Michael Morse was about to become the city’s latest victim of a burglary. That was, until he pulled out a legally owned handgun on two thieves trying to break into his home around 9:30 p.m. Sunday night.

On Saturday, [...]]]> Following a recent spree of crime, one Goshen man took matters into his own hands.

Michael Morse was about to become the city’s latest victim of a burglary. That was, until he pulled out a legally owned handgun on two thieves trying to break into his home around 9:30 p.m. Sunday night.

On Saturday, criminals stole more than $3,000 in auto parts and power tools from a home he’s renovating along Olive Street.

On Sunday, he went to count his losses for the police report. After walking inside, he heard a noise in the backyard and then came face-to-face with the two men trying to break in.

“I drew my gun out and just pointed it at them to keep them from coming towards me and I told them to freeze,” Morse recalled.

Morse’s run-in marks the fifth serious crime Goshen Police have handled in the last eight days alone.

Just after 1 a.m. Saturday, four men beat and robbed a man inside the Brookside Manor Mobile Home Park.

Later that day, officers found Adel Gutierrez, 25, shot inside his family’s Mexican bakery along S. Main Street in downtown.

Paramedics took Adel Gutierrez to IU Health Goshen Hospital where he underwent surgery and is now recovering. Gutierrez, who has a criminal track record himself, says he was too drunk to remember who shot him Saturday.

Last week, investigators arrested Chad Weddle, 18, in connection with 22 home break-ins across Elkhart County.

Weddle’s arrest came only days after someone beat and stabbed Goshen College professor James Miller to death inside his home.

Miller’s killer is still on the loose as Goshen’s small town atmosphere starts to fill with big city crime.-[source]

Gov. Susana Martinez received perfect scores on recertification for her concealed-carry permit over the weekend in Las Cruces. She scored 100 percent with both .38- and .45-caliber handguns, her staff said.

Martinez’s permit to carry a concealed handgun, originally obtained in 2009, was extended for another two years.

She was [...]]]> New Mexico’s pistol-packin’ governor is a sure shot.

Gov. Susana Martinez received perfect scores on recertification for her concealed-carry permit over the weekend in Las Cruces. She scored 100 percent with both .38- and .45-caliber handguns, her staff said.

Martinez’s permit to carry a concealed handgun, originally obtained in 2009, was extended for another two years.

She was a district attorney and a Republican candidate for governor when she first went through training and qualified to carry a concealed weapon. Her spokesman, Greg Blair, said Martinez’s personal and professional experiences motivated her to arm herself.

Not only was she a prosecutor, but her husband, Chuck Franco, was undersheriff of Dona Ana County.

“Since she and Chuck both made careers out of taking on dangerous and violent criminals, she decided to get her concealed-carry permit for personal protection, especially when traveling alone or at night on the campaign trail,” Blair said.

As governor, Martinez has a security detail, but she still chooses to carry a weapon, Blair said.

One of Martinez’s Republican colleagues, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, has also carried a handgun.

Perry last year used his laser-sighted pistol to shoot a coyote that he said was threatening his dog during a morning jog near Austin.-[source]

The [...]]]> The non-profit Hawaii Defense Foundation has filed a lawsuit against the Honolulu Chief of Police Louis Kealoha, the Honolulu Police Department and the City & County of Honolulu as well as the State of Hawaii and Gov. Neil Abercrombie for violating the Second and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution.

The complaint, which was filed in Hawaii’s U.S. District Court by attorneys Richard Holcomb, Alan Beck and Kevin O’Grady, argues that Hawaii’s license to carry firearms statute as well as Hawaii’s other firearm regulations, are unconstitutional.-[source]

Currently, guns are prohibited on Corps land, even when firearms possession is otherwise allowed by state law.  Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH) introduced legislation—the Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act [...]]]> Gun Owners of America is working with several members of Congress to repeal a gun ban on land controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Currently, guns are prohibited on Corps land, even when firearms possession is otherwise allowed by state law.  Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH) introduced legislation—the Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act (H.R. 1865)—to allow state law to govern firearms possession.

You may recall that in July, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) offered similar language as an amendment to an appropriations bill.  Gosar’s amendment passed the House on a voice vote, but its fate is uncertain as it heads to the Senate.

The Gibbs bill, as well as the Gosar amendment, is modeled after a similar measure that became law in 2009 affecting National Park Service land.  Army Corps of Engineers land was not part of that bill, something the Corps was quick to point out after that law took affect.

The Corps said, in a statement: “Public Law 111-024 does not apply to Corps projects of facilities . . . [and the Army Corps] will continue to prohibit loaded concealed weapons on Corps properties regardless of the new law and notwithstanding any contrary provisions of state law.”

Rep. Gibbs’ bill will reverse the Corps’ decision.

