AL: Man shot, killed during robbery attempt: "A man armed with a shotgun was himself shot and killed today as he attempted to rob a bait shop, according to Bessemer police. The incident happened about 4:15 p.m. at The Bait Shop at 729 9th St. N. in Bessemer, said Capt. Mike Roper. When the man attempted to rob the store, the owner shot and killed him, Roper said. Roper did not give the man's name because he was not sure if his family had been identified"


Montana: Shooting of grizzly ruled self-defense: "The shooting of a grizzly bear by a Troy man in the Cabinet Mountains was determined to be an act of self-defense, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials reported Monday. While hunting on Dad Peak in the Cabinets, the man spotted two grizzly bears in the trees approximately 50 yards ahead of him, Montana FWP said. The report shows that the man alerted the bears to his presence by yelling and waving his gun. “When the bears came in the direction of his noises, he realized there were three grizzly bears – one larger and two slightly smaller,” Montana FWP reported. “When he yelled again, hoping they would run off, the larger bear charged and the hunter shot the bear at approximately 25 yards.” The hunter left the area and hiked out approximately six miles to report the incident to FWP. The next morning, the hunter returned to the site with FWP game wardens Phil Kilbreath and Tom Chianelli, accompanied by FWP grizzly bear specialist Kim Annis. An investigation of the scene confirmed the hunter’s account of events. FWP’s investigation determined that the hunter was “very disappointed he had to shoot the bear, but he feared for his life” and it was ruled as a justifiable self-defense shooting."


Student Group Pushes for Concealed Guns on Campus: "Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, the leading advocate for self-defense rights on college campuses, announced Defense Education Week on Monday, the latest in a series of events designed to draw attention to their goal. The event is intended to educate participants about weapons and self-defense, and includes Empty Holster Protests, free educational courses at shooting ranges, guest speakers, petition drives, legislative lobbying and a new website called Armed or Not? which invites visitors to observe and be quizzed on concealed carry. The group expects participation from college groups across the nation. Our goal has always been to educate the public about who we are and what we’re about, said David Burnett, a spokesman for the group. There are gross misconceptions about what we advocate, and what self-defense on campus is for. People think we want to hand out guns to 18-year-olds, or sacrifice student safety, and that’s not at all the case. We don’t want to change who can carry, we want to change where.


High court hears challenge to Mass. weapons storage law: "Gun control proponents argued before the state’s highest court Thursday that a Massachusetts law requiring gun owners to lock weapons in their homes saves lives while gun advocates pointed to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling holding that people have a constitutional right to keep weapons for self-defense. The case involves a Billerica man whose mentally disabled son allegedly shot at a neighbor with a BB gun. The 18-year-old showed police where his father kept other unlocked guns. Under the Massachusetts safe gun-storage law, the youth’s father, Richard Runyan, was charged with improperly storing a 12-gauge shotgun, a semiautomatic hunting rifle and ammunition. But a Lowell District Court judge dismissed the charges, citing a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a handgun ban in Washington, D.C. In District of Columbia vs. Heller, the Supreme Court found that the Second Amendment gives people the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense in their homes. The court also tossed out a D.C. requirement that firearms be equipped with trigger locks or kept disassembled. Middlesex County prosecutors argued Thursday that the Massachusetts law requiring guns to be secured in a locked container or equipped with safety devices when not under an owner’s control is less restrictive than the D.C. law."