February 11, 2009 2:42 PM
- Text
FBI Head Wary Of High Court's Gun Ruling
(AP)
FBI Director Robert Mueller on Monday criticized the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, saying it may harm efforts to deter violent crime.
Speaking at a convention of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators in Hartford, Mueller said the ruling "does throw a lot of things up in the air."
By a 5-4 vote last week, the nation's highest court struck down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns, the first major pronouncement on gun rights in history. It upheld the right for communities to license guns.
Mueller said communities will have to determine their own license programs. As a former Marine who served in Vietnam, he said "I tend to believe weapons harm people and more often than not they harm the people carrying them."
With his grandchildren going to college, Mueller said he hopes "those campuses will be weapons free."
Mueller said the FBI's top priority remains counterterrorism, counter-intelligence and protecting the secrets of the United States.
He said college campuses and small communities could be "potential incubators of terrorism" even while major cities such as New York and Los Angeles remain primary targets for terrorists.
"The fact is we can't rule out any community in the United States as a potential incubator of terrorism," Mueller said.
Speaking at a convention of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators in Hartford, Mueller said the ruling "does throw a lot of things up in the air."
By a 5-4 vote last week, the nation's highest court struck down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns, the first major pronouncement on gun rights in history. It upheld the right for communities to license guns.
Mueller said communities will have to determine their own license programs. As a former Marine who served in Vietnam, he said "I tend to believe weapons harm people and more often than not they harm the people carrying them."
With his grandchildren going to college, Mueller said he hopes "those campuses will be weapons free."
Mueller said the FBI's top priority remains counterterrorism, counter-intelligence and protecting the secrets of the United States.
He said college campuses and small communities could be "potential incubators of terrorism" even while major cities such as New York and Los Angeles remain primary targets for terrorists.
"The fact is we can't rule out any community in the United States as a potential incubator of terrorism," Mueller said.
Latest Now in National
- 28 more airports to try lower-hassle security
- Report: L.A. teacher aide sent boy love letters
- Dale Earnheardt death: Darrell Waltrip opens up
- Josh Powell's family: He didn't cause "tragedy"
- Calif. surfer runs fastest-growing camera company
- Desert penguins not cool, say activists
- Mixed reaction as LA school replaces staff
- Are too many SEAL secrets being made public?
- Check blood pressure in both arms: Study
- Rhino escape rehearsal for Japan zoo
- Are Navy SEALS getting too much publicity?
- Gloria Estefan on her fabulous 50s
- Catholic groups balk at covering birth control
- "Person to Person" returns to CBS after 50 years
- STOCK Act sailing through Congress, so far
- Impact of Santorum's momentum on GOP race
- Santorum makes comeback in three states
Latest CBS News Headlines
on Facebook Most Discussed Stories
on CBS News
- French TV sued over skit linking Nadal to doping
- Netherlands prepares for 125-mile skating race
- United Tech downplays issuing stock for Goodrich
- Romance & Finance: 5 financial tips for couples
on Facebook Most Discussed Stories
on CBS News






