Lies, Damned Lies And Statistics: Chicago and New York are about to close out 2007 with the lowest number of homicides in more than 40 years, while cities such as Baltimore, Atlanta and Miami have seen killings go up because of what police say is a surge in guns and gang violence...In Miami, authorities say the proliferation of assault weapons led to an increase in killings, from 56 in 2005 to 79 in 2006 and 86 so far in 2007. "You just pull a trigger and 20 or 30 rounds come in a second and in those 20 rounds you're sure to hit your intended target and some innocent bystanders, totally unlike a firearm that is just one bullet every time you pull the trigger," Miami Police spokesman Willie Moreno said. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071228/ap_on_re_us/big_city_homicides;_ylt=AngRKQsxKsa_edij0vUabU.s0NUE For Comparison...: This may be a good time to read (or re-read) Don Kates' and Gary Mauser's article "Would Banning Firearms Reduce Murder and Sucide?". http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlpp/Vol30_No2_KatesMauseronline.pdf --- Brady Bunch Misfires In Call For Ammo Ban: In the wake of two mass shootings in Colorado, it is no surprise that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is calling for more gun control. They start by falsely claiming that the now expired 1994 "Assault Weapons" ban could have prevent both shootings...What is of a greater concern to me and to ever big-game hunter in the county is the following statement post on the Brady Center website: "Perhaps even more shocking, the type of bullet many assault weapons fire (7.62mm full metal jacket) can penetrate four categories of police body armor [pdf]. There is no legitimate reason the public should have this kind of access to military-style assault weapons." (First they came for the intermediate-power military ammo...) http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article4113.html --- Idaho Gun Dealer Broadens Fight Against BATFE: The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has long been the target of whimsical heckles and opinionated challenges on a local gun shop dealer's Web site. Now the agency can go there to find heightened criticism from a different posse: politicians, including some Republican presidential candidates... At least that's what GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson is quoted as saying in an interview with Field & Stream's David E. Petzal, excerpted in Horsley's blog. "I would ... consider giving (ATF) a wider range of sanctions so that dealers' simple paperwork violations do not result in license revocations," Thompson told the magazine. "Having a politically accountable (ATF) director, who is now subject to Senate confirmation, instead of a career bureaucrat should also help change (ATF) priorities and make the agency more responsive." http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2007/12/28/news/local_state/127593.txt --- Ohio Women Increase Interest In CCW: ..."We have a lot of ladies who take the class," said Roger Sisco, a shooting instructor who along with his wife, Linda, facilitates concealed carry classes in Defiance County. "There are more women overall. In some classes I have only women, but most of the time it's about 40 percent women and 60 percent men." Chad Cleland, shooting instructor at Cleland's Outdoor World in Swanton, said the last class he taught included 15 people, six of which were women. "We also see a lot of older folks. The class is not just about how to pack a handgun, it's also about how to keep yourself safe and be aware of your surroundings," Cleland said. http://www.crescent-news.com/news/article/3063851 --- New York County To Revise Pistol-Permit Procedure: Pistol permit procedures in Cayuga County are changing Jan. 1 so they fall more in line with state laws. The first change is that all applications and amendments to permits will be handled by the Sheriff's Office at the county Public Safety Building on County House Road. "It's a collaborative effort to make it easier for those applying for pistol permits or taking care of amendments," said Sue Dwyer, county clerk. (I was under the impression that New York pistol permits are to be issued by county judges and that the interposition of a law-enforcement agency is of questionable legality.) http://www.syracuse.com/poststandard/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1198836008122750.xml&coll=1 --- Ignorance In Indiana: ..."Gun control," I answered. "It's just plain stupid to complain about 'crime' and do nothing to reduce the intensity of danger. Get guns off the streets. Make it illegal for ordinary citizens to buy, sell, own or possess handguns or automatic weapons in Indiana...The U.S. Constitution," I said emphatically, "enables a militia to exist. We do not have a state militia and therefore the Second Amendment of the Constitution does not give each citizen unlimited opportunities to kill his or her neighbors and family." (From the Indiana State Constitution: The people shall have a right to bear arms, for the defense of themselves and the State. Art. I, § 32, enacted 1851) http://www.kpcnews.com/articles/2007/12/28/greater_fort_wayne/features/columnists/morton_j_marcus/doc477501e8622b5721081349.txt --- Committee Will Interpret Missouri Castle Doctrine: ...Under a most basic reading, it allows carte blanche to kill anyone unlawfully entering a house or a car or committing a forcible felony, such as kidnapping, armed robbery, burglary, arson, assault, rape or sodomy. Just how far can Missourians go? Shoot a drunk who staggers into your home? Probably. Kill the teen burglar who raises his arms in surrender? Possibly. But a 13-member committee that is writing jury instructions for the new law accepts a less-broad interpretation, said Jackson County Judge Charles Atwell, the committee's chairman... Prosecutors say the eventual effect of Missouri's new law will hinge on how those jury instructions turn out. The instructions are expected to be finished early next year, after which the Missouri Supreme Court will either accept them or order a rewrite. If lawmakers don't like them, they might change the law again. (Jury instructions are provided by judges before jurors retire to deliberate on their verdict.) http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/420976.html --- Oops, Wrong Pizza Man: A pizza delivery man is claiming self-defense for the fatal shooting of a man in suburban St. Louis. The incident happened last night in Pagedale. St. Louis County police spokeswoman Tracy Panus says two men called in a pizza order, then tried to rob the man who brought the pizza. The delivery man says the suspects had guns. He says he feared for his safety and fired at the men, striking and killing one of them. The other man ran away. http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/12897471.html --- Oops, Wrong Apartment: ...A little before 5:00 this morning, a woman returned home and caught who she thought to be a burglar in the act. Lt. Tony Armstrong, a homicide detective with the Memphis Police Department, says, "The victim called her boyfriend. Her boyfriend came over and investigated, found him inside the house and shot him multiple times." Medics took the suspect to the hospital where he later died...We're told the man who shot the suspect did have a state gun carry permit. It's likely the man who shot the intruder will not face any charges. Neighbors like Rhonda agree with that decision. http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=7551872 --- Tennessee "Crooks With Guns" Law To Take Effect: ... Beginning on Tuesday, the state's "Crooks with Guns" law will take effect - one that imposes mandatory minimum sentences without parole for individuals who use firearms to commit felonies, individuals who are in possession of guns while committing felonies or prior felons who are found in possession of illegal weapons.... http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=58369 --- The Pot Calling The Kettle Black?: Republican Mike Huckabee took his presidential campaign for a quick pheasant-hunting expedition in Iowa on Wednesday, and at one point, a reporter asked why he hadn't invited sporting enthusiast Dick Cheney along. "Because I want to survive all the way through this," Huckabee replied, in a chuckling dig at the vice president's accidental shooting of a quail-hunting partner last year. Any good sportsman, though, couldn't miss a distinctly Cheneyesque moment in the press accounts of the former Arkansas governor's morning hunt: At one point, Huckabee's party turned toward a cluster of reporters and cameramen and, when they kicked up a pheasant, fired shotgun blasts over the group's heads. http://weblogs.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/blog/2007/12/huckabees_muzzle_control_probl.html --- Meanwhile, In New Hampshire...: ... After a 15-minute speech, Giuliani opened the floor to questions. Audience members asked about his plans for education, his solutions for global warming and his stance on abortion and the Second Amendment. Giuliani said as a strict constructionist, he acknowledges the right to bear arms, but he would continue to aggressively enforce gun-control laws. He also said he supports a woman's right to choose, but would work to promote adoption and other alternatives. http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071228/NEWS/712280368/-1/NEWS10&sfad=1 --- Shooters Are Often On Drugs For Depression: ... Last week, the Associated Press reported that Colorado church shooter Matthew Murray had been taking antidepressants. The same is true for Omaha mall shooter Robert Hawkins, recent Finland school shooter Pekka-Eric Auvinen, Jeff Weise of Minnesota, Columbine's Eric Harris, and virtually every other school/mall/church/college mass murderer. We never saw these types of shootings before Prozac came out in 1988, and antidepressants now all have FDA-mandated black-box labels warning that they can cause suicide and violent actions... (Antidepressant drugs do not work quickly. If correctly selected and dosed, they will typically correct sleep disturbances in the first week, correct appetite disturbances in the second week, restore energy in the third week and begin improving mood around the fourth week. If a depressed person feels suicidal but lacks the energy to act on that impulse, antidepressant therapy, with newer or older drugs, may restore the energy to act out before correcting the underlying mood disorder.) http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071227/OPINION03/712270320 --- From Britain, No Less: Young boys should be encouraged to play with toy guns and other weapons at nursery to get them interested in education, according to Government guidance. Nursery staff are told in official advice to resist their "natural instinct" to stop under-fives playing with weapons in games with other toddlers. A new document issued by the Department for Children, Schools and Families said children should be encouraged to take part in play which "involves more action". http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml%3Bjsessionid%3DU4DEXQDDYIOU5QFIQMFCFFOAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2007/12/29/nguns129.xml -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .