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Politics Make Strange Bedfellows: The New York Times moans that NYC's
Mayor Bloomberg has made financial contributions to at least seven
politicians who have received high ratings from the NRA-ILA. According
to Wayne LaPierre, this is because Mr. Bloomberg's positions on gun
control are out of step with the rest of the country's. "The problem
that he has is if he doesn't support candidates who support the Second
Amendment, he almost has no place to put his political dollars."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/nyregion/14bloomberg.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
---
Use Of Force, Michigan And Indiana: A TV station in South Bend IN
compares and contrasts the laws of self-defense in the two neighboring
states and looks at the impact and potential impact of stand-your-ground
legislation.
http://www.wndu.com/news/shootordontshoot/052006/shootordontshoot_49839.php
http://www.wndu.com/news/shootordontshoot/052006/shootordontshoot_49840.php
http://www.wndu.com/news/shootordontshoot/052006/shootordontshoot_49848.php
---
Catholicism And The Second Amendment: Having already studied how Jewish
law looks at self-defense
(
http://www.davidkopel.org/2A/LawRev/The-Torah-and-Self-defense.pdf),
David Kopel turns his attention to Catholic law on the topic and finds
that it provides some of the roots for the Second Amendment.
http://www.davekopel.com/Religion/Catholic-Second-Amendment.pdf
---
From John Farnam:
8 May 06
At a Defensive Pistol Course last weekend in IN, my instructors and I
had the opportunity to evaluate the FirstLight flashlight during actual
shooting exercises. Jeremy Ross, president of the company, graciously
brought down several copies for us all to use during our low-light shooting.
We all really like this product! It is a powerful, LED flashlight that
attaches to the back of one's support hand via a strap. It enables one
to shoot a pistol via his normal grip, and yet have a flashlight
instantly available to search and illuminate the downrange area. It is
out of the way, yet instantly accessible. I found it eminently usable
with the handgun, but I like it even more when used with a rifle or shotgun.
It puts light, on demand, downrange, right on line with the barrel.
But, the unit it attached to the shooter, not the gun! One can perform
all the things he does with an attached flashlight, without having to
physically affix the flashlight to the gun. Light and gun can be joined
when necessary, yet instantly separated when not. Permanently attaching
flashlights to guns, as I've noted in the past, carries with it all
kinds of problems.
We'll be using FirstLight product extensively this week. Intensity is
adjustable, but, on full power, it is a bright as my Gladius.
This is something all police need to look into!
/John
(I have no experience with this product and have to wonder how, attached
with a strap to the support hand, it can always be in line with the
bore. Still, it could be a useful product for use inside the home. I
recently received a second SureFire A2 Aviator [red LED's/white
high-intensity bulb] to replace a lost SureFire E2, of which I used to
carry a pair. I had expected now to carry a pair of A2's until I noticed
that the new one came with a fairly long lanyard. About five minutes of
experimentation and reflection led me to the decision to keep the second
A2 in the headboard of my bed, with the lanyard adjusted for wear around
my neck. In this mode, I can even use the A2 in conjunction with my
home-defense carbine, which is already mounted with a SureFire light of
its own, contrary to John's advice.)
8 May 06
One of the standard drills we do in our Basic Defensive Handgun Courses
is called "Battlefield Pickup." All students place their various pistols
on a table positioned on the firing line. Each student then shoots each
and every pistol, one by one, personally experiencing the various grip
shapes, sighting systems, trigger pulls, decocking levers, manual
safeties, magazine-release buttons and levers, and other controls. I
consider it a valuable exercise and surely worth doing for the general
education of the student.
Yet another good reason for this drill made itself known last weekend.
One of my students made an interesting comment after experiencing this
drill. He indicated that, after completing the drill, he now knows why
finger management is so important. Up until this drill, he had been
entirely too casual with regard to the placement of his trigger finger
during various gun-handling drills. His own pistol was a trigger-cocking
autoloader with a long trigger pull. Of course, we constantly corrected
him, but our gentle reminders seemed not to be sinking in.
When he started the Battlefield Pickup drill and scooped up the first of
several 1911s, his first shot went off way before he was ready!
Downrange to be sure, but he missed the target by a good distance. He
was startled, surprised, and definitely unhappy with himself!. He did
the exact same thing with the second 1911 he picked up. After that, he
got control of his finger and kept it in a strong, register position
until the sights were on target.
It was an important lesson, one he may have learned from listing to me,
but it was unequivocally confirmed and cemented in his mind via his own,
personal experience. That drill just may have prevented an accident!
Lesson: "What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I
understand!"
/John
(This drill has its place but not at the expense of being thoroughly
conditioned in the reflexive operation of the gun or guns that you carry
on a daily basis. I like to think that my students, who don't do this
drill on my range, learn trigger discipline regardless.)
--
Stephen P. Wenger
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
