Like sheep to slaughter: "Unlike in many other states, Hawaii's citizens who are being attacked -- even in their own homes -- can be convicted of murder for protecting themselves. They are not automatically allowed to defend lives and property, as America's Founding Fathers outlined in the U.S. Constitution. A lethal force bill introduced this session at the Hawaii State Legislature, which is modeled after the Florida law allowing law-abiding citizens to use lethal force to protect themselves if they are attacked anywhere, failed. In fact, that proposed legislation did not even get a hearing."


Torn on concealed carry: "I generally lean toward liberal positions, especially as regards social issues. But in the ongoing debate over Nebraska's proposed concealed carry law, I find myself torn, perhaps because I'm dealing with it from a painful perspective that forces me to reconsider my own liberal [sic] outlook. My 24-year-old daughter, Rachel, was murdered on May 28 of last year. The man who climbed in through a bedroom window and killed her and two other young people (and seriously wounded a fourth) had a criminal record; he should not have had -- and indeed was technically not allowed to have -- a weapon. But he did have one, and he used it to take from me the thing I loved most in the world. If any of the victims had been carrying a weapon, the outcome of that tragic confrontation would almost certainly have been better; it could hardly have been any worse. Perhaps my daughter would still be alive. At least she would have had a chance. But she had no chance; no one there was armed except for the killer, who shot each victim (one of them three times) and then simply walked away."


CT: Lawmakers eye victim disarmament "loophole" : "Police and lawmakers are trying to close a legal loophole (sic) concerning gun ownership. Lawmakers and victims spoke out today, calling for a law to make it a criminal act not to report when a gun is stolen. ... All statistics for all the recent gun crimes in Connecticut conclude that most gun crimes are committed by people who cannot legally own a gun. So where are they coming from? ... Police believe many guns are coming from legal gun buyers who buy them to specifically sell them to drug dealers, either for cash or drugs. When police trace the gun to them. ... 'That person simply says; 'I don't know where they went. They were stolen,'' ... says Lt. Robert Lanza."