Florida Parking-Lot Storage Bill Defended: ... Consider the following situations if law-abiding citizens are prohibited from transporting guns in their cars onto business property: 1. A worker would be prohibited from stopping by a gun range for target practice on the way to or from work. 2. A worker would be prohibited from buying a gun on the way to work. 3. A worker would be prohibited from leaving on a weekend hunting trip after work. 4. A worker would be prohibited from carrying a firearm for self-defense to or from work. (Good points but I would have listed number 4 as number 1.) http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/orl-letbox30_208mar30,0,2011219.story --- Open Carry Is Legal in Ohio: As long as you haven't been convicted of a felony, if you want to wear a pistol on your belt or walk around town carrying a shotgun, Ohio has no law against it. But if you do, don't be surprised if you get some unwanted attention from police officers. Philip Turner, 30, discovered that in July when he walked from his Hilliard apartment to his parked truck wearing a gun on his belt. At the time, Turner worked protecting banks' ATMs as they were serviced and delivering diamonds to jewelry stores. An undercover agent with the Ohio Investigative Unit - the police agency that enforces the state's alcohol, tobacco and food-stamp laws - saw the gun and quickly ordered him against his truck with his hands on his head...However, it also revealed that Gales did not know it was legal for Turner to carry a gun openly, said Lindsay Komlanc, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Safety. As a result, more than 100 agents in the unit are to attend a mandatory refresher course on Ohio's gun laws over the next couple of months, she said. http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/03/30/guns.ART_ART_03-30-08_A1_QQ9PC2U.html?sid=101 --- Kansas House Approves NFA Firearms: Individuals could own machine guns, other fully automatic firearms, sawed-off shotguns and silencers under a bill the House approved Friday. Supporters said wealthy collectors are the only people who are likely to take advantage of such a change, because such weapons are expensive. They said machine guns cost between $20,000 and $80,000 each... A House committee wanted to rewrite a state law limiting the possession of silencers, sawed-off shotguns and automatic weapons. In December, the attorney general issued a legal opinion saying part of the law is so restrictive only law enforcement agencies can possess silencers - meaning no dealer can have them in Kansas, even to deliver to those agencies... http://www.thekansan.com/stories/032908/topstories_20080329009.shtml --- Nine Pennsylvania Republicans May Break Ranks: Nine Philadelphia-area Republicans signaled last week they would break ranks with their caucus today and support handgun-control legislation when the state House of Representatives resumes debate on a controversial proposal. The measure, which would require reporting handguns that are lost or stolen, has been vigorously pushed by Democrats in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as a "common sense" restriction that would reduce gun violence. Through a legislative maneuver this month, gun-control proponents attached the proposal as an amendment to a separate weapons bill, setting up a possible historic full House vote on a substantive gun-control bill... http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20080331_Pa__gun_bill_draws_some_GOP_support.html --- Gun Sales Rise in South Carolina County: Octavia "Tavia" Bowers felt like a prisoner in her home. A knee injury keeps the York woman from running or walking fast. If someone tried to attack her, she couldn't escape, she said. So she led a restricted life... Now, she's emancipated. Eight days ago, Bowers completed an eight-hour class to qualify for a concealed weapons permit, allowing her to carry a handgun in a holster or purse. "I know now that I can protect myself," she said. "I'm not going to be scared." http://www.heraldonline.com/109/story/453471.html --- Campus-Carry Overview: ... Arizona State Senate Bill 1214, for example, would allow permit-holders of at least 21 years of age to carry concealed firearms at K-12 schools, community colleges and universities. Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Idaho, and Washington all have similar concealed-carry legislation pending. Currently, Utah is the only state that allows guns at all public institutions of higher learning. In fact, state law makes it illegal for public colleges and universities to create their own restrictions regarding concealed carry. At least 11 institutions, including all nine public colleges in Utah and Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, Virginia, permit concealed carry on their premises... State law in Colorado leaves the decision up to institutions whether to allow concealed carry on their campuses. So far, the University of Colorado is the only public institution in the state to allow properly registered individuals to carry concealed weapons... http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=12974 --- South Dakota AG Asked to Rule on Campus Gun Ban: Two state representatives have informally asked Attorney General Larry Long to issue an opinion on the Board of Regents' ban on firearms on the six public university campuses. State Rep. Tom Brunner, R-Nisland, believes that Long will respond and that the matter could be resolved this summer. Brunner said that according to a 2006 law, no state agencies can make rules concerning the right to carry guns. He says the issue is whether the Board of Regents can ban guns on its campuses. http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/03/30/news/top/doc47efa0b0ae83c939306582.txt --- Alabama Students Split on Campus Carry: In light of the recent increase in violence on campuses across the nation, campus security has become a hot topic in many college towns. Alabama Sen. Hank Erwin's solution to the problem was spelled out in a pair of bills he offered for consideration in the state legislative session starting Feb. 5, which called for state colleges and universities to allow professors and qualified students to carry concealed weapons... What stops students from carrying a gun on campus is the UA Code of Student Conduct. According to the document, illegal or unauthorized possession of firearms, explosives, other weapons or dangerous chemicals on University premises is prohibited. Haynie said he believes the definition in the code of unauthorized possession is unclear and needs to be addressed by the University. "What we're going to look into is whether they can legally do that, because they're sitting on the fence," Haynie said. "If the University does not clarify, we probably will look at our legal options to see if we can make the University make a stand." http://media.www.cw.ua.edu/media/storage/paper959/news/2008/03/31/News/Sga-Student.Groups.Opposed.Gun.Bill-3291857.shtml --- When Seconds Count...: Profile of the chief of police at Northern Illinois University paints a heroic picture but cannot obscure the fact that officers arrived too late to save the five students who died and that the killing stopped when the murderer chose to end his own life. (When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.) http://www.newsmax.com/us/niu_police_chief/2008/03/30/84176.html --- Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't: In a trend of growing concern to police, more and more real guns are being painted in fluorescent colors that make them look like toys. At the same time, growing numbers of toy guns that fire pellets are being produced to look just like lethal weapons...Last month, an FBI bulletin warned police across the country about a new process that can produce or tint weapons in garish colors. Under the headline "Not a toy gun," the bulletin featured a dozen photos of guns with candy-colored finishes. Often, the colors are used to appeal to women and young sport shooters. Smith & Wesson offers the LadySmith, a pink, .38-caliber revolver designed for women. Remington sells a child-size shotgun decorated with pink and black swirls. Crickett, a Pennsylvania company, sells a .22-caliber rifle for youths - the Davey Crickett - that's red, white and blue... (Why do I get the impression that the only thing that will satisfy these people is "Ban them all, let God sort them out."?) http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/17133296.html --- How Not to Use a Shotgun: Facing the barrel of a sawed-off shotgun on a dark West Baltimore street, Roland Scott fought back. He pulled out his own weapon - a fake handgun - and wrested the shotgun away from his attacker, city police said. Scott ordered the man to strip naked in the middle of Laurens Street, took $800 from him and forced him to march into the laundry room of a nearby apartment building. "He starts beating him, telling him to get more money, saying, 'Get me a cell phone or I'm going to kill you,'" said Sgt. Dennis M. Raftery Jr., a supervisor in the Police Department's homicide unit. "He is beating him with the butt of a sawed-off shotgun." Raftery said the shotgun, then pointed at Scott, discharged, hitting Scott in the stomach and killing him. Authorities said his death will be ruled accidental. (Long guns generally lack the equivalent of firing-pin safeties. Pointing the muzzle at your own body violates Rule Two. Robbing people to pay for pharmacy school reduces the likelihood of ever getting licensed as a pharmacist.) http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.ci.shooting28mar28,0,5234060.story -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .