Bloomberg Backs Republican Prohibitionist In Virginia: Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has reached across state and party lines to support candidates who agree with his policies, is scheduled to appear in Northern Virginia on Thursday afternoon to endorse State Senator Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, a moderate Republican who is facing a tough fight for re-election...A news release from Ms. Davis's office emphasized her "independent and courage, in particular her steadfast support of legislation to keep guns out of the hands of criminals." Ms. David has supported measures to require criminal background checks for purchasers at gun shows and allow local governments to ban firearms at public schools and libraries. She also voted against a measure to outlaw the controversial sting operations New York City has conducted to catch out-of-state gun dealers who agree to so-called straw purchases, in which people ineligible to obtain firearms use proxies to fill out the paperwork. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/bloomberg-backs-gun-control-republican-in-va/ --- While In Ohio...: Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is attempting to bring big-city, liberal gun control to a town near you. HB354, written by Mayor Jackson's law department, was introduced October 16, 2007 by Rep. Williams and Rep. Boyd. Proponents of this Bill scream the typical "It is for the children!" mantra while hoping no one reads it. A reading of the Bill shows Mayor Jackson is up to his old gun-banning tricks. This Bill has nothing to do with addressing the non-existent problem of juveniles walking around with guns and everything to do with banning guns and holding gun owners liable for the criminal acts of third parties. http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article4024.html --- Media Ignorance Or Media Bias?: Given the time and the story assignment, most journalists, print or electronic, will get something wrong in any news story involving guns. In some cases, this is a result of bias against guns -- or at least an unwillingness to seek sound information from real experts who might have pro-gun credentials because they are experienced gunsmiths, firearms dealers, or NRA members. To avoid appearing pro-gun at all costs, the reporter will call the Brady Campaign or some other obviously anti-gun group. In today's media world, the resulting story will appear to be neutral to the uninitiated... http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?8ed55178-d77a-4b76-89c4-fd800fda413d --- Zero Tolerance For Zero Tolerance: An Arizona high school student who is a competitive shotgun shooter was recently suspended for inadvertently leaving two unopened boxes of shotgun shells in her car. She did not - I repeat, not - have a gun in the car. The school cited its zero tolerance policy as justification for the suspension. This incident shows why reasonable people should have zero tolerance for policies that devastate a student's future without good reason. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58445 --- Oops!: A 47-year-old insurance company worker accidentally fired his gun in his office cubicle, shooting himself in both legs, police said. The man, who hasn't been identified, had put his .45-caliber gun into his jacket pocket and then draped the jacket over the back of his chair Tuesday morning, said Brett McGuire, Lake Worth police chief. The gun discharged as the man settled into his chair. McGuire said the man must have done something to make the weapon fire. The bullet passed through both of the man's legs and a bookcase before lodging in the wall of a cubicle. (That's why we have holsters, including pocket holsters.) http://www.azstarnet.com/news/209295 --- Mexico Continues To Blame US For Violence: ... The front line of the so-called war on drugs has moved north from Colombia to the US-Mexican border, but the focus on drugs has overshadowed an element of the regional black market that is just as important. Mexican authorities now estimate that during the administration of former Mexican president Vicente Fox (2000 to 2006), some 2,000 guns per day entered Mexico. That works out to about 1.4 guns per minute. During that same period, the Fox administration seized 8,088 guns of the estimated 4,380,000 that entered the country, representing 0.18 percent of all the arms illegally smuggled into Mexico over six years, according to Mexican daily La Reforma. http://www.energypublisher.com/article.asp?id=11779 --- Life In South Africa: The iron pressed against his arm was so hot that he could smell his flesh burning. But in spite of his protests, the men torturing Reservoir Hills resident Kirtikant Desai refused to believe he did not have a gun or a safe...They had forced him to switch off the alarm and asked him where his gun and safe was. He had denied having either. Desai described being viciously assaulted, kicked and hit on the head with a gun. His wife was also assaulted, and his sister was tied up and gagged. http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20071031044733945C791369 --- Dhimmitude And Disarmament: Under shari'a law, non-Muslims, known as dhimmi, have been forbidden to possess arms, and to defend themselves from attacks by Muslims. The disarmament is one aspect of the pervasive civil inferiority of non-Muslims, a status known as dhimmitude. This Essay examines the historical effects of the shari'a disarmament, based on three books by Bat Ye'or, the world's leading scholar of dhimmitude. As Ye'or details, the disarmament had catastrophic consequences, extending far beyond the direct loss of the dhimmi's ability to defend themselves. http://davekopel.org/Religion/Dhimmitude-and-Disarmament.pdf -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .