Free Republic

A bill introduced in the New Mexico legislature would ban the sale of all handguns except those equipped with smart-gun technology, the New Mexican reported February 18th. While smart-gun technology is under development, no such products exist on the market today. The technology prevents unauthorized people from firing weapons. The Handgun Safety Standard Act introduced by Representative Gail Beam (D-Albuquerque) would require the state to establish a commission to adopt and disseminate handgun-safety standards. The measure also allows residents to keep the conventional handguns they already own. "It's a public-health initiative because accidental death by guns is rampant in the...

MUDDY SUNDAY Earlier this week Democratic Senators were briefed by senior Democratic National Committee staffers on the events and plans the party has come up with for the final days before Tuesday's elections. "You're going to be seeing a lot of stories on Sunday about Republican candidates all over the country just pop up," says a Democratic Senate staffer who was afterward told about the meeting by his boss. "Various campaigns have held back on opposition research and are looking to have those stories dumped over the weekend leading into election day." It wasn't clear from the briefing whether the...

ALBUQUERQUE—A New Mexico scientist who served as a weapons inspector says Iraq's primary roadblock in building nuclear weapons has been in getting core materials. Retired Sandia National Laboratories scientist Paul Stokes took inspection teams into Iraq while Saddam Hussein was cooperating with the United Nations in 1994 and 1995. "We could go anywhere, anytime, unannounced," Stokes said. Stokes knows that Iraq had some computer-controlled machine tools that could be used for cut precision parts and plans for nuclear weapons in 1995. But years later, he says the country still might have trouble getting core nuclear materials and tools. "They certainly...

N.M. Man Shoots 2 After House Blast New Mexico Man Injured in House Explosion Shoots at Would-Be Rescuers, Killing Two ROSWELL, N.M. March 16 — A man injured in a house explosion shot at his rescuers, killing a paramedic and a neighbor and wounding the fire chief and a child before committing suicide Saturday. Police said they do not know any motive. The shooter, whose identity was not released, had suffered burns in the house fire and had sought help from his neighbor Randy Houghton, said Officer Robert Giles, a police spokesman. Steve Lovato, an emergency medical technician, and other...