... The media conducts a constant and insidious assault on our freedom by ridiculing and denigrating the American way of life and more importantly, the way of life that made America great. Hollywood and New York have forgotten that just about everybody between the two coasts does not subscribe to these values-or have they? Perhaps they know we don’t hold their values and this is a way to make inroads to changing our minds and numbing us into letting our freedoms slip away. If you say a lie often enough, it becomes the truth, for it is impossible to un-hear what you have heard. Some of you may have read Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister quoted saying, “if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it” [3]. The danger of all this is the rumor, the lie, and the innuendo become fact and we in the 2nd Amendment fight don’t have near the resources or ability to combat these kinds of slander the left does. We don’t make movies or print newspapers. We can write letters to the editor, etc., but they still control what is printed and shown on the air. We are losing the war on the culture front by letting these huge Trojan Horses of the media right into our living rooms, and national consciousness, disguised as entertainment or news.
To combat this it is imperative we point out insidious derogatory references to the great American way of life when we see them. It is important to teach our children and our children’s children that freedom does not mean dragging down the rich heritage and culture that made America great. Teach them how to think critically about what they see in the movies, TV and print. Help them understand the biases that are introduced into each movie and television story line. Don’t censor their viewing, but help them understand the disparity between fact and fiction, ideology and reality. It means influencing everyone you can about what message some of these shows and articles are really trying to say. Eventually, the majority will understand the difference between trash and treasure, perhaps even changing what movies and television shows they watch, thus hitting anti-gunners right in the wallet. ...
It's been a year since a Northwest D.C. housewife carried a Ruger .357 Magnum into police headquarters in a blue plastic grocery bag and became the District's first legal handgun owner since the Supreme Court overturned a decades-old ban.
Today, Amy McVey's handgun is one of just 515 that have been legally registered with the Metropolitan Police Department -- a number that pales compared with more than 2,000 illegal weapons that have been seized in the same period.
She hasn't had to use it to defend her home. Nor has anyone attempted to steal it and use it against her or to commit some other crime -- undermining the most widely used arguments for and against permitting guns. ...
Montgomery County Republican Party Chair Greg Gantt is circulating an email to "Republican insiders" that Mike DeWine will announce his candidacy for Ohio Attorney General on Wednesday, July 22nd at 9:45am at the Greene County Courthouse.
That's right, Mike DeWine.
The same Mike DeWine who was thrown out of his U.S. Senate seat by voters in 2006, after running around sporting a Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (formerly Handgun Control Inc.) endorsement because "his record really wowed the group."
The same Mike DeWine who Human Events Online named among the Top 10 anti-gun U.S. Senators, noting that he was "consistently the only Republican to speak in favor of anti-2nd Amendment legislation on the Senate floor."
The same Mike DeWine who, shortly before his defeat in 2006, took a position in opposition to legislation which barred gun manufacturers, distributors, dealers or importers from frivolous lawsuits designed to put them out of business.
The same Mike DeWine who consistently cast his votes on the side of the most rabid anti-gun Democrats in the Senate. ...
There will be no new trial for Harold Fish says Coconino County Attorney David W. Rozema.
Rozema said today, July 16, that his office will not conduct a second trial in the Fish case, in the event that the recent decision to vacate Fish’s initial trial conviction is upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court.
Rozema says they are working with Fish’s attorneys to have him released from custody.
The Arizona Court of Appeals had ordered a new trial for the 62-year-old retired schoolteacher who shot and killed a Payson man four years ago at a trailhead north of Strawberry. The state legislature just passed new self-defense rules and made those new rules retroactive so they would apply to any new trial for Fish.
The court said the original trial judge — Mark Moran of Flagstaff — erred in not allowing the victim’s past behavior to be introduced into evidence. The court also ruled that the three dogs the victim, Grant Kuenzli, had with him could have been classified as “dangerous instruments” as defense attorney Melvin McDonald asked.
“There have been two recent, significant developments in the case involving Mr. Fish,” said Rozema. “First, the Court of Appeals reversed the conviction. Second, the legislature passed a bill requiring retroactive application of the new self-defense law.”
“The attorney general’s office has the decision-making authority with respect to the appeals process in this case. It is our understanding that they will be appealing the Court of Appeals decision through the filing of a petition with the Arizona Supreme Court. We will respect whatever decision is ultimately made by the Supreme Court regarding Mr. Fish’s jury trial conviction.” ...
The confluence of the recession and the election of Barack Obama have made for boom times in the firearms business. New Mexicans have always had a love affair with weaponry, but fear has driven them to add to their collections. It’s not fear of crime but fear that big government is going to amend their Second Amendment rights by taking their guns away.
Gun buyers are not afraid to spend big bucks for the big bang. Truisms about the gun business – guns don’t wear out and their prices don’t go down. Many are buying guns as collector’s items.
Some gun shops are running sales increases in the 50 percent range since last November’s presidential election of Barack Obama and subsequent appointment of Attorney General Eric Holder.
“We are doing very well, strictly because of Obama and the anti-gun stance of his attorney general, Holder. Our customers are buying now in advance of anti-gun legislation,” says Ron Peterson, who has operated a gun shop in the Duke City since 1963.
His Ron Peterson Firearms LLC is located at 4418 Central Ave. SE and is generally acknowledged as the place to purchase high-end vintage guns. The Duke City metro area has around six gun shops, where everything, from the less expensive handguns to machine guns, is available.
“Our sales are ahead 50 percent as of June 1 and we could not get merchandise because the wholesale distribution has not been set up for this demand. We are still rationing ammo,” adds Peterson. ...
Jersey City Police Chief Thomas Comey could not make it more clear. Pump action shotguns are "assault weapons.""This weapon is manufactured for nothing other than to hunt man."
...
Left unsaid is why he considers weapons "manufactured for nothing other than to hunt man" suitable for police work:"It's used as part of a tactical equipment for law enforcement agencies in this country."
Translation: We're the "Only Ones" who should have pump-action shotguns. You cannot. ...
... Deputies say Dean Favron and Roderick Porter knocked several times on the apartment door. The two young children, a ten-year-old boy and eight-year-old girl, stood on the other side, terrified. "He told his sister to be quiet and seconds later, they started kicking on the door and finally kicked the door in," said Sheriff Mike Cazes. The two children ran to their mother's bedroom closet.
In a panic, the ten-year-old grabbed his mother's gun for protection. "He did what I told him to do. I never told him to get the gun, but thank God he did," she said. Once the two suspects opened the door, threatening the kids, deputies say the boy fired a bullet into the lip of Roderick Porter. The two men were taken to the hospital by a third suspect, who is a 15-year-old juvenile. Once they got to the hospital, they were later arrested. "It's just hard. I don't understand why they would do that. I know they have little brothers and sisters and they wouldn't want anyone to break into their house," said the mother. ...
BARTONVILLE, Ill. - National Rifle Association firearms instructor Lee Merriman says a lot of people fear the criminal elements around them.
That is keeping Merriman busy these days as he trains people from all walks of life to use a firearm safely.
“I have a lot of older people who live in bad areas of Peoria who are scared,” said Merriman.
“Most people are here because the crime rate is so high.
“I just had a guy and his wife who had never fired a gun in their lives. They live in the country and are on the road a lot. The wife wants to be able to protect her two young daughters. We’re seeing a lot of that. I recently has a contractor, his wife and 13-year-old daughter go through the class; two ministers; a private class for judges, doctors and so forth; and nine nurses together. You wouldn’t believe the people taking gun courses now.”
Merriman said the number of people requesting tutoring in gun usage is increasing. His August class is full. Merriman’s class may get fuller as more and more the push for concealed carry comes to the forefront in Illinois.
In recent weeks the city of Peoria volunteered to be a test city for a concealed carry law. Bartonville promptly followed suit, requesting to be a part of any pilot program agreed to by the state.
The Bartonville City Council and the Bartonville Police Department passed a resolution on July 9 supporting concealed carry in the state of Illinois and delivered it to the Illinois General Assembly. The resolution comes in response to an Illinois Sheriff’s Association survey of all sheriffs in the state which showed that 90 percent support concealed carry of weapons, the resolution said. [emphasis added] ...
BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - Louisiana State Police report the rate of applications for concealed weapons permits has doubled this year. Last year, 4,130 first-time permits were issued, but halfway through this year the number of new permits has already exceeded that. When you add in renewals, it almost doubles.
As American citizens, it is our Second Amendment right to bear arms. Judging by the number of permits issued this year more people in Louisiana are legally carrying concealed weapons. State police keep track of who's buying the permits. "We're not going to randomly issue concealed handgun permits to the general public," said Sgt. Markus Smith with Louisiana State Police. "We do have a very rigorous background check that's done, so we're making sure the criminals are definitely not getting these permits and only good law-abiding citizens." ...
Carl Moody, Economics Professor at William and Mary, and co-author with Dave Kopel and me on a published paper, was kind enough to analyze the data from an earlier article. His response:When I did the regressions, I found that Economic freedom, Overall freedom, and Personal freedom were all negatively correlated with Brady score, significant at the .01 level (highly significant). Violent crime and LEO rates were positively correlated with Brady at the .001 level (very highly significant).
Sorting by Brady quartiles, the three graphs above still show very strong, negative correlations. (Both have R-values over .90; read here for a brief description of R-values.) As Brady scores increase, personal and economic freedoms decrease. [emphasis added]
The lowlands corridor along Interstate 90 some 38 miles east of Seattle which runs through the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is being closed to recreational shooting starting this weekend and continuing for at least 12 months, while the Forest Service determines whether the closure should become permanent.
The problem: Slob shooters. The bane of all responsible gun owners, these people are responsible for other such closures on public lands all over the map. For years, they have brought their garbage onto public property, shot it to pieces, and left it as an eyesore. On rare occasions, they accidentally shoot one another while ricocheting bullets off of boulders against which they have propped a target.
Their litter in the North Bend-Snoqualmie Ranger District – where this closure is taking effect – has included aerosol cans, televisions, computer monitors, appliances and even stolen cars. In the shooting community, these individuals are not simply black sheep, they are social lepers. Responsible shooters don’t want them around, as they are typically responsible for the low image some people have of all gun owners.
STEUBENVILLE - To participate in a cleanup on the streets of the Labelle neighborhood, about a dozen residents brought not only rubber gloves and plastic garbage bags.
They also brought handguns, which they kept in holsters worn around their waists - some in plain view and some not - in a move they said was aimed at promoting awareness of laws allowing Ohioans the right to carry firearms in public.
Wayne Johnson, a resident of Belleview Boulevard - one of the streets where the group worked - said under state law, anyone may carry any gun they have the right to legally own. ...
A New Orleans man is suing the city and its district attorney for refusing to give back a gun that police seized when he was arrested on drug and firearms charges that were later dropped.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana filed the federal lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Errol Houston Jr., who was arrested last year following a traffic stop. The lawsuit says the district attorney's office declined to prosecute Houston but has refused to return his .40-caliber firearm.
Houston's lawsuit claims District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro has instituted a policy that firearms seized during arrests will not be returned to their owners. The ACLU says that policy violates Houston's constitutional rights.
"Mr. Houston has done nothing wrong. There are no criminal charges against him. His firearm, which he is and was entitled to carry, has been confiscated for no reason," ACLU of Louisiana executive director Marjorie R. Esman said in a statement. ...
The recession has put the brakes on all sorts of industries, but the upward spike in gun sales that began about the time President Obama was elected continues.
In California, for example, sales over a six-month period late last year and early this year are up 32 percent from the same period a year ago. And while no national figures on gun sales are available, the FBI reports a strong surge in applications for background checks — the best available indicator.
Gun retailers, consumers and politicians on both sides of the aisle attribute the spike to the election of Barack Obama and fears that his administration and a Congress controlled by Democrats will seek new restrictions on gun ownership. ...
PHOENIX — Siding with gun owners over cops, the Senate Judiciary Committee agreed Friday to let people carry concealed weapons without getting a state permit.
The 4-3 vote came despite comments from several police officers who said letting anyone at least 18 have a hidden gun will make their jobs more dangerous. Friday's vote sends the measure to the full Senate. ...
The U.S. Army has ordered 38.4 million rounds of .300 Winchester magnum ammunition for its newly modified M-24 sniper rifles, as well as similar SOCOMs Mk13 models. The new ammo will cost about $1.30 per round. The .300 Winchester magnum will be ordered in minimum lots of 56,160 rounds (117 boxes of 480 rounds each). The entire 38.4 million rounds will last a while.
All this is in response to requests from snipers for a longer range weapon, but not one as bulky and heavy as the 30 pound .50 caliber rifle (which is good to about 2,000 meters). Thus the army is modifying existing M24 rifles to fire the more powerful .300 Winchester Magnum round. It was felt that this gave the snipers all the additional range they needed, without requiring a much heavier rifle. SOCOM has been using this approach since the early 1990s. ...
Mexico's police are overwhelmed in part because drug traffickers have them outgunned. Mexico's Attorney General Eduardo Medina-Mora is helping lead the effort to break up the cartels.
"Half of what we seize, 55 percent are assault rifles. And this is what gives these groups this intimidation power. Over 17,000 assault rifles, throughout the last two years. Two thousand and 200 grenades, missile and rocket launchers. Fifty caliber sniper rifles," the attorney general explained.
It might surprise you to learn where all these guns are coming from. It turns out 90 percent of them are purchased in the US.
"The Second Amendment was never designed to arm criminal groups, and especially not foreign criminal groups as it is today," Medina-Mora said.
Asked if he blames the U.S. for not doing more to stop this flow, he told Cooper, "We believe that much more needs to be done. We need a much more committed effort from the U.S." ...
KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Ships from Miami steam into Jamaica's main harbor loaded with TV sets and blue jeans. But some of the most popular U.S. imports never appear on the manifests: handguns, rifles and bullets that stoke one of the world's highest murder rates.
The volume is much less than the flow of U.S. guns into Mexico that end up in the hands of drug cartels _ Jamaican authorities recover fewer than 1,000 firearms a year. But of those whose origin can be traced, 80 percent come from the U.S., Jamaican law enforcement officials have said in interviews with The Associated Press. ...
New Jersey Democrat senator Frank R. Lautenberg plans to introduce legislation designed to cancel the Second Amend rights of well over a million U.S. citizens this coming week, according to the New York Times. “Mr. Lautenberg plans to introduce legislation on Monday that would give the attorney general the discretion to block gun sales to people on terror watch lists,” the newspaper reports. ...
BATON ROUGE -- Legislation urging the New Orleans City Council to enact a citywide ban on assault weapons was shot down by a Senate committee Tuesday.
The Judiciary B Committee failed to muster a single vote for House Concurrent Resolution 150 by Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, killing it unanimously. The non-binding measure is an expression of the feelings of the Legislature on an issue and would have called on council members, but not required them, to act.
The council can enact a ban on the assault weapons on its own. ...
... I view the passage of HR 627, a credit card reform bill with the highly publicized national park gun amendment attached, as valuable testimony for my past claims that the war to preserve the sanctity of the Second Amendment has been won. Clearly, most politicians are so gunshy about any recordable vote casting them as anti-gun and lowering their NRA grade – and therefore making them vulnerable to defeat in the next election – they go to untold lengths to avoid it.
Gun rights advocates must – and surely will – remain vigilant, but the victory in the Battle of the National Parks should give them confidence tthat hey have the political force with them. ...
TAMPA - About a month ago, Audry Sauceda was carjacked and fought back.
He stuck a gun in my side and told me to get out of the car," Sauceda said while sharing her story with FOX 13 on May 15. "And I pulled out my gun and stuck it in his face, and told him, he needed to get out. He screamed and jumped out of the car."
...
It's been almost a year now since the June 26, 2008 landmark ruling in which the Supreme Court overturned the strictest gun-control law in the country, a ban on handguns.
And since then, Florida has been dealing with a rush of requests for concealed weapons permits.
Back at the Shooting Sports Gun Range on Dale Mabry in Tampa, Range Officer Fritz Caspers has seen the number of people signing up for his concealed weapons class double. ...
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - When Performa Entertainment Real Estate and the Beale Street Merchants Association failed to convince state lawmakers Beale Street should be exempt as a historical district, they came up with another plan in order to keep guns far away from its restaurants and bars.
"Our paramount concern is to provide for the safety and enjoyment of our guests and we're going to take any and all measures necessary to do that," said Onzie Horne Jr., Executive Director of the Beale Street Merchants Association.
Now weapons are banned on Beale starting the first weekend after a new state law allowing guns in bars takes effect.
"While we are certainly for second amendment rights and the rights that go with them we thought it was a bad bill," said John Elkington with CEO of Performa.
Beginning July 17th visitors to Beale Street can expect to be screened with metal detector wands at all entry points. Those enforcing the new ban liken it to the kind of security you experience at the airport.
Merchants say it shouldn't take long to get into the party area and once inside signs will remind everyone, "no guns allowed." ...
NASHVILLE — The bill to close public access to records identifying Tennessee’s 220,000-plus handgun-carry permit holders fell three votes short of winning approval in the state Senate on Wednesday night.
It was a reversal for the gun lobby, which has been successful this year in winning approval of several bills to expand the places where permit holders are legally allowed to carry their sidearms, including parks and places where alcohol is served. The bill had passed the House 83-12 in May. ...
A D.C. Council member has reintroduced legislation to equip guns used by the District's police forces with cameras after a man was fatally shot by police in Northeast.
Council member Harry Thomas Jr. on Tuesday introduced a bill requiring Mayor Adrian M. Fenty to come up with a "plan for the installation of video and audio recording devices on service firearms of all police and special police officers."
Similar legislation died in the council's public safety committee last year after opposition from police, who say the cameras are bulky and fail to capture crucial evidence because they only begin recording once the officer draws the weapon. ...
Two key provisions of Philadelphia's latest attempt to impose local gun controls - banning assault weapons and "straw purchases" of handguns - were invalidated yesterday by a state appeals court.
Following judicial precedent that doomed previous Philadelphia gun-control laws, Commonwealth Court held that the state Supreme Court ruled in 1996 that only the legislature has the authority to enact gun laws. Counties and municipal governments are out of luck.
But the 6-1 majority in Commonwealth Court affirmed part of the 2008 decision of then-Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Jane Cutler Greenspan and allowed three other provisions. They require reporting lost or stolen handguns, allow temporary seizure of guns by police after probable cause is demonstrated, and bar gun ownership by people subject to protection-from-abuse orders.
Greenspan, now on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, had ruled that the National Rifle Association and other challengers were not affected seriously enough to have legal standing to sue over those provisions.
The reporting provision is in effect, but the other two have not yet been implemented because they are legally complex and require the city to draft and adopt regulations, said Richard Feder, chief of appeals in the city Law Department
Feder said his office was "seriously considering" appealing the assault-weapon and straw-purchase provisions to the state Supreme Court. ...
HOUMA — In 15 years of selling guns and ammunition, he’s never seen anything like it.
Shotgun shells, rifle cartridges and pistol rounds have been flying off the shelves with such speed at Houma Auto Parts, Calvin Prevost’s gun store on Honduras Street, that the owner has taken to hiding what ammunition he can in the back so customers who buy a gun can leave at least with a single box of rounds. Wednesday afternoon, there were wide gaps between the boxes of ammunition for sale at the shop, formerly an auto-parts and gun store but now strictly a firearms business.
“That shelf is usually packed,” Prevost said. “If we don’t hide ammo, they’ll buy it all.” ...
FRANKLIN — State lawmakers have put local officials on the hot seat with the recent passage of a law allowing guns to be carried in public parks.
The legislation, which was signed into law last week by the governor, immediately opens state-owned parks to people who have handgun carry permits. Municipalities have until Sept. 1 to opt out of the new provision and ban guns from their own parks. ...
The D.C. government released emergency regulations yesterday that greatly expand the models of handguns that District residents can own, a shift designed to stave off another lawsuit over its compliance with the Second Amendment.
The new regulations, which come as the District continues to grapple with last year's Supreme Court decision that threw out the city's gun ban, will allow residents to legally obtain at least 1,000 additional types and models of handguns.
City leaders sought to play down the effects of the new regulations, but gun rights advocates said they were another boost to their efforts to undo the District's long-held restrictions on personal possession of weapons. ...
The Louisiana House on Thursday voted down a proposal to allow concealed handguns on university campuses, overwhelmingly rejecting the argument that licensed gun owners would make colleges less prone to bloodshed.
Lawmakers voted 86-18 to reject the bill, which drew heavy opposition from university and police officials. The legislation, by Rep. Ernest Wooton, would have forced colleges in the state to allow people with concealed handgun permits to carry those weapons on the campuses - which are now so-called "gun-free" zones.
Wooton argued that his proposal would make college grounds safer. School administrators and police chiefs from around Louisiana lobbied against it, saying guns would make college campuses more likely to suffer from shootings, both purposeful and accidental. The National Rifle Association has pushed for similar legislation in numerous states, with limited success. ...
Gun-rights advocates are using Judge Sonia Sotomayor's involvement in two Second Amendment cases as ammunition to challenge her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, threatening to draw the Obama administration into a debate over firearms laws that it has tried hard to avoid.
The Gun Owners of America, an organization based in Springfield, Va., is telling its 300,000 members to let senators know they oppose Judge Sotomayor's appointment. "Our message will be to the senators [that] it doesn't matter how you voted" on other gun issues, said executive director Larry Pratt. The nomination "is the big one."
The clash between gun-control laws and the breadth of the constitutional right to bear arms is one of several social issues being scoured by people on both sides of the ideological spectrum for clues to Judge Sotomayor's leanings. Her record on the bench provides few hints of her views on such hot-button issues as abortion or gay marriage. ...
No one really expects business to increase 60 percent in a worldwide economic crisis. Unless, of course, you own a firearms store, online ammo shop, or lease a booth at the regional gun show, in which case business is exploding.
Brad DeSaye’s family has been selling guns and ammo since 1946, when his father Joe opened J&G Rifle Ranch in Montana. The business moved in 1977 to Prescott, Arizona, renaming itself J&G Sales. Specializing in guns and ammo for “sportsmen, law enforcement and firearms enthusiasts,” J&G has thrived through multiple wars, recessions, and national panics. But sales have never been as high as they are at the moment, DeSaye says. “Business is probably triple more than normal,” he tells TAC. “It’s unprecedented.”
He’s hardly the exception. Boxes of ammunition of all calibers are reportedly flying off the shelves at double, even triple the normal price in neighborhood mom-and-pops, Wal-Marts, and at gun shows across the country. Big online dealers like Texas-based Cheaper Than Dirt are ordering millions of rounds at a time and slamming up against backorders of six to eight months.
Meanwhile, Dave Hardy, who blogs at armsandthelaw.com, reports that gun shows are becoming surreal. “The last gun show I went to, ammo prices were close to double what they were six months ago,” he says. “I saw three or four people enter with moving dollies, using them to haul out a load of ammo too heavy to carry. I have never seen that before, and I’ve been attending gun shows since the mid-1970s.”
Firearms, especially semi-automatics and handguns, are in high demand. Longtime gun owners are said to be “stockpiling,” while another demographic, the rookie, is beginning to make his mark. Ted Novin, spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said the organization’s introductory gun-safety classes are seeing “an unprecedented level” of attendance. “One of our courses is called ‘First Shots’—it’s jam-packed,” he says. ...
With its sleek lines and light weight, an AR-15-style weapon is considered desirable as a home protection tool because it’s maneuverable.
It looks like a machine gun. But with models as light as six pounds, it can be leveled at an assailant without tiring the carrier. In the hands of an experienced marksmen, it’s highly reliable at hitting a target.
Local firearms dealers said they haven’t been able to keep that type of firearm on the shelves for months. Scott Hoffman said that since November he hasn’t been able to immediately fill orders for items considered personal weapons. He’s back-ordered in certain kinds of ammunition, too.
“Gun sales have at least doubled,” said the longtime owner of Hoffman’s Gun Center on the Berlin Turnpike. “Business is up at least 50 percent and that’s in a bad economy. It shows you how scared people are.” ...
April was turkey hunting season, but instead of buying hunting gear, gun shoppers at Nichols Store in Rock Hill were loading up on home-safety pistols and self-defense rounds.
Sales at York County gun stores and pawn shops have as much as doubled since November's election of a Democrat for president, local gun merchants report, as customers fear tighter gun control measures could be on the horizon. And since then, the number of federal firearm background checks required to own a gun have surpassed previous years by 25 percent to 50 percent a month, FBI statistics show.
Many gun owners at Nichols Store recently said they were concerned the Obama administration would make it more difficult to own a gun. The hunters, hobbyists and self-defenders said they frequent the store several times a month to buy supplies.
Shannon Gunn, the gun department manager at Nichols Store, said ammunition is tough to keep on the shelves behind his counter. Gunn's most popular rounds are the .380 ACP and .9-millimeter [sic] cartridges, both standard ammo for self-defense pistols. Some customers buy them by the case. ...
President Barack Obama's mantra of change meant something positive to a majority of voters, but some local gun owners are afraid that change could threaten their Second Amendment rights and are applying in droves for concealed-carry permits.
Almost four people came in every business day through the first three months of the year, 252 in all, to either renew or seek a new permit to arm themselves discretely in public, according to figures from the Licking County Sheriff's Office.
During the same period in 2008, 107 people sought concealed-carry licenses, or CCLs.
"I'm expecting this year's renewals and original licenses to exceed 1,200," said Ken Richardson, who runs the sheriff's office concealed-carry licensure program. ...
Amid an avalanche of new interest in Utah's widely recognized concealed-carry firearm permit, two of the state's best-known gun-rights advocates hosted a no-cost class to acquire the permit for Salt Lake media members on Sunday.
