Thinking Bigly on Gun Owners, the Border, and President Trump's USMCA dealp's Art of the Deal

It was not long ago, when taking guns into Canada, a nation with vast areas of wilderness, was simple and uncomplicated for U.S. citizens.  There were virtually no restrictions on rifles and shotguns. The Canadian government required a simple seal on handguns to insure they were not fired in Canada. If the seal were broken when the border was crossed going back into the United States, an explanation was in order. It had to be good. That changed in January of 2001.

As more and more restrictions on the ownership of firearms has been pushed by leftists on both sides of the border, crossing the border with firearms has become a legal minefield to trap the unwary. The nadir was reached when a U.S. citizen had to register any rifle or shotgun they brought into Canada, which included a $25 fee that was good for a few months.  All long guns in Canada had to be registered.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was able to keep a campaign promise and remove  the failed long gun registry. The $25 fee for crossing the border with a long gun remains. It is virtually impossible for an ordinary U.S. citizen to transport a handgun in Canada.

Hundreds are trapped in inadvertent offenses every year. Taking a handgun into Canada, as many find prudent when traveling to Alaska, is so complicated and difficult as to be legally impossible for an ordinary traveler. Bringing personal guns from Canada into the U.S., as many Canadians wish to do when they travel south for the winter, has numerous restrictions and difficulties.

President Trump and his administration are renegotiating the Canadian and U.S. trade agreement, reconstructed from the failed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to the United States Mexico and Canada agreement (USMCA).

The Trump administration should include a return to less regulation of personal firearms. Any Canadian with a Possession and Acquisition (PAL) license should be able to bring legal firearms into the United States without a problem. Any legal U.S. resident not barred from exercising their Second Amendment rights should be able to bring legal firearms into Canada.

It is unreasonable that both governments allow their legal residents to travel freely with firearms inside their borders, but restrict each other's residents when they cross the border.

President Trump has written, if you are going to think, you may as well think big. The same logic works for South of the border. We should include in the trade deal the ability of any Mexican who may legally possess firearms in Mexico, legally traveling in the U.S., to legally possess them in the U.S., with the reciprocity that legal U.S. residents may possess legal personal firearms in Mexico when legally traveling there.

Before 1972, possession of .22 rifles and pistols, by U.S. citizens in Mexico, was nearly unregulated. As Mexico has become more dangerous, paradoxically, the legal ability to be armed for self defense has become nearly impossible.

President Trump, his administration, and American gun owners should all think bigly about the Mexican, Canadian, and United States trade deal. The reform should include removing restrictions on legal gun owners transporting their property across both borders.  Negotiations could be about insuring that guns are not illegally transferred to prohibited possessors. All three nations have irrational restrictions on some types of personal arms.

Canadians are not allowed to have magazines of more than ten rounds in pistols, and five rounds in rifles. U.S. citizens are generally restricted from possessing rifles and shotguns with barrels less than 16 and 18 inches, respectively. Mexicans are restricted from having pistols and rifles in many common "military" calibers.  It could all be worked out. All three nations require that guns moving across the border be declared.  Moving away from bureaucratic inflexibility, and toward more personal freedom, can be done.

Citizens who legally possessing guns, in all three countries, are not a problem. They have exemplary records. They commit almost no crime. In the United States, people with carry permits are more law abiding than police officers. I am sure the same holds for Canadians with PAL licences and Mexicans who obtain permits to own firearms.

The mass punishment principle has always been wrong. Punishing the mass of the innocent to get at a few bad apples is bad policy. Punishing the enormous mass of legal gun owners because criminals break the law is a stupid way to attack a problem confined to small numbers of violent criminals.

A growing body of criminological evidence shows that serious violence (and much other crime) is concentrated among remarkably small numbers of “hot” people and places. We now know that homicide and gun violence are overwhelmingly concentrated among serious offenders operating in groups: gangs, drug crews, and the like representing under half of one percent of a city’s population commit half to three-quarters of all murders.

As recently as 1972 for Mexico, and 2001 for Canada, legal gun owners were be able to travel between all three large North America nations with arms and few limitations. It worked then. It can work again.

There is no logical reason to prevent the travel of legally armed residents, only the superstitious fear of firearms in the hands of ordinary people by hoplophobes and would be dictators.

 ©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

KS: 74-Year-Old Woman Fatally Shoots Intruder

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — Leavenworth police say a 74-year-old woman fatally shot a man who she thought was trying to burglarize her home.

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FL: Legally Armed Man Shoots Man who Charged at Him

COCOA, Fla. - A man was shot near a Cocoa laundromat on Monday in what police are calling an instance of self-defense, according to officials with the Cocoa Police Department.
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GA: Homeowner Confronts Man Breaking into Car, Shoots Him

Cobb County police confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that a man was in the process of breaking into a pickup truck when the homeowner came out and confronted him.

During the confrontation, the homeowner shot the suspect at least once below the waist, police said.
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AR: Homeowner Shoots Armed Suspect

According to the resident, an unknown person had entered their apartment with a gun.

The incident report states that as the suspect entered the apartment he was shot one time. Officers provided first aid to the suspect until medical personnel arrived.
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AL: Mall Shooting Investigation Continues, Bradford not the Original Shooter

When it was over, Bradford was dead, his 18-year-old friend was seriously wounded, and the 12-year-old bystander was shot in the back. Eight other people were treated by Hoover paramedics for injuries sustained in the subsequent chaos and evacuation of the mall. Six of those eight were transported to area hospitals, including a 70-year-old Montevallo woman who ultimately was airlifted to a Mobile hospital after suffering broken bones and internal bleed in a fall as thousands were fleeing the gunfire.

Multiple investigations are currently ongoing into the Galleria shooting. Initially police said Bradford fired the shots that wounded the other two, but on Friday night said he likely did not fire the shots that wounded the others. They did not say whether he fired any shots at all, but said he was involved in the initial altercation and brandishing a firearm.
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NRA Moves Forward with Discovery in First Amendment Case Against NY Governor Cuomo

Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is notoriously hostile to the Second Amendment and the exercise thereof. His administration has been riddled with corruption. He is considered one of the three engineers of the infamous "Safe Act". The other two, Dean Skelos, former leader of the New York Senate, and Sidney Silver, former Speaker of the New York Assembly, have been convicted of corruption.  Governor Cuomo was intimately politically involved with both men.

Governor Cuomo has been able to evade corruption charges thus far.

Perhaps Governor Cuomo has a touch of believing he is invulnerable.  He used his vast powers to exhort the New York bureaucracy to blacklist the National Rifle Association (NRA). Governors have free speech rights, just as everyone is supposed to have in the United States. But, as leftists like to point out, there are limits on all rights.

Free speech does not include the right to threaten legal entities with a bureaucratic blacklist. Nice little non-profit you have there. Be a shame if something were to happen to it...


On 7 November, Jacob Sullum wrote about some of the details of the bureaucratic blacklisting of the NRA, after Cuomo made the not so subtle threats.  From creators.com:

Two weeks later, as if to underline the dangers of doing business with "gun promotion organizations," DFS announced a consent decree with Lockton Companies, the New York administrator of Carry Guard, the NRA's liability insurance program for people who use firearms in self-defense. Lockton agreed to pay a $7 million fine for alleged violations of state regulations and promised to stop helping the NRA with insurance programs in New York, regardless of their legality.

Five days later, DFS touted a consent decree with Chubb, which underwrote the Carry Guard program overseen by Lockton. Chubb agreed to pay $1.3 million and shun the NRA — not just in New York, but throughout the world.

Lloyd's of London severed its relationship with the NRA two days after the Chubb consent decree was announced. Because of the state's implicit threats, the NRA says, it has had trouble finding companies willing to provide even basic banking and insurance services, much to Cuomo's gloating delight.

The NRA sued, claiming Governor Cuomo's actions were violations of the First Amendment freedom of speech and the press. Cuomo's actions were detailed and clear enough that the national ACLU, no friend of the Second Amendment, agreed the NRA case should go to trial.  From thehill.com:

“In the ACLU’s view, targeting a nonprofit advocacy group and seeking to deny it financial services because it promotes a lawful activity (the use of guns) violates the First Amendment,” ACLU legal director David Cole wrote in his announcement of the filing on Friday.

“If the NRA’s charges are true, the state’s actions would clearly violate the First Amendment,” Cole wrote.

The ACLU argued that dismissing the NRA suit against Cuomo “would set a dangerous precedent for advocacy groups across the political spectrum."

"Public officials would have a readymade playbook for abusing their regulatory power to harm disfavored advocacy groups without triggering judicial scrutiny," Cole wrote.

The U.S. District Judge agreed the suit should go to trial. The judge refused to simply throw the case out, as Governor Cuomo had asked. From law.com:

U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy of the Northern District of New York said in a lengthy decision that the NRA’s claims that actions by Cuomo and Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo stifled its free speech rights were sufficient enough to be evaluated at trial.

“The allegations of direct and implied threats to insurers and financial institutions because of these entities’ links with the NRA, and the allegations of resulting harm to the NRA’s operations, are sufficient to make out plausible First Amendment freedom-of-speech claims,” McAvoy wrote. “While the NRA may not be able to establish the factual predicates for these claims, it has presented sufficient allegations to allow them to go forward.” 

William Brewer III from Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors in Dallas and New York City is the lead attorney for the NRA in the case. He said in a statement Tuesday evening that they are looking forward to proceeding with discovery, which they have said could reveal a deliberate effort to dismantle the gun lobby through state actions.

 As in other civil lawsuits, the NRA now has the ability to demand any documentation that might have bearing on the case. New York State can, and likely will, be ordered by the trial court to provide discovery material to the NRA legal team. Governor Cuomo has demonstrated a lack of accountability and hostility to the Constituion. His administration may be less than forthcoming with discovery.

Governor Cuomo has made a lot of enemies. It is hard to believe one or two of them would be above leaking documents the Governor would rather not be seen by NRA lawyers.

The discovery process will be worth watching in this case.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

Followup AK: Burglary Suspects Charged after Accomplice Wounded

William Beattus Vent, 23, of Fairbanks, is charged with first-degree assault, first-degree burglary and third-degree weapons misconduct, all felonies. Vent is being held on $250,000 bail at Fairbanks Correctional Center.

Fairbanks police say Vent and co-defendant Michael Jordan Beard used a long crowbar to force their way through the door of a Southern Avenue apartment shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday. Both men were masked, dressed in black and armed with handguns, according to a criminal complaint filed in Fairbanks court.
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Followup OK: Five People Charged in Home Invasion Where Suspect was Shot

Police say a group of people kicked in the front door at a home near North 31st Street and Kenosha but the homeowner got his gun and fired and hit one of the suspects.


"As soon as entry was forced, someone from inside the house began shooting at them," said Officer Koch.


Officers say they found the suspect who was shot at the scene, two more were in the neighborhood and three at businesses nearby.
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NC: Charlotte Shooting Likely Self Defense

The shooter isn’t yet facing charges, because his actions may have been self-defense.

“It's just so unfortunate this time of year,” Scharps said. “You just don't know what to think anymore."

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TX: Security Guards Shoot Driver, Save Man Being Dragged by Truck

Two security guards saw the man being dragged, drew their weapons and fired several shots at the truck, striking the driver in the neck and arm, police said.

According to investigators, the man, identified as 26-year-old Joel Berlanga, was able to get out from under the truck and ran toward the frontage road but collapsed.
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SC: Clerk Shoots Carjacking Suspect

Georgetown police say a man dressed as a woman and wearing a wig tried to rob the Boost Mobile on Bush River Road at gunpoint Friday night. The clerk then pulled out handgun, and shot the suspect.
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Slung Rifle too Slow to Stop Grizzly Attack in Montana

On 11 November, 2018, on Sunday morning, Anders Broste  was hunting with a friend. He had already harvested his deer, weeks earlier. He had an elk tag, so he had his rifle along in case he was fortunate enough to encounter an elk. He knew there were plenty of deer in the area.

Broste was using two hands to move through heavy brush and alders. His friend was about a hundred and fifty yards away. It is a common and successful hunting technique.

Broste saw the bear as it lifted its head from its bed. Then, the bear charged. Broste had his rifle slung. It was not in his hands and at the ready. He tried to get the rifle off of his shoulder. He was only able to interpose it partly between the bear and his body before the bear was on him.

Broste said he did not have a plan for a bear attack. He said it was mere seconds from the time he saw the bear until it was on him.

A practiced rifle shot, with a rifle in his hands, can hit a close, moving target in less than a second and a half, if he is ready.

Location of grizzly bear attack in Montana

Once Broste was down, He might have been able to use a handgun or bear spray, if they had been holstered for easy access. He is not clear if he kicked the bear. He remembers shouting. After mauling Broste in both arms and legs, the bear ran off.

From greatfallstribune.com:

Broste, 36, said he was trying to get his gun off his shoulder and was backpedaling when he fell. "It was on me in seconds," he said Monday.

The bear bit Broste's arm, breaking a bone, before turning to Broste's ankle.

Broste said he thinks he kicked the bear a couple of times and the bear ran off. He's 99.9 percent sure it was a grizzly.

 Broste, in an  interview with the Daily Interlake, said he was glad to see other people with guns.

As the medics worked on Broste at the scene others stood guard.

“I’ve never been so thankful to see high-powered rifles and shotguns,” he said.

His voice broke.

“I’m thankful to be alive. I’m thankful for all the people who helped me.”

Broste gave a 15 minute interview with some details here. He correctly mentions that every activity carries risk with it.I

This late in the season, with considerable snow on the ground, most bears have denned up for the winter.  Bear behavior is highly individual and unpredictable. There have been several bear attacks in the middle of winter, but it is unusual.

People who have hunted in thick cover know you can move through it while keeping a rifle at the ready. It will take a little more time, but you want to move through cover slowly and quietly if you are to see game. A common practice is to move a short distance, slowly. Then, with rifle or shotgun at the ready, scan the area to locate game.

Bear attack expert Dave Smith has noted you cannot carry a rifle at the ready and handle bear spray or a handgun at the same time. If you are hunting, it is better to have your rifle or shotgun at the ready. From Ammoland:

There are 6 field carries for rifles, and Boddington is using the “sling” carry. In a 1983 Forest Service paper (Safety in Bear Country: Protective Measures and Bullet Performance at Short Range) Meehan and Thilenius wrote, “Because there is almost no possibility of a slung rifle being brought into action during a short-distance confrontation, rifles carried in bear country should not be permanently equipped with slings. The sling should be mounted on detachable swivels, and should be removed when conditions exist for a possible confrontation.”

In Broste's defense, he did not expect to encounter a bear. He had already harvested a deer, and while he had an elk tag, it does not seem he expected to encounter an elk in the area.

In a surprise grizzly attack, there may not be time to unsling a rifle.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

AL: Shooting between Truck Drivers was Probably Self Defense

Police believe a truck driver feared for his life and was acting in self defense Wednesday when he shot another truck driver in the parking lot of a Dale County convenience store.

Dale County investigators currently do not plan to press charges against the man, but evidence could be presented to a grand jury at a later date.
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IL: Waistband Carry Fails 17-Year-Old

At 8:30 a.m., the 17-year-old boy and 42-year-old man were arguing in the 4900 block of West Fullerton, according to Chicago police. The boy got out of his vehicle and made threats at the man while trying to yank a handgun from the waistband of his pants, witnesses told police.

The 42-year-old, who has a concealed carry gun license, grabbed his handgun and shot the 17-year-old, according to police.
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CA: Gun Beats Book, Victim Shoots Home Invader

In the MCSO report, it says the home owner returned home to find that Davis had taken many household items, severely vandalized the home, and was asleep on the couch.

After the victim found Davis lying on the couch, deputies say Davis ambushed him by hitting him over the head with a large book. But, they add that the victim had armed himself with a handgun, firing shots at Davis' arm and upper torso area.
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AK: Gunfight Home invasion, Victim and 1 Invader Wounded

Witnesses at the house said two men with guns, dressed in black, forced the front door open and shot their roommate. The witnesses told officers their roommate was able to shoot one of the suspects, who collapsed at the scene. Both the resident and the suspected home invader were treated by the Fairbanks Fire Department and taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital with serious injuries.
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IL: Off Duty Officer Shoots, Kills 16-Year-Old Robbery Suspect

The officer handed over his belongings, Nagode said, but the second boy reached in the car and patted the officer down for more items.

He located a second wallet that contained the officer’s police star, Nagode said. The 16-year-old allegedly pointed his gun at the officer and told him not to move.
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Wyoming Bear Attack Investigation Confirms: Glock had No Round in Chamber, Magazine and Pistol Found in Different Places

On Friday afternoon, the 14th of September, Mark Uptain, a hunting guide, and Corey Chubon, a bow hunter,  were attacked by grizzly bears as they processed an elk carcass. Chubon had mortally wounded the elk with an arrow, the day before, but they had not recovered it before nightfall. 

They came back the next day and followed a good blood trail to the dead elk.

They had nearly finished processing it when they were attacked by the grizzly bears. The attack started with a full out charge.  Uptain was hit by the bear first, then Chubon, then the bear went back to Uptain. Chubon fled and survived, getting help.  

The investigations have nearly finished, and some questions have been answered.  It was known that Mark Uptain's Glock 20 10 mm semi-automatic pistol was with the hunters' packs. People have wondered why the pistol was in a pack, where it did little good for defense from bears. The Glock 20 was the only firearm at the scene of the attack.

The pistol was not in a pack. Mark Uptain was wearing the Glock in a chest holster. He deliberately took off the pistol, took off his shirt, and placed both the pistol and his shirt near the two packs. Processing big game tends to be a bit messy. From wyofile.com:

Before the two began field dressing the elk, “the guide removed an automatic pistol that he carried in a chest holster as well as his shirt and left them with the two men’s packs a short distance up the hill from the carcass…” OSHA wrote in its fatal alert.

It seems unlikely that Chubon received any training about the Glock 20. When Uptain was attacked, Chubon was able to reach the Glock while the bear was engaged with Uptain.  He was able to extract the pistol from the holster. He had time to shoot. He could not make the pistol fire. From wyofile.com:

The bear hit Uptain as Chubon went for the pistol. “He said he had [the Glock],” Hovinga told WyoFile. “He had a hard time trying to find a clear shot.”

Chubon tried to shoot the bear, Hovinga said. “He grabbed [the pistol], was unable to make it fire,” Hovinga said. “There was not a round in the chamber, so the gun was empty. He couldn’t make the gun work.”

After hitting Uptain, the grizzly quickly turned and bit Chubon in the ankle.

“He swung me around in the air,” Chubon told WKMG Television in Orlando, Florida, near where he lives. That’s when Chubon threw the pistol toward Uptain.

It was “a matter of seconds” during which the bear attacked Uptain, turned on Chubon and then returned to further maul Uptain, Hovinga said.

But the Glock, “it didn’t make to Mark [Uptain],” Hovinga said. “The hunter fled.”

The report confirms speculation I made on September 24th, that there was no round in the chamber.

The Glock pistol and the magazine were found in different places. It may be that Chubon activated the magazine release in an attempt to get the pistol to work.

It is not unknown for someone unfamiliar with a pistol, trying desperately to get it to fire, to press the magazine release while attempting to deactivate a safety.

In a case twelve years ago, a client had great difficulty removing a pistol from his guide's holster.  Similar to this case, the pistol had been hung in a tree a bit away from the carcass, in that case, a moose, the client and guide were processing. The client was finally able to do extract the pistol from the holster. The grizzly bear stopped hunting the guide and came at him. He killed it with the pistol. The bear dropped only three feet from him.

In the Wyoming case, after the bear left Uptain it attacked Chubon. Chubon, unable to make the pistol work, attempted to throw it to Uptain while Chubon was being mauled. It is unknown if Uptain was ever able to reach it.  He had not reached it by the time Chubon fled to get help.

With no round in the chamber, and no magazine in the pistol, the Glock was rendered useless. We do not know if Mark Uptain ever found it.

Uptain had bear spray holstered on his hip. Chubon did not recall Uptain using the bear spray to the point where Chubon fled to get help. Uptain emptied the bear spray at some point during the fight. The 250 pound grizzly sow had evidence of bear spray on her. Mark Uptain was killed in spite of the bear spray.

Carrying a semi-automatic pistol with an empty chamber is known as carrying in condition three, terminology used by renowned gun writer, instructor, and competitor Col. Jeff Cooper.   It is also known as "Israeli Carry", because it is how Israeli soldiers are trained to carry semi-automatic pistols.

It can work well, if the user trains to always load a round from the magazine when the pistol is drawn from the holster.  As a safety feature, if an untrained person accesses the pistol and tries to fire it, they may not know how to load a round into the chamber and can be stymied in their effort to fire the pistol.

This is positive if the person accessing the pistol is an assailant. It does not work if the person accessing the pistol is trying to save your life.

The bears had not found the elk before the hunters did. The attack was an aggressive charge without warning.  People who witness an attack are often able to shoot the bear off of the person being attacked, or to kill a bear that is mauling them.  Pistols have been surprisingly effective at stopping attacks.

Bear spray has also been credited with stopping attacks, but the research has been muddied by different criteria being used in bear spray and firearm research papers.  Different  criteria were used to select incidents in the bear spray and firearm studies. Comparing the studies is inappropriate. The study authors refuse to release their data.

One problem with bear spray is it does not kill the bear. Most bears that attack humans are eventually killed. Killing them at the scene of their attack prevents further attacks.  Bears that have been sprayed have been known to repeatedly come back.

In the recent Wyoming case where Mark Uptain was killed, both bears were killed by investigators at the scene.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

IL: Resident Shoots at Burglary Suspects

RICHTON PARK, Ill. (WLS) -- A Richton Park resident shot at burglars as they invaded his home Thursday afternoon, but the suspects got away with his vehicle, police said.
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OH: Gunfight results in Manhunt

Early Wednesday morning, a property owner discovered a theft underway along the property on Evans Road. That's in the area of state Route 141 in the Waterloo community.

The property owner pursued the suspect in a vehicle, and gunfire was exchanged between the two men.
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OK: Homeowner Wounds one of five Home Invaders

TULSA, Oklahoma - Five people are in jail after Broken Arrow police say a group of intruders tried breaking into a home. But, the homeowner shot one of them.

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KY: Armed Victim Wounded, Armed Robbery Suspect Wounded

According to police, the victim was trying to pull his gun from its holster to defend himself when he was shot by the robbery suspects.

Police said the victim fired several shots at the suspects at they tried to run away and called 911 for help.

A short time later, one of the suspects arrived at University Hospital with a gunshot wound.
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MS: Man who Smashed Gun Case with Sledgehammer, Shot, Wounded

Gulfport

Workers at a downtown pawn shop say they fired shots at a robber who then found himself being shot at by police on Monday night.

The man walked into 24 Hour Quick Cash & Pawn with a sledge hammer and said he wanted to look at TVs, said a pawn shop employee who gave only his first name, John.
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TN: Domestic Defense, 78-Year-Old Father Shoots, Kills Son-in-Law who Stabbed him, Daughter

The event occurred on 20 November, 2018. 

Brentwood Police Chief Jeff Hughes said Jerry Matthews stabbed both his wife, 39-year-old Emma Teeters, and her father, Terry Teeters, 78.

Terry Teeters intervened to save Emma and shot and killed 55-year-old Matthews, according to police.

Emma Teeters was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she died from her injuries.

Matthews died at the scene, according to police.

Terry Teeters was injured during the altercation and taken to Vanderbilt. He was last listed in critical but stable condition.


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Followup NC: New Trial for Kelvin Oyakahil Irabor, Based on Self Defense Claim

The Asheville Citizen-Times reports the state Court of Appeals said Tuesday that jurors in Kelvin Oyakahil Irabor's first trial weren't told about the state's "stand your ground" law. The 33-year-old Irabor was convicted last year of murder in the 2015 shooting of Dondre Keyshaw Nelson. Irabor admitting to shooting Nelson and said it was in self-defense.

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IA: Domestic Defense, Friend uses Gun to stop Kidnapping, Abuse

The woman told police that she was able to escape from the home Friday when the man passed out from drinking. She said that she met a friend at a nearby park but that the man found her. The friend pointed a gun at the man, and he backed off. The woman and her friend then left.


The woman went to a Council Bluffs hospital and spoke to police there. The man has been booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail on suspicion of first-degree kidnapping, third-degree sexual abuse and domestic abuse.
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Followup LA: Domestic Defense Ruled Justifiable

According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, the incident happened around 1:30 a.m. on North Marque Ann Drive. Police say 44-year-old Kendral Muse was shot at the home and taken to a hospital where he later died.

"It appeared this woman was put into a situation where she was injured and was required to defend herself," District Attorney Hillar Moore said. "We believe this point as much as we know now that she took justifiable action."
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CA: Robbery Suspect found Shot

After interviewing one of the tenants at the apartment complex, Police learned of a disturbance inside one of the apartments which involved an alleged robbery. It was reported that one of the residents shot the suspect and that a second unknown male suspect fled the scene after the shooting.

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FL: State Attorney for Miami Dade, Katherine Rundle looses Grandstanding bid on "Stand Your Ground"

TALLAHASSEE — Siding with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office, the Florida Supreme Court on Monday rejected an attempt by Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle to get involved in a case about a controversial 2017 change to the “stand your ground” self-defense law.

Without explanation, justices denied a request from Fernandez Rundle to take a “friend of the court” position in the case, which is before the Supreme Court.

Fernandez Rundle asked the court for permission to “adopt” the position of the League of Prosecutors-Florida, which argues the 2017 change is unconstitutional.
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OH: Burglary Suspect Shot

WARREN, Ohio -

A Champion Township man was booked into the Trumbull County Jail wearing a hospital gown after being shot while allegedly burglarizing a home.
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FL: Domestic Defense? Ex Boyfriend shot by Current Boyfriend

A man who showed up at his ex-girlfriend’s apartment in Pompano Beach was fatally shot by the woman’s current boyfriend, investigators say.

The incident unfolded about 5:30 p.m. Sunday when Jermaine Gray, 35, of North Lauderdale went to the residence of Kemeisha Gordon, 31, — a woman he briefly dated — at the Oaks At Pompano Apartments on the 500 block of Southwest First Court.
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Followup MI: Home Invader Sentenced to 2 1\2 to 5 years in Prison

This is a plea deal where Swander gets a reduced sentence for testifying against his co-defendants.

COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) - One of the suspects involved in a home invasion on Burlew Road last March which led to a home occupant firing a gun at the intruders was ordered to serve between two-and-a-half and five years in the Michigan Department of Corrections on Monday in Branch County Circuit Court.
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911 Tapes Provide Some Answers in Oregon Murder, Self Defense Shooting

Image from ktvz.com

On 21 October, 2018, Tyler Herrick entered his neighbor's house, uninvited.
 Kyle Adams woke to find Herrick in his bedroom. He is said to have told Herrick to leave, and that Herrick did so.  Herrick and Adams were both 33-years old.

Adams called his roommate, Brennan Pebbles, who is 31 years old. Pebbles left work and came to the house.

While roommates Adams and Pebbles were talking in the front room, Herrick came back with an AR-15 type rifle, shot through the front window and killed Kyle Adams. Pebbles ran upstairs to access his 9mm self defense pistol.

Herrick shot out the window near the front door, entered, and hunted Pebbles.

Pebbles, using his 9mm pistol, shot and mortally wounded Herrick as Herrick entered the master bedroom.

The murder and self defense shooting were described in an Ammoland article about differences in mindset between armed  and unarmed people.

The audio tapes of the 911 call made by Brennan Pebbles have been released. They contain considerable information that answers some of the questions about the incident. Some things may never be known. The investigation of possible motives for Herrick is ongoing. Herrick was never in trouble with the law and had no history of violence. He acted normally up to a couple of hours before the shooting. Toxicology tests have not come back from the laboratory yet.

You can listen to the 911 call here. Some operating systems may need to listen to a second part here. In my system, both parts played at the first link. The two calls total just under 9 minutes.

Adams said Herrick had broken into the house. He had chanted numbers and gibberish. Adams did not recognize him.

Pebbles did not recognize him during the gunfight.

Brennan Pebbles called 911 after he had shot Herrick and neutralized the threat. It was probably wise to concentrate on immediate defense while being hunted, instead of dividing his attention between the 911 dispatcher and defending himself.

It makes sense to call 911 to get help on the way, but tactical considerations should override that policy. In this case, with multiple shots being fired outside and inside the house, it is likely third parties had called 911 as well.

Pebbles showed a clear understanding of how 911 calls work. I suspect he had received training or had been self-educated. When he calls 911, he gives his location first. Then the dispatcher asks for it a second time.

The 911 call illustrates the uncertainties that exist in many self defense situations. When he calls 911, Pebbles does not know if the third roommate is in the house or not, or if he has been wounded or killed. He does not know who Herrick is. He does not know if Herrick had another gun or other weapon.

The call shows it is important give the defenders description and location to the police. Pebbles did not have anyone to help him. If help is available, they can meet the police and bring them to the scene, to help them identify the defender and suspect. This is particularly useful if the defender is holding a suspect at gunpoint.

Police do not know who is who. A man with a gun is considered a potential threat.

Brennan Pebbles showed a concern for other threats and the desire to preserve evidence. He did not search the suspect, Herrick, for another weapon, but he was concerned about the possibility. That was wise. He was concerned about moving Herrick to be able to get out the door. Those concerns were recorded on the 911 call.

Pebbles was worried about the possibility of being shot by the responding officers. He asks for, receives,  and follows instructions very carefully. It is a tense situation. Two people have been shot. The police, understandably, are careful and cautious.

One technological innovation shines in this situation. It is the ability to transfer contact from the dispatcher to the officers on the scene. This allows the caller to communicate with the officers on the scene, directly, by telephone.  In this case, it allowed Pebbles to explain to the officer why he could not exit from the front door. The door lock has been damaged when it was shot by Herrick.

The ability to transfer a 911 call directly to responding officers is a capability that should be implemented everywhere. It has the potential to save lives.

Everything you say on 911 is recorded and can be used against you in a court of law. If you have help, it may be wise to have them call 911, explain what is happening, and what has happened. Be careful what you say whenever you talk to police. At the same time, it is best to be cooperative and to make sure police do not miss important evidence. Calling 911 is itself evidence of intent to be responsible and to follow the law.

In this case, all physical evidence was consistent with the information Brennan Pebbles gave on the 911 call.  Pebbles was remarkably restrained, precise, and careful in his choice of words.

Brennan Pebbles likely thought about how to handle a self defense 911 call before it happened. In an emergency, people seldom rise to the occasion. Instead, they fall to the level of their training.

Thinking about potential situations, and playing the "what if" game is a form of self-training.

The 911 call in this case from Bend, Oregon, is worth the time spent listening to it. It will help people understand the dynamics of the aftermath of a self defense shooting.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

MO: Home Invasion Gunfight, Woman Wounds, Drives off Invaders

"There was an exchange of fire between the homeowner and the suspects. The homeowner was not struck, and the suspects fled the scene," KCPD spokesman Sgt. Jake Becchina said.

A short time later, one of the suspects who was shot showed up at a nearby hospital.
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Followup IL: Fatal Shooting of Brandon Sutka Ruled Self Defense

A man was shot and killed during a domestic-related incident in Mt. Greenwood on Thursday, Nov. 15, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Police said the incident was reported at about 3:17 p.m. on the 10700 block of South Central Park Avenue.
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TX: Armed Victim Shoots, Kills, two Suspects

SPRING, Texas (KTRK) --

Two men were fatally shot outside of a Spring apartment complex Saturday afternoon. A Harris County Sheriff's Office captain said the men were killed in the aftermath of a robbery attempt.

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PA: Homeowner Shoots, Wounds Man who Threw Boulder Through Window

When he came back, the homeowner claims he picked up a boulder, threw it into the door and shattered all the glass.

“I was only eight feet from him,” Wright said, which is when he said he fired two warning shots. But Miller continued to aggressively charge toward the him.

In fear for his and his wife's life, Wright told Channel 11 he had no choice but to shoot Miller in the leg.
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SC: Neighbors fire Warning Shots, Suspect Runs Off

When they got there, they say they saw a man trying to get inside a boarded-up window, and commanded him to leave with his hands up.

Instead, the man ran toward Highway 11, and the two neighbors each fired one shot into the ground.

Nothing was stolen, but deputies say the suspect left behind a black bookbag and hat that were left behind.
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Rampage Killing in Russia and the United States form "Media Contagion Cluster"

On October 17, 2018, a student at a technical college in  the Crimean city of Kerch carried out a Columbine style rampage attack. He committed suicide at the end of his attack. He killed 20 people and wounded 70 more, many of them severely. I will not mention his name. It is included in the excerpt below.

There are very restrictive gun control laws in place in Crimea.

The murderer legally obtained a shotgun by performing all that was required, including a medical exam, and joining a local gun club. He purchased 150 rounds of ammunition a month before the attack.

In addition to the homemade bomb mentioned below, he used several homemade grenades during the attack. The bomb and grenades were illegal for him to make and use.  From cbc.ca:

Authorities have said 18-year-old student Vladislav Roslyakov carried out the attack, using a rifle and a homemade bomb to kill 20 others, including 15 teenagers and five adults. Forty others remain in hospital, many with horrific injuries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed Western influences for Wednesday's shooting at Kerch Polytechnic College, suggesting "globalization" and "social networks" are creating "false heroes" for young people and leading them to violence.

(snip)

According to Russian media reports, Roslyakov made social media posts suggesting he was inspired by the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School outside Denver that killed 13.

President Putin is not the only person suggesting that the aggrandizement of rampage shooters is a major motivator.  A paper presented at the American Psycological Society in 2016 estimated that rampage murders have doubled because of the Media and social media aggrandizement. This is often referred to as the "copycat effect". In the paper it is called "media contagion".  From the paper: 

“If the mass media and social media enthusiasts make a pact to no longer share, reproduce or retweet the names, faces, detailed histories or long-winded statements of killers, we could see a dramatic reduction in mass shootings in one to two years,” she said. “Even conservatively, if the calculations of contagion modelers are correct, we should see at least a one-third reduction in shootings if the contagion is removed.”

A German study, using the terms "amok" and "amok suicide" showed that rampage attacks occur in clusters, providing more evidence of the media contagion effect. From ankara.edu:

Therefore, it may be dangerous to report about amok events in a sensational way. The reporting may trigger the same attitude and behaviour in persons who found themselves in a similar state of mood. That it would be possible to use the media also for preventing such acts is clearly shown by some studies on media effects on suicidal behaviour.

The attack in Crimea was covered in the United States, then ignored after the rampage killing in the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania, ten days later.  The Thousand Oaks rampage shooting in California occurred less than two weeks after that.

Leftist politicians frequently say that mass killings with guns "only happen in the United States".

That is false. Even the leftist politifact ruled that President Obama was "mostly false" when he made such a claim.

The Crimea killings, The Tree of Life Synagogue killings, and the Thousand Oaks killings fall into a cluster of rampage killings. Such clusters are thought to be triggered by media contagion. 

The danger of media contagion should be raised whenever people consider ways to reduce these types of attacks.

The Media, utilizing the First Amendment, bears more responsibility for these attacks than do gun owners and the Second Amendment. In all three attacks, the perpetrators were able to obtain the firearms legally. None of the proposed legislation in the United States is as restrictive as that in the Crimea. California has some of the most restrictive firearm laws in the United States.

Attempting to prevent these attacks by limiting access to firearms in the general population did not work in Crimea. It will not work in the United States.

These clusters of rampage attacks are a media generated phenomena of our global society.

The media could do much to reduce these events by adopting a set of voluntary rules to stop aggrandizing the perpetrators.

It would be unwise to eliminate First or Second Amendment protections to address these rare events.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

MO: Self Defense Shooting Leads to Drive by Shooting?

The witness said he confronted the suspect in an attempt to get him to leave his property, at which time he noticed the suspect reached for his waistband and saw a gun. The witness then reportedly pulled out his gun and fired at least once towards the suspect.

The suspect then got back into his vehicle and left the area. A few minutes later, the suspect vehicle turned back onto Glen Owen and someone inside fired several rounds at the victim and his vehicle, according to police.
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MO: Possible Carjack Attempt, Self Defense, Investigation Continues

According to Sheriff Mark Dobbs, on Monday, Nov. 19 around 5:35 p.m., the sheriff’s office received a call of an altercation with gunshots fired in front of the Ozark Border Electric Company in the northbound lane of Highway 67.

After arriving at the scene, deputies found a man who appeared to be shot in the front seat of a vehicle and had no signs of life. The alleged shooter was present when deputies arrived at the scene.
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SC: Domestic Defense? Two Killed in Self Defense Shooting

Roddrik Gadsden, 25, was protecting himself when he left two men dead on Nov. 14, Moncks Corner Police Chief Rick Ollic said Monday.

Gadsden was jailed on a misdemeanor count of unlawfully carrying a pistol. Ollic said his department does not intend to add any charges.

“We believe he stood his ground. He acted in self-defense,” Ollic said.
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MI: Woman Shoots Aquaintance that Attacked her from Behind

The video shows one woman walks into the gas station, with the second woman right behind. The second woman then jumps on the first and starts hitting her in the head with her fist.

The first woman reaches for a pistol in her waistband and fires one shot, hitting the other woman in the lower stomach.
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Followup PA: Barbershop Shooting was Self Defense

Police say the owner was acting in self-defense when he shot the 26-year-old man at a barbershop Monday morning. WCAU-TV reports the shooting left the alleged attacker in stable condition with gunshot wounds to the stomach and groin.
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TX: Armed Homeowner Scares of Men who Wounded Victim in Driveway

The man told police he was approached by four men who stopped in the road, got out of their car and approached him. One of the men then took out a handgun and shot him twice.

The homeowner inside heard the gunshots and came outside armed, scaring the men off.
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WA: Armed Victim Shoots Would be Car Thief

Police said a 29-year-old man tried to steal a car but was shot in the stomach by the vehicle’s owner.
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TX: Permit Holder, not "Security Gurard" shot Armed Robbery Suspect

An 18-year-old robbery suspect who was shot outside a southeast Houston apartment complex this week has been charged in the incident.

Angel Alejandro Lopez Arriaga faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after the shooting about 9 p.m. Wednesday at the complex at 9988 Windmill Lakes Boulevard, just west of Almeda Mall.
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Two Executive Second Amendment Actions Available to President Trump?

What can President Trump accomplish in the wake of the 2018 mid-term elections, with respect to the Second Amendment?

The Democrats, with the aid of their colleagues in the media, have managed to take control of the House of Representatives.

At the same time, the Republicans have gained seats in the Senate, cementing their control there, especially with the retirement of Senator Jeff Flake and the death of John McCain.

Given the new reality, Donald Trump's presidency has gained some potential  and lost some potential.

The losses are real. They mean little legislation will be passed.  I do not expect any positive legislative reforms to restore Second Amendment rights to pass in the next two years. The House will work to bog down the executive branch with frivolous investigations.

The gains are real, and can be acted on. President Trump now controls the executive branch more effectively than he has previously.

President Trump can issue executive orders. He has more latitude to pick his cabinet and have his selections approved by the Senate. He can work with his new AG to clarify existing law.

The first action: 

Many 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.

The new U.S. Attorney General can issue an opinion that self defense is a lawful purpose for the carry of firearms under (3). It is hardly a controversial opinion. All 50 states and the District of Columbia issue permits specifically for people to carry firearms for the purposes of self defense.

In spite of the obvious nature that carrying a firearm for self defense is a lawful purpose, expect much wailing in the media about such a move "making us less safe". Exactly the opposite is the case. Expect some semi-retired judge in a deep blue state, most likely in the Ninth Circuit, to place an injunction on any action based on the opinion. With any luck, such an injunction would be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Second action:

Have the Secretary of the Treasury issue an amnesty for the registration of items requiring a tax stamp under the National Firearms Act (NFA).

When the Gun Control Act of 1968 was passed, the Congress concurrently passed a bill to allow an amnesty for people who had possessed unregistered NFA items. No fingerprints or tax was required.

Fill out a paper form and send it in, and your NFA item was registered.  The initial amnesty was for 30 days in 1968, from October 2nd to November 1st. The law contained a provision for further amnesties at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury. They need to be announced beforehand in the Federal Register. From PUBLIC LAW 90-619-OCT. 22, 1968, found on page 1236 of United States Statutes at Large Volume 82.djvu/1278:

(d) The Secretary of the Treasury, after publication in the Federal Register of his intention to do so, is authorized to establish such periods of amnesty, not to exceed ninety days in the case of any single period, and immunity from liability during any such period, as the Secretary determines will contribute to the purposes of this title. TITLE III — AMENDMENTS TO TITLE VII O F THE OMNIB U S C R I M E CONTROL A N D S A F E S T R E E T S ACT O F 1968

I do not believe this statute has ever been repealed or superseded. It appears to be effective law.

In 1968, there was an expectation that amnesties would be a common, regular occurrence to bring unregistered NFA items into the legal fold. No Amnesty has been announced in the last fifty years. It is past time to do so. With the current ruling by the BATFE that "bump stocks" are NFA items, all existing "bump stocks" should be included in an amnesty.

The Secretary of the Treasury should declare a 90 day amnesty for the registration of all NFA items. As a backup, because the BATFE has been transferred to the Department of Justice, the Attorney General should be ready with a duplicate declaration.

Partial amnesties have been pushed in Congress in recent years, for the purpose of registering war trophies brought home by returning veterans.

Some will argue these actions will incite the media to a greater condemnation of President Trump. I doubt the media can exceed its current level of 90% negative coverage of the President.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

MI: Disarm, Armed Robber Shot, Killed with Own Gun

Police say a botched armed robbery turned deadly when two robbers approached a man on Annott Street demanding cash. The victim was able to wrestle the gun away from one of the suspects -- killing one armed suspect and wounding the other.


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Followup IL: Suspect Peads not guilty to Felony Murder Charge

Zachery is charged under felony murder laws for the shooting death of 34-year-old Joseph McHaney of Chicago, who authorities said was shot by the homeowner — whose identity has not been released by authorities — after the man was allegedly attacked with a hammer by McHaney.

According to prosecutors and the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, Zachery and McHaney drove to a house on Teal Road in Lindenhurst in early morning hours of Oct. 16 to purchase a gun in a sale prearranged with the homeowner.
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MO: Clerk Shoots Robbery Suspect

Police said during a reported robbery of a business near 24 Highway and Jennings, the store clerk shot the would-be robber around 7:30 p.m.
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NC: Victim Shoots Armed Robber

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - An armed robbery suspect was shot by one of his would-be victims Wednesday night, according to Wilmington police.

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H.R. 7115 Bill to Outlaw Private Sales, Parts Kits, Home made guns

The Democrats in Congress have hurried to introduce restrictive anti-Second Amendment legislation.

Progressivism detests the concept of the Second Amendment in its bones.

Congressman Pallone, a Democrat from New Jersey, has introduced H.R. 7115.  The bill outlaws the private manufacture of guns by requiring a serial number be applied for, and received, before manufacture. Thus, all legal private making of guns would be recorded by the government,. The manufacture would no longer be private. The purpose is to make all legal guns fall under federal control.  From congress.gov:

To prohibit the sale, acquisition, distribution in commerce, or import into the United States of certain firearm receiver castings or blanks, assault weapon parts kits, and machinegun parts kits and the marketing or advertising of such castings or blanks and kits on any medium of electronic communications, to require homemade firearms to have serial numbers, and for other purposes.

The bill outlaws parts kits for semi-automatic firearms, machine guns, and handguns.

The bill outlaws the advertising of parts kits and *any* firearm receiver blank or casting that can be use to make a functional semi-auto assault weapon, machinegun, or handgun.

The bill has many logical flaws. Many pieces of pipe fit the definition of firearm blank that can be used to make a handgun.  Simple steel or aluminum stock does so as well.

This bill is meant to make it hard for individuals to make legal guns without being controlled by the government.

It is explicitly aimed at those who bother to follow the law.

It would have real effect on people in the gun culture. Parts would be harder to find. Making guns by yourself would become difficult and require registration with the government.

It has always been legal to make your own gun in the United States. It still is, if the gun made is not illegal to possess for other reasons. California passed a law requiring individuals making guns to obtain a serial number from the state.  Other states, such as New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, have proposed bills to do the same. This bill would indirectly require the same thing. It would require federally licensed gun dealers to create the serial number. The number is required to be unique; that could only happen if the dealers have access to a database of all serial numbers.

Enforcement of the bill is explicitly taken from the BATFE and given to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and to the Federal Trade Commission. In doing so, it deliberately places people who have no expertise about guns in charge of this gun ban.

The bill is designed to appeal to those who see no value in guns or in people being armed.  Implicit in the bill is the assumption that all guns should be known to and tracked by the federal government; that more guns create more problems; that control of the manufacture of guns by individuals is a legitimate government function, instead of an infringement on the Second Amendment.

All of those assumptions are subject to debate. They imply that infringements on the Second Amendment are desirable.

The bill makes the sale of gun parts problematic. How can it be illegal to sell a "parts kit" of 40 parts, but legal to sell two different parts collections of 20 parts each?  The logical conclusion would be to make gun parts illegal to sell.  This is the case in countries with strict gun control.  Creating a legal climate where  parts are difficult to obtain is another blow aimed at legal gun owners.

Some countries require all gunsmithing to be done by licensed gun smiths. It has always been legal to repair your own guns in the United States.

H.R. 7115 is unlikely to pass Congress. It addresses problems that do not exist in significant numbers. Gun tracing has never been an effective crime solving tool.

Gun tracing only exists as a silly compromise effected to stop President Lyndon Baine Johnson's bill to register and license all guns in the United States. That was the Gun Control Act of 1968. It has been a costly and ineffective measure.

This bill promotes the narrative that restrictions on guns are a good thing.

For people who are voluntarily unarmed, restrictions to make more people unarmed, or which only impact gun owners, appear desirable, and appear to cost them, personally, very little.

Most current gun control bills work at making gun ownership difficult. The idea is to slowly reduce the number of gun owners, to make them politically impotent.

That worked in England, where gun ownership was always a small percentage of the people. It was tried in Australia, but isn't working. Gun ownership has risen, in spite of the extreme restrictions. Brazilian voters rejected the concept in the last election.

It is not working in the United States.

People who want a disarmed population do not need logic or facts on their side. They have the media on their side. They only need to appear to have public support. In states with low populations of gun owners, that may be enough.

There are several indications overall legal gun ownership is rising in the United States. In states that require a permit to own a gun, the numbers have increased dramatically. The number carry permits is increasing and at all time highs. The number of guns sold has been breaking records. The opposite conclusion comes from some polls, where people may not wish to tells strangers they own a gun. No one knows for certain.

We live in unsettled times. There is no longer agreement on what set of ideas should govern the United States. When times are unsettled, people turn to their own resources. Owning a gun gives them more options.

Owning a gun the government does not know of is the common method of gun ownership in most nations, and, in most nations, it is illegal.  There are far more guns owned illegally, outside the United States, by individuals, than are owned legally.  In those countries, while it is possible to obtain a gun illegally, it becomes difficult to train and become proficient with one.

In the United States, the Second Amendment is intended to prevent that necessity. New Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh wrote that gun registration is not allowed under the Second Amendment. 

Registration of all lawfully possessed guns – as distinct from licensing of gun owners or mandatory recordkeeping by gun sellers – has not traditionally been required in the United States and even today remains highly unusual. Under Heller’s history- and tradition-based test, D.C.’s registration requirement is therefore unconstitutional.

 Other justices disagree.

Requiring a serial number on a gun made by an individual has virtually no function except to register that gun to that individual.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch
 

MA: Armed Witness Fires Shot after Burglary Suspect Brandishes Knife

Boyle said a witness at the scene told police that he heard the sound of glass breaking and then saw a man removing a computer case from a parked vehicle. That witness came outside and chased the suspect, who fled on foot.

Then, the witness told police, the suspect turned around in the area of 209 West Sixth St. while brandishing a knife, prompting the witness to fire a single shot, “striking no one,” Boyle said.
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TX: Domestic Defense? Son Shoots Father

Michael told Eyewitness News that his dad was violent, and that he shot his father to save his mom and himself.

"It was the only way to guarantee my mom and I's safety," Michael told Eyewitness News. "I had no way of knowing what he was capable of or what he was armed with. He could have done some very terrible things to us."
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FL: Robbery Suspect Shot by Armed Victim

According to detectives, Kelly and another suspect attempted to rob two victims in the apartment complex and during the struggle that ensued, Kelly was shot by one of the victims. He was taken to Blake Medical Center to be treated for his injuries.
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CA: Gunfight, Victim Shoots Assailant, Investigation Ongoing

The two men live in separate buildings on the same lot in the 8400 block of Wells Street in Rosemead, according to Sheriff’s Homicide Lt. John Corina. He said one man is 55 and the other 51.

The shooting took place in the bedroom of the younger man, Corina said.

The two got into an argument on Wednesday. Corina said the older man, who might have been under the influence of a drug, thought the other man was spying on him.

The 51-year-old denied the accusation and was shot in the leg, Corina said. He said the wounded man shot his assailant who died at the scene.
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How to shoot Wolves from an Airplane Video of Interview with 100-Year-Old Roy Eykamp

Roy's friend, Pete Peterson holds up a couple of wolf hides in Canada

Roy Eykamp is 100 years old and living in NSW, Australia. Shortly after WWII, Roy hunted wolves from a light, ski-equipped airplane in Ontario, Canada. He had tremendous success. He partnered with Harley Rauch, a famous South Dakota pilot.  Hunting wolves from an airplane while mere feet off the ground was a dangerous undertaking. Roy nearly died in a crash.

I was fortunate enough to interview Roy. In the video, he explains the technique used to hunt wolves from the air, how the crash occurred, and how he survived.

Link to Video  The video is 12:01 minutes long.



Minimum wage in 1951 was 75 cents an hour. Roy Eykamp and Harley Rauch received a $25 bounty on each wolf, and sold each wolf for $25 to native Canadians. They pocketed $50 a wolf. They brought in 51 wolves in two weeks, or over $2,550 dollars. It does not sound like much, but in 1951, gold was $35 an ounce. $2,550 was 72 ounces of gold, or the equivalent of $84,600 today.


John Macfie corroborates the story with a blog post from his duty as a wildlife management officer in Ontario at the time. Unfortunately, he mixes Harley Rauch and Cliff Foss in a few details. It was Foss that flew solo, not Rauch, and Rauch flew the Aeronca, not Foss.

Roy Eykamp was Rauch's gunner when they racked up the big score of wolves in 1951.

Roy details much of the hunt in his auto-biography, "Oh, What Have I Done"

The number of wolves harvested by Roy and Harley brought media attention. A newspaper article was syndicated across the United States and Canada. It was titled something like "2 South Dakota Hunters Get 51 Wolves", and probably was published in February or March of 1950, 1951, or 1952.  The Ontario papers might be the best source for the article. I have not found it.

If any reader finds the newspaper article, an image would be appreciated, or at least a date and a source. Contact Ammoland if you find it. Such history is being written out of the modern schools. We can preserve it on the Internet.

Roy explains some of the flying skill involved. The pilot would attempt to get close to the running wolf, often just a few feet off the ice of a frozen lake.  Flying low and slow is very dangerous. It is better to be a bit faster, to give you a chance to avoid obstacles and gain altitude. Roy almost lost his life because of a pilot without sufficient skill.

Crash where Roy Ekamp was almost killed in Canada while hunting wolves.

Harley Rauch was considered one of the best pilots of his day.

Roy was not flying with Rauch when the crash happened. A less experienced pilot stalled out his plane at low altitude, and caused the crash. Roy and the pilot survived what should have been a fatal circumstance. They were 25 miles from any help. Roy says his guardian angel was looking out for him.
Wolf bounties are derided today. They are part of the strategy that worked for a hundred years in the United States and Canada.  Valerius Geist, a Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science at the University of Calgary, explained how the myth of the "harmless & romantic" wolf was created. He believed in the myth for all of his career, but reality forced him to change his views.

Wolf bounties, trapping, shooting, and snaring of large predators, was an integral part of wildlife management for over a hundred years.

There were reasons that large predators were not tolerated in populated areas.  There were reasons why large populations of predators and other game animals are incompatible. If you wish to read all the details, read Professor Geist's paper. Those reasons are as valid today as they were 150 years ago.

Roy Eykamp has lived a remarkable 100 years, so far.



©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

PA: Legislator Had gun Ready to Stop Intruder, Armed Neighbor Held Man for Police

“At 4:00 AM I woke up to pounding somewhere on the side of the house, followed by frantic bell ringing of the kitchen door bell,” Ward wrote in a “totally true, almost” Facebook post just before 7 a.m. Sunday. “As any red-blooded American woman would do I jumped out of bed (and) grabbed my gun... When I got to the kitchen I knew the situation was under control because my brother was standing by the kitchen door aiming his cane and ready to pounce.”

Soon after the scare at Ward’s mother’s home, Anthony M. Buchanan, 24, of Washington, was arrested at another house nearby. He’d allegedly forced his way into the attached garage, where the homeowner held Buchanan at gunpoint until a township police officer spotted them.
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TX: Security Guard Shoots Car Burgler who Pointed Gun at Him

Police say multiple suspects were breaking into cars at an apartment complex when a guard spotted them. The guard approached, and that’s when one of the suspects pulled a gun out and pointed it at him.

The security guard also pulled his gun and shot the suspect in the leg. The other two suspects ran to a maroon car and got away.

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OR: Homeowner Shoots Intruder, Police Investigating

TIGARD, Ore. (KOIN) -- An intruder was shot to death by the owner of a small townhouse in Tigard early Wednesday while 2 teenagers were at home.

Tigard police said the homeowner called 911 around 7 a.m. to report the trespasser. When officers arrived at the home on SW Sage Terrace, the suspect, later identified as Jose Luis Gonzalez Jr., was dead.

Gonzalez was 41.
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Followup CO: No Charges for Felix Gallegos in Self Defense Restauant Shooting

ANTONITO — A Colorado restaurant owner who shot an intruder inside the business will not face criminal charges for the man’s death.

Prosecutors say a jury likely would find Felix Gallegos was entitled to defend himself under Colorado law and they could not prove otherwise.
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Followup OR: Audio Tapes of 911 Call Detail what is Known of Murder and Self Defense Shooting

Bend Police say the former G5 employee, who had no criminal record and had recently gotten a puppy, stalked strangers in his east Bend neighborhood with an AR-15 rifle, killing Kyle Adams, 33, before being shot by 31-year-old Brennan Pebbles after entering the neighbor’s bedroom.

Pebbles has declined to discuss what happened. The 911 emergency call he made moments after shooting Herrick, offers a first-person description of the deadly encounter and fills gaps in its murky timeline. The Bulletin obtained the audio file, which was split into Part 1 and Part 2, from authorities.
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Followup GA: Shooting in Park was Self Defense

A man acted in self-defense when he fatally shot another man at a northwest Atlanta park Saturday night, police said.

Based on the investigation, police are treating the shooting as self-defense and have not made any arrests, police spokeswoman Lisa Bender said Wednesday in a statement.
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WA: Store Owner Pulls Gun, Knife Man Runs Away

The owner of Hai's Mini Mart on N. Market tells kxly4 exactly what he did after a robbery suspect pulled a knife on him Tuesday night.

"He said, 'Give me money!', and then I knew exactly what to do," said Tan Ho, the store owner who happened to be behind the cash register Tuesday night. "I pulled out my gun - like this - and I pointed it right at him, and he ran."
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OK: Domestic Defense, Tulsa Woman Shoots Ex who Assaulted Her

The homeowner told officers her ex-boyfriend knocked on her front door. When she opened it, he pushed his way inside her house.

The woman told police he physically assaulted her, so she grabbed her pistol and shot him.
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Followup IL: Fatal Shooting of Henry Ratcliff Jr rulled to be Self Defense

An investigation into a shooting that fatally wounded a man Sunday night during a domestic-related altercation in the Austin neighborhood has been closed after investigators determined it was committed in self-defense.

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CA: Domestic Defense? Intruder killed and Homeowner may have Known Same Woman

An Alhambra man shot and killed an intruder in his home Sunday night, police said.

Investigators on Monday continued piecing together the circumstances surrounding the deadly shooting, which took place about 11:20 p.m., the Alhambra Police Department said in a written statement.
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Study: Media Coverage Doubles Number of Mass Shootings

A paper presented to the American Psychological Association (APA) found the number of mass killings, rampage killings, or "mass shootings", may be doubled by irresponsible  media aggrandizement of mass killers. The desire for fame was found to be one of the main motivators of these rampage killers. From apa.org:

“Unfortunately, we find that a cross-cutting trait among many profiles of mass shooters is desire for fame,” she said. This quest for fame among mass shooters skyrocketed since the mid-1990s “in correspondence to the emergence of widespread 24-hour news coverage on cable news programs, and the rise of the internet during the same period.”

She cited several media contagion models, most notably one proposed by Towers et al. (2015), which found the rate of mass shootings has escalated to an average of one every 12.5 days, and one school shooting on average every 31.6 days, compared to a pre-2000 level of about three events per year. “A possibility is that news of shooting is spread through social media in addition to mass media,” she said.

“If the mass media and social media enthusiasts make a pact to no longer share, reproduce or retweet the names, faces, detailed histories or long-winded statements of killers, we could see a dramatic reduction in mass shootings in one to two years,” she said. “Even conservatively, if the calculations of contagion modelers are correct, we should see at least a one-third reduction in shootings if the contagion is removed.”

She said this approach could be adopted in much the same way as the media stopped reporting celebrity suicides in the mid-1990s after it was corroborated that suicide was contagious. Johnston noted that there was “a clear decline” in suicide by 1997, a couple of years after the Centers for Disease Control convened a working group of suicidologists, researchers and the media, and then made recommendations to the media.

“The media has come together before to work for good, to incite social change,” she said. “They have done, and they can do it. It is time. It is enough.”

Media personalities such as Don Lemon often decry these rampage murder events, and claim more restrictions on guns are needed. But the latest rampage murder in California took place in a polity where the restrictions were already in place. Those restrictions failed.

In contrast, armed citizens can stop rampage killings. In Tennessee, a young black father stopped a rampage shooting, using his legally carried self defense pistol. More than two dozen rampage killings have been stopped by armed citizens.

The FBI found  8% of active shooter attacks during 2014-17 were stopped or mitigated by concealed handgun permit holders. John Lott reports the FBI only recorded half of the cases where armed citizens stopped mass killers during that period.

The number of people with carry permits is increasing. In 2017, 7.14% of adults had carry permits.

Don Lemon, of CNN, is part of the problem. By aggrandizing rampage killings, he is, in effect, promoting more of them.  He could reduce rampage killings by calling for restraint on the part of the media.

The media benefits from rampage killings. They obtain ratings and money for aggrandizing rampage killing and rampage killers. They satisfy their political desires by calling for more restrictions on law abiding gun owners, even though the evidence shows those restrictions are not effective in stopping rampage killers.

Will Don Lemon and other media outlets work to reduce rampage killers by toning down the rhetoric? It seems unlikely. Reducing the killing is not to their financial advantage.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

PA: Barber Shot Man who Assaulted Him

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A fight inside of a North Philadelphia barbershop ended in gunfire on Monday, but authorities say the owner of the shop claims the shooting was in self-defense.

Surveillance video from an adjacent business shows the man who was shot stumbling down the 2600 block of Germantown Avenue, with the assistance of a woman.
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TX: Domestic Defense, Wife Shoots Husband who was Beating Her

Earlier, a woman called an area constable’s office saying her friend’s husband threatened them both with a handgun. She said she was able to run away to safety but that her friend was still at the home.

While deputies were on their way, another woman called from that home requesting help, saying she’d shot her husband.

Deputies found that woman bleeding from her face, while her husband Theus was bleeding and unresponsive in the master bedroom.
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IL: Suspect Shot, Charged with Aggravated Battery, for Incident on the Red Line

 The suspect, Roy Lee, was shot. He managed to disarm the shooter, who had a concealed carry permit. Lee then pistol whipped the shooter with the shooter's gun. This all occurred on the Red Line in Chicago.

On Sunday, police said the man who was shot, Roy Lee, 38, was charged with aggravated battery/use of a deadly weapon.

Police said the other man had a concealed carry license. It's not clear if that man will be facing charges.

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TX: Nicholas Daniel Shot, Killed During Fight at Another Man's Residence

The homeowner said he observed Daniel open the front door of the residence while looking for him. The homeowner then allegedly came from behind his house and both men got into a physical altercation.

Deputies say the man shot Daniel several times with a handgun.
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WA: Domestic Defense, Grandpa Shoots, Kills, Grandson

A 78-year-old grandfather shoots and kills his grandson after he reportedly got physical with his mother, said the Renton Police Department.
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