Lessons from Japan: A 25-year-old Tokyo man, describing himself as "tired of living," yesterday killed seven and injured 12 more people. He did it without a gun. He would have killed and injured more, but he was stopped by the mere threat of a policeman's gun. My point? Japan has among the very strictest gun control laws in the world. And that is precisely why one disturbed young man with a truck and a knife could wreak such carnage in a bustling neighborhood...Imagine Kato trying to kill as many people as he possibly could in Tel Aviv. Imagine Kato pulling the same bloody stunt in Texas. Imagine Kato attempting to crash his truck into a gun shop, a police station or a military armory. I don't know about you, but I don't want to live in a place where the government has a monopoly on firearms. It's not safer. It's more dangerous - and less free. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=66593 --- NRA Picking on Obama?: Barack Obama is trying to walk a fine line between protecting the right to bear arms guaranteed under the Second Amendment and clamping down on more than 30,000 deaths from firearms that happen every year in the United States. However, the National Rifle Association is against any limitations on gun rights, including banning or controlling any kinds of ammunition, even armor piercing bullets that hunters "desperately" need to kill deer. So in their "fair and balanced" imitation of Faux News, the NRA today created a webpage to cry wolf about Obama... http://www.ickypeople.com/2008/06/nra-smears-obamas-stance-on-gun.html --- Kansas Amended Carry Law Last Year: ...Kansas legislators made changes to the state's concealed carry law during the 2007 session that significantly loosened restrictions on concealed carry holders bringing their weapons into drinking establishments...Now the law is clear that concealed carry holders cannot be cited for breaking the law by entering a tavern unless the tavern has the state-approved sign posted, said Chuck Sexson, the director of the concealed carry program for the Kansas Attorney General's office. The law took effect nearly a year ago, on July 1, 2007. The law still does make it illegal for a concealed carry permit holder to have a weapon with a blood alcohol level of more than 0.08, the same level for driving under the influence. People without a concealed carry license also cannot bring a gun into a bar, or anywhere else... http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/jun/08/bar_owners_surprised_change_concealed_carry_law/ --- Seattle Mayor to Ignore State Preemption: Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels reportedly plans to announce restrictions on concealed weapons on city property, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. The restrictions will come after a shooting at Seattle's Northwest Folklife Festival left three people wounded at the Seattle Center last month. A news conference has been scheduled for Monday at the Seattle Police Department with Nickels, Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske and state legislators... http://www.nwcn.com/statenews/washington/stories/NW_060708WAB_nickels_concealed_weapons_KS.c07d36c.html http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_060808WAB_seattle_gun_laws_nickels_SW.11a47410.html --- Don't Mess with Old Men: ...That's when Joe sprang into action. The great grandfather sneaked in on the gunman for a surprise attack of his own. He quietly walked up behind him. Sabol saw his opportunity when the gunman turned the barrel of the gun to the floor as he cocked it. Sabol seized the moment. "I reached down then and I got a tight grip on the stalk [sic] of the gun and when I got a hold of (it) there was no way he was gonna get that back," said Sabol. Sutton says she looked back and saw her grandfather wrestling with the intruder. "All I know is I look back and my pap is tackling the guy with a gun," said Sutton. When the struggle was over, Sabol had control of the gun. The intruder turned on his heels and ran back the way he had come in, through the garage, and off into a wooded area... (It is often easier to disarm someone of a long gun than a handgun because the long gun offers more leverage to the disarmer.) http://www.myfoxcleveland.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6714326&version=11&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 --- Rule One, Rule Two Reminder: A Herriman man is dead after an acquaintance accidentally shot him in the back Saturday, police said...The homeowner has an extensive gun collection, Sparks said, and he brought out a .45-caliber Springfield model 1911 handgun. A 66-year-old guest from out of state slid the rack back as he looked at the weapon. The guest, who holds a concealed weapons permit, checked if the gun was loaded, Sparks said, but did not see a bullet in the magazine. Sliding the rack raised the hammer, and to drop it, the man had to pull the trigger. When he did, the bullet shot from the gun and hit the 41-year-old Herriman man in the back. He was pronounced dead at the scene. (Rule One: All guns are always loaded. Rule Two: Don't let the muzzle cross anything you're not prepared to shoot. With semiautomatic and automatic firearms, removing the magazine is the first step of a condition check.) http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_9522682 --- Rule Five Reminder: A man may have stolen a container of military M-16 assault rifles from Utah's Hill Air Force Base, officials said Thursday...Officials said witnesses reported seeing a man put a container into his car on Tuesday, which may have contained the M-16s. The man was described as being between 40 and 50-years old, heavy set, with gray hair that was balding on the top of his head...Officials initially believed that the weapons container may have fallen from the transport truck. (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm.) http://www.kutv.com/content/news/topnews/story.aspx?content_id=9d29edf7-517f-467b-85f8-41beafb44e02 --- Is Airsoft Replacing Paintball?: It's the year 2013, and Russian troops are locked in fierce combat with NATO peacekeeping forces in Eastern Europe. Bedeviling both sides is "Sheik's Fist," an unpredictable band of terrorists led by Sheik Rattlen Roll, a mysterious mercenary whose sole objective is to inflict destruction and chaos. Thus was the stage set for "Operation Grizzly Agenda," an airsoft scenario game played in late May in the woods at Outdoor Adventures paintball field in Rosedale, near Baltimore. More than 200 enthusiasts, mostly teenage boys and men in their 20s and 30s, plus a handful of brave, young women, sported full camouflage gear and carried stunningly realistic replicas of MP5 submachine guns, M4 carbines and L96 sniper rifles, as well as Beretta M9s and other side arms. (I have concerns about maintaining the "sterility" of such venues.) http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jun/09/for-weekend-warriors-airsoft-is-hard-to-beat/ --- A Revolver's Life Story: ...My first owner bought me in a little gun shop in West Virginia just outside our nation's Capitol. Sheriff George, that's what every one called him, had just won election as the county sheriff. He wanted something that he thought was going to give him the protection he needed with what he could afford in his meager budget. No new-fangled semi-automatic for him. Sheriff wanted something he could trust with his life. He always said, "They call it the Military & Police for a reason." (S&W did not start using model numbers until 1957.) http://hubpages.com/hub/SW-Model-10-Military--Police-Revolver-A-guns-autobiography -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .