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PA: Pennsylvania Self Defense Rights Are On The Line
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The Bill: HB 40 does not change the use of force requirements. What it does do is eliminate the honest citizen’s duty to retreat when confronted by violent criminals and provide honest citizens with legal protection if they defend themselves from criminals. It contains an anti-carjacking provision that will change state law so that if a criminal illegally and forcibly enters an occupied vehicle, the presumption is that he intends to harm the passengers. Protections against civil actions are also provided, should your assailant or his relatives sue you for harming the criminal when you defended yourself and this includes protections for law enforcement as well. |
GA: Learning to shoot to live
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Imagine you're a deputy sent to investigate a shouting match between a husband and wife. When you walk into the couple's living room, the husband is standing three feet from his wife holding a steak knife.
Do you shoot him?
Now imagine you're startled awake in the dead of night by the sound of breaking glass and you see a stranger in your hallway. Or what if that stranger walks through an unlocked door in the middle of the day?
Do you shoot him?
In either instance, Georgia and South Carolina law would probably support your decision to shoot. But that split-second decision -- shoot or don't shoot -- will either alter your life forever or possibly become the last decision you ever make. |
WI: Gun owners display their rights
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Nearly everybody was packing heat during Saturday's open carry picnic at Haskins Park in West Baraboo. However, other than some passionate political speech, the firearms advocates had a cool celebration of their cause.
The gathering by supporters of the right to openly carry firearms for self defense is one example of a movement that has held similar picnics around Wisconsin. It was sparked last year when state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen published an opinion that the state constitution allows people to carry unconcealed firearms as long as the armed person does not violate other laws.
Participants ate brats and burgers supplied by event organizer and local resident Don Mazo, along with entrees and desserts shared potluck style. |
IA: NRA will urge Iowans to vote for Democrat Chet Culver
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The National Rifle Association will urge every gun owner and hunter in Iowa to vote for Democrat Chet Culver in an endorsement that turns pro-gun politics on its ear.
The endorsement stands out because the NRA’s political action committee doesn’t make an endorsement in every governor’s race – and it often comes with campaign cash, TV ads and voter turnout efforts.
But an NRA spokesman this morning declined to say how hard the gun group will push for Culver over Branstad.
A new Iowa Poll shows Republican Terry Branstad has a 19-point lead over Culver. |
VA: Huntley Found Not Guilty
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A jury has ruled that an Augusta county man acted in self-defense during a fatal fight last year. 25-year-old Russell Huntley was charged with voluntary manslaughter for the death of 26-year-old Chad Fields.
The two men fought last October outside the Dollar General store in Verona. Fields struck Huntley with a tire iron but Huntley got him in a headlock and slammed his head into a brick wall.
Fields died two days later of what a medical examiner called "brain swelling".
The defense argued that Huntley was an unarmed man being attacked with a deadly weapon and did the only thing he could. The jury deliberated more than two hours Monday before finding him not guilty. |
CT: Armed restaurant worker stops a pair of robbers
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Police say that a pair of men entered the Peking Restaurant in Brideport, CT, intending to commit a robbery. During the course of the robbery, an employee drew and fired his lawfully owned gun in self defense, striking one of the robber and causing them both to flee, according to news reports. The robbers are said to have driven off in a car, only to crash the car a short distance away, at which point one suspect fled on foot. Police reportedly arrived to find one dead suspect, whose name has not yet been released, in the vehicle. No injuries to employees or customers of the restaurant were reported. |
MI: Detroit sued over false confession
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A man who was falsely accused of — and falsely confessed to — a murder he did not commit is suing the Detroit Police Department, arguing that officers manipulated him into making the false confession.
Damon Nathaniel initially confessed to the murder during a long interrogation session at which, he claims, the police told him that he would be allowed to go free if he just confessed to killing Michael Ray in self-defense. Instead, he spent nine months in jail pending trial until DNA evidence proved his innocence and the charges were dropped. |
NY: National Rifle Association endorses Congressman Owen's re-election bid
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National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund has endorsed Bill Owens in his re-election campaign for U.S. Congress, Owens’ office has announced.
The association of nearly four million members says Owens was endorsed based on his “solid pro-gun voting record in Congress.”
“Upstate New York is home to thousands of sportsmen and I consider it part of my responsibility to my constituents to preserve and protect the Second Amendment,” Ownes said. |
MN: NRA political fund endorses Emmer
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The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund has endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer.
In a release, Chris Cox, the NRA-VF chairman, said: "Tom Emmer has earned the NRA-PVF endorsement for his solid pro-gun record. His commitment to preserving our Second Amendment rights and hunting heritage makes Tom Emmer the clear choice for Minnesota gun owners." |
MS: Miss. called top gun exporter
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A report issued Monday tagged Mississippi as a leading source for guns used in crimes, but the findings made little impression on state leaders.
"Criminals are going to get guns wherever they are," said state Senate Judiciary B Chairman Gray Tollison, D-Oxford. "The Second Amendment is very strong, and that is not going to change in terms of somebody's right to purchase a gun, especially in Mississippi."
The study released by the New York-based coalition Mayors Against Illegal Guns used data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to trace guns used in crimes back to their state of purchase. The report noted a high number of guns used in crimes came from Mississippi. |
GA: Georgia tops gun trafficking list
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The mayors' group says many of the states are on the list because their relaxed gun laws encouraged trafficking. Gun rights advocates say they look at this list and see a totally different trend.
“Of those 10 states that they say 48.8 percent of the fire arms are coming from, those 10 states have 46.4 percent of the population in the United States,” said Chuck Turney, of Georgiacarry.org, an advocacy group looking to protect second amendment rights.
He says trying to tighten these laws will not stop crime.
“Firearm laws only affect law abiding citizens. They don't affect criminals; they're going to get firearms no matter how they have to do it,” said Turney. |
MO: Taser ban a threat to rights
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On Nov. 2, Columbia residents will vote on an initiative that would ban the use of Tasers within the city. Aside from being in direct violation of the Second Amendment, this ban also threatens the security of law-abiding citizens and the effectiveness of law enforcement.
As a young woman living on my own, I have become familiar with basic self-defense strategies: stay in well-lit areas, don’t walk home alone at night, etc.
Sometimes, however, these strategies can prove ineffective. I work at a restaurant and often do not get off work until 1 or 2 a.m. and I walk three blocks back to my apartment. For this and many other reasons, I own a Taser. |
MO: Examining Missouri's deadly force law
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The Ripley County Prosecutor's Office told Region 8 News Monday that changes in the state's deadly force law have provided more protections for homeowners and residents who fall victim to burglary and other criminal action.
According to Prosecutor Christopher Miller, homeowners or residents who use deadly force to protect their family or property from a person who unlawfully enters their home cannot face civil lawsuits from the criminal nor their family.
"If they're going to come in and do anything, steal your crockery, you can use deadly force and that was a significant change. Prior to that time, the use of deadly force just to protect property was not authorized," said Miller. |
NJ: 62-year-old disabled victim of armed robbery fights back
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"One of the suspects brandished a gun and pointed it at the victim demanding money," Rowan said. The victim said he had no money, Rowan said, and that's when one of the suspects punched him in the face followed by more punches and kicks by the other three suspects.
The victim said being in the military also taught him to fight so he fought back.
"When I told him I had no money he hit me and I hit him back in self-defense and then hit one of the other guys too," the victim said, adding "I've been through scarier things...I was in Vietnam." |
IL: Rulings show need to eliminate FOID
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Since that drafting came, the McDonald ruling reinforced the Heller ruling.
Heller certified the Second Amendment is a fundamental guaranteed right of the people, not the government. McDonald certified the Second Amendment applies against the state for the people.
Our inalienable right can only be revoked through due process, individually for cause, in court — not by legislation.
Logic follows that civil rights can’t be denied, licensed, charged for of taxed— meaning Firearm Owners Identification is unconstitutional.
McDonald overrules FOID. Constitutional violation, punitive damages, class-action civil rights lawsuits are looming. Bill Brady must eliminate FOID. |
Jimmy LaSalvia and the Conservative Gay Agenda
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I [Liz Glover] co-produced this VBS.tv interview with Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of a PAC for gay conservatives called GOProud. He recently got media attention for calling out the National Organization for Marriage at CPAC.
LaSalvia says he became a conservative early, when he watched "as Reagan and Thatcher won the Cold War." A picture of Dick Cheney hangs in his office; he favors second amendment rights as a way for gays to protect themselves from hate crimes. |
OH: Governor touts gun record at Sportsman’s Club
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Even though Democratic governor Ted Strickland was appearing in politically hostile territory, it was the embrace of an ardent supporter who nearly did him in.
Strickland, who visited the Middletown’s Sportsmen’s Club Sunday as part of a day-long campaign swing through southwestern Ohio, was nearly tackled by Blanche Lovely, an 86-year-old former school teacher who embraced the governor in a big bear hug to show her support for his re-election campaign.
“I’m a good democrat,” Lovely told the governor. “I love what you are doing for education and I think we’re on the road to better times.” |
Transwoman Talks Guns, Gay Rights At Second Amendment Foundation Conference
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Gays with guns. . .now that is something for the anti-LGBT Crowd to ponder. While many people think of the LGBT Community as being Leftist Pinko Peaceniks, the reality is that many within the LGBT Community are not as Left as is often portrayed. Most lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transpeople vote Democrat because it is easier to make back the money that taxes take away than it is to get back the rights that are taken away by the Republicans. One of the panelists at the Second Amendment Foundation’s gun rights conference is Nicki Stallard, one of the coordinators for the San Jose chapter of Pink Pistols, a pro-gun LGBT organization. |
Gun Rights Policy Conference Roundup
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I [Gary Marbut] have just returned from the national, annual, Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC).
This event has been hosted each year for 25 years by the Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Each year it is held at a different location in the U.S., this year at the Hyatt Regency hotel at the San Francisco (California) airport...
...
