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16 October, 2010

GA: No indictments in club shooting: "A Carroll County grand jury opted not to return a felony murder indictment against two security guards who shot and fatally wounded a Carrollton man following an altercation outside a nightclub. Court records show the grand jury on Oct. 5 returned a “no bill” against Kevin Ridley, 23, of Decatur, and Alec Uglum, 21, of Carrollton, in the April shooting of Octavis Mabry, 26, in the parking lot of L.C.’s Lounge at 2744 Carrollton-Villa Rica Highway, north of Carrollton. According to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office the altercation was between Mabry and Latrampus Crowder, 22, also of Carrollton. Mabry was fatally shot after firing on Crowder and Ridley. Ridley and Uglum returned fire on Mabry, who was later pronounced dead at Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton."



PA: Castle Doctrine is approved by Senate and returned to House: "The Pennsylvania Senate approved legislation Thursday that would establish the Castle Doctrine in Pennsylvania to protect gun owners who act in self-defense, according to Sen. Richard Alloway II, a Republican who represents Franklin County. House Bill 1926 will now return to the House of Representatives, where it has been supported by Todd Rock and Rob Kauffman, also Republicans who represent Franklin County. The amended legislation includes similar language to legislation Alloway introduced earlier this year. Under House Bill 1926, an individual would need to demonstrate a reasonable belief that he or she was in imminent danger in order to use lethal force."



New Wisconsin governor needed: "Morley and other gun rights activists are looking to the Nov. 2 gubernatorial election with the hope the state soon will pass a law allowing gun owners to carry concealed firearms. Wisconsin now requires handguns to be clearly displayed in a holster. Carrying a concealed weapon is a misdemeanor and carries a fine of $500, plus court costs. Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker has said he would sign a bill allowing gun owners to carry concealed firearms, despite voting against a bill as a state representative to make such a practice legal in the state. Gov. Jim Doyle has previously vetoed bills that would allow for concealed carry."



Foolish arguments about guns on campus: "Looking through comments on news stories dealing with conceal and carry on campus, most people immediately bring up the worst possible things that could happen if students were allowed to carry guns on campus. Allow me to shoot some holes (excuse the pun) in these arguments. College is stressful, no doubt, but so is life, whether you’re in college or not. Perhaps students should all be locked in padded rooms without sharp objects during every finals week? The possibility of students using guns while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is frightening, but people use cars every day under the influence. Should legislatures take away all the cars in the U.S. because only a percentage of the population is too irresponsible to use them correctly? Is this kindergarten?"



15 October, 2010

PA: Man pursues stolen truck, fires warning shot: "Dustin McKinley, of Newberry Township, said he mistakenly left his keys in the truck before he went to sleep. When he woke up just after 5 a.m. Sunday, he said he saw the thief driving his 1978 Ford pickup down Cly Street. He armed himself with a .357 magnum and followed the stolen truck. McKinley said when he caught up with his truck, the thief was driving only 20 miles per hour and was on the wrong side of the road. McKinley said it was at that point he fired a shot into the air to get the man’s attention. ‘I presented my gun to him and told him he needed to pull over right now,’ McKinley said. ‘When he slowed down to about 5 miles per hour, I cut in front of him. I pinned him in, jumped out of the truck, and held him at gunpoint and told him to get out of the truck.’”



Aerial trespasser shot at: "An Albuquerque gas balloon pilot has been shot at as his balloon drifted over a corn field north of Lubbock, Texas. If his balloon was over the property of another, then he was trespassing, and his act of calling enforcers to the scene was probably not justified. Of course, it wasn’t particularly nice of the shooter to fire on the trespassing balloon, either. This is why I often include trespassing as an act that can justify a forceful response, but usually with the qualifier ’sometimes’ attached.”



NV: Righthaven files, settles more frivolous lawsuits: "Las Vegas newspaper copyright enforcement company Righthaven LLC sued five more website operators Tuesday, alleging infringements of Las Vegas Review-Journal material. … Some defense attorneys and critics, however, call Righthaven a frivolous lawsuit and settlement shakedown operation. As in all its recent lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court for Nevada, Righthaven demands damages of $150,000 apiece and forfeiture of the website domain names from these new defendants …. The Second Amendment Foundation in Bellevue, Wash., and an official there, Keeva Segal, who are associated with the publication Women & Guns and the website womenshooters.com.”



OH: State Supreme Court to hear preemption case this week: "The Ohio Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for an important gun rights case, City of Cleveland v. State of Ohio …. The case came about after the Ohio General Assembly voted to override Governor Bob Taft’s veto of HB347 — Ohio’s ‘preemption’ law — which codified R.C. 9.68, ensuring that firearms laws would be uniform throughout the state. The City of Cleveland immediately sued the State of Ohio, and the Supreme Court is now going to be forced to issue a ruling that will decide once and for all whether R.C. 9.68 is valid. If it is valid, th[e]n other than ordinances banning the discharge of firearms inside city limits and zoning laws, Ohio cities are, once and for all, out of the gun control business.”



14 October, 2010

OH: Robber killed by intended victim: "Jerry Monroe is being held at the County Jail on a $500,000 bond. Prosecutors say Monroe, two unidentified suspects and 20-year-old Terrance Manning robbed a 30-year-old man Aug. 26 outside his apartment building at 2806 Cedar Road. "They forced the victim at gunpoint to go up to his apartment. The victim's fiancee and three children, 9 months old, 2 and 3, were home," prosecutor's spokesman Ryan Miday said. The men got to the apartment door, then struggled over the gun. Manning was shot in the chest, Miday said. The robbers ran outside. Manning collapsed in the courtyard and died."



AZ robber shot and killed: "Peters, Metcalf Jr., and Greth allegedly burglarized a home near Buckeye Road and 355th Avenue in Tonopah on Monday, according to documents. Two neighbors confronted the trio as they were attempting to load a 55-inch TV into the back of a blue Chevrolet Blazer. The teens dropped the TV, jumped into the SUV and "sped off." One of the neighbors, who told investigators he had been a deputy for 30 years, said the Blazer seemed to be driving toward him so he fired one round from a .22-caliber gun, documents state. He said he "was unaware that the bullet had actually struck anything" and "thought that the angle of the shot would be towards the ground." But the bullet hit Greth in the right side of his back, records show. After the group had been driving for about a quarter mile, Greth began to convulse and "he died shortly after that."



MN: Two cleared of murder in St. Paul shooting: "Robert John Sherman and Larry J. Thompson Jr. were found not guilty Wednesday of murdering Roberto (Bobby) Flores during a gun battle in July 2009 in a vacant lot in St. Paul's Payne-Phalen neighborhood.... after listening to 27 witnesses, the jury was left to decide whether Sherman, 31, and Thompson, 30, were murderers the night of July 26, 2009, or whether they acted in self-defense. According to testimony in the weeklong trial, the victim, too, had a gun and was raising his arm to fire at Sherman when he was shot."



IN: Two shot in Eastside robbery bid: "A 17-year-old and a 20-year-old were both in critical condition after shooting each other on the Eastside last night during an apparent robbery attempt, police said. Kevryn Gaines-Dukes told police he was leaving his apartment at 9226 Sussex Terrace at 9:50 p.m. when the masked juvenile approached him with a gun in the hallway, according to an Indianapolis Metro police report. Gaines-Dukes said the 17-year-old was trying to rob him and the two exchanged gunfire. Gaines-Duke said he shot the juvenile in the neck. The boy was unconscious and wearing a black mask in the hallway when police arrived. Gaines-Dukes had gunshot wounds to the left shoulder and abdomen. Both victims were taken to Wishard Memorial Hospital in critical condition."



13 October, 2010

AR: Suspect shot during attempted robbery of restaurant: "An off-duty police officer shot one of two men who were attempting to rob a Jonesboro restaurant early Monday, police said. Patrolman Bobby Duff of the Arkansas State University Police Department and his girlfriend were the only customers in the International House of Pancakes, 2411 South Caraway Road, when the masked intruders entered the restaurant shortly after 4 a.m., Jonesboro police reported. One man, armed with a semiautomatic pistol, pointed the gun at the store manager, demanding that she open the cash register, Duff said. The second man, armed with a bat, saw the customers, pointed the bat at them and ordered them to drop their cell phones, put their hands up and get on the floor. “Duff stated that he then raised his weapon, fired two rounds, hitting the subject with the bat. “He then turned toward the subject with the pistol pointed at the manager, fired a third round"



Do you lose your rights when you fly?: "Hand grenades? Come on. Most reasonable people would agree it’s wise for the federal government to impose rules against carrying certain things, like explosives, aboard an airplane. But what about a weapon for personal protection? If a terrorist sneaks a box-cutter onto a plane, wouldn’t you want to have your handgun handy?”



Chicago defends disarmament while neighborhood violence unchecked: "While the City of Chicago is currently in federal court stubbornly defending its new gun ordinance, data reveals that the city’s United Center Park is the most dangerous neighborhood in the country, a situation that reeks of hypocrisy, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today. ‘The city’s new gun ordinance is deliberately designed to discourage citizens from obtaining handguns for personal protection,’ noted CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.”



12 October, 2010

WA: Shooting ruled self-defense in drug related home invasion: "Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said Monday the shooting during the attempting home-invasion robbery was justifiable self-defense. The gunfire erupted Thursday night when a group of six people showed up at a Lakebay house in the 19100 block of Second Street. Investigators believe the group had been at the house earlier to purchase Oxycontin. The confrontation quickly escalated into a gun battle, as the drug buyers blasted away with guns and shotguns, and the occupants of the home returned fire. When it was all over, more than 50 shots were fired, one of the robbers was killed, and two people were hospitalized. One of the homeowners, a 28-year-old man, was wounded in the shoulder. Left dead was Rhett Whitchurch, 44, of White Center."



NC: Aggressive neighbor shot, then charged with assault: "Police responded to a report of gunshots. When they arrived on the scene, Ricky Clyde Blattau said he shot Reginald Eugene Miller in self-defense, according to a press release from Cherryville Police. Miller, 44, had a gunshot wound to his upper arm. He was treated at Cleveland Regional Hospital and released. Blattau told police that he went to the mobile home park with his girlfriend who lives next door to Miller. The couple drove up and Miller instantly grabbed a pipe and approached them, the press release states. Miller swung the pipe at the couple, and Blattau pulled out a .22-caliber handgun and shot the man. Police picked up Miller Saturday and charged him with assault"



WI: Gals with guns — these “divas” are armed: "When Judy Rhodes founded a group more than a decade ago to encourage women to shoot and hunt, her own outsized personality guaranteed that members would be a force to be reckoned with in the outdoors. The group — DIVA … Women Outdoors Worldwide — now counts more than 1,500 members around the world. Rhodes, the daughter of a Texas rancher who learned how to handle a BB gun at age 4, said that about half of the women who join also have strong outdoors backgrounds, while the other half haven’t picked up a gun before.”



Florida Open Carry holds events across central Florida: "Open carry gun rights supporters met Saturday on public fishing piers in Tampa and Daytona Beach, FL for a morning of fishing and to exercise their right to bear arms. The Florida Open Carry movement started holding open carry & fishing events immediately after the United States Supreme Court clarified that the Second Amendment protects a fundamental right for the individual to keep and bear arms for self defense. The high court also held that the Second Amendment is incorporated to the states. This requires that state and local governments protect your right to own and carry firearms without undue restrictions. Much like the right to free speech, the right to bear arms has now been recognized as a civil right.”



11 October, 2010

Obama's recent refusal to allow about a million American rifles of World War II vintage to be reimported from South Korea

One story is that he wants to keep these weapons "out of civilian hands". Overlooking the fact that civilian hands are precisely where the Founding Fathers intended such weapons to be, let's examine these weapons for a moment, and the dire threat to national security they represent.

About 800,000 of the instruments in question are the famous M1 "Garand" rifles, named for their inventor, John C. Garand, and first adopted into U.S. military service in 1936. They are big, heavy, eight-shot semiautomatic pieces, chambered for the .30-06 cartridge used in World War I, World War II, and Korea. While exceedingly accurate and reliable, they are almost as far from being high-capacity "assault" weapons as they can get and still be considered metallic cartridge firearms.

By inference, the remaining 200,000 guns are M1 Carbines, small, lightweight, user-friendly pea-shooters, also semiauto (although a fully automatic M2 Carbine also becme available, and may have been the best submachinegun ever invented) with about the same one-shot stopping power as a .38 revolver, albeit in magazines varying from 15- to 30-round capacity. Originally intended as a substitute for the 1911A1 .45 automatic Colt pistol, they wound up being issued to cooks, radio operators, tank drivers, and other people who had something better to do with their hands than carry a big, heavy rifle around all day.

Going by numbers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (always a mistake), this million guns represent .004—a mere four tenths of one percent of the 250,000,000 guns that the BATFE says we naughty Americans already cling to bitterly. Four tenths of one percent.

Better numbers, from the firearms industry itself, say it's .001—one tenth of one percent of the 750,000,000 guns (now closer to 780,000,000, thanks to history's greatest weapons saleman, Barack H. Obama) "of modern design, in good working order" that we presently possess.

Three quarters of a billion guns. It's good to be an American.

Nevertheless, the Second Amendment concerns itself chiefly with "the security of a free state". Gun control—more accurately termed victim disarmament—endangers that security, at the same time that it offers aid and comfort to any potential enemy of a free state. Gun control is, therefore, treason. The more guns we have—especially those affordable to individuals at every station of life—the more secure we are. Think what good that million guns could do for farmers, ranchers, shopkeepers, and householders along the border this very minute.

Although some American firearms manufacturers and some dealers will think it's a good thing—just as they did with other heinous and unconstitutional laws written, in part, to act as import barriers (one reason I wouldn't buy Bill Ruger's products for a long time)—Obama's refusal to bring back this million guns from Korea is treasonous.

If by some miracle they do make it back, these fine old weapons, useless for modern military operations, but perfect for home defense along the border, should be distributed, not by corrupt authoritarian institutions like the National Rifle Association or the Director of Civilian Marksmanship—which force potential owners to jump through all kinds of unconstitutional hoops—but to retailers on the basis, perhaps, of BATFE records proportional to sales over the last three years.

Source



10 October, 2010

Deputy shooting at West Hollywood liquor store under investigation

Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators are looking into how a West Hollywood liquor store manager who called 911 to report a robbery was mistaken for a suspect and shot at by a deputy.

Authorities were called to the store near Crescent Heights and Santa Monica boulevards early Sunday. Suspect descriptions at the time were limited: a black man with a handgun, and a black woman.

Soon after, two deputies pulled in and parked around the corner from the store and the store’s manager ran around the corner to meet them, said Capt. Mike Parker. At least one of the deputies mistook the manager, who is also black, for the suspect, Parker said.

The manager began pointing his index finger behind the deputies in the direction the suspects fled, but the deputy mistakenly believed the man was pointing a gun at them, Parker said.

When the man ignored the deputy’s commands and continued gesturing, the deputy shot eight rounds in his direction, Parker said.

All of the gunshots missed, and the manager was not injured. No gun was found at the scene, authorities said.
The manager may have been holding keys, said Michael Gennaco, who heads up the Office of Independent Review, a Sheriff's Department watchdog. Gennaco, who arrived at the scene soon after the shooting, said the manager appeared unharmed.

“He’s pointing, saying ‘Hey they’re getting away’ and the deputies are thinking he’s going to shoot,” Gennaco said. “Eight rounds later there are still a lot of questions.”

The deputy who shot at the manager was a trainee and was accompanied by his training officer, Gennaco said. He had responded to the scene of another robbery at the same liquor store just three weeks earlier, Parker said.

Gennaco called the physical description of the male suspect as “not much of a description.”

“It’s a difficult assessment, but the deputies have to make the correct assessment whether someone is aggressing ... or is just trying to point out the departing suspects,” he said.

Gennaco said the deputy’s relatively short experience in the field would be considered. The department has launched multiple investigations into the shooting, including separate inquires by internal affairs and department detectives.

Parker said the investigations would have to be completed before it could be determined if protocol was broken, but he defended the deputy’s actions. “Here he is rolling into an armed robbery at a place that was robbed three weeks ago. Already tensions are high,” Parker said.

The street was dark, the limited physical description matched and the man was pointing with a gesture similar to children “playing cops and robbers” and miming holding a gun, Parker said.

“We don’t want to be critical of somebody when they’ve gone through this traumatic experience, but it’s really best if and when you call 911 and ... you’re going to come outside that you keep your hands in plain sight,” Parker said. “We don’t know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. That’s what we’re coming to find out."

The confusion was compounded by an apparent language barrier, Parker said. The shop manager is an African immigrant with a thick accent, he said.

Neither of the robbers has been arrested, and both were last seen fleeing south on Havenhurst Drive. Windows at a store across the street from the robbery site were said to be shattered by the gunfire.

Parker said the deputy would likely not be back on patrol immediately, as is customary after shootings.

Source




CA: Victory for open carry against lawless police chief: "Faced with the certainty of a Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit the Police Chief of Manhattan Beach backed down on his threat. The open carry controversy in Manhattan Beach had made all of the network television news. It was now a national story. Even the National Rifle Association (NRA) which treats the Open Carry Movement as a bastard child had taken notice and reluctantly, very reluctantly I might add, said that they would get involved if an arrest were made, but not otherwise. The only hope we have is in the Federal Courts, the California Courts being corrupt long before any of us were born. If you do a Google search on "Open Carry" you will discover that the movement is quickly learning how easily, and cheaply, one can bring a Federal Civil Rights lawsuit against your local government. You see folks, you can fight City Hall. If you fight them in Federal Court."


Utah: Concealed carry without a permit?: "One Utah lawmaker may soon make it easier for people to carry a concealed weapon without first obtaining a permit. There are more illegal guns on the streets than police can keep up with. Representative Stephen Sandstrom of Orem has an idea on how to combat the problem. “Right now, the gang bangers, the bad guys they can’t qualify for a permit. They are carrying without a permit anyway. The only ones being harmed are law abiding citizens. Some don’t have money or time to take a course to defend themselves.” Sandstrom wants to make it easier for them by possibly changing the law to allow people to carry concealed loaded guns without a permit. “All of the other rules would apply to them such as you wouldn’t be able to carry it in a church or at a school.”





9 October, 2010

GA: Civilian assists police: "As Middlebrooks ran out his door and down the steps he ran into the suspect at the back of the building's breezeway. "As I stepped off this bottom step, he turns right here and I pointed the gun at him and told him to freeze," Middlebrooks said. But the suspect didn't stop. He kept running and Middlebrooks ran after him telling him to freeze. As the suspect ran into the parking lot in front of the building, Middlebrooks said he stopped, pointed the gun at the suspect and yelled "Don't make me shoot you in the back." The suspect stopped and went to the ground. Middlebrooks held the suspect until a police officer came and cuffed the suspect."



NRA drifting Left: "So far this year, the NRA has endorsed 58 incumbent House Democrats, including more than a dozen in seats that both parties view as critical to winning a majority. The endorsements aren't the result of a sudden love for a party with which the NRA is often at odds. Rather, the powerful group adheres to what it calls "an incumbent-friendly" policy, which holds that if two candidates are equally supportive of gun rights, the incumbent gets the nod. The policy has been in place for some time, and the NRA has always backed a number of Democrats, but the group's choices have become especially contentious this year because control of Congress is at stake and because so many gun-supporting Democrats were elected over the past four years. The policy is frustrating Republicans who think the group is hurting its own cause and the party's chances next month."



8 October, 2010

SC: Fatal shooting ruled self-defense: "Columbia police said the fatal shooting of Johnell Smith in a residence on the 2500 block of Bratton Street Thursday morning was in self-defense and the shooter, Andre McCant Moore, Jr., will not be charged. According to a police statement, Smith was shot during a domestic dispute with an unidentified woman and Moore. Smith died after being transported to an area hospital. Moore was being held at the Alvin S. Glenn detention center for possession of a stolen weapon, which, police said, was used in the shooting."



OK: Woman acquitted of murdering husband: "An Adair County jury deliberated for close to two hours Monday before acquitting a woman in the shooting death of her husband. Prosecutors charged Marilyn Kay Fouse, Westville, with first-degree murder, alleging she shot Marlin Darrell Fouse in the back and the back of the head on Dec. 16, 2008. He died a week later from the wounds. A trial opened last week in Adair County District Court and concluded this week. Fouse was represented by Tim Baker, who argued his client acted in self-defense and that the victim was abusive. The victim was shot with a Ruger .22-caliber pistol. Marilyn told investigators she believed she was “about to get a beating” and attempted to retrieve her rifle from the bedroom. The victim followed her and either stumbled or tripped, and she pushed him onto the bed and shot him."



SC man indicted on attempted murder charges: "Tracy Stephen Washington, 29, was indicted on two counts of attempted murder and one charge of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, according to Horry County grand jury indictments released this week. The charges stem from July 16 when Myrtle Beach police say Washington and another man were involved in the shooting on Mr. Joe White Ave and Nance Street. The victim, who was shot the hip, was in a vehicle with an 8-month-old child. The victim also fired at least one shot at Washington but police said the victim was acting in self defense."



CO: Challenge to gun ban on postal service property: "Attorney Jim Manley and the Mountain States Legal Foundation are taking on the US Postal Service’s ban on any firearm on USPS property. The challenge is on behalf of Debbie and Tab Bonidy of Avon, Colorado …. The Bonidys live in a rural area of Colorado that doesn’t have home mail delivery. Because of that, the local post office in Avon, Colorado provides the residents of the area with a post office box at no charge. While they both have Colorado concealed carry permits and regularly carry, the Bonidys cannot carry concealed or openly when picking up their mail. They even can’t leave their firearms locked in their car as this would violate 39 C.F.R. § 232.1(l).”



7 October, 2010

OR: Murder verdict: not guilty: "During the trial, Marchant's attorneys argued that the May 9, 2009, shooting death of Everett Briley was self-defense. According to reports and testimony, Marchant shot Briley that day in front of their homes after the two had spent the day together drinking and playing golf. Marchant told police he had argued with Briley and was forced to shoot him because Briley threatened him with a samurai sword. Briley later died. During testimony Marchant expressed regret for shooting Briley, saying he had no choice to fire his gun or else he felt he would have been stabbed by the sword Briley was wielding."



AZ: Yavapai supervisors reject victim disarmament in county buildings: "After several residents spoke about their right to carry firearms under the Second Amendment and the state Constitution, the county supervisors took no action Monday on a proposal for people to check their guns at the door when entering county buildings. Sheriff Steven Waugh said that a law passed a year ago says that gun lockers and warning signs can be provided at the entrances to government buildings to prevent people from bringing guns inside and asked the supervisors to discuss the issue. ‘In some offices employees are intimidated by folks that bring in firearms strapped to their sides,’ Waugh said, adding that in some situations those gun-toting people can be ‘hostile’ to unarmed county employees.”



Nothing “common sense” in gun control: "One of the favorite phrases of the would-be gun grabbers is the phrase ‘common sense gun control.’ The argument is that regulating guns, at least to some extent, is perfectly normal and necessary. Using that particular terminology is designed to paint anyone who opposes such regulations as lacking in that very same common sense. The truth of the matter is that gun control isn’t common sense in any way.”



6 October, 2010

Oregon nutcase shot: "The incident began about an hour earlier when a woman called 9-1-1 to report that her son, James Sartor, 39, was tearing up her house in the 5400 block of NW Ridgmoor. Sartor had been jailed over the weekend after trespassing into the Greek Village Tavern, 301 NW Murray Boulevard, where he had earlier been banned. Sartor left his mother's home on foot before deputies arrived, Thompson said. While at that call, a third one came, from the Buzzettis, that a man was trying to break into their home and that Roger Buzzetti had a gun. Before deputies arrived, Sartor had broken a large bay window and had been shot in the leg by Buzzetti. Once there, deputies arrested Sartor. Results of the investigation will be turned over to a grand jury, Thompson said, to determine what charges Sartor may face, and what legal outcome awaits Buzzetti."



OH: Shooting, attempted robbery: "Police are investigating an attempted robbery that led to a shooting in Winton Hills. Police say a suspect walked into the Treetop Grocery around 10 p.m. Monday night and demanded cash from the clerk. The suspect fired a couple shots at the clerk, who then pulled out his own gun and returned fire. The clerk was shot once but wasn't serious hurt. The suspect wasn't hit and was able to get away."



NV: Pharmacy robber shot in butt: "The suspect went to a pharmacy on the 4100 block of South Eastern Avenue, approached the pharmacy desk and handed a pharmacist a handwritten note demanding the painkiller oxycodone. A pharmacist, who was armed, noticed the man had a gun. The suspect and the pharmacist struggled, and both men ended up with their weapons aimed at each other, Rivera said. The suspect was shot in the buttocks in the struggle, Rivera said. It was unclear whether the pharmacist shot the suspect or the suspect shot himself, he said. After the shooting, police said, the suspect fled in the stolen vehicle. He said the suspect was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center on Tuesday afternoon with nonlife-threatening injuries."



Two-thirds of Canadians back billion-dollar white elephant: "Two-thirds of Canadians support the controversial long-gun registry and even voters who back Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives are split on the issue, a new poll has found. The national survey conducted exclusively for Postmedia News and Global Television finds that support for the registry stands at 66 per cent nationally. Moreover, support is strong in regions throughout the country — even though Harper has said his party will not "rest" until it abolishes the registry.



5 October, 2010

MO: Self-defense cited in homicides: "Jackson County prosecutors don’t plan to file charges in two homicides from last week because of self-defense issues, Kansas City police said Monday. 1). Marquis D. Hughes, 23, was killed in an apparent botched robbery Sept. 28 at an apartment complex in the 11300 block of Grandview Road, police said. Investigators said Hughes and another man were trying to force a third man into a vehicle at gunpoint. The third man got control of the gun and shot Hughes. 2). Police found a gun near the body of Keith D. Williams, 34, last Wednesday at 12th Terrace and Fremont Avenue. Witnesses told police that Williams and a friend went to a home frequented by another man, and Williams pulled a rifle from the back seat and argued with the other man. The other man fatally shot Williams and wounded the friend.



DC: Armored car guard shoots robber: "A would-be robber was shot and wounded by an armored car guard on Monday after the suspect tried to grab a money bag out of the guard's hand, a D.C. police spokeswoman said. Officer Tisha Gant said the incident occurred about 1:15 p.m. in the 1000 block of Rhode Island Avenue NE. She said the suspect was taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound to one of his legs."



PA: 'Stand your ground' bill set for final House approval: "The state House today is expected to give final approval to so-called "stand your ground" legislation, a self-defense bill that gun advocates have pushed unsuccessfully for six years. With broad bipartisan support, the House gave preliminary approval Monday to the legislation, also known as the "Castle Doctrine" extension bill. It was approved by a 156-41 margin. The legislation would extend the Castle Doctrine to a person's porch, yard, car or any place someone is "lawfully allowed to be," said Rep. Scott Perry, R-York County, the bill's sponsor. The Senate is in session three more days, Oct. 12, 13 and 14. If a bill wins House approval, it is uncertain whether it will be squeezed into the Senate's crowded agenda. Gov. Ed Rendell yesterday reiterated that it is a complex issue, and he can't say whether he would sign or veto the legislation without review."



MT: Fed judge tosses suit by gun rights advocates: "A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit brought by gun-rights advocates seeking a declaration that Montana law allows them to make and sell guns without abiding by federal regulations. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula adopted a federal magistrate’s recommendation to toss the lawsuit for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, because the commerce clause grants Congress the power to regulate firearms. The Montana Shooting Sports Association, the Second Amendment Foundation and resident Gary Marbut had asked Molloy to declare that they could legally make and sell firearms under the 2009 Montana Firearms Freedom Act without complying with federal laws, including licensing and registration requirements.”



4 October, 2010

CO: Liquor store clerk won't be charged in shooting: "Two robbers who were shot last week when they tried to rob their second liquor store in a span of a few minutes are expected to survive their injuries, police said Friday. A liquor store clerk shot Marcel McMichael, 34, and Henry James, 37, on Sept. 22 when the pair — their faces covered and one of them brandishing a gun — stormed a liquor store near East Mississippi Avenue and South Tower Road. A liquor store clerk saw the men enter the business and produced a handgun he had hidden behind the counter. The suspects fled the store, and the armed suspect fired one round inside the business and one outside the business as he left. McMichael and Henry both have lengthy arrest records in Colorado dating back to the early 1990s"



FL: Woman fires back at shooter: "Alexander was “highly intoxicated” when he stepped onto his neighbor’s property on Marvin Lane in Southport and began yelling at her about her dogs, deputies wrote, adding that he had a .357 Magnum Taurus revolver in his hand. His neighbor, Janet Keesecker, 49, who works as a manager at a local gas station and was outside when Alexander arrived, grabbed her .38 special from her vehicle and tried to go back into her house, she said. But before she could get back into the house, Alexander fired, Keesecker said during a Sunday afternoon interview. “When he shot the first one, it just missed me,” she added. “I didn’t even know he was that close with his weapon.” Keesecker entered her house and fired once back at Alexander, she said. “I wasn’t aiming for anything. I thought if I just shot it he would leave,” she added. Instead of retreating, Alexander fired two more shots at Keesecker’s house. Alexander did not leave until Keesecker’s husband told him police had been called... Alexander is in jail and could not be reached for comment"



WA: Man whom police questioned about gun says rights violated: "A Spanaway man said his rights were violated by Pierce County sheriff’s deputies after he walked into a Starbucks wearing a handgun and was asked for identification. Tom Brewster said he carries a pistol with him just about everywhere he goes, so when he stopped by a Starbucks in Spanaway a couple of days ago, as he does every day, he was armed, as he is every day. ‘Soon as I got in line, the sheriff’s officer approached me from behind and asked, ‘Is that a gun? I’m going to need to see your ID,’ Brewster said. Brewster refused to comply. He said that being asked by a sheriff’s deputy simply because he was carrying a firearm was a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights.”



WA: Student convicted in open-carry gun case: "A college student who got in a dispute with police officers over his right to ‘open carry’ nearly two years ago was convicted Thursday in Clark County District Court of unlawfully carrying a weapon. An attorney for Joshua R. Watson, 23, unsuccessfully argued to a jury of four men and two women that Watson was merely exercising his constitutional right to bear arms. The jurors sided with an assistant Vancouver city attorney, who argued that Watson flaunted his right to carry, forced a business to close early and in the process broke the law.”



3 October, 2010

GA: Teen pulls gun. Dies: "Last month, in the wee hours of a Saturday, a young man fresh out of Savannah High was shot to death in the parking lot of the IHOP on Victory Drive. According to reports, the 19-year-old victim got into an argument with a man who was 24. The younger man, police said, pulled out a handgun and threatened the older man. The older man then pulled out his own handgun. Age and experience again trumped youth. A cemetery has yet another hole to fill. The older man, who lives in a Savannah housing project off MLK Boulevard, was jailed on a murder charge. Expect his attorney to mount a vigorous, self-defense argument - the other guy pulled on me first, so I had to protect myself. That's my right. Barring other evidence, that's almost a get-out-of-jail-free card.... Interestingly, the latest metro crime statistics show a 24 percent reduction in violent crime over the past nine months, compared to the same period last year." [More details here. Jeffrey Jamal Johnson shot Larry Venson]



OK: Suspect loses fingers in home invasion: "Police said two men — one white, one black — kicked in the door to a home in the 400 block of 106th East Avenue around 7 a.m. The homeowner, Larry Ryan, said the bandits yelled “Give me the money” as they pointed their guns directly at his head. Ryan, 59, said he immediately grabbed for one of the weapons and a struggle ensued. Wearing only underwear, Ryan battled the robber to the front porch, where they fell to the ground. While being pistol-whipped by the second gunman, Ryan was able to pin the first assailant to the ground, he said. The gun he was struggling for fired, shooting off two of the robber’s fingers. Ryan was holding down the wounded man when officers arrived. Both were taken to area hospitals for treatment. Bobby Lewis, 23, was later arrested on complaints of assault with a deadly weapon, knowingly concealing stolen property, robbery with a firearm and first-degree burglary"



NJ: Eased process sought for gun carry permits: "A lawmaker wants to make it easier for New Jersey residents to get permits for carrying handguns, and he thinks the state can make some money in the process. State Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, introduced a bill last week that would allow residents to carry handguns if they go through a background check, complete courses in firearms safety and the lawful use of force, pass a test and pay an annual $500 fee. Current state law gives carry permits only to those who demonstrate a ‘justifiable need’ to their local police chief and then a Superior Court judge — a nearly impossible hurdle.”



2 October, 2010

NY: Victim gets shots off while robber distracted: "A neighboring business owner on Friday shared details of a robbery in which he was held with a gun to his head before a print shop owner opened fire on the suspect. Leroy A. Bartley Sr., chief executive officer of Restaurant Clinic & Fire Protection, detailed Wednesday night's harrowing ordeal. It ended with Tia owner Patrick McKenzie shooting the suspect, Wilston Regis, 47, of Brooklyn, several times. Regis is in Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore, said Regis was to be arraigned Friday at the hospital. No charges will be filed against McKenzie. McKenzie used a licensed handgun. Bell said the suspect was shot once in the groin and once in the arm. Bartley's store is next to Tia Printing."



AL: Plea bargain in shooting: "A Dothan man who pleaded guilty to shooting someone in the hip received a suspended sentence and five years of probation on Wednesday. Circuit Court Judge Michael Conaway gave Antonio Evans Harrison, 20, of LaGrand Drive, a 10-year prison sentence, which he will serve if he violates his probation. Harrison told the court during the hearing he only fired the gun because several people were coming after him. Attorney Mark Johnson said his client had no criminal record, and only fired the gun in self-defense. Dothan police arrested Harrison in September 2009 and charged him with felony first-degree assault. He pleaded guilty to the charge in July."



CA: Guns cleared for Hometown Fair: "Though the guns that will be holstered to dozens of people at this weekend’s Hometown Fair won’t be loaded, the debate over the right to carry them has been. Despite initial warnings from Hometown Fair Board members and the Manhattan Beach Police Department that people with firearms at the event would be arrested, volunteers of South Bay Open Carry (SBOC) made it clear that they will not leave their guns at home, citing their Second Amendment right to bear arms. A quarrel over guns at the event began with the fair board threatening arrests. ‘They are opening themselves up to a huge lawsuit,’ Harley Green, founder of SBOC, said on Monday.”



WI: Gun owners display their rights: "Nearly everybody was packing heat during Saturday’s open carry picnic at Haskins Park in West Baraboo. However, other than some passionate political speech, the firearms advocates had a cool celebration of their cause.The gathering by supporters of the right to openly carry firearms for self defense is one example of a movement that has held similar picnics around Wisconsin. It was sparked last year when state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen published an opinion that the state constitution allows people to carry unconcealed firearms as long as the armed person does not violate other laws.”



1 October, 2010

CO: Woman acquitted of fatal shooting: "His hands wrapped like a boxer’s before a fight, Joseph Jiles screamed at Velma Gilbert and her daughter, threatening to kill them both. As she tried to protect her daughter, Gilbert believed her volatile 20-year-old grand nephew — enraged at her daughter for saying he had AIDS — would make good on his repeated threats. He often carried a pistol and Gilbert knew that this day at the Elmwood Park Apartments, where Jiles had gone to confront her daughter, he was likely armed. So was she. When Jiles, whose father was holding him back during the tirade, tried to break free from his father’s grasp and attack Gilbert and her daughter, Gilbert raised her .45 caliber pistol and shot Jiles between the eyes... The jury on Tuesday acquitted Gilbert of all the charges against her stemming from Jiles’ June 2009 death."



GA: Homeowner, 84, Shoots Suspected Thief: "A home invasion suspect, shot late last night by an 84-year-old man, is being held without bond this morning in the Fulton County jail. WSB's Richard Sangster reports, the elderly homeowner told DeKalb County police he was awakened around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday by the sound of someone breaking down the basement door of his house on Meadowbrook Chase in Stone Mountain. The unidentified man grabbed a gun from his night stand and confronted the suspect as he came up the stairs to the main level of the house. The homeowner fired three shots, striking the intruder once in the leg. The suspect, who left a trail of blood at the scene of the shooting, was taken into custody while seeking treatment for the gunshot wound at Grady Memorial Hospital. He's been charged with burglary."



Florida man who shot intruder with illegal gun gets no jail time: "A Naples man who shot and killed a teenage intruder on his property was sentenced to four years’ probation after he pleaded to a weapons charge Thursday. Sterlin F. Misener Jr. had faced a maximum 15 years in prison if convicted of the charge, possessing a sawed-off shotgun. Misener killed 19-year-old Patrick Hutchinson on March 20, 2009, after catching the teenager on his Willoughby Drive property around 4:30 a.m., exiting the nearby family camper. Misener told law enforcement he confronted Hutchinson with a shotgun and pulled the trigger when the teen lunged at him. Misener’s attorney, Jerry Berry, said his client’s actions were protected under Florida’s 2005 Stand Your Ground Law, which permits residents to use deadly force when in fear of death or great bodily harm."



WI: Gun rights group sues city and police chief: "Gun-rights group Wisconsin Carry is accusing the city of Madison and police Chief Noble Wray of violating the Second Amendment rights of five men. A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday says officers violated the rights of five armed patrons at a fast-food restaurant by asking them to produce identification or face arrest. A woman called 911 on Sept. 18 after seeing the men’s holstered guns. Responding officers asked the men for identification. All five were eventually cited for disorderly conduct.”






Note for non-American readers: Crime reports from America which describe an offender just as a "teen" or "teenager" almost invariably mean a BLACK teenager.


Postings from Brisbane, Australia by John Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.) -- former member of the Australia-Soviet Friendship Society, former anarcho-capitalist and former member of the British Conservative party.


I am an army man and I am pleased and proud to say that I have worn my country's uniform. Although my service in the Australian army was chiefly noted for its un-notability, I DID join voluntarily in the Vietnam era, I DID reach the rank of Sergeant, and I DID volunteer for a posting in Vietnam. So I think I may be forgiven for saying something that most army men think but which most don't say because they think it is too obvious: The profession of arms is the noblest profession of all because it is the only profession where you offer to lay down your life in performing your duties. Our men fought so that people could say and think what they like but I myself always treat military men with great respect -- respect which in my view is simply their due.


Two lines below of a famous hymn that would be incomprehensible to Leftists today ("honor"? "right"? "freedom?" Freedom to agree with them is the only freedom they believe in)

First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean

It is of course the hymn of the USMC -- still today the relentless warriors that they always were.


The kneejerk response of the Green/Left to people who challenge them is to say that the challenger is in the pay of "Big Oil", "Big Business", "Big Pharma", "Exxon-Mobil", "The Pioneer Fund" or some other entity that they see, in their childish way, as a boogeyman. So I think it might be useful for me to point out that I have NEVER received one cent from anybody by way of support for what I write. As a retired person, I live entirely on my own investments. I do not work for anybody and I am not beholden to anybody. And I have NO investments in oil companies, mining companies or "Big Pharma"

UPDATE: Despite my (statistical) aversion to mining stocks, I have recently bought a few shares in BHP -- the world's biggest miner, I gather. I run the grave risk of becoming a speaker of famous last words for saying this but I suspect that BHP is now so big as to be largely immune from the risks that plague most mining companies. I also know of no issue affecting BHP where my writings would have any relevance. The Left seem to have a visceral hatred of miners. I have never quite figured out why.


Australia does have considerable restrictions on gun ownership (mostly put in place by a conservative administration as a kneejerk reaction to a mass killing) but the restrictions are not too onerous. My brother is a gun collector and has an impressive collection quite legally. And guess who is the patron of his gun club? It is Kevin Rudd, a former center-Leftist Prime Minister of Australia!


The intellectual Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) said: "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."