Firearms Legislation

GOAL Post 2010-15

2010-04-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

GOAL Post

2010-15

Legislative Update from Olympia 14 April 2010

TAXES RAISED; SPECIAL SESSION ADJOURNS

EYMAN FILES TAX REPEAL INITIATIVES

NO ACTION ON GUN BILLS, PRO OR CON

CITY OF SEATTLE APPEAL ON GUN BAN

GUN-RELATED INITIATIVES FILED

The legislature adjourned Monday evening, a day before it's 30-day

special session limit after passing several tax increase bills. One way

or another, every citizen of Washington will end up giving more money to

the state.

Tax opponent Tim Eyman has already filed several initiatives overturning

the 2010 tax increases. This should be to the advantage of gun owners

as it will draw more conservatives to the polls in November (assuming

the initiatives make it onto the ballot). It appears nearly 50

Initiatives to the People have been filed with the Secretary of State

this year; many deal with the tax increases, many do not. Most will

never see the ballot. The complete list of initiative to the people

filed thus far is available at

http://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/initiatives/people.aspx?y=2010

Firearms were apparently among the furthest things from the legislators'

minds during the recently adjourned special session.

It appears the City of Seattle's appeal of Judge Shaffer's decision

overturning the Seattle gun ban will drag out for a few more months,

with extended time necessary for appropriate paperwork and responses by

either side. This should put it past the time when the U.S. Supreme

Court will issue its ruling on the Chicago handgun ban (/McDonald et al

v City of Chicago/). Will a favorable (for gun owners) ruling in

/McDonald/ cool Seattle's jets? Not likely. Anyone who voted for Mike

McGinn, hoping for a change from Greg Nickels, will surely be

disappointed! It appears arrogance comes with the office.

Two firearms-related initiatives have been filed by two Spokane County

residents. I-1059 (similar to HB 2711) affirms the right of self

defense and prohibits certain record-keeping. I-1062 is an initiative

version of the Firearms Freedom Act (HB 2709) that was introduced and

died during the 2010 session. While both initiatives are commendable

and worthy of support, it is unlikely they will get enough signatures to

qualify for the ballot. Initiative language is available at:

http://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/initiatives/text/i1059.pdf and

http://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/initiatives/text/i1062.pdf

*BILL STATUS / GOAL POSITION ON BILLS:*

Bill # Subject

Sponsor Status

Not applicable

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS:

Not applicable

PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

None

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by

calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The

hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993, also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative

schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web

site at "www.leg.wa.gov". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf)

format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from

Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com). You may also obtain hard copy

bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE

OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be

ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.

You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at

http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at

the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill,

you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the

"roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate

voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this

information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,

send a message to "jwaldron@halcyon.com". Please pass GOAL Post on to

anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.

Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun

club's bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).

PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST

PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION

AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at

"jwaldron@halcyon.com." Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy

GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be

available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

NOTICE: If you believe you have received the GOAL Post in error, first

check the "From" line in the address to determine if you received it

directly or as part of a list. GP has both individual subscribers and

list subscribers. If you do not wish to receive direct distribution of

GOAL Posts, please send an e-mail to jwaldron@halcyon.com with "Remove

GOAL Post" in the subject line. Please include in the body the address

that sent you GP. If you received it as a list member (e.g. WA-CCW,

WA-GUNS, etc), you must ask the list owner to be removed. I will

respond directly to individual subscribers.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Puyallup 24-25 April

Monroe 1-2 May

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself,

or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall

be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,

maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2010 Gun Owners Action League of WA

GOAL Post 2010-13

2010-04-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

GOAL Post 2010-13

Legislative Update from Olympia 2 April 2010

NO CHANGE IN OLYMPIA

HOUSE AND SENATE LEADERSHIP CONTINUE TO DISAGREE

GOVERNOR SIGNS SHB 2226

On day 19 of the Special Session, House and Senate leadership are still agreeing to disagree about how to resolve the budget shortfall. Most of the legislators are at home, while the fiscal committee members meet to discuss the relative merits of THEIR solutions. Any way you spell it, the end result is tax increases. (You'd better get used to THAT one.)

Under proposals being pushed by the Democrat-led Senate, everyone in the state would pay an increased sales tax to generate $800 million in additional revenue. The Democrat-led House "solution" is to focus the same amount in tax increases on specialized items such as Business & Occupation taxes, higher cigarette and other "sin" taxes (to include a tax on bottled water), and increased taxes on some food items. Meanwhile, Republican proposals to close the shortfall by cutting spending were dismissed without consideration. (Just as Republican proposals in Congress for health care reform were ignored by Democrat leadership.)

(If this looks like I'm Democrat-bashing, that's just the way I see it. And for the record, I was raised in an FDR-Democrat, union household whose family voted only Democrat... until 1968 when the party abandoned the little guy in favor of left-wing special interests.)

Again, the one bright spot in the Special Session is that revenue-raising has occupied ALL of their attention. Gun control is NOT on the table.

SHB 2226, the bill that would standardize procedures whereby retired peace officers could qualify to carry concealed firearms all across the U.S. under the provisions of HR 218, the Law Enforcement Officers' Safety Act of 2004, was signed by Governor Gregoire in a ceremony on 31 March. Several of the bills she signed that day toughened rules on parole and parolees.

BILL STATUS / GOAL POSITION ON BILLS:

Bill # Subject Sponsor Status

SHB 2226 Retired peace officer qualification Orcutt (R-18) Gov. signed

Key to abbreviations: SHB = Substitute House Bill

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS:

Not applicable

PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

None

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993, also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web site at "www.leg.wa.gov". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf) format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com). You may also obtain hard copy bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000. You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill, you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the "roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail, send a message to "jwaldron@halcyon.com". Please pass GOAL Post on to anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights. Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club’s bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s). PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at "jwaldron@halcyon.com." Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

NOTICE: If you believe you have received the GOAL Post in error, first check the “From” line in the address to determine if you received it directly or as part of a list. GP has both individual subscribers and list subscribers. If you do not wish to receive direct distribution of GOAL Posts, please send an e-mail to jwaldron@halcyon.com with “Remove GOAL Post” in the subject line. Please include in the body the address that sent you GP. If you received it as a list member (e.g. WA-CCW, WA-GUNS, etc), you must ask the list owner to be removed. I will respond directly to individual subscribers.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Monroe 10-11 April

Puyallup 24-25 April

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2010 Gun Owners Action League of WA

GOAL Post 2010 - 12

2010-03-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

GOAL Post

2010-12

Legislative Update from Olympia 26 March 2010

LITTLE ACTION IN OLYMPIA AS BUDGET IMPASSE CONTINUES

SHB 2226 STILL SITS ON GOVERNOR'S DESK

CITY OF SEATTLE FILES NOTICE OF APPEAL

Today is the 12th day of the special legislative session, and

legislative leaders are still at an impasse as to how to resolve the

$2+BILLION budget shortfall for the remainder of 2010. How can this be,

you ask, given that one party, the Democratic Party, has solid control

of BOTH chambers (House AND Senate)? This should have been resolved

during the regular session to begin with. Why is the legislature

spending approximately $20,000 PER DAY in special session?

If there is good news coming out of Olympia, it is that there has been

no action on any gun-related bills during the special session, nor is

any anticipated.

SHB 2226, the bill that would standardize procedures whereby retired

peace officers could qualify to carry concealed firearms all across the

U.S. under the provisions of HR 218, the Law Enforcement Officers'

Safety Act of 2004, still sits on Governor Gregoire's desk, awaiting her

action: sign the bill into law or veto it.

Earlier today the City of Seattle filed Notice of Appeal in the case of

the Seattle city ban. The appeal will be heard in Division 1 of the

Court of Appeals. The presiding judge of Division 1 is none other than

Judge Marlin Appelwick, who back in his days as a legislator, was one of

the "fathers" of 1994's E2SHB 2319, the so-called Youth Violence Act.

E2SHB 2319 was the largest and most comprehensive gun control law in

Washington history, essentially a major rewrite of our state's firearms

code.

At this point I don't see what arguments Seattle attorneys could make

that would overcome Judge Catherine Shaffer's February decision to toss

the ban based on the state preemption law (RCW 9.41.290). Add to that

the fact that by the time the appeal is heard, the U.S. Supreme Court

will likely have announced its decision in the case of /McDonald v City

of Chicago/, a decision that is likely to incorporate the Second

Amendment to the states. As if Washington's constitutional provision,

Article 1, Section 24 (quoted at the end of every GOAL Post) wasn't

enough. More taxpayer dollars wasted to salve the egos of arrogant

politicians (is that redundant?).

*BILL STATUS / GOAL POSITION ON BILLS:*

Bill # Subject

Sponsor Status

SHB 2226 Retired peace officer qualification Orcutt (R-18) To

Governor

Key to abbreviations: SHB = Substitute House Bill

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS:

Not applicable

PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

None

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by

calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The

hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993, also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative

schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web

site at "www.leg.wa.gov". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf)

format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from

Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com). You may also obtain hard copy

bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE

OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be

ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.

You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at

http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at

the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill,

you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the

"roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate

voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this

information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,

send a message to "jwaldron@halcyon.com". Please pass GOAL Post on to

anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.

Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun

club's bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).

PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST

PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION

AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at

"jwaldron@halcyon.com." Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy

GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be

available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

NOTICE: If you believe you have received the GOAL Post in error, first

check the "From" line in the address to determine if you received it

directly or as part of a list. GP has both individual subscribers and

list subscribers. If you do not wish to receive direct distribution of

GOAL Posts, please send an e-mail to jwaldron@halcyon.com with "Remove

GOAL Post" in the subject line. Please include in the body the address

that sent you GP. If you received it as a list member (e.g. WA-CCW,

WA-GUNS, etc), you must ask the list owner to be removed. I will

respond directly to individual subscribers.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Puyallup 27-28 March

Monroe 10-11 April

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself,

or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall

be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,

maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2010 Gun Owners Action League of WA

__,_._,___

GOAL Post 2010-2

2010-01-15T15:53:00.001-08:00

GOAL Post 2010-2

Legislative Update from Olympia 15 January 2010

CUT-OFF CALENDAR ADOPTED

PRO- AND ANTI-GUN BILLS FILED

NO PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED -- YET

The legislature adopted the cut-off calendar for the 2010 session. Certain "cut-off" dates are established, dates by which bills must clear certain hurdles or be considered "dead" for the session. Most bills die at the various cut-offs. Remember: "dead" doesn't necessarily mean "dead." Language from a bill can be amended into another bill, or the cut-off can be waived by a majority vote.

Feb 5 Bills must pass their original "policy committee"

Feb 16 Bills must pass their original chamber (House or Senate)

Feb 26 Bills must pass policy committee in the second chamber

Mar 5 Bills must pass second chamber (Senate or House)

Mar 11 Last day of session

HB 2703, by Rep. Dean Takko (D-19), is a shooting range protection bill that would immunize ranges against nuisance lawsuits filed for noise abatement. Similar bills have passed twice in previous years, only to be vetoed by the governor.

HB 2709, by Rep. Matt Shea (R-4) is similar to bills passed in Montana and Tennessee and filed in more than a dozen other states. It effectively says if a firearm is manufactured within Washington and sold within the state, the interstate Commerce Clause does not apply and thus federal firearms laws do not apply. The intent of this bill is NOT to encourage people to go out and build firearms, it's to open the door to a challenge of the federal commerce clause.

HB 2711, by Rep. Matt Shea (R-4), broadly defines the right of self defense, and declares any federal or state law to the contrary to be invalid. The bill also prohibits tracking of firearms and other self defense tools by means of RFID chips and other technical means.

SB 6396, by Sen. Adam Kline (D-37), called by the sponsors the "Aaron Sullivan Public Safety and Police Protection Act," would ban possession of so-called "assault weapons." The term would include a broadly-defined category of BOTH semi-automatic and pump action firearms (rifles, shotguns AND handguns) capable of accepting a detachable or fixed box magazine of more than 10-rounds capacity with certain "evil" features, some parts for these firearms (defined as "conversion kits"), and all magazines with greater than 10-round capacity. If the firearm was possessed prior to the effective date of the act, it could be kept ("grandfathered"), but subject the owner to warrantless "inspections" by the county sheriff and possession is limited to property owned by the possessor and "licensed ranges."

SB 6429, by Senator Dale Brandland (R-42) would lift the current prohibition on use of otherwise lawfully possessed (i.e. registered with the ATF) by law enforcement officers ONLY. Current law allows possession, if legally-possessed under federal law, but prohibits their use BY EVERYONE. SB 6429 would NOT legalize suppressor use by private citizens. HB 1604 is the preferred bill, as it makes use of ALL lawfully-possessed suppressors legal.

SB 6473, by Senator Val Stevens (R-39), is the Senate companion bill to HB 2711.

No public hearings have been scheduled for gun bills in the coming week. However, past experience indicated close attention to this. Legislative hearing schedules are published on the Wednesday of the week prior to the hearings, to provide the legal advance notice and allow for time to plan to attend. Last minute changes are allowed, but are supposed to be only when unavoidable. Several years ago, a "gun show loophole" bill was NOT on the weekly schedule, but added later without the statutory advance notice. An oversight, maybe. Except that Washington Ceasefire published a message to its members, informing them of the hearing BEFORE the weekly schedule came out. I guess they must be clairvoyant.

BILL STATUS / GOAL POSITION ON BILLS:

Bill # Subject Sponsor Status

HB 1604 Firearm suppressors Condotta (R-12) H. Jud.

HB 2226 Retired peace officer qualification Orcutt (R-18) H. Jud

HB 2264 Gun show regulation Williams (D-22) H. Jud.

HB 2477 Gun sale liability Williams (D-22) H. Jud.

HB 2499 Black powder storage/transport Bailey (R-10) H. C&L

HB 2703 Sport shooting ranges Takko (D-19) H. Jud.

HB 2709 Firearms freedom act Shea (R-4) H. Jud.

HB 2711 Right to protection Shea (R-4) H. Jud.

SB 6396 So-called "assault weapon" ban Kline (D-37) S. Jud.

SB 6429 Suppressor use by police Brandland (R-42) S. Jud

SB 6473 Right to protection Stevens (R-39) S. Jud.

Key to abbreviations: HB = House Bill, SB = Senate Bill, H. Jud = House Judiciary, H. C&L = House Commerce & Labor

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS:

HB 1604 SUPPORT

HB 2226 SUPPORT

HB 2264 OPPOSE

HB 2477 OPPOSE

HB 2499 SUPPORT

HB 2703 SUPPORT

HB 2709 SUPPORT

HB 2711 EVALUATING

SB 6396 OPPOSE

SB 6429 EVALUATING

SB6473 EVALUATING

PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

NONE (at this time)

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web site at "http://www.leg.wa.gov/". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf) format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com/). You may also obtain hard copy bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000. You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill, you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the "roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail, send a message to mailto:jwaldron@halcyon.com. Please pass GOAL Post on to anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights. Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club's bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s). PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at mailto:jwaldron@halcyon.com. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

NOTICE: If you believe you have received the GOAL Post in error, first check the "From" line in the address to determine if you received it directly or as part of a list. GP has both individual subscribers and list subscribers. If you do not wish to receive direct distribution of GOAL Posts, please send an e-mail to jwaldron@halcyon.com with "Remove GOAL Post" in the subject line. Please include in the body the address that sent you GP. If you received it as a list member (e.g. WA-CCW, WA-GUNS, etc), you must ask the list owner to be removed. I will respond directly to individual subscribers.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Monroe 16-17 January

Monroe 13-14 February

Puyallup 20-21 February

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

State senators attempt to justify assault weapon ban

2010-01-14T22:32:00.000-08:00

Gun Control: Washington lawmakers to propose

Changing views of gun control: Changes in laws

Yesterday, we discussed the Assault Weapon ban bill introduced in the Washington State Legislature recently.

The bill proposes to ban a wide category of firearms, primarily based on cosmetics. The writers say that it is based on the 1994 Clinton Assault Weapon ban. This ban was a decade-long Federal law which criminalized the sale of a number of firearms based on their cosmetics; later studies showed that it was ineffective in stopping crime.

Now State Senators Kohl-Welles and Kline have explained their rationale in the Everett Herald; through their explanation they have laid bare their ignorance on the subject.

They open their piece by alleging that "many semi-automatic assault rifles...can easily be converted to fully automatic with minor after-market modifications, and are often purchased with that purpose in mind." This myth has been circulating amongst the gun-banning crowd for years. The "easy" conversion takes the milling of several parts; kits are not available online. An FBI report showed the only 0.15% of 4,000 firearms confiscated in Los Angeles were converted; only 0.3% had any evidence of an attempt at conversion.

They point out that the bullets shot from semi-automatic guns can be as lethal as those shot from fully automatic guns. Compelling, but specious. Of course the bullets from semi-automatics can be as lethal as those shot from automatics guns, as can those shot from 200-year-old flintlocks or the blow from a sledgehammer. Centers for Disease Control data shows that In 2006, 121,599 people in accidents; 43,664 in car crashes, 20,823 in falls, 27,531 in poisoning. Each of these mechanisms were just as lethal as the next.

Passing a law like the assault weapons ban is a symbolic, purely symbolic move ... Its only real justification is notto reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation." -- Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post, April 5, 1996

40 police officers were killed by semi-automatic in the last 4 years they tell us. They use this as a reason to ban "assault weapons". By stretching the definition of assault weapons, they include this statistic in their argument. They fail to point out that most guns sold nation-wide are semi-automatics; they are the type of guns used by police officers. Most cars involved in crashes have automatic transmissions -- that is the type most commonly sold. Blaming the tool is a compelling argument, but ignores the problem of criminal behavior. Maurice Clemmons, the murderer of the Lakewood Police officers used a revolver to kill the first officers before he stole the gun of one of the officers.

This legislation was not introduced to limit the rights of responsible gun owners and is an important step toward ensuring the safety of our police and preventing future large-scale tragedies." -- Kohl-Welles and Kline

Actually, the truth is the rights of responsible gun owners are limited. Not only does their bill restrict the Second Amendment rights of responsible gun owners, but the bill requires that responsible gun owners give up their Fourth Amendment rights by allowing the sheriff to search their homes annually. Most would argue that taking away Fourth Amendment rights is a limit.

If this is an "important step" as the Senators say, then their journey only ends with a ban on all firearms, their true agenda.

As shown by studies after the Federal Assault Weapon Ban, restricting the sale of a gun based on cosmetics does not decrease crime. Kohl-Welles and Kline know that. If not, they should do their homework and find out.

Thoughts? Leave a COMMENT.

