Omaha Walgreens 'Hero' Still Being Denied Right to Self-Defense

The Nebraska Firearms Owners Association (NFOA) today called on the city of Omaha to end its practice of registering firearms, in the wake of a case involving a private citizen who fatally shot an armed robber, and who continues to be denied the ability to register a new firearm by the Omaha Police Department, which took his defensive sidearm used in the shooting into evidence.

NFOA President Andreas Allen said that the hero in this incident, Harry (James) McCullough, now faces gang reprisal because the armed robber man he fatally shot was a documented gang member. Mr. McCullough has "great concern for his personal safety." "He is living on the road, sleeping at a different house every night and not working," Allen said.

"We arranged for Mr. McCullough to get a new replacement handgun from a federally licensed firearms dealer," he continued. "Mr. McCullough completed the paperwork on his new handgun and took a receipt down to OPD to register the handgun before taking possession of it, to make sure he was in complete compliance with city ordinances.

OPD denied his registration because of a past citation for carrying a concealed weapon. After the City Prosecutor publicly stated he did not have grounds to charge Mr. McCullough, he again contacted the police to register his new firearm and was turned away."

Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, called this situation "unconscionable." NFOA is a Citizens Committee affiliate.

"Mister McCullough has been cleared of any wrongdoing in this case," Gottlieb observed, "yet the police are retaining his firearm, and will not allow him to register a replacement gun. He intervened in a dangerous situation, at great personal risk, and now he is being put at continued risk by a police department policy that is both arbitrary and capricious." Mr. McCullough has a right to protect himself, and his rights are being denied right now, Allen said.

When NFOA asked the Chief of Police to assist with this issue, he responded: "This is Omaha, and we ask you to respect the challenges of our city."

"The city's handgun registration ordinance has been nothing more than a tool used against average citizens to prevent gun ownership," Allen said. "The Omaha Police Department has blatantly ignored state law over the past year, even as we tried to work with the police and prosecutor's office to correct this violation. After conversations with both offices they refused to adjust their policies. They continue to make excuses even after a deputy chief was chastised by the Legislature's Judiciary Committee, and even after the State Attorney General released an opinion that they are in violation of the law.

"This is very disappointing," he said. "I thought it was the job of the police department to enforce the laws, not ignore them."

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SC: 3 robbers shot in restaurant holdup: "Officials said the shooting incident occurred just before 3 a.m. at Sonny's Restaurant, located at 1103 Cherokee Ave., after three young men came in and robbed employees. Police said that as the men were leaving, gunfire erupted after two employees pulled handguns and shot all three intruders, one of which later died. Police said after the shooting, a 16-year-old robber ran on foot to a house on 6th Street but later died of his injuries. Officials said they will release his identity after the family has been notified. Investigators said 18-year-old Lloyd Ryan Jefferies, of 152 Cheynne Road in Gaffney, also ran on foot but was later taken by car to Mary Black Hospital, where he was arrested by a Cherokee County deputy. Officials charged Jefferies with armed robbery and are holding him in the Cherokee County Detention Center. The third robber ran across the street from the café and was treated at the scene by EMS before being transported to Spartanburg Regional Hospital"


La.: Pharmacy robbers thwarted by shots from guard: "Slidell police spokesman, Capt. Kevin Foltz said the suspects entered the Gause Boulevard pharmacy around 10:45 a.m. One of the suspects started to pull a scarf over his face, and the security guard on duty realized that something was not right. Foltz said the guard pulled out his weapon and pointed it at the two suspects. But the robbers, one armed with a semi-automatic handgun fired twice at the guard as they ran from the store. The guard returned fire, shooting three times at the suspects. All the bullets fired stayed within the store, Foltz said. When police arrived at the store and set up a search perimeter, a witness said that one of the suspects was hiding out in a backyard on Ninth Street. Police went to the address and found Lagman."


Canadians still debating useless long-gun registry: "n Ottawa today, on Thursday and on May 13, but only for a total of six hours, the House of Commons public safety committee will hear witnesses both for and against Bill C-391. If passed by Parliament, Bill C-391 would get rid of the registry of non-restricted rifles and shotguns, often referred to as the long-gun registry. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has already whipped his Liberal members of Parliament to vote against the bill. Ignatieff has proposed that instead of getting rid of the long-gun registry, that it be streamlined and changed so that when, for the first time an individual is found in possession of an unregistered rifle or shotgun, that person would only be issued a ticket, and perhaps pay a small fine. Yet it was the Liberals who brought into force Bill C-68 where, although the owner of a firearm has committed no criminal act such as robbery, because of doing nothing at all, that is to say, not registering their firearm, they then become a criminal in the eyes of the law."