LaPierre, 2010 and the RKBA: The Second Amendment faces a decisive year
in 2010. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has called for new
semi-automatic gun bans - despite their decade-long record of fraud and
failure, and despite his own Justice Department's failure to fully or
even half-heartedly prosecute federal firearm felonies. Mr. Holder and
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have demonstrated their willingness
to use cooked statistics to blame Mexico's violent drug war on Americans
and their Second Amendment rights... Meanwhile at the United Nations,
global citizen-disarmament nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and
freedom-fearing dictatorships worldwide maneuver to impose their will on
you through international treaties. But it is a new year. And, in a very
crucial way, 2010 may be a year unlike any other in American history -
when the Second Amendment could, finally and truly, be recognized as a
right for all Americans... In the past, the U.S. Supreme Court has seen
fit to incorporate nearly all of the Bill of Rights, and as the most
fundamental, natural right of them all, the Second Amendment right to
arms to protect your life deserves incorporation every bit as much.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/04/new-years-gun-threats/
---
Drugs, Gangs and Homicide Rates: Just when it looked like Buffalo had a
chance to begin a trend of fewer homicides, gang violence derailed the
possibility. City and police officials began last year buoyed by 2008's
near-record low of 37 homicides, and they predicted the city was headed
in the right direction. But deadly quarrels among gang members fighting
over drugs, money and turf pushed the number of homicides to 60 during
the last 12 months. That represents a 62 percent increase over 2008.
"Buy a gun," a member of a recently busted inner-city gang told The
Buffalo News last week when asked what could be done to curtail
homicides. "Hey, I'm just being honest. You asked." Tall and good
looking, the young man half smiled, shrugged and seemed to disappear
into his oversized winter coat. Twice the victim of gunfire - a fact a
street cop confirmed - the young man said he views self-protection as
the best means of avoiding death on the streets...
http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/910802.html
---
Hmm: A Roanoke man is suing city police over an altercation with
officers that he said began as an argument about his permit to carry a
concealed firearm. Aaron A. Stevenson filed a lawsuit Tuesday in U.S.
District Court in Roanoke alleging that his constitutional rights were
violated during a May 6 traffic stop. He named two officers, Chief Joe
Gaskins and the city as defendants... he lawsuit gives this account of
Stevenson's encounter with police: Stevenson was driving along
Williamson Road to pick up his daughter from church when Roanoke police
Officer Jamie A. Kwiecinski stopped him. Stevenson was given a summons
because his registration had expired. Kwiecinski learned that Stevenson
had a concealed carry permit and asked if he had a gun. Stevenson
declined to answer. Kwiecinski called for backup, and Officer Dwight W.
Ayers arrived on the scene. Stevenson said the officers ignored his
repeated invocation of his right to remain silent, and to have an
attorney present during questioning. The officers pulled Stevenson from
his vehicle, the lawsuit said, took the .45-caliber handgun he wore in a
belt holster, and put him in handcuffs in the back of a police car.
Stevenson said he was threatened with loss of his permit, confiscation
of his gun and indefinite detention while police investigated whether he
was involved in anything criminal... (If I were an attorney, I don't
think I'd take this case on a contingent-fee basis.)
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/231422
---
Nebraska to Consider Stand-Your-Ground Bill: It's been dubbed the "make
my day" bill, after the oft-quoted line from a 1985 Clint Eastwood
movie. Others have called it a new version of Nebraska's 1969 "shoot
your neighbor" law. State Sen. Mark Christensen of Imperial prefers to
talk about the "castle doctrine" and about Nebraskans being able to
defend themselves without fear of prosecution or lawsuits. If someone is
breaking into your home, he argues, you shouldn't have to wonder whether
the law thinks you are justified in shooting that person. And, he said,
you shouldn't be subject to civil liability if you kill or injure that
person. "If I break into your house, I'm a threat," he said. "Why should
I have any rights if I break into your house?" Christensen plans to
introduce a bill early in the 2010 legislative session to tip the scales
toward people who shoot in self-defense... (I prefer to distinguish
between stand-your-ground and castle doctrine in that the former is of
broader scope. Historically, castle doctrine refers to one's own home
while the concept of standing one's ground is that one should not be
required to attempt to retreat anywhere one is legally before reasonably
resorting to deadly force.)
http://www.nptelegraph.com/articles/2010/01/03/news/60005132.txt
---
Georgia Bill Would Reduce Infringements: Rep. Tim Bearden is once again
pushing legislation that would expand the number of places in Georgia
gun owners can carry firearms, joining a host of other lawmakers trying
to modify the state's gun laws. Bearden, R-Villa Rica, joins a group of
other gun rights advocates planning a push to build on a 2008 measure
that allowed those with permits to carry firearms into state parks,
restaurants that serve alcohol and mass transit facilities. Following
its passage, the new law was met with a handful of legal challenges,
with a federal judges ruling in late 2008 that officials representing
Hartsfield- Jackson Atlanta International Airport could ban guns from
the premises. Later, in a separate case, a federal judge ruled that the
Atlanta mass transit system had the legal right to stop and question a
passenger believed to be carrying a firearm, though the passenger in
question claimed protection under the 2008 law. Bearden has in the past
condemned these rulings as "legislating from the bench," saying the 2008
gun bill clearly allows law-abiding residents to carry a firearm while a
passenger on mass transit...
http://www.times-georgian.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Bearden+to+push+gun+rights+legislation%20&id=5414497&instance=home_news_top
---
Argument for Church Carry?: Video clip describes and discusses the
recent gunpoint abduction of two women from the church where they work.
North Carolina does not appear to ban carry at places of worship. The
woman who expresses confidence in leaving work with companions seems to
ignore the fact that one man with a gun had no trouble kidnapping two
women at a time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MEjbBcs4ZA
---
Oops, Wrong Liquor Store: A New Bloomfield man was fatally shot while he
apparently attempted to rob a beverage distributor in Carroll Township,
Perry County [PA] Saturday night, state police said. Perry County
Coroner Michael Shalonis said he pronounced Jeffrey Thomas Harless, 25,
dead at Shermans Dale Beer & Beverage at 10:55 p.m. Saturday from a
single gunshot wound to the chest. At about 9:44 p.m., an alarm sounded
at the 4946 Spring Road beverage distributor and an employee arrived at
the store to find the front door's glass broken out, a news release from
the state police said. The employee entered the store and confronted
Harless, an apparent burglar, police said. A confrontation ensued,
police said, and the employee shot Harless once in the upper chest with
a pistol. Harless was also armed, police said...
http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2010/01/03/news/local/doc4b4128fe667f6375511312.txt
http://www.examiner.com/x-18149-SelfDefense-Examiner~y2010m1d3-Commercial-burglar-shot-by-armed-employee
---
Rule Four Reminder: Marquel Peters was seated with his parents inside a
church in Decatur, Georgia, when a bullet came through the roof and
struck his head. The toddler collapsed at the feet of his parents, who
had no idea what caused a gaping wound in his head. It was only after
doctors removed the bullet as they tried in vain to save his life that
they realised he had been shot. Kelly Fite, a former ballistics expert
at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's state Crime Lab, told the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper that the bullet had most likely
been fired from an AK-47 assault rifle. The shooter could have been as
much as two to three miles away, Fite told The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution. But most likely, the shooter was about a half mile
away and the gun was tilted at about 30 or 40 degrees, not straight up,
he said... The boy's mother called for the shooter to come forward, but
Mr Fite said it was unlikely that the person knew what had happened...
(Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond it. I will
defer to those more familiar with Soviet-design weapons to comment on
whether one can easily distinguish between a bullet fired from an AK-47
clone or an SKS. In parts of the South, SKS rifles are commonly used to
hunt deer.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6927917/Boy-killed-by-bullet-fired-three-miles-away.html
---
CCW Standoff in California County: An effort by the Riverside County
Board of Supervisors to make it easier for residents to carry concealed
firearms isn't likely to change policy, the Sheriff's Department said.
In a 3-1 vote in November, supervisors passed a resolution asking the
sheriff to consider applications for permits based solely on "personal
defense." Supervisor Jeff Stone, author of the resolution, pegged the
issue to the potential release of thousands of California inmates as
part of a plan to meet a federal mandate to reduce the state's prison
population. "I want to make sure that our citizens have the opportunity
to protect ourselves with the release of 27,000 very dangerous people,"
Stone said. Supervisor Bob Buster was the lone vote against the
resolution. He said he believed that existing regulations were adequate.
Applicants must show they need a concealed carry permit. That could mean
they have a job that requires travel to dangerous areas, or an order of
protection against a stalker or assailant. Stone's resolution would
allow Riverside residents to get a permit for "personal protection." A
Moreno Valley man who spoke in favor of the resolution during the
meeting said he never considered getting a gun until he was savagely
beaten last year... (Many California counties are so large that it's
difficult to make CCW a viable issue when the sheriff comes up for
re-election.)
http://www.pe.com/localnews/rivcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_S_concealed04.3e6ce76.html
---
California Instructors Target New Gun Owners: A run on guns and ammo
over the previous year has local firearms experts pitching self-defense
training to new gun owners. Some instructors have even set up tables
outside gun stores, offering discounts on firearms classes. Martinelli &
Associates, a Temecula-based company that typically trains law
enforcement officers, is teaching "Street Safe Defense," a series of
classes targeted at private gun owners in the Inland area... Ron
Martinelli, a former police officer and founder of Martinelli &
Associates, said gun store owners told him they have been selling to
people who know nothing about guns. But he said even those who are
skilled at target practice might not be prepared to defend themselves in
a life-threatening situation. His class is specifically designed to
train civilians to use a handgun in defense of their lives - which is
very different from target practice, he said. The instructors try to
condition people to keep their wits about them when they're scared and
when the target might actually be a person who shoots back, Martinelli
said... (A few things don't ring true in this article. California
requires a weapon-specific safety test to purchase a handgun and
virtually all private-party transfers are banned in the state, meaning
that California DOJ should have very specific statistics. True,
demonstrating that one can safely load and unload a handgun or even
shooting a small group on a paper target is not training in its use in
self-defense.)
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_N_guns03.4794bea.html
---
US Army Upgrades M16/M4 Magazines: After years of being shown up by
superior M-16 magazines from commercial firms, the U.S. Army is issuing
an improved magazine of their own. Already, over half a million of the
new magazines have been issued, mostly to troops in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and those headed there. The oldest magazines are being
turned in right away, and replaced by the new model. The new magazine is
mainly designed to prevent jams when the round comes up from the
magazine and into the firing chamber. This is accomplished with a new
follower (a tab at the top of the magazine) design, as well as a new,
corrosion resistant, spring. But the new design is still behind some
commercial designs, which are built mainly to keep the crud out. A big
problem with the M-16 type rifle is that the fine sand and dust found in
Iraq and Afghanistan can slip past the magazine and into the magazine
well, and lead to a malfunction. So commercial firms have come out with
several generations of magazines that try to seal the magazine well to
keep the talcum powder like crud out of the rifle. For example, there is
the Advanced Reliability Combat magazine, that includes a soft gasket
that creates a dust proof seal when the magazine is inserted in an M-4,
or similar weapon (like the SOCOM SCAR). These magazines cost $30 each
(about 70 percent more than a standard magazine.) These high end
magazines also, like the new army magazine, have better springs and a
follower that minimizes jams. Troops will still buy commercial
magazines, with their own money, just to be on the safe side. (Not
mentioned is that the ARC magazine
[
http://tangodown.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=126] is OEM for
the SCAR Light Rifle; it will function reliably in any firearm that
accepts M16 magazines and is also available in a 20-round version, for
those who prefer a shorter magazine. Disclosure statement - I currently
use free samples of the latter on my home-defense carbine.)
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htweap/articles/20100104.aspx
---
British Sniper Speaks: It was like a bloodcurdling video game for sniper
Steve Lewis as he saw a Taliban hand clutching an RPG appear over a wall
50 yards away. The army's best shot watched in delight down the sights
of his L96A1 rifle as the launcher bobbed along for 20 yards behind the
wall... and paused. The point of the rocket dipped and aimed towards
him. The enemy's face bobbed up into the crosshair. And Steve squeezed
the trigger. He saw the face wobble with the impact. Half of it blew
away. The grenade launcher fell back over the wall and disappeared...
but only briefly. Seconds later it was back up, bobbing along the wall.
Steve watched it until it stopped, and fired again as a second Taliban
face appeared. "Looked like someone bounced a football off his head, the
way it snapped backwards," says the L Cpl. Throughout that day Steve
shot dead another five insurgents from the snipers' nest he shared with
fellow crackshot Frank "The Yank" Ward. Steve, 29, says it's their "job
to kill people and there's no other way of saying it"...
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/657842/Sniper-29-says-Wersquore-glad-when-we-get-a-kill-mdash-itrsquos-what-we-do.html
---
Help Promote Self-Defense: Each week, I discuss a few of the many self
defense cases that have occurred. In each of those cases, a citizen has
defended themselves against an act of violence, often defending their
loved ones at the same time. Society benefits as well, since a criminal
who has been fatally shot, shot and apprehend by the police, or held at
gunpoint until the police arrive will be taken off the streets. Sadly,
there is no shortage of cases where a violent criminal is able to harm
an innocent person. When that happens, the immediate victim suffers,
and a violent criminal often remains free to harm additional citizens.
So what factors separate the self defense cases from those where the
criminal prevails? It isn't age, as both the young and old can use a
gun in self defense. Nor is gender at issue, since both men and women
successfully defend themselves every day. Instead, preparedness seems
to be what tends to separate the citizens who defend themselves from
those who become victims. For that reason, I would like to encourage
everyone to not only be personally prepared for self defense, but to
also encourage their loved ones to similarly prepared. While there is
no magic formula for preparedness, here are some suggestions...
http://www.examiner.com/x-18149-SelfDefense-Examiner~y2010m1d3-Help-promote-self-defense
---
General Safety Recommendations: As I kick off my ninth year of writing
"Staying Safe" columns, I think it's a great time to think about your
safety and security for the New Year. It's common today to hear about
all the new high-tech wonder gadgets that will make our lives safer and
more secure in the future. Everything from biometrics, digital CCTV to
smart cards will have a role to play in our personal security. However,
here are 10 simple and easy to implement ideas, suggested by some
security and safety folks, that may help make your life safer starting
right now... (From time to time I have students challenge some of the
recommendations I give in my CWP course. The challenge that amazed me
the most was from a couple who could see no need for the added
expenditure for each of them to carry a cell phone. It appeared
inconceivable to them that they would ever need to communicate with each
other, at a distance, outside the home. On a related note, if you would
need to contact relatives following a disaster in which the government
does not opt to block cell phones, you and the relatives should be
capable of sending and receiving text messages. The bombings of the
London subway system a few years ago showed that voice frequencies
become overwhelmed much more quickly than text frequencies; voice
communication requires continual use of the frequency while text
messages go as instantaneous "packets.")
http://newsmax.com/US/Mandelblit-security-crime-law/2010/01/04/id/345271
---
Tangentially Related: ...Within hours, video of the altercation popped
up all over the Internet (including from Reason.tv's Dan Hayes, who was
on the scene). By the morning of December 20, anyone with an Internet
connection could see from multiple angles shot by multiple video cameras
and cell phones that not only did Det. Baylor wave his gun, he also
admitted it. Baylor is now under investigation. He's been stripped of
his badge and gun, and may lose his job... In the aftermath of the
infamous LAPD arrest of Rodney Glenn King, cops were advised to assume
that everything they say is being recorded and everything they do is
being video'd. How many people today still carry cell phones that don't
contain video cameras? Consider this the next time that some chairborne
ranger in your favorite internet forum suggests that if you ever have to
use your gun, make sure that the other guy is dead, so he can't testify
against you.)
http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/04/the-dc-snow-job
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
The tactics and skills to use a firearm
in self-defense don't come naturally
with the right to keep and bear arms.
http://www.spw-duf.info
