WA: 54-Year-Old Shoots Suspect who Charged at Him

Paramedics with the Aberdeen Fire Department transported the injured man to Grays Harbor Community Hospital. The 54-year-old who fired the shot told investigators that the other man was attempting to steal his vehicle and when confronted ran at the homeowner.
More Here

TX: Man Shot, Killed, Attempting Burglaries

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - One man is dead after an attempted burglary in Central Lubbock, where police report he was trying to burglarize homes and vehicles in the area.

More Here

Followup TN: No Charges for Montarius Bean in Shooting Death of Alijah C. Williams

Metro Nashville police said Montarius Bean admitted to shooting 18-year-old Alijah C. Williams after the victim allegedly showed up at his family’s home, kicked his way in, and acted in a threatening manner.
More Here

NC: Armed Customer Shoots two Armed Robbers

Two men entered the business dressed in all black clothing wearing masks and gloves. Both men showed a handgun and held the cashier and two other people inside the business at gunpoint as they robbed the store.

One of the customers was armed and shot at the two robbers.

Investigators said they believe the two suspects were struck by the customer’s gunfire. The customer’s name is not being released at this time, according to the press release.
More Here

OR:No Charges for Jesse McCrea in Self Defens Shooting of Matthew J. Cortez and Jesse Swift

SELMA, Ore. — A man was cleared by a Josephine County grand jury Thursday in the shooting deaths of two men after it was determined the shooting was self-defense.

At about 12:30 a.m. on July 27, Oregon State Police responded to a shooting on Highway 199 near Reeves Creek Road in Selma.
More Here

AL: Armed Robbery Victim Shoots, Kills 1, Wounds 1

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – A robbery victim who was lured to a Muscle Shoals home killed one of the suspects and wounded another, police said Monday.

Malaviee Hawkins was killed when he attacked a man at a home in the 2200 block of Gusmus Avenue around 4 a.m., Muscle Shoals Police Chief Clint Reck said.
More Here

How many Guns do the Yellow Shirts in France Have?

There is a mass movement in France that is spreading around the world. The French government of President Macron is reeling. The protests have been successful in stopping implementation of a "green" tax on fuel. Police have been out in mass.

How many guns do the Yellow Vests have? They are probably not carrying any, by choice. They have plenty of guns available, but the situation and tactics do not call for them.

The Small Arms Survey estimates how many guns are in private hands around the world.

France has about 20 privately owned firearms per 100 people. Of those, two thirds are unregistered and thus, illegal.

Hunting is popular in rural France. That target shooting and collecting account for about 4.5 million guns. Small Arms Survey lists 8.2 million guns as illegally owned. Many of those are guns that were squirreled away from the wars that have swept over France during the last century. The vast majority of guns in France are in the hands of the population represented by the Yellow Vests, which is to say, the middle class, and especially the middle class outside of Paris.

In democracies, such as France, governments are swept aside long before the stage of armed revolt. The government of President Macron is already teetering, and not a single shot has been fired by the Yellow Vests.  The President of the Phillipines, Marcos, was swept aside without an armed revolution, in 1986. Even the Soviet Union was swept away without an armed revolt, in 1989-91.

There is always the potential for a democracy to be taken over by totalitarian thugs. Venezuela is a case in point. The Venezuela government has been able to purge the military and buy their loyalty with reliable food and money.  In general, in democracies, there does not appear to be sufficient separation of the military from the population to create the requirements for armed revolt.

All other democracies seem far from Venzuela at this time.

Where privately owned guns shine is in restoring local order when government order fails. It is part of the premise of the Second Amendment in the United States Constitution.

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

As we have seen, over and over again, in national disasters in the United States, armed local militias spontaneously create themselves to fill the gap and restore order when government fails.

It works particularly well in the United States because of a long history of self government and self organization.

Civil government is not about to fail in France. Police unions have been reported as considering supporting the Yellow Vests. The Macron government has responded by passing a pay increase for police.  Separate the police and the military from the people enough, and you set up the potential for armed revolt. It will not happen in France for a considerable period, if it ever does.

If massive, obvious, repression happens in France, those 8 million illegally owned guns will come into play.

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

Gun Watch

MO: Domestic Defense Gunfight, Father Shoots, Wounds, Son

NORTH ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) -- A 25-year-old man was hospitalized after his father shot him in reported self-defense during a family dispute on Christmas night in Baden, Mo.

Police said a fist fight occurred between two brothers at a home on the 1200 block of McLaran around 9:40 p.m. The 45-year-old father of the two sons attempted to break up the fight, when one of his sons pulled out a handgun and attempted to shoot the father, but missed.
More Here

TN: Domestic Defense, Ex Boyfriend Breaks in, Attacks Family Member, is Shot, Killed

The gunman's mother said she told Williams to leave and began to put some of his belongings, which the family had been storing, on the front porch. During the commotion, the shooter and his brother came up from a downstairs den and confronted Williams, according to Metro police.

Williams reportedly punched him and then walked to his car saying that he “had something for them.” The family was concerned Williams was going to arm himself.
More Here

MO: Gunfight, Victim and Suspect Wounded Multiple Times

Police Chief Terry Zeigler tweeted that two suspects tried to rob a man in the 1600 block of Birch Street. One of the suspects pointed a gun at the victim, but the victim pushed it away, pulled out his own gun and shot the robber “multiple times.”

The victim of the robbery was also shot “several times” in the leg. Both are expected to recover.
More Here

CT: Pit Bull Owner Shoots Own Dog to Stop, Prevent, Attack

Police said the man's dog, a pit bull, attacked the other dog and caused serious injuries.

The owner of the pit bull told officers that he thought his dog might attack the children so he pulled out his legally licensed gun and shot and killed his dog.
More Here

TX: Homeowner Chases Burglary Suspect, Shoots Police Officer During Struggle

A homeowner is facing charges of his own after shooting a local police officer while fending off a burglar early Monday morning, according to a McAllen Police Department press release.
More Here

TX: Strip Club Shootout with Police Officer, No Charges

Image from sbd

At about 9:30 p.m., at the All Stars Gentlemen's Club parking lot in San Antonio, Texas, a barber and a police officer got into a gunfight. Both were seriously wounded, and a female witness was wounded with a bullet crease to her head.

The police reported the incident was caused by road rage. That seems to be correct. The barber was cut off by the police officer. They both pulled into the parking lot. They both got out of their vehicles.  Then the gunfight happened.

Initially, the story from the police was the barber opened up on the police officer, who was shot six times, but managed to crawl back to his vehicle, obtain a firearm, and return fire, wounding the barber and the witness. The barber and the officer both ended up in the hospital, and both survived. From foxsanantonio.com:

UPDATE: Investigators say the off-duty officer, the suspect and the injured passenger are expected to survive, although the officer remained in critical condition. They are all being treated at University Hospital. The officer and the suspect underwent surgery early Wednesday morning.

There was more to the case. The barber, Demontae Walker, was from Chicago, and had opened a barber shop in San Antonio.  He had no criminal history. His father's name is Desmond.  From mysanantonio.com:

Desmond Walker, a 47-year-old machine operator in west Chicago, is left trying to reconcile the police department's account of his son's actions and his own knowledge of his son.

"He just got married. Just had a baby and got a house. He opened up a barber shop in his brother's name. That's who he was," Desmond said. "That doesn't fit the profile of a maniac or a habitual criminal."

As the police investigated the incident, they found the police officer was drunk at the time of the gunfight. He was disciplined, removed from his police academy position, and suspended without pay for 15 days. From ksat.com:

Rios was cited for his profanity-laced exchange with Walker and because he had consumed alcohol to a point where he was "rendered unfit to report for duty," according to the suspension order. Off-duty officers are prohibited from drinking to an extent that renders them unfit to report for duty.

The case was referred to a grand jury in Bexar County. On 14 December, 2018, the grand jury refused to indict.  From foxsanantonio.com:

"After considering the evidence presented against Demontae Walker, the grand jury did not return a true bill of indictment for any criminal charges," the Bexar County District Attorney's Office said in an email Friday.

Walker's attorney says that Demontae Walker never changed his account of what happened. Walker says he got out of the car to attempt to calm the off duty officer down.  In Walker's account, the officer,  Rios, pulled his gun first. Walker shot Rios in the legs, then immediately went to his (Walker's) car and called 911. It is undisputed that while Walker was calling 911, he and the witness were shot by Officer Rios through the car's closed window.

The physical evidence supported Walker's story. Rios said he shot through the window because he was afraid Walker was reloading. Testimony showed Rios had five mixed drinks immediately before driving to the strip club and getting into the altercation with Walker.  Walker was driving to the strip club to drop off his wife's cousin, who worked there.

Demontae Walker is paralysed from the waist down. He has a 9 month old baby and a young wife. He can no longer support them. From ksat.com:  

"My client's life is ruined," Adams said. "He cannot perform his job anymore. He's got a 9-month-old, married, he cannot support either of them. It was a horrible event."

Currently, Walker and his family are living with a relative outside of San Antonio, as he is no longer able to support himself.

Although Walker's life has drastically changed because of the shooting, Adams said Walker has not brought up filing a civil lawsuit.

The story reminds me of grand jury verdicts in the Old West, when two men got into a shootout. Very often, juries would return a verdict of not guilty, by reason of self defense. Very often, alcohol was involved. In this case, as often happens in gunfights, both parties were seriously wounded.  People should avoid gunfights if they can.  Maybe Demontae Walker could have avoided this fight. It is not clear. He had a legitimate reason to be where he was. He had his wife's cousin to worry about.
It appears alcohol clouded the officers judgement. Officer Rios could almost certainly have avoided the gunfight. Officer Rios was almost killed, but had a complete recovery. His career is in doubt.

According to ksat.com, the district attorney has not made a decision as to whether to bring Officer Rios before a grand jury.

Demontae Walker could legally have a pistol in his car in Texas. He was in the process of obtaining his concealed handgun license when the gunfight took place.

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

Gun Watch

FL: Son Shoots Burglar who took Xbox and TV

A West Jacksonville man told investigators he shot a burglar outside his home, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

It happened in broad daylight on Woodstock Avenue.

Theresa Perkins said her 22-year-old son was the shooter.
More Here

AZ: Armed Clerk Shoots Suspect, Stops Phoenix Crime Spree

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) − The Phoenix police are investigating a series of armed robberies that left one victim and one suspect hurt early Monday morning.

Police say a man and a teen boy attempted to rob a 7-Eleven near Seventh Avenue and Indian School Road just before 2 a.m.

They say the clerk foiled the attempt after shooting the man. With his accomplice wounded, the teen suspect fled the scene, police said.
More Here

WA: Theives confronted by impromptu Militia of Armed Citizens

They didn’t expect to be surrounded by about six customers with guns raised.

One customer was standing in front of the car, yelling at the alleged thieves to get out.

“He won’t shoot, run him over,” one of the suspects reportedly said.

The driver pulled forward, causing the man confronting him to land on the hood, court papers say.

Another customer shot at the driver’s side front tire, according to documents. A third fired twice at the rear tire.

More Here

TX: Rare Gunfight on Freeway

another male, in a separate vehicle, began firing at the two. The male who was in the vehicle with the female then began firing back at the suspect. The male driver in the vehicle with the female suffered a gunshot wound and was taken to UMC by private vehicle
More Here

TN: Domestic Defense, Father Shoots Son

Responding officers found Greg Bratcher attempting to give aid to his son. Investigators believe at this time that Greg Bratcher was acting in self-defense when he shot his son, and no charges are being filed at this time.
More Here

"Successful" Baltimore Gun "buyback" Secret: Offer more than Market Value

Semi-automatic rifles turned in at Baltimore Gun "buyback"

Baltimore Maryland spent a reported $250,000 dollars to purchase over 500 unwanted guns in a "buyback" program.

Buyback is an Owellian propaganda term. You cannot buy back things you never owned in the first place.

The Baltimore program was "successful" in that it collected over 500 firearms to be destroyed. It "worked" for two basic reasons.

First, it offered more money than most of the guns were worth on the open market.

Second, the state of Maryland has made it difficult to buy and sell guns legally and privately. There was little competition for the few guns brought in that were worth more than the government was offering. The inconvenience factor of finding a legal buyer, gave incentive to people who wanted to dispose of a gun.

Most of the guns turned in are those seldom used in crime. Paying $200 for semi-automatic .22 rifles that cost $99 and less when new (and are still widely available for less than $150) is stupid and counterproductive.

One gun collector in a wheelchair brought in a rusty old bolt shotgun barreled action. It might be worth $10 at a gun show. He got $100.

Image from Fox45 Baltimore

People were paid $100 for revolvers that were turned in. Most of those pictured were worth $50 or less on the market.  Several were inexpensive RG models that cost less than $30 when new.

One 80 year old woman brought in a revolver worth maybe $30.  She will get $100 for it. Many of the people bringing in guns were older women who did not want to deal with the firearms. It is a common story. The husband dies, and the widow gets rid of the guns. Sometimes collections worth tens of thousands of dollars are given to police, simply to get rid of them.

Image from FOX45 Baltimore

Most of the guns were inexpensive older .22 rifles and inexpensive old shotguns. Many of them seem of doubtful utility or reliability. The were likely hunting guns that belonged to the grandparents of the current Baltimore residents.

What does the City of Baltimore get for its quarter million dollar investment?

Camera time on the news, and virtue signaling that "guns are bad".

One woman was frank about her motivation in turning in her inexpensive 9mm.

The woman is going to use the $200 to purchase a bigger, better gun.

The "buyback" paid out $25 for magazines that held more than 10 rounds for rifles, or 20 rounds for pistols. Few pistol magazines hold more than 20 rounds, and they are expensive. Many standard rifle magazines hold more than 10 rounds, and they are cheap. They can be had for $10-15, as low as $4.99 on the used and surplus market. The program would only pay for two magazines per person.

Numerous academics have pointed out how ineffective these programs are. From Freakonomics:

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.

It seems unlikely the propaganda from the program will be effective.

How will future historians treat such programs. Will they see them as sacrificial rituals to the god of "Whirled Peas" ?

Some say it is better for politicians who want the population disarmed, to spend this money on foolish programs, than to be used on enforcement of gun bans.

It probably does not matter. To the politicians, it is other people's money, and they do not see it as running out.

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

Gun Watch

PA: Man Threatened by "Friend" Shoots Same

Police say a 24-year-old man showed up at his friend's home.

The homeowner said he shot his friend once in the stomach after being threatened.

More Here

LA: LSU Football Players Shot Robbery Suspect in Self Defense

Two LSU football players involved in a fatal shooting Saturday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were the victims of an attempted robbery who acted in self-defense by shooting the man who was allegedly trying to rob them, Baton Rouge police said Sunday morning.


More Here

FL: James Jarvis Attempts to enter House, is Shot

The sheriff's office investigated and determined that Jarvis has been at a nearby bar. After leaving around 1am, he arrived at the home on Mayflower Street around 2am and tried to enter the rear of the home. Deputies say the homeowner told Jarvis to leave. When Jarvis refused and entered the home, the homeowner shot him
More Here

TX: Chair and Gun overcome Armed Robber

Houston police received reports around 8:45 p.m. of an aggravated robbery at the McDonald's at 12020 Northwest Freeway. The male suspect was shot in the shoulder and chest area by a customer after another customer threw a chair at him. He then drove himself to a local hospital in a black sedan.
More Here

FL: Man Shot and Killed Attempting Break-in

A man who police say was breaking windows and trying to get into a home off Old St. Augustine Road near Interstate 95 was shot to death early this morning, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

More Here

LA: Armed Robbery Suspect shot by Armed Clerk

A robbery suspect was critically wounded when he was shot Friday night (Dec. 21) at a New Orleans East auto-parts store, New Orleans police confirmed.

Police responded just after 6 p.m. to a call of shots fired in the 9300 block of Chef Menteur Highway and arrived to find a robbery victim had shot a suspected robber, the NOPD said late Friday. The NOPD did not indicate whether the robbery victim is affiliated with the store.
More Here

NY: Federal Judge, Obama Appontee: Second Amendment Protects most Arms, Nunchakus

On 14 December, 2018, a New York District judge, Pamela K. Chen, an Obama appointee, has struck down a ban on nunchakus, as unconstitutional.

Consider the timeline and history of this ban and its demise.

In 1974, in response to "Kung Fu" movies, New York banned the possession, manufacture, transportation and transfer of Nunchakus. Nunchakus or "chuka sticks" were made into a prohibited weapon by statute.

The New York ban followed the process for weapons bans in the United States. The process has been this:

1. Demonize the weapon to be banned in the Media by citing a few anecdotes, not backed up by statistical evidence.

2. Push for a ban in the legislature, based on the media anecdotes, backed up with selective testimony by a few law enforcement officials.

3. Ignore protections on the right to keep and bear arms at the State and Federal level.  Opposition is unorganized. Support for a particular weapon (slung shot, machinegun, switchblade, gravity knife, sap, nunchakus, ballistic knife, stun gun) is weak. Media support for a ban is strong. The Media promotes the ban as "common sense".

4. Include exceptions for law enforcement.

5. Pass the bill with accolades from the media.

Twenty six years later, a New York lawyer and amateur martial artist, James M. Maloney,  was outraged by the idiocy and injustice of the law. The law did not allow him to teach his own sons, in the privacy of his own home, a martial art he had developed using nunchakus. He was charged with possession of nunchakus  in his home.  Nunchakus are commonly used in martial arts training in 45 states.  Three years later,  he filed a lawsuit against New York. The case takes 15 years.

2003. Plaintiff filed the suit against the Nassau County District Attorney, claiming the law violated the Second Amendment. This was before the Supreme Court upheld the Second Amendment in the Heller decision in 2008. Maloney is a lawyer and an amateur martial artist.

2007. The case was dismissed by the trial judge. Maloney appealed.

2008. Supreme Court affirms the Second Amendment with the Heller decision.

2009. The dismissal was upheld by the Second Circuit.  Maloney appealed. The Supreme Court grants a write of certiorari (agrees to hear the case).

2010. The Supreme Court finds the Second Amendment applies to the states in the Mcdonald decision

2010. The Supreme Court vacates the Second Circuit judgement from 2009 and sends the case back to the Second Circuit.

2010. The Second Circuit remands the case back to the District Court.

2013. The case is transferred from the original judge, to Judge Chen.

2017-2018. A bench trial is held.

Present. Judge Chen finds the law unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. Maloney wins - at least until New York decides to appeal.

Judge Pamela K. Chen's decision is well written and clear. It takes apart the process used to create many infringements on the Second Amendment. It relies heavily on the decisions in Heller, McDonald, and Caetano from the Supreme Court and on the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Cuomo decision at the Second Circuit, from 2015.

Here are important findings in the decision, directly cited as precedent from other decisions:

The burden of proof is on the government.

The government has to prove a particular class of weapons is *not* covered by the Second Amendment. All bearable arms are presumed to be covered. There are limited reasons to exclude Second Amendment protection from a class of arms.

The government must have evidence a particular class of arms is *not* covered. It cannot just state the arms are "dangerous and unusual", not in common use, or particularly suited to crime instead of lawful uses by ordinary citizens. From the decision:

Moreover, unlike a sawed-off shotgun, gun without a serial number, or pipe bomb—weapons that courts have found to be outside the ambit of Second Amendment protection—nunchaku have no special propensity for unlawful use. Fyock v. Sunnyvale, 779 F.3d 991, 997 (9th Cir. 2015). In fact, its intended use as a weapon for recreational martial arts practice and training appears to greatly outstrip its use in crime.

Lawful use is not limited to self defense in the home. It includes recreation and all lawful uses. 

Note the clear logic in the decision about use in crime. To fail to be under Second Amendment protection, the government has to show, with evidence, that lawful use of the arm is uncommon compared to criminal use.

"Common use" has become “opaque and contradictory” in the lower court decisions. Showing an arm is not "commonly used" is insufficient to bar it from Second Amendment protection. The court relies on whether the arm is typically possessed for illegal use. From the decision:

Defendant cannot simply prove that nunchakus are not in common use in order to rebut the prima facie presumption of Second Amendment protection; Defendant must show that the “typical possession” of nunchakus is for an unlawful purpose. Id. at *3 & n.3. Notably, neither the parties nor the Court has “identified a single case in which a court has found that a bearable arm is outside of the scope of the Second Amendment simply because it is not in ‘common use.’” Id. at *2 (collecting cases).

To show an arm is excluded from the Second Amendment under the dangerous and unusual provision in Heller, it must show the arm is both dangerous and unusual.  All arms are considered dangerous, therefore the government must show the arm is "unusual".

This is a difficult burden to prove. Nearly all current weapons bans fail this test. Exceptions could be things like backpack nuclear devices, pipe bombs, poison gas, and biological weapons. They are not typically used for lawful purposes. This case did not address the keeping and bearing of arms specifically for military purposes.

Interest balancing is specifically forbidden. Most of the decisions in the circuit courts are based on interest balancing. That approach was decisively forbidden by Heller. It has been ignored by several circuit courts. The Supreme Court has refused to take a case to rebuke the lower courts. Most of the circuit court bans rely on an interest-balancing tests that start with "the government has a clear interest in ..."

The meaning of Longstanding is unclear in the lower courts, but must be from the middle of the 20th century or before.  A statute created in 1974 falls outside of longstanding.

The logic of the court, in this decision, destroys the typical media-legislative process used to pass infringements on the Second Amendment.

Mere anecdotal stories in the media are not evidence of typical criminal use.

Most weapons are used far more commonly for lawful purposes than for crime.

Lawful purposes include every lawful purpose, not just self defense in the home.

The burden of proof is on the government, not the citizen. The government may not simply say "we have good reason to ban this" without evidence.

Few weapons bans in the United States can survive if the above standards are applied.

Will this case be appealed by New York State, back to the Second Circuit?

New York has elected a radical leftist as the Attorney General, Letitia James. James has said she proposes to investigate President Trump, all his family, and all his associates in the hope of finding crimes they can be prosecuted for.  James has been radically anti-Second Amendment.

Letitia James has stated she will use her position to go after the National Rifle Association and gun manufacturers.  Her focus has been on guns, not on other weapons such as nunchakus. She might decide not to appeal. Letitia James takes office on 1 January, 2018.

The current attorney general could decide to appeal. The State of New York has 30 days to appeal the decision. 

We should know by Monday, January 14, 2019.

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

Gun Watch

NC: Armed Homeowner Shoots, Kills Armed Man attempting to Break In

On the scene, deputies found 21-year-old Silvestre Begley dead in the front yard from a single gunshot wound.

The homeowner said Begley was armed and tried to get into the home. The homeowner said they shot Begley in self-defense.

Deputies do not think Begley and the homeowner knew each other.
More Here

KY: Grand Jury, No Charges for Man who Shot unarmed Bank Robber

Under KRS 503, if a person believes that he or another person is in imminent danger of death, serious physical injury, kidnapping or rape, he can use deadly force to protect himself or the other person.

Det. Chris Smith, who handled the shooting incident in the Dec. 7 robbery investigation, said Ledrick Edwards, 39, of Bardstown, was not armed when he held up the WesBanco branch at 315 N. Third St. However, the man who shot at Edwards thought he was armed and felt threatened, so he discharged his weapon.

Police have not named the shooter.

According to reports by police and the prosecutor, the man’s wife was inside the bank when the robbery occurred, and he was outside with their little girl, who was in the vehicle. When Edwards exited the bank, he ran toward them, and the man got the gun from the vehicle and fired. Edwards then dropped the money and ran.
More Here

AR: Armed Neighbor Stops Attack on 77-Year-Old, too late

The 77-year-old was in the fetal position on his door step. His 40 year old son, Kendall was right behind him.

Rogers believes Kendall busted in the back door and attacked his father with a brick. His father then ran to Rogers house and banged on the door before laying on the porch.

"[Kendall] was getting ready to hit him with another rock, brick or something and I told him if he do, I'm a put one in him," Rogers said. He had a small firearm with him.

"And I fired off a shot... and then he stepped on back," he described on his front porch.

Rogers called 911. Joseph was taken to UAMS where he later died.

His son Kendall was arrested for his murder.
More Here

NC: Man Shoots Attacker Durning Robbery/Sale Arranged Online

Another man agreed to buy it, but ended up attacking the seller. The seller tried to defend himself and shot the attacker. Police have not said if the shooter was arrested.

The injured man was taken to Carolinas Medical Center to be treated for very serious injuries.
More Here

TX: Car Burglary Suspect Shot Resisting Citizen's Arrest

A suspected vehicle burglar shot in the head Thursday by a west Bexar County homeowner has been identified as a 38-year-old man.

Josue Hugo Castillo is charged with burglary of a vehicle. His bail is set at $2000.

The homeowner caught Castillo, scouring his car at about 3:15 a.m. outside his home in the 1000 block of Sundance Fort. He approached the Castillo with his weapon drawn, officials said.

More Here

MO: Concealed Carrier Saves Police Officer, Receives Award

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A Springfield man was recently given one of the top honors in the state from law enforcement. Jerry Pendergrass is a conceal carry owner who turned citizen cop in a life or death situation. Springfield police and the Missouri Police Chiefs Association awarded Pendergrass the President's Citizen Award.

His quick action helped save an officer potentially from getting shot.

More Here

FL: Neighbor Shoots, Kills Man in Domestic Violence case

Investigators said she went to the home of neighbor Brian Scruggs, 50, but William followed her inside without permission.

"Brian Scruggs, the homeowner, confronted William and asked him to leave multiple times, at which point Brian defended himself by shooting William," sheriff's office spokesperson Benecia Holder wrote in an email.
More Here

Followup SC: George Jacob Shine found Justifed in Fatal Shooting of Joseph Frey

After facing a murder charge for three years, 34-year-old George Jacob Shine was found not guilty by reason of self-defense in general sessions court at the Sumter County Judicial Center Monday.

Shine, a Florence native, was on trial for the fatal shooting death of Joseph Frey, 70, who was reportedly shot twice during an argument at a residence off Narrow Paved Road on Nov. 17, 2015.

While responding to an emergency call, a deputy from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office spoke to Shine and his brother, Travis Jones, who said Shine had been shot in the chest by Frey.

Shine also said he shot Frey twice with a rifle after the firearm was first used by Frey to shoot him, according to an incident report.
More Here

OK: Walgreens Employee Shoots, Kills Armed Customer/Suspect

It is unclear at this time who shot first, but the Walgreens employee, who has a concealed-carry license, hit the suspect and killed him.

While the suspect was falling to the floor, his gun went off and a bullet grazed someone else in the store, officers say.
More Here

OH: Grand Jury finds Shooting Death of Terry W. Benson Jr. , Justified

After reviewing all of the evidence in this case, the grand jury determined that insufficient probable cause existed to support the filing of criminal charges against Kettlewood and returned a "no bill," Iarocci said.

"It appears the primary basis for the grand jury's decision is that Mr. Kettlewood's use of deadly force by shooting Mr. Benson was justifiable since he exhibited a bona fide belief and had reasonable grounds to believe, even if mistaken, that he was in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and his only means of escape was by taking the life of Mr. Benson," Iarocci said in the release.
More Here

SC: Person Shot, Killed Attempting Break-in

ANDERSON, S.C. —

One person who tried to break into an Upstate home was shot and killed Wednesday night by the homeowner, Anderson county deputies said.

The shooting happened at a home on Chauga Drive behind the Walmart on Highway 28, deputies said.

Deputies said at least two people tried to break into the home and one was fatally shot.

More Here

Followup VA: Judge finds Dawn Marie Guilliams Justified in fatal Shooting of Jonathan Dewayne Hutdhison

Dawn Marie Guilliams, 39, of Catawba shot and killed Jonathan Dewayne Hutchison of New Castle near the Catawba-area intersection of Virginia 311 and Newport Road (State Route 624) in May 2017. She was arrested and charged five months later.


Guilliams pleaded not guilty to voluntary manslaughter. A jury trial had been scheduled for Roanoke County Circuit Court four separate times this year — including as recently as Wednesday morning — but all were withdrawn.
More Here

Followup KY: Domestic Defense, Mother-in-Law Justifed in Fatal Shooting of Son-in-Law

A Barren County grand jury declined this week to indict a woman who shot and killed her son-in-law on Nov. 30 at her home along Peters Creek Road.

Mark Adam Bellamy, 29, of Park City was pronounced dead at the scene after authorities found him with a single gunshot wound. His mother-in-law, Tracy Wyatt, shot Bellamy following a family dispute at the residence, according to the Barren County Sheriff's Office.
More Here

AL: Domestic Defense? Man Shot by Woman

About 3 a.m. Wednesday, two different people called 911 to report a shooting in the 100 block of Buddy Williams Road. Murphree was one of the callers, Shaw said. Murphree told dispatchers he had been shot.

Around the same time, a woman now identified as Elyssa Nelson, called 911 from a neighbor’s home to report she “had been held” and had shot a man, Shaw said.
More Here

The South Dakota Legislature is moving to Repeal Prohibitionon Capitol Carry

The Speaker of the House in South Dakota has sponsored a bill to allow concealed carry in the South Dakota Capitol and any county court house, with an enhanced pistol permit.

It is part of a movement to restore the exercise of the Second Amendment to mainstream status. According to a study done at the Crime Prevention Research Center in 2017, 16 state capitols have arrangements for the legal carry of firearms in the Capitol, generally for those who have a concealed carry permit.  Six states only allow legislators and/or staff to legally carry.

The 16 states are: Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The six states that restrict carry to legislators and staff are: Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia


Representative Lee Qualm, the Majority Leader in South Dakota, has filed bill HB1129. A companion bill, SB 77, has been filed in the Senate.

No texts exist for either bill at present.  It is expected they will be very similar, if not identical to the bill vetoed by Governor Daugaard in 2017.

In 2017, HB 1156 was passed 46-20 in the House.  It passed the Senate, but was vetoed by Governor Daugaard. Here are the relevant changes that bill would have enacted. From HB 1156 (2017) :

            (4)    The possession of a concealed pistol in the state capitol, other than in the chambers of the Supreme Court, by a person who was issued an enhanced permit pursuant to § 23-7-53 and who has registered, at least twenty-four hours in advance, with capitol security. The registration is valid for the length of time indicated by the permit holder, not to exceed thirty days, at which time the permit holder may submit a new registration. No fee may be charged for registering to carry;

            (5)    The possession of a concealed pistol in the state capitol by a qualified law enforcement officer or qualified retired law enforcement officer pursuant to the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, 18 U.S.C. § 926B and § 926C; or

The effect of the registration is that anybody who has a little forethought and knowledge of the law, and who has an enhanced carry permit, will be able to carry in the Capitol.

It is not clear if the registration with Capitol security has to be done in person at the capitol.  It prevents the ordinary tourist who has not thought ahead, from carrying in the Capitol.

HB 1156 was far from a perfect bill, but it was a step toward restoring the legal exercise of Second Amendment rights.

With a new governor,  Kristi Noem, the bill may have been changed to be less restrictive. The bill sponsor, House Majority leader Lee Qualm has said the bill is similar to HB 1156 from 2017.

Governor elect Noem is expected to be more supportive of the Second Amendment than Governor Daugaard. From tribtown.com:

A spokeswoman for Noem said in a statement that Noem is a strong Second Amendment supporter but won’t commit to legislation until she can review its text. Incoming Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden voted for the 2017 bill as a state representative.

The bill changes very little, as a practical matter. The South Dakota Capitol does not have metal detectors or security checks at the capitol entrances. If a person carrying a defensive firearm is discreet, no one notices and nothing is done.

Passage of the bill would change the exercise of Second Amendment rights in the capitol from illegal, with slight danger of prosecution, to legal and approved.

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

Gun Watch

NC: Panhandler Shot after he Attacked armed Citizen

The panhandler had outstanding warrants for probation violations.

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - Police say an “aggressive” panhandler was shot in downtown Wilmington after attacking a man Monday night.
More Here

CO: Rancher's Son Shoots loose Dog who was Harrassing their Cows

I believe, in all states, owners are responsible for the actions of their dogs. In all states, farmers and livestock owners are legally allowed to protect their livestock from loose dogs.

Monday night, Demon had gotten out of its yard, slipped under a neighbor’s fence and began harassing the neighbor’s cows. The rancher’s 20-year-old son then shot Demon twice with a rifle.

Ballard said Demon loved to play with their other puppy. He was gentle and curious and had merely escaped from the yard to explore. He says he can’t believe the puppy posed a danger to a cow.
More Here

PA: Retired Marine Disarms Robbery Suspect in Bar

Altoona police said a retired Marine Corps combat veteran disarmed a man trying to rob a bar early Tuesday morning.

According to police, a black man walked into Ajay's Bar on Maple Avenue sometime around 1 a.m and attempted to rob the bar. Police said the retired Marine, who was bartending, was able to disarm the robber while he was handing over money from the cash register.

Police said the two got into a struggle, and one round was fired from the gun. Neither of them were hit by the bullet, but police said they believe the suspect has obvious facial injuries from being hit with the gun.
More Here

FL: Man Shoots Car Thief Suspect

According to detectives, the ordeal began when a man tried stealing a Mercedes G-Wagen from a car wash near the 1200 block of 18th Street, at around 10 a.m., Tuesday.

“We received a 911 call indicating there was a shooting,” Miami Beach Police Officer Ernesto Rodriguez said. “The owner or driver of that vehicle sees him doing that and discharges his firearm at that vehicle.”

The accused car thief then crashed into an Office Depot across the street. A hole in the side of the building remains under repair, Wednesday afternoon.
More Here

TX: Homeowner Shoots, Wounds, Intruder

A homeowner in Fort Worth shot and critically wounded a man who he believes tried to break into his home early Wednesday morning, police say.

More Here

New Jersey Law Reverses Ban on Tube Fed .22 Rifles

On June 13, 2018, the New Jersey Legislature ratcheted down its already dubious ban on standard capacity magazines of more than 15 rounds. The new infringement banned possession of standard capacity magazines of more than 10 rounds. The law was immediately challenged in court.

On 5 December, 2018, a three judge panel of the Third Circuit ruled the law was Constitutional, because the Second Amendment is a second rate right in the Bill of Rights.

The previous law in New Jersey had banned semi-auto .22 rimfire rifles with tubular magazines that held more than 15 rounds.  It was enacted in 1990.

The 1990 law effectively banned numbers of common .22 rimfire hunting rifles in New Jersey. Those included many Marlin model 60 versions, .22 short versions of the Browning semi-auto, Remington 552 rifles, Remington 550 rifles, and any other .22 rimfire with a tubular magazine that holds more than 15 rounds of .22 ammunition.

The law was not a paper tiger. In 1993, Joseph Pelleteri had one of the Marlin .22 rifles that he had won in a contest at a police department. The magazine held 17 rounds of .22 Long Rifle. He was convicted of illegal possession of an assault weapon. He appealed. The appeals court upheld his conviction.

The Judge presiding over his case refused to even inform the jury that Mr. Pelleteri claimed he never read the owners manual and had no idea that the rifle was subject to the "assault firearms" ban and the appellate division affirmed the decision: "Defendant's failure to inspect the weapon or read the owner's manual to determine whether it fell within the statutory definition was unreasonable as a matter of law. We find no error in the trial judge's refusal to submit the issue to the jury."

In 2018, banning .22 rifles with tubular magazines that held over 10 rounds would turn huge numbers of owners of .22 rifles into felons, overnight. It never bothered the New Jersey legislature before.

Someone with a little bit of knowledge managed to insert a change in the law that makes sense.

Instead of continuing the ban on .22 rimfire semi-autos that can hold 15 rounds or more, they removed the magazine limit for .22 rimfire semi-autos with tubular magazines. Here is the new law. From njleg.state.nj.us (bold added):

(4) A semi-automatic rifle with a fixed magazine capacity exceeding [15] 10 rounds. “ Assault firearm” shall not include a semi-automatic rifle which has an attached tubular device and which is capable of operating only with .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.

(snip)

 y.  "Large capacity ammunition magazine" means a box, drum, tube or other container which is capable of holding more than [15] 10 rounds of ammunition to be fed continuously and directly therefrom into a semi-automatic firearm. The term shall not include an attached tubular device which is capable of holding only .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.

The law effectively repealed the 1990 ban on numerous .22 sporting rifles.

It is too late for Mr. Pelleteri and others. They won't get back their lost freedom, tens of thousands in legal costs, or their right to keep and bear arms. For 28 years, from 1990 to 2018, gun owners in New Jersey have been victimized by a silly law passed by an ignorant legislature.

The current law is being appealed to the Supreme Court. There is a small chance the court will take the case (grant certiorari).

If they do, there is a good chance they will rule the whole massive infringements of the New Jersey magazine bans as unconstitutional.

That is what should happen. In the last ten years, since the McDonald decision, the Supreme Court has declined to grant review to at least 88 Second Amendment cases, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.  The Court only accepts about 80 cases each year, about one percent of the cases filed for Supreme Court review.

Maybe the Court will grant a writ of certiorari for the New Jersey case. It is not the way to bet.

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

Gun Watch

Followup AL: Shooting of Lyndell Miller ruled Justified

Just hours before he was killed, Miller had posted that he was thankful to see another holiday. Miller posted these words on Facebook at 6:52 p.m.: “I’m just happy I seen another Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for everybody God put in my life and every situation He put me through. All is well.”

Birmingham police Sgt. Johnny Williams on Friday said the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office ruled the shooting death justifiable and no charges will be filed against the man who shot Miller.
More Here

TX: Man Shoots, Wounds, Suspected Car Theif

At approximately 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, Lubbock Police officers responded to a shots fired call in the 4400 block of 85th Street. Officers were advised that a male came outside to find multiple suspects stealing his vehicle. The vehicle owner then fired multiple shots at his vehicle as the suspect fled the area in the stolen car.
More Here

Shooting of Criminal by Citizen not Reported by Police

Image from Google maps

On 7 December, 2018, at about 7:45 p.m., the owner of the Alibaba's convenience store in Syracuse, New York shot and wounded an armed robber. The robber ended up in the hospital. The story made the news.

A local reporter for syracuse.com, Patrick Lohmann, investigated the story and wrote it up. While doing a followup, Lohmann discovered the store owner had shot another robbery suspect six weeks earlier.

That story did *not* make the news. From syracuse.com:

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A tobacco shop owner who shot and badly injured a would-be robber Friday night at his North Side store also shot at and possibly injured a would-be robber six weeks ago at the same shop at the same time of night.

The owner of Alibaba Market on Wolf Street confirmed that he'd been involved in two shootings in as many months during a brief interview at his store on Saturday afternoon.

(snip)

Syracuse police did not announce an arrest in the Oct. 30 case or issue a news release, which is unusual in cases where shots are fired or someone is arrested in a robbery.

Police said there is a record of a "robbery" at the Alibaba Market at 7:25 p.m. on Oct. 30, but the case is "sealed," said spokesman Sgt. Richard Helterline.

When Lohmann asked around the neighborhood to find out what happened, he got this story from two separate sources:

Baker said the owner told him that the robbers later called the police, confessed to the robbery and sought medical attention. One of the robbers had a gunshot wound to the hip, the owner told Baker.

The owner declined to comment on whether he had hit anyone he shot at in the Oct. 30 robbery.

Baker and another neighbor -- who declined to be identified but said he got the same account of the Oct. 30 robbery from the owner -- said police returned the owner's weapon in the days after the failed robbery.

"Good thing he got it back in time," Baker said.

There is a significant gap between the number of defensive gun uses researchers find in surveys, and defensive gun uses recorded by police or in various media.

Numerous surveys show defensive gun uses in the United States of between 500,000 and three million a year.   Only 353 justified homicides were recorded, by citizens other than police, in the FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) for 2017. The UCR shows 429 justified homicides by police in 2017.

Studies of media reports show that justified homicides by non-police are reported in the media at least five times more often than are recorded in the UCR. There are numerous structural reasons for this disparity. The UCR has a very restrictive definition of justified homicide. Recording data in the UCR is voluntary, for starters.

A Washington Post project on police shootings, showed justified homicides by police are reported in the media more than twice as often as are recorded in the UCR.  In 2017, the Washington Post found 987 fatal police shootings; the UCR recorded 429.

Fatal shootings are the most likely to be known, reported, and recorded.  The FBI uniform crime reports miss the vast majority of justified homicides. Justified homicides are the smallest category of defensive gun uses.

Those who claim the survey numbers of defensive gun uses (dgu) are too high, use the lack of official reports to claim defensive gun uses are rare.

This story illustrates the problem with that claim.

The store owner did not want his name in the media.

No one is required to report a dgu to police.

Police are not required to record a dgu in police reports.

Police reports are not required to be released to the media.

The media is not required to publish defensive gun uses.

No one keeps national statistics on defensive gun uses.

Police are not required to report non-crimes to the FBI, the media, or anyone.

There are compelling reasons for people to avoid reporting defensive gun uses.

There are strong incentives for wounded criminals to claim a wound from a defensive gun use was accidental or the result of a criminal attack.

In numerous locations, people do not want to be involved with the police in any way.

Over the years, I have had many people tell me of their personal defensive gun uses.  The vast majority of them occurred with no shots being fired.  The vast majority were credible. Only one of them (with no shots fired) reported the incident to the police.  It was never reported in the local media.

In one case, an older man in his 80's (15 years ago) told me, when I pressed him for specifics, that he had shot and (presumably) killed, two people in separate incidents 50 years earlier. The incidents were not reported to the police. They involved attempted robberies in "bad" parts of cities. The rendition of the events appeared credible. The information was extracted by detailed questioning. It was not volunteered.

My friend Tex (George) Ferguson, the second most decorated U.S. Army veteran of WWII, and a likely CIA operative, told me of shooting and killing three men who attacked him in the early 1970s.

It was in a bad part of a major city, that he was unexpectedly detoured into. It was such a bad area, the police refused to go there when the shooting was reported.

Tex reported the shootings to the local police chief. They were never recorded in the UCR or police records. They were never described in the media. No one ever came forward to press charges. Tex described the incident in detail. He become close friends with the police chief. They maintained correspondence and visited each other over the years.

The point of these anecdotal reminiscences is to illustrate that large numbers of defensive gun uses are never officially recorded, either in police records or in the media.

I find the survey results of a million or more defensive gun uses a year to be credible, because of my personal experience and anecdotal evidence told to me over decades.

It is not scientific, but it credibly explains the vast difference between the strongly repeatable survey results and official and media records.

Large percentages of people in the United States gun culture have had the same experience. They find significant numbers of defensive gun uses to be credible, because they have friends and relatives and neighbors who have told their stories to them. Many millions have their own experiences to relate.

Very few make the news.

Very few are shared outside the gun culture.

Large numbers of people who are not gun owners do not know anyone who owns a gun.  Defensive gun use has been actively suppressed in the major media. Non-gun owners never heard of defensive gun uses, and believed they were mythical.

If a person has actively chosen to be unarmed, they do not wish to hear of defensive gun uses. It upsets their world-view.

Second Amendment supporters have learned to get around the old dominant media, to publish defensive gun uses on the Internet, and to discuss them on talk radio. It is changing public perception, and the debate about reforming gun laws.

I recommend defensive gun uses be reported to the police.  The record will probably not make the news or the UCR. It can protect you if the aggressor decides to accuse you of an attack.

As a practical matter, cameras and recorders everywhere make the idea of walking away from a shooting impractical and legally dangerous, even in a "bad" part of town.

Tell us of your defensive gun use. We all need to know about it.

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

Gun Watch 

TX: Gunfight, Business Owner and Suspect Shot

At 1:43 p.m., police received a call about a shooting at a business on the 5500 block of Bonner Drive, just off Staples Street. Lt. Michael Pena said two masked men entered the business with weapons and the business owner fought back. 

The owner shot at the suspects, hitting one, before being shot twice himself.

More Here

FL: Disarm, Business Owner Shot, Disarms Attacker, Shoots Same

The business owner fought back and wrestled the gun from the customer and shot the customer at least three times, police said.
More Here

Draconian Gun Control Does not Reduce Gun Numbers or Homicide Rates

Craft-made pistols in India

A large number  people who wish to disarm the population start with the premise "If there weren't any guns", as if, with extreme restrictions on owning and using guns, guns will eventually go away.

Under extreme legal restrictions, the number of guns have increased.

I recall a prominent talk show host in southern California, wailing about confiscated guns being sold: "But if that happens, we will never be rid of guns!" he cried, as if his wish were plausible.

Guns are a 700 to 100 year old technology. Guns can and are being made, in homes and small shops around the world, that are beyond state control.

Firearms have had extreme legal restrictions imposed over most of the planet. The United States is exceptional, with the Second Amendment. Most governments allow only small numbers of their people to legally have firearms.

People under those governments actively resist those laws. In spite of a century and a half of stringent restrictions on gun ownership, the number of guns in private hands has risen significantly.

The Small Arms Survey has created the best estimates of the number of small arms in private hands in other countries of the world. The number increased from 650 million in 2006 to 857 million in 2017.

Most people will accept the Small Arms Survey as a legitimate source. They are based in Switzerland, and have, as  their mission:

Our main objective is to reduce the illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons and their impacts.

To achieve this objective, we generate policy-relevant research and analysis, and provide both resources (publications, podcasts and a wide range of relevant outputs) and services (training and capacity-building).

Small Arms Survey tries to objectively gather data, although their mission has an inherent bias toward disarmament.

My estimate for firearms in civilian hands in the United States in 2017, was 418 million. The Small Arms Survey estimate was 393 million.  A six percent difference is close agreement in these hard to know numbers.

Severe gun restrictions were implemented in India, under the British Raj. It happened very quickly after the mutiny/insurrection in 1857. The law was codified into statute in 1877. There have been 160 years of strict controls on the ownership of firearms in India.

What country that has the most firearms in civilian hands after the United States? According to the Small Arms Survey, it is India. Only 13.6 percent of those guns are legally owned.

Citizens of India are said to have 71.1 million firearms in private hands, with 9.7 million of them being registered, and thus legal.

A Small Arms Survey paper reported that in India,  2.5 million illegal craft-made guns are manufactured annually. 53,272 were reported to have been confiscated in 2014. The quality of craft-made Indian guns has been improving from simple single shots to semi-automatic handguns.

This is not surprising. The education of Indian citizens is improving, as is access to electricity and machine tools.

The Small Arms Survey estimates only 12 percent of firearms owned by civilians in the world are registered.

The next largest number of privately held firearms is in China, at nearly 50 million!  Only 1.4 percent of those are registered. Education and industrialization in China have been increasing. The Small Arms Survey reports that craftsmen in the Songtao Miao Autonomous County in Guizhou province make black market semi-automatic pistols for about $45 each. In the coastal cities, they sell for about $1500.

Only small numbers of guns are needed for criminals to use them in crime. Violent criminals are a tiny minority in all cultures.

Brazil has very strict gun control laws.

According to the Small Arms Survey, Brazil has 8.29 total firearms per 100 people. Of those, illegal firearms are over half, 4.52 per 100. China has 3.53 illegal firearms per 100 people. India has 4.58 illegal firearms per 100 people.

The United States has more than 120 firearms per 100 people. It is hard to say how many illegal firearms are in the United States. Few firearms are illegal in the U.S.A. Very few firearms in the United States are registered or required to be registered.

Brazil has roughly as many illegal firearms per person as India or China. The United States has a private firearm ownership rate, per 100 people, 14 times the rate of both legal and illegal firearms ownership in Brazil.

Ten percent of the murders committed, in the world, are committed in Brazil.  The vast majority of them are committed with illegally owned firearms. There were four times as many murders in Brazil as in the United States, in 2017. Brazil's population is smaller.

The comparison of firearms ownership in India, China, the United States, and Brazil is illustrative of two things.

First, the number of legally owned firearms has little to do with the number of illegally owned firearms.

The United States has about a hundred times as many legally owned as illegally owned firearms. Brazil has roughly the same number of legally owned as illegally owned firearms.  India has about six times as many illegally owned as legally owned, and China has about 74 times as many illegally owned firearms as legally owned.

Second, the number of firearms per person has no correlation with the number of homicides.

Brazil, India, and China all have roughly the same number of illegally owned firearms per 100 people.  The homicide rates vary from six times the rate of the U.S. (Brazil) to 2/3 the rate of the U.S. (India) to one eighth the rate of the U.S. (China).

These numbers verify the research of John Lott, which shows there is no correlation between homicide numbers and the number of guns owned per 100 people. Lott's study compares all the countries in the world he could obtain data from. (from 2014)

Consider the first point: there is no correlation of the number of legally owned guns to the number of illegally owned guns. This alone shows that legal restrictions on guns does not reduce the number of illegally owned guns.

Making guns hard to legally own and use does not reduce the homicide rate. It does not reduce the number of guns owned illegally.

The hard evidence, from 160 years of highly restrictive gun control laws, is they do not affect the murder rate or the number or rate of illegally owned guns. Governments have not been able to confiscate illegally owned guns faster than people are able to make, buy, steal or smuggle guns to add to the illegal stockpile.

The idea that gun control works by limiting the number of guns, and thus reducing crime is false. Demonstrably false.

The studies that purport to show a correlation, suffer from various forms of statistical sleight of hand. They limit their study scope to short time periods and/or geographic areas. They limit the homicides counted to those committed with guns. They create artificial definitions of "developed nations" to cherry pick what numbers to look at.

Making guns hard to legally own, at the whim of a government, is a form of virtue signaling. It sends the message: Guns are bad.

It has nothing to do with crime or the homicide rate. It has nothing to do with the numbers of illegally owned guns. The theory that restricting legal gun ownership reduces crime rates is false.

Well governed societies have low crime rates. Some have few restrictions on gun ownership, some are very restrictive. It does not change crime rates.

There may be a few hundred thousand or a hundred million legal gun owners. It does not matter. There is no correlation between legally owned guns and homicides or crime.

The similarities of the number of illegally owned guns in Brazil, India, and China, and the enormous differences in homicide rates, from 30.9 in Brazil, to .63 in China (per 100,000) shows that illegal gun ownership is inconsequential compared to cultural, political, and other factors.

Gun control is not about homicides or safety. It is about telling you what the ruling establishment want you to think.

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

Gun Watch

MI: Knife Beats Gun in Mortal Combat

Detective Sgt. Robert Moody said the seller and Trent met at Magnolia and Anthony Streets around 8 p.m. Monday. At one point Trent pulled out a handgun and struck the seller over the head. The seller then pulled out a knife and stabbed Trent. The Dearborn Heights man then remained at the scene and called 911. Moody said it appears Trent never intended to purchase the video game console and the seller claimed he stabbed Trent in self-defense.

“It sounds like it turned into a robbery,” Moody said. “There was some bickering over the money.”

The gaming system was advertised through Letgo, an online sales website. The men involved in the confrontation never knew each other, Moody said.

The seller arrived at the scene with his 19-year-old girlfriend, who remained in the car during the entire incident.

More Here

Followup CO: No Charges for man who Accidentally Shot Wife

“Charging… is not the right or just outcome”, wrote Bechtel, ”Therefore charges will not be filed in this case.”

The heavily-redacted letter does not reveal the name of the man or his wife, who fully recovered from the shooting and “has no lingering effects from this incident.”
More Here

IN: Fatal Shooting likely Self Defense

Before cops arrived, a neighbor ran over to help. He didn't want his name used, but said the suspected gunman told him he had no other choice but to shoot.

Chuckie Bauman ran over, too. He knows the victim and he's a friend of the gunman. They talked.

"He was, like, 'He reached for it.' The kid was known to carry a gun'," Bauman said. "He's got a gun on him right now."
More Here

Followup FL: Domestic Defense, James Greenwood Found not Guilty of 2014 Fatal Shooting of Stepfather

James Greenwood was charged with the first-degree murder of his stepfather Al Jones in 2014.

Greenwood testified that he shot Jones in self-defense. He told the jury Jones had a long history of violence and anger.
More Here

TX: Gun Beats Rock and Multiple Attackers

The driver told police the five men got out of their vehicle and threw a rock through his car window, striking him in the head.

Police investigators said the driver, who has his concealed handgun license, got out of his car and began shooting at the men, who fled on foot. None of the bullets reportedly struck the men as they fled.
More Here

WV: Woman with Gun Stops Potential Crime/Scam

Little ran to her room, grabbed her gun, and called 911.

"As I was on the phone with 911, the guy starts banging on my door," she said.

After Little told the people she'd called 911 and had a gun, they got back in the van and left.

"My heart kind of dropped," she said. "I was crying."

In the days leading up to Christmas, she'll be keeping her gun within quick reach in case of any return visits.
More Here

GA: Gunfight, Intruder Shot, Killed, Resident Wounded

When agents arrived, they found Damien Burch, 28, dead from gunshot wounds. Nattiyana Hudson, 20, was also shot in her right arm and treated at Dodge County Hospital in Eastman.

Burch was at the home earlier that day and left to go to his own home. Later, he came back and entered the home on Bowen Street without permission and got into an altercation with Hudson, who resides at the home, and a guest, Lenworth Welsh II, 23.
More Here

FL: Man Murders ex-Wife's Lover, is Shot at by Witness

During the shooting, an unidentified bystander, who deputies say is a concealed firearm permit holder, intervened and exchanged gunfire with Tirone. Tirone fled in a black Mercedes Benz SUV on State Route 44 Eastbound.

Deputies say they pursued Tirone at a high rate of speed and attempted to use tire deflation devices on the roadway to end the chase, however, Tirone maneuvered around them.
More Here

FL: Teen Thief Shot Fleeing Jewelry Store

The teen tried on jewelry, then ran out of the store with the jewelry, according to Sheriff William Snyder. The suspect got into a car, driven by a 16-year-old male.

A store employee saw the crime unfold and opened fire on the vehicle, striking the 17-year-old who stole the jewelry, Sheriff Synder said. That teen is now in critical condition at Lawnwood Regional Medical Hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to the Sheriff's Office.
More Here

AR: Shooting of Tresspasser under Investigation

The family member told investigators he noticed movement in between pieces of equipment. Unsure of the person’s intentions and whether or not the subject had a weapon, the family member shot one round, the sheriff's office said.

Pevehouse said the subject was hit and held at gunpoint by the family member until deputies arrived. The injured man was taken to Baptist Health in Fort Smith, where he was scheduled to undergo surgery on Thursday. He was listed in critical but stable condition.
More Here

AL: Burglary Suspect Shot by Armed Resident

Police said a resident at Elevation Apartments off Columbiana Road confronted and shot a suspected burglar. The suspect was taken to UAB Hospital with unknown injuries. The resident was not injured.

More Here

Followup MI: After Mistrial, Troy Taylor Pleads to Voluntary Manslaughter to Avoid more Prosecution

The judge overseeing the murder trial of a Bloomingdale man who said he shot in self-defense declared a mistrial Thursday. The defendant, Troy Taylor, entered a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter shortly after the mistrial declaration.

Prosecutors added the charge of voluntary manslaughter in the case after the mistrial was declared. Prosecutors offered Taylor a deal of voluntary manslaughter with a maximum seven years prison with all other charges dismissed.
More Here

MO: Home Invader Shot by Armed Resident

Police confirm one person was shot when three people broke into an apartment at the Essex Place Apartments on West Battlefield in Springfield Thursday afternoon.

The three intruders reportedly assaulted two people living there.

A resident of the apartment tells police he fired at a man who was robbing him.
More Here

CA: Firefighter with CCW shoots Armed Robbery Suspect

Ukiah Police Department's Lt. Cedric Crook has confirmed that the man shot tonight at the Ukiah Subway was allegedly attempting to rob the sandwich shop before he was shot.
More Here

TN: Teen Theives Confronted, Gunshots Exchanged

The first man confronted the people, and that's when the neighbor heard gunshots. The group ran from Coachouse Cove, as seen on surveillance footage.

One of the suspects fled to Craigmont Drive. Police said another man saw the suspect and tried to stop him, but the suspect opened fire.

The man then shot back in self-defense, and the suspect fell down but ended up getting away.
More Here

IN: Gunfight, Armed Robbery Suspect, Victim both Wounded

“The robbery victim grabbed his gun and they started fighting in the vehicle in very close quarters over that gun,” Lawrence police Deputy Chief Gary Woodruff said.

During the struggle, police say the car crashed into a nearby fence. Both men then exited the car.

“Unbeknownst to the robbery suspect, the victim had his own firearm and so they engaged in an exchange of gunfire,” Woodruff said.

Woodruff said the suspected robber, identified by police as 18-year-old Derrick Hart, was shot twice. The victim of the intended robbery was also shot but is now home recovering.
More Here

CA: Aggressive Dog Shot by Bicyclist, with Owner's Permission

The police department reports the homeowner’s dog began attacking one of the bicyclist’s dogs.

After unsuccessfully trying to pull the dogs apart, the bicyclist, who was legally armed, told the woman he would be forced to shoot her dog. She told him that would be OK and he fired his gun at the dog.
More Here

Followup MI: No Charges for Legally Armed Woman who Shot, Killed, Tany Marie Davidson

A 40-year-old Taylor woman who fatally shot an acquaintance acted in lawful self-defense and will not be charged.

“After a thorough review of the facts and evidence the warrant has been denied because there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the shooter committed a crime, and that she was not acting lawful self-defense,” a release from the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office read.
More Here

MI: Neighbor shoots Pit Bull in Defense of Self and his Dog

A homeowner who didn't want to be identified said his neighbor, Steve, shot and killed the pitbull.

"I heard a pop, pop again. I came out here and police started showing up. Steve shot the neighbor's dog because it was in the backyard, attacking his dog."

This neighbor said that Steve told him the pitbull dug a hole underneath the fence separating Steve's and it's owner's backyard, and then attacked Steve's 9-year-old Brittany-mix, Ellie.
More Here

More TX: Homeowner Who Shot Thief was Protecting Property

Texans are justified in using deadly force to stop theft of property at night. Many states do not allow the use of deadly force in this way.

SAN ANTONIO - A Southwest Side homeowner who shot and killed a suspected burglar early Tuesday morning was protecting his property, according to San Antonio police.

"It's unfortunate but it did cost the suspect his life," Police Chief William McManus told reporters after the shooting. "It simply boils down to a man trying to protect his property in the dark of night."
More Here

TX: Armed Homeowner shoots one of two Home Invasion Suspects

HOUSTON - A homeowner is being interviewed after police said he shot one of two men who broke into his east Houston home.

According to authorities, the men tried to break into a home on Pearl Street and Wiggings Street Wednesday around 4:40 a.m. when the homeowner heard them and shot.
More Here

Followup FL: Gideon Fusner Found not Guily in Shooting of Three Men

On Friday, a jury found a Pensacola man who shot three people, killing two of them, not guilty of murder.

Gideon Fussner, 20, was acquitted of two counts of second-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery after a two-day trial.

On Dec. 11, 2017, Fussner shot and killed Julius Lewis and Raymond Martinez at a residence in the 200 block of Weis Lane. He also shot and wounded a third individual named Ranlondis McDowell.
More Here

FL: Shooting of Kevin L. Williams likely Self Defense

LEESBURG — On Monday, after talking with prosecutors, police released the man who shot and killed another man at his home on West Main Street, giving credibility, possibly, to a claim of self-defense.

But police said Tuesday they found no second gun, although the shooter said he fired because it appeared the other man was reaching for a weapon.
More Here

OH: Homeowner Shoots Burglary Suspect Vehicle, Stops Crime Spree

An attempted burglary turned into a manhunt after a Delaware County homeowner fired shots at the suspect. Deputies arrested Cody Marquette, 27, after searching for hours in rural Delaware County Tuesday.
More Here

OK: Domestic Defense, Girfriend Shoots Boyfriend

A Tulsa man died last Thursday after he was shot multiple times while sexually assaulting an ex-girlfriend, police were told.


Kevin Matthew Kemp, 42, died Dec. 6 after he was shot multiple times Dec. 1, Tulsa Police Sgt. Brandon Watkins said.
More Here