Philadelphia Inquirer Sep 16, 2010
Accused Phila. Shooter Whose Gun Permit Was Revoked Got One From Florida
When police stripped Marqus Hill of his permit to carry a gun in Philadelphia after a 2005 confrontation with officers, Hill didn't let that stop him: He just applied for a firearms license from Florida. Though police said Hill had lost a 2008 appeal to win back his Philadelphia permit and reacted by assaulting a police officer in court, Florida mailed him a gun license last year. Early Sunday morning, police said, Hill, 28, gunned down an 18-year-old who allegedly broke into his car, shooting him 13 times. Hill, of Hunting Park, was arrested Wednesday and charged with murdering Irving Santana. Police said ...read the full article


Lynchburg News & Advance Sep 16, 2010
Editorial: Troubling Mixture of Guns, Bars
It was bound to happen. The result, fortunately, was not as serious as it could have been. The mixture of guns and alcohol exploded at a Lynchburg restaurant Saturday night when a customer accidentally shot himself in the thigh with a concealed weapon. He faces three misdemeanor charges, according to Lynchburg police, including recklessly handling a firearm, willfully discharging a firearm in the city of Lynchburg and carrying a concealed handgun in a restaurant after consuming alcohol. Police said the Forest man, who was treated and released at the hospital, did have a concealed weapon permit. But even with such a permit, ...read the full article


Associated Press Sep 15, 2010
Illinois Gets $1.2M Fix For Gun Background Checks
CHICAGO (AP) ― Illinois is getting a federal grant to improve its participation in a national system of background checks for would-be gun owners. The $1.2 million grant will help Illinois automate how it submits mental health records to a national background check system. The U.S. Justice Department awarded grants to Illinois and seven other states. Federal law bars gun ownership for people who've been judged dangerously mentally ill by a court and those who've been committed to a mental institution. Background checks allow the FBI to deny gun sales to people with disqualifying mental health histories. Paul Helmke of the nonpartisan Brady Campaign to ...read the full article


Portland Press Herald Sep 15, 2010
Gun Carriers Join Hearing on Portland Ban
PORTLAND -- At least a dozen men carrying guns Tuesday attended a public hearing at City Hall on a proposal for state legislation that would ban firearms from public buildings. The gun-rights advocates said they were the first wave of a larger armed contingent who will defend their constitutional right to carry guns in public buildings in Portland or any other municipality in Maine. City Councilor Dan Skolnik, who chairs the council's Public Safety Committee, wants to build support for state legislation to ban firearms from public buildings where mass gatherings occur, or allow municipalities to do so. With such legislation, Portland could ...read the full article


Fall River Herald News Sep 15, 2010
Editorial: Get Illegal Guns Off the Streets
Assault. Robbery. Carjacking. Home invasion. In addition to their status as all-too-common, despicable crimes, they have another thing in common: They all become even more menacing when a gun is involved. Firearms elevate the seriousness of any crime, increasing the likelihood of serious bodily harm or death. At the very least, a gun is used in a crime as a terrorist tool, frightening victims into compliance with a criminal's every wish, making it that much easier for the dregs of society to bully their victims and take whatever they want. It is just such situations Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter routinely ...read the full article


San Diego Union-Tribune Sep 14, 2010
Editorial: Rhetoric Aside, U.S. Can Help Mexico
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's blunt talk last week about rising instability in Mexico because of increasingly brazen and powerful drug rings was disavowed within days by President Barack Obama, who disagreed with Clinton's likening of Mexico to the Colombia of 20 years ago, when cartels had operational control of parts of the South American nation. We understand why the president might want to take a more diplomatic tone, given the sharp reaction Clinton's words triggered in Mexico City. We also understand how from the San Diego perspective her comments might seem alarmist. As U-T reporter Sandra Dibble noted in her ...read the full article


Standard-Times Sep 14, 2010
Officials Mobilize Against Gun Crime
FALL RIVER -- In less than two months, prosecutors will be able to request dangerousness hearings for anyone charged with a felony for carrying or possessing an illegal gun. Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter said that on Nov. 4, he and his assistant district attorneys "will be marching back into court, asking judges to hold dangerous individuals without bail for up to 90 days." "We're going to send a message to the community that we are serious about stopping gun violence," Sutter said Monday after meeting at Fall River Police Headquarters with Gov. Deval Patrick, local police and elected officials, ...read the full article


Oakland County Daily Tribune Sep 14, 2010
City Wants Gun-Free Festival Zones: Changing One Word in State Law Would Do the Job.
ROYAL OAK -- Elected officials fired another round in their standoff with open-carry firearm advocates who want to exercise their right to bear arms at Arts, Beats & Eats. On Monday the City Commission asked Lansing lawmakers to make the four-day festival a gun-free zone by amending the state statute that bans people who are licensed to carry a gun from possessing one in a bank, church, school, bar or entertainment facility with a seating capacity of 2,500. Mayor James Ellison said the state Legislature only needs to change the wording from entertainment facility to entertainment venue. "The law says you can't take ...read the full article


Salt Lake Tribune Sep 14, 2010
Editorial: Concealed Carry: Limit Utah Permits to Utahns
The latest figures are in, ladies and gentlemen, and Utah continues to be the go-to place in the United States for permits to carry concealed handguns. It is understandable why gun enthusiasts in the Legislature would want to provide this permit for Utahns, but it remains baffling why the Beehive State would voluntarily shoulder this regulatory burden for people in 32 other states who have never set foot in this place and probably never will. We continue to believe that Utah should license this privilege only for Utahns. Let other states do it for their own people. That's not the way it ...read the full article


Washington Post Sep 13, 2010
Editorial: Mexico's Gun Traffic
SECRETARY OF STATE Hillary Rodham Clinton caused a stir last week by suggesting that Mexico's drug-trafficking gangs were beginning to resemble an insurgency, like that which has plagued Colombia. She's right in the sense that the cartels have come to effectively control parts of the country, where they "attempt to replace the state," as Mexican President Felipe Calderón put it last month. Like most insurgencies, the Mexican drug armies also have an external source of funding and weapons. Shamefully, that is the United States. A new report details the abundance of U.S. weapons delivered to the cartels -- and the inadequacy ...read the full article