Well-meaning Pensioner Fined, His Gun Seized and Destroyed in New YorkALEXANDRIA BAY -- A 71-year-old man from Pennsylvania thought he was doing the proper thing Tuesday when he stopped at the state police station here to surrender a handgun he had brought into the state. Erwin Spethmann's proactive approach cost him a $100 fine. He doesn't know it yet, but Jefferson County District Attorney Cindy F. Intschert said Wednesday that she may try to get... [Watertown Daily News (New York), via gunpolicy.org ]
Chicago Gun Buyback Creates Market for Weapons, Makes Problem WorseHere are six reasons I'm wary of gun buybacks, such as the one scheduled for Saturday in Chicago in which those who turn in firearms at any of 25 locations get a $100 prepaid credit card per gun, no questions asked. 1. I can't imagine criminals disarming themselves for a lousy $100. Sure, they might dump their excess, scrap or stolen piece for the bounty. But if having a gun is integral... [Chicago Tribune, via gunpolicy.org ]
Anger in Connecticut as Stray Bullets 'From Gun Range' Pepper HomesDURHAM -- The Blue Trail Range & Gun Store in Wallingford is preparing to reopen three of its four firing lanes, residents learned at a meeting Tuesday night. The decision to reopen the lanes came, Blue Trail lawyer Martha Dean said, only after significant and expensive improvements were made to the safety of the 100-yard rifle range and to business operations, including range security and... [Hartford Courant (Connecticut), via gunpolicy.org ]
Even This Californian Gun Collector Finds Gun Nuts ScaryLeo and I were talking guns at the Redondo Beach home he shares with his wife, Ginger. At 63, he is well-dressed, nicely spoken and not without a sense of humor. "Gun nuts scare me, especially the cold-dead-hand types," said the Vietnam veteran/businessman as he handed me the Red Army Mosin-Nagant rifle that set him down the path to owning a wall full of low-cost, knock-down vintage military... [Daily Breeze (Los Angeles), via gunpolicy.org ]
Oklahoma Lawmaker Caught Again with Gun in Her Purse at State CapitolOKLAHOMA CITY -- A state lawmaker who gained national notoriety with an anti-homosexual rant was stopped from entering the state Capitol Wednesday when she was found to have a loaded handgun in her purse, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said. Patrol spokeswoman Chris West said Republican Rep. Sally Kern was not charged because there did not appear to be any "malicious intent" behind her actions.... [Associated Press, via gunpolicy.org ]
Chicago Suburb Suspends Handgun Ban in Line with Supreme Court RulingWilmette village trustees voted Tuesday night to strike the village's 1989 handgun ban from the books in the wake of last month's U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn a Washington, D.C., ban. Village officials suspended enforcement of the ordinance shortly after the June 26 ruling and said it would probably not withstand legal challenges based on the court's reasoning in the ruling, which... [Wilmette Life (Illinois), via gunpolicy.org ]
NRA Pressures US Democrats to Erase Most of Washington DC's Gun LawsThe National Rifle Association is putting the election-year squeeze on conservative Democrats, demanding that they buck their leadership to support a bill to erase more of the District of Columbia's gun laws. Democratic gun rights supporters will risk losing their A-plus rating if they don't sign a discharge petition to be filed Wednesday bringing the gun-rights bill directly to the floor.... [The Hill (Washington DC), via gunpolicy.org ]
Georgians Packing Guns Wouldn't Make World's Busiest Airport Any SaferEvery day, an average of 245,000 travelers pass through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. So far this year, only 19 people have been arrested at the airport, and 16 of those arrests have been for stealing. The airport, in other words, is one of the safest places in Georgia. Yet, in the name of safety, a local gun group is pushing to allow private citizens to come to the airport armed.... [Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Editorial, via gunpolicy.org ]
