Criminals and the Guns They Carry

This 2015 article about crime guns contains some information which  you may find interesting.

It speaks to the caliber and conformation (eg: revolver vs pistol) of firearms commonly carried by criminals, and more interestingly describes the maintenance level which felons use in their weapons.

Most importantly, it speaks to the various actions which you might take (or not take) when confronted by an assailant .. whose gun may or may not be functinable.

Criminals and the Guns They Carry | Active Response Training:

“If you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.” Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu said this over 2000 years ago in his book The Art of War It’s hardly new advice. Yet it is just as useful now as it was so many centuries ago.

Curiously, the article suggests that criminals are often not familiar with their weapons, to the point where they are not aware of basic maintenance procedures.   Some guns taken from felons have been found to be non-functional; that means, they don't work.

Don't assume, ever, that their weapons are not functional!

Concealed carry Driver

Police are just people; if you treat them with respect (and don't take it personally when they pull over for speeding) they will return your respect. 

So that's why I have never disrespected police for giving me speeding tickets .. which I quit doing!

I've talked before about carrying a weapon and being stopped by police for a traffic offense.   I'm going to repeat it because of the following published story from a policeman:

Purse Carry, CCW, and Police Interactions | Active Response Training: I do what I can to avoid treating CCW carriers with paranoia.  I work hard to ensure that should I stop a CCW licensee, the encounter goes positively for both of us.  After all, if the person I’m stopping has gone to the trouble of getting a CCW license, I know he doesn’t have a serious criminal record.   If the CCW carrier informs me that he or she is carrying, I know that the person is trying to obey our state’s LE notification law and probably isn’t trying to kill me.

After I was stopped (this wasn't the incident reported above), the police car sat behind me with red-lights flashing for two or three minutes while I fished out my drivers license Concealed Handgun License, and other identification cards ... plus my insurance form.   I did this because I knew the cop had called in the license plate, identified me as the owner, and ran a check on my name.   He knew I was (probably) carrying a gun and exercised proper diligence when he left the car and approached me.

When the cop finally got out ot the car, he had one hand on his pistol and the other hand held a flashlight.  I had already killed the engine and turned on the interior lights (it was a night-time stop) so he could see clearly that I had both hands on the steering wheel, I was holding my papers in my left hand, the window was rolled all the way down ... and I had not opened my door.

When he asked for license and insurance, I simply gave them to him while my right hand remained on the steering wheel.  I kept my face toward him, and wore a chagrined grin.   (Well, I WAS speeding .. I was going to the drug store to get a refill of pain medication for my Significant Other.)

I explained why I was hurrying, admitted that I exercised poor judgement, and asked him to please just write the ticket and let me go before the pharmacy closed.

Perhaps I wasn't as calm as I should have been, but he recognized the situation as I explained it to him and returned my papers with a simple caution to obey the speed limit; it's better to be slow returning home than to not return due to an accident.   Or something like that.

Abuse of Authority:

I know that there are "Bad Cops"; my distant cousin was married to one.  I never liked him, and after a few years he lost his job.  Not because of anything I said or did ... I was only 12 at the time.

My cousin divorced him, too, which was A Good Thing; I liked my cousin, but she wasn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree.

 One nice thing about shooting matches, folks just naturally assume that if you're carrying a gun at a shooting match, you're probably not a convicted felon.  Or a druggie. 

Road Trip from HELL!

:at September back in '69


I got drafted on a Wednesday, proposed to my College Sweetheart that night.  By telephone.

Three days later, we got married.

A couple of weeks later, I reported for duty, and saw my wife on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Then it got interesting:

After Basic Training and Infantry School, and NCO School, (graduated "top 5", as an E6 Staff Sergeant), and then it was time for my first posting: I went to Anniston, Alabama (Fort McClellan, home of WAC school and National Guard Basic Training) where I was a training officer.  I was allowed off-base housing, so I rented a private home from a local NCO who was on leave and I enjoyed connubial bliss with my wife (after paying her airplane ticket)

I would get off work at 1800, go jump in the community swimming pool; the neighbors complained that I usually jumped into the pool wearing my sweaty fatigues, but I ignored them.

Then I got a 3-week leave, plus travel time, so we decided to drive from Alabama to Oregon so we could save money.  Also, we had purchased a 1969 Ford Maverick ("The last car you can buy for less than $2000!") and we drove from Alabama to Oregon in three days ... taking turns driving, nonstop.

The car didn't have a radio, but I had bought an 8-track player and hot-wired it into the ignition system (lucky I didn't burn the car up!) so we listened to the only 3 8-track tapes I could find.  To this day, I cannot listen to Creedence Clearwater music without cringing.

We drove straight through from Alabama to Oregon in three days .. non-stop.  We took turns driving.

We stopped somewhere in Texas, when we just didn't have the energy to continue.  Just ... pulled off the road, turned off the car, and went to sleep.   We were awakened by a state trooper (whatever they call them in Texas), who was concerned that we had both died.  He had a helluva time waking us up!

We explained the situation to him, and he looked at us as if we were crazy people.  At that point, he was correct.  But "we were young, and sure to have our way", so we were advised to pull further off the road and kindly suggested that we "get a room".

My wife was asleep, and I was driving, when I passed a sign which said:

GRAND CANYON ... NEXT EXIT

I thought, this may be my last chance to see the Grand Canyon.  But instead of waking her up and discussing whether we should take the scenic detour, I just ... drove on.   I've always regretted that decision.

Finally we got to California, hit the I5 Freeway north, and got to Oregon where we could see our families sometime in the late afternoon after we-didn't-know-how-many-days of driving.

A few days later I reported for duty at my home town (Pendleton, Oregon) after visiting my parents.  gave the car keys to my wife, went to the Greyhound Station, and was eventually (after a year in-country as a training NCO in Georgia) assigned to my next duty station.  It was, not surprisingly, the First Infantry Division in Dian, South Vietnam.

But while I was serving in Viet Nam, I got a letter from my wife.  She and my sister were touring .. somewhere touristy ... and while backing out of the parking lot they bumped into a tree and dented the rear of that damned cheap-ass Maverick.

The mechanics had to replace the trunk lid.  It had folded up like .. well, a Campbell's Soup can would have been embarrassed.

Two years later, after I was back home, I was entering a freeway ramp (in the Maverick) when the hood suddenly just ... popped up!  Apparently, the double-lock hadn't functioned, and a gust of wind just flung it up in my face.

We got rid of the Maverick.

I got a really good trade-in deal in a well-used 1965 Chevrolet Corvair Convertible ... with custom-build dual 2-barrel carburetors!   The fabric roof leaked (especially after our neighbors cut the fabric roof to steal BUPKIS from the glove compartment) and the dual-carburetors were never tuned because no competent mechanic would touch them.

But damn!  It LOOKED FINE, especially in the summer when it wasn't raining.

Did I mention I live in Oregon .. the center of the Great Pacific Northwet?

Man, when it comes to cars, I sure can pick 'em!

Biden Confirms Suspicions; He IS A Dork

Dopey Joe Biden confirms all suspicions that he is, always has been, and remains as dumb as a stump.  (For any stumps which may be reading this, I apologize for the comparison, which denigrates the integrity and intellect of actual native-born stumps ... which are the remains of dead trees, as opposed to the remains of dead political careers.)

(See: "DORK")

"My mother believed and my father believed that if I wanted to be President of the United States, I could be, I could be Vice President!" said Vice President Joe Biden.  [source]

 Here, ex-vice president Biden blandly adopts an opinion and immediately refuses to justify his decision:

Biden Gave A Lengthy Endorsement Of Kavanaugh Accuser Until One Question Caused Him To Walk Away | The Daily Caller: Former Vice President Joe Biden emphatically supported Kavanaugh accuser Dr. Christine Blasey Ford Monday night, faltering only when a reporter asked him about the credibility of a claim made over 35 years ago. “What I’m going to do is I’m not going to answer any more questions,” Biden said, deflecting a reporter’s question asking whether it was significant that the assault claim refers to an incident that allegedly occurred when Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was 17 years old. “I’d be happy to talk about Ireland,” Biden added during his remarks to a group of reporters at Irish ambassador to the U.S. Dan Mulhall’s residence.

(But he's a master at changing the subject when asked questions which would require him to think.)

Perhaps Biden's most important contribution to American Society is that he provides material for late-night talk-show hosts.

Posting about the Second Amendent

Since December of 1998, I have written 4513 drafts (and actually published 4056 of them) posts on this website in an attempt to present the Shooting Sports as a wholesome, widely accepted exemplar of the freedoms which America has protected in the Constitution..

As of this date, there are still more writers who condemn the use of firearms for sport, defense and hunting than those who accept this Constitutionally acknowledged RIGHT!

I do not know how Americans seem so ready to turn their backs on a Right which seemed so important to the Founding Fathers.  I can only presume that America has become so smug about ourselves that they don't think we have anyone against whom we need to defend ourselves.

Dumbshits:
we are perhaps probably the most hated country in the world ... certainly in the Middle East!
Because we think all men are created equal, and we give them guns to prove it.

It seems trite to assume that the "911" events were dismissed:  Did nobody notice that if our country was not essentially disarmed, those terrible deaths of Americans would not have occurred if (for example) the passengers on American Airlines Flight 11 had been armed .. or even if the odds were that they might have been armed?   They couldn't defend themselves against box cutters!

Today, the 911 tragedy is nothing more than a "Trip Ticket Tour". where for $100 (more or less) you can see all the sites where Americans died. 

Is this what our country has come to?  A place where you can relive the places where innocent Americans have died?  I wait with bated breath for a tour where you can visited the incinerated bodies of Americans who died upon that day.

Not.   That's disgusting!

It seems to me that the Second Amendment is not about hunting.

(Not an original observation, I agree.)

It's about preserving our freedom .. preserving our freedom from a tyrannical government (which was the original priority of our ForeFathers), but also from those outsiders who resent our freedoms and who would seek to undermine them.

Not all of which are aliens;  many native born Americans are fearful of those Americans who own and use firearms.   (Or box cutters.)

They think we are wild men. 

They assume that we are fearful and would use our guns irresponsibly.  They do not accept that we think we are at least as sane as they are, and perhaps more responsible because we are prepared to use our meager firepower to defend those who are unwilling or unable to defend themselves.

There is a story ( which I personally disbelieve) that at the onset of WWII, someone in the Japanese  High Command was presented with the suggestion that Japan should open the festivities by invading America's.   The senor Japanese general waived the plan on the basis that: "Oh, HELL no!  Americans are all armed, and we would face armed Americans behind every rock and tree with guns!"

Aprophycal, to be sure; but not entirely unrealistic.

The might of America  is with its laymen.  
Those gun-nuts (and the Second Amendment) who are so despised by the Liberal Left are perhaps our First line of Defense.

Forget the U.S. Army, and the National Guard.   
They are all-too-organized, and everyone has access to their names and addresses.  And besides, they are not "on the scene" when violence  begins, when it is disorganized, when they have not yet established full control over their victims.

But their purported victims are there, and if prepared ... they can dismantle even a planned attack if they have the will, the conviction and the firepower


No, America's "First Freedom" (however you may despise them) are the individual; the man with a gun, who has no qualms about defending his country ... and is likely to be the man who is most effective.

He has no name.  He exists on no roster of "Military Member".  He's just Joe Schmo from Tipalo.

He is The Minute Man; the guy who our forefathers expected to defend his country 200 years ago, ... not because he should, but because he can.

You may not like him; maybe stuffing a chaw in his cheek; or he may be a Corporate CEO; but he's an American with a gun, and someone who knows how (and when) to use it.

If and when we really really, really need him, he's there.

Like it or not.

Information, or Salesmanship?

I like the concept of a website which promotes firearms as a means of self-defense.

I worry that some seem to be more concerned with promotion of their website, than they are for defense of our civil rights.

Sometimes it's a little confusing; but perhaps I've missed a few issues.

Obama ...: we gave him EVERYTHING!

It's not just you.

Two Alpha?

Tattoo!

When you really, really need to shoot somebody,  it ought to leave a mark for the NEXT G-friend to wonder  WTF???

Police: Woman shot local man in the face as he choked her: During the investigation officers discovered Hampton and woman, who are in some sort of relationship or possibly related, were fighting when the man began to choke the woman, Waco police Sgt. Patrick Swanton said. During the struggle, Hampton pulled out a gun, but the woman was able to point it toward him and shoot him, Swanton said. He was taken to a local hospital.

Why We Fought The Britsh

1984 has reached No-longer-so-Great Britain.

U.K. Police Urge Citizens To Report Neighbors For 'Offensive' Speech:

English police are now calling on citizens to report hate incidents. Reporting friends and neighbors to the police has terrible historical connotation, and for good reason. It is legitimate fascism. Timid citizenries are easy to control — fear that even a coworker could file a report to the police can keep people in check.

Thanks to Joe's Gulch for the heads-up and the link; he's a nice man, but he just doesn't HATE enough to give this report the attention it deserves.

The only way the world could possibly be negatively affected by this sort of societal incursions on the First Amendment is if the good folks at GOOGLE agreed with them!

Oh ... wait .....

Hello?  IS there anyone there? 

>TAP TAP TAP<   Is This Thing On?

All they know is what they read in the papers

The Trace references an independent study which purports to prove ... statistically ... that private individuals who legally carry guns do not reduce crime. (see below the fold for detail)

The thing is, crimes which do not occur because of legally carried guns are rarely reported.

Woman Waiting For Her Commute:
During the bitter winter of the year in which Oregon permitted concealed carry, a lady friend of mine was waiting in the transit station to catch her ride into Portland.  She was approached by a trio of young men who threatened her and demanded her purse.  She slipped her hand into the pocket of her overcoat ... and the thugs backed off.   

They said (words to the effect) "Oh no, you don't gotta pull a gun on us, lady.   We're out of here!"

And they left. 
A few minutes later, her bus arrived and she went to her job.

Did she report the attempted mugging?   No, she did not.   She was cold, worried more about getting to work on time, and the crime (of "Threatening", if nothing else) was never reported.

Man Leaving The Office:
Another friend was threatened in the parking lot of the Corporate Headquarters building where he and I both worked ... this was just after he got off work.    He had stayed late to finish a product, and he was the only employee in the parking lot. 

Again, multiple assailants ... but this time he had a pistol in a concealed carry holster; he pulled the gun just far enough to display it, and the gang ran.

He unlocked his car and went home to dinner.  No report was filed with the police, the incident never appeared in the newspapers. 

Just life in The City.

I worked for several years in an educational institution.  I carried every day.  Even though I had a Concealed Handgun License (CHL) it was not legal for me to bring a firearm into the buildings, although it was legal for me to (concealed) carry on campus.  (NOTE: Oregon does not recognize any other state's handgun license; we are that weird.)

Nobody knew I was armed, and I kept the pistol in a locked desk drawer during the day; I only carried it between the parking lot and my office.   And I was never assaulted during that most dangerous time of the day ... on the way to and from work.

If I HAD been approached by someone who threatened me, I would have lost my job by defending myself with a gun; it was obviously a violation of my "Terms of Employment" for me to possess a firearm in any building on campus.     I wouldn't have reported it, either.

In Oregon, CHL folks are the Red-Headed Stepchild; nobody recognizes us, nobody likes us, so we just keep a low profile ... at least, in our professional life.

I suspect many CHL folks around the country are much the same way.  We don't advertise.
And i wouldn't even be writing this, if I wasn't retired.  Now Oregon laws on CHL have been updated just a little bit, but I still can't carry inside of any building on any campus in Oregon.


BELOW THE FOLD: CHL does not reduce crime

ATTEMPT to make normal security measures appear paranoid

The press works its wondrous ways to skew present the news.

WATCH: Security Steps in as Parkland Victim's Father Walks Up Behind Kavanaugh | Breitbart: During Tuesday’s confirmation hearings, security jumped into action as a Parkland shooting victim’s father walked up behind Brett Kavanaugh. Video of the incident shows that Kavanaugh had risen from seat and turned to his left to walk out of the chamber when Fred Guttenberg approached from behind. Guttenberg, the father of Jaime Gutternberg–who was slain in the Feb. 14, 2018, Parkland school shooting–reached out his hand toward Kavanaugh’s and said something, at which point Kavanaugh began to turn toward him and security intervened.

The reportage skewed the news .. and over-reported the incident ... to insinuate that Kavanaugh's security over-reacted.   In fact, no high-profile politician (or his security detail) will willingly UNDER-react to an unidentified person approaching their charge without being thoroughly vetted (and often searched).

I look back at the American Political Figures against whom assassinations were attempted (or completed), but most especially to the assassination of John F. Kennedy,  whose assassination was successfully completed.   I did not agree with the nuances of his politics, but I admired the man for his integrity.

As we see new candidates for office, we also see those who would threaten their physical security, in an effort to dissuade them from seeking political office.

 I think this is the lowest level to which any politically aware citizen can descend.  If you don't like his/her politics, campaign against him and make your objections part of the public dialogue.

When animals sink to political assassinations, then they reveal themselves for the cultural dupes that they are.

The dichotomy between Republicans and Democrats continues to be not only NON-productive, but COUNTER-Productive!

On the other hand, if the two-party was not intrinsically divisive, how could you tell the difference between them?

Too stoopid to find a job, turns to a life of crime, f**ks that up too

I knew holdup men turned to crime because they were too stupid to hold a job, but surely if you're going to hold up a store you should hold onto your gun!

For archival purposes ... if the link dies, the video may survive; here it is:

and now, for something REALLY IMPORTANT!

This is the kind of news we like to see pop up in our inbasket:

Just in time for hunters preparing for the upcoming seasons, a new public shooting range in Grand Traverse County is now open. 

New shooting range open in Grand Traverse County | WPBN: A view downrange at the Grand Traverse shooting range in Grand Traverse County, Michigan. The range opened in August 2018 and offers accessible parking and pathways to the shooting stations and target retrievals. Photo Courtesy: DNR

Justifiable Self Defense! ( but still can't own a gun)

When self defense is a matter of seconds, the police are only minutes away.

Sometimes, defending your life is more important than obeying the law.  And even felons know this.

Fort Smith Woman Ruled Justified For Deadly Shooting In 2017, Now Facing Charges For Criminal Possession Of A Firearm | Fort Smith/Fayetteville News | 5newsonline KFSM 5NEWS: FORT SMITH (KFSM) - A Fort Smith woman has been found justified in using self-defense, on Thursday (Aug. 30), in a deadly shooting that happened in December 2017. The woman will now face charges for possession of a firearm after pleading to felony drug charges in February 2017.

It seems bizarre to acknowledge that a woman can be congratulated for saving her own life (when the police could not defend her), and then to turn around and arrest her for illegal possession of a firearm.

Sometimes, the police get all caught up in laws, and forget rights. 
Among them the right to self-defense when attacked.

Yes, felons forfeit their rights.

Yes, it's complicated.

I fully expect that the woman in question ... who defended her life with a firearm which she was not legally "permitted" to own one ... will be released with "Time Served" and no further legal entanglement.   After all, where were the police when she was attacked? 

 ("Minutes Away")

Answer: they were waiting for a "Crime Scene", where they would collect evidence, search for "perpetrators", and prepare to testify at the trial of what would here seem to be an innocent victim.

Anything more than a release without bond would be an obvious obstruction of justice ... and justice has no relationship to "Law".  After all, where were the police when she was fighting for her life?

WASPS!

Last month I found a wasp nest on the cross-bar of my patio gate.  I bought some wasp spray (it was anemic ... didn't "shoot under pressure" as advertised) but it killed them.

There were still wasps around, hanging near the trash cans by the garage entrance.  But no nests found.

Today, loading groceries in the back of the Explorer, I notice there was a very advanced, very active wasp nest between the rear hatch and the body of the car.

I bought a new can of wasp spray.

Tonight, after dark, I sprayed the HELL out of the new wasp nest .. then closed the hatch.  Tomorrow will tell the story, whether or not I've eliminated the vermin.

FUNNY THING IS .... I couldn't see any signs of a wasp nest in or near the trash cans .. which are plastic, and always closed except when I'm emptying trash into them or the garbage man picks them up.   The trash cans attract insects, and while they're always closed tight ... the aroma seems to draw wasps.

I'll check tomorrow to confirm the latest "Explorer" next has all died .. and remove the dead nest. 

And I'll perform a more rigorous check near the garbage cans by the entrance to the garage.

 (I don't park inside the garage... the Damned Old Ford sleeps in the driveway, rain or shine.)
\
Two weeks ago, I had observed wasps swarming around the outside rear-view mirror on the Ford; I used the hose to inundate the hidden next, and assumed that this would dissuade them from nesting around my black (warm) car.  I was wrong.

You might consider that this is the nesting season for wasps, and check for swarms on your property.  If you see more than 2 or 3 wasps ... there's a nest.  They're not terribly aggressive, but they will swarm you if you wander near their nest, so if you see them, be sure to check in nooks and crannies near where you see them.

They do become aggressive when you near their nest.  This is the second nest I've found within 15 feet of the entrance to my home.

Spray the nest, then distroy the nest with water pressure from your hose ... then crush and dispose of the next.

Let's be careful out there.

The NYT would rather see kids shot by invaders than to arm teachers.

The opinion column of the New York Times is always good for a "WTF?" moment.
(SEE: Below The Fold)

Despite the recent (?) spate of school shootings, NYT thinks that arming teachers would:

"... contribute to a climate of fear in schools and note that study after study equates more guns with more injuries and deaths."

It's significant that the wise editors of the NYT use the term "contribute to the climate of fear", which tacitly acknowledges that a "climate of fear" already exists in schools, after reports of predators attacking schoolchildren around the country.

When the only one with a gun is a predator,  it's difficult to imagine how an armed defender could make any student more fearful .... unless the NYT is willing to encourage students to "Pay No Attention To The Man Shooting Your Friends".    Apparently, students should not trust their teachers, but they should trust interlopers.

(Among interlopers, I'm including the sworn police officer who received reports of armed attacks on innocents, and heard the shots fired, but hid in his  police  car under a bridge until the shooting was over, rather than to risk his life defending the public.)

I'm sure there are statistics which report the number of educators who turn on their students with intentions of mass murder.

Oh, I looked it up.  I found ten reports of teachers killing students: worldwide!

Three used firearms    The rest used knives, or various forms of strangulation.   Apparently, when teachers run amok, they use the tools at hand ... some of which are more gruesome than others.  (Many of the reports note an "interpersonal" relationship; the teacher was banging  having an affair-gone-wrong with the student.)

I haven't found any reports of Mister Jones or Miss Smith Niner-ing their Junior High School class on Civics in Dubeque Iowa.

THE FOLD:

California Prop 65

More California Scheming?

Due to California laws, products sold in that state need to meet "product safety regulations" ... even if those laws don't logically apply to that product.

Bond Arms Firearms Cause CANCER... According to California Prop 65 - The Firearm Blog:

 After August 30th, Bond Arms products will NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE (including guns, barrels, holsters, accessories, apparel, etc.) in the state of California due to Prop 65, which makes all manufacturers label products that could have a chemical that could cause cancer or birth defects, even though it won’t.

