[Virginia] Gun, ammo sales rising:
Ammunition was running out so fast at a gun show late last year in Richmond that one man tried to grab a big can of .223-caliber bullets just as another guy was trying to pay for it.
There was an argument. “One guy’s coming over his shoulder trying to grab” his can of 500 rounds of ammo, recalled Josh Golden, a gun and ammo dealer who was selling items at the Richmond Gun Show that day on Nov. 15. “They were his, and he was going to let him know that they were his.“
In November, firearms transactions spiked about 60 percent over November ‘07 in Virginia, and they’re up so far this year, too, according to the number of state police background checks for firearm purchases.
Also, dealers in Virginia and elsewhere say ammunition sales are soaring and it is difficult to keep certain items in stock.
The reasons: worries about what President Barack Obama and a Democrat-controlled Congress might do with gun legislation, about the possible return of the assault-weapons ban and about increased crime during the recession.
...
Joe Cacciotti of Chesterfield said people have learned they can’t trust the government and they don’t feel like they are being represented, adding that criminals get only a slap on the wrist.
The first time a law-enforcement officer goes into someone’s home and confiscates his gun, he said, that will be "the first shot being fired for the second American Revolution to begin." [emphasis added]
Meanwhile, the gun business is thriving. Bob Moates, who owns three gun stores in Virginia, including one in Midlothian, says he hasn’t seen such brisk business since the mid-1960s, when there were race- and anti-war riots across the United States.
This will last longer, he believes, because there is a fundamental fear of what will happen to gun rights.
"People are very concerned about his allegiance to the Second Amendment," he said of Obama. The administration’s stance on guns is "very dubious."
Jerry Thompson, president of Dominion Shooting Range on Turner Road in Chesterfield, said he is seeing ammunition shortages in almost every caliber. That is hurting his shooting-range business, he said, but he is seeing increased interest in firearm-safety classes for people seeking concealed-weapon permits.
"We’re scheduled 60 days out," he said. "Before, every once in a blue moon, we would have an overflow class. Now we have three overflow classes going." ...
[New Hampshire] Op-ed: Gun, ammo sales rising, gun control debate continues:
Like it or not, gun sales are, well, booming. There are a number of reasons, but the most prevalent is people are afraid the Obama administration, sooner or later, will get around to creating more-restrictive gun ownership laws and taxes. And those are not unfounded fears.
So gun owners are stocking up on ammunition, handguns and semiautomatic rifles. Sales are up 50 percent since Barack Obama was elected.
And gun-control advocates have taken notice.
...
The debate over gun control has been a long one, and it will continue.
More laws placing restrictions and bans on some types of weapons are possible. More laws regulating the sales of guns are also possible. Higher taxes on gun and ammunition are possible.
But there are plenty of proponents of gun ownership to challenge and argue against such regulations.
The Second Amendment still gives Americans the right to keep and bear arms. Gun ownership and possession are legal in this country.
People use them for hunting, for target shooting, for collections, for protection.
Sadly, some people use them in robberies and murders. But such people are breaking our laws when they do so. Such are not the actions of responsible gun owners. And no law can totally prevent such actions. ...
Comment: Like so many in the media (and some gun owners), the editorialist gets it wrong when he/she says that "[t]he Second Amendment still gives Americans the right to keep and bear arms." (emphasis mine) No, the Second Amendment merely protects a pre-existing fundamental human right.
[Florida] Gun, ammo sales rising, CCW permit applications up:
TAMPA - Fear has some people turning to guns for protection.
"We're on track to selling twice as many as we sold last year," said Andre Chiasson of A-1 Pawn Shop in Seminole Heights.
Some people are worried about the recession; others believe a new president will mean bans on weapons.
Chiasson's store sold about 600 guns in 2008. During the first three months of this year, customers have bought 300. It's a trend statewide and beyond.
Federal and local agencies don't track gun sales. One method of gauging the increase is by looking at new applications for concealed weapons permits. The Tampa Bay area is on pace this year to exceed permit applications from previous years, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
...
"People really want to protect what's theirs," said Bruce Kitzis, manager of Shoot Straight Guns & Range near the Florida State Fairgrounds.
He's seeing more first-time buyers and more customers interested in obtaining concealed weapons permits. Shoot Straight recently added a third weekly class to help new owners fill out the cumbersome state application and learn to use their guns – a permit requirement. ...
[Oklahoma] CCW permit applications up:
Concealed carry licensing is becoming more popular with Oklahoma residents.
According to reports from Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), 8,799 self defense act licenses were approved in 2002. Five years later, OSBI issued 18,510 permits in 2008. Females licensed in the state last year numbered 4,237, while 14,273 men obtained their permits.
The bureau issued 16,426 permits in 2007, 9,591 in 2006 and 10,450 in 2005.
Sergeant Brent Crittenden of Pryor Police Department said he is getting a lot more calls from people interested in obtaining a concealed carry permit. He has been teaching the self-defense class for over five years. Crittenden said last year has been his busiest.
Crittenden, range master for the Pryor police, has trained police officers in firearm instruction for over 20 years. He trains new recruits at the state police academy.
Crittenden will be teaching a concealed carry class at Pryor Creek Community Church on Sunday, April 5.
Pryor Assistant Police Chief Derek Melton, pastor of Pryor Creek Community Church, said his church wants to open the class to the community.
“We want guns in the hands of the right people,” he said.
Melton, who has over 20 years’ experience in law enforcement, said statistics have shown that crime dropped in Oklahoma after the state passed a concealed carry law.