Applications for Utah concealed-carry permits have skyrocketed this spring according to the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification, the agency tasked with issuing and administrating concealed weapon carry permits. Last February's 2,548 applicants jumped to 8,142 this year and March permit seekers more than doubled from 4,412 in 2008 to 10,878 in 2009. ...
PEORIA — Mayor Jim Ardis wants to see a push for Peoria to become a pilot city for statewide concealed-carry legislation that would allow people to carry guns in a responsible manner, he said Thursday.
Ardis wants to see legislation passed in Springfield allowing Peoria to enact an ordinance permitting citizens the right to carry a concealed weapon.
His comments come one day after a gas station attendant was shot and killed in the East Bluff and a shot was discharged on Newman Golf Course during a botched robbery.
"I'm trying to see if there is an opportunity for (the General Assembly) to enact a concealed-carry ordinance in the city of Peoria for a three to four year test to see (if there is) a reduction in these types of crimes," Ardis said.
Getting concealed-carry legislation passed in Illinois, however, is another matter, because the politically charged issue in Springfield has often met resistance by state lawmakers, particularly those from the Chicago area. ...
In just the past month, gun rights advocates have managed to do the following, under the noses of the most radical gun hating administration at the federal level, and Jim Doyle and friends in Wisconsin.
One month ago, Attorney General J B Van Hollen said in a memo to law enforcement publicly what has been the law in Wisconsin since forever. Open carry is lawful and is not by itself, disorderly conduct.
His memo has (predictably) prompted talk at the Capitol of a bill to ban open carry. This is good. The people of Wisconsin passed an amendment in 1998 to protect their rights to bear arms for self defense and other lawful purposes. They have been prohibited from carrying a gun concealed for 137 years but since open carry is allowed, the states law and constitution worked well together. If open carry becomes prohibited, it will be impossible for anyone to exercise their constitutionally protected right and the Wisconsin Supreme Court will get to decide which (or perhaps both) law to overturn. This outcome will give some anti-gun democrats serious heartburn because they know your good judgement can’t be trusted (you did elect them after all) but it is not likely to stop them from trying to deny you your rights anyway. You can fix this problem at the polls.
There is also talk of repealing the states preemption law which says local jurisdictions can not create ordinances which are stricter than state law. Well, unconstitutional local ordinances will not stand either, and for the same reasons. This is an opportunity for a few people to sue for civil rights violations in federal court and redistribute some city’s wealth to them self. ...
... When the police first stopped and surrounded Mr. Woodard, he asked "What is the problem?" He was told that the problem was that he was "carrying a firearm openly." His attempts to explain the legality of his conduct fell on deaf ears. Ironically, Mr. Woodard was not charged with carrying a weapon openly, but with carrying a concealed weapon.
Because the charge of carrying a concealed weapon is a disqualifier, Mr. Woodard lost his Georgia firearms license, and he was facing two years in jail. The charges against Mr. Woodard were pending for months until the intervention of the Georgia organization GeorgiaCarry.Org and Marietta criminal defense attorney Doug King. The criminal charges have now disappeared, and Mr. Woodard retained Roswell attorney John Monroe to file a federal lawsuit for violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. Yesteday, Mr. Woodard filed a motion for summary judgment. ...
... Amid the ambitious sweep of the '09 policy agenda, it's easy to overlook the battles that Obama is loath to fight. Case in point: He and the Democrats are notoriously gun-shy. They don't dare clamor for a crackdown on the easy purchase of over-the-counter weaponry, because they have judged the gun-control issue to be a stone-cold political loser, now and forever. On this front in the long-running culture war, they have surrendered and the gun lobby has won.
The White House line is that any fight for the restoration of the assault-weapons ban would distract Congress at a time when the economic and health-care crises deserve top priority. That's true, as far as it goes; tangling with the National Rifle Association, and putting the squeeze on pro-NRA Democratic lawmakers, would require the expenditure of precious political capital.
Obama's reluctance is merely the latest manifestation of Democratic skittishness, stretching back nearly a decade. The party's surrender isn't necessarily rooted in the belief that the gun-control argument lacks merit; rather, the party has made a practical determination that the issue hurts them with blue-collar white guys.who view all gun curbs as akin to confiscation or privacy invasion. ...
A 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that allows Oklahomans to store firearms in locked vehicles parked on company property will stand after the filing deadline passed for further legal appeals, Attorney General Drew Edmondson announced.
Edmondson's office, in partnership with the National Rifle Association (NRA), defended the constitutionality of two Oklahoma gun laws that prohibit businesses from forbidding their employees to store firearms in locked vehicles parked on company property. ...
Gun, ammunition and other hunting-related purchases would be exempt from sales taxes one weekend a year under a bill approved Thursday by the Senate.
The Senate voted 34-0 to establish an annual Second Amendment sales tax holiday the first weekend in September.
The tax break would cover sales between Friday and Sunday.
State and local government would lose about $263,000 in revenue, according to a fiscal note on the measure from lost sales taxes.
State Sen. Rob Marionneaux, D-Grosse Tete, said his Senate Bill 52 had the support of the National Rifle Association and hunting supply stores.
The tax break only applies to consumer purchases. ...
The Interior Department says a new law allowing loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges will not take effect until next year.
President Barack Obama signed the gun law Friday as part of a measure creating new rules for the credit card industry. But the Interior Department says that because the credit card law won't take effect until nine months after it is signed, the gun measure also will be delayed. ...
ALBANY — One of the most controversial measures to come before the County Legislature in some time is expected to draw an overflow crowd at a public hearing Tuesday night.
At issue is a proposed law that would require gun shops to register sales of ammunition, a measure that has been condemned by gun proponents as a back-door means to register guns and learn what weapons people have. Supporters say it is merely an attempt to close a loophole in state law governing how ammunition is purchased.
In the weeks since the March meeting when proposed Local Law A, gun rights advocates have spoken at public forums before the start of legislature meetings. The measure is sponsored by three Democratic legislators: Phil Steck of Colonie and Wanda Willingham and Doug Bullock, both of Albany.
In advance of this week's hearing, opponents have distributed fliers at guns shops and sportsmen's clubs, and, for the last week, they have taken to the airwaves. ...
I am Nicole Goeser, widow of Benjamin Felix Goeser. First, I want to say that I love my husband very much and I miss him terribly. He was the most giving, loving, concerned, thoughtful person I have ever met.
My husband was gunned down on April 2 right in front of me at Jonny's Sports Bar on Nolensville Road here in Nashville. There is a very important bill that has passed the House and Senate called the Restaurant Carry Bill. This bill is awaiting Gov. Phil Bredesen's signature.
I support this bill.
I am a permitted gun owner here in the state of Tennessee. If I could have been allowed to carry my gun that night, perhaps I could have saved my wonderful husband (Metro Police have charged Hank Calvin Wise, 43, of W. Main Street in Hendersonville with Benjamin Goeser's death).
I can tell you that the odds would have been more in our favor. I had to leave my gun locked in my car in the parking lot that night because we have a law in place right now that makes innocent people "helpless" and at the mercy of people with horrible intentions. People who have gone through proper training, a complete background check and have the permit should be allowed to carry a concealed gun for their own protection and protection of loved ones as long as they are not under the influence of alcohol. ...
More and more people are trying to learn how to use handguns, and at least one local instructor chalks up the interest to fears about the Obama administration.
Another, though, says interest in self-defense started with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and has never really abated.
Either way, instructors said, they’re seeing more women joining men in looking for training on how to handle a handgun.
“It used to be about 20 percent” of his students were women, said Linn Armstrong, a National Rifle Association instructor. “After 9/11, it went up to 40 to 45 percent” and has remained at that level, he said.
Randy Jones, also an NRA instructor, said he likewise saw an increase after 9-/1. “And then it leveled off until last fall” after the presidential election,” Jones said.
“I hear people say that,” Armstrong said, though he added that his classes are as crowded as ever.
Either way, Jones said, he’s now booked five to six months out, and there’s no sign of slackening interest. ...
... Gun Control Laws actually have existed for hundreds of years. Of course, in colonial America they were vastly different than they are today. For instance, in colonial Massachusetts, it was required that any citizen traveling more than one mile from home be armed. Get that? It was required that they carry a gun! Can you imagine? In Massachusetts no less?
Today - a couple hundred years and a lot of technological evolution later - the reality of citizens carrying guns isn’t embraced quite as strongly by most state governments and usually not by the federal government. And, although we can all be cynical and wonder what’s really behind the votes, even our current federal government seems to want to avoid gun control issues… for now. Just recently Congress passed a bill that will allow those with concealed carry permits to carry those weapons in federal parks. While this bill may have passed because it was attached to a Credit Card Reform bill, the separate vote taken indicates suprisingly large support for the carry law.
But let us return to the question at hand: do Gun Control Laws benefit law enforcement? ...
Robert Ord says he stays away from the District of Columbia because he fears he will be arrested on a gun charge. The private security officer unsuccessfully sought a declaration in federal court that he is immune from prosecution on D.C. gun laws. His suit was tossed for a lack of standing.
Ord is challenging the dismissal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where the Second Amendment Foundation and the ACLU National Capital Area are participating as amicus curiae in support of Ord, saying his case against the city should move forward. At issue on appeal is whether Ord has standing to sue the District.
...
The amicus curiae lawyers, Alan Gura of Gura & Possessky and Art Spitzer of the ACLU National Capital Area, say the D.C. Circuit has adopted too narrow a standard to prove standing, effectively limiting access to the courts.
“We think the doors to the courthouse ought to be open to people who have legitimate disputes,” Spitzer says. Gura, who successfully argued in the Supreme Court the landmark Second Amendment case, D.C. v. Heller, says the Ord case is a chance for the D.C. Circuit to “correct its error” in how to show standing. ...
... During his tenure in the Senate, Latvala helped pass a law that allowed concealed weapon permit holders to renew the license every five years, instead of annually. Since 2008, the permits are good for seven years.
Bunting handed out wallet cards showing a map of the 34 other states that honor Florida's concealed weapon permits under "reciprocity" regulations.
Another recent trainee under Bunting's tutelage was mother-daughter recruits Beverly and Rachel O'Connor.
"We've never seen so many women," Bunting said about concealed weapon courses.
The Second Amendment Club also has seen many women interested in firearm training and safety education sessions. About 35 college students, mostly women, attended one recent class.
College students and faculty members with a concealed handgun license would be able to pack their firearms on campus under a bill that the Senate tentatively approved on Tuesday. The measure, passed on a 20-10 vote, was offered by a state senator who said he wants to give Texas students protection against mass shootings such as occurred at Virginia Tech University in 2007. Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, said the right-to-carry measure also would protect students from other life-threatening situations.
"When I read about massacre in Virginia (in 2007), I felt I would feel personally guilty if it woke up one morning and read that this had happened on one of our college campuses and I had done nothing to prevent it from happening," Wentworth explained to other senators. A series of amendments seeking to soften the bill were rejected as Wentworth argued they would infringe on the rights of Texans licensed to carry. One amendment would have allowed college governing boards to decide whether to allow firearms on their campuses. ...
BATON ROUGE -- Legislation designed to impose a statewide ban on semi-automatic weapons was killed 10-2 by the House Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice today.
House Bill 387 by Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, is dead for the session unless he can amend it on to another bill or get the full House to order the panel send it the bill.
Richmond said his fallback position will be to ask the New Orleans City Council to adopt a local ban on automatic weapons. ...
A spokesman for San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said today the city will defend three gun control measures against the latest lawsuit filed by the National Rifle Association.
"We don't think there's anything in current federal law that endangers anything in San Francisco gun control provisions," spokesman Matt Dorsey said.
But Dorsey said he thinks the lawsuit is part of an effort by the Virginia-based NRA to "push the envelope" of the constitutional Second Amendment right to bear arms in the wake of a key U.S. Supreme Court decision last year.
In that ruling, which overturned a Washington, D.C. handgun ban, the high court said the Second Amendment encompasses an individual right to possess guns for self-defense.
The new lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco Friday by the NRA, six San Francisco residents and a retired police officers' association.
It seeks to invalidate three gun-related provisions of the city police code. One provision, signed into law by Mayor Gavin Newsom in 2007, requires that handguns in the home be stored in a locked container or disabled with a trigger lock. ...
The matter of gun control is moving to the right. More and more Americans favor the conservative view, that the second amendment gives them freedom to own a gun. Gun ownership is growing in popularity.
Attitudes on gun control are more conservative this year than last, mostly with men than women. Nearly as many people believe gun ownership rights to be important at 45% than to control it at 49%. Last year 58% believed control over guns was important as opposed 37% protecting gun rights. Women by themselves have a different view, with 60% of them believing it is more important to control guns compared with 30% placing emphasis on protection of gun ownership.
It is only in the East Coast that controlling guns has greater priority and there has been no change of opinion. Other regions of the country have moved at least 7 points towards gun ownership being important, indicating a growing movement toward the conservative view on guns. ...
Sioux City city councilman Aaron Rochester is speaking out about national gun control legislation.
He says talks of allowing authorities to search homes for unregistered guns goes against the right to bear arms, and he wants to make sure Sioux City police know it.
Aaron Rochester, City Council Member:"I think it's going against constitutional rights, and I think our police department in Sioux City should really know every bit of the second amendment so that they can interpret it and do things according to what our founding fathers meant."
Rochester's given council direction to make sure all new police officers have a thorough review of the second amendment. ...
LINCOLN -- Two state senators hailed the signing of a new law on carrying handguns as a way to make certain law-abiding citizens aren't breaking the law.
Nebraska has had a concealed carry law for three years. More than 4,500 permits have been issued.
But State Sens. Tony Fulton of Lincoln and Mark Christensen of Imperial said passage of LB 430 this year will make sure that holders of permits will not run afoul of city ordinances that prohibit concealed carry.
...
Under LB 430, those who obtain state concealed carry permits would be exempt from any city ordinances banning such gun possession.
...
One aspect of LB 403 that stirred controversy is a clause that now allows churches to permit their security guards, if they have a state permit, to carry concealed guns.
... When it comes to homicide and overall violent crime, Table 2 tells a different story. Where “weak” states had much higher murder and violent crime rates in Table 1, the full dataset shows that “weak” states are safer: 19.8% lower firearms homicide and 6.8% lower non-firearms homicide rates. Moreover, the “weak” states had 21.5% less violent crime.
Bottom line: Suicide rates drive the difference between “gun death” in VPC’s “strong” and “weak” gun law states, but since “weak” states also have higher rates of non-gun suicide, VPC must either admit there are other causative factors besides gun availability, or admit that if more guns cause more suicides, then guns also cause less homicide and violent crime. As it stands right now, VPC’s own data proves that more guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens is an effective anti-crime tool.
President Obama voiced his support for an anti-gun treaty with such wide ranging implications that it could ban everything from assembling guns in kits to repackaging spent shells.
...
The treaty was signed by former President Clinton, but never approved by Congress. It has gained approval in 29 other countries. Obama put his weight behind it during his whirlwind tour abroad late last month.
Yesterday’s passage of legislation that revoked the longstanding ban on guns in national parks proved that this treaty would probably fall by the wayside once more, said Larry Pratt, President of Gun Owners of America. But the fact that Obama voiced his support for it speaks volumes about the President’s view of the Second Amendment, after his famous claim to not “take away guns” from law-abiding Americans. ...
... Several people who have left comments on my columns have averred that they will not give up their guns without resistance. I fear that passing a law to fix the "gun show loophole" like the Lautenberg bill in the Senate or the Rush bill in the house will create a large, new class of criminals. Most of the appointees by the Obama administration have an anti-gun pedigree. The majority of Americans who care about the issue believe that this administration and a compliant congress will try to clamp down on gun ownership in the face of statistics that give lie to their stated motives. I see the huge jump not only in ammunition sales but also the number of guns being bought by first time buyers as a vote against further gun control, and a belief that congress will try to do it.
Where do you come down on the issue? Do you say "The duly elected representatives of the majority of Americans have said I must reach an unattainable level of perfection to own a gun, therefore I will obey the new law of the land and turn in my guns." Or do you say "The duly elected representatives of the majority of Americans have overstepped the intentions of the founders of America and I will not obey an unconstitutional law" knowing that at that point, the Supreme Court has not ruled on the law, and you are not on the Supreme Court. I suspect that millions of Americans will appeal to natural law, which predates the US Constitution. Our rights come from God first, and include liberty and the right to self defense. The US constitution is an attempt to codify and protect the natural rights of man. I predict that millions of law-abiding citizens will quietly decide not to follow this law if it is passed, and will join the felons and uncaught criminals who already don't obey the existing laws. This will erode respect for law overall among the most staunch supporters of the rule of law as provided by the US Constitution. If the government over-reaches with national permitting of gun-owners, (not just concealed carry which is bad enough) we will see disobedience like what occurred during Prohibition. ...
Gun rights advocates have found a sweet spot in Democratic-dominated Washington, and they are using it to aggressively push legislation.
Their latest victory came yesterday when the House passed a bill that will allow people to bring concealed and loaded guns into national parks. Advocates won with the help of moderate Democrats.
Those Democrats, many from states in the South and Midwest, joined nearly all House Republicans to back yesterday's provision, which has passed in the Senate and could become law this week. The gun bill passed 279 to 147 in the House with the help of 105 Democratic votes; 145 Democrats opposed the bill.
The legislation was the latest defeat for gun-control advocates, who had expected more success with a Democratic president and Democratic majorities in both chambers of Congress. ...
The Senate on Tuesday night easily passed an amendment to credit card reform legislation that would allow concealed weapons in national parks. The vote was 67 to 29.
The question now is this: Will a controversial gun proposal attached to popular underlying legislation be the poison pill that sinks that larger bill? That’s been the case with legislation allowing the District of Columbia a voting representative in Congress, to which the Senate attached language scrapping many of Washington’s strict gun control laws. As a result of that gun amendment, the DC-vote bill remains stalled in the House months after it passed the upper chamber. ...
In January 2009, Michigan based author and Second Amendment advocate, Skip Coryell received an email from a woman in Belgium describing the helplessness she and coworkers felt when a knife-wielding attacker terrorized the daycare facility where she worked. As in many European countries, victims at the facility were disarmed and at the mercy of their attacker thanks to that country's draconian gun control laws. Determined to not let things progress that far here, Coryell decided to do something about it.
"This is the beginning of a period of historic change in our nation's history and it is no time for the timid," said Coryell. "This is a time for brave men and women to stand up and be counted. We want our children to inherit the same freedom our forefathers knew. Freedom has to be protected or it will fail. We are at a crossroads. The time to act is now."
With that, Coryell began laying the groundwork for the Second Amendment March (S.A.M.), tentatively scheduled for April 19, 2010, which included networking with other gun rights groups and activists. The Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners, of which Coryell is a member, was one of his earliest supporters. Soon after work began, rock personality and Second Amendment champion Ted Nugent promised a "firebreathing Star Spangled Banner eruption" in support of the event. ...
As the owner of Midwestern Firearms Company in East Peoria, John Meek aims each business day to sell as much ammunition as he can to responsible owners of handguns.
Lately there's been one big hitch in his business model.
He has no ammunition to sell.
"I've been out for about two weeks," Meek said. "I get spare cases in now and then, but people are keeping an eye on what's coming in, and those don't last long."
Those familiar with the firearm industry say it is no coincidence that there has been a run on the nation's gun stores since the election of Barack Obama last November.
...
"Demand for ammunition, across caliber lines, is outpacing supply. In order to keep up with demand, manufacturers are working at full capacity, 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Ted Novin, the director of public affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. ...
GALESBURG — Gil Hebard — owner of a gun store in Knoxville — can’t buy enough ammunition to keep up with demand.
“It started when Obama was elected,” Hebard said about the surge in demand for firearms and ammunition. Gun fans are worried the president will clamp down on their rights and are stockpiling supplies in case that happens.
“Nationwide, people are worried about Obama,” Hebard said. He is convinced the new administration will move to tighten gun controls. “It’s not if it will happen it’s when they will start gun legislation,” he said.
...
Some supporters of Second Amendment rights who have never owned a gun are now rushing to buy firearms because they fear their rights will be curtailed by the Obama administration, according to one local in the business.
“Americans that have never even had guns but support the Second Amendment are now going out to buy,” Al Hayden, of Al’s Sporting Goods in Galesburg, said.
Hayden’s supplies of ammunition have been drained by eager gun-owners motivated by worry over the new administration’s plans.
“My ammo shelves are pretty empty right now,” Hayden said. “People have been buying ammo faster than they can make it.” ...
Two opposing national groups will duke it out in court over Pittsburgh's new ordinance on lost and stolen guns, with the announcement that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence will join the city's Law Department in fighting a National Rifle Association lawsuit.
Pittsburgh Council President Doug Shields said he will propose legislation enabling the city to receive help from two lawyers with extensive experience tussling with the high-powered NRA.
"It will be a team effort," Mr. Shields said.
Council passed an ordinance in December that compels gun owners to contact the police within 24 hours of the loss or theft of a firearm, or face fines and, for repeat offenders, imprisonment.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said the ordinance was unenforceable and let it go into law without his signature, but the city will defend it against the NRA in court. ...
BATON ROUGE – Over the objections of university officials, including campus police, a House committee has approved allowing the carrying of concealed weapons on college campuses.
The House Criminal Justice Committee voted 9-6 to approve HB27 by its chairman, Rep. Ernest Wooton, R-Belle Chasse. He got the committee’s approval last year but widespread opposition led him to withdraw the bill before it was voted on by the House.
Armed with the backing of Gov. Bobby Jindal and the National Rifle Association, Wooton is moving forward this year.
“I am a strong believer in the Second Amendment rights,” Jindal said. “If the bill gets to my desk, I will sign it.” [emphasis added] ...
Louisiana House Health and Welfare Committee members are scheduled to consider a statewide ban on assault weapons today.
New Orleans Representative Cedric Richmond sponsors the measure. Similar bills have failed each of the past two years.
This year, Richmond says, his bill is more specific.
"I went in this year and listed 11 weapons that my police chief has talked about as being the most serious threat to public safety," Richmond told the WWL State Capitol Bureau. "I hunt and I fish. I have a rifle and I have a handgun, but I don't need an AK-47. I can't go buy a bazooka, so why should I be able to go buy and AK-47. I think we are just taking it too far."
Richmond says his bill this year contains language to outlaw specific models of semiautomatic weapons that he says are designed only to kill human beings. ...
BATON ROUGE -- College students, faculty and employees who are licensed to carry concealed handguns should be able to tote them on their campuses, where they are now banned, according to a bill filed Monday by Rep. Ernest Wooton, R-Belle Chasse.
The measure is identical to one Wooton abandoned on the House floor last year after getting the House committee he chairs to approve it 11-3. Wooton said last year he counted 46 votes of support, seven shy of what was needed and withdrew the bill in the last stages of the session.
Wooton served notice at that time he would bring the bill back at every session as long as he is in the Legislature.
And as last year, college and university officials are lining up against Wooton's House Bill 27. ...
When Ronald "R.J." Richard jumps on his tractor to do yard work, he normally clips his cell phone to the hip pocket of his overalls.
But Saturday he decided to hook it to bib of the garment, just over his heart. It was a decision made without a second thought, but it was one that might have saved Richard's life a short while later.
"Something hit me in the chest really hard, " said Richard, who initially thought he had been struck by a rock kicked up by the motor.
But when he took off his sweater and opened the nylon case for his Motorola Razr phone, a .45-caliber bullet fell out.
The stray bullet, probably fired from the woods near his 5-acre property on North Lee Road near Covington, shattered Richard's cell phone but left him with little more than a bad bruise.
Mark Marchiafava says he’s earned the right to wear his .357-caliber Magnum pistol in a hip holster in Gonzales.
And, he says at a local mall, city residents paid him to demonstrate that right.
“I wish the taxpayers of Gonzales knew just how much money it is,” the 55-year-old Marchiafava adds.
In January 2006, the longtime Baton Rouge resident was at the same mall, wearing the same pistol, when a Gonzales police officer asked him why he was carrying a gun.
Marchiafava says he told the officer that non-felons can legally carry firearms that are not concealed.
That exchange led to Marchiafava’s arrest on a count of illegal carrying of a weapon. The arrest led to an hours-long stay at the Ascension Parish Prison.
But the case later was dismissed, and Marchiafava’s bond and weapon were returned to him.
Marchiafava didn’t let the dispute fade away. He sued for violation of his constitutional right to bear arms. The city recently settled the case by paying Marchiafava an undisclosed amount of money.
On what would normally be a slow summer weekday, the three employees at Gretna Gun Works Inc. frantically tended to a crush of customers admiring the racks of shotguns and rifles lined up behind the glass counter.
Among the patrons: a jewelry store owner from eastern New Orleans with plans to stand guard through Gustav; two uniformed Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office deputies inquiring about additional firearms; and an avid hunter who was in to pick up a 12-gauge he dropped off for cleaning.
"It's hurricane season, you definitely want it back now, right?" employee John DeRosier said with a grin as he handed the Beretta shotgun back to the owner.
In yet another sign of hardened sensibilities in post-Katrina New Orleans, managers of gun shops and sporting goods stores across the area report a spike in gun and ammunition sales this week.
We just got a call from Devline Rossell, a charter captain based out of Venice, Louisiana. He was shopping in New Orleans to get some supplies before the arrival of Gustav (currently listed as a tropical storm that has left at least 22 dead in the Caribbean) and reported that the item most in demand was not food, clothing or shelter.“I just left a sporting goods store and you would think that the number-one selling item would be plywood or potable water or gasoline right now,” he said. “Apparently it is AR-15s and .223 ammo. I watched at least 20 people buy AR-15s and cases of .223.”Can’t say I’m surprised. After the nightmare that was Katrina I think it would be unwise for anyone to assume the state, local or federal government could guarantee his or her personal safety during a natural disaster. Of course, I think it is foolish to assume that under any circumstance.
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