Editorial

Though the news is unquestionably positive on the national legislative scene, theres still a lot of hooey on the state beat.

You may remember when the federal assault- weapons ban expired last September, Sarah Brady claimed that the streets would be filled with AK-47s and Uzis. Of course, nothing like that happened.

What has happened is this: The bans expiration has showed how useless the law was.

Researcher John Lott Jr. has repeatedly said that not a single published academic study has ever shown that these bans have reduced any type of violent crime.

Gun owners knew the phrase assault weapon was bogus, that the rapid-fire machine guns used by the military were never in s...

A Tale of Two Gun Bans
Virginia Tech officials have banned guns on campus - even for concealed-carry holders eligible to wear guns elsewhere in the state - and has threatened to arrest anyone who refuses to disarm or leave campus.

The gun ban would clearly prohibit holders of concealed weapons permits from carrying firearms on campus. Earlier this spring, Tech came under heavy criticism from gun owners rights groups for disciplining a student who carried a concealed handgun to class.

The student had a state-issued permit to carry a concealed weapon. However, university officials argued that the schools decades-old gun ban supersedes the permit. Even more confusing, Tech...

The 2nd Guarantees The 1st
In a mid-May interview, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the constitutional right of Americans to own guns is as important as their rights to free speech and religion.

In an interview on CNNs Larry King Live, Rice said she came to that view from personal experience. She said her father, a black minister, and his friends armed themselves to defend the black community in Birmingham against the White Knight Riders in 1962 and 1963. She said if local authorities had had lists of registered weapons, she did not think her father and other blacks would have been able to defend themselves.

I also dont think we get to pick and choose from th...

Meet NRAs New President
The face of the NRA has changed from Moses to that of a lawyer - a shift particularly appropriate for our times. Sandra S. Froman was sworn in as the gun groups president in April, taking the chair once held by Charlton Heston, probably the NRAs best-known president. But she takes over most recently for Kayne Robinson, who has served since 2003. Her term is expected to last two years.

Froman, 55, who earned a bachelors degree in economics from Stanford and a law degree from Harvard, is a business and employment litigator in Tucson. Shes been on the NRA board since 1992 and was encouraged to run for the board by Bob Corbin, former attorney gener...

CONCEALED CARRY NAMES
One of my favorite Texas legislators, State Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp, R-Lampasas, doesnt think Texans should have to disclose that they are carrying a concealed handgun. So she introduced House Bill 318, which would prevent public disclosure of the names of people who hold concealed handgun licenses.

The bill passed the Texas House of Representatives in March by a 113-30 vote. The bill, similar to one passed by the House in 2003, deletes the requirement that the Texas Department of Public Safety must release the identity of a license holder to the public.

Hupp, whose family was murdered by a gunman in a Lubys restaurant in Killeen more than a dec...

Gun News
Arizona legislators have come up with a plan to legalize loaded weapons in places that serve alcohol. Senate Bill 1363 breezed through the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 5-2 vote and appears headed toward a promising future in the full Senate and House.

Downside: Arizonans would have to avoid drinking an alcoholic beverage while carrying the loaded weapon. The measure would apply to restaurants, bars and nightclubs that served alcohol. The measure fell one vote short of passage last year.

The reasoning behind the measure? Law-abiding gun owners should be able to dine in restaurants without leaving their weapons at home or in the car, where they are useless for...

News reports have said a bodyguard who was once assigned to protect anti-gun film director Michael Moore was arrested by New York Port Authority Police in January.

Michael Moore is certainly no friend of gun owners, but this episode also shows him to be hypocrite. He actively campaigns against gun ownership, but he has retained an armed bodyguard - see entry under Rosie ODonnell.

But in this case, it wouldnt be Moore who would be put at risk. Bodyguard Patrick Burk was reportedly arrested at JFK International Airport when he declared a pistol in his baggage at the ticket counter, as required by law. New York authorities routinely arrest nonresident travelers who do not have a New...

BE THANKFUL YOU DONT LIVE IN D.C.

Gun owners across the county often grouse about how difficult it for them to own firearms in certain jurisdictions - or impossible in others.Certainly, one of the worst gun-rights offenders is the District of Columbia. There, sportsmen are liable to be arrested and imprisoned, no questions asked, merely for owning a gun.

There are cases in which firemen responding to fires have found unloaded rifles or shotguns in private homes. The owners have been threatened with prosecution. There are other cases where homeowners have kept hidden firearms for protection against intruders, and when they used the weapons, they were prosecuted for more...

The Lead Boogeyman
There were 20 million metric tons of lead bullets fired in the United States in the 20th century. Is that lead having an environmental impact? Not according to research done by Virginia Tech geological scientists.

Analyzing samples from a U.S. Forest Service firing range near Blacksburg, Virginia, Donald Rimstidt, a professor in the Department of Geosciences at Virginia Tech, and other researchers found very little lead damage to the environment. This is a big issue for gun owners, who face opposition from environmentalists over lead deposits. There are 9,000 nonmilitary shooting ranges and a lot of military ones in the United States. Some 60,000 metric to...

[IMGCAP(1)]In this space, I usually stick with discussions of politics or gun ownership that apply to broad audiences. This month is a departure from that formula, because of the unique nature of a stolen gun thats just come to light. That this priceless gun is one of a kind isnt so newsworthy; expensive firearms are stolen from individuals every day, here and abroad. No, this gun was stolen from a manufacturer, which itself is curious. And that the thief cherry-picked this specific item from among thousands is confounding as well. Heres the full story:

SIGARMS Inc. is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the individuals responsible for the theft and the...

Gun Tests reader Ben Shaw of Clarke County, Alabama, wrote me the day after the Clinton Gun Ban expired. His comments on the ban, the banners, and various talking heads on television parallel my own. I think youll enjoy reading what he had to say.

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The reason that gun experts laugh at these anti-gun legislators and lobbyists is that they do not know anything about firearms. An example: One of the features that was banned as causing a rifle to be an Assault Weapon was a bayonet lug. Will anyone please tell me when a bayonet mounted on a rifle was used in a crime?

How does one detect these ignorant anti-gun legislators and lobbyists? By knowing the proper terminology,...

JOHN KERRYS GUN-VOTING RECORD

According to the National Rifle Associations Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), John F. Kerrys voting record makes him the most anti-gun presidential nominee in United States history. NRA records show that since his election to the U.S. Senate in 1984, Kerry has cast 59 votes (NRA did not score 4 of them) on issues involving firearms rights and hunting.

In addition, Kerry currently is a co-sponsor of S. 1431, which would ban all semi-automatic shotguns, all detachable-magazine semi-automatic rifles and many other guns, calling the whole lot assault weapons.

In a 20-year career, Kerry has voted on nine separate occasions on issues...