Good afternoon Folks. Jane and I  are quite relieved that it seems we have dodged another bullet.   It definitely appears that Ivan will miss the Tampa Bay area. That, my friends, makes us 3 & 0!   We sure don't envy the folks that get hit by Ivan -- a powerful, nasty hurricane.   Don't think we can relax just yet though -- another one seems to be forming in the same area as the others. We do have one casualty, however. The September 16, 2004, LOK meeting has been rescheduled for October 14, 2004. Three of my speakers have advised that they are not available due to business concerns for the storm generated workload. The October meeting will follow our usual schedule of sign-in, waivers and refreshments from 6 - 7 PM, seminar from 7 - 8 PM (Burglary Prevention) and then firing from 8 - 9:30 PM. Sorry but no machine guns until December (hopefully) as a kind of early Holiday present!   The October firing event will be 'Handgun Bingo' with a twist -- one hand only. The cost is $15.00 and includes firearm rental, eyes & ears, seminar, range time, instruction and targets. You may, of course, bring your own firearms.   Ammunition is an additional expense as usual. The cost for non-firing attendees is $10.00. Hopefully April will show up for free chair massages again. She does a great job and definitely appreciates tips! I apologize for the inconvenience but kind of a wild time this year. Please send me an email if you want to pre-register. Tnx  Norm & Jane

 

Associated Press  "Coroner Discussing Gun Safety Shoots Self"  September 8, 2004, Update
 

This is a first for me -- I am not aware of too many coroners who seem to want to work on themselves! This occurred at a Lake Monroe boat ramp, Bloomington, IN, at 11PM. The county coroner for Monroe County was doing a firearms safety demo to some folks. During the course of the demo, he very smoothly shot himself in the left leg as he checked to make sure the gun was unloaded. Well, it probably was after he shot himself!   The coroner was expected to have surgery and then spend three to five days in the hospital.   At least he lived.   I'll betcha that he will have a heck of a time living that down though! Gee, 11PM at a boat ramp -- any chance alcohol was involved? Naah! By the way, finger off the trigger moron!

 

St. Petersburg Times "Man shooting puppies is shot, deputies say"  September 10, 2004
 

This scumbag in Pensacola has seven three-month old mixed shepherd puppies that he could not place in good homes. His solution is pure, simple wolf -- shoot the dogs to eliminate the problem. He shoots three and puts them in a shallow grave and then picks up two more to shoot them also. One of the pups hits the . 38's trigger with his paw causing the gun to discharge a bullet into the scumbag's wrist.   Had to be the sheepdog in the puppy my friends!   I have always believed that what goes around comes around but sometimes it just seems to get there a little quicker!   Next stop after the hospital -- jail for animal cruelty.   I guess they don't make wolves like they used to!

 

I always find these stories interesting even if urban legends or just tall tales. I guess that I must be a cynic because I have actually seen some morons actually doing things just as moronic if not stupider (sic!).  Here we go:
       1.  This clown is playing with a buddy's cobra and gets bitten. He refuses medical attention because he is "... a man and can handle it," He goes to a bar, has several drinks, brags about getting bitten and then dies in the bar a few hours later.  He was a man alright -- a terminally stupid man!
       2. This 29-year-old man goes to an exotic bar and orally removes a pastie (location of same can only be imagined) from an exotic dancer named Ginger. He accidentally swallows the pastie and chokes to death. Ginger advised the police that she didn't believe he was going to eat the pastie and that he was really drunk. Go figure!
       3.  A group of male employees were being treated to a bus tour by their boss. Apparently, it was a sunny day and two of these morons decided to stick their heads out of a rooftop window to enjoy the breeze.  Sure enough, the guys refuse the driver's repeated admonitions to stop fooling around, the bus goes under a viaduct and two dead -- broken necks and skulls. Ooops!  And I thought they were thick headed!
       4.  A prisoner in the Allegheny County Jail decided to escape by making a 100-foot rope of bedsheets and then climbing to the ground. This scumbag breaks a window, drops the sheet out the window and begins his escape. Unfortunately, he needed a rope 186 feet long!   The fact that the rope was too short didn't make any difference, however.  He failed to clean the glass out of the frame thereby cutting the rope in two while he was 150 feet above the ground.  They always told us in Airborne School that it wasn't the fall that got you -- it was that dadgum sudden stop!
       5.  These two drunks were having a good time when one challenged the other to shoot him with a cigarette butt "to see what it would feel like."  Sure enough, the buddy loads an antique black powder rifle with three cigarette butts in front of the black powder, points the antique at his buddies chest from seven feet away and pulls the trigger!   The shootee then dies with three cigarette butts lodged in his heart. I always knew that smoking cigarettes was bad for the heart!

 

Florida Firearms - Law, Use & Ownership Update  August 2004
 

Once again, a major tip of the hat to Jon Gutmacher, my friend and favorite author.  I hope to have Jon back to Knight's for an LOK meeting and book signing in the very near future.  We were discussing such a visit but then he had a visit by some scumbag named Charley a while back!   Best of luck Jon to you and your family my friend -- Stay Safe!

 

Latest Book Update - August 2004 - copyright 2004 by jon h. gutmacher
to FLORIDA FIREARMS - Law, Use & Ownership, 5th edition

 

Page     Reference (if specific) Correction
54        add Ohio and Missouri to reciprocity states. (Note - Virigina also as of 8/12/04  Shep)
22         ATF Ruling 2004-1 states an alien must live in the state of residence 90 continuous days immediately prior to purchase of the firearm, and present proof thereof.
new       If you're visiting North Carolina, and are carrying concealed – you must advise any police officer you make contact with. McKinney, 98 Fed Appx 245 (4th Cir. 2004)
98         Choke on shotgun is not considered part of legal length. U.S. v. Harris, 94 Fed Appx 422 (8th Cir 2004).
164       Pointing a gun without firing it is "non-deadly use of force". Rivero v. State, 29 FLW 782 (3DCA 3/04). I still think this is risky from a standpoint of being arrested even when you're within your legal rights.
126       Juvenile felony conviction does not constitute a "convicted felon" under federal unless it does under law of state where convicted. U.S. v. Walters, 359 F.3d 340 (4th Cir. 2004)
94        Having all the parts to assemble a machinegun is still a machinegun since the combination of parts are "designed to shoot automatically". U.S. v. Wonschkik, 353 F.3d 1192 (10th Cir. 2004)
172       Culpable negligence for manslaughter sustained due, in large part, to Defendant’s statement that his philosophy was "shoot first and ask questions later" (shot relative in garage thinking it was burglar). Brinkley v. State, 29 FLW 1167 (5DCA 5/04)
new       Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act – became a federal law permitting current and retired law enforcement officers to carry a concealed firearm in any state subject to certain regulations and qualifications. [108 P.L. 277] (Note: H.R. 218)

Please visit our website www.FloridaFirearmsLaw.com for free updates, etc. Our phone number on some early editions was printed incorrectly. It is: 407-650-0770.

 

We recommend replacement for any printings before the Fifth Edition. If your local firearms dealer does not carry this book ... ask them, "why not?"
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