PA:Woman's Boyfriend Shoots Estranged Husband

Police said a woman called 911 at about 4 a.m. and said Mr. Jones, her estranged husband, was trying to break into her home in the 200 block of Radcliffe Street.

When Mr. Jones got in through a first-floor window, the woman’s boyfriend came downstairs with a gun and shot him, police said.

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MI: Detroit Homeowner Shoots Intruder

Police said the 34-year-old suspect died at the scene after being shot by the 51-year-old homeowner. At this time, the homeowner has not been charged in the shooting.

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VA: Store Owner

SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – A store owner fired at an armed robber Thursday night after the suspect pointed a gun and demanded money.

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PA: Homeowner Fires at Intruder

As the burglar walked toward the victim while pulling an item out of his pocket, the resident ran to get a shotgun and fired one round that missed the intruder, who fled into the woods behind the home, state police said.

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NV: Woman Shoots Ex as he Breaks Down Door

A man was shot in the chest early Friday morning after trying to break into the home of a former girlfriend, according to police.

Lieutenant Eric Lloyd with Las Vegas Metro police said the shooting happened near the area of South Durango Drive and Tropicana Avenue at about 1 a.m.

Citing the woman living at an apartment complex, Lloyd said she called officers regarding a former boyfriend kicking her door.

Police said the woman fired two shots at the man once he made entry into the unit, hitting him once in the chest.

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Would you sell a car to someone you do not know?

Alan Gottlieb, at the Gun Rights Policy Conference, asked a very scary question.  It is a question loaded with bad premises, freighted with unintended consequences.   It was terrifying when you consider where it leads us, as a society.

It was: Would you sell a gun to someone you do not know?

The premise that underlies the question is that selling a gun to someone that you do not know is irresponsible, and that it should be regulated by the government.

Alan followed up his question with another terrifying premise: If you sell your gun to someone who later uses it in a crime, you could be held liable for the criminal's actions. 

Alan asked us whether a jury would hold a person liable if they sold a gun to someone they did not know, who committed a crime with it later.

This premise has already been knocked down by at least one court, because it takes us down the rabbit hole to Alice in Wonderland.   No one should be held responsible for the actions someone else commits with property that was legally sold.   If you can be held liable for this, then selling a car, or a computer, or a telephone, or a knife, or a chainsaw to someone who later uses it criminally would make the seller liable for that criminal act.   It undercuts the very foundation of a free society.

Alan is a very smart guy.  I respect Alan.  I like Alan.   The premise of his question is horrifying.   It is a simple train of thought. 

1. Selling to someone you do not know is irresponsible.

2. To prevent this irresponsible action, the government must monitor who things are sold to, so that bad people cannot buy things that can be used in crimes.

3.  If the government must monitor transactions so that bad people may not buy things that the government thinks they should not have, then the government may stop those transactions.

4.  This does not stop at guns.   Knives can be used in crime, as can cars, and computers, and shoes.

5.  If the government may stop those transactions, they may stop *any* transactions, because virtually everything and all transactions may be used for criminal purposes.   Governments have historically used this power to disenfranchise and destroy those who they politically disagree with.

The freedom to buy and sell to people anonymously is a fundamental property right.  If the government can say that you may not sell your property, it has taken that property from you.

If we believe that some individuals are so dangerous that they should not have access to certain things, such as guns or knives or computers, then those people need to be in prison or closely monitored so that they do not have access to those things. 

Setting up a system so that everyone in society is monitored to prevent the actions of a few evil or irresponsible people is an excuse to control everyone.   It is what has brought us to the NSA recording all telephone conversations. 

A free society is put in grave peril when such systems are put in place.   Those in power are always tempted to use such systems to help keep them in power.

Could the IRS ever be used for political purposes?

President Nixon was hounded out of office for merely considering it.

It appears that elements of the current administration actually did it.

Alan Gottlieb made these remarks while talking to the conference about his concerns with the gun control dueling initiatives in Washington State.

He believes that severe gun control, disguised as "universal background checks" is likely to pass in Washington State.   The initiative for this is number I 594.  Billionaires have contributed millions of dollars to push I 594.  The pro freedom forces are being outspent 8 to 1. 

A competing initiative was put on the ballot to prevent the abuses inherent in the densely worded 18 pages of legalese that is I-594.

It is initiative I-591.   It is a simple one page initiative that  requires background checks in Washington State to comply with national standards, and to require due process before any gun is confiscated.     It is behind in the polls.

Whether you are a Christian or not, there is much wisdom in the Bible.   In the book of Revelations, the most evil of governments puts in place a system where no one can buy or sell without government permission.

For millions of people in NAZI Germany and The Soviet Union, that sort of control meant the end of the world.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

Challenging "Gun Free" Zones at the GRPC

Dr. John Edeen, above spoke as part of a panel on targeting "Gun Free Zones".   Dr. Edeen was not always part of the gun culture.   He grew up in New Jersey, but now practices medicine in San Antonio, Texas.

He started taking colleagues shooting, and talking about the dangerous "gun free" policy of the hospital where he works.   He ran into considerable opposition, but over the course of time, he has converted many.   He says that he has obtained over 400 signatures from coworkers on a petition for the Hospital to change its policy.

Massad Ayoob pointed out several instances where armed citizens had stopped mass shootings;  Chris Byrd, the author, gave an update on school districts who are arming teachers and staff in Texas.   Over 40 are doing so to date.

Argyle Independent School District (ISD) has posted these signs, which Chris showed to the conference attendees.

Gun Free Zones are becoming less popular than they once were.   Dr. Edeen noted that he received a large increase in signatures after Dr. Lee Silverman used his personal sidearm to stop the killing at Fitzgerald Hospital this last July.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

AK: Black Bear Raids Freezer, is Shot

A Juneau homeowner shot and killed a male black bear early Thursday after it repeatedly tried to raid a freezer on the porch, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Stephanie Sell, an acting area wildlife biologist, said the homeowners on Mendenhall Loop Road had dealt with a black bear in the past. They installed an electric fence around their chicken coop after a bear attempted to grab their poultry, she said.

While remodeling their home, Sell said, the homeowners moved a freezer onto their front porch, which she likened to an arctic entryway. The homeowners said a bear had gotten into the unlocked freezer, which was full of food, so they secured mesh across the porch entrance.





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FL: Armed Woman Holds Suspect for Police

An Orange City mom jumped into action early Thursday morning, pulling out a gun and taking down a suspected robber.

Lizette Rosario said her son told her someone was trying to break into her house around 4:30 a.m.

She grabbed her 9mm and ran outside.

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AR: Woman Shoots Suspect, Wings Boyfriend

According to the police report, the 28-year-old woman was inside her apartment when her 39-year-old boyfriend returned from walking their dog. The suspect, armed with a small handgun, walked into the apartment with him and demanded his wallet.

When the man told the suspect he had lost his wallet, the armed man then demanded his girlfriend's wallet, took it, and told the boyfriend to go to an ATM with him.

When the men left, the woman grabbed her own gun and headed back to the living room. When the two men came back soon after, they wrestled over the suspect's gun. That's when the woman fired two shots, striking the suspect in the buttocks and face and her boyfriend in the arm. The boyfriend was treated and released for a minor wound.

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Gun Rights Policy Conference: Trouble at O'Hare

Joe Tartaro and Dave Workman stop by the table of David Codrea, lower right

I have been traveling for the last week to attend the Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC), which is being held this weekend at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago.   The hotel is at O'Hare airport.   I left family members in Missouri at about 5:40 a.m. on Friday morning.   I had a little over 500 miles to go to reach the conference.    My Niece called an hour later, just as I was getting coffee (free, they had a special) at a McDonalds.

O'Hare was in trouble.

Early reports indicate that a contractor had set fire in the air control facility in Aurora.   The man then tried to commit suicide by stabbing himself.   Motive?  Unknown at this time.  Result?  Over 1500 flights, perhaps thousands, rerouted and rescheduled over the entire United States.  Hundreds of flights canceled into and out of O'Hare.

Traffic into O'Hare was a little better than I expected, with a final surprise at River Road into O'Hare.   It is the end of a toll road, and the $1.50 toll has to be paid in coins.   There is no attendant.   If you do not have coins, they say you can go on-line and pay, and you have seven days to do so.   Fortunately, the machine accepted quarters, dimes, and nickels.

I wondered just how many speakers and gun culture luminaries would be there when I arrived.   When I checked in, a little before 6 p.m., the clerk told me that there had been 200 cancellations and reschedulings at the hotel that day.

I unpacked, and went down to the traditional Friday evening reception for the GRPC.

The line was long, with hundreds ahead of me registering and picking up name tags.   We traded stories and renewed acquaintances as we moved along.

Inside the door,  I saw David Codrea and his wife, Maureen, sitting at a table just to my left.   David, ever alert, saw my name tag and said "Dean Weingarten.  I recognize that name."   We shook hands and I joined him at the table.

David is a role model for me.   He broke the Fast and Furious case with Mike Vanderbough, when the old media was studiously ignoring it, then working to cover it up.   I aspire to write as well as David. 

As shown in the picture, other luminaries stopped by.   Joe Tartaro of Gun Week and SAF allowed me to take a picture of him with Dave Workman and David Codrea.   I should have taken more, but got involved in many insightful conversations with other activists.   A particularly interesting one was with Paul Valone, of Grass Roots North Carolina.   Rob Morse and I discussed demographics and leadership as we went back to our rooms.

I did not even take the time to say hello to Alan Gura, though I did sign a gift to him which depicted him as superman. 

More from the conference as I have time.


©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

NV:Home Invaders Fire and Run from Man with Gun

Two teenage boys entered a house that was open. They encountered a 73-year-old man who was inside the house with his cat and dog. One of the burglars fired one shot, missing the man, Candelas said.

The man went to get his gun and when the teens realized it, they ran from the home, firing rounds in the air, Candelas said. They fled in a silver or gray sedan.

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CA: Woman Uses "Gun in Safe" Trick

The old "gun in the safe" trick.

The female victim was sitting outside her residence when she was accosted by an unknown black male subject. The man grabbed the woman’s hair and put a gun to the back of her head, said Turlock Police spokesperson Officer Mayra Lewis.

The suspect searched the woman’s car and when he didn’t find anything in there, he told her to take him inside and hand over her money and credit cards.

Inside the home the woman told the robber the items were stored in a safe. She opened the safe, but instead of pulling out money, she pulled out her own gun.

The suspect immediately fled the home, according to the police report.

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TX: Two Pit Bulls Shot Attacking Leashed Lab

The two pit bulls were known to have attacked other animals.

Seagoville police say the incident happened at approximately 10:42 p.m. Monday on Mary Jane Lane. The woman was carrying her baby and walking her dog, a black Labrador retriever, when two at-large pit bulls began attacking her dog.

A neighbor, driving by at the time of the incident, attempted to separate the dogs. “The attack on the pedestrian's dog continued, and the passerby was forced to fire two gunshots at the dogs,” stated Seagoville Police Departmen -

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OK: Armed Citizen Stops Mass Stabbing

Two women were stabbed, one fatally, and the alleged assailant was shot multiple times by an off-duty deputy at a food distribution plant in Moore, Thursday afternoon.

Moore police officers first responded to reports of an active shooter at Vaughan Foods, located at 216 NE 12th St., just before 4:30 p.m.

According to police, 30-year-old Alton Nolen entered the warehouse and stabbed the first two people he came in contact with. One female victim died at the scene, and the other was transported in critical condition. Nolen was then shot multiple times by an off-duty deputy who works security at the plant.

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OK:11-Year-Old Uses Handgun to Defend Mother

An 11-year-old girl was called a hero by neighbors Wednesday after she used a handgun to shoot a man who was attacking her mother.

About 4 a.m. Tuesday, Oklahoma City police were called to a home at 3308 SE 89 and found Brandy Moreno, who said she was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend, Leo Henry.

Police said Henry broke into the house and began to attack Moreno until her daughter, Jayda Milsap, 11, shot Henry twice with a handgun. Henry tried to flee from the home after being shot and was found down the street, police said.



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AK: Man Shoots Bear Attempting to Break into Home

A 32-year-old man shot and injured a bear in Wasilla on Tuesday after the animal attempted to enter his home, according to Alaska State Troopers.

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MN:CCW Holder Cleared in Shooting

Earl Malone, Suspected Armed Robber

One adult attempts to rob another, using the threat of deadly force.  The victim is an armed adult with a concealed carry permit.  He defends himself, and the attempted robber dies.   Cause for muted thanks, correct?  The good guy won, and there is one less hardened criminal on the street to make the city a slightly less dangerous place.

The CBSMinnesota headline:

Man Released After Claiming Self Defense In Fatal Mpls. Shooting

This from cbslocal.com:

Authorities believe he was acting in self-defense when he fatally shot 18-year-old Earl Malone Saturday night at the intersection of Knox Avenue North and 26th Street.

Police took the 21-year-old man into custody at the scene. Sources tell WCCO the man has a conceal-and-carry permit, and told police he shot Malone because he had tried to rob him.

 I would propose a different headline, which would be just as valid:

Armed Citizen Released after Shooting Robbery Suspect.

Many have suggested that armed citizens be rewarded for such actions.   They risked their life and helped protect the rest of society.   How many crimes are prevented by stopping a criminal career?

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

MI: Homeowner Shoots Suspect

DETROIT, Mich. (WJBK) -
Detroit police were at the scene of a break-in and shooting Tuesday, but it was the homeowner who opened fire.

(snip

After one suspect acted as if he had a gun, the home owner shot him in the chest with a shotgun inside the storage area, outside the house.

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KY: Workers Shoot one, Capture Second Robber

Two men had entered the truck stop, and the one holding a gun demanded money.

"The store owner had a weapon and fired at the suspect with a gun, striking him," Hall said. The robber "fled the scene and was later picked up in a field about a quarter of a mile away."

The other man was tackled and held down by employees, Hall said.

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AR: No Charges in Self Defense Shooting

PINE BLUFF, AR - A shooting at the home of a Pine Bluff police woman has been ruled self defense.


The Jefferson County Prosecutor's Office says there will be no charges filed in the case.


It was last month that the Arkansas State Police (ASP) identified Denise Richardson as the officer and said she shot a man at her home around 2 a.m. the morning of Aug. 15. during a struggle.

 

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CO: CCW Carrier Protects his Dog by Shooting Attacking Dog

In the story, it is clear that the dog that attacked was unsecured and in violation of the law.   The family had been gently warned that their dog might escape.  The  CCW carrier's fears were realized, and he had to use deadly force to save his own, legally restrained, dog.   The dog is referred to as a "lab" but it is clear that it is a mix of some kind.   It was an adopted dog, so its ancestry is not certain.  Most dogs are very territorial; it is not surprising that they will attack other dogs that they view as infringing on their territory.

It is bizarre to see the denverpost.com twist the incident to one in which the defensive shooter is at fault.  

He was also concerned that Clifford might jump the fence, a split rail with mesh wire attached, Raymond Martinez said. Martinez added that he was apologetic at the time. 

"There was no big argument or anything," Martinez said of the earlier encounter. "I said: 'Sorry about that, Clifford is not aggressive.' " 

The deadly Saturday encounter could have been avoided, Martinez said. "In my mind, he could have walked somewhere else," he said.

 The man will not face any charges.  From kdvr.com:

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — The man who shot and killed his neighbor’s family pet during the weekend will not face any criminal charges.

 From the shooter's side, in a later article:

Clifford attacked, Burr said, "he went for his jugular and clamped onto his neck; my husband was unable to separate the two." 

That's when Kevin Burr pulled his handgun and shot Clifford, she said.
Burr said her husband is "distraught" over the incident.

The shooter's wife also denies that he pointed the gun at other people.

 ©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

WA: Armed Citizen Shoot Pit Bull that Attacked Service Dog

Police and the SCRAPS animal control agency say the pit bull was unsecured Saturday when it charged the man's service dog as they were walking to a store in the lower South Hill neighborhood.

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OH:Clerk Wins Gunfight with Three Armed Robbers

Citizens often are better shots with better tactics than armed robbers.  In this case, even though the odds were three to one, the clerk prevailed.


Police said three men tried to rob the store, shooting the clerk in the legs. The clerk returned fire, killing two of the three would-be robbers.

The third robber, who wears a white mask and all black clothing in the surveillance video above, is still on the loose.

A man called 911 and told a dispatcher that a man who had been shot was lying in the street near the store. It's unclear who that man was.

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Wisconsin Man Shoots Robber in Texas

Map from usacarry.com

It was only a couple of decades ago that crossing state lines left most law abiding people effectively disarmed.   That started changing as the "shall issue" concealed carry firearms reform swept through the country.  I particularly remember how criminals were targeting people with rental cars in Florida, because they could be fairly certain that the people were from out of state, and thus effectively disarmed.

Florida responded by changing there law to allow for interstate reciprocity, and to allow non-residents to obtain Florida concealed carry permits.   Florida permits are now one of the most popular for those who wish to obtain an out of state permit.  The state stopped giving rental cars a distinctive license plate.   Out of state victimization dropped.

 Most other states followed  Florida's lead.   Now a majority of states recognize permits from a majority of other states.  This makes it easier for people carrying guns to stop crime.   The event related below occurred in Texas.   From ksat.com:

The man who shot the robbery suspect was also there when officers arrived. He told police he was in town from Wisconsin to pick up a motorcycle from a shop nearby that had been purchased by an out of town buyer.

 He said he pulled into the parking lot a couple of buildings down from the shop and was approached by the robbery suspect who told him to get out of the truck. The robbery suspect also said he was a police officer.

(snip)

The man was taken in for questioning, but police at the scene said he was not expected to face charges.

Note the felonious use of a false claim to be a law enforcement officer.   It is not uncommon.  The armed citizen wasn't buying any.  

There are still a few states that heavily restrict a citizen's right to defend themselves.   They are mostly concentrated on the coasts; California, Hawaii, and that cluster of  Northeastern seaboard states; New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut and the District of Columbia.

 Other states still have varying restrictions on reciprocity, but the pressures are building for a national recognition of the right to carry.   Such a bill has the votes in the Senate and the House, but has been thwarted by Harry Reid, Senate Majority leader, and the current administration.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

TN: Armed "Good Samaritan" Defends Self, in the Middle of a "Domestic"

In this case reported from Antioch, Tennessee, a domestic argument ends with a stranger being drawn into a potentially deadly encounter.     The accused and a woman were arguing, and the accused told her to to get out of the car on the Interstate.   A stranger, seeing a woman walking on the Interstate, stopped to ask if she needed help.   Shortly after, the accused came back, stopped, drew a pistol and pointed it at the two.   The stranger drew his own gun, words were exchanged, and the accused drove off.   No shots were fired.

Talk to any police officer, and they will tell you how nasty domestic situations are to intervene in.   You never know what might happen, because emotions and adrenalin are surging.  Alcohol and/or drugs are often involved.  It is not uncommon for the person you think you are protecting, to turn on you and attack you.   In this case, the article implies that the woman was Dunn's wife, but it does not clearly say so.   From theleafchronicle.com:

No shots were fired, and no injuries were recorded.

According to previous records, Dunn has allegedly pulled a gun on his wife before and physical altercations have occurred.

The stranger could not know that he was stepping into the middle of a domestic dispute.   My policy is to avoid involving myself in the affairs of consenting adults, unless it seems absolutely necessary to prevent death or serious bodily harm.  

It stems from an experience where I came very close to shooting a man.   I was married, and my wife and I had invited a woman, who said that she was abused, into our home.   Her boyfriend showed up and flattened two of her tires with a large, pointed tool, as we watched.  He shouted grievances and obscenities at the house.   I defended the door with a .357 magnum.   Two weeks later, they were back together; two years later, they were married.

From the research that I have read, most domestic violence situations are not one sided, but are a "dance of mutual destruction".   You do not want to be drawn into that maelstrom.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

NJ:Fatal Bear Attack

This sounds like a typical predatory black bear attack.  The article tries to show  black bear as vegitarians, but black bear are omnivorous predators that eat  whatever they can catch.   Black bears eat humans much more often than grizzly bears do.

A hiker has been killed by a black bear after it confronted his group of friends - forcing them to scatter in different directions.

Police identified the body as that of Darsh Patel, who had been hiking with four friends on Sunday when the bear began following them in the 526-acre wooded Apshawa Preserve.

(snip)

'Evidence at the scene indicated that the victim had been attacked by a bear,' West Milford Police Chief Timothy C. Storbeck said.

Police say that a bear was found circling the body and wouldn't leave even after officers tried to scare it away by making loud noises and throwing sticks and stones. It was killed with two rifle blasts.

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PA: Rumors on Preemption Bill HB2011

In Pennsylvania, the legislature is looking at a strong preemption bill, HB2011, to put some strength into the Pennsylvania preemption law.   Local governments have been scoffing at the law, because it has no provision for enforcement.   Other states have had to add enforcement measures to their law for this very reason.  All states have some form of preemption for gun laws.  The law seemed likely to be brought up last week.   It wasn't.

From ar15.com, brich2929 writes, on 17 September, that State Rep Brad Roae's facebook page had this notice:

 We will be voting on a pro gun rights bill today or tomorrow. HB 2011 would clarify that gun laws are done at the state level and not local level. When a city like Philadelphia passes a city law that violates the PA Constitution and PA statewide gun laws, people could sue. If the win, the municipality would pay their legal bills. As could be expected, the Democrats have filed over 100 anti gun amendments to the bill. Repealing the Castle Doctrine, serial numbers on all shell casings, one gun a month limit on purchases, etc. and other anti gun rights amendments have been filed. I have always voted no on gun control. We all know that criminals will not follow laws and it would make it harder for law abiding citizens to defend themselves.

 Then brich2929 contacted their local rep:

I just spoke to my local Representative's Legislative Aide- She said Gov. Corbett asked that they not bring this to a vote right now due to that asshole shooting the Trooper...I suppose because it puts us in a bad position poltically.

She is supposed to call me back with more info.

My first thought is, what does the criminal shooting of a Pennsylvania State Trooper have to do with a bill that keeps local governments from flouting the rule of law?    This is just an Internet rumor, of course, someone passing on information that cannot be traced back to a clear source.

I can see some logic to it.   Why pass a bill that  restores some of Pennsylvania's second amendment rights, when the old media is carrying numerous stories about an infamous, recent shooting.   But again, what does one have to do with the other? 

About the only connection is that both have a connection to firearms.   One  is a crime committed with a firearm, the other is about local governments who violate state law about firearms.

But, that is exactly what the citizen disarmament types have been working to instill for at least five decades - an illogical connection between firearms and crime.   Actual facts do not bear it out.    The numbers of guns in citizens hands has little to do with levels of crime.   There is some evidence that more guns equal less crime, and some evidence that more guns or less guns does not make much difference in crime.   There is no evidence that more guns equals more crime.

There is evidence that more guns in citizens hands means that more suicides or accidents will involve guns.   But that is a trueism, like saying that the more hospitals in a country, the more people die in hospitals, or that the more cars a country has, the more accidents occur in cars.   The fact is that homicide rates have never been shown to drop when even draconian gun control, such as gun bans, have been instituted.

Second amendment activists have been consistently winning for two decades, and it did not happen by using bad tactics.    Governor Corbett may wonder; why allow the old media to surf the wave of stories about an infamous shooting to oppose a bill to restore second amendment rights? 

Perhaps the Pennsylvania legislature will wait a week or 10 days for a vote.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

MI: Pharmacist Fired for Self Defense Loses Appeal

Jeremy Hoven is a pharmacist who worked at Walgreens in Benton Township, Michigan.   He had complained about security at the store after a robbery in 2007, and had obtained a concealed carry permit.   In 2011, at 4:30 a.m. on May 8th, he defended himself against armed robbers who had entered the store, taken a manager hostage, and who had tried to shoot him.   It was all captured on a dramatic video.  

A local police Lt. said that he would have done the same thing.  From abcnews.go.com:

Township police Lt. Delman Lange, after reviewing surveillance video, told the local paper, "If it was me, I would have done the same thing."

Eight days later, Hoven was fired from his $150,000 a year job at Walgreens.  Four months after being fired, in September of 2011, he filed a wrongful employment lawsuit, contending that Walgreens had violated his right to self defense.   

Fast foward nearly three years.   Jeremy Hoven has lost the initial court case (it was a federal lawsuit), and appealed to the Sixth Circuit.   On 2 June, 2014, Sixth Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Moore ruled against him and in favor of Walgreens. 

From modernmedicine.com:

Hoven filed a lawsuit against Walgreens claiming his firing violated his self-defense rights and his rights to carry a concealed weapon. The court disagreed, citing Hoven’s status as an at-will employee who could be fired at any time, for any reason.

While I think that Walgreens' policy is short sighted and counterproductive, and while I think Jeremy Hoven did the right thing, I also believe the court made the correct decision.   Private companies, just like private individuals, have the right to do stupid things.   Jeremy Hoven was an at-will employee.   As stated above, that means that his employer could fire him at any time, for any reason.   Any reason, even if the reason penalizes a man who did what most believe was something that may well have saved lives.   Many people called Hoven a hero.

When you agree to work without a contract, you can be fired at any time.   You can also quit at any time.   It is an important freedom that applies to everyone.   No doubt the $150,000 per year salary had something to do with his acceptance.   It is not unusual for professionals to work "at-will".   It is unusual for companies to fire them for protecting themselves.

Walgreens had the right to fire Jeremy Hoven for any reason it wants.   Everyone else has the right to shop, or refuse to shop, at Walgreens for any reason that they choose.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

In rejecting Hoven’s self-defense claim, Moore pointed to a case in which the court affirmed Wal-Mart’s firing of an employee who used medical marijuana. In that case, the court ruled that the state’s medical marijuana laws protects citizens against state action, but does not impose restrictions on private employers. - See more at: http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.com/drug-topics/news/court-upholds-walgreens-firing-pharmacist-using-handgun?page=full#sthash.SF9A9XNv.dpuf

TX: Armed Robber Shot

HOUSTON -

An alleged robber was able to get away after he was shot by a store manager Saturday.

Burt's Meat Market has been on Lyons Avenue for more than 60 years. The manager said in all that time they've never been robbed and he's never had to touch the gun he keeps in the store until last night.
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Illinois woman holds burglar at gunpoint

PALATINE, Ill. (Associated Press) -

A northeastern Illinois woman shot at a burglar in her condo and held him at gunpoint until police arrived, authorities said Friday.

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OR:Suspected Burglar Shot

MOLALLA, OR (KPTV) -

A burglary attempt Saturday morning ended in a shooting on Short Fellows Road, just outside of Molalla.

At 2 a.m. on Saturday, Clackamas County Sheriff deputies responded to an interrupted burglary and subsequent shooting.

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OK: Armed Woman Shoots Suspect

Kouba said she grabbed the gun her son gave her for Mother’s Day and ran out the front door to confront the intruder out back.

“[I cocked the gun], saw that the door had broke down, then I saw him hitting over the fence and head to the creek,” Kouba said.

Kouba said she fired and thinks she hit him in his backside. Adding insult to injury, the intruder got tangled in her electric fence before escaping.

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NC:Victim Pulls Pistol on Perbs attempting to Purloin Rifle

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) -- Wilmington Police say the victim of an attempted armed robbery pulled a pistol on the trio when they tried robbing him with the empty gun he was selling.

(snip)

 That's when police say one of the would-be robbers grabbed the gun and pointed it back at the man. They say the victim then pulled a pistol out of his waistband and pointed it back at the trio, telling them to put the rifle down because it wasn't loaded.

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FL: Gun Taken from Victim, Suspects Arrested

In this unusual Florida case, the two suspects are said to have attacked an armed citizen who was in his car, to have taken his gun, and fled the scene.   It all happened at a McDonald's drive-through, when the victim honked at the attackers who were ahead of him and who had received their order, but had not driven off.   From myfoxtampabay.com:

Police say the Gregory Fulham got out of the car, went to the driver's side of the car behind them and started punching the man, who had pulled a gun from his glovebox.

Police say Kevin Fulham went to the passenger side, grabbed the gun out of the victim's hand and took it. The two then got back into their car and drove away, police said.

I can see having the drivers side window down; the victim was getting ready to make an order at a drive-through.   It seems that the passenger door was unlocked, or maybe that window was down as well, and the son side of the attack team was able to unlock the door through the window.    I have also read of several attempted robberies of armed citizens  at McDonalds drive-throughs which have not ended well for the robbers.

This event occurred at about 3 a.m.  The victim was a 50 year old man.  one story says that the victim grabbed his handgun, but did not point it at his attackers; the accounts are not contradictory.

It could have happened this way: the victim did not have the gun in hand when first attacked, then attempted to retrieve it from the glove box.  Before he could bring it into play, the second attacker had obtained entry and was able to take  the gun from him, probably facilitated by his father who was holding on to and punching the victim. 

The attackers clearly made a mistake in the victim selection process, for while no one was shot, the police were able to obtain a partial license plate and make the arrest.   It will likely to be an expensive mistake for the attacking father-son team.  Ubiquitous cameras and recording devices are making this sort of anti-social violence more and more risky for violent offenders.  When attackers leave their vehicle to go to another, then attack the occupant, there is little question as to who is the aggressor.  In this case, they were lucky that neither of them died as a result of their attack.

It also illustrates that the glove box is not the optimum place to carry a defensive firearm.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

Bear Hunt in Northern Wisconsin

Bears in Northern Wisconsin

The gun culture permeated the part of Wisconsin where I grew up.   In that area and time, we did not think of it as a separate culture.   The gun culture and the culture were one and the same.   Guns and hunting were simply integral parts of everyday life.    If a boy was not a hunter, he aspired to be one.  There was considerable game, ruffed grouse, woodcock, rabbits, squirrel, ducks,  geese, deer, mink, muskrats, raccoon, fox and ...bear.   There were not very many bear.   In my first 18 years, with nearly a decade spent wandering the woods, and a good portion of that time spent hunting, trapping, canoeing, fishing, mountain biking (we did not know that riding 3-speed bikes around logging roads was mountain biking back then) and berry picking, I recall seeing one or two bear other than those encountered at the county dump/landfill.  Those dumps have since changed enormously, and bears no longer congregate there...

Because of a confluence of several reasons, black bears have become common in Northern Wisconsin.   I have seen as many as 10 in a two week visit.  Bear hunting is by permit, but otherwise is far more liberal than it  was 5 decades ago, when I was a boy.   The picture above is from a game camera, taken the first of September.   The near bear is a big sow, probably in the 300 to 400 lb range.   The other two bear are nearly adult "cubs".   A  third grown "cub" is outside the frame.

My brother and his son both managed to obtain permits this year.  It now takes about 7-8 years to obtain a permit, which are drawn as a lottery.   Previous, unsuccessful, entries increase your chances of a draw.   Part of Wisconsin's success with their bear hunts has been because they allow both dog and bait hunting for bears.   They alternate years to allow both types of hunting a good chance at bears.   This year was a "bait" year, where dog hunting was not allowed during the first week of the season.   Next year will be a "dog" year where bait hunting will not be allowed the first week.   Both methods can be very exciting, and success is far from assured.   In Wisconsin the success rate has been about 50%.

On this year's hunt, my brother had been contacted by a friend who runs a pack of bear dogs.    Capable hunters who have a bear permit  may be sought after by dog hunters, to allow the pack owners to participate in the season that they have been preparing for all year.   As you may guess, maintaining a pack of hunting dogs is a moderately expensive and time consuming hobby,  perhaps as much as automobile racing, sky diving, flying your own airplane, or downhill skiing.   On the first day, the hunters were up at 5 a.m.    A bear had been into one of the baits only an hour earlier.

The tracks looked big.  Two dogs were released.  They found a hot scent and the dogs followed it.   They jumped the bear, and three more dogs were released.  The bear immediately crossed the Namekagon river, where I grew up.   Bridges were a half mile north and south.  The hunters were able to make a crossing 40 minutes later.  They heard the dogs baying "treed", and found logging roads to approach within a quarter mile of the ruckus.   My brother and his son carefully approached the location of the barking dogs, with the pack owner close behind.   The bear was treed in a large white pine.

On seeing it, my brother immediately knew that it was a bear worth shooting.   He advised his son to shoot it.   The rifle that my nephew was carrying was a customized Springfield '03-A3, crafted by my brother into a "scout rifle" configuration.  It has an 18 inch barrel and a long eye relief Leuopold scope.   It  was charged with 220 grain roundnose  handloads at 2300 feet per second.

Military issue '03-A3 Springfields are hard to come by now, because so many have been sporterized.   I remember when they were for sale in barrels, at $29.95, your choice, cash and carry.  This rifle had been one of those.

The hunters gathered the dogs and tied them away from the tree.  My nephew maneuvered to get a clear shot.    He took the shot from about 30 feet from the tree.   He is an excellent shot.     At the shot the bear's head slammed against the tree trunk; the bear collapsed and dropped bonelessly out of the tree.   My brother glanced to the owner of the dog pack, as the owner looked at him.   They agreed that it was a "dead bear".

Then my brother started toward the bear.   As he closed to within 20 feet, the bear jumped up and ran off through the thick brush!

My nephew could not shoot because of the position of my brother.    Three shots from a .44 magnum were fired at the escaping, wounded, bear.    It is uncertain if any of the rounds connected.   

There was a good blood trail, and the dogs were set back on the track.  A quarter of a mile away from the first tree, the bear was held at bay in the middle of an ash swamp.  Visibility was extremely limited.   My brother and my nephew waded through as much as two feet  of water and muck, for a hundred yards, attempting to approach the bear without causing it to run again.    The dogs made a continual racket.   Finally, they saw the bear.  It was only 10 yards away, fighting the dogs while backed up against the upended root system of a downed tree.  

It must have seen them at about the same time, for it broke from the dogs.  My nephew knocked it down with a snap shot from the scout rifle.   It jumped up, and went another 20 feet.    It started to turn on the dogs as a pistol shot delivered the coup de grace to the brain, from two feet away.  

The silver item protruding from the mouth is a metal tag required by Wisconsin law

The next four hours were spent dragging the bear back to a logging road where a 4X4 truck could get at it.   The original tree was 90 yards from a logging road; the place where it was brought to bay was 500 yards from one, in the middle of a swamp.   Fortunately, one hunter had a plastic deer sled that made hauling the beast easier.    Bear are much harder to get out of the woods than deer.   Not only are they generally bigger, but there is no easy way to put a rope on them to haul with.   The head tends to be too heavy and to drag too much if the rope is put around the neck.    It is nearly impossible for a lone hunter to drag a good sized bear.   A plastic deer sled and a four-wheeler can shine in this situation.

Bear season seldom has  the snow that makes tracking and dragging deer so much easier in Northern Wisconsin, because the bear tend to be denned at that point.    Three hunters helped drag this bear out of the swamp.  If you have ever tried to drag a very large, unconscious man, through water and muck, the task is similar.

The bear dressed out at 295 pounds, likely over 350 pounds live weight, a large black bear sow.

The next day the hunters were out again, but did not see a single bear.

People often ask me if the bears are eaten.  Most definitely, they are.   My brother says that bears 250 pounds or under make better eating.   Bears under 100 pounds are considered cubs, and are protected.  I have had bear, generally prepared as a roast.   To me it tasted much like roast beef.   I prefer bear to venison, and I like venison.

My nephew is at the beginning of his career.   My brother has retired.   He will be hunting on his own this week.  He has already shot several bear in his life, but another good sized bear has been hitting one of his baits.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

OH:Six Shots, Six Misses at Robber? or Not?

In close range gunfights with handguns, it is not uncommon for both participants to fire several shots without anyone being hit.   In this article From wcpo.com, it is written that no injuries were reported:

Police say the suspect pulled out a gun and demanded the victim's wallet.
Once the wallet was turned over, the victim pulled out his own gun and both men pointed the firearms at each other.

Officials say the victim fired about six shots after the suspect refused to put his gun down.

(snip)

No injuries were reported and no arrests made.

In the video for the story, however, it is mentioned that two people showed up at area hospitals with gunshot wounds.    The assailant who was shot  at, was driven from the scene by a person most assume was a confederate.   If the 60-year-old victim shot at his assailant near the getaway vehicle, then it would make sense for two people to be wounded.  The attack occurred about midnight.

Link to video.

The investigation continues.

 ©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

Mark Steyn: Descent into Barberism

I often joke with my hairdresser Amanda about the number of state permits she requires for the privilege of cutting my hair. As I point out on page 49 of After America (personally autographed copies of which are exclusively available, etc):

In the Fifties, one in twenty members of the workforce needed government permission in order to do his job. Today, it's one in three.

That's tyrannous - which is bad enough, albeit not unique to America: The entire developed world has massively expanded the hyper-regulatory state. But only in America does the Department of Paperwork command lethal force:

On August 19, 2010, two inspectors from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) visited the Strictly Skillz Barbershop in Orlando and found everything in order: All of the barbers working there were properly licensed, and all of the work stations complied with state regulations. Two days later, even though no violations had been discovered and even though the DBPR is authorized to conduct such inspections only once every two years, the inspectors called again, this time accompanied by "between eight and ten officers, including narcotics agents," who "rushed into" the barbershop "like [a] SWAT team." Some of them wore masks and bulletproof vests and had their guns drawn. Meanwhile, police cars blocked off the parking lot.

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NV: Vet wins Gunfight with 15-Year-Old Attacker

Gunshot Holes on each side of Window

In this defensive gun use in Las Vegas, a veteran defends his family from a frontal attack.   The attacker is a 15-Year-Old boy, who shoots through the front door.   Fortunately, the attacker has never practiced door breaching techniques.   The gunshot holes are not even close to the door lock or hinges.  It was repored that the shots went through  the kitchen, narrowly missing the father of the former friend.   Perhaps the shooter was aiming for the father.

The attacker is known to the victims.  The 15-Year-Old had been camping with a 14-Year-Old who lives at the home.  The 15-Year-Old had been in the house before.  No motive is given, but it is clearly a premeditated attack.  The 15-Year-Old concealed the weapon, almost certainly a shotgun, given the distinctive holes in the door.  We do not know the loads used, but almost any load will make a similar sized hole from a shotgun at point blank range.   27 year old Army veteran Shaun Cooper, brother of the 14 year old, speaks;  From mynews3.com:

“My dad was actually standing in the kitchen. He was firing through the door through the kitchen and completely missed him. Bullets went all around, except for him. Got lucky.”

Those first shots led to a gunfight.

“I took off, grabbed my gun and got back, and he saw me thorugh the window,” Cooper said. “Shot one more time, and that’s when I shot through the window, and he dropped.”

This is another case that does not fit the "progressive elite" model of murder.  There was no heated argument that led to the attack in a moment of rage, because a gun was available.  This was a planned attack.   The victims saw the attacker approaching, wearing a leather jacket, which seemed unusual.  It is likely that the shotgun was concealed under the jacket.   Fortunately, the veteran was the better shot.   There is no mention of how the attacker was transported to the scene.   Did he walk or was he dropped off close by?

I know this area of Las Vegas.  I have a nephew who lives only a few blocks away.   The area is a mix of small acreages, single family houses, and some apartments.   It is within a mile of the North boundary of Las Vegas, which butts against open desert.   

The North Jones Boulevard and Farm Road Intersection is low center of the map

 The veteran suggests that the shooting might have been prevented if parents locked up  their guns from teenagers.    If his 14 year old brother had been home alone, that would have left him to the mercy of the 15 year old attacker.  There have been many cases where armed teenagers have defended themselves.

 ©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

OH: 60-Year-Old CCW carrier Wins Gun Fight

After being robbed, a man reportedly shoots at robber who refuses  to drop weapon.  Video report, little detail, mostly a firearms instructor giving advice.

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NV: Man Shot While Threatening People

A preliminary investigation found the victim was with his girlfriend in a vehicle when an argument ensued between him and the occupants of a nearby vehicle, police said.

The victim reportedly got out of his vehicle, pulled out a firearm and pointed it at the occupants of the other vehicle, police said. A passenger in the vehicle pulled out a gun and fired one round, striking the victim, police said.

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MS: Man Stabbed, Man Shot, Woman Injured

COVINGTON COUNTY, MS (WDAM) -
No charges have been filed yet in a shooting in Covington County early Monday morning that left one man dead. And investigators said it may have been a case of self-defense.

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CA: Homeowner Shoots Suspect during Struggle

Authorities said a man found the suspect in his home, a struggle ensued and several shots were fired.

The suspect, identified as 25-year-old Grachia Nalbanyan, was wounded in a hip and transported to a hospital.

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WY: Fatal Bear Attack

Officials from Wyoming’s Game and Fish Department confirmed late Monday that a 31-year-old Utah man had been killed by a bear.

The body of Adam Thomas Stewart, 31, was found adjacent to two deer carcasses that bears had been feeding on in Bridger-Teton National Forest.

A release from the Wyoming wildlife agency said Fremont County Coroner Ed McAuslan "indicated the pathologist’s preliminary report stated the individual suffered blunt force trauma from a probable bear bite."

Evidence collected at the site is being analyzed to try to determine if the bear that attacked Stewart was a grizzly or a black bear.

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David Codrea: More on Mayor Sly James of Kansas City

Elle Moxley, who bills herself as a “reporter” for KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR station, on her Twitter page, assures visitors “I believe in the profession of journalism” on her personal website. I discovered her by accident, after noting Kansas City Star opinion columnist Yael T. Abouhalkah was wrong, as usual, in his intentionally obnoxious assessment of Panera Bread’s request for customers to disarm on company premises.

Had he not responded on Twitter by trying to change the subject, which is par for the course, chances are I’d have not returned to his feed and noticed a retweet of Moxley’s inane original post:

“‘Guns are more readily available than fresh food,’says @MayorSlyJames,” Moxley told her followers. “Wants lawmakers to focus on jobs, not gun legislation like SB 656.”

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Don Surber: Do Democrats care about dead black men?

Cartoon by Michael Ramirez

For years, conservatives have argued that liberals and their allies in the media have overstated the role of "military-style assault weapons" in the national homicide rate. As Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Michael Ramirez pointed out, mass shootings are rare. In one year, we suffered 18 people killed in such an assault, while we average 30 homicides by other weapons a day.

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OR:72-Year-Old Father Defends Wife, Shoots Son

In Metolius, Oregon, a 72-year-old man used a .38 caliber revolver to defend himself and his wife from a drunken attacker who broke down their bedroom door.   The attacker was their 45 year old son.   

One of the prime weapons in the propaganda campaign to disarm Americans is a theory of homicide in the United States.   I call it the "progressive elite" theory.  

It runs like this:  The majority of people, except for the exceptional elite, are just moments away from committing a criminal homicide.  They have poor impulse control and fly into rages which escalate into homicidal rages if a weapon happens to be present.  For this reason, only  those in the elite, who have become experts in government through the attainment of public office, employment by police agencies, or attendance at ivy league schools, should be allowed access to weapons that might be used when these uncontrollable, emotional fits, strike.

One of the prime supports cited for this theory is the statistic that "most murders are committed by people who know each other", as if that shows the theory to be correct.   But it is simply a non-sequitur, one does not prove the other.  

In the case mentioned above, the son was 6-foot, 240 pounds, and had a long history of violent rages.   He had been in jail and in court numerous times, often having to do with domestic violence.   A person who knew the son summed it up this way, from ktvz.com:

Stewart said she believes it was, indeed, self-defense: "I believe if he would have gotten his hands on one of them, they would be dead today, and not Mark - that's my personal opinion."

This illustrates one of the fallacies of the "progressive elite" model of murder.   Just because someone is known, does not mean that they are an ordinary person.  Violent criminals have families.   Drug dealers have suppliers and customers.   Prostitutes have violent clients.  

The vast majority of murderers are not ordinary people, but a tiny minority of violent people that have a long history of violence and disrespect for the persons and property of others.    

The number of people who  know their murderers is also suspect.   If you examine the FBI figures, you find that 44% of the relationships are "unknown", and 12.4% of them are strangers.    21% are "acquaintances, so only 22.6% are close to the people that they murder.  

It is sad that Mark Allen Provence's father was forced to shoot him to protect his wife and himself.   It is sad that Mark Allen died before he was able to learn to control his drinking and violent proclivities.   But it is far better that he died than that his elderly parents were beat, crippled, or killed.

For those who follow the caliber wars, it might be noted that two shots were fired; only one hit the 6-foot, 240 pound, enraged and drunken attacker; the hit was in the chest.   One .38 seems to have been sufficient to stop the attack.

  ©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

OH:Open Carry Walk in Vermilion

Ohio Carry organized another open carry walk on Saturday, the 13 of September.  This was part of their ongoing effort to educate the public about their constitutional rights in Ohio.  Note the completely different image from what the Bloomberg media campaign is trying to craft for open carriers.  From the morningjournal.com in Vermilion:

 In an effort to educate the public and combat stereotypes surrounding gun rights, Ohio Carry’s Northeast and Northwest chapters hosted a joint open carry and firearm education walk in Downtown Vermilion Sept. 13.

Ohio Carry, founded in 2012 as a firerm rights, advocacy and education group, consists of five chapters in Ohio and has hosted walks in Akron, Cleveland and Canton. The group has done around a dozen walks this year, and the most recent in Vermilion was the city’s first.

The group did not shy away from the carry of long guns on the walk in Ohio, but were careful to insure that the rifles were slung and not pointed at anyone.  This is a classic demonstration of strong, political, symbolic speech.

The walk proudly proclaims "I have rights that government may not violate."  "The Constitution means what it says."   "The second amendment is meant as a limitation on the government."  

These types of walks are spreading, from Texas, to Arkansas, to Ohio.  Only in California has the state dared to make them illegal once they started, and that action led to the Peruta decision that requires the state to issue concealed carry permits.   In numerous states, such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Virginia, Ohio, and Arizona, open carry activism preceded the establishment of shall issue concealed carry laws.

This type of activism goes around the tight control on information flow in the old media.   To see how it works, read "Rise of the Anti-Media", a scholarly book by Brian Anse Patrick.

There is video at the morningjournal.com link.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

OH:Criminals, Emergency Rooms, and Survival

When a person suffers severe trauma, minutes become precious.  Prompt medical treatment means the difference between losing a limb or keeping it, between full brain function and life confined to a wheel chair, between life and death. 

I recently wrote about the percentage of people who are shot who survive.   One of the most important factors in survival is whether a person shot arrives at a medical treatment facility with a pulse and blood pressure.  If they do, chances of survival jump to about 95%. 

In this example of a shooting of an intruder in Prairie Township, Ohio,  the budding criminal's "friends" either did not know this, were drug or alcohol addled, or were hoping it would all go away with wishful thinking.   Reality intruded instead.  From columbusdispatch.com:

Despite a gunshot wound in his upper back, Barbee ran with his friends about a half-mile back to Barbee’s house at 635 Dovalon Place.

Nobody called 911. Not until an hour later, at 5:14 a.m. when Adam Pickens picked up the phone

(snip)

Their friend dead, Pickens and two other youths, Brandon J. Hamilton and Tyler R. Blazer, both 17, were arrested. Hamilton and Blazer are facing delinquency counts of murder and complicity to aggravated burglary. Pickens is facing those same charges in adult court and is being held on $250,000 bond.

“If they would have got him help, we wouldn’t be talking about murder charges,” Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott said. “It was a bad decision on top of a bad decision.”

Members of the new tribes known as gangs know to drop off a shot confederate at the local emergency room.   These young men do not appear to be part of a gang, and they did not have the street smarts to take their friend to the hospital immediately.  Prairie Township is mostly surrounded by Columbus, Ohio.   Perhaps an Ohio resident can give us local knowledge about the area.

 ©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

PA: Gunfight; Nephew Saves Couple from Enraged Ex

Police say a man enraged over his estranged wife’s new relationship showed up at her home in Dauphin County, armed and ready to kill.

60-year-old Todd Eugene Taylor was determined. He drove from Halifax and arrived at the 200 block of Kempton Avenue in Swatara Township armed with two handguns and a 12-gauge shotgun.

(snip)

“Mr. Everette initially had fled the home through the rear of the house with his girlfriend when the shooting began but then after hearing cries for help from his aunt returned into the front of the residence armed with a 12-gauge shotgun and confronted Taylor in the upstairs hallway,” said Chief Umberger.

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OH:Private Buyers Compete for Guns at Toledo Turn In "buy back"

I missed the notifications of this 8 September 2014 event.   It seems that those notifications are coming closer and closer to the event date, almost as if those conducting the events do not want anyone to do any pre-planning.   Toledo has a checkered history of police bullying private buyers and sellers.   Buckeyefirearms.org did a great job of exposing this last year, with four videos:  Video 1, Video 2, Video 3, and Video 4.  It did not matter much.  There were plenty of private buyers there this year.

This year, the police seem to have learned more about the law.  Maybe it was the bad publicity.  Here is what the Toledo Blade reported:

In addition to attracting people willing to trade in their guns for cash, the buyback drew private gun buyers and collectors who were willing to pay people cash.

Larry Lorms of Columbus was willing to offer more than $50, possibly $300 to $400, depending on the model, age, and condition.

 They even reported that the police had no problems with the private buyers:

Sergeant Madison said she was aware of the buyers outside the church.

“That is their right to be there. We are not concerned about them,” she said. “Our mission is to provide a service to our community. We are not trying to pressure people to get rid of guns they want to keep.”

I have not seen how many private sales were conducted.   Last year the turn in event brought in at least two nice S&W revolvers.   A total of 185 guns were collected, and 90 pounds of ammunition!

Some private sales were conducted last year:

No numbers yet for the 2014 event.

 ©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

VA Letter of Revocation of Second Amendment Rights

This image of a VA letter revoking second amendment rights based on PTSD diagnosis appears to be legitimate.   I do not recall ever seeing this type of revocation being challenged in the courts.   As the decision is a bureaucratic one, not one that was made with due process through the courts, a challenge other than the appeal process might hold promise.

The point here is that the VA should not have the power to unilaterally make this decision without court oversight.  The existence of an appeals process is not, in my opinion, sufficient due process.   I do not know how the letter was delivered.   Was it properly served as a legal document?  

Lawyers, feel free to enlighten us.    Is the sending of a notice of an appeal process considered sufficient as to constitute due process of law?   Would a mere letter, sent by first class mail, meet legal requirements of service?  

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

TX: Dramatic Video of Gunfight

The man attempting the robbery appears to have a pistol gripped shotgun of unknown make.    In the video, it is clear that he hides the shotgun until he starts to attempt the robbery.  

In the narrative, it is unclear exactly what happens next, whether the father pulls out a gun and tells the robber to leave after the daughter is threatened, or whether the father hands the gun to the 20 year old son,  or whether the son takes the gun from the father, and then shoots the robber. 

It seems most likely that the father handed the handgun to the son, who then shoots the robber.

The son fires at the robber, wounding him in the leg.  The robber retreats, but refuses to put down the shotgun, even after the son tells him to do so.  The defensive handgun used is a full sized semi-automatic of unknown make.

It appears that the robber never fires the shotgun.   It would be interesting to know if there was a round in the chamber, if the shotgun was operable, or if it was loaded at all.  Criminals often make fatal mistakes about weapons.  Discipline, training, and practice are not high priorities for most criminals, especially those that rob convenience stores.

When the robber continues to try to shoot at the family, the son fires several more times, killing the robber. 

It is classic to see the son, on video, state what has become so clear, but so politically incorrect:

"It was not wrong, because I was protecting my family."

Here is the link to the video.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

MS:Suspected burglar shot by resident

Jackson resident Johndarius Curtis, 20, was facing this dilemma on Sunday after he walked up on a suspected burglar trying to steal a stereo from his vehicle.

(snip)

 Jackson Police said the 28-year-old male suspect attempted to strike Curtis with his own stereo, that's when Curtis shot the man once in the jaw with a .22 caliber revolver.

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CO: Armed Homeowner Shoots at Intruder

A burglary Saturday at a residence on the 2600 block of Aster Street was thwarted when the homeowner shot at the intruder at 5:33 a.m.

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MA: Real Gun Beats Fake Gun

SPRINGFIELD — Video footage from Wednesday's attempted armed robbery at a Six Corners market shows the store owner fending off an assailant who allegedly stuck a fake gun in his face.

(snip)

 "I say, 'I'm not gonna shoot ya,' and I was holding him till the cops got here, and that's what I did," the owner told ABC40 reporter Brendan Monahan.

(snip)

 Pelzer's defense attorney told the judge that her client, whose address was unavailable, works as a neighborhood recruiter for ARISE for Social Justice and plans to attend Holyoke Community College.

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TN: Armed Homeowner Stops Assault

The victim, who came to the door with a pistol, was reportedly assaulted after he told the men to leave. He said he was in fear of his safety, so he fired his weapon, hitting Weiss in the leg and chest.

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Wall Street Journal: Finally Waving the White Flag on the Assault Weapons Ban

If the CAP is Washington's leading liberal think tank, liberals are in big trouble.

Twenty years after the since-expired assault weapons ban passed Congress, Washington’s leading liberal think says it’s no longer an idea worth pursuing.

The Center for American Progress is waving a white flag on banning assault weapons in a study out Friday titled “Assault Weapons Revisited.” CAP authors Arkadi Gerney and Chelsea Parsons argue that gun control advocates focus their energies primarily on expanding background checks and firearms licensing laws instead of pushing to prohibit assault weapons like the AR-15 rifle.

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