Keep and Bear Arms - Gun Owners Home Page

Battle Rifle Basics
Submitted by: Larry

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While anyone with an elementary knowledge of firearms recognizes the advantages of a handgun for concealed and close quarters defense use, the time where a battle rifle could be used for self-defense is rapidly approaching. The size and weight of a handgun provides many advantages but these factors also become a liability if one is forced to defend themselves at a distance of more than a few yards. While there exist handguns used for hunting and target shooting, those are not usually carried or used for self-defense and their effective range is still limited, especially when compared to a battle rifle.

OK: Blowing in the wind
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Ms. Froehlich equates the right to hang her laundry outside with the Second Amendment right to bear arms. While it's going too far to suggest - as Project Laundry List does - a constitutional right to dry, we believe people in general should be able to air-dry clothes as long as it is done with some decorum. Six states, but not Ohio, have recognized this fact by passing laws to protect outdoor clotheslines.

If Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries, when there really were "unmentionables," could routinely hang their clothes outside to dry without offending the sensibilities of their neighbors, certainly their liberated, 21st-century descendants ought to be able to do the same.

KS: Proposal to allow 'mentally defective' veterans buy guns triggers debate
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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The problem dates to the 1930s, after a series of reports about veterans losing pension and other benefits to unscrupulous relatives and acquaintances. Congress passed a law allowing Veterans Affairs field officers to determine if a veteran was incompetent to handle his or her finances. If not, a third party known as a fiduciary � a spouse or a legal custodian � would be appointed to oversee the veteran�s money.

But backers of the proposed legislation contend that the VA also improperly sends the names of those involved in the program to the FBI�s National Instant Criminal Background Check System database, classifying them as mentally defective and effectively barring them from purchasing a gun.

WA: Stick to necessity in health care reform
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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To get an idea of the brutal gantlet health care reform will be running in coming weeks, consider this: �Obamacare� has now been officially designated an anti-gun bill by Gun Owners of America.

Say what? Yes, the organization fears the �wellness and prevention� provisions in the bills before Congress might empower the �rabidly anti-gun HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius� to punish gun owners with higher premiums.

More broadly, �all this increased spending � and taxes � means that you will have less money to spend on pursuing your real passions: like providing for your family and purchasing guns and ammunition.�

CA: Gun-law suggestion not sure-fire
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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So Supervisor Stone wants to put a new twist on the old Mae West line, "Is that a pistol in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?" He's asked Sheriff Stan Sniff to relax requirements on permits to carry a concealed weapons, as he's pretty upset about inmates paroled early due to state budget constraints.

Although I believe that many parolees pose no danger to society, when we let truly bad people back out on the streets, it makes sense to protect ourselves ---- after all, our Constitution gives us the right to bear arms.

NH: Outdoors enthusiasts should take nothing for granted
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Enjoy the second amendment to our constitution? The most controversial of all national organizations dedicated to this vital amendment to our constitution is the National Rifle Association (www.nra.org). Protection of the second amendement ensures all citizens, whether they own firearms or not, of a vital right as a citizen of this country.

Agree with their viewpoint or not but this paper you are reading is brought to you by the first amendment which in turn is backed up by the second amendment.

Right here in New Hampshire another group of dedicated enthusiasts protecting your right to keep and own a firearm is Gun Owners of New Hampshire (www.gonh.org).

Baltimore Sun Reveals How Little Print Elites Know About Firearms Laws
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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The Baltimore Sun lambasted Sen. Richard Burr's (R-NC) proposed S. 669 -- Veterans' Second Amendment Protection Act ...

The next day, it was forced to post a retraction. Actually, the paper's editorialists didn't write the retraction, Burr did in a blistering point-by-point rebuke that, essentially, exposed The Sun's opinion-mongers' as being heavy on the opinion, but light on the facts.

"Just as the public expects elected officials to read the text of bills before they pass judgment on them, your editorial board should do the same. Yet it is clear that you did not read S. 669, the 'Veterans' Second Amendment Protection Act,' before you published your editorial 'Guns and the mentally ill,'" Burr wrote.

IN: One in 26 Monroe County residents has a permit to carry handguns
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Monroe County resident Brent Haley carries his .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun in a holster on his hip anywhere the law allows.

"I have carried my handgun into the public mall on many occasions, out to dinner with my wife or even over to my father's house for Christmas morning," Haley said.

"I always carry my handguns fully loaded with a cartridge chambered and ready to fire." Haley, like many other handgun owners within Monroe County, said he carries his handgun for protection in case he ever needed it. He hasn't yet.

WA: Resist DC: A Step-by-Step Plan for Freedom
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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As recently stated in the famous Heller opinion by the United States Supreme Court, the right to bear arms �is an individual right protecting against both public and private violence� and �when the able-bodied men of a nation are trained in arms and organized they are better able to resist tyranny.� 4

Thus, it is clear that the 2nd Amendment not only protects the right to self-defense but that right extends to defending oneself against tyranny. As with any historical attempt to establish a dictatorship weapons must be seized or severely regulated. 5

Here is a list of legislation to prevent this from happening, some of which has already been introduced in states around the country:

WA: Seattle man files lawsuit against ban on guns
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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A Seattle man who took a gun into a Seattle community center to challenge the city's ban on guns in city parks has filed a lawsuit against the city and Mayor Greg Nickels.

Bob Warden, 44, an attorney, said the right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment and that states and local governments cannot ban the carrying of handguns for self-defense. Warden said he's had a concealed-weapons permit since the early 1990s and is a certified pistol instructor.

He carried his pistol into the Southwest Community Center - run by Seattle Parks and Recreation - on Nov. 14 and immediately was asked to leave, which he did. But he vowed to file a lawsuit over Nickels' new ban on carrying guns in certain park facilities.

Safer Streets 101: Liberty culture first, safe streets next, Part II
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Three years ago this month, I syndicated a piece titled There's No Such Thing As Sensible Gun Laws.

There isn't any such thing. There are powers, there are abuses of powers, there are assumptions of powers not legally granted, there are many laws found to be unconstitutional every year, but there is no such thing as an illegal gun nor sensible infringements on a right which is absolute. I mentioned owning another citizen last piece as an example of another freedom which is absolute. There are others. Some rights � not a lot � are in fact absolute. It's therefore most unreasonable to try and regulate those which are safeguards of the nation, and David Codrea has a follow-up piece of his here.

How Can You Lose Your Right to Own a Gun?
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit cast doubt on the constitutionality of a 1996 federal law that bars anyone convicted of a misdemeanor involving domestic violence from owning a gun for the rest of his life. Other courts, including the 10th Circuit, have concluded that the law is consistent with D.C. v. Heller...

...

"In an age when Americans can be non-violent felons for possession of a short lobster or sharing MP3 files," McCullagh asks, "is a lifetime ban constitutional?" Although Heller suggests the general ban on gun possession by felons is constitutional, it does not actually uphold that policy, which was not at issue in the case.

TN: Tennessee Court Rules Restaurant Carry Law Unconstitutional
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman of the Chancery Court for Davidson County, Tennessee ruled last week that Tennessee�s restaurant carry law is unconstitutionally vague because of a perceived ambiguity over the state�s definition of restaurants. This law gave right-to-carry permit holders the chance to defend themselves from criminal attack while in a restaurant.

�This ruling is a setback for Tennessee�s law-abiding concealed carry permit holders,� said Chris W. Cox, NRA chief lobbyist. �We strongly urge Attorney General Robert Cooper to defend the Tennessee statute and appeal this unwise ruling.�

ME: Gun ownership part of proud Maine tradition
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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In journalism, the best editorial practice ought to define for a readership the moral and ethical high ground of a particular issue. Then, using logic, truth and facts, lead readers to it. The recent lead editorial, �Lawyers, Guns and Money� (BDN, Nov. 21-22), following the BDN�s five-part series on guns in Maine, might have done that had it been more accurate and less shameful.

To begin with, the title was misleading. Where were the lawyers? Where was the money?

The inaccuracy continued: �For the first 100 years of the nation�s history the Constitution�s Second Amendment was generally understood as supporting the rights of states to keep militias.� I challenge anyone to find support for that statement in history.

Chicago Gun Case Brief Shows Prohibitionists Unreasonable Submitted by: David Codrea Website: http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
"What they're saying in the Chicago case is essentially the same thing they said in the Heller Washington D.C. case: Gun bans are 'reasonable' and consistent with the Second Amendment proscription that 'the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.'" "This does not surprise anyone who has been watching these Brady characters for any length of time."

Chicago Gun Case: Top Globalist Cops Say Keeping Americans Disarmed is 'Reasonable'
Submitted by: David Codrea
Website: http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner

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"I truly don't give a damn about international police chiefs. If we're looking at UN membership as a criterion, that is, if being an official state repression authority for any number of dictatorships, kleptocracies, monarchies, sheikdoms, theocracies, politburos and tyrannies is what it takes to join your club, we're talking about a wretched hive of scum and villainy that rivals the Mos Eisley cantina..."

"Here's a phrase I rarely use any more, since so many seem to over-use it, but in this case it seems appropriate."

