The Plot Gets Sicker: On Friday, this city of rocket scientists and brainy inventors was stunned when a neuroscientist with a Harvard Ph.D. was arrested in the shooting deaths of three of her colleagues after she was denied tenure. But that was only the first surprise in the tale of the neuroscientist, Amy Bishop, who was regarded as fiercely intelligent and had seemed to have a promising career in biotechnology. Every day since has produced a new revelation from Dr. Bishop's past, each more bizarre than the last. On Saturday, the police in Braintree, Mass., said that she had fatally shot her brother in 1986 and questioned whether the decision to dismiss the case as an accident had been the right one. On Sunday, a law enforcement official in Boston said she and her husband, James Anderson, had been questioned in a 1993 case in which a pipe bomb was sent to a colleague of Dr. Bishop's at Children's Hospital Boston. The bomb did not go off, no one was ever charged in the case, and no proof ever emerged connecting the couple to the bomb plot... Dr. Bishop was charged with capital murder; three charges of attempted murder were added on Sunday. Mr. Anderson said he did not know of any specific incident that could have led to the shooting, and did not know that his wife allegedly had a gun when she went to the meeting. "I had no idea," he said. "We don't own one." ... http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/15/us/15alabama.html?ref=us The missing police report emerges in the fatal shooting of her brother by the professor who shot six of her co-workers at the University of Alabama - Huntsville. I will defer to the mental-health professionals on the list but my impression is that her brother had been or was attempting to molest her, hence the cover-up and, arguably, some of her mental issues. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/02/13/Full1986Policereport/ Commentary on the 1986 Release: http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m2d13-Why-was-Huntsville-shooting-suspect-set-free-after-killing-brother http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m2d14-Killerreleasing-Delahunt-perfect-Brady-Campaign-candidate UAH Denied Campus Carry: http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m2d13-Huntsville-shooting-another-gun-free-zone-failure --- Meanwhile, in Arizona...: Arizona lawmakers are preparing to consider a new bill that would allow school faculty to carry concealed weapons on campus, media reports suggest. Currently, only certified police officers are permitted to carry a weapon on school grounds in Arizona, but the bill introduced by State Senator Jack Harper of Phoenix would extend that right to select groups of ordinary citizens, according to ABC News. "Any step toward allowing the people the right to self defense is a good thing," said Daniel Crocker, Southwest Regional Director for Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, quoted by the news provider. He added, however, that his organization believes the right should also be extended to students... http://www.personalliberty.com/news/victory-looms-in-arizona-for-gun-rights-advocates-19601368/ --- Seattle Mayor Seeks End to Preemption: Freshman Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has dispelled any doubt that he is a disciple of far left liberal politics with his reaction to Seattle's expected loss in court Friday over the illegal parks gun ban. He wants the legislature to change this state's 26-year-old preemption statute just so the city can institute the ban that Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer just voided. McGinn evidently drinks the same water as ousted former Mayor Greg Nickels, under whose arrogant mismanagement the ban was adopted last fall. The ban was Nickels' response to a shooting at the 2008 Folklife Festival, but as KING5 News has revealed, the victims in that shooting are against the ban... http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m2d14-Seattles-mayor-wants-law-changed-so-he-can-make-own-rules --- Pennsylvania Gun Owners to Rally at Capitol: The Fifth Annual 2nd Amendment Rally date has been set for 10 AM on April 27, 2010 in Harrisburg, Pa. Once again we ask for your help and participation in this event. We will use this event as a springboard to pass vital pro gun legislation that will affect how FFL's conduct business and your 'right to bear arms' throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It cannot be repeated often enough that the more interest shown at these kinds of events, the more our elected officials will notice our presence and the more impact our efforts will have throughout the day... After the rally, team leaders will break the attendees up into groups and visit every State House member and State Senator in the State Capitol to ask for their support for bills such as HB 40 (Castle Doctrine), HB 750 (Transportation of Firearms), HB 1541 (Penalties for Municipalities that enact local gun laws), and SB 842 (Castle Doctrine companion to HB 40) plus several other bills. Everyone that pre-registers will be informed of the team (organized by county of residence) they are on ahead of time by e-mail... http://www.ammoland.com/2010/02/14/harrisburg-gun-rights-rally-set/ --- And in Missouri...: If you haven't been on the MissouriCarry.com forums lately, you may not know that St. Louis is having a huge Second Amendment Rally on Feb 27th. And a couple hours later that day there will be a major Tea Party gathering at the same location. * Event Date: Feb. 27th * Event Time: 10:00 AM * Event Location: The St. Louis river front on the side walk north of the gateway arch. We want to invite you to come join other concealed carry permit holders to this event. It is perfectly legal to be a CCW permit holder on National Park property and we expect many CCW permit holders will be there to join us! This event and others like it every year give gun owners an opportunity to voice the importance of our Bill of Rights and to put our elected officials around the state on notice that we are watching them and how they vote on gun laws. 2010 will be a very important year for many elected officials in both parties and there are a number of them who will be showing up to speak at this event. Come out and meet them and hear what they have to say... http://www.ammoland.com/2010/02/14/st-louis-second-amendment-rally/ --- Richard Mack's Speech Well Received in New Mexico: In his opening remarks Saturday at the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts, former Graham County, Ariz., Sheriff Richard Mack said "the revolution is starting." He said he is really about a revolution in upholding the U.S. Constitution, state autonomy and the Founding Fathers' vision of liberty. "I pray to God that it remains peaceful," he said to the crowd. "You'll never hear me say otherwise. I am the most peaceful man you'll meet in your life." Mack authored the book "The County Sheriff: America's Last Hope." Mack is known nationally for successfully challenging the constitutionality of the Brady Bill all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court with Ravalli County, Mont., Sheriff Jay Printz... During Mack's tenure, federal officers informed county sheriffs in Arizona and across the county that they would be required to enforce the "Brady Bill" and run background checks at their expense. In 1994, Mack, Printz and five other sheriffs from across the country challenged the legality of the bill and ultimately fought it all the way to the Supreme Court. Three years later, in a landmark 5-4 split decision based on the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Mack and the other sheriffs won their case... http://www.alamogordonews.com/ci_14398997 --- Another Case Tests Florid Stand-Your-Ground Law: Many people probably would love to whack a "repo man," but Craig Morris did -- and he wanted immunity from prosecution: He contended he acted in self-defense when he hit him with a bat, thinking he was an armed intruder. The 45-year-old Naples man had been hit several times by burglars who stole a boat, trailers, construction equipment, jewelry and other items. This intruder, who wore shorts and a T-shirt, had come through a locked gate, he said, and right past "No trespassing" and "Beware of dog" signs on May 8. "I observed someone peering into my window," Morris said at a recent hearing, testifying he was concerned about his safety and his property on Painted Leaf Lane, where he had a dog, three horses, a house and a barn. "... I basically jabbed him with the bat and said, 'Who the hell are you and you [sic] are you in my yard?' ... I hit him with the bat." ...The law also says prosecutors must automatically presume would-be victims feared for their lives if attacked. The law forbids the arrest, detention or prosecution of residents defending their homes, dwelling or occupied vehicles and prohibits lawsuits against them. But on Feb. 4, Collier Circuit Judge Fred Hardt ruled Knapp did not forcefully or unlawfully enter Morris' property so he wasn't entitled to immunity. He denied Morris' motion to dismiss the second-degree felony charge, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, but noted he could use that defense at trial... (I fear this may be one more example of a bad case making bad law.) http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/feb/14/man-claims-self-defense-after-hitting-repo-man-bat/ --- The Self-Defense Exception: A reader asked about a city code provision (Baltimore City Code Art. 19 § 59-2, but there are many others like it) that bans discharging firearms, with no self-defense exception. How can that be? It's common for criminal laws - including laws prohibiting murder and assault, and not just the discharge of firearms - to outlaw conduct without mentioning the possible defenses. There are, after all, lots of defenses that are generally available as to a wide range of crimes: self-defense, defense of others, defense of property, duress, insanity, necessity (recognized in some states), and more. It doesn't make sense to list all of them in each statute. Sometimes the defenses are set forth in general terms in other statutes. Sometimes they aren't codified at all, and continue to exist as common-law defenses. But in any event, they can be raised as to a wide range of criminal offenses, even when the statute or ordinance defining the offense never mentions the defense. That would surely apply as to a discharge-of-weapons ordinance, just as it would apply to a statute that on its face bans all assaults or all intentional homicides. See, e.g., Jones v. State, 745 A.2d 396 (Md. 2000) ("when a defendant is charged with the statutory crime of reckless endangerment under § 12A-2(a)(1) and evidence is presented to generate an issue of common law perfect self-defense, the defendant is entitled to have the jury instructed regarding the application of self-defense to the charge of reckless endangerment"). http://volokh.com/2010/02/12/bans-on-discharging-firearms-without-a-self-defense-exception/ But in Kansas...: ...Wow. Had Flint actually shot the gun, he would presumably have been entitled to have the jury consider his defense-of-others defense. (Such a defense would generally be roughly similar to a self-defense defense, and use of deadly force is generally allowed in self-defense against sufficiently serious threats.) But because Flint merely brandished the gun, he's a felon - even if he reasonably believed that brandishing the gun was necessary to save his fiancee's life. That is simply absurd... (This is why Arizona now has a statute authorizing the defensive display of a firearm under circumstances where it would be reasonable to use physical force.) http://volokh.com/2010/02/12/if-you-brandish-a-gun-in-self-defense-in-kansas-youd-best-shoot-it/ -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. The tactics and skills to use a firearm in self-defense don't come naturally with the right to keep and bear arms. http://www.spw-duf.info .