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How Common Are Firearm Injuries?: With tragic stories like the one
below, it is tempting to believe that banning guns would make the
world safer. But just as keeping the finger off the trigger and not
pointing a gun at somebody would have saved this boy's life, basing
public policy on unsubstantiated, emotional reaction can create
unintended consequences… Between 1984 and 2006 (latest data available)
the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recorded a 69.6% drop in the
rate (per 100,000 population) of accidental firearms fatalities.
During the same time period, the accidental non-firearms fatality rate
increased 0.2%. Moreover, in 1984, accidental shootings accounted for
1.2% of all fatal accidents; by 2006, firearms comprised 0.4%, a 69.4%
drop…
The Rules:
http://www.spw-duf.info/safety.html
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Bad Ruling in Kansas: …And the court concluded that while this allows
self-defense that involves an actual attack on the attacker - for
instance, hitting, shooting, or stabbing the attacker - it does not
allow self-defense that merely involves a threat of violence against
the attacker. I think the dissent is right to say that "force" can
reasonably be read as including "constructive force" such as threats,
especially in light of the substantial American legal tradition of
reading force this broadly (and despite the fact that other Kansas
statutes generally do say "force or threat" or some such). And this is
especially so because, as the dissent points out, the result is
absurd: Restraint in the use of defensive violence is rewarded by
criminal punishment. I believe courts should generally read statutes
as written, but the should also read their terms against the backdrop
of the legal rules that help define these terms, and principles such
as the rule of lenity, and the presumption against readings that
produce absurd results… (This is why states such as Arizona and
Montana are passing statutes that authorize the defensive display of a
firearm, under defined circumstances. The Arizona statute lists
telling an aggressor that you are armed as a form of "dsiplay.")
The Beat Goes On: A new Gallup poll may explain recent reports of
increased gun and ammunition sales in the U.S. Majorities of those who
personally own a gun (55%) and of those with a gun in the household
(53%), as well as 41% of all Americans, believe that President Obama
"will attempt to ban the sale of guns in the United States while he is
president." …Gallup's question documents that for a majority of gun
owners, the belief that the president intends to try to ban the sale
of guns is apparently quite real. One is reminded of the sociological
principle that if people believe a situation to be real, the
consequences are real - whether or not that belief is factually
correct. Thus, although the survey did not ask directly whether those
who hold the belief that Obama wants to ban gun sales have acted on
that belief in terms of increased purchases of guns and ammunition, a
connection between the belief and the behavior is a logical
hypothesis… (And we're supposed to ignore such statements as Barbara
Boxer's, that she will move to reinstate a federal ban on "assault
weapons" at a time of her choosing.)
…While that attitude is widespread in traditionally red-state Idaho,
where gun ownership is an ingrained part of the outdoor mindset and
hunter's education serves as almost a rite of passage, what is outside
the majority is his political affiliation. "I'm a gun-toting
Democrat," offered George, who serves as chair of the Kootenai County
Democratic Party and has a concealed-weapon permit, which allows him
to carry the .357 Magnum he bought for personal protection when he
sold real estate in rural areas… At Black Sheep Sporting Goods in
Coeur d'Alene, sales have remained steady all year. The numbers,
however, are not nearly as high as the spike seen in the fourth
quarter of 2008, said company spokesman Brian Knoll… But the effects
are still sending shockwaves across the industry. Ammunition is the
new sought-after commodity. Signs limiting daily ammo purchases hang
above many aisles inside Black Sheep, a local indicator of the problem
plaguing gun shops nationwide as bullets continue to be in short
supply. And many gun supporters believe that it's only a matter of
time before the Obama administration tackles firearm legislation…
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/oct/25/more-arms-to-bear/
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Michigan Instructor Offers Women-Only CPL Course: Lee Zeidler was calm
as he spoke to the women, each armed with a pistol, ready to fire.
They stood nervously on the line at the Caledonia Sportsman's Club
pistol range. The pungent smell of gunpowder hung in the air. They
were a mixed group of women, from their early 20s to mid-60s, all
prepared mentally and emotionally for the next step. Most had come to
learn how to defend themselves. Others feared losing that right some
time in the future… Klemkosky is among 50 women who signed up for the
required course to obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun in
Michigan. The female-only class was sponsored by Great Lakes Outdoors
Foundation, a 2-year-old nonprofit organization with Zeidler as
executive director… Michigan women are increasingly looking to carry.
