MS: Intruder shot as he returns to steal again: "Around 11 a.m. Tuesday morning, Al Brown shot a man who was allegedly attempting to steal from his home for the second day in a row. Now the alleged intruder is at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the upper-chest. Police are not releasing the name of the man who allegedly broke into Brown's home twice, but he is being charged with burglary. The question is will he be charged with one count or two? Police believe he went Monday and returned Tuesday to finish the job. Brown is being questioned by police, but is not expected to be charged. Sharlott Hewitt, the homeowner's mother-in-law, said after Brown's television, computer and other electronics were taken in broad daylight, police told him the thief may return. She said this time he was waiting with a gun. "They don't like what happened but it couldn't be helped. The first time he did this and took the stuff from his house, he should have stayed away. He came back for what little he left," said Hewitt. Hardy said Brown's two small children were in the home when everything was unfolding. After Brown shot the intruder, he immediately called the police."


FL: Robbery turns into shootout: "A robbery that turned into a shootout at a market left three people hospitalized Tuesday. According to robbery detectives, two armed men wearing skullcaps went into Carmen's Market at 1186 NW 103 St. and demanded money. Police said that an employee immediately handed over money as the owner of the business armed himself with a handgun. It was not clear who fired the first shot, but the robbers fired, striking the owner and the employee and grazing a juvenile customer that was in the market at the time, according to investigators. Police said that the robbers fled the scene in a black Nissan Maxima with tinted windows and chrome rims. Two other black males were in the vehicle with the subjects. The owner and the employee were transported to Ryder Trauma Center in critical but stable condition. The boy is being treated in an area hospital and is expected to be OK. There was no word as to whether either of the robbery suspects was wounded in the shootout."

McCarthy introduces new victim disarmament bill: "Anti-gun zealot Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) has launched her most recent effort to use Orwellian Big Government in order to seize your guns. In fact, her anti-gun bill was recently reported out of a House subcommittee. But when you look at the list of cosponsors on this bill, you find a "Who's Who" of the anti-gun Democratic elite: Reps. Howard Berman (D-CA), John Conyers (D-MI), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Barney Frank (D-MA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), and Pete Stark (D-CA) among others. They are all F-rated Representatives. HR 1415 -- the McCarthy bill -- would require states to "make electronically available to the Attorney General records relevant to a determination of whether a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm under [federal law" [Section 102(c)(1)(A)]. Among other things, the bill will help FBI officials to effectively stop thousands upon thousands of Americans from purchasing a firearm. Already, millions of Americans have been disarmed by the Lautenberg Gun Ban which President Bill Clinton signed in 1996. Because of the Lautenberg ban, people who have committed very minor offenses that include pushing, shoving or, in some cases, even yelling at a family member have discovered that they can no longer own a firearm for self-defense."


CA: Gun-wielding resident shoots at burglars: "A gun-wielding resident shot at two alleged burglars parked in his Temecula driveway. The resident called Temecula Police reporting an attempted break-in to his home about 10:30 p.m. located in the 2900 block of Bridgehampton Road. As the resident approached the unfamiliar vehicle, the front passenger window rolled down. He observed what he thought was a hand emerging as if the person in the car had a weapon and discharged a round at the vehicle. The vehicles drove off "at a high rate of speed," according to Sgt. Joe Borga."

NYC's BLOOMBERG PROBLEM

Then there's the gun control legislation that Mr. Bloomberg is hawking, delighting advocates who ignore statistics that discredit such laws. No matter how many laws are passed to control the sales, ownership, or distribution of guns, criminals will bypass them. Law-abiding citizens in New York cannot obtain legal arms to defend themselves against the lawless, and that is frightening to potential victims.

As the son of Holocaust survivors, Ralph Rubinek is acutely aware of how governments can strip the citizen's right to bear arms. The National Rifle Association member sent me a link to a video of a recent Klu Klux Klan rally where the speakers blamed the oil crisis, unemployment, and the war in Iraq on the Jews. It was disgusting to see these morons chant "Seig Heil" over and over.

It would be easy for some to debunk Mr. Rubinek's anxiety about such events as unfounded paranoia if one didn't remember the three-day pogrom in Crown Heights during the Dinkins administration in which blacks roamed the streets shouting "kill the Jews." Mr. Giuliani made such an event unthinkable. Anti-Semitism is on the rise all over the world as haters blame the Iraqi war on Israel and the Jews. How can any Jewish person not understand the importance of the Second Amendment?

Although Mr. Giuliani was not popular with civil libertarians before September 11, 2001, he helped bring about ethnic peace in New York City because he fostered a universal standard of decency.The quality of life policing methods he promoted with his first chief of police, William Bratton, was applied impartially, to all offenders. In spite of the hue and cry by civil rights groups, minorities actually benefited from these tactics, as crime fell dramatically in their communities.

I once read that all crime is committed by only 3% of the population; that percentage was targeted by the NYPD in the Giuliani administration. Despite reports that crime is down in New York, the city doesn't feel safe. A homeless man this week confessed to stabbing four people, including two Canadian tourists in the Times Square area and a Texan on a C subway train. Meanwhile the mayor goes after smokers, paint that adheres to metal, junk food in bodegas, and restaurant menus. These tactics may make statements, but they don't accomplish much.

More here






CA: County says deadly shooting justified: "A Cochise County Attorney's Office investigation of the July 23, 2005, shooting that left a local man dead and his wife injured has determined the shooting is legally justifiable as self-defense. The office made its findings public in a letter Wednesday addressed to the Sierra Vista Police Department, which was the investigative agency. The case will not be sent to a grand jury or a preliminary court hearing after the office's review, Cochise County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer said. Sierra Vista police and family members of the man killed expressed disappointment Friday that the case won't be reviewed by a grand jury..... "(The boy who shot Pence) was legally entitled to use deadly force in defending himself, his younger brother and their residence from Frank Pence," the letter from the county attorney's office stated. "Under Arizona law, he had no duty to retreat before resorting to the use of deadly force. Physical evidence in the case, including Pence's blood and cigarette butt on the inside of the boy's residence noted by Sierra Vista police investigators, combined with witness statements, indicate justification, "i.e., Frank Pence entering the residence with the intent to assault" the boy's younger brother. "Keep in mind that Mr. Pence had already assaulted (the 16-year-old boy) outside the residence," and the younger brother had physically pushed Mr. Pence off of the older brother and then ran inside, the county attorney's letter stated".

KY: Female store clerk shoots, kills robber: "A Lexington store clerk shot and killed a man who attempted to rob a downtown market this morning, Lexington police said. Charles F. Harmon, 26, of Lexington entered SubCity Market, at the corner of East Seventh Street and Shropshire Avenue, just before 9:30 a.m. and demanded money from the clerk behind the counter, Lexington police Lt. James Curless said. The clerk pulled out a handgun and shot Harmon, who stumbled outside the store and collapsed. The clerk then called 911, Curless said. When firefighters arrived they performed CPR on Harmon and transported him to the University of Kentucky Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:58 a.m., according to Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn. Police do not plan to file charges against the female store clerk, whom police did not identify. Curless said Harmon implied to the store clerk that he had a weapon. Police reviewed the store's surveillance video and found that the clerk's description of the robbery was accurate, a key factor in the decision not to file charges, Curless said. "The law allows you to use force, up to deadly force, to defend yourself if you are in fear of your life," Curless said.


AR: Sheriff says Logan County shooting likely justified: "The Logan County sheriff says homeowner who shot an alleged intruder was most likely justified in the shooting. Sheriff Mark Limbird says 22-year-old Casey Steele Weber went to the home early Saturday and demanded to see a person who did not live there. The homeowner told Weber that no one by that name lived at the home but Weber insisted. Two girls between ages 9 and 12 -- the homeowner's daughter and her cousin -- were awakened and the homeowner hid them in a bathroom. Limbird says that when Weber broke a window the homeowner fired a shotgun, inflicting a fatal wound. The sheriff says his office is still investigating and that it will turn over the case file to a prosecutor for review.

Canada: Gun thugs offer "amnesty": "The amnesty gives Powell River residents who have unwanted, unregistered or illegal firearms, which have not been used in a criminal offence, the opportunity to turn them into their local police force without being charged. Powell River RCMP Constable Carl McIntosh said if people have guns they want to turn in, police will go to their homes to pick them up. 'During the amnesty period, police will not be charging anyone,' he said. 'We're encouraging people who have unregistered firearms to let us know. They can do the same thing with ammunition.' Solicitor General John Les described the amnesty as another tool in the fight against gun violence. 'Removing guns from circulation will enhance public safety and reduce the risk of these weapons falling into the hands of criminals,' he said. Police would like all unregistered guns to be turned in, even imitation and pellet weapons. Other dangerous weapons such as registered firearms, pepper spray and knives will also be accepted under the amnesty."



MD: Grand jury -- no indictment for abused woman: "After hearing from the admitted shooter herself, a Baltimore County grand jury declined yesterday to indict a Randallstown woman who killed her estranged husband in April after, she said, he showed up unexpectedly at her home and threatened her with an ax handle. The 23 jurors deliberated for less than a half-hour before deciding not to charge Karen L. Foxx, 35, with a crime in the death of her husband, Herman E. Bullock, 45. In an extremely unusual turn of events, the grand jurors heard about 90 minutes of closed-door testimony from Foxx, and were given the chance to question her about the shooting and her husband's history of abusing her before making their decision. ... Foxx, an office secretary, had sought court orders to keep her estranged husband away, filed criminal assault charges against him, changed her phone number and bought a gun to protect herself."

All that California gun control bears fruit: "Sacramento's violent crime rate is at its highest since 1994, new FBI numbers show. Between 2004 and 2005, the city's number of violent crimes grew about 11 percent -- the biggest increase among California's 10 largest cities. It's the fourth time in the last five years that Sacramento has posted an increase. The numbers also show that the suburbs were not immune. In Roseville, the number of violent crimes jumped 27 percent last year, though the Placer County city's overall crime rate remains low. Roseville's increase ranked fifth among roughly 60 California cities with police departments serving more than 100,000 people. These statistics were drawn from data released Monday by the FBI. The nation's violent crime rate rose 2.5 percent, a modest increase but still the largest gain since the early 1990s."


San Francisco ban shot down "An initiative that San Francisco voters approved last November banning residents from owning handguns violated state law, a Superior Court judge ruled today. Proposition H, which won a 58 percent majority, would have outlawed possession of handguns by all city residents except law enforcement officers and others who needed the guns for professional purposes. It also would have forbidden the manufacture, sale and distribution of all guns and ammunition in San Francisco. The National Rifle Association sued on behalf of gun owners, advocates and dealers the day after the measure passed. The NRA argued that Prop. H overstepped local government authority and intruded into an area regulated by the state. The city agreed to delay enforcement of the measure while the suit was pending. In today's ruling, Judge James Warren said California law, which authorizes police agencies to issue handgun permits, implicitly prohibits a city or county from banning handgun possession by law-abiding adults. That law "demonstrates the Legislature's intent to occupy, on a statewide basis, the field of residential and commercial handgun possession to the exclusion of local government entities," Warren wrote in a 30-page decision."


MA: Springfield mayor joins victim disarmers' effort: "Springfield Mayor Charles Ryan has joined mayors from across the country in a collaborative effort aimed at cracking down on illegal guns. Boston Mayor Tom Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently sent letters to mayors around the country, inviting them to participate in the coalition. The letters followed the first Mayors' Summit on Illegal Guns, held April 25th in New York City. Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette said he plans on joining the coalition -- which is called 'Mayors Against Illegal Guns.'"

AZ: Court rebuffs appeal in hiker shooting case: "A state court today turned away an appeal asking that a new state law on self-defense be applied retroactively to the second-degree murder trial of a retired Phoenix-area school teacher in a 2004 fatal shooting on a hiking trail in remote southeastern Coconino County. The state Court of Appeals today declined to consider the appeal filed on behalf of Harold Arthur Fish in the May 2004 shooting death of Grant Kuenzli. Fish has said he shot Kuenzli when Kuenzli charged him and ignored warnings to stop after Fish fired a warning shot to keep two dogs away. The new self-defense law passed by the Legislature this spring took effect immediately with Governor Napolitano's signature. The law shifts the burden of proof from a person claiming self-defense to the prosecution and also elevates the level of proof needed."


NY: Court says insuror must pay for wrongful death defense: "An insurance company is being ordered to pay for the legal defense of a man who shot a business associate in self defense, but was then sued by the dead man's estate, the state's highest court ruled Thursday. ... During his trial, Cook testified that Barber, who weighed more than 360 pounds, barged into his home uninvited with two other men, began slamming his fists on tables and demanded money. Cook, who weighed 120 pounds, pulled out a .25-caliber handgun and ordered the men to leave. Barber laughed at the small size of the pistol, prompting Cook to run to his bedroom and retrieve his 12-gauge shotgun. When Barber moved toward Cook and ignored a warning, Cook shot him in the stomach. Cook was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges, but the administrator of Barber's estate filed a wrongful death suit against Cook, accusing him of negligence and with intentionally killing Barber. Cook said he only fired to protect himself."


MI: Senate approves self-defense bills: "The Michigan Senate has approved legislation aimed at fortifying and clarifying self-defense rights. The measures would allow people to use deadly force -- with no duty to retreat -- if they reasonably think they face imminent death, great bodily harm or sexual assault. The legislation also would protect people from civil lawsuits if they have used force in self-defense."

Legal Gun Ownership Saves Lives

It's an age-old story. A criminal shoots someone, and then politicians propose gun-control measures that would have done nothing to prevent the shooting. On March 26, Kyle Huff killed six people at a late-night party in Seattle. Seattle mayor Greg Nickels immediately called for more regulations on guns. None of his proposals would have prevented the tragedy.

There is another side to stories about guns. In 1990 a group of gang members pulled a Seattle man from his bicycle and beat him. He used his legally-registered handgun to shoot one of the assailants and stop the attack. In 2002 a West Seattle woman shot an intruder who had broken into her home and was beating her roommate. In 2003 an elderly Tacoma man confined to his bed shot an intruder who had kicked in his door and attacked him. In 2004 a Spokane woman awoke one morning to discover an intruder in her house, whom she held at gunpoint until the police arrived. In all of these cases, if it were not for the legal use of guns in self-defense, the victims would likely be dead.

The gun control debate has shifted over the last 20 years. Back then it was common to hear that it is in everyone's best interests if the government made guns go away. The legislative agenda of anti-gun groups was much more radical and overt. Activists pointed to Britain, Australia, and Canada as models of gun control policy.

In 1997 Britain banned handguns, and between 1998 and 2003 gun crimes doubled. According the British Home Office, between 1997 and 2001 homicides increased by 19% and violent crime increased by 26%, while in the U.S. those same crimes fell by 12%. Between 2000 and 2001, robbery increased by 28% in Britain but only 4% in the U.S. Domestic burglary increased by 7% in Britain, but only 3% in the U.S.

In 1996 Australia enacted sweeping gun control laws. In the six years following, violent crime rates rose by 32%. Canada isn't faring well under its stringent gun control laws. Today Canada's violent crime rate is more than double that of the U.S.

The fact that during this time right-to-carry laws were expanding in the U.S. makes these statistics all the more telling. Now 40 states issue permits for individuals to carry guns. Violent crime rates are steadily declining in the U.S. Research-and common sense-show the "right-to-carry" by honest citizens deters crimes against persons and property.

Now even the most vocal anti-gun groups in Washington admit there is an individual right to own guns. The debates rage not over the right of law-abiding citizens to own guns, but how to keep them away from criminals. But just because the debate has shifted doesn't mean we are immune from bad ideas masquerading as sound public policy. Exhibit one is Mayor Greg Nickels' knee-jerk call for more gun control.

Citing a rash of gun-related crimes in the past few months, the mayor wants the state to allow cities to tighten restrictions. He is going after the usual targets: "assault" weapons, the supposed "gun show loophole," and requirements for trigger locks and "safe storage." All of these are problematic.

There was a federal assault weapons ban in place from 1994 to 2004. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms says the ban did not reduce crime nationally. Criminals who wanted to obtain such weapons found easy ways to get them in spite of the ban. Moreover, law enforcement research shows these guns are used in only about 1% of violent crimes.

The National Institute of Justice found in the 1980s and again in 1997 that only 2% of criminal guns come from gun shows. A report by Handgun Control, Inc., (hardly a friend of gun rights) found only two of 48 big-city police chiefs said guns bought at shows were a major problem in their cities.

Research shows at least 2.5 million protective uses of guns each year in the U.S. Guns are used about three to five times as often for defensive purposes as for criminal purposes. Most often the mere sight of a gun prevents a crime from occurring or getting worse.

Reasonable gun restrictions are clearly necessary; obviously owning a machine gun shouldn't be legal. But gun ownership is not only a fundamental constitutional right, it is a proven way to reduce crime and save lives.

Source






Why tell the truth when a lie will do? : "A recent Washington Post article claims "More than 500 children die annually from accidental gunshots: Some shoot themselves, while others kill friends or siblings, often after discovering a gun.' To understand how a biased or under-educated writer makes an inaccurate and misleading error, we must first clarify the term "child." Oxford English Dictionary defines the word "childhood" as: "The state or stage of life as a child.the time from birth to puberty." Oxford defines "puberty" as: "The period during which adolescents reach sexual maturity and become capable of reproduction, distinguished by the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics." In terms of age, there seems to be general agreement that this ability to procreate occurs by the age of 15: childhood is over by then.Citing 2003 data from the Centers for Disease Control-the latest available online-and using the standard definition of "child," the number of accidental firearms deaths was 56, and the total number for minors (under age 18) was 102. To reach the number stated in the article, we must include all fatal firearms accidents through age 45."

Catholic gun owners urged to send Vatican tough message: "'Law-abiding Catholic firearm owners in the United States should let Church officials know in no uncertain terms that hierarchical opposition to gun rights and the use of firearms to defend life from violent criminal attack simply will not be tolerated,' says gun law expert John M. Snyder. 'Gun owners can do this by depositing spent cartridge casings as well as St. Gabriel Possenti Society, Inc. coupons in church collection baskets,' he continues. 'The Society honors a nineteenth century Saint who used handguns to rescue Italian villagers from a gang of terrorizing renegade soldiers.'"


LA: Riley backs down on gun grab threat: "Within two hours of an announcement that the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) was calling for a Justice Department investigation of New Orleans Police Superintendent Warren Riley's plan to confiscate guns again if a major storm hits the city this year, SAF learned that Riley has backed off. ...'For months, we ... were stonewalled, ignored and lied to about the post-Katrina gun confiscations,' Gottlieb said. 'After Riley's statement on Friday, SAF decided that enough was enough. Two weeks ago, we warned the city that we would be watching for this sort of thing. Our letter to the Attorney General stands, because we want Riley, and anybody else who considers gun grabs to be a good idea, to understand that we're simply not kidding around.'"

SC: Shooting injures suspect : "Richland County deputies are searching for two robbers. They believe one of the teens should be easy to spot. He's got a gun shot to the leg. How did the suspect end up shot? Jerome McFadden, a father and store owner, is also now a hero, 'You got to do what you got to do, and because of my son I put my life on the line here today.' Deputies say two teenagers held up Jerome's Fresh Meat and Produce Market on Farrow Road in Columbia. The owner wasn't there alone, his 12-year-old son was working with him. Mcfadden says, 'They told me if we called the police they would shoot all of us come back and kill us.' Defending his store, but more importantly, his son, McFadden fired two shots, hitting one robber in the leg."

KY: 81-year-old liquor store owner shoots would-be robbers: "Three men -- including a liquor store owner -- went to hospitals after a robbery outside Wilson's Liquors in the Shawnee neighborhood just before 5 p.m. yesterday. The store owner, who is 81 years old, shot the two men, ages 17 and 21, after they pistol-whipped him, said Officer Dwight Mitchell, a Louisville Metro Police spokesman. ... The owner was parking his car behind the store, at 3804 River Park Drive, when the two attackers tried to rob him, Mitchell said. The owner pulled a gun and shot at the robbers, who ran off, Mitchell said. Police would not specify either the number or nature of their wounds."


PA: Intended victim shoots robber: "An alleged robber got quite a shock from his victim, who pulled a gun on him and opened fire. ... Police said Luther Cook, 42, pretended to have a weapon and attempted to rob the victim. But the victim actually had a gun and shot Cook."

More mayors join gun grab conspiracy: "Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said Sunday that 37 more mayors have signed on to fight illegal guns, joining the 15 who convened in New York in April for the first Mayors Summit on Illegal Guns. At the April 25 summit, the mayors signed a six-point resolution to combat gun violence and said they hoped to put pressure on the federal government and state legislatures to strengthen anti-gun laws. New additions to the coalition include Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago, Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta, Mayor Martin O'Malley of Baltimore, Mayor Bill White of Houston and Mayor Manuel Diaz of Miami.

How not to use a gun: "A Hoquiam man who accidentally shot himself in the groin could face charges of reckless endangerment and discharging a firearm within the city limits. Police responded to a report of shots fired Saturday night and found the 21-year-old man bleeding. He told officers he was upset by personal issues and had fired the gun in the air. While putting the 9 mm handgun back in his waistband it accidentally fired again."

**

New Orleans: Chief threatens to steal more guns: "Gun rights activists were up in arms Friday after New Orleans Police Chief Warren Riley said he would confiscate weapons should disaster strike. Frederick Thomas, from New Orleans, leaves New Orleans Police with his semi-automatic pistol that was confiscated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans on Monday April 17, 2006. The chief�s comments came after a federal lawsuit forced the city to return hundreds of firearms that were seized in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In an interview with WWL Radio, Riley said his officers would seize guns from people on the streets if another storm was to hit New Orleans. �During a circumstance like that, we cannot allow people to walk the street carrying guns�as law enforcement officers we will confiscate the weapon if a person is walking down the street and they may be arrested,� Riley said. The National Rifle Association sued the city and forced it to return hundreds of guns, after officers seized them during Katrina. Gun rights activists were once again outraged by Riley's comments. �It�s shocking, there's nothing about a police chief's opinion that gives them a super sized authority to throw the constitution out the window,� said NRA Executive Vice-President Wayne Lapierre".


New Zealand: Slain worker's colleague wants staff armed: "An employee at the Auckland dairy where a worker was shot and killed last year says his colleagues should be allowed to arm themselves in self defence. The call comes a day after a Hamilton dairy owner called for retailers to be allowed guns behind the counter amid growing concerns about robberies in that city. The Auckland dairy employee, who did not wish to be named, said he had been assaulted three times during convenience store robberies in the past five years. He said assaults were increasing and staff were defenceless to protect themselves unless they were armed. "It's not that I'm unlucky... I've heard (similar stories) from so many others," he said. His colleague Bhagubhai Vaghela was shot and killed while working in the Uptown Minimart in June last year. West Auckland man James Lawrie has been charged with his murder and the aggravated robbery of five other stores. After Vaghela's death, the Indian community called on the government for strengthened law and order, but the Uptown employee said he felt nothing had changed and police still did not place enough emphasis on superette robberies. "If you call them see how quickly they come and if I call them see how quickly they come. They'll say there's more serious matters to attend to."

Prowlers flee Florida homeowner's bullets: "A homeowner in Southwest Ranches said he was frightened by two prowlers when he fired the first shot at them through a garage window. About 2:45 a.m., a live-in housekeeper at a home in the 13400 block of Old Sheridan Street heard noises and saw the men in the garage area possibly trying to break into the garage or a 1995 Ferrari F512. She alerted the homeowner. While his wife was on the phone with Broward sheriff's deputies, he got his Walther P99 semiautomatic pistol and entered the garage through an interior door. Deputies dispatched on the call heard from the dispatcher that shots had been fired. They found seven spent shell casings on the front driveway, one inside the garage and a bullet hole in the garage window. The homeowner said he fired seven shots at the men before they jumped a fence into a neighbor's yard. One of the men wore a black ski hat, black shirt and black gloves. The second wore a light-colored shirt. A search of the area did not locate the prowlers and no blood was found to indicate that either man had been hit."



NC: Burglar assaults woman, is shot: "A Dunn-area man who allegedly broke into a Sampson County home and attempted to assault a woman at the residence was shot in the leg by another man who was at the home at the time, according to reports at the Sheriff's Office. ... Reports state that, just after 2 a.m. Saturday, a suspect barged into 366 Carrolls Store Road and attempted to assault Leslie Ann Skinner, 20, of Maxwell Road, Autryville, who was at the home at the time. William McPhail, 20, of the Carrolls Store Road home, reportedly shot Hickman in the left leg with a double-barrel shotgun."

TX: Clerk fatally shoots robber at liquor store: "A liquor store clerk shot and killed one of two armed men who tried to rob the southwest Houston business Wednesday night, police said. 'Two suspects came in; only one came out,' said Houston Police Department investigator A. Taravello. The men tried to rob the R-N-R Liquor store in the 10200 block of Beechnut about 7:30 p.m. when gunfire erupted, police said."


Founders faced many issues still here today: "When the Founders ratified the Second Amendment in 1791, they had in mind English politics of the 1680s, when a Catholic king (James II) was thought to be scheming to impose his religion on a Protestant nation by using a powerful army. After James was deposed, England adopted a bill of rights, including a right to bear arms. A century later the Founders supported militias and an armed citizenry, not to protect Protestants against Catholics, but to allow the states or the people to defend themselves against a national government gone wild."

TN: Crime victims stop would be robbers: "Usually criminals worry about being caught by police but in Murfreesboro criminals need to watch out for their victims. In the last two months, five different victims took bold risks in stopping crime. Tim Davis' Salt and Pepper Christian bookstore is full of statements that mirror is own beliefs. From commandments to bumper stickers, it all points to character and when a man tried to rob him, he believes he knows exactly what Jesus would do. Tim pulled out a pair of scissors and chased his robber down the street holding him at bay until police arrived. 'If you roll over and take it, they will do it again,' Davis defended his action. ... Guillermo Acosta sacrificed his own life while defending his neighbors during a robbery at La Tienda / La Carreta grocery story. A robber stormed into JD's Market and pointed a gun at Karim Barakat. Mr. Barakat remained calm but when the robber pointed the gun at his beloved wife, Barakat pulled out his own gun and shot the robber. A man robbed on East State Street exchanged gunfire with his robber."



Deadly force law goes into effect: "A new state law dubbed the "Castle Doctrine" takes effect today, guaranteeing Alabamians immunity from civil and criminal prosecution if they shoot intruders in their homes, vehicles or offices. The law, backed by the National Rifle Association and opposed by most black lawmakers, was approved by the 2006 Alabama Legislature. Ten other states have similar statues. Immunity is not extended, however, to someone if they shoot their spouses, bosses or others who have a right to be in the home, car or office in question. Individuals also don't have immunity if they shoot law enforcement officers.

"GUN-FREE" BRITAIN AGAIN

The Packington estate, so decrepit that it is scheduled for demolition, lies between streets of neat Victorian and Georgian terraces in the otherwise leafy borough of Islington, north London. Last Thursday three boys, all aged 15, sat in the estate's ramshackle play park eating Skittles and shooting the breeze. Even though two of them had their hoods up they were not especially intimidating. None had been excluded from school and when asked who they wanted to win this year's Big Brother they cheerily replied, "that one who's got Tourette's". These were normal inner-city boys. Nice, even.

Yet when asked whether they ever carried knives around the neighbourhood or had tried to take one to school, all three responded with a dismaying "for sure". To prove it one boy - who, incidentally, had an innocent smile and sunny disposition - reached into the folds of his tracksuit and pulled out a small kitchen knife, the sort you might use to chop mushrooms. This, he explained, was for "protection".

Perhaps it was to be expected. In recent weeks numerous reports of citizens attacked and slain have fostered the notion that every other hoodie in Britain is carrying a concealed blade. There were more than 50 knife attacks over the bank holiday weekend alone and horror stories involving good-hearted samaritans apparently breaking up public fights only to be knifed to death have multiplied.

Among them was Tom Grant, a 19-year-old student at St Andrews University, who was on the train travelling home to Gloucestershire last Saturday when he reportedly stepped in to help a woman having a savage row with a young man. He was stabbed fatally.

A few hours later in Nottingham, Ian Montgomery, 26, went to help a woman being beaten up outside a nightclub. He, too, was stabbed and is still recovering in hospital. Marlvin Jiro was not so lucky. The 26-year-old father was knifed at about the same time in Birmingham after a fight. He died at the scene.

Just three days later Barry Wilson, 29, was stabbed in Bristol. Following an argument he was killed on his doorstep in front of his two young daughters. Across town, less than 24 hours earlier, another man, an unnamed teen, had lain dying in a pool of blood, yet another victim of a knife. The following evening a 40-year-old woman was stabbed in Norwood, south London, her body left next to her VW Golf which still had its lights on and engine running.

These terrifying tales followed the recent public outcry over the death of Nisha Patel-Nasri, a special police constable whose funeral was held last Thursday. Patel-Nasri had her own kitchen knife turned on her when, for the second time in a week, she had challenged intruders at her home in Wembley, north London. A single clumsy stab wound to the leg was enough to sever her femoral artery. Later that week, 15-year-old Kiyan Prince was stabbed to death outside his school in north London.

Is Britain in the grip of a knife epidemic? Is blade culture out of control? The statistics do not entirely support this conclusion. Although there has been a recent burst of violence - which has coincided (embarrassingly for law enforcers) with a nationwide five-week knife amnesty - the percentage of knife-related violent crime has remained steady at 6% for several years. Home Office records show that the number of people killed with a sharp instrument in 1994 was 231. In 2005 that number was a near identical 236.

Anecdotal evidence from crime and social workers - not to mention the knife carriers themselves - suggests that more people are carrying knives. Last Monday in Luton more than 90 weapons (including scabrous blades, knuckle-dusters and a 10in carving knife) were confiscated from a crowd on its way to a carnival.

The exact percentage of blade carriers remains hard to calculate as it relies on the unscientific process of canvassing members of the public, who are prone to lie. In 2004 the British Crime Survey estimated that 60,000 children aged 11 to 16 were carrying knives, but what of the over-18s? Perhaps the most damning evidence that knives have become a fixture of British life is the rise in the number of people found guilty of carrying blades in public places, up 63.5% in five years.

This certainly chimes with opinion on the ground. "It's been getting worse for a few years now," says Dawn Irwin, head of Offroad Productionz, a mentoring group that tackles gang and violent crime. "Blades are everywhere."

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Hippies need guns too: "It was meant to promote peace and love, but ended in a hail of bullets. America's counter- culture has come back under the spotlight after the founder of a New York commune was repeatedly shot by an unhinged former member last week. As Jeff Gross was recovering from gunshot wounds to his chest and arm, the prime suspect for the attack, a 43-year-old woman, was still on the run this weekend. For New Yorkers long used to gun violence, the most shocking aspect of the shooting was the realisation that the hippie lifestyle continues to exist within the confines of their energetic and affluent city. The shooting on Staten Island, a sedate commuter borough, has exposed a tangled network of communal jealousies involving lurid tales of sex with dwarves and lesbian orgies. It has also sent a shudder through the shrinking world of American hippiedom, which has never fully recovered from the Jonestown massacre of 1978, when "Reverend" Jim Jones orchestrated the mass suicide of more than 900 followers at a commune in Guyana. Gross, 51, a co-founder of the Ganas housing co-operative, has identified his assailant as Rebekah Johnson, a former commune member who was expelled 10 years ago and who later returned to threaten Gross and other members."


Communists not gun-shy: "Venezuela has announced overnight it had received 30,000 AK-47 assault rifles from Russia, the first shipment of an order of 100,000. "This is an act of full national sovereignty, they are weapons for the defense of the country," said Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel, speaking at the Puerto Cabello naval base, 130km northwest of Caracas. Mr Rangel also said the weapons were needed to replace outdated Belgian-designed FAL rifles currently in use "and discard obsolete equipment." Also in the shipment were 25 million rounds of ammunition. In mid-2005 Caracas signed an agreement to buy the rifles in a $US54-million deal with Moscow. The remainder of the weapons are scheduled to arrive in August and a third shipment late in the year. Within three to five years Venezuela will also have factories to manufacture both AK-47s and their ammunition, the head of the Venezuelan army, General Raul Baduel, said overnight.

IN GUN-BANNED BRITAIN, THE RIGHT TO CARRY KNIVES IS NOW UNDER THREAT:

As the following press release shows:

The Libertarian Alliance, the radical free market and civil liberties policy institute, today calls on the Home Secretary to ignore the media-led hysteria over knife crimes, and to legalise the carrying and use of weapons for self-defence.

Libertarian Alliance Director, Dr Sean Gabb, says: "Laws against carrying knives in public - or any weapons - are an infringement of our liberties and are a waste of police time. The only people who obey such laws are the respectable, and these cause no trouble. Those who do commit assaults are no more likely to obey the existing or prospective law on weapons than they are to stop listening to horrid music or to wash their hands after using the toilet.

"Even turning the country into a police state, with powers of random stop and search and scanners in public places, will do nothing to disarm these creatures. Such laws will only inconvenience the respectable. They disarm us to the point where criminals can roam among us like a fox among chickens. If we are already disarmed, we still face the indignity of being searched by police officers who are increasingly useless and corrupt.

"We need to get back to the sane legal climate of the Victorian era, when citizens were expected to take part in defending themselves, and were encouraged to use lethal force when they believed it necessary.

"We must be allowed to carry knives for our self-defence if we so wish. But we should also be allowed to carry guns. After all, using a knife requires skills in which the criminal classes tend to have an advantage. But guns equalise, regardless of age or sex; and nothing beats a bullet. "To be precise, we need to go back to the laws of our ancestors when a person could walk into a gun shop and, without showing a licence or any form of identification, buy as many guns and as much ammunition as he pleased, and could keep these at home, or carry them about in public, for the defence of his life or property.

"At the same time, we need real punishments for real crimes. Those who commit assaults on others should be caught and punished with terrifying swiftness and severity. Assuming due process of law, I see no objection to the use of the death penalty.

"But the only certain way to clear away the human trash who infest our streets is to let us, the respectable public, take part in the cleansing. "Further laws to criminalise the carrying of weapons is a retrograde step and should be resisted by the authorities. They are nothing more than victim disarmament."

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GA: Teen burglar shot by homeowner: "Police say a man shot and wounded a teenager he found in his home -- attempting to rob him. Police say 27-year-old Ronald Ramsey arrived at his Lawrenceville home Tuesday afternoon and found 17-year-old Alrazi Basher of Duluth inside, robbing him. Officials say when Basher tried to flee the home, Ramsey shot at Basher and hit him and his vehicle. Basher drove to a friend's house nearby, running over a street sign along the way. The friend called 911 after seeing Basher had been shot. Basher was taken to Gwinnett Medical Center to be treated. He is currently listed in serious condition. The Ford SUV that Basher used to drive to a friend's house had been stolen from Lawrenceville. Officials say they found stolen property from other burglaries inside the vehicle. The investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Police say Ramsey is cooperating with authorities. Basher has been charged with one count of burglary and one count of theft by receiving a motor vehicle."

ID: Shooting leaves one dead: "A Valley County man is dead, and the man who pulled the trigger says he did it in self-defense. The 26-year old shooter admitted to police that he killed the man, but he says he did it for his own protection. ... According to police 11 people were at a party in the home when a fight broke out. Police say a number of metal weapons were used in the fight. The shooter tells police the Prescott brothers attacked him with the weapons, and that's when he shot James Prescott in self-defense."


SC: 2 gunned down in botched robbery : "Two men were killed early Monday in a gunfight sparked by an armed robbery attempt near the intersection of Cassandra Lane and 22nd Avenue South, Myrtle Beach police said. ... A police incident report said that Smith and a friend, Charles Melvin Stocker Jr., 26, of Hopkins, were near Cassandra and 22nd when McCullough and another person approached and tried to rob them at gunpoint. During the robbery, McCullough shot and killed Smith, police said. Stocker then pulled a gun he had and fired on McCullough, police said. Horry County Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard said both men were shot multiple times while within a few feet of each other."

OR: Intruder shot multiple times: "A 9-1-1 call from a woman in Boring reported that a man who had been harassing her, broke into her residence and her boyfriend shot the intruder multiple times. It happened at about 2:30 a.m. Clackamas County Sheriff's officials say the woman told them the intruder had been stalking her. She says the man physically forced his way into her residence. The man, reported to be 49-years-old, was shot multiple times with a handgun in the upper torso and is reported to be in stable condition."



One guy who really needed gun training: "Police say a Salem man accidentally shot and killed himself Tuesday morning while he and his family were trying to climb out of a ravine after a car accident. According to police, 38-year-old Vladimir Gorkavchenko was driving near Detroit early in the morning when he lost control of his minivan. The car rolled multiple times, before coming to a rest at the bottom of a rocky embankment. Gorkavchenko, his wife, and their daughter were uninjured in the crash. Police say Gorkavchenko then removed a rifle from his van to take it with him as the three started climbing out of the ravine. According to police, Gorkavchenko was using the rifle as a brace as he climbed and apparently slipped, causing the gun to fire a round that hit him in his thumb and his head." He must have held it with the barrel pointing UPWARDS

NC: Squabble leads to gunfire: "A confrontation in Nebo Saturday night landed one man in the hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest. Shortly after 9:30 p.m., McDowell County sheriff�s deputies were called to a residence on Southern Way owned by Darrell Freeman. Capt. Dudley Greene of the Sheriff�s Office said Freeman and several others were in his yard, when 34-year-old Mark Anthony Salyer of Southern Way showed up unannounced. Witness said a confrontation ensued and Salyer brandished a weapon, the captain stated. That�s when Freeman shot Salyer once in the chest with a .45-caliber handgun, according to Greene. "No charges have been filed at this time, but we continue to investigate," said the captain. "We�re still sorting out the details." Salyer was airlifted to Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville, where he was listed in serious but stable condition early Sunday morning. However, authorities say they received word later that Salyer was released. No one by that name was listed as a patient at the hospital Sunday evening."



MI: No murder charge for man who shot rapper Proof: "The man who shot and killed Detroit rapper Proof acted in self defense and will not face murder charges, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Tuesday. Mario Etheridge, 28, shot Proof, whose real name is Deshaun Holton, after Proof allegedly shot and killed Etheridge's cousin, Keith Bender Jr., a U.S. Army veteran. ... The C.C.C. club on 8 Mile was the place where Proof, 32, a close friend of Eminem and a member of the rap group D12, was shot three times in the head and chest after a fight about 4:30 a.m. April 11 -- more than two hours after the club was required by law to close. Before his death, Proof, shot the 35-year-old Bender, police said. Bender died a week later. Etheridge, who prosecutors said shot Proof, was charged last month with gun felonies, but not with the killing. Police said Etheridge, a bouncer at the bar, shot Proof after the rapper shot Bender in a fight over a pool game."

SELF-DEFENCE A TOUGH SELL IN PENNSYLVANIA

When a Somerset County man opened fire on two intruders at his apartment last month, killing one, he insisted he was protecting himself. Whether Matthew Eperjesi was justified remains a question for the courts at a time of nationwide debate over extending legal protection for gun owners to shoot intruders in their homes and even people threatening them on the streets. Gun rights advocates are applauding so-called "stand your ground" laws that have left anti-violence groups nervous. This year, nine states have enacted such laws, following Florida, which led the way with legislation passed in 2005.

Pennsylvania is among more than a dozen other states considering joining the trend. "People are more fearful today for their well-being than they ever have been," said state Rep. Steven W. Cappelli, R-Williamsport, who spearheaded a bill under review by the House Judiciary Committee. "I believe we should follow the lead of other states and strengthen the rights of law-abiding citizens." Cappelli's bill would allow Pennsylvanians to shoot before shooting becomes a last resort. Under current law, residents can protect themselves with firearms if placed in danger of death or serious injury, but the proposed law would relax what's commonly called a "duty to retreat."

In other words, that an intruder is breaking and entering would be proof enough that he means harm. Perhaps more controversial, though, shooters also would be exempt from facing criminal prosecution or civil lawsuits if they shoot and kill someone who is attacking them outside of the home. "We believe it is fundamental to the American way of life and everybody's right to protection," said Ashley Varner, spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association. Varner said the NRA has made the "stand your ground" changes a top legislative priority.

Opponents are calling the laws "shoot first" legislation. Some even call the laws "a license to murder." "There are a lot of untrained people out there with guns and a lot of innocent bystanders that can get clipped," said Chad Ramsey, Pennsylvania field director for the Washington, D.C.-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Cappelli said great care has been taken that his bill would not backfire if signed into law. Lethal force would not be justified against law enforcement, parents or other guardians removing a child or other residents from a home or vehicle. Police and prosecutors would make the final determination on whether a shooting was criminal. "Shoot first and ask questions later? I'd say this is not the case," Cappelli said. "This isn't an 'OK Corral'-type bill. This is a bill that we think more clearly defines self-defense and the use of self-defense." Cappelli said he'd like to have hearings on the bill and get it to a full House vote soon.

State Rep. John Pallone, D-New Kensington, a member of the judiciary committee, said he supports the idea of giving homeowners more freedom to protect themselves, but he thinks the bill may be a tough sell statewide, especially in urban areas with gun problems. "I imagine that bill will be very seriously debated," he said. "At opposite ends of the state, we have very different views on how guns should be treated."

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Alabama oldster gets revenge: "A 40-year-old Lauderdale County man was shot to death late Wednesday afternoon. Witnesses told sheriff's investigators the shooting stemmed from an ongoing feud over custody of the victim's ten-year-old boy. Sheriff Ronnie Willis said Anthony Eugene Hunt was hit with several shotgun blasts as he tried to drive away from his former father-in-law's house. The shooting happened about 5 p-m at a residence in the Zip City community off Alabama 17. Willis said it appeared that 75-year-old Neler Keeton fired the shots, killing Hunt. Investigators are trying to determine whether Hunt struck Keeton in the head with a metal object. No charges were immediately filed after the shooting, but Keeton, who was treated for a head wound, was questioned."

States signing on to deadly force law

A campaign by gun rights advocates to make it easier to use deadly force in self-defense is rapidly winning support across the country, as state after state makes it legal for people who feel their lives are in danger to shoot down an attacker � whether in a car-jacking or just on the street. Ten states so far this year have passed a version of the law, after Florida was the first last year. It�s already being considered in Arizona in the case of a deadly shooting on a hiking trail.

At its core, they broaden self-defense by removing the requirement in most states that a person who is attacked has a "duty to retreat" before turning to deadly force. Many of the laws specify that people can use deadly force if they believe they are in danger in any place they have a legal right to be � a parking lot, a street, a bar, a church. They also give immunity from criminal charges and civil liability. "It�s going to give the crooks second thoughts about carjackings and things like that. They�re going to get a face full of lead," Calvey said. He introduced the bill at the request of the local National Rifle Association, and it passed with overwhelmingly support: The House agreed 83-4, the Senate 39-5.

Besides Oklahoma, the nine other states to sign on are Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and South Dakota, according to the NRA.

And there have been a few high-profile defeats, too. Police Chief Nathaniel H. Sawyer Jr. of New Hampton, N.H., said the legislation addressed a problem that does not exist. In 26 years in law enforcement, he has never seen anyone wrongfully charged with a crime for self-defense, he said. The bill would have allowed a person "to use deadly force in response to non-deadly force, even in public places such as shopping malls, public streets, restaurants and churches," Lynch said when he vetoed the legislation. Existing law already gives citizens the right to protect themselves, he said. "The only people that have anything to fear from this type of law is someone who plans on robbing, shooting or raping someone," LaPierre said.

But like Sawyer in New Hampshire, he does not see any instances now or in the past of a victim being prosecuted for failing to retreat. He sees the Florida law, and the national campaign, as an effort by the NRA to build support and keep its members riled up. "The NRA is a victim of its own successes. No political party in Florida today is going to advance any serious gun-control agenda," said Gelber, a Democrat. "What�s left is these little things which have no impact on every day life, but inspire and activate the base."

And, he argued, it gives defense attorneys a potential avenue to seek acquittal for crimes. In effect, criminals will benefit much more often than any innocent victim. "It�s going to give the guy who�s really looking for a fight, or does something totally irresponsible or venal, a defense he would not otherwise have."

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OK: Deputy gets gunman: "A young man [probable code for "black"] shot and wounded a 15-year-old boy inside a south Oklahoma City mall Saturday, then was shot and killed by an off-duty sheriff's deputy, authorities said. The gunfire erupted at Crossroads Mall shortly after 6:30 p.m. local time. The wounded boy was taken to a nearby hospital in fair condition, according to ambulance company spokeswoman Lara O'Leary. The names of the alleged gunman and the victim were not immediately released. The age of the dead youth was not immediately known, but paramedics said he appeared to be about the same age as the wounded teen.... "We had a deputy who was here who was on his lunch break and he heard a commotion downstairs, kind of like a couple of guys fighting, then he heard a gunshot," Myers said. The deputy went to a railing and looked down to the first floor of the mall where he saw a young man with a gun. "He turned around with the gun, our deputy shot him, killed the person with the gun," Myers said."

Shelton's gun grab mentality: "Oklahoma State Rep. Mike Shelton's attitude about the rights of private citizens in an emergency reflects a mentality that might better serve a police state than one of the United States, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today. Shelton, a Democrat, was quoted by KOCO News in Oklahoma City this week arguing against legislation that would make it illegal for authorities to confiscate privately-owned firearms during emergency situations, as happened in New Orleans last year. The Second Amendment Foundation and National Rifle Association sued in federal court to stop that gun grab."


FL: Teen shoots when intruder breaks down door: "With a man breaking through the front door, a Hollywood 15-year-old loaded his father's gun, waited for the intruder to come in and shot him, police said. Keil Jumper, 22, who police said has a long rap sheet, was later found bleeding in an area between two houses. Police said Jumper was seriously injured but his injuries didn't appear life threatening. The incident happened about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, when Jumper attempted to break down the front door, then picked up a bicycle to smash the window, police said. The sounds terrified a family of eight to 10 people who were asleep in the home, which is on South 61st Avenue in Hollywood, police said. Police said the teenager is unlikely to be charged in the case."

IL: No firearms charges against woman, 87: "An 87-year-old woman who fatally shot a would-be intruder will not be charged with a crime, even though she did not legally own the gun, authorities said Monday. On Feb. 7, Jacksie Mae King fired several shots through the front door of her house after she woke up about 2 a.m. to the sounds of someone trying to break in. One bullet hit Larry Tillman, 49, who was on the other side of the door, standing on King's enclosed porch. He lay dead on the porch in the 2100 block of Gaty Avenue for four hours before he was found by King's daughter, who came to bring breakfast about 6 a.m. Meanwhile, King stayed inside clutching the pistol. 'She was justified in using deadly force to defend herself against the threat of deadly force,' said Robert B. Haida, the St. Clair County state's attorney. King's daughter gave her the .32-caliber Colt revolver two months earlier after a man broke into King's house in December. That intruder beat her and stole some of her things. In both incidents, the telephone lines to King's house were cut, and security bars were removed from a side window. Tillman's criminal record is extensive and goes back to 1979. It includes at least two convictions for residential burglary and a robbery conviction."


A salute to guns and rights: "She's a nurse who likes target shooting and teaches gun safety classes. He's an engineer and deer hunter. When in Michigan, she'll pack a .357 Smith & Wesson for personal protection, while he sees no need to carry a concealed weapon. 'I'm usually with her,' Don Burns said, pointing to his wife, Christine. 'And she's a better shot.' The Burnses, from the Upper Peninsula town of Channing, are your quiet, ordinary, card-carrying members of the National Rifle Association -- and proud of it. Friday, the Burnses, and thousands of others like them, trooped through the Midwest Airlines Center as the NRA convention opened its three-day stand in Milwaukee."

NRA asks chiefs, mayors to sign gun seizure pledge: "Alarmed by the way authorities confiscated guns in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, the National Rifle Association called on all police chiefs and mayors Thursday to sign a pledge they will never forcibly disarm law-abiding citizens. 'Mayors and police chiefs have already sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States in their oaths of office. So signing this pledge should be just as effortless,' NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre said a day before the 4 million-member group opens its annual convention in Milwaukee. The nation's most powerful gun lobbying group also said it would support state and federal legislation making it a crime to forcibly disarm law-abiding citizens."


Scotland: Guns banned so knives are next: "Any person accused of carrying or using a knife who has a similar previous conviction will face prosecution before a judge and jury instead of a sheriff alone, meaning tougher sentences will be handed down. Police have also been instructed to arrest anyone caught carrying a knife and police will no longer be able to grant bail to someone arrested for such an offence - instead they will be kept in custody before their first appearance in court. Prosecutors will also routinely oppose bail in the courts if an accused has one or more previous convictions for knife-related crime. And the maximum sentence available for people caught carrying knives in public is set to increase from two to four years for cases prosecuted on an indictment - that is, before a jury. But police criticised the tougher sentences because only a tiny fraction of such cases are tried in front of a jury under "solemn" procedures. They called for a mandatory 18-month prison sentence for all those caught carrying knives, which ministers rejected."

Belgium adopts new arms law: "The Lower House of the Federal Parliament has passed new legislation to tighten controls on the sale and ownership of firearms. Some 133 Belgian MPs voted for the new rules with only two MPs from the Francophone liberal party MR abstaining. New arms legislation has been on the cards for sometime, but the legislative process has been speeded up after a teenage gunman killed two people and seriously injured a third in a racially motivated attack... The new law will forbid the sale of firearms to anyone without a gun licence. A screening process will have to be carried out before the issuing of a licence, which would only be valid for five years. Weapons will also be stamped with a serial number. This will, in turn, be registered on a central database. Applicants for a licence to hold firearms will also be required to provide a valid reason for owning such a weapon".



Waking up in Missouri: "The National Rifle Association's just-concluded convention in Milwaukee has sparked outrage in some quarters of New York, but jealousy might be a more appropriate response. The outrage seems to be directed toward members of the NRA who live outside the New York City metropolitan area and dare to like guns. Consider a recent column by Michael Daly of the Daily News. He reports on a 'jarring' encounter with one Peggy Irving of Missouri, who brought her 16-month-old daughter Katie to the convention and says she 'loves' her Smith & Wesson 9-mm lady's. He seems astonished that a mother who comes across 'as decent and amiable a person as you could ever meet' would like guns, and might even joke about how her infant daughter will one day own a firearm."


Guns of New York: A modest proposal: "It appears that Michael Daly, a writer at the New York Daily News, has a problem with guns. He writes articles decrying the '500,000 illegal handguns' that apparently flood this city. He writes with approval of Mayor Bloomberg's recent lawsuit against out-of-state gun dealers, whose legally purchased products end up involved in violent crimes in New York. In his thinking, it's clearly the gun's fault these heinous crimes were committed, not the gun user's. ... So I will offer here a modest solution to the problem of a half-million illegal handguns in New York. ... We'll offer a 'path to legalization' for these weapons. (Please don't call it 'amnesty.') Those who own these guns will be asked to simply register them. After standing in line, filling out forms, paying some fines ... these gun-owners will be henceforth 'legalized,' with full conceal-carry permits."

New Law Results in California Judge Dismissing Lawsuit Against Firearm Manufacturers: "Citing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act that blocks unwarranted lawsuits against firearms manufacturers, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charles W. Stoll today ruled from the bench ordering complete dismissal of all causes of action against defendants Beretta, Smith & Wesson, Colt and Turners Outdoor Sports, a California firearms dealer, in a case involving the gang murder of a Burbank police officer."


DC: Judge throws out frivolous gun suit: "A lawsuit in the District against gun makers was dismissed today by a D.C. Superior Court judge who ruled that the suit was precisely the sort of claim that a new federal law was intended to block.In a 37-page opinion, Judge Brook Hedge wrote that the city and the federal government had two competing policies, and only one could prevail. The D.C. Council, she wrote, had determined that assault weapons have 'little or no social benefit but at the same time pernicious consequences for the health and safety of District residents and visitors.' But Congress, she wrote, 'has trumped local law by passing legislation to protect the profits of such manufacturers.'"



CA: Some great police-work: "A carload of armed robbery suspects plowed into a Sacramento police officer Monday in a crowded Natomas shopping center, injuring the officer, who managed to cling to the hood while firing shots at the windshield that killed the driver, police said. Moments later, the car crashed into a palm tree outside In-N-Out Burger, near the exit of Natomas Marketplace shortly after 1 p.m., in a surreal scene witnessed by dozens of shoppers and diners. Three dazed suspects were taken into custody as the driver's body remained in the car.

As good as their word: "The line in the sand has been drawn. Either you stand with the 2nd amendment or against it. And this time, there'll be penalties for infringing on the rights of law abiding Americans.The National Rifle Association is issuing a challenge to our nation's mayors and police chiefs: sign a pledge that you will never take the guns from those you serve. The impetus for this is obviously the confiscation of firearms from residents of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. But there is a growing concern that mayors across the country are becoming the frontline soldiers in the latest fight for more gun control laws."


SC: Charges dropped against son in slaying: "The physically abusive history between Howard and Teresa Ayers was a factor in their son Shawn Ayers' fate and led South Carolina prosecutors to drop the murder charge against the Springfield teen Wednesday. The charge was filed against Shawn Ayers after he fatally stabbed and shot his father, retired Lt. Howard Wayne Ayers, on Aug. 9 on a family vacation to Myrtle Beach State Park. 'This is a classic case of not only a battered spouse, but the defense of another, and in this case, a tragic defense by a child of his mother,' Shawn Ayers' Attorney Morgan Martin said."


WV: Homeowner shoots, kills intruder: "One man is dead and another critically wounded after an alleged break-in and altercation at a Ritter Hollow residence in McDowell County. ... The 911 report 'is that two men broke into the house and started fighting with the homeowner, and the homeowner had shot and had killed one man and the other had been shot and left the scene,' McDowell County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Mark Shelton said. Thornton Toby Jones, 43, the homeowner of the house shot the alleged intruders with a 9 mm handgun."

MI: One suspect hit, two sought in store shoot-out: "With any luck, the two men who were thwarted when trying to rob a Southfield convenience store might be easy to find. They might have been wounded, according to Detective John Harris, spokesman for the Southfield police. 'And all hospitals and doctors are required to notify authorities when they treat a gunshot wound,' he said. On the other hand, the two men may have been lucky and escaped without any bullet wounds -- even though a dozen or more shots were exchanged just before 1 a.m. Sunday, when they tried to rob the Franklin Liquor and Deli in the 28500 block of Franklin. ... The marksmanship of the owner, 29, and his 23-year-old clerk from West Bloomfield, was, however, good enough that a third would-be robber was hit three times, including once in the buttocks. He was identified as Jason Scott Klemas, 24, of Romulus who stood mute when arraigned Monday at a hospital bed in Providence Hospital."


Chicago led New York on frivolous gun suits: "Mayor Bloomberg isn't the first big-city boss to pull a sting operation on gun dealers. In a 1998 probe dubbed Operation Gunsmoke, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley had undercover cops posing as gang members go into area gun stores. Grainy video shot by investigators seemed to show gun merchants gladly allowing straw purchases -- the practice of legally authorized citizens buying guns for others. The sting was a public relations success, with footage shown on '60 Minutes' and elsewhere. But the operation had less success in court, where it was used in a civil case and several criminal prosecutions. ... The sting was initially to be the centerpiece of Chicago's landmark $433 million civil suit blaming the gun industry for urban violence. The suit was dismissed by the Illinois Supreme Court last year."


Australia: Do or die couple beat invaders: "A retired Sydney baker has described how he turned the tables on armed robbers during a violent home invasion last night. He tricked the attackers into thinking they had bound him tight, then slipped free and grabbed the sawn-off shotgun they had left on a bench. The Vietnamese-Australian man, a retired baker, who does not wish to be named for fear of reprisal, told smh.com.au of the half-hour of hell he and his wife endured as the attackers beat them and ransacked their home. He also described why he felt compelled to risk his life by grabbing the loaded shotgun. "I know the reason they not cover their face,'' he said of the two robbers, whose identities were not obscured during the incident. "After they finish they will kill us.''.... One of the thieves fled out the back door immediately upon realising his victim had the gun. "The other one was in the lounge room, so I chased him. "He was hiding behind a wall and I said, 'I've got the gun! Come here! I've got the gun!' and he came out and put two hands on the back of his head'.'' He then hit the robber three times with the barrel of the gun.... The robber, bleeding from the wounds on his head, turned tail and ran through the back door and out into the rear yard, where he left a trail of blood drops on a concrete path. Police discovered a gardening glove worn by one of the offenders at the base of the rear fence, along with a large amount of blood. A dog unit was called to the scene to try to track the offenders but the trail was already cold."

CA: Man shot, killed: "Tracy Allen Norton heard noises outside his home about noon and observed a man hiding near the residence, Rabalais said. The suspect, later determined to be Scarabello, chased Norton into the residence where gunshots were exchanged between the two men, Rabalais said. Norton then went to a neighbor's home and called 9-1-1.Scarabello was one of the suspects in the home invasion robbery in April, Rabalais said. Detectives were seeking Scarabello and held a warrant for his arrest."



GA: Gun store owners deny "illegal" sales: "The owners of two Georgia gun stores accused in a lawsuit by New York City officials of selling firearms illegally denied Monday that they did anything wrong. A-1 Jewelry and Pawn Inc. in Augusta and AAA Pawnbrokers in Hephizbah are among five gun shops in Georgia that are named in the lawsuit, which also targets shops in Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia. New York officials claim the shops supply guns that flow into the city, including some that end up in the hands of criminals. The suit being filed Monday asks the federal court to order supervision and extra training for the dealers. It also seeks some damages and compensation. According to authorities, A-1 Jewelry and Pawn supplied 42 guns used in New York City crimes from 1994 to 2001, including the killing of a Bronx man and a drive-by shooting in Brooklyn. Earl Driggers, the owner of A-1 Jewelry and Pawn, said his store has cooperated with authorities in a sting operation in the past, but was not a target of the probe. He believes he has always complied with the law. He said that once someone passes a background check and is sold a gun, it's impossible for gun stores to control who the buyer gives that gun to."


Gun rights advancing across the country: "Well, it's been a pretty good year so far. GOA-supported legislation has passed in several state legislatures, and in many cases, the final vote tallies have been overwhelmingly pro-gun. Good bills that have now become law would allow gun owners to 'Stand their Ground' when attacked, to carry concealed firearms in their home state, and to be free from the fear of gun confiscation during a state of emergency. The last of these the 'emergency powers' reform bills -- have been introduced at both the federal and state levels."

NC: Man shot as robbers try to loot poker game: "A Hickory man was in stable condition Monday after an early-morning poker game over the weekend ended with an exchange of gunfire, police said. Carl Edward Merritt, 66, told police the shooting happened while he was playing cards with several other men around 3 a.m. Saturday in a storage shed behind a house in the 600 block of Ninth Avenue Drive S.E. Three or four masked men, at least one of them armed, burst into the shed and attempted to rob them, police Lt. Thurman Whisnant said. Merritt pulled out his own handgun and fired but was shot twice in the abdomen, police said. The robbers ran, and Merritt went to a nearby emergency medical services building."


TX: Home invader shot four times: "A 20-year-old man was shot four times Monday while forcing his way into an apartment in southwest Fort Worth, police said. On Tuesday, he was recovering but facing assault charges. ... According to a police report, Eric Johnson, 24, answered a knock at the door of his apartment and was confronted by two men. A man later identified as Kirby pushed the door open and entered the apartment, the report said. 'That suspect pointed a revolver at the complainant and said 'you know what this is,''according to the report. Johnson grabbed the revolver and began wrestling with Kirby; he then pulled a revolver from his own waistband and fired four rounds into Kirby's body, the report said."

AZ: New self-defense law won't apply in Fish trial: "A county judge has ruled a new law that makes it easier for people to claim self defense will not be applied in the case of Harold Fish, accused of shooting Grant Kuenzli at a trailhead in Pine on May 11, 2004. In response, the defense has requested Fish's trial be put on hold until the matter can be appealed to a higher court. The judge denied that request. Coconino County Superior Court Judge Mark Moran ruled Tuesday that the new law, which changes the burden of proof from the defense to the prosecution, does not apply in Fish's case, currently in trial. The defense argued the law applies to the Fish case because the change is a procedural one, which state law allows to be applied to cases filed before the law went into effect. The prosecution argued that the law does not apply because the change is a substantive one, and therefore, because Fish was charged under the old law, the old law still applies."


Guns, gun laws, and liberty: "The heart of virtually every citizen of America went out to the family of little Kayla Rolland after a classmate took her life with a .32 caliber revolver on February 29 in Mt. Morris, Michigan. As with the Columbine High School shootings in Colorado last year, we all feel pained and distraught about such senseless violence, and we wonder what has gone wrong and what can be done to prevent any recurrences. In the wake of these tragedies, legislators in every state are taking up the issue of gun control. The challenge is to express appropriate grief and concern about these things without allowing hyped emotions, rhetorical window-dressing, or futile 'quick fixes' to rule the day. Political jockeying to prove who is most outraged by violence must not overwhelm facts, logic, and experience."

CHP buys Smith & Wessons again: "The California Highway Patrol is buying 9,700 semi-automatic pistols from gun maker Smith & Wesson Corp. in a deal the CHP says is worth $6.6 million. Delivery of the .40-caliber firearms will start in June and be completed over the next 18 months, Smith & Wesson Vice President Liz Sharp said. The new firearms will replace older Smith & Wesson pistols that CHP officers have carried as their primary service weapon since the 1990s, Sharp said. Leland Nichols, Smith & Wesson�s chief operating officer, said the Springfield, Mass.-based company was �honored� that California�s premier law enforcement agency had decided to stick with his company�s guns. �They are happy with the brand and happy with the reliability and durability,� Nichols said. �They have some units that have fired over 100,000 rounds.� The 4006TSW pistols, which weigh 37.8 ounces each, are made in Springfield and sell in stores for between $850 and $996 each, the latter the suggested retail price on the company�s Web site".


National Rifle Association convention begins Friday: "The 135th annual meeting of the National Rifle Association is expected to attract 60,000 gun advocates to downtown Milwaukee this weekend in celebration and defense of the 2nd Amendment, organizers say. Those convention-goers will come more than anything else for the "acres of guns and gear" in the exhibit halls, said Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's executive vice president. Others will come to see flamboyant NRA board member Ted Nugent; still others to hear retired Gen. Tommy Franks - an architect of the 2003 Iraq invasion - deliver a keynote address Saturday night. Some will come to place an order for guns that will be shipped to their homes after they clear background checks. Many more will buy non-weapon gear that will be sold at more than 300 booths. "The convention is a celebration of the American freedom we have to own firearms," LaPierre said. "It will be an uplifting event on firearms, hunting, recreation shooting, collecting, self-defense, crime protection and defending our 2nd Amendment rights to own and bear arms. "We view ourselves as the second line of defense in defending the Bill of Rights.""


Progress in Michigan: "Michigan is closer to having more forgiving self defense laws. Lawmakers in Lansing discussed deadly force legislation Tuesday. Some groups, like the National Rifle Association, say the laws will make Michigan a safer place. Others, like Million Mom March members, worry they're a license to kill. Inside the State Senate's law committee some strong emotions provoked a little disorder. Darin Goens of the National Rifle Association said, �There is a need for this bill. People are under attack every day in this country.� Shikha Hamilton of Million Moms March said, �We have a right to self defense, but these bills do not deter crime, but invite unsavory behavior.� The sponsor of the bills supporting someone's right to use deadly force - even outside their home - is the former Eaton County Sheriff. Rep. Rick Jones of Grand ledge said, �If you actually believe you are feeling great imminent threat of death, or imminent rape� Representative Jones' proposal would also give immunity to people who kill in self defense... After today's action there were 5 affirmatives and 2 no votes. The laws will soon go to the full senate".

Air Canada alienates customers over guns: "Air Canada recently announced a new policy effective June 1, 2006: unloaded firearms will be subject to a $65 one-way handling fee because the airline views them as 'dangerous goods.' An interesting claim, given the guidelines from Transport Canada, which regulates air travel safety among other things, states in its Dangerous Goods Standard Notice No. 17 Item No. 4: 'The Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (TDGR) does not regulate the transport of unloaded firearms as there are no dangerous goods present.' When questioned on the new policy, Air Canada Customer Solutions Representative Ryan Dickson stated 'The new firearms handling charge per one-way journey brings firearms handling in line with other special baggage that requires incremental manual handling.'"


The latest potshot at guns is getting me all riled up: "The New York Times, always keeping a weather eye for new evidence that guns are dangerous, reported last week that men who handle guns get more stirred up than men who handle children's board games. ... But all of this misses the point. A more insidious danger than guns is the rush to medicalize behavior. Let's stipulate that handling a gun causes testosterone levels to rise. Let's also concede that elevated testosterone levels are associated with aggression. So what? Does this tell us anything important or new? ... The important question is, 'So what?' Prohibitionists were correct that alcohol affects the brain a heck of a lot more than handling a gun does. Do we need a new study to tell us that? And when it does, should we bring back Prohibition?"

Antigun indoctrination fails: "Hans Van Themsche, an 18 year old high-school student who had just been expelled from boarding school for smoking in the dormitories, went berserk and set out on a bloody rampage in Antwerp. In the morning he shaved his head down to the neck. He put on combat boots and a black leather outfit and went to a store of sporting and hunting gear to buy a rifle. Dressed as a �Goth� he walked through town and shot at three people who crossed his path: a veiled Turkish woman, a two year old Flemish toddler on a tricycle and her black nanny, killing the latter two and seriously wounding the first. A policeman was able to neutralise the student by shooting him in the stomach. He is currently in hospital, recovering from the wound..... Luc Deprez, the schoolmaster, said that Hans Van Themsche, who turned 18 last February, was an intelligent and courteous boy. According to the judicial authorities, who questioned his parents, there are no indications that the murderer was raised �in a racist or violent environment.� The murderer�s aunt, Frieda Van Themsche, confirmed that the boy has been raised in a family where he and his brothers were even forbidden to play with toy guns."


New York looks for someone else to blame for its failed gun policies: "New York City Monday opened another avenue of attack in its fight against illegal guns, announcing a federal lawsuit against 15 out-of-state stores the city claims have sold dozens of weapons that were later used in crimes. The complaint, filed in the Eastern District of New York, alleges that the dealers knowingly or negligently sold firearms to "straw" buyers who acted at the behest of others who would have been barred by federal law from buying handguns, such as convicted felons. Their acts, the suit says, have contributed to a public nuisance that endangers New Yorkers. The dealers -- located in Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia -- were singled out based on data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that the city received in 2001 and before. In recent weeks, the city hired private investigators to travel to about 45 stores and simulate straw purchases, capturing them on videotape. The 15 defendants all allowed the allegedly illegal purchases, the city said.

SAF: Junk science is bad ammo: "A study limited to 30 male students at a small Illinois college that claims handling firearms 'primes men for aggression' by raising their testosterone levels is being dismissed as junk science by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF). According to the Associated Press, psychologists at Knox College put test subjects in a bare room in which they found, on a table, either a board game called Mouse Trap or a large handgun. They were instructed to disassemble either the gun or the game and write directions for the disassembly and reassembly. Researchers measured testosterone levels through saliva samplings before and after the test, and found that levels rose sharply in the men who handled the gun, but not the game. ... 'Based on this,' marveled SAF founder Alan Gottlieb, 'these people are claiming that merely handling firearms makes men more aggressive, because they want to play what amounts to a practical joke on the next guy. We're not certain what this questionable research indicates, other than the strong possibility that researchers at Knox College have far too much time on their hands, and maybe ought to think about getting real jobs.'"


India: Man fires at burglars, injures one: "An advocate in Bharuch thwarted a burglary attempt in his house early on Tuesday morning by firing at the four robbers with his licensed weapon, injuring one of them. The three others managed to escape on a motorcycle before the police arrived at the spot. According to the complainant, senior advocate Bhadrasinh Raj, the burglars had already broken into the ground-floor drawing room of his two-storey house. 'After locking myself and my wife in the bedroom I warned the robbers from inside that I will fire at them if they did not leave. When they attempted to break open my bedroom door, I fired one round,' said Raj in his complaint to Bharuch Town police. The pistol shot penetrated through his bedroom door and caught Supansingh Sikligar on his waist. As an injured Supansingh fell to the ground, his other three aides fled in their motorcycle before the police arrived."

Firearms, liberty and regulation: "Few issues in America are more controversial than guns. Yet even among hot-button topics in American public life, there is something perverse about the dynamics of the debate over guns.. Polling data for decades have shown that most Americans favor stronger gun laws. Indeed, surveys demonstrate that such policies are even supported by most gun owners. Yet pundits and political soothsayers have written off this issue because it is perceived to be a loser at the polls. Gun rights and gun control have long histories. Although both sides in the great American gun debate have claimed to have history on their side, each has presented a version of the past that is highly selective."


Female burglar cops it in Sacramento: "Mike Smith was asleep Thursday afternoon, in the bedroom of his La Riviera Drive home, when the sound of metal grating on wood entered his dream. The sound jarred him awake. Fear jabbed at him: Someone had broken into his house. He grabbed a .38-caliber Walther and his cell phone. He dialed 911 and stepped into a hallway. He saw the silhouette of a man through the blinds of his bedroom window. Then a woman walked into his foyer and looked at him with shock. Before him was a heavyset woman with brown hair pulled into a ponytail. He'd never seen her before. Smith locked eyes with her. As she stepped toward him, he cradled the phone against his shoulder, knelt on one knee, gripped the handgun with both hands and fired several times. The woman ran outdoors. The man seen at the window fled.... Smith, 37, a security consultant for a private investigator, said he was ill Thursday and sleeping with a fan cooling him and drowning out street noise. He believes the woman slipped under the garage door of the home in the 8400 block of La Riviera Drive. She apparently then entered the home through a door that was chipped away near the deadbolt. Because he believed he would be harmed, Smith said, he fired the handgun for the first time outside of a shooting range. Sacramento police dispatchers had broadcast the woman's description to officers who rushed to the scene and detained her as she ran from Smith's house. Marshall said she was treated for nonfatal injuries and was in stable condition. She has been arrested on suspicion of burglary, although her identity had not been confirmed. The male burglary suspect remains at large, Marshall said.

Stand Your Ground Movement: "Citizens For A Safer Minnesota have a most mistaken notion of that state's adoption of the Stand Your Ground movement. In their April 4th, 2006 press release, Citizens For A Safer Minnesota referred to the Florida birthplace of that movement and cited three incidents where people died in the commission of a crime. The thrust of the position is that the law promotes murder as the recent experience with its new legislation. ... Mistaken again, Mrs. Brady announces that the people of Florida are somehow identical to the criminal shooters, the hot-heads, the aggressive who shouldn't even be in possession of any weapon, madam. The acts Brady cites are likely criminal in nature, and not at all likely to meet a standard of self-defense. Her angle is that the Stand Your Ground doctrine is applied as a legal defense in indictment for criminal acts. Mrs. Brady conveniently -- intentionally, I believe -- ignores the facts that the law does not shield individuals who are part of a crime, or an ongoing altercation or shouldn't even have a weapon -- any weapon, Mrs. Brady -- to begin with. The law is much more sensible than Mrs. Brady will admit."


PA: 19-year-old shot by resident: "A 19-year-old man was shot in the chest yesterday when he allegedly broke into an apartment and got into a dispute with the resident about money, Carnegie police said. ... Around noon yesterday, a man living in the 900 block of Charles Street called Carnegie police to tell them that someone had broken into his apartment and they fought about money. He fired a shot, but didn't know if he'd hit the intruder. When police arrived at the residence, they found a .22-caliber rifle, but no gunshot victim. Then, officers learned that someone who'd been shot had just been found in front of the fire station in nearby Scott."


WA: Armed clerk saves city councilman: "Tacoma police were looking Wednesday for the driver of a late-model black Jaguar who attacked Tacoma City Councilman Rick Talbert in the parking lot of a downtown dry cleaner. Talbert, 40, said he was hit in the face and back and pushed into his pickup during the altercation shortly before noon Tuesday. The attacker threatened to kill Talbert and was reaching behind his back as if for a gun when an armed clerk came out of the cleaners and ordered the man to back off, Talbert said."