Pennsylvania Gun-Registration Bill Said Doomed: A proposed law that in part would require gun owners to pay a $10 annual gun registration fee for all firearms except antiques and those used by police has generated controversy. But state Rep. Jeffrey P. Pyle, R-Ford City, says the bill is just plain dead. Pyle said the bill, introduced March 19 by Rep. Angel Cruz, D-Philadephia County, originally had eight co-sponsors, but within days of its introduction, five withdrew their support. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/leadertimes/s_502548.html --- Pennsylvania Gun Owner Wins National Acclaim: Michael Stollenwerk, a former Lancaster County resident who wears a loaded pistol strapped to his hip in restaurants, is becoming somewhat of a folk hero in the guns-rights movement. Pennsylvania State Police have dropped their appeal to a court victory Stollenwork won in February 2006 that says residents don't have to reveal their Social Security numbers when purchasing guns or applying to carry a concealed firearm... http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/202864 --- Ohio Gun Owners Win Appeal: OFCC's appeal of our loss in the Clyde Case has been successful! In a very straightforward decision, the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals ruled that, "due to the passage of H.B. 347, we reverse and instruct the trial court to enter summary judgment in favor of appellants" on Friday, April 13, 2007...The City of Clyde Ohio passed a ban on concealed carry in its public parks soon after HB 12 went into effect. Ohioans For Concealed Carry sued the City, arguing that the ban was a violation of Section 9 of HB 12, which stated that the intent of the Ohio legislature was to enact HB 12 as a general law and to preempt attempts of local municipalities to further restrict the places a person with a concealed handgun license could carry their firearm. http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3856/83/ Gun Owners Of The World, Unite!: The flap over Jim Zumbo's comments about so-called assault weapons brought the rift among gun owners into the public spotlight. Although Zumbo apologized, his comments show that some gun owners, and advocacy groups, are content to fight their own battle against gun confiscation unaware of the danger that poses for the movement as a whole... http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article3658.html --- NRA "Civil Rights" Claim Disputed: David Quammen challenges a recent statement by Sandra Froman that the NRA is "largest civil-liberties organization this nation has ever seen." He makes a distinction between the concept of civil rights versus human rights or natural rights. (I have questioned earlier claims, such as those voiced by Wayne LaPierre, the the NRA is the nation's oldest civil-rights group. The NRA was founded to promote rifle marksmanship, has endorsed several laws that have or would have limited the RKBA and has only recently claimed that its primary role is defense of the RKBA.) http://gunshowonthenet.blogspot.com/2007/04/re-nra-largest-civil-rights-group-ever.html --- A Liberal Looks At Parker And The NRA: "...But Parker would not validate the old NRA Second Amendment theory of an absolute prohibition against government regulation of firearms. It would establish an individual right to "bear arms", but would allow Federal, State and local governments to balance that 'right' against the public's 'right' to safety - in effect ratifying the complex schemes of gun control in the various states the NRA has fought for decades with a wholly different version of the Second Amendment...Instead, the NRA pushed legislation that by-passed the ordinary procedures of Congress and sought to repeal the D.C. statutes that banned the private possession of firearms, thus mooting Parker and allowing the old "absolute right" version of the Second Amendment to prevail..." http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/04/nra_forced_to_s.html --- Missouri Governor Signs Anti-Confiscation Bill At NRA Annual Meeting: Governor Matt Blunt signed into law a fundamental protection against gun confiscation during declared states of emergencies. The bill signing ceremony took place at NRA's Opening Celebration Friday afternoon at the America's Center in St. Louis. http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?id=2883 --- John Bolton, Oliver North Address NRA Meeting: The national NRA convention, which opened here yesterday, has been billed as a "celebration of American freedom" and the right to keep and bear arms...The NRA canceled plans to meet in Columbus, Ohio, after the city council adopted a ban on assault-type weapons. The NRA says moving here puts it within a 300-mile radius of 500,000 members. http://www.columbiatribune.com/2007/Apr/20070413News013.asp --- Protests At NRA Meeting: One of two groups picketing the annual NRA meeting in St. Louis are members of the phony American Hunters and Shooters Association, who claim to be doing so because they are critical of the NRA for what they call the organization's support of politicians who favor privatizing public lands. http://www.kmov.com/topstories/stories/kmov_localnews_070412_nra.3637dc9.html --- Romney Skips NRA Convention: The following was released today by the Democratic National Committee: Smooth talking Mitt Romney heads to South Carolina today, one day after skipping his first National Rifle Association Annual Meeting since purchasing a "lifetime" NRA membership in August. While Romney has told audiences that he is "after the NRA's endorsement," he dodged the NRA convention in St. Louis despite being in the same town at the same time for a fundraiser. http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=ind_focus.story&STORY=/www/story/04-13-2007/0004565115&EDATE=FRI+Apr+13+2007,+01:29+PM --- Misinformed Moms March For DC Gun Ban: Members of the District of Columbia Chapter of the Million Mom March (MMM-DC) will stand with other D.C. residents and community activists to defend DC residents' right to determine their own gun laws during the D.C. Voting Rights March on Monday, April 16, 2007. http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=ind_focus.story&STORY=/www/story/04-13-2007/0004565135&EDATE=FRI+Apr+13+2007,+02:23+PM --- NSSF Responds To Bloomberg On Tiahrt Amendment: Sadly but not surprisingly, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has once again distorted the facts surrounding an important piece of legislation designed to protect law enforcement. The Tiahrt Amendment, while restricting access of firearms tracing data to the general public, does not, as Mayor Bloomberg contends, restrict law enforcement from either accessing or sharing the sensitive information... http://sev.prnewswire.com/aerospace-defense/20070412/CLTH15813042007-1.html Related Articles: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/2007/04/13/2007-04-13_mike_funds_gun_showdown.html http://www.nypost.com/seven/04132007/news/regionalnews/mike_takes_a_hot_at_gun_pols_regionalnews_david_seifman.htm --- Oops, Wrong House: Green Lake County (WI) Sheriff's deputies are working with Human Services to determine what precipitated a gun incident involving an elderly woman in a residence in the Town of Green Lake on the south side of Big Green Lake late Wednesday. (Let's see, a deputy uses a key supplied by a third party to enter the home of an elderly woman an is surprised to be confronted at gunpoint?) http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070413/APC0101/70413008/1979 --- Victim Got Off Shot Before Dying: Before he was killed, Mark Fisher managed to fire one shot at the man who had just blasted into his Casper WY home, a detective testified Thursday. (Note that attacks on estranged wives or girlfriends and the men who become involved with them are a fairly common theme in the news.) http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/04/13/news/casper/fdb94fbbf3be9cf3872572bc0004d557.txt --- Rule One, Rule Two, Rule Three Reminder: The five-year-old daughter of a reserve deputy sheriff in Tennessee is recovering after being shot by her father. The shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. Sunday as James Michael Powers cleaned and inspected his service weapon while sitting on the couch at his Lenoir City home. Powers didn't realize a hollow point bullet was loaded when the gun discharged and hit his daughter, Chastity Powers, in the abdomen. (Rule One: All firearms are always loaded. Rule Two: Don't let the muzzle cross anything you're not prepared to shoot. Rule Three: Keep your finger out of the trigger guard, up on the frame, until your sights are on the target and you're prepared to fire.) http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=6342215 --- The Plot Thickens: The FBI originally reported that an agent killed during the arrest of bank robbers "may have been fatally wounded as a result of the accidental discharge of another agent's weapon during a dynamic arrest situation." But a report by The Star-Ledger of Newark for Sunday's newspapers that cites two law-enforcement sources close to the investigation says Bush's death may have been a case of mistaken identity. (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it.) http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070408/NEWS/70408005 --- The Dalai Lama's Army: David Kopel looks at the history of Tibet's defense from outsiders for some insights into Tibetan Buddhism's views on self-defense and armed combat. (I missed this article when it was originally posted due to the title, which failed to alert me as to its content.) http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NTUyZmMyZjY5OTQyZmFmMDFhY2M3ZWYwMGVlNmY1YWI= --- Swiss Leftists Seek End To Arms Tradition: Pacifists and centre-left parties want voters to have the final say on breaking with a long-standing Swiss tradition of storing personal army rifles and pistols at home. They said they would launch a people's initiative to ban such weapons in households. The announcement came a day after parliament refused to take action over the issue. http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/top_news/detail/Centre_left_wants_to_end_Swiss_gun_tradition.html?siteSect=106&sid=7650003&cKey=1174747610000 --- CCW In Canada: A Canadian Member of Parliament has been seeking disclosure of how many "Authorizations to Carry" firearms have been issued in his country for "protection of life." http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/publications/2007_new/126.pdf http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/inthehouse/Questions/2006/may_12.htm http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/publications/2006/748.pdf --- NRA-ILA Alerts: Recent alerts from the NRA-ILA concerning the various states can be located http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/State/. --- Tangentially Related: With all the discussion of the shortcomings of the leading GOP presidential hopefuls, it may be worth taking a look at the background of Bill Richardson, the Democrat who has respectable RKBA credentials. (Like George W. Bush, Richardson signed CHL legislation for his state; Richardson, however, went on to obtain a CHL, albeit stating the he was doing so mostly to show support for the program.) http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0414richardson0414.html -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .