Goes, well, like a rocket

Tonight's rocket launch:

From the video's description:

On September 30, 2011 at 11:08am, Derek Deville's Qu8k (pronounced "Quake") launched from the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to an altitude of 121,000' before returning safely to earth. Above 99% of the atmosphere, the sky turns black in the middle of the day and the curvature of the earth is clearly visible. The rocket motor produced 4,000 lbs of thrust for 8 seconds accelerating the vehicle to over Mach 3 at over 10,000'. After that, momentum carried the rocket skyward for another 84 seconds to a peak altitude of 121,000'.

Nevada U.S. senate candidates on gun control

From David Codrea:

Regular readers are familiar with the gun rights questionnaire, designed to elicit unequivocal answers from candidates about exactly where they stand on the right to keep and bear arms. It's proven a useful tool at separating those with the political courage to be leaders from those who would instead rely on meaningless platitudes, and those who think they deserve power without having to make an account of themselves to gun owners.

We've used the questionnaire in a number of races throughout the Republic so far, but have given special focus to the 2010 Nevada contest for U.S. Senate.

Why?

Because polls show incumbent Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is vulnerable to challenge. It would be a major victory to demonstrate that one of the most powerful political figures in the country can be defeated by an unequivocal gun rights supporter. ...

Read it here, with links to the candidate responses of those who have answered the questionnaire.

More women getting concealed carry permits

From the Silver State:

It's a growing trend in Northern Nevada with more and more women arming themselves and getting concealed weapons permits. Kelly Main, a local CCW instructor with Armed and Safe, says her company taught more women than men last year, and the trend is across the country.

Main's classroom echoes the changes the Washoe County Sheriff's Office is seeing as well. The number of CCW permits issued to women more than doubled between 2007 and 2008. ...

Article here.

Nevada will no longer recognize Utah of Florida permits

From NRA-ILA, a heads up for those with Utah or Florida CCWs:

Effective, July 1, Nevada will no longer recognize Right-to-Carry permits from Utah or Florida. They have, however, added Ohio and West Virginia as recognized states.

Each May, the Nevada Department of Public Safety conducts an audit of states and their Right-to-Carry laws for the purpose of determining which states it will recognize.

The Nevada DPS dropped Utah because it does not have a live fire requirement, which is a part of Nevada's training requirements. When the Nevada DPS first began its state by state audit of Right-to-Carry laws in 2007, DPS admitted to NRA representatives that they overlooked the live fire training requirement. After further review, they determined that Utah wasn't similar enough to keep it on the list of recognized states.

Florida will no longer be recognized because its permits are now valid for seven years instead of five. ...

Article here. I'm not sure why Florida's seven year versus five year permit validity would make a difference, although I suspect that the Nevada DPS was probably looking for any reason to limit the number of recognized permits.

Gun Rights News Roundup

Articles, news stories, and op-eds of interest to gun owners:

[Nevada] Supreme Court weighs permit confidentiality issue:

A lawyer for the Reno Gazette-Journal urged the Nevada Supreme Court on Tuesday to allow public scrutiny of concealed weapons permits, arguing that a district judge’s ruling saying the permitting process should be confidential was in error.

“Nothing in the statute mentions confidentiality for the permit itself,” Scott Glogovac said during arguments on the appeal of Judge Janet Berry’s ruling last year against the newspaper’s request for information about Gov. Jim Gibbons’ permit application.

Deputy District Attorney Nathan Edwards told the justices the statute prohibits public access to applications for concealed weapons and to investigations pertaining to those applications. Once a person is identified on an application, everything that follows must be sealed, he said.

“The statute does not say that information in the application becomes publicly accessible once the applicant becomes a permittee,” Edwards said.

Chief Justice James Hardesty said the court would take the case under advisement and rule later. ...

[D.C.] Gun rights groups prepare to weigh in on Sotomayor nomination:

With congressional Democrats divided on gun issues and the Obama administration steering clear of the topic, gun rights advocates have bagged new legislative trophies this year and are taking aim at additional targets.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) and Gun Owners of America have an ambitious to-do list. They are preparing to:

•Weigh in on Obama’s nomination of federal appellate court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.

•Advance a proposal by Sen. Richard M. Burr , R-N.C., to ensure that veterans are not wrongfully denied the right to bear arms.

•Stave off attempts to close the so-called gun show loophole.

•Beat back efforts to renew the federal ban on some assault weapons, which lapsed in 2004.

Conversely, Democrats eager for tighter restrictions are facing the harsh political reality that, at least for now, they can’t match the gun lobby’s firepower.

Sen. Barbara Boxer , D-Calif., who favors gun control, predicted that gun rights advocates “would win the vast majority” of the upcoming legislative fights, though Sotomayor’s confirmation does not now look endangered. ...

ABC News: Are Dems weakening on gun control?:

Democrats are looking down the barrel of a gun as they vie to keep their power in Washington.

Poised after last year's election to push back against the National Rifle Association's heavy firepower, the Democrats have in rapid order conceded ground on the gun issue. They've allowed concealed-carry weapons in national parks, considered easing gun restrictions in the District of Columbia, and turned back a campaign pledge on gun-record transparency.

The moves, which tended to be riders to other bills, have given Republicans a rare sense of success as a minority. They also have the potential to force some Democrats in rural states "into the cross hairs" for the next election cycle by daring them to clarify their views on gun control.

For Democrats, reluctance to take on the gun lobby is tied to a desire to hold onto their majority in Washington as they pursue a progressive agenda on issues ranging from the economy to healthcare. ...

[New York] No "smart" guns for NYPD:

The NYPD really jumped the gun today in announcing the potential for "smart" guns that could prevent friendly-fire shootings.

Police announced this morning that Pacific Northwestern Laboratory was in the early stages of developing weapons with radio transmitters that would alert cops to the presence of a friendly guns.

The problem is that research is not being conducted -- and the lab had planned to break the bad news to the NYPD at a meeting next week.

"Even if we had the funding to try to develop this, we wouldn't," lab spokesman Geoff Harvey.

"There are so many limitations, it's not a good use of technology dollars."

Police brass had hoped the guns -- which would use a radio waves so friendly guns would identify one another -- could help avoid a repeat of the tragic death of Officer Omar Edwards, who was shot by fellow cop Andrew Dunton.

"This is something that is being explored," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told reporters this morning.

But Harvey said the technology would not have prevented the killing -- as the best such a system could do was say if a friendly gun was somewhere within 600 feet.

And it would take up to two seconds for the radio waves to be picked up - making it useless if a decision to shoot has to be made in a split second.

"We're meeting with the NYPD next week and we'll have to tell them [] it just isn't applicable," he said. ...

[Virginia] Permit applications up:

Erin King squeezed into a packed classroom at Bob's Gun Shop with a new pistol and a mission.

She sat through two hours of instruction and fired off several dozen rounds at the range with her Guardian .32-caliber. The 26-year-old from Suffolk bought her first gun a few weeks ago and plans to get a concealed-carry permit next month.

She'll slip her pistol into a hidden holster and protect herself commuting to her part-time job cleaning offices at night. "I'm responsible for myself," King said.

As the classroom shows, she's not alone.

Driven by safety concerns or political angst, gun sales and applications for concealed-carry permits are booming. ...

[D.C.] District's post-Heller infringements continue, but for how long?:

The District’s permanent handgun regulations that took effect Friday could be obliterated by Congress or the federal courts in less time than it took to write them.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the city’s 30-year-old handgun ban as unconstitutional last June. The city has been operating under emergency and proposed gun rules since Jan. 16., but those rules became permanent Friday.

Despite strong opposition from gun rights advocates, the Metropolitan Police Department reported in Friday’s D.C. Register that no comments were received since January.

District leaders believe they have met the Supreme Court’s directive, that the Second Amendment guarantees D.C. residents the right to keep a handgun in the home for self-defense. But the city’s fledgling laws are being challenged on two fronts. ...

[New York] Proposed gun controls opposed:

Gov. David A. Paterson's proposal requiring criminal background checks every five years for lifetime pistol permit holders unfairly targets gun owners and places an undue burden on counties, some north country officials say.

"I'm too thinly staffed to keep up with the workload that will come with it," St. Lawrence County Clerk Patricia A. Ritchie said. "We're never going to be able to keep up with it with the system we have. It's going to require more staff, which will result in higher local costs. It's going to be a big burden on the county."

The governor on May 28 announced proposed legislation requiring criminal background checks for gunsmith and gun dealer employees who handle firearms, and background checks every five years for lifetime pistol permit holders as well as whenever a gun owner, gunsmith or gun dealer license is renewed.

It also requires that misdemeanor domestic violence crimes be reported to the national criminal database so that no one convicted of such a crime can have a gun license.

The legislation, according to the governor's press release, "will close gaps in New York law that may allow persons to obtain or retain firearms licenses even though they are barred by federal law from possessing those weapons."

But Jefferson County Undersheriff Timothy M. Dowe said there already are procedures to prevent permit holders from keeping their licenses if they commit crimes. ...

Gun Rights News Roundup

Articles, new stories, and op-eds of interest to gun owners:

Fox News: Sotomayor's gun control positions could prompt backlash:

Judge Sonia Sotomayor could walk into a firestorm on Capitol Hill over her stance on gun rights, with conservatives beginning to question some controversial positions she's taken over the past several years on the Second Amendment.

Earlier this year, President Obama's Supreme Court nominee joined an opinion with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Second Amendment rights do not apply to the states.

A 2004 opinion she joined also cited as precedent that "the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right."

Ken Blackwell, a senior fellow with the Family Research Council, called Obama's nomination a "declaration of war against America's gun owners."

Such a line of attack could prove more effective than efforts to define Sotomayor as pro-abortion, efforts that essentially grasp at straws. Sotomayor's record on that hot-button issue reveals instances in which she has ruled against an abortion rights group and in favor of anti-abortion protesters, making her hard to pigeonhole.

But Sotomayor's position on gun control is far more crystallized. ...

NRA stays out of nomination battle, for now:

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is staying on the sidelines in the battle over Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, to the dismay of conservative activists who hoped that the gun-rights group would pressure conservative Democratic senators to oppose her.

Republicans have repeatedly tried to draw the NRA into court fights over the years but with little success. The Bush administration, for example, tried to persuade the group to support a number of its nominees, as did Senate Republicans.
...
But a spokesman for the organization said it’s staying on the sidelines for now.

“Right now we have a lot of concerns and questions and we hope to have those addressed during the confirmation hearing and throughout the process,” said Andrew Arulanandam, an NRA spokesman. “As far as our actions, we reserve the right to do anything based on what we find out.

“All options are on the table,” he added. “As we speak today, we’re waiting for the confirmation process. A research team is looking into her record on our issue.” ...

[Ohio] More women buying and carrying guns [video available at the link]:

An unprecedented number of women are taking their protection into their own hands by getting a gun. Gun stores are seeing more women customers than anyone can remember. Many women are also getting permits to carry a concealed weapon.

Local 12 Reporter Liz Bonis shows us why many women are in a hurry to arm themselves.

When Jenny Jeffery recently made the decision to get a license to conceal and carry a weapon she says it wasn't because she feels threatened right now, but rather:

Jenny Jeffery, Gun Owner: "What I saw, where society was going as a whole, and the need to step up and be proactive in my safety and that of my family."

Apparently, Jeffery is not alone. Homer Cole has owned Shooters Supply for nearly a decade. Cole says, when it comes to sales of guns to girls...

[Nevada] Hunters may feel effects of ammo shortage:

It's the last week of May, and Nevada hunters soon will grow anxious awaiting the results of the big game tag draw. Those results should be available before long, but knowing whether you received a tag won't do you any good if you don't have ammo for your favorite hunting rifle.

"Yesterday I ordered two boxes of Remington Express shells in .243 caliber," one concerned reader recently wrote by e-mail. "Cabela's says maybe they will be available by late May. You could do hunters a real service by warning them of the ammo and component shortages. I am afraid if someone waits until the last minute they won't be able to make purchases in time."

My guess is the writer meant those who procrastinate buying ammunition could find themselves out of luck in the fall. I understand his concerns, and so should anyone who has shopped for ammo or reloading components lately. The wait in a Colorado firearms store my brother frequents is often several hours, and that's just to ask the guy behind the counter whether he has a certain caliber in stock. Many times the answer is no. Of course, he'll gladly put your name on a waiting list.

There is no waiting list, however, if you are interested in buying a military surplus rifle with a hard-to-pronounce name and Eastern European origins. For these he has plenty of ammo.

Here in town, a large department store near my home reportedly has limited the amount of ammunition a single buyer can purchase on a given day. But according to a friend who sometimes buys his ammo there, by noon there's not much left. ...

[Tennessee] Gov. Bredesen vetoes restaurant carry bill:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Gov. Phil Bredesen on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have allowed Tennessee handgun permit holders to take their weapons into establishments that serve alcohol.

He made the announcement at a late afternoon news conference where he was joined by police chiefs and district attorneys from around the state.

“Tennessee state law has long prohibited the possession of firearms in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol,” Bredesen said. “House Bill 962 would remove this protection in a manner that I, along with many law enforcement officers, believe to be reckless and lacking basic safeguards to ensure public safety. I respectfully ask the Legislature to rethink this issue.”

The measure passed the state House 66-23 and Senate 24-7 earlier this month. A simple majority is required in each chamber to override a veto. ...

Comment: The bill passed both chambers by wide margins, so I suspect a veto override, which requires only a simple majority in Tennessee, will get the bill passed into law soon.


[Tennessee] NRA says Gov. Bredesen "betrayed trust" by vetoing restaurant carry bill:

NASHVILLE — The National Rifle Association is accusing Gov. Phil Bredesen of having “betrayed” a “trust” by vetoing legislation Thursday allowing handgun-carry permit holders to bring loaded weapons into establishments selling alcohol.

The executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, Chris Cox, in a statement called the veto “a shock and a major disappointment to gun owners and supporters of the Second Amendment because Governor Bredesen had committed to supporting this legislation.”

“During the 2006 campaign, Governor Bredesen assured Tennesseans — and the NRA in writing — that he would support this effort. NRA’s endorsement of Governor Bredesen that year centered largely on this promise. Today, that trust has been betrayed,” Mr. Cox said. [emphasis added] ...

[Washington] Seattle mayor, gun rights advocates in stalemate:

At least eight innocuous signs posted around the Seattle Center over the Memorial Day weekend during the Folklife Festival declared “No firearms allowed at this event or on these premises.”

The signs had no force of law, there was no authority cited, and there are anecdotal reports from some in the gun rights community that armed citizens simply ignored those signs, kept their pistols tucked under cover garments, vests or loose shirts, and contrary to what anti-gun Mayor Greg Nickels would have had everyone believe would happen, nobody got hurt.

For months, the mayor had been blustering and threatening and promising that he would issue an “executive order” banning firearms from all city property, including those carried legally by private citizens. For just as long, the Second Amendment Foundation in Bellevue, its sister organization, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the National Rifle Association, have been waiting.

Those groups are ready to hit Nickels with a lawsuit and he knows it. ...

[Germany] German cabinet approves more gun controls:

BERLIN -- Germany's cabinet approved legislation that would tighten gun restrictions, two months after a teenager shot and killed 12 people.

The law, which requires parliamentary approval, would mean stricter checks on weapons owners and a higher age limit for users of large-caliber weapons.
...
The Interior Ministry said the legislation also foresees an amnesty under which people could hand in illegally held weapons until the end of 2009. The government's plan calls for expanding inspections to determine whether people with weapons licenses are locking up their guns at home securely, as required. ...

[Germany] Another article on the proposed gun controls:

Under legislation to be put to a vote in parliament next month, Germany's gun owners, who number between 10 and 12 million, would be subject to unannounced random checks of how and where they store their weapons. [emphasis added]

If guns are accessible to anyone other than the license holder, that person will be subject to punishment. If a judge finds that someone deliberately allowed adolescents access to firearms, that person will face a prison sentence.

The age of those allowed to use high-caliber firearms will also be raised from 14 to 18. The Social Democrats wanted to ban high-caliber rifles altogether, but the ministers agreed not to go that far.

The bill also tightens up penalties for those who neglect the terms of gun licenses, which are required before being allowed to possess a weapon in Germany. ...

[Georgia] State rep gets county gun ban dropped:

State Representative Timothy Bearden (R - 68) is a member of the National Rifle Association and GeorgiaCarry.Org. He is also the author of the 2008 Georgia bill that removed the restriction on carrying firearms in restaurants that serve alcohol, state parks, and mass transit. So he was rather shocked to discover last week that his home county, Carroll County, had banned the carry of firearms at Snake Creek Reservoir when it opened the reservoir to public fishing. It is rule 3 on this pdf file brochure.

The new gun ban did not last long.

Georgia has a state law preempting local regulation pertaining to the carry or possession of firearms. A telephone call from Rep. Bearden to Carroll County put a quick stop to the new gun ban rule.

Carroll County has assured Rep. Bearden that the sign purporting to ban firearms will come down soon. ...

Gun Rights News Roundup

Articles, news stories, and op-eds of interest to gun owners:

[Nevada] Reid, Ensign support National Parks carry amendment:

Nevada's two U.S. senators don't agree on too many things outside of the state. But Democrat Harry Reid and Republican John Ensign both voted Wednesday in favor of an amendment that would allow people to carry loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges.

The amendment sponsored by Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn passed by a vote of 67-29.

Coburn says it would protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. ...

[D.C.] The democrats' "gun problem":

New legislation currently winding its way through Congress is forcing Democratic leaders to face the serious problem the party has when it comes to guns.

At the heart of the matter is the question of packing heat in Yellowstone.

The Senate voted overwhelmingly to attach an amendment to unrelated credit card legislation allowing people to carry guns in National Parks, something more liberal House Democratic leaders are determined to yank out of the bill. ...

[Minnesota] States rights' bill introduced (read the text of the leglslation at the link):

On May 7th, State Representative Tom Emmer [R-Delano] introduced the “Firearms Freedom Act,” legislation that will protect firearm owners and manufacturers in Minnesota from federal government restrictions on the lawful exercise of Second Amendment rights.

“For far too long elected officials and unelected bureaucrats at the federal level have passively forgotten or actively neglected the Tenth Amendment that guarantees rights not enumerated in the Constitution be left to the individual states,” said Rep. Emmer. “The willful disregard of the Tenth Amendment in relation to a citizen’s right to bear arms isn’t the only constitutional infringement that we should be worried about, but it is one that has been singled out by the new administration.”

The bill would exempt any personal firearm, firearm accessory or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in Minnesota and that remains within the boundaries of the state from federal law or regulation; including registration. ...

[Arizona] New governor may back pro-gun bills:

PHOENIX — Gov. Jan Brewer signaled her support Friday for laws to expand the rights of Arizonans to carry loaded weapons in their cars, and maybe even into bars.
Brewer told members of the National Rifle Association meeting here of the long-standing relationship between Arizonans and their firearms.

"Over the years, our Arizona frontiersmen always kept a gun under the seat of their wagon," she said.

The comments came just days after the state House voted overwhelmingly to allow individuals to have their guns in their cars in parking lots on private property, even over the objections of the property owner. That measure, now awaiting Senate action, is being pushed by the NRA.

Gubernatorial press aide Paul Senseman said Brewer never firmly commits to signing legislation until she's seen the final version that lands on her desk.

"But generally speaking, she's supportive of the thrust of that legislation," he said. ...

But Brewer herself told the NRA that she has a very broad view of the rights of Arizonans to carry firearms, pointing out that the state constitution is, in some ways, more absolute than the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. ...

[Alabama] Legislature passes permit privacy bill:

The Alabama Legislature has decided the identities of people with permits to carry concealed handguns or stow them in their cars should be secret.

The Alabama Senate voted 24-0 Friday to give final approval to a bill pushed by the National Rifle Association. The House passed the bill 102-0 in February. It now goes to the governor.

The bill would seal the handgun permits maintained by county sheriffs and make them available only to law enforcement officers. The public would have access to individual records only if the gun owner had committed a felony. ...

[Germany] Paintball ban may be off the table:

The Social Democrats (SPD) say they will not support a ban on paintball - just two days after they and their senior coalition party, the Christian Democrats (CDU), agreed on the proposed ban as part of a new set of strengthened gun control measures.

"There will be no ban," said SPD politician Dieter Wiefelspuetz, an expert on domestic affairs.

In addition to a ban on war-like games such as paintball and laser tag, the coalition's reforms would include random inspections of gun owners' premises to ensure guns and ammunition are properly stored and locked. ...

[D.C.] Op-ed: Senate should say no on Koh:

The Senate has a chance this week to kill the most offensive nomination of an executive-branch official since President Clinton's ill-fated selection of radical black racialist Lani Guinier for assistant attorney general in 1993. Yale Law School Dean Harold Koh is unfit to be chief legal counsel at the State Department. Senators should vote him down.

Mr. Koh's repeatedly stated agenda is contrary to the American tradition of law originating in the "consent of the governed." In its place, Mr. Koh would apply what he calls a "transnationalist" approach whereby domestic laws and even the Constitution could be brushed aside in favor of international authorities.
...
The Second Amendment fares no better. In an essay called "A World Drowning in Guns," Mr. Koh endorsed a "global regulatory" regime to outlaw firearms though "rules negotiated among governments at a horizontal, intergovernmental level and interpreted through the interaction of transnational actors." Those laws, he wrote, could then be "internalized into the domestic statutes, executive practice and judicial systems of those participating nations."

What he means is that international gun bans could be imposed on American citizens without a vote of the American people. Likewise, the Eighth Amendment could be newly read to bar the death penalty despite the Constitution's explicit acceptance of it elsewhere in the document, merely because American judges suddenly decide to "pay decent respect to the opinions of mankind." ...

[Colorado] Governor vetoes pro-gun bill:

DENVER — Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter vetoed a bill Friday that would have allowed some gun owners to bypass additional background checks each time they buy a gun.

In a letter to lawmakers, Ritter said the bill had inadequate safeguards to prevent people who have had their handgun permits revoked.

He said there also was no way to notify law enforcement that a person has a valid handgun permit because the state is barred from keeping a list of permit holders.

"There are numerous troubling aspects to this bill," Ritter wrote.

The bill would have allowed some people with permits to carry concealed weapons to skip additional background checks each time they buy a gun. ...

[Connecticut] House backs limit on machine gun use:

Prompted by the death of an 8-year-old Connecticut boy at a Massachusetts gun club, the state House of Representatives voted unanimously Thursday night to keep machine guns out of the hands of anyone under the age of 16.

The House action came after the state Senate recently voted 31-2 in favor of the bill, with two Republicans voting against it. ...

[Arizona] Governor champions gun rights at NRA convention:

Violence continues to roil south of the border between drug cartels at war with each other and the Mexican government.

But Republican Gov. Jan Brewer says she opposes additional regulations intended to keep weapons purchased in this country from finding their way into the fight.

"New gun laws are not the answer to increasing gun violence in Mexico," Brewer told National Rifle Association members gathered Friday in downtown Phoenix for the gun-rights group's annual convention.

"The answer is to secure the border and leave the freedoms of the United States citizen alone. Don't mess with the Second Amendment," declared Brewer, an NRA member. ...

[Wisconsin] No charges for bicyclist:

RACINE — The armed bicyclist who scared off a group of teens he believed were trying to rob him earlier this month will not be charged, the Racine County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.

In a letter to the 42-year-old Racine man, who has asked not to be identified, District Attorney Mike Nieskes wrote, “After speaking with the investigating officer on this matter, I have decided it would not be in the greater interest of justice in the community to charge you with violation of Wisconsin Statute regarding gun free zones.”

According to police reports, the man was riding his bicycle in the 1100 block of Grand Avenue on May 1 when he was knocked from his bicycle by four teens. The man told police he thought the group was trying to rob him, so he pulled out the revolver he was openly carrying in a side holster. Reports said he pointed the gun at the sky and yelled, “Gun!”

The group of teens fled and the man flagged down a Racine police officer. During the assault, the man suffered a wrist injury. He was treated at the scene by Racine rescue.

Police did not arrest the man. They escorted him home and returned his gun to him.

However, the incident raised questions from law enforcement because the man was armed within a 1,000 feet of a school, which is illegal under state statute. The current law conflicts with a recent opinion by the state Attorney General’s Office which said it is legal to openly carry a firearm.

In his letter, Nieskes said the decision not to charge the man was based on the recent determination of the attorney general, along with the man’s lack of prior criminal record and no showing of irresponsible use of the firearm. “I don’t believe it would be appropriate to charge you,” Nieskes wrote. “I will presume that you understand that despite the announcement by the Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin regarding open carry, that you and all other individuals, a notable exception being on-duty police officers, are barred from possessing a firearm in certain circumstances and place.” ...

Notes from the underground

Via UPI, here's an amusing anecdote:

WASHINGTON, April 3 (UPI) -- A spokesman for Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said Transportation Security Administration employees slipped an encouraging note into an Ensign staffer's luggage.

Ensign spokesman Tory Mazzola said a staffer flying into Washington discovered a note in his suitcase that was signed by six TSA employees and thanked the senator for his efforts to lift the gun ban in the nation's capital, Politico reported Friday.

"To Senator Ensign: Please continue to defend our conservative values with all your vigor, particularly our Second Amendment! Thank you," the note read.

Mazzola said it was the first time someone had used that method to contact the senator. ...

Article here. TSA government employees supporting the Second Amendment? That's probably a firing offense in the new Hope and Chains employee manual.

Nevada town drops effort to ban guns on town property

From Pahrump, Nevada:

There was definitely a hot time in the old town Tuesday night, due in part to an item placed on the town board meeting agenda by Pahrump Town Manager Bill Kohbarger that would have barred firearms on town-owned property, in town-owned buildings and at town-sponsored events.

Fired up residents braved the frigid winds blowing down from snow-capped Mt. Charleston as they streamed into the Bob Ruud Community Center 30 minutes early to ensure a seat for the meeting.

By the time the meeting was called to order at 7 p.m., dozens of residents were standing in the back of the hall.

The board's first order of business after the pledge of allegiance was to permanently remove the firearms ban from the agenda, on advice from the town's attorney, Rick Campbell.

He said, "My research shows the town does not have the legal right to enact these types of ordinances." That ended the matter for the board but didn't stop the 200 or so people in attendance from wanting to voice their opinions. Residents waiting to address the board lined up behind the speaker's podium and around the back of the auditorium.

Board Chairman Nicole Shupp tried to cut off the speaking, but attendees protested, wanting the board, and specifically Kohbarger, to know where they stood on the issue.

A man stating he was from District 5 was first to speak. His name was lost in the noise of the crowd as they reacted to the fact they would not be able to speak on the matter. "The colors have been shown," he said. "We are not okay with this. We can see what's coming in this country. The government is getting out of control. When it comes to gun rights and the Second Amendment, we can't give any more ground. We have zero tolerance on this issue." [emphasis added]

The speaker paused as the hall broke out in thunderous applause. ...

Article here. Time and again we see politicians trying to push their gun control agenda, despite state laws preempting them from doing so.

Vote early, vote often

The Chicago Model, alive and well in Nevada:

Nevada state authorities seized records and computers Tuesday from the Las Vegas office of an organization that tries to get low-income people registered to vote, after fielding complaints of voter fraud.

Bob Walsh, spokesman for the Nevada secretary of state's office, told FOXNews.com the raid was prompted by ongoing complaints about "erroneous" registration information being submitted by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, also called ACORN.

The group was submitting the information through a voter sign-up drive known as Project Vote.

"Some of them used nonexistent names, some of them used false addresses and some of them were duplicates of previously filed applications," Walsh said, describing the complaints, which largely came from the registrar in Clark County, Nev.
...
But it's not the first time ACORN's been under investigation for registration irregularities. The raid is the latest of at least nine investigations into possible fraudulent voter registration forms submitted by ACORN -- the probes have involved ACORN workers in Wisconsin, New Mexico, Indiana and other states.

In response to the Las Vegas raid, Republican Nevada Sen. John Ensign and seven other senators penned a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency calling for the suspension of taxpayer dollars to "controversial groups like ACORN." The letter referred to contributions that potentially could come from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. [emphasis added]

In 2006, ACORN also committed what Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed called the "worse case of election fraud" in the state's history.

In the case, ACORN submitted just over 1,800 new voter registration forms, and all but six of the 1,800 names were fake.

More recently, 27,000 registrations handled by the group from January to July 2008 "went into limbo because they were incomplete, inaccurate, or fraudulent," said James Terry, chief public advocate at the Consumers Rights League.

Article here. In a close election, where a few hundred or a couple thousand votes might make a difference, voter fraud could easily be the deciding factor. Hopefully, these "community organizers" aren't in your neighborhood. The really sad part is that your tax dollars might be helping fund these groups, as noted in the article.