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Important Update On CCW At GRPC In Orlando – It’s Legal In The Hotel

September 27, 2012 by 15 Comments

Thanks to the industrious work of Miko Tempski, Board Member of the CCRKBA, we have the definitive answer on whether the Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport is considered a part of the airport for concealed carry purposes.

It is not!

Miko receved the following from the Orlando Police Department’s airport division a few minutes ago:

 From: John O’Grady
Subject: Fwd: Airport Firearms Carry and attached hotel
To: miko.temski

Mr. Tempski, I am in receipt of the below email request. In short you are correct in your interpretation of the FSS. The Hyatt Hotel is it’s own property so legally carrying a weapon is OK. Carrying a firearm in the terminal is prohibited. If you have any other questions or concerns please contact me directly.

Regards, John O’Grady Orlando Police Department Division Commander Orlando International Airport

Thus while you can’t legally carry within the airport terminal, you can carry in the hotel itself. I just confirmed with the hotel that it can be accessed without entering the terminal.

Thanks again to Miko for getting a definitive answer from law enforcement. I should know not to trust public affairs and marketing!

UPDATE: Thanks to Markofafreeman in the comments below we have some directions on how to enter the hotel if you are driving without entering the terminal: If you drive, go up to the 4th floor parking, following the signs for
the Hyatt. As advertised, the entrance is right there and you don’t need
to enter via the terminal.

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Carrying Concealed At The Gun Rights Policy Conference

September 27, 2012 by 4 Comments

A comment to a post by Miguel at GunFreeZone.net started me looking into Florida’s concealed carry laws and prohibited locations. The Gun Rights Policy Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport which is located in the main terminal of the Orlando Airport. I confirmed with the Hyatt that they are actually considered part of the airport terminal (or so the Front Desk said).

According to Florida Statue Section 790.06 (12)a, you are prohibited from carrying in the following locations:

(12)(a) A license issued under this section does not authorize any person to openly carry a handgun or carry a concealed weapon or firearm into:

1. Any place of nuisance as defined in s. 823.05;
2. Any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station;
3. Any detention facility, prison, or jail;
4. Any courthouse;
5. Any courtroom, except that nothing in this section would preclude a judge from carrying a concealed weapon or determining who will carry a concealed weapon in his or her courtroom;
6. Any polling place;
7. Any meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality, or special district;
8. Any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof;
9. Any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms;
10. Any elementary or secondary school facility or administration building;
11. Any career center;
12. Any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, which portion of the establishment is primarily devoted to such purpose;
13. Any college or university facility unless the licensee is a registered student, employee, or faculty member of such college or university and the weapon is a stun gun or nonlethal electric weapon or device designed solely for defensive purposes and the weapon does not fire a dart or projectile;
14. The inside of the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport, provided that no person shall be prohibited from carrying any legal firearm into the terminal, which firearm is encased for shipment for purposes of checking such firearm as baggage to be lawfully transported on any aircraft; or
15. Any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law.

If the Hyatt Regency is legally part of the terminal at the Orlando Airport, carrying concealed even with the proper license/permit is forbidden. People traveling to the conference who would normally be carrying should be aware of this. I knew you couldn’t carry in the bar portion of restaurants but I didn’t know about the airport portion of the law.

If you have any different information as to the status of the Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport, please share it in the comments below.

UPDATE: I just spoke with Vera of the Public Affairs Department of the Orlando International Airport regarding this issue. I asked specifically whether the Hyatt Regency was considered part of the main terminal for the purposes of concealed carry. She replied, “It is in the airport.” Unless we hear differently from the Orlando Police Department, I would operate under the presumption that concealed carry is not allowed at the Hyatt Regency.  See my separate update – the Orlando PD, airport division says the hotel is a private holding and is NOT part of the airport for CCW purposes.

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One More Day Until GRPC!

September 27, 2012 by 2 Comments

We are getting excited. It is only one more day before we board a Delta jet to Orlando for the Gun Rights Policy Conference. There will be old friends to see, new friends to make, and a chance finally to meet people you only know from the Interwebs.

The Complementary Spouse is making lists of stuff we shouldn’t forget while I’m trying to figure out which Hawaiian shirts to pack. We all have our priorities!

You can read the agenda here.

As I’ve said before, if you live anywhere in the area you should attend for at least Saturday. It’s free to attend, you’ll get tons of free books on Second Amendment topics, and you’ll learn a lot. Plus Madison Rising will be playing the National Anthem!

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Quote Of The Day

September 27, 2012 by 2 Comments

California Senator Leland Yee’s SB249 has officially died for this session of the California legislature. The finger pointing has begun between Senator Yee and Attorney General Kamala Harris. The so-called investigative journalists at KCBS who did the original story that let Senator Yee think he could ride the issue to fame and glory have more on it here.

The quote of the day comes from Senator Yee bemoaning the fact that people let their voice be heard:

State Senator Leland Yee, who sponsored the bill, said the campaign
became ugly fast. “We got emails, we got phone calls. We even had
billboards along 101,” he said.

Dude, that’s the way it is supposed to happen in America. Citizens can and should make their voices heard. I imagine that is one of the reason’s Sen. Yee’s family (including him) emigrated in 1951or ’52 to America from Red China.

As to the billboards, props to the gun rights activists in California!

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A Reminder For NC Hunters

September 27, 2012 by

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is reminding hunters of the requirement to wear blaze orange during certain hunting seasons. As an aside, I wonder if this requirement will ever be expanded to include the safety yellow that you see so many highway workers and public safety personnel wearing nowadays.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Home From The
Hunt™ safety campaign is reminding hunters to follow blaze orange
requirements.

In North Carolina, hunters are required to wear a cap, hat or an outer
garment in blaze orange that is visible from all sides when hunting
bear, feral hogs, deer, rabbit, squirrel, grouse, pheasant or quail with
a firearm. Hunters are also required to wear blaze orange while hunting
with a bow on Sunday during the muzzleloader or gun season.

“Blaze orange, sometimes known as hunter orange, fluorescent orange or,
by some old-timers, as 10-mile cloth, is instantly recognizable and
signals caution to the viewer,” said Travis Casper, state hunter
education coordinator.

The Wildlife Commission recommends everyone wear blaze orange if they
are going to be outdoors in areas shared with hunters. Blaze orange
clothing stands out against an outdoor background and studies have
proven it increases visibility of the wearer in low light situations.
Blaze orange also can be helpful in locating someone lost or injured.

“Throughout the various hunting seasons, the majority of folks are
responsible and safe,” Casper said. “This state has an excellent hunting
safety record, which improves every year. But it isn’t perfect and we
want to eliminate preventable incidents.”

All first-time hunting license buyers in North Carolina must complete a
hunter education course successfully. Classroom courses are offered free
across the state by the Wildlife Commission, with locations and
schedules listed online at
www.ncwildlife.org.

For information on hunting seasons and rules, consult the 2012-13 N.C.
Inland Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest, also available
online at
www.ncwildlife.org.

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Banning The Tool And Not The Act In NJ

September 27, 2012 by 5 Comments

The New Jersey General Assembly has passed a bill out of the Consumer Affairs Committee that would ban the sale of laser pointers that generate more than one milliwatt output. The ostensible reason behind this ban is that law enforcement authorities say people have been shining laser pointers at plane cockpits.

Earlier this month, state and federal law enforcement authorities warned
of the dangers of pointing lasers at planes, an increasingly common
occurrence that can temporarily blind pilots and put the crew and
passengers at risk.

There were
269 reported laser “strikes” in New Jersey airspace last year, authorities said, as compared to just four in 2007.

“Laser pointers can serve a legitimate need in the classroom and in
business settings, but clearly in those cases we don’t need
super-powered laser pointers that can put people at risk,” the sponsor
of the bill, Assemblyman Nelson Albano (D-Cumberland) said.

The bill would impose fines of not more than $500 for the first offense
and not more than $1,000 for each subsequent offense. An identical bill
passed the Senate in June.

people at risk.”

The bill, A3169, doesn’t just impact those laser pointers used in making presentations. From the text of the bill:

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

     1.    a. No person shall sell
or offer to sell a laser pointer that exceeds one milliwatt in output power.
     b.    For the purposes of this
section, “laser pointer” means any device that emits laser light to
project a beam that may be used for aiming, targeting, or pointing out
features.
     c.     Nothing in this section
shall apply to the sale of a laser pointer intended to be used by, or under the
supervision of, a health care practitioner licensed under the laws of the State
of New Jersey.

By this definition, the sale of the laser products sold by Crimson Trace, Viridian, and LaserMax would all be outlawed.  Their peak output is 5 milliwatts.

This is a bill that needs to go nowhere. It will end up banning a self-defense tool that can help in stressful situations. It is so typical of politicians that rather severely punishing the transgression they think it is easier to just ban something.

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Agenda For 2012 GRPC

September 26, 2012 by 1 Comment

The agenda for the 2012 Gun Rights Policy Conference has been released and I’ve posted it below. The Second Amendment band Madison Rising will be doing the National Anthem as well as playing at both the Friday and Saturday night receptions. How cool is that!

27th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference
September 28-30, 2012
Hyatt Regency Orlando, Florida, Airport

FRIDAY, September 28, 2012—Regency Ballroom
7:00 p.m. Registration Table Opens
7:00–9:00 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar
Co-hosted by Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) and Second Amendment Foundation (SAF)
Music by the patriot rock band Madison Rising

SATURDAY, September 29, 2012—Intercontinental Ballroom
7:30 a.m. Registration Table Opens
Beverages hosted by Women & Guns Magazine

8:00 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator—Julianne Versnel, publisher, Journal on Firearms & Public Policy, director of operations, SAF
Color Guard—University of Central Florida, Air Force ROTC
National Anthem performed by Madison Rising
Invocation—Rev. Anthony Winfield, chaplain, Elmhurst Hospital Center, New York City

8:10 a.m. State of the Gun Rights Battle

Welcoming Remarks
The Road Traveled—Joseph P. Tartaro, executive editor, TheGunMag.com, president, SAF
The Road Ahead—Alan M. Gottlieb, chairman, CCRKBA and founder, SAF

8:30 a.m. The Most Dangerous Election of Our Lifetime
Maria Heil, board member and spokesperson, National Rifle Association

8:45 a.m. Federal Affairs Briefing
Mark Barnes, president, Mark Barnes and Associates
Jeff Knox, managing director, Firearms Coalition, gun issues columnist
Larry Pratt, executive director, Gun Owners of America
Joe Waldron, legislative director, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

9:15 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing I
Hon. Sam Slom, Minority Leader Hawaii Senate, trustee of the Second Amendment Foundation
Sandra Barreras, Puerto Rico, Damas de la Segunda Enmienda
Jim Irvine, president, Buckeye Firearms Association
Richard Nascak, co-executive director, Florida Carry.org.
Patrick Shomo, president, Maryland Shall Issue Inc.

9:45 a.m. Beverage break hosted IAPCAR

10:00 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing II
Stephen Aldstadt, president, Shooters Committee on Political Education (SCOPE, Inc.) NY
Thomas Bolioli, secretary, Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc.
Don Moran, president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Tony Montanarella, president, California Rifle & Pistol Association
Philip Van Cleave, president, Virginia Citizens Defense League

10:30 a.m. Global Gun Control: Down but Not Out
Gary Burris, founder, Lone Star Shooting Association
Sheldon Clare, president, National Firearms Association of Canada
Julianne Versnel, publisher, Women & Guns, director of operations, Second Amendment Foundation
Maj. Gen. Allen Youngman, USA (ret.), executive director, Defense Small Arms Advisory Council

11:00 a.m. “Stand Your Ground” Laws under Fire
Eric Friday, Esq., counsel for Florida Carry
Jon Gutmacher, Esq., firearms instructor, attorney and author of Florida Firearms — Law, Use & Ownership

11:20 a.m. Protecting the Right to Protect
Mark O’Mara, Esq., defense attorney for George Zimmerman

11:45 a.m. Q & A on Morning Panels

12:00 Noon Recess and break to prepare for box luncheon

12:15 p.m. Awards Luncheon Hosted by CCRKBA and SAF
Speakers:
U.S. Representative. Joe Barton (R-Texas 6th Dist.)
Ambassador Donald A. Mahley
Otis McDonald, lead plaintiff, McDonald v. City of Chicago
Awards presentations

1:30 p.m. Recess Break

1:45 p.m. Fine-Tuning Arms Rights in the Courts
David Jensen, Esq., SAF counsel in Kwong vs. Bloomberg, Moore v. Madigan and Piszczatoski v. Maenza
Donald Kilmer, Esq., counsel to CalGuns Foundation and SAF
David Kopel, Esq., research director, Independence Institute, co-author, Firearms Law & the Second Amendment
Dan Schmutter, Esq., legal counsel, Association of NJ Rifle & Pistol Clubs

2:15 p.m. The Second Amendment and the Legal Community
Bobbie K. Ross, Esq., Chair, Second Amendment Civil Rights Litigation Subcommittee, American Bar Association

2:30 p.m. The Realities of Self-Defense in Washington, DC
Emily Miller, senior editorial page editor, The Washington Times and author of Emily Gets a Gun

2:45 p.m. The “Fast and Furious” Fiasco
David Workman, senior editor, TheGunMag.com, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner

3:00 p.m. Beverage service hosted by KeepAndBearArms.com

3:15 p.m. Those Dangerous Gun-Free Zones
John Lott, PhD, commentator for FoxNews.com and Wall Street Journal

3:30 p.m. Breaking the Establishment Media’s Stranglehold
Robert Farago, publisher, TheTruthAboutGuns.com
Bob Harvey, host, Bullseye Radio Talk Show
Fredy Riehl, editor and press coordinator, Ammoland.com
Mark Vanderberg, Gun Rights Radio Network

4:00 p.m. How Gun Rights Are Really at Risk if They Steal the Election First
John Fund, senior editor The American Spectator and columnist for National Review Online

4:15 p.m. The 2012 Elections: A Nation at the Crossroads
Alan Gottlieb, chairman, AmeriPAC, chairman, CCRKBA
Stephani Scruggs, president, Unite in Action and national chair, The 912 Project
Kirby Wilbur, chairman, Republican Party of Washington, SAF trustee

4:45 p.m. Growing State Gun Rights Networks
Gene Hoffman, chairman, CalGuns Foundation
Brent Carlton, president, Commonwealth Second Amendment Inc.
Sean Caranna, co-executive director, Florida Carry.org

5:15 p.m. Which Case Will Be the Next RKBA Case to Go to SCOTUS?
Alan Gura, SAF chief counsel and lead attorney, D.C. v. Heller, McDonald v. Chicago and Ezell v. Chicago

5:30 p.m. Q & A on afternoon panels

6:00 p.m. Announcements and Adjournment

6:30-9:30 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar—Regency Ballroom
Hosted by Second Amendment Foundation and National Shooting Sports Foundation
Entertainment by patriotic rock band Madison Rising

SUNDAY, September 30, 2012—Intercontinental Ballroom
8:30 a.m. Registration Table Opens
Beverage service hosted by TheGunMag.com

8:50 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator: Peggy Tartaro, editor of Women & Guns, board member CCRKBA

9:00 a.m. Growing the Gunowner Base in the Popular Culture War
Alan Korwin, author, After You Shoot, Bloomfield Press Richard Mgrdechian, president, Madison Rising
Neil Schulman, screenwriter, journalist, filmmaker
Peggy Tartaro, editor, Women & Guns magazine, board member, CCRKBA

9:35 a.m. The Supreme Court: A Majority of One
David Kopel, Esq., adjunct professor of Advanced Constitutional Law, Sturm College of Law, University of Denver
Joseph P. Tartaro, executive editor, TheGunMag.com, president, SAF

10:00 a.m. The Many Faces of the Second Amendment
Rev. Kenneth V. Blanchard, pastor, firearms instructor, blogger
Doug Ritter, founder and chairman, KnifeRights.org
Erik Royce, founder, TruckerGuns Foundation
Linda Walker, board member, National Rifle Association<

10:30 a.m. Is Patient Privacy Dead after Florida Court Ruling?
Timothy Wheeler, MD, director, Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, a project of the SAF

10:45 a.m. The Academic Front in the Gun Rights Battle
David Burnett, Students for Concealed Carry
Brian Patrick, associate professor of communications, University of Toledo

11:05 a.m. The Anti-Gunners’ Homeland Security Gambit
Charles Heller, executive director, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
Benjamin Smith, director of Strategic Affairs, Unite in Action, and contributor to Breitbart and Fox News

11:25 a.m. Countering Media Bias
Don Irvine, president, Accuracy in Media
Malia Zimmerman, editor, Hawaii Reporter, director, Hawaii Rifle Association

11:45 a.m. Q & A on Morning Session

12:00 Noon Report of the Resolutions Committee
Genie Jennings, W&G columnist
Stephen Aldstadt, president, SCOPE, Inc.
Linda Farmer, Georgia gun rights activist
Jeff Knox, managing director, Firearms Coalition, gun issue columnist
Don Moran, president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Herb Stupp, Vice Chairman CCRKBA
Miko Tempski, director, CCRKBA
Linda Walker, board member, National Rifle Association
Robert Wiest, SAF board of trustees, Tennessee activist

1:00 p.m. Closing remarks and adjournment
Alan M. Gottlieb and Joseph P. Tartaro

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PETA Can’t Leave Well Enough Alone

September 26, 2012 by 4 Comments

Brasstown, North Carolina is a small little town in the far southwestern corner of the state. It is home to the John C. Campbell Folk School where they teach everything from woodworking to quilting to story-telling.

The Cherokee County town is also home to a quaint New Year’s Eve tradition called the Possum Drop. Held at Clay’s Corner, the Possum Drop actually involves the lowering -not dropping -of a live possum (oppossum, if you are a stickler for spelling) starting around 10pm. It is Brasstown’s answer to the dropping of the ball in Times Square. This event is unique enough to have caught the eye of CBS’s Bill Geist who did a story on it for CBS Sunday Morning.

Unfortunately, it has also caught the attention of the busybodies at the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. They are now taking the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to court for issuing a permit to the organizer of the Possum Drop, Clay Logan.

From WRAL-TV:

PETA attorney Martina Bernstein said possums are timid animals and can actually die from the stress. She likened the New Year’s Eve event to torture for the animal.

“It is something you wouldn’t do to your own dog or cat – have them hoisted up on a Plexiglas contraption for several hours with fireworks going off you know swinging in in the cold air,” Bernstein said.

She argued that the state permit for the event was improperly issued because North Carolina law doesn’t allow wild animals to be kept captive unless it’s for rehabilitation – and that requires a captive animal permit.

“There are very strict rules for that. It’s not a free-for-all,” she said. “But apparently the agency believes, if you don’t fit into these permits, we’re just going to make up something.”

Norman Young, the assistant attorney general representing the Wildlife Resources Commission, said the permit was legal. New Year’s Eve falls during possum season in the state, so Logan’s hunting license allows him to trap one for the drop, he said.

“(This is) an event that does not show any particular harm to the opossum and I might add doesn’t meet the elements of the animal cruelty statute,” Young said.

Senior Administrative Law Judge Fred Morrison Jr. refused the state’s motion for the case to be dismissed which means that the case will live for another month.

The last time that PETA threatened a suit over this Mr. Logan resorted to using a roadkill ‘possum which didn’t thrill the New Year’s Eve revelers. If PETA does win, the state’s assistant attorney general says it would be entirely legal for Mr. Logan to kill a oppossum, keep it in his freezer, and then put the frozen carcass in the plexiglass box on New Year’s Eve.

My suggestion to PETA and one that I think at least the men in the Brasstown community would appreciate is for them to volunteer one of their brainless – but attractive – starlet backers to be put in the box and lowered on New Year’s Eve.  Naked, of course, since wearing any fur would be against their principles which we couldn’t have.

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Request For DOJ IG To Investigate Zapata Murder

September 26, 2012 by 1 Comment

Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News is reporting this afternoon that Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have sent a letter to Michael Horowitz, the Department of Justice Inspector General, requesting that he investigate the murder of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata. The murder weapons used in Zapata’s death have been traced to guns that ATF allowed to be walked.

According to the letter, ATF may have had probable cause to arrest
two firearms dealers before they bought and trafficked a weapon used to
murder Zapata, who was on assignment in Mexico. “Only after Agent Zapata
was murdered…and one of the weapons was traced back” to suspect
Otilio Osorio “did ATF finally arrest Otilio, his brother and a third
suspect for their gun trafficking activity,” reads the letter.

Congressional
investigators say ATF had earlier witnessed the Osorio brothers in a
Walmart parking lot providing 40 weapons with obliterated serial numbers
to be trafficked to Mexico. It was what’s known as a “controlled
delivery,” meaning law enforcement officials were monitoring the sale.
In this case it was part of a joint investigation with the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA). But “ATF failed to confront the two
individuals” leaving them to continue to allegedly traffic weapons,
including one used in Zapata’s killing, according to the letter.

The DOJ IG’s office is said to be reviewing the request.