Taurus TX22 at the Shot Show 2019, Magazine Capacity and Light Weight, Concealable

I stopped by the Taurus booth at the Shot Show to see what might be new. Taurus has been a leader in innovative products. I have had good luck with several Taurus revolvers and semi-auto pistols.

The Taurus TX22 is a new, midsized .22 Long Rifle, only 17.3 ounces, with a 16 shot magazine.

The Taurus TX22 pistol will invariably be compared to the new Kel-Tec CP33. They both have raised the bar for magazine capacity in a .22 pistol.

They are considerably different guns, filling different niches. The capacity of the Taurus is 16 rounds, a significant improvement over the commonly available 12 round magazines for some models of Smith &Wesson and Walther. 16 rounds is only half of the capacity of the Kel-Tec CP33. Both guns are new to the market.

The Taurus is a much smaller gun. No one would claim the Kel-Tec is pocket sized. The Kel-Tec CP33 is a standard sized, but lightweight pistol, at 24 ounces. It is 10.6 inches long

The Taurus TX22 has real pocket potential. It is only a bit over seven inches long, and 5.44 inches high. It has a 4.1 inch barrel. The barrel is threaded. The threads are inside the envelope of the slide. An adapter for standard 1/2x28 threads is included with the pistol.

TX22 with 1/2 X 28 adapter

I talked to Jason Pitman, the designer of the TX22.  He explained some of the features.

The barrel of the TX22 is not fixed. It is designed not to move during firing or when the action is cycled.

The take-down is very similar to that of the Glock. Check to make certain the pistol is not loaded. Then the trigger is pulled, the disassembly tabs are depressed, and the slide is pulled forward and off the frame.

It comes with adjustable sights, and what Taurus calls the Taurus Pittman Trigger system. The trigger is about 5 lbs of weight, or a little less. The trigger has very definite staging. A trigger safety is included, but not visible.

I tried the trigger. It was easily usable. It takes a little practice to use the staging well. With some practice, you take up three lbs of pull quickly, coming to the staging. Then it acts much like a two pound trigger. I like the concept.

The slide of the TX22 is a combination of high strength aluminum and hardened steel. The steel is used for the bolt face. I expect it to outlast most shooters.

The magazine has been designed to prevent rim-lock. That is how it packs 16 cartridges into a relatively short magazine. Jason said a magazine loading tool is being considered. It would make loading simpler, and prevent some user error in loading. I cannot speak for Taurus. It seems likely the magazine loading tool will be included in the box, just as the threaded barrel adapter is. 

The Taurus comes with two magazines. I hope that becomes an industry standard.

While the Kel-Tec can be concealed, It is a standard sized pistol. It is concealable, but not for "deep" concealment.

Concealing the Taurus TX22 would be fairly easy. It is close to the size of a model 19 Glock.  At slightly more than one pound, concealment becomes easier.

There are general purpose holsters available. I am unaware of any that are made specifically for the Taurus or the Kel-Tec, at this time.

As a field gun, I would like to see the Taurus TX22 with a five or six inch barrel. That might happen at a later date. Jason told me the tooling and design were made in such a way as to make that possible, without exorbitant expense.

As a general purpose .22 kit gun, it does well. The Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price is $349, which is $125 less than the Kel-Tec.

The .22 Long Rifle cartridge has outstanding inherent accuracy.  I did not find any accuracy numbers for the Taurus TX22. .22 pistols have a habit of shooting better than most shooters are capable of.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

FL: Driver of Food Truck Shoots Armed Robbery Suspect, Armed Suspected Accomplice

The incident started around 10 a.m. when an armed suspect approached the truck in the area of Northwest 35th Avenue and Northwest 65th Street and pointed a gun at a woman inside, demanding she hand over money and get on the ground, Miami-Dade Police said.

The driver of the truck heard the commotion and came around and encountered the suspect, who pointed the gun at the driver. The driver was handing money over to the suspect when he somehow was able to arm himself and shoot at the suspect, police said.
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PA: Jury Aquits Dion Beard Jr. of Murder and Manslaughter, Judge gives Maximum Sentence for Reckless Endangerment

Beard made the mistake of fleeing the scene, hiding his handgun, and avoiding authorities for several days.

According to trial testimony, Beard walked from his aunt's West Maple Street home to the corner store at Maple and Manor to buy milk for his 1-year-old son. After leaving the store, Beard encountered Smith hanging out nearby and fatally shot him.

Beard told jurors that Smith had been threatening to hurt and kill him for years, and that things had escalated. He said Smith followed him to three different areas of the city that day.
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Followup MA: No Charges for Armed Samaritan who Helped Stop Road Rage Incdident

The event ended without injury when a licensed gun owner who was also in traffic helped box Fitzgerald’s SUV in and drew his weapon on the vehicle until state police arrived. The good Samaritan will not face charges, state police said.
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SC: Armed Homeowner Wounds one of Three Burglary Suspects

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, SC (WSPA) - Campobello police said one suspect was shot and two others arrested after a break-in.

It happened Monday night at a home on Pine Street.

Campobello Police Chief Chad McNeill said a homeowner arrived home to find three suspects in the back of the residence.
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How the Providence Non Semi-Automatic Works, Shot Show 2019

Prior to the 2019 Shot Show, Franklin Armory made a bit of a splash by releasing information about a prototype, magazine fed, pistol that was non Semi-Automatic, but which looked very much like a Semi-Automatic. The pistol in the picture has a pistol arm brace, making it look like a carbine.

The firearm was said to utilize a digital action, and to fire one round with each pull of the trigger.

Jay Jacobson, President of Franklin Armory, was kind enough to take time and explain how the system works. He used the prototype to show the system operating the bolt and bolt carrier.  Jay explained he would not show the internal parts.

First, the digital action has everything to do with a flesh and blood digit, not a numerical one. The digit that powers the system is the trigger finger.

We already have systems that do this. They are called double action revolvers.

There was another system that used finger power to feed from a magazine. It was the Dardick pistol and carbine, an interesting combination of revolver and magazine feed. A few were produced. It was not successful.

The Providence digital system is  different. It uses a reciprocating bolt and bolt carrier system to feed cartridges from the magazine into the chamber and to extract and eject the fired cartridge cases.

The bolt head of the Providence system is similar to the AR-15  multi-lug system. It locks with a rotating bolt. The bolt rotates about 23 degrees.

The firing sequence is this.

The firearm starts with an empty chamber or a fired case in the chamber.

Pulling the trigger unlocks the bolt, retracts the bolt and bolt carrier, and ejects the fired case, if there is one.

The trigger continues to retract the bolt carrier and the bolt, until the trigger releases both.

Then the bolt and bolt carrier move forward, stripping a round from the magazine and chambering it.

The bolt carrier continues forward, rotating and locking the bolt.

There is a fixed firing pin on the bolt carrier. The bolt carrier continues forward. The firing pin on the bolt carrier impacts the primer, firing the chambered round. The fired case stays in the chamber, locked in by the bolt.

The sequence begins again with another pull of the trigger.

An advantage of the system, firing from a locked bolt, would be to take full advantage of a suppressor. There is no gas leakage to the rear of the fired case. No gas or powder fouling is introduced into the action.

There is a non-reciprocating charging handle on the left side of the firearm.

Jay indicated, that in production models, the charging handle might be used to put the firearm into "single action" mode.

I presume that would be to retract the bolt and bolt carrier, extracting a fired case. Then the function of the trigger would be to release the bolt and bolt carrier to fire the firearm.

Such an action would be a novel version of a straight pull bolt action.

Another advantage of this non Semi-Automatic is legal acceptability. Jay told me they are working to have this action classed as a "C" type action in Europe. That would mean it would be available to most people. The magazines would be limited to 10 rounds.

The initial calibers would be 9mm, 10mm, and .45.

The price has been estimated to be about $1500. No Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price is available at this time.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

SC: Disarm, 72-Year-Old CCW Permit Holder is Knocked Down, has Gun Taken, Shots Fired

The incident happened around 3pm on Sunday in the area of Eastwood Drive at Willowbrook Avenue. Police say the 72-year-old victim was at home working on his vehicle when he noticed Maurice Hunt getting violent towards neighbors.

The victim, who has a concealed carry permit, retrieved a gun from his vehicle and tried to intervene, police say. Hunt then reportedly struck the victim in the back of the head, knocking him down, and took his gun.

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MO: More Churches forming Armed, Volunteer Security Teams

“I don’t leave home without a gun,” Crews said. “It’s kind of like the old American Express card ads: I just won’t leave home without it.”

Crews, 47, is part of the security team at Ava Assembly of God, a Pentecostal church of 300 members in Ava, Missouri. The church has no paid security guards. Instead, it counts on a team of 18 church members to keep fellow congregants safe. None of the security team members are paid and all carry handguns.
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FL: Fight, Homeowner Suffered Head Injury, Attacker Shot, Killed

BITHLO, Fla. —

A man was found dead in the doorway of an east Orange County home with an apparent gunshot wound and the homeowner was found nearby with a significant head injury, deputies said.

The shooting was reported just before 9 p.m. Thursday at a home on Vonderay Road near State Road 417 in Bithlo.
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AL: Domestic Defense? Woman Shot in Hand, Attempting Break-In

The shooting happened in the 2800 block of Cora Hill Avenue early Sunday morning. Officials say the woman was shot in the hand by a man after she was attempting to force her way into the man’s home. According to Huntsville Police, the shooting appears to be a domestic-related incident between a man and woman although they do not live together.
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WV: Homeowner Wounded by Home Invader

LASHMEET — A home invasion in Lashmeet resulted in the homeowner being shot and transported to the hospital.
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Brady in Urinal at Shot Show, 2019, Las Vegas

Most Second Amendment supporters will remember before Billionaire Michael Bloomberg started throwing tens of millions of dollars to subvert the Second Amendment. The primary pusher of Second Amendment infringements was the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. That is why it seems ironic that the urinals at the Shot Show all had "Brady" urinal mats in the bottom. It is just an unfortunate coincidence that a totally unrelated company, Brady Industries, produces the mats and many other cleaning supplies for the Western United States. From bradyindustries.com:

Brady Industries is the premier cleaning solutions provider throughout the Western United States. We provide cleaning solutions to our customers while exceeding their expectations with quality, service, and integrity.

Some intrepid Second Amendment warrior did not place Brady mats into the urinals as an act of political theater. The Brady with arrow symbol is a tradmark of Brady Industries.

In the days of Michael Bloomberg and other billionairs working hard to disarm Americans, a Bloomberg mat would have been more appropriate.

Before the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the organization went through a number of name changes.

It started as the National Council to Control Handguns, in 1974. In 1980, the name was changed to Handgun Control incorporated.  That name lasted until 2000, when the name was changed to The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

You can see how the focus shifted from handguns to the latest term, "gun violence".  Gun violence is used as an Orwellian term to include suicides. As homicide rates dropped while the number of firearms per capita in the U.S.A. rose, it became harder and harder to sell "gun control" as a crime fighting measure.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is still active. It appears to have been eclipsed by the Moms Demand Action campaign which morphed into the "Everytown for Gun Safety" funded by Michael Bloomberg. One of the latest Brady announcement has been to call for the Supreme Court to allow local governments to trample on Second Amendment rights. The Brady Campaign put it defferently, of course. From the bradycampaign.org:

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence expressed strong support for the importance of allowing local cities and communities to promote public safety and protect against gun violence.

The terms "Handgun Control" and "Gun Control" have lost appeal to the American electorate. The current tested meme is "Gun Safety". Who can be against "Gun Safety"?

There are plenty of Second Amendment supporters attending the Shot Show who remember when the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence was the major player in opposition to Second Amendment rights.

None of them engaged in a low level political prank of putting an opposition organization name in the public urinals. It is simply a coincidence of our industrialized society.

Still, many of them are smiling when they see the Brady name in the urinal mats in front of them.

If you had any doubts about the elevated place of the Media in today's society, consider if anyone without a press pass had started taking pictures of urinals in public bathrooms at a highly attended event such as the Shot Show.

As a highly respected member of the gun media, no one blinked when I did it.

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

Link to Gun Watch

MO: Domestic Defense, Father Shoots, Kills, 43-Year-Old Daughter's Boyfriend

O’FALLON, Mo. – A 68-year-old O’Fallon man shot and killed his daughter’s boyfriend Thursday evening and may have done so in her defense, police said.

According to a spokesperson for the O’Fallon Police Department, the shooting happened just before 10 p.m. at a home on Holly Court near Fort Zumwalt Park.

Police identified the man who was killed as 45-year-old Juan Ante. No one else was hurt.
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FL: Customer with Knife Shot by Employee with Gun

An employee at an auto dealership reportedly shot a customer who charged at him with a knife in Miami.

Miami Police responded to the scene of the shooting at Easy Auto Pay along Northwest 79th Street and Fifth Court, around 3:48 p.m., Friday.

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NC: Homeowner Holds Burglary Suspect at Gunpoint for Police

Deputies responded to a Jones Street Extension home Friday in reference to a burglary in progress. The individual allegedly broke into the residence through a window while the victim was at home. The victim, Michael Thomas, held the suspect at gunpoint until officers got there.

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NC: Robbery Suspect Killed, Manager wounded in Sweepstakes Parlor

Lumberton, N.C. — A Lumberton man was shot and killed Thursday night while to trying to hold up a local sweepstakes parlor, authorities said.
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TX: Gunfight, Homeowner Shoots, Kills Robbery Suspect

According to the Lubbock Police Department, the incident occurred in the 3800 block of 49th Street at around 2:30 a.m.. Police say someone tried to enter a home when a homeowner shot the intruder, who was also armed. The intruder was later identified as 27-year-old Justin Crowley. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
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AL: Homeowner Shoots, Kills Man Attempting Break-in

Birmingham police Sgt. Johnny Williams on Friday said officers learned that the homeowner shot the suspect as he encountered the suspect trying to break into his home. Investigators presented the case information to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office and it was ruled as a justifiable shooting.
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MA: Armed Samaritan Stops Dangerous Road Rage Incident

The Armed Samaritan stopped the driver from proceeding further with the 65-Year-Old on the hood.

Authorities say good Samaritans intervened. A man could be seen on video pointing a gun at the SUV. When officers arrived, they were initially seen pointing a gun at that armed person.

Fitzgerald was arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, negligent operation and leaving the scene of a crash causing property damage. Kamrowski was also arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

"I was assaulted. That's it," Kamrowski told NBC10 Boston. "I just kept telling him, 'Stop the car, stop the car,' and he wouldn't stop."
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Theodore Roosevelt Speech on April 23, 1910, at the Sorbornne in Paris, France

Strange and impressive associations rise in the mind of a man from the New World who speaks before this august body in this ancient institution of learning. Before his eyes pass the shadows of mighty kings and war-like nobles, of great masters of law and theology; through the shining dust of the dead centuries he sees crowded figures that tell of the power and learning and splendor of times gone by; and he sees also the innumerable host of humble students to whom clerkship meant emancipation, to whom it was well-nigh the only outlet from the dark thraldom of the Middle Ages.


This was the most famous university of mediaeval Europe at a time when no one dreamed that there was a New World to discover. Its services to the cause of human knowledge already stretched far back into the remote past at a time when my forefathers, three centuries ago, were among the sparse bands of traders, ploughmen, wood-choppers, and fisherfolk who, in hard struggle with the iron unfriendliness of the Indian-haunted land, were laying the foundations of what has now become the giant republic of the West. To conquer a continent, to tame the shaggy roughness of wild nature, means grim warfare; and the generations engaged in it cannot keep, still less add to, the stores of garnered wisdom which where once theirs, and which are still in the hands of their brethren who dwell in the old land. To conquer the wilderness means to wrest victory from the same hostile forces with which mankind struggled on the immemorial infancy of our race. The primaeval conditions must be met by the primaeval qualities which are incompatible with the retention of much that has been painfully acquired by humanity as through the ages it has striven upward toward civilization. In conditions so primitive there can be but a primitive culture. At first only the rudest school can be established, for no others would meet the needs of the hard-driven, sinewy folk who thrust forward the frontier in the teeth of savage men and savage nature; and many years elapse before any of these schools can develop into seats of higher learning and broader culture.


The pioneer days pass; the stump-dotted clearings expand into vast stretches of fertile farm land; the stockaded clusters of log cabins change into towns; the hunters of game, the fellers of trees, the rude frontier traders and tillers of the soil, the men who wander all their lives long through the wilderness as the heralds and harbingers of an oncoming civilization, themselves vanish before the civilization for which they have prepared the way. The children of their successors and supplanters, and then their children and their children and children's children, change and develop with extraordinary rapidity. The conditions accentuate vices and virtues, energy and ruthlessness, all the good qualities and all the defects of an intense individualism, self-reliant, self-centered, far more conscious of its rights than of its duties, and blind to its own shortcomings. To the hard materialism of the frontier days succeeds the hard materialism of an industrialism even more intense and absorbing than that of the older nations; although these themselves have likewise already entered on the age of a complex and predominantly industrial civilization.


As the country grows, its people, who have won success in so many lines, turn back to try to recover the possessions of the mind and the spirit, which perforce their fathers threw aside in order better to wage the first rough battles for the continent their children inherit. The leaders of thought and of action grope their way forward to a new life, realizing, sometimes dimly, sometimes clear-sightedly, that the life of material gain, whether for a nation or an individual, is of value only as a foundation, only as there is added to it the uplift that comes from devotion to loftier ideals. The new life thus sought can in part be developed afresh from what is roundabout in the New World; but it can developed in full only by freely drawing upon the treasure-houses of the Old World, upon the treasures stored in the ancient abodes of wisdom and learning, such as this is where I speak to-day. It is a mistake for any nation to merely copy another; but it is even a greater mistake, it is a proof of weakness in any nation, not to be anxious to learn from one another and willing and able to adapt that learning to the new national conditions and make it fruitful and productive therein. It is for us of the New World to sit at the feet of Gamaliel of the Old; then, if we have the right stuff in us, we can show that Paul in his turn can become a teacher as well as a scholar.


Today I shall speak to you on the subject of individual citizenship, the one subject of vital importance to you, my hearers, and to me and my countrymen, because you and we a great citizens of great democratic republics. A democratic republic such as ours - an effort to realize its full sense government by, of, and for the people - represents the most gigantic of all possible social experiments, the one fraught with great responsibilities alike for good and evil. The success or republics like yours and like ours means the glory, and our failure of despair, of mankind; and for you and for us the question of the quality of the individual citizen is supreme. Under other forms of government, under the rule of one man or very few men, the quality of the leaders is all-important. If, under such governments, the quality of the rulers is high enough, then the nations for generations lead a brilliant career, and add substantially to the sum of world achievement, no matter how low the quality of average citizen; because the average citizen is an almost negligible quantity in working out the final results of that type of national greatness. But with you and us the case is different. With you here, and with us in my own home, in the long run, success or failure will be conditioned upon the way in which the average man, the average women, does his or her duty, first in the ordinary, every-day affairs of life, and next in those great occasional cries which call for heroic virtues. The average citizen must be a good citizen if our republics are to succeed. The stream will not permanently rise higher than the main source; and the main source of national power and national greatness is found in the average citizenship of the nation. Therefore it behooves us to do our best to see that the standard of the average citizen is kept high; and the average cannot be kept high unless the standard of the leaders is very much higher.


It is well if a large proportion of the leaders in any republic, in any democracy, are, as a matter of course, drawn from the classes represented in this audience to-day; but only provided that those classes possess the gifts of sympathy with plain people and of devotion to great ideals. You and those like you have received special advantages; you have all of you had the opportunity for mental training; many of you have had leisure; most of you have had a chance for enjoyment of life far greater than comes to the majority of your fellows. To you and your kind much has been given, and from you much should be expected. Yet there are certain failings against which it is especially incumbent that both men of trained and cultivated intellect, and men of inherited wealth and position should especially guard themselves, because to these failings they are especially liable; and if yielded to, their- your- chances of useful service are at an end. Let the man of learning, the man of lettered leisure, beware of that queer and cheap temptation to pose to himself and to others as a cynic, as the man who has outgrown emotions and beliefs, the man to whom good and evil are as one. The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer. There are many men who feel a kind of twister pride in cynicism; there are many who confine themselves to criticism of the way others do what they themselves dare not even attempt. There is no more unhealthy being, no man less worthy of respect, than he who either really holds, or feigns to hold, an attitude of sneering disbelief toward all that is great and lofty, whether in achievement or in that noble effort which, even if it fails, comes to second achievement. A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticise work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life's realities - all these are marks, not as the possessor would fain to think, of superiority but of weakness. They mark the men unfit to bear their part painfully in the stern strife of living, who seek, in the affection of contempt for the achievements of others, to hide from others and from themselves in their own weakness. The rôle is easy; there is none easier, save only the rôle of the man who sneers alike at both criticism and performance.


It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. Shame on the man of cultivated taste who permits refinement to develop into fastidiousness that unfits him for doing the rough work of a workaday world. Among the free peoples who govern themselves there is but a small field of usefulness open for the men of cloistered life who shrink from contact with their fellows. Still less room is there for those who deride of slight what is done by those who actually bear the brunt of the day; nor yet for those others who always profess that they would like to take action, if only the conditions of life were not exactly what they actually are. The man who does nothing cuts the same sordid figure in the pages of history, whether he be a cynic, or fop, or voluptuary. There is little use for the being whose tepid soul knows nothing of great and generous emotion, of the high pride, the stern belief, the lofty enthusiasm, of the men who quell the storm and ride the thunder. Well for these men if they succeed; well also, though not so well, if they fail, given only that they have nobly ventured, and have put forth all their heart and strength. It is war-worn Hotspur, spent with hard fighting, he of the many errors and valiant end, over whose memory we love to linger, not over the memory of the young lord who "but for the vile guns would have been a valiant soldier." 

 

Excerpt. It is a long speech. The entire speech is here

Brazil: President Bolsonaro Signs Decree Reforming Gun Law

President Bolsonaro of Brazil is following President Trump's lead. On January 15, 2019, Jair Bolsonaro kept a prominent campaign promise. He signed a decree modifying the extreme firearms restrictions passed in December of 2003.

From voanews.com: 

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has signed a decree making it easier for many Brazilians to own a gun - a measure he says will help people defend themselves. The decree establishes wide categories of people who qualify for gun ownership. Those include people living in rural areas, in urban areas with high levels of homicide, business owners, gun collectors and hunters.

In effect, the named categories include all of Brazil.

Citizens will still have to meet the other requirements in the law. Those include  training, a psychological exam, and being 25 years of age or older. Legal gun owners must have  a clean criminal record, a fixed address, and have gainful employment.

The decree increases the license period from 5 to 10 years.

The decree automatically renews current licenses for the new period, including licenses that have lapsed.

The decree appears to allow reloaded ammunition to be used for training at authorized ranges.

The decree allows for possession of firearms at home or at businesses.

The most significant reform is the elimination of the subjective "need" requirement to obtain a permit to possess a firearm.

Brazil's constitution grants the President the power to issue provisional decrees, which have the immediate effect of law. The decrees last for 60 days. They  require Congressional approval to become permanent. It the Congress does not approve of the decree, it can be reissued, but only one time, for another 60 days.

If the decree is not considered by the Congress in 45 days, it moves to the top of the legislative agenda. This provides incentive for the Congress to act on the decree, and gives the President of Brazil considerable power to shape the legislative agenda.

The 2003 gun law was put in place by Workers Party President Luiz da Silva, who has since been convicted of corruption. He is serving a 12 year prison sentence.

President Bolsonaro's decree is being criticized by both self-defense advocates and those who support the restrictive legislation enacted in 2003.

Advocates of the current restrictive law say reforming the restrictions will increase the homicide rate. Brazil currently has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. In 2017, the rate was 30.8 intentional homicides per 100,000 population.

The homicide rate rose significantly between 1980 and 2003, then leveled off at close to the current rate. The Homicide rate in 2003 was 28.9 per 100,000.

Legal ownership of guns in Brazil is relatively low, at about 3.77 per 100,000. Illegal gun ownership is higher at 4.52 per 100,000, according to the Small Arms Survey.

Advocates for self defense expected the age restriction to be dropped to 21, and allowance made for carrying guns for self defense.

President Bolsonaro said that additional changes in the law will be made by the Congress.

The decree can be viewed here. It is in Portuguese, but online translations do a fair job.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch 

SC: Wounded Armed Robbery Suspect Arrested after Cover Story Fails

A Sumter man is in jail after allegedly lying to the police about being the victim of a shooting when he may have been shot while committing an armed robbery by the victim of the robbery.

Details of the moments leading up to Frankie Furman's treatment at Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital became clearer as Sumter police officers investigated his claim that he was shot while in the Manning Avenue area near Atlantic Avenue on Tuesday.
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Followup: OK: Man who Shot Teen who was Stealing Fireworks Sentenced to 25 years in Prison

A judge has sentenced the son of a Fireworks stand owner to 25 years in prison, after a jury found him guilty of shooting and killing a 15-year-old boy police say, was stealing fireworks.

Mize was convicted of first degree manslaughter for the 20-17 death of Jake Ulrich.

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CA: Armed Woman Fires at Intruders

After officers arrived, they learned that the resident, an adult woman heard noises coming from her garage, when she investigated, she was confronted by two suspects, who she then shot at with her legally possessed firearm, at which the suspects fled. It is unknown if either of the suspects were struck by the shot that was fired.
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LA: Fatal Shooting of Mark Fisher, Jr., by Pharmacist, was Justified

A pharmacist who shot an armed robber who tried to hold up a Luling drug store was justified in using deadly force, according to St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne.

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Followup MO: Fatal Shooting of Ahmonta Harris was in Self Defense

COLUMBIA — The Boone County Prosecutor's Office completed its review in a fatal shooting finding no wrongdoing by the man who killed Ahmonta Harris.

In a letter to the Boone County Sheriff's Department, prosecutor Dan Knight said Deonte Gainwell did not commit a crime for shooting Harris. Knight explained Gainwell was not arrested for the shooting and that no request to file charges against Gainwell was made to his office.
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Iowa Secretary of State Error Sets Back Right to Keep and Bear Arms Amendment

Iowa is one of only six states that do not have some sort of protection for the right to keep and bear arms in their state constitution. A amendment to change that seemed to have a good chance of passing.

The amendment suffered a severe setback because the Iowa Secretary of State failed to publish the amendment before the 2018 elections.

From kcci.com:

The long process of adding gun rights the Iowa Constitution must begin again due to a mistake at the Iowa secretary of state's office.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said Monday that his office forgot to publish official details of the Legislature's plan to amend the Iowa Constitution.

Pate apologized, but gun rights supporters said are not happy with the mistake.

"I have six children and a husband who travels so (gun rights are) important to me," said Jessica Pedersen, of Ankeny.

 The process to amend the Iowa Constitution is long and difficult. First, the legislature has to pass the amendment.

Then, an election must occur.

Then, the legislature has to pass the amendment again.

Then the amendment is offered in a referendum at the next election.

If the people approve of it with a majority vote, it passes and becomes part of the Iowa Constitution.

The Iowa legislature, after years of struggle, passed the amendment in March of 2018. Part of the process is for the Secretary of State to have the amendment published in the papers of record that preserve the official acts of the legislature.

That did not occur. For the Amendment to proceed the publication had to happen *before* the 2018 election. It did not. From desmoinesregister.com:

A Republican-led effort to add gun rights to the Iowa Constitution must start over because the state's top election office did not complete a key step in the yearslong process, a mistake they described as a "bureaucratic oversight."

Republican lawmakers and pro-gun advocates said they were shocked and angry after Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate confirmed that his office failed to publish the required notifications that the Legislature had begun the process of amending the state constitution in Iowa newspapers.

A second Constitutional amendment, clarifying the succession rules for the Governor and Lt. Governor, was overlooked as well. The Secretary of State failed to publish SJR 2006. Both amendments will need to be voted on again and passed by both houses of the legislature before they are sent to the people in referendums.

A similar error occurred in 2004, but was less consequential. It involved the removal of the words "idiot" and "moron" from the Iowa Constitution.

The right to keep and bear arms amendment seemed likely to pass, because both houses of the legislature are still controlled by Republicans.

Now the amendments will have to wait for another election before a second vote of the legislature can be taken. 

Right to keep and bear arms amendments have been sent to the voters in several states over the last 22 years. All have been approved by wide margins.

There are 280,000 active concealed carry permits in Iowa. In 2016, 1.58 million people voted. People who have permits tend to be registered and to vote.

Because the Secretary of state failed to publish both amendments, it seems unlikely that the failure was an act of political sabotage.

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

Link to Gun Watch

OH: 63-Year-Old Woman Shoots, Kills, Armed Robbery Suspect

CINCINNATI — A Cincinnati police captain said a would-be robber is dead because a 63-year-old convenience store owner protected herself.

"A 48-year-old individual comes inside, points a gun to her head, demands money," said Capt. Paul Broxterman.Police responded to the Glenway Pony Keg on Glenway Avenue at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Officers found James Douglas, 48, had been fatally shot. Broxterman said the man was trying to rob the West Price Hill store, but the owner put up a fight -- shooting and killing Douglas.
More Here

MO: 1 of 3 Home Invasion Suspects Shot, Killed

ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) – A man was shot and killed while attempting to force his way into a Dutchtown neighborhood home late Wednesday night, according to police.

Two women and two men were at a home in the 3900 block of Alberta when they called police to report three men were trying to force their way into the home around 11 p.m. While police were enroute to the call, they received a second call that the homeowners shot one of the suspects.
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TX: Police Believe Dunkley and Davis were Shot and Killed While Attempting to Rob an Armed Victim

Zyshonne Dunkley, 20, and Olynthus Davis, 19, died from gunshot wounds on Jan. 17, police said.

Police believe Dunkley and Davis were attempting to rob someone in a car in the parking lot when the person or people in the car shot them, Detective C. Watson with Fort Worth police said.
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Followup AR: Two Men Charged in Home Invasion/ Homicide

Four men fled on foot from a home-invasion homicide scene in Helena-West Helena after one of them lost the keys to the get-away car and someone down the street shot at them, according to an affidavit filed Thursday January 17, 2019 in Phillips County Circuit Court.
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Followup FL: Man Used AR15 to Defend Self in Shooting Death of Darian Elwin

Authorities say Darian Elwin, 23, was shot three times with an AR-15 at the Central Station on Orange complex on May 25. Elwin’s girlfriend, Kayla Davis, 24, was arrested on a second-degree felony murder charge Tuesday in connection to his death.

Police say Elwin and Davis had a money dispute with Marquel Dock, 24, before the shooting. Dock told police that Elwin, armed with a gun, and Davis, armed with a knife, stormed his apartment shortly after 1:30 a.m.
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Shot Show 33 round .22 LR Pistol by Kel-Tec 24 ounces, 5.5 inch Barrel

The long awaited Kel-Tec .22 LR pistol, with a 33 round magazine, has arrived at the Shot Show. The pistol is designated the CP33. It is a straight blowback design, which is simpler than the delayed blowback needed for the .22 rimfire magnum cartridges used in the PMR-30.

The magazine design was patented by Toby Obermeit, lead engineer at Kel-Tec, in 2014. When I found out about it at the Shot Show in 2015, I thought a .22 LR pistol with a high capacity magazine had great potential. Here is what I wrote four years ago, in January of 2015:

I have often thought that there was a lot of space inside .22LR pistol grips that wasn’t being utilized effectively. A 30+ shot full-sized .22LR handgun with a 5-inch barrel, threaded for a suppressor, and weighing about a pound, would be a very nice backpacking and general field or “kit” gun. A simple blowback design would allow for multiple barrel lengths and configurations. 

I’d like to see arrangements for an optical sight. A small reflex sight would work nicely. A fixed barreled .22 pistol with an optical sight might be usable for small game to 60 yards.

The pistol is a little heavier than I imagined, at 24 ounces.   It takes optical sights and or lasers easily. Joe Easter at the Kel-Tec booth said he consistently was able to obtain 1 inch groups at 25 yards with optical sights. It has an arrangement in the back that practically begs for a pistol brace.

It is a standard sized pistol, but is very flat. A 5.55 inch barrel is a great  length for a .22 rimfire. I see this as a lovely trail gun and all around .22 pistol.

For comparison, a High Standard Sentinel 6" barreled .22 revolver weighs 25 ounces, is 10.75 inches long, and 5.25 inches high. The CP33 is 10.6 inches long and 6 inches high. The CP33 is flatter.

With the enclosed bolt and the non-reciprocating charger handle, you could use a regular scope on this pistol. Recoil will be minimal.  There is no worry of the bolt hitting your face. The small red-dot sights are said to work very well. The CP33 practically begs for a pistol brace. One may be in the works.
The Scorpian .32 machine pistol/submachine gun, also known as the Vz.61, has a similar enclosed bolt system. The Skorpian has reciprocating bolt "sliders"  on both sides.

The trigger on the sample I examined was a little long and had some overtravel. It was an excellent weight. I would guess, about 2.5 lbs. Joe said they average about 3.3 lbs. I did not have a scale with me. The are advertised at 3-5 lbs.

The trigger is very usable for a trail gun and for all around use. It is not quite as good as my old Woodsman, but is not terribly far off. An aftermarket trigger is in the works, I understand.

The CP33 has a 1 in 14" twist barrel. The standard twist for a .22 is 1 in 16". I asked about the different twist. A machinist at the Kel-Tec booth said it was a simple manufacturing decision. It was easier to set up a 1 in 14 twist on the machine they had. I view it as an advantage. A 1 in 14 twist works a little better to stabilize heavier, lower velocity bullets. A 1 in 16 twist does not do a great job of stablizing 60 gran bullets. They need a 1-8, or 1-10 twist.  A 1-14 twist might do a little better than a 1-16 on the 60 grain bullets.

The CP33 is threaded for accessories at the muzzle. You could add a bloop tube to extend the sight radius, a muzzle brake for that "tacticool" look, a suppressor, or whatever you want. The current sights should work well with most suppressors.

It would be a great pistol to teach beginning shooters with, especially with a suppressor. 

This is good timing to bring out an innovative .22 pistol, with the deflaiton of the .22 rimfire bubble.

 Loaded with 40 grain 22 LR rounds, the pistol will weigh 28 ounces.

This pistol would be an excellent part of the survival kit on an Alaskan bush plane. Highly accurate for small game, yet capable of taking big game with judicious shot placement in an emergency. The pistol is to be shipped with two magazines. That is 66 rounds of ammunition.

For the Zombie apocalypse, or the slightly more likely EMP electric grid failure dystopia, this pistol becomes an effective urban sniper weapon out to 100 yards.  Add a suppressor, it is almost undetectable. A laser rangefinder

There is potential for a great carbine design here. I envision an integrally suppressed design with a 16 inch barrel, to meet the silly National Firearms Act (NFA) rules. The last six or seven inches of barrel would be the integral suppressor.

It is gratifying to see that others are paying attention to what I write. Or, more likely, Toby and the other people at Kel-Tec have been thinking in parallel with me.

The pistol is in limited production at the moment. KelTec hopes to have full production running at the end of May, 2019, with 500 pistols a week at that point.  The Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) is $475.

I predict the Kel-Tec CP33 will be a very popular pistol.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

WY: Moose Shot on Private Property in Self Defense

“Upon completion of the ensuing investigation, based upon examination of all available physical evidence and an interview with the reporting party, it was determined by Game Wardens that the moose was shot at very close range in justifiable self-defense as it charged,” said Crosson.

After reviewing all evidence in the case and meeting with lead investigator Jordan Kraft, Crosson concurred that the shooting was legally justified under the circumstances and charges will not be filed at this time.
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KY: Shots fired in Home Invasion, Complicated Situation

They responded to a robbery in progress where the woman says a man put a gun in her mouth and sexually assaulted her.

As the men fled the scene, the woman grabbed a gun and ran into the backyard-- where she fired shots at them.
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Followup WA: Min Kim Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Shooting, Killing Fleeing Shoplifting Suspect

SPANAWAY, Wash. - A Spanaway convenience store owner has been sentenced to eight years in prison for shooting and killing a fleeing shoplifting suspect.

Min Kim told the judge on Friday he accepted responsibility for what he did and apologized for his actions.
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Followup MI: Fatal Shooting of Ali Salman was Self Defense

A 25-year-old man accused in the shooting death of a Dearborn man at an Inkster gas station will not face charges because he acted in self-defense, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.

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Followup VA: MIsdemeanor Charges for Naked Man who Confronted Armed Homeowner

A naked man recorded on a surveillance video hosing himself off outside a Painter area home in Accomack County was found guilty of breaking and entering to commit a misdemeanor.
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MO: Homeowner Shoots Warning Shots, Burglar Ignores Commands, Flees

"I went for the door, kicked it and open it and got in like this and I heard him drop something metal," he told 5 on your side.

So he said he backed away and took out his gun. He then fired two shots in the air to scare off the would be thief.

"I'm right here and I got the gun on him and I'm like get down on the ground," he said.

But, he said what the burglar did next even took him by surprise. "He goes over like this looking at me then he makes a b-line for the fence and vaulted," he told 5 on your side.
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GA: Woman Shoots, Kills 1 of 2 Armed Home Invaders

A woman shot and killed an armed intruder who tried to rob her inside her northwest Atlanta apartment, police said.

According to police, the woman called 911 just before 11 p.m. Monday to report the shooting on Harwell Road off Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
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Supreme Court Puts New York City Gun Ban on Trial

Perhaps the Second Amendment will no longer be considered second class.

It’s been close to a decade since the Supreme Court wrangled with a case pertaining to the Second Amendment, that most critical of Amendments because it ensures all others, but that’s about to change. The 2010 case McDonald v. City of Chicago currently denotes the last instance in which the Supreme Court intervened on an issue directly related to the Second Amendment, though McDonald largely piggybacked on the benchmark 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller.

On Tuesday, however, “The justices agreed to consider a petition backed by gun owners’ groups asking them to strike down New York City’s strict rules for carrying legally owned guns outside the home,” USA Today reports. “The rules do not allow gun owners to transport firearms outside city limits, even to practice ranges or second homes. Lower courts have upheld the city’s regulations.”

Gun-rights activists explained to the Supreme Court, “It is business as usual for draconian restrictions in New York, and this court’s transformational rulings remain theoretical for the city’s 8.5 million residents.” Yet the city contends, “Unlike golf clubs and musical instruments, firearms present public safety risks that the city has a legitimate interest in protecting against. Limiting their possession and use in public minimizes the risk of gun violence.” Assuming expectations become reality, the city’s argument won’t pass muster with the Supreme Court.

The Wall Street Journal notes, “The case will put a spotlight on the court’s newest justice, Brett Kavanaugh, whose expansive view of gun rights while a lower-court judge came into focus during confirmation hearings last fall. In 2011, while serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, then-Judge Kavanaugh dissented from an opinion upholding a D.C. law prohibiting semiautomatic rifles it classified as ‘assault weapons’ within city limits and barring large-capacity ammunition magazines.”

The Journal adds, “Judge Kavanaugh … wrote that ‘the Constitution disables the government from employing certain means to prevent, deter, or detect violent crime,’ a position that helped inspire the National Rifle Association to back his confirmation last year with a major advertising campaign.”

In November, our Brian Mark Weber observed, “The [Heller] ruling came far too late to push back against decades of leftist propaganda and activism designed to convince millions of Americans that the Second Amendment was far different from the other nine rights — that it was neither individual nor narrowly limited but collective and extremely limited. Since then, lower courts have had a field day misinterpreting the Constitution and upholding laws making it harder for citizens to acquire guns.”

He added, “All this would be of less concern if the Supreme Court and its new, more conservative majority would simply take up more Second Amendment cases and decisively reestablish the self-evident right of American citizens to defend themselves. Indeed, the High Court may be the last best hope for securing this right against a leftist obsession to take it away.” The Supreme Court this week made a positive step toward doing just that. And thanks to President Donald Trump’s sublime Supreme Court picks, the prognosis is looking good.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/60697-supreme-court-puts-new-york-city-gun-ban-on-trial

MO: Domestic Defense, Father Kills Son to Save Mother

Captain Doug Wendel said they found a 29-year-old man had been shot to death in the home.

Officers learned the man had been drinking, got into an argument with his mother. Hearing the commotion, the father walked into the room to see his son choking the mother on the floor. Police said the father tried to get his son off of her and eventually struck him with the butt of a handgun.

Police said the son threw his father across the room and threatened to kill him, at which point the father opened fire and struck his son.
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Followup MO: Ashley Hunter found not Guilty of Murder of Estranged HusbandH

FORISTELL, Mo. - Ashley Hunter of Foristell has been found not guilty in the murder of her husband.

According to our partners at the Post Dispatch, a Warren County jury found her not guilty of shooting her husband at their home in 2015.
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TX: Pharmacist Shoots Masked Armed Robbery Suspect

A man who tried to rob a Luling drug store at gunpoint on Monday night died after he was fatally shot by a pharmacist, the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office said.

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IL: Woman with CCW permit Stops Mugging in Hyde Park

Chicago (CBS) — A man in Hyde Park was in for a surprise when the woman he was trying to rob pulled out a gun and fired.

Just before 6:30 p.m. Saturday near 56th and Dorchester, Chicago police say the woman took out the gun and shot at the man.
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Arrived in Las Vegas for Shot Show, 2019

It was an easy trip of from Yuma to Las Vegas for the Shot Show. I took Arizona 95 up to I 40, then West to the Colorado river, then on 95 again up the Arizona side to Bullhead City.

I added a couple of miles but avoided California that way, crossing directly into Nevada from Arizona.

I will be at the Ammoland breakfast this morning.

Bullhead city had the cheapest gas on the route. I saw it as low as $2.11 a gallon, but it was only a couple of miles from the dam where you cross the Colorado.   Only a few miles out, I saw it as high as $2.67 for regular. 56 cents difference for a gallon of gas in five miles.

It seems considerable higher in Las Vagas.



More from the Shot Show. 

WA: Man Tending Goats Uses Handgun to Shoot Mountain Lion

LEAVENWORTH, Wash - A rural Leavenworth resident who keeps a herd of goats noticed a young cougar sitting in a tree nearby Wednesday, and fatally shot the animal.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Ofc. Eric Boyd investigated, and said yesterday the landowner did not act improperly. "There was no violation," Boyd said. "It had the appearance of defending themselves and their property."

The landowner, in the area of East Leavenworth Road, had been warned by a neighbor that a cougar had been seen crossing property nearby. Armed with a handgun while tending the goats, the landowner spotted the cougar in the tree and fired.
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MI: Legally Armed Citizen in Detroit Wounds 1 of 3 Robbery Suspects

A would-be robbery victim turned the tables and opened fire Friday night near the Detroit-Hamtramck border, wounding one of the thieves targeting him, police reported.

A preliminary investigation found the 22-year-old man was sitting in a car outside his brother's house in the 3000 block of Casmere about 9:30 pm. when three males dressed in black approached and demanded money, investigators said in a statement.

The man, a concealed pistol license holder, "fired one shot, striking one of the suspects," according to the release

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More TX: Another Story on the Home Invasion Shooting on Sherman in Houston

HOUSTON — Three people are dead and one is recovering after a home invasion in east Houston overnight.

Police say four men forced their way into a home on Sherman at 71st around 12:45 a.m. Saturday. Detectives said the homeowner grabbed his gun and shot all four of the suspects.

We're told one suspect died at the scene. Two others died at a hospital. The fourth suspect was taken to the hospital and went into surgery.
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AK: Man Shoots Polar Bear Attempting to Enter Cabin

FAIRBANKS, Alaska - A man from northeast Alaska said he shot and killed a polar bear earlier this month that tried to get into his cabin, about 20–miles outside of Arctic village. According to the Associated Press, Jim Hollandsworth reported the Bear encounter after he went to check his trap line.

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TX: Armed Homeowner Misses Suspect, Aids in Arrest

Heights police were sent to Extraco Bank on report of the fraud, but the man departed the bank just prior to police arrival, according to a statement released by Public Information Officer Lt. Steve Miller. Police were able to locate the suspect and chased him on foot in a nearby neighborhood as he attempted to escape arrest.

Miller said the man jumped into the backyard of a home, where he was confronted by the homeowner, who had a firearm and attempted to shoot the man, but missed.
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Austin Taken to Court for Violating Texas Law on Exercise of Carry Rights

Recently re-elected in November, 2018, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking scofflaw counties and cities to court. The subordinate government entities refuse to conform to a reform of Texas gun law.

In 2015, the Texas government passed an open carry statute. The statute went in effect on 1 January, 2016.

Part of the statute was to prohibit subordinate units of Texas government, such as cities and counties, from infringing on the carry rights of legally armed Texans. 

Specifically, the number of official "gun free zones" were reduced.  Gun free zones were generally forbidden in government buildings. There were exemptions, including for courts and offices used by courts. From capital.texas.gov:

(3) on the premises of any government court or offices utilized by the court, unless pursuant to written regulations or written authorization of the court;

In December of 2015, before the statute went into effect, the cities of St. Angelo and St. Marcos asked Attorney General Ken Paxton to issue an opinion on the new law. In the statute, premises are defined as a building or part of a building.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, when asked to clarify what "premises" of the court meant, issued a thoughtful opinion which stated it meant the courtroom and other offices of the court used for specific court functions.

Paxton further clarified the opinion, explaining what would be an offense with signage that did not conform with the Texas Statutes. Both opinions were issued in December of 2015.

In 2016, a private citizen wrote to Waller County, asking them to take down their signs. They said if they would not, they would refer the county to the Attorney General. Waller county responded with a lawsuit against the private citizen, for exercising their right to petition the government.  That lawsuit was eventually settled on behalf of the citizen. The Texas Appeals court squashed the lawsuit and ordered the District Court to reverse and require the County to pay lawyers fees and other costs.  The County appealed to the Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case, just a few months ago.

In 2016, as provided for in Texas law, other private citizens had asked AG Paxton to determine if several cities and counties were violating the statute. Several cites refused to abide by the AG's findings. They were sued to conform with the law.

Now that the Waller case has been rejected by the Supreme Court, the other cases are coming to a head.

Paxton is proceeding with the cases against subordinate government entities. In 2019, the AG office made the case that Austin should pay the $750,000 of fines that have accumulated since 2016.

On 10 January, 2019, the Texas AG office issue this statement.  From texasattorneygeneral.gov:

“The city of Austin cannot defy Texas’ licensed carry laws, or any state law enacted by the Texas Legislature, simply because it disagrees with the law or feels like ignoring it,” Attorney General Paxton said. “I will always vigilantly protect and preserve the Second Amendment rights of Texans, and I’m hopeful the Travis County district court will uphold Texas’ open carry law passed by the people’s representatives.”

In July 2016, Attorney General Paxton filed a lawsuit against the city of Austin after a resident with a concealed gun permit complained of being turned away from City Hall on several occasions. Under Texas law, the city of Austin can be fined $1,500 a day for more than 500 days during which the city has barred citizens with a handgun license from bringing handguns into City Hall since the lawsuit was filed. The attorney general’s legal team asked the Travis County district court to impose a total fine of over $750,000.

There are at least two other cases extant. The case against Waller County, and a case against McClellan County (includes Waco).

Any one of these cases will likely set precedent. The Waller county case that was appealed to the Texas Supreme Court did not address the definition of "premises" that is the crux of the scofflaw government's argument. The case against Austin seems most advanced.

The idea that only actual courts, being used as courts, can ban guns in a government complex, is a rational interpretation of the law.

It may be months before the Texas court rules on the Austin case. It is likely to be appealed.

Update: The court has ruled, fining Austin $9,000, for banning gun carry on days the court in the municipal complex was not in session. The case may be appealed.

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

Gun Watch

VA: Armed Store Owner Stops Armed Robbery

On Sunday, Haddad’s wife was working the register, when a knife-wielding robber suddenly stormed in.

In the video, which is now evidence, you can see the robber was surprised by Haddad who makes it look like he's complying, then pulls out a gun and fires, Crime Insider sources told Jon Burkett.

The would-be robber ducks and runs.
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OH: Armed Citizen Aids Police in Capturing Fleeing Criminal

According to Parma Police, an officer pulled over a suspect -- Shon Burton, 22, of Cleveland -- at Snowville Shopping Center for driving erratically and running a red light.

As Burton came to a stop, the vigilante -- a concealed carry gun owner, driving a Jeep -- blocked the suspect’s car in an attempt to help the officer.

The suspect rammed the Jeep and nearly hit the officer, leading the gun owner to open fire on Burton.

Burton fled, later crashed his car at Brookpark and Tiedeman Roads, and was caught and arrested at a nearby Sam’s Club.

Officers discovered a loaded sawed-off shotgun in the area of where the Burton crashed. The shotgun had previously been reported stolen out of Kentucky.
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FL: Domestic Defense, Child Custody, Shot Fired, Woman Arrested

30-year-old Britney Gunn was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a firearm. The police report says Gunn and a child’s Mother got into a fight with the child’s Father during a custody exchange. The report says the suspect pulled out a gun and pointed it at the Father. Police say he shot back with his own gun.
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KY: Resident Men Disarm 1 of 2 Home Invaders

“I was in the shower and I heard my sister screaming my name and I walk up to the room and my sister’s boyfriend had him lying on the ground and I was so confused because I thought they were wrestling,” said Schuler.

He quickly realized that it wasn't a game and jumped in to take down the burglar while the other thief ran off.

“My sister was like, ‘He has a gun.’ I reach for the gun, slipped it through his hands and grabbed it out,” said Schuler.

Police say a shot was fired but no one was hit. Schuler says they had to fight off the thief and keep him pinned down until police arrived.
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Followup ME: No Charges for Brian Duplisea in Shooting of Ralph McLaughlin II

The Penobscot County district attorney’s office said Thursday it will not prosecute the Newport man charged in connection with a Dec. 12 shooting at a convenience store.

Brian Duplisea, 34, of Newport originally was arrested and charged with reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, a Class C crime. He was released from Penobscot County Jail on $10,000 cash bail Dec. 13.

District Attorney Marianne Lynch said her office could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Duplisea committed the crime, so it was not going forward with the case.

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CO: Armed Mother Scares of Three Armed Teen Burglars

The teen suspects arrived at the victim’s home in a stolen car, broke in and took several items including a gun, jewelry and keys to the homeowner's car.

Surveillance footage shared with 11 News shows the criminals in the act armed with guns. One of them was even seen looking in the fridge. While they were rummaging through the house you can see the robbers gather at the front window. They noticed a woman coming toward the house.

That woman was the homeowner’s mom. She noticed the door ajar.
“I ran back in here I got my pistol and that’s when I walked across the street,” the mom told us.
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IN: More on Indianapolis Shooting, 1 of 3 Home Invaders Killed

On Thursday prosecutors believe Ricky Cartmel pried open the front door just after sunset and was was shot and killed by a homeowner’s son.

“It’s important to see how much the homeowner did before he shot. He had a friend call 911. He yelled out warnings. He told them to go away and only all that, he resorted to lethal force. It’s exactly how stand your ground should work,” said attorney John Tompkins.

Attorney Tompkins isn’t connected to the case, but agrees with the decision not to charge the homeowner’s son with a crime.

But two suspects who survived the shooting Thursday — identified by police as brothers Benjamin Gardner, 47, and Kevin Lemaster, 40 — are now facing two counts of burglary and one count of felony murder.
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AL: Wounded Armed Employee Shoots Back, Stops Shooting Spree at IHOP

"Turner was a customer who came to the business to pick up a carry out order. He became disruptive and loud regarding the service at the business, which lead to a verbal, then physical altercation between [he and] another IHOP employee. After the physical altercation he [Turner] pulled out a handgun and started firing at employees, striking Roy Brown, Sr. and the unnamed employee. The unnamed employee that became wounded then pulled a handgun and shot the customer-shooter in self-defense of others. Both Brown and Turner died at the scene.


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AR: Victim Fires at Home Invaders that held Gun to Child's Head

JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) - Police are searching for three men who forced their way into a Jonesboro family’s home, put a gun to a child’s head, and robbed them.

(snip)

Police told Region 8 News that one of the victims fired at the suspects as they ran away, but missed.
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NC: Armed Resident Shoots, Wounds 1 of 2 Home Invaders

According to Fayetteville Police, armed gunman forced their way inside an apartment looking for their target but that person turned the tables and shot one of the suspects.

The incident happened Monday night at Meadowbrook Apartments off Ramsey Street in the King's Grant area.
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Followup OR: Fatal Shooting of Robert Barry, 58 by Alan Frost, 77, was Justified

JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore. — After reviewing the investigation into an October 2018 shooting in Grants Pass, where an elderly man shot a stranger on his deck in what he claims was self-defense, Josephine County District Attorney Ryan Mulkins has ruled that resident Alan Frost, 77, was justified in his use of force. Each instance of physical or deadly force is analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, cases involving self-defense require specific inquiry into the reasonableness of the actions to determined if they are justified.
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Armed Homeowner Single-Handedly Takes Out 4 Home Invasion Suspects

Authorities are investigating an attempted Houston home invasion where a single homeowner reportedly used a gun to defend himself from at least four suspected burglars.

Police say several men forced their way into a home; varying reports put the number at four or five. The homeowner shot all of them, according to KHOU. Three of the four suspects died, and one was hospitalized, police said.

The homeowner, who told police he acted in self-defense, was not injured.

The incident took place at around 1 a.m. Saturday.

One man was found dead in front of the house, according to KPRC.

One suspect who ran out of the house was later found shot in the leg. Some reports said a wounded man fled the house and did not specify if he was arrested. It was not clear early Saturday if this was the same man or two different men.

