Tuesday, May 24, 2005



Arizona: Twisted coverage and myths shot down 'guns-in-bars' bill: "Why on Earth would the National Rifle Association promote laws so "gun-toting" people could "pack heat" in bars and not drink? Say what? That doesn't even make sense. It's beyond stupid. And in fact, the NRA promoted no such thing. But you wouldn't know it from reading the papers or following newscasts. The inaccurately characterized "guns-in-bars" bill received twisted coverage, using derision and phony Wild West mythology, from reporters and editors who earned rebuke for such unethical spin. While reporters cried wolf and instilled fear in a public they misinformed, 70,000 FBI-certified Arizonans, licensed to discreetly carry firearms, just hoped they would finally be allowed to eat meals in normal restaurants without leaving their guns in their cars as current law requires. They know it's a bad law that leaves them defenseless. They know criminals routinely steal guns from cars".


Poll supports guns: "Since the 9/11 tragedy, anti-gun forces have tried to use the threat of terrorism to disarm law-abiding sportsmen and gun owners. Asked whether they agreed or disagreed that banning guns would reduce the threat from terrorists, poll respondents disagreed by a margin of 75 percent. Only one in five supported the notion, and five percent were not sure. Zogby polled 1,009 likely voters chosen at random nationwide with a margin error of plus/minus 3.2 percent."


California attacks Tasers: "State legislators are considering two distinct responses to plans by Taser International to make a big sales push for civilians to buy a lightweight stun gun that can deliver a 50,000-volt jolt of electricity up to 15 feet. The company claims its 7-ounce stun gun -- slightly heavier than a cell phone -- can flatten and temporarily incapacitate a target with a hit anywhere on the body. Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, responding to concerns about the deaths of people zapped by Tasers wielded by police officers, introduced AB1237 to prohibit the manufacture, sale or possession of the weapons -- with an exemption for law enforcement use..... Taser has mounted a full-court press in the Capitol on behalf of a competing measure, AB101, by Assemblywoman Rebecca Cohn, D-Saratoga. She has argued that Californians should have an option other than firearms to defend themselves. Cohn's AB101 would assure that remote stun guns continue to remain legal in the state -- with the establishment of an industry-maintained registration and tracking system. Cohn's bill also would require all remote stun guns to contain an "identification tracking system" that can show the serial number of the weapon that fired the electrode darts".

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