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“The Arizona Senate has given final approval to a bill that would allow people with concealed weapons permits to carry a gun into a business that serves alcohol. The 19-to-8 vote completes legislative action on the bill and sends it to Governor Jan Brewer, a Republican. She has not said whether she will sign it, but she has long been a supporter of gun rights. The measure has pitted powerful groups representing gun and bar owners against each other, sparking a debate about whether guns and alcohol can coexist without bloodshed. Critics of the measure say guns and alcohol are a dangerous combination. … Supporters say they should be able to protect themselves even if they happen to be inside a business serving alcohol.” [editor’s note: Tennessee just passed a similar measure; law-abiding citizens (who are required to refrain from drinking while carrying) protecting themselves (and others?) from aggressors - SAT] (07/02/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/kqracv | |
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“The jury began deliberations Tuesday in the second-degree murder trial of David Boglioli. After closing statements by Deputy State’s Attorney David Gartenstein and defense attorney Matthew Harnett, the jury must decide whether to find Boglioli guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his neighbor, George Riccitelli, or if he was defending himself from being beaten with an ax handle. If convicted of second-degree murder, Boglioli will face a sentence of 20 years to life in prison.” (07/01/09) Link: http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_12729116 | |
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“A state appeals court on Tuesday ordered a new trial for a 62-year-old retired teacher convicted of murder in the shooting death of a hiker in northern Arizona five years ago. Harold Fish claimed he shot Grant Kuenzli in self-defense during their encounter in the Coconino National Forest, but a jury convicted him and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. The case galvanized gun-rights supporters, who said Fish’s conviction represented a threat to their right to protect themselves, and prompted the Arizona Legislature to change the law to shift the burden of proof in self-defense claim cases from the defendant to the prosecutor.” (06/30/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/luep2z | |
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“The quick-thinking owner of a Social District package store turned the tables on a man who had a knife to his throat and threatened to kill him for money Tuesday, police said. After a violent struggle with the robber, the owner of U-Save Liquors at 399 Clinton St. convinced him that he was too tired to fight anymore and he was giving up. In an attempt to put the robber at ease, John Quinn then offered him the keys to the store and invited him to lock the front doors before he looted the store. As 20-year-old Kevin Mortimer was busy fumbling with the keys, however, Quinn, 56, slipped into his office and emerged with a Walther PPK 9mm handgun, the police said. With the firearm trained on Mortimer, Quinn reached for a phone with his free hand to call the police, at which point Mortimer ran from the store.” (07/01/09) Link: http://www.woonsocketcall.com/content/view/93165/1/ | |
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“Police say a grandfather shot and killed his own grandson, after the 20-year-old broke into his grandparents’ house. … Metro Police say the grandson came in through a back window wearing a ski mask around 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday. His grandfather woke up and saw the figure with a mask and opened fire. The shots killed his grandson, James Michael Keen, 20, who has a record of repeated drug charges. We’re also told had stolen from his grandfather in the past. Investigators say Keen also fired at his grandfather, but they’re not sure who shot first. We’re told the gun Keen had on him at the time was his grandfather’s gun, previously stolen from his grandfather’s car. … Keen’s grandfather first figured out it was his grandson just before police arrived, when he pulled the ski mask off Keen.” (07/01/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/llvo49 | |
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“Residents are on alert tonight after a man tries to break into a Sugar Land home. The man was shot after trying to break into an apartment on Long Reach Drive near Lexington in Sugar Land. Going by his first name only, James, a computer technician, who works the graveyard shift was sleeping in his apartment when he was awaken by his barking dog around noon. ‘That alarmed me so I picked up my gun just to have it with me in case someone was there,’ said James. And there was; an unidentified intruder who apparently entered through a kitchen window. ‘I opened my bedroom door and saw the guy,’ said James. ‘It looked like he was running towards me with a weapon like a screwdriver and I was scared.’ The 33 year-old pulled the trigger striking the suspect in the upper body. James was dialing 911, when he says the suspect ran out through the front door.” (07/01/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/lbbv8s | |
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“Two new pieces of legislation related to guns are making their way through Sacramento — and making gun store owners in the Mid-Valley frustrated at what they call political myopia. … AB 962 would compel those who sell ammunition to be licensed the same as gun dealers, and mandate a face-to-face transaction when someone buys ammunition. … SB 697, would mandate safety measures be included in every gun sold in California. That technology would be used to tell how many unfired cartridges remain in a gun, to avoid accidental shootings when thought to be empty. Guns would also have to have biometric technology to prevent them from being fired if someone other than the registered owner tried to do so.” (06/27/09) Link: http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/stores-79105-making-arms.html | |
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“A Clarksdale, Miss. convenience store owner shot and killed an armed robber Wednesday evening.According to Captain Robbie Linley with Clarksdale Police, 31-year old Joey Barron held up a store with a handgun on the 1600-block of N. State Street. Barron took cash and some prescription drugs, and was then shot once by the store’s owner.Barron was transported to the Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center where he later died.The store owner will not face any charges. ” (06/18/09) Link: http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/061809_Clarksdale_Store_Owner_Kills_Robber | |
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“A security alarm went off at a Holly Hill accountant’s residence in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday, rousing the sleeping homeowner who grabbed his gunshot, confronted an intruder standing in his doorway and shot the burglar in the shoulder. L. Glenn Littlejohn, 71, of 1244 Peake St. interrupted the suspect, Roosevelt Elmore Jr., at around 4:55 a.m. as Elmore stood in the doorway of Littlejohn’s home, according to police. … Littlejohn, after being awakened by the alarm, ‘grabbed his shotgun, went out the back door and went around to the side of the house where the suspect made entrance and confronted the suspect in the doorway,’ Wunderlich said. He said Littlejohn shot Elmore in his right shoulder with a 12-gauge shotgun. The wounded Elmore fled the scene, and Littlejohn called 911 …” (06/30/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ldncoh | |
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“The handgun battle is heading from Capitol Hill to City Hall. Local governments and advocates for firearms owners are gearing up for a summer face-off over how far to take a new state law that lets people with carry permits bring handguns into parks. City councils across Tennessee … are moving to reaffirm their bans on handguns in parks following passage of a new state law. But people opposed to handgun restrictions are mobilizing to block their efforts. ‘I don’t think it’s necessarily reasonable to close all of them,’ John Harris, executive director of the Tennessee Firearms Association, said of Metro’s plans to keep parks closed to handguns. ‘I don’t think it’s necessarily reasonable to close any of them.’” (06/29/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/mtg2ho | |
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“Around 50 people, many of them men openly carrying loaded handguns, gathered in a local park over the weekend for a cookout billed as educational outreach on gun owners’ rights. Participants in the ‘Open Carry Picnic’ ate hot dogs and chips while wearing holstered hand guns at Sunset Park … As children played on the merry-go-round and tourists cruised the lakefront, the gathering was quiet but showed some signs of tension. One group of men sat around a flag hung upside-down and at half mast.” (06/29/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/kugpul | |
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“Deputies found a deceased male adult in the street. … Investigators learned the victim of the homicide and a female companion had participated in a home invasion robbery. During the robbery, a struggle ensued between the suspects and the homeowners. The male suspect dropped his firearm during the struggle with the homeowner. The homeowner retrieved the firearm and fatally shot the suspect during the struggle for the weapon. The suspect attempted to flee the residence after he was shot, but collapsed in front of the residence.” (06/29/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/n3v768 | |
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“A man from Bath was arrested for robbing Twisters Ice Cream Shop on 421 in Bath just after 6:45 Saturday night. Witnesses said the suspect walked into the store armed with a gun and demanded money from the employee. He was given an undisclosed amount before being confronted by the owner’s son Shannon Labord. The suspect shot at Labord hitting the counter. Labord fired back and chased the suspect while firing several more shots to a near by trailer.” (06/27/09) Link: http://www.wrdw.com/crimeteam12/headlines/49347792.html | |
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“A homeowner fired a shotgun after two people broke into his home on N.C. 54 early Monday and hit one of the suspects in the arm. …The home owner, John Davis, told authorities that sometime after midnight he and his girlfriend were awakened by the dog barking. They heard noises outside the door of the home. When Davis got out of bed to investigate, the two suspects allegedly shattered the door and entered the house. ‘The victim was then confronted by the suspects as they proceeded through the kitchen of the residence,’ the release states. ‘At that point, Mr. Davis had armed himself with a shotgun. As the suspects advanced toward him, he fired the weapon.’ Both suspects left the home.” (06/29/09) Link: http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/suspects-26262-home-davis.html | |
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“A store owner shot and wounded a man who broke into his business on West Fifth Street Monday morning, police said. The names of the men involved were not available. The shooting was reported between 3 and 4 a.m. at The Auction House, said Lt. Johnny Barnes of the Lumberton Police Department. The man who broke in threatened the store owner with a tire iron, Barnes said. The owner then shot the man in the leg, Barnes said.” (06/29/09) Link: http://www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2009/06/30/913355 | |
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“At 6:52 p.m. June 21, Jamison Harvey Johnson, 40, entered the store and ‘announced the robbery,’ said Bill Toohey, a police spokesman.Johnson then walked to the store’s customer service office, where he demanded and was given an undisclosed amount of cash, police said. An armed security guard employed by Mars who was inside the store followed Johnson to the store’s entrance and confronted him, police said. Johnson, whose address is listed as ‘unknown’ in court records, then shot at the guard, Toohey said. The guard returned fire and Johnson then ran into the parking lot and got into a green Honda Accord, Toohey said. As the gunman drove away, he again fired on the security guard, who again shot back, Toohey said.” (06/29/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/nmajy3 | |
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“Nashville restaurateur Randy Rayburn announces that he’ll file suit in Davidson County Chancery Court in an attempt to block the newly passed state law that allows guns in restaurants that serve alcohol and in bars. … (from the press release: ‘Rayburn, owner of the Sunset Grill, Midtown Cafe and Cabana, along with 9 others is suing the State of Tennessee (Attorney General as defendant) … The suit is asking for a temporary restraining order and temporary and permanent injunction to stop the law from taking effect on July 14th.)’” [editor’s note: Let’s review now … This fool wants to prevent non-drinking patrons (who have BTW abided with the law by getting permits for their firearms, and then agreeing not to indulge while carrying) … from mingling with his customers, drinking and otherwise … for fear that THEY might cause trouble (rather than helping to stop it, should some NON-law-abiding scumbag decide to rob or otherwise harrass the place?) - SAT] [additional editor’s note: If he was suing only to exempt his own restaurants as a matter of property rights, that would be one thing; this guy wants to control his competitors, too! - TLK] (06/30/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/l6mtck | |
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“The Virginia Citizens Defense League is used to fighting for the right to carry guns. But now it’s having to defend the right to wear stickers about carrying guns. The group says officials at the Richmond Coliseum recently attempted to stop members from handing out blaze-orange ‘Guns Save Lives’ stickers before an appearance by radio and television talk-show host Glenn Beck. ‘It’s bad enough they’re trying to trample the Second Amendment. Then you come and attack the First,’ President Philip Van Cleave said, referring to the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of the right to bear arms and to free speech.” (06/27/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/lkkkv6 | |
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“The Harrisburg Chapter of the NAACP is calling on Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell to suspend some civil liberties and impose martial law in the city to halt the wave of recent lawlessness. Chapter President Stanley Lawson also called on Rendell to bring in the state National Guard … In June, there have been at least 12 shootings, many of them in the daytime …’The Guard is for floods and natural disasters. I don’t know any more of a natural disaster than of our young people being killed,’ he said … ‘It’s time for some real action,’ he said. ‘Right now the important thing is to stop this madness.’” (06/27/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/mbys8g | |
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“Saying it will make people safer, state senators voted Friday to let people with concealed weapons permits carry them onto college and university campuses where they are now forbidden. The 15-6 vote on the provision in HB 2439 came after backers said they believe that having people who are licensed by the state to have weapons should cut down on the number of massacres that occur on campuses. … He did not refer by name to the 2002 incident at the University of Arizona where three instructors at the College of Nursing were slain by student Robert S. Flores Jr. who then turned the gun on himself. But Huppenthal said the evidence shows that it makes sense, from a safety standpoint, to let people carry guns.” (06/27/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/n9uhgn | |
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“A southwest Jefferson County church opened its doors to guns as the pastor makes a point about the Second Amendment to the Constitution. At the New Bethel Church, Reverend Ken Pagano said the church is celebrating the independence and freedom provided by the constitution by raising awareness about being a safe and responsible gun owner. Pagano said he felt he had a duty to teach that to his community and congregation. He decided to do so by allowing everyone to carry guns into the church.” (05/28/09) Link: http://www.wlky.com/news/19884976/detail.html | |
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“A jewelry store owner in Oklahoma City opened fire on a would-be robber on Thursday, sending him to the University of Oklahoma Medical Center. … Police said they believe the clerk pulled out a gun from behind the counter just after the robbery began. They said the clerk told them they thought he hit the would-be robber at least once. No one else in the store was hurt. Officers said the would-be robber ran out of the store and got into a vehicle that was waiting for him. The driver of that car took the man to the hospital, where he was listed in critical condition late Thursday.” (06/25/09) Link: http://www.koco.com/news/19862255/detail.html | |
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“Officers were called to the 5th Avenue Convenience Mart at Fifth Street and Quindaro Boulevard shortly before 7 p.m., Officer Mike Golden said. The clerk told them two men with long guns entered the store and demanded money, Golden said. When one of the suspects fired a shot, the clerk grabbed a handgun from behind the counter and shot both suspects. One ran halfway up the block before collapsing, dropping a gun in the middle of Quindaro. An ambulance took him to a hospital, but he died before arriving, Golden said. The second suspect made it slightly farther and went to the hospital in a private vehicle. The clerk, mildly injured in the scuffle, was checked by paramedics at the scene.” (06/26/09) Link: http://www.kansascity.com/116/story/1289272.html | |
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“The handgun battle is heading from Capitol Hill to City Hall. Local governments and advocates for firearms owners are gearing up for a summer face-off over how far to take a new state law that lets people with carry permits bring handguns into parks. City councils across Tennessee, including Nashville and Hendersonville, are moving to reaffirm their bans on handguns in parks following passage of a new state law. But people opposed to handgun restrictions are mobilizing to block their efforts. … A state law signed earlier this month by Gov. Phil Bredesen has touched off the debate. The law is meant to let handgun permit holders carry their weapons into every park in the state, wiping out local policies governing handguns.” [editor’s note: Once again, the greatest value of the 2nd Amendment’s affirmation of the right to bear arms is in not knowing who might be packing in a given situation; someone seeking to do wrong must consider the risks — which disappear instantly when law-abiding citizens (who’ve even gone to the trouble of obtaining carry-permits?) become disarmed by law! - SAT] (06/29/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/l2xeyg | |
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“Firearms sales in New Jersey would be limited to no more than one per month under controversial legislation that had stalled earlier this year but won final approval early this morning in the rush before the Legislature’s summer recess. The bill’s sponsors and supporters argue the law would stem the flow of guns from other states and prevent criminals from distributing handguns throughout New Jersey. … If enacted, people would be able to purchase only one weapon per 30-day period. The measure also prohibits firearms sellers from ‘knowingly delivering’ more than one gun per 30-day period. Violators would face a fourth-degree felony charge, carrying a $10,000 penalty.” (06/26/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/mfgjxu | |
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Commentaries on Sotomayor and citizen authority, The next generation of gun rights activists, the Canadian Gun registry, Guns, grades and government in Texas and Seattle mayor to take anti-gun agenda to White House. Self defense stories from Iowa, Oklahoma, tennessee, Maryland, Minnesota ….in other news, South African Gun law challenged in court, More than 800 gun buyers on terrorist list, Massachusetts Court will review gun lock ruling, DC expands list of “permitted” handguns, and (10) Cities’ gun restrictions begin to topple. Til next week Mary Lou Link: http://rationalreview.com/2am | |
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“Dominic Mathew had always felt it was better to give an armed robber what they asked for. His philosophy changed after his Food Pantry store on Lower Beaver Road was held up several times, one time with a thief behind the counter and holding a gun to his neck. He got a handgun. On Tuesday, the third time the store was held up, he and a robber were in a face-off with their weapons. ‘The guy came in from the side (of the store)’ and walked in the front door, Mathew said. ‘That’s where they usually come from. The guy came in with a hoodie on. It was awfully warm on Tuesday, too warm for a hoodie.’ Mathew, 30, already had his gun drawn when the robber walked in, he said. The suspect lowered his gun immediately upon seeing the handgun. The would-be robber ran out the door.” (06/25/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/nbrw9w | |
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“The SA Hunters and Game Conservation Association has asked the High Court in Pretoria to extend the deadline for the renewal of gun licences, reports said today. … SABC radio news reported that the association launched an urgent bid requesting an extension of the implementation of the new Firearms Control Act which comes into effect on July 1, 2009. Lawyer Bertus Bergenthuin told the court the government was unable to deal with the administrative load brought upon by the new legislation.” (06/24/09) Link: http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1022767 | |
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“The fatal shooting of a Sequoyah County man by his daughter Thursday was justified, and no charges will be filed, District 27 First Assistant District Attorney John David Luton said Tuesday. … According to Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office reports, the department received a call at 11:09 p.m., saying Foreman had been shot during a domestic dispute. Foreman’s wife, Shelli Foreman, told investigators that Foreman had been drinking and had been terrorizing her since 5:15 p.m., threatening her with guns and knives and wrapping a telephone cord around her neck. Foreman’s daughter, Felicia Foreman, 22, arrived home during the incident. Shortly after 11 p.m., when Foreman forced his wife onto the ground, holding a gun to the back of her head, his daughter retrieved a gun from another bedroom and shot Foreman once from close proximity, in the upper body. Foreman died quickly.” (06/24/09) Link: http://www.swtimes.com/articles/2009/06/24/news/news062409_02.txt | |
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“More than 800 gun purchases were approved after background checks in the last five years even though the buyers’ names were on the government’s terrorist watch list, investigators said Monday. Being on the watch list is not among the nine factors, such as a felony conviction, that disqualify someone from buying a gun under federal law. More than 900 background checks between February 2004 and February 2009 turned up names on the watch list, and all but 98 were allowed to go through.” (06/22/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/lkn2uq | |
Commentary
jump to News Section | jump to Events and Movement News Section
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“Last week was the first anniversary of the District of Columbia v. Heller, where the Supreme Court for the first time declared that the Second Amendment indeed protects an individual right to own guns in the home for self-defense. It was a great victory for individual rights, but by no means a final one. The lawyer who successfully argued that case, Alan Gura, has remained a dedicated opponent of all sorts of gun regulations that still stand post-Heller. Senior Editor Brian Doherty talked to Gura by phone earlier this week about the various legal challenges Gura is fighting against state and local gun laws.” (07/02/09) Link: http://reason.com/news/show/134542.html | |
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Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence presumes to tell people how to worship
Source: St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner Author: Kurt Hoffman “Last night, the Northwest Baptist Church, in Toledo, OH, held a rally celebrating the right to keep and bear arms, and spreading the message that the exercise of that right is in no way incompatible with Christian values. … As one might have guessed, there were some with whom this rally did not sit well. The [OCAGV] was particularly apoplectic. … What struck me about that press release was not the over-the-top emotionalism of the rhetoric … No, what floored me was the arrogance inherent to telling people that they’re worshipping ‘wrongly,’ and that their church service is ‘immoral.’ It seems that along with the right to keep and bear arms, even freedom of religion offends OCAGV.” (06/30/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/neslyn | |
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“Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Barack Obama’s first nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, has a narrow view of the Second Amendment that contradicts the Court’s landmark decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. A heated debate has started in the U.S. Senate over her opposition to the right to keep and bear arms. This issue, which has decided the fate of presidential elections, could also decide her nomination. Gun owners, and especially the members of the National Rifle Association, must aggressively oppose Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.” (07/01/09) Link: http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=2788 | |
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“‘No Guns for Negroes’ exposes the racist history of American gun control laws.” [Flash video] (06/30/09) Link: http://www.jpfo.org/filegen-n-z/ngn-download-view.htm | |
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“The secret government ‘Terrorist Watch List,’ reportedly already swelled to more than 1.1 million names, will have an addendum, if gun control advocates in Congress have their way. This new addendum — also to be cloaked in secrecy — would empower the U.S. Attorney General to deny a person the ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights to purchase a firearm. While it is not surprising that some members of Congress are again using fear of terrorism to implement a gun-control agenda, the openly unconstitutional legislative language proponents are employing is troubling.” (06/29/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/mmmvps | |
