CHICAGO (Reuters) – Many U.S. gun owners fear a ban on assault weapons like one used in the Connecticut elementary school massacre would be the first step to taking away their guns, even though the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the right to bear arms.

Since a shooting rampage last Friday left 26 people dead at a school in Newtown, Connecticut using a type of assault rifle called an AR-15, a growing number of politicians have called for a ban on assault weapons.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Many gun owners fear a ban on assault weapons like one used in the Connecticut elementary school massacre would be the first step to taking away their guns, even though the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the right to bear arms.

Since a shooting rampage last Friday left 26 people dead at a school in Newtown, Connecticut using a type of assault rifle called an AR-15, a growing number of politicians have called for a ban on assault weapons.

LANSING, Michigan (Reuters) – Republican Governor Rick Snyder signed legislation on Tuesday that makes Michigan, the birthplace of the United Auto Workers, the 24th U.S. state to enact a “right-to-work” law that limits the rights of labor unions in the workplace.

The signing marked a whirlwind six days from introduction to final approval of the legislation, but a day that Republicans said was years in the planning.

LANSING, Michigan (Reuters) – As a trained aerospace engineer, Patrick Colbeck applied his penchant for data analysis and “systematic approach” to his new job in early 2011: a Michigan state senator, recently elected and keen to create jobs in the faded industrial powerhouse.

Those skills paid off handsomely for the first-term Republican this week as Governor Rick Snyder signed into law bills co-sponsored by Colbeck that ban mandatory union membership, making Michigan the nation’s 24th right-to-work state.

, Dec 13 (Reuters) – As a trained aerospace
engineer, Patrick Colbeck applied his penchant for data analysis
and “systematic approach” to his new job in early 2011: a
Michigan state senator, recently elected and keen to create jobs
in the faded industrial powerhouse.

Those skills paid off handsomely for the first-term
Republican this week as Governor Rick Snyder signed into law
bills co-sponsored by Colbeck that ban mandatory union
membership, making Michigan the nation’s 24th right-to-work
state.

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov 7 (Reuters) – For a brief moment on
Tuesday evening, it appeared that U.S. television networks might
have called the presidential election too early for President
Barack Obama as doubts crept in about whether the Democrat had
won Ohio as TV networks projected.

But despite quibbling on conservative television network Fox
News by veteran Republican strategist Karl Rove, and apparent
hesitancy to accept defeat by Republican Mitt Romney’s campaign,
the numbers on the ground told the true story.

COLUMBUS (Reuters) – Ohio’s liberal Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown was re-elected on Tuesday, beating a young Republican challenger in one of the most expensive Senate campaigns in the country.

The race had drawn just over $36 million in outside money, according to federal filings.

ROMEOVILLE, Illinois (Reuters) – Democrats appear unlikely to regain a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday despite a nationwide push, and a major reason could be disappointment in President Barack Obama’s home state.

In Illinois, Democrats began this election year determined to reverse a Republican gain of four U.S. House seats in 2010 that gave them a majority of the Illinois delegation in a state considered solidly Democratic.

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (Reuters) – When Ohio voter Paul Presta opened his door to two election canvassers one recent Saturday he interrupted them in mid-sentence and asked Jim Lewis about an issue close to his heart.

“Do you support the second amendment?” he asked, referring to the U.S. constitutional right to bear arms, and pointed at Lewis.

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (Reuters) – Ohio’s Senate race has become one of the most expensive in the country in the 2012 election campaign, as money pours into the state to help a young Republican challenger come within striking distance of Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown.

Ohio, a key prize in the race for the White House, also could decide which party controls the U.S. Senate.