SAF Sues Holder for Rights Violations

From SAF:

SAF SUES ERIC HOLDER OVER GUN RIGHTS OF NON-RESIDENT AMERICAN CITIZENS

For Immediate Release:   3/30/2009

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Attorney General Eric Holder, seeking an injunction against enforcement of a federal law that makes it impossible for American citizens who reside outside the United States to purchase firearms while they are in this country.

SAF is joined by two natural-born citizens, Maxwell Hodgkins and Stephen Dearth, who have been denied the opportunity to buy firearms because they do not currently reside in the United States. Hodgkins currently lives in the United Kingdom, and Dearth is a resident of Canada.

The lawsuit alleges that Holder, as attorney general, is enforcing unconstitutional laws that prevent citizens like Hodgkins and Dearth from exercising their Second Amendment rights. The complaint also asserts that enforcement of the federal gun laws that prevent such citizens from purchasing firearms when they visit the U.S. violates their right of equal protection under the Fifth Amendment. The plaintiffs are represented by Virginia attorney Alan Gura, who successfully argued the Heller case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“This is what happens when anti-gunners rush to pass a restrictive gun law that ignores the constitutional rights of law-abiding American citizens who happen to be living abroad,” said SAF founder Alan Gottlieb. “Honest Americans who live in other countries for a variety of reasons should not be denied their Second or Fifth Amendment rights when they return to American soil. Hodgkins and Dearth, and many others just like them, are victims of anti-gun rights zeal.

“Such citizens have every right to obtain and own firearms for a variety of reasons, whether to hunt, or for personal protection, target shooting or competition,” he continued. “Hodgkins, Dearth and other non-resident citizens want to keep their firearms here for use when the come home. However, current federal law makes it impossible for them to exercise their rights like any other citizen. It is fundamentally wrong to penalize American citizens for living overseas.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nations oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 600,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

TX: They Attempted to Rob the Wrong Cell Phone Store

A couple of armed thugs attempted to rob the wrong cell phone store.  You see, the cell phone store owner had his own gun and was able to defend himself.  One of the thugs ran away & never looked back.  The other thug wasn't so smart - he confronted the armed store owner & as a result was shot.  To make matters worse the wounded thug then tried to run across a busy street where he ended up getting run over.  The autopsy report has not yet been released to determine if he died from the gunshot wound or from the Jay Walking incident, but either way we've got one less thug on the streets thanks to someone who was willing to defend himself.

NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert

This week's NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert.

MD: Nathaniel McFadden Prefers Unarmed Victims

Sen. Pro Temp Nathaniel McFadden of Maryland thinks it is better to allow a woman to be lit on fire by an abusive ex-husband than to risk allowing her to defend herself. Reprehensible.

"Thank you Mr. President and members of the Senate. In response to my esteemed colleague from Western Maryland, lets make this observation - Given this scenario, there was a situation in Prince George's County unfortunately of a woman who was abused obviously. And she was at work. And her husband came in and unfortunately and lamentably threw some sort of gasoline mixture on her and set her on fire in her work environment. Suppose she had opted to have a gun in that situation. This is a place of business. And had she attempted to defend herself during this occurrence, I just think that it may have been some unintended consequences in people who would be adversely affected . . ."

Unintended consequences? I'll tell you who suffered unintended consequences, it was victim Yvette Cade who had been disarmed & rendered defenseless by the reprehensible "might issue" laws of Maryland.

Audio here.

Graphic of One Trillion Dollars

One Billion Dollars (tightly packed Pallets of $100 bills):

One Trillion Dollars (tightly packed Pallets of $100 bills - double stacked):

Earlier I described 1 Trillion in terms of the fact that going back in time 1 Trillion seconds would take us back to the year 251,495 BC. For another mental image check out the graphic of 1 Trillion Dollars in the form of stacks of $100 bills on pallets next to the image of a man.

Remember that image when Obama & other politicians talk about spending Trillions of dollars or taking Trillions of dollars in taxes or Cap & Trade fees. They want you to get used to hearing Trillions of Dollars the way we had been used to hearing Billions of Dollars. There is an exponential difference between Billions & Trillions, so don't let anyone fool you.

Gun Dudes Contest: Eric's Rant

I'm a regular listener of all of the Gun Rights Radio podcasts. The Gun Dudes recently held a contest asking for audio proof of Eric (of the Handgun Podcast) ranting about the Pro Arms podcast. I just found out that I won a consolation prize for my Eric's Rant submission which of course is good news for me, I had fun doing it. Tony (of the Firearms Cafe) was the Judge, and he really did pick the best entry. Shawn Paris was the contest winner (not sure on spelling) - he did an awesome job. :)

When I submitted my audio to the Gun Dudes I cc'd Eric with a copy of it & Eric replied with: "You're a bad, bad man. LOL!" To which I of course was ROFL. So much fun. :)

April 15th Tea Party Protests Nation Wide

On April 15th there will be a Nation-wide Tea Party Protest. In essence the protest is against not only high taxation in ALL FORMS (including as just one small example over 1 Trillion in new taxes to be paid by us in the form of higher utility bills & increased product costs due to the proposed Cap & Trade taxes), but also the mortgaging of our Children's future via unprecedented wasteful deficit spending & government debt. In these tough times when many of us are dealing with cuts in pay or job loss, our government has the audacity to INCREASE its deficit spending to the tune of Trillions of dollars!

I don't know about you, but like Thomas Paine, I'm Mad as Hell, & I'm not going to take it any more!

If you'd like to join the Tea Party Protest with other like minded citizens look for a Tea Party protest in your area, or organize your own!

I'll be attending the Arizona State Capital Tea Party Protest here in Phoenix Arizona. There are also protests in other locations in Arizona.

You can sign up for the Phoenix Tea Party Protest via facebook or American Political Analysis.

Update 1: 550 KFYI Host Mike Broomhead will be speaking at the AZ Capital Tea Party Protest.

Dumb Criminals: Stealing Guns at a Gun Show

How stupid do you have to be to attempt to steal guns while surrounded by hundreds of armed citizens? Apparently this stupid.

Heavenly

Article Author Cathrine Grace was trying to paint a scary picture about the removal of gun free zones, but all I got out of it was heaven:

Imagine life at PUC with no gun ban. Picture a campus on which students, faculty, and visitors could all carry a concealed weapon, whether in the parking lot or the classroom.
This scenario could soon be reality should State Senator Johnny Nugent of Lawrenceburg find three times a charm in a possible January, 2010 revival of his controversial gun legislation.

I'd only make a few modifications to reach complete nirvana:

Imagine life at Purdue University with no civil rights violations. Picture a campus on which adult students, faculty, and visitors were all free to defend themselves from armed thugs & rapists.
Imagine freedom restored. Imagine America as it was meant to be.

Wayne LaPierre and Glenn Beck Discuss Mexican Drug Cartels

Wayne LaPierre and Glenn Beck discuss the primary sources of guns used by Mexican Drug Cartels. Contrary to the opinion of Napolitano & Holder it certainly is not the United States of America.



Update 1: Only 17% of guns recovered from crime scenes in Mexico originate from US!

Kellene: Why This Woman Carries a Firearm

In the past I've linked to posts describing personal reasons for carrying a gun. Kellene of Women of Caliber has added her reasons for carrying a firearm to give us her perspective. Check it out.

Thomas Paine: We the People Stimulus Package

What would Thomas Payne say if he were here today?



Update 1: Common Sense by Thomas Paine.

65 House Democrats Sign Letter to Holder

65 House Democrats signed a letter to Holder letting him know they do NOT support his effort to reinstate the gun ban. Holder should now more than ever understand that any effort on his part to reinstate the failed gun ban would be fruitless at best, and a political disaster for both himself & President Obama at worst.

More from the NRA-ILA:

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Today in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, 65 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Congressman Mike Ross (D-AR), expressed their opposition to the reinstatement of the failed 1994 ban on semi-automatic firearms and ammunition magazines. These congressmen cited numerous studies that proved the 1994 ban was ineffective, and they strongly urged Attorney General Holder to stop his effort and instead focus on the enforcement of existing gun laws.

NRA would like to thank Congressman Ross for his leadership on this effort. We will continue to work with Members of Congress from both parties on this important issue.

View the letter here.

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

Charles Heller: Shooting conflict on national forest land resolved favorably

Charles Heller (of Liberty Watch Radio) has good news to report: Shooting conflict on national forest land resolved favorably. I'd like to commend Charles for doing the leg work to follow up with a resolution to the situation he found himself in when a Pima County Deputy attempted incorrectly to apply a hunting regulation to target shooting. He could have just shrugged it off hoping it would not impact him again in the future, but instead he took the steps to ensure the same issue does not impact other shooters here in the future. Thanks Charles!

NRA-ILA: Military Surplus Cartridge Case Issue Resolved

On Tom Gresham's Gun Talk radio show this past Sunday, he discussed a new DOD directive that would have banned the sale of spent military casings to companies that reload them for resale, causing additional job loss & additional ammunition shortages. Luckily Chris Cox of NRA-ILA has good news to report:

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Yesterday morning, the Department of Defense informed NRA-ILA that fired military small arms cartridge cases are once again eligible for sale, following a temporary suspension in such sales instituted last week. NRA-ILA began discussions with DoD shortly after the suspension took effect, and we were assured from the beginning that efforts were underway to resolve the issue favorably.

Yesterday afternoon, DoD additionally confirmed the lifting of the suspension to pro-Second Amendment United States Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who sent the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) a joint letter vigorously opposing the suspension, on the grounds that it had "an impact on small businesses who sell reloaded ammunition utilizing these fired casings, and upon individual gun owners who purchase spent military brass at considerable cost savings for their personal use."

Everyone who would have been impacted by the suspension, had it become permanent, owes thanks to Senator Baucus for his leadership on this issue, as well as to Sen. Tester and U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.), who also weighed in strongly on behalf of gun owners and the suppliers from whom they obtain ammunition reloaded with surplus military brass.

In announcing that the suspension has been lifted, DoD also made clear that no cartridge cases that, in the absence of the suspension, would have been sold for reloading purposes were destroyed while the suspension was in effect. Such cases were instead protected by DoD during the suspension, and are again eligible for sale. With ammunition currently in short supply, that was welcome news, to be sure.

DLA also put to rest various theories and rumors that were circulated on the internet, concerning the reason for the suspension. As DLA explained to Senators Baucus and Tester, and to NRA-ILA, DoD officials responsible for the demilitarization of military property temporarily halted the release of the cartridge cases last week, pending review of a policy change issued last year by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which, in the interest of national security, halted the sale of items within a broad category of government property including, but not limited to, surplus small arms cartridge cases.

To make cartridge cases eligible for sale once again, DoD demilitarization officials verified that the cases could be appropriately placed in a category of government property allowing for their release for use within the United States, and then executed the recategorization. Whereas during the brief suspension, fired cartridge cases would have been releaseable only if the purchaser crushed or smelted them, now the cases may be sold as before, intact and reloadable.

DoD also assured NRA-ILA that companies previously authorized to purchase cartridge cases under Trade Security Controls need no further vetting at this time, and are eligible to resume purchasing cases under the policy adopted yesterday.

In sum, a problem that could have had serious repercussions for the remanufactured ammunition industry and the countless gun owners who support it, appears to have been resolved quickly.

For more information:

http://www.nraila.org/media/PDFs/DLA.MilitaryBrass.pdf

http://www.nraila.org/media/PDFs/DLA_mcunningham.pdf


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

Dave Workman: State Dept. eyeing ban on imports/exports

Dave Workman wrote an article in gunweek titled State Dept. eyeing ban on imports/exports. You can read a related article from shooting Wire. With trial balloons like these floating around, it's no wonder it's so difficult to get your hands on ammo these days.

CA: Racist Roots of Gun Control

An interesting Open Carry Training Alert from Oceanside PD. The good news is that in California you are not prohibited from open carrying of an unloaded weapon. The bad news is that it must be unloaded. Why did California decide to ban open carry of loaded weapons? Apparently to make sure members of the Black Panthers group could not do it. Where was the ACLU when California decided to disarm Black Panthers?

Legislation passed on July 28, 1967 that Californians could not carry a loaded weapon in public, even openly. It was prompted after a group of Black Panthers led a protest march into the California Legislature fully armed in May 1967.

You can learn more about open carry in California in the Open Carry California forum as well calguns.net & californiaopencarry.org.

Have I ever mentioned how thankful I am that I don't live in California, Washington DC, New York, or Chicago, among others? Our fellow gun owners currently stuck in those locations are in a world of hurt, I truly feel sorry for the predicament they currently find themselves in. I have a few ex-California friends who often tell me how glad they were when they moved from the Nanny State of California to the Free State of Arizona.

One of them even said he stopped to kiss the ground when he crossed the State line in his moving van & then yelled "FREEDOM AT LAST!" After he arrived he went to the DMV, got his Arizona drivers license, and did some shopping at a local gun store. Among other things on his wish list he picked up a handgun with a couple of 15 round magazines as well as an AR-15 with a couple of 30 round mags. He found Arizona Freedom to be absolutely heavenly after having been a California Subject for so many years.

AZCDL Legislative Update

From the Arizona Citizens Defense League:

Legislation is still crawling through the House and stalled in the Senate.

Last week, the House Leadership directed House committees not to hear any further House bills, with limited exceptions, for the remainder of this session. One of the many casualties of this decision was HB 2607 (Campus Carry).

