MT: Dupuyer Man uses Pistol to Stop Grizzly Bear Attack

The incident happened late in the evening when the hiker encountered a sow with a cub at close range according to Fish Wildlife and Parks.

The hiker shot the grizzly with a pistol after it attacked and bit him in the thigh.

After the injured bear moved off, the hiker walked back to his house in Dupuyer.

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Guns Sales and NICS Background Checks Break all Records in March 2020

The NICS numbers for March, 2020, established new, all time records for both the number of projected sales as well as the numbers of NICS background checks done in one month.

The previous record for one month was set in December of 2015. In December of 2015, there were 3,314,594 NICS background checks done. The number of recorded long gun, handgun, other and multiple x (2.5) were recorded as 2,213,121 firearm, as a good approximation.

In March of 2020, the NICS background checks done were 3,709,562. That is an increase of 12% more than the record set in December of 2015.

The approximation of firearm sales for March of 2020 was 2,373,193. Thas is an increase in sales of 7% more than the previous record in December of 2015.

It has been noted before that NICS checks for carry permits and carry permit rechecks have been increasing much faster than checks for firearm sales.

The NICS sales figures are nearly twice as many as were recorded in March of 2019. In March of 2019, the total sales were 1,213,027. The increase from March of 2019 was 96%.

The Trump Slump has become the Trump Bump. Gun stores had customers lined up to purchase what was available. Pawn shops were nearly emptied of guns.

The AK clone pictured came into the store a few hours before the picture was taken in late March, 2020

Large numbers of voters (most people who are not allowed to vote are not allowed to purchase firearms) decided, in a crises, they would rather have a firearm and not need it, than need a firearm and not have it.

Several publications around the nation reported that large numbers of people purchasing guns in March were people who did not have guns.

As seen in the chart, most of the purchases were for handguns instead of long guns.

The numbers for March were: Handguns, 1,392,677 NICS checks, long guns, 758,073 NICS checks, other (mostly recievers, which could be made into either handguns or long guns) 79,129 and multiple 57,328. Multiple checks are multiplied by 2.5 to approximate the number of gun sales.

Americans, when faced with emergency declarations, the potential of loss of jobs, and numerous places releasing prisoners, decided it was better to be armed than unarmed.  Support for restrictions on gun ownership has been pushed by the media. The popular support is shallow, as long as it applies to other people. That support is greatly diminished when the population decides they might need a firearm of their own.

The NICS system backed up. There were waits of several hours to get through. For many places, the automatic approval in three days went into effect.

It is unknown how many firearms were sold to people with carry permits. At last count, 24 states have systems in place where a carry permit is an acceptable substitute for a NICS check, because the NICS check has already been done on the carry permit. There are variations according to each state.

Those states are, according to the ATF, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

In California, only the Entertainment Firearms Permit is acceptable to bypass the NICS check.

Using the figures available, there were about 430 million private firearms in the United States at the end of 2018. About 18.6 million have been added since then, just short of 450 million at this point.

The United States is on track to reach 500 million privately owned firearms by the end of 2024.

©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch  

TX: Home Invasion Gunfight, Victim Killed, 1 Invader Wounded

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A man died and a suspect was wounded after they exchanged gunfire during a home invasion in northwest Harris County overnight.

This happened just after 1:30 a.m. Thursday at an apartment in the 5700 block of Timber Creek Place.
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Did 1 in 20 of American Households Buy a Gun in Response to COVID-19?

At the end of March, 2020, Newsy.com/IPSOS conducted a survey asking people if they had purchased a firearm in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The survey is reported to have found one in 20 households purchased a gun with that reason in mind. Another one in ten households were said to be considering purchasing a gun for that reason. From newsy.com:

One in 20 households say they've bought a gun in response to the coronavirus outbreak. That's according to an exclusive Newsy/Ipsos survey showing that many Americans have reacted to COVID-19 and the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic by buying or thinking about buying guns.

"I got a Glock. That seemed like a pretty reliable … very reputable weapon."

Justin Orel is a web developer and former Marine living with his wife and newborn in Kansas City, Missouri.

"I thought about purchasing a firearm for a while. Never really was sure about it. Also I'm not like, I don't know, a gun nut, or like, I don't know, also usually more on the side of like heavier gun controls probably not a terrible thing like better background checks and things like that. … We were just like, well, maybe now is the time just in case, like, something crazy happens or people start losing their minds … Maybe better to have one and not need it than need it and not have it."

There are reported to be about 129 Million households in the United States in 2020. Five percent of that (1 in 20) would be 6.5 million households.

The National Instant background Check System (NICS reported  close to 2,373,193 million guns sold in March of 2020. The numbers are not perfect. When multiple sales are done, they can be recorded as one check, but they would still go to the same household.  NICS records few private sales. The February 2020 NICS reported about 1,244,177 gun sales. The total of the two months is 3,617,370. It is unlikely people were purchasing guns out of concern for the coronavirus before February.

3.6 million is far short of the 6.5 million needed for five percent of the households in the United States to purchase a firearm.

Some of the sample in the survey may reveal wishful thinking. Without the actual question asked in the survey, we cannot know if people might have answered a hypothetical. An additional ten percent of the people surveyed reported they considered purchasing a firearm because of concerns with the current pandemic.

The firearm sales in March of 2020 were the all time record for any month recorded in the over 20 year history of the NICS system. The previous record was in December of 2015, when the total was 2,213,121. March 2020 broke that record by over seven percent.

A claim could be made that American households are seven percent more concerned with the Wuhan Flu than with the election of Hillary Clinton. That claim would be false.

Guns are very durable items. They seldom break. They take only a small amount of maintenance to last for hundreds of years.  Thus, the numbers manufactured and imported are additive over a period of decades.

Most of the people who feared the election of Hillary Clinton have already bought their guns. They are part of the over 440 million guns already in the private stock in the United States. Of course, they might purchase more of them. There were about 430 million privately owned firearms at the end of 2018. About 13.9 million were added in 2019.

The number of gun sales in 2020, through the end of March, about 4.7 million, adds approximately 1% to the number of guns already in private hands.

Did five percent of American households buy a gun in response to the COVID-19 pandemic? No. The numbers do not support it. At most, perhaps two percent did, and another 13 percent are thinking about it.

Second Amendment supporters are winning the culture war.

©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

AZ: Armed Homeowner Shoots, Wounds, Man Breaking into House

BUCKEYE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -- The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) says a man shot an intruder he caught breaking into his house. This happened Thursday afternoon at a home near Palo Verde and Buckeye roads.
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AZ: Homeowner Shoots, Wounds Intruder

PHOENIX — A homeowner in Phoenix shot and wounded a suspected intruder early Wednesday, police said.

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Wisconsin County Officials Attempt to Censor Speech about COVID-19

On 30 March, 2020, the Public Health Department of Rusk County, Wisconsin, issued a statement under the name of the County Sheriff and Dawn Brost, RN, of Rusk County Public Health. The statement appears to be a direct attack on First Amendment rights.  From the Rusk County web page:

The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office and Public Health Department take coronavirus infection (COVID-19) seriously. We are informing the public that making false statements and spreading rumors about COVID-19 is a crime and will be prosecuted.

No Wisconsin statute is cited. Wisconsin statutes have provision for false statements or claims by a health care provider.  A search did not find a statute for false statements by a member of the public, not for spreading rumors.

Here is an image of the entire statement:

The problem with prosecuting people for spreading rumors or making false statements is it is not clear who gets to decide what is false or not.

There are often diametrically opposed statements made by different media, which cannot both be true.

The First Amendment protects speech, very widely. There are exceptions for inciting riots, slander, defamation, or inciting the violent overthrow of the government. There is a provision for disorderly conduct.

None of that seems to apply to the Rusk County threat about false statements and rumors.

The First and Second Amendments are tied tightly together. Openly carrying a firearm is strong, symbolic, political speech. It is difficult to protect your right to freedom of speech and the press, if you have no right to bear arms, or are not allowed to protect the property necessary to spread your message.

The Wisconsin Constitution has a very strong provision protecting the right to keep and bear arms in Section 25:

Right to keep and bear arms. Section 25. [As created Nov. 1998] The people have the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose. [1995 J.R. 27, 1997 J.R. 21, vote Nov. 1998]

 It also has a very strong protection for freedom of speech, in Section 2:

Free speech; libel. Section 3. Every person may freely speak, write and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right, and no laws shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions or indictments for libel, the truth may be given in evidence, and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libelous be true, and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted; and the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact.

The threat from Rusk County to prosecute for false statements and rumors about COVID-19 appears to be in direct contradiction to both the United States Constitution, and the Wisconsin State Constitution.

 On 28 January, 2020, the Rusk County Board of Supervisors voted, unanimously, not to make Rusk County into a Second Amendment Sanctuary County.

The Internet is full of rumors about COVID-19. The media is full of contradictory rumors about the virus, its lethality, origin, infectious qualities, and possible treatments.


Rusk County Health Department was contacted;  Dawn Brost was not available, and has not returned the phone call at this time.

The Sheriff's office was contacted; Sheriff Wallace has not returned the phone call at this time. 

The statement may be an example of poor wording. At minimum, a citation of a Wisconsin statute would do much to eliminate confusion.


©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

TX: Man who Attempted Carjack, Shot and Killed in east Oak Cliff near Dallas

Police believe the person inside the vehicle shot the would-be robber on Bonnie View Road near Illinois Avenue and Interstate 45.

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Bolsonaro's Brazil, More Legal Guns, Homicide Rates Down Precipitously

In December, 2018, in an article published by the Wall Street Journal, this pronouncement was made. From the wsj.com:

Now, Brazil is set to embark on an experiment that will determine what happens when you loosen gun restrictions in a country battling an overpowering wave of gun crime.

Homicides in Brazil were at historic highs in 2017. They dropped a bit in 2018, as candidate Bolsonaro ran on reform of the gun laws to allow self defense, and reform of the law to get tough on crime.  The homicide numbers dropped from 59,000 in 2017, to 51,000 in 2018. President Bolsonaro was elected in October of 2018.

After taking office on 1 January, 2019, President Bolsonaro issued his first decree reforming some of Brazil's extreme gun laws on 15 January, 2019. The drop in Brazil's homicide rate accelerated.

Gun control in Brazil has a long history. By 1997, restrictions on gun ownership were deemed as "severe" by the Wall Street Journal. From the wsj.com:

In Brazil's violent cities, where 90% of the murders are committed with guns, ownership restrictions have become so severe that Taurus has branched out into motorcycle helmets, bulletproof vests and auto parts.

(snip)

Brazil's 1997 law, which requires gun owners to have unblemished police records and pass rigorous psychological and shooting-proficiency tests, has slashed Taurus's sales to private individuals by more than 80% in the past two years, Mr. Murgel says. Taurus has sought to make up for that with an aggressive push into motorcycle helmets and increased gun sales in the U.S., where Taurus's advertising spending is up threefold this year.

Early in the Bolsonaro presidency, a Brazilian lawyer prediceted the homicide rate would drop. From ammoland.com: 

César Mello, asked that I include information that early reports are showing a 25% drop in Brazil's homicide rate, in the first quarter of 2019. If this trend continues, 16,000 lives will have been saved in the first year of President Bolsonaro's time in office.

The rate reduction was not quite that high. Only 10,000 lives were saved.  From wtop.com:

Brazil had 41,635 killings in 2019, down 19% from the prior year and the least number of homicides since 2007, when the so-called Violence Monitor index was launched. It is a partnership between the non-profit Brazilian Forum of Public Security, the University of Sao Paulo’s Center for the Study of Violence, and news website G1, which published the data Friday.

“IN OUR GOVERNMENT HOMICIDES, VIOLENCE AND FALLACIES FALL!” an exultant Bolsonaro wrote on his Twitter account, sharing the G1 news report. “Our government extends a strong embrace to all the security agents of the country. Brazil continues on the right path.”

When translated to homicide rates, the rate dropped 17% in 2018, then 23% more in 2019. The population of Brazil in 2019 was 210 million. The rate of homicides per 100,000 was 19.83.  That is less than 2/3 of the homicide rate in 2017, which was 30.8.

Brazil has not had a homicide rate this low since 1995, before the highly restrictive gun law of 1997 was passed.

When the NYTs did an article on the reform of Brazil's gun laws during the Bolsonaro administration, somehow, the reduction in the Brazilian homicide rate was not included.  The article was published on 31 March, 2020.   From the nytimes.com: 

During Mr. Bolsonaro’s first year in office, the government issued more than 200,000 licenses to gun owners. The federal police, which issues licenses for self-defense, approved 54,300 permits in 2019, a 98 percent increase from the previous year. The army, which grants permits to hunters and collectors, issued more than 147,800 new licenses in 2019, a 68 percent increase.

The only mention of homicides in the NYTs article is this: 

In Brazil, a country of more than 209 million that has one of the highest homicide rates in the world, the right to bear arms is not a constitutional guarantee, as it is in the United States. The gun rights movement has long been on the losing side of policy debates.

Will the Brazilian homicide rate continue to drop? We will find out over the course of the next few years. Leftist academics are already finding excuses as to why the reform of Brazilian gun laws made no difference.

They had predicted homicides would rise as the reforms were implemented.

They were wrong.

©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

IL: Home Invasion Suspect Shot and Killed in Arlington Heights

One suspected home invader, 58-year-old Larry Brodacz of Buffalo Grove, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen, and his death was ruled a homicide.

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NV: Armed Citizen Shoots Suspect Armed with Knife

The man told police he saw the suspect, a man in his 20s, jump the fence. He reportedly told the suspect he was calling the police and to stop running. The man followed the suspect to a pathway in the condominium complex, Spencer said, when the suspect pulled out a knife.

The man fired two rounds, hitting the suspect, then went to get a first aid kit. Metro officers arrived on scene and helped the man render aid. When medical arrived, Spencer said the suspect was pronounced dead on scene.
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WA: Homeowner shoots Intruder in Leg

The homeowner was able to load another round in the shotgun's chamber as Caldero continued his advance and fire a round into the intruder's leg. Caldero subsequently fled the residence and was found by officers a short distance away yelling for help and bleeding profusely from his thigh. Officers applied immediate medical attention to deal with Caldero's wound, and after medics arrived and rendered further assistance, he was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
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MO: Home Invasion Suspect Shot and Wounded by Armed Homeowner

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) – A man suspected of a home invasion in suburban St. Louis is recovering after being shot by the homeowner, and he’s also expected to face criminal charges.
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Oral Arguments Heard by 3 Judge Panel in Magazine Ban Second Amendment Case 9th Circuit

On 2 April, 2020, a three judge panel from the Ninth Circuit heard oral arguments in the Duncan v. Becerra case. The District court had decided the outright ban of magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds violated the Second Amendment. The opinion, by Judge Roger T. Benitez, was brilliant and extremely well written.

The video lasts over an hour, with strong questioning by the judges. Judge Consuelo Callahan presides and does most of the questioning. Judge Kenneth K. Lee asks some pointed questions, and Judge Barbara M. Lynn asks a few questions.

Link to the appeals court video

The appealing attorney for the State of California was John Darrow Echevveria.

The plaintiffs attorney for Duncan and the Second Amendment was  Erin E.  Murphy.

The State of California did its best at attempting to reduce Second Amendment right to the minimum possible under the Heller ruling. The argument made was essentially, if California residents had access to some effective means of self defense in the home, then Heller was satisfied, and the State could ban and regulate almost anything they wished to do.

When asked if the ban could be extended from a 10 round ban to a 1 round ban, Echevveria thought that might be unconstitutional.

This argument was specifically rejected in Heller as being off the table, but the Ninth Circuit has worked hard to forward it.

The attorney representing Duncan and Second Amendment supporters, generally, simply reiterated the Heller and McDonald decisions. Weapons in common use which are used for lawful purposes are protected by the Second Amendment. In particular, a complete ban is off the table.

When asked if the ban violated the "takings clause" of the Constitution, Murphy said it was primarily an issue of compensation.

The State made the claim that limiting magazine capacity was merely reasonable regulation which did not impact the Second Amendment.  It relied on several court cases from other circuits.

This is what happens when the Supreme Court refuses to enforce its previous rulings. Several appellate courts are adamantly hostile to the exercise of Second Amendment rights. They have relegated the Second Amendment to a second class right, as noted by Justice Thomas.

The oral arguments are interesting. They probably make little difference. The finding of the three judge panel will not be final.

The Ninth Circuit has shown, again and again, Second Amendment rulings will go to an En Banc court.

The make up of the Ninth Circuit has changed considerably under President Trump. Once a bastion of leftist ideology, which was the most reversed Circuit in the United States, it now has nine judges appointed by President Trump. The Circuit has 29 judges. The Circuit now has a three judge majority appointed by Democrats.

Not all judges appointed by Republicans are originalist and textualists. They tend in that direction. The Ninth Circuit now has some balance, instead of being overwhelmingly leftist.

One of the judges on the three judge panel, Judge Lee, was appointed by President Trump.

 ©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

Followup OR: Shooting ofl Preston Sweaney was Self Defense

"The man in the vehicle shot at the property owner who then returned fire," OSP said in a brief statement on Friday. "The male in the vehicle was pronounced deceased."

The state police agency said it worked with the Josephine County District Attorney's office and determined this to be a case of self-defense. No criminal charges are expected in the case.
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PA: Gunfight, Pizza Shop Owner Wounds Robbery Suspect

The teen allegedly tried to rob the store at gunpoint when the owner shot him once in the top of the left hand.

Police say the shop owner is legally authorized to carry a firearm.
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PA: Store Owner Shoots, Kills Man Attempting Robbery

A Philadelphia store owner shot and killed a man who tried to rob his business, according to investigators.


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MD: Domestic Defense? Neighbor Shoots Man in Altercation with Girlfriend

Investigators determined Reid, who doesn't live at the location, got in an argument with his girlfriend, who lives there, said the Sheriff's Office.

Jordan Ellison, 27, another resident, got involved in the altercation and Reid physically assaulted him, said the Sheriff's Office.

Ellison fired a round at Reid with a rifle during the struggle, saying he was fearing for his life, said the Sheriff's Office.
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LA Sheriff Villanueva Backs off Closure Order for Gun Stores, Again

The Sheriff of Los Angeles County in California, Alex Villanueva, has backed away from his emergency order closing gun stores. This is the second time he has done so. This time he gives the Trump Administration the credit for opening the stores. From ktla.com:

He said the move was prompted by memorandum issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Saturday that designated workers supporting the firearms and ammunition industry to be "essential infrastructure" workers.

"Based on further input from the federal government, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will not order or recommend closure of businesses that sell or repair firearms or sell ammunition," Villanueva said in a written statement.

The sheriff said that while the Department of Homeland Security guideline was an advisory only, "...nonetheless, the federal memorandum is persuasive given the its national scope."

On 24 March, 2020, the Sheriff ordered gun stores in Los Angeles County closed, as "non-essential businesses".

Then the Count Council ruled the gun shops are essential.

Then on 25 March, 2020, the Governor Newsom refused to clarify whether he believed gun stores were essential or not.

On 26 March, 2020, Sheriff Villanueva ordered gun shops closed to the general public, but open to security guard companies, and available for people who already purchased a gun, under California's 10 day waiting period, to take possession of the gun they had paid for.

Several organizations which support the exercise of Second Amendment rights made statements about  the likelyhood of filing lawsuits against Sheriff Villanueva.

 On 28 March, 2020, the Trump administration declared workers at gun stores and gun ranges to be essential and critical. From cisa.gov:

Workers supporting the operation of firearm or ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, and shooting ranges.

 On 31 March, 2020, Villanueva recinded his order from 26 March.

On 15 March, 2020, there had been a run on gun purchases all over the country. California is one of the few states that prevent purchasers from taking their firearms home with them after they have paid for them. In California, purchasers must wait 10 days to take possession of their guns, even if they already possess guns, or if they have a concealed carry permit.

The law was found to be unconstitutional, at least for people who already own guns and/or have a concealed carry permit, in 2014.  The case was appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which reversed the finding in 2016. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court. In 2018, the Supreme Court refused to grant a writ of Certiorari (hear the case).

 Waiting periods for the purchase of firearms are controversial statutes. There are no academic studies which show them to reduce violent crime. From the Crime Prevention Research Center amicus brief in the case:

Despite assertions that the benefits from waiting periods and background checks are obvious, the complete lack of empirical studies to support those claims is stark. No evidence is offered that either of these laws reduce violent crime, nor that they reduce overall suicide rates. Even more striking, the discussions that Appellant and amici use are not relevant to the case before the court.

Those who claim the mere existence of firearms in society is harmful, treat their assertion as obvious. There is much  evidence that arms in society have significant benefits.

Aside from purely pragmatic arguments, no other fundamental, enumerated right in the Constitution is treated with as much disrespect as the Second Amendment.

©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

TX: Off-Duty Officer Shoots 2-of 5 who Pulled Guns on Him

According to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus, five suspects were trying to break into vehicles at a location on Blanco Road.

However, it just so happened an off-duty Universal City police officer lived nearby and saw what was going on. McManus said the officer went down to see what was going on when two of the five pulled out a gun on the officer.

So, McManus said the off-duty officer took his own gun out and shot two of the five. One of the suspects who was shot didn't get up, while the others jumped in a car with the other suspects and they took off.

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