September 22, 2017 Newsletter by Jeff Pittman

Legislation

Rep. Ken Buck’s (R-CO) amendment, which allows nonviolent prohibited persons to petition the ATF for restoration of Second Amendment rights, was included successfully in an appropriations bill (H.R. 3354).

Federal lands

Last week, US Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke signed Secretarial Order 3356, which will support and expand hunting and fishing opportunities on federal lands.

Trumped

The Trump Administration is completing a plan to shift regulation of international non-military firearms sales from the State Department to the Commerce Department.

While the State Department is primarily concerned about international threats to stability and maintains tight restrictions on weapons deals, giving similar attention to sporting rifles as to fighter jets and missiles, the Commerce Department typically focuses more on facilitating legal trade.

The proposed new rules will reportedly cut government red tape and regulatory costs, boosting US exports of small arms and creating jobs at home, something in which previous administrations seemed to be uninterested.

Guns in schools

It’s now been a year since legal campus carry took effect in public universities across Texas, and the University of North Texas Police Department says legal CCW there has caused no problems.

“We have had no incidents since the law passed or since the law went into effect of criminal acts by License to Carry holders,” UNT Chief of Police Ed Reynolds said. “We have had cases that involved weapons on campus, but the individuals that were carrying were not License to Carry holders.”

I told you so.

And in Kansas, legal CCW at public universities began July 1. No problems reported.

Meanwhile in Illinois, a teacher subdued a male student who fired shots and wounded another student in the Mattoon High School cafeteria about 11:30 am Wednesday. Pretty sure that’s a “gun free zone.”  Note that “first responders” got there after it was all over.

DGU

In Austin, TX this week an armed jogger stopped a sexual assault on another jogger who was armed only with a whistle.  If you or your kids are unarmed, do you really want to bet your lives on that kind of luck?

Serial killers

Radford University reveals that the common knowledge that most serial killers are white is false. Most are now black. Blacks have always been over represented among serial killers and in the 1990s the numbers grew to the point that there were more black serial killers in the 1990s than white serial killers.  Since 2000, a majority of all serial killers have been black. Blacks only make up about 12.5% of the US population, but almost 59.8% of serial killers since 2010.

For whatever that’s worth.

The Only Ones

Brent Patrick Ahlers, 25, a white security officer at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN, was arrested and charged with filing a false police report, a misdemeanor, after he said he was shot in the shoulder by a black male person on campus last week. Ahlers later admitted to police that he actually shot himself with a personally-owned firearm which he brought to work, and made up the story about the perpetrator. Campus “guards” are normally unarmed.

A reporter found a loaded S&W M&P pistol belonging to the South Bend, IN, police department lying at a busy intersection.  No information on the officer to whom it was assigned. Guns “on the streets,” I suppose.

A thief stole an unidentified off-duty San Francisco sheriff deputy’s service pistol from a parked car, after the deputy failed to secure the firearm in violation of department policy. It’s also a misdemeanor crime in that county. No word on discipline or criminal charges.

An unidentified “firearms officer” in London, England, shot himself in the foot while returning from a welfare check call. Scotland Yard is looking into it.

Former Pelham, MA, police chief Edward Fleury has been to court on at least three occasions on dozens of gun charges, summed up as “irresponsible gun owner.” Convicted on 12 counts.

Enemies

Heckler & Koch says it will no longer sell guns in/to Israel. Germans vs. Jews. Been done before. Ain’t happenin’ again.

Circle K — “Circle K Store Clerk Shoots Armed Robber, Gets Two-Week Suspension”

A chat with Stephen Hunter

• “Zeroed In: Stephen Hunter“

SIG P320

“The civilian version of this weapon is not the same weapon we’re buying…  …I can tell you with certainty, the guts and the internals of the military version of that weapon are different than what you’re going to buy in the gun store or what police are going to be fielded.” — US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley

No Army rifles

The US Army’s Interim Combat Service Rifle program to field a new standard-issue 7.62mm caliber rifle, announced just last month, has reportedly already been cancelled during a review of US Army small arms programs, apparently due to lack of a pressing need or threat.

Products

John Lott’s “The War On Guns” for only $1.99 (Kindle version) for a limited time.

Geissele (the really good trigger people) is now making rifles. Geissele’s new VSASS (Very-long-range Semi-Automatic Sniper System) utilizes a Stoner-type direct gas impingement system built from the ground up by Geissele with very few off-the-shelf components. It uses SR-25 magazines and has Geissele’s SSA-E trigger. Offered in .260 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor, and 7.62x51mm NATO. 12.3 lbs.

Ruger LCP $161.99 and free shipping after promo code SAVE10. (Out of stock. I wonder why.) 7-round extended magazines are now available from Ruger.

How about a CCW bag that no one will look at? The Dadbag.

The Axeon Second Zero, a prismatic reticle-shifting widget to change zero range.

Quote of the Week

“The car is not a holster. Carry your %&$%&# gun.  All the %&$%&# time.” — Pat Rogers