Governor Expected To Sign Texas Castle-Doctrine Bill: There is little doubt Mr. Perry will sign the bill, which broadens the scope of self-defense claims in homicide cases, because it passed unanimously (30-0) in the Texas Senate last week and by a 133-13 margin with no debate in the House on Tuesday. And he publicly has praised the Legislature for passing it. http://www.washtimes.com/national/20070322-120753-5846r.htm --- Multiple Castle-Doctrine Bills In Tennessee: State lawmakers want to broaden civil liability protections for private citizens who hurt or kill someone in self-defense. Multiple bills circulating in the Tennessee General Assembly are touting the 'Castle Doctrine.' http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=6261208 --- Kansas CCW Pre-Emption Bill Advances: Local governments couldn't impose their own restrictions on people's ability to legally carry concealed guns under a bill that gained first-round approval Tuesday by the House. The voice vote put the bill in position for a final vote Wednesday. If it passes then, it will go to the Senate. http://www.49abcnews.com/news/2007/mar/20/bill_blocks_stricter_local_controls_concealed_guns/ --- Nevada Bill Would Provide Limited Reciprocity: ...Under Lee's proposal, only states with rules similar to or stricter than Nevada's would be recognized. The attorney general's office would determine which states make the list. Lee said 14 other state permits would be valid if the bill passes with amendments proposed by police. http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2007/Mar-22-Thu-2007/news/13330776.html --- DC Council Hearing On Gun Ownership: Yesterday's hearing nominally focused on legislation introduced last month by council member Marion Barry that would suspend the District's 30-year ban on handguns, providing gun owners a 90-day period to register weapons they would then be allowed to legally own...But most of the approximately 20 witnesses who testified during the four-hour hearing spoke to the recent federal appeals court decision to overturn the gun ban. http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20070321-112652-1152r.htm Related Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/20/AR2007032001977.html --- Will It Really Come Down To Commas?: While the D.C. Circuit Court focused only on the second comma, the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution actually has three: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." The 2-1 majority of judges held that the meaning turns on the second comma, which "divides the Amendment into two clauses; the first is prefatory, and the second operative." http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-baron22mar22,0,5526874.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail --- John Lott vs. Rudy Giuliani: ...Yet one thing is for sure though: Giuliani is hardly a "strict constructionist" on constitutional matters, at least when it comes to the Second Amendment. It is a long ways from "shall not be infringed" to "shall infringe whenever Congress has a 'reasonable and sensible' justification."...For those who support the Second Amendment, the main problem is that Giuliani has rarely met a gun regulation he didn't see as "reasonable and sensible." http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NzUwMzQ1MTI5ZmNmNjQ5NzIzNWIxZGZmMjhlYThkMGE= --- Democrats vs. "Assault Weapon" Ban: It appears that some Democrats recognize the potential of anti-RKBA legislation to harm their party. "We need to bury HR 1022 before it buries Democratic control of the House." http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/3/20/142130/606 --- Sex Offenders vs. Gun Owners: J.R. Dunn takes another look at the press mentality that justifies publishing massive lists of people licensed to carry concealed weapons but argues against the publication of lists of registered sex offenders. http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/03/gun_owners_child_molesters_and.html --- NRA Touts Annual Meeting: There's an event taking place next month that strikes fear into the hearts of gun banners everywhere. Tens of thousands of gun owners will be getting together, celebrating America's First Freedom, learning more about their rights and how to get involved, and showing this country that gun owners are a powerful political force... http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=188 --- Gunrunners "Advertised" Via Cell-Phone Photos: A gunrunning ring based in New York City used cellphones to send pictures of guns about to be purchased in Virginia to potential buyers in New York, so those buyers - in this case, undercover police officers - could approve what they were getting in advance, prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney's office said. (Perhaps Mayor Mike will now lobby for stiffer sentences for those who use a cell phone in the commission of a crime.) http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/nyregion/22guns.html?_r=1&oref=slogin --- Sad Story: An eight-year-old Philadelphia girl told a teacher that she believed that the replica of a Luger pistol she had taken to school was a real firearm and that she had done so for protection because her older brother would not be able to walk her home from the bus stop that day. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8O0UKKO1&show_article=1 --- From JPFO: Red's Trading Post in Twin Falls, Idaho, is the state's oldest gun shop, opened since 1936. In 2004, a routine BATFE audit revealed minor clerical errors...Even the BATFE acknowledges these are minor paperwork errors -- there are no missing firearms and no willful illegal acts. And yet the BATFE has revoked the ability of Red's Trading Post to acquire firearms for resale, although they're still permitted to sell the firearms in stock ... for now. But that's not enough -- the BATFE wants to revoke Red's license permanently. http://www.jpfo.org/alert20070321.htm --- Tangentially Related: A Tennessee TV station reports that the door locks on 90% of American homes are vulnerable to being opened very easily by a technique called "lock-bumping" and recommends two brands that offer better protection. http://www.wmcstations.com/Global/story.asp?S=5713812 -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info