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“In the traditional American view of the relationship between citizens and government, all power ultimately derives from The People. The phrase ‘Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,’ from the preamble to the Declaration states unequivocally the view of the Founders on the proper role of government in society. A view the same men later enshrined in the constitutional federal republic created by the ratification of the United States Constitution. As quite carefully explained in that remarkable document, many basic ‘natural’ rights were placed FOREVER beyond the purview of the federal government. Immutable rights such as freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of association, protection from arbitrary and capricious acts of government, AND the right to keep and bear arms were explicitly placed off limits in the Bill of Rights, which should more properly be called the Bill of Restrictions on Government.” (06/29/09) Link: http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/09/06/29/hunter.html | |
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The deadly fallacy of believing “the boogeyman will go away”
Source: Sipsey Street Irregulars Author: Dutchman 6 ‘Hitler willed, wanted, craved war and the destruction wrought by war. He did not want the war he got. Its origins lay through his own miscalculations and misperceptions, as much as through those of his eventual opponents, not least in their belief that he was bluffing, that he would recoil, that in Paul Claudel’s words, ‘Croque-mitaine se degonflera’ (the boogeyman will go away). … The only people who could have stopped him permanently were those least conditioned to do so, his Generals, and their soldiers, if they had been ready to obey, by coup d’etat, or an assassin capable of penetrating into the Reichs Chancellery from which, in the last days of peace, Hitler never emerged. History knows this did not happen.” (06/26/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/lp8jve | |
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“For each of us who demands nothing more from the civilization we live in and contribute to than absolute ownership and control of our own lives (and, as Ayn Rand noted, the products of our lives) there has been nothing but increasingly bad news as long as most of us can remember. Since the turn of the 20th century, collectivism — called by every conceivable euphemism: communism, progressivism, socialism, fascism, liberalism — has taken more and more and more from us. It is insatiable. It wants everything we earn, everything we own, everything we hope to own. It wants our homes, our land, our children. It wants our cars and our weapons. It wants our very lives and strives for the means to observe and control them every minute, every step, and every breath.” (06/28/09) Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2009/tle525-20090628-02.html | |
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“Let me emphasize again as I have over the last several years, that what it is about guns isn’t even about guns. It is about carrying our own burdens in independence from our own public servants. … Senators who intend to grill Sotomayor when the nominee hearings begin in July should be contacted with specific issues to be brought up. This is because gun owners understand that the Second Amendment is a reflection of the overall health of our nation; it is a reflection of whether officials (such as Justices) respect liberty and our little need for the State and how we prefer it that way.” (06/25/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/l487s2 | |
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The next generation of gun rights activists
Source: Cleveland Gun Rights Examiner Author: Daniel White “Now, more than ever, children are bombarded at school with anti-gun messages. Gun owners are ridiculed in the media and portrayed as either criminals or low IQ rednecks in television and the movies (except the ‘heroes,’ who are always affiliated with law enforcement or the military). Children are not taught the merits of self-defense, only to call the police and huddle under a desk until help arrives.These frequent messages attempt to mold young minds to oppose civilian gun ownership through indoctrination. If this is not countered by a pro-gun message at home, the future of gun rights will be lost.” (06/22/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ld7syw | |
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“As Parliament breaks for summer, the opposition is mobilizing to stop a private member’s bill to scrap the long gun registry. Yet there is no convincing research showing that the gun registry has saved a single life. The homicide rate had fallen impressively before 2001, when the long gun registry started, but has remained relatively stable since. In 1991, the homicide rate was 2.7 per 100,000, in 1996, the homicide rate was down to 2.1 and by 2000, it had slid to 1.8. By 2005, the homicide rate had risen to 2.0. The gun registry had no impact on suicide rates either.” (06/23/09) Link: http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=1722611 | |
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“Texas is a gun-loving state. You don’t have to look too far for the proof. In 2009, a host of bills concerning gun rights made it to the floor of the Texas Legislature, and while other commentators have covered them thoroughly, it should give us a starting point to consider gun rights as a whole. Notable among this year’s legislative discussion was the passage of a measure okaying 21 year-old gun owners to carry concealed weapons onto state college campuses.” (06/22/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/n2l24z | |
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“Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, newly-elected president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, will be using his new position to push an anti-gun agenda at a White House meeting planned later this summer, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms warned today. ‘Greg Nickels knows he will find a sympathetic ear in the Oval Office for his illegal gun control scheme,’ said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.” (06/20/09) Link: http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=2740 | |
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Does it matter if you’re murdered by a Nazi instead of a Communist?
Source: Sipsey Street Irregulars Author: Mike Vanderboegh “From the point of view of the victims, the only political continuum that makes sense is that of collectivist tyranny on one end and the individual religious and political liberty, free markets, right to property, right to arms and rule of law represented by the constitutional republic. Take your left-right line, if you like, and pull each end down and make it a circle, ends touching. Now at the bottom of the circle you have Stalinism, Maoism, Hitlerism and Mussolini’s fascism cheek by jowl. That is where they belong, together. By their fruits ye shall know them, and that is how we should classify them.” (06/18/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/mrwl5v | |
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Crimes against senior citizens show need for defensive arms
Source: Cleveland Gun Rights Examiner Author: Daniel White “In the wild, large predators like wolves and lions tend to select old or sick animals from the herd to attack. The reason is simple, these are the weakest animals, increasing the chance of a successful kill and decreasing the chance for injury to the predator. It is no different with human predators. Muggers, robbers, carjackers, home invaders, etc. all look for the easiest target that will give them the greatest chance of success with the least chance of injury to themselves. This is demonstrated by the recent increase in crimes against the elderly.” (06/17/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/lxmfb5 | |
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“Gun Owners of America calls Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor ‘an anti-gun radical.’ The Second Amendment Foundation says her selection was ‘a slap at gun rights.’ Such characterizations are based mainly on Sotomayor’s participation in a January decision that said state and local governments are not bound by the Second Amendment. But because it was arguably compelled by a series of 19th-century Supreme Court precedents, Sotomayor’s conclusion does not necessarily signal an anti-gun bias.” (06/17/09) Link: http://www.reason.com/news/show/134138.html | |
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“Shifting political sands in Albany can cause just about any lawful gun owner heartache these days. If you haven’t heard about it already, New York Senate Bill 4397A is a big reason. … According to the bill, ‘firearm micro-stamping is an evolutionary forensic technology that produces an alpha-numeric and geometric code onto the rear of the cartridge casing each time a semiautomatic pistol is fired. The idea is that law enforcement can then use that code to identify the owner of the pistol and generally aid investigations. Every new semiautomatic pistol sold in New York state would have to have this micro-stamping technology built into the gun, or it could not be sold here.” (06/15/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/mvkk76 | |
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Women on Target: Preparing women to defend Liberty
Source: Austin Gun Rights Examiner Author: Howard Nemerov “The United Kingdom and Australia instituted gun bans in 1997. Between 1995 and 2006, women in the United Kingdom suffered a 76.5% increase in rape; by 2007 Australian women experienced a 29.9% increase. Meanwhile, rape decreased 31.7% in America. ‘Today, women are raped twice as often in the UK as America, and Australian women are raped three times as often. This is damning evidence that gun control places women at greater risk. American women are hearing this message, and more and more are arming themselves every day, not only to protect themselves and their families from harm, but to ensure our government doesn’t enact laws which disenfranchise women.’” (06/16/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/nm5yz5 | |
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“NOW for the purposes of discussion, let’s assume that my next-door neighbor actually has a fully-functional 20-kiloton fission device in his garage. SECOND, if he doesn’t set it off, who is harmed? If he does decide to detonate, I won’t even know it if I’m home — the fireball will vaporize the nerves before the signal has time to register in the brain, and I’ll never feel it. And who will the survivors prosecute and/or sue? Certainly not him!” (06/15/09) Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2009/tle523-20090614-03.html | |
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“Second Amendment may return to SCOTUS,” featuring Robert A. Levy. [MP3] (06/15/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/cato061509 | |
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Federal “fusion centers” aimed at Second Amendment, free speech
Source: Tulsa Beacon Author: N. D. Blevins “According to a report by the [DHS] and its federal-state ‘fusion centers:’ If you have expressed concern for the trillions of dollars being poured into the unending series of government bailouts; and over the refusal of our government to secure our borders and stop the continuing deluge of illegal aliens [sic] and terrorists entering our country; If you support the Second Amendment and oppose the prohibition, restriction and confiscation of privately owned firearms; If you criticized the United Nations; and If you sport any politically incorrect bumper stickers, you have the characteristics of a ‘right wing extremist’ and ‘militia member’ whose mindset poses a ‘threat to law enforcement.” (06/15/09) Link: http://www.tulsabeacon.com/?p=2203 | |
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“Obama is charismatic. He reads a good speech. He knows what to say to divert attention from his real activities. He says he supports the Second Amendment, but recently announced he was going to ask the Senate to ratify the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials. In essence, this would ban and control firearms in excess of what any gun control fanatic would want — registration of all guns, ammunition, components and attachments — all in a database available to foreign countries. Home reloading would be prohibited, unless you had a manufacturing license.” (06/14/09) Link: http://onlineathens.com/stories/061509/let_450945969.shtml | |
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“CBS News and U.S. News have posted a stunning, disturbing opinion piece by Bonnie Erbe. … Her voice is loud and reaches far. Here’s what it’s saying: ‘Round Up Hate-Promoters Now, Before Any More Holocaust Museum Attacks … something must be done about ridding the Internet and the public dialogue of hate speech … Isn’t it time we started rounding up promoters of hate before they kill?’” (06/13/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ndwkus | |
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“This isn’t the first time I’ve made this observation, nor indeed am I naive enough to think I’m the only one who’s noticed what is happening. Both the economic hard times and the concern of a lot of the citizenry about the ratcheting up of oppression contribute to the kooks coming out of the woodwork. I always refer to guys like Roeder, von Brunn, or Muhammad (just to mention the latest 3) as ‘windup wackos.’ Not because I think there’s some sort of sinister plot using them to further some grand design, but because the press seizes on them and trots out the same old tired advocates of victim disarmament every time, like clockwork. Make no mistake — disparate as the twisted motivations and targets of the three vile accused murderers I mention are, those shootings are all related to the climate of the times.” (06/15/09) Link: http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/09/06/15/hunter.html | |
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“It should be noted that the museum, as well as all of Washington D.C. are ‘gun free zones’ as far as carrying guns by non-government law enforcement personnel is concerned. Which is ironic when you consider the ‘Personal Histories’ headline on the museum’s ‘Resistance’ page: ‘At that time, a gun and a million dollars, the gun was worth more than a million dollars.’ ‘Never again’ is nothing more than a hollow slogan without the means to protect against it. Disarmament helped make genocide possible.” (06/10/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ly4ma8 | |
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“The news media is reporting that an armed man shot and killed a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum yesterday with a 22-caliber rifle. That’s impossible. It just cannot be true. Don’t the media know that the Holocaust Museum is located in Washington, D.C.? Don’t they know that despite the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in D.C. v. Heller, our nation’s capital nonetheless has maintained a strict regime of gun control?” (06/11/09) Link: http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2009-06-11.asp | |
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“There is only one answer that strikes me as logical. Somebody is buying and stashing ammo. Seeing as the shortage in certain calibers actually goes back to last summer it really can’t be blamed on the current administration or people fearing it imposing restrictions on weapons. However if someone was expecting a war or major peace keeping action they might start building supplies of munitions.” (06/08/09) Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2009/tle522-20090607-08.html | |
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“The pastor of the New Bethel Church in Louisville, Kentucky has invited his congregation to bring their guns to church for a special event later this month. He wants to celebrate the right of all Americans to bear arms. It will be an event to underscore the second amendment and offer education about guns and gun safety. Of course, there is the condition: He said ‘You can bring your firearm, but it has to be unloaded and in a safe secure receptacle.’ Oh, please! I think his heart is in the right place, but his brain isn’t fully thinking this through. If he wants to raise the discussion of carrying arms, why neuter the event by assuring everyone that all of the guns brought are about as dangerous as a waffle iron?” (06/04/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/mmeyhg | |
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“Republican legislators in the Texas House of Representatives were so hell-bent on passing this repressive and useless ‘Voter ID’ law that they scuttled their own time-honored rules of procedure just so they could keep Democrats from blocking a vote on the Voter ID bill. The result was a five-day filibuster on the House floor, courtesy of Democratic legislators, that stretched over Memorial Day weekend. When the dust settled, Voter ID was dead, but so were hundreds of other bills which were simply tossed aside by House Republicans in a vain effort to save Voter ID. One of those bills thrown on the funeral pyre was the campus concealed-carry bill, which had already passed the Texas Senate and was simply awaiting a vote in the House.” (06/05/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/n9azam | |
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Discussing guns dubbed “academic misconduct”
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal Author: Vin Suprynowicz “The forces of political correctness once vowed that, should they ever take over, their free expression on all kinds of issues — from gay rights to amnesty for illegals to space aliens inspiring the pyramids of ancient Egypt — would no longer be censored. Censored? Heck, spouting the PC line is now mandatory, as many a professor lately hauled before a college Star Chamber on charges of having ‘given offense’ now learns. … A student who wants to form a gun-rights group at the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh has been threatened with disciplinary action for her efforts, reports the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.” (06/07/09) Link: http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/47141317.html | |
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“The best reason that I can think of for American citizens to keep and bear arms for their own defense … is a quote attributed to Japan’s Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (1884-1943), the commander-in-chief of Japan’s combined fleet during World War II. He was a student of Harvard from 1919 to 1921, and had observed that Americans were not subjects of the government, but were, instead, well-armed citizens that were ready, willing and able to defend their homeland against all comers.He is credited with having stated that his reason for attacking Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, instead of America’s west coast, was that invading America would be a suicide attack because there would be a rifle behind every blade of grass. ” (06/03/09) Link: http://www.standard.net/live/news/174930 | |
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Back to the Future: Is it just me, or have we been here before?
Source: Sipsey Street Irregulars Author: Mike “Most in the movement had little sympathy for the Freemen or the Republic of Texas, but they were determined to prevent another exercise of ‘Waco rules.’ Mike Vanderboegh offered the Republic of Texas as an example of the problem: ‘Everybody understood these guys were loons; nobody liked them. You know, they were chasing little fairies of history dust … Our problem was we want to let the Feds know that it’s not okay to provide a Waco solution to this problem. At the same time we want to let the Republic of Texas know, ‘We’re not going to come to your defense. We’re not encouraging you boys.”” (08/01/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/o5btpe | |
Events and Movement News
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Mike Hammond, a consultant for Gun Owners of America, joins host Kenneth John. 9-10am Central on WRMN 1410 AM, Elgin, IL or live on the web. [live radio or stream] (01/26/09) Link: http://www.freedomrings.net/ | |
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Is the Second Amendment an Individual Right?
Source: Independent Institute Event Date(s): June 9,2008 Last year, a federal appeals court overturned the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns. Now the U.S. Supreme Court will decide the case after nearly seventy years of silence on the Second Amendment. Observers expect the Court to finally settle the legal question of whether the constitutional ‘right of the people to keep and bear arms’ is an individual right held by all, or a ‘collective right’ of the state governments to maintain militias. What did the Founders intend when they drafted the Second Amendment? Please join us as constitutional legal scholar and Independent Institute Research Fellow Stephen P. Halbrook and George Mason University Law School legal historian Joyce Lee Malcolm examine these issues. Wine & Cheese Reception 5:00 pmProgram 6:00-7:00 pmQ & A to follow The Independent Institute,1319 Eighteenth Street, N.W.Washington, D.C. (06/04/08) Link: http://www.independent.org/events/detail.asp?eventID=137 | |
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“A gunman has opened fire with a rifle in a shopping centre in the US state of Nebraska, killing eight people before fatally shooting himself, police say. A further five people were wounded — two critically — in the shooting at the Westroads Mall in Omaha. Police have identified the gunman as Robert Hawkins, 19, from Bellevue, close to Omaha. They said a suicide note had been recovered. Hawkins struck as the centre was crowded with Christmas shoppers. Witnesses spoke of shoppers screaming and scrambling to find safe shelter as the gunman struck.” [editor’s note: Naturally, no witnesses spoke of the armed citizen who put this animal down BEFORE he had time to shoot 13 people and himself. Why? Because there were almost certainly “no guns” signs posted at the entrances to the mall pursuant to the idiotic agenda of declaring such places to be free-fire zones for people who don’t obey such signs - TLK] (12/06/07) Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7129906.stm | |
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“On April 16, 2007, twenty-seven students and five faculty members at Virginia Tech lost their lives to a madman who possessed one distinct advantage over his victims — He was not concerned with following the rules. Undeterred by Virginia Tech’s status as a ‘gun free zone,’ this mentally unstable individual carried two handguns onto the university campus and indiscriminately opened fire. During the week of October 22-27, 2007, college students throughout America will attend classes wearing empty holsters, in protest of state laws and campus policies that stack the odds in favor of armed killers by disarming law abiding citizens who are licensed to carry concealed handguns virtually everywhere else.” (10/09/07) Link: http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article3989.html | |
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“In honor of the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic ‘March on Washington’ for civil rights, The Firearms Coalition is joining with other gun rights groups to declare August 28 ‘National Exercise Your Rights Day.’ Reverend Jesse Jackson is calling on citizens to exercise their First Amendment rights by participating in anti-gun/anti-violence protest marches in 25 cities nationwide on that day. The Firearms Coalition echoes that call to supporters of the Second Amendment, encouraging them to exercise their rights by purchasing a firearm or ammunition on August 28.” (08/26/07) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2loz6f | |
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“It’s here at last — the long-awaited 85-minute DVD documentary exposing the irresponsible, malicious, and criminal actions of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE). After just the first few shocking minutes you’ll fully understand why we call it: The Gang. … DVDs are for sale NOW at www.thegangmovie.com (or through our online store at www.jpfo.org/store.htm ). Now it’s time for each of us to use The Gang. Really use it to rid ourselves, once and for all, of what can rightly be called an infamous criminal syndicate masquerading as a legitimate federal agency.” (05/28/07) Link: http://www.jpfo.org/alert20070528.htm | |
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“Openly armed firearms enthusiasts packed a normally sedate government building Thursday night, hoping to win a pistol or rifle and at the same time send a defiant message to gun-control advocates, especially New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun-rights group, organized the ‘Bloomberg Gun Giveaway’ in large part to thumb its nose at Bloomberg, who accuses some shops of allowing illegal purchases of firearms that later were used in crimes in his city.” (05/17/07) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2mtwfo | |
