WA: Gun Beats Car on Whidbey Island

OAK HARBOR, Wash. - A 63-year-old Oak Harbor man was shot Sunday after hitting his neighbor with a car and trying to run over him, sheriff's officials and witnesses report.

More Here

TX: Domestic Dispute, Husband Assaults Good Samaritan, is Shot, Killed

“The couple had had a dispute and she had gotten out of a vehicle,” Alford said, noting that the couple lived about 2 miles from the scene. He said the neighbor didn’t know the couple.

A fight broke out between Livingston and the armed man and punches were thrown, authorities said. At some point during the brawl, the handgun discharged, striking Livingston in the upper chest, authorities said.

Investigators with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and a Texas Ranger are investigating. No arrest had been made as of Sunday.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article117373573.html#storylink=cpy

More Here

IL: Employee with Carry Permit Wins Gunfight, Shoots Two

At 12:55 a.m., two armed men walked into the store in the 7400 block of North Western Avenue and announced a robbery, police said. A 21-year-old employee then pulled out a gun and shot both men, police said.

An 18-year-old was shot in his right forearm and was taken to Swedish Covenant Hospital, where his condition was not released but police were considering him to be stable.

A 20-year-old robber was shot in his right shoulder and was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital, where his condition was not released but police were considering him to be stable.

More Here

Silly Carry Permit Requirements

Carry permits do not have to be expensive and complex. The New Hampshire permit has been fairly easy to obtain for many years, if you already had a permit from your state of residence.

During the last few months I have renewed a couple of carry permits.  It is not intensely difficult, but when you have better things to do, it can be irritating.

Some of the requirements make no sense. Others were obviously put in as poison pills during the passage of the original bill. Many seem designed to discourage people from obtaining a permit.

As John Lott has noted, the more expense, in time or money, or both, that it takes to obtain a permit, the smaller the percentage of people who will make the effort to obtain one.  It is not a straight slope.  The smaller the percentage of people become, the willingness to jump through hoops grows exponentially.  At the end of that scale are people who choose their career so that they can carry the means to protect themselves and their family.

Here are some silly requirements I have noted to obtain a carry permit.

Fingerprints. Silly. Not needed. Several states do not require them. An unnecessary expense and expenditure of time. Florida adds another $42 to "process finger prints". May be it is a cash cow for them. Arizona recommends two fingerprint cards for their permit, doubling the printing expenditure on the applicant's part.  For Arizona, it is a way to try to assure a good set of prints.  They only submit one copy, and one copy will (if it is legible) be enough for a permit.

Taking of fingerprints by the police. Most people do not have the equipment or training to take their own prints. I do and did.  Florida requires that the prints be done by a police agency.

Pictures. Several states do not require pictures. More time and expense. States that do not require pictures usually say that it is a good idea to have a picture ID with your permit.  An old friend in Wisconsin just tapes a copy of an expired driver's license to his Wisconsin permit.

Notary signature to show that you signed the application.  I had to do this for the Florida permit.  It is not required in most states.

Payment by a restricted method.  Arizona, when they passed their law,  required that payment be in the form of money orders or certified checks.  I suspect that could be overturned by a court.  No one has bothered to try.  It is another minor inconvenience that has to be overcome.  Several states allow you to pay by credit card online.

Difficult and costly training. When Arizona started its shall issue permit system, it had the longest training requirement of any state. 16 hours of training was required. I enjoyed training those classes.  You could fit them into a weekend.  The instructor did not have much time left over.  But it cut down the number of people willing to obtain a permit substantially.  Taking a whole weekend to attend a class is difficult for people with busy lives.

These requirements are small potatoes compared to some that are in place in the states that still have the archaic "may issue" system of permits. I consider it a "feudal" system, in that it gives significant power to some authority, often a police chief or sheriff, sometimes a committee, to arbitrarily grant or deprive individual  permits.  The "may issue" system is invariable corrupted as officials, being human, are swayed into granting permits to people with political clout and money, and who find mechanisms and reasons to not grant permits to those who they dislike or are simply inclined to ignore.

John Stossel, who has money and clout, was denied a permit in New York City.  He produced a TV segment on it.  The bureaucratic obstacles that he faced were daunting.

I can relate. When I entered Panama, I had a number of firearms with me. Through misinformation I had been given about protocols, I did not have a permit. That is a story for another time.  The Panamanian authorities impounded my firearms. After six months of diligent effort, and the help of a secretary fluent in spoken and written Spanish, I obtained the desired permit.

It involved several solo trips on foot into a disreputable part of Panama City, as parking there was virtually impossible.  On one occasion two Guardia, aghast at the idea that I was entering the area alone, insisted on accompanying me. A confident attitude and looking as if you had every right to be where you are, goes a long way, as my old First Sargent had taught me. Teniente Puga, who was in charge of issuing permits, did not like Americans.  I had to have the permit to recover the firearms; so I had considerable incentive to obtain it. The status of forces agreement helped, as well.  When I retrieved my firearms, they were in excellent condition.

Many people say that "The Second Amendment is my permit!" It is an admirable attitude. Unfortunately, in many parts of America, people who carry without big daddy government's permission, take a serious risk of being arrested, convicted, fined, jailed,and having many rights taken away, including voting.  I wish it were not so. Second Amendment activists work toward the day when the Second Amendment is fully enforced in all American territories.

The incremental approach with permits is working. In Arizona, we started with no permit. Then we passed shall issue with 16 hours of training. The 16 hours were intensely enjoyable for me as an instructor.  With prep, I could fit it into a weekend of two long days. But many busy people find an entire weekend difficult to make time for.  Exercise of Second Amendment rights was chilled.

We reduced the training requirement to 8 hours, then 4, then we added numerous substitutes, such as having served in the Military (a DD214 is sufficient), a hunters safety course, or having had training for another state's permit.  We reduced training for renewal from 8 hours to 4 hours to no hours.
Eventually, we passed "Constitutional" carry, while keeping the much simpler and easier permit system.

Simplifying and making the permit system easier to navigate, moves the system toward "Constitutional" carry. When obtaining a permit is easier, the number of people with permits increases. This increases political clout with the legislature, and reinforces the belief that carry and self defense are widely supported, mainstream activities. It increases the number of Second Amendment activists.

The Arizona permit system can be improved considerably beyond what it is. But once you obtain "Constitutional" carry, the incentive to improve the permit system is diminished.

An intermediate step toward "Constitutional" carry nationwide, would be competition among the states for a cheap, easy, permit that is recognized nationwide.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

1958 Surplus Guns; Cheap for Good Reasons

The above ad is from 1958 Guns magazine(pdf).  In constant dollars, one dollar in 1958 would be worth about $8.36 today. Let's see how the 1958 prices look in 2016 dollars. 

Group A

Total of prices listed for the four rifles, $41.76.  If you bought all four at once, they only cost $27.84 total. The equivalent in 2016 calculates at $232.74.

These rifles were far from "excellent" or "like new", which is why they were so cheap.   Some excerpts from Group A, top to bottom: "All guns practically complete", "You can see light through the bore", "worn, but serviceable", and  "fantastically inaccurate".

You can understand that rifle buyers of the time were less than impressed. I recall two things when thinking about buying such a rifle during that era.
First,  putting a scope on these "treasures" would have cost more than the rifle. Second, finding sporting ammunition would be difficult.

The rifles were shipped COD, Railroad Express, which, in much of the country, could increase the cost 50% or more.

The best lever action rifle of the time, the Savage 99, was going for $113 in 1958.   A new Model 94 Winchester cost $80.  As late as 1965, your could buy excellent condition Model 03A3 surplus rifles for $29.95.  That was "your pick" out of a barrel at the hardware store. They had much nicer peep sights, with lots of after market stocks available. They were chambered in .30-06. I still have one that was sporterized. 

Group B

Total for four rifles in group B, purchased separately, was $48.80. If you bought all four at once, the price was $32.50. That would be $271.70 in 2016. Here are some excerpts from Group B, above: "complete in every detail and fully functional" tempered by "horrible condition"; "complete firing condition"; "magnificently fair condition".

The Mosin Nagant was going for $9.95 in 1958, in only "fair" condition. That, according to the calculator translates to $83 in 2016.

Mosin Nagants are fun rifles, and generally accurate.  Most people can remember the last big imports of Mosin Nagants.  There may be more to come, with a Trump administration.

I have seen a smattering of surplus rifles out in the woods. They tend to be used for a few years until the owner could afford something better. A next door neighbor took a big buck a quarter mile from my brother's house. He used a Mosin Nagant. He was 12, the rifle about 50.

I have bought and sold lots of rifles over the years. I have enjoyed it immensely. They are a cheaper hobby than automobiles, scuba diving, or skiing.   Guns values tend to keep up with inflation. They are a store of value, but not a great investment.

If you are considering them as an investment, an index fund on the stock market does better, does not take up storage space, and is not as subject to theft. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was about 580 at the end  of 1958.  It hit 19,000 in 2016, a 32X increase.

As with most collectibles, the best reason to buy old guns is the enjoyment you get from them, seeing how they work, shooting them, and thinking of the history involved.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

OH: CCW Reform on the Move in Ohio Senate

A year ago, the House of the 131st Ohio General Assembly voted to pass HB 48.  It passed the House 68 to 29. It has been languishing there ever since.  

House Bill 48 is the prominent gun law reform bill pending in Ohio.  It is a modest bill that makes only a few reforms.  It removes silly prohibitions on permit holders from carrying concealed guns in day care centers, in the unsecured areas of airports, and other "gun free zones".   It passed the House by over 2-1 (68-29) on 17 November,  and has 42 cosponsors in the house, including the Speaker.  Here is a summation of HB48(pdf):

To amend sections 311.42, 2923.12, 2923.122, and 2923.126 of the Revised Code to modify the prohibition against carrying a concealed handgun  onto institutions of higher education, day-care facilities, aircraft, certain government facilities, public areas of airport terminals and police stations, and school safety zones and to allow a sheriff to use concealed handgun  license fee revenue to purchase ammunition and firearms.

In the 2016 election, Republicans gained a seat in the Senate, going from 23 to 24, and Democrats lost a seat, droping from 10 to 9. In the House, the Republicans gained two seats, one of them a vacancy, going from 64-34 to 66-33 for the 132nd General Assembly that will be seated in 2017. The lame duck session is a good time to pass bills that may be considered controversial. Second Amendment supporters won big on election day. The State Senators of Ohio may be taking notice. An Ohio Senate committee will hear HB48 on Tuesday, 28 November. From wlwt.com:

A concealed-carry bill dormant since last year will be heard again Tuesday.

It would reduce penalties for certain concealed-carry violations and expand the list of premises where permit holders can carry their weapons to include day care centers and public areas of airports and police stations. It would also allow concealed guns within government buildings under specific circumstances.

From buckeyefirearms.org:

Chairman William Coley II has announced that the Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee will be hearing proponent testimony on HB 48 (Eliminate many 'no-guns' victim zones) on Tuesday, November 29 at 8:30 a.m. in the North Hearing Room., and proponent/opponent/interested party testimony on Wednesday, November 30 at 8:45 a.m. in the Finance Hearing Room. The chairman has indicated that amendments may be offered at the Wednesday hearing.

As passed by the House, HB 48 seeks to restore Ohioans' right to carry in day-care facilities (unless they post "no-guns"), private airplanes, school safety zones, and in non-secure areas of police stations and airports.

The bill also contains "opt-in" language which would to allow authorities governing college campuses and certain government buildings the ability to allow concealed carry.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

Grouse Hunting with the Village Gun

The Village Gun is my name for an old Springfield 84-C.  My father acquired the rifle and a state of the art Weaver 3/4 inch straight tube scope for $7.50 during the Depression. I have written in previous articles that the Village Gun was used by my father and the neighbors for deer hunting.

The Village Gun wasn't primarily used for deer hunting. There are dozens of things a .22 rifle is used for on a farm at the edge of wild country.  The Village gun was probably used for most of them, over the roughly 60 years of its Wisconsin existence.  One of those things was hunting ruffed grouse. It was illegal to hunt ruffed grouse with a rifle in Wisconsin. It is one of those laws that had good intentions. It is a bad idea to fire a rifle randomly into the air. A high powered rifle, shot into the body of a grouse, results in a bloody, inedible mess. But a .22 rimfire rifle, used judiciously, can take grouse regularly and safely, and produce edible results. I know. I did a lot of it, even though it was technically illegal at the time. I never exceeded the set limit for grouse.

Hunting grouse with a .22 takes more skill than hunting them with a shotgun. A good dog helps immensely.  The hard part is seeing the grouse, within rifle range, before they fly away.  People have shot grouse on the fly, with a rifle, but I am not one of them. I do not recommend it.

The grouse pictured above is fairly typical. When they are on the alert, the head is held high, the neck stretched up. This is a picture taken during January, and the feathers are fluffed up. Don't shoot for the neck! Inside those feathers the neck is very thin, and easy to miss. The head is a good target. Head shots are fairly common.  The eye is a good place to aim. Remember to consider your target three dimensionally. When you are dressing out your first couple of grouse, examine them closely to understand their anatomy. It will help in knowing where to aim.

I have missed a fair number.  The nice thing about a .22 in the woods is that it is relatively quiet.  The grouse often fell on the second shot.

Pick a hole between the twigs and branches.  It is surprising how much a twig can deflect a bullet. When you are shooting at a small target, hitting a twig means a probable miss. A scope makes it easier to miss twigs and branches that can be masked by iron sights.

If you are hunting with a rifle, and shooting into the air, you need to know the country and the direction you are shooting.  You do not want to accidentally shoot someone or break a neighbors window. It doesn't apply only to grouse. Squirrels are shot out of trees as well.  I knew where the neighbor houses were, and how far a bullet would travel.  The warnings on .22 LR boxes today say they can travel a mile and a half.  That is under optimum conditions with a lot of safety factor thrown in.

It is very hard to get a .22 LR to travel more than a mile.  A mile was the standard warning for many years. At the end of the mile a .22 LR bullet will be traveling at about 200- 240 feet per second. It could put your eye out, but is unlikely to be fatal.  For common .22 LR ammo, a mile is the max range. At angles higher than 35 degrees, the range decreases.  Fired at higher angles, the terminal velocity will likely be less than 200 fps.

I did not know that when I was 12.  I knew a bit about trajectories from firing countless pebbles from slingshots. The .22 cartridge box said 1 mile, so I was careful to avoid shooting in the air toward neighbors houses. It was easy. There were only three within a mile, all of them on one side of the Namekagon River, and South of where I lived. So all shots aimed toward Northeast or around the compass, toward North, or West, toward South were good. .22 LR bullets fired at above 60 degrees are likely to fall within a half mile, at velocities under 200 fps.  You would not want to get hit by one, but they are unlikely to penetrate a hat or jacket.

I recall the first grouse that I shot. It was fall and grouse season, late afternoon. One of my brothers came running into the house, saying that there was a grouse behind the log cabin (a shed we used for storage, sided with slab wood).

I grabbed the Village Gun, and loaded a couple of cartridges into the magazine. I was out the door in a few seconds. Grouse, once flushed, will not sit in a tree forever. I carefully approached the referenced spot. I used the shed for cover. Then, very stealthily, moving behind it, searched the trees for the bird. There it was! Sitting in birch tree about 20 feet off the ground.  I picked the base of the neck for the shot. The Village Gun was dead on at 15 yards, and the bird fell when the little rifle spat.

The bullet was headed North Northwest, and I knew there were no houses in that direction for miles. Once a .22 bullet hits something, it is almost certainly de-stablized.  The max range is dramatically reduced.

Where grouse have not been hunted hard, a dog is just another four legged predator. My dog and I hunted as a team. A Labrador, he was a natural hunter and retriever. He would range ahead, find a grouse, and tree it. My job was to creep up and shoot it.  It is common for a grouse to fly into a nearby tree and sit there, confident of its invulnerability to the predator on the ground.

My dog quickly taught his boy that he barked differently for grouse or squirrels. His barking would lead me to the spot, even in dense cover.  Grouse had to be approached with more care than squirrels. Knowing what you are looking for makes them easier to spot.

I learned that a .22 does not spoil much meat, even if the grouse is shot through the breast. The point of a folded wing is a good aiming spot, as is a little below the base of the neck from any angle. Head shots make for better bragging rights, but the base of the neck is an easier target. I would not use hypervelocity .22 cartridges for this sort of hunting. Standard velocity is enough, and quieter.

A good dog will quickly retrieve a grouse knocked to the ground, and bring the bird to you.

The bird above is in a crabapple tree.  Crabapples are a favorite food for grouse.  I regularly checked out crabapple locations when grouse hunting.

Much of my grouse hunting was along old logging roads. In many spots, clover had taken root. Clover is another favored grouse food.  The old logging roads had areas of exposed gravel, where grouse would obtain the grit they need to grind up their food. I spent far more time on foot, traveling those old logging roads, than I did on pavement on a bicycle.

Growing up on the edge of semi-wilderness spoiled me for a lot of hunting. Being able to grab your rifle and be hunting once you step out the door, is a wonderful thing.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

MO: Will Governor Greitens sign Campus Carry in 2017?

Elections have consequences. The presidential election of Donald Trump has been occupying most of the news space. The gun culture did very well in state and local elections.  In Missouri, a Republican, Eric Greitens, replaces former Governor Nixon.  Governor Nixon was decidedly anti-Second Amendment.  An omnibus gun law reform bill was passed over his veto in Missouri last year. That bill included permitless or "Consititutional" carry.

Originally the bill contained a watered down provision for the exercise of Second Amendment rights at public institutions of higher learning. Current Missouri law allows campus administrations to ban weapons on campus.  All 13 institutions that offer a four year degree in Missouri have banned carry on campus. From gopusa.com:

Missouri law currently prohibits concealed firearms at higher education institutions “without the consent of the governing body” of that college, the exception to the rule being university law enforcement officers.

At least four bills introduced between the Missouri House and Senate in 2016 would have changed that statute. One version, sponsored by Rep. Jered Taylor, R-Nixa, that would have allowed full-time employees and faculty, but not students, to have firearms on campus, was later attached to a wide-ranging gun bill. The measure was removed just before the bill passed.

Republicans kept their 3 to 1 margins in the Missouri Senate, 26 to 8. In the House the Republican majority is nearly the same as last year, 115 to 45, with 1 independent.  In 2016, the numbers were 117 to 46, no independents.

Permitless, or "Constitutional" carry reform was passed with overwhelming majorities of 112 to 41 in the House and 24 to 6 in the Senate.  You might expect campus carry to  pass and be signed into law, now that a Republican governor will be in office.

But Greitens is a political outsider.  He was not endorsed by the NRA. The NRA endorsed Koster, the Democrat candidate for Governor, who used to be a Republican. Greitens is a recent GOP convert who used to be a Democrat.  He talked about supporting Second Amendment rights during the election. He was a Navy Seal. He is a best selling author. I hope that he does well.

Once Greitens is in office, we will see if his actions match his words.  I have watched numerous efforts to pass campus carry, several successful, many not. I have been amazed at the clout the higher education lobby has.  They hold power far beyond what you would expect. They control no media. They are consumers of tax dollars. Yet politicians give them enormous credibility and tend to bow to their whims.

Campus carry of some form will likely pass the legislature in Missouri in 2017.  I do not know if it will be signed by Governor Greitens.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

KS: No Charges in Domestic Defense Homicide

Because the use of deadly force was legally justified, charges will not be filed in a September shooting that left a 42-year-old Lawrence man dead, the Douglas County District Attorney's Office has announced in a news release.

An investigation by Lawrence detectives, crime scene analysts and the county coroner has concluded that an incident of severe domestic violence led a woman to shoot Lenny Morrison to death at an apartment at 433 Ohio St.

More Here

FL: Clerk wins Gunfight with Drug Addict Robber

A clerk shot and killed a man who pulled a gun on him during an attempted robbery at an Orange Park food store Saturday, deputies said.

Clay County deputies said the clerk at Prime Stop Food Store on Peoria Road was suspicious after a man walked into the store wearing sunglasses around midnight.

Deputies said William Smith, 29, pulled out a gun and tried to rob the store.

The clerk, who had a concealed carry permit, grabbed his own gun and shot the man, deputies said.
More Here

Yoga Instructor uses Taurus .38 to Kill 2 of 4 Home Invaders

On Friday night, 25 November, 2016, the well known and successful yoga instructor Hari Nam Kaur Khalsa, was assaulted by two robbers in her bedroom. Her home and school are 20 miles north of Santiago, Chile.  The robbers were half of a gang of four that invaded her home and school. She, her partner, and two students were in the house when the night time invasion occurred. Khalsa was born in Texas. From dallasnews.com:

Officials said a pair of the robbers found the yoga instructor in her bedroom. Despite them hitting her in the head with a gun and trying to tie her up, she was able to get free and grab a revolver hidden beneath her pillow.

Khalsa shot the two men, killing one instantly. The other, badly wounded, died in the yard after running outside. Neither man has been identified.

The two other robbers ran off.

The Dallas News reports misses some interesting details.  The Yoga instructor owned two Taurus .38 Special revolvers, one of which she kept under her pillow. It is likely the revolver used was a six or seven shot model. Both are popular and common. The robber killed in her bedroom was shot five times. The robber found outside the home was shot at least once. She probably emptied her Taurus.  This is a google translation:

Soto added that one of the two antisocials received five shots in his body, falling dejected in the same place, whereas the second subject, was badly wounded and ended up prostrate and passing away in the patio of the property. Meanwhile, his two other accomplices who were in the kitchen and were preparing to steal, hearing the shots fled quickly without achieving their purpose. Until this morning, the two deceased delinquents were still not identified and according to the persecutor, in the case the grounds exist to estimate that the teacher acted in self-defense. "

The .38 Special was sufficiently powerful. In spite of the somewhat mangled translation, it appears that Hari Nam Kaur Khalsa will not be charged.

Yoga Instructor's Home and School

The lack of bars on the windows and door show this area, about 20 miles north of Santiago, has been fairly crime free. A wall surrounds the property.

A wall is common practice for most well to do estates throughout the world. It would be common in the United States, but is banned by most zoning codes. The estate appears to be several acres.  The picture is taken from a video of the school made in 2009. The gate to the property is directly behind the camera.

Link to Video

A revolver under the pillow is a technique with a long tradition. A few stories have been written of people accidentally shooting themselves because of the practice.  Some have claimed a befuddled person picked up the firearm instead of a telephone, then shot themselves in the head while fumbling with the gun. I am skeptical of such accounts.  How do you differentiate such a situation from a normal suicide, which happen thousands of time a year?

To prevent accidental discharges,  the firearm can be kept holstered.  This requires a little more thinking, and slows access very little.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Link to Gun Watch

PA: Armed 42-Year-Old Victim Shoots two 16-Year-Old Armed Robbers

PITTSBURGH - A man shot two would-be robbers early Thursday an ATM in Homewood, according to Pittsburgh police.

 

The 42-year-old man told police he was using an ATM on North Homewood Avenue shortly after 1 a.m., when two masked 16-year-olds with guns approached him and tried to rob him.

 

Police said he pulled out his own gun and shot one of the would-be robbers in the leg and the other in the stomach.

More Here

AR: Armed Resident Shoot Thieves; two Wounded

Two suspected thieves were shot by a Fort Smith homeowner early Wednesday while breaking into a vehicle in the Rye Hill area of Tennessee Circle.

According to a news release from the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office, the two suspected thieves were hit in the legs with pellets from a shotgun and are being treated at local hospitals. Their suspected getaway car with bullet holes was found abandoned on Interstate 549, the release adds.
More Here

MI: 75-Year-Old Shoots, Kills Teen Invader

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Detroit police are investigating after a 75-year-old man shot and killed a home invader early Friday morning.

More Here

AL: Man Shoots Intruder in Chest

A shooting in Decatur leaves one person hurt, with a single gunshot wound to the chest. This, after authorities say Sam Everett Elliott forced his way inside a home, Wednesday night.
More Here

Followup AK: Two Men Face Charges in Home Invasion

The husband said he was asleep at the time of the initial break-in while his wife was elsewhere in the house. Troopers stated the man told them he heard his wife scream, jumped out of bed, and once he realized what was happening, grabbed a handgun off the headboard. The victim said as he turned back, he was shot by one of the robbers who ran into another room, but returned fire. The culprit then jumped through a window.

The wife reported she had heard something earlier while working in an outdoor workshop. She told police she came into the house around 12:15 a.m. and was on the couch when she spotted a dark-skinned, slender male standing in front of her pointing a black semi-automatic pistol in her face. According to court records, the victim grabbed the gun with both hands wrestling it away from her face while screaming.
More Here

Kathleen Troia McFarland: Who is She?

Who is Kathleen Troia McFarland.  She is a policy wonk who appears to be well grounded in real world power structure.  She served under Nixon, Ford, and Reagan.  She grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, and is within a month of my age. She has four children and two step children, so she has real skin in the game.  She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

She doesn't seen to be a limited govenment Constitutionalist, but that is not her job.  I found some interesting quotes. From quotesgram.com:

"Russia does not have a modern economy: it's a petro-power. The only thing it sells that the world wants to buy is oil and natural gas. When was the last time anyone bought a Russian computer? A Russian car? A Russian cell phone? Russia is so dependent on high energy prices that if oil falls below $100 a barrel, the Kremlin can't meet payroll."

 "As long as the United States - and the world - gets its oil from the Middle East, we will be drawn into the endless crises that seem endemic to the region. American energy independence would not only liberate us, it would also drive down the worldwide price of oil."

"One of the lessons of Vietnam, which we failed to heed in the Iraq war and the Afghanistan surge, is that before you commit U.S. military forces to aid or assist, it is essential to know what you want them to achieve."

 "The problem with people who live in a world of speeches and books and theories is they don't know how to fix things in the real world when they go wrong. They feign ignorance, blame others, and make another eloquent speech."

She was abused quite a bit as a child. In my limited experience, and reading, abused kids, who are bright, tend to make excellent spies. They tend to have a good grasp of reality. They learn to read people and to manipulate them.  This should make them good at politics.  She seems very, very smart.

She should make a good Deputy National Security Advisor.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

Marines Considering Silencing All Small Arms

The Marine Corps is considering suppressing all small arms. Military organizations have historically been slow to adopt new technologies. They have been slow to adopt optical sights, which were overwhelmingly adopted by sportsmen long before they become common for ordinary soldiers. In the U.S. that was during the first Gulf War.

Suppressors have been commonly used by sportsmen around the world for decades long before widespread adoption by any military. The United States is the exception, due to irrational regulation.

The Marine Corp is in the process of equipping an entire battalion with suppressed small arms. From ameriforce.net:

In a series of experiments this year, units from 2nd Marine Division will be silencing every element of an infantry battalion — from M4 rifles to .50 caliber machine guns.

The commanding general of 2nd Marine Division, Maj. Gen. John Love, described these plans during a speech to Marines at the Marine Corps Association Ground Dinner this month near Washington, D.C.

The proof-of-concept tests, he said, included Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, which began an Integrated Training Exercise pre-deployment last month at Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms.

“What we’ve found so far is it revolutionizes the way we fight,” Love told Military.com. “It used to be a squad would be dispersed out over maybe 100 yards, so the squad leader couldn’t really communicate with the members at the far end because of all the noise of the weapons. Now they can actually just communicate, and be able to command and control and effectively direct those fires.”

I have often thought that widespread suppressor use would be positive for the military.  A common reason for not having suppressors has been the idea of suppressive fire.  Suppressive fire is not guns using suppressors.  It is the idea that if people are shooting at you, you will keep your head down and not shoot back.  If the people shooting at you are using suppressors, you will not be as aware that they are shooting at you, or so goes the argument.

The theory of suppressive fire as a doctrine never appealed to me.  It seemed too much based on psychology, and not enough on deadly force.  Wouldn't it be better to conserve ammunition, and actually hit what you were aiming at?  Wouldn't it be better to have the enemy unable to locate your positions, and be unaware of your presence, until they were hit? The Marines are considering these possibilities.

A bonus is the reduction of hearing loss and the increase in communication effectiveness.

The silencers/suppressors or gun mufflers to be installed were first used by the Marine Corps Special Operations Group. SOF operators have long used suppressors. The cost is expected to be $700,000 for an infantry battalion.  A fully staffed infantry battalion is close to 1,000 people.

Suppressors are reported in common use in the Chinese and Russian militaries. I believe they are particularly well suited to insurgencies and low level warfare.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

Are Guns Legal in Your Town, but Not Next Door? by Rob Morse

New York won’t recognize the licenses from Connecticut or Massachusetts. New Jersey won’t recognize New York or Pennsylvania. California cops won’t recognize your license from Arizona, Nevada or Oregon.

I’m talking about the license to carry a concealed weapon in public, and with over 15 million licensed concealed carriers in the U.S., recognition between states is a study in contrasts. Some 15 states say a law-abiding adult can legally carry a loaded firearm in public without any permit at all. In contrast, a visitor carrying without a recognized license in California is usually charged with a felony and faces years in jail. Welcome to the bizarre nightmare endured by honest gun owners every day.

Recognizing the permits and licenses issued by other states is broadly called reciprocity. Politicians say a number of factors are involved. The decision to recognize your carry permit from another state isn’t a matter of public safety. Concealed carry holders are the most law abiding segment of society. Concealed carry holders are more law abiding and less likely to commit a legal violation with a firearm than are the police.

Permit reciprocity isn’t a an issue of protecting the public from risks. For comparison, we recognize drivers licenses between states and territories. The licenses vary widely in the training, the age, and the levels of insurance required before you may legally operate a motor vehicle on public roads. The public risks are real since automobile accidents injure far more people than firearms accidents.

Recognizing out-of-state legal documents is nothing new. We recognize the legal certificates and decrees issued by other states every day. For example, we recognize death certificates, divorce decrees, and adoption certificates even though those laws vary widely from state to state. Federal judges mandated the recognition of marriage between states even though the states have significantly different marriage laws.
More Here

Homebrewed .50 Cal from ISIS in Iraq

Jake Hamby has posted these photographs of a small shop manufactured .50 caliber single shot, scoped rifle.  It was captured from ISIS forces in Iraq. Many on the Internets are disparaging the rifle, characterizing it as a "face bomb" waiting to go off.  Several good views of the rifle are shown in the short Youtube montage below.

Link to Youtube

It is a mistake to judge a weapon by the exterior finish. Sure, the superb craftsmen at pre-1940 commercial Mauser, or Colt before 1970, are known for their excellent polish and bluing.  If you look at war production, you find perfectly useful and effective weapons with crude finishes. Webley put a stamp on some of their revolvers, "war finish", presumably because they were ashamed of putting out such a poor finish.  The interior of their revolvers was very effective.

You cannot get a better reason for a "war finish" than the conditions ISIS is operating under.  There are several interesting things about this rifle that tell me I do not want to be somewhere on the muzzle end of it.  I would be willing to test fire it, if I were allowed to disassemble and examine the mechanism first.  From an Internet examination, it seems to be a serviceable design.

Do not discount the ability of the rifle to get rounds downrange with useful accuracy. Most of the needed accuracy would be in the barrel, which may be a standard barrel from another weapon. I do not recognize it.  If the barrel is made in a shop, that is a significant achievement.  It may have been locally produced.  ISIS contains decent lathes and milling machines in the territory it has conquered.  The tack weld locking the barrel to the receiver is highly unconventional, but it works.

I suspect a Savage model 110 type of locking lug arrangement. Depending on the heat treatment of the receiver and locking lugs, the set up could last from a couple of hundred rounds to many thousands.  Given the rifle's environment, a couple of hundred rounds may be a realistic service life.

The scope looks to be a PU 3.5x22 Russian military rifle scope. It is pretty sturdy. It was used as a sniper scope for the Mosin Nagant. I have doubts that it could stand up to the pounding of a .50 BMG single shot.

The rifle's designers tackled this problem with two solutions.  First, the mounting system is extremely sturdy and welded directly to the receiver.  Integral scope mounting systems are the best way to avoid problems.  They have to be reasonably aligned with the bore. A simple bore sighting system used while welding on the mounts would allow for that alignment.

Second, the rubber bicycle innertube buffer between the scope and the mount. The oversized turnbuckle bolts used for tightening the mount to the scope use a lot of surface area to grip the scope. Whether the rubber buffer provides enough cushion to keep from battering the scope apart under the recoil of .50 BMG rounds would be a matter tested in practice.  Again, a couple of hundred rounds service life is likely enough.

The bipod is adjustable for height and ground irregularities.

Headspacing problems would probably show up on the brass before the rifle would allow brass rupture from case separation. If you examined the fired brass, you could figure out when you would need to adjust the headspace. If not, the horizontal bolt and loading slots vent high pressure gases and molten brass to the sides, away from the face.

The inline, straight recoil stock does much to soak up perceived recoil. The muzzle brake looks effective.

If the barrel is a standard .50 cal, a fixed 3.5 power scope should allow hits on man sized targets to 800 yards.  The scope does not have a rangefinding reticule. The vertical adjustments are calibrated out to 1300 meters for the 7.62x54 cartridge. It would not be hard to determine the range equivalents for the .50 BMG.

This rifle, while of crude finish, can likely put .50 BMG down range to good effect.  Those who want to outlaw .50 BMG in the United States should take notice.  It is up to us to bring it to their attention.

Kipling understood the value of cheap but effective weapons and manpower. From Arithmetic on the Frontier:

Two thousand pounds of education 

Drops to a ten-rupee jezail -- 

The Crammer's boast, the Squadron's pride,

 Shot like a rabbit in a ride!

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

CA: Off Duty ICE Agent Wounds Carjacking Suspect

Notice the Reporter and the Witness contradict each other. One says the agent fired at the driver as the driver sped off. The Witness says he hear shots, then squealing tires.

He fired shots at a driver as she and a male passenger sped off, Homeland Security said.

“It sounded like six or seven shots – bang! bang! bang! Then I just heard a car step on the gas real quick,” Benjamin Rodriguez.

More Here

MO: Home Invasion Gunfight, no Injuries

Residents of a home in the 1700 block of Highway AF reported about 8:25 p.m. Tuesday that two men and a woman wearing masks burst into their home and demanded money. One suspect was armed with a sawed off shotgun, according to the report.

The suspects took cash and a handgun, then left in a white Buick or Mercury, the sheriff’s office said. The homeowner got a weapon and fire shots at the suspects, who returned fire, according to the report.

More Here

OH: Police Dog Shot in Self Defense?

No charges indicate that the self defense claim is plausible.
Investigators say they are sorting out conflicting stories, one of which alleges that the dog was acting in an aggressive manner and was shot in self defense.

Youngstown Police Chief Robin Lees tells 21 News that the K-9 "Goose" was with its handler, Officer Josh Kelly, when a neighbor shot the dog.

Coitsville Police do not anticipate that anyone will be charged.
More Here

How not to fire a 12 Gauge Pistol or Sawed off Shotgun

This short video shows how not to fire a 12 gauge pistol/Sawed off shotgun. The link is below.

http://i.imgur.com/HXFJbBT.mp4

The video shows the person firing with a less than firm grip on the firearm.  Shotguns shells can develop considerable recoil.  Without a firm grip, and only using one hand, the firearm flies out of the shooter's hand and smacks him in the face.

It could have been worse. Occasionally a shooter with a weak grip will find that the firearm escapes his grasp while the trigger finger stays engaged. The firearm then may fire one or more shots as it flips around.  This is dangerous for any in the area.

It has resulted in the shooter's own death in a small number of cases.

You can see that this shooter is inexperienced and fearful by the body posture. Notice that he leans back away from the gun, attempting to put his body as far from it as possible. This moves his center of gravity back toward the edge of his base of support, making it easy for him to be tipped off balance to the rear.

Experienced shooters lean into the gun, so that recoil moves them onto their base instead of off of it.  With a firearm with significant recoil, use two hands to help control it. This is especially worthwhile if you have not fired it before, and do not know how much recoil will be generated.

Once you experience the recoil, you will have an idea of what to expect, and what might be necessary to control it.  Be wary of others who have fired guns and then give them to you to "try" if they may have significant recoil.

It is not unknown for pranksters to fire a gun with reduced loads, then to hand it to the unwary with full power loads.

This is a very bad practice, but it happens. Some people like to play "practical jokes". It is a deadly serious matter when firearms are involved.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

How President Trump can Defang Federal Gun Free Zones

President elect Trump has promised to do away with Gun Free Zones. Because of multitudinous, overlapping, Federal, state, and local statutes, ordinances and regulations, President Trump will not be able to eliminate all Gun Free Zones immediately. He can, unilaterally, do away with enormous swaths of them from the oval office, with a pen and a phone.

The key is to understand how these zones have been constructed.  The Federal zones consist of three large pieces and a multitude of smaller chunks. The three large pieces can be eliminated by executive order and findings from the executive branch.

The three large pieces are:

• Military bases and installations.
• Property managed by the Army Corps of Engineers
• Post Office properties and other Federal properties and Buildings

President Trump's executive actions will rest on a solid basis of law. The fundamental base is the Second Amendment.

The next layer is the interpretation of the Second Amendment by the Supreme Court in the Heller and McDonald decisions.

The third layer is precedent set in the Gun Free School Zone Act of 1995.

A key finding of the Heller and McDonald decisions is that individual bearing of arms for purposes of confrontation is protected by the Second Amendment and is a lawful purpose for carrying arms.

The Gun Free School Zone Act of 1995 reinforces this understanding by exempting people who have valid carry permits from the penalties of the Act.

The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) makes provisions for active duty and retired law enforcement officers to carry in most of the nation.

Most Federal gun free zones are based on interpretation of 18 U.S. Code § 930 - Possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in Federal facilities.

The relevant paragraphs are (a) and (d).

(a) Except as provided in subsection (d), whoever knowingly possesses or causes to be present a firearm or other dangerous weapon in a Federal facility (other than a Federal court facility), or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.

(d) Subsection (a) shall not apply to—

(1) the lawful performance of official duties by an officer, agent, or employee of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision thereof, who is authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of any violation of law;

(2) the possession of a firearm or other dangerous weapon by a Federal official or a member of the Armed Forces if such possession is authorized by law; or

(3) the lawful carrying of firearms or other dangerous weapons in a Federal facility incident to hunting or other lawful purposes.

President Trump can and should issue, or work with the Attorney General to have issued, a finding that the bearing of arms with a valid carry permit or under LEOSA, is a lawful purpose under paragraph (3).

This is a commonsense and clear finding that 90% of the nation would immediately accept as valid. It merely reinforces the Heller and McDonald decisions. It enforces existing Federal law. Very few people would argue that carrying a weapon with a valid carry permit, for defense of self and others, is not a lawful purpose.

It eliminates most of the gun free zones of the Post Office and other Federal properties and buildings.  It removes a layer of resistance from military gun free zones and Army Corps of Engineer lands.

For Military installations, draft a DoD Directive to this effect:

As of (effective date) commanders shall allow persons with valid carry permits to access the same areas of military installations and lands under military control, that are available to unescorted access by armed members of local law enforcement agencies.

This takes into account sensitive areas, areas that require security clearances, and any other areas where there is a legitimate need to exclude armed members of the public, such as prisons.

The record is clear, from a number of states, that people with valid carry permits are more law-abiding than police officers.  The directive could state this fact as a valid reason for the change in policy. It could also cite the Supreme Court decisions in the Heller and McDonald cases.

A separate DoD directive should be developed for active duty military members.

The Army Corps of Engineers is partly taken care of by the actions above. The Corps of Engineers has court actions ongoing in the Ninth and Eleventh circuits.  As chief executive, President Trump could direct the Army Corp of Engineers, which falls under his command, to negotiate a Court sanctioned settlement. The settlement would permanently prohibit the Corps of Engineers from violating the Second Amendment. Such Court sanctioned agreements have long been used to create law without congressional approval, law that is impossible to remove by regulatory means. President Trump could find, with an executive order, that such a settlement would be followed by the Corp of Engineers in all other Circuits.

If Court actions were directed against other federal agencies under 18 U.S. Code § 930 (d) (3), President Trump could then direct negotiated settlements to the same effect as with the Army Corps of Engineers, for the entire Federal Government. Buildings directly controlled by the legislative branch and the Federal Court system would be excepted. 

The executive actions could be done in a very short period of time. Except for the court negotiated settlements, they could be reversed by the next president.

Legislative action would be necessary to prevent that option. The executive action would be a positive spur to legislative action.

Donald Trump has championed the passage of National Reciprocity.  A National Reciprocity bill could include direction on all three of the Federal areas listed above. National Reciprocity is already highly popular and likely has the votes to pass.

If National Reciprocity does not pass before the 2018, President Trump can use it to push his agenda in the mid term elections. The necessity of legislative action would be a rallying cry to Second Amendment supporters across the country to push for the election of congressional allies.  Such a cause, which resonates with Trump supporters, could be critical for senators in 2018.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Link to Gun Watch

FL: "Straw Purchase" v. Discrimination Crossfire Demonstrated

Two teenagers go into a gun store. One is white. The other is black, and a Muslim. The white teen is advising the black teen on what to buy. Is it a "Straw Purchase"? Several stores have been sued for millions of dollars because they legally sold a gun to someone who later committed a crime.

Gun retailers have been exhorted to be careful in who they sell to. They have been told to exercise judgment. They have been told that when in doubt, refuse to sell. The Reese family in New Mexico, had their lives ruined, and spent a year in jail on such charges.

This is a pincer movement from gun haters. When a retailer refuses to sell because they are uncomfortable, they will be labeled as discriminatory. Gun retailers have, quite deliberately, been put into a no-win scenario. The "discrimination" side of this squeeze play was demonstrated in Florida at a Bass Pro store. From wcjb.com:

Bakr said, "There was an older gentleman there and he was kind of looking at me and I thought it was kind of strange, I told him something was kind of shady because he was staring at me and staring at the dude that was working with me."

Bakr went through the entire firearms buying process, and paid the $5 for the background check.

"That's when he told me he didn't feel comfortable selling me the firearm because he said that since I was with Heath, they thought I was going to buy it and give it to somebody younger," Bakr said. However, Smiley is 19, and has been sold guns before.

The whole idea of stopping criminals and miscreants from obtaining guns by doing checks at the retail level is flawed.  It does not accomplish its stated purpose, because it is so easily circumvented.

If a person wants a gun to do evil, they are either legally prohibited or not. If they are not prohibited, they can buy a gun.  If they are prohibited, they can have someone else buy for them or purchase a gun that is stolen or manufactured in the black market.  There are nearly 400 million guns existent in the United States. Retail checks have been shown themselves to be ineffective in preventing crime in any measurable way.

What retail checks do is make it difficult for marginally motivated buyers, such as Bakr, to become gun owners. The vast majority of people prevented from buying guns are not a threat to anyone.  The effect of retail background checks is a chilling of the exercise of the Second Amendment.

The history of infringements on the Second Amendment is a history of racial discrimination.   Robert Sherrill, in The Saturday Night Special, wrote that the purpose of the 1968 Gun Control Act, which initiated the national regulation of guns at the retail level, was to keep guns from inner city black people.

The approach did not work, and it never has worked.  The crime and homicide rate skyrocketed after the 1968 law was passed. It did not come down until the revolution in legalizing concealed carry was underway.

We would be better served by repealing the entire 1968 law, and concentrating on removing guns from those who are legally prohibited from having them.

That is the approach used by project Exile.  It is the approach promoted by Harvard scholar David Kennedy.   It requires that police work with communities to concentrate on bad actors. This results in more legitimacy for the police.  When that happens, there are spectacular reductions in homicides.  It is the opposite of the approach in the Barack Obama administration, which promotes the de-legitimization of police.  That approach has resulted in the Ferguson Effect, enormous increases in urban homicides, and increased homicides of police officers.

Donald Trump has mentioned project Exile. He would do well to bring David Kennedy on board as a crime policy advisor.

Repealing the counterproductive GCA 1968 would be a positive step. I do not expect it in a Trump first term.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Link to Gun Watch

TX: Off Duty Deputy Shoots Robbery Suspect

An employee at the restaurant, Bralin Henderson, said a man with a gun ran for the cash register and grabbed a manager. The off-duty deputy working security confronted him, he said.

Henderson said the robber refused to drop the gun.

According to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department, the man pointed his gun at the deputy and the deputy, shot the man several times. The man died at the scene.
More Here

MS: Armed Woman Stops Robbery, Wounds Friend

Police said the woman inside began shooting and accidentally shot the man who was there with her. The would-be robber dropped his gun and ran away, police said.

More Here

Caetano Used to Challenge another Stun Gun Ban

On 21 March of 2016, the Supreme Court issued a remarkable and, apparently to the Court, non-controversial decision.  In the Caetano PER CURIAM decision (pdf), the Court held that:

The Court has held that “the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding,” District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U. S. 570, 582 (2008), and that this “Second Amendment right is fully applicable to the States,” McDonald v.Chicago, 561 U. S. 742, 750 (2010).

While the decision, which was unanimous, has far reaching implication beyond mere stun guns, stun gun bans have already started falling like dominoes.

Massachusetts, perhaps surprisingly, has done nothing about their law, leaving it in limbo. Prosecutions remain unlikely.

New Jersey is in the process of reforming its ban on stun guns.

New Orleans is facing a lawsuit aimed at the city's ban on stun guns. From theadvocate.com:

A New Orleans man has taken aim at a city ordinance that forbids the possession and sale of stun guns, claiming the little-known ban violates his Second Amendment right to self-defense.

The legal challenge comes amid a mounting push to lift similar restrictions in the handful of jurisdictions around the country that outlaw Tasers and other electroshock weapons, including a case in New Jersey in which authorities recently acknowledged that state's ban "would likely not pass constitutional muster."

A lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in New Orleans asks a judge to declare the city ordinance unconstitutional, calling the law "arbitrary and irrational."

 The New Orleans ban ordinance includes a number of other banned weapons. From municode.com:

It shall be unlawful for anyone knowingly to:

(1)

Sell, manufacture, purchase, possess or carry any blackjack, sandclub, metal knuckles, switchblade knife or spring knife, iron buckle, zip gun or stungun;

All of these instruments appear to be "bearable arms".  Some, such as "sand clubs" might be "unusual", though it is hard to see how they are more dangerous than the common blackjack or sap, sold to law enforcement.  It is hard to see how it would be more dangerous than a foot long nipple of 3/4 inch galvanized pipe, sold in most hardware stores and over the Internet for less than three dollars.

I expect to see more bans on stun guns and other common bearable arms to fall. Currently, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island have such bans.

It is likely there are a number of local bans on various weapons, such as exists in New Orleans.  All are now ripe for challenge  in the courts.

This case will be cited far into the future.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Link to Gun Watch

South Dakota: Constitutional Carry Bill to be Introduced for 2016

South Dakota Representative Lynne DiSanto

South Dakota will be considering a permitless, or "Constitutional" carry bill again this year.  In 2012, a bill passed both the House and the Senate, but was vetoed by Gov Daugaard.   In 2012, only Alaska, Arizona, Vermont and Wyoming had Constitutional carry.  In 2015, Constitutional carry passed the South Dakota House, but was killed by a Senate Committee.  It passed the House 44 to 23. The Senate was controlled by Republicans, 27 to 8. Now, in 2016, Constitutional carry is expected to be introduced by Representative Lynne DiSanto. From siouxcityjournal.com:

PIERRE, S.D. — A Republican state lawmaker plans to sponsor a bill in the upcoming legislative session that would allow people who can legally carry a concealed handgun in South Dakota to do so without a permit.

Right now, it's a misdemeanor under state law for someone to carry a concealed pistol or to have one concealed in a vehicle without a permit. Rep. Lynne DiSanto said Monday that her bill is about personal protection.

Constitutional carry has made great strides since 2012.  There are 11 states that have permitless or "Consititutional" carry in 2016.  The graphic below is one of the best at illustrating the incremental restoration of the right to bear arms in the United States. Green indicates a permitless or "Constitutional" carry state.



On Oct. 31, 2016, there were more than 95,000 active concealed pistol permits in South Dakota according to the secretary of state's office. The population of South Dakota in 2016  is 844,877.  About 65.4% of the population is 18 or older. That would be 552,550.  People with concealed carry permits are now 17% of the adult population. South Dakota's homicide rate in 2015 was 3.7 per 100,000, unusually high for South Dakota, but well below the national average of 4.9 per 100,000.

The difficulty in passing "Constitutional" carry in South Dakota is getting the bill past Governor Daugaard.  Now that several other states have successfully passed permitless or "Constitutional" carry without ill effects, the bill may have a chance of becoming law.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

FL: Clerk Shoots, Kills, Robber, Stops Crime Spree

A gas station clerk shot and killed a suspected serial robber during a Saturday evening holdup in south Tallahassee.

Matthew Brown, a 20-year-old connected to several recent Leon County robberies, was shot and killed at the Sunoco gas station at the corner of Woodville Highway and Gaile Avenue.
More Here

CA: More on Christiansen Shooting

After a two week long trial in Solano County Superior Court, a man facing a murder charge in a Vallejo woman’s death was found not guilty last Thursday by a jury and has now been released from custody after more than two years in county jail.

Michael David Wilson, 49, was accused in the shooting death of 57-year-old Lillie Mae Christiansen, who was shot and killed in July 2014 on the front porch of her friend’s apartment along Mare Island Way in Vallejo. Wilson’s attorney argued that her client acted in self defense and that proved to be enough to sway the jury in favor of the man’s innocence. Wilson was released from Solano County Jail on Thursday following his acquittal.
More Here

AL: Armed Man Shoots, Kills Home Invader at 3 a.m.

FLORENCE, AL (WAFF) -

A home invasion in Florence left the suspect dead early Tuesday.

Florence police say the homeowner shot and killed the suspect, identified as James Devaughn Demoss, 26, of Hanceville.
More Here

OH: Woman Shoots Intruder, Investigation Ongoing

The homeowner, Yalanda Whipple, told police she was in her bedroom when she heard her two children cry out with alarm.

Whipple says she grabbed a gun from under her pillow, and went to the kitchen where she was confronted by a man dressed in black. She then opened fire.
More Here

IN: Domestic Defense, Father Shoots Son to Protect Wife

Investigators say Matthew Uloth was attacking his mother when his father Jon Uloth shot him.

When Deputies arrived, they say Matthew punched a Deputy in the jaw.

Authorities do not expect to file charges against the father at this time.
More  Here

Wisconsin CCW Permit Holders Made a Difference in The Trump Election

Wisconsin was one of the last states to create a permit system for legal concealed carry of weapons.  Permits were first issued in November, 2011. Five years later, 319,069 Wisconsin residents had permits.

To obtain a permit, the applicant had to be 21 years old or older, a legal Wisconsin resident, and not convicted of any felonies or misdemeanor acts of domestic violence.

People who go to the trouble to obtain a permit are serious about their Second Amendment rights. In Wisconsin, probably half are Democrats and Independents. CCW permit holders are, as a group, some of the most law abiding people in America.

My experience as a concealed carry instructor showed me that these people are ultra responsible. They show up early. They offer to help out. They offer to clean up. I never had a problem with bad checks, in fifteen years.

My experience was that most are not NRA members.  Most are not hunters. Most are gun owners. A significant number are veterans or have experience with law enforcement. They tend to be older, experienced, people. About 20 percent are women.

These people are voters, and they vote. I believe they vote in very large numbers, probably in excess of 80 percent.

The 2016 general election in Wisconsin was down a bit from 2012.  There were 3.068 million votes cast for presidential candidates in 2012.  The 2016 election had 2.944 million votes cast, down about four percent.

The difference between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin was 27,257 votes. That is less than 9% of the concealed carry permit holders in the state. In 2016, Donald Trump actively courted Second Amendment supporters.  He actively courted concealed carry permit holders.  He bragged about having a concealed carry permit.  He promised that a priority of his administration would be to pass national concealed carry reciprocity, something desired by the vast majority of CCW permit holders.

In contrast, Hillary Clinton made "common sense" gun control a major plank in her platform.  Her euphemism might have gotten a pass from a majority of people who do not own guns. It would not have gotten a pass with informed gun owners, which, includes, almost be definition, people who have a concealed carry permit.

Support for the Second Amendment was not a pivotal issue in the 2012 election.  Most Second Amendment supporters were not enthusiastic about Mitt Romney. President Obama did not push for more gun control with any enthusiasm, until after the election.

Wisconsin only had one year of its shall issue concealed carry program in effect by election night, 2012.  By election night 2016, it had over 319,000 concealed carry permit holders.

They made a difference.  Was it enough to swing the election?  It is impossible to know.  But when Democrats explicitly endorse gun control, they lose, and they lose bigly (big league).

Donald Trump pulled off the biggest upset of presidential politics since Truman. Part of his campaign was to actively pursue Second Amendment supporters.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

DoD Contingency for a President Trump: Directive 5210.56

The U.S. military makes contingency plans for a great many possibilities.  It appears that the DoD has a contingency plan in place for a Trump presidency.  Donald Trump has said he will eliminate gun free zones in the military and at recruitment centers on day one of his presidency.

On November 18th, the Department of Defense released DoD Directive 5201.56.  Deputy Secretary of Defense, Robert O. Work, issued the directive on Arming and the Use of Force, that superficially does away with "Gun Free Zones". It allows commanders at the O-5 level and above to grant people the authority to carry private defensive weapons. 

O-5 is a Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) for the Army, Air Force, and Marines; Commander (CDR) for the Navy and Coast Guard. Not all O-5 officers have the authority; only commanders of units, installations or other organizations do. A military commander is a specific position. Not all officers are commanders. An officer who takes a command position has many special responsibilities and privileges. They stay with the position when another officer takes his place.

The directive is highly restrictive, but it allows for authorizeed DoD personnel to carry personal, privately owned defensive weapons. From dtic.mil:

4.1. GENERAL.
This section provides guidance for determining the eligibility of DoD personnel to carry privately owned firearms on DoD property for personal protection when it is not related to the performance of official duties. This section also provides requirements for individual training, transport, safeguarding, and storage of privately owned firearms that the arming authority must consider when determining whether to permit an individual to carry a privately owned firearm on DoD property.

Here are some highlights of the directive.  There are many restrictions.  There are so many, the directive is almost, but not quite useless.

Each permit holder must be individually approved by the commander involved.  That takes a lot of the commander's valuable time. There are plenty of reasons for commanders to turn down requests en masse, and no incentives given to commanders to approve requests.

The first restriction does much to gut any effective numbers of personnel carrying defensive weapons. It is unlikely that there will be many DoD personnel that will not routinely enter federal buildings. It requires that the Commander determine, after consultation with legal counsel, that an exception under 930(d) of Title 18, U.S.C. applies. From the directive:

a. May grant permission to DoD personnel requesting to carry a privately owned firearm (concealed or open carry) on DoD property for a personal protection purpose not related to performance of an official duty or status. Permissions granted under this section do not apply to carrying a firearm within federal buildings unless the arming authority specifically determines, after consultation with servicing legal counsel and in accordance with applicable DoD policy, that an appropriate exception under Section 930(d) of Title 18, U.S.C. applies.

 Here is 930(d) of Title 18, U.S.C.:

(d) Subsection (a) shall not apply to—

(1) the lawful performance of official duties by an officer, agent, or employee of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision thereof, who is authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of any violation of law; 

(2) the possession of a firearm or other dangerous weapon by a Federal official or a member of the Armed Forces if such possession is authorized by law; or

(3) the lawful carrying of firearms or other dangerous weapons in a Federal facility incident to hunting or other lawful purposes.

Commanders are caught in a sort of legal bind here.  They are being required to have legal counsel tell them that one of the three exceptions applies. But the directive itself could easily be interpreted to suffice for exceptions (2) and (3), especially if the person applying has a concealed carry permit.

Carrying a weapon for defense of self and others, and especially with a permit, is a lawful purpose in all U.S. territory.  Carrying a weapon after being authorized to do so by a U.S. military commander, is also a lawful purpose.

The directive could have stated that the directive itself meets exceptions (2) and (3), thus taking the burden from individual commanders.

Some other restrictions:

• Personnel authorized must be 21 years of age or older
• Personnel not subject to *any* past or pending personnel action
• When permitted to carry concealed, the firearm must be completely concealed, and not interfere with normal duties
• May not carry while under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants 

The directive can be significantly improved.

The finding of lawful exceptions to  930(d) of Title 18, U.S.C. should be included in the directive, relieving individual commanders of that burden.

Commanders should be given incentives to authorize defensive carry.  Such an incentive might be:

If an applicant who has a valid concealed carry permit is refused by the authorizing authority, a written explanation of the reason for refusal shall be given to the applicant.  Applicants that are refused may appeal the refusal to the Inspector General of the organization.

This directive was put into effect 10 days after the election of Donald Trump. That indicates the Department of Defense takes President elect Trump's (and future Commander in Chief) promises seriously.  If you want a policy done on your terms, one of the most effective ways to obtain it is to present it as already accomplished.

President Trump will be well informed of such tactics.  I expect he will make appropriate improvements.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Link to Gun Watch

GA: Employee Uses Tactical Judgment, Shoots Armed Robber

Image from 11alive.com

On November 21, 2016, in Atlanta, Georgia, an armed robber attempted to victimize a Dollar store. Attempted is the operative word. The suspect did not succeed. He was wounded twice for his efforts, then he was arrested. He is lucky to have survived. From 11alive.com:

Atlanta Police say the man walked into the store around 9:55 p.m., pulled a gun and demanded the contents of the store’s cash register.

As the robber was leaving the store with the cash register itself, an Atlanta Police spokesman said one of the store’s employees pulled a personal handgun and shot the suspect in the hand and thigh. Police then arrived on the scene and took the suspect into custody without any incident.

It appears that the suspect never fired a shot. This was, in part, because of good tactical judgment on the part of the defender who shot him. A robber who displays a gun does not cease being a threat because he is walking away. A deadly shot can be fired in a fraction of a second.

Defenders should be thinking about when to act in a defensive situation. In some situations, there are few choices. In others, the choices are abundant. If a criminal is attempting to gain compliance, the possibility of a an advantageous time or circumstance is high.

It is difficult for criminals to keep focused on all possible threats at all times.  Their attention may be diverted by an opening door.  They may allow an unarmed accomplice to intervene between them and their victim. Even a glance in another direction is enough to allow a practiced individual to draw and fire.

It is not uncommon for a suspect to focus their attention on their main object: the loot.  Some have put down their guns to better grab the loot.

In the Dollar store in Atlanta, the defender waited until the suspects hands were full with the cash register.  This did not stop the suspect from being a threat; but it made his response slow and ineffective.

Each situation will be different.  Consider your options.  If you decide to make a move, time it to your advantage. Thinking through possibilities before a situation occurs, playing what-if games, will give you a number of pre-considered options and make your response faster and more effective.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Link to Gun Watch