National Park Service retreats on total lead ban, says environmental group:
The National Park Service has stepped back from a plan it announced earlier this month to ban lead-based ammunition and fishing tackle by 2010, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The proposed lead ban triggered a fierce counterattack by gun groups that has put into doubt the pledge to eliminate lead ammunition from the park system by 2010.
On March 4, 2009, Acting National Park Service (NPS) Director Daniel Wenk sent out an internal directive that the agency would outlaw the use of lead in firearms, fishing and hunting by "December 31, 2010 or sooner." Wenk wrote that he had issued instructions that a "Special Regulation" be drafted "prohibiting the use of lead in hunting and fishing activities for those parks that authorize such activities". Hunting is permitted in 60 NPS units and fishing in widely allowed throughout the national park system.
Reaction from hunting groups after the lead ban was publicly announced was immediate and sharp. For example, National Rifle Association chief lobbyist Chris Cox said on March 12th:
"The NPS announcement demonstrates either complete ignorance or complete arrogance as to the effect that this policy will have on hunters...This policy, and the lack of communication in advance with the sportsmen's community, is a deliberate attempt to reduce the number of people who will want to hunt ....The NRA will continue to be a voice of opposition against this unnecessary action..."
Shortly thereafter, on March 18 NPS issued a "Clarification" that steps back from the vow of a ban:
"In the future, we will look at the potential for transitioning to non-lead ammunition and non-lead fishing tackle for recreational use by working with our policy office and appropriate stakeholders/groups. This will require public involvement, comment, and review."
"This lead ban is an early test of whether the Obama administration will be guided by science or politics in setting environmental policy," stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, whose organization is preparing a rulemaking petition to accomplish the no-lead policy if the NPS plan remains in limbo. "We urge the Obama administration to keep with its original timeline of going lead-free by 2011." ...
Sarah Palin nominates NRA director as new Alaska Attorney General:
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has picked an Anchorage lawyer and National Rifle Association director as the state's new attorney general.
Palin named Wayne Anthony Ross to the post on Thursday.
Ross twice sought the Republican nomination for governor. He is a former NRA vice president and current director.
Ross replaces Talis Colberg, who resigned Feb. 10 amid what Palin called a "harsh political climate." ...
[Kansas] Article on the proposed constitutional amendment to the state's RKBA provision:
TOPEKA — A proposed state constitutional amendment favored by gun rights advocates Tuesday targets a century-old court case originating out of Salina.
The Kansas Senate voted 39-1 in favor of a resolution that would clarify that individuals have a right to keep and bear firearms under the Kansas Constitution.
...
... state Sen. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler, said gun rights advocates soon learned that the Kansas Supreme Court had a 1905 ruling on the books conflicting with that decision.
That’s a concern, he said, because the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling came on a narrow 5-4 decision that could be affected by a change in the court’s membership.
“We can no longer wait or hope for the right decision from the judiciary,” Huelskamp said. “Instead, it is time to allow Kansans a voice on this matter by offering this proposed amendment and our citizens will have the final say.” ...
[Illinois] Former Sheriff backs concealed carry law:
During my 23-year law enforcement career, I have developed a good sense of the character and nature of the people who commit violent crimes. With very few exceptions, the perpetrator is not the father who is taking his children to a ballgame. It is not the mother walking into a dark parking lot after a long shift at work. It is not the college student walking home after a study session with friends. Sadly, these persons are often the defenseless victims of violent crimes.
In Illinois, it is the "solid citizen" who is precluded from possessing the tool that he or she needs for self and family protection - a firearm. While many Illinois lawmakers and law enforcement administrators scoff at the notion that honest, hard-working citizens should be granted their constitutional right to protect themselves and their families, this misguided and dangerous attitude serves only to empower and embolden the violent thug.
Two fundamental realities dictate both the efficacy of, and effect on society of gun control legislation, yet these realities seemingly escape the perceptions of many public officials. First, the violent criminal has always had a gun, currently has a gun, and will always have a gun. Gun control laws can be effective only when people choose to obey them. A criminal does not obey laws. It is the father, the mother and the college student who will obey gun control laws, while the violent criminal continues to have access to firearms from an array of illegal sources.
Secondly, bad people have always found weapons to hurt good people. Bad people will always find weapons to hurt good people. What could be more basic than these tenets? If the thug element could not, hypothetically, find access to firearms, they will manufacture some manner of weapon to harm law-abiding people and take their property. If firearms were inaccessible to criminals, and their weapon of choice became, say, butcher knives, I can only assume that these same officials would be decrying the evil of butcher knives, and demand strict butcher knife control legislation.
...
The latest concealed carry legislative proposals are endorsed by the Illinois Sheriff's Association. As the only elected law enforcement officials in the state and the only law enforcement officials who directly answer to the people, the sheriffs of Illinois understand the basic right of their constituents to self protection. The sheriffs should be commended for their support of concealed carry legislation and the Constitution. However, many of these sheriffs must understand that their support for concealed carry is greatly diminished when they support politicians for higher officer who are staunch supporters of gun control laws.
Notwithstanding my belief that most chiefs of police privately support the concept of concealed carry, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police is, again, opposing any legislation that grants your right to possess concealed firearms. Whereas the sheriffs of our counties do not answer to any higher governmental authority, most metropolitan chiefs of police must answer to mayors and city councils, which often lack the capacity to understand the unconstitutional and ineffective nature of most gun control laws. While it is true that some chiefs and other law enforcement officers and administrators do have a personal belief that the concealed possession of firearms by citizens creates a dangerous environment, I am confident that the great majority of law enforcement officers recognize the deterrent to crime that concealed carry will bring to our homes and streets. ...
Rep. Tom Tancredo says Hillary Clinton aiding Obama's war on guns [audio of Tancredo's interview available at link]:
Former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., says Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is just aiding and abetting President Obama's war on guns with her new suggestion that the U.S. is at fault in the Mexico drug cartel war.
"She's part of Obama's plan to conduct a war on guns," he said. "He's opposed to private ownership of guns, opposed to concealed carry laws. He doesn't believe we should be able to carry guns as individuals."
...
"The heavy weaponry is not coming from the U.S.," he said, citing the Mexican military as a source for drug cartels for automatic weapons, as well as gun dealers throughout South and Central America.
He said the Mexican army has sustained 110,000 desertions in the last few years alone, and those soldiers often have taken their weapons with them to sell them later on. ...
[D.C.] Hillary Clinton's call for gun ban blasted by gun lobby:
Washington - Secretary of State Clinton called for a new assault weapon ban in the U.S. on Thursday in hopes of cutting off arms flowing to Mexican drug gangs - and was immediately blasted by the gun lobby.
Clinton was naive in thinking that "if Americans give up their freedoms, that it's somehow going to affect the operations of the Mexican drug cartels," said National Rifle Association spokesman Andrew Arulanandam.
...
Under tight security yesterday in Monterrey, Mexico, Clinton said the drug-related violence along the border was "intolerable for honest, law-abiding citizens of Mexico, my country or of anywhere people of conscience live."
"We can worry about what's coming north," Clinton said, "but the Mexican people are worried about what's coming south: assault weapons, bazookas, grenades." [emphasis added] ...
[Texas] Gun smuggler sentenced to prison for smuggling guns to Mexico:
BROWNSVILLE, Texas -- A federal judge sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday a South Texas man who organized a dozen others to buy guns from licensed dealers in South Texas so that he could smuggle them to Mexico.
U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle sentenced Emmanuel Ramirez, 25, of Brownsville to concurrent sentences of five years for making false statements on firearms records and 10 years for smuggling goods out of the United States.
Prosecutors said Ramirez's ring of gun buyers, all in their 20s, allowed him to smuggle at least 77 guns, mostly Beretta 9 mm handguns, into Mexico during a six-month period in late 2007 and early 2008. Ramirez's lawyer, Ignacio Torteya, declined to comment on who received the stolen guns. [emphasis added]
Drug cartel members and other criminals in Mexico, which has strict gun control laws, are routinely being supplied with weapons from the United States. ...
Comment: 77 guns over a six month period, mostly handguns. What? No fully automatic rifles, or bazookas or grenades? Someone please tell Hillary Clinton.
Even ESPN is reporting on the rising guns, ammo sales:
... Ted Novin, the NSSF's director of public affairs, says that the next report on ammunition sales won't be in until May, but there's enough anecdotal evidence to suggest more boom times for the gun crowd — literally and figuratively.
"From what we've heard, ammunition manufacturers are operating at full capacity in an attempt to keep up with demand," says Novin. "Gun owners are worried about taxes being added to ammo, or worried about new laws that will affect the production, and consequently the price, of ammunition. It's understandable; there are a lot of people in power now who have a long history of supporting bills that violate Second Amendment rights."
Valerie Peters, a spokesperson for Winchester Ammunition in East Alton, Ill., says her company's plant is running "24/7" in an attempt to keep up with demand.
"It seems that there has been a demand for all calibers since last fall," says Peters. "We're keeping production systems going around the clock and through the weekends."
...
"A lot of my guys think that the government is going to tax ammo to the point that it gets ungodly expensive," says Rausher. "So they're buying ammo and putting it away — 9mm, .380, .38 Special, .40 S&W, .45 — all the popular stuff. I think they're probably on the right track. Something is coming; something is going to happen. Whether it's microstamping or non-lead bullets, ammo is going up in cost."
At Mark's Outdoor Sports in Birmingham, Ala., owner Mark Whitlock is nonplussed by what has apparently become a rush to hoard ammo.
"I've seen some strange things in the past 29 years in business but I never thought I'd see the day when I would make one order in one day for more ammo than I sold during all of the previous year," said Whitlock. "I'm doing that, knowing I won't get it, and also knowing that if I did, I could sell it all and be ordering more three days later."
...
Beside the popular handgun calibers such as 9mm and .380 (whose shortage might be due to the fact that ammo companies run it on the same production lines as the more popular 9mm), Mark's Outdoor Sports also is running low on even popular rifle loads such as .223, .30-06, .308 and .270.
"I had a guy come in my store who bought $5,000 worth of shotgun ammo for his bird hunting — this is in March. He's worried about ammo shortages too, but nothing like the handgun and rifle guys," observed Whitlock. "It's like a run on grocery stores when a hurricane is coming. It's milk-and-bread time, down to whatever you can get." [emphasis added]...
[Ohio] Gun, ammo sales rising:
Toledo-area gun and ammunition sales are on the rise, and shop owners are scrambling to find distributors, as a possible change in the nation’s gun laws sparks a buying frenzy.
Theresa Cleland, an owner of Cleland’s Outdoor World, said she is having difficulty receiving supplies as distributors are running out. The demand for guns and ammunition has been so high that she is forced to scavenge the nation for items, she said.
“We’ve been busy enough that I’m busy hunting for merchandise and haven’t had time to reflect on numbers and how it has changed,” Cleland said. ...
[Illinois] Dave Workman says Chicago-area lawmaker wants gun bans for minority-populated ZIP codes:
Suppose the Alabama Legislature was considering an amendment to a bill that would prevent residents in a specific neighborhood of Birmingham that was heavily populated by minorities from exercising a constitutionally-protected civil right, say voting?
The outrage that would erupt over something like that would be deafening. Sunday morning news programs would be loaded with volatile rhetoric from the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, and no doubt marches would be staged at the home of the lawmaker who sponsored such a horrendous piece of legislation.
Well, welcome to Springfield, Illinois where State Rep. Andre M. Thapedi, a Democrat representing the 32nd District on Chicago’s South Side has introduced an amendment to House Bill 1966 that specifically prevents residents in the Englewood neighborhood from owning, selling, buying or manufacturing “any assault weapon or .50 caliber rifle.”
He’s done some serious homework on this by identifying the specific zip codes – 60619, 60620, 60621, 60629, 60636 and 60637 – where the residents apparently cannot be trusted with these firearms while, apparently because every other zip code in the state was not included, every other Illinois citizen is free to possess these guns.
As it happens, the 32nd District extends through these zip codes and according to a contact at the Chicago Sun-Times, this area is overwhelmingly African-American, with a small percentage of Hispanics. ...
[Texas] Feds targeting Houston to stop flow of guns into Mexico:
A $700 million initiative to strengthen the U.S. role in the fight against Mexican drug cartels will place Houston at the center of efforts to shut down gunrunning to Mexico, federal officials said.
The Obama administration this week announced a multi-agency effort to assist Mexico’s battle against warring drug cartels by adding hundreds of agents to gun-running units, drug intelligence groups and task forces aimed at fighting kidnapping and public corruption.
The initiative places new agents in Houston to quickly expand Project Gunrunner, a federal effort to staunch the illegal flow of guns into Mexico. A “large majority” of 100 federal gun agents being transferred to the border region in the next 45 days will be assigned to monitor purchases at the 1,500 gun stores in the Houston area, a federal official confirmed.
“Houston is one of the major trafficking routes to Mexico and has the convenience of the number of firearm dealers in this large city,” said Franceska Perot, agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco and Explosives in Houston. “Probably the majority of the sources of firearms recovered in crimes in Mexico are through straw purchases in Houston.”
Straw purchases are seemingly legal sales of firearms to qualified customers who claim the weapon is for their use, but who bought the gun for a trafficker.
The extent of the challenge also was highlighted in Brownsville this week, where a federal judge sentenced 13 residents who were recruited by a trafficking ring to buy 77 weapons that were transported into Mexico.
ATF is trying to bring down at least three Houston cells it contends supply weapons to the Gulf Cartel, according to documents filed in local U.S. District Court.
Dallas gun store owner Donnie Durbin, president of the Texas Gun Dealers Association, said dealers have no control over what qualified buyers do with firearms after they purchase them. He said the ATF should bring more agents to target gun traffickers, not increase the number of compliance officers who audit gun dealers.
“If (ATF agents) go out and find these people selling these guns, they need to put them in jail. I don’t think the dealer would take that kind of chance,” said Durbin, adding he was not speaking for the association. ...
Comment: Of course, no word on how ATF is planning on stopping the flow of all those brand new full auto guns, grenades, and rocket launchers (or bazookas, as Hillary Clinton calls them), given that those aren't available to "ordinary" citizens from gun shops or gun shows. I can't recall whether Texas is a Class III friendly state, but even if it was, I'll bet even Mexican drug lords aren't going to spend $20,000 on a transferable select-fire M-16, when they can get one from the Mexican military via bribery (or theft) or an overseas arms dealer for a small fraction of that.
[New York] Gun sales rising:
MONROE — Fears that a liberal presidential administration will impose more restrictions on gun ownership have triggered a frenzy of gun buying at local suppliers, who are struggling to restock their shelves with firearms and ammunition.
"It's blow-off-the-shelf sales," said Dennis Serpi, owner of Master Class Shooters Supply in Monroe. "The whole country's in a buying panic that can't be controlled."
Most of the buying is fueled by unsubstantiated fears that more liberals in control of government will result in new firearms restrictions, area shop owners said.
"I don't think there's anything proposed right now," said Bob Lounsbury, owner of a Middletown gun and sporting goods store. "But we have a Democratic president and Congress, so restrictions would be easier to get through at this time."
Shop owners say new customers include women, fearful not only of possible new restrictions but, as the recession deepens, their safety.
...
Gun permit offices in Orange and Sullivan counties have seen their new permit numbers hit 200 and 100, respectively for the first three months of 2009, a doubling from the same period a year ago. ...
Comment: Gee, a whopping 300 gun permits, from two entire counties, for three whole months? And that's double the number for the same period last year? By the way, I assume that by "permits" they mean permits to simply possess guns, not carry (this is New York state). In most free states, however, this small number wouldn't even count as news trivia, much less actual news. What a difference geography (and draconian gun control laws) makes - only the violent criminals have an easy time getting guns in New York. Law-abiding citizens, not so much.
Investor's Business Daily has a profile of Arthur Savage, founder of Savage Arms:
Arthur W. Savage was a restless overachiever.
He had already made his mark as an explorer, cattle baron and coffee grower before he invented the Model 99 lever-action rifle in 1893 that set new standards for innovation in the U.S. gun industry.
The founder of Savage Arms Co., a maker of rifles and shotguns based in Westfield, Mass., is also credited with designing the first radial tires.
Savage eventually left the gun firm he founded in 1894 to seed other businesses. But he infused the firm that still bears his name with a penchant for innovation that helped it survive the Great Depression and prosper through the present day.
"Savage was a mechanical genius," Ron Coburn, today's chief executive at Savage, told IBD. "Every time he developed a new product, whether it was a washing machine or a firearm or a lawn mower, he knew nothing about them. He just looked at the mechanics of the ones on the market and said: That's not the way to do it — I can make a better one." ...
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