Police are praising the courage of a concealed-carry permit holder who helped subdue a gunman in a deadly bank robbery. Chris Chappell was making a withdrawal when a man opened fire, killing two tellers and wounding two others. Chappell ran out of the bank and drew his gun, taking cover behind his SUV. The gunman tried to flee the bank, but encountered Chappell and ran back inside. At that time two passing sheriff's deputies noticed the disturbance and turned around to investigate. The gunman grabbed a hostage and made another attempt to escape, but he was met by Chappell and the deputies. When the gunman stumbled, one of the deputies subdued him with a gunshot. "It's certainly commendable.” said Jefferson County, Alabama, Sheriff's Sgt. Randy Christian. "It's obvious he played a key role in keeping the guy there until we could get there. It's a great testament to someone willing to take action.” (The Birmingham News, Birmingham, Al, 05/16/07)

Five people on a crime spree with an unloaded pistol and a baseball bat had robbed a 16-year-old of his cell phone, silver chain and wallet, and had also attempted to carjack a couple in their driveway. Later, according to police, they attempted to carjack a man at a car wash. The would-be victim, however, had a concealed-carry permit and a 9 mm handgun, which he used to shoot one of his assailants. The injured suspect's accomplices took him to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The surviving suspects face armed robbery charges. (Detroit Free Press, Detroit, MI, 05/19/07)

Brian Smith was walking toward his apartment when two men approached him. Police say the men pretended to be lost, but became violent as Smith gave directions. One of the men pulled a revolver from his waistband, but Smith, who has a concealed-carry permit, reacted swiftly, drawing his own revolver and firing two shots. One suspect was injured and arrested at the hospital, while the other remains at large. (Kalamazoo Gazette, Kalamazoo, MI, 05/18/07)

Upon having her ex-boyfriend charged with domestic violence and stalking, a woman began carrying a firearm for protection. According to police, her next encounter with the violent ex-boyfriend occurred at a store, where the man "threatened great bodily harm.”  The woman reported the threats to police, and they followed her home to be sure the man wasn't there. Officers searched inside the home, and found nothing suspicious-but they didn't check under the porch. When police left, the ex-boyfriend burst from under the home. The woman shot at him, but she missed and fled inside. Minutes later the ex-boyfriend broke down the back door and rushed at the woman, who shot her assailant twice. He was found hiding in a nearby garage by police. (The Town Talk, Alexandria, LA, 06/01/07)

An elderly man discovered an intruder less than one-third his age burglarizing his boat. Police say the young criminal sprang at the man, stabbing him in the chest. Despite his injuries, the victim retrieved a shotgun and fired upon his assailant, causing him to flee. The victim was expected to recover from his injuries. The suspect was charged with attempted murder after he was found seeking treatment for gunshot wounds. (The Mendocino County Observer, Laytonville, CA, 04/19/07)

According to police, a 36-year-old man awoke to popping noises resounding from the back of his residence. He took a AO-caliber handgun from his room and walked down the hallway to investigate. Detecting movement from the rear bathroom, the man opened the door and found a 16-year-old climbing through the window and another standing outside; both boys wore cotton gloves. The homeowner held both suspects at gunpoint until law enforcement arrived. Police arrested the boys on suspicion of burglary and possession of burglary tools. (The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, CA, OS/21/07)

"Thousands Wrongly Listed on Terror Watch List" - Newsday
"U.S. to Block Gun Buyers Tied To Terror" - New York Times

Those two headlines tell the story of deep media duplicity.

When it comes to well-placed fears over widespread errors, civil liberties abuses and injustices involving tens of thousands of innocent Americans whose names have been indelibly added to huge federal "terror watch lists,” the mainstream media is on the job, on point. Their concern is well-founded.

Yet that concern evaporates when the Washington-based media enthusiastically reports those very same lists will be used to bar suspected "terrorists" from buying guns under legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).ln their coverage of S. 1237, there is never a hint about deeply flawed, inaccurate lists, about the impossibility of ever getting off those lists or about the abuses by federal bureaucrats who manage the lists.

But in truth, Lautenberg's bill is not centered on "no fly lists,” or "terror watch lists.” It's far worse than that. Lautenberg's S. 1237 isn't about just "barring gun sales to terrorists.” It is about giving a future attorney general of the United States-think, a Hillary Clinton administration-power to declare anyone to be a "prohibited person" on a par with a convicted felon or fugitive from justice, all done in total secrecy. The criteria for this edict-making continued gun ownership a federal felony-will be based upon some faceless bureaucrat deciding a person is "appropriately suspected" of some link to terror.

Easily, the worst part of this secret "star chamber" proposal to take away an individual's Second Amendment rights through a top secret declaration is the language that makes it impossible for anyone to mount a defense.

" ... any information which the Attorney General relied on for this determination may be withheld from the applicant if the Attorney General determines that disclosure of the information would likely compromise national security.”

You won't see that actual language from the legislation quoted in the gunban national media. They don't want the American people to know what this legislation really does.

And what it does is violate the Constitution of the United States-not just the Second Amendment.

The Fifth Amendment to the u.s. Constitution says, in part, "No person shall . .. be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ... .”

Yet this is exactly what Lautenberg and his gun ban axis would do.

Again, let me repeat what this legislation actually does.

Lautenberg's S. 1237 gives the U.S. attorney general total discretionary power to make firearm possession or ammunition possession a felony for any individual American by a simple, secret stroke of the pen, with no due process whatsoever.

No due process. Deprived of liberty. Certainly. Deprived of property. Certainly.

Then there is the Sixth Amendment: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.”

The inalienable right "to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ... .”

Again, let me repeat the actual language of Lautenberg's S. 1237: " ... any information which the Attorney General relied on for this determination may be withheld from the applicant if the Attorney General determines that disclosure of the information would likely compromise national security.” (emphasis added) That language is an affront to the Constitution, and it should be an affront to the media as well.

That's not how the Constitution works. If someone is a legitimate threat to America, they shouldn't be on the street in the first place. They should be facing charges in our criminal justice system.

I suspect that many reporters and editors in far corners of this nation have become victim to either lazy reporting originating in Washington, or bias at those same gun ban media outlets. What has appeared in newspapers and broadcasts is boilerplate that has not gone beyond the false claims issued in the Lautenberg press release. I believe that if many local reporters and editorial boards actually knew what this legislation does, they would be horrified. If the Right to Keep and Bear Arms or the Fifth and Sixth Amendments can be suspended with a bureaucrat's edict, then so can the First Amendment.

Copy this column. Give it to your local editors, and ask them to pull down the actual wording of Lautenberg's tyrannical legislation from the Internet. Then ask them to read the Bill of Rights. If they are honest, they will understand the terrible dangers this presents to all our liberties.

At the same time, write, e-mail and call your U.S. Senators and Representatives. Tell them to vote against this legislation in any form, as a stand-alone bill or as an amendment to other legislation. Or innocent people are going to be caught up in a nightmare from which there is no escape-our Constitutional lifeline will have been forever severed.