Marine Corps Double Amputee Acquitted of Felony Gun Charge

    The wounded Marine was charged with felony possession of an unregistered firearm, carrying a pistol without a license, and possession of ammunition.  In his third trial – after two jury deadlocks – the three-tour veteran of Iraq was acquitted of the firearms charges, but found guilty of the misdemeanor ammunition possession charge.

    Corporal Melroy Cort, a former Marine who lost both legs in an IED explosion during his third tour in Iraq, was arrested in 2006 at a service station near Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC while awaiting repair of a flat tire.  Before releasing the vehicle into the control of the service station employees, Cort, who had just driven in from Ohio to begin a treatment program at Walter Reed, retrieved a 9mm pistol from the car's glove box, putting it in his pocket.  Someone apparently saw him retrieve the pistol and called police.  When police approached him, Cort raised his hands and cooperated with police.  Cort claimed that he intended to secure the firearm with the Provost Marshall at Walter Reed upon arrival.

    There is some confusion about where exactly the ammunition was located during the incident.  Cort says the ammo was locked in the trunk, police say it was in the gun's "clip," but news reports failed to specify whether police claim that the clip was in the gun.  It sees obvious that the conviction on the ammunition charge was a compromise among members of the jury who apparently felt that some punishment was called for, but that a felony conviction – which could have seriously impacted Cort's military benefits – was too harsh.

    You've got to wonder about DC police and prosecutors pushing this case so hard.  There has been no suggestion that Cort, an Ohio resident and holder of an Ohio concealed carry permit, was planning to commit any crime with the firearm, merely that his possession of it in that location was a violation of local DC laws.  Had this been almost any other jurisdiction Cort probably would have been warned by police and sent on his way or at most, the matter would have been dropped after the first jury deadlocked.  For such a case to be tried three times is an absolute outrage.

    Cort says he intends to appeal the misdemeanor conviction.

Read the Washington Post story here.

[Hat tip to David Hardy at www.ArmsandtheLaw.com ]

An Armed Citizen Saved Countless Lives in Montana.

From our good friend Gary Marbut of Montana Shooting Sports Association:

Confirmed: There was a shooting incident in Glasgow, Montana on Saturday
afternoon. Besides the shooter, one person was killed and two were
injured. Police locked down the community, warned people to lock doors
and stay inside, and followed a blood trail which eventually led to the
deceased shooter.

Gary Marbut, president Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com 406-549-1252

January 29 Update

Final Confirmation Vote Set for Monday, February 2!

    During his confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Eric Holder stated that the Second Amendment means what the Supreme Court says it means and then went on to declare that the Court's decision in Heller leaves plenty of room for such things as closing the "gun show loophole,"restricting "cop-killer bullets," and reinstituting a ban on "assault weapons."  So much for supporting theSecond Amendment.

    The Judiciary Committee delayed their vote by a week and finally voted last Wednesday.  They recommended confirmation by a vote of 17 to 2. (See related story)  The final vote of the full Senate is now scheduled for Monday!

    Please continue contacting your senators and urging them to oppose the Holder confirmation.   Ask your senators to place a hold on the confirmation or to support a hold placed by another senator.

    To contact your senators click here and go to your senators' web pages to use their web contact forms and to get their phone numbers.  Put a call in to each office number they list and call and e0mail every day until the vote!  Get friends and family to do likewise.

    Remind your senators that Holder has been vocally anti-gun, vocally anti-Second Amendment, and actively supported illegal restrictions and record keeping on guns and gunowners.  Tell your senators that you see a vote for Holder, or a vote for cloture to end a filibuster against Holder's confirmation, as an anti-gun vote and you will remember their decision in their next election.

    Please spread this message to every friend, forum, blog and bulletin board you can find.  Since NRA has told Senators that they are not counting the Holder vote in their grading, calls and letters from outraged constituants are the only real pressure being brought to bear against the nomination.  Your Calls Can Make ALL the Difference!  Don't Let Up!

    Learn more about Holder by following the links below and on the next several pages.  This guy is really bad news.

Another "Knox Hard Corps Report" Coming Soon!

Between the crush to raise awareness and opposition to the confirmation of Eric Holder as Attorney General, the weekend trip to Orlando for the SHOT Show, and the rallies in Richmond on Monday, I've been pretty swamped.  Now I find I'm several days behind in preparing the next edition of our newsletter, but don't fret, it will be hitting subscriber's mail boxes soon.

If you have not yet subscribed to the "Knox Hard Corps Report" Now would be a great time to do so.  Don't Miss Another Issue!

To subscribe, just send your name and address along with a donation of $20 or more to PO Box 3313, Manassas, VA 20108, or you can subscribe on-line using the "Contribute" link in the main menu.  Contributions can also be made over the phone with a credit card by calling 703-753-0424. 

Contributions of $50 or more can take their pick of the book, "The Founder's Second Amendment" by Stephen Halbrook, "The Heller Case: Gun Rights Affirmed" by Alan Korwin and David Kopel, or the video DVD "In Search of the Second Amendment" by David Hardy.  A contribution of $120 or more gets you all three titles and the newsletter!

Stay active and informed and help us stay in the fight with your contribution.

Also worth noting; I am trying to post all updates to the site on the front page first so they will be logged by the RSS feeder.  If you are not familiar with RSS, it is a system which will keep tabs on your favorits web sites and let you know about new content.  By installing an RSS reader (free from Google and other sources) you can have your own "newspaper" that shows you what's going on on your favorite web sites like FirearmsCoalition.org so you don't have to bounce from web site to web site looking for new information; the RSS feed and reader puts it all in one place for you to see.  I encourage you to give it a try and let me know what you think.   I'm always interested in your feed-back so please don't hesitate to drop me a note.  Just add "Jeff@" to our web site to get directly to me.  I can't promise a rapid response, but I am interested in your thoughts.

Don't miss the next "Knox Hard Corps Report."  Subscribe with a contribution now.

Jeff

EBR's Rule!

Evil Black Rifles once again dominated the Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show in Orlando, FL.  I was not planning to attend, but Chris talked me into it when we found a $28 a night hotel and discount air fares and I'm glad I made the trip.  It seems like everyone and his brother is making an AR-pattern rifle these days in everything from .17 caliber up to .50 BMG and 40mm grenade launchers.  There was even a fancy cross-bow that uses an AR lower.  Most of the manufacturers and distributors I spoke with say that they are 3 to 12 weeks behind in production and working overtime to get caught up. 

There were some interesting new products and I met with some folks who are really doing some innovative things.  More importantly, I met with a lot of folks who are very supportive of the work we are doing and are interested in working with us to help us do more and grow stronger.  

The Firearms Coalition fills a unique niche in the gun rights movement and we're glad that more and more folks like you are joining and supporting us in our efforts.  One thing you can do to really help is to be sure and tell your friends about us and encourage them to join.  Along with the scary news that we expect from the Obama administration and the new Congress, there is some exciting news around the corner so stay tuned.

Jeff

Holder Skating Toward Confirmation

   Barack Obama's choice for Attorney General appears to be skating toward easy confirmation in the Senate.  During confirmation hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee Holder declared his support for the Second Amendment as defined by the Supreme Court in the Heller decision and then went on to say that closing the "gun show loophole" and banning "cop killer bullets"should be the primary focus and that banning "assault weapons" permanently is something which should be done and that doing so is not in conflict with the Heller decision.

  The NRA sent a letter to committee members earlier this week telling them that they weren't happy with the Holder nomination and that they hoped the senators would keep NRA's position in mind when they cast their votes.  Previously NRA had let Senate leadership know that they were not going to weigh votes for holder in determining grades for politicians.

  Republican Senator Mel Martinez of Florida has joined Orrin Hatch (R-UT) in supporting of Holder.  This is surprising considering the low esteem Holder enjoys in the powerful Cuban community in Florida due to his involvement in the forced deportation of six-year old Elian Gonzalez.  The declarations of support from Republicans signals that even procedural moves like a filibuster would be quickly defeated and a confirmation vote taken.

   Until the vote is taken in the full Senate though, the nomination remains in play.  Readers are urged to continue contacting their senators to express opposition to Holder's confirmation.

   For contact information for your senator, click here or follow the link below:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

   Keep the pressure on!