WA: Gunfight in Montlake Terrace, Suspect Wounded, Drives Stolen Truck to Hospital

A vehicle theft suspect ended up at Swedish Edmonds Hospital after being shot by the truck owner’s relative while leaving the scene in the 23000 block of Lakeview Drive in Mountlake Terrace Thursday morning.

Mountlake Terrace Police Cmdr. Scott King said the suspect was in the process of stealing a truck around 4:30 a.m. Thursday and was confronted by the truck owner’s relative. The thief pointed a pistol at the relative in response, but the relative was also armed with a handgun and fired at the suspect.

The person stealing the truck was successful and drove away, not to freedom, but to the hospital.

More Here

Americans Can Handle the Truth - and Weapons

 

 

A recurring theme of modern culture is the idea: ordinary people cannot "handle" the truth. It is a way to say ordinary people cannot be trusted to know what government knows. It is an excuse and justification for the government to keep secrets from the American people. The supposed stupidity and cupidity of most people is a key part of Progressive ideology.

A ubiquitous theme promoted by Progressives is the necessity of controlling "public opinion" and "manufacturing consent". This is in direct opposition to Christian ideology, as common in colonial America. The founding ideology  of the United States of America is natural law supported by Judeo-Christian ethics. Natural law is based largely on the ability of individuals to understand what is in their own interests, and to act on those interests.

The Second Amendment is based on the idea that people can know their own interests. People can band together to promote their own interests. Society is better if everyone is armed to protect their own, and societies, interest in mutual defense, property rights, and the rule of law.

The worship of the truth is a key part of Christianity. In the bible, Jesus says, "I am the truth".  Jesus says the revelation of the truth will set his followers free. The pursuit of the truth flowered during a combination of the reformation and renaissance, when the printing press and paper created an explosive revolution of knowledge as important as the invention of writing.

Pursuit of the truth led to the scientific method and the industrial revolution.  Islam floundered on a denial of objective truth, because the dominant theology in Islam came to be an insistence that Allah could and would change reality at will. The past, the present, every bit of existence at any instant, is subject to change at any moment in Islam.  Thus no search for objective reality or for physical laws would or could be fruitful.

Progressivism echos this fluidity in its understanding of the universe by its insistence that nothing is permanent or knowable (except to "Experts"). Everything is changing all the time. Only skilled and dedicated Progressive "experts" can understand what is happening. Governments have to be able to change all the time and instantly, to cope with a changing reality. Therefore, what the mass of the people know and think has to be constantly managed, to prevent them from doing stupid things and doing things against their "own interests".

Stupid things are defined to include throwing Progressives out of power.

How often have you read of Progressives (leftists) saying a certain group voted against their own interests? This is a shortcut version of the above. Progressives assume they know everyone's interests better than the people themselves do. Marxist theory does the same. Marxists claim people who disagree with them to have  "false consciousness". The consciousness Marxists consider to be true is that which validates their assumptions about reality. Woke theory is a variant. White people are defined as racist, whether they know it or not. No one who is not Woke can define what a woman is.

In contrast, the American Founders trusted the people, on average, over time, to know their own interests. They also knew different people's interests and different groups interests often conflict. The checks and balances of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were put in place to keep any one interest group, especially the interest of people in political power, whether State or Federal, from promoting their interest ahead of all others.

The First Amendment is based on the theory a vigorous debate is the best way to determine the truth. The Scientific Method is based on anyone being able to challenge scientific findings by duplicating experiments to see if the same result is obtained. "Scientists" who refuse to reveal their data invalidate their own results.

If you cannot see the data sources, you cannot duplicate the results.

If a person "can't handle the truth" they should not be trusted to handle firearms responsibly. Progressive ideology has gun control in its DNA.

You can handle the truth. You can handle weapons.  The truth shall set you free.

The flip side is: Lies enslave you and liars lie to you to keep you enslaved.

When someone tells you the public cannot handle the truth, they are advocating for unlimited governmental power.

 

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

 

 

 

 

 

ID: Wendell Man shoots, Wounds Man who Brandished Knife

WENDELL, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) —The Gooding County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call for service for a shooting incident in Wendell Monday afternoon. The reporting party informed law enforcement that an individual was shot while they were wielding a knife.

According to preliminary reports, the incident took place at approximately 2:05 p.m. on East Ave. B. According to Prosecutor Trevor Misseldine, Ryan Rollins approached a man that he knew, while reportedly brandishing a knife. In response to that action, a man discharged a firearm striking Rollins.

More Here

Review of APA Paper on Psychopathy, Gun Carrying and Firearm Violence

Jaleel Stallings mug shot after arrest and beating by Minneapolis Police.  Stallings was found not guilty after firing at police in self defense. 

A paper published in the Psychology of Violence is interesting because of what it did not find. The paper did not find any correlation between legally carrying a gun and four psychopathic measures. The four facets are "affective" (lack of empathy), "interpersonal" (manipulative), "lifestyle" (impulsive), and "antisocial".  "Carry a weapon sometimes for protection" is defined in the four measures as "antisocial".   When carrying a gun for protection is defined as "antisocial", it is unsurprising the paper found correlation between illegally carrying a gun and the "antisocial" trait. This is an example of circular reasoning.

The paper found carrying a gun, both legally and illegally were correlated to firing a gun in self defense. Carrying a gun illegally was more strongly correlated to firing a gun in self defense.

The paper is titled:  Psychopathy, Gun Carrying, and Firearm Violence. it was published by the American Psychological Association (APA) in the publication, Psychology of Violence. It was published for the first time online on August 22, 2024.  The authors are Sophie L. Kjærvik and Nicholas D. Thomson. The paper is seven pages long.

The paper did not measure any actual criminal or violent incidents. The researchers recruited a group of adults at an urban hospital in Virginia. The adults were in the emergency room or the hospital because of injuries inflicted on them by violence from other individuals. There were 343 recruits. 53% had gunshot wounds. 38% were victims of an assault. 9% had a stab wound. 254 of the participants were men. All the participants were 18-75 years old. The participants identified themselves as 65% black, and 12% white. The rest, 23%, were classified as "other". Prisoners and minors were not recruited.

The participants were paid $160 to fill out questionnaires for the study. Filling out the questionnaires took about 2 hours per study participant.  339 of the 343 participated. 17 of the questionnaires were incomplete.

The study consisted of compiling the results of the questionnaires to look for correlations between four facets (traits) associated with psychopathy and behavior with guns. The behavior with guns included three questions about behavior with guns. They were: carrying a firearm with a permit, carrying without a permit, and firing a gun for self defense.  Using a gun for self defense without firing it was not measured. Aggressive behavior with a firearm was measured on a separate scale, which included eight items. These eight items were the study's measure of "Firearm Violence". The items were:

1. Once in a while I get the urge to shoot at another person.
2. Given enough provocation, I may shoot a gun at another person.
3. If somebody hurts me, I may shoot a gun at them.
4. I fire a gun with the intention to hurt somebody a little more than the
average person.
5. If I have to resort to shooting a gun at someone to protect my rights, I will.
6. There are people who pushed me so far that I fired a gun at them.
7. I have threatened people I know with a gun.
8. When I get angry, I shoot a gun.

The eight items were adapted from the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, which has nothing to do with firearms or weapons.

Readers will note items 2,3,5, and possibly 4,6, and 7 are all dependent on context, which is not measured in the questionnaire.  For example:

2. "Given enough provocation, I may shoot a gun at another person."

If a person is threatening to kidnap a mother's 3 year old child, most people would believe the provocation would be enough to justify shooting at them.  Or:

7. I have threatened people I know with a gun.

If the person you are threatening has threatened you in the past, you have a restraining order against them, and they are attempting to break into your home, in most jurisdictions, you would be justified to threaten them with a gun.

1 and 8 are not reasonable. 4 is problematic. However, if you are well trained and aware, living in a dangerous environment, it could be reasonable to say:

"4. I fire a gun with the intention to hurt somebody a little more than the average person."

It is illogical to fire a gun at someone without the intention to hurt somebody. Your primary objective would be to stop the attack. But it is likely you will have to hurt them to do so.

The paper lacks a definition of what "gun violence" or "firearm violence" is. The term "firearm violence" is in the title, and appears eight times in the paper. The term "gun violence" appears 21 times in the paper.  The term "gun violence" appears to mean different things on different pages.  It appears to mean all homicides, accidents, suicides, and injury in which a firearm is involved when referenced in the first sentence of the body of the paper. It seems to mean only criminal behavior with a gun on page 2. "Firearm violence" appears to mean some measure of "firearms aggression" by use of the eight measures on the "firearm aggression" score on page 3, table 1.  The two terms appear to be used interchangeably.  Gun violence, as used in the first sentence and in the conclusion, is an Orwellian, emotionally laden term.

The sample is far from representative of society at large. All participants were recovering from violent injury. It seems likely victims of interpersonal violence, with over half suffering from gunshots, would see the value in shooting at a person who "hurt them" or "provoked them" or "to protect their rights" in completely moral and justified ways.

None of John Lott's research is included in the references, nor is the recent major survey on gun ownership and use by Professor English. Critics of John Lott, Hemenway and Azrael, are included in two references.

The study assumes two highly disputed premise, based on two individual papers. The two premises are:

"Carrying guns increases the risk of injury and death (Branas et al.,
2009) and is a well-established precursor to subsequent gun violence
(Pardini et al., 2021)."

Both premises are disputed. Increased carry of firearms has not increased homicide or suicide, as shown in many states. Increased injury or death, if it happens, which is highly disputed, is not always bad.

The implication is self defense is bad. Increasing the risk of injury or death to violent human predators would be considered a public good by most people. "Gun violence" is not necessarily evil or wrong. To assume so is an extension of the emotional belief "guns are bad".

On the last page of the study, this sentence appears:

Enhancing firearm access restrictions for individuals with a history of violence, coupled with education and training programs for firearm owners, may contribute to reducing the risk of gun-related indicine.

This correspondent was unsure what it means.  Definition of indicine:

of or relating to Asian cattle of the species Bos indicus

In spite of the biases in the study, the conclusions reinforce the results of research by John Lott and Professor English. People who legally carry guns are intensely law abiding.  Self defense is a primary motivation for carrying a gun. Self defense with a gun is common.

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

GA: Domestice Defense in Grovetown, Pregnant Woman Shoots Father of Child

GROVETOWN, Ga. (WJBF) – A man has been arrested on criminal trespass and family violence charges after the Grovetown Police Department responded to reports of shots fired on Monday.

The incident took place after 9 p.m. on the 7600 block of Main Street on Jan. 6. Responding officers learned that a woman had shot a man who allegedly beat on the front door and windows attempting to enter the home. Police stated the woman said the man “was the father of her 2-year-old daughter and that she was currently nine months pregnant with his child as well.”

More Here

NC: Raleigh Gunfight, Armed Victim Shoots Carjack Suspect

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A teen suspect with a gun was shot Sunday night during an attempted carjacking at a motel near Crabtree Valley Mall off Glenwood Avenue at Interstate 440, police said.

The shooting was reported just after 8:50 p.m. along Arrow Road at the Red Roof Inn, according to the Raleigh Police Department.

More Here

SC Sheriff: No Charges for Clerk who Killed Armed Robber, Second Amendment

Link to video

U.S.A. --(AmmoLand.com)- On December 28, an armed robber entered a Mini Mart & Tobacco store in Chesterfield County, South Carolina. The robber put a gun to the clerk's head. The clerk accessed his own gun. The clerk shot the robber, killing him before the robber could kill him. The Sheriff's office responded quickly, investigated the scene, and watched video from the store. Less than two days later, the Sheriff's office released an official statement to the public. From facebook.com, Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office:

On December 28, 2024 at 8:47 pm, the Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office responded to an Armed Robbery at the Hwy. 9 Mini Mart & Tobacco store located at 28495 Hwy. 9 in Pageland. Upon arrival, deputies discovered a deceased black male with gunshot wounds. The store clerk gave a statement that the black male had entered the store and put a gun to his head and demanded money. The clerk then produced his own handgun and fired multiple shots at the robber. This was confirmed by the store surveillance video obtained and reviewed by Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office Investigators. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) was called to process the crime scene.

 

Sheriff Cambo Streater would like to remind the citizens of Chesterfield County, that South Carolina law states "A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in another place where he has a right to be, including, his place of business, has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily injury to himself or another person or to prevent the commission of a violent crime.”

 

Sheriff Streater strongly supports the rights of our citizens to protect themselves.

Based on the above facts, and after consulting with the 4th Circuit Solicitor's Office, no charges will be filed in this case.

This case was investigated by the Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office, the Chesterfield County Coroner's Office and SLED.

Two days earlier, Manatee County Sheriff in Florida reinforced the utility of Second Amendment rights in a home invasion case.

Analysis:

The case, the investigation, and the quick release of a statement by Sheriff Cambo Streater in South Carolina are an example of how digital technology is changing and improving responses to crime. The speed of the investigation and the decision to not charge the clerk was possible because of the video evidence. The outcome is far different from cases where a victim may wait for weeks or months to know what will happen while investigators re-create the scene, do forensic analysis, and leave the victim in doubt about legal jeopardy.

 

When someone has been killed in a violent encounter, investigating officers should not blindly accept the account of a person who claims to be the victim. Careful analysis is called for. Video can immediately answer obvious questions. Did the deceased actually put a gun to the head of the clerk?  Does the video  confirm the account of the clerk?

 

The video of the encounter should be released to the public. This removes doubt about the incident and stifles rumors. As of this writing, the video in this incident has not been released.  Trust in law enforcement can be enhanced by public access to video evidence.

 

Video can mislead as well as enlighten, especially if the video has been edited. Video editing has been used to mislead the public. The Rodney King case is a classic example.

 

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

AZ: Tucson, Domestic Defense, Man Shoots, Kills Woman

The adult male caller, who admitted to discharging his handgun, stayed on-site and cooperated with investigators.

Police say Nunez and the caller were in a domestic relationship.

Preliminary findings indicate that Nunez forcibly entered the victim’s apartment, where an altercation ensued, during which she was shot.

Detectives from the Homicide Unit are continuing their investigation. No charges or arrests have been made.

 

More Here

TX: Corpus Christi Homeowner Drives off Intuder who threatened him with a Machete

Officers arrived and spoke with the homeowner who stated an unknown male suspect was in the homeowner’s backyard with a machete in his hand and made several threatening movements towards the homeowner. The homeowner advised he feared for his safety as well as the safety of his family, retrieved a firearm and shot at the suspect who was threatening them. It is unknown if the suspect was shot but the suspect fled from the backyard into the neighboring field.

More Here

NSW Police and Thanes Australia Threaten Lithgow Small Arms Museum, a World Treasure

The world famous Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum (LSAFM) in Australia is under threat from a combination of police bureaucracy and French/industrial clueless or hostile management. On August 25, 2024, thieves broke in and stole 27 antique and collectable pistols. At this time 18 of the pistols have been recovered. 

One of the two displays the 27 pistols were stolen from. There were dozens of such displays in multiple rooms in the Museum.

This correspondent visited the wonderful museum in 2019. It is an incredible example of cultural heritage and history. It contained thousands of invaluable historical artifacts of firearms and their technology. Here is a summation from the save the museum site, as of 30 October, 2024:

Following a break-in on 25 August, making national and international news, urgent security upgrades are needed.  Approval for these upgrades has still not been given by the site owner. This is despite their knowledge that the museum’s future is now at risk. Delays and uncertainties regarding site ownership threaten conservation and education on this remarkable site.

NSW Police have ordered security upgrades to protect the historic firearms collection. Three of these are critical for safe-keeping of the historic firearms. Another 14 are necessary before rebuilding of the displays can begin. Without these upgrades, LSAFM risks losing its firearms permits, which would lead to the confiscation of its collection and the death of the Museum. The historic firearms were the Factory’s major product and remain a key drawcard for visitors.

The multinational Thales Group, the building owner, has prohibited any work, even minor cosmetic fixes, from proceeding without their approval.  For the critical security upgrades, LSAFM volunteers worked urgently to submit the highly detailed quotes and specifications demanded by Thales. It has now been over eight weeks without approval. Thales is aware of the financial strain—$5,000 per week for night security guards—and the impact on volunteer morale and stress. 

Meanwhile, the Museum remains closed, and we have no income. The volunteers are eager to start rebuilding the exhibits, but their hands are tied.

Thales is a major technology and defense company partially owned by the French government.  Thales Australia currently owns the property on which the Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum is located. The property and the Museum cannot be reasonably separated. There was a in process agreement to transfer the property where the museum is sited, and which is an integral part of the Museum, from Thales to the Museum for a nominal fee. With a change in the administration of Thales, that agreement has stalled.

Empty museum displays while $5,000 a week are spent on security, mandated by NSW police.

It appears the police requirement for security upgrades, combined with either indifference or hostility from Thales Australia management, has placed this cultural treasure in imminent danger of extirpation. The combination of police requirements for security upgrades and the glacial response of Thales Australia management is causing the Museum to hemorrhage cash.  $5000 a week for security is not sustainable.

According to New South Wales law, local police are able to require and enforce security measures for firearms storage.  One of the requirements for collection and display is that handguns be permanently rendered inoperable (primarily by means of welding). This destroys the value of collectable firearms. It was reported to this correspondent an exemption had been granted to the LSAFM in 2019. 

There are two different petitions available for people to sign to let authorities know they believe the museum is valuable and worth saving. One of these petitions is online to the New South Wales Parliament.  When this correspondent clicks on the link, access is denied for security purposes. This petition may be limited to residents of New South Wales.

There is a Global online petition to secure the future of Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum. The global petition appears to be available to everyone. 

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

MO: Warsaw, Armed Samaritan Shoots Man who Stabbed Victim

WARSAW, Mo. (KY3) - One man has died and another one injured after a fight at a Motel in Warsaw on Friday.

According to Benton County Sheriff Eric Knox, the incident happened at the Lake Hills Motel on Highway 83.

Sheriff Knox says an argument escalated into a fight between a 55-year-old man from Illinois and 55-year-old Kevin Noland of Warsaw. Noland was stabbed and died on the scene from his injuries.

Authorities believe the man who stabbed Noland was the man from Illinois. Another man, a 61-year-old from Warsaw, intervened and shot the suspect in the leg.

More Here

OH: Englewood Break-in Attempt Leads to Fatal Shooting by Resident

The police said the man who lived at the home thought the intruder had left and checked his backyard shed.

He then walked toward the street to see if his car had been broken into.

“He was confronted by the suspect. The suspect came toward him. He, in fear for his life, fired three shots from this firearm,” Englewood Police Chief Corey Follick said.

The man killed was identified as 43-year-old Matthew Culham.

Follick said his actions were unusual for a burglar.

“Most burglars, if they determine the home is occupied, once they’re detected they flee the area,” he said.

Follick said the evidence gathered at the scene did support the couple’s version of what happened.

Police can’t explain Culham’s actions at this time.

 

More Here

Cultural Change: Florida Sheriff Tells Criminals: Break in, Expect to be Shot

Soto-Mella

On December 27, 2024 WFIN in Florida quoted Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells about a recent home invasion and shooting. The Sheriff said:

“This is the state of Florida,”  “If you want to break into someone’s home, you should expect to be shot.”

The incident happened on December 26, 2024 about 9 p.m. From wfin.com:

“He knew something bad was about to happen and he didn’t stall,” MCSO Sheriff Rick Wells said during a press conference Friday. “He grabbed his firearm [and] told his wife to get into a safe spot.”

The homeowner fired multiple rounds, hitting Flores-Toledo “several times,” while Soto-Mella fled the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.

“I sat down next to the lanai, the door was open,” John Nuceder, who was visiting a family member in the neighborhood, told Fox 13. “I vividly heard three gunshots.”

Authorities said Flores-Toledo was initially reported to be in critical condition before being transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where he died Friday morning.

“This is the state of Florida,” Wells said. “If you want to break into someone’s home, you should expect to be shot.”

Deputies tracked down Soto-Mella, who was in the country illegally after his 90-day visa expired in September, using K9 units and arrested him a few blocks away, according to the sheriff’s office. The scene was secured and everyone involved was accounted for, posing no threat to the community.

The man who was killed, Flores-Toledo, was from Mexico. His immigration status was not mentioned. The man with him is from Chile and was in the country illegally.

Analysis:

Situational awareness is key. The homeowner noticed the two suspects before they broke in. This gave him time to access his firearm, gain tactical advantage, and advise his wife to seek shelter. It seems likely the couple had a plan for such a situation, because they acted quickly. Too often, people see danger forming and refuse to accept what is happening. This leads to dangerous delays in an effective response. The United States is one of the very few jurisdictions which protect the inherent right of people to use firearms to defend themselves and, to varying degrees, their property.

Neither Mexico or Chile have anywhere near the concentration of firearms in private hands which exists in the United States. A homeowner in the United States who shoots and kills a home invader is not particularly uncommon. A sheriff who openly celebrates homeowners defending themselves against criminals, by exercising their Second Amendment rights, is becoming more common.  There have been several instances over the last few years.

For 150 years, the ability and willingness of Americans to defend their homes with deadly force was applauded.  From about 1965 on, there was a growing trend to denigrate American citizens use of firearms to defend themselves, to denigrate the Second Amendment, and to slowly disarm Americans. That trend is dead.  While not fully restored, the Second Amendment is being restored in legislatures and by the courts.

Kudos to Sheriff Rick Wells. He is an American politician/lawman who is stating the obvious. I expect him to be re-elected. He has been in office for almost eight years. He is married to Lupita Wells and has three sons.

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

VA: Arlington - Argument Leads to Gunfight, two Wounded

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is announcing an arrest in the January 1, 2025, shooting inside a residential building in the 1000 block of N. Glebe Road. Malachi Rawlings, 21, of Washington DC was arrested and charged with Aggravated Malicious Wounding, Use of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Felon in Possession of a Firearm. He is being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.

At approximately 1:11 a.m., police responded to the report of an assault with a weapon. The preliminary investigation indicates the male suspect became engaged in a verbal dispute with a group of individuals inside a common area of a residential building. The male suspect then brandished and discharged a firearm, striking the victim. One member of the group then discharged a firearm, striking the suspect.

The victim, an adult male, self-reported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspect was located at the intersection of N. Glebe Road and 11^th Street N. Medics transported him to an area hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. Following medical treatment, he was arrested and charged.

This remains an active criminal investigation. Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4180 or ACPDTipline@arlingtonva.us or anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

More Here

Book Review: The Year-Long Day by A.E. Maxwell and Ivar Ruud, 240 pages, J.B. Lippencott Co. 1976

 

In the Arctic winter of 1970 to 1971, a trapper/hunter in the Svalbard Achipelago had to protect himself from polar bears several times. This is not particularly unusual. It was unusual for Ivar Ruud to keep a detailed diary, make a movie and  have a book published about his experiences. Most arctic trappers and hunters do not keep detailed diaries, make movies, and write books. Ruud had an older partner, Fredrick Rubach. In their first year together, they harvested over fifty polar bears.  After the first year, they moved into separate cabins about 15 miles apart along the coast.  They would only see each other when they were dropped off, at Christmas, and when picked up in the summer.

While researching defenses against bears in the arctic, this correspondent found the account of Ivar Ruud referenced in the Polar Bear Human-Information Management System (PBHIMS) data base. The PBHIMS was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by AmmoLand. Used copies of The Year-Long Day  are sometimes available on ABE Books or Biblio. My copy was found in very good condition for $25 and shipping. The book is fast paced. It mentions enough of the daily grind to inform the reader, but is successful as adventure story telling.

The year of the account is, apparently, 1970-1971, according to this source. It matches with the authors description of it being his fourth year at Hornsund fiord, starting in 1967-68, when he was about 21.  His last overwinter at Hornsund fiord appears to have been 1971-1972. Polar bear hunting in the Svalbard Archipelago was outlawed in 1973.

The book is a very well written, non-fiction account of adventure and survival. It is a page turner which captured this writer for several hours. At least five instances are documented of Ivar Ruud shooting polar bears as they charged him. Two of those were while hunting the bears. The other three were from bears hunting Ivar, or at minimum, investigating Ruud as potential food. When a polar bear is attempting to enter your cabin with you inside, it is a serious threat.

For those interested in factual accounts of survival, hunting, and adventure, this is a wonderful book. Ivar would be about 78 today. An online source says he became a successful real estate agent in Southern California.

Of particular interest to this correspondent, the incidents in the book are not well matched with entries in the PBHIMS. The database includes one predatory attack while Ruud was in a tiny cabin. It includes one charge while Ruud was actively hunting polar bears. It does not include a predatory incident where Ruud was not hunting polar bears and had to shoot one at under 15 feet in the polar night while on a trail, or another incident where a polar bear was shot charging at him when he was on top of a cabin and the bear was only a few feed away.

This correspondent suspects a great many attempts of predation by polar bears on humans were stopped because the humans were armed. The vast majority of those were never recorded or published. If anyone knows if Ivar Ruud is alive or available, this correspondent would love to interview him.

 

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

CA: Person Breaking into Home reported Shot by Homeowner

Emergency services are responding to a shooting incident involving a homeowner and a suspect during a break-in attempt.

 

More Here

GA: Domestic Defense, Atlanta woman Shot, Killed in Love Triangle

Investigators say a domestic dispute involving one man and two women ended with a former girlfriend shot dead and a current girlfriend taken to police headquarters for questioning along with the boyfriend, who police describe as a witness. 

The victim's name has not been released, but FOX 5 Atlanta has been told she is 28 years old.

The Atlanta Police Department now classifies the deadly shooting as a "Felon Killed by Private Citizen."

More Here

 

Additional Here

Walmart Kindly Requests People not to Openly Carry Firearms

This correspondent walks into a Walmart about once a week to monitor local ammunition prices. Long experience has demonstrated that no gun signs are seldom noticed. Some effort is expended, attempting to do better at noticing them. At the entrance of Walmart, a sign mentioning a firearm was noticed, in relatively small letters, among other information, toward the top right corner of the entryway. The notice said:

Kindly refrain from openly carrying a firearm.

This correspondent is armed nearly all the time. Whether a firearm is carried openly or concealed or firearms are carried both ways, depends on what is deemed most advantageous for the particular time and place. Open carry is especially effective as a political statement. Open carry is not as necessary or useful in Arizona since the state restored Constitutional Carry in 2010.

This correspondent carried openly in the local Walmart in May of 2021 and met another customer there who was carrying concealed. At the time, Walmart did not ask this customer to leave the store.

Astute readers will notice the current Walmart signage is a polite request, not a demand or a command. The request only required a minor shifting of clothing to accomplish.  A polite society is a positive value. Acceding to a polite request does not mean it must be followed if it becomes burdensome or dangerous to do so.

There are only four states where open carry is generally banned by law. They are California, Florida, Illinois, and New York. One of those states is not like the others. Florida has permitless carry, but bans most open carry of firearms.

This year there will be another attempt to have the Florida legislature repeal the general ban on open carry in what has been called the “gunshine” state. Previous attempts have failed, primarily due to divisions in the Republican party. With the vast majority of states having open carry, it is hard to see the arguments in Florida against open carry as legitimate or reasonable.  Governor DeSantis says he supports open carry. Florida Carry is pushing to repeal the open carry ban. From wusf.org:

“Florida Carry is gonna continue this fight,” said Friday. “We are going to get the right to open carry because currently, there is no right to carry a shotgun or rifle in the state of Florida outside of your home if you are not hunting. That is an unconstitutional deprivation of that right.”

Eric Friday makes a legitimate point. Carrying long guns concealed is much more difficult than carrying a pistol concealed. Carrying long guns concealed generally makes them much slower to bring into action.  Bans on the carry of long guns are not supported in the legal history of the United States.

Open carry is a method of carry which has been honored in the United States of America for centuries. It is only in recent years when it has been banned in a few places. Even in the 1950’s in New York City it was not illegal to openly carry long guns.

 

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

PA: Philadelphia Robbery Victim returns, Gunfight ensues, Both wounded

A short time later, one of the three people who were robbed returned with a gun, and confronted the robber who was still there. A police spokesperson said the two began shooting at each other on the 500 block of Diamond Street.

At least 14 shots were fired in the incident. 

The robbery suspect, a 30-year-old man, was shot in the side and the leg and was taken by police to Temple University Hospital. Police said Tuesday morning he is now in stable condition.

The armed victim, a 29-year-old man, was shot twice in the chest and also taken to Temple Hospital by a private vehicle. He's in "extremely critical" condition, Pace said.

Police are holding both victims as the shooting investigation division handles the case.

The robbery and shooting were captured on surveillance cameras.

 

More Here

GA: Atlanta Gunfight, 1 Victim Wounded

Police say the preliminary investigation indicates the victims were sitting in their vehicle eating food they had just ordered when they saw a vehicle approaching them from the opposite direction. As the vehicle approached, some individuals inside began shooting at them, according to the department.

Officers say one of the occupants in the victim’s vehicle returned fire at the suspect vehicle and left the scene before police arrived. They say the suspect vehicle also left the scene.

More Here