Michigan: Vigilante dies in shoot-out: "A 41-year-old Detroit man was killed in a shoot-out Sunday while playing vigilante in northwest Detroit, police said.The man kicked in the door of a house in the 15000 block of Indiana Street about 12:30 p.m. to accuse the homeowner, a 40-year-old man, of raping a mutual acquaintance, police said. Both men were armed with guns. The 41-year-old shot the homeowner in the knee. The homeowner shot the intruder in the abdomen, killing him."


Why target firearm owners? "Is the possession of firearms a burning problem in Oregon that needs to be outlawed even if the Constitution allows it? The answer, of course, is no. Oregon has plenty of issues, the widespread misuse of illegal meth among them. But the ownership of firearms by law-abiding people is no problem at all.So why did the Oregon Senate's Judiciary Committee introduce a bill that would make owning any of a long list of specific firearms a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine?"


UK: Shooters defend right to keep airguns: "Gun associations have pleaded for an end to 'knee-jerk' calls for a ban on airguns following the death of two-year old Andrew Morton. Sporting organisations have told the Sunday Herald that they fear their hobby may end if a ban on the weapons is introduced. There are an estimated five or six million air pistols and air rifles in the UK. ... Colin Shedden, Scottish director of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, said that a crackdown on ownership of airguns would not be practical. 'A licensing scheme or outright ban would be unworkable -- there are millions of airguns in the UK,' he said. 'It would present a massive problem for those who need airguns for pest control or take part in shooting as a sport.'"

Arizona: Gun enthusiasts push public school training: "Gun-rights advocates say they have the answer to Jonathan's problem. They want public schools to teach students how to use shotguns and rifles. With the help of Arizona Game and Fish officials, firearms enthusiasts have been quietly shepherding a bill through the Legislature that would encourage schools to offer a semesterlong elective, combining the use of laser replicas on campus and field trips to shooting ranges. Landis Aden, a lobbyist for the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association, said the class would teach children safe ways to deal with the kinds of weapons he says are found in up to half of Arizona households."


California: Robber shot to death by gas station owner: "The owner of a Beacon gas station on Charter Way exchanged gunfire with a robber early Monday, killing him in what police say appears to be a case of justifiable homicide. Investigators believe a second robber, whom the businessman also may have shot, remains at large, said Officer Sean Fenner, spokesman for the Stockton Police Department. ... Police said the incident began when Rubio drove up in an older gold Saab, entered the small convenience store and looked around. He tried to rob the business owner at gunpoint when other customers left. The two men fired at each other, Fenner said. Rubio died on the sidewalk in front of G.K. Tires, a few steps away from the gas station."


BATFE changes its stripes? "JPFO has just received a rare bit of good news about the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In at least one area of operations, the BATFE is making a dramatic turnaround. The agency is functioning with a new spirit of cooperation toward gun-makers. It began last month. The new attitude was inspired by the actions of heroic firearms manufacturer ... Len Savage, ... the owner of Historic Arms, which makes semi-automatic versions of famous military rifles. ... The BATFE's first response ... was predictable and typical. Within two days, they declared that a firearm Len had sent for their approval ... was an 'illegal machine gun' ... [and] confiscated the gun. But ... [i]nstead of bowing down, Len kept on fighting. He fought not only for his own rights, but he kept making noise about other BATFE injustices. The BATFE must have realized it had an unusual, and intransigent, opponent."

GIRLY GUN-USER

It was shooting time, and Deborah Courtney politely excused herself to reapply her deep pink lipstick. She headed to the ladies room, black Prada purse in hand. She arrived at the indoor shooting range in a black suit and wine-colored blouse, patterned black nylons and black boots with 4-inch heels. Sort of the stylishly functional business look she had the day she was raped nearly five years ago.

The brutal sexual assault transformed Courtney into one of Orange County's most tireless advocates for victims' rights and a well-known Second Amendment activist who supports the right of women to defend themselves by using firearms as "equalizers." Her lipstick reapplied, Courtney pulled some neon-pink earplugs out of an Elizabeth Arden cosmetics case and wrapped her manicured fingers around the barrel of "Rock,'' her 9 mm Glock. "Oh, I forget to breathe," Courtney told instructor T.J. Johnston after firing at a target 15 feet away at Evan's Gunsmithing World in Orange. "Inhale as you bring (the gun) up, exhale and then fire," Johnston corrected her.

Courtney relishes her role as a "girly girl" shooter in a male-dominated arena, but her aim is dead serious. In addition to pushing to strengthenMegan's Law by requiring that information on convicted sex offenders be posted on the Internet, she advocates making it easier for Californians to obtain concealed-weapons permits. "This is about much more than me becoming proficient in firearms just for the hell of it," said Courtney, a 44-year- old mortgage broker. "This is about empowering women to be able to defend themselves, rather than becoming victims of crime. Sometime I get angry that I have to spend all this time doing (advocacy), but God puts good people in bad places sometimes to see how they handle the adversity, and to see if they will rise up to the challenge of helping others."

The Orange County Register does not identify victims of sexual assault, but Courtney granted permission for this story. Her desire to put a face on female victims of violent crime has won kudos. "She truly has a passion for changing the way victims are traditionally viewed, and her entire paradigm is turning victims into victors," says Judi Fouladi, a criminal-defense attorney who met Courtney through the Aliso Viejo Republican Women Federation. "Deborah's entire focus is assisting those who are primarily in a psychological state of extreme emotional trauma, and giving them a sense of hope and the future."

The air was thick with the stench of gunpowder when Courtney put her Glock back into her black nylon range bag, next to her gun belt with the rhinestone-flower buckle.

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NC GUN EVANGELIST

Ted Nugent, self-proclaimed "Mother Teresa with a Glock," appeared at Sunday's Dixie Deer Classic to deliver a "whack 'em and stack 'em" call to arms among American outdoorsmen. His "big bubba campfire" gave him a standing ovation. The three take-home lessons from "The Nuge":

* Persuade the state to legalize hunting on Sundays: "You can go to a topless bar on Sunday. Is that more religious?"

* Persuade everybody at work to be a card-carrying member of the National Rifle Association: "If you're not a member of the NRA, you're no friend of mine."

* Persuade your kid's school principal to let you bring in an M16 to show-and-tell to teach children about environmental stewardship: "They will handle them. Will they handle them under your supervision or otherwise?"

Uncle Ted also had some advice for the kiddies. "Kids, you say that war is not the answer," the father of four intoned. "That's what Ozzy [Osbourne] says, and he's retarded." Nugent, an anti-drug rock guitarist and best-selling author of the cookbook "Kill It and Grill It," headlined the state's premier hunting expo, now in its 25th year. The weekend event showcased "high maintenance camo" -- camouflage designed for and by women -- and a gun sling invented by a father-and-son team. It wrapped up Sunday, with nearly 20,000 attendees, coinciding with the Woman's Club of Raleigh's Spring Antiques Show at the N.C. State Fairgrounds. Other featured speakers at the Classic included Charlton Heston's replacement at the NRA, Kayne Robinson, a fast-drawing handgun artist who can split playing cards mid-air, and a world-class wild game caller.

The Classic's sponsor, the Wake County Wildlife Club, had been working since 1999 to score Nugent, said admissions manager Larry Tysor, who helped negotiate the staunch conservative's $25,000 fee. Nugent said he would donate the fee to his Kamp for Kids in Brighton, Mich., where children can get certified in how to operate a bow. "He's the man that stands up for all of us," Tysor said. "All of us guys in sports."

Wearing a wild animal print sleeveless shirt, Nugent, 57, spewed venom about the "Dan Rather-ing going on out there against our rights to be part of the two-fanged law of the natural world," in between sips of bottled water. "Whenever you hear the words 'animal rights,' you just need to go out and kill a bunch of stuff," said Nugent, who keeps a laser-shooting rig in his dressing room.

Criticized by some as bloodthirsty and brash, the Motor City Madman, who lives in Crawford, Texas, and attended a private inaugural event for the president, says he's weighing a bid for governor of Michigan. After the 40-minute talk, John Dale Wiles, 7, of Elkin presented Nugent with a knife that his father carved out of a deer horn. Nugent promised to "get it bloody" and reminded the young hunter to do his chores. Later, he signed autographs for a line backed up to the wild turkey and water fowl feed stand. Rob Walker, a countertop installer in Raleigh wearing a patriotic windbreaker, camouflage pants and a baseball cap stitched with "Whackmaster," said Nugent refuses to candycoat the truth. "You don't like what Ted says, don't listen," said Walker, whose 6-year-old jams to Nugent's "Stranglehold."

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SAF applauds California appeals court dismissal of gun lawsuits: "The lawsuit had originally been dismissed by California Superior Court Judge Vincent P. DiFiglia in March 2003. The lawsuits, filed by Berkeley, Compton, Inglewood, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, and West Hollywood, and the counties of San Mateo and Alameda, alleged that gun makers engaged in unfair trade practices and that resulted in criminal misuse of firearms, causing a 'public nuisance.' The First Appellate District, Division One, in the Court of Appeals of the State of California upheld the dismissal."

Observations on Weapons From Iraq

Email from a reader:

Picked up a copy of a one-off magazine called COMBAT ARMS this week. It's from the publishers of Guns & Ammo. Lot of good, interesting articles, including one titled "Iraq: Lessons From The Sandbox" by Richard Venola. He was given unfettered access to a bunch of Marines back from a tour there, to discuss weapons, what worked, what didn't, etc. Some of the more interesting excerpts:

"Twenty years later, the Beretta 92F is still here, like a party guest you were pressured to invite and who now won't leave. It works, is accepted, but unloved. Beretta's design doesn't seem to be the issue, and with 40,000 Crimson Trace Laser grips headed into the system, it's going to be significantly upgraded - but caliber IS the issue."

"What is notable about its (the AK 47) use in Iraq is the total lack of anything approaching aimed fire. Lance Corporal Isaac McKay put it simply: "They just stick it around the corner and that's it," he says Images from television invariably show insurgents doing 'spray and pray' or 'Beirut Offhand' on front of the TV cameras. Bob says he asked a former sergeant in the Medina division (now in the new Iraqi army) to demonstrate the proper technique for firing the AK. The Iran-Iraq and Desert Storm veteran put it on his hip and sprayed in a wide arc. Fortuantely for us, a lot of this has to do with Islamic fatalism, the 'If Allah wills it, it will hit' attitude."

"In Fallujah, Marines with ACOG-equipped M16A4s created a stir by taking so many head shots that until the wounds were closely examined, some observers thought the insurgents had been executed. Since then the Corps has split (as usual) into East Coast and West Coast schools. The Lejeunites want to go with a special DMR AR (SAM-R) variant with a free-floating barrel (some say in 6.8 mm SPC) while the Pendeltonians just want to put an ACOG on a regular M16A4"

"A man can see a window and hit it with iron sights, but a scope sees INTO that window and can hit a target inside."

"Troop leaders are concerned about the rise of an unusual and dangerous form of indiscipline: Men are failing to report serious wounds for fear of having to be medevace'd. Morale among the combat units is so high that men will risk courts-martial, maiming or death to stay with their buddies in the fight. How's that for a leadership challenge?"

"Such is the current public awe for snipers that the next generation of barroom BS artists will all say they were 'snipers with Recon' just as the RVN generation blowhards were all 'Green Berets working for the CIA'."

" 'Johnny Jihad likes a stand-up infantry fight,' says Bob. 'It's their macho thing.' According to others, the Jihadists like to squirt a burst at a patrol and then fall back if something heavier is fired back. But if the Americans swap rifle fire with them, they'll bunch up to encourage Achmed or whomever is doing the firing. Marines entertain them in this manner while they coordinate mortars and air support."

"Whatever you have noticed about the continuing fighting in the wake of 9/11, the part that stands out is the lopsided kill ratio. In this case, a lot of the credit goes to the drug war right here at home. Door kicking on crack houses has refined our urban entry techniques. The main differences are that the Iraqis don't have a pit bull and our guys aren't throwing stun grenades."




California: Guard Wroe weighs plea agreement: "Dameon K. Wroe has four days to make what might be the hardest decision of his life. The security guard, who fatally shot a man at a Rancho Cucamonga apartment complex, must choose by Wednesday whether to admit to a crime he doesn't believe he committed, or gamble at trial and risk decades behind bars. 'It's a deal where you need to think very long and very hard before you reject it,' a judge told him Friday. Wroe fatally shot 19-year-old Michael Krause Jr. at the Sycamore Springs Apartments in Rancho Cucamonga on New Year's Day 2004. Prosecutors allege Wroe shot Krause while Krause was following the guard's orders to leave the apartment's gated parking lot. Wroe, 33, claims he fired in self-defense after Krause twice tried to run him over with a pickup."




Arizona: Gun bill approved by Senate: "Carrying your loaded gun into a bar or restaurant that serves alcohol would be legal -- as long as you don't drink -- under a bill that passed Thursday in the Senate. 'There are already guns in bars and restaurants now, but they are brought in by the criminals,' said Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu, who supported Senate Bill 1363. 'If we don't allow law-abiding citizens to protect themselves, we're doing a great disservice to the public.' The bill passed by a vote of 17-11 and now moves on to the House where supporters are confident there are enough votes for passage. Last year a similar bill passed the House, but fell one vote short in the Senate."

GUN PROTECTS A 93 YEAR OLD

John P. Thomas Jr. retired from the Oakland Police Department almost 40 years ago, but that didn't stop him from taking action March 1 when two men made two separate attempts to break into his East Oakland house. "I was sitting here in the front room around quarter after three, and I saw this van pull up," Thomas said Friday, recalling how his police instincts kicked in. "Something told this old retired policeman to go out and get the license number.And then I sat down again and started reading the sports page." While he was reading, the doorbell began to ring repeatedly. Said Thomas, a widower who lives alone: "The next thing I know, these two guys are going into my back yard."

Thomas saw them go behind his house and then heard a sound at his window just five feet away. "I heard it first and then saw them fooling around with the window," he said. "I knocked once, and they ran." Despite the pair's quick retreat, Thomas' day was far from over. Both men eventually returned and began prying off the screen.

He got his service pistol from his bedroom, "the one that was issued in 1943," Thomas said. "I got me a gun out of retirement � like me." Thomas left his house through the back and began to walk toward the men, gun in hand. "Somehow or other they smelled me," he said. The men saw Thomas coming and ran away. Thomas called 9-1-1 to report what happened and provide a license plate number for the van.

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A GREAT SUCCESS FOR CANADIAN GUN CONTROL

A bagpiper played �Amazing Grace� and flags flew at half-staff Friday as Canadians grappled with the deadliest attack on police officers in 120 years, after four Mounties were slain during a raid on a marijuana farm in a rural western hamlet. The slayings stunned a nation that prides itself on far fewer acts of gun violence than its neighbor to the south. �Canadians are shocked by this brutality and join me in condemning the violent acts that brought about these deaths,� Prime Minister Paul Martin said. He has called for a moment of silence before opening his Liberal Party�s annual conference later Friday.

The four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers had been investigating a farm in Mayerthorpe, a small hamlet of some 1,300 people in western Alberta province. Spokesman Cpl. Wayne Oakes said the four Mounties and the suspected gunman were found in a Quonset hut on the farm late Thursday. A government source told The Canadian Press the suspect killed himself after shooting the officers..... The suspect was identified by police as 46-year-old James Roszko. Authorities said he had a long criminal record, including the use of illegal firearms and sexual assault. Oakes said the Mounties were investigating reports of stolen property and marijuana on Roszko�s property.

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Texas: Bar owner shoots and kills suspected burglar in parking lot "A bar owner apparently shot and killed an alleged would-be burglar at his business early Monday morning. Harris County Sheriff's deputies were called to the Circle M Bar and Grill on Telge at 5am. Before they got there, the call was upgraded to a shooting. Deputies arrived to find Kevin Miller, 22, in the parking lot. He had been shot in the stomach. The bar owner, Robert Mitchell, was also in the parking lot, armed with a pistol. Miller was taken to Cy-Fair Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Deputies say Mitchell, who lives nearby the bar, was responding to a burglar alarm at the business when he encountered Miller. The two apparently had a confrontation in the parking lot, and Miller was shot several times."

Maine picks on gun owners: "A gun and ammunition tax that would create a fund to increase security at the state's courthouses has been proposed by several members of the Legislature's Judiciary Committee. The 7 percent tax would be in addition to the 5 percent state sales tax that consumers already pay when they buy guns and ammunition from licensed dealers in the state. George Smith, executive director of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, said on Monday that while the organization supports improved security at courthouses, it would oppose the bill. "Making law abiding citizens who are gun owners pay the entire cost of something that serves all the people is the wrong approach," he said. "I can't see any justification in this particular funding source. Why not knives and other items?"

South Africa: Last chance for illegal gun owners: "Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula says people in possession of illegal firearms and ammunition have until the end of this month to hand these to the police. The amnesty that entails indemnity against prosecution for possessing firearms and ammunition illegally commenced 1 January and will end on 31 March. The Minister said there had since been a steady flow of firearms and ammunition handed in at police stations across the country. In this regard, about 5 395 illegal guns had been confiscated, 2 787 found and 7 881 were brought to the police voluntarily."

FED UP STORE-CLERK HITS BACK

"A convenience store clerk who shot and killed a robber Wednesday night had a relative who was shot and killed while working at a different store a few months ago. Around 11 p.m. Wednesday a clerk at Midtown Food Mart on Berryhill Road near the intersection of Freedom Drive shot and killed a suspected robber. According to police, Jamie Mareno, 26, had just robbed the store when the clerk shot him. Mareno died on the way to the hospital. Investigators say so far the clerk has not been charged. According to a police report, Mareno was armed with a handgun.

A clerk working at the store Thursday said the owner and his son were working during the robbery. He was not sure which one pulled the trigger. He also told us about the relative who was shot during a robbery in January at the Midtown Food Mart on Shamrock Road. He said the relative died after spending a month in the hospital. "They aren't hurting anyone. They're doing a good thing having a store in the neighborhood," one regular customer of the store said Thursday. "With their uncle being shot, they're just fed up." "Who wants to be robbed? They could have been killed," said customer Latoya Graham. "You can't trust people with guns."

Police are still looking for a suspect in the January incident where the clerk was shot and killed. It will be up to the DA to decide if charges should be filed in Wednesday's shooting.

This is the second time in less than a week police are investigating a robbery that ended with a suspect shot and killed. Three masked men armed with guns stormed a shoe store on East Sugar Creek Road and took cash from the register and started to rob customers. The manager pulled out his own gun and shot two of the robbers. One of the suspects was killed and the other was seriously hurt. Police are still looking for the third robber and the manager is moving out of the state because he is worried about retaliation".

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Prosecutors craved a token victory: "A former cab driver has pleaded guilty to a weapons charge for fatally shooting a passenger who had slashed his throat with scissors during a robbery. The case of John Lutters, 46, of Seymour, had reached the State Supreme Court after a judge ruled that the taxi driver did not need a gun permit while on the job. The prosecution had acknowledged that Lutters acted in self-defense and called the killing justified, but continued to pursue the weapon charge. Lutters avoided having to serve any prison time, according to the terms of the plea bargain agreement. He will be on conditional discharge for two years."


Non-fatal weapon opposed. How kind!: "Scientists have reacted angrily to the revelation that the US military is funding development of a weapon intended to deliver an 'excrutiating bout of pain' from over a mile away. The 'Pulsed Energy Projectile' (PEP) device 'fires a laser pulse that generates a burst of expanding plasma when it hits something solid,' the New Scientist explains. If you happen to be that something solid, then you get temporarily incapacitated without suffering permanent injury. That's the theory, but pain reasearchers fear that the proposed riot control weapon could be used for torture, and further doubt a solid ethical basis for the research. Andrew Rice, a consultant in pain medicine at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, said: 'Even if the use of temporary severe pain can be justified as a restraining measure, which I do not believe it can, the long-term physical and psychological effects are unknown.'"

S.F. FOLLY: AN ARGUMENT FROM REAL-LIFE

San Francisco gun banners would put residents at the mercy of thugs and drug dealers, and the proof lies just across the bay in Oakland, where a local resident there has had to defend himself for trying to help rid his neighborhood of criminals, according to the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA). CCRKBA points to the case of Patrick McCullough, who recently was surrounded on his property by a gang of about 15 young thugs. Several of them reportedly punched him, one apparently hit him with a tree branch, and a 17-year-old allegedly reached for a gun. That's when McCullough drew his own gun and shot the teen in the arm. McCullough, who has no criminal history, was arrested on suspicion of felony assault.

"Police reportedly see McCullough as a good citizen who stands up to drug dealers," said CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron. "The chairman of a local crime prevention group is urging prosecutors not to charge McCullough. They do not want to see their community turned over to criminals, and prosecuting McCullough sends the wrong signal.

"Yet, across the bay," Waldron continued, "a handful of San Francisco supervisors are sending just such a signal by putting an issue on the ballot to ban handguns. They might as well be telling every honest, law-abiding San Franciscan to move because they're turning over the city to rapists, robbers, burglars, drug dealers and street criminals. And woe be unto any San Francisco resident who tries to defend himself or herself with a firearm.

"It's crazy," Waldron said about the ballot issue. "Bad enough that in Oakland, Mr. McCullough may have to defend himself in court for defending himself against a mob of thugs, but over in San Francisco, citizens won't even have that option. The supervisors want to disarm citizens, leaving them defenseless against an emboldened criminal element. And they'll get bolder, because they know there will be nothing to stop them beyond an outnumbered police force that will be literally overwhelmed when citizens can no longer fight back on their own.

"Gun bans have never accomplished anything, other than to create a safe working environment for criminals," Waldron concluded. "Lunatics may not be running asylums, but fools definitely appear to be in charge in San Francisco. Ultimately, the public will suffer for their folly."

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Not time for gunowners to relax: "With the sunsetting of the 1994 'Assault Weapons Ban' there may be fewer firearms restrictions on the federal level, but gunowners can't relax yet. Well-organized state level gun-prohibitionists are taking up where the feds left off, proposing and enacting draconian laws restricting your rights. ... [instances in California, Iowa, Oregon, Maryland, Washington state and New York cited] ... This is not a coincidence by any stretch of the imagination. No, this is a deliberate, coordinated attack on YOUR right to bear arms."




New Hampshire: Right to bear arms has no legal legs here: "Twenty, maybe even 10 years ago, a high school yearbook photograph of a student with his hunting or trap-shooting guns wouldn't have raised many eyebrows. One might say those were days of relative innocence. But those days are no more., Not since Columbine. Not since 9/11. Consequently, a Londonderry High School skeet-shooter lost his federal court suit, and won't have his senior portrait published in the yearbook with a gun in his arms."

A TEXAS HERO

Mark Wilson, the good Samaritan credited with saving another man's life by jumping into the middle of a gunbattle on Tyler's downtown square, was known for taking life head-on. Friends weren't surprised to hear that the 52-year-old factory employee sacrificed his own life by confronting a gunman firing an AK-47 assault rifle. "He is the type of person who would grab his gun and go," said Lewis George of Dallas, Wilson's former brother-in-law and best friend for 30 years. "If it was me, I would have been running the other way. Mark, he took life head-on."

Wilson was shot several times by David Hernandez Arroyo Sr. during a deadly shooting spree outside the Smith County Courthouse. Arroyo, wearing body armor and armed with a high-powered assault rifle, also killed his ex-wife and wounded his 23-year-old son and three law officers.

Wilson, who lived in a loft apartment on the square, had apparently just returned home after having lunch with a friend when he saw Arroyo walking down the street, shooting people, friends said. Wilson, who had owned a gun range in Tyler, went to the street and confronted Arroyo with a handgun. One eyewitness said they traded shots, initially missing each other until Arroyo hit Wilson. "The gunman walked up to Wilson and shot him while he was on the ground," Tyler Morning Telegraph Publisher Nelson Clyde III is quoted as saying in today's editions of the newspaper. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was sickening."

Arroyo was wearing a military flak jacket and a bulletproof vest. But by distracting Arroyo, police said, Wilson prevented him from fatally shooting his son, David Hernandez Arroyo Jr. "Based on what we can tell, Mr. Wilson may have saved [the younger] Arroyo's life," Tyler Police Chief Gary Swindle said.

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Politicians holster the polemics on gun control: "The national debate over gun rights, for decades among the most searing and divisive of political issues, appears to be all but over in Congress. That means that the assault weapons ban, a signature achievement of gun control advocates that expired last year, probably will not resurface anytime soon. Conversely, congressional leaders and the Bush administration haven't put a priority on efforts to expand gun rights. 'There's a perception that Washington is not the place to take the debate at this moment,' said Saul Cornell, a historian who is director of the Second Amendment Research Center at Ohio State University. He said that politicians on both sides see little advantage in pressing the issue."




Gun control in Canada today: The US tomorrow?: "Canadians firearms owners, like their American counterparts, view their guns as symbols of tradition and independence. Unfortunately this is where any similarity ends. Americans are blessed with the Second Amendment. We in Canada have no such protection. In fact Canadians possess no gun Rights at all."

THE USUAL LEFTIST HYPOCRISY

A Springfield woman who began lobbying against gun violence after her son was shot to death in 2002 was arrested last week when police allegedly found an illegal gun and drugs in her home. Annette "Flirty" Stevens, however, said Monday she's innocent, and the arrest is an attempt by police to get her to give up information about unsolved crime in the city.

The handgun, which had a scratched-off serial number, and drugs allegedly were discovered Friday morning inside Stevens' home in the 2500 block of South 15th Street. Authorities said they obtained a search warrant for the residence as part of an ongoing investigation of a recent series of drive-by shootings. No one has been hurt in the gunplay.....

Although police declined to get into specifics, Stevens has a "close connection" with one of two feuding groups involved in the shootings, Lt. Rickey Davis said Monday.

Stevens, 47, who is free on bond, admitted she does know some of the people allegedly involved in the drive-by shootings. But she said she only knows them because her interest in stopping gun violence - sparked by the shooting death of her son Jericko Clark, 20, on July 13, 2002 - has her in the neighborhoods talking to the youths......

After finding the handgun and drugs, police arrested Stevens at her job. Stevens said she believes the search warrant was obtained illegally. She said no drugs were found in her home. And as for the gun, she admits to having it in the house. But she said it belonged to her son. She didn't find it until six or seven months after he died. Not knowing what to do with it, she wrapped it up, put it in a drawer and forgot about it......

Since her son's death, Stevens has become involved in the anti-gun-violence movement. She helped establish and is president of a Springfield chapter of the Million Mom March, an organization that aims to prevent gun violence. Last fall, she appeared with other anti-gun advocates at a Statehouse news conference to urge federal officials to renew a ban against semiautomatic assault weapons....

Stevens has not been formally connected to any crime directly related to the drive-by shootings. But Friday's discoveries could lead to her being charged with defacing the identification marks on a handgun, manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance and having no valid firearm owner's ID card, police said.

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Ohio: Victims sue businesses for lack of security : "Ohio businesses who chose to deny CHL-holders their Constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense would do well to keep in mind the growing number of victims' families who are deciding that the responsibility for security rests on the business. If Ohio businesses won't allow Ohioans their right to defend themselves, who else but the business should be held responsible?"




Actors' revolt silences the TV guns: "The sound of gunfire is fading from American television. Actors are balking at violent programmes as networks bow to parental pressure to create zones of 'gun-free TV.' Kristin Davis, formerly Charlotte in Sex and the City, and Jeri Ryan, best known as the alien Seven of Nine in the Star Trek spin-off Voyager, have been credited with starting a trend when their agents asked for gunplay to be toned down in their latest dramas, due to be shown in Britain later this year.Last week, as America's top networks began publicising their autumn schedules, Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment, said he found it liberating to make dramas where characters 'don't have to be toting guns all the time.' Campaigners are hoping handguns will follow smoking and drinking into TV oblivion. While characters on the big screen continue to light up, smoking has become rare on television."

California: Neighbors, cops back "snitch" in shooting: "A North Oakland man branded a 'snitch' because he reports and photographs drug dealers around his home may face assault charges after shooting and wounding a 16-year-old neighbor who confronted him in his front yard. Neighbors and police have rallied to the defense of Patrick McCullough, who they believe only shot the youth in self-defense. The youth's mother is pressing the district attorney to file charges. Deputy District Attorney James Lee said Friday his investigation of the Feb. 18 incident is over and a decision should be made next week. Lee could be charged with assault or carrying a concealed weapon, or not charged at all, Lee said."


Russia: Surviving the asphalt jungle without a gun: "Under Big Brother's watchful eye, Soviet citizens were meant to feel perpetually safe and secure -- or else. The idea of a personal weapon, even a non-lethal one, was ideologically subversive, marking the citizen's individuality, personal freedom and dignity that were deemed inappropriate in the Socialist paradise. ... Even karate, while quite popular in the USSR in the 1970s, was outlawed by the Soviet government in 1984 but managed to survive in 'underground' clubs until 1989 when the ban was lifted. ... [T]here will always be a demand for a legitimate arms market, the weapon enthusiasts -- and survivalist community growing each day -- firearms ban or no firearms ban. And while Russian gun lovers may still be waiting for their Messiah, a Russian Charlton Heston, if you will, it�s always possible to obtain a hunting license and legally purchase your own personal weapon."


Illinois: Victim disarmament pols seek .50 caliber ban: "Anti-gun lawmakers are seeking a ban on .50-caliber 'sniper rifles,' saying they're favored by terrorists and can shoot down aircraft from a range of more than 2,000 yards -- though they don't appear to be tied to any crimes here in the last decade, a Chicago Sun-Times analysis shows. A spokesman for the National Rifle Association, which is pushing dozens of its own bills in the General Assembly, vowed to fight the sniper-rifle legislation backed by Representatives Elaine Nekritz (D-Northbrook) and Beth Coulson (R-Glenview)."

FEINSTEIN ON A LOSER

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein renewed one of Washington's long- running and most bitterly fought battles Friday, saying she will introduce legislation seeking to reinstate the federal assault weapons ban that expired in September after 10 years. Gun control has been a signature issue for Feinstein since she arrived in the Senate in 1993. But the odds she faces to pass the weapons ban in the current Congress are probably steeper than they were in 1993, when the Senate narrowly approved the ban, or last March, when it passed 52-47 before dying in the body.

November's election increased the 100-member Senate's number of Republicans from 51 to 55, and there are at least four new solid votes against Feinstein's proposal. In the House, gun control advocates face an even tougher time because Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, have said they won't let the renewal legislation come up for a vote.

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Stun guns will soon be available for ordinary citizens: "The Taser guns currently used by the military and police will soon be in the hands of ordinary citizens. Taser International has announced plans to offer a $1000 version of its electric weapon to the general market. The guns are somewhat controversial, though, with some saying that they can cause cardiac arrest. The company states that there is no link between cardiac arrest and its products."

Israel: police to seize guns of "dangerous settlers": "Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra said Tuesday that police will confiscate arms of people whom the General Security Service determines are 'dangerous.' Most residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza (Yesha) have either private handguns or rifles from the army for guard duty in their communities and for reserve duty. Ezra said police will take the weapons from certain residents before implementation of the evacuation. Several politicians have said they are afraid that some Yesha residents will open fire on defense forces, despite repeated calls by Yesha leaders for non-violent opposition."


California: Safe shooting can be a stress-reliever: "Most people would agree, guns can be a topic that can generate strident legal arguments. But for a steadily growing segment of the population, the ownership of firearms isn't about staking out part of a vociferous Constitution argument. Shooting guns, some folks say, is an act that's just plain fun -- maybe even therapeutic. 'It's hard to explain, really,' said Sherie Smalley, a Fairfield pathologist who took up target and sport shooting seriously just last year. 'There's something about shooting that allows me to release tension after a long day and re-center myself,' Smalley said during an interview at The Shooting Gallery in Vacaville."

ILLINOIS STOUSH

Is "stoush" understood in America or is it just Australian slang? At its most literal, it means a punchup, a fight

As the gun lobby flooded the Statehouse with supporters Wednesday, a major showdown began shaping up in the House between members who back Mayor Richard Daley's anti-gun package and those who want to loosen weapons restrictions already on the books. Gun-rights supporters flexed their muscle by winning approval in a House committee packed with Downstate lawmakers for a series of pro-gun measures, including bills aimed at watering down Chicago's ban on handguns.

Meanwhile, anti-gun lawmakers on Thursday are queued up to move their own proposals--including measures to limit handgun purchases and ban many assault weapons--through a committee more sympathetic to their position.

That sets the stage for a major confrontation over gun control in the full House in the coming weeks that will pit urban and Downstate lawmakers against each other. It also could pressure Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich to take sides in a politically sensitive battle of which he has tried to steer clear. "Basically, it's going to be a bare-knuckled fistfight on the floor," said Todd Vandermyde, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association.

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India: This ace shooter aiming high: "Ameeta Rani, a participant at the Kila Raipur Games, is not somebody you are likely to miss in a crowd. An avid shooter, Ameeta is pursuing the sport even after recently getting married. Sporting a bright red chura, Anita beat her rivals to come out tops in two of the three shooting events. Sports experts opine that if her talent and skill are nurtured, Punjab too can boast of a sportswoman of high ranking. And what does this young sportswoman wish for? 'Bull's Eye, a rifle, loads of targets and please, please, just one good shooting range.' The 23-year-old shooter won a bronze at the National Shooting Championship at Chennai last year. She has dreams aplenty, but what upsets her is the lack of a world-class shooting range in the state, no rifles and no sponsors either."


The Brady Law doesn't apply to Mrs. Brady?: "In the end, Mrs. Brady can get away with all this, because she knows full well that she will never be prosecuted for breaking her own namesake law. She knows full well that she will be held to different standard than rest of the common herd. In this case, she appears to be right too. However, it begs this question: if Sarah Brady, Sen. Feinstein, Rosie O�Donnell, and all the other hypocrites out there hate guns so much then why would they wish to possess them?"

Taking down outlaws "In their new book, 'Outgunned: True Stories of Citizens Who Stood Up to Outlaws and Won,' the Waters brothers collected accounts of ordinary people taking down the bad men. ... George Birdwell, a member of the 'Pretty Boy' Floyd gang, thought the ... Bank in the all-black town of Boley, Okla., would be easy pickings. But Birdwell and two partners made the mistake of trying to rob the bank on the opening day of hunting season ... the town was filled with armed black farmers. ... dozens of townsmen opened fire ... as they tried to escape, killing one and wounding and capturing the other. Most Americans aren't aware of these stories, Robert Waters said, because of political correctness: We have been taught that guns are evil and used so often for wrong, he said, we forget that they can also be used for right"



Indonesia: Freed skipper sticking to his guns: "Chris Packer says it is still too early to know if three months locked in a cell has made any lasting changes to him, but the experience has done nothing to alter his view that guns are essential on a boat like his. 'They were more trouble than they were worth on this trip,' the champion sailer agreed on completing his prison sentence for failing to declare six weapons. 'But I will always take guns. If I had not had guns on this boat I'd be dead.' His firearms are due to be returned to his 55-metre converted Baltic grain carrier, Lissa, today, and soon after Mr Packer will head south to Australia. ... He was determined yesterday to keep saying nice things about his captors and tried to say nothing critical of them or the Indonesian legal system. But he hinted he might say more once he was safely out of the country."




Maryland: Student accused of having gun in school: "A 14-year-old student was in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Services on Thursday for allegedly possessing a BB gun, suspected marijuana and tobacco products at James M. Bennett High School. Early Tuesday morning the Fruitland boy went to school, showed the gun to his peers, became scared and fled the building, said Allen Brown, an assistant superintendent of Wicomico County public schools. Officers took him into custody later that day when he returned to meet his ride, Brown said. According to the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office, the ninth-grader was being detained Thursday at the Department of Juvenile Services on Naylor Mill Road. ... The student will appear before a Wicomico County Circuit Court judge who will then decide if he should be released to his parents or continue to be detained, said Lt. Mike Elliot of the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office."

California: Gun makers aim at "junk" lawsuits: "Its wallet lighter after dropping more than $200 million to fight what it termed a 'junk lawsuit,' the firearms industry will turn to Congress for help in preventing future legal attacks on gun makers. A San Francisco-based California appellate court basically said last week that the gun industry is not to blame for the actions of criminals. It upheld San Diego Superior Court Judge Vincent P. DiFiglia's original ruling in which he dismissed claims against the firearms industry by Los Angeles, San Francisco and 12 other California cities."


Montana: Wells seeks greater self-defense protection: "Wells' House Bill 693 would make it legal for a person to display a weapon in self-defense, as long as the weapon is pointing away from the other person. It also orders law-enforcement officers to thoroughly investigate a crime to turn up evidence of self-defense if that is used as a plea, and it forces employers who prohibit employees from defending themselves with guns to provide a level of security they would have otherwise enjoyed. ... Under Wells' bill, law-enforcement officers would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person wasn't engaged in self-defense.'


Illinois: Protesters often have ulterior motives: "Chicagoans are protesting the Second Amendment rights of neighboring communities again. About 90 protesters staged a rally at Bell's Gun and Sport Shop in northwest suburban Franklin Park recently. They represented Chicago-based United Power for Action and Justice. I asked Dowling what they hoped to accomplish by protesting the two gun shops. He said he wanted state licensing and a limit of one firearm per 30-day period per person. ... The Illinois State Police already licenses and regulates firearm owners through the issuance of firearm owners identification cards. ... Dowling also wanted government oversight and inspection of gun shop records. Both stores have already been investigated and received a clean stamp of approval. The protesters have already accomplished their wish list. What do you think would really make them happy?"

NAUGHTY NOVELTY PLATE ON CAR

An employee's car parked at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School lot has sparked fury among some parents ushering their children inside the school each morning. The car -- a red, late-model Ford Mustang with a novelty plate on its front end reading "Fight crime, shoot first" -- irritated one parent so much that she complained to her son's pre-kindergarten teacher. The parent, who asked to remain anonymous, also took the issue up with school Principal Sandra Dunning earlier this week, as well as Superintendent of Schools Karla Brooks Baehr. "Being a member of the staff, well, you have to be an example to the kids," the mother insisted. "You don't just do whatever."

"I can listen to parents and listen to their concerns," Dunning said. "But we do live in America. That's part of our democracy, free speech."

The parent, however, says the school's responsibility to provide positive role models to children supersedes the right to free speech, and that the offending license plate is a breech of the public trust placed in school employees. "I don't think it's just a question of freedom of speech," the mother said, noting that while her son is still learning to read, the school's older students have full reading ability. "You don't leave it for the kids to see every day."

The First Amendment of the Constitution, which protects freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition and was added in 1791, stipulates that Congress shall not "(abridge) the freedom of speech." According to Taylor Flynn, a Northeastern University professor and expert in Constitutional law, the school employee with the plate might actually find favor if the case found its way into court, particularly because, in her view, the evidence that students' education is being disrupted by the plate is on the lean side. "However, I think there is a fairly strong possibility that a court would find that the staff person's First Amendment rights are being violated if the employee feels (directly or indirectly) coerced into covering the plate or is doing so over her objection."

Principal Dunning, who admitted she was "a little surprised" by the plate, initially echoed Flynn's concerns, saying that such a message might be considered inappropriate if it entered the building. But outside? Dunning said that's a different matter entirely. "If anything disrupts the educational process, we do have the right to ask staff and teachers to maintain a code of conduct," she said. "What is parked in a lot or on a street is a different matter, however. Whatever happens in the building we have control over. I think it's inappropriate," she said. "I think we all take responsibility to model appropriate language and behavior. Yes, they see all sorts of things on TV, in ads, that lots of people would find inappropriate as a model for a 5- or 6-year-old. But having (the license plate) there in the lot suggests we condone it."

The solution? Dunning and Baehr plan to mandate that the staff member somehow cover the plate upon arrival each morning, possibly with magnets and a cloth. The plate will be covered by the first day of school after February break, Feb. 28, Behr said. "I expect cooperation on the part of the staff members to cover it up or obscure it in some way," Baehr said. And when the staff member is not on school property -- and by that, Baehr means either in the building or in the parking lot -- "she's free to do as she pleases."

The parent who initially complained said she was happy with that solution, though put off that "going public" with the story was the route to compromise. "I'm aggravated because they only did something when I said I was going to talk to The Sun," the mother said. "I feel that I had to go outside the school to solve a little problem, because this could have been solved within the school."

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Michigan: Overreaction to BB gun: "School officials continue to investigate a third-grader who brought a BB gun to Summerfield Elementary School on Tuesday. The boy, 8, is not allowed to attend school for three days while officials investigate. A suspension or an expulsion could be issued, said Larry Watkins, the district's director of school safety. 'The school principal is doing an investigation, but it does not appear he brought it to do any harm,' Watkins said. The gun wasn't loaded.




Louisiana: Woman kills attacker inside her home: "An East Feliciana Parish woman fired a bullet into the chest of a man who had broken into her farmhouse, then fought off his beating until the man died from the gunshot wound. Georgia Belle Sullivan says she was sleeping before dawn yesterday when her dogs' barking woke her up. She retrieved her gun, then saw a shadow move behind a line of chairs. She told authorities that's when a man lunged at her. She fired once at close range ... In the beating after the shooting, Sullivan suffered bruises to her face and elsewhere, and lacerations on her arms. Sullivan says the gun discharged several more times during the struggle. She says when Sanford realized he was hit, he told her his name, asked her not to shoot him again and he let her go."

THE DEATH OF 1,000 CUTS

California Assemblyman Paul Koretz introduced legislation this past week requiring all center-fire semi-automatic handguns sold in California starting in 2007 to stamp serial numbers in the brass cases when fired.

The bill says that a "microscopic array of characters" must be located in the inner-workings of the handgun, presumably the chamber or on the firing pin, that would imprint the make, model and serial number of the handgun onto the brass case or primer. It's not specific but it does mention the case, so the firing pin may not qualify with a primer marking.

The bill makes no mention of what happens when a gun owner needs to have work done to their firearm and if it is obliterated or no longer visible after the work is complete. It makes no mention of what a gun owner needs to do if the "microscopic array" just flat wears down over time and no longer imprints the information on the case. It makes no mention of whether modifying a firearm to remove the "microscopic array" is illegal, nor, if worn down over time whether the gun owner is subject to penalties for owning a firearm that can no longer imprints the information on the case.

But, what the bill also doesn't say, but screams out loud, is that Koretz could care less about any of these issues. What Koretz cares about is pricing firearms out of reach so the average Joe can't afford to purchase a gun. Already hundreds of firearms are no longer available to Californians due to state regulatory requirements requiring certain features, indicators and state mandated testing requirements that some manufacturers refuse or simply can't comply with financially. Bills passed last year for certain chamber-loaded indicators and disconnects that render the firearm inoperable with the magazine removed, go into effect January 1 2006 which will eliminate another round of guns for sale here. Now there could be another hoop for firearm manufacturers to jump through starting January 1, 2007 that ends up driving the price of all firearms through the roof, not only in California, but nationally as well. And, who knows how many firearms will not be sold in California due to the cost to implement this across all product lines. Another pile of firearms will disappear from California. In another couple or three more years of ingenious legislation like this, no one will be able to buy a gun in California which has been the plan of the left all along.

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Don't mess with rural folk with guns: "Barbara Gesell, 83, had just pulled into her garage when a man ran inside her garage and grabbed her purse, which has hanging across her shoulder. A suspect, Robert Campbell, was arrested shortly afterward on suspicion of attempted robbery. Police said the story might have ended differently if Gesell's daughter, Theresa Gesell, had not taken action. According to police, Theresa Gesell ran behind Campbell and tried to catch him when he ran from the scene. While she was chasing the suspect, she called 911. "A man has attacked us in our house, and we are fighting him in the yard," Theresa Gesell said to the 911 dispatcher. As the struggle moved down the street, a neighbor -- whom Theresa Gesell identified as "Hershall" -- stopped to help. Theresa then grabbed her .45-caliber pistol and continued running after Campbell -- despite the dispatcher's plea for her to drop the handgun. "I am going to go get my .45 ... you all are too slow," she said. As the call continues, the dispatcher asks Theresa to get rid of the weapon. However, after the suspect tried to escape along a creek bed, Theresa and Hershall used the pistol to make sure he didn't leave. "You can go put that gun up now," the dispatcher said. "No sir," Theresa replied. "We have the gun pointed at him ... he must have been a city fellow because he didn't know anything about the woods." Seconds later, police arrived and arrested Campbell. With Hershall's help, the Gesells retrieved Barbara's purse. Campbell is currently housed in the Oklahoma County Jail. He is expected to be charged with assault and attempted robbery."




Determined crook dies: "A Wyandanch man fatally shot a 20-year-old man who tried to enter his home through a window early yesterday, police said. Tyrell Rudolph, of Wyandanch, was discovered in front of a home on Parkway Boulevard with gunshot wounds to his chest and left arm at 3:05 a.m. The alleged shooter, Sanjay Broomfield, 22, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, a felony. Broomfield, a baker at Entenmann's in Bay Shore, told police he fell asleep Friday night, after working a double-shift, said Det. Sgt. Vincent Posillico, of the county's homicide squad. He said he was awoken at 9 p.m. by someone vigorously knocking and ringing the bell at the front door of his residence at 246 Parkway Blvd. Posillico said Broomfield told police he looked out the window and saw two men leaving his yard. He then fell back asleep only to be awoken again at 2:30 a.m. by similar noises. "He hears motion and people talking," Posillico said. "He steps into the kitchen, where he has an illegal handgun ... and shortly after that a person is seen coming in through the window." Broomfield fired three times, Posillico said. Posillico said detectives are unsure if the man fell or jumped from the window but Broomfield told police he didn't see anything when he looked outside. Worried the intruders might return, Broomfield called police about 3:05 a.m. to report two suspicious persons in the area, but not the fired shots. When police arrived, they discovered Rudolph's body. Broomfield then explained his version of what happened".

Indiana: 84-year-old kills intruder; charges not expected: "Like many homes on his block, Robert Birtwhistle's is a two-story frame house, with faux-brick siding and a small front porch. Yet, modest as it is, it's the place he's called home for all of his 84 years. And early Wednesday morning, he proved he was ready to defend his home -- with deadly force. Birtwhistle called police to his home shortly after 1 a.m. to report that he had shot 40-year-old James Rosebush as the younger man apparently was attempting to force open the front door of his home. Rosebush, who lived just blocks away at 735 Lincoln Way E., died of his injuries at the scene. 'It was going to be either him or me,' Birtwhistle said Wednesday. 'I told him that if he didn't stop, he was going to get what was coming.'"



More watchful, probably not safer: "Are you safer now than you were four years ago? That was the question politicians posed to voters last year during the presidential campaign. Voters who opted to give the administration four more years presumably would answer in the affirmative. But according to a new book, that optimism would be misplaced. Safe: The Race to Protect Ourselves in a Newly Dangerous World, written by three contributing writers to Wired magazine and a former editor of that publication, asks why, if our society is one of the most technologically advanced in the world, we can't protect ourselves from threats to our safety."

STEVE SAILER'S VIEW OF GUN CONTROL

The endless gun-control brouhaha, which on the surface appears to be a bitter battle between liberal and conservative whites, also features a cryptic racial angle. What blue-region white liberals actually want is for the government to disarm the dangerous urban minorities that threaten their children�s safety. Red-region white conservatives, insulated by distance from the Crips and the Bloods, don�t care that white liberals� kids are in peril. Besides, in sparsely populated Republican areas, where police response times are slow and the chances of drilling an innocent bystander are slim, guns make more sense for self-defense than in the cities and suburbs.

White liberals, angered by white conservatives� lack of racial solidarity with them, yet bereft of any vocabulary for expressing such a verboten concept, pretend that they need gun control to protect them from gun-crazy rural rednecks, such as the ones Michael Moore demonized in �Bowling for Columbine,� thus further enraging red-region Republicans.

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A judgment call: "Folksinger Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul & Mary believes we need more gun laws. Performing at the 2004 Million Morn March rally urging Congress to renew the federal 'assault weapon' ban, Yarrow's main emphasis in the gun control movement has been to protect children. It's too bad he wasn't thinking about protecting them when he was convicted of a sex offense for molesting a 14-year-old girl -- but perhaps it explains why he wouldn't want to make it easy for parents to own a gun."





Proposed bar law gives new meaning to "shot and a beer": "We should be the smartest people in the United States when it comes to firearms, but whenever the word 'guns' gets spoken in a public forum, we turn into the babbling cast of Blazing Saddles, wildly shooting off our mouths but firing blanks. That's how it has been for days with the hysterical hand-wringing over the 'guns in bars' law being considered by those slapstick gunslingers at the state Legislature. The truth is that the proposed law, Senate Bill 1363, is not about guns in bars. It's about signs on doors. Current law states that guns don't belong in bars or restaurants that serve liquor. That law is based on common sense, which makes it incomprehensible to today's elected officials. Some of them therefore would like to rewrite the law to say that a bar or restaurant owner must post a sign specifically prohibiting firearms or it would be presumed that guns are welcome."