Heller Draws Unusual Number Of Briefs: With the Supreme Court examining
for the first time in 70 years the right to bear arms guaranteed by the
Second Amendment, a group of gay and transgender gun owners called the
Pink Pistols could not miss out on a chance to tell the justices about
its special needs...In what has become something of an arms race,
careful lawyers use friend-of-the-court briefs to counter each argument
from the other side - however tangential - or to offer a carefully
calibrated point of view that might appeal to a single, balance-shifting
justice...Alan Gura, who will represent District resident Dick Anthony
Heller in arguing the challenge to D.C.'s law on March 18, coordinated
the 47 amici who have filed on his client's behalf since the court took
the case. "A well-crafted amicus brief is very important, especially
when it presents a perspective that the parties simply can't provide,"
he said...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/08/AR2008030802243.html
---

Florida Man Cleared In Death Of Neighbor: Lee Macon, the Broward man who
shot his neighbor to death during a fierce disagreement over the line
that divides their two lawns, walked out of jail a free man Thursday.
The Broward grand jury said he committed no crime...Said Chuck Morton,
homicide division chief with the Broward state attorney's office: "The
grand jury considered every potential charge, from first-degree murder
to manslaughter to justifiable self-defense . . . and they decided not
to indict."

http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/447280.html
---

List Member Explains Campus Carry To Arizona State Students: List
member, radio personality and AzCDL secretary Charles Heller was invited
to discuss Arizona's pending campus-carry bill with a class of students
at ASU. A recording of the session is posted on his website.

http://www.libertywatchradio.com/archive
---

From Force Science Research Center:

Force Science News #93

I. "Triangle of Death": Is the threat real?

The rumor bouncing around various law enforcement listservs piqued Cmdr.
Michael Richards' curiosity.

Street gangs in California, the story went, were training members to
shoot cops at night by aiming for the highly visible patch of white
T-shirt exposed above the top of many officers' vests. "The Triangle of
Death," posters to the listservs called it.

Whether the rumor was fact or fiction, Richards wondered: Just how
dangerous is this so-called Triangle of Death for LEOs?

He set up a little experiment that he says shocked him.

On the indoor range of his department, Mundelein (IL) PD, an agency of
50 sworn in a suburb northwest of Chicago, he positioned a 6 ft.-tall
mannequin target, buttoned a blue uniform shirt on it, and slipped a
sheet of white, legal-sized paper behind the shirt so that just enough
was exposed at the top to simulate a bit of T-shirt.

He then dimmed the lighting to resemble "what you'd find in an older
residential neighborhood, with some streetlamps and a lot of heavy
trees," he told Force Science News. "You could make out the target, but
you had to strain to really see what was going on." In other words, a
lot like normal nighttime patrol conditions in many areas. From the
control booth, Richards says, "the contrast between the patch of white
paper and the dark shirt was really obvious."

One at a time, he brought in a series of randomly selected officers he
knew, as the department's rangemaster, to be "average" shooters. "They
typically qualify with low numbers, don't necessarily like to shoot and
go to the range only because they have to," he explained. "I figured
they'd be like the typical suspect who gets into a shooting with an
officer-not overly proficient with a handgun. I didn't want any of the
top shooters involved."

Explaining only that this was a "quick course in low-light shooting" so
as not to tip off the true point of the test, Richards led each officer
to a spot about 10 feet in front of the target. He told each to draw at
the sound of a timer buzzer, step to the left or to the right, come up
on target, fire 3 rounds as fast as possible, then scan the area. By
incorporating movement, scanning and time pressure, "I wanted to
distract them from thinking too much about the target."

Each officer fired a total of 18 rounds (6 sets of 3 shots apiece),
using his duty pistol (either a .40-cal. Glock or a Sig). After an
officer finished, the "T-shirt" was changed before the next test subject
was brought in.

"The shot placement was shocking" when he analyzed the results, Richards
says. "On our department we train to shoot center mass, usually using
flat, 2-dimensional targets on a fully lit range. In training, our shots
consistently tend to go to the center. If officers are shooting at high
speed, their rounds may drop down toward the stomach, but they don't
often go higher."

In his low-light experiment, by contrast, more than 80% of the shots
across all the officers and all sets of fire hit in or immediately
around the Triangle of Death simulated by the peek of white paper. In
other words, Richards concluded, in low light they overrode their
training and focused their shots on what was most vividly visible. All
the officers confirmed in a post-shooting debrief that the patch of
white had drawn their aim.

"Absolutely right," says Dr. Bill Lewinski, executive director of the
Force Science Research Center at Minnesota State University-Mankato.
Although Richards' sample was limited (only 6 officers) and his methods
admittedly not scientifically pristine, the thrust of his experiment and
his thinking are right on track, Lewinski maintains.

"Our research on attention shows that when people are trying to
understand what is happening in a stressful, uncertain situation, they
scan the scene quickly and grasp little bits of available information,"
he explains. "This process is automatic, almost instinctive. For the
most part, their attention is attracted to something first and then
shortly after that they recognize why it caught their attention.

"This was verified in one Force Science study in which officers were
thrust into a rapidly evolving, very complex and dynamic situation.
Their immediate response was to scan the scene in an effort to
understand it. In doing so, they reported picking up noticeable elements
of each person they scanned. Something about that person attracted their
attention to a particular body part, article of clothing or motion.

"The same phenomenon is at work with the 'Triangle of death' under
low-light conditions. The brightest part of the officer's body is
automatically drawing the attention and the gunfire of subjects intent
on attacking."

Firearms expert Ron Avery, a technical advisor to the FSRC, notices the
same low-light aiming tendency that Richards documented when he's
training officers from a wide variety of agencies through his Practical
Shooting Academy (Visit the site).

As he puts it: "People shoot at what they can see, what they can focus
on, not at what you train them. In low-light conditions, movement,
shine, contrast and outline (silhouette) all become target indicators to
a potential attacker. Shooters tend impulsively to take the target of
opportunity, and when time is not working in their favor the target of
opportunity is whatever is most noticeable."

The problem is by no means limited just to white T-shirts under a dark
uniform, Avery emphasizes. "Light-colored shoulder patches, shiny
badges, bright metal on hats, an activated flashlight-anything that
creates a contrast can be dangerous. In semi-darkness like ambient
moonlight, even sweat on your face and hands can be reflective."

For safety, he says, "you want to minimize yourself as a target." This
includes keeping your clothing low-contrast, staying in shadows as much
as possible at night when you're moving or pausing to observe, and being
aware of your background environment."

So far as the Triangle of Death is concerned, "Don't equate looking
professional with wearing a crisp white T-shirt under your uniform,"
Avery cautions. "Dress for your mission: that's the dress code for the
modern officer."

Cmdr. Richards now urges all his officers to wear dark T-shirts on duty.
He and all the department's firearms instructors do so, as a show of
"leadership by example." Most patrol officers have followed suit. A few
officers still wear white, unmindful of what Avery calls "a no-brainer."

[Our thanks to Jeff Chudwin, chief of the Olympia Fields (Ill.) PD and
master of an outstanding law enforcement listserv, for tipping us to
Cmdr. Richards' experiment.]

================
The Force Science News is provided by The Force Science Research Center,
a non-profit institution based at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Subscriptions are free and sent via e-mail. To register for your free,
direct-delivery subscription, please visit www.forcesciencenews.com and
click on the registration button.

(c) 2008: Force Science Research Center, www.forcescience.org. Reprints
allowed by request. For reprint clearance, please e-mail:
[email protected]. FORCE SCIENCE is a registered trademark of
The Force Science Research Center, a non-profit organization based at
Minnesota State University, Mankato.
================

From John Farnam:

3 Mar 08

SA/XD

I've been carrying a copy of Springfield Armory's XD pistol for several
days now. My copy is the mid-sized model in 40S&W, and I'm carrying it
in Comp-Tac's "Minotaur" concealment holster.  Both pistol and holster
carry comfortably.

My XD is a thirteen-shooter, and it reliably feeds and fires all brands
of ammunition, including DPX, which is my current carry load.  I used it
in a Course in TX last weekend, and it got a good workout, effortlessly
digesting everything I could find to put through it, including some real
garbage!

The grip-safety, which I thought would be an issue, wasn't.  Perhaps
shooters with small, bony hands will find it a nuisance when unloading
or performing a chamber check, but I didn't.  I don't consider it an
important feature, but at least it doesn't get in my way.

The loaded-chamber indicator on top of the ejection port is not big
enough to get in the way nor otherwise become an issue.  So, as with
all  "loaded-chamber" indicators, it is (and should be) ignored.
Likewise the forward, slide serrations.

It took me a while to warm up to this pistol, but I've learned to like
it!  While not perfect, this pistol is rugged, eminently useable for
serious purposes, comfortable, and reliable.  Retailers tell me XDs
rarely break and are starting to penetrate the police market.

I can't think of any after-market modification the XD needs.  I am
contemplating none of my copy.  The pistol runs just fine, right out of
the box.  There is little not to like.

Recommended!

/John

(About two years ago John took the XD armorer course and expressed
concern that there are a few pins that can be reinserted the wrong way,
causing a great deal of difficulty removing them. I have not yet taken
the course but was surprised to note that, unlike most pistol-armorer
courses, the XD course only takes half a day.)

4 Mar 08

Surefire X300 Weapon-light

Until now, I have not been a particular fan of flashlights that
physically attach to pistols, as they were bulky, took too long to
attach and detach, and required special holsters.

Last fall, a good friend from SIG showed me a Surefire X300 that he
carries, separate from his pistol.  Andy Stanford reiterated that lesson
at the Polite Society Event in Memphis in February, and I now have a
copy that I'm using on my carry guns.  The X300 quickly goes on, and
comes off, of any pistol with a rail.  I've used my copy with my SIG
229, S&W M&P,  Beretta PX4, and SA/XD.  Runs just fine on all of them,
and I can quickly get rid of it when I don't want it.

I find that I can carry the X300 in a vest pocket, then attach it to my
pistol at night when the pistol lays on the floor, next to my bed.  In
the morning, I then take it off prior to holstering.  With the light
attached to the pistol, I can easily operate/coordinate both, using only
one hand, and the light beam is always in precise alignment with the
barrel of the  pistol.

There is still the issue of inadvertently pointing the light and pistol
in unsafe directions, simply because they are attached, but the X300 is
a slick, rugged system that provides significant advantages, and I've
found a way to fit  it into my life, per the foregoing.

Recommended!

/John

(I purchased the earlier X200 to set up a G17, that came knocking at my
door, as a just-in-case pistol, for when I might not be able to use my
223 carbine as a bedside gun. It is amazing and the X300 is even
brighter. Lesson? LED's are revolutionizing the world of flashlights
(xenon bulbs are obsolescent) so don't rush to buy any light you don't
absolutely need because an improved version may be just around the
corner. The X300 replaced the X200 about a year ago.)

5 Mar 08

When opportunity meets unpreparedness!  From a friend in WA:

"A local resident was brutally beaten here Saturday afternoon.  He owns
a house that he uses as an office.  It is in the high-rent district!

Saturday, he was working alone when a man knocked on his front door.
The moment he opened the door, the man pushed his way in and immediately
starting striking the resident in the head the beck with a metal tool,
probably a hammer or wrench, all the time screaming, 'Where's the money!'

The resident, unarmed and untrained, put up no effective resistance and,
as a direct result, suffered several severe cuts to his face and head
and well as broken facial bones.  The suspect ultimately threw him out
of the house and onto the front lawn, closed the door, and then
ransacked the house, apparently looking for valuables.

When the suspect came back out, he took the resident's watch and wallet,
and abruptly left.  The resident had called the police via his cell
phone, but they did not get there for over twenty minutes, and, even
when first beat car arrived, he waited anther ten minutes for the second
car to arrive, before either approached the bleeding resident,
ultimately rendering aid and summoning an ambulance.

As of today, no arrests have been made.  The resident did not know the
suspect personally.

The resident sustained significant injury, but he is expected to
recover, to the degree that he can.

Here is yet another example of a naive, clueless, unprepared VBC who
could not bring himself to believe that anything like this could ever
happen to him.   He is lucky to have lived through it, but he is going
to have to endure months of hospitalization and painful recovery and, in
addition, is likely to suffer permanent disfigurement/disablement."

Lesson: "Bad luck" is what happens when unpreparedness collides with
opportunity!

Every police department in the nation puts out three patrol shifts every
day (sometimes two).  There are only so many police cars, and so many
officers, available at any given moment, and we prioritize calls for
police services as best we can.  Even with the best-funded departments,
the notion that a beat car will arrive at your doorstep within seconds,
or even minutes, of being summoned, is largely delusional!

Bottom line: We'll get there as soon as we can, but our "response-time"
is always largely outside of our control.  In the interim, you had
better have some personal capacity for dealing effectively with
threatening circumstances, or, like the self-deceptive VBC in the
foregoing, accept "victim-status," with  all that implies!

/John

(When I look back at the lessons I have retained from all the training I
took from Ayoob's Lethal Force Institute, I believe that most of them
reflect the experiences of Jim Cirillo and the NYPD Stakeout Unit. One
that has always stood out in my mind was Mas recounting when he started
getting invited to go home with SOU members and wondering, after they
had walked inside, when do the guns come off? They didn't. Mine stay
holstered until I go to bed, at which time they are close at hand, as is
a .223 carbine. Before I shower in the morning, as I assemble these
mailings, one is in a pocket holster and the carbine is two steps away.)

8 Mar 08

Shotgun/revolver:

Taurus is currently marketing their M4510, five-shot revolver.  In their
booth at the SHOT Show, Taurus showed us a video touting this gun as
being designed specifically for use in preventing car-jackings.  It is a
big, heavy pistol, and reloading is slow.  Comfortable, concealed carry
is possible only for the biggest among us.

The revolver chambers and fires both 45 Colt ("Long-Colt") and 410
shotgun cartridges, however 410 shotgun shells are limited to the
shortest made, 2.5 inches.  In the promotional video, 410 birdshot was,
not surprisingly, demonstrated on a "Shoot-n-See" paper target that is
designed to make each pellet impact look much bigger than it actually
is.  The pistol's rifled bore aggravates the spread of the shot
pattern.  Even at a range of four feet, the birdshot pattern in the
demonstration had already attained a diameter  of eight inches.

As I watched, it occurred to me that, as a single-purpose "snake-gun,"
this revolver would be second to none!

I know of no actual shootings with this revolver on human criminals.
However, a friend in OK just used his copy to dispatch a large skunk at
a range of ten feet.  He used #8 birdshot.  The task required three
hits, but the unimpressed skunk was far from DRT.  He slowly waddled
off, crawled into a bush, and eventually died.

I can't imagine any size of birdshot, particularly from a short barrel,
being an effective fight-stopper.  However, loaded with 45 Colt, or 410
slugs or buckshot, I believe this revolver is at least arguable as a
"car-gun."   410 slugs are available, as is 410/000bk (three pellets).
My personal choice would be 000bk!

In a real fight, that one can use this revolver, or any gun,
effectively, via any species of unaimed, "spray" technique, is little
more than self-deception.  To be effective in a life-threatening
circumstance, shots from any kind of firearm must be aimed precisely by
a competent Operator.

Just as cars that "drive themselves" are currently unavailable, guns
that are effective in the hands of the untrained and willfully
incompetent exist only  in the minds of the naive.

/John

(Another solution in search of a problem? Point shooting has its place
and I no longer regard it as unaimed, just unsighted. I agree with John,
however, that it is folly to try to substitute a shot pattern for aiming
- what about the pellets that miss their intended target? As John points
out, rifling degrades shot patterns within fairly short distances. The
National Firearm Act of 1934 effectively eliminated Ithaca's smoothbore
Auto Burglar shot pistol as an option for almost everyone. Most modern
automobiles are more fuel-efficient running air conditioning than
driving with windows down. In a carjacking scenario I prefer a
conventional handgun, loaded with Cor-Bon DPX ammo, which has complete
weight retention and minimal deflection from point of aim when fired
through glass.)
---

From AzCDL:

We are expecting SB 1214, an AzCDL requested bill, to be debated in the
Senate Committee of the Whole (COW), and possibly voted on in Third
Read, the week of March 10-14, 2008.  It's time to let EVERY Senator
know that "public opinion" says to pass SB 1214.

SB 1214 proposes changes to ARS 13-3102 to allow adults with Concealed
Weapons (CCW) permits to carry concealed firearms on public college and
university property.  Federal law (18 USC � 922(q)(2)(B)(ii)) already
allows CCW permit holders to possess firearms on school property.

We strongly encourage you to share this Alert with every pro-rights
person you know.  It's very important that the Senate knows there is
tremendous support for SB 1214.  We want them to get thousands of
supporting emails!

Please take the time to send a polite note to every Senator, and let
them know that you want them to vote for SB 1214 in the Senate COW and
during Third Read.  Below is a cut-and-paste letter you can use as a
template (but remember, writing your own letter is always better).
Following the letter are the email address lists of the Senate in both
semi-colon and comma separated formats.  Use the one that is compatible
with your email software.

Please be sure to include your own name, address, and phone number in
all correspondence.

Subject:  Support SB 1214

Senator:

The Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) has informed me that SB 1214
will soon be debated in the Senate Committee of the Whole, and voted on
in Third Read.  I urge you to vote for the passage of SB 1214.

Federal law (18 USC � 922(q)(2)(B)(ii)) already provides an exception,
for concealed weapons (CCW) permit holders, on the restriction regarding
the possession of firearms on school property.  SB 1214 complies with
Federal law by removing the current restrictions on public college and
university property.  In addition to satisfying State mandated firearms
training requirements, which include a written and skills test, CCW
permit holders must be 21 year old ADULTS, and undergo routine
background checks by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to verify
that they are the most law-abiding of the citizenry.

The presence of armed, law-abiding citizens is a proven crime
deterrent.  Utah has allowed CCW permit holders to carry concealed
handguns on college campuses since 2006.  Since this was implemented
there has not been a single act of gun related violence on those campuses.

Where law-abiding adults have access to firearms, violence ends
quickly.  In 2002, at Virginia's Appalachian Law School, a shooting
spree ended when two armed adult students confronted the attacker, and
persuaded him to surrender.  In 1997, the vice-principal of a high
school in Pearl, Mississippi, armed himself and ended a shooting rampage
without firing a shot.

Restrictive laws, not access to firearms, have led to a rise in school
shootings.  Prior to 1968, any child could buy a gun through the mail.
Most schools had shooting clubs, and it was common for students to store
their rifles in classrooms.  Yet, school shootings were almost unheard
of.  Now, with irrational gun bans in place everywhere, anyone
determined to do a lot of harm knows that they can literally get away
with murder on school grounds, because no one will stop them until it's
too late.  On April 16, 2007, twenty-seven students and five faculty
members at Virginia Tech lost their lives to a madman who possessed one
distinct advantage over his victims - he wasn't concerned with following
the "gun free zone" rules.  Nineteen of his thirty-two victims were over
twenty-one, the legal age for obtaining a concealed handgun permit in
Virginia (and Arizona).

Opponents of SB 1214 will claim that law enforcement won't be able to
tell the difference between armed defenders and armed assailants when
they eventually arrive on the scene.  This has not been an issue with
concealed carry permit holders in other walks of life, for several
reasons.  First, real-world shootouts are typically localized and over
very quickly.  Police rarely encounter an ongoing shootout between
assailants and armed citizens.  Second, police are also trained to
expect both armed bad guys and armed good guys, from off-duty/undercover
police officers to armed citizens, in tactical scenarios.  Finally,
concealed weapon permit holders are trained to use their firearms for
self-defense, respond properly to a police presence, and not run through
buildings looking for bad guys.  The biggest distinction between the
armed assailants and the armed citizens is that the armed assailants
would be running around shooting unarmed victims.

Again, I strongly support this important legislation, and I urge you to
vote for the passage of SB 1214.

Sincerely,
Your Name
Street Address
City, AZ zip-code
telephone number


Below are the email addresses of the Senate in both semi-colon and comma
separation formats, along with a simple list of email addresses for
those who encounter email address formatting problems.  Use the list
that is compatible with your email software.

Semi-colon format:
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]; [email protected]

Comma format:
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected]

Stay tuned!  As relevant legislation is introduced and 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.

--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY

Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.

http://www.spw-duf.info

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