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In the Tampa Tribune  there is a long, interesting article about a young man walking across the U.S.A.  It was a very positive experience for him.   About halfway through, he casually mentions that he had to use a previously concealed weapon to stop an attack: In Albuquerque, N.M., he was approached by a half-dozen members of a street gang, who began yelling at him to get off their sidewalk. They got belligerent, refusing to let him pass. “They just exploded in anger,” he said. He was reluctant to say what exactly happened next. “I have a concealed weapons permit,” was...

In a series of mixed but mostly negative legal messages for embattled defendants Rick, Terri and Ryin Reese, Judge Robert C. Brack of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico issued rulings last Tuesday on multiple motions related to the case. Arrested almost two years ago for allegedly knowingly selling guns to cartel members while operating a New Mexico gun store, all Reese family members were found not guilty on the most serious charges of conspiracy. Additionally and significantly, money laundering charges against them were dismissed. Husband Rick, wife Terri and son Ryin were convicted on...

Requesting that the United States Court of Appeals affirm the district court’s decision to grant a new trial and permit oral arguments, attorneys for the Reese family filed an Apellees’ Brief Thursday claiming “suppressed impeachment evidence was both favorable and material and … the decision to grant a new trial was within the sound discretion of the trial court.” Arrested almost two years ago for allegedly knowingly selling guns to cartel members while operating a New Mexico gun store, all Reese family members were found not guilty on the most serious charges of conspiracy. Additionally and significantly, money laundering charges...

Attorneys Robert J. Gorence and Jason Bowles filed a Defendants’ Reply in Support of Motion for Partial Release of Assets on behalf of clients Rick, Terri and Ryin Reese in the District Court of the United States for the District of New Mexico last Thursday. “Contrary to the government’s assertion in its Response … the Defendants have met the standard required to qualify for a hearing … that “a defendant must demonstrate to the court's satisfaction that [he] has no assets, other than those restrained, with which to retain private counsel and provide for [himself] and [his] family,” the reply...

The court must be wary of “manufactured” government arguments masking its own “impropriety,” as well as mindful of attempts to “drive a wedge” between defendants and “impos[e] unnecessary financial burdens,” lawyers for the Reese family of gun dealers cautioned in a joint response in opposition to the government’s opposed motion for ruling on joint representation filed Tuesday in the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Jailed for allegedly knowingly selling guns to cartel members, all family members were found not guilty on the most serious charges of conspiracy, and money laundering charges against them were dismissed. Husband...

A Defendant’s Motion for Partial Release of Assets was filed Monday by attorneys in the District Court of the United States for the District Of New Mexico on behalf of the Reese family of gun dealers to substantiate reasons why doing so is not only critical to the family’s defense, but also why legal precedent requires it. “Defendants, Rick Reese and Terri Reese … move this Court to enter an order authorizing the release of a portion of their seized assets to pay for upcoming legal expenses as well as to provide life subsistence,” the motion begins. Assets listed which...

In an order granting a motion "supported by good cause" to amend conditions of release filed yesterday, Judge Robert C. Brack of the District Court of the United States for the District of New Mexico in Las Cruces ordered that “ankle monitoring devices worn by Rick Reese and Ryin Reese are to be removed.” “It is further ordered,” the judge mandated, “that the Defendants … shall be allowed to travel freely within the boundaries of the State of New Mexico [and] that the curfew imposed upon the Defendants … shall be modified to be from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m....

Feral pigs are becoming a wild problem in the United States. The wild hogs can now be found in three-fourths of U.S. states — and their populations are growing in many areas — and are estimated to cause $1.5 billion in damages each year, the Associated Press reports. There are currently more than 5 million wild hogs in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. By all accounts, the animals are quite intelligent. They also sport razor-sharp tusks and can be aggressive toward people and pets.

BELLEVUE, WA — The Second Amendment Foundation has won a preliminary injunction against a part of the State of New Mexico’s concealed carry statute on the grounds that it violates the right of equal protection under the law. The ruling, handed down by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, was signed by M. Christina Armijo, the chief district judge. SAF filed the legal action on behalf of John Jackson, a permanent legal resident alien who could not obtain a concealed carry permit under existing New Mexico statute because he is not a U.S. citizen. SAF has...

Santa Fee held its third gun turn in this year on the 9th of March. 232 guns were turned in. At previous turn in events, private individuals bought some of the guns. This approach offered advantages to everyone. It took the guns off the streets, placing them in responsible hands, rewarding their former owners with more money than the formal event offered, and stretched the turn in dollars so that more low-value guns could be traded for the event premiums. At this third event, the police moved to prevent the private buyers from buying private firearms. It is hard to...

Stung by reversals in his office’s prosecution of the Reese family and mindful that scrutiny for his role in that case could derail his elevation to the federal bench, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico Kenneth J. Gonzales filed three documents yesterday with the intent of denying a defense motion to dismiss outstanding counts and compel prosecutors to testify at an evidentiary hearing, and also to go over the head of U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Brack. “Notice is hereby given that the United States of America, plaintiff in this case, appeals to the United States Court...

In the wake of investigations involving horsemeat-tainted beef abroad, federal regulators may clear the way for a horse-slaughtering house in New Mexico. It would make equine meat available in the United States for the first time since 2007, according to the New York Times. Congress passed a rider to an appropriations bill that barred the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from financing the inspection of horse products for human consumption. That addition was continually inserted into spending bills up until 2011 — when it disappeared from the language. Though the change stems from a lawsuit by Valley Meat Company, which...

The Senate Judiciary Committee “held over” the nomination of United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of New Mexico district yesterday. Nominated by President Barack Obama last November, Gonzales’s suitability for the post may be under scrutiny due to the way his office has handled the prosecution of the Reese family on gun and money laundering charges. These former Deming gun dealers have undergone a nightmare ordeal for the past year-and-a-half on charges they were ultimately acquitted of or had dismissed, except for a handful of remaining counts, where they were held...

Lawyers for embattled former Deming gun dealers Rick, Terri and Ryin Reese filed a motion last Wednesday in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico “to dismiss with prejudice the four remaining counts of the indictment.” The filing, co-signed by defense attorneys Robert J. Gorence, Jason Bowles, Brad D. Hall, and Peter V. Domenici Jr. moved for dismissal on counts “the Indictment pending against [the defendants] on the grounds that the Government has willfully or was recklessly negligent in not disclosing Giglio [“material tending to impeach the character or testimony of the prosecution witness in a...

Gun owners got another opportunity to turn over their firearms to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday. In exchange owners got a gift card worth up to $200. Private gun buyers were also on hand at the buy-back and so was a local woman who opposed what they’re legally allowed to do on the sidelines. People returned 326 guns, including two assault weapons, and BCSO handed out $41,000 in gift cards in exchange. Before BCSO collects and destroys a room full of various firearms, owners are presented with another option outside. Deputies kept a group of private buyers across...

SANTA FE (KRQE) - A unique solution to a shortage of gift cards and a big mistake led to the personal information of dozens who participated in Santa Fe's gun buyback program open to the public. "It shouldn't have happened, but it did," said Santa Fe Police Department Chief Raymond Rael. "I apologize on behalf of the city, I don't think that information should've been out there."

The city is paying $100 for long guns (rifles, shotguns and the like), $150 for handguns, and $200 for any armament considered an assault weapon. On Jan. 12, the program netted 194 guns. On Saturday, it had garnered about 115 hand guns and at least 95 long guns by 2 p.m., with still an hour to go before closing. -------------------------------cut----------------------- Outside the police station, a group of four or five men gathered to offer cash to people who were bringing guns in. One man in the group said they did not wish to be identified, but said that they were...

FReeper Rogle, former New Mexico State Representative Rory Ogle, will be removed from life support this morning. He is not expected to live.

On 9 February, 2013, the Santa Fe Police Department collected 224 guns turned in to it for Visa gift cards. The cards were worth $150 for handguns, $100 for long guns, and $200 for "high capacity or assault" weapons. The police scared off a number of people who wished to offer more money than the police would give in prepaid visa cards. What legal authority the police had to do this is unknown. Another gun turn in will be held on the ninth of March. Dean Weingarten

Government prosecutors argued against granting bond to Deming, N.M., gun dealer Rick Reese and his son Ryin, painting them as dangerous risks for release, court documents received this evening by Gun Rights Examiner reveal. United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales, nominated by President Obama last November to serve on the U.S. District Court in the District of New Mexico, filed a supplement to the defendant’s motion for release in that court last Tuesday, citing an affidavit he claimed contained “statements relevant to the motion. “[T]hey highlight the Defendants release still pose a danger to the community,” Gonzales wrote in the...