Murder charge dismissed in 2007 Fort Worth shooting: "A Fort Worth man accused of killing his former brother-in-law during an argument last year will not be tried for murder. Prosecutors dismissed the murder charge against Brandon T. Conn on Monday, the day his trial in the Aug. 12, 2007, shooting death of Jeffrey Fincher was scheduled to begin. Assistant District Attorney Samuel Williams said he dismissed the case because a key witness changed her story about whether she had warned Conn that Fincher had a gun. Without the witness's testimony, it would have been difficult to counter Conn's self-defense claim, Williams said. "He had a very meritorious case of self- defense," he said. Witnesses told police that Fincher was upset from a previous argument with his ex-wife, Conn's sister, when he came to the home she shared with her new husband and Conn. After the argument escalated, Conn told police that he got a handgun and shot Fincher once in the head because he felt threatened. Police reports showed a history of disputes between Fincher, his ex-wife and her new husband. "We were prepared to present a classic defense - that Mr. Conn acted in self-defense against threats, both verbal and physical, by Mr. Fincher against my client," Heiskell said."


NY gun database has yet to lead to prosecutions : "New York's 7-year-old database of handgun `fingerprints' has yet to lead to a criminal prosecution, and questions linger about its effectiveness. Still, state police remain committed to the database, saying more time and a long-awaited link to a federal ballistics database could bring success. Since March 2001, identifying information about more than 200,000 new pistols and revolvers sold in New York have been entered into the Combined Ballistic Identification System database maintained by state police."


NY: Police checkpoint seeks illegal guns: "Drivers entering the city from the Bronx via First Avenue last night encountered the first police checkpoint searching for illegal guns.Amid flashing lights and flares in the roadway, more than a dozen officers were pulling over every third car to ask for permission to search for guns and check for other crimes such as drunken driving.But the goal for the night was to find guns and stop them from coming into Mount Vernon, a city that's already had seven homicides this year.Mayor Clinton Young said the "bold initiative" sends a strong message to the public that something is being done to stop gun violence." [Nothing useful, though]


SAF applauds Ohio Supreme Court ruling on CCW: "Today's ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court that strikes down a ban on legal concealed carry in public parks was `a proper decision that upholds the state's concealed carry preemption statute,' the Second Amendment Foundation said. Ohio's current concealed carry statute, adopted by the State Legislature in 2006, prohibits local governments from adopting more stringent gun control regulations than the state."