ThinkingAfield.org

Another mass murder in a Gun-Free Zone.

Maybe it’s time we start educating people better. I mean look at how many graduate from high school without being able to read. In Detroit alone, 47 percent are functionally illiterate when graduating.

If they can’t read the signs posted at Gun-Free Zones, how can we expect them to comply?

John Lott hits the nail on the head in his post at Fox News. See it by clicking on the title.

“Coon Man” Glemie Beasley of Detroit sells racoon meat to supplement his income. And, just so his customers don’t confuse the table fare with other meat, he leaves the paws on.

Click on the title for the Detroit News story.

NEWTOWN, Conn. — Firearm sales continued to surge across the country for the fifth straight month, extending a trend that began after the November elections. The increase also follows recent comments by several high-profile members of the Obama administration about re-imposing permanently and expanding the ban on modern sporting rifles.

Data from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) show background checks on the sale of firearms jumped 29.2 percent in March when compared to March 2008 and were up 27.1 percent for the first quarter of 2009 over the same quarter last year.

The increase follows a 23 percent rise in February, a 28 percent rise in January, a 24 percent rise in December and a 42 percent jump in November, when a record 1,529,635 background checks were performed.

FBI background checks are required under federal law for all individuals purchasing firearms from federally licensed retailers. These checks serve as a strong indicator of actual sales.

Correspondingly, ammunition manufacturers are reporting record sales across the country as demand continues to outpace supply.

“Americans concerned about their ability to purchase many types of home defense, hunting and target shooting firearms in the future are continuing to purchase these products in record numbers today,” said NSSF President Steve Sanetti. “Along with this strong sales showing, we’ve also seen increased participation in firearm safety and education programs such as NSSF First Shots.”

NICS reported 1,345,096 checks in March, up from 1,040,863 in the same month a year ago.

While PETA appears to promote kindness toward animals, its record speaks volumes to the contrary. A new appeal to end its tax-exempt status is under way and can be found by clicking on the title.

EXCLUSIVE: You’ve heard this shocking “fact” before — on TV and radio, in newspapers, on the Internet and from the highest politicians in the land: 90 percent of the weapons used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States.

Click on the title for the Fox News story or better yet check out my post “The Mexican Gun Connection” posted March 3, 2009 for an insider’s perspective.

With brains like Phil Mendelson on the city council, it’s no wonder D.C. acts like a third-world country. His March 22 Washington Post column slams congressmen who want to make D.C. a voting member if it will honor the Second Amendment.

Mendelson thinks D.C. residents deserve a vote in Congress, but not a firearm in their homes.

Why? Click on the title; you won’t believe Mendelson’s “logic.”

SARNIA, Ont. – Police received a report that a coyote had “barked” at a jogger and they swung into action. Although the police did not know it at the time, coyote decoys had been placed in the park to scare off troublesome Canada geese. It has not been reported if the geese fell for the trick.

The story can be found by clicking on the title.

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Attorney General Eric Holder, seeking an injunction against enforcement of a federal law that makes it impossible for American citizens who reside outside the United States to purchase firearms while they are in this country.

SAF is joined by two natural-born citizens, Maxwell Hodgkins and Stephen Dearth, who have been denied the opportunity to buy firearms because they do not currently reside in the United States. Hodgkins currently lives in the United Kingdom, and Dearth is a resident of Canada.

The lawsuit alleges that Holder, as attorney general, is enforcing unconstitutional laws that prevent citizens like Hodgkins and Dearth from exercising their Second Amendment rights. The complaint also asserts that enforcement of the federal gun laws that prevent such citizens from purchasing firearms when they visit the U.S. violates their right of equal protection under the Fifth Amendment. The plaintiffs are represented by Virginia attorney Alan Gura, who successfully argued the Heller case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“This is what happens when anti-gunners rush to pass a restrictive gun law that ignores the constitutional rights of law-abiding American citizens who happen to be living abroad,” said SAF founder Alan Gottlieb. “Honest Americans who live in other countries for a variety of reasons should not be denied their Second or Fifth Amendment rights when they return to American soil. Hodgkins and Dearth, and many others just like them, are victims of anti-gun rights zeal.

“Such citizens have every right to obtain and own firearms for a variety of reasons, whether to hunt, or for personal protection, target shooting or competition,” he continued. “Hodgkins, Dearth and other non-resident citizens want to keep their firearms here for use when the come home. However, current federal law makes it impossible for them to exercise their rights like any other citizen. It is fundamentally wrong to penalize American citizens for living overseas.”

National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Bill (H.R. 197).

This legislation would protect the rights of licensed firearm permit holders by allowing them to carry firearms across the country without a confusing patchwork system.

The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Bill recognizes that those who have a valid state-issued concealed firearms permit should not have to forfeit their safety when traveling. Not only does this bill protect the rights of concealed firearm permit holders, it also maintains the right of states to issue concealed weapons permits as they desire. As a mobile society, legal firearm permit carriers should be able to travel from state to state and exercise their fundamental right to self [UTF-8?]defense—this legislation ensures that.

Specifically, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Bill would allow any person with a valid concealed firearm carrying permit or license, issued by a state, to carry a concealed firearm in any state, as follows:

In states that issue concealed firearm permits, a [UTF-8?]state’s laws governing where concealed firearms may be carried would apply within its borders.
In states that do not issue carry permits, a federal “bright-line” standard would permit carrying in places other than police stations; courthouses; public polling places; meetings of state, county, or municipal governing bodies; schools; passenger areas of airports; and certain other locations.
The bill applies to D.C., Puerto Rico and U.S. territories.
It would not create a federal licensing system; it would require the states to recognize each [UTF-8?]others’ carry permits, just as they recognize [UTF-8?]drivers’ licenses and carry permits held by armored car guard

View H.R. 197 at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas

H.R. 197 has 55 Co-sponsors:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR00197:@@@P

If your Congress Critter is not on the list of co-sponsors, you might want to email them and request that they co-sponsor the bill and / or vote in favor of it if and when it comes to the floor. The more co-sponsors a Bill has, the better chance of it coming to the floor for a vote.

Ideally, each State would pass their own amendment to their Right-to-Carry law and recognize other State’s permits.

On Thursday, March 19, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. granted anti-gun plaintiffs a preliminary injunction against implementation of the new rule allowing law-abiding citizens to defend themselves by carrying a concealed firearm in national parks and wildlife refuges.

In Thursday’s ruling, Federal District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued the preliminary injunction against the Department of the Interior rule that took effect on January 9, 2009. The revised rule allowed individuals to carry concealed firearms for self-defense in national parks and national wildlife refuges located in states that allow the carrying of concealed firearms.

Today, NRA filed a notice of appeal in Federal District Court to oppose the preliminary injunction.