From Reason Magazine?: Steve Chapman, writing in the libertarian Reason Magazine, supports the McCarthy effort in Congress to add more mental-health records to the NICS database. "The obvious alternative to upgrading enforcement of the existing law is to repeal it and let people known to suffer from dangerous mental illnesses enjoy free access to firearms. And that, pardon the expression, would be lunacy. http://reason.com/news/show/119986.html And From National Review: ...Mere law cannot stop sick and wicked men from committing acts of profound evil. Yet sensible legislation, limited in scope and respectful of the Second Amendment, may help protect both lives and rights. http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OTM4Y2RhNGQxM2RiODYxZjlkODE2MzkyMmNlNDFiNDA= --- Gonzales Opposes More Guns On Campus: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Wednesday that having more guns on college campuses is not the way to prevent campus violence like the massacre at Virginia Tech. (Gonzales also favors federal bans on cosmetically impaired firearms.) http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/5/2/152738.shtml?s=us --- John Longenecker Weighs In: ...Gun control takes more than the gun from the law-abiding taxpayer: it interferes with constituent legal authority to act in self-defense when facing grave danger alone when seconds count. It worked that way at Virginia Tech as well as it works in other campuses and postal workplaces, and certainly as well over the years in the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Australia and other nations where their criminals don't observe the law any more than ours do.... http://mensnewsdaily.com/2007/05/02/gun-control-virginia-tech-and-answering-brady-campaigns-helmke-stop-hiding-the-ball-on-citizen-authority/ --- Judging The Second Amendment: A massive change may be coming regarding your right to own a gun, and possibly coming very soon. Though the last 40 years have seen massive battles in legislative halls between gun-rights supporters and gun-control advocates, the emphasis of this movement is now moving into federal courtrooms... http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55493 --- BATFE vs. Bloomberg: Refuting weeks of erroneous assertions and outright fabrications regarding the accessibility of firearms trace data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Acting Director Michael J. Sullivan this week has issued a no-nonsense, detailed explanation affirming that trace data is available for legitimate on-going criminal investigations by law enforcement. http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-02-2007/0004579383&EDATE= Sullivan's Statement: http://news.bostonherald.com/editorial/view.bg?articleid=198020 --- FOP vs. Bloomberg: "Officers in the field who are actually working illegal gun cases know that releasing sensitive information about pending cases can jeopardize the integrity of an investigation or even place the lives of undercover officers in danger. That is why the Fraternal Order of Police has always supported language protecting firearms trace data, now known as the Tiahrt Amendment." http://www.nranews.com/blogarticle.aspx?blogPostId=211 --- Baltimore Mayor Forms Gun Task Force: With violent crime rising sharply here, Mayor Sheila Dixon announced plans Wednesday to form a task force on illegal guns and install a system to track where and when guns had been used in crimes. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/us/03baltimore.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin --- Pennsylvania Gun-Banners Offer Compromise: Two Philadelphia lawmakers are proposing changes to the highly controversial House Bill 760, which would require gun owners to register their firearms with the state every year. State Rep. Angel Cruz, the primary sponsor of the bill, said Tuesday he had prepared an amendment to the measure that would eliminate a proposed $10-per-gun annual registration fee. Also, Cruz said he supports an amendment prepared by his fellow city lawmaker, state Rep. Rosita Youngblood, that would initially limit the bill's requirements to Pennsylvania cities of the first class; Philadelphia is the only such city in the state. (A major element in CCW reform in Pennsylvania was to remove the ability of first-class municipalities to refuse to recognize permits valid in the rest of the state.) http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/203599 --- Philadelphia City Council May Sue State: Since mid-2004, City Councilman Darrell Clarke has had a handful of gun-control bills on deck, ready for the near-unanimous support of his colleagues. What's held him in check is that only the commonwealth can legislate in the area of firearms, and unless the General Assembly will delegate power to the city, Council's actions would be dead on arrival... What's different is that he says Council also is preparing to file a legal complaint related to the Legislature's inaction. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20070503_To_get_gun_control_in_city__Council_might_sue_state.html --- Missouri House Approves Castle-Doctrine Bill: he Missouri House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to approve legislation that would give homeowners and drivers wide discretion in the use of deadly force against intruders. The measure would give people immunity from criminal and civil actions for killing or injuring someone in self-defense, in defense of other people or in defense of property. It also would create a new section of law to allow the use of deadly force against anyone who illegally and forcibly entered a dwelling or a vehicle if the owner "had reason to believe" that a crime would be committed. http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/91216.html --- Self-Defense Retroactivity Bill Heads To Arizona Governor, Again: The Arizona Senate has approved and sent to Governor Napolitano yet another bill that would allow use of a 2006 self-defense law retroactively...Napolitano earlier this year vetoed a previous bill that prosecutors had warned could apply to numerous cases. Supporters then went back and crafted a new version that they say would apply to only about a dozen cases. http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=6459916 --- Alabama Legislature Approves Non-Resident Long-Gun Purchases: The Alabama House gave final approval Tuesday to a bill that would allow gun and ammunition dealers in Alabama to sell to residents of any state where gun sales are legal. The bill, sponsored by Rep. David Grimes, R-Montgomery, was approved by the House on a 90-3 vote. http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070501/APN/705011840&cachetime=5 --- Shotgun, Rifle, What's The Difference?: With the high rate of firearm ownership in New Hampshire, it's surprising to read of a homeowner's shotgun morphing into a rifle in the process of entering his home to confront a burglar. http://www.wmur.com/news/13239825/detail.html --- The End Of Open Carry In California: Forty years ago the Oakland chapter of the Black Panthers marched into the California Assembly with an assortment of firearms and virtually guaranteed the passage of a bill to prohibit carrying a loaded firearm in a public place. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cap3may03,1,755456,full.column?coll=la-headlines-california -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .