If you are anti-guns, or afraid of guns, or just don't like them and don't want them in your house, then this blog is for you.
(It might just change your mind)

Monday, March 26, 2012

Taking Away Our Ammo...

The Goldilocks approach to ammunition bans
by Kurt Hofmann

There is a renewed push underway to compel the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban lead bullets and shotgun pellets.  The bans, of course, would not be universal:  The ban sought by environmental groups would not apply to ammunition used by law enforcement and the military.

The lead in government bullets, apparently, is far too well behaved to poison anyone, as private citizens' lead would.  That's a good thing, I suppose, given the fact that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has just ordered up to 450 million (lead-based) .40 caliber pistol rounds.

There are a good many reasons to object to the idea of banning lead ammunition for private use (including the fact that now we're being told that one component of "green" ammunition is itself likely to be carcinogenic), but today, we'll look at just one that might not be readily apparent. While the petition to pressure the EPA into banning lead ammo makes an exception for law enforcement and military, it does not seem to make provision for exempting handgun ammunition.

This is significant because under federal law, the composition of bullets used in handgun ammunition is already strictly controlled (with, again, exceptions for law enforcement and the military), in order to make it difficult for pesky private citizens to be able to shoot through the body armor their assailants/oppressors might be wearing
Add lead to the list of verboten bullet components, and what are private citizens left with to defend themselves--plastic bullets?

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-st-louis/the-goldilocks-approach-to-ammunition-bans

Martin and Zimmerman

by Kami

Unless you've been living in a cave for the last week or so, undoubtedly you heard about the case of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman.

George Zimmerman is part of a neighborhood watch program.  Trayvon Martin was visiting some friends or family from out of town.  Martin had walked to a corner store and picked up an ice tea and some skittles and was talking to a female friend on the phone on the way back.  Zimmerman was driving along, seeing a 6'2" black kid that he was unfamiliar with walking down the street of his neighborhood. 

And this is where a big fat misunderstanding starts to happen...



http://iratblu.blogspot.com/2012/03/justice-and-gun-rights-trayvon-martin.html

Don't trust the AFT? Neither does the ATF!

Internal memo shows ATF rank and file don't trust the brass


Top leaders at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, already under fire from lawmakers in the wake of the “Fast and Furious” debacle, also get harsh marks from the men and women who serve under them, according to an internal survey.

An ATF memo obtained by FoxNews.com reveals that rank-and-file workers at the beleaguered federal agency, where whistleblowers who first alerted lawmakers to the “gun-walking” scandal say they were threatened or even punished, don’t trust the agency’s leaders.

“A key area in which ATF fell short was leadership,” the e-mail from ATF Headquarters, describing the results of the internal survey, reads.

“Most troubling were responses to the question – ‘My senior leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity.’”

Just 44 percent of ATF employees said that their leaders maintained such standards last year, according to the Partnership for Public Service, the non-profit that administers the annual survey to government employees.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/26/internal-memo-shows-atf-rank-and-file-dont-trust-brass/

Remington threatens to pull out of New York in response to Bloomberg gun bill

Remington Arms Company threatens to pull plant out of New York in response to Bloomy-backed gun bill




ALBANY — One of the world’s major gun manufacturers is threatening to pull its plant out of New York over a gun bill pushed by Mayor Bloomberg.

Remington Arms Company, in a recent letter to Gov. Cuomo, said it may be forced to bail on the Empire State if a law requiring bullet casings to carry unique markings is enacted.

Supporters argue the technology, known as microstamping, would help solve gun crimes. Detractors say it’s unreliable, easily tampered with and costly.

Remington has a manufacturing plant that employs more than 1,000 workers in the village of Ilion, about 90 miles west of Albany.

“Mandating firearms micro- stamping will restrict the ability of Remington to expand business in the Empire State,” company chief strategy officer Stephen Jackson Jr. wrote to Cuomo.

“Worse yet, Remington could be forced to reconsider its commitment to the New York market altogether rather than spend the astronomical sums of money needed to completely reconfigure our manufacturing and assembly processes.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/remington-arms-company-threatens-pull-plant-york-response-bloomy-backed-gun-bill-article-1.1050781

More power to ya'.  Bring that business to Texas yall!

TX P&W Considering Allowing Use of Lawfully-Owned Suppressors to Hunt

Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission to Vote Next Thursday on Allowing Use of Lawfully-Owned Suppressors to Hunt -- Last Chance to Comment!

Recently, the NRA notified you about the opportunity to attend Texas Parks and Wildlife Department public hearings or to submit public comments online in support of an administrative rule change that would positively impact hunting in the Lone Star State.  You now have one last opportunity to weigh in on this debate by personally attending the next public meeting, where the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission will vote on the department's hunting regulation proposals.  This meeting will be held on Thursday, March 29 at 9:00 a.m. in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Commission Hearing Room, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX 78744.

http://www.nraila.org/hunting/issues-and-alerts/2012/3/texas-parks-and-wildlife-commission-to-vote-next-thursday-on-allowing-use-of-lawfully-owned-suppressors-to-hunt-last-chance-to-comment!.aspx

Appeals court hears case of Washington state man denied concealed handgun permit in Denver


A federal appeals court on Monday heard arguments in a case that could have wide-ranging implications for Colorado's gun-control laws.

The case involves a Washington-state man named Gray Peterson who sued Colorado and Denver after he was denied a concealed-handgun permit because he is not a resident of the state. Peterson said the denial violates his Second Amendment rights because Denver places restrictions on where people can carry guns without a permit.

If judges at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, one rung below the U.S. Supreme Court, agree with Peterson, either the Denver law or the state law — or both — could be overturned.

"A near-total ban on the carrying of firearms is unconstitutional," said Matt Bower, an attorney for the National Rifle Association's Civil Rights Defense Fund, which intervened to support Peterson. "That's what we have going on here in Denver."

But an attorney for the state said the challenge is misplaced. In court filings, state attorneys noted that Peterson would still be able to carry a gun in his car or his house.


http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_20210933/appeals-court-hears-case-washington-state-man-denied

That State Attorney needs a lesson in common sense.  If it's in your house or you car, you're not CARRYING it. 2A grants us the right to own and BEAR arms.  Not just to own and STORE arms.

This is a very sad story, and my hear and prayers go out to the family.

I cant know for certain what happened, but indications are that he had improperly carried it in his waistband (ie without a holster).  As I have preached in the past, and will preach again, there is NO substitute for a proper holster.  This is not the first time that we've seen CHLs injuring or killing themselves when they improperly carry.  

Simply tucking a gun into your waistband or pocket is a recipe for disaster.  Personally, I recommend only a sturdy Kydex reinforced holster.  Not a flimsy fabric or even leather holster.  I don't fee safe unless the trigger guard is fully enclosed and covered by a non-collapsing non-flexible holster surface.

And while I'm on the subject, I recommend never NEVER putting your finger in the trigger well unless it is time to shoot.  I've see far too many people handle their weapon this way.  Even if you have a safety, even if the weapon is unloaded, your index finger should be straight out - pointing where the barrel is pointing, until you intend to shoot it.

Father accidentally kills himself in front of children at grocery store

A father accidentally shot and killed himself at the grocery store Sunday evening, according to the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office.
 
The father, a 45-year-old Spotsylvania man, was in his minivan with his children waiting for his wife to return a DVD to the Redbox outside the Giant Food Store in Harrison Crossing when he was shot, said Captain Elizabeth Scott with the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office.

The wife said she heard a pop and when she ran back to the minivan, her husband told her he thought he'd shot himself, said Capt. Scott. [UPDATE: Police say shooting victim had gun tucked in waistband]


http://www.kfor.com/news/wtvr-father-kills-self-grocery-store-20111114,0,3201030.story

Monday, March 19, 2012

Sad day


Erik Scott’s Family Drops Lawsuit  
Sunday, March 18th, 2012 
 
Scott, a West Point grad and Duke graduate student, was shot and killed outside of a Las Vegas Costco after he got into an argument with a Costco employee. The employee apparently saw that Scott was (legally) carrying a weapon, panicked, and called the police. In their testimony at the coroner’s inquest, police said that as Scott was leaving the Costco, they simultaneously told him to drop his weapon and put his hands in the air. When he didn’t comply with both, which of course was impossible, they killed him.

The coroner nonetheless found the shooting justified. Which shouldn’t be surprising. Las Vegas hasn’t fired a police officer for shooting someone in any of the 378 times it’s happened over the last 20 years. (Although one of the cops involved in the Scott shooting was later fired and criminally charged in a separate case for providing a gun to a felon.)

Scott had no prior criminal record. His family had been pursuing a lawsuit. But they’ve now given up, apparently out of frustration. Here’s the press release, in full:

Scott Family Announces Erik B. Scott Lawsuit to be Dismissed
Las Vegas, NV (March 13, 2012) – Upon advice of legal counsel, the family of Erik B. Scott has dismissed its lawsuit against the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Sheriff Doug Gillespie and the three officers who shot and killed Erik on July 10, 2010.
“We are extremely disappointed, and this action is being taken with great reluctance,” said William B. Scott, Erik’s father. “We thank our attorney, Ross Goodman, and his team for their outstanding efforts on Erik’s and our behalf. It’s time to move on with our lives.”

“We feel Erik was wrongfully killed, through an incredibly tragic mistake,” he added. “Officer William Mosher claimed he tapped Erik on the shoulder, and Mosher confirmed, at the coroner’s inquest hearing, that Erik responded by stating that he had a concealed firearm. Erik was trying to comply with the officer’s conflicting commands, when Mosher fired two shots.

The commands and those first shots occurred within two seconds. Mosher’s first round hit Erik in the heart, killing him instantly. The second round went through Erik’s right thigh. Officers Mendiola and Stark then fired another five rounds into Erik’s back, after my son was on the ground and dying.”

Despite multiple witnesses confirming Erik was complying with Officer Mosher’s commands, recent Ninth Circuit Court opinions finding “qualified immunity” for police officers, even after agreeing excessive force had been used, makes it difficult to proceed with this lawsuit.

“While we believe the Costco surveillance-video data — which captured the shooting — provides irrefutable evidence that Erik was wrongfully killed, the ‘missing’ segment of that video makes it difficult to overcome those qualified-immunity legal issues,” Scott said.
Odd how critical portions of surveillance video often turn up missing, isn’t it?

Great Cartoon Showing How Gun Control Endangers Innocent Lives


Great Cartoon Showing How Gun Control Endangers Innocent Lives

March 17, 2012 by Dan Mitchell

Remember the Fort Hood shootings, when the crazed Islamist killed a bunch of people? How many of us know that Major Hasan had the ability to kill so many people because of a Clinton-era policy limiting gun possession on military bases? In other words, the government created a safe zone for the killer.
This is why “gun-free” zones are stupid at best and more likely to create dangerous environments. If you’re a vile, evil, or crazy person, that’s where you’ll go because nobody can shoot back.
This great Chuck Asay cartoon makes this point, celebrating a recent Colorado Court decision (you can see more of his cartoons here, here, here, here, and here).

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

gunman opens fire at Texas courthouse

1 dead, 3 wounded after gunman opens fire at Texas courthouse

At least one person is dead and three others wounded after a gunman opened fire Wednesday at a Texas courthouse. 
The shooting happened at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Beaumont, Texas, about 80 miles east of Houston. A Beaumont police spokeswoman told Fox News that the alleged gunman was taken into custody after being shot by police.

READ MORE:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/14/1-dead-4-wounded-after-gunman-allegedly-opens-fire-at-texas-courthouse/

After the Shooting (What every gun owner should know)

By Tupreco


Your bedside clock says 3:40 a.m. You have just awakened to a sound like breaking glass.  You pick up the phone to call 911 but the line is dead.  It’s dark in the house and you ease out of bed to retrieve your handgun from the closet safe just as you have practiced dozens of times.  You wait inside your bedroom door with your ear straining to hear. Someone is down the hall sliding something on the tile.    At that instant, the 30-second delay on your security system expires and the alarm begins to peal.  Another crash in the living room and you are now standing in the hall - gun drawn.  A person you have never seen before senses your presence and turns toward you while reaching for his belt.  He is close and coming toward you and has ignored your command to stop.  You don’t specifically remember firing but he goes down after two hollow points catch him in the chest.  The knife he was reaching for drops to the floor next to him as he falls.  Time seems to stand still.  Your cell phone rings and you jump – your security company is on the line about the alarm trip.  You tell them to call the police.  You hang up and call 911 and check his vitals – no pulse or breathing. Now what?

You just shot an armed intruder in self-defense. You have also just stepped into the middle of a legal minefield.  This instance is a clear case of self-defense.  Will it be seen that way? The widely-held belief that you are innocent until proven guilty cannot be presumed.  The new world you have just entered is far from ideal and the burden of proving your innocence will be on you.   What happens next? You will be anxious to talk to the first responders who just arrived, probably police and paramedics. You will also have to overcome an overwhelming and immediate desire to begin justifying your actions to anyone who will listen to you. But for now, saying as little as possible will be the best decision of your life. However, you will only restrain yourself if you know why it is so critical. And you know this because it is one of the key parts of your overall preparedness strategy.   

READ MORE:


http://survivalblog.com/2012/03/after-the-shooting-by-tupreco.html

Gun nation: Inside America's gun-carry culture

By Patrik Jonsson


Why Americans now carry handguns in so many public places, from parks to college campuses. Is it making the country safer or more dangerous?


Leaning against a scrub pine as preschoolers scurry about at his feet, Shane Gazda, father of 3-year-old twins, recalls a conundrum he faced earlier that morning: whether to take his Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun to a Groundhog Day celebration in this town's White Deer Park.

After all, what was once against the law in North Carolina – carrying a concealed gun in a town park, square, or greenway – is now, as of Dec. 1, 2011, very much allowed. To Mr. Gazda, who likes to shoot targets in his backyard, an event as innocent as paying homage to a rodent could turn dangerous if the wrong person shows up.

"Part of it is being ready for cataclysm every day," says Gazda, a hospital maintenance engineer. "And to be honest, I started carrying precisely to protect not just myself, but my family, and anyone around me who needs help."

In the end, Gazda left the gun at home. But his internal debate is emblematic of one a growing number of Americans are having almost daily. Thirty years after a powerful gun-control movement swept the country, Americans are embracing the idea of owning and carrying firearms with a zeal rarely seen since the days of muskets and militias.

A combination of favorable court rulings, grass-roots activism, traditional fears of crime, and modern anxieties about government has led to what may be a tipping point on an issue that just a few years ago was one of America's most contentious. Gun rights have now expanded to the point where the fundamental question seems not to be "should we be able to carry guns," but instead is "where can't we carry them?"

The answer: not very many places.


READ MORE
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2012/0311/Gun-nation-Inside-America-s-gun-carry-culture

“National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act of 2012” introduced in U.S. Senate

Today, March 13, U.S. Senators Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) introduced S. 2188, the “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2012.”  The bill is the Senate companion to H. R. 822, which was approved by the U. S. House last November by a vote of 272-154.

S. 2188, like H.R. 822, would allow any person with a valid state-issued concealed firearm permit to carry a concealed handgun in any other state that issues concealed firearm permits, or that does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms for lawful purposes. A state's laws governing where concealed handguns may be carried would apply within its borders.

Today 49 states either issue carry permits or otherwise authorize law-abiding people to carry firearms outside the home for self-defense. 41 states have fair “shall issue” permit systems that allow any law-abiding person to get a permit.

In contrast to dire predictions from anti-gun groups, Right-to-Carry laws have been enormously successful.  Interstate reciprocity will serve as a fundamental protection of the right to self-defense by providing people with the ability to protect themselves not only in their home states, but anywhere they travel where carry concealed carry is legal.

Contrary to the false claims of some, these bills would not create federal gun registration or gun owner licensing, nor would they allow any federal agency to establish a federal standard for a carry permit or impose gun control restrictions of any kind.

These bills would have no effect on permitless carry laws, currently on the books in Arizona, Alaska, Wyoming and Vermont, that allow concealed carry without a permit. In addition, Vermont residents would be able to take advantage of S. 2188 and H.R. 822 by obtaining a permit from one of the many states that offer non-resident permits.

Please contact your U.S. Senators today and urge them to cosponsor S. 2188.  You can call your U.S. Senators at 202-224-3121 or send them an email by clicking here.




http://www.nraila.org/legislation/federal-legislation/2012/national-right-to-carry-reciprocity-act-of-2012-introduced-in-us-senate.aspx

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Why do you carry a handgun? Why are you a “prepper?”

By Annie Wan
It seems today that some, especially on the left and in the MSM, want to cast gun owners, CHLs, and “preppers” as “Extremists”.  Somehow, because these individuals are planning for their own safety and survival, they must be crazy.
 This seems much like the grasshopper & the ant scenario, where the ants prepare for the long winter, and the grasshopper has not a care in the world, and simply depends on others for his welfare;  Until winter comes.
We all know how that story goes.  The ants are warm and happy, and the grasshopper is literally out in the cold.  Unlike the fairy tale, the ants won’t be able to take care of the grasshopper in a real world disaster. 


READ MORE:

http://lifeasweknowitorsomethingsimilar.blogspot.com/2012/03/why-do-you-carry-handgun-why-are-you.html

Saturday, March 10, 2012

WA Supreme Court Puts an End to Gun Ban in Seattle Parks


The Washington state Supreme Court has declined to review an October decision by the state Court of Appeals, reaffirming that the gun ban in Seattle's parks is illegal. This order marks a final victory for Seattle-area gun owners, the National Rifle Association, and the Second Amendment Foundation, who had joined together to block enforcement of the ban. 

 "The Washington Supreme Court made the right decision in recognizing that the city violated state law," said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox. "This decision is a clear indication why it's critically important for states to enact strong preemption laws, to prevent local governments from imposing a patchwork of firearm restrictions." 

READ MORE:
http://nraila.org/news-issues/news-from-nra-ila/2012/washington-supreme-court-puts-an-end-to-gun-ban-in-seattle-parks.aspx

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Maryland gun ruling likely to withstand appeal

By Tricia Bishop

Constitutional lawyers said Tuesday that a recent federal court decision overturning a portion of Maryland's gun-control law will likely be upheld on appeal and called the ruling groundbreaking given the liberalism of the state from which it came.

The decision, made public Monday, relaxed state requirements for carrying a gun and broadly interpreted the Second Amendment's "right to bear arms" as extending beyond the home. The analysis surprised some, who were used to seeing states like Maryland, which has a restrictive approach to gun rights, limit firearm use and possession.

 "The idea here is that if this is a constitutional right, like all the other constitutional rights, then you shouldn't need the government's permission to exercise it," - Randy E. Barrett, professor at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington.
"The reason there are very few rulings like this is because there are very few states like Maryland ... that would ever impose [such a restrictive rule]"  - Michael I. Krauss, professor at George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Va.


 http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-gun-law-appeal-20120306,0,6673248.story

12 states on path to guns with no permits

By Jonathan Ellis

Legislatures in a dozen states are considering laws that would eliminate requirements that residents obtain permits to carry concealed weapons.
States that have been or are considering bills in current legislative sessions include Colorado, Iowa, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota and Virgina.

Gun-control advocates view the efforts as part of a long-range strategy to eventually weaken gun laws across the country. But supporters say armed, law-abiding citizens prevent crime.

Andrew Arulanandam, policy director for the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action, which supports these legislative efforts, argues that crime rates are low in four states — Alaska, Arizona, Vermont and Wyoming — that already allow residents to carry without a permit. "Our viewpoint is, a good person will always be a good person," he said. "They don't need a license to be a good person."

Wyoming's law went into effect in July. The state continues to issue permits for people who want to travel out of state, said Christopher Lynch, the project manager for the state's concealed firearms program.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-03-05/drivers-license-gun-permits/53391932/1

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

QUOTE(s) OF THE DAY

"This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration! Our streets will the safer, our police more effective and the world will follow our lead into the future!" - Adolph Hitler 1935


”Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars.”


”As a card-carrying member of the liberal media, producing this piece was an eye opening experience. I have to admit that I saw guns as inherently evil, violence begets violence, and so on. I have learned, however, that in trained hands, just the presence of a gun can be a real “man stopper.” I am sorry that women have had to resort to this, but wishing it wasn’t so won’t make it any safer out there.”
~Jill Fieldstein

Man fired from Jacksonville high school shot headmistress, then himself


A teacher fired from a private school on Tuesday returned to campus with a gun hidden in a guitar case and shot the headmistress to death before committing suicide, authorities said.
No students were hurt.


Read more at:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/06/authorities-2-dead-at-jacksonville-high-school/

Court: Students can carry guns on campus

by Eli Stokols


DENVER — The Colorado Supreme Court has struck down a gun ban by the University of Colorado Board of Regents that had prevented students from carrying concealed handguns on campus.

The court sided with opponents of that ban who argued that the ban is illegal because it was never approved by the state legislature.

The Concealed Carry Act, passed in 2003, prohibits local governments from limiting concealed carry rights with a few exceptions: K-12 schools, places where guns are banned by federal law, public buildings with metal detectors and private property.

College campuses were not accepted under the law.

“Where there is more concealed carry, there is less crime,” he said. “It’s been studied six ways to Sunday and everyone knows that now.” - Sen. Greg Brophy, (R)

Brophy pointed to the shooting at Virginia Tech that left 33 people dead, and to the shooting at New Life Church in Colorado Springs where a security guard, Jeanne Assam, shot and killed a gunman after he opened fire in a shooting that took two lives, as examples of the security concealed weapons can provide when violence erupts unexpectedly.
“While that shooter was on campus illegally possessing a firearm and murdering people, people who could have legally carried there and stopped him, as Jeanne Assam did at the church in Colorado Springs, weren’t allowed to do that,” Brophy said.
“We are safer when people are allowed to carry concealed weapons.”


