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Public Health News?: A study from a notoriously anti-gun source in
California claims that 39.4% of firearms used in crimes in that state
are sold by only 1.3% of licensed dealers. Without citing any hard data,
the report's author goes on to claim, "We know that nationally just over
1 percent of retailers sell nearly 60 percent of crime guns. If similar
retailer profiles are discovered, then law enforcement can begin to
address national crime gun sales more efficiently."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=34996
---
From John Farnam:
11 Dec 05
SA's trouble with tourists:
"Forty German travel agents were robbed at gunpoint in their bus in Cape
Town's Khayelitsha Township Wednesday night. Two armed men entered the
group's stationary tour bus and demanded money. The travel agents, who
are on a week-long educational/promotional visit to South Africa, were
in country as guests of SA's Tourism Bureau. All had been assured that
SA's reputation for a high level of violent crime had been 'greatly
exaggerated.'
A spokesman for the Tourism Bureau said he was 'deeply concerned' with the
incident."
Comment: SA's new draconian gun laws have apparently failed to deliver
on the promise of a lowered rate of violent crime! I don't think any of
these travel agents are going to recommend SA as a tourist destination.
/John
11 Dec 05
Christmas Shopping, from a friend and Instructor on the East Coast:
"My wife rarely carries. I, of course, do. We started our annual
Christmas shopping day on Saturday. We went separate ways, making
arrangements to meet for lunch at a local restaurant. Coordination was
via cell phone.
Mid-morning, my wife called and advised that she would be fifteen
minutes late for lunch. However, her phone, which had started the day
with only a half charge, died during our conversation. Our young
daughter was with her.
While I was waiting at the restaurant, my daughter came in alone and
advised me that "mommy was sick" in the car. I rushed out to the
parking lot and found my wife suffering an from vertigo, induced by
heavy perfume smells in the department store where she had been
shopping. She was nauseous and on the verge of vomiting, unable to get
out of the car.
I gave her an Antivert and waited there with her until it began to
work. In the interim, I charged her cell phone battery via the charger
I keep in my vehicle. As the weather was pleasant, we decided I would
take the children back to the restaurant for lunch, while she rained in
the car. I left her my back-up pistol (Kahr-9).
I learned my lesson! A cell-phone battery, one-half charged, is
inadequate to get one through a busy day! A cell-phone battery charger
in every vehicle is a must. We only had one, in my car. We never
considered it necessary to have one in her vehicle. We know better now!"
Lessons: Emergency/safety equipment needs to be well maintained and
checked regularly. It is all too easy to let slide things like regular
battery charging. Dead phones can be more than a just a nuisance!
Back-up pistols are critical, not just for the carrier, but for the
otherwise unarmed person whom the carrier may have to quickly arm in an
emergency.
/John
(Yes, but why wasn't the wife carrying her own handgun, particularly
when holiday season is such a popular time for muggers to ply their trade?)
11 Dec 05
ND story, from a friend with a corrections dept:
"We two ND's here last week. An officer was preparing to 'turn in' her
pistol (G17). She stood in front of the clearing barrel and attempted
to unload. She removed the weapon from the holster, pointed it at the
barrel, cycled the slide (ejecting the chambered round), released the
slide (chambering another), and then pressed the trigger. The weapon,
of course, discharged. Astonished, she then re-cycled the slide and
pressed the trigger again! To her chagrin and amazement, the weapon
discharged a second time.
At this point, an armorer came out and relieved her of the pistol. This
officer is new, having been with us only a few weeks."
Comment: What is so clear and obvious to us instructors is not always
clear to students. This officer got her sequence mixed up during the
unloading process. In addition, she left out the final step and failed
to physically check the pistol before attempting to "dry fire."
Adequately detailed explanations and sufficient repetitions are the key
to competent instruction, but, when we're racing the clock, sometimes
students, like this one, get left behind.
Not all who carry guns are "gunmen," just as not all boat owners are
mariners. Our goal should to be produce gallant, competent,
professional gunmen, not merely timid, amateurish, occasional gun carriers.
/John
(One advantage of revolvers, particularly for those who don't really
enjoy firearms, is the simpler, safer administrative handling. A few
years ago I was called to the hospital emergency room and was intrigued
to see that one of the two correctional officers guarding the patient
was armed with a revolver, rather than a Glock. When I commented that he
seemed to share my preference for revolvers he replied that he preferred
it to a Glock for duty such as prisoner transport because, if it was
taken away from him, the assailant would not have as many rounds to fire
at him.)
15 Dec 05
Church Security
I just completed a training program for a large, Christian church in
FL. We trained the entire staff of ushers, which are being formed into
unit that has a secondary (security) function. Some are cops and carry
anyway, and a few others have local CCW permits and carry occasionally,
but, for the most part, inconsistently. All carry now, and all have
successfully completed the first phase of their training.
"Church security" seems a contradiction terms, but churches everywhere,
particularly Christian churches, have been compelled to seriously
address this issue. It is indigenous to our times!
The idea is to have a mini-police-force on property at all church
functions, a force consisting of armed church members who are trained
and can be called upon, at a moment's notice, to deal with a disturbance
or a security emergency.
On a philosophical level, my students struggled with this notion, and it
required a good deal of intense discussion for them to come to terms
with their new responsibilities. In the end, all recognized that this
was necessary and that they, each one, needed to step forward and
participate.
I see this as a trend. Christian and Jewish churches will increasingly
find themselves under attack, both ideologically and physically, by
Marxist politicians and violent Islamic evangelists alike. Most will
respond with na�ve denial, but some, like this one, will take
reasonable, albeit reluctant, steps to confront this challenge. They
deserve a lot of credit for confronting the threat honestly.
/John
(Without minimizing the increasing likelihood of churches and synagogues
to come under attack from Muslim extremists, religion is a common topic
of fixation among the mentally ill and churches have never been uncommon
sites for violent crime.)
16 Dec 05
Shooting in Iowa:
A suspect was convicted today of shooting and wounding a special agent
with Iowa's Division of Narcotics Enforcement. The incident took place
back in May.
The officer confronted the suspect on a stairway. The suspect then
produced a revolver and pointed it directly at the officer. In
response, the officer put up both his hands, holding his cell phone in
one of them. He made a useful target! The suspect fired. The single
bullet struck the cell phone and continued on through the officer's
hand. The suspect was arrested a short time later, without further
incident, by other officers. The wounded officer survived but suffers
from some permanent disability.
Lesson: Pilots have a saying: "In a mid-air emergency, (1) AVIATE, (2)
NAVIGATE, (3) COMMUNICATE." The sequence of events is more important
than the actual activities. What the saying emphasizes is FIRST THINGS
FIRST! One needs to aviate first, getting control of the aircraft.
Then, he can worry about where he is and with whom he needs to
communicate. Sequence is critical! Transposing steps is a recipe for
disaster!
Likewise, in a personal security emergency, we need to: (1) MOVE, (2)
EVALUATE, (3) DECIDE, (4) ACT. Communicating via cell phone is way down
the list! I'm not sure what putting up one's hands is designed to
accomplish.
In this business, whatever else we are, we must be decisive and
courageous. Hesitant ditherers need not apply. We see what happens
when they do!
/John
--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
