In a case testing the limits of the second amendment, state authorities in New Jersey are trying to revoke the firearms license held by Rockaway Township resident Steven Hopler. Hopler, 47, was found to be keeping some 16 guns strewn around his house on bookshelves, under seat cushions and in an oven mitt. Many of them were loaded, which prosecutors says presented a danger to public safety. ''Most fair-minded persons viewing the photographs of how the weapons were stored might even shudder," said judge Thomas V. Manahan, who will decide the case on Thursday, "thinking of the propensity for danger.'' Hopler, who happens to be blind, shot himself in the leg two years ago while cleaning one of his guns. As reported by the Asbury Park Press, his attorney Gregg Trautmann argued that, "his client keeps multiple guns in handy locations because he wouldn't be able to run from room to room to find one if an intruder came in or his life was threatened." Seems like that might actually help the prosecution's case. But we'll see.

This is a sad story about the dangers of keeping firearms in the house and drinking alcohol near pets. Dennis Zeglin, 67, of Rudolph, New Jersey has been sentenced to perform 100 hours of community service as a part of Morris County's pretrial intervention program for first-time offenders after killing his African grey parrot, Mikey with a pellet gun. "Zeglin was intoxicated when he shot Mikey on June 7, 2009 because the parrot distracted him with its squawks as Zeglin watched a NASCAR race on television," the Asbury Park Press reports, citing Zeglin's attorney Richard Fletcher. "Zeglin willingly turned over the pellet gun, a Daisy PowerLine Model 93, to police and immediately started intensive counseling for alcoholism, Fletcher has said. He has said his client was extremely remorseful over the death of the parrot, which had been in the household for two decades."

You know what the police in Howell, New Jersey were thinking July 12th, when they got the APB about $500 worth of scrap metal being stolen from an auto repair shop on Route 9: Bubbles is using again. But lo, further details emerged."Police say they are on the lookout for suspects in a theft of about $500 worth of scrap metal from a Route 9 auto repair business," reports the Asbury Park Press. "They may have been driving a pickup truck with a number of distinct markings and adornments, including a bullhorn hood ornament, said Detective Anthony Romano on Monday." So police in New Jersey are on the lookout for Boss Hogg.