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Quick! Is this a hunter or a sniper? Is it a hunting rifle or a sniper rifle?
Sage words and an excellent photo by Oleg Volk.
"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."
"When sexual assaults started rising in Orlando, Fla., in 1966, police officers noticed women were arming themselves, so they launched a firearms safety course for them. Over the next 12 months, sexual assaults plummeted by 88 percent, burglaries fell by 25 percent and not one of the 2,500 women who took the course fired a gun in a confrontation.
And that, says a new brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court by police officers and prosecutors in a controversial gun-ban dispute, is why gun ownership is important and should be available to individuals in the United States.
The arguments come in an amicus brief submitted by the Law Enforcement Alliance of America, whose spokesman, Ted Deeds, told WND there now are 92 different law enforcement voices speaking together to the Supreme Court in the Heller case.
That pending decision will decide whether an appeals court ruling striking down a District of Columbia ban on handguns because it violates the 2nd Amendment will stand or not. The gun ban promoters essentially argue that any gun restriction that is ruled "reasonable" is therefore constitutional, such as the D.C. handgun ban.
Deeds said this probably is the largest unified law enforcement statement in support of the 2nd Amendment ever, and includes nearly a dozen organizations that represent tens of thousands of police officers across the country, dozens of state attorneys general, dozens of prosecutors and a long list of federal law enforcement experts up to and including federal judges."
The Great Meat Fight of 2007 has been declared a draw.
Criminal charges will not be filed against Vancouver Police Officer Roger Evans or Top Choice Meats owner Mike Brannan, a special prosecutor said Wednesday.
The Dec. 21 altercation started when Evans, who went to the Orchards shop to pick up a venison order while off duty, became upset that market employees failed to add pepper flakes to his venison jerky.
According to witnesses, Evans and Brannan had a lengthy, heated exchange that ended with Evans drawing his gun, customers ducking for cover and a flurry of calls to 911.
Clark County Sheriff’s Detective Rick Buckner, who investigated the incident, found no fault with Evans. He recommended misdemeanor assault charges against Brannan based on Evans’ claim that the butcher shoved a heavy box of venison at the police officer’s chest outside the store.
The Vancouver city attorney prosecutes misdemeanors within city limits, but Charles Isely and James Senescu, a former assistant city attorney and a former deputy county prosecutor, respectively, were asked to review the case to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest since a police officer was involved.
Isely said there was a lack of credible and consistent evidence to support any criminal charges.
Therese Lavallee, Brannan’s attorney, received the special prosecutors’ report and said no witnesses corroborated Evans’ claim that Brannan shoved the box at him.
Witnesses did, however, say that Evans drew his weapon without provocation.
That could support a charge of second-degree assault with a firearm, prosecutors said in their report, but they declined to file such a charge because they said Evans could argue self-defense.
Evans has said he pulled his weapon because he feared Brannan was going to pull one out first.
The prosecutors reasoned that, as a police officer, Evans has a heightened sense about predicting what a person is going to do, Lavallee said.
But what about his SWAT training on how to defuse a situation? Lavallee asked.
“There’s no justification I can see to pull a loaded gun,” she said.
Lavallee said Evans should be charged.
“It should go to a jury. That’s what our system is for,” she said.
Any other person who pulled a gun on a store owner would have been arrested, Lavallee and Brannan said.
“He’s a city official. They’re just covering up to protect him,” Brannan said. “I’m just a citizen.”
Attorney Tom Phelan spoke on Evans’ behalf Wednesday but said he couldn’t discuss the situation because of a pending internal affairs investigation.
Evans, who remains on administrative duty, is a respected SWAT and K-9 officer. Evans also made the news last year when his German shepherd partner, Dakota, was shot and killed by a suspect in Brush Prairie.
When Evans drew his weapon Dec. 21, Brannan said he was dumbfounded.
“I’ve never had a gun pointed at me. Hey, it’s pretty scary.”
He and his wife, Patti, have lost sleep over the situation.
During Buckner’s investigation, a few people came forward and described Brannan as a hothead.
“None of them were there,” Brannan said.
Besides, “if I was a mean, rude person you would not want to come and buy meat from me, and I’ve been there seven years.”
He said his customers have teased him about the meat fight, either coming in with their hands up saying, “Hey, Mike, I don’t have a gun,” or inspecting their order and pretending to be upset about missing pepper flake.
But he hasn’t found too much to laugh about.
He said he has tried to conceal his stress at work.
“Like our sign says, ‘Customer service with a smile,’ ” Brannan said.
Stephanie Rice can be contacted at 360-735-4549 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.
By Sherri Drake (Contact)
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
According to Dist. Atty. Gen. Mike Dunavant, David Fleming charged into the home of two women at about 3 a.m. Tuesday.
Fleming bound the women but one escaped and ran to a nearby home. Dunavant said Fleming, who lived in Munford, intended to rape the women.
The woman who escaped went to the home of Keith Ingram for help, Dunavant said.
Ingram, carrying a .40-caliber handgun, ran to the house and found Fleming attacking the other woman, officials said.
When Fleming tried to attack Ingram, Dunavant said Ingram shot Fleming once.
Tipton County Sheriff's deputies and Brighton Police officers found Fleming dead on the front porch of the home.
Fleming had been convicted of attempted rape in Tipton County. He's listed on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's sex-offender registry.
Dunavant said Ingram has no criminal record and has a permit to carry the handgun.
The women who were attacked were treated at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton.
TBI officials are assisting with the case. The Shelby County Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy. Investigators took statements from several witnesses Tuesday. The shooting is still under investigation.
In dormitories, more guns will undoubtedly mean more gun-related accidents, more suicides and more senseless tragedies brought about by immaturity, lack of judgment, impulsivity, alcohol consumption or mental illness. But whatever their root cause, each of those incidents will only have been made possible by the proximity of guns.
Kodjo Yenga was ambushed in a quiet London street by about a dozen youngsters armed with knives and bats. The 16-year-old tried to escape but was cornered and stabbed in the heart. The gang ran away laughing as the teenager lay bleeding in his girlfriend's arms. He died later in hospital.
Yep. The weapon was a truck. The guy tried to flatten him like an armadillo in the exit lane off I-59 outside the Rockets arena during the playoffs. Not a nice thing to do.Suddenly, "the suspect puts (the truck) in drive and takes off in the direction of the business owner," Chandler said.
Fearing that the truck would run him over, the business owner fired his weapon multiple times, striking the suspect in his side, he said.
The man kept driving for about three blocks before succumbing to his wounds, Chandler said.
Go ahead. Put up a big question mark over your head. I did.Under the so-called "Castle Doctrine," Texas law allows citizens to use deadly force to protect their property. The case will be referred to the Harris County District Attorney's Office, where it will be reviewed by a grand jury, Chandler said.