MADISON, Wisconsin — Republicans vowed Wednesday to oust from office those who helped defeat a bill to let Wisconsin residents carry concealed weapons. They also promised to introduce a new, leaner version of the bill next year. The rhetoric reflected a bitter rift in the Legislature over the proposal to lift Wisconsin's 134-year-old ban on concealed weapons. The schism has grown deeper after the state Assembly sustained Gov. Jim Doyle's veto of the legislation... (GunPolicy.org)

Police have lifted the suspension on Olympic shooting ace Michael Diamond's gun licence. Last week, 31-year-old Diamond was cleared by a magistrate of kicking and pulling the hair of his girlfriend, Tracey Kennedy, in a car park on September 28 last year. No conviction was recorded against Diamond on another charge of not securing a firearm properly. An application by Ms Kennedy for the extension of a temporary intervention order against Diamond was also rejected.... (GunPolicy.org)

POLICE have "lost" at least nine handguns in recent years, with two more being accidentally "baked" by their partners. Documents obtained under Freedom of Information show lax security has put police firearms into criminal hands. Police sources have told The Daily Telegraph that on at least two occasions Glock automatic pistols have been cooked in ovens after off-duty officers followed instructions to dismantle the weapons and keep them hidden — in these cases in... (GunPolicy.org)

OTTAWA — One day after releasing an "action plan" to empower backbenchers, the Liberal government said MPs will not be free to vote on spending estimates for the gun registry this spring. Jacques Saada, the Government House leader, also refused to commit to free votes on other government spending, saying such decisions will be made case by case. Mr. Saada's comments contradict those of his parliamentary secretary, Sarnia MP Roger Gallaway, who suggested recently... (GunPolicy.org)

History has its fair share of persecuted geniuses, men who were ahead of their time and made to pay for it. There's the hemlocked Socrates, the house-arrested Galileo, the exiled Rousseau. And to this list of giants it seems that we are now expected to add the name of Michael Bellesiles. Mr. Bellesiles is the former Emory professor who shook the scholarly world in 2000 with his book "Arming America." An academic bombshell, the tome went against long-held beliefs by... (GunPolicy.org)