FIFTY CALIBER INSTITUTE E-NEWSLETTER

Fifty Caliber Institute Newsletter

Issue 6; Vol. 2

We are overdue for another FCI Newsletter that is just devoted to updating everyone on things that have been happening all around without having to deal with a "Crisis" on the horizon. No crushing crisis right now, but there is lots of news in the fifty caliber community.

NRA Board Meeting a Success

I'd like to start out by telling everyone I just got home from being in Washington, DC for 6 days at the Fall NRA Board of Directors meeting. President Sigler has appointed me to four committees including Range Development; Clubs & Associations; Publication and Policies and the High Power Committee. Coupled with activities at FCI and at FCSA that makes for a very busy schedule. I'm not complaining because this was carefully explained to me when I jumped into this frying pan.

I just wanted to pass on to everyone the comments I keep hearing from the leaders at NRA to our community. I've had conversations with President Sigler; Wayne LaPierre and with Chris Cox over at ILA and we have all candidly discussed the challenges we are facing. The fact there is a confrontation coming down the road for gun owners in America is a given, but in my conversations I always come away pumped up by the spirit and enthusiasm of everyone involved. I just wanted to share with our entire community how much support there is for the fifty caliber community over at NRA and the willingness to get directly involved in this fight right beside us. None of us know what the outcome is going to be but I'll tell you this, everyone is willing to pitch in and help.

The meeting of the NRA Board of Directors was a complete success. We have set our goals to increase membership in NRA by an additional (1,000,000) one million members this year to get ready for one of the biggest battles we have ever faced. The leadership is ready and so are the Board members. When I came home from DC I was excited and I encourage everyone else to get pumped up too. We have a lot to fight for and the struggle is worth it.

VHP Magazine in the mail

Hey, how about that latest issue of VHP?? If you haven't received your magazine yet, you soon will. A big congratulation to John Eggleston and the staff at FCSA for a great job.

FCSA member fights to keep his guns in Omaha

We want to pass on to our readers a story that occurred recently to one of our members. We are going to keep the identity of the member confidential to avoid creating any embarrassment to him, but everyone should know he is one of the highest respected and well liked members of the fifty

caliber community. I suspect many of you will recognize who I speak about when I tell you this story. I asked him if we could tell this story because this kind of story is just one of the ways any one of us could end up at any time. In a fight to protect what we own, faced with the possibility of going to jail and the horrendous impact on you and your family over the costs to fight a well entrenched bureaucracy.

For the first time in many years he (I'll call him Bill) had purchased two handguns for personal protection for him and his family. After buying the guns, 'Bill' was trying to conform to a local ordinance passed by the city of Omaha, NE that required him to register his concealable handguns with the city. When he went into the police dept with the guns (still boxed and unloaded) the police conducted a records search on him (above and beyond the standard NICS check conducted by every firearms dealer when any firearm is purchased) and was told he was in violation of an ordinance in Omaha and his firearms were confiscated. He was then told that he had a conviction on his record from seventeen years prior that precluded him from owning handguns (or any other firearm) in the city limits of Omaha, Nebraska. He was also told he was subject to having any other firearms he owned confiscated and he could be arrested.

This story started 17 years ago when 'Bill' (victim) bought a handgun from a guy he was working with. A few days later he took that gun and another gun with him when he went fishing. He left one gun in his vehicle covered under a blanket in the seating compartment because the trunk was not lockable and the only place to keep the gun safe was under the blanket locked in the front seat of the car. 'Bill' tucked the 2nd gun (the one he had just purchased) into his waistband thinking he would test fire the gun down by the stream after fishing. While fishing, the game warden came by to check fishing licenses and saw the gun 'Bill' had with him. The game warden ran the serial number and it came back stolen. 'Bill' was arrested and they returned to his car. The game warden called the State Police for assistance and after they arrived at the scene a search of his vehicle revealed the 2nd gun. He was booked for possession of a stolen firearm (misdemeanor) and having a concealed firearm in his vehicle (felony).

When he went to court he provided a receipt for the stolen firearm and the case was dropped, but he then had to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of a concealed firearm in a vehicle. When I interviewed him about this he explained the DA in the case was going to prosecute the case as a felony unless he pled guilty on a misdemeanor. At that time in his life he was struggling, as we all do, and there was no way he was going to be able to afford the legal fees for an attorney to defend himself. A plea bargain was agreed to and he pled guilty to the unlawful possession of a firearm in a vehicle.

I think it noteworthy here to mention that had 'Bill' gone to court and explained why the gun was in the front seat versus the unlocked trunk, he would have been exonerated. However, that didn't occur and the plea bargain was struck.

When 'Bill' bought the two new handguns and tried to comply with the city ordnance of Omaha, NE

http://www.municode.com/Resources/gateway.asp?pid=10945&sid=27

He was told he had (20) twenty days to appeal this matter to the Firearms Permit Division of the city of Omaha. He needed help and a reference for a local attorney who could handle a possible criminal matter. 'Bill' called FCI right away and I'm glad he did. We had a long talk and discussed many possibilities but we both agreed he needed to talk to an attorney. I got onto the phone and called one of NRA's chief legal counsels to see if he could provide a recommendation for a good "Firearms Attorney" in the Omaha area. We got several and that's where the fight started.

To make a long story short, our friend 'Bill' took the administration of the city of Omaha, NE to task over this issue and won it hands down during his appeal hearing. That doesn't mean that he and his wife didn't lose three weeks of sleep before the hearing and that every time he heard a noise he wasn't afraid of a knock on the door by the local police serving a search warrant. I guarantee you if that had been in Los Angeles, CA a SWAT Team would have been at his door quickly.

This set of circumstances can happen too any of us. I tell this story, as we have other stories in the past, to make all gun owners more aware of what is going on around us. This story had a happy ending and we're very glad it did, but we have friends in CA who are still being strung out over basically the same kinds of issues.

Camp Perry Match a Success