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Syria: Syrians run across the Lebanese border to purchase weapons
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As the Syrian uprisings escalate in violence, Lebanon's black market in arms is flourishing, with prices of light and medium weapons driven higher by Lebanese and Syrian demand.
"Prices have tripled in less than two months," says Wael, a local arms dealer, whose name has been changed to protect his identity.
According to local dealers, Syrians have been crossing the borders into neighbouring Lebanon to purchase weapons since late January, when the country erupted with pro-democracy protests which were subject to bloody government crackdown. |
MI: Detroit cop's firing clouded by his history of shootings
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It was a time card -- not gunplay -- that did in Eugene Brown.
The 44-year-old Detroit police sergeant has been a stone in the shoe of the department since 2000, when a Free Press series spotlighted his extraordinary record of nine shootings -- three of them fatal -- in just six years. The shootings cost the city millions of dollars in lawsuits and helped push the Police Department into federal oversight. |
IN: Court: No right to resist illegal cop entry into home
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This is the second major Indiana Supreme Court ruling this week involving police entry into a home.
On Tuesday, the court said police serving a warrant may enter a home without knocking if officers decide circumstances justify it. Prior to that ruling, police serving a warrant would have to obtain a judge's permission to enter without knocking.
Submitter's note: Indiana state court gives law enforcement carte blance in entering your home! |
TX: Fort Worth Fires Police Sergeant
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A Texas police sergeant accused of frequently working fewer hours than his time sheets showed has been fired.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that John C. Ost appealed his Tuesday termination on Friday.
Ost was a 21-year veteran of the department. An investigation targeted him and three other jail sergeants.
Officials say one of those officers avoided discipline by resigning while another took a voluntary demotion.
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IN: Indiana High Court Says No Right to Resist Illegal Police Entry
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The Indiana Supreme Court ruled Friday that state residents have no right to resist an illegal police entry, overturning a Common Law that dates back to the English Magna Carta of 1215.
Writing for the court's 3-2 majority, Justice Steven David said if a police officer wanted to enter a home for any reason - or for no reason - homeowners could do nothing to block the officer's entry.
"We believe ... a right to resist an unlawful police entry into a home is against public policy and is incompatible with modern Fourth Amendment jurisprudence," David wrote, according to the Northwest Indiana Times.
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NY: Two NYPD cops with history of hooker trouble being eyed in LI killings
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Two NYPD cops are being eyed in the Long Island serial slayings after investigators learned they got into trouble for hiring prostitutes while working for the department, according to sources familiar with the probe.
One cop was forced out of the job in the 1990s when his supervisors learned he spent time pursuing hookers and paying street walkers and down-and-out women for sex while he was supposed to be on patrol.
An internal investigation led to his resigning under pressure, one source said.
The other officer still works for the NYPD but was stripped of his gun and badge years ago because he allegedly assaulted a prostitute and got arrested during a sting operation.
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WI: Law enforcement against open carry legislation
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Walworth County Sheriff David Graves expressed concern about how a concealed carry law would be implemented.
�We know it�s going to happen,� Graves said. �We just want to make it safe and workable to everybody.�
Carrying concealed weapons would be legalized under bills pending in the state Legislature. Wisconsin and Illinois are the only states that don't allow concealed carry. None of the bills would require training for carriers.
�My primary concern is for the safety of the officers in the field and the citizens they encounter,� Moore said. �From a police perspective, I would like the only people out in the public with guns to be trained police officers.�
Ed.: The Sheriff must think "the people" means "the police." |
AL: Proactive measures needed to help curb gun violence
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If you think all of those gun regulations don't matter, you're wrong.
Five of the top six states on the Brady Campaign's ranking of the states with best gun con�trol laws also have the lowest gun deaths, according to statis�tics from the Centers for Dis�ease Control and Prevention. Those same stats show Alaba�ma and the other low scorers on the Brady test rank at the top of the list for gun deaths. Alabama has been as high as No. 2 on that list in the last five years, and al�ways around the top six. |
IL: Illinois sued over gun carry ban
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As Wisconsin lawmakers consider allowing residents to carry concealed weapons, the only other state that currently prohibits the practice, and recently rejected a bill to allow it, now faces a federal lawsuit over its ban.
The Bellevue, Washington-based Second Amendment Foundation and two Illinois residents last week asked a federal court to declare Illinois�s ban on both concealed and open carry of firearms for protection to be unconstitutional.
The individual plaintiffs are Michael Moore, a 60-year-old Champaign grandfather of four and a jail superintendant, and Charles Hooks, a 62-year-old farmer from Percy. Each has a valid Firearm Owners Identification Card, a requirement for gun owners in Illinois. |
PA: Hopefuls make last-minute push
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Last week was the sixth annual Right to Keep & Bear Arms Rally on the Capitol steps in Harrisburg. Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver, R-108, promoted the event on her webpage.
And Culver said last week she would try to be at the rally, at least for a little while, because she had a scheduling conflict.
While supporting the people�s Second Amendment rights, Culver said she did not own a gun, nor does she have a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
But the Republican from Sunbury said she has the application and plans to submit it � after she takes the appropriate classes on gun safety.
�If you�re going to exercise that right, you should do it responsibly,� she told me last week.
Indeed. With power comes responsibility. |
OH: Vote on guns in bars will provide ammo for Democrats
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Before 53 Republicans and three Democrats in the Ohio House voted Thursday to pass a bill allowing gun-permit holders to carry their concealed weapons into bars, restaurants and open-air arenas that serve alcohol, Gonzales fashioned herself as the second coming of Annie Oakley.
In a floor speech, she complained that she can carry her gun into Einstein Bros. Bagels but not into Lindey's restaurant in German Village because it sells alcohol.
"Am I somehow less responsible because someone else is having a drink with their dinner?" she said. |
NY: Right intentions, wrong gun bill
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There is no doubt that the federal system designed to keep guns from falling into the hands of people who shouldn�t have them is flawed. But a bill now pending in Congress and drawing support from gun control proponents is not the way to fix it.
The well-intentioned �Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011� seems set up to fail. While we have supported the underlying goals, the legislation that has since been submitted is simply too unwieldy and unlikely to pass.
This bill entangles one fairly straightforward idea with other far more complicated, controversial proposals that are sure to draw widespread concern and opposition. That insures that nothing will get done. |
LA: Proposal to allow guns on college campuses is dangerous
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Whereas school shootings attract national attention, in the universe of gun violence, these events are rare. Thus, it is highly unlikely that an armed student would be in a position to prevent a mass shooting. On the other hand, the unintended consequences that would result if guns were readily available to students � shooting during an argument or dispute, attempted suicide, unintentional shooting, etc. � are real and would make college campuses more dangerous every hour of every day.
The gun lobby is not interested in the safety of students and faculty and staff members. It is only interested in people being able to carry guns in places where they are currently prohibited. |
NC: Rare Rifle Exhibit Tuesday in Robbins
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Some of the most rare and valuable rifles in the world will be on exhibit Tuesday at Robbins Town Hall.
Popularly known as Kentucky Rifles, these long guns are considered to be among the most beautiful examples of early American art as well.
A new coffee-table book published last fall by Asheboro attorney William W. Ivey tells the history of North Carolina long rifles in 332 pages, with more than 1,000 color illustrations. He will be on hand for the 6 p.m. event to talk about the first school of Carolina gunsmithing, the �Bear Creek� school that began not a mile from the town hall. |
Proposal allows firearms on Corps property
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When Congress voted to allow guns in Ohio's national parks in 2010, it did not include lands owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Lakeville, wants to make sure people otherwise allowed to carry firearms can take them into these properties as well. Gibbs' 18th District includes all or part of 14 counties in rural southeastern Ohio, including Coshocton, Muskingum, Ross and Licking counties.
Gibbs introduced the Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act on Thursday. |
MN: Minnesota House passes revised gun bill
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A bill expanding rights to use deadly force in self-defense situations cleared the Minnesota House on Saturday evening.
The Republican-controlled House voted 79-50 for the bill, which would broaden what's considered a "dwelling" and reverses the burden of proof in cases of self-defense from the defender to the prosecution. Dwellings would include such places as vehicles, garages and temporary residences.
Before the bill was heard, the chief sponsor, state Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Good Thunder, changed or dropped several elements, saying he had addressed numerous concerns stated by police. |
PA: Bragging rights figure in rites of passage in Legislature
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"The other point is that leaders of the various caucuses want to make sure that the credit for bills are spread around among their members," Madonna continued. "They want to make sure that members who have priorities get credit for the passage. The right to boast about and brag about the legislation that they enacted."
When it comes to the Castle Doctrine, House sponsor Scott Perry says he's willing to put his ego aside and pass the Senate version, just to get a bill to Corbett's desk. |
AZ: Vetoes show Brewer missing her chance
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Arizona's Republican lawmakers deserve commendation for this year's legislative session. Sure, there were the usual glitches and an embarrassing incident or two, but they succeeded overall in advancing an agenda of limited government, economic growth and education reform.
An unexpected hail of vetoes from Gov. Brewer tore gaping holes in their accomplishments. The governor vetoed measures for spending limitations, Second Amendment rights and religious freedom. She dumped bills promoting privatization of public services, school choice and free-market health care reforms. It was surprising and disheartening, to put it mildly. |
OH: CCW proposal considered unsafe
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If legislation eventually passes that allows concealed carry permit holders to legally take their guns into bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, bartender Heidi Dyehouse says she�ll reconsider her career choice.
This is despite the fact Dyehouse, 36, thinks of herself as a Second Amendment advocate. She says she had a concealed carry permit for number of years.
Still, the bartender of 16 years currently working at Buck�s Sports Bar and Grille on Central Avenue in Middletown stands firmly against the legislation.
�This is a dangerous job anyway,� she said. �If you add firearms to that, wow. That�s my biggest sentiment on this whole issue ... �wow.�� |
IN: Lugar no conservative
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This "fiscal conservative" voted for over $3 trillion in deficits under Bush, plus TARP, and the GM bailout.
Second Amendment: He voted to ban semi-automatic handguns and rifles, maintain the D.C. total gun ban, and voted against concealed carry reciprocity.
First Amendment: He voted to ban political speech within 60 days of an election in the unconstitutional McCain-Feingold bill. |
NY: City�s latest buyback rounds up 600 weapons
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A curious aspect of the program was that more than half the weapons were turned in at just one of the seven locations� St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in South Buffalo, considered among the safer areas of the city.
�We believe a lot of people from the suburbs use this location,� Mayor Byron W. Brown said Saturday afternoon, inside the St. Thomas Aquinas gym. �We know that crime doesn�t stop at any community�s border.� |
NY: Do gun buyback programs work?
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While it may seem that the gun buyback programs are worth it when in just a few short years almost 8,000 guns have been removed from the streets, but the question still remains �are they working?�. It would seem that they aren�t when gun violence isn�t going down. Some researches argue that many of the guns being turned in are old, broken, or non-functioning guns, meaning the real culprits of gun violence stay on the street. |
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TO REMEMBER |
| [The American Colonies were] all democratic governments, where the power is in the hands of the people and where there is not the least difficulty or jealousy about putting arms into the hands of every man in the country. [European countries should not] be ignorant of the strength and the force of such a form of government and how strenuously and almost wonderfully people living under one have sometimes exerted themselves in defence of their rights and liberties and how fatally it has ended with many a man and many a state who have entered into quarrels, wars and contests with them. � George Mason, "Remarks on Annual Elections for the Fairfax Independent Company" in The Papers of George Mason, 1725-1792, ed Robert A. Rutland (Chapel Hill, 1970). |
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