When governments don't even trust the police to own guns

It is hard to understand how the government in Australia can object to the police owning semi-automatic guns, but the hysteria seems to know no bounds:

The Police Association also today condemned any attempt by police command to wind back the issue of guns to operational members.

Workplace delegates at a meeting in Melbourne today unanimously endorsed the introduction of semi-automatic weapons and expressed outrage at a proposal to go before Victoria Police's corporate committee tomorrow to remove weapons from some members.

Idaho concealed weapons permit holders could carry guns in more states

Senate Bill 1135 would give Idaho's attorney general the ability to negotiate agreements with other states so Idaho permits would be recognized elsewhere. The measure is welcome news to some area gun owners.

Who gets denied concealed handgun permits when discretion allowed

The newspaper article says it all, "If he can't carry a gun, who can?" (registration required):

The 23-year-old East Side native served 15 months with the Army in Iraq at Baghdad International Airport and Camp Dogwood. Last week, St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington denied him a carry permit. Dirks' primary job in Iraq was repairing the weapons systems on Bradley Fighting Vehicles. He also stood guard with the M249 light machine gun and .50-caliber heavy machine gun. He has fired the TOW anti-tank missile, the 25 mm cannon on the Bradley, the M-16, thrown grenades and "a few extra bonuses that came with my job," he said in a recent interview. Despite all this experience, he was denied a carry permit under the system the concealed-carry law was designed to replace.

CSPAN replaying presentation on Judicial Confirmation Process

The conference was interesting with useful comments from the participants and the audience. CSPAN3 is available here. It should be on from 12:30 to a little after 2 PM. It should also be replayed again at 7 PM EST tonight. The paper can be found here.

UPDATE: After the initial live broadcast, the show got a lot of coverage on CSPAN. CSPAN2, Monday, February 14, 2005, 9:55 to 11:25 PM; CSPAN2, Tuesday, February 15, 2005, 1:30 to 3:00 AM; CSPAN3, Tuesday, February 15, 2005, 12:30 to 2:00 PM; CSPAN3, Tuesday, February 15, 2005, 7:00 to 8:30 PM; and CSPAN3, Wednesday, February 16, 2005, 7:00 to 8:30 PM.

"Burglar-alarm policy prompts call to arms"

With his city's police force poised to become the first in California to stop responding to most burglar alarms, Fremont insurance salesman Dennis Wolfe is urging his fellow citizens to arm themselves.

"I absolutely believe everybody should own a gun in Fremont now," Wolfe said Thursday. "If the police aren't going to protect us, we have to protect ourselves." . . .

"If you were a crook and you were going to burglarize a home, would you go someplace you have a chance of getting caught or a place where you have an invitation?" he asked.

As expected, Wolfe comes in for some personal attacks.