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On numerous Internet forums, and some email lists, gun owners periodically report being hassled by police when pulled over for routine traffic infractions. . . . But often there is a common thread to these stories – the dorky gun owner brought up the gun thing all on her own! . . .

Chicago, Ill. - Delegates approved resolutions dealing with election reform, animal welfare and identification and concealed carry at the Illinois Farm Bureau's 95th annual meeting Dec. 5-8 in Chicago. On resolutions related to elections and elected officials, delegates approved new policy language so that IFB now supports: -- Legislative redistricting by an unbiased third party and districts that are compact, contiguous and that follow county, township and municipal boundaries to the degree possible; and -- Caps on pension amounts for retired state legislators. Delegates approved supporting the Illinois Department of Agriculture as the entity having jurisdiction over the care of...

snip~RAYMORE, MO - Weapons are not allowed in Raymore's city hall, but if a city council member has his way anybody who walks through the front doors could be packing heat.snip~ snip~Raymore City Council member Jeff Cox is sponsoring an ordinance that would allow people with concealed carry permits to bring their weapons inside city owned and operated buildings.snip~

Police are searching for a man who tried to rob an off-duty police officer at gunpoint Tuesday morning, provoking a shootout near the intersection of Beach and Westminster boulevards. Around 6:48 a.m., a robber approached an off-duty police officer who was using the ATM at the Chase bank at 14041 Beach Boulevard, said Lt. Kevin Baker of the Westminster Police Department. The robber, described as a 5-foot-8, 160-pound man wearing a blue hoodie, pulled out a silver handgun and demanded cash, Baker said. The police officer pulled out his gun, and the men fired at each other, Baker said. The...

Gun Rights: A decade after Congress forbade the CDC from studying the health consequences of gun ownership, the National Institutes of Health has started funding such research. Will reform pry the guns from our cold, sick hands? More than a decade ago Congress, seeing it as a backdoor assault on the 2nd Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms, voted to cut funding for firearms research by the Centers for Disease Control. Such research was viewed as one-sided and based on flawed assumptions that all gun use was bad, even that which saved lives and deterred crime. --...

Gun Rights: A decade after Congress forbade the CDC from studying the health consequences of gun ownership, the National Institutes of Health has started funding such research. Will reform pry the guns from our cold, sick hands? More than a decade ago Congress, seeing it as a backdoor assault on the 2nd Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms, voted to cut funding for firearms research by the Centers for Disease Control. Such research was viewed as one-sided and based on flawed assumptions that all gun use was bad, even that which saved lives and deterred crime. The...

October 22, 2009, 4:00 a.m. Be a Good VictimUnder current law, the Second Amendment ends at your front door. By David Rittgers In August, a man shot two people to death on a bridge near San Francisco. At the moment of the killings, two on-duty Marin County sheriff’s deputies were within 100 yards of the shooter. One was close enough to see the muzzle blast of the shotgun. The police officers, however, did not move against the culprit. One, stuck in traffic, called in a description of the killer’s vehicle as he fled. The other positioned her car to...

Felonious behavior is becoming more dangerous, if two recent incidents are any indication. During a home invasion on Oct. 5, one of the intruders was shot and killed by one of the occupants of the mobile home. And an armed assailant is recovering from wounds after he was shot Oct. 13 by one of the people he was attempting to herd into a building housing law offices on East Capitol Avenue. In the first case, the weapon was kept in the home, which always has been allowed to defend people and property. In the second incident, the assailant was shot...

An 18-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries Tuesday when he tried to rob another man at a midtown carwash and was shot by the victim, Tucson police said. The incident occurred at a self-service carwash on East 22nd Street near South Beverly Avenue just before 4:30 p.m., said Sgt. Diana Lopez, a police spokeswoman. A 50-year-old man was washing his car when he was approached by the 18-year-old man, Lopez said. The younger man pulled out a gun and attempted to rob the older man, she said. The older man pulled out his own gun and shot the 18-year-old. The younger...

In the famous Agatha Cristie novel And Then There Were None a group of people on an island mysteriously begins to die off due to accident or foul play. This plot is playing out in real life today with state bans on carrying handgun for lawful purposes in alcohol serving restaurants - these bans are rapidly dying off. Last year Georgia repealed its ban on gun carry in restaurants, and after a historic veto override by the Tennessee legislature, Tennessee's ban died on July 14, 2009. And today, September 30, 2009, Arizona's ban on concealed carry in alcohol serving restaurants...

In Portsmouth, New Hampshire recently, a man carried a handgun a few blocks away from the site where President Obama was scheduled to hold a town hall a couple of hours later. Was it a danger or not? The man carrying the gun, William Kostric, even had permission to have the gun on private church property while he was protesting Obama's appearance. Everybody from the New York Times to USA Today to CBS News expressed their outrage, interpreting it as a hot head threatening the president and linking it to militias and conservative talk radio. A prominent liberal radio talk...

Norton Calls on Homeland Security Officials to Restrict Gun Carrying Outside Public Events Where President and Federal Officials Appear in D.C. and NationwideAugust 19, 2009    WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who sits on the Homeland Security Committee, today called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan to restrict the carrying of weapons openly or concealed in or around the areas where the President of the United States and cabinet officials are appearing, following reports, photos, and videos of people carrying guns outside of  an Obama town...

A community picnic - could anything be more American? "They're very proud citizens around here," says Annette Olson of her neighbors in Glenwood City, Wisconsin as she hangs picnic posters around town. But this isn't the church or 4-H gathering some might expect in a small rural Western Wisconsin community. This is a picnic of a different caliber. "The poster talks about our 'open carry' picnic which is on Sunday August 23rd," Annette explains.

USA Today has a front-page article on the dramatic increase in demand for concealed handgun permits since Obama was elected: Applications already have hit a record this year in Clay County, Mo., where the sheriff's office received 888 through June, compared with 863 in all of last year, says Sheriff Bob Boydston. The office recently hired two part-time workers to deal with the rush. In the past, applicants tended to be middle-aged men, he says, but recent applicants include "grandmothers, older folks, young women, young men." [...] Statewide, the Missouri State Highway Patrol has processed 18,878 background checks so...

John Anderson at the Arkansas Concealed Carry blog has an interesting explanation as to Mark Pryor's opposition-turned-support of the concealed carry amendment to the defense appropriations bill. He blames the staff: Call returned from Senator Pryor's office. Micheal Teague, his Comunications Director tells me the "no" vote was because they initially saw this as a "states rights" issue and blamed a lot of the confusion over his changed vote on a lapse in initial understanding of the amendment and his staffs recent developments in their understanding of the bill. According to him Pryor was not getting some important updates, after...

States offer a hodgepodge of concealed-handgun rules that prevent citizens from protecting themselves when traveling from one state to another. Sen. John Thune, South Dakota Republican, introduced an amendment to the defense authorization bill that would have fixed this problem by granting reciprocity for gun permits across state lines. In a 58-39 vote on Wednesday, supporters fell two short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. This was a victory of fear over facts. Thirty-seven of the 39 no votes were cast by Democrats. The two Republicans who crossed party lines to vote nay were Sen. Richard G....

Libertarians decry defeat of concealed carry amendmentS. 845 would have protected constitutional rights WASHINGTON -- America’s third largest party Wednesday criticized senators voting against an amendment establishing concealed carry reciprocity between all states and reminded them voters have a record of holding gun rights opponents accountable on Election Day. “Libertarians are no-compromise defenders of your constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms,” said Donny Ferguson, Libertarian National Committee Communications Director. “I find it ironic that many of the senators who rightfully believe one state’s same-sex marriage licenses should be recognized in all states are now not willing to extend that...

Just minutes ago, the Senate held a roll call vote on the concealed carry amendment to the 2010 defense funding bill. Arkansas two Democrat Senators, Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, split their vote with Lincoln - up for re-election in 2010 - casting an "aye" vote. But, right before the president pro temp announced the result, Mr. Pryor went back to the clerk and changed off "no" to "aye". The Thune amendment ended up with 58 votes for and 39 opposed, meaning it failed. Failed with 58 votes? Yes. How?

BLUFFDALE -- A Bluffdale man is in critical condition after being shot over a misunderstanding. Salt Lake County sheriff's investigators say David Serbeck and the president of his homeowners' association were in an SUV near 1570 West and 13400 South at 11 p.m. Tuesday on neighborhood watch when they approached two girls. Lt. Don Hutson says those two girls went home and told one of their fathers that they were being stalked. The father, Reginald Campos, then went out in his own SUV and found the men. "Words were exchanged. There was a verbal altercation," Hutson says. "Unfortunately, Mr. Campos...

he VPC's latest attack on the fundamental right of self-defense comes in the form of a poorly concocted “study” claiming to illustrate the evils of concealed carry permits. I use the word “study” loosely in order to not offend the sensibilities of any true statistician who might be reading this article. Let's discuss the flaws one at a time.

On Wednesday, the Senate is expected to vote on the latest assault on public safety in the name of gun ownership. Introduced as an amendment to the military’s budget bill by Senator John Thune, a Republican of South Dakota, this radical measure would nullify the laws of almost every state, subjecting police officers to greater risk and increasing the potential for gun violence. Nearly all states issue licenses to carry concealed firearms, but the criteria for granting such permits vary widely, and it is now, sensibly, up to each state to decide whether to accept another state’s permits. At least...

Reciprocity » Proposal would require them to honor any state's license. A U.S. senator is pushing for a law that would let concealed-weapons-permit holders carry their guns in nearly every state, but gun-control advocates are blasting the idea. One Utah supporter likes the idea, but concedes it is likely doomed. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., is proposing an amendment to a major defense bill that would require any state that issues concealed-weapons permits to honor those from any other state. Currently, 48 states permit concealed weapons; Wisconsin and Illinois are the only two that do not. Thirty-three states recognize Utah's concealed-weapons...

PEORIA — Talk of bringing concealed-carry legislation to Illinois gives many residents a fear of the unknown. Several local police chiefs and other personnel said putting fear into the minds of criminals on the streets is also one of the best arguments for allowing concealed carry. "If you're not sure if a guy has a gun, you may not try to do some things to him that you might otherwise try to get away with," said Peoria police Officer Troy Skaggs, president of the Peoria Police Benevolent Union. "It's the fear of the unknown." Illinois and Wisconsin are the only...

Inpire me, please. I need arguments/opinions for and against guns on campus/school grounds for a Rogerian Argument essay.

Gun-rights advocates have won victories in several states in recent months allowing gun owners to carry concealed weapons in public parks, taverns and their work places. So it came as a surprise to Tennessee state Rep. Stacey Campfield that he couldn't persuade his colleagues to pass a law allowing students at public colleges to carry concealed firearms on campus. The bill died this spring in the Republican-controlled legislature -- one of 34 straight defeats nationwide for people who believe a gun wouldn't be out of place in a college student's knapsack. aucous debates over the parameters of the Second Amendment...

PHOENIX — Saying it will make people safer, state senators voted Friday to let people with concealed weapons permits carry them onto college and university campuses where they are now forbidden. The 15-6 vote on the provision in HB 2439 came after backers said they believe that having people who are licensed by the state to have weapons should cut down on the number of massacres that occur on campuses. And Sen. John Huppenthal, R-Chandler, said that has happened in Arizona. He did not refer by name to the 2002 incident at the University of Arizona where three instructors at...

LIMA - When two men knocked on Charesa Smith's door at 5 a.m. wanting to use her phone last winter, she feared the worst. She knew about a rash of home invasion robberies happening around the county. Smith and her husband never let them inside, where they have three young children. They called the Sheriff's Office, and the men left. "It broke the safe barrier I had around myself and my house. I felt as if I was violated. They never did anything, but it felt like it could have gotten nasty," she said. That incident was enough to spur...

The genius of concealed carry of handguns is that would-be murderers remain uncertain as to who is armed and who isn't. This is true for everyone interested in being as safe as they can be from future violence, because it comes to the realization of specific unalterable realities: you're on your own. This week some Southern California Church Leaders came to that very same conclusion, and took up a position advocating not only a very discreet security presence of professionals, but also took the advice of their consultants and adopted the policy of advocating concealed carry of handguns among...

PHOENIX — Are you 18? Not convicted of a crime? Legislation set for debate today would let you carry a concealed weapon without having to bother with the background check, training and proficiency test now required. Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, said she believes all Arizonans should have the right to defend themselves. Allen, who does have a state-issued permit to carry a concealed gun, said she does not believe that makes gun owners any safer. More to the point, she said the law makes Arizonans less safe. Allen’s proposal, SB 1270, does not do away with the concealed weapon permits....

TAMPA - About a month ago, Audry Sauceda was carjacked and fought back. He stuck a gun in my side and told me to get out of the car," Sauceda said while sharing her story with FOX 13 on May 15. "And I pulled out my gun and stuck it in his face, and told him, he needed to get out. He screamed and jumped out of the car." Since the day Abby Griffith saw that news report, she's wondered what she would have done. Her friend, T.J. Sniffen, finally talked her in to coming down to the shooting range....

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Oregon Senate has decided concealed handgun permits will not be concealed, over the objection of county sheriffs across the state. Concealed handgun licenses are public records and senators affirmed their support of that policy by declining a vote on House Bill 2727, which would have allowed sheriffs to keep the permits confidential.

Should there be more restrictions on conditions for concealed weapons permits? Yes No No opinion

The reasons might not be what you want to see happen, but Ohioans continue to exercise their restored right to carry concealed weapons. Critics of concealed carry legislation have been silent of late in Ohio, and with good reason. People who legally carry are responsible, law-abiding citizens who mean to protect themselves, not to harm other people. Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray reported last month that the first quarter of 2009 saw another increase in the number of people seeking concealed carry permits. County sheriff's offices issues 16,323 licenses in the first three months of the year, The Columbus Dispatch...

Pharmacist Jerome Ersland talks about a fatal shooting that occurred at Reliable Discount Pharmacy in Oklahoma City. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman Jerome Ersland was back at work Thursday filling prescriptions and hoping that by taking the life of a 16-year-old boy two days earlier, he had saved others. Advertisement Click here to find out more! Rubbing an oversized bandage on his left forearm, where he said he was grazed by a robber’s bullet, Ersland related details of what he said was a highly organized hit on the Reliable Discount Pharmacy. "I just regret anybody would get killed,” Ersland...

AUSTIN — The Senate gave preliminary approval Tuesday to legislation that would allow concealed handguns at colleges and universities, but with less than two weeks left in the 2009 Legislature, the bill's ultimate outcome is uncertain. "That's the real question. I don't know the answer to that," said Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, when asked whether there is enough time to win final passage in the Senate and rush the bill through the House before the June 1 adjournment. The bill would allow Texans who have concealed-handgun permits to carry the weapons into college and university buildings, classrooms and dormitories....

The Texas Senate today gave final approval to a measure that would allow persons holding concealed handgun licenses to carry firearms on Texas public college and university campuses. The legislation now moves to the Texas House where it has strong bipartisan support. The legislation passed despite strong opposition from student government and leaders at the University of Texas and some other schools. Many students, nonetheless, have advocated for concealed carry on campus following the Virginia Tech massacre.

A bill to allow college students and employees to carry their concealed handguns on campus — declared all but dead in the House last week — got a second life Tuesday with preliminary approval in the Senate. The bill would allow college students who are at least 21 years old and licensed to carry concealed handguns to bring those weapons into state campus buildings. The vote was 20-10 after about 90 minutes of debate. It would apply to all universities and colleges in the state, but private institutions would be able to opt out. Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, said...

Text I copied from Thomas.loc.gov on the Coburn Amendment listed as S5383-5384. They only give you a temporary URL at Thomas for the text. TEXT OF AMENDMENT AS SUBMITTED: CR S5383-5384 Here's S5383. I guess CR means Congressional Record. SA 1068. Mr. COBURN proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 627, to amend the Truth in Lending Act to establish fair and transparent practices relating to the extension of credit under an open end consumer credit plan, and for other purposes; as follows: At the appropriate place in the bill, insert the following: SEC. __. PROTECTING AMERICANS FROM VIOLENT CRIME....

BATON ROUGE -- Students 21 and older, faculty and other employees with concealed weapons permits should be able to tote firearms on their college campuses, a House committee decided Tuesday. Members of the Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice voted 9-6 for House Bill 27 by Rep. Ernest Wooton, R-Belle Chasse, its chairman, sending the measure to the House floor where it died last year. The bill cleared the same committee last year, 11-3. Wooton said Tuesday he feels "comfortable" he now has the votes to pass it. Gov. Bobby Jindal said at a news conference Monday that he...

Support bill to stop gun carry inconsistencies in national parks Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, both R-Wyo., are pushing to protect second amendment rights in every corner of the nation, including a corner of Wyoming – Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Both senators are co-sponsoring the Preservation of the Second Amendment in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges Act, S. 816, which would allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons in national parks if the concealed weapons permit holder is authorized to do so on similar state lands in the state in which the...

COLORADO SPRINGS - A judge in the Springs is throwing out a case which could have allowed concealed weapons on CU campuses. Judge G. David Miller's action means the University of Colorado can continue to ban the concealed weapons on their three campuses, including UCCS. The lawsuit had been filed last year by a student group. The three students behind it argued their constitutional rights were being violated.

Contrary to the anti gun claims of "shootouts" at every car accident and a return to the Wild West, the advent of concealed legal handgun carry has come faster than many people thought that it ever would. Being among the first to liberalize handgun laws, the state of Florida opened a veritable floodgate of changes in almost every state's laws to allow concealed carry. Of the 18 million Floridians, over 1 million have concealed carry permits. Permit holders in Florida are the usual law abiding people found in the general population of licensees, and the bane of criminals. God forbid...

SALEM -- Concealed handgun licenses would be exempt from Oregon's public records law under a bill passed Monday by the Oregon House, making it much more difficult to find out who is getting the permits. Citing privacy and safety concerns, lawmakers said people who apply for and receive permits to carry a concealed weapon should be assured that their names, addresses and other personal information won't be made public. "It's about protecting the rights of the good guys," said Rep. Chris Edwards, D-Eugene, one of 54 House members who voted in favor of the exemption. "This is not about protecting...

The Missouri House passed a bill that makes changes in the concealed weapons law. Currently, the law requires a holder to be at least 23, among other conditions. The existing law also allows Missouri universities to institute a policy to make them “gun-free zones.” When Missouri’s original conceal-and-carry law was passed, the University of Missouri promptly adopted the policy making the campus a gun-free zone. The proposed law would lower the age of a concealed-carry permit holder to 21 and take away the right of public colleges and universities to ban concealed carry weapons on campus. As this bill started...

A group of Western Republicans are searching high and low for an opportunity to push ahead with legislation to allow citizens to bring concealed weapons into national parks. House and Senate bills would codify a Bush-era rule to allow visitors to carry concealed firearms into national parks and wildlife... "This is not an environmental issue, this is a civil rights issue," said Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), one of the co-sponsors of the House bill, H.R. 1684 (pdf). "The Constitution trumps NEPA. Period." In court filings late last week, Interior said it would comply with U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's injunction...

Legislation allowing concealed handguns on state campuses has incited passionate debate at UT. This battle has been ongoing since the founding fathers guaranteed “the right to bear arms” in the Bill of Rights. In protest of a new bill, UT students and faculty, will walk out of classes today at 11:30 a.m. and march to the steps of the Texas Capitol against guns on college campuses. Today marks the second anniversary of the shooting at Virginia Tech. Several constitutional law professors across the country, however, are debating this issue in light of the rights listed in the U.S. Constitution. In...

AUSTIN — Legislation allowing state university students and employees to carry their concealed handguns on campus appears to have enough pledged support from lawmakers to pass the full Texas House. The bill would prohibit public universities across Texas from creating rules that forbid concealed handgun license holders from carrying their pistols into a classroom, but it would allow private institutions to exempt themselves. Chances for passage in the House — if it gets there — look strong, as 76 members have signed on to support the bill, authored by Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland. The House Public Safety Committee already has...

A robber who walked into the Columbia downtown Alcoholics Anonymous center, pulled out a gun and demanded money was killed in a burst of gunfire from an AA visitor’s gun, police said.

America is facing an epidemic of gun violence. Thirteen people were killed last week in Binghamton, N.Y., when a gunman, identified by authorities as 41-year-old Jiverly Wong, executed a mass shooting at the American Civic Association. The aftermath of that bloodshed has raised many questions, including whether armed, everyday citizens could take down such a gunman and save lives. Could you protect yourself if you only had a gun? There are 250 million guns in the United States, enough for almost every man, woman and child to arm themselves. The FBI performed 12 million gun-related background checks in 2008, according...

Info Blogs The GOAT Ray Ring's West Heard Around the West All Montana wrestles nation's boldest gun-rights bill Ray Ring | Apr 04, 2009 05:45 PM Document ActionsEmail this Write Editor Print this Feeds Discuss Font Size: A A A If you have a taste for irony and political dilemmas, this is delicious. We all know how Western Democratic politicians get more popular by coming out for gun rights. They're packing guns and twirlin' and shootin' … partly because some are gun folks, and mainly because it's good for the image. It differentiates them from effete gun-controllin' Democrats on the...