"Obviously a homeowner has the ability to protect themselves if they feel like they're in danger or threatened," said Hahn. "But in this case, we just don't have enough information to be able to definitively say what exactly happened."
The man was taken to Confluence Health Hospital Central Campus with a gunshot wound to his abdomen.
Gabriel Metcalf of Billings Montana has accepted a plea deal in the Gun Free School Zone (GFSZ) case which has been extensively covered by AmmoLand. The plea deal appears to be for probation only, with forfeiture of the single shot Rossi shotgun and six rounds of ammunition. There is no mention of a fine in the plea agreement. The right to appeal is preserved on page 7 of the agreement.
The plea deal specifically preserves the right to appeal the conviction based on the motion to dismiss entered on October 10, 2023. The motion to dismiss made two arguments. First, the claim was made Gabriel Metcalf was covered by the exception at 18 U.S.C. §922(q)(B)(iii), where the Montana statutes specifically creates an individual license for the federal law. Second, §922(q)(2)(A), the GFSZ law, is an unconstitutional infringement on the right to keep and bear arms, protected by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.
The Gun Free School Zone act was initially found to be unconstitutional, in 1995, in U.S. v Lopez, because the United States government did not have the authority to regulate mere possession of a firearm within a thousand feet of any school. President Bill Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno lobbied for a change in the law, declaring, if the firearm had moved in interstate commerce, the federal government had the authority to regulate possession of the firearm. The change was passed as part of an large spending bill. Eight circuit courts of appeal have ruled on the constitutionality of the law based on the wording change. Five have ruled the wording change cured the constitutional defect. Three have ruled the change did not cure the constitutional defect. No court has ruled on the constitutionality of the GFSZ act under the Second Amendment, except for the Billings District court, in this case, where Judge Susan Waters ruled the GFSZ act did not infringe on rights protected by the Second Amendment.
This correspondent has been informed the decision to accept the plea deal was an agonizing one for Gabriel Metcalf. A previous plea offer was rejected. This plea deal was only accepted at the last minute, after seeing what evidence would be allowed at trial. No evidence would be allowed showing valid reasons to possess the firearm for defense of self and others. The federal statute does not contain a defense of self and others exception. The constitutional argument would not be allowed at trial. Preventing juries from hearing constitutional arguments has become standard practice. The recording of Gabriel Metcalf calling federal officers to ask for help because of perceived local police misconduct would not be allowed at trial. An estoppel defense, where the defendant relies on information given by local police, would not be allowed. Billings police repeatedly made statements to the effect Gabriel was not breaking any laws, so they could not arrest him. The prosecutors had several witnesses who claimed they had seen Gabriel with a firearm, outside his property, on a public sidewalk, inside the Gun Free School Zone. There was never an indication Gabriel had been on school property, had threatened anyone or had broken any other law.
As a practical matter, in order for the case to be appealed, Gabriel Metcalf had to be found guilty, either at trial, or through a plea deal. If Metcalf had been found not guilty at trial, he would not have grounds for appeal in this criminal case. This case appears to be the best test case to challenge the constitutionality of the GFSZ act. The Ninth Circuit has been hostile to treating the Second Amendment as a fundamental part of the Bill of Rights. Some three judge panels have followed the Supreme Court guidance as given in the Heller, McDonald, Caetano, and Bruen decisions. At the Ninth Circuit, those have been taken to en banc panels and reversed.
Judge Susan Waters is reported as saying, in court, she will not hold it against Gabriel Metcalf if he appeals her decision to the Ninth Circuit. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 2, 2024.
©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Two Birmingham man were arrested, and third person sought, in a drug-fueled shooting at a Panama City Beach home.
Patrick Underwood, 21, and Kendrique Wesley, 19, are charged with armed robbery. One of them was shot during the holdup.
Several vehicles, including a work crew, stopped on the road to avoid hitting him. The crew attempted to hold him down and the family member dropped the shovel. Kaercher broke free and grabbed the shovel.
He then jumped on top of a vehicle and began hitting and cracking the windshield. He approached a man in a truck, opened the door, and began beating the man with the shovel, breaking his arm. The shovel then broke and Kaercher discarded it. Another person grabbed the shovel and hit him.
The driver was then able to grab his gun to defend himself. As Kaecher approached him, holding the Bible, the driver fired multiple times, striking him in the chest through the book.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — NYPD detectives investigating Wednesday morning’s shooting in Annadale say the incident took place after a traffic crash.
After a minor collision, a 45-year-old man approached a 50-year-old man while brandishing a machete, according to a spokesman for the NYPD.
The 50-year-old man discharged a firearm, striking the other man in the chest, police said.
Officers were called at about 9:25 a.m. to Vineland Avenue near Grantwood Avenue.
Carved polar bear skull shows position of the brain case.
One of the persistent myths about shooting bears in self defense is a bear's skull is nearly bullet proof. Bears skulls are not bullet proof. However, bear heads are big. It is easy to miss the brain or spine if you aim at the wrong spot, or aim away from the brain because you are afraid the bullet will "bounce off". This is exacerbated by trophy hunters' hesitancy to shoot a bear in the head. A powerful shot to the brain cavity will fracture the skull, making measurement for the record books impossible.
It is difficult to hit the brain of a bear if you deliberately aim to miss the bear's brain. It is difficult to hit the brain if you are aiming at a place where the brain is not. Here are some examples where the myth and poor understanding of bear anatomy prevailed.
The year appears to be about 1915 or later, as related by the writer, Calvin H. Barkdull on page 153 of Blood on the Arctic Snow, published in 1956.
"The bear stood directly facing me. I saw the long maine on is neck and shoulder hump rise and fall several times. I waited for him to raise his head so I could get a heart shot from the front. I knew a head shot from the front would only irritate him."
The narrator shot the bear several times with his .45-90 black powder cartridges from an 1886 Winchester rifle. He finally finished the bear with a head shot to the base of the ear.
A .45-90 black powder cartridge is fully capable of smashing completely through a big bear's skull and brain with a frontal shot. The normal black powder load is a 400 grain bullet traveling at 1300 fps. You have to know the right place to aim. In this AmmoLand article the position of a bear's brain and how to aim for it are explained. Aiming between the eyes is not aiming at the brain if the bear's nose is pointed at you. Aiming for the bears eye is not aiming at the brain if the bear's nose is pointed at you. Below is a case where the shooter aimed for the eye and missed the brain. November, 1986, Kodiak Island, Zachar bay, .454 Casull, Grizzly bear. From More Bear Tales, p. 104-107.
George Malekos was confronted with a large grizzly bear at 10 feet away on a gravel ridge, covered with snow. He had nowhere to turn. He aimed at the bear's eye, and shot. He fired two more times as the bear whirled around, and disappeared.
"So I aimed for the bear's eye and I squeezed the trigger".His guide, Jack, confirmed his poor understanding of bear anatomy:
Jack asked me if I had hit the bear and I told him I had shot him in the eye.
"Then you'd have a dead bear", he said.
Later, he and his hunting companion shot the same bear with their rifles. They found the .454 round had creased the skull above the eye, then another shot from the .454 revolver had penetrated one foot of the bear as it was whirling around.
A Canadian game warden made a similar mistake with a large black bear when he aimed between the eyes of a black bear standing on its hind legs, looking direct at him. As the bear was large, the bears head would have been a little higher than his own. A line from eye to eye would be at the very top of the brain or just above it, with a thick skull at a slight angle just at that line. Hitting just a half an inch high would mean the bullet would barely impact the skull, if at all, but would plow a bloody furrow in the hide and flesh along the skull above the brain. From winchestercollectorforum.org December 23, 2020:
I decided try and take this bear down with a shot directly between the eyes as his head was clearly visible and I was gettng concerned since I was clearly annoying him and he began showing signs that he might make a charge. I would only have seconds before he was on top of me at that range. I knew that the gun was dead on at that short range. This was clearly a bear that had absolutely no fear of man and had probably never seen one in his life other than the fire fighters and now me. I squeezed the trigger and the bullet hit the bear between the eyes. He didn’t drop but instead immediately spun around and took off a run into the dense brush behind him.
When you aim where the brain is not, good shooting means you miss the brain. People who are hunting bears for trophies do not want to shoot bears in the brain because doing so ruins the skull as a trophy. I suspect such is what happened with Larry Kelly in his famous encounter with a brown bear coming into a hunting cabin in Alaska. From Hunting for Handgunners, p. 225, 1990:
Bob was having trouble with his gun and had backed up into the table, knocking everything over. I had backed into the stove, knocking that over. I pointed the .44 at the bear's chest from three feet away and fired. I expected the mighty .44 to blow the bear right out of the doorway, or at least to do a little more than get his attention. He only turned his head and looked directly at me as if the muzzle blast had bothered him.
A big bear's brain is about the size of a pint jar. For an accomplished handgunner such as Larry Kelly, it would be hard to miss from three feet, if you knew where it was at. Yet Kelly shot the bear in the chest. In an emergency, you do what you have trained to do. Many guides are careful to tell hunters: do not shoot the bear in the head. It will ruin the trophy and the ability to score it for the record books. In this case, with clear shots at the bears head, Larry and his guide fired a total of seven shots at the bear's chest and shoulder. Those shots can knock a bear down, and slow it down. But only brain or spine shots would stop it right now.
There is a particularly sad case of Michael and Darcy Staver in 1992, in Glennallen, Alaska.
It [a black bear] broke a window to get into the cabin where they were staying and drove them out.
The couple sought safety on the roof. Michael fired several shots at the bear with a .22-caliber handgun to try to scare it away. It left. When it did, he jumped down from the roof and took off to get help. He took the gun to defend himself, thinking his wife would be safe on the roof. She wasn't. While he was gone, the bear climbed a spruce tree next to the cabin, got onto the roof and killed Darcy.
Larry Kanuit, the author of several bear books, reports Michael Staver was very careful *not* to hit the bear, for fear of enraging it. P. 251 "Some Bears Kill".
Many bears have been killed with .22 rimfire. It does not require a brain shot, although brain shots work well. Shots from a .22 to the lungs will kill a bear in minutes. Shots to the abdominal cavity will probably kill the bear in days.
If you are afraid of shooting a bear because you believe it might make them mad, the potential effectiveness of your shots are greatly reduced.
This correspondent has come to believe the myth of big bears' skulls being bullet proof comes from from a misunderstanding of where a bear's brain is positioned inside the bear's head and skull. If you aim to put the bullet where the brain isn't, it is easy to miss the brain.
©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
The shooting happened just after 2 a.m. at a home in the 2500 block of Indian Forest, not far from both Binz Engleman Road and North Foster Road.
According to police, the man was able to get inside the home via the front door, by using a keycode. That’s when, police say, the man went upstairs while the other was coming out of a room with a gun and he shot the man in the face.
Police said the man shot was taken by ambulance to an area hospital, where at last check, he’s listed in critical condition. The shooter was detained by officers for questioning.
At this time, it is not exactly clear as to why the man entered the home and police did not say if there was a prior relationship between the two men.
The preliminary investigation reveals the three suspects broke into the home around 1a.m. and were confronted by the homeowner, according to HCSO.
Gunfire was exchanged between the homeowner and suspects.
HCSO says one of the suspects was shot during the exchange and died at the scene.
There are nine states which show up again and again as the most repressive states in the union of the United States of America. With the occasional exception, these states refuse to honor the Constitution; they have extremely restrictive policies on who may bear arms, they ban common rifles, they ban the ownership of suppressors, they tend to have high taxes. They are all controlled by the Democratic Party.
The nine most repressive states are: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island.
Of those nine states all but Rhode Island have enacted bans on some semi-automatic firearms, usually under a politically defined label of "assault rifles". Washington State has also banned certain semi-automatic rifles. Litigation challenging such bans as a violation to the Second Amendment of the Constitution is moving forward in several states, including Maryland, New York, California, Illinois and New Jersey. At some point the Supreme Court will rule on one or more of these cases.
Of the nine repressive states, eight of them have laws which prevent most of the population from exercising their Second Amendment rights, especially the right to bear arms outside of the home.
The right to carry map, maintained at radical gunnuttery.com, shows the current state of the right to carry in the United States of America, by state.
Of the nine repressive state, eight have "may issue" laws whereby a government official has discretion to deny a carry permit based on his subjective opinion. In this way, Martin Luther King was denied a carry permit in Alabama in 1956. John Stossel was denied a carry permit in New York City. Illinois is shown as a "shall issue" state. Illinois was forced by the Court of Appeals in the Seventh Circuit to pass a "shall issue" law, or risk being force to become a permitless carry state.
Of the nine repressive states, all but one ban the possession of silencers/suppressors in their state. Suppressors/silencers are effective safety devices which are common in Europe and many other countries. The American Suppressor Association maintains a map showing which states ban the legal possession of silencers/suppressors. Maryland does not ban the ownership of suppressors and allows them to be used for hunting. Suppressors/silencers are banned in California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island.
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Taxation: of the nine most repressive states, six are in the top ten highest tax states, New York, Hawaii, California, New Jersey, Illinois, and Delaware.
All of the nine most repressive states, are Democratic party trifectas, as shown by Ballotpedia. A Democratic party trifecta means both houses of the legislature and the governorship are in the hands of the Democratic party.
A similar situation existed with states in the South when they refused to follow Supreme Court rulings to desegregate public schools. Eventually, under a Republican administration, President Eisenhower enforced the desegregation order in Arkansaw schools. Do not expect a Biden, or any Democratic administration, to use troops to enforce Second Amendment rights in the repressive states. Just as the Democratic party was the party of government power and segregation through the 1950's, the Democratic party is the party of government power and repression of Second Amendment rights since the Supreme Court rulings in Heller (2008), McDonald (2010), Caetano (2016) and Bruen (2022).
©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Officers believe 56-year-old Tracy Kidd entered a home and startled the homeowner.
The homeowner fired one round towards Kidd and hit him. The homeowner then called 911.
The woman told police she thought about arming herself then but “did not know if she had time to use the weapon” if he also had a gun, according to the complaint. The woman said she took him to a “bowl of keys” in the kitchen and Rivera took several keys and left.
Police said the woman told them she then grabbed a gun and took her grandchild into the bedroom. She said she then found Rivera back in her hallway, “demanding more keys.”
The woman told police she pointed the gun at Rivera and “told him to get out” but he began approaching her instead, according to the complaint. She said she was scared “he would kill her or her grandchild” and she shot him once.
Detective Tommie Brown said the unidentified male suspect walked into the store with a knife and started chasing an employee. Brown said the suspect was shot while trying to stab the employee. The suspect died at the scene.
The Idaho Attorney General has joined with the Attorney General of Indiana and 26 other state AGs or Legislatures to file amicus brief in the case of Bevis v City of Naperville.
On November 22, 2023, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit denies the petition for an injunction pending appeal to en banc review or for a writ of certiori to the Supreme Court. On December 20, the request for an en banc hearing is denied. On March 8, 2024, a petition asking for a stay of proceedings pending a Supreme Court appeal is granted.
The case is about whether the State of Illinois has the power to ban an entire class of semi-automatic firearms. From the press release by Idaho AG Labrador:
[BOISE] – Attorneys General Raúl Labrador of Idaho and Todd Rokita of Indiana led 26 other states in filing a brief with the United States Supreme Court challenging Illinois’ unconstitutional ban of AR-15 rifles and their standard 30-round magazines.
“This ruling from the Seventh Circuit flies in the face of the Bruen decision and the Second Amendment’s unqualified command,” said Attorney General Labrador. “To restrict an inanimate object based on nothing more than cosmetic appearance is absurd, and the Supreme Court needs to make this right with all expediency.”
The Seventh Circuit’s decision in Barnett v. Raoul found the Illinois gun ban constitutional, holding that the plain language of the Second Amendment and the term “Arms” does not apply to AR-15s because of their militaristic appearance. The Seventh Circuit’s decision lacks any textual or historical basis. In fact, the arms the Second Amendment originally protected were those used in military combat. The Seventh Circuit’s analysis bears no resemblance to the analysis prescribed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
The brief asks the Supreme Court to grant certiorari and correct the Seventh Circuit’s erroneous decision, arguing that “[e]ven apart from having no basis in the text of the Second Amendment, the Seventh Circuit’s artificial divide between “militaristic” firearms and firearms used for self-defense is indefensible.”
The 26 other states joining Idaho and Indiana are:
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming, and the State Legislatures of Arizona and Wisconsin.
Astute observers may notice an amazing overlap between this list and states who are members of the Constitutional Carry (permitless) club. In the above list there is only two states which are not Constitutional Carry or permitless club members. They are Virginia and Wisconsin. Arizona, Maine and Vermont are the only Constitutional Carry (permitless) states which did not join the amicus brief.
Such amicus briefs are becoming more common. At stake are two visions of how the Constitution is to be regarded. The governments of Idaho, Indiana, and roughly 26 other states generally subscribe to the ideology the Constitution is a contract between the population, the States, and the federal government. The contract should be interpreted as it was understood to be at the time the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were ratified.
Approximately 18-20 other state governments have a different vision of the Constitution. In this vision, the Constitution of 1787 (Bill of Rights in 1791) is/are outdated. The interpretation of the Constitution should be by Progressives who look to bend Constitutional provisions to their understanding of what is best for the Country based on the current situation.
These two visions are not necessarily in conflict. In practice, they are nearly always in conflict. The vision of those who wish to exert power over the population, and concentrate it in the federal government runs directly contrary to the structure of the Constitution as written, with its checks and balances, division of power, and limitation on the power of the federal and state governments.
©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Craig, armed with a small-caliber rifle, confronted Russell, leading to a heated argument. As tensions escalated, Craig , authorities said, threatened Russell with the firearm. Russell attempted to retreat, but Craig reportedly persisted in advancing. A physical altercation ensued, during which Craig allegedly struck Russell in the face. The two men, reports say, grappled, and Russell managed to take the rifle away from Craig.
However, the confrontation took a deadly turn when Craig allegedly retrieved a knife and attempted to stab Russell. Russell, authorities said, fired the rifle, striking Craig multiple times in the upper torso. The severity of the injuries proved fatal.
It all started when two men and a 7-year-old boy were walking into the store and saw a man arguing with a woman in front of a car near store's entrance, court documents allege.
As they were making their way into the entrance, the man, later identified as Hopkins, shouted to the family and "asked what they were looking at," records show.
Hopkins and one of the two men argued before gunfire erupted, court documents allege.
Hopkins punched that man and pulled out his gun, prompting the man to take out his own gun, records show. The two shot at each other, and Hopkins allegedly shot the man three times.
Keiondre Church, 23, who used to date the woman, then walked up and fired at the man in the car. They exchanged gunfire.
Church was hospitalized in critical condition, and the couple suffered
non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Church is facing
first-degree attempted murder and aggravated assault charges.
Police say a suspect tried to carjack a victim at 10th and Mount Vernon streets in North Philadelphia around 1:30 a.m. But the driver fought back and fired several rounds at the carjacker. The carjacker ran off and was not apprehended No injuries were reported.
Douglas police say Carrie Ann Johnson, 35, was an instigator and primary aggressor in a chain reaction exchange of gunfire between two people when police say small kids were present.
“She pulled up and was like, ‘where is her money’ - well where was her $300, to be exact? And then she shot Nard, and then she shot Jackie, and then Nard shot her,” Lachelle Paulk, a family member and witness, said.
Arbogast was reportedly saying that “he was coming to the residence to cause bodily harm to [the victim’s] family, and kill the entire family,” the release said.
Deputies said a shoe print on the outside of the front door, which matched Arbogast’s shoes, showed he attempted to kick in the front door.
The victim, “fearing for the safety of his family,” fired a 9mm handgun from inside the house, which struck Arbogast, the complaint said. When the victim stepped outside onto the front porch, Arbogast “presented a 9mm handgun and shot [the victim]” wounding him; deputies said the round went through several layers of the home’s drywall, endangering those inside, including the five-month-old Arbogast said he was there to take.
“On Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at approximately 7:15 p.m., Cpl. F. J. Turansky and other Buckhannon Detachment members responded to a residence on Guy Hardman Road in Rock Cave, W.Va., in reference to a domestic altercation with shots fired,” the release states. “Upon arriving on scene, the officers learned that Maxwell Laham was in a physical domestic with his wife and had shot a 12-gauge shotgun at her.”
The woman and her daughter escaped from the home, while the son got a shotgun of his own, according to the release.
“Mrs. Laham and a juvenile daughter were able to flee from the residence, leaving her 15-year-old son in the residence,” according to the release. “Their 15-year-old son obtained a 20-gauge shotgun and went upstairs in their residence. Maxwell Laham then went upstairs and pointed the firearm at his 15-year-old son, who in turn shot Mr. Laham one time in the chest, killing him. No other injuries were reported.”
Martin said he was waiting in line at the convenience store and the teenage victim was standing behind him.
He said another man came into the store and opened fire, then the teen shot back.
“A tall, black, slim guy walked in and just started shooting. I turned around. The guy behind me was the guy he was shooting at. He started shooting back. I just got on the floor and started crawling on my belly like a snake,” he said. “I got hit in the leg as I was turning the corner to run through the back of the store.”
Wyoming House Bill 125 is on the way to Governor Mark Gordon.
Two Wyoming State Senators (Bouchard and Biteman) were instrumental in passing a ban on Red Flag gun seizures (SF - 109) and the removal of gun free zones (HB 125). They give an explanation of how they passed the bills, in a 8 minute video. Senator Biteman reports the last time a similar bill passed, in 2017, the former governor, Matthew Hansen Mead (R), vetoed the bill.
Link to video of Senators Bouchard and Bideman explaining how they passed SF 109 and HB 125.
Wyoming is on the way to removing nearly all "gun free zones". Anyone who is not prohibited from owning a firearm will be legally free to carry concealed weapons in meetings of government entities, including the state legislature and committees thereof.
People who have a concealed carry permit recognized under Wyoming statute 6-8-104(a) (ii) (35 states, and people who meet the Wyoming state permit requirements) will be immune from the ban on carrying in public schools, public colleges, and university athletic events which do not sell alcohol . Students of elementary or secondary schools are excluded from this section. The bill further prohibits any regulation by entities other than the legislature of the state of Wyoming on the:
"sale, transfer, purchase, delivery, taxation, manufacture, ownership, transportation, storage, use, carrying or possession of firearms, weapons, accessories, components or ammunition except as specifically provided by this chapter."
HB 125 has gone through some remarkable legislative gymnastics before being sent to Governor (R) Mark Gordon. The bill was introduced on February 7 of 2024. It was given a "Do Pass" recommendation by the House Judiciary committee on February 22. The bill passed a third reading of the House on February 27, 2024 54-7-1.
HB 125 had a much harder time in the Senate. The Senate received the bill on February 28, 2024 and assigned it to the Judiciary committee on the same day. On March 5, the Senate Judiciary Committee failed to give the bill a "Do Pass" with a 2-3 vote against the bill. All members of the committee were nominally Republicans. This would ordinarily kill the bill. In an extraordinary measure, the Senate voted to recall the bill from the Judiciary committee by the most narrow of margins: 16 for, 15 against. This vote, when most members of the Senate may have believed no one was watching, shows the true spport for the bil. HB 125 then passed on the third reading vote for the whole Senate, 22-8-1.
HB 125 is expected to be sent to Governor Mark Gordon reasonably soon. Governor Gordon has been a Second Amendment supporter, and is likely to sign the bill. The lobbying to pressure him to veto the bill has already started. From the cheyennepost.com:
The only person who can stand in the way of this catastrophic bill becoming law is Governor Mark Gordon. According to the Wyoming Constitution, he has three days while the legislature is in session and fifteen days once the legislature has adjourned, to sign, veto, or allow a bill to become law without this signature. There’s still time to make your voices heard!
Join us in calling on Governor Mark Gordon to veto this reckless and ill-considered legislation. It is crucial that we stand together to defend our rights, our safety, and the democratic values that define our state.
It remains to be seen if Governor Gordon will sign HB 125.
©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
(KRON) — A second person has died in connection to Tuesday’s shooting in Pleasant Hill, according to police. The two victims have been identified as Trevon Davis, 21, of San Pablo and Peter Popovich, 63, of Pleasant Hill.
The case is being investigated as an attempted robbery that turned into a homicide, according to the Pleasant Hill Police Department.
Youtube video combines the original 1 minute comedy skit with the arrival of he police to confiscate the airgun/propgun.
On Tuesday, March 12, 2024, Dutch absurdist comedian Hans Teeuwen uploaded a video mocking Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema. On the table to Teeuwen's right was an object looking somewhat similar to a pistol. The item may have been included as a jab at the past trouble the Mayor found herself in. Her teenage son was arrested with a deactivated revolver, owned by her husband, and said to be used as a prop in movie sets.
Three hours after comedian Teeuwen posted the mocking video, six Amsterdam police arrived and appear to have found the same object on the same table. From the video it appears one of the officers placed the object in an evidence bag and took possession of it.
According to Wikipedia, air guns are legal in the Netherlands and can be freely acquired by anyone over the age of 18. A website for a shop in Boernerbroek, Netherlands, advertises a number of air pistols for sale.
The possession of air guns and toy guns which resemble firearms is prohibited in the Netherlands. In recent years "To resemble" has been given a very broad interpretation.
This correspondent has a Webley Tempest air pistol. When placed at a similar angle, the resemblance to the object on Hans Teeuwen's table is remarkable.
The original video does not have great resolution. It does not show the knurling which is done on the back of the Webley Tempest air pistol barrel. Some images of a similar Webley air pistol, the Senior, appear to have smooth barrels. Perhaps someone in the Netherlands produces a prop gun resembling a Webley Tempest?
When Australia passed its Draconian gun laws in 1996, replica guns were required to have the same permits as functional firearms. In this article, Victoria police in Australia forcibly arrested a man for possession of a toy AR15, about a foot long. In Lethbridge, Canada, Police forcefully took down a person in a Star Wars stormtrooper costume because she was carrying a toy blaster. Those who wish a disarmed population do not want anyone to have something looking like a firearm. From independentsentinel.com:
This is the new normal for the entire Western world. Six Dutch police officers raided the Amsterdam home of comedian Hans Teeuwen on Tuesday, hours after he posted a clip on social media in which an object appearing to be a [fake] gun was visible as he was mocking the mayor of Amsterdam.
On Tuesday, Teeuwen, an absurdist comedian and musician, shared the videos on his Instagram account. At publication, each received roughly 400,000 views and more than 10,000 likes.In the first clip, Teeuwen donned a black wig and parodied Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema as what appeared to be a firearm sat next to the comedian on a table.The second video, posted roughly three hours later, shows police arrive and enter Teeuwen’s home in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Apparently, anything with a gun in it is not permissible, especially when it insults the mayor.
Analysis: Mocking those who control the police is a risky endeavor. If you have a perfectly legal item, it may be enough of an excuse to have police pay you a visit. In Australia, the item could not possibly have been a real firearm. The "replica" of an AR15 rifle was only a foot long. The toy Star Wars blaster in Canada only slightly resembles a real firearm. A message is sent to the public by such actions: stay away from anything resembling a firearm, or you can be in big trouble. Guns are bad. Stay away. Brick by brick, such authoritarian actions are the stuff of which tyranny is created.
©2023 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
They say they found the man, who is in his late 30s, with a gunshot wound in his upper body.
Officers said he was stable as he left for a hospital by ambulance.
Police said witnesses told them the wounded man had been involved in a dispute with a woman who also lives in the home.
They say another man intervened, and the dispute turned physical.
During the struggle, police say, the gun went off somehow.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)by DiscoA340, Dec 2023, CC-BY-SA-4.0
As tens of millions of Americans routinely carry guns when they travel, some are bound to be stolen by thieves. A passenger who recently traveled through Atlanta believes he is the victim of such a theft. From fox5atlanta.com:
"I said, ‘What happened?’ She said, ‘Your bag is delayed.’ I said, ‘What do you mean, delay?’ She said, 'It didn't make the flight.;"
The gun owner says a helpful Delta agent in Fort Lauderdale told him the airline map indicated the gun was still in Atlanta.
But once he returned to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday, that story changed.
"He goes to type the number in, now it says the gun was never checked in. Not even through Delta, or TSA," he said. "So, somebody took it out of the system. What do you mean it's ghost?"
