South African armed robber shot by business owner: "I primarily write about self defense cases in the United States. This is because I'm an American, who focuses first and foremost on American gun and self defense rights. However, as the case below from South Africa shows, armed self defense saves crime victims all around the world: Police say that a pair of armed robbers broke in to a home printing business in Pretoria. There were three or four people in the house at the time, and the robbers were armed with real and/or realistic looking guns as they set about stealing computer equipment, according to police. One of the crime victims was reportedly able to grab his self defense gun and shoot one of the robbers, at which point all of the robbers fled. The injured robber's accomplices are said to have realized that the shot robber was seriously injured, at which point they stopped the car, pushed him out, and drove off. The occupants of the business were unharmed, and the shot robber died from his wounds.


FL: PBSO chaplains training in firearms, self-defense: "A rabbi, an Episcopalian priest and a Baptist minister walk into a gym. No, it's not the beginning of a bad joke. It's a new plan by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office to train its volunteer chaplains in self-defense and firearms in case the darker elements of their ministries are upon them. "Self defense is important," said sheriff's lead chaplain Jim Shackelford, who started the initiative last year. "It's better to know what to do." Shackelford, a former Ohio state trooper, said it's during the 15 chaplains' required monthly ride-alongs with deputies that things can get sticky. Chaplains have seen deputies get into scuffles with suspects, Shackelford said, and the question came up: "If I was needed to help a deputy what would I do?" So Shackelford worked with the Sheriff's Office to make the optional training available. There will be a four-hour training block every quarter, he said."


Anti-gun Senator gets slap on wrist: "Sen. R.C. Soles pleaded guilty Thursday to shooting someone, paid a $1,000 fine, went back to being a senator and left another smudge on the voters' already soiled picture of North Carolina's political leaders. Soles, 75, a top-ranking Democrat in the N.C. Senate and the state's long est-serving legislator, copped to a misdemeanor charge of assault and joined other public figures in a parade of recent career-ending scandals. His plea spared him a felony conviction for the August shooting of a would-be intruder, a young man who was a former law client, at Soles' home in Tabor City. The senator long claimed that he shot in self-defense. Soles' plea will provide Republicans ammunition for campaign attacks. "The rules for regular folks and for powerful Democrats are apparently different in Columbus County and maybe in the state," said Senate Republican leader Phil Berger of Eden. "I don't know too many folks who could plead guilty to shooting someone and the penalty is a $1,000 fine." In August, Soles shot Thomas Kyle Blackburn, 22, after Blackburn and another man tried to kick in Soles' door. Blackburn was not seriously injured and later asked that charges not be filed. The incident put a spotlight on Soles' years of involvement in the lives of young men who were former clients. Records show police were called to Soles' house and law office at least 40 times in the past four years, ranging from routine burglar alarm activations to reported assaults and complaints that young people on mopeds were circling Soles' house. Soles maintained he gave generously to the young men to help them shift to a productive life. [A queer story!]


WA Supreme Court Authors Significant Gun Rights Ruling: "The Washington State Supreme Court has issued a precedent-setting opinion in the case of State v. Christopher William Sieyes which holds that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights “applies to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment” This outstanding opinion was authored by Justice Richard B. Sanders, a Supreme Court veteran who clearly understands the history of both the state and federal constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Perhaps what makes the Sanders opinion so remarkable is that it places the Washington Supreme Court ahead of the United States Supreme Court in recognition that the U.S. Constitution’s recognition of the right to keep and bear arms applies to all citizens, and should also place limits on state and local governments, as it does on Congress."