TN: Residents can now keep guns in emergencies: "Tennesseans will get to keep their weapons to defend themselves in future disasters and emergencies. Tennessee lawmakers shot down a standing law allowing the governor to confiscate guns. Louisiana had the same law and enacted it in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Post-Katrina New Orleans experienced a dramatic rise in violence. To curb the chaos, Louisiana government ordered all citizens to turn in their guns. Wednesday, Tennessee senators assured residents of the Volunteer State they will keep their guns, even in a State of Emergency."


Texas wife in trouble for false rape call: "In December, Darrell Roberson fatally shot a man outside his Arlington home after finding the man and his wife in a compromising position inside a pickup. But Roberson is no longer in trouble with the law. His wife, Tracy Denise Roberson, is now the one facing criminal prosecution in connection with the killing. On Wednesday, a Tarrant County grand jury declined to indict Darrell Roberson, 38, on a murder charge in the death of 32-year-old Devin LaSalle. Instead, the panel on Thursday returned an indictment against Tracy Roberson on a charge of manslaughter, stemming from allegations that she recklessly caused LaSalle's death by falsely claiming that she was being raped, prompting her husband to shoot LaSalle. Tracy Roberson, 35, was also indicted on a charge of making a false report to a police officer on accusations that she also lied to Arlington police, telling them she was being raped when, officials said, she had actually been having an affair with LaSalle. A warrant for her arrest was issued Thursday."


Elderly New Mexico man shoots intruder: "Hobbs police say they rarely hear of burglaries when people are home and it`s even rarer for a victim to fire shots. Residents of Hobbs say Jerald Hanson has been around the town forever. He's a guy you can see riding around town on his motorcycle who never puts up with much from anybody. He's known by most as Pac Rat but ever since early Friday morning he's been known for a lot more. "Lying in bed, heard some funny noises you know? And this guy was in my house. He had a knife and he says give me all your money or I`ll kill you! That`s where he made a mistake, he started counting it. It just gave me enough time to go under my pillow and get my gun. I shot at him." That's the account from Hanson after police say 36 year old Rodney Rudy broke into his home around 3:30 Friday morning.... Hanson fired two shots at the suspect, one of those hit Rudy in the left abdomen and back area. He then ran to a nearby home. Police found him and took him to Lea Regional Hospital. He was later taken to University Medical Center in Lubbock where he remains in stable condition. Police say when he recovers he could face some serious charges including robbery or aggravated burglary. Both are second degree felonies. Hobbs police say New Mexico citizens are allowed to take reasonable and necessary steps to protect themselves or their property and they will investigate what happened at Hanson's house.

Arkansas homeowner claims self defense: "Police say a man has admitted to shooting at another man, but claims it was in self-defense... When police responded to a shots-fired call around 12:30 a.m., they found the body of 22-year-old Erroll Bernard Robinson, Jr. on the front porch of a vacant home on Water Street. A resident around the corner, 43-year-old Myron Doss, told investigators he fired twice in self-defense, and the man ran away. "The resident heard glass break outside his residence. When he opened the door he saw a black male crouched down behind his vehicle. When he stepped out onto his porch that's when the individual stood up turned towards him and fired one shot. And returned? Yes and he returned fire." So far, police have not made any arrests. The man who was found dead had been arrested previously on robbery charges. Police say the investigation is ongoing."


Oregon store owner tackles armed teen robber: "A store owner wrestled an armed 15-year-old robbery suspect to the ground Thursday afternoon and held him at gunpoint until deputies arrived, authorities said. The incident happened about 2:20 p.m. at the S-n-K Market located at 4791 SE Thiessen Road. The teen suspect came into the store acting nervous and as he approached the counter with a soda, the store owner noticed a gun, according to Detective Jeffrey Green with the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. “The store owner and suspect got into a wrestling match for the weapon, which the store owner was able to take from the suspect,” Green said. Deputies later found a mask, gloves and a demand note. The weapon, a black powder handgun, was not loaded at the time of the robbery. The teen’s name was not released. He was taken to a juvenile detention facility. Charges were still being decided."

What Britain's politically correct policing and gun restrictions have achieved: "Scores of worried parents are buying body armour for their children in a desperate attempt to keep them safe as street violence escalates. A firm that supplies stab- and bullet-proof vests to government agencies around the world has sold 60 jackets, at a cost of between 300 to 425 pounds, to concerned parents who have flooded the company with inquiries after several murders of teenagers on London streets. The company has received more than 100 calls from parents in the capital over the past few weeks. The company, VestGuard UK, usually gets one or two calls of this type per year. The fatal stabbings of Adam Regis, killed three days after 16-year-old Kodjo Yenga, are the latest in a series of violent incidents involving teenagers in recent months. One mother, whose 13-year-old daughter goes to a school where a pupil has been shot to death, has saved up to buy her child of the best vests available after she was targeted by a gang of older girls. She is now saving up for another vest for her 11-year-old daughter who has also been abused by the gang. Too scared to give her or her daughter’s real name, the woman, a chemical engineer, explained why she felt she had to resort to buying body armour. “My daughter is being attacked by girls who are much older than her and the problem is continuing. I have never seen them with a knife but you never know when they are going to use a gun or knife until it is too late. “The vest is very expensive and we do not have a lot of money but I have no choice. My daughter has been attacked five times in a few weeks and I would rather be safe than sorry... The mother has been to the police but nothing has happened." [She should say her daughter was racially insulted. That would produce a swarm of police immediately]


Alabama man says he felt threatened so he shot a man: "Athens Police received a call around 7:30 Tuesday night that a man had been shot. If happened off South Houston Street. 46 year old Jimmy Ray Wallace had been shot once in the stomach. Wallace was already being treated at Athens Limestone Hospital Emergency Room when police got the call. Investigators there discovered that Wallace had gone to his estranged wife's and her boyfriend's home. Wallace was there to get a car back. The boyfriend told Wallace to get off the property. Police say Wallace then told the boyfriend he was going to kill him. The boyfriend says he felt his life was threatened and shot Wallace once in the stomach. Now a grand jury must decide if it was self defense or a criminal act. "Alabama law just recently changed as far as self defense and defending your property." Athens Police Captain Marty Bruce told WAAY 31. "Now, all you have to prove is that you were in fear of your life." Alabama's new self defense law went into effect last June. Wallace is expected to be okay. No charges have been filed"


Washington State shooter shot with own gun: "A fatal shooting in Everett on Tuesday night may be a case of self-defense, according to a neighbor who heard the gunshots. The violence erupted in the 2300 block of Wetmore at 8:22 p.m. Tuesday, police said. Apparently a man kicked in the front door at the same time another man was leaving the century-old building, Galstad said. The intruder hit the man with a handgun, went up the front stairs and fired a few shots, she said. Galstad lives in the downstairs unit in the building where the shooting took place. The man who was struck with the gun, a friend of the building’s upstairs tenant, managed to wrestle the weapon away and shoot the intruder, she said... The identity of the man who was shot has not been released. Police believe he died as a result of gunshot wounds, Goetz said. Investigators have a "fairly decent picture" of what happened and do not believe the shooting was random, Goetz said."

ANTI-GUN NUTS

I love this imaginary conversation pinched from Bovination in 2002. You will not want to believe it but it shows how opposition to private gun ownership is similar to racism. Now that is REALLY killing sacred cows!

The people in the dialogue are supposed to be discussing the 2002 tragedy at Monash University in Australia where a student from China used a handgun to kill two fellow-Chinese students:

Larry Leftie: One thing this incident proves is the need to ban guns.
Rudi Redneck: Rubbish it demonstrates the need to ban Asians.
LL: But Asians didn't cause this - guns did.
RR: An Asian did cause this.
LL: But if there were no guns this incident couldn't have happened.
RR: If there were no Asians this incident couldn't have happened.
LL: But you can't judge all Asians on the actions of a few.
RR: You can't judge all gun owners on the actions of a few.
LL: Even if you did ban Asians, gun deaths would still occur.
RR: Even if you banned guns, crimes would still occur.
LL: But guns are inherently evil.
RR: Why?
LL: Because they kill people.
RR: An Asian killed people on this occasion - does that make Asians inherently evil?
LL: Of course not - very few Asians kill people.
RR: Very few guns kill people.
LL: You don't agree with me, therefore you are evil!
RR: Leftie Loser!
LL: Redneck!





Arkansas man shoots abusive husband: "A confrontation between a man in his home and an intruder ended badly Monday night -- for the intruder. Joshua Nicholson, 26, 425 Sheppard Road in Avoca, was asleep when someone broke into his home through the back door, according to a Benton County Sheriff's Office news release. Upon hearing a disturbance, Nicholson grabbed his gun, a .380-caliber pistol, and walked down the hallway. Nicholson saw a man entering the residence and fired one shot, believing he hit the man, according to police. Also in the home at the time were Marty Martin, 31, Nicholson's roommate; Sarah Enkler, 25, and her two children. Enkler and her two children were staying at the residence to escape an abusive relationship with her husband, according to police. Richard Deshields, 37, Enkler's husband, checked himself into a hospital in Joplin, Mo., suffering from a gunshot wound. Joplin Police Department officials contacted the Benton County Sheriff's Office. Officials with the Sheriff's Office have requested the Joplin Police Department arrest Deshields in connection with a felony charge of residential burglary and a misdemeanor charge of first-degree criminal mischief. Deshields will be transported to Benton County as soon as his condition allows, the release states. There are currently no charges pending for Nicholson."


Florida judge draws a gun: "A Jacksonville, Fla., judge drew his handgun when an accused child molester was attacked by an alleged victim's father in court. "I didn't know if he was going after me or the bailiffs or the defendant," Circuit Judge John Merrett told The (Jacksonville, Fla.) Times-Union. The father, who had not seen the defendant before the court appearance, hurdled a railing and landed several punches on the handcuffed and shackled man before bailiffs restored order. Merrett said that once he saw the situation was under control, he handed his gun to the court clerk and asked her to lock it in a drawer. Merrett has a concealed weapon permit and said he'd do the same thing again, the newspaper reported. But Duval County Public Defender Bill White said the incident was frightening. He plans to talk to the chief judge about whether judges should be armed in court. "It's very disconcerting for a lawyer to be in the line of fire," White told the Times-Union. The father was charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor battery."

Michigan teenager dead after apparent home break-in: "A Benton Harbor teenager is dead after a shooting Monday morning. It happened just before 10 a.m. at 227 Hastings Ave., about a block from Benton Harbor High School. Police are investigating the case as a possible home break-in and are holding the homeowner at the Berrien County Jail for questioning. Officers say they were initially called there by neighbors who heard several shots being fired. After investigating they found the body of an 18- or 19-year-old boy, shot at least once in the chest near a back window of the home. As of Monday evening, police were not releasing the victim’s name or the homeowner’s name. They believe the teen was not alone and may have been with two to three other people trying to break into the home, but at this point that is only a theory. Police have also not confirmed that the teen was a student at Benton Harbor High School, but Benton Harbor Area Schools assistant superintendent Virginia Maxwell told WSBT News the district has been informed that he was a student. If it turns out the teenager was, in fact, breaking into the house, the homeowner would likely not face charges because it would be a case of self-defense."


Massachusetts man kills burglar -- exonerated: "A jury found Charles D. Chieppa, 57, not guilty of second-degree murder for the killing of a suspected burglar in 2004. Jurors needed just over 3½ hours to return the verdict in a case where all parties say intent was the most crucial issue... Earlier today witnesses in the case have said Mr. Chieppa awoke at about 4 a.m. June 17, 2004, to the sounds of an intruder in his 134 Ashley Blvd. home. After waking a tenant who rented a second-floor apartment, Mr. Chieppa went to his backyard with a semi-automatic handgun, according to testimony. There, he encountered Mr. Pereira, 24, who had apparently broken into Mr. Chieppa’s basement, according to testimony in the case. Mr. Pereira was seen fleeing from Mr. Chieppa’s yard before collapsing in the street with a fatal bullet wound, witnesses said. The intent behind that shooting took center stage in court today, with the prosecution saying it was anger, the defense saying it was fear, and Judge E. Susan Garsh telling jurors that whatever they decided about Mr. Chieppa’s motive would determine whether he faced murder or a lesser charge.... As he has throughout the trial, defense attorney Kevin J. Reddington told the jury today that his client, a decorated Vietnam veteran, believed he was in mortal danger and that he was protecting himself when he fired on Mr. Pereira. “When you consider his state of mind, when you consider the circumstances, this was a justifiable homicide by a citizen protecting himself,” he said."

Kentucky intruders frightened off: "Police are searching for a man and woman who broke into a Clark County home Friday morning but were chased away when the homeowner fired a gun at the ceiling. The incident happened at about 9:30 at a home on Athens-Boonesboro Road. Police say the suspects kicked in a back basement door, went upstairs, then attempted to kick open another door. However, the homeowner, Frank Gibson, was behind the door, and fired a warning shot into the ceiling. The suspects fled the home, then fled the scene in a green Jeep Cherokee. The suspects did not get away with any cash or property. Gibson was not hurt in the incident."


Texas home invader shot: "A man caught breaking into an east side home was shot in the back by someone who lived there early Saturday, Bexar County Sheriff’s deputies told News 4 WOAI. The homeowner caught the burglar close to 6 a.m. Saturday inside his home on Little Port Drive, authorities said. The two men began to fight. The homeowner’s roommate woke up and fired a gun at the intruder, officials said. The man was hit in the back with pellets, deputies said. The homeowner and roommate are not expected to face any charges, deputies said. “It was in self-defense,” Sgt. Chris Burchell with Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said of the shooting. “They also were protecting each other.” The intruder was recovering at Brooke Army Medical Center Saturday night. No word on his condition".


Second Wind for the Second Amendment: "Last week, when a federal appeals court ruled that the District of Columbia's gun ban violates the right to 'keep and bear arms,' The New York Times reported that the judges were 'interpreting the Second Amendment broadly.' ... If a court takes the position that Americans have a right to free speech, it is not interpreting the First Amendment broadly. If it says they have a right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures, it is not interpreting the Fourth Amendment broadly. So why is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit 'interpreting the Second Amendment broadly' when it says Americans have a right to keep and bear arms?"

Utah: Police search for wounded burglar: "A statewide alert has been broadcast urging police to be on the lookout for a truck with two men in it. [Not many of those around!] According to the broadcast, the two men allegedly attempted to burglarize a home near Delta. The homeowner awoke to their sound and chased them from the residence with a shotgun. Police reports indicate the homeowner fired two blasts from the shotgun with one shot possibly hitting one of the men in the back and the other striking a truck the men were riding in. The vehicle is described only as a dark truck. [driven by dark men?]


Tennessee: Man Shot During Armed Robbery: "A good Samaritan is in the hospital after getting shot by a robber. The Hickory Hill business owner was trying to defend a couple during a robbery and that’s when the robber shot him. It happened just before 4:00 p.m. on Friday, March 23, 2007 outside the Villsenor Taqueria at Ridgeway and Winchester. The business owner saw two men trying to rob a Hispanic couple walking out of the Immigration Services building next door. He came outside with his gun and then he got shot. Police say a family member took the shooting victim to a hospital. The police say the two armed robbers got away in a black Ford Expedition. Police say robberies like this have happened before at this location because Hispanics without bank accounts go to that INS office to cash paychecks and are targeted by robbers in the parking lot."


SAF supports Adventure Outdoors battle against Bloomberg: ""The Second Amendment Foundation today confirmed that it is providing financial support to Adventure Outdoors of Smyrna, Georgia in a lawsuit against New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other New York defendants for attempting to ensnare and defame the store in Bloomberg's infamous 2006 gun shop 'sting.' SAF's support was requested by attorney and former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr, now working at the Jasper, Georgia law offices of Edwin Marger, which represents Adventure Outdoors."

MO: Would-be robber wounded: "A robber packing a pellet gun lost out early today to a motel guest packing a real firearm. Bridgeton police say that after surrendering his cash, jewelry and car keys to two robbers in the parking lot of the motel, the guest drew his own firearm and got the drop on the robbers, wounding one of them in the hand and leg."


The witch hunt against gun owners: "'The Second Amendment,' Charlton Heston used to say, 'is America's first freedom.' The Second secures the rest.' It's a message narcissistic journalists need to hear again. ... While courts have recently bolstered Second Amendment rights, endangering gun owners in the name of free speech continues to be the blood sport of the Fourth Estate. Two weeks ago, the Roanoke (Va.) Times published ... the names and street addresses of some 135,000 Virginians with permits to carry concealed weapons. ... Trejbal denied that compiling the concealed carry permit holders list was 'about being for or against guns.' But he exposed his true agenda when he compared law-abiding gun owners to ... sex offenders ..."


Signs of life in the Second Amendment: "For nearly 70 years, the Second Amendment has been the Jimmy Hoffa of constitutional provisions -- missing, its whereabouts unknown, and presumed dead. The right to keep and bear arms, though treasured by many Americans, was a complete stranger to the Supreme Court. But recently, a federal appeals court did something no federal court had ever done before: It struck down a gun control law as a violation of the Second Amendment."

NJ: Victim turns tables: "A man who was the intended victim of an armed robbery head butted his assailant several times, wrestled a handgun away from him, and then had a drug store clerk call police, who took the suspect into custody. Police said the intended victim in the Sunday afternoon incident ran into a Rite Aid drugstore to get help. As the man was walking in the area of Lewis Street and Matilda Avenue around 3 p.m., Sante A. Patron, 37, of New Brunswick Avenue in Fords, approached him, brandishing a 9 mm pistol, said. Cpl. Philip Rizzo. A struggle ensued, and the 28-year-old victim, a Somerset resident, wrestled the weapon away from Patron while head butting him, Rizzo said. After the suspect fell to the ground, the victim ran into the Rite Aid drug store on the corner of Hamilton Street and Matilda Avenue, advised a clerk to call the police, and handed them the weapon when they arrived. About seven officers responded to the scene."


IL: Homeowner shoots intruder: "Police in west suburban Aurora are investigating a home invasion this morning in which a homeowner shot at and possibly wounded an intruder, who then fled the scene. The incident began before 9 a.m. when a young man in a dark hooded sweat shirt forced his way into a two-story single-family home on the 900 block of Zenner Avenue on the city's northeast side. The 53-year-old unidentified homeowner, who had been awakened earlier by the repeated ringing of his doorbell, answered the door and saw the suspect walking away, police said. The suspect then allegedly walked back to the house and began kicking the front door. The homeowner went to his bedroom, called 911 and retrieved a small-caliber handgun, police said. The resident heard the suspect enter the home, and he confronted him in the hall outside the bedroom. The homeowner fired two shots at the man from about 10 feet away, possibly hitting the intruder, who fled the house, police said."


Reading is fundamental: "Last week the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., issued the most important gun control ruling in 70 years when it used the Second Amendment to overturn a gun ban in the nation's Capitol. In a 2-1 decision, the Court rejected arguments from the city that the Constitutional 'right to bear arms' only applied to militias. The majority specifically held that rights under the Second Amendment 'are not limited to militia service, nor is an individual's enjoyment of the right contingent' on enrollment in a militia. Predictably, liberals went nuts, claiming the ruling was based on a 'radical' interpretation of the law. The Washington Post was apoplectic, screaming that the ruling gives a 'new and dangerous meaning to the Second Amendment.' D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty argued that the outrageous ruling would reverse the laws that have 'helped decrease gun violence in the District of Columbia.' Really? The murder rate in his city is actually 26 percent higher than it was when the gun ban was first instituted in 1978. I wonder if his legal acumen is any better than his math skills."

Property management company thinks they can make guns illegal

Some people in a Nashville neighborhood are furious over a new rule that makes it illegal to own a gun. Residents in Nashboro Village said it's unconstitutional and leaves them defenseless. Two weeks ago, residents received a letter from their homeowners' association indicating that guns are not allowed on the property. "It thought it was ironic that they say you can't have something when the United States government says you can," said resident Cristina Salajanu.

Salajanu would like to give her neighborhood management company a history lesson. "I think it's unconstitutional," Salajanu said. "They can't tell you what to own or not to own in your own house." Salajanu is talking about the Bill of Rights, specifically the Second Amendment, which grants citizens the right to keep and bear arms. It's been an American freedom for 215 years but Salajanu and other residents said it's been taken away from them. "Something needs to be done," she said.

Two weeks ago, the property management company at Nashboro Village told its residents no more guns on the property. "It incensed me that it was written the way it was," said a resident who asked not to be identified. She said there is a serious need to feel protected here and a firearm can do that. "We've got dark areas, the lighting is very definitely very dim," she said.

Salajanu said that burglaries started to increase since late summer... She said she believes her neighborhood has changed since she moved in last year. "Three weeks ago someone was stopped at gunpoint," Salajanu said. "It seems the nature of those burglaries is becoming more dangerous." Some residents at Nashboro Village have campaigned for better lighting and more security but if they can't get either they at least want their Second Amendment rights upheld. "If I'm walking if I'm walking my dog or if I am outside walking and if I don't feel safe and I'm licensed then I'll carry a gun," said the resident who did not want her identity disclosed.

Officials with Ghertner and Company, the property manager at Nashboro Village, would not make an on-camera comment about the gun policy but said they plan on changing the rule soon to allow firearms on the property. However, they would make it illegal to fire those guns, which residents say is still unconstitutional. Neighbors said they understand the gun rule is meant to keep criminals out of Nashboro Village but they don't believe that prohibiting firearms is the best way to do that.

Source




Alabama: Drive-by shooters shot: "An apparently botched drive-by shooting on Old Shocco Road Wednesday morning led to two Talladega residents suffering shotgun wounds before being arrested by Talladega police. Demetrius Lamar Gooden, 23, 97 Cleve Lane, and Antoine Jamel Freeman, 18, 1822 Old Shocco Road, were each charged with one count of shooting into an occupied building. Gooden was also charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance (crack cocaine) and Freeman was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana in the second degree. Gooden’s bond was set at $1,500 by Circuit Judge Chad Woodruff. Freeman’s bond was set at $10,500. According to Police Chief Alan Watson, at about 9:40 a.m. Wednesday, three suspects fired several shots with an automatic handgun into the residence of Dexter Lamar Swain, 27, at 1480 Old Shocco Road, Apartment 7, from a car. Swain’s brother, Maurice Swain, 32, was also in the apartment at the time. Although neither of the Swain brothers was hit, bullets did damage two walls in the apartment, the front door, a home entertainment center and a 19-inch television set. One of the Swain brothers returned fire with a 12-gauge shotgun, hitting Gooden in the right leg and Freeman in the right hand. The third suspect was not hit. The suspects then went to Kelly Park, Watson said. According to Detective John McCoy, who testified at the initial appearance, the Swains called police and gave them a description and possible destination for the vehicle the suspects fled in. McCoy found Gooden, Freeman, a male subject and a female subject getting out of the car with shotgun damage and into another vehicle, probably to go to the hospital. Gooden’s drug charge stems from crack cocaine found in a pack of cigarettes at that time. Freeman’s marijuana charge stemmed from a small baggie in plain sight in the back seat of the car, between his feet. Two pistols were also recovered in the yard of the residence where the suspects were changing cars."


Locating gun rights: ""Last Friday's Parker v. District of Columbia ruling ruling was an incredible triumph for gun rights. The federal D.C. court of appeals ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, striking down the District's laws (A) mandating all guns be stored locked and unloaded and (B) effectively banning handguns. The Supreme Court will likely hear the case. Anti-gunners, not surprisingly, weren't happy."

What gun control has done for NYC

Last Wednesday night David Garvin, a part-time film-maker, entered a pizzeria in New York's Greenwich Village and shot one of its employees, Alfredo Romero, 15 times. He was chased by two unarmed auxiliary police officers (volunteers who might normally direct traffic or help tourists with directions). Garvin turned around and shot and killed them both. He stood over 19-year-old Eugene Marshalik as he shot him in the back of the head. Garvin was eventually shot 56 times by full-time police officers after pointing a gun at them.

The night before, a police officer was shot by a man in a Harlem restaurant. That man was eventually killed by police officers. And the previous weekend, an off-duty police officer shot a 21-year-old man after another off-duty officer was shot in the foot during a fight in a nightclub.

Crime in New York City has plummeted dramatically since the early 1990s, but for one week it seemed like a return to the dark, crime-ridden streets of Gotham City, where criminals rule the streets and police wage a losing battle against dark forces.

In the same week, a grand jury indicted three police officers for killing Sean Bell. They had fired 50 shots into his car as he was leaving a nightclub after his bucks night. He was due to be married that day. He was unarmed. The indictment of the police officers is rare for New York, even though they regularly shoot offenders. Juries have historically given police officers wide licence - some in the black community say far too wide - to shoot first and ask questions later. And given the ubiquity of guns, it's impossible not to feel for police officers who potentially put themselves in the line of fire every day.

Source




Texas car thief caught: "A Beaumont homeowner held an attempted auto burglar at gunpoint after catching him in the act Tuesday. The homeowner allegedly caught 26-year-old Beaumont resident Brian Williams trying to burglarize his truck on Kingsley. The homeowner held Williams at gunpoint while a neighbor contacted police. Police arrived and took over, arresting Williams at the scene. His bond had been set at $500 for the auto burglary. Williams was also held for a parole violation."


Texas man grabs gun from burglar: "A man woken up by a burglar managed to get a hold of a gun, and fire back at the would-be thief, News 4 WOAI learned Tuesday. The burglar broke into the home on Banbridge on the southeast side. Two bullets tore through the family's home during the break-in. One struck the doorway of the children's bedroom. The mother in the home told News 4 WOAI's Jacqueline Ortiz what happened. The mother did not want to be identified. She told News 4 WOAI she fears the burglar will come back. "The blinds were down, and he saw the blinds were moving," the woman said of her husband. The mother said her husband was sleeping and he awoke to noise outside. She said the burglar tore a screen on one of the windows, and entered the home. "He heard the noise and saw the hand coming in," the woman said of her husband. The mother and her kids were away for Spring Break at the time of the break-in. The intruder got halfway in the window, and the husband somehow got the gun out of his hand. "He grabbed, kicked it and it fell," the mother said. "He picked it up." The woman's husband then fired once at the man who took off running through the backyard, she said".

Texas knifeman shot: "A brand new security system may have saved the life of a Harris County homeowner early Monday. The incident happened around 2:30 a.m. in the 11200 block of Champion Woods. The man says he was sleeping when the alarm went off. He got up to investigate and said he found someone trying to get out through a garage window. The homeowner said he told the suspect to freeze, but instead the man turned and had something in his hand. That's when the homeowner shot him. The suspect later died at an area hospital. Deputies say the suspect had a knife. The case has been referred to a grand jury without charges.


Illinois: Charges dropped against man who shot suspected burglar : "Faced with the victim’s refusal to testify, McHenry County prosecutors today dismissed charges against a man accused of shooting a teenager he believed was breaking into his vehicle. The decision to drop the case against Jerry P. Sweat, 42, came after the 18-year-old authorities say he shot indicated he would assert his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination if called to testify about an incident for which he is charged with burglary. Sweat, of Marengo, faced charges of aggravated battery with a firearm and reckless discharge of a firearm stemming from a Dec. 3 incident in which, authorities say, he awoke at about 4 a.m. to find two teens breaking into a vehicle parked in his driveway. Instead of calling police, investigators said, Sweat retrieved a rifle, rushed out to his front porch and fired several shots at the burglary suspects, striking one three times. Sweat declined comment Monday, but his lawyer said his client maintains he did nothing wrong by shooting at the teens. “It would have been a waste of taxpayers’ money to bring this to trial because they cannot prove their case,” defense attorney Donald Franz said. “My client is not guilty.” The teen shot in the incident, Patrick K. Gaughan, of Marengo, suffered bullet wounds to the hip, shoulder and hand. Gaughan, however, declined to testify against Sweat Monday because McHenry County prosecutors have charged him with burglary and obstructing justice in the same incident." [A useful idea!]


Why we defend right to bear arms: "First, we don't want the government to be able to take our guns away from us, as totalitarian regimes have done elsewhere. The second reason is similar, but runs on a deeper current, one rarely discussed. We are aware that at some point in the future, we or our descendants may need to fight against our government or an invading force. I don't want to be melodramatic about this fear, but it is ingrained in American culture. It runs through our blood from the docks of Boston through Lexington and Bunker Hill. It was seared into our collective soul in Chancellorsville, Bull Run and Antietam. We watched and learned from victims of Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, Pol Pot, Idi Amin and Slobodan Milosevic. We studied the Quislings and the Vichy. We bled with the Jews and the Tutsis. We are bleeding now with the tribes being slaughtered in Darfur. Chief among all of these lessons is the certain knowledge that an evil government or an occupying force can come to power anywhere. It could happen here."

Alabama granny's got a gun: "Frances Babington, 65, is a pistol-toting grandma, who says she is a "fighting person." "I'm the type of person ... (that's) not going to let someone take something from me. I decided I wanted to get the better end of the fight," Babington said. "When I started carrying the gun, I made it a priority to be instructed by the Montgomery Police Department about how and when to use my gun. To my surprise, the officers spent about 75 percent of the course time teaching how to avoid having to use a weapon but did not neglect the shooting aspects. "Having said that, you would-be criminals take note! The next time you attempt to rob or break and enter into the home of an elderly, gray-haired lady, it might be me. If you enter my home I would consider my life to be in peril and would not hesitate to blow you out of your socks." Babington said she and her husband Tom, 65, a retired pharmacist, took the gun-safety class together. Tom was robbed twice as he left work, and Babington had a close call of her own when she worked downtown at the old St. Margaret's Hospital. Babington was headed to her car in the parking lot after work when she noticed a man walking near her. She said she noticed the man turn suddenly about 12 feet away and came up behind her. "I reached in my purse grabbed the gun and showed it to him," Babington said. "I looked him directly in his eyes. He turned away. It worked. I didn't have to use it, but it worked. If he had attacked me, I would have felt comfortable using it."


California: Man Killed in Modesto Gas Station Fight: "A machete-wielding man was shot and killed after getting into a fight with a group of men and taking a hostage at a Modesto gas station early Saturday, Modesto police officials said. Richard Perez, 43, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the 1 a.m. Saturday shooting at the Valero gas station, 325 Maze Boulevard, Modesto police spokesman Ivan Valencia said. Witnesses said Perez got into an altercation with up to eight men who drove up to the gas station in two cars. Valencia said Perez took one of the men hostage, holding the machete to the man's throat. One of the man's friends pulled a handgun and allegedly pleaded with Perez to let the man go, Valencia said. After a pair of warning shots, witnesses said the gunman shot Perez several times, allowing the hostage to escape unhurt. Both carloads of men then fled the scene. Investigators interviewed several witnesses to the confrontation and under the circumstances, the shooting may have been justified, Modesto police detective Dodge Hendee said. Valencia said detectives were looking for the men confronted by Perez, identified as seven or eight black males from 18 to 25 years old.


Showdown at the Constitution's last frontier: "Most presidential elections contain an issue that acts as a third gunman, ultimately stacking the odds against one of the main two combatants. It was Iraq in 2004, ethics in 2000, the economy in 1992, and so forth. Last Friday, the 2008 election may have found its third gunman with a court decision that, somewhat appropriately, also sets out an important marker on one of the last untamed frontiers of constitutional law."

FL: Home invader shot by elderly homeowner: "A string of home invasions that started in Manatee County ended when a homeowner shot one of the suspects in Clewiston, authorities said Monday. Two 20-year-olds, a man and woman, were arrested and are suspected in the Saturday home invasion in Manatee County, where a 92-year-old man was beaten and pepper-sprayed, and another one in Polk County, where an 85-year-old woman was beaten. According to the Clewiston Police Department, Luke Irons, of St. Petersburg, and Chrisanthe Apergis, of Seminole, armed with a BB pistol and a tire iron, forced their way into the home of two elderly homeowners at about 7 p.m. Sunday. The suspects struggled with the victims, a 74-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman. The man broke free, grabbed a handgun and fired twice at Irons, hitting him both times, according to a police report.Irons and Apergis fled the home, but Irons collapsed in the driveway, where the police found him."


CCRKBA hails DC gun law nullification: "The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today hailed a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that, for the first time in American history, struck down a gun law on Second Amendment grounds. The case was Parker v. District of Columbia, challenging the 31-year-old District of Columbia ban on handgun registrations to allow citizens to keep functional handguns in their District residences for personal protection."


PA: Fourth mayor quits Bloomberg conspiracy: ""A fourth mayor has withdrawn from Mayor Bloomberg's coalition against illegal guns, officials said. Mayor Mary Wolf of Williamsport, Pa., said in an interview yesterday that she withdrew from Mayors Against Illegal Guns because she thought it was attempting to erode all gun ownership, not just illegal guns."

THE LEFT'S PATHETIC PASSIVITY

Post excerpted from Astute Bloggers

Although I am thankfully unaware of most of what is posted on Leftist websites, the indomitable Australian commentator, Tim Blair, posted a link today to an extremely illuminating example of Leftist thinking. It is illuminating about what Leftists believe, and shows how far from reality those beliefs really are.

The essay is entitled "Guns, burglary, and self-defense" and was written by one Lindsay Beyerstein, who describes herself as a 28-year-old writer & photographer born under the Sign of Cancer, and who is proud of the fact that she turned down John Edwards's offer to be one of his official bloggers.

She seems like a sincere and well-intentioned person. The purpose of my comments here is not to make fun of her, but to illustrate some of the serious deficiencies in the Leftists' habitual way of looking at things.

After noting that her lefty blogging buddy Matthew Yglesias recently wrote that he wants to have a gun to defend himself against burglars, Lindsay Beyerstein begins her comments with this pithy paragraph:

I've never understood why anyone would keep a gun in their home to protect themselves from burglars. If you had a violent stalker ex, or someone who was was bent on invading your home in order to hurt you, I could see the rationale for being armed. But buying a gun to protect against burglars is no protection at all. It's not like you're going to stand guard every night to deter them.

In this first paragraph, Lindsay is already making several serious hermeneutical mistakes. She recognizes that having a gun makes sense if you want to protect yourself against someone who is trying to hurt you, but she doesn't think it makes sense to be armed against burglars.

Well, the first mistake is to assume that you know that burglars won't hurt you. Someone who is willing to break into your house to steal your property may very well be willing to harm you or kill you when they are discovered. And the fact that you and your neighbors are armed may well deter prospective burglars when you are not home to confront them.

Let's look at her next paragraphs:

Turning on the lights to find the gun is enough scare off the average burglar. I know at least a half-dozen people who have scared off burglars (deliberately or involuntarily) just by alerting the would-be thief to their presence. The burglar isn't there to fight you hand-to-hand for your iPod. Confrontations with the homeowner go against the whole burglary business model.

Interrupting a burglary with a gun probably unnecessary and likely counterproductive because you have no idea how the burglar's going to react. Desperate criminals are human, too. I'm not pointing this out as a plea for compassion. I'm just noting that strung-out junkies at gunpoint are at least as likely to do something stupid as your average person. Maybe they're armed, too. Maybe they'll panic and try to get the gun away from you. Maybe they'll succeed. Or, maybe you'll panic and shoot them.

It might make sense be armed if you were someone who couldn't call the cops (e.g., a drug dealer), or if you kept your entire lifesavings in uninsured jewels in a candy dish on the kitchen table. But does anyone really want to risk physical violence to protect their consumer electronics? That's what insurance is for.

In these three paragraphs, Lindsay illustrates some further misconceptions and mistaken ideas. First of all, she is confident that turning on the lights will scare most burglars away. In the United States, that is probably true. Most burglars, particularly career burglars, are not in fact robbers; that is, they do not want to confront the homeowner or apartment renter. They want to slip in and out undetected.

The reason that is the case, however, is the rather high probability of a burglar confronting an armed homeowner in the United States. A burglary when the homeowners are actually home is called a "hot burglary." Hot burglaries are rare in the United States, but rather more common in Great Britain. Mark Steyn pointed out in a column a few years ago that the average "hot burglar" in New Hampshire has a 50% chance of being convicted and going to jail . . . and a 50% chance of being shot and killed right then and there. In England, on the other hand, where the police will prosecute a homeowner for defending his own life and property, hot burglaries are common.

Basically, the fact that burglars run away when discovered is a tribute to the "herd immunity" conferred upon the unarmed homeowner by the many, many homeowners who have in the past defended themselves and their property appropriately.

Read the rest here





Utah: U drops victim disarmament suit

Concealed weapons permit owners allowed to carry on campus

The legal battle over the U's campus gun policy came to an end Monday after the university agreed to drop its federal lawsuit against the state. Students and staff members are now guaranteed the right to carry concealed firearms on campus with a permit -- the U's long-held former policy banned them from bringing guns on campus. State law still prohibits non-permit holders from bringing guns onto a college campus.

The decision came two weeks after the Utah Legislature passed a law that would allow students living in the Residence Halls to decide if they will room with a permit holder. The U had agreed to end the federal case while negotiating the law with legislators.

Administrators said that while the law was not the compromise they had hoped for, it is in the school's best interest to drop the suit. "It is absolutely clear that had we chosen to pursue this case, it would have detoriated our relationship with the Legislature," said Dave Pershing, senior vice president for academic affairs. Pershing said that keeping the gun debate alive would have likely hurt the U's ability to lobby the Legislature for funding. The Board of Trustees passed a resolution Monday supporting the decision to drop the case.

Kim Wirthlin, associate vice president for government relations, said the issue had "become more of a power struggle between the U and the (state) than about guns" to many lawmakers. There was also doubt that the U could win the federal case. John Morris, general counsel for the U, said several recent court decisions have weakened the argument that the First Amendment gives universities the right to govern academic affairs in a way that promotes free discussion and debate -- an argument that the U had relied on before. "Clearly that didn't make our argument any stronger," Morris said. "The status of that right is not clear."

Source

Oregon: Metal thief caught by gun owner: "A man wanted for methamphetamine possession was caught Wednesday morning allegedly stealing metal from an auto salvage yard. The owner of U-Pull-It says he caught 29-year-old Neal Anthony Lee stealing, fired a shot into the ground and chased him across the highway. Clackamas County deputies say they found Lee a short while later hiding behind a tree and covered in grease. "There's not any car part out here that's worth a life, but I'm gonna let them know that I'm here and that I mean business. I'm not here to support their habit," owner Ron Barber told KOIN News 6. Lee was arrested for burglary and an outstanding warrant in Multnomah County for meth possession. He's expected Thursday in court. Barber says he plans to install an electric fence."


Texas standover men luck out: "A San Antonio man was shot in the head and then arrested after threatening a family, police told News 4 WOAI. Two men showed up at a southeast side home looking for someone, police said. "He was like, `Come outside. Let me ask you something,'" Lucienne Huizar, a woman who lives at the home, said. Michael Trejo, 30, was looking for someone, and Huizar told him she did not know the person he was trying to find. "I said, `Whatever I'm going to close the door,' and he picked the gun up," Huizar said. "My mom was right there, and I said, `Mom call Dad.'" At that point, the man jumped off the porch and ran to a car, firing a shot into the air, police said. But, one of the men dropped his cell phone, officials said. Trejo and 21-year-old Johnny Cervantez came back to the home when they realized the phone was missing, police said. "The guy who wanted his cell phone was standing by the fence," Huizar said. Her father walked outside with his shotgun, and opened fire, Huizar said. Huizar's father was hoping to scare the two men, but ended up shooting Cervantez in the head, officers said. The men were arrested soon after that. Huizar's father was not facing any charges Wednesday."

Treating gun owners like sex offenders in the name of "sunshine"

Excerpt from Michelle Malkin

Last Sunday, its columnist Christian Trejbal published an online database of registered concealed handgun permit holders in the New River Valley under the sanctimonious guise of "Sunshine Week:"

Today is the start of Sunshine Week, the annual week in which we reflect on the importance of open government and public records. To mark the occasion, I want to take you on an excursion into freedom of information land. We're going to find out who in the New River Valley has a concealed handgun permit. I can hear the shocked indignation of gun-toters already: It's nobody's business but mine if I want to pack heat. Au contraire. Because the government handles the permitting, it is everyone's business.

There are good reasons the records are open to public scrutiny. People might like to know if their neighbors carry. Parents might like to know if a member of the car pool has a pistol in the glove box. Employers might like to know if employees are bringing weapons to the office. And all Virginians have a stake in checking that their government is not making mistakes, for example, by issuing permits to convicted felons. Open records allow the media or any private citizen to check.

Trejbal denied that exposing concealed carry permit holders was "about being for or against guns." But he exposed his true agenda when he compared law-abiding gun owners to...sex offenders:

A state that eagerly puts sex offender data online complete with an interactive map could easily do the same with gun permits, but it does not

He showed reckless disregard for the safety of the license holders and reckless disregard for accuracy. In his column, he admitted that he knew some of the information he had obtained was inaccurate:

Read more here




Review: "Armed America": "Did you know that in New York City through 1969 virtually all the public high schools had riflery teams? Thousands of students carried their rifles on subways, buses and streets on their way to school, when they went to practice in the afternoon and on their way home. And until 1963, all commercial pilots were required to carry guns and were allowed to carry guns until 1987. Gun laws have certainly changed over time. ... Clayton Cramer's terrific new book, 'Armed America,' shows that, in fact, gun ownership has been deeply woven into this country's fabric since the colonial period."

NM: Carjack attempt leads to shooting; two injured: "A man who police believe had already stolen one truck Sunday evening allegedly went back for a second one prompting gunplay between the would-be thief and his victim. Officials say that the first carjacking occurred at a buffet restaurant on Coors when the man forced his way into a Nissan Titan and forced a family out of the truck at gunpoint. Shortly later the same evening, the man spotted a second Nissan Titan at a Walgreen store at Coors and Central, but the second victim was armed and the two exchanged gunfire, with each of them being struck. 'The victim decided to take that [situation] into his own hands, but unfortunately the victim was shot,' said APD spokeswoman Trish Hoffman. Both men were transported to an Albuquerque hospital. Police expect they will both survive."


CO: Hysteria trumps self-defense on "Make My Day" bill: ""Hysteria trumped reason yet again at the Colorado State Capitol when a Senate committee killed the so-called 'Make My Day Better' bill on a party-line vote. Responsible gun owners regularly find themselves subjected to this kind of treatment by wet-diaper, nanny-state liberals who believe that any Colorado citizen with a gun is barely capable of suppressing some ravenous urge to shoot everyone who casts so much as a cross-eyed glance."

Virginia robbery victim fights back with gun: "A robber got more than he bargained for Monday when he pressed a knife to a truck driver's throat and demanded cash at 28th Street and Chestnut Avenue. The driver gave him some money, then began fighting with the thief, police said. The driver eventually grabbed a gun from the truck and fired a shot into the air before demanding his money back, police said. The robber forked over the cash, then ran. Police were looking for a bald black man with a light complexion, about 5 feet, 8 inches, and 180 to 190 pounds. He appeared to be in his 40s. His dark-colored shirt was torn during the fight, and he was last seen running shirtless westbound on 28th Street. The truck driver suffered minor cuts to his fingers and throat, police said." Wow! They mentioned the race of the suspect!




Suspects in armed robbery have law enforcement ties: "The NBC 10 investigators uncovered new information about a fatal Philadelphia restaurant robbery caught on cell phone video. Both suspects are from families who work in law enforcement, NBC 10 reported. Authorities said two people tried to hold up Sunrise Breakfast Thursday morning, but the owner shot them before they got away. According to police sources, the man who was wounded and can be seen on the ground in cell phone video is the son of a Philadelphia police officer. Police identified him as 24-year-old Gary Williams. Investigators said Williams is one of two men who tried to rob the West Oak Lane restaurant at gunpoint. But during a gun battle the owner, Jason Lee, shot and wounded Williams. Also during the early morning robbery attempt, police said Lee shot and killed, 20-year-old Cornell Toombs. The NBC 10 investigators have learned that Toombs also has very close ties to law enforcement. Prison officials at the Curran Fromhold Correction Facility in Philadelphia, confirmed Toombs' mother works there as a corrections officer. Police said Toombs had jumped over the counter with his gun drawn when the owner shot and killed him. I referred to this story on 10th. It appears that two black guys unwisely took on a Korean sharp-shooter who has killed robbers before. A lot of Koreans are pretty tough guys

More on the axed DC gun ban

Post lifted from Don Surber. See the original for links

The editorial board of the Washington Post disappointed me today with an editorial - "Dangerous Ruling" - that took umbrage with the DC Circuit Court's upholding of the 2nd Amendment in a challenge to DC's 30-year-old handgun ban. The court struck the law down. In cold blood. The Post made the erroneous argument that allowing people to protect their homes with guns will lead to more murders. Poppycock.

Some facts. This law was imposed in 1976, a year in which DC suuffered 188 murders among its 702,000 residents. Despite this law, murders rose, climbing to 369 in 1988, 434 in 1989, 472 in 1990, 482 in 1991, 443 in 1992, 454 in 1993, 399 . check out the numbers for yourself.

Over time, the numbers of murders fell [in line with the overall national fall in crime]. In 2005, 195 people were murdered among the population of 550,521. That is still a higher murder rate than when this unconstitutional law was first applied.

One may argue many things but one may not argue that the handgun law reduced the murder rate in the nation's capital. It simply is not true. DC's murder rate is No. 1 in the nation (among the 50 states and Puerto Rico). DC's violent crime rate is No. 1. DC's robbery rate is No. 1. DC's aggravated crime rate is No. 1. DC's motor vehicle theft rate is No. 1. Those statistics are from here. Among cities, DC's ranking may be lower. But most of those cities have unconstitutional gun laws as well.

The Post editorial used emotions instead of facts:

According to its myth, only criminals have had guns in the city and now law-abiding citizens will be able to arm themselves for protection. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) counters that argument with the sad record of what results from a proliferation of guns. As he points out, more guns mean only more violence, and the city already has too much of both. It is important to note that the ban on handguns will stay in effect while the city considers whether to appeal.

Where are the facts? Former Mayor Marion Barry recently expressed his doubts about this ban. Americans have the right to bear arms. It is in the Constitution. I hope DC appeals to the full circuit court and then on to the Supreme Court. Handgun bans are impractical, unconstitutional and ineffective. It is time to toss this relic of the 1970s onto the garbage heap of time - alongside that other staple of the 1970s, the platform shoes.




Georgia: Determined intruder shot and killed: "DeKalb County police are investigating the deadly shooting, of a man who may have broken into home. The shooter's roommate, says the intruder wasn't wearing shoes when he came into their house. Paul Meoaur told Channel 2 Action News that the man had a kitchen knife, that was about six inches long. He says tried to bust through his friend's locked bedroom door. He told police the man didn't stop, when his roommate warned him that if he didn't leave, he would shoot. Moments later the roommate did just that. The suspect died of his injuries at the hospital. Meoaur doesn't know what the man's motive may have been. He does believe he got into their home through an unlocked side door."

California gunwoman loses: "An apparent domestic dispute erupted into a running gunbattle in Vallejo early Friday, leaving a Suisun City woman dead and a Vallejo man injured. Vallejo police Sgt. Vic Massenkoff identified the dead woman as 34-year-old Sharon Cobb of Suisun City. Injured during the exchange of gunfire was 27-year-old Rashann Rice of Vallejo. Rice was treated at a regional trauma center and later was released. Massenkoff said the pair apparently had a previous relationship and a 1-year-old child. Preliminary reports, Massenkoff said, indicated that Cobb had sought out Rice and confronted him shortly before 5:50 a.m. Friday as he walked along the 300 block of Fairgrounds Drive. Cobb apparently drew a handgun and shot at Rice, who ran as Cobb continued to fire, striking him twice. Rice, Massenkoff said, is then believed to have drawn his own handgun and fired at Cobb, fatally wounding her. She later was pronounced dead at the scene. Circumstances surrounding the early morning shooting remain under investigation."


Kentucky man fatally shoots intruder : "An eastern Kentucky man fatally shot one of two alleged intruders who claimed to be police officers, according to sheriff's officials. The other alleged intruder was arrested and charged with burglary and impersonating a police officer, a sheriff's report said. Jason Daniels, 23, of Ashland, shot Robert Lewis Chapman, 50, of Greenup in the chest, shoulder and wrist on Wednesday night, the Boyd County Sheriff's office said in the report. Adam C. Justice, 22, of Summitt, was lodged in the Boyd County jail. Boyd County Sheriff Terry Keelin said the case would be turned over to the commonwealth's attorney and a grand jury would be asked to decide if any charges would be filed against Daniels. The intruders allegedly broke into a home where Daniels was staying after Daniels refused to answer the door. The men had pounded on the door claiming to be police officers with a search warrant, Keelin said. The men then allegedly forced Daniels into the bathroom, tied him up and proceeded to ransack the house, the sheriff's report said. While the alleged burglars were busy in other parts of the house, Daniels freed himself and got a 9 mm pistol from a cabinet, the report said. "When the suspects returned to the bathroom, they found Mr. Daniels, now armed and in a shooting stance," the report said. When one of the alleged intruders attempted to draw a revolver from its holster, Daniels fired four times and both men fled in a van that was parked nearby. Chapman was dumped outside the emergency room entrance to Kings Daughters Medical Center about three miles from the scene of the incident and later died, the report said. Police stopped the van a few blocks from the hospital and arrested Justice."

Gun law and common sense

Comment from Britain by Peter Hitchens

More rubbish is written about 'gun control' than about almost any other subject. Allegedly 'tough' gun and knife laws are the liberal substitute for the death penalty, the left's way of trying to stop criminals from killing. Like most 'liberal' solutions, they don't work against their intended target, and they attack freedom. It helps a great deal to be liberal about this if you a) don't think about it and b) know no history at all. Until 1920, Britain's gun laws made Texas look effeminate. There was no effective restriction at all on owning a firearm. Yet there was virtually no gun crime. Now we have some of the most restrictive anti-gun laws in the world, and gun crime is a serious and growing problem. Interestingly, the laws came first, the problem afterwards, and the recent ban on handguns was a completely logic-free response to the Dunblane mass-murder which preceded it.

Here's a strange fact. If you read the Sherlock Holmes stories, you will notice just how frequently Holmes and Watson take guns out on various missions (Watson’s is usually his trusty old service revolver, retained from his brush with war in Afghanistan). On one occasion, Holmes amuses himself by picking out the Royal monogram 'VR' in bullet-pocks above the fireplace, a remarkable tribute to his shooting ability with a handgun. His skills may have been exceptional, but gun ownership was, at the time the stories were written, entirely legal and normal, and nobody thought it odd.

What is strange is that modern British readers of these stories never pause to wonder how and why things have changed so much. Well, if you do wonder, I must direct you once again to the relevant chapter of 'A Brief History of Crime' in which I was accused of arguing that we should all carry weapons about, as one female acquaintance of mine generally does in the State of Virginia, perfectly legally.

British leftist feminists, who warn constantly that all men are rapists, and endlessly demand harsher punishments and looser rules of evidence in rape prosecutions, really ought to be keen supporters of America's 'Second Amendment Sisters', who argue that women should all be armed and dangerous, and rapists, as a result, should be mostly dead, or too afraid to try it on. But somehow, they aren't. One liberal obsession clashes with another, yet again....

The same 'experts' who have banned guns and knives (with no noticeable effect on their use by criminals, though the harassment of innocents for carrying pen-knives grows year by year) pursue individuals for hitting burglars too hard or, in a notable incident last week, a pensioner who had clouted one of a gang of youths who had pelted his home with snowballs for hours on end. And they are wholly ineffectual in dealing with burglars on the rare occasions when they both catch them and manage to prosecute them.

Yet the one thing that will bring a rapid and powerful police response to a phone call is a claim that guns are being used by private citizens. And the one offence the courts will always punish severely is the one they call 'taking the law into your own hands'. Why? Because they are much more worried about their monopoly of force than they are about protecting us. Is that a good sign?

Actually, I object strongly to the expression 'taking the law into your own hands'. The law is ours and we made it for ourselves, to protect us and govern us, as a free people. Our freedom to defend ourselves against criminal violence is part of our general freedom to live our lives lawfully. We hire the police to help us enforce the law, not to tell us that we cannot do so. Sadly, the modern British law is not our law, but an elite law, based on ideas which most of us do not share. And the modern police are the elite's police, not ours, which is one of the reasons why they have vanished from the streets, where we want them to be. The disarming of the people, and the cancellation of all their rights to defend themselves, are bad signs.

Source





DC gun ban overturned

A federal appeals court overturned the District of Columbia's long-standing handgun ban Friday, rejecting the city's argument that the Second Amendment right to bear arms applied only to militias.

In a 2-1 decision, the judges held that the activities protected by the Second Amendment "are not limited to militia service, nor is an individual's enjoyment of the right contingent" on enrollment in a militia. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the city cannot prevent people from keeping handguns in their homes. The ruling also struck down a requirement that owners of registered firearms must keep them unloaded and disassembled. The court did not address provisions that prohibit people from carrying unregistered guns outside the home.

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said the city plans to appeal. "I am personally, deeply disappointed and quite frankly outraged," Fenty said.

Washington and Chicago are the only two major U.S. cities with sweeping handgun bans. Washington's ban on owning handguns went into effect in 1976, and is considered to be the toughest in the nation, according to the National Rifle Association. While courts in other parts of the country have upheld bans on automatic weapons and sawed-off shotguns, the D.C. law is unusual because it involves a prohibition on all pistols.

In 2004, a lower-court judge told six city residents that they did not have a constitutional right to own handguns. The plaintiffs include residents of high-crime neighborhoods who wanted the guns for protection. But on Friday, Judge Laurence Silberman, writing for the majority, said "The district's definition of the militia is just too narrow. There are too many instances of 'bear arms' indicating private use to conclude that the drafters intended only a military sense." Judge Karen Henderson dissented, writing that the Second Amendment does not apply to the District of Columbia because it is not a state.

The Bush administration has endorsed individual gun-ownership rights, but the Supreme Court has never settled the issue. If the dispute makes it to the high court, it would be the first case in nearly 70 years to address the Second Amendment's scope. "I think this is well positioned for review of the Supreme Court," said Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University.

Even as the appeals court overturned the city's 1976 ban on most handgun ownership, Silberman wrote that the Second Amendment is still "subject to the same sort of reasonable restrictions that have been recognized as limiting, for instance, the First Amendment." Such restrictions might include gun registration, firearms testing to promote public safety or restrictions on gun ownership for criminals or those deemed mentally ill.

Source

Pennsylvania: Robbers Shot by Diner Owner: "Philadelphia police have identified the two robbery suspects shot Thursday morning by the owner of a diner in West Oak Lane. Investigators say 20-year-old Cornell Toombs was killed and 24-year-old Gary Williams was critically wounded. He remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition. Both the suspects are from North Philadelphia. According to investigators, two armed men walked into the Sunrise Breakfast Shop, on Washington Lane near Forest, about 7am Thursday and announced a robbery. But, police say, the shop owner pulled his own gun and opened fire. Toombs was pronounced dead at the scene -- and Williams was shot in the face and wounded. Police were questioning the diner owner about the incident."


Tennessee gunowners stop fruitcake: "Police in Memphis say a gunman firing a pistol beside a busy city street was subdued by two passers-by who were also armed. No one was hurt during the incident that apparently began with a minor traffic accident, but one passing car was believed hit by a bullet. Brothers William Webber and Paul Webber told police they stopped their car and pulled their own pistols when they saw a man firing a handgun yesterday. The brothers said they ordered the man to drop his weapon and then held him at gunpoint until police arrived a few minutes later. Police say the Webbers did not fire their pistols. Police arrested Dementrius Roberson and charged him with reckless endangerment. Police say the Webber brothers and Roberson have licenses to carry firearms".

9 March, 2007

FL: UM coach: no guns allowed: "Randy Shannon has issued a straightforward warning to his University of Miami football players: Get caught carrying a firearm and your days as a Hurricane are over. ... Asked about his players' constitutional right to own firearms, Shannon said: 'I'm thinking about the University of Miami and the kids. When you have a firearm, there's a 50-50 chance that you're going to get hurt. So I said, 'Let's not put ourselves in those situations. Make it a 100 percent chance that you're not going to hurt nobody and that nobody is going to get hurt.""


California store owner shoots burglars: "The owner of Sunshine Summit General Store on state Route 79 shot and wounded two burglars he interrupted in the store early yesterday, sheriff's officials said. The owner, whom authorities did not identify, called the Sheriff's Department about 4 a.m. to report the shooting. He said he was being chased by people in a pickup and that he shot at them, said sheriff's Lt. William Donahue. Lt. Tim Curran said the owner went to the store to check on a burglar alarm that had been triggered. He confronted the burglars and fired a handgun at them. Later, two people with multiple gunshot wounds turned up at Palomar Medical Center in Escondido. Deputies still were interviewing them last night."

CA: Teens' gun death rate vindicates gun restrictions (NOT): "A troubling rise in the rate of teen gun deaths and a spike in the number of babies killed by their parents are among the key findings of the yearly review of all child deaths in Sacramento County. The findings by the Child Death Review Team are to be released today in a report to the county Board of Supervisors. The 16th annual report is a study of deaths that occurred in 2005 of those 18 and younger. There were 167 teens, children and infants who died that year. Of particular concern to team members is the sharp rise in the number of teenagers killed by firearms in homicides and suicides in 2005. In 2004, the rate of teen deaths, ages 13 to 17, from guns was 10 percent. In 2005, the rate quadrupled. Among 13- to 17-year-olds who died, 39 percent were killed by guns: six by homicide and five by suicide. Murder and suicide -- by guns and other means -- accounted for 57 percent of teen deaths in Sacramento County, the report said.


NC Homeowner Charged With Murder: "Statesville police say a deadly shooting that they originally thought happened during a home invasion actually happened after a social gathering. That shooting on Wilson Lee Boulevard killed 17-year-old Shannon Lackey, a [black] junior at Statesville High School, late Monday. Police said the homeowner, 39-year-old Kevin Turner, told them Lackey broke into his house and he was defending himself. Officers found Lackey dead of a gunshot wound to his stomach in the living room of the man's home shortly before 8 p.m. But officers now say new information leads them to believe Lackey was not shot in self-defense, and they have charged Turner with murder and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. Another person was shot in the leg and was treated and released from a local hospital. About 20 people were present during the fray, and police are still searching for a motive. They are trying to get in contact with people who were at the party in order to interview them." [The above story is from January. A grand jury has now cleared the homeowner]


Arkansas robber chooses tough victim: "A Craighead County man got more than he bargained for early Friday morning after apparently choosing the wrong resident to rob. The early-morning alleged attempted robbery ended in a shoot-out, though no one was injured, police said. Walter D. Hatton, 22, 820 West Huntington Ave., Jonesboro, was arrested around 4 a.m. Friday after he allegedly forced his way inside a Jonesboro home and fired a shot at the 64-year-old man inside. Detective Chad Hogard wrote in his probable cause affidavit that officers were dispatched to 211 Maple St. around 3:45 a.m. He wrote that patrol officers "had picked Dale Hatton up just down the street with blood coming from his head. The victim was in bed and heard someone trying to kick in his front door." The victim, Ray Horton, told police the suspect entered his home and fired a 9mm bullet at him during a struggle and missed. But Horton had a weapon of his own -- a shotgun. "During the struggle the victim struck Hatton in the head with the barrel of a shotgun," Hogard wrote. "The two then wrestled onto the bed leaving blood evidence on the bed sheets." Horton then attempted to shoot Hatton, but the suspect managed to grab the barrel of the shotgun, forcing it toward the ceiling where the blast struck. "Hatton then grabbed the shotgun away from the victim and ran out the door," Hogard added. "Both guns were recovered." The shotgun was recovered in a tree line near Parker Park and the 9mm on a lawn across the street from the park.

Mississippi: Passer-by with gun saves woman: "As customers watched in horror Sunday afternoon, a man stabbed a woman and attempted to set her on fire in the parking lot of a Jackson store, witnesses said. The attack was stopped by a passer-by, who held the man at gunpoint until police arrived, witnesses said. The suspect, Henry Watson, 42, was arrested and is expected to face aggravated assault charges, Jackson Police Department Cmdr. Lee Vance said. Watson's wife, Gracie Watson, 42, was transported to the University of Mississippi Medical center, where she was listed in good condition. "It wasn't five minutes from when she had left my line when I heard a scream outside," said Theresa Stuckey, a cashier at the Family Dollar at 516 Nakoma Drive in Jackson. "I looked out, and (the attacker) was on top of her stabbing her, and stabbing her and stabbing her. "She was screaming, 'Help, he's trying to kill me!' She was rolling on the ground, trying to get out of the way, but he kept stabbing her. He stabbed her about 20 times in the neck, back and arms." As the attack continued, people were yelling at the man to stop and honking their horns, Stuckey said. She said she called 911. "He was just standing over her hacking away," said Dolly Baker, who had just left the Save-A-Lot store next door when she saw the attack. Baker said she watched the man pour gasoline on the victim then try to strike a match. "He was literally trying to kill that lady in broad daylight," she said. Baker said a passer-by stopped the attack. "He told the man, 'Stop, or I'm going to shoot. And if you run, I'm going to kill you,' " Baker said. The man held Watson at bay until police arrived at the scene".


Florida robbers pick wrong victim: "Two men tried to rob a 50-year-old man Feb. 24 in the 4400 block of Putnam Avenue, but the victim pulled out a weapon of his own. One of the two would-be robbers may have been shot, police said. It was the first of three reported armed robberies or attempts on the Southside last weekend, another of which ended with a victim shot. But police said the incidents did not appear to be connected. The first incident started at 8:30 p.m. as the victim was walking down Putnam Avenue and two men, one with a gun, walked up demanding money, police said. When the gun was pointed at him, the victim pulled out his own weapon and fired once, police said. One of the pair fell, then got up as they both fled toward Philips Highway without anything. The victim's .45-caliber handgun and a spent casing were confiscated by police after detectives interviewed him."


New Hampshire man released after shooting stepbrother: "A family argument escalated into violence Thursday, when one stepbrother shot another in the middle of the day. David Richardson, 52, went to Windham Auto Body around 10:40 a.m. Thursday, got into a scuffle with his stepbrother, Frank Meisel, and returned to his home about a half-mile away before a pair of officers arrived, said Windham police Capt. Carl Wagner. About an hour later, Richardson returned to start another confrontation with his stepbrother, Frank Meisel, according to police. Meisel, 43, fired a single shot into the left side of Richardson's chest with a .38-caliber revolver, police said. Police elaborated on the initial scuffle yesterday as they continued their investigation into the shooting. "There was some kind of brotherly, physical confrontation and there was some damage done on the property, but he wasn't concerned with that," Wagner said of Meisel. "He just didn't want him (Richardson) on the property." Richardson remains in critical-but-stable condition at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston. He underwent surgery Thursday night. Meisel is free on personal recognizance and is due in court April 2. Based on what police have learned so far, Wagner said there was no need to hold Meisel."

Feisty Ohio oldster kills intruder: "A 79-year-old Franklinton man struggled with and fatally shot an armed intruder at his home last night, police say. "The intruder kicked in the back door and struck the homeowner, knocking him down," said Columbus Police homicide detective William B. Rotthoff. "They wrestled. The homeowner grabbed the intruder’s gun, pulled out his own pistol and shot him in the chest." The intruder, whose name was not immediately released, ran from 962 Sullivant Ave. and turned north up the alley next to the house. A neighbor called police after hearing a gunshot at 8:44 p.m. A patrol officer arrived, finding the intruder lying in the alley. The assailant was taken to Mount Carmel West hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:21 p.m. The two-story, wood-frame home between Avondale and Hawkes avenues belongs to Virgil R. Lovejoy Jr., a resident there since 1972. Lovejoy’s daughter, whose name wasn’t available, said that her father had been robbed at least three times before. The family had tried to convince him to move, but he refused to leave."


Florida intruder killed during home invasion: "Sarasota Police detectives have made an arrest in connection with an early morning home invasion where two people were wounded and one killed. The incident happened around 4:30 Saturday morning. Investigators say two men, wearing black ski masks, burst into a home at 2819 Dixie Avenue in Sarasota. Shortly after the intruders broke in, a gunfight took place. One of the invaders was killed. He is identified as 18-year-old Travis Earl. The other intruder was identified as 18-year-old Tyrell L. Leverett. Deputies say he was wounded in the hip. The resident inside the home, 45-year-old Hugh Smith, was shot in the forearm. Detectives have arrested and charged Leverett with felony murder, and with home invasion with a firearm. He has been booked into the Sarasota County Jail"

Girl raped at gunpoint in "no-guns" Toledo park: ""The Toledo Blade is reporting that Toledo police are seeking information about the sexual and physical assault of a 16-year-old city girl last week at Highland Park in South Toledo. ... Got that? Those pesky rapists went and ignored a Toledo 'no guns in our city parks' sign, which city officials claim are oh, so important to prevent, well, rape at gun point, for instance."


Texas burglar eats lead: A botched burglary in the 600 block of 13th Street in Cameron early Saturday morning ended with a Rosebud man being shot. James David Toffelmire, 28, was shot by a 12-gauge shotgun around 3 a.m. on Saturday after he attempted to break into a home and steal a vehicle from that same residence according to Cameron Police reports. The homeowner was awoken by the noise of someone trying to get into the front door of the house. He told police that when he opened the front door, Toffelmire was standing at the passenger side of the homeowner's 2003 Ford pickup with the door open. The assailant then stared at the homeowner, and walked around to the driver's side of the truck. The homeowner said he then went inside and grabbed the gun. According to reports he then came out and saw Toffelmire with his hands below the steering wheel, possibly trying to start the vehicle or getting ready to pull out a weapon. The homeowner then fired one shot, a dove load of small pellets according to police, into the front windshield of the truck, spraying pellets into the front seat and striking Toffelmire. The burglar then fled the scene on foot as the homeowner called for police. Cameron Police Department officers Patrick Guffey and Kris Stringer located the subject about two hours later hiding in the bushes at a residence on 12th Street. Toffelmire was arrested and taken to Central Texas Hospital to have 12 pellets from the gunshot removed from his chest and face according to officers. He was then booked into the Milam County Jail on charges of burglary of a vehicle. He remained in jail as of Wednesday with bond set at $2,000. The homeowner is not facing any charges"

Disarmed UK sees bigger rise in violent crime: "Regarding Tom Teepen's rant last month against the National Rifle Association: ... Yes, as Teepen says, the NRA has lobbyists with a lot of political clout. And yes, it is concerned about the Democratic majority because Democrats have historically been anti-Second Amendment. But rather than describing the NRA reaction as 'hysteria,' why don't we show a little honesty and let statistics speak for themselves: ... between 1997-2001, violent crime in the United Kingdom increased by 26 percent (no doubt one of Teepen's 'putatively civilized' countries with 'common-sense gun control'), while the gun-mad U.S. saw a 12 percent increase. The increase for 2000-2001 was 11 percent in the U.K. and 1 percent here."


Guns in Britain: "Illegally held guns are flooding Britain’s inner cities and a spate of fatal shootings in London has highlighted gun culture’s allure to disaffected youth. This comes despite the best efforts of the law and its enforcers to restrict the supply of guns. Yet, any man, woman or street urchin could own a gun in Victorian Britain — at least until 1870 when a licence fee was charged if they wanted to carry the weapon outside their home. And, surprisingly, there was very little gun crime. The right to own firearms was enshrined in the 1689 Bill of Rights (the Americans had to get their ideas from somewhere) and as late as 1900 the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, was happy to declare how much he would “laud the day when there was a rifle in every cottage in England”. There were a quarter of a million registered firearms in private hands before the First World War and the true figure was almost certainly far higher. In those years the average number of crimes involving firearms in London was 45. In 2006 it was 3,350."

Texas burglar shot: "A burglary at a Dallas steel fabrication business came to an abrupt end Thursday morning when an employee shot one of the suspects. An employee was sleeping at the business when a crash woke him up, said Senior Cpl. Janice Crowther. When he looked outside, he saw two men climbing out of a window, the police report said. The employee fired a warning shot. One of the suspects said, “He can’t take us both,” according to the report, and the two men approached the employee, one carrying a stick. The employee told the men, “I don’t want to kill you,” and he fired one shot at the man holding the stick, the police report said. Arnold Spates, 40, was shot in the leg. He tried to flee but fell to the ground. He was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in police custody, and was listed in stable condition Thursday afternoon, Cpl. Crowther said. He faces a charge of burglary. The second suspect, a man in his 40s, fled the scene. He remained at large Thursday afternoon. Prentex president David Wester said the company had been burglarized earlier in the week. The employee, who was not a security guard, sometimes worked late hours and spent the night at the company, Mr. Wester said. “He didn’t want to hurt anybody, but he was just defending himself,” Mr. Wester said. Police were still investigating the incident, but Cpl. Crowther said it did not appear that any criminal charges would be filed against the employee."


Pennsylvania homeowner Shoots Burglar, Learns Later It Was Grandson: "A homeowner awakened early Tuesday morning by a burglar confronted the intruder and shot him, according to East Pennsboro Township police in Cumberland County. The homeowner learned later that the intruder was his 18-year-old grandson, a source told News 8. According to court documents, 18 year old Darin D'Marcus Thompson broke into his grandfather's home to steal alcohol. Thompson is charged with burglary and criminal trespass. Investigators said the shooting happened around 2:54 a.m. at a home along the first block of Victoria Way, Camp Hill, East Pennsboro Township. Police said the grandfather approached his grandson with a handgun and told him to leave. The grandson then fled into the attached garage. Police said the grandfather heard rustling and fired a single shot hitting his grandson in the hand or arm. The grandson ran away and checked himself into Holy Spirit Hospital. At this point, police said the shooting was justified. "(The homeowner) feared at that point, the burglar was hunkered down. He didn't know if he was taking a position to fire at the homeowner," said Lt. Mark Green".

TX: Suspected car burglar shot in street: "A suspected car burglar woke up in the hospital Saturday morning recovering from a shotgun blast. A man told police he spotted the suspect trying to break into his truck. The man then chased the suspect down with a shotgun and told him to stop. At one point, the truck owner says the suspect lunged at him. That's when he opened fire."


Texas woman fights off gunman, attacker wounded : "Frisco police say a suspected carjacker is hospitalized in critical condition today after a 60-year-old woman fought him off. Police say the attacker was shot with his own gun during an overnight struggle with the woman in the parking lot of her apartment complex. The woman refused to give up her car keys, they scuffled and the 19-year-old man was shot in the abdomen. He then took back the gun and ran away, but was later found near the crime scene. Names of the woman and the suspect weren't immediately released.


Tennessee man stabbed during home invasion, fires two shots at intruders: "A Kingsport man fired two shots at men who invaded his home early today, but he was stabbed twice during the incident. The incident happened around 5:05 a.m. at 2333 1/2 Ashwood Street, according to a police detective. KPD Det. Greg Lane said Frank Johnson, 25, reported he heard noise outside his home and someone knocking on his door. "He went to the door with a pistol in his hand. As soon as he opened the door, an unknown black male rushed in and attacked him," Lane said. A second unidentified black male entered the residence and stabbed Johnson in the left side and arm, Lane said. Johnson fired his gun and the two men ran out of the house. He went to the door and fired another shot and the men continued to run away, Lane said. Police don't know what the suspects motive might have been, but at this point the case is being investigated as an aggravated assault. Lane said Johnson was being treated at Holston Valley Medical Center for his wounds, which were non life threatening."