“We’re pro-Constitutional,” Melton said. “We’re guardians of the Constitution.” [emphasis added]...
Comment: Good to see an assistant police chief (and pastor!) support the right to keep and bear arms. Can you imagine a church in, say, New Jersey hosting any form of firearms-related class ("ordinary" citizens can't carry in New Jersey, so concealed carry classes would be out of the question)?
[Minnesota] Legal protections for self-defenders under consideration (item is about 2/3 of the way down the page):
... A bill awaiting Minnesota legislative action would legally protect people who use deadly force to defend themselves against criminals.
The proposal would rewrite laws regulating the use of deadly force in self-defense, extending protection to cars and businesses. Current law only protects victims while inside the home.
“Currently, you would have to wait for the person to step to you and attack you and put you in fear of great bodily harm or witness him commit a felony in your presence before you could use deadly force,” said the bill's author, Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Good Thunder.
If a person enters a home without permission, then “there is a presumption that he is there to do you at least substantial bodily harm,” Cornish said. “He ain't there to sell Girl Scout cookies.”
Sen. Pat Pariseau, R-Farmington, said some people get sued by criminals after they defend themselves. Pariseau said this is “not a license to go out and shoot people.”
“We have to enable people to not be placed in a position of legal risk,” Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Wabasha, said.
“You shouldn't have to back down,” Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, R-Alexandria, said. ...
[Tennessee] Guns in restaurants bill stalls:
The guns-in-saloons bill has stalled in the state House tonight with lawmakers fighting over whether they should set a curfew for customers to surrender their weapons. The sponsor, Rep. Curry Todd, thinks handgun carriers should have to give up their guns at 11 p.m. "The NRA was OK with this," Todd told the House.
The House voted 62-29 to add the curfew to the bill. But many Republicans objected even to this restriction on Second Amendment rights, and Rep. Brian Kelsey then offered an amendment to strip the provision. After Todd could muster only 32 votes to table that amendment, he withdrew the bill from the floor. He said he'd try again next Monday.
The House had been expected to adopt the bill by a large margin. There are 46 sponsors, and a cocky Todd said at one point, "If I asked all the co-sponsors to come up here, there wouldn't be anybody in their seats." ...
[West Virginia] Permit privacy battle underway in state legislature:
CHARLESTON — A renewed battle over the public’s right to access permits to carry concealed weapons is playing out in both chambers of the West Virginia Legislature this week.
A vote is planned at mid-week in the Senate on SB378 that is designed basically as a reciprocity pact, one that allows West Virginia and other states to recognize each other’s concealed permits when residents travel to and from one another.
Attached to that proposal, however, is a controversial provision that says the public has no right to pry into government records through a Freedom of Information Act request to see just who is allowed to pack a hidden firearm in public.
Philip Reale, an attorney and lobbyist for the West Virginia Press Association, insists this is bad public policy.
“It is important for the public generally to have access to information about the actions of those who govern them,” Reale said Monday.
...
Leading the charge for SB378 and its privacy policy is the National Rifle Association, whose legislative liaison, Jordan Austin, says it is vital that an individual’s privacy be maintained when a gun permit is issued.
“When records like that are published, it puts people in danger and at risk,” he said.
When a name is identified in the news media as the holder of a concealed permit, Austin said, the criminal element knows immediately that a firearm is in the home, and when the individual is away at work, the home could be burglarized.
Moreover, Austin painted a dark scenario in which a woman might leave an abusive, threatening spouse, obtain a permit, and move to a new location, only to have her name and address published in a newspaper. ...
[Texas] Gun control at heart of Old West shootout:
LAMPASAS - Some might call it ironic that the most notorious, old west gunfight in Lampasas probably came about, indirectly at least, over an attempt at gun control in the Hill Country town.
According to local historian Jeff Jackson, the 1873 shooting in a Lampasas saloon resulted in the death of four state police officers at the hands of the Horrell family and possibly their gang members during a shootout.
At the time, Lampasas was a wild town and guns were commonplace.
“That shooting is really about gun control, something we still have going on today,” Jackson said.
He explained that the saloon shooting was triggered a few months earlier. At that time Lampasas Sheriff S.T. Denson was shot and injured while attempting to arrest brothers Wash and Mark Short in January 1873.
As a result of pleas from Lampasas city officials, Gov. Edmund J. Davis issued a proclamation prohibiting sidearms in Lampasas County. Jackson said the governor sent state police to town to post the new proclamation in February, but they left soon after. ...
[Tennessee] Senate to vote on permit privacy bill:
NASHVILLE - A proposal to close public access to the database of state-issued permits to carry loaded handguns is headed for vote in the Tennessee Senate.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday advanced the measure sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, a Collierville Republican, a 6-2 vote. ...
[Nebraska] Lawmakers pass bill allowing lawful church carry:
LINCOLN - Guns and God would go hand-in-hand, at least for a majority of Nebraska legislators.
But clergy are either shouting hallelujah or heaping scorn on those who would let church security guards pack some heat.
"I don't like it," said the Rev. Harry Buse, pastor of St. Leo Catholic Church at 102nd and Blondo Streets in Omaha. "I would like to think that we wouldn't need guns in church, though I realize times have changed."
Across town at King of Kings Lutheran Church, an official said security guards have been a fixture at worship services there since the 2007 shootings at the Westroads' Von Maur store and at a Colorado Springs, Colo., church.
The guards include off-duty law enforcement officers who are already authorized to carry guns.
Comment: A good start, perhaps, but they need to also allow "ordinary" permit holders to lawfully carry in church as well.
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