Want to follow the discussion? SUBSCRIBE to Tacoma Independent Examiner

GOAL Post 2010-1

2010-01-09T09:22:00.001-08:00

GOAL Post 2010-1

Legislative Update from Olympia 8 January 2010

LEGISLATIVE SESSION TO CONVENE MONDAY, 11 JANUARY

HOW TO CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS

HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW

CUT-OFF CALENDAR

HOLDOVERS FROM 2009 -- PREFILED BILLS

FIRST (PRO)GUN BILL SCHEDULED FOR A HEARING

2010 PROGNOSIS

The state legislature convenes Monday, 11 January, for a 60-day "short"
session (a longer, 105-day session is held during odd-numbered years).
Much of the attention this year will be focused on budgetary issues and
fixes or patches for the economy. Rest assured, however, time will be
set aside to take a look at firearms and laws regulating their use!

Once convened, the legislature does not take holidays off (MLK Day in
January, President's Day in February), although they do take most
weekends off to visit the home district and receive input from constituents.

Before each session starts, there is typically a reshuffle of offices as
assignments are changed, replacements are seated, etc. Telephone
numbers remain the same, by district, so if your Senator or one of your
Representatives has changed, the office telephone will be the same.
Your elected legislators and their contact information is available by
inserting your residence zip code at
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx

Combined House and Senate e-mail addresses are available at
https://dlr.leg.wa.gov/MemberEmail/Default.aspx

Several thousand bills are filed in a typical two-year legislative
biennium (in this case, 2009-2010). Bills that were filed but not acted
on last year may still be considered this year. In addition, new bills
are being filed daily. Only a small percentage of bills filed actually
make it to the Governor's desk for her signature or veto.

Getting a bill all the way to the governor is generally a five or six
step process. It must first be heard by the appropriate policy
committee (for firearms, usually the House or Senate Judiciary
Committees). If it passes out of the policy committee, it goes to the
Rules Committee where it awaits a floor vote by the entire chamber
(House or Senate). If it passes out of the original chamber, it then
goes across the capitol building to the other chamber, where it goes
through the committee and floor vote process again. (Bills that have a
fiscal impact must also be passed by the fiscal committee in each chamber.)

If a bill is modified in the second chamber (House bill in the Senate or
Senate bill in the House), it must receive a concurrence vote by the
original chamber or go to a conference committee for reconciliation,
then back for an concurrence vote by both chambers. Once all those
hurdles are passed, it's on its way to the governor. Now you can see
why only a fraction of bills make it all the way through the process.

A graphic depiction of the process is available at
http://www.leg.wa.gov/StudentsPage/Pages/bill2Law_elementary.aspx

One of the first items of business in each legislative session is
adoption of a cut-off calendar. The cut-off calendar establishes the
dates by which a bill must clear steps in the process. In most cases
(not always) if a bill does not pass it's cut-off date, it is considered
dead for the session. Exceptions are made occasionally, so the only
real cut-off date is when the legislature adjourns, this year at
midnight on Thursday, on March 11.

I'll post the cut-off dates in the next GOAL Post.

A few bills of interest from the last session remain and may or may not
be acted on. HB 1604 would allow use of lawfully registered suppressors
(current law allows lawful possession, but prohibits their use). HB
2226 improves the process that allows retired peace officers to carry
firearms nationwide (scheduled for a public hearing Monday, 11 January;
see information below). HB 2264 requires all firearm transfers at gun
shows be conducted (and papered) by a licensed dealer (FFL).

HB 2477, by Rep. Brendan Williams (D-22) would impose strict liability
standards against anyone who sells or transfers a firearm at a gun show
to a person who could not have passed a NICS check. (It's already a
criminal offense to KNOWINGLY transfer a firearm to a prohibited
person. The Williams bill does NOT include "knowingly.")

HB 2499, by Rep. Barbara Bailey (R-10) pre-filed a bill that relaxes the
limit on possession of black powder used in muzzle-loading firearms.
The bill increases the current limit of five pounds to 50 pounds.

Senator Adam Kline (D-37) and Rep. Ross Hunter (D-48) held a press
conference last month where they said they would introduce a bill
banning possession of so-called "assault weapons." Kline said the bill
will be similar to the 1994 Clinton gun ban, which wasn't really a ban
at all. He declined to share a copy of his draft with me. I expect the
bill will go far beyond the Clinton ban, just as his so-called a/w bill
from 2005 did: it bans all future possession, with a limited
grandfathering provision for those already in possession, IF you
register them with the local sheriff, pass a background check and pay a
registration fee -- annually.

2010 is an election year. That will have an impact on what bills pass
and those that die. According to an article in the Seattle Weekly
published shortly after the Kline/Hunter press conference, both Speaker
of the House Frank Chopp and House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler
expressed doubts about such a bill getting through their chamber. With
a large number of rural Democrats taking our side of the gun issue,
passing anti-gun bills is no sure thing, even in a legislature that's
2/3 controlled by Democrats. If your legislators are rural democrats,
be sure to contact them and give them your views on the various bills.
(Actually, you should all give your legislators your position on bills;
whether they choose to follow it or not is something for subsequent
discussion in November!)

*BILL STATUS / GOAL POSITION ON BILLS:*

Bill # Subject
Sponsor Status

HB 1604 Firearm suppressors Condotta (R-12)
H. Jud.

HB 2226 Retired peace officer qualification Orcutt (R-18) H. Jud

HB 2264 Gun show regulation Williams (D-22) H. Jud.

HB 2477 Gun sale liability Williams
(D-22) Unassigned

HB 2499 Black powder storage/transport Bailey (R-10)
Unassigned

Key to abbreviations: HB = House Bill, SB = Senate Bill, H. Jud = House
Judiciary,

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS:

HB 1604 SUPPORT

HB 2226 SUPPORT

HB 2264 OPPOSE

HB 2477 OPPOSE

HB 2499 SUPPORT

PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

Monday, 11 January 1:30 p.m. HB 2226

House Judiciary House Hearing Room "A" Obrien House Office Bldg

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by
calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The
hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative
schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web
site at "www.leg.wa.gov". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf)
format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from
Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com/). You may also obtain hard copy
bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE
OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be
ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.
You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at
http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at
the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill,
you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the
"roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate
voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this
information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,
send a message to "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com". Please pass GOAL Post on to
anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.
Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun
club's bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).
PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST
PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION
AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at
"mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com." Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy
GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be
available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

NOTICE: If you believe you have received the GOAL Post in error, first
check the "From" line in the address to determine if you received it
directly or as part of a list. GP has both individual subscribers and
list subscribers. If you do not wish to receive direct distribution of
GOAL Posts, please send an e-mail to mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com with "Remove
GOAL Post" in the subject line. Please include in the body the address
that sent you GP. If you received it as a list member (e.g. WA-CCW,
WA-GUNS, etc), you must ask the list owner to be removed. I will
respond directly to individual subscribers.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Monroe 16-17 January

Monroe 13-14 February

Puyallup 20-21 February

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself,
or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall
be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,
maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2010 Gun Owners Action League of WA

__,_._,___

Changing view of gun control: Changes in the law

2009-12-23T10:01:00.000-08:00

Gun Control: Washington lawmakers to propose

Manager's secret amendment finally public, abortion, gun checks out, CBO weighs in

The Fort Hood shooting - could it happen here?

Brady Campaign on Fort Hood shooting

The AP recently had an article about what they referred to a "loosening" of gun control laws this year. Even the title suggests some lack of objectivity on what is otherwise a reasonably accurate piece. I can't imagine an article about "loosening" of First, Fourth or Fifth Amendment laws.

The AP credits the NRA with the changes in the laws, but, as we'll explore later, there is more of a grass-roots interest in changing the laws. The NRA, alone, can't pass the laws themselves.

Changes to the law:

Arizona, Florida, Louisiana and Utah have all passed laws making it legal for employees to keep their hunting rifle in the cars at work
- Disney, however, citing an exemption to the Florida for businesses in which "the primary business conducted is the manufacture, use, storage, or transportation of combustible or explosive materials" does not allow its employees to have firearms anywhere on the premises. Bet you thought they were just about Mickey and Tinkerbell, didn't you.

Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, South Carolina and Virginia have passed laws keeping the names and addresses of firearm permits holders private.
- In Memphis, the Commercial Appeal printed the names and addresses of permit holders.
- In Roanoke, Virginia, the Roanoke Times printed the names and addresses of permit holders in Virginia. The list was quickly removed after the name and address of the editorial writer was printed by a gun-rights group.
- A similar law was defeated in Oregon.
- Washington has had a privacy law for years.
- It is interesting to note that when the names of Registered Sex Offenders are printed, only the block of residence is printed.

Montana, Arizona and Kansas have included firearms possession in those civil rights returned to felons who have had their convictions expunged or otherwise had their civil rights restored.

Montana and Tennessee, citing the Tenth Amendment rights, have passed legislation allowing their residents to purchase firearms produced in their state to be exempt from federal restrictions.
- Federal control of firearms is allowed by the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, which empowers the federal government "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States"

This next year in Washington, there is already a discussion of an "Assault Weapon Ban", as was discussed recently.

Thoughts? Leave a COMMENT.

Gun Control: Washington State Legislators propose new "Assault Weapon Ban"

2009-12-17T10:57:00.000-08:00

The Seattle Times is reporting that three state legislators will introduce legislation banning the sale of "military-style" semi-automatic firearms in Washington State at the start of the session in January.

The bill, not yet submitted, will be called the "Aaron Sullivan Public Safety and Police Protection Bill", and will prohibit the sale of "military style" semiautomatic weapons in the state, and require current owners to pass background checks.

The legislators, Representatives Kline and Kohl-Welles of Seattle, and Hunter or Medina, cite the murders of Aaron Sullivan, and Officer Timothy Brenton as the need for the bill.

While both murders are tragic, there is no evidence to support the idea that a Washington State version of an "Assault Weapon Ban" would have any effect on crime. A US Department of Justice study on the effect of the Federal Assault Weapon Ban in place from 1994-2004. Studies show that firearms restricted by the ban were only involved in 1-2% of crimes.

No one should have any illusions about what was accomplished (by the ban). Assault weapons play a part in only a small percentage of crime. The provision is mainly symbolic; its virtue will be if it turns out to be, as hoped, a stepping stone to broader gun control. Washington Post
editorial September 15, 1994 addressing the Federal Assault Weapon Ban

Seattle Gun Rights Examiner Dave Workman has addressed the myth that Officer Brenton was killed by a so-called "assault weapon."

The proposed legislation would ban certain firearms based on their cosmetics, identifying so-called "military style" firearms, and standard-capacity magazines.

To evaluate the proposed law, it is important to understand that, from a functional perspective, there is no difference between the AR-15 style rifle and a more traditional semi-automatic rifle. Each fires only one round each time the trigger is pulled. Fully automatic firearms, which fire more than one round with a trigger pull, are already illegal in Washington, and have nothing to do with the crimes.

The Washington State Constitution is pretty clear in its intent about firearms.

SECTION 24 RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS. The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men. -- Washington Constitution

It is not logical to assume that the number of rounds that a firearm can carry would alter the intent of the criminal. Maurice Clemmons, the alleged murderer of the Lakewood Police officers, used a revolver to carry out his crime.

Requiring a background check for people who already own these types of firearms has far-reaching effects.

First, it would establish an unprecedented firearms registration system if Washington, because owners would have to declare that they have the firearms. Legal owners would have to register their firearms based on cosmetics. Criminals, who don't follow laws, won't.

It ignores the fact that the vast majority of legal owners of the firearms underwent criminal background checks at the time of purchase. Remember, criminals buying stolen guns don't do background checks.

It would probably violate Washington Constitution's Section 23, which prohibits Ex Post Facto laws. The law places a restriction on an already-completed legal transaction. Criminals, of course, don't follow laws at the time of purchase, and won't follow them after the purchase.

Representative Hunter has said, "We don't allow people to own tanks or bazookas or machine guns, and very few people think that that's an unreasonable restriction."

Of course, this argument is specious, and Hunter knows it. Trying to draw an analogy between a civilian firearm to a tank or bazooka is patently absurd.

Representative Kohl-Welles asked, "did the framers of our Constitution ever envision something like a semi-automatic weapon?" when addressing the Constitutionality of the proposed ban.

Again, a specious argument, and she knows it.

When writing the First Amendment, the framers didn't anticipate the computer you are reading this on, nor the Internet you used to get it. The framers did not anticipate electronic wiretaps when writing the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.

The proposed legislation is nothing other than another attempt to restrict the legal activities of law-abiding citizens. If the supporters of the legislation don't know that criminals who shoot police officer don't follow laws, they should wake up.

The Fort Hood shooting - could it happen here?

2009-11-13T11:15:00.000-08:00

From my Examiner.com piece:

There is an ongoing discussion of the detection, motives and profile of Major Hasan, the accused gunman in the Fort Hood shooting. As often happens, once the person has been identified, a look into his or her background shows many indicators that might have pointed to their future actions. E-mail, blogs and chat rooms postings all make sense now....if only......

What rarely gets discussed is that the victims were made defenseless in "Gun Free Zones."

There's a history of mass murder in "Gun Free Zones".

Now at first glance, the concept of a gun-free zone makes sense -- put up a sign and people will heed.

For the concept to make sense, you'd have to accept that someone bent on mass destruction is going to be stopped by a "No Trespassing" sign.

For the concept to make sense, you'd have to accept that someone bent on mass destruction is going to be stopped by a "No Trespassing" sign. Not surprsingly, this hasn't worked out well.

The shooter at Fort Hood elected to use the Soldier Readiness Center for his attack rather than the rifle range, the police or headquarters building. Is it surprising that the Readiness Center is a place where firearms are not allowed and the rifle range or headquarters buildings involve soldiers with guns? Shouldn't be.

There's a history of mass murder in "Gun Free Zones".

In 1987, at the Luby's Cafeteria in Texas, a gentleman drove his truck into the window of the cafeteria and proceeded to kill 23 people. At the time, restaurants in Texas were Gun Free Zones.

Columbine High School was a Gun Free Zone.

Virginia Tech was a Gun Free Zone.

Gun Free Zones just don't work.

Fort Hood, like the bases in the Puget Sound, Fort Lewis, McChord Air Force Base, do not allow people to be armed. What better people to allow themselves to be armed to protect themselves. Soldiers in the field are armed around the clock. They litteraly live with their guns, yet when at home they aren't allowed to have them.

Despite the futility of "Gun Free Zones", Seattle Mayor Nickels is establishing them in parks in the city. He is doing this despite the State Attorney General's opinion that he does not have the authority under Washington States preemption law.

This is a policy that needs to be eliminated not only on military bases other public buildings, and **gasp** colleges and university. It will make us all safer.

Brady Campaign on Fort Hood shooting

2009-11-09T11:05:00.000-08:00

From my column in Examiner.com

Never missing an opportunity to turn tragedy into a press release, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, formerly Handgun Control, Inc., said the following:

When I heard of the tragedy yesterday, we were in the midst of planning a
response to the latest dangerous legislative proposal from the gun lobby in the
United States Senate - language to automatically restore access to guns to
veterans designated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Justice
Department as ‘mentally incapacitated' or ‘mentally incompetent.' In light of
what happened yesterday - a violent attack by an emotionally unstable soldier -
it is even clearer that the proposal being pushed by Senator Richard Burr of
North Carolina should be rejected.

Of course, the shooting at Fort Hood has nothing to do with Senator Burr's bill and the Brady Campaign knows it. They are referring to S. 669, the "Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act". We'll discuss Burr's bill in another installment.

Major Hasan, the alleged shooter at the Fort Hood massacre, is an active-duty soldier. His mental status is not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Veteran's Affairs, which is what S. 669 addresses.

...make the possession of all handguns and all handgun ammunition - except for the military, policemen, licensed security guards, licensed sporting clubs, and licensed gun collectors - totally illegal. -- Handgun Control's, Incorporated's Pete Shields

None of that stops the Brady Campaign from again turning a tragedy into a Press Release. As always, they play from Rham Emanuel's playbook and not let "a serious crisis go to waste."

The Brady Campaign's predecessor, Handgun Control's, Incorporated's Pete Shields told the New Yorker Magazine in 1976,

"... the final problem is to make the possession of all handguns and all handgun ammunition - except for the military, policemen, licensed security guards, licensed sporting clubs, and licensed gun collectors - totally illegal."

The Brady Campaign has become more subtle in their rhetoric, but no different in their direction. It is just too bad they have to rely on tragedy to misdirect the public's eye.

And Now McDonald

2009-10-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

No, not the place with the Golden Arches.

The next piece of litigation that will be critical in continuing to protect our right to protect ourselves will be McDonald v Chicago. But first, a little background.

On June 26, 2008, in the Heller decision, the Supreme Court

Held:
1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess
a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm
for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.

Prior to this ruling, the District of Columbia had a prohibition to handgun ownership. From the text of the Heller ruling:

The District of Columbia generally prohibits the possessionof handguns. It is a crime to carry an unregistered firearm, and the registration of handguns is prohibited. See D. C. Code §§7–2501.01(12), 7–2502.01(a), 7–2502.02(a)(4) (2001). Wholly apart from that prohibition, no person may carry a handgun without a license, but the chief of police may issue licenses for 1-year periods. See §§22–4504(a), 22–4506. District of Columbia law also requires residents to keep their lawfully owned firearms, such as registered long guns, “unloaded and dissembled or bound by a trigger lock or similar device” unless they are located in a place of business or are being used for lawful recreational activities. See §7–2507.02.1

So as far as the DC was concerned, no handguns, and no working long guns anyhow. Parenthetically, they did not even allow law enforcement officers from surrounding jurisdictions to carry firearms off duty.

This ruling, however, only applied to the District of Columbia; this is where Mr. Heller lives and the District was named in the suit. The District of Culumbia is a Federal District (it is outside of the states of Virginia and Maryland from which it was carved).

Self protection activists have known that the next step was to return to the Supreme Court and have the Court rule through the 14th Amendment that the Second Amendment is incorporated, or applies, to the rest of the States.

On September 30th, the Supreme Court granted a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari, which asks them to consider the question:

Whether the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is incorporated as
against the States by the Fourteenth Amendment’s Privileges or Immunities or Due
Process Clauses.

Representing McDonald and the Second Amendment Foundation is Alan Gura, who successfully argued Heller before the Court.

Let us hope and pray that the Court incorporates the Second amendment through this litigation so that some of the legal impediments to our ability to protect ourselves and our families are removed.

In addition to prayer, I'm sure the Second Amendment Foundation would appreciate some financial help in their ongoing work. The Second Amendment Foundation is at http://saf.org/.

Let's Create New Criminals!

2009-09-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

California, a great bastion of gun control and safe streets, has now come up with another absurd law that is an affront to all of us who are law-abiding gun owners, and can create criminals out of someone making what would be a legal purchase anywhere else.

Under the lovely name of the Anti-Gang Neighborhood Protection act of 2009, AB 962 makes the following requirements:

Ammunition may not be sold on shelving that is open to the public. The purchaser must be helped by a clerk to get the ammunition.

There must be a record of the following:

Date of sale

Purchaser's drivers license or other ID number

Brand, type, and amount sold

Purchaser's signature

Name of the salesperson

Right thumbprint of purchaser

Purchaser's full residential address and telephone number

Purchaser's date of birth

Now if the vendor does not follow this, they are subject to six months in jail and a fine of $1,000.

