CA: San Francisco - Another Gun Ban Bites the Dust

From the NRA-ILA:

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Fairfax, Va. – An NRA-led coalition of self-defense civil rights groups including the Second Amendment Foundation and the California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA) has prevailed in a Second Amendment lawsuit challenging a ban on firearm possession in San Francisco public housing residences.

“This success is further vindication of the U.S. Supreme Court's Heller ruling upholding the Second Amendment as protecting a fundamental, individual civil right for all law-abiding Americans,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox.

The San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA) and the property management company that oversees San Francisco’s public housing projects have agreed to completely remove a lease provision banning guns in the residences.

The City of San Francisco itself legally stipulated that its ordinance banning gun possession on county owned or controlled property cannot be applied to the public housing properties, even though Mayor Gavin Newsom announced at a May 2007 press conference that the new city ordinance would ban gun possession there. By excluding the application of the ordinance and removing the lease provision, the right of public housing residents to choose to own a gun to defend themselves or their families has been restored.

The settlements bring a successful conclusion to the lawsuit, filed June 2008. The decision to repeal SFHA’s lease provisions banning firearms came despite initial claims by Mayor Newsom that the lawsuit would be “absolutely defended,” and comes after initial claims by the San Francisco City Attorney that the lawsuit was “frivolous” and that the City would seek sanctions. No sanctions were sought, nor could they have been.

The San Francisco concessions follow similar gun ban repeals by several Illinois towns that also faced NRA lawsuits filed immediately after the Supreme Court confirmed in late June that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms.

NRA-ILA and CRPA will continue to pursue other cases to resolve the incorporation issue. In fact, a California case challenging a gun show ban ordinance that has been partially funded by the NRA for years (Nordyke v. Alameda County) was recently argued before the ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and a decision is forthcoming.

NRA is preparing additional legal challenges in San Francisco and Los Angeles regarding gun control ordinances that were not challenged in the current lawsuit. In fact, NRA’s lawyers have already placed San Francisco and Los Angeles on notice of pending litigation concerning several other gun banning ordinances. The NRA-led coalition will likely also pursue civil rights actions against California itself as well as several other municipalities to challenge ill-conceived and unconstitutional state and local gun bans in the near future.

"Today is an important victory and a step in the right direction for the residents of San Francisco and for the citizens of California," concluded Cox. “NRA will keep up the fight to make sure the Second Amendment is respected throughout the country."

To view the stipulations and other related documents, please visit www.calgunlaws.com.

-NRA-

Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America's oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military.

Copyright 2009, National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action.
This may be reproduced. It may not be reproduced for commercial purposes.

AZ: Thugs Picked Wrong Convenience Store

A couple of thugs picked the wrong convenience store on the night of Jan 26th when they walked into Grand Market in Tucson Arizona & opened fire on the clerk. The would-be victim was prepared to defend himself & fired back. He hit the thug who then went out of the store, collapsed, and died from his wound. The other thug ran away, but was later caught & placed in jail for an unrelated warrant.

AZ: SB 1243 Defensive Display & HB 2439 Alternative 3 Hr CCW Course

From AZCDL:

Two more AzCDL-requested bills have been filed.

SB 1243, clarifying when "Defensive Display" is justified, has 18 co-sponsors. This bill is similar to an AzCDL-requested bill filed last year that passed in the Legislature but was vetoed by our former anti-rights Governor. Defensive display includes:

• Verbally informing another person that you have a firearm available.
• Exposing or displaying a firearm in a manner that conveys you mean to protect yourself.
• Placing your hand on your firearm while it is holstered or in a pocket, purse or other means of containment.

HB 2439, with 22 co-sponsors, 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.

Even though the legislative session got underway on January 12th, the budget has become the center of focus at the Capitol, significantly slowing the filing and movement of non-budget related bills. We encourage you keep an eye on AzCDL's Legislative page for updates on legislation we are watching: http://www.azcdl.org/html/2009_bills.html .

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.

Matt Long: I don't carry

In the past Syd has listed the reasons why he carries a gun. Matt Long of Gun Rights News (Part of the Gun Rights Radio podcast network) has now published his reasons for carrying a gun. Both of them have listed very good reasons to be prepared to defend themselves. The choice of whether or not to be prepared to defend yourself or to only rely on 911 is a personal one. In addition to the excellent reasons they have listed for deciding to be prepared for the defense of themselves & their families, I carry my gun because it's easier than carrying a cop. As is often said, when seconds count, the Police are minutes away!

AZ: Constitutional Carry SB 1270

SB 1270 is an Arizona constitutional carry bill that has been introduced in the Senate. It essentially would remove the current requirement to have a CCW permit when carrying a concealed weapon unless you're a prohibited possessor or are in the process of committing a serious criminal offense as defined in 13-706 or a violent crime as defined in 13-901.03. It would also remove the current problem of people being cited for concealed carry without a permit when open carrying in their car. Open Carry would of course remain as is, no requirement for any permit either.

It would still allow people to get a CCW permit if they choose to in order to gain certain additional benefits such as reciprocity granted by other States that don't yet have constitutional carry laws, or to carry in current restricted areas under specific conditions, such as to carry onto school grounds while dropping off or picking up a child. It would of course be optimal to remove all existing restrictions on bearing arms anyplace we are legally allowed to be, but that would likely be too large of a first step in our legislature as it would face strong opposition.

Alaska & Vermont already respect constitutional carry. Hopefully more & more states will continue with this trend of removing infringements on our right to keep & bear arms.

An easy way to contact your representatives to let them know you support this bill is through this NRA sponsored gateway.

Below is an update from AZCDL about the bill:

SB 1270, an AzCDL-requested bill that removes the penalty for law-abiding citizens carrying concealed weapons without a permit, was filed late afternoon on Tuesday, January 27, 2009. You can read the text of SB 1270 at http://tinyurl.com/dko6oy .

Dave Kopp and John Wentling, AzCDL's president and vice-president, and full-time volunteer lobbyists, worked hard lobbying for SB 1270 and encouraging legislators to sign on as co-sponsors. The following twenty-two (22) legislators are the co-sponsors of SB 1270:

Senator Sylvia Allen, District 5, sallen@azleg.gov, (602) 926-5219
Senator Ron Gould, District 3, rgould@azleg.gov, (602) 926-4138
Senator Chuck Gray, District 19, cgray@azleg.gov, (602) 926-5288 (Senate Majority Leader)
Senator Linda Gray, District 10, lgray@azleg.gov, (602) 926-3376
Senator John Nelson, District 12, jnelson@azleg.gov, (602) 926-5872
Senator Russell Pearce, District 18, rpearce@azleg.gov, (602) 926-5760
Senator Thayer Verschoor, District 22, tverschoor@azleg.gov, (602) 926-4136 (Senate President Pro Tempore)
Representative Frank Antenori, District 30, fantenori@azleg.gov, (602) 926-5683
Representative Cecil B. Ash, District 18, cash@azleg.gov, (602) 926-3160
Representative Ray Barnes, District 7, rbarnes@azleg.gov, (602) 926-3107
Representative Andy Biggs, District 22, rbiggs@azleg.gov, (602) 926-4371
Representative Judy M. Burges, District 4, jburges@azleg.gov, (602) 926-5861
Representative Sam Crump, District 6, scrump@azleg.gov, (602) 926-3014
Representative David Gowan, District 30, dgowan@azleg.gov, (602) 926-3312
Representative John Kavanagh, District 8, jkavanagh@azleg.gov, (602) 926-5170
Representative Barbara McGuire, District 23, bmcguire@azleg.gov, (602) 926-3012
Representative Nancy McLain, District 3, nmclain@azleg.gov, (602) 926-5051
Representative Steve B. Montenegro, District 12, smontenegro@azleg.gov, (602) 926-5955
Representative Rick Murphy, District 9, rmurphy@azleg.gov, (602) 926-3255
Representative Warde V. Nichols, District 21, wnichols@azleg.gov, (602) 926-5168
Representative Doug Quelland, District 10, dquelland@azleg.gov, (602) 926-3024
Representative Carl Seel, District 6, cseel@azleg.gov, (602) 926-3018

If your Senator or Representative is one of the co-sponsors, please take the time to send them an email or call them and thank them for co-sponsoring SB 1270. It's critical that they know you are aware of, and appreciate, their support of SB 1270. You can find your legislators at: http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp .

If your Senator or Representative is NOT a co-sponsor, please call them or send them an email asking them why they did not co-sponsor SB 1270. Politely mention that you expect them to support SB 1270 in the future. You can find your legislators at: http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp .

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.

