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MI: Pittsfield resident cleared in deadly shooting
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Authorities officially ruled the fatal shooting of a Van Buren Township man outside a Pittsfield Township home last December was self defense.

Washtenaw County Prosecutors recently opted not to charge Adham Farha with a crime because his "use of deadly force was justified under the Self Defense Act," according to a police news release.

Farha, 34, was arrested after police arrived at his home in the 2300 block of Rockport Court Dec. 2. He called police after admittedly shooting Michael Rajchel inside a car in the driveway. Rajchel, 28, was found in the passenger seat of Farha's vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.

MS: Petal man cleared of murder
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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A Petal man accused of stabbing his brother in law to death is a free man.

WLBT-TV reported on Sunday that after four hours of deliberations and three days of trial 36-year-old Daniel Koehler was found not guilty.

Koehler was accused of murdering Christopher Mason back in November at their Petal home, but the defense claimed the killing was in self-defense and that Mason began attacking Koehler.

NH: Selectman turns ordeal into a cause
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Fuller said she supports the Second Amendment of the Constitution, which protects a right to bear arms. Being a Second Amendment Sister, she does have her permit to carry a concealed weapon and has had the proper training to fire a handgun, having taken a training course through the National Rifle Association.

"I recommend that to women," she said. "But they have to take the course, they have to be trained and they have to be a responsible gun owner."

Second Amendment Sisters is a women's advocacy group in the United States devoted to the protection of gun rights, specifically for self-defense.

VA: Second Amendment rally in Richmond
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Dozens of gun rights advocates, many wearing holstered handguns on their hips, rallied on the State Capitol grounds Monday, a warm-up of sorts for next week.

Scores more like-minded folks are expected to attend the April 19 Second Amendment March in Washington, D.C., though likely without their firearms, to oppose laws that limit the rights of gun owners.

Virginia Citizens Defense League president Philip Van Cleave regularly makes that case to Virginia lawmakers.

Speaking to reporters at the rally, Van Cleave likened gun restrictions to placing limitations on routine individual behaviors.

Obama's Supreme Court Shortlist and the Second Amendment
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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At the Volokh Conspiracy, gun rights scholar and Reason contributor David Kopel offers a handy overview of how Obama's potential replacements for retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens measure up on the Second Amendment. Here's a snippet:

Extensive record of anti-Second Amendment leadership: Secretary of State Clinton, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Gov. Deval Patrick.

Limited but clearly negative record on right to arms: Judge Diane Wood, Judge Merrick Garland....

Unknown: Elena Kagan

AK: Alaska Firearms Freedom Act Update & 2nd Amendment March Info
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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The Alaska Firearms Freedom Act HB 186 is still sitting in the finance committee. We are on the edge of getting it passed if Senator Stedman will schedule it for hearing.

Two more states have passed this important legislation while our finance committee has been sitting on it.

I spoke with Sen Stedmans office this morning and got no committment for hearing it. Please let him know how important you feel the Alaska Firearms Freedom Act is to you.

CO: Part 3 of a look at the U.S. Constitution
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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The Second Amendment has been the subject of much interpretation and debate. It holds that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. What is the subject of debate, however, is the precise intent of the amendment, which reads, in full:

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.

Did the Framers intend to provide for an armed militia made up of the citizenry, or did they intend to allow unfettered ownership of arms? You make the call.

GA: Guns in parks law shot down
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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A proposal to revise the countys ordinances to allow residents to carry firearms into county parks and on other government properties was shot down Monday during a Rockdale County Board of Commissioners work session.

The ordinance would have reworded two portions in the county ordinance to allow licensed gun owners to carry a firearm on county property. The sections in question refer to parks and county-owned property in Lakeview Estates that currently prohibits possession of a firearm. The proposed revision changes the prohibition to discharging a firearm in a county park or the property in Lakeview Estates.

LA: She Just Wants Her Dang Guns Back
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Guidos concluded, ...Even if I did get an attorney to find out if they have the weapons and if they were transferred, then what? How long will it take and at what expense to me for $3,000 worth of weapons?

Im extremely disappointed in the whole lawsuit business here. We dont want to bring it up all the time, because we just want to put it behind us, because this is America and isnt supposed to happen. Its real easy to comply when you aint got nothin.

Guidos said shes changed a few things since Katrina: Number one I have more guns now. I have all my paperwork in order on my weapons. And Ill stay inside my building and Ill be damned if anyone is going to take my guns from me again. Im not going to let it happen again.

The Next Bloody Revolution - Is it Too Late?
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Recently I wrote an article titled Rattling the Second Amendment Saber where I discussed the necessity to speak out and let our elected politicians know we will hold them accountable for their actions. Isnt it amazing how quickly the landscape can change in one week?

Yesterday morning I was surprised when my business partner called me on the phone and asked me if Id been arrested by the FBI yet? I was confused. What? Why would I be arrested? He replied, Havent you been watching the news today? I hadnt. You see, I live in Michigan, and he was referring to the FBI rounding up 9 members of a domestic terrorist group called Hutaree.

WI: Armed Robbers Strike Near UW-Milwaukee Campus
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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"I think the one that happened today was particularly nerve-wracking just because it happened during the day, and that's a little bit unusual," said Rachel Madison, a UWM student.

Campus police told students that no amount of money is worth possibly getting shot.

"They said basically don't try to be a hero. Cooperate with them and call the police right away. Try to get as much information and stay as calm as you can, so you can get a better description for them and help them out," said Cory Miller, a UWM student.

VA: Cuccinelli addresses gun-rights rally at Capitol Square
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Spring and Second Amendment rights were in full flower yesterday during a rally at Richmond's Capitol Square.

A little more than 100 people -- many of them openly carrying firearms -- gathered at the Bell Tower to drum up support for a national "Second Amendment March" in Washington next Monday.

A few silent gun-control advocates and a thick concentration of pollen were the only challenges to the well-armed group, the majority of whom wore fluorescent orange stickers proclaiming "Guns Save Lives."

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli hailed the group as "people, who, as I do, love the Constitution."

Ed.: Also a video.

TX: Jury decides singer shot man in self-defense
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Country singer-songwriter Billy Joe Shaver has been acquitted of aggravated assault in the 2007 shooting of a man in a bar parking lot.

Jurors took two hours Friday to decide. Shaver had testified that he acted in self-defense when he shot Billy Coker outside Waco, Texas, on March 31, 2007. But prosecutors said no other witnesses had described Coker as "violent or mean."

Shaver rose to country music stardom in the 1970s. He wrote "Georgia on a Fast Train" and "I'm Just an Old Chunk of Coal (But I'm Gonna Be a Diamond Someday)."

NV: Nevadans free to openly carry guns
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Just about everybody on the Las Vegas Metro Police force has heard of Tim Farrell, and he sometimes gets mistaken for a law enforcement officer.

Farrell is a 29-year-old wireless Internet engineer -- and a gun rights crusader. He is one of what appears to be a growing number of people taking up the "open-carry" cause, advocating a constitutional right to openly carry firearms.

"The open-carry movement has gained momentum over the last four or five years because people are waking up to their rights," Farrell said.

Nevada is a better place than most for Farrell because it is "an open-carry state."

WA: Student found with loaded gun at Tacoma school
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Giaudrone Middle School in Tacoma was placed in lockdown Monday afternoon after a student was found with a loaded handgun to school.

A Tacoma school district spokesman says a former student reported that a student had a gun in his backpack.

Tacoma police were called and the school was placed in lockdown at 1:15 p.m.

Police searched the 14-year-old student's backpack and found the 9mm pistol. The eighth grader was arrested.

School officials say the boy claims he didn't know how the gun got in his backpack. They say the boy didn't make any threats and that there was no indication he was being bullied. They also say he is not a habitual troublemaker at the school.

DE: H.B.357 threatens public housing gun rule legitimacy
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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While some take the viewpoint of protecting peoples Second Amendment rights, others see problems from too broadly defining that right. Thats exactly what has happened with House Bill 357.

The issue grew out of concerns about the states four housing authorities prohibiting guns on their property, including residents homes, which the bills synopsis said the legislation would address.

Unfortunately, H.B. 357 was so broadly written that it would do away with gun restrictions that prohibit carrying a firearm into classrooms, day care centers, state parks, DART buses and college campuses. Thankfully, the bills sponsors committed to amending this bill to narrow its scope.

Things that will end badly: State-approved militias
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders and some conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they would like to create a new volunteer militia to help defend against what they believe are improper federal infringements on state sovereignty.

...

Great idea, team! I really hope they follow Digbys advice and call this one McVeighs Law.

I would have loved to see Conservatives response if the left pulled this shit during Bushs reign. No, no. Nothing weird is going on here. Were just forming state militias designed to actively undermine a government we refuse to recognize as legitimate. Carry on.

CO: Gun control on university campuses becomes an issue once again
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Students at Colorado State University have sparked controversy by fighting for the right to carry guns on their campus. This protest, along with the recent shooting at University of Alabama, puts the spotlight back on the fiery debate surrounding gun control.

There are people who are against guns, others for them, and some are stuck in the middle.
As I prepared to write this article, I tried to pick a side of the debate to stand on, but it was seemingly impossible for me because both sides have very valid points. Both sides want to find a way to stop gun violence, but suggest very different methods.

MT: Montana Firearms Freedom Act Amici And Briefs Due Today
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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Today is a big day for the Montana Firearms Freedom Act.

In the litigation to validate the principles of the MFFA, the Montana Shooting Sports Association, the Second Amendment Foundation and I are all Plaintiffs. The U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is the principal Defendant, thus the case caption of MSSA v. Holder.

The first hurdle in this lawsuit is the pending U.S. Motion to Dismiss. The feds argue that the lawsuit should be dismissed immediately should not go to trial because Plaintiffs lack standing, because the U.S. is sovereign and may not be sued (jurisdiction), and because of merit (they say well lose so why waste time discussing the issue).

OH: Campbell Ohio Open Carry Rally Saturday
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.marktaff.com

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For the past few months Ohioans For Concealed Carry has attempted to advise the City of Campbell, Ohio (near Youngstown) that their illegal ordinance prohibiting the sale of firearms was in violation of Ohio Law. We thought we were making progress when an article in The Youngstown Vindicator suggested that council would repeal the ordinance. ...

Unfortunately, more than a month has transpired since that story was written on our website and members of Council have told us that the Police Chief may be intimidating council into tabling the repeal, sending the legislation back to committee and maintaining an illegal ban on the sale of firearms.

AZ: Women And The Second Amendment [Video] Submitted by: Carey Development Corp	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Terri Proud is a conservative running for the Arizona House of Representatives in Legislative District 26.

Second Amendment Rallies Present Open Threat to Rule of Law
Submitted by: NYSRPA-PVF
Website: http://www.nysrpa-pvf.org

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Two weeks ago, I blogged about the disturbing number of threats that have been received by Democrats in Congress who voted for health care reform and called on Republicans to soften some of their heated rhetoric about the legislation. Simultaneously, I highlighted the Supreme Court's 2008 decision in D.C. v. Heller, which appeared to endorse the National Rifle Association's view that the Second Amendment provides an individual right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of "preventing government tyranny." This unfortunate combination of messages from right wing of American politics--that our current government is oppressive and the Constitution authorizes insurrection--is a dangerous mix that has already led to serious violence.

Media portrayal of Constitution advocates as haters continues
Submitted by: David Codrea
Website: http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner

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"That doesn't slow down Team Newsweek one bit. They have a meme to promulgate, and they dive into it like the skilled propagandists they are, evoking imagery from 'Nazi garb' to 'white robes' as a reaction to 'the nation's first African-American president,' and weaving all of that into the latest smear, that the upcoming Second Amendment March is being held to commemorate the Oklahoma City bombing or some such."

IL: Bullets over Buffalo, Fear of bullets over Buffalo Rock closes sections of park, I&M Canal Submitted by: Shabby	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Anti's come out in force to close gun range on opening day. Move backfires... "On April 2, the same day the range opened for the season, the IDNR, citing reports of stray bullets in the area, placed public access restrictions on a section of Buffalo Rock State Park and a portion of the Illinois & Michigan Canal Towpath."

An Interesting Case Involving Open Carry, Defense of Property, and Allegedly Resisting Arrest Submitted by: Rick Schwartz	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Frustrated with repeated acts of vandalism perpetrated against his automotive dealership, located in Espanola, New Mexico, Defendant-Appellant Christobal Archuleta decided to arm himself and stand guard at the lot to prevent further depredations. Earlier in the day, hed talked to Sergeant Griego of the Espanola Police Department and told him that he would be standing guard

MI: Detroit IHOP is Pistol Free Zone Submitted by: Jeff Stout	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Hopefully not an IHOP chain-wide program, their Detroit location has made the poor choice of designating themselves a 'pistol free zone' which prohibits licensed concealed carry permit holders from entering with a pistol.