[New York] Assembly debating more infringements:
The Assembly continues to chip away this evening on a package of bills to combat gun violence. The legislation would help police investigate illegal firearms, prohibit felons from buying guns, require child-proof devices on guns, and banning advanced firearms and ammunition used to kill police officers, according to the Assembly.
A number of Republicans, who are in the minority in the Assembly, are speaking against the bills.
A bill that is being debated now would require that semiautomatic pistols manufactured or delivered to any licensed dealer in New York be capable of microstamping ammunition. Microstamping means information that identifies the make, model and serial number of a gun is “stamped” onto a cartridge as the weapon is fired. ...
[New York] Another article on the proposed microstamping bill:
One of several gun control measures passed yesterday in the Assembly included a plan to mandate micro-stamping on semi-automatic pistols. The Assembly and Senate sponsors, Michelle Schimel and Eric Schneiderman just concluded a press conference to promote the idea, in which new handguns would have a laser-printed unique identifier on their firing pins, which police could then match with shell casings from fired weapons.
Like other measures, the plan has some opponents including a trade group for gun manufacturers who believe it isn’t workable, but Schimel and Schneiderman, both Democrats, gathered a lot of law enforcement support for the measure. Police view it as another tool they could use to help match spent cartridges with a particular weapon, similar to what they do with ballistics.
While the proposal passed handily in the Assembly, it’s unsure if the Senate, with 32-30 D-R majority including several upstate rural Democrats, has the votes to pass it. ...
Gun groups oppose Rush Limbaugh's ads for HSUS:
Rush Limbaugh's new pet project — fighting animal cruelty for the Humane Society of the United States — is riling sportsmen from coast to coast, prompting fears that the talkster typically supportive of gun rights is aiding a group they say has a secret agenda to end all hunting in America.
Almost 30 groups representing millions of hunters and sportsmen are demanding that the conservative radio commentator end his collaboration with the Humane Society and stop "helping them to mainstream their image in the minds of reasonable people."
"Despite a few programs designed to attract support from the general public, HSUS is in fact an organization that opposes hunting, fishing, and trapping," the groups, including Ducks Unlimited and the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, wrote in a letter to Mr. Limbaugh last week.
...
But the 28 wildlife-conservation organizations that represent hunters, anglers and trappers say the Humane Society has a nefarious agenda.
"The Humane Society of the United States is public enemy number one for sportsmen. We believe firmly that they're against all forms of hunting. We actually battle them in state after state, and they back all types of different legislation, ballot issues, that seek to restrict the rights of hunters," said Greg R. Lawson, a spokesman for the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, which has about 3 million members.
"The concern we have with what Rush did is not so much the actual content of the new public-service announcements . . . It's the very fact that he recorded anything for that group because of their agenda against the sportsmen community."
The letter says [Humane Society president and chief executive] Mr. Pacelle once said to the Associated Press: "If we could shut down all sport hunting in a moment, we would." [emphasis added]
He told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, "Our goal is to get sport hunting in the same category as cock fighting and dog fighting. Our opponents say hunting is a tradition. We say traditions can change," according to the letter. ...
Gunowners of America says time for Specter to go:
First, Senator Arlen Specter provided the instrumental Republican support to get anti-gun Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed by the Senate.
Then, he singlehandedly pushed through the massive economic bailout, the so-called stimulus bill, which contained several provisions of concern to gun owners.
So it comes as no surprise that liberal anti-gun Specter, who has no loyalty to the Constitution, also has no loyalty to the political party that elected him. Specter announced this week that he will leave the Republican Party and run as a Democrat in 2010.
Specter's announcement comes only after poll after poll showed him trailing pro-gun conservative Pat Toomey in a Republican primary. ...
[Ohio] Op-ed by county prosecutor supports gun rights:
Congress will consider legislation next month that would require people wanting to speak in public to first undergo a background check and pay a permit fee.
Not really! But how would you react if it was true? What if your other constitutional rights were treated the same was as your right to bear arms? Whether you own a gun or not, the Second Amendment should matter to you – because if one constitutional right can be taken away by majority rule, they all can be.
Imagine if you had to get a government license before you were allowed to freely worship, or to be safe in your own home from warrantless searches and seizures. ...
[Colorado] Gun sales, carry permits on the rise:
Local firearms sales and concealed weapons permits are higher than ever as gun enthusiasts fear Democratic legislation restricting the Second Amendment.
“All our firearms dealers we deal with have been pretty much out of stock since the day after the election,” said Shelly Malish, co-owner of Kremmling Precision Ordinance, which sells guns in Kremmling.
The number of concealed weapons permits issued in Summit County has doubled every year since 2006.
By late April, the number of applications — at 122 — has already surpassed those for all of 2008, according to Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff John Minor said several people have told him they have a “very strong fear” federal legislation will be passed restricting their rights. ...
[Iowa] Concealed carry permit applications surge:
Concerns about personal security appear to be fueling a surge in handgun sales and an increase in permits to carry concealed weapons in parts of Eastern Iowa.
Jones County, for example, issued 42 new concealed weapon permits in March — well above the average of about 15 new permits per month during the past year.
Jones County Sheriff Mark Denniston said he has noticed the surge, which began in February with the issuance of 32 new permits — up markedly from eight in January and four in December.
