South Carolina: Gun stops road rage: "Slow driving led to a confrontation between a 22-year-old Citadel student and an unidentified man involving a baseball bat and a pistol on Hilton Head Island on Thursday afternoon, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office incident report. The student, who was lost, had been driving slowly on Beach City Road looking for a doctor's office when he pulled into a parking lot to look at a map, according to the report. A man driving a Porsche pulled in behind him and approached him carrying a baseball bat. The man was yelling about the student's driving. The student pulled a Glock 23 pistol from his glove box and got out of his car, the report stated. The man with the bat put his hands up, returned to the Porsche and drove away. The student called the sheriff's office from his parents' Hilton Head home. He was not charged in the incident."


IL: Group wants no gun control: "A group of residents is asking a Lake County Board committee to sponsor a resolution that would oppose any future gun control legislation. While generally declaring their support of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, members ... expressed reservations about the proposed action. James Stewart, a Waukegan resident and supporter of the statewide Pro 2 Amendment Resolution movement, said he believes it is important for Lake County to join the 82 other Illinois counties that have passed the resolution. 'It is designed to tell state legislators that local governments 'Oppose the enactment of any legislation that would infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms," according to Stewart."


IN: Gun control ordinance shot down in Mishawaka: "Passion about protecting fellow citizens swayed Mishawaka City Council to vote 5-4 against a weapons ban ordinance. The ban was actually proposed by Mishawaka Mayor Jeff Rea and City Attorney Cory Hamel. It would've prohibited all weapons from four buildings frequented by the public: Mishawaka City Hall, the police station, the Battel Center, and Mishawaka Utilities main building."


Interest groups and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms: "It is fair to say that one or two cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court stand out each term. I think it is evident that this term's most salient case is District of Columbia v. Heller. In that 5-4 decision, the Court struck down the District of Columbia's ban on the possession of privately owned handguns within District limits. In so doing, the Court clarified the meaning of the Second Amendment for the first time in almost 70 years by endorsing an individual right to keep and bear arms.In addition to providing an excellent example of a test case, the Heller decision is also significant for understanding the primary method of interest group litigation: the amicus curiae ('friend of the court') brief."

California guard wounds teen after 3 shot at bar: "An armed security guard at a Hayward restaurant and karaoke bar shot a teenager early Sunday after the teen shot three people in the parking lot outside the bar, police said. Oakland resident Adrian Dantoc, 18, and two other teenage suspects - John Catolos, 19, and Julian Logan, 19, both of Oakland - fled the scene but were caught by police and arrested on four counts of attempted murder, Hayward police said. All three are in custody at the Santa Rita Jail. The incident happened at about 1:29 a.m. Sunday, when Dantoc and the two other teenagers allegedly confronted the three shooting victims, who were riding bikes through the parking lot of Manila Garden Restaurant on Hesperian Boulevard, police said. When a fight started, Dantoc allegedly grabbed a gun from a nearby car and shot the three victims multiple times, police said. A security guard who works in the restaurant on weekends went outside when he heard gunshots and allegedly saw Dantoc firing the gun, police said. The guard told Dantoc to drop the gun and Dantoc allegedly fired at him; the guard then shot him in the leg, police said. Dantoc and the two other suspects then drove to a home on Lester Avenue in Oakland, allegedly throwing away the gun along the way, police said. Residents at the home called 911 to get medical help for Dantoc's injury, and the three suspects were arrested when police arrived. Dantoc was treated at a local hospital. The victims - ages 41, 23 and 17 - are all expected to survive. An investigation found that the security guard, a 45-year-old Hayward man who police did not identify, was justified in shooting Dantoc to protect his own life, police said."


Mississippi: Clerk Shoots Man Trying To Steal Beer: "Police said a Jackson store employee shot a man trying to steal beer Saturday afternoon. According to witnesses, the man was inside S and R Food Mart on Terry Road attempting to steal. Police identified the man shot as Kenneth Riddle. The store employee reportedly approached him and the two men began to fight. That's when the clerk shot Riddle, witnesses said. Riddle was taken to University Medical Center and the store employee was detained for questioning. Riddle was listed in serious condition Sunday afternoon."Mississippi: Clerk Shoots Man Trying To Steal Beer: "Police said a Jackson store employee shot a man trying to steal beer Saturday afternoon. According to witnesses, the man was inside S and R Food Mart on Terry Road attempting to steal. Police identified the man shot as Kenneth Riddle. The store employee reportedly approached him and the two men began to fight. That's when the clerk shot Riddle, witnesses said. Riddle was taken to University Medical Center and the store employee was detained for questioning. Riddle was listed in serious condition Sunday afternoon."


Detroit man shoots pit bull attacking grandson; bullet passes through dog, wounding boy, 9: "A grandfather has shot and wounded his 9-year-old grandson in Detroit after firing at a pit bull that was attacking the boy. Police say the bullet passed through the dog's body, ricocheted off the sidewalk and hit the boy in the thigh Wednesday. The boy was taken to a hospital for treatment of what authorities called non-life-threatening injuries. Animal control officers seized the dog. It survived."


Colorado: Man walking with wife shoots mountain lion: "A man shot and killed a mountain lion north of New Castle Tuesday night after the animal came too close to him and his wife, according to the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Randy Hampton, a spokesman for the DOW, said the agency received a call about the shooting a little after 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. The man and his wife were out for a walk in the area when the mountain lion came out of the brush and was in a "crouch position," Hampton said. The couple's names were not immediately available late Wednesday. "(The mountain lion) began to approach them," he said. "The husband was carrying a firearm, and he shot and killed the lion as it got really close." The animal was about 6 feet away from the couple when the man shot it, Hampton said. He added that the couple tried to scare the mountain lion away by screaming at it, but that the animal continued to approach. The man said he had no other choice but to shoot the animal, Hampton said."

California man shot with own gun while trying to rob bank: "A would-be bank robber was shot with his own gun this afternoon during a botched heist attempt in Van Nuys, police said. The gun-toting man walked into a branch of Wells Fargo bank in the 6800 block of Van Nuys Boulevard around 12:30 p.m. and tried to pull off a one-man caper, said Officer Kate Lopez, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. A security guard confronted the man and "a struggle ensued," Lopez said. The robber, whose identity has not been released, was shot as the two wrestled for control of the weapon. No other details of the altercation were available and no bank patrons or employees were injured. The suspect was transported to a local hospital and his condition is not known. The guard suffered minor injuries that did not require medical attention."


California intruder shot, killed: "One of several men who stormed a suburban home Friday was shot dead by one of the residents, who blasted the intruders as they entered, in an incident police were calling a home-invasion robbery attempt. Three or four men kicked in the door of the house in the 24300 block of Burbank Boulevard, setting off the gunfight, Los Angeles police said. Aside from the one intruder killed, no one was injured. "Obviously, these residents here do have a right to protect themselves," said Los Angeles police Lt. Steven Sambar. "Those people are extremely lucky." Police were searching for two or three other suspects, described as African-American men in their 20s. Gunfire and screams pierced the neighborhood's usual quiet about 2:45 p.m., after the men first knocked on the home's front door - then kicked it in, Los Angeles police Sgt. Jeff Nuttall said. Inside was a couple in their 60s and their two sons in their 20s. At least one of the sons was armed, and he opened fire, hitting one of the intruders. The man died in the doorway, clutching a revolver, Nuttall said. His identity was not immediately available. The intruders shot back, but didn't hit anyone, then fled."


Virginia: Trailer invader shot and killed: "A man was shot and killed early yesterday morning in central Goochland County after he allegedly entered an unlocked mobile home and tussled with the owner, authorities said. Adam Stone, the homeowner, called the Goochland Sheriff's Office just after 3 a.m. to report that he'd shot a man with a 12-gauge shotgun. Sheriff's deputies responded to the 2300 block of Grape Ridge Court off Dogtown Road, where Stone told investigators the intruder had entered the bedroom where he and his girlfriend were sleeping before the struggle took place. When deputies arrived, they found the body of Joseph Clifford Johnson, 36, of the 900 block of North 30th Street in Richmond, inside the bedroom with a fatal gunshot wound to the neck. No arrests or charges have been made in connection with the shooting as of last night."


Florida homeowner shoots intruder: "A suspected home intruder was taken to the hospital early Tuesday morning, after police say he was shot by a homeowner. Police say the homeowner awoke to noise coming from the garage of his home on Pennsylvania Avenue. The homeowner went to check it out, found the intruder and shot him. That man was taken to Bayfront Medical Center for treatment. Police have not said how badly he was injured."

Denver man defending himself gets blamed for his own daughter's accidental death: "Leo Cisneros is charged with child abuse resulting in death. His 10-year-old daughter, Auralia Cisneros, was killed while caught in the middle of a shootout on Nov. 29, 2007. Prosecutors believe Leo was dealing drugs, and the shootout at their home was the result of a robbery gone bad. Auralia was shot in the head, and police say the shot that killed her came from her father's gun. Now, Leo's attorney wants the court to dismiss the child abuse charge against him, under Colorado's "Make My Day" law. His defense attorney argues in the latest motion to dismiss that Cisneros was simply defending himself from armed intruders. His attorney argues he has already lost his daughter, and it would be a "miscarriage of justice" if he lost his freedom. They argue Cisneros was trying to defend himself and his family, and the "Make My Day" law is applicable in this case. The Denver district attorney's office said Cisneros contributed to his daughter's death by dealing drugs out of their home. Prosecutors said even if Leo Cisneros was defending his home that night, he endangered his child time and time again by conducting drug deals from home."


TX: Fight in park led to fatal shooting : "A 20-year-old man was fatally shot at a park Wednesday morning during a struggle over a gun, police said. Police called to the park in the 1200 block of Sleepy Hollow Drive about 11 a.m. found Deandre Howard with a gunshot wound in the chest. Mr. Howard was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, police said. Deandrae Sneed, 24, turned himself in to authorities a short time later, said Sgt. Ray Beaudreault of the Dallas police homicide unit. Mr. Sneed was later released, and the case will be referred to a grand jury because investigators believe the shooting may have been an act of self-defense. The two men apparently were gambling at a picnic table and got into an altercation, Sgt. Beaudreault said. Witnesses told police that Mr. Howard got a gun from someone in a nearby car and that the gun went off during the struggle, striking Mr. Howard".


W.Va. looks at gun laws after high court ruling : "A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down as unconstitutional a citywide handgun ban in Washington, D.C., has at least one West Virginia city tweaking its law.Martinsburg City Manager Mark Baldwin says the Eastern Panhandle city needs to clarify that its ban applies only to city buildings, not city streets and sidewalks.Martinsburg officials decided to revisit the issue after the Supreme Court ruled June 26 that the ban in the nation's capital violated the Second Amendment ..In Charleston, the West Virginia Citizens Defense League is urging the city council to align its gun law with the state's, but has met a cool reception from Mayor Danny Jones and at least one city council member."


NY: Bloomberg tries again on gun control : "The Bloomberg-funded Mayors Against Illegal Guns announced today it sent a six-question survey to both John McCain and Barack Obama focued on `common sense steps necessary to fix the nation's broken background check system' that the group endorsed during its national summit in April.This isn't the first time the coalition has sought to influence the presidential contests that its benefactor once considered joining."

Just in case, we'll take your gun

Outrageous Connecticut law allows cops to seize firearms before any crime is committed

A new report to the Connecticut state legislature shows police have used the state's unique gun seizure law to confiscate more than 1,700 firearms from citizens based on suspicion that the gun owners might harm themselves or others. The state's law permits police to seek a warrant for seizing a citizen's guns based on suspicion of the gun owner's intentions, before any act of violence or lawbreaking is actually committed.

The law was first proposed in 1998, following a mass shooting at the Connecticut Lottery Corporation that left five dead, including the gunman. Since the law went into effect Oct. 1, 1999, according to new Office of Legislative Research report, police have made more than 200 documented requests for warrants to seize firearms from citizens, and only two of the requests have been denied. The law has remained hotly debated since its passage, as some point to possible murders and suicides it may have prevented, and others worry that police would abuse the law. "It certainly has not been abused. It may be underutilized," Ron Pinciaro, co-executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence, told the Waterbury Republican American. "The bottom line from our perspective is, it may very well have saved lives."

Attorney Ralph D. Sherman, who has represented several of the gun owners whose firearms were confiscated under the law, disagrees. "In every case I was involved in I thought it was an abuse," he told the newspaper. "The overriding concern is anybody can report anybody with or without substantiation, and I don't think that is the American way."

Joe Graborz, executive director of the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union, an affiliate of the ACLU, told WND the law "continues to invest unusual and far-reaching powers in police authority that does not belong there" by requiring "police to act as psychologists in trying to predict and interpret behavior." "What is the standard of proof on this?" he asked. "The way this law is written, it can and will be easily abused by police."

Under the statute, dubbed the "turn in your neighbor" law by opponents, any two police officers or a state prosecutor may seek a warrant, following a specified process of investigation, to confiscate guns from people deemed a risk to harming themselves or others. The vast majority of cases, however, begin when a person - usually a spouse or live-in, according to the OLR report - file a complaint.

Shortly after the law was passed, Thompson Bosee of Greenwich, Conn., had his guns and ammunition seized by police. Bosee told WND in 1999 he suspects a neighbor, with whom he has had words regarding the neighbor's driving on Bosee's property, might have reported him. "They had a warrant for my guns, they arrested my guns," said Bosee. A member of both the NRA and the American Gunsmithing Association, Bosee said he works on his guns in his garage and is not ashamed of it. Although Greenwich Police would not comment, they released a list of the guns and ammunition they seized from Bosee, including six handguns, three rifles, one shotgun, one submachine gun and 3,108 rounds of ammunition.

The new OLR report shows that in most cases, relatives or neighbors of the gun owner filed the complaint when they feared for their own safety or feared the owner was suicidal. In a case from Southington, however, a man had his gun taken for threatening to shoot a dog. Attorney Ralph Sherman told WND the law's cruelty to animals justification for gun seizure worries him. "If I throw a rock or a newspaper at a dog in my yard or in my garden, that doesn't mean I'm mentally unbalanced," he said. "What if a neighbor doesn't like me and sees that?"

In October 2006, according to the Republican American, police obtained a seizure warrant after a man made 28 unsubstantiated claims of vandalism to his property. The police application for seizure described the man as paranoid and delusional, citing extensive self-protection measures installed on the man's property, including alarms, cameras and spotlights. Four months after the man's guns were taken, a judge ruled that police had failed to show the man posed any risk and ordered the guns returned. According to the ruling, the gun owner had no history of documented illness, criminal activity or misuse of firearms. "In fact, the firearms were found in a locked safe when the officers executed the warrant," the ruling said.

The law dictates that courts hold a hearing within 14 days of a seizure to determine the eventual fate of the guns. In most cases, according to the OLR report, the guns are held for a period of up to a year, destroyed or sold. The Republican American reports that in 22 of the more than 200 cases, the guns were ordered returned.

Connecticut State Rep. Michael P. Lawlor, House chairman of the Judiciary Committee and one of the chief authors of the law, told the Republican American he wasn't aware of any pending challenges to the law's constitutionality. "The whole point was to make sure it was limited and constitutional," he said. Sherman however, said the law hasn't been challenged yet, simply because it is used sparingly and a test case would prove too costly for the average gun owner.

Source





Brother-in-law's killing was self defense, Ohio jury finds: "A Ross County jury found last night that a man acted in self defense when he shot and killed his brother-in-law. Jurors returned after three hours to find Bernard Holbrook, 64, not guilty of murder in the April 16 slaying of Jay Broughton, 53, near Adelphi. Holbrook claimed he was defending himself from a possible assault when he shot Broughton in the chest and abdomen with a handgun. The two men were neighbors on Bull Run Road and long had feuded over a disputed debt and other matters, authorities said. The three-day trial was before Judge Scott Nusbaum in Ross County Common Pleas Court." [Background details here]


CA: Intruder shot, killed: ""One of several men who stormed a suburban home Friday was shot dead by one of the residents, who blasted the intruders as they entered, in an incident police were calling a home-invasion robbery attempt. Three or four men kicked in the door of the house in the 24300 block of Burbank Boulevard, setting off the gunfight, Los Angeles police said. Aside from the one intruder killed, no one was injured. 'Obviously, these residents here do have a right to protect themselves,' said Los Angeles police Lt. Steven Sambar. 'Those people are extremely lucky.'"


Society for the patron saint of guns likes the Heller verdict: ""Last month's historic Supreme Court gun rights decision is a blockbuster development for the right of individual self-defense in religious as well as secular spheres of interest," John M. Snyder, Founder-Chairman of the St. Gabriel Possenti Society, Inc. declared here today. "All of the Justices who voted in the 5-4 majority for individual gun rights are Catholic," Snyder noted. "In the United States, institutional Catholic Church leaders have been on the wrong side of the right to arms for self-defense issue. The Social Development and World Peace Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops supports prohibition of the importation, manufacture, sale, possession and use of handguns. Individual clergy, including bishops, also have gone off the deep end on this issue. Let them listen to the solid gun rights majority of Catholic Supreme Court Justices. Let them consider that the right to life does not end with birth but continues throughout natural life and includes the right to self-defense and the right to arms for self-defense."

Texas robber dead: "Gunfire broke out during a holdup at a family-owned roofing company early Sunday, leaving one attempted robber dead and the business owner seriously wounded, Houston police said. Detectives said Sergio Rodriguez, his brother and a co-worker were preparing to open about 6:50 a.m. when three or four armed men forced their way inside the building in the 10500 block of Foy. "Somewhere in the middle of the (robbery), Mr. Rodriguez was shot," said Houston Police Department homicide investigator Fil Waters. One of the roofers managed to grab a gun and began shooting, fatally striking one of the intruders and wounding another. Rodriguez also was struck during the gunfire exchange, police said. "My understanding is that he's in surgery and will recover," Waters said. Sergio Rodriguez Jr. stood outside the crime-scene tape later Sunday as police continued their investigation. "To me, he's the man of steel," Rodriguez said of his wounded father. "He works every day, trying to take care of the family. Without him, I don't know what to do. Police recovered a vehicle at a nearby supermarket that may have been involved in the robbery. "It has bullet holes in the windshield. Evidence inside the vehicle would indicate that someone was probably hit," Waters said, declining to elaborate. Police plan to question a third man who later showed up at an area hospital with at least three gunshot wounds."


Florida: Robber in critical condition after being shot by handyman: "A man working on a home just north of Springfield this afternoon shot an armed man who tried to rob him, said Sgt. Derrick Lewis of the Sheriff's Office. The shooting occurred about 1:15 p.m. on West 24th Street near North Pearl Street. Police said a man armed with a gun approached the man working on a house and the worker, who was also armed, opened fire. The wounded man fled south on Pearl Street and collapsed outside a music store at West 23rd Street, a witness said. The wounded man was taken to Shands Jacksonville hospital and listed in critical condition, Lewis said. The worker is being questioned by police, but has not been charged. Their identities have not been released. Police recovered both guns, Lewis said. Lewis said the worker carried a gun because of his concerns about crime in the area, where shootings and drug deals are common."


House Democrats Seek Less-Rigid D.C. Gun Laws: "Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have agreed to allow a vote next month on a bill that would end local handgun control in the District, making it easier for D.C. residents to acquire pistols, including semiautomatics, while eliminating the strict handgun-storage requirements imposed by the city. Supporters say the bill has a good chance of passing the House, where pro-gun measures are popular. But it is unclear whether it would succeed in the Senate, where complex rules make it harder to push through legislation. The measure, filed Thursday by several conservative Democrats, adds more fuel to the debate over gun control in the nation's capital. After a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision June 26 ended the city's 32-year-old handgun ban, the District replaced the ban with strict handgun limits, which critics say violate the high court's ruling. The bill would scrap those limits, allowing residents to own handguns without registering them with the D.C. police department, provided they meet federal requirements for firearms ownership."


Chicago: Daley hints he may drop fight to keep handgun ban : Mayor Daley on Friday cracked the door open to abandoning the costly fight to uphold Chicago's 1982 handgun freeze -- if he can fashion a replacement ordinance that protects the safety of first-responders. Until now, Daley had promised to defend Chicago's ordinance all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, despite what he called the dangerous precedent set by the court. The National Rifle Association then filed lawsuits seeking to overturn handgun bans in Chicago, Morton Grove, Evanston and Oak Park. Wilmette and Morton Grove preemptively repealed their bans. Now that both suburbs have thrown in the towel, and newspaper editorials have urged Daley to do the same to save millions in legal costs on a fight he can't win, he appears to be having second thoughts. At a news conference called to tout the 6,848 guns collected at last week's gun turn-in program, Daley was asked point-blank whether he would continue the legal fight to keep Chicago's handgun ban. "We don't know yet. ... We're not gonna run away. We're gonna try to figure this out," he said."

District of Columbia continues to violate civil rights

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court's decision shooting down the District of Columbia's total handgun ban, the D.C. government passed emergency legislation to regulate handguns owned by its subjects - I mean, citizens. The new gun registration law was developed to be as difficult and inconvenient as possible with no regard for its effectiveness. In fact, the new law retains much of the previous gun ban, including provisions that the Supreme Court called unconstitutional.

Despite the Supreme Court ruling, the new law outlaws an entire class of weapons in common use -- semi-automatic pistols -- by redefining them as machine guns, a purely arbitrary designation (a semi-automatic weapons fires one shot with each pull of the trigger; a machine gun or automatic weapon fires until the trigger is released). The law still requires that guns be locked or dismantled unless there is a "threat of immediate harm". Those two provisions have sparked another lawsuit by Dick Heller, whose case led to the historic decision by the Supreme Court. The court determined, once and for all, the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right, not related to any militia service.

To make gun registration by D.C.'s law-abiding citizens more difficult, D.C. now requires an FBI background check which can take up to two weeks. For what purpose? In most states, the National Instant Check System (NICS) provides dealers with eligibility of gun purchasers in as little at 5 minutes. I have never waited more than 15 minutes for a NICS check.

Apart from the District's arrogance, what I find most surprising is the absolute silence of the ACLU and NAACP. D.C.'s new registration scheme requires citizens to take a written exam in order to register a gun. Back when those groups actually cared about the civil rights of African-Americans, they objected vociferously to literacy tests designed to keep Blacks, especially in Southern States (run by Democrats) from voting. According to Wikipedia:

"Literacy Test refers to the government practice of testing the literacy of potential citizens at the federal level, and potential voters at the state level.. As used by the states, the literacy test gained infamy as a means for denying the franchise to African Americans. Adopted by a number of southern states, the literacy test was applied in a patently unfair manner, as it was used to disfranchise many literate southern blacks while allowing many illiterate southern whites to vote. The literacy test, combined with other discriminatory requirements, effectively disfranchised the vast majority of African Americans in the South from the 1890s until the 1960s. Southern states abandoned the literacy test only when forced to by federal legislation in the 1960s."

So now, the government of the District of Columbia is effectively requiring a literacy test to register a gun. A literacy test required in a city that is majority African-American. And the NAACP, ACLU and the civil rights establishment are completely silent. Do any of these groups care about the civil rights of the residents of the nation's capital? It appears not.

In broader terms, why does D.C. require a written exam at all? For what other enumerated Constitutional right does any American have to take an exam? I know of no examination requirement for an American to exercise freedom of speech. No journalist or publisher is required to take an exam to exercise the freedom of the press (although it might prove beneficial). No exams exist as a requirement for freedom of religion, freedom to assemble, or to petition the government for redress of grievances. And that just covers the First Amendment.

In fact, the courts have determined that we are ignorant of our rights. Why else is there a requirement for law officers to recite Miranda warnings to inform us of our Fifth Amendment rights? The onus is on the government to inform us of our rights, not on us to take a test before we are arrested. Our unalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness are endowed by our Creator. Those rights are not contingent upon passing an exam by any government entity.

All of these requirements and regulations are meant to be onerous, inconvenient, and to discourage people from registering weapons. The government of D.C. does not care if it infringes on a Constitutionally-enumerated civil right - an individual's right to keep and bear arms. The District is defiantly running roughshod over the Constitutional rights of its people, thumbing its nose at the Supreme Court, and is opening itself up as a target for more lawsuits. The measures D.C. has taken in its emergency legislation have nothing to do with crime prevention, nothing to do with reducing crime, nothing to do with keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. If that were the case, the city legislators would actually do the research and review the evidence of laws that actually work (More Guns, Less Crime by John Lott would be a good starting point).

But the District of Columbia is not interested in crime control, allowing citizen self-defense, nor is it really interested in effective gun control. The District of Columbia is interested in people control. And the D.C. government does not care if it violates its citizens' civil rights in the process.

Source





New Yorkers' Gun Rights May Rest on Hot Dog Vendor's Case

New Supreme Court Ruling Is Cited Repeatedly in City Gun Cases

If New York's strict antigun laws are overturned in the near future, it may be the work of a hot dog vendor. The vendor, Daniel Vargas, is due next month in court to fight misdemeanor charges that he kept an unlicensed revolver loaded on a basement shelf in his apartment. The case, which has generated 23 hearings and been heard by no fewer than 10 different judges as it winds through Brooklyn's lowest criminal court, would be of little general interest, except for the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the Second Amendment protects a right to keep a handgun at home for self-defense.

Now, suddenly, Mr. Vargas's case, as well as a handful of other cases, are testing the authority of district attorneys to prosecute people for gun possession, a strategy that Mayor Bloomberg has emphasized in his criminal justice policies. In about half a dozen New York City cases reviewed by The New York Sun, defense lawyers have filed briefs arguing that the Supreme Court's decision requires the dismissal of gun possession charges against their clients. The briefs question the constitutionality of the city's treatment of all unlicensed guns as illegal guns - mere possession of which can be punished by up to 15 years in prison.

What makes Mr. Vargas's case so singular is that the only issue is the alleged gun. He is not accused of using the gun improperly or of committing any illegal conduct unrelated to its possession. Nor did police find the alleged gun while investigating other crimes, as often happens. For instance, many unlicensed handguns are recovered from homes in the course of responding to domestic violence calls, defense lawyers say. Police records indicate that the officer who arrested Mr. Vargas in October 2006 had received "a tip for a location with firearm." According to the police records, Mr. Vargas consented to the search and police found a loaded .38-caliber revolver in a holster sitting on a shelf, with a box of bullets nearby.

Under New York law, possession of an unregistered gun on the streets in New York City carries a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison, while possession of such a gun at home is treated as a misdemeanor, which rarely carries jail time for a first offense. Mr. Vargas's legal aid attorney, Laura Guthrie, wrote in a brief that Mr. Vargas denies possessing any gun or ammunition. The court brief goes on to say that even assuming the allegations are taken as true, the prosecution, "violates the individual right to bear arms protected by the Second Amendment."

"Here the government does not allege that Mr. Vargas possessed the weapon with intent to use it unlawfully, or outside of his home," she wrote. "Mr. Vargas is accused of keeping a gun in his home. This conduct is protected by the individual right to bear arms enshrined in the Second Amendment." The brief, filed last year, cites the appellate court ruling that the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in the June decision.

In a decision last year rejecting Mr. Vargas's Second Amendment claims, a city judge, Alexander Jeong, focused on another point, which is that Mr. Vargas had never sought a gun license. But that reason for dismissing Mr. Vargas's Second Amendment claim may have been weakened somewhat since the Supreme Court recognized an individual right to keep a gun at home. "The question now becomes which defendants with guns in their homes should benefit from that Constitutional right," a criminal defense lawyer and former president of the city bar, Barry Kamins, said. "One issue becomes whether to allow defendants to make these types of challenges even though they never applied for the permit."

