Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit to Ban Ammunition

In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied a petition filed by a number of groups (led by the radical anti-gun, anti-hunting environmental group Center for Biological Diversity) to ban the use of lead ammunition.  The 2010 denial was based on the simple fact that the EPA does not have the legal authority under the Toxic Substance Control Act to ban or regulate ammunition.

When TSCA was passed in 1976, pro-gun legislators led by the late Sen. James McClure (R-Idaho) added language to the bill specifically exempting ammunition from EPA control.  They knew, even then, that radical anti-hunting groups could try to use the law to end hunting and recreational shooting by making ammo too expensive. Their foresight has now provided an invaluable protection against the effort to ban traditional lead ammunition.

But you can never count on radicals to stop just because they have been beaten. The EPA has also previously denied their petition to ban the use of lead fishing sinkers, and when they sued to force the EPA to impose an ammunition ban, a federal court ruled that the suit had been filed too late.

Last year, CBD filed a new petition that was just slightly different than the original, only changing the language to specifically target ammunition used in hunting or recreational shooting so that it would not apply to law enforcement or the military.

This week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed that lawsuit The suit sought to force the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the manufacture, processing, and distribution of lead-based ammunition and was brought in an attempt to overturn the EPA’s previous denials.

The NRA, Safari Club International, and the National Shooting Sports Foundation each intervened in the case to defend the rights and interests of hunters, competitive shooters, and others with firearms-related interests.

Federal Judge Emmet G. Sullivan dismissed CBD’s lawsuit, finding that CBD’s current petition was nothing more than an attempt to seek reconsideration of their previous petition, which the EPA had denied.  Judge Sullivan also indicated that he would defer to EPA’s determination that the agency was not congressionally authorized to regulate lead-based ammunition.

By ruling on procedural grounds, Judge Sullivan was not required to address CBD’s flawed legal argument in his ruling.  CBD claimed that the Toxic Substances Control Act provides EPA with the authority to ban lead-based ammunition, notwithstanding that the law has an exclusion that puts “shells and cartridges” outside its regulatory scope.  CBD contended, strangely, that bullets and shot are not within the exception for “shells and cartridges,” notwithstanding the very obvious fact that shells and cartridges are where bullets and shot are found.

The CBD is unlikely to ever give up in its effort to ban lead ammunition, which means NRA and gun owners will have to remain vigilant to protect our rights in the future. Currently there is legislation in pending in California to ban the use of lead ammo in the state.

“Disarm the people- that is the best and most effective
way to enslave them.”
― James Madison

Governor Signs Alabama Omnibus Firearms Bill

Gun owners and sportsmen earned a major victory with the passage of an omnibus firearms bill, Senate Bill 286.  This NRA-supported bill was signed into law yesterday by Governor Robert Bentley (R) and will take effect on August 1.

Rep. Ed Henry, R-Hartselle, said the bill was needed to make sure that people have access to weapons to defend themselves including on long drives to work.

“It’s up to you to protect yourself,” Henry said.

The bill would prohibit employers from prohibiting their workers from bringing guns into workplace parking lots provided the firearm is out of sight, locked in the car and other conditions are met.  A concealed carry permit would be required for pistols. A rifle or other weapon used for hunting could only be carried during hunting season, and would require a valid hunting license or a concealed carry permit.

Senate Bill 286 will protect and restore your Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Alabama by reforming the state gun laws in the following ways:

• Allows those who possess a valid Alabama pistol permit to keep firearms stored in their vehicle while at work, as well as allowing those who possess a valid Alabama hunting license to store an unloaded rifle or shotgun used in their vehicle while at work.
• Allows transportation of a handgun in a vehicle without an Alabama pistol permit as long as the handgun is unloaded, locked in a container and out of reach of the driver or passenger.
• Shifts the current “May Issue” concealed carry permit system to a “Shall Issue” permit system and requires that a sheriff must issue or deny the carry permit within thirty days.  Should someone be denied a permit, a written denial must be provided and that applicant would have an opportunity to appeal the denial.
• A permit to carry a concealed pistol shall be good for one to five years (to be decided by the applicant seeking the carry permit).
• Requires sheriffs to use the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to conduct a background check on concealed pistol permit applicants.
• Allows for all other valid state-issued permits to carry a concealed firearm to be recognized in Alabama.
• Strengthens Alabama’s firearms preemption statute by reserving for the state legislature complete control over regulation and policy relating to firearms, ammunition and firearm accessories in order to ensure that such regulation is applied uniformly throughout the state.
• Extends the current Castle Doctrine to include places of business to ensure the right of self-defense does not end when you enter your business.

