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Brady Campaign: Not many gun changes since Virginia Tech
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"On the first anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting rampage, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence says it's still too easy for criminals to get guns."
"Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign, says not enough has changed since the ... shootings ..."
"'Much more needs to be done. The bottom line is we make it too easy for dangerous people to get guns in this country. There really aren't very many restrictions on people's ability to get guns,' Helmke said."
"'A lot of times, folks think that any restriction is somehow a threat to their Second Amendment rights. People should support closing the gun show loophole, people should support having a more complete background check system.'" ... |
One nation under guns
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"In the London Times, under the headline 'The United States of America has gone mad,' the British novelist John le Carré began his modest polemic, 'America has entered one of its periods of historical madness, but this is the worst I can remember.'" ...
"... The challenge ... is to locate a key symptom, a point of entry, a telltale lesion that ties all this grim psychopathology together."
"Perhaps I've found it. On this first anniversary of the massacre at Virginia Tech (April 16), I'd like to quote part of a recent Letter to the Editor from a man who identifies himself as 'a gun owner, a shooting sports enthusiast and a National Rifle Association member.' ..." ... |
THE GUN DEBATE: Think militia, as in training
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"'A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.' —- full text of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution"
"The judiciary has interpreted the Second Amendment to exclude the first part of this foundation of our constitutional set of rights. We have permitted our government to abandon the commitment to a well-regulated militia. Perhaps a solution to the senseless shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois is to reinvigorate the commitment to a well-regulated militia by mandating training as a requirement for gun ownership." ... |
One year after Virginia Tech shootings, protests set to highlight gun-purchase laws
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On the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings, protesters across the country, including at Colorado State University, are set to conduct a "lie-in" to highlight what they say are too-lax gun purchase laws
Today's protest at CSU takes place for just three minutes outside the Morgan Library. Organizers say three minutes is the time it takes to buy a gun in many places, which they say is too quick.
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Submitter's Note: 3 minutes? Heck, it takes me twice that long just to fill out the federal forms! Then there's the seller's form filling, the NICS call (which can take as little as 3 minutes or as long as 3 days), the actual purchase, then the escort to the door. Compare that to 80 years ago when you could walk into the hardware store, grab a Tommy gun and a silencer off the shelf, plunk down your cash and walk out! |
GA: Safety, accountability held hostage to lobby
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"Today, as I write, House Bill 89 rests on Gov. Sonny Perdue's desk awaiting his signature."
"It will permit those with concealed-carry permits to take their firearms onto public transportation, into state parks and into restaurants that earn more than 50 percent of their income from food. Perdue should veto this bill. And he shouldn't dilly-dally doing it."
"The gun issue nowadays isn't ultimately a Republican vs. Democrat or a conservative vs. liberal issue, but simply one of public safety. And if our laws aren't doing the job, please don't believe for a minute that putting more guns in more hands in more places will solve the problem." ... |
Israel: Israeli kills knife-wielding Palestinian in W. Bank
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"A Palestinian Authority terrorist was shot dead late Monday afternoon as he attempted to stab two people at a bus stop ... The armed civilian who put an end to the attack is a school principal from the town of Itamar."
"... an Arab man approached the Shiloh Junction bus stop ... the older man placed his hand on his personal weapon."
"At that point, the attacker suddenly pulled out a six-inch knife and tried to stab the adult Israeli. ... he managed to cock his pistol and shoot the terrorist ..."
"The bullet knocked the Arab off his feet ... When the terrorist then reached into his shirt, the civilian interpreted the motion as a possible attempt to detonate an explosive vest, and he shot again, this time killing his attacker. ..." ... |
AZ: Homeowner Shoots Burglar
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An early-morning break-in turned fatal when the homeowner shot the intruder, Mesa police said.
The homeowner, his wife and another person woke to the sound of someone breaking into their home shortly after 2:15 a.m., police said.
The wife ran to a closet to call 911 while her husband confronted the armed intruder.
Police said the husband struggled with the intruder and shot the burglar with his own gun.
Rescue crews pronounced the burglar dead at the scene.
Police said a second would-be intruder was waiting outside the home and was arrested.
Investigators said the incident may be drug-related.
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KABA Note: Better to bring your own gun to the gunfight. |
Nation Divided Over Gun Control
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"It has been one year since the Virginia Tech Massacre but the memories are far from faded." ...
"Though many colleges have certainly recognized the importance of making psychological and mental services available to students who are potentially at risk to harm themselves or others, many feel that the tragedy could have been avoided altogether if the shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, did not have access to assault weapons in the first place. On the other side of this debate are those that claim Cho could have been stopped if other students had access to guns on campus." ... |
WI: Guns resurface as potent campus, election issue
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"From UW-Madison to presidential campaigns, guns are appearing as a leading issue in 2008, according to political observers."
"Eric Thompson, president of the gun supplier TGSCOM Inc., said he would donate hundreds of gun holsters to colleges around the country next week."
"The holsters will be used by Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, including the UW-Madison chapter, for events protesting a state ban on concealed weapons."
Thompson ... said trained students with guns might have prevented the tragedies."
"He said support for concealed carry bills is increasing, though they would unlikely be signed by Gov. Jim Doyle. The governor vetoed concealed carry bills in 2003 and 2006 ..." ... |
NC: Universities want to help stop gun violence
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"A year ago today, a gunman took the lives of 32 students and faculty at Virginia Tech. Our nation looked on in horror, and those of us who lead universities prayed that such senseless killings would not strike our campuses again."
"But they did. In February, five members of the Northern Illinois University community died at the hands of a gunman."
"Violence also came to our own campuses here in North Carolina ..."
"Today, as we join the rest of the country in remembering the Virginia Tech tragedy, we have learned to regard campus gun violence not as a television drama but as a life-and-death issue that directly affects universities across North Carolina." ... |
AL: Campus group for carrying concealed weapons hosts meeting
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"The University's chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus hosted a meeting on Tuesday night to discuss their upcoming Empty Holster protest."
"Chad Haynie, a sophomore majoring in political science and the president of ASCCC, said the protest is being organized to show the campus that students' rights are being taken."
"'Students participating in the protest will wear empty gun holsters on their belts,' Haynie said. 'This signifies the fact that students' rights are being abridged by the University. Students should have the right to defend themselves.'"
"Haynie stressed the holsters of participating students must be empty, and that UA administration and the University's Police Department had been notified." ... |
Don't take your guns to town
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"Mayor Sheila Dixon appears in a TV ad that's running around the country. In it, she's identified as a Barack Obama supporter. But the Illinois senator isn't likely to welcome the gesture."
"Appearing in the same ad are Jacksonville, Fla., Mayor John Peyton, who backs John McCain, and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who's in Hillary Clinton's camp. All three mayors urge the presidential candidates to support closing a loophole that allows felons to buy guns at gun shows. So does New York's Michael Bloomberg, identified in the Mayors Against Illegal Guns spot as an 'undecided voter.'" ... |
Bowling for Obama
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"Barack Obama seemed to have survived the blasphemous rants of his preacher and remained relatively untarnished by the perceived dissatisfactions of his privileged wife."
"But he may be less lucky with remarks he made recently about embittered, small-town Americans, who 'cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.'"
"Those words now cling to Obama like Styrofoam packing peanuts. ..." ...
"That Obama would articulate disdain for what was once generally recognized as 'American' culture feels like betrayal to former fans ..." ... |
MT: Gun issues a hurdle for Obama, Clinton
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"Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama face a tough sell with pro-gun Westerners as the presidential campaign heads to Montana, home of the nation’s last primary and one of the highest concentrations of gun owners in the country."
"In the rural West, suspicions linger about both presidential hopefuls' past support of gun control. And recent comments by Obama about how people in downtrodden areas 'cling to guns or religion' have raised concerns the Illinois senator doesn't grasp the importance of the gun issue in this part of the West, where fiercely independent voters often take a dim view of federal regulation." ... |
PA: Guns make Hill and 'O' take cover
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"Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are doing a delicate dance with voters in Pennsylvania, a state with nearly 1 million licensed hunters and a staggering urban gun-crime rate."
"In a state where the largest city, Philadelphia, has so many gun murders that it's been dubbed 'Killadelphia,' there are also 250,000 members of the National Rifle Association - and the Legislature just defeated a bill aimed at tracing stolen guns." ...
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KABA Note: The legislation was not "aimed at tracing stolen guns", it was aimed at criminalizing the failure to report a lost or stolen gun. |
Mike's new shot at pol cowards
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"Mayor Bloomberg told Washington lawmakers yesterday to show some courage and start enacting gun laws to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals."
"'Let's not continue to sit back as a massacre bigger than Virginia Tech continues to take place around our nation,' Bloomberg said as he testified before the Congressional Task Force on Illegal Guns."
"The mayor ... complained that other state and federal officials have failed to take common-sense action because they are 'cowed by the NRA,' ..."
"Bloomberg, along with other big-city mayors, asked that Congress enact several gun-control bills, including one that would bar gun ownership by individuals on the terrorist no-fly list." ... |
Packin' heat: Bill aims to honor concealed weapons permits nationwide
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"A bill introduced into Congress this week would force every state to recognize a concealed-weapons permit issued in another state, a move that would make Utah's permit even more of a prize nationwide."
"Utah has one of the more easily obtainable permits ... and the permit is recognized in 32 other states. The Secure Access to Firearms Enhancement Act, dubbed the SAFE Act by supporters, would force the other 17 states to honor the Utah permit or another issued by a carrier's home state."
"The bill, introduced this week and co-sponsored by Utah GOP Rep. Chris Cannon, includes the caveat that the permit holder would have to abide by the state's laws on where the firearm can't be carried, such as churches or schools." ... |
NY: Assembly Endorses Gun Safety Measures
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"The state Assembly has approved a series of gun safety measures aimed at helping law enforcement officers track down illegal guns, keep guns out of the hands of felons and children, and ban advanced weaponry used to kill police officers. The 10-bill package has been passed by the Assembly for more than a decade. Additional provisions of the Assembly’s comprehensive gun safety package would close several loopholes in state and federal procedures for licensing and regulating gun possession and also close mental health information loopholes." ... |
PA: City's New Gun Control Laws are Unconstitutional, Says Phila. DA
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"Philadelphia DA Lynne Abraham says the city's newly enacted gun control laws are unenforceable."
"At a hearing on Tuesday before City Council, Abraham said that in her opinion the laws passed last week are illegal and will be challenged as soon as the first person is charged under the new statutes." ...
"When asked point-blank by a city councilmember if her office would enforce the new city gun control laws, she replied, 'Nope.' She warned that if police began making arrests under the new laws, the city could face a wholesale wave of civil rights lawsuits in response." ... |
PA: NRA asks court to block enforcement of Philly gun laws
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"The National Rifle Association is asking for a temporary restraining order to stop enforcement of Philadelphia's new gun control laws."
"The NRA requested the order Tuesday and is asking the Common Pleas Court to consider a permanent injunction against the laws. Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham also says they are unconstitutional."
"Abraham predicted in a City Council hearing the laws will be successfully challenged when the first person is charged."
"She says she agrees with the intent of the ordinances, including a requirement to report theft or loss of a gun within 24 hours, a ban on possession or sale of assault weapons and a limit of one firearm purchase a month." ... |
IL: McHenry County tells lawmakers: No new gun laws
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"With little debate, the McHenry County Board Tuesday unanimously passed a measure telling the General Assembly the state has enough gun laws."
"'We need to enforce our present laws to show that illegal use of firearms will not be tolerated,' said Jim Kennedy, D-5th, of Lake in the Hills."
"A vote on the resolution had been postponed from February in the wake of the shootings that killed five at Northern Illinois University."
"The resolution opposes any legislation that would 'infringe upon the right of the people to keep and bear arms.'" ... |
PA: Moorestown officer charged with sex assault on children
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"A Moorestown police officer and his former girlfriend have been charged with sexually assaulting children, authorities said yesterday."
"Robert Melia Jr., 38, of Cottage Avenue in Moorestown and Heather Lewis, 32, of Stockton's Bridge Road in Pemberton Township were each charged with three counts of 1st degree aggravated sexual assault and one count of 2nd degree sexual assault, said Jack Smith, spokesman for the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office."
"The charges were filed Saturday following an investigation into alleged assaults on three juvenile girls, Smith said. Their ages were not released." ... |
FL: Fla. police officer charged with having on-duty sex with teen
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A central Florida police officer is charged with having sex with a 16-year-old girl while on duty four years ago.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says Jody Beaudry committed the crime in 2004. He is the deputy police chief in the Polk County town of Mulberry, east of Tampa.
The 39-year-old Beaudry is accused of having sex with the girl after threatening to have her probation revoked. He was arrested Monday after the FDLE investigation.
Beaudry is being held without bond pending a court hearing. It's not clear if he has an attorney yet. |
IN: Muncie officer accused in rock-throwing incident
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"A police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave amid accusations she threw rocks at a car owned by her estranged husband's girlfriend."
"An investigation into the incident involving Jaime L. Howell, 31, should be completed this week, Police Chief Deborah Davis said Thursday."
"Howell's estranged husband, Richard Howell Jr., also a Muncie police officer, responded to the call Monday night near his apartment."
"A woman called police to report that Jaime Howell was in a minivan with her children, throwing rocks at her car and trying to break into the apartment."
"No arrests were made. Jaime Howell, who has been a Muncie police officer since 2003, was off-duty at the time." ...
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H/t to David Codrea. |
CA: SFPD Officer Charged With Stealing Cash Evidence
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"A San Francisco police officer alleged to have stolen money from a police station in 2006 pleaded not guilty Tuesday to five felony counts, according to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office."
"Michelle Alvis, 30, was arraigned Tuesday morning in San Francisco Superior Court, and charged with grand theft, preparing false documentary evidence, filing a false report by a peace officer, and two counts of theft or falsification of a government document by a custodial officer."
"Alvis was arrested Friday after being indictedfor allegedly taking nearly $2,000 that had been seized during an arrest and was supposed to be booked into evidence at a police station on October 31, 2006." ... |
CT: Retired Officer Charged With Unlawfully Firing Gun
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"A retired Southington police officer is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, on charges that he unlawfully firing a gun on his property."
"On Monday, police went to Gary Allard's home after receiving a report of a gunshot. Allard was charged with unlawful discharge of a firearm, second-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree breach of peace and violations of conditions of release, police said in a news release."
"Police said Allard, 51, was arrested in February and was not allowed to possess firearms. At that time, he was accused of stopping a driver on an Interstate 84 exit ramp and threatening to shoot the man." ... |
NC: Brunswick Sheriff Resigns Amid Allegations
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Brunswick County Sheriff Ronald Hewett resigned Tuesday, weeks after he was suspended from office and indicted on state criminal charges.
The Star-News of Wilmington reported that Hewett's attorney turned in the letter of resignation to county officials Tuesday morning.
Hewett was suspended March 27, based on allegations by 22 current and former deputies of misconduct in office. They said Hewett was intoxicated at crime scenes, required them to do landscape and construction work at his house and demanded that they campaign for him while on duty.
Four days later, a grand jury indicted Hewett on charges of embezzlement and obstructing justice. |
MD: Officer charged in fatal hit-and-run
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"An off-duty Anne Arundel County police officer linked to a deadly hit-and-run crash in Harford County in late January was indicted yesterday on 13 counts by a Harford County grand jury."
"Officer Dane Patrick Hall, 28, ... is charged with manslaughter by motor vehicle, homicide by motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, fleeing the scene of a fatal accident reasonably knowing death may occur, reckless driving, speeding and eight related offenses."
"Officer Hall is expected to turn himself in to Maryland State Police by this afternoon, said Harford County State's Attorney Joseph I. Cassilly. He then will be seen by a court commissioner and receive a pre-set $100,000 bond. A trial date has not been set." ... |
UK: Met officer charged with misuse of force credit cards
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"A detective has been charged with misconduct in a public office as part of an investigation into alleged misuse of Metropolitan police credit cards."
"Detective Sergeant Richard de Cadenet is one of three people to have been arrested as part of the inquiry into 'irregular usage' of American Express cards."
"The 38-year-old, who is on bail, will appear before City of Westminster magistrates' court next week, charged with 'misfeasance in a public office', a statement by Scotland Yard said."
The Directorate of Professional Standards, the Met's anti-corruption unit, said the alleged misconduct relates to spending between July 18 and October 2 last year." ... |
CA: Enthusiasts say gun sports are challenging, exciting
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"They stand poised, shotguns clinched between their shoulders and their cheeks, their eyes leveled down the barrel and trained on the trap house 16 yards down range."
"They let out a loud grunt, 'ah' or the more traditional 'pull' and - crack!"
"The shotgun's snap and roar echoes off the facing canyon wall as a yellow clay disk - the trap - is blown to smithereens and falls in pieces to the bottom of the ravine."
"While to many firearms represent either an unfamiliar rural lifestyle or conjure terrifying images of urban violence, many others in the South Bay are drawn to gun sports and revere the challenge and exhilaration they represent." ... |
FL: Opposition Builds To New Florida Gun Law
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"Opposition to a new law which allows Florida residents to keep guns locked in their cars while they are at work plan to take their case to court."
"In Broward, one opponent of the bill, attorney Charles Caulkins, explained he believes it violates employers' rights. 'We represent clients around the country, and most clients do not want to have their employees on their property with firearms.'"
"The Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Retail Federation have hired legal representation to file a suit against the state for a new law which bars businesses from prohibiting employees or customers with a permit to carry a concealed weapon from keeping a legally owned gun locked inside their vehicle." ... |
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