By permission from: Stephen P. Wenger
comments in () by the same
http://www.spw-duf.info
From GOA/GOF: On Monday, November 23, 2009, Gun Owners of America and Gun Owners Foundation filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the United States Supreme Court in support of four Chicago residents who are seeking to invalidate a city ordinance prohibiting them from owning or possessing a handgun in their own home. The GOA/GOF brief argues that the privileges or immunities clause of the 14th Amendment is the correct basis for ruling that the Second Amendment protects the individual right of all Americans, not just those living in Washington, DC. This brief also points out the pitfalls of using the due process clause to reach this conclusion. Gun Owners Foundation has already provided certain assistance to help in the McDonald v Chicago case. In order to better assist with the litigation of important firearms rights in this case, Gun Owners Foundation has established a legal fund. To contribute to this fund, please click here to donate online. All contributors will get an e-mailed receipt, followed by a mailed documentation of the **tax deductible** status of their contribution from Gun Owners Foundation…
http://www.gunowners.com/mcdonald.htm
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What Bloomberg and Brady Did Not Tell You about the Poll: The vast majority of the National Rifle Association's (NRA) members believe President Barack Obama will try to ban the sale of guns, a new poll found. A new national survey of gunowners both affiliated and unaffiliated with the NRA found that they believe the president will act to ban gun sales. 79 percent of NRA members believe Obama will definitely or probably try to outlaw gun sales, according to a poll released Thursday that was conducted by GOP pollster Frank Luntz and commissioned by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. 18 percent of NRA members saw it as unlikely for Obama to ban firearms sales. Gunowners unaffiliated with the NRA still saw it as likely for Obama to outlaw gun sales, though by a lesser margin. 57 percent of non-NRA members said the president would definitely or probably try to ban gun sales, whereas 30 percent said Obama likely wouldn't try to criminalize gun sales…
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/71701-79-percent-of-nra-members-believe-obama-will-outlaw-gun-sales
Related Commentary:
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/7023
---
SAF/NRA Seattle Lawsuit Proceeds: If everything goes according to current schedule, attorneys for the Second Amendment Foundation and National Rifle Association will be in court on Feb. 19, 2010 for what they hope will be a smack-down of Seattle's gun ban in city parks and recreation facilities. The case will go before King County Superior Court Judge Greg Canova. Currently in the "discovery" phase, according to Seattle attorney Steve Fogg, who represents SAF, NRA, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Washington Arms Collectors and five local residents, the lawsuit is on schedule and he believes the case is solid. Two key plaintiffs have had encounters that clearly erase any doubts about "standing" and one of those incidents belongs in the "You're Not Going to Believe This!" realm. Last month, Seattleite Ray Carter visited the Alki Community Center packing a pistol and he was promptly asked to leave… A separate challenge to the Seattle parks gun ban has been filed in federal court. Plaintiff Bob Warden of Kent, a licensed attorney, is serving as his own counsel in that case, which has no connection to the SAF/NRA case… (Mr. Warden has stated that he filed his case because he believed that SAF et al. would be denied standing, a claim that appears to be contradicted by this report.)
http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d16-SAFNRA-case-against-Seattle-gun-ban-moves-forward
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Lawsuit Dismissed on Technicality: U.S. District Court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department policy that requires an owner to be fingerprinted and fill out a form in order to retrieve a confiscated firearm. Grady Scott, who filed the suit in November 2008, had his .38-caliber handgun and an SKS assault rifle seized during a search of his home by police. His attorney has said officers used a warrant that listed the wrong address, but city attorneys dispute it was a mistaken search. When Scott asked for his guns back, he refused to comply with IMPD's requirement that he be fingerprinted. The dismissal of his lawsuit Monday resulted from an appeals court ruling in another case and a clerical error by Scott's attorney, Paul Ogden. "The court will not rewrite the complaint merely because Plaintiff mistakenly inserted the wrong constitutional provision," Judge Larry J. McKinney wrote in his order…
http://www.indystar.com/article/20091216/NEWS02/912160388/Claim-against-IMPD-gun-policy-dismissed
http://www.indystar.com/article/20091217/LOCAL18/912170472/Gun-lawsuit-misfires-over-clerical-error
---
"AWB" Bill Readied in Washington: In response to recent shooting deaths, three state lawmakers say they want to ban the sale of military-style semi-automatic weapons in Washington. The lawmakers intend to propose the ban in the state legislative session that begins next month. The legislation, called the Aaron Sullivan Public Safety and Police Protection Bill, would prohibit the sale of such weapons to private citizens and require current owners to pass background checks. It is named for Aaron Sullivan, 18, who was fatally shot last July in Seattle's Leschi neighborhood, allegedly with an assault-style weapon. Supporters say they also are motivated by the Oct. 31 slaying of Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton and the wounding of his partner. Police believe a .223-caliber semi-automatic rifle was used then. The bill is backed by Seattle's police department, spokeswoman Renee Witt said. Also pushing it is Washington Ceasefire, a nonprofit that seeks to reduce gun violence. The group plans a news conference today to announce the proposal… The ban would cover semiautomatics designed for military use that are capable of rapid-fire and can hold more than 10 rounds. Semiautomatics designed for sporting or hunting purposes wouldn't be banned… (With the arguable exception of the M14 Rifle, which generally had a block screwed onto it's selector switch, preventing full-auto operation, the last general-issue semiautomatic rifle in US military service was the WWII-era M1, also used in the Korean police action and for a few years beyond that.)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010527541_gunban17m.html
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Gun Buybacks Questioned: …It's the county's Gun Amnesty Buyback Program, held in high crime areas such as East Orange, Newark and Irvington. No such programs are being held in Verona or Cedar Grove, presumably because the crime rate is lower here and residents obtain their firearms the legal way, with permits. The programs are typically held in churches or other safe havens. County officials will be on hand to issue cash to residents who hand over their illegal guns. Such programs have gained enormous popularity over the years across the country. In some cities thousands of guns make their way off the streets within a day or two. A good way to fight crime, one would think. But are we sending the wrong message to criminals who want to earn a fast buck with the sale of illegal firearms? …One must ask, are we – as law-abiding citizens who obtain our weaponry through legal means – at risk of having our homes, offices and businesses burglarized by criminals who intend to make a couple of hundred dollars at a gun buyback program? We'd like to know if there is data showing a rise in gun thefts that correlates to buyback programs, and whether the guns purchased at buyback programs have been stolen from homes and businesses…
http://www.northjersey.com/news/79479582.html
---
Kohl's Denies Participation in Gun Buyback: Sunday before last, we discussed the ridiculous and dangerous turn-in-your-guns-for-gift-cards program conducted in Hartford, CT on Dec. 5. Per it's editorial champion, physician David S. Shapiro: "On Saturday, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford Hospital and Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center are joining with the city of Hartford, the Hartford Police Department, Kohl's Department Stores and the Hartford state's attorney's office to hold a gun buyback event..." …"Thank you for taking the time to contact us about the "gun buy-back" in Hartford, Connecticut. Upon receipt of your e-mail, I followed up with our Community Relations Department and confirmed the following:
1) The hospital did not have permission to use our name in their promotion.
2) The hospital bought Kohl's gift cards on their own.
3) This is not a Kohl's program or sponsorship.
We are addressing your concerns with the appropriate executives and following up appropriately."
http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d16-Kohls-denies-involvement-in-holiday-gun-buyback
---
Another Pennsylvania City Contemplates Illegal Ordinance: Next year Hatboro may join the 21 Pennsylvania municipalities targeting illegal guns. In both its December meetings, Hatboro council publicly debated the potential adoption of an ordinance that would require residents to report their lost or stolen handguns within a determined amount of time. Still in its discussion stages, adopting any legislation depends on whether Hatboro can do so lawfully and if it gets council's support. Hatboro Mayor Norm Hawkes is a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a national coalition working to keep firearms away from criminals by regulating illegal handguns… The Pennsylvania General Assembly held a vote almost two years ago and was approximately 25 proponents shy of passing a statewide lost or stolen gun law, Joe Grace, executive director of advocacy organization CeaseFire PA, said in an interview Tuesday… (This is the California strategy – passing local ordinances that violate state preemption, in order to put pressure on the sate legislature.)
http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/2009/12/16/public_spirit_willow_grove_guide/news/doc4b294d36a745b103932396.txt
---
Michigan to Consider Campus Carry: …HB 5474 would bring our institutions of higher education into line with the rest of our state by requiring them to follow Michigan law regarding firearms and not allow them to continue to make up their own arbitrary, and dangerous regulations. SB 747 would remove college dorms and classrooms from the Mass Murderer Empowerment Zones list. Both should be seen as common-sense fixes that simply extend the proven and successful public policy that governs the rest of Michigan with regard to gun laws. Michigan concealed pistol law currently includes a list of places that is often referred to as the "Pistol Free Zones." Regular readers of this column may recall that I tend to refer to them as the "Mass Murderer Empowerment Zones." This is because of a clear logical fallacy inherent in the law: the idea that individuals bent on committing violent crimes are in any way deterred by the idea that there may be some regulation or law that also prohibits possession of a gun in the place where they intend to do harm…
http://www.ammoland.com/2009/12/16/common-sense-fixes-for-gun-free-zones/
---
Gun Possession – Major Crime?: …What was going on, it turned out, was the response by the New Jersey State Police to a 911 phone call claiming the presence of a weapon when the students stopped for lunch on their way home Nov. 21 at the rest stop near Exit 7A of the New Jersey Turnpike near Trenton. Students and their three supervisors say troopers cited a report of a black male in a gray sweatshirt carrying a gun. But Capt. Gerald Lewis of the State Police said that the caller warned that three youths were brandishing guns at the minimart at the rest stop. But while the precise story line is not clear, the outlines are uncomfortably familiar. It was only a few months ago that a judge ended federal monitoring of the State Police, a situation that was sparked by the 1998 shooting of three minority men after a traffic stop… Finally, no gun found, northbound traffic shut down for an hour, the youths were set free, with no apology or attempt to defuse the tension and hurt other than brusque explanations that the officers were just following protocol….(I share this because the rabidly anti-RKBA attitudes of police in New Jersey and New York City seem to engender unnecessarily high-risk confrontations.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/nyregion/17towns.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion
---
Oops, Wrong House, Kentucky Version: Police believe a Louisville homeowner shot a robber Wednesday afternoon in the Shawnee neighborhood. Police say the man who was shot has died. It all happened just after 3:00 p.m. at a home in the 3800 block of Vermont Avenue. Police believe the man was trying to illegally enter the home when he was shot by the homeowner. He later died at the hospital. The homeowner was treated for minor injuries on his hand. No charges have been filed but police are sending the case to prosecutors for review.
http://www.whas11.com/news/crimetracker/Robber-dies-after-being-shot-by-homeowner-79460817.html
---
Oops, Wrong House, Louisiana Version: St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne says a homeowner shot and killed a burglar in St. Rose. 21-year-old Michael Cockerham died on the scene. "Cockerham allegedly kicked down victim's rear door to his residence while armed with a semiauto hand gun. Victim observed a laser light from what he believed to be a weapon shine through the opening of the damaged doorway at which time the homeowner fired a single shot from his weapon at the intruder," Captain Pat Yoes said in a news release. He says they have not filed any charges against the homeowner. "Cockerham was located in the yard of a neighbor with a single gunshot wound to his abdomen. He was pronounced deceased at the scene by the St. Charles Cornor's Office," Yoes stated. "The matter is under investigation." (Note the role of the laser sight in disclosing that the intruder was armed and confirming his location.)
http://www.wwl.com/Cops--St--Rose-man-kills-intruder/5907932
…Police say that a pair of burglars, who were armed with a pistol, kicked down the down the back door to a St. Rose home. Upon entering the house, one of the robbers then reportedly shined his pistol's laser sight on the homeowner. Fearing for his life, the homeowner is said to have fired one shot from his shotgun, which caused both intruders to flee, according to police. One suspected burglar, 21 year old Michael Cockerham, was found dead from shotgun wounds in a nearby yard, police say. Another suspect, 20 year old Aaron J. Vinnett, was found with non-life-threatening shotgun wounds, and has been charged with attempted aggravated burglary and 2nd degree murder (for the death of his alleged accomplice, under the Felony Murder Rule) according to police. The homeowner was unharmed…
http://www.examiner.com/x-18149-SelfDefense-Examiner~y2009m12d16-St-Rose-LA-burlgars-shot-in-self-defense
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Oops, Wrong House, Maryland Version: A Pikesville man shot two men who were apparently trying to rob his house Tuesday night, according to Baltimore County police. Both were expected to survive. One man was taken from the house to an area hospital for treatment, and police said they later found the other at a hospital after he fled the shooting scene in the 9000 block of Saracen Drive. The resident told police that he and another man were entering the house about 10:20 p.m. when they were attacked. The suspects and the resident knew each other, according to police, but the extent of their relationship was unknown. "It appeared the suspects were waiting for them and forced their way in behind them," police spokesman Lt. Robert McCullough said. No one had been arrested in the case, he said.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/bal-md.crimebriefs17dec17,0,2750510.story
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When Connections Outweigh the Law: …What Westberry didn't know at that early-morning hour of Palm Sunday, April 5, was that Cujdik's father, Louis, is a retired police veteran and that his two brothers, Jeffrey and Richard, are narcotics officers. Before Westberry could finish dialing 9-1-1 on his cell phone, Cujdik stepped through the doorway and punched him in the throat, Westberry said. That's when Westberry pulled out his gun and Cujdik fled, Westberry told the Daily News. Westberry never fired the gun. In fact, Westberry suffered the only injury when Cujdik staggered him with a punch. But rather than arrest Cujdik, a convicted drug dealer, authorities slapped Westberry with a slew of criminal charges, including felony aggravated assault, possession of an instrument of crime, terroristic threats, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person… (Again, why open the door? Had Cudjik chosen to break it down, there would have been substantial physical evidence in Westberry's favor.)
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/79288022.html?page=1&c=y
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Shootout Video: This clip contains some interesting footage. Notice that the suspect fires one-handed while the "second officer," racing to save his fellow officer, in a proactive or aggressive mode, not only fires two handed, he appears to fire from an asymmetrical Weaver position. I'm not convinced that the "first officer" may not have been struck on his ballistic vest from the way he goes down; that may or may not explain why he does not appear to get a second hand on the gun. He may have gone down because he thought he had been hit, a phenomenon that has been reported previously, and he may have stayed with a one-handed grip of the gun because he was still in a defensive mode. Wheels generally provide better cover than body panels but it would appear that the "second officer" used a "wall of lead" for cover.
http://www.kctv5.com/video/21914417/index.html
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Check Your Ammo!: During range training, one of our tactical officers had a malfunction that he couldn't clear quickly. He did the standard tap, rack. Still, the shell wouldn't extract from the chamber after it had been fired. It was not a bad extractor, but the round had been manufactured without a rim. When checking through the boxes of ammo used, we found five or six other cases that had no rim, there was nothing for the extractor to grab hold of and therefore couldn't extract the spent case causing a malfunction. I showed the officer that you can quickly pop the case out of the weapon with a pen or pencil, but it would be better to check the base of your rounds before loading up to avoid what could have been a tragedy on the street or in a tactical situation. When looking at the rounds in the plastic container, it is easy to see the missing rim. (One list member weighs each round on a digital powder scale before loading it into gun or magazine. He does this to check for missing powder charges. He may need to correct me on this but I believe his standard is no more than four-tenths of a grain variation between rounds. Rather than making it a point to carry a pen or pencil thin enough to slip insde a barrel, I routinely carry a Dejammer [http://ayoob.com/cgi-bin/miva?Merchant2/merchant.mv+Screen=PROD&Store_Code=Ayoob&Product_Code=DJ&Category_Code=ANH] on one of my key rings. Made of aluminum alloy, it will not only remove an unextracted case, it can also be used to drive out squib bullets and aid in clearing numerous other malfunctions.)
http://www.policeone.com/police-products/firearms/accessories/ammunition/tips/1978982-Safety-tip-for-range-ammo-Check-the-rims/
http://www.gunowners.com/mcdonald.htm
---
What Bloomberg and Brady Did Not Tell You about the Poll: The vast majority of the National Rifle Association's (NRA) members believe President Barack Obama will try to ban the sale of guns, a new poll found. A new national survey of gunowners both affiliated and unaffiliated with the NRA found that they believe the president will act to ban gun sales. 79 percent of NRA members believe Obama will definitely or probably try to outlaw gun sales, according to a poll released Thursday that was conducted by GOP pollster Frank Luntz and commissioned by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. 18 percent of NRA members saw it as unlikely for Obama to ban firearms sales. Gunowners unaffiliated with the NRA still saw it as likely for Obama to outlaw gun sales, though by a lesser margin. 57 percent of non-NRA members said the president would definitely or probably try to ban gun sales, whereas 30 percent said Obama likely wouldn't try to criminalize gun sales…
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/71701-79-percent-of-nra-members-believe-obama-will-outlaw-gun-sales
Related Commentary:
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/7023
---
SAF/NRA Seattle Lawsuit Proceeds: If everything goes according to current schedule, attorneys for the Second Amendment Foundation and National Rifle Association will be in court on Feb. 19, 2010 for what they hope will be a smack-down of Seattle's gun ban in city parks and recreation facilities. The case will go before King County Superior Court Judge Greg Canova. Currently in the "discovery" phase, according to Seattle attorney Steve Fogg, who represents SAF, NRA, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Washington Arms Collectors and five local residents, the lawsuit is on schedule and he believes the case is solid. Two key plaintiffs have had encounters that clearly erase any doubts about "standing" and one of those incidents belongs in the "You're Not Going to Believe This!" realm. Last month, Seattleite Ray Carter visited the Alki Community Center packing a pistol and he was promptly asked to leave… A separate challenge to the Seattle parks gun ban has been filed in federal court. Plaintiff Bob Warden of Kent, a licensed attorney, is serving as his own counsel in that case, which has no connection to the SAF/NRA case… (Mr. Warden has stated that he filed his case because he believed that SAF et al. would be denied standing, a claim that appears to be contradicted by this report.)
http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seattle-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d16-SAFNRA-case-against-Seattle-gun-ban-moves-forward
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Lawsuit Dismissed on Technicality: U.S. District Court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department policy that requires an owner to be fingerprinted and fill out a form in order to retrieve a confiscated firearm. Grady Scott, who filed the suit in November 2008, had his .38-caliber handgun and an SKS assault rifle seized during a search of his home by police. His attorney has said officers used a warrant that listed the wrong address, but city attorneys dispute it was a mistaken search. When Scott asked for his guns back, he refused to comply with IMPD's requirement that he be fingerprinted. The dismissal of his lawsuit Monday resulted from an appeals court ruling in another case and a clerical error by Scott's attorney, Paul Ogden. "The court will not rewrite the complaint merely because Plaintiff mistakenly inserted the wrong constitutional provision," Judge Larry J. McKinney wrote in his order…
http://www.indystar.com/article/20091216/NEWS02/912160388/Claim-against-IMPD-gun-policy-dismissed
http://www.indystar.com/article/20091217/LOCAL18/912170472/Gun-lawsuit-misfires-over-clerical-error
---
"AWB" Bill Readied in Washington: In response to recent shooting deaths, three state lawmakers say they want to ban the sale of military-style semi-automatic weapons in Washington. The lawmakers intend to propose the ban in the state legislative session that begins next month. The legislation, called the Aaron Sullivan Public Safety and Police Protection Bill, would prohibit the sale of such weapons to private citizens and require current owners to pass background checks. It is named for Aaron Sullivan, 18, who was fatally shot last July in Seattle's Leschi neighborhood, allegedly with an assault-style weapon. Supporters say they also are motivated by the Oct. 31 slaying of Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton and the wounding of his partner. Police believe a .223-caliber semi-automatic rifle was used then. The bill is backed by Seattle's police department, spokeswoman Renee Witt said. Also pushing it is Washington Ceasefire, a nonprofit that seeks to reduce gun violence. The group plans a news conference today to announce the proposal… The ban would cover semiautomatics designed for military use that are capable of rapid-fire and can hold more than 10 rounds. Semiautomatics designed for sporting or hunting purposes wouldn't be banned… (With the arguable exception of the M14 Rifle, which generally had a block screwed onto it's selector switch, preventing full-auto operation, the last general-issue semiautomatic rifle in US military service was the WWII-era M1, also used in the Korean police action and for a few years beyond that.)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010527541_gunban17m.html
---
Gun Buybacks Questioned: …It's the county's Gun Amnesty Buyback Program, held in high crime areas such as East Orange, Newark and Irvington. No such programs are being held in Verona or Cedar Grove, presumably because the crime rate is lower here and residents obtain their firearms the legal way, with permits. The programs are typically held in churches or other safe havens. County officials will be on hand to issue cash to residents who hand over their illegal guns. Such programs have gained enormous popularity over the years across the country. In some cities thousands of guns make their way off the streets within a day or two. A good way to fight crime, one would think. But are we sending the wrong message to criminals who want to earn a fast buck with the sale of illegal firearms? …One must ask, are we – as law-abiding citizens who obtain our weaponry through legal means – at risk of having our homes, offices and businesses burglarized by criminals who intend to make a couple of hundred dollars at a gun buyback program? We'd like to know if there is data showing a rise in gun thefts that correlates to buyback programs, and whether the guns purchased at buyback programs have been stolen from homes and businesses…
http://www.northjersey.com/news/79479582.html
---
Kohl's Denies Participation in Gun Buyback: Sunday before last, we discussed the ridiculous and dangerous turn-in-your-guns-for-gift-cards program conducted in Hartford, CT on Dec. 5. Per it's editorial champion, physician David S. Shapiro: "On Saturday, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford Hospital and Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center are joining with the city of Hartford, the Hartford Police Department, Kohl's Department Stores and the Hartford state's attorney's office to hold a gun buyback event..." …"Thank you for taking the time to contact us about the "gun buy-back" in Hartford, Connecticut. Upon receipt of your e-mail, I followed up with our Community Relations Department and confirmed the following:
1) The hospital did not have permission to use our name in their promotion.
2) The hospital bought Kohl's gift cards on their own.
3) This is not a Kohl's program or sponsorship.
We are addressing your concerns with the appropriate executives and following up appropriately."
http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d16-Kohls-denies-involvement-in-holiday-gun-buyback
---
Another Pennsylvania City Contemplates Illegal Ordinance: Next year Hatboro may join the 21 Pennsylvania municipalities targeting illegal guns. In both its December meetings, Hatboro council publicly debated the potential adoption of an ordinance that would require residents to report their lost or stolen handguns within a determined amount of time. Still in its discussion stages, adopting any legislation depends on whether Hatboro can do so lawfully and if it gets council's support. Hatboro Mayor Norm Hawkes is a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a national coalition working to keep firearms away from criminals by regulating illegal handguns… The Pennsylvania General Assembly held a vote almost two years ago and was approximately 25 proponents shy of passing a statewide lost or stolen gun law, Joe Grace, executive director of advocacy organization CeaseFire PA, said in an interview Tuesday… (This is the California strategy – passing local ordinances that violate state preemption, in order to put pressure on the sate legislature.)
http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/2009/12/16/public_spirit_willow_grove_guide/news/doc4b294d36a745b103932396.txt
---
Michigan to Consider Campus Carry: …HB 5474 would bring our institutions of higher education into line with the rest of our state by requiring them to follow Michigan law regarding firearms and not allow them to continue to make up their own arbitrary, and dangerous regulations. SB 747 would remove college dorms and classrooms from the Mass Murderer Empowerment Zones list. Both should be seen as common-sense fixes that simply extend the proven and successful public policy that governs the rest of Michigan with regard to gun laws. Michigan concealed pistol law currently includes a list of places that is often referred to as the "Pistol Free Zones." Regular readers of this column may recall that I tend to refer to them as the "Mass Murderer Empowerment Zones." This is because of a clear logical fallacy inherent in the law: the idea that individuals bent on committing violent crimes are in any way deterred by the idea that there may be some regulation or law that also prohibits possession of a gun in the place where they intend to do harm…
http://www.ammoland.com/2009/12/16/common-sense-fixes-for-gun-free-zones/
---
Gun Possession – Major Crime?: …What was going on, it turned out, was the response by the New Jersey State Police to a 911 phone call claiming the presence of a weapon when the students stopped for lunch on their way home Nov. 21 at the rest stop near Exit 7A of the New Jersey Turnpike near Trenton. Students and their three supervisors say troopers cited a report of a black male in a gray sweatshirt carrying a gun. But Capt. Gerald Lewis of the State Police said that the caller warned that three youths were brandishing guns at the minimart at the rest stop. But while the precise story line is not clear, the outlines are uncomfortably familiar. It was only a few months ago that a judge ended federal monitoring of the State Police, a situation that was sparked by the 1998 shooting of three minority men after a traffic stop… Finally, no gun found, northbound traffic shut down for an hour, the youths were set free, with no apology or attempt to defuse the tension and hurt other than brusque explanations that the officers were just following protocol….(I share this because the rabidly anti-RKBA attitudes of police in New Jersey and New York City seem to engender unnecessarily high-risk confrontations.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/nyregion/17towns.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion
---
Oops, Wrong House, Kentucky Version: Police believe a Louisville homeowner shot a robber Wednesday afternoon in the Shawnee neighborhood. Police say the man who was shot has died. It all happened just after 3:00 p.m. at a home in the 3800 block of Vermont Avenue. Police believe the man was trying to illegally enter the home when he was shot by the homeowner. He later died at the hospital. The homeowner was treated for minor injuries on his hand. No charges have been filed but police are sending the case to prosecutors for review.
http://www.whas11.com/news/crimetracker/Robber-dies-after-being-shot-by-homeowner-79460817.html
---
Oops, Wrong House, Louisiana Version: St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne says a homeowner shot and killed a burglar in St. Rose. 21-year-old Michael Cockerham died on the scene. "Cockerham allegedly kicked down victim's rear door to his residence while armed with a semiauto hand gun. Victim observed a laser light from what he believed to be a weapon shine through the opening of the damaged doorway at which time the homeowner fired a single shot from his weapon at the intruder," Captain Pat Yoes said in a news release. He says they have not filed any charges against the homeowner. "Cockerham was located in the yard of a neighbor with a single gunshot wound to his abdomen. He was pronounced deceased at the scene by the St. Charles Cornor's Office," Yoes stated. "The matter is under investigation." (Note the role of the laser sight in disclosing that the intruder was armed and confirming his location.)
