NC: Shooting Death Ruled Self Defense: "Ellis Hunter died Sunday, a week after being shot twice during a fight on Main Street in Farmville. There will be no charges filed in a confrontation that turned deadly in Farmville. Ellis Hunter died Sunday from injuries he received a week ago on Main Street in Farmville. Police say Hunter was shot twice after a fight with William Payton. Payton was also stabbed. Based on witnesses and evidence collected, police say Hunter went to Payton's vehicle and started stabbing him through the window. Payton managed to get out of the vehicle and was able to get a pistol and shoot Hunter. Police say Wednesday they met with District Attorney Clark Everette who decided that the death was a case of self defense."


FL: Man arrested in home invasion that turned into gun battle: "A 22-year-old Clearwater man has been arrested in connection with an August home invasion that turned into a gun battle. Andre L. Miles, of 903 Engman St., was arrested last week on two counts of shooting into an occupied dwelling and one count each of armed robbery, aggravated battery with a firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of cocaine. The home invasion occurred on Aug. 28 at 1428 Spring Lane, Apt. 3, said Elizabeth Watts, Clearwater's public safety spokeswoman. Miles and three other suspects first robbed two people at gunpoint in the parking lot at the address, then kicked in the front door of a residence there, Watts said. But someone inside fired at the trio and a gun battle broke out, with more than 25 rounds of ammunition exchanged, Watts said. No one was injured."


PA: Lawmakers Hear Arguments on Self-Defense Bill: "Some of Pennsylvania's clergy say a state house bill being considered will increase gun violence and deaths, while supporters contend the bill simply expands your right to self-defense. The piece of legislation eliminates the "duty to retreat" if you are confronted by an attacker. It also expands the so-called "castle doctrine." That's a piece of common law that states your home is your castle and can be defended with deadly force. "The bill restores the human right to self-defense, which has been eroded away by our criminal judicial system," John Hohenwarter with the National Rifle Association said. The bill states someone who fears serious injury, death, kidnapping or rape can use deadly force against an attacker without fear of prosecution or civil suit. The Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Police Chiefs Association and Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association oppose the bill. Law enforcement leaders fear an escalation in violnce. They also worry drug dealers and other criminals will use the bill to claim self defense, though the bill prohibits such a claim if people use deadly force while committing a crime."


Gun control, Chicago-style: "Last week, the body of Chicago school board president Michael Scott was found in the Chicago River with a single bullet wound in his head. The big story was that this powerful, well-connected public official had, according to the county medical examiner, committed suicide. The less-noticed story was that he did it with an illegal weapon. After all, handgun ownership is not allowed in the city of Chicago, which has one of the strictest gun control laws in the country, and Scott killed himself with a .380-caliber sidearm. Unlike most Chicagoans, Scott could have been a legal handgun owner. Because he had it before the ban was enacted, he was allowed to register and keep it. But the police department says he never did. By having it in the city, Scott was guilty of an offense that could have gotten him jail time. Amazingly enough, he was not the first local public official to take the view that firearms restrictions are something for other, ordinary people to observe.”