Two men fled the scene in a vehicle, police said. The vehicle struck a pole about two blocks from the house where the home invasion took place.

One man was found dead in the back seat of the vehicle, according to KTRK. Another man left the vehicle was later found dead on the street.

After the shooting stopped, police were at the scene searching around the home. The shooting took place on Sherman Street near 71st Street.

Authorities are investigating the situation and the homeowner was taken away for questioning by Houston police.

https://www.westernjournal.com/armed-homeowner-single-handedly-takes-4-home-invasion-suspects/

Leftist Tribal Activist Attempts to Intimidate, Provoke, Youth in MAGA Hat, Fails

On 18 January, 2019, during the March for Life in Washington, D.C., another much smaller event was also scheduled. It was the first Indigenous Peoples March.  The video at the link shows there may have been a couple of hundred at the march, compared to many thousands at the 46th March for Life.

Nathan Phillips, an Oklahoma elder and Native American activist, was drumming and chanting during the two events. He moved away from his group and approached a group of pro-life teenagers, some of who were wearing MAGA hats.

The video can be seen below. Phillips gets right into the young man's personal space. It appears Phillips is trying to intimidate him, to get him to move or flinch, or push back. At one point Phillips drum appears to touch the young man's shoulder. Phillips beats the drum literally in the young man's face.  The drum stick is flashing by, only inches from his nose. At the same time, Phillips is chanting/screaming directly into the young man's face.  It appears to be an attempt at provocation by Phillips.

The young MAGA hat wearer refuses to be intimidated or provoked into a reaction that can be used against him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oza37DTXwk

It does not matter. The Washington Post runs a story claiming the young MAGA hat wearer showed disrespect by "smirking" at Phillips.

Phillips was involved in another incident in Michigan, where he claimed to have been disrespected. No evidence but his testimony was apparent. From his account, he appears to have provoked any incident that might have happened in Michigan.

At newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday, the writer tries to portray the incident as teenagers in MAGA hats ridiculing, mocking, and taunting Phillips.

Some of the commenters there watched the video and are not buying the "mocking" narrative.

from onlygirl:

The elder demanded that boys attention, and the boy stood there and willingly gave it. The elder made him a part of it and the boy accepted by respectfully giving his attention to the elder. My sons who are half native would have done the exact same thing. Honestly to me it looks like the kids were enjoying it and the elder made them a part of it. I guess people want to find something to be offended about. There is nothing wrong with making america great again either. His hat is just a hat.

 from Red C:

No disrespect seen by the kids. The elder activist confronted THEM, while they were minding their own business, broke away from the march. They said and did nothing racist or demeaning, just danced and tried to chant along, or stood silently in their discomfort and tried to have a good time in spite of not knowing just how to react to a grown man approaching them whose culture they were not part of. Bullying and hating on these kids by the leftist agenda divisive SJWs at ICTMN is the abuse here. And I am native.

Watch the video, make up your own mind. Social Justice Warriors are piling on. They have given out the number of the school the  teens came from. They claim to identify the teen who silently stood and endured the provocation by Phillips.

This is a creating of an outrage from nothing, unless you consider the obvious provocation by Phillips.  It was created for the media, to show the power of the left to intimidate and cower anyone who is not in one of their favored identity groups.

This is how fake news is created.


©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

Update: Video of Phillips approaching students. He went to them, not the other way around, as the fake news is reporting.

Link to new video

AG Nominee William Barr on Second Amendment During Confirmation Hearings

On January 15, just a little before 5 p.m. Senator John Cornyn asked Attorney General nominee William P. Barr about his views on the Second Amendment. The question and answer were recorded as part of C-SPAN coverage of the nomination process.

The question and answer, with some more commentary by Senator Cornyn occur from about 4:56:33 to 5:00:04 on the C-SPAN timer.  There is a transcript on the C-SPAN link, but it has a few errors, perhaps introduced by the automated computer transcription process.

For example, the transcript misses the first half of Senator Cornyn's opening sentence, where he says "Mr. Barr, I want to talk about guns," I have created a more accurate transcript below. It can be checked by watching the video.

Starting about 4:56:33 on January 15, 2019 from c-span.org:

Senator John Cornyn from Texas: 

"Mr Barr, I want to talk about guns, and I want to talk about China in the five minutes we have together. Back in 1992 there was some discussion about your position on Congress' role when it comes to banning certain types of semi-automatic weapons, sometimes people call those "assault weapons". But In the intervening years, the Supreme Court has now spoken, both in the Heller and McDonald cases, and recognized the Second Amendment confers and
 individual and fundamental right to bear arms. 

Could you,sir,  bring us up to date from your views in 1992, and how they were affected by Heller and McDonald, and what your views are now on the Second Amendment?"

The Hon. William P. Barr: 

"Sure. I think I opposed an assault weapon ban because I felt that was really sort of the aesthetics of the gun.  

Since that time Heller has been decided. Actually, before Heller, I did work on OLC on this issue, and I personally concluded that the Second Amendment creates a personal right, under the Constitution.

It's based on the Lockean notion of the right of self preservation. It's tied to that. I was glad to see Heller come out and vindicate that initial view that I had. 

And so there is no question under Heller that the right to have weapons, firearms, is protected under the Second Amendment and is a personal right. At the same time there is room for reasonable regulation. 

From my standpoint, what I would look for, in assessing a regulation, is what is the burden on law-abiding people and is it proportionate to whatever benefit, in terms of safety and effectiveness, will be conferred.

As I said, just a moment ago, lets get down to the real problem we are confronting, which is keeping these weapons out of the hands of people who are mentally ill. I think all the rest of this stuff is really, essentially rhetoric, until we get that problem dealt with; in terms of regulatory approaches."

This transcript ends about 4:59:35 on January 15, 2019. Senator Cornyn has some additional commentary after that.


 

Link to video

A short analysis of Mr. Barr's Second Amendment testimony.

Mr. Barr is a lawyer, and by all accounts, an exceptionally good lawyer. His use of words is very precise.  He references work he did pre-Heller, where he concluded the Second Amendment is an individual right, probably about 1989, when he was the Assistant Attorney General, writing opinions for the Office of Legal Counsel.  Someone will find the actual opinion.

The fact that he came to this conclusion before Heller, is significant, and positive. Before Heller, the vast majority of the legal community dismissed the Second Amendment as essentially irrelevant (based on misleading appeals courts decisions).

Mr. Barr also mentions "the Lockean notion" with is a direct reference to natural law, and the foundation of legal theory for the Republic of the United States. This suggests that Barr is an originalist and a textualist in his interpretation of the Constitution.

The questionable part of Mr. Barr's answer is this: 

From my standpoint, what I would look for, in assessing a regulation, is what is the burden on law-abiding people and is it proportionate to whatever benefit, in terms of safety and effectiveness, will be conferred.

Two things stand out. First, Mr. Barr is considering the burden on law-abiding people first, and then considering the potential benefit, second. This sounds like "interest balancing".

I suggest it is more nuanced. The Supreme Court in Heller specifically denied "interest balancing" as a possibility for anything to do with core Second Amendment rights. Mr. Barr is *not* using the wording of the various appeals courts of "government interest" in his comparison. He mentions "burdens on law-abiding people. That may indicate he puts the interests of those exercising their rights ahead of potential benefits.

Mr. Barr did not come across as a Second Amendment zealot. I would not expect him to do so, in a nomination hearing.

But consider Ruth Bader Ginsburg's words about the Second Amendment: From armsandthelaw.com:

"If the court had properly interpreted the Second Amendment, the Court would have said that amendment was very important when the nation was new," she said. "It gave a qualified right to keep and bear arms, but it was for one purpose only — and that was the purpose of having militiamen who were able to fight to preserve the nation.""

William P. Barr wrote the Second Amendment was an individual right almost 20 years before Heller.  That may be the most important thing to understand from the confirmation hearings.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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