Store clerk Nicole Tucker, 21, first noticed the man wandering around Tucker's Market around 4 p.m. when the store was very busy. He'd said he was looking for a friend. An hour later, when Tucker was alone in the store, the man returned. "l was by myself the second time," she said. "He confronted me about money, he said, 'Give me your money or I'll blow your brains out. "'The man acted as though he had a gun in his pocket. As he came around the counter toward her, his view was momentarily obstructed and Tucker used that to her advantage. She grabbed the gun kept in the store, which stopped the man in his tracks. "He must have seen me with it (the gun) because he took off and ran back out the door. I followed him ... I pointed the gun at him, but I never fired," she explained. Police were on the scene within 30 seconds, but the suspect remained at large. Tucker's coworker, Doris Clark, praised Tucker's actions. "The only reason he didn't get anything was that when he came around the corner, he was facing a gun," Clark said. "She was a very brave young lady, and I compliment her very much for her bravery." (Altavista Journal, Altavista, VA, OS/ 14/03)

A 64-year-old Tacozaa, Wash., resident confined to his bed managed to defend himself when attacked by an intruder. He had just heard his wife leave the house when there was a loud bang, and then the back door was kicked in. The homeowner grabbed his gun in one hand and the phone to dial 9-1-1 with the other. That's when a strange man entered his room, hiding his face with a handkerchief and intoning, "I'm going to get you." According to the resident, "That's when I shot him." The wounded intruder and an accomplice fled, and police alerted area hospitals. The homeowner—who said he's kept a gun in his home for protection for years, but had not fired it outside the range before the incident—said, "I'm thoroughly convinced this guy would have killed me." (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA, 06/03/03)

A Phoenix, Ariz., construction equipment company had been hit by a string of burglaries, so the owners decided to take turns standing guard at night to ward off any more thieves. Early one Tuesday morning Douglas Click, one of the owners at Arizona Hi-Lift, was guarding the company armed with a shotgun. He confronted two men who were stealing items from the equipment yard, and they attacked him with a metal rod, according to Phoenix Police Detective Tony Morales. Click responded by firing at his attackers, and one was fatally wounded. Detective Morales said no charges would be filed against Click as, "he was in fear of his life and he was being attacked." (The Arizona Republic, Phoenix, AZ, OS/20/03)

A 75-year-old Independence Township, Mich., man was sitting on his couch watching television when he heard a loud noise. The homeowner went to investigate, and as he entered the kitchen he discovered three men coming in his back door, which had been kicked open. There was an exchange of gunfire between the resident and intruders, and the would-be burglars fled. Unfortunately, the man wasn't able to provide good descriptions of the intruders for police. (The Oakland Press, Pontiac, Ml, OS/13/03)

A south Houston, Texas, couple was loading items into their car in front of their home when two young men approached them and struck up a conversation. The woman said the men made her uncomfortable, and she immediately backed away from them. She noticed that as one man kept talking the other was moving behind her husband and kept his hand deep in his pants pocket. The woman ran inside and called 9-1-1 and then looked out her front window. One of the men now had a gun pointed at her husband's head. She then ran into another room and picked up a gun just as the second man burst into her house. He came straight at her, and she fired the gun, striking him in the arm. The wounded man ran from the house, shouting to his partner that he'd been shot. The nefarious duo then ran off in opposite directions. Police had the two 16-year-old suspects in custody within minutes. (Southwest News, Bellaire, TX, 05/13/03)

When two armed men entered the Beyond Wireless phone store on East 38th Street in Indianapolis in an apparent robbery attempt, store manager Earl L. Dixon Jr. pulled out a gun. He then fired at one of the armed suspects, fatally wounding him. Dixon said when the two men entered and drew guns, "l thought I was going to die," so he dropped down and retrieved a gun he kept at the business and fired two or three times at the men. Indianapolis Police Detective Bob Flack investigated the shooting and said Dixon's actions were justified. "Weapons were pointed at him ... and he defended himself," Flack stated. (The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, IN, 04/29/03)

Two American high school teens-Alex and Eric, discuss their plan to brighten up a dull day.

It involves the assault rifle they've just received from a friendly courier. They have a small arsenal of other guns and ammo to go with it.

Alex and Eric are going to their school to hunt students.

"We'll just be able to pick them off one by one," says Alex, the mastermind. "Most importantly, have fun."

—From "Van Sant hits bullseye with teen gun film" in The Toronto Sun.

That reviewer's chilling account of the final reel of "Elephant" describes Gus Van Sant's much-touted new film that ghoulishly revisits the horrors of the 1999 Columbine High School mass murders and no doubt will be elevated by the gun-ban crowd to a cult status matching Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine." Scheduled this fall for American theaters, the film has already received fawning media attention and accolades in winning top honors at the Cannes Film Festival.

With that notoriety, this film will likely be a key part of the mass media frenzy devoted to the BIG LIE that is already in progress—a broad propaganda effort to demand expansion of Clinton's so-called "assault weapons" ban that is scheduled to automatically terminate on September 13, 2004.

Anyone who thinks this "sunset" provision is a done-deal has not reckoned with the raw power of the mass media to twist public opinion in favor of the law's re-enactment and expansion by Congress.

The worst example—so far—in this media campaign to demonize semi-automatics and steamroll a new prohibition was foisted on viewers by CNN in a "range demonstration," fraudulently claiming to show that pre-ban guns were deadlier, more powerful and more accurate than post-ban guns. It was staged by reporter John Zarrella with the collusion of Broward County (Florida) Sheriff Ken Jenne, whom CNN passed off as an impartial law enforcement officer, but who is in reality a former state politician—vehemently anti-gun and anti-NRA—appointed sheriff after he was derailed from his senate power base by gun-owner voters.

Prime news-time viewers across the country saw a deputy fire what Jenne claimed was a pre-ban AK-47, smashing cinderblocks and punching through a bulletproof vest. This was no semi-auto—it was a machine-gun on full-auto.

Then, the deputy fired what Jenne said was a post-ban gun—which appeared to do no damage at all.

In reality, while CNN's camera held on the undamaged targets, the deputy deliberately fired into the ground!

From beginning to end, this broadcast was a total fraud—THE BIG LIE in action.

The following day, I appeared on CNN challenging the network to come clean with the American people. I told them if The New York Times could fire a reporter for faking stories, CNN should fire Zarrella.

The news anchor tried to cut me off, saying, "No one fakes stories at CNN." They couldn't make me back down. This was live TV and I kept hitting them over and over again with the best weapon we have: the truth.

That confrontation set the network in turmoil. They knew they had colluded in a rigged story to promote their anti-gun political agenda. Viewers fried their phone lines and e-mail accounts. As a result, CNN was forced to air a second story—this time with Zarrella setting the record straight. Using our grassroots power, we ultimately shamed them into telling the truth.

CNN's phony demonstration was one of the worst examples of media fakery I have ever seen. But I fear it is not as sleazy and dishonest as what we will be seeing in the coming months. We must be prepared to fight a renewed battle to halt such cyIuca1 frauds.

With that in mind, I have formed the NRA Communications Strike Force—a grassroots partnership where you can work one-on-one with me and NRA staff to respond to anti-gun bias in the media. I'm asking that when you hear or see a biased anti-gun story on the broadcast media, write down the date, time and station information. Send me a note or email at strikeforce2004@nrahq.org or call (877) NRA-2004. When you see a story in your newspaper, copy it and send it to me. We will do our part. But you must also do your part by responding to all their anti-gun lies with the truth. Join the NRA Communications Strike Force and obtain a copy of Guns, Freedom and Terrorism at www.mynra.org, or call the NRA Sales Dept. at (800) 336-7402.

All the players who brought the so-called "assault weapons" ban into being 10 years ago will do anything and everything to keep the sun from setting on what they see as their beachhead in their war against our Second Amendment Freedoms. The spread of the BIG LIE is their chief weapon.

It is up to us—working together—to counter the lies, to make certain that the sun indeed sets on Bill Clinton's gun ban, so that on September 13, a year from now, a part of our lost American freedom will be regained.