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John W. Whitehead: How Liberty Dies: The Patriot Reauthorization Act
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Do our representatives understand how we feel? Or don’t they care? The recent approval by the Senate Intelligence Committee to reauthorize and expand the Patriot Act’s powers leaves one wondering if Congress listens to the American people anymore. Equally worrisome is the fact that the critical discussions and decisions surrounding expansion of the Act are taking place in secret, behind closed doors. What do our government representatives have to hide?"
"Since the passage of the Patriot Act ... 378 local and county governments and seven state legislatures representing millions of Americans have passed resolutions or ordinances opposing aspects of the Patriot Act that they believe to be at odds with the United States Constitution. ..." ... |
.38 Snubbies vs. .380 Autos: Choices for On-Body Carry
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"With the proliferation of concealed weapons pistol licenses (CPLs), one often sees or hears discussions on one of the classic small handgun arguments. Which is better, the .38 Special snub-nosed revolver, or the .380-caliber autoloading pistol? These are still very often the guns that people choose between when they want to hide a firearm on their persons."
"Some now prefer the compact auto pistols chambered for such effective cartridges as the 9mm, .40 Smith & Wesson (S&W), and .45 ACP. Others find these too chunky to hide well on their bodies or to feel good in their hands. Many also object to the heavy recoil and muzzle blast of these cartridges when fired in such small guns. Whatever the reason, many still opt for either the snub .38 or the .380 autos. And this article is for them." ... |
Debate continues on effectiveness of weapons ban
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... "'Since the assault weapons ban was allowed to expire, it has been open season for criminals who want the most dangerous types of military-style assault weapons,' said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. ..."
"Feinstein said that the expiration of the ban she fought hard to get in 1994 'will have deadly consequences on the streets of America.'"
"But has it really made much of a difference? Are the streets less safe?"
"There is no hard evidence one way or another."
"The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has no statistics that would show whether there's been an uptick in sales of assault-style weapons, and the Department of Justice has no statistics that would show whether there's been an increase in their use in crimes." ... |
DC: Re-arming DC: Senators want to pack heat in capital
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Bruce W. Krafft
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... "The bill would, in one swoop, negate all the gun laws the district has adopted over the past 30 years, including pre-purchase criminal-background checks and bans on semi-automatic weapons and cop-killer bullets. ..."
"In the press release announcing the bill, Hutchison is quoted saying, apparently without irony: 'The rights guaranteed by the Constitution do not end at the borders of Washington, DC.'" ...
"Hutchison’s statement refers, of course, to the Second Amendment, which makes the quote doubly ironic; the bill is relevant only because the constitutionality of DC’s gun laws has been upheld against challenges sponsored by the National Rifle Association and the Cato Institute." ... |
MD: Editor's View: How Many More Will Die Before Guns Are Controlled?
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Don Pollock
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"A 17-year-old Bowie girl is dead - shot to death by an assailant for some as yet unknown reason in a well-tended, tranquil park only steps away from the Free State and Marketplace malls."
"Yet another of the millions of guns that scar this country like a pox has claimed a life that had barely begun. A child, for heaven's sake, shot to death in our midst."
"It's the 71st murder in Jack Johnson's Prince George's County since January."
"This country's love affair with guns is sick, sick, sick." ... |
WA: Alleged Burglar Fired On
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FULL TEXT BELOW:
A would-be burglary suspect is behind bars thanks to some quick thinking neighbors, and one armed with a pistol.
Lashonda Fuchs -Baker is facing residential burglary charges after allegedly trying to break into at least three homes Wednesday morning. One resident fired a warning shot to scare her.
Spokane County Sheriff's deputies were able to track Baker to a home and coaxed her out after about an hour.
Deputies say Baker admitted she was in possession of stolen property and could face additional charges. |
CT: Police charge student, 11, with possession of a weapon
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An 11-year-old male student was caught Tuesday with a pellet gun at Ledyard Center School, according to Montville state police.
After a student alerted a teacher he saw another boy with the gun, the teacher notified the school principal, who in turn contacted police.
An investigation showed there was no ammunition in the pistol and the student had not threatened anyone with the weapon, according to police.
The student was charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds and breach of peace.
The student and his parents were issued a summons to appear in the Superior Court for Juvenile Matters.
The superintendent's staff is starting a disciplinary process regarding the student. |
AL: Officer shoots his way to three gold medals
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"Herb Rosenbaum of Cahaba Heights was one of numerous area winners during the 11th annual Southeastern Police and Fire Championships held recently in Birmingham. Rosenbaum, who's a Trussville police officer, won three gold medals in shooting competitions."
"Rosenbaum won gold medals in Police Pistol Combat 1500 match unclassified and the service match unclassified using his Colt 1911 model .45-caliber automatic. He scored 1,437.52 points out of a possible 1,500 and 472 points out of a 500 possible in the service match unclassified." ... |
AL: Sharp-shooting deputy on the mark
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"Diana du Cros of McCalla has a secret."
"The sharp-shooting Shelby County deputy sheriff, who won two gold medals at the 11th annual Southeastern Police and Fire Championships held recently in Birmingham, started her professional career as a research scientist in her native Australia."
"A couple of divergent professional paths finally led to her career in law enforcement." ... |
MI: Gun charge dropped over suspicion of bias
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"A weapons charge against a 29-year-old Detroit man was dropped Wednesday after prosecutors refused to submit enough information to help a federal judge decide whether an antigun program unfairly targets black people."
"U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood dismissed the charge -- being a felon in possession of a firearm -- against James Thorpe, who was arrested by Detroit police in 2003 while sleeping in a car. They found a pistol in the vehicle."
"Thorpe, who had a prior criminal conviction and wasn't permitted to have a firearm, was prosecuted federally under the Project Safe Neighborhoods program, which has stiffer sentences than state law." ... |
GA: Bail denied former policeman pending evaluation results
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"A Superior Court judge is awaiting psychiatric evaluations for a former Savannah policeman, charged with raping a Rincon woman, before resetting bond in the case." ...
"With little comment, Turner told Hilliard he wants to examine the evaluation results because of concerns involving an incident that led to the revocation of a $250,000 bond set earlier for Jeffcoat."
"Hilliard claimed Jeffcoat unintentionally violated the bond provisions by filing civil lawsuit paperwork at the courthouse in Springfield and did not personally contact the victim. Prosecutors contend Jeffcoat should not have been in Effingham and his actions were aimed at intimidating the victim." ... |
MA: Where’s the evidence? Boston’s homicide detectives keep finding evidence they didn’t even know they had
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"Imagine that you have spent the past two years in jail, accused of murder, and that your trial is now just a few weeks away. You and your lawyer have pored over all the evidence and discussed the trial strategy. You’ve even considered whether to accept a plea deal."
"Suddenly, the District Attorney’s Office announces that oh, by the way, we just found an inch-thick stack of police reports we never gave you — as well as three surveillance videotapes of the crime-scene area that we told you didn’t exist. Sorry. See you in court!"
"This just happened to four defendants whose trial for the 2003 murder of Jose Deveiga was scheduled to start on May 31. (Due to further late evidence disclosures, the trial has now been postponed, probably until November.) Amazingly, it was no anomaly." ... |
South Africa: Inquest into official's suicide
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An inquest has been opened into the suicide of a Correctional Services official who shot himself at the Nkomazi Magistrate's Office near Nelspruit yesterday, police said.
Spokesman Captain Benjamin Bhembe said people working in the offices heard a gunshot and went to investigate. They found the 55-year-old man had shot himself in the head.
There was no suicide note and the reason for the suicide was not known.
Police took a 9mm pistol into their custody which had been used in the suicide. |
UK: Police destroy hundreds of handed-in guns
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"HUNDREDS of potentially deadly guns were today being destroyed by police."
"A total of 600 guns, including airguns, BB guns and shotguns, have been handed in to Lothian and Borders Police since November."
"A campaign in the last month saw 180 guns handed in to police. The move followed the death of toddler Andrew Morton, who was shot near his home in Easterhouse, Glasgow."
"It also came in the wake of the shooting of six-year-old Tyler Scott in Edinburgh."
"The force appealed for weapons to be handed in as part of a National Air Gun Campaign launched by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland. The gun haul included 118 air rifles, 49 air pistols and 13 BB guns." ...
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Submitter's Note: That's 420 'real' guns destroyed. |
MD: Hunting with crossbow allowed in Maryland
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"Hunters who hanker to go medieval on a deer can do so in the fall."
"Crossbows will be permitted for hunting deer statewide during the firearm and muzzleloader seasons, and during parts of the bow-and-arrow season, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced recently."
"The decision makes Maryland the 18th state to allow the weapons for big-game hunting by able-bodied hunters. Crossbows have long been widely approved for use by disabled hunters not able to draw a bowstring."
"Maryland's rule change was designed as a compromise between those who view crossbows as another deer-management tool and traditionalists, particularly bowhunters, who consider them unsafe and a threat to their sport." ... |
WV: Disabled hunter challenges crossbow ban
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"A disabled hunter is challenging West Virginia's crossbow hunting ban, claiming it violates the Americans with Disabilities Act."
"Peter Cuffaro of Wheeling sent a complaint to the U.S. Department of Justice in June. The complaint names the state's Division of Natural Resources, which regulates hunting."
"Cuffaro, paralyzed from the chest down after a diving accident in 1983 that injured his spinal cord, can move his hands and arms but must use a wheelchair. He said weakness in his left hand and shoulder problems will keep him from bowhunting this season."
"A crossbow, which is held horizontally compared to the traditional vertical bow, would be easier for him and other disabled hunters to use, Cuffaro said."
"But West Virginia law prohibits using crossbows for hunting." ... |
VA: Nelson County hunting decision due
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"After listening to several hours of closing arguments over the definition of hunting, Judge Michael Gamble of Nelson County Circuit Court said yesterday that he will issue his ruling in the novel case on June 30."
"Orion Sporting Group LLC, which owns a hunting preserve in southern Nelson County, is suing the county Board of Supervisors claiming the board violated the Virginia constitution by denying Orion a special-use permit to operate a shotgun sports center."
"Lawyers for Orion repeated their arguments, used at a trial in April:"
"The shotgun sports center, where clients shoot at airborne clay targets that simulate game, is an integral part of hunting and so protected by the state's constitution." ... |
IN: Club Members Lament Lost Activities
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"The clubhouse where a Pine Township rifle club was supposed to compete last night - gone.
The meeting hall where periodic hunting safety classes had been held as recently as this spring - gone."
"The pavilion where as many as 500 people with disabilities were expected to attend an annual picnic in late July - gone."
"All with the strike of an arsonist's match."
"A raging fire Monday destroyed the Heilwood Sportsmen's Club along Hamill Road and left only a few block walls and charred timbers standing. Within hours, a state police fire marshal estimated the damage at more than $25,000 and reported someone deliberately set the fire." ... |
SD: Local Shooter Sets Records
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FULL TEXT BELOW:
Raymond Freeman of Britton set a new state record at the South Dakota 4-H Shooting Sports Match in Pierre and tied a national mark at the South Dakota Jaycee BB Gun Match held in Mitchell.
Freeman set a state record for Beginner 3D Air Rifle, hitting 235 of a possible 300 and smashing the old standard of 187. At Mitchell Freeman scored 97 of 100 from the kneeling position and is in a three-way tie for a new national record.
The local record-holder will be one of seven Marshall County youth shooting in the International BB Gun Match in Bowling Green, KY, this summer. He will also compete in the International Air Rifle Match following the BB gun competition. |
IL: Gun club holds black powder buffalo shoot
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"The Hancock County Gun Club held a black powder muzzleloading rifle buffalo shoot Sunday, June 12."
"Ten participants shot 14 times in the contest using black powder guns to shoot at metallic targets 150 yards away. Scores were not based on hits, but on knocking the target down. Shooters used a variety of guns with both round lead and conical lead bullets."
"To load a muzzleloading rifle, the shooter has to first measure out the powder, then put a bullet on a greased linen patch. The shooter then uses a starter to shove the ball and patch partially down the barrel. That is followed up with a ramrod, a long metal, wood or fiberglass rod that shoves the bullet down onto the powder." ... |
FL: Protect Yourself With A Self Defense Class
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Bruce W. Krafft
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FULL TEXT BELOW:
You can take a Self Defense Tactics course to help you learn what to do if someone tries to kidnap, car-jack, or rob you.
The course also teaches you what to do if someone breaks into your home.
You can sign up for it at the gun show June 25th & 26th at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds and at the gun show at the Prime Osborn Convention Center on August 21st & 22nd.
The basic class costs $75.
There are courses offered on:
July 2nd & 3rd
July 9th
July 30th
August 6th
August 13th |
UK: Jail Term Cut for Father Who Threatened Youths with Toy Gun
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"A father jailed for six months for waving his son’s toy gun at two youths he said were harassing him was freed today by the Court of Appeal."
"Richard Bottley, 37, of Buttercup Square, Oxford, won his appeal against the length of the prison sentence imposed on April 22 by a judge at Oxford Crown Court."
"Mr Justice Goldring and the Recorder of Cardiff, John Griffith Williams QC, sitting in London, reduced the term to three months, resulting in his immediate release."
"Bottley, who pleaded guilty at the Crown Court to one count of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, had waived his right to attend today’s appeal." ... |
WI: Rendezvous back to a time long past
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Knives and tomahawks were flying through the air, rifles were being shot, arrows were sailing toward targets and buffalo burgers were being washed down with sarsaparilla. It was all part of the 30th annual Prairie Villa Rendezvous held here last weekend."
"According to Karla Witzig, Fennimore, Wis., who is the treasurer of the Big River Long Rifles, Inc. and also handles publicity for the group, the rendezvous recreates the pre-1840s fur trade era - a time when mountain men would come to the area to trade. The event is co-sponsored by the Big River Long Rifles, Inc. and the Prairie du Chien Jaycees." ... |
NY: Prizes, Awards Highlight Dinner
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"More than 200 people packed the Club at the Villa Roma last Saturday evening for the First Annual Sullivan County Friends of NRA Fundraising Banquet. Scores of people enjoyed a good meal and the chance to bid on dozens of items in a live auction and a silent auction. The auction items, as well as the door prizes and raffle prizes, included everything from award-winning nature prints to rifles to a Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle to a gun safe to a stuffed black bear wearing a blaze orange shooting vest."
All of the proceeds from the banquet will benefit the Friends of NRA, an organization dedicated to education, community and service." ... |
Canada: Small Arms Still A Big Deal (letter)
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Finland's ambassador to Canada, Pasi Patokallio, states that the United Nations' initiative doesn't include 'pistols under pillows,' but that is exactly what their long term target is: firearms in the hands of private citizens. The Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies' Small Arms Survey 2003 indicated that of the 639 million small arms in existence, 50 per cent of them are in 'civilian' hands, and that civilians purchase more than 80 per cent of all the firearms that are currently manufactured worldwide each year. How can they claim that civilian firearms are not their intended target?" ... |
Ireland: Man jailed on UVF guns charge
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"A man who ordered de-activated weapons from the internet and stored them for the UVF was jailed for four years today, on condition that he serve a further year on probation."
"Belfast Crown Court Judge Tom Burgess said that while he accepted 38-year-old David Hugh Murphy was under pressure to store the weapons when he and his family were threatened, 'other families have to deal not just with threats if the guns are used but with serious injuries and deaths'."
"Earlier, prosecuting QC Paul Ramsey had told him that officers uncovered two modified pistols, bullets and a de-activated Uzi sub-machine gun when they searched the kitchen and shed at Murphy's house on the Church Road in Glenwhirry, just outside Ballymena." ... |
UK: Armed Raiders Knock Out Pub Manager
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"ARMED robbers escaped with thousands of pounds in takings from a busy Sheffield pub after knocking out the manager, who was battered around the head and sprayed with liquid tear gas."
"The 25-year-old was alone in the Belfrey pub ... shortly after his colleagues had left at night when the criminals struck He heard movement from the external door used by staff going out and put his head outside to look."
"He was hit on the side of the head and had CS sprayed in his face. Before he regained consciousness, keys were taken from him and he was bundled into a store room. The criminals found the safe and stole several thousand pounds in cash." ... |
France: Student shot in classroom in central France; motive not known
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"A student armed with a .22-calibre rifle entered a vocational college in central France and opened fire Wednesday, killing a fellow student, a regional official said."
"The man fired three times at his victim, identified as a 20-year-old woman, who was hit in the neck by one of the bullets. She died from her injuries after being rushed to a hospital."
"Initial investigations showed that the man knew his victim well ..."
"At the time of the mid-afternoon attack, about eight other people were in the classroom of the University Institute of Technology in the central city of Orleans. The gunman did not attempt to fire at any of them. He was recognized as a 22-year-old student and reported to authorities." ... |
UK: Siege drama stuns street
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"A FATHER-OF-THREE brandishing a Samurai sword and a fake gun threatened to set a house on fire in a dramatic early morning siege."
"Armed officers were called to the scene at Well Street, Winsford, at 6.30am on Saturday and evacuated residents, fearing that a potential blaze would rip through the terraced houses."
"A four-hour stand off between the man and officers armed with machine guns ensued, before he eventually gave himself up at around 10.30am. No-one was injured."
"Police say they were called by the man's wife, who had fled the house with the couple's three children, who are under five years of age. Officers said the man had sprayed petrol around." ... |
New Zealand: Eight-year-olds learn to shoot guns
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"A Napier parent is disgusted that police had eight and nine-year-olds shoot a human-shaped target with a BB gun in their Nelson Park School classroom last week."
"Children donned police protective gear and aimed a spring-operated BB gun - which fires plastic pellets but looks like a police handgun - at a cardboard target 3m away."
"One parent, who did not want to be named because he feared his eight-year-old daughter would be picked on by her classmates, said he was shocked when his daughter told him what her class had done last Thursday."
"'It is leading children down the wrong path - we should not be normalising guns to children,' he said."
"'The police have a hard enough job as it is. Why are they making it harder?'" ... |
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| QUOTES
TO REMEMBER |
| In the end, more than freedom, they wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life, and they lost it all — security, comfort, and freedom. When the Athenians finally wanted not to give to society but for society to give to them, when the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again. — EDWARD GIBBON [On ancient Athens] |
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