Now can anyone really expect to see a Blood, Crypt, or MS-13 member doing all that?

This is just another version of gun control. Kinda like dad saying you can buy a car, but I get to keep the keys.

If you live in California and you are interested, you might give the Govenator a call or drop him a note with your feelings about yet another attempt to leave you defenseless (remember that the police are not obligated to protect you -- Castle Rock v Gonzales).

Mr. Schwarzenegger is at:

Phone: 916-445-2841

Fax: 916-558-3160

E-mail: http://gov.ca.gov/interact

Arthur Frommer Boycotts Arizona Until Civil Rights are Restricted

2009-08-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

In his travel blog, writer and travel guru Arthur Frommer is boycotting the State of Arizona until it is more restrictive of Civil Rights.

Frommer says, "I will not personally travel in a state where civilians carry loaded weapons onto the sidewalks and as a means of political protest."

Of course, what he is referring to is a few people doing open carry while they were at a political protest near (but not in) President Obama's visit with the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Whether or not the people carrying openly was meant as a "means of political protest" or just how these people, like many others, choose to protect themselves is not clear.

"The continued tolerance of extremists carrying guns is a frightening development which strikes at the heart of the political process and endangers the ability to carry out a reasoned debate," Frommer contends.

Acceptance of people exercising their First Amendment rights to petition the government and their Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms does, indeed, strike at the heart of the political process. It is the heart of the political process. Frommer and others' hoplophobia should not be allowed to shape the debate.

The debate that the people were engaging in was about health care reform and what shape it would take.

The debate that Frommer and others want to have is about restriction of Civil Rights.

If Frommer feels that extortion of a State until it restricts its citizens Civil Rights is appropriate, it says more about Frommer than those carrying the guns.

Gun Control, Health Care Control, and Crowd Control

2009-08-14T09:41:00.001-07:00

John Longenecker, who writes the LA Gun Rights Examiner, has been writing a series entitled Socialized Medicine and the Loss of the Second Amendment. Like most of Longenecker's writing, it is very centered on libertarian thought and its relationship to the Second Amendment. Like most of his writing, it is very provocative.

Now intertwined with the health care debate we have a debate about the Second Amendment. As I wrote about recently, a New Hampshire resident recently was at a peaceful political gathering (still protected by the First Amendment, I think) carrying his handgun holstered, but open. This is all legal in New Hampshire.

Chris Matthews of MSNBC "interviewed" the gentleman (really just swore, yelled at, berated and belittled, but you can do that if you have your own network program). That interview is available on my previous post.

Now Matthews is the same person who thought that the Navy Seals shooting of the Somali Pirates was just "luck".....3 "lucky" shots....

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Now comes Gail Collins writing in the New York Times "Gunning for Health Care" in which she not only vilifies gun owners, but feels that, perhaps New Hampshire law should be changed to her liking.

This is under the theory that as long as you know that the strange-looking guy waving the big protest sign is packing heat, you can take steps to protect yourself, perhaps such as purchasing a bulletproof vest from a nearby street vendor.

The Huffington Post, in reviewing the Matthews interview, refers to Kostric, the gentleman carrying the gun as "unrepentant". So I'm guessing that if we do or say something that Matthews or Huffington doesn't agree with we are now expected to "repent" -- to them? Does it not matter at all that, though they may not agree with it, Kostric did nothing illegal? No, not at all.

Joan Walsh in Salon.com has, in only 24 hours, has produced a number of pieces of "evidence" that portray Kostric as a right-wing revolutionary. Walsh opens her piece by saying that Kostric, "brought a loaded gun to the town hall meeting".

Accuracy is such an annoying thing. Kostric wasn't at the town hall meeting. I think we all would question the judgment of a mere citizen showing up to a meeting with the President armed. He was on the street some distance away from the meeting. Again, what he did was perfectly legal, but it is much more fun to pillory him.

So what's the point?

Simple. Portray anyone with a gun as a nut case. Make it look like they belong to some right-wing group of crazies. Marginalize them.

It is much easier to disarm people if we can spin them as crazy and, undoubtedly, dangerous.

Clearly, in the eyes of these media writers, the First Amendment only covers freedom of the press, but it is a little more expansive than that. (Caution - the following is revolutionary in tone -- children, leave the room)

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Yes, it covers freedom of the press, but it also addresses the right of the people (that's you and me) to peaceably assemble and petition the Government, exactly what Mr. Kostric was doing. He's allowed to have political opinions different from others. Sadly, most of the media has forgotten that. More sadly, if one reads the comments of people on the sites of the articles I've referenced, many of the readers have forgotten that, too.

Chris Matthews and the "God Damn Gun"

2009-08-13T12:07:00.000-07:00

One of the many news stories about the Town Hall meetings regarding the health care debate showed a picture of a protester open carrying. This took place in New Hampshire, where open carry is legal. The protester was quietly carrying a sign, was standing on private property, and had a holstered gun carried open at his side.

He was guilty of exercising his First Amendment right to petition the government and his Second Amendment right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Seems this doesn't sit well with Mr. Matthews.

Makes one wonder which Constitutionally-protected rights we can exercise without checking with Mr. Matthews.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

A Little Mexican Drug War History

2009-08-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a piece from Time Magazine in November of 2008. Seems at that time, the problem with the drug wars in Mexico was the widespread corruption of the police and military (which in Mexico are essentially interchagable).

Now, of course, the problem is the Americans and our guns. After all, 17% of those seized were from the US. Guess the historical widespread corruption disappeared?

In Mexico's Drug War, Bad Cops Are a Mounting Problem
Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008

By Tim Padgett with Dolly Mascarenas / Mexico City

Few rituals are more futile than the "housecleaning" of Mexico's police forces. So deep, broad and brazen is cop corruption south of the border that removing it makes eradicating rats from landfills look easy. Mexico stages quasi-annual purges of officers high and low — last year it was 284 federal police commanders — and yet every year the nation seems to find itself with an even more criminal constabulary. This year's scandals, however, are especially appalling.

Over the summer, President Felipe Calderón's antidrug czar, Noe Ramirez, resigned abruptly. The likely reason became apparent this week after Ramirez was detained by federal officials and accused of taking $450,000 to keep Mexico's most powerful narco mafia, the Sinaloa Cartel, informed about police antidrug operations. He is the highest-ranking government official to be nabbed in this year's anticorruption sweep. (See pictures of crime-fighting in Mexico City.)
But not the only one. Last month five top officials at the federal organized-crime task
force were collared for the same crime after being fingered by an informant who,
astonishingly, worked for both the U.S. embassy in Mexico City and the Sinaloa narcos. Days later federal police chief Gerardo Garay — whose predecessor, Edgar Millan, was murdered by narco hit men last May, allegedly with the aid of a federal cop — resigned after being linked to a Sinaloa capo. Mario Velarde, a top boss of the federal police force's antidrug unit and a former private secretary to Garcia Luna, was also detained this week, for leaking info to the narcos. Ramirez and all the accused deny the charges.

But as one federal security analyst says, it's no longer strange in Mexico's police purges "to see today's butchers become tomorrow's cows."

Mexico's real carnage, meanwhile, gets ghastlier by the day.
This year the nation has logged some 4,300 drug-related murders, and analysts fear that Mexico could double last year's record of 2,500. The spike in killing is largely
due to the war Calderón declared last year on the drug cartels. He has deployed
more than 25,000 federal army troops in the campaign, but the narcos have lashed
out with insurrection-style violence against a harrowing number of law-enforcement officials, from beat cops to top cops like Millan, as well as prosecutors and judges. The cartels, whose homicidal repertoire includes an orgy of beheadings, upped the terrorist ante in September when they allegedly threw grenades into a crowded plaza in Michoacán, killing eight people.
The cartels, which run a $25 billion-a-year trafficking industry in Mexico, have also intensified their campaign of co-opting police. Not that Mexico's woefully undertrained and underpaid cops are that hard a mark. But the relentless revelations of the breadth of the corruption — including allegations that officers under Mexico's Public Security Minister, Genaro Garcia Luna, were involved in high-profile kidnappings — seem to make a mockery of Calderón's efforts to stamp it out. "This is Calderón's Iraq," says Sergio Aguayo, a security expert at the Colegio de Mexico in Mexico City. "He declared war against the cartels, but he wasn't prepared for the size of the threat the cartels turned out to represent." Many cases in the latest purge, which is indeed called Operation Housecleaning, are based on the testimony of an unidentified cartel informant in U.S. custody. Still, Calderón faces critics who worry the arrests are an attempt by the Mexican President to find scapegoats for his antidrug quagmire and secure U.S. antidrug aid.
The cartels' ability to infiltrate officialdom has grown so convincing that many Mexicans have trouble believing the government's assertion that a fiery Learjet crash this month on a busy Mexico City avenue — which killed Calderón's Interior Minister and de facto Vice President, Juan Camilo Mourino, and top security adviser Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos — was an accident and not narco sabotage. That dwindling public confidence has done nothing to help the Calderón administration fend off the effects of the global economic crisis. This year the Mexican peso has lost about a fifth of its value against the U.S. dollar.
That is all the more reason why the U.S. and the incoming Obama Administration need to lend Mexico, America's third largest trading partner, a more serious hand in reforming and professionalizing its police forces. This year Washington approved $400 million for Mexico's antidrug fight in 2009, part of a three-year aid package known as the Merida Initiative. But critics say the plan focuses too much on interdiction hardware like helicopters and not enough on software like an overhaul of Mexico's police and judiciary — especially higher pay for cops, many of whom earn a measly $5,000 a year, and the creation of more modern investigative units. Without it, Calderón will continue to rely on his army in this fight, but in the long run, armies make for lousy drug-interdiction forces.
The police woes should also prompt the U.S. to take its own culpability for Mexico's narco-calamity more seriously. Even U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza this week took issue with Washington's complacency about curbing gringo demand for cocaine and the smuggling of Yanqui guns to Mexican drug gangs. "The truth is, Mexico would not be at the center of cartel activity, or be experiencing this level of violence," Garza said in San Antonio, "were the U.S. not the largest consumer of illicit drugs and the main supplier of weapons to cartels."

Traveling in Chile this week, Calderón insisted that his government "is strongly committed to fighting against not only organized crime but the corruption that organized crime generates and that has become entrenched over years and perhaps decades in the structures of power." It would seem that he made good headway this week. But as those years and decades have all too often shown in Mexico, the corruption usually gets generated at a far greater rate than any government can keep up with.

Find this article at:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1861296,00.html
Copyright © 2009 Time Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in
part without permission is prohibited.

Gun Control for the Sake of Liberty

2009-07-31T08:21:00.000-07:00

From the Cato Institute

Gun Control for the Sake of Mexico: The Meme That Wouldn’t Die

Posted By David Rittgers On April 15, 2009 @ 5:37 pm In Foreign Policy and National Security, Law and Civil Liberties

Fox News already debunked [1] the claim that 90% of the guns involved in Mexico’s drug war come from the United States. Facts aside, the press onslaught continues in a new push for gun control.

The fact is that out of 29,000 firearms picked up in Mexico over the last two-year period for which data is available, 5,114 of the 6,000 traced guns came from the United States. While that is 90% of traced guns, it means that only 17% of recovered guns come from the United States civilian market.

Where did the rest come from? A number of places. To begin with, over 150,000 Mexican soldiers have deserted in the last six years for the better pay and benefits of cartel life, some taking their issued M-16 rifles with them.

Surprisingly, a significant number of the arms are coming to the cartels via legitimate transactions. They are produced and exported legally every year, regulated by the State Department as Direct Commercial Sales. FY 2007 figures for the full exports are available here [2], and State’s report on end-use is available here [3], alleging widespread fraud and use of front companies to funnel the weapons into the black market. (H/T to Narcosphere [4]) This doesn’t even take into account the thousands of weapons floating around Latin America from previous wars of liberation. This Los Angeles Times article [5] also shows how the cartels are getting hand grenades, rocket launchers, and other devices you can’t pick up at your local sporting goods store.

Perhaps this is why law enforcement officials did not ask for new gun laws to combat Mexican drug violence at recent hearings [6] in front of Congress.

Never mind those pesky facts. The story at the New York Times [7] recycles the 90% claim. The associated video [8] is just as bad. Narrator: “The weapons that are arming the drug war in Juarez are illegal to purchase and possess in Mexico.” They’re also illegal in the United States. As the narrator says these words, the Mexican officer is handling an M-16 variant with a barrel less than sixteen inches long. This rifle would be illegal [9] to possess in the United States without prior approval from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE). As the video mentions the expired “Assault” Weapons Ban, the submachine gun in frame would also be classified as a short-barreled rifle and require BATFE approval. Ditto for many of the rifles shown in the video. The restrictions on barrel length would not apply to weapons exported as Direct Commercial Sales. Law enforcement folks call this a “clue.”

The language of gun control advocates is changing subtly to demonize “military style” weapons. “Military style” weapons is a new and undefined term that means either (1) automatic weapons, short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns, and destructive devices already heavily regulated by federal law; or (2) a term inclusive of all modern firearms in a back-door attempt to enact a new gun control scheme.

Yes, ALL modern firearms. Grandpa’s hunting rifle? Basis for the system [10] used by military snipers. The pump-action shotgun you use to hunt ducks and quail? Basis for the modular shotgun [11] produced for the military. The handgun you bought for self-defense, a constitutionally protected right [12]? Used by every [13] modern [14] military [15].

This is not a new tactic. The Violence Policy Center [16] has previously tried to fool people by portraying ordinary rifles as machine guns with the term “assault” weapons: “The weapons’ menacing looks, coupled with the public’s confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons-anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun-can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons.”

Making our domestic policies based on the preferences of other countries is unacceptable, especially in an activity protected by the Constitution. One of Canada’s Human Rights Commissioners is on record [17] saying that “[f]reedom of speech is an American concept, so I don’t give it any value.” (Apparently, it makes the folks at the Department of Homeland Security nervous [18] too) In a similar vein, the United Nations says [19] “[w]e especially encourage the debate on the issue of reinstating the 1994 U.S. ban on assault rifles that expired in 2004.”

It’s not theirs to say, and we shouldn’t listen to an argument based on lies. Related posts here [20] and here [21].

Article printed from Cato @ Liberty: http://www.cato-at-liberty.org

URL to article: http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2009/04/15/gun-control-for-the-sake-of-mexico-the-meme-that-wouldnt-die/

URLs in this post:

[1] debunked: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2009/04/02/myth-percent-guns-mexico-fraction-number-claimed/

[2] here: http://narcosphere.narconews.com/userfiles/70/**State_Dept_rpt655_FY07.pdf

[3] here: http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/reports/documents/End_Use_FY2007.doc

[4] Narcosphere: http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/bill-conroy/2009/03/legal-us-arms-exports-may-be-source-narco-syndicates-rising-firepower

[5] article: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-arms-race15-2009mar15,0,229992.story

[6] recent hearings: http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=3718

[7] New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/us/15guns.html?pagewanted=1

[8] video: http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/04/14/world/1194747029246/american-guns-in-juarez.html

[9] illegal: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/922.html

[10] system: http://www.remingtonmilitary.com/m24sws.htm

[11] modular shotgun: http://www.remingtonmilitary.com/870mcs.htm

[12] constitutionally protected right: http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_290/

[13] every: http://ruger-firearms.com/News/2004-12-23.jsp?P=F

[14] modern: http://www.sigsauer.com/AboutUs/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4

[15] military: http://www.berettadefence.com/index.aspx?m=53&did=80

[16] Violence Policy Center: http://www.vpc.org/studies/awaconc.htm

[17] on record: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/the-jihad-of-the-word/

[18] nervous: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/14/federal-agency-warns-of-radicals-on-right/

[19] says: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/opinion/15iht-edcosta.html?_r=1

[20] here: http://www.cato-at-liberty.org../../../../../2009/03/03/holders-assault-weapons-folly/

[21] here: http://www.cato-at-liberty.org../../../../../2009/03/05/good-coverage-of-ag-holders-war-on-guns/

Click here to print.

Copyright © 2009 Cato-at-liberty. All rights reserved.

Ted Nugent of the Personal Responsibility

2009-07-27T09:08:00.001-07:00

FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE IN THE FREE WORLD

2009-06-20T10:36:00.001-07:00

How many of those do you get a day? Amongst shooters in the current administration, they are getting popular. Here are a couple:

Senate Bill SB-2099 will require us to put on our 2009 1040 federal tax form all guns that you have or own. It may require fingerprints and a tax of $50 per gun.

This bill was introduced on Feb.. 24. This bill will become public knowledge 30 days after it is voted into law. This is an amendment to the Internal Revenue Act of 1986. This means that the Finance Committee can pass this without the Senate voting on it at all.

Sounds scary, except it doesn't actually exist. There is no SB-2009 in this Congress. You can search on bills at Thomas, which is the Library of Congress website where bills are registered.

Another is HR 45, Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act.

Very Important for you to be aware of a new bill HR 45 introduced into the House.

This is the Blair Holt Firearm Licensing & Record of Sale Act of 2009. Also go to http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-45

I've written about that in the past. Still no co-sponsors, it is sitting in Committee going nowhere.

Here's a Civics lesson:

Steps In Making a Law

Write your bill
Submit it
Get it assigned to the appropriate committee
Go get a bunch of co-sponsors
Have hearings
Get a financial impact statement from the Congressional Budget Office
Pray it gets out of committee
See if you can pass it on your side (Senate or House)
Send it to the other side
See if they pass it
Have a Conference Committee to reconcile the Senate and House versions
Both sides pass it again
Send it to the White House and see if it gets signed

Most bills die at step 3.

Paying attention to things is good, though......

Of Bad Guys and Good

2009-06-07T11:51:00.000-07:00

There was a recent murder at a WalMart. In this crime, one of the criminals walked up to a armored-car guard, pulled out a gun, shot the man in the face, killing him and injuring another innocent bystander, stole the guard's money bag, and calmly walked out the store to his waiting car. http://www.thenewstribune.com/311/story/764728.html

In a recent piece (http://firearmslegislation.blogspot.com/2009/04/self-protection-is-not-vigilantism.html), I discussed the fact that honest people legally arming themselves is a rational thing to do. There are just people in the world that are not nice (to say the least). http://firearmslegislation.blogspot.com/2009/04/disarmament-as-public-policy.html

I certainly don't think that any legally-armed person could have done much of anything to stop this crime. By the time this felon had drawn his gun and shot the guard, it was all over. One could argue that it is more likely that more innocents would have been hurt had someone shot back.

What strikes me about this crime is not only the level of violence, but the absolute disregard for life shown by the criminals both in their action and their comments during the subsequent interrogation. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2009/06/04/2009302279.pdf

Turpin initially denied any involvement, even claiming it wasn’t him on the
video. Eventually Turpin admitted he was involved and it was him on the video. A
detective asked if there was anything he would like to say to the family of the
dead guard if he had the opportunity.

He hung his head and said softly, “Sorry, I guess.”

The detective said, “You guess you’re sorry? A man was shot dead for money.”

“I wouldn’t apologize. What would that do. He’s already gone.”

“If you would have gotten away with this,” the detective asked, “how would you have felt?”

“Bad, but, but I would have gotten over it because of the money.”

What those who don't believe in personal protection just don't get is that there are some very, very bad people out there. They just don't care about the rest of us.

And that's why I carry.

Victory in Congress: Gun Ban Repealed!

2009-05-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

Individual Congressional Representatives' Vote available.

From: Gun Owners of America

Victory at Last
-- National Park Service Gun Ban Repealed!

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org

"Gun Owners of America was the most consistent and loudest voice on
Capitol Hill in support of the effort to repeal the National Park
Service gun ban." -- Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Good news!

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill today that included an
amendment to repeal the gun ban on National Park Service (NPS) land and
wildlife refuges.

The amendment, sponsored by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) and attached to a
credit card industry reform bill, passed the House overwhelmingly by a
vote of 279-147.

For decades, law-abiding citizens have been prohibited from exercising
their Second Amendment rights on NPS land and wildlife refuges, even if
the state in which the land is located allows carrying firearms.

With some limited exceptions for hunting, the only way to legally
possess a firearm anywhere in a national park is by having it unloaded
and inaccessible, such as locked up in an automobile trunk. A Bush
administration regulation partially reversed the ban, but that action
was singlehandedly negated recently by an activist judge in Washington,
D.C. The Department of Interior decided not to appeal that ruling.

Senator Coburn believes, like you do, that Americans should not be
forced to sacrifice their Second Amendment rights when entering NPS land
and wildlife refuges.

GOA worked with Coburn on an amendment that simply allows for state and
local laws -- instead of unelected bureaucrats and anti gun activist
judges -- to govern firearm possession on these lands.

The anti-gun leadership in both the House and Senate went berserk and
fought to keep the Coburn amendment from being attached to the
underlying bill. Sparks were flying on the floor of the House of
Representatives today.

Anti-gun Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) whined that a "very
good" credit
card bill had been "hijacked" by the Coburn amendment. To
this, Rep.
Rob Bishop (R-UT) pointed out that gun control is the policy of tyrants,
as evidenced by the British attempt to confiscate firearms at Lexington
and Concord in 1775.

Congressional leaders and entrenched bureaucrats have fought GOA over
the NPS gun ban for the past eight years.

But your activism has finally broken through. The late Senator Everett
Dirksen said, "When I feel the heat, I see the light!" Well,
you have applied a lot of heat. Members of Congress know that they oppose your Second Amendment rights at their own peril.

As it stands today, both houses of Congress have now passed the Coburn
amendment -- and President Obama is expected to sign the provision into
law (only because it is part of a larger credit card bill that he really
wants).

So, congratulate yourself for winning this long, hard battle. GOA was
the leading, and often only, national gun group involved in this fight.
You involvement was absolutely vital to achieving this win.

Of course, many more battles lie ahead. President Obama continues to
push for the Senate to ratify massive international gun control
treaties. There is a battle over a Supreme Court nominee coming up.
Anti-gun zealots in Congress are aggressively pushing to renew the
Clinton gun ban and close down gun shows.

And as the health care debate picks up steam in the coming weeks and
months, GOA is battling efforts to create a computerized national
healthcare database. Such a database can be used to deny people their
Second Amendment rights in the same way that so many veterans have lost
their gun rights based only on the diagnoses of a doctor for things like
combat-related stress.

GOA will be calling for action on these and other Second Amendment
issues as they move through Congress.

In the meantime, have a safe Memorial Day as we remember those who gave
the ultimate sacrifice so that America would remain "Land of the
Free."

****************************

What's Your Current GOA Status?

Obviously, we now face years of invigorated attacks on our gun rights.
Shutting down gun shows, prohibitions on specific calibers, another
semi-auto ban, and the anti-gun extremists' Holy Grail of mandatory
federal licensing and registration of all gun owners -- these are just
some of the horrors that we already know we'll have to defeat head-on.
Meanwhile, we'll take every opportunity to go on offense and advance the
Second Amendment.

It can't be done without every single voice being counted. That's why we
are asking you to consider making the commitment of becoming a Gun
Owners of America Life Member. By doing so, you put the politicians on
notice that neither you nor GOA is going away -- that no matter who's in
the White House, there is always going to be a solid wall of resistance.

Now is a perfect time to become a Life Member. And if you aren't a GOA
member at all, isn't it time you became one?

Please go to http://gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm to upgrade your
participation in GOA.

Gang fools Mexico prison guards

2009-05-18T06:54:00.000-07:00

This has received little coverage from the US press. Is it because it doesn't fit in with the model of Mexican firearms coming from US gun shows?

No, they were probably too busy covering the Preakness and the Obama's graduation speeches....

Gang fools Mexico prison guards

From the BBC:

An armed gang disguised as police has broken into a jail in northern Mexico and
freed more than 50 prisoners.
A convoy of at least 15 vehicles arrived at the prison with gang members all apparently disguised as federal police officers.
Once inside, the prison authorities were persuaded that an inspection was under way and guards were overpowered.
A manhunt is underway for the fugitives - believed to be linked to the powerful drug
smuggling Gulf cartel.
Army troops as well as local and federal police have begun a search and set up roadblocks near the prison facility in Zacatecas and neighbouring states.
President Felipe Calderon has declared war on the illegal narcotic organisation in Mexico, deploying 40,000 troops to fight the cartels.
In some regions instances of beheadings and attacks on police have become commonplace, with the deaths of 6,000 people last year alone blamed on illegal
narcotics.
But progress in the war against the cartels has been limited by the fact that in the face of well armed and well financed drug cartels, this country's law and order institutions have proved weak and easily corruptible, the BBC's Stephen Gibbs in Mexico City says.

Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/8054021.stm

Published: 2009/05/17 00:19:04 GMT© BBC MMIX

Economy limiting services of local police

2009-05-18T06:27:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder why people are buying guns and ammo? Here's another reason. We realize that we're the only people responsible for ourselves.

Economy limiting services of local police

By Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY

The recession is altering local law enforcement in the U.S. by forcing some
agencies to close precincts, merge with other departments or even shut
down.
Once largely spared from the deepest budget cuts, some police
departments are struggling to provide basic services, police officials
say.
"For the first time, because of the economy, police departments ... may
have to change how they do business," says Chuck Wexler, executive director of
the Police Executive Research Forum, a law enforcement think tank. "People will
see a change in the basic delivery of services," from longer police response
times to a dramatically reduced police presence in some communities.
Harlan
Johnson, executive director of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, said
political leaders are "choosing whether they keep the streetsopenor the police
on patrol," though it's too early to tell whether the changes will increase
crime.
The Obama administration's $787 billion stimulus plan gives about $4
billion to local law enforcement, including $1 billion to hire and retain
officers. But the hiring money has not been distributed, and applicants have
requested more than is available.
Among the recent cuts:
• In
Pennsylvania, 19 suburban and rural police agencies have closed in the past 15
months, and seven others have cut patrols. The "unprecedented" closures and cuts
have forced the state police — who face their own budget struggles — to assume
full or partial public safety responsibility for about 54,000 more people, says
Lt. Col. Lenny Bandy, deputy commissioner of operations for the state
police.
• In Minnesota, nine small police agencies have closed in the past
five months, leaving sheriffs' departments to protect the public. The Elko New
Market Police Department was briefly the 10th shuttered agency, until residents
last month demanded that the City Council reverse its 2-week-old decision to
eliminate it. "A lot of people felt that we were sending a potentially dangerous
public message ... without a police department," says Mayor Jason Ponsonby, who
opposed the closure.
• In Portland, Ore., police are consolidating operations
by eliminating two of five patrol precincts. Portland police spokesman Greg
Pashley says some residents fear response times will rise and established
officers will be replaced by others who are unfamiliar with local problems. He
says the move, which takes effect in June, was needed to cut costs, but he
believes it will not compromise safety.
• In Southern California, Indio and
its neighbors Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City and Beaumont have
merged some key functions and also plan to combine dispatch operations to
increase efficiency. "It's the legacy of the budget crunch," Indio's Capt.
Richard Banasiak says.

Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-05-17-police-closure_N.htm

Copyright
2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Concealed Carry and National Parks

2009-05-13T23:17:00.000-07:00

On May 12th, the Senate voted to include the "Colburn Amendment" on to a bill from the House to better regulate credit card companies. The two Washington Senators, Murray and Cantwell, voted Nay. Not a huge surprise, as they are usually voting lock-step with Democrat Party Instructions. It puts them with an esteemed anti-gun crowd which includes Senators Boxer and Feinstein of California, Senators Durbin and Burris of Illinois, and Senator Kerry as well as others.

Here is Senator Colburn discussing his amendment:

The history of this issue is interesting, but not surprising. The Bush Interior Department rescinded a rule which prohibited concealed firearms carry in the National Parks after a lengthy (and extended) public comment period. The rule, itself, was issued late in 2008, but the process had gone on for a couple of years. The rule states that concealed carry laws in a state extend into the National Park within the state border. For those of us in Washington, it allows those who can legally carry concealed in the state to continue to carry concealed in Mt. Rainier National Park, for example.

The anti-gun (anti-personal-responsibility) groups protested the rule change arguing that:

There would be outbreaks of gunfights in the parks

Poaching would increase

The Congressional Representative from Washington's 6th District, Norm Dicks, strongly opposes the change.

The supporters of the rule change argued that law enforcement is very sparse in the parks and that crime in the parks is increasing.

Despite the popular support for the change in the rule, the Brady Campaign and others sued in court for an injunction. Citing a lack of an Environmental Impact Study on the effects of carrying a concealed pistol, Federal District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued a preliminary injunction reversing the rule. Certainly the environmental impact of an unfired gun pales at the impact of mosquito spray in the

The Obama Administration has not elected to appeal the ruling, but the National Rifle Association is appealing.

It is likely that the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2009 (HR 627) will pass. After all, it has strong support from the White House.

Let us just hope that the Senate/House Conference Committee doesn't strip the Colburn Amendment out.

Disarming "Terrorists"

2009-05-11T08:03:00.000-07:00

Now unless you have been hiding under a rock, you know about the recent flap over the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) recent report of potential right-wing terrorists. In the report, DHS takes a swipe at both Veterans and Gun Owners:

(U//FOUO) Proposed imposition of firearms restrictions and weapons
bans likely would attract new members into the ranks of rightwing extremist groups, as well as potentially spur some of them to begin planning and training for violence against the government. The high volume of purchases and stockpiling of weapons and ammunition by rightwing extremists in anticipation of restrictions and bans in some parts of the country continue to be a primary concern to law enforcement.
— (U//FOUO) Returning veterans possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to rightwing extremists. DHS/I&A is concerned that rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to boost their violent capabilities.

One can only assume that veterans who own guns are probably a lethal combination. Until reading this report, which actually wasn't supposed to go public, we also didn't realize that the "stockpiling of weapons...[continues] to be a primary concern to law enforcement."

So now comes HR 2159, Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2009. Keep explosives from terrorists? Sounds like a good idea to me. Reading on:

To increase public safety by permitting the Attorney General to deny the transfer of a firearm or the issuance of firearms or explosives licenses to a known or suspected dangerous terrorist.

The bill provides that the Attorney General

`Sec. 922A. Attorney General's discretion to deny transfer of
a firearm
`The Attorney General may deny the transfer of a firearm pursuant
to section 922(t)(1)(B)(ii) if the Attorney General determines that the
transferee is known (or appropriately suspected) to be or have been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of, or related to terrorism, or providing material support thereof, and the Attorney General has a reasonable belief that the prospective transferee may use a firearm in connection with terrorism.';

So this allows the Attorney General to deny an "appropriately suspected" person to purchase a firearm. If we read again the DHS report, a Veteran can be an "appropriately suspected" person. So can anyone who already owns firearms, or anyone who is stockpiling, a term not defined.

If we read on, the Attorney General doesn't have to disclose -- in fact is prohibited from disclosing -- who is suspected of being a terrorist:

(g) Attorney General's Ability To Withhold Information in Firearms License

Denial and Revocation Suit- Section 923(f) of such title is amended--

(1) in the 1st sentence of paragraph (1), by inserting `, except that if the denial or revocation is pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(H) or (e)(3), then any information on which the Attorney General relied for this determination may be withheld from the petitioner if the Attorney General determines that disclosure of the information would likely compromise national security' before the period; and
(2) in paragraph (3), by inserting after the 3rd sentence the following:
`With respect to any information withheld from the aggrieved party under paragraph (1), the United States may submit, and the court may rely on, summaries or redacted versions of documents containing information the disclosure of which the Attorney General has determined would likely compromise
national security.'.

So there it is. Take the contents of the DHS report and the contents of this bill and anyone who owns a gun or is a Veteran might be a terrorist and, therefore, should be prohibited from owning any more.

Let us hope this blatant violation of the First and Second Amendments dies in Committee as it should.

Watch Out at Your Local Drug Store

2009-05-09T07:18:00.000-07:00

This is nothing other than drug crime out in suburbia. It has been a problem on the East Coast for years.

Good work to the pharmacies that aren't allowing these thugs to run things!

Of course, "The Authorities" don't want people fighting back. Security cameras are going to do little to make the employees safer.

Hey, Dianne Sawyer

2009-05-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

Recently, ABC (owned by Disney) did what can be called nothing other than a "hit piece" on gun owners on 20/20. The episode was called "If I Only Had A Gun" (http://abc.go.com/player/index?pn=index&show=166626&season=166625&episode=197494). The basic premises were that guns are bad, no one other than police should have guns, and that we should all be cowering victims.

John Lott's excellent commentary on the piece is on this blog at http://firearmslegislation.blogspot.com/2009/04/john-lott-abcs-shameful-2020-experiment.html.

Today, news comes from Atlanta of yet another example of private folks -- college students, no less -- protecting themselves from slaughter. http://www.wsbtv.com/news/19365762/detail.html

Seems that they were the victims of a home invasion in which males and females were segregated and the invaders made sure that there was enough ammunition for the victims present. One of the potential murders was with the females, starting a rape.

Fortunately, one of the potential victims was armed and independent enough to take care of matters. Appropriately, he shot the felons.

Thank goodness he had a gun and wasn't caught just wishing he had one.

A good argument for self-protection, and a good argument for allowing licensed college students to be allowed to also carry when they are on campus. http://concealedcampus.org/

GOAL Post 2009-16

2009-05-01T06:51:00.000-07:00

GOAL Post 2009-16

Legislative Update from Olympia 1 May 2009

SESSION ENDS

THREE GUN-RELATED BILLS PASSED, SIGNED BY GOV

GOVERNOR TO CALL SPECIAL SESSION

GOAL POST TO CONTINUE PERIODICALLY

REP. TOM CAMPBELL ANNOUNCES CONGRESSIONAL BID

The 2009 regular session of the Washington legislature adjourned sine
die late on Sunday, 26 April. 26 April was the 105th day of the session
and the last day allowed by the state constitution for the session. The
primary focus of any odd-year session is the biennial budget. That was
all the more critical this year with the ongoing recession and
significant reductions in state revenues. To at least some degree, that
kept legislators focused on fiscal matters and limited dabbling into
other areas.

Three gun related bills passed the legislature, out of 15 filed. Keep
in mind that bills remain alive for the full biennium. Bills that
"died" during the 2009 regular session may be reactivated in future
session(s).

Governor Gregoire has indicated she will call a special session of the
legislature, possibly in mid- or late May, to pass a few bills relating
to implementation of the biennial budget. She wants to limit it to a
single day, with the agenda already laid out. Keep in mind, once the
legislature goes into session, they may act on ANY BILL of their
choosing. The bills that died in committee during the regular session
MAY be resurrected and voted on.

GOAL Post is intended to keep individuals informed of legislation
directly impacting the right to keep and bear arms in Washington. We
normally close out after the session has ended, and resume publication
during any special sessions or at the beginning of the next regular
session (in this case, in January 2010).

Due to several ongoing initiatives by the Obama administration, we will
continue to publish GOAL Post during the remainder of the year, probably
on a bi-weekly or monthly basis, to keep you informed of activity in the
"other Washington." If you do not wish to continue receiving GOAL Post,
send an e-mail with "unsubscribe" in the subject line to
"jwaldron@halcyon.com."

State Representative Tom Campbell (R-2), a long time and loyal friend of
gun owners, has announced he will seek election to Congress in the 2010
mid-term elections. Tom is running against Adam Smith (D-9) in the 9th
Congressional District, or Smith's successor should he be appointed to
an Obama administration position as has been rumored. As a state
Senator in 1994, Smith was one of the three principal authors of the
Youth Violence Act (E2SHB 2319) which rewrote Washington's firearms
code, to our detriment.

While he was on the campaign trail in 2008, Barack Obama said "The
United States is the greatest country in the world. Please help me
change it." In the first 100 days of his presidency, he has certainly
worked to make those changes. If he continues at this pace, 2010 may
well be another 1994, the Year of the Republicans.

BILL STATUS:

The following bills were filed for the 2009-10 biennium:

Bill # Subject
Sponsor Status

2SHB 1052 Alien firearm licenses Moeller (D-49)
Signed by Gov.

HB 1114 Youth hunting age requirement Blake (D-19) Died

HB 1498 Involuntary commitment Hunter (D-48)
Signed by Gov.

HB 1604 Suppressors Condotta
(R-12) Died

HB 1832 Firearms during emergencies Herrera (R-18)
Died

HB 2011 Firearms safety education Chase (D-32)
Died

HB 2065 LEO firearm certification Orcutt
(R-18) Died

HB 2226 LEO firearm certificate Orcutt
(R-18) Died

HB 2264 Gun show regulation Williams
(D-22) Died

HJM 4009 10th Amendment sovereignty Shea (R-4) Died

SB 5095 Lead shot ban Jacobsen
(D-46) Died

SB 5193 Alien firearm licenses Delvin
(R-8) Died

SB 5559 Youth hunting age requirement Kohl-Welles (D-36) Died

SB 5637 CPL renewal by mail for military Swecker (R-20) S.Died

SB 5739 CPL renewal by military members King (R-14)
Signed by Gov.

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, HB = House Bill, SB =
Senate Bill, 2SHB = Second Substitute House Bill, ESHB = Engrossed
Substitute House Bill,

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by
calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The
hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative
schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web
site at "www.leg.wa.gov". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf)
format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from
Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com). You may also obtain hard copy
bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE
OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be
ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.
You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at
http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at
the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill,
you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the
"roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate
voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this
information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,
send a message to "jwaldron@halcyon.com". Please pass GOAL Post on to
anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.
Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun
club's bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).
PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST
PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION
AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at "jwaldron@halcyon.com"
or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail
hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY
be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

If you feel you have received this message in error, or if you no longer
desire to subscribe to the GOAL Post, e-mail "jwaldron@halcyon.com" and
place "unsubscribe GOAL Post" in the subject line.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Monroe 2-3 May

Puyallup 30-31 May

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself,
or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall
be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,
maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2009 Gun Owners Action League of WA

__,_._,___

GOAL Post 2009-15

2009-04-24T23:21:00.000-07:00

GOAL Post 2009-15

Legislative Update from Olympia 24 April 2009

HB 1498 PASSES SENATE, GOES TO GOVERNOR

HB 1052: HOUSE CONCURS, GOES TO GOVERNOR

HB 1114 DIES AT CHAMBER CUT-OFF

EFFECTIVE DATE OF SB 5739

TWO DAYS AND COUNTING -- SPECIAL SESSION?

