Washington: Homeowner kills bear in driveway: "A rural homeowner shot and killed a large female black bear in his driveway Wednesday morning after the bear returned for a bucket of molasses that she and a cub had gotten into last week, authorities said. The homeowner, who lives near East Leavenworth Road and Dempsey Road, had stored a five-gallon bucket of molasses under his porch when the mother and yearling first visited, said Rich Beausoleil, bear and cougar specialist for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife in Wenatchee. He said officers trapped and euthanized the year-old bear last week, but the 190-pound mother continued to return to the man’s house. He said the bear was not acting aggressive, but had no fear of people and would not leave. The homeowner was justified in shooting the bear, Klump said."


Alaska: Backpacker Kills Aggressive Grizzly Bear: "A backpacker shot and killed a grizzly bear with his handgun in Alaska’s Denali National Park, officials said. A man and woman reported that they were hiking Friday evening when the bear emerged from trailside brush and charged the woman, park spokeswoman Kris Fister said in a statement. The man fired nine rounds from his .45 caliber, semiautomatic pistol at the animal, which then stopped and walked into the brush. The two reported the shooting to rangers, who restricted access to the Igloo Canyon area for fear that the bear was wounded and dangerous. On Saturday, rangers found the dead bear about 100 feet from the shooting site."


Alaska: Bear helping himself to chickens gets shot in coop: "Jeff Johnson knew a bear was in the area. He had just looked outside to see the black bear scratching around near the chicken coop... Then he looked through a window. “It looked like he was sitting, but it was kind of dark, and he was just gobbling down a chicken, had it in his mouth and just swallowing,” Johnson said. “I was just shocked that he was in there. I didn’t even think of the possibility.” The roughly 150-pound bear had scrambled through a small coop window about 5 feet off the ground. Claw marks showed on the plywood below it. His son, 20-year-old Seth Johnson, called police and jumped out a first-floor window with a rifle, passing it off to his father... “I thought, well, if he sticks his head out again, it’s a safe backdrop and that should do him in. So he stuck his head out again,” Johnson said. “I expected it to just be dead instantly.” The bear had broken the light in the coop, so they shined a flashlight through the chicken door and saw the bear lying on the ground. When Anchorage police arrived on scene, they found the animal wounded but still alive, police spokeswoman Anita Shell said."


Second Amendment rights for our military: "When Nidal Hasan opened fire on fellow soldiers at Ft. Hood in Texas, most Americans were stunned to find out that military bases are gun free zones. That is why he was able to kill so many people, trained soldiers, before he was stopped by a police officer who was armed. One person at the time compared the military base to a giant family and asked ‘who would need a gun in their home?’ The shooting showed why: not everybody is ‘normal’ or trustworthy in a family that big. I have written on the difficulty of defending against the first time someone goes off the handle. Up to that point, there is no documentable reason to curb their liberties. When they cross the line, it requires rapid response, like a normal person who is also armed.”