 “A free people ought…to be armed”
― George Washington

"You People Will Never Be Safe"

Piers Morgan spends practically all his time and effort on both CNN and Twitter demanding that government usurp Second Amendment civil rights in the United States.

Only a third of the law enforcement officers in the UK are armed. These officers are spread among a dozen different units under separate commands.  It took almost 30 minutes for armed police officers to arrive at this brutal murder scene.  

The jihadists waited for the armed police this time. But now the world knows that the Muslim murderers  could have killed countless innocents before the police arrived.  Not only are 100% of the citizens of the UK unarmed, at least 66% of the police in the UK do not carry firearms nor or they trained in their use.

The Obamanation is shredding the Bill of Rights in the United States.  Islamic Jihad is a real and present danger. This will be our future if we don’t stop the liberal fascist growth of progressivism in America.

“And that the said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the Press, or the rights of Conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms; …”  Samuel Adams -quoted in the Philadelphia Independent Gazetteer, August 20, 1789, “Propositions submitted to the Convention of this State”

Update on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 10:14AM by Bonzer Wolf

Muslim reaction and justification for murder of Infidels:

Haji Ahmad Farid, a mullah and former MP from the violent eastern Kapisa province, is an outspoken critic of the foreign presence in Afghanistan. He said: “There is no doubt that the war in Afghanistan is waged by the British and Americans, and every day around the world especially in Afghanistan and Iraq, Americans and other foreigners keep killing innocent Muslims. I think this guy, maybe one of his family or close relatives was killed by foreign troops and he is trying to avenge that, which is his right.

“No one discusses the death of Muslims at the hands of non-Muslims, but everyone talks about the death of non-Muslims at the hand of Muslims and calls it terrorism … When they kill, Muslims should also kill them.”

TEXANS CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATORS TODAY

Three pro-gun bills have passed the Texas House, and are now pending in the full Senate. Should they clear the final hurdle, Governor Perry is expected to sign all of them into law.
 
The first bill, House Bill 928, would prohibit Texas state agencies and political subdivisions from assisting the Obama administration in enforcing gun bans, magazine bans, and ammunition bans. Any aggrieved Texan may petition the attorney general to enforce this legislation on his behalf.
 
The second bill, House Bill 1076, would prohibit Texas state agencies and political subdivisions from adopting rules and regulations implementing Obama administration gun bans, magazine bans, and ammunition bans. Again, an aggrieved Texan can petition the attorney general to enforce this petition.
 
Finally, House Bill 972 would replace the statewide prohibition on concealed carry holders, which currently prohibits them from carrying a firearm on campus for defense of themselves or others. In order to secure passage, this bill was watered down to allow individual campuses to go through a procedure to reinstate the ban on that campus. However, after careful consideration, we believe that the compromise version is still better than nothing.
 
ACTION: Contact your state senator. Ask him to vote for House Bills 928, 972, and 1076.
 
HOW TO CONTACT/WRITE YOUR STATE SENATOR:
1. Proceed to www.gunowners.org/url/officials.htm
2. There will be 4 grey tabs, click on “Elected Officials” (2nd from left)
3. Enter your zip code in the box provided under “enter your zip code”
4. Scroll down past the alerts till you find “Governor and State Legislators” (on the right) and there is your state senator.
5. Click on the name of your senator
6. Click on the “contact” tab.
7. Click on the “<name of Senator> via webform”, this will bring up a webmail form. Then, take the pre-written letter below and cut-n-paste this into the editable text box on the page.
8. Fill out the sender information
9. Click “Send Message” (blue button at the bottom)
 
——- Sample letter ——-
 
Dear Senator:
 
Three pro-gun bills have passed the Texas House, and are now pending in the full Senate. Should they clear that final hurdle, Governor Perry is expected to sign all of them into law.
 
The first bill, House Bill 928, would prohibit Texas state agencies and political subdivisions from assisting the Obama administration in enforcing gun bans, magazine bans, and ammunition bans. Any aggrieved Texan may petition the attorney general to enforce this legislation on his behalf.
 
The second bill, House Bill 1076, would prohibit Texas state agencies and political subdivisions from adopting rules and regulations implementing Obama administration gun bans, magazine bans, and ammunition bans. Again, an aggrieved Texan can petition the attorney general to enforce this petition.
 
Finally, House Bill 972 would replace the statewide prohibition on concealed carry holders, which currently prohibits them from carrying a firearm on campus for defense of themselves or others. In order to secure passage, this bill was watered down to allow individual campuses to go through a procedure to reinstate the ban on that campus. However, after careful consideration, I believe that the compromise version is still better than nothing.
 
Your support for House Bills 928, 972, and 1076 is ESSENTIAL. I will be closely watching the vote on all three Bills.
 
Sincerely,

Update on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 8:42AM by Bonzer Wolf

The good people of the Great State of Oklahoma need our help.

Help Your Fellow Patriots in the Great State of Oklahoma

The state of Oklahoma has a total population of less than 3.8 million. Compare that to the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex with a population of 7 million.  The Texas-Oklahoma border on the Red River is less than 100 miles from anywhere in the DFW metroplex.

As many of my regular readers and Twitter followers know, I am very fond of the my neighbors and Patriots in the Great State of Oklahoma.  Oklahoma is the ONLY state in the country where both McCain and Romney defeated Obama in every single county in the state.  Oklahoma, home of the Crimson and Cream is the most Red State in our nation. 

Yesterday afternoon around 3pm, an enormous tornado roared through Cleveland County and Oklahoma County, killing at least 24 people.  There may be children trapped in an elementary school that took a direct hit from the EF5 tornado.

Governor Perry immediately deployed three Texas Task Force Rescue Teams, including canines, to assist our neighbors in Oklahoma.

The twister pulverized entire city blocks, left behind miles of mangled cars and splintered wood, and destroyed Plaza Towers Elementary School where seven children were found dead before nightfall.

Crews frantically searched the wreckage and were only beginning to get a sense of the destruction when night fell hours later. Officials warned the death toll could climb. At one hospital, 85 patients, including 65 children, were being treated for minor to critical injuries.

“The whole city looks like a debris field,” said Mayor Glenn Lewis of the city of Moore, which was hardest hit.

Students in fourth, fifth and sixth grade were evacuated to a church, but students in lower grades had sheltered in place, KFOR reported. More than two hours after the tornado struck, several children were pulled out alive.

The twister was a mile wide at its base, according to The Weather Channel, and a reporter for KFOR said the tornado kicked up a cloud of debris perhaps two miles wide. The National Weather Service initially classified the storm as an EF4, the second-strongest type, with winds of 166 to 200 mph. But it was later upgraded to an EF5, with sustained winds in excess of 200 mph.  Less than 1% (.05%) of tornados have been rated EF4 or EF5. Since 1950 less than 60 tornados have been rated EF5, the most detructive level. 

The tornado struck at mid-afternoon and tore a 20-mile path, said Rick Smith, another weather service meteorologist. He said it was on the ground for 40 minutes. Much of the storm’s rampage was captured on live television, perhaps alerting people in its path to seek shelter.

You can help our neighbors and fellow patriots immediately by donating to the following organizations, which are already providing help on the ground:

Mercury One 2013 Midwest Tornado Relief Fund

Yesterday saw devastating severe storms and tornadoes throughout the Midwest, and especially in the Moore, Oklahoma area. While lives and communities have been forever changed by these events, so many of you have responded enthusiastically to our call to help those affected by the most recent storms. Yesterday, through your support, Mercury One was able to respond with tractor-trailer loads of much needed supplies for the Moore, OK area. Thank you for your support of our 2013 Midwest Tornado Relief Fund and for being a blessing in the lives that need it most right now. We are still accepting donations, if you would like to contribute towards helping patriots in need click here

Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief
This organization says donations will “go straight to help those in need providing tree removal services, laundry services and meals to victims of disasters.” 

It is requesting monetary donations (It says clothing is NOT needed). For more information, and to donate, visit Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief’s website.

You can send checks to: BGCO, Attn: Disaster Relief, 3800 N. May Ave., Oklahoma City, OK., 73112.

Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is organizing disaster response units to serve hard-hit areas in central Oklahoma, including Moore, where it is sending mobile kitchens that can serve meals to 2,500 people a day, and to South Oklahoma City.

Supporters can donate online via the organization’s website, SalvationArmyUSA.org. You can also text the word STORM to 80888 to make a $10 donation from a cell phone.

If you want to send a check, the Salvation Army asks that you put the words “Oklahoma Tornado Relief” on the check, and mail it to: The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 12600, Oklahoma City, OK., 73157.

Phone:  1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769).

Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Food Bank are already delivering truck loads of food, water and supplies to the communities struck by the yesterday’s tornado and set up additional emergency food and supply distribution sites as they are needed. You can donate online here. Text FOOD to 32333 to donate $10 from your cell phone to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.

Update on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 11:07AM by Bonzer Wolf

Thanks to BW readers for their generous support!

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