"From the feedback I'm getting, it has a lot to do with personal protection concerns," said Denniston, who personally interviews each applicant.
...
Applicants seem more aware of and concerned by news reports of strong-armed robberies and other crimes that threaten victims' personal well-being, he said.
New concealed weapons permits also have surged in Linn County — from 24 in the first three months of last year to 103 in the comparable period this year — but Sheriff Brian Gardner attributes the increase to the removal of a requirement that applicants had to regularly carry at least $500 for a permit to be issued.
Unlike his predecessor, Sheriff Don Zeller, Gardner said he accepts lawful self-defense as justification for issuing a permit.
Gardner acknowledged that other factors, such as heightened concerns about personal safety, also may be contributing to the increase.
The change in Linn County policy under Gardner reflects the latitude of Iowa law, which specifies that county sheriffs "may issue" concealed weapons permits to qualified applicants.
[Sheriff] Denniston, who describes himself as "a huge believer" in the Second Amendment's right to bear arms, said he believes Iowa's law should be changed to "shall issue," which would limit the discretion of individual sheriffs and make it consistent with the laws of more than 35 other states. ...
Comment: I find it curious that Iowa, with its large rural areas, is still a "may issue" state, when surrounding states Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota are all "shall issue". Of course, Iowa also borders the two "no issue" states, Wisconsin and Illinois, so maybe that has something to do with it. At any rate, you Hawkeyes need to get with the program. :)
[Alaska] Pro-gun rally draws hundreds:
It was standing room only at the Soldotna Sports Center last night as many from the Kenai Peninsula attended the rally of the Second Amendment Task Force of the Kenai Peninsula. Even the presenters discussed the turnout, including Bob Bird of Nikiski. He was gratified with the turnout. He explained to the audience that the rally was not called as part of the National Rifle Association, or as part of the Gun Owners of America.
Those speaking at the rally wanted to relay the message that there is a reason American’s should be concerned that the freedom to keep and bear arms is being threatened. Bird asked everyone in attendance to sign a statement of solidarity at the end of the meeting.
The wording in the statement calls on the Alaska Legislators, Governor, Judges and other public officials of Alaska to stand with them in defending their Natural Law right of self-defense from any infringement by the federal government. ... [paragraph breaks added for readability]
[Virginia] Democrat gubernatorial candidates agree on more gun-control for Old Dominion:
BLACKSBURG, Va. | Gun control shot to the forefront of the fourth Democratic Virginia gubernatorial debate, on Wednesday less than a mile from the deadliest campus shooting in American history.
State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, former national Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe and former House of Delegates Democratic Caucus leader Brian J. Moran all agreed on closing the loophole in state law that exempts gun shows from background checks on buyers.
They clashed for the second time in as many days in a restored theater in Blacksburg, a short walk to the scene of the worst mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history, in April 2007. Mr. Moran said every gun buyer should have to face the same checks that federally licensed gun dealers must perform regardless of venue. ...
[Wisconsin] Gene German says time for civil obedience:
Civil obedience is the expectation that citizens follow the law and those citizens expect others to do the same, particularly law enforcement officers. Law abiding citizens expect the police to understand the laws and to act lawfully. This is a very minimal expectation of citizens for the police to meet. Citizens will not tolerate the police abusing their “police powers” and treating citizens who do absolutely nothing wrong like a violent or dangerous criminal, by drawing their guns and pointing them at citizens and threatening citizens with death or great bodily harm.
How about some examples?
...
Let’s try another one. Let’s say you just turned old enough to vote. The local cops see you standing in line at your polling place minding your own business. Since they never saw you vote before, they draw their guns and point them at you; they order you to the ground and handcuff you for their safety. Then they get your ID out and call in to the station to see if you are a felon and you may not be eligible to vote. They find out you are not a felon and you can vote after all. They still don’t like it, so they arrest you for disorderly conduct because after all, you upset them and probably someone else too. You get hauled off to jail and you are prosecuted. You loose your job over the publicity and no one wants to hire you. Your bills continue to show up each month anyway. You have extra legal expenses to pay on top of your bills. The judge decides six month later that you were really not acting in a disorderly manner while waiting to vote. But the judge commends the police for handling the situation with you as they did because after all, they have difficult jobs fighting crime and who knew you weren’t a felon trying to vote.
The second example really happened although the person was not waiting to vote, but was merely exercising their right to be lawfully armed. It is time that citizens demand that no protected right may be infringed upon, be it the right to vote or the right to be armed.
[Wisconsin] Op-ed supports right to bear arms:
Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen's statement that openly carrying a gun doesn't constitute disorderly conduct is, taken at face value, obvious.
How could exercising one's constitutional rights without endangering others ever be perceived as a punishable offense?
I don't often see pedestrians "packing heat," as my dad would say, but it still feels like something is wrong here. The fact that Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn would tell his officers to ignore Van Hollen's memo reeks of lawlessness-of the same caliber of criminals who ignore our society's laws. West Milwaukee is currently being sued in federal court for civil rights violations. Plaintiff Jesus Gonzales alleges officers illegally detained, harassed and arrested him when he was legally, openly carrying a gun. It looks like the courts might have to change Flynn's attitude. ...
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