Update 1: Unfortunately this bill didn't make it through the full legislative process this year before the session was over due to the lack of time after the budget was finally passed, although several other important bills did manage to make it. This bill will be a top priority in 2010.

Update 2: SB 1102 & HB 2347 have been introduced for 2010. Contact your representatives!

Update 3: Governor Brewer signed Constitutional Carry (SB 1108) into law on April 16 2010!

Rep. Cliff Stearns: Concealed Carry Permits Are Life Savers

Florida District 6 US House Representative Cliff Stearns wrote an excellent piece titled Concealed Carry Permits Are Life Savers:

. . . Allowing law-abiding people to arm themselves offers more than piece of mind for those individuals -- it pays off for everybody through lower crime rates. Statistics from the FBI’s Uniformed Crime Report of 2007 show that states with right-to-carry laws have a 30% lower homicide rate, 46% lower robbery, and 12% lower aggravated assault rate and a 22% lower overall violent crime rate than do states without such laws. That is why more and more states have passed right-to-carry laws over the past decade . . .

In a related story, Julie Parker, 33 who shot an employee of Texas Components with an arrow was held off by a couple of CCW permit holders (also employees) until police arrived:

. . . Witnesses said other employees of the business pulled out their own pistols and held the woman at bay until police arrived . . .

Yet more evidence that when seconds count, the Police are minutes away. I have not seen any report on how many arrows she was carrying with her. Who knows how many lives these two concerned citizens saved by being prepared & choosing to act at a critical time. They may have saved one or even dozens of lives. Luckily we'll never know since she was stopped before we could find out.

AZ: BLM Target Shooting Planning Meetings for Table Mesa

From NRA-ILA:

Friday, January 23, 2009

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is developing a recreation plan for Table Mesa, a site north of Phoenix that receives heavy recreational use from target shooters and off-highway vehicle users.

In recent months, NRA has sent emails to our Arizona members about this planning process and the importance of participating in it to ensure that the interests of shooters are addressed in the plan. A number of NRA members have participated in a clean up of Table Mesa and in preliminary meetings about the plan.

The next set of meetings will be held on Tuesday, February 3 from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Deer Valley Senior Center, located at 2001 W Wahalla Ln in Phoenix. Another will be held Tuesday, February 17 from 6 - 8 p.m. at the same location.

If you target shoot at Table Mesa or want to ensure that access to federal lands for target shooting is protected, please attend one of these public meetings and stay tuned for upcoming events at BLM's website for Table Mesa: www.TableMesaRecArea.com. Please look at the map on the web page showing areas proposed for closure and areas proposed for opening and be prepared at the meetings to discuss whether these alternatives work and if there are other alternatives that need to be addressed.

Copyright 2009, National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action.
This may be reproduced. It may not be reproduced for commercial purposes.

Update 1: Related alert from Alan Korwin:

Jan. 25, 2009

by Alan Korwin, Author
The Arizona Gun Owner's Guide
http://www.gunlaws.com/agog.htm

Do you remember the Forest Service meetings several years back? The announced purpose was to improve and enhance outdoor shooting in the National Forests, the main place everyone used to go.

The actual result was closure of more than 80,000 acres to shooting -- all the places near Phoenix metro (they're all listed in The Arizona Gun Owner's Guide) that people had used for decades. The details are posted here: http://www.gunlaws.com/Tonto.htm

Now the Bureau of Land Management is holding hearings on the use of Table Mesa Road off I-17 for outdoor marksmanship ("officials" like to call it "wildcat shooting" to denigrate outdoor marksmanship; never use their derogatory phrase, and scold them if they do).

This is one of the few remaining outdoor spots for target practice anywhere near Phoenix metro, and it gets a lot of use. I'm the first to recognize there is some crossfire across some of those hills and knolls. How to manage it all is complex. Keeping it open should be everyone's concern.

I plan to be there if I can (I have some other commitments). If the future of shooting sports and government encroachment on your rights is important, join other marksmen who will be at the hearing, described below in an NRA posting. Permission to circulate this note is of course granted (and encouraged).


Respectfully submitted,
Alan.


Sign up for future alerts on my home page:
http://www.gunlaws.com

AZ: Crossroads of the West Gun Show

I'll be helping out at the Arizona Citizens Defense League table at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show (Located at the Arizona Fair Grounds) tomorrow Saturday Jan 24th between 9 AM & 1 PM. If you go to the show stop by the table and chat with us about the AZCDL and the legislation we're supporting this year. If you're not already an AZCDL member you'll be able to join at the gun show at a discounted rate.

AZ: Big Brother is Watching

As you know, I have no love for speed cameras. It turns out that it is even worse than I thought - yesterday I found out that Big Brother is already watching ALL drivers on Arizona Roads. The speed & red light cameras in Arizona are streaming live video 24x7 and the video is archived for a minimum of 90 days. DPS says not to worry, they only use the video to find hit & run drivers as well as to identify riders of stolen motorcycles, or to use it for anything else they feel like using it for. It's for your own safety, so shut your mouth & don't complain. Go ahead, give up a little liberty for a little imagined safety.

On the other hand, if you want to fight back, join other concerned citizens at camerafraud.com in the fight to restore our lost liberties. Our forefathers died securing & protecting our Liberty, don't trade it away like a piece of useless garbage in exchange for an empty promise.

If interested, you can watch the archive video of yesterdays House Transportation Committee hearing on HB 2106 which if passed would ban the use of cameras on Arizona Highways. It passed out of committee with a do pass recommendation by a vote of 5 in favor and 2 against.

Your Support of the NRA Really Shines!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of my blog readers for heeding my call to support the NRA by joining or giving gift NRA memberships. Between the time of my request for your support last month and last night there were 44 new NRA memberships, upgrades, or renewals signed up through my NRA Membership Drive. In addition to having 44 new NRA members now behind the effort to fight the most anti-gun President in the History of the United States, I also won a gun rights blog contest to see who could recruit the most NRA members before his inauguration ceremony took place yesterday. The combined efforts in the contest from all participants recruited more than 90 new NRA members and renewals!

Even though the blog contest is over, I encourage all of you to continue your efforts to give out gift NRA memberships or to sign yourself up if you're not already a member. There is a $10 discount for new memberships & renewals that sign up for 1 year, and a $50 discount to sign up or extend for 5 years.

Don't forget to support other national & local gun rights groups as well, such as the Arizona Citizens Defense League if you live in Arizona. I have a link list to the National & local gun rights groups I'm aware of in the right hand navigation bar titled "Gun Rights Sites."

AZ: Welcome Governor Jan Brewer!

I'd like to take this moment to officially welcome Governor Jan Brewer as our new Arizona Governor! Check out the official Arizona Governor web page. She also has a transition site and a facebook page. We finally have a gun friendly Governor in office to sign bills that improve our liberty, and veto any that infringe it.

Buy a Gun Day

Being that Today the most anti-gun President in the history of the United States will be taking office, Today is a good day to buy a gun. If you can get your hands on one that is.

Update 1: News releases from GOA & the NRA.

Jordin Sparks: Best rendition of National Anthem Ever

I've never heard a better rendition of the National Anthem, Jordin Sparks did an amazing job!



The Arizona Cardinals are headed to the Super Bowl!

AZ: 2009 Legislation

The 2009 session of the Arizona Legislature is under way, and the Arizona Citizens Defense League is maintaining a list of 2009 legislation it is supporting & opposing. One bill of particular interest to me is SB 1113 the Restaurant Carry bill. As currently introduced it removes the existing prohibition on bearing arms while in restaurants that happen to serve alcohol while prohibiting consumption of alcohol in such restaurants while bearing arms. It does have a provision to allow restaurants that serve alcohol the option of posting so-called Gun Free Zone signs (you know, those defenseless victim zones criminals love to exploit) if they choose to do so which of course would also leave us the option to eat elsewhere.

Update 1: If you think nobody would ever need their self defense weapon while in an establishment that happens to serve alcohol - think again. Of course that attack took place in a Bar rather than in a restaurant, but that type of scenario could happen in either type of location.

AZ: Get Rid of the Speed Cameras!

Governor Napolitano last year used an Executive Order to load the Arizona highways with speed cameras, which is a major violation of individual Freedom & Privacy, not to mention the safety hazards they create. Luckily we have a few options at our disposal to dispose of them post haste which I'll share in a moment.

The speed cameras cause dangerous road conditions in multiple ways. First of all they cause people to drive excessively slow for conditions, often slamming on their brakes or driving 5 to 15 miles BELOW the speed limit. Having such huge variations in traffic speeds can cause accidents. To throw alcohol on the fire, the flash at night is so intensely bright that it blinds dozens of motorists who then have to try to stay on the road while blind without crashing before their eyes can readjust to the darkness.

They are also an invasion of privacy. The car is an extension of the home, and people have a reasonable expectation that they can travel without having their photo taken by Uncle Sam. How many people drive with their hair a mess or in their scroungy clothes thinking nobody they know will see them? Nobody wants their photo taken on a bad hair day or while in their PJ's.

Add to that what we've all seen in the movies - a Federal agent, a Terrorist, or a paid spy accesses government databases to track down a particular car based on computer recognition of a license plate number. I'm not saying that the technology to utilize existing speed & red light running cameras for this purpose is widely adopted yet, but text recognition technology does exist. For example I know that the police already have the capability to drive through a parking lot or down a freeway & scan all of the license plates to look for anything of interest to them. The only thing required is the computer horsepower to chew through all the available raw video which at the present rate of technological advancements couldn't be far away if it isn't already in use.

There are at least 3 ways we can work to get rid of this government intrusion:

1. Ask Jan Brewer to make the removal of the cameras her first order of business once she becomes our Governor.
2. Sign the petition to put it up for a vote to the people - see event listings at camerafraud.com.
3. Contact your Arizona Senator & House Representatives to ask them to support Representative Sam Crump's bill HB2106 to ban the cameras on all Freeways & Highways in AZ.
   

More here on the petition to bring it up for a vote. More here on the legislation.

If you've already been flashed, you may find the book Smile for the Speed Camera:Photo Radar Exposed by Susan Kaylar helpful.

Update 1: A reader contacted me about a product called the Loover. Looks like an interesting way to assert privacy from the cameras on poles while still keeping the plate clearly visible from all sides for Police Officers in vehicles. I have not yet tried the product but it may be worth a look as a temporary privacy measure until we get rid of the cameras.

Today I participated in the west side camerafraud.com sign waving & signature gathering event. It was a lot of fun to see how much support we had, people honking, giving a thumbs up, and asking where they can go to sign the petition. Chanel 3 news did a story on the event. If like myself you'd like to see the cameras go, consider signing up to participate in a future camerafraud.com event.

Update 2: Cameras make mistakes, and assume you're guilty until you prove yourself innocent.

Update 3: Minnesota Camera Ticket Victims Refunded 2.6 Million for lack of due process! Excerpt from the Minnesota Supreme Court Decision:

The court also struck down the "rebutable presumption" doctrine that lies at the heart of every civil photo enforcement ordinance across the country.

"The problem with the presumption that the owner was the driver is that it eliminates the presumption of innocence and shifts the burden of proof from that required by the rules of criminal procedure," the court concluded. "Therefore the ordinance provides less procedural protection to a person charged with an ordinance violation than is provided to a person charged with a violation of the Act. Accordingly, the ordinance conflicts with the Act and is invalid."

Update 4: American Traffic Systems (ATS) Scamera Employee threatens to send 2 bogus speeding citations if citizen doesn't "respect" his so-called authority!

Update 5: HB2106, which would ban speed cameras on all of Arizona's highways is being heard in the Arizona Legislature Transportation Committee on Thursday, January 22nd, at 9am. The hearing will be in Hearing Room #3 at the Arizona House of Representatives. If you would like to come to the hearing in person, please do so. Furthermore, your testimony in support of the bill would be welcome.

If you cannot attend in person, you should submit your testimony via the Request to Speak system: http://alistrack.azle...

You can also watch the proceedings via the Internet. Simply go to http://www.azleg.gov... and click on the "Live Proceedings" next to the camera. On the next page you should click on "Hearing Room 3".

Update 6: An Arizona Judge has thrown out over 300 photo tickets as unconstitutional. We just need the State to challenge his decision for it to go up to the next level before his decision would apply State wide. Apparently they're afraid to, with good reason.

Update 7: Although HB2106 made it through committee the House leadership refused to allow the bill to go to the floor for a vote, thus killing the bill.

Yellowstone Park Officials Confused

The Yellowstone Park Officials are confused about the new park rules:

Yellowstone National Park officials say disentangling disparate concealed-weapons laws of three states has left unanswered questions . . . The rule gives gun owners permission to carry concealed loaded weapons as long as their concealed-weapons permit is recognized by the state in which the park is located . . . The problem is that Yellowstone stretches across three states – Wyoming, Montana and Idaho . . . the three states don’t recognize the same out-of-state permits . . ."

Perhaps it would simplify matters if the rule were to simply not prohibit the bearing of arms for persons who are not prohibited possessors, such as convicted felons who have not yet had their rights restored. If not that, than perhaps simply recognizing all Concealed Carry permits as valid in the States that have Concealed Carry Laws. Alternatively the Park Rangers could simply recognize the same permits that the 3 States combined recognize in an additive fashion. For example, if Idaho recognizes the permits of all States, the Park Rangers could recognize all of the States in the entire park.

Bill Wade, chairman of the executive council of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees . . . said park law enforcement officers now will likely use extra caution when approaching park visitors.

“Law enforcement rangers are going to have to be much more careful and much more suspicious,” Wade said.

Officers now need to be more suspicious? That is among the most inane statements I've heard in at least several days. Law enforcement officers always need to assume that they may be approaching an armed person. The only thing that has changed after the rule change is that in addition to criminals being armed, law abiding citizens might be armed.

There is no need for officers to worry about the armed law abiding citizens. It's the armed criminals that officers need to worry about, and armed criminals have been around since Cain killed Abel. The only thing that has changed over the years is the type of weapons that people carry with them. Cain may have used a large rock, club, or a sharp stick. Today the portable handgun is often the tool of choice, and I certainly wouldn't want to bring a sharp stick to a gun fight.

Obama Named Gun Salesman of the Year

Obama has been awarded the title of Gun Salesman of the Year by The Outdoor Wire.

In recognition of the unprece­dented demand for firearms by nervous consumers, The Outdoor Wire has named President-elect Barack Obama its "Gun Salesman of the Year" . . . It's credit where credit is due. Mr. Obama has consistently voted against individual rights to firearms, appointed a re-tread Clinton administration full of gun banners, and made it plain to anti-gun groups that despite what he might say to the contrary, he's on their side . . .

HR 45 National Firearms Licensing

US House Representative Bobby Rush of IL has introduced anti freedom bill HR 45 National Firearms Licensing which has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee. You should contact your representative & ask that they oppose it as well as any other upcoming efforts towards national firearms licensing. The full text of HR 45 is available here. One small snippet gives you a general idea, but it gets even worse from there:

(1) IN GENERAL. It shall be unlawful for any person other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector to possess a qualifying firearm on or after the applicable date, unless that person has been issued a firearm license . . .

More from WorldNetDaily.

Update 1: More from Uncle & Sebastian.

Update 2: Save $10-$50 by Joining the NRA TODAY to help fight this and other evil efforts!

Update 3: HR-45 would go retroactive applying to all owned firearms after 2 yrs.

Update 4: Follow current status of HR 45 on govtrack.us.

Update 5: NH resolution to secede if HR 45 is signed into law, as well as for other circumstances.

Update 6: More from NRA_ILA, and from GOA.

Another Attack on Ammo

Keep your eye out this year for renewed efforts to ban ammunition. The 2009 legislative session is just beginning in most States, but I would be surprised if we don't see reintroductions of last years failed ammo serialization bills. In Washington DC there was a recent story of someone being arrested at a Police Check Point for having so-called "unregistered ammunition" & driving an unregistered car. I've been unable to locate any details on how to register ammunition in Washington DC, so I believe that part of the story might be caused by the lamestream media getting facts wrong yet again.

However, I did find at least 20 strange ammunition laws in Washington DC (click the search link & enter ammunition in the search field). For example Washington DC bans the transfer of ammunition without being a registered gun dealer, and even bans reloading without having a special certificate. Gun dealers in DC are required to keep records on people who buy ammunition, and verify that the ammunition is the correct caliber for a registered firearm. In DC you are not supposed to pawn your ammunition. If you're a gun dealer in DC you are not supposed to let anyone see your ammunition from the street. I could go on, but you get the idea - it's a long litany of idiotic laws that have done absolutely nothing to reduce the out of control crime in DC.

In other news, Community Organizer Rev. Melvin Whitley and the taxpayer funded Acorn group are pushing to require a background check before you can purchase ammunition. Why would creating a new black market reduce crime? Don't we already have enough black market issues as it is without creating yet another?

Why would a criminal who is not even allowed to touch a gun nor ammunition (yet mysteriously has both) be unable to get his or her hands on ammunition even if required to get the ammo on yet another black market? Does anyone remember the great alcohol prohibition? Every time we ban something we simply create yet another lucrative black market for the criminals to exploit, rob for, kill for, and fight turf wars over.

We already know that the thousands of gun control laws already on the books in the US don't work to reduce crime. If gun control doesn't work to reduce crime when the gun is a required component of the gun and ammo combination, a scheme as ridiculous as ammunition control certainly would be even less effective:

"The problem with the law is that it allows criminals to have access to bullets. And it's the bullets that's killing us," according to Whitley.

Actually no Whitely, the criminals are doing the killing, not the bullets (if bullets were a self aware life form wouldn't we already have locked a few of them in our Prisons, at least temporarily until parole?). Most unjustified homicides are directly related to the war on drugs - either by gang members fighting in turf wars, or by drug users attempting to support their expensive and illegal drug habit. Criminals kill with knives, baseball bats, lead pipes, and even their bare fists.

Is Rev Whitely going to propose we require background checks for baseball bats as well? Perhaps he'll next propose that bare fist registration be required when applying for a future National ID card so that we can pass through Police Check Points at every city & state border? Is he going to propose that we rename the BATFE to BATFEAKBLB for Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Ammunition, Knives, Baseball bats, Lead pipes, and Bare fists?

I already feel like I'm entering a Police State when I drive through the Police Check Points at the California border on the few occasions that I have the unfortunate need to temporarily leave the Free State of Arizona. Right now the California Police Check Points only ask about fresh fruit. California is probably watching for fresh fruit because they are worried about fresh fruit fiends.

NRA-ILA Letter to Senate Judiciary Committe on Holder

Wayne LaPierre & Chris Cox sent a Letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee asking them not to confirm Holder.

Update 1: John R Lott Jr. weighs in on Holder Nomination.

Park Rules Take Effect Today!

Today's the day we can finally go visit the Grand Canyon National Park and other National Parks in the US without the Federal Government trying to infringe on our right to bear arms. There are still some Nanny State governments infringing the right which we still need to work on, but as for the National Parks that are located in the Free States we're good to go as of today.

More from NRA-ILA.

Calling all Facebook Users

Facebook is becoming all the rage. It started out as a college networking tool but has now expanded into all aspects of life. More & more of my family & friends are joining in, sharing photos, links, thoughts, etc. I can't tell you how many old High School friends I've found over the last year or so via facebook. It can often be a bit like a High School reunion, but without the long drive. When old friends find you on Facebook they can send you a request to be added to your friends list. It can also be a fun way to keep in touch with family & friends who don't live nearby.

Additionally, facebook is a fun way to get to know local Politicians. For example, Arizona Senator Jack Harper is on facebook. You can also become a fan of your favorite people such as soon to be Arizona Governor Jan Brewer or talk radio host Glenn Beck. You can even join facebook groups you have a common interest with such as the NRA, Arizona Gun Owners, Arizona Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, or the National Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.

Anyhow, if you have so far avoided facebook you might consider trying it out. Once you join or if you're already a FB member, I'd love to have you join me on my FB Blog Network page. You can also add me as a FB friend. It's yet another fun way for me to get to interact with & get to know fellow gun rights enthusiasts.

Armed Customer Saved Clerk

An armed customer saved a female store Clerk who was in the process of being attacked by a thug armed with a beer bottle. I'm glad that the good Samaritan was armed with something more significant than a cell phone. When seconds count, the Police are only minutes away.

H/T to Uncle.

Kurt Repanshek: Lawsuits Against Park Carry

Kurt Repanshek wrote an article about 2 lawsuits that have been filed to fight the removal of the old ban on self defense in National Parks. His only sources were the NPCA, the CNPSR, & the Brady folks, so the article is all one sided, just regurgitating their unsubstantiated anti freedom rhetoric. However, there is some interesting commentary going on in the comments section you might want to check out or even participate in.

It is interesting for example that the author & the anti-freedom organizations he quoted feel it had been OK to infringe on our right to bear arms when we crossed an imaginary "loaded gun free zone" boundary so that they couldn't be scared of our holstered guns. If they're so scared of my holstered gun in a National Park (that they can't even see by the way), why do they go to the same crowded malls & movie theaters that I go to? Don't they know they pass by armed people all the time without even realizing it? There are armed undercover & off duty Police Officers, CCW permit holders, people open carrying, and (gasp) even armed criminals in their midst who based on existing laws are not even allowed to touch a gun, much less carry one.

The rules change only brings National Parks Regulations in line with the long existing regulations of National Forests which is simply to allow the States to set their own carry laws. Are they scared to go to National Forest land too? If the people who are scared of our holstered guns are willing to go to the Mall, why are they suddenly scared to go to a National Park that no longer infringes on our natural born but Second Amendment protected right to bear arms in defense of our lives & our families? We already carry everywhere else, crossing a National Park boundary isn't going to cause us to go berserk.

They attempt to justify the old ban by saying statistically we're less likely to be raped, killed, or mugged while unarmed in National Parks than on the streets of Washington DC or other high crime areas. To that I'd say tell that to a defenseless rape victim, or the surviving family of a murder victim. It mattered to the defenseless murder victims just before they drew their last breath, it matters to their surviving family members, it matters to crime victims who managed to survive, and it matters to me.

If that alone were not enough, there is in fact no "right to be free of senseless fears." There is however a right to bear arms. So I guess they'll either have to get used to those of us who have decided to accept the responsibility for the safety of our families, or push to add a new constitutional amendment that would state that everyone has a right not to be scared of senseless phobias.

Update 1: More from Las Vegas Review Journal.

Update 2: More from Sensibly Progressive.

Grasping Billions & Trillions

Our Government has been spending money like mad lately with all of the bailouts. It is no longer uncommon to hear of a few Billion spent here or there on some specific bailout or other, or even a few hundred Billion, or even Trillions of dollars in aggregate. These numbers are truly mind numbing, and can be difficult to wrap your mind around. Politicians probably hope we don't know how big these numbers truly are. To put these numbers into something easier to grasp, here are some examples:

• There are more than 31 Million seconds in a single year (31,557,600 seconds)
• 1 Million Seconds ago was about 11.6 days ago.
• 1 Billion Seconds ago it was 1977 (31.7 years ago)
• 1 Trillion Seconds ago it was 29,679 years BC (31,688.1 years ago).
• 8 Trillion Seconds ago it was 251,495 BC (253,504.7 years ago)
  

Proposed Gun Ban List

Alan Korwin has the details of a proposed gun ban that Obama would gladly sign according to the Obama website:

. . . Obama & Biden . . . also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent . . .

One of many evil aspects in the anti-freedom bill is the provision to give the Attorney General carte blanche to add any semi-automatic rifle to the ban list at will:

Under the proposal, the U.S. Attorney General can add any “semiautomatic rifle or shotgun originally designed for military or law enforcement use, or a firearm based on the design of such a firearm, that is not particularly suitable for sporting purposes, as determined by the Attorney General.” Note that Obama’s pick for this office (Eric Holder, confirmation hearing set for Jan. 15) wrote a brief in the Heller case supporting the position that you have no right to have a working firearm in your own home.

Yet another reason to oppose the Holder nomination, as if we needed another. When you contact your Senators to oppose Holder, it would probably be a good idea to also mention that you oppose any effort to introduce a new AWB, just to keep it fresh in their minds.

Update 1: More from World Net Daily.

Hold on Holder Nomination

If you have not yet contacted your Senators to ask that they work to place a Hold on the Holder nomination, you should definitely do that. If your Senators are not friendly to the gun rights issue, David Codrea has a list of other issues you can bring up.

Update 1: The NRA Weighs in on Holder Nomination.

Monty Python Skit: Self Defense Against Assailants Armed with Fresh Fruit

An old Monty Python skit on how to defend yourself against an assailant armed with fresh fruit. A couple of my favorite lines:

". . .it's quite simple to defend yourself against the banana fiend. First of all, you force him to drop the banana. Next you eat the banana, thus disarming him. You have now rendered him helpless . . ."

"What if you don't have a gun?"

"Run for it . . ."

Xavier Thoughts: An Encounter At Wal-Mart

Xavier Thoughts: An Encounter At Wal-Mart

. . . I glanced back and saw that the two young men had spread apart, one on either side of us and to the rear. That is when I felt it. They had matched my stride and were circling me. Like an antelope, I knew I was being stalked by jackals, only I did not know why. Time was accelerating at head pounding speed, and Little Darling, blissfully unaware, was along for the ride . . .

An excellent example of situational awareness. I had missed this old post from Xavier, H/T to Tim from USCCA for sending me the link.