Heller Material:
The Law Enforcement Brief:
http://www.gurapossessky.com/news/parker/documents/07-290bsacIntlLawEnforcementEduc&TrainersAssoc.pdf
The CCRKBA Brief:
http://www.gurapossessky.com/news/parker/documents/07-290bsacCitizensCommittee.pdf
The SAF Brief:
http://www.gurapossessky.com/news/parker/documents/07-290bsacSecondAmendmentFoundation.pdf
Index To All The Filings:
http://dcguncase.com/blog/case-filings/
---
Guns And Freedom - Results From 59 Nations: There are 59 nations for
which data about per capita gun ownership are available. This Working
Paper examines the relationship between gun density and several measures
of freedom and prosperity: the Freedom House ratings of political rights
and civil liberty, the Transparency International Perceived Corruption
Index, the World Bank Purchasing Power Parity ratings, and the Heritage
Foundation Index of Economic Freedom. The data suggest that the
relationships between gun ownership rates and these other measures are
complex. The data show that (although exceptions can be found) the
nations with the highest rates of gun ownerhsip tend to have greater
political and civil freedom, greater economic freedom and prosperity,
and much less corruption than other nations. The relationship only
exists in for high-ownership countries. Countries with medium rates of
gun density generally scored no better or worse than countries with the
lowest levels of gun rates.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1090441
---
The Human Right Of Self-Defense: This is the final version of an article
that I believe was previously linked in an earlier version. The article
is a counter to the UN drive to disarm civilians and includes a detailed
historical study on how international law evolved from Catholic doctrine.
http://www.davekopel.org/2A/LawRev/The-Human-Right-of-Self-Defense.pdf
---
Senators Disagree On Arizona Campus-Carry Bill: Guns in schools. The
words alone stoke emotion, conjuring images from a string of recent
school shootings, including the most recent on Valentine's Day that left
six students dead - including the assailant - at Northern Illinois
University. State Sen. Karen Johnson's answer has fueled further debate:
Legislation that would allow concealed-weapons permit holders to bring
their firearms to class. The Mesa Republican and supporters of her
proposal, Senate Bill 1214, say it would give innocent students and
faculty a fighting chance in the event that an Arizona classroom or
campus ever becomes the scene of an attack...
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0302point-counterpoint0302.html
---
NRA-ILA Alerts: Alerts for the week (and there are a lot this week) are
posted on the NRA-ILA website.
http://www.nraila.org/GrassrootsAlerts/read.aspx
---
From AzCDL:
Information on these bills and other legislation that AzCDL is tracking
can be found at:
http://www.azcdl.org/html/legislation.html .
There are a number of bills that will soon be voted on by the full House
(Third Read) before moving over to the Senate. We don't know when, but
it will be soon. It's time to remind your Representative who they work for.
HB 2389, an AzCDL requested bill removing the reference to vehicles in
ARS 13-3102 (misconduct involving weapons), passed out of the House
Committee of the Whole (COW) on Monday, February 25, 2008. An amendment
was added in the House COW that further clarified that "misconduct with
weapons" does not apply to a person carrying a weapon (without a CCW
permit) "in or on a means of transportation, excluding any public transit."
HB 2629, an AzCDL requested bill that clarifies when a defensive display
of a firearm is justified, passed out of the House Judiciary Committee
on Thursday, February 21, 2008. It is currently in the House Rules
Committee pending an amendment making a technical language correction.
From there it goes to the House COW.
HB 2630, an AzCDL requested bill that reduces the penalty for carrying a
concealed weapon without a permit to a petty offense, passed out of the
House COW on Monday, February 25, 2008. If you are not committing, or
attempting to commit, a serious or violent crime, HB 2630 reclassifies
carrying a concealed weapon without a permit as a petty offense.
HB 2634, an AzCDL requested bill that clarifies that a person with an
expunged or set-aside felony conviction, or one who has had their rights
restored, may obtain a concealed weapons permit, passed out of the House
Judiciary Committee on Thursday, February 21, 2008. It must be heard in
the House COW before being formally voted on in the House Third Read.
Please take the time to send a polite note to your Representative urging
them to vote for the passage of HB 2389, HB 2629, HB 2630 and HB 2634.
You can find your Representative here:
http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp .
In other news, HCR 2037, which would add a right to hunt and fish to the
Arizona Constitution, was scheduled to be heard in the House Natural
Resources and Public Safety Committee on Wednesday, February 20, 2008.
It was rescheduled for Thursday, February 27, 2008 but has been held
again for a later hearing.
Please take the time to contact the committee members and let them know
that you want HCR 2037 heard, and passed out of committee with a
recommendation for passage by the full House.
List of members' contact info:
Rep. Jerry Weiers - Chairman
Phone: 602-926-5894
Fax: 602-417-3012
[email protected]
Rep. Judy Burges - Vice-Chair
Phone: 602-926-5861
Fax: 602-417-3104
[email protected]
Rep. Andy Biggs
Phone: 602-926-4371
Fax: 602-417-3022
[email protected]
Rep. John Kavanagh
Phone: 602-926-5170
Fax: 602-417-3108
[email protected]
Rep. Barbara McGuire
Phone: 602-926-3012
Fax: 602-417-3123
[email protected]
Rep. John Nelson
Phone: 602-926-5872
Fax: 602-417-3112
[email protected]
Rep. Lynne Pancrazi
Phone: 602-926-3004
Fax: 602-417-3179
[email protected]
Rep. Kyrsten Sinema
Phone: 602-926-5058
Fax: 602-417-3015
[email protected]
Rep. Theresa Ulmer
Phone: 602-926-3002
Fax: 602-417-3124
[email protected]
Stay tuned! As relevant legislation progresses, we will keep you up to
date via these Alerts:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AZCDL_Alerts/ .
These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League
(AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots
organization. Join today!
AzCDL - Protecting Your Freedom
http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html
Copyright � 2008 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved.
---
From John Farnam:
24 Feb 08
"Polite Society" Event, Memphis, TN, 2008
I just completed the 2008 PS Event in Memphis, TN. Friend and
colleague, Tom Givens, puts this extravaganza on every February, and it
was, as always, an enormous benefit to all who attended. As last year,
the event took place at MPD's Academy.
Shooting exercises consisted of three "situational" drills, two in low
light, and one in normal, outdoor light. In the first one, you are
compelled to engage three, armed thugs in a parking lot, using your car
as cover. In the next, you are compelled to rescue your wife from armed
thugs who are attempting to kidnap her. Range in both exercises was
four to seven meters. Flashlight use was optional. Targets were
fully-dressed mannequins that toppled when hit. Targets were visibly
armed and perniciously threatening. "Non-targets" were also dressed
mannequins, but plainly represented no threat. In low light, you
really had to look closely! "Hit-zones" were undefined, and, for most
of us, multiple hits were required to take out each target. I elected
not to use my flashlight, as the situation developed so rapidly. I
just moved, drew, and started fighting!
A third low-light exercise required us all to fire at paper targets, but
starting from supine and requiring the use of only the non-dominant
hand! This was designed to simulate being wounded and down and still
having to continue the fight. Range was five meters. Many of us need
to practice more with one-hand shooting! Rolling on your side works
much better than trying to arch your back.
The outside drill required us to start seated in a car, then engage two,
armed attackers out the passenger-side window. Then, the contestant had
to tactically exit the vehicle, move to a brick wall, and, using it for
cover, engage two more armed, thugs, the view of whom was obscured by an
unarmed bystander. Again, targets and non-targets were dressed
mannequins. Range was four to seven meters.
The final drill was also outdoors and required each of us to shoot down
a row of steel plates, strong-hand, support-hand, and free-style. Range
was five and seven meters.
I was armed with my Beretta PX4 (40S&W) and 140gr Cor-Bon DPX
ammunition. Back-up pistol was my Rohrbaugh R9, also loaded with DPX.
Pistol and ammunition ran fine. I didn't deploy my backup pistol nor
Cold-Steel blades.
It was an excellent training exercise, and, as with the NTI, extremely
valuable, as each of us get to go into each drill cold, having little
idea of what to expect. It is an priceless opportunity to test and
evaluate oneself, under stress. The best way to approach it is to not
think about scores/times at all, and stop worrying about what you think
some evaluator wants to see you do or not do. You run each drill as
realistically and tactically sound as you can, making what mistakes you
will, moving on without hesitation, and charging through to the end.
