Arkansas AG says church carry ban ok

From Dave Kopel, writing at Volokh, on an Arkansas Attorney General opinion issued last week on the issue of licensed carry in churches (or other places of worship):

An opinion released today by the Arkansas Attorney General says “no.” Like most states, Arkansas allows adults to obtain a permit to carry a concealed handgun for lawful purposes, after passing a background check and safety class. Like a few states, Arkansas prohibits licensed carry in “Any church or other place of worship.”

In short, the AG opinion says that there is no Free Exercise violation because the statute does not (at least facially) hinder the exercise of religion. Further, the statute is one of general applicability, and does not single out religion for different treatment, because the Arkansas conceald handgun license (CHL) statute also bans CHL in some other locations. The opinon suggests that what these disparate places have in common is that they are likely to be crowded.

There is no Establishment Clause violation because the CHL in churches ban does not appear, facially, to favor one sect or denomination over another. (The AG opinion and this post both use “churches” to include synagogues, mosques, and all other houses of worship of various religions.)

The AG opinion strongly emphasizes that the issue is one of first impression, and that a full legal resolution of the issue might well require fact-finding. The purpose of an Attorney General opinion is only facial review, and not the kind of fact-finding that a court might engage in.

Given the self-declared limited scope of the AG opinion, its tentative legal conclusions are plausible. However, I think that if we broaden our view a little bit–in either a court of law, or the court of public opinion–there do appear to be some potential violations of the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses.

Two preliminary caveats: First, neither the AG opinion nor this post address whether the church ban violates the right to arms clause of the Arkansas Constitution, or the Second Amendment. I expect that an argument on right to arms grounds would probably involve the rights of almost any landowner to choose to allow licensed carry on his/her/its property; the argument would not be specific to churches as landowners.

Second, as demonstrated by litigation in Minnesota, some churches consider it an intolerable burden on their free exercise of religion if, in order to exclude licensed gun owners, they must post a “no guns” sign similar to signs that ordinary businesses in the state routinely post in order to exclude licensed carry. I presume that a way can be found to accomodate their twin desires for “no guns” and “no signs” and that this accomodation does not require banning guns from churches that want to allow carry. For example, a statute could presumptively ban guns at churches, and then allow individual churches to opt out by posting a “licensed gun owners are welcome” sign. Or a church could be allowed to authorize carry by specific persons who received a letter of authorization from the church. ...

The Arkansas Attorney General's opinion is available here.

Gun Rights News Roundup

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

[Arkansas] Attorney General joins 21 other state AGs to oppose any new federal "assault weapon" ban:

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel joined 21 other state attorneys general Thursday in writing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to oppose any proposed effort to reinstate the federal assault-weapons ban, which was passed in 1994 but expired in 2004. ...

[Wisconsin] Op-ed takes aim at Milwaukee police chief's comments:

In Milwaukee, the police chief Ed Flynn says, “My message to my troops is if you see anybody carrying a gun on the streets of Milwaukee, we’ll put them on the ground, take the gun away and then decide whether you have a right to carry it.”

Since when does a police chief decide who has what rights? Our rights are God-given and are protected by our Constitution. Government documents do not grant us rights, those documents limit the power of government to infringe upon our rights.

Self-defense is a primary human right that must never be stripped away.

The silence surrounding this comment was deafening. There was no uproar about this power-hungry militant’s efforts to impose his will upon the people living in “his” community. The local newspapers hardly gave the comment a second look. They were more concerned with the memo issued by Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen that affirmed the legality of open carry in Wisconsin. What followed that memo were dark predictions of confused police officers and a Wild West mentality sweeping the state.

But I’m looking at this from the other side.

What would have happened on the editorial pages in Wisconsin if Flynn had come out and said, “If we see any negative press we will handcuff the reporters and editors, shut down that newspaper and decide if they have the right to publish that stuff.”

Can you imagine the uproar from the media? ...

Report: Glock may introduce guns with adjustable sizes of backstraps:

... At this time, there are no photos of the new Glock models, and I was unable to reach any Glock officials to confirm this information, as I received this after their offices closed.

Glock led the polymer handgun revolution, but has been criticized by some for not remaining innovative with new designs. The Smith and Wesson M&P has gained back some of the ground it lost to Glock years ago with police departments because of features like interchangeable back straps that allow the user to better fit the gun to his or her hand. ...

Comment: This would seem like a long-overdue no-brainer, as much of Glock's competition in the LE space now have adjustable size grips. It would be especially useful for their large framed pistols, such as the Glock 20 (10mm) or 21 (.45ACP).


[Montana] New gun law challenges federal powers:

A new Montana gun law puts the state at the forefront of a national bid to restore states' rights by attacking up to a century of federal court decisions on Washington's power.

Two other states - Alaska and Texas - have had favorable votes on laws similar to Montana's, declaring that guns that stay within the state are none of the feds' business. More than a dozen others are considering such laws, and more-general declarations of state sovereignty have been introduced this year in more than 30 legislatures.

The federal courts may not respond well to these laws in the short term, but backers who acknowledge this say that regardless, they intend for the laws to change the political landscape in the long term. They hope these state laws will undercut the legitimacy of contrary federal law - as has happened with medicinal marijuana - and even push federal courts to bend with the popular wind.

"What's going on is that people all over the country have decided, 'Enough is enough,' " said Kevin Gutzman, a professor at Western Connecticut State University and the author of "Who Killed the Constitution?" "This is supposed to be a federal system, but instead Congress seems to think it can legislate anything it wants." ...

[D.C.] Op-ed: Politicizing tragedy:

... A few facts are useful to dispel some gun-control myths. The District already bans civilians from carrying guns in public places. Wednesday's shooter, James W. von Brunn, is a convicted felon who spent more than five years in prison for, among other charges, attempted armed kidnapping of federal officials. Because he was a felon, it would be illegal for him to own a gun even if ordinary law-abiding citizens could. Mr. von Brunn broke numerous laws in the course of his rampage. Current gun regulations didn't stop the attack, and neither would new ones.

The legacy of strict gun control is increased violence. Violent crime rose after the District's gun ban was imposed. ...

Mike Stollenwerk dissects Bill Moyers' anti-gun editorial:

... Moyers mounts the tragedy as if it were a literary tree stand to blast pretty much every group or politician who is not taking action to curtail gun rights. Moyer's double barreled shotgun blasts reached far and wide, attacking President Obama, the Congress, and even Virginia's Democratic nominee for Governor Creigh Deeds because deeds is "a man who supports allowing concealed weapons in restaurants that serve alcohol and opposes limiting handgun purchases to one a month."

Let me digress on Moyers' effort to wing Mr. Deeds. First of all, as of today's repeal of Tennessee's ban on carrying guns in alcohol serving restaurants, only 9 states ban the carry of concealed handguns in alcohol serving restaurants. Second, only 2 other states besides Virginia (California and Maryland) ration handgun purchases at all, let alone to only one per month. And third, Mr. Deeds would seem an odd target for Mr. Moyers to take pot shots at - after all, gun owners in Virginia are upset at Mr. Deeds for selling them out last year and backing a ban on private gun sale rights at gun shows, a restriction largely unknown in America. ...

Commentary from the UK: Guns are in, in the age of Obama:

These are baffling times on the front lines of America's great culture wars. Half a dozen states have now approved gay marriage, the very mention of which is anathema to social conservatives. In contrast, another great cause of conservatives – to make abortion illegal – seems to be making headway. In May, Gallup found that more Americans considered themselves pro-life than pro-choice, the first time this has happened since the polling organisation began asking the question in 1995. But on the third major battlefield, there is no doubt. More than ever, guns are in. ...

Border Patrol: AK-47 smuggled into U.S. from Mexico:

While President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continuously blame America for the weapons in the hands of Mexican criminals -- guns they claim are smuggled from the US into Mexico, the US Border Patrol sent a report to the National Association of Chiefs of Police that paints a different picture:
Wednesday morning, US Border Patrol agents arrested a suspected robber on Otay Mountain, California. The suspect allegedly used an assault rifle to rob a group of illegal aliens.

At around 4 AM (pt), Border Patrol agents observed a group of suspected illegal aliens about four miles east of the Otay Mesa port of entry and nearly 100 yards north of the International border. Agents encountered five Mexican nationals and discovered an AK-47 assault rifle with two full magazines lying nearby.

Border Patrol agents were able to establish that the weapon belonged to a 17-year-old Mexican national who had just robbed the other members. Agents also determined that the bandit had an accomplice who ran back into Mexico armed with a handgun. ...

Comment: Hey, didn't our mainstream media say the guns are supposed to go into Mexico, not out of it? I guess those Mexican illegals didn't get the memo.


[Pennsylvania] Running low on ammo:

Marty Korecky likes to target shoot fairly regularly, but lately he's been cutting back.

A Shillington resident, Korecky is worried that if he uses up his ammunition, he'll have a really hard time getting more.

And he has reason to be concerned.

Demand for ammo — particularly for handguns and rifles — is so strong that retailers can barely keep it in stock, and some are even resorting to rationing. Prices are skyrocketing, too.

The start of the shortage can be traced back a few years, when military demand for ammunition was very high because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the election of President Barack Obama has apparently worsened the situation, with fear spreading among firearms owners that his administration will pursue gun control measures, including a new ban on assault rifles. Post-election gun sales also are booming for that reason. ...

[Illinois] Peoria wants to be test city for concealed carry:

... Derek Howald of Chillicothe has had his Utah permit for four years. It's reciprocal (that means it's a valid permit) in 29 other states.

In Illinois, it's worthless.

"It's sad," Howald said. "I think with the rich heritage of hunting and fishing, especially when you get to central and downstate ... you have very pro-Second Amendment people here."

The divisive statewide issue of concealed carry has gained a lot of attention in the Peoria area in recent weeks after Mayor Jim Ardis said he wants to see Peoria serve as a pilot city for some sort of responsible state law.

Ardis' comments came after a rash of shootings in Peoria, including one at an East Bluff gas station in which an attendant was shot and killed.

Ardis said he might approach state lawmakers in the near future to talk about possible sponsorship of state legislation that would allow Peoria to become a test city for concealed carry. He wants to gauge the public support for the idea to see if it's worth pursuing.

"I am hopeful but acknowledge that it will be a very difficult task," Ardis said. "Endorsements from local law enforcement and strong community support should provide additional weight to the Legislature."

Peoria serving as a test city for an Illinois concealed carry gun law is a unique idea and could potentially add another twist in the ongoing Chicago versus downstate debate on gun rights. ...

Gun Rights News Roundup

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

[Michigan] Ammo supplies running short:

The fear of a Democratic Party agenda in Washington has triggered a shortage of ammunition, a gun group said.

"Many of the lawmakers in power right now have a long history of supporting legislation that violates the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans," said Ted Novin, the director of public affairs at the National Shooting Sports Foundation, The Detroit News reported Friday.

"Gun owners recognize this and are reacting accordingly," Novin said, referring to a run on ammunition that has caused shortages in 9 mm and .22 caliber rounds, the News said.

Several Michigan stores are rationing sales, the newspaper said.

U.S. manufacturers produce about 8 billion rounds of ammunition a year, the foundation said. Winchester Ammunition, on a company Web site, says, "our team is literally working around the clock to make quality ammunition available for purchase." ...

[Ohio] Concealed carry permit applications continue to rise:

In conjunction with the record pace of firearms sales, issuance of concealed handgun licenses in Ohio is also increasing.

For example, the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office is reporting that "the county is well on its way to surpassing the number issued in 2004 - the first year the county issued permits."

This increase is attributed to a number of factors.

Sheriff's Office officials chalk up the increase to several factors. They say people fear a backlash from rising unemployment rates and an increase in crime, such as burglaries, robberies and breaking and entering incidents. Others, such as Tom Parrish, feel their Second Amendment rights are on the line.

Parrish said his decision to get his concealed-carry permit came just months after President Barack Obama took office.

We've already talked about the increase in gun ownership, but this trend shows that not only are concerned citizens purchasing firearms for self defense, but they are carrying them as well. The Ohio attorney general reports that nearly 150,000 CHLs have been issued since the law's inception over five years ago, which means more than 1 out of every 100 Ohioans has a license. A side note that has always amused me is that Canada's military has 65,890 active personnel. So, Ohio CHL holders outnumber them more than two to one! ...

[Illinois] Illinois Carry says NRA lobbied against "shall issue" carry bill:

... A little background first. For the past decade and a half license-to-carry bills introduced in the IL General Assembly have become routine and hold little to no expectation of passing due to opposition from the Chicago/Cook Co. legislators. That opposition means every year the same old bills calling for statewide preemption which would force the carry law into Chicago guarantees the bill is dead on arrival. A bill or two may make the headlines but never to the floor for a vote largely due to the opposition of Mayor Daley and Cook County legislators. The likelihood of a statewide preemption bill being passed is greatly reduced by the fact that bills preempting home rule status require 71 votes for passage rather than a simple majority of 60. Double or triple that reduction by the fact that in Chicago it is illegal to even own a handgun let alone carry one for self-defense purposes. We find it somewhat ludicrous to even consider a statewide preemptive bill passing in the state of Illinois given those circumstances.

Other states like Ohio and Nebraska faced years of major opposition like this. They finally won their battle by passing a carry law which we in Illinois would call "subject to home rule". An imperfect bill that allowed major cities to opt out but did provide a means for license-to-carry to get a foothold in the state. Pro-Second Amendment groups in Ohio were then able to prove carrying firearms for self-defense works and they came back in just a few short years and successfully expanded the law to include everyone. Nebraska, just two short years after passing their license-to-carry bill now has statewide preemption according to their state's Attorney General and are now working to amend their law.
...
HB2257 started off with good promise, the sponsor reported he felt sure he could garner the 60 votes needed to pass it out of the House. So it came as a huge shock and disappointment to learn from legislators that the NRA was actually lobbying against it.

When contacted by lllinoisCarry the NRA-ILA lobbyist confirmed the NRA-ILA was indeed lobbying against the bill and vowed to kill it. The reason given for the opposition was that the bill did not include statewide preemption, that it would create a patchwork of ordinances all across the state which could be detrimental to license holders, and it would ultimately be vetoed by Gov. Quinn and still need 71 votes for a veto override. Therefore we should continue to wait and work toward a change in the political makeup of the IL legislature. ...

Comment: To quote Voltaire, "The perfect is the enemy of the good."


[Arizona] House passes guns in parking lots bill:

PHOENIX -- The state House voted Thursday to elevate the right of people to carry guns in their vehicles over the right of property owners to keep those weapons out of their parking lot.

On a voice vote, lawmakers gave preliminary approval to legislation which says individuals can have loaded weapons in their vehicles even if an employer, a private business, a day care center or an apartment complex don't want them there. The only exceptions would be for the owners or renters of single-family detached homes or for businesses willing to fence their properties, search every vehicle coming in and providing a place for gun owners to check their weapons.

Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, who is carrying HB 2474 for the National Rifle Association, acknowledged the measure could be construed as infringing on the rights of property owners.

But Kavanagh said that is trumped by the Second Amendment right of people to bear arms to protect themselves.

"The Bill of Rights, and in fact, many other laws, do not stop at the private property line," he said. Kavanagh said this wouldn't be the first time that private property rights have to fall to more important rights.

"The owner of a private business can't say, 'I don't like blacks,' therefore the Civil Rights Act doesn't apply in my business," he said. "No blacks can come in." ...

[Arkansas] Group say park gun ban is illegal:

Arkansas Carry has contacted Sebastian County Judge David Hudson, asking him and the Sebastian County Quorum Court to repeal a county rule that bans firearms at Ben Geren Park, according to information provided by Arkansas Carry Vice Chairman Steve Jones.

The Sebastian Code rule reads: “It shall be unlawful for any person to introduce or otherwise bring into the Ben Geren Regional Park any firearm or to have within his or her possession a firearm while within the Ben Geren Regional Park unless the person has been given express permission to do so by the administration of the Ben Geren Regional Park.”

Officials with Arkansas Carry, which labels itself a “staunch ally of gun owners and the Second Amendment,” believe Arkansas law prevents local governments from enacting gun control legislation. ...

[Tennessee] House passes restaurant carry bill:

The House voted Thursday to allow Tennessee handgun carry permit holders to bring their weapons into any establishment that serves alcohol.

The chamber voted 66-23 to approve the bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Curry Todd of Collierville, a retired police officer.

The measure abandons earlier efforts to impose an 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew for carrying handguns where alcohol is served and to keep a total ban on establishments that enforce age-restricted entry.
...
The Senate would have to agree with the House version before it can head for Gov. Phil Bredesen's consideration, but it appears likely to pass since the agreement largely reflects the measure originally approved on a 26-7 vote last month.

The Democratic governor has not said whether he would sign it into law.

The bill would take effect June 1. The measure would leave unchanged an existing ban on consuming alcohol while carrying a handgun, and restaurant owners would still be able to ban weapons from being carried in their establishments.

Comment: Hopefully, the Senate will concur and Gov. Bredesen will sign the bill. We see more and more states (see next story below) removing these silly "gun free zone" restrictions (which only apply to the law-abiding) as the anti-gunners' "blood will run in streets / bars / churches / etc." argument is proven false time and again, and evidence continues to show that permit holders are the most law-abiding group of citizens in the nation.


[Arizona] Guns in parking lots, restaurant carry bill passes House:

The National Rifle Association will bring more than 50,000 visitors to downtown Phoenix for its national convention later this week, but the group's presence has already been felt at the state Capitol.

If the NRA gets its wish, registered gun owners in Arizona will be able to keep weapons locked in their cars outside of a business, regardless of the business' policy on weapons in the workplace; they'll also be allowed to bring guns into certain restaurants that serve alcohol.

The guns-in-cars legislation, House Bill 2474, moved out of the House on Thursday and its sponsor, Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, expects it to pass through the Senate. ...

[Germany] No more paintball for germans?:

The German government is planning to ban paintball and laser shooting games in reaction to the recent school massacre in which 15 people died.

Under legislation agreed by the ruling coalition of the chancellor, Angela ­Merkel, using air rifles to shoot paint-filled pellets at opponents is likely to be made illegal, and would be punishable with fines of up to €5,000 (£4,480).

The decision, which is expected to be fast-tracked through the Bundestag before the summer recess, comes two months after 17-year-old Tim Kretschmar shot dead 15 people at his former school in Winnenden, south-west Germany, with a weapon he had taken from his father's bedroom. Kretschmar's love of paintball as well as violent video and computer games was widely publicised. ...

[Massachusetts] Gun, ammo sales booming:

The firearms industry appears to be riding out the recession in fine form, with sales across the country flourishing. And the enthusiasm for purchasing such weaponry has spread to communities south of Boston, according to area gun dealers.

Firearms of all types are in demand as well as the ammunition to feed them. Customers run the gamut from the seasoned hunter and skilled marksman to the novice. Training classes for new gun owners are not only full but booked months into the future.

Eric Goldman, president of the Braintree Pistol & Rifle Club's executive board, said training class enrollment has gone up dramatically over the last several months.

"Classes are required of all new owners," Goldman said. "It teaches safe gun handling. We offer new members' classes once a month, and used to have from 30 to 35 people take them. Right now, our classes are 70 to 75." ...

[Pennsylvania] Gun, ammo sales booming:

Fueled by rumors that the Obama administration will ban assault weapons and heavily tax ammunition, gun enthusiasts are stocking up.

Handguns, semiautomatic weapons, and all types of ammunition are flying off store shelves, despite the recession.

The FBI reports a 27 percent increase in background checks for guns purchased by federally licensed dealers for the first three months of this year compared with the same period in 2008.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry trade association, notes on its Web site that manufacturers are working at "full capacity (24/7)" to keep up with the "unprecedented" demand for ammunition.

James Mastroddi, director of the Philadelphia Archery and Gun Club in South Philadelphia, said the furor was probably being caused by the "Obama factor." ...

Op-ed: arm sailors against pirates:

Somali pirates attacked a U.S. vessel and captured a Dutch ship on Thursday. These raids could be prevented if merchant mariners had guns and could defend their ships.

Richard Phillips, the heroic captain of the crew that fought off pirates on the Maersk Alabama a month ago, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee April 30 that armed crews "should be part of the overall debate about how to defend ourselves against criminals on the seas."

Capt. Phillips noted that protecting U.S.-flagged ships is the "responsibility of the U.S. government," but that he understands the limits of what even the U.S. Navy can do to protect all the commercial traffic spread across vast oceans. Just as police arrive on the scene after crimes on land have occurred, the Navy cannot be everywhere all the time. More than 25,000 ships travel off the Horn of Africa every year. That's a target-rich environment.
...
There are several legal obstacles to arming ship crews. Some naysayers worry that if crews were armed, things could somehow go wrong and that violence with pirates would escalate. But as the widespread ownership of guns on land has proven, alarm over gun possession is based on conjecture with no evidence to back it up. States that have passed laws permitting concealed handguns have experienced less violence, not more.

Liability concerns of some shipping companies are similarly unfounded, as commercial aviation has shown. U.S. pilots were allowed to carry guns until as recently as 1987. No training was required, and yet there were no accidental gunshots or incidents of pilots harming others. After the program to allow armed pilots was renewed in 2003, there has been only one accidental shot and no one was harmed. ...

[New York] Assembly passes more gun controls, bills move to Democrat-controlled Senate:

MAYVILLE - The state Senate's new Democratic majority could soon pave the way for tighter restrictions on gun ownership.

Under measures adopted last month by the state Assembly, gun owners would have to renew their permits every five years and undergo background checks if they buy guns from pawnshops. They also would have to give up their 50-caliber weapons, including the 12-gauge shotgun. [emphasis added]

If passed by the state Senate and signed by Gov. David Paterson, the laws would also require all semiautomatic pistols to be capable of stamping spent ammo casings so they can be identified and matched with the firearm, and new restrictions will be imposed on merchants to make it harder for criminals to purchase weapons.

Frequent attempts by the Democratic-controlled Assembly at passing such measures failed in the Republican-controlled state Senate in recent years. Now that the Senate is controlled by Democrats, though, those laws might be easier for Democrats to pass. ...

Comment: I urge my New York readers to get involved and contact your elected servants regarding these proposed gun controls.

Gun Rights News Roundup

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

Don Kates opines on gun control (article has some crime stats for the stats geeks):

The March 21 murder of four Oakland police officers by Lovelle Mixon, a convicted felon wanted for a recent parole violation, epitomizes the futility of “gun control,” or the banning and restricting of gun ownership for law-abiding adults. Using the officers’ tragic deaths to further an unrelated agenda — stripping away the Second Amendment rights of honorable citizens — is both harmful and distracting.

Mixon was not an anomaly. Felons commit over 90 percent of murders, with the remainder carried out primarily by juveniles and the mentally unbalanced. The United States already has laws forbidding all three groups from owning guns, which, by definition, are ineffective against the lawless. “Gun control,” therefore, only “controls” those who have done nothing to merit such regulations.

Arguments for gun control rest on deceptive claims such as National Coalition to Ban Handguns’ allegation that “most murders are committed by previously law-abiding citizens.” Americans are deluged by literally dozens of supposedly scholarly articles asserting such falsehoods — but with no supporting references. For there are none.

Notably, only 15 percent of all Americans have criminal records, yet more than 90 percent of murder suspects have a history of crime. Their criminal careers average six or more years’ length, including four major adult felonies, in addition to their often extensive juvenile records.
...
Naïve, well-meaning people often respond to such facts with, “Still, wouldn’t this be a better world without guns?” After many years of studying guns as a highly effective method of self-defense, I reply, no, the world would be immeasurably worse off without the only weaponry that gives the weak a real chance against predators. After all, there was a time, hundreds of years ago, when there were no guns. Without guns for self-defense, survival was measured by the strength of men’s arms, as women, children and the elderly huddled in terror, escaping only by abject submission to their predators. ...

Op-ed in the New American on the recent mass shootings:

The press has sensationalized recent sprees of mass shootings across the nation. From Jiverly Wong’s murder of 13 (plus killing himself) in a Binghamton, New York, language center to the shooting of three police officers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the murder of eight by another gunman in a Carthage, North Carolina, nursing home just weeks earlier, the incidents are all over the press.
...
If we ban guns nationwide (despite the prohibition of that in the Second Amendment), the gun-grabbers respond, then gun deaths would drop. This fails to explain the explosion of gun violence in gun-controlled Mexico. But the gun-grabbers have a ready reply: The Mexicans are getting their weapons from another country, the United States!

That statement is tantamount to admission that national gun control laws can’t suppress gun violence. And national gun control doesn't work.

Meanwhile, nobody’s saying that police can save people from mad shooters. At the Binghamton shooting spree, police took more than 40 minutes to respond after the first 911 call was placed. "Nobody could have been saved if the police walked in the door that first minute," Broome County District Attorney Gerald Mollen told reporters at a press conference, excusing the extended police delay in response. [emphasis added]

If police can’t defend people from gun shooters, and national gun control laws don’t work, then the only real problem was that guns were in far too few hands in recent weeks. Law abiding people need easier access to firearms in order to fight off the lunatics.

That’s the only real logical lesson to be learned from these crises. And it sure beats the logic of the gun grabbers.

From the Left: Gunmen in mass shootings had permits:

They had more in common than unleashing carnage — nearly every gunman in this monthlong series of mass killings was legally entitled to fire his weapons.

So what does that say about the state of gun control laws in this country? One thing appears certain: the regulations aren't getting stricter. Many recent efforts to change weapons laws have been about easing them.

Despite eight rampages that have claimed 57 lives since March 10, "it hasn't sparked any national goal to deal with this epidemic. In fact, it's going the other way," said Scott Vogel of the Freedom States Alliance, a gun control activist group.
...
"I think you're seeing a continuing change of culture," Vogel said. "I think the gun lobby wants to take away any stigma to gun ownership. I think they feel emboldened, like who's going to stop them?" [emphasis added]
...
"In retrospect, this is probably not a guy who should have had a gun," said attorney Jeffrey Chamberlain, a former Rochester prosecutor and chief counsel to the New York State Police. "No one likes to see things fall through the cracks and it looks like this guy fell through the cracks."

Binghamton police chief Joseph Zikuski said Tuesday that no robbery occurred and there was no merit to review Wong's gun permit.

In New York City, gun permits are reissued every three years.

Yet, regulations differ only slightly between states, Chamberlain said. "They're fairly typical — don't be a felon, don't be a drunk, don't beat your kids or your wife. Don't be so mentally unbalanced that you need be in an institution."
...
To Chamberlain, the answer to gun violence lies not in stricter regulations, but in answering the question, "Why are we so tolerant of having guns in this country? The answer to that is historical. We've had guns for a very long time. [emphasis added] ...

Comment: This is the sort of clueless anti-gun ignorance we're up against, folks. The "stigma" of gun ownership. Can you imagine Mr. Chamberlain asking why we're so "tolerant" of, say, free speech, or freedom of religion? Perhaps it's because we just like "clinging" to the "stigma" of freedom.


Buckeye Firearms Association on the gun banners selective memory:

In a recent editorial entitled "Gun Lobby Working Overtime to Normalize Abnormal Behavior," the Joyce Foundation's anti-gun blog "GunGuys" asked if readers would be willing to "sip hot chocolate with your toddler at Starbucks while a fellow patron openly displays a gun at the table next to you?"

But before they chide gun rights activists for advocating the practice of open carry, they might want to consider some of the comments made by their fellow gun ban extremists in Ohio during the battle to establish a concealed carry law in the Buckeye state.

Before Ohio's concealed handgun licensure law was established in 2004, citizens had suffered under a ban on the carrying of concealed firearms for more than a century.

Despite the enumeration of a right to bear arms for self-defense in the state constitution, Ohioans were told that the archaic ban was not unconstitutional, because the practice of open carry was still legal.

The trouble for the GunGuys is that, back then, it wasn't the gun rights advocates who were arguing that openly carried firearms were the answer to the increasingly loud demands for the restoration of a right to bear arms for self-defense. ...

[Arkansas] Resolution opposing new AWB fails:

LITTLE ROCK — A resolution asking President Obama not to renew the 1994 federal ban on assault weapons narrowly failed in a House committee Tuesday.

In a 10-7 vote, with 11 votes needed to advance, the House Judiciary Committee rejected House Resolution 1032 by Rep. John Woods, R-Springdale.

Woods and Rep. Eddie Cooper, D-Melbourne, who spoke for the measure, said later they would probably bring the back to the panel Wednesday for reconsideration.

Woods told the committee U.S. Reps. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, and Marion Berry, D-Gillett, along with 65 other congressmen recently sent a letter to the president asking that the assault weapons ban not be reinstated because there was no statistical evidence to show that crime had been reduced.

“I just see this as something we’re coming together on,” Woods said. “It’s a bipartisan effort. I think is a strong way to say, ‘this is how we feel, these are Arkansas values and this is how we feel about the Second Amendment.’”

Cooper said he opposed any legislation that would place restrictions on the right to own weapons. ...

[Maryland] Governor takes exception to D.C. gun exception:

As D.C. officials fret over the public safety implications of a congressional push to limit gun control in the city, the administration of Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) has voiced its own objections, arguing that the legislation would put a costly burden on the state's system for regulating firearms.

In Virginia, however, a spokesman for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) expressed no immediate alarm over the measure, saying Kaine and the Virginia State Police want to study the proposal before offering an opinion.

At issue for the District's neighbors is a key provision in a much-debated amendment to the D.C. voting-rights bill on Capitol Hill. Besides stripping the District of much of its power to regulate guns, the amendment would create an exception in federal law for D.C. residents, allowing them to buy handguns in Maryland and Virginia. ...

Gun Rights News Roundup

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

[Texas] Kerry pushes for more gun control:

... At Monday's hearing, committee Chairman Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said he had been shocked to see killings and beheadings "just a stone's throw across the Rio Grande from where we're sitting this morning."

Across the border, thousands of Mexican soldiers patrol Ciudad Juarez, which saw about 2,000 murders in 14 months.

Kerry called for a ban on the imports of assault rifles, such as the AK-47, into the United States. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., opposed the idea.

Assault rifles bought in the United States are favorites among cartel gunmen, who find them effective for the urban warfare, William McMahon, deputy assistant director of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told the committee. ATF agents have traced many guns confiscated in Mexico to purchases in the United States, McMahon said. ...

Gun owners scramble for ammo with nationwide shortage:

Reports from across the country confirm that gun owners seeking to stock up on ammunition are facing the same list of problems: shortages, back orders, elevated prices and a long line of people staring at empty shelves where boxes of bullets used to be.

"Just about everywhere I've been, it's sold out," Darren Lauzon told KMGH-TV in Denver after he failed to find ammunition for his new .45 pistol. "Wal-Mart, Sportsman's, wherever."
...
"We're probably selling ammunition right now at a 200 percent increase over normal sales," said Richard Taylor, manager at the Firing Line in Aurora, Colo.

"We've probably got over 4,000 cases of ammunition on back order currently. But we just don't know when we're going to receive that," Taylor told KMGH. "Y2K was just like a little blip on the radar screen compared to this. I mean, it's just phenomenal."

A Wal-Mart salesman told Ross Kaminsky of Human Events, "We used to get shipments almost every day. Now we only know we'll have it when we see it. I get at least a half-dozen calls a day asking for ammunition, especially for handguns, and when it arrives, the customers buy everything." ...

Pro-gun blogger points out the law of intended consequences:

... But, what are two unintended consequences of contemplated gun control to current and would be new gun owners? First: Investing in guns, magazines, and ammunition is only second to owning gold. Gun prices are not coming down or fluctuating up and down. Putting your money in guns and ammo isn't like "investing" in a shrinking stock market or 401(k). However, you have to currently own or have the cash to buy to benefit.
...
These big gun sales are frightening anti gun groups. One high official in the Brady organization recently said that he wondered what sacrifices to the family were made because of family gun purchases made during the "insane" increases in gun sales. The Bradys all need get a grip on reality, get real jobs, and stop their bottom feeding frenzy. The purchases are part of both financial and personal protection for the family. They are better than money in the bank. Could it be that the Bradys are part of the actual creation of this Brady described "insanity?" Originally, the Bradys "worried" about guns. Now they want to be family financial and mental health counselors. They believe gun owners are insane. The Bradys actually say it for the first time now. ...

Columnist asks: Are you hoarding ammo?:

As I was walking through the ammunition aisle at my local Bass Pro Shops, I muttered to the man standing next to me how disappointingly empty the shelves were. “Not as bad as last week,” he said. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Back in February, Cabelas, a publicly-traded outdoor outfitter saw its stock go up 35% in one day when earnings blew away estimates because of very strong “sales of firearms and related accessories.”
...
It’s not just a couple of stores seeing a run on guns and even more so on ammunition. From local gun shops to WalMart to sporting goods stores, the story is the same: When the store gets a shipment of ammo, particularly .45, 9mm, and .38 handgun ammunition, “people come in and they buy it all.”

The manager of a local gun shop where I’ve been a customer told me that business has doubled since the election. Whereas the typical first time buyer pre-election had generally been a 30- or 40-something male, first time gun buyers now include more younger people, older people, and women than in the past. “They’re buying semi-automatic pistols and shotguns for home defense, as well as ‘concealed weapons’. There’s also a strong interest in ‘black guns’,” military-style rifles, both from people who want to buy them “because they can” as well as others who believe they’ll be able to sell them at higher prices someday soon.

Where politics was rarely mentioned during a gun purchase a year ago, the store manager says at least 60% of his customers mention the Obama administration now.

At Rich Wyatt’s Gunsmoke, “We are getting ‘Prius-driving Obama people’ buying guns because they realize they picked the wrong pony…even though they never admit it.” Just like my local gun shop, Wyatt has “old ladies and young people and liberals” buying guns. He says that while there were spikes in gun buying during the Clinton administration, during the Rodney King riots, and even just before Y2K, he’s never seen anything remotely on this scale.
...
As if the message weren’t clear enough, a sign at a local WalMart said “Due to the increased demand from customers for ammunition, our suppliers are increasing production…” A salesman said that their ammunition supply is now infrequent and unpredictable: “We used to get shipments almost every day. Now we only know we’ll have it when we see it. I get at least a half-dozen calls a day asking for ammunition, especially for handguns, and when it arrives, the customers buy everything.”

Over at Gunsmoke, Rich Wyatt says “Now, it’s not what the ammo costs; it’s ‘do you have it?’”
...
Rich Wyatt’s position is typically none too subtle: “Barack Obama is right about one thing. We are clinging to God and our guns, and I defy him to try to take either one from us.”

As for me, after a day of thinking about the Obama administration and guns, I bought my local WalMart’s last box of .38 caliber ammunition.

Over at Big Hollywood, John Lott says crime shows ignore real sources of crime:

The US Department of Justice released a very important report in January, but it got little attention. The report found that 80 percent of crime in the US was gang related and that the vast majority of that was drug related.

Those of us who have worked with crime data have long understood this problem. For example, 50 percent of counties in the US have zero murders in any given year and another 25 percent have just one murder. Over 70 percent of murders take place in just a little over 3 percent of the counties, but even that exaggerates the picture because anyone who has seen a picture of murders in a major city know how heavily concentrated they are in specific areas within the city. ...

[Arkansas] Open carry bill defeated:

A House committee has rejected a measure that would have allowed people 21 and older to openly carry handguns in holsters.

The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday rejected the proposal by Rep. Mark Martin of Prairie Grove. Martin argued that dozens of states permit the open carry of weapons, and that lawmakers should trust gun owners to use and display the firearms responsibly. ...

[Tennessee] Bill would allow armed professors:

KNOXVILLE — Handguns could find their way onto Tennessee college campuses — legally — under one of the latest gun bills coming before the General Assembly.

State Rep. Stacey Campfield’s proposal, scheduled for a hearing Wednesday before a House Judiciary subcommittee, would allow any full-time faculty and staff member with a valid permit to bring a handgun onto their public college campus.

“By banning guns on campus you are not banning the criminals,” the Knoxville Republican said Monday. “All you are banning is the people from being able to defend themselves.”

But University of Tennessee officials worry about the effect. ...

[Utah] Newspaper says poll shows residents oppose gun rights bills:

Utah legislators appear to have missed the will of the people on two gun bills that passed this session, giving overwhelming support to both measures while a recent poll of voters shows clear opposition to the changes.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. sided with the Legislature Monday, signing both new statutes into law.

The two bills, HB357 and SB78, make changes to current gun laws to allow loaded firearms to be carried in vehicles without the necessity of a concealed weapons permit, and require businesses to allow loaded firearms in vehicles parked on their property, or, in lieu of that, provide for secure storage of firearms.

Both bills garnered more than 80-percent approval among Utah legislators. When Utah voters were asked to weigh in on the bills, a much different picture emerged.

A Deseret News-KSL TV poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates on March 17-18 asked 400 voters for their positions on the statute changes.

On the issue of allowing loaded firearms to be carried in vehicles without a concealed weapons permit (HB357), 60 percent of respondents were somewhat or strongly opposed, while 35 percent were somewhat or strongly in favor.

On guns in cars in parking lots (SB78), 54 percent of voters questioned were somewhat or strongly opposed and 40 percent somewhat or strongly in favor. The margin of error was 5 percent. ...

From GOA, on the effort to repeal the anti-gun National Park Service carry ban:

In March, both the U.S. House and Senate finished up work on a massive, anti-gun $10 billion omnibus federal land bill.

The bill had been held up for over a year in large part due to GOA members fighting for Second Amendment rights on federal land -- YOUR land.

The Second Amendment has been null and void for many years on all land controlled by the National Park Service (NPS). While regulations promulgated in the waning days of the Bush administration partially reversed that gun ban, a federal judge recently blocked those rules from taking effect.

GOA worked closely with pro-gun members of the House and Senate to add a complete repeal of the NPS gun prohibition to the larger land bill. While these efforts delayed passage of the bill, in the end the anti-gun congressional leadership teamed up with "pro-gun" compromisers and passed the measure without protecting the Second Amendment.

In an effort to appease gun owners, language was added to the bill to protect hunting and fishing. But, as GOA pointed out to the Congress, the Founding Fathers did not pledge their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to protect a recreational pastime. [emphasis added]

The final attempt to protect the Second Amendment from NPS bureaucrats came on a procedural vote in the House that would have made in order an amendment, sponsored by pro-gun Reps. Doc Hastings (R-WA) and Rob Bishop (R-UT), to repeal the gun ban. That motion failed by a vote of 242-180.

So now not only does the gun ban remain in place, the new bill greatly expands the total amount of NPS land. Since NPS-controlled parks and trails also include many busy roadways, hundreds of thousands of gun owners can unwittingly find themselves in violation of the gun ban without even knowing they are on federal land.

Representatives Hastings and Bishop, along with Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), have vowed to continue their efforts to wipe this unconstitutional gun ban from the books. In the Senate, Tom Coburn (R-OK) is also pushing for the repeal of the anti-gun NPS regulations. ...

Gun Rights News Roundup

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

NRA's Wayne LaPierre takes on the liars, er, politicians on the guns into Mexico issue:

Here's a summary for the time- or attention-challenged: Never surrender freedom for laws that can't affect criminals; they disobey laws for a living.

Nobody is surprised that Attorney General Eric Holder wants to make good on his promise to ban guns. We just didn't know whose tragedy he'd seize to advance his agenda.

Now we do. It's the drug-driven death and violence in Mexico at the hands of ruthless criminal cartels.

Barely a month on the job, Holder cited the Mexican cartel killings as the excuse to resurrect the Clinton gun ban.

Though a new face to some, Holder is a rabid Second Amendment foe from the Clinton administration who helped orchestrate the 1994 Clinton gun ban.

America has made this mistake already. So let's learn the lies that led to their gun ban.
...
Nobody can substantiate claims that U.S. guns cross the border "by the thousands" or "account for 95% of weapons used by Mexican drug gangs." Because it's not true.

Replying to Feinstein in subcommittee hearings last week, William Hoover, assistant director of field operations at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said, "The investigations we have, that we see, for firearms flowing across the border don't show us individuals taking thousands of guns a day or at a time flowing into Mexico."

Yet reporter after politician after news anchor parrot the lie as readily as high schoolers gossip, and with equal disregard for truth.

That's how gun abolitionists claim Mexican gun laws are so strict that our "weak laws" (read: freedoms) are to blame for "fueling the violence" in Mexico.

Well, to believe that:

• You have to believe these butchers and beheaders break every Mexican law they want except Mexican gun laws, which they honor -- while they break America gun laws.

• You have to believe that Mexico's drug cartels, which possess the wealth and armies of nations, prefer American semiauto target and hunting rifles over fully automatic machine guns and any other military arms they want to crush opposition.

• You have to believe Mexican drug lords -- who make Forbes magazine's list of billionaires -- don't get large lots of weaponry on the transnational black market but instead choose to trifle with paperwork at U.S. gun stores.

• You have to believe that narco-terrorists who buy fragmentation grenades, grenade launchers, explosives, body armor, biometric security equipment, infrared surveillance technology and intelligence-grade reconnaissance gear will salute and obey a new American gun law -- if only we'd pass one.

Michael Gaddy, writing at LewRockwell.com, gives us his take on the Mexican violence:

The state, Mexican authorities and their US propaganda arm, known in most circles as the Mainstream Media, have recently embarked on a huge disinformation campaign to demonize the American gun owner as the supplier of weapons to the Mexican drug cartels. Everyone in the media, with the possible exception of Lou Dobbs, has joined in the campaign of lies.

Shown here, on a CBS special, is video proof of the lies and disinformation by CBS, US and Mexican authorities. Anderson Cooper and Janet Napolitano are either ignorant or complicit in the myth that M-203s, RPGs and hand grenades are readily available to the American gun consumer. Most intelligent folks, and those without a state sponsored agenda, realize these weapons are usually only available to the military.

This week, Secretary of Homeland Defense, Janet Napolitano, announced a new plan to curb the alleged flow of weapons from the US into Mexico. This program, which will cost the overwhelmed US Taxpayer another 700 million dollars plus, includes machines that employ what is referred to as "virtual strip search." This plan will supposedly slow down the number of guns traveling south from the US to the drug cartels in Mexico. If this program has the same success rate as the government’s efforts at stopping the flow of contraband north into the US, the Mexican drug cartels will have nuclear weapons by the end of April! ...

Newsweek repeats the familiar 90% lie, laments lack of new AWB push (for now, anyway):

After fierce resistance from the gun lobby and its allies in Congress, Attorney General Eric Holder has dialed back talk about reimposing a federal assault weapons ban to help curb the spiraling violence in Mexico.

As much as 90 percent of the assault weapons and other guns used by Mexican drug cartels are coming from the United States, fueling drug-related violence that is believed to have killed more than 7,000 people since January 2008, according to estimates by Mexican and U.S. law enforcement officials. But the political obstacles to addressing the U.S.-to-Mexico weapons flow are dramatically underscored by Holder's experience in just the last few weeks.
...
When Holder was asked about the assault weapons issue again at another press conference on March 25, he steered away from even mentioning a new weapons ban. "Well, I mean, I think what we're going to do is try to, obviously, enforce the laws that we have on the books," Holder said, adding that he planned to discuss the flow of illegal arms with "our Mexican counterparts" during an upcoming trip to Mexico.

