RI: Aggressive neighbor gets shot: "Attorneys for an ex-Providence policeman say he was afraid for his life when he shot and killed his neighbor in a dispute over a children's ball game in May 2008. Nicholas Gianquitti will argue during his murder trial that he was acting in self-defense after his firefighter neighbor, 44-year-old James Pagano, punched him in the face. Attorneys gave opening statements in Providence Superior Court on Tuesday. Prosecutors said children at Pagano's house hit a tennis ball into Gianquitti's car. Both sides in the case agree that Gianquitti then cursed at the children. When Pagano found out, he went to Gianquitti's house to confront him. Pagano allegedly punched Gianquitti, who pulled a gun from a holster and shot him."


Republican Enlists 65 Pro-Gun Dems to Oppose Assault Weapon Ban: "U.S. Representative Mike Ross (AR-04) led a group of 65 pro-gun Democrats in denouncing recent comments made by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s on February 25 that the Obama administration intended to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. The group of 65 pro-gun Democrats, led by Ross, sent a letter to the Attorney General on March 18, 2009, urging him to abandon any effort to reinstate the assault weapons ban and to focus instead on effective law enforcement strategies to enforce the nation’s current laws against violent criminals and drug traffickers. “Firearms are an important means of self defense and, as an avid hunter and outdoorsmen, an important part of our way of life,” said Ross. “I am a firm believer in the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and will continue to fight any efforts in Washington that restrict our right to own and bear arms.” The group argued that the ban was ineffective during the 10 years it was law, and that crime began falling before the ban was passed in 1994, and continued falling during and after the ban. The last time the murder rate was at its current level was more than forty years ago"


Texas may loosen laws on storing guns: Texans would be allowed to stow their guns and ammo inside their locked cars or trucks while at work and parked on employer property under a controversial bill passed Wednesday by the state Senate. The Senate voted 31-0 to prohibit employers from enforcing restrictions against employees possessing a legally owned handgun or ammunition inside a locked vehicle while in a company parking lot. Firearms and ammo must be stored out of sight. “Here in Texas people like their firearms and … if they want to bring them to the workplace they are going to do it whether there’s an employee policy against it or not,” said state Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, the measure’s author. “This is designed to stop employers from punishing employees who legally bring weapons to work .” Supporters say employer rules banning guns in a company parking lot infringe on their Second Amendment right and their ability to protect themselves as they travel to and from work."


MA: Gun dealers feel regulatory pinch: “Fifteen years ago there were 23 federal firearms licenses issued in Belchertown. Today, there are three. ‘I would say that’s a pretty major decline,’ said Rich Kimball … one of the three remaining license holders. Stricter federal licensing regulations dating back to 1993, plus the overall climate in Massachusetts with some of the toughest firearms laws in the country, have made it tough for gun dealers in the Bay State, according to Kimball. The combination, he says, ’caused a lot of dealers to get out of the business.’ … Kimball, a gun dealer for 25 years, said that in the last decade the amount of paperwork and forms to fill out every time he receives an order of guns or sells one has increased dramatically.”