DC Firearm Buyers on Hold: ...The National Rifle Association called the
high court's June 26 decision on the strictest ban in the country "a
great moment in American history." However, prospective gun buyers and
sellers such as Mr. Metta remain on hold as D.C. officials try hastily
to draft regulations to comply with the court ruling...Allan Lucas, a
licensed firearms instructor in the District, is among those concerned
about how new regulations will affect him. He has been trying for two
years to open an indoor shooting range in the city to train security
guards and other clients. Because the city has no zoning category for
such a business, he takes his clients to ranges in the suburbs...
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jul/06/firearms-shops-buyers-on-hold/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/05/AR2008070500781.html?hpid=sec-politics
---
Rule Five Reminder: Law enforcement officials are stressing gun safety
in the wake of the accidental shooting death of 13-year-old Devonta
Carpenter Saturday afternoon. When police responded to a "person being
shot" call Saturday afternoon, they found Carpenter suffering from a
gunshot wound to the chest. He died later that night at Wilson Medical
Center as a result of his injuries. Police believe Carpenter found a gun
in a closet, which was stored on the top shelf, and his mishandling of
the firearm resulted in his death... (Rule Five: Maintain control of
your firearm. NRA Rules tend to be oriented toward sporting arms, where
there is no liability from storing them unloaded, with ammunition locked
away, separately. This will clearly be an issue in DC, where firearms
will eventually be legalized in the home but not on the street. Once
home, a firearm in a state of readiness is best kept on the person or
very nearby, such as when sleeping. When leaving the home, such a
firearm should be secured against burglary or other unauthorized access.)
http://www.wilsondaily.com/News/Local/Story/Officers-stress-gun-safety--
---
Scotland Yard Sniper Awarded Damages: Scotland Yard's most prolific
sharpshooter has been secretly awarded �5,000 (almost $10,000) in
damages for "hurt feelings" because a female police chief jokingly
called him a "serial killer". The firearms officer - who is nicknamed
"Killer" because of his prowess in shooting dead suspects in armed
sieges - received the payout after the Metropolitan police decided that
to defend the action at an employment tribunal would be a waste of
public money...Sources say the Met agreed to the payout after an
assessment that going to a tribunal would cost at least �150,000. A
senior official said: "We made an economic decision to settle." The Met
said yesterday that the officer had accepted �5,000 in settlement at the
end of 2006. He is understood to have retained his job in the firearms
unit. The affair was hushed up to avoid the embarrassment of his
nickname being made public...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4276423.ece
---
America Fights Back: Perhaps because I have been assembling these
mailings, in one form or another, for over ten years and was familiar
with most of the cases cited, I took a rather casual approach to reading
America Fights Back: Armed Self-Defense in a Violent Age. Written by
SAF/CCRKBA leaders Alan Gottlieb and Dave Workman, this book explores
virtually all the political issues surrounding the use of firearms for
self-defense in today's US. Each discussion is based on cases that have
appeared in the news over the years. It is both a good read and a good
reference. SAF and CCRKBA have been linking to amazon.com for purchase
but I believe that a free copy currently accompanies a membership in the
Second Amendment Foundation.
http://snipurl.com/2u72k
http://www.saf.org/
---
From SAF:
As a Second Amendment Foundation supporter, I would like to tell you
about a great opportunity.
Students for Conceal Carry on Campus (SCCC) will be having their first
National Conference on Friday, August 1st at the National Press Club in
Washington D.C. funded by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF).
This conference is a great opportunity for those who care about their
2nd Amendment Right to come together and learn from each other.
Students for Concealed Carry on campus is a non-partisan, grassroots
organization comprised of over 30,000 college students, faculty members,
parents, and concerned citizens who support the right of concealed
handgun license holders to carry concealed handguns on college campuses.
Key conference speakers include: In addition to myself, John Lott,
author of More Guns, Less Crime, Alan Gura (argued recent Supreme Court
case involving the DC gun ban and many more. For more information
visit:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2383535699,
For students that want to attend the conference but are a little
strapped for cash, SCCC and SAF can help. Any student traveling over 750
miles to D.C. is eligible for a travel scholarship up to $250. You will
receive reimbursement if you bring your student I.D. and travel receipts
to the conference. SCCC and SAF will also provide one night free in a
hotel if you so desire. SCCC and SAF cannot guarantee that you will get
your own room. Funds are limited and you may have to room with another
member of SCCC if you come alone.
Once your transportation and lodging needs are settled, forward your
information to
[email protected] to reserve your spot at
the conference.
As a Second Amendment Foundation supporter, we hope you will consider
this great opportunity for talking, learning, and networking with young
activists across the country. If you have any further questions, please
feel free to contact me.
Sincerely yours,
Alan M. Gottlieb
Founder, Second Amendment Foundation
---
Gun Rights Policy Conference: Come meet national gun rights leaders and
your fellow grassroots activists at the 23rd Annual Gun Rights Policy
Conference (GRPC 2008) in Phoenix, Arizona, September 26, 27, & 28,
2008. This is your once-a-year chance to network and get an insider look
and plan pro-gun rights strategies for the coming year. Past GRPCs have
outlined victory plans and made public the latest firearms trends. They
allow you a first-hand chance to hear movement leaders - and make your
voice heard. This year we'll take a look at critical issues such as:
city gun bans, youth violence, "smart" guns, concealed carry, federal
legislation, legal actions, gun show regulation, state and local
activity. We'll also preview the upcoming Presidential Elections and
analyze the U.S. Supreme Court Heller Decision...
http://www.saf.org/default.asp?p=GRPC
---
From John Farnam:
1 July 08
CNS Hits:
Currently, there is a movement within our industry that advocates the
CNS (Central Nervous System) over any other target on the human body, to
the point where advocates train for brain-stem shots with carry pistols,
to the exclusion of all others.
They're wrong! Brain-stem shots with pistols are indeed indicated,
under a narrow spectrum of circumstances, but the body midline, between
navel and neck, still represents the most lucrative target on the human
body in the vast majority of domestic, lethal encounters.
It is difficult to generalize, but our targets are usually animated, and
threatening circumstances come and go quickly. We thus need to keep
suspect's hands under continuous observation and still be able to
strike, repeatedly, a moving, dodging target, and then stop shooting
promptly when the target no longer represents a threat.
Routinely driving the front sight to the head makes monitoring hands
nearly impossible, and, with an aggressively animated target, successful
brain-stem shots are unlikely, even with well-trained shooters.
CNS-mania? Like the long-discredited "Quell System," where the kidney
was piously declared the only legitimate pistol target on the human
body, this current fad will be short and unhappy!
/John
3 July 08
Bottom line on pistol-shot placement, from Dr Jim Williams, my good
friend and colleague, and author of the authoritative text on the
subject, Tactical Anatomy:
"Like you, I advocate shooting the brainstem when such an opportunity
presents itself, but it is unlikely to be the best primary target in
most handgun-fights.
I wonder if some people have taken away the message from my lectures
that I am insisting on, or even advocating, brainstem shots. Not so! To
the contrary, I emphasize the difficulty of the brainstem shot, but then
go on to explain exactly where the brainstem is, so when you are
compelled by circumstance to attempt such a shot, you've got at least
some chance of success!
I also emphasize the large number of cases in my files where offenders
received solid hits to the head from handgun bullets, bullets that
subsequently penetrated the skull transected central portions of the
brain, but still failed to shut down the offender's attack. Unlike
rifle bullets, handgun bullets seldom generate a temporary cavity
sufficient to 'burst' the brain, the way a rifle bullet does. Hence, the
need to specifically target the portions of the brain where the offender
'lives and breathes', ie: the brainstem.
The large number of incidents where offenders have been shot in the
cheekbone or forehead, and the bullet has subsequently reflected off
sloping bone surfaces, failing to even enter, much less penetrate, the
cranial vault, have been the result of people training to hit the
'eye-box' on two-dimensional, cardboard targets that are nice enough to
stand motionless until it is convenient for the shooter to engage them.
High chest/mediastinum is still our best primary pistol target, because
it's big, and there's lots of vital stuff in there that can stop the
offender's attack, albeit not instantly.
Lateral pelvis is a viable alternative, and much easier to hit than the
brainstem. Hits to the lateral pelvis, though seldom fatal in the short
term, compromise the offender's mobility and greatly decrease the
effectiveness of his return fire. As such, the lateral pelvis is our
second choice.
Brainstem shots should be considered only as a third option."
And, this sage comment from friend and colleague, Dr Dave Kahn:
"As someone who knows anatomy, I'd liken most brainstem shots on a
mobile aggressor to hitting a tossed baseball, while jogging! If
you've reduced yourself to having to have a brainstem strike as your
only option, you're in deep mud."
Comment: Deep indeed!
/John
(John likes "zippering" a threat from navel to neck. Depending on the
angle, a shot to the navel could impact the pelvis. Dr. Williams feels
that a handgun round striking the sacrum will neither cause much
immediate damage not transmit much shock to the CNS. He emphasizes
targeting the lateral pelvis because it contains the weaker
"weight-bearing triangle" and a fairly large bundle of blood vessels and
nerve. Those of us who carry revolvers can probably not afford to
"zipper" promiscuously and should probably make a more conscious effort
to target the lateral pelvis. This practice certainly could not hurt
those who carry autoloaders either. Personally, I find it hard to
believe that a full-caliber handgun round impacting the sacrum won't
transmit a lot of shock to the CNS, even if it fails to damage bone - it
probably just won't be enough to end the fight.)
4 July 08
Independence Day!
Earlier this week, conspicuously auditioning for a job within the Obama
Administration, current FBI Director Bob Mueller piously expressed his
unhappiness with the Supreme Court's recent ruling in the Heller Case,
which audaciously affirmed that individual Americans have (and have
always had) an inalienable right to "keep and bear" guns for
self-defense. He grotesquely claimed that "... it may harm efforts to
deter crime." He declined to get specific. They never do!
His duplicity gets even thicker with, "... weapons tend to harm people,
and more often than not, they are the people carrying them." Oh,
please! God knows we vulgar, unwashed might hurt ourselves! Personal
freedom is dangerous, eh? Always has been, Bob!
With such inalienable rights we are endowed by our Creator. They are
not grudgingly conferred upon us by pseudo-benevolent politicians.
As we celebrate Independence Day 2008, let us all remember and reaffirm
that personal freedom is impossible without us all jealously claiming
our own, personal magnificence! The capacity to take effective,
unilateral action, upon our own summary command and judgement, to
personally protect ourselves from violent criminals, without humiliating
dependence upon government employees, is a sacred and unique American value.
Our Founding Fathers knew that personal freedom requires economic freedom.
That is why they warned us against high taxes and smothering
over-regulation that ultimately suffocates all creativity and enterprise.
For the same reason, they also warned us against outsourcing our
personal security, foolishly depending upon others, who may or may not
care, to protect us from harm. That is why there is a Second Amendment.
This Nation's future thus rests upon proud, independent, self-reliant,
enterprising, fearless Warriors, not frightened, handout-addicted,
defeated, despondent wretches who consume their sorry lives "...tired
of living, and scared of dying," blatantly, shamelessly milked of their
votes by cynical despots desperately trying to stay in power forever.
Tyrant-wannabes, Constitutional criminals, who believe we all must be
enslaved for our own good, who have more in common with Lenin and Marx
than they ever did with Washington and Jefferson, should be hanging
their heads in shame this day, their acquiescent apologists notwithstanding!
"Let no one say, and say it to your shame, that this was "the Land of
the Free," until you came!"
/John
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
