GUN DATABASE TO GO

National Rifle Association flexed its muscles Thursday as the Illinois House easily approved a bill to destroy a state gun sale database. Gov. Blagojevich quickly denounced the measure, saying he would not sign it into law. The State Police database contains 2.1 million gun transactions, which police frequently use to investigate gun trafficking. But the NRA says police improperly use the database to harass law-abiding citizens. The bill, which passed 69-42, is part of a larger package that also would require firearm buyers at gun shows to undergo background checks. Closing the so-called "gun show loophole" has long been a top priority of gun control advocates.....

Gun-rights advocates were already gearing up for a possible override effort should Blagojevich veto the bill -- a move that would require a three-fifths vote in both chambers of the General Assembly. The Senate passed the measure the first time around with a veto-proof majority, but it fell two votes short of that margin in the House on Thursday. Vandermyde said he was confident he could round up the additional votes in the House to foil a veto.

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North Carolina: Victims could get gun permits: "Domestic violence victims would get easier access to concealed handgun permits under a bill before the state House. A House judiciary committee already has approved the idea. The bill would apply to any domestic violence victim with a protective order. That order would allow a local sheriff to issue a temporary concealed handgun permit. 'You still get a background check,' Rep. Linda Johnson (R-Cabarrus) explained. 'You still get the same options. But it does address the urgency of the domestic violence victim. So it will give the sheriff another tool to use in trying to help domestic violence victims.' The state House could vote on the bill next week."


Texas: He died the way he lived -- helping others : "Friends of Horace Allen Paul trickled in to his southeast side icehouse Wednesday, mourning the sudden and violent loss of their beloved 'Bully,' and sharing memories of the spirited former Marine, a gun-toting giver who was 'always there.' Paul's yearning to help others cost him his life Tuesday night, when he grabbed his pistol and barreled into the home of a female employee after she ran from the house screaming about an armed intruder inside. Several shots were fired and both men died at the scene, investigators said. Houston homicide Sgt. Darcus Shorten said it looked like the two men fired at each other simultaneously. ... A few years ago, Equusearch member Barbara Gibson said, a man walked into the icehouse and tried to hold it up. When the man's gun jammed, Paul pulled out his own pistol and shot the robber. After officials cleaned up the scene, Paul found one of the man's teeth on the floor. He kept it in his trophy case at the icehouse."