(link added)

As a blogger, I'm beginning to LOVE California!   Their laws and regulations are quite as nonsensical and inane as are those of New Jersey!

Oh ... and "Bizarre", too!

    Comparing California and New Jersey;

California has the most lawyers of any state in the union; New Jersey has the most toxic landfills.    Why?

 New Jersey won the coin toss.

Holy Cat Suit, Batman!

Isn't watching Tennis boring enough?

‘You have to respect the game’: French Open bosses ban Serena Williams’ skin-tight catsuit — RT Sport News: French Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli says next year’s French Open at Roland Garros tournament will toughen up its dress code – prohibiting form-fitting catsuits such as those Serena Williams donned this year. ‘Like a queen from Wakanda’: Serena Williams says ‘superhero’ catsuit helped her to victory In an interview with Tennis Magazine, Giudicelli emphasized that eye-catching, figure-hugging outfits will no longer be allowed at the second Grand Slam tournament of the year. “I believe we have sometimes gone too far,” he said. “Serena’s outfit this year, for example, would no longer be accepted. You have to respect the game and the place.”

No I don't.   But I DO respect Serena Williams!

Somebody needs to Get A Life

David Hogg to S&W: Donate $5 million annually to gun control or be destroyed - Guns.com 

... cites "Love and Economics" as the instruments of destruction.

Don't know why he bothers. Smith and Wesson has been mismanaging their business for years; sooner or later their corporate owners will cast them off as unprofitable.

But Hogg will milk this cow as long as he can, because he loves his spotlight.
(Although his "spotlight" is more like a "penlight".)

The gun control advocate, speaking at a protest at Smith & Wesson’s factory in Massachusetts over the weekend, had a list of demands. David Hogg, who catapulted to the national spotlight for his role in the March for Our Lives campaign following the Parkland, Florida school shooting earlier this year, was a featured speaker at a rally organized by 50 Miles More and the Boston chapter of March for Our Lives. With a crowd estimated by the Boston Herald to number about 100 on Sunday, Hogg helped voice the group’s demands for the gun maker to donate $5 million to gun violence research per year and halt the production of firearms outlawed under the state’s assault weapons ban.

Let me see, that would calculate to about $50,000 per protester.

Hog continues to ignore the fact that he was not at Parkland School when the atrocity occurred; his notoriety is based on his assertion that ... "I COULD have been there!"

I went to the range today, and didn't fire a single shot

There was a match at my local range, and my friend The Hobo Brasser competed in it.  I didn't compete, but I came out to watch the last stage, and then we went to lunch

Over burgers and beer we chatted of friends and family, and the match (where the Hobo turned in a couple of very good runs during the Speed Steel match), and the conversation turned to the point where he suggested that I should start competitive shooting again.

I informed him that my eyesight was degenerating, and I was unable see at a close distance (like ... within three feet) without corrective lenses.  He suggested that I work with red-dot sights to help, and that's a reasonable solution.  But I still need corrective lenses, and I can't see at a distance with my reading glasses.

(I tried bifocals a few years ago ... the split image makes me dizzy when I move from one shooting position to the next, and that's part of the IPSC thing.   So he might have a point; Speed Steel does not require movement.  I'll think about it.)

The Hobo is a true gentleman, and he allowed to conversation to turn to other subjects.

I enjoyed the outing, the lunch, the conversation, and the opportunity to spend time with a man I respect and whose company I enjoy.

100th London murders; Thinking Like A Brit!

It could be worse!

100th London murder investigation launched as capital set for record number of killings after pensioner found dead - Mirror Online: 100th London murder investigation launched as capital set for record number of killings after pensioner found dead Full list of those killed after epidemic of knife crime sweeps the capital this year piling pressure on Metropolitan Police.

They tell me that knife attacks are less frequently fatal than attacks by guns.   And I assume that not all of the Brits who were attacked by knives died from their injuries; the article does not address the question of how many Brits were attacked by knives and survived the attack.   For the sake of argument, we will assume that a few some survived.

So, if those who were "only injured" by knives had been armed with firearms, and were able to defend themselves against their attackers ... then the total number of "dead" would be much greater (due to the deaths, by gunshot, of the attackers).

That would be a terrible number of "death by gunshot", and would make it seem that London is a hotbed of violence!

When you think about it, it's ultimately A Good Thing that Brits are not allowed to defend themselves with firearms.

Help Stamp Out Gun Violence!

(Oh, and BTW .... The Brits have made knives illegal.   Which is okay, because they don't like to to eat steak anyway.)

PS: I wonder if there would be fewer knife attacks on Brits if they were legally permitted to carry firearms.   Logic suggests that the possibility that the victims might be able to defend themselves against more powerful and vicious attackers might make the villains more ... cautious ... about choosing their victims.
But that's just poppycock; that could never happen in a Civilized Society!

New Jersey not only bans guns, but tracks guns they don't ban!

Murphy makes yet another move to combat gun violence in N.J. | NJ.com:

New Jersey has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation and one of the country's lowest gun mortality rates. But Murphy has repeatedly cited how the majority of gun deaths in the state involved a firearm that came from out of state. 

This directive requires agencies to share information regarding the manufacturer, importer, dealer, and the first purchase for such crimes. That will allow the State Police to identify any patterns and identify those who have unlawfully sold or bought the guns, according to the attorney general's office.

Lotsa luck with that.  It only regulates honest firearms owners ... where is the law that criminals will obey when they bring illegal firearms into New Jersey?

Answer: It's just another load of Liberal feel-good legislation which will have NO effect on firears imported from out of state.

But politicians need feel-good laws, because .... somebody needs to feel that their state is protecting them ... when their state is powerless to protect them by merely passing laws that nobody will obey.

what a bunch of maroons!

"School Shooting" reports are often bogus:

Agenda, Not Accuracy | The Zelman Partisans:

Back in February, I fact-checked Everytown for Gun “Safety”‘s list of school shootings. 29% of their “school shootings” did not meet even their own definition.* Some weren’t shootings.

How would you define a "School Shooting"?

You would expect that someone at a school shot someone else at a school ... right?

Sorry ... most at least SOME of the stories about a "School Shooting" either didn't involve a "school", except only marginally.  Many don't involve a "School" at all, and some don't even occur within the boundaries of a school-ground.

I wouldn't have even mentioned that, except that the Popular Press is so eager to define gun violence as "School Shootings" that they neglect that often neither "Schools" nor "Shootings" were involved.

This is just one more example of how the "Popular Press" willingly glamorizes incidents in order to terrorize the public, in their urge to demonize firearms.

And I thought *_I_* was disenchanted with Politicians!

As much as it pains me to agree with SALON ....

Democrats Latest News & Community | Salon: Diehard Trump fans and diehard Democrats are impossible to reason with.They’ve memorized all the talking points and they will argue with you endlessly. I see no sense in engaging with either.Both live in a Manichean world where one side is pure good and the other side is pure evil. In reality Republicans and Democrats differ only on hot-button social issues. Both cater to the economic elite. Both love war. Both have contempt for ordinary working people.  [emphasis added]

(I'm not convinced that "both love war", but that's a subject for another time.)

Most first-campaign politicians campaign for office in order to advance a cause which they consider important.   When elected, they soon discover that their voice as a "junior" legislative member is ignored and without power.  They haven't the support to pass the bills which they expected to improve the cause of their electorate.

Then they begin to enter  into coalitions with other members of the legislature, because they only way you can "change America" is to make your vote count. So you give a little, to get a little.

And there's always the PACs who support (and fund) anyone who will support THEIR political niche.

Eventually, you're voting to "make happen" some things that you would not normally support;  but you tell your constituents that "... it's a good bill..." even though you consider it not so good.  Because you owe people; people that didn't elect you.  This is also referred to as the "Slippery Slope".

And no ... I don't want to talk about the Lotharios in the Legislature ;

The Senator, the Governor, the Mayor ... et al.

That Works For Me!

Hundreds of Millions of U.S. Guns are Unlicensed and Untraceable:

"Shall Not Be Infringed"

AKA: None Of Your Business.  See "Constitution"!

Why in the WORLD should NRA back a ban on "Plastic Guns"?

The very idea that the NRA should "back the ban" on ANY kind of firearms restriction ("infringement") is absolutely ridiculous!

"Shall not be infringed"

COD, August 15, 2018: NRA should back ban on plastic guns | YOUR OPINION | richmond.com:

NRA should back ban on plastic guns Editor, Times-Dispatch: The National Rifle Association has a wonderful opportunity to win the hearts and minds of those of us who are in the “center” of the gun control debate. By the center, I’m talking about the majority of people who support individual gun ownership rights but also see a need for more controls on certain types of weapons.

In the first place, the concept that the NRA should "back the plan" on ANY kind of firearms infringement is abhorrent to firearms owners ... who rely on the NRA to support the ideal of the Second Amendment. 

The Second Amendment was designed to protect the rights of Americans from those who do not agree with the concept of freedom of Americans.   You are an obnoxious herb-eather who has no respect for the basic rights which we all enjoy.   You prefer to lower us to your level.
Which is not only obnoxious and demeaning, but also (when you suggest we should yield our rights to POLITICIANS) ... disgusting.  You should be ashamed of yourself.

The problem with "Gun Control"

Well, "Gun Control" isn't working for the UK.

Why Is London Imposing ‘Knife Control’? Because Gun Control Hasn’t Worked:  April 13, 2018

The United Kingdom has some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the world, so the increased murder rate in the British capital is largely a result of a sharp rise in knife-related crime. The surge in violence prompted London Mayor Sadiq Khan to announce a massive “knife control” campaign eerily reminiscent of those sometimes proffered in the United States in response to firearms-related violence. The knife control measures will include the deployment of 300 additional London police officers to conduct “stop and frisk” searches of individuals suspected of knife-carrying, a policing tactic once roundly condemned by Khan.

So they decided to impose "Knife Control"  How's that working for you, after four months??

Friday 17 Aug 2018 6:31 am

https://metro.co.uk/2018/08/17/four-children-stabbed-south-london-one-boy-disembowelled-7850208/

A boy is fighting for his life after he was allegedly disembowelled when he was stabbed on a south London housing estate. He was one of four children who were taken to hospitals in south London following the incident at Landor House, Camberwell yesterday. All the boys are aged between 15 and 16 years old and six attackers of the same age have been taken into custody.

No information is immediately available about the 'six attackers of the same age".

In theory, the 1689 English Bill of Rights protects the right of individual British subjects to possess arms for purposes of self-defense. In reality, modern Britons have had this right completely stripped from them, to the point where they may be reprimanded for using kitchen knives against home intruders.

The Brits have the same myopic vision as do the politicians in America.

Their politicians continue to convince themselves of the same imaginary solutions as do politicians here in America.  They think they can control "violence" by controlling the instruments of violence.

They know they can't stop shootings and stabbings by passing laws, but that's all they have ... apart from completely disrupting the root causes of violence;which is a societal problem, not a legal one.

There are no laws which the Brits ... or the Americans ... can pass which will definitively 'solve' the problem of gun/knife violence.    They and we will have to completely reform our societies, and as long as we continue to embrace the acceptance of immigrants from 'other societies', nothing will change.

But the cat is out of the cradle, the monster is out of the closet, and no amount of legislation will ever put them back into the box.

Unless you put them all into a cell and keep them there forever; or initiate even more draconian solutions, such as public executions.   Which I would not watch, nor anyone in a "civilized" society.

To paraphrase "The Sound of Music":   How do you solve a problem like Sharia?
.

The Sound of One Hand clapping

When Celebrities speak on subjects of which they have no personal knowledge, it's difficult to ignore the dual factoid that (a) she knows nothing at all about me, and (b) I already know more than I care about her.

Jennifer Aniston Is Teaming Up With Parkland Survivors to Speak Out About Gun Control | Glamour:

Jennifer Aniston has been one of the most famous women in the world since the nineties. But while the press was focused on her personal life and Friends fame, few established where Aniston stands on important issues. When you speak to Aniston, though, it's clear she feels passionately—about gun control, about our country's future, and about finding the right moment to speak out.

It's probably asking too much to presume that GLAMOUR magazine really cares about Gun Control; but they never let a quotable statement go to waste.  (Which is sort-of the latest Motto of the Democratic Party.)

Even a blind pig can find an acorn, once in a while

On Religion, War, Politics and other things which don't keep your belly full and your mind peaceful.

(In other words, stuff that isn't all that important!)

While I am far from being an admirer of ANY member of the Clinton family, I have to admit that I agree with The Hillary-beast today, for the first time.  Ever.

 A young girl declined to stand and pledge allegiance to the flag.   Some folks got their panties in a bind over that.  Hillary said (in essence):   "That's okay, you go girl!". 

I say, "that works for me".

(SCROLL to the bottom of the page for the quote.)


IN MY OPINION ... the Pledge of Allegiance is an entirely personal OATH which has been turned into an obligatory rote action by nothing more persuasive than habit and social pressure.  That I choose to recite it means that I believe it. 
Folks that don't believe it may be Americans of Conscience.. their reticence doesn't necessarily mean that they are anti-American; just that there are a lot of commitments included in the text of the Pledge which they may not honestly support.

It has been a long time since I recited the Pledge of Allegiance, but to the best of my recall this is what I use to say (while facing the flag with my hand over my heart, to demonstrate my earnest intent):

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the country for which it stands; One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

I've pledged allegiance to the flag thousands of times, and I have also sworn to defend the flag 'and the country for which it stands' when I was drafted.     I paid my debt to my country many times over, and I respect my flag.

(I'm not quite sure about God.  I've prayed and asked for guidance from above; still waiting for HIM to return my call.   But I'm patient ... God must have a huge backload of celestial-phone messages. Maybe He's still returning calls from falling sparrows?)

But anyone who has chosen to NOT offer their allegiance gets a pass from me.
 If, for example, you're an Atheist you might refuse the pledge because it includes the phrase "... under God ...".  (IIRC, it was President Eisenhower who added the sub-phrase some 50+ years ago.)

That makes you no less a patriot; it only establishes that you refuse to take an oath which you cannot support theologically.   In a very real way, it makes you more sincere and more aware of the nuances of the oath.    Some folks will disagree; it's one reason why Americans might wish to reconsider the exact wording (eg: excise the Eisenhower Update).

The Pledge of Allegiance is too important to be automatically assumed. 
If you are not fully and personally invested in the responsibilities of citizenship, you should not be hounded or ridiculed  because you either stand by your conscience, or decline to lie under oath.   The Pledge is entirely voluntary,  and those who think it should be obligatory forget the concept under which America was founded: 

"This is a FREE country".

Personally, I may not respect anyone who declines to accept the same dedication to my country as I do.  Also personally, I fought a war (sort of a war; except that men died and I was unhappy, it wasn't much of a war), and all American wars are purportedly waged to re-establish the American Way Of Life.

The American Way Of Life not only allows dissent, but encourages it.
If everybody agrees with me, we don't have a Free Society; we have an ant colony of mindless workers.

I never wanted to live in a homogeneous society.   I like folks who think differently.  They teach me lessons I would never have learned, values I never would have considered, if I lived in a Vacuum.

Your Opinions May Vary. 

If you don't agree with me ... your either an idiot or a villain.

(This is MY blog; I can say anything I want; so can you.)

Where Was She During the 'War on Drugs?': Hillary Called Out for Supporting Girl Who Knelt for Pledge | Fox News Insider: As seen on Tucker Carlson Tonight Hillary Clinton is taking criticism for offering encouragement to an 11-year-old student who made headlines for kneeling during the Pledge of Allegiance. Clinton tweeted in response to a NowThis report on Mariana Taylor, a Maryland sixth-grader who refused to stand for her classroom’s recitation of the pledge, instead adopting the form of protest used by some NFL players to demonstrate against police brutality and racial injustice. “It takes courage to exercise your right to protest injustice, especially when you’re 11!  Keep up the good work Mariana,” Clinton tweeted.

Life in the Big City: Public Defication

This is a shitty story: you might want to just ... pass on bye, don't look, hold your nose and pretend it never happened.

Actually, that seems to be the Best Practice in large cities all over the country.

I thought this was ... well, Urban Legend until I moved to a Big City in the 1970's:

San Francisco Launching New 'Poop Patrol' to Deal With Dirty Streets: While San Francisco has been doing its best to become a model progressive city by doing dumb things like banning plastic straws, its streets have gone to hell. Human excrement on sidewalks has become such a pervasive problem that the city is launching a “Poop Patrol.” Heather Knight reports at the San Francisco Chronicle:

In the  1970's, I moved to Portland, Oregon, from a rural farm community because I was "getting ahead" and could "find a good paying technical job". 

When I arrived there, and began walking the "mean streets" ... I understood what the term "Mean Streets" really meant.

My unfortunate awaking occurred when  I was walking across the Burnside Bridge, and noticed a scruffy-looking man squatting on the bridge with his pants down; he was "doing his business".   Being naive, I tried to ignore him while I passed him.  He glowered at me, defiant as if I was imposing on his privacy as he publically voided his bowels on one of the most heavily trafficked bridges in the City of Seven Bridges.

If the bridge didn't have guard rails, I might have kicked him off the bridge.  But of course I was too "civilized" to do more than hold my nose and hurry past him and his ever growing pile of shit. (I suspected that these citizens hold it until they couldn't any more, which contributes to the amazingly tall piles of shit.)

There's little more to the story.  I left my good-paying job in "The City", moved to a quiet little College Down on the Willamette river.

I checked; my town draws its water from creeks  rapidly flowing down from the surrounding mountains, well  upstream from the Willamette.    There are three processing stations which purify the water before it reaches the taps in my kitchen.

 But there are bridges across the Willamette River in my current town, and I've seen a lot of hobos huddling near the bridges.

I pity the residents of the State Capital (Salem, which id "downstream"), which draws a lot of water from the Willamette River.

Perhaps the effluvium from their drinking water explains ... at least in part ... some of the really crappy legislation which our state Senators and Representatives impose upon us.

As for me, I double-filter any tap water I use for cooking (boiling temperatures at least), and triple-filter and boil any water I use for drinking.

The plants in my home, though, seem to thrive on it.   I never need to fertilize them.

Arizona Guv - "Lock 'em Up!

Arizona Governor recommends arrest and incarceration of gun owners, without charging them with a crime.

Ducey won’t budge on ‘crown jewel’ of gun legislation – Arizona Capitol Times:

Gov. Doug Ducey is doubling down on his push for a law to let judges take guns from some people considered “dangerous” ....  (it would also allow. ...  law enforcement take an individual’s weapons while he or she is locked up for up to 21 days for a mental evaluation.) 

[emphasis added] 
See the link for full text.

It's more complicated than the above abridged text suggests, but the core of his intent seems to be to LOCK 'EM UP on suspicion,  for 3 weeks, even though no crime has been committed and the detainee has not been charged with a crime.

No word on whether this period of incarceration would appear on the suspect's criminal record.

The article also fails to make clear what degree of consanguinity must be established before the "offended" may be arrested and his/her firearms confiscated.

Damn newspapers never get it right; it may be a tempest in a teapot, or it may be as inane as it seems on the surface.

For Goodness Sakes, it's a BEAUTY CONTEST!

In a very public "Shallow Hal" moment, the reigning Miss America trashes the organization which voted her "Most Likely" ... apparently, she was Most Likely to be "Bitchiest".

Somewhere in between some anonymous tenor singing: "Here She Is, Miss America; the girl who was only one of a thousand faces ..." and "I'm so honored, there are so many girls here who are more deserving ..."  she evoked her Full bitch Mode.

Miss America Cara Mund slams org, Gretchen Carlson: They 'erased me':

In a twist of irony, the most recent Miss America winner is accusing the Miss America Organization – one that's recently taken public steps in the name of female-empowerment –of bullying and silencing her. In a five-page letter addressed to "Miss America Sisters" and obtained by USA TODAY on Friday, Cara Mund, Miss America 2018, calls out Miss America CEO Regina Hopper and chair Gretchen Carlson for having "silenced me, reduced me, marginalized me, and essentially erased me in my role as Miss America in subtle and not-so-subtle ways on a daily basis." 

Mund blamed the sponsors.   Amazing! 

Gun Control - in Arizona???!

Typical anti-gun hysteria, but not so common in Free States where the response time to a 911 call is typically measured in longer time units than "mere minutes away".

Gun Control - Fryer for Arizona:

I agree with most Arizonans when I say: YES to a ban on semiautomatic guns, high capacity magazines and assault weapons. YES to criminal background checks on all gun sales and on transfers between private parties. YES to preserving and strengthening state concealed carry permitting systems, and limiting firearms in public places, including schools and college campuses. YES to buy back programs. YES to waiting periods. YES to smart guns, safety training, safe storage, and child access protection laws. YES to a ban on sales to terror watchlist, the mentally ill, stalker and domestic violence misdemeanants, and violent criminals. YES to community-based violence intervention programs. YES to requiring and investing in research into our gun violence epidemic.

Most curious that she ignores that "gun free zones" are the target of choice for people who have "mass murder" on their agenda.

Oh ... wait; Democrat.
Never mind, I understand now.   It's as if she actually believes that Criminals and Terrorists will be dissuaded by more gun laws. 

(Note to Arizonans: Anyone But Fryer! You don't have enough idiots making your life-dependent decisions for you?)

PS:   I've not been so impressed by the "Terrorist Watch List", since it's a Shadow Government thing.   I would think Democrats would be campaigning for more information on who gets listed, why and how.  But I suspect that they like it just the way it is, because it undermines the privacy and security on everyone that's listed there ... and as long as their name isn't on it, the Big-Government/Anti-Constitutional Democrats LIKE IT!

Most Crime Guns Are Stolen

GFZ ... one of my favorite websites ... reports on a study of crime guns.
You'll never guess the results.

The gun control study that really happened and you never saw – Gun Free Zone:
 I like how they put that: Perpetrator was carrying a firearm owned by someone else. That shows you just how pervasive media spin is.  That category is stolen or straw purchased guns.

Yeah, but you and I will get blamed for the pervasiveness of "Gun Crimes".

"Everytown" campaign to limit Constitution

EVERYTOWN FOR ... whatever .... wants to undermine MY RIGHT to defend my person, my family, and my property from would-be criminals who are younger, stronger and more violent.

(Yes, they want to undermine your 2nd Amendment rights, too.   But I take their attack personally, so this is all about me.  If you feel the same way, you can write your own damn article.)

EVERYTOWN uses loaded phrases such as "common-sense public safety measures"  to obfuscate their intent to limit my American freedoms.

They think that "local governments" should have the power to legislate against my constitutional rights.

They blame the only organized effort to support the constitution (cough NRA cough) for the fact that *only* 40 states defend my rights, even if EVERYTOWN apparently thinks I'm too irresponsible to deserve those rights.

 (I wonder why the other 10 states don't think I'm competent to make my own decisions.  My country liked me just fine when they drafted me in 1969 and sent me to Viet Nam. Oh, and they gave me a gun, too!)

Here's what Everytown for not-me has to say:

California Scheming: 9th Circuit Court Findings (Microstamping by firearms)

Microstamping in California!


As nearly as I can tell, the Ninth Circuit Court has decided that California can legally impose "broad" restrictions on "acceptable" firearms.

(NOTE:  the following two paragraphs are ALL "Copy & Paste" quotes;  see the links for details.  I haven't yet had the time to drill-down to the logic of either the order or the interpretation by a 3rd party blogger.   I offer minimal interpretation or commentary at this time. Some phrases are high-lighted for your attention, not because they are embedded in the original text.)

GUN WATCH: Ninth Circuit Panel Rules CA Unsafe Handgun Act not Covered by Second Amendment: The key to the decision is the Ninth Circuit's hostility to a broad reading of the Second Amendment. The Circuit, in it's en banc rulings, such as Peruta, Tiexeira v. County of Alameda, and in a three judge panel, Silvester v. Harris, has consistently worked to restrict Second Amendment rights to the narrowest possible box.
 An analogous reading of the First Amendment would be that the State can restrict certain publications on the grounds that they might impact public safety. For example, that violent video games could be banned. The Supreme Court has rejected that argument for the First Amendment.

The upshot is that California can impose restrictions on "Acceptable Handgun Characteristics"; some of which may make it more difficult for handgun manufacturer to keep handgun prices affordable; others which may be technologically unfeasible, and finally most or all of these new regulations may require mandatory registration (in case nobody noticed the nuances of the legislation).


 Here is the summation of the opinion of the court, From Pena v. Lindley:

California requires that new models of handguns meet certain criteria, and be listed on a handgun roster, before they may be offered for sale in the state. Two provisions require that a handgun have a chamber load indicator and a magazine detachment mechanism, both of which are designed to limit accidental firearm discharges. The third provision, adopted to aid law enforcement, requires new handguns to stamp microscopically the handgun’s make, model, and serial number onto each fired shell casing. Plaintiffs asserted that these three provisions have narrowed their ability to buy firearms in California, in violation of the Second Amendment, and that the handgun roster scheme imposes irrational exceptions, in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Note that some of the provisions eliminate category your standard 1911 frame; others (microstamping) require technology which has not yet proven feasible by current production technology.

Two Comments:
(1) it's convenient, as a state, to be able to require technical tweaks which are not yet possible for the manufacturers to conform if you want to make it more cumbersome (impossible) to own a new firearm:
(2) I'm glad I don't live in California

Well, why SHOULDN'T we treat Gun Violence as an "Epidemic"?

Many people (most often physicians) are suggesting that we can stop "Gun Violence" by treating it as an epidemic. here's just one example:

Can we stop the gun violence epidemic? Yes, by treating it as a health crisis | TheHill:

After each new episode in our nation’s worsening gun violence epidemic, the same two things happen: First, our screens and social media feeds are saturated with hauntingly familiar images — and then we’re told that it’s too soon to talk about gun laws. We need to break this cycle.

Obviously, this physician has decided that he's tired of seeing shooting victims in the Emergency room, and his solution is to "... talk about gun laws ...".    We can't blame him for wanting to grasp at straws.  But we can blame him for only seeing the obvious.

Let's talk about "gun laws".

We have thousands of  laws restricting access to guns, and yet the "Gun Violence Epidemic" continues.   By now, most rational people who can stand apart from their preconceptions will have accepted that if "gun laws" are the solution to gun violence ... they aren't working.  Which is curious, because we have more laws (national, regional, local, etc.) restricting access to guns than any other physical object.

This, in spite of the Second amendment which mandates that access to guns "... shall not be infringed"!

But this physician is suggesting the the "epidemic" of gun violence can be resolved by simply imposing more gun laws, which will not be obeyed by criminals..

So instead of talking about "gun violence", shouldn't we be talking about "criminals"?

Oh.   That's too hard. Therefore Physicians (and Politicians, and a lot of other groups) would rather talk about LAWS than to seek a true solution.

If we're to talk about "Gun Violence" as a National problem which must resolved, we should look at the cause of Gun Violence.

It isn't the ready availability of guns; millions of law- abiding Americans own guns and have never broken a law.  Where necessary in their home area, if guns must be registered they dutifully register their guns.    If certain kinds of guns are forbidden by law, they don't own those guns (except under special license ... still legally).

Summation:The problem with "Gun violence" isn't GUNS, it's VIOLENCE.

And we cannot resolve the problem of VIOLENCE by restricting access to guns; because that isn't working!

What's the solution?

This Gun Violence Thing isn't a legal problem, it's a societal problem. (Preaching to the choir much?)

Cities need to clean up their slums, provide jobs and support for their citizens who are floundering.
States need to keep track of  unemployment figures, and welfare figures, and unwed-mothers who need help to raise their children in a fatherless home where the only authority figure is a mom who has to work so many hours a day that the older children are responsible for raising their younger siblings.

You Can Help:
Examine the budgets for your municipality, county, state .. see how much each contributes to crime prevention, and welfare.   Compare that with the dollars spent on creating new industry, jobs.  Perhaps they can spend more on those areas (eg: tax breaks for companies who hire "at risk" citizens) compared to what they spend on crime prevention (police, prisons etc.).  You may find that your tax dollars are better spent on social programs than on prevention programs.

Talk to your representatives.  They won't lift a finger on an issue that isn't a "hot button", such as Crime and Gun Control.

You may just find that they occasionally listen to their constituents.

Society's Child

Politicians want to solve "The Gun Problem" by penalizing legal firearms owners; but these are not the people who are are using firearms to commit crime.  The people who intend to break the law ... and eventually do the crime ... are often juveniles or adolescents who have no recourse but criminal activities to feed themselves and their families.

They have no job skills.  They have no future.  The only thing they know that they are GOOD at, is crime.

So that's what they do.

They rob, they steal, they take away from others who have money; because those people have a good job and lots of money, so they won't miss the little that is in their pocked when they are mugged, assaulted, attacked.  Violence is often necessary to establish dominance of the "robber" over the "target".

The victims are usually the robber, not the muggee; although that is not obvious to the person who gets his pocket picked and his face bashed in during the process.

But Politicians promise faithfully every election year to "clean up the neighborhood", and "Stop Crime!".

For the zillionth time ... politicians cannot reduce crime by penalizing the underdog.  They can only do so by recognizing, addressing, and solving the societal problems which lead young men to a life of crime.

If the politicians would find/create jobs, grow the economy, make crime a less attractive alternative than being able to support self and family through social programs which bring pride to a young man and a living wage for his family ..... who wouldn't vote for them?

But the (PTUI!)  politicians all want to be "Crime-Fighters".   And they can't be crime-fighters if there is no crime.  So they choose the easy way, by passing laws which don't help anyone but DO make it harder to be a "young man trying to find his way in a complicated world".

King County Gun Safety Action Plan

Seattle, Washington (located in King County, Washington)  has floated an "Gun Safety Action Plan" which promises to undermine the ability of firearms owners to defend their family, themselves, and their property.    The "County Council" has also suggested that the State Legislature allow municipalities to over-ride state limitations on ban on confiscating firearms.  (See below)

What this means is ... yes, they DO want to "take your guns away from you"; it's an open door to confiscation of private property and an imposition on the right to sell or transfer private property.

This isn't a "Safety Action Plan".  It's a blatant attempt to deprive the citizens of King County of their Second Amendment rights.

King County Gun Safety Action Plan: King County Council Chair Joe McDermott introduced the Gun Safety Action Plan, a King County initiative to protect our residents from gun violence. He also called on the Washington State Legislature to lead or lift the ban imposed on local jurisdictions prohibiting local governments from enacting laws that might limit the sale or possession of firearms in Washington State.

When the guns come out

Worth the read.   American Shooting Journal dot com

Gunfights that Changed LE Tactics: The following are compilation of Police Mag interviews with LEO trainers, firearms experts, and tactical instructors to assess the lasting impacts of these events on patrol officers. As noted by Massad Ayoob, former director of Lethal Force Institute, in addition to horrific circumstances, these incidents contain plenty of bravery by law enforcement officers. “One thing you take from all of these is the tremendous courage of cops fighting against the odds, for their brothers and for the public they serve,” Ayoob says. “It’s inspiring.”

Michigan State student steals identities to buy weapons parts,...

I'm not sure about the question of "full-automatic weapons", but I'm certain that identity theft is not the best way to support your political agenda:

Michigan State student steals identities to buy weapons parts,...: EAST LANSING, Mich. - A Michigan State engineering student is heading to prison after officials said he became an identity thief to buy weapons parts and create illegal machine guns.

However, we are assured of his devotion to the truth when he vows to go straignt:

Elliott said he will never touch a gun or steal from anyone ever again.

Right.

Stop Digging!

When you find yourself in a hole, and you don't know what to do, the first thing is to STOP DIGGING!

Unfortunately, the good citizens of Chicago seem to be "unclear on the concept".  They've been electing Democrats to leadership positions for so long, they apparently aren't aware of that their ballots have both a right and a left side ... they just automatically put a checkmark on the Left side. One wonders if they are even aware of the names by the box ... let alone the history of malfeasance and chicanery of the Leftist candidates.

(Or perhaps that is a prerequisite for appearing on the ballot?)

I'm not a Chicagoan,  so perhaps I am just ignorant of their thought process, but many of us who are casual observers of the workings of Bizzaro-Land  sit by in casual wonder of a people who seemingly delight in electing the most malignant politicians to represent their city, their county, and their state.

Here's the most recent news from Bizzaro-Land:

IDIOCY: Out of ideas, Chicagoland Mayor Emanuel BEGS violent gangs to cut out all the murder and mayhem:

After yet another highly publicized and very deadly weekend in Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanual has come up with a plan to finally address the rising gang-related violence. Sort of. He’s essentially asking gangs to cut it out.

That's what I call "Leadership"!


Oh ... sorry, I lost my mind for a minute.  That's actually what I call ... um .. INANE?

Think of the most simple-minded soap opera on television, and double it.  That's the best view from afar that you can imagine of the historic Democratic leadership of Illinois in general, and Chicago specifically.   Are you people all suicidal?  You actually vote for these people?

Are you all on The Dole, and do Democrats decide who gets their welfare checks depending on how they voted last year?

I don't mean to be critical of Chicagoans, but .... gee, it's hard not to.  You keep voting the same crooks, idiots and Democrats (sorry to demean crooks and idiots by conflating them with Democrats) into leadership offices, and apparently nobody cares that their elected leaders are sucking on the public teat and you don't even get what's left when they're through.

And they are never through'   they just keep on sucking, and you keep on voting for them!

I probably won't actually PUBLISH this article; it's mean, and dismissive of people in Chicago, and if I lived there I would be very offended.  So I apologize for even writing it.

Still .. have you no pride?

Mistakes were made; people died! Now, it's time to blame the innocent

The 2017 Texas Church shooting was a tragedy which shouldn't have happened.  There were people who knew (cough the United States Air Force cough) that the maniacal attacker should never have been allowed to purchase a firearm, but someone dropped the ball. 

And people died.

IN THE SEARCH for someone to blame (someone who was not dead, and so they could be sued), a Texas couple have chosen the sporting goods store who sold the gunman the firearm used in the shooting.

Academy sporting goods chain sued by couple wounded in Sutherland Springs church shooting | Courts | Dallas News: AUSTIN — A Texas couple who survived the Sutherland Springs church massacre last year have sued the sporting goods store that sold the gunman the firearm used in the shooting.

It's difficult to adequately assign the blame for the acts of a madman, but there's always someone who is willing to accept the challenge.   Usually, the target is someone with "Big Pockets", and so the survivors have chosen to attack the sporting goods store which sold the gun to a man whose record was crystal clear.

His record should not have been so transparent; his employer (United States Air Force) declined to report him as a "domestic abuser", so his application to purchase a firearm was not challenged.

But it's very difficult (and expensive!) to bring suit against an arm of the Federal Government ... but shouldn't the victims, and their families, have SOMEONE to blame?    So the survivors chose the least responsible, but most vulnerable, corporate identity in the BIZARRE chain of events: They sued the store that sold the gun to the man who shot the innocents even though his employer  (the Federal Government) knew he was irresponsible ... a "Domestic Abuser".

The store was not irresponsible; they followed the rules, and the rules required that they perform a background check.  They did that.  They found no reason to deny the purchase, on the federal database of "Bad Guys/No Fly List/Whatever!":

The problem was; nobody who was responsible survived!

Still, the survivors had a right to sue for damages (something about "denial of filial relationship", etc; .. I'm not a lawyer)   But they knew they could never be able to fund a suit against the Federal Government of the U.S. Air Force. 

So they sued the store who (entirely legally) sold the gun.   I don't blame them.  Someone had to pay.  The problem is ... nobody who was responsible

You can write the rest of the story.   You've read it all before. Plaintiff loses the case and is fined court costs plus legal fees.

NOBODY wins in this tragedy.

VPC claims hundreds killed by Licensed Concealed Carriers

The Violence Policy Center (an anti-gun group who has no dog in this fight at ALL and therefore has no reason to cook the statistics) claims* that owners of Concealed Handgun Licenses are "responsible" for hundreds of deaths "... not involving self defense...".

One needs to read carefully when evaluating claims from this source.

Since the article doesn't provide links to the "websites" which 'offer details', it's impossible to confirm or refute their claims.

As for their assertion that these killings were "not involving self defense", one wonders how many deaths were deemed necessary due to defense against other violent crimes, or in defense of other persons (including family).   Nor does the article provide information about whether the shooters were charged with a felony ... let alone tried, or convicted. 

Are they lazy?  Do they have any facts to support their message?   Or are they just liars?

Blanket Charges such as this are typical of VPC screeds.   Unsubstantiated by reputable third parties, their so-called statistics meet the lowest level of believability; "if they say so, it must be true".

I call this innuendo; an obvious distortion of facts offered to convince the already convinced anti-gun crowd which has declared it's intention to delete your 2nd Amendment rights from the Constitution.

As a counter to their charges, read the Pew Poll recently posted from Ammoland.

(It is telling, to compare the sourced claims of Pro-Second Amendment websites to the unsourced  claims of the anti-gunner websites.)

* In case  VPC deletes their egregious statement from their website, the link and full text is printed under the fold.

Goblin Count

Col. Jeff Cooper, writing a regular column in a popular gun magazine (I believe it was "Guns and Ammo"),  published a running count of the number of felons who were taken down during the attempted commission of violent crime.   The defenders were armed private citizens.

(Cooper's column was titled "Cooper's Corner".)

He called each successful defense an increase of the "Goblin Count" ... the Goblins being the bad guys, the count was the death of the goblin.

Cooper is gone now, but Goblins are a self-renewing resource.    Here's the latest incident:

Police: Armed bystander takes down gunman at Titusville back-to-school event | WFTV:  August 7, 2018   TITUSVILLE, Fla. - An armed bystander shot a man who opened fired on a back-to-school event at a Titusville park after a fistfight, police said.  The shooting occurred at Isaac Campbell Park on South Street shortly after 5:20 p.m. when the shooter, whom police have not identified, returned to the park after a fistfight and began firing, investigators said. 

The Colonel would certainly counted that engagement as "Goblin: 0, Good Guy 1"

California has officially become a "NICHE" market for Firearms Manufacturers

California's new "Bullet-Stamping" law serves no useful crime-solving purpose, because it's prohibitively expensive and ineffective even if it were technically and economically feasible.  Which, as of this date, it is not. It only serves the Leftist agenda of making it more difficult and expensive for law-abiding citizens of that state to purchase  new semi-automatic handguns.