Another casualty of House procedures is HB 2235, which set stricter requirements for Game and Fish Commission appointments. HB 2235 was scheduled to be heard in the House Military Affairs and Public Safety (MAPS) Committee on Wednesday, March 11th, but was pulled from the agenda, effectively killing it for this session.

However, the following pro-rights bills have been heard in House committees, and are still viable.

HB 2439, the AzCDL-requested CCW training reform bill, passed out of the House MAPS committee on March 4th. HB 2439 provides for an alternative 4 hour CCW course dealing in legal issues, mental conditioning, and judgmental shooting decisions, for qualified individuals who can show proof of prior firearms training.

HB 2474 passed out of the House Judiciary committee on March 5th. HB 2474 prevents any private or public employer, property owner, etc. from banning any person from keeping a firearm in a locked vehicle in a parking area on the property, with specific, limited exceptions.

HB 2177, a "strike-all" bill that now contains pro-rights language, passed out of the Natural Resources and Rural Affairs (NRRA) committee on February 16th. HB 2177 allows a person with a valid concealed weapons permit to possess, transport or carry a weapon within a game refuge.

From here, HB 2439, HB 2474 and HB 2177 need to be reviewed by the House Rules committee, and must then be debated by the full House in the "Committee of the Whole" (COW), where more amendments may be offered. We will notify you when these bills proceed to the House COW.


The Senate has still not assigned any non-budget bills to committees, and the March 13th deadline for doing so has passed. Senate Leadership has stated that the Senate may extend their deadline, but this has yet to happen. AzCDL-requested bills that were filed in the Senate and are awaiting committee assignments and hearings include SB 1270 (Constitutional Carry) and SB 1243 (Defensive Display). If the Senate does extend their deadline to hear bills in Senate committees, they must be passed out of their respective committees by April 10th in order to be heard in the House. This doesn't mean it's time to quit. AzCDL is closely monitoring the situation in the Senate, and we're ready to exploit any opportunity that may arise.

Stay tuned! When critical legislation moves, 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.

Update: There's still much legislation concerning online poker.

Reminder: Glenn Beck We Surround Them

As I mentioned earlier, don't forget to go to the We Surround Them Map to see where you can go to watch Glenn Beck live with other like minded folks at 2pm Pacific & Arizona time today (5PM ET).

Update 1: I had a lot of fun, got to meet a lot of like minded locals. Glenn Beck unveiled a mosaic of just 10% of the photos people had sent him. Glenn Beck also announced a new website, but it was so overloaded by the response the servers crashed. Once it is back up, be sure to check it out: The912Project.com

John R Lott: Why Gun Control is NOT the Solution

John R Lott wrote a nice summary of the latest mass shootings & the reasons adding new gun control laws would not only NOT reduce the problem, but would all but guarantee the problem would become much worse, just as it has everywhere it has already been tried. In essence, adding new gun control laws would be like throwing gasoline on the fire.

Ed Barnett: Dear IRS

Glenn Beck discussed this letter to the IRS from Ed Barnett on his radio program yesterday:

Dear IRS,

I am sorry to inform you that I will not be able to pay taxes owed April 15, but all is not lost. I have paid these taxes: accounts receivable tax, building permit tax, CDL tax, cigarette tax, corporate income tax, dog license tax, federal income tax, unemployment tax, gasoline tax, hunting license tax, fishing license tax, waterfowl stamp tax, inheritance tax, inventory tax, liquor tax, luxury tax, Medicare tax, city, school and county property tax (up 33 percent last 4 years), real estate tax, social security tax, road usage tax, toll road tax, state and city sales tax, recreational vehicle tax, state franchise tax, state unemployment tax, telephone federal excise tax, telephone federal state and local surcharge tax, telephone minimum usage surcharge tax, telephone state and local tax, utility tax, vehicle license registration tax, capitol gains tax, lease severance tax, oil and gas assessment tax, Colorado property tax, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma and New Mexico sales tax, and many more that I can’t recall but I have run out of space and money.

When you do not receive my check April 15, just know that it is an honest mistake. Please treat me the same way you treated Democrat Congressmen Charles Rangle, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank and ex-Congressman Tom Dashelle and, of course, your boss Timothy Geithner. ….. No penalties and no interest.

Sincerely,
Ed Barnett
Wichita Falls

P.S. I will make at least a partial payment as soon as I get my $13 stimulus check.

SC: They Attacked the Wrong Pizza Delivery Guy

In what may have been a gang initiation, a teenager & his friends attacked the wrong pizza deliveryman. It was his last mistake, and our streets are now safer thanks to the fact that Christopher Miller was prepared to defend himself.

A pizza deliveryman, who said Monday he has been held up twice before, fired shots that killed a teenager during a holdup because he feared he would die and not see his wife and 5-year-old daughter again.

“I believe everyone has the right to defend themselves if their lives are threatened,” Christopher Miller, 43, said in a statement issued through police.

For anyone out there thinking of becoming a career thug assaulting pizza delivery guys or gals, let this be a lesson to you. If you attack a human being you are risking your OWN life as well as theirs. You are risking making children fatherless or motherless. You are risking leaving a wife without her beloved husband. Think twice before you embark on such a perilous path, as it may turn out to be a very short one.

To show what kind of friends you gain by joining a gang, you may find it interesting to note that this teenager's so-called "friends" apparently ate the stolen pizzas while they watched him bleed to death.

On a side note, it looks like Pizza Hut has not yet learned that it is wrong for them to ban self defense. How they can have a Corporate Policy that if followed would leave their drivers defenseless & easy targets is indefensible & reprehensible. I'm with Christopher Miller, I'd rather risk loosing my job than risk loosing my life, and I'm sure his wife & daughter are very glad he had made that decision:

Miller, who said he has delivered pizza for about 10 years, has resigned because Pizza Hut bans employees’ carrying weapons, corporate spokesman Chris Fuller said.

DC: Banning Guns based on Color

Will the DC Council ever learn the lesson that yes we all actually do have the right to keep & bear arms? That no, they can't ban handguns based on color or other arbitrary things? I doubt it, but either way they're going to have another opportunity because the SAF and several plaintiffs are taking them back to court.

More here.

Glenn Beck: We Surround Them Map

If you're thinking you'd like to participate in a Glenn Beck We Surround Them event this Friday, check out the wesurroundthemmap.com where you can find events in your area. I found an event only a few miles away from me at Oggi's that I'll be attending. Much thanks to Oggi's for allowing the use of their facility, and to Debra for setting up the map!

Update 1: I had a lot of fun, got to meet a lot of like minded locals. Glenn Beck unveiled a mosaic of just 10% of the photos people had sent him. Glenn Beck also announced a new website, but it was so overloaded by the response the servers crashed. Once it is back up, be sure to check it out: The912Project.com

We Still Have Influence

Those of us who are members of the grass roots "Gun Lobby" (AKA the NRA) can all be very proud of our organization. Contrary to the opinion of many anti rights groups who incorrectly claimed that the influence of gun owners had died with the Obama election "mandate", the reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated.

AZ: Governor Jan Brewer calls for Temporary Tax Increase

During her speech today in front of a Joint Session of the Arizona House & Senate, Governor Jan Brewer unveiled a 5 point plan to resolve the 3 Billion dollars in the red 2010 Arizona Budget crisis. I liked the first 4 points in her plan which among other things included proposed law changes, spending cuts, and tax reform to encourage job growth, but I have to strongly disagree with her 5th point - a temporary tax increase to raise an additional $1 Billion/yr.

Personally I'm against any tax increase at all, even a temporary one. The second we increase taxes even temporarily, many politicians would consider that new base of revenue to be the new minimum standard, and would likely call for preventing a "tax cut" in the future by making the new temporary tax increase a permanent one.

Additionally, the government is not the only entity facing tough times right now. The people & businesses who call Arizona home are also facing tough times. We're already struggling with reduced incomes & resources ourselves. Having Uncle Sam reach into our pockets to grab even more money than we've been planning for in a time like this would be a slap in the face.

Governor Brewer said during her speech today that unlike the Federal government our State government can't just print money to make up for monetary shortfalls. I would add that neither can the citizens & businesses of Arizona. Like ourselves, the government needs to reduce spending to come in line with revenue.

Contact Governor Brewer & let her know your thoughts.

AZ: Hearing for Parking Lot Storage Bill HB 2474

HB 2474, The Parking Lot Storage/Worker Protection bill is scheduled to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee this Thursday, March 5th at 9am in House Hearing Room 4. You can use the Arizona Request to Speak System to enter a written statement in favor of the bill that all of the committee members will have access to, or even to request to speak at the hearing if you're able to attend in person. If you are not yet registered for the Arizona Request to Speak System you can do so at any kiosk at the AZ House or Senate building (1700 W Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007).

If you are unable to attend the hearing in person, you can watch online via either live or archived video streaming.

The NRA-ILA has more in addition to contact details for the Judiciary committee members.

Update 1: I watched the hearing live and am happy to report that this bill passed out of committee with a "Do Pass" recommendation with a 6 to 2 vote by committee members. Official vote results as well as archive video of the hearing should be available later today.

Update 2: Here is the video of the hearing.

Update 3: Passed by House.