Great day!
There were many valuable classes this year, all instructed by my
personal friends and colleagues, and I did my best to attend all of them!
TJ Pilline put on an excellent, live-fire Urban Rifle Class, stressing
optical-offset on close targets, particularly brain-stem shots at close
range. TJ is an advocate for one-point slings!
John Hearne presented his excellent summary of FBI's OIS data. He
reminded us that we're often too polite for our own good, and that we
need to look upon VCAs as an entirely different species, as their
capacity for violence and depravity is virtually unlimited. John
reminded us all that frequent, stressful training is the key to victory,
along with personal tenacity. I love this: "Getting shot is no big
deal. Getting shot again, because you failed to take decisive action,
IS a big deal!"
"South-Nark" is the AKA for another of our instructor who presented an
excellent hand-on Class called "Managing Unknown Contacts." We all
learned how to use posture, movement, and verbalization to maintain
adequate reactionary distance and how to recognize pernicious duplicity.
William Aprill, best known for his excellent Retention-and-Disarms
Class, this year spoke, in his capacity as a practicing psychologist,
about Post-Trauma Disorder. He acquainted us with the latest
information on this subject as well as treatment options. He stressed
the importance of always "staying in the game," in order to avoid "fear
and helplessness" that is the source of so much heartburn.
Henry Mahmoud and Steve Moses did a wonderful presentation on Team
Tactics. He indicated that teams are often thrown together hastily, so
each of us needs to have necessary tactical gear with us always,
including a serious pistol and at least one reload. Henry said that
five is the maximum number for an effective tactical team. More than
that, and it becomes unmanageable and dangerous.
Andy Stanford talked with us about flashlights, assuring us that LED is
the trend, and that conventional, xenon bulbs were on their way out.
Few know as much about low-light fighting as Andy!
Paul Gomez presented an interesting Class on the "Evolution of the
Draw-stroke." Paul never ceases to astonish me with his vast
historical knowledge!
Randy Harris showed us an excellent series of videos demonstrating how
to put your opponent at the maximum disadvantage through aggressive
movement, the kind of movement that forces him into aggravated muzzle whip.
Claude Werner, representing the Rogers School, showed us all how to run
the trigger and move the muzzle onto target simultaneously. He also
stressed the importance of catching the link, again, while the muzzle is
moving. Claude personally demonstrated all this with his Beretta 92F.
I'm going to have to drill myself on this so I can decide how much of it
I'm going to steal from Claude!
Skip Gochenour had another of his classic "head-scratchers" for us!
Skip talked about the concept of "Honor" and "Shame" and the way the two
influence our civilization. He went through the historical development
of law pertaining to the use of deadly force. He pointed out that in
most civilizations, particularly the "Thug-ocracies" of the Middle-East,
governments insist on an monopoly on the use of force.
Citizens/subjects are allowed no individual discretion. Only in the
"New World" do we see individual citizens with the right to defend
themselves, even with deadly force, at their own, personal command and
judgement.
Mike Brown, in his hands-on class, showed us all how to successfully
access one's pistol while otherwise engaged in a physical fight. It can
be challenging, but Mike showed us some excellent tricks.
Mike Warsocki's well-organized mind took us, step-by-step, through the
exigent decision-making process. Mike explains the procedure in great
detail, far more detailed than I had ever thought about.
Jim Yeager, as few others are qualified to, explained to us accessories
that come in handy on a serious rifle, and ones that are more trouble
than they're worth. Like TJ, Jim likes a one-point sling. He is also
a fan of EOTech and Aimpoint.
I highly recommend the PS Event to all Operators. Not to be missed!
/John
(Note that while none of the live fire exercises seemed to involve arm's
length distances, none exceeded seven meters. While I had a friend on
LAPD who once made a successful pistol shot on someone who threatened
him with a long gun at a measured 76 yards, most defensive uses handguns
occur at distances best measured in feet. One course, however, dealt
with drawing the handgun while involved in a fight. I once learned that
a friend in Douglas was referring students to my CWP course with the
advice to "ignore all that kung-fu gunfighting Steve teaches and
concentrate on the legal stuff." Those who have trained with me know
that my specialty is bad-breath range, where most attacks will suddenly
manifest themselves. Note that I am not the only one who prefers
"one-point slings." I assume that "running the trigger" is what is also
known as "trigger prepping." This concept goes way back to when holsters
did not fully cover the trigger guard, so that the shooter could start
rolling the trigger back on a double-action revolver during the draw
stroke. This method will shave fractions of seconds on the range, where
targets and their families can't sue and there is an established
backstop. I still regard it as a violation of Rule Three, placing the
finger inside the trigger guard before the sights are on the target and
you are prepared to fire.)
26 Feb 08
Election year!
During a election year, gun and ammunition sales typically go north.
This year, the effect is particularly intense. This is from an LEO
friend in the area:
"At Jensen's in Loveland, CO, people were lined up out the door onto the
sidewalk! Of particular interest to customers were service and
concealment pistols, military rifles, high-capacity magazines, and
particularly ammunition. They still have a good selection of guns, but
ammunition inventory is getting low. I've never seen such a crowd!
Same story at Cabelas. There were hundreds in the gun section. Again,
ammunition inventory was low, and what was available was expensive."
Comment: I suspect this trend will continue, even intensify, for the
rest of the year. I'm making no election predications, but I believe
keen interest in personal protection we see currently manifested in
gun/ammunition sales will not abate, no matter whom the next president
is and no matter how the congress shakes out.
We're headed into exciting times!
/John
(An old friend got a fairly good deal on a pre-lock S&W revolver at last
weekend's big gun show in Phoenix, apparently because most of the huge
crowd was focusing on ammunition and the rifles that could again face
restriction under a fully Democratic regime.)
29 Feb 08
A sticky question:
An LEO trainer in the Midwest recently came to me with this question:
"With a manually-decocking pistol, like our SIG 239s, when you have
fired, need to move, and the necessity of additional deadly force is
likely, is it really necessary to manually de-cock before moving? Your
trigger-finger is in a strong, 'register' position while moving, whether
the hammer is forward or cocked. Isn't that sufficient insurance
against an ND?
As always, consistency is the key. Either we (1) always de-cock prior
to movement, or we (2) leave the pistol cocked and refrain from
decocking until the pistol is re-holstered. It needs to be one way or
the other.
What doctrine do you teach with these pistols?"
My response:
"I take the position that the pistol needs to be manually de-cocked any
time the Operator moves or otherwise breaks finger contact with the
trigger and subsequently returns his trigger-finger to the 'register'
position.
The reason I advocate de-cocking every time the finger breaks contact
with the trigger is not so much a safety issue as it is a consistency
one. I believe it is important that the Operator automatically return
the trigger to where his finger expects to find it any time his finger
is not in continuous contact. When the trigger is in its rear position,
as it will be when the hammer is cocked, the trigger-finger, when
subsequently trying to re-contact it, will invariably grope blindly,
because the trigger is not where the Operator has trained himself to
expect to establish contact. The result is that the trigger-finger, in a
panic, flies backward and abruptly slams into the trigger, causing a
missed shot (at the least) or an unintended shot.
As you know, while fighting, I don't like 'surprises!' Not knowing
where to find the trigger on your fighting pistol is the kind of
'surprise' we need to spare our students.
The whole issue of manual de-cocking, and all the vacuous complaints
about having to do it repeatedly, will quickly disappear once students
learn to accomplish the task quickly and deftly. It is only when they
are learning the process that it seems clumsy and difficult."
Comment: Not all trainers will agree with the foregoing, but, after many
years of observing it done both ways, I am persuaded this is the best
policy with regard to this thorny issue.
/John
(This is not the way I have taught it and I still have not fully
digested John's argument. What about operators who use Glocks with the
conventional trigger-return spring? Many of my students have had to
struggle to reach the safety/decocking levers without compromising the
firing grip, which is a big concern to me until one is certain that the
fight is over. Life is so much simpler when one sticks with handguns
that have already decided if they want to be single-action or
double-action!)
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
