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Jeff Knox: Not "Allowed"
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Bruce W. Krafft
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... "... At the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Charlotte, NC last year I discussed some of my concerns about the word 'allow' and its implications. In this column I'm going to press the issue further and I expect that this will be a drum I'm going to be beating for a long time to come."
"What really bothers me about the word 'allow' is the way it is so commonly used in the fight for gun rights; a CCW allows one to carry a gun, we should be allowed to carry in National Parks, the Post Office does not allow guns in their buildings, etc. The problem with these statements is that the use of the word 'allow' implies authority and privilege and shifts the burden of proof in debate." ... |
Scotland: A Model for the Rest of Us
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"After the terrible tragedy at Virginia Tech, it is time that we turned to an older, more civilized country as a role-model. I speak, of course, of Scotland. Scotland has long since evolved beyond such displays of violence as we saw in Blacksburg this past week."
"A United Nations report has labeled Scotland the most violent country in the developed world, with people three times more likely to be assaulted than in America. England and Wales recorded the second highest number of violent assaults while Northern Ireland recorded the fewest." ... |
Restoring the Second Amendment in Parker v. Columbia (BFA)
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Fear and disinformation have long been the hallmarks of the movement to end private gun ownership. Not surprisingly, the D.C. Circuit's decision in Parker v. District of Columbia ... has elicited outrageous predictions of doom from gun prohibitionists. The Violence Policy Center's Josh Sugarmann neatly summed up the hysteria in warning that Parker 'may mark the beginning of a long, national nightmare from which we will never recover as a nation.'"
"Allow me to offer a more optimistic view: Parker not only marks the beginning of the end of gun prohibition, it might also reverse the erosion of our individual rights by re-enforcing the primacy of judicial review and preventing sophists from defining rights out of existence." ... |
Common ground: NRA, gun control advocates
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students and faculty at Virginia Tech has unified the nation's premier pro-gun and anti-gun lobbies on one point: Mental health records need to be opened to the FBI for use during the national instant check system."
"Both the National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence support a requirement for all states to make information about a buyer's mental health accessible during federal background checks required for all potential firearms purchasers." ...
"In his first extensive interview since the Virginia Tech killings, Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's executive vice president and CEO, said the association has always supported the inclusion of mental health information in federal checks." ... |
20 Questions, One Bias: CBS's Couric Fires Anti-Gun Slant In Online Interviews
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Last Friday on her 'Couric & Co.' blog, CBS 'Evening News' anchor Katie Couric asked gun control advocate Paul Helmke 10 questions in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings. I critiqued her agenda of questions to Helmke here. Today, Couric gave equal time to gun rights advocate Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho)."
"Yet a review of the questions to Craig betrays Couric's leanings towards Helmke's pro-gun control position as well as some ignorance of the modern history of gun control (see her 10th question, for example)."
"Below are the questions to Craig with my comments/snark included in italics. Portions in bold are my emphasis:" ... |
Beef up gun control? Do not infringe on rights of law-abiding citizens
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"The shootings at Virginia Tech show, again, the fallacy of anti-gun policies. No one can know the evil lurking in the mind of any man."
"Some say the availability of guns is a problem, but in most school shootings the firearms used seem always to be owned by the perpetrator or a relative. So what difference would passing another law now make?"
"Show me a law that has prevented any evildoing. No one has. So, I must presume that gun laws don't work. So why have them on the books? Repeal them and give law-abiding people a break." ... |
Stability crucial for gun owners
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"In light of recent events, talk about gun control laws abounds. Many conservatives back the second amendment with the right to bear arms, while liberals support stronger gun laws. I feel compelled to write about this, as I received a Facebook invitation to a group that was in full support of concealed gun laws, and was, in my opinion, quite insensitive."
"During President George W. Bush’s term, he has allowed the assault-weapons ban ... to lapse. This makes extremely lethal automatic weapons available to the average American. Many liberals, although opposed to Bush’s actions, are worried about the upcoming presidential elections and simply choose not to fight about such a controversial topic." [emphasis added] ... |
Beef up gun control? Memorialize Va. Tech dead: Fill cracks in gun policy
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The terrible Virginia Tech tragedy has inspired an outpouring of support, concern and tributes. One fitting tribute would be to revisit the issue of gun control. Consider what happened: A mentally ill young man legally purchased handguns at a gun shop, ammunition at a store and ammunition clips online. There are federal laws, a limited National Instant Criminal Background Check System and a hodgepodge of state laws. However, the Virginia Tech shooter got through cracks in that flawed system. |
How To Create A Police State
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"A guy named Dan Simpson, who sits on the Editorial Board of The Toledo Blade has written a column wherein he takes a position I don’t think I've even seen Sarah Brady take; the complete disarmament of the American public." ...
"It is, you see, quite easy. All you have to do is suspend civil liberties, forget about the concept of private property, ignore the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Amendments."
"But, of course, even Simpson's efficient little police state will need it’s Gestapo:" ...
"No search warrants, no worries about probable cause, no right to a hearing. Just Dan Simpson’s gun-stealing Gestapo breaking your door down in the middle of the night. ..." ... |
FL: Prosecutors decline to charge suspect in alleged gang slaying
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"The State Attorney's Office has declined to file murder charges against a reputed gang member arrested last month on charges he killed a 23-year-old man and wounded the man's 20-year-old brother."
"Bradenton Police said Luciano Muniz Jr., 16, killed Saul Herrera and wounded Noel Herrera during a gang-related shooting March 25, in the 500 block of 20th Avenue West."
"Police arrested Muniz on charges of murder and attempted murder, but prosecutor Brian Iten announced today that he will not file those charges because witnesses say Muniz acted in self-defense." ... |
CA: Man acquitted in neighbor's killing
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"Three years ago, a jury was split over whether rancher James Grove, 69, was guilty of killing his 61-year-old neighbor ..."
"But after a three-day retrial in Fresno County Superior Court, jurors announced a unanimous verdict Thursday."
"All 12 found him not guilty of manslaughter ..." ...
"Five months before he was killed, Barber showed Grove a new handgun he had bought, Kinney said. He said that during the following months, Barber tried to make it clear to Grove he kept it in his coat pocket. Barber suggested they settle their dispute with a gunfight, Kinney said."
"He said Grove shot Barber only after Barber reached in his coat pocket and told him, 'I'm going to shoot you.'" ... |
CA: Man shot still hospitalized (2nd story)
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"A 49-year-old man shot Tuesday in the neck after he attacked his housemate remains in a San Jose-area hospital in police custody." ...
"Sgt. Jim MacAulay said the man was shot in an apparent act of self-defense after he attacked a 60-year-old roommate with a club at the house they share ..."
"MacAulay said that when deputies arrived they learned the man shot had become enraged and for unknown reasons started pounding on the door of a fellow roommate. When he couldn't gain entry, he went to another door and once inside attacked the 60-year-old man."
"The victim, whose right hand was already in a brace, grabbed a pistol and shot the attacker, hitting him in the neck, MacAulay said." ... |
PA: Threat prompts Pa. lawmaker to carry gun
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"A state lawmaker who received an e-mail threatening that he should be shot for supporting tougher gun-control laws said Thursday he may wear a bulletproof vest and carry his gun more often."
"Rep. Jewell Williams said he asked police to investigate the e-mail that came two days after a gun-rights rally Tuesday where two participants held up a banner calling for fellow Philadelphia Democrat Rep. Angel Cruz to be 'hung from the tree of liberty.'"
"Cruz's bill would require gun registration and a $10-a-gun annual fee."
"'Now that I hear this attitude of people recommending lynching, I'll probably be wearing my gun more and possibly wearing my bulletproof vest, because we now think we're being threatened,' said Williams, a former police officer." ... |
Miss America, Capt. America, and saving the planet, one square at a time
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Dramatists often lighten an exceptionally tragic act with humor ... this week the news has been our own comic relief."
"An inevitable aftermath of the Virginia Tech massacre was media talking heads promoting gun control ... But this week, Miss America 1944 – Venus Ramey, who is now 82 years old – faced an intruder on her Kentucky property in her barn ... Ramey, balancing on her walker, used her snub-nosed .38-caliber handgun to shoot out the tires of the would-be thieves' getaway vehicle and held them at bay till the cops showed up." ...
"An inevitable aftermath of that story is not media talking heads saying that maybe there is something to that Second Amendment after all, if an 82-year-old woman on a walker is able to fend off thieves on her property." ... |
Gun laws mean nothing to evil people
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"In the wake of the Virginia Tech campus shootings, and the like, one thing should be abundantly clear to all - and that is that evil people will commit evil acts regardless of law. Laws cannot stop evil; laws can only punish the perpetrators) after the fact, but not in all cases, as at Virginia Tech where the predator committed suicide."
"A mayor was assassinated in Japan a few days ago. There is a total ban on guns in Japan for all of its subjects, so how could that happen? Evil. In other countries around the world gun bans were a prelude to genocide, orchestrated by governments. Evil." ... |
You have a right to keep and bear arms — NOT!
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"As you are all well probably aware, I’ve been scanning the news looking for liberal views on gun control in the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting."
"Anyway, I recently found an interesting view from Shahid Buttar, lawyer and activist, on TomPaine.com. ..." ...
"Now, from here you're probably asking how he can be in favor of gun control after expressing this view. I think it's clearly impossible; here's how he reasons:"
"[N]o right is absolute. Even the most precious liberties are subject to judicial scrutiny, and the authorization of restrictions where justified. ... While the individual right to bear a weapon may remain legitimate in the abstract, legislatures have every right ..." ... |
Gun solutions
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Bruce W. Krafft
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Lockwood propose magic-wand solutions to America's gun laws. ..."
"Licenses, watch lists and exile" ...
"In an ideal world, I would call for a licensing regime so strict that it would be virtually impossible for ordinary citizens to have handguns. ..." ...
"Sensible consensus"
"My magic wand is the Wand of Sensible Consensus. Here's what it produced:"
"First, if the government refuses to protect you, it cannot take away your ability to protect yourself. ..." ...
"Second, remember that good policemen don't have bad guns. ..." ...
"So if a ban on a particular type of firearm has a police exemption, the ban's rationales are probably false, and the ban should be eliminated. ..." ... |
Congress Should Slash Funds of Virginia Tech and Other Colleges for Undermining Right to Self-Defense, says Gun Rights Advocate
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"Gun rights advocate John M. Snyder said here today that Congress should deny federal funds to institutions of higher learning that prohibit students or faculty from carrying guns on campus if the individuals have state issued permits to carry concealed firearms."
"The big lesson from the Virginia Tech massacre is that gun prohibitions do not stop murderous madmen from perpetrating their horrendous acts," he said. "They do prevent law-abiding individuals from protecting their lives from these crazed individuals. Virginia Tech and a number of other colleges prohibit students and faculty from carrying guns on campus even if they have valid concealed carry permits." ... |
Gun control no answer to violence (letter)
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"No, the state does not need stricter gun laws. You could see this issue popping up after the recent tragedy on the Virginia campus. There is a valid argument that if they didn't have such strict laws on campus, perhaps he could have been stopped. We'll never know, but this much I know -- those who want more gun control will strip us of our Second Amendment rights."
"... We still need the ability to defend ourselves in our homes. Taking our guns away doesn't take the bad guys' guns away."
"Where are these young people who have already committed more murders in our city so far this year than all of last year getting their guns? All gun control will do is make for easier targets of crime." |
10 Questions: Opposing Gun Control
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Last week's killings at Virginia Tech are still on all of our minds—and it may be too soon to talk about a public policy response. But the fact is, national activists and politicians already are. For last week's '10 Questions,' just days after the VT assault, we spoke with a leading proponent of gun control."
