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North Carolina Lawsuit Bill Signed Into Law (NRA/I
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
North Carolina Lawsuit Bill Signed Into Law
Your Calls Made The Difference!
H.B. 622, the NRA-backed measure to stop reckless lawsuits against firearm manufacturers, has been signed into law by Governor Michael Easley (D). This law prevents municipalities from filing politically-motivated lawsuits that attempt to hold gun makers liable for the criminal misuse of their lawful products.
NRA members must make sure that Governor Easley is thanked for his approval of this critical piece of legislation. Please call Governor Easley at (919) 733-5811, and be sure to thank him for putting an end to frivolous local lawsuits against the gun industry!
Please make this important phone call today!
http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=451
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Your Calls Made The Difference!
H.B. 622, the NRA-backed measure to stop reckless lawsuits against firearm manufacturers, has been signed into law by Governor Michael Easley (D). This law prevents municipalities from filing politically-motivated lawsuits that attempt to hold gun makers liable for the criminal misuse of their lawful products.
NRA members must make sure that Governor Easley is thanked for his approval of this critical piece of legislation. Please call Governor Easley at (919) 733-5811, and be sure to thank him for putting an end to frivolous local lawsuits against the gun industry!
Please make this important phone call today!
http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=451
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Comments
The Democratic candidate has proposed a limit on handgun purchases of one a month per person.
By KENNETH P. VOGEL
Times Leader Harrisburg Bureau
HARRISBURG - Gun control is about as popular with the Northeast's many hunters as Brussels sprouts are with the average first-grade class.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Fisher, the state's attorney general, is hoping to capitalize on the gun control aversion to win support from Northeastern Democrats by highlighting Democratic candidate Ed Rendell's plan to limit handgun purchases to one per person per month.
"If you're for gun control up in this area - it doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican - you're not going to get many votes," said Ken Piestrak, owner of Piestrak's Gun Shop in Nanticoke.
Rendell's spokesman stressed that his boss's plan is intended to make it harder on gun traffickers, not sportsmen.
But there are plenty of legitimate reasons why sportsmen would want to buy more than one handgun per month, said Piestrak and Mike Protz, owner of Holsted Electronics and Sporting Goods in Susquehanna County.
Both men are registered Democrats, but both said they planned to discourage sportsmen from voting for Rendell, the former mayor of Philadelphia, because of his handgun limit plan.
The National Rifle Association has more members in Pennsylvania than all but three states. The powerful group aired radio ads bashing Rendell in the Northeast - a traditional Democratic stronghold - leading into the May Democratic primary in which he defeated pro-gun Auditor General Bob Casey Jr.
Reiterating his boss's opposition to any gun control measures, Fisher campaign manager Kent Gates said "Northeast Pennsylvania will be a critical area for us - there's an opportunity for to pick up conservative Democrats who would have supported Bob Casey."
They'll try to do that by playing up social "wedge issues" - like gun control and abortion - that socially conservative Democrats in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties tend to oppose, said veteran political pollster G. Terry Madonna of Millersville University.
Local Democratic state legislators contend that Rendell's stances on gun control and abortion are less important to voters than his plans to provide more assistance to senior citizens for the purchase of prescription drugs, hike the state's share of the basic education subsidy by 35 percent and stimulate growth in small and mid-sized cities.
State Sen. Robert Mellow, D-Peckville, as well as state Reps. Kevin Blaum, D-Wilkes-Barre, Jim Wansacz, D-Old Forge, and John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, are backing Rendell, even though they disagree with his stances on handguns and support for abortion rights.
Blaum predicted that the handgun issue would be moot because it's unlikely Rendell could get his plan through the conservative Legislature, which has killed similar plans several times over the last few years.
Rendell wouldn't propose the plan if he didn't mean business, said spokesman Dan Fee, adding the limit "is an important part of reducing and eliminating handgun violence."
"It is part of a governor's job to state their beliefs and to convince the legislature and the public to support their proposals," he said.
He's going to have a tough time convincing folks in the Northeast, said Piestrak, because "competition shooting is big up here. We have some people who buy four, five or six (handguns) a month" for competition or target shooting.
And some hunters use revolver-type handguns for hunting deer, bear and small game, said Protz, who called Rendell's plan "ludicrous. Limiting the legal purchase of handguns to one per month is no way to fight crime."
The state's four-year old instant check system prevents criminals from buying guns, Protz said, asserting that illegal gun purchases would continue no matter how the law was tweaked.
"That's like saying that since people still speed, we shouldn't have speed limits," said Nancy Hwa, a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
In the four states that have passed one gun per month laws, Hwa said there has been a significant decrease in traceable gun trafficking - "unregulated secondary sales" - from those states.
http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/3904340.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
by Elisabeth J. Beardsley and David R. Guarino
Wednesday, August 21, 2002
Republican Mitt Romney and running mate Kerry Healey rolled out a crime-fighting plan yesterday that would lock up dangerous sexual predators ``forever,'' take away judges' lifetime appointments and reinstate the death penalty.
But Democrats immediately seized on Romney's plan as a complete flop since it failed to address the recent spike in urban gun violence.
``Somebody ought to call 911 and report this document for impersonating a crime plan,'' said Paul Wingle, a spokesman for Senate President Thomas F. Birmingham's gubernatorial campaign.
Campaign backbencher Healey took a prominent role in the high-gloss campaign event, buffing up her criminologist credentials as her GOP primary race against lieutenant governor candidate Jim Rappaport heats up.
The Romney/Healey plan calls for fast-tracking civil commitment procedures, which allow the state to keep dangerous sex offenders incarcerated after completing their prison sentences.
The plan also demands immediate release of information from the sex offender registry, which has a backlog of 17,000 cases waiting for classification hearings.
``We may have been able to avoid the disaster of Alexandra Zapp's homicide,'' Healey said, referring to the brutal murder of a Boston socialite allegedly by a known rapist whose rap sheet was bogged down in the sex offender registry backlog.
State Treasurer Shannon P. O'Brien's campaign said Romney's hands will be tied by his faulty budget plans.
``It's great that Mitt Romney has decided to talk about crime but what he didn't say is that his budget plan would require deep cuts to public safety, education and health care,'' O'Brien spokesman Adrian Durbin said.
O'Brien's plan would mandate DNA testing for all felons and an increase in mandatory minimum sentences for felons caught carrying guns.
Romney and Healey took aim at judges whose sentences ``defy common sense,'' like Superior Court Judge Maria Lopez, who sparked public outrage and an ethics probe when she went easy on an admitted child molester and berated prosecutors who objected.
Romney proposed stripping Trial Court judges of their lifetime tenures, requiring them to reapply every 10 years - but with the expectation that most would be ``almost automatically'' reappointed.
``Right now, it is virtually impossible to remove liberal judges who shock our collective sense of outrage with inexcusably lenient sentences,'' Romney said.
He charged that lawmakers have packed the judiciary with patronage by ``micromanaging'' hiring and firing.
The GOP team called for the reinstatement of the death penalty, expanded probation supervision for ex-cons, mandatory treatment and work programs inside prisons, and modernization of the state's inadequate crime lab technology.
But Karen Grant, spokeswoman for former state Sen. Warren E. Tolman said, ``How could a serious candidate for governor issue a criminal justice proposal without any mention of gun control given the increasing gun violence?''
Tolman's criminal justice plan, issued months ago, included a proposal for ballistic fingerprinting that would tie guns more directly to specific manufacturers. Tolman also proposed limiting all gun purchases to one per month.
Democrat Robert Reich has proposed a five-year mandatory minimum sentence for trafficking in weapons, increased funding for community policing and more prosecutors in courts.
http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/romn08212002.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
By J.J. Johnson
Published 08. 21. 02 at 18:01 Sierra Time
November of 2002 and the early primaries will be a good indicator of either a major shift in the voter electorate, or proof of a nation in decline. What if, in this campaign season, all the pollsters and pundits were wrong, or miss the big picture all together? Having a new duty to interview all the candidates running for election in this area, many politicians may be in for a surprise this November. A new dynamic has been thrown into this election - September 11, 2001.
To the media and the two-party system, it's life as usual. The GOP will sound hawkish, using the war as the reason to elect more of them. Democrats will go back to 'it's the economy stupid', and hammer on Bush and the republicans for 'not doing enough'. The mid-term elections will be hyped as the battle for control of Congress and a referendum of the Bush administration. As with most midterm elections, voter turnout is expected to be low since there is no presidential election. But something that the national media pays little attention to may become a major factor this year. Due to September 11, I predict voters will (and should) look closer at local candidates - the political 'first responders' - This may produce a greater turnout than expected on election day.
For years, Americans have been all but told to exchange their personal religion for another - government. The U.S Government never makes a mistake, and always work in the best interest and for the safety of the American people - we are told. That religion was smashed to bits the moment Flight 77 hit the Pentagon. Among the other tenants of that 'new religion' that died that day was gun control, open borders, multiculturalism, trans-national corporations and racial profiling. Regardless of political party, politicians ignored the lobby efforts of the grass roots, and sought better 'buzz words' to run on than deal with what was on the minds of too many voters. Mind you, there were not just conservative issues, as there were just as many on the left who are concerned that too many jobs - and money was leaving America.
Mass media probably won't address this - but I suspect voters just might this November.
Politics are politics and campaigns are campaigns. As September 11 has been burned in the memory of every American, part of that memory says the American people are the last and best line of defense for their own safety and freedom - not the government. This was learned by the heroes of flight 93. Many people will keep this in mind when they walk into the voting booth this year: "If something happens again, who do we want in that office? Someone who'd give me the opportunity to determine my own destiny, or someone who'll terrorize me even more?"
As much government 'spin' that's going on out there, the national 'protectors' tell Congress and the rest of us that it is not a matter of if, but when the bad guys will strike again. Will it be chemical, biological, or nuclear? Or will we just begin to receive a daily barrage of what Israel has been getting? How many laws may be suspended as a result? Who knows, but this concern is on the mind of many Americans. This will be on their minds on election day as well; not just "how has the government done", but where this government is going.
As we are told to give more power to the federal government, and put even more trust in them since September 11, I believe people either are not that stupid or need to be reminded again. There may be members of Team Jihad planning just that. But the reality is, in a worse case scenario there may not be a federal government. One dirty nuke, or worse, and all the shadow governments in the world wouldn't be able to keep their control or authority for long. Even those secret FEMA plans have no meaning. They are allegedly making plans for mass evacuations of cities in case of a major attack. Of course, FEMA has no plans to deal with the end of tax revenue coming to Washington. If that happens, this existing government would not stand for long. I wouldn't look to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.
Hence, voters will and should think LOCAL. If the two most likely targets of a mega-attack (New York and Washington) were to happen, local governments and communities will be all we have to work with. The questions voters should have on their minds walking into a voting booth this year are, 'who's manning the fire department? 'Who's in charge of the police?' 'Who's trying to keep the federal government from over reaching?' 'Who's looking to build the local economic infrastructure without depending on Washington?
This is where the minds of many voters will be this year. They also have the graphic images to know the following:
The politician that believes in gun control supports violent takeover of commercial aircraft for use as cruise missiles.
The politician that believes immigration control is 'racists' supports more would-be terrorists on American soil.
The politician that promotes multiculturalism and no law enforcement profiling supports giving terrorists a free hand to create as much destruction as they please.
The politician that promotes trashing the Constitutional principles for the sake of security supports an armed police state.
The politicians that support more government authority believe you - the voter - have neither the capability, need, or the will to look out for yourselves.
Of course, I could be wrong. America had a wake up call on September 11, but maybe we all simply fell back asleep. Those who have not should remember the lessons of September 11, and this November, cast your vote accordingly.
One more note: I saw a politician the other day on television lobbying for the need for over reaching laws to deal with the terrorism threat. This politician (can't remember his name) even when so far as to say, "yes, I believe in the Constitution, but we are fighting for our freedom and security. Our forefathers could not have foreseen the situation we are in today."
To that politician, and the rest of the federal government: Our forefathers *did* have the foresight to address this problem - it's the one place where they mention freedom and security in the same text:
"...A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."
It will be interesting to see what kind of 'free state' we're living in by 2003.
c 2002 SierraTimes.com (unless otherwise noted)
http://www.sierratimes.com/02/08/10/arjj081002.htm
Edited by - josey1 on 08/22/2002 06:19:30
Bill requiring trigger locks sent to Gov. Gray Davis
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SACRAMENTO - A bill banning the sale or free distribution of trigger locks not approved by the state Department of Justice was sent to Gov. Gray Davis Monday.
The state Senate, voting 25-12, agreed to changes in the bill approved by the Assembly on Aug. 15. The bill, SB1670, declares that 94 brands of gun safety locks are approved for sale or giveaways in California.
"This bill just says when trigger locks are sold they ought to be safe," said the bill's author, Sen. Jack Scott, D-Altadena.
Republican Sen. Ray Haynes from Riverside argued that the bill unfairly excludes brands that are safe, but fall slightly shy of standards set by the state's justice department.
"We're not regulating safety," said Haynes. "We're getting to the point of pettiness in how we deal with this issue."
Scott noted in a statement accompanying the bill that 30 brands failed federal tests last year, opening when they were "dropped, banged, picked or cut."
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/news/state/3899457.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
By ROBERT HARDT Jr.
August 21, 2002 -- Andrew Cuomo and Gov. Pataki fought over gun control yesterday - with Cuomo charging that the governor has done "very little" about illegal guns while Pataki boasted he passed the toughest gun law in the nation.
Cuomo - who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor against state Comptroller Carl McCall - let loose on Pataki after unveiling a package of proposals that would toughen the state's gun-control laws.
"Gun violence in the community - the state government has been slow to act. Where was Gov. Pataki on gun reform?" Cuomo asked.
"I think he could have done more," said Cuomo, standing across the street from Martin Luther King Jr. HS in Manhattan, the site of a double shooting in January.
Campaigning in Forest Hills, Queens, Pataki noted that he already enacted one of Cuomo's proposals - establishing a statewide database - two years ago.
"It's nice to see some of those who seek to have the office have the same ideas that we, in fact, implemented a couple of years ago," said Pataki.
Pataki pushed through a sweeping gun-control law in 2000 that also mandated trigger locks on all new guns and closed a loophole in the Brady Bill for gun-show dealers.
"No state has stronger anti-gun laws than the state of New York," the governor said after getting the backing of Democratic state Assemblyman Michael Cohen.
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/55244.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
McKinney Blames Everyone but Herself
Rep. Cynthia McKinney, who will forever be associated with the adjective "loony," thanks to Sen. Zell Miller, a fellow Georgia Democrat, ended her political career in her usual fashion, blaming everyone for her defeat but the culprit: her own big fat mouth.
"It looks like the Republicans wanted to beat me more than the Democrats wanted to keep me," she said early today as she fumed at the GOP crossover vote in the 4th Congressional District.
In reality, plenty of Democrats voted against her too. Winner Denise Majette, an unknown only months ago, "won in white neighborhoods, but she also made inroads in McKinney's south DeKalb stronghold, where most thought the black vote would come out strongly for the incumbent," the Associated Press reported today.
McKinney grumbled in her concession speech, "I may not agree with the kind of campaign she ran, but she will need all our prayers to face the coming storm."
Blame Andrew Young
McKinney also blamed former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young. She had lied in claiming his endorsement. As Young made clear, that support was for a previous election, not this one.
"I'm disappointed by your brother Andrew Young, who has left me hanging out there," she said in a phone message to state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, who let a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution listen to his answering machine.
Blame the 'J-E-W-S'
Her father, state Rep. Billy McKinney, blamed another culprit Monday, and this was on television: "This is all about the Jews." For those illiterates among the McKinney rabble, he spelled it out: "J-E-W-S."
The congresswoman, whose campaigns are infamous for dirty tricks, failed this time. Linda Latimore, supervisor of elections for DeKalb County, said her staff was repeatedly called to polling places to shoo away campaign workers - mostly McKinney's - who got too close to voters.
"It's all over the place. It's rough, it's rough," Latimore told the Atlanta paper.
And then there was that stunt threatening non-Democrat voters with arrest.
Majette concluded: "We united this district. My opponent had divided it for 10 long years."
In the November general election, Majette faces one of two Republicans, Cynthia Van Auken and Catherine Davis, who on Tuesday night advanced to a runoff.
McKinney's non-victory non-celebration was disrupted late Tuesday when hundreds of vagrants she had hired for the day showed up and demanded to be paid, the Journal-Constitution reported today.
"We were just campaigning," said one, a middle-aged man named Adrian Jones. "I'm not sure what the pay was. We were told $70 to $100. I did my part of the bargain. I want my money."
"I want my money." Ah - perhaps he has a future in politics.
Barr None
Contrast McKinney's misbehavior with the graceful concession of Rep. Bob Barr, who appeared at the celebration of Rep. John Linder, winner of the GOP primary in the newly drawn 7th District.
Barr, described by AP as "a gun-rights advocate whose constant Clinton-bashing made him a talk-show mainstay," said: "We're just here this evening to congratulate John Linder for having run a very good race. We go into the fall race very much a united party."
Wyoming Elections
Elsewhere Tuesday, businessman Eli Bebout won Wyoming's GOP primary to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Jim Geringer. He will face Democrat Dave Freudenthal, a former federal prosecutor, in the fall.
Meanwhile, freshman GOP Sen. Mike Enzi easily won his primary and will face Democrat Joyce Corcoran this fall. Political newcomer Ron Akin won the Democrat nomination to challenge four-term GOP Rep. Barbara Cubin.
http://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2002/8/21/215650
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878