Stealing a gun at an airport is a bad idea. There are cameras everywhere. Baggage is closely monitored and tracked by tag number. This correspondent has traveled with firearm(s) dozens of times, without a problem. Consider the Biden appointee who stole women's luggage for some kind of weird fetish. They were caught on camera and tracked down. One author recommends checking a gun in your luggage as a security measure.
Guns stolen at airports make for a high profile case. The owner of the custom pistol missing in Atlanta checked the firearm correctly, and watched as it went through TSA processing. It is difficult to erase records of this activity without leaving traces behind. This correspondent's prediction is the person will eventually have his firearm found and returned.
The most common problem at airports with guns happens when a few of the tens of millions of people who routinely travel armed, forget a carry gun in their carry-on luggage. In 2022, one person forgot they had a firearm in their carry-on for about every 3,500 people who have carry permits.
Occasionally, a gun smuggling system is placed in operation and eventually found out. In 2021, two Delta Airline employees lost their jobs in a case which involved smuggled guns. From wsbtv.com:
A Delta Air Lines spokesperson confirmed that Abdoul Diallo was terminated by Delta Airlines around the time of his arrest.
According to court documents, a special agent with the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said on Oct. 11, 2021, “firearms were recovered concealed within two karaoke boxes, and further concealed within two pieces of checked luggage destined to Saint Martin at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
In 2014, what was suspected as a long-running gun smuggling operations was busted. From 11alive:
Officials said Harvey would park inside a Delta employee lot and board a bus that took him directly into a secure area of the airport.
At the same time, Henry would book a flight -- often using a buddy pass from his mom.
Security cameras captured Harvey passing through TSA security like any other passenger. He would reportedly text with Harvey to arrange a swap of the bag of the guns. Sometimes the exchange took place in a bathroom.
The feds say Henry would board then plane, touchdown in New York and sell the guns. Federal authorities suspect Henry has been doing smuggling guns for upwards of five years.
Sometimes, thefts of multiple firearms occur with likely inside information. In 2019, two boxes of containing 20 Glock pistols were stolen from the Atlanta airport.
This correspondent prefers to travel by car, but sometimes air travel is cheaper, faster, and the only reasonable method to accomplish what is needed. Declaring firearm(s) at the ticket counter, in a checked bag, is reasonably secure. Very few thefts occur from checked bags containing firearms, because such thefts are high profile, likely to be investigated, and solved.
©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Initial calls indicated a man who appeared to be under the influence was banging on the window of an apartment attached to the house. He then broke into the apartment and assaulted the tenant, according to Lt. Austin Aamodt with the Muskegon County Sheriff’s Department.
The suspect left the apartment and then tried to get into the attached house when the homeowner shot him. He has died, the sheriff’s office said. He was described by police as a 38-year-old white man but his name was not released.
On Saturday, February 10, 2024, at the Parkway Central Park in Arlington, Texas, a Coyote attacked a little girl, dragging her toward the woods. The girls father chased after the coyote and girl, and recovered the girl. From khou.com:
"I have a little girl who just got attacked by a coyote," the 911 caller said. "It's a big coyote. It's coming back. Oh Lord Jesus."
The caller described that children were playing on a playground when the coyote "attacked the little girl on the playground and dragged her, like, in the woods and her daddy went chasing after her."
"So kids are in the car now but the coyote is still on the playground," the caller told 911.
The caller then described the girl's bite wound, as dispatch worked to get an ambulance and officers to the scene.
Traps were set in the park, but the park was not closed. No signs were posted at the park to inform users of the danger.
On Monday February 12, another child was bitten and taken to the hospital. More traps were set.
On Tuesday, February 13, a six year old boy was attacked, bitten, and dragged for some distance. From nbcdfw.com:
“All of a sudden, I heard a mom scream, ‘Oh my God! That dog just bit that kid!'" Estreitta de Kluetz recalled. “I immediately called 911, went over to the little boy, and the little boy was — his whole shirt was filled with blood and he was crying."
She said the woman, who was holding a baby, herself, threw her shoe at what they soon realized was a coyote. Both ran to help the little boy, who was sitting next to the swings with his brother.
She said she saw the coyote still hovering in the distance.
"... Like watching us. And I was like, ‘You guys, we need to get out of here because he — and then he started kind of creeping," she said.
After the Tuesday attack, city officials closed the park. On Wednesday, February 14, a coyote believed to be responsible for all three attacks, was captured alive after confronting officers. It does not appear any of the traps were successful. The coyote was not rabid. The city said the coyote will be euthanized.
In the nbcdfw.com coverage, a resident made this statement:
“I understand this is their habitat, they were here before we were, I
get that completely.
Another coyote attack in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metropolitan area occurred in 2022 on May 3rd. In that attack, a three-year-old was critically injured, but recovered.
Analysis: Coyotes are protected in urban areas. It is generally against the law to shoot them inside city limits. When the attitude of the public is "this is their habitat, they were here before we were", they will continue to be protected. As they become more and more accustomed to people, the number of attacks on children will increase. Coyotes were seen in the area immediately after the initial attack. They were not shot. It is hard to understand why the coyotes present were not killed as a safety concern, as soon as possible. This happened in Texas, where then Governor Rick Perry took out a coyote which menanced his dog in February of 2010. Ruger even issued a "coyote special" version of the pistol he used. This did not change coyotes protected status inside Texas cities.
Coyote attacks will continue to increase as long as urban areas offer coyotes sanctuary status.
©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Metro Nashville Police say the incident occurred around 4:23 a.m. at the McDonald's located in the 3300 block of Dickerson Pike.
According to officials, a red Chevrolet Impala was going through the drive-thru — with two females in the driver and passenger seats, and two males in the backseat.
The four individuals were upset about the order they placed and began arguing with the restaurant staff, police say.
Both of the male passengers then got out of the vehicle, pulled out handguns, and shot at the teen employee through the drive-thru window.
Police say the teen also had a handgun and shot back at the men.
GILLESPIE COUNTY, Texas - Deputies are investigating after a woman called to report that she was kidnapped and drugged and had shot someone in Gillespie County.
On March 15, around 12:42 p.m., deputies tracked the woman down near a winery in the 10800 block of East US Highway 290, where they say she described the vehicle and the weapon used.
A deputy found the vehicle in the outside lane of westbound traffic and found a man dead in the front-seat area.
An investigator interviewed the woman at the local hospital while deputies gathered evidence.
Police identified the dead man as 49-year-old Lance Demon Reid, who they say had been living in the Houston area.
The number of National Instant background Check System (NICS) checks and estimated gun sales show little change from 2023.
In February, 2024, the number of gun sales is 99.7% of what they were in February of 2023. Total estimated gun sales in February of 2024 are 1.29 million. In February of 2023 they were 1.29 million. There were 4k sales difference between the two months. This makes February 2024 the fifth highest February for gun sales recorded in the NICS system and the Sixth highest February for total background checks done. The numbers for the various types of gun sales recorded were close to those in February of 2023. Handgun sales were slightly lower and long gun sales were slightly higher.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation has adjusted NICS numbers for February over the 25 years of history available. Sales were fairly flat from 2000 to 2007, then trended up during the Barak Obama Presidency, with a relatively new normal starting in 2012.
There are about 505 million privately owned firearms in the United States today.
To estimate the number of guns in the private stock in the United States, this correspondent uses the method pioneered by Newton and Zimring in 1972. The method was extended by Professor Gary Kleck through 1987 in his highly acclaimed book "Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America" p. 49-50. Numbers from the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) are used to update the estimates through 2022. Estimates derived from corrected FBI figures in NICS are used for 2023 to the current time.
Using the Newton-Zimring-Kleck method, there are about 505 million privately owned firearms in the United States of America to date. This is essentially the same method used by the Small Arms Survey based in Switzerland. According to the Small Arms Survey, the private stock in the USA was about 393 million at the end of 2017. About 95 million firearms have been added to the private stock since the end of 2017. An updated Small Arms Survey figure would be about 490 million firearms in the USA private stock. Given the uncertainties of the data, the two numbers are reasonably close.
Analysis: Why does the United States of America dwarf the rest of the world in the number of firearms owned per capita? Here are two obvious reasons.
The foremost reason is the government of the USA has not imposed strong restrictions on the ownership of common arms (although some state governments have), in large part due to the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution. Firearms are desirable possessions for large numbers of people. For a great many people they are seen as necessities rather than luxuries. When government imposed restrictions on the ownership of firearms are removed, the number of firearms owned by the population increases dramatically.
A second reason is the relative prosperity of the population. Unskilled labor in the USA today can earn about $100 a day. In much of the world, unskilled labor has difficulty earning $2 a day. Two hundred and fifty years ago, a rifle cost the equivalent of $22,000 today. A musket would cost about one third that amount. A far more capable modern single shot shotgun, today, can be purchased new for $120. Reasonably quality firearms are much more affordable today than they used to be.
People in the USA have much more disposable income than people in most of the world. For the cost of a bit over a day's labor, an ordinary person can purchase an inexpensive shotgun or rifle. For two days labor, a perfectly usable revolver or semi-automatic handgun is available. For a weeks labor, a decent quality AR15, suitable for militia service and defense of self, home and community is available from multiple sources.
Residents of many countries envy the United States for its freedom, security, and Second Amendment.
©2023 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Preliminary Information: On 3/15/23, around 6:00am, officers responded to 3208 MLK JR. Dr in reference to a male shot. Upon arrival, officers located a male victim with a gunshot wound to the knee. He was alert, conscious and breathing and transported to the hospital for treatment. A short time later, officers responded to another call regarding a male shot at 242 Napoleon Dr. Upon arrival, officers located a male with a gunshot wound to the head. He was transported to the hospital for treatment.
Preliminary investigation indicates the two incidents are related. The victim was working security at the location when a male suspect entered the store and pointed a firearm at him. A struggle ensued resulting in the victim sustaining a gunshot wound to the knee. The victim was able to struggle the firearm away from the suspect and shoot him. The suspect fled the scene and called 911. After thorough investigation, it was determined the suspect who was shot was also the primary aggressor in the incident. He has been arrested and charged while in Grady Detention. Charges and the suspect’s identification are pending at this time as the investigation continues.
Link Here
"When officers arrived, they found one person there suffering from a gunshot wound," MSgt. Gary Knight, with the Oklahoma City Police Department, said. "It appears that some sort of altercation broke out inside of the residence."
Police at the scene told KOCO 5 that a married couple and a child were inside with the victim, but the relationship between them is still under investigation. Officers said the victim pulled out a gun, which is when the homeowner shot him.
The NRA is in serious trouble, the worst crises in the history of the organization. There is no point in sugar coating the reality. Many of the problems are self-inflicted by the current administration of the organization.
It is this writer's considered opinion the fight to restore the Second Amendment can best be served by voting for the following four nominees for NRA Board Directors:
Phil Journey
Denis Fusaro
Rocky Marshall
Jeff Knox
Vote only for those four nominees. Voting only for those four magnifies your vote.
In addition, vote Yes on the proposed bylaw change to create a Chief Compliance Officer. It is a position which is badly needed at the NRA.
Then, place your director election ballot and the bylaw change ballot in the provided envelope, seal it, sign it, place a stamp on it and send it off.
About 95% of ballots are never returned. This makes your ballot all the more valuable.
For those who are eligible, the ballot is in the March edition of the NRA magazines.
This correspondent started paying for a life membership in the NRA in 1973 on the installment plan. By 1979 I had voting status. Along the way I became an endowment member. Organizations go through a sort of evolution. Eventually, organizations move from focusing on accomplishing their mission to focusing on benefiting the people running the organization. This correspondent saw it happen in the NRA and fought against it with many others. We lost the battle in the middle 90's.
The NRA is a valuable organization. It has accomplished many useful and worthy goals. There is much in the NRA which should be preserved and much which needs to be reformed. Nominees who have shown themselves to understand the need for reform, early, should be voted in as directors to aid in reconstructing the NRA.
Phil Journey, Denis Fusaro, Rocky Marshall, and Jeff Knox are those nominees. The way the NRA elections work, voting for only these four nominees magnifies your votes. The nominating committee is a construction of the current leadership.
All four reform candidates have been nominated by membership petition in this election.
Most members who are eligible to vote either: do not fill out the ballot(s), do not place the ballots in the envelope, do not seal the envelope and sign it; do not place a stamp on the envelope; or do not mail the envelope with the ballot(s) inside.
The voting members who do the above decide the election for all those who do not. Talk to your friends and relatives. Give them advise on how to vote.
Those who vote make the decisions for those who do not vote.
This is your chance to make a difference in the NRA. Changes are coming. Much will be decided by the judge in New York. The current NRA leadership has failed the NRA membership. They deserve to be replaced. Those who brought the NRA to this disaster should not be kept in charge of the organization.
The envelopes must be received by April 28. Now is the time to vote, and to send off your vote.
©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
COLUMBUS, OH (WSYX) — An argument between a man and his stepfather led to a shooting in south Columbus on Wednesday.
Police say the stepfather shot his stepson in self-defense.
The incident took place just before 9:30 a.m. in the 2300 block of South 5th Street.
A home invasion turned deadly for the intruder on Wednesday north of Blackfoot, authorities said.
The Bingham County Sheriff’s Office said the elderly female homeowner fatally shot the adult male suspect during the home invasion that occurred around noon at a residence at 134 West 600 North in the Rose area.
The elderly woman suffered injuries during the incident and was transported via ambulance to a local hospital. She’s expected to survive, the Sheriff’s Office said. Her name hasn’t been released.
Moose Image USDA public domain
Iditarod five time champion Dallas Seavey had to kill a moose in self defense 14 miles out of the Skwentna checkpoint. It was 1:43 a.m. when race officials were notified on March 4th.
In 2015, Dallas Seavey stated he carried a Taurus stainless .357 magnum on the Iditarod trail. In 2015 Seavey said he had to use the revolver to defend one of his dogs two years earlier. The dog still lost a leg in the attack. This year, in 2024, Dallas had to shoot a moose which was attacking his dogs in the first hundred miles of the race. It is unknown if he still had the Taurus 605SS2 or a different firearm. From gunsandammo.com:
"I carry a beat-to-death, dirty, I mean horrible-looking .357 Mag. stainless Taurus 605SS2 with a 2-inch barrel," he said. "It's easy to grab, it always works, and if it falls through the ice on some river and never seen again, no big deal."
Iditarod rule number 34 deals with the necessity of killing an animal in defense of self and/or the dog team.
Rule 34 --Killing of Game Animals: In the event that an edible big game animal, i.e., moose, caribou, buffalo, is killed in defense of life or property, the musher must gut the animal and report the incident to a race official at the next checkpoint. Following teams must help gut the animal when possible. No teams may pass until the animal has been gutted and the musher killing the animal has proceeded. Any other animal killed in defense of life or property must be reported to a race official, but need not be gutted.
Iditarod officials have ruled Dallas Seavey did not gut the moose properly. He will be penalized two hours of the race. It could cost him his sixth, record setting win.
In 2022, Bridgett Watkins found her .380 pocket pistol was insufficient to stop an attack on her dog team, while training for the Iditarod. From alaskapublic.org:
“It’s not that I wasn’t prepared. I wasn’t prepared to kill a moose, that’s correct,” Watkins said. “It’s not my intention to go around in February and hunt and kill an animal. This is like worst-case scenario defending my life.”
She did carry a .380 caliber gun because there are few people where she trains, and she keeps it to to deter or scare off animals. She has since upgraded to a larger caliber firearm after it didn’t stop the moose.
In March of 2022, a dog sled racer in Maine had to kill a moose which was attacking their dogs. From newscentermaine.com:
"When the team started pulling Caleb toward the moose, the moose turned its attention to the team and charged the team several times, stomping through the team," Hayes explained.
"It probably didn't know the difference between a wolfpack and the sled dog team, because it just charged," Caleb said.
Caleb said the moose retreated every five minutes or so, only to come back with violent attacks at the puppies and the dogs. After about 15 or 20 minutes, Hayes told Caleb to take the snowmobile and try to find a gun from a neighbor while he stayed and held back the dogs.
The Maine attack lasted for 45 minutes while Caleb Hays went to different neighbors trying to find a gun they could use to kill the moose. He finally returned with a Savage .30-06. The rifle was sufficient to stop the attack. A game warden ruled the Hayes could harvest the moose meat for their own use.
Seavey's father, Mitch, who has won three Iditarod races, says he carries two guns: a .357 magnum and a .44 magnum, to be ready for anything, according to USAtoday.com.
Moose are big animals, typically, in Alaska, weighing in over 1,000 lbs. Gutting an animal that size, alone, takes real time and effort.
©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
A 16-year-old boy and two men were wounded when the boy tried to rob them causing a shootout late Monday in North Lawndale, police said.
The attempted robbery of the men, 34 and 50, happened about 10 p.m. in the 3800 block of West Roosevelt Road, police said.
A fourth person on the scene was armed and exchanged shots with the 16-year-old alleged robber before fleeing, police said.
The 34-year-old man was taken to St. Anthony Hospital with a gunshot wound to the neck, and the 50-year-old man was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to the wrist.
The 16-year-old was shot in the leg and taken to Stroger Hospital. All three are listed in good condition.
The unidentified man stuck the rifle in the passenger side window, Taylor said, and there was a struggle over control the gun. The chief said he thinks it was during this struggle the rifle went off, the bullet going into Einzig's hip.
Baez grabbed her 3-month-old daughter from the middle of the back seat and fled from the shooting, Taylor said. Baez and the infant were not injured in the shooting.
Einzig, who was armed with both a handgun and a rifle, fired back at Wilson and the second man resulting in an "ongoing gun battle," Taylor said.
One of the replacements for the CZ 455 line at the 2024 SHOT Show is the 457 Jaguar long barreled .22 rifle. The rifle has one of the longest .22 barrels in production at 28.625 inches. It has open sights regulated from 25 to 200 meters. The long barrel allows precision shooting without a telescopic sight. The rifle replaces the 455 Ultra Lux. The wood on the Jaguar is beech, and often produces an excellent figure in a rifle stock.
The exhibit of CZ rimfire rifles at the 2023 SHOT Show displays the Jaguar barrel as over four inches longer than the next longest barrels. Even with the 28.625 inch barrel, the Jaguar only weighs a comfortable 6.4 lbs. This correspondent has the older version, the Ultra Lux. It handles well. The long barrel helps to stabilize off hand shooting. Another advantage of a long barrel is it allows more time for combustion gasses to cool and lose pressure, reducing the sound of the report when the rifle is fired. Care must be taken with very low velocity cartridges. CCI has put a warning on their Quiet 22 ammunition. The Quiet 22 should not be fired in barrels longer than 24 inches. This author had a Quiet 22 bullet stick part way out the muzzle of his Ultra Lux rifle.
With the introduction of the 457 line in CZ,the company has made improvements in their excellent rifles. The action of the 457 models are almost an inch shorter than the 455 models. They have had mass removed from the sides to reduce weight. The safety on the 457 models is pushed forward to fire, bringing CZ into line with most other rifle safety directions from major manufacturers. Many youth instructors had asked CZ to make the change, to prevent confusion on the part of young shooters. The bolt rotation has been changed from 90 degrees to 60 degrees. This helps to prevent contact between the bolt and telescopic sights with large ocular bells. The trigger on the CZ Jaguar at the SHOT Show was excellent. It broke at about two pounds, or a little less. It had a very clean break and almost no over-travel. In the CZ 457 models, the trigger group is easily removed, making trigger adjustment and maintenance simple. The trigger on the Jaguar was much better from the factory than the trigger this correspondent had from the factory on his Ultra Lux, which was better than average.
CZ has chosen to imprint the model and number on the stock of the Jaguar. The adjustable rear sight appears to be the same as on the Ultra Lux, which is known for its precision.
The long barrel on the Jaguar makes for a fairly quiet .22, especially if sub sonic ammunition is used. The Jaguar comes from the factory with a 1/2x28 threaded muzzle and a thread protector. Owners can easily add accessories such as flash hiders or suppressors. CZ is responding to customer demand. Over 3 million silencers/suppressors are now legally owned in the United States. The growth pattern is in the shape of an exponential curve. The main reason to produce firearms without threaded muzzle options are legal ones. Some states forbid threaded muzzles. The barrels and magazines on the 457 are interchangeable with the barrels and magazines on the 455 models.
The upgrades from the old Ultra Lux to the new Jaguar long barreled CZ .22 rimfire are responses to market demand. These upgrades make already excellent rifles even better.
©2023 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
The reporting party said a person had entered the residence, and two people had been shot. When police arrived, they found two men with gunshot wounds and the victims were taken to a local hospital, where one died from the injury.
The Bonneville County Coroner’s Office has identified the individual who died from the shooting as Eric Leask, 51, of Idaho Falls.
Idaho Falls police, after 11 p.m. Saturday, located the suspect in an apartment unit at the Teton Mesa Apartments, 800 block of Lomax Street. The suspect, later identified as Broncho, barricaded himself in the apartment and did not come out when officers directed him to do so.
The Idaho Falls police SWAT team was called to evacuate neighbors and sent in tear gas into the apartment unit around 1 a.m. Sunday. Broncho exited the apartment and was taken into custody. A second person, Blanca Lopez, was taken into custody after 3 a.m. for pre-existing Bonneville County warrants.
A suburban teen who investigators say fired a semi-automatic rifle at an unidentified person – and was wounded by return fire – in Spring Township’s West Wyomissing neighborhood is in Berks County Prison following his arraignment over the weekend.
Ke’Sean Williams, 18, of Valley Road in Wyomissing was jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail following arraignment Saturday night before District Judge Tonya A. Butler in Reading Central Court.
Williams faces charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment as well as weapons offenses.
Williams was arraigned after he was treated in Reading Hospital for a gunshot wound to the leg. He was arrested as he was being driven from the scene.
The South Carolina legislature has approved of the Constitutional Carry bill, H*3594 as recommended by the Conference Committee. The House approved the Conference report on March 5, 2024, with a vote of 86 to 33. The Senate approved the Conference report on March 6, 2024. The bill is expected to be sent to Governor McMasters in a few days.
The bill is close to what was passed by the Senate, according to the Greenville News:
Ultimately, the Senate version of the bill emerged mostly intact including the addition of enhanced penalties for repeat weapons offense violators. The committee also settled on places where guns may and may not be carried, the duty to report stolen weapons, and several provisions related to concealed weapons permits.
The members of the Senate appointed to the conference committee were Senator Brad Hutto (D) (Chairman), Senator Shane Massey (R) (majority leader of the Senate), and Senator Shane Martin (Senate sponsor of the bill). Senator Hutto had voted against the bill in the Senate. Senators Massey had opposed Constitutional Carry bills in the past. The three House members of the committee were the bill sponsor in the House, Representative Bobby J. Cox (R), Representative Micah Caskey (R) , and Representaive Justin Bamberg (D). All three representatives had voted for the House version of the bill.
Analysis: The Constitutional Carry bill has a number of gun free zones. Churches, in particular, are assumed to ban firearms unless particular, express permission is given. There are significant penalties for carrying firearms when a person is a prohibited possessor. Firearms may not be carried into places which serve alcohol unless the person carrying the firearm is not consuming alcohol. Members of the legislature have been removed from the list of people who may carry in the gun-free zones.
South Carolina has been working for years to pass a Constitutional Carry bill. Bills have repeatedly passed the House with large margins, only to be defeated in the Senate with legislative maneuvers, such as refusing to allow the bill to be heard in committee. Senator Massey has been opposed the previous bills. Massive public support for the current bill seems to be the reason Senator Massey agreed to pass H 3594. Governor McMasters wanted the increased penalties for prohibited possessors who carry firearms. Governor McMasters has indicated he will sign the bill. H 3594 is not a perfect Constitutional Carry bill. Most bills are not perfect. This bill removes most infringements on the right of adults to carry loaded handguns in most public places without asking a government official for permission. As seen in numerous other states, it is better to take the incremental advances in the current bill, then work to improve it later.
South Carolina will become the 29th member of the Constitutional Carry club. When both South Carolina and Louisiana have Constitutional (permitless) Carry, 67.54% of the area of the USA will be in states with Constitutional Carry or in the case of Florida, permitless carry.
The South Carolina bill will go into effect when signed by Governor McMasters. Louisiana Governor Landry signed Louisiana's Constitutional Carry bill on March 5, 2024. The Louisiana bill will go into effect on July 4, 2024.
Update: Governor McMasters signed H 3594 into law on the afternoon of March 7, 2024. It became effective when signed.
©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
The alleged robber approached a 60-year-old man who was outside in the 1500 block of West 82nd Street around 5:30 a.m., according to Chicago police.
He pulled a gun and demanded property from the 60-year-old, who also pulled out a gun, which he was licensed to carry.
The two exchanged gunfire, and both suffered gunshot wounds.
The alleged robber, who was not identified, was shot several times throughout his body and pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said.
The 60-year-old suffered gunshot wounds to his back and left leg, and his condition had stabilized at the same hospital, police said.
An initial investigation found that a father fired at his son, who was assaulting him, police Captain Pete Feeney said.
Shotgun pellets from the blast hit the son in the leg and some struck the family’s dog, killing the pet, Feeney said.
The son was taken to St. Mary Medical Center for treatment, police said.
Feeney said the shooting may have been in self-defense, but investigators continued to probe the incident as of late morning.
Louisiana, shown as shall issue (blue) on the Gulf of Mexico, between Texas and Mississippi, will Have its Constitutional Carry law go into effect on July 4, 2024.
On March 5, 2024, Governor Landry of Louisiana signed Bill SB 1, Constitutional Carry into law, now known as Act No. 1. The new law will go into effect on July 4, 2024. Constitutional Carry is one of eleven interrelated crime bills designed to reduce crime in Louisiana. All eleven bills were passed in the special session on crime called for by Governor Landry
SB 2 was another of the crime reform bills SB 2 limits the liability of a person who justifiably uses a handgun in self-defense. It provides immunity from civil liability for damages for injury, death or loss suffered by a perpetrator. The eleven crime bills are listed below. All eleven bills were signed on March 5, 2024.
Constitutional Carry, as exemplified by SP1 in Louisiana, has an exemption for those who are prohibited from carrying a firearm under state or federal law. From a previous article on AmmoLand:
M. The provisions of Paragraph (A)(1) of this Section shall not apply to any person who is eighteen years of age or older and is not prohibited from possessing a firearm under R.S.14:95.1, 18 U.S.C. 922(g), or any other state or federal law.
SB 1 is a good step toward restoring the free exercise of the right to keep and bear arms in Louisiana. Adults who are not prohibited possessors of firearms under state and federal law will be able to carry loaded handguns, openly or concealed, in most public spaces, without fear of being arrested. They will not be required to ask permission of a government official before exercising their rights.
SB1 was passed with overwhelming margins along party line votes in the legislature. On February 2, 2024, it passed in the Senate 28 to 10. On February 28 it passed in the House, 76 to 28. SB1 was sent to Governor Landry on February 29, 2025.
With the passage of SB 1, Louisiana becomes the 28th member of the permitless (Constitutional Carry) club. Every new state entering the club has met with predictions of "blood in the streets". It has not happened. Detractors of Constitutional Carry can, with considerable searching, find statistical anomalies where a particular type of crime increased in a state or a city for a period of time. These are outliers. When all the data is looked at over long periods of time, the pattern is clear. There is little change. What change there is, tends to be positive. Murder rates tend to drop a little. Justified homicides tend to rise a little. Property crime may rise a little as confrontational crime against persons drops a little. With the addition of the State of Louisiana, the ability of an ordinary person to carry a loaded handgun in most public places, without asking for permission from a governmental authority, is now the law in over 2/3 the land area of the USA.
The states who now have Constitutional (permitless) Carry are:
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida (permitless), Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Analysis: This correspondent is not a fan of placing exemptions in state law which depend on federal law or federal definitions. The practice places the state at the mercy of law changes at the federal level. Such a practice limits the purpose of federalism and reduces the sovereignty of the state.
The major effect of removing infringements on the exercise of Second Amendment rights is a return to the rule of law. Citizens see the Constitution means something. The power of government is limited. The Bill of Rights is not completely changeable by Judges who wish to impose their personal theories on the rest of society.
©2023 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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