North Dakota Continues To Debate Castle Doctrine: The legislation has already passed the House. Right now lawmakers and interested parties are working on amendments to the bill. Even though it has not yet been assigned to a Senate committee, there's a lot of debate about whether or not this would make North Dakotans safer. Proponents of the bill say it's all about self defense and that people have a right to protect their home. http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=5498 --- New Jersey Likely To Ban .50-Caliber Rifles: New Jersey is looking to become the second state to outlaw a powerful gun that critics say can be used by terrorists to shoot down an airliner. Democratic lawmakers and Ceasefire NJ, an antigun group, unveiled a plan on Monday to make it illegal to sell .50 caliber weapons in New Jersey. (I suspect that a bird sucked into a jet engine may have a greater chance of downing an airliner than a .50 BMG bullet.) http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070305/NEWS01/70305014/1006 --- Washington Gun-Show-Restriction Bill Advances: A bill that would require all sellers at gun shows to conduct background checks passed out of committee Tuesday, but Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, said it's uncertain whether it will reach the Senate floor. Even if the bill makes it to the Senate floor and passes, House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, said last month that it doesn't have enough support to pass the House. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/306099_guncontrol05.html --- University Of Miami Coach Bans Firearms: Randy Shannon has issued a straightforward warning to his University of Miami football players: Get caught carrying a firearm and your days as a Hurricane are over. After two shooting incidents involving UM players last year, Shannon plans to enforce a "zero-tolerance'' policy regarding weapons. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2007/03/06/a1c_umfoot_0306.html --- Citizen Intervenes, Stops Murder: As customers watched in horror Sunday afternoon, a man stabbed a woman and attempted to set her on fire in the parking lot of a Jackson MS store, witnesses said. The attack was stopped by a passer-by, who held the man at gunpoint until police arrived, witnesses said. "He told the man, 'Stop, or I'm going to shoot. And if you run, I'm going to kill you.' " http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070305/NEWS/703050350 --- Mea Culpa From Jim Zumbo: As part of what appears to be some sort of twelve-step plan, Jim Zumbo confesses the error of his public denunciation of military-looking rifles in a letter to CCRKBA. An earlier step appears to have been a re-education session on semi-automatic firearms by Ted Nugent. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=260101 --- Britain To Ban Replica Samurai Swords: The sale of imitation samurai swords could be banned by the end of the year, the Home Office announced today. Importing or hiring the weapons could also be made illegal following a string of samurai sword attacks in recent years. Breaching the ban, which is targeted at cheap imitation samurai swords rather than the more expensive genuine collectors' items made by licensed swordsmiths in Japan, would result in up to six months in jail and a £5,000 fine. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/05/nsamurai105.xml --- From NRA-ILA: NRA Gets Reimbursed Court Costs From City Attorney in New Orleans Monday, March 05, 2007 Fairfax, VA-Today, attorneys for the National Rifle Association of America received a check from New Orleans City Attorney Joseph Vincent DiRosa, Jr. who was ordered to pay partial legal fees and costs to NRA's attorneys for expenses incurred. Mr. DiRosa's delaying tactics were called "wholly unprofessional" by Federal District Court Judge Carl Barbier. While we are grateful for this small payment, we remain steadfast in our belief that the City of New Orleans continues to be in contempt of court and must make every effort possible to return the wrongfully and illegally confiscated firearms to their rightful owners. Every ruling thus far by the courts has reinforced the fact that the Second Amendment applies to all law-abiding Americans, including law-abiding residents of the City of New Orleans. This is in direct contradiction to the absurd claims made by the Nagin Administration that the Second Amendment somehow did not apply in New Orleans. -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .