FL: Fatal shooting was apparently self-defense: "Hosie Harris, 74, was in his bedroom about 11 p.m. when a man came into the room and started hitting Harris in the head with a stick or club and demanded money, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office reported. The intruder grabbed a loaded .22 caliber rifle Harris had near his bed and tried to shoot Harris but couldn't figure out how to click off the gun's safety, the sheriff's office reported. When the man began rummaging through a closet, Harris pulled out a gun and shot him twice, deputies said. The man, identified as Lee Andrew Johnson, 49, walked next door to call 911 but was pronounced dead at 11:25 p.m. Harris was taken to Blake Medical Center, where he is listed in stable condition. The case is under investigation, but the sheriff's office does not plan to file charges."


OK: Fatal Shooting Self-Defense: "In the third deadly shooting in three days in the city of Tulsa, a man was shot at a midtown Tulsa convenience store and restaurant. Six or seven shots rang out at Moe's Grill at 5th and Lewis around 7:20 Tuesday night, Tulsa Police say. Police are questioning a former Okmulgee County reserve deputy who officers say fired several shots at the victim after exchanging words with him. Police believe the pair knew each other and the former reserve deputy told officers he had tried to arrest the man in the past. That former reserve deputy had a concealed carry permit according to officers on the scene. He is being questioned, but police are treating it as a self-defense shooting."


Montana "White racist" acquitted: "A Billings teenager who shot another teen in the leg following a late-night gathering of friends was acquitted Tuesday of felony assault with a weapon. After about four hours of deliberations, a District Court jury said 17-year-old Allen Goff was not guilty of the charge for the July 27 shooting outside a house on Avenue C. Jury foreman Steve Strutz said the panel wrestled with a difficult decision but could not conclude that Goff committed a crime. "It was just such a volatile and hostile situation and there was just so much reasonable doubt,” Strutz said. The shooting followed a night of drinking by a small group of friends, including the victim, Christopher Ortiz. Goff left the house shortly before 3 a.m. just after Ortiz threw a drink at him. Ortiz followed Goff outside, according to witnesses at the trial, and the two met in the street where a verbal confrontation ensued. Defense attorney Jack Sands argued that the shooting was self-defense and a justifiable use of force because Goff felt threatened and scared by Ortiz’s actions."


TN: Bredesen vetoes “guns in bars” bill again: "Gov. Phil Bredesen on Tuesday vetoed a renewed effort to allow Tennessee handgun carry permit holders to bring their weapons into bars and restaurants that serve alcohol. The Democratic governor said in a letter to Republican Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey of Blountville that he based his decision on a principle he learned more than 50 years ago in a safety course sponsored by the National Rifle Association: ‘Guns and alcohol don’t mix.’ The NRA has been a vocal supporter of the guns in bars measure passed in Tennessee the last two years. Bredesen vetoed a similar measure last year, flanked by law enforcement officers and prosecutors who opposed the bill, but he was easily overridden by the Legislature. It only takes a simple majority in both chambers to turn back a veto.”