Student suspended for having shotgun shells in her car!

Yet another wacky school district in our Nation. A High School student at Willow Canyon High School in Arizona named Kim Peters was suspended from school for having 2 cases of shotgun shells in her own vehicle while parked in a High School parking lot. The school administrators said that the shotgun shells could be classified as a "dangerous instrument"

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1029shoot1029.html

If it were not for the students who have been suspended for drawing pictures of guns or for having 1 inch plastic GI Joe guns in their pockets due to the so-called "zero tolerance" policy our schools currently have than I would say I'm surprised. Unfortunately, many school officials have already proven that they are not bright enough to tell the difference between a drawing of a gun and a real gun, so I'm not surprised that the school administrators of Willow Canyon High School can't tell the difference between a shotgun shell & a shotgun.

Get real folks, a shotgun shell is not a "dangerous instrument" - if it were, boxes of them would not be sold on the bottom shelf of the local Walmart & local sporting goods stores where kids could easily reach them. The difference is, the people who run Walmart & sporting goods stores are smart enough to tie their own shoes. These school officials should not be hired for anything more complicated than being the greeter at a local Walmart Supercenter. Why in the world are we trusting them with the education of our children?

You'll find contact info for the Willow Canyon High School administrators on their website. Please send them a FRIENDLY email & kindly explain to them what the difference is between a shotgun shell and an actual firearm. Willow Canyon High School is part of the Dysart Unified School District. Here is the Dysart Unified School District Board Member contact info.

1st Update: The exact wording of the definition of a dangerous instrument which was what they used to unfairly punish her don't even apply to the events. Exact wording of the definition from their own Student & Parent Handbook is:

Dangerous Instruments/Explosive Devices means anything that under the circumstances in which it is used, attempted to be used, or threatened to be used, is readily capable of causing physical injury.

Even if you were to ignore the fact that shotgun shells without a gun are not capable of causing physical injury, she did not use, attempt to use, or threaten to use her shotgun shells in any way. They were sitting in an unopened box in her own personal vehicle, an extension of her own home space. Additionally there is not a single mention of the word ammunition or shotgun shells in the entire handbook because it is NOT banned.

The High School officials were 100% wrong on this & they need to admit their mistake as well as delete this gross injustice from Kim's record. If they refuse to do it, than Kim will need to appeal to the school board & they had better recognize the facts or face upset voters at the next board election. In addition to setting her record straight they need to render disciplinary action against those who signed off on this gross injustice. Perhaps suspension without pay or even better - termination - due to lack of education.

2nd Update:

I understand one of the board members is going to request an agenda item to discuss the misinterpretation of the dangerous instrument policy at the next Dysart Board Meeting on Nov 14th. If anyone would like to speak either during the initial "call to the audience" or during the specific agenda item, be sure to show up BEFORE the meeting begins to fill out a "request to speak" form - only those who are on the audience speaker list will be granted an opportunity to speak during the board meeting.

The meeting will begin @ 6PM & is located in the board room in the Nathaniel Dysart Education Center located at 15802 N. Parkview Place, Surprise, AZ 85374

3rd Update: Also check out this story of a boy who was told he could not wear an NRA shirt. The NRA sued on basis of 1st Amendment freedom of speech infringement & won.

NSSF speaks out against Schwarzenegger

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has issued a press release letting the world know exactly what they think of Arnold's recent decision to sign into law the California microstamping & lead amo bills. I love the way they worded their response, I could not have said it better myself:

"Governor Schwarzenegger has now effectively banned more firearms than Senators Kennedy, Feinstein and Schumer combined," said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. "The governor has proven to gun owners and sportsmen that he is just another liberal anti-gun Hollywood actor -- he just plays a moderate Republican on TV. Mr. Schwarzenegger has now exposed himself for what he really is, the most anti-gun and anti-sportsmen governor in America."

In my opinion this new law won't do much if anything to fight crime. The criminals just steal guns or buy them on the black market. If by some miracle they were to end up with a microstamping gun, they'll simply disable it as was shown to be very easy via independent research that proved the technology is easily defeated. Even if they were to not defeat it, how exactly would knowing who the gun was stolen from help to find the criminal?

Independent research also demonstrated that criminals will be able to remove the laser engraving in mere seconds using common household tools.

I also believe this new law increases the risk level for innocent Californians who can have their spent cases stolen from the floor of the local gun range & used by criminals to mislead investigators. An investigator finding your spent case with your fingerprints at the crime scene will easily track the cases back to you due to the serial # & your fingerprints will confirm that the spent cases were yours. Now you will suddenly find yourself in jail & it will be up to you to get an expensive lawyer to try to prove you are innocent.

There are many other details in their press release such as estimates of lost jobs & revenue due to reduced hunting when hunters go out of state to escape the lead ammo ban:

A ban on lead ammunition could cost 2,230 jobs, $15 million in state and federal income tax, $3.9 million per year in hunting license costs, $131 million a year in retail sales and $624,000 in federal excise tax money normally returned to California.

See full press release below for details: http://www.nssf.org/news/PR_idx.cfm?PRloc=common/PR/&PR=101507.cfm

Join with me in support of the NRA!

I personally believe that the NRA has done more to protect our 2nd Amendment right to bear arms than any other single organization out there. The NRA has more than 4 Million current members and the polls show that at least 25 Million fellow Americans believe that they are NRA members even though their membership status may not be fully up to date. It is largely thanks to the efforts of the NRA along with other local gun rights organizations in many states that we now have a majority of the states with "shall issue" concealed carry laws (which previously had "might issue" or "shall NOT issue" laws). There is of course still much work to be done but we are making good progress.

Stand up & help in the fight by Joining the NRA. It only costs $25/yr with the current discounted rate (normally $35/yr). I spend more than that on ammo with a single trip to the gun range where I regularly go to exercise my right to own, carry, & shoot my guns which has been defended for many years by the NRA. The more of us who join in supporting the NRA, the more clout they will have with Politicians when they ask them to support our gun rights. Join as many gun rights organizations as you are able, the more the better. I have many other great gun rights organizations linked to on the right under the heading of "Gun Rights Sites." Most of them cost very little to join. But at least join with me in support of the NRA by becoming a fellow NRA member.

If you're already a member than NRA memberships also make a great gift for those not already familiar with what they are missing out on. I bet after a one year gift membership many will decide to continue the membership on their own. You can finish your Christmas or Birthday shopping in seconds online just by filling out the on-line form & spending $25 per gift membership. It sure beats shopping in packed shopping malls fighting with other shoppers over the last available pet rock or whatever the hot item ends up being this year. You'll save time & will feel good that you have taken an extra step to support our gun rights. What better gift can we give ourselves than that?

IDPA International Defensive Pistol Association

Last week I participated in a local IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association) event. If any of you have never tried shooting at an IDPA event, you really should give it a shot. People of all abilities show up & get to try out fun things that are normally "against the rules" at many gun ranges. Usually there are 3 to 4 "stages" that have different scenarios to try. In any given "stage", you'll test your speed of the draw, shooting at multiple targets, tactical & speed loading, shooting while walking backwards, forwards, shooting from behind cover, from your knees or on the ground, etc. All things that are very fun to do but often prohibited at the local range during normal open range time.

You'll use the same gun & holster that you normally carry for self defense without any special modifications. That is in many ways optimal since you want to be able to enhance your skills with your normal carry weapon.

The event I went to was held at the Scottsdale Gun Club & there is one held there on the 1st Wednesday of every month in the evening. You need to bring a few spare magazines, your normal carry gun, holster, and about 100 rounds of ammo. The cost to participate is $12 for club members, and $15 for nonmembers. You can also go to the IDPA website to find other IDPA clubs & events all over the world.

It is a lot of fun, and time well spent honing your ability to defend yourself from the predators out there known as criminals. I highly recommend participation to everyone - old timers & newbies alike.

"A liberal's lament" by Jonathan Turley

More & more liberals are finally recognizing the truth that the 2nd Amendment protects an individual right to keep & bear arms. In the below article Jonathan Turley states that he tried to ignore the 2nd amendment for many years but the recent court case related to the DC gun ban forced him to research it. He now reluctantly concedes that the NRA has been right all along in its assertion that the 2nd Amendment applies to individual rights, not the right of the government to have an army with weapons as some Liberals still contend. It is after all the bill of rights that protects individual rights - the government is not granted rights by the bill of rights, the people are. Just one example of a Liberal who has finally seen the light is below:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/10/a-liberals-lame.html

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors.

Ben Avery Clay Target Center

This evening I took one of my boys out to the Arizona Game & Fish Ben Avery Clay Target Center. We went after dark but they have stadium style lighting so we had all the light needed to shoot at the clay birds. We had a wonderful time. I believe it is probably one of the top Clay Target ranges in the US.

They have shotguns that can be checked out for use while at the range at no additional charge (12, 20, or 410 in both youth & adult sizes). They even have ear & eye protection for anyone who needs it. There is no separate range fee. You can buy shotgun shells from them or bring your own. I purchased a smart card from them for $10 that I can charge with cash from my visa that is used by the automatic system for launching the clay birds. They have Trap, Skeet, and Sports Clays. An advantage to buying the smart card is that you can preload $90 or more at a time for a discounted rate on the clay birds.

My son & I shot around 150 shells at 150 clay birds between the two of us this evening launched from one of the many available trap ranges there (They also have excellent skeet & sporting clays ranges). He is becoming a very good shot and we both had a great time. We would have stayed longer but it was a school night so I decided I should get him home & to bed early enough that he won't be too tired for school in the morning.

I highly recommend the range for anyone who has not tried it. We love it, and it is one of our favorite places to go for an evening of fun.