Considerations from the Shooting in Kam's Market, Bay Point, California, 2019 Video

An attempted armed robbery and self defense shooting occurred in Kam's Market in Bay Point, California.  Bay Point is in Contra Costa County in the East San Francisco Bay area.

From multiple published accounts, Mark Kaspowitz was starting to close up for the night at about 11 p.m. on 22 December, 2019.  Two masked assailants came into the store. One of them jumped the counter, confronted Mark, attacked him, and took money from the register. The assailant pistol whipped Mark with what appeared to be a semi-automatic pistol, beating him down to the floor.

The assailant used both hands to grab the cash. From the floor, Mark manages to access a store owned pistol kept in a drawer not far from the cash register. The robber noticed, and attacked Mark again.  Noticing Mark's access of the store pistol, the assailant recovers the pistol he brought to the store, and again used it as a club. Mark fired a shot, pointing the store pistol upwards at the person who was above him and pistol whipping him.

The robber fled the store, only to die outside, yards from the entrance.

Link to video

Mark Kaspowitz is reported to be a military veteran of the Air force, from 1980 to 1984, with about 20 years experience as a security guard. He said he is 56 years old. After the shooting, Mark gave an interview to reporters in the video below.

Link to video

Here are a few things to consider from Mark's experience.

Situational awareness:

Mark was busy with the store close down procedures. The store considers robbery a serious threat, or it would not have a store pistol available to employees. Closing time is a prime time for robbers. All of the days proceeds are likely to be available, and it is likely there will be fewer customers to interfere. Mark did not notice the robbers until one was within 5-6 feet, pointing a gun at him.

Denial of reality:

Mark had a masked man with a gun pointed at him from 5-6 feet away, at closing. He still denied the reality, saying:

"At first, I thought it was someone playing a joke."

Ineffective disarm:

This may be why Mark makes the ineffectual disarm attempt, simply pushing the robber's gun aside. The attempt is quickly and easily defeated. If the robber's gun were operative and loaded, Mark could have been shot.  A disarm attempt should be all-out, a matter of life and death. The robber was relatively unguarded. A serious disarm would probably have succeeded.

Firearm stored off body:

The store firearm was stored in a drawer close to the register. If Mark had noticed the masked robbers coming in, he might have had time to access it before the robber cleared the counter. The difficulties Mark encountered show the value of on the body carry.

Contra Costa County issues very few concealed carry permits. In 2016, the estimated number of permits was 263. The population of Contra Costa County is over 1.1 million people. The chance of Mark getting a permit was virtually nil.

Focus on survival:

Mark focuses on survival, rather than saving the store some money.  This is positive. Mark said the money was the least of his concern.  He only accesses the store firearm after being attacked.  Then he hears the assailant saying "He's got a gun", indicating there was more than one assailant, increasing his concern for his and his co-worker's survival. He thinks he hears a shot, as he is being pistol whipped again, just before he fires.

It may have been the blow to the head the assailant delivered a second or so before Mark fired, which Mark interpreted as a gun shot.

Lack of instantaneous effect from the shot:

Mark says he did not know if he hit the assailant or not. There was no obvious, instant, effect from the shot.  We do not know the caliber of the small, black, semi-auto pistol which Mark accessed.

Robber's guns ineffective:

It is likely the robbers guns were not operative, either through operator ignorance, mechanical problems, being unloaded, fake, or toy guns. If toy, the gun was sufficiently hard to wound Mark as he was being pistol whipped. Using ineffective guns in a robbery is common.

Alert readers will notice alternative courses of action which Mark could have taken. The list above is not exhaustive or complete. It is a compilation of some of the more obvious things to be considered from the robbery and shooting at Kam's Market in December of 2019. It is not meant to denigrate Mark's successful defense.

Commenters are free to discuss potential problems with Mark's interview, and other areas not considered above.

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

Gun Watch

MD: Security Guard Stabbed, Assailant Shot, both in Hospital

WASHINGTON, Md. (AP) — Police in Maryland say that a security guard fired his gun and was stabbed after confronting a possible shoplifter

More Here

NV: Armed Woman Fatally Shoots Aggressive Intruder

Las Vegas homicide Lt. Ray Spencer said a 30-year-old man broke through the woman's sliding glass back door and went into her home. The woman went to her bedroom to get her handgun when the suspect confronted her, Spencer said.

The woman told police the man lunged toward her and she shot him once. He then ran out of the house through the broken door and drove off in a Kia.
More Here

IL: Intruder Shot, Shows up at Rockford Hospital

Shortly before 5:30 p.m. Thursday, a man interrupted a burglary at his home in 2000 block of Anjali Way and got into a struggle with the suspect, said Bob Redmond of the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department. A shot was fired and the suspect fled.

It was not clear if the homeowner or suspect was armed with the gun, Redmond said.
More Here

ME: Armed Homeowner Holds Daniel Wayn Spooner for Police

A Windham homeowner held a fugitive at gunpoint Friday morning until police arrived and arrested him.

The homeowner, whom police did not identify, found Daniel Wayne Spooner, 34, who allegedly fled police after a high-speed chase Thursday night, hiding in a shed on the property at Otter Brook Farm at about 8 a.m. Friday.
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Thoughts on the Killing of Atatiana by Officer Aaron Dean in Fort Worth

Image Jefferson family photo/CNN

On 12 October, 2019, Officer Aaron Dean shot and killed Atatiana Koquice Jefferson in her home, at about 2:33 a.m., by firing through a window, into a dark room at the back of the house.

A neighbor had called the police because he noticed the doors of the house were open in the early morning hours. He believed he was calling for a welfare check. The police response was not what would commonly be reasonable for a welfare check. The call to the officers from dispatch was for an "open door" or "open structure", which is more commonly considered a potential burglary call.

The actions of the police indicate they treated the situation as if it were a potential burglary.

There is body camera video of the event, from a body camera former Officer Aaron Dean was wearing. 

Link to Youtube body camera video and analysis of times

Officer Aaron Dean did not announce he was a police officer. He would not announce if he were hoping to catch a burglar. He should have announced once he saw Atatiana. It is unknown if it would have made a difference at that point.

Atatiana had been armed with her legally owned handgun. We do not know if she had the handgun in her hand when she was shot. She prudently kept her eight year old charge away from the window, when she was investigating the disturbance in the back yard.

The presence or absence of Atatiana's handgun has been deemed irrelevant by Fort Worth's Mayor and by a former judge.  From wfaa.com:

As for what the former Fort Worth officer's defense might be for shooting into Atatiana Jefferson's house though a backyard window, attorney and former judge Rob Cañas agrees with the statement of Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price.

"The gun is irrelevant," she said Monday of the weapon found inside Atatiana Jefferson's home. "She was in her own home. Atatiana was a victim."

"She was completely in a legal position, in the right position to be," Cañas said.

The facts of the case available to the public have been published in numerous sources on the Internet. About four seconds elapsed from the time Aaron Dean saw a person on the other side of the window, until he fired the fatal shot.

On 20 December, former officer Dean was indicted by a Fort Worth grand jury on a murder charge.

Dean was a young officer, 34 years old, with limited experience. He had been on the job for a year and a half. He resigned shortly after the shooting.

Atatiana's death was, and is, tragic for all concerned. It is difficult to see any justification for her shooting.

Many have labeled this shooting as racist. It is hard to see it as racist when it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, for the officer to know whether the person on the other side of the window was black, white, Hispanic, Asian or any other description. The room was dark. The shooting happened very quickly. Atatiana's skin color was not very dark.

This shooting is not like the Houston killing of the Tuttles during a no-knock raid. It was not planned with false information. It appears to be much closer to the tragedy that happened on July 15, 2017. On that date, Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor shot and killed Justine Ruszczyk, while responding to a potential sexual assault call.  Noor was sentenced to 12 and 1/2 years in prison after being convicted of third degree murder.

Both officers fired on and killed young women in circumstances which did not appear justified. 

Former officer Aaron Dean has not offered a defense. Former officer Mohamed Noor claimed he was justified because Justine Ruszcyk moved her hand, where he could not see it.

My suspicion is former officer Aaron Dean did not fire the shot intentionally. It is merely a suspicion, of course. He only fired once. He has not given a defense, as far as I know. He has not claimed the shooting was justified. There have been numerous other situations where officers fired without intending to do so.  This article explains some of the mechanisms where firing under stress occurs unintentionally. It is more common than most people think. If the shot was unintentional, it does not relieve Aaron Dean of responsibility, even criminal responsibility, for a crime such as negligent homicide.

It appeared that former officer Aaron Dean was primed to find a burglar, perhaps armed and dangerous. He may have rehearsed scenarios in his mind, where he confronted a burglar. He acted as if he were confronting a suspect when he saw Atatiana in a darkened room at about 2:30 in the morning. 

Unintentional police shootings are rare, but far more common than any would like them to be. Police officers are people. People make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes are deadly. No one, and no group of people is perfect.

This situation is a terrible tragedy for all concerned.


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

Gun Watch

TX: Domestic Defense, Man Attempts to Run over Security Guard, is Shot

The man followed the security guard and the woman down I-35. The guard pulled over on 35 and 410 West Bound Ramp.

That's when police say the man attempted to run over the security guard. The guard pulled a gun, shooting him in the head, authorities said.

More Here

MI: Gunfight in Hooter's Parking Lot, Armed Victim Returns Fire

But officers later learned that the shooting only happened in the parking lot when an unknown person started shooting at two people leaving the restaurant.

One of the victims had a concealed carry permit and returned fire, according to police.
More Here

NC: Gunfight, Off Duty Officer Defends Husband, one Suspect Wounded

Early Friday, multiple suspects approached a couple in the parking lot of an apartment complex in south Charlotte. When they tried to rob the husband at gunpoint, the woman, an off-duty Charlotte-Mecklenburg officer, took out her gun and fired it, police said.

Read more here: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article238746208.html#storylink=cpy

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TX: Gunfight, Armed Victim Wounded, Suspect Killed in Harris County

Deputies said it may have begun as a robbery when a man approached a Jeep in the parking lot. A man in the Jeep was shot, but not before exchanging gunfire with the suspect, authorities said.

The man believed to be the suspect died at the scene.

More Here

KY: Armed Son holds Suspect for Police

According to a news release, the homeowner's son found 38-year-old Harold Ray Jones inside his mother's shed.

The son held Jones at gunpoint until police arrived.
More Here

IN: Car v. Gun, Christmas Theif Shot, in Hospital

During the encounter, the suspect hit the person with his car. The person then shot the suspect in the torso multiple times.

More Here

Carrying a Concealed Handgun is not Sufficient Grounds to Stop and Search a Person in Pennsylvannia

At about 2:30 in the morning of 28 June, 2014, Michael Hicks was at a convenience store in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Hicks had a valid concealed carry permit, and had a handgun in an outside the waistband holster, concealed by his shirt.

Open carry is generally legal in Pennsylvania, but it is not legal to open carry in a vehicle. This limits the practicality of open carry on a regular basis.



Video surveillance of the scene showed Hicks adjusting his shirt, briefly allowing the handgun to be seen before approaching the convenience store. Hicks goes about his business, but minutes later is stopped by police. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania watched the surveillance video and described what happened:

Hicks arrives at the Pace Mart at 2:31 a.m.and parks his vehicle at a gas pump. A second, unidentified individual already was parked at an adjacent gas pump. The individual clearly recognizes Hicks as an acquaintance, and approaches Hicks’ vehicle to greet him. Hicks exits his vehicle, and his firearm becomes visible, albeit barely. Hicks either is holstering the firearm or adjusting his garments around it when the second individual reaches Hicks’ driver’s side door, which is still open.The individual greets Hicks, and the two men shake hands with a brief, one-armed embrace.Hicks does not appear to gesture or point to the firearm, and he does not remove it from his waistband at any point.Hicks begins to walk toward the convenience store, continuing to adjust the position of the handgun, which becomes more clearly visible for a moment. Thereafter, the handgun is holstered outside Hicks’ waistband and covered by his shirt, but its outline remains visible. Hicks enters the store, exits a short time later, then returns to the gas pump, where he begins to fuel his vehicle. Hicks speaks briefly to a third, unidentified individual while he pumps gas. Hicks then reenters his vehicle and begins to pull away from the gas pump. Moments later, numerous marked police vehicles intercept Hicks’ vehicle with their lights flashing.

Even viewing all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, there exists no basis for a finding that Hicks was engaged in any manner of criminal conduct.There was no indication or apparent threat of violence, and no information suggesting that Hicks engaged in any type of confrontation with another individual, physical, verbal, or otherwise. Neither the camera operator’s report nor the police radio dispatch suggest anything of the sort. Indeed, “[t]he video from the camera clearly shows the firearm concealed in [Hicks’] waistband and that, despite the hour, there are a number of individuals at this location.” Brief for Commonwealth at 16. However, significantly, no individual expresses any visible indication of alarm at Hicks’ presence, his possession of his firearm, or the manner in which he carried it. Rather, the video depicts patrons of a gas station going about their business, at least two of whom engage in seemingly friendly interactions with Hicks.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that Hicks Fourth Amendment rights had been violated, and there was no legitimate reason for the police to stop him that early morning in June.

Michael Hicks was deprived of the protections of the Fourth Amendment and Article I, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, and the evidence derivative of his seizure should have been suppressed.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court opinion was decided on 31 May, 2019. The State of Pennsylvania applied to the U.S. Supreme Court to appeal the decision on 27 September, 2019.  The United States Supreme Court formally declined to hear the case. The Court declines to hear cases by declining a writ of certiorari.

The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari on 9 December, 2019.

19-426 PENNSYLVANIA V. HICKS, MICHAEL J. 

The motion of respondent for leave to proceed in forma pauperis is granted. The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied.

For several decades, there has been an assumption in law enforcement circles, backed up by court decisions, that merely the suspicion of a person carrying a concealed weapon was sufficient to allow for a "stop and frisk" of that person.

Law enforcement agencies generally preferred to have that power. I was taught, decades ago, somewhat informally, to always stop and search a suspect if I thought they might have a concealed weapon. I was told, by the officer who was teaching me, that "he had never heard of a judge who threw out the evidence if a weapon was found".

With the success of the concealed carry movement in partially restoring Second Amendment rights, we are seeing a reversal of that policy. The reason is simple: concealed carry is becoming common and accepted.

In this case, Hicks was and is a black man. Skin color was not a part of the legal case.  It is part of the social construct. This case shows that black people have the same legal rights as others. More and more black people are exercising their Second Amendment rights. The exercise of Second Amendment rights is a key indicator of equal treatment under the law.

One of the findings of the infamous Dred Scott case was that black people could not be considered citizens, because if they were, they would be allowed to keep and carry weapons wherever they went. This case shows black people in Pennsylvania have reached a close approximation of the ability to keep and carry arms wherever they go.

When the Supreme Court refuses to grant certiorari in a case, it does not mean the Supreme Court necessarily agrees with the outcome of the case in the lower court. It means the case will only apply in the jurisdiction of the lower court.  It is an indication the Court does not place a high priority on reversing the decision of the lower court.

In Pennsylvania, police no longer have the legal ability to stop people and search them, simply because they have been noticed to be carrying a concealed weapon.

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

Gun Watch

Followup PA: Man uses Gun to Stop Home Invasion by Neighborhood Suspect

Mr. Falcone, 33, retrieved a handgun, the two struggled, and Mr. Falcone struck Mr. Hatfield in the head with the gun at least once and fired it, according to a criminal complaint.
More Here

TX: Disarm, Fireworks Stand Employee takes Robbers Gun, Shoots, Woundws 1, Kills 1, Drives off Others

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Two suspects were shot after they attempted to rob a fireworks stand on Christmas Eve in west Harris County, officials say.
More Here

CA: Man Wounded wtih Own Gun During Scuffle with Burglars

Unknown: was it a disarm attempt? Did the suspect take the gun and shoot him? Was he shot while attempting to defend himself?

A man interrupted a burglary in progress at his Canoga Park home Monday, Dec. 23., and was shot in the leg with his own gun during an altercation with one of two suspects sought by police, authorities said.
More Here

MI: Employee Fires at Armed Robber in Eastepointe Cellphone Store

A gunman looking to rob a cellphone store in Eastpointe on Christmas Eve got more than he bargained before when an employee pulled out his own gun and and fired the weapon, according to police.

