Gun Rights and Privacy

Connecticut lawmaker wants names of gun owners to be made public
Excerpt:

Lawmakers in Connecticut – still stunned from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting – are moving forward with legislation that could make public the names and addresses of 170,000 handgun permit holders in the state.

The measure, introduced by state Rep. Stephen Dargan, is the latest effort to clamp down on guns in Connecticut. If passed, the bill would reverse a 20-year decision by state lawmakers to keep the personal information confidential. The legislation would make the information fair game under the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

Dargan told FoxNews.com on Friday the measure was not intended to pit gun control activists and pro-gun groups against each other. Instead, it’s “to get a broader discussion going on gun issues and mental health in the state.” Critics say being able to obtain the names and addresses of gun permit holders is an invasion of privacy, but others argue that people in the community have the right to know who owns a gun and who does not 

Comment: Just at the proposal stage now. To make this data public would be a gross invasion of privacy! What's next ... make one's income and investments public?!

Fort Hood shooter: Blame the gun?

Chicago Mayor Daley blamed the Ft. Hood Jihad Massacre on America’s love of guns!

Excerpt:

“Unfortunately, America loves Guns. We love guns to a point where that uh we see devastation on a daily basis. You don’t blame a group.”

Comment: See earlier post.

Continued:

Mayor Daley, and other politicians, like to blame gun violence on the guns themselves because that is so much easier than admitting any inconvenient (politically incorrect) truths which might be revealed if they were to place blame where it belongs.

Kids murdering each other in the inner city? That’s because of guns, not the War On Drugs which turns poor children into black market drug distributing gang members.

Islamists murdering people while shouting Allah Akbar? That’s because of guns, not the Jihad being perpetrated globally against all so called “infidels”.

They blame guns because guns don’t vote.

Taking Mayor Daley at face value for a moment, is he seriously arguing for increased gun control on a military base? If there had been more guns around, this ticking Jihad bomb could have been put down a lot faster than he was.

Some valid questions:

• Why didn't the military (or the FBI / CIA) zero in on this guy since they were aware of his radical muslim leanings? (see below)
  
• Why was he permitted to bring loaded weapons into an area like this?
  

Officials: U.S. Army Told of Hasan's Contacts with al Qaeda

U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan was attempting to make contact with an individual associated with al Qaeda, two American officials briefed on classified material in the case told ABC News.

According to the officials, the Army was informed of Hasan's contact, but it is unclear what, if anything, the Army did in response.

Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said that he requested the CIA and other intelligence agencies brief the committee on what was known, if anything, about Hasan by the U.S. intelligence community, only to be refused.

Check out this article: in 2007 Hasan Warned Army of "Adverse Events" if Muslims Not Released. View his 50 page presentation!

On a page of "comments" in the presentation, Hasan wrote "We love life death more then (sic) you love life!"

He warned that "If Muslim groups can convince Muslims that they are fighting for God against injustices of the "infidels"; i.e. enemies of Islam, then Muslims can become a potent adversary i.e.: suicide bombing etc."

Updated:

Pentagon Didn't Learn About Alleged Fort Hood Shooter's Ties to Extremist

The Pentagon said it wasn't notified that U.S. intelligence agencies had intercepted emails between suspected Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan and an extremist imam until after last week's bloody assault, fueling new questions about whether the government missed warning signs that could have helped prevent the incident.

A senior defense official said that federal investigators didn't tell the Pentagon that they were investigating months of communication between Maj. Hasan and Anwar al-Awlaki, who knew three of the Sept. 11 hijackers and hailed Maj. Hasan as a "hero" after the Army officer allegedly killed 13 people and wounded 29 others at Fort Hood.

"Based on what we know now, neither the United States Army nor any other organization within the Department of Defense knew of Maj. Hasan's contacts with any Muslim extremists," the official said. "Not until after the tragic shooting at Fort Hood last week were Maj. Hasan's email communications first brought to our attention by federal investigators."

Obama AG wants your gun data!

Attorney General Eric Holder voices concerns about current rules on gun-buy records

Excerpt:

The Obama administration may seek to reduce legal limits on sharing gun-purchase data, Attorney General Eric Holder told Congress Thursday.

Holder said at a congressional hearing that the so-called Tiahrt amendment — the subject of a years-long fight between opponents and supporters of gun control — may limit evidence-sharing by state and local authorities.

"We are concerned about the impact the amendment has had on the ability to share information that is needed by state and local authorities," Holder said, though he added he wanted to make sure that increased information-sharing does "not put anybody at risk."

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a national gun control advocate, has long urged Congress to abolish the Tiahrt amendment. Gun rights advocates say the legislation only prevents frivolous lawsuits against gunmakers, and the further spread of such information may compromise police investigations.

Comment: The "Tiahrt Amendment" on Firearms Traces: Protecting Gun Owners' Privacy and Law Enforcement Safety

For more than five years, cities suing the gun industry and anti-gun organizations have sought access to confidential law enforcement data on firearms traces. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) compiles these records when it traces firearms in response to requests from law enforcement agencies.

Every year since 2003, the U.S. Congress has passed increasingly strong language to keep this information confidential. The legislation—a series of "riders" to the appropriations bill that funds BATFE—is widely known as the "Tiahrt Amendment," after its sponsor, Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.).

Man stopped for not disobeying the law!

Police Stop Man For Carrying Gun Out In Open

Excerpt:

As WISN 12 News was interviewing a West Allis man about his past arrest for carrying a gun in the open, police confronted him again Tuesday night -- one day after the state's attorney general ruled it's legal.

"Somebody called the police that somebody was walking around with a gun on their hip," a West Allis police officer said.

"I would fit that description," Krause said.

"That would be you," a West Allis police officer said.

Police arrived up to investigate Krause while 12 News was interviewing him about his previous arrest for carrying a holstered gun on his hip outside his home. One officer saw Krause's gun and asked what agency he's affiliated with.

"I'm the same guy I was when you arrested me the last time," Krause said.

The officers asked for his name and called dispatch.

"The reason I'm checking is because felons can't have guns in Wisconsin," West Allis police said.

Krause is not a felon. He's a certified firearms instructor.

"Pretty much any time my pants are on, I'm armed," Krause said.

That includes carrying a gun outside his home as Wisconsin's attorney general has ruled is legal.

Comment: Video w the article

D.C. defies Heller ruling

Excuse Me While I Get My Gun: Washington, D.C., defies the Supreme Court's Second Amendment ruling


Excerpt:

Under D.C. law, "machine guns" include not only guns that fire continuously but also guns that fire once per trigger pull if they can fire more than 12 rounds without reloading or "can be readily converted" to do so. According to the District's interpretation, even a pistol that fires 12 or fewer rounds counts as a "machine gun" if it could accept a bigger magazine.

That's why Dick Heller, the man who successfully challenged D.C.'s handgun ban, was not allowed to register his seven-shot .45-caliber pistol, which in the District's view might as well be an Uzi. Instead he applied to register a .22-caliber revolver.

Speaking of registration, the District has established a burdensome 12-step process that involves multiple trips to gun dealers and government offices, fingerprinting, a written exam, and ballistic testing. How long does all this take? "Up to 14 days," according to one police department publication. "Approximately eight weeks," according to another. "There are circumstances where it could take months," says Police Chief Cathy Lanier.

Registration easily could turn out to be so onerous or capricious that it effectively denies D.C. residents the right to keep and bear arms. The District's revised firearm storage requirements are even more clearly unconstitutional, since they unreasonably interfere with the very function, self-defense in the home, that the Supreme Court said is protected by the Second Amendment. Likewise the arbitrary ban on semiautomatic handguns, the most commonly used self-defense weapons.

"I am pretty confident that the people of the District of Columbia want me to err in the direction of trying to restrict guns," D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty told Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher.

HT: BikeBubba

Support James William Spiers - Boycott Pizza Hut

Support pours in for pizza driver

Excerpt:

A Des Moines pizza delivery driver who was suspended after he shot an alleged armed robber last week said Tuesday that he has been overwhelmed by support from people who cheered what happened.

"But no one had contacted me directly about a job offer," said James William Spiers III, 38, who was suspended by Pizza Hut after he fired multiple shots at a man who allegedly put a gun to his head Thursday and demanded money at the Sutton Hill Apartments, 2100 S.E. King Ave.

Comment: Dominos or Papa Murphys ... here I come!