Stearns Goes on Offensive with Nationwide Reciprocity Bill: Saying Americans need a "fighting chance" to confront outlaws in a violent society, U.S. Rep Cliff Stearns has gone on the offensive to promote his bill to allow concealed-weapons permit-holders to cross state lines without fear of having their constitutional rights curtailed by another state's laws. In an op-ed that appeared Monday on the Web site of the conservative publication Human Events [http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=30405], the Ocala Republican championed his measure as a way to enhance public safety as well as counteract liberal anti-gun activists whose policies he believes seek to undermine the Second Amendment protections afforded to gun owners... One supporter of the Stearns-Boucher bill described it as the missing link in American's gun policy. John M. Snyder, public affairs director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, in a statement urging more members of Congress to sign on to the measure, noted that "gun grabbers slather at the potential for passing restrictive gun control legislation" with Democrats in control of both the White House and Congress... (I remain squeamish about giving the feds a chance, with subsequent amendments, to set standards for issuance of permits.) http://www.ocala.com/article/20090126/ARTICLES/901260255 --- That Should Clinch It: Attorney General nominee Eric Holder Jr. has enjoyed support during his confirmation process from civil rights organizations, law enforcement, and even prominent Republican lawyers. Add one more name to the list: singer and actress Barbra Streisand. Streisand, an active and proud liberal, lent her name to an e-mail sent today to supporters of People for the American Way. In the e-mail, she praises Holder's experience as a judge, prosecutor, and deputy attorney general, and she criticizes Senate Republicans for throwing obstacles in Holder's path... The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Holder's nomination Wednesday... http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/01/in-fundraising-letter-streisand-backs-holder-confirmation.html --- The Gillibrand Conundrum: Proponents of "gun control" are screaming bloody murder over Democratic New York Governor David Paterson's appointment of little known Kirsten Gillibrand to replace Hillary Clinton in the United States Senate. Now get this: The NRA gives Democrat Congresswoman Gillibrand an "A" for her anti "gun control" stances. This is weird. Why? Because Governor Paterson has been given an "F" for his "gun control" stances by the same group. Additionally, insiders report that New York Senator Charles Schumer, of all people, was Gillibrand's staunchest advocate! Weird upon weird, I say. In case you didn't know, Senator Charles Schumer is arguably the most notorious (reviled?) anti gun ownership advocate in the history of American politics, and is ranked at least an "F triple minus" by every pro gun ownership organization. So how do you explain Schumer's advocacy of Gillibrand to Paterson? Seriously, what the heck is going on here? ... http://www.jpfo.org/kirby/kirby-wrong-picture.htm From CCRKBA: The hysteria-laden reaction from members of her own party to last week's appointment of New York Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton proves that Democrats are still the party of gun control, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today. "Kirsten Gillibrand gets high marks from the ACLU and from the Americans for Democratic Action," noted CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "She supports abortion rights, stem cell research and health care protection for children - all hot button issues for Democrats - but because she supports gun rights, members of her own party have chosen to excoriate her and Gov. David Patterson. Well, so much for being the party of tolerance and inclusion. "Where does it say that gun owners in New York State should be deprived of a voice in the Senate Democratic Caucus," Gottlieb wondered. "Gillibrand recently said she believes there can be much common ground between those who protect gun rights and those who believe in gun control. Isn't that the same thing that the extremists at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence have been claiming? Isn't that the same philosophy that gun control zealots on Capitol Hill have expressed in the past? "The difference," he continued, "is that Gillibrand has a 100-percent rating from the NRA, while too many of her fellow Democrats have made careers out of giving only lip service to the Second Amendment. "What this controversy really proves," Gottlieb stated, "is that too many Democrats remain devoted to crushing gun rights, and they will even stoop to attacking and demonizing a rising star of their own party to further their agenda. This is not the party of 'change' that so many Americans supported in November. It is apparently a party of narrow views with no tolerance for different opinions, especially if those opinions support the rights of millions of law-abiding American firearms owners." --- Oops, Wrong Ex-Girlfriend: A restraining order didn't keep a woman's ex-boyfriend from breaking into her home this morning, where she shot him. Wounded and in handcuffs, 32-year-old Jeffery Seats was taken first to Wishard Hospital, then to jail. "She's got a right to protect herself and her children and he forced his way in there, so she shot him," said IMPD Lt. Jeff Duhammel. Around 11:30 Sunday morning, police say Seats kicked in his ex-girlfriend's door at the Cold Springs Manor apartment complex. He grabbed her and hit her with a chair, all in the presence of their two young children. "She gets away from him, goes upstairs, grabs a gun and then, either he was pursuing her upstairs but she fired a shot, just graze wounds on his head. That's when he takes off," Lt. Duhammel said... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28854994/ --- Oops, Wrong Store: An employee at a South Side convenience store shot and killed one of two men trying to rob the store Monday and was himself wounded in the brief shootout, police said. Two men walked into the Grand Market, in the 6200 block of South Sixth Avenue, sometime before 5:30 p.m., said Sgt. Mark Robinson, a Tucson Police Department spokesman. They shot at an employee, a man in his early 50s, who fired back, Robinson said. The employee shot one of the would-be-robbers, an 18-year-old, who ran outside into the parking lot where he collapsed and died. The other robber ran away, and police are still looking for him, Robinson said. The employee was also shot. He was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Robinson said... http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/277607 --- Guns and Ammo as a Hedge Investment: ...One answer to that question is to consider investing a portion of your portfolio in firearms - and I don't mean just buying a revolver to keep on your nightstand to protect the wad of green paper under your mattress. I mean buying and holding firearms and ammunition that you anticipate will go up in price over the coming months and years. There are several economic and political reasons why firearms can be reasonably expected to increase in price, and thus ought to make up a portion of your investment portfolio... (Personally, I find it difficult to sell a firearm once I have acquired it. Anyone planning to invest in Mosin-Nagants is advised to invest in plenty of ammunition for them as well.) http://www.lewrockwell.com/crovelli/crovelli22.html --- This is a relatively short mailing today because of an apparent glitch at KeepAndBearArms.com, the principal source for the news links I share with you. This is why I have always shared KABA's fundraising appeals with the list - I normally find it an invaluable resource. https://www.keepandbeararms.com/custaccount/default.asp? -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .