Thursday, January 27, 2011

NY: No charges for man who shot at bank robber: "The customer who ran out of an Amherst bank and fired five or six shots at a fleeing armed robber on Christmas Eve will not be charged with a crime. Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III said he decided not to file charges or present the case to a grand jury because he believes the man acted reasonably and within his legal rights in shooting at the robber. Sedita and Senior Trial Counsel Thomas M. Finnerty pointed out that the customer, whose name wasn’t released, is a mature 63-year-old and doesn’t have a criminal record. They also noted he waited until the robber was outside the bank and wasn’t near anyone before yelling at him to stop and then firing. “This man was clearly not acting as a cowboy, was not acting as a vigilante, was not acting in a reckless way,” Sedita said in an interview."


GA: Judge upholds ban on guns in places of worship: "A federal judge has upheld the Georgia law banning weapons in churches, mosques and synagogues, saying gun rights advocates had not shown that carrying a firearm is necessary to practicing any religion. U.S. District Judge Ashley Royal late Monday dismissed a lawsuit filed by the gun rights organization GeorgiaCarry.org and the minister at the Baptist Tabernacle of Thomaston. Royal wrote that Georgia law did not violate the First Amendment right to freedom of religion or the Second Amendment guarantee of a right to bear arms."


NE.: Legislative bill could arm teachers: "Sen. Mark Christensen of Imperial introduced LB 516 on Jan. 18, and by that afternoon his proposal had made national news. The proposed legislation was featured on the websites of the Washington Post and Kansas City Star, among others. Christensen’s idea is to allow qualified school administrators, teachers, and security personnel to carry concealed weapons on school grounds. Christensen told the Bulletin that he had no intention to introduce the bill this year but felt compelled to do so following the Jan. 5 shooting at Millard South. Christensen said that since guns aren’t allowed on school grounds, teachers, administrators, staff, and students are at the mercy of law enforcement response to deal with a shooter.

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