MAY 2005

New York Democrats Target Gov. Pataki For Supporting Gun Rights:
May 26, 2005
State Democrats took aim at Gov. George Pataki and Senate Republicans for not supporting new gun control bills they claim are needed to ensure police officers' safety. [More.]

One of Illinois Proposed Bans Fails
May 25, 2005
IL bill H2414 failed as the supporters tried to attach it as an amendment to another bill. The vote to do that failed. Though the original bill is still out there (as is the other bill), this is a good sign that the legislature wants to hear this bill individually. So this may be only the first round; and the antis will use this as a test run to generate more free news publicity and make another run at it with the original bill or 1098. Chicago newspaper crediting calls from IL residents as the deciding factor. Seems Republicans and down-state legislators got their offices flooded with phone calls in opposition. Daley & Blago's people worked weeks at moving this legislation only to slam straight into that wall. Apparently some egg on some people's faces there, now. [More.]

Illinois Armory on Display
May 18, 2005
The Illinois National Guard’s return to the Streator Armory becomes official Saturday with a rededication ceremony and tours of the facility. The armory, located at 401 W. Bridge St., Streator, IL had been vacant since the 106th Calvary was deactivated in September 1996. The equipment on display will include grenade launchers, .50-caliber machine guns and semi-automatic weapons. [More.]

Pro Rights Groups Prevail! Maine's .50 Caliber Ban Stopped By Committee!
May 6. 2005
A gun control bill that drew a crowd of activists to a hearing earlier this week has been killed by a legislative committee. The bill seeking to impose a ban on assault weapons was killed for this year's session Thursday by a unanimous vote of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee after the sponsor, Democratic Sen. Ethan Strimling of Portland, acknowledged flaws with the proposal. Strimling's bill was intended to fill a gap left by the expiration last September of a federal assault weapons ban, which had been in effect for a decade. But gun-owners' rights advocates and other opponents said the federal law was ineffective and expressed concerns the Maine bill would erode their constitutional right to bear arms. [Original Source http://www.wmtw.com/news /4457780/detail.html.]

Assault-Weapons Ban Needless, Owners Say
May 3, 2005
Gun owners turned out in large numbers to condemn a Maine bill in the Legislature that would make it illegal to own, transfer or manufacture so-called "assault weapons," as well as .50-caliber rifles and ammunition. Opponents attacked the bill as unnecessary during a committee hearing, saying there is no evidence that such semiautomatic weapons have been used to commit a crime in Maine in more than 60 years, so there is no need for "gun grabbers" to try to outlaw them now. Dozens of the 80 or so people who crammed the hearing room wore stickers opposing gun control, and the 22 people who testified against the bill over the course of several hours far outnumbered the handful of people who spoke for it. [More.]

Another .50 BMG Ban Proposed ... In Maine
May 2, 2005
A new .50 caliber ban appeared on the horizon last week, this while the
state of Illinois was considering their own. While quick action by gun
owners has, at least temporarily, stopped the IL ban (it's still stuck in
committee), it's not dead. In the interim, the state of Maine began its movement towards not only banning ownership and manufacture of .50 caliber rifles, but of owning .50 caliber ammunition as well. Even reloading your own casings is prohibited!
The proposal calls for confiscation without compensation. Believe it or
not, this piece of legislation is actually WORSE than California and
Illinois. Their bill, LD-1579, is in the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public
Safety. In addition, these incessant attacks on your 2nd Amendment rights are
putting a financial strain on the Fifty Caliber Institute. Please contribute to the cause. Without your financial backing, the FCI cannot continue much longer defending your RIGHT to own the rifle caliber of YOUR choice.

New York Times Uses Proof of Federal "Assault Weapon" Ban's Ineffectiveness As Means To Enact Strong Gun Bans
May 1, 2005
Despite dire predictions that the streets would be awash in military-style guns, the expiration of the decade-long assault weapons ban last September has not set off a sustained surge in the weapons' sales, gun makers and sellers say. It also has not caused any noticeable increase in gun crime in the past seven months, according to several metropolitan police departments. In an attempt to push for more anti-firearm rights legislation the New York Times claims that this underscored what many had said all along: that the ban was porous - so porous that "assault weapons" remained widely available throughout their prohibition. [More.]