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TX: The Right Way to Protect Schools
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff

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Over the last few years, several incidents in which one or two men have undertaken violence at schools. They typically put on paramilitary garb and bring enough weaponry to terrorize the entire school. Many large school districts have metal detectors in high schools, but a metal detector is useless against someone who comes in with no intention of surrendering his weapon. Aside from militarizing the schools, protecting schoolchildren while they learn seems to be a difficult task. Doing so while maintaining a positive learning atmosphere seems especially daunting.

Well, a new method to combat the violence comes from the Burleson, Texas school district.

Commentary: Why Does Habeas Corpus Hate America?
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff

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The reality is, without habeas corpus, a lot of other rights lose their meaning.

But if you look at the actual Bill of Rights - the first ten amendments to that pesky Constitution - you'll see just how many remain.

Well, ok, Number One's gone.
If you're detained without trial, you lose your freedom of religion, speech, the press and assembly. And you can't petition the government for anything.

Number Two? While you're in prison, your right to keep and bear arms just may be infringed upon.

Even if you're in the NRA.

AL: Get the guns out of your homes Submitted by: Mark A. Taff	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
More school shootings, and the inevitable commentary on the evening news: “I didn't think this sort of thing could happen here.” The heartfelt, but naive belief that murderous rampages “don't happen here” begs the question: “Where do you think such things happen?”

FL: After fatal shooting, man comes to terms with self-defense
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff

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His voice shakes. He can't work, he says, can't concentrate. He's 260 pounds of tough guy, but tears fall as he relives the moment he killed a man.

It has been a week since police say Christopher Welker, 26, caught two robbery suspects outside his Hollywood, Fla., home, trying to steal the new chrome rims off his truck in the middle of the night. During a scuffle for one suspect's gun, Welker shot one dead and wounded the other.

FL: Kottkamp's record for GOP solid Submitted by: Mark A. Taff	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
"I just think the right to bear arms is a sacred constitutional right that we ought to protect. That's one of those bills where you're going to have to pick sides," said Kottkamp. "I've tried to support legislation that created an environment where businesses could flourish in the state but that's not what's at issue here. It's just a fundamental right to bear arms."

I'm sticking to my guns on this one Submitted by: Mark A. Taff	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
It is with great pride that I present the world's first bulletproof column on the subject of guns. That's right, I can say anything I want to say about guns without fear or risk of taking potshots from anyone on any side of this volatile issue. Yeah, right. I know I'm dreaming. I know that all I have to do is say the word "guns" and lots of people will start getting their hackles up.

Somalia: Islamists in bid to rid Somalia of illegal guns
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff

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Mogadishu - Somalia’s Islamists plan to do what many believe to be impossible in a country synonymous with anarchy — take the guns away from one of the world’s most heavily armed populations.

Abdullahi Maalim Ali, head of internal security for the Islamists who control the capital Mogadishu and most of south-central Somalia, said the Islamists will go door-to-door collecting weapons owned by ordinary Somalis and organisations.

MO: Scott Co. sheriff's records lacking Submitted by: Mark A. Taff	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
The auditors also wanted to know why Ferrell, according to gun inventories, removed 10 guns from the gun vault in his last week in office. Ferrell, in a reply to the auditors, said he only took five and that he gave auditors a letter from each gun owner acknowledging they received their property.

MD: Guns R Us
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff

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Hear that? It's the deafening silence of politicians not talking about how the way to deal with gun violence is to deal with guns.

A Baltimore 8-year-old brought a loaded gun to school last week that his classmate accidentally fired about the same time an Amish school in Pennsylvania was being razed in memory of five girls shot to death there by an intruder the week before. Those events closely followed fatal school shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin and the arrest of a Missouri middle-schooler armed with an assault rifle.

PA: Controlling violence Submitted by: Mark A. Taff	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Rendell challenged Swann to appear with him at a news conference to urge the Legislature to buck Second Amendment fanatics and endorse the plan. To his disgrace, Swann has refused to join the effort, a particularly shameful position for an African-American candidate to espouse, given the senseless slaughter that disproportionately threatens young blacks.

MS: Gun restrictions won't make schools safer
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff

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The recent tragic outbursts of gunfire in schools across the land are sure to result in loud calls for a "solution." This will cause the expenditure of vast sums of taxpayer dollars for research, studies and the formation of expert panels such as the one called for by President Bush.

Virtually all of these efforts will center around keeping guns out of our schools and, beyond providing salve to the psyches of those who hate and fear firearms, will accomplish nothing to make our children safer.

Anyone with a basic understanding of firearm safety and a little common sense could point out how to get more meaningful results quickly and at very little expense.

FL: School shootings debated, while gun control avoided
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff

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Bush's silence on guns symbolizes a broader trend. Children being shot or shot at in their schools used to elicit widespread talk about gun laws, but that hasn't been the prominent reaction since a rash of school shootings in 1999 that began with Columbine sparked debate.

Especially in the last six years, pro-gun groups have overpowered gun-control advocates on Capitol Hill and in many states.

"I think Americans are starting to be rational about this," said Rep. Cliff Stearns, an Ocala Republican who wrote a bill shielding gun manufacturers from "nuisance" lawsuits, which became law late last year.

WA: A spate of really bad ideas that can fit on a bumper sticker
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff

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You can hardly be surprised at Republican Rep. Frank Lasee's interest in this issue: One of those shootings took place in his state. There, on Oct. 1, a 15-year-old boy shot Weston Schools Principal John Klang to death. Still, Lasee's proposed solution has raised eyebrows.

As others debate solutions ranging from heightened security to increased vigilance against bullying, Lasee has cut through the namby and the pamby. He wants to pass legislation that would allow properly trained teachers and administrators to carry concealed handguns on school property.

MN: Dealing with school violence Submitted by: Mark A. Taff	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Still, any credible discussion of school safety requires raising the question of how and why teenagers can get guns so easily. And why does a tormented, suicidal adult, such as the one who shot 10 Amish school girls and killed five of them, have ready access to a semiautomatic pistol, a shotgun, 600 rounds of ammunition and a high-voltage stun gun?

CT: Carrying a Gun, Yes, but Disputing a Wild-West Image
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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The mayor of this unpretentious, blue-collar town -- a place few would consider an Eastern version of the Wild West -- pointed to the navy sock peeking above his sturdy oxford shoe and said he would never strap a handgun there, to his ankle. No, he said, the left pants pocket would provide him with a quicker draw. On a crisp early fall afternoon in his wood-paneled office in Town Hall, Mayor James R. Miron demonstrated his carrying preferences, though he also took pains to dispute the image of himself as a gun-toting sheriff. That image emerged last week when local newspapers quoted anonymous sources who claimed that Mr. Miron attended Town Council meetings with a firearm strapped to his ankle.

IL: Illinois Fraternal Order Of Police (ILFOP) Is Out TO DISARM CITIZENS Submitted by: Anonymous	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Don't be fooled. Anyone who says they want to ban one class of firearms really wants to ban all firearms. Yesterday we had the spectacle of ILFOP President Ted Street all kissy face with Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, endorsing Tammy Duckworth for congress. You are known by the company you keep Mr. Street.

TX: City should be gun-shy about these toys Submitted by: RPA-PAC Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
I asked my 6-year-old what he thought about making toy guns that look like the real thing illegal in Dallas. "It's good," he said, playing a game of Othello in his dinosaur underwear. Why, I asked. "Because people might get confused." Exactly.

Most kid homicides happen outside school
Submitted by: Protector

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The horrific school shootings in Colorado, Wisconsin and at an Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania -- which left six girls and a principal dead, all within a week -- have caused many to wonder just how safe our children are.

Truth is, young Americans die at the hands of other people at an alarming rate, greater than any other Western nation. Every day in 2003, an average of about 15 youth, ages 10 to 24, were victims of intentional and accidental killings, according to the most recent statistics available from the federal Centers for Disease Control.

Very few of them died in school shootings.

Note: Comparing 19-24 year olds with school children doesn't seem reasonable as that age group is into gangs and drugs which are dangerous.

IL: ISRA-PVF Calls Upon Gov. Blagojevich to Resign Submitted by: RPA-PAC Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
In light of the growing funding scandal within his campaign organization, the ISRA-PVF is calling upon Gov. Blagojevich to withdraw his bid for reelection and step down as the state's chief executive.

MA: As Congress caters to NRA, mayors battle illegal guns
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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This week, Boston is hosting the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the worlds oldest and largest nonprofit organization of police executives. While they are here, they will discuss the challenges facing law enforcement. This same shared purpose and sense of duty has brought 109 Democratic, Republican and independent mayors from 44 states together to form Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG). Our mission is to fill the void left by the federal governments dereliction of its commitment to public safety.

FL: Hollywood officer accused of pointing gun at family during road rage
Submitted by: Anonymous

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A Hollywood police officer is under investigation by Plantation police, accused of pointing a gun at a family of seven in an off-duty road rage incident, police records show.

"I see him reach for the gun and I was like, `Oh no, not this,'" Calle said. "He just comes out, points the gun at my head and says, `Don't call the police because I'm a cop.'"

"Don't reach for nothing because I will shoot you right now," the man with the gun said, according to police reports. He trained his gun on all seven in the van -- finger on the trigger, Calle's family told police.