Court: Foreign crime can't preclude U.S. gun ownership
By wire services
Published April 27, 2005
WASHINGTON - People convicted of crimes overseas still can own guns in the United States, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
In a 5-3 decision, the court ruled in favor of Gary Sherwood Small of Pennsylvania. The court ruled that U.S. law, which prohibits felons convicted in "any court" from owning guns, applies only to domestic crimes.
Justice Stephen G. Breyer, writing for the majority, said interpreting the law broadly to apply to foreign convictions would be unfair to defendants. If Congress intended foreign convictions to apply, they can rewrite the law to say so specifically, he wrote.
Black student accused of racist threats
BANNOCKBURN, Ill. - A black college student was arrested on a a hate crime charge Tuesday, accused of mailing racist threats to fellow minorities on campus because she was homesick and wanted to convince her parents the school was dangerous, authorities said.
The hate mail at 3,300-student Trinity International University spread fear among blacks and Hispanics on campus and prompted authorities to move more than 40 minorities out of their dormitories and into a hotel last week.
Alicia Hardin, 19, of Chicago faces charges of disorderly conduct and a hate crime.
She confessed to police on Monday, saying she was unhappy at Trinity and wanted to leave, said Lt. Ron Price.
Islamic scholar guilty of encouraging violence
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - An Islamic scholar who prosecutors said enjoyed "rock star" status among a group of young Muslim men in Virginia was convicted Tuesday of exhorting his followers in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to join the Taliban and fight U.S. troops.
The convictions against Ali al-Timimi, 41, carry a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison without parole.
Calif. panel advances gay marriage bill
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A bill to legalize same-sex marriage in California cleared an Assembly committee Tuesday despite arguments that it violates a gay marriage ban approved by voters five years ago.
The 6-3 vote by the Assembly Judiciary Committee marked the first test for the measure, which would amend the state family code to define marriage as between "two persons" instead of a man and a woman.
In 2000, more than 61 percent of voters passed a proposition that said the state would only recognize marriages as between a man and a woman. The state Constitution prohibits the Legislature from amending statutes enacted by voters.
