Fun Friday Video

This is defiantly a Fun Friday Video. Watch and enjoy. Have a great weekend.

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case Against Gun Maker

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed Beretta U.S.A. and the firearms industry another victory by rejecting the Brady Center's appeal of Adames v. Beretta U.S.A. Corporation challenging the constitutionality of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).

The PLCAA is the 2005 federal law passed by Congress in response to the flood of reckless lawsuits brought by the Brady Center on behalf of anti-gun mayors seeking to hold members of the firearms industry liable for the criminal or unlawful misuse of their products.

This is now the third time this year the Supreme Court has denied a challenge to the PLCAA backed by the Brady Center. In March 2009, the Brady Center was also involved in the appeals of Lawson v. Beretta and City of New York v. Beretta, both of which the Supreme Court refused to hear. Monday's Supreme Court decision in the Adames case is another stinging setback to the Brady Center's failed anti-gun political agenda to destroy the individual right of Americans to keep and bear arms -- a right the Supreme Court declared last year in Heller was protected by the Second Amendment.

The Adames lawsuit was filed by the Brady Center on behalf of a family seeking to hold Beretta responsible for the tragic shooting death of their son, caused solely by the criminal acts of a teenage boy who gained unauthorized access to his father's unsecured service pistol. The case was originally dismissed by a Chicago trial court, subsequently reinstated in part by the Illinois Court of Appeals, and then ultimately found to be barred under the PLCAA by the Illinois Supreme Court. By its decision yesterday, the Supreme Court found it unnecessary to consider the Illinois Supreme Court's well-reasoned decision that held the PLCAA was both constitutional and clearly applicable to this lawsuit.

Representing Beretta in the case was Craig Livingston of the Livingston Law Firm, who after being notified of the Supreme Court's rejection of the appeal remarked, "And so ends a long legal battle -- from the trial court in Chicago, through the Illinois appellate courts, and all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court -- which served only to confirm what has been known since May 5, 2001, namely that this tragic shooting death was caused not by any defect in a Cook County Corrections Officer's Beretta pistol, but rather by its reckless misuse on that fateful day by his teenage son."

Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms industry, applauded yesterday's Supreme Court rejection of the Brady Center's appeal, stating, "Frivolous and unsupported lawsuits such as Adames that attempt to force manufacturers of firearms to pay for the crimes of others over whom they have no control are precisely what the PLCAA is designed to stop."

For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.

New PBS Special on Wyatt Earp

The story of Wyatt Earp and the shootout near the OK Corral has certainly been treated many times. Well, get ready for one more time. However, of interest to SASS members is the fact that several members of the Single Action Shooting Society were brought in to help with this production. The show AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: WYATT EARP will air on PBS Television at 9pm (check local listings) January 25, 2010.

The program was written, produced, and directed by New York filmmaker Rob Rapley who was involved in creating films for television including last years American Experience productions on Native American history. Rapley also wrote, produced, and directed the PBS film Buffalo Bill. PBS has also done Wild West biographies on Jesse James, Annie Oakley, and Kit Carson.

Director Rapley hired Jim Dunham (Kid Rio SASS# 2741) and Odis Flowers (TA Chance SASS # 4072) as firearms handlers for the filming of the gunfight and aftermath. A special ultra speed camera was used to create a super slow motion effect in which the projectiles can actually be seen exiting the muzzles of both Colt Peacemakers and double-barreled shotguns. Because the film people wanted to film live ball ammunition being fired, they contacted SASS personal to make sure it was a safe shoot. The shooting and filming was done on the same sets used for the filming of the movie Tombstone in Mescal, Arizona. This worked out fine for Odis and his wife Judy (Mist Chance SASS# 15392) who live in Tucson, but Dunham had to fly in from Atlanta, Georgia. A backstop of alfalfa hay bails three deep and three high was used for the firing, and of course the crew or anyone was not allowed anywhere downrange. Some very interesting special effects were used, especially to create the shooting of Morgan Earp the evening of March 18, 1882 through a glass window of Campbell and Hatch’s Tombstone billiard parlor. To make this scene work the shot was made through Hollywood breakaway glass (candy glass) using wax bullets of the kind used in Fast Draw competitions. Odis and Jim used their own guns and ammunition and the costumes were provided by nearby Old Tucson Studios.

Dunham was also used as an Old West history authority in the “talking head” section of the film and he shares time with a number of top Earp historians including Casey Tefertiller who wrote the fine Earp biography “Wyatt Earp, The Life Behind the Legend” John Wiley & Sons, 1997 and Gary Roberts who has written the definitive biography of Georgia dentist turned shootist, John Henry Holliday, “Doc Holliday, The Life and Legend” Wiley Press, 2006.

Since the early 1930s, beginning with Walter Huston in “Law and Order” through Kevin Costner in “Wyatt Earp,” the famous Tombstone street fight has been told mostly through the lens of myth. Our hope is this latest effort will bring us closer to the real story.

Jim Dunham
Director of Special Projects
Booth Western Art Museum
Cartersville, Georgia

NEW SASS WILD BUNCH WEB SITE

SASS unveiled today the all new SASS Wild Bunch Action Shooting Web Site. The site is dedicated to SASS Wild Bunch Action Shooting. The hottest game in town. It has up to date information on SASS sanctioned Wild Bunch matches, the latest rules and information on the game in general.

The site can be reached in two different ways. First by going to the SASS Home Page and clicking the link for SASS Wild Bunch Shooting on the left navigation bar or by simply going to www.wildbunch.net.

For more information on sponsor links on the page or sanctioned matches call the SASS Office at 877-411-SASS (7277)

Outdoor Channel at the SASS Convention.

The Eighth SASS Convention and Wild West Christmas took place at the Riviera Hotel and Convention Center in Las Vegas, December 3-6, 2009. This annual event bring together all that is Cowboy Action Shooting in an arena presented to showcase everything imaginable pertaining to the fastest growing shooting sport in the world. Many, many thanks to Tupelo Flash and Marshal Halloway and the Outdoor Chanel for giving you this look at the 8th Annual SASS Convention and Wild West Christmas.

A Look At The SASS Convention

The SASS Indoor World Championship of Cowboy Action Shooting

The SASS Indoor World Championship of Cowboy Action Shooting is a three-day, nine stage shooting competition to be held during the Annual SASS Convention and Wild West Christmas at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Competitors shoot provided firearms and wax bullets at steel targets in a variety of Cowboy Action Shooting scenarios. Competitors are assigned to posses that will shoot in one of three shifts and shoot three consecutive stages per day, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Awards are presented on Sunday at the Convention Hall Stage.

The 2009 Overall Champions this year are Hank Hills, shooting in the 49er category, and Heather Hills, shooting in the Cowgirl category. A complete list of scores may be found by downloading the following files from the links below.

Scores By Category

Scores By Overall

Territorial Governors Vote for No Change in 2010

During two days of meetings in Las Vegas at the 8^th Annual SASS Convention and Wild West Christmas the SASS Territorial Governors discussed the SASS Agenda Items that lay before them. There were 154 Territorial Governors present carrying 332 total votes including proxies. After all was said and done the Territorial Governors were clear they wanted no changes for 2010. None of the agenda items collected the 66.66% or the 2/3’s majority needed to pass the item. Below is a list of how the voting went.