Keep and Bear Arms - Gun Owners Home Page

'Stop Suicides, Close Golden Gate Bridge,' Gun Rights Group Suggests
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) today called upon the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to 'take an important step for public safety' and close the Golden Gate Bridge, which has been a popular suicide platform for more than 65 years."

"'Several city supervisors want to ban handguns in San Francisco on the mere presumption that such a law would prevent crimes, accidents and suicides,' said SAF Founder Alan M. Gottlieb. 'Well, it is an absolute certainty that closing the bridge would prevent suicides, and perhaps many accidents, as well. And just for the sake of argument, one seriously might question whether any of the more than 1,300 fatal falls from the bridge since 1937 were cleverly-concealed homicides.'" ...

John Lott: Ballistic Fingerprinting�s a Dud
Submitted by: New York State Rifle & Pistol Association
Website: http://www.nysrpa.org

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"Ballistic fingerprinting was all the rage just a couple of years ago. Maryland and New York were leading the way where a computer database would record the markings made on the bullets from all new guns. The days of criminals using guns were numbered."

"Yet, a recent report by the Maryland State Police's forensic-sciences division shows that the systems in both states have been expensive failures. New York is spending $4 million per year. Maryland has spent a total of $2.6 million, about $60 per gun sold. But in the over four years that the systems have been in effect neither has solved a single crime. To put it bluntly, the program 'does not aid in the mission statement of the Department of State Police.'" ...

Shooters get their kicks
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"Kim Rhode and Collyn Loper have parents who enjoy shooting and the outdoor sports and encouraged the young women at an early age to blast away at clay targets and join in the family fun."

"Neither could have imagined the clay target games would take them around the world. Rhode and Loper upstaged the usual crowd of men at the Perazzi shotgun exhibit at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show here last week, wearing glowing smiles and Olympic medals."

"Even though she had set a long list of U.S. trap and skeet marks, Rhode, 25, was an Olympic surprise after winning the gold in doubles trapshooting in 1996 as a little-known 17-year-old. She was the woman to beat when she added a bronze in 2000, and pinned down her second gold medal last year in Greece to buoy a struggling U.S. Olympic shooting team."

National Rifle Association agenda targets Chicago gun prohibitions
Submitted by: New York State Rifle & Pistol Association
Website: http://www.nysrpa.org

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CHICAGO The National Rifle Association's proposed package of state legislation this year targets Chicago's strict gun prohibitions.

One of their proposals is to allow residents of Chicago and other communities that ban handgun ownership to legally keep the weapons in their homes for self-defense purposes.

The group also wants municipalities with bans to be held liable for injuries that residents claimed could have been avoided had they been allowed to have a firearm.

N-R-A lobbyist Todd Vandermyde says he hopes lawmakers support the package. He says debate on a bill last year that gave legal protection to homeowners who violate handgun bans to shoot burglars has changed the tone of debate on gun control issues.

UT: Mullen: Let's pack heat in the driver's seat
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"My car is my castle. Isn't yours?" ...

"And because I have my own rolling castle, I should have every right to defend it - with a .357 Magnum if I want, and with no concealed weapon permit to pack it. ..." ...

"In my rolling castle, I often have a set of loyal subjects, also known as my children, along for the ride. If I had the right to pack heat without a permit, I could enlist these serfs in protecting our dominion. If a fellow driver cast me a menacing look at a stoplight, I could order one of the kids to reach into the glove compartment and whip out our 'protection.' Just to show 'em who's boss, you know. This would be our right. Our principle." ...
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KABA Note: You can reach the author of this piece at [email protected]

IN: Preventing gun violence
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"Legislation allowing law enforcement officers to temporarily seize guns from individuals when there is a reasonable suspicion of mental illness is not a gun-rights issue. It�s a safety issue. Indiana�s lawmakers need to support this legislation, which would protect people from firearm violence."

"Legislation in the House would permit law enforcement officers to confiscate firearms from individuals for 45 days when an officer thinks the person is mentally ill and dangerous. It allows prosecutors to petition the court to extend the hold on the weapons and gives the court the authority to issue search warrants for weapons possessed by someone who is dangerously mentally ill. It also allows individuals whose guns were seized to petition the court for a review of the weapon retention order." ...

NJ: Gun shops face rigid standards
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"It's understandable if Chicken Little comes to mind when you speak with Evan Nappen, a lawyer who specializes in New Jersey gun cases. He's convinced that, for hunters and other gun owners, the sky is definitely falling."

"If only one acorn bopped Nappen on the noggin, perhaps we could rightly label him an exaggerator. But get him talking about all the legal and regulatory blows that have befallen hunters (and other lawful firearm aficionados) in recent years and you end up thinking maybe he's right. Maybe firearm ownership in New Jersey, by anybody other than cops, will eventually be eliminated."

"This week, Nappen is urging the state's sportsmen to prepare for the day when they'll have a tough time finding a place to buy that new shotgun they crave. He believes the writing is on the wall or, more accurately, on the stationery of the state Superior Court Appellate Division."

OH: VICTIM ZONE: Thief cuts man, 79, during assault in hospital garage (OFCC)
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"The Toledo Blade is reporting that a thief followed a West Toledo couple to their car in the St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center parking garage, brandished a knife, and cut the husband's hand yesterday while reaching for the wife's purse."

"What the Blade did NOT report is that St. Vincent's affirmatively disarms its customers by posting 'no-guns' signs."

"The husband, 79, was treated for the wound to his right hand at St. Vincent."

"The Blade reports the incident, which was committed in broad daylight, was the third purse-snatching from the medical center garage in the last three months." ...

OR: Jury convicts Beaverton man of drive-through murder
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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A Beaverton man faces life in prison after a jury found him guilty of killing his estranged wife at a restaurant's drive through window.

Cornelleo Corpuz, 27, was convicted of murdering his wife, Ann Margo Corpuz and wounding her friend at the Mexi-Cali express on southwest canyon road last year.

Ann Margo had filed for divorce and had a restraining order against her husband at the time of the murder.

Cornelleo Corpuz now faces a mandatory life sentence with parole possible after 25 years.

SD: Man accused of trying to run over co-worker pleads innocent
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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The Sioux Falls Wal-Mart employee accused of running over a co-worker in the store parking lot last month pleaded not guilty on Monday.

Police arrested Alemu Tadele Berhanu, 45, on charges of attempted murder and violation of a protection order that the victim had filed against him.

Responding officers found Abraham Abdu Sandal, 49, trapped under a car outside the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Louise Avenue and pulled him out.

TN: Two elementary school kids bring weapons to show off
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"Police in two Tennessee jurisdictions are dealing with very young children taking guns to school."

"In Washington County, authorities say they won't prosecute the family of a five-year-old who took an unloaded 25-caliber automatic pistol to school."

"A bus driver was taking students home Wednesday when she heard talk about a toy gun. She pulled to the side of the road and retrieved the weapon."

"Major Russell Jamerson of the sheriff's department says the prosecutor considered the child's age and the fact that the ammunition and magazines for the gun were in a locked box in the top of a closet." ...

VA: Police link two Henrico students to shooting near school
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"A student charged yesterday with taking a gun to Hermitage High School and another student charged with taking a knife to Freeman High School have been linked to a shooting outside Hermitage on Tuesday, Henrico County police said today."

"Investigators said the 16-year-old Hermitage student caught with the gun and the 14-year-old Freeman student caught with a knife were in a car with two other students in front of Hermitage High on Hungary Spring Road when at least one shot was fired about 1:50 p.m. Tuesday. Both have been charged with firing a gun within 1,000 feet of a school and discharging a firearm from a vehicle." ...

IL: East Saint Louis police chief quits
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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The East St. Louis police chief has resigned -- two weeks after he was arrested on obstruction of justice and perjury charges.

Fifty-five-year-old Ronald Matthews had worked for the East St. Louis police department for more than 32 years. He'd been the police chief for 21 months.

Acting City Manager Alvin Parks says he received Matthews' resignation letter yesterday.

Marion Hubbard will continue as acting chief. He's been filling in since Matthews was arraigned on January 21st.

Matthews is accused of helping a former auxiliary police officer with a felony record regain a pistol that had been taken from him and lying about it.

TN: Drug raid may cost Memphis taxpayers
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"A botched drug raid by Memphis police that killed a gravedigger in 2002 has spawned a probe into whether evidence was planted, and it could cost taxpayers more than $1 million."

"The federal civil case against three narcotics officers, which went to trial in October and ended with a nearly $3 million award for Jeffery Robinson's family, raises questions about department policy on drug raids." ...

"Testimony in the October case convinced jurors that officers not only wrongly killed Robinson, 41, a gravedigger and caretaker at Baron Hirsch Cemetery, but tried to cover it up."

"Officers Mark Lucas, Albert Bonner and Jeffrey Simcox were never disciplined." ...

IL: New trial sought in cop death
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"Federal corruption charges against two Chicago police officers who witnessed the shooting death of Officer Eric Lee should spur a new examination of the slaying, lawyers for the man convicted for Lee's killing said Thursday."

"Cook County Circuit Judge John Moran did not immediately agree, but he will allow Aloysius Oliver's public defenders to argue this month for a new trial. Lee's widow, Shawn Lee, was moved to tears as a brief hearing on the matter came to a close at the Criminal Courts Building."

"A jury convicted Oliver, 30, in Moran's courtroom a year ago, but his lawyers argue they were not allowed to go into the murky backgrounds of some officers at the scene that night." ...

CA: In Fremont, a Business Owner Links Non-Response Ordinance to Break-in
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"Less than two weeks after police announced they will stop responding to burglar alarms without proof of a crime, thieves broke into a Fremont gun shop and stole 32 rifles and handguns as the store's alarm rang."

"The burglars used an aluminum baseball bat to break the front door of Irvington Arms and smashed display cases with a crowbar before leaving with $20,000 in weapons early Wednesday."

"Owner Martin MacDonald blamed the Fremont Police Department's policy, scheduled to take effect Feb. 18, that police will ignore burglar alarms unless there is evidence of a security breach or break-in." ...

NM: Second Din� cop charged with DWI
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"For the second time in less than two weeks an officer with Navajo Nation Division of Law Enforcement has been charged with aggravated DWI."

"According to Lt. Darren Soland with New Mexico State Police, Crownpoint Police District Patrol Officer Franklin Betone, 50, was arrested around 7 p.m. Jan. 27 after he was stopped for failure to maintain a lane of travel." ...

"'One of the officers walked up and they observed signs of him consuming alcohol. There was a visible open can of beer in the cup holder. Standardized field sobriety tests were performed and the individual failed them. At that time he was placed under arrest for DWI,' Soland said."

"According to the offense report, Betone's blood alcohol content (BAC) measured .16 on one test and .15 on another." ...

MA: Soldier takes shot at gun rules
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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... "There was Kang Lu, a Chinese-born U.S. Army second lieutenant and future military doctor, dressed in uniform, hoping, finally, for redemption in the form of a restored license to carry firearms. ..." ...

"While Lu was the only one who had official business in court on Tuesday morning - he is suing Brookline Police Chief Daniel O'Leary to overturn a police department decision to revoke a firearms license - Lau and Scott were also prepared to testify on Lu's behalf about what they say was shoddy treatment they have received from town cops in their attempts to exercise the constitutional right to keep and bear arms." ...

IN: Slain Officer's Father Pushes for Gun Restriction (JTO)
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"The father of an Indianapolis police officer who was killed by a gunman who had been diagnosed as delusional is encouraging Indiana lawmakers to pass a bill that would keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, the Indianapolis Star reported Feb. 2."

"Mike Laird spoke to legislators on Feb. 1 in support of a bill that would allow police to take away weapons from people they believe to be mentally ill for up to 45 days. Laird's son, Timothy "Jake" Laird, was killed last August when a man went on a rampage, also killing his mother and wounding four other people." ...
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Submitter's Note: Presumption of innocence and due process of law obviously go right out the window when guns are involved.

South Africa: Officers face arrest after Boksburg arms cache found
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"Three metro officers face arrest after the discovery of explosives and firearms in the traffic department in Boksburg."

"Ekurhuleni Metro chief Robert McBride confirmed this morning that officers stumbled on explosives and firearms during a routine inspection last week, which led to a fullscale inquiry."

"'No arrests have been made and we have handed the matter over to the police's organised crime unit. I've already received letters from the suspects' lawyers, so I wouldn't like to comment on conjecture. We are treating this as a violation of the explosives and firearms laws.'" ...

"He said police found two firearms - a shotgun and a rifle - and several hand grenades."

CT: Schiering names wrong gun nuts [letter]
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"In response to 'Gun nuts' have no real excuse,' I have to ask, what is a more reasonable route to gun ownership and use? Suddenly self defense isn't rational behavior?"

"It is totally irrelevant to say that statistics show that victims who put up a fight are typically killed. ..." ...
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Submitter's Note: It is also incorrect to say that. Unarmed victims who put up a fight are more likely to be injured or killed. Those armed with a gun are less likely to be killed (or injured) than even those who cooperate.

OH: Taser Cases Have Cities Looking at Procedures or Bans
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"The death of a Toledo man who had been hit nine times with a Taser, and other deaths around the country, have some police agencies looking at their own procedures and whether Tasers should be available to the general public. The Toledo Police Department tells News 11 there was a point within the past year where leaders had talked about banning civilian-type Tasers. Nothing more than talk at this point, but other states like Michigan have laws against them."

"We found out pretty much anyone over 18 with no criminal record can buy one with no problem. ..." ...

OH: Hunters harvest record number of deer
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"Deer hunters brought home the venison in record fashion this year."

"The Ohio Division of Wildlife's final tally of 217,301 deer taken by hunters in 2004-2005 included 57,198 bucks and does killed by archery hunters and 27,749 deer taken during the four-day muzzleloading rifle season. All were records for Buckeye hunters."

"The overall harvest topped the 202,492 deer harvested in 2002-2003." ...

PA: Pa. Expands Extended Bear Hunting Area
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"The Board of Commissioners gave preliminary approval to a three-day, statewide bear season the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (Nov. 21-23) before Thanksgiving that has become traditional with Pennsylvania bruin hunters. At the same time, the Board expanded areas where bear hunting will run concurrent with the first week of the firearms deer season (Nov. 28-Dec. 3) where human-bear conflicts are the greatest."

"In Wildlife Management Units 3B, 3C, 3D, 4C and 4E, in the northeastern and northcentral part of the state, the extended bear season will reopen Monday, Nov. 28 and run through Saturday, Dec. 3. Last year, the Board approved the extended bear season for only portions of certain WMUs. However, to simplify the matter for hunters the agency decided to include entire WMUs." ...

TX: Father enjoys assisting daughter's first deer kill
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"This is a deer hunting story. And it's not about a big buck."

"It's about a little 10-year-old girl named Beth and her first deer. Here's how her proud Dad, Mike Thielen, tells the story."

"'When Beth arrived in this world ten years ago, little did I know she would become my greatest outdoor partner. And each time she has joined me in the field, sometimes a bit reluctant, we seem to always have a memorable time together. She began fishing with me at the age of three and seems to enjoy our time experiencing God's creation ever since. And such was the case this past Thanksgiving weekend, as Beth and I had an opportunity to again go deer hunting with her Uncle Bill.'" ...

TX: Lakeside community locks horns over deer
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"The timeless battle between humans and wildlife is growing ugly in San Jacinto County, where herds of white tail deer numbering in the hundreds relentlessly chew their way through garden and forest, possibly upsetting the balance of nature and endangering their own future."

"The plague of Bambis has split the normally placid Lake Livingston hamlet of Cape Royale into acrimonious pro-deer and anti-deer factions as community leaders prepare to launch a trap-and-slaughter campaign that could reduce the white tail population by 300 by mid-March." ...

"Bob Lamb, treasurer and spokesman for the Cape Royale Property Owners Association, said community volunteers have counted as many as 500 animals in the roughly 1,000 acres that make up the subdivision. Vegetation in the surrounding forest has been stripped up to four feet from the ground, he said." ...

SD: Gun legislation caught in crossfire
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"Two groups that champion gun rights split sharply Friday on a legislative solution seeking to restore gun ownership and the ability of some South Dakotans to hunt again."

"A 1996 federal law contains a lifetime gun ban for people convicted of domestic violence, whether felonies or misdemeanors. But officials say the federal government will allow exceptions if states have their own laws providing gun penalties for harming family members."

"South Dakota has no such law, but SB43 is the vehicle legislators hope will allow the state to circumvent the federal lifetime ban on guns." ...

"Plunking down petitions containing 600 names in opposition to the proposed state solution to the lifetime federal gun ban, Ray Lautenschlager of Rapid City, executive director of South Dakota Gun Owners, said it will not work." ...

"Lautenschlager said SB43 will not alter the federal lifetime ban on gun ownership in South Dakota, but it will create a new state ban 'giving legitimacy to the existence of the federal ban.'" ...

CA: Calif. Fish and Game board rejects ban on lead bullets as means to protect condors
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"The state Fish and Game Commission on Friday rejected two proposals to ban lead ammunition, with members saying they were unconvinced by studies indicating the highly endangered California condors are widely being exposed to the toxic metal when they feed on animals shot by hunters."

"A coalition led by the Center for Biological Diversity asked the commission to issue an emergency ban on lead ammunition in the condor's habitat, a U-shaped range of eight counties stretching from the Big Sur area south to Los Angeles and north into the Sierra Nevada mountains of Tulare County. The petitioners also sought a statewide ban on the bullets to protect eagles and other raptors." ...

IA: Iowa Group Lobbies for Crackdown on Gun Show Sales (JTO)
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"Members of Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence (IPGV) were at the Iowa Statehouse Feb. 2 to lobby for a bill that would require buyer background checks at gun shows on state property, the Des Moines Register reported Feb. 3."

"Leah Woodward, communications director for the group, displayed an SKS assault rifle that she purchased for $250, 'no questions asked,' at an Iowa State Fairgrounds gun show." ...

"The new bill, introduced by Rep. Don Shoultz, a Waterloo Democrat, would make it a felony to sell a gun to someone at a gun show who is legally barred from having a gun." ...

MO: Air pistol training offered to state's youth, coaches
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"Missouri youths and their shooting sports coaches can receive in-depth air pistol training during the USA Shooting Youth Air Pistol Clinic set for Feb. 18-20 at the Jefferson City Armory."

"The clinic, hosted by the shooting sports program of Missouri 4-H, will be taught by two nationally-ranked shooting coaches from USA Shooting."

"Events on Feb. 18 are for adults who are interested in coaching or are shooting sports coaches looking to advance their skill level. Classes run from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. A $50 fee for adult courses includes written materials." ...

UK: Yes, you can kill a burglar [second story on page]
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"HOUSEHOLDERS have the right to kill burglars in self-defence and not face prosecution, Thames Valley Chief Constable Peter Neyroud said this week."

"And he reassured homeowners that the law is on their side and his officers will treat them as the victims - not the intruders."

"His comments came as the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) jointly launched a leaflet called Guidance for Householders."

"The advice sheet aims to redress the balance for a skeptical public which believes the law is weighted in favour of the criminal." ...

UK: MPs support reasonable force bill
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"A Tory MP's attempt to change the law on the amount of force householders can use against burglars has cleared its first hurdle in the House of Commons."

"Patrick Mercer's Criminal Law (Householder Protection) Bill received a second reading by 130 votes to four, after Tory MPs packed the chamber."

"Mr Mercer's plan would mean people would be prosecuted only if they used 'grossly disproportionate force'."

"But ministers say the measure is unnecessary and are likely to block it." ...

"A test of 'grossly disproportionate' force would make householders more confident about their rights and burglars less confident about entering homes." ...
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Submitter's Note: Except for the fact that useful self-defense guns are banned in the UK!

UK: Derry RM's Anger At Knife Carriers
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"Derry's Resident Magistrate, Mr. Barney McElholm, has hit out at knife carriers who, he said, are not entitled to use the weapon in self defence."

"Mr. McElholm said too many people in Derry are carrying the offensive objects and the consequences have proved fatal in the past." ...

"Mr. McElholm said he had made it very clear in the past his feelings regarding the carrying of knives."

"He said: 'The difficulty with people carrying knives is what on earth do they think they are going to do with it or use it for?'"

"'Had somebody attacked [the defendant] she's not entitled to use it in self defence...if somebody started hitting or punching [the defendant] she's not entitled to use the knife.'" ...

UK: Home defence law is not 'crystal clear', Mr Blair
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"The Prime Minister claimed householders' legal rights of self defence against a burglar are now 'crystal clear' as he dismissed Michael Howard's call for a change of law in the Commons today."

"But a Mail online poll today shows that 72 per cent of you are unclear on how far a householder can go to protect their property."

"The findings echoed Tory leader Michael Howard's advice that it was 'time to think again on this issue'."

"Mr Howard said the Government leaflet on the issue "only adds to the confusion", and the law needs to be changed."

"The guidelines said attacking or even killing an intruder was officially sanctioned if it was instinctive and involved only 'reasonable force'." ...

UK: Teenager sniper named and shamed
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"The teenage sniper who opened fire on pupils with an air rifle as they played at a Black Country school, hitting six youngsters in two separate shooting sprees, has been named."

"Arron Ellis, aged 16, was named by a district judge after the Express & Star successfully overturned a court order banning his identification."

"West Bromwich magistrates court was told that Ellis had shot and injured five children on a playing field ... on November 15 last year."

"He then struck again on December 6, hitting and injuring a 14-year-old boy on the same playing field, off Hydes Road."

"The teenager admitted two charges of common assault and asked the court to take four identical offences into consideration." ...

Hong Kong: Judge calls for stiffer penalties for arms crimes
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"A High Court judge called on Thursday for stiffer penalties for illegal possession of firearms and explosives."

"Justice Michael McMahon said he is concerned that existing sentences for the offense are inadequate."

"He made the comments after sentencing 44-year-old Kwai Ping-hung, once Hong Kong's most wanted man, to 17 years in jail."

"A jury on Wednesday found the mainland-born Kwai guilty on three counts of illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives."

"After sentencing, McMahon urged the government to study the sentences under existing laws, adding that the maximum sentence for illegal possession of firearms and explosives 'should be whipped up.'"

"The current maximum sentence for the offense is 14 years' imprisonment." ...

Iraq: Iraqi villagers kill 5 insurgents
Submitted by: Jim Sr

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FULL TEXT BELOW:

The residents of a small Iraqi village have killed five insurgents who had attacked them for voting in last weekend's national elections.

Several other insurgents were also wounded.

The insurgents raided the village of al-Mudhiryah south of Baghdad after warning its inhabitants not to vote in the election.

The villagers fought back, killing five of the insurgents and wounding eight others.

The insurgents' cars were then set alight.

Al-Mudhiryah's tribal sheikh says his people are sick of being threatened by Islamic extremists.
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Submitter's Note: "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it." -Thomas Paine

Indonesia: Expert witnesses defend Aussie sailor
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
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"Perth yachting personality Christopher Packer was justified in carrying firearms on board his ship to protect himself against pirates as he sailed between Indonesia and Malaysia, an expert witness told a Balinese court."

"The Australian sailor erred by not declaring the firearms to Indonesian authorities, but the rest of his paperwork was in order and he should not face a heavy punishment, said Adrian Surentu, the government-appointed harbour master responsible for Benoa Harbour in south Bali, where Packer was arrested last November." ...

"'Even when I was sailing, there were weapons on board my ship,' he said."

"Surentu said ships frequently reported encounters with pirates while sailing through the notoriously dangerous Mallaca Strait." ...

UK: This deadly gun was seized in raid on city house...
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
Website: http://home.comcast.net/~bruce.krafft

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"The fearsome Mac 11 � the American-made version of the world-famous Israeli Uzi � was recovered during a raid at a house in the Chapeltown area of the city. Police said that the machine pistol had been decommissioned � rendered incapable of firing � but then recommissioned. Alongside it was a magazine."

"The raids were carried out in the area as part of the operation codenamed 'Crackdown' � the Government's latest initiative to increase the number of crack house closures. An integral part of the operation is also to arrest suspected dealers in Class A drugs. The three-month long anti-drugs campaign has seen dozens of arrests across Yorkshire." ...