Gun law and common sense

Comment from Britain by Peter Hitchens

More rubbish is written about 'gun control' than about almost any other subject. Allegedly 'tough' gun and knife laws are the liberal substitute for the death penalty, the left's way of trying to stop criminals from killing. Like most 'liberal' solutions, they don't work against their intended target, and they attack freedom. It helps a great deal to be liberal about this if you a) don't think about it and b) know no history at all. Until 1920, Britain's gun laws made Texas look effeminate. There was no effective restriction at all on owning a firearm. Yet there was virtually no gun crime. Now we have some of the most restrictive anti-gun laws in the world, and gun crime is a serious and growing problem. Interestingly, the laws came first, the problem afterwards, and the recent ban on handguns was a completely logic-free response to the Dunblane mass-murder which preceded it.

Here's a strange fact. If you read the Sherlock Holmes stories, you will notice just how frequently Holmes and Watson take guns out on various missions (Watson’s is usually his trusty old service revolver, retained from his brush with war in Afghanistan). On one occasion, Holmes amuses himself by picking out the Royal monogram 'VR' in bullet-pocks above the fireplace, a remarkable tribute to his shooting ability with a handgun. His skills may have been exceptional, but gun ownership was, at the time the stories were written, entirely legal and normal, and nobody thought it odd.

What is strange is that modern British readers of these stories never pause to wonder how and why things have changed so much. Well, if you do wonder, I must direct you once again to the relevant chapter of 'A Brief History of Crime' in which I was accused of arguing that we should all carry weapons about, as one female acquaintance of mine generally does in the State of Virginia, perfectly legally.

British leftist feminists, who warn constantly that all men are rapists, and endlessly demand harsher punishments and looser rules of evidence in rape prosecutions, really ought to be keen supporters of America's 'Second Amendment Sisters', who argue that women should all be armed and dangerous, and rapists, as a result, should be mostly dead, or too afraid to try it on. But somehow, they aren't. One liberal obsession clashes with another, yet again....

The same 'experts' who have banned guns and knives (with no noticeable effect on their use by criminals, though the harassment of innocents for carrying pen-knives grows year by year) pursue individuals for hitting burglars too hard or, in a notable incident last week, a pensioner who had clouted one of a gang of youths who had pelted his home with snowballs for hours on end. And they are wholly ineffectual in dealing with burglars on the rare occasions when they both catch them and manage to prosecute them.

Yet the one thing that will bring a rapid and powerful police response to a phone call is a claim that guns are being used by private citizens. And the one offence the courts will always punish severely is the one they call 'taking the law into your own hands'. Why? Because they are much more worried about their monopoly of force than they are about protecting us. Is that a good sign?

Actually, I object strongly to the expression 'taking the law into your own hands'. The law is ours and we made it for ourselves, to protect us and govern us, as a free people. Our freedom to defend ourselves against criminal violence is part of our general freedom to live our lives lawfully. We hire the police to help us enforce the law, not to tell us that we cannot do so. Sadly, the modern British law is not our law, but an elite law, based on ideas which most of us do not share. And the modern police are the elite's police, not ours, which is one of the reasons why they have vanished from the streets, where we want them to be. The disarming of the people, and the cancellation of all their rights to defend themselves, are bad signs.

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DC gun ban overturned

A federal appeals court overturned the District of Columbia's long-standing handgun ban Friday, rejecting the city's argument that the Second Amendment right to bear arms applied only to militias.

In a 2-1 decision, the judges held that the activities protected by the Second Amendment "are not limited to militia service, nor is an individual's enjoyment of the right contingent" on enrollment in a militia. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the city cannot prevent people from keeping handguns in their homes. The ruling also struck down a requirement that owners of registered firearms must keep them unloaded and disassembled. The court did not address provisions that prohibit people from carrying unregistered guns outside the home.

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said the city plans to appeal. "I am personally, deeply disappointed and quite frankly outraged," Fenty said.

Washington and Chicago are the only two major U.S. cities with sweeping handgun bans. Washington's ban on owning handguns went into effect in 1976, and is considered to be the toughest in the nation, according to the National Rifle Association. While courts in other parts of the country have upheld bans on automatic weapons and sawed-off shotguns, the D.C. law is unusual because it involves a prohibition on all pistols.

In 2004, a lower-court judge told six city residents that they did not have a constitutional right to own handguns. The plaintiffs include residents of high-crime neighborhoods who wanted the guns for protection. But on Friday, Judge Laurence Silberman, writing for the majority, said "The district's definition of the militia is just too narrow. There are too many instances of 'bear arms' indicating private use to conclude that the drafters intended only a military sense." Judge Karen Henderson dissented, writing that the Second Amendment does not apply to the District of Columbia because it is not a state.

The Bush administration has endorsed individual gun-ownership rights, but the Supreme Court has never settled the issue. If the dispute makes it to the high court, it would be the first case in nearly 70 years to address the Second Amendment's scope. "I think this is well positioned for review of the Supreme Court," said Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University.

Even as the appeals court overturned the city's 1976 ban on most handgun ownership, Silberman wrote that the Second Amendment is still "subject to the same sort of reasonable restrictions that have been recognized as limiting, for instance, the First Amendment." Such restrictions might include gun registration, firearms testing to promote public safety or restrictions on gun ownership for criminals or those deemed mentally ill.

Source

Pennsylvania: Robbers Shot by Diner Owner: "Philadelphia police have identified the two robbery suspects shot Thursday morning by the owner of a diner in West Oak Lane. Investigators say 20-year-old Cornell Toombs was killed and 24-year-old Gary Williams was critically wounded. He remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition. Both the suspects are from North Philadelphia. According to investigators, two armed men walked into the Sunrise Breakfast Shop, on Washington Lane near Forest, about 7am Thursday and announced a robbery. But, police say, the shop owner pulled his own gun and opened fire. Toombs was pronounced dead at the scene -- and Williams was shot in the face and wounded. Police were questioning the diner owner about the incident."


Tennessee gunowners stop fruitcake: "Police in Memphis say a gunman firing a pistol beside a busy city street was subdued by two passers-by who were also armed. No one was hurt during the incident that apparently began with a minor traffic accident, but one passing car was believed hit by a bullet. Brothers William Webber and Paul Webber told police they stopped their car and pulled their own pistols when they saw a man firing a handgun yesterday. The brothers said they ordered the man to drop his weapon and then held him at gunpoint until police arrived a few minutes later. Police say the Webbers did not fire their pistols. Police arrested Dementrius Roberson and charged him with reckless endangerment. Police say the Webber brothers and Roberson have licenses to carry firearms".

9 March, 2007

FL: UM coach: no guns allowed: "Randy Shannon has issued a straightforward warning to his University of Miami football players: Get caught carrying a firearm and your days as a Hurricane are over. ... Asked about his players' constitutional right to own firearms, Shannon said: 'I'm thinking about the University of Miami and the kids. When you have a firearm, there's a 50-50 chance that you're going to get hurt. So I said, 'Let's not put ourselves in those situations. Make it a 100 percent chance that you're not going to hurt nobody and that nobody is going to get hurt.""


California store owner shoots burglars: "The owner of Sunshine Summit General Store on state Route 79 shot and wounded two burglars he interrupted in the store early yesterday, sheriff's officials said. The owner, whom authorities did not identify, called the Sheriff's Department about 4 a.m. to report the shooting. He said he was being chased by people in a pickup and that he shot at them, said sheriff's Lt. William Donahue. Lt. Tim Curran said the owner went to the store to check on a burglar alarm that had been triggered. He confronted the burglars and fired a handgun at them. Later, two people with multiple gunshot wounds turned up at Palomar Medical Center in Escondido. Deputies still were interviewing them last night."

CA: Teens' gun death rate vindicates gun restrictions (NOT): "A troubling rise in the rate of teen gun deaths and a spike in the number of babies killed by their parents are among the key findings of the yearly review of all child deaths in Sacramento County. The findings by the Child Death Review Team are to be released today in a report to the county Board of Supervisors. The 16th annual report is a study of deaths that occurred in 2005 of those 18 and younger. There were 167 teens, children and infants who died that year. Of particular concern to team members is the sharp rise in the number of teenagers killed by firearms in homicides and suicides in 2005. In 2004, the rate of teen deaths, ages 13 to 17, from guns was 10 percent. In 2005, the rate quadrupled. Among 13- to 17-year-olds who died, 39 percent were killed by guns: six by homicide and five by suicide. Murder and suicide -- by guns and other means -- accounted for 57 percent of teen deaths in Sacramento County, the report said.


NC Homeowner Charged With Murder: "Statesville police say a deadly shooting that they originally thought happened during a home invasion actually happened after a social gathering. That shooting on Wilson Lee Boulevard killed 17-year-old Shannon Lackey, a [black] junior at Statesville High School, late Monday. Police said the homeowner, 39-year-old Kevin Turner, told them Lackey broke into his house and he was defending himself. Officers found Lackey dead of a gunshot wound to his stomach in the living room of the man's home shortly before 8 p.m. But officers now say new information leads them to believe Lackey was not shot in self-defense, and they have charged Turner with murder and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. Another person was shot in the leg and was treated and released from a local hospital. About 20 people were present during the fray, and police are still searching for a motive. They are trying to get in contact with people who were at the party in order to interview them." [The above story is from January. A grand jury has now cleared the homeowner]


Arkansas robber chooses tough victim: "A Craighead County man got more than he bargained for early Friday morning after apparently choosing the wrong resident to rob. The early-morning alleged attempted robbery ended in a shoot-out, though no one was injured, police said. Walter D. Hatton, 22, 820 West Huntington Ave., Jonesboro, was arrested around 4 a.m. Friday after he allegedly forced his way inside a Jonesboro home and fired a shot at the 64-year-old man inside. Detective Chad Hogard wrote in his probable cause affidavit that officers were dispatched to 211 Maple St. around 3:45 a.m. He wrote that patrol officers "had picked Dale Hatton up just down the street with blood coming from his head. The victim was in bed and heard someone trying to kick in his front door." The victim, Ray Horton, told police the suspect entered his home and fired a 9mm bullet at him during a struggle and missed. But Horton had a weapon of his own -- a shotgun. "During the struggle the victim struck Hatton in the head with the barrel of a shotgun," Hogard wrote. "The two then wrestled onto the bed leaving blood evidence on the bed sheets." Horton then attempted to shoot Hatton, but the suspect managed to grab the barrel of the shotgun, forcing it toward the ceiling where the blast struck. "Hatton then grabbed the shotgun away from the victim and ran out the door," Hogard added. "Both guns were recovered." The shotgun was recovered in a tree line near Parker Park and the 9mm on a lawn across the street from the park.

Mississippi: Passer-by with gun saves woman: "As customers watched in horror Sunday afternoon, a man stabbed a woman and attempted to set her on fire in the parking lot of a Jackson store, witnesses said. The attack was stopped by a passer-by, who held the man at gunpoint until police arrived, witnesses said. The suspect, Henry Watson, 42, was arrested and is expected to face aggravated assault charges, Jackson Police Department Cmdr. Lee Vance said. Watson's wife, Gracie Watson, 42, was transported to the University of Mississippi Medical center, where she was listed in good condition. "It wasn't five minutes from when she had left my line when I heard a scream outside," said Theresa Stuckey, a cashier at the Family Dollar at 516 Nakoma Drive in Jackson. "I looked out, and (the attacker) was on top of her stabbing her, and stabbing her and stabbing her. "She was screaming, 'Help, he's trying to kill me!' She was rolling on the ground, trying to get out of the way, but he kept stabbing her. He stabbed her about 20 times in the neck, back and arms." As the attack continued, people were yelling at the man to stop and honking their horns, Stuckey said. She said she called 911. "He was just standing over her hacking away," said Dolly Baker, who had just left the Save-A-Lot store next door when she saw the attack. Baker said she watched the man pour gasoline on the victim then try to strike a match. "He was literally trying to kill that lady in broad daylight," she said. Baker said a passer-by stopped the attack. "He told the man, 'Stop, or I'm going to shoot. And if you run, I'm going to kill you,' " Baker said. The man held Watson at bay until police arrived at the scene".


Florida robbers pick wrong victim: "Two men tried to rob a 50-year-old man Feb. 24 in the 4400 block of Putnam Avenue, but the victim pulled out a weapon of his own. One of the two would-be robbers may have been shot, police said. It was the first of three reported armed robberies or attempts on the Southside last weekend, another of which ended with a victim shot. But police said the incidents did not appear to be connected. The first incident started at 8:30 p.m. as the victim was walking down Putnam Avenue and two men, one with a gun, walked up demanding money, police said. When the gun was pointed at him, the victim pulled out his own weapon and fired once, police said. One of the pair fell, then got up as they both fled toward Philips Highway without anything. The victim's .45-caliber handgun and a spent casing were confiscated by police after detectives interviewed him."


New Hampshire man released after shooting stepbrother: "A family argument escalated into violence Thursday, when one stepbrother shot another in the middle of the day. David Richardson, 52, went to Windham Auto Body around 10:40 a.m. Thursday, got into a scuffle with his stepbrother, Frank Meisel, and returned to his home about a half-mile away before a pair of officers arrived, said Windham police Capt. Carl Wagner. About an hour later, Richardson returned to start another confrontation with his stepbrother, Frank Meisel, according to police. Meisel, 43, fired a single shot into the left side of Richardson's chest with a .38-caliber revolver, police said. Police elaborated on the initial scuffle yesterday as they continued their investigation into the shooting. "There was some kind of brotherly, physical confrontation and there was some damage done on the property, but he wasn't concerned with that," Wagner said of Meisel. "He just didn't want him (Richardson) on the property." Richardson remains in critical-but-stable condition at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston. He underwent surgery Thursday night. Meisel is free on personal recognizance and is due in court April 2. Based on what police have learned so far, Wagner said there was no need to hold Meisel."

Feisty Ohio oldster kills intruder: "A 79-year-old Franklinton man struggled with and fatally shot an armed intruder at his home last night, police say. "The intruder kicked in the back door and struck the homeowner, knocking him down," said Columbus Police homicide detective William B. Rotthoff. "They wrestled. The homeowner grabbed the intruder’s gun, pulled out his own pistol and shot him in the chest." The intruder, whose name was not immediately released, ran from 962 Sullivant Ave. and turned north up the alley next to the house. A neighbor called police after hearing a gunshot at 8:44 p.m. A patrol officer arrived, finding the intruder lying in the alley. The assailant was taken to Mount Carmel West hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:21 p.m. The two-story, wood-frame home between Avondale and Hawkes avenues belongs to Virgil R. Lovejoy Jr., a resident there since 1972. Lovejoy’s daughter, whose name wasn’t available, said that her father had been robbed at least three times before. The family had tried to convince him to move, but he refused to leave."


Florida intruder killed during home invasion: "Sarasota Police detectives have made an arrest in connection with an early morning home invasion where two people were wounded and one killed. The incident happened around 4:30 Saturday morning. Investigators say two men, wearing black ski masks, burst into a home at 2819 Dixie Avenue in Sarasota. Shortly after the intruders broke in, a gunfight took place. One of the invaders was killed. He is identified as 18-year-old Travis Earl. The other intruder was identified as 18-year-old Tyrell L. Leverett. Deputies say he was wounded in the hip. The resident inside the home, 45-year-old Hugh Smith, was shot in the forearm. Detectives have arrested and charged Leverett with felony murder, and with home invasion with a firearm. He has been booked into the Sarasota County Jail"

Girl raped at gunpoint in "no-guns" Toledo park: ""The Toledo Blade is reporting that Toledo police are seeking information about the sexual and physical assault of a 16-year-old city girl last week at Highland Park in South Toledo. ... Got that? Those pesky rapists went and ignored a Toledo 'no guns in our city parks' sign, which city officials claim are oh, so important to prevent, well, rape at gun point, for instance."


Texas burglar eats lead: A botched burglary in the 600 block of 13th Street in Cameron early Saturday morning ended with a Rosebud man being shot. James David Toffelmire, 28, was shot by a 12-gauge shotgun around 3 a.m. on Saturday after he attempted to break into a home and steal a vehicle from that same residence according to Cameron Police reports. The homeowner was awoken by the noise of someone trying to get into the front door of the house. He told police that when he opened the front door, Toffelmire was standing at the passenger side of the homeowner's 2003 Ford pickup with the door open. The assailant then stared at the homeowner, and walked around to the driver's side of the truck. The homeowner said he then went inside and grabbed the gun. According to reports he then came out and saw Toffelmire with his hands below the steering wheel, possibly trying to start the vehicle or getting ready to pull out a weapon. The homeowner then fired one shot, a dove load of small pellets according to police, into the front windshield of the truck, spraying pellets into the front seat and striking Toffelmire. The burglar then fled the scene on foot as the homeowner called for police. Cameron Police Department officers Patrick Guffey and Kris Stringer located the subject about two hours later hiding in the bushes at a residence on 12th Street. Toffelmire was arrested and taken to Central Texas Hospital to have 12 pellets from the gunshot removed from his chest and face according to officers. He was then booked into the Milam County Jail on charges of burglary of a vehicle. He remained in jail as of Wednesday with bond set at $2,000. The homeowner is not facing any charges"

Disarmed UK sees bigger rise in violent crime: "Regarding Tom Teepen's rant last month against the National Rifle Association: ... Yes, as Teepen says, the NRA has lobbyists with a lot of political clout. And yes, it is concerned about the Democratic majority because Democrats have historically been anti-Second Amendment. But rather than describing the NRA reaction as 'hysteria,' why don't we show a little honesty and let statistics speak for themselves: ... between 1997-2001, violent crime in the United Kingdom increased by 26 percent (no doubt one of Teepen's 'putatively civilized' countries with 'common-sense gun control'), while the gun-mad U.S. saw a 12 percent increase. The increase for 2000-2001 was 11 percent in the U.K. and 1 percent here."


Guns in Britain: "Illegally held guns are flooding Britain’s inner cities and a spate of fatal shootings in London has highlighted gun culture’s allure to disaffected youth. This comes despite the best efforts of the law and its enforcers to restrict the supply of guns. Yet, any man, woman or street urchin could own a gun in Victorian Britain — at least until 1870 when a licence fee was charged if they wanted to carry the weapon outside their home. And, surprisingly, there was very little gun crime. The right to own firearms was enshrined in the 1689 Bill of Rights (the Americans had to get their ideas from somewhere) and as late as 1900 the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, was happy to declare how much he would “laud the day when there was a rifle in every cottage in England”. There were a quarter of a million registered firearms in private hands before the First World War and the true figure was almost certainly far higher. In those years the average number of crimes involving firearms in London was 45. In 2006 it was 3,350."

Texas burglar shot: "A burglary at a Dallas steel fabrication business came to an abrupt end Thursday morning when an employee shot one of the suspects. An employee was sleeping at the business when a crash woke him up, said Senior Cpl. Janice Crowther. When he looked outside, he saw two men climbing out of a window, the police report said. The employee fired a warning shot. One of the suspects said, “He can’t take us both,” according to the report, and the two men approached the employee, one carrying a stick. The employee told the men, “I don’t want to kill you,” and he fired one shot at the man holding the stick, the police report said. Arnold Spates, 40, was shot in the leg. He tried to flee but fell to the ground. He was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in police custody, and was listed in stable condition Thursday afternoon, Cpl. Crowther said. He faces a charge of burglary. The second suspect, a man in his 40s, fled the scene. He remained at large Thursday afternoon. Prentex president David Wester said the company had been burglarized earlier in the week. The employee, who was not a security guard, sometimes worked late hours and spent the night at the company, Mr. Wester said. “He didn’t want to hurt anybody, but he was just defending himself,” Mr. Wester said. Police were still investigating the incident, but Cpl. Crowther said it did not appear that any criminal charges would be filed against the employee."


Pennsylvania homeowner Shoots Burglar, Learns Later It Was Grandson: "A homeowner awakened early Tuesday morning by a burglar confronted the intruder and shot him, according to East Pennsboro Township police in Cumberland County. The homeowner learned later that the intruder was his 18-year-old grandson, a source told News 8. According to court documents, 18 year old Darin D'Marcus Thompson broke into his grandfather's home to steal alcohol. Thompson is charged with burglary and criminal trespass. Investigators said the shooting happened around 2:54 a.m. at a home along the first block of Victoria Way, Camp Hill, East Pennsboro Township. Police said the grandfather approached his grandson with a handgun and told him to leave. The grandson then fled into the attached garage. Police said the grandfather heard rustling and fired a single shot hitting his grandson in the hand or arm. The grandson ran away and checked himself into Holy Spirit Hospital. At this point, police said the shooting was justified. "(The homeowner) feared at that point, the burglar was hunkered down. He didn't know if he was taking a position to fire at the homeowner," said Lt. Mark Green".

TX: Suspected car burglar shot in street: "A suspected car burglar woke up in the hospital Saturday morning recovering from a shotgun blast. A man told police he spotted the suspect trying to break into his truck. The man then chased the suspect down with a shotgun and told him to stop. At one point, the truck owner says the suspect lunged at him. That's when he opened fire."


Texas woman fights off gunman, attacker wounded : "Frisco police say a suspected carjacker is hospitalized in critical condition today after a 60-year-old woman fought him off. Police say the attacker was shot with his own gun during an overnight struggle with the woman in the parking lot of her apartment complex. The woman refused to give up her car keys, they scuffled and the 19-year-old man was shot in the abdomen. He then took back the gun and ran away, but was later found near the crime scene. Names of the woman and the suspect weren't immediately released.


Tennessee man stabbed during home invasion, fires two shots at intruders: "A Kingsport man fired two shots at men who invaded his home early today, but he was stabbed twice during the incident. The incident happened around 5:05 a.m. at 2333 1/2 Ashwood Street, according to a police detective. KPD Det. Greg Lane said Frank Johnson, 25, reported he heard noise outside his home and someone knocking on his door. "He went to the door with a pistol in his hand. As soon as he opened the door, an unknown black male rushed in and attacked him," Lane said. A second unidentified black male entered the residence and stabbed Johnson in the left side and arm, Lane said. Johnson fired his gun and the two men ran out of the house. He went to the door and fired another shot and the men continued to run away, Lane said. Police don't know what the suspects motive might have been, but at this point the case is being investigated as an aggravated assault. Lane said Johnson was being treated at Holston Valley Medical Center for his wounds, which were non life threatening."

CA: Teen shot during alleged break-in: "A 17-year-old youth suffered a gunshot wound Friday after allegedly attempting to rob a house here. Riverside County Sheriff's deputies responded to a burglary call at 11:36 a.m. at a house in the 7000 block of Riverboat Drive, according to a sheriff's statement. A woman reported that someone kicked down the front door of her house while she and her husband were inside. The woman's husband shot at the intruder and chased him out of the house."


Bad aim: "While the Brady Campaign nibbles on its nails and adopts a 'See? We told you so!' attitude about guns in the hands of the bad guys, there's nary a word about guns in the hands of the good guys. Those who stopped Talovic are just one of any number of stories involving self-defense utilizing deadly force to face deadly force. In the last week alone, I personally read at least a dozen stories where law-abiding citizens defended themselves and their property with a firearm."

Press ignores FBI study about gun laws: "For more than two months, a damning report on a five-year study by the Federal Bureau of Investigation about how cop-killing criminals ignore gun laws and where they get their guns has languished in the shadows, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms revealed today. 'The public has a right to know the contents of this report, which was revealed to the International Association of Chiefs of Police last year,' said CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron."





The M-16

The following post is excerpted from Captain's Journal

Every so often the issue of the M-16 comes up.  I published some thoughts on it in Kill Versus Wound — The M16A2 .22 Caliber Round.  I have been following the issue of the M16 and more discussion has occurred recently.  I also recently enjoyed shooting an M4 (actually, A-15, M4 mil specs) on a range in Pickens, S.C.  Eugene Stoner is universally regarded as a genius for the design of the Stoner system of armaments, and properly so.  The rifle I shot was light, tight, compact and accurate, and the sights could be trained on the target quickly due to the minimal recoil.  In my opinion it is a magnificent weapon (with one significant caveat).

The Strategy Page recently had informative article on the 5.56 mm round:

The debate over the merits of 7.62mm versus 5.56mm bullets has been going on since the M-16 was introduced in the 1960s. While each side has its proponents, only the “slow and heavy” crowd gets anything published, since only opposing the establishment is news. But there are plenty of supporters for the 5.56mm round. Many of them are in the US Army, and serving in combat.

Most of the complaints come from people who just like the larger (US or Russian) round, and their preference is more visceral than logical (as it is with many supporters of 5.56mm). The fact remains that soldiers would be able to carry fewer of the larger, 7.62mm, rounds. This is not a popular option among troops in the combat zone. Those combat troops know how to aim properly and take down the target, and find that the 5.56mm round does the job.

When a 5.56mm round hits one of those “slender” targets “that keep coming”, what nobody mentions is that the serious wound (the idea that they cause little damage is incorrect) means that the target is probably going to bleed out in not too long (unless he gets treatment from a medic, which takes him out of the fight). This is because the 5.56mm round is a “tumbler” and will “tumble” at very high velocity. This causes enormous flesh and organ damage.

Global Security documents the use of the M16A2 in Iraq, including some of its problems (such as barrel length, making it difficult for close quarters combat, and of course pointing to the M4 with its shorter barrel and retractable stock as the solution).  However — and here is the caveat to the magnificence of the Stoner system — it sustains frequent jams, and this is a problem that has had real consequences.  It is customarily asserted that weapon cleaning can prevent or reduce the frequency of jamming, but my experience is that jamming occurs as a result of ammunition and machining tolerances, and not necessarily having anything to do with weapon cleanliness.

The Marine Corps Times has an extensive article on a potential replacement for the M4/M16 initiated by special operations forces (followed on by a discussion thread at the Small Wars Journal).  But this will likely not be available to be implemented large scale for some time.  Weapons, in this instance, are like body armor.  There is significant inertia associated with the Department of Defense, and fielding equipment that is seen as “better” is not customary.  Difficulties with funding, studies, procurement and QA programs, usually causes the delay in deployment of new equipment until all known liabilities have been perfectly rectified (or at least that is the intent).  This means that the M4/M16 will likely be in service for the foreseeable future.  I have heard reports from members of the armed forces that for the well-trained infantryman, any jam can be cleared in five seconds or less.  While I am certainly not capable of this, I don’t doubt that training decreases the down time from a weapons jam.  There isn’t much an NCO or officer can do about the defense budget.  But they can ensure well-trained infantrymen.

IL: Dad shoots son's killer: "His son answered a knock at the front door Wednesday, and suddenly, the 'pop, pop, pop' of gunshots broke the silence of a sleepy afternoon in his Niles home. Leonard 'Lenny' Bird Jr. was upstairs and knew his son was in trouble. He grabbed his gun and ran toward the front door, where he saw an intruder, and watched his son, Michael Childers, dying in the doorway. Bird and at least one gunman exchanged gunfire, then the gunman and a second intruder fled .... Relatives suspect that the incident started as a robbery attempt. They said there had been an attempted break-in at the home in the last year. But Nielsen doesn't think it had anything to do with her brother's job, collecting and selling coins. Police said nothing was taken from the home."


L.A. officer fatally shoots idiot who pointed gun at him: "A police officer shot and killed a man who allegedly pointed a gun at him, authorities said. The shooting occurred about 7:45 p.m. Saturday in South Los Angeles after police saw two cars driving erratically and tried to pull them over, said Officer Mike Lopez, a police spokesman. One of the cars stopped and a passenger got out, Lopez said. As the officers approached the man after exiting their squad car, he pointed a gun at them. One of the officers then opened fire, and the man died at the scene, authorities said. The car then sped away. A handgun was recovered at the scene. Authorities did not release identities of the officers or the man fatally shot."

TX: Intruders shot during home invasion: "Dallas police continued Thursday to investigate a home invasion and robbery that led to the shooting of two suspects. Three people were in an apartment in the 6800 block of Skillman Street around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, when two men entered, police said. One of the apartment occupants handed a handgun to another occupant, who shot the two intruders. Both suspects were taken to Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. One of the suspects, Roy Anthony Saldana, 20, was listed in serious condition. The two men were face charges of aggravated robbery, police said."


Pilot program: Repeal all gun laws for 5 years: "Given the successes of those states issuing concealed carry permits to citizens, I suggest a nationwide pilot program: the repeal of all anti-gun laws -- all 22,000 of them -- for a period of five years. This includes a moratorium on all new gun laws for five years, and suspension of all court cases pending for weapons charges with the exception of violent crimes involving a gun. Owning a certain rifle is considerably different from holding up a liquor store with a gun. The object is, of course, to demonstrate the truth and genius of the sovereignty of the law-abiding, and to give trial to the second amendment's ageless place in our society. ... Understand, members of Congress, that we do not take the law into our own hands -- we are the law. Nothing could recognize that better than repealing all gun laws."


Gang violence: What would libertarians do?: "People who ask 'what should we, as a society, do' about a given problem always conclude that we need more laws, policies and programs as if we did not have enough already. America has more social programs than any other country on the planet. Insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results. We drive ourselves crazy enacting more and more laws, policies and programs while the problems we attempt to solve get worse and worse."

SC: Woman uses gun to scare off intruder : "The Darlington County Sheriff’s Office has released a sketch of a home invasion suspect who was scared off when the female resident wielded a gun at him Saturday. The intruder is described as a black man 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds. He was last seen wearing a dark blue shirt and blue jeans. Investigators said they think the man entered the woman’s house through an unlocked sliding door, according to a press release issued Monday by the sheriff’s office. The woman was in her home at Journey’s End Road near Darlington when the incident occurred. The woman, who called the sheriff’s office at about 7:15 p.m., said she stepped from her laundry room and saw a man standing in her living room. She told deputies that when the man saw her, he turned over a coffee table and appeared to be trying to get to her. The woman said she ran to a bedroom, got a pistol and came back to the living room, where she told the intruder that she was armed. When the intruder saw the pistol, he turned and ran from the residence. The woman said she fired several shots as he ran from the house, but she doesn’t know if any of the bullets hit him. The woman wasn’t injured, according to the press release."


GA: Kennesaw sticks to its guns: "A visitor could drive the length of Kennesaw and think it a lot like other fast-growing metro Atlanta communities. Except for the Confederate flags that fly atop Wildman's Civil War Surplus Shop downtown and the presence of a certain famous train, not much sticks out among the modern housing developments and retail plazas. But in one way, Kennesaw is different: Its residents are required to pack heat. ... Next month, Kennesaw marks the 25th anniversary of what a local historian called the ordinance 'that rocked the world. ... We don't have officers who go out and check your house to see if you have a gun,' said police Lt. Craig Graydon, who has fielded calls about the ordinance from reporters in France, Australia and Japan. 'The law gives you enough loopholes that you can get out of owning a gun.' Conscientious objectors to firearms, felons and persons with physical or mental disabilities are exempt. No one has ever been arrested for not having a gun, Graydon said, and there is no penalty for violating the ordinance."


CCRKBA challenges mayors to "close government gun loophole": "The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today called on New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his colleagues in the 'Mayors Against Illegal Guns' coalition to devote all their resources to closing the government gun loophole. The Washington Post this week revealed that between February 2002 and September 2005, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported 160 missing firearms. That is in addition to the 352 missing guns the FBI reported lost or stolen in a similar audit in 2002."

The wonders of British gun control: "Membership of a gang could add extra years to jail terms for violent knife and gun crime, under a review of policies to tackle the growth of firearms on the streets. John Reid, the Home Secretary, announced the plans after hearing that younger teenagers were now using guns and that Britain was in danger of producing a generation of urban “child soldiers”. The stark warnings from police about the trend towards younger people turning to firearms to settle trivial disputes came at a gun-crime summit at 10 Downing Street yesterday. Police in London have been told by community leaders that children as young as 8 and 9 are being used to carry and hide guns for teenagers. In Manchester teenagers aged 13 and 14 are wearing body armour. Mr Reid promised that ministers would clarify whether a five-year minimum jail term could be handed to those aged 18 to 21 for possessing firearms. He also pledged a wider-ranging review of sentencing for firearms offences, though a number of community leaders said that more criminal justice measures were not the answer."


AL: 75-year-old woman shoots intruder : "Police are looking for a man reportedly shot by a one-armed, 75-year-old Geneva County woman during a burglary attempt. At around 11:00PM Wednesday night, Catherine Tate says her burglar alarm indicated someone trying to get inside her bait shop. The business is next to her home. Tate says she found a man trying to get inside and refused to stop. She says her business has been broken into several times in the past. 'When I heard the office alarm I came and grabbed my flashlight and gun. Then I came and saw him by the door. I shot him with this, a 38-caliber gun. I hit him. Yeah, I know I hit him,' said Tate."


AL: Victim wounded, suspect dies in attempted robbery: "A Selma businessman was hospitalized and a suspect killed following an attempted robbery over the weekend. Selma police said a second suspect was arrested. Authorities said it happened Saturday night about 7:30 p-m when two juveniles confronted Nathaniel Gary after he closed his business on Broad Street. Police said Gary, owner of Doc's Fashions, exchanged gunshots with 18-year-old Michael Walker and 17-year-old Keotha Billingsley. Walker was shot dead. Billingsley fled the scene, but he was arrested and charged with first-degree robbery. Police said Gary was shot in the leg and was treated and released. Police said he will NOT face charges."

TX: Homeowner shoots and kills intruder: "A homeowner shoots and kills a man authorities say broke into the family's Bullard home. It happened just after 12:00 p.m. on County Road 150 in Smith County.The Smith County Sheriff's Department says the owner of Graham Farms came home to find a strange car in his driveway, and the door to his house open. They say Terry Graham shot and killed 34-year-old Hiram J. Chambers, of Tyler, after coming face-to-face with the man. Chambers allegedly reached for something in a bag, and authorities say they later found two loaded weapons."



Romney joined NRA ... last August: "Mitt Romney, who has touted his support of gun owners since launching his presidential campaign, yesterday acknowledged he did not become a member of the National Rifle Association until last August, campaign officials said. A former advocate of gun control, Romney during his 1994 run for the US Senate backed measures the gun-rights group opposed, such as a five-day waiting period on gun sales and a ban on certain assault weapons. ... Spokesman Kevin Madden said Romney did not join the NRA just to court gun owners, who are considered a force in Republican primary politics. 'He joined the NRA because, like millions of Americans, he supports the group's advocacy of the Second Amendment and its commitment to education programs promoting the safe use of firearms by law-abiding gun owners,' Madden said."

SC: WWII vet says he shot man who invaded his home armed with rifle: "An Orangeburg man says he shot another man who broke into his home, while the person who was shot is telling another story. A 24-year-old Minel Street man remains hospitalized at the Regional Medical Center after being shot at least once in the back.... No charges were filed against any of the parties believed to have been involved in the incident as of late Tuesday. Jackson, who fired his weapon from his bed, calls the incident a home invasion.... The wounded man, meanwhile, says it was perhaps a misunderstanding. He told deputies that he, a friend and a female acquaintance were at the female's house drinking beer early Tuesday. The trio then left because he "needed to talk to the man about some money," according to an Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office incident report. The wounded man said that while brandishing a gun, his friend kicked in the front door to the residence and ran inside, according to the report. There, the friend encountered the 80-year-old Jackson. The invader then fled the residence, the report states. When the second man tried to flee, he was shot in the back and fell, he said".


IL: Cook County withdraws "bullet tax" plan: "With a ban on assault weapons set to take effect in Cook County, Ill., on Monday, the county's board of commissioners has rejected a novel approach to dealing with a $500 million budget deficit -- an attempt to impose a tax on bullets. Commissioner Roberto Maldonado, who proposed the plan at a county board meeting on Feb. 6, told Cybercast News Service on Friday that while the amount of money it would have raised -- about $735,000 per year -- was 'very small,' the ordinance would have re-affirmed 'that we are an anti-gun, anti-violence type of community.'"


Third mayor bows out of antigun coalition: "A third mayor has bowed out of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun mayors' coalition, saying he is in favor of disarming criminals, but 'not at the risk of losing our Constitutional freedom.' SAF learned from the staff at Gun Week that Rio Rancho, NM Mayor Kevin Jackson has withdrawn from Mayors Against Illegal Guns, without having attended a single meeting of the group, which now reportedly involves more than 150 mayors."

AR: New bill would recognize right to shoot intruders: "A new bill under consideration could give some Mid-Southerners more rights when it comes to protecting themselves and their homes. That bill is causing some controversy. The bill proposed by Pine Bluff State Senator Jerry Taylor would let a homeowner shoot an intruder on the property outside their house. It is a bill prosecutors in Arkansas do not like. Richard Butler Senior knows what it means to shoot an intruder in your home. Last year his son was at his house when a man broke in and threatened to kill him. He shot the man who ran outside. Butler's son was never charged because his life was in danger when he shot the man. Under a new bill proposed in Arkansas, a homeowner would be able to shoot an intruder, not only in his or her house, but on their property as well. The lawn and the out buildings are also considered in the proposal."


Gun control candidates need not apply: "For the American electorate, candidates who commit to the concealed carry bills and who see them signed into law will show a deeper respect for citizens and the law of the land than gun control obsessives. ... Rudy Giuliani announced in a tour through Kalifornia that his gun control helped reduce crime in New York. (Gun control puts the K in Kalifornia.) ... Gun control contributes nothing to crime control any more than delaying police contributes to crime control. It harms innocent constituents by disarming the very people on whose authority police operate."


LA: Judge cites Nagin, Riley in gun rights lawsuit: "A federal judge has held New Orleans' mayor and police chief in contempt of court because a city lawyer repeatedly ignored deadlines for answering questions from two gun-rights groups that succeeded in stopping police from seizing guns from law-abiding citizens after Hurricane Katrina. In a written order Monday, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier rebuked Assistant City Attorney Joseph DiRosa for 'wholly unprofessional conduct' that 'shall not be condoned' for his repeated failure to hand over information in a lawsuit seeking a permanent order blocking such gun seizures. Barbier, scheduled in June to try the case filed by the National Rifle Association and Second Amendment Foundation against the city, said DiRosa admitted he had 'no good reason' for failing to respond on time to information requests from the plaintiffs."

British gun crime spreading: "Gun crime is being exported from the inner cities to the shires, the senior officer in charge of the national firearms policing strategy has told The Times. Keith Bristow, lead officer on firearms crime for the Association of Chief Police Officers, was speaking as Scotland Yard battled to contain the violence in London, where one man was shot dead and another injured over the weekend.... But as the death toll mounted in the capital, Mr Bristow gave warning that the gun problem was moving to the shires. The proportion of gun crime occurring outside the hotspots of London, Birmingham and Manchester has risen sharply from 36 per cent in 2002-03 to 45 per cent in 2004-05. The spread of gangs and guns to smaller cities and provincial towns went “hand in hand” with the expanding market for crack cocaine, said Mr Bristow, who attributed the displacement in part to a tough police response in the big cities.... The typical pattern is that a crack dealer establishes a trade in an area but, when that becomes saturated, it generates competition and violence between drug dealers and more robust policing. These factors force some of the dealers to go elsewhere in search of new markets. They bring their guns with them.” He cautioned against the view that firearms were only a problem for the black community. “It is much more about where you went to school and whom you hang out with than about ethnicity.”


British government still thrashing at the air: "Tony Blair announced a major review of firearms laws today in the wake of five fatal shootings in London but insisted once again that the wave of gun crime sweeping British cities was “a specific problem within a specific criminal culture” rather than a reflection of wider social ills. A man was shot in the leg in North West London overnight as armed gangs continued to show their contempt for the law. Another man was shot dead in East London yesterday and three others wounded in shootings in Manchester. The attacks follow a spate of gun murders in South London, including the deaths of three teenage boys in the past fortnight which provoked a national debate on youth crime and prompted the Prime Minister to order a review of gun laws. Mr Blair said today that he was considering various proposals, including lowering the age at which the mandatory five-year sentence for carrying a gun can be imposed from 21 to 17 to remove the incentive for gang leaders to give guns to minors. He also confirmed his backing for a New York-style crackdown in which police could be given new powers to mount surveillance on the homes of people suspected of possessing and using firearms.... The Prime Minister said that a proposed law change to make gang membership an aggravating factor in sentencing was “the correct thing to do”.... As teams of armed police patrolled South London another man was murdered in the east of the capital yesterday. Gunmen shot a 28-year-old man in his car in Hackney before blasting him again as he tried to escape. A witness reported seeing three black men walking “confidently” away."


British Libertarians respond to mounting British gun deaths: "The Libertarian Alliance, the radical free market and civil liberties policy institute, today calls on the British Government to take firm action over the shootings of young men in South London. It believes the best action would be to relegalise guns and let ordinary people fight back with lethal force against the violent criminals who presently rule the streets of our cities. Libertarian Alliance Director, Dr Sean Gabb, says: "The Libertarian Alliance believes in a return to the wise laws of our ancestors, under which a person could walk into a gun shop and, without showing a licence or any form of identification, buy as many guns and as much ammunition as he pleased, and could keep these at home, or carry them about in public, for the defence of his life or property. "We have the most restrictive laws in Europe on gun ownership. These have plainly not worked. In 1968, in 1988, and twice in 1997, we were promised a safer country if only we gave up our guns. We were cheated. "In fact, the only people who have no guns are the respectable. Those who do commit assaults are no more likely to obey the gun ban than they are to stop listening to horrid music or to wash their hands after using the toilet. "Even turning the country into a police state, with powers of random stop and search and scanners in public places, will do nothing to disarm these creatures."

Lying statistics cannot conceal the constant failures of British gun control: "A man in his mid-20s was shot dead in London overnight in the latest in a series of fatal shootings that has fuelled public concern over gun crime and youth gangs. The latest victim was attacked by two men in Hackney, east London, according to a police. In Manchester, an 18-year-old was shot in the back late on Friday. He was taken to hospital and his injuries were not said to be life threatening. Two more men, aged 19 and 27, were shot and wounded as they sat in a car at traffic lights in the Longsight area of the northern city. Chief Superintendent Dave Keller, of Greater Manchester Police, said overall levels of gun crime in the city have been falling, although there has been a rise in recent months. "Clearly there are tensions in the area," he said. "This problem is only caused by a small number of individuals. We are actively targeting those individuals."


MS: Wounded clerks' boss now armed, "ready": "It was business as usual on Tuesday at the Chevron on 905 W. Northside Drive in Jackson. But three days earlier, it was mayhem as a gunman opened fire on two employees during a robbery. The attack was caught on surveillance video. Police are still looking for the shooter. ... After being shot once in the neck and three times in the torso, Bassam Alomari grabbed a .44 Magnum, walked out of the store and fired three shots at the suspects, store manager Mohammad Shawsh said. Arhgoummi, who had worked at the store only four days, was shot once in the head and once in the stomach, Shawsh said. If there's another robbery, Shawsh said, his employees will be prepared. As Shawsh stocked a shelf Tuesday, he did so with one gun in a hip holster and guns in each of his two front pockets. 'We're ready,' he said. 'If they come back here, they're not going to leave back out.'"


NY: Man shoots and kills intruder: "City police officers today released the name of the man who was shot to death in an alleged burglary attempt in southwest Rochester. Rufus D. Hooker, 38, of Rochester died Wednesday after he was shot multiple times in the chest at 198 West High Terrace, said Rochester Police Sgt. Mark Mariano. Hooker was found dead in the home's snow-banked driveway when police arrived about 8:30 p.m. The shooter – Reginald Leslie, 29 – reportedly told officers he wrestled the gun from Hooker and shot him with it. Hooker allegedly broke into Leslie's home through the basement on Wednesday night, officers said. A physical confrontation reportedly ensued when Leslie went to investigate. No charges were filed with respect to the shooting, but a grand jury is expected to review the case in the next 45 days."

TX: Store owner kills would-be robber: "A liquor store owner shot and killed a man who tried to rob him Wednesday evening, police said. The shooting occurred about 5:40 p.m., when a man walked up to the counter at Ione's Liquor Mart in the 8300 block of Broadway and threatened the owner with a long-barreled weapon , said Sgt. David Crain of the Houston Police Department's homicide division. At that moment, a customer opened the store door, and the owner took advantage of the distraction to pull out his own weapon and shoot the man, who died at the scene."


SAF lauds Anchorage mayor who backs out on Bloomberg: "The Second Amendment Foundation today applauded another western mayor for bowing out of Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun mayors' coalition. Anchorage, Alaska Mayor Mark Begich announced his withdrawal from Bloomberg's 'Mayors Against Illegal Guns' in a letter to the Anchorage Daily News earlier this week. While noting that he supports efforts to prosecute armed criminals, Mayor Begich acknowledged, '... upon further review of the coalition, it appears they may have a different agenda than I anticipated.'"


Bloomberg should change course, work with industry: "With a third departure from Michael Bloomberg's 'Mayors Against Illegal Guns' coalition, and a warning from the Justice Department about conducting any further gun shop stings, the Big Apple mayor should change course in his campaign and work with the firearms industry, instead of against it, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today. CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb suggested that Bloomberg should take a different approach to the problem armed criminals present to his city, and stop trying to spread his brand of gun control all over the country."

Worse tragedy averted because shopper was armed: "By now the story of the attack Trolley Square shopping mall in Salt Lake City is widespread. An 18-year-old man, armed to the teeth, walked into the mall and just started randomly killing people. Witnesses spoke of the eery 'calm' look on his face as he took the life of one person after another. What prevented the tragedy from getting worse was that another shopper in the mall was armed as well."


AZ: Robber shot by homeowner: "An alleged robber was taken into custody Wednesday morning after being shot in the arm by the owner of the home police said he'd broken into. Police said the man broke into the house near Third and Virginia avenues just before 4 a.m. and was confronted by the homeowner, who had a gun.The homeowner shot the alleged robber in the arm and then was shot in the hand with his own gun while he and the robber struggled, police said. The homeowner was able to subdue the alleged robber until police arrived and arrested him."


The facts of Britain's [banned] gun culture: "In 2004-2005, 34 per cent of recorded gun crime occurred in London, at a rate of 50 offences per 100,000 people. Between April 2001 and October 2005, 63 per cent of victims of murder and attempted murder involving firearms in London were black. "Gun crime is mainly committed by young men aged 16-25. Offenders and victims are getting younger and a disproportionate number are African Caribbeans," according to the Metropolitan Police. Shotguns can cost as little as 50 to 200 pounds. There is an emergence of "disorganised" as opposed to organised criminals using firearms to settle relatively trivial disputes, especially in "the street level economy". The illegal drug market remains the single most important theme in relation to the use of illegal firearms, but gang membership and the need to emulate successful criminals are also important factors. Gangs or "crews" are formed typically from close friendship groups based around a school or neighbourhood and offer members safety in numbers. In south London, crews in key areas such as Brixton, Peckham and New Cross have territories that include housing estates and shopping centres. Internal rivalries, notions of "dis" (disrespect), and drug raids by the police all destabilise gang structures and can inflame violence. Even quite trivial disputes can result in shootings because the presence of guns aggravates threats and makes pre-emptive attacks more likely: the so-called "shoot or be shot" scenario".

British gun control at work. Teen shot dead in London is third this month: "A 15-year-old boy has been shot dead in south London, becoming the third teenage boy to be gunned down in the area this month, police said. London Police Chief Ian Blair has called a meeting with colleagues following the spate of murders, the Metropolitan Police said. "We would like to reassure the communities in south London that we are taking the current situation very seriously and are doing everything in our power to find those responsible," the police said in a statement. In the latest killing, officers were called to an address in Lambeth, where they found the boy with a gunshot wound. Paramedics also attended but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Cordons were put up around the area as a murder investigation got underway. Another 15-year-old boy, Michael Dosunmu, was shot dead at his house in Peckham, south London, on February 6. Three days earlier, James Smartt-Ford, 16, was gunned down a few miles away at Streatham ice rink. Despite the rising death toll, police insisted overall gun crime in London continued to fall. [How? The Times has more]


Oregon Woman fights off intruder: "An Oregon man is charged with attempted murder after a struggle inside a rural Ontario home. Malheur County Sheriff's deputies say 38-year-old Christopher Scott Hardy entered the home of a 33-year-old woman. She struggled with Hardy for control of his gun and she was able to fire all the rounds, escape and call 911 around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. Deputies say the victim knew Hardy. "Basically what she did is she saved her own life by deciding that she was going to fight and attempt to escape," said Brian Wolfe, Malheur County undersheriff. Hardy was tracked to another home north of Ontario and arrested. Back in 2000, he was convicted of attempted rape and several counts of sex abuse against two teenagers and served prison time. Hardy's being held in the Malheur County Jail."

NC: Thwarted Thief : "A pistol-wielding clerk told police she she chased away a robber Monday night. Officers would not release her name Tuesday. Burke County Sheriff's Detective Rodney Norman says a man came into the Shop and Save on N.C. 18 North about 10:30 p.m. Monday and asked the 34-year old female clerk if she was alone. Norman says the clerk had noticed the man around the store earlier in the evening, and thought something was amiss. He says the clerk told police the man slid her a note across the counter that said "Give me the money from the drawer or you're dead." The clerk told the man she couldn't read English, Norman says. She told the detective the man then got angry and pounded on the register until it opened. Norman says the clerk pushed the register drawer closed before the man could get any money from it. She then pulled a small silver handgun from under the counter, Norman says. The man ran from the store when he saw her cocking the weapon, the detective says. The clerk had pushed a button that automatically calls police, Norman says. He says she did that after the man in the store asked her if she was alone."


Florida teen shot, charged, after breaking into classmate's home: "A 17-year-old boy was recovering Tuesday from a gunshot to the chest after he tried to break into the home of a classmate who had allegedly been spreading rumors about his girlfriend, authorities said. Daniel Scott Merkel has been charged with burglary and criminal mischief and is in custody as he recovers at Delray Medical Center. "I'm just happy he's alive," the boy's mother, Mary Merkel, said Monday. Ricardo Collier III, 44, who shot Merkel early Sunday morning, has not been charged with a crime. Investigators said he was defending his home under Florida's Castle Doctrine law, which allows the use of deadly force if there is a "reasonable fear of imminent peril." According to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report, the teen was banging on the Colliers' front door. Ricardo Collier called 911 and told the 6-foot, 215-pound high school wrestler to leave. Merkel then charged at the door and broke inside, the report stated. He lunged at Collier, who shot Merkel in the chest, according to the report."

SC: Man found not guilty in '05 shooting: "An Horry County jury acquitted a Garden City man of murder after about 12 hours of deliberations that began Wednesday afternoon, according to court officials. Around 2 a.m. Thursday, the jury returned its verdict for Henry 'Luke' Bramlett, finding him not guilty of all charges in the shooting death of Robert 'Wayne' Tomlinson in August 2005, assistant 15th Circuit Solicitor George DeBusk said.... Bramlett was accused of shooting Tomlinson, his former neighbor, 13 times with a .22-caliber rifle during a dispute over the placement of a storage shed on Tomlinson's property.... While the prosecution and defense agreed Bramlett shot Tomlinson, Martin argued Bramlett did so in defense of himself and his property. Prosecutors maintained that Tomlinson was killed in cold blood because Tomlinson offended Bramlett. The argument revolved around a carport Tomlinson had on his property. Bramlett was annoyed with the placement of the carport because it stood only inches from his property line, violating county zoning. The argument boiled over Aug. 18, 2005, when Tomlinson confronted Bramlett and Bramlett shot him."


Banning handguns would save lives? It just ain't so!: "A Los Angeles Times opinion piece by Jennifer Price last February, 'Gun Lobby's Perfect Aim,' asks: why not ban handguns? She was writing in anger and sorrow over the murder of her brother David and his wife, by the wife's mother. Emotion is a poor basis for public policy, and the essay demonstrates a poor grasp of the underlying problems."

GA: Man in critical condition after killing intruder: "A Coweta County man was hospitalized in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the chest after killing the intruder who shot him early Thursday morning.Police said the two men were part of a domestic dispute that erupted in gunfire in the normally quiet Coweta County neighborhood. According to investigators, the victim, Kevin Went, and his girlfriend were inside the home on St. James Place near Sharpsburg at the time of a violent intrusion. The girlfriend's ex-boyfriend kicked down the door about 5:30 a.m. with a gun in hand. Both men started to argue and both started shooting."


AZ: Legislators seek to ease claims of self-defense: "State lawmakers are working to overturn one man's murder conviction and make it easier for a Tucson man facing similar charges to escape prosecution -- all in the name of self-defense. The Senate Judiciary Committee is to consider legislation today to retroactively add language to a change in a self-defense law approved last year. The new wording would say last year's law applies to any case that had not yet gone to the jury. Most immediately that would nullify a jury's guilty verdict in the case of Harold Fish, a retired Tolleson schoolteacher convicted of the 2004 murder of a hiker in Coconino County. The jury rejected Fish's arguments that he was acting in self-defense. That case was conducted under law in effect when the murder took place -- rules that required a defendant to prove he or she had no choice but to use physical force. The law was changed effective April 24, 2006, to put the burden instead on prosecutors to prove a defendant did not act in self-defense. "

In gun-banned Britain surgeons need skills from a war zone: "Dr Tunji Lasoye is woken by the telephone. It is after 2am and within seconds he must decide whether the young man shot in South London minutes earlier requires his help. "If it's a single shooting, probably they will deal with it fine," he says. In that case, over the phone from his home in Thamesmead, he directs operations at King's College Hospital Accident and Emergency Department. If the young man has been shot a number of times, or if several people have been shot, Dr Lasoye will immediately drive to the hospital, in Denmark Hill. He is the lead A&E clinician at King's and in the past five years has become an expert on gunshot wounds. "There are times when it's pretty quiet," he said. "Then you will have unfortunate times like this week when you have three or four in succession." This week in South London there have been four shootings and a fatal stabbing. James Smarrt-Ford, 16, was shot dead while ice-skating, Michael Dosunmu, 15, was in his bedroom when he was killed in what is thought to have been a case of mistaken identity. There were 505 "gun-enabled crimes" in Lambeth and Southwark in 2006. Although not all were shootings, guns were used by criminals at least once a day in the hospital's catchment area.... Next month in a big laboratory in Central London, not far from where Mrs Cope's son was shot, 20 surgeons, mainly from British hospitals, will get a crash course in dealing with bullet wounds from 20 top surgeons, mainly from America."


TN: Pharmacist stops armed robbery using her gun: "Susong Pharmacy in Greeneville usually welcomes the sound of a person entering the store, but not lately. The pharmacy has been robbed twice in the last few months and employees have had enough. 'I hated it happened, but he asked for it in my opinion,' a store employee who asked to remain anonymous said. Police say an armed man entered the store wearing a ski-mask this afternoon, went to the front, and demanded hydrocodone. An unnamed pharmacy technician says the man confronted her. 'It was like deja vu, being that I was just robbed by what looked like the same gentleman back on December 27th,' the woman said. 'He thought he was going to walk in, walk back out, and he was very surprised. He got a little bit more than he asked for.' The woman says her co-worker pulled out her gun and fired a warning shot at the man. She says the first round didn't phase the robber, but the second did. She says the bullet hit the man in his chest and before the robber made it out, the employee fired one more shot."

MS: Auto repair shop robbed for 29th time: "Maybe he hit the guy when he fired his .38, maybe he didn't, but Eugene Miner is fed up either way. On Sunday, the longtime Jackson business owner was burglarized again, the 29th time that has happened to his auto repair business, he said. It was the second time in two days. He can't take it anymore. 'I think I hit one of them,' he said Monday morning. 'He was limping when he was going up that hill there.' .... What happened, according to both Miners, is this: Two skinny guys in a white 1991 Ford Crown Victoria backed up to the same bay door that had been broken into the day before. Eugene Miner said he'd fixed the door with metal and wood, and that he knew it was a 1991 Crown Vic because he's in the auto business and knows cars. A short black man with light skin and a taller black man with dark skin broke through the door with a 2-by-4. The Miners said they watched all this from the shop's office, adjacent to the repair bay where the burglars were but separated by thick glass. Eugene Miner said the tall guy crawled on the floor next to an undamaged bay door. The other guy stayed where he was. "That's when I started shooting," he said."


NYC gun stings questionable, feds say: "Private investigators hired by the city to conduct sting operations on out-of-state gun shops could be breaking the law, and the dealers they caught making illegal sales will not be prosecuted, federal officials said Thursday. City officials have sued more than two dozen dealers after hiring investigators to pose as buyers attempting straw purchases, in which one person fills out the paperwork for the gun but is buying for someone else. The scam is often used by convicted felons and others barred from owning firearms.... The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced in May it was reviewing whether the city acted legally. "Potential legal liabilities" arise when civilians do the work of law enforcers, Department of Justice spokesman Bryan Sierra said Thursday. The department has decided charges are not warranted against dealers in the sting cases, he said. It was unclear whether the private investigators could face charges" [BATFE doesn't like anybody else on its turf]

Michigan: Invaders stopped: "An accused intruder shot during a botched robbery attempt in Ann Arbor late Friday was arraigned Tuesday on six felony charges in the case. A second man also was arrested Tuesday and is expected to be arraigned today. Ann Arbor Police Sgt. Jim Stephenson said this morning that detectives are seeking a third man but would not discuss his potential involvement in the shooting. The three men are suspects in a late-night attempted robbery and shooting inside an Ann Arbor home in the 700 block of Miller Avenue. Police said several people were inside the home when two intruders forced their way in. Gunfire was exchanged, and a 19-year-old resident and one of the intruders were shot. Stephenson said the intruders appear to have targeted that home, but he declined to elaborate. He declined to say who was firing shots and said police are still piecing together the case, but none of the residents inside the house is expected to be charged - "they are all victims and witnesses.''


IL: Teen killed after burglarizing cop's home: "A Chicago Police roundtable discussion is under way Tuesday afternoon after a teen allegedly broke into an off-duty officer's home and was fatally shot when the officer caught him in the Gresham neighborhood Tuesday morning. The shooting occurred at the 8600 block of South Bishop Street, according to Fire Media Affairs Assistant Director Eve Rodriguez. About 8:30 a.m., an off-duty Gresham District officer, still in uniform, was returning home from work when he found his back door ajar and his home burglarized, according to police News Affairs Director Monique Bond. The officer, an 11-year-veteran, entered his home and heard voices. The officer observed the offender, announced himself as an officer before he shot the offender, who was believed to be armed and allegedly reaching into his pocket, with his service weapon, Bond said."

Second Amendment Freedoms Aided the Civil Rights Movement

Prominent and indispensable among our rights is the "right of the people to keep and bear arms." Second Amendment rights, never to be infringed, were posited by our nation's founders as among the most essential tenets of the free and just republic they sought to establish.

The empowering freedom of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is particularly timely during Black History Month, for its role in the victory of civil rights for all is sorely overlooked.

As the nation reflects on the struggles and achievements of our African-American citizens, we must celebrate the actions of heroic civil rights activists known as the Deacons for Defense. In the fight for equality, these brave men utilized their right to bear arms to protect their families, possessions and liberties.

Unfortunately, these freedom fighters are seldom mentioned as an important part of African-American history. Even prominent civil rights movement chronicler Taylor Branch gives the Deacons only passing mention in his three-volume work on the movement during the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. years.

In his 2004 book, The Deacons for Defense: Armed Resistance and the Civil Rights Movement, Tulane University history professor Lance Hill tells their story. Hill writes of how a group of southern working class black men advanced civil rights through direct action to protect members of local communities against harassment at schools and polling places, and to thwart the terror inflicted by the Ku Klux Klan. He argues that without the Deacon's activities the civil rights movement may have come to a crashing halt.

More here.


Infamous D.C. Leftist finally sees reality -- sort of: "If guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns. That's the argument of D.C. Council member Marion Barry, who on Tuesday proposed temporarily suspending the district's ban on handguns and allowing residents 90 days to buy and register guns legally. "We are in the midst of a gun-violence epidemic," Barry, Ward 8 Democrat, was quoted saying in The Washington Times. "We need to see gun violence as an emergency in the District of Columbia." Handguns in Washington, D.C., are illegal, but police managed to confiscate more than 2,600 last year. After the 90-day registration period, current gun restrictions would be reinstated, but Barry's proposal would up current penalties for illegal pistols from a maximum of one year in prison and a $1,000 fine to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. A second offense would double the maximum, according to the bill."

MO: Elderly woman's shotgun confiscated -- despite no charges: "Some people shake their head at buying Girl Scout cookies. But an elderly woman in the far southern reaches of St. Louis shook a shotgun, police say. They knocked on the door of one house, police say, and were told to go away. But the man rang the bell a second time -- whereupon a 78-old-woman answered the door with a shotgun in hand. The father and daughter fled back to their home, where the father and called police. Police say they confiscated the shotgun, described as a double-barreled 12-gauge. But prosecutors decided against filing any charges."


Smith & Wesson tries to get back in game: "Smith & Wesson may be best recognized as the brand of choice for Dirty Harry, the movie cop who warned punks his .44-Magnum was 'the most powerful handgun in the world.' But that was in 1971, and much has changed in the past 36 years. Police officers want lighter-weight pistols than the bulky steel revolver Dirty Harry Callahan barely concealed under a sport coat. Soldiers need foolproof weapons that won't get jammed by the desert sands. Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman Mike Browning said that agency stopped using Smith & Wesson handguns in 2002 and switched to weapons made by Glock, a European manufacturer. 'I don't think we stopped using the manufacturer (Smith & Wesson) so much as it was maintenance issues,' Browning said. 'Every six or seven years, you have maintenance issues on a gun. Parts wear out ... so you purchase something new.'"

O'Neal pleads self-defence: "American actor Ryan O'Neal defended himself following his weekend arrest for investigation of assault, saying he grabbed a gun and fired after his adult son swung a fireplace poker that grazed him several times. O'Neal told the Los Angeles Times the incident occurred after he arrived home with a group of friends, including his former girlfriend Farrah Fawcett. The group had been celebrating Fawcett's 60th birthday and that she was cancer-free after four months of treatment. The 65-year-old actor said his son, Griffin, had been visiting and grabbed a fireplace poker and started swinging it. His son grazed him four or five times, he said. He "aimed at my head, I ducked, he hit his own girlfriend in the head," O'Neal told the newspaper. "I got a little nervous at that point and fled to my room ... and I got my gun," he said. O'Neal said his son began to come up the stairs with the poker. "So I just fired it into the banister, and that scared him and he fled," he said. Sheriff's deputies arrested O'Neal for investigation of assault with a deadly weapon"


Another triumph for British gun controls: "A 16-year-old boy was shot and fatally wounded during a Saturday night disco at a crowded ice rink. James Smarrt-Ford was standing in a crowd of people yards from the rink edge at the packed disco in Streatham, South London, when a gunman opened fire, hitting him twice.... Detective Superintendent Gary Richardson, leading the murder hunt, said: "This was just a 16-year-old boy who went to the skating rink on a Saturday night." He said that police were trying to find out whether the dead boy had been with friends and what he had been doing during the evening. "We don't know who he came here with or how long he had been here." They were not sure whether he was the only target, or even the intended target. He appealed in particular for anyone who may have seen the gunman running down Streatham High Road at 11pm to come forward. Six youths and an 18-year-old man have been arrested, but Mr Richardson believed that the gunman had escaped. Yesterday detectives from Operation Trident, which covers black-on-black gun crime, were studying CCTV footage. Residents said that gangs of youths would descend on the arena on Friday and Saturday nights. "Every now and again there would be a crew or a gang who would come down," Sam Kinsey, 20, said. He added: "A knife attack wouldn't have surprised me, but it's not good to think of guns in Streatham."

OH: Store clerk fights back: "For the second time in a week, a store clerk fought back against would-be robbers. The attempted robbery occurred at the Walford Market in Clinton Township at about 8 p.m., NBC 4's David Wayne reported. Police said 19-year-old Shandos Young and 18-year-old Justin Cockrell entered the market with bandanas over their faces and threatened the owner and another employee. The store owner wrestled the gun away from one of the robbers and then fired the gun at them. 'I seen these guys storm in with their guns. I dropped the phone, backed away, drew my gun and fired two shots and just tried to get them out of the store,' said Clive Weidle, the store clerk."


WI: Trumped up charges for pizza deliveryman who shot robbers: "A pizza deliveryman who has shot two people on the job in the past seven months was hit with his first criminal charge Wednesday: carrying a concealed weapon. Andres Vegas, 46, who told authorities that the teenagers he shot last month and in July were trying to rob him, appeared in court and was released on a $1,500 signature bond Wednesday. He faces up to nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine if convicted of the misdemeanor. ... The complaint says the suspect admitted trying to rob Vegas, who prosecutors then determined was justified in the shooting. But because Vegas' gun had been on 'the front passenger seat beside the pizzas,' it met the definition of a concealed weapon. The complaint also says that 'prosecutorial discretion' was why Vegas wasn't charged in the July shooting, even though he 'admitted to carrying a gun on his person in a concealed manner.' But Vegas was warned then that he could not carry a concealed gun for protection on his job."


More mayors join victim disarmament conspiracy: "Thirty-one more mayors from across the country have signed up for the Coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns since the group held a national summit in Washington on Tuesday. Mayor Bloomberg, who co-chairs the coalition with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, said the membership spike shows 'that momentum is building for our effort to crack down on illegal [sic] guns and convince state legislatures and Congress to take ideology out of law enforcement.'"

AR: Landlord -- change deadly force law: "A Pine Bluff woman charged with second degree battery following a 2005 incident in which her gun discharged during an altercation says her case illustrates why legislators should remove the requirement of Arkansas' law that civilians retreat before they use deadly force. Jean Painton of Pine Bluff, president of the Jefferson County Landlord's Association, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday at the state Capitol that she was charged with a criminal offense and sued in civil court for attempting to intervene with a gun to help an 11-year-old at an apartment near her office."


GA: Pair of gun bills shoot through committee: "Two bills meant to beef up protections for Georgia's gun owners passed committee Monday and will move on for debate in the state House of Representatives.House Bill 6 makes it illegal for law enforcement to seize a law-abiding person's gun during an emergency situation, such as a flood. It also removes the governor's power to suspend the transportation or sale of firearms in such a crisis.And House Bill 89 would make it legal to hide a gun anywhere in a vehicle, clarifying a law that currently requires the gun to be fully visible or in a glove box or console. Under this new law, a driver could keep their gun under their seat, for example, said state Rep. Tim Bearden, who is sponsoring the change."


Give them a shot: "You hear about it all the time. Every day, people walk into reputable gun shops, purchase all sorts of dangerous weaponry, and shoot up whomever happens to be nearby. When D&L Shooting Supplies was just by Lippitt Elementary school in Warwick, kids were getting shot on a daily basis. So we can certainly expect the same now that it's moving near Robertson Elementary. From the outrage expressed by some parents, you'd almost think the paragraph above was in some way true. Fortunately, that's not remotely the case. We don't mind parents wanting to provide a safe scholastic environment for their children. But the protests about D&L's relocation make little sense."

Let's truly prevent violent crime: "Determining effective solutions to the violence, which threatens our communities requires real honest efforts to keep us safe. Cosmetic answers to complex problems might present the allusion of safety, yet more suitable solutions to ending violence are required. Guns have been epitomized as the culprit to disorder in society. This shallow explanation for the causes of social disorder has blinded many people from the truth. Stricter gun-control laws will ultimately fail in reducing crime. As a committed educator I am fully aware that the proper guidance of our children, and the acceptance of personal responsibility for our individual actions provides the soundest solution to addressing all forms of violence pervading our communities."




OK: Former athlete killed in home invasion: "Oklahoma City police were called to an apartment at 2201 NW 122 about 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Police were responding to a 'home-invasion' call. When they arrived they found 33-year-old Richard Dean dead. Dean also goes by Mandrell Dean. Mandrell was a well-known athlete at Millwood Public School. He also played for the Oklahoma Wranglers, and had signed to play with the Green Bay Packers. Police say 17-year-old Brandus Clayton shot Dean after he had broken into his apartment, demanding money and jewels. Clayton said he gave Dean what he wanted, but Dean demanded more. Police say that is when Clayton's girlfriend asked Dean to leave. Dean became mad and assaulted the female, according to authorities. The 17-year-old victim then reached for a firearm kept close by and shot Dean."


OH: Armed criminals attack churchgoers: "The Columbus Dispatch reported this week that two criminals brought a pistol into a church and began robbing churchgoers during Mass. Due to a state law which prohibits firearms in places of worship, all the victims were unarmed. Thankfully, however, that did not transform at least five of the churchgoers into a victim mindset. ... Moments later, four other parishioners "came through the doors like football players," Carol said. They tackled Hollingsworth and piled on top of him as he squirmed to get free. The four, who were between their late 50s and early 70s, stayed atop Hollingsworth until police arrived moments later. "One guy, I betcha in his 70s, was laying into the bad guy with no fear at all," Bob said. "Those four were heroes. They knew he had a gun." These two criminals couldn't have cared less about state legislators establishing this private property as a victim disarmament zone. A gun control law which prohibits felons from even possessing firearms didn't stop Hollingsworth either .... As is typical, only the law-abiding citizens (in this case churchgoers) followed the law, and as a consequence were forced to face armed criminals with nothing but their empty hands."

CO: "Make my day" law may be refurbished: "Lawmakers are looking at expanding Colorado's 'Make My Day' law -- which says people who use deadly force to protect themselves in their homes can't be prosecuted. A proposal called 'Make My Day Better' would also protect people who use deadly force to protect themselves in their businesses and automobiles."


Introducing America's gun owners: "The right of Americans to bear arms, as stipulated in the 2nd Amendment to our Constitution, will soon get a microscopic examination as different presidential candidates establish their positions on gun ownership. I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce the readers of this column, and by extension their candidates, to American gun owners. I won't pretend gun owners are a homogeneous group, but it's safe to say that a significant portion of them resemble the folks I've described below in their beliefs and actions."

KS: Locals rewriting concealed-carry? "Even before Kansas had a concealed-carry law, the 2005 Legislature tried to ensure that locals couldn't restrict gun rights more tightly than the state. Now, though, some cities are putting their own spin on concealed-carry, following the League of Kansas Municipalities' view that cities, like other property owners [owners??], can opt not to allow concealed handguns in their workplaces and on their property."

Safe at home? "When a South Hall homeowner shot and killed an armed intruder last week, it was a fairly easy call by officials not to bring criminal charges. District Attorney Lee Darragh quickly determined that the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Robby Bailey by Conditioned Air Systems president Doug Magnus was justified. Bailey, who had a lengthy criminal history and spent more than 10 years in and out of state prisons, fired several shots at Magnus while lurking outside his home wearing a ski mask, according to authorities. But self-defense shootings such as the one that ended Bailey's life are not commonplace. Prosecutors and police often must wrestle with the facts of each case, and, in recent years, legislators have passed new laws they say strengthen a citizen's rights to use deadly force in self-defense. National Rifle Association spokeswoman Ashley Varner says that while self-defense shootings may not be commonplace, the use of guns to defend life and property is. "People every day defend themselves with firearms without having to fire a shot," Varner said. "More often than not, when someone is trying to burglarize a home, homeowners merely need to show that they have a gun." ... Hodges dismisses Georgia's "Castle Doctrine" bill as unnecessary and essentially irrelevant. "It didn't change a single thing," Hodges said. "They just codified well-established common law. It's just something for the legislature to make them look good and look tough on crime. You never had a duty to retreat from your own home."


Tennessee store owner shoots at fleeing thieves: " Two "fat" men wearing masks when they broke into a store early Saturday morning did not count on the owner being present and firing a gun at them. They dropped their loot, one jumped through the window they had broken to get in, and the two sped off in a hurry from Frenchman's Market on Burgess Falls Road... The store owner, Roland Derive, told the deputy he had been upstairs asleep when the sound of breaking glass woke him. He said he grabbed his gun and went downstairs into the store, where he immediately noticed shattered glass. As he walked toward the counter, he spotted a man outside and heard him yell, "Get out, he's here!" It was at that time that Derive saw another man run from behind the counter, step onto a chair, and leap through the window to the outside, the report says. Derive fired shots at the fleeing man and said he did not know if the bullets struck him or not. He then heard a car leaving the parking lot and shot at the vehicle, firing through the front door while standing inside the store, the deputy's report says... A black plastic bag was found on the counter, and it contained cartons of cigarettes the burglars had left behind. On the outside of the broken window, there were numerous cans of tobacco, the report says."