"Molon labe."

"Keep your stinking globalist paws off our guns."

Patience is key when it comes to gun carving
Submitted by: NYSRPA-PVF
Website: http://www.nysrpa-pvf.org

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When it comes to gunstock carving, more is better. "Lots of detail makes it very valuable," said expert Tom Kosmicki of Greece whose work can feature the muscle structure found in a bull elk's shoulders down to the tiniest eyes of a mallard duck in flight. Kosmicki's personal collection of guns he has customized includes a Browning 12-gauge pump with ornate pheasants in flight; a Remington 7600 rifle with a whitetail woodland scene from a painting by Hayden Lambson; and a Remington turkey gun he brought back to life with a gobbler scene, mounted compass and cheek pad. "You can take any old gun and rejuvenate it," Kosmicki said.

Carving turns guns into art
Submitted by: NYSRPA-PVF
Website: http://www.nysrpa-pvf.org

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Tom Kosmicki worked 23 years as a machinist at Kodak only to lose his job in 2002. Sometimes, though, downsizing can be uplifting. An avid hunter and fisherman, Kosmicki's love of the outdoors guided him toward new career paths. Thus was born Cosmic Curb, his decorative landscape curbing business he operates and Cosmic Custom Carvings where he engraves gunstocks and grips with breathtaking three-dimensional wildlife scenes.

Africa: Report: Scores of albinos in hiding after attacks
Submitted by: Larry

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As many as 10,000 albinos are in hiding in east Africa over fears that they will be dismembered and their body parts sold to witchdoctors, the Red Cross said in a recent report.

The killings of albinos in Burundi and Tanzania, who are targeted because their body parts are believed to have special powers, have sparked fears among the population in the two countries, the report said.

Submitter's note: Another group disarmed with the usual fatal results.

WV: Officer who got in trouble in Pocahontas now working in Greenbrier
Submitted by: Anonymous

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A former Pocahontas County sheriff's deputy who resigned after firing his gun at his girlfriend's house is now a police officer in Ronceverte in Greenbrier County.

Robert Alkire II pleaded guilty to misdemeanor brandishing a weapon for firing his pistol in an unsafe manner in March. He was originally charged with one count of wanton endangerment for the November 2008 incident.

"The reason we hired him is we are a small police department and at the time, he was the only certified officer that applied," said Ronceverte Chief Michael L. Smith. "I know what he was originally charged with, but he only pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. That doesn't eliminate him from being hired. ... He has done an outstanding job for the police department."

OR: Intruder Shot At Gresham Apartment
Submitted by: NYSRPA-PVF
Website: http://www.nysrpa-pvf.org

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A person who kicked down an apartment door was shot and injured Thursday night, Gresham police said. Officers were called at 9:11 p.m. on Thursday about someone trying to kick in Nathan Brown's apartment door in the 1200 block of East Powell Boulevard. Brown said his 2-year-old daughter was sleeping when he heard a loud noise. "I heard three distinct loud bangs like someone was kicking my door. It wasn't like a knock, it was emotionally charged. It scared me," Brown said. He grabbed his handgun and cracked the door to see who was there.

MI: Local Church Buys Guns- Organizers Hope To Reduce Gun Violence Submitted by: Bob Devour	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
A local church wants guns off the streets and is willing to pay to make it happen. Saint Cecilia Church in northwest Detroit held a gun buy back Saturday. The church offered to give $20 per gun. Late Saturday, 41 guns were dropped off and safely disposed of by Detroit Police who offered its services to help destroy the weapons.

Secession and the State Militia
Submitted by: Larry

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Today, I�m going to tread ground upon which many fear to tread by discussing the first two phrases of the Second Amendment.

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution states thus: "A Well-Regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the Right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

Seems to me that we have either ignored or simply missed a very vital component of liberty in our discussions and writings about secession...or about the Second Amendment. That very vital component is the existence and use of force.

No reasonable proponent of state sovereignty wants to propose secession and state nationhood through armed overthrow and insurrection. All of the thought leaders of secession that I have read concentrate on the orderly and lawful methods of secession, and eschew any ideas of military resistance. That�s fine.

MI: "Cash for Guns" Program
Submitted by: Bob Devour

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Short of money and have a gun to unload? Detroit police will take the cold, hard steel off your hands for cold, hard cash.

The department says in a release that it will pay $20 for every firearm turned in Saturday as part of a "Cash for Guns" program. There is no limit to the number of guns one person can turn in, but the program ends after the first 75 are collected.

Submitter's note: C'mon, Chief Evans ! $20? Oh, yeah, the lines are 2-deep and twice around the police station for this one.