Empty-Holster Week Starts Today: A group of Miami University students will strap on empty holsters today to oppose gun-control laws. The students are joining a national protest this week of students who say laws banning licensed concealed carried weapons on campuses should be repealed. Stephen Feltoon, a senior psychology student at Miami, said he expects about 15 Miami students to join more than 500 from a hundred colleges nationwide. "We're not expecting overnight change," Feltoon said. "We want students to come up and ask 'Hey, what's with the holster?'" http://www.oxfordpress.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/10/22/hjn102207miamiguns.html --- VCDL vs. Misguided Moms: ... The pleasantries of the two camps grew somber at noon: 32 advocates of clamping down on gun-show loopholes, each signaled by a gong stroke, lay supine on the ground, symbolizing Seung-Hui Cho's 32 shooting victims at Virginia Tech on April 16... "Yes, I tried to get in the way on purpose. I have a right to state my view as much as they do," said Chesterfield County resident Paul Henick. "They can't muzzle me." Henick, who wore a badge from the Citizen Defense League, loomed over the recumbent victims with a half-dozen other gun-rights activists. He carried a sign that stated: "This is what happens when people are denied effective means of self-defense." http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2007-10-21-0283.html http://www.nbc12.com/news/state/10691606.html --- CWP's Increase In Colorado: ... Legislation passed in 2003 made Colorado a "shall-issue state," requiring county sheriff's offices to issue concealed-handgun permits to people who pass the necessary criminal background checks, pay a fee of $152.50, prove proficiency with a handgun through a safety class or prior experience and don't give authorities any reason to believe they might be a danger to themselves or to others. Susan Kitchen, a Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent in charge of the concealed-handgun background-check program, said she has seen interest in carrying concealed weapons spike in recent years. http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/oct/21/packing-heat-concealed-handgun-permits-on-the/ --- Support For Oregon Teacher's CCW Bid: In Oregon, high school English teacher Shirley Katz is suing South Medford School District to allow her to carry her pistol to school. She's a law-abiding citizen. She has a carry-and-conceal permit. She also has an ex-husband who has threatened to kill her. Even without the ex-husband, I say let the woman pack. Apparently, Oregon doesn't prohibit gun owners from carrying firearms into public buildings, but it seems federal laws are treading where they don't belong. (The issue in the Katz case is not the federal GFSZA, which is rendered moot by state law, but the policy of the local school board.) http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=18938884&BRD=2715&PAG=461&dept_id=562463&rfi=8 --- Open Carry In Utah: For Clachelle Jensen, preparing to leave the house with her two children goes something like this: Baby wipes? Check. Extra diapers? Check. Glock pistol? Check. "I just feel safer when I have my gun on my hip," said Jensen, 28, who lives in Santaquin. "There's so many lunatics and crazies out there, you never know when something's going to happen." The petite brunette's not shy about showing off her weapon, either. The Glock has a semipermanent home on her belt. (If I understand Utah law correctly, you must have a CFP to carry openly within a city or town.) http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695220748,00.html --- Illinois County RKBA Vote Redundant But Necessary: The Coles County Board pulled the trigger on a redundancy at its last meeting, but managed to hit its target. The redundancy was a 12-0 vote to adopt an advisory resolution pledging it will "oppose the enactment of any legislation that would infringe upon the rights of the people to keep and bear arms." ... The target of the county board's resolution was proposed state legislation to eliminate shotguns. As of Thursday, 53 counties have adopted the resolution. (Illinois has 102 counties.) http://www.jg-tc.com/articles/2007/10/21/opinion/editorial/doc47194e229ad47226204626.txt --- NRA President - No New Stupid Guns Laws: National Rifle Association President John C. Sigler has a simple prescription for the gun violence plaguing cities across America: No new stupid gun laws. Repeal the worst that are already on the books, and enforce the smart ones that work... "Criminals, by their very definition, routinely ignore the law -- otherwise they would not be criminals," Sigler said Wednesday at the Widener University School of Law. "And the only time any law means anything to a criminal is when it is enforced by way of incarceration, incapacitation or other meaningful penalty." http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071018/NEWS/710180375/1006/NEWS --- Pollution Spreads From California: A lot of people are talking about the microstamping bill that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law over the weekend. And all of the folks who say it can't stop crime, but only make firearms more expensive, are absolutely right. But there's another unintended consequence, and it's one every gun owner should think about. When the California governor signed this law, he signaled to the gun banners nationwide that it's time to introduce microstamping bills in other states, too. (Remember that the nation's first ban on cosmetically impaired firearms was in California.) http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=321 --- When Machine Guns Are (Nearly) Outlawed: Randy Powell has a .50-caliber machine gun he would like to sell you - but he can't afford to. The monster, sitting in a cage in back of his gun store and shooting range in Lawrenceville, can cut down a tree - and could easily fetch $30,000 in a perfectly legal sale. But for Powell, the sale would be the equivalent of hawking a Picasso or vintage wine. The gun increases in value exponentially each year. "I bought that gun for $10,000 about 10 years ago," he said. "I could make a lot of money if I sold it but it's an investment more than anything. There is no wholesale market. If I want another one, I may have to pay more than that." http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2007/10/20/tiguns_1021.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab --- Oops, Wrong Store: An attempt to rob a convenience store went awry Friday night when the store clerk pulled out his own gun and shot one of the suspects in the chest in an exchange of gunfire, police said... The clerk was standing in front of JR Market on National Avenue at 38th Street at 10 p.m. when he was approached by two men armed with a handgun, San Diego police said. When they pointed the gun at him, the clerk pulled out his own handgun and they exchanged fire... About 20 minutes later, a woman called to report that a man had been shot. Officers who responded found a man lying in a van on 30th Street suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20071020-9999-1bn20shot.html --- North Carolina Woman Promotes Hunting, Fishing: ... She still loves the outdoors, and she wants to share the experiences with other women. She has just formed the first North Carolina chapter of Outdoor Women Unlimited. The other chapter of the nonprofit group is in Alabama...She's a certified firearms instructor and she is teaching classes in gun safety. She uses the local law enforcement firing range until her own Mama Bear Shooting Range opens in February or March. http://www.newbernsj.com/news/deer_37134___article.html/women_outdoor.html --- Harvard Prohibitionists Laud Mayor Bloomberg: Mayor Michael Bloomberg was named the recipient of an award from the Harvard School of Public Health for his administration's efforts to improve the health of New Yorkers, the school announced Sunday...The Bloomberg administration has mounted successful campaigns to improve millions of residents' health and safety, the school said, noting the city's bans on smoking and trans fats in restaurants, and efforts against gun violence. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--bloomberg-award1021oct21,0,1184388.story --- If The Commissioner Says So, It Must Be True: Prohibitionist propaganda from Australia advises us that, "(Philadelphia) Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson has told AM, tighter gun laws would be a 'tremendous help.' At the moment to buy a gun you just have to pass a criminal background check and not have a record of mental illness. After that, guns don't have to be registered or licensed; you don't even have to report a stolen weapon. And this year alone, Philadelphia has issued more than 4,000 permits to carry a concealed weapon. Almost 24,000 of these permits have been handed out in five years." (The commissioner seems to have failed to cite how many people who are licensed to carry have been implicated in Philadelphia's wave of unlawful homicides.) http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2007/s2065598.htm -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .