2A News: January 29, 2016 Newsletter by Jeff Pittman
Legislation
You may recall that recently Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring determined that VA would no longer exercise CCW license reciprocity with most other states. Now we have word that Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has brokered a deal with legislative Republicans to reinstate reciprocity with bills that would also prohibit gun possession by anyone who was under a two-year protective order for domestic-violence offenses (also a federal offense) and require state police to attend all gun shows to provide background checks for private sellers if they requested the service.
War on drugs
Alan Korwin notes that fully 6,000 of the tragic “gun” deaths annually are young black men killing each other