Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Arizona: ASU to step up irrelevant weapons ban after fatal shooting: "Arizona State University will step up enforcement of its campus weapons ban and set up a committee to better investigate code of conduct violations in the wake of last weekend's fatal shooting involving a football player..... Wade, 21, has been jailed without bond since Saturday when he was arrested in the shooting death of former ASU football player Brandon Falkner, 25, outside a Scottsdale nightspot. .... The university already bans the possession of weapons on campus, but Crow said the revised weapons policy will require students and employees to inform the ASU Department of Public Safety of any violations of the weapons policy. Failure to do so will result in sanctions under existing employment and student policies.Crow also said that any student or employee making a threat of violence, if that threat is verified, will be sent for mental health assessment and may be removed from campus and all programs."
Missouri: Police say killing was self-defense: "A robbery attempt in a house in the 5300 block of Maple Avenue early Wednesday turned into a wild fight that ended up with all three participants shot, one of them fatally, St. Louis homicide detectives said. Darryl Blockton, 21, was slashed with a butcher knife and fatally shot after he had shot and wounded Jerelle Gatlin, 31, and Gatlin's girlfriend, Twanna McNeil, 27, with a shotgun blast, police said. ... Detectives said Gatlin fired several shots at Blockton during a struggle over a shotgun and pistol, and McNeil also fired a couple of shots at Blockton and slashed him with a butcher knife. No criminal charges will be brought against the couple because Blockton was the aggressor and the couple acted in self-defense."
Not everyone has a blast with gun use: "Last Friday was the second installment of 'Blow Away Your Stress,' an activity open to all students who wish to blow off steam by firing guns at targets. ... Although I strongly support the right to bare [sic] arms, using AK-74s as a means of leisure is a little disconcerting. I prefer to think of guns as a means of self-defense rather than emotional release. Still, knowing how to fire a gun isn't a worthless talent. Learning how to load and fire a gun may just be more relevant in our lives than studying about, say, Polish cinema or Italian architecture. Students at Webster get a broad liberal arts background, but one of Webster's tenets is 'real world experience.' Nothing is quite so matter-of-fact as knowing how to take aim and fire. Perhaps all students could benefit from taking time away from their studies of formal logic and learning how to protect themselves."
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
An aggressive home invader escapes with his life (undeservedly): "A Hempfield man shot an intruder who invaded his home early Saturday, state police at Greensburg said. The unidentified homeowner fired two warning shots before shooting Gregory R. Powell, 43, of Greensburg in the legs, police said. The unidentified family --- a 37-year-old male, a 33-year-old female and 5-year-old and 8-year-old girls --- were not hurt in the 3 a.m. home invasion, Trooper Jared Slater said in a press release issued 13 hours after the incident. Powell allegedly broke into the residence by using an iron fireplace poker and his fists to break out a pane of door glass. The family called police. The homeowner, armed with a handgun, warned Powell not to enter the residence. According to police, Powell entered and charged at the man, who then fired two warning shots. After Powell continued to "menace" the man, he was shot in the legs, according to police. Police said Powell then broke out another pane of door glass and escaped from the house. He was arrested at the scene"
Desperate Brits: "After a neighbour was robbed and beaten at home, a Sussex businessman decided to take crime prevention into his own hands. The wealthy, self-employed father of two bought a stun gun during a working trip to France, which he sent in the post to his home close to Brighton. Customs officers say that they have seen a six-fold increase in the number of stun guns being seized at ports and airports. Last year, Customs intercepted 672 stun guns, which can paralyse victims with a 50,000-volt shock. Those found carrying the weapons all told officers that they wanted them for their own protection. A Scotland Yard investigation into a French company selling arms on the internet found that many of its British customers were not underworld figures but respectable mortgage-payers from the shires. Raids on customers� addresses took officers to stockbroker belts, gated private estates and properties costing several millions. The weaponry seized included shotguns, ammunition and automatic pistols. A number of the weapons� owners are still under police caution while prosecutors consider their next move".
Women of Hawaii should be allowed to carry firearms: "Honolulu police report an 18-year-old woman was kidnapped and gang raped by five men on Monday, March 28, 2005, at about 9 p.m. near the University of Hawaii. ... No one deserves to suffer that kind of attack. Everyone deserves the right to protect themselves. That right was ensured by America's founding fathers, who made the right to bear arms the Second Amendment in the United States Constitution, following only the right to free speech and religion. So why is it that in Hawaii, as a law-abiding citizen, I cannot carry a firearm with me to protect myself and my family?"
Desperate Brits: "After a neighbour was robbed and beaten at home, a Sussex businessman decided to take crime prevention into his own hands. The wealthy, self-employed father of two bought a stun gun during a working trip to France, which he sent in the post to his home close to Brighton. Customs officers say that they have seen a six-fold increase in the number of stun guns being seized at ports and airports. Last year, Customs intercepted 672 stun guns, which can paralyse victims with a 50,000-volt shock. Those found carrying the weapons all told officers that they wanted them for their own protection. A Scotland Yard investigation into a French company selling arms on the internet found that many of its British customers were not underworld figures but respectable mortgage-payers from the shires. Raids on customers� addresses took officers to stockbroker belts, gated private estates and properties costing several millions. The weaponry seized included shotguns, ammunition and automatic pistols. A number of the weapons� owners are still under police caution while prosecutors consider their next move".
Women of Hawaii should be allowed to carry firearms: "Honolulu police report an 18-year-old woman was kidnapped and gang raped by five men on Monday, March 28, 2005, at about 9 p.m. near the University of Hawaii. ... No one deserves to suffer that kind of attack. Everyone deserves the right to protect themselves. That right was ensured by America's founding fathers, who made the right to bear arms the Second Amendment in the United States Constitution, following only the right to free speech and religion. So why is it that in Hawaii, as a law-abiding citizen, I cannot carry a firearm with me to protect myself and my family?"
Monday, April 11, 2005
THE NEW GUN-RIGHTS DEBATE
With more than four out of five states allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons, that argument is finished. Now, the nation's long-running argument over guns turns on how much to loosen the rules - should guns be allowed in judge's chambers? Bars? In workplace parking lots? The work in state legislatures following the latest spate of fatal shootings shows how much the debate has changed. The 1999 Columbine school shootings sent moms marching into the streets for tougher gun laws, but this year, many state legislators are looking at ways to broaden access to weapons and ease training and other requirements.
The push for concealed weapons began in the late 1980s, when all but 10 states refused to allow residents to do so, or only allowed it in special circumstances. But starting in 1989, those barriers fell. Now it's up to 46, with 35 states allowing just about anyone who is not a felon to get a permit. The late 1990s saw a rise in gun control legislation. In 1999, after 15 were killed, including the gunmen, at the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, gun control gained a sharp edge and legislators' attention.
Violence hasn't subsided this year, from courthouse shootings in Atlanta and Tyler, Texas, to the school killings at Red Lake, Minn., the most deadly since Columbine. But the reaction has spurred something far different, drawing on the idea that if the victims had weapons they might not be victims. "At the scene of these crimes, despite all the good intentions of the police, the prosecutors, the courts, the judges - they're all coming in later," said Wayne LaPierre, chief executive of the National Rifle Association. "The country as a whole is taking another look, across the board, at the idea that maybe it makes good sense to allow people to protect themselves in as many situations as possible." Current legislation in some cases is a direct response to the recent shootings, though often predates it. In recent weeks:
-Florida legislators passed a measure allowing people to "meet force with force" to defend themselves without fear of prosecution, extending the right from their homes to anywhere they're legally allowed to be. Gov. Jeb Bush said he intends to sign it.
-Arizona's Senate approved letting people carry guns into bars and restaurants, as long as they're not drinking. The House has yet to act.
-North Dakota legislators approved removing the shooting test needed for a concealed-weapon permit, though the bill awaits final approval from the governor.
Even schools and workplaces, the scene of some of the most horrific violence, saw restrictions fall. A new Virginia law lets people with concealed handguns onto school grounds, as long as they and the gun remain in their car. A 2004 Oklahoma law lets employees with permits keep guns in cars in job parking lots.
Anderson, in New Mexico, said restrictions are outlawing the way he grew up, when he learned about guns before he was a teenager. In his view, restrictions make crime more likely, and his view seems on the rise. "There should be the possibility that any house on the street should have a weapon," he said. "Do I think every house should have one? No. But the bad guy should think so."
More here
Wisconsin: Victim not charged: "A man visiting from Arkansas will not face any criminal charges for killing a Racine man in self-defense. The 64-year-old has been released from jail. Police said a group of young people tried to rob the man at a gas station on 12th and North Sunday morning. They began beating the man with his cane, police said. That's when the Arkansas man grabbed his gun and shot 20-year-old Kendall Moss."
ATF hysteria over museum: "[Marcellus] Area residents want federal authorities to return a 1918 German .50 caliber machine gun to the local VFW Post's war museum after it was taken during a search earlier this year. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms took the Maxim machine gun as part of a broader investigation into the person who donated the weapon to the post, the Three Rivers Commercial-News reported. Museum curator and Vietnam veteran Wilber Breseman was outraged by the Feb. 23 search. ... Four ATF agents and one state trooper arrived at the post with a search warrant for concealed weapons. Mark Hady, the ATF's resident agent in charge, said the donor was under investigation for illegally dealing in firearms."
With more than four out of five states allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons, that argument is finished. Now, the nation's long-running argument over guns turns on how much to loosen the rules - should guns be allowed in judge's chambers? Bars? In workplace parking lots? The work in state legislatures following the latest spate of fatal shootings shows how much the debate has changed. The 1999 Columbine school shootings sent moms marching into the streets for tougher gun laws, but this year, many state legislators are looking at ways to broaden access to weapons and ease training and other requirements.
The push for concealed weapons began in the late 1980s, when all but 10 states refused to allow residents to do so, or only allowed it in special circumstances. But starting in 1989, those barriers fell. Now it's up to 46, with 35 states allowing just about anyone who is not a felon to get a permit. The late 1990s saw a rise in gun control legislation. In 1999, after 15 were killed, including the gunmen, at the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, gun control gained a sharp edge and legislators' attention.
Violence hasn't subsided this year, from courthouse shootings in Atlanta and Tyler, Texas, to the school killings at Red Lake, Minn., the most deadly since Columbine. But the reaction has spurred something far different, drawing on the idea that if the victims had weapons they might not be victims. "At the scene of these crimes, despite all the good intentions of the police, the prosecutors, the courts, the judges - they're all coming in later," said Wayne LaPierre, chief executive of the National Rifle Association. "The country as a whole is taking another look, across the board, at the idea that maybe it makes good sense to allow people to protect themselves in as many situations as possible." Current legislation in some cases is a direct response to the recent shootings, though often predates it. In recent weeks:
-Florida legislators passed a measure allowing people to "meet force with force" to defend themselves without fear of prosecution, extending the right from their homes to anywhere they're legally allowed to be. Gov. Jeb Bush said he intends to sign it.
-Arizona's Senate approved letting people carry guns into bars and restaurants, as long as they're not drinking. The House has yet to act.
-North Dakota legislators approved removing the shooting test needed for a concealed-weapon permit, though the bill awaits final approval from the governor.
Even schools and workplaces, the scene of some of the most horrific violence, saw restrictions fall. A new Virginia law lets people with concealed handguns onto school grounds, as long as they and the gun remain in their car. A 2004 Oklahoma law lets employees with permits keep guns in cars in job parking lots.
Anderson, in New Mexico, said restrictions are outlawing the way he grew up, when he learned about guns before he was a teenager. In his view, restrictions make crime more likely, and his view seems on the rise. "There should be the possibility that any house on the street should have a weapon," he said. "Do I think every house should have one? No. But the bad guy should think so."
More here
Wisconsin: Victim not charged: "A man visiting from Arkansas will not face any criminal charges for killing a Racine man in self-defense. The 64-year-old has been released from jail. Police said a group of young people tried to rob the man at a gas station on 12th and North Sunday morning. They began beating the man with his cane, police said. That's when the Arkansas man grabbed his gun and shot 20-year-old Kendall Moss."
ATF hysteria over museum: "[Marcellus] Area residents want federal authorities to return a 1918 German .50 caliber machine gun to the local VFW Post's war museum after it was taken during a search earlier this year. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms took the Maxim machine gun as part of a broader investigation into the person who donated the weapon to the post, the Three Rivers Commercial-News reported. Museum curator and Vietnam veteran Wilber Breseman was outraged by the Feb. 23 search. ... Four ATF agents and one state trooper arrived at the post with a search warrant for concealed weapons. Mark Hady, the ATF's resident agent in charge, said the donor was under investigation for illegally dealing in firearms."
Sunday, April 10, 2005
INSANE GUN OPPONENTS IN PHILADELPHIA
While murder rates have been falling or flat for years in the rest of the country, including Pittsburgh, Philadelphia's rate has been rising. Last year's murder rate was the highest since 1993, and Philadelphia replaced Chicago, the perennial leader, as the top 10 largest city with the highest murder rate. With 85 murders in this year's first 82 days, Philadelphia's murder rate is well ahead of even last year's level.
Unfortunately, Mayor John Street's solution may affect the rest of the state. He mentions nothing about fixing the city's declining arrest rates for murder. Instead he blames the law-abiding citizens who have permits to carry concealed handguns. And he recently announced that the city will deliberately begin delaying issuing new concealed-handgun permits. Gov. Ed Rendell's proposed crime task force promises to examine the issue further.
None of Philadelphia's reporters seem to have asked Mayor Street or Gov. Rendell the obvious question: If permit holders are the problem, how many of these 85 murders were caused by a person with a permitted concealed handgun? When I asked, the city police and mayor's office were unable or unwilling to answer that question. But my guess is zero. To put it simply, in those extraordinarily rare cases when permit holders get in trouble, there is news coverage -- and there is not one single news story on such a case this year.
Indeed, with 28,000 concealed-handgun permit holders in Philadelphia and more than 600,000 in the state, there wasn't such a murder last year or the year before or the year before that in the entire state. There are only two such cases since the state law started in 1989.
Instead, in Philadelphia there are a number of cases such as this: Last December a robber shot at a deliveryman despite being given all his money and only then did the deliveryman use his permitted concealed handgun to wound the robber. There are dramatic cases statewide. A couple of years ago, a serial rapist in Pittsburgh was wounded by his sixth intended victim, who had a permitted concealed handgun. Of course, in addition to self-defense, others who would never even think of carrying a gun also benefit because criminals don't know in advance who can protect themselves.
More here
Georgia: Father shoots intruder to protect daughter "An Atlanta man says he shot an intruder into his home to protect his daughter. Amos Evans said his home has been broken into three times over the last two months. Evans said his home was again broken into Tuesday morning while his 7-year-old daughter was taking a bath. 'I heard some glass break and I thought maybe she fell or hurt herself in the bathroom, so I ran in there and when I looked to my left I saw this guy who had busted the glass and was coming through my apartment,' Evans said. 'I asked him to stop, he didn't stop, I ran in my room got my gun, cocked it, and got off one shot,' he said. Atlanta police say the intruder fled after being shot in the chest. He was later found near Daniel and Gartrell streets."
Carnival of Cordite is up again. I note a post there saying that the allegedly factual site Snopes is anti-gun. They are in fact a very Leftist site in general. A few small mistakes in a post will cause them to put a big red "False" label on it if it is pro-conservative -- even though the story may be broadly correct.
While murder rates have been falling or flat for years in the rest of the country, including Pittsburgh, Philadelphia's rate has been rising. Last year's murder rate was the highest since 1993, and Philadelphia replaced Chicago, the perennial leader, as the top 10 largest city with the highest murder rate. With 85 murders in this year's first 82 days, Philadelphia's murder rate is well ahead of even last year's level.
Unfortunately, Mayor John Street's solution may affect the rest of the state. He mentions nothing about fixing the city's declining arrest rates for murder. Instead he blames the law-abiding citizens who have permits to carry concealed handguns. And he recently announced that the city will deliberately begin delaying issuing new concealed-handgun permits. Gov. Ed Rendell's proposed crime task force promises to examine the issue further.
None of Philadelphia's reporters seem to have asked Mayor Street or Gov. Rendell the obvious question: If permit holders are the problem, how many of these 85 murders were caused by a person with a permitted concealed handgun? When I asked, the city police and mayor's office were unable or unwilling to answer that question. But my guess is zero. To put it simply, in those extraordinarily rare cases when permit holders get in trouble, there is news coverage -- and there is not one single news story on such a case this year.
Indeed, with 28,000 concealed-handgun permit holders in Philadelphia and more than 600,000 in the state, there wasn't such a murder last year or the year before or the year before that in the entire state. There are only two such cases since the state law started in 1989.
Instead, in Philadelphia there are a number of cases such as this: Last December a robber shot at a deliveryman despite being given all his money and only then did the deliveryman use his permitted concealed handgun to wound the robber. There are dramatic cases statewide. A couple of years ago, a serial rapist in Pittsburgh was wounded by his sixth intended victim, who had a permitted concealed handgun. Of course, in addition to self-defense, others who would never even think of carrying a gun also benefit because criminals don't know in advance who can protect themselves.
More here
Georgia: Father shoots intruder to protect daughter "An Atlanta man says he shot an intruder into his home to protect his daughter. Amos Evans said his home has been broken into three times over the last two months. Evans said his home was again broken into Tuesday morning while his 7-year-old daughter was taking a bath. 'I heard some glass break and I thought maybe she fell or hurt herself in the bathroom, so I ran in there and when I looked to my left I saw this guy who had busted the glass and was coming through my apartment,' Evans said. 'I asked him to stop, he didn't stop, I ran in my room got my gun, cocked it, and got off one shot,' he said. Atlanta police say the intruder fled after being shot in the chest. He was later found near Daniel and Gartrell streets."
Carnival of Cordite is up again. I note a post there saying that the allegedly factual site Snopes is anti-gun. They are in fact a very Leftist site in general. A few small mistakes in a post will cause them to put a big red "False" label on it if it is pro-conservative -- even though the story may be broadly correct.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Illinois: Should citizens be "allowed" to carry firearms? "While the 'right to carry' law is being debated in Springfield, some people here in the Quad Cities already have their doubts about the bill. 'I've been held up at gunpoint before,' said Andrea Wunderlich, 'as a rape victim.' The bill would allow anyone to carry a concealed weapon as long as they pass a training course. Iowa already has a 'reasonable issue' law and pistol range owner Steve Bartels says it would be a good law for Illinois to adopt as well. 'There is an old saying: 'An armed society is a polite society',' says Bartels. 'If the bad guys don't know who's carrying, they are less likely to rob someone.'"
Kentucky: Home invasion suspect killed by homeowner: "Someone broke into the residence of Ozie and Evelyn Toole .... State police say Ozie Toole confronted the intruder and shot him. The Adair County coroner says 21-year-old Stephen Penn of Columbia died at the scene.A police report says entry was gained through a broken window. Investigators say the same residence had been entered earlier in the day when the Tooles were not home and that Penn was also a suspect in that break-in."
A threat to freedom of speech: "On Friday, February 25th 2005, members of the Luty family were arrested and charged with 'Conspiracy to Manufacture Firearms' by British police. Due to the information shown on thehomegunsmith.com website, police raided and searched three addresses belonging to the Luty family. They were looking, apparently, for 'prohibited firearms.'. ... A great deal of wanton damage was caused to property during these searches, apparently in revenge for failure to locate anything more dangerous than a collection of books and CDs! This is a direct challenge by the British authorities to our non-negotiable rights of Freedom of Speech and Artistic Licence."
Kentucky: Home invasion suspect killed by homeowner: "Someone broke into the residence of Ozie and Evelyn Toole .... State police say Ozie Toole confronted the intruder and shot him. The Adair County coroner says 21-year-old Stephen Penn of Columbia died at the scene.A police report says entry was gained through a broken window. Investigators say the same residence had been entered earlier in the day when the Tooles were not home and that Penn was also a suspect in that break-in."
A threat to freedom of speech: "On Friday, February 25th 2005, members of the Luty family were arrested and charged with 'Conspiracy to Manufacture Firearms' by British police. Due to the information shown on thehomegunsmith.com website, police raided and searched three addresses belonging to the Luty family. They were looking, apparently, for 'prohibited firearms.'. ... A great deal of wanton damage was caused to property during these searches, apparently in revenge for failure to locate anything more dangerous than a collection of books and CDs! This is a direct challenge by the British authorities to our non-negotiable rights of Freedom of Speech and Artistic Licence."
Friday, April 08, 2005
Louisiana: Fatal shooting ruled self-defense: "An argument over a child has left a 45-year-old Shreveport man shot to death. Police concluded that last night's shooting was in self-defense and no charges will be filed. They say Percy Davenport was killed during an argument that began over his four-year-old grandniece. Investigators say Davenport pulled two guns and came after the child's father, who grabbed one of the guns and shot Davenport."
Who's crazy now? "The gun control advocacy group immediately spoke out against the tragedy by chastising Congress for permitting the Assault Weapons Ban to expire last year. But the accused Red Lake shooter used two handguns and a shotgun during his spree, none of which were inderdicted by the AWB. ... The group lamented that the government only conducted 'limited law enforcement investigations of gun sellers' and that there were laws in force that mandate the 'immediate destruction of gun-sale records.' But the accused shooter didn't buy any of the guns he used .... Gun control promoters like the Brady Campaign deny that they want to remove all guns from private ownership, but there's been more than one instance of such advocates noting that it might be best and safest if only the police had access to firearms. This case argues against that point, too. It seems the accused shooter stole the guns he used from his grandfather who -- you guessed it -- was a tribal police officer."
Poll supports gun ownership: "Would banning guns reduce the threat from terrorists? Seventy-five percent of Americans say no, according to a new Zogby International poll commissioned by the Second Amendment Foundation. Only one in five respondents supported a gun ban and five percent were not sure. Zobgy pollsters contacted 1,009 likely voters chosen at random nationwide between March 30 and April 1. The poll's margin of error is plus/minus 3.2 percent. SAF Founder Alan Gottlieb said the poll shows that Americans are not buying terrorism as an excuse to pass more restrictive gun laws. (The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has used national security as justification for banning fifty-caliber "sniper rifles," which it says are "easily accessible" to terrorists.) But the Second Amendment Foundation says gun control groups like the Brady Campaign are waging a "one-note campaign" - their only solution, to "take guns away from people - any guns.""
Who's crazy now? "The gun control advocacy group immediately spoke out against the tragedy by chastising Congress for permitting the Assault Weapons Ban to expire last year. But the accused Red Lake shooter used two handguns and a shotgun during his spree, none of which were inderdicted by the AWB. ... The group lamented that the government only conducted 'limited law enforcement investigations of gun sellers' and that there were laws in force that mandate the 'immediate destruction of gun-sale records.' But the accused shooter didn't buy any of the guns he used .... Gun control promoters like the Brady Campaign deny that they want to remove all guns from private ownership, but there's been more than one instance of such advocates noting that it might be best and safest if only the police had access to firearms. This case argues against that point, too. It seems the accused shooter stole the guns he used from his grandfather who -- you guessed it -- was a tribal police officer."
Poll supports gun ownership: "Would banning guns reduce the threat from terrorists? Seventy-five percent of Americans say no, according to a new Zogby International poll commissioned by the Second Amendment Foundation. Only one in five respondents supported a gun ban and five percent were not sure. Zobgy pollsters contacted 1,009 likely voters chosen at random nationwide between March 30 and April 1. The poll's margin of error is plus/minus 3.2 percent. SAF Founder Alan Gottlieb said the poll shows that Americans are not buying terrorism as an excuse to pass more restrictive gun laws. (The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has used national security as justification for banning fifty-caliber "sniper rifles," which it says are "easily accessible" to terrorists.) But the Second Amendment Foundation says gun control groups like the Brady Campaign are waging a "one-note campaign" - their only solution, to "take guns away from people - any guns.""
Thursday, April 07, 2005
LIFESAVING GUNS
On 8 March 2005, two sailing yachts, Mahdi & Gandalf, were moving SW 30 miles off the coast of Yemen proceeding to the port of Aden from Salalah, Oman.
At about 0900 two outboard powered boats, about 25 feet long with 3 men in each one, passed off our stern moving south at about 25 knots. An hour or two later they returned, one coming quite close and looking us over carefully. The second boat passed our bows but quite a ways away. These boats were obviously not engaged in a normal activity such as fishing, etc. At that time we were south of Al Mukalla, Yemen. The area around Al Mukalla is well documented as being a piracy problem area and we started watching carefully for anything out of the ordinary.
At about 1600 we observed two different boats approaching us head on from the SW. These boats were 25-30 feet long, had higher freeboard and diesel powered. They were coming very fast directly at us. There were 4 men in each boat. The boats separated at about 200 yards, one boat ahead of the other, coming down Mahdi's port side and firing into the cockpit. The other boat was firing an automatic weapon at both Gandalf and Mahdi from ahead, more at Gandalf. These guys were shooting directly at the cockpits, and obviously intended to kill us. The first boat swung around behind Mahdi's stern to come up and board us.
At that point I, Rod Nowlin aboard Mahdi and armed with a 12 gage shotgun loaded with 00 buckshot, started shooting into their boat. I forced them to keep their heads down so that they could not shoot at us. I am not sure I hit anyone at that point although I could see the driver of the boat crouched down behind a steering console. After firing 3 shots at them their engine started to smoke and I swung around to shoot at the boat ahead.
At that point, I saw Jay Barry on Gandalf ram that boat amidships almost cutting it in two and turning it almost completely over. I turned back around to shoot again at the boat behind Mahdi and that is when they turned away from Mahdi and were heading toward the stern of Gandalf. Gandalf was beside us, about 100 feet away. The bow of the pirate's boat came right up against Gandalf's stern and two men stood up on the bow to board Gandalf. That was a serious and probably fateful error on their part. I shot both of them. That boat then veered away and I shot the driver, although I am not sure of the outcome because they were farther away and I did not knock him down like the other two.
Mahdi and Gandalf kept going at full speed to put as much distance between the pirates and us as possible. As soon as we were out of rifle range we looked back and both boats were drifting and appeared to be disabled.
If Jay on Gandalf had not had the presence of mind to veer over into one boat and ram it, the outcome of this attack would have been totally different. All they needed to do was stand off a ways and shoot us to pieces with automatic weapons. We were extremely lucky. We broadcast Mayday calls on all VHF and HF radio frequencies, including two HF emergency frequencies supplied by the US Coast Guard a few days before. The Coalition Forces in the area were supposed to be monitoring these frequencies. There was no response except from a commercial ship in the area on VHF 16 who approached and observed the disabled pirates for a bit, then sailed along side of us for 2-4 hours until dark to make sure we would be all right.
The pirates were well organized and well armed. There were at least 4 boats involved. They had set up a picket line out from the Yemen coast probably at least for 50-75 miles, so if you transited the area during the day they wouldn't miss you. The two boats that attacked us appeared to have come from the south.
Source
A GOOD LAW BUT SAD THAT IT WAS NEEDED
Why did arrogant courts take away a person's right to self-defence in the first place
The governor of Florida is being asked to sign a measure that will allow people in that state to use "deadly force" to protect themselves at home or in their car. The bill "authorizes a person to use force, including deadly force, against an intruder or attacker in a dwelling, residence, or vehicle under certain circumstances," the state legislature says on its website.
The Florida House of Representatives passed the bill on Tuesday. The state Senate has already approved it, so all it lacks before becoming law is the signature of Gov. Jeb Bush. Among other provisions, the bill:
* Creates a presumption that residents are reasonable to fear that an intruder has broken in to hurt or kill them.
* Allows the use of deadly force.
* Declares that a person does not have to retreat from an intruder.
A backer of the bill, Representative Dennis Baxley, said it gives people the right to defend themselves without having to worry about the legal consequences. That will discourage criminals, he added. The National Rifle Association, which supports the bill, said it "corrects a serious problem for citizens who choose to protect themselves in the face of attack by violent criminals." The bill reverses the doctrine that people have a "'duty to retreat' (leave your property and RUN) when attacked" which was established by Florida courts, the group said on its website.
Source
Samaritan wounded; robber dies: "An attempted robbery at a grocery store in South Laredo late Monday left the suspected robber dead and a rescuer seriously injured. Officials said 19-year-old David Rivera was dressed in black, had a handkerchief over his face and was armed with a rifle when he attempted to rob two women outside of a "beer run" drive-thru in the 3300 block of Santa Barbara. As the women were accosted, the owner of the El H-Evito grocery store next door ran outside to intervene. Owner Manuel Garcia, 59, was shot in the left hip, but he managed to return fire from 10 feet away, hitting Rivera in the head, said County Court-at-Law Judge Jesus "Chuy" Garza. Rivera, the son of Laredo police spokesman Juan Rivera, was pronounced dead at the scene by Garza. The storeowner was taken to Laredo Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery on his hip. He was in fair condition Tuesday night, hospital officials reported. Meanwhile, Yesenia Paredes, 18, and Griselda Gonzalez, 20, who were with the alleged robber, were arrested on charges of aggravated robbery and engaging in organized criminal activity. Records show that Rivera had been arrested in the past on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, engaging in organized crime and theft, among other charges".
On 8 March 2005, two sailing yachts, Mahdi & Gandalf, were moving SW 30 miles off the coast of Yemen proceeding to the port of Aden from Salalah, Oman.
At about 0900 two outboard powered boats, about 25 feet long with 3 men in each one, passed off our stern moving south at about 25 knots. An hour or two later they returned, one coming quite close and looking us over carefully. The second boat passed our bows but quite a ways away. These boats were obviously not engaged in a normal activity such as fishing, etc. At that time we were south of Al Mukalla, Yemen. The area around Al Mukalla is well documented as being a piracy problem area and we started watching carefully for anything out of the ordinary.
At about 1600 we observed two different boats approaching us head on from the SW. These boats were 25-30 feet long, had higher freeboard and diesel powered. They were coming very fast directly at us. There were 4 men in each boat. The boats separated at about 200 yards, one boat ahead of the other, coming down Mahdi's port side and firing into the cockpit. The other boat was firing an automatic weapon at both Gandalf and Mahdi from ahead, more at Gandalf. These guys were shooting directly at the cockpits, and obviously intended to kill us. The first boat swung around behind Mahdi's stern to come up and board us.
At that point I, Rod Nowlin aboard Mahdi and armed with a 12 gage shotgun loaded with 00 buckshot, started shooting into their boat. I forced them to keep their heads down so that they could not shoot at us. I am not sure I hit anyone at that point although I could see the driver of the boat crouched down behind a steering console. After firing 3 shots at them their engine started to smoke and I swung around to shoot at the boat ahead.
At that point, I saw Jay Barry on Gandalf ram that boat amidships almost cutting it in two and turning it almost completely over. I turned back around to shoot again at the boat behind Mahdi and that is when they turned away from Mahdi and were heading toward the stern of Gandalf. Gandalf was beside us, about 100 feet away. The bow of the pirate's boat came right up against Gandalf's stern and two men stood up on the bow to board Gandalf. That was a serious and probably fateful error on their part. I shot both of them. That boat then veered away and I shot the driver, although I am not sure of the outcome because they were farther away and I did not knock him down like the other two.
Mahdi and Gandalf kept going at full speed to put as much distance between the pirates and us as possible. As soon as we were out of rifle range we looked back and both boats were drifting and appeared to be disabled.
If Jay on Gandalf had not had the presence of mind to veer over into one boat and ram it, the outcome of this attack would have been totally different. All they needed to do was stand off a ways and shoot us to pieces with automatic weapons. We were extremely lucky. We broadcast Mayday calls on all VHF and HF radio frequencies, including two HF emergency frequencies supplied by the US Coast Guard a few days before. The Coalition Forces in the area were supposed to be monitoring these frequencies. There was no response except from a commercial ship in the area on VHF 16 who approached and observed the disabled pirates for a bit, then sailed along side of us for 2-4 hours until dark to make sure we would be all right.
The pirates were well organized and well armed. There were at least 4 boats involved. They had set up a picket line out from the Yemen coast probably at least for 50-75 miles, so if you transited the area during the day they wouldn't miss you. The two boats that attacked us appeared to have come from the south.
Source
A GOOD LAW BUT SAD THAT IT WAS NEEDED
Why did arrogant courts take away a person's right to self-defence in the first place
The governor of Florida is being asked to sign a measure that will allow people in that state to use "deadly force" to protect themselves at home or in their car. The bill "authorizes a person to use force, including deadly force, against an intruder or attacker in a dwelling, residence, or vehicle under certain circumstances," the state legislature says on its website.
The Florida House of Representatives passed the bill on Tuesday. The state Senate has already approved it, so all it lacks before becoming law is the signature of Gov. Jeb Bush. Among other provisions, the bill:
* Creates a presumption that residents are reasonable to fear that an intruder has broken in to hurt or kill them.
* Allows the use of deadly force.
* Declares that a person does not have to retreat from an intruder.
A backer of the bill, Representative Dennis Baxley, said it gives people the right to defend themselves without having to worry about the legal consequences. That will discourage criminals, he added. The National Rifle Association, which supports the bill, said it "corrects a serious problem for citizens who choose to protect themselves in the face of attack by violent criminals." The bill reverses the doctrine that people have a "'duty to retreat' (leave your property and RUN) when attacked" which was established by Florida courts, the group said on its website.
Source
Samaritan wounded; robber dies: "An attempted robbery at a grocery store in South Laredo late Monday left the suspected robber dead and a rescuer seriously injured. Officials said 19-year-old David Rivera was dressed in black, had a handkerchief over his face and was armed with a rifle when he attempted to rob two women outside of a "beer run" drive-thru in the 3300 block of Santa Barbara. As the women were accosted, the owner of the El H-Evito grocery store next door ran outside to intervene. Owner Manuel Garcia, 59, was shot in the left hip, but he managed to return fire from 10 feet away, hitting Rivera in the head, said County Court-at-Law Judge Jesus "Chuy" Garza. Rivera, the son of Laredo police spokesman Juan Rivera, was pronounced dead at the scene by Garza. The storeowner was taken to Laredo Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery on his hip. He was in fair condition Tuesday night, hospital officials reported. Meanwhile, Yesenia Paredes, 18, and Griselda Gonzalez, 20, who were with the alleged robber, were arrested on charges of aggravated robbery and engaging in organized criminal activity. Records show that Rivera had been arrested in the past on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, engaging in organized crime and theft, among other charges".
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
The 'gun problem': "In the wake of another school shooting by another sociopathic teenager, Second Amendment opponents are again out in force attempting to convert the blood of innocents into political capital for gun confiscation. .... In an observation typical of the gun confiscation crowd's Leftmedia trucklings, Washington Post Deputy Editor Colbert King posed this loaded question: "What about the guns that take away the life?"'Gun problem," "gun violence" and "guns that take away the life"? Like Barnes and Havelin, King insists that the problem is guns and that confiscating guns will solve the problem. But Barnes, Havelin and King, like most Leftists, display a chronic disconnect with reality. The "problem" in Red Lake, Minnesota (nine dead), is similar to that which visited Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado (thirteen dead), back in 1999.What was the problem? Leftists brace yourself: It was not a gun problem, but a culture problem."
Wisconsin hotel massacre victims had no right to carry: "Seven people gunned down Mar. 12 by a man who then turned the firearm on himself were victims not only of the gunman, but also of the failure of the Wisconsin legislature to pass a concealed carry statute by override when they had a chance, gun rights activists have argued. Late in 2003, anti-gun Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, vetoed legislation that would have established concealed carry for Wisconsin residents. When the legislature tried to override Doyle's veto, they fell just one vote short. That vote was cast by a Democrat, Rep. Gary Sherman, who had co-sponsored the legislation, but switched at the last minute to oppose the measure."
Arm the Darfurians: "The slaughter, rape and torment of the citizens of Darfur would end if humanitarian aid included guns. Darfur is a Texas-size region of Sudan. The Sudanese government and its militia proxies have killed roughly 70,000 civilians, raped and mutilated untold numbers of others and caused about 3 million refugees to live in camps. ... I always wondered why there was no mention of the victims fighting back. 'Some do defend themselves,' said Bill Garvelink, acting assistant administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance in the U.S. Agency for International Development. The United States has given about $600 million since 2003. 'But Sudan has helicopters and AK-47s. People in the camps have machetes,' Garvelink said. International treaties covering humanitarian aid prohibit giving any side arms to defend oneself; otherwise no aid workers would be allowed to bring in supplies to a troubled region."
Wisconsin hotel massacre victims had no right to carry: "Seven people gunned down Mar. 12 by a man who then turned the firearm on himself were victims not only of the gunman, but also of the failure of the Wisconsin legislature to pass a concealed carry statute by override when they had a chance, gun rights activists have argued. Late in 2003, anti-gun Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, vetoed legislation that would have established concealed carry for Wisconsin residents. When the legislature tried to override Doyle's veto, they fell just one vote short. That vote was cast by a Democrat, Rep. Gary Sherman, who had co-sponsored the legislation, but switched at the last minute to oppose the measure."
Arm the Darfurians: "The slaughter, rape and torment of the citizens of Darfur would end if humanitarian aid included guns. Darfur is a Texas-size region of Sudan. The Sudanese government and its militia proxies have killed roughly 70,000 civilians, raped and mutilated untold numbers of others and caused about 3 million refugees to live in camps. ... I always wondered why there was no mention of the victims fighting back. 'Some do defend themselves,' said Bill Garvelink, acting assistant administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance in the U.S. Agency for International Development. The United States has given about $600 million since 2003. 'But Sudan has helicopters and AK-47s. People in the camps have machetes,' Garvelink said. International treaties covering humanitarian aid prohibit giving any side arms to defend oneself; otherwise no aid workers would be allowed to bring in supplies to a troubled region."
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
And no-one had a gun to defend themselves: "Police in Germany said a man entered a Protestant church Sunday wielding a sword and killed one man and injured others. Investigators described the scene at the church in Stuttgart, Germany, as grisly, and said they had not determined a motive for the attack, the BBC reported. Severed limbs were lying all round the church, a police spokeswoman said. One man was taken into custody".
Checks are working: "No one is more opposed to terrorists acquiring firearms than the 4 million members of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). But a handful of politicians are trying to scare Americans into believing that terrorists are buying guns in America and that the FBI is unable to stop them. Nothing could be further from the truth, and law enforcement is doing its job well!"
Checks are working: "No one is more opposed to terrorists acquiring firearms than the 4 million members of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). But a handful of politicians are trying to scare Americans into believing that terrorists are buying guns in America and that the FBI is unable to stop them. Nothing could be further from the truth, and law enforcement is doing its job well!"
Monday, April 04, 2005
GUN BANNING HAS NOW PLAINLY FAILED
"Paul Bucher, the district attorney for the Wisconsin county where a man opened fire in a church service last month, killing seven people and himself, has one answer to the deadly mass shootings around the country in recent weeks: more guns.
"The problems aren't the guns, it's the guns in the wrong hands," said Mr. Bucher, a Republican who recently announced his candidacy for Wisconsin attorney general. "We need to put more guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens. Whether having that would have changed what happened is all speculation, but it would level the playing field. If the person you're fighting has a gun and all you have is your fists, you lose."
Across the country, efforts to expand or establish laws allowing concealed handguns have been fueled by the horrifying shootings in the last month - of the family of a federal judge in Chicago, at the church service in Wisconsin, at courthouses in Atlanta and Tyler, Tex., and the nation's second-deadliest school shooting, on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota.
In Texas and Illinois, the shootings prompted new legislation to allow judges and prosecutors to be armed. Legislators in Nebraska and Wisconsin, which were already considering allowing concealed weapons, say they think the shootings will help their cause..... after the recent shootings in Red Lake, N.R.A. officials proposed arming teachers."
More here
Sensenbrenner fails test: "In February, Aaron Zelman wrote a personal memo to Rep. James Sensenbrenner. The memo listed a number of abuses by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and called for Sensenbrenner to call hearings to publicize and curb the outrages committed by this out-of-control agency. Aaron emphasized how the BATFE targets the innocent and vulnerable and how it damages the U.S. firearms industry. ... James Sensenbrenner is the very powerful chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. Aaron Zelman lives in [his] district. ... So what was Sensenbrenner's response? Did this 'representative' of a gun-friendly district agree to call hearings? ... NO. Far from it. Instead, he responded with a form letter which not only assumed that the executive director of a well-known gun-rights group needed a basic primer on BATFE functions, but which also praised the rogue agency in glowing terms."
South Africa: Rush is on to dump "illegal" guns: "More people are expected to rush to police stations countrywide in the next two days to give up their illegal firearms and ammunition, said government news agency BuaNews on Tuesday. The deadline for the handing in of illegal weapons is March 31 -- Thursday. The agency reported that those who did not hand in illegal guns faced up to 25 years in jail. According to the police service, more than 20 000 illegal guns and ammunition have been handed in at police stations since the amnesty began in January."
"Paul Bucher, the district attorney for the Wisconsin county where a man opened fire in a church service last month, killing seven people and himself, has one answer to the deadly mass shootings around the country in recent weeks: more guns.
"The problems aren't the guns, it's the guns in the wrong hands," said Mr. Bucher, a Republican who recently announced his candidacy for Wisconsin attorney general. "We need to put more guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens. Whether having that would have changed what happened is all speculation, but it would level the playing field. If the person you're fighting has a gun and all you have is your fists, you lose."
Across the country, efforts to expand or establish laws allowing concealed handguns have been fueled by the horrifying shootings in the last month - of the family of a federal judge in Chicago, at the church service in Wisconsin, at courthouses in Atlanta and Tyler, Tex., and the nation's second-deadliest school shooting, on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota.
In Texas and Illinois, the shootings prompted new legislation to allow judges and prosecutors to be armed. Legislators in Nebraska and Wisconsin, which were already considering allowing concealed weapons, say they think the shootings will help their cause..... after the recent shootings in Red Lake, N.R.A. officials proposed arming teachers."
More here
Sensenbrenner fails test: "In February, Aaron Zelman wrote a personal memo to Rep. James Sensenbrenner. The memo listed a number of abuses by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and called for Sensenbrenner to call hearings to publicize and curb the outrages committed by this out-of-control agency. Aaron emphasized how the BATFE targets the innocent and vulnerable and how it damages the U.S. firearms industry. ... James Sensenbrenner is the very powerful chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. Aaron Zelman lives in [his] district. ... So what was Sensenbrenner's response? Did this 'representative' of a gun-friendly district agree to call hearings? ... NO. Far from it. Instead, he responded with a form letter which not only assumed that the executive director of a well-known gun-rights group needed a basic primer on BATFE functions, but which also praised the rogue agency in glowing terms."
South Africa: Rush is on to dump "illegal" guns: "More people are expected to rush to police stations countrywide in the next two days to give up their illegal firearms and ammunition, said government news agency BuaNews on Tuesday. The deadline for the handing in of illegal weapons is March 31 -- Thursday. The agency reported that those who did not hand in illegal guns faced up to 25 years in jail. According to the police service, more than 20 000 illegal guns and ammunition have been handed in at police stations since the amnesty began in January."
Sunday, April 03, 2005
WITH A GUN EVEN AN 83-YEAR-OLD CAN FIGHT
An 83-year-old woman fought with an intruder in her home and fired two shots at him before he fled with her gun and purse. Mark Foulk, 44, of Fall Branch, was pulled over by a Sullivan County Sheriff's deputy about 20 minutes later and charged with DUI and speeding. Authorities at the jail found glass in his pockets and cuts on his hands and a gun and purse in his car. He was then charged with robbery and aggravated burglary. An intruder broke into the house of Clara Groseclose early Tuesday. She heard a noise downstairs, retrieved a handgun and went to check on it. Groseclose encountered a man near a broken window, and he demanded money, police said. She struggled with the man and fired two rounds at him. Police said Foulk had an abrasion on his face that could have come from the muzzle of the gun when it was fired. The man took Groseclose's gun and purse and fled. She had a minor cut on her knee from the struggle but was not seriously injured.
Source
The latest Carnival of Cordite is up. Have a look at what is happening on other gun-related blogs
Kansas: Why you need guns "Intruders trying to shoot their way into a home Monday morning fired into a kitchen door, and on the other side sat three young children at a breakfast table. ... None of the children, nor a woman at the table with them, were hurt. But two men were in the Sedgwick County Jail awaiting criminal charges. A third intruder remained in a Wichita hospital with multiple gunshot wounds after one of the residents fired back."
Gunsmoke "I'm stunned that the reaction to last Tuesday's column on why Philadelphians want to carry guns was entirely positive -- except for a single e-mail. Since Philly is liberal, with more than its share of loopy leftists and column-writing, gun-hating hysterics, I thought I'd be picking buckshot out of my pants for a week. I got support, of course, from gun-owners, Libertarians, Second Amendment supporters and 'gun nuts,' but I heard from many everyday people who feel a deep need for personal protection. What does it mean if the 'anti-gun' crowd is largely mum in Philly?"
An 83-year-old woman fought with an intruder in her home and fired two shots at him before he fled with her gun and purse. Mark Foulk, 44, of Fall Branch, was pulled over by a Sullivan County Sheriff's deputy about 20 minutes later and charged with DUI and speeding. Authorities at the jail found glass in his pockets and cuts on his hands and a gun and purse in his car. He was then charged with robbery and aggravated burglary. An intruder broke into the house of Clara Groseclose early Tuesday. She heard a noise downstairs, retrieved a handgun and went to check on it. Groseclose encountered a man near a broken window, and he demanded money, police said. She struggled with the man and fired two rounds at him. Police said Foulk had an abrasion on his face that could have come from the muzzle of the gun when it was fired. The man took Groseclose's gun and purse and fled. She had a minor cut on her knee from the struggle but was not seriously injured.
Source
The latest Carnival of Cordite is up. Have a look at what is happening on other gun-related blogs
Kansas: Why you need guns "Intruders trying to shoot their way into a home Monday morning fired into a kitchen door, and on the other side sat three young children at a breakfast table. ... None of the children, nor a woman at the table with them, were hurt. But two men were in the Sedgwick County Jail awaiting criminal charges. A third intruder remained in a Wichita hospital with multiple gunshot wounds after one of the residents fired back."
Gunsmoke "I'm stunned that the reaction to last Tuesday's column on why Philadelphians want to carry guns was entirely positive -- except for a single e-mail. Since Philly is liberal, with more than its share of loopy leftists and column-writing, gun-hating hysterics, I thought I'd be picking buckshot out of my pants for a week. I got support, of course, from gun-owners, Libertarians, Second Amendment supporters and 'gun nuts,' but I heard from many everyday people who feel a deep need for personal protection. What does it mean if the 'anti-gun' crowd is largely mum in Philly?"
Saturday, April 02, 2005
GUN FEAR A MENTAL CONDITION
The 214-year-old American right to keep and bear arms does not protect some sort of collective, or assembled militias, or armed forces, or a right of the states. Those newly minted arguments are now off the table, wiped out, dead. RKBA is a right you and I have as individuals. I've gotten the link a dozen times already, you may have too, and if not, here it is: http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
However, since the bulk of resistance to the American right to arms has its roots in a medical condition, no amount of history, legal analysis, precedent, logic or argument will resolve the issue.
People who are terrified of and hate guns -- hoplophobes -- don't care about anything rational, and we waste our time on such arguments. They want guns to go away. They don't trust guns. They don't trust people who have guns, and especially people who like guns. The only exception is "official" people with guns, meaning, they're from the government, a source of relief. I know, I know, that's irrational. But that's the nature of the disease, and it will not be fixed by DOJ reports.
The more intelligent of the hoplophobes may give up their you-have-no-rights argument due to the DOJ report, but it won't stop them one bit. They will seize on anything else, because hoplophobia is an irrational fear. Conveniently, the language of the report itself says that the limits of this individual right have not been clearly defined. To a hoplophobe, that means your right to arms can be legally limited to a single gun, with a single round, that does not operate, and is locked away, with government holding the key. And even that leaves them nervous.
We don't need more arguments or some DOJ paper that finds what we already know and have exercised for two centuries. Oh, I guess the intellectuals on our side will make some use of it, and it may have some positive effects in some courts. What we really need is research and medical-treatment programs for the poor, unfortunate people who are terrified of guns, won't go near guns, who would not defend themselves or their families if they had to, and who, very plainly, hate guns.
It must be confronted vigorously, righteously, and in a forthright manner. Logic and law do not confront hate, or help lessen it. We must learn not to tolerate gun hate, anywhere we find it. Hoplophobic behavior in government, schools, and all facets of public life must be recognized for what it is, exposed, and rooted out or treated. Seemingly utopian pacifists are free to profess their love of a weapon-free world, but they must start by disarming the evil, criminal and tyrannical. Disarming the general public is a vent for their twisted fear and hatred, a grotesque affront to freedom, and unacceptable.
Guns save lives. Guns stop crime. Guns are why America is still free. The history of freedom is inextricably tied to the development of weapons (an interesting study, by the way, if you have the time to examine it). Good people need guns. Efforts to end that are immoral and unjust, and when done by government, is a direct failure to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution." That's a violation of the oath of office, which should lead to removal from office and possibly even criminal charges. The people we elect or hire for public service should be screened for latent or overt gun hatred, and disqualified if such hatred is found, before it can do any more harm to our nation and its values.
It is well past the time when the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), the catalog of recognized mental infirmities, includes "hoplophobia," in all its forms, and serious medical research is conducted to identify and treat this pernicious condition that threatens us all. The doctors among you should begin raising this issue. If you're not a doctor but have one or two, ask them about it.
More here
CHICAGO IRRATIONALITY RESISTED
Illinois hunters and gun dealers are trying to shoot down a flurry of gun-control proposals they say rose from fear in the streets of Chicago, far from the downstate prairies and woods where guns are appreciated for sport. They see no room for compromise on Chicago-led efforts to ban assault weapons and .50-caliber rifles and ammunition, and they oppose proposals to require background checks for gun-show purchases and to limit gun buyers to one handgun per month. "The problem is once you start banning things, where does it end?" said Dan Brookman, a retired police officer who owns a gun dealership in Pana, midway between Springfield and Effingham. "Banning is nothing but censorship. Once they're done with the Second Amendment, they could move on to the First."
Chicago officials say they understand the sensitivity of gun measures in Illinois and have carefully tailored their proposals over the years to minimize the impact on hunters. A bill to require statewide licensing of gun dealers, for example, would apply only to handguns, not rifles or shotguns. "We're very conscious of the upstate-downstate views on guns," said John Dunn, Chicago's deputy director of governmental affairs. But gun dealers and advocates say the proposals this year illustrate just how little politicians know about guns. Banning .50-caliber ammunition, for example, would affect guns used for deer hunting, not just the high-powered rifles that gun control advocates are targeting, said Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, a group affiliated with the NRA.....
There is an age-old divide between Chicago and the rest of the state that often focuses on who gets the biggest slice of state money for roads and other projects, but when it comes to guns, the differences are polarizing. "In rural areas, guns are much more of a way of life-- part of a tradition, a part of growing up that creates bonds between parents and their children. In urban areas, guns are seen as a threat or a way to protect yourself," said Robert Bradley, an Illinois State University political science professor. Many downstate hunters worry that any attempt to restrict gun rights, even if it seems innocuous, will open the door to even tighter restrictions.
In the Illinois Legislature, gun votes tend to split along urban-rural lines rather than political party. The governor, meanwhile, is caught between cultures. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Chicago Democrat, has praised Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's gun-control efforts, but he has been criticized by gun-control advocates for doing nothing to prevent their bills from being rejected by committees this year while proposals to let Illinoisans carry concealed handguns have advanced. At the same time, downstate gun advocates believe Blagojevich favors Chicago and gun control. "They say they're pro-gun when they run and once they're elected they change," said Corey Partridge, who owns a gun and hunting shop in Harrisburg, at the edge of the Shawnee National Forest....
Gun supporters say if lawmakers really want to deter crime they should allow concealed carry. "Why should the criminals have all the guns? They're carrying them and the rest of us aren't allowed to," said Betty Richardson of Springfield, a 64-year-old retiree who took up target shooting two years ago for self-defense. Ron Barrington, owner of a Peoria gun shop, agrees, saying criminals will "think twice when they don't know who's armed and who isn't."
More here
Wyoming: No charges in shooting death: "No charges will be filed in the shooting death of a Montana man at a campground last weekend after an investigation determined the shooting was likely 'justifiable,' according to the Big Horn County Sheriff's Department. Larry P. Thomas, 44, of Roundup, Mont., was found dead Sunday afternoon from a single gunshot wound near the Five Springs Campground, Sheriff Dave Mattis said. 'All the information we have now' indicates Thomas was shot while he was assaulting a man, Mattis said. That man and another man were detained in the Big Horn County Jail while police investigated. 'We're not saying that the homicide was entirely justifiable, but we're saying no charges will be filed,' Mattis said. "All the information we have now" indicates Thomas was shot while he was assaulting a man, Mattis said. That man and another man were detained in the Big Horn County Jail while police investigated. "We're not saying that the homicide was entirely justifiable, but we're saying no charges will be filed," Mattis said.... When the two men left in their vehicle, Thomas rammed them from behind with his pickup "for some unknown reason" and off the roadway, according to a sheriff's office news release. Thomas then attacked the driver of the first vehicle and began slamming his head against rocks. The passenger of the first vehicle grabbed his rifle, warned Thomas to stop and shot him after he continued to beat the other man's head into the rocks, according to the sheriff's office."
The 214-year-old American right to keep and bear arms does not protect some sort of collective, or assembled militias, or armed forces, or a right of the states. Those newly minted arguments are now off the table, wiped out, dead. RKBA is a right you and I have as individuals. I've gotten the link a dozen times already, you may have too, and if not, here it is: http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
However, since the bulk of resistance to the American right to arms has its roots in a medical condition, no amount of history, legal analysis, precedent, logic or argument will resolve the issue.
People who are terrified of and hate guns -- hoplophobes -- don't care about anything rational, and we waste our time on such arguments. They want guns to go away. They don't trust guns. They don't trust people who have guns, and especially people who like guns. The only exception is "official" people with guns, meaning, they're from the government, a source of relief. I know, I know, that's irrational. But that's the nature of the disease, and it will not be fixed by DOJ reports.
The more intelligent of the hoplophobes may give up their you-have-no-rights argument due to the DOJ report, but it won't stop them one bit. They will seize on anything else, because hoplophobia is an irrational fear. Conveniently, the language of the report itself says that the limits of this individual right have not been clearly defined. To a hoplophobe, that means your right to arms can be legally limited to a single gun, with a single round, that does not operate, and is locked away, with government holding the key. And even that leaves them nervous.
We don't need more arguments or some DOJ paper that finds what we already know and have exercised for two centuries. Oh, I guess the intellectuals on our side will make some use of it, and it may have some positive effects in some courts. What we really need is research and medical-treatment programs for the poor, unfortunate people who are terrified of guns, won't go near guns, who would not defend themselves or their families if they had to, and who, very plainly, hate guns.
It must be confronted vigorously, righteously, and in a forthright manner. Logic and law do not confront hate, or help lessen it. We must learn not to tolerate gun hate, anywhere we find it. Hoplophobic behavior in government, schools, and all facets of public life must be recognized for what it is, exposed, and rooted out or treated. Seemingly utopian pacifists are free to profess their love of a weapon-free world, but they must start by disarming the evil, criminal and tyrannical. Disarming the general public is a vent for their twisted fear and hatred, a grotesque affront to freedom, and unacceptable.
Guns save lives. Guns stop crime. Guns are why America is still free. The history of freedom is inextricably tied to the development of weapons (an interesting study, by the way, if you have the time to examine it). Good people need guns. Efforts to end that are immoral and unjust, and when done by government, is a direct failure to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution." That's a violation of the oath of office, which should lead to removal from office and possibly even criminal charges. The people we elect or hire for public service should be screened for latent or overt gun hatred, and disqualified if such hatred is found, before it can do any more harm to our nation and its values.
It is well past the time when the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), the catalog of recognized mental infirmities, includes "hoplophobia," in all its forms, and serious medical research is conducted to identify and treat this pernicious condition that threatens us all. The doctors among you should begin raising this issue. If you're not a doctor but have one or two, ask them about it.
More here
CHICAGO IRRATIONALITY RESISTED
Illinois hunters and gun dealers are trying to shoot down a flurry of gun-control proposals they say rose from fear in the streets of Chicago, far from the downstate prairies and woods where guns are appreciated for sport. They see no room for compromise on Chicago-led efforts to ban assault weapons and .50-caliber rifles and ammunition, and they oppose proposals to require background checks for gun-show purchases and to limit gun buyers to one handgun per month. "The problem is once you start banning things, where does it end?" said Dan Brookman, a retired police officer who owns a gun dealership in Pana, midway between Springfield and Effingham. "Banning is nothing but censorship. Once they're done with the Second Amendment, they could move on to the First."
Chicago officials say they understand the sensitivity of gun measures in Illinois and have carefully tailored their proposals over the years to minimize the impact on hunters. A bill to require statewide licensing of gun dealers, for example, would apply only to handguns, not rifles or shotguns. "We're very conscious of the upstate-downstate views on guns," said John Dunn, Chicago's deputy director of governmental affairs. But gun dealers and advocates say the proposals this year illustrate just how little politicians know about guns. Banning .50-caliber ammunition, for example, would affect guns used for deer hunting, not just the high-powered rifles that gun control advocates are targeting, said Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, a group affiliated with the NRA.....
There is an age-old divide between Chicago and the rest of the state that often focuses on who gets the biggest slice of state money for roads and other projects, but when it comes to guns, the differences are polarizing. "In rural areas, guns are much more of a way of life-- part of a tradition, a part of growing up that creates bonds between parents and their children. In urban areas, guns are seen as a threat or a way to protect yourself," said Robert Bradley, an Illinois State University political science professor. Many downstate hunters worry that any attempt to restrict gun rights, even if it seems innocuous, will open the door to even tighter restrictions.
In the Illinois Legislature, gun votes tend to split along urban-rural lines rather than political party. The governor, meanwhile, is caught between cultures. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Chicago Democrat, has praised Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's gun-control efforts, but he has been criticized by gun-control advocates for doing nothing to prevent their bills from being rejected by committees this year while proposals to let Illinoisans carry concealed handguns have advanced. At the same time, downstate gun advocates believe Blagojevich favors Chicago and gun control. "They say they're pro-gun when they run and once they're elected they change," said Corey Partridge, who owns a gun and hunting shop in Harrisburg, at the edge of the Shawnee National Forest....
Gun supporters say if lawmakers really want to deter crime they should allow concealed carry. "Why should the criminals have all the guns? They're carrying them and the rest of us aren't allowed to," said Betty Richardson of Springfield, a 64-year-old retiree who took up target shooting two years ago for self-defense. Ron Barrington, owner of a Peoria gun shop, agrees, saying criminals will "think twice when they don't know who's armed and who isn't."
More here
Wyoming: No charges in shooting death: "No charges will be filed in the shooting death of a Montana man at a campground last weekend after an investigation determined the shooting was likely 'justifiable,' according to the Big Horn County Sheriff's Department. Larry P. Thomas, 44, of Roundup, Mont., was found dead Sunday afternoon from a single gunshot wound near the Five Springs Campground, Sheriff Dave Mattis said. 'All the information we have now' indicates Thomas was shot while he was assaulting a man, Mattis said. That man and another man were detained in the Big Horn County Jail while police investigated. 'We're not saying that the homicide was entirely justifiable, but we're saying no charges will be filed,' Mattis said. "All the information we have now" indicates Thomas was shot while he was assaulting a man, Mattis said. That man and another man were detained in the Big Horn County Jail while police investigated. "We're not saying that the homicide was entirely justifiable, but we're saying no charges will be filed," Mattis said.... When the two men left in their vehicle, Thomas rammed them from behind with his pickup "for some unknown reason" and off the roadway, according to a sheriff's office news release. Thomas then attacked the driver of the first vehicle and began slamming his head against rocks. The passenger of the first vehicle grabbed his rifle, warned Thomas to stop and shot him after he continued to beat the other man's head into the rocks, according to the sheriff's office."
Friday, April 01, 2005
San Antonio, TX: "George Shandy had had enough. Following a recent burglary at his mother's vacant home on the near East Side, Shandy decided to take matters into his own hands. On Tuesday night, he waited inside the home in the 1800 block of Dawson, armed with a 9 mm handgun. He knew someone would be back for more, after all, the china cabinet had been stolen earlier in the day and the front door was left open with the washer and dryer not far from it. At 9:30 p.m., two men broke into the home, not realizing what awaited them, police said. "When he turned the light on, I popped up out of the bedroom with my gun and told them to get down on the floor until the police came," Shandy said. Police arrived a few minutes later and took the two men into custody. On Saturday night, Shandy shot a man who broke into the home. The man was wounded in the arm and was arrested and charged with burglary. Shandy said he isn't a vigilante, he's just a son protecting his mother's property."
Noo Joisey justice: "The spate of slayings over the first three months of the year has prompted Assemblyman Louis Manzo, D-Jersey City, to introduce a bill which would make it possible to confiscate a home or car in which an illegal firearm is found - even if the gun doesn't belong to the owner. "Simply put, we cannot afford to lose another life, at a time when it has become a daily routine to read about another life lost in our neighborhoods as a result of gun violence," Manzo says in a letter asking state Assembly Speaker Albio Sires, D-West New York, to expedite a vote on the bill. "Now is the time to send a message that the consequences for harboring an illegal firearm are severe and will not be tolerated by our law-makers, communities or families," Manzo says in the letter. Manzo said the bill will make the stakes so high that people will "think twice about driving a friend (they) know carries a gun, and about allowing a family member to harbor an illegal gun in the home." Even if the bill were passed, however, it would likely be challenged as unconstitutional, said Frank Askin, director of the Constitutional Clinic at Rutgers University in Newark. "I'm skeptical the New Jersey Supreme Court would uphold it under the state constitution," Askin said yesterday. "I think under the state constitution there would at least have to be a innocent owner exception. "The New Jersey Supreme Court has been much more protective of private property rights than the Supreme Court has been in recent years," Askin said."
Florida: Cab driver guns down attempted thief: "Police say a cab driver took the law into his own hands Thursday night when an attempted robber held him at gunpoint. ... According to authorities, the cabbie was dropping off two passengers when a man tried to rob him. The driver turned the tables on the man, pulled out a gun of his own, and shot him. ... The suspect died at the scene, but the driver and the passengers were not hurt."
Noo Joisey justice: "The spate of slayings over the first three months of the year has prompted Assemblyman Louis Manzo, D-Jersey City, to introduce a bill which would make it possible to confiscate a home or car in which an illegal firearm is found - even if the gun doesn't belong to the owner. "Simply put, we cannot afford to lose another life, at a time when it has become a daily routine to read about another life lost in our neighborhoods as a result of gun violence," Manzo says in a letter asking state Assembly Speaker Albio Sires, D-West New York, to expedite a vote on the bill. "Now is the time to send a message that the consequences for harboring an illegal firearm are severe and will not be tolerated by our law-makers, communities or families," Manzo says in the letter. Manzo said the bill will make the stakes so high that people will "think twice about driving a friend (they) know carries a gun, and about allowing a family member to harbor an illegal gun in the home." Even if the bill were passed, however, it would likely be challenged as unconstitutional, said Frank Askin, director of the Constitutional Clinic at Rutgers University in Newark. "I'm skeptical the New Jersey Supreme Court would uphold it under the state constitution," Askin said yesterday. "I think under the state constitution there would at least have to be a innocent owner exception. "The New Jersey Supreme Court has been much more protective of private property rights than the Supreme Court has been in recent years," Askin said."
Florida: Cab driver guns down attempted thief: "Police say a cab driver took the law into his own hands Thursday night when an attempted robber held him at gunpoint. ... According to authorities, the cabbie was dropping off two passengers when a man tried to rob him. The driver turned the tables on the man, pulled out a gun of his own, and shot him. ... The suspect died at the scene, but the driver and the passengers were not hurt."
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Gun Rights -- How Congress votes
Last Congress, the GOP attempted to pass a bill exempting gun manufacturers from civil liabilities in connection with the criminal use of handguns by persons to whom they eventually were distributed, in the chain of commerce. Democrats responded by attaching a renewal of the assault weapons ban to that bill, a procedural tactic which, ultimately, scuttled the greater, anti-product liability measures. And, germane to this discussion, the breakdown of the actual vote, on the amendment under which the assault weapons ban would have been extended, was as follows:
41 = Republicans against the extension of that firearms ban (80% of the then-current GOP caucus).
42 = Democrats in favor of banning �assault weapons� (86% of the then-current Democrat caucus, including Jeffords).
If you want fewer gun restrictions in this country, allowing modern-day Democrats to win major political offices simply will not advance that agenda.
(From Poli Pundit)
Arizona: Murder charge in shooting tossed out: "A judge today threw out the murder charge against a Valley man who shot to death a hiker during a confrontation over the hiker's dogs in southeastern Coconino County. Coconino County Superior Court Judge Mark Moran's ruling will give Harold Fish another chance before a grand jury if prosecutors choose to take the case back to the grand jury. Last summer, the grand jury indicted Fish, a retired teacher, on a count of second-degree murder in the May 11 killing of Grant Kuenzli, who was camped in the forest with his three dogs."
Gun control: Politics without reason: "We see that hoplophobes want government to be as well armed as possible, and private citizens to be as poorly armed as possible. I like to define gun control as the doctrine resting on the principle that humanity will be safe if the most effective murderer of the 20th century controls all weapons. Yes, governments kill people - lots of people as it turns out. Can antigun nuts really be ignorant of this fact? I think that most Americans with at least some high school education must know that the German government murdered its own subjects as recently as 1945, and anybody who watches or reads any news knows of recent government organized massacres in Kosovo and Iraq (obviously there have been many more murderous regimes, but these seem to have received the most press as of late)."
Gun banners shooting themselves in foot: "For the second time in two weeks, a criminal thug steals weapons from a cop and then goes on a shooting rampage. First there was Brian Nichols who, after stealing a gun from a deputy in an Atlanta court house, killed four people. Then, a 16-year-old teenager in Minnesota stole guns from his grandfather -- who was a cop -- and used one of the weapons to kill several students and adults at a Minnesota high school. Although the guns in question were stolen from the police in both cases, the gun control lobby still insists upon punishing law-abiding Americans -- even though gun control would have done nothing to keep guns out of the bad guys' hands."
Last Congress, the GOP attempted to pass a bill exempting gun manufacturers from civil liabilities in connection with the criminal use of handguns by persons to whom they eventually were distributed, in the chain of commerce. Democrats responded by attaching a renewal of the assault weapons ban to that bill, a procedural tactic which, ultimately, scuttled the greater, anti-product liability measures. And, germane to this discussion, the breakdown of the actual vote, on the amendment under which the assault weapons ban would have been extended, was as follows:
41 = Republicans against the extension of that firearms ban (80% of the then-current GOP caucus).
42 = Democrats in favor of banning �assault weapons� (86% of the then-current Democrat caucus, including Jeffords).
If you want fewer gun restrictions in this country, allowing modern-day Democrats to win major political offices simply will not advance that agenda.
(From Poli Pundit)
Arizona: Murder charge in shooting tossed out: "A judge today threw out the murder charge against a Valley man who shot to death a hiker during a confrontation over the hiker's dogs in southeastern Coconino County. Coconino County Superior Court Judge Mark Moran's ruling will give Harold Fish another chance before a grand jury if prosecutors choose to take the case back to the grand jury. Last summer, the grand jury indicted Fish, a retired teacher, on a count of second-degree murder in the May 11 killing of Grant Kuenzli, who was camped in the forest with his three dogs."
Gun control: Politics without reason: "We see that hoplophobes want government to be as well armed as possible, and private citizens to be as poorly armed as possible. I like to define gun control as the doctrine resting on the principle that humanity will be safe if the most effective murderer of the 20th century controls all weapons. Yes, governments kill people - lots of people as it turns out. Can antigun nuts really be ignorant of this fact? I think that most Americans with at least some high school education must know that the German government murdered its own subjects as recently as 1945, and anybody who watches or reads any news knows of recent government organized massacres in Kosovo and Iraq (obviously there have been many more murderous regimes, but these seem to have received the most press as of late)."
Gun banners shooting themselves in foot: "For the second time in two weeks, a criminal thug steals weapons from a cop and then goes on a shooting rampage. First there was Brian Nichols who, after stealing a gun from a deputy in an Atlanta court house, killed four people. Then, a 16-year-old teenager in Minnesota stole guns from his grandfather -- who was a cop -- and used one of the weapons to kill several students and adults at a Minnesota high school. Although the guns in question were stolen from the police in both cases, the gun control lobby still insists upon punishing law-abiding Americans -- even though gun control would have done nothing to keep guns out of the bad guys' hands."
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
GUN-FREE ZONES MAKE SCHOOLS UNSAFE
We at Utah Self-Defense Instructors' Network (US-DIN) are deeply saddened at the senseless loss of life that occurred last week at Red Lake High School in Minnesota. This situation, like other recent mass shootings, is frustrating to us in that we believe they are largely preventable. This is yet another shooting in another place ignorantly perceived as safe because of signs and policies that prohibit weapons. Yet these places take little, if any, affirmative action to ensure safety, let alone allowing for lawful self-defense. They pay lip service to security procedures and personnel and place "feel good" signs restricting weapons.
These "victim disarmament zones" are actually worse than doing nothing as they take the attention off the real problems. They further a sense of complacency with respect to security. Ignorantly we assume a sign stating "No Guns Allowed" will protect us.
I look forward to an enlivening and enlarging of the debate regarding firearms in schools. US-DIN has never been more committed to maintaining the ability for lawful concealed carry in Utah's schools and elsewhere. Utah, as one of few states that allow concealed carry in schools, is watched carefully as a "laboratory" of sorts for concealed carry in these environments. Concealed weapons have been allowed in schools since 1995 that has been recently re-enforced with legislation. We have also resisted efforts that would have mitigated lawful self-defense in schools and churches. Utah's and, for that matter, the nation's permit holders have proven they are safe and many times more law-abiding than the general public.
Such debate will certainly reveal the goal of the anti-self-defense groups which seek to promote their ideologically driven agenda by fear and untruths which fuel and perpetuate the public's misunderstanding of the facts. These groups had an ideal situation at Red Lake High School:
* No guns allowed per Minnesota and tribal law.
* A guard and metal detectors present at entrance.
* The shooter was on home study, barred from school grounds.
* He was too young to own, let alone possess, firearms, per state and tribal law.
* The firearms were not obtained from a gun show.
* The firearms were legally registered and came from the home of a law enforcement officer.
What additional laws would have prevented this? There are some commonalities among the recent shootings in Wisconsin, Georgia and Minnesota:
* They all occurred in gun-free zones; 95 percent of those shot were not allowed to carry a firearm.
* Police were "targeted" because their weapons were visibly a threat.
* Shooters were able to kill unimpeded, knowing that there would be no return fire.
Once again our adversaries would seek to legislate, put up signs and enact "rules against firearms." These rules are only effective against that segment of the population that is inclined to follow them and do not influence compliance by someone bent on violence. We know by sad experience that signs and rules do nothing to ensure safety. Rather they ensure that that person's bent on violence will not be inhibited by "return fire" from someone acting in lawful self-defense.
Indeed we cannot state for a certainty what would have happened had an employee at Red Lake High School been allowed to carry a concealed firearm. However, we can state with absolute certainty what did happen when lawful concealed carry was disallowed. We encourage legislators in the states that disallow guns in schools to allow more lawful self-defense rather than subject their constituents to increasingly unsafe environments.
More here
Reality intrudes: "The massacre at a Wisconsin church service 10 days ago left Corey Graff outraged. Outraged at the loss of life, of course. But furious, too, at state legislators who have refused to grant citizens the right to carry concealed handguns. Graff plans to push the issue again this spring. This time, the Wisconsin activist hopes that lawmakers will imagine themselves in that church service - cowering, crying, wishing they had a gun at hand to defend themselves. "Hopefully something positive can come out of the tragedy," Graff said. With dozens of gun-related bills working their way through state legislatures around the country, activists on both sides of the issue have come to regard a recent spate of high-profile shootings as a catalyst to advance their causes. Deadly shootings at courthouses in Atlanta and Tyler, Texas, the slaying of a judge's family in Chicago, a horrific weekend of violence in Philadelphia and the rampage at a church service in Brookfield, Wis., form an emotional backdrop to ongoing debates in a number of state capitols".
Background checks, watch lists don't work: "Should people lose rights because they are sympathetic to, but do not actually help, terrorist groups? Should law enforcement be the arbiter of those sympathizers who should be placed on 'watch lists?' ... despite all the fears generated, background checks simply aren't the solution. The Federal Brady Act has been in effect for 11 years and state background checks even longer. But despite all the academic research that has been done, a recent National Academy of Sciences report could not find any evidence -- not a single published academic study -- that background checks reduce any type of violent crime. Surely, it would be nice if these regulations worked. But it's hard to believe they will be any more successful stopping terrorists. Criminals and terrorists share a lot in common, starting with the fact that what they are doing is illegal."
Arkansas: Store owners shoot back at robbers, one killed: "Several suspects are still on the loose Tuesday night after police say they tried to rob two jewelry merchants in Little Rock Monday afternoon. Up to seven suspects were reportedly involved. Two are in custody, one was shot and killed, and three or four others are still on the loose. ... Police say the two men plus four or five others, tried to rob two jewelry merchants from Texas while at Cecil's Fine Jewelry in west Little Rock. ... A shootout began and the two merchants, who were also armed, shot back at the suspects. One suspect was hit in the shootout, dropped off near a local hospital, and later died."
We at Utah Self-Defense Instructors' Network (US-DIN) are deeply saddened at the senseless loss of life that occurred last week at Red Lake High School in Minnesota. This situation, like other recent mass shootings, is frustrating to us in that we believe they are largely preventable. This is yet another shooting in another place ignorantly perceived as safe because of signs and policies that prohibit weapons. Yet these places take little, if any, affirmative action to ensure safety, let alone allowing for lawful self-defense. They pay lip service to security procedures and personnel and place "feel good" signs restricting weapons.
These "victim disarmament zones" are actually worse than doing nothing as they take the attention off the real problems. They further a sense of complacency with respect to security. Ignorantly we assume a sign stating "No Guns Allowed" will protect us.
I look forward to an enlivening and enlarging of the debate regarding firearms in schools. US-DIN has never been more committed to maintaining the ability for lawful concealed carry in Utah's schools and elsewhere. Utah, as one of few states that allow concealed carry in schools, is watched carefully as a "laboratory" of sorts for concealed carry in these environments. Concealed weapons have been allowed in schools since 1995 that has been recently re-enforced with legislation. We have also resisted efforts that would have mitigated lawful self-defense in schools and churches. Utah's and, for that matter, the nation's permit holders have proven they are safe and many times more law-abiding than the general public.
Such debate will certainly reveal the goal of the anti-self-defense groups which seek to promote their ideologically driven agenda by fear and untruths which fuel and perpetuate the public's misunderstanding of the facts. These groups had an ideal situation at Red Lake High School:
* No guns allowed per Minnesota and tribal law.
* A guard and metal detectors present at entrance.
* The shooter was on home study, barred from school grounds.
* He was too young to own, let alone possess, firearms, per state and tribal law.
* The firearms were not obtained from a gun show.
* The firearms were legally registered and came from the home of a law enforcement officer.
What additional laws would have prevented this? There are some commonalities among the recent shootings in Wisconsin, Georgia and Minnesota:
* They all occurred in gun-free zones; 95 percent of those shot were not allowed to carry a firearm.
* Police were "targeted" because their weapons were visibly a threat.
* Shooters were able to kill unimpeded, knowing that there would be no return fire.
Once again our adversaries would seek to legislate, put up signs and enact "rules against firearms." These rules are only effective against that segment of the population that is inclined to follow them and do not influence compliance by someone bent on violence. We know by sad experience that signs and rules do nothing to ensure safety. Rather they ensure that that person's bent on violence will not be inhibited by "return fire" from someone acting in lawful self-defense.
Indeed we cannot state for a certainty what would have happened had an employee at Red Lake High School been allowed to carry a concealed firearm. However, we can state with absolute certainty what did happen when lawful concealed carry was disallowed. We encourage legislators in the states that disallow guns in schools to allow more lawful self-defense rather than subject their constituents to increasingly unsafe environments.
More here
Reality intrudes: "The massacre at a Wisconsin church service 10 days ago left Corey Graff outraged. Outraged at the loss of life, of course. But furious, too, at state legislators who have refused to grant citizens the right to carry concealed handguns. Graff plans to push the issue again this spring. This time, the Wisconsin activist hopes that lawmakers will imagine themselves in that church service - cowering, crying, wishing they had a gun at hand to defend themselves. "Hopefully something positive can come out of the tragedy," Graff said. With dozens of gun-related bills working their way through state legislatures around the country, activists on both sides of the issue have come to regard a recent spate of high-profile shootings as a catalyst to advance their causes. Deadly shootings at courthouses in Atlanta and Tyler, Texas, the slaying of a judge's family in Chicago, a horrific weekend of violence in Philadelphia and the rampage at a church service in Brookfield, Wis., form an emotional backdrop to ongoing debates in a number of state capitols".
Background checks, watch lists don't work: "Should people lose rights because they are sympathetic to, but do not actually help, terrorist groups? Should law enforcement be the arbiter of those sympathizers who should be placed on 'watch lists?' ... despite all the fears generated, background checks simply aren't the solution. The Federal Brady Act has been in effect for 11 years and state background checks even longer. But despite all the academic research that has been done, a recent National Academy of Sciences report could not find any evidence -- not a single published academic study -- that background checks reduce any type of violent crime. Surely, it would be nice if these regulations worked. But it's hard to believe they will be any more successful stopping terrorists. Criminals and terrorists share a lot in common, starting with the fact that what they are doing is illegal."
Arkansas: Store owners shoot back at robbers, one killed: "Several suspects are still on the loose Tuesday night after police say they tried to rob two jewelry merchants in Little Rock Monday afternoon. Up to seven suspects were reportedly involved. Two are in custody, one was shot and killed, and three or four others are still on the loose. ... Police say the two men plus four or five others, tried to rob two jewelry merchants from Texas while at Cecil's Fine Jewelry in west Little Rock. ... A shootout began and the two merchants, who were also armed, shot back at the suspects. One suspect was hit in the shootout, dropped off near a local hospital, and later died."
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
The myth of police protection: "Do you have the right to police protection? That's the question the US Supreme Court will be deciding in the case of Gonzalez vs Castle Rock. Frightened by her estranged husband Simon's erratic behavior, Jessica Gonzales took out a restraining order against him. When he kidnapped the couple's three children, she called the police multiple times begging for help, and even told them where the children were. ... [I]t wasn't until Simon showed up at the Castle Rock police station and began firing upon it that Castle Rock's finest responded. After killing Simon with return fire, police found the gunshot bodies of the couple's three children in Simon's truck, murdered by their own father. ... Events such as this do not prove the need for 'gun control' -- they prove the utter inability of the police to protect individuals from violent crime. Even Castle Rock's police chief Tony Lane said in a letter to 60 Minutes, '[Restraining orders] do not protect society from the Simon Gonzales of the world.'"
Gun ownership prompts evolution: "Imagine, you cross the mall and instead of a tent selling cell phone covers and long distance plans there is a representative from Smith & Wesson offering you a smoking deal on the newest and most powerful gun on the market. And if you act now he will throw in a new rubberized grip and matching silencer free of charge. This type of world (mandatory handguns) seems like the only possible direction left to take since current efforts to deal with handguns aren't having the desired effect. If everyone owned a handgun, all gun-related incidents would happen less often, not only because people would be more fearful of what piece any particular person was carrying but also because it would create a Darwinian mechanism in American culture."
Missouri: Clerk outguns would-be robber: "A gas station clerk fought back in an attempted robbery Tuesday morning. The attempted robbery happened at the Gas Mart in the 5700 block of West Florissant. Around 6:00 a.m. Tuesday, the suspect entered the store and demanded money from the clerk. The clerk pulled out a gun and fired several times at the suspect, who ran from the store."
Gun ownership prompts evolution: "Imagine, you cross the mall and instead of a tent selling cell phone covers and long distance plans there is a representative from Smith & Wesson offering you a smoking deal on the newest and most powerful gun on the market. And if you act now he will throw in a new rubberized grip and matching silencer free of charge. This type of world (mandatory handguns) seems like the only possible direction left to take since current efforts to deal with handguns aren't having the desired effect. If everyone owned a handgun, all gun-related incidents would happen less often, not only because people would be more fearful of what piece any particular person was carrying but also because it would create a Darwinian mechanism in American culture."
Missouri: Clerk outguns would-be robber: "A gas station clerk fought back in an attempted robbery Tuesday morning. The attempted robbery happened at the Gas Mart in the 5700 block of West Florissant. Around 6:00 a.m. Tuesday, the suspect entered the store and demanded money from the clerk. The clerk pulled out a gun and fired several times at the suspect, who ran from the store."
Monday, March 28, 2005
ARM THE TEACHERS
I thought no-one would ever say the obvious!
All options should be considered to prevent rampages like the Minnesota school shooting that took 10 lives -- including making guns available to teachers, a top National Rifle Association leader said Friday.
"I'm not saying that that means every teacher should have a gun or not, but what I am saying is we need to look at all the options at what will truly protect the students," the NRA's first vice president, Sandra S. Froman, told The Associated Press.
Gun-control restrictions would not have prevented Jeff Weise, 16, from killing nine people and himself Monday at Red Lake High School near Bemidji, Minn., said Froman, an attorney expected next month to be elected president of the NRA, which claims 4 million members.
The presence of an unarmed guard at the school failed to stop the siege, she noted.
"No gun law, no policy that you could implement now or that was already implemented, I think, could possibly prevent someone so intent on destruction," she said. "I think everything's on the table as far as looking at what we need to do to make our schools safe for our students."
Froman said if it is the responsibility of teachers to protect students in a school, "then we as a society, we as a community have to provide a way for the teachers to do that."
Froman cited the 1997 school shooting incident in Pearl, Miss., where a teacher retrieved a gun from his car when a student opened fire, then held the student at bay until police arrived.
A law prohibiting guns in schools "is not going to stop someone who has evil in their heart and who has the capacity to commit those crimes from doing them," Froman said.
Source
MAINE: HIGH GUN OWNERSHIP, LOW CRIME
Maine has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the country, but when it comes to violent crime, those guns are seldom put to use. Figures published this week by the Muskie Institute show that guns were involved in 92 of the 1,067 murders, robberies and aggravated assaults recorded by the state in 2003. That means just 8.6 percent of violent crimes involved firearms in Maine, the lowest rate for any state in the country. Gun control opponents say Maine is a clear example that the availability of guns does not lead to more crime. "The problem isn't the firearm. The problem lies in the criminal element," said John Hohenwater, a state liaison with the National Rifle Association. "How do you stop criminals from being criminals?"
Gun control supporters say the statistics don't capture the type of gun violence more prevalent in Maine. "We have a very different version of gun violence than most of the larger states. We don't have drive-bys and drug wars among gangs," said William Harwood, a founder of Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence. If suicide and criminal threatening by abusive partners are included, the numbers are less encouraging, he said. "We lose 100 citizens every year in Maine to gun violence. That is very close to the national average of how many people die of gun violence across the country," he said.
In 2003, only North Dakota and Vermont recorded fewer than 92 violent crimes involving guns. Maine's 8.6 percent rate was one-third the national average and far below states like Mississippi and Georgia, where guns were used in 41 percent and 39 percent of violent crimes, according to numbers compiled by the Muskie Institute's Maine Statistical Analysis Center. U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby offered two possible factors contributing to the state's low rate of gun violence. "We don't have the density of population. As a result of that you don't have anonymity," she said......
More here
Oregon: Gun-toting store owner confronts burglar: "Robert Poage was relaxing at home Monday night when he heard an unusual sound coming from his adjacent convenience store. It was the clatter of coins hitting the floor. Poage went to investigate and found a burglar looting the cash register ... The burglar wore a ski mask and held a tire iron in one hand. He was stuffing money into his pockets. 'I opened the door and hollered at him,' Poage, 54, recounted Tuesday. 'He turned and ran.' Poage followed the burglar out the door and saw him climb into a green 1996 Pontiac Grand Am. Poage ordered him out, but the man started the engine. That's when Poage pulled out his .22-caliber handgun."
I thought no-one would ever say the obvious!
All options should be considered to prevent rampages like the Minnesota school shooting that took 10 lives -- including making guns available to teachers, a top National Rifle Association leader said Friday.
"I'm not saying that that means every teacher should have a gun or not, but what I am saying is we need to look at all the options at what will truly protect the students," the NRA's first vice president, Sandra S. Froman, told The Associated Press.
Gun-control restrictions would not have prevented Jeff Weise, 16, from killing nine people and himself Monday at Red Lake High School near Bemidji, Minn., said Froman, an attorney expected next month to be elected president of the NRA, which claims 4 million members.
The presence of an unarmed guard at the school failed to stop the siege, she noted.
"No gun law, no policy that you could implement now or that was already implemented, I think, could possibly prevent someone so intent on destruction," she said. "I think everything's on the table as far as looking at what we need to do to make our schools safe for our students."
Froman said if it is the responsibility of teachers to protect students in a school, "then we as a society, we as a community have to provide a way for the teachers to do that."
Froman cited the 1997 school shooting incident in Pearl, Miss., where a teacher retrieved a gun from his car when a student opened fire, then held the student at bay until police arrived.
A law prohibiting guns in schools "is not going to stop someone who has evil in their heart and who has the capacity to commit those crimes from doing them," Froman said.
Source
MAINE: HIGH GUN OWNERSHIP, LOW CRIME
Maine has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the country, but when it comes to violent crime, those guns are seldom put to use. Figures published this week by the Muskie Institute show that guns were involved in 92 of the 1,067 murders, robberies and aggravated assaults recorded by the state in 2003. That means just 8.6 percent of violent crimes involved firearms in Maine, the lowest rate for any state in the country. Gun control opponents say Maine is a clear example that the availability of guns does not lead to more crime. "The problem isn't the firearm. The problem lies in the criminal element," said John Hohenwater, a state liaison with the National Rifle Association. "How do you stop criminals from being criminals?"
Gun control supporters say the statistics don't capture the type of gun violence more prevalent in Maine. "We have a very different version of gun violence than most of the larger states. We don't have drive-bys and drug wars among gangs," said William Harwood, a founder of Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence. If suicide and criminal threatening by abusive partners are included, the numbers are less encouraging, he said. "We lose 100 citizens every year in Maine to gun violence. That is very close to the national average of how many people die of gun violence across the country," he said.
In 2003, only North Dakota and Vermont recorded fewer than 92 violent crimes involving guns. Maine's 8.6 percent rate was one-third the national average and far below states like Mississippi and Georgia, where guns were used in 41 percent and 39 percent of violent crimes, according to numbers compiled by the Muskie Institute's Maine Statistical Analysis Center. U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby offered two possible factors contributing to the state's low rate of gun violence. "We don't have the density of population. As a result of that you don't have anonymity," she said......
More here
Oregon: Gun-toting store owner confronts burglar: "Robert Poage was relaxing at home Monday night when he heard an unusual sound coming from his adjacent convenience store. It was the clatter of coins hitting the floor. Poage went to investigate and found a burglar looting the cash register ... The burglar wore a ski mask and held a tire iron in one hand. He was stuffing money into his pockets. 'I opened the door and hollered at him,' Poage, 54, recounted Tuesday. 'He turned and ran.' Poage followed the burglar out the door and saw him climb into a green 1996 Pontiac Grand Am. Poage ordered him out, but the man started the engine. That's when Poage pulled out his .22-caliber handgun."
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Kentucky: Burglary suspect shot : "A Floyd County man was shot to death Tuesday night while attempting to burglarize a double-wide trailer in an Eastern Kentucky mobile-home lot, Kentucky State Police said. The victim, Ronald Dillon, 33, of Ivel broke into the trailer, where he was confronted by Mike Kurt, manager of Luv's Mobile Homes at Ivel, police said. Kurt, who was waiting inside the trailer at 10:08 p.m. -- he had been burglarized several times recently, investigators said -- shot Dillon twice in the chest with a 9-mm pistol, police said. Dillon, who lived next door in a mobile-home park, was pronounced dead at Highlands Regional Medical Center near Prestonsburg by Floyd County Coroner Roger Nelson. Police did not indicate whether Dillon was armed. No charges have been filed in the case, which is under investigation by state police."
Tennessee: Senate OKs guns in bars: "State senators have approved a bill that would allow people with a handgun carry permit to take their weapons into an establishment that sells alcohol if they do not consume alcohol. Similar bills have been proposed in the legislature in past years, but usually got stuck in the House. This year, the House has not moved the proposal yet, and Sen. Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville), who has sponsored similar bills in the past, said they were usually kept in the House Judiciary Committee, which did not seem to like the connection between guns and alcohol. However, bill sponsor Sen. Doug Jackson (D-Dickson) said the legislation has merit. 'We had no problem in the Senate, and the reason is the history of this bill; it's been proven in many other states it doesn't pose a danger to the public,' Jackson said, [noting that] 33 other states approved the law and did not have any problems."
Scotland: Executive to push for tighter gun laws: "Police objections will not be allowed to block political pressure for reform of firearms law to ban airguns or require licences for them, according to the Scottish Executive. Jack McConnell said yesterday he was pushing for a tightening of the law in talks with the Home Office, which has responsibility over firearms legislation throughout the UK. The first minister said he could not see a justification for owning an airgun unless it was for work or sport. ... Police in England and Scotland have indicated they are against a licensing scheme or ban, arguing instead that only licensed gun dealers should be allowed to sell the weapons."
Tennessee: Senate OKs guns in bars: "State senators have approved a bill that would allow people with a handgun carry permit to take their weapons into an establishment that sells alcohol if they do not consume alcohol. Similar bills have been proposed in the legislature in past years, but usually got stuck in the House. This year, the House has not moved the proposal yet, and Sen. Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville), who has sponsored similar bills in the past, said they were usually kept in the House Judiciary Committee, which did not seem to like the connection between guns and alcohol. However, bill sponsor Sen. Doug Jackson (D-Dickson) said the legislation has merit. 'We had no problem in the Senate, and the reason is the history of this bill; it's been proven in many other states it doesn't pose a danger to the public,' Jackson said, [noting that] 33 other states approved the law and did not have any problems."
Scotland: Executive to push for tighter gun laws: "Police objections will not be allowed to block political pressure for reform of firearms law to ban airguns or require licences for them, according to the Scottish Executive. Jack McConnell said yesterday he was pushing for a tightening of the law in talks with the Home Office, which has responsibility over firearms legislation throughout the UK. The first minister said he could not see a justification for owning an airgun unless it was for work or sport. ... Police in England and Scotland have indicated they are against a licensing scheme or ban, arguing instead that only licensed gun dealers should be allowed to sell the weapons."
Saturday, March 26, 2005
"SHOOT FIRST" LAW IN FLORIDA
The Florida state Legislature is considering a "shoot first, ask questions later" law. The potential Florida law would extend people's right to defend themselves not only in their homes but on their porches, in the street or in the car without fear of being charged criminally or civilly.
Trial lawyers say it is bad law, but victims say it would help to stop criminals not only in people's homes but on the streets. "I think it is absolutely horrible," defense lawyer Andy Haggard said. "To pass a law like this is vigilante law. It is going to cause chaos."
Five years after he was shot during an invasion of his home, Edmond Cody, who uses a wheelchair, said the law is necessary. "I'd be for it. I am a living example (of) the reason it has to be passed," Cody said.
Two versions of the "shoot now, ask questions later" law are winding their way through the state Legislature. Florida law now allows people to defend their homes from within. Haggard said the new bills would take these rights much further. "That young guy that is dating my ex-wife, I go to his office. I will agitate him. I will provoke him and he is going to do something and I am going to shoot him. That's self-defense, and you won't be charged civilly or criminally," Haggard said.
But, Edmond Cody said he sees the bill differently. His son, Derrick, shot two home invaders and killed one of them while Edmond Cody lay bleeding in the front yard. Edmond Cody calls Derrick his hero.
Source
A Philosopher Derives Gun Rights from the Right to Life:
I take the view that some rights are logically antecedent to anything of a conventional nature such as a group decision or a constitution. Thus the right to life is not conferred by any constitution, but recognized and protected by well-crafted ones. If so, whether we have the right to life, or any natural right, cannot depend on the interpretation of any document. Therefore, with respect to the question of gun rights, the interpretation of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, albeit important, is logically secondary. The logically prior question is whether there are natural gun rights that need constitutional codification, recognition, and protection.
Here is a stab at an argument for natural gun rights.
(1) Every human person possesses a right to life. (2) If a human person has a right to life, then he has a right to defend his life against those who would seek to violate it. (3) If a human person has a right to defend his life, then he has a right to an effective means of defending his life. (4) A handgun is an effective means of defending one's life, and indeed, in some circumstances, the only effective means. Therefore, (5) human persons have a right to possess handguns.
It is easy to see that the conclusion follows from the premises. But are the premises true?
Surely (1) is uncontroversial. Note that this argument does not assume that every human being is a human person. Saddam Hussein is a human being, but it is arguable that by the commission of his crimes he forfeited his personhood, and with it his right to life. Some will hold that human fetuses are not persons, and so have no right to life. I believe they are wrong, but the above argument does not rest on the assumption that they are.
To see that (2) is true, consider what happens if you negate it. The negation of (2) is: (~2) Human persons have a right to life, but they do not have the right to defend their lives. The absurdity of this is self-evident. How can I have a right to life if it is morally impermissible for me to defend my life? My having a right to life does not entail any moral obligation on my part to defend my life, but it surely entails the moral permissibility of self-defense. For if I have a right to life, then others have an obligation not to harm me. This obligation of theirs entitles me to meet a deadly threat with force sufficient to thwart the attack up to and including killing the assailant. We appear to be at moral rock-bottom here. I say (2) is self-evident. Reject it, and there is probably no point in further discussion.
The negation of (3) also strikes me as absurd: "You have a right to defend yourself, but no right to the possession of any effective means of so doing." To will the end is to will the means. So, to will one's defense is to will the means to one's defense. Therefore, if it is morally permissible to will one's defense, then it is morally permissible to will the means to one's defense. I grant that qualifications may be needed. Arguably, felons ought not have the right to purchase firearms. A felon either forfeits his right to self-defense, or has that right overridden by the community's right to be safe from his predation.
(4) is obviously true pending some obvious qualifications that I left out for the sake of brevity, the soul of wit. A handgun is an effective means of self defense, but not in all circumstances, only if the defender is properly trained in the use of firearms, etc.
The conclusion follows from the premises, and the premises are defensible. So I say the individual qua individual (as opposed to the individual qua member of some collective such as a police force or military unit) has an individual right to posses firearms for the purpose of defending his own life. The existence of such an individual right does not entail that it is unlimited. Thus if I have a right to firepower sufficient to my self-defense, it does not follow that I have a right to firepower sufficent to lay waste to a city.
More here
Dear Mr. Mayor: "Dear Mr. Mayor ... You wondered aloud last week why Philadelphians feel a need to carry guns -- legal guns, using a city-issued 'carry permit.' 'For what?' you asked. 'Why are they carrying? They're not hunters.' No, Mr. Mayor, but some of us feel like the hunted. Following a single weekend that rang up 11 homicides you asked, 'For what?' The reason some of us want to carry legal guns is because some neighborhoods are swarming with criminals packing illegal guns. We carry guns for self-defense because police can't protect us from a homicidal maniac on the street or a rapist breaking in through a bedroom window. Police respond only after a crime's reported, mostly arriving in time to draw a chalk outline around the body."
The Florida state Legislature is considering a "shoot first, ask questions later" law. The potential Florida law would extend people's right to defend themselves not only in their homes but on their porches, in the street or in the car without fear of being charged criminally or civilly.
Trial lawyers say it is bad law, but victims say it would help to stop criminals not only in people's homes but on the streets. "I think it is absolutely horrible," defense lawyer Andy Haggard said. "To pass a law like this is vigilante law. It is going to cause chaos."
Five years after he was shot during an invasion of his home, Edmond Cody, who uses a wheelchair, said the law is necessary. "I'd be for it. I am a living example (of) the reason it has to be passed," Cody said.
Two versions of the "shoot now, ask questions later" law are winding their way through the state Legislature. Florida law now allows people to defend their homes from within. Haggard said the new bills would take these rights much further. "That young guy that is dating my ex-wife, I go to his office. I will agitate him. I will provoke him and he is going to do something and I am going to shoot him. That's self-defense, and you won't be charged civilly or criminally," Haggard said.
But, Edmond Cody said he sees the bill differently. His son, Derrick, shot two home invaders and killed one of them while Edmond Cody lay bleeding in the front yard. Edmond Cody calls Derrick his hero.
Source
A Philosopher Derives Gun Rights from the Right to Life:
I take the view that some rights are logically antecedent to anything of a conventional nature such as a group decision or a constitution. Thus the right to life is not conferred by any constitution, but recognized and protected by well-crafted ones. If so, whether we have the right to life, or any natural right, cannot depend on the interpretation of any document. Therefore, with respect to the question of gun rights, the interpretation of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, albeit important, is logically secondary. The logically prior question is whether there are natural gun rights that need constitutional codification, recognition, and protection.
Here is a stab at an argument for natural gun rights.
(1) Every human person possesses a right to life. (2) If a human person has a right to life, then he has a right to defend his life against those who would seek to violate it. (3) If a human person has a right to defend his life, then he has a right to an effective means of defending his life. (4) A handgun is an effective means of defending one's life, and indeed, in some circumstances, the only effective means. Therefore, (5) human persons have a right to possess handguns.
It is easy to see that the conclusion follows from the premises. But are the premises true?
Surely (1) is uncontroversial. Note that this argument does not assume that every human being is a human person. Saddam Hussein is a human being, but it is arguable that by the commission of his crimes he forfeited his personhood, and with it his right to life. Some will hold that human fetuses are not persons, and so have no right to life. I believe they are wrong, but the above argument does not rest on the assumption that they are.
To see that (2) is true, consider what happens if you negate it. The negation of (2) is: (~2) Human persons have a right to life, but they do not have the right to defend their lives. The absurdity of this is self-evident. How can I have a right to life if it is morally impermissible for me to defend my life? My having a right to life does not entail any moral obligation on my part to defend my life, but it surely entails the moral permissibility of self-defense. For if I have a right to life, then others have an obligation not to harm me. This obligation of theirs entitles me to meet a deadly threat with force sufficient to thwart the attack up to and including killing the assailant. We appear to be at moral rock-bottom here. I say (2) is self-evident. Reject it, and there is probably no point in further discussion.
The negation of (3) also strikes me as absurd: "You have a right to defend yourself, but no right to the possession of any effective means of so doing." To will the end is to will the means. So, to will one's defense is to will the means to one's defense. Therefore, if it is morally permissible to will one's defense, then it is morally permissible to will the means to one's defense. I grant that qualifications may be needed. Arguably, felons ought not have the right to purchase firearms. A felon either forfeits his right to self-defense, or has that right overridden by the community's right to be safe from his predation.
(4) is obviously true pending some obvious qualifications that I left out for the sake of brevity, the soul of wit. A handgun is an effective means of self defense, but not in all circumstances, only if the defender is properly trained in the use of firearms, etc.
The conclusion follows from the premises, and the premises are defensible. So I say the individual qua individual (as opposed to the individual qua member of some collective such as a police force or military unit) has an individual right to posses firearms for the purpose of defending his own life. The existence of such an individual right does not entail that it is unlimited. Thus if I have a right to firepower sufficient to my self-defense, it does not follow that I have a right to firepower sufficent to lay waste to a city.
More here
Dear Mr. Mayor: "Dear Mr. Mayor ... You wondered aloud last week why Philadelphians feel a need to carry guns -- legal guns, using a city-issued 'carry permit.' 'For what?' you asked. 'Why are they carrying? They're not hunters.' No, Mr. Mayor, but some of us feel like the hunted. Following a single weekend that rang up 11 homicides you asked, 'For what?' The reason some of us want to carry legal guns is because some neighborhoods are swarming with criminals packing illegal guns. We carry guns for self-defense because police can't protect us from a homicidal maniac on the street or a rapist breaking in through a bedroom window. Police respond only after a crime's reported, mostly arriving in time to draw a chalk outline around the body."
Friday, March 25, 2005
LESSONS FROM THE RECENT SHOOTINGS
The last ten days have seen three horrific multiple-victim public shootings: the Atlanta courthouse attack that left four murdered; the Wisconsin church shooting, where seven were murdered, and Monday's high-school shooting in Minnesota, where nine were murdered. What can be learned from these attacks? Some take the attacks as confirmation that guns should be completely banned from even courthouses, let alone schools and churches.
All three attacks took place in areas where gun possession by those who did the attack as well as civilians generally was already banned - so-called "gun-free safe zones." Suppose you or your family are being stalked by a criminal who intends on harming you. Would you feel safer putting a sign in front of your home saying "This Home is a Gun-Free Zone"? It is pretty obvious why we don't put these signs up. As with many other gun laws, law-abiding citizens, not would-be criminals, would obey the sign. Instead of creating a safe zone for victims, it leaves victims defenseless and creates a safe zone for those intent on causing harm.
A three-year prison term for violating a gun-free zone represents a real penalty for a law-abiding citizen. Adding three years to a criminal's sentence when he is probably already going to face multiple death penalties or life sentences for a murderous rampage is probably not going to be the penalty that stops the criminal from committing his crime.
Many Americans have learned this lesson the hard way. In 1985, just eight states had the most liberal right-to-carry laws - laws that automatically grant permits once applicants pass a criminal background check, pay their fees and, when required, complete a training class. Today the total is 37 states. Bill Landes and I have examined all the multiple-victim public shootings with two or more victims in the United States from 1977 to 1999 and found that when states passed right-to-carry laws, these attacks fell by 60 percent. Deaths and injuries from multiple-victim public shootings fell on average by 78 percent. No other gun-control law had any beneficial effect. Indeed, right-to-carry laws were the only policy that consistently reduced these attacks.
Unfortunately, the restrictive concealed-handgun law now in effect in Minnesota bans concealed handguns around schools and Wisconsin is one of four states that completely ban concealed handguns, let alone not allowing them in churches. (There was a guard at the Minnesota school and he was apparently the first person killed, but he was also apparently unarmed.) While permitted concealed handguns by civilians are banned in Georgia courthouses, it is not clear that the benefit is anywhere near as large as other places simply because you usually have armed law enforcement nearby. One possibility is to encourage prosecutors and others to carry concealed guns around courthouses.
People's reaction to the horrific events displayed on TV such as the Minnesota attack are understandable, but the more than two million times each year that Americans use guns defensively are never discussed - even though this is five times as often as the 450,000 times that guns are used to commit crimes over the last couple of years. Seldom do cases make the news where public shootings are stopped or mothers use guns to prevent their children from being kidnapped. Few would know that a quarter of the public-school shootings were stopped by citizens with guns before uniformed police could arrive.
More here
Arm the guards!: "Reality is that there are, and always will be, a very few dangerous people, and high schools may be one of the more likely places to find them. Many of us were at our wildest and moodiest in high school ... super-sensitive about everything, emotions continually on edge, feeling estranged from the world, driven with energy and hormones. It is the stuff of many movies, and of stories we may, much later, tell our own children. Why then should we be surprised that violence occurs in school? More importantly, why have we allowed our schools to go unprotected against the occasional, rare outburst? It is a disgusting case of simply not facing reality because we want to avoid the unpleasant truth.... Being unarmed, security guard Derrick Brun, only 28, became the first helpless victim. It's possible that Jeff Weise wouldn't even have gone to the school armed if he knew the security people were capable of serious self-defense. Guns are not the villains here. Red Lake police officers arrived during the rampage and exchanged gunfire with Weise in the hallway. Weise then retreated to a classroom. Guns eventually ended the terrible episode... guns used by the police, firing inside the school. It could have, and should have, ended far sooner... when Weiss was confronted by two security guards near the front do"
Gun not to blame in school shooting: "When a shooting does occur at school, you can count on the media to lend a helping-hand to their anti-gun buddies in congress by isolating the gun as the cause of the crime. The media wants you to view the blood, suffering, and loss and come to the conclusion that the crime never would have occured if the child did not have a gun. What the media blatantly fails to recognize, however, is that teenagers used to bring guns to school on a regular basis at a time when school shootings did not exist."
The last ten days have seen three horrific multiple-victim public shootings: the Atlanta courthouse attack that left four murdered; the Wisconsin church shooting, where seven were murdered, and Monday's high-school shooting in Minnesota, where nine were murdered. What can be learned from these attacks? Some take the attacks as confirmation that guns should be completely banned from even courthouses, let alone schools and churches.
All three attacks took place in areas where gun possession by those who did the attack as well as civilians generally was already banned - so-called "gun-free safe zones." Suppose you or your family are being stalked by a criminal who intends on harming you. Would you feel safer putting a sign in front of your home saying "This Home is a Gun-Free Zone"? It is pretty obvious why we don't put these signs up. As with many other gun laws, law-abiding citizens, not would-be criminals, would obey the sign. Instead of creating a safe zone for victims, it leaves victims defenseless and creates a safe zone for those intent on causing harm.
A three-year prison term for violating a gun-free zone represents a real penalty for a law-abiding citizen. Adding three years to a criminal's sentence when he is probably already going to face multiple death penalties or life sentences for a murderous rampage is probably not going to be the penalty that stops the criminal from committing his crime.
Many Americans have learned this lesson the hard way. In 1985, just eight states had the most liberal right-to-carry laws - laws that automatically grant permits once applicants pass a criminal background check, pay their fees and, when required, complete a training class. Today the total is 37 states. Bill Landes and I have examined all the multiple-victim public shootings with two or more victims in the United States from 1977 to 1999 and found that when states passed right-to-carry laws, these attacks fell by 60 percent. Deaths and injuries from multiple-victim public shootings fell on average by 78 percent. No other gun-control law had any beneficial effect. Indeed, right-to-carry laws were the only policy that consistently reduced these attacks.
Unfortunately, the restrictive concealed-handgun law now in effect in Minnesota bans concealed handguns around schools and Wisconsin is one of four states that completely ban concealed handguns, let alone not allowing them in churches. (There was a guard at the Minnesota school and he was apparently the first person killed, but he was also apparently unarmed.) While permitted concealed handguns by civilians are banned in Georgia courthouses, it is not clear that the benefit is anywhere near as large as other places simply because you usually have armed law enforcement nearby. One possibility is to encourage prosecutors and others to carry concealed guns around courthouses.
People's reaction to the horrific events displayed on TV such as the Minnesota attack are understandable, but the more than two million times each year that Americans use guns defensively are never discussed - even though this is five times as often as the 450,000 times that guns are used to commit crimes over the last couple of years. Seldom do cases make the news where public shootings are stopped or mothers use guns to prevent their children from being kidnapped. Few would know that a quarter of the public-school shootings were stopped by citizens with guns before uniformed police could arrive.
More here
Arm the guards!: "Reality is that there are, and always will be, a very few dangerous people, and high schools may be one of the more likely places to find them. Many of us were at our wildest and moodiest in high school ... super-sensitive about everything, emotions continually on edge, feeling estranged from the world, driven with energy and hormones. It is the stuff of many movies, and of stories we may, much later, tell our own children. Why then should we be surprised that violence occurs in school? More importantly, why have we allowed our schools to go unprotected against the occasional, rare outburst? It is a disgusting case of simply not facing reality because we want to avoid the unpleasant truth.... Being unarmed, security guard Derrick Brun, only 28, became the first helpless victim. It's possible that Jeff Weise wouldn't even have gone to the school armed if he knew the security people were capable of serious self-defense. Guns are not the villains here. Red Lake police officers arrived during the rampage and exchanged gunfire with Weise in the hallway. Weise then retreated to a classroom. Guns eventually ended the terrible episode... guns used by the police, firing inside the school. It could have, and should have, ended far sooner... when Weiss was confronted by two security guards near the front do"
Gun not to blame in school shooting: "When a shooting does occur at school, you can count on the media to lend a helping-hand to their anti-gun buddies in congress by isolating the gun as the cause of the crime. The media wants you to view the blood, suffering, and loss and come to the conclusion that the crime never would have occured if the child did not have a gun. What the media blatantly fails to recognize, however, is that teenagers used to bring guns to school on a regular basis at a time when school shootings did not exist."
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