The other day I reported an out-of-the-blue unsolicited $1 billion takeover bid for Freedom Group, the largest gun and ammunition manufacturer in the U.S. The March 11 proposal by a little-known Palm Beach, Fla., company called Global Digital Solutions struck me as dubious, given the would-be buyer’s tiny size and lack of a track record in the insular small-arms business. The needle on my bizarre-o meter twitched when Global Digital (GDSI) couldn’t put me in touch with its founder and chief executive, a serial tech entrepreneur named Richard Sullivan. Finally, there was the vituperative reaction from Freedom, a privately-held conglomeration controlled by the New York-based private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management. What the heck is going on here?

That Cerberus might unload Freedom Group—whose brands include Remington, Bushmaster, DPMS/Panther Arms, Marlin, Para USA, and Barnes Bullets—isn’t so far-fetched. Bushmaster manufactured the semiautomatic military-style rifle used by the killer in the December 2012 Newtown, Conn., elementary school massacre., and investor outcry following that horrific event put pressure on Cerberus to announce it would seek a buyer for Freedom Group. After shopping the company around for a while, Cerberus said it would recapitalize Freedom in an arrangement allowing antsy investors to step away from the gun business.

Global Digital’s Richard Sullivan, who eventually got back to me, insists that his ardor for Freedom is genuine. Despite the puny financial scale of his current operation, which trades over-the-counter and has a market capitalization of less than $60 million, Sullivan says he has a long history of starting and acquiring companies—and that he has big ideas for consolidating the fragmented U.S. gun business.

An affable guy with a thick Boston accent, Sullivan has some insightful things to say about the strangeness of established small arms manufacturers having so far resisted the integration of digital features into their products. He’s right that from a purely technological standpoint, it’s odd that small arms by and large haven’t progressed beyond mechanisms anchored firmly in the 20th century.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-31/the-man-bidding-to-buy-the-biggest-u-dot-s-dot-gun-maker-doesnt-own-one

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Police say a store manager shot at a teenager who tried to steal a sandwich from a pawn shop in Newport News Friday afternoon.

Around 12:30 p.m., Newport News police responded to the scene of shots fired at the Cash Money store on Warwick Boulevard, according to Harold Eley with the NNPD.

A male who appeared to be a teenager wearing dark clothing and a dark ski cap took a bag that had a sandwich in it. Police are not sure if the teen knew what was inside the bag.

As the teen left the store, the manager came in and saw him. The teen jumped into a vehicle and the manager followed, telling him to stop and fired a couple rounds from his firearm that did not strike anything.

http://wavy.com/2014/03/28/pd-store-manager-fired-shots-at-sandwich-thief/

Saint Petersburg, Florida – A bill has made its way onto the Florida house floor that would allow gun owners in certain situations to carry their weapons even if they do not have a permit.

"For both safety and protection reasons, firearm owners would want to have that ability," said Gary Miller, a concealed weapons permit holder. "That would be something that could be reasonable."

HB 209 would suspend concealed carry gun laws during mandatory evacuations in Florida July 1st, if it became law.

The breakdown means that if a State of Emergency is declared, and gun owners without a permit were forced to leave their homes, then they would not have to leave their weapon at home.

http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/2014/03/28/bill-would-ok-guns-without-permit-in-state-of-emergency/7040985/

WASHINGTON D.C. – Ron Davis, the father of slain teenager Jordan Davis, gave heart-wrenching testimony Tuesday against the controversial “Stand Your Ground” laws at a hearing before a transnational human rights commission.

Davis was part of a delegation of high-profile activists, including Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, who argued that the laws are not only flawed but also rife with racism.

“’Stand Your Ground’ all over this country is trumping the rights of human rights,” Davis testified before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

IACHR, the Washington D.C.-based commission, is charged with examining allegations of human rights abuses committed by members of the Organization of American States, which includes the United States.

http://thegrio.com/2014/03/26/international-community-takes-issue-with-stand-your-ground/

An upstate gun nut went to church Sunday and walked out the winner of a high-powered assault rifle similar to the one used to slaughter 26 innocent people at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

But Ron Stafford, 42, an avid hunter and single father of two from Schenectady, said he didn’t see what’s wrong about owning a gun or a church giving away an AR-15 rifle.

“I believe it’s the right of the individual, I believe the church and our God-given rights and our rights to follow the Constitution go hand in hand,” said Stafford, who doesn’t even belong to Grace Baptist Church in upstate Lansingburgh, but made the 25-mile trek from his home for the gun drawing.

“I like to shoot,” said the Second Amendment zealot. “I believe that this shows the will of the people and what this country is all about.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/gun-worshiper-wins-gun-church-raffle-article-1.1731578

Don’t hold your breath waiting for the state Legislature to fix Florida’s cockeyed stand-your-ground law. The National Rifle Association owns too many of the Republican lawmakers who could end the madness.

Nothing will get done as long as black kids are the ones getting shot by white guys claiming they acted in self-defense. What might eventually pressure politicians to change the law is when white guys start getting shot.

The jaw-dropping verdict in the Michael Dunn case in Jacksonville brought not a peep of outrage from GOP leaders in the House or Senate. The outcome shamefully underscored the lunacy of stand-your-ground, and once again put Florida in the national spotlight as a gun-nut mecca.

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20140227/OPINION04/302270019/Carl-Hiaasen-gun-nut-mecca-

STATE HOUSE -- In the two-way Democratic primary for attorney general, former prosecutor Maura Healey has developed a plan to reduce gun crimes that combines new technology such biometric trigger locks with social programs to address the root causes of street violence.

Healey, who left the attorney general's office to run for the state's top law enforcement job, plans to outline a strategy to reduce gun violence on Wednesday that would trace all guns used in crimes committed in Massachusetts, require all private gun sales to be conducted through a registered gun dealer and close what she described as a loophole that allows guns to enter the state untraced through gun shows and private sales.

"My plan is multi-faceted and that's the type of plan you need to address gun violence and promote gun safety," Healey told the News Service in an interview.

With gun violence solutions discussed by lawmakers as a top priority but yet to emerge in the Legislature this session, Healey said she would be an advocate for inclusion of many her proposals in legislation this year and studied the recommendations of a task force convened by House Speaker Robert DeLeo when crafting her plan.

http://www.nashobapublishing.com/ci_25422542/ag-candidate-outlines-approach-gun-violence

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- All five Democrats vying for the House of Delegates 37th District seat said Thursday that they would have voted against legislation that repealed the City of Charleston's ability to restrict firearms.

The bill, which was supported by the National Rifle Association and signed into law this week by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, prohibits cities and towns in West Virginia from passing gun-control laws stricter than the state has. Charleston officials have lamented that it forces towns and cities to allow concealed guns at recreation centers and community centers.

The 37th District includes much of Charleston's downtown, East End and West Side.

The candidates blasted state lawmakers for passing such a bill.

http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201403270279

BELTON (March 26, 2014) The Bell County Grand Jury declined Wednesday to return an indictment against a Temple man who was charged with murder after what police described as a road rage shooting that left a local wrecker driver dead on the side of a highway.

“The case was presented to this grand jury after an investigation from the Bell County Sheriff’s office as well as the District Attorney’s office, and the evidence was presented and after viewing the evidence presented to them the grand jury...declined to indict and issued a no bill in the case,” First Assistant District Attorney Murf Bledsoe said.

“The case had significant self-defense issues, he said.”

http://www.kwtx.com/news/local/headlines/Grand-Jury-Declines-To-Indict-In-Deadly-Road-Rage-Shooting-252501541.html

Holman and his wife, who was a passenger in his 2011 Volkswagen Jetta, told police that it was the Nunica man who was “driving erratically” and had cut them off, nearly striking their vehicle.

Police said Holman, who has a license to carry a concealed weapon, claimed he tried to get away from the complainant’s car, but the driver “kept driving near him.” Police said Holman denied pointing his silver Kilmer .45-semiautomatic pistol at anyone, claiming he put it in the glove compartment while driving because “he felt it wasn’t safe.”

When asked by a deputy how the other couple could know he had a gun, Holman replied it was impossible and they “may just be trying to get him into trouble,” police said.

Holman’s wife initially told police that she did not know if her husband showed his weapon, but she later claimed that he placed it on the dashboard. When told of his wife’s comment, Holman replied he did not know why his wife would make that statement, police said.

http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20140327/NEWS01/303270007/Driver-accused-pulling-gun