“Mexico has some of the toughest gun-control laws”

From the Washington Post: “Mexico has some of the toughest gun-control laws in the world, a matter of pride for the nation’s citizens. Yet Mexico is awash in weapons.”

In 25 words, reporter William Booth has made the best argument against gun-control laws that could be made.

But worse than being awash in guns, Mexico is awash with gun killings. The homicide rate for Mexico is 15 per 100,000 residents — 14th highest in the world. Latin American countries dominate the top of the homicide list, so it is not just the drug trade.

The story went on to blame the Second Amendment in the United States for the proliferation of guns in Mexico, but never quite got around to Mexico’s standing as a murderous nation.

From the article: “Manzano said the wide gulf in gun laws between Mexico and the United States creates an almost irresistible arms-trafficking market for the powerful criminal organizations terrorizing wide swaths of his country.”

I have many times blamed Mexico’s illegal drug trade on American law-breakers who use these drugs, particularly marijuana which accounts for roughly two thirds of the Mexican drug trade.

The difference of course is that Americans legally sell guns where as the drug dealers are braeking the law on both sides of the border.

But if we want to stop the sale of guns to Mexicans, make gun dealers check IDs so they don’t sell to illegal immigrants.

Likewise, the fault for guns in Mexico lies with the Mexicans, not the Americans.

Elk hunting requires planning

http://www.jamestownsun.com/event/article/id/126541/group/Outdoors/

(First of two parts) Elk hunting seasons are long over, but if you are thinking of hunting elk somewhere in 2011, now is the time to begin planning. The days are gone when you could decide last minute to go elk hunting in the fall, drive to a western state and buy a license across the counter. Colorado was the last state where you could do that.
By: Bernie Kuntz, Outdoors, The Jamestown Sun

 

(First of two parts)
Elk hunting seasons are long over, but if you are thinking of hunting elk somewhere in 2011, now is the time to begin planning. The days are gone when you could decide last minute to go elk hunting in the fall, drive to a western state and buy a license across the counter. Colorado was the last state where you could do that.
So what to do and where to go? There are lots of options. Just don’t make the mistake that some Midwesterners do and think you are going to drive to National Forest land in a western state, park your pickup, hike a quarter mile and shoot an elk. It seldom is that easy.
Do-it-on-your own hunters have their best success going in a group of experienced hunters who own all the required camping gear, and have a routine. Many such groups of hunters travel west every year with decent success. It’s always good to have partners. You might hunt alone in the field, but if you get an elk on the ground you probably are going to need help getting it back to the trailhead.
One of my fishing partners a couple years ago was a guy from Mohall, N.D., who had a magnificent bull elk head mounted in his trophy room that he shot sometime in the 1980s on the Beartooth Wildlife Management Area near Great Falls, Mont. He used his own horses, had a couple hunting partners, but no guide.
Hunters who do not have reliable partners might want to consider hiring an outfitter. This, of course, boosts the cost of the trip considerably but it also increases the hunter’s chances of success.
Next, the hunter needs to determine his expectations. Are you wishing for an elk hunting experience in the West and happy to take a cow elk or a young bull? If so, your chances of success are considerably higher than if you want nothing else but a bull large enough to mount on the wall. (Consider that, while the world is full of better elk hunters than me, I hunted elk on and off since the late 1970s, shot 16 elk, but have only one large enough that justified a full shoulder mount.)
So where to go? The absolute best elk hunting in the West is in special permit areas and also on private land where there is limited hunting pressure. Conversely, many of the general hunting districts get hunted hard. And in Montana and Idaho you also are competing with wolf packs preying on elk so your chances are not great of finding a mature bull. The special permit areas, unfortunately, are very difficult to draw. So you might spend $800 on a non-resident license, apply for the special elk permit, fail to draw, and be relegated to hunting a general area … along with hundreds of other hunters. I should add that an early winter in Montana in 2010 allowed more hunters than usual to take mature bull elk. How that will affect 2011 success is debatable.
My advice is to apply for a special permit somewhere like Utah, Nevada, Arizona or New Mexico. Of course, it might take years to draw the permit. It took me 11 years to draw a Nevada elk permit, for example. But I only saw a couple other hunters in five days of hunting and saw good numbers of elk. (If you remember, I managed to shoot under a modest bull at 340 yards. It was captured on national TV on The Outdoor Channel, and it seems that everyone I ever knew has seen the segment, including Vladimir Putin and Hillary Clinton.)
If I were hunting elk for the first time and was willing to spend $6,000 or $8,000, I might apply for a Wyoming elk license somewhere in the northwestern part of the state and take a classic horseback hunt by packtrain into wilderness area. Or I’d go to British Columbia where there is good, albeit expensive, elk hunting. Otherwise, I’d start building preference points in a couple or three states.
The main consideration to keep in mind is that no matter what physical shape you are in, elk hunting is a lot easier at age 30 than it is at age 60. So go when you can. As a friend of mine says, “You’re gonna run out of health before you run out of money!”
Next week: Elk rifles and cartridges.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (CGE) - The 5-2 ruling Wednesday by the Ohio Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of Ohio's firearms statutes and put another dent in the armor of Ohio's 98-year old Home Rule law, which cities have used for decades to take state law a step further when it suited their local needs.

Applauding the ruling, outgoing Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray said in a prepared statement, "This is an important victory for every gun owner in Ohio. Before 2006, Ohioans faced a confusing patchwork of local ordinances with different restrictions on gun ownership and possession. The General Assembly stepped in, enacting a comprehensive set of rights and responsibilities for every citizen seeking to exercise his or her Second Amendment liberties. We vigorously defended that law, and today the Court upheld it."

Background to the ruling is that the General Assembly, in 2006, extensively amended Ohio's gun laws defining who can purchase firearms, what types of firearms can be sold, where they can be possessed, where they can be discharged, and who can obtain a license to carry concealed firearms in public.

Taking a swipe at the accepted decades-old sanctity of Home Rule to go beyond state law, state lawmakers also prohibited cities and municipalities from enacting restrictions on gun ownership and possession above those specified in state and federal law.
In their ruling, the high court reversed a lower court ruling on a lawsuit brought by the city of Cleveland that argued state lawmakers could not prevent the city from enacting additional restrictions on gun ownership and possession, based on its "home rule" authority.

Writing for the Court, Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton said, "(Ohio's gun law) addresses the General Assembly's concern that absent a uniform law throughout the state, law abiding gun owners would face a confusing patchwork of licensing requirements, possession restrictions, and criminal penalties as they travel from one jurisdiction to another."

Moreover, her opinion said, "We hold that (the gun law) is a general law that displaces municipal firearm ordinances and does not unconstitutionally infringe on municipal home rule authority."

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal's Law Blog, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson criticized the ruling in a prepared statement, saying it puts urban populations at greater risk for gun violence. “Our inability to enforce [gun] laws that are right for our city flies in the face of home rule and takes power away the people at the local level.” Jackson said in a statement.

Chris Cox, head of the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action, praised the decision, the WSJLB reported. “If Cleveland, or any other city, wants to crack down on violence,” he said in a statement, “city leaders there should focus on prosecuting criminals, not enacting new gun laws that only serve to restrict law-abiding citizens.”

Cordray defended the law with help from the National Rifle Association, Ohioans for Concealed Carry, and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Ohio court gun ruling chips away at 98-year old Home Rule law

• December 30th, 2010 12:08 pm ET
• By John Michael Sp..., Columbus Government Examiner

http://www.examiner.com/government-in-columbus/ohio-court-gun-ruling-chips-away-at-98-year-old-home-rule-law

December 29, 2010

Ohio Court Limits Power of Localities on Gun Laws

By BOB DRIEHAUS

CINCINNATI — The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld a 2006 law that prohibits cities and other local governments from enforcing ordinances that are more restrictive than state gun laws.

The City of Cleveland had challenged the statute in order to continue enforcing ordinances that officials said were tailored to fight urban gun violence, including registration of handguns, restrictions on children’s access to firearms and prohibitions on the possession or sale of assault weapons. Banning such ordinances would violate the state’s home-rule laws, the city argued.

But in a decision released Wednesday, the court upheld the statute, 5 to 2.

“Law-abiding gun owners would face a confusing patchwork of licensing requirements, possession restrictions and criminal penalties as they travel from one jurisdiction to another” without a uniform statute, according to the ruling, written by Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton.

Justice Paul E. Pfeifer dissented, arguing that the statute “infringes upon municipalities’ constitutional home-rule rights by preventing them from tailoring ordinances concerning the regulation of guns to local conditions.”

Robert J. Triozzi, Cleveland’s law director, who led the city’s lawsuit, said that gun owners would now be able to walk through a public square with rifles, handguns and assault weapons, and that safety rules for possession of guns near children would also be removed, endangering residents. Ohio bans some assault weapons, like sawed-off shotguns, but Cleveland banned a broader array.

“The inability to control guns in Cleveland, where large numbers of people live, work and gather in close proximity to one another, limits proactive strategies for protecting our community and puts all of us at greater risk,” said Marty Flask, Cleveland’s public safety director.

Mr. Triozzi said the broader implication of the decision was a shift in power toward state legislators and away from city councils.

“All the Legislature has to do is to declare that a given issue is their turf, and there will be no ability for municipalities to enact any meaningful legislation to make their situation better,” he said.

The ruling was hailed by the National Rifle Association, Ohioans for Concealed Carry and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, as well as Attorney General Richard Cordray, a Democrat, who lost his re-election bid in November to Mike DeWine.

Mr. Cordray said revisions to state gun laws in 2006 provided a comprehensive set of rights and responsibilities applicable throughout the state. “This is an important victory for every gun owner in Ohio,” he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/30/us/30ohio.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

Rostraver 'gun god' is collector and seller

By Jeff Pikulsky
VALLEY INDEPENDENT
Wednesday, December 22, 2010

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleyindependent/print_714908.html


Byron White has amassed a wealth of firearms knowledge.

And the 72-year-old Rostraver Township resident is always eager to share what he knows with those stopping in at his long-time business, The Gun Rack on Route 136.
"They call Byron the gun god," said his wife of 25 years and business partner, Barbara.
When White lost his job as a millwright after working at several Mid-Mon Valley steel mills, he decided to open a gun shop out of necessity.

"I just figured I've got to keep eating," he said.

Opened in 1985, the Gun Rack thrived, especially in the 1990s.

Although the number of customers since has fallen off along with the economy, there are still many who come to the shop in search of White's advice and competitive prices.
The Gun Rack is not all barrels and bullets, though.

One of White's display cases contains several of his World War II German military knives and Nazi-era items.

Nearby are two of his most rare and coveted pieces, a letter opener one of Hitler's SS units gave him as a gift and a round silver container lined with gold that Hitler received on his birthday in 1932 from August Wilhelm, the Prince of Prussia.

White said he used to scavenge local flea markets and military surplus stores looking for rare items.

"I collect World War II German daggers and swords," he said, adding that they are not for sale. "It's all genuine stuff. I've been collecting that stuff since I was a kid, when I was about 10 ... anything I could find."

There is a strong sense of camaraderie inside of The Gun Rack on a daily basis, Byron White said.

White suffered a series of strokes 10 years ago that paralyzed the left side of his body.

"I can't do the things I used to do. I used to go to gun shows and gun bashes and all that stuff," he said. "I enjoyed fooling around with the guns ... just minor things, mounting scopes and that kind of stuff."

White's wife and a devoted group of long-time friends/customers have pitched in to help White run the shop.

Friends and occasional customers like Buddy Ferris, of Fayette City, Ed "Smitty" Smith and Mark Smalich, both of West Newton, are regulars at The Gun Rack.

"(My husband) has such a wonderful group of friends that come every single day," Barbara White said. "Mark comes and makes the coffee. Smitty comes every day and brings in lunch. He will open and close our business. I work a steady night shift so they let me kind of sleep."

Byron White's stepson Mike Sorg, of Port Vue Borough, worked at the shop for about 17 years.

"I don't know if I could do what I do without so many of these people," Barbara White said.

The group of volunteers is what's left of what used to be a forum of friends who shared daily banter at the business.

"They would come every day at a certain time and have their coffee and their chew and their cigarette and go home," Barbara White said.

The shop mascot, "Handsome" Hogan, a 9-year-old long-haired dachshund, has also been a devoted supporter.

"He's here every day. If I don't bring him down, he jumps the fence, comes down here and barks at the front door," Byron White said.

Byron White said there have been many long-time customers at his shop.

Occasionally, some come in from out of state.

"People have known Byron 40 or 50 years as a collector," Barbara White said. "He has long-term memory like you can't believe."

Byron White has used his connections to help fellow collectors move items.

"Somebody will bring something in that is really a great item, and if I can't afford to buy it, I find somebody who will buy it," he said.

Although business has been slow lately, White is committed to staying at the helm.
"I'm just going to stay here as long as I can," he said.

The Gun Rack is open noon to 8 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

It can be reached at (724) 872-7774.
Jeff Pikulsky can be reached at jpikulsky@tribweb.com or 724-684-2635.

Images and text copyright © 2010 by Trib Total Media, Inc.
Reproduction or reuse prohibited without written consent.

First Kentucky Black Bear Killed in Modern Hunting Era

http://www.isurfmuhlenberg.com/news/local-news/7682-first-kentucky-black-bear-killed-in-modern-hunting-era.html

Written by Amy Hourigan Tuesday, 28 December 2010 10:57

MUHLENBERG COUNTY, KY - The bear population in Kentucky has increased to the point that wildlife officials scheduled a two-day legal bear hunt. 

Last December was the first legal hunt in about a hundred years.  372 hunters bought permits, but a snow storm left several hunters stranded and no bears were reported taken.

The 2010 season was December 18 and 19.  The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife planned the hunt for late in the season, to limit harvesting of females.  According to wildlife officials, females typically den earlier than males.

On Saturday, December 18, Danny Smith, of Phelps, shot a 265 pound male, after hunting for about 5 hours. 

According to fish and wildlife, "The return of a hunting season for black bears in Kentucky is a wildlife management milestone. In the early 20th century, most big game animals had disappeared or were at historically low population levels. Today, all the state’s native big game species, except for bison, have increased to huntable population levels."

Kentucky's bear population was established by natural range expansion, not by planned restocking efforts.  Bears migrated from neighboring states, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee.  Kentucky is reported to have two populations of bears, one in the Pine Mountain area and one in Big South Fork National River and Recreational area. 

The harvest quota for the 2010 season was 10 bears total - or five female bears - whichever limit hunters reach first.  Two bears were taken during the second legal bear hunt in the modern era.  Billy Joe Dixon, of Cumberland, took a 280-pound male on December 19.

Amy Hourigan
iSurf News

 

Tuesday, December 28, 2010, 09:30

 

Crowds turn out to cheer on traditional Boxing Day hunt

By Dan Martin

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Crowds-turn-cheer-traditional-Boxing-Day-hunt/article-3042910-detail/article.html

LEICESTERSHIRE COUNTY, UK - Thousands of people turned out to see Boxing Day hunts this year – but icy weather prevented the huntsmen and hounds from riding out.

The frozen ground made it too dangerous for riders from the Fernie, Atherstone and Quorn Hunts to carry out their planned trail hunting.

However, members did gather to exercise their packs and put on a spectacle for crowds who gathered to mark the most important day in the hunting calendar.

Riders from the Fernie Hunt met at The Green in Great Bowden near Market Harborough in front of more than 500 enthusiastic supporters.

Hunt joint master Chris Parker said the turnout demonstrated that five years on from the ban which made pursuing foxes with hounds illegal, hunting was still popular.

He said the hunting community of Leicestershire were still working to try to get the ban repealed.

He said: "We will do whatever it takes for as long as it takes. "We have maintained the infrastructure of hunting which is vital to the countryside for the day when the ban is overturned.

"It is a shame we cannot hunt today but the ground is iron hard and it would be too dangerous for the horses and the riders.

"The season so far has been severely curtailed by the weather but there is not much we can do about that.

"At least we were still able to come out and put on a show for the public who want to see us."

Lisa Logalbo, 30, from Lubenham brought her son Charlie, eight, to see the riders and hounds.

She said: "It's a Christmas tradition. Charlie loves playing with the hounds but I'm a bit worried he'll want to take one home with him."

Sarah Smith, 25, from Market Harborough, said: "If the ban lasts for another 100 years I think huge numbers of people will still come out on Boxing Day.

"You can't erase hundreds of years of tradition with one rubbish law."
The hounds and horses of Quorn Hunt assembled at Prestwold Hall near Loughborough in front of about 1,000 people.

Hunt spokesman and Countryside Alliance chief executive Alice Barnard said: "We are so grateful to everyone who ventured out in pretty horrible conditions to see the hunt."

Around 1,000 people also gathered in Market Bosworth for the Atherstone meet.

Helen Milner, spokeswoman for the Atherstone Hunt, said: "We've been defeated by the weather in terms of actual hunting but that has not prevented us having a fantastic day."

Some 300 hunt supporters also gathered in Oakham to support yesterday's Cottesmore meet.

The Belvoir hunt met in Grantham.

Louise Robertson from League Against Cruel Sports said: "The bad weather has proved an important point because the hunts have met and enjoyed their traditions but no fox has had to die.

"Given that, it is strange the hunt lobby are so desperate to get a repeal."

Elk herd thrives around Hanford

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013775398_elk27m.html

About 670 elk continue to roam the Hanford nuclear reservation, including Rattlesnake Mountain, but they are doing less damage to nearby...

By Annette Cary

Tri-City Herald

 

About 670 elk continue to roam the Hanford nuclear reservation, including Rattlesnake Mountain, but they are doing less damage to nearby Tri-Cities farms than in the past.

"They are still receiving damage but not near as bad as it had been," said Don Hand, deer and elk conflict specialist for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

At peak population in 1999, the herd numbered about 838 animals, but that has dropped to an estimated 660 to 680 in most of the years since then.

The size of the herd has been managed, in part, by off-site hunting, and damage has been further controlled through a program to keep the elk off farmlands. Efforts include high fencing and hazing the animals on summer nights when they wander onto farmland.

Beginnings of the herd settled at Hanford in the winter of 1972-73, when a bad storm drove them out of the mountains early, said Mike Livingston, a state wildlife biologist.
The size of the herd slowly grew at first but then started to more rapidly grow in the mid-1980s. By the end of the decade, elk had started to move off Hanford.

"It's fascinating how the herd has not only survived but thrived in the desert," Livingston said. Common wisdom is that elk prefer green, lush forests.

But the Hanford elk have an exceptional rate of antler growth and have a large number of calves.

Mild winters likely have contributed to the herd's health, with some evidence that some animals actually gain fat over the winter, Livingston said.

They also are protected from hunting if they stay on Hanford and have little threat from other animals, other than coyotes that might take a few very young elk and the rare cougar that passes through.

The most dramatic drop in the size of the herd came when 205 elk were trapped and taken to the Selkirk and Blue mountains in 2000 and 2001.

The 2000 Hanford fire also drove animals onto private land to find food, and more were taken by hunters. The Department of Energy does not allow hunting on Hanford.

But the herd still is large enough that the animals spread off Hanford and cause damage to nearby wheat fields, orchards and vineyards.

From 1999 to 2003, the state paid $500,000 in damages. However, from 2006 to 2009 damage payments have dropped to $5,000 to $18,000 a year.

The state has established two hunting programs with private landowners. Landowners in the Black Rock area are more supportive of hunting, Hand said. Each landowner there receives eight elk permits to use, sell or trade and is required to allow access to four hunters with state permits. Some landowners do not use their permits, however, Hand said.

In the Corral Canyon area, where landowners would like fewer elk, each landowner gets three or four elk permits to use or issue to other hunters.

In addition, Hand oversees programs to limit damage on private lands near Hanford.
At the December meeting of the Rod and Gun Club in Kennewick, he showed photos of trails made through wheat fields by elk and trampled areas where elk had bedded down.

One field can have 100 beds, causing significant damage, Hand said. The elk prefer spring wheat to winter, and will trample the winter wheat, which has stronger roots, to reach it, he said.

On summer nights Hand will shoot off shotgun cracker shells to make noise and shine a spotlight to haze elk on private lands. He also has tried using an electronic amplifier with cougar sounds, wolf calls and shotgun blasts with some success. However, scent stations with cougar urine do not seem to faze the elk.

Fences paid for with a state and private cost-sharing program also have worked, but money is no longer available for that program. Those fences have posts about 11 feet high and wire about 8 feet high.

Editorial: A sensible move draws NRA fire

Published: Saturday, December 25, 2010

By DAN K. THOMASSON

http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2010/12/25/opinion/doc4d16b58d199d8786623539.txt

Once again the gun lobby has stepped up to oppose public safety, this time along the Southwest border where thousands upon thousands of Mexicans have died from battlefield weapons bought in the United States by drug cartel representatives and handed to assassins, some as young as 14.

In a move that should have been made much earlier but apparently was delayed for pure political considerations, the White House and the Justice Department have cleared a proposed policy that would require Southwestern gun dealers to report to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives multiple sales of high powered semi-automatic weapons.

Simply put, licensed retailers along that long stretch of bloody international border would have to immediately notify ATF when two or more AK47s or similar rifles above .22-caliber and with a detachable magazine were purchased by one person in a five-day period. These weapons are highly prized by the cartels.

It would not stop the sale, just allow authorities to immediately seek out the buyer and try to determine his motives. That sounds reasonable doesn’t it, considering that anyone making multiple buys of firearms of this caliber isn’t likely to be using them to hunt rabbits or engage in other “sportsman” activities?

But there is a weakness in the policy. A bulk buyer could go to 20 different stores, purchasing a weapon at each. The policy also would not cover gun shows where even normal transactions need not be reported, a loophole strenuously defended by the gun lobby.

Mexican authorities believe this would be a big step in helping them fight the vicious drug gangs that have killed some 30,000 men, women and children along the border in the last year.

But “reasonable” is not a word organizations like the National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents gun dealers and manufacturers, recognize.

When the plan to put the new policy into effect leaked before it could be published in the Federal Registry, the gunslingers went predictably nuts, accusing the administration of unnecessarily burdening the poor gun dealers — many of whom, by the way, have become rich peddling arms to the border drug gangs.

The gun lobby, of course, portrayed the simple move to disrupt drug cartel gun-trafficking as the first step toward registering firearms. The NRA then shamelessly reiterated its support of law and order despite the contradiction between what it professes and what it works against, which in reality is any disruption of its cash flow.

The policy is moving ahead, but the pervasive fear of the lobby’s influence almost scuttled it.

President Obama had promised Mexican President Filipe Calderon he would help disrupt the firearms traffic early last summer.

But the policy proposal got delayed by presidential advisers worried about the impact on Democratic election prospects. That turned out to be a futile gesture given the November results.

— Dan K. Thomasson is former editor of the Scripps Howard News Service. E-mail: thomassondan@aol.com.