HB 1498 (involuntary commitment and restoration of rights) is on its way
to Governor Gregoire's desk.

On 16 April the House voted unanimously to concur in the Senate
amendments to 2SHB 1052 (alien firearm licenses). 2SHB 1052 now goes to
Governor Gregoire, who is scheduled to sign the bill on Saturday, 25 April.

HB 1114, which would have reinstated the minimum age of 14 for
unsupervised hunting, died at the second chamber cut-off. The bill was
placed on the floor calendar, then a hold was placed on it after several
amendments were filed.

SB 5739 (military CPL renewal), signed by Governor Gregoire last week,
takes effect on July 26, 2009. (Most laws passed during a legislative
session don't take effect until three months after the session to give
regulatory agencies time to prepare for the changes. In this case,
issuing agencies will have to be officially notified that military
members returning from out-of-state deployments have an extended period
to renew their CPLs.)

The fat lady is in the wings, pumping up her lungs to sing. The 2009
regular session of the legislature adjourns at or before midnight, 26
April. The principal focus of the long legislative session is
preparation of the biennial budget. If the biennial budget is not
completed at that time, a special session may be called.

In some states, the scope of a special session is limited to the reason
for which it was called. That is NOT TRUE in Washington. In Washington
if the legislature convenes a special session, ANY subject matter may be
addressed. As the saying goes, " No man's life, liberty, or property is
safe while the legislature is in session."

BILL STATUS:

The following bills have been filed for the 2009-10 biennium:

Bill # Subject
Sponsor Status

2SHB 1052 Alien firearm licenses Moeller (D-49)
To Gov.

ESHB 1114 Youth hunting age requirement Blake (D-19)
Died S. Rules

HB 1498 Involuntary commitment Hunter
(D-48) To Gov.

SB 5739 CPL renewal by military members King (R-14)
Signed by Gov

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, HB = House Bill, SB =
Senate Bill, 2SHB = Second Substitute House Bill, ESHB = Engrossed
Substitute House Bill,

HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

There are no public hearings scheduled next week on gun-related bills.

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by
calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The
hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative
schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web
site at "www.leg.wa.gov". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf)
format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from
Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com). You may also obtain hard copy
bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE
OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be
ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.
You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at
http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at
the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill,
you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the
"roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate
voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this
information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,
send a message to "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com". Please pass GOAL Post on to
anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.
Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun
club's bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).
PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST
PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION
AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com"
or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail
hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY
be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

If you feel you have received this message in error, or if you no longer
desire to subscribe to the GOAL Post, e-mail "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com" and
place "unsubscribe GOAL Post" in the subject line.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Puyallup 25-26 April

Monroe 2-3 May

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself,
or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall
be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,
maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2009 Gun Owners Action League of WA

__,_._,___

Gun Law Update - Obama Gun Treaty Analyzed, more

2009-04-24T23:15:00.000-07:00

by Alan Korwin, Author
Gun Laws of America
April 24, 2009
http://www.gunlaws.com

1. CIFTA Gun Treaty Removes Congressional Oversight
2. Amend Constitution by Statute, Using EPA Laws
3. National Ammo Shortage Is Suspicious

Permission to circulate this report granted.

1. CIFTA Gun Treaty Removes Congressional Oversight
1. CIFTA Gun Treaty Removes Congressional Oversight

(Note: How this treaty can overrule U.S. law or the Constitution itself is
discussed at the end, after the treaty analysis below.)

I've completed my review of the South America gun-control treaty that Mr.
Obama wants to get ratified.

It is known as CIFTA, the Inter-American Convention Against The Illicit
Manufacturing Of And Trafficking In Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, And
Other Related Materials. It can be found here verbatim:
http://www.oas.org/juridico/English/treaties/a-63.html

-- EVERY aspect of the treaty introduces major required gun controls, most
of which will affect average citizens (as well as the targeted criminal
syndicates, dictators and other bad actors).

-- The controls go way past anything EVER attempted by gun-control groups
in the United States.

-- NONE of the proposed gun controls are likely to pass by themselves
through Congress. If the treaty is enacted they don't have to -- they
become law when the treaty is ratified.

-- Virtually NO PROTECTIONS FOR RKBA are to be found, and the wordings are
loose enough to allow all sorts of attacks on gun rights American enjoy
today.

-- The U.S. government under this treaty GAINS POWER to manage firearms
almost any way it would like to, without checks and balances.

-- Once signed, many of the restrictions and government intrusions become
MANDATORY, and the full Congress, already cut out of ratification (only the
Senate approves treaties) would be cut out of the implementation process
entirely.

-- Top to bottom registration of all firearms, ammunition, ammunition
components and other related materials is required if they are "in transit"
and records must be kept indefinitely. This vague language, and the
requirement to comply are a gun-banner's dream and a rights advocate's
nightmare.

-- "Transit licenses or authorizations" for transfers of firearms are
required for imported firearms, and loose language could include the same
for all domestic firearms.

-- Lengthy recordkeeping is required that directly conflicts with U.S.
law, and would be left up to bureaucrats and arbitrary controls and
implementation.

-- Home reloading of ammunition would become illegal and subject to severe
sanctions, without government licensing that is undefined and could include
almost any conditions, taxes and limitations, including scrupulous
inventorying, recordkeeping and unscheduled audit searches of people who
reload.

-- Similar licensing and controls will be required on anything made "that
can be attached to a firearm," known as "other related materials." This
includes components, parts, replacement parts and such items as wood or
composite stocks, slings, bayonets, bayonet lugs, sights, scopes, rails,
lasers, grips, flash hiders, suppressors, muzzle brakes and other
paraphernalia. Attaching any such parts without a government license would
be "illicit manufacture," a criminal act with undefined penalties.

-- Record sharing requirements ensure that any gun-owner data that must be
destroyed under current U.S. law can be easily stored abroad, and can be
retrieved at will as required under various international "cooperation"
clauses.

If I were advising Mr. Obama IN FAVOR of using this treaty for gun control
-- here is what I would suggest.

This creative vantage point helps me to underscore the serious threat the
treaty presents. I DO NOT approve of any of the anti-rights suggestions,
easily drawn from the treaty language -- they merely show you what
Americans face. Everything I outline below comes directly from the treaty
itself. Be sure you're sitting down.

Alan Korwin, Author
Gun Laws of America

-------------

To: Barack Hussein Obama, President of the United States
From: (As if written by the anti-gun-rights lobby)
Re: CIFTA Treaty

Dear Mr. President,

We commend your common-sense support of the CIFTA Treaty for reducing
illicit arms manufacture and gun trafficking. This is a brilliant stratagem
in the exhausting effort to rid our country of the scourge of gun violence.

With the treaty in place and ratified by the Senate, you will be obligated
to take certain steps with regard to private ownership of firearms that we
have never been able to move through the houses of Congress. Further, you
will be able to take these actions unilaterally, making swift change
possible and, under international obligation to act you are insulated from
direct criticism.

Our attorneys assure us the steps we outline here are in full compliance
with international law and the terms of the treaty itself. Article VI of
the U.S. Constitution unambiguously gives such a treaty a degree of
supremacy over the nation, its laws, the states and the public (even though
some in the powerful gun lobby deny this or point to questionable court
precedents). This is especially useful as we adapt to a global economy,
world courts, an empowered U.N. and environmental concerns on a planetary
scale.

In addition, we know that if a law can be interpreted to either spread or
curtail the proliferation of arms in the hands of average people, the
common-sense interpretation must be to curtail arms whenever possible.
CIFTA provides the perfect platform for this very reasonable approach.

There will be little disagreement that CIFTA's surface goal of keeping
arms out of the hands of dictators, tyrants, terrorists, violent criminal
cartels, syndicates and gangs, insurgents, non-state actors, and genocidal
regimes is a worthy goal. The value for domestic gun control here and
abroad is equally worthy, and lies in virtually every measure required to
track and control arms. We are eager to see your signature on this
important step forward for the safety of Americans.

[Language from CIFTA appears in brackets.]
[Language from CIFTA appears in brackets.]

Statement of Purpose

["...the urgent need to prevent, combat, and eradicate the illicit
manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, ammunition, explosives, and
other related materials, due to the harmful effects of these activities on
the security of each state..."]

Note that "trafficking" is not explicitly limited by "illicit" and this is
critical. It is perfectly reasonable to bring all firearms trafficking
under control to properly manage the portion that is illicit or
undesirable. This construction is precise and appears throughout the
treaty.

["give priority... because of the links of such activities with drug
trafficking, terrorism, transnational organized crime, and mercenary and
other criminal activities"]

The unconditional inclusion of "other criminal activities" assures a broad
jurisdiction for every facet of existing and not-yet-defined gun crime,
even minor and paperwork violations, if so desired.

["international cooperation... appropriate measures at the national,
regional and international levels... pertinent resolutions of the United
Nations General Assembly on measures to eradicate the illicit transfer of
conventional weapons and on the need for all states to guarantee their
security... support mechanisms such as the International Weapons and
Explosives Tracking System (IWETS) of the International Criminal Police
Organization (INTERPOL)"]

The emphasis on globalization dovetails smoothly with current plans.
Potential exists to wed NICS and IWETS functionality.

["a 'know-your-customer' policy for dealers in, and producers, exporters,
and importers of, firearms, ammunition, explosives, and other related
materials is crucial for combating this scourge"]

Firearms dealers are specifically included in the web of CITRA.

["to eradicate illicit transnational trafficking in firearms is not
intended to discourage or diminish lawful leisure or recreational
activities such as travel or tourism for sport shooting, hunting, and other
forms of lawful ownership and use recognized by the States Parties]

This is one rare spot where "trafficking" and "illicit" are connected, and
then only for transnational acts. We do not expect this to inhibit any
reasonable domestic gun-control activity associated with CIFTA. The sapient
inclusion here of "acceptable" gun activity is neatly compartmentalized and
removed from the ability to apply controls.

["this Convention does not commit States Parties to enact legislation or
regulations pertaining to firearms ownership, possession, or trade of a
wholly domestic character"]

While the treaty doesn't seem to require Parties to enact domestic gun
laws, the careful wording does not prevent Parties from enacting domestic
gun laws either. And it additionally requires that the parties "will apply
their respective laws and regulations in a manner consistent with this
Convention," binding future actions into compliance, while giving a
comfortable appearance of autonomy. Our attorneys were impressed with how
well this is drafted.

Article I, Definitions.

The definitions are suitably robust and need little description here.

However, "Illicit manufacture" includes any ammunition made, "b. without a
license from a competent governmental authority of the State Party where
the manufacture or assembly takes place;". This unequivocally places
dangerous homemade "reloading" operations under any reasonable controls
deemed necessary. Such controls are not optional. Any so-called hobbyist
operating outside a yet-to-be designed licensing scheme would be in
violation. Penalties are to be independently determined by the Parties.

Also note that "an accessory that can be attached to a firearm" is
included as "other related materials," and also subject to illicit
manufacture rules. This provides the broadest controls over anyone making,
transporting, possessing or transferring such items as wood or composite
stocks, slings, bayonets or bayonet lugs, sights, scopes, rails, lasers,
grips, flash hiders, suppressors, muzzle brakes and other paraphernalia.
The tax dollars from this new revenue source is not determined but believed
to be potentially large.

Article II, Purpose.

Reiterates introductory remarks, promotes exchanges of information.

Article III, Sovereignty.

Ensures that territorial jurisdictions and a nonintervention policy are
maintained.

Article IV, Legislative measures.

["States Parties that have not yet done so shall adopt the necessary
legislative or other measures to establish as criminal offenses under their
domestic law the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms,
ammunition, explosives, and other related materials... the criminal
offenses established pursuant to the foregoing paragraph shall include
participation in, association or conspiracy to commit, attempts to commit,
and aiding, abetting, facilitating, and counseling the commission of said
offenses."]

Once the treaty is signed, laws (if needed) or "other measures"
(regulations, memoranda of understanding, policies, operations manuals, AG
opinions, basically any legal construct without limitation) are required to
implement the terms of the treaty. This is excellent for our purposes. We
believe the legal framework exists to handle most if not all the
requirements outside cumbersome legislative channels, facilitating easy
adoption of the treaty's conditions.

Some objections may be raised by opposition leaders or the gun lobby, but
the signed treaty puts this game well into the home stretch by the time
such annoyances arise.

Article V, Jurisdiction.

["Each State Party shall adopt such measures as may be necessary to
establish its jurisdiction over the offenses"]

CIFTA doesn't even contemplate statutes, just "measures" for establishing
jurisdiction, including rules for extradition.

Article VI, Marking of Firearms.

Serial numbers and similar markings already required on firearms by U.S.
law become an international standard, and now include place of manufacture
and name and address of importers, plus special marks for arms retained for
official use. There is no enforcement mechanism for rogue nations that do
not comply.

Article VII, Confiscation or Forfeiture.

["States Parties shall adopt the necessary measures to ensure that all
firearms, ammunition, explosives, and other related materials seized,
confiscated, or forfeited as the result of illicit manufacturing or
trafficking do not fall into the hands of private individuals or businesses
through auction, sale, or other disposal."]

The treaty, when signed, will once and for all end the intolerable
practice of returning guns and accessories back to the public after they
have fallen into police hands. Our legal opinion is that even recovered
stolen guns would also be unreturnable, since these have been illegally
trafficked as defined. State laws allowing gun resales and auctions will
become null and void, under the U.S. Constitution's supremacy clause. This
may impact some police departments that have come to rely on such revenues,
but the net gain in public safety and gun control is more than worth the
small loss, which could perhaps be mitigated through use of bailout funds
or other government monies.

Article VIII, Security Measures.

["States Parties, in an effort to eliminate loss or diversion, undertake
to adopt the necessary measures to ensure the security of firearms,
ammunition, explosives, and other related materials imported into, exported
from, or in transit through their respective territories."]

It seems clear that the only way to effectively meet this common-sense
security obligation (eliminate loss or diversion of firearms and related
supplies) is to have universal registration and tracking of all firearms in
the country. This long-sought elusive goal now within reach. The phrase "in
transit" effectively touches every firearm, all ammunition and related
gear.

Article IX, Export, Import, Transit Licenses

Port of entry and exit requirements already in place cover this section.

Article X, Strengthening Controls at Export Points

Same as above.

Article XI, Recordkeeping

["States Parties shall assure the maintenance for a reasonable time of the
information necessary to trace and identify illicitly manufactured and
illicitly trafficked firearms to enable them to comply with their
obligations under Articles XIII and XVII."]

This provision provides clear authority to establish large scale
comprehensive gun-registration databases. The "reasonable time" for
recordkeeping had been determined by the FBI, under former AG Reno, as
permanently.

We do anticipate some political objections to this provision, since U.S.
laws place some restrictions on firearm recordkeeping on the public.
However, as we learned under Attorney General Janet Reno, during the
original implementation of the NICS background checks, government systems
can be set up in any manner desired with little effective oversight, and
only after prolonged and arguable challenges need the systems be changed.
The true nature of such complex systems remains difficult to ascertain, is
difficult to monitor on an ongoing basis, can be modified in future
iterations to more closely reflect desired policy without raising warning
flags, and system backups maintained by allies do not fall under the same
controls as domestic versions.

A review of the remaining 19 Articles of the treaty will be provided
shortly. These are minor and deal largely with exchange of information
among the parties, cooperation, training (for which the U.S. can play a
significant role by financing and controlling programs among the Parties),
mutual legal assistance (another area where the U.S. can exert significant
influence), "controlled delivery" or sting operations, extradition of U.S.
citizens, and structural elements such as a consultative committee,
periodic meetings, ratifications, withdrawal, effective dates and dispute
settlements.

An interesting "Annex" exempts certain items from the definition of
explosives, including:

["compressed gases; flammable liquids; explosive actuated devices, such as
air bags and fire extinguishers; propellant actuated devices, such as nail
gun cartridges; consumer fireworks suitable for use by the public and
designed primarily to produce visible or audible effects by combustion,
that contain pyrotechnic compositions and that do not project or disperse
dangerous fragments such as metal, glass, or brittle plastic; toy plastic
or paper caps for toy pistols; toy propellant devices consisting of small
paper or composition tubes or containers containing a small charge or slow
burning propellant powder designed so that they will neither burst nor
produce external flame except through the nozzle on functioning; and smoke
candles, smokepots, smoke grenades, smoke signals, signal flares, hand
signal devices, and Very signal cartridges designed to produce visible
effects for signal purposes containing smoke compositions and no bursting
charges."]

END OF ANALYSIS

------

The Supremacy Issue

Numerous attorneys and others wrote to challenge my position in Page Nine
#63 http://www.gunlaws.com/Page9Folder/PageNine-63.htm that Mr. Obama's
run-around gun treaty could conveniently bypass the legislative process and
the Constitution, like John M. says here:

"While your item in "Page 9" about Congress and the Obamanation
Administration using an Inter-American Treaty on 'arms trafficking' to do
an end-run around the Second Amendment is certainly scary, I'm not ready to
concede (as you appear to do) that a treaty supersedes the Constitution
under Article VI." He goes on to describe why Art. VI and other safeguards
will protect us.

Many people went into greater detail. Cases were cited (Reid v. Covert;
Missouri v. Holland; Whitney v. Robinson; Cherokee Tobacco). One
high-placed lobbyist felt fairly safe because, "While an international
treaty bypasses House consideration, it requires two-thirds of the Senate
for ratification - a tall order even in ObamaNation."

Other people were less sure, like Chuck G. here: "I'm still up in the air
about it as I've heard all my life exactly what you stated."

I too always heard what he had heard -- treaties supercede the
Constitution -- and always thought it odd. Go read Article VI, cl. 2
yourself. The language is crystalline. One attorney at a high-profile think
tank believes, "The federal government will have arguable legal authority
to seize our guns and ammunition if this treaty is signed." So...

1. Opinions on the supremacy issue are inconsistent (though often
adamant).

2. People who say the treaty won't be a problem point to a number of
SCOTUS decisions, and perhaps stare decisis. Maybe that makes those folks
fully comfortable with where Mr. Obama is heading on this. Less so for me.

3. SCOTUS precedents are increasingly ignored by those in power, with
groovy rationalizations each time. And SCOTUS decisions have so eviscerated
key elements of the Constitution, my faith there is shaken, not stirred.

