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NC: North Carolina dealers fight with the ATF; Judge questions ATF's definition of WILLFUL
Submitted by: Idaho Ordnance
Website: http://www.id-ord.com/

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In a case that seems eerily familiar. Jims Gun Jobbery of Fayetteville, NC has had the ATF attempting to revoke it's license over minor record keeping errors that they consider WILLFUL.

Judge Malcolm J. Howards ruling Wednesday found genuine issues in the case deserving of a trial One issue is the definition of willful violations, which is the threshold the government must prove to revoke a license.

Howard acknowledges the ambiguity of the term but appears to dismiss the governments argument that because Jims violations were repeated they constitute willfulness.

The ATF had even noted earlier that: it appears that you have made a concerted effort to comply with the laws and regulations governing firearms transactions.

Idaho Senator Mike Crapo's letter explaining his opposition to ATF nomination
Submitted by: Idaho Ordnance
Website: http://www.id-ord.com/

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"Senator Mike Crapo, who is one of the Senators to place a hold on Acting ATF Director Michael J. Sullivan's confirmation issued the following letter:" ...

"I recently had the opportunity to meet with Acting Director Sullivan to inform him of multiple concerns that I have had in recent years with BATFE treatment of small firearms dealers. Mr. Sullivan conveyed his belief that BATFE is fair and impartial in its treatment of these businesses, and only revokes federal firearms licenses when it has no other options I am not satisfied with Mr. Sullivan's response."

"Due to my ongoing concerns with BATFE practices and treatment of small firearms dealers and unsatisfactory answers to my questions I have formally objected to Mr. Sullivan's nomination." ...

NY: Muzzleloading or not?
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"Long ago, New York State instituted a primitive firearms big game hunting season. To most people back then, primitive firearms meant black powder firearms, flintlocks or caplocks, like Natty Bumppo and the mountain men used. Weve come a long way since then. The emphasis is no longer on primitive, and only technically on black powder. While there are a lot of old-style firearms still being used, many modern black powder firearms bear little resemblance to their counterparts of yesteryear. Some people dont like that." ...

MI: Michigan sees fewer gun deaths -- with more permits
Submitted by: Anonymous

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"Six years after new rules made it much easier to get a license to carry concealed weapons, the number of Michiganders legally packing heat has increased more than six-fold."

"But dire predictions about increased violence and bloodshed have largely gone unfulfilled, according to law enforcement officials and, to the extent they can be measured, crime statistics."

"The incidence of violent crime in Michigan in the six years since the law went into effect has been, on average, below the rate of the previous six years. The overall incidence of death from firearms, including suicide and accidents, also has declined."

"More than 155,000 Michiganders -- about one in every 65 -- are now authorized to carry loaded guns as they go about their everyday affairs, according to Michigan State Police records." ...

TN: Lawmaker wants you to have right to carry in Tennessee restaurants
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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Knoxville (WVLT) -- "Should you be allowed to carry a gun into a restaurant that serves alcohol?"

"At least one state senator thinks so."

"Volunteer TV's Rob Pratt is here to explain what the proposed change in the law could mean and what people think of it."

"Tennessee Senator Doug Jackson, from Dixon, expects to introduce the bill Wednesday."

"It comes less than two weeks after the deadly shooting at Hooter's in Knoxville."

"While some hope the new law could help prevent such tragedies, others say guns should not be on the menu at all. If you are eating at Beef 'O' Brady's, or any other Tennessee restaurant that serves alcohol, you can't bring a gun inside."

"But that could change." ...

IN: Three IMPD officers appear in court on same day, all facing criminal charges
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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Indianapolis - "Three Metro police officers appeared in court Tuesday, all facing criminal charges in separate cases."

"One of the policemen, Shannon McComas, is charged in the city's first homicide of 2008." ...

"Another officer, Geoffrey Barbieri, was in court after registering a blood alcohol level of .09 during a traffic stop." ...

"In another case, policeman Adam Chappell faces charges for an incident during Black Expo 2007. ... Prosecutors accuse the officer of using unnecessary force during an arrest. They say video taken by police recording downtown activity during the Expo shows Chappell kicking 17-year-old Brian Jeter, who was already in custody." ...

CA: San Franciso District Attorney joining DA's opposed to Second Amendment
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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... "[San Fran D.A. Kamala Harris] said her office is joining with district attorneys from across the nation to file 'friend of the court' briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court as those justices embark on an examination of the Second Amendment and what it means in terms of gun ownership."

" 'Over the last four years, 284 of the homicides in San Francisco - nearly 80 percent - were committed with a gun,' Harris said. 'So we are working with DAs around the country, drawing a line in the sand on the issue of illegal guns.' "

"Harris said the district attorneys hope to persuade the Supreme Court that they are opposed to any interpretation of the law by the Court that would erode their ability to prosecute gun crimes." ...

SD: 80-year-old woman shoots mountain lion in her yard (another report)
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"The light was already fading when 80-year-old Martha Smith heard her dog Bo barking furiously outside her Fairburn ranch house late last Thursday afternoon."

"She looked outside and saw Bo, a Border collie, facing off with a snarling mountain lion in the yard."

"So Smith grabbed her .22 rifle, walked outside and fired a shot at the snarling, spitting lion. She missed. 'He was a little uphill and I should have raised the barrel more,' Smith said." ...

" 'I knew Id have to kill him. You cant have a mountain lion in your yard,' she said." ...

" 'Thank God he was little because I dont think my .22 would have killed a big one,' Smith said." ...

Brady Campaign Commends President for Signing New Federal Gun Law
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"President Bush did the right thing by signing this bill, which strengthens our gun laws and makes it harder for dangerous people to arm themselves. This will help make our nation safer."

"The Virginia Tech killer was able to arm himself because the court order that should have blocked his gun purchases was not entered in the Brady background check system. This new law will help ensure that records like that don't fall through the cracks." ...

GA: Who Needs a Gun in a State Park?
Submitted by: Mark McCullough
Website: http://www.georgiacarry.org/

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"The body of Meredith Emerson, a University of Georgia graduate missing since she went hiking on New Year's Day, was located about 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Dawson Forest Woodlands Management Area, GBI officials said in a late evening news conference." ...

"The area where Emerson's body was found is about 10 miles away from the Kroger parking lot in Forsyth County where Emerson's dog turned up. Both areas are roughly halfway between Blood Mountain -- the trail where the saga started -- and the portion of DeKalb County where suspect Gary Michael Hilton was taken into custody Friday evening." ...

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Submitter's note: National Parks and State Parks are off-limits to firearms. The victim was, by law, unarmed and vulnerable.

Credit Card Processing Company Rejects Firearms Industry
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"Citi Merchant Services and First Data Corp. are refusing to process any credit card transactions between federally licensed firearms retailers, distributors and manufacturers -- a move which will severely limit available inventory of firearms and ammunition to military, law enforcement and law-abiding Americans." ...

"We were contacted recently by First Data/Citi Merchant Services by a June Rivera-Mantilla stating that we were terminated and funds were being seized for selling firearms in a non-face-to-face transaction. ... Although perfectly legal, we were also informed that no transactions would be processed in the future, even for non-firearms. I find this very frightening." ...

PA: Ingram store clerk cleared in shooting
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"A 7-Eleven clerk was justified in shooting a knife-wielding robber on Christmas, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said Monday."

"Kaelin Weber, 24, shot Lawrence Davis, 20, at the Ingram convenience store after Davis jumped the counter and slashed him."

" 'The actions of the clerk, including the use of a firearm, were justified and therefore the clerk will not face any criminal charges related to this incident,' a release from Zappala's office stated."

"Zappala made a similar determination in August, saying clerk Walter Wetzel Jr., 58, of Mt. Washington acted in self-defense when he fatally shot Raymond Crawford, who was trying to rob the Beechview BP gas station at gunpoint in July." ...

MI: Michigan CCW Record Proves Anti-Gunners Lied...Again, Says CCRKBA
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"After six years of expanded concealed carry in Michigan, the record speaks for itself: No shootouts at traffic stops, a decline in firearms deaths and suicides, and violent crime is down. Concealed carry works, and the hysteria pandered by anti-gun extremists who opposed the law has been proven false."

"Michigan's armed private citizens have provided the evidence we knew would come," said Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. "Lawful concealed carry reduces crime and does not result
in mass mayhem as the anti-self-defense crowd wanted us believe." ...

Bush Signs New Gun Bill
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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WASHINGTON (AP) "President Bush signed legislation on Tuesday aimed at preventing the severely mentally ill from buying guns, in a rare bipartisan agreement with the Democratic-led Congress after the bloody Virginia Tech shooting."

"The bill authorizes up to $1.3 billion in grant money for states to improve their ability to track and report individuals who shouldn't qualify to buy a gun legally, including those involuntarily confined by a mental institution. Much of the money, to be spent over five years, would be used to increase state feeds to a national system used to run background checks on gun purchases." ...

UK: Car search turns up guns and ammo (where they've been banned for many years)
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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GREAT BRITAIN: "ARMED cops recovered guns and ammunition after swooping on two cars with suspected links to gang crime."

"Four suspects - two men and two women aged 19 to 20 - were arrested in an intelligence-led operation in Peckham on Thursday night." ...

"An 8mm handgun, bullets, masks and gloves were discovered hidden inside."

"It followed the arrest of a 25-year-old man earlier that evening in Greenwich after a Ford Focus was stopped and searched by police on patrol."

"A 9mm handgun with ammo was found near the car." ...

" 'I also hope the recoveries serve to reassure the public that the Met is pro-actively and robustly targeting people involved in gangs and guns.' "

Romney 'Flip-Flopping' on Gun Control
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"So Mitt Romney supports a ban on weapons of 'extraordinary lethality?' ... No weapon can be 'extraordinarily lethal' if cops have a legitimate use for it." ...

"It seems to me Mitt Romney speaks with two different minds again, also known as flip-flopping. This time it is regarding firearms regulation and control." ...

"Romney needs to understand that it will take more than squeaky anti-gun legislation to disarm Americans. It will take a bloody civil war."

SD: Martha Smith, 80, slays mountain lion
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"When 80-year-old Martha Smith saw the mountain lion out by her fish pond - and put a bullet in his chest - there was no time for fear."

" 'I could see the tail switching and he was snarling and spittin', Smith said Tuesday. Her border collie had confronted the cat in her yard near Fairburn, S.D., just east of the Black Hills." ...

"After firing one shot that missed, she dialed 911, then realized there wasnt time to wait for help - shed have to take care of the matter herself." ...

"Killing mountain lions is legal in South Dakota in some circumstances including self-defense and Thursdays shooting was justified, said John Kanta, a regional wildlife manager for the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks." ...

PA: Innocent bystander shot by police officer dies
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"An innocent bystander shot by police has died."

"The man was at a party when an officer fired at a suspect. The bullets went through a door, hitting two innocent men and grazing a boy."

"Abebe Isaac was critically injured and died overnight a week after the shooting." ...

"Isaac was an immigrant from Trinidad who worked as a custodian at Pennsylvania Hospital. His girlfriend Nya Page is angry. Her son was grazed by one of the bullets."

" 'What they need to do is retrain their cops, because what they have now is trash.' " ...

"The case is under investigation by police internal affairs as well as homicide and the district attorney's office." ...

New Taser gun also plays MP3 digital music files
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"... the iTaser - as it has been dubbed ... combines a Taser stun gun, used by 12,000 law enforcement and security forces, including the Metropolitan police, with an MP3 player and earphones."

