Infringing Rights In Philadelphia: Homicides were rising twice as fast as in other large cities--an average of one gunshot murder a day. If those statistics from Philadelphia in 2006 were terrifying, the numbers in City Council member Darrell Clarke's district were even worse. On some blocks, the chance of getting shot was roughly 1 in 50. The problem seemed clear: The city needed tools to keep guns away from violent criminals. But Clarke has since learned that in Philadelphia, as elsewhere, tightening gun laws is no simple task. Pennsylvania, whose Constitution explicitly gives citizens a right to defend themselves, is among a majority of states that forbid cities to pass gun laws stricter than those enacted by the state. A challenge to these so-called pre-emption laws - laws pushed by the National Rifle Association - has made Philadelphia a major battleground over the Second Amendment. (As far as I know, the concept of state preemption long antedates the lobbying activities of the NRA - California has preempted regulation of deadly weapons for as long as I can recall.) http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/politics/2008/03/06/controlling-guns-in-philadelphia.html --- Castle Doctrine Faces Ohio Senate Hearings: Senate Bill 184, Ohio's Castle Doctrine bill, has been added to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Criminal Justice's agenda for Wednesday, March 12 at 10:00 a.m. in the Senate Building's North Hearing Room. The purpose for Wednesday's hearing is so that the committee may adopt amendments via a substitute bill. The following day, Thursday, March 13 at 9:00 a.m., the committee will reconvene in the Senate Building's North Conference Room for the purpose of voting on the bill. Immediately following, the House Criminal Justice Committee will give a third hearing to that chamber's companion Castle Doctrine bill, House Bill 264, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in Room 121. http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/5507 --- Florida Students Seek Campus Carry: Carrying a gun onto a college campus on Florida is a felony. But in the aftermath of last month's deadly shootings at Northern Illinois University, some students at the University of Central Florida are fighting for the right to bear arms at school...Under the current system, an emergency on the UCF campus could trigger a response from a police force of 60 officers. Some students say that number is not enough to protect the 60,000 student campus...Heston also said that if the students feel strongly about the issue, they should consider taking their concerns to a higher authority. "If the students are really interested in pursuing this, they should really go after the legislature," Heston said. http://www.wesh.com/news/15517544/detail.html http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-ucfknightrifle0608mar06,0,2419340.story --- Hearing Ends For Beleaguered Idaho Gun Shop: Ryan Horsley and his employees lost track of guns, neglected to warn police about potentially suspicious activity and ran a sloppy business - even after promising the federal government to institute greater caution. Horsley said he was unaware that for eight years his decades-old family business had been operating under a new gun dealing license that was set to expire last month. Horsley made these admissions and more on the witness stand Wednesday at a federal hearing in Boise in which the store's federal firearm sale license is at stake. The more glaring problems could have been a public safety problem. Other omissions, such as failing to fill in boxes on forms, took only minutes to fix after agents called his attention to the problems. But the one thing Horsley would not admit, despite a solid hour of grilling by an assistant U.S. attorney, is that "plain indifference" spurred violations at Red's Trading Post. That's the charge that threatens his future in gun sales. http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2008/03/06/news/local_state/132273.txt --- Strange Case: An off-duty deputy U.S. marshal shot and killed an armed employee at a Hollywood tattoo parlor after the man intervened in a dispute between the agent and his wife, police said Thursday...The marshal was not arrested in the shooting but was later booked on suspicion of domestic battery, police said. He was treated for serious injuries after allegedly being punched in the head repeatedly by Gonzalez, police aid...Thursday's case unfolded as the off-duty marshal was arguing with his wife in an alley near Melrose and Poinsettia Street and the woman shouted for help, police said. The marshal allegedly knocked a hat off his wife's head. Gonzalez, who worked at the nearby tattoo parlor, went to the woman's aid, police said. The men began shouting at each other and Gonzalez allegedly brandished a handgun, police said. He reportedly then grabbed the marshal and began punching him in the head while pointing the gun at him. Eventually, the marshal broke free and identified himself as a law enforcement official before firing several shots at Gonzalez. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-marshal7mar07,1,4266796.story --- An Idiot In Iowa: I read with interest David Beckley's column concerning concealed carry permits for all ("Gun Owners Anxiously Await Decisions Affecting Their Rights," March 5 Iowa View). I'd like him to know that I, too, believe in the Second Amendment as it was written and when it was written - original intent, strict constructionist style and relevant to 1791. That would mean no government interference in anyone's right to own a single-shot, muzzle-loading flintlock musket and to conceal it in their trousers if they like. Anything else is beyond the scope of the Second Amendment. Had our founders drafted the Bill of Rights in the age of Columbine and Virginia Tech, the AK47 and the TEC-9, things might have come out differently. (I guess Mr. Luederman doesn't believe that the free-press clause of the First Amendment applies to radio, television or the internet. He is obviously unaware that the founding generation used and carried pistols and that, while not commonplace, some owned cannon.) http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080306/OPINION04/80306010/-1/NEWS04 The Earlier Commentary: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080305/OPINION01/803050341/1036/OPINION --- Smith & Wesson Reports Increased Sales, Net Loss: Net product sales for the quarter ended January 31, 2008 were $66.1 million, an increase of 22.6% over the comparable quarter last year. Gross margins decreased to 25.0% for the quarter ended January 31, 2008 compared with 31.3% for the comparable period last year, reflecting reduced absorption of overhead due to lower manufacturing volumes and an extended plant shutdown, combined with increased costs for incremental promotional programs. Net loss was $1.8 million, or $0.04 per fully diluted share, for the quarter ended January 31, 2008 compared with net income of $1.6 million, or $0.04 per fully diluted share, for the comparable quarter last year. Net income was $5.8 million, or $0.14 per fully diluted share, for the nine months ended January 31, 2008 compared with $7.8 million, or $0.19 per fully diluted share, for the nine months ended January 31, 2007. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/smith--wesson-holding-corporation-posts-third-quarter-financial-results,305997.shtml --- School Shooting In Israel: An Arab terrorist infiltrated Jerusalem's Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva at around 8:30 Thursday night and murdered eight Jews. At least 10 students were wounded, including five in serious to critical condition...The part-time yeshiva student who first shot the terrorist, 40-year-old Yitzchak Dadon, said he was in the Yeshiva's study hall when he heard the shots. "Everyone left through a side door," he said, "and I left through a window, and lied down on a roof overlooking the library... When he came out, I shot him in the head twice. I saw him start to stagger, and then David Shapira [a yeshiva graduate and paratroopers officer] arrived on the scene, shot him with his M-16 rifle, and then we emptied our magazines into him." http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/125487 http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080306/wl_time/deathcomesforisraelsseminarians -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .