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Protecting ourselves, gun control takes away the power to defend
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Bruce W. Krafft
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... "I should be the one to determine what is necessary to defend myself, my family and my property. Consider, for example, the story of Korean business owners who defended their property from looters during the L.A. riots — while police either did not respond or retreated — firing pistols, shotguns, and yes, even automatic rifles from their roofs. It’s a good thing for them they didn’t share your irrational view on what is or isn't 'enough.'" ... |
CNN Leans Towards Gun Control and Its Supporters
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"CNN indicated its sympathy for gun control on Tuesday with two segments on The Situation Room where sound bites from gun control supporters outnumbered gun rights supporters by a three-to-one margin. During the first report, correspondent Dana Bash stated that Senator Patrick Leahy 'supports gun rights,' even though the Democrat actually has the opposite record on the issue." ... |
Media Point Fingers at a Favorite Enemy -- The Second Amendment
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It was inevitable. After spending several days following the Tucson massacre working to curtail the 1st Amendment, the left and the media are now targeting the 2nd. As always, they have help from either those legitimately concerned for their safety or others trying to scavenge political points from the dead and wounded." ... |
Gun-rights advocate: High-capacity magazine restrictions 'makes sense'
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"A leading gun-rights advocate says there is no constitutional barrier to restricting the sale of high capacity gun magazines such as the one used by accused Tucson shooter Jared Loughner and that such proposals are justified to prevent 'looney tunes' from committing more gun massacres."
"Robert A. Levy, who served as co-counsel in the landmark Supreme Court case that established a Second Amendment right to bear arms, said there was no reason the court's decision in that case should apply to the purchase of high-capacity gun magazines." ...
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Submitter's Note: With friends like this . . . assuming, of course, that he's not being misquoted or taken out of context. |
Guns AND People Kill
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... "Just as nobody wants to upset the apple cart by stating the obvious: there are way too many guns in private hands and access to them has become easier than ever. That's going to have the Second Amendment nutcases fly into an unreasonable tizzy and the [NRA] rushing to the bathroom with a runny belly. So we dance, play hop-scotch, and do the politically correct jig around what is the most important issue while playing ostrich and burying our collective heads in the sand lest the NRA and its coo-coo klatch blows them away with a trusty 12 gauge shot gun or an AK-47 Assault Rifle. Hey, what's a right for if not to be exercised?" ... |
Why Not Regulate Guns as Seriously as Toys?
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"Jared Loughner was considered too mentally unstable to attend community college. He was rejected by the Army. Yet buy a Glock handgun and a 33-round magazine? No problem."
"To protect the public, we regulate cars and toys, medicines and mutual funds. So, simply as a public health matter, shouldn't we take steps to reduce the toll from our domestic arms industry?" ...
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COMMENT: He argues that we should learn from Canada and Australia but forgets that neither country has an equivalent of our Second Amendment. |
Stricter gun laws need to be put into effect
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... "But are background checks really working? Sure a look into one’s past can partly determine what type of person they may be, but there is so much more than meets the eye. In order to really distinguish if someone should be able to own a gun, a psychiatric test should be given. It would be able to determine stability, which is a very important factor. Many tragedies involve a shooter who has had a troubled past and mental issues, and the fact of the matter is these shooters could have been stopped." ...
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Submitter's Note: Just as the Tuscon shooter could have been stopped if the Pima County Sheriff would only have done his job with no 'stricter laws' needed. |
Killing reopens US gun law debate
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... "The US has laws that restrict the purchase of firearms, but they vary from state to state. In Arizona, for instance, Loughner would have undergone a criminal background check but no psychological evaluation."
"Ladd Everitt, the director of communications with the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence ... said the current laws were insufficient in combatting gun violence."
"The US should emulate laws in other countries, said Mr Everitt, whereby in addition to running a criminal background check, 'they would also conduct an investigation whereby they would interview your spouse, or co-worker, or friend. They would require a letter of mental health from your doctor attesting that you are of sound mind'." ... |
Taking the First Step toward Limiting Violence
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"Nothing hard about this one: There’s absolutely no reason why private parties should have easy access to technology for firing multiple lethal shots in rapid succession from a pistol. Absolutely no reason. The U.S. Constitution has nothing to do with it, not even the transparently political decision the Supreme Court recently made about the limits of the Second Amendment." ...
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Submitter's Note: So no semi-autos and no revolvers, right? And soon after will be a call to get rid of 'technology for firing multiple lethal shots in rapid succession from a rifle'. These people will not be satisfied until we 'private parties' are back to single shot muzzle-loaders. |
States, Courts Driving Gun-Control Policy
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"The real battle over the future of gun-control policy will not take place in the halls of Congress, but largely away from the national spotlight in a patchwork of legal cases and state-level decisions throughout the country." ... |
Guns do kill people
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"On the morning of Saturday, January 8, in the confluence that brought 21 strangers together at a Tucson strip mall, the rights of one of them trumped the rights of the other 20 hands down. Because Jared Lee Loughner is a resident of Arizona, he had the right to buy and conceal the 9mm Glock pistol ... The tragedies caused by the deranged man with the legal gun continue to cascade across this Arizona community and the nation." ... |
Dick Winters, of 'Band of Brothers' fame, dies
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"Dick Winters, the former World War II commander whose war story was told in the book and miniseries 'Band of Brothers,' has died."
"Dick Winters led a quiet life on his Fredericksburg farm and in his Hershey home until the book and miniseries 'Band of Brothers' threw him into the international spotlight." ... |
Maj. Dick Winters, Resquiescat In Pace
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... "'Follow me!' was [Winters'] command. With those words, he led 12 men in an attack on Brecourt Manor, just off the Normandy beach and the site of a German artillery battery raining shells on the Allied invaders storming Utah Beach. That action, which saved lives of countless men destined for Utah in the D-Day Invasion, was just the beginning of Winters' illustrious career. The attack on Brecourt was a classic example of a fire-and-manuever attack on a fixed position. He and his dozen men attacked a force of some 50 Germans. For it, he received the Distinguished Service Cross." ... |
FL: Jogger won't be charged in fatal Town 'N Country shooting
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"Thomas Baker went jogging after midnight one day in November, wearing a pistol loaded with hollow-point bullets. When a teen attacked him, he fired eight times."
"Carlos Mustelier, 18, died. But prosecutors said Tuesday that Baker won't be charged. They were convinced he acted in self-defense." ... |
Don't add gun laws after Ariz. case
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"I knew that soon after the tragic shootings in Arizona, our anti-gun politicians would again be proposing senseless laws. U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., leads off with a proposal to ban any ammunition clip or magazine that has more than a 10-round capacity."
"It’s apparent that Lautenberg is not very knowledgeable with firearms. Changing a magazine or clip on a firearm only takes seconds." ... |
Post-Arizona, NRA Holsters Brand
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"The mediasphere is so overwhelmed with discussion about the Arizona shootings this week — What motivated the alleged killer? What enabled him to pull off the massacre? — that it would be very tempting for the National Rifle Association to weigh in. Everyone else has." ...
"Organization executives had declined media requests for interviews, posting a short statement on its website to say, 'Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this senseless tragedy ... We join the rest of the country in praying for the quick recovery of those injured.'" ... |
Passing Blame -- A disturbed shooter is not a political responsibility
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... "As a gay American, I'm certainly used to being blamed for whatever ails the country. ..."
"It's from that perspective that I have to raise an eyebrow when an obviously disturbed young man opens fire on a crowd and it becomes Sarah Palin's fault. Do I think her gun-sights flier was irresponsible? You betcha. Do I think the Tea Partiers say awful, inflammatory things that defy logic? Certainly. But it's shortsighted to think these people have a monopoly on irresponsibility and lunacy. I've written before that these screaming-point sound bites are debasing America, but with history's pendulum swings, both the left and the right have been guilty of this." ... |
As portrait of Jared Loughner sharpens, 'vitriol' blame fades
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... "But emerging information about primary suspect Jared Loughner suggests that he was motivated not by a climate of hate but rather by his own troubled mind and a personal vendetta against Congresswoman Giffords, who was injured in the attack. The investigation has not concluded, and more information could come to light. But for now, a majority of Americans are dismissing the notion that the shooter was set off by a Sarah Palin political map, tea party anger, or talk about 'second amendment remedies.'" ... |
Tucson: Second Amendment the solution, not the problem
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... "Sen. Patrick Leahy remarked that Vermont has very little in the way of gun control laws and yet is the safest state in the nation. But he says, he wouldn't want Vermont's liberty to be replicated in urban settings. Parsing that, he wants Vermonters to be able to defend themselves against criminals, but not the folks in New York City. If you live in a big city, Sen. Leahy wants you to be a sitting duck, open prey for any whacko with a gun that comes along."
"And he never seems to have paused to consider the possibility that Vermont is as safe as it is because the bad guys never knew who might be packing heat and thus might be in a position to blow them away if they try something nefarious." ... |
Liberals now seek ban on metaphors
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"After the monstrous shooting in Arizona last week, surely we can all agree that we've got to pass Obama's agenda immediately and stop using metaphors."
"At least I think that's what the mainstream media are trying to tell me." ... |
Arizona Shootings Unlikely to Change Gun Culture
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"Now is the time for mourning the victims of Saturday’s mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona, but it’s not the time for new gun-control laws aimed at preventing such tragedies in the future."
That’s the political consensus in the wake of the attack on Representative Gabrielle Giffords ..." ... |
What Tucson tells us
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... "If America has a national failing, it is a tendency to lose its sense of proportion when dealing with senseless tragedy. We saw it after the school shootings at Columbine and again after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. We are seeing it now after Tucson."
"The facts of the situation are simple enough. As Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was holding a 'Congress on the Block' meeting with constituents, a gunman approached, shot her in the head and opened fire on the people around her. The suspect ... is regarded by almost everyone who knows him as dangerous and deranged ... but under Arizona's easy gun laws was able to purchase a semi-automatic handgun with 30-shot clips ..." ...
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Submitter's Note: What this article tells me is that the editorial staff of the WFP have no conception of US gun laws and aren't willing to do a little research to avoid grotesque errors about 'easy access to firearms'. |
A dangerous silence
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"The tragedy of Tucson hasn't shaken us out of bad political habits."
"Instead of promoting a sober conversation about the dangers of violent political talk, it has reinforced divisions between left and right. ..."
"More important: We have not focused at all on how the militarized rhetoric on the right is tightly connected to our national failure to enact the gun regulations that might have saved lives in Arizona." ...
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Submitter's Note: Like what? E.J. has no suggestions for what new laws might have prevented a violent nut-job with a history of making death threats from carrying own these murders. One thing that leaps to my mind however, is that perhaps the Sheriff should have arrested the loon? |
MLK and the Real Power of Non-violence
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"With the nation debating the role of violent rhetoric in our political life in the wake of the shootings in Tucson, Ariz., an associate of Martin Luther King Jr. says we can mark his birthday by remembering the power of non-violence." ...
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Submitter's Note: Unmentioned in this article is the key role of the Deacons for Defense and Justice who provided armed guards to (among others) Dr. King to enforce his principle of non-violence. Si vis pacem, para bellum. |
Living with long odds
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Bruce W. Krafft
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... "When it comes to madness, it’s hard to match the insanity of our politics and our gun laws. Under the guise of the Second Amendment ('a well-regulated militia,' etc.), any crazy person has access to semi-automatic weapons that have nothing whatsoever to do with militias or hunting. And, under the guise of patriotism, people like Sarah Palin irresponsibly target people like Congresswoman Giffords, literally and figuratively making them targets for the free-floating insanity of people like Jared Loughner, the Arizona assassin." ... |
Standing up to Gun Violence
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Bruce W. Krafft
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... "As we enter the new year and decade, we should use [the Tuscon shootings] as an opportunity to reexamine and tighten our gun control laws to prevent people like Jared Lee Loughner from buying guns. We should also reinstate the automatic assault weapons ban that allowed Loughner to kill and injure 19 people in just a few minutes. If not, we would be doing more harm than just eroding our political discourse. We would be dishonoring the fallen of the Tucson shooting, and the mourning families of almost 100 people who are shot by a bullet every day in America." ... |
Questions raised anew over availability of guns in Arizona, U.S.
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"The shooting of a U.S. congresswoman and the killing of six others at a Tucson, Ariz., shopping center prompts Americans yet again to ask why. Are guns still too readily available?" ...
"Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik, at a news conference Sunday, chastised the Arizona legislature for lax gun laws and said the state had become 'the Tombstone of the United States of America.' ..." ...
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Submitter's Note: Perhaps Clarence would care to explain why Pima is 'the Tombstone of AZ'? |
Real Second Amendment remedies
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Bruce W. Krafft
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... "Some Second Amendment advocates contend that outlawing guns will mean that only outlaws will have them, because criminals don’t bother to purchase firearms through legal channels."
"Talk about red herring."
"Yes, with enough effort, criminals and the mentally ill will always be able to find guns through questionable means. That doesn’t mean we should make it any easier for them to make the purchases legally." ...
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Submitter's Note: Um, Karl? It is already illegal for (most) criminals and those diagnose with mental illness to purchase guns. |
Where’s the sense on guns?
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Senseless, indiscriminate deaths mounted to at least 125 in 68 separate mass shooting incidents across the United States in 2010 ..."
"Saturday’s attempted assassination of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona added yet another chilling event to the statistics, with six deaths and a total of 20 people fired upon. ..."
"And that’s just from shootings by folks who are mentally unhinged. Add in all the criminal stuff — the gang violence, the cop killings, the holdups gone wrong — and there are some 30,000 gun deaths a year in the United States." ...
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Submitter's Note: Actually Mack, when you add up the criminal stuff and leave out the suicides and accidents, there are some 12,000 'gun deaths' a year. Tragic? Yes. Preventable by passing more gun laws? Not according the the CDC. |
Gun-control advocates disappointed with White House silence
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"The White House has disappointed gun-control advocates on and off Capitol Hill with its silence on the issue."
"Although President Obama ran on campaign vows of reinstating the assault-weapons ban and closing the gun-show loophole, among other reforms, he’s been all but mute on those issues since entering the White House two years ago — a silence that's continued in the wake of Saturday's shootings in Arizona." ... |
Democrat describes uphill battle for gun bill
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"I just spoke with Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., about where things stand on the Hill on her proposed ban on high-capacity magazines. The takeaway: It's going to be a tough battle to get any sort of new gun legislation through Congress." ... |
Should your local lawmaker be armed?
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Understandably jumpy at the shootings in Tucson, members of Congress are talking about arming themselves. Ever since Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804 ... armed politicians have not been a good idea in this country."
"Terrance Gainer, who is in charge of protecting members of Congress, told ABC, 'I don't think it's a good idea. I don't think introducing more guns into the situation is going to be helpful.'"
"But Gainer is a former big city chief of police -- Washington, D.C. -- and police chiefs always talk like that, not sharing the civilian enthusiasm for packing heat." ... |
Hold off on gun laws?
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Yes, we need to have a debate on gun ownership and what controls are appropriate. No, we should not have that discussion now, so soon after Saturday’s shootings in Tuscon, Ariz."
"That’s what Congressman Tom Reed said when asked about the political rhetoric following the shootings of 19 people ..."
"'I find it inappropriate that anyone tries to use the tragedy for political posturing or political headline-grabbing. To me, that's distasteful and it's not the time or the place to engage in that,' Reed, R-Corning, said. ..." ... |
GOP's Gohmert plans to introduce bill to allow firearms on House floor
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"A spokesperson for Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) told The Hill on Wednesday afternoon that the congressman plans to introduce legislation that will allow members of Congress to carry weapons both in the District of Columbia and on the House floor." ...
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Submitter's Note: I can only hope that Rep. Gohmert is trying to get the camel's nose into the DC tent. |
Even after Giffords tragedy, U.S. lawmakers prefer packing heat to gun control
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"The attempted assassination of a U.S. congresswoman has put the hot-button issue of gun control back in the national spotlight, but even after a bullet to the brain left their colleague fighting for her life, Capitol Hill legislators are shying away from significantly toughening up gun laws."
"A pair of them, in fact, have their own only-in-America solution: they'll pack some heat themselves." ... |
TX: Congressman Farenthold Will Carry Gun To Events
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Chief law enforcement officers talked to congress members today about security issues in light of last weekend's fatal shootings in Arizona."
"Our local Congressman Blake Farenthold says there are many security recommendations he's looking into."
"To start, he'll now carry a gun when he makes public appearences in Texas." ... |
Lawmakers shouldn't overreact after Ariz. shootings
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"U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers said lawmakers should review their security procedures in response to Saturday's deadly shootings at an Arizona congresswoman's constituent meeting."
"But the Howell Republican said Congress should not overreact by doing things such as enclosing the House floor in a protective shield or enacting new gun controls." ... |
AZ: Police Stopped Loughner's Car on Day of Shooting
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" Jared L. Loughner had repeated contact with law enforcement officers over the years, and hours before Saturday’s shootings was pulled over by a police officer for running a red light as he frenetically prepared to kill a congresswoman, the authorities said Wednesday." ...
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KABA Note: Of course if there'd been a warrant out for Jared, say because of making public death threats his murder spree would have been nipped in the bud. |
AZ: Police Say They Visited Tucson Suspect's Home Even Before Rampage
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"The police were sent to the home where Jared L. Loughner lived with his family on more than one occasion before the attack here on Saturday that left a congresswoman fighting for her life and six others dead, the Pima County Sheriff's Department said on Tuesday." ...
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MI: Young GOP hopeful stands by her ideals
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"With all the debate the past few days about whether political rhetoric inflames folks on both sides of the aisle — and the right getting most of the blame — Political Insider's interest was piqued by the campaign strategy of state GOP youth chairman candidate Sarah Ledford."
"Ledford's website at www.sarahforyouthchair.com features the 2009 University of Michigan engineering grad at a shooting range, gun in hand, as well as a 'battle plan' for attracting more young people to the state Republican Party." ... |
CA: Gun activists kicked out of restaurant
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"A dozen armed South Bay Open Carry gun activists were escorted out of a restaurant at the South Bay Galleria mall Saturday afternoon by a Redondo Beach policeman."
"Open Carry activists accused the officer of 'rogue' behavior in singling out the group at the Red Robin restaurant and said he violated their Constitutional right to privacy by checking to see if their firearms were loaded. The officer, Sgt. Pete Grimm, said he was responding to a request from the restaurant and was simply following the law by checking their firearms." ... |
AZ: Increase in Arizona Handgun Checks
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"The F.B.I. said on Wednesday that federal background checks on people in Arizona seeking to buy handguns had increased sharply since Saturday's shooting rampage in Tucson that left six people dead and Representative Gabrielle Giffords fighting for her life."
"There were 263 background checks in the state on Monday, the first weekday after the shootings, compared with 164 on a corresponding Monday last year." ... |
AZ: Tucson gun show to proceed; promoters hail Giffords
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Promoters are going ahead with their gun show in Tucson this weekend and are praising wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as 'a friend to the gun owners of America,' USA TODAY's William M. Welch reports."
"Bob Templeton, president of Utah-based Crossroads of the West Gun Shows, said today that Giffords 'has reached across the aisle to build bridges of understanding' between political parties and differing ideologies."
"'Representative Giffords, it should be noted, is a solid supporter of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and a friend to the gun owners of America,' he said." ... |
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