The Forgotten Virtue of Firearms: During Christmas week, a registered
sex offender with a conviction for attempted murder used a gun to take
three hostages at a Wytheville, Va., post office. Not too surprisingly,
the national media gave the crime extensive news coverage. Such
sensationalism leaves a distorted image about what happens with guns
every day in the United States. When guns work to stop crime, there's
not nearly as much drama to sensationalize and, as a result, that much
less coverage. In Oklahoma City the previous week, an armed citizen
singlehandedly stopped an attack that surely would have resulted in a
multiple-victim public shooting. The media gave the event scant
attention. The scene went down when a Marine, who was on leave and came
home for the holidays, started firing in an apartment parking lot.
Before anyone was harmed, another man aimed his permitted concealed
handgun at the attacker and ordered him to put down his weapon. The
shooter dropped his gun and ran into his father's apartment, barricading
himself in. Three-and-a-half hours later, the man surrendered to the
police...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/05/the-forgotten-virtue-of-firearms/
---
How's This for Unbiased Journalism?: I am particularly intrigued by the
choice of the photo of what appears to be a Mormon missionary to
represent Utah in what claims to be a report of the ten states with the
lowest and the ten states with the highest estimated rates of firearm
ownership. Snide remarks abound.
http://www.mainstreet.com/slideshow/lifestyle/most-trigger-happy-states
---
The Beat Winds Down in Maryland: The Armory is stocked with everything a
gun enthusiast could want, from collectibles to rifles, handguns to
shotguns. Only one thing is missing from the Annapolis gun shop:
customers. Despite a national and statewide uptick in handgun-permit
applications and a nationwide increase in gun-related background checks,
local dealers like Hal Goldstein said they're not seeing lots of
business these days. Sales are off 50 to 60 percent at his business,
which is just off West Street inside the city limits. "I could have
closed in August, and I would have saved money," he said. If his shop is
any indication, local gun sales are bucking the national and state
trend. Though gun sales are not tracked statewide or nationwide, permits
and other requirements are, and they're usually used as a sales
barometer for the industry. Maryland residents need to apply to state
police to get a handgun permit. In 2008, 3,641 permits were issued; in
2009, 5,129 were issued, a 30 percent increase...
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/top/2010/01/04-17/Gun-sales-up-but-not-here.html
---
The Pendulum Swings in Arizona: A move by state legislators to
retroactively change self-defense laws is unconstitutional, the Arizona
Court of Appeals has ruled. Without dissent, the judges said Cesar
Montes, convicted of the 2005 shooting death of Benjamin Cota in Pima
County and the wounding of two others, is not entitled to take advantage
of changes in self-defense laws enacted after the shootings. Unless it's
overturned, the new ruling also could affect other cases in which people
convicted of murder have been trying to use the now-void new law to get
new trials... But lawmakers also specifically wrote the change to apply
to any cases that had not yet gone to a jury, a move that backers
acknowledged was designed to help Fish. The Arizona Supreme Court
subsequently ruled, however, that the law, as written, was not
retroactive, leading to Fish's conviction... It's unclear how the
decision applies to the case of Fish. Fish's conviction was overturned
by the Court of Appeals on other grounds, with that court saying he was
entitled to a new trial, which the Coconino County Attorney's Office has
said it would not pursue. No one was available to comment on whether the
new ruling changes the position... (Fish fatally shot a man who charged
him, screaming threats, as they were hiking in opposite directions on a
forest trail. Unfortunately, the incident occurred in Coconino County,
one of the four of Arizona's 15 counties to have voted Democrat in the
last three presidential elections. His trial took place in Flagstaff, a
very "progressive" environment.)
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/323906
---
Beleaguered Wisconsin Gun Shop Dodges Bullet: Federal investigators
recommended revoking the license of Badger Outdoors gun shop after a
2006 inspection - a rare move that could have closed the West Milwaukee
business, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation has found. But
there was no revocation and the store remains open, operating as Badger
Guns. Federal records show the license recommended for revocation was
voluntarily relinquished, the players inside the operation took on new
roles and a new license was issued, creating what one federal official
called a "clean slate" for the store. Badger Guns came under intense
scrutiny in the past year after two Milwaukee officers were shot with a
gun purchased there. Over the past two years, six Milwaukee officers in
all were wounded by people using guns purchased from Badger Guns or
Badger Outdoors. Badger Outdoors and later Badger Guns have sold the
bulk of crime guns recovered by police in Milwaukee for at least the
past decade, according to records obtained by the Journal Sentinel. And
federal court records since 2004 for eastern Wisconsin show
three-quarters of straw buyer criminal cases - where someone with a
clean record buys a gun for a felon - involved purchases from Badger
Guns or Badger Outdoors... (As I understand it, all firearm dealers have
been driven out of Milwaukee proper and Badger Guns is one of only two
remaining in the metro area; that might have an effect on the quoted
statistics.)
http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/80518507.html
---
Patents Could Derail California Microstamping Law: Firearms
microstamping, signed into by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) in
October 2007 and slated to take effect this New Year's Day (2010), is
not in effect since the technology remains encumbered by patents.
Microstamping - the process by which firearms manufacturers would have
to micro laser-engrave a gun's make, model and serial number on two
distinct parts of each gun, including the firing pin, so that in theory
the information would be imprinted on the cartridge casing when the
pistol is fired - must be certified as patent-free by the California
Department of Justice before the law can go into effect. Though
microstamping cannot be certified because the technology remains covered
by patents, last month the California Department of Justice issued
proposed regulations for the technology, a move that was questioned by
the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) - the trade association
for the firearms industry...
http://www.rightsidenews.com/201001058038/editorial/california-microstamping-law-not-in-effect.html
---
New Yorker Prepare to Lobby for RKBA: Dozens of local sportsmen will
head to the state Capitol in Albany on Jan. 12 to try to educate state
legislators about the benefits of fishing, hunting and other outdoor
activities. Formally known as Sportsmen and Outdoor Recreation
Legislative Awareness Day, the event will bring sportsmen from around
the state to Albany to meet with legislators and hear from speakers,
including NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre. The event will
run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Legislative Office Building...
http://www.poststar.com/sports/article_d065766a-f8f6-11de-9520-001cc4c002e0.html
..This event will take place on January 12, 2010 from 9:00 AM to 1:00
PM in the Well of the State Legislative Office Building at South Swan
and State Streets. SAFE will be putting together a bus for the trip to
Albany leaving the Huntington Park and Ride (north side of the LIE on
service road between Pinelawn Road and Broad Hollow Road, Route 110) at
4:30 AM and returning at 8:30 PM. The bus has restroom facilities and a
DVD player which we hope to use. If you want to make a strong impression
on our local Senators and Assembly members that we are serious about our
rights for firearms ownership and use, this trip is a must. Right after
you commit to going on our bus trip call your State Assemblyman and
State Senator and make an appointment to meet with them in their offices
in Albany NY on January 12th. You can call the legislators local office
or you can call the Assembly switchboard to make this appointment:
(518)455-4100; Senate switchboard: (518)455-2800. Then call Assemblyman
Kolb's office and let him know you're coming: (518)455-4751...
http://www.ammoland.com/2010/01/04/if-you-are-serious-about-your-firearms-rights/
---
Being an RKBA Ambassador: I've only been involved in political activism,
Second Amendment or otherwise, for about seven years which is nothing
compared to some of the people I know who have been doing this for
twenty, thirty years or more. In that time I've learned that there are
many approaches to how activists go about trying to spread their message
and convert people to their side. Some folks are more comfortable
working from afar writing letters and making phone calls, others like to
be closer to the front lines by working with legislators, conducting
training classes, etc. There are also those that tend to be more
aggressive and "in your face" so to speak. One thing that has always
bothered me is that some people feel that their way of being active is
the best way and everyone else is doing it wrong. For example, I've seen
people who prefer to openly carry a firearm denigrate those who prefer
to carry concealed. I've often felt it is better to embrace all forms of
activism and work together than to try to make others do things your
way, but there is one topic I do think needs to be addressed and that is
the issue of being overly confrontational...
http://www.examiner.com/x-2206-Cleveland-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2010m1d4-Being-a-gun-rights-ambassador
---
It Never Happens?: Security guard today just tried to physically dis-arm
me. Grabbed my right arm with his left hand and attempted to grab my
pistol grip with his right. Elbow to the face and a back step rear
kick/shin scrape to his right knee/shin...turned and hit him with a full
body roundhouse punch. Knocked his a$$ out cold. Because the cops were
called I can't give full details until everything is settled but it was
at a big box store... (There are those advocates of open carry who
discount the possibility of a disarming attempt. They may be rare but,
in 2002, a man carrying openly in south Phoenix was killed when two guys
attacked and robbed him of his Glock pistol. His co-workers had advised
him that he should get a permit to carry it concealed, particularly in
that neighborhood. I have queried a couple of people at the local dog
park about why they were wearing empty holsters; one told me that he had
had a few incidents while carrying openly in the forest, including one
in which three guys tried to circle him, which he took as an attempted
disarm. If you choose to be a poster boy for open carry, be prepared for
incidents ranging from snide remarks and calls to police to disarming
attempts. Above all, make sure you use some form of security holster.)
http://georgiapacking.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=40381
---
California Open-Carry Event: They brought their guns to downtown
Livermore - to have a cup of coffee and demonstrate their right to
literally bear arms. A group of more than a dozen people met at a
downtown cafe Saturday afternoon, some of them had unloaded
semi-automatic pistols holstered to their belts with their ammunition
clips readily available. The demonstration was put on by members of the
"open carry" movement. The event at the Panama Red Coffee Co. was
similar to others held recently in the Bay Area, at which gun owners
exercise their rights to carry the weapons in public, said Livermore
police Lt. Lance Bye. It is legal to carry an unloaded weapon without a
special permit in most of California as long as the gun is unloaded and
not near a school. Bye said the group, which held a similar event in
Livermore last month with no problems, called police beforehand to make
sure the event would be in compliance. Officers met with a handful of
them in a nearby parking lot, including to check the weapons. "It was
very low key, low profile," Bye said. "We received no complaints from
the public." ... (Arguably, in some California counties carrying openly
is analogous to doing so in Wisconsin in that the sheriff will usually
not issue permits to carry concealed. California differs, however, in
banning loaded firearms in "public places" for those who lack permits or
licenses to carry firearms.)
http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_14121268
---
How Small a Nit Can We Pick?: The principal of Red Pine Elementary in
Eagan [MN] will not be disciplined for letting a parent shoot balloons
with a BB gun in the school gym, a spokesman for the Rosemount-Apple
Valley-Eagan School District said Monday. In a decision that he later
called "unwise," Principal Gary Anger allowed a parent volunteer to
bring the BB gun from home after a program held for Red Pine families on
Dec. 8. While a few people finished cleaning up the gym, the volunteer
shot down balloons that had floated to the ceiling. District
administrators said last month that they were investigating the incident
after Star Tribune reporters began asking questions. That inquiry
wrapped up before the holiday break, said district spokesman Tony
Taschner. Secondary students in the district who come to school with
weapons - even look-alikes - are recommended for expulsion. However,
policy allows firearms on school grounds in certain situations. Peace
officers and color guards can carry them, for example, and other people
can with written permission from a principal...
http://www.startribune.com/local/south/80673997.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUZ
---
Perhaps Boys Who Will Be Boys Shouldn't Have Real Guns: Washington
Wizards basketball star Gilbert Arenas is scheduled to meet Monday with
law-enforcement authorities to present his side of the story about a
locker-room dispute with a teammate nearly two weeks ago... Arenas has
already admitted bringing three unloaded firearms to the Verizon Center
- to get them out of the house and away from his kids - and storing them
in a locked container. According to Yahoo! Sports, he took them out of
the container before a Dec. 21 practice and laid the guns on a chair,
then told teammate Javaris Crittenton to choose one and make good on a
threat that stemmed from a card game on a late-night flight from Phoenix
back to Washington two days earlier. As the game got more expensive,
Crittenton joked about what could happen to people who didn't honor
their debts. Arenas has a well-deserved reputation as a prankster and
laying out the guns apparently was his way of trying to diffuse any
lingering tension between the two. Instead, the gesture enraged
Crittenton. According to a New York Post report, Arenas and Crittenton
wound up drawing guns on each other... The problem with gunplay, though,
is that it's never funny and that a casual attitude toward violence only
encourages more of the same. Arenas has already been suspended once,
after pleading no contest to misdemeanor weapons and vehicle charges
following a traffic stop in California 2003; he sat out Washington's
season opener in 2004. No matter how this latest incident is handled by
authorities, Arenas should know better than to expect leniency this time
around. Another former NBA player got off easy the first time he, too,
was charged with a weapons violation, lecturing schoolkids and taking
out ads in the local newspaper touting gun safety. His name is Jayson
Williams. As you read this, he is scheduled to be retried on a reckless
manslaughter charge in the shooting death of a limousine driver during a
party at his home.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/04/arenas-police-meet-monday-about-gun-incident/
Federal prosecutors have convened a grand jury to explore an incident in
which Washington Wizards All-Star Gilbert Arenas allegedly brandished
high-powered handguns in the team locker room, The Examiner has
learned... If charges are brought against Arenas, he could face a
separate felony count for each handgun, with a maximum of five years in
prison on each count... (Bad cases make bad law. While Arenas and
Plaxico Burress have helped highlight the unreasonable firearm laws in
DC and NYC, respectively, they have not done so in a manner that has
been helpful to the cause.)
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Grand-jury-mulling-gun-charges-against-Wizards_-Gilbert-8718511-80662317.html
---
Oops, Wrong House: A homeowner shot a teenage burglary suspect on
Sunday, KPRC Local 2 reported. Robert and Pam Cole were asleep at their
home on Cloverleaf Street near Texarkana Street in east Harris County
[TX] at about 11 p.m., when they heard glass breaking. "We were both
jarred awake," Pam Cole said. "We knew something was wrong. The alarm
was going off." "Someone is coming in the house and she yelled out,' Get
your shotgun,'" Robert Cole said. "I came out of the bedroom and down
the hall here, a man with a black hoodie and a fire extinguisher like he
was going to beat somebody, was in the living room. I came out of the
bedroom with the shotgun ... shot him in the hip. He screamed, dropped
the fire extinguisher and dived into the hole he came in." Harris County
sheriff's deputies found the suspect down the street. He was laying in a
neighbor's yard and yelling for help...
http://www.click2houston.com/news/22117126/detail.html
http://www.examiner.com/x-18149-SelfDefense-Examiner~y2010m1d4-Violent-home-invader-shot-by-armed-homeowner
---
FBI Use of Force Guidelines?: Two Orange County men have been sentenced
to two years in prison for breaking into the garage of an FBI agent and
trying to steal beer, officials said today. Jeffrey Michael Drach, 20,
of Yorba Linda, and Justin Wesley Case, 21, of Placentia, were sentenced
Monday after pleading guilty to residential burglary. The men entered
the Yorba Linda home Nov. 18 through a partially opened garage door, the
Orange County District Attorney's office said. The FBI agent -
identified only as James M. - entered the garage and identified himself
as a law enforcement officer and ordered them to stop. The agent briefly
struggled with one of the men before both fled in a car. James M. shot
at the car as it drove away but neither man was injured... (Most private
citizens, in most states, would be sweating criminal charges for s
shooting of this sort.)
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/01/beer-theft.html
---
As Seen from New Mexico...: ...The morning of Dec. 27, witnesses told
police two men tried to break into an apartment at Telshor Manor
Apartments at 1410 Telshor Blvd. A 26-year-old resident was apparently
startled awake, grabbed a handgun, and opened fire at the intruders,
according to police. Steve Anthony Martinez, 27, a convicted burglar,
was found dead of gunshot wounds outside the apartment... New Mexico
residents can legally respond with the level of threat that is being
leveled against them, said District Attorney Susana Martinez. "For
example, someone comes into my home and I take out my gun and they start
to attack me, I can use deadly force, but if someone is breaking into my
car, can I shoot them? No, because you have to be confronted with deadly
force," Martinez said. In the Dec. 27 case, the alleged victim "was at
home, in bed and a man stood in the doorway of his bedroom with a knife
held over his head and he had means of protecting himself and the other
person in the room." That's the difference between New Mexico law and
Texas's "Castle Doctrine," which includes responding with lethal force
to threats against property, she said. "We certainly have the right - as
human beings and as citizens of this state - to defend ourselves from
deadly force," Martinez said...
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_14117247
---
No Charges in Self-Defense Shooting: There is new information tonight,
6-months after a fatal shooting in Moorhead [MN]. Police say that the
man who shot and killed a teenaged intruder will not face charges.
Police say Vernon Allen acted out of self-defense and all the evidence
was consistent. They say the shot gun shell found in his bathroom was in
the same place where Allen said he was standing when he shot LaFromboise
at close range. Also, toxicology reports show LaFramboise's alcohol
content was 0.21, almost 3-times the legal limit for driving. There were
no signs of drugs in his system. On June 20th, police say the
17-year-old walked into Allen's apartment and tried to punch him twice.
When Allen grabbed a gun from his room, the teenager grabbed the gun's
barrel. Police have been criticized for taking a long time with this
case. Others have accused the department of being racist. Police say
they just wanted all the evidence in the case...
http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/28043/
http://www.examiner.com/x-18149-SelfDefense-Examiner~y2010m1d4-The-Self-Defense-Shooting-of-Joel-LaFromboise-and-his-Fathers-Response
---
Tangentially Related: ...What a difference one year makes. Liberals may
be forgiven for looking at the latest public opinion surveys and
wondering if they somehow stumbled into the Valley of Death instead of
Obama's promised paradise. The president remains somewhat popular
personally, but, as Matthew Continetti of The Weekly Standard wrote
recently, "Obama's domestic program is exceedingly unpopular. The public
disapproves of the president's bailouts, stimulus, health care reform,
and cap and trade policies, not to mention his decision to close the
terrorist prison at Guantanamo Bay." That Continetti was perhaps too
kind is seen in this stunning fact: When George W. Bush returned,
bloodied and bruised, to his Texas home after eight years in the White
House, 43 percent of Americans surveyed by Scott Rasmussen "strongly
disapproved" of the job he had done. Today, after less than a year in
office, 46 percent express the same intense level of opposition to
Obama... (I have said before and I still believe that the Big Brother
regime will go down as the biggest example of the law of unintended
consequences in American history.)
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/Obama-is-moving-America-Right-8714881-80544477.html
..Four years ago on a small regional flight, I noticed four Arab
passengers sitting in different rows. One appeared to be reading a holy
text, another an Arab newspaper, a third stared out the window. The
final one closest to me was dressed in western clothes and seemed
relaxed... On hold at the gate, a plan emerged: "If they are
terrorists, wouldn't you rather find out while on the ground?!" I leaned
back to the more casually dressed man sitting near me, "Do you live here
or in Chicago?" "Chicago," he replied with a smile. "I coordinate
corporate tours for visiting executives from the Middle East. We are
returning from a tour of a plant in Indiana." The sigh of relief in the
plane was evident; others joined in the conversation. We had profiled.
We had faced our fears. We had found friends, not terrorists. Not all
Muslims are terrorists, but the terrorists who wish to kill Americans
are Muslim extremists. Whether it is politically correct or not, we're
all profiling. Profiling is not bigotry; it's smart self-defense!
..Professional behavior-detection officers are looking for specific
micro-facial expressions that are hard to hide. Officers won't share
what they are looking for, but even you can look for behavior indicators
that show a certain level of stress, fear or anxiety above and beyond
what is normal while traveling. It's the vague, evasive responses where
a brief flash of fear shows itself. Be assertive but respectful in
sharing any concerns you feel with flight attendants. Such concerns
expressed early could trigger secondary screening that could save lives...
http://townhall.com/columnists/TerryPaulson/2010/01/04/time_for_passengers_to_profile_and_act?page=full
The attempted bombing of Delta/Northwest 253 on Christmas Day was not
the first from the Islamic terrorists nor will it be the last. Since I
am a pilot, I have had people ask what can a passenger do onboard an
airplane to help thwart a terrorist attack. Having personal experience
with a few events myself, as well as reading articles and hearing
stories from other crewmembers, I can give you some information which
might assist you in dealing with a suspicious passenger or situation...
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=35060
--
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
