Rolly=20 and Wells: Not All Holders Of Gun Permits Are Good=20 Guys

Monday<= /B>,=20 January 28, 2002

Paul=20 Rolley and JoAnn Jacobson Wells
The Salt Lake=20 Tribune

    David Tubbs, a former = FBI=20 supervisor and director for the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command, = told=20 The Associated Press recently that Utah has 41,800 concealed weapons= =20 permit holders and he doesn't know of any who have used a weapon=20 unlawfully.
    He may want to check his facts.=20 According to the "Firearms Statistical Review" prepared by the Utah = State=20 Bureau of Criminal Identification, 64 concealed weapons permit = holders=20 have had their permits revoked due to felony convictions since 1994. = Five=20 were convicted of homicides, 20 for rape or sexual assault, three for= =20 aggravated assault, three for burglary, eight for drugs, four for = fraud,=20 six for theft, one for kidnapping and 14 for various other offenses.= =20 Another 480 permits were revoked for nonfelony convictions.=20
    Still, the Capitol Preservation Board ruled = that=20 concealed weapons holders can carry their guns inside the Capitol = during=20 the legislative session, and lawmakers are considering bills to relax= =20 gun-safety class requirements and fees to get a concealed-carry = permit.=20

- ----__JNP_000_1fb6.1a17.1365-- ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2002 18:49:10 -0700 From: Scott Bergeson Subject: THE MISSING GUN By JOHN R. LOTT, JR. THE MISSING GUN By JOHN R. LOTT, JR. http://nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/38115.htm January 25, 2002 -- ANOTHER school shooting occurred last week and the headlines were everywhere the same, from Australia to Nigeria. This time the shooting occurred at a university, the Appalachian Law School. As usual, there were calls for more gun control. Yet in this age of "gun-free school zones," one fact was missing from virtually all the news coverage: The attack was stopped by two students who had guns in their cars. The fast responses of two male students, Mikael Gross, 34, and Tracy Bridges, 25, undoubtedly saved multiple lives. Mikael was outside the law school and just returning from lunch when Peter Odighizuwa started his attack. Tracy was in a classroom waiting for class to start. When the shots rang out, utter chaos erupted. Mikael said, "People were running everywhere. They were jumping behind cars, running out in front of traffic, trying to get away." Mikael and Tracy did something quite different: Both immediately ran to their cars and got their guns. Mikael had to run about 100 yards to get to his car. Along with Ted Besen (who was unarmed), they approached Peter from different sides. As Tracy explained it, "I aimed my gun at him, and Peter tossed his gun down. Ted approached Peter, and Peter hit Ted in the jaw. Ted pushed him back and we all jumped on." What is so remarkable is that out of 280 separate news stories (from a computerized Nexis-Lexis search) in the week after the event, just four stories mentioned that the students who stopped the attack had guns. Only two local newspapers (the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Charlotte Observer) mentioned that the students actually pointed their guns at the attacker. Much more typical was the scenario described by the Washington Post, where the heroes had simply "helped subdue" the killer. The New York Times noted only that the attacker was "tackled by fellow students." Most in the media who discussed how the attack was stopped said: "students overpowered a gunman," "students ended the rampage by tackling him," "the gunman was tackled by four male students before being arrested," or "Students ended the rampage by confronting and then tackling the gunman, who dropped his weapon." In all, 72, stories described how the attacker was stopped without mentioning that the student heroes had guns. Unfortunately, the coverage in this case was not unusual. In the other public school shootings where citizens with guns have stopped attacks, rarely do more than one percent of the news stories mention that citizens with guns stopped the attacks. Many people find it hard to believe that research shows that there are 2 million defensive gun uses each year. After all, if these events were really happening, wouldn't we hear about them on the news? But when was the last time you saw a story on the national evening news (or even the local news) about a citizen using his gun to stop a crime? This misreporting actually endangers people's lives. By selectively reporting the news and turning a defensive gun use story into one where students merely "overpowered a gunman" the media gives misleading impressions of what works when people are confronted by violence. Research consistently shows that having a gun is the safest way to respond to any type of criminal attack, especially these multiple victim shootings. John Lott is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of "More Guns, Less Crime." - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2002 20:47:20 -0700 From: charles hardy Subject: Fw: THE MISSING GUN By JOHN R. LOTT, JR. I think a few elected officials, University officers, and media types ought to read the following. Sadly, few will and even those that do will dismiss it out of hand. - ---------------- Charles Hardy - --------- Forwarded message ---------- THE MISSING GUN By JOHN R. LOTT, JR. http://nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/38115.htm January 25, 2002 -- ANOTHER school shooting occurred last week and the headlines were everywhere the same, from Australia to Nigeria. This time the shooting occurred at a university, the Appalachian Law School. As usual, there were calls for more gun control. Yet in this age of "gun-free school zones," one fact was missing from virtually all the news coverage: The attack was stopped by two students who had guns in their cars. The fast responses of two male students, Mikael Gross, 34, and Tracy Bridges, 25, undoubtedly saved multiple lives. Mikael was outside the law school and just returning from lunch when Peter Odighizuwa started his attack. Tracy was in a classroom waiting for class to start. When the shots rang out, utter chaos erupted. Mikael said, "People were running everywhere. They were jumping behind cars, running out in front of traffic, trying to get away." Mikael and Tracy did something quite different: Both immediately ran to their cars and got their guns. Mikael had to run about 100 yards to get to his car. Along with Ted Besen (who was unarmed), they approached Peter from different sides. As Tracy explained it, "I aimed my gun at him, and Peter tossed his gun down. Ted approached Peter, and Peter hit Ted in the jaw. Ted pushed him back and we all jumped on." What is so remarkable is that out of 280 separate news stories (from a computerized Nexis-Lexis search) in the week after the event, just four stories mentioned that the students who stopped the attack had guns. Only two local newspapers (the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Charlotte Observer) mentioned that the students actually pointed their guns at the attacker. Much more typical was the scenario described by the Washington Post, where the heroes had simply "helped subdue" the killer. The New York Times noted only that the attacker was "tackled by fellow students." Most in the media who discussed how the attack was stopped said: "students overpowered a gunman," "students ended the rampage by tackling him," "the gunman was tackled by four male students before being arrested," or "Students ended the rampage by confronting and then tackling the gunman, who dropped his weapon." In all, 72, stories described how the attacker was stopped without mentioning that the student heroes had guns. Unfortunately, the coverage in this case was not unusual. In the other public school shootings where citizens with guns have stopped attacks, rarely do more than one percent of the news stories mention that citizens with guns stopped the attacks. Many people find it hard to believe that research shows that there are 2 million defensive gun uses each year. After all, if these events were really happening, wouldn't we hear about them on the news? But when was the last time you saw a story on the national evening news (or even the local news) about a citizen using his gun to stop a crime? This misreporting actually endangers people's lives. By selectively reporting the news and turning a defensive gun use story into one where students merely "overpowered a gunman" the media gives misleading impressions of what works when people are confronted by violence. Research consistently shows that having a gun is the safest way to respond to any type of criminal attack, especially these multiple victim shootings. John Lott is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of "More Guns, Less Crime." ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 14:20:48 -0700 From: Charles C Hardy Subject: Fw: [UTGOA] Good News! HB 183 passes committee - --------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Sarah Thompson To: utgoa@yahoogroups.com Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 12:30:06 -0700 Subject: [UTGOA] Good News! HB 183 passes committee GOOD NEWS! HB 183, Firearm Criminal Background Check Amendments, sponsored by Rep. Morgan Philpot passed the House Judiciary Committee this morning. Thank you to those of you who took the time to attend the hearing! This bill, if passed, will eliminate the current $7.50 fee charged for background checks on firearms purchases. Rep. Philpot did an excellent job of presenting his bill and promoting the principle that no one should be charged a fee to exercise a Constitutional right, and most committee members responded favorably to his principled arguments. UTGOA will try to post some of Rep. Philpot's comments when we have time to transcribe them. Thanks also to Reps. Mike Thompson and Kathy Bryson for speaking in favor of the bill, as well as Rep. Jim Ferrin for asking some good questions. Committee Chair Glenn Way kept the discussion on topic, despite efforts by Maura Carabello to sidetrack the committee into a discussion of the "importance" of background checks. Charles Hardy of GOUtah! and Sarah Thompson of Utah Gun Owners Alliance spoke in favor of the bill, and Maura Carabello of the Utah Gun Violence Prevention Center spoke against it. The vote was a straight party vote with Republicans voting YES, Democrats voting NO, with the exception of Rep. Tyler who appeared not to vote, and Rep. Curtis who was absent. HB 183 will now go to the entire House for a vote. HB 219, Firearm Fee Amendments, also sponsored by Rep. Philpot, was briefly presented. As UTGOA mentioned before, Rep. Philpot has separated his initial HB 219, which dealt with both background check fees and permit fees into two separate bills. The background check fee half is now HB 183, above. The new, or substitute, HB 219 deals only with fees for CCW permits. The bill is now formally called 1st substitute HB 219, and can be found at http://www.le.state.ut.us/~2002/bills/hbillint/hb0219s1.htm Due to the fact that discussion of this bill will be involved and fairly controversial, and the fact that there was little time left in the meeting, the bill was "held". We don't know yet when it will be rescheduled, and will let you know when we do. WHAT YOU MUST DO! 1. Call YOUR OWN Representative and insist that s/he support HB 183. Contact info is at: http://www.utgoa.org/resources/legcontact02.html 2. Call Speaker of the House Marty Stephens and let him know that you expect him to support the bill, to do everything possible to help it pass, and to make sure it is funded. We expect opponents to try to "kill" the bill by refusing to provide funding to implement it. The cost is approx. $500,000, which is minimal compared to Utah's multi-billion dollar budget. Stephens's office number is 801-538-1930 and home is 801-731-5346. 3. Call members of the House Judiciary Committee. THANK those who voted for HB 183. Encourage all of them to support HB 219 when it comes back to the committee. See previous alerts for talking points. D, Patrice M. Arent, parent@le.state.ut.us, 801-272-1956, 801-538-1650 R, Chad E.Bennion, cbennion@le.state.ut.us, 801-281-1607 R, Ron Bigelow, rbigelow@le.state.ut.us, 801-968-4188 R, Katherine M.Bryson, kbryson@le.state.ut.us, 801-226-2061 R, Greg J.Curtis, gcurtis@le.state.ut.us, 801-943-3091 D, Scott Daniels, sdaniels@le.state.ut.us, 801-582-8080 R, James A. Ferrin, jferrin@le.state.ut.us, 801-224-6823 R, Ben C.Ferry, bferry@le.state.ut.us, 435-744-2997 D, Neal B. Hendrickson, nhendric@le.state.ut.us, 801-969-8920 D, Eric K. Hutchings, ehutchings@le.state.ut.us, 801-963-2639 R, Mike Thompson, mthompson@le.state.ut.us, 801-226-5032 R, A. Lamont Tyler, atyler@le.state.ut.us, 801-272-1218 R, Glenn L. Way, gway@le.state.ut.us, 801-798-2295, 801-636-0509 Please also send Rep. Philpot a short note letting him know you appreciate his principled support of gun rights and our Constitution. His email is mphilpot@utah.gov. Copyright 2002, Utah Gun Owners Alliance, Inc. and Sarah Thompson PO Box 1185 Sandy, UT 84091 801-566-1625 http://www.utgoa.org Director@utgoa.org PLEASE SUPPORT UTAH GUN OWNERS ALLIANCE! JOIN US TODAY! Did someone forward this to you? Please SUBSCRIBE NOW! That way you'll receive our FREE alerts as soon as they're released. During the legislative session, we send urgent, time limited alerts. Don't risk missing important information because someone else neglected to forward important information. Our alerts are low volume and average less than one alert per day. To subscribe to the UTGOA list, send a blank email to utgoa-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or use the form on our web site, http://www.utgoa.org. For more information, see http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/UTGOA. Utah Gun Owners Alliance is completely dependent on your generosity to cover our operating costs. Please consider joining us or sending a donation. Membership information is at: http://www.utgoa.org/pages/join.html Donations may be sent to: PO Box 1185, Sandy, UT 84091 Checks should be made payable to Utah Gun Owners Alliance, Inc. or UTGOA. Thank for your support! UTGOA is written and distributed by, Utah Gun Owners Alliance, Inc. www.utgoa.org, and Sarah Thompson, M.D. All information contained in these alerts is the responsibility of the author, unless otherwise attributed. Permission is granted for distribution of these alerts so long as no changes are made, UTGOA is clearly credited, and this message is left intact. Archives of the UTGOA alerts can be found at: http://www.utgoa.org/cgi-bin/alerts Utah Gun Owners Alliance, Inc. is a Utah non-profit corporation. ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 12:06:34 -0700 From: Charles C Hardy Subject: DesNews gun poll sliding against us The Deseret News on-line poll was looking really good for a couple of days, but has started to take a turn against us again. These polls are not scientific and you can rest assured that if it goes our way, in support of the RIGHT to own and carry guns, we won't hear about it. However, if it goes against us it will be trotted out to beat us over the head. Yes, the whole thing is stupid, but it is easy enough to counter, that we might as well do so. I believe the poll site is using some method to prevent casting multiple ballots from the same machine so don't waste time voting multiple times. But if you haven't made it the site yet, please take 60 seconds and cast a vote for the second option, "Eliminate the class and test." Poll is at http://www.desnews.com on the lower right edge of the page. You'll need to scroll down to see it. Current results, after hitting a high of 49% wanting to Eliminate the Class, 11% Wanting to keep the satus quo, and the remainer wanting to "improve" the class and test is: Question: Utahns who want a concealed-weapons permit have to take a class, familiarizing them with weapons and Utah's deadly force laws, and pass a test. Proposed legislation would eliminate those requirements. Part of the rationale is that the class is ineffective. What is your position? Keep the class and test 256 votes (13%) Eliminate the class and test 823 votes (43%) Keep and improve the class and test 824 votes (43%) Charles Hardy ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2002 19:08:12 -0700 From: scott bergeson Subject: Massachusetts women want guns for self defense Massachusetts women want guns for self defense - ---------- CNS At Mount Holyoke, a women's college in the anti-self-defense state of Massachusetts, the Second Amendment Sisters are raising eyebrows by lobbying for students' right to carry firearms. "We shouldn't have to depend on others to take care of ourselves," says the group's organizer. (02/01/02) http://www.cnsnews.com/Culture/archive/200201/CUL20020131b.html Gun rights backers push for reciprocity among states - ---------- Washington Times Self-defense advocates, having won concealed-carry firearms laws in more than a dozen states in the 1990s, are now working to try to get states to recognize firearms permits issued in other states. (02/01/02) http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020201-85287048.htm - - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 02 Feb 2002 10:04:23 -0700 From: scott bergeson Subject: Poll closed The Deseret News poll is closed. The results were: http://deseretnews.com/dn/poll/history Utahns who want a concealed-weapons permit have to take a class, familiarizing them with weapons and Utah's deadly force laws, and pass a test. Proposed legislation would eliminate those requirements. Part of the rationale is that the class is ineffective. What is your position? (01/24/2002) Keep the class and test 313 13% Eliminate the class and test 969 41% Keep and improve the class and test 1077 46% Total votes: 2359 - - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Feb 2002 21:21:23 -0700 From: charles hardy Subject: Fw: [goutah] Alert #114 The latest from GOUtah! Please note the hotline number below--give it a call and see if recognize the voice. - ---------------- Charles Hardy - --------- Forwarded message ---------- 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 Mirror Site: http://www.goutahorg.org New! GOUtah! Telephone Alert Hotline: (801)296-GUNS To subscribe to or unsubscribe from GOUtah!'s free e-mail Alerts, send a blank e-mail message to one of the following addresses: goutah-subscribe@yahoogroups.com goutah-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com To receive GOUtah! Alerts free of charge via fax, send a fax to: (801) 944-9937 (Note: Fax Alerts must sometimes be transmitted late at night, so you'll need a fax system that doesn't make your home telephone ring) Send comments to: goutah@goutahorg.org ______________________________ GOUtah! Alert #114 - 2 February 2002 Today's Maxim of Liberty: "The peaceable part of mankind will be continually overrun by the vile and abandoned while they neglect the means of self-defense." - -- Thomas Paine ASK YOUR REP. TO SUPPORT HB 183 As reported in GOUtah! Alert #113, HB 183, sponsored by Rep. Morgan Philpot of Sandy, was forwarded to the floor of the House of Representatives by the House Judiciary Committee with a favorable recommendation. The bill will be voted on by the House of Representatives in the near future. This bill would eliminate the $7.50 fee paid with each gun purchase in Utah to fund the redundant background check conducted by the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI), and would require that BCI immediately destroy all records of gun purchase applications as soon as the purchaser passes the background check. As we've stated in previous alerts, we support HB 183 as a step toward eliminating the redundant BCI gun-purchase check altogether. We encourage you to contact your Utah State Representative and ask him to vote for HB 183. You don't have to make a long-winded speech. You can just say something like this: "I live in your district, and I would like you to vote for HB 183. Please let me know afterwards how you voted on this bill. Thank you." You can send a fax or a letter to your representative at the Capitol. Make sure to put your representative's name on the envelope or on the fax, so that the people in the mailroom will know to whom it is to be delivered. Utah State House of Representatives 318 State Capitol Salt Lake City, UT 84114 Phone (801) 538-1029 Fax (801) 538-1908 You can also phone, fax, or visit your representative at his home. To view a list of representatives sorted according to district number, along with each representative's e-mail address and home phone number and fax number, visit GOUtah!'s legislative directory at: http://www.goutahorg.org/address.html Our thanks to GOUtah! Webmaster Martin Glantz for assembling this information on a single convenient page. SB 147 NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT Sen. Michael Waddoups' bill, SB 147, is not purely a gun bill per se, but has direct relevance to gun rights. The inspiration for this bill came from the blatant refusal of several state colleges and universities to eliminate their illegal bans on the carrying of legally concealed firearms on campus. Even after being told by the Attorney General's Office that their gun bans were illegal, administrators of these schools thumbed their noses not only at the attorney general, but at the state legislature, essentially telling legislators during a recent hearing that laws passed by the legislature don't necessarily apply to state-operated institutions of higher learning. SB 147 was born out of the dismay experienced by legislators during that hearing, as a way to encourage state bureaucrats to obey the law. GOUtah! has decided to support this bill, which will be heard by the Senate State and Local Affairs Committee on Tuesday February 5 at 8:00 a.m. In room 403 of the state capitol. This bill would make it easier for the legislature to deal effectively with state agencies that violate state law. Of course, the legislature already has the power of the purse, but has rarely used it to punish rogue bureaucrats who enact illegal policies, because the current appropriations procedures were not designed with this in mind. They were designed at a time when it was fairly safe to assume that state bureaucrats wouldn't blatantly try to break the law. Mainly, SB 147 would create a procedure whereby any legislator could call on a state agency to explain a policy that appears to violate state law. If the agency does not provide an adequate explanation, or if the agency fails to respond, the appropriations subcommittee that funds that agency is required to convene a hearing into the matter, and is given subpoena power. If the subcommittee finds that the agency is violating the law, the subcommittee can formally recommend to the relevant appropriations committee that the administrative budget of the agency be cut by as much as 50%. The administrative budget is that portion of an agency's budget that is earmarked to pay the salaries and expenses of administrators (who are the people responsible for creating illegal gun bans and other types of illegal rules). Other parts of the agency's budget would not be affected. Thus, for example, if SB 147 were to pass and the U. of U. maintained its illegal gun ban, the legislature could cut up to 50% of that portion of the U's budget that goes to pay the salaries of the U.'s administration. Most of the U's budget would be unaffected, including faculty and staff salaries, infrastructure, etc. Only the administrators would lose money. One political commentator has recently remarked that unelected state and local bureaucrats pose the greatest threat to liberty in the United States today. We are not inclined to disagree. Contrary to what opponents of the bill have been saying, SB 147 does not give prosecutorial or judicial power to the legislature. These powers belong to the executive and judicial branches of government, respectively. SB 147 simply enables the legislature to more effectively utilize is existing constitutional power to control how much taxpayer money goes to unelected bureaucrats. Please contact members of the Senate State and Local Affairs Committee as soon as possible and encourage them to support SB 147. If one of the committee members is from your district, please let him know that you are a constituent. Below is a pre-written letter that you can copy, fill out, sign, and send if you wish. Feel free to edit it on your word processor if you want to. Members of the Senate State and Local Affairs Committee: Carlene Walker (Sen. Dist. 8) 4085 E. Prospector Dr. Salt Lake City, Utah 84121 Phone(801)733-4599 Beverly Ann Evans, Sen. Dist. 26 HC 65, Box 36 Altamont, Utah 84001 Office(435)722-4523 Ext 126 Home(435)454-3719 Fax(435)454-3072 Scott K. Jenkins, Sen. Dist. 20 4385 W. 1975 N. Plain City, Utah 84404 Phone(801)731-5120 Paula F. Julander, Sen. Dist. 1 1467 Penrose Dr. Salt Lake City, Utah 84103 Office(801)538-1405 Home(801)363-0868 Peter C. Knudson, Sen. Dist. 24 1209 Michelle Dr. Brigham City, Utah 84302 Home(435)723-2035 Al Mansell, Sen. Dist. 10 6995 Union Park Ctr. #100 Midvale, Utah 84047 Office (801)567-4200 Home(801)942-6019 Fax(801)567-4201 Millie M. Peterson, Sen. Dist. 12 7131 West 3800 South West Valley City, Utah 84128 Home(801)250-5944 ****** NOTE: You can also send messages to senators at the State Capitol ***** Utah State Senate 319 State Capitol Salt Lake City, UT 84114 Phone (801) 538-1035 Fax (801) 538-1414 __________________________________________ That concludes GOUtah! Alert #114 - 2 February 2002. Copyright 2002 by GOUtah! All rights reserved. PRE-WRITTEN LETTER BELOW: - ----- Cut Here ------- Date: To: From: Dear Senator ________________: I am writing to encourage you, as a member of the Senate State and Local Affairs Committee, to support SB 147, the bill by Senator Waddoups which would enable the State Legislature to more effectively use its existing constitutional power of the purse to rein in unelected bureaucrats who implement policies and rules that directly violate state law. I'm tired of government administrators and bureaucrats who think that they can blatantly violate the law, and I believe that the Utah Legislature should begin to assert its power in such matters by more vigorously exercising its budgetary clout. Thanks for taking the time to hear my opinion. Sincerely, - ----- Cut Here ------ To Subscribe, send a blank message to: goutah-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: goutah-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. - - ------------------------------ End of utah-firearms-digest V2 #223 ***********************************