You will see that the agenda reads like a roster of Who’s Who of the RKBA movement in the U.S.
(except for the obvious absence of the NRA. The NRA, we are told, is keeping a very low profile because of serious backlash by NRA members and others over some recent political compromises made by the NRA leadership.) |
Law School professors talk gun rights
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Tempers flared and neurons fired Monday at the Yale Law School, where students and faculty discussed McDonald v. Chicago, a Supreme Court decision on gun rights with “huge historical significance,” as Law School Dean Robert Post LAW ’77 said.
The 5–4 decision, handed down in June, extended the right to bear arms, protected by the Second Amendment, to state and local laws. More than 80 students and faculty members crowded into the Law School faculty room Monday to listen to a discussion about the ruling with Post and law professors Akhil Amar ’80 LAW ’84 and Jed Rubenfeld. |
Gun Rights and the 2010 Senate Elections
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Delaware: Appointed Sen. Ted Kaufman (D) is retiring. ... In the current Congress, he [Republican Mike Castle] is the lead House sponsor of Michael Bloomberg’s bill which would create the structure for federal registration of most retail gun sales.
Democratic nominee Chris Coons so far appears to have nothing to say on firearms policy, although given his self-description (while in college) as a Marxist, one might infer that he is an enthusiast for a government monopoly on the means of force.
Christine O’Donnell received an AQ and the NRA endorsement, which may have put her over the top in the primary. Even if presume that Coons will wins the seat, keeping Castle out of the Senate is still progress for gun owners. |
NJ: Too many guns, too many victims
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We don't know if the legislation introduced by state Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, provides that overarching view, but perhaps it can be a starting point to a greater discussion.
Drew's legislation would allow New Jersey residents to carry handguns if they first go through a vigorous background check, complete courses in firearms safety and the lawful use of force, pass a test and pay an annual $500 fee.
The law, loosely based on statutes in Pennsylvania and Connecticut, would serve to relax what is now a pretty strict handgun "carry law" on the books. Significantly, Drew's legislation would do away with current language in the law that says residents must present "a justifiable need to carry a handgun." |
NY: New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Endorses Robert Germino for State Assembly
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The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, the state's largest and nation's oldest 2nd Amendment advocacy organization, announces the endorsement of Robert Germino for State Assembly in District 13. "Robert Germino will defend the 2nd Amendment civil rights of all New Yorkers" said Thomas H. King, President of NYSRPA. In contrast his opponent, incumbent Assemblyman Charles Lavine, has a proven contempt for civil rights and a disgraceful record of coddling violent criminals. He has repeatedly voted in favor of legislation criminalizing keeping firearms available for self-defense in the home, voted in favor of various firearm and ammunition prohibitions and attacked those who disagree with him on the floor of the Assembly. |
Will NRA release grades in Reid/Angle race?
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"Will NRA tell us how they have currently been graded, so we can take that information and "put it in the forefront of [our] decision-making"? How else would we be able to?"
"And if they do, will they also explain how they derived the grades if asked for details?"
"How will not doing either 'encourage' us? How will taking no position 'position [them] to help [our] rights'?" |
UT: City, vet settle excessive-force lawsuit
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"A Korean War veteran who claimed police used excessive force against him during a 2006 incident at Liberty Park has settled his lawsuit with Salt Lake City and one city police officer."
"In November 2006, police were called to the park when Lund got into an argument with a man whose dog was running without a leash[...]. The man reported that Lund threatened him with a gun, a claim a judge later said appeared to be false."
"Lund says he was feeding ducks at the park when officers drew their guns, surrounded him and ordered him to place his hands above his head. Lund said he told police he could not raise his arms because of a disability, but was tackled, handcuffed, thrown to the ground and dragged across concrete." |
NJ: State senator proposes liberalizing NJ gun-carry law
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A South Jersey senator has proposed a new law considerably liberalizing New Jersey's concealed-weapons-carrying laws, but the whopping fee and required proficiency demonstration will not make this new law attractive to libertarians. ...
[Democrat Senator Jeff] Van Drew's new law would require a background check, courses in gun safety and when the use of force is lawful, demonstrate proficiency in using the particular gun he proposes to carry, and pay an annual fee of $500. ... Van Drew admits that the chief reason for the fee is to provide yet another source of revenue.
COMMENT: This puts the topic on the table for discussion, which is good. But its purpose is simply fund-raising and dodging challenges to the present law.
Ed.: Not to mention ensuring that only the well-off will be able to afford a permit. |
NJ: N.J. senator pushes law allowing residents to carry handguns
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A lawmaker wants to make it easier for New Jersey residents to carry handguns, and he thinks the state can make some money in the process.
State Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May) introduced a bill last week that would allow residents to carry handguns if they go through a background check, complete courses in firearms safety and the lawful use of force, pass a test and pay an annual $500 fee.
Current state law only gives carry permits to those who demonstrate a "justifiable need" to their local police chief and then a Superior Court judge -- a nearly impossible hurdle, Van Drew says.
"You have to fear for your life, that you're going to be killed, in essence," said Van Drew. "It's virtually never done."
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