I Think This Guy's For Real: A retired diplomat and member of the editorial boards of Toledo's The Blade and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette paints a scenario for the disarming of America, the Second Amendment notwithstanding. (Of note, he leaves a provision for hunters to store their firearms in arsenals, from which they could be checked out briefly during hunting seasons. Perhaps he should read John Ross's Unintended Consequences.) http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007704250310 --- Anti-Gun Nonsense: ...The above list is a tiny sampling of the growing number of multiple-victim shootings, including at least 39 school shootings in the United States. What do all of the above have in common? Each occurred in a "gun-free zone."...As an airline pilot, I knew pilots who carried guns in their flight bags prior to 1987, when the Federal Aviation Administration effectively disarmed all pilots. The September 11 attacks jarred my perspective, and I quickly came to realize that I had been living in a fool's paradise. http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20070429-100042-5512r.htm --- Feeling Safe Isn't Safe: ...When Florida passed its concealed-weapons law, I thought it was a terrible idea. People would start shooting each other over traffic altercations; parking lots would turn into shooting galleries. Not so, it turned out...I'm not the only one to draw such a conclusion. When she was Michigan's attorney general, Democrat Jennifer Granholm opposed the state's concealed-weapons law, which took effect in 2001. But now, as governor, she's not seeking its repeal... http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/04/feeling_safe_isnt_safe.html --- Reminder, Utah Allows Campus Carry: Associated Press article contrasts Utah's recent legislation that prohibits state universities from banning licensed CCW with 38 other states that ban firearms at schools, 16 of which specify colleges. (Of note, one student comments that he does not carry in church. Utah law requires special notice for a church to ban CCW.) http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/national/article/0,1406,KNS_350_5510814,00.html --- One in 40 Utahns Licensed To Carry: If you are ever in a room with 40 or so other Utahns -- say at a theater, restaurant or back-to-school night -- odds are that at least one person there has a concealed weapon permit and could be legally packing a loaded handgun. Then again, the odds are double that in rural Garfield County, where one of every 19 residents has such a permit... http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660215878,00.html --- Cho Incident Boosts Gun Sales In Texas: n the first week after the tragedy, Midland gun dealer Tommy "Hoss Fly" Atchison saw his gun sales increase by a significant percentage. He said he usually sells about three guns per week and as of Friday afternoon he had sold five. People buying and considering buying had two basic reasons, according to Atchison... http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18277228&BRD=2288&PAG=461&dept_id=474107&rfi=6 --- Meanwhile, In Alabama...: Article describes the process of legally purchasing a handgun in Alabama, including a three-day waiting period, and the need to purchase a pistol permit from the sheriff to carry it anywhere outside the home. http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/lroop.ssf?/base/news/117783819739150.xml&coll=1 --- Alabama Weighs Registration Scheme: Alabama's former chief justice opposes a bill that would require the registration of any firearm that 'fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled, without the need to manually operate a bolt, lever, or other firing or loading mechanism.' " Giving the government more information about our lives and the guns we own does nothing to stop criminals with guns, who will disregard gun registration requirements just as freely as they disregard the life, liberty and property of their victims. Gun registration would not have stopped the incident at Virginia Tech." http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/lroop.ssf?/base/news/117783819739150.xml&coll=1 -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info