Legislation for the 'Training and Competitive License for New York State
Juniors' Freeport, NY -- April 24, 2002 -- The Freeport NY R&R Junior Club
proposed Training and Competitive License for New York State Juniors'
bill, which as sponsored in the NYS Assembly by Assemblyman Richard Smith
(D-AD146), assemblyman William Magee (D-AD111) and Assemblyman Paul Tonko
(D-AD105) and in the NYS Senate by Senator Dale Volker(R/C-CD59), has
been positively amended (A10596a) and recommitted to Codes. And we still
have a companion bill in the NYS Senate (S6678a).
If passed into law, this will permit our
juniors, ages 14-20, to apply for a JUNIOR PISTOL LICENSE and then to
compete and train for the Olympics, NYS Empire Games, SASS, IPSC, IDPA,
etc. The law would permit the juniors to handle load, unload and shoot,
but not to purchase.
These bills NEED sponsors, co-sponsors and
supporters in each house. It is imperative that you call your NYS Assemblymen
and NYS Senator and ask them to sponsor, co-sponsor and/or support these
bills. Also, have your 18, 19 and 20 year olds do the same, as they VOTE,
or should be voting, as well.
If you want to write, you can contact your
Reps via the following link: http://www.keepandbeararms.com/takeaction/automailers/ny.asp
.
Please, this is important, the shooting
sports will be greatly enhanced by this bill, as it will help us develop
the next generation. Have your friends and relatives call or write requesting
their Reps to co-sponsor the bills.
You can call the NYS Senate Switchboard
at 518-455-2800 and the NYS Assembly Switchboard at 518-455-4100, and
then ask for your Senator or assemblyperson, respectively.
You can also call NYS Assemblyman Richard
Smith (518-455-4462 or 716-826-1878) and NYS Senator Dale Volker (518-455-3471
or 716-656-8544) and thank them for their support.
At this time, we want to again thank Assemblyman
Smith, Assemblyman Magee, Assemblyman Tonko and Senator Volker for sponsoring
and supporting the idea of a training and competitive license for our
state's juniors.
Please help. Pass this along to friends,
neighbors, club members, etc.
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Treadwell broadens GOP base
State Republican chief wants to draw Democrats into party; Conservatives
feel left out, By JOHN MILGRIM Ottaway News Service
ALBANY — Alexander "Sandy" Treadwell gestured toward a
photo of a former president on his desk early last year when he spoke
of what he wanted for the Republican Party in New York.
Now, Treadwell has a different desk and
a different job. And the picture of Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt
has been moved to a kitchen wall. There’s no snub intended,
he said, because it was at that kitchen table, at State Republican Party
headquarters in Albany, where the decision-makers in 1993 chose then Sen.
George Pataki to run for governor.
Treadwell, who once ran the Essex County
Republican Party, became Gov. Pataki’s pick to chair the state party
last March, and he came into the job with a mandate. The silver-haired
ex-marathoner said that, under him, the party would draw traditional Democrats
to the Republican fold. And like Pataki, he said he would look
to Roosevelt’s progressive policies for guidance. New York’s
Republican Party would be the party for minorities, the labor unions and
the gay and lesbian community, he said. "There are
communities across the state with emerging minority populations,"
Treadwell said recently. "Our core philosophy really fits with these
groups."
Critics, however, said that with Pataki
pulling the strings, the party has pushed aside its core conservative
philosophy. "Under the current leadership, the direction
is not to make it a Republican Party in principle and policies, but to
leave the name only and adopt the Democratic platform," said Brian
Backstrom of the conservative anti-tax group CHANGE-NY. His was one group
that helped Pataki win in 1994.
CLICK HERE
FOR THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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Ban of lead sinkers waiting for Gov.'s signature
S 4786 has passed the NY State
Senate and is waiting to be reviewed by Gov. Mario Pataki The Assembly
had already passed a bill, A 8683 that bans sinkers. The law
prohibits the sale of lead fishing sinkers weighing one-half ounce or
less. "Loons, swans, herons and a couple of dozen other
birds eat the sinkers, thinking they are small stones'' that aid their
digestion, said William Cooke of Audubon New York in a 4/25/02 AP story. (The
Loons in the Senate and Assembly are not affected.) The law
will take effect two years after enactment. CLICK
HERE TO SEE THE WHOLE AP ARTICLE
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City teen's anti-gun art wins award
Thursday, April 18, 2002, By Rob Seetoo, Poughkeepsie Journal
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Patrick Heavey is a young
man of simplicity, with a serious creative streak. Heavey,
an 11th-grader at Poughkeepsie High School, was honored Wednesday before
about 50 of his schoolmates because he won a second-place prize in a
national poster contest decrying gun violence. His poster
depicts a chalk outline, similar to what might be found at a murder
crime scene. Words of hope such as dreams, future, security and aspirations
make up the outline. ''I wanted a very simple message, a
strong message, that guns do kill,'' Heavey told the audience.
The contest was sponsored by Co/Motion,
a Washington-based program of the Alliance for Justice that aims to
educate youth nationwide about gun violence, and civic participation
in general. ''We decided a poster contest would be a great
way to get kids involved,'' said Kristin Becker of Co/Motion. The
group was expecting a maximum of 300 entrants. It received more than
1,000. ''It was impressive,'' Becker said.
Andy Pelosi, executive director of New
Yorkers Against Gun Violence, said it was important that students from
Poughkeepsie who participated in the contest joined in the fight against
gun violence. ''This is a unique opportunity,'' Pelosi said.
''You made your voices heard.''
Dutchess County Legislator Fran Knapp,
D-City of Poughkeepsie, attended. Her niece was shot to death in Utica
1 1/2 years ago, she said, adding it was important youth get involved
in advocacy. ''We need to pass sensible gun laws in this
country. We need you to speak out,'' Knapp said.
Poughkeepsie High School Principal Robert
Murphy congratulated Heavey on his accomplishment and said Heavey's
work is representative of the talent of students at the school. ''We
are probably the Hudson Valley's best-kept secret,'' he said. Poughkeepsie
10th-grader Paris Sims, who videotaped the ceremony, explained that
positive publicity is good for the school because many people don't
realize what Poughkeepsie has to offer. ''It's good because
it brings recognition to our school,'' Sims said. Heavey
was presented with a five-foot mock check for $300. He will get the
real award in a ceremony in Washington next week.
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(Hunting) Safety record still shines
April 11, 2002, J. MICHAEL KELLY, OUTDOORS WRITER from the The Post-Standard
Police agencies investigated 56 accidental
shootings among the state's approximately 700,000 hunters in 2001, including
seven that were fatal. The year before the state logged an all-time low
43 accidents, including four fatalities. Thirty-one of the
56 accident victims, including five of those who died, were deer hunters.
One raccoon hunter and one fall-season turkey hunter were killed. Shotguns
were used in 41 of the 56 accidents, including five of the fatalities.
Rifles accounted for the other two deaths and 10 total accidents. Muzzleloaders
were fired in three of last year's accidents and handguns in two.
Any safety- conscious hunter would agree
that one accident is one too many. Yet, New York's sportsmen and women
can justifiably give themselves a pat on the back for their overall safety
record. Our accident rate last year was about 8 per 100,000
participants. Most insurance agents would gladly issue a policy based
on those odds. In comparison, about 140 swimmers in 100,000
are involved in accidents that require medical treatment; and the accident
rate among bicyclists is approximately 1,200 per 100,000, according to
the National Safety Council. More important than any comparative
analysis is the fact that hunters are heading in the right direction,
safety-wise.
CLICK
HERE FOR THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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NYSRPA Alert, A-5363
from Jacob J. Rieper, Legislative Director, New York State Rifle &
Pistol Association
A-5363C was amended, recommitted to Codes,
and has advanced to the 3rd reading. The bill would enact the "Children's
Weapon Accident Prevention Act"; establish the crimes of criminally
negligent storage of a weapon in the 1st and 2nd degree; require the sale
and use of weapon locking devices and requires the commissioner of education
to formulate a weapons safety program for children. The previous version
A-5363B passed the Assembly last June.
The original Senate companion was S-728B,
however it's sponsor was Sen. Goodman who retired.
A similar version is A-7885A, no Senate
companion.
(MY COMMENT: This is the same basic bill that we see every year. All
of Orange County Assemblypeople vote against this bill. The worse
part is that it includes the criminal definition of "LOADED".
"LOADED (RIFLE, SHOTGUN, HANDGUN)" MEANS ANY (RIFLE,
SHOTGUN, HANDGUN,) LOADED WITH AMMUNITION OR ANY (RIFLE, SHOTGUN, HANDGUN,)
WHICH IS POSSESSED BY ONE WHO, AT THE SAME TIME, POSSESSES A QUANTITY
OF AMMUNITION WHICH MAY BE USED TO DISCHARGE SUCH (RIFLE, SHOTGUN,
HANDGUN). So if you have an unloaded gun but do
not have every single round locked up, you have a loaded gun. How
many of us have a stray round or two around our reloading bench or some
other place.)
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State Conservatives to back Pataki
from
Midhudson News
When Governor George Pataki seeks re-election
this November, he can expect to be on two major party lines.
The Republican governor yesterday picked
up the support of state Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long. "Our
convention's going to be early June and I am sure that overwhelmingly
the committeemen of the Conservative Party will support Governor Pataki's
re-election," he said.
Long was in Poughkeepsie yesterday attending
an annual Dutchess County Conservative Committee brunch. He told the Mid-Hudson
News Network that Pataki has done "a good job" and is a "very
strong leader."
Pataki will face off against whichever
Democrat wins that party's primary - state Comptroller H. Carl McCall
or former federal housing secretary Andrew Cuomo.
