Now let’s look why bad ideas get so much political traction from elected officials. Politician say they want to do the right thing. Unfortunately, what is right for them isn’t necessarily right for us. Politicians frequently say one thing in front of a camera and then do another. Politicians vote for their best interest rather than for ours. Look at the issue of murders in school. Experts told us what to do to protect our children, yet progress is painfully slow. We want our children protected while the politician needs to get credit and kickbacks for the solution. That leaves ours children at risk. We see that time after time.
Monday, April 30, 2018
NE: Man Shoots Pit Bull that Attacked Neighbor
The incident occurred about 4:45 p.m. near 83rd and Manderson Streets, according to a police report. Patricia Garber, 59, told police that she was using a stick to get her son's 2-year-old pit bull, Crucifix, into the house when the dog latched onto her right hand and wouldn't let go.
A neighbor, Dave Kovar, 39, heard Garber yelling for help and tried to get the dog to let go of Garber. When it wouldn't, Kovar went into his house to retrieve a .22-caliber handgun and call 911.
When Kovar returned, according to a police report, Garber yelled for Kovar to "just shoot him." Kovar fired one round through a chain-link fence, striking the dog in the back of the head and killing it.
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CA: Armed Homeowner shoots Man attempting Break-In
The caller reported hearing a loud banging sound on windows on the lower level of his home, according to a statement from the Sheriff's Office. The homeowner, who had a handgun, also reported hearing yelling outside the house.
When he opened the door, the 28-year-old man allegedly charged at the homeowner and pushed him. According to the statement, the homeowner fired one shot at the 28-year-old man, who continued to try to enter the home while yelling "Let me into your house."
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NC: Clerk Wounds one of two Armed Robbers
Two masked robbers went into the Five Star BP near Interstate 95 about 9:50 p.m. The clerk, identified as Bassam Albareti, 29, “equipped himself with his own firearm” and fired toward the robbers, striking one of them, police said. The pair then left the store.
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FL: Armed Woman Chases ofrf Man who Stole Knives
According to a Facebook post from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the homeowner grabbed her gun and approached the suspect, later identified as Erick Russell Miller, and told him not to move.
The man then fled through the front door.
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Saturday, April 28, 2018
Three Barrel Cigarette Ignition guns Captured by Australian Forces
These highly unusual firearms were captured by Australian forces after the occupation of East Timor by Indonesia. In 1999 and later, Australian forces were part of the UN forces used to keep order after Indonesia pulled their military forces out after 24 years of occupation.
Some of the unusual design features include the welded together three stacked barrels with the non-functional trigger guard and trigger. The ignition system is said to be designed for cigarettes, but any source of flame or a heated wire could work. Using flash holes for open match ignition is usually a bad idea in multi-barreled guns, inviting multiple ignition or chain fire.
From the Australilan Infantry Museum:
7. 3 BARREL PIPE GUNSUpon as close examination as the glass barrier would allow, it appeared the barrels were cut with a tubing cutter. It can work with soft steel, but leaves a uniform burr on the inside of the tube. The barrels looked to be water pipe of about .60 inch inside bore. On the pistol, the burr was not removed. The three barrel pistol may be mint, never fired. The three barrel long gun looked relatively unused as well, but the muzzle was not available for inspection.
Captured by 3RAR Battle Group soldiers, these crudely made pipe guns were made and used by the Pro-Indonesia Militia in East Timor. The gun could be loaded with anything from gravel, nuts and bolts, to nails and cut wire. The load was then tamped with coconut fible and, using match heads as the propellant, it was then ignited by a cigarette at the breech end of the barrel.
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| Captured East Timor Three Barrel Cigarette Gun with Australian type F88 (AUG) for comparison. |
It seems likely that anyone who used the long arm more than once would quickly do something to round the edges on the stock.
Speculation about the stepped barrel lengths failed to produce an obvious reason. Ease of loading? An attempt to prevent chain fire? That seemed unlikely when the close spaced touch-holes were considered.
I had read of cigarette ignition being used in the Philippines. From ipfs.io:
Paltik is a Filipino term for a homemade revolver. It originated late in the Philippine-American War when guns and ammunition had become scarce. The most common form of the weapon was a gas pipe attached to a rifle stock. Wire was usually wrapped around the barrel to keep the pipe from expanding when the gun is fired. It was muzzle-loaded and fired a medium sized bullet or musket ball. A small hole at the breech end of the barrel accommodated a cigarette or match that was used to ignite the primer, making aiming difficult. This also gave rise to the nickname, "Cigarette Gun".With East Timor in the general vicinity of the Philippines, this method could have been culturally transmitted or developed independently.
You would think a person who had access to a modern welder could devise a more sophisticated method of ignition.
Perhaps these unusual firearms were made as "trade" guns, with little expectation of reputation for efficacy reflecting on the maker. They would have been strictly black market items in East Timor.
The straits between East Timor and Australia contain large reserves of oil and natural gas. Most of East Timor's income comes from the oil and gas industry.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
OK: Private Security Guard Shoots man who Attacked him with Pipe
Police said the man was trying to shoplift from the store when the security guard stopped him. He later returned to the store with a pipe and hit the guard before officers said the security guard shot him once in the torso.
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IN: Homeowner Shoots Man who Broke into Home
it happened at a house on ashley street. officers said they found raymond morris with a gunshot wound to his leg. the homeowner told police morris kicked in his front door. the homeowner said morris approached him after he was told to leave. that's when the homeowner said he shot morris.
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TN: Armed Woman Defends Husband from Armed Robber
Police said that after the woman saw her husband in trouble, she came out the front door with a gun and fired a warning shot.
The uncle told WHBQ: “She said she didn’t want to kill him, but when he fired back at us after she fired the warning shot, she said she was trying to hit him then but didn’t.”
Memphis police told WHBQ that the suspect ran toward the back of the house before getting away.
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Book Review: The Red Chief by Ion Idriess, 1953
THE RED CHIEF AS TOLD BY THE LAST OF HIS TRIBE by Ion L. Idriess,
ANGUS AND ROBERTSON SYDNEY - LONDON, 1953 226 pages.
The Red Chief by Ion L. Idriess is about a legendary Australian aboriginal chief that lived from about 1650 to 1745, long before any European presence. His life and times were passed down in oral history, from what may have been the last full blood of his tribe, to Senior Sargent John P. Ewing, mentioned in Gunneday in 1886. (1829-1911) The recounting of the stories about Cumbo Gunnerah were conscientiously written down from about 1890 to 1900.
The narrative shows the overwhelming presence of war, weapons, martial preparation and martial prowess in the lives of aboriginal Australians of the Gunn-e-dar tribe.
The Red Chief is a mild misnomer by Ion Idriess. The original notes refer to the Chief as Red Kangaroo. The Chief was buried in what is now Gunnedah, New South Wales. A historical marker commemorates the spot. The original carvings and skeleton found at the burial site were delivered to Sydney Museum in April of 1891. The skeleton was dug up in 1887.
The source of the stories was a full blood member of the Gunn-e-dar Tribe, "Old Joe" Bungaree. Bungaree was born in 1817, and told the story to John P. Ewing. Ewing's son, Stan Ewing helped to take the notes with his father at the time. Stan Ewing lived from 1878-1938.
The notes were given to Ion Idriess about 1950, in the hope a book would be written from them. The book was published in 1953.
The story is well done. It is an epic of paleolithic life. In the 1950's it ran against the grain of archaeologists of the time. Red Chief does not portray a peaceful existence without war. The book shows tribal life as a constant struggle against surrounding enemies, in order to hold the valuable tribal territory. Homicide, raids, and massacre are integral parts of the narrative, taken for granted by the protagonist, Red Kangaroo.
The story is gripping, an exciting adventure tale of intrigue, deception, war, and politics at the clan level. It strikes to the core of human experience.
Red Kangaroo, as described, was a talented, far seeing leader and an imposing physical presence, a sort of aboriginal George Washington of his people. His actions are described as saving his tribe from extinction and imposing a confederation among the language group of the Kamilaroi peoples. The story in Red Chief consists of his coming to power over a few years, and his triumphant battle to save his people. The action is fast, the word imagery well done; the story, iconic.
How close to historical fact is the oral history? It is impossible to know for certain. The dates make accurate story telling plausible. Red Kangaroo lived until about 1745, so Bungaree would have heard the story about 90+ years after the events described.
The book is highly faithful to the source notes. Significant speeches given by Red Kangaroo to his tribe and warriors are said to be nearly word for word from the notes. The technology and weapons in the book match what is known of aboriginal technology of the time, with the possible exception of smoke signals. It is known that smoke signals were used; but no written record has survived to confirm the use described in The Red Chief.
Ion Idriess adds information on aboriginal religious beliefs that seemed suspiciously like bits of Christianity to me. Those came from another source, not the notes of the Red Kangaroo story given to Idriess.
The actual notes are available at this link. In the write up at the link, with commentary by Michael O'Rourke, the claim is made that stone axes were never used as weapons, except in dire emergency. This seems a bit of "pacific savage" nonsense. People use the most effective tools at their disposal for warfare.
In War Before Civilization, Lawrence H. Keeley remarks on how archaeologists after WWII often claimed that stone axes were foremost tools, not weapons, and then rebuts the claim.
In the notes, examination of the skeleton found in Gunnedah shows it belonged to a large male, about 6' 3-4". That would have been a giant of a man in the aboriginal culture of the time.
The Red Chief is a superb companion to War Before Civilization. The two complement each other, with War giving an overall, theoretical view, and Red Chief supplying a particular example of paleolithic life in a small clan.
Here is a link to an electronic copy of the book The Red Chief archive.org.
Instances of aboriginals adopting firearms to fight the European immigrants are very rare. I have not seen any cases of them adopting the horse as a domestic animal, either. There are many examples of them being talented horse trainers and handlers while working for Europeans.
In New Zealand, the Maori tribes aggressively adopted firearms, which they used to conquer and subjugate their neighbors in a series of Musket Wars from 1818 into the 1830s.
In North America, both the horse and firearms were adopted by tribes as quickly as possible. The plains tribes became legendary mounted warriors. It never happened in Australia.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Followup FL: Another Black Man Cleared in Florida Shooting Case
Contrary to the claims in the article, under Florida law, Black people are cleared using Stand Your Ground, more commonly than white people.
Devin reportedly picked up his order and left the restaurant, but Ledea followed “screaming threats” from the open door, according to a defense motion. “‘Gibbs believed that this time [Ledea] was armed and was coming outside to act on his threat to kill him or do serious bodily harm,’ lawyers Andrew Rier and Jonathan Jordan wrote in their request to throw out the case. According to the lawyers, the surveillance video showed Ledea ‘grab toward his waistband’ as though he had a gun.
Devin reportedly threw down his food, pulled out his own gun and fired one shot, shattering the glass door and sending terrified customers scrambling for cover. Nobody was shot or injured. Phillip Ledea had a history of arrests and admitted he drank beer that day and “that he had engaged in fighting other kids ages 18-20.” See the man below.
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Devin reportedly picked up his order and left the restaurant, but Ledea followed “screaming threats” from the open door, according to a defense motion. “‘Gibbs believed that this time [Ledea] was armed and was coming outside to act on his threat to kill him or do serious bodily harm,’ lawyers Andrew Rier and Jonathan Jordan wrote in their request to throw out the case. According to the lawyers, the surveillance video showed Ledea ‘grab toward his waistband’ as though he had a gun.
Devin reportedly threw down his food, pulled out his own gun and fired one shot, shattering the glass door and sending terrified customers scrambling for cover. Nobody was shot or injured. Phillip Ledea had a history of arrests and admitted he drank beer that day and “that he had engaged in fighting other kids ages 18-20.” See the man below.
More Here
TX: Armed Family Man Forced to Shoot two Attackers in Facebook Phone Sale Scam (Hi-Point .380)
Roberto Rodriguez, of Richardson, Texas, wanted an affordable iPhone for his 11-year-old daughter, so he turned to Facebook Marketplace.
He had no idea before the exchange was over, though, he’d have to shoot two people.
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OR: Armed 79-Year-Old Homeowner uses Empty Gun to Hold Suspect for Police
A 79-year-old northwest Bend homeowner and retired police officer recounted his confrontation with a naked burglar early Monday morning in which he used his gun to stop the man -- even though he fired three times, only to learn it wasn't loaded. So he hit the man repeatedly to keep him on scene until police arrived.
Police were dispatched around 5:35 a.m. to the 2600 block of Northwest Nordic Avenue on a report of a burglary in progress, Lt. Clint Burleigh said. The woman told the dispatcher a man had broken into their home and was being held at gunpoint by her husband.
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Friday, April 27, 2018
CDC Failed to Report Strong Evidence of Defensive Gun Uses
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| Dr. Gary Kleck |
Gary Kleck, the award winning criminologist who documented significant levels of defensive gun use (DGU) in American society, has uncovered research done by the CDC that strongly corroborates his findings. Kleck and Gertz's seminal study was done in 1993, presented in 1994, and published in 1995.
The CDC research was done in 1996, 1997, and 1998, but was never publicized.
From ssrn.com:
The BRFSS surveys are high-quality telephone surveys of enormous probability sample of U.S. adults, asking about a wide range of health-related topics. Those that addressed DGUasked more people about this topic than any other surveys conducted before or since. For example, the 1996 survey asked the DGU question of 5,484 people. The next-largest number questioned about DGU was 4,977 by Kleck and Gertz (1995), and sample sizes were much smaller in all the rest of surveys on the topic (Kleck 2001).The CDC did not directly mention the results of the 1996, 1997, and 1998 research in the paper done on gun control that was overseen by the CDC in 2013. That paper had been asked for President Obama. Defensive gun use research was considered. From the 2013 CDC paper:
The wording of the DGU question in the BRFSS surveys was also excellent, addressing many problems with the wording of the DGU questions used in other surveys. The exact wording was:
“During the last 12 months, have you confronted another person with a firearm, even if you did not fire it, to protect yourself, your property, or someone else?”Respondents had previously been instructed not to report firearm uses associated with an occupation that “requires and authorizes you to use a firearm.” Thus, the question excluded uses by police and others with firearm-related jobs. Further, the question appropriately excluded uses against animals (“...another person...”), asked about a specific, recent recall period (“during the last 12 months”), covered uses by any type of firearm (not just handguns), covered uses regardless of where they occurred (not just uses in the home), and explicitly told respondents that they should report uses even if they did not fire a gun. In sum, the surveys used an excellent, carefully worded DGU question, in contrast to the wordings used in so many other surveys (Kleck 2001).
Defensive Use of GunsThe paragraph above does not rule out the surveys done by the CDC. It says that "more than 19 national surveys" not "19 national surveys". Were the authors aware of the CDC surveys done in 1996, 1997, and 1998, that essentially confirmed the estimates made by Kleck and Gertz in the 1995 paper?
Defensive use of guns by crime victims is a common occurrence, although the exact number remains disputed (Cook and Ludwig, 1996; Kleck, 2001a). Almost all national survey estimates indicate that defensive gun uses by victims are at least as common as offensive uses by criminals, with estimates of annual uses ranging from about 500,000 to more than 3 million (Kleck, 2001a), in the context of about 300,000 violent crimes involving firearms in 2008 (BJS, 2010). On the other hand, some scholars point to a radically lower estimate of only 108,000 annual defensive uses based on the National Crime Victimization Survey (Cook et al., 1997). The variation in these numbers remains a controversy in the field. The estimate of 3 million defensive uses per year is based on an extrapolation from a small number of responses taken from more than 19 national surveys. The former estimate of 108,000 is difficult to interpret because respondents were not asked specifically about defensive gun use.
The timing and size of the surveys done by the CDC is fascinating. They were done immediately after Kleck and Gertz published their paper. There were three of them. The one in 1996 was the largest ever done. 5,884 people were asked the DGU question. The total number of people asked in the three surveys done by the CDC was 12,870. All were asked the same question. It is as if a single very large survey was done, over three years. Kleck and Gertz' survey asked their DGU questions of 4,977 people.
Kleck goes into considerable detail about how his survey, done in 1993 (published in 1995) differs from the CDC survey. For example, in the CDC survey, only those people who admitted to having a gun in the home were asked the DGU question.
When Kleck applies the corrections to adjust for the differences in the surveys, the results are spectacularly close. Kleck and Gertz survey arrived at a number of 1.326% in 1995. The average in the three CDC surveys is 1.24%. The first, and largest survey (closest in time to the Kleck and Gertz survey) had a slightly larger number, and the two later surveys had a little smaller number.
Those numbers indicate about 2.5 million defensive gun uses a year in the United States, at a minimum. The numbers do not consider defenses against animals. There may be more defenses against animals than against people. I disagree with Kleck about excluding defenses against animals. Defending against an animal is just as real as defending against a person. Kleck mentions the strong possibility of false negatives, because nearly as many people answered "do not know" and "refused to respond" as answered affirmatively to the DGU question.
Having read the Kleck and Gertz paper, I often wished that someone would do another survey, to broaden the sample, to provide more data.
Now we find the CDC did three such surveys. All of them validated the Kleck and Gertz survey. One large survey, such as the one by Kleck and Gertz, is indicative. Four of them show scientific replication and add to certainty. We were never told of the results of the confirming surveys done by the CDC.
Gary Kleck, as a scientist, a Democrat, and a proponent of a number of gun control measures, is careful not to cast aspersions on the CDC. He does not accuse anyone of malfeasance. He notes the surveys were done during the Clinton administration, and these findings would have worked against the gun control agenda of the administration. Someone at the CDC made the decision not to publish these results.
Kleck, while doing research, happened to come across the DGU question in a historical CDC survey, online, 21 years after the CDC surveys had been completed.
He was intrigued, and was able to find the original surveys done in 1996, 1997, 1998, and all the results.
It has to be gratifying to Dr. Kleck, to see his results validated after more than two decades. It may be infuriating to know these results were available from 1997 to 1999, and were never made public.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
GA: Homeowner Shoots at Armed Robbery Suspect
NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. - Authorities are on the hunt for a dangerous armed robber who ambushed a homeowner in his driveway.
It all happened in a quiet neighborhood in Newton County.
But homeowner Carlos Wicker had a surprise as well.
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CA: Father Shoots Daughter's Ex as he Crawls through Window
A father shot a man at his daughter’s home in Santa Ana overnight as the intruder – the woman’s ex-boyfriend – tried to crawl through a window, police said.
The incident occurred on Sunday, April 22 at about 1:50 a.m. Police responded to the house in the 1600 block of W. McFadden earlier, after receiving a domestic violence call, but the ex-boyfriend was not there when they arrived, Santa Ana Police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.
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PA: Armed Woman Shoots Pit Bull that Attacked her Dog
A woman told police that as she and her boyfriend walked their dog, it was attacked by a pit bull that broke free of its owner. After unsuccessful attempts to stop the attack, the woman fired two shots from her firearm, striking the pit bull, police said.
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Thursday, April 26, 2018
Wisconsin Crybullies Fail to Disrupt Charity Gun Raffle
Protesters want a 308 Winchester semi-automatic rifle to be removed from the event scheduled to take place at Rex's Innkeeper on Wednesday. It is one of several guns and other non-weapon prizes in a raffle.(snip)
"That gun just doesn't belong in our community, in any community,” said Jodi Benz, a parent of two children in the Waunakee School District.
Benz said she plans to protest outside the event on Wednesday night.
"None of this protest is about anti-gun. It is about the ARs, the AKs, the big brother of it,”said Benz.
Benz said she still believes the gun is a danger to their community.The Madison Friends of the NRA refused to be bullied. They went forward with the charity event. There were a few protesters, and some counter-protesters. From wkow.com:
"It’s not wiping out the Second Amendment, [it’s] not taking people's guns away. It’s about safety and the safety of our children is number one,” Benz said.
There were counter-protesters, too. One man drove into town and joined protesters on the sidewalk as he wore a helmet, ammunition, and an assault rifle strapped around him. Another counter-protester held a sign that said, "Liberalism Is A Mental Disorder."Notice the hyperbole of the claim. "They are auctioning off weapons used to kill students". While the claim is false, it does not deter the crybully. None of the guns auctioned had ever been used to kill students. Emotional arguments do not deal in facts. The crybullies insist on "action now!" to avoid time for calm reflection.
Some of those voicing their concerns about the gun that was raffled off, included students from Waunakee High School.
"We could walk to our school from here. We're undergoing ALICE training currently, so we're learning how to deal with active shooters during the week when they're auctioning off weapons used to kill students," said Ben Wagner, a student at Waunakee High.
The fact that the organizers of the event could not remove the rifle without violating state law did not phase the crybullies.
Downey didn't seem surprised by the protest but said the auction items, including the AR-15's "Big Brother," was set in stone earlier in the year and under state gaming laws, once it was advertised, organizers couldn't change the selection.
"We'd be violating the law," he added.
The idea that high schools students should be dictating policy is so silly that no one can logically defend it. High school students lack judgment and experience. It is a strong reason that children are not suitable voters.
The cause and cure for school shootings is controversial. Mass school shootings have involved revolvers, manually operated rifles and shotguns, semi-automatic handguns, and semi-automatic rifles. Mass school shootings increased after the federal government banned guns in schools. AR-15 rifles were not used in a mass murder until 2007, and that was a police issued rifle.
Some experts believe the increase in mass murder rampage shootings is caused by media coverage, which makes celebrities of mass murderers who use guns. Since 2012, media coverage has focused on the use of the AR15 rifle. Not surprisingly, the use of the AR-15 in mass shootings increased substantially after 2012. While the AR-15 rifle has been widely available since 1965, mass murder with that model only shot up *after* the tremendous publicity given to the rifle in the Aurora and Sandy Hook rampage murders. From politifact.com:
Among other factors also worth considering is media coverage of mass shooters, which Adam Lankford, a criminology professor at the University of Alabama, said rewards perpetrators with fame and can lead to copycat effects.
"Although firearms availability is the primary reason why the United States has more public mass shooters than other countries, media coverage of perpetrators may largely explain why the United States has seen more public mass shooters and deadlier incidents over time," Lankford said.
The copycat effect that appears to fuel rampage murders is based in part on detailed and intensive coverage of the mass murderers' methods and tools. The intense focus on the AR15 very likely induces more copycats to use the rifle.
Ironically, the more the crybullies focus on the AR15, the more likely the make it that the next rampage shooter will make it their weapon of choice.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
FL: Legally Armed Man Shoots, Kills, Carjacking Suspect
Leon Anthony Ducally, 49, told deputies he shot Jan Demetri Goodman, 26, who was assaulting and carjacking him as he walked into the business at 2200 Americana Boulevard, spokeswoman Jane Watrel said.
Watrel said Ducally has a valid concealed-carry permit.
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IN: Armed Man Handcuffs, Holds Intruders for Police
Police believe the pair broke into the home the night before when no one was there. When they returned Friday morning, the homeowner’s son was there and he was armed.
Police say he handcuffed and held the suspects at gunpoint until officers got there.
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TX: Domestic Defense? Woman Shoots Ex at Hotel Room
They say she told them her ex-boyfriend, who recently was released from prison, had shown up earlier in the evening and caused a disturbance.
She said she thought he left, but when she opened her door to go to a laundry room, he suddenly forced his way in.
The woman told police her ex-boyfriend, who is in his 30s, pulled out a knife and tried to sexually assault her. Instead, she said she shot him.
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Wednesday, April 25, 2018
AR-15 Effective in Defending against Multiple Home Invaders
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| Young Woman Carrying AR15 style Rifle in Yuma Arizona |
On Sunday morning, April 15, 2018 at about 4 a.m. in Glen St. Mary, Florida, a group of seven masked home invaders barged into a mobile home located on County Road 125. A shot was fired by one invader. Two of the four occupants of the home responded with armed force.
One of the residents had an AR15 style rifle. The person with the AR15 said they fired over 30 rounds while repelling the invaders. One invader was killed and others wounded. No resident was injured. As soon as the gunfight stopped, the residents called 911.
Baker County deputies immediately responded, stopped a car fleeing the scene at a high rate of speed, arrested five people, and took a 16 year old juvenile to the hospital. None of the four residents of the mobile home were arrested. From news4jax.com:
GLEN ST. MARY, Fla - Deputies arrested five people, two of them teens, after a home invasion Sunday in Glen St. Mary escalated into a deadly shootout, according to the Baker County Sheriff's Office.I have long maintained the AR15 or other Modern Sporting Rifles are excellent home defense firearms. The reasons are many, and illustrated with this case. The rifles are light, easy to use, and reliable. The cartridges used are adequate for home defense. There are several ammunition choices available to limit potential over-penetration. The magazine capacity is especially valuable when confronting several attackers. The intimidation value of an identifiable platform such as the AR15 can help prevent a gunfight, or help to stop one quickly.
The Sheriff's Office said the five were among seven masked individuals armed with guns who barged into a mobile home on County Road 125 about 4 a.m. to confront four people staying there over a feud.
In a rural setting, such as this isolated house along a county highway, over penetration is not much of a worry.
Investigators found a mask with a bullet hole in it and considerable blood at the scene. Over 30 shots were fired by the defenders in the conflict. Only one of the shots appears to have resulted in a fatality. We know at least one shot was fired by the intruders, which did not hit any of the residents.
People who obtain their information from television dramas often think only one shot is needed per attacker. The reality is many shots miss, some wound, and few are fatal. It is the reason that people who study combat and self-defense do not put a limit on the number of shots that may be necessary. From news4jax.com:
The victims told deputies they acted in self-defense when they turned their guns on the intruders, with one of them estimating he fired over 30 rounds from an AR-15 before the threat was over.The AR15 type rifle is the most popular type of rifle in the United States. They are seldom used in crime, because rifles, in general, are seldom used in crime. The vast majority of homicides are committed with handguns, because handguns are much easier to conceal and transport.
Afterward, the victims retreated to another part of the home before they dialed 911, according to the report. None of them was hurt during the shooting.
The same cannot be said for the intruders, several of whom were inside a vehicle deputies intercepted as it sped away from the mobile home off County Road 125.
One of them, Corey Lauramore, died of gunshot wounds to the head. An unidentified 16-year-old remains hospitalized, and a third suspect, William Lauramore, was treated and released to police.
Recent use of AR15 type rifles in mass murder is cited as a reason to ban them. But AR15 rifles were commonly available to the public since 1965. AR-15 rifles were not used in a mass murder until 2007, and that was a police issued rifle.
What happened to increase the use of AR15 rifles in mass murder? Very likely it was the media coverage in the United States, where mass media create incentives for socially marginal individuals to achieve celebrity status by becoming a mass murderer. Since 2012, much media focus has been on the AR15, as many in the media want to see it banned. From politifact.com:
Among other factors also worth considering is media coverage of mass shooters, which Adam Lankford, a criminology professor at the University of Alabama, said rewards perpetrators with fame and can lead to copycat effects.The AR15 is an excellent choice for home defense. In areas with a high population density, consideration should be given to ammunition choices that limit over-penetration.
"Although firearms availability is the primary reason why the United States has more public mass shooters than other countries, media coverage of perpetrators may largely explain why the United States has seen more public mass shooters and deadlier incidents over time," Lankford said.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
FL: Police Enter Home, Shoot Armed Homeowner
A neighbor called after noticing the front door of the home was standing open, according to a news release from the Crestview Police Department. When two officers arrived, they saw that the front door was open and then knocked, rang the doorbell and asked if anyone was inside.
After hearing no reply, they entered the home. A man then walked out of a room with a gun in his hand, the press release said.
One of the officers fired his gun and hit the man in the thigh. The man dropped his weapon and identified himself as the owner of the home, according to the release.
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Followup IN: No Charges for Man who Shot Pit Bull Mix
After an investigation that lasted more than a month, Harrington concluded this week that he didn’t have enough evidence from police reports filed by the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office or his own investigation to doubt the account of a 37-year-old father who feared so much for himself and his 5-year-old daughter that day in the Lexington Farms subdivision that he fired a round from a Smith and Wesson revolver through Red’s ear and into the dog’s back.
“There’s nothing to prosecute,” Harrington said, “because the state law gives him a defense.”
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SC: Resident Shoots, Kills Burglary Suspect
GREENVILLE Co., S.C. (WSPA) -- Deputies are investigating the fatal shooting of a suspected burglar.
The Greenville County Sheriff's Office said a resident arrived home Friday morning and found someone inside their home on Easterlin Way.
Deputies say the resident fired at least one round before going outside to call law enforcement.
Officers responding to a reported burglary at the home found the subject dead in a closet.
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Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Advantages of Criminals Using Imitation Guns
In a recent AP article, a county attorney and a police chief want to change that. From usnews.com:
But police say they would support stronger deterrents in the law against using them like real weapons. The worry is twofold: First, that people are using them to commit crimes, and second, that a situation could arise where, in self-defense, a civilian or a police officer would use shoot someone displaying one.Woodbury County Attorney P.J. Jennings says the trauma experienced by the victim of a criminal using an imitation gun is the same as if the criminal had a real gun. That would apply if criminals with real guns never shoot people. If the criminal has a real gun, the victim has a real chance of being shot. If the gun is fake, the chance of being shot with it is non-existent.
While it's illegal to carry a real firearm in city limits without a concealed carry permit, Sioux City code does allow for the carry of lookalike "toy" weapons, such as a hand BB guns, provided they are not discharged. Police can only confiscate such weapons if they are used in a crime.
"You're not going to come across a lot of cops who have not patted someone down for weapons and found simulated weapons at one point in time," Sioux City Police Chief Rex Mueller told the Sioux City Journal . "(But) there's kind of a gap in the law there that allows police officers to act."
Iowa law has additional penalties in place for the use of "Dangerous" weapons. Dangerous weapons are defined in Iowa law. From justia.com:
Section 702.7 - Dangerous weapon.An imitation firearm is a relatively inexpensive tool to use in violent crimes. It competes directly with other low priced alternatives such as knives and clubs. Criminals armed with knives and clubs are more likely to cause injury to their victims than are criminals armed with guns. The result would be amplified with imitation guns, as the risk of gunshot injuries would be eliminated.
A “dangerous weapon” is any instrument or device designed primarily for use in inflicting death or injury upon a human being or animal, and which is capable of inflicting death upon a human being when used in the manner for which it was designed, except a bow and arrow when possessed and used for hunting or any other lawful purpose. Additionally, any instrument or device of any sort whatsoever which is actually used in such a manner as to indicate that the defendant intends to inflict death or serious injury upon the other, and which, when so used, is capable of inflicting death upon a human being, is a dangerous weapon. Dangerous weapons include but are not limited to any offensive weapon, pistol, revolver, or other firearm, dagger, razor, stiletto, switchblade knife, knife having a blade exceeding five inches in length, or any portable device or weapon directing an electric current, impulse, wave, or beam that produces a high-voltage pulse designed to immobilize a person.
An imitation firearm that is not designed for inflicting death or injury is not a "dangerous weapon".
Committing a robbery with an imitation firearms has a maximum sentence of 10 years, while using a real weapon results in a maximum sentence of 25 years, all else being equal.
California differentiates between imitation guns and real guns in their laws on brandishing. From shouselaw.com:
Should the use of imitation firearms in crime be subject to the same penalties as real firearms?
- Brandishing a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person... in a rude, angry, or threatening manner... in a public place:
- a minimum three (3) month, to a maximum one (1) year, jail sentence, and/or
- a maximum $1,000 fine.92
- Brandishing any other firearm... or brandishing a firearm in other than a public place... in the same manner: not less than three (3) months in county jail.93
- Brandishing an imitation firearm: not less than 30 days in county jail.94
Is it good policy for the penalties of using imitation firearms in crime to be less?
The criminal is putting the victim(s) at lower risk, and is putting themselves at higher risk. This is behavior that should be encouraged. Society wins.
Encouraging criminals to take on more of the risk for anti-social behavior is a positive thing.
Criminal law generally has lower penalties for crimes with lower risk for the victim. Non-confrontational crimes such as burglary have lower penalties than home invasions.
Would you prefer to confront a robber armed with an imitation gun instead of a real one? Would you prefer to confront a robber armed with an imitation gun instead of a knife or club?
Many criminals are ignorant of the law. Incentives do not always have a significant effect. Many criminals intuitively believe using an imitation gun is safer than using a real gun. In this case, the law would reinforce an existing belief, so the chance of success is greater.
Are criminals using more imitation guns? Are there any negatives to this trend?
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
GA: Gunfight, Attempted Robbery, no Injuries
COVINGTON, Ga. – A Covington homeowner pulled his own gun and fired a couple of shots after an armed assailant attempted to rob him outside his home early Wednesday morning, authorities said.
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CA: Neighbor Shoots Aggressive Rottweiler
5:11 p.m. — A caller from Lake Vera-Purdon Road and Astral Trail reported a large Rottweiler attacking people. An emergency alert was sent to neighbors in the area. A neighbor shot the dog and it was taken to a vet. No one was injured.
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NV: Legally Armed Man Shoots at Car Thief who Pointed Gun at Him
Upon returning to his car, he found another man sitting in the driver’s seat, Gordon said, and the man behind the wheel pulled out a gun. The car owner, whom Gordon said was a licensed concealed carrier, then pulled out his own gun and shot at the man behind the wheel.
The car owner ran away, fell and got a cut to his head, Gordon said. The man behind the wheel took off in the car south on Nellis Boulevard.
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Monday, April 23, 2018
Citizens Push for Right to Self Defense in Ukraine
Ukraine is considering rights of self defense and the legal rights to own weapons.
Since the break up of the United Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR, the former client states of the USSR have been struggling with numerous issues of law, including private property rights and self defense.
Ukraine has little traditional law concerning the ownership of firearms. The law, as such, consists of instructions issued in 1998 by the Interior Ministry. In practice, the Interior Minister can give firearms to whom he wishes. Exactly who is eligible, and who is not, tends to be a matter of personal opinion. From kyivpost.com
That confrontation would be unremarkable were it not for the story of how Pashinsky received the pistol: as an official gift from Interior Minister Arsen Avakov — part of a tradition in which the minister and president award firearms to politicians, military officers, and even influential business people.The system reminds me of "dollar a year" sheriff deputies in many states before federal money and federally mandated standards ended the practice. If the sheriff liked you, or was properly persuaded... you were deputized and could legally carry a gun concealed. Another similarity is with "may issue" states in the United States. Those states grant the power to issue permits to a person in authority, such as in California. In California the issuing authority decides who gets a permit to carry a firearm, and who does not. Many people in California have ties to the issuing authority.
Georgy Uchaikin bristles at the mere existence of this practice. As director of the Ukrainian Association of Gun Owners or UAGO, he advocates for Ukrainians’ legal right to bear arms. To him, “awarded guns” demonstrate the discriminatory nature of his country’s gun policies.
By law, these awards are intended only for military men and women. But interpretation is loose. As a result, Uchaikin estimates Ukrainian authorities have handed out 50,000 weapons to members of the elite since independence in 1991 in a state that is otherwise hostile to gun ownership.
In Ukraine, in a fuzzy way, this applies to the entire nation. I know two poeple who have traveled in Ukraine, one of them extensively. One married a Ukrainian girl, the other's son married a Ukrainian girl. Neither knows the other.
Both said that the presence of organized crime is pervasive and obvious.
Black market guns are easily available. If you need to use a black market gun, the legal consequences can be severe.
The war in Ukraine has increased the desire for personal weapons. Many veterans coming back from the front bring their personal weapons with them. They would rather have a gun and not need it, than need it and not have it, regardless of the legal consequences.
In Ukraine, the Ukrainian Association of Gun Owners (UAGO) is pushing for more gun laws. They want clear laws for the right to own guns and to have them for self defense. The president of UAGO says that in Ukraine, there exists a class of people who are above the law.
In most countries, elites can obtain guns or armed guards if they want them.
It is the common people who are commonly disarmed by the law.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
MO: Armed Man shoots at Aggressive Pit Bulls
Corcoran, 47, said he fired a few shots from his handgun and believes he hit the red dog.
The two dogs took off running in opposite directions in the 300 block of East McGee Street, Corcoran said.
The red dog started coming back to Corcoran, he said, so he fired another round at the dog, which then fled the area.
This was the second time that day the dogs had threatened Corcoran, he said.
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CO: Mother Shoots Estranged Son who Attacked Her
Elbert County deputies took a 23-year-old man into custody Thursday after he allegedly broke into his mother’s home and assaulted her, prompting the woman to shoot her son.
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TX: Domestic Defense, Mother Shoots Son who is Choking Sister
The sister ran upstairs and locked herself in her bedroom to get away from Brown because he has physically assaulted her before, the report states. Brown followed her upstairs, kicked open the door and started punching her. Brown’s mother grabbed her handgun and ran upstairs to find him choking his sister, the report states.
Police said the mother then shot him in the chest.
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Sunday, April 22, 2018
Legally Armed People Have a Murder Rate similar to Japan
Michigan Concealed Pistol License holders have an extremely low Murder rate.
Japan has a very low murder rate. Japan is also a very law abiding culture.
The United States, as a whole, has a much higher murder rate than Japan. Within the United States there is a law abiding culture that has a murder rate as low as Japan's. That culture consists of gun owners who carry guns legally.
In Michigan, the State Police are tasked with compiling crimes committed by people who have the Michigan Concealed Pistol License (CPL). The State Police Reports are available from 2003 to early 2017. The state police reports list convictions of people for murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide, as well as a multitude of other offenses. From 2003 to 2017, there are 14 years of reports listing criminal convictions.
Criminal homicides are the most reliable crime statistics to track, and the most important for comparisons with other societies. While there are significant differences in definitions, reporting, and recording of crimes from nation to nation, criminal homicides are more reliable than other crime statistics.
In the 14 years of Michigan annual police reports, there are 17 criminal homicide convictions recorded by the Michigan State Police (MSP), for people who had CPLs.
The number of active CPLs in Michigan for each year of the 14 annual reports was a little more difficult to find. The annual reports run from October 1 to September 30 of the following year. I found numbers in each annual report period, except for the period of October 1, 2014 to September 30 of 2015. For that period I interpolated from the March, 2014 number of 430,000 to the November, 2015 number of 488,000, to obtain 459,000. The numbers for the other years used were within the period for each report. Over the fourteen year span, a variation of a few months does not make much difference.
When looking at criminal homicide rates, the standard is to look at the number of homicides per 100,000 of the population per year. The total number of CPL - years came to 3,953,944. Over the 14 year period, individual CPLs had been active for a total of 3,953,944 years. There were 17 criminal homicide convictions of CPL holders in that period, averaging .43 criminal homicides per 100,000 CPL holders per year.
The entire Michigan population, over the same period, had an average of 6.2 criminal homicides per 100,000 people, or more than 14 times as many. Over the same period 2003-2016, the Japanese criminal homicide rate was .42 per 100,000 population.
Michigan Concealed Pistol Licenses are fairly easy to obtain. The same background check is used for the CPL as is used for ordinary people to buy from federally licensed dealers in the United States. The people with Concealed Pistol Licenses are not only able to own firearms, but to legally carry them concealed and loaded with them nearly everywhere. Yet, their criminal homicide rate is as low as the highly regulated Japanese.
International comparisons are always tricky. Many countries do not keep good statistics. Some countries actively ignore some murders to make their statistics look better. Others do not have the infrastructure to report and record crimes. Countries have different definitions of what a criminal homicide is.
In cases such as Michigan, the numbers of homicides among Concealed Pistol License holders is so tiny that it can vary enormously with just a few crimes. Fourteen years gives us a better picture, but it is still a small sample. There are five years with no convictions, five years with one conviction, two years with two convictions and two years with four convictions. The convictions do not mean the CPL holder used the CPL in the crime. They mean there was a criminal homicide conviction for someone with a CPL.
While not as well documented as the Michigan CPL, the Wisconsin CCW permit holders have a similar low rate of criminal homicides. When I calculated the number in 2016, the criminal homicide rate for CCW permit holders in Wisconsin was .19 per 100,000. Wisconsin CCW permits are easier and cheaper to obtain than Michigan CPLs.
If, as those who wish a disarmed population claim, the mere presence of firearms makes criminal homicide more likely, how is it that those who not only own handguns, but can carry them loaded most places, most of the time, have a homicide rate as low as the Japanese?
The law abiding American gun culture is as responsible and law abiding as Japanese culture.
Japanese culture is much more homogeneous than American culture. American culture has a wide diversity. Some subgroups, like American legal gun carriers, are very law abiding and responsible. Other American sub-groups are not. American culture is closer to an amalgam of world culture.
The world average intentional homicide rate was about 6.2 per 100,000 in 2012, very close to the average Michigan homicide rate over 2003 to 2016. The U.S. criminal homicide rate for the same year was 4.7. There are differences between "intentional homicide rate" and "criminal homicide rate", but the numbers show the U.S. to be on the low side of the average world rate.
If someone tells you that legal American gun owners are not murderers until they are, tell them that Japanese, without guns, are as likely to murder as legal American gun owners.
Where crimes of people with carry permits are documented, that population has extremely low crime rates. Crime rates as low as the populations of those countries with the lowest crime rates in the world.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
OK: Gunshot Stops Attack by Dog Pack
Michelle Slaughter had just left from visiting with her sister and brother-in-law around 4 p.m Thursday, when she was attacked by a group of dogs on her way home.
"Its heartbreaking emotions," Moss said. "I mean, I can't believe it happened to her."
Otis Arnold was on his way home from work, and stopped to help right after one of the dogs, a Belgian Milnois, was shot and killed by a neighbor who had stepped in.
"She was screaming that she thought the dogs were trying to tear her arm off," Arnold said.
It was only after the gunshot that the other four dogs, all German Shepherds, ran off.
"One of them had a 4x4, and they were trying to fight the dogs, and it still wasn't keeping them off." Arnold said.
More Here
Followup LA: Grand Jury rules Tacorey Banks Shooting Justified
The Caddo Parish grand jury said no criminal charges should be filed against a Shreveport businessman who fatally shot one of three teenagers he caught breaking into his car last fall. One of the three had a gun, police said.
Louisiana law allows residents to use force to protect themselves or their property. The amount of force must be "reasonable and necessary."
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LA: Waffle House Customer Shoots at Armed Robbers
Just before 10:15 p.m., the scene repeated itself at the Waffle House in the 2900 block of Elysian Fields, when two men entered with handguns, the second report states. One of them jumped over the restaurant counter and demanded money and cell phones, but as they left with the money, a customer in the restaurant shot at them, the report states.
Shortly afterward, a man identified as 19-year-old Ernest Scott showed up at a hospital for treatment in a private vehicle, and police initially called him as a “person of interest” in the robbery. Later Friday afternoon, however, NOPD spokesman Gary Scheets issued a correction stating, “There is no person named Ernest Scott under investigation in relation to this incident.”
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Saturday, April 21, 2018
Cheap Gun Opportunity in Crawfordsville Indiana, 28 April, 2018
The event will be held at the Crawfordsville Police Department from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Crawfordsville is about 40 miles northwest of Indianapolis. From journalreview.com:
Residents can turn in semi-automatic rifles, bump stocks or large-capacity clips in an upcoming program sponsored by a local church.No permit is required to purchase guns in Indiana.
Wabash Avenue Presbyterian invites owners to take the weapons and accessories to the Crawfordsville Police Department from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 28. All items turned in will be melted down at Nucor Steel.
Owners will receive a $100 gift card from Kroger or County Market for guns and a $25 gift card for accessories.
Gift cards of $100 will be given for each "assault style" gun turned in. $25 will be given for accessories such as bump stocks and "high capacity magazines". This is a generous offer for magazines. I suspect the gift cards to run out very quickly. If you have some old magazines, you might want to turn them in and order excellent new standard capacity magazines for going rates of $9-$15 each. I do not expect many "assault style" firearms to be turned in, but alert Second Amendment supporters might intercept an SKS or a someone turning in an AR15 type rifle they inherited from their brother or husband. At one "buyback" event, one woman was going to turn in her boyfriend's AR15, but took cash for it instead.
Across the country, communities, police departments and churches are sponsoring gun turn-ins to get "guns off the street". At many of these events, private buyers are showing up, offering cash for the more valuable guns. These private additions to the public turn-in are effective, no doubt, in getting more guns off the street, because they add to the resources that are available to those who want to get rid of guns for something of value, be it a grocery store card or a number of twenty dollar bills. Resources will be limited.
You can help make the turn-in in Indiana more effective by standing on the curb with your "Cash for Guns" sign, or at a folding table, willing to offer more than the gift card for firearms that are more valuable. It would be best if numerous private parties were available, as more good guns could then be transferred into responsible hands.
This action serves many useful purposes. It stretches the turn-in budget so that more guns can be taken off the street. It helps keep fearful widows from being defrauded of most of the market value of the gun they are turning in. It prevents valuable assets from being destroyed by bureaucratic inflexibility. It is a win-win-win situation.
At least one commenter sees the event as an opportunity. From foxnews.com comments:
I'm waiting for something like this in my area. I still have an old .22 revolver that broke in the late 60's (Saturday night special). In 1967, I paid about $17 for it. It's kind of pretty but the frame was made of "pot metal". I'm guessing that some of these do-gooders would pay the same price for it as an operable weapon. It would give me money to go out and buy a new gun. This would be a win-win. The anti-gun people would feel good and so would I.
While the articles about the event say the offer is for "guns", in the video, the couple make clear it is only for "assault weapons". Do not take an old revolver and expect to get $100 for it. Many people bringing revolvers, hunting rifles, shotguns worth far more than $100 may be surprised to learn that their guns do not qualify. It could be an opportunity for private purchasers.
Academics have long written about the ineffectiveness of these events. Only a few places are still having them. In Washington state, public disarmament activists asked politicians to stop them because they were making the disarmists look bad. From the Freakonomics" web site:
When it comes to gun buybacks, both the theory and the data could not be clearer in showing that they don’t work. The only guns that get turned in are ones that people put little value on anyway. There is no impact on crime. On the positive side, the “cash for clunkers” program is more attractive than the gun buyback program because, as long as they are being driven, old cars pollute, whereas old guns just sit there.Having private purchasers show up at these events is cheap activism for Second Amendment supporters. It shows that guns are valued assets for many people in the community.
Link to article with numerous examples of private sales at gun turn in events
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
AK: Armed 80-Year-Old Shoots Attacking Pit Bull
"Now there’s three of them lying on the ground. I ran out my back porch to my car and I grabbed my pistol and ran out my garage. The girls’ father is there by now and he’s beating on the dog’s head when he could, but this dog was so fast," Woods said. "I started shouting, ‘Let him go, get away from him. Back up, I’m going to kill him.’"
Woods waited until everyone was away from the pit bull and then fired downward so that the bullet would go into the ground. He shot the pit bull in the head. It dropped the rat terrier but remained standing, so Woods shot it a second time.
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SC: Armed Woman Confronts Aggressive Man at her Car, Shoots Him
Officers said the female confronted the male suspect at her car and she says he advanced towards her. At that time, the woman produced a handgun and fired one round, striking the suspect in the leg, police say.
The suspect was transported to Trident Hospital for treatment.
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IN: Armed Customer Shoots, Kills Robbery Suspect at Ocampo Auto Sales
GARY — One man is dead and another is
on the run after a customer at an auto dealership shot and killed a
robbery suspect in self-defense, police said.
The
customer and an employee were outside of Ocampo Auto Sales, a used car
lot at 401 W. Ridge Road, when two men approached them, according to
Gary police.
More Here
Friday, April 20, 2018
Woman Calls Police Over Man Wearing Pro-Gun T-Shirt At Park
A woman called the police to complain about a man's pro-gun t-shirt.
Benbrook, TX – A Texas father’s afternoon visit to a local park prompted a police response, after a woman alleged that the man’s pro-gun Warrior 12 shirt was making other parents uncomfortable, police said.
Troy Johnston and his two daughters, ages four and six, stopped at Castle Park on March 30, so the children could enjoy the park’s swings and maze, he told Blue Lives Matter.
Johnston said he was openly carrying his handgun in a holster on his hip, and was also sporting a Warrior 12 shirt emblazoned with the words, “I’LL CONTROL MY GUNS, YOU CONTROL YOUR KIDS” across the back.
The shirt also featured an image of an AR-15 rifle.
“I figured I might get some comments or looks,” Johnston said. “[But] I was legally exercising my First and Second Amendment rights.”
Approximately 30 minutes after the kids began playing, a man approached him with his wife and daughter in tow, Johnston said.
He said the man told him that a woman was “fuming” over the message on Johnston’s shirt, as well as the fact that he was armed.
“I thanked him for letting me know, and continued playing with my kids,” Johnson said.
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AP: Gun Clubs Teach Patience. Discipline. Responsibility.
Dahlonega, Ga. – Their classmates took to the streets to protest gun violence and to implore adults to restrict guns, seeming to forecast a generational shift in attitudes toward the Second Amendment. But at high school and college gun ranges around the country, these teens and young adults gather to practice shooting and talk about the positive influence firearms have had on their lives.Shooting is a lifetime sport the practitioners find accessible into old age. The interesting thing about the AP article is that it mentions the many positive aspects of the shooting sports.
What do they say they learn? Patience. Discipline. Responsibility.
“I’ve never gone out onto a range and not learned something new,” said Lydia Odlin, a 21-year-old member of the Georgia Southern University rifle team.
There are an estimated 5,000 teams at high schools and universities around the country, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and their popularity hasn’t waned despite criticism after it emerged that the gunman who killed 14 students and three staff members at a Florida high school had been a member of the JROTC rifle team. The youths who are involved, coaches and parents say there’s an enormous difference between someone bent on violence and school gun clubs that focus on safety and teach skills that make navigating life’s hardships easier.
The Associated Press has been actively hostile to the Second Amendment for decades. As the Internet and talk radio highlightec that hostility, the organization has been become a little more even handed. I applaud the decision at AP to allow a positive view of the shooting sports into their content.
Rifle teams used to be something governments all over the world supported. The reason was obvious. Armies with troops that could shoot accurately had an advantage on the battlefield. In England, a personal friend told me of bicycling all over his area, .22 target rifle on the handlebars. Nobody blinked.
President Theodore Roosevelt thought children should be encouraged to learn to shoot. From goodreads.com:
"We should encourage rifle practice among schoolboys, and indeed among all classes, as well as in the military services by every means in our power. Thus, and not otherwise, may we be able to assist in preserving peace in the world..."It may not be a coincidence that support for school shooting teams declined in the nuclear age. The control of nuclear weapons seemed to diminish the necessity for a nation of riflemen. We have learned differently. Experience in wars from Korea to Afghanistan have validated the need for the rifleman on the field of combat.
Times change. Technology changes. Perhaps, in the future, riflemen may become obsolete. It has not happened yet.
The virtues promoted by the shooting sports, self discipline, responsibility, control of mind over body, have always been, and always will be, valuable and worth while.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
AR: Homeowner Investigates Intruder, Shoots, Falls, Shoots Leg
Then, Adams said the unknown person raised their arm and pointed something at him.
Adams said he drew his gun and told the person "he could not help them if they did not respond." The person continued to point something at Adams.
Adams told Chadwick he then fired at the person. However, after the first shot, Adams "fell backward and landed on his back and then fired his firearm two more times and accidentally shot himself in his right leg," the report states.
After the shots were fired, Adams said he heard a vehicle coming from the north on CR 745 and almost came to a stop at the end of his driveway. He said loud music was coming from the vehicle.
More Here
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Iowa Legislature moves Toward Right to Arms Constitutional Amendment
Only six states do not have some sort of right to keep and bear arms amendment or clause in their state Constitution. They are California, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York.
California, Maryland, New Jersey and New York show the lack of a state constitutional protection with their highly restrictive firearms laws.
The two outliers on that list are Iowa and Minnesota. State constitutional protections of the right to bear arms provide protection when the federal Constitution fails to do so. The U.S. Supreme Court has been reluctant to protect Second Amendment rights for a decade. The road to the U.S. Supreme Court is long, difficult, and far from certain. State Supreme courts are more easily accesable, showing the utility of state constitutional protections.
Iowa is in the process of adding constitutional amendment to protect the right to keep and bear arms at the state level. The proposed amendment is as follows: From iowa.gov:
Right to acquire, keep, possess, transport, carry, transfer, and use arms.
SEC. 1A. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The sovereign state of Iowa affirms and recognizes the fundamental right of the people to acquire, keep, possess, transport, carry, transfer, and use arms for all legitimate purposes. Any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.
When voters are presented with a choice of having a state constitutional right to keep and bear arms, amendments pass with large majorities. A mere referendum would be required in California. But Iowa, as with some other states, such as Wisconsin, have more difficult paths to amending their constitution. In Iowa, a constitutional amendment must pass both houses of the legislature. Then an election must take place. Then the measure must pass both houses of the legislature again; then a referundum is sent to the people for approval. The Iowa amendment has now passed the first hurdle. From wcfcourier.com:
The resolution has been approved by the House and Senate. If it is approved by the next General Assembly, it will be on the ballot for ratification by voters in 2020.If the amendment passes the legislature next year, it will pass a referendum. No right to bear arms Constitutional Amendment referendum has been defeated at the polls. Voters have passed similar constitutional amendments in other states with wide margins. Alabama passed a similar amendment in 2014 with 72% of the vote; Missouri had strengthened its Constitution just months before with 61%; Louisiana in 2012 with 74% of the vote; and Kansas in 2010 with 88%.
Smith called the resolution “extreme,” especially because it includes language requiring courts to apply “strict scrutiny” to any restriction on gun rights.
That could open the door for challenges to existing gun laws as well as make it difficult to enact what Smith called “common sense” legislation.
Wisconsin's amendment passed with 74% of the vote in 1998.
The Iowa State Seal says "OUR LIBERTIES WE PRIZE AND OUR RIGHTS WE WILL MAINTAIN". This motto will be put to the test in 2019 and 2020.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch
Oklahoma Legislature Votes to Extend Home, Business Defense Options to Churches
The Oklahoma legislature has overwhelmingly voted to extend the protections homes and businesses have in the laws of defense of self and others to Oklahoma churches. From publicradiotulsa.org:
The Senate voted 42–1 on Thursday for House Bill 2632, which makes places used either part- or full-time for religious services covered by the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act.
The shooting still must be done because of reasonable fear of harm or death or to prevent a violent felony.
"That makes it clear that there has to be some reason that you felt that you were threatened and needed to use that defensive force, or that someone else is threatened and that you needed to use that force," said Sen. Micheal Bergstrom.
On March 6, 2018, the Oklahoma House voted 62 Yes, 21 No, with 16 excused.
On April 12, 2018 the Oklahoma Senate voted 42 Yes, 1 No, with 4 excused.
The bill with now go to Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, who is likely to sign the popular measure. The bill extends what has commonly been known as the "Castle Doctrine" to churches. Here are some paragraphs from the bill. From oklegislature.gov:
The bill with now go to Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, who is likely to sign the popular measure. The bill extends what has commonly been known as the "Castle Doctrine" to churches. Here are some paragraphs from the bill. From oklegislature.gov:
PHYSICAL OR DEADLY FORCE AGAINST INTRUDERAn important consideration in the bill is the awarding of fees to the defender in a failed civil lawsuit.
A. The Legislature hereby recognizes that the citizens of the State of Oklahoma have a right to expect absolute safety within their own homes or, places of business or places of worship.
H. The court shall award reasonable attorney fees, court costs, compensation for loss of income, and all expenses incurred by the defendant in defense of any civil action brought by a plaintiff if the court finds that the defendant is immune from prosecution as provided in subsection F of this section.The legislature made sure to prevent the requirement for a government fee or license.
I. The provisions of this section and the provisions of the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act shall not be construed to require any person using a weapon pursuant to the provisions of this section to be licensed in any manner.Merely pointing a weapon at someone under the circumstances described in the bill, is defined as not being a criminal act.
J. A person pointing a weapon at a perpetrator in self-defense or in order to thwart, stop or deter a forcible felony or attempted forcible felony shall not be deemed guilty of committing a criminal act.The rights of property owners were protected in the bill.
K.Nothing contained in the provisions of this section shall prohibit the current property right of a place of worship or any other business or property owner to set its own policy regarding weapons.Extending the rights of people in their homes and business owners to their churches is simply following the First and Second amendment.
In the early colonies, people were commanded to bring guns to church. In "Origins and Development of the Second Amendment", there is a reference to colonial requirements to carry guns in church from the Virginia laws.
All men that are fitting to bear arms, shall bring their pieces to the church...The law dated to 1631. David Hardy found it in the 1823 work by William Henning, "The Statutes at large, being a collection of all the laws of Virginia, Vol. 1 at 127, 173-174."
Churches, which are particularly protected by the "free exercise of religion" clause of the Constitution in the First Amendment, should have at least the same protections that private homes and businesses do.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Homeowner Shoots two Invaders, 1 Killed, 1 Wounded, Son Wounded
Early Saturday morning, at 4:51 a.m., in Raleigh, NC, a suspected home invasion was met with gunfire by the homeowner. In the gun fight, one home invader was killed, another seriously wounded, and the homeowner's son, 11, was seriously wounded. From abc11.com:
According to Raleigh police, the homeowner fired at two intruders during an armed robbery.Gunfights are dangerous affairs. You may control your shots, but you do not control the shots of your opponent(s). In this case, the responding defender prevailed. He killed one opponent and seriously wounding the other. He was not wounded. The cost was high. His eleven year old son was wounded.
The shooting happened in the 4200 block of Brintons Cottage Street around 4:51 a.m.
Deandre Carney, 19, died from his injuries.
Willie Richardson, 22, was also injured in the shooting.
He is still in the hospital with gunshot wounds but is charged with armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, first-degree burglary, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
The homeowner's 11-year-old son was also injured and is in the hospital with serious injuries.
Defensive firearms instructors recommend that gunfights be avoided if at all possible. Avoidance is the best strategy. Sun Tsu's remark about war applies to personal combat. "It is best to win without fighting". Most defensive uses of firearms are against assailants armed with other weapons. Even when the aggressor has a gun, most criminals back off rather than risk a gunfight.
Sometimes, a defender has no real choice. Sometimes the fight comes to you. Sometimes the cost of avoidance is too high.
We do not know what the cost would have been if the father of the eleven year old boy had not fought. It might have been higher. He or a member of his family might have been killed. Once human predators have been successful, they tend to return.
Deandre Carney paid the ultimate price for his association with Willie Richardson. It appears Richardson was a convicted felon, as he was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon. Two months previously he was arrested for robbery with a dangerous weapon. There are other charges in his history. Photos of Deandre show him flashing a hand signal. Others can interpret what that might mean.
Many countries in the world have more violent crime that the United States. The list includes Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Jamaica, Venezuela, Honduras, South Africa, and many others.
Others, such as Switzerland, England, and Japan, have less.
In Restricting Handguns: The Liberal Skeptics Speak Out, the point was made that in England, there are many burglaries, and the percentage of home invasions is higher than in the United States. A case was made that burglars avoid robbing an occupied house, because of the risk of getting shot. In Panama, I recall asking how a business owner, who had a considerable scrap yard, stayed in business in an area known for its thieves. I was told: "The thieves learn which houses have guns, very quickly.
Deandre Carney and Willie Richardson are examples of the risks of home invasion. Perhaps others will learn from their example.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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