Holder's about-face was no accident. White House officials instructed the attorney general to tone down any further talk about assault weapons in order not to complicate the president's legislative agenda on Capitol Hill, according to administration and congressional sources who, like others quoted in this story, asked not to be named talking about internal deliberations. (An assault weapons ban was also conspicuously off the table when the Obama administraton unveiled new proposals to combat Mexican cartel violence.) "We've been told to lay low," a Democratic congressional aide said he was told when he raised the issue of a new assault weapons ban with a Justice Department official. [emphasis in original] ...

[Illinois] House votes down effort to close private sale "loophole":

SPRINGFIELD — For the second time in a year, an attempt to toughen state gun laws fell short of passage in the Illinois House.

The proposal, which failed on a 55-60 vote Wednesday, aims to close the so-called private-sale loophole.

Under state law, people buying firearms from private sellers at gun shows must undergo a background check.

But, other private handgun sales are not subject to background checks. Supporters say current law allows guns to get into the hands of criminals who would otherwise not be able to buy firearms.

[Arkansas] ARCCA says Gov. Beebe against privacy for permit holders:

HB1623 The Concealed Carry Privacy bill had a partial hearing today. If you followed us on Twitter you know that the hearing abruptly ended because the full Senate was about to convene. The bill will be reconsidered Tuesday the 31st.

We feel good about the bill in the committee but David Bailey, Managing Editor of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and member of the Arkansas Press Association (APA) wasted no time in hyping the supposed "dangers" of the bill. I guess he doesn't consider violating the privacy of an undercover police officer "dangerous."He mostly brought up issues centered around people who applied for CHL's in our state and been denied a permit. Which actually makes our case for us that, the system works.

They claim that they should have access to the information as a matter of a check against the government. But then we distributed the original blog post that Max wrote which contained the permit list and it pretty much dashed the idea that it was done in an ethical, journalistic manner. When committee members saw the blog posting, their reaction seemed to be one of amazement.

The latest development is that Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe finally picked a side, I am sad to say that it was not the side of law abiding gun owners.

This from Today's THV, "Gov. Mike Beebe says he prefers to keep the list of Arkansans licensed to carry concealed handguns public, but he stopped short of saying he'd veto a bill to make that information secret.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Beebe said that he prefers to keep the list open under the state's Freedom of Information Act. Beebe would not say he would reject a bill by Rep. Randy Stewart, a Democrat from Kirby, to seal that information from public scrutiny.

The Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee heard some testimony Thursday on Stewart's proposal, but did not take any action. The committee plans to continue a hearing on the bill next week. The bill has already passed the House."

If you remember this bill overwhelmingly passed the House by a vote of 98 to 1. The bill clearly has a mandate from the citizens of this state. ...

[South Dakota] Governor signs bill eliminating handgun purchase waiting period:

Gov. Mike Rounds has signed a bill that eliminates South Dakota's post-purchase 48-hour waiting period to buy a handgun.

The House passed the bill 67-1 on Tuesday. The Senate had passed it unanimously in January.
...
Currently, only those with a valid permit to carry a concealed weapon in South Dakota are exempt from the waiting period. The new law will mean that anyone who wants to buy a handgun and passes the federal check can walk out of a licensed dealer's shop with the weapon. ...

David Codrea interviews pro-gun Pastor Kenn Blanchard:

"Law enforcement trainer, author, and grassroots activist of color" (and not to forget, a pastor), Kenn Blanchard has been a voice of reason in the Second Amendment movement since the early Nineties.

His book, "Black Man with a Gun," was written "to provide people in the African American Diaspora a resource to learn about gun safety and personal responsibility from one of their own."

A founder of the Tenth Cavalry Gun Club, "derived from the famous 9th and 10th Army Horse Cavalry's, better known for their Native American given name 'Buffalo Soldiers,'" Blanchard has also started The Urban Shooter Association to promote and support his weekly podcast.
...
DC: Why are so many African American political and religious leaders dead set against keeping and bearing arms? How does that tie in with other parts of their message?

KB: It is easy. There are few topics that are as “evergreen” as gun control. Leaders and clergy that adopt the anti-gun stance have an easier role. The path of least resistance is favored over a deeper dive into the truth. Do you tell the children that there is no Santa Claus coming down the chimney or do you keep up the illusion till they figure it out?

Secondly, if they ride the anti-gun fence long enough they will up their status and be afforded personal protection, bodyguards and a lifestyle where they won’t need to protect themselves. They become pastors with entourages. Politicians get police protection. Celebrities with bodyguards don’t need to carry a firearm for their home. They have gated communities and things we can’t afford.

And lastly, some are in the habit of influencing people so much that they believe we are incapable of controlling our impulses -- that we are not thinking humans but lesser animals that need to be controlled. It’s a superiority piece; that is just plain wrong. ...

[Virginia] Gov. Kane vetoes pro-gun rights bills:

... The governor also rejected bills that would have loosened the state's gun regulations. Among them:

Senate Bill 1035 would have allowed people to carry concealed weapons into restaurants or clubs that serve alcoholic beverages. Guns are allowed into restaurants as long as they are displayed openly, under current state law.

"Allowing concealed weapons into restaurants and bars that serve alcohol puts the public, the employees and our public safety officers at risk," Mr. Kaine said. "I take seriously the objections of law enforcement to this measure."

House Bill 2528 would have prohibited local law enforcement agencies from choosing to conduct voluntary gun buyback programs and then destroying the weapons.

Senate Bill 1528 would have allowed the firearms training required to receive a concealed weapons permit to be completed online.

"Allowing the testing to be done online would weaken the ability of the commonwealth to determine who is actually taking the test and open up opportunities for individuals to receive a permit under fraudulent circumstances with no guarantee that they can use a weapon safely," Mr. Kaine said.

House Bill 1851 would have created a new exemption to Virginias one-handgun-a-month law that would include active-duty service members whether Virginia residents or not. ...

Dave Workman asks whether anti-gunners coordinating with Obama administration:

Just as anti-gunners accused the Bush administration of working with the gun rights organizations, is the Obama administration coordinating with the gun prohibition lobby in an effort to boost public pressure to revive the ban on so-called “assault weapons?”

There is growing suspicion in the firearms community that it is no coincidence the administration is ramping up the rhetoric about this country’s “shared responsibility” for the bloody drug war raging in northern Mexico, while “Obama-friendly” news organizations lend emphasis to renewing the semi-auto ban. At the same time, the anti-gun Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has just released a report called Exporting Violence: How Our Weak Gun Laws Arm Criminals in Mexico and America.
...
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was busy in Mexico acknowledging that demand for drugs in this country was part of the problem, and she is right. Too many Americans use illegal drugs. However, she also quickly complained about our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals

But when she was quizzed by NBC’s Andrea Mitchell on the drug war, Mitchell seemed rather preoccupied with renewal of the gun ban in this country, a ban which has had questionable results, as I reported here. Other news agencies have editorialized for renewal of the ban.

If Mitchell wants to lobby for a gun law, she needs to drop the pretense of being a reporter, and sign up as a lobbyist. ...

Mainstream media blaming U.S. for Mexican drug violence, U.S. gun owners not buying it:

All you have to do is take one look at the recent headlines and you'd think the U.S. has been tried, convicted, and sentenced for causing drug war violence in Mexico.

All this is intended to raise public support for bringing back the expired "assault weapons ban." The thing is, the public isn't buying what they're selling.

A recent Zogby poll and O'Leary Report show that only 13.5% of those surveyed think the United States is to blame. It is pretty easy to come to that conclusion since the war south of the border is being fought with machine guns, rocket propelled grenades, and other similar weapons that just aren't available at gun shows. Why would a drug cartel buy a semi-automatic rifle (the kind the legislation Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wants would ban) when they can just as easily get fully automatic weapons illegally on the black market? It just doesn't add up, and the American public isn't as stupid as they're being taken for.

"Blame America" seems to be the motto of the current administration. Keep it up and they just might chant themselves out of office just like the majority of people who signed the original AWB did back in 1994. But it must be our fault, right? Why else would Clinton pledge $80 million to buy Black Hawk helicopters to give to the Mexican government? Better to spend the money there than to fix a bridge, right? We have to atone for our mistakes, don't we? Right. ...

Oliver North says Obama team eyeing new AWB:

... In addition to committing additional law-enforcement assets to the border, the U.S. is also providing Mexican authorities with intelligence, high-tech detection gear, sophisticated sensors and night-vision equipment for combating cartel “foot soldiers” armed with automatic weapons, hand grenades, heavy machine guns and soviet-era rocket propelled grenade launchers. This help is certainly warranted. It is in our national interest that the Calderon campaign against the cartels succeeds.

Unfortunately, the O-Team and their “progressive” allies in Congress aren’t satisfied with the progress that is being made thus far. They apparently intend to use the “Cartel Crisis,” as Mr. Emanuel has advocated, “to do things you couldn’t do before.”

On February 25, Attorney General Eric Holder urged the U.S. “to reinstitute the ban on assault weapons. I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum.” The following day, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said, “I am prepared to wage the assault weapons battle again and intend to do so.” And on March 17, during a Senate subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) claimed that an “iron river of guns from the United States arms Mexican drug cartels to the teeth.”

Reality check: resurrecting the so-called “Assault Weapons Ban” that expired in 2004 isn’t going to do anything to help the Mexican government deal with drug cartels or any other criminal organizations. Nor was the O-Team’s decision to stop the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) from allowing surplus military brass cartridges to be re-loaded going to stop a single bullet from reaching criminals. Thankfully, that inane rule has been reversed, saving law-abiding gun owners -- and our heavily indebted government -- money.

The Mexican drug cartels aren’t being armed by law-abiding Americans. Rather than trying to re-enact meaningless legislation based on the appearance of a firearm or the shape of a magazine, the O-Team and their congressional allies need to focus on securing our borders and providing the resources to enforce the laws we already have on the books. Infringing on the 2nd Amendment rights of U.S. citizens won’t make Mexicans, or any of us, any safer or more secure -- no matter how severe the crisis.

[California] ABC News says new "assault weapons" ban being pushed by California officials in wake of Oakland cop killings:

One week after four Oakland police officers were gunned down by a semi-automatic weapon, there's a new plan asking the federal government to ban assault weapons. State and local officials are pushing for a crackdown on these weapons.

An AK-47 assault rifle was used to kill the four Oakland police officers last Saturday. California has the toughest ban on assault weapons in the nation. But it doesn't stop people from buying in other states.

"We're calling on the Congress to remake gun control a top priority now, and to reauthorize the assault weapons ban right away," said L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

During his presidential campaign, President Barack Obama supported reinstating the federal ban that expired in 2004. In Mexico, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton supported a renewal of the ban. ...

[California] San Francisco Chronicle says cop killings unlikely to "ease way" for new "assault weapons" ban:

In 1994, Sen. Dianne Feinstein used the tragedy of San Francisco's 101 California massacre to push a decadelong ban on assault weapons through Congress. But even the horror of Saturday's slayings of four Oakland police officers is unlikely to break through the bipartisan opposition that blocked the renewal of that ban in 2004.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and dozens of House Democrats have said they oppose efforts to bring back the national ban, either because the timing is wrong or because they oppose gun control.

Pelosi said she hasn't even discussed the possibility of a renewal with President Obama and his staff, who face urgent issues from fixes to the nation's economy to health care reform.
...
"I am prepared to wage the assault weapons battle again and I intend to do so," Feinstein said in a speech to the Senate last month. "I have been quiet about this because there are many other pressing needs of this nation. But with the help of the president, the administration and the people of this great country, we do need to fight back."
...
Feinstein has support in high places. During last fall's campaign, Obama said he wanted to reinstate the ban, and last month Attorney General Eric Holder acknowledged that it remains part of the administration's agenda.

"I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum," Holder said in a Feb. 25 news conference in Phoenix. ...

[Montana] Lawmakers working on compromise to get gun bills through:

HELENA – A compromise on a bill aimed at expanding gun rights and getting rid of the need for concealed weapons permits is advancing in the state Senate.

House Bill 228 has been the subject of a tough fight between police groups and gun groups such as the National Rifle Association. But the interest groups sat down again with lawmakers Friday morning to hammer out some details the legislation.

The compromise still allows people to use a gun in self-defense without first fleeing. Sen. Dan McGee, the Billings Republican leading a legislative subcommittee making the changes, said that is means people can more easily use deadly force on home intruders.
...
The Senate compromise version would still exempt people from the requirement of a permit for carrying a concealed weapon in town — although it now clarifies that felons could not do so. It would also keep the current permitting system in place for those who voluntarily want one in order to carry a gun in other states that recognize Montana's permits.

A provision that would allow people to brandish a gun if they feel threatened is being modified at the request of police, who say it would be dangerous to have citizens try to defuse conflicts by pointing guns at each other. ...

[Colorado] Bill seeks to waive gun show checks for CCW permit holders:

After Columbine, Colorado voters approved a measure requiring background checks on all gun-show sales.

But as the 10th anniversary of the high school massacre approaches, lawmakers are considering a bill that would waive the checks for anyone holding a concealed-carry permit.

Police chiefs and sheriffs are among those who testified against the measure, which is scheduled to be heard by the full Senate next week.

Among law enforcement concerns: Colorado does not have a standard concealed-carry permit or a centralized database with information on whether a permit is still valid. ...

[Ohio] Buckeye Firearms Association reports that Cleveland's anti-gun sheriff has resigned:

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul, a long-time opponent to gun rights in Ohio, has tendered his resignation after months of allegations about his misconduct in office.

McFaul has been under fire since the beginning of the year over questions of improper fund-raising activities, including having deputies sell tickets for his fund-raisers while on county time, for doing special favors for friends and relatives, and most recently for not reporting gifts he is reported to have accepted from employees.

The anti-gun Sheriff has long-been an anathema to Ohio gun owners. In 2004, McFaul had to be sued by Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman Jim Irvine before he would do his job and begin issuing Ohio concealed handgun licenses. He eventually settled the suit, and paid all court costs and attorney's fees (with taxpayer funds, of course). ...

Gun Rights News Roundup

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

[Texas] Guns-in-parking-lots bill passes Senate unanimously:

AUSTIN — Texans would be allowed to stow their guns and ammo inside their locked cars or trucks while at work and parked on employer property under a controversial bill passed Wednesday by the state Senate.

The Senate voted 31-0 to prohibit employers from enforcing restrictions against employees possessing a legally owned handgun or ammunition inside a locked vehicle while in a company parking lot. Firearms and ammo must be stored out of sight.

“Here in Texas people like their firearms and … if they want to bring them to the workplace they are going to do it whether there’s an employee policy against it or not,” said state Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, the measure’s author. “This is designed to stop employers from punishing employees who legally bring weapons to work .”

Supporters say employer rules banning guns in a company parking lot infringe on their Second Amendment right and their ability to protect themselves as they travel to and from work.

Opponents, among them a number of influential business groups, argue the bill is an affront to an employer’s property rights and are wary of potential gun violence as a growing number of Texans lose their jobs. ...

[Idaho] Anti-confiscation gun rights bill passes House:

Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, today persuaded the Idaho House to vote 61-9 in favor of his legislation that would prevent the government from seizing guns in cases of “extreme emergency.”

HB 229 declares that during a such states including martial law, invasion or insurrection, “No government authority will have the right to come and pick up our arms and ammunition.” ...

[Arkansas] Guns in church bill dies in committee, again:

Thanks to Sen Wilkins of Pine Bluff, HB 1237 The bill that would remove churches from the list of prohibited places in the concealed carry statute, died in the Senate Committee on Judiciary on a 4-2 vote.

After the bill failed in committee last time, the bill was amended. Instead of the version we believe was most appropriate, which would remove churches from the list altogether, it would have now included churches on the list of prohibited places but allow churches to allow CHL holders to carry on their property if they chose to.

This was done over a concern that churches would have been required to place a sign at every entrance proclaiming, "the carrying of hanguns is prohibited."

Then there was the Church shooting in Illinois.

After this Senator Wilkins made the remark that he honestly didn't know how he felt about it and that he could change his mind.

He also said he wanted to hear more testimony on behalf of the bill, so we brought him ten people to speak on behalf of the bill, eight of them were pastors. Some came from as far away as Springdale. They all came to speak on behalf of the bill mostly because Sen, Wilkins told us that he "wasn't sure." He honestly wasn't sure and wanted to know how other pastors felt. He wanted to hear from these people.

So in a good faith effort we tried to meet him half way, even sacrificing some language in the bill we believed wasn't the best option. We knew we had 4 votes we just needed to convince him that this really mattered to people and that we didn't want to let an Illinois church shooting happen here.

So just before HB1237 was heard, Sen Wilkins's bill regarding stalking was being discussed and the hearing became contentious. His bill failed in committee. When he was done with his bill he got up and walked out.

He just walked out. And he didn't come back untill after the vote was taken on HB 1237.

My friends, that's what we call cowardice. ...

[California] Long Beach ammo ordinance vote delayed:

LONG BEACH - A City Council vote on a proposed gun ammunition registration law is being postponed, police officials said Monday.

The issue had been placed on the agenda for today's meeting, but is being pulled because unanswered questions remain, said Deputy Chief Bill Blair.

He said community members had asked a slew of questions about the law during the Public Safety Committee hearing last month, but that he was still waiting on some answers from the City Attorney's Office.

Still, Blair said he doesn't expect changes to be made to the law, which is designed to deter felons from buying ammunition.

Under the ordinance, anyone who buys ammunition would have to register their name, address and date of birth; the date of the transaction; driver's license or other identification number; brand and type of ammunition purchased; the purchaser's signature; name of the sales person in the transaction; and the thumbprint of the purchaser.

Vendors would have to keep and maintain records on store premises for two years. The records would be open for police inspection. ...

Gun Rights News Roundup

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

[North Carolina] Lawmaker introduces bill to protect vets from losing gun rights:

North Carolina U.S. Senator Richard Burr, along with 14 other cosponsors, introduced legislation that would end a seemingly arbitrary process by which the government "strips" veterans and other Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) beneficiaries of their Second Amendment rights.

Currently veterans who have a fiduciary appointed to act on their behalf are deemed "mentally defective" and are reported to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), a system which prevents individuals from purchasing firearms in the United States.

The Veterans' Second Amendment Protection Act would require a judicial authority to determine that a VA beneficiary poses a danger to themselves or others before VA may send their names to be listed in the FBI's NICS.

"Under current law, veterans who have come to (the) VA for help but who are determined to be unable to manage their own financial affairs are labeled as mentally defective and, on that basis alone, are denied their 2nd amendment rights," Burr said. "I am very concerned that government employees can so easily take away a veteran's right to bear arms. My legislation would protect the rights of veterans and their families by ensuring that only a proper judicial authority is able to determine who is referred to NICS." ...

[Massachusetts] Fewer gun dealers due to onerous regulations:

Fifteen years ago there were 23 federal firearms licenses issued in Belchertown.

Today, there are three.

"I would say that's a pretty major decline," said Rich Kimball, of R&R Gun Sales, 450 State St., and one of the three remaining license holders.

Stricter federal licensing regulations dating back to 1993, plus the overall climate in Massachusetts with some of the toughest firearms laws in the country, have made it tough for gun dealers in the Bay State, according to Kimball. The combination, he says, "caused a lot of dealers to get out of the business."

Since 1994, the number of federal firearm licenses - FFLs - issued in Massachusetts has declined from 4,109 to 531, or by 87 percent.
...
In 1993 there were 240,000 federal firearms licenses issued nationwide. As it was pointed out at the time by one pro-gun control group, there were more licensed firearms dealers in the United State than there were gas stations.

Since then the number has declined to about 109,000, or by 62 percent, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The decline is part of a national trend that dates back to two pieces of legislation, according to the federal agency that oversees the licensing.

The first is the Brady Bill, named after White House press secretary James Brady who was shot in an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981. It increased the license fee from $10 per year to $200 for the first three years and $90 for each three-year renewal.

The second piece of legislation was the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, also known as the Crime Bill. It requires applicants for the federal licenses to notify their local police department, submit fingerprints and a photo with the application, and certify that their businesses adhere to local zoning regulations.

It also requires gun dealers to have an established location for their shops that must be separate from their residences. This eliminated many hobbyists and part-time dealers.
...
Ultimately the federal legislation and state regulations did little to fight crime, Wallace contends, but they have managed put a lot of honest dealers out of the business. He also cited the Massachusetts Gun Control Act of 1998, which, he said, enacted more layers of restrictions and regulations for the purchase and sale of guns. ...

[West Virginia] Lawmaker wants permitless carry ... for himself:

CHARLESTON — Controversy often inflames passions, and mindful of this lawless age and a propensity of some in society to go over the edge, a few lawmakers want the right to arm themselves without a weapons permit.

One sponsor of such a House bill, in fact, Delegate Mark Hunt, D-Kanawha, relayed a personal threat directed at him and his family, penned by the hand of a convict.

A self-described “monster,” the man behind bars warned of what he intended to do to Hunt and his children.

Hunt decided to leave nothing to chance and get a firearm, but was told he had to wait during a two-month concealed weapon application process. [emphasis added] ...

Comment: What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Shouldn't the citizens Mr. Hunt represents have the same RKBA rights as their elected servants? Mr. Hunt's complaint appears to be that West Virginia law also applies to him.


[Ireland] From the "oops" file: Gangster shoots himself in head [hat tip to reader Jim P.]:

A WELL-known criminal who is a central figure in Limerick's ongoing feud was in a critical condition on a life support machine last night after he accidentally shot himself.

Feared gangster Philip Collopy (29) from St Mary's Park, Limerick is in the city's Mid-Western Regional Hospital where he has been since he shot himself in the head on Saturday morning.

The career criminal shot himself with a glock handgun at close range in a house at St Munchin's Street, St Mary's Park. He had been inspecting the gun and removed the loaded magazine from it while handling it. However, he failed to realise a bullet was still in the chamber before he discharged the weapon while it was pointed at his head. [emphasis added] ...

Comment: Well, at least he now knows the gun works. :)


Columnist asks: Would you know an "assault weapon" if you say one?

... If you answered "D)all of the above" congratulations, you qualify for a California Senate seat! You'd also be wrong.

Those who want to take away gun from civilians know they can't take them all at once. The only way to get them is to vilify and ban one class of firearms at a time. Two of the most frequent targets are handguns and "assault weapons." But, what exactly is an assault weapon, and why do they claim we need to ban them?

Actually, the term "assault weapon" is made up. It is a derivative of the real phrase "assault rifle" which is a selective fire (can switch between automatic and semi-automatic) rifle or carbine firing ammunition with muzzle energies intermediate between those typical of pistol and high-powered rifle ammunition. If you look at the above pictures again, only one of the above is an assault rifle, and that is "B", a M-16. Both the AR-15 (A) and the SIG 556 (C) are semi-automatic only. But the gun grabbers want to ban them because they are evil looking black rifles.

Since there is a very specific definition of an assault rifle, the gun control crowd needed something that sounded similar and scary so that they could apply that label to this scary looking class of firearms. So, they made up "assault weapon". Sounds close enough.

Looks are the only thing these firearms have in common with real assault rifles. No army or terrorist group in the world would limit themselves to such weapons as they are primarily suitable for sporting purposes and civilian self defense, not the battlefield. A study done by the US Department of Justice found that these kinds of guns are used in less than 1% of all gun crimes. And yet, these unscrupulous individuals have absolutely no qualms about lying to the public in order to sell their agenda.
...
One of the reasons this incident made the headlines is because how rare it is that such an incident occurs. That hardly makes for a description of our cities as "demilitarized zones." Much more troubling is the fact that witnesses to the crime were cheering the deaths of these officers. But, why focus on the root of violence and try to fix the real problem when you can just blame the gun and try to disarm innocent, law-abiding citizens?

One argument regularly used by those in favor of an AWB is that criminals can easily convert these semi-automatic firearms into automatic firearms (machine guns). If it is so easy, why isn't it being done? Right now, there is no AWB, so there shouldn't there be machine gun killings on the news every night? The ban is a farce for crime control, and they know it. ...

[Washington] Seattle mayor moves ahead with gun ban:

Mayor Greg Nickels is going forward with a controversial executive order which would ban "dangerous weapons" - including firearms - on Seattle owned parks and properties. An exact date has not been set yet for when the ban will go into effect. However, a spokesman for the Mayor's office said the ban is currently expected to begin sometime in May.

Coincidentally, this places the time somewhere around the one-year anniversary of the freak shooting incident at Folklife, last year, that left two people injured and was the casus belli for the order.

The move also comes in spite of legal concerns questioning whether the city can unilaterally prohibit firearms owners, particularly those possessing Concealed Pistol Licenses, from exercising their legal rights. ...

[Arkansas] Open carry bill dies in committee:

Yet another weapons bill hit committee this afternoon as the House Judiciary Committee considered Rep. Mark Martin’s legislation to allow people to carry firearms in plain sight. The bill’s lack of provisions for training and its apparent permissiveness toward the open-carry of machine guns was too much for the committee. Though Rep. Martin did not agree with these criticisms, he pulled the bill down for amendment to ensure that it would not be legal for children to wield a gun.

Several legislators suggested they might vote for the bill if it required some sort of permit or training for open carry, but Rep. Martin firmly resisted making a change. He argued that such a requirement would place a financial burden on impoverished people. The poor who couldn’t pay would be unable to exercise what Rep. Martin considers a constitutional right to bear arms in the open. In response to the comment that anyone who owns a gun can also afford a training course, Rep. Martin responded that a gun might be inherited or earned from some sort of program.

“[A fee] would have a chilling effect on people who were discriminated against before,” Rep. Martin said in reference to the 19th century slave laws he cited to justify the necessity of open-carry legislation. ...