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DE: Gun checks may violate federal law
Submitted by: Paul Shoemaker

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The Delaware State Police have been conducting secret background checks of some gun owners since 2001, a process known as "superchecks" that may violate federal law.

The checks have resulted in confiscation of weapons, some for legitimate reasons, but have subjected many citizens to a search of mental health records that in most cases police would be unable to access.

In Delaware, when someone attempts to purchase a pistol or rifle, he or she must first sign a consent form authorizing a criminal and mental health check by the state Firearms Transaction Approval Program.

OR: Founders greatly feared democracy
Submitted by: James A. Farmer

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Responding to Sam McKeen�s anti-gun socialist diatribe Nov. 23. I critique his use of the word �Democracy.�

Our nation wasn�t chartered as a democracy, but as a republic. Not only did our founders establish a republic, they greatly feared democracy.

James Madison wrote in Essay No. 10 of the Federalist Papers: �Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.� Source: The John Birch Society (www.jbs.org).

OH: Police Chief Forgets Gun Loaded and Shoots Himself!!
Submitted by: Tom

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MONROE, Ohio � Police in southwestern Ohio say a police chief mistakenly shot himself in the thigh after giving his daughter a gun safety lesson.

A police report says 54-year-old Middletown police Chief Greg Schwarber was preparing to clean his Glock .45-caliber pistol on Friday and didn't realize the gun was still loaded.

The report written by officers from neighboring Monroe says the bullet entered Schwarber's leg just above the knee.

When officers arrived, they found the chief lying on the floor with a towel covering his leg. Schwarber was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Submitter's note: Only the police and military are responsible enough according to our new President-elect and his crowd...

NY: ShotSpotter helps crack gun crimes in Rochester Submitted by: RPA-PAC Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Rochester may have been on the cutting edge when it installed a gunfire detection system called ShotSpotter 2 1/2 years ago. The system has helped officers make progress in four homicide cases and has led to arrests in other gun crimes, said Rochester police Sgt. Mark Beaudrault. And the technology is gaining popularity nationwide.

Shoot or be shot at? It's not that easy
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.cafepress.com/taff

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There is an ongoing discussion in the blogosphere about a Mumbai photographer who took a photo of one of the terrorists, but who later complained that the police did not take out their guns and shoot back.

Well, one reason might be that the chances of shooting and hitting the target with a small handgun before you yourself are killed by automatic fire is small.

But the real reason could be training.

Ed.: Or cowardice.

NY: Report: Burress had no permit
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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Plaxico Burress, Giants WR and everyone�s favorite chowderhead, did not have a permit for the gun that he fired into his own leg Friday night at New York City�s Latin Club, according to the New York Post. Burress did have a concealed-weapon permit in Florida, but that expired in May. The total ying yang was trying to unload his gun for club security personnel while drinking a glass of wine. The gun slipped and kaboom, the idiot shot himself in the leg.

Brady Law at Fifteen: 1.6 Million Dangerous Sales Blocked, But There's More Work to Do
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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Fifteen years ago today, President William Jefferson Clinton signed the Brady Bill into law, America's first critical step toward requiring criminal background checks for all firearm purchases in order to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. A new Brady Center report, called Brady Background Checks: 15 Years of Saving Lives, details the Brady Law's long record of success, available here: http://www.bradycenter.org/xshare/pdf/reports/brady-law-15years.pdf. A true success story, the law has blocked 1.6 million bad sales to felons, fugitives, domestic abusers, dangerously mentally ill and other prohibited purchasers -- but the nation still allows too many sales to go forward without a Brady background check.

India: How Gun Control Contributed To The Mumbai Slaughter Submitted by: clell	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
I live in India and I am a proud firearm owner -- but I am the exception not the norm, an odd situation in a country with a proud martial heritage and a long history of firearm innovation. This is not because the people of India are averse to gun ownership, but instead due to Draconian anti-gun legislation going back to colonial times.

Pentagon hires British scientist to help build robot soldiers that won't commit war crimes
Submitted by: Larry

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The US Army and Navy have both hired experts in the ethics of building machines to prevent the creation of an amoral Terminator-style killing machine that murders indiscriminately.

By 2010 the US will have invested $4 billion in a research programme into "autonomous systems", the military jargon for robots, on the basis that they would not succumb to fear or the desire for vengeance that afflicts frontline soldiers.

A British robotics expert has been recruited by the US Navy to advise them on building robots that do not violate the Geneva Conventions.

Pentagon to Detail Troops to Bolster Domestic Security
Submitted by: Larry

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The Pentagon's plan calls for three rapid-reaction forces to be ready for emergency response by September 2011. The first 4,700-person unit, built around an active-duty combat brigade based at Fort Stewart, Ga., was available as of Oct. 1, said Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., commander of the U.S. Northern Command.

If funding continues, two additional teams will join nearly 80 smaller National Guard and reserve units made up of about 6,000 troops in supporting local and state officials nationwide. All would be trained to respond to a domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive attack, or CBRNE event, as the military calls it.

IA: Dyersville shooter claims self-defense
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.cafepress.com/taff

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The shooter moved onto another apartment, where he was working on changing the locks, when Herman arrived and confronted the shooter. A physical altercation occurred, with punching and shoving. The shooter went to his car. Herman followed, got in the car, and another physical altercation took place, authorities said.

�In some point during the second altercation, shots were fired,� said Capt. Bob Lynn of the Dubuque County Sheriff�s Department.

The shooter performed CPR on Herman until emergency workers arrived, and then he went voluntarily with police. He was not charged and was released the same day. He told police he acted in self defense.

NY: Retired NYPD officer shoots burglar in Staten Island home invasion Submitted by: RPA-PAC Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
A burglar shot and wounded Friday when he tried to break into a retired cop's Staten Island home, police sources said. Retired NYPD Officer Carmine Longo, 45, pulled a gun when he discovered the thief trying to rob his Rossville home, sources said. The thief was shot as he and the ex-cop struggled for Longo's .38-caliber revolver, sources said.

A chance for sensible gun laws
Submitted by: Trapper

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WITH THE historic election of Barack Obama, the nation finally has an opportunity to enact sensible national gun policy. Obama should look to big cities, especially Boston, for guidance.

Most of the 83 Americans who die every day from gun violence live in cities. The average annual US death toll from guns is 34,000 Americans. Comparatively, over the past 30 years, 1,035,000 Americans have died from guns in the United States versus 655,000 US service men and women killed in all foreign wars combined.

Obama favors closing the gun show loophole and renewing the expired Assault Weapons Ban. He also wants to repeal of Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts cities and police departments from getting access to gun trace data.

U.S. Attorneys Can't Prove Gun is a Gun
Submitted by: Anonymous

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What attorney's had on their hands was an American double-action revolver that was manufactured between 1880 and 1941.

The problem is that federal code states that the weapon is not a firearm unless it was manufactured after 1896. Without a definitive production date, the gun was inadmissible as evidence.

At the time, the attorneys were trying to charge Lawrence Ray Cook with possession of the weapon.

Lessons from Memsahib Brady Nirvana Submitted by: David Codrea Website: http://waronguns.blogspot.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
This is a nearly laboratory-perfect example of "gun control" in practice. The lesson is just this clear, just this direct: Disarming people renders them defenseless. Predators don't obey disarmament edicts. Authorities can't prevent atrocities, only respond to them.

Mumbai photographer: I wish I'd had a gun, not a camera. Armed police would not fire back
Submitted by: Anonymous

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But what angered Mr D'Souza almost as much were the masses of armed police hiding in the area who simply refused to shoot back. "There were armed policemen hiding all around the station but none of them did anything," he said. "At one point, I ran up to them and told them to use their weapons. I said, 'Shoot them, they're sitting ducks!' but they just didn't shoot back."

...

The militants returned inside the station and headed towards a rear exit towards Chowpatty Beach. Mr D'Souza added: "I told some policemen the gunmen had moved towards the rear of the station but they refused to follow them. What is the point if having policemen with guns if they refuse to use them? I only wish I had a gun rather than a camera."

Six Months Under the Gun: A Weapon-Carrying Experiment
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft

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"I spent Super Bowl Sunday this year learning that I should always be nice and polite and have a plan to kill everyone I see."

"On May 13, I was awarded my concealed carry permit and decided to carry a handgun as often as I was legally allowed, where I was legally allowed, for as long as I felt like doing it. I was interested in finding out what it felt like to carry a gun, what was the best way to carry, and if the various legal hurdles would make it so impractical that I�d simply give up."

"I was also curious about how carrying a gun might change the way I looked at the world. Did the mere act of carrying a gun mean I was paranoid? Would carrying a gun make me paranoid?" ...

Rock 'Em Submitted by: concerned american Website: http://westernrifleshooters.blogspot.com	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Folks considering what actions to take during the current political interregnum should consider the points raised by Mike [Vanderboegh] in this essay, which was originally posted at David's place during the illegal alien amnesty fiasco. As Mike points out, timing is everything, as well as the need to link reaction with an actual provocation. Food for thought and further consideration.

Mike Ditka: NFL Should Prohibit All Players From Owning Guns Submitted by: RPA-PAC Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame tight end and Super Bowl-winning coach, discussed the Plaxico Burress situation today in his role on ESPN's NFL Countdown. And Ditka proposed a simple rule that would likely make players safer, but would also draw the ire of the National Rifle Association: Simply ban all NFL players from owning guns.

IL: Chicago Defies The Second Amendment
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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Since the Supreme Court upheld the individual right to own guns last summer, one municipality after another with handgun bans has faced reality. Washington, D.C., which lost the case, changed its law. Morton Grove, Ill., repealed its ban. So did neighboring Wilmette. Likewise for Evanston. Last week, Winnetka followed suit. Then there is Chicago, which is being sued for violating the Second Amendment but refuses to confront the possibility that what the Supreme Court said may apply on this side of the Appalachians.

Speaking of Battle Droids
Submitted by: Larry

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Its no secret that the United States has been spending hundreds of billions of dollars to create its own obedient army of killer robots. But perhaps interested in staving off the eventual robot rebellion (or maybe they just saw one of the Terminator movies), the Pentagon is also investing $4 billion in a research program to make sure this new army doesn�t do anything that might violate the Geneva Conventions. The military has high hopes that its next generation of autonomous killbots, designed without emotions, will be immune to the temptations to engage in revenge killings, and torture of enemy combatants.

Ed.: DoD is spending tens of billions on robotic combat systems. The hundreds of billions figure refers to the entire DoD budget. Though isn't it more honest to start saying "half a trillion" instead of "several hundred billion"?

No one will protect you
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.cafepress.com/taff

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The stories of the Bombay survivors tell of helpless victims hiding for hours before being hunted down and murdered. There were nearly as many people hiding in one toilet cubicle as took part in the attack. If even a tenth part of the unarmed masses in the area had been armed, the siege would have been brought to an end in hours rather than days, saving hundreds of lives. But instead of relying upon themselves, they relied upon the government to protect them and in doing so paid the ultimate price.

A gun is worth 1,000 pictures
Submitted by: Mark A. Taff
Website: http://www.cafepress.com/taff

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One can only imagine that a photojournalist saying he wished he had a gun instead of a camera makes the sphincters of many "journalists" and other assorted forever-neutral members of the Fifth Estate slam closed faster than the shutter on D'Souza's camera, but an important point is made: Unless we as citizens are able to defend ourselves on a massive yet individual basis, we will never be able to stop a massive attack by crazed individuals. Waiting for police or the Army to show up with mops and buckets is an unacceptable strategy in fighting terrorists.

Ed.: By aphorism then, a gun must be worth a million words. As of 2007, English now has more than a million words in its lexicon. Coincidence? I think not. ;-)

NY: County gun-ban law hits another snag Submitted by: RPA-PAC Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
The Oswego County Legislature�s Government Committee has scraped plans�at least for now�to move forward with a resolution that would ban weapons from the county building. At the Nov. 24 meeting of the committee, no one moved the resolution, leaving the issue to die until next year. The legislature�s standing committees do not meet in December unless an emergency meeting is called.

NY: Burress wounded by bullet Submitted by: RPA-PAC Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Plaxico Burress was hospitalized Friday night after a loaded gun he was carrying accidentally fired, causing injuries to his right thigh that are not life-threatening, according to people familiar with the situation.

WI: Muzzleloaders gain in popularity
Submitted by: RPA-PAC
Website: http://www.rpa-pac.org

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The doe was big, I could see that, and from my stand in a swamp north of this town, amid the day�s early morning light, I considered briefly shouldering my muzzleloader and pulling back the hammer. The prospect of a buck soon following behind gave me pause, and ultimately I decided against taking a shot. Still, with each step the doe took in my direction, unaware of my presence until finally she passed just beneath me, and then behind me � winding me, in the end, and snorting before hurrying off � I thought again of taking a shot. The reason: I have never felled a deer with a muzzleloader.

OH: Police chief shoots self by accident Submitted by: George Combs II	There are no comments on this story Post Comments \| Read Comments
Middletown, Ohio police chief Greg Schwarber told Monroe police he was cleaning his .45 caliber Glock at his home when it discharged, striking him in the leg. Schwarber said he thought the weapon was unloaded. Earlier in the day, the chief had been showing his daughter some shooting techniques and spoke to her about firearms safety.