Ms. Guthrie has argued that it should not matter whether Mr. Vargas applied for a permit. "Mr. Vargas is alleged, in essence, not to have submitted himself to the complete discretion and the extraordinary power of the New York City Police Commissioner," she wrote. "The Second Amendment does not permit such interference." New York's permitting system itself could come under scrutiny as these issues in criminal cases are litigated.

Mayor Bloomberg and other city officials have said that the Supreme Court decision does not threaten New York City's regulations, which require that all gun owners go through a lengthy and costly licensing process. Yet, some gun rights proponents and defense lawyers say that New York's licensing system is so burdensome as to be unconstitutional. "An average poor guy who's particularly vulnerable to burglary or break-ins is going to have a hard time getting a license," said a legal aid attorney, Steven Wasserman, who wrote the Second Amendment motion that many legal aid attorneys are now using. It can require multiple trips to One Police Plaza, a wait of more than four months, and fees that can reach more than $1,000 over a decade....

More here






Missouri: Bank customer shoots robber: "A bank customer shot another man who apparently was attempting to rob him about 9 a.m. today, police said. The alleged robber, who was wounded in the head, this afternoon is in stable condition, police said. A man and a woman, described as an older couple, were using the ATM at the Bank of America at North Oak Trafficway and Barry Road, police said, when a man approached with a gun and robbed them. A couple was stopped at the ATM. The robber was walking away when the male victim got out of the car with his gun and yelled for him to stop, said Sgt. Chris Lantz of the department's robbery unit. The robber turned around and pointed his gun at the man, Lantz said. The robbery victim fired his gun, hitting the robber in the head, he said. The man had a permit to carry a concealed gun, Lantz said. Under the circumstances, Lantz said, that would not matter, because he could legally carry the weapon in his car."

Postcard from the gun show

Comment from a Brit

I went to my first gun show recently–part of my ongoing remedial education in American cultural literacy, which my (American) wife has lately taken in hand–and I have been turning the experience over in my mind these past few days. As a Brit, of course, I was conditioned to expect that the first time I saw an unholstered pistol would be when a mugger stuck one in my face. That is how it works in a civilised country. So for me it was passing strange to see many hundreds of pistols–not to mention shotguns, assault rifles, armour-piercing bullets, laser-sighting attachments and all manner of other lethal weaponry–arrayed for the delectation of ordinary citizens. They let me pick up a gun, for heaven’s sake!

A few moments inside the exhibition hall, I was still puzzling over the perfunctory security check at the door–“Are you carrying firearms?” “No, but why would that be a problem?”–when I gaped as a rotund and cheerful old gentleman with a white beard walked past me to the exit, with what looked like an Armalite and attached bayonet slung casually over his shoulder. (I was pleased to see that the trigger was secured by a plastic tie. Dangerous otherwise.) Trade was brisk. The Supreme Court had just overturned DC’s de facto prohibition on hand guns, upholding the Second Amendment as an individual rather than collective right.

Though a Brit, as I say, I did not bring the default attitude of many Europeans (or East Coast liberals, same thing) to the event. I am by no means an instinctive gun controller. It is not obvious to me what is wrong with the argument that says, “The criminals already have guns; gun control disarms the rest of us.” I don’t know how many times I have heard that view sneered at, or laughed at, or pointed to as an infallible marker of stupidity. But I haven’t ever heard it seriously confronted, let alone refuted. Thought experiment: would I feel safer walking around DC at night if the district allowed concealed carry, so that some fraction of law-abiding citizens on the street would be armed, or would I feel more at risk? Answer: safer. I don’t say this settles the matter: I’m not sure what I think about gun control, and the seeming resistance in some quarters to any and all forms of regulation is ridiculous. But why is this not a legitimate consideration?

I don’t think the Democratic nominee would have felt at home with this crowd. I heard several references to Comrade Obama, and saw one button (which I coveted) that said, “I am a BITTER gun-owner.” They seemed to me an affable, friendly and very courteous bunch (well, you would be, wouldn’t you?). I don’t think you could mix with the show’s visitors for more than five minutes without thinking it was nonsense to attribute their interest in guns to bitterness or disappointment or some form of social pathology. But of course there is a political dimension. Aside from other motivations–sport, self-defence–the gun-show universe is about pride, self-reliance, and resentment at being bossed around. Distinctively American traits, wouldn’t you say? Best in moderation, no doubt–but still, where would the country be without those attitudes? I may get thrown out of Georgetown for this, but I say, good for them.

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Aggressive cop shoots kid, blames woman

If it goes to trial, the People vs. Frank White promises to be a fascinating study in the art of lawyering, because of its complexity, its high profile and the fact that it involves a police officer and a victim who also faces criminal charges, legal experts say.

The defense is certain to try and portray Rachel Silva as unsympathetically as possible and to assign her blame for what happened. Silva, 28, was unarmed when she was shot twice by White in an Oceanside parking lot apparently during a road-rage incident. Yet she was the aggressor, was intoxicated and driving on a suspended license from a previous DUI, Oceanside police said. “That is not a situation you want to be in as a prosecutor,” said Jeff Joseph, associate dean and general counsel for Thomas Jefferson School of Law.

But what more sympathetic victim could there be than an 8-year-old boy, Silva's son, who was shot once in the left leg by White as Silva backed her car past his in a shopping center parking lot? “That's something that I would expect the prosecutors to stress,” former District Attorney Paul Pfingst said. “If it was just Ms. Silva inside the car the case would look radically different.”

The fact that White, 28, is a San Diego police officer could make a conviction difficult. Jurors often tend to believe police officers over other witnesses. But officers also can be held to a higher standard because of their training. Jurors can expect them to remain cool, and not overreact like a civilian might in the same situation. “Being a police officer is often a double-edged sword,” said Shaun Martin, a professor of criminal law at the University of San Diego Law School.

White has been suspended from duty and has pleaded not guilty to grossly negligent discharge of a firearm, a felony, and exhibiting a firearm, a misdemeanor. The biggest question facing White's defense is why he fired five rounds into Silva's car, said Alec Rose, a Santa Monica defense lawyer who has defended many police officers. Self-defense, Rose said, has its limits. “You cannot use more force than you need to neutralize the threat.”

Throw into the mix that White was off duty in his own car with his wife, and that he pulled out his personal, five-shot, .38-caliber revolver – and not his badge – when confronted, said defense lawyer George Cretton, a former El Cajon police officer. “There's a fair difference between acting on duty and off duty,” Cretton said. “It just creates additional issues that you wouldn't normally expect to have if you were on duty in a uniform in a police car.”

In White's trial, the ultimate question jurors would have to decide, based on their life experiences, is whether he behaved recklessly, Pfingst said. Should he have withheld fire until he had determined who was inside Silva's car? Would a reasonable person have assumed that the person driving the other car was trying to seriously injure or kill him, and not trying to escape? “What this case is going to turn on is whether the act was grossly negligent,” Pfingst said. “There's no charge that it was malicious.”

An Oceanside police investigation concluded that Silva, who was living in Oceanside at the time, pulled out in front of White on Old Grove Road just after 9 p.m. March 15, forcing him to swerve to avoid an accident. White turned into a nearby Lowe's parking lot, and Silva followed, revving her engine and tailgating. White's wife called 911. In the parking lot, Silva pulled within inches of White's door, and was shouting at him. Court documents say White pointed his gun at her, and then backed up his car.

Silva called 911, saying, “There's a guy who's pulling a gun on me.” She then drove in reverse toward White's car. As the two cars passed, their side mirrors hitting, White fired one round through his window and Silva's passenger window, striking her son, and four more through her windshield. The front of Silva's Honda Accord hit the side of White's Mercury Milan as she turned away. Silva, 28, has pleaded not guilty to one felony count of child endangerment and four DUI-related misdemeanors in the incident. She is being prosecuted by the state Attorney General's Office.

More here

Another Texas good neighbor: "Details are still emerging about a Kingsland homeowner who shot a man he accused of attempting to burglarize his neighbor's house, but until the investigation is complete, the Llano County District Attorney cannot say whether the state's new "castle doctrine" would apply to Wednesday night's shooting. In the Kingsland case, the homeowner told investigators he shot a man he thought was robbing his neighbor's house. The homeowner, who lives in the 4700 block of River Oaks Drive in Kingsland, told investigators he saw a black Honda Civic driving up and down his street and then saw the car back into his neighbor's carport. The neighbor grabbed his .45 pistol and walked over to investigate. When he confronted the men inside the car they drove off, and the man started shooting at the Civic. The homeowner hit Casey Rowe, 25, in the back of the neck. Rowe was sitting in the back seat behind the driver of the Civic. Looking at the car, two bullet holes can be seen in the side of the car where Rowe was sitting. The district attorney is not certain if the"castle doctrine" would apply in the Kingsland case because the shooter seemed to have been protecting his neighbor's property, not his own. In Pasadena, a grand jury "no billed" a man who shot and killed two burglars breaking into his neighbor's house. Last October, a West Dallas man who lived at his scrap yard business shot and killed two burglars on two separate occasions in the span of less than a month. The men who were shot appeared to be trying to steal copper from the business. The 70-year-old man who shot the intruders was never charged"


IL: Guards involved in nightclub shooting turn themselves in: "Two security guards involved in the shooting death of a Hazel Crest man last Sunday at a Chicago Heights nightclub have turned themselves in to police and will not face charges, Chicago Heights police said Thursday. Lt. Michael Romano said he could not give out information about the guards' identities or for whom they worked, saying that "they are not cops, and they don't belong to us." Johnathan Williams, 20, was shot and killed by one of the guards after a fight broke out in the parking lot of the Esoteric club, 150 Joe Orr Road, and Williams began firing wildly into a crowd, police said. They said he wounded three people, one seriously, before an unarmed guard took a gun from an armed guard and fired back, killing Williams. Police described Williams' shooting as self-defense. Police said Darius Bell, 19, of Hazel Crest, was shot in the chest by Williams. Bell was in serious condition Thursday night at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn."


Chicago suburb repeals Handgun Ban: "In 1981, this quiet northern Chicago suburb made history by becoming the first municipality in the nation to ban the possession of handguns. Twenty-seven years later, Morton Grove has repealed its law, bowing to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June that affirmed homeowners' rights to keep guns for self-defense."


Give 'em Heller: "'Don't say my name out loud.' That's the first thing Dick Heller told me as we stood outside the Supreme Court building on the morning of June 26, waiting for the decision in a landmark Second Amendment case. Heller, who wore a Supreme Court tie and a blue baseball cap with a miniature silver pistol on it, looked like just another enthusiast as he handed out newsletters. But as he lectured me and my friends on the history of the case, we responded with rapt attention rather than casual interest. Heller, a security guard from Washington D.C., was the eponymous plaintiff in the case, District of Columbia v. Heller. ... One of my favorite aspects of living in Washington and working at a think tank for the summer has been the ability to see and meet famous politicians, celebrated judges, and renowned scholars. But my most enjoyable experience so far has been meeting this ordinary person with an extraordinary story."

Florida business owner defended himself from would-be robbers: "Two men tried to rob the owner of a Crawfordville business earlier this week, but the owner pulled out his gun and scared the would-be robbers away. It happened about 7:45 p.m. Saturday at Premier Motorcar Gallery, 1468 Crawfordville Highway, according to the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office. The owner was exiting the front door of the business carrying a small bank bag and had turned around to lock it when one of the men ran up and hit him in the head with a 2-by-6 board. The owner fell to the ground but was able to get a handgun out of his rear waistband and point it at the robber. Another man was running toward them, but the two turned around and ran to a waiting car when they saw the owner was armed. The car was described as brown in color, 1984-1986, four-door Chevy Caprice with a lift-kit similar to the photo to the right. The car had 22- to 24-inch chrome rims with wide white walls and an aftermarket chrome grill kit. The first would-be robber was described as a clean-shaven black man, 18-22 years old, 6 feet, with a thin build and short hair. He had a small notch shaved into his right eyebrow. He was wearing a long-sleeved blue FUBU shirt and Paco jeans."


NY: Owner gets back guns taken by police: "When Lou Matteo got his handgun collection back, town police averted a legal battle based on a new U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding an individual's right to own a gun. Matteo, 75, turned over his firearms in March after a verbal spat with his wife led to an order of protection against him. Guilderland police refused to give the guns back, citing a federal law barring anyone under an order of protection from possessing firearms. But on June 26, the nation's high court struck down a District of Columbia ban on handguns. Matteo has never been convicted of a crime, and his attorney, Tom Marcelle, said the Supreme Court ruling meant he was entitled to have his guns returned."


IL: Evanston won't amend handgun ban yet: "Evanston will hold off amending its handgun ordinance until officials see what gun control groups come up in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling against total handgun bans.Aldermen held off action Monday night on a resolution in which they express intent to amend the city's weapons ordinance in a way to conform with the court's ruling. .Meanwhile Monday evening, the Morton Grove Village Board, by a 5-1 vote, repealed its landmark 27-year-old handgun ban at its meeting.Under the proposal Evanston City Council members were mulling, a homeowner would be allowed to keep a firearm at his or her residence so long as the person possesses a current and valid Firearm Owner's Identification card."


Gun-toting in Georgia : "If you intend to rob me, stab me or punch me in the neck because you think I looked at you funny, I recommend you glance at my waist before lifting the pull tab on that can of whoop-ass.I may be carrying a handgun. Nearly everyone in our state can legally keep guns in their home. I am one of the few, the proud, the Georgia Firearms Licensed - one of a reported 300,000 Georgians permitted to carry a gun in public. Unlike the 9.2 million-or-so Peach Staters who do not possess firearms licenses, I'm legally permitted to carry a gun pretty much everywhere I go - walking my dogs, sipping a latte at my neighborhood coffee shop, buying deodorant at Target. Firearms licenses are easy to get in Georgia. All you need is a clean criminal record, about $40 and a couple of hours to spend at your county's probate court."

CA: First suspect, then victim: shooting said self-defense: In a span of two days, Brett Nichols went from being accused of attempted murder to becoming the victim in the same incident. The 48-year-old Phillips Ranch resident was arrested Monday morning on suspicion of attempted murder. Police said he had shot a man and dumped the body in the hills near his home. But Nichols was released from jail Wednesday afternoon after police determined he was acting in self-defense when he shot David Rotela, a 22-year-old Rosemead resident who survived the ordeal, authorities said. "It was a dumb move for me to do that, to dump his body, but I didn't know what to do," said Nichols outside his Edgebrook Drive home. Sgt. Robert Baker said "The (Los Angeles County district attorney) declined to prosecute for that incident." "Nichols is no longer a suspect," Baker said. According to Nichols, the shooting evolved from a home invasion robbery about 1:30 a.m. Monday. Five people live in the house owned by Nichols, who said he was waiting for his girlfriend to come home when he heard a commotion in a bedroom. He armed himself with a gun, "just in case something got out of hand," and went to find the source of the noise, Nichols said. Nichols said he discovered a man holding a shotgun and wearing a ski mask who ordered him and three other residents to lie under a mattress. Rotela and a second man took cell phones, cameras and car keys from the residents. As the men left the room, Nichols followed them. When Rotela got to the front door, he swung around and pointed his shotgun at Nichols. Nichols fired at Rotela who then fell back onto the front walkway while the second man escaped with the stolen goods, authorities said."


Arkansas: Burglar shot while choking homeowner: "Chris Hooten, 34, of Greers Ferry, is recovering from a gunshot wound to his abdomen after a scuffle around 10:15 p.m. Friday. He reportedly entered a home without permission, fought and choked the homeowner, and was shot in the process. Hooten, and James Gadberry, 26, of Greers Ferry, reportedly went to the home of Don Brown on Shaw Road earlier in the afternoon Friday and an argument ensued. "Brown was upset over how Hooten and Gadberry reportedly treated a female," said Detective Phil Burnham with the Cleburne County Sheriff's Department. "Brown told them both to leave and they did." Hooten and Gadberry returned to the Brown home just after 10 p.m. "Brown was asleep on the couch when he heard someone beating on the door. He saw the two men outside and told them to leave." According to authorities, Gadberry and Brown said Hooten forced his way into the home, pushing the door open. "Brown fell on top of an iron stove. He got up and the two men continued to harass him. He went back to the couch where he was sleeping and pulled out a pistol." Gadberry reportedly moved toward Brown and was hit on the head. "Hooten jumped on Brown and started choking him. When he felt like he was going to pass out he fired a shot, hitting Hooten in the abdomen." Hooten made his way outside where he passed out. "Gadberry went outside too. Hooten was taken by helicopter to the White County Medical Center in Searcy. He underwent a successful surgery." The two men are being charged with residential burglary and aggravated assault.


Georgia group takes local bans down : "What began a few years ago as an online forum for gun-rights advocates has exploded into the leading group for expanding Georgia's gun laws.Since its incorporation in 2006, Georgia Carry has fired off a steady stream of lawsuits against local gun bans by leaning on a state law that bars any entity but the General Assembly from regulating the carrying and possession of firearms.Georgia Carry appears to be winning the fight against Georgia's restrictions, which it calls the most stringent in the country, according to John Monroe, the group's vice president and attorney.Restrictions on where permitted gun owners can carry weapons in public seem to be on the wane."


Fla. guns at work law upheld by federal judge : "Employees with concealed weapons permits can keep guns locked in their cars at work in Florida, but businesses are allowed to prohibit customers from bringing firearms on their property, a federal judge has ruled.The Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Retail Federation, which challenged the state law that took effect July 1, huddled with their lawyers Tuesday to understand the split decision by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle in Tallahassee and decide whether they should challenge it.Rick McAllister, president and CEO of the retail federation, said he doesn't believe his organization will appeal."

Pennsylvania man chases 'exterminators' with knife, gun: "A 78-year-old man used a kitchen knife and a shotgun to chase three men posing as exterminators from his Lowhill Township home, according to police. A man who was 40 to 50 years old, about 5 feet 6 inches tall and 190 pounds with a heavy build and brown hair parted on the side entered the home through an unlocked front door. Upon entering, he advised the 78-year-old male resident he would do a free home extermination. During the conversation, the homeowner noticed two other men rummaging through his residence. Both were between 25 and 27 years old, about 6 feet tall, 180 pounds and had thin builds and dirty blond hair parted on the side. When the homeowner ordered them to leave his house, a fight broke out. While the homeowner struggled with one of the younger males, the older male restrained the homeowner. But the homeowner broke free, grabbed a kitchen knife and ordered all three men out of his house. The older male tried to regain entry. But by then, the homeowner had a shotgun in hand. The three men fled in a green van south on Route 100. They managed to steal about $10 in coins."


Oklahoma Homeowner Guns Down Burglar: "Authorities said a homeowner shot and killed a burglary suspect after a confrontation in a rural Midwest City neighborhood. Oklahoma County Sheriff's spokesman Mark Myers said the resident told deputies he spotted a man breaking into a large shed on his property and confronted him about 2:30 p.m. Thursday. When the suspect got into his car and tried to flee, the homeowner said he stepped in front of the vehicle to prevent the man from leaving. The homeowner said he fired one shot from a shotgun as the suspected burglar lunged toward him in his car. Myers said the man died at the scene. The names of the victim and the shooter were not immediately released"


Mississippi oldster wounds intruder: "An 84-year-old man, who repeatedly held off an alleged intruder Sunday when the man tried to break into his home, finally got a gun in desperation and shot through a door, wounding the intruder in the leg. At the time, the elderly resident was at home with his 74-year-old wife about 5 a.m. at their residence in the area of Adams Street in Bayside Park. Hancock County Sheriff's Investigator Andre Fizer said the couple heard a disturbance as a man tried to break through the front door and also tried to enter through a back door and a rear window of the residence. The resident called 911 and reported that the intruder was trying to force his way into the home, and was threatening to kill him. He held himself against the door to keep the man from entering. "The victim stated that when he became physically tired from holding the door, he became fearful for his and his wife's lives," Fizer said. As he grew weaker trying to hold off the intruder, the resident asked his wife to bring his .45-caliber Colt handgun. He fired one shot through a lower panel of the door. Although meant as a warning shot, the round struck 20-year-old Wade Ledesma of Bay St. Louis in the lower left leg. He was initially taken by American Medical Response to Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, then was transferred to University Hospital in Jackson. Ledesma was listed in fair condition Monday, Fizer said."


South Dakota Man Shoots Mountain Lion: "A late report of a mountain lion that was treed by a rancher's dog and shot near Oral, in far southwestern South Dakota. The incident took place July 17 when Alan Burg was about to start his pickup and go to work. After spotting the lion in a tree near his house, Burg shot it with a rifle. The big cat jumped down and ran into some tall grass. A game warden was called and dogs were used to track the mountain lion. The wounded animal was found about 40 yards from the tree and was shot again. Officials say shooting the cat was justified because of its nearness to the ranch house and the threat to animals and livestock on the ranch."

Lawsuit filed against new DC gun regulations: “The plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that struck down Washington’s 32-year-old handgun ban filed a new federal lawsuit Monday, alleging the city’s new gun regulations still violate an individual’s right to own a gun for self-defense.Dick Heller and two other plaintiffs argue that the city’s regulations are “highly unusual and unreasonable” in the complaint filed in U.S. District Court. The lawsuit claims the District of Columbia continues to violate the intent of the Supreme Court’s June 26 decision by prohibiting the ownership of most semiautomatic weapons, requiring an “arbitrary” fee to register a firearm and establishing rules that make it all but impossible for residents to keep a gun in the home for immediate self-defense.”


SAF, Smith & Wesson partner on commemorative revolver: "The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and Smith & Wesson have partnered to create a commemorative revolver designed to recognize the historical significance of the District of Columbia vs. Heller decision and to acknowledge the six original plaintiffs that united to challenge the gun ban in Washington, D.C. As part of the project, an engraved Smith & Wesson Model 442 revolver will be presented to each of the six plaintiffs -- Shelly Parker, Tom Palmer, Gillian St. Lawrence, Tracey Ambeau, George Lyon and Dick Heller -- for their key roles in working to protect the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms."


National Park Service gun ban expanding: "On July 10, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to designate the Washington-Rochambeau Trail, which stretches 600 miles from Rhode Island to Yorktown, Virginia, as a National Historic Trail. Such a designation would place the trail under the jurisdiction of the Department of Interior and the National Park Service, thus subjecting the Washington-Rochambeau to the current NPS gun ban. Carrying firearms on land controlled by the NPS is prohibited, even if the state in which the land is located allows firearms


MI: Marching with guns in Hastings: "Dozens of people banded together in Hastings Thursday night to walk the streets with guns in plain sight.Upwards of 50 people walked up and down the streets of downtown Hastings, most of them carrying holstered pistols.They say it's to celebrate and exercise their God-given right to keep and bear arms, which is also guaranteed in the second amendment.There were plenty of people who turned up for the event to watch the spectacle.Despite some objections, Hastings Police decided not to intervene in anyway because it is legal in Michigan to carry a holstered side arm in public, without a permit, as long as it's visible and the owner obtained the gun legally."

AZ: Man pulls gun, loses it, gets shot: "The news of Matthew John Bentz being shot to death two years ago in Mesa was about five hours old when one of the biggest murder cases in East Valley history went down. A quintuple slaying in the same city meant Bentz's death went largely unnoticed. No one but police was looking for details about Bentz, 40, being shot during an argument and scuffle with Moody Dewitt Clark, then 22. Only two weeks ago, Clark was exonerated when Bentz's death was ruled self-defense by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office... Police reports show that Bentz, James Ladd and Sara Kimble were in a room that Ladd lived in at the Majestic Guest Inn, 1554 W. Main St., on Feb. 20, 2006, when Clark - Kimble's boyfriend - arrived. Kimble told police that Bentz confronted Clark about robbing him of $500 at gunpoint about two weeks earlier. She said Bentz pulled a gun on Clark. Bentz told Clark, "You can either leave with me and we can go out east somewhere, or I could just shoot you now," according to a statement Kimble gave to police. Clark replied: "If you're not going to let me leave, I guess you're just going to have to shoot me." Bentz then pushed Clark onto a couch in the room, according to police reports. Clark jumped up and the two fought. The men struggled for the gun and, according to Kimble, Clark got it and hit Bentz on his head. She said she heard three shots and that Bentz fell after the third shot as Clark ran from the room".


Will Seattle gun ban stand up to legal review? "Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels recently targeted firearms by prohibiting guns on city property, including parks and community centers. His executive order, signed on June 9, directs city departments to develop "a plan to implement a gun-free policy." The mayor cited the May 24 shooting at the Folklife Festival as reason for these measures.... Critics, such as Dave Workman, senior editor for Gun Week magazine, say Mayor Nickels exceeds his authority. Paul Guppy of the Washington Policy Center says the measure will likely prove ineffective: "people who seek to hurt others don't obey gun laws, so adding more laws won't help," he said. Washington state law specifically prohibits local governments from adopting policies that are more restrictive than state law. The Washington Constitution also provides strong protection for gun owners: "The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired...."


Lawmaker wants no guns at airports, cites Ga. law : "The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says he might pursue new gun restrictions in response to a recently enacted Georgia law that could allow people to carry concealed firearms in parts of the Atlanta airport.Apparently surprised that some airports long have allowed guns in unsecured areas, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said the new Georgia legislation represents a significant hole in national security and a threat to travelers.He asked the [TSA] to clarify federal law governing weapons in areas outside security checkpoints. In a letter Monday to TSA Assistant Secretary Kip Hawley, he said `the committee may seek legislative action to correct this omission' if there are no restrictions."


Fight over open carry gun policy in Texas: "Imagine walking down the street and next to someone with a gun strapped to their hip. It's an image a group of Texans are hoping to turn into reality and they're gaining support by the thousands every day.'This is a basic right,' said former state Legislator, Suzanna Hupp. ..Hupp helped pass the current concealed carry law in the mid 90's.'It wasn't blood and chaos in the streets when we enacted the concealed carry,' said Hupp.Now she wants more.'We should allow people to carry. That means in their pocket, in their purse, on their forehead, on their hip. I don't care how they carry. If they can legally own a gun I think they should be able to carry it in public,' said Hupp."

Fatal NC shooting may have been self-defense: "The man police have accused of murdering a teenager Thursday night may have fired his gun in self-defense. Edward Lee Harris, 31, was charged with the murder of James Tony Lee, 18, in front of a townhouse complex near St. Augustine's College, police reported. But Sharon Artis, a spokeswoman with the state medical examiner's office, said Friday that a preliminary autopsy report indicated that Lee was involved in a home invasion robbery when he was shot. A second man, Brian Lee Cannady, 19, of 608 Culpepper Road in Raleigh, has also been charged with attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon. A police report listed the victim in the robbery attempt as Edward Lee Harris. Police have accused Cannady of using a handgun to try to take an undisclosed amount of cash from Harris. The warrant also states that Harris' life was "threatened and endangered" during the attempted robbery. Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue declined to discuss the shooting or why Harris had been charged with murder if he was defending himself. Officers arrested Harris on Friday. He also was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon. Harris finished an 11-month sentence for second-degree murder in January 2006, according to state records. Lee and Cannady have lengthy criminal histories"


California: DA rules Barraza shooting was self-defense: "District Attorney Candice Hooper and Sheriff Curtis Hill released a statement Thursday saying no arrests will be made in the October shooting death of Robert A. Barraza during a confrontation on Valaire Drive. The actions of the shooter, referred to as a "victim" throughout the press release, have been ruled as self-defense... The confrontation began Oct. 14 when the shooter - whom authorities never have called a suspect and whose name has been left unreported - heard noises and approached the front of his home, according to the statement. There, he saw an acquaintance involved in a fight with several people who had been attending a party on the same street. He attempted to break up the fight and was shot in the back during this attempt, the statement reads. He then went into his home, retrieved a Glock 9mm and a shotgun, handed the latter off to a friend while instructing him to defend those in the home if anyone entered, and then went out the east side of his home to confront the assailants who had been shooting into the home for the entire time he was inside, according to authorities. The assault had, by then, moved to the east side of the home, and the shooter ordered the assailants to leave his property, the statement reads. At this point, Barraza aggressively approached the shooter, who again ordered him off the property. According to the press release Barraza "responded in a negative manner and appeared to reach into his waist area as if attempting to retrieve a weapon." The shooter fired his weapon once, striking Barraza, who then fled."


IL: Wilmette shoots down '89 handgun ban: "Wilmette village trustees voted Tuesday night to strike the village's 1989 handgun ban from the books in the wake of last month's U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn a Washington, D.C., ban. Village officials suspended enforcement of the ordinance shortly after the June 26 ruling and said it would probably not withstand legal challenges based on the court's reasoning in the ruling, which said outright gun bans are unconstitutional.The proposed ordinance to repeal the local ban was passed unanimously late Tuesday night."


IL: Chicago continues to enforce gun ban: "Chicago Police will continue to enforce the city's handgun ban and firearm registration laws while lawyers fight the pro-gun lobby in federal court. The National Rifle Association and the Illinois State Rifle Association filed federal lawsuits to shoot down Chicago's gun laws after the U.S. Supreme Court voided the District of Columbia's handgun ban last month.City Corporation Counsel Mara Georges told a City Council committee Thursday that she's prepared to fight those lawsuits all the way to the Supreme Court."Chicago's gun ordinance was not invalidated by the . . . decision. Three prior Supreme Court decisions have found that the Second Amendment does not apply to states and municipalities," Georges said. "The decision did not change that case law."

Key-fob gunman jailed for 9 years in "gun free" Britain: "A man was jailed for nine years for shooting a fellow clubber with a key-fob gun. Police say that about 100 of the four-inch Bulgarian-made weapons are still believed to be in circulation. Marcus Henry, 27, of Clapham, South London, fired two shots, one of which hit Yaw Darko-Kwakye in the shoulder. It followed a row over the victim's girlfriend in the Departures nightclub in the City of London.


WA: Diners confronted by nut: "Diners at Pacific Grill, an upscale downtown Tacoma restaurant, were confronted by a man who was dining alone Monday evening. According to Tacoma Police, the man sat down and ordered beer, then got up, went into a private dining area and demanded money from the diners. He told them this was a robbery and demanded their wallets. "He comes in the room and says, 'I want your wallet and your cash'," recalled Dr. Charles Weatherbee who was seated with fellow doctors and drug reps. One of the doctors, who had been at target practice earlier, pulled out his gun and ordered the suspect out, saying, "Get out of the restaurant now!" The suspect left and was greeted by police officers outside. Tacoma Police spokesperson Mark Fulghum says the armed doctor acted within the law, defending himself and others during a crime. The suspect is now undergoing a mental evaluation. He faces one robbery charge and several attempted robbery charges."


The follies of gun control: "When it comes to restricting private individuals' Second Amendment rights, it seems that the world must turn upside down to justify gun control. Criminals need to obey the law, limited human beings need to be present everywhere and respond to anything, inanimate objects need to assume a volition of their own, and parents all of a sudden need to become totally oblivious to what their children are doing. Yes, all of these astounding assumptions are behind the common case for gun control. And, as logic dictates, either the assumptions themselves must be true, or the arguments made on their basis must be discarded as illegitimate."


Personal judgment: "I'm sure some bureaucrat somewhere would have been happy to stick me with a .38 Special revolver (which is that much less gun than 9x19 mm, just less enough not to risk my life on) or a .45 Long Colt or ACP (which I'd have trouble handling with my weak hand). Which is why I'm not real happy about gun control supporters who are now clamoring for 'reasonable regulation' now that Heller is the law of the land. These guys are trying to pretend that safe in some office they can tell me what gun I need at two in the morning making an emergency run to the ATM or 7-11 and that same gun is what an abused woman trying to keep her abuser from coming into her house needs, as does some rancher who has to worry about wild dogs and pumas getting into his livestock."

Texas: Immigrant shot burglar teen: "An illegal immigrant tasked with guarding a convenience store shot and killed a teenager who attempted to burglarize it, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino said Monday. Silvestre Delgadillo, 28, remained on the run and authorities had "no idea" whether he fled to Mexico, Trevino said. Delgadillo, who was convicted in 2005 on a felony drug charge, has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, a third-degree felony. But the actual homicide is complicated by Texas' castle law, which allows people to use lethal force to defend themselves and their property. Delgadillo is accused of shooting Roberto Garcia, 17, late Friday night. "He is there to protect his residence - protect the business - under the direction of the owner," Trevino said. He said he will submit the case to the District Attorney's office, which will then present it to a grand jury. The grand jury will determine whether to charge Delgadillo in connection with the homicide. The shooting occurred late Friday or early Saturday, Trevino said, when Garcia and Ramiro Garza and Eloy Santana, both 17, tried to burglarize Valeria's Drive Thru convenience store by breaking through its roof. Delgadillo was living inside the business, though, and had been told by store owner Olivia Lopez, 34, to guard it with a gun she provided, Trevino said. Delgadillo shot Garcia during the burglary, hitting him in the lung and artery, Trevino said. The wound killed Garcia within minutes."


Alaska: Juneau man shoots bear who enters home: "A Juneau man shot and injured a bear who he says had entered his residence. Local police haven't identified him. They say the man shot the bear in the face with a .45 semiautomatic handgun. Officers have been unable to locate the injured bear. Sergeant Chris Burke says the man reported being woken up by a noise in his residence. The man told authorities that when he got out of bed the bear was about four feet into the home. The bear turned and ran back toward the porch. When the man yelled at the bear to encourage it to leave, the bear turned around and lunged and that's when the man shot it. Sergeant Burke says officers tracked a blood trail for the bear, but haven't found it.


California: DA declines charges in fatal Marine shooting: "The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office elected not to file charges against Issa Wajeel, 50, the Barstow man who was arrested Friday on suspicion of murder in connection with the shooting death of a Camp Pendleton Marine. Michael Fermin, supervising deputy district attorney at the Barstow courthouse, said he received the Barstow Police Department report in the case late in the day on Monday. After reviewing the file with Gary Roth, chief deputy district attorney for the Desert-Mountain region of the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, they came to the conclusion Tuesday afternoon that Wajeel acted in self-defense when he shot 20-year-old Michael Firkins, Fermin said. Police found Firkins with a gunshot wound to the head in a truck parked in front of Wajeel’s house on July 3. He died in the hospital on July 6, and Wajeel was arrested Friday on suspicion of murder. Wajeel, who was in his yard with a gun when police arrived, told investigators that he had confronted a man who may have been trying to break into his house. Wajeel, a retired Army sergeant first class, worked as a contractor at Fort Irwin and taught administration of justice classes part time at Barstow Community College. As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, West Valley Detention Center still listed Wajeel as an inmate."


Kentucky Man Shot & Killed in Self-Defense: "Police have not filed any charges against a Pulaski County man who they say shot and killed someone in self-defense. Last night, officers were called to a home on West Highway, in Science Hill, to investigate a shooting. They say three people, one armed with wooden club, went to the home to start a fight -- which they did. After a short time, police say the homeowner, Joshua Pyles, got a shotgun and asked the suspects to leave his home and property. They refused and continued to make threats, so Pyles fired one shot. One of the suspects, 34-year-old Jim Goff, was hit. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The two other suspects, Heather Goff, 29, wife of the deceased, and John Strunk, 46, Heaton Ford Road Science Hill, KY were both arrested at the scene and charged with assault 2nd degree. Pyles has not yet been charged in the shooting. The preliminary investigation indicates that Pyles was acting in self-defense in protecting himself and his family."

Missouri: Neighbor Fights off Would-be Grocery Store Burglars: "Surveillance video shows a bizarre "break-in" at a grocery store in Butler County. Thieves try to cash in fast by taking off with an ATM. The crooks tried using a truck as a battering ram, and brought down the front of the store. But owners say thanks to a quick thinking neighbor, those would-be burglars left empty handed. "I heard this loud, excruciatingly loud bang across the street," Robert Chavez said. That's when he sprang into action. "I got my gun out of my gun cabinet and told my wife to call 911. I walked outside, and fired a shot in the air just to ruffle their feathers," he said. It did. The would-be-burglars sped away and investigator Jim Akers says deputies found the truck abandoned on a county road. Before they left though, Chavez had a scare of his own. "He pulled out and faced me, the truck did. I felt at that point, I'm in imminent danger, and it scared me. I fired a slug through the windshield of his truck, and put one in the grill and passenger side door," Chavez said. The Butler County Sheriff says he believes there were three people in the truck, but investigators have no suspects at this time."


Florida: Home invasion suspect shot, killed by resident; four others arrested: "One of two men who forced their way into a Williston-area home early Wednesday was shot to death by one of the home’s occupants, a shooting that authorities described as self-defense. The second suspected intruder, along with three alleged accomplices, are in jail after an investigation by Marion County sheriff’s deputies of the attempted home invasion robbery. Investigators said the home invasion occurred about 2:30 a.m. at the home Roger Dan Garrison, 49, in the 19000 block of Northwest County Road 335. Two of the suspects, Jonathan Gaal, 19, of Ocala, and Brian Bond, 19, of Summerfield, forced their way inside as three alleged accomplices awaited nearby in a car. According to sheriff’s investigators, Garrison’s brother, Martin Randy Garrison, 54, was asleep on a couch in the living room and had a .25-caliber handgun under the couch. When Gaal pointed a handgun at Martin Garrison, the older man fired three shots at Gaal at point-blank range. Gaal ran out of the home, but collapsed and died in the front yard.... Fisher said that investigators recovered Gaal’s cell phone and answered it when calls came in. That led investigators to the four suspects, who Fisher said cooperated with investigators and gave statements. “They came in believing that they were just part of a burglary,” Fisher said. “They had no idea about the homicide or that Gaal had died.” Gaal was the nephew of Jackie Bellomy Jr., 48, of Williston, who investigators believe helped Gaal and Bond get into the home. Wednesday afternoon, sheriff’s officials arrested Bellomy Jr., Bond, Albert Rodriguez, 21, of Belleview, and Richard Bellomy, 24, of Williston, another nephew, for second-degree murder and armed home invasion.




Ohio: Moving men best would-be robber: "One determined store owner. Eleven bulky employees to back him up. And a nervous would-be robber pointing a gun at them. The result? A very bad attempt at robbery, said Raymond Palma, 37, owner of D& R Moving. The botched robbery Wednesday morning sent the alleged robber to the hospital with two self-inflicted gunshot wounds, no money and a charge of aggravated robbery. “This ought to be on ‘Dumbest Criminals,’ Palma said. “To come into a moving company with men who lift and haul things for a living – 12 guys, five or six bullets. You do the math.” The robber, identified as Ahmad Parker [above], 21, of Roselawn, was in surgery at University Hospital Wednesday evening for gunshot wounds to the leg and arm, Cincinnati police said. Palma said when Parker walked into the business, 465 Elberon Ave., around 9 a.m. and pointed a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol, demanding everyone empty their pockets, Palma thought he was joking. “Then he said it again and put the gun right to my head and that’s when I knew he’s not kidding anymore,” Palma said. “But you could just tell he was a rookie. He hesitated for a couple seconds and he didn’t know what the heck he was doing, apparently.” The handgun’s safety was still on until Parker noticed it halfway through the robbery, Palma said. He said he waited until Parker turned his head then grabbed the gun. Four employees joined in. During the scuffle, the gun went off several times, striking Parker twice and an employee once."


IL: Wilmette expected to repeal handgun ban: "The village board in north suburban Wilmette Tuesday is expected to repeal the community's handgun ban.The ban has not been enforced since last month's U.s. Supreme court ruling affirming individual gun ownership rights under the Second Amendment.Repeal of the 19-year-old ban is being done quietly, in stark contrast to the intense debate that marked its 1989 passage and subsequent enforcement. No one indicated a desire to speak on the ban when the repeal ordinance was introduced two weeks ago, either from the public or on the board.Village President Chris Canning said he has not heard any impassioned arguments for or against keeping it since the Supreme Court's ruling."

Florida Home Invader Shot and Killed

(Marion County, Florida) A 19-year-old home invader, Jonathan Gaal (pic), was shot and killed early Wednesday morning after he and an accomplice entered a residence occupied by an armed homeowner. Gaal was also armed.

The incident occurred about 2:30 AM.

According to Marion County Sheriff's deputies, the homeowner heard Gaal and his partner enter the house and he immediately he grabbed his weapon and fired. Gaal was hit while the second invader fled.

The benefits of an armed citizenry exhibited in Israel: "A Palestinian resident of Jerusalem last night commandeered a bulldozer and rampaged along the street outside the hotel in which US presidential candidate Barack Obama was due to stay today, in the second such attack in three weeks. The driver was shot dead and up 16 people injured, most suffering from anxiety, in what Israeli police described as a terror attack. Police named the driver as Ghassan Abu Tir, from the East Jerusalem of Umm Tuba. He is a relative of a jailed Hamas MP. The attack appeared to replicate a rampage on July 2, in which three people were killed when another Arab resident set off through a city street in a larger bulldozer, crushing several cars and overturning a bus. Yesterday's incident was over within five minutes. The driver was shot first by an Israeli civilian, then by a border police officer. Several cars were severely damaged along with at least one bus that was struck by the bulldozer."


PA: Would be robber shot,killed: "A would-be robber picked on the wrong victim in Manheim early Tuesday, according to police. Kevin Smith, 19, of Lancaster City was shot twice in the chest and died hours later at a local hospital. The botched holdup occurred just after 5 a.m. when two men followed the operations manager of Power Pro Battery into his office.Police said knowing he was about to be robbed, the manager pulled out his own handgun, turned and fired twice, hitting one of the robbers.The other man got away.Police are now trying to learn who he is and where he might be.Investigators said they believe the manager acted in self-defense."


NJ: Most find gun control outside realm of public health: "Gun regulation is not a public health issue, according to more than 80% of some 2,000 respondents to a MedPage Today poll.When the editors of the New England Journal of Medicine decried the recent Supreme Court decision overturning the District of Columbia's handgun law, they did so claiming the issue is a matter of public health. Now doctors in the trenches have weighed in with their own views.The responses from physicians who are registered members of the site was remarkbly evenly divided. .But for readers as a whole, it was another story - with 83% of the 2,023 respondents saying No. And as a further measure of interest in gun control, there were 36 comments posted with the poll."


NY: Gun owner files lawsuit over seized guns : "An outspoken Long Island gun owner's home was raided by Nassau County detectives, who seized two dozen weapons he lawfully owns just one day after Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's office made a 911 call about him.Freeport resident Gabriel Razzano claims he was targeted in the spring raid for his `unpopular' political beliefs.He's now filed a $5 million federal lawsuit against the Nassau PD and McCarthy, charging they joined forces to strip him of his guns unconstitutionally. .. The flap arose on March 19, when Razzano visited McCarthy's Garden City office to discuss an article about an illegal immigrant ..Razzano's home was raided the next morning."

North Carolina teenager fends off would-be robbers: "Two suspects are on the run after a teenager in the house they were robbing turned one of the criminals' guns against them. At about 8:30 a.m. Saturday, police said two robbers broke into Danielle Gardin's home in north Charlotte. "One guy opened up the garage, let the van in and then they started going upstairs," Gardin said. Gardin wasn't home, but her 14-year-old son Dante was. He had locked the door to his room at the top of the stairs, called 911 and hid in the closet. "One of the guys kicked the door in, and then he started going through Dante's stuff," Gardin said. The teenager had armed himself with a pocket knife. And with the stranger in his room distracted, Dante attacked. "That's when he came out of the closet and that's when he stabbed the guy in the stomach," Gardin said. While the two struggled in the room, the robber's gun fell to the floor. Dante picked it up and aimed it at the would-be criminal. The man then took off down the stairs then sped away with his accomplice in the getaway van, damaging part of Gardin's garage in the process. Police said both suspects are black males with dreadlocks. One of the suspects was wearing a long-sleeved black T-shirt and jeans. The other was wearing a blue polo shirt with white stripes."


Florida Burglar Shot: "A homeowner shot a would-be burglar in Southwest Miami-Dade on Sunday, police said. Police said the man shot was one of two thieves who tried to burglarize a house in the 2400 block of 117th Avenue about 2 a.m. He was taken to the hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. The second man apparently got away. Neighbors said the house, which sits on the side of the street nearest the interstate, has been hit by thieves before. Police said two children, ages 5 and 9, were inside the house when the culprits tried to break in. No charges had been filed against the homeowner Sunday."


Texas: No charges filed against man who shot teen: "Police have hot filed charges against a Northeast resident who allegedly shot a man in self-defense. The police department's Drive-by-Shooting Response Team (DSRT) was called to assist with a "shots fired" call at the 9500 block of Iris at about one Saturday morning. Officers discovered a 19-year-old man had been shot in the ankle and forearm at a residence in the area. An investigation revealed the victim went to a party at the residence and engaged in an argument that escalated into a physical confrontation, police officials said. Police said a resident of the home grabbed a handgun and fired several shots at the victim in an attempt to protect his home and family. The victim was transported to Thomason hospital and a further investigation is underway."


Ohio man killed trying to rob home: "An 18-year-old man armed with a BB gun was fatally shot while trying to rob the residents of a Franklinton home yesterday afternoon, police said. Police arrested his two alleged accomplices, one of whom was his brother, and charged them with murder for taking part in a crime that resulted in his death. The resident who fired the fatal shot was released after questioning by police. A Franklin County grand jury will decide whether he acted in self-defense or should be indicted for a crime, police said. Terrance W. Jackson, described by police as a college student from out of state, died at Mount Carmel West hospital at 1:51 p.m., about an hour and 40 minutes after the shooting at 641 W. Chapel St. Police said Jackson was accompanied by his brother Cashius D. Jackson and Cashius' girlfriend, Lucretia D. Fudge, when he attempted to rob Joshua A. LeMaster's home at 12:10 p.m. LeMaster was one of four residents in the home at the time. LeMaster shot Jackson in the chest and arm. Jackson ran across the street and collapsed on the sidewalk, where he was unresponsive when found by police, Sgt. Joan Schlabach said. "He's protecting his family. He's protecting my home," said LeMaster's roommate, who was asleep upstairs when the shots were fired. "It's (expletive) when you can't leave your front door open." LeMaster's girlfriend told police that Terrance Jackson held a gun, later identified as a BB gun, to her head. LeMaster pulled out a real gun and shot him in the living room."