"... 1GB player that is integrated into the gun's holster..." ...

"Arizona-based Taser International sells the handheld stun guns ... It maintains that the iTaser 'allows for both personal protection and personal music for people on the go'." ...

"The company says the new device is particularly aimed at women - with red, pink and even leopard print designs intended to make carrying a stun gun fashionable." ...

NY: Off-duty cop recovering after killing his pit bulls with 9mm
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"The off-duty New York City police officer who shot two of his pit bulls after the animals attacked him in his Medford home is on sick leave while recovering from his wounds, city police said yesterday. When Efrain Flores, 27, found his three pets entangled in a fight inside his house around 1 p.m. Sunday, he managed to pull the one female out of the fracas and confine her safely, police said. But the two males attacked, police said, leaving him with 'numerous lacerations' on his arms. That's when Flores - who police said is a four-year department veteran serving as a patrol officer in Brooklyn's 73rd Precinct - somehow managed to fend off the animals. He fired seven rounds from his 9mm service pistol, police said, killing the two." ...

NBA, NFL Go Anti-Gun
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"Last year, Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor got out of bed upon hearing intruders entering his home. The house was situated in a wealthy, gated community on the outskirts of Miami. It was the middle of the night. To protect himself, his girlfriend, and their young child, Taylor grabbed a machete he kept nearby and crept to his bedroom door. So Taylor, in fear, and concerned for the safety of his family, armed himself with a large knife used to hack away at jungle foliage. The intruder shot and killed him."

"Many have asked why Taylor felt it necessary to have a machete nearby, but it's probably worth asking (as his friends and peers in professional sports certainly are), 'What if it had been a gun?' Certainly, the outcome may have been different."

"Unfortunately, officials in the NFL and the NBA increasingly take a paternalistic attitude toward their athletes. For years, the NFL and the NBA have attempted to distance players from firearms. Some would argue these policies are aimed at a culture that celebrates the criminal use of violent weapons, but the effect is pretty clear: The leagues would rather their players put themselves at risk than protect themselves with guns." ...

VA: Statement of Paul Helmke on Governor Kaine's Push to Close Virginia's "Gun Show Loophole"
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"We are grateful for Governor Kaine's leadership in pressing for legislation that would prohibit sales of dangerous weapons without criminal background checks in Virginia. Along with our Virginia Million Mom March Chapters, we are extremely proud of the efforts of the Virginia Tech families who are going to work hard to get this measure passed. We challenge the gun lobby to drop their long opposition to this measure, which shouldn't cause problems for any law-abiding gun purchaser." ...

MA: Politicians Stunned To Find JROTC Range Operating In High School
Submitted by: Brent Greer
Website: http://thereadyline.blogspot.com

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"Shocked city councilors are probing how school officials have allowed a Southie classroom to be used as a firing range by Junior ROTC students." ...

"A school employee notified the Herald about the practice after seeing two teenagers firing weapons at . . . in a locked classroom in early December." ...

"Boston Public Schools spokesman Jonathan Palumbo said, 'There is no state law that prohibits such activities. Every safety precaution is taken, both for the students involved and anyone else who may be in the building at the time of the practice."

"Councilor Stephen J. Murphy, chairman of the citys public safety committee, is a fan of the ROTC program but wants to put an end to classroom firing ranges." ...

PA: Cop charged in off-duty drunk driving crash
Submitted by: Anonymous

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"A Freemansburg police officer who reportedly had a blood-alcohol content more than three times the legal limit is not permitted to return to work but continues to collect a paycheck."

"Official charges were filed Monday against Kevin Andrew Kovalovsky, 32, of Bethlehem Township. He had a blood-alcohol content of 0.27 percent when he was found at 2:20 a.m. Dec. 15, parked on the shoulder of Route 33 north in Bushkill Township, police said. He was off duty at the time."

"The charges were filed at District Judge Adrianne Masut's office in Wind Gap, and a summons was sent to Kovalovsky, court officials said." ...

NJ: You skip facts when it's guns
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Why is it that in defending the abolishment of the death penalty ... The Jersey Journal ... said: 'The death penalty is not a deterrent. States with the death penalty have higher murder rates than states that do not have the death penalty.'"

"Yet when editorializing against the legal carrying of arms in New Jersey (a right recognized in 35 other states) ... this same newspaper disregards the fact that those state legislatures that 'do' allow for the carrying of concealed arms ... have lesser rates of crime than states like New Jersey whose governing bodies and major media outlets are locked in the 'don't confuse me with the facts' tunnel vision of the ... merits of so-called 'gun control' - read: firearms prohibition." ...

VA: Governor Kaine Proposes Gun-Show Sales Checks
Submitted by: Anonymous

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RICHMOND, Va. -- "Gov. Timothy Kaine on Tuesday proposed requiring background checks for anyone who buys firearms at a gun show, weighing in on a politically sensitive issue that has grown more heated since the Virginia Tech shootings."

"In Virginia and most other states, people can buy firearms from private, unlicensed dealers at gun shows without going through a background check. Such checks are required for sales by licensed dealers, whether they are at gun shows or somewhere else."

"Attempts to expand background checks in the state have failed repeatedly, but the latest effort has support from relatives of several of those killed or wounded by a mentally ill student at Virginia Tech. Some of the family members joined Kaine for his announcement Tuesday at Virginia State Police headquarters in Richmond." ...

NY Times Praising NRA for Supporting Gun Control Bill
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"It took too many years and too many deaths to persuade Congress to act, but President Bush is expected to sign into law today a measure that will make it harder for people with a history of dangerous mental illness to purchase firearms. That is good news, but there is more work to be done."

"The new law the product of a rare partnership between gun control advocates and the National Rifle Association addresses a glaring problem. Millions of criminal and mental health records are missing from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System used to screen gun purchasers and block sales to people who are disqualified by law from buying guns. The bill provides new financial incentives for states and localities to improve their spotty record-keeping and to share all pertinent information with the federal data system." ...

Trust Founding Fathers on Second Amendment Submitted by: RPA-PAC Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
"The Second Amendment to the Constitution as written by our nation's Founding Fathers states that 'the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.' James Madison, the author, praised 'the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation.' A look at the history of gun control confirms their insight." ...

AK: Delta rifle range takes steps to reduce lead dust
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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"Upgrades are being put in place at the indoor rifle range in Delta Junction to protect shooters, including the members of the towns high school rifle team, from toxic lead dust. 'Weve got a whole new ventilation system going in,' said Mike Bender, the president of the Delta Sportsmans Association, the organization that owns and operates the rifle range."

"The members of the Sportsmans Association began upgrading the facility earlier this year after tests in March revealed several members of the Delta High School rifle team had dangerously high levels of lead in their blood. State health officials said the students were dry-sweeping the range, sending the toxic dust into the air." ...

NY: Detectives in Bell "50-shot" Case Want Trial Out of City
Submitted by: Anonymous

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"Lawyers for three police detectives charged in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man in Queens in 2006 filed a motion yesterday requesting that the trial, scheduled to begin next month, be moved out of New York City, saying publicity has 'incurably poisoned' the pool of prospective jurors."

"Detectives Michael Oliver, Gescard F. Isnora and Marc Cooper are charged in the shooting outside a Jamaica strip club at which the man, Sean Bell, was shot and killed in the early morning of the day that he was to be married."

"In the filing, their lawyers said they had polled 600 Queens residents and found that 60.5 percent of the respondents believed the shooting to have been unjustified." ...

"...the officers fired 50 shots, killing Mr. Bell and wounding Mr. Guzman and Mr. Benefield. No gun was found in the car." ...

"The arguments echoed those made in 1999, before the murder trial of four officers who killed Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant, in a barrage of 41 bullets in the vestibule of his Bronx apartment building." ...