"This week, we hear from the other side of the debate. We posed some questions to Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig, a longtime NRA board member and gun control opponent. We talked with him about assault weapons, background checks, and the Second Amendment." ... |
Still more guns laws won't stop madness (first letter)
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"The Virginia Tech shooting unleashed calls for new gun laws."
"While understanding the frustration and helplessness felt by well-meaning but misguided liberals, I can't understand why they seem incapable of gleaning the truth:"
"That placing more restrictions on guns results in the inability of lawful citizens to protect themselves."
"I share the liberals' wish that gun violence would simply disappear, but I understand that the real world is where we live."
"Real world conditions require we defend ourselves sometimes and the fact is that Americans do defend themselves, families, or property with firearms about 3,000 times per day." ... |
Single bullet can work magic
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"The victims of the horrible attack at Virginia Tech will be laid to rest, their memories encased in grief. Thirty-three died, but those who grieve are many times that number." ...
"Now, close your eyes and contemplate what might have occurred if one person with a legally concealed weapon had witnessed the first attack at VT."
"Initially he thinks, 'I can stop him, but I may get shot!' Then his character overcomes his fear, and with one shot, he instantly stops the mayhem." ...
"When gun-control proponents push for revocation of the Second Amendment, they truly frighten me. They never mention that the Japanese never invaded us because they knew that about 11 million American civilians were armed." ... |
My Turn: Massacre shows it's time to get guns off the streets
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"On April 19, I shared my morning coffee with a madman. Over the top of the fold the cold eyes of a killer stared back at me. Above the black steel barrel those eyes communicated darkness, hatred, fear and insanity. Yet one image was clearer than the others. One message came through above all else. It's time to get rid of the guns."
"Cho Seung-Hui may have injured people with his hammer or his knives, perhaps even taken a life or two. But 32? Without his guns, not likely. Cho easily bought his guns at a legal gun shop. All it took was a little white lie. It's time to get the guns off the streets." ... |
Guns here, guns there, guns everywhere
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Bruce W. Krafft
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... "A widely held passion for defense of Second Amendment rights goes beyond the NRA's concern for the needs of hunters. More than half of some 200 million firearms privately owned in the United States, alas, are fashioned not for killing game animals, but for shooting fellow human beings."
"This unpleasant truth causes an uneasy gap in public debate over access to weaponry - a debate instantly revived by the killings at Virginia Tech. And once again, America is being targeted abroad as the most violent among developed nations. From snide editorials in the European press to the openly expressed contempt voiced by Australia's prime minister, we are faulted for failure to act in the face of repeated mass murders." ... |
Guns don't do anything for me
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"I have to admit I get nervous in the presence of a firearm. I've never desired to own, fire, or even look at a gun."
"Being that close to a device that in an instant can be used in anger to end someone's life gives me the jitters."
"Now before all the gun aficionados load their clips to take aim at me for being 'anti-gun' ... let me make this clear - I don't have issues with responsible gun owners who treat their weapons with respect and use them for legitimate purposes."
"I just don't like guns. I think I'm entitled to that opinion. I don't see the point in owning one, unless I was a recreational target shooter or a hunter. Have you ever seen a clay pigeon take a direct hit from a shotgun? Now that's talent." ... |
Current gun laws should be tightened, but not changed
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"One city in America has a code that says, 'Heads of household to maintain firearms.' It has a low crime rate."
"We must protect ourselves. The Constitution gives us that support in the Second Amendment. Yet, we must tighten the right to purchase arms."
"Any business that sells arms completes an application from the purchaser, and it is submitted to the proper government approval center. If the record is clear, the sale is made to the buyer. We must stop thinking about the privacy policy of the civil liberties groups about those persons who have had mental health counseling. The record of their receiving counseling help should be submitted to the governmental agency. ..." ... |
Tyranny Of Gun Violence
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"We must face the hard truth that firearms are so easy to acquire in the United States that lethal mass shootings are mathematically inevitable."
"Our nation was stunned by Cho Seung Hui's shooting spree ... As we mourn these deaths, we are left with two unavoidable questions: Could this horrific act of violence have been avoided? and What do we do about it? Neither question is easy to answer in a nation with over 200 million privately owned firearms including 65 million handguns."
"The gun violence of the United States is an anomaly among most industrialized democracies. Other countries place many more impediments on gun ownership. Here, virtually anyone can obtain a gun ..." ... |
A Deadly Misreading
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Last week's shootings at Virginia Tech were a regrettably familiar spectacle: Americans unleashing inexplicably horrendous violence upon one another, followed by deafening silence from lawmakers unwilling to challenge the National Rife Association and other interest groups promoting 'gun rights.' But before committing themselves to such shocking timidity, neither policymakers nor their constituents should pretend that any constitutional values are threatened by getting guns off our streets and saving lives." ... |
The disarming of America
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Brian
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... "The disarmament process would begin after the initial three-month amnesty. Special squads of police would be formed and trained to carry out the work. Then, on a random basis to permit no advance warning, city blocks and stretches of suburban and rural areas would be cordoned off and searches carried out in every business, dwelling, and empty building. All firearms would be seized. The owners of weapons found in the searches would be prosecuted: $1,000 and one year in prison for each firearm." ...
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Submitter's Note: How brave of this former diplomat to use his 1st amendment rights to propose other people violate our 2nd and 4th amendment rights while he sits comfortably at home.
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Would campus concealed-carry help?
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Picture this: You are in a large university classroom. A reasonable percentage of the student population has concealed-carry permits and concealed handguns in their book bags."
"They have taken and passed rigorous screenings ... They are respectful of, and responsible toward, the use of handguns. They carry their handguns for self-defense only; they are not part of some secret campus police force."
"Suddenly, there is an imminent threat of violence. Would you feel safer knowing that one of your fellow students had a handgun, knew how to use it, and would? Or would you feel threatened knowing there are handguns in your midst? This is the real issue." ... |
UT: Utah Allows Guns on College Campuses
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"Brent Tenney says he feels pretty safe when he goes to class at the University of Utah, but he takes no chances. He brings a loaded 9 mm semiautomatic with him every day."
"'It's not that I run around scared all day long, but if something happens to me, I do want to be prepared,' said the 24-year-old business major, who has a concealed-weapons permit and takes the handgun everywhere but church." ...
"As states and colleges across the country review their gun policies in light of the tragedy, many in Utah are proud to have the nation's only state law that expressly allows the carrying of concealed weapons at public colleges." ... |
GA: Student Government: Gun Range Funding Denied
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"The College Republicans are accusing College Council of discrimination and political bias after a funding proposal for a trip to a shooting range was rejected Wednesday."
"College Council President Daniel Berger said the Council's unanimous decision not to fund the outing stemmed from the danger of dealing with weapons. He said the Council wished to avoid setting a precedent for sponsoring that type of activity."
"'We think anything that builds community is great,' Berger said. 'But we have a responsibility that we're not going to be funding things that could hurt people.'"
"College Republicans Chair Lee Tittsworth said it isn't the Council's place to make funding decisions based on political agendas." ... |
U.S. Proposal Could Block Gun Buyers Tied to Terror
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"The Justice Department proposed legislation on Thursday that would give the attorney general discretion to bar terrorism suspects from buying firearms, seeking to close a gap in federal gun laws."
"The measure, which was introduced by Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey, would give the attorney general authority to deny a firearm purchase if the buyer was found 'to be or have been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of, or related to terrorism.'"