4. The courts, which should provide more balance, a) don't, b) are run by
the very people they're supposed to balance, and c) all too often use the
completely worthless rational-basis test, knowing it's worthless, to allow
every short-of-insane law to stand.

5. Given a choice of support for gun-rights or outright gun bans, we know
which way this administration will go.

6. Four of the current SCOTUS Justices have expressed interest in defining
U.S. law from foreign sources, leaving us one vote away from a new
understanding of the supremacy clause.

7. Perhaps the biggest issue, though, making all else moot, is that new
regs you can easily forecast coming from this treaty will be portrayed as
a) required by international law so we're only doing what's right, b)
required by Article VI however you like to read it, c) consistent with
precedent, and most of all, d) not violative of the Second Amendment so no
big deal.

After all, if, for instance, every home reloading enthusiast simply has to
get a government license, pay an annual tax called a "fee," pass a test,
accept "routine" BATFE searches without notice like FFLs must, and keep
detailed records so government can fulfill its obligation to track all guns
and ammo, backed up with threats of prison time for paperwork errors or a
miscount of a single round, what's wrong with that?

Besides, you have an attorney general to protect you who's on record
saying a ban on any working firearm in your own home is acceptable under
2A, so, what me worry?

You have a choice: assume the treaty won't be a problem, the supremacy
clause will void any abuse and just let Mr. Obama enact the treaty, or
remain a bit more skeptical of this man's motives. Choose wisely.

Alan.

P.S. If Mr. Obama is indeed a Marxist at heart as so many people fear and
some evidence tends to support, a debate over constitutional principles
would be pointless.

2. Amend Constitution by Statute, Using EPA Laws
2. Amend Constitution by Statute, Using EPA Laws

"The National Parks Service has announced it will not challenge a court
order that temporarily stops the late-term Bush administration policy of
allowing CCW-permit holders to carry in National Parks."

That's the news media's backwards way of saying the bureaucrats running
the National Parks are delighted they don't have to allow CCW-permit
holders to exercise their civil rights in the parks, at least for now.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued a temporary injunction,
favoring a lawsuit brought by gun-control and environmental activists. She
gave the Interior Dept., which runs the parks, until April 20 to respond.

The idea that parks must first undergo environmental-impact approval
before partially honoring the right to keep and bear arms is a complete
subterfuge and extremely dangerous on several grounds.

Most obvious, there is NO environmental impact of carrying an unfired gun
in a park or elsewhere. Even fired, at the rate CCW permitees fire their
guns, the impact is so small it is essentially unmeasurable. The District
Court/EPA/Brady effort is a transparent deception, used by hoplophobes and
gun banners, to stop a ruling that would restore limited civil rights (for
government permitees only) and could save lives and deter crime.

The original 25-year-old ban was created during the Reagan era, reversing
the right to carry that existed on these public lands since the nation's
founding.

A bigger problem however is that, if EPA can be used to stop mere
concealed carry on the basis of enviro-impact, what does that say for any
form of outdoor marksmanship? The impact difference between carry and use
is obvious. If the precedent of allowing EPA to regulate CCW stands, this
invites the wholesale destruction of any outdoor target practice on public
land. Officials know this. Nationwide, public land is a mainstay of
open-air exercise of the right to bear arms -- for practicing for
proficiency and safety.

Using environmental threats to deny the civil and human right of self
defense and the constitutional right to keep and bear arms is environmental
terrorism.

The biggest problem though is that this repugnant scheme uses a statute
and its regulations -- the EPA machinery -- to suppress the Constitution
itself, namely the Second Amendment.

An ongoing and increasing problem, EPA and numerous other federal
agencies, FHA, FCC, FTC, FDA, TSA, EEOC and others have suppressed First
Amendment free-speech guarantees for decades. Now, using EPA legislation,
people in charge are making inroads into infringing RKBA out of existence.
Such activity is patently illegal. The terms of the Constitution can only
be changed by amendment, as described in the Constitution itself, and not
by law making from Washington or anywhere else.

People suggesting or implementing such actions should be quickly removed
from office for violation of their oath, and brought up on charges of
denial of civil rights and abuse of power. That had better happen soon,
because we are reaching a tipping point. How many abuses and usurpations
need we endure before people take to their pitchforks?

3. National Ammo Shortage Is Suspicious
3. National Ammo Shortage Is Suspicious

Call me skeptical, but something doesn't smell right about the length and
severity of the ammo shortage in America. We're not short of ammo, we're
out. Since November. This is the end of April. WalMart shelves are bare.
Big 5 Sports here in Phoenix got its weekly truck and it had 3 boxes of
.38s (150 rounds), no 9mm, no .357, no .380, no .45. Dealers I've asked
uniformly say their orders are just not being filled, and they get no word
on what or when they'll get more.

Anyone with DIRECT connections to ammo makers is encouraged to ask
questions, get names, and let me know what you hear. I've seen the
unsubstantiated rumors on the web that there's a conspiracy, but the talk
sounds wacky and the parts don't make sense. Why would for-profit companies
voluntarily cut back production in hard economic times when demand has
exploded?

That said, note that most American gun owners are not short of ammo. They
have plenty socked away. They just can't buy more, or replace supplies used
at the range and elsewhere. The situation is most acute however for
newcomers, of which there are hundreds of thousands scared into buying
their first gun, who learn quickly that a new gun without some shells isn't
much of a good deal.

Also note that this panic/obsessive buying is a shot across the bow for
the temperature of America -- what would it take to trigger similar runs on
supplies of toilet paper, bottled water, tobacco, liquor, batteries, light
bulbs, canned goods, coffee, medicines and any other commodities people
depend upon. If ammo, a minor niche product is any gauge, we live in
delicate times.

==========================================
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Alan Korwin
Bloomfield Press
"We publish the gun laws."
4848 E. Cactus, #505-440
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============

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http://www.gunlaws.com/PageNineIndex.htm

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GOAL Post 2009-14

2009-04-17T23:17:00.000-07:00

GOAL Post 2009-14

Legislative Update from Olympia 17 April 2009

HB 1498 PASSES SENATE, GOES TO GOVERNOR

HB 1052: HOUSE CONCURS IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

HB 1114 DIES AT CHAMBER CUT-OFF -- MAYBE

EFFECTIVE DATE OF SB 5739

NINE DAYS AND COUNTING -- SPECIAL SESSION?

HB 1498 (involuntary commitment and restoration of rights) is on its way
to Governor Gregoire's desk.

On 16 April the House voted unanimously to concur in the Senate
amendments to 2SHB 1052 (alien firearm licenses). 2SHB 1052 now goes to
Governor Gregoire.

HB 1114, which would have reinstated the minimum age of 14 for
unsupervised hunting, should have died at 5 p.m. today at the second
chamber cut-off. The bill was placed on the floor calendar, then a hold
was placed on it after several amendments were filed. However, a Senate
floor session is scheduled for tomorrow. Procedural rules don't always
apply.

SB 5739 (military CPL renewal), signed by Governor Gregoire last week,
takes effect on July 26, 2009. (Most laws passed during a legislative
session don't take effect until three months after the session to give
regulatory agencies time to prepare for the changes. In this case,
issuing agencies will have to be officially notified that military
members returning from out-of-state deployments have an extended period
to renew their CPLs.)

The 2009 regular session of the legislature adjourns at or before
midnight, 26 April. The principal focus of the long legislative session
is preparation of the biennial budget. If the biennial budget is not
completed at that time, a special session may be called.

In some states, the scope of a special session is limited to the reason
for which it was called. That is NOT TRUE in Washington. In Washington
if the legislature convenes a special session, ANY subject matter may be
addressed. As the saying goes, " No man's life, liberty, or property is
safe while the legislature is in session."

BILL STATUS:

The following bills have been filed for the 2009-10 biennium:

Bill # Subject
Sponsor Status

2SHB 1052 Alien firearm licenses Moeller (D-49)
To Gov.

ESHB 1114 Youth hunting age requirement Blake (D-19)
S. Rules

HB 1498 Involuntary commitment Hunter
(D-48) To Gov.

SB 5739 CPL renewal by military members King (R-14)
Signed by Gov

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, HB = House Bill, SB =
Senate Bill, 2SHB = Second Substitute House Bill, ESHB = Engrossed
Substitute House Bill,

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS

2SHB 1052 SUPPORT

ESHB 1114 SUPPORT

HB 1498 SUPPORT

HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

There are no public hearings scheduled next week on gun-related bills.

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by
calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The
hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative
schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web
site at "www.leg.wa.gov". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf)
format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from
Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com/). You may also obtain hard copy
bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE
OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be
ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.
You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at
http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at
the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill,
you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the
"roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate
voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this
information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,
send a message to "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com". Please pass GOAL Post on to
anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.
Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun
club's bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).
PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST
PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION
AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com"
or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail
hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY
be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

If you feel you have received this message in error, or if you no longer
desire to subscribe to the GOAL Post, e-mail "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com" and
place "unsubscribe GOAL Post" in the subject line.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Puyallup 25-26 April

Monroe 2-3 May

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself,
or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall
be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,
maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2009 Gun Owners Action League of WA

JOHN LOTT: ABC’s Shameful ‘20/20′ Experiment

2009-04-17T10:58:00.000-07:00

John Lott, PhD, economist at the University of Maryland, recently posted an editorial on Fox. It is an excellent review of ABC's biased report on firearms, so I'm presenting it in it's entirety.

Note that ABC is owned by Disney, who, despite Florida Law which allows employees to have firearms locked in their personal vehicles while at work, still forbids it. Disney lobbied the Florida State legislature to amend the bill to exclude employers who had explosives on their property from allowing gun owners to have their Civil Rights. Disney's explosives? Fireworks....but I digress.....

ABC’s Shameful ‘20/20′ Experiment

By John R. Lott, Jr.

Gun control advocates look desperate. Last Friday night, on April 10, ABC aired a heavily promoted, hour long “20/20″ special called “If I Only Had a Gun.” It is ABC’s equivalent of NBC’s infamous exploding gas tanks in General Motors pickups where NBC rigged the truck to explode. With legislation in Texas and Missouri advancing to eliminate gun-free zones at universities, perhaps this response isn’t surprising.

The show started and ended by claiming that allowing potential victims to carry guns would not help keep them safe –- not even with hundreds of hours of practice firing guns.

No mention was made of the actual multiple victim public shootings stopped by people with concealed handguns nor did they describe who actually carried out such shootings. Instead, ABC presented a rigged experiment where one student in a classroom had a gun. But sometimes even the best editors can’t hide everything the camera sees.

The experiment was set up to make the student fail. It did not resemble a real-world shooting. The same scenario is shown three times, but in each case the student with the gun is seated in the same seat –- the center seat in the front row. The attacker is not only a top-notch shooter –- a firearms expert who teaches firearms tactics and strategy to police -– but also obviously knows precisely where the student with the gun is sitting.

Each time the experiment is run, the attacker first fires two shots at the teacher in the front of the class and then turns his gun directly on the very student with the gun. The attacker wastes no time trying to gun down any of the unarmed students. Thus, very unrealistically, between the very first shot setting the armed student on notice and the shots at the armed student, there is at most 2 seconds. The armed student is allowed virtually no time to react and, unsurprisingly, fails under the same circumstances that would have led even experienced police officers to fare poorly.

But in the real world, a typical shooter is not a top-notch firearms expert and has no clue about whether or not anyone might be armed and, if so, where they are seated. If you have 50 people –- a pretty typical college classroom –- and he is unknown to the attacker, the armed student is given a tremendous advantage. Actually, if the experiment run by “20/20″ seriously demonstrated anything, it highlighted the problem of relying on uniformed police or security guards for safety: the killer instantly knows whom to shoot first.

Yet, in the ABC experiment, the purposefully disadvantaged students are not just identified and facing (within less than 2 seconds) an attacker whose gun is already drawn. They are also forced to wear unfamiliar gloves, a helmet, and a holster. This only adds to the difficulties the students face in handling their guns.

Given this set-up the second student, Danielle, performed admirably well. She shot the firearms expert in his left leg near the groin. If real bullets had been used, that might well have disabled the attacker and cut short his shooting spree.

Nevertheless, even terrible shooters can often be quite effective. Despite all of ABC’s references to the Columbine attack, the network never mention the armed guard at the school. He had an unusually poor target shooting record –- indeed it is reported that he couldn’t even hit a target. Yet, his bravery still saved many lives because his poorly aimed shots forced the two killers to engage in gunfire with him. This slowed down their killing spree and gave many students a chance to escape the building. The guard was only forced to retreat and leave the school himself because of the homemade grenades that the Columbine murderers had.

The Columbine murderers strongly and actively opposed passage of Colorado’s right-to-carry law, particularly the part that would have allowed concealed handguns being legally carried on school campuses. What goes unnoticed is that the Columbine attack took place the very day that the state legislature scheduled final passage of the concealed handgun law.

Time after time the attackers in these multiple victim public shootings consciously avoid areas where people might be able to defend themselves. In the attack on the Jewish community center in Los Angeles in which five people were wounded, the attacker had apparently “scouted three of the West Coast’s most prominent Jewish institutions—the Museum of Tolerance, the Skirball Cultural Center and the University of Judaism—but found security too tight.”

In the real world, even having a gun and pointing it at an attacker has often convinced the attacker to stop shooting and surrender. Examples include high schools in Pearl, Mississippi and Edinboro, Pennsylvania, as well as the Appalachian Law School in Virginia. Street attacks in Memphis to Detroit ended this way, too, without any more shots fired.

Even if the cases don’t get much attention, gun permit holders stop these multiple victim attacks on a regular basis. Ironically, just this past Saturday, the day after ABC’s broadcast, a permit holder in Columbia, Texas stopped a mass robbery by fatally shooting the criminal. Some Web sites have started collecting these and other defensive gun use cases (e.g., see here, here, and here).

ABC’S “20/20″ exaggerates “the danger of accidentally hitting a friend” when confronting an attacker. The show cites as an example is a man who mistook his wife for an intruder. Obviously that case is a tragedy, but those cases are exceedingly rare. But why didn’t they present a single multiple victim attack as an example? Simple, because it has not happened.

ABC pushes the notion that gun show regulations, rather than arming potential victims, can stop these attacks. But very few criminals get their guns from gun shows: a U.S. Justice Department survey of 18,000 state prison inmates showed that less than one percent (0.7%) of prisoners had obtained their gun from a gun show. Even adding flea markets and gun shows together raises the number to just 1.7 percent. There is not a single academic study showing that regulating private individuals selling their own guns — the so-called “gun show loophole” — reduces any type of violent crime. What the regulations have accomplished is cutting the number of gun shows by 25 percent.

The show ends with this claim:

“If you are wondering where are all the studies about the effectiveness of guns used by ordinary Americans for self-defense, well keep searching, we could not find one reliable study and the ones we found were contradictory.”

Yet, “contradictory” is an overstatement. There have been 26 peer-reviewed studies published by criminologists and economists in academic journals and university presses. Most of these studies find large drops in crime. Some find no change, but not a single one shows an increase in crime.

You would think that if gun control worked as well as ABC implies, there wouldn’t be these multiple victim public shootings in those European countries with gun laws much stricter than those being publicly discussed in the United States or by ABC. Yet, multiple victim public shootings are quite common in Europe. In just the last few days, there have been a shooting at a college in Greece and in a crowded café in Rotterdam. Of course, the worst K-12 public school shootings are in Europe.

Given the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been spent annually in the United States for police officers on campus and other programs, one would hope that this relatively inexpensive alternative, where people are willing to bear the costs themselves to protect others, would be taken more seriously.

ABC never mentions a simple fact: all multiple victim public shootings with more than 3 people killed have occurred where permitted concealed handguns are prohibited. Rather than studying what actually happens during these shootings, ABC conjured up rigged experiments aimed at convincing Americans that guns are ineffective. Unfortunately, ABC’s advice, rather than making victims safe, makes things safer for attackers.

John Lott is a senior research scientist at the University of Maryland and the author of More Guns, Less Crime (University of Chicago Press, second edition, 2000) and The Bias Against Guns (Regnery, 2003). Much of the discussion here is based on both books. John Lott’s past pieces for FOX News can be found here and here.

Self Protection is Not Vigilantism

2009-04-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

There's a discussion going on about reduction of funding for law enforcement and how people should respond. In a recent dust-up, State Senator Tim Sheldon from Mason County suggested that

"There's always an open season on criminals in Mason County... I think the Mason County citizens are very well aware of how to protect themselves in a situation that might need a response."

The Mason County Sheriff, when asked for a response, " told the [Mason County] Journal he found Sheldon's remark inappropriate, adding that he doesn't want to promote vigilantism."

Sheldon denied Friday that he is urging people to take the law into their own hands, and he claimed that news reports, including Seattle-area television accounts, already are

"driving some criminals back to Pierce and King counties...Our sheriff thinks we're a magnet for crime, because we're a rural county. My point is our citizens are probably better armed than any other county. So the message is, don't attempt a home invasion in Mason County or you may get a hot Mason County lead enema," Sheldon said.

So what is the case with people defending themselves? Are they "taking the law into their own hands?" Do they become vigilantes?

What is vigilantism, anywho?

Vigilantism is

a member of a volunteer committee organized to suppress and punish crime summarily (as when the processes of law are viewed as inadequate) ; broadly : a self-appointed doer of justice

Self-defense is

the act of defending oneself, one's property, or a close relative

It is sad when in the course of sensationalizing something, but the journalists, who should be word smiths, and law enforcement, who should know the law better don't seem to know the difference.

In Washington State, we have the following enumerated in the Constitution:

SECTION 24 RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS.

The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.

Now this doesn't allow or condone the extra-judicial law enforcement, it only allows a person to defend oneself.

State laws (RCW 9A.16.020 Use of force — When lawful.) allow the use of force for, among other things,

(3) Whenever used by a party about to be injured, or by another lawfully aiding him or her, in preventing or attempting to prevent an offense against his or her person, or a malicious trespass, or other malicious interference with real or personal property lawfully in his or her possession, in case the force is not more than is necessary;

(4) Whenever reasonably used by a person to detain someone who enters or remains unlawfully in a building or on real property lawfully in the possession of such person, so long as such detention is reasonable in duration and manner to investigate the reason for the detained person's presence on the premises, and so long as the premises in question did not reasonably appear to be intended to be open to members of the public;

Again, the use of force is legal to defend yourself, and in self-defense is different from the vigilantism to which the Sheriff and the media refers. Vigilantism is not legal.

What the Sheriff knows, or should know, but doesn't tell you is that law enforcement is not responsible for your safety. This was last re-stated by the US Supreme Court in Castle Rock v Gonzales, in which they held that,

The town of Castle Rock, Colorado and its police department
could not be sued under 42 USC §1983 for failure to enforce a
restraining order against respondent's husband, as enforcement of the
restraining order does not constitute a property right for 14th Amendment purposes.

In other words, law enforcement is not responsible for your safety. You are.