http://kdvr.com/2012/03/05/court-students-can-carry-guns-on-campus/

Monday, March 5, 2012

Law professor dismisses reason for Second Amendment as 'historical trivia'


by

Yesterday, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) reported that University of Texas law professor Calvin Johnson thinks that the Chardon, Ohio high school shooting Monday was "a typical exercise of 2d Amendment rights."
The suggestion by a University of Texas law professor that Monday’s deadly school shooting in Ohio was a “typical exercise of the Second Amendment” is an outrage, the Second Amendment Foundation said today.
Calvin Johnson teaches law at UT in Austin, and his comments appeared in an e-mail that was exposed by a reporter for the Washington Free Beacon. The story also revealed that Johnson defended the City of Chicago’s handgun ban, which SAF successfully challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court in McDonald v. City of Chicago.
As unforgivably offensive as that claim is, some deeper digging, as was done by the Washington Free Beacon, reveals that Johnson's antipathy to the Second Amendment's Constitutional guarantee of the right of the individual to keep and bear arms goes back far longer than that.  In the year 2000, he found it "quite reasonable" to dismiss the Second Amendment as "historical trivia" (emphasis added)

Even repeal of the Second Amendment would not solve Prof. Johnson's problem, of course, given that since the Supreme Court's U.S. v. Cruikshank decision in 1876, the right to keep and bear arms is known to predate "the Constitution, and neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence."

Johnson's even
bigger problem is that some of us won't be disarmed no matter what political maneuverings are undertaken for that purpose. How high is he willing to stack the bodies before accepting that the rights of a free people are never "trivial"?


READ MORE:
http://armedandsafe.blogspot.com/2012/02/law-professor-dismisses-reason-for.html

And

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-st-louis/law-professor-dismisses-reason-for-second-amendment-as-historical-trivia

Some say re-election fear is driving gun sales in Fort Worth, elsewhere

FORT WORTH -- Gun sales are booming.

Enthusiasts are stocking up on guns and ammunition, and some in the industry are wondering whether sales are spiking as they did after Democrat Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008.
That rush created a nationwide shortage.

"We're at the top of the roller coaster and we're about to plummet down the side," said DeWayne Irwin, owner of the Cheaper Than Dirt gun store in north Fort Worth, which set a sales record for the month of February. "It's fixing to happen again. I don't know if it will be to the same extent it was before, but I see it coming.

"Look who the Republicans are trying to put against Obama," he said. "It's the Keystone Kops and people are getting scared. People are terrified he's going to get re-elected and then he won't care about getting votes next time. He'll just pass whatever legislation he wants."

Some say the uptick in sales at gun stores could also be linked to anything from the arrival of tax refunds to a spending spree by fans of the National Geographic Channel's Doomsday Preppers show, which chronicles people preparing for the end of the world.

Nationwide, more people than ever are buying firearms.

Last year, the FBI received more than 16.3 million inquiries from people running criminal background checks on potential gun buyers. That's up from 12.7 million in 2008 and 11.4 million in 2007, FBI records show.

Texas had around 1 million such requests in each of the past four years, the second most, behind Kentucky, which had nearly double that. Officials say Kentucky's numbers are high because fresh background checks are run every month there on gun owners with concealed-weapons permits.

"I'm constantly getting questions from people in the gun community about this [issue]," said Alan Korwin, author of nine gun law books, including Gun Laws of America, and operator of gunlaws.com. "People are concerned that if Obama wins, as a lame duck, he will go after firearms in a way we have never seen before.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/03/3781758/some-say-re-election-fear-is-driving.html#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy

READ MORE AT:
http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/03/3781758/some-say-re-election-fear-is-driving.html#storylink=cpy

Md. Gun Law Found Unconstitutional

BALTIMORE (AP) — Maryland’s requirement that residents show a “good and substantial reason” to get a handgun permit is unconstitutional, according to a federal judge’s opinion filed Monday.

States can channel the way their residents exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms, but because Maryland’s goal was to minimize the number of firearms carried outside homes by limiting the privilege to those who could demonstrate “good reason,” it had turned into a rationing system, infringing upon residents’ rights, U.S. District Judge Benson Everett Legg wrote.

“A citizen may not be required to offer a `good and substantial reason’ why he should be permitted to exercise his rights,” he wrote. “The right’s existence is all the reason he needs.”

“People have the right to carry a gun for self-defense and don’t have to prove that there’s a special reason for them to seek the permit,” said his attorney Alan Gura, who has challenged handgun bans in the District of Columbia and Chicago. “We’re not against the idea of a permit process, but the licensing system has to acknowledge that there’s a right to bear arms.”

READ MORE