The Plot Gets Sicker: On Friday, this city of rocket scientists and
brainy inventors was stunned when a neuroscientist with a Harvard Ph.D.
was arrested in the shooting deaths of three of her colleagues after she
was denied tenure. But that was only the first surprise in the tale of
the neuroscientist, Amy Bishop, who was regarded as fiercely intelligent
and had seemed to have a promising career in biotechnology. Every day
since has produced a new revelation from Dr. Bishop's past, each more
bizarre than the last. On Saturday, the police in Braintree, Mass., said
that she had fatally shot her brother in 1986 and questioned whether the
decision to dismiss the case as an accident had been the right one. On
Sunday, a law enforcement official in Boston said she and her husband,
James Anderson, had been questioned in a 1993 case in which a pipe bomb
was sent to a colleague of Dr. Bishop's at Children's Hospital Boston.
The bomb did not go off, no one was ever charged in the case, and no
proof ever emerged connecting the couple to the bomb plot... Dr. Bishop
was charged with capital murder; three charges of attempted murder were
added on Sunday. Mr. Anderson said he did not know of any specific
incident that could have led to the shooting, and did not know that his
wife allegedly had a gun when she went to the meeting. "I had no idea,"
he said. "We don't own one." ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/15/us/15alabama.html?ref=us
The missing police report emerges in the fatal shooting of her brother
by the professor who shot six of her co-workers at the University of
Alabama - Huntsville. I will defer to the mental-health professionals on
the list but my impression is that her brother had been or was
attempting to molest her, hence the cover-up and, arguably, some of her
mental issues.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/02/13/Full1986Policereport/
Commentary on the 1986 Release:
http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m2d13-Why-was-Huntsville-shooting-suspect-set-free-after-killing-brother
http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m2d14-Killerreleasing-Delahunt-perfect-Brady-Campaign-candidate
UAH Denied Campus Carry:
http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m2d13-Huntsville-shooting-another-gun-free-zone-failure
---
Meanwhile, in Arizona...: Arizona lawmakers are preparing to consider a
new bill that would allow school faculty to carry concealed weapons on
campus, media reports suggest. Currently, only certified police officers
are permitted to carry a weapon on school grounds in Arizona, but the
bill introduced by State Senator Jack Harper of Phoenix would extend
that right to select groups of ordinary citizens, according to ABC News.
"Any step toward allowing the people the right to self defense is a good
thing," said Daniel Crocker, Southwest Regional Director for Students
for Concealed Carry on Campus, quoted by the news provider. He added,
however, that his organization believes the right should also be
extended to students...
http://www.personalliberty.com/news/victory-looms-in-arizona-for-gun-rights-advocates-19601368/
---
Seattle Mayor Seeks End to Preemption: Freshman Seattle Mayor Mike
McGinn has dispelled any doubt that he is a disciple of far left liberal
politics with his reaction to Seattle's expected loss in court Friday
over the illegal parks gun ban. He wants the legislature to change this
state's 26-year-old preemption statute just so the city can institute
the ban that Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer just voided. McGinn
evidently drinks the same water as ousted former Mayor Greg Nickels,
under whose arrogant mismanagement the ban was adopted last fall. The
ban was Nickels' response to a shooting at the 2008 Folklife Festival,
but as KING5 News has revealed, the victims in that shooting are against
the ban...
http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m2d14-Seattles-mayor-wants-law-changed-so-he-can-make-own-rules
---
Pennsylvania Gun Owners to Rally at Capitol: The Fifth Annual 2nd
Amendment Rally date has been set for 10 AM on April 27, 2010 in
Harrisburg, Pa. Once again we ask for your help and participation in
this event. We will use this event as a springboard to pass vital pro
gun legislation that will affect how FFL's conduct business and your
'right to bear arms' throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It
cannot be repeated often enough that the more interest shown at these
kinds of events, the more our elected officials will notice our presence
and the more impact our efforts will have throughout the day... After
the rally, team leaders will break the attendees up into groups and
visit every State House member and State Senator in the State Capitol to
ask for their support for bills such as HB 40 (Castle Doctrine), HB 750
(Transportation of Firearms), HB 1541 (Penalties for Municipalities that
enact local gun laws), and SB 842 (Castle Doctrine companion to HB 40)
plus several other bills. Everyone that pre-registers will be informed
of the team (organized by county of residence) they are on ahead of time
by e-mail...
http://www.ammoland.com/2010/02/14/harrisburg-gun-rights-rally-set/
---
And in Missouri...: If you haven't been on the MissouriCarry.com forums
lately, you may not know that St. Louis is having a huge Second
Amendment Rally on Feb 27th. And a couple hours later that day there
will be a major Tea Party gathering at the same location.
* Event Date: Feb. 27th
* Event Time: 10:00 AM
* Event Location: The St. Louis river front on the side walk north
of the gateway arch.
We want to invite you to come join other concealed carry permit holders
to this event. It is perfectly legal to be a CCW permit holder on
National Park property and we expect many CCW permit holders will be
there to join us! This event and others like it every year give gun
owners an opportunity to voice the importance of our Bill of Rights and
to put our elected officials around the state on notice that we are
watching them and how they vote on gun laws. 2010 will be a very
important year for many elected officials in both parties and there are
a number of them who will be showing up to speak at this event. Come out
and meet them and hear what they have to say...
http://www.ammoland.com/2010/02/14/st-louis-second-amendment-rally/
---
Richard Mack's Speech Well Received in New Mexico: In his opening
remarks Saturday at the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts, former
Graham County, Ariz., Sheriff Richard Mack said "the revolution is
starting." He said he is really about a revolution in upholding the U.S.
Constitution, state autonomy and the Founding Fathers' vision of
liberty. "I pray to God that it remains peaceful," he said to the crowd.
"You'll never hear me say otherwise. I am the most peaceful man you'll
meet in your life." Mack authored the book "The County Sheriff:
America's Last Hope." Mack is known nationally for successfully
challenging the constitutionality of the Brady Bill all the way to the
U.S. Supreme Court with Ravalli County, Mont., Sheriff Jay Printz...
During Mack's tenure, federal officers informed county sheriffs in
Arizona and across the county that they would be required to enforce the
"Brady Bill" and run background checks at their expense. In 1994, Mack,
Printz and five other sheriffs from across the country challenged the
legality of the bill and ultimately fought it all the way to the Supreme
Court. Three years later, in a landmark 5-4 split decision based on the
10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Mack and the other sheriffs won
their case...
http://www.alamogordonews.com/ci_14398997
---
Another Case Tests Florid Stand-Your-Ground Law: Many people probably
would love to whack a "repo man," but Craig Morris did -- and he wanted
immunity from prosecution: He contended he acted in self-defense when he
hit him with a bat, thinking he was an armed intruder. The 45-year-old
Naples man had been hit several times by burglars who stole a boat,
trailers, construction equipment, jewelry and other items. This
intruder, who wore shorts and a T-shirt, had come through a locked gate,
he said, and right past "No trespassing" and "Beware of dog" signs on
May 8. "I observed someone peering into my window," Morris said at a
recent hearing, testifying he was concerned about his safety and his
property on Painted Leaf Lane, where he had a dog, three horses, a house
and a barn. "... I basically jabbed him with the bat and said, 'Who the
hell are you and you [sic] are you in my yard?' ... I hit him with the
bat." ...The law also says prosecutors must automatically presume
would-be victims feared for their lives if attacked. The law forbids the
arrest, detention or prosecution of residents defending their homes,
dwelling or occupied vehicles and prohibits lawsuits against them. But
on Feb. 4, Collier Circuit Judge Fred Hardt ruled Knapp did not
forcefully or unlawfully enter Morris' property so he wasn't entitled to
immunity. He denied Morris' motion to dismiss the second-degree felony
charge, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, but noted he could use
that defense at trial... (I fear this may be one more example of a bad
case making bad law.)
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/feb/14/man-claims-self-defense-after-hitting-repo-man-bat/
---
The Self-Defense Exception: A reader asked about a city code provision
(Baltimore City Code Art. 19 � 59-2, but there are many others like it)
that bans discharging firearms, with no self-defense exception. How can
that be? It's common for criminal laws - including laws prohibiting
murder and assault, and not just the discharge of firearms - to outlaw
conduct without mentioning the possible defenses. There are, after all,
lots of defenses that are generally available as to a wide range of
crimes: self-defense, defense of others, defense of property, duress,
insanity, necessity (recognized in some states), and more. It doesn't
make sense to list all of them in each statute. Sometimes the defenses
are set forth in general terms in other statutes. Sometimes they aren't
codified at all, and continue to exist as common-law defenses. But in
any event, they can be raised as to a wide range of criminal offenses,
even when the statute or ordinance defining the offense never mentions
the defense. That would surely apply as to a discharge-of-weapons
ordinance, just as it would apply to a statute that on its face bans all
assaults or all intentional homicides. See, e.g., Jones v. State, 745
A.2d 396 (Md. 2000) ("when a defendant is charged with the statutory
crime of reckless endangerment under � 12A-2(a)(1) and evidence is
presented to generate an issue of common law perfect self-defense, the
defendant is entitled to have the jury instructed regarding the
application of self-defense to the charge of reckless endangerment").
http://volokh.com/2010/02/12/bans-on-discharging-firearms-without-a-self-defense-exception/
But in Kansas...: ...Wow. Had Flint actually shot the gun, he would
presumably have been entitled to have the jury consider his
defense-of-others defense. (Such a defense would generally be roughly
similar to a self-defense defense, and use of deadly force is generally
allowed in self-defense against sufficiently serious threats.) But
because Flint merely brandished the gun, he's a felon - even if he
reasonably believed that brandishing the gun was necessary to save his
fiancee's life. That is simply absurd... (This is why Arizona now has a
statute authorizing the defensive display of a firearm under
circumstances where it would be reasonable to use physical force.)
http://volokh.com/2010/02/12/if-you-brandish-a-gun-in-self-defense-in-kansas-youd-best-shoot-it/
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
The tactics and skills to use a firearm
in self-defense don't come naturally
with the right to keep and bear arms.
http://www.spw-duf.info
