2006
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The Atchisson Assault Shotgun changed specifications and California passed legislation requiring magazine disconnects on all new handgun designs sold in the state starting January 1, 2007. Both said it was for safety reasons but couldn't coherently explain beyond that.
Taurus started calling their Model 4510 "the Judge" and Ignatius Piazza created and began producing the reality television series Front Sight Challenge, airing on the Versus Network. He also got sued (but not for the show).
In the heat of a federal election, Canadian Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin promised a national ban on handguns, and promptly lost the election. In an odd reversal of the usual, the new Canadian Government stopped nagging law-abiding gun owners, by granting an amnesty from registration (later extended until May 16, 2011), while 206 gun show visitors from Richmond, Virginia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania areas were harassed by ATF agents.
Down Under, the founder of the Shooters Party in New South Wales, John Tingle, retired late in the year, having served as an elected member of the upper house of New South Wales parliament - the Legislative Council - since 1995.
[edit] January
- The RCMP were asked to probe a Liberal Party of Canada consultant over a $380,000 contract: Kim Doran was awarded to lobby the federal government for funds for the ailing firearms registry.
- January 1 — San Francisco became the third major city in the United States with a handgun ban, after Chicago and Washington, D.C., as the most ironically-named law EVER, "Proposition H" (No, we're not making that up!) came into force, banning the sale, manufacture and distribution of firearms and ammunition (as well as the possession of handguns) within city limits.
- January 16 — An era ended when U.S. Repeating Arms announced it was closing the New Haven, Connecticut plant where Winchester rifles and shotguns had been produced for 140 years. Along with the closing of the plant, the Model 94 rifle (the descendant of the original Winchester rifle), Model 70 rifle and Model 1300 shotgun would be discontinued.
[edit] March
- March 1 — The NRA filed a motion for contempt against the city of New Orleans, its mayor, and the chief of police for failure to comply with a restraining order, issued by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, barring any further gun confiscations and ordering the return of lawfully owned firearms to their owners.
- March 15 — Lawyers from both sides reached an agreement in the case of NRA v. Mayor Ray Nagin, which was pending before a federal court. The city of New Orleans gave up lying and admitted that it holds a number of confiscated firearms, and the Property and Evidence Division of the New Orleans Police Department is to return the firearms to their owners. The city has yet to live up to its end of the deal...
- March 31 — The Winchester Repeating Arms Company officially became defunct as a corporate entity.
[edit] April
- April 14 — New Orleans announced that the city will begin to return seized firearms. As of early 2008, however, many firearms were still in police possession, and the matter was still in court.
- April 25 — "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" is formed during a summit held at Gracie Mansion in New York City, hosted by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. (Later in the year, MAIG Mayor Frank Melton would plead guilty to firearms charges after police raided a crack house and found him armed with a concealed pistol.)
[edit] May
- Canada's new Conservative government announces what will become the perpetual amnesty (currently set to expire on May 16, 2011) for rifle and shotgun owners facing prosecution for failing to register their firearms in the national Farmer Bob varmint gun registry.
- May 17 — Responsibility for the Canadian Firearms Program was transferred from the Ministry of Public Safety to the RCMP.
[edit] June
- Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco signed the NRA-backed Act 275, forbidding the confiscation of firearms from lawful citizens during declared emergencies. Similar legislation had already been adopted in nine other states.
- June 8 — Louisiana House Bill 760 was signed into law. Introduced by legislator Steve Scalise, it prohibits confiscation of firearms in a state of emergency, unless the seizure is pursuant to the investigation of a crime, or if the seizure is necessary to prevent immediate harm to the officer or another individual.
- June 12 — "Proposition H" (see above) took a dump when a Superior Court Judge agreed with the NRA, saying that California law "implicitly prohibits a city or county from banning gun possession by law-abiding adults".
- June 19 — Bill C-21, an early attempt by the Conservative Party of Canada to put the Canadian gun registry out of everyone else's misery, received first reading in the House of Commons.
[edit] August
- August 15 — Olin Corporation, owner of the Winchester trademarks, announced that it had entered into a new license agreement with Browning to make Winchester brand rifles and shotguns, though not at the closed Winchester plant in New Haven.
[edit] September
- September 13 — The Dawson College shooting in Montreal demonstrates the useless of not only the Canadian gun registry, but of firearm licensing as well, after Kimveer Gill kills one and injures 19 before committing suicide.
- September 25 — Lt. Colonel John Dean "Jeff" Cooper died peacefully at his home in the afternoon. He was 86.
[edit] October
- October 2 – Five school girls are murdered by Charles Carl Roberts in a shooting at an Amish school in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania before Roberts commits suicide.
- October 4 — President George W. Bush signed into law the NRA-backed Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act of 2006. This legislation prohibits the confiscation of otherwise legal firearms from law-abiding citizens during states of emergency by any agent of the Federal Government or anyone receiving Federal funds (effectively, any Federal, state, or local governmental entity).
- October 18 — Female homeowner Nadine Teter shoots a home invader in her backyard.
[edit] November
- MAIG Mayor Frank Melton pleaded no contest to three firearms charges: carrying a gun in a park and in a church, and carrying a concealed weapon.
- An 1862 original Henry rifle sold at auction for US$60,000. Not bad for a $42 gun.
[edit] December
- December 18 — Vancouver, British Columbia school trustee, longtime daycare activist and New Democratic Party (NDP) supporter Sharon Gregson upsets the Canadian left-wing gun control apple cart by advocating in favour of CCW in Canada; especially for women. It took less than 24 hours for her former compatriots in the Canadian political left to frantically throw her under the bus.
Gregson is also "the most tattooed elected official in Canada." (whatever that's supposed to mean)
[edit] The year in pictures
January 12: Providing security for Soldiers and Marines during a presence patrol in Rawah, Iraq.
March 13: A Latvian army soldier mans a checkpoint on Tampa Road in Diwaniyah, Iraq.
June 5: Marines get trained in basic infantry tactics in urban environment.
June 7: Camp Schwab’s range 10.
July 20: Live-fire exercise on the machine gun range at Fort A.P. Hill, Va.
August 7: Urban movement drills at a former military housing complex.
Oct. 5: A Slovakian army soldier stands guard in front of the Multinational Division-Central South headquarters at Camp Echo, Iraq.
Dec. 23: training in Arta, Djibouti.