http://www.wwl.com/Cops--St--Rose-man-kills-intruder/5907932
…Police say that a pair of burglars, who were armed with a pistol, kicked down the down the back door to a St. Rose home. Upon entering the house, one of the robbers then reportedly shined his pistol's laser sight on the homeowner. Fearing for his life, the homeowner is said to have fired one shot from his shotgun, which caused both intruders to flee, according to police. One suspected burglar, 21 year old Michael Cockerham, was found dead from shotgun wounds in a nearby yard, police say. Another suspect, 20 year old Aaron J. Vinnett, was found with non-life-threatening shotgun wounds, and has been charged with attempted aggravated burglary and 2nd degree murder (for the death of his alleged accomplice, under the Felony Murder Rule) according to police. The homeowner was unharmed…
http://www.examiner.com/x-18149-SelfDefense-Examiner~y2009m12d16-St-Rose-LA-burlgars-shot-in-self-defense
---
Oops, Wrong House, Maryland Version: A Pikesville man shot two men who were apparently trying to rob his house Tuesday night, according to Baltimore County police. Both were expected to survive. One man was taken from the house to an area hospital for treatment, and police said they later found the other at a hospital after he fled the shooting scene in the 9000 block of Saracen Drive. The resident told police that he and another man were entering the house about 10:20 p.m. when they were attacked. The suspects and the resident knew each other, according to police, but the extent of their relationship was unknown. "It appeared the suspects were waiting for them and forced their way in behind them," police spokesman Lt. Robert McCullough said. No one had been arrested in the case, he said.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/bal-md.crimebriefs17dec17,0,2750510.story
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When Connections Outweigh the Law: …What Westberry didn't know at that early-morning hour of Palm Sunday, April 5, was that Cujdik's father, Louis, is a retired police veteran and that his two brothers, Jeffrey and Richard, are narcotics officers. Before Westberry could finish dialing 9-1-1 on his cell phone, Cujdik stepped through the doorway and punched him in the throat, Westberry said. That's when Westberry pulled out his gun and Cujdik fled, Westberry told the Daily News. Westberry never fired the gun. In fact, Westberry suffered the only injury when Cujdik staggered him with a punch. But rather than arrest Cujdik, a convicted drug dealer, authorities slapped Westberry with a slew of criminal charges, including felony aggravated assault, possession of an instrument of crime, terroristic threats, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person… (Again, why open the door? Had Cudjik chosen to break it down, there would have been substantial physical evidence in Westberry's favor.)
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/79288022.html?page=1&c=y
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Shootout Video: This clip contains some interesting footage. Notice that the suspect fires one-handed while the "second officer," racing to save his fellow officer, in a proactive or aggressive mode, not only fires two handed, he appears to fire from an asymmetrical Weaver position. I'm not convinced that the "first officer" may not have been struck on his ballistic vest from the way he goes down; that may or may not explain why he does not appear to get a second hand on the gun. He may have gone down because he thought he had been hit, a phenomenon that has been reported previously, and he may have stayed with a one-handed grip of the gun because he was still in a defensive mode. Wheels generally provide better cover than body panels but it would appear that the "second officer" used a "wall of lead" for cover.
http://www.kctv5.com/video/21914417/index.html
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Check Your Ammo!: During range training, one of our tactical officers had a malfunction that he couldn't clear quickly. He did the standard tap, rack. Still, the shell wouldn't extract from the chamber after it had been fired. It was not a bad extractor, but the round had been manufactured without a rim. When checking through the boxes of ammo used, we found five or six other cases that had no rim, there was nothing for the extractor to grab hold of and therefore couldn't extract the spent case causing a malfunction. I showed the officer that you can quickly pop the case out of the weapon with a pen or pencil, but it would be better to check the base of your rounds before loading up to avoid what could have been a tragedy on the street or in a tactical situation. When looking at the rounds in the plastic container, it is easy to see the missing rim. (One list member weighs each round on a digital powder scale before loading it into gun or magazine. He does this to check for missing powder charges. He may need to correct me on this but I believe his standard is no more than four-tenths of a grain variation between rounds. Rather than making it a point to carry a pen or pencil thin enough to slip insde a barrel, I routinely carry a Dejammer [http://ayoob.com/cgi-bin/miva?Merchant2/merchant.mv+Screen=PROD&Store_Code=Ayoob&Product_Code=DJ&Category_Code=ANH] on one of my key rings. Made of aluminum alloy, it will not only remove an unextracted case, it can also be used to drive out squib bullets and aid in clearing numerous other malfunctions.)
http://www.policeone.com/police-products/firearms/accessories/ammunition/tips/1978982-Safety-tip-for-range-ammo-Check-the-rims/
