American Al Qaeda Adam Gadahn's chilling video shows how the gun lobby hampers the war on terror

Editorials

Saturday, June 4th 2011, 4:00 AM

A chilling Internet video confirms what has long been suspected: Al Qaeda terrorists are eager to launch a gun-fueled rampage against Americans - and they know just how to do it.

Spotted on jihadist forums, the video shows American-born Al Qaeda fighter Adam Gadahn almost cheerily urging followers to action:

"America is absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms. You can go down to a gun show at the local convention center and come away with a fully automatic assault rifle without a background check and most likely without having to show an identification card. So what are you waiting for?"

We don't say this often about Al Qaeda types, but: He's right on the facts.

Gadahn owes thanks to the National Rifle Association, whose political muscle has kept open two indefensible gun-rights loopholes that all but invite terrorists to buy weapons.
Unlike those who purchase guns from a dealer, people who buy firearms from private sellers at gun shows don't have to pass a background check.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms says 30% of illegally trafficked weapons are linked to gun shows. In fact, an undercover investigation of private sellers at gun shows found that nearly two-thirds broke the law by selling to people who they thought could not pass a background check.

Then there's the so-called terror gap, which prevents gun sellers from checking purchasers against terrorism watch lists. More than 1,450 people on terror watch lists tried to buy guns and explosives from February 2004 to December 2010; on 1,321 occasions, 91% of all tries, the FBI was powerless to stop the sale.

Common sense and national security argue powerfully for reform. The NRA and its allies argue reflexively against it.

In November 2008, radical Islamist terrorists killed 164 people and brought Mumbai to its knees with a coordinated rampage on targets including hotels, a cafe, a Jewish community center, a hospital and a movie theater.

To Al Qaeda, it was a moment of triumph. This is what Gadahn has in mind for the U.S. The NYPD is well aware of the threat.

Unless Congress develops the backbone to override the NRA on critical public safety measures, Mumbai could well be a preview of an American and New York horror.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2011/06/04/2011-06-04_al_qaeda_at_the_gun_show.html#ixzz1OIvF5UAj

8-year-old Florida student's gift to teacher includes .22-caliber gun, toiletries

(CBS/WKMG/AP) PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - A Florida elementary teacher got a surprise Tuesday, when she found a .22-caliber handgun in an end-of-year-gift given to her by an 8-year-old-student.



The teacher opened the thoughtful gift of assorted toiletries and found the weapon at the bottom. Well, at least it's creative!

The student's grandmother handed the teacher the gift in the Allamanda Elementary School parking lot, says the Palm Beach County School District. Reportedly the gun was never actually in the school building or in the hands of students.

According to school officials, neither the grandmother nor the student realized that the gun was in the box.

Police apparently believe that in a sitcom-like mix-up the grandmother had previously put the gun in the box to hide it, and the girl unknowingly picked the wrong box in which to wrap her teacher's present, CBS affiliate WKMG reports.

That's grandma for you, always hiding guns in gift boxes.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20068298-504083.html

Delaware government: Gun show ID checks set off fireworks

Foes say proposal lacks a problem
By. J.L. MILLER
The News Journal
DOVER -- A rhetorical gunfight broke out Wednesday during a Senate hearing on legislation that would close what critics call the "gun show loophole" and what opponents call a solution in search of a problem.

Further gunpowder was added to the already heated debate by a Tuesday email from the National Rifle Association to its Delaware members saying that the bill, part of a package of gun-related bills advanced by Gov. Jack Markell, is "a move towards an ultimate ban on all private sales -- even those between family and friends -- regardless of where they occur."

That claim was disavowed by Markell, who in a statement said it is "unfortunate that the NRA has chosen to mischaracterize" the bill.

Under current federal and state law, licensed firearms vendors selling at gun shows must perform background checks, just like they do at their places of business. But private citizens wishing to sell their own guns can do so without conducting background checks, as long as the sales are occasional and they are not in the firearms business.

Senate Bill 39 would require background checks to be conducted for all sales at gun shows. Licensed firearms dealers would have to request the checks through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System on behalf of unlicensed vendors making sales. Sales between private citizens not taking place at gun shows would not be affected.

Andrew Lippstone, an attorney for the governor's office, called the bill "a reasonable, common-sense measure that will improve public safety."

That claim came despite the fact that there are no statistics documenting firearms from guns shows being used in crimes in Delaware, much less statistics documenting how many of those guns may have been sold by unlicensed vendors at gun shows.

Sen. Patricia Blevins, D-Elsmere, chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, seized on that point during Wednesday's hearing.

"Is there an actual problem?" Blevins asked.

"From my perspective, yes," replied Capt. Joseph Sapp of the State Bureau of Identification.

"You're seeing this happen?" asked Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford.

Sapp replied that the police can't tell, because there are no statistics to document whether there is a problem in Delaware.

Sen. David Lawson, R-Marydel, a former state trooper and firearms dealer, called the bill "a piece of legislation looking for a problem."

Lawson pointed to the fact that last year, 286 people who tried to buy guns from licensed dealers failed the background check because they are legally barred from possessing a weapon. Prohibited people attempting such a purchase have committed a crime -- but are virtually never arrested.

"Why would you think that more arrests would be made," Lawson asked, if 286 people who have committed a crime are walking the streets.

"If I had 1,000 more troopers we would lock them up," Sapp replied.

Andrew Jennison, an NRA official, said the annual gun shows at the Nur Temple in New Castle have gone on for decades with no apparent problems. If criminals are looking for a gun, he said, they're unlikely to go to a show. "We know they buy these weapons on the street, stolen, at half the price," he said.

But Sen. Harris B. McDowell, D-Wilmington North, sponsor of the bill, said the legislation would close a venue for criminals to buy guns.

"We're trying to close a loophole that clearly ... permits illegal ownership of firearms," McDowell said.

Only four out of the six committee members attended the hearing, and it takes four votes to get a bill out of committee. Blevins said the bill lacked the votes among those present, but "that does not mean that it won't be released." The sponsor can seek signatures from those who did not attend.

http://www.delawareonline.com/print/article/20110602/NEWS02/106020336/Delaware-government-Gun-show-ID-checks-set-off-fireworks

Students say 'No guns on campus'

By Mike Hasten
mhasten@gannett.com
BATON ROUGE — Legislation allowing anyone with a concealed handgun permit to carry a loaded weapon on state college and university campuses is to be heard Wednesday in a House committee.

Law enforcement agencies, college and university officials and several students are to testify against HB413 by Rep. Ernest Wooton, I-Belle Chasse, a former sheriff and chairman of the House Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice that will hear the bill.

Also testifying against the proposal will be Colin Goddard, a survivor of being shot four times by Seung Hui Cho who killed 32 Virginia Tech students and faculty members before he fatally shot himself.

"I don't think the way to deal with campus shootings is to have more shots fired," said Goddard, a 2008 Virginia Tech graduate who now works with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Goddard said the proponents of the bills around the country always argue, "We don't want another Virginia Tech happening" but they allow guns to be purchased at gun shows and from private sellers without doing a background check. "That doesn't provide safety for anyone."

Guns shouldn't be allowed on campuses because "college campuses are unique places," he said. For many, it's a place for "major life-changing experiences and having guns does not promote a safe environment for those changes."

College campuses are always safer places than the communities that surround them, Goddard said, and having guns there is "going to make the days when there aren't shootings more dangerous."

Answering Wooton's claim that only trained gun owners who have taken safety and gun-handling classes to earn a permit would be allowed to carry handguns, Goddard points out that Louisiana has cooperative agreements with other states, including Virginia, that honor their permits.

"Virginia doesn't require that you ever shoot a gun to get a license," he said.

Joining Goddard will be Kaamil Khan, an LSU Law School student who was attending Virginia Tech at the time of the shooting.

"Personally, I don't think it would make campuses safer," he said. "I was there at Virginia Tech. I don't think having a gun would have made a difference."

Members of Students for Concealed Carry have testified in favor of similar legislation offered by Wooton and are expected at the committee.

They joined the author in arguing that if students and faculty members were armed on the campuses where innocent students were gunned down, the attackers would not have had so many victims. They also say it would be a deterrent for anyone to come on campus to shoot students if other people were armed.

Wooton got his bill out of committee in 2009 and 2010 but dropped it when it ran into overwhelming opposition on the House floor. He pledged last year "I'll be back."
The House is a much more conservative body since then. There's a Republicans majority for the first time since Reconstruction.

HB413 prohibits the governing body of a public college or university or postsecondary vocational-technical school from establishing rules or regulations limiting the ability of a person issued a concealed handgun permit to lawfully carry a concealed handgun.
It does not apply to private schools.

The bill authorizes management boards to establish rules or regulations relating to the storage of firearms on campus.


The Texas Senate approved a similar proposal. But since it was attached to legislation dealing with fiscal matters, the House sent the bill back to strip the gun portion because the state constitution prohibits having two objects in the same bill.

The session ended Monday without a bill being approved.

Arizona this year passed a law allowing permit holders to have guns in their cars and to carry them on sidewalks on college campuses. However, guns cannot be taken into building on campuses.

http://www.thenewsstar.com/print/article/20110601/NEWS01/106010324/Students-say-No-guns-campus-

Gun Ownership Up, Violent Crime Down; No Coincidence

Opinion by NRA
(7 Hours Ago) in Society / Guns

Last week, the FBI estimated that the number of violent crimes decreased 5.5 percent from 2009 to 2010, including a 4.4 percent decrease in the number of murders. 

Because the U.S. population increased during the period, the figures imply that the total violent crime per capita rate and the murder rate decreased more than six percent and five percent, respectively.  Based upon the preliminary data, it appears that violent crime fell to a 37-year low and murder fell to a 47-year low.  The FBI will report final figures for 2010 later this year.

We’re repeating ourselves, but, as has been the case for quite a while, the decrease in crime coincided with an increase in the number of privately owned guns—particularly handguns and detachable magazine semi-automatic rifles.  For example, Americans bought over 400,000 AR-15s in 2009, and trends in AR-15 sales over the last few years suggest a similar number for 2010.

Those who have followed the gun control issue for a few years probably have noticed that with crime declining and gun numbers rising year after year, gun control groups have all but abandoned their previously perennial claims that more guns equal more crime. Even their friends in the news media don’t believe it anymore.  The Violence Policy Center and, breaking with past habit, the Brady Campaign didn’t even try to claim that the decrease in crime in 2010 was attributable to gun control.

Neither did Mayors Against Illegal Guns, headed by New York City’s gun control activist mayor, Michael Bloomberg.  Bloomberg’s rare and welcomed silence is to be expected in this instance, however.  New York City’s murder rate rose 15 percent despite its severe gun laws, while Bloomberg dedicated himself and lots of money to criticizing the less restrictive laws that are in place in other parts of the country.

Speaking of cities with less restrictive gun laws, El Paso had the greatest decrease in murder—58 percent— among cities of over 500,000 population in 2010.  For those who are counting, El Paso’s estimated murder rate was 0.8 per 100,000 population, while New York City’s was eight times higher at 6.4.  Across the border from El Paso, in Juarez, where the gun laws are more to Bloomberg’s liking, the murder rate is over 100 per 100,000.

Adding to the bad news for gun control supporters, the District of Columbia and Chicago—the handgun bans of which were repealed following the Supreme Court’s decisions in the Heller and McDonald cases in 2008 and 2010—experienced decreases in murder of eight percent and six percent, respectively.

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/gun-ownership-up-violent-crime-down-no-coincidence

High-powered weapons prized by Mexican cartels

Survey shows ‘bigger is better' with guns smuggled from U.S.

By Dan FreedmanHearst Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Convicted gun smuggler John Phillip Hernandez wasn't the kind of customer Bushmaster Firearms International had in mind when he bought 14 of its .223-caliber AR-15s at Houston-area gun shops in 2006 and 2007.

Bushmaster describes itself as a “leading supplier” of AR-15 rifles, a civilian clone of the U.S. military's standard-issue M16, “for law enforcement, security and private-consumer use.”

But the weapons Hernandez and his associates bought wound up in the hands of gunmen from Mexican drug cartels, including a Bushmaster .223 that was among the weapons used to kill four police officers and three secretaries in Acapulco, an attack dubbed “the Acapulco police massacre.”

A Hearst Newspapers survey of 1,585 guns bought mostly in Texas and Arizona that were either shipped to Mexico or intercepted en route shows that the .223 AR-15 ranks second among firearms used and coveted for drug warfare.

The survey is drawn from guns identified by manufacturer or importer in U.S. court documents from 44 cases involving 165 defendants across the country, showing the purveyors of guns to Mexican drug traffickers followed a time-honored saying of product salesmanship: Bigger is definitely better.

The Bushmaster .223 comes with a 30-round magazine, enabling the shooter to fire all 30 rounds, one for each pull of the trigger, in less than a minute.

“The gun traffickers supplying Mexican drug organizations have become more selective and sophisticated in the weapons they acquire,” said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Washington-based Violence Policy Center, which has studied the issue extensively. “Their goal is the bulk purchase of maximum firepower.”

Fearful that U.S. weapons purchases on behalf of Mexican drug cartels might fuel a new round of calls for gun control, gun-right advocates argue that current laws are sufficient to control such trafficking.

“The brand names are inconsequential. What matters is that our laws aren't being enforced,” said Andrew Arulanandam, director of public affairs for the National Rifle Association. “We have adequate laws on the books. If someone is breaking the law, go after them. If not, they should be left alone. That's the NRA position.”

Bound for Mexico

The No. 1 gun on the Hearst survey, a brand of AK-47 imported from Romania, has an ammunition capacity similar to that of the Bushmaster. Among Mexican traffickers, it has earned the nickname cuerno de chivo, or “goat horn,” because of its distinctive banana-shaped magazine.

Since a federal law banning assault weapons expired in 2004, so-called “straw purchasers” have flooded U.S. gun stores in the Southwest, mostly in Texas and Arizona, sweeping up these and other weapons. Court documents show such purchasers buying as many as 20 AK-47s at a time, paying as much as $11,000 in cash.

The weapons are sold legally but the buyers must sign a U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives document saying they're buying the guns for themselves. “Straw” purchases for others are violations of federal firearms law.

Typically, the purchaser turns the guns over to a broker who takes them across the border to Mexico, where such weapons can't be bought legally. Once in Mexico, the weapons are sold to the cartels, often for three or four times the original price.

Violence in Mexico has claimed almost 40,000 lives since Mexican President Felipe Calderón took office in December 2006 and declared a crackdown on the powerful drug-trafficking organizations. Mexican authorities have recovered more than 60,000 weapons.

Top ATF officials have said in congressional testimony that 90 percent of the guns submitted for tracing by Mexican authorities are from the United States.

Gun-rights advocates doubt the accuracy of that claim, arguing Mexico submits a fraction of the weapons it recovers for tracing.

In any case, “the trace itself doesn't tell you anything,” said Lawrence Keane, general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms industry trade group based in Newtown, Conn. “It doesn't say anything about conduct of retailer, manufacturer or purchaser.”

The group decries the name “assault weapon” and refers to high-powered guns as “modern sporting rifles.” An NSSF survey last year found that 44 percent of owners of these weapons are active-duty or retired military or law-enforcement personnel and that the typical owner is 35 and married and has some college education.

Overwhelming force

Among the other weapons on the Hearst top-10 list:

The Belgian-made FNH Five-SeveN. Some versions of this pistol hold 10 rounds, while others have a 20-round capacity. It fires cartridges that are referred to as mata policies, or “cop killers,” in Mexico because they can penetrate police officers' bulletproof vests.

FNH PS90 rifle. Its compactness makes it easy to conceal, and some versions can hold a 30-round magazine, made of lightweight polymer.

Colt Super .38 pistol. A standard police-style automatic pistol. The “El Presidente” model is popular in Mexico because it is one of the few guns legally available there, according to the Violence Policy Center.

Beretta 9 mm. An Italian-made 9 mm pistol popular with U.S. law enforcement agencies. It's a more powerful version of the Beretta popularized in James Bond novels and films.

Century Arms Draco 7 pistol. Another Romanian import. The same firepower as an AK-47 but significantly shorter and easier to conceal.

Military-style weaponry has enabled the drug trafficking organizations to match — and sometimes overwhelm — the firepower of Mexican law enforcement.

In May 2008, Mexican federal police raided a suspected trafficker house in Culiacán, a long-standing drug hotbed in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Cartel gunmen armed with AK-47s bought in Arizona overwhelmed the police, killing eight.

Traced to Texas

The Hearst survey parallels the findings of a federal law enforcement report this year, based on 2,921 guns recovered in Mexico and traced to original U.S. purchases between December 2006 and November 2010.

The federal report concluded that half the guns were from Texas. About 30 percent were from Arizona, and only 3 percent were from California.

California gun-control activists credited that state's low total to strict state firearms laws that severely limit sales of military-style weaponry.

Texas gun-rights supporters say such laws would be undesirable and impractical in the Lone Star State.

“We've had loose gun laws in Texas for the last 150 years but violence in Mexico only in the last five, with particularly wanton violence in the last two,” said Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who as a state legislator from the Houston area got the state's concealed-carry law enacted in 1995. “If I thought more restrictive gun laws in Texas would impact violence in Mexico, that would be something worthy of consideration in the state Legislature. But they will not.”

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/High-powered-weaponsprized-by-Mexican-cartels-1401359.php#ixzz1Npim1ioV

Bar owners coming up with ways to deter gun carriers

LANCASTER, OH -- Kim Carpenter has worked in Lancaster's bars for 17 years, but a proposed change to Ohio's concealed carry law to allow guns inside bars is enough to give her pause about her future.

"It very well might be the end of my bartending career," said Carpenter, who manages Citi Bar and The Orange Carpet Lounge. "I see too many (situations) where 'he bumped into me at this little table as a reason to punch somebody else in the face.' What happens when they have a gun in their pant pocket?"

Many of Carpenter's fears are echoed by other local bar owners and operators. But gun proponents say a provision that prohibits gun carriers from drinking will keep firearms out of the hands of the inebriated.

Laying out the law

Different versions of a concealed carry revision have passed both chambers of the state legislature, but the bill has not been sent to the governor's office for his signature.
The proposed law expands the places where a licensed permit holder can carry a concealed handgun to locations that have a Class D liquor permit, which includes bars, restaurants and nightclubs, according to the Legislative Service Commission.

Of the 206 liquor permit holders in Fairfield County, 146 have at least one Class D permit. Fairfield County issued the most concealed carry permits per capita among its neighboring counties in 2010.

Although concealed carry permit holders would be permitted to carry handguns into bars, the proposal prohibits them from consuming liquor or being under the influence of alcohol or drugs while carrying a weapon.

A violation of the current law, which prohibits guns in Class D liquor establishments, is a felony offense.

The proposal does not only extend into bars. Stadiums throughout the state, carry-out establishments and other similar places also would see the rules change for their respective locations.

Because Ohio's liquor permits do not differentiate the type of business for which they are issued, a change in the law cannot be limited to specific businesses, Eaton said.

Enforcement effort

Bar owners argue that regulating who is carrying a gun while drunk is difficult -- if not impossible --and that its unlikely someone carrying a weapon will go into a bar without having a drink.

That argument is "looking for a straw that's not there," said Joe Eaton, legislative director for the Buckeye Firearms Association, which lobbied for the law.

Concealed carry permit holders have to complete a rigorous course to get the permit and would not risk losing it, Eaton argued.

Ohio law requires 10 hours of instruction and two hours of experience shooting a handgun as a prerequisite to obtaining a permit. Felony or violent misdemeanor offenses and drug offenses also could disqualify an applicant from receiving a permit.
"They stress in all classes that this is strictly a defense mechanism," said Jack Schrader, a concealed carry permit holder and employee at Barnes Guns.

The proposed law also will allow liquor permit holders to prohibit guns from being carried inside their businesses.

"We're going back to really putting the decision back on the business owner," Eaton said. "They will have the choice."

Main Event on East Main Street already has such a sign, owner Paul Whitaker said.

"I don't totally disagree with the law, but if I have the option of making my place concealed carry or not concealed carry, I probably would not," he said "If they come in and they eat and drink, I would feel a little insecure if they were carrying a weapon."
Citi Bar on West Main Street and Orange Carpet Lounge on North Columbus Street already have bought metal detector wands to ward off customers who are carrying weapons, Carpenter said.

"(Bar customers) are not going to hear the part that you can't be drunk," said Mark Brobeck, who owns both Citi Bar and Orange Carpet Lounge. "That part is going to be drowned out."

Brobeck said he intends to post signs that guns are prohibited in his bars.

"Yeah, we'll put up a sign, but then what -- we pat people down? We buy metal detectors?" asked Kim Swearnigen, who owns JD Henderson's Sports Lounge on South Columbus Street. "If the state can't enforce the 'no smoking' law, how will they enforce the gun law?"

Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen said he has "mixed feelings" about the bill.
Restaurants that serve alcohol likely won't cause problems for law enforcement, but adding the potential for guns to bars with a history of violence "would probably not be a very good idea," he said.

"I think, in general, this is not helpful to law enforcement," said Lancaster Police Chief David Bailey, who is against the change to the law.

Bailey said it is unlikely a person would go to a bar without drinking and that the law will put an extra burden on police officers breaking up fights in bars.

"They have to be very cautious that there could be concealed weapons involved," he said.

Rick Rouan can be reached at (740) 681-4345 or rrouan@ lancastereaglegazette.com.
http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/article/20110529/NEWS01/105290302/Bar-owners-coming-up-ways-deter-gun-carriers