Women, girls taking up guns, shooting in higher numbers - here are pink guns. Pink ear protection. Pink shell pouches. For your car, don't miss the pink "Pistol Packing Princess" sticker. And if you want to pack heat while lunching at your favorite tea room, a purse with a special pistol holster is de rigueur.  All of this is aimed at women who want to own a gun — for protection, for hunting or for sport shooting — a rapidly growing demographic. But don't let all that girly pink fool you. Women in the United States, and Iowa, for example, take their firearms seriously.  Research by the National Sporting Goods Association shows female participation in target shooting grew by 46.5% between 2001 and 2010. And an October 2011 Gallup Poll found 23% of women own a gun.

Big win for gun-rights groups: Federal appeals court tosses state ban on carrying concealed weapons - In a huge win for gun-rights groups, a federal appeals court in Chicago Tuesday tossed the state's ban on carrying concealed weapons and gave Illinois' Legislature 180 days to craft a law legalizing concealed carry.  "The debate is over. We won. And there will be a statewide carry law in 2013," said Todd Vandermyde, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association.  In its majority opinion, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in two cases downstate that challenged the state's longstanding prohibition against carrying concealed weapons.

Town looking at gun policy - The Clermont Town Board is considering whether to revise its recently adopted Workplace Violence Policy to allow town employees to carry guns on town property. At Monday’s Town Board meeting, Councilman Ed Kahle read a three-page argument for the Constitutional right to bear firearms, a town resident spoke at length on guns as guarantors of safety and another resident offered a brief opposing view.

Zombies are among reasons for increased gun sales - Gun sales are soaring across the country. The FBI reported earlier this week requests for background checks skyrocketed 20 percent on Black Friday over the same day last year. A noted gun rights advocate says zombies are just one reason why.  "There is I guess, you would call it a cottage industry that's sprung up in the last couple of years," Dave Workman of the Second Amendment Foundation and editor of The Gun Mag said in an interview with Ross and Burbank.  He's not kidding.

New York AG Takes On "Reciprocity" Gun Bill - As it currently stands, the Second Amendment guarantees U.S. citizens the right to own firearms. But each state is permitted to place its own restrictions on the types of firearms -- and the manner in which they're possessed -- that people are allowed to own. A bill making its way through Congress would grant "reciprocity" for gun owners in states where they don't actually live. In other words, if you can carry a concealed handgun under Ohio law, an Ohio resident can carry a concealed weapon in New York -- regardless of New York's gun laws.

Court Of Appeals Panel Upholds Constitutionality Of NY Restrictions On Concealed Weapon Permits - A federal Court of Appeals panel has rejected a constitutional challenge to New York's handgun licensing law, a ruling state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is hailing as a major victory for public safety.  In Kachalsky, et al. v. Cacace, et al, five people from Westchester and The Second Amendment Foundation argued that the state's gun laws -- which require a demonstration of "proper cause" to obtain a concealed-carry permit -- violated Second Amendment protections. To qualify under New York's licensing laws, the applicant has to show “a special need for self protection distinguishable from that of the general community or of persons engaged in the same profession.”