Via the NRA-ILA:

On June 11, the top law enforcement officials of nearly half the states signed a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, expressing their opposition to reinstatement of the federal ban on semi-automatic firearms.

“We share the Obama Administration’s commitment to reducing illegal drugs and violent crime within the United States. We also share your deep concern about drug cartel violence in Mexico. However, we do not believe that restricting law-abiding Americans’ access to certain semi-automatic firearms will resolve any of these problems,” the letter said.

The letter notes congressional opposition to bringing back the ban, and calls for increasing enforcement of existing laws.

We encourage NRA members to let these state officials know we appreciate them standing up to the incessant clamor for gun control that is currently coming from anti-gun groups and their media allies.

The 23 state Attorneys General, in alphabetical order, by state, are:
(more…)

There was apparently an incident in Cheyenne, Wyoming, last week involving a pizza delivery driver:

Cheyenne police have released a description of a suspect accused of firing shots into a pizza delivery driver’s car.

Police are looking for a young hispanic male, about 5’6 tall, and was last seen wearing a dark flannel shirt, dark baggy jeans and is armed with a handgun.

And this in response: Keeping Delivery Drivers Safe

Many fast food delivery companies have taken extra precautions over the years to train their employees safety steps to protect them from dangerous situations.

“We’re always concerned about employee safety and we know we need to execute procedures and policies that the way that we’ve done things, but, we certainly believe that those will keep people safe,” said Lamont Muchmore of Papa John’s in Cheyenne…

“The first thing we even try to do is prevent them from being a target. We have bank drops after drivers are out and no driver should be out with over $20 in their pocket,” explains Muchmore.

Drivers are also expected to carry a cell phone with them at all times and when they deliver late night pizzas, the store calls the residence to make sure they are home before the driver leaves.

I’m confused. The story says “companies have taken extra precautions over the years” and a manager says “Making sure that we follow the policy and that we’re executing the way that we’re supposed to should be a very safe environment for our employees” but the story doesn’t mention anything other than not carrying too much cash and carrying a cell phone.

Where are these procedures that should create a “very safe environment”?

Cokeville, Wyoming:

An Afton hunter killed a mountain lion earlier this month while hunting deer with his father in western Wyoming.

The state Game and Fish Department determined the killing was self defense.

Adam Lancaster told Warden Todd Graham that he killed the mountain lion on Oct. 7 as it approached the hunters while they were field dressing and boning a buck mule deer they had killed.

The encounter occurred in the north end of Wyoming lion hunt Area 14 in the Coal Creek drainage, about four miles south of U.S. 89 on Salt Pass. No one was injured.

They reported the incident immediately.

For some reason mountain lion stories always catch my eye. Don’t forget Friendly neighborhood mountain lion.

Advantage: Bear.

2 things:

1) That shot by the dad was a shot of shots.

2) I think the stand up, wave, and yell followed by a run away probably didn’t do anything to help discourage the bear from attacking. At the same time, the bear may have been going to attack anyway and the play dead routine has got to be a tough one in that situation.

Here’s what the Art of Manliness says about surviving a grizzly attack:

• 1. Carry bear pepper spray. Experts recommend that hikers in bear country carry with them bear pepper spray. UDAP bear pepper spray is a highly concentrated capsaicin spray that creates a large cloud. This stuff will usually stop a bear in it’s tracks.
• 2. Don’t run. When you run, the bear thinks you’re prey and will continue chasing you, so stand your ground. And don’t think you can out run a bear. Bears are fast. They can reach speeds of 30 mph. Unless you’re an Olympic sprinter, don’t bother running.
• 3. Drop to the ground in the fetal position and cover the back of your neck with your hands. If you don’t have pepper spray or the bear continues to charge even after the spray, this is your next best defense. Hit the ground immediately and curl into the fetal position.
• 4. Play dead. Grizzlies will stop attacking when they feel there’s no longer a threat. If they think you’re dead, they won’t think you’re threatening. Once the bear is done tossing you around and leaves, continue to play dead. Grizzlies are known for waiting around to see if their victim will get back up.

No one is allowed to send in the “pepper spray and bells” joke. That was funny the first couple dozen times I heard it. The hundred or so more recent times, it’s been beginning to get a little stale.

Jeff Soyer:

Wyoming’s Democratic Governor Dave Freudenthal, “A” rated by the NRA, was in Pennsylvania claiming that Obama is “in the right place” on gun control…

I guess when Obama re-institutes the phony “Assault Weapons Ban” and you can no longer buy some of the most popular sporting rifles in the country, that, according to the Governor, is “the right place.”

Time to add another AR to the safe?

Wyoming:

CHEYENNE – A magistrate in Sweetwater County has sentenced a Tennessee man to serve 100 days in jail and pay $6,000 in fines and restitution for shooting a doe antelope several times with a semiautomatic rifle last weekend. Officials say the case is only the latest in a disturbing pattern of out-of-state energy workers wantonly killing Wyoming wildlife.

Tori Stephen Bowman, 23, of Cookeville, Tenn., pleaded guilty Monday to wanton destruction of a big-game animal.

In addition to imposing the jail time, fines and restitution, Magistrate Stephen K. Palmer forfeited Bowman’s rifle to the state and revoked his hunting and fishing privileges for five years. Palmer also fined Bowman $350 on his guilty plea to a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge, court records show.

Forfeiture of a firearm and a $6,000 fine seems pretty steep, never mind the 100 days in jail. Then again, shooting a lactating antelope doe for the hell of it is ridiculous beyond reason, and it’s tough to really argue hard with any sentence.

The rifle was an AK.

Via GunPro.net.

Police took one person’s pistol and smashed it on the curb? Police said that they didn’t have time to write receipts for firearms that they were confiscating? Police knocked around a little old lady because she had an unloaded .22 handgun?

Yes they did.

House Bill 2811, meanwhile, has been introduced in Kansas. If passed, it would prevent the State of Kansas from confiscating or registering any lawfully owned firearms during a declared state of emergency. Other states, including Wyoming and Pennsylvania, are looking at similar legislation.

And then there’s New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, simply known as The Idiot, and Police Superintendent Warren Riley, the Idiot’s Henchman, demonstrating that they don’t know how to handle guns, only steal them:

I wonder if those are government weapons or if they’re smiling so much because they’re freebies from the Great New Orleans Gun Grab.

Good news from out west:

A bill would change Wyoming’s Homeland Security laws to make sure that the governor and other officials wouldn’t have authority to order the confiscation of guns from law-abiding citizens in the event of natural disasters or terrorist attacks.

The National Rifle Association has pushed similar legislation around the country following Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and the surrounding area in August 2005. The NRA and other groups also sued the city over its gun confiscation.

Rep. Allen Jaggi, R-Lyman, is the main sponsor of the Wyoming legislation.

There has been a lot of push for this since the Great New Orleans Gun Grab. Good. Push harder.