North Carolina: Bill encourages victims to buy guns: "Courts in North Carolina might soon be required to give something extra to battered spouses seeking a restraining order -- information on how to apply for a concealed weapon. But many [victim disarmament advocates] believe the measure could end up causing more problems by bringing guns into already volatile relationships. 'It ups the violence level,' [whined] June Kimmel, who is with the North Carolina Council for Women. 'And I don't think we ought to be in the position of suggesting to people that they arm themselves, because that also gives them a false sense of protection that they don't really have with that gun.' A gun-rights group called Grass Roots North Carolina pushed for the measure, which was overwhelmingly approved by legislators. The group's president, Paul Valone, said it's about helping victims help themselves."


Texas: Man fatally shoots girlfriend's ex: "In the Hill Country, a man is dead after an alleged domestic dispute and apparent break in. Thirty-three-year-old Brandon Joseph Steele died Monday after being shot at a duplex on Granite Shoals Street. Authorities believe that he broke into his ex-wife's house through a bedroom window. The woman, her boyfriend and a 5-year-old child were in that room. Steele allegedly threatened them. The boyfriend told police that's when he shot Steele. The ex-wife claims he had come to the house earlier, intoxicated and belligerent. 'This is a situation which has all indications of being a self defense issue. Unfortunately, there was a life taken in this event, so we have to proceed with it as if it is a homicide,' Chief Bill Lane of Horseshoe Bay said."