NRA Presses Coburn On NICS Improvement Act: Gun control advocates, the National Rifle Association and those affected by the Virginia Tech shooting rampage are working to overcome U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn's hold on a bill designed to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. Led by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the effort was kicked off Monday, the six-month anniversary of the campus shooting that claimed more than 30 lives... The NRA, a key supporter of the bill, has launched an effort to address what it called misconceptions from opponents. According to NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, the bill does not create a new class of "prohibited persons," but offers a way to restore gun rights previously barred by a court order. http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=071016_1_A1_spanc41357 Related Article: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1007/6351.html --- An Interesting Rant From A Liberal: ...Probably the most common argument supporting the Second Amendment is that we should be allowed to hunt...The other big one is the argument that we need guns to protect our homes from the occasional burglar...So why keep them? If we look to our constitutional history, the answer is much more obvious than hunting, tradition and domestic protection. Like everything in the Bill of Rights, it is a safeguard against only one entity: the government. For me, this is the only even remotely logical reason to keep deadly weapons on the streets. It is important, to protect us from tyranny, that the politicians know their citizens are armed... http://media.www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2007/10/16/Opinion/Protect.Gun.Rights.But.Not.For.The.Reasons.You.Expect-3034534.shtml --- A Working Cop Explains Gun Control: ...Here is my thought on gun control and I know a few officers that will be mad when I say this. I believe that gun control works best when you use the F.B.I. triangular stand and hold the gun with both hands. That is the best way to control a gun. The few officers who disagree might be firearms instructors. Ok here are my real thoughts on gun control. Gun control to me is an issue where the control of the gun is more of a prohibiting factor when the good guy has the gun than when the bad guy does. Criminals are not going to worry about breaking gun control laws when they are almost always breaking the law in the first place... http://www.southidahopress.com/articles/2007/10/16/local_columns/bristol.txt --- Oregon Sheriff Defends CHL Confidentiality: The Medford Mail Tribune and the Jackson County sheriff are gearing up for a showdown in court. The issue gets down to the rule of law. Should concealed weapons permits be open according to the public records law or should the sheriff be able to say no he holds those records to privacy standards. The Mail Tribune wants to know who in Jackson County is authorized to carry a concealed weapon. But Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters, doesn't feel that information should be released. The request stems from the highly publicized case involving South Medford High School teacher Shirley Katz who wants to bring her legally permitted concealed weapon on campus. http://www.localnewscomesfirst.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1660&Itemid=2 http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-21/1192550991120170.xml&storylist=orlocal --- Sandy Abrams Faces State Firearm Charges: Sandy Abrams, who for years was the go-to guy in Maryland for journalists who wanted to interview an opponent of gun control laws, is set to go on trial Wednesday, charged with illegally selling assault weapons to a criminal who used one of the guns to shoot at Baltimore County police, and for illegal possession of a fully automatic machine gun with a silencer. Abrams faces Maryland state charges for illegal gun sales after Federal authorities revoked his Federal firearms license last year. National Rifle Association attorneys had vigorously defended Abrams and sued to prevent the government from revoking his license. The trial is scheduled to begin at 9:15 AM in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. Related Article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.guns17oct17,0,1367016.story --- Bringing An Ax To A Gunfight: When an intruder broke into a Cord (AR) residence and demanded money, he found himself facing two determined homeowners who threatened him with an ax and tore off his mask before he fled..."Mr. Heyde advised that he got up and seen a man had broken into his residence through the back door," Smith said. According to the report, the man had a handgun and told the couple to "Give me your money." ...Heyde said his wife slammed the bedroom door shut because their 5-year-old son Robert was also in the home and still sleeping. She then grabbed a decorative ax off the wall and demanded he leave the house... http://www.guardonline.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=41553&format=html --- All The Training That Came In The Box With The Gun?: An 81-year-old woman shot a homeless man after finding him washing his clothes in her laundry room, police said, but the man said from his hospital room Tuesday that he's known the woman for years. Ethel Sanders told police she heard noises in her laundry room Monday morning, so she grabbed her handgun and found James Penn, 25, standing in his underwear near the washing machine, Mobile Police Officer Eric Gallichant said. Sanders, who normally uses a walker, shot Penn when he came at her, Gallichant said. She was knocked to the ground by the force of the shot and Penn grabbed the gun from her, the officer said. Penn pointed the gun at Sanders, took his clothes from the washing machine and fled, Gallichant said. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,302217,00.html --- A Feathered Alarm System: Police said a homeowner fatally shot an intruder after his parrot alerted him that someone was on the property...Dennis Baker, who keeps several pet birds, said his Mexican Red-headed parrot "Salvador" said "hello" when he sees someone. As a man passed by a window at his home, Salvador began saying "Hello, hello," awaking Baker. Baker then saw the intruder on a surveillance system and shot him inside the home's detached garage, police said...Dallas police said Baker will not face charges because he was defending his property. A bill passed earlier this year by legislators gives Texans a stronger legal right to defend themselves with deadly force in their homes, vehicles and workplaces. http://www.nbc5i.com/news/14348860/detail.html --- Meanwhile, In New York...: As investigators probe the weekend shooting of a robbery suspect in the city, legal experts say several key issues might determine whether the store owner fired in self-defense. John Phillip Sayers, 21, was shot by Donald Khemraj early Sunday morning after Sayers broke into Khemraj's family business on Albany Street, police said...Speaking in general terms, attorney Stephen X. Kouray and Mark Caruso, a Schenectady County public defender, said the question that might roil any self-defense theory is whether the business is an extension of the home. The Khemraj family lives above the store. "You might see an issue of where his dwelling starts and ends," Kouray said. "What's critical is the physical layout of that building," Kouray said. If Khemraj was outside and could have retreated from Sayers, "he had no right to shoot him." Kouray, Caruso and Carney agreed the law is clear: Residents can use deadly physical force inside their homes, but lose that right if they can safely retreat from danger. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=630451 --- Another Rental-Gun Suicide: ...Police gave this account of Monday's incident: Errico entered the gun club, 14860 N. Northsight Blvd, around 7:30 p.m. and rented a semi-automatic pistol. He was given gun club instructions and paperwork before an employee lead him to the range to fire the weapon. The gun club requires people to watch a safety video and sign a release and waiver form before entering the gun range, according to its Web site. Errico shot at a target for several minutes before facing the range master and shooting himself once in the head. He was pronounced dead at 8:20 p.m. at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1016abrk-suicide1016.html --- How Ungentlemanly!: Police marksmen shot Jean Charles de Menezes seven times in the head with hollow-point "dumdum" bullets designed to kill instantly, the Old Bailey was told yesterday. The bullets, used by US air marshalls, give "a greater chance of immediate incapacitation", the court was told. A senior firearms adviser, known as Andrew to protect his anonymity, told the court that the decision to use the bullets was made to help police seeking the failed July 21 suicide bombers, who were still at large in 2005. Their usual and more powerful 9mm jacketed soft-point bullets would pass through the other side, Andrew said. "Officers may have only one chance to incapacitate a suicide killer. Failure to do so can have catastrophic consequences." http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2666300.ece -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .