French conservative leader opposes guns: "The majority of private gun-owners and enthusiasts were getting ready to vote for Sarkozy until, during a radio show, the presidential Candidate answered a question about the right to keep a gun and the right of self-defence. It was on the RTL radio network on 22nd September:- "I'd like to say one thing about my conception of the Republic . Security is the responsibility of the State. I am against militias. I am against the private ownership of firearms, and I'm trying to make you think about that. If you are assaulted by an armed burglar, he'll use a gun more effectively than you anyway. So you're risking your life. If the criminal isn't armed and you are, and you shoot, your life will be ruined because killing someone over a theft isn't in line with the republican values (that are also my values). The private ownership of firearms is dangerous. I understand your exasperation if you have been burgled a couple of times. I understand the fear that your wife and daughter may have. But the answer lies with the efficiency of the police and the efficiency of the judiciary process. The answer is not in having guns at home." Thank you Monsieur le Ministre. It's always a pleasure to hear someone like you tell us we should have confidence in the police ... those same police who won't go into les banlieues with less than a hundred cars to arrest one "youth" for attacking the patrol car of a couple of terrified cops."


Trigger-happy police? "A teenager who carried a Bible and shouted "I want Jesus" has died in a St Louis hospital after being shot twice with a police stun gun, authorities said today. The growing use of stun guns by US law enforcement agencies has raised concerns among human rights groups. In a report released in March, the organisation Amnesty International said it had logged at least 156 deaths across the US in the previous five years related to police stun guns. In a statement today, police in Jerseyville, about 65 kilometres north of St Louis, said 17-year-old Roger Holyfield would not acknowledge officers who approached him and he continued yelling "I want Jesus". Police tried to calm the teen, but Holyfield became combative, according to the statement. Officers fired the stun gun at him after he ignored their warnings, then fired again when he continued struggling, police said. Holyfield was flown to St Louis's Cardinal Glennon Hospital after the confrontation on Saturday; he died there on Sunday, police said. [Sounds like a harmless nut died for nothing]