From Little Rock, Arkansas comes a report that Arkansans with permits to carry concealed handguns could bring their firearms to church under House Bill 1237 filed in late January by State Rep. Beverly Pyle of Cedarville. The bill would remove “any church or other place of worship” from the list of places that a person with a license to carry a concealed handgun is not allowed to carry a gun under state law, according to Arkansas News. “Because of so many things that’s happened across our nation in our churches, so many incidents and deaths, this is something that needs to be addressed before something else happens in our state,” Rep. Pyle said. The bill also would allow concealed handguns in the parking lots of places of worship. Rep. Pyle said a church could post a sign banning handguns but would still be allowed under the bill to give certain people permission to carry guns into the church. Fourteen house members have signed on as cosponsors of the bill.

In Vancouver, Washington, a man wearing only his underpants caught a burglar breaking into his home and held him at gunpoint, officers said. The suspected prowler was facing serious charges after the alert homeowner caught him in the act and held him at gunpoint early one morning last month, reported KPTV. Police said Matthew Morris, 24, was trying to break into the family’s cars and possibly their home, when he ended up facing the barrel of the homeowner’s gun. A woman the TV channel would refer to only as “Sandy” was shaken up after the incident. “We were afraid,” she said. “I mean, my husband was afraid and I was afraid for my children and our safety.” After a recent string of car break-ins, Sandy and her husband set out a motion sensor in front of their house. So when the alarm was activated, they didn’t hesitate. “We went to the window and saw the person in between our two vehicles and then trying to look in the front window,” she said. Her husband then grabbed one of their guns and ran out to confront the man.

“In radical Muslim countries,” writes Carl Solomon of Delray Beach, Florida in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, “young children are being trained as suicide bombers – marching, firing AK-47s, being taught that anyone who opposes jihad is an enemy of God and deserves to die. Meanwhile in this country, children have been expelled from school for pointing their finger and saying ‘bang.’ When I was young…I remember carrying a cased .22 rifle from class to class to participate in target shooting at the end of the school day. When Obama stated he would respect the Second Amendment, that was only a ploy to get votes from legal gun owners who believed him. Ask yourself, who is going to win this war on terror? A totally unarmed population (the United States) or the radical fanatics who believe America is the ‘Great Satan?’”

Beretta U.S.A. Corporation announced in late January from Accokeek, Maryland its receipt of a U.S. Army contract to provide up to 450,000 Beretta Model 92FS pistols to U.S. military customers throughout the world. The total value of the contract, if all pistol quantities and spare parts are ordered, is $220 million. “We are honored to see the quality and performance of the Beretta Model 92FS pistol continues to be acknowledged in this dramatic way,” commented Cav. Ugo Gussalli Beretta, President of Beretta U.S.A. “It is clear that the Beretta 9mm pistol still sets the standard for military users throughout the world.”

“Each year across the United States, there are 5,000 gun shows like the one held the weekend after Christmas in Kansas City,” reports Lauren Kirby from Kansas City, Missouri in VOA News. “Although there are no official statistics to tell us how many firearms are actually sold at these gun-trade expositions, a typical gun show will draw anywhere from two to 10 thousand people. So for small town gun retailers like Barry and Madonna Walker, these events are a gold mine of potential customers. With the current surge in gun sales, the Walkers are attending three shows a week.”