the angle.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/27/AR2009052703405.html?wprss=rss_metro --- Rule Five Reminder: Police in central California say a 2-year-old boy has died after being accidentally shot by his 3-year-old sister. Bakersfield police Sgt. Greg Terry says the girl apparently found a .45 caliber semiautomatic handgun under her parents' bed Wednesday afternoon and accidentally shot her brother. The wounded boy was taken to Kern Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead. Police say the children's mother was in another area of the apartment at the time of the shooting. Their father was at work. The investigation is continuing. (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm.) http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/294774.php --- New Restrictions Advance in Germany: Germany's cabinet approved legislation that would tighten gun restrictions, two months after a teenager shot and killed 12 people. The law, which requires parliamentary approval, would mean stricter checks on weapons owners and a higher age limit for users of large-caliber weapons. Calls for tougher laws followed the March 11 shooting spree in which Tim Kretschmer, 17 years old, used a pistol taken from his father's bedroom to kill students and teachers at his former school and elsewhere before he killed himself. The Interior Ministry said the legislation also foresees an amnesty under which people could hand in illegally held weapons until the end of 2009. The government's plan calls for expanding inspections to determine whether people with weapons licenses are locking up their guns at home securely, as required... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124343392124058697.html -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .