Effects of UK gun-control: "Levels of violent crime recorded by police soared by 11 per cent in the second quarter of this year, Government figures showed yesterday. Recorded gun crime rose by three per cent to 10,590 incidents in the year to June - an average of 29 a day and more than double the rate when Labour took power - although firearm killings were down.... Despite a claim by Home Office ministers that Labour had significantly reduced crime, the recorded crime figures showed that more than 3,000 offences of aggression and violence, from spitting and threats to murder by bullet and blade, take place in England and Wales every day..... David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "No amount of Government spin will hide the fact that violent crime is out of control. "There is now one gun crime an hour and by the Government's own admission this is fuelled by drugs, both of which they have let get out of control."


Maine: Homeowner said he had no choice but to use gun "David Oeser, an Eliot resident who shot an intruder in his home identified as Mark Murphy, described the incident Wednesday morning as a few minutes of complete terror. 'I did what I had to do to save my life,' said Oeser. 'I didn't want to shoot him. I have to live with that for the rest of my life."


Minnesota: Students suspended for bringing fake derringer to school: "Two teen-age boys have been suspended from Hastings High School for playing with a laser pointer that looked like a derringer pistol. The boys are 14 and 17 years old. They were suspended last Monday. Police said the replica derringer had been part of the 14-year-old boy's Halloween costume. The boy apparently brought the fake gun to school to show friends. A teacher saw a red dot in the hallway and suspected a laser pointer. The teacher later saw that the pointer looked like a derringer -- a small pistol -- and brought the boys to the principal's office. The school has a zero-tolerance policy that extends to replica weapons. It's possible the boys could face a year-long expulsion."