More Here

Over a Third of Likely Democrat Primary Voters Favor Gun Confiscation

Image from zogbyanalytics.com:

From 5 December, 2019 to 8 December, 2019, Zogby Analytics ran an online poll of 443 likely Democrat primary voters. Of those voters, 36% approved of confiscation of legally owned firearms from American Citizens who have not committed a crime.  These are the Americans who really do want to take your guns.

There were 20.4 million Democrat primary voters in 2018, the highest number in two decades.

36% of 20.4 million is 7.34 million voters who want to confiscate firearms from Americans who have not committed a crime.

This contrasts with about 18 million voters who have firearms carry permits and roughly 100 million voters who own guns.

According to Zogby's poll 38-39% of Democrat likely primary voters, or about 7.75-7.96 million voters, want government paid healthcare for illegal immigrants. The same number want to  decriminalize the crossing of the U.S. border without permission. About the same number want to eliminate the private healthcare system in the United States.

Zogby Analytics did not report how much overlap existed between the groups who positively answered the gun confiscation, immigration, and healthcare questions. It seems likely there is considerable overlap. Positive answers to the questions indicate a lack of concern for the rule of law and property rights.

Zogby's poll of likely Democrat primary voters was conducted online, but it was not random or open to everyone. Zogby carefully selected the online pool to represent the Democrat primary voters demographically.

There may be others who support gun confiscation, effective elimination of the border, free healthcare for anyone who crosses the border, and elimination of the private healthcare system in the United States. It seems unlikely many of them exist outside of the Democrat party.  Those outside the Democrat party are unlikely to be effective politically.

It appears the ideological opposition to the Second Amendment numbers about eight million voting Americans. Their number is magnified by a few billionaires and the legacy media, who are overwhelmingly anti-Second Amendment.

Second Amendment supporters are more difficult to measure. Many people say they support the Second Amendment... "but".

Analysis of referendums and online polls over the last 40 years has led me to believe there are about five times as many committed Second Amendment supporters as there are committed opponents of the Second Amendment.

There are about five million members of the National Rifle Association, and another million or so members of other Second Amendment groups such as Gun Owners of America, the Second Amendment Foundation, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, and various state groups. Some of those memberships overlap.

Opposition organizations, (who often claim they support the Second Amendment, while doing everything they can to prevent people from owning and carrying arms), have much smaller memberships. Formal memberships in Everytown for Gun safety,  The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Giffords, and the Violence Policy Center are not easy to measure. They are all relatively small organizations.

Everytown claims "Nearly 6 million have joined the movement", but those are not dues paying members.  They are simply the number of email addresses of "supporters".  People who give actual money to the group are about 100,000.  The group spent about $68 million in 2018.

The NRA spent about $10 million on lobbying in 2018, which was considerably lower than usual. The two numbers are not directly comparable, as the NRA has a much larger staff, and spends a great deal on programs that are not political.

Second Amendment supporters have strength in numbers and commitment. Those who wish to disarm the United States population have far fewer numbers, but billionaires and the legacy media on their side.

As the ideological split in the country intensifies, more people on both sides are likely to invest in arms and ammunition.

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

Gun Watch

NM: Neighbor with Shotgun Holds Car Burglar for Police

“‘Stay down or I'll blow your head off. Don't move!’ And he was complaining that ‘Oh my back is hurting me, I have to get up,’ and he said if you move ‘I swear I'll shoot you’ and you hear this on the RING,” he said.

Police eventually responded and arrested Dakota Estrada. This was the fourth time since September that Estrada has been arrested for breaking into cars.

More Here

IL: Neighbor sees Man Holding People at Gunpoint, Shoots, Wounds him

He wasn't able to steal the car, according to police. The man went to a nearby apartment building, breaking several windows, and held a group of people inside an apartment at gunpoint, they say.


Police believe a neighbor heard a commotion in the apartment and came to the residence armed. The neighbor saw the intruder and shot him twice, police say.
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FL: Homeowner Shoots, Wounds Man Attempting to Break In

WEAR — A man was shot following a home invasion Monday morning in Escambia County.

(snip)

Reports add that Crook was banging on the homeowner's door when the owner wouldn't let him in. Crook was still trying to force his way in when the homeowner fired shot.


More Here

CA: Domestic Defense, 70+ Father Shoots, Wounds 50+ Son

The son, a man in his 50s, was threatening his mother with a knife when his father shot him, San Diego County sheriffs’s Lt. Michael Blevins said.

More Here

More TX: Resident Shoots, Kills 3 Home Invaders

Deputies say two men were inside a home when they heard commotion coming from outside. One of the men looked out and saw three suspects dressed in all black trying to break in.

The man exited his room with a shotgun and opened fire on the suspects, shooting three of them.

More Here

CA: Pistol Whipped Clerk Accesses Pistol, Shoot Robber During Struggle

Video at the link shows the struggle.

A convenience store clerk shot and killed an assailant who assaulted and pistol whipped him during a violent robbery Sunday night in Bay Point — a harrowing attack that was captured on video, officials said.

More Here

Merry Christmas to all from Gun Watch!

Merry Christmas! 

I will be traveling on Christmas Day, to be with family.

Writing will slow a bit for a few days. Please bear with us.

Expect an update every couple of days, at least. We may miss a day or two during the holidays.

God Bless you, every one!

The illustration is from the Scottsdale Gun Club. I had a small part in creating it. Terry Schmidt, the founder along with his wife, Nadine, credits me with inspiring him to a career in the gun business.

Terry is a second cousin, and long ago, during a rainy day in California, I spent a couple of hours teaching him how to shoot, indoors, with a Ruger revolver and plastic Speer Target .38 loads.

I am forever humbled that such a small start could have such wonderful results.

My part was tiny, yet, according to Terry, influential.  I think he was about 12 at the time....

I know the year... It was 1974, a little after the first of the year, as I recall.

Dean Weingarten

FL: Gunfight, Armed Homeowner Shoots, Kills, Masked Home Invader

A Lauderhill homeowner traded gunfire with a masked intruder and killed the assailant early Saturday, police said.

Officers responded to the home in the 4400 block of Northwest 16th Street after a 911 call about 12:45 a.m. They found a dead man and a weapon.

More Here

PA: Man Attempting Break-in, Armed with Knife, Stopped by Gunshot

A man trying to break into a Dormont home on Sunday morning was confronted by the resident and — during the ensuing scuffle — was hit in the head by a gun and narrowly escaped being shot before running away,, according to police.

More Here

GA: Police Say Fatal Shooting at Texaco Gas Station was Self Defense

Police confirmed one person was shot and killed at the Texaco gas station off Gresham Road. The shooter stayed on the scene and police have determined the shooting was in self-defense.

More Here

AL: Officers at Wrong House, Shoot Woman who Had Shotgun

Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran told WALA-TV that officers shot Rylee after she pointed a shotgun at them. He said a “miscommunication” led to officers being at the home in the first place.
More Here

Vermont Finally Selling Stored Guns

Image of Vermont State House by Jonathanking, wikimedia commons, 5 June 2012, image cropped by Dean Weingarten

Vermont is finally selling guns the government has impounded for decades. The legislation to do so came at the price of universal background checks, a ban on standard capacity magazines, and a ban on sales to adults less than 21 years old.

Prior to 2018, Vermont had created a legal and political impasse about stored firearms in state and police custody. The firearms had accumulated over decades. Most of the firearms were not involved in serious crimes. From sevendaysvt.com:

"Disposing of firearms is one of the most difficult parts of managing our evidence and property rooms," said Morrison, who also serves as president of the Vermont Association of Chiefs of Police.

Under state law, officials need permission from the commissioner of public safety or the state treasurer in order to destroy or sell guns held by the government. According to Morrison, those officials have refused to give their permission for years, even when she proposed bringing in a private company that can strip guns for parts and then destroy them for free.

With no legal way for cops to get rid of the guns, they pile up.

About 300 guns had accumulated in state custody as well. Before 2018, the state treasurer had been responsible for the disposal of the guns. But neither of those political officials wanted to take responsibility to do so.

It is easy to understand why. Destroy the guns, and they would be accused of destroying valuable property for no good reason. Sell the guns and the shill left would accuse them of "putting deadly weapons on the street". So the firearms accumulated in the thousands.

Vermont has a low crime rate, but high gun ownership.

Early in 2018, Senate Bill 55 was introduced by Senator Richard Sears, with the title: "An act relating to the disposition of unlawful and abandoned firearms".  It was merely a placeholder without the guts of the proposed bill.

Before any action was taken, the Parkland, Florida mass murder took place.

The media push for heavy restrictions on firearms and firearms ownership was used as an opportunity to load Bill 55 with severe restrictions on firearms and firearms ownership. It included: bans on magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds for rifles, or 15 rounds for pistols, a ban on almost all private sales of firearms (a sale is not private if it is recorded by a functionary of the government), and a ban on sales of firearms to adults less than 21 years of age.

The act was passed very quickly. Senator Richard Sears voted against it. It will be challenged in the courts.

The reform law to facilitate the sale of the guns that had accumulated under police and state control was part of the new law, and is being implemented. Online auctions to Federal Firearms Licensed dealers have been conducted by the Agency of Administration, Buildings and General Services, Surplus Property.

A provision in the law allows for innocent owners to retrieve their property from the state. They have to prove their innocence before the firearms will be released to them. From legislature.vermont.gov:

§ 2306. RIGHTS OF INNOCENT OWNER

Nothing contained in subsection 2305(b) of this title shall prejudice the rights of the bona fide owner of any unlawful firearm, the disposition of which is governed by that subsection, upon affirmative proof by him or her that he or she had no express or implied knowledge that such unlawful firearm was being or intended to be used illegally or for illegal purposes.

If the bona fide owner provides reasonable and satisfactory proof of his or her ownership and of his or her lack of express or implied knowledge to the commissioner of public safety Commissioner of Public Safety, the unlawful firearm shall be returned to him or her.

It may be difficult to prove "lack of express or implied knowledge". 

An "unlawful firearm" is defined in the legislation as one which was carried or used in violation of any federal or state law.  It is likely most of the firearms accumulated are not "unlawful firearms" under that definition.

There is a requirement to pay an undefined "storage fee".  Storage fees could quickly outstrip the value of a firearm, depending on how they are structured. In Australia, storage fees of $25 per week were not uncommon.

The sales of stored firearms have been at the cheapest method, which yields the lowest prices. The method has been to sell by lot, 25 firearms, by email bid from federally licensed dealers.  Even with this method, the stored firearms brought in about $140 each.

The law requires 2/3 of the net proceeds to be returned to municipalities which send their accumulated firearms to the state for processing. It appears little money will be returned to those municipalities.  From sevendaysvt.com:

In June, the Department of Public Safety transferred 366 guns to the new secure storage room, and the email bidding process for the first 25-gun lot began. In the months since, Cole's department has completed nine sales and off-loaded 225 firearms, bringing in $31,514. Given the costs of administering the program, Cole expects it will still end up costing the department money.

It is not surprising a government bureaucracy would use up nearly all the money it receives from firearms auctions, to administer those auctions.

No firearms from municipalities have been sold by the Building and General Services, Surplus Property,  as of mid December, 2019.


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

Gun Watch

NM: Man Shoots, wounds Brother who Attacked Sister

“He then began driving the car, which was dragging his sister, as it headed at the male witness, who fired his gun numerous times at the car in an attempt to protect himself and the woman,” the news release states.
More Here

MI: Home Invader with Knife, Shot, Killed by Occupant

A man was fatally shot after he broke into a Manistee County home with a knife and assaulted the occupants inside, according to Michigan State Police.
More Here

CA: Gunfight, Store Owner Shot, Killed Two of Three Robbers

As they were running out of the store, the store owner showed up, and he and the men running out got into a gun fight. Two of the robbers were shot, and died at the hospital last night.

More Here

SC: Girlfriend Fires at Home Invaders, Wounding One

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - North Charleston Police say two would-be home invaders were fired upon by one of two victims Friday afternoon.

Police responded to the 7900 block of Crossroads Drive shortly before 4:30 p.m. on a report of a possible home invasion and shots fired, according to North Charleston Police spokesperson Karley Ash.
More Here

Andy Lloyd Huebschmann Sentenced to 2 Years for Australian Firearms Smuggling Scam

Image from uscourts.gov

Andy Huebschmann, former owner of Thureon Defense LLC, has been sentenced to two years in prison for his part in a scheme to smuggle guns and gun parts into Australia. Huebschmann met an Australian, Paul Munro, at the Shot Show in Las Vegas in 2012, according to JS online. Munro delivered a crate with a false bottom to Huebschmann to ship the guns and gunparts to Australia. From justice.gov:

According to court filings, Huebschmann manufactured numerous firearms and firearm-parts for an Australian criminal and gun-enthusiast. These included rifle kits, which contained the component parts for rifles that could function with either semi-automatic or fully automatic triggers, and 1911 firearm frames that could be assembled into completed pistols. Huebschmann exported those items from the United States to Australia illegally, failing to obtain the required export licenses and shipping guns in containers designed to hide the presence of firearms.

While handing down his sentence, U.S. District Judge William C. Griesbach noted the “extremely dangerous nature of the crime” that “called out for punishment.”  Judge Griesbach noted Huebschmann’s considerable cooperation with authorities as well as his low likelihood to reoffend. But those positive factors were overridden by the strong need to deter others from engaging in this type of criminal behavior.

Huebschmann has to pay a $15,000 fine as well as the two years in jail. As this is a felony, he has lost his Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.

Munroe turned out to be a criminal who was intent on selling the guns illegally in Australia. He is reported to have paid $1,000 each for the rifles and sold them for upwards of $15,000. From jsonline.com:

Between 2013 and 2016 Huebschmann shipped Munro rifle kits with parts for semi-automatic or fully automatic triggers, frames and slides that could be assembled into full pistols and other weapons. He did not have export licenses for the shipments.

In one shipment Munro paid $1,000 for each rifle kit and $2,000 for a pack of pistol slides and frames. Australian news outlets report he, in turn, sold the rifles for $15,000 each and the pistols for $5,000 a piece.

Opinion: Huebschmann was likely conned. The rifles had their serial numbers on and the Thureon trademarks. It is likely Huebschmann thought he was selling the guns to the Australian government special forces, for use in "black" operations.  It is a fairly common "false flag" type of con.  One of the reasons I suspect a con was the small profit Huebschmann made on the deal, only a little more than he would have made selling the guns in the United States.

Two years in prison for full cooperation with U.S. authorities, as well as a full confession of what went on, is a very stiff sentence.

Meanwhile, no one in the ATF has been prosecuted for the smuggling of hundreds of guns into Mexico to the drug cartels, in operation Fast and Furious.

The message Judge Griesbach is sending may be the opposite of what is needed. It seems to be: don't take your chances on a plea deal on gun smuggling. If you are going to smuggle guns for a government, make sure it isn't a false flag operation. That determination is very hard to do. Andy Huebschmann should have contacted the BATF or the Treasury, right away.

It would have saved everyone, except Paul Munro, a lot of trouble.

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

Gun Watch

MI: Armed Homeowner Holds Intruder for Police

She immediately went into her house and told her husband an intruder was in the garage. Her husband ran out with a gun, pointed it at the 39-year-old Lincoln Park man, and called police.

“Don’t you move until the police arrive!” the resident reportedly yelled at the intruder.
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FL: Man Shot in Indian River County, by Homeowner

A trespassing call came in to the Indian River County Sheriff's Office at 10:19 a.m., according to Sheriff's Office spokesman Maj. Eric Flowers. A homeowner reportedly shot the white male as he was trespassing on their property, although the information is still preliminary.

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Followup NY: Man Killed in Self Defense Shooting Identified as Mark I. Johnson, 21

The 24-year-old shooter waited at the scene for police to arrive. Police say he claimed self defense and requested an attorney. The handgun used in the incident was unloaded, placed on the front seat of his vehicle, and turned over to police upon arrival. Police said the shooter owns a Dutchess County pistol permit.

More Here

VA: Gunfight, Delivery Driver and Robbery Suspect both Wounded

An employee of Mun Cheese Pizza & Grill on Washington Street told 8News the owner of the restaurant was the delivery driver who was robbed and shot.

The 16-year-old boy and delivery driver were both injured in the shootout, though it’s unclear exactly how the incident unfolded. One was found on the 600 block of St. Mark Street and the other was found on the 600 block of Virginia Avenue. It’s unclear who was found at which location.
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Guns: More naive Leftist research

The authors quoted below enter the wise caveat that "The findings can’t prove that banning Large Capacity Magazines  reduces mass shootings and deaths".  Yet many people quoting the findings will ignore that caveat and write as if banning Large Capacity Magazines DOES reduce mass shootings and deaths.  So I think I should expand on what lies behind the caveat.

Basically, the study repeats an error that occurs with nauseous frequency in epidemiological research -- despite the fact that the report below appeared in a prestigious medical journal.

The failure was that the authors did not ask WHY people fell into the category being studied.  In this case they did not ask WHY some states ban LCGs and some don't.  America has frequent gun-based massacres so there is always vigorous agitation to restrict gun ownership and use in some way. And restricting magazine size is a popular policy of that ilk.

So the key question is WHY the anti-gun agitation gets results in some states and not in others.  To understand that we have to look at how gun restrictions are viewed.  And I don't think it is drawing too long a bow to suggest that a key variable in that is how dangerous it is perceived to be to be unarmed. If gun attacks are perceived as highly likely, gun use is going to be much more extensively protected than in places where the threat of violent incursions is seen as low. 

So in some states we expect to see a high threat to the citizen from illegal gun users and resultant loose gun laws to enable the citizen to defend himself.  And where the gun laws are loose, access to LCGs is unlikely to be restricted.  So LCGs are more likely to be found and used in high crime areas.  And that, roughly, is what the research found.

As a psychologist I feel a need to add that how dangerous an area is and how dangerous it is perceived to be may not be perfectly aligned.  A major factor is the politics of the area.  Leftists seem to walk around for most of their lives in a mental world that is well divorced from reality. So in areas where they predominate, areas may be seen as much safer than they are

So the causal arrow may point to the dangerous area as being the cause of the excess deaths rather than which magazine is used


Large-Capacity Magazine Bans Linked With Fewer Mass Shootings, Deaths

Jennifer Abbasi

In a recent study, US states without large-capacity magazine (LCM) bans had more high-fatality mass shootings and higher death rates during these assaults. The findings, recently detailed in the American Journal of Public Health, could support banning these efficient ammunition-feeding devices.

Military-style “assault weapons” get a lot of attention from policy makers and the public, but most high-fatality mass shootings are perpetrated with semiautomatic handguns. Large-capacity magazines arm all types of semiautomatic firearms, not just assault weapons, so banning the devices could have a greater effect on such incidents, the study authors said.

Proposals to restrict LCMs are being considered to combat gun violence. However, there isn’t a lot of evidence on the effects of LCM bans.

The Design

The researchers analyzed associations between high-fatality mass shootings and state and federal LCM bans starting in 1990—when the first state (New Jersey) began restricting LCM ownership—through 2017. During that time, 8 additional states and Washington, DC, enacted bans. The time frame also included the now-expired 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban that for a decade made it illegal to produce, sell, transfer, or own new LCMs.

The researchers looked at the state and federal bans both together and separately. Based on the federal rule, they defined LCMs as magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. They considered high-fatality mass shootings those with 6 or more deaths not including the shooter. To account for other differences among states, they controlled for 10 variables, including population density, education, unemployment rate, and a proxy for percentage of households with firearms.

What We’ve Learned

There were 69 high-fatality mass shootings during the study period. Forty-four of them involved LCMs and 16 didn’t. The researchers couldn’t determine if LCMs were involved in the remaining 9 shootings.

The attacks were more common in states without LCM bans. Forty-nine occurred in such states, whereas just 20 happened in states with bans.

More people died in shootings that involved LCMs: 11.8 on average, compared with 7.3 in attacks without the magazines. Nonban states also saw more deaths on average per attack: 10.9, compared with 8.2 in states with bans.

The percentage of shooters who used LCMs was 81% in states without bans but only 55% in states with bans.

Only 12 of the shootings and 89 of the deaths occurred during the 10-year federal ban. But over the following 13 years, there were 48 such shootings and 527 deaths.

The first full year after the federal ban expired, 8 high-fatality mass shootings occurred in states with LCM bans, while 39 happened in those without them.

The Caveats

There wasn’t information about LCMs for 13% of the incidents.

The researchers acknowledged that the magnitude of the associations may have been overestimated because of the (relatively) small number of shootings that met the study’s criteria for high-fatality mass shootings.

Knowing which mass shootings with fewer than 6 deaths involved LCMs would have been valuable, but most of these data either are not documented or are not readily available, the researchers told JAMA.

What the Researchers Say

The findings can’t prove that banning LCMs reduces mass shootings and deaths, but the main conclusions didn’t change when other explanatory variables were factored in. This indicates that “differences across states in these dimensions were not the reason for the strong association between LCM bans and lower rates of high-fatality mass shooting deaths,” said the study’s senior author, David Hemenway, PhD, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

According to Hemenway, LCMs allow the shooter to fire more shots without reloading—and reloading gives time for someone to intervene and for potential victims to get out of harm’s way. Possibly for this reason, states that have enacted LCM bans have had fewer high-fatality mass shooting incidents, fewer victims killed per incident, and far fewer high-fatality mass shooting fatalities per capita.

“Overall, the theory behind reducing the availability of LCMs to reduce the number of victims in mass shootings makes sense, and our empirical results suggest that LCM bans have saved lives,” he said.

However, the authors pointed out that the bans don’t immediately eliminate all LCMs. Some are grandfathered in, while others are illegally imported from places where they’re still legal.

doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.20457

MO: St. Louis City Government Goes Orwellian, Bans Second Amendment in Parks

Image from wikimedia commons

On 13 December, 2019, Lyda Krewson, the Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri, signed a city ordinance purported to ban guns from St. Louis City parks. It was passed by a vote of 16-2. The bill used a novel approach to circumvent the Missouri State protections for Second Amendment rights. Bill No. 134 declared that St. Louis parks and recreation facilities are "child-care" facilities, and are, therefore, banned from allowing firearms in them. From stltoday.com:

Missouri state law allows adults to carry guns in the open, so the new law reclassifies the parks and recreation facilities as child-care facilities, where guns are not allowed.

Last week, Alderman Bret Narayan, D-24th Ward, predicted that this reclassification would face a challenge in the courts by gun-rights activists, who he said would likely prevail.

People in Missouri have the right to carry holstered, loaded, pistols in most public places most of the time. There are a few exceptions. One of them is for child-care facilities, as defined in RS 571.107.  From revisor.mo.gov:

(11) Any portion of a building used as a child care facility without the consent of the manager.

Careful readers will note the exception is for a portion of a building used as a child care facility. Most of the areas of parks and recreation facilities in St. Louis are not inside of buildings. Here is the way it is worded in Bill No. 134:

An ordinance directing the installation of signs, as specified in this ordinance, notifying individuals that City of St. Louis parks and parks facilities are child-care facilities under Section 210.201 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, and that as child-care facilities the possession and carrying of firearms are prohibited under Section 571.107(11) of the Revised Statutes of Missouri.

There is another problem with the "child-care" facility Orwellian word mangling. It does not appear that St. Louis City Parks advertise or hold "himself or herself as providing care for more than six children during daytime".

There is another problem with this. Section 210.211 does not define a "summer camp" as a child care facility; the law says a summer camp is exempt from being licensed as a child-care facility. Here is the listed exemption:

  (3) Any graded boarding school, summer camp, hospital, sanitarium or home which is conducted in good faith primarily to provide education, recreation, medical treatment, or nursing or convalescent care for children;

Listing something as exempted from a licensing requirement, does not define that thing as the item to be licensed.

 Constitutional Carry became law in Missouri on 1 January, 2017.

Missouri has a very strong protection of the right to keep and bear arms in the Missouri State Constitution. From the Missouri Constitution:

Text of Section 23:

Right to Keep and Bear Arms--Exception

That the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms, ammunition, and accessories typical to the normal function of such arms, in defense of his home, person, family and property, or when lawfully summoned in aid of the civil power, shall not be questioned. The rights guaranteed by this section shall be unalienable. Any restriction on these rights shall be subject to strict scrutiny and the state of Missouri shall be obligated to uphold these rights and shall under no circumstances decline to protect against their infringement. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the general assembly from enacting general laws which limit the rights of convicted violent felons or those duly adjudged mentally infirm by a court of competent jurisdiction.[1]

The people of Missouri will soon find out if judges in the state have any integrity.

Lyda Krewson and the City Council of St. Louis will not face any penalties for the silly expenditure of City resources, or for the willful disregard for Constitutional rights. They are spending other people's money.

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

Gun Watch

TN: Disarm Attempt, Victim and Suspect both Wounded in Hand

Metro officers soon found a gunshot victim near an apartment in Building B. The victim said he arrived home and parked and the truck pulled up behind him, blocking his car. He said three Hispanic men exited the truck and one pointed a handgun at him and were yelling at him.


The victim told police he charged the suspect and they fought over the gun until it went off and stuck him in the hand. The shot also apparently struck the suspect in the finger. The victim was taken to Southern Hills Medical Center for treatment.
More Here

MI: Man was Shot During Home Invasion, Lied to Police

INKSTER, Mich. (WXYZ) — State troopers are investigating a non-fatal shooting during a home invasion in Livonia.

On Dec. 18 around 7:30 p.m., trooper responded to Beaumont Hospital Wayne for a gunshot victim.
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GA: Armed Woman Homeowner, Home Invasion Suspect both Wounded

However, the suspects ran up the stairs and kicked in that door as well.

“Shots were fired,” Levett said. “We don’t know if she shot first or if the suspect or suspects shot first.”

The woman was shot twice, the sheriff said. They believe she struck one of the men. Authorities said the suspects left the scene after the exchange of gunfire.
More Here

Police Chief Pushes to Increase Gun Manufacturer Profits

Image from wbtv.com:

A view of firearms as a zero-sum game, where the destruction of a firearm means there will be one less firearm in the world, is a simplistic and childish view of reality.

Firearms are a manufactured product. They were first manufactured with 14th century technology. Manufacturing them today is much easier.

The idea that removing a few firearms from society makes society safer is a delusional view of reality. It is widely held by true believers in population disarmament.

Police Chief Kerr Putney has the authority to sell 18,000 firearms held in storage, under his control. Instead of selling them and bringing needed funds into his department, he insists on storing them, simply to make a bizarre statement that guns are bad. From wbtv.com:

In an interview with WBTV anchor Molly Grantham, Putney explained why the department is keeping the confiscated guns locked behind closed doors when some of the firearms could be sold to vendors.

“I don’t want to be responsible for having one of those weapons take a life here in Charlotte when we could have done something that’s within our purview because of a law enforcement reason to keep that from happening and that’s what I stand by,” said Putney.

The police chief said his department currently has around 18,000 guns safely stored in CMPD facilities.

Note: "one of those weapons take a life". Granting volition and motive to inanimate objects is a common characteristic of those who wish us disarmed. It is magical thinking.

At prices typically achieved at sales of impounded guns, the value of the 18,000 firearms is two to three million dollars.

The firearms would be sold to federally licensed dealers. People who purchase them would go through exactly the same background checks they would for  new firearms. If a person would be able to purchase one of the firearms now held by Chief Putney, they would be able to purchase a new firearm. At prices typically achieved at sales of impounded guns, the value is between 2-3 million dollars.

Chief Putney is increasing the profits of gun manufacturers. He does this by artificially reducing the supply of guns.

“The law is pretty clear. They want vendors to be able to resell guns,” said Putney. “I think it’s wrong-headed. I’m never gonna break the law, but I am gonna say we have a law enforcement reason where we shouldn’t be adding more weapons to the hands of young people.”

This is nonsense, a weird illusion. If a person can buy one of the firearms stored by Chief Putney, they can buy a new firearm. Chief Putney is not keeping guns out of the hands of young people. He is taking money out of the hands of taxpayers, to indulge in his childish, magical thinking.

The people I have talked to, who think this way, have a strange belief that the supply of firearms is fixed, a number that is not dynamic or growing. Thus, if you destroy a firearm, or keep one locked up, there is one less firearm to cause problems. This is pure delusion.

We are increasing the number of firearms in the United States by ten million or more, every year. Destroying a firearm, or storing it in a police lockup, does nothing to reduce the demand for firearms. It only re-directs the demand from used guns to new guns. It means people who make guns will make one more gun.

To reduce the number of guns in society, you need to stop the manufacture of new guns, and apply draconian controls to confiscate the guns in existence, while preventing the clandestine manufacture and smuggling of guns in the black market.

It has been tried. It has failed everywhere it has been tried. Look at the numbers for India, China, Brazil, and the United States. Legal gun numbers have no relationship to illegal gun numbers. After 165 years of modern gun control, there are more guns than ever in places that instituted heavily restrictive laws against gun possession and use. Legal gun numbers have no relationship to the crime rate. Gun control has been tested and failed.

The measures put into place in the attempt, create far worse problems than they solve.

It is easy for people to make their own guns, or for small, illicit shops to make them for them. Guns have sufficient utility to be highly desired, creating the demand that fuels the manufacture.

Societies with high numbers of guns, and societies with low numbers of guns, have been both violent and peaceful. The number of guns in a society has almost nothing to do with the level of homicide in a society.

Police Chief Putney will be retiring in a few months.

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

Gun Watch 

GA: Homeowner Shoots, Kills Burglary Suspect in Brookhaven

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Police confirmed a homeowner shot and killed a burglary suspect Wednesday afternoon in DeKalb County.

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NJ: Lomis Guard Shoots Suspected Robber

Authorities say a Loomis Security truck was either making a pickup or a delivery at the Wayne Plaza Square Mall branch when a 33-year-old man tried to steal one of the cash bags one of the guards was carrying.

A struggle ensued, during which the guard fired one round, striking the suspect in the torso.

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Followup OH: Four Teens Arrested in Shooting Death of Mason Tudics During Kidnap Plot

According to police, upon arriving at the address, the individual was threatened with a bat and a firearm. Deputies say the subject then defended himself against attack with a firearm and in the ensuing battle, Mason Trudics was shot and killed and a 16-year-old was critically injured by gunfire.
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CA: Store owner Fires Gun, Stops Robbery Attempt

A struggle ensued between the store owner and the male suspect. At some point during the altercation the store owner discharged a concealed firearm once. The suspects then reportedly fled the business, uninjured, on foot without the business’ money drawer.

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PA: Gunfight, Fed Ex Driver Shoots, Kills, Attacker after being Shot

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Police say a FedEx driver fatally shot a suspect during an attempted robbery in Northeast Philadelphia on Tuesday night. The shooting happened shortly after 7 p.m. on the 600 block of Unruh Avenue in the city’s Lawndale neighborhood.
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Gun Law in Puerto Rico to Respect the Second Amendment

Image of Puerto Rico Flag from wikimediacommons

On December 11, 2019, Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced signed Act No. 168. into law. The new law totally re-writes Puerto Rico firearms law. It is the most sweeping change in firearms law in the history of Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico came under the sovereignty of the United States in 1898, about the same time as Hawaii. Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States as the result of the Spanish-American war. In Puerto Rico, the possession of firearms has always been regarded as a privilege, not as a Constitutional Right.

Puerto Rico had one of the most restrictive firearms laws in the United States, arguably more restrictive than California, Hawaii, or New York. There were only about 225,000 legally owned firearms in Puerto Rico in 2016, giving it one of the lowest levels of legal firearm ownership in the United States, at about 6.6 legal firearms per 100 people.

Two things seem to have led to the massive reform of Puerto Rico firearms law.

First, the actions of the United States Supreme Court in recognizing the Constitutional protections of the Second Amendment in the Heller and later, the McDonald, Supreme Court cases.

Second, the utter failure of the extremely restrictive Puerto Rico gun control scheme. While Puerto Rico has had extreme infringements on Second Amendment rights, it has had extreme crime and murder rates, far higher than any state in the United States. Puerto Rico's murder rate averages four times the murder rate of the United States as a whole.

In 2016, the FBI Uniform Crime Report shows Puerto Rico with 19.9 murders per 100,000 population. Louisiana is the closest state with 11.8 murders per 100,000 population. The District of Columbia, as a federal territory, edges out Puerto Rico with 20.4 murders per 100,000. The District of Columbia is one of the few places in the United States that could claim, in 2016, to have more infringements on Second Amendment rights than Puerto Rico.

Perhaps this is why, when those pushing for a disarmed society compare gun control regimes and crime rates, they conspicuously ignore Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. 2016 is not an outlier. It is representative of the last 20 years, at least.

The reason for the passage of Act. No. 168 is stated as the necessity of bringing Puerto Rico law within the protections of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Caveat: Act No. 168, and other Puerto Rico law is written in Spanish. What are quoted below are translations to English.

Given the decisions of the Supreme Federal Court, it is necessary to take action to safeguard and protect the rights of American citizens residing in Puerto Rico, through a new Weapons Law that is consistent with the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, with decisions of the Supreme Court, and make it clear that, in Puerto Rico, carrying and possessing firearms is a fundamental and individual right, as in the rest of the Nation.

 The most sweeping change in Act No. 168 is to eliminate the restrictive and burdensome requirements of the old law in obtaining a permit to purchase, own, or carry firearms. The new law enacts a shall issue system which requires a permit be issued if the applicant meets the legal requirements. The legal requirements are essentially the same as in the United States for firearms ownership; except for a uniform minimum age of 21. This was likely influenced by recent legislation in California, Washington, and Florida.

Costs under the old system were upwards from $1,500, with no guarantee of obtaining a permit to own a gun at the end of the long process.

Under the new law, costs are about $200, with a guarantee of a permit, if the applicant does not fall into one of the prohibited categories.

The permit is valid for five years. The renewal fee is $100.

Under the new law, a permit to own includes the right to carry a firearm for defense in public, if the firearm is concealed. Obtaining a permit to carry, under the old system, was even more difficult and costly than obtaining a permit to own a firearm. The government has a limit of 45 days in which to investigate and issue a permit. After a year, the limit is reduced to 30 days.

Puerto Rico will recognize all other firearm permits issued in the United States or territories of the United States. This warning, in Spanish and English, is to be posted at all ports and airports:

“FIREARMS WARNING

Every person, not authorized to have firearms under Puerto Rico laws, and who does not hold a valid weapons permit issued in any State, enclave, possession or territory of the United States of America, who brings a firearm with him/her or in his/her luggage, must give immediate notice to the Ports Authority Security Office and an officer of the Police Bureau of Puerto Rico upon arrival. Noncompliance with this notice may carry prison penalties. The Ports Authority Security Office and/or an Authorized Agent will inform you on how to proceed with your weapon.”

Under the new law, if a firearms owner purchases more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition in a year; or more than 10 firearms in a year; the police chief may investigate to insure the ammunition and firearms were purchased for lawful reasons.

The collection of firearms is specifically protected under the new law. There are no limits to the number of firearms which may be collected.

Under the new law, "assault weapons" are banned, except for those people with a firearms permit.

Under the new law, target shooting is to be encouraged by the government of Puerto Rico. The establishment of clubs, shooting organizations, and competitions is to be promoted by the government.

People without firearms permits will be allowed to shoot at licensed ranges.

While the requirement to apply and pay for a firearms permit may seem burdensome to gun owners in many states, Act No. 168 is an enormous step toward respecting Second Amendment rights in Puerto Rico.

Consider: The permit must be issued. The permit includes the right to carry for self defense. There is complete recognition of all permits issued in the United States. There are, effectively, no limits on the number of firearms or amount of ammunition which may be purchased and used.

Moreover, the law specifically states its purpose is to bring Puerto Rico under the protections of the Second Amendment of the United States.

If the Supreme Court further clarifies and restores those protections, as expected, the law will be subject to revision to bring the benefits of the Second Amendment to Puerto Rico.

The law goes into effect on 1 January, 2020.

Regulations are being written to conform to the new law. If you are traveling to Puerto Rico, it is recommended you determine the details of the regulations before traveling. 


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

Gun Watch

TN: Shooting of Xavier Morris Ruled Self Defense

Evans said the shooting has been ruled self-defense, and Shutes is not expected to face charges in connection with Morris’ death.

No other injuries were reported in the shooting.
More Here

TX: Gunfight, Armed Wife stops Assault, Home Invasioln

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A gun-toting wife fought back against three men who attempted to steal money from her husband.
More Here

MI: Armed Woman Holds Car Burglary Suspect for Police

She said was just getting up and preparing for work when she saw a light on in her pick-up and saw a man inside. She picked up her handgun and phone and confronted the man. She said he threw some change into the yard but stayed in the driveway at gunpoint until officers arrived.

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KY: Armed Samaritan Holds Porch Pirate for Police

Rockwood said two of the suspects took off. while another got on the ground. He said he held the teen there until St. Matthews Police came and arrested him. A few hours later, Police Chief Barry Wilkerson said all three suspects were in custody. Wilkerson said their quick response was due in part to what Rockwood did.

“If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, don’t do it," Wilkerson said. "He did feel comfortable in that situation. It’s great that he was willing to, you know, put his own life kind of at risk to help others.”
More Here

PA: Historical Domestic Defense from 1991, Charlize Theron

She continued, “So both of us were leaning against the door from the inside to have him not be able to push through. He took a step back and just shot through the door three times.”

“None of the bullets ever hit us, which is just a miracle,” Charlize added.

To save her daughter and herself, Gerda shot her husband.
More Here

More naive Leftist research

The authors quoted below enter the wise caveat that "The findings can’t prove that banning Large Capacity Magazines  reduces mass shootings and deaths".  Yet many people quoting the findings will ignore that caveat and write as if banning Large Capacity Magazines DOES reduce mass shootings and deaths.  So I think I should expand on what lies behind the caveat.

Basically, the study repeats an error that occurs with nauseous frequency in epidemiological research -- despite the fact that the report below appeared in a prestigious medical journal.

The failure was that the authors did not ask WHY people fell into the category being studied.  In this case they did not ask WHY some states ban LCGs and some don't.  America has frequent gun-based massacres so there is always vigorous agitation to restrict gun ownership and use in some way. And restricting magazine size is a popular policy of that ilk.

So the key question is WHY the anti-gun agitation gets results in some states and not in others.  To understand that we have to look at how gun restrictions are viewed.  And I don't think it is drawing too long a bow to suggest that a key variable in that is how dangerous it is perceived to be to be unarmed. If gun attacks are perceived as highly likely, gun use is going to be much more extensively protected than in places where the threat of violent incursions is seen as low. 

So in some states we expect to see a high threat to the citizen from illegal gun users and resultant loose gun laws to enable the citizen to defend himself.  And where the gun laws are loose, access to LCGs is unlikely to be restricted.  So LCGs are more likely to be found and used in high crime areas.  And that, roughly, is what the research found.

As a psychologist I feel a need to add that how dangerous an area is and how dangerous it is perceived to be may not be perfectly aligned.  A major factor is the politics of the area.  Leftists seem to walk around for most of their lives in a mental world that is well divorced from reality. So in areas where they predominate, areas may be seen as much safer than they are

So the causal arrow may point to the dangerous area as being the cause of the excess deaths rather than which magazine is used


Large-Capacity Magazine Bans Linked With Fewer Mass Shootings, Deaths

Jennifer Abbasi

In a recent study, US states without large-capacity magazine (LCM) bans had more high-fatality mass shootings and higher death rates during these assaults. The findings, recently detailed in the American Journal of Public Health, could support banning these efficient ammunition-feeding devices.

Military-style “assault weapons” get a lot of attention from policy makers and the public, but most high-fatality mass shootings are perpetrated with semiautomatic handguns. Large-capacity magazines arm all types of semiautomatic firearms, not just assault weapons, so banning the devices could have a greater effect on such incidents, the study authors said.

Proposals to restrict LCMs are being considered to combat gun violence. However, there isn’t a lot of evidence on the effects of LCM bans.

The Design

The researchers analyzed associations between high-fatality mass shootings and state and federal LCM bans starting in 1990—when the first state (New Jersey) began restricting LCM ownership—through 2017. During that time, 8 additional states and Washington, DC, enacted bans. The time frame also included the now-expired 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban that for a decade made it illegal to produce, sell, transfer, or own new LCMs.

The researchers looked at the state and federal bans both together and separately. Based on the federal rule, they defined LCMs as magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. They considered high-fatality mass shootings those with 6 or more deaths not including the shooter. To account for other differences among states, they controlled for 10 variables, including population density, education, unemployment rate, and a proxy for percentage of households with firearms.

What We’ve Learned

There were 69 high-fatality mass shootings during the study period. Forty-four of them involved LCMs and 16 didn’t. The researchers couldn’t determine if LCMs were involved in the remaining 9 shootings.

The attacks were more common in states without LCM bans. Forty-nine occurred in such states, whereas just 20 happened in states with bans.

More people died in shootings that involved LCMs: 11.8 on average, compared with 7.3 in attacks without the magazines. Nonban states also saw more deaths on average per attack: 10.9, compared with 8.2 in states with bans.

The percentage of shooters who used LCMs was 81% in states without bans but only 55% in states with bans.

Only 12 of the shootings and 89 of the deaths occurred during the 10-year federal ban. But over the following 13 years, there were 48 such shootings and 527 deaths.

The first full year after the federal ban expired, 8 high-fatality mass shootings occurred in states with LCM bans, while 39 happened in those without them.

The Caveats

There wasn’t information about LCMs for 13% of the incidents.

The researchers acknowledged that the magnitude of the associations may have been overestimated because of the (relatively) small number of shootings that met the study’s criteria for high-fatality mass shootings.

Knowing which mass shootings with fewer than 6 deaths involved LCMs would have been valuable, but most of these data either are not documented or are not readily available, the researchers told JAMA.

What the Researchers Say

The findings can’t prove that banning LCMs reduces mass shootings and deaths, but the main conclusions didn’t change when other explanatory variables were factored in. This indicates that “differences across states in these dimensions were not the reason for the strong association between LCM bans and lower rates of high-fatality mass shooting deaths,” said the study’s senior author, David Hemenway, PhD, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

According to Hemenway, LCMs allow the shooter to fire more shots without reloading—and reloading gives time for someone to intervene and for potential victims to get out of harm’s way. Possibly for this reason, states that have enacted LCM bans have had fewer high-fatality mass shooting incidents, fewer victims killed per incident, and far fewer high-fatality mass shooting fatalities per capita.

“Overall, the theory behind reducing the availability of LCMs to reduce the number of victims in mass shootings makes sense, and our empirical results suggest that LCM bans have saved lives,” he said.

However, the authors pointed out that the bans don’t immediately eliminate all LCMs. Some are grandfathered in, while others are illegally imported from places where they’re still legal.

 JAMA. Published online December 18, 2019. doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.20457

Some Thoughts on the Taurus TX22 and the New Glock 44

I seldom do gun reviews. They take a lot of time to do right; many others are already doing them. That doesn't mean I won't comment on items that deserve it.

I mentioned the Taurus TX22 from the Shot Show last year. I was impressed with the pistol. I recently acquired one, by purchase, at the normal price.

It is an impressive pistol, a great choice for nearly everything a .22 pistol is called upon to do. I have had a hard time finding serious accuracy testing of the pistol online, so I did what I could at the ranch, off of sandbags, with the stock sights.

The best results are shown in the picture. A five shot group under an inch at 50 feet is respectable accuracy for a stock .22 that can be had for $250. I believe someone with excellent eyes and skill could consistently get 1 inch groups at 50 feet, off a rest, once they found the ammo that shot best. One commenter on line, who installed a red dot sight, claimed consistent .8 inch groups at 50 feet, from a rest.  A video review showed 10 shot groups at 25 yards at about 1.5 inches, using a scope sight, in windy conditions. It is not match target accuracy, but it is not terribly far off. It is much better than most shooters can use in most situations.

Link to youtube video

The trigger is very good for a stock pistol. I measured mine at 4 1/2 pounds. It breaks pretty cleanly.

The trigger on my Colt Woodsman is better, but the TX22 trigger is quite serviceable.

The grip fits my hand beautifully. My hands are about average for an adult male.

I fired about 200 rounds through my TX22. I only pushed a patch through the bore in preparation. I fired about 125 standard velocity CCI rounds and about 75 old Remington golden bullets. I had some partial boxes, so the count was not precise. The accuracy was about the same. I shot 5 Aguila Sniper Subsonic 60 grain cartridges. They functioned flawlessly, but were starting to keyhole at 50 feet, opening the group to 4 inches.  They need a faster twist than 1 in 16 to stabilize properly. Maybe someone will come out with a 1 in 9  twist barrel for the TX22.  The Taurus barrel is easily removed during normal take down. While it is not fixed, the accuracy is still good. The Astra 400  has a similar system and has a good reputation for accuracy.

There was not a single bobble. The reliability, as noted by many others, was superb.

The heart of a semi-automatic pistol is the magazine. Magazines are what makes a semi-auto reliable. Two 16 round magazines are included with the TX22. The factory thoughtfully marks the magazines 1 and 2 so you can differentiate between them. It is a nice touch for a Taurus pistol designed and made in the United States.  The magazines are plastic, except for the spring. I suspect it is one of the reasons for the remarkable reliability of theTX22.  I found the tabs on both sides of the magazine easy to use.

The TX22 has excellent uses as an understudy for center fire handguns. The feel of the trigger is rather "Glockish" even if it is a bit nicer. The size is very close to a Glock 19. The cost of .22 ammunition has come down enough, that shooting two thousand rounds through the TX22 is enough to pay for the pistol if you saved firing two thousand rounds of 9mm.   Shooting the TX22 is so much fun, I expect most people will expend 2,000 rounds in less than the first year!

The TX22 only weighs 17.3 ounces, with a 4.1 inch barrel. It is an excellent choice as a kit gun to take on walks in the woods, keep in a tackle box, or in a survival kit in the pickup truck, SUV, or car.

I have one minor quibble with the TX22. I could not keep the adjustable sights on target at 50 feet. They were either 1 inch high or two inches low. I was unable to keep them in an in between position.  One inch high at 50 feet is not too bad for a kit gun.

The Glock 44 was recently released, chambered in .22 Long Rifle. It is a direct competitor to the TX22. I have not shot it, but reviews and videos indicate it will be popular. We will soon know if it has the famous Glock reliability.

The Glock 44 is 2.6 ounces lighter than the TX22,  at 14.64 ounces. The barrel of the Glock is about a tenth of an inch shorter. The magazines hold 10 rounds instead of 16. There are rumors of 15 round magazines for the Glock in the works, which would enhance the usefulness of the G44 as a training gun.

The suggested retail price of the Glock is $81 higher than the suggested retail price of the TX22, at $430 v. 349. I don't expect the Glock to be discounted as much as the Taurus, so the price differential will probably be $100.

An advantage of the Glock is the controls are identical to other Glock pistols.

The Taurus has a model without external manual safeties; I found the safeties on my TX22 to be useful, as I had not obtained a holster for the pistol when I first shot it.

The Glock 44 should fit all the holsters for Glock 19 pistols, a distinct advantage.

I have not seen any accuracy testing of the Glock 44. People are showing them fired offhand in videos. That does not give you much of an idea of the accuracy potential of the pistols.

There are many circumstances where pistols can be fired effectively off a rest, or from a supported position when kneeling, sitting, or prone. I once shot a crow at 70 yards, from a kneeling position, with my Colt Woodsman. It isn't much of a brag, it took me three shots! The point is good accuracy is a desirable characteristic, which has practical effect in some circumstances, especially in a .22 carried in the field.

I would like to see serious testing of the Glock 44 for accuracy. As a .22, I expect it to do better than the common 2 1/2 inch groups at 25 yards we get from the centerfire Glocks.  .22 pistols are more commonly fired at smaller targets than centerfire pistols are.

I doubt Glock will be able to meet the demand for its new G44 for Christmas. The TX22 is already flying off of dealers shelves. Extra magazines for the TX22 are sold out.

Next year, I want to see both the Glock and the TX22 with slimline versions, with grips about the size of a Colt Woodsman. The current grips fit me very well, but half the people in the United States have smaller than average hands.  There is plenty of room in the grips of both guns to allow for a slim line grip without changing magazine size or mechanical features.

Both of these fine pistols are going to be very popular for years to come.


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

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