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Mother And Child Kidnapped At St. Johns Town Center

By Adam Kirk - Morning News Producer @ WOKV
June 10, 2010 6:18 AM

You may feel completely safe at the St. Johns Town Center, but a local mother would now tell you otherwise.

The mother, who asked not to be identified, told police a woman approached her and put a gun to her
9-year-old daughter's back as they walked to their car Friday night.  They had just finished diner at P.F. Chang's.

"I thought, 'This can't be real,'" the mother told our news partner Channel 4. "My first thought was, 'Change the channel, this is a movie or something,' but it was very real."

Police said Ashley Sales, 21, forced the two victims into their car, and wanted them to drive her to an ATM machine, so Sales could steal cash from the woman's account.

"She came behind my daughter, pushed her in with a gun said 'scoot over,' got in the car and said we were going to take her to ATM's and get out cash and give her the cash," the victim said.

After taking out a large amount of money at one ATM, Bank of America shut off the woman's card.

"She was on the phone the entire time. She was talking to someone in Creole and said she wasn't happy with that and it wasn't enough," the victim said. "Made us drive to the Wachovia on Beach and St. Johns Bluff to see if we could get money out of that. Luckily at that point, Bank of America shut off my ATM card. I couldn't use it anymore, couldn't give her any more money."

At that point, Sales made the woman drive her to another destination, then stole her cell phone battery and threw her keys into the woods, stranding the woman and her daughter.

A few days after the robbery, the mother and child went to dinner at Cheese Cake Factory, also at the Town Center, so the little girl could face her fear of going back.  That's when the woman says she spotted Sales again, in the same area.

The victim followed Sales and called police, who arrested Sales a while later.

Sales is now charged with kidnapping and armed robbery.

"My main thing is you have to be aware of what makes you a victim. Be aware that just because it's a nice shopping center, there are still bad people trying to get away with whatever they can and they're not afraid to hurt a little child," the mother said.

 

Help Florida Throw off Unconstitutional Gun Control!

Friday, January 29, 2010

The 2010 session of the Florida State Legislature is right around the corner.  While there are several gun bills (both good and bad) already filed, one bill in particular should be of great interest to Sunshine State gun owners.

The bill is SB 98, introduced by pro-gun State Senator Carey Baker (R-20).  Known as the Firearms Freedom Act, the bill is modeled after similar legislation which has been successful in other states, including Montana -- the first state to pass such a law.

The Firearms Freedom Act has a simple concept.  It states that if a gun was made in Florida, and stays in Florida, then the federal government may not regulate it under the Interstate Commerce Cause.  (Because, you see, the gun was never part of interstate commerce.)

This is important because the Commerce Clause is the "hook" that Congress has used to justify almost every single federal gun control law.  But with the passage of SB 98, a stand will be taken that guns stamped with the words "Made in Florida" are no business of the federal government. 

The session hasn't yet begun, so before it does, Sen. Baker is looking for other Senators to cosponsor his bill.  The more cosponsors the bill has, the more difficult it will be for the leadership to pretend SB 98 doesn't exist by letting it languish in committee.

ACTION:  Please urge your state Senator to become a cosponsor of SB 98. 

To identify your Senator, go to http://tinyurl.com/floridasenators and enter your zip code.  When the results display, click on the DISTRICT of your state Senator.  That should provide you with complete contact info, to include an e-mail address or webform.  A pre-written letter is provided below so that you can copy-and-paste it if you so choose.

----- Pre-written letter -----

Dear Senator:

Please cosponsor SB 98, the Florida Firearms Freedom Act.  This bill states that if a gun is manufactured in the state -- and the firearm stays in the state -- it is exempt from federal gun control laws enacted under the Commerce Clause.  (Because, you see, the firearm was never a part of interstate commerce.)  SB 98 is modeled after laws that were recently passed in Montana and Tennessee.

This is one of the most important bills that you will vote on in 2010.  This is more than just a Tenth Amendment resolution -- it is a bill that has teeth! 

It's time that we send a message to the U.S. Congress and tell them to start legislating within the authority given them by the Constitution.  Please help continue the movement that began in Montana by becoming a cosponsor of SB 98.

Sincerely,

 

Anti-gun ObamaCare on Life Support!

Friday, January 22, 2010 By Gun Owners of America Congratulations on a tremendous victory on Tuesday!  And thank you all for your help in getting Scott Brown elected to the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts.   Gun Owners of America was the first national gun lobby to endorse Brown, and with your aid, he was receiving more than one million dollars a day in his comeback win over anti-gun Martha Coakley. With your help, Massachusetts -- the bluest of blue states -- has sent a message to Washington:  take your ObamaCare bill and shove it! By a vote of 52% to 47%, Massachusetts voters sent anti-ObamaCare candidate Scott Brown to the Senate -- defeating liberal icon Martha Coakley.  And D.C. Democrats are beginning to understand that GOP victories in New Jersey and Massachusetts are merely a precursor to the electoral bloodbath still to come in November.      Obama-Pelosi still committed to passing socialized health care But has the prospect of losing two hundred congressional seats caused Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi to back off of their efforts to shove this bill down the throats of the American people? Amazingly, no.    It"s like you stepped in something.  And, as much as you scrape and scrape the bottom of your shoe, you just can"t get rid of the smell.   To read more of this article, please click here.

 

Lawsuit Against Gunmaker Tossed

Tuesday, May 12, 2009
By The San Francisco Chronicle

A federal appeals court dismissed damage claims against gun manufacturers Monday by the victims of a shooting in the San Fernando Valley, saying a 2005 federal law backed by the firearms industry bars such lawsuits.

In a 2-1 ruling, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Congress had the case in mind when it passed the law. Lawmakers did not violate the rights of victims of the 1999 shootings by limiting their right to sue federally licensed gunmakers and dealers for criminals' actions, the court said.

To read more of this article, please click here.

 

Gun Shows Under Attack in Minnesota

Monday, May 11, 2009
By NRA-ILA

Anti-gun State Representative Michael Paymar (DFL-64B) intends to offer an amendment that would severely regulate the sale of firearms at gun shows in Minnesota.  His amendment would regulate the sale of all firearms at gun shows across Minnesota by forcing all private sales at gun shows to go through a background check.  Gun prohibitionists, such as Representative Paymar, falsely claim that many criminals get guns from gun shows, but the most recent federal study puts the figure at only 0.7 percent.  This effort is a stepping stone for anti-gun advocates seeking to ban all private sales, even among family and friends.

Please contact your State Representative immediately and urge them to oppose Representative Paymar’s “Gun Show” Amendment.

Please Contact Your State Representative!

To find contact information for your State Representative, please click here.

 

On guns, the elites are out of touch

Monday, May 11, 2009
By Michael Barone

On guns, Gallup has been testing opinion for many years on one extreme proposal that is the goal, usually unstated, of many gun control advocates: banning the possession of handguns. Support was 60 percent in 1960 and 49 percent in 1965. It was as high as 43 percent in the early 1990s, before the Clinton Congress passed the so called assault weapons ban. In March 2007, it had fallen to 29 percent a minority, almost a fringe position. In the early 1990s, Gallup found that Americans, by a 2 1 margin, favored stricter gun sale laws over less strict ones or keeping them the same. By fall 2008, they were evenly split.

To read more of this article, please click here.

 

Arizona: House bill that would boost gun rights moves to Senate

Monday, May 11 2009
By The Arizona Republic

If the NRA gets its wish, registered gun owners in Arizona will be able to keep weapons locked in their cars outside of a business, regardless of the business' policy on weapons in the workplace; they'll also be allowed to bring guns into certain restaurants that serve alcohol. The guns in cars legislation, House Bill 2474, moved out of the House on Thursday and its sponsor, Rep. John Kavanagh, R Fountain Hills, expects it to pass through the Senate.

To read more of this article, please click here.

 

CALIFORNIA AMMUNITION REGISTRATION BILL SUSPENDED

May 2009

Thanks in large part to the efforts of the California Association of Firearms Retailers (CAFR), NSSF and others, anti-gun/anti-business bill AB 962 has been suspended. Among other things, the bill would have required that handgun ammunition buyers make their purchases in person (not by mail order or the Internet), that handgun ammunition not be displayed by retailers in a location where customers can have access to it, that retailers record and maintain consumers' personal information (including fingerprint) when purchasing ammunition and finally retailers/or individuals who sell more than one box (50 rounds) of handgun ammunition per month must obtain an ammunition sellers permit. Though the bill has been suspended, that does not mean the battle is won. NSSF urges all retailers and gun owners to continue to voice their opposition to this bill to ensure it will not be taken out off the suspension calendar. Please visit your local retailer to sign a petition.

 

Polls Show Fading Support for Gun Control - MORE AMERICANS NOT SUPPORTIVE OF NEW LAWS

A number of recent polls show Americans are growing increasingly less supportive of new restrictions to regulate firearms. The Houston Chronicle reported last week that the shift in public opinion is so strong that a potential ban on so-called "assault weapons" -- once backed by 3 in 4 Americans -- "now rates barely 1 in 2." Said Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll, "Every bit of data is showing us that Americans are getting more conservative about gun control." See results from five recent polls in NSSF's blog, Aiming for Accuracy

 

Seeking an Edge in a World That's Full of Dangers - Florida Gun Class Students Say They're in it for Defense.

Sunday, September 7, 2008
By Bill Hutchinson

SARASOTA -

Jerry Colbert is white-haired former dentist who supplements his retirement income by teaching people how to handle guns. Colbert grew up in a gun-owning household, but did not actually shoot one until he was in the service and picked up target practice as a hobby.

He has never had to use a gun defensively, nor does he hunt. "I don't have any interest in killing small animals," he says. "Or even big ones."

A threatening stranger, though, would be another matter. Colbert has a license to carry his .45-caliber Kimber handgun and keeps it close by when he sleeps. The bedroom in his gated-community home is locked, just in case. "Somebody breaks into my house and starts banging down the door, I will take care of him."

Lesson One in the Colbert class: "If you have any qualms about killing somebody, you shouldn't have a gun in the house."

Lesson Two: "If you have a gun in the house, you better know how to use it."

Although he describes himself as "not one for politics," Colbert calls the NRA "sort of like AARP for Republicans," in the sense that both organizations inevitably become involved at least tangentially in political action, particularly in an election year.

When he asked in passing how many of his 14 students Saturday were Democrats, just to illustrate a point, only three hands went up -- one more than when he asked how many were NRA members.

"I'd guess Democrats aren't very popular in this room," said one of the three, George Metropoulos, a Venice bridge-tender who lives in North Port, works the midnight shift, and brought his wife, Delenia, to the class because he wanted her to be able to defend herself while she is home alone.

"I've never been one way or the other about guns."

"But, look, the other day my neighbor saw this young man rob another woman in the parking lot. It's happening everywhere. You have to be prepared to protect yourself."

To read more of this article, please click here.

 

Pro-Hunting Legislation Passes House, Heads to Senate for Consideration!

HF2440 would require an officer of the Department of Natural Resources to issue a certificate of completion of the hunter safety and ethics education course for members of the armed forces on active duty or who served in the armed forces at anytime so long as they were discharged under honorable conditions, are nonambulatory, and are accompanied by a person who is at least 18.  Please contact the members of the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee TODAY and respectfully urge them to pass this HF2440.

Contact information can be found by clicking here.

 

NRA's Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program Reaches 21 Millionth Child

"The steady decline in the number of firearm-related accidents among young children since the launch of the Eddie Eagle program is a testament to the program's effectiveness, and to the 21 million children we’ve been able to reach," said Kayne Robinson, Executive Director of NRA General Operations. "The history of this program is filled with stories of children who have avoided firearm accidents because they were exposed to Eddie Eagle's live-saving message."

Volunteers for the Eddie Eagle program come from diverse backgrounds but share a common commitment to protecting children from gun accidents. They include NRA members, schoolteachers, law enforcement officers, and community activists who teach the program, plus private donors and Friends of NRA participants who raise funds to pay for the program’s educational materials.

More than 26,000 educators, law enforcement agencies, and civic organizations have taught the program since 1988.

Full Story

 

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