TUCSON - Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik was thrust into the spotlight to face a nation demanding answers in the aftermath of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. He didn't mince words.

The rampage of violence against helpless citizens in Mexico should be a lesson to all in the U.S. who hunger for restricting, then registering, then ultimately collecting our firearms.

"A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." — The Second Amendment

It is beyond belief that we have a handful of senators that want to filibuster to prevent even a vote on sensible gun control. When 90 percent of America is saying universal background checks are needed now. When over 75 percent of gun owners and NRA members are saying the same thing.

So what do we make of J.T. Ready, the white supremacist who murdered four people before turning his gun on himself?

Ever wondered why citizens are gunned down in droves in Mexico every day? Citizens are not permitted to possess weapons to protect themselves there. They are unarmed sitting ducks because they have no second amendment right to do so. And yet, they are being murdered constantly by other citizens. Other citizens who are also not permitted by law to possess weapons. It’s not hard to connect those dots and predict what would happen in America if we were not protected by the second amendment, is it? So, why is even one American citizen willing to throw away the right to bear arms — much less a majority of Americans (if we can believe the percentages being reported as anti-gun nuts, that is) being willing to become helpless victims?

Schedule for Mesa’s Convention Center 2013 Gun Shows: Jan. 12-13, Mar. 9-10, June 29-30, Sept. 28-29 and Nov. 9-10.

Joining rallies at statehouses across the country, hundreds of gun owners and Second Amendment advocates descended upon Arizona's Capitol on Saturday in support of gun rights amid federal proposals aimed at new strict gun controls.

Guns and lots of them are on display for sale in Mesa this weekend.

About Will Durst’s mistaken column about gun control and Senator Diane Feinstein’s rants about assault rifles — what does the 2nd Amendment have to do with hunting or target shooting? Nothing. What does it have to do with citizens defending themselves against a government-controlled militia? EVERYTHING! Just ask the successful Viet Cong, the Cambodian Khmer Rouge, the Taliban, and lots of other grassroots insurgencies. The Founding Fathers knew that, and so do a high percentage of US voters.

If you ask the typical hyper-political gun owner (and I have ... at Thanksgiving dinner), why it’s important to own a gun, they’ll bark about the Constitution. Yes, the Second Amendment: “The Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms Shall Not Be Infringed!”

Unsurprising news today. Just like dodo birds returning to their cliffs, Arizona legislators, committed to the notion that nothing is too farfetched or too dangerous for them to tackle, are trying to get students on our college campuses to be able to carry guns.  In a scene akin to running around the decks of the sinking Titanic, handing out guns rather than lifejackets, these self-proclaimed ideological extremists, mostly Republicans, prefer to view the world down the barrel of a gun.

I find it quite shameful that the Arizona Tea Party would hold a rally at our state Capitol and call it “.223 Second Amendment Rally.” To have a rally named after one of the guns used in the Sandy Hook Massacre is shameful.

Welcome to President Obama’s second term, America — that special place where ridiculousness replaces raison d’etre, and presidents give us things like gun control a’ la United Nations.

Gov. Jan Brewer said she won’t support any new laws to limit who can carry a gun, even in the wake of the killing of students and teachers in Connecticut.

As soon as firearms dealer Greg Wolff heard news of the mass shooting in Tucson, he knew what was about to unfold: Gun sales would skyrocket.

I'm a strong 2nd Amendment advocate, absolutely. But, every right and every law must be driven by common sense. The idea of opening up college campuses to guns cannot be reconciled with wisdom. Just ask those who will be forced to manage the consequences.

Of course only law enforcement and military should be allowed the possession of assault rifles. And, of course, alcohol should never be served to drivers. Never. And, illegal drugs should be kept away from everyone. Period. Anything that kills should be hidden from the mentally ill, the angry, the bullies, the too-young-to-know-any-better.

PHOENIX -- A Senate panel set the stage Wednesday for a confrontation between state and federal law enforcement over gun laws.

Most Americans, it’s a safe bet, probably don’t know that Canada has a national election on Monday, with the increasingly probable outcome that our friends and neighbors will have a new prime minister.

The Gun Lobby points out, cars kill more. To save lives and property, Vehicles are registered. Insurance is required. Inspections and limit auto of use and abuse for public safety.

In the Bill of Rights, the 2nd Amendment states “Being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Here we learn that we have a constitutional right to own and carry guns, but with this right comes a big responsibility.

A proposal to make it illegal for some Arizonans to enforce federal gun laws is raising concern by the nation's largest defender of the Second Amendment.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Mass shootings have rattled nerves and renewed calls for stricter gun laws. Doctors are thinking bigger. Gun violence is a social disease, they say, and it could be curbed with a public health approach like the product safety changes and driving laws that slashed traffic fatalities decades ago, even as cars on the road increased.