Saturday, March 15, 2008



Texas homeowner shoots intruder: "A homeowner shot an intruder early Friday morning, and North Richland Hills police were investigating whether criminal charges would be filed. The incident occurred about 12:30 a.m. in the 7900 block of Laura Street, said North Richland Hills police Sgt. Greg Trickey. The 30-year-old homeowner heard some noises outside and confronted a person in his backyard. The homeowner told the person to stay put, but the man advanced, police said. Samuel Thomas Ford, 27, was shot in the shoulder and taken to John Peter Smith Hospital with a non-life threatening injury, police said."


Texas gunmen sent off by wife with shotgun: "Two gunmen involved in a home invasion were chased away by the victim's wife. She tells us her husband is extremely careful on who he lets on his property. But last night's incident started when the homeowner went outside to close the gate. According to "Michelle," two masked men pulled into the driveway with guns in hand, demanding drugs and money. She tells us, "He said, 'I don't have anything. I don't know what you're talking about. I just have children and my wife inside. Y'all need to leave.'" The men reportedly tried to force "Michelle's" husband to open the door to his home. But the former security guard fought back. "Michelle" says she was watching it all from inside her home. She tells us, "I reached for the gun. It was up here. Then I got some shells from in here." She says, "I keep telling him, 'Duck and I'll shoot! Duck and I'll shoot.' And he said, 'No, don't! Don't!' And I was debating whether to shoot or not." "Then I just shot that way. The truck was right there." The shots spooked the intruders and forced them to flee. The shotgun was taken by deputies for the investigation. But the couple says they'll be buying another gun."


Girls, guys and Glocks?: "A national push is on to allow guns on college campuses; Maine administrators say it could just make matters worse. On Valentine's Day a man walked into a Northern Illinois University lecture hall and began shooting students, one at a time, while some ran and others cowered under seats. By the time he was done, he'd killed five people and wounded 18 more. Last April, a man went from classroom to classroom at Virginia Tech, shooting people as they barricaded doors, hid under desks and ran toward open windows. In the nearly 10-minute stretch before police reached him, the shooter had fired over 174 rounds, killed 32 people and injured 17 more. Those horrifying and graphic details - not just the death but the utter helplessness of those who were killed - have galvanized more than 19,000 students and professors across the nation to fight for the right to carry concealed weapons on campus. They say the victims in nearly every school shooting in the past decade have been unarmed and completely helpless in the 2 to 10 minutes before armed police or security guards arrived. "They're like fish in a barrel," said Tennessee state Rep. Stacey Campfield"


Reason, not emotion, should rule the day: "There are a few subjects some people can't discuss without becoming emotional. Firearms in the hands of citizens is one of those subjects. The most recent example of this phenomenon is occurring now as Secretary of the Interior Dick Kempthorne is considering changing the law that bans possession of loaded firearms in national parks. Kempthorne wrote a letter to 51 senators who had contacted him last year about relaxing the decades-old ban that puts park visitors at risk from criminals and wild animals, saying he favors relaxing the ban. That's a good thing; in 2006, national parks were the scenes of 11 killings, 35 rapes or attempted rapes, 61 robberies and hundreds of other violent crimes."

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