Man who shot and killed three police officers sentenced to death

On April 4, 2009, 24-year-old Richard Poplawski of Pittsburgh, PA met police officers who were responding to a complaint at his doorway. He was wearing a bulletproof vest when he shot and killed two police officers and gunned down a third who later came to their aid. Poplawski surrendered after a four-hour gun battle.
Polawski had told his friends he was concerned that his guns were going to be seized during the Obama administration. His mother told police her son had been stockpiling guns and ammunition "because he believed that as a result of economic collapse, the police were no longer able to protect society."
Poplawski was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder. During the penalty phase of the trial Poplawski's attorney argued that he should not be sentenced to death because he had no previous criminal history and he had been raised in a dysfunctional home.
The jury rejected the argument and sentenced Poplawski to death.

Man sentenced to three months in jail for snow rage incident

26-year-old Eddie Lee Simmons "snapped" when he looked out his Bensalem, Pennsylvania window last January and saw a snowblower operator burying his car under a pile of snow. Simmons, a law abiding citizen who had excelled at college and had no criminal record, had just moved from North Carolina and parked his car late the night before in a tow-away zone, making snow removal difficult. When he saw his car being covered with snow, he grabbed a handgun, ran outside and pointed it at the snowblower operator saying, "Somebody had better move this snow, or somebody's going to get shot."
Simmons recently pleaded guilty to eight misdemeanors, including simple assault, terroristic threats, possession of an instrument of crime and carrying a firearm without a license. He told the judge he was "very embarrassed and ashamed."

NRA member arrested for loaded handgun on school property

According to J.J. Burns of King City, California, "All of them [NRA members] have a guiding principle of being law-abiding citizens and believe our constitution is the law of the land. NRA members obey all the laws that regulate the use and ownership of guns; criminals don't."

NRA members like 47-year-old Christian Zaccagni of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Zaccagni is a student at Luzerne County Community College. On Monday he gave a Power Point presentation in one of his classes urging students to lobby against gun control and to join the NRA. On Tuesday, Zaccagni was arrested and charged with possessing a weapon on school property and with carrying a concealed weapon without a license.
An anatomy teacher had called campus security after Zaccagni displayed erratic behavior in the classroom. The teacher was alarmed when Zaccagni was using a scalpel to make gestures to his throat. Campus security discovered a loaded handgun in Zaccagni's coat pocket. And even though Zaccagni claimed he has been around firearms for most of his life he admitted he did not have a permit to carry the weapon.
"The permit application is sitting on my China cabinet at home," Zaccagni said. He told reporters he "forgot" he had the loaded gun in his pocket. "I'm very sorry. I'm going to get expelled," he said.