Keep and Bear Arms - Gun Owners Home Page

John Longnecker: Militia, you say...? Arms Within Easy Reach
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Today, we are having a debate we should never have. We are squabbling about the force which backs our authority under our system. Can you imagine some people actually rooting for the disarmament of the force which backs their very Citizen Authority in this country?"

"They root for the disarmament of the people in the name of safe streets. What they fail to realize is that armed citizens make for safe streets, and disarmament makes for unsafe streets a boondoggle for the industries which thrive on violence. Today, the anti-violence movement is, itself, predatory." ...

Outdoor Journal: New products will be unveiled at Shot Show
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"This year, when the New York Giants take the field in Arizona for Super Bowl XLII, Ill be sitting in front of the biggest TV screen I can find in Las Vegas."

"The Super Bowl, the biggest weekend in Las Vegas, just happens to be the same weekend as the 30th annual National Shooting Sports Foundations Shot Show. For four days, 1,950 shooting sports exhibitors will be sprawled over more than 715,000 square feet of floor space (shattering all previous Shot Show records) showcasing their products at the Las Vegas Convention Center. They don't get any bigger, and this show isn't open to the public. Its a buyers' show, and they'll come from 50 states and 75 countries. I'll be there as one of the 200-plus invited members of the media." ...

Gun ban in Supreme Court crosshairs
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"Imagine it's the end of the fourth quarter, the clock has about five seconds left on it, the score is dead even and a stadium full of football fans watch as the game's star placekicker lines up for the game-winning field goal. I'm not a football fan, but I'm spellbound by the prospects of a scenario like that closing out this year's Super Bowl."

"A similar specter is playing out in front of the Supreme Court right now. A gun ban imposed by Washington, D.C., is being challenged. At issue is a law enacted in 1975. It is a local (or home rule) law called the District of Columbia Firearms Regulations Control Act. ..."

"Two factions share a common interest in the impending decision, each hoping for a different outcome." ...

Dave Henderson: Pro-gun crowd unhappy with Justice Department
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"Do you remember a while ago when I warned in this space that gun owners 'should be careful what they wish for' in the Supreme Court's upcoming ruling on Second Amendment rights?"

"Well, here's why: In a move that pro-gun crowd can only view as disappointing at best or potentially catastrophic at worst the Bush Administration's Justice Department lawyers have filed an amicus brief in the landmark case currently being considered by the high court." ...

Gun-rights arguments
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Last week, the Bush administration put troubling distance between itself and principled Second Amendment defenders. We refer to the amicus brief that Solicitor General Paul Clement filed Friday in support of the plaintiffs in District of Columbia v. Heller ..."

"The brief sides with the D.C. plaintiffs seeking to exercise their Second Amendment rights, but it then expends much effort worrying that an end to gun bans like the District's would mean an end to most types of federal firearms regulation ... Next, it proposes much fact-finding by judges in a new balancing act whose effect would be to usurp legislative priorities. Conservatives normally call this 'judicial activism.'" ...

Gun Shy -- Has the Bush administration abandoned gun rights advocates?
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Shortly after taking office, the Bush administration dropped a love bomb on gun rights enthusiasts nationwide. In May 2001, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft wrote a letter to the National Rifle Association stating 'unequivocally my view that the text and the original intent of the Second Amendment clearly protect the right of individuals to keep and bear firearms.' The letter was part of a long honeymoon between the Bush administration and the Second Amendment crowd that has lasted almost to the end of Bush's second term."

"But the party may now be ending. 'A lot of Americans who believe in the right to own guns were very disappointed this weekend,' wrote John R. Lott Jr. ... in National Review Online last week ..." ...

Bush Called It Macaroni
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"The presidential campaign trail is not the only place where conservatism is being routed this month. We're also being shoved under the desk in the Oval Office."

"President George W. Bush has begun his final year in office by moving sharply leftward. ..."

"How doth the president shaft us? Let us count the ways." ...

"4) Handguns. Earlier this month, the Bush administration stunned virtually everybody in the political world by trying to 'split the baby' concerning the District of Columbia's handgun ban ... Supporters of the gun ban considered the Bush position a great, and surprising, victory, while Second Amendment gun-rights proponents felt blindsided and betrayed." ...
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Submitter's Note: Actually many of us Gun Nuts were not surprised at all.

Congressman asks prez to support 2nd Amendment
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"A Republican congressman from Virginia is asking President Bush to order the Justice Department to submit a brief in a U.S. Supreme Court case that supports the rights afforded U.S. citizens under the Second Amendment."

"The request from Rep. Virgil Goode concerns a filing submitted by the Justice Department in a Supreme Court case over the legality of a handgun ban imposed by the District of Columbia."

"A similar request already has been submitted by officials for the Gun Owners of America, whose executive director, Larry Pratt, warned:"

"'If the Supreme Court were to accept the Solicitor General's line of argument, D.C.'s categorical gun ban of virtually all self-defense firearms could well be found to be constitutional. ...'" ...

FL: Davie activist cleared for pointing gun at sex offender
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Prosecutors won't file charges against an activist accused of threatening to kill a registered sex offender, saying she acted in self-defense, according to documents released Tuesday."

"Valerie Parkhurst, 52, faced felony charges of aggravated assault with a firearm and carrying concealed weapons after she pointed two guns at Dale Weeks, 49, in Davie on Dec. 1. Parkhurst and her attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, met with prosecutors in early January, and the State Attorney's Office decided Friday not to file formal charges."

"'The defendant appears to have acted in self-defense having knowledge of Weeks' prior violent sexual offender conviction,' Assistant State Attorney Jules R. Cohn wrote in a memo. ..." ...
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H/t to Nicki F.

TN: Two Accused Burglars Shot; One Dead
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"Memphis Police say two burglars were shot in two separate robbery attempts and one of the crooks is dead."

"The first robbery attempt happened ... just before Midnight ... Investigators say two burglars rammed a car through the Hall Feed and Supply Store. The business owner was in the store at the time and shot one of the crooks ..." ...

"... around 2:00 a.m. ... The homeowner ... and his wife woke up when they heard a prowler in the garage. ... the man took his gun and went to checkout the noise ... the intruder was shot during a confrontation with the homeowner. The homeowner told police that he had no choice, but to shoot the burglar. Police say when they arrived on the scene the robber was dead." ...

TN: Midtown shooting death ruled justified (follow-up)
Submitted by: Anonymous

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"A Midtown homeowners fatal shooting of a suspected burglar early Thursday has been ruled justifiable."

"Police said the district attorney will not prosecute the homeowner ... who killed Cloyd Turley, 50."

"The homeowner told police he armed himself when he heard noises in his garage at about 2:15. He found a man stealing a grass trimmer, he told police, and when the man came at him, he shot him."

"Still being reviewed was an 11 p.m. Wednesday shooting at Halls Feed and Supply ... The owner told police he was at the business when a red SUV crashed through a fence and a man got out and started to burglarize the business."

"The owner fired at the intruder when he made a threatening move, according to reports." ...

Anti-Gun Sylvester Stallone endorses John McCain
Submitted by: Idaho Ordnance
Website: http://www.id-ord.com/

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"Brady campaign supporter Sylvester Stallone has now offered his endorsement of Presidential Candidate John McCain. If McCain thinks this is going to help in with Republican Gun Owners he is WRONG!!"

"If he hopes this will duplicate the popularity that Mike Huckabee has received from Chuck Norris' endorsement He needs to realize that not all action stars are the same. Whereas Chuck Norris is a supporter of the Second Amendment. Here is what Stallone has to say about it:"

"'It [2nd Amendment] has to be stopped, and someone really has to go on the line, a certain dauntless political figure, and say, 'It's ending, it's over, all bets are off. It's not 200 years ago, we don't need this anymore, and the rest of the world doesn't have it. Why should we?'"

Georgia Senator Chambliss addresses Sullivan's confirmation
Submitted by: Idaho Ordnance
Website: http://www.id-ord.com/

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"Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss has finally issued his response to his constituents calls to oppose Acting ATF Director Michael J. Sullivan's confirmation to director." ...

"The number of licensed dealers in Georgia has decreased by 79% from 1994-2005, from 5,589 to 1,158. Georgia is also the home of Historic Arms, where owner Len Savage has been the target of 'Maximum Mike' Sullivan and the BATFE's abuse after exposing their crooked testing procedures."

"David Codrea of The War on Guns has contacted two Georgia Gun Rights groups who will be interested in where Chambliss finally ends up on Sullivan's confirmation."

Pursuing safety in national parks
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Talk in political circles often centers on bipartisanship. If politicians want to portray a bill or program as something few would quibble with, they reach across the aisle and find at least a handful of supporters in the other party. Then they can say their proposal is bipartisan and the rest of us are supposed to go along. If bipartisanship effectively gets everyone on board, a proposal to change some rules in national parks shouldnt have any trouble."

"Last week, 47 senators from both parties sent a letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne asking him to change rules that restrict firearms in national parks and lands managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ..." ...

VA: Delegates reject bill to bar guns in state House (second item)
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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FULL TEXT BELOW:

An effort to keep guns out of the House of Delegates chamber, its meeting rooms and similar areas was shot down in the House yesterday 77-18.

The resolution introduced by Del. Lionell Spruill Sr., D-Chesapeake, would have allowed only state law-enforcement officers on official duty to be in House-assigned areas with a firearm. Spruill questioned yesterday the need for a gun in the House chamber or the General Assembly building.

"You never know what could happen," he said, especially in an area with the occasional heated argument. House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, noted holes in the measure, saying it could inadvertently block foreign dignitaries with armed bodyguards from speaking in or visiting the House chamber.

IL: Schock proposes concealed-carry bill
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"Carrying a concealed firearm would be legal in Illinois under legislation state Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, has proposed."

"Schock, a congressional candidate, recently introduced the Family and Personal Protection Act, which would require individuals to complete a training course in handgun use, safety and marksmanship before they could receive a permit to carry a concealed firearm in the state." ...

"Forty-eight out of 50 states have some kind of provision allowing concealed-carry gun privileges, Schock said." ...
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KABA Note: Civil rights are not "privileges".

VA: Bill to Tighten Sale of Guns Is Turned Back in Virginia
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Despite fervent support from families of those killed in the Virginia Tech massacre, a bill that would have required background checks of buyers at gun shows in Virginia has been defeated in a State Senate committee."

"The vote, on Wednesday, signaled an end to efforts to pass gun control legislation in this session of the General Assembly. It was a blow not only to survivors of Virginia Tech's dead but also to Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat who strongly supported the bill and whose party controls the Senate."

"Seven Republicans and two rural Democrats on the Senates 15-member Courts of Justice Committee teamed up to defeat the measure. A committee of the Republican-controlled House rejected similar legislation last week ..." ...

NE: Gun Fight Brewing at Capitol
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"Less than two months since Omaha's Von Maur shooting, a plan for more gun control in Nebraska is being targeted by the National Rifle Association."

"The NRA is urging its members to fight a bill in the legislature that calls for, among other things, mandatory trigger locks. The NRA is convinced this latest gun control plan would have a 'drastic effect' on law-abiding gun owners."

"But Action Three News has learned that victims of the Von Maur massacre, some who lived, some who's relatives died, are ready to fight for the bill." ...

VA: Gun Show Loophole Bill Rejected
Submitted by: clell

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"A legislative panel on Wednesday rejected a proposal to require background checks of buyers at gun shows, then sent the bill _ supported by families of the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre _ on for further study."

"The referral likely kills the proposal for this year's General Assembly session after a House committee rejected similar legislation last week." ...
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Submitter's Note: The only 'loophole' is in their gray matter.

In the House of Representatives, "composed of the body of the people . . . the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed", July 28, 1789
Submitted by: GunShowOnTheNet.com
Website: http://GunShowOnTheNet.com/

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"...IN the introductory paragraph before the words, "We the people," add, "The Government being intended for the benefit of the people, and the "rightful establishment thereof being derived from their authority alone." ..."

"..."The freedom of speech, and of the press, and the right of the people peaceably to assemble and consult for their common good, and to apply to the government for redress of grievances, shall not be infringed."

"A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, being the best security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, but no person religiously scrupulous shall be compelled to bear arms." ..."

At a Meeting of the Delegates, "to acquaint themselves with the Art of War as soon as possible, and do for that Purpose appear under Arms at least once every Week", Sept. 6, 1774
Submitted by: GunShowOnTheNet.com
Website: http://GunShowOnTheNet.com/

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"...that sacred Barrier against the Encroachments of Tyranny, is mutilated, and in effect annihilated; whereby a murderous Law is framed to shelter Villains from the Hand of Justice; whereby that unalienable and inestimable Inheritance, which we derived from Nature..."

"...That so long as the Justices of our Superior Courts of Judicature, Court of Assize, and General Goal Delivery, and Inferior Courts of Common Pleas in this County, are appointed, or hold their Places by any other Tenure than that which the Charter and the Laws of the Province direct; they must be considered as under undue Influence, and are therefore unconstitutional Officers, and as such no Regard ought to be paid to them by the People of this County..."

Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court TANEY, "There can be no compromise between the antagonist principles. Yield but an inch. and you will be driven to the wall", Aug. 6, 1834
Submitted by: GunShowOnTheNet.com
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"...you are at the same time asserting your fixed determination to maintain the free institutions of the country against the dangerous power which is now assailing them. . . . In every period of the world, and in every nation, history is full of examples of combinations among a few individuals, to grasp all power in their own hands, and wrest it from the bands of the many. . . . and when the blessing has once been obtained, constant vigilance has been necessary to preserve it. . . . Our fathers broke the chains which bound them, and bequeathed to us the glorious legacy of freedom, and their own bright examples to animate us to preserve it. But let it be remembered that the enemy is always at our doors..."

At a Meeting of Delegates, "and all others living within their several and respective Limits, who by Law are required to provide and keep Arms", Sept. 8, 1774
Submitted by: GunShowOnTheNet.com
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"...THIS Convention taking into their serious Consideration the present State of this Country, in that we are permitted to be threatened with the Loss of our Liberties and constitutional Rights, &c."

"And when we view it's State, as to Arms, military Knowledge, proper Stores, and the Attention of this People to their just Defence..."

"...2dly. We recommend earnestly to every particular Troop and military Company within said two Counties, both Officers and Soldiers, and all others living within their several and respective Limits, who by Law are required to provide and keep Arms and Ammunition, as speedily as possible to arm and equip themselves..."

God Save The United States Of America
Submitted by: GunShowOnTheNet.com
Website: http://GunShowOnTheNet.com/

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"...When the Lust of Dominion or lawless Ambition excites arbitrary Power to invade the Rights, or endeavour to wrest from a People their sacred and invaluable Privileges, and compels them in Defence of the same to encounter all the Horrors and Calamities of a bloody and vindictive War; then is that People loudly called upon to fly unto that GOD for Protection who hears the Cries of the Distressed, and will not turn a deaf Ear to the Supplication of the Oppressed..."

"...and give Success to his Arms employed in the Defence of the Rights of human Nature..."

A Proclamation, "and of being again renewed to the arms of their country, and once more enjoying the rights of free citizens of the Commonwealth", June 15, 1787
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"...provided, that, "each and every citizen of this Commonwealth, who have committed any treasons or misprisions of treason against the same, since the first day of June, A. D. 1786, be, and they thereby are indemnified for the same, and for all felonies which had been perpetrated by any of the said citizens in the commissions of treasons, and which are overt acts of the same; and each and every citizen aforesaid, are thereby discharged of all pains, penalties, disqualifications and disabilities of the law..."

"...and to give them assurances of their indemnification for all past treasons, misprisions of treason and felonies, and of being again renewed to the arms of their country, and once more enjoying the rights of free citizens..."

Committee of Observation, "have not only furnished themselves with Arms and other Necessaries", June 16-17, 1775
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"...Resolved, THAT it be recommended, and it is hereby recommended to all the Inhabitants of the County of Lancaster, whose Circumstances will admit of it, and whose Religious Tenets do not forbid them to enter into Associations, and take up Arms at this alarming {Omitted text, 1w} , in Defence of their Civil and Religious Rights, immediately to provide themselves with good and sufficient Firelocks..."

"...And, whereas, a large number of the good People of this County, animated with the glorious Cause of America, have not only furnished themselves with Arms and other Necessaries, but have been at a considerable additional Expence in learning the Military Art..."

NY: Brookhaven officials: Nassau cop is a slumlord
Submitted by: Dennis

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"A veteran Nassau County detective has been charged with a host of housing violations in Brookhaven, where town officials say he has been intimidating tenants and operating as a slumlord."

"Paul Fuina ... has worked for the Nassau Police Department since 1997, was cited for at least nine violations including having an illegal accessory apartment, building without a permit, having no certificate of occupancy for basement construction, and excessive litter in regard to a property in Mastic Beach."

"Additionally, town officials said Fuina collected rent, always in cash, and, tenants said, with his gun and badge on his person. Nassau police officials said it is unclear whether that is a violation of police department policy." ...

VA: Loaded Gun Makes It Through Security At Reagan International
Submitted by: clell

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"A passenger who went through an airport security checkpoint -- before remembering that he had a loaded gun -- is facing charges after going back to report his error, authorities said."

"Gregory Scott Hinkle, 53, of Davis, West Virginia, went through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, an airport spokeswoman said."

"After the traveler evidently recalled having the gun, he returned to the checkpoint and disclosed the weapon, authorities said."

"The TSA contacted airport police, who charged the man with possessing or transporting a firearm into an air carrier terminal where prohibited, a misdemeanor, and released him. ..." ...

CT: Protect your castle by buying a gun
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"Returning to the Cheshire case again, The News-Times editorial page editor is commended for not letting the public forget the horrendous nature of this home invasion crime."

"She writes about the governor suggesting administrative revisions of criminal procedures and systems, all of which are theories and of no direct practical use."

"Homeowners, I urge you to join the National Rifle Association, get yourself a gun permit and start lobbying the governor and her immature staff in the realities of life."

"The realities of life are that every human has a right to be safe within the confines of one's castle and in public. There are too many people out there in the human wilderness that scream for gun control." ...

NY: HS student shot in gang-linked feud
Submitted by: Dennis

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"An 18-year-old man was shot in a fight outside a Jamaica high school Wednesday - and responding NYPD officers exchanged fire with a fleeing gunman, cops said."

"Police did not shoot the suspect as he fled the scene from the Queens School for Career Development on Linden Blvd. about 10:40 a.m., authorities said."

"But they soon placed him and another man under arrest, and recovered a .22-caliber pistol dumped in a driveway, police said."

"No officers were injured in the incident, which investigators labeled gang-related, officials said." ...
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KABA Note: But, but, but ... that's a gun free zone!

NY: Westchester offers bounty for illegal guns
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"Starting this week, the county will offer bounties of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of people carrying illegal handguns. It will advertise the program on TV and radio, on county buses and on posters and fliers distributed throughout the county. It will also promote the initiative online on Craigslist."

"The county board's Budget and Appropriations Committee approved an initial $20,000 to finance it."

"'Every gun we can take off the streets could result in a life saved,' County Executive Andy Spano said in announcing the program ... at the county Police Academy in Valhalla. 'Illegal guns contribute to crime, gang violence and are a danger to everyone. We want to stop a crime before it happens.'" ...

NY: Rewards for Illegal Guns (another view)
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"Westchester County wants to get illegal guns off the streets. County Executive Andy Spano and District Attorney Janet DiFiore today announced that starting this week, Westchester County will offer up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone in possession of an illegal gun. The Gun Rewards program will be publicized on TV and radio, in ads on county buses and on posters and fliers distributed throughout the county, as well as posted online on Craigslist. Its all part of a national effort to stop the flow of illegal guns into our communities." ...