Kansas House overrides veto; gun bill is law: "Kansans can apply for licenses to carry concealed firearms in July and begin toting hidden guns in public next year. Thursday, the House overrode Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' veto of the concealed carry bill in a 91-33 vote, seven more votes than needed. The Senate voted to override the governor's veto on Wednesday evening with three votes to spare. It is the first veto override in Kansas since 1994. The votes ended a 14-year effort to get concealed carry passed in Kansas. Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, a leading gun rights advocate, said he expects about 48,000 Kansans, or 2 percent of the population, to obtain concealed-firearm permits in the first four years. "The people of Kansas have waited a long time for this," he said, a gold handgun pin through his tie and a National Rifle Association pin on his lapel.... Supporters say concealed carry is necessary to allow residents to defend themselves. The bill was called the Personal and Family Protection Act. Rep. Candy Ruff, D-Leavenworth, who promoted the bill in the House, said she immediately made three phone calls after the vote on Thursday. One to her husband, a Leavenworth police officer who supports the concealed-firearms bill. And the two other calls went to rape victims who had contacted Ruff saying they want to carry guns to feel safer. "People now have the right to defend themselves if they want to," said Ruff, adding she doesn't plan to get a concealed-gun permit. "I've never had a desire to carry a concealed gun," she said. "I pushed it because two rape victims in my district asked me to."


NY: Shots rout two teens in heist : "Two teenage boys attempted to rob a Vulcan Street credit union at gunpoint Tuesday morning, but ran out empty-handed when a retired Buffalo police officer, working as a security guard, fired three shots at them. The robbers apparently were not struck by any of the bullets. ... Just after 11 a.m., two robbers, described as 14 to 17 years old, entered the credit union, armed with a black handgun, according to Northwest District police. One of the robbers ordered the security guard to his knees and told him not to move, police said. When one of the robbers approached the counter, the security guard fired three shots at the robbers, police reported. 'When the security guard was going down on his knees, he took advantage of the opportunity and fired,' Salas said."


CA: Big cat shot: "A man who shot a mountain lion in his backyard won't be criminally charged because he acted in self-defense, prosecutors said. In January, Bill Hill of Rancho Santa Margarita fired two rounds at the animal with a 9 mm pistol after his wife saw it and screamed. The 90-pound cat fled from the residence into a ravine near an elementary school, and authorities killed the animal 90 minutes later. State authorities had recommended a misdemeanor charge be filed against the 52-year-old Hill, a former Stanton police officer and now a private investigator. But prosecutors said Friday they will not file charges. "He was shooting in self-defense in the sense that he was worried about the community and children walking to school at the time," said Deputy District Attorney Steve Yonemura."