Third letter on the page.
"With their Tuesday vote, five members of the Ramsey County Board showed a fundamental distrust of citizens who have yet to prove themselves untrustworthy (Ramsey County passes gun ban, June 25). They just presume all who would carry a firearm must be criminally minded."
"This is major prejudice seen frequently in the party of choice and equality. If I choose to take more responsibility for my safety, I must be dangerous."
"I hope those board members will take responsibility for the taxpayers' money that will be wasted on the inevitable lawsuits filed because of their stubborn, blatant disregard for the laws of our state."
 The consequences would be terrible."
"Not the consequences to the one who's been shot, the consequences to me. I speak as a graduate of a concealed-carry certification course, one of the hoops through which I must jump to get a permit to carry a gun in Minnesota. (If I jump through a few more, I might get my permit in late July or early August. So much for the notion that Minnesota sheriff's departments will be tossing fistfuls of permits at applicants like tickertape in a New York City parade.)"
"The officer, who wasn't identified in line with Swedish privacy rules, was convicted in 2000 of assaulting the rider of a moped after he ran into the scooter with his police cruiser."
"Three former federal prison guards were convicted of attacking inmates at a maximum-security prison, a decision hailed by prisoner-rights advocates." ...
"The men were found guilty Tuesday of organizing assaults on inmates at the prison in Florence, about 95 miles south of Denver, from 1995 to 1997. Two of the three also were found guilty of conspiring to cover up the crimes. Four other former guards were acquitted of all charges."
"Rather than follow New York's lead and attack the cause of crime -- criminals -- Daley has preferred to emulate European politicians, who impose more gun control laws which criminals ignore. He apparently believes the criminals in his city, who routinely violate laws against murder, rape, armed robbery, drug dealing, carjacking, arson and prostitution -- not to mention against possession of a firearm by persons with a criminal history -- will obey laws requiring gun owners to register with police, wait 10 days to take possession of a firearm, limit gun purchases to one a month and turn in certain commonly owned firearms."
Raising the pressure on Daley, who travels with armed guards everywhere he goes, while denying the right of Chicago citizens to defend themselves.
"Two airport security screeners have been arrested and charged with grand theft for allegedly stealing from luggage at Miami International Airport."
"According to WTVJ-TV, the arrests are the first involving employees of the federal Transportation Security Agency, which took over airport security screening last year under the congressional legislation that created the Homeland Security Department."
Don't you now feel safer, knowing that your life is in the hands of these criminals... er... trained professionals?
"Four people came."
"Pasco County gun control activist Arthur Hayhoe launched a city-to-city campaign this week urging local leaders to push the Pasco County Commission to tighten regulations on gun show sales."
"Hayhoe said he was frustrated at the County Commission's unwillingness to close what he sees as a loophole in federal gun sales laws requiring background checks on buyers." ...
"Dade City commissioners listened to Hayhoe's pitch and thanked him for presenting the issue but took no action."
They probably realized that the loophole does not exist.
"Although Roehm has expanded local ATF enforcement of gun laws, he is very careful not to speak directly about the larger issue of gun control."
" 'It's a very emotional issue,' he said. 'I'm going to stay out of that. I speak through my polling place in that case, and everyone should. I enforce laws; I don't make the laws.' "
"For instance, even weak campaign finance reform would be impossible. The Second Amendment protecting the 'right to keep and bear arms,' traditionally interpreted by the court as authorizing well regulated state militias, could be reinterpreted to preclude even moderate forms of state or federal gun control."
"A former Minneapolis police officer acknowledged that he was intoxicated after an off-duty police Christmas party last December when he drove the wrong way on a downtown one-way street and got into a fight with another motorist."
"But Matthew Dukyoun Olson, who was fired after the incident, told a judge Thursday that he drew his gun on the other man only after the man had assaulted him."
"It is true that the identities of those who apply for and are granted, denied or revoked, concealed-carry licenses would not be public information under HB12. The protection of privacy for persons who wish to exercise their constitutional right to self-defense is important for many reasons, not the least of which is to prevent the creation of a de facto gun registration database."
"But Mr. Clifton is just plan wrong when he says the bill 'exempts all gun licensing information from the state's open records laws' and that 'the state wants to...prevent you from knowing ...a single thing about any part of this potentially lethal power.' "
"When it comes to reforming the state's concealed carry laws, the buck stops with a few unelected state employees. This according to Republican leadership in the Ohio Senate, and Gov. Bob Taft."
"Senate President Doug White has refused to appoint conferees to a committee to work out differences between the House and Senate's versions of HB12. He says the House needs to do it's negotiating with Gov. Taft. But Gov. Taft says he won't budge on his 'Car-jacker Protection' provision because the Ohio State Highway Patrol wants it in the bill."
"The end result is, Gov. Taft and the Senate are handing unelected bureaucrats absolute legislative authority when it comes to the self-defense rights of Ohioans."
"Police yesterday refused to say whether they have found a gun in the Monroe apartment where escaped prisoner Harold McCord Jr. was fatally shot during a confrontation with police."
"McCord, 36, a three-strike felon who escaped from the Pierce County Courthouse on Monday, was shot several times Tuesday afternoon when police served a search warrant at the apartment where he had been staying."
OH: Gun bill headed for scrap heap?
"Gun supporters won't give up hope, but the latest version of Ohio's concealed handgun bill appears headed for the same fate as its predecessors - death."
"Talks between the Ohio House and the Ohio State Highway Patrol broke off Wednesday with the two sides no closer to settling the one issue holding up the deal."
"Lawmakers left town for the summer Wednesday and possibly left the concealed handgun bill to die."
Sorry, your right to self-defense just isn't important as vacations for your legislative leeches.
"A Fond du Lac man has been charged with disorderly conduct, use of a dangerous weapon and domestic abuse after he reportedly entered an apartment complex with a loaded gun and talked about harming his wife."
"A tenant told the apartment manager she heard the man say the words, 'I�m going to take care of that bitch.' " ...
"The apartment manager called police, who searched the man�s apartment and found the gun."
So he carried a shotgun in a case to his apartment and that's classified as "use of a dangerous weapon"?
Iraq: 'Run or you will die.' The soldiers did not go and they died...
More about the firefight in Iraq which killed six British soldiers. This story from The Guardian includes details about how the uprising was triggered by house-to-house weapons searches in the town, which had welcomed US and British soldiers as liberators.
IL: What do you think is his best solution to Chicago's gun violence?
Poll is located on the right hand side of the page.
"Chicago Mayor Richard Daley announced Wednesday he is creating an 'elite' police force to combat the city's soaring murder rate. What do you think is his best solution to Chicago's gun violence?"
"But another premise floating around nowadays is that 'liberty in our lifetime' can be achieved. Not for Iraq or Afghanistan, mind you. Rather, for us. For America. Or so says a libertarian activist group called the Free State Project, for whom 'liberty in our lifetime' is both a motto and a goal."
"How does one define the Project's agenda? (1) Move 20,000 liberty-lovers to a single state; (2) Infiltrate local governments by means of election; and (3) Strip said governments bare."
"Stanley is organizing a rally, which is set for 3 p.m. Sunday, June 29, at Central Park in Eagan. Stanley said speakers will include legislators, law enforcement officers and educators."
"The new informal organization, picked a site in Eagan precisely because it�s Gov. Tim Pawlenty�s hometown, Stanley said."
"Stanley said she believes most Minnesotans don�t approve of the law and don�t want people carrying guns as they go about their daily lives."
"State officials will investigate off-duty employment of all state workers here after three parole agents were found to be part of rapper Snoop Dogg's armed entourage ..."
"Snoop Dogg was convicted in 1990 of possession of cocaine for sale. Under federal law, it is illegal for a felon to possess guns or ammunition. It also is against the law for someone knowingly employed by a felon to carry a gun or ammunition."
So he can neither protect himself nor hire bodyguards to do it for him.
Aaron Patterson is suing the city of Chicago, former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge and several other police officers.
His lawsuit seeks at least $30 million in compensatory damages and punitive damages.
Patterson claims he was tortured into falsely confessing to murder after police threatened him with a gun, beat him and tried to suffocate him in 1986.
Patterson was one of four death row inmates pardoned by Ryan shortly before he left the governor's office in January.
"After a recent cluster of bodega robberies, police are installing video cameras and bank-like 'panic alarms' linked to the 911 emergency system in 10 selected bodegas citywide." ...
"After several recent robberies and homicides, bodega owners had requested more police presence and an easing of gun licensing laws to better defend themselves."
It's unbelievable that in a city with some of the highest crime rates in the country, citizens have to ask permission from the government to defend themselves.
"The 40mm single-barreled Bofors gun gave water police veteran Senior Constable Stan Watson the surprise of his life when he saw it mounted on the bow of a vessel motoring up the Parramatta River before the Olympics." ...
"The owner of the 30m retired Fremantle Class patrol boat said he had bought the gun from an RSL club in Queensland."
"It had been rendered inoperable but the boatie had begun making modifications so the barrel could move again."
"The man had no permit for the weapon and was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, fined, and ordered to hand the weapon over to police."
Snoop Dogg's Bodyguards in Trouble; What About Ted Kennedy's Security?
"If the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating rapper Snoop Dogg's armed bodyguards for violation of federal weapons laws, why isn't the agency also snooping into Sen. Ted Kennedy's armed security?"
"That's the question being asked today by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA). Reports say ATF agents may present a case against the rapper's bodyguards because it is a violation of federal law for a felon to possess guns or ammunition, or for anyone knowingly employed by a felon to carry a firearm or ammunition. Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was convicted on a serious drug charge in 1990."
" 'And that brings us around to Sen. Kennedy,' said CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron. 'On July 25, 1969, he pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a crime, the fatal car crash at Chappaquiddick. That guilty plea under federal gun law not only disqualifies Kennedy from owning a firearm, it also prevents him from having an armed bodyguard.' "
"The state League of Women Voters sent a message to Washington, D.C. last weekend: The USA Patriot Act of 2001 should be repealed."
"The Illinois league joined several other state leagues that have sent similar resolutions to the national organization in recent weeks, asking that it 'work for the abolition of the USA Patriot Act,' which was enacted by Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon. The far-reaching bill allows the U.S. Attorney General's office to jail or otherwise detain non-citizens if they are suspected to be involved in terrorism, and to deny non-citizens' re-entry into the United States if they have acted or spoken suspiciously. Both provisions apply to those with legal alien status."
"The Wilmette Library Board is joining calls from around the nation to reexamine the Patriot Act, which allows federal officials to secretly which allows federal officials to secretly browse library records in efforts to find potential terrorists."
"At a meeting last week, the board did vote to adopt a resolution calling on Congress to make changes to the Patriot Act and hold hearings on how the law is being used. Trustees also approved the posting of a sign warning users that their use of the library could come under scrutiny."
"During a Monday discussion at the Ashland Library, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union�s Virginia affiliate criticized the Bush Administration�s treatment of privacy rights since Sept. 11, 2001. But, addressing the Hanover Citizens for Peace, Kent Willis sounded a positive note for civil libertarians, saying the bulldozing of privacy has slowed."
"Willis spoke for an hour-and-a-half to an audience of 40, encouraging them to become active in public forums, while chiding Attorney General John Ashcroft and the USA Patriot Act."
"Ashcroft's Patriot Act, passed into law by Congress a month after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, gives the government broad power to spy on all citizens via phone, email, library and internet records, and has already been used to attempt an inspection of the reading habits of one Hopkinton resident."
"The Bloomington city council has passed a resolution opposing the USA Patriot Act, saying that it infringes on personal liberties." ...
"Thus far, three states and 130 cities and towns have passed similar resolutions aimed at protecting the civil liberties of their residents."
There aren't many imaginable issues that have the power to unite steadfast conservative Republicans like Dick Armey and Bob Barr under the same banner as both Al Sharpton and John Kerry. Yet today each of these politicos finds himself sharing the covers of circumstance with a vast expanse of strange bedfellows, both liberal and conservative, who have aligned against what they recognize as the greatest threat to the Constitution that our generation has ever seen. The facts are in, and they are absolutely chilling. The Justice Department, guided by the myopic vision of John Ashcroft, is currently effecting the largest curtailment of personal liberty in our nation's history. Ashcroft has the public convinced that the world is now too dangerous a place to let Americans retain their civil liberties. In his fight to protect America from outside threats, he truly is subverting its deepest principles from within."
" 'We're trying to get a resolution approved by the City Council that will oppose the Patriot Act,' Stacey said about his work in Beverly. He said the Beverly City Council would like more of an indication from the people of Beverly that they would favor this resolution."
"Perhaps the worst thing about the administration's preventive approach to terrorism is that it has encouraged law enforcement based on suspicion rather than reason. The most damning part of the Inspector General's report was when it noted -- referring to PENTTBOM, the FBI's terrorism investigation -- that Justice 'made little attempt to distinguish between aliens who were subjects of the PENTTBOM investigation and those encountered coincidentally to a PENTTBOM lead.' Likewise, The New York Times has quoted FBI spokesman Bill Carter as saying that 'at one time, when information came to us, a lot of times based on experience the investigator would say, 'Nah, this is not something we will follow through on.' But now 'the director has stated that no counterterrorism lead will go uncovered.' In other words, reasoned judgment is no longer a legitimate tool of law enforcement, especially where organized paranoia will suffice."
"Despite creation of anti-terrorism task forces to coordinate efforts by federal, state and local agencies, authorities have yet to include more than a small fraction of rank-and-file police in the day-to-day search for suspects."
"Broad new powers of interrogation and detention given to the Justice Department under the USA Patriot Act have also alienated some members of the public, especially the U.S. Muslim community, where experts say cooperation with authorities could be critical in preventing future attacks."
"The Justice Department has prevailed in every major legal battle decided so far in terrorism's legal war, turning aside repeated attempts to show that the Bush administration's policies are eroding civil liberties and constitutional rights."
"Attorney General John Ashcroft cites at least 10 decisions he says validate the extraordinary steps his department has taken to prevent another attack like that on Sept. 11, 2001."
"There have been setbacks at the district judge level, but so far all the cases that have made it through the first level of appeals have gone in favor of the government."
"A decade later Joe Zelenka was still a little shaky in recalling the murder of his friends, Indianapolis Public School principal Michael K. Holmes and his wife Linda, at the hands of their adopted son, Steven -- and a .22-caliber rifle purchased at Don's Guns and Galleries."
"The former priest and social worker came to the Statehouse today with representatives of several gun control groups to lobby against a federal bill that would shield gun dealers like Don Davis, the owner of Don's Guns, manufacturers and distributors from any civil liability resulting from the use of guns they once sold."
"Fearing for their lives after Tayug town mayor Zaragoza was gunned down on Sunday, town mayors in this province have asked officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to issue them permits to each carry a handgun and a rifle for protection."
"Binalonan town mayor Ramon Guico said PNP chief Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. approved the request of the mayors to carry guns."
Because they are so much more important than the "little people" they serve.
"A Cumberland County man accused of possessing weapons of mass destruction has waived a preliminary hearing on the charges."
"Christopher Latz was arrested when a search of his home turned up five mercury switches, a homemade grenade-like device, a machete fashioned from a lawnmower blade and a .22 rifle modified to be hidden in a lawn chair bag, police said."
I have mercury switches too. They're called thermostats.
"A south side resident apparently confronted and shot to death a home invader just before midnight Wednesday."
"Police have not determined how the invader entered the home, but he met one of the residents, a man, in the bathroom, and the two fought. During the struggle, the resident suffered a minor bullet wound to the finger, but the intruder was shot to death and fell into the bathtub."
"Today, the Republicans are in Name Only (RINOs). Both Congressman Peter King and State Senator Carl Marcello are examples. Congressman King has supported so-called 'assault rifle' legislation that does nothing more than make criminals out of law-abiding persons for something they own today. It has had no effect whatsoever on crime. He is no different than Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, a Democrat."
"For the past six years the Coshocton County Sportsman's Club has been teaching archery and gun safety to the area youth. The program was done in conjunction with the Police Athletic League (PAL) for awhile. However, this year the Sportsman's Club will be continuing alone." ...
"Brandon Elson, 16, participated in the program and has now returned as a junior instructor."
" 'I just want to help out,' Elson said. 'My generation has to get into this or the sports won't be around.' "
"A cat owner today promised to prosecute the culprits who gunned down his 18-month-old pet."
"Jon Paul and Beverley Turner, of The Street, Great Bricett, discovered 'Kelly' lying dead in a field behind their home with a gunshot wound in her stomach."
In gun-free Britain?
"The June 14 deadline for Iraqi citizens to turn in banned weapons worked about as poorly as any gun buy-back program in the United States. After the two-week program ended, a guard at one of the designated places to turn in guns said, 'We have had plenty of reporters, but no weapons come in.' "
"A pony has been shot with a rifle as it grazed in a field."
"Police are hunting the 'sick' person who shot the grey mare that was found dead in its paddock with bullet wounds to the head and chest."
More death in the British gun control utopia.