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AZ: Border Patrol told to stand down in Arizona
Submitted by: Tomahawk

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"U.S. Border Patrol agents have been ordered not to arrest illegal aliens along the section of the Arizona border where protesters patrolled last month because an increase in apprehensions there would prove the effectiveness of Minuteman volunteers, The Washington Times has learned."

"More than a dozen agents, all of whom asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, said orders relayed by Border Patrol supervisors at the Naco, Ariz., station made it clear that arrests were 'not to go up' along the 23-mile section of border that the volunteers monitored to protest illegal immigration." ...

FL: Florida streets should resemble Old West
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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... "In their zeal to portray 'Stand Your Ground' as a philosophy of Dirty Harry wannabes, gun-control groups and some misguided police officials are using the same tired, thoroughly discredited rhetoric about 'Wild West gunfights' and 'blood in the streets' that they used when Florida, and more than two dozen other states, passed right-to-carry laws. ..."

"Frankly, we all should want Floridas streets to resemble neighborhoods in the Old West. A little research would explain why. Historians Richard Shenkman and W. Eugene Hollon have written about real violence in the frontier West, noting, for example, that in 1878 the heyday of cattle-drive boomtowns Dodge City recorded just five homicides." ...

MN: Conceal and Carry Law Passed by Senate
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Gun control advocates in the Senate got an opportunity they were denied two years ago, as they tried but ultimately failed to set stricter limits on who can carry a handgun in public as their fellow lawmakers voted to revive a court-overturned 2003 gun permit law."

"'I will not be silenced on this bill and I will not hesitate to point out what a terrible bill it is,' said Sen. Wes Skoglund, DFL-Minneapolis, even as a bipartisan group of senators methodically rejected multiple efforts to create more gun-free zones, limits on who can carry guns and deeper background checks on permit applicants." ...
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Submitter's Note: This was the man who wanted it to be a felony for a permit holder to carry on property owned by organizations that "worked primarily with children" (i.e. 4H, YM/YWCA, Boy Scouts etc.). His original wording didn't even require that it be done 'knowingly'.

ME: Crossbows on their way back as Maine bill advances
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"A Roman Catholic edict issued during the Middle Ages that labeled crossbows as 'deadly and God-detested' and banned their use nourished scorn for the weapons that lasted through the centuries. Even today, bow-and-arrow purists cast a wary eye toward weapons long associated with lances, maces, knights and castles."

"But times are changing for the crossbow. In Maine, a bill allowing its use during deer firearms season worked its way through the legislative process and will likely be signed into law by Gov. John Baldacci."

"Neighboring New Hampshire already has a similar law, as do a growing number of other states." ...

GA: Ordinance changes rile gun-rights advocates
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"A showdown with gun-rights advocates next Monday was all but assured this week when a Roswell city councilman charged with amending a city ordinance settled on wording that would strip away rights dear to many hunters and gun owners."

"In a special public meeting Monday night, City Councilman Kent Igleheart told about 50 residents that the amended law would remove wording that had given residents the right to use force to protect property, and also make it unlawful to hunt with a bow and arrow in the city."

"Igleheart said the change regarding the use of force brings the city's law, written in 1955, into conformity with the state law, which allows the use of force only to protect a person." ...

IL: Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence: Illinois State Rifle Association Pulls 'Set-Up Job' on Illinois Law Enforcement Officials
Submitted by: New York State Rifle & Pistol Association
Website: http://www.nysrpa.org

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"The Illinois State Rifle Association pulled 'one hell of a set-up job' on law enforcement officials and the Illinois State Police, according to Thom Mannard, executive director of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence (ICHV)."

"The ISRA supports Senate Bill 57, a bill to close the gun show loophole, but the legislation is filled with provisions to mandate the destruction of important records that would not only weaken law enforcement's ability to trace weapons used in crimes but would also endanger the lives of police officers, according to Mannard. Because the Illinois State Police was worried that the bill would handcuff their crime fighting efforts, Illinois State Police Director Larry Trent signed an open letter to lawmakers urging them to vote against Senate Bill 57." ...

NY: Town might restrict hunting clubs' neighbors
Submitted by: New York State Rifle & Pistol Association
Website: http://www.nysrpa.org

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"Back in January, officials in Deerpark passed a law that required all new construction on property adjoining established hunting club property to be set back 500 feet."

"The setback would enable hunters to use the entirety of their property, since by law they can't hunt within 500 feet of any building."

The Town of Highland is looking to pass a similar law, and news of the possibility brought a standing-room-only crowd to Town Hall Tuesday night for a board meeting." ...

WV: Man not indicted for murder in Hampshire County
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"A Hampshire County grand jury has decided not to indict a Hedgesville man who fatally shot a Paw Paw resident."

"Dennis J. Benton, 50, fired six shots into the torso of Rickie D. Michael ... according to Hampshire County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Moreland." ...

"'Information was presented to them on possible murder charges or voluntary manslaughter charges. They didn't indict him on either charge,' he said." ...

"'Benton said he feared for his life and shot Michael in self defense. ... There certainly was an element of self defense involved, but I thought they (the jury) would at least go for voluntary manslaughter,' [Morland] declared."

"Moreland said he may again try to seek an indictment during the next term of court." ...

AZ: Shooting defendant waives right to trial
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Harold Fish, the 58-year-old retired school teacher accused of shooting a Payson man to death, has waived his rights to a preliminary hearing."

"Fish's attorney, Melvin McDonald of Phoenix, said he waived his client's rights because Coconino County prosecutors reneged on an agreement to allow the hearing to include Fish's pleas of self defense." ...

"McDonald said he had a long list of highly qualified experts lined up to testify on Fish's behalf in the preliminary hearing."

"Scott Feagan, a detective for the Coconino County Sheriff's Office who was the original investigator of the case, is among those McDonald said he would call to the stand."

"Feagan said in the early days of the investigation he believed Fish acted in self defense." ...

GA: More Ga. judges carrying guns
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Spooked by the courthouse shootings in nearby Atlanta, some Clayton County judges are arming themselves with guns."

"The judges requested the guns and firearms training from Clayton County police several weeks ago, Clayton County police Capt. Jeff Turner said."

"Clayton Sheriff Victor Hill said police gave guns to eight Superior and State Court judges."

"Clerk of Superior Court Linda Miller said she was offered a gun but declined." ...

"Sheriff Hill, whose department is in charge of courthouse security, said he was not told in advance that the police were arming the judges and he wants some answers." ...

MS: Mississippi judges attend firearms classes
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Twenty-two Mississippi judges took firearms classes Wednesday, learning safety procedures and participating in target practice at a training facility in Rankin County."

"Supreme Court justices joined judges from the Court of Appeals and circuit, chancery and county courts for training at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy. All 22 qualified with their weapons, officials said."

"State law allows members of the Supreme Court and judges of the Court of Appeals and circuit, chancery, county and municipal courts to carry firearms. They must take a weapons training course at the law enforcement academy."

"'The main purpose is to help these judges feel more secure individually,' said Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Smith Jr., who participated in the training." ...

MD: Judge Allows FBI Shooting Suit To Proceed
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"A federal judge on Thursday rejected an FBI agent's request to dismiss a $10 million lawsuit filed by a man the agent shot in the face after mistaking him for a bank robber, saying the shooting created a potential 'death trap' that made him wonder about FBI training techniques."

"U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz ruled the case against Special Agent Christopher Braga should go to trial. Braga shot 23-year-old Joseph Schultz three years ago after agents stopped a car the Pasadena man was riding in with his then-girlfriend, Kristen Harkum."

"'We live in a country where we're responsible for our actions whether we're government agents or not,' Motz said during a court hearing in Baltimore." ...

FL: Prosecutor: Officer obsessed with guns
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"An Air Force officer accused of illegally sending home dozens of foreign-made assault rifles, rocket propelled grenade launchers and other war trophies from Iraq was obsessed with firearms, a prosecutor said at his court-martial Thursday."

"Maj. Gregory McMillion, a maintenance officer, is accused of shipping the items back to the Panhandle base in wooden crates also containing some of his ground radar unit's equipment."

"McMillion, 44, had gone to Iraq with the 728 Air Control Squadron in April 2003 for a six-month deployment."

"'With him he took his obsession for guns and military paraphernalia,' said Capt. Heather Lengel, noting the former Army soldier is a gunsmith and had a federal firearms license." ...

Mexico: U.S. agents face charges in Mexico
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"A Mexican judge has upheld charges of illegally possessing ammunition against two U.S. Border Patrol agents accused of crossing into Mexicali with nearly 1,300 rounds of .40-caliber cartridges."

"But charges of smuggling ammunition were dropped, according to the Mexican federal attorney general's office. Prosecutors were appealing that decision." ...

"[The two agents] were arrested April 29 during a random inspection of their sport utility vehicle by Mexican agents, who found a box with 1,286 .40-caliber hollow-point cartridges in the back seat and 10 .223-caliber rifle cartridges. The Border Patrol uses both types of ammunition." ...

MO: Foristell Police Officer Jailed; Charged With Hitting Girlfriend With Gun
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"A Foristell police officer is locked up, accused of pistol whipping his girlfriend in front of 2 children."

"25 year old Kenneth Rosa joined the Foristell Police Department 7 months ago. 'He completed his probationary period and was doing an excellent job and I chose to put him in the K-9 program', says Chief Keith Nelson."

"Rosa is now on the other side of the law. He is in the St. Charles county jail on a $10,000 cash only bond. Prosecutors say on Wednesday Rosa was arguing with his girlfriend while riding in her car along Highway T in Foristell. He allegedly struck her in the head with his loaded handgun." ...

AZ: Military, law enforcement caught in FBI drug sting
Submitted by: riotboy

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"FBI agents posing as cocaine traffickers nabbed 16 current and former law enforcement officers and U.S. soldiers who had accepted more than $222,000 in bribes to help move drugs past checkpoints, the government said." ...

"Those charged include a former Immigration and Naturalization Service inspector, a former Army sergeant, a former federal prison guard, seven members of the Arizona Army National Guard, five members of the Arizona Department of Corrections and a police officer, officials said." ...
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Submitter's Note: But only military and police should have guns.

MN: Chief: Cop's intoxication violated policy
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"St. Paul Police Sgt. Gerald Vick violated department policy by drinking to excess while on assignment before he was shot dead last week, Police Chief John Harrington said today."

"Vick's blood-alcohol content was .20, twice the legal limit to drive when he was shot while chasing two men down an alley on the city's East Side. Shortly before he was shot, Vick and his partner, Sgt. Joe Strong left Erick's bar and got into an altercation with two men, one of whom had been urinating on a wall outside the bar."

"However, Harrington said that he did not believe alcohol played a part in the initial confrontation with two men or in Vick's death." ...
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Submitter's Note: Under MN's 'shall issue' law passed in 2003 a 'civilian' carrying with a BAC of more than .04 would lose their permit for a year (for a first offense).

NY: Widow Of Man Shot By Off-Duty Officer To File Lawsuit
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"The widow of a Brooklyn man shot and killed by an off-duty police lieutenant Sunday is moving ahead with a lawsuit against the officer and the city."

"Byron Hearst was shot and killed when Lieutenant Shamik Walton of the Internal Affairs Bureau came to collect rent on the apartment he was renting to Hearst."

"The two got into a fight, Walton's gun discharged, and Hearst was shot. Walton has reportedly said he acted in self defense."

"Hearst's widow, Sheron Hearst, said Wednesday that she still has many questions about the shooting." ...

"The Brooklyn district attorney is investigating the shooting. In the meantime, the lieutenant has been placed on desk duty." ...

MA: Trooper's wife details drug, sex escapades
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"The wife of a state police narcotics officer took the witness stand last Friday yesterday and told sordid tales of him bringing friends and strangers into their bed and stealing confiscated drugs for resale among friends."

"Sgt. Timothy White, 42, is accused of stealing 27 pounds of marijuana and cocaine from state police seizures and then threatening to kill his wife by sticking his service pistol in her mouth when their drug use spiraled out of control on Jan. 27, 2003."

"Maura White, 43, an attractive blonde who at times appeared embarrassed as she recounted her sexual escapades for a Norfolk Superior Court jury, squarely blamed her husband for pushing her into a swinging lifestyle." ...

UK: Cops praised for bravery
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"A rookie policeman today described the moment he flattened a gunman after a nightclub shooting despite having a pistol pointed at his chest."

"Heroic PC Adriano Lai risked his life chasing an armed suspect as he fled a Wimbledon nightclub where a man had been wounded in a shooting."

"But when the suspect pulled a gun PC Lai floored him with a rugby tackle and then punched him in the face causing him to drop the weapon."

"Today PC Lai, who has only been in the job for 16 months, and two colleagues, PC Angela Grant and Detective Constable Paul Sykes, were commended for their bravery by Met Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair." ...

UK: Widow's fury as policemen cleared over fatal shooting
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"THE widow of a Scots grandfather shot by two police officers who mistakenly believed he was carrying a sawn-off shotgun has vowed to fight on after a judge overturned an unlawful killing verdict."

"An inquest jury decided last year that painter and decorator Harry Stanley, 46, had been unlawfully killed by Chief Inspector Iain Sharman and Constable Kevin Fagan as he walked home in Hackney, east London, carrying a table leg wrapped in a plastic bag." ...

"Mr Stanley was shot twice after the officers were wrongly told he had a sawn-off shotgun. Mr Sharman shot him in the head with a pistol, killing him instantly. PC Fagan also opened fire, hitting Mr Stanley in the left hand, as he walked home from a pub." ...

New Zealand: Policeman found guilty of assaulting student in car
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"A police constable was yesterday found guilty of assaulting a student in an incident more than four years ago."

"A jury at the Auckland District Court convicted Gregory Richard Hall of assaulting Hayden Graham Seath in the back of a police car in November 2000."

"Hall and his colleague, Constable Geoffrey James Wharton, were acquitted of assaulting Mr Seath during an arrest in the Bull and Gate carpark in Albany."

"His colleague, Constable Christopher Geoffrey James Wharton, was also cleared of three counts of assaulting Mr Seath in a police interview room."

"The jury was hung on a fifth assault charge against Wharton relating to the incident in the police car, however, and Judge Fred McElrea ordered a retrial." ...

India: MLAs henchman shoots gangster in Varanasi jail
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"A top Uttar Pradesh gangster was shot dead in Varanasis Central Jail this morning. Murder convict Santosh Gupta used a .30 bore pistol and a country-made revolver to shoot Annu Tripathi five times. Gupta is believed to be a close henchman of sitting SP MLA Uday Bhan Singh, lodged in the same jail for murder."

"While Gupta and an accomplice have been arrested, police also suspect Singhs involvement. This evening, the state government suspended seven senior Varanasi jail officials, including Senior Superintendent S.K. Sharma." ...

CA: A and A Shooters receive NRA grant
Submitted by: New York State Rifle & Pistol Association
Website: http://www.nysrpa.org

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"The National Rifle Association Foundation is celebrating its 15th year of existence and the fact that firearm related fatalities have dropped 47 percent over that time period. The primary goal of the foundation is to raise money through fund-raising Friends of the NRA dinners and endowments and distribute these monies to communities throughout the nation that are providing gun safety and education programs. ..."

"In 2004 the True Sportsman Club A&A Shooters applied for one of the Foundation Grants to purchase four Remington 870 12 gauge shotguns for their Scholastic Clay Target Program, which this year has over 80 junior high and high school students participating. ..." ...

GA: Shooting: China dominating World Cup USA
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"China won its fourth Gold Medal and its eighth medal overall May 12 at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup USA in Mens 10-Meter Air Rifle at the U.S. Army Marksmanship Units Pool International Shooting Complex."

"The 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist in this event, Qinan Zhu, worked his way up from eighth in the finals to first with a 104.6 final score. Zhu won with a 699.6 total score, Peter Sidi of Hungary finished in second with a score of 699.5 and Thomas Farnick of Austria clinched third with a 699.1." ...

Australia: Hospital siege ends peacefully
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"A QUEENSLAND doctor talked an accused child-sex offender armed with a loaded semi-automatic pistol into surrendering during a two-hour hospital siege yesterday."

"Boonah Hospital medical superintendent John Wang convinced the 54-year-old former high-ranking Outlaws motorcycle gang member to surrender his Colt .45 pistol during an intense stand-off during which the man repeatedly threatened to take his own life."

"When the drama began just before 9am, the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was to have appeared in the Ipswich Magistrate's Court to answer numerous charges, including two counts of rape, three of indecently dealing with a child under 16 and weapons offences." ...

Australia: Trio charged over gang killing
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"THREE men have been charged with the murder of Melbourne crime patriarch Lewis Moran."

"Moran was killed and a friend wounded when two masked men walked into the bar of the Brunswick Club in Brunswick, in Melbourne's north, and opened fire in March last year."

"Keith George Faure, his brother Noel Faure, and Evangelos Goussis, who appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court today, have been charged with murder and attempted murder." ...

"Keith Faure and Goussis, 37, previously have been committed to stand trial over the murder of another underworld figure ..."

"Noel Faure, 50, previously was charged with possessing an unregistered pistol while being prohibited from having a gun." ...

Jamaica: Police swarm Seaview after murder of gang leader
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"THE police yesterday flooded Seaview Gardens to deter retaliations for two killings Tuesday night, one of whom was alleged to be a gang leader."

"The two men, Desmond 'Foxy' Forbes, 28, and Oniel Grey, 21, were killed close to the police station."

"'We are determined to keep a lid on things so we have increased patrols in the area,' deputy Superintendent Winfroy Budhoo of the Hunts Bay police station told the Observer."

"Police report that during heavy rains, which lashed Kingston on Tuesday, gunmen struck in Phase II, Seaview Gardens."

"According to police reports, four men armed with handguns entered a shop at Blacksea Avenue, operated by Forbes, and shot him dead. They also shot Grey who succumbed to his wounds at hospital." ...

UK: The killing fields: villagers are horrified and baffled by spate of sheep shootings
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"Nick Boyles will never forget the sight that greeted him as he went to inspect a field of ewes and newborn lambs on his Oxfordshire farmland earlier this month."

"'There was blood everywhere. A maniac had been walking among them shooting with a rifle. Some lambs had holes in them as big as the back of your hand.'" ...

"The slaughter has been repeated on at least six occasions in neighbouring fields on the Oxfordshire fenland that is Otmoor. More than 70 animals have been killed or injured during the past month."

"The apparently indiscriminate killing has caused alarm and distress among the region's network of picturesque villages and within the local farming community. ..." ...

UK: Time To Face The Music..I Had My Fun
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"A BANK robber had the 'time of his life' during an armed raid spree, a court heard yesterday."

"Douglas Lees struck four times at banks and building societies after walking out of an open prison."

"He had been serving a 10-year stretch for armed robbery." ...

"Lees had a history of armed robberies and got his 10-year sentence for pistol raids on a shop and two filling stations."

"In February, he walked out of Noranside open prison in Angus and embarked on his crime spree in Edinburgh." ...