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1. The gun control movement's dangerous incompetence
2. About to be raped? Democrat has LUDICROUS suggestion
3. NBC video on women buying more guns
4. The stale claim that 40 percent of gun sales lack background checks
5. Stats show background checks are effective
6. Is the NRA going soft on universal background checks?
7. 2 suspects dead, 1 at large in Prince Edward home invasion
8. Who needs a gun while brushing your teeth at home? [Video]
9. 4 dead, including gunman, in southern California shooting spree
10. College students seek rights to concealed carry on campus
11. What if cars were treated like guns?
12. Newport News police no longer considering gun buybacks
13. Gun companies refuse sales to state governments with strict gun laws
14. Sheriff's statement on Second Amendment removed from county website
15. Gun-free zone: Comcast cable blacklists gun-related ads
16. Miller: Concealed carry renewed
17. New NRA ad slams Clinton, Obama as elites who mock gun owners [Video]
18. Mother of ACPS student arrested for toy gun incident criticizes case's handling
19. Culpeper County Republican committee's position on gun control
20. Reporter tries NRA pistol safety course and goes to the range
21. Ammo shortage: 2008 and now
22. Editorial: Founders Wisdom
23. Bill Burr on guns [Video]
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1. The gun control movement's dangerous incompetence
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Bill Watkins emailed this:
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From American Thinker: http://tinyurl.com/bkpojtr
By William A. Levinson
February 20, 2013
"Dangerous incompetence" means exactly that: ignorance, negligence, and/or dereliction of duty that endangers human life and safety. A medical quack who prescribes medications for patients he has never seen, or without going to medical school and passing a licensing examination, is a prime example. Equally dangerous incompetence, of the kind that can kill people, pervades the gun control movement.
Dangerous Incompetence Regarding Armed Self-Defense
Senator Dianne Feinstein and Governor Andrew Cuomo, like any medical quack who prescribes drugs for real or imaginary illnesses, think they know how many bullets a person might reasonably need for self-defense against one or more violent assailants. Feinstein thinks it's ten, and Cuomo seven.
"Interview with a Gunfighter" by Front Sight describes, however, an attack in which a senior citizen needed 11 rounds of .40 caliber to stop two armed home invaders. Colonel Jeff Cooper's To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth describes an incident in which eight rounds of .380 automatic were required to stop a violent assailant. Six rounds were not enough to stop a home invader who threatened a woman and her children in Georgia (he fled the house and drove away with five gunshot wounds), but he did not know his prospective victim had run out of ammunition.
The voting public should trust the judgment of a professional law enforcement instructor such as Massaad Ayoob over that of dangerous incompetents like Dianne Feinstein, Andrew Cuomo, and the majority of New York's Legislature, just as we should trust the judgment of genuine medical doctors over that of quacks.
The cops are the experts on the current criminal trends. If they have determined that a "high capacity" semiautomatic pistol and a .223 semiautomatic rifle with 30-round magazines are the best firearms for them to use to protect people like me and my family, they are obviously the best things for us to use to protect ourselves and our families.
Ayoob also discusses the previously-mentioned shooting in which the mother fired six shots for five hits, but did not stop the assailant.
Reckless Firearm Handling in an Official Video
We recently purchased the first season of "24" on DVD. The story plot is engaging, but firearm handling is typical of Hollywood: the same left-wing enclave whose often-mindless celebrities support attacks on the Second Amendment. There is a scene in which Counterterrorist Unit agents Jack Bauer and Richard Walsh point guns at each other because they have not bothered to identify their targets as hostile first.
Hollywood does not, however, routinely employ real law enforcement or security professionals for guidance on its productions. The Department of Homeland Security, aka Department of Homeland Stupidity under the Obama Administration, apparently doesn't either. "Options for Consideration Active Shooter Training Video," for which ratings have now been disabled because of almost universal negative reception by viewers, depicts equally reckless and irresponsible firearm handling by "police officers." One points a rifle at the innocent people who are running from the active shooter, and another points his weapon at a fellow "officer's" back during the building entry.
The advice given by the DHS video, which includes hiding under desks as depicted in the Cold War "Duck and Cover" movie, could meanwhile get people killed very easily. Here is how that advice worked out for the Sandy Hook victims.
They found Lanza dead from a self-inflicted gunshot, and beyond him a group of children huddled with their teacher, all dead. Nearby in a bathroom another group of children huddled, also dead, CBS reported.
The bottom line is that the Obama Administration has propagated dangerously incompetent material that can kill innocent people who rely on it.
Smart Guns: Dumb Idea
The idea of smart guns that fire only for their authorized users is as old as A. E. van Vogt's The Weapon Shops of Isher (1951). Advocates of this idea need to distinguish between science fiction and reality.
Estimates of the fraction of police officers who are murdered in the line of duty with their own weapons range from eight to forty-three percent. (That is, of every 100 officers who are murdered, 8 to 43 are shot with their own sidearm.) This is a strong argument for police sidearms that only the officer, or his or her partner, can fire. As far as I know, not a single law enforcement agency in the country considers the technology sufficiently reliable to implement. A gun, like any other piece of emergency equipment, must work when you need it regardless of faulty electronics, electromagnetic interference, or other factors.
The antigun camp has, meanwhile, embarrassed itself twice on the similar issue of trigger locks. Maryland's former governor, Parris Glendening, had to struggle to remove a locking magazine from a "safe" handgun. Handgun Control Inc. lawyer Dennis Henigan excused his failure to release a trigger lock with the words, "Even if a klutz like me fumbles on the first try, the benefits of having a lock outweigh the risks." Had he been facing a violent felon, of course, he would not have gotten a second try. A person of character would have agreed with the facts (the technology is not sufficiently reliable in an emergency) instead of continuing to insist that he is right anyway.
How New York Arms Criminals
New York, which prides itself on having the most restrictive gun laws in the country, also cases homes and apartments for burglars who want to steal firearms. New York handgun permits are public records that are accessible to any criminal with Internet access. The state has therefore abused the privilege of requiring a permit to own (as opposed to carry) a handgun by knowingly, willfully, and recklessly endangering the safety of the permit holders while helping to arm criminals in the bargain. This sounds like a strong argument for Federal "gun safety" legislation to void New York's handgun licensing laws, Illinois' Firearm Owner ID (FOID) registration law, and similar laws in other states.
Guns Don't Kill People: New York's Paroled Killers Kill People
Gun control advocates cite the Bushmaster "assault rifle" that William Spengler used to ambush two emergency responders in New York as yet another reason to ban weapons with high capacity magazines. The Bushmaster was, however, merely the tool that Spengler, with New York State as his accomplice, used in his crime. Spengler used a hammer to kill his grandmother in 1980, allegedly because she wouldn't give him money for drugs. If New York had not allowed him to plea-bargain for first-degree manslaughter, he would still be in prison and the firefighters would still be alive.
The only difference between Andrew Cuomo, Dianne Feinstein, the majority of New York's Legislature, and a medical quack is as follows. A quack can be held civilly or even criminally liable for the harm he causes. Cuomo, Feinstein, and Company are not accountable to anybody for any deaths or injuries that result from their equally dangerous incompetence.
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2. About to be raped? Democrat has LUDICROUS suggestion
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Gerald Ameral emailed me this:
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From WND.com: http://tinyurl.com/aywh3l7
February 19, 2013
A Colorado lawmaker's foot-in-mouth comment about having woman go to a callbox "if you feel like you're gonna be raped" while arguing for more gun limits has created a firestorm of reaction, and it doesn't appear to be going away even with help from his fellow Democrats who are supporting Rep. Joe Salazar, D-Thornton.
It was during debate over a Colorado proposal to ban those who legally are allowed to carry a concealed weapon in the state from having that weapon on university campuses Salazar said, "It's why we have call boxes, it's why we have safe zones, it's why we have the whistles. Because you just don't know who you're gonna be shooting at."
Then he continued, "And you don't know if you feel like you're gonna be raped, or if you feel like someone's been following you around or if you feel like you're in trouble when you may actually not be, that you pop out that gun and you pop ... pop a round at somebody."
The Denver Post reported Rep. Lori Saine, R-Dacono, who's been on the opposite side of the gun debate from Salazar, said, "I guess, Rep. Salazar, if a woman doesn't know she's being raped, she doesn't fear it."
Online, it was Jacob Dawson of OneNewsNow's Instant Analysis, who said, "While Colorado is debating gun control, against the will of their citizens, one of their politicians is wanting to arm their women with WHISTLES!"
The commentary continued, "File this under the heading of most absurd statements by a politician, Rep. Joe Salazar wants women to blow a whistle while being raped instead of letting them arm themselves with a gun. This has apparently been suggested by a Colorado university. Very, very sad."
Salazar followed shortly with a written apology, trying to work through the controversy.
"We were having a public policy debate on whether or not guns makes (sic) people safer on campus. I don't believe they do," he said. "That was the point I was trying to make."
Other Democrats have rallied in defense of Salazar's Bidenism, with House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, telling the Post that Salazar is a "great legislator and a person who has worked hard in support of women."
However, Salazar's critics from the minority GOP ranks in the statehouse pointed out that Democrats were certainly unforgiving when Rep. Todd Akin, a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Missouri during the 2012 election, make an erroneous reference to "legitimate rape."
Akin also apologized for his misstatement, but continued to be the target of Democrat attacks anyway.
Akin eventually lost his race to incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill. His campaign was rocked by criticism after he used the phrase "legitimate rape" as an awkward synonym for forcible rape - from both Democrats and inside-the-Beltway GOPers.
He apologized repeatedly for the mistake, as well as for mentioning a controversial medical theory regarding rape and conception.
Yet many of those who are staunchly secure in conservatism supported Akin. Dr. James Dobson, founder and president of Family Talk, which produces his regular radio program, said, "I regret to say that Congressman Akin has been subjected to disgraceful treatment at the hands of the GOP political bosses. They have withheld funds for his campaign, even though he won the GOP primary for the Senate seat. Karl Rove and Haley Barbour have said things about this character that are untrue."
Also, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said people needed to consider the race and its results.
"We must defeat Sen. Claire McCaskill ... Her support of President Obama's job-killing, big-spending policies are sending our country into an economic abyss."
At Colorado Peak Politics.com, a blog, the authors said, "Calling the rape police (we mean all you reporters, liberal bloggers, and reporter/liberal bloggers who fixated on Ken Buck, Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock for the last, oh, 3 or so years: time to ask every Democrat you can think of, starting with Governor John Hickenlooper all the way down to the elected Democrat dog catcher in Buena Vista, whether or not they condemn the insensitive comments about rape made by the eloquent one, Rep. Joe Salazar."
Continued the criticism, "Does Joe Salazar think women are so stupid they might be confused about whether or not they are about to be raped. Time to add a new term to the American political lexicon: confused rape. (Confused rape: the act of thinking you are about to be raped when in fact you are not.)
Many in the mainstream media simply ignored Salazar's comments about rape and women.
One report that did appear, from Philly.com, updated the issue with words of advice from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
There, the school's Department of Public Safety suggested that women "tell your attacker that you have a disease or are menstruating" to fend off an assault.
They also should be aware "vomiting or urinating may also convince the attacker to leave you alone," the school said.
WND yesterday reported on the package of gun limits that Colorado Democrats are passing. It moved into the headlines when Vice President Joe Biden began pressuring Colorado lawmakers to adopt the drastic measures - even in opposition to their constituents - so that Obama would have model legislation to push in other states.
The bills introduced are:
* HB 1224, which would bans all magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.
* HB 1226 would prohibit those with concealed carry permits, including off duty police officers and former military personnel, from bringing their weapons on college campuses.
* HB 1228 would force residents to pay for exercising a constitutional right by making them pay for a background check to prove they are not criminals. There is no limit on the amount the Colorado Bureau of Investigation could charge for the background check.
* HB 1229 bans the private sale and transfer of firearms and institutes universal background checks and/gun registration for all Colorado gun owners.
All the bills are moving forward through the legislative process.
When a handful of Democrats from rural areas planned to oppose the bills, Biden started making calls.
"What he essentially did was tell these Democrats to fall on their swords in order to pass the president's agenda, which is ultimately about gun confiscation," said Rep. Lori Saine, R-Dacono. "What they need to realize is that these promises are almost never kept, and come next year, they will be left to face angry voters on their own."
"He (Biden) said it would send a strong message to the rest of the country that a western state had passed gun-control bills," Tony Exhum, a Democratic lawmaker from Colorado Springs, told the Post.
Salazar's statement isn't even the first wild one to come from the Colorado chambers that have made headlines this year.
During debate on a civil union bill, since homosexual marriage is banned in the state Constitution, Democrats removed an exemption from the bill that would have given conscience protections to Christian business owners.
Senate Majority Leader Pat Steadman, a homosexual, publicly told Christians who regard homosexuality as a sin, based on the Bible, to "get thee to a nunnery" and remove themselves from society.
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3. NBC video on women buying more guns
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Bill Albritton emailed me this:
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The AR-15, today's musket.
From NBC News: http://tinyurl.com/akjunps
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4. The stale claim that 40 percent of gun sales lack background checks
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EM Hal Macklin sent me this:
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From The Washington Post: http://tinyurl.com/bfvb83s
[SNIP]
So, we are going to take a wait-and-see approach with this statistic. Going forward, gun-control advocates should be much more upfront about its problems, especially the fact that it is old information. The 30-to-40 percent range that Cook and Ludwig first deduced should be the norm, not the up to 40 percent claim. Moreover, advocates should routinely acknowledge this is stale information which they are certainly free to blame on gun-industry lobbying.
We will be watching, and urge readers to keep track as well.
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Update:
From The Washington Post: http://tinyurl.com/ae5ptrt
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"Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms"
From National Institute of Justice (PDF): http://tinyurl.com/cuqyffw
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Please consider the fact that this bogus study was commissioned by the Clinton Administration:
From The Truth About Guns: http://tinyurl.com/bsad6k5
[SNIP]
It turns out that Cook and Ludwig published still another study in 1997, this one sponsored by the (Clinton) Department of Justice. The third study was titled Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms and also investigated DGUs.
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5. Stats show background checks are effective
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From Richmond Times-Dispatch: http://tinyurl.com/bxzwdgy
By Mark Bowes
February 17, 2013
Despite his multiple felony convictions, Darrell L. Booker decided to test Virginia's two decade-old background check system for firearm purchases to see if he could thwart the law and buy a revolver at a gun show in Henrico County.
The gun seller's check through the Virginia Firearms Transaction Center quickly turned up Booker's felony record. But because of a misread computer screen, Booker was allowed to purchase the .38-caliber handgun and take it to his Petersburg home.
The seller soon realized his error, notified Virginia State Police and within two days Booker was arrested and charged with multiple felonies, including lying on the background check form and illegally possessing the gun he purchased. During a search of his house, police turned up another illegal gun and three types of ammunition.
He was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison.
The system not only worked but resulted in getting two illegal guns and multiple rounds of ammunition off the streets, said Assistant Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Robert C. Cerullo, who prosecuted Booker for lying on the state's firearm consent form.
Booker is one of 16,623 felons who were stopped from getting guns through Virginia's instant background check system from 1989 through 2012, according to state police records.
When adding denials for others prohibited from buying firearms, such as drug abusers, the mentally ill and domestic-assault offenders, Virginia's system has stopped 54,260 gun transactions over the past 24 years, records show.
Virginia denied 3,444 transactions in 2012 alone, or 0.08 percent of that year's record-setting 432,387 firearm transactions. That was down slightly from 2011, when just over 1 percent of transactions were denied.
Nationally, about 2.1 million gun transactions have been denied through background checks from the signing of the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act in 1993 through 2010, the last reporting year available, federal statistics show.
The effectiveness of Virginia's background check system, which predates the federal law by four years, was further illustrated in recent weeks when state police arrested seven Virginia residents for trying to skirt the law at a gun show Jan. 12-13 at The Showplace in Henrico County.
Five were felons who police said lied on firearm transaction forms and illegally attempted to buy guns. Another was under felony indictment but said he wasn't, and the seventh lied that he had no mental health prohibition to buy a gun, police said.
"It's positive to see that the Virginia State Police are enforcing the laws on the books," said Thomas R. Baker, a criminologist and an assistant professor of criminal justice studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. "The fact that they actively pursue individuals who try to purchase a gun illegally means the background check system helps to not only keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn't have them, but also helps identify and punish individuals trying to illegally obtain guns."
"I think this strengthens the argument that all gun transactions should involve a background check of the purchaser," Baker added.
Several bills proposed during the current session of the General Assembly that would have required background checks for the private sale or transactions of firearms in Virginia, including those at gun shows, were defeated. Existing law requires only federally licensed dealers to conduct background checks for gun purchases.
From 1989 through the end of 2012, state police have made 12,956 arrests related to the sale or attempted sale of firearms as a result of denied firearm transactions of all types, conducted between federally licensed firearm dealers and customers at gun stores, gun shows and other retail sales, state numbers show.
The number of denials involving felons trying to purchase guns has risen from 420 in 2007 to 609 last year. Mental health denials have tripled during that period, from 109 to 340, as Virginia has added more mental health records into its background check system, which totaled 185,776 individuals on Friday.
People with mental health issues, such as those committed for treatment or judged to be mentally incapacitated or incompetent, are prohibited from buying firearms.
"The increase in the denials as a result of mental illness could similarly point to the increased effectiveness of the (National Instant Criminal Background System) when more information is shared between the states and the federal government," Baker noted. "The laws requiring state reporting of information on individual mental health issues following the tragedy at Virginia Tech seems to have been effective given the steady increase in denials due to mental illness."
Virginia, which pioneered the background check system among states, appears to be a leader in arrests of people who were stopped from illegally buying a gun.
Virginia ranked first among nine states that reported making arrests for one or more years during 2000-2010, according to the most recent Bureau of Justice Statistics report on Background Checks for Firearm Transfers. Virginia reported 8,437 arrests during that period, followed by Pennsylvania with 3,172.
When a firearms dealer electronically submits a background check for a prospective gun buyer to the Firearms Transaction Center, and a felony record or other disqualifying issue is found, a state trooper is sent to the dealer's location - whether it's at his store or a gun show.
"The gun dealer is only notified that the purchaser is ineligible or prohibited to purchase - the reason is not given as state law prohibits the release of an individual's criminal history to the general public," said state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.
The trooper will then arrest the customer if they are still there and it can be verified they lied on the form.
"Those cases are serious and investigated and most of the time prosecuted," said Thomas McKenna, special counsel for the Central Virginia Regional Narcotics Task Force, who formerly prosecuted many of the illegal firearms cases in Chesterfield County. "Lying on the firearms form, that's considered a pretty big (offense)."
The case involving Booker occurred nearly two years ago, when he and a nephew went to a gun show at The Showplace on Mechanicsville Turnpike.
Booker sought to buy a 100-year-old .38-caliber Forehand & Wadsworth revolver, still in good working order, and answered "no" on the transaction form that he was a felon. He later told police that he lied because "me and my nephew wanted to run it to see what would happen," Cerullo said.
The gun dealer electronically submitted Booker's paperwork and it was rejected. But because the type font on the seller's computer screen had recently been changed and was hard to see, "he read the wrong approval number and gave Booker the firearm" for $125, Cerullo said.
The seller soon realized his mistake while sorting through paperwork and alerted state police, Cerullo said.
Trooper D.M. Sottile, who investigates firearm denials, tracked Booker down and executed a search warrant at his Petersburg home to recover the weapon. In addition to the antique revolver, Sottile recovered a modern .22-caliber handgun and ammunition for those guns and for a 9 mm pistol, Cerullo said. Marijuana and cocaine were also recovered.
Booker admitted buying some of the ammunition at the gun show, Cerullo said.
Booker, 51, who has more than a dozen convictions for burglary, grand larceny, robbery, arson, assault and carrying a concealed weapon, was convicted in Henrico of making a false statement on the firearms form and sentenced to serve one year in jail.
In Petersburg, he pleaded guilty to possessing the .38-caliber revolver he purchased as a felon, possessing ammunition as a felon and possession of cocaine. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison with 10 suspended, according to court records.
While felons trying to buy guns represent the largest category of people who have been denied through background checks, authorities have increasingly turned their focus on the mentally ill in the wake of several mass shootings that involved disturbed gunmen.
Stopping such people can be difficult because of variances in how states enter mental health records that can be electronically checked to deny a gun purchase.
State police recently wrestled with that issue after a New Jersey man drove here to buy a firearm at a gun show at the Richmond International Raceway complex.
Shortly before 8 a.m. on Feb. 3, police received a call from the man's family about his plans to attend the gun show in Richmond. The man had earlier made suicidal comments to family members and alluded to engaging a police officer to commit "suicide by cop."
Trooper Sottile, who was assigned to cover the gun show that day, checked the man's criminal history and determined he could legally purchase a gun in Virginia. Sottile then called the man's family, learned he previously had been admitted to a New Jersey mental institution and obtained his photo from a town police agency.
Sottile located the man's vehicle in the RIR parking lot and found him inside filling out paperwork to buy a gun. The man admitted he had been involuntarily committed on numerous occasions and provided the institution's name. The trooper called to confirm, and learned the man had an extremely violent history that included assaults on hospital staff.
After the trooper searched the man and found two concealed knives, a temporary detention order was obtained and he was taken to a local hospital for evaluation. He was later transferred to a mental health facility in New Jersey.
Sottile entered information from the man's mental health files through the Virginia Firearms Transaction Center to prevent him from purchasing a gun in the future. It couldn't immediately be determined whether New Jersey authorities had earlier entered the man's records.
"Keeping guns out of the hands of individuals who shouldn't have them and improving our mental health system so we can more effectively treat and identify the mentally ill seem like the most promising approaches to actually reducing gun violence," VCU's Baker said.
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6. Is the NRA going soft on universal background checks?
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C.S. Miller emailed me this:
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I thought universal was bad, and why are they acting like that is okay?
From Newsmax: http://tinyurl.com/ajxvry3
By Todd Beamon
February 15, 2013
National Rifle Association President David Keene said on Friday that the federal government must improve the national gun registry before adding many more potential gun owners to it through universal background checks.
"Fix the system we have. Put the people that need to be in the system in it. Make it work smoothly before you talk about flooding it with others," Keene told CNN. "You should walk before you should run."
Keene was referring to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Mandated by the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 and begun by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1998, the system determines at the point of sale whether a buyer is legally barred from purchasing a firearm from a federally licensed gun dealer.
Firearm sales between private parties are exempt from the background-checks system, unless required by state law - and at gun shows, no special leniency is granted to licensed sellers, and no additional requirements are placed on private sellers.
The association has long attacked the registry, saying that does not include those who have been determined by law to be mentally ill or criminally ineligible from buying firearms.
"Gun owners aren't interested in selling their firearms to criminals or people who have other problems that would prohibit them from owning firearms," Keene told CNN.
He acknowledged that both the NRA and President Barack Obama are appealing to emotions to sell their respective positions to the public.
"It's an emotional issue. I don't deny that," Keene told CNN. "But the question is, 'What is the purpose of what you're trying to do?' The president would like to get the things he wants done very quickly - done without Congress really looking at it - and we don't think that's the way you make good public policy.
"We've been insisting over the years that the way you deal with gun crime is you prosecute criminals who use guns in the commission of crimes," he added. "It's a felony, a federal felony, to use a firearm in the commission of a crime."
When asked whether the government could strengthen prosecutions while enhancing the background-check system - it was likened to walking and chewing gum at the same time - Keene responded, chuckling: "Well, apparently, the government can't. That's the problem that we've had in trying to get the government to straighten out the system.
"The conceptual answer is, 'probably,'" Keene added. "But the real-world answer is that it doesn't work that way. You really do have to walk before you can run."
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7. 2 suspects dead, 1 at large in Prince Edward home invasion
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Three miscreants break into a home in Virginia. Two are dead, the other fled for his life. Home invasions in Virginia are a really bad idea.
Alan Rose sent me this via Facebook:
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From Richmond Times-Dispatch: http://tinyurl.com/bcj3653
By Jeremy Slayton
February 17, 2013
Two men were killed today during a home invasion in Prince Edward County, according to a press release by Sheriff Wesley W. Reed.
Sheriff's deputies responded to the 5000 block of Prince Edward Highway after receiving a 911 call regarding a home invasion. The caller stated that three individuals entered his residence armed with weapons; gunfire was exchanged between the caller and the suspects, police said.
Two of the suspects were shot and pronounced dead at the scene, while the third suspect fled on foot. Police said there is no identification of the third suspect, at this time, other than he is a black male wearing dark clothing.
K-9 units were brought in and tracked the suspect around a quarter-mile west of the crime scene where he is believed to have gotten into a vehicle on U.S. 460, police said.
The two dead suspects are being transported to the medical examiner's office in Richmond for identification and cause of death, police.
Virginia State Police is assisting the Prince Edward County Sheriff's Department.
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8. Who needs a gun while brushing your teeth at home? [Video]
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Walter Jackson emailed me this:
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Who needs a gun while brushing your teeth at home? Brushing your teeth one second and have a violent felon burst into your house the next.
From WESH.com: http://tinyurl.com/agt5ofo
February 14, 2013
Quintonio White, 23, one of "Daytona Beach's Most Wanted," was wanted for a handful of robberies, according to police.
Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood said his officers spotted White in his vehicle and boxed him in, but he allegedly rammed the officer's truck and fled down Mason Avenue where he crashed into a vehicle.
White then burst into a home on Berkshire Road, trying to hide, police said.
"The guy is telling (the homeowner), 'The cops are after me, and I'm going to give you $1,000 to hide me.' This guy just got up. He's brushing his teeth," said Chitwood.
Police said the homeowner grabbed a gun.
"During the struggle that goes out on to the porch, the homeowner fires a shot at him, and the homeowner says, 'Look, I could have killed him. I didn't want to kill him. I could have killed him. I had the right to kill him," said Chitwood.
Police said White had a gun, too. They said they found a fully loaded magazine on him but believe he dumped the weapon in a nearby cemetery while running.
White tried to tell WESH 2 reporter Claire Metz that there were more people involved, but police said it was a one-man crime wave.
"This is a guy that belongs locked up," said Chitwood.
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9. 4 dead, including gunman, in southern California shooting spree
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James Baraka sent me this via Facebook:
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From FOX News: http://tinyurl.com/a6zovbn
February 19, 2013
Authorities say a shooting spree through Orange County, Calif., has left four people dead, including the shooter, and two others injured before the man stopped and shot himself to death in a stolen car, police said.
The shootings began early Tuesday morning when deputies responded to a call in Ladera Ranch, a sleepy inland town about 55 miles southeast of Los Angeles. They found a woman shot multiple times.
Police have identified the gunman as Ali Syed, a 20-year-old unemployed part-time student. Police say Syed lived at the Laderaa Ranch residence where the first victim was killed.
Jason Glass, who lives across the street, said he couldn't sleep and was watching TV in his garage with the door partly open when he heard what sounded like gun shots.
Then he heard a commotion and the sound of a car speeding away.
The suspect, described as a man in his 20s, fled the scene in an SUV, according to the LA Times.
Three more people were fatally shot in the next 25 minutes after carjackings in Tustin and Santa Ana.
"There are multiple (crime) scenes throughout Tustin and the surrounding areas," said Tustin Police Lt. Paul Garaven.
Police say there were a total of six shooting scenes across the county.
From Ladera Ranch, police said the gunman headed north and within 30 minutes carjacked a Dodge pickup truck in Tustin, about 20 miles away. The driver was uninjured, but a bystander was hit by gunfire and taken to a hospital.
The suspect then began firing at vehicles in the area where Interstate 5 and State Route 55 connect.
Three people reported being targeted, including one who suffered a minor injury, Tustin police Lt. Paul Garaven said. Two cars were damaged.
When the truck got low on gas, the gunman stopped at State Route 55 and McFadden Avenue in Santa Ana, stole the BMW and killed the driver, Bertagna said.
The shooter then drove to a Tustin business called Micro Center and carjacked another small truck, killing one person and wounding another, Garaven said.
Authorities located the suspect in a stolen vehicle and followed him to the city of Orange, according to Garaven. When police stopped him, the suspect shot himself at an intersection. Police recovered a shotgun from the scene.
Garaven says the suspect succeeded in stealing a vehicle at each carjacking.
"There have been other people coming forward saying they were shot at or their cars were shot at," he said, but so far none had reported any serious injury.
The conditions of the wounded victims were unknown.
A spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol said they didn't have any active crime scenes on the freeway but the southbound 55 McFadden Avenue off-ramp would be closed until further notice.
The motive for the shootings is still unclear and it's also unclear if the victims knew each other or the shooter.
"I do not believe any of the victims are related to each other. It might have been a random thing," he said. "We just don't know."
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10. College students seek rights to concealed carry on campus
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Walter Jackson emailed me this:
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From Breitbart.com: http://tinyurl.com/aydcs3o
By Dr. Susan Berry
February 19, 2013
Since the 2007 shooting rampage at Virginia Tech, which left 33 people dead, gun-rights advocates have made the right to carry concealed weapons on public college and university campuses a major issue, most recently in Colorado.
While guns remain banned from most state colleges, a prominent controversy at the University of Colorado, Boulder, resulted in a court decision last year that required the university to permit concealed weapons.
Groups like Students for Concealed Carry, which won the landmark victory, believe the ability to carry a concealed weapon can give criminals second thoughts and a chance for potential victims on campuses to protect themselves.
The organization's members, however, are concerned that recent incidents, such as the Aurora and Newtown shooting rampages, will cause a roll-back in the progress made in the ability of students to defend themselves.
For example, while the United States Student Association reports that one in five college women are sexually assaulted each year, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh police department posts "Tips for Preventing Sexual Assault" on its website. The "tips" include "passive resistance" strategies when faced with an attacker, like making yourself vomit or urinate, or faking an epileptic seizure.
What the campus police discourage students from doing, however, is carrying a weapon. The website cautions that "an assailant can easily turn a weapon against you." The university police warn, "Many weapons are illegal if carried by anyone other than law enforcement officers in the State of Wisconsin."
The university police add that "common, legally carried weapons are your keys, placed sideways between the fingers, and used in a downward thrust." In addition, "pepper spray" is recommended for self-defense, but with the caveat that, "You must remember that pepper spray may not be effective if it is windy, your assailant is intoxicated, or you miss his eyes."
David Burnett, a spokesman for Students for Concealed Carry, and a nursing student at the University of Kentucky, said, "If you had asked students the morning of the Virginia Tech shooting if they feel safe, I'm almost positive all of them would have said yes, but just a couple of hours later, those students found out that feeling safe is not the same as being safe."
Burnett's organization, which has members on 130 campuses nationwide, and has no connection to the NRA, sued his university in 2010. The State Supreme Court ruled that employees and students may leave guns in cars parked on campus, a decision he considers to be a smaller victory in a larger effort.
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11. What if cars were treated like guns?
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Ed Toton emailed me this:
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I wrote this article last month, and submitted it to the Daily Caller. They rejected it, since they were afraid that any comparison with cars will lead readers to suggest registration. However, within the context of what I wrote, I thought you and/or the VCDL readers might enjoy the article anyway. [PVC: And we all know how good a job car registration is at keeping drunks off our roads.]
From ed.toton.org: http://tinyurl.com/aqehxea
January 22, 2013
Why are gun-owners so resistant to new gun laws? Beyond the obvious self-interest that you would assume, there are other reasons behind this. Some stem from an understanding of the US Constitution, belief in civil liberties, and other factors. However the part that is less obvious to those who don't own guns is the rather complex set of laws already on the books. The hope is to shed a small amount of light on this through analogy.
Most people in our country are well acquainted with cars, and driving on public roads. The entire automobile industry and public roadways are steeped in a large collection of complex laws, concerning safety standards, manufacturing methods, purchasing and selling, and more.
With guns it is very much the same, with some notable differences. While there are many good laws and sensible restrictions already in place, from the point of view of a gun-owner there are many other rules which seem to serve no purpose other than to irritate gun owners, without actually doing much to promote safety or reduce crime. Because new laws are enacted constantly that have a direct impact on gun owners, they have to stay abreast of this new legislation so as not to accidentally break a new law.
While the analogy may not be perfect, comparing transportation to weapons, we can still keep in mind that more people in the US die every year in vehicles than due to homicide with weapons of any kind, or by firearms including suicides and accidents. However this is not why this article is using vehicles as an analogy. Instead we are looking at cars because they are ubiquitous and well understood.
Now imagine a world in which some high profile cases of egregious vehicular manslaughter were in the news. Most were drunk-driving incidents, with a few cases of the driver smashing his car through the front door of a building and killing several people. Politicians came out of the woodwork to enact new vehicle and roadway legislation, and were quick to vilify anyone who was "pro-car" as being part of the problem. The "car lobby", which includes manufacturers, dealerships, and anyone with a AAA-card, is usually described as unwavering and intractable, clearly not caring about lives and only interested in pushing their agenda of unregulated car ownership. This comes despite the wide range of existing laws, and all of the safety features that have become standard in many civilian vehicles, often exceeding the minimums required by law, as well as the privately available training and safety programs that these organizations provide.
After several decades of new laws being added, you find that driving isn't what it was like for your grandparents. Here are some of the realities you now live with, and accept as normal:
A variety of cosmetic, ergonomic, and safety features are banned. The list includes, but is not limited to, four-point harness seat-belts, gear-shifts on steering wheels, racing stripes, fins, spoilers, chrome rims, and raised intake vents on hoods. Any one of these features classifies your car as a race-car, and racing isn't permitted on public roads, therefore you cannot have these features.
Fuel tanks are limited to ten gallons of gasoline, no matter the size or fuel economy of the vehicle. It doesn't matter if your car gets ten miles to the gallon, or fifty. This restriction is intended to dissuade people from going on rampant drunk-driving sprees, and to make sure that if the police need to chase you, that you will always run out of fuel before they do. This has had the side effect of influencing buyers to get cars with more efficient engines that can get "more bang for the buck" out of each gallon.
Vehicles of all kinds are physically limited to fifty-five miles per hour, because that is the speed limit. Occasionally people die because they could not accelerate beyond this in an emergency situation. However auto-safety advocates insist that the lives saved are worth it, even though studies have not been able to conclude that driving is actually any safer as a result.
Large pickup-trucks, and anything larger such as box-trucks or flatbed trucks, are banned from civilian use. Any that were purchased prior to 1986 may still be in service, since they were grandfathered in, but those are very difficult to acquire since the scarcity has made them extremely expensive. These larger vehicles haven't been used in many crimes or been proven to be unsafe for the user, however legislators have deemed them to be beyond the needs of average citizens. Despite the lack of availability, the media and some of the public insist that these large trucks need to be banned, because they believe this is what is being used in crimes. They do not realize that these have effectively been banned already, and anti-vehicle legislators are relying on this misconception to be able to ban vans and SUVs by calling them trucks.
Traveling to another state can prove to be very difficult because each state has different rules about the types of vehicles that can be driven. Some may disallow SUVs, and others may restrict mini-vans. Frequently you are allowed to bring your vehicle, as long as you don't drive it. Towing is usually permitted. Federal law permits you to drive through a state that otherwise disallows your type of vehicle, as long as you don't stop anywhere in that state.
In some states, the restrictions change from county to county, or within cities. These restrictions come in all shapes and sizes, such as limiting the size of your steering wheel, the type of tires you may have, paint colors, and number of cylinders in the engine. What is legal in most of the state might prove to be illegal upon entering a smaller jurisdiction. Not being aware of the local laws may land you in jail.
Driver's licenses are not automatically recognized in other states. Some states will honor your license, but not all, and they may not be contiguously located.
Within your own state, despite having a valid driver's license, you may find that there are places you are not permitted to drive to as a destination. This may include schools, courthouses, liquor stores (but not bars), libraries, parks, and more. If you want to visit these places, you may need to park your car across town, in a high crime-rate area.
You also discover that some of the places you would like to visit have voluntarily posted "no cars" signs. A few restaurants and the local shopping mall were among the first to post them. These signs carry the weight of law behind them, because private property owners have that right. You may decide that if you can keep it out of view, you might park your car there anyway, rather than leave it several blocks away where you can't keep an eye on it. Thefts do happen occasionally, and besides, you might need your car in an emergency. If asked to leave, you'll go because you don't want to cause any trouble.
Gasoline now costs multiple times what it should, due to heavy taxation. This makes it very difficult for new drivers who are not wealthy to get the practice they need, however they still try to do so because it matters. Also, the current administration is considering fuel rationing, not due to scarcity, but to make it impractical for someone to go on a massive hit-and-run binge. Politicians seem uninterested in the argument that rationing will make it even more difficult for new drivers to learn, particularly those who live in lower income areas, even though the same politicians accuse citizen drivers of being unsafe when compared to police or other professional drivers. It is also common belief that no one should have any legal need to drive more than one hundred miles per week. Arguments are made that penalizing all of the law abiding citizens with high taxation is unlikely to stop someone with criminal intent, but such arguments fall on deaf ears.
Every few years, after a highly publicized hit-and-run that has left multiple people dead, legislators propose new laws to ban SUVs and mini-vans, even if the crime was committed with an average sedan. Some politicians will even go so far as to admit that they would like to ban vehicles of all kinds for civilians, even though they own vehicles themselves and hire private drivers.
Although it is acknowledged that driving a car is a legitimate activity, there is a sense that you don't need a car, therefore any restriction is justified. There is still a strong public opinion that these restrictions will save lives. When the laws fail to do so, as most drivers predicted, more restrictions are proposed.
Clearly the comparison between motor vehicles and firearms is an "apples to oranges" analogy. The above surely sounds absurd. However, gun owners, particularly those who obtain state issued carry-permits, have to be wary of a wide range of laws in every jurisdiction they pass through. A permit does not give a citizen unrestricted access throughout their state. Nearly every state in the US has a carry-permit system, and it has been demonstrated repeatedly that permit holders are among the most law abiding of citizens, committing crimes on the order of ten to twenty times less frequently than the general population.
We have thousands of gun laws, currently over twenty thousand, with more being added each year. While many laws serve their intended purpose, there are many more that can't be shown to have a positive effect, and make it dangerous for gun owners since they may accidentally break the law without being aware. Our system has become a complex patch-work of legislation.
Gun owners want to save lives. Keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals is something that everyone wants. Artificial limits on ergonomic and cosmetic features, as well as capacity limits, will not do much to stop criminals from obtaining them and using them for illegal purposes. So why aren't we starting with improving the background check system, or prosecuting those who falsify their applications, or addressing the nature of violence and the many factors that lead to it? The answer is probably that it is much easier to vilify weapons and their owners, than to work on much more difficult socioeconomic and cultural issues.
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12. Newport News police no longer considering gun buybacks
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Delegate Cole's bill from last year is working nicely. It requires localities which are doing a gun buy-up to have to sell the guns, and they don't want the hassle.
Walter Jackson emailed me this:
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From The Daily Press: http://tinyurl.com/az85sz4
By Tyra M. Vaughn
February 17, 2013
NEWPORT NEWS - Newport News police are continuing to work to get guns off the streets to help reduce violent crime in the city, where homicides saw an uptick in 2012 and two shooting deaths were already reported this year.
Police Chief James D. Fox said a gun-buyback program likely won't be a part of the plan.
Following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in December, gun buyback programs have surged in popularity across the country. Thousands of guns have been turned in at buyback events in cities such as Los Angeles, Seattle and Camden, N.J., where people were encouraged to exchange weapons for cash, groceries or other incentives.
Fox, however, said there are no plans for the police department which sponsored gun buybacks in 2007 and 2008 to do more after a state law changed how confiscated weapons can be disposed of.
Newport News police acquired more than 900 guns during its previous two buybacks, according to Daily Press archives. The events allowed people to turn in guns, no questions asked, in exchange for $100 gift cards bought by the police department using donated funds, Fox said. The weapons along with other guns seized in crimes were melted down at the Newport News shipyard.
Under a law passed in the 2012 General Assembly, guns acquired during buyback events can no longer be destroyed but instead must be offered at auction to licensed dealers, Fox said.
"Why take them off the street if you have to sell them back to dealers and they end up right back on the streets."
Homicides were slightly up in Newport News in 2012. The city had 20 homicides last year, compared with 17 in 2011. In all but one of the 2012 homicides, each victim was shot.
In the city's most recent homicide, 24-year-old Ajene Tylik Marrow, of Newport News, was shot Jan. 20 on Maple Court.
Before that, 27-year-old Phyllis Felicia Vinston was gunned down in the courtyard of Marshall Courts Jan. 6 while trying to protect her two young sons who were outside playing.
Fox has previously told the Daily Press that he believes drugs, guns and gangs are fueling much of the violence in the city.
In Hampton, the city has had four homicides this year all shootings. The city had no homicides at this time last year, according to Daily Press records.
There also have been several shootings in the city since Jan. 1. The most recent included an incident on Feb. 6, when a man was shot in the shoulder in the 3300 block of West Lewis Road.
Despite the spate of violence, a gun buyback program also isn't being considered for Hampton, said Sgt. Jason Price, spokesman for the Hampton Police Division.
Newport News police seize nearly 500 guns in crimes each year, many of which are found to be stolen, Fox said. He said guns are sometimes taken from houses during break-ins and then used in crimes.
Fox said buybacks previously provided an opportunity to take guns out of use for good.
"It helped people dispose of a gun that they had no need for or use for and they got money for it," he said. "It helped us by making sure some of these guns didn't get into the wrong hands and used the wrong way."
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13. Gun companies refuse sales to state governments with strict gun laws
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Deborah Anderson emailed me this:
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Good! Maybe legislators in those states finally will get the message and change their laws/policies to the benefit of their residents' safety and ability to protect themselves.
Blessings,
Deborah Jane Anderson
From Breitbart.com: http://tinyurl.com/d8d95hq
By Kerry Picket
February 15, 2013
Six gun companies have announced plans to stop selling any of their products to any government agency in states that severely limit the rights of private gun ownership.
Disappointed with New York State lawmakers and other jurisdictions around the country who have passed strict gun control legislation, the companies-composed of firearm manufacturers, gunsmiths, and sporting goods retailers-have announced these policies in the past week.
Their various statements emphasize that such laws create a class of government employees with rights and and a class of citizens without rights. Thus, they refuse to aid the enforcement of such inequality.
The announcements read:
* LaRue Tactical
Effective today, in an effort to see that no legal mistakes are made by LaRue Tactical and/or its employees, we will apply all current State and Local Laws (as applied to civilians) to state and local law enforcement / government agencies. In other words, LaRue Tactical will limit all sales to what law-abiding citizens residing in their districts can purchase or possess.
* Olympic Arms
Due the passing of this legislation, Olympic Arms would like to announce that the State of New York, any Law Enforcement Departments, Law Enforcement Officers, First Responders within the State of New York, or any New York State government entity or employee of such an entity - will no longer be served as customers.
In short, Olympic Arms will no longer be doing business with the State of New York or any governmental entity or employee of such governmental entity within the State of New York - henceforth and until such legislation is repealed, and an apology made to the good people of the State of New York and the American people.
* Extreme Firepower Inc, LLC
The Federal Government and several states have enacted gun control laws that restrict the public from owning and possessing certain types of firearms. Law-enforcement agencies are typically exempt from these restrictions. EFI, LLC does not recognize law-enforcement exemptions to local, state, and federal gun control laws. If a product that we manufacture is not legal for a private citizen to own in a jurisdiction, we will not sell that product to a law-enforcement agency in that jurisdiction.
* Templar Custom
We will not sell arms to agents of the state of New York that hold themselves to be "more equal" than their citizens.
As long as the legislators of New York think they have the power to limit the rights of their citizens, in defiance of the Constitution, we at Templar will not sell them firearms to enforce their edicts.
Templar Custom is announcing that the State of New York, any Law Enforcement Departments, Law Enforcement Officers, First Responders within the State of New York, or any New York State government entity or employee will no longer be served as customers.
* York Arms
Based on the recent legislation in New York, we are prohibited from selling rifles and receivers to residents of New York. We have chosen to extend that prohibition to all governmental agencies associated with or located within New York. As a result we have halted sales of rifles, short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns, machine guns, and silencers to New York governmental agencies.
* Cheaper than Dirt
Recently, companies such as LaRue Tactical and Olympic Arms have announced that they will no longer sell prohibited items to government agencies and personnel in states that deny the right to own those items to civilians. It has been and will continue to be Cheaper Than Dirt's policy to not to sell prohibited items to government agencies and/or agents in states, counties, cities, and municipalities that have enacted restrictive gun control laws against their citizens. We support and encourage other companies that share in this policy.
Second Amendment activist groups Guns Save Life and Grass Roots North Carolina are currently urging big gun manufacturers Sig Sauer, Smith and Wesson, and Glock to halt their sales to government agencies within states that have clamped down on their residents' right to bear arms.
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14. Sheriff's statement on Second Amendment removed from county website
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VCDL is planning to flood the Board of Supervisor's meeting in a about 2 weeks over this. More information coming soon.
Bill Watkins emailed me this:
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From WYDaily.com: http://tinyurl.com/amr6seg
By Brittany Voll
February 17, 2013
Several citizens spoke in frustration at the James City County Board of Supervisors' meeting Tuesday over the removal of a short statement written by Williamsburg-James City County Sheriff Robert Deeds from the county's website.
Deeds posted the following statement Feb. 8:
"I, and the deputy sheriffs of the Williamsburg-James City County Sheriff's Office have sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The oath of office we took includes upholding the Second Amendment of the U.S. Bill of Rights and Section 13 of the Virginia Bill of Rights, each guaranteeing our citizens the right to bear arms.
While I am Sheriff, neither I, nor any deputy sheriff in this office will take any action to aid or abet encroachment on this fundamental right of our citizens."
County Administrator Robert Middaugh, in an email to the board, wrote he consulted with county staff about the "historical use of the County's website." Based on the consultation, he decided "in order of Sheriff Deeds to keep his website on the County server, his opinions/statements regarding the Second Amendment would need to be removed."
The statement was removed Feb. 9.
Middaugh said he told Deeds he could express his opinions on a personal website separate from the county's server.
"The County website is not an open public forum," Middaugh wrote. "... If the County website was used as a public forum then the County would have to allow any person to post opinions, which would of course include both popular and unpopular opinions."
During the public comment of the board meeting, Marjorie Ponziani told the board she wanted to speak in tribute to a "courageous patriot and true defender of the people, our sheriff, Robert J. Deeds."
"We are blessed to have you as our sheriff," Ponziani said. She ended her comment with a quote from George Orwell: "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
Keith Sadler asked, "Is the Constitution too controversial for some in this country?"
Responding to a board member's inquiry and referring to the public comment section of the Feb. 12 board meeting, Middaugh wrote in an email, "With respect, it should not have been an issue and I had no idea that it was coming up as it did."
Deeds said sheriffs around the country are showing support for the U.S. constitution and state constitutions as well as the U.S. Bill of Rights and state bills of rights. Recently, he said, sheriffs are exerting support for control of gun ownership rights for "law-abiding citizens."
"I decided it was the right time to make a statement so the citizens would know I support both the U.S. Constitution and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia as well as the respective Bills of Rights, and especially the right to bear arms," Deeds wrote in an email to WYDaily.
He said he first posted the statement on his Facebook page. "Encouraging responses" prompted him to post it on the office web page.
Deeds said he did not intend for the statement to be controversial. To him it was a confirmation he's honoring the oath of office he took four times.
"I and a few others feel it was a patriotic statement, not political idea or opinion, which was the reason given to me for it being removed," Deeds wrote.
Deeds said he found out the statement had been removed on accident. He said he was not told there was a problem with the statement before it was removed.
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15. Gun-free zone: Comcast cable blacklists gun-related ads
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Mark Colleluori emailed me this:
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From The Washington Times: http://tinyurl.com/b8nadpy
By Cheryl K. Chumley
February 19, 2013
Comcast Spotlight, the advertising and sales division for Comcast Cable, has halted all ads having to do with guns on its nationwide network.
"Comcast Spotlight has decided it will not accept new advertising for firearms or weapons moving forward," the company said in a statement.
"This policy aligns us with the guidelines in place at many media organizations."
This month, Comcast acquired NBC Universal in a $16.7 billion deal reported by Media Decoder.
NBC Universal had a longstanding policy against accepting advertisements related to guns, according to a report from an ABC affiliate in Michigan.
Gun owners and gun shops have been caught off guard by the new policy.
"I thought it was ridiculous, we are a legitimate business, we have been here for 80 years," said Tom Wright, the owner for Williams Gun Sight shop in Davison, Mich., after he was denied advertising on the cable company, ABC reported.
"There's no reason why we can't promote what we believe in and something that's guaranteed under the Second Amendment."
Other gun shop owners and Second Amendment supporters are outraged. One, in the ABC report, called Comcast's blacklisting of gun advertisements a "direct infringement on our constitutional rights."
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16. Miller: Concealed carry renewed
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Dave Hicks emailed me this:
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From The Washington Times: http://tinyurl.com/ajaat94
By Emily Miller
February 18, 2013
The top legislative priority for gun owners in the previous Congress was passage of a national concealed carry reciprocity bill. The measure sailed through the House on a bipartisan 272 to 154 vote only to die at the hands of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who refused to bring it to the floor. Since President Obama won't waste an opportunity to exploit the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the measure is being brought back to life.
Rep. Marlin Stutzman, Indiana Republican, earlier this month proposed a law to give anyone who can legally carry a concealed weapon in his home state the right to do so in another. Citizens of Arizona, Vermont, Wyoming and Alaska, where permits are not required, wouldn't have to obtain one to take advantage of the reciprocity.
"If we're going to talk about gun laws, let's make sure both sides are presented to the American people," Mr. Stutzman says. "This is nothing disrespectful to Newtown or other shootings. This is more for law-abiding citizens -- who have a right to carry in their states -- to eliminate confusion so they have their Second Amendment rights protected and recognized." The National Rifle Association supports this legislation.
Illinois was the last state in the union refusing to recognize the right to bear arms, but an appeals court in December declared the Illinois policy unconstitutional. The Illinois legislature has until this summer to adopt a concealed-carry law. That leaves the District of Columbia the only jurisdiction in the country that won't allow Americans to leave home with a legal firearm.
There's a need for clarity on carry policies. Some states recognize only their own permit, while others recognize the permits of states with which they have reciprocity agreements. Some states issue non-resident carry permits that can be used within their own borders or are acceptable in certain other states.
"We have a very mobile society," explains Mr. Stutzman, who has had an Indiana carry permit since 2009. "When people question whether they can carry in a certain state and err on the side of confusion and not take the gun, they just had their Second Amendment right infringed upon."
The right to bear arms is crucial as a deterrent to crime. Over the past 20 years, the number of "shall issue" states has gone up by 21, while violent crime has steadily declined to the lowest levels in history. Criminals target places where they know no one else is armed, including the gun-free zones of Aurora, Colo., Newtown, Conn., and the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisc.
Despite the demonstrated benefits, some states are moving in the wrong direction. Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane issued a notice earlier this month denying citizens the ability to carry on a non-resident Florida permit.
This is why a national reciprocity law is needed. Reluctant state attorneys general should not have the ability to deny Second Amendment rights based on their fact-free personal beliefs. House leaders should show courage, and take up this legislation. America's 100 million law-abiding gun owners deserve their constitutional rights.
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17. New NRA ad slams Clinton, Obama as elites who mock gun owners [Video]
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Walter Jackson emailed me this:
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From Breitbart.com: http://tinyurl.com/bxkv8nu
NRA STAND AND FIGHT: "WE ARE AMERICA"
Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and all other elite politicians are trying to marginalize the law-abiding, average American.
The arrogance of their superiority requires this reminder, "We must never forget that they work for us. They don't make us free. We're free already."
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18. Mother of ACPS student arrested for toy gun incident criticizes case's handling
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From DelRayPatch: http://tinyurl.com/avcjzzf
By Drew Hansen
February 19, 2013
Nakicha Gilbert, whose 10-year-old son was charged with brandishing a weapon by Alexandria police earlier this month following an incident involving a toy gun on a school bus, criticized the case's handling in a story Monday in The Washington Post.
"This is how kids get caught up in the system," Gilbert told the Post, adding that she still has not received a clear explanation of why police were called and why her son was taken into custody.
According to the report, Gilbert's son took a toy gun purchased at a dollar store out of his backpack on a bus ride from Douglas MacArthur Elementary School on Feb. 4 and placed it in a pocket in his pants. At least two children saw the gun, one of which told her mother about the incident.
That child's mother, Rebecca Edwards, then alerted school officials about the incident and expressed concerns for her children's safety.
MacArthur officials viewed video of the bus ride after receiving the call. The next morning at school, Gilbert's son had his backpack searched. The toy gun was discovered and the police were notified, according to the Post.
The toy gun had an orange tip, according to a Feb. 5 release from the Alexandria Police Department. In that release, the APD said officers arrived at the school before students arrived.
"If we were able to investigate right away, the outcome might have been different," APD spokesman Jody Donaldson told the Post.
The 10-year-old was taken to court, fingerprinted and photographed. He was given a probation officer and has another court date scheduled. Alexandria City Public Schools officials said they were following local policies and state laws following Edwards' phone call, according to the Post report.
Gilbert's son was suspended 10 days with a recommendation for expulsion. His suspension was later cut short following a school hearing. He now attends a different school.
Jackie Surratt, chair of the Alexandria chapter of the NAACP's community coordination committee, told Patch on Monday that, at Gilbert's request, he participated in a "fact-finding session" with ACPS Superintendent Morton Sherman's staff about the incident. The student is African American.
"After all is said and done, it was a terrible mishandling," Surratt said.
Surratt, who reached out to help ACPS interim education students earlier this school year, said the NAACP chapter plans to release a statement about the handling of the incident soon.
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19. Culpeper County Republican committee's position on gun control
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Board member John Fenter sent this to me:
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Attached is the Culpeper County Republican Committee's position on gun control. We passed this resolution during our monthly meeting on January 24th. Please note that as Chairman of the CCRC, I have met with our Commonwealth Attorney and our Sheriff and determined they are in favor of our policy. I personally delivered a copy of this resolution to each of them. I'll also note that Del. Bob Marshall had a bill very similar to this that was defeated in part by Republicans who feared losing federal money. Our reaction to that failure was to inform those Republicans who voted to kill Marshall's bill that "our rights are not for sale. Our resolution was written and passed by a near unanimous vote in our CCRC without knowledge of Bob Marshall's bill.
Al Aitken
Chairman
Culpeper County Republican Committee
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RESOLUTION OF THE CULPEPER COUNTY REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE TO OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS AT THE FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS
WHEREAS, the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America explicitly states, "..., the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed ; and
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States of America has affirmed that the Second Amendment protects the right of an individual to bear arms, and that affirmation applies on both federal land (Heller vs. Washington, D.C.), and within the several states (MacDonald vs. The City of Chicago); and
WHEREAS, an emotional reaction to horrific events is no justification for a violation of our constitutional rights; and
WHEREAS, a focus on controlling guns rather than the ultimate goal of preventing violence is presumptuous, an approach that is unsupported by sound social science, and is belied by actual experience; and
WHEREAS, the President of the United States of America has announced his intent to impose additional gun restrictions via executive order; and
WHEREAS, gun control legislation has failed to prevent recurrences of mass murder; and
WHEREAS, existing regulations, designed to keep guns out of the hands of sick and dangerous individuals, have been inadequately enforced; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED that we Culpeper County Republicans do hereby acknowledge the Second Amendment to our Constitution expresses an inalienable right of individuals to keep and bear arms, and that any attempt to infringe on that right through legislation or executive order, at any level of government, is unconstitutional; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we Culpeper County Republicans do urgently request our Virginia General Assembly and Attorney General work immediately to nullify any federal legislation or executive order that infringes on our inalienable right as individual Virginians to keep and bear arms, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we Culpeper County Republicans call on our County Sheriff and Commonwealth Attorney to prosecute any agent attempting to enforce unconstitutional law infringing on our right to keep and bear arms within the County of Culpeper, Virginia.
APPROVED by the CCRC on January 24, 2013.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Committee,
Alexander J. Aitken
Chairman
Culpeper County Republican Committee
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20. Reporter tries NRA pistol safety course and goes to the range
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Robert Risacher emailed me this:
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From GOPUSA: http://tinyurl.com/azqyqph
By New Haven Register
February 18, 2013
MERIDEN - When I pulled into the parking lot of 35 Pleasant Street, it looked like any other suburban office building -- the kind of place where podiatrists look at feet and optometrists look at eyes. What removed it from the ordinary was a laminated sign in the lobby directing me to my destination. It depicted the white silhouette of handgun on a red background. Underneath was written "ctpistolclass.com," with an arrow pointed to the elevator.
On the third floor, Michael Pear, an NRA certified pistol, rifle and shotgun instructor, was preparing to teach the NRA basic pistol safety course in which I had enrolled, the first step toward acquiring a state pistol permit.
"The goal of the class, the stated course goal, is to teach the basic knowledge, skills and attitude necessary for owning and using a pistol safely," Pear said, "That pretty much says it all, and I believe in that."
Inside the classroom, diagrams of firearms and cross sections of cartridges lined the walls of the otherwise stark room. A long, white table sat 17 people, including myself.
I don't know quite who I expected to see sitting at that table, but it most certainly was not the stereotypical bunch of yahoos that the unfairly presumptuous might imagine. Half of the class were men, half were women, some of whom had never fired a gun before. Young adults sat next to senior citizens. Couples had brought their aged relatives.
"I've had people as old as their early 80s take the class. So it pretty much runs the gamut. The ethnic diversity is right there with the population. We have the business owner, the dock worker, the factory worker who loads trucks all day for a living, the waitress at the diner," Pear said, "It's a literal cross section of society as we live in it."
During one of our class breaks, I spoke with a middle-aged woman who identified herself as a teacher, but did not wish to be named because of the stigma associated with owning firearms. She had decided to get her permit as part of a five-year plan she had devised with her husband. They want buy a boat and retire to the Caribbean, and she decided having a firearm for personal protection would be wise. Another woman, in her 60s, was a former police officer who hadn't fired a gun in decades.
Two young men in their early 20s told me they had always considered taking the class, and decided now was the time to do it. They were concerned that, with the gun control debate brewing nationally and in the state, future gun control laws might restrict their ability to get a permit.
The class itself cost $110 and took about eight hours to complete. Pear spent most of that time lecturing, poring over PowerPoint presentations and the NRA guidebook we all recieved on how to safely handle firearms. Sitting through the course was a lot like taking a class for a boating license. The atmosphere was relaxed and conversational, thanks mostly to Pear's boisterous, good natured attitude.
Despite the relatively short class time, a lot of ground was covered. Imagine going to driving school and being taught not only how to drive, but all the parts of an engine and what makes it go. Pear taught us how to use firearms, but also what makes them tick.
He taught the anatomy of a cartridge -- bullet, shell and the primer that ignites the gunpowder. We learned the different components of handguns, both revolvers and semiautomatics. We learned the difference between a single-action firearm and a double-action firearm. We learned how to line up the sight of a pistol and how to control breath when aiming.
"We did an entire chapter of what you have to do to fire a shot," Pear said. "Tons of words -- 20 pages of written verbiage, 15 slides in a PowerpPoint presentation -- for you to do something mechanical that takes a second to do. We explain every part of that event."
And we learned, most important of all, that firearms are built to kill, and that they must be handled with the absolute care befitting such a device.
After class instruction, Pear led his students to a nearby gun club in Derby, where we were expected to apply what we learned in class before heading back to to take the written, multiple choice test. Pear observed each student handle a firearm, making sure they did so safely.
Pear was kind enough to take me out to the range a second time, after I had completed the course, as a round two of sorts. This second time around, he brought along more than the .22 caliber Walther P22 semiautomatic pistol the class had used.
At the Range
Pear opened his trunk and pulled out an orange hearing protection headset -- "ears" as he called them -- and passed them to me. He handed me a couple of carrying cases and took a few more himself, and we walked up the gravel covered hill that led to the shooting range.
We set the carrying cases on the weathered bench of a shooting stall. Opening the cases, Pear produced close to a dozen pistols. He had brought with him a selection of handguns representing nearly every conceivable caliber.
There was a Taurus nine shot .22 long rifle revolver, a Glock 19 9 mm semiautomatic, a Ruger SP101 .357 Magnum revolver, a .45 caliber Kimber 1911 Target Match II ACP. If this list of numbers and names is Greek to you, it was to me, too, for the most part.
I'd been to a shooting range only three times before taking Pear's safety course. Once was to go skeet shooting with my father in my youth. Once was with friends during high school -- we fired World War II-era rifles. And once was with a relative, the first time I had fired a pistol.
So, while I had fired a gun in the past, and had spent a fair amount of time in the backyard with a BB gun as a kid, I was by no means accustomed to firearms, or the act of firing them.
When Pear handed me a pistol and asked me to load it, I followed the procedure we learned in class. I picked up the magazine of a Taurus PT 99 AF 9 mm semiautomatic pistol and loaded into it five cartridges, while the pistol lay to my right on the bench.
As we learned in class, I picked up the pistol with my right hand and loaded the magazine. I wrapped my left hand over the fingers of my right and leveled the pistol at the paper target in the range.
I fixed my dominant eye on the front sight, placed the front sight over the target, and aligned the front sight with the rear sights. I took a breath and held it, squeezing the trigger slowly so as not to jar the sights.
When I fired, I was startled by the pistol's noise and the force of its kick. The 9 mm cartridge was much more violent in its firing than the .22 caliber rounds we shot before.
But as I cycled through Pear's pistols, I was reminded of their sameness. No matter how many cartridges fit in the magazine, whether it was a semi-automatic or a revolver, regardless of how big the bullet was, they were all handguns and they all did the same thing. They made loud noises and punched holes in paper. They all fired with deadly force.
Which I was reminded of when a pistol did not fire as it should. I squeezed the trigger, and the click of the hammer was not followed by a report. Pear walked me through the process of handling a misfired round, a subject we covered in class.
"Keep it pointed down range. Remember, we don't know if it's a misfire or a hangfire yet," Pear said.
A misfire is when the primer in cartridge does not ignite the gunpowder. A hangfire is when the primer does ignite, but, for the lack of a better word, fizzles. A hangfire will still detonate the gunpowder, but may do so many seconds after the primer is struck.
"If you're on the range and it goes 'click,' just stand there," Pear said. "Because if you do open it, the weakest part of that whole mechanism is that brass case. And if it does detonate, well, your hand is there, your face is kind of there, I'm standing here. I won't be happy, I would be peppered with brass. Okay, now I would say bring it down, turn it, rack the slide, drop the mag."
"Funnest thing ever"
Before we started shooting, Pear told me that going to the range is "literally the funnest thing ever."
Pear's enthusiasm about his collection of firearms was infectious. Though most of what he said about manufacturers and availability and customization went over my head, he was speaking a language I had heard before. He spoke with the glee of an enthusiast, a hobbyist -- with the glee of a camera guy talking about his new gear, a guitarist talking about his new axe, a gadget guy talking about his new home media server.
Though I'm very far from embracing firearms with the zeal of a true hobbyist, and while I can think of a few things that are more fun than going to the shooting range, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed shooting with Pear.
Firing a gun is to interact with the world in an atypical way. In an increasingly digital world, the tactile reality of a firearm -- its weight, its mechanical operation -- is a powerful counterpoint. Holding an object, pulling a trigger, and igniting an explosive charge to affect change on another physical object -- in this case a paper target -- is a lot of fun. And meaningful, too, in its uniqueness, at least to me. I can see why people do it.
Before we wrapped up our trip to the range, Pear, upon my request, produced an AR-15 variant he mentioned he had with him in his car. I wanted the opportunity to fire the now-infamous rifle.
When he pulled it out of its carrying case and put it into my hands, I was struck by how light it was, without feeling flimsy. He told me how to hold it. I fired a few shots into the dirt berm. It was loud -- much louder than any of the pistols we fired -- but the kick was negligible.
I aimed at an orange bit of debris at the far edge of the berm. To my surprise, after only a few shots, I was able to hit it. The gun was incredibly intuitive, and, honestly, fun to shoot.
Firing it there on the range, the AR-15 didn't feel much different from the pistols we shot earlier, and, in essence, not much different from firing a BB gun in the backyard of my grandparents' house.
Of the AR-15, I've heard it asked, "Why would anyone need a gun like that?" And the answer I've heard most is self defense.
Really, though, the AR-15's most practical and often-used application is for it to be fired at a range. And shooting an AR15, or any other gun for that matter, is a lot of fun.
Guns are tools for killing. They are used by American soldiers to fight our wars. They're used by criminals to intimidate and murder. They are use by police officers to protect and serve. But, for the average American gun owner, they are mostly used at the range. For fun.
I haven't yet decided if I will take the next step to get my pistol permit, despite taking the NRA safety course. I have no desire to strap a gun to my hip. I do not perceive the need, nor do I wish to take on the responsibility. Plus, filing the proper paperwork with my town and then the state would cost another $200.
Instead I think I'll put that money toward a .22 caliber target shooting rifle. They're cheap, and so is the ammo -- ideal for taking to the range.
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21. Ammo shortage: 2008 and now
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Walter Jackson emailed me this:
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From Human Events: http://tinyurl.com/aq7y2lo
By Richard L. Johnson
February 4, 2013
Tried to buy ammo lately? Many people can't find what they need, or what they find is very expensive. Standard .223 FMJ is selling for more than a buck a round at some places - and that's when you can find it. Welcome to the 2013 ammo shortage.
One of the never-ending debates with gun folks has been what kind of calibers to own in a disaster situation. That disaster might be a widespread natural disaster, an incident of terrorism or even just a political disaster that causes a scarcity of shooting supplies. It seems we are in a political disaster of sorts. "Never let a good crisis go to waste" is what this administration seems to practice, and they are quite content to push the disarming of Americans on the bodies of dead school children. Shameful.
Regardless on how we've got here, we are in an ammo shortage. In the past, I have frequently heard three theories bandied about on the topic of ammunition selection for disasters. While adopting one of these theories now is a little late to do you any good, thinking about them while observing the current firearms market might give you insight for future planning.
Caliber Consolidation: Some people have suggested consolidating on one round, such as a .357 Magnum, which can be carried in a handgun and in a carbine. Generally the idea is you only have to find and buy one caliber.
Popular (Commonly Found) Calibers: Others suggest different calibers for different tasks, but stick to the commonly found rounds. For example, 9mm handguns and .223 rifles would typically fit the bill from this perspective. The concept here is that the common calibers are made in the largest quantities and by all of the manufacturers. So, these will be the easiest to find.
Uncommon and Oddball Calibers: Still others think that going with less popular cartridges will mean less demand on the ammo when a rush hits. Something like a .45 GAP handgun and a .257 Roberts rifle. The idea is all of the common ammo will be snapped up, but you could still find the oddballs on the shelf.
Frankly, all of the above approaches have pros and cons. None of them is perfect. But, I can give you my observations from both the current and the 2008 ammo rushes, and perhaps you can draw some conclusions about what may work for you going forward.
Observation #1 - The common calibers were the first to disappear. I think .223 was the first caliber to run dry this time around, but 9mm, .45, 7.62x39 and .308 all quickly vanished also. That happened back in '08 also. Soon after, all of the other popular calibers were bought out also: .38 Special, .40 S&W, .380 ACP, etc.
Observation #2 - The uncommon calibers can still be found. I checked with a distributor about their ammo stockpile and they said the hot calibers don't stay in their warehouse any longer than it takes to slap a new mailing label on them. As soon as any roll in, they are sold.
However, they said, many of the traditional hunting calibers can still be had relatively easily. Specifically mentioned as having moderate to good inventories:
* .243 Winchester
* .270 Winchester
* .300 Win Mag
* 7mm-08
* 7mm Rem Mag
* the WSM (Winchester Short Magnum)cartridges
While the above calibers can still be had, the distributor told me that certain hunting cartridges are being snapped up as quickly as they come in. The two mentioned: .30-30 and .308. The .30-30 is a great all-around cartridge and is mostly chambered in lever action carbines, which are still legal in most/all states. In addition to hunting guns, the .308 is also found in a lot of tactical-style guns, which has probably driven a lot of sales.
Observation #3 - From the prior ammo rush, we know that certain calibers will be slow to return to normal inventory levels. Some calibers, like .223, will run on the manufacturer lines year round. Other calibers, such as .380 ACP, will only run on the line for several months during the year, because normal demand for the year can typically be met with just a few months of production. Then that line can be switched to another partial year run. In times of normal demand, this system works fine.
If demand is even between a popular caliber and a niche caliber, you are likely to see the popular caliber start appearing again sooner just because more of that ammo is being made. But, of course, demand is not equal. There is not a precise way to predict what calibers will start filling the channels again first, but I would expect to see 9mm in Walmart before .357 Magnum. I know during the 2008-2009 run on ammo, .380 was very tough to find for a long time.
Observation #4 - We all should have bought more ammo and magazines 12 months ago. Leading up to the 2012 elections, we all knew that things would go bad for us if President Obama was re-elected. I know I bought a little extra before the elections. Now I wish I had bought a lot extra. Hindsight...
Where does all of this leave us? Hopefully a little wiser before the next big rush. Much like the grasshopper and the ant, we should be preparing in the good times so we aren't left out in the cold when the bad times arrive.
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22. Editorial: Founders Wisdom
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Robert Quinn emailed me this:
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An editorial from me.
Founders Wisdom
Our Constitution was exquisitely drawn to provide for prosperity,
liberty and security, liberty being the paramount intent of the
framers. To that end they separated the requisite powers among the three branches with the checks and balances so prudently provided.
Done that way because they well knew the temptation to usurp undue influence was always in men's hearts. These were learned men who had studied the old civilizations at length and human nature was their area of expertise. They also recognized it is our greatest threat because the lust to dominate never abates.
Today the phrase "SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED" is being swept away with the emotional ruse of protecting our school children. There are in fact more effective methods available that would not curb the parameters of our constitutional freedoms. That is also why they are not being used. The "common sense" measures being foisted upon us include "universal background checks" which should raise red flags for any thoughtful reader of the law. Careful examination will reveal the word universal means just that kind of scrutiny will be legalized and ultimately expanded upon to cover much more than gun purchases. Once that tipping point is reached and becomes settled law history will show it to be the final straw for our experiment with democracy. Universal background checks will quickly become the federal government's eyes and ears in every facet of our lives up to and including voting. Ben Franklin said; "Anyone who trades freedom for security will have neither" but that is just what is happening now.
WAKE UP AMERICA !!
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23. Bill Burr on guns [Video]
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Michael Irvin emailed me this:
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There's some language but it's awesome!
From Youtube.com: http://tinyurl.com/bg69pcc
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VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org [http://www.vcdl.org/]
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