VPC Returns to the Racist Roots of "Gun Control": The Violence Policy Center (VPC) - the anti-gun rights group that Barack Obama repeatedly voted to fund while he was a director of the Joyce Foundation - believes that African-Americans are too violent to deserve the entire Constitution. Thus, it wants to reduce their access to firearms. From the Violence Policy Center's latest report... For blacks, like all victims of homicide, guns - usually handguns - are far and away the number one murder tool. Successful efforts to reduce America's black homicide toll must put a focus on reducing access to firearms. For an organization to make a public declaration that suggests an entire race be denied the same level of constitutional protections as others is both shocking and bewildering. The study received financing from left-wing groups dedicated to social engineering, including the David Bohnett Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, and the Public Welfare Foundation... The David Bohnett Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, and the Public Welfare Foundation were all contacted this week by Pajamas Media and asked whether or not they stood behind the Violence Policy Center's call to limit the rights and liberties of African-Americans. Not one of these organizations has responded with a condemnation of the VPC's conclusions. http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/violence-policy-center-reinstate-the-black-codes/ --- Feds Claim Authority to Regulate In-State Firearms: The federal government is claiming in court documents demanding the dismissal of a gun-law challenge in Montana the authority to regulate in-state commerce under the Constitution's Commerce clause. But the plaintiff in the case says the court needs to review that provision in its amended form - since the 10th Amendment, adopted after the Commerce Clause, can be viewed as modifying the Constitution's provisions regarding the regulation of commerce, specifically granting additional authority to states. The argument is arising in a lawsuit filed in Montana against U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and others. The complaint seeks a court order that the federal government stay out of the way of Montana's management of its own firearms within state boundaries... (I will be amazed if the Supreme Court upholds the concept of the Firearms Freedom Acts [in which state can you build a firearm entirely from components that originated in that state?] but I believe it is a very important battle - just look at the map in the article of how many states have either passed or are considering such bills.) http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=123419 --- Pennsylvania State Police Back Off Registration Scheme: In July of 2009, the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) mysteriously told federal gun dealers doing business in Pennsylvania that they were required to report to the PSP all purchasers' identity and item serial number information for transfers of certain long gun "frames" or "receivers" for guns such as the popular AR-15 rifle, just like Pennsylvania's Uniform Firearms Act (UFA) requires for handguns. Some gun dealers told the State Police "no way," noting that compliance with the State Police demarche constituted a criminal violation of the UFA... But while Banks and a loose network of gun sealer allies were in a tense standoff with the PSP, essentially yelling "molon labe" (Greek for the "come and get them," allegedly shouted in 280 BC at the Persian Army by Spartan King Leonidas at the Battle of Thermopylae when the Persians demanded that they put down their weapons), another source of pressure was being exerted on the PSP. Just as the Greek navy led by a politician names Themistocles pressured the Persians at sea while Leonidas held them back on land, the Potter Leader-Enterprise reports that Representative Martin Causer (R - Cameron, Mckean, and Potter Counties) fired volleys of "sharp letters" at the Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner, Colonel Frank E. Pawlowski, demanding to know why Pawlowski did an end- run around both the Legislature and Attorney General to enact a de facto long gun registration rule. And a few days ago, without fanfare, the PSP quietly rescinded their July 2009 rule by way of its January 2010 Pennsylvania Gun Dealer Newsletter. What's left to do now? According to Banks, the State Police must "destroy the records collected by the illegal edict." http://www.examiner.com/x-2782-DC-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d31-Pennsylvania-state-police-back-down-on-rifle-registration-scheme --- New Mexico Sheriff Talks the Talk: Sheriff John Blansett talked about the sheriff's office, its powers and function Saturday at the Second Amendment Task Force town hall-style meeting at the Veterans of Foreign Wars. "The sheriff's department isn't mine," Blansett said to begin. "I borrowed it from you folks for eight years to protect you folks from tyranny, domestic and foreign, and to enforce the laws of the state of New Mexico... Boy, there sure is a lot of firepower in this room," he remarked. The crowd, many of whom were open carrying holstered guns, laughed. Later, Blansett encouraged everyone at the meeting to carry their firearms responsibly. "Know where it is at all times," he said. Blansett said the Southwest Border Sheriff's Alliance, of which he is a member, is not in support of gun control... Blansett then showed a video of Richard Mack, former sheriff of Graham County, Ariz. According to Mack's Web site, sheriffmack.com, Mack now gives talks on "constitutional issues relating to gun control, law enforcement, states' rights, the farce, otherwise known as the drug war, and the oath of office." Blansett said the Second Amendment Task Force has booked Mack for a speaking engagement Feb. 13 at the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts. http://www.alamogordonews.com/ci_14304018 --- New Mexico CHL's Increase: It's a hidden change - that's the point. Almost 10 times as many Doņa Ana County residents are permitted to carry a concealed firearm today than were six years ago, when the state's concealed-carry laws went into effect. Many want to prevent becoming a first-time victim of crime - or prevent it from ever happening again. One Las Cruces single mother, a former law enforcement officer who requested anonymity due to concerns about her safety, said self-protection was the motivation to get a permit in 2005. "I have a 5-year-old son, so when we go on trips or it's him and me on the interstate, driving from my parents' house and it's 9 o'clock at night, I feel I can protect myself if something happened and we would be out in the middle of nowhere," she said. There were noticeably more women when she renewed her license to carry her The state Legislature approved the law allowing concealed handguns in 2003, with the first licenses issued in January 2004. Changes were approved by the Legislature the next year allowing New Mexico to establish reciprocal agreements with other states that allow concealed carry, and for the license to be renewed every four years, with 15 hours classroom and range training required every two years. In 2009, rates of concealed carry permits ranged from .2 percent, in Lordsburg's Hidalgo County, to 3.3 percent of the population in Catron County... (Doņa Ana County is west and north of El Paso TX and Catron County is the one county away from me, just over the Arizona-New Mexico line. I have heard that Catron County has a mandatory firearm ownership ordinance.) http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_14304341 --- Indianapolis Could Drop Park-Carry Ban: A proposal to allow guns in Indianapolis parks will go before the City-County Council Monday, a measure its sponsor admits will be controversial. Current law bans weapons in city parks, but they are permitted in state parks and will soon be allowed in national parks, 6News' Joanna Massee reported. If passed, the law would allow anyone with a permit to carry a weapon to do so in a city park. City-County Councilor Ed Coleman, a member of the National Rifle Association, said he's ready to debate the merits of his proposal. "I didn't say I'm allowing guns just by everybody," Coleman said. "I'm saying that law-abiding citizens who are properly licensed to carry firearms would be allowed to carry those in parks." Coleman is an unabashed supporter of the right to keep and bear arms and argues that the measure would allow people to be equipped to defend themselves in city parks. "Criminals don't care if there's a law, and they're going to bring it there anyway," Coleman said. "I think I would feel safer knowing that there's a chance an adult might actually have one, and it might make the criminal second guess whether he might want to do something stupid in a city park." ... http://www.theindychannel.com/news/22394972/detail.html --- New Yorker Faces Felony Charges for Shooting at Fleeing Vehicle: Hunting season has been in full swing for a couple of weeks, at least in Niagara County, but the prey isn't deer or turkeys. Burglars have been dodging bullets. Homeowners are mad as heck, and they're fighting back at the intruders. Three times in Niagara County over a one-week period - and once in Buffalo last April - homeowners confronted home invaders with gunfire. Not all the shots found their marks, but the four incidents left one burglar dead, another shot in the chest, and one homeowner who didn't hit anyone charged with two felonies... Cherry, a soft-spoken and polite Army veteran, said he was protecting himself from a home burglary at about 11:20 a.m. Jan. 21, when he fired 15 shots from a military-style assault rifle at the vehicle of a fleeing intruder. This shooting occurred during the second burglary in three days at his Akron Road home, and Cherry said he believed the two burglars - one was his stepdaughter - had stolen a handgun. He claimed he knew they were on drugs, knew they were coming back and was afraid they were armed... http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/941022.html --- Washington Police Chief Challenged to Demonstrate Full-Auto Conversion: Seattle Gun Rights Examiner Dave Workman first brought us news of Bellevue Police Chief Linda Pillo testifying at a Washington State Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, supposedly as a private citizen, but conveniently in uniform and armed, to urge a ban on so-called "assault weapons." One of her reasons: "Assault weapons can also be easily converted to fully automatic machine guns." ... I notified WaronGuns readers and urged them to ask Chief Pillo to personally demonstrate how easy it is. After all, she offered that as expert testimony based on her "law enforcement background." Writer Carl Bussjaeger ran with that, and shared his email to the Bellevue PD: "I challenge Chief Pillo to demonstrate the ease of such a conversion, making a video of her performing the procedure available to the public on the Internet. And since she is a supporter of SB 6396, I challenge her to do this with this SB 6396-defined assault weapon..." ... If lawmakers are trying to enact legislation based on what she tells them is "easy," it shouldn't be too much to ask... http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d31-Will-Bellevue-Chief-Pillo-demonstrate-how-easy-it-is-to-convert-a-semiauto-to-a-machine-gun http://www.bussjaeger.org/pillo_challenge.html --- Why the Offer to Trade Now?: Two prominent law enforcement officials are ready to back Wisconsinites' ability to carry concealed handguns with a permit if the law includes tough gun regulations that have been hard to obtain. We have long been opposed to concealed carry for Wisconsin. But an argument, being made by Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn and District Attorney John Chisholm, makes sense to us. The state should have this law if it is truly part of a larger package that includes closing the gun show loophole, making it a felony to act as a straw buyer and also a felony to carry a concealed handgun without a permit. Law enforcement officials feel that their hands are tied. While it's illegal to carry a concealed weapon in Wisconsin, the penalties for doing so are among the weakest in the country. Last week, Flynn told the Editorial Board that his frustration mounts after his department arrests someone carrying a gun, but the person is punished with a relative slap on the wrist. We all should be willing to live with concealed carry if it is part of comprehensive firearm reform and if prosecutors are given the ability to severely punish those illegally carrying guns. In other words, the trade-off is worthy if also included are tools that, as Flynn describes it, make it just as dangerous for folks to carry illegal guns as they think it is to go without them... (I suspect that the paper, the chief and the DA see lawful CCW as inevitable in Wisconsin and are trying to get it their way. Open carry, with no permit, remains legal in the sate, if the carrier is not a prohibited possessor.) http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/83069452.html --- Memo Defends NRA McDonald Role: Chuck Michel, an attorney for the NRA and the California Rifle and Pistol Association, walks step by step through the NRA's involvement in post-Heller lawsuits and how and why the NRA sought and gained time to present oral argument in the forthcoming McDonald hearing. This is a rather legalistic document and may only interest the attorneys on the list. http://calgunlaws.com/images/stories/Docs/NRA_McDonald_Chicago/154007_1.pdf --- India Experiences Demand for RKBA: In the land of Mahatma Gandhi, Indian gun owners are coming out of the shadows for the first time to mobilize, U.S.-style, against proposed new curbs on bearing arms. When gunmen attacked 10 sites in Mumbai in November 2008, including two five-star hotels and a train station, Mumbai resident Kumar Verma sat at home glued to the television, feeling outraged and unsafe. Before the end of December, Verma and his friends had applied for gun licenses. He read up on India's gun laws and joined the Web forum Indians for Guns. When he got his license seven months later, he bought a black, secondhand, snub-nose Smith & Wesson revolver with a walnut grip... Verma said he plans to join the recently formed National Association for Gun Rights India to lobby against new gun controls that the government has proposed, blaming the proliferation of both licensed and illegal weapons for a rise in crime. Although India's 1959 Arms Act gives citizens the legal right to own and carry guns, it is not a right enshrined in the country's constitution. Getting a license is a cumbersome process, and guns cannot be bought over the counter - requirements that gun owners describe as hangovers from the colonial past, when the British rulers disarmed their Indian subjects to head off rebellion... (Some list members will recall that in Mumbai some police officers were still armed with British-era SMLE rifles that had been converted to single-shot .410 shotguns, to minimize the potential damage if they were ever turned against English forces.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/31/AR2010013102079.html?hpid=moreheadlines --- Meanwhile, in Cuba...: Cuba has declared a two-month amnesty for citizens to register unlicensed guns, and says those passing aptitude and psychological tests will be allowed to keep their weapons. The move is unusual in a state where almost no one except some active military personnel and plain-clothed state security agents are allowed to possess weapons. Even most police officers are required to leave their pistols at the station or in a regional barracks when on vacation or leave, and young men participating in mandatory military service are given unloaded firearms for most exercises. Starting Feb. 12, Cubans will have the "exceptional and one-time only" chance to register their guns with police, and will be allowed to keep them provided they are over 18 and have passed the proper tests administered at police stations. There was no explanation for why the drive to legalize unlicensed weapons is coming now, though the state-run news agency Prensa Latina said the move grew out of a November 2008 law regulating possession of guns and ammunition... (When Fidel Castro openly aligned himself with the former Soviet Bloc, AK-47's were widely distributed to "militia" members; from what I've been told, ammunition for them was an entirely different matter." http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/world/cuba-declares-2-month-amnesty-for-its-citizens-to-register-unlicensed-guns-83256092.html --- NRA-ILA Alerts: List members are encouraged to check the alerts for the week, posted on the NRA-ILA website. http://www.nraila.org/GrassrootsAlerts/read.aspx -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. The tactics and skills to use a firearm in self-defense don't come naturally with the right to keep and bear arms. http://www.spw-duf.info .