"Suspects on federal watch lists can now legally buy firearms in the United States if background checks do not turn up any standard prohibitions for gun buyers ..." |
Statement of Paul Helmke on New Senate Bill, Supported by President, to Bar Terror Suspects From Gun Purchases
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"After the attacks on September 11, 2001, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence issued a report entitled 'Guns and Terror: How Terrorists Exploit Our Weak Gun Laws.' The bill that was introduced today by Senator Frank Lautenberg, with the support of President Bush, starts to address the weaknesses in current law which we addressed in that report."
"We are happy that the Bush Administration sees a need to strengthen the gun laws in this country. We make it too easy for too many whose intentions are questionable to obtain dangerous weapons quickly in this country. Strengthening our system of background checks to deal with suspected terrorists is a good start toward making our communities and our country safer." ... |
IL: Scoping proposed gun ban
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"Two Illinois lawmakers are attempting to pass a major ban on guns in the state. House Bill 0873, also known as the Criminal Assaults weapon ban, would prohibit the manufacture, sale, and use of *all* semi-automatic weapons."
"All of these guns would have to disappear in Illinois under this gun ban. And GameMasters gun manager Larry Meeks says that would hurt businesses that sell guns. About 75 percent of that store's total firearm sales are weapons included in the proposal."
"Meeks says similar legislation comes up in Springfield almost every year. He thinks that gun bans get pushed because many people don't understand the difference between weapons. ..." ... |
OR: Port of Portland Bill Gets Even Worse (OFF)
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"As we warned you yesterday, the Port of Portland is trying to use an unrelated bill to expand their power in spite of their continued refusal to obey the law."
"We can now confirm that House Bill 2890 ... will have all its original language removed and replaced with the language of the Port of Portland bill that has died. But it gets worse."
"These amendments ... also include a new crime, 'possessing or controlling a firearm in a restricted access area.' What do gun owners get in exchange? A promise from Port of Portland Executive Director Bill Wyatt that he will 'recommend' that the Port of Portland Commission 'take all necessary steps to conform Port ordinances concerning weapons possession to current Oregon law.'" ... |
Feds Won't Prosecute Webb Aide Over Gun
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Federal prosecutors will not prosecute an aide to Virginia U.S. Sen. Jim Webb for trying to take a gun that was in a handbag into a Senate office building last month ..."
"The aide, Phillip Thompson, 45, carried a gun into the Russell Senate Office Building in late March." ...
"Thompson, a former Marine, said he didn't know the gun was in a bag he was carrying for his boss."
"'After reviewing and analyzing all of the evidence in the case, we do not believe the essential elements of the crime of carrying a pistol without a license can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt,' said Jeffrey Taylor, the U.S. attorney for Washington." ...
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Submitter's Note: Nope, no double standards here! |
IL: Essay arrest baffles experts
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Anonymous
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"Police Thursday released portions of an essay used to charge a Cary-Grove High School student with disorderly conduct, leaving several experts puzzled at an arrest based on such schoolwork."
"Asked to write about whatever he wanted in a creative writing class, would-be Marine and honors student Allen Lee, 18, described a violent dream in which he shot people and then 'had sex with the dead bodies.'"
"But then he immediately dismissed the idea as a mere joke, writing, 'not really, but it would be funny if I did.'" ...
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SUBMITTER'S COMMENT: You've been asking why the authorities are not treating the 1st Amendment like the 2nd. Looks like the Illinois authorities are taking you up on your challenge. |
IL: Officer Faces 14 Felony Charges In Beating
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"Prosecutors have announced they're charging a Chicago police officer with 14 new felony counts in the beating of a female bartender last February."
"Anthony Abbate has already been charged with aggravated battery. Surveillance video from the tavern shows a man identified by police as Abbate punching the 115-pound woman and throwing her to the floor after she reportedly refused to serve him any more drinks."
"The new charges include counts of communicating with a witness, intimidation and conspiracy. The indictment alleges that a woman acting as an intermediary for Abbate threatened that he or others would plant illegal drugs on bar employees or customers if the videotape was turned over to authorities." ...
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GA: 2 Atlanta officers plead guilty in drug raid death of woman, 92 (follow-up)
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"Two police officers pleaded guilty yesterday to manslaughter in the shooting death of a 92-year-old woman during a botched drug raid last fall. A third officer still faces charges." ...
"In a hearing later in federal court, both pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to violate a person's civil rights, resulting in death. Their state and federal sentences would run concurrently." ... |
OH: Ohio Responds To Cleveland Lawsuit (OFCC)
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"When a state statute is challenged the Ohio Attorney General's office is required to defend the law and the actions of the legislature in adopting that law. When Cleveland decided to pursue litigation against Ohio's statewide preemption law the Ohio Attorney General's Office did just that."
"On April 17th the State of Ohio responded to Cleveland's lawsuit. The nine page answer [.pdf] is relatively 'boring' compared to some previous legal documents we've shared here, but it does bring up some interesting defenses." ...
"Most encouraging is the fact that the State of Ohio has asked the court to dismiss with prejudice (so that the case can't be brought again) and to have the City of Cleveland pay all costs." ... |
TX: Gun thoughts (3rd letter)
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"'Guns don't kill people, people kill people.' How true. If someone has an intense personal grudge against you, it matters little whether they come at you with a knife or a gun."
"If someone has an antipathy against his fellow humans in general, however, it makes a huge difference, roughly a factor of 32, whether he uses a knife or an assault pistol. There is no rational reason why anyone besides police and military need access to that kind of weapon, or handguns at all, for that matter." ...
"If anyone has the irrational need to cut loose with a multi-shot automatic or semi-automatic barrage, the Second Amendment clearly protects his right to join the Texas National Guard." |
NY: Guns and the law
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RPA-PAC
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"The murderous rampage on the campus of Virginia Tech last week, followed by the slaying of a New York state trooper in Delaware County on Wednesday, has led to a flurry of calls by some state leaders for stricter gun regulations. But none of the suggestions address the core issue in New York -- keeping illegal firearms out of the hands of criminals. Gov. Spitzer and the Legislature need to make this their No. 1 priority."
"True enough, New York only recently toughened its illegal firearms statute. Until last year, the mandatory minimum penalty for illegal possession of a loaded weapon had been just one year in jail -- and even then a judge had the discretion to reduce it to probation. ..." ... |
LA: Outlawing guns has caused crime increase
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"I find it dangerous to threaten any amendment to our Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment means exactly what it states, contrary to what Chuck Pickett thinks. All citizens have the right to bear arms, including pistols, rifles and shotguns. All are relevant, whether they are semi-automatic or not. The Instant-Check system works, if utilized."
"I am a proud NRA life member and take part in target shooting as a viable sport. This includes the use of semi-automatic rifles and pistols." ...
"Picket needs to research his data more effectively ..."
"The criminal element does not need guns to carry out their evil deeds. Europe has more violent crime per capita using firearms than the United States." ... |
IL: No link between legal firearms, crime
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"As the ban guns furor mounts, another study was released which clearly indicates there is no correlation between legal firearms ownership and the increase in crime."
"The Second Amendment Foundation applauded a new report by a pair of criminologists, Prof. Don Kates of the United States and Prof. Gary Mauser of Canada, which contends that the rate of firearms ownership is irrelevant to the homicide and violent crime rate. The report should be required reading, SAF founder Alan Gottlieb emphasized, '... especially by reporters, editorial writers and elected representatives.'" ... |
NY: DA makes visible statement about illegal gun possession
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"In light of a recent New York State firearm control law which mandates a three-and-a-half year prison sentence for someone caught with an unregistered firearm, Dutchess County District Attorney William Grady Thursday introduced a new initiative to help reduce the amount of illegal firearms around the county."
"The district attorney's office, in conjunction with several law enforcement agencies, has placed five billboards across the county with the content of the new state firearm law, which he hopes will persuade people to think twice when purchasing a firearm illegally, or lending it to a friend without knowing the intended use." ... |
PA: Cap-and-ball guns and Glocks
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Gun control as practiced in World War II: After shooting 25 bullets at the firing range, you had better bring back 25 empty shells. ..."
"The writers of the Second Amendment were saying the government should not hire mercenaries but allow its own citizens to bear arms. They also realized there were civilian uses for firearms." ...
"Let's consider the Constitution in a very conservative way. What did the founding fathers mean? Obviously, they meant every citizen had the right to own and use a ball-and-cap pistol or musket. If you hit something at 40 yards with those weapons, you weren't just a good marksman, you were dang lucky."
"But were the founding fathers thinking about Glock automatic pistols and AK-47s?" ... |
OH: Plain Dealer letter-writers let 'em have it (BFA)
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"Off. The. Scale."
"The reaction to the shooting of 15-year-old Arthur Buford has everyone up in arms."
"More than 400 readers told me Damon Wells had every right to shoot and kill Buford. Only 20 disagreed."
"Wells was not sitting on his porch when he was attacked, as I wrote Wednesday. He was returning from the store and walking across his yard when two teens approached. At the porch, one pulled a gun and said, 'Don't move or I'll pop you.'"
"Wells, who has a concealed-carry permit, fired his Smith & Wesson at 'Ace Boogie' Buford, who was still on probation for aggravated robbery."
"Black and white, male and female, Clevelanders and suburbanites are tired of thugs - thugs of any race - terrorizing neighborhoods." ... |
OH: Ohio Fails Mental Background Checks For CHLs (OFCC)
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Bruce W. Krafft
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"Various television stations and the Columbus Dispatch are publishing reports from the Ohio Attorney General's office because AG Marc Dann announced today that the State of Ohio has failed to conduct background checks extensively."
"Four people who shouldn't have had licenses were identified, two who still had a license, or what equates to two hundred thousandths of a percent of the overall licensed population in Ohio. Marc Dann said that his office won't allow the process to work on sheer luck." [emphasis added] ...
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Submitter's Note: Two hundred thousandths of a percent = 0.0000002 |
Canada: Guns keep us safe
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"Ironically, gun control advocates are just like many gun owners in North America. We are all responsible citizens who want to see fewer people hurt by any kind of violence, especially guns. We just disagree on how to achieve it. In this regard, statistics are much more useful than rhetoric and emotion. Beyond reducing mental illness, there is one other way: get back to the ideas of self defence ..." ...
"Proponents of gun control seem to pick only the details that support their idea of guns being the problem. Strangely, we expect men with guns - the police - to come and save us ..."
"Guns can save lives too. Properly applied, it just might be a better option than creating disarmed victims." ... |
Canada: Macho depravity reigns supreme
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"It would seem Osama is the least of their worries."
"Homeland security blows $40 billion a year while the troops 'fight over there to keep us from fighting them here' and a suicide terrorist still slaughters 32 on a campus. Other shootings follow like clockwork."
"Gun carnage in the U.S. has won the upper hand when a much-touted solution to Blacksburg is to up-arm to counter the excess in bullets."
"Per-capita firearms deaths in America leave the rest of the industrialized world in its distant gunsmoke."
"Availability of guns in the U.S. is at saturation levels, pure coincidence of course. Ramping up to 250 million of them has failed to dispel the bloodshed, but heavy casualties are seen as the price paid for safety." ... |
UK: Man, 82, hits robber with lettuce
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jac
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"An 82-year-old man wielding a bag of shopping has driven an armed robber from a village post office."
"George Smith hit the man twice with a bag containing an iceberg lettuce and bottles of bleach and washing liquid."
"The masked raider, who had a shotgun, fled from the shop in Speldhurst, near Tunbridge Wells, Kent, leaving the takings untouched." ...
"Mr Smith himself said his actions were 'entirely automatic'."
"'The best method of defence is attack - so I did. I whacked him in the face and then I clobbered him again.'" ...
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Submitters note: That's all the citizens in formally great Britain have for defense. I'm suprised they didn't arrest him for assult on the robber. |
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