Bank of America has now arbitrarily decided, like Citibank before it, that it will not provide merchant services to any firearm-related business. Citibank finally rescinded that stupid tyranny after half the people in this country raised hell and threatened to close their accounts and the same groundswell of opinion must be brought to bear against Bank of America.
Here are hotlinks to some of the best and most recent research on
gun control and crime control from the nation's leading think tanks.
Gun Control and Crime Control
Public Health and Gun Control
Miguel A. Faria, Jr., MD
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
Spring 2001, 3pp.
Request document #1328102
http://www.heartland.org/PDF/13281b.pdf
Firearm Registration & the Slippery Slope in Canada
Gary Mauser
Fraser Institute, March 2001, 3pp.
Request document #1328103
http://www.heartland.org/PDF/13281c.pdf
The Gun Show Loophole
H. Sterling Burnett
National Center for Policy Analysis
February 2001, 2pp.
Request document #1328101
http://www.heartland.org/PDF/13281a.pdf
Texas Exile: Gun Crime Means Hard Time
Hon. John Cornyn (Attorney General, Texas)
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Fall, 2000
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Request document #1328134
http://www.heartland.org/PDF/1328bh.pdf
---------------------------
These four documents available as PDF files on Heartland's Web site or by fax from PolicyFax represent the best, most current thinking on the subject, and just a few of the 7,000 documents from 300 organizations available through Heartland.
You will need Adoble Acrobat Reader software--a free and easy-to-use program--to access these files. It is available at
http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html#reader. (AOL users must paste the URL into the keyword or browser window.)
I recently went looking for a single, electronic version of the current Utah State Constitution. I was not able to find one, so I went ahead and created one from the web pages at the state legislative site.
I now have the document in 3 formats:
1-MS Word 2000 with a full table of contents listing each article and section.
2-An HTML format which is just the MS Word 2000 auto convert. The table of contents converted to links to the referenced section.
3-An iSilo version for handheld Palm type devices. This was an auto convert from the previous HTML format and is a single, LONG page with the links intact. iSilo is required to read this version.
If anyone would like a copy of these, either for their own use or to put on a web page somewhere, let me know and I'll email them to you. I believe they are accurate, but if anyone is willing to look them over and make sure I've not missed any sections (some section numbers look to be unused on the State web page) that would be great.
The files are large, 380KB, 600KB, and 51KB, respectively for the 3 formats. The MS doc is 52 pages including about 6 pages for the table of contents. Due to the size, I will not post any of the files to the list. Let me know individually if you'd like one or if you happen to know of a nicely formatted version somewhere on the web already.
"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun. Not at the head, where a fatal wound might result. But at some other body part, such as a leg." ~~ The Dalai Lama, (May 15, 2001, The Seattle Times) speaking at the "Educating Heart Summit" in Portland, Oregon, when asked by a girl how to react when a shooter takes aim at aclassmate.
We often hear politicians saying that political "threats" do not influence them.
(And certainly we should never say or do ANYTHING that could be perceived as a threat. Simply letting politicians know that their vote on a given bill is very important to you is generally all that should be done.)
But don't believe them for one second if they try to insinuate in any way, shape, or form, that they don't care about how their votes will affect their political future. Politicians live for job security in a way that makes your typical engineer look like a fanatical risk taker.
And you don't have to take my word for it. They WILL admit the truth, in round about ways, when they think it serves their purposes. Check out the quote below from today's SLTrib article on Utah playing host to the NRA convention in 2007.
As an asside, I should say that--excepting their gun safety and other training material--I have serious questions as to whether the NRA and USSC do more harm or good when it comes to guns. Also, the full article contains some factual errors concerning Utah's laws on open carry. Please do not commit a crime or get yourself shot by some nervous urban cop based on a reporters misunderstanding/misreporting or Utah's laws and/or misuse of words that have different meanings in their common vs their legal usage.
Full article at: <http://www.sltrib.com/05172001/utah/98051.htm>.
Quote of interest showing that job security is the prime motivator for politicians. Make it clear (through election results, NOT threats) that voting the wrong way on your issue will cost them their seats, and politicians will stop voting against you--either because you've replaced them with someone else, or because they don't want to be replaced. Back room deals that allow politicians to vote against you, or to not vote at all, or claim they voted for you while also telling your foes that they voted for them are not necessary and are not effective.
Here's the quote taken from near the bottom of the article:
==========
Former state Rep. Dave Jones blames the NRA for the defeat of his bills that would have kept guns out of churches and schools, made gun owners liable for negligent storage and required background checks at gun shows.
"Republicans are intimidated by NRA membership," Jones says. "A member of the Republican leadership told me that if he had voted for one of my bills, the NRA people in his district would run another candidate against him from his own party."
====
There you have it from the donkey's mouth. A very bad bill failed NOT because of back room deals, NOT because legislators phillosophically agree with us, NOT because we are nice people and they really like us, NOT because the hate anti-gunners and wanted to get even with them. It failed because elected officials believed (accurately in this case) that to vote for that bill would make their re-election VERY difficult.
This is the single most important lesson we can learn and re-learn and remember.
Subject: A second lesson illustrated in NRA article
Date: 17 May 2001 14:52:44 -0400 (EDT)
There is a second important political lesson illustrated in the SLTrib story about the NRA coming to Utah. <http://www.sltrib.com/05172001/utah/98051.htm>
This one is "pick your battles wisely." From the article:
"The Legislature jumped into the gun law fray in 1994 after Salt Lake City, West Valley City and Murray passed gun control ordinances that included waiting periods and background checks for gun buyers that went beyond federal and state requirements. Salt Lake City's ordinance was challenged, but a judge upheld the city's right to pass its own gun laws.
"Rather than appeal, firearm devotees flocked to the Legislature.
"In the final minutes of the 1994 legislative session, lawmakers
appointed a weapons task force. The task force recommended that cities and towns be prohibited from passing ordinances stricter than state law. Lawmakers obliged the next year, wiping out tougher city gun ordinances. "
Now, at the time, one may have said the pro-gun forces should have appealed the decision, that by failing to do so, they "abandoned the field to their enemies." Monday afternoon quaterbacking is easy, but I don't think it is a stretch to suggest that turning to the legislature was a better use of time and money and effort than pursuing the case via the courts.
As a result of that battle choosen wisely, today we do not have to worry about what every city or county in the State might try to do with our RKBA. We have been able to concentrate efforts on the State and federal levels.
Obviously, best opinions will vary as to which battles need to be fought and which can be let go. But, lacking infinate resources, it is clear that we cannot engage in every possible battle every year. Thus, we need to pick our battles wisely.
Some must be waged to prevent major ills from taking effect. Others can and should be waged either bacause they can be won, or because even in losing we can gain strategic advantage (such as getting a clear vote that can then be used to expose bad politicians' ACTIONS despite their WORDS during campaign season and thus replacing them). But there will always be things that simply cannot be done with available resources.
Please note the divergence of some elected officials' words and actions noted in the post. It is this kind of divergence we need to remember at election time. As importantly, we need to make sure our elected officials are reminded that we do and will remember their actions and ignore their words come next election.
====================
GOUtah!
Gun Owners of Utah
Utah's Uncompromising, Independent Gun Rights Network.
No Compromise. No Retreat. No Surrender. Not Now. Not Ever.
GOUtah! Website: http://www.goutah.org
Free Subscription to GOUtah! e-mail Alerts:
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To receive GOUtah! Alerts free of charge via fax, send a fax to: (801)
944-9937 (Note: Fax Alerts are sometimes transmitted late at night, so you'
ll need a fax system that doesn't make your home telephone ring)
___________________________
GOUtah! Alert #85 - 18 May 2001
Today's Maxim of Liberty:
"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to
shoot back with your own gun. Not at the head, where a fatal wound might
result. But at some other body part, such as a leg."
-- The Dalai Lama, speaking at the "Educating Heart Summit" in Portland,
Oregon, when asked by a girl how to react when a shooter takes aim at a
classmate. (May 15, 2001, The Seattle Times)
NRA TO HOLD 2007 ANNUAL MEETINGS IN UTAH
The National Rifle Association announced it will hold their 2007 Annual
Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. Salt Lake City, also site of the 1992 NRA
Meetings, was selected based on location, suitable convention and exhibit
facilities and state firearms laws. The annual event often draws 40,000 to
50,000 NRA members to the exhibit and member activities.
NRA Annual Meetings are currently scheduled for Kansas City, Missouri in
2001, Reno, Nevada in 2002, Orlando, Florida in 2003, Pittsburgh in 2004,
Houston in 2005 and Milwaukee in 2006.
McCAIN AND LIEBERMAN INTRODUCE JOINT GUN CONTROL BILL IN U.S. SENATE
Gun control advocates got a big boost recently when Sen. John McCain
(R-Ariz.) joined with notoriously anti-gun Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) to
introduce a bill which would require background checks on all private party
firearm transfers at gun shows where 75 r more guns are offered for sale.
McCain's sudden defection for the ranks of firearms supporters seems to now
be complete, with this legislation coming in the wake of his lending his
name to the newest national anti-gun group, "Americans for Gun Safety"
earlier this year. McCain's name is also being widely circulated as a
possible presidential or vice presidential candidate on the Democratic
ticket in 2004.
Anti-gun groups hailed the new proposal, made all the more dangerous as it
may be seen as a more moderate approach to the gun show background check
issue, and has bi-partisan sponsorship.
GOUtah! opposes any requirement for background checks on private party
transfers (or any other lawful transfers for that matter) and encourages you
to contact Utah's U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch and Robert Bennett to register
your opposition to the McCain-Lieberman bill.
FEDERAL SURVEY INDICATES WHERE CRIMINALS GET - AND DON'T GET - THEIR GUNS
In the wake of continued calls for legislation to close the non-existent
'loophole' on private party transfers at gun shows, we think we should look
into just where these criminals are getting their guns.
We could ask some politicians, journalists, Mike Leavitt, Sarah Brady or
some poor misinformed soccer mom, but instead we'll ask the people who would
really know the answers to this question: violent career criminals currently
serving time in Federal prisons for firearms crimes.
According to a 1997 study titled "Federal Firearms Offenders 1992-1998," by
John Scalia, commissioned and funded by the United States Department of
Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, the sources of these criminal's guns
were identified as follows:
35.4% -- Family Member of Friend
15% -- Drug Dealer
15% -- Retail Store
9.1% -- Theft or Burglary
8.7% -- Black Market
4.2% -- Pawn Shop
3.4% -- Borrowed or Were Given a Gun
1.7% -- Flea Market
1.7% -- GUN SHOWS!!!
5.9% -- All Other Sources Combined
Yep, recent Federal Justice Department research shows that something like
one violent Federal criminal in every 60 got his or her weapon from a gun
show.
That's why it's so important for those Federal and State Government
busybodies to plug this loophole to prevent of the torrent of guns flowing
from gun shows into the hands of violent criminals.
GOUTAH!'S GUN RIGHTS & WRONGS QUOTEWATCH
Insightful reader feedback on a recent GOUtah! Alert...
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2001 1:27 PM
"i hope whilst cleaning your shotgun that it blows up in your dumb american
face!!!!!!!!!!
all the best
edd
(Thanks for your very kind words, 'edd.' We at GOUtah! ALWAYS unload our
shotguns before cleaning them, per standard firearms safety practices, but
it never hurts to get a thoughtful and gentle gun safety reminder from
compassionate and well-informed folks like yourself.)
"I'm pleased that the NRA is satisfied with Utah's gun laws. We still have a
few concerns though. For instance we could loosen up our concealed weapons
permits. Look at Vermont, where there are no restrictions."
-- Former Speaker of the House Rob Bishop (R-Brigham City), the current paid
USSC lobbyist, as quoted in the Salt Lake Tribune, 17 May 2001
(GOUtah!'s political irony note: Rob Bishop of USSC, along with NRA lobbyist
Brian Judy was one of the prime movers of the hostile amendment attached to
HB 376 which limited the term of validity of an out of state CCW permit to
only 60 days.)
"It's a great compliment to our state. The NRA convention ranks right up
there with the Olympics."
-- Sen. Mike Waddoups (R-Taylorsville) as quoted in the Salt Lake Tribune,
17 May 2001.
(GOUtah!'s political irony note: Sen. Mike Waddoups recently carried state
legislation prohibiting Utah's nearly 40,000 responsible and peaceable CCW
holders from entering any 2002 Olympic venue while in otherwise lawful
possession of a firearm or other potential weapon.)
(If you have a gun-rights quote you'd like to share, send it to us at
GOUtah! along with its verifiable original source.)
That concludes the GOUtah! Alert #85-18 May 2001.
Copyright 2001 by GOUtah! All rights reserved. We hope this information will
be of assistance to you in defending your firearms rights. Remember that
getting this information is meaningless unless YOU ACT ON IT TODAY. If you
just read it and dump it in the trash, your gun rights, and the gun rights
of future generations go in the trash with it. Get involved, get active and
Subject: FWD: [LPUtah] FW: GUN SHOW BILL & PTA MATTERS
Date: 24 May 2001 13:10:59 -0400 (EDT)
The following is from the USSC. There is some good info here, but please note that they *STILL* consider Hatch to be "pro-gun." I would argue that he *may* be less anti-gun than some democrats, but even then you have to consider whether a wolf in sheep's clothing is really better than a known and visible enemy.
Also, rather than just "get[ing] involved to help guide the PTA activities in your kids' schools" as the USSC urges, parents may want to seriously consider forming brand new, completely locally controlled "parent teacher organizations" so that no dues money goes to the nation PTA.
Just my opinion.
Charles
----------
GUN SHOW BILL & PTA MATTERS-
These two issues deserve your careful scrutiny, and action.
1. The analysis of the "McCain-Lieberman" bill was not prepared by USSC, but
clearly points out the dangers of this deceptive and totally unacceptable
attack on law abiding gun owners. If the Senator from Vermont switches to
the Democratic party, Republicans will lose all Committee chairmanships.
Pro-gun Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch will be replaced by an
anti-gun Democrat. Passage of new gun control schemes, specifically gun
show bans becomes highly likely. It is also questionable if President Bush
will veto "moderate" gun control. It is especially important to ensure
everyone understands exactly how extreme this bill really is.
2. A story in the Salt Lake Tribune highlights the growing unrest with the
National Parent Teachers Association (PTA). You can help ensure your kids
get a good education, free from the anti-gun agenda of an outside agency, if
you are involved in your children's school activities. Please get involved
to help guide the PTA activities in your kids' schools.
GUN-SHOW BILL IS NOT WHAT THEY SAY
Re: S. 890, The McCain-Lieberman Bill: "Gun Show Loophole Closing and Gun
Law Enforcement Act of 2001."
Mass media publicity on the newly proposed gun-show bill is grossly
inaccurate.
The bill has almost nothing to do with what you've probably heard so far.
The so-called "gun-show loophole" headlines are a minor detail and basically
obscure what the bill really does.
I've just finished studying the eight pages of legalese. Here is it what it
calls for:
1.Unprecedented federal control over gun shows nationwide - perfectly legal
gun shows become strictly outlawed without prior federal approval, licensing
and registration of each show;
2. Centralized federal licensing and registration of every gun-show promoter
in the nation.
3. Centralized federal registration of every vendor - including non-gun
vendors -- at any gun show in the country. In order for me to sell my BOOKS
at a gun show I'll have to pre-register and prove who I am, or face arrest;
a private individual looking to sell a single gun would be treated as a
vendor under this law and must be registered even if the gun isn't sold;
4. Centralized federal registration of EVERY PERSON who attends a gun show
in America, whether or not they make purchases of anything at all -- you
won't be allowed in without registering;
5. Centralized collection of "any other information" on gun-show attendees,
as determined solely by the Secretary of the Treasury;
6. Imprisonment for attending a gun show and failing to give up any
information required by regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury;
7. Imprisonment of any gun-show promoter who fails to register a single
vendor;
8. Imprisonment of gun-show promoters who cannot prove they notified every
person attending a gun show of the new rules, and obtained from attendees
any information the Secretary of the Treasury mandates by regulation;
9. Centralized collection of "any other information" the Secretary of the
Treasury decides, by regulation, is necessary on vendors, attendees, and the
gun show itself;
10. Submission by gun-show promoters of vendor registration logs a) 30 days
before any gun show, and b) additional submission of updated vendor
registration logs 72 hours before any gun show, and c) additional submission
of vendor registration logs within five days of the close of any gun show,
under penalty of arrest and imprisonment for non-compliance;
11. Identification of vendors only by use of federally approved photo ID
that may include use of a social security number, electronically encoded
data, or "biometric identifiers" such as fingerprint, voice print, retina
scan, iris scan, or similar (as defined under 18 USC 1028(d)(2));
12. Creation of a new license (in addition to a gun-show-promoter license),
similar to FFLs, for individuals who want access to the NICS national
background check system for facilitating gun-show sales for private
citizens;
13. Regulations to be issued by the Secretary of the Treasury on the
procedures, data collections, methods and implementation of the entire
process to federally control gun shows, in addition to the requirements made
by the proposed statute; such regulations will not be known, drafted or even
suggested, until after the McCain-Lieberman law is enacted;
14. The proposed bill also puts pressure on state governments to make at
least 95% of their law enforcement records for the past 30 years openly
available to the federal government; and
-- makes unlimited funds available for the states to comply with these
federal goals;
-- requires annual federal review of states' compliance;
-- increases penalties (up to ten years imprisonment) for record-keeping
violations;
-- grants states permission to make even more restrictive requirements
without being out of compliance with these new federal laws (and by
implication, puts states that resist these rules in federal trouble);
-- provides hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars for more law
enforcement under numerous programs including project Exile and others;
-- hires 200 more Federal BATF Agents;
-- provides $10 million to the National Institute for Justice to give out
for research on "technologies that limit the use of a gun to the owner"; and
-- provides for annual reports (in great detail) by the Attorney General to
Congress on whether the Brady law is working;
15. Enlargement of the federal bureaucracy and appropriation from taxpayers
of "such funds as are necessary" to license, register and monitor an
estimated ten million non-criminals who attend the thousands of gun shows
held annually in America; and
16. Oh yes, I almost forgot about the so-called "loophole" part the media is
so excited about -- the McCain-Lieberman bill will make an honest private
citizen a criminal for transferring a gun to another honest private citizen,
without first registering the transfer with, and getting permission from,
the federal government (represented by the FBI at its data complex in
Clarksburg, West Virginia).
Transfer or possession of a firearm to or by a criminal (a "federally
prohibited possessor") is completely unaffected by the McCain-Lieberman
"loophole" bill, so I guess it's accurate to characterize it as a loophole
bill.
To sum up: Perfectly legal gun sales -- with no victims or criminal activity
of any kind -- are outlawed at gun shows by the McCain-Lieberman bill,
unless the sale is pre-registered with the federal government; real crimes
are totally unaffected; and your friends in the federal government take over
full control of gun shows - which have been previously free of government
infringement for more than 200 years.
Please write your local news outlet and politely request a correction.
Permission to circulate or use any or all of this report is granted,
provided my credit and contact information is included. Alan Korwin, Author,
Gun Laws of America
Bloomfield Press, 12629 N. Tatum #440, Phoenix, AZ 85032 (602)996-4020
alan@gunlaws.com http://www.gunlaws.com "We publish the gun laws."
CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION
Story in SL Tribune- http://www.sltrib.com/05212001/utah/99173.htm
The national Parent Teacher Association (PTA) has demonstrated a strong
anti-gun bias. The Utah PTA is the leading agent in the ballot initiative
to ban legal self defense in schools or churches. Along with these
positions on gun issues, you may find many of their other positions on
social issues at odds with your beliefs. Utah teachers are mostly fine,
hard working people who sincerely care about educating our kids, but are
subject to pressure from the PTA organization to teach material that is
contrary to Utah values.
We urge you to read the story in the May 21st Salt Lake Tribune
http://www.sltrib.com/05212001/utah/99173.htm on a growing movement in Utah
to sever ties with the national PTA and return control to local parents. We
urge parents to consider the issue carefully and decide if they may want to
become more involved in the local groups of parents and teachers work
The following information was sent to me by a someone who wishes to remain anonymous. I believe the info is credible. My thanks to him/her for passing along this info.
charles
------Original Message------
I was not there, but from what I understand from the officers that were was that the shooter and his brother were in their car. They got into a verbal argument with a kid they knew from a rival gang. The driver brandished his .22 handgun. The other kid was not impressed and a physical fight began. During the fight, the driver of the car fired at the rival gang member, hitting no one. All parties tried to run away on foot but were tackled and held down by employees and bystanders. I don't think that anyone with a CCP was there.
----- Original Message -----
Hi Charles
This morning on 570 KNRS radio the news reported that there was an attempted murder at Brickyard Plaza. The report said something to the effect that an argument broke out between a guy walking thru the parking lot and a another guy in a parked car.
The driver got out of the car and fired a shot at the pedestrian. The report went on to say that several shop owners and other bystanders held the shooter until police arrived.
Hummm.... The shooter is armed and some bystanders held him until the police arrive? Wonder how many of those shop owners and bystanders were also armed with a CCP?
I called 570 KNRS, 908-1300, and asked this same question, except the part about the CCP. The news lady who wrote the story admitted that she didn't ask, but would follow up and try to report the information this afternoon.
Maybe they need some more polite calls asking for the complete story.
Forgive me for an off-topic post, but this may be of interest to you if you have an electric garage door opener.
I just visited with a friend of mine here in Sandy. He went home for lunch today and discovered his garage door up and his $500.00 Honda lawn mower missing. A neighborhood girl saw a "scary man," bald on top, tall, driving a red truck with a red shell drive up, put the door up, and load up the lawn mower. It seems the thief used some kind of transmitter to open the door. A police report has been filed, but obviously, trying to recover a lawn mower is tough.
My friend has a 6 month old, Genie, screw drive door opener with the "Intellicode" rolling code remotes. Until now, I had assumed that such openers were highly resistant to being opened with a remote other than one the owner specifically programmed to open it.
Obviously, such a theft takes only a moment and I know of no way to prevent it short of unplugging the electric opener and going back to manual key locks on the doors--an option most of us would loathe. But at least when you are going to be away for a protracted period of time (vacation, etc) you might want to consider unplugging or otherwise disabling the openers on your garage doors. Also bear in mind the possibility of such a theft if you think you hear your garage door going up when it really shouldn't do so. You might also want to consider how good the locks are between the gargage and your home and whether you use them as frequently as you should. You may also want to consider if various items currently stored in the garage would not be safer in an attic, basement, or locked tool shed. Just thinking out loud here.
If anyone has any info or advice on increasing security of garages without sacrificing the convenience (and safety) of electric openers, I'd love to hear about it.