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NEW YORK STATE NEWS
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CoBIS Update
| Additional information: At a cost of over $4,000,000
that works out to about $233 per legal gun with no solved cases.
If that money was used to process the rape kits that are waiting to
be done as has been reported by news outlets, many crimes would have
been solved. Not only rapes but kidnapping, assaults, and murders
using all types of weapons, including firearms. You would not
even have to search for some of the criminals because some of them
are being held for other crime. |
I have talked to the State Police again and
found out some more info about how the "Gun DNA" program is
working. As everyone knows, only shell caseing left at a crime scene
when the police have no lead are sent in for a check. (That leaves
out all revolvers that are not reloaded at the crime scene.) The
totals so far are the NY State Police have data for almost 18,000 guns
with the gun maker supplying the fired brass for about 80% of the guns
and your local gun dealer taking the gun to one of the local test centers
for about 20% of the time. The State Police are still working to
improve the program but some dealers still have to drive up to 75 miles
to the nearest test center to get a gun tested. The have tried to
match up crime brass with the data base in less that 100 cases and have
yet to have a hit. Of course if they had solved just one case using
the data their ratio of crimes solved to number of guns in the data base
would be .000056465 but they have not so the number is "0".
What does this prove? That very
few if any guns that are legal in NY State are used in crime. In
fact, none of the guns added to the database in the last 13 months was
used in the type of crime that this data base is designed to solve. Guns
bought by criminals for use in criminal activity have a very short "time
to crime", as short as one day. If legal guns in NY State
were part of the problem that this program helped solve, the program should
have had several hits by now.
And what about the fact that the average
"time to crime" in the FBI stats is 3 years? You
can draw almost nothing from that number. Many guns, 50% nationally,
are not included in the "time to crime" database because they
do not have a serial number or the gun data is not submitted or for some
other reason the trace can not be done. An average is just
that, an average with some guns having a one day from "time to crime"
use to others that are held for 20 years or more before they are used
in a crime. (Some of those S&W and Colt 38 cal. revolvers
used by police for decades have found their way into the hands of criminals
and have a very long "time to crime".) Please remember
that just because a gun is a "crime gun" in NYC does not mean
that is has been used in a crime or traced to a crime other than not being
registered. In most other states if the police come to your house
because you found someone trying to break in and held them using a gun
they would arrest the bad guy and let you go. In NYC if the handgun
or long gun is not registered they arrest you, take the gun and the police
now have another "crime gun". I would like to know what
the "time to crime" number is for handguns legally purchased,
sold and registered in NY State is and why criminals drive all the way
down south to buy guns when they could buy the same gun only a few hours
away in NH or VT, the two states who have the most lax gun laws in the
nation.
Some quotes from the "
Crime Gun Trace Reports (1999)National Report":
- To compute time-to-crime, both the date the firearm was recovered
and the date it was purchased from a retail FFL must be known. Sufficient
information to compute a time-to-crime was provided for 50 percent
(32,573) of the crime gun traces (64,637).
- Since an NTC trace generally extends only to the first retail purchaser,
a trace of a gun sold used by an unlicensed seller or FFL usually will
not show a fast time-to-crime, even if it was recovered by law enforcement
shortly after its most recent transfer. Therefore, the time-to-crime
measure as an indicator of trafficking is clearest when applied to guns
sold new by FFLs.
- A short time-to-crime can be an indicator of illegal firearms trafficking.
Focusing on these firearms alone can produce significant trafficking
trends and patterns. Investigating crime guns with short time-to-crime
allows law enforcement to seek out sources of crime guns and disrupt
the flow of illegal firearms trafficking.
- The illegal market in guns involves new guns, used guns, and stolen
guns. ... nearly a third (32 percent, 10,275) of recovered crime
guns for which a time-to-crime could be computed (32,597) had been purchased
for the first time within 3 years of their recovery. Since these crime
guns were all recovered in 1999, nearly one-third of the crime guns
with known time-to-crime entered firearm commerce in 1996 or later.
- ... while the median time-to-crime for semiautomatic pistols
(21,095) is 4.3 years, for revolvers (7,912) the median time-to-crime
is 11.7 years.
- ... in the 11 cities that were analyzed, 9 percent of semiautomatic
pistols and nearly 5 percent of revolvers traced had obliterated serial
numbers.
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These findings summarize the trace information for crime guns recovered
in the City of New York during 1999 and traced in 1999 by law enforcement
agencies in New York, including the New York Police Department and
ATF. Based on historical trends, judgment, and the informed opinions
of ATF agents who work locally with the city police department,
ATF determined that New York, New York, was tracing comprehensively
in 1999.
Crime Guns and Illegal Diversion
Few Crime Gun Possessors Bought
Their Guns Directly from Federally Licensed Gun Dealers. (Table
A) Nearly 95 percent of New York crime guns changed hands at least
once before reaching the crime gun possessor, and could have been
legally transferred, straw purchased, otherwise trafficked, stolen,
or a combination of these. Trafficking investigations can determine
how these guns were obtained by the crime gun possessor.
Many Crime Guns Had a Short Time-to-Crime.
Notwithstanding that most crime guns were bought from an FFL by
someone other than their criminal possessor, many crime guns were
recovered soon after their initial purchase. A short time from retail
sale to recovery in crime, known as time-to-crime, is an indicator
of illegal diversion or criminal intent associated with the retail
sale. The presence of short time-to-crime guns also shows that many
firearm offenses, including violent offenses with firearms, involve
new guns.
The median time-to-crime for guns
traced from New York, where time-to-crime could be determined, was
7.2 years, as compared to the median of 5.7 years for comparable
YCGII cities. Older guns that may have changed hands several times
before acquisition by the criminal possessor may represent an investigative
challenge. Many crime guns, however, moved more quickly from retail
sale to recovery by law enforcement.
• 21 percent of crime guns (647) had a time-to-crime of less
than 3 years (32 percent for comparable YCGII cities).
• 9 percent of crime guns (294) had a time-to-crime of a year
or less (15 percent for comparable YCGII cities).
Obliteration of Serial Numbers. (Table G) Obliteration of serial
numbers is a key trafficking indicator.
• Nearly 13 percent of handguns recovered in New York had obliterated
serial numbers.
• Youth in New York were associated with the highest percent
of handguns with obliterated serial numbers (16 percent), followed
by juveniles (14 percent) and adults (12 percent).
Types of Crime Guns (Table C)
Handguns accounted for nearly 83 percent of New York’s traced
crime guns.
Semiautomatic pistols comprised 53 percent of crime guns.
• Semiautomatic pistols dominated among crime guns recovered
from youth (67 percent) and juveniles (65 percent), as well as from
adults (55 percent).
• Revolvers made up 28 percent of crime guns. By age group,
adults were associated with 27 percent, juveniles 26 percent, and
youth 24 percent.
• Long guns accounted for nearly 17 percent of crime guns recovered
in New York, lower than the average of long gun recoveries for comparable
YCGII cities (21 percent).
Geographic Sources (Table F)
Instate New York Federal firearms licensees (FFLs) were the source
of only 20 percent of all traceable crime guns recovered in New
York.
• In-County. FFLs located in the five counties that are fully
encompassed by the boroughs of New York were the source of 17 percent
of crime guns recovered in New York City and purchased in New York
State.
National. An additional 50 percent of traceable crime guns recovered
in New York were first purchased at FFLs in the southern states
of Virginia, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas,
and Alabama.
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Schumer: Keep Guns From Mentally Ill
Sen. UpChuck Schumer has finally
figured out one of the problems with the NICS check that everyone has
known of since the start of the program and he has a new law to solve
the problem. The problem is that most states do not send in
the records of the mentally ill because they are afraid of privacy problems. It
is another example of UpChuck trying to promote himself using the blood
of crime victims. The most recent case of Peter Troy who shot
a priest even though Troy had been in a psychiatric hospital and his mother
had a restraining order against him. (CLICK
HERE TO SEE MARCH NEWS ITEM) But in another example of
UpChuck trying to stick in all that he can, the bill would also expand
gun control laws to BLOCK PURCHASE by anyone against whom a restraining
order has been issued IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS. So now you do
not even have to be charged with a crime to loose your right to buy a
gun. CLICK
HERE TO SEE THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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Miller wants airline pilots to be armed
By TOM BAXTER, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer
RENO, Nev. -- Sen. Zell Miller, the
first Democrat to keynote the National Rifle Association convention in
more than a decade, Saturday chastised his own party for anti-gun positions
and called on President Bush to allow pilots to carry guns. "In
our fight against suicidal terrorists who crash planes into our cities,
the most certain line of defense is a skillfully trained, highly dedicated,
armed airline pilot," Miller said. The Georgia senator
said Democratic pollsters misread public attitudes about guns, causing
the party to lose states such as Arkansas, Tennessee and West Virginia
in the 2000 presidential election. "What many do not understand
is that the gun issue is not just about guns. It's about values. It's
about setting priorities," he said.
Miller devoted a sizable portion of his
speech to criticism of Emory University professor Michael Bellesiles'
book, "Arming America," which argues that the importance of
guns in Colonial America has been exaggerated. The book has drawn academic
scrutiny over Bellesiles' research methods. "It would
seem that, in Bellesiles' America-in-Wonderland, colonists were a bunch
of naive, wishy-washy peaceniks," Miller said. "Well, tell that
to the British Redcoats who tried to cross Concord Bridge."
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Gun Control and Civil Liberties NRA has its own homeland
security plan suggests arming pilots, IDing and detaining noncitizens
Reno -- The National Rifle Association
leadership offered a scathing critique yesterday of two of President Bush's
most prominent actions -- beefed-up airport security after Sept. 11 and
campaign finance reform -- even as they took credit for getting Bush elected.
To huge applause, Wayne LaPierre, executive
vice president of the NRA, told the crowd that commercial airline pilots
should be allowed to carry guns, and that the government should identify
and stop noncitizens, not ordinary Americans, at airports. "The
first target of homeland security shouldn't be the people of our homeland,"
LaPierre said. "It should be the kinds of people who are not citizens
of the homeland, who don't belong in our homeland."
LaPierre also railed against campaign finance
reforms signed by Bush because they would restrict his group and others
from running TV ads two months before a general election supporting a
specific candidate. The NRA is challenging the law in federal court.
Bush was never singled out for criticism,
however, and NRA President Charlton Heston invited Bush to speak next
year -- so he could thank them for getting him elected.
And, finally, LaPierre went after a new
crop of gun-control advocates who he called "political terrorists."
He singled out Andrew McKelvey, the wealthy founder of Monster.com and
Americans for Gun Safety. LaPierre said McKelvey has a lot
in common with Osama bin Laden, describing him as "an extremist billionaire
with a political agenda using personal wealth to train and deploy activists,
looking for vulnerability to attack, fomenting fear for political gain
and funding an ongoing campaign to hijack your freedom and take a box
cutter to the constitution."
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NRA takes credit for Bush's win; sets sights on Senate foes next
REPORT FROM NRA Annual Meeting
RENO, Nev. (AP) National Rifle Association
leaders took credit for President Bush's election Saturday, saying they're
taking aim next at unseating gun control advocates in Congress and defeating
campaign finance reform in court. ''You are why Al Gore isn't
in the White House,'' NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre told
more than 4,500 delegates at the NRA's 131st annual meeting. ''No
other group could have done what we did collectively in 2000, and now
it's time to finish the job,'' NRA lobbyist James Jay Baker said. ''The
Senate is the hole in our armor. ... The Senate is our battleground.''
Georgia Sen. Zell Miller, the first Democrat
to give the NRA's keynote address in more than a decade, agreed that Gore's
stands on gun rights cost him key states, including Arkansas, West Virginia
and Tennessee. ''I recall the surprise of national Democratic
leaders at losing those states in the presidential election,'' Miller,
a longtime NRA member, said in remarks prepared for Saturday night's banquet. ''All
their expert pollsters said voters favored gun control. ... Well, I stand
with heartfelt conviction over a political wind gauge any day.
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Zell Miller to be NRA keynote speaker
By TOM BAXTER Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer, 4/27/02
Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia will become
the first Democrat since the election of former President Bill Clinton
to give the keynote address at the National Rifle Association's annual
meeting. Miller, a longtime ally of the NRA, will make his speech
Saturday night during the meeting in Reno, Nev. The speech
comes at a time when the NRA is seeking to renew ties with Democrats.
The organization raises the argument that the Clinton administration record
on guns was key to Vice President Al Gore's defeat in 2000 by George W.
Bush.
"Sen. Miller has certainly demonstrated
his steadfast dedication to protecting Second Amendment rights,"
NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said Thursday. Miller received
the NRA's endorsement in both his races for governor and his 2000 U.S.
Senate race. During the summer, the former governor wrote a New
York Times op-ed piece taking Democrats to task for failing to understand
the potency of the issue in the rural South.
Miller speaks Saturday night at the Reno
Hilton hotel-casino. The senator, who is a fan of country music, will
be able to hear Vince Gill, who will perform at the dinner-dance. NRA
President Charlton Heston will speak earlier in the day, and power rocker
Ted Nugent will attend to sign copies of his new book, "Kill It &
Grill It." About 35,000 people are expected to attend some portion
of the annual event. Interior Secretary Gail Norton gave last
year's keynote speech. The last Democrat was Texas Rep. Martin Frost,
who spoke to the group in 1991.
Arulanandam said more Democrats are moving
away from anti-gun positions since the 2000 election. The NRA spokesman
cited the example of Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, whose position on guns
in last year's governor's race was "a drastic change" from that
of a few years before when he was state party chairman.
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NYC
Firearm Deaths Show Complex Link To Drug Use and Race
Fewer gun-related deaths in past decade, but minorities still hit
hardest
NEW YORK CITY, April 12 -
More than half of those killed by firearms in New York City between 1990
and 1998 tested positive for drugs, but shooting deaths overall declined
as the decade drew to a close, according to a new study to be released
Tuesday in the Journal of Urban Health, published by The New York Academy
of Medicine. Despite the decline, African-Americans and Latinos remained
three times more likely than whites to be victims of shooting violence.
Of the 11,133 total firearm-related deaths
in the city in that period, 55.3 percent of the victims tested positive
for cocaine, marijuana, opiates (i.e., heroin) and/or alcohol, according
to researchers, who combed eight years of records from the city's Office
of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York.
Fatal shootings in the five boroughs dropped
notably to 526 in 1998 from 1,720 in 1990, the study shows, while the
proportion of drug-positive victims held steady. African-Americans and
Latinos remained about three times more likely than whites to be victims
of fatal firearm violence in 1998, though the race gap narrowed by that
time.
While this study does not investigate drug
use habits of those who fired the weapons, it provides further evidence
that alcohol and illicit drugs continue to play a role in firearm mortalities,
said lead author Sandro Galea, M.D., M.P.H., an epidemiologist in the
Academy's Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies (CUES).
"The overall decrease in firearm homicides
in New York City is reassuring," Galea said. "However, the disparities
in mortality between racial and ethnic groups remains a clear cause for
concern." Other authors of the study are: Jennifer Ahern, M.P.H.,
of CUES; David Vlahov, Ph.D., CUES director; and Kenneth Tardiff, M.D.,
M.P.H. and Andrew Leon, Ph.D., of the Cornell University Medical College
Department of Psychiatry.
The study, "Drugs and Firearm Deaths
in New York City, 1990-1998," was funded in part by a grant from
the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It is among five research papers
in the Journal's special "Firearms and Violence" section to
be released Tuesday. The other firearm studies in the Journal found that:
- Women are much more likely to die at
the hands of a gun-wielder in states where guns are more prevalent,
according to Harvard University researchers. Between 1988 and 1997,
women in high-gun states (Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas
and West Virginia) were 1.5 times more likely to die from suicide, 2.7
times more likely to die from homicide, and 11.2 times more likely to
die from firearm accidents than in low-gun states (Hawaii, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, New Jersey and Delaware).
- Firearm use is the leading method of
suicide and has been for two decades, according to scientists from the
Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California,
Davis. Restricting firearm access could curb suicides, the study suggests.
- Unintentional gun deaths in the U.S.
have steadily declined in the last century, according to the Johns Hopkins
Center for Gun Policy and Research. Some possible explanations: the
number of gun-owning households dropped 32 percent from 1973 to 2000,
and a smaller percentage of households have an adult male.
- Guns are readily available to criminally
involved youths through their social networks, according to a study
led by Johns Hopkins University.
The New York City study shows that the predominant illegal drug used
by fatal shooting victims changed as the '90s progressed, and that choices
varied by race. Cocaine was the most prevalent illegal drug detected
in victims in 1990, autopsy records show, but marijuana took the lead
from 1994-98. Alcohol was the most widely found drug in Latino and white
victims in 1998, while marijuana was dominant in African-Americans.
Researchers also found that:
Brooklyn was the deadliest borough from1990-98,
with 35 percent of gun-related deaths.
More than one-third of fatal shooting victims
were 15-24 years old.
The face of firearm deaths is mostly male (91.4
percent) and minority (48.1 percent African American, and 35.9 percent
Latino). Whites comprise 12 percent of victims.
Gun-related deaths dropped by two-thirds among African-American
men from 1990-98, by nearly half for white men, and by nearly four times
among Latino males.
Minority women are more likely to be
firearm homicide victims than are white women.
NYAM researchers are continuing the study,
collecting data for the last four years. A follow-up study will be released
by next year.
The New York Academy of Medicine is a non-profit
organization founded in 1847 that is dedicated to enhancing the health
of the public through research, education and advocacy, with a particular
focus on disadvantaged urban populations. The Academy formed and sponsors
"Doctors Against Handgun Injury," a coalition of 12 professional
medical societies working to reduce death and injury from handguns. The
Academy publishes the Journal of Urban Health quarterly. View it online
at http://www.jurban.oupjournals.org/?f2
( MY COMMENT: I do not understand several
points about this study. The most glaring are: What is the
relationship between the gun-related deaths and legal firearm ownership? Are
the laws regarding obtaining a license for a handgun different between whites,
African-Americans and Latinos? What is the relationship between
legal gun owners and illegal gun owners in the deaths? NYC passed
no new gun laws so why the decline in deaths?) |
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"First Monday" CBS show about the Federal Supreme Court does
2nd Amendment.
Monday night, 4/22/02, on CBS featured
a show abut the Federal Supreme Court, (JAMES GARNER plays Chief Justice
Thomas Brankin,) and the topic was the 2nd Amendment and for a change
the bad guy was a anti-gun liberal Federal Senator. Both sides of
the argument were presented and the case was about a city that voted to
ban all guns, (remember Morton Grove,). One Supreme Court Justice,
Justice Joe Novelli, who opposed the ban had a handgun stolen from him
that was later used to kill someone. The male liberal, anti-gun
Senator tried to use that information to pressure the Justice into voting
to support the ban. Justice Novelli also tells another liberal,
anti-gun woman Justice the story of how Justice Novelli saved the life
of his aunt when he was 10 years old by shooting a robber who was going
to rape his aunt.
It ends with the court overturning the ban
5 to 4 with Novelli, who voted to overturn the ban, and the anti-gun liberal
woman, who also voted to overturn the ban, agreeing as the woman Justice
said, "I am going to write a concurring opinion that encourages more
Second Amendment cases favoring laws that restrict the private ownership
of automatic arms, Teflon coated bullets and assault weapons." (Automatic
arms, teflon coated bullets and assault weapons had not even come up in
the show so that was out of left field. Who does not know of
all the laws on automatic firearms and what is the problem with teflon
coated bullets also, the Supreme Court failed to take up the Assault
Weapons Ban in NJ when it had the chance.)
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Campaign to end Federal Assault Weapons Ban has started, (it does not
matter to NYers.)
The Federal Assault Weapons
and high-capacity magazines Ban ends on Sept. 13, 2004 and The NRA sent
out a DAILY UPDATE, 4/22/02, that links to the first article that I have
seen about the upcoming fight. When the law was passed and
then signed by then Pres. Clinton, it contained wording that would sunset
the bill in 10 years and 2004 is the year. As anyone can guess,
this is going to be a big campaign point in the 2002 Federal Senate races
and all races in 2004. (How wonderful that we will have the Campaign
Finance Reform in full effect in the 2004 election.) It really
will not matter for us New Yorkers because our wonderful Gov. Mario Pataki
passed laws last year that will save us from ourselves and prevent us
from buying any of the guns if the Federal Law sunsets. When the
NY State law was passed supporters said that they could not understand
why 2nd Amendment supporters would object because it was a copy of the
Federal Law and we had nothing to loose. The law was the same as
the Federal law with one major exception, it did not have the sunset section
and was not tied into the federal ban so that even if the federal ban
ends, New Yorkers will still be screwed. A big thanks to is
due to not only Gov. Mario Pataki but also to State Senator Thomas P.
Morahan, 38TH, New City. He is one of the main people who pushed
the new law and he voted for it.
If the Federal law does sunset, at least
the price of the used guns that we can buy will be cheaper and I have
no idea how they will prevent new +10 capacity magazines that do not have
a date on them from being sold in NY or from someone buying them out of
state and having them unless the gun is of a new design built after the
state law passed where you could have never had a legal +10 round capacity
magazine.
CLICK
HERE TO SEE THE WHOLE ARTICLE at gomemphis.com
NRA targets candidates in fight to end gun ban
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No
Choice,“Weapons-effect” paralysis.
By Dave Kopel & Paul Gallant & Joanne Eisen
On September 16th, Reuters
revealed that in the midst of the Sept. 11 hijackings, President Bush
had ordered U.S. fighter pilots to shoot down any airliner acting in a
suspicious manner. Since then, a fleet of 250 military planes, including
AWACS surveillance aircraft and refueling tankers, has flown nearly 20,000
missions over U.S. cities. To date, military aircraft have responded to
more than 350 "air events" — instances when a plane flew
off course or failed to maintain radio contact.
Early discussions after Sept. 11 about how best to deal with terrorists
in the air focused on whether to allow armed pilots in the cockpit. There
was hardly a thought about allowing off-duty cops, and civilians with
concealed-carry licenses, as armed passengers aboard airliners. But the
idea of armed pilots now appears officially off the table, with Transportation
Secretary Norman Mineta's statement on March 4, "I don't feel we
should have lethal weapons in the cockpit."
What has been utterly incomprehensible is
that the federal government considers destroying a hijacked airliner,
and thereby killing every single passenger, more palatable than allowing
the arming of pilots or passengers.
Why does the slim possibility of a bad outcome
from firearms onboard a plane (e.g. an innocent passenger shot by mistake)
provoke so much more fear than does the death of all those aboard the
plane? What about the likelihood of additional ground casualties resulting
from a plane being blasted out of the skies?
Twenty-two years ago, Dr. Lester Adelson
wrote in the The Pharos, a medical-society journal: "The accessibility
of a firearm permits the instantaneous metamorphosis of a law-abiding
person into a murderer." Adelson had perfectly articulated what has
become known as the "weapons effect" hypothesis.
Whether called the "weapons effect,"
the "instrumentality theory," or the "accessibility thesis,"
the premise is the same: Guns provoke impulsive, violent responses, and
the presence of firearms anywhere (except in the hands of government employees)
is to be feared. The illogical fear of firearms on airplanes is evidence
that the weapons-effect hypothesis has thoroughly permeated our culture
CLICK HERE
TO SEE THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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NATIONAL
Ohio - 1st Ohio District Court of Appeals Upholds Hamilton County Right
to Carry
( The Second Amendment Foundation
(SAF), has won another major victory. SAF is a leading national
gun owner rights organization and is both a named plaintiff in the case
and funded the lawsuit. SAF is also a part of and funding
many other cases. If you have a few extra $ you should send them a few. The
Second Amendment Foundation is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt
education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the
Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms.
Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 600,000 members
and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform
the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously
funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles;
New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners. Current
projects include several concealed carry lawsuits, a lawsuit against
the cities suing gun makers & an amicus brief & fund for the
Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.)
An unanimous Appeals Court
ruled that Ohio's ban on carrying concealed firearms is unconstitutional
in a very strongly worded opinion. The monumental decision upheld Judge
Ruehlman's trial court decision and legalizes concealed carry in Hamilton
County for the third time in less than two years.
"This is total vindication of the
trial court's decision and another great victory for the Second Amendment
Foundation and the citizens of Ohio," stated SAF Founder Alan Gottlieb.
"All three judges were of the same opinion, these carry ban laws
are offensive to common sense and need to be stricken from the books,
and I couldn't agree more."
The Ohio laws in question, R.C. 2923.12,
bans all concealed carry of firearms with felony penalties for any violations
while R.C. 2923.16 bans loaded guns in a motor vehicle. Only after a
person is caught violating either of these provisions, and the person
incurs the costs and stresses of a criminal trial, does the current
law allow the possibility of an "affirmative defense" to be
made. It was for this reason that the law was struck down.
CLICK
HERE TO SEE THE SAF PAGE ABOUT THIS LAWSUIT. Also take a look
at the rest of the web page. The web page provides an incredible
amount of information and more legal briefs and motions than you can
read.
A stay was issued in the case so law-abiding,
mentally competent adults can now carry guns concealed and have loaded
guns in their vehicles without fear of being arrested and prosecuted
for exercising their rights only in Hamilton.
"The framers of the constitution "put the
citizens' rights up front," said presiding Judge Mark Painter.
"We believe they meant what they said," he said."
In a landmark decision, the 1st Ohio District Court of
Appeals has held that citizens may carry concealed weapons, affirming
a Hamilton County trial court finding that the state's ban on carrying
concealed weapons violated Ohio's Constitution. The Court put it's finding
in blunt terms, stating, "we believe they meant what they said",
referring to the language drafted by the framers of the Constitutional
guarantee that citizens may arm themselves for self defense.
The Court refused to accept the arguments that county and city governments
in Ohio have the right to regulate the carrying of concealed weapons
in the interest of public safety. An appeal to the State Supreme Court
is expected but a final ruling from the high court could be many months
in the making.
http://www.cincinow.com/news/breaking.shtml
OHIO COURT OF APPEALS REJECTS BAN ON RIGHT TO CARRY
NRA-ILA Fax Alert Vol. 9, No. 15 4/12/02
On Wednesday, a three-judge
panel from the 1st Ohio District Court of Appeals held that Ohio`s ban
on carrying concealed firearms violates Article 1 of the state Constitution
a ruling that upholds a January 10 decision by Judge Robert P. Ruehlman.
When announcing the unanimous decision, presiding Judge Mark P. Painter
read from Article 1, stating,"The people have the right to bear
arms for their defense and security." He followed by claiming,
"We believe they [the state`s founding fathers] meant what they
said."
Ohio is one of only six
states that currently prohibits all law-abiding citizens from carrying
concealed firearms for personal protection, and does not offer a clear
exemption to this prohibition for civilians. And while the law in question
has a provision that justifies a "prudent person in going armed,"
this provision is what is referred to as an "affirmative defense,"
and can be used only after an individual has been arrested and indicted.
Judge Painter commented, "No Ohioan can exercise the constitutional
right to bear arms, whether concealed or unconcealed, without risking
jail... .We know of no other situation where a citizen is guilty until
proven innocent." Wednesday`s ruling also found the "prudent
person" provision incomprehensible to the ordinary citizen, pointing
out that even a seasoned law officer could not determine its true meaning,
leaving the law open to arbitrary enforcement. What this ruling will
ultimately mean to law-abiding Ohioans remains to be seen, as the gun-ban
lobby formerly known as HCI promises another appeal is in the works.
This anti-gun extremist organization, through what it calls the "Brady
Center`s Legal Action Project," has been assisting the defendants
in the case -- which includes Hamilton County, Cincinnati, and the state
of Ohio -- by acting as co-counsel. The next stop for this case should
be the Ohio Supreme Court, and we`ll be sure to keep you abreast of
any new developments.
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Court Rules Gun Makers Not Responsible for Acts of Criminals
Yet another court has rejected the notion that law-abiding gun makers
should be held responsible when criminals misuse their products. On
March 25, U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins threw out a lawsuit that
sought to hold certain gun makers responsible for Buford O. Furrow's
August 1999 attack on the North Valley Jewish Community Center in California,
where three boys, a teenage girl, and a woman were injured. The suit
also sought damages for the murder of Joseph Ileto, a postal worker
Furrow killed after his attack on the community center. Judge Collins'
37-page opinion held that the plaintiffs did not show a link between
Furrows' actions and the marketing strategies of the gun makers being
sued.
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