“The Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act is a bipartisan effort to restore Second Amendment rights to law-abiding citizens while they are legally camping, hunting, and fishing on the 11.7 million acres of Army Corps recreational property,” Gibbs said. “Families and sportsmen taking advantage of this federal land should not have to worry that their legally obtained concealed weapon permit is invalid.”-[source]

The gun and owner were reunited after a history buff in Medford, who bought the old handgun in an online auction last month, tracked [...]]]> A historic Colt .45-caliber, semi-automatic pistol stolen more than 30 years ago from a Medal of Honor winner in South Carolina has been returned to its rightful owner.

The gun and owner were reunited after a history buff in Medford, who bought the old handgun in an online auction last month, tracked down the retired Marine whose name is engraved on it.

“I knew if I found him and it was his gun, I couldn’t keep it,” said George Berry, 71, who knew little about the history of the gun when he purchased it from an auction house in Pennsylvania.

The story begins when Berry, a retired Navy warrant officer who also served in the Marine Corps, decided this summer to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning one of the historic handguns.

“I’ve always wanted to own a Colt Model 1911 .45 automatic — always wanted one,” he says. “John Wayne had one in every World War II movie I’ve ever seen him in.”

Early in July, he began searching the Internet and discovered that Alderfer Auction, a well-known auction firm in Hatfield, Pa., would be offering three of the Colt .45s in a July 12 auction.

In particular, lot No. 78 caught his eye: “Colt 1911 A1 semi-automatic pistol. Cal. 45. 5″ bbl. SN 0103889. Reblued finish on all metal, plain walnut Colt grips, after-market rear sight, no magazine,” the description read.

“Faint ‘USMC’ stamped on right side of slide, partial ‘United States Property’ wording is visible,” it continued. “The name ‘John J. McGinty USMC’ stamped on left side of slide. Very good.”-[source]

The incident began with a burglary at a home on Bainbridge Island where the homeowner says he found a man in his kitchen going through drawers and cabinets. The intruder reportedly grabbed a knife and went after the homeowner who [...]]]> A suspected burglar is recovering after being shot by driver who happened to be passing by.

The incident began with a burglary at a home on Bainbridge Island where the homeowner says he found a man in his kitchen going through drawers and cabinets. The intruder reportedly grabbed a knife and went after the homeowner who retreated to the backyard where he armed himself with a hammer.

Police say the suspect then left the house with a knife and confronted another man who was sitting in his car.

The driver fired three shots and held the suspect until police arrived.

Officers say the driver acted in self-defense and will not be charged.

The wounded suspect is expected to recover.-[source]

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) plans to offer an amendment this week protecting gun rights on land controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Currently, guns are prohibited on Corps land, even when gun possession is otherwise allowed by state law. Rep. [...]]]> Vote on Pro-gun Amendment Could Come in the House This Week

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) plans to offer an amendment this week protecting gun rights on land controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Currently, guns are prohibited on Corps land, even when gun possession is otherwise allowed by state law. Rep. Gosar’s legislation would simply remove federal restrictions and allow for the law of the states (in which such land is located) to govern firearms possession.

The Gosar amendment, modeled after the Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act (H.R. 1865) introduced by pro-gun Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH), is similar to a 2009 law repealing the gun ban on National Park Service land. Army Corps of Engineers land was not part of that bill, something the Corps was quick to point out after that law took affect.

The Corps said, in a statement: “Public Law 111-024 does not apply to Corps projects or facilities . . . [and the Army Corps] will continue to prohibit loaded concealed weapons on Corps properties regardless of the new law and notwithstanding any contrary provisions of state law.”

The amendment will reverse the Corps’ decision and remedy the “oversight” of the lands bill.-[source]

But have you ever wondered how it affects you and your Second Amendment rights?

First, a brief background:  Since he took office, Barack Obama has increased the federal budget from a scandalous $3.1 trillion a year to an even-more-scandalous $3.8 trillion a [...]]]> You’ve heard a lot about the “debt limit” fight going on in Washington.

But have you ever wondered how it affects you and your Second Amendment rights?

First, a brief background:  Since he took office, Barack Obama has increased the federal budget from a scandalous $3.1 trillion a year to an even-more-scandalous $3.8 trillion a year.

Even worse is what he’s done with the additional 2/3 of a trillion per year.  Of interest to gun owners:

* Obama has begun to implement the first stages of ObamaCare, which would create a national medical database, which could be trolled by ATF in order to take away the gun rights of tens of millions of Americans;

* ATF has used its Fast and Furious operation (funded with $10 million from the stimulus bill) in order to put guns in the hands of Mexican drug cartels, ostensibly for the purpose of passing more gun control in Washington;

* ATF has moved forward on its illegal regulations to require the registry of multiple sales of many long guns; and

* ATF has moved forward on its efforts to impose an import ban on shotguns.

As far as we’re concerned, a government large enough to implement an anti-gun ObamaCare is much, much too large.

Now the bill has come due, and Barack Obama is trying to borrow $2 trillion to pay for his anti-gun agenda.

He cannot be allowed to succeed, unless the deal blocks the $2 trillion from being used to pursue ObamaCare and an anti-gun agenda.-[source]