Zeidler said 25 percent of the state's 211,000 concealed weapons
permit holders are female…
http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2009/10/women_aim_for_protection_in_co.html
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California Sheriff Issuing More CWP's – Sort Of: Sacramentans are
arming themselves in increasing numbers, statistics from the
Sacramento County Sheriff reveal. Applications approved by the sheriff
to carry a concealed weapon have increased more than 500 percent from
2008, statistics show. By September 30, the department had approved 37
applications to carry a concealed weapon, compared with six approved
applications in 2008. The sheriff also has been denying applications
in increasing numbers: 25 applications were denied by September 30,
compared with 10 permit denials in 2008. Overall, the sheriff had
approved or denied 62 concealed weapon permits by October, nearly four
times as many as had been processed through 2008. Earlier this year,
Sheriff John McGinness said he would consider issuing more concealed
weapons permits as the Sheriff's Department faced steep budget cuts
that would lay off hundreds of deputies. "I have to be open to the
potential that there will be more people in need of the ability to
protect themselves as individuals," he said in May… (CCW in Sacramento
County is a longstanding issue. California law used to allow a citizen
to receive a CWP from the sheriff or any police chief in the county of
his residence. When the chief in Isleton began issuing on a
shall-issue basis, back in the 90's, offering area residents a pathway
around the restrictive policies of the sheriff's department,
legislators revised the statute, limiting issuance to the sheriff or
the chief in one's city of residence; they also added a training
requirement.)
http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/16063/Sac_County_more_weapons_permits
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Open-Carry Demonstration with a Twist: A group of Adopt a Highway
volunteers were packing more than trash along the shoulder of
Minnesota 55 in Mendota Heights on Sunday morning. With legal guns on
their hips, a dozen area residents spent nearly three hours picking up
litter - everything from cigarette butts to blown-out tires - along a
2-mile stretch of the highway just east of the Mendota Bridge. It was
the inaugural event for the group, which registered with the Minnesota
Department of Transportation's Adopt a Highway program under the name
Minnesota Carry Permit Holders. "We believe this is the safest stretch
of road right now in the state," said Jason Walberg, who collected
trash with a Springfield XD .40-caliber, semi-automatic handgun
clipped to his belt… (Minnesota requires a permit for open carry as
well as for concealed carry.)
http://www.twincities.com/topstories/ci_13640695
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Oath Keepers Conclude Successful Convention: I just received the
following email from Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes under the
subject title "Pretty favorable article about Oath Keepers Conference
in Las Vegas Review Journal" …In spite of attempts by some to paint
Oath Keepers as the opposite of what they stand for, the movement is
gaining notice, interest and members. That has to infuriate and worry
the detractors. It ought to encourage those of us who believe
supporting and defending the Constitution against all enemies, foreign
and domestic, is a good thing.
No amount of controversy will keep Oath Keepers from educating people
about what it means to support and defend the Constitution. That was
the message Saturday during the kickoff of the group's inaugural
national conference, a two-day event that comes at a time when Oath
Keepers is experiencing a surge in membership and notoriety. Started
earlier this year by Las Vegas resident Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers
is a nonprofit organization made up primarily of current and former
police and military personnel who renew their oaths to the
Constitution… By honoring the Constitution, Rhodes said, the United
States will never become Nazi Germany or again allow abuses like the
detention of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II. The
group has close to 2,000 dues-paying members, twice the number it had
last week, said Dave Freeman, a board member and the group's national
peace officer liaison… "My oath to the Constitution is to provide
protection and welfare for the citizens of this country," said Black,
a federal air marshal who has filed numerous whistle-blower complaints
against the Transportation Security Administration. "I think all law
enforcement officers should be reminded of the true meaning of the
oath they took, and their responsibilities to uphold that oath."
http://www.lvrj.com/news/oath-keepers-speak-out-at-inaugural-conference-65931467.html
…But chillingly, there are signs that one of the worst features of
Mexico's war on drugs-law enforcement officials on the take from drug
lords-is becoming an American problem as well. Most press accounts
focus on the drug-related violence that has migrated north into the
United States. Far less widely reported is the infiltration and
corruption of American law enforcement, according to Robert Killebrew,
a retired U.S. Army colonel and senior fellow at the Washington-based
Center for a New American Security. "This is a national security
problem that does not yet have a name," he wrote last fall in The
National Strategy Forum Review. The drug lords, he tells me, are
seeking to "hollow out our institutions, just as they have in Mexico."
When Guns Are Outlawed…: Starting pistols designed for sporting events
are being converted into deadly weapons - and account for four out of
10 guns seized by police investigating gangland shootings in London.
The Olympic brand of pistol can be bought legally for £80 and can be
converted by illegal gun factories to fire 9mm bullets in as little as
24 hours. Then worth up to £600 on the black market, the guns are
rapidly becoming the most popular weapon in the capital's escalating
gang wars… (At today's rate, £80 is approximately $130. I'm not sure
about "9mm bullets." I can see such a conversion handling the 9x17mm
.380 or the 9x18mm Makarov cartridge but I'm a bit skeptical about a
9x19mm Parabellum cartridge. The SAAMI pressure limit for a
standard-pressure 9x19mm cartridge is 35,000 psi and NATO rounds run
hotter.)
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23760610-replicas-are-turned-into-lethal-weapons.do#
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6888107.ece#
Shotgun and rifle crime has more than doubled in Scotland because
police have been so effective in cracking down on handgun smugglers,
it emerged yesterday. Gangs finding it harder to access the smaller
weapons are instead arming themselves with shotguns and rifles stolen
from licensed holders. The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency
says that a recent rise in illegal handgun trade led officers to crack
down on smugglers. In response, many criminals have been robbing
legitimate shotgun owners, in particular focusing their attention on
country estates…
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6890065.ece#
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Shades of Alfred Nobel?: Approaching 90, the inventor of the
Kalashnikov assault rifle has one big regret: The almost unstoppable
Kalashnikov, designed in 1947, has become the weapon of choice for
militants and rebels from Liberia to Afghanistan as well as gangsters
and drug traffickers. "It is painful for me to see when criminal
elements of all kinds fire from my weapon," Mikhail Kalashnikov said
in a videotaped address to a conference of Russian arms traders and
designers at a top-secret Soviet-era arms testing facility outside
Moscow… Kalashnikov made it clear in the video that he never foresaw
the firearm's global reach. "I created this weapon primarily to
safeguard our fatherland," he said, looking frail and weak and with
his eyes watery. Designed just after World War Two to work in the
harsh conditions in which Soviet troops operate, the gas-powered
Kalashnikov, which is cheap to build and easy to maintain, became one
of the most successful weapons ever produced… (It may be worthy noting
that Kalashnikov prefers to view himself as a Russian patriot, not an
international Communist. The Reuters report lacks an update on the
status of the lawsuit that seeks bankruptcy for Kalashnikov's Izhmash
factory.)
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE59P34H20091026
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Tangentially Related: A new Gallup poll shows that conservatives
outnumber moderates for the first time since 2004. Gallup's breakdown
shows that 40 percent of Americans call their political views
conservative, 36 percent moderate and 20 percent liberal. Last year,
conservatives were tied with moderates at 37 percent. So what put
conservatives into the lead? Independents, apparently. Now, 35 percent
of them are self-proclaimed conservatives, up from 29 percent last
year. Meanwhile, the portion of independents who call themselves
moderate dipped to 43 percent from 46 percent… (To paraphrase Mordan
Claude, Robert Heinlein's character who states, "…an armed society is
a polite society," this is a personal observation only: While reading
the news every day reminds me more and more of the scenario painted by
Ayn Rand in Atlas Shrugged, I remain optimistic. Never in the history
of our nation have so many private citizens purchased so many firearms
and so much ammunition. Doing so is a radicalizing experience for many
new gun owners. Having come to the realization that they cannot rely
on the government for personal protection, most will eventually begin
to question whether it makes any more sense to rely on the government
for their retirement, their health care, ad infinitum. Further, some
believe that we are now experiencing a "Roe effect." This is a
function of left-leaning people having used abortion to decrease their
production of offspring to a much greater extent than right-leaning
people. Since the values of children are usually shaped by those of
their parents, this would mean more right-leaning voters over time.
The term derives from the landmark case of Roe v. Wade.)
http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/gallup_poll_conservatives/2009/10/26/277020.html
