Keep and Bear Arms - Gun Owners Home Page

�Lifelong hunter� shows hypocrisy of supposed gun owners against gun rights
Submitted by: David Codrea
Website: http://www.davidcodrea.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

... "Assuming there aren�t, that was not only a violation of Ashland Code on 'Discharging Weapons.' A quick look at the layout of the neighborhood shows the weapon was discharged in close proximity of other inhabited houses, and per the news account, 'OSP also issued Morris a warning for taking the deer unlawfully.' Add to that going after a deer with a pellet gun, first as a method of preferred yard protection, and also as the way a 'lifelong hunter' would ensure an expert, quick and humane kill." ...

Second Amendment groups jump on anti-gun Democrat Yee � �hypocrite� charged with gun trafficking
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
Website: http://www.keepandbeararms.com/

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

"Gun rights groups are jumping on the federal corruption charges leveled at California Democratic State Senator Leland Yee of San Francisco, saying he represents a hypocritical gun safety advocate who appears to be have been involved in trafficking in firearms." ...

"... Criminal charges announced in San Francisco federal court Wednesday afternoon against anti-gun California State Sen. Leland Yee and several others shows the contemptible nature of the gun prohibition movement, because among the allegations is one that he was involved in a conspiracy to traffic firearms, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today." ...

Judge Rules ATF "Jumped the Gun"
Submitted by: Anonymous

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

"The ATF's methods, management, and merit appear to all be under close scrutiny by just about everyone these days." ...

"A U.S. District Judge in Washington has now joined the growing ranks of critics."

"U.S. District Judge John Bates has issued a ruling that says ATF 'jumped the gun' in classifying a device as a 'firearms silencer' without sufficient review. Bates is blistering in his criticism of the agency and its decision-making processes."

"'In any agency review case, a reviewing court is generally obligated to uphold a reasonable agency decision that is the product of a rational agency process,' U.S. District Judge John Bates writes."

"'This is not a high bar,' he continues, 'But in this case, ATF fails to clear it.'"

"Ouch." ...

FL: Woman Claims Police Forced Her To Poop In Yard
Submitted by: Anonymous

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

... "In the lawsuit, Brooks claims that officers refused to let her use the bathroom inside her home or in the officers� truck after she was led out in handcuffs."

"The officers reportedly 'told her to 'just use the restroom right there' in the front yard,' U.S. District Judge Roy Dalton Jr. wrote, Courthouse News Service reports."

"The lawsuit states that the officers laughed at her while she was changing into a plastic jumpsuit after going to the bathroom in her yard." ...

IL: Illinois Middle School Unapologetic about Teaching "Shall Be Infringed" Version of 2nd Amendment
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
Website: http://www.keepandbeararms.com/

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

"Grant Middle School, in Springfield, Illinois, has been under the gimlet eye of gun rights advocates of late ..." ...

"Saving the 'best' for last, we see that in this version of the Second Amendment, the ownership of the 'certain weapons' allowed to our docile, obedient, never-imprisoned citizens is conditional on them being registered. Now wait a second. Our nation's Founders 'included the amendment to prevent the United States from acting like the British who had tried to take weapons away from the colonist,' but were also content with private ownership of arms to be contingent on the government being provided with a 'go here for the gun confiscations' list?" ...

CA: Another anti-gun California lawmaker in legal trouble today
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
Website: http://www.keepandbeararms.com/

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

"Anti-gun California State Sen. Leland Yee was arrested Wednesday morning by federal authorities on suspicion of public corruption, according to breaking stories in the San Jose Mercury News, Sacramento Bee and other news agencies, making him the second high-profile Golden State gun control proponent to wind up in trouble in the past month."

"Charges against Yee, according to the criminal complaint, ironically include gun trafficking." ...

Surgeon General's authority over gun policy is beside the point
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
Website: http://www.keepandbeararms.com/

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

... "The point being (deliberately?) missed here is that the Surgeon General speaks with the federal government's voice on health issues (and even on what are dubiously claimed to be 'health issues'). Even without direct power to set policy, the Surgeon General is presumably thought to have some influence, else why have the position at all?"

"The next time Congress debates a proposed new gun law, how likely is it that an anti-gun lawmaker will not try to bolster his or her position by citing the Surgeon General's expressed support for the newest infringement on that which shall not be infringed?" ...

MI: Fatal self-defense shootings on rise in Detroit Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Criminals prowling for victims in Detroit are instead finding armed citizens willing to open fire. A northwest Detroit homeowner on Tuesday fatally shot two men he said were trying to break into his west-side house. If those shootings are ruled self-defense, they will bring to 10 the number of fatal self-defense shootings in the city since Jan. 1.

Voice of Russia: U.S. �Stand Your Ground� Brutality �Disguised as Self-Defense�
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

On March 26 2014 the Voice of Russia contended that U.S. �Stand Your Ground� laws �promote brutal murder�disguised as self defense.�
The proof? No less than �the groundbreaking incident between shooter George Zimmerman and now deceased Trayvon Martin.� According to the Voice of Russia, �Americans have been acting quite differently after the court ruled in Zimmerman�s favor, claiming that the �stand your ground� law protected him from being convicted of murder.�

FL: Warning Shots in Florida Would Be Legal Under State Gun Measure Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Florida lawmakers are preparing to allow gun owners who feel threatened to display their weapons to ward off attackers or even fire warning shots. The legislation, approved by the House of Representatives and set to be considered by the Senate as early as April 1, was proposed in response to the case of a woman sentenced to prison after firing into a wall during a domestic dispute.

Gun Control Victories Encourage Conservatives to Fight for Knife Rights
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

This week, the Tennessee General Assembly repealed the state's long-standing ban on switchblades, or, as their purveyors like to call them "automatic knives." It was one more victory for the nascent knife-rights movement, a push to legalize deadly blades that's occurring mostly out of the mainstream eye.

The bill also does away with a limit on the length of a knife�as well as preempts any city or town ordinance that regulates knives. It passed both houses overwhelmingly and likely will be signed into law by the state's Republican governor, Bill Haslam. (So watch yourself the next time you anger someone in a Nashville honky-tonk.)

Sweeping Ruling on Domestic Violence
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a broad interpretation of a federal law that makes it a crime for people convicted of domestic violence to possess guns.

The court refused to consider a challenge to the law based on the Second Amendment, saying that argument had received only a �cursory nod� in the briefs. Instead, the court considered the meaning of the term domestic violence, with the majority concluding that it encompassed acts �that one might not characterize as �violent� in a nondomestic context.�

The case concerned James A. Castleman, a Tennessee man who in 2001 was convicted of assault in state court for causing bodily injury to the mother of his child.

KY: Kentucky's self defense laws are complicated
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

When a grand jury decided not to indict a man originally arrested for assault and tampering with physical evidence, whose charges were later upgraded to murder after stabbing that resulted in the death of a 14-year-old on a TARC bus, it was due to Kentucky's laws regarding self defense. It's not the first time the law has been used in a high-profile murder case, but that doesn't make them any less complicated.

Interesting article by a gun control proponent about the American reality of gun politics
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

The article is by Paul Barrett (Business Week), author of �Glock: The Rise of America�s Gun.� I disagree with some aspects of it; for instance, saying that �we have traditional self-defense laws replaced by stand-your-ground� misses the fact that American tradition has long been split between duty-to-retreat and no-duty-to-retreat (nowadays sometimes called �stand-your-ground�). But on balance, the article struck me as quite sensible and realistic, and worth the attention both of gun control supporters (as the author seems to be) and gun control opponents.

How to Understand Georgia's 'Guns Everywhere' Law: Four Blunt Points
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

Georgia appears poised to enact a so-called guns-everywhere law, making it easier for firearm permit holders to take their weapons into bars, churches, and even airports. Approved last week by the state legislature, the bill awaits the signature of Republican Governor Nathan Deal, a strong gun-rights advocate up for reelection this fall. His opponent, Jason Carter, a Democratic state senator and grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, voted for the legislation, so enactment seems assured.

Non-gun owners doubtless find all this baffling. Here are four blunt points to sort out what�s going on and how to respond:

IN: Guns in school parking lots bill signed in Ind. Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Indiana's governor signed into law Wednesday a measure to allow adults to keep guns locked in their vehicles in school parking lots. Without the fanfare of a ceremony like he held for the signing of bills to cut business taxes and assist veterans, Gov. Mike Pence's quiet approval came over the opposition of several school organizations that raised concerns the move would compromise safety.

CO: Shotgun Willie�s boss to keep his word, run for Colo. governor
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

�It�s the old put up or shut up,� said Dunafon, who outlined his �60 for 60″ challenge to FOX31 Denver in February. �And I got caught in it.�

Dunafon has already surpassed 62,000 Facebook likes well ahead of his birthday on April 12.

�And we didn�t pay for any of them,� he said. �We could have, but if you do that, the message doesn�t resonate.�

So is Dunafon, a pro-Second Amendment, pro-gay marriage (he officiates a same-sex union in a video on his website) and pro-choice libertarian, doing this as a lark or planning on mounting a serious campaign?

The latter, he said.

PA: Love triangle shooter found not guilty of murder
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

Lumpkins and Meriweather had fought before that night, and Lumpkins had previously shown a knife. Meriweather told the jury that Lumpkins was threatening to kill him outside the bar, and it was too dark to see if he had a weapon.

Lumpkins� wife went to get into Meriweather�s car, and Lumpkins tried to stop her.

�Mr. Lumpkins followed his estranged wife to the passenger side of my client�s vehicle and attempted to forcefully remove her from the vehicle,� says Roy Galloway, Meriweather�s attorney. �At which time my client stated �back off.��

But Lumpkins didn�t stop, and Meriweather shot him in the chest, killing him. Meriweather then called 911 and cooperated with police.

CA: Federal appeals court upholds two strict San Francisco gun laws
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

A federal appeals court dealt a blow to the gun lobby on Tuesday by upholding two San Francisco gun laws requiring owners to securely store their weapons and regulating ammunition dealers.

Handgun owners in San Francisco currently must use trigger locks or secure weapons in a safe inside their homes when they are not carrying them. The restriction aims to prevent unauthorized users and children from accessing guns. Additionally, the city forbids licensed ammunition dealers from selling hollow-point bullets, which expand upon impact and can cause massive damage to the human body.

The Gun Report
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

More women are carrying concealed weapons than ever before. A quarter of the one million permits issued in Florida are held by women, many of whom are flooding concealed permit classes.

�It is over 50 percent (women) now taking our class, where it was maybe 10 percent a few years back,� Z Farhat, an employee at Green Acres Sporting Goods in Jacksonville, told First Coast News. Women cite personal safety as their chief reason for carrying. �All you have to do is sit down and watch the news and there�s a shooting almost every night or more,� said a businesswoman who did not want to be identified.

VA: Colonial Shooting Academy expanding to Virginia Beach
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

Colonial Shooting Academy in the West End is opening a second location in Virginia Beach. Operators say the expansion is due to a growing interest in firearms and training.

Whether learning to shoot for self defense, an experienced hunter, or a law officer, more people are training at Colonial Shooting Academy.

"If you come in as beginning shooter for the first time, you'll watch a safety video," said CEO Steve Satterwhite. "We'll make sure you understand how to be safe on the range."

TX: Grand Jury Declines To Indict In Deadly Road Rage Shooting
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

The Bell County Grand Jury declined Wednesday to return an indictment against a Temple man who was charged with murder after what police described as a road rage shooting that left a local wrecker driver dead on the side of a highway.

�The case was presented to this grand jury after an investigation from the Bell County Sheriff�s office as well as the District Attorney�s office, and the evidence was presented and after viewing the evidence presented to them the grand jury...declined to indict and issued a no bill in the case,� First Assistant District Attorney Murf Bledsoe said.

�The case had significant self-defense issues, he said.�

OH: Ohio man cleared in home-invasion shooting
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

An Ohio man has been cleared of wrongdoing for shooting a home-invasion suspect earlier this month.

A Lawrence County grand jury on Tuesday returned a no bill in the case involving Gary Carrico of Kitts Hill.

The panel�s decision to not indict Carrico means it found his shooting of Joseph F. Willis, 36, of Ashland, to be justified by reason of self-defense, according to Lawrence County Prosecutor Brigham Anderson.

AK: A convincing argument has yet to be made for allowing firearms on campuses
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

But that's one of the many places that Senate Bill 176 would allow a gun to be on University of Alaska campuses if approved in its original form. The bill, by Republican Sen. John Coghill, of North Pole, would overturn many University of Alaska restrictions on the possession of firearms on campus. People would be allowed to have them in dorms, classrooms, offices and numerous other places.

A subsequent revision in the bill to only prevent the university from barring the legal concealed carry of a firearm � while allowing some limitation on concealed carry in a dorm � still presents problems for the university.

FL: Gun control that doesn't infringe? Submitted by: Mark A. Taff Website: http://www.marktaff.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
I wrote a story in today's newspaper about an electronic gunfire detection system that Bradenton Police Chief Michael Radzilowski wants to use to monitor the most dangerous parts of his city - about four square miles that's responsible for 80 percent of the city's violent crime.

CA: State Sen. Leland Yee indicted on arms trafficking, corruption charges
Submitted by: Anonymous

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

Known for navigating the state Capitol's backrooms and this city's complicated political landscape, state Sen. Leland Yee now is accused of consorting with notorious felons, accepting money for his cash-strapped political campaigns in exchange for favors and promising undercover FBI agents he could deliver connections to international gun runners.
In a stunning development that almost certainly torpedoes Yee's quest for statewide office, the San Francisco Democrat wound up glum and disoriented in a federal courtroom Wednesday. The politician who introduced anti-gun-violence legislation is now charged with trafficking in firearms and public corruption in an FBI undercover operation that could land him in prison for years.

MN: Amended gun bill clears hurdle
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

With the expressed goal of stemming last year�s spike in domestic violence slayings, a House committee on Tuesday gave the nod to a bill that requires accused batterers who are under restraining orders � but not yet criminally convicted � to surrender their firearms and ammunition.

The proposal mirrors an existing federal law referred to as the Wellstone Amendment, a reference to the late senator�s best-known contribution to the 1994 Violence Against Women Act.

WV: Bill signed by Governor strikes down city gun bans; Mayor vows to fight
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

There are no comments on this story
Post Comments | Read Comments

A bill that eliminates city ordinances on carrying and selling firearms was signed into law by West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin Tuesday over the objections of Charleston�s mayor.

Designated as Senate Bill 317, the act would require cities in the state to scrub local restrictive anti-gun laws from their books. The bill was widely received in the State Senate, where it passed unanimously, before soaring through the State House of Delegates by a 92-5 vote.

�This evening, I signed Senate Bill 317 because I support our 2nd Amendment rights, and I also see the need for uniform and consistent gun laws throughout the state,� Tomblin said in a statement.