However, you are also responsible for your own acts. The height of irresponsibility is illustrated in the comments by one person to the Mason County Commission meeting,

“And I’m a kind of bad shot, so if I have to protect myself and I miss when I go to court, I guess I can say my state senator told me to do it,” said resident John Strasburger.

No, sir. You are responsible not only for your own protection, but for your actions, also.

Disarmament as Public Policy?

2009-04-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

Mr. Obama was recently in Prague and gave a speech in which he advocated nuclear disarmament.

In case you don't want to listen to the whole thing, there is a transcript available from Stephen Rose. What caught my eye was this:

The basic bargain is sound: Countries with nuclear weapons will move towards disarmament, countries without nuclear weapons will not acquire them, and all countries can access peaceful nuclear energy. To strengthen the treaty, we should embrace several principles. We need more resources and authority to strengthen international inspections. We need real and immediate consequences for countries caught breaking the rules or trying to leave the treaty without cause.

Now let's look at an excerpt from the Urban Policy portion of the Obama Administration Agenda:

Address Gun Violence in Cities: ... Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent.

And in case you don't remember what he means by "Respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners", from his Nomination Acceptance Speech:

The -- the reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than they are for those plagued by gang violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals.

So where does that get us? Well, let's blend these concepts and see what we get as a more fundamental position:

If we disarm our nuclear forces as a first step, other nuclear countries will feel better about doing the same.
If there is organized nuclear disarmament, then rogue players will be discouraged from developing their own weapons.
If there is an agreement, then nuclear countries will be unlikely to share their nuclear technology with non-nuclear countries.
If we disarm Americans, then there will be less gun violence.

Sounds nice, but there is one teeny flaw in the logic: Antisocial persons. They don't care about laws and agreements.

Diagnostic criteria
Three or more of the following are required:
Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as
indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest;
Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning
others for personal profit or pleasure;
Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead;
Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or
assaults;
Reckless disregard for safety of self or others;
Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain
consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations;
Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing
having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.

This is the nature of many of the people who commit the mass murders as we have seen. These are the people who concern those of us who own guns for self-protection.

We also realize that expecting someone who doesn't abide by laws against murder, assault, rape and robbery to suddenly follow a law about weapons posession is unrealistic.

Sociopaths, who comprise only 3-4% of the male population and less than 1% of the female population, are thought to account for approximately 20% of the United States' prison population and between 33% and 80% of the population of chronic criminal offenders.
Furthermore, whereas the "typical" U.S. burglar is estimated to have committed a median five crimes per year before being apprehended, chronic offenders - those most likely to be sociopaths - report committing upward of fifty crimes per annum and sometimes as many as two or three hundred. Collectively, these individuals are thought to account for over 50% of all crimes in the U.S.

Mealey, L., "The Sociobiology of Sociopathy: An Integrated Evolutionary Model," Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Volume 18, Number 3, pp. 523-541, 1995.

So where does this leave us? Well, I fear that there is an assumption that disarmament, whether nuclear by the country or by individuals, will lead to better behavior on the part of those who mean us harm.

And since the poilice are not obligated to provide protection to individuals (see Castle Rock v Gonzales), we need a way to protect ourselves.

GOAL Post 2009-13

2009-04-10T23:14:00.000-07:00

Legislative Update from Olympia 10 April 2009

SSHB 1052 PASSES SENATE

HBs 1114 AND 1498 AWAITING SENATE FLOOR VOTE

SB 5739 PASSES LEGISLATURE

16 DAYS AND COUNTING

2SHB 1052 was amended on the Senate floor and passed with a unanimous
vote. It now awaits a concurrence vote in the House. If the House
fails to accept the Senate amendment, it will go to a conference
committee. At this time, it is expected the House will concur in the
Senate action.

ESHB 1114 (reinstating the minimum unsupervised hunting age to 14) and
HB 1498 (involuntary commitment and reinstatement of firearm rights)
remain in Senate Rules awaiting a full floor vote. A vote is expected
well before the 17 April chamber cut-off date.

SB 5739 (military CPL late renewal) was signed into law by Governor
Gregoire today. The bill extends the 90 day period for renewal of an
expiring CPL and waives the $10 late fee for late renewal. A returning
military member has 90 from the date of return/reassignment/release to
renew his or her CPL with the normal $32 renewal fee.

There are two weeks left in the 2009 regular legislative session. The
legislature MUST adjourn by midnight Sunday, 26 April.

BILL STATUS:

The following bills have been filed for the 2009-10 biennium:

Bill # Subject
Sponsor Status

2SHB 1052 Alien firearm licenses Moeller (D-49)
S. Rules

ESHB 1114 Youth hunting age requirement Blake (D-19)
S. Rules

HB 1498 Involuntary commitment Hunter
(D-48) S. Rules

SB 5739 CPL renewal by military members King (R-14)
Signed by Gov

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, HB = House Bill, SB =
Senate Bill, 2SHB = Second Substitute House Bill, ESHB = Engrossed
Substitute House Bill,

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS

2SHB 1052 SUPPORT

ESHB 1114 SUPPORT

HB 1498 SUPPORT

HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

There are no public hearings scheduled next week on gun-related bills.

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by
calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The
hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative
schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web
site at "www.leg.wa.gov". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf)
format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from
Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com). You may also obtain hard copy
bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE
OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be
ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.
You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at
http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at
the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill,
you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the
"roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate
voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this
information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,
send a message to "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com". Please pass GOAL Post on to
anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.
Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun
club's bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).
PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST
PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION
AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com"
or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail
hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY
be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

If you feel you have received this message in error, or if you no longer
desire to subscribe to the GOAL Post, e-mail "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com" and
place "unsubscribe GOAL Post" in the subject line.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Puyallup 25-26 April

Monroe 2-3 May

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself,
or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall
be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,
maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2009 Gun Owners Action League of WA
__,_._,___

GOAL Post 2009-12

2009-04-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Legislative Update from Olympia 3 April 2009

SB 5739 PASSES LEGISLATURE

HB 1052 IN SENATE RULES

SB 5193 DIES IN COMMITTEE

FINAL THREE WEEKS OF THE SESSION

NO PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED

SB 5739 (military CPL renewal) passed the legislature and now goes to
the Governor for her signature. Given the unanimous votes in both
chambers, I would not expect a problem with the Governor. The bill
waives the $10 late fee, or complete new application requirement if
expired more than 90 days, for service members returning from overseas
deployments.

HBs 1052, 1114 and 1498 are all in Senate Rules, awaiting a pull to the
floor for a full vote of the Senate. Again, given the unanimous votes
on 1052 and 1498, I would not expect a problem in passing the Senate.
HB 1114 received 70 votes in the House, so it, too, is likely to pass
the Senate.

SB 5193 (alien firearm licenses) died in committee at the policy cut-off
this past Monday. While the approach is somewhat different, HB 1052
accomplishes essentially the same task as SB 5193.

There are three weeks left in the 2009 regular legislative session. The
legislature MUST adjourn by midnight, 26 April. The bills we are
tracking are moving well within remaining cut-off deadlines.

There are no public hearings scheduled next week on gun-related bills.

BILL STATUS:

The following bills have been filed for the 2009-10 biennium:

Bill # Subject
Sponsor Status

2SHB 1052 Alien firearm licenses Moeller (D-49)
S. Rules

ESHB 1114 Youth hunting age requirement Blake (D-19)
S. Rules

HB 1498 Involuntary commitment Hunter
(D-48) S. Rules

SB 5193 Alien firearm licenses Delvin
(R-8) Died H. Jud

SB 5739 CPL renewal by military members King (R-14)
Passed, to Gov

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, HB = House Bill, SB =
Senate Bill, 2SHB = Second Substitute House Bill, ESHB = Engrossed
Substitute House Bill, Jud = Judiciary, HS&C = Human Services &
Corrections, NatRes = Natural Resources, Oceans and Recreation

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS

SHB 1052 SUPPORT

HB 1114 SUPPORT

HB 1498 SUPPORT

SB 5739 SUPPORT

HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

There are no public hearings scheduled next week on gun-related bills.

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by
calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The
hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative
schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web
site at "www.leg.wa.gov". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf)
format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from
Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com). You may also obtain hard copy
bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE
OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be
ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.
You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at
http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at
the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill,
you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the
"roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate
voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this
information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,
send a message to "jwaldron@halcyon.com". Please pass GOAL Post on to
anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.
Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun
club's bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).
PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST
PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION
AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at "jwaldron@halcyon.com"
or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail
hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY
be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

If you feel you have received this message in error, or if you no longer
desire to subscribe to the GOAL Post, e-mail "jwaldron@halcyon.com" and
place "unsubscribe GOAL Post" in the subject line.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Monroe 4-5 April

Puyallup 25-26 April

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself,
or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall
be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,
maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2009 Gun Owners Action League of WA

More Confirmation of Mexican Gun Disinformation

2009-04-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

As if the Fox report wasn't damning enough, ABC's San Diego affiliate, Channel 10 did an investigative report on the source of firearms in Tia Juana.

What they found was that many of the actual assault weapons, that is military rifles that can fire fully-automatically, were from the US. Now the implication that they are from gun shops or shows is not true if you know the Federal Firearms Laws. 18 U.S.C. 922(o)(2), 27 CFR 479.105(e) says

Machine guns lawfully possessed prior to May 19, 1986. A
machine gun possessed in compliance with the provisions of this part prior to May 19, 1986, may continue to be lawfully possessed by the person to whom the machine gun is registered and may, upon compliance with the provisions of this part, be lawfully transferred to and possessed by the transferee. (ibid)

There is a separate license per gun an owner needs to get, and then only if the state in which they live allows ownership of fully automatic firearms.

Now with respect to newer -- post 1986 -- fully automatic firearms (machine guns),

Importation and manufacture. Subject to compliance with the provisions of this part, importers and manufacturers qualified under this part may import and manufacture machine guns on or after May 19, 1986, for sale or distribution to any department or agency of the United States or any State or political subdivision thereof, or for use by dealers qualified under this part as sales samples as provided in paragraph (d) of this section. The registration of such machine guns under this part and their subsequent transfer shall be conditioned upon and restricted to the sale or distribution of such weapons for the official use of Federal, State or local governmental entities. Subject to compliance with the provisions of this part, manufacturers qualified under this part may manufacture machine guns on or after May 19, 1986, for exportation in compliance with the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778) and regulations prescribed thereunder by the Department of State. (ibid)

Translation? If you aren't the military (the institution, not a person), government or law enforcement, you can't have anything manufactured in the last 23 years.

So where is this stuff coming from? US. I don't me "us", I mean the US government.

We supply guns to the Mexican Army to fight the drug cartels.
A nice Mexican guy joins the Army and gets shipped north to fight the cartel.
Same nice guy gets approached by a cartel member and gets an offer of cash or the life of his family to desert and bring his guns with him.
Cartel gets guns.

Again, the idea that one of us could go to a border state, walk into a gun show or shop and buy a belt-fed .50 caliber machine gun is just not true.

I'm a believer in Civil Rights. We should respect the rights outlined in the Bill of Rights. However, before an elected Public Servant suggests limiting civil rights, it should be based on facts and not lies.

Finally, a note on the closing of the piece by the Channel 10 commentator.

10News provided several serial from various weapons to the ATF and other U.S. agencies in an effort to track the origin of those weapons. So far, 10News' requests have either been denied or there has been no response.

This is because of the provision of the "Tiahrt Amendment" which prohibits access to individual gun trace data or any group other than law enforcement.

We'll discuss Tiahrt at a later date.....

Is the US Really The Source of 90% of The Guns in the Mexican Drug War?

2009-04-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

We've all heard that 90% number preached over and over and over, yet there is little attribution of the primary source. It has, however, become a rallying point for the drumbeat of resurrection of the "Assault Weapon Ban".

The Economist, a British news magazine, today is running a story about growing support for the measure.

Juarez, Mexico's Mayor has moved to El Paso, Texas because of the level of violence in his town.

So the logic you would have to accept is that Mexico is violent because of guns smuggled from the US, yet the US is safer despite being the source of the guns.

When we see reports about the smuggled guns, there is invariably a discussion of gun shows, straw-man purchases, fully-automatic weapons, rocket propelled grenade launcher and the evil gun lobby.

Makes me want to go shopping at one of those mythical gun shows, but I digress.

So where does the 90% number come from? Watch the Fox News report below.

So the 90% is actually 90% of those submitted for tracing that could be traced. However, 68% of the guns were not submitted for tracing because they didn't have serial numbers. That's a whopping 83% that are not traceable.

Once again, there is disinformation being used in an ongoing effort to deny Americans their Civil Rights. Either those disseminating the disinformation don't know there data is wrong, or they know that their lying. Neither is acceptable.

We Are Our Own Worst Enemy

2009-03-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

I went gun shopping recently. Now I'll be the first to admit that I always go shopping with a little fear and trepidation. Part of that comes from the fear of spending too much money, but a fair amount of trepidation about dealing with Gun Shop Guys (and Gals).

Why the trepidation? The inevitable misinformation that accompanies a trip to the gun shop.

For example, we were looking at one gun and wanted to try the trigger. I'll admit I'm a trigger-whore, a lot of which comes from my preference for a 1911 with its smooth, simple single-action trigger.

So we put a snap cap in the gun, and started to release the slide. "Wait!!!!," said the gun shop guy.

(Yep, here it comes.....)

"What?"

"Do you know how much damage it does to the gun when you let the slide slam forward?"

"Huh, no"

"It's terrible....you have to hold the trigger back when the slide goes forward to prevent damage to the firing pin!!!"

Now let's think about this for a moment. When I fire a semi-auto, what happens? The gun goes bang, the slide moves back, the spent cartridge ejects, a new round is loaded, and the slide slams forward.

So why not keep the trigger back? Well, let's imagine that the shopper is new to shooting. There are currently many, many new gun buyers. We have to assume they have had no training. And this lesson teaches them incorrect trigger use. Not good.

Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.

We went to another shop because we didn't find the gun that just did it for us. There we got to experience the second pet peeve of mine: Shock and Awe

We were looking at a gun that was available in two calibers, 9 mm and .45 ACP. Now we're specifically looking for a very small-frame pistol. Small frames can be hard (and nasty) to shoot. My thought in considering the 9 was that it can usually carry more rounds and the 9 mm has less felt recoil.

Here it comes....

With a harrumph, hitching up of the pants, we hear from the Gun Shop Guy, "9 mm? That's for pansies!" (It was actually another "P" word, but this will do)

".45 is the only way to go. Hit someone with a .45 and they will be knocked back 6'. With a 9 they will hardly notice it."

Not true, but not completely my point.

To summarize my caliber argument, if 9 mm is so weak, would you like to stand in front of me when I'm shooting my 9?

Here's the point:

We need to be welcoming to new shooters. We need to give them accurate information rather than repeating more drivel.

The image we want to project is a group of intelligent, aware people who are welcoming of people to our sport.

The more warm, welcoming ambassadors we have, the more allies we will have. We will have what we need, more people who understand the issues, or look to us for accurate information on the issues.

We need to stop acting like the gun nuts that those who would like to disarm us like to portray.

We need to stop aiding and abetting their efforts.

GOAL Post 2009-11

2009-03-27T22:15:00.000-07:00

Legislative Update from Olympia 27 March 2009

HBs 1114, 1498 PASS COMMITTEE, GO TO RULES

HB 1052 PENDING SIGNATURES

5193 TO DIE IN COMMITTEE

POLICY COMMITTEE CUT-OFF MONDAY, 30 MAR

NO PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED

House Bills 1114 (no unsupervised hunting under age 14) and 1498
(involuntary commitment prohibition) passed out of their Senate
committee to Senate Rules. They now await a pull to the Senate floor
for a full vote.

2SHB 1052 was voted on in Executive Session in the Senate Judiciary
Committee Friday morning. It appeared to pass on a voice vote, but
under Senate rules, committee members must sign a "sign in" sheet
recording their vote. Occasionally a bill appears to pass on a voice
vote, but fails to get the required signatures. The sign-in sheet on
2SHB 1052 hasn't been returned to committee staff as this is being written.

It appears SB 5193 (alien firearm licenses) will die in committee. 2SHB
1052 effectively addresses the same issue, so at this point 5193 is
probably redundant.

The policy committee cut-off date in the second chamber is Monday, 30
March. House bills that have not passed their Senate committee, and
vice versa, will be considered dead for the remainder of the session.
Of the five bills we're tracking, three have already passed their policy
committee (ESHB 1114, HB 1498, SB 5739); the fourth (2SHB 1052) is on
the way, and one (SB 5193) will likely die.

There are no public hearings scheduled next week on gun-related bills.

BILL STATUS:

The following bills have been filed for the 2009-10 biennium:

Bill # Subject
Sponsor Status

2SHB 1052 Alien firearm licenses Moeller (D-49)
S. Jud

ESHB 1114 Youth hunting age requirement Blake (D-19)
S. Rules

HB 1498 Involuntary commitment Hunter
(D-48) S. Rules

SB 5193 Alien firearm licenses Delvin
(R-8) H. Jud

SB 5739 CPL renewal by military members King (R-14) H.
Rules

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, HB = House Bill, SB =
Senate Bill, 2SHB = Second Substitute House Bill, ESHB = Engrossed
Substitute House Bill, Jud = Judiciary, HS&C = Human Services &
Corrections, NatRes = Natural Resources, Oceans and Recreation

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS

SHB 1052 SUPPORT

HB 1114 SUPPORT

HB 1498 SUPPORT

SB 5193 SUPPORT

SB 5739 SUPPORT

HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

There are no public hearings scheduled next week on gun-related bills.

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by
calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The
hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative
schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web
site at "www.leg.wa.gov". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf)
format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from
Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com). You may also obtain hard copy
bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE
OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be
ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.
You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at
http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at
the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill,
you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the
"roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate
voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this
information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,
send a message to "jwaldron@halcyon.com". Please pass GOAL Post on to
anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.
Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun
club's bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).
PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST
PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION
AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at "jwaldron@halcyon.com"
or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail
hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY
be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

If you feel you have received this message in error, or if you no longer
desire to subscribe to the GOAL Post, e-mail "jwaldron@halcyon.com" and
place "unsubscribe GOAL Post" in the subject line.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Monroe 4-5 April

Puyallup 25-26 April

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself,
or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall
be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,
maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2009 Gun Owners Action League of WA

__,_._,___

GOAL Post 2009-10

2009-03-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

Legislative Update from Olympia 20 March 2009

SB 5739 PASSES COMMITTEE

HB1498 PENDING

PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED

NEXT CUT-OFF DATE 30 MARCH

SB 5739 (military CPL renewal) has passed out of the House Judiciary
Committee on a unanimous vote. It now moves to the House Rules
Committee awaiting a full floor vote.

HB 1498 was voted on in Executive Session in the Senate Human Services
and Corrections Committee Friday morning. It appeared to pass on a
voice vote, but under Senate rules, committee members must sign a "sign
in" sheet recording their vote. Occasionally a bill appears to pass on
a voice vote, but fails to get the required signatures. The sign-in
sheet hasn't been returned to committee staff as this is being written.

Public hearings are scheduled for HB 1052 in Senate Judiciary on
Tuesday, 24 March at 10 a.m., and for HB 1114 on Wednesday, 25 March at
8 a.m. in Senate Natural Resources. At this time, no hearing has been
scheduled for SB 5193 (HB 1052, if it becomes law, will resolve the
alien firearms issue without further action needed).

The policy committee cut-off date in the second chamber is Monday, 30
March. House bills that have not passed their Senate committee, and
vice versa, will be considered dead for the remainder of the session.
Of the five bills we're tracking, two have already passed their policy
committee; two are scheduled for a hearing next week.

BILL STATUS:

The following bills have been filed for the 2009-10 biennium:

Bill # Subject
Sponsor Status

2SHB 1052 Alien firearm licenses Moeller (D-49)
S. Jud

ESHB 1114 Youth hunting age requirement Blake (D-19)
S. NatRes

HB 1498 Involuntary commitment Hunter
(D-48) S. HS&C

SB 5193 Alien firearm licenses Delvin
(R-8) H. Jud

SB 5739 CPL renewal by military members King (R-14) H.
Rules

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, HB = House Bill, SB =
Senate Bill, 2SHB = Second Substitute House Bill, ESHB = Engrossed
Substitute House Bill, Jud = Judiciary, HS&C = Human Services &
Corrections, NatRes = Natural Resources, Oceans and Recreation

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS

SHB 1052 SUPPORT

HB 1114 SUPPORT

HB 1498 SUPPORT

SB 5193 SUPPORT

SB 5739 SUPPORT

HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

24 Mar HB 1052 Senate Judiciary Committee

10:00 a.m. Senate Hearing
Room 1, JAC Bldg

25 Mar HB 1114 Senate Natural Resources

8:00 a.m. Senate Hearing
Room 2, JAC Bldg

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by
calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The
hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative
schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web
site at "www.leg.wa.gov". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf)
format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from
Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com). You may also obtain hard copy
bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE
OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be
ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.
You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at
http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at
the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill,
you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the
"roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate
voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this
information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,
send a message to "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com". Please pass GOAL Post on to
anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.
Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun
club's bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).
PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST
PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION
AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com"
or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail
hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY
be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

If you feel you have received this message in error, or if you no longer
desire to subscribe to the GOAL Post, e-mail "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com" and
place "unsubscribe GOAL Post" in the subject line.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Puyallup 21-22 March

Monroe 4-5 April

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself,
or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall
be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,
maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2009 Gun Owners Action League of WA

__,_._,___

GOAL Post 2009-9

2009-03-13T14:21:00.001-07:00

GOAL Post 2009-9

Legislative Update from Olympia 13 March 2009

HB 1114 PASSES HOUSE

CHAMBER CUT-OFF PASSES

FIVE BILLS REMAIN ACTIVE

PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED

HB 1114, which reimposes the minimum age of 14 for unsupervised hunting,
passed the House on a 70-26 vote, with one excused. The minimum age,
allegedly accidentally left out of the 1994 rewrite of Washington's
firearms code, received the attention of the legislature after a 14
year-old accidentally shot and killed a woman while hunting in Snohomish
County last year. A Senate version, raising the age to 16, failed to
pass out of committee. An amendment to the bill by Rep. Ross Hunter
(D-48) was offered on the House floor to raise the age to 16, but
failed. The bill now moves to the Senate Natural Resources Committee
for consideration.

Thursday, 12 March, marked the halfway point for the legislative
session. Bills that had not passed out of their original chamber (House
or Senate) by 12 March are considered dead for the year. Previous
observations about trying to amend dead language into live bills still
applies, but that is difficult to do under legislative procedures. We
have six weeks until the legislature adjourns on 26 April.

Five bills remain in play after the chamber cut-off. They're listed
below in the Bill Status section. The legislature has until Monday, 30
March, to pass these bills out of their new policy committee (as listed
in the Bill Status) or they will die. Two of the bills are scheduled
for hearings next week (1498 and 5739).

Two bills are scheduled for public hearings next week. HB 1498
(firearms prohibition for involuntary commitment) will be heard in the
Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday,
17 March. Senate HS&C meets in Senate Hearing Room 1 in the John A.
Cherberg Building. SB 5739 (deferred CPL renewal for deployed military
members) will be heard in the House Judiciary Committee at 8:00 a.m. on
Wednesday, 18 March. House Judiciary meets in House Hearing Room A in
the John L. O'Brien Building.

BILL STATUS:

The following bills have been filed for the 2009-10 biennium:

Bill # Subject
Sponsor Status

SHB 1052 Alien firearm licenses Moeller (D-49)
S. Jud

HB 1114 Youth hunting age requirement Blake (D-19)
S. NatRes

HB 1498 Involuntary commitment Hunter
(D-48) S. HS&C

SB 5193 Alien firearm licenses Delvin
(R-8) H. Jud

SB 5739 CPL renewal by military members King (R-14) H. Jud

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, HB = House Bill, SB =
Senate Bill, SHB = Substitute House Bill, HJM = House Joint Memorial,
Jud = Judiciary, Ag/NatRes = Agriculture and Natural Resources, Educ =
Education, Gov Ops = Government Operations and Elections, HS&C = Human
Services & Corrections, NatRes = Natural Resources, Oceans and
Recreation, StGov = State Government and Tribal Affairs

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS

SHB 1052 SUPPORT

HB 1114 SUPPORT

HB 1498 SUPPORT

SB 5193 SUPPORT

SB 5739 SUPPORT

HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

17 Mar HB 1498 Senate Human Services &
Corrections

1:30 p.m. Senate Hearing
Room 1, JAC Bldg

18 Mar SB 5739 House Judiciary Committee

8:00 a.m. House Hearing
Room A, JLO Bldg

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by
calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The
hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative
schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web
site at "www.leg.wa.gov". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf)
format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from
Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com/). You may also obtain hard copy
bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE
OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be
ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.
You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at
http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at
the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill,
you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the
"roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate
voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this
information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,
send a message to "jwaldron@halcyon.com". Please pass GOAL Post on to
anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.
Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun
club's bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).
PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST
PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION
AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at "jwaldron@halcyon.com"
or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail
hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY
be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

If you feel you have received this message in error, or if you no longer
desire to subscribe to the GOAL Post, e-mail "jwaldron@halcyon.com" and
place "unsubscribe GOAL Post" in the subject line.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Monroe 14-15 March

Puyallup 21-22 March

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself,
or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall
be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,
maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2009 Gun Owners Action League of WA

__,_._,___

GOAL Post 2009-8

2009-03-06T21:23:00.000-08:00

GOAL Post 2009-8

Legislative Update from Olympia 6 March 2009

SENATE BILLS 5193 AND 5739 PASS SENATE

HOUSE BILLS 1052 AND 1498 PASS HOUSE

CHAMBER CUT-OFF THURSDAY, 12 MARCH

BILL STATUS TRACKING REDUCED

Senate Bills 5193 (alien firearms access) and 5739 (military CPL
renewal) have passed out of the Senate and were sent to the House
Judiciary Committee for consideration in that chamber. SB 5193 had 45
"aye" votes, three votes in opposition (Fairley (D-32), Regala (D-27)
and Tom (D-48) -- all anti-gun Senators), and one absent/excused. SB
5739 was unanimous, with 47 "aye" votes and two absent/excused.

House Bills 1052 (alien firearms licensing) and 1498 (involuntary
commitment) have passed out of the House and were sent to the Senate
Judiciary Committee for consideration in that chamber. Both passed with
unanimous votes, no opposition in the House.

The next major cut-off date is 12 March. By the end of that day, all
bills must have cleared their original chamber. Four of the five bills
we are tracking have already cleared that hurdle and await the whole
process again (committee hearings, committee and floor votes) on the
other side.

In the "Bill Status" section I have deleted the bills that died
procedurally for failure to pass the policy committee cut-off. The
possibility that any of them could be revived is remote.

BILL STATUS:

The following bills have been filed for the 2009-10 biennium:

Bill # Subject
Sponsor Status

SHB 1052 Alien firearm licenses Moeller (D-49)
S. Jud

HB 1114 Youth hunting age requirement Blake (D-19)
H Rules

HB 1498 Involuntary commitment Hunter
(D-48) S. Jud

SB 5193 Alien firearm licenses Delvin
(R-8) H. Jud

SB 5739 CPL renewal by military members King (R-14) H. Jud

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, HB = House Bill, SB =
Senate Bill, SHB = Substitute House Bill, HJM = House Joint Memorial,
Jud = Judiciary, Ag/NatRes = Agriculture and Natural Resources, Educ =
Education, Gov Ops = Government Operations and Elections, NatRes =
Natural Resources, Oceans and Recreation, StGov = State Government and
Tribal Affairs

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS

HB 1052 SUPPORT

HB 1114 SUPPORT

HB 1498 SUPPORT

SB 5193 SUPPORT

SB 5739 SUPPORT

HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

None

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by
calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The
hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative
schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web
site at "www.leg.wa.gov". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf)
format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from
Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com/). You may also obtain hard copy
bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE
OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be
ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.
You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at
http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at
the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill,
you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the
"roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate
voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this
information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,
send a message to "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com". Please pass GOAL Post on to
anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.
Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun
club's bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).
PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST
PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION
AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com"
or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail
hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY
be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

If you feel you have received this message in error, or if you no longer
desire to subscribe to the GOAL Post, e-mail "mailto:jwaldron%40halcyon.com" and
place "unsubscribe GOAL Post" in the subject line.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Monroe 14-15 March

Puyallup 21-22 March

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself,
or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall
be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,
maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2009 Gun Owners Action League of WA

60 Minutes - The Mexican Wars and Laying the Path for a new Assault Weapons Ban

2009-03-01T21:29:00.000-08:00

In case you missed it, CBS's 60 Minutes had a piece Sunday, March first with CNN's Anderson Cooper on the near Civil War in Mexico. This is the same one that the Attorney General was referring to when he called for a renewal of the Assault Weapons (sic) Ban. Here's the piece if you didn't see it:

Watch CBS Videos Online

Did you catch the disinformation there as they were trying to make a point about the weapons being smuggled from the US to Mexico? Nice pictures of .50 caliber belt-driven machine guns, hand grenades and grenade launchers, none of which are for sale in the US. Either through sloppy journalism and poor research, or through intentional disinformation, the uninformed viewer has the impression that someone can walk into a gun show, plunk down some cash (undoubtedly from a drug sale or terrorist) and walk out with a RPG. Are they intentionally lying or is it just poor research?

The problem in Mexico is real. The State Department has suggested that college students do their Spring Break partying elsewhere through a Travel Alert about our next-door neighbor. The Mayor of Juarez, Mexico has moved to El Paso, Texas because of the danger. The Govenor of Texas wants troops to protect the border.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is worried about explosives being stolen along the Mexican Border. They've cautioned licensed explosive handlers about an increase in break ins and theft of explosives in the area. So does anyone think that the bad guys are legally buying their machine guns at a gun show and then breaking into store rooms to steal their explosives?

Yet our Attorney General wants to limit the Civil Rights of honest US Citizens and our ability to purchase modern firearms and standard-capacity magazines. Shame on him.

At least he was honest when he said that was on their agenda all along. But more on that later.

HR 45 - Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009

2009-02-28T07:43:00.000-08:00

Now here's a piece of legislation that has gotten a lot of discussion in web fora. It was introduced by Representative Bobby Rush of Illinois. Mr. Rush represents, primarily, the South Side of Chicago, Illinois' 1st Congressional District.

The bill is named after Blair Holt, a 16 year-old Chicago high school honor student who was killed trying to protect another student in 2007.

Summary

There is a summary below from the Congressional Research Service. In essence, the bill provides for the following:

Licensing of anyone who possesses a firearm.
Prohibits the transfer to anyone who is not licensed ("Transfer" usually includes not only sales, but gifts and inheritance).
Requires a Federal record of sale system.
Requires that if an owner is the victim of a theft of their firearm, they must report it (or, they, too, become a criminal).
Requires that a licensee report to the Attorney General any change of address within 60 days.
Requires that firearms and ammunition be kept locked away from a child.

Analysis

Sounds like reasonable things? Well, of course, the question you have to ask yourself is whether criminals, who are not known for following laws, will stay in compliance with all these provisions. If they don't, then what's the point?

Well, the point becomes the following:

The Attorney General gets a database of firearms owners.
The Attorney General gets a database of individual firearms.
A father giving his daughter a gun as a present becomes a criminal if the daughter isn't licensed.
Crime victims can become criminals if they don't report gun thefts (can you think of any other situation in which a victim can become a criminal?)
The major problem? Criminals don't follow laws. It's just us good folks that do. This bill will do nothing to increase public safety. In fact, by criminalizing the acts of victims, it can increase crime.

Status

This bill has no co-sponsors. It is unlikely to go anywhere. It was introduced last year, also and died.

Congressional Research Service Summary

Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit a person from possessing a firearm unless that person has been issued a firearm license under this Act or a state system certified under this Act and such license has not been invalidated or revoked. Prescribes license application, issuance, and renewal requirements.
Prohibits transferring or receiving a qualifying firearm unless the recipient presents a valid firearms license, the license is verified, and the dealer records a tracking authorization number. Prescribes firearms transfer reporting and record keeping requirements. Directs the Attorney General to establish and maintain a federal record of sale system.
Prohibits: (1) transferring a firearm to any person other than a licensee, unless the transfer is processed through a licensed dealer in accordance with national instant criminal background check system requirements, with exceptions; (2) a licensed manufacturer or dealer from failing to comply with reporting and record keeping requirements of this Act; (3) failing to report the loss or theft of the firearm to the Attorney General within 72 hours; (4) failing to report to the Attorney General an address change within 60 days; or (5) keeping a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm and ammunition for the firearm, knowingly or recklessly disregarding the risk that a child is capable of gaining access, if a child uses the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury.
Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of firearms provisions covered by this Act.
Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish and maintain a firearm injury information clearinghouse; (2) conduct continuing studies and investigations of firearm-related deaths and injuries; and (3) collect and maintain current production and sales figures of each licensed manufacturer.
Authorizes the Attorney General to certify state firearm licensing or record of sale systems.

GOAL Post 2009-7

2009-02-27T17:55:00.000-08:00

GOAL Post 2009-7

Legislative Update from Olympia 27 February 2009

MOST GUN BILLS DIE AT POLICY COMMITTEE CUT-OFF

FIVE BILLS REMAIN "IN PLAY"

STIMULUS PACKAGE A HIDDEN GUN BILL CARRIER?

NO PUBLIC HEARINGS ON GUN BILLS NEXT WEEK

Wednesday, February 25th, was the first policy committee cut-off date.
All bills that have not passed out of their original policy committee
are technically dead for the session. As noted last week, attempts will
be made to insert language from dead bills into bills still under
consideration, but doing that is difficult. Unlike bills in Congress,
where "riders" (amendments) can be added to almost any bill, under state
law, bills are generally limited to a single topic. And any amendment
must fit the title of the bill -- a narrow title limits shenanigans.

Focus now shifts to the House and Senate floors, where bills awaiting
action in the Rules Committee are pulled to the floor and voted on.
March 12th is the last day that bills may be considered in their house
of origin: House bills must pass out of the House; Senate bills out of
the Senate.

After March 12th, the process begins all over again, with House bills
being heard in the Senate, and vice versa.

Five gun-related bills remain in play in the legislature.

There are a couple of state-level "stimulus bills" under consideration
by the legislature. Some have expressed concerns that gun control
measures, such as the gun show bill, may be rolled into one of these
omnibus stimulus bills. As noted above, because of restrictions on
amendments to bills, that is unlikely. Which is not to say that we can
relax our vigilance. As the old saying goes, it ain't over 'til the fat
lady sings. And she won't be singing for another eight weeks.

There are no public hearings on gun bills scheduled in the coming week.
Again, all the action will be on the House and Senate floors.

BILL STATUS:

The following bills have been filed for the 2009-10 biennium:

Bill # Subject
Sponsor Status

SHB 1052 Alien firearm licenses Moeller (D-49)
H. Rules

HB 1114 Youth hunting age requirement Blake (D-19)
H Rules

HB 1498 Involuntary commitment Hunter
(D-48) H. Rules

HB 1604 Suppressors Condotta
(R-12) Died 20 Feb

HB 1832 Firearms during emergencies Herrera (R-18)
Died 20 Feb

HB 2011 Firearms safety education Chase
(D-32) Died 20 Feb

HB 2065 LEO firearm certification Orcutt
(R-18) Died 20 Feb

HB 2226 LEO firearm certificate Orcutt
(R-18) Died 20 Feb

HB 2264 Gun show regulation Williams
(D-22) Died 20 Feb

HJM 4009 10th Amendment sovereignty Shea (R-4)
Died 20 Feb

SB 5095 Lead shot ban Jacobsen
(D-46) Died 25 Feb

SB 5193 Alien firearm licenses Delvin
(R-8) S. Rules

SB 5559 Youth hunting age requirement Kohl-Welles (D-36)
Died 25 Feb

SB 5637 CPL renewal by mail for military Swecker (R-20)
Died 25 Feb

SB 5739 CPL renewal by military members King (R-14) S.
Rules

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, HB = House Bill, SB =
Senate Bill, SHB = Substitute House Bill, HJM = House Joint Memorial,
Jud = Judiciary, Ag/NatRes = Agriculture and Natural Resources, Educ =
Education, Gov Ops = Government Operations and Elections, NatRes =
Natural Resources, Oceans and Recreation, StGov = State Government and
Tribal Affairs

GOAL POSITION ON BILLS

HB 1052 SUPPORT

HB 1114 SUPPORT

HB 1498 SUPPORT

HB 1604 SUPPORT

HB 1832 SUPPORT

HB 2011 SUPPORT

HB 2065 SUPPORT

HB 2226 SUPPORT

HB 2264 OPPOSE

SB 5095 OPPOSE

SB 5193 SUPPORT

SB 5637 SUPPORT

SB 5739 SUPPORT

HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

None

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by
calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The
hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative
schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web
site at "www.leg.wa.gov". Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf)
format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from
Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com). You may also obtain hard copy
bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE
OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be
ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.
You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at
http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at
the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill,
you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the
"roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate
voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this
information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail,
send a message to "jwaldron@halcyon.com". Please pass GOAL Post on to
anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.
Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun
club's bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).
PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST
PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION
AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at "jwaldron@halcyon.com"
or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail
hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY
be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.

If you feel you have received this message in error, or if you no longer
desire to subscribe to the GOAL Post, e-mail "jwaldron@halcyon.com" and
place "unsubscribe GOAL Post" in the subject line.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Monroe 14-15 March

Puyallup 21-22 March

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself,
or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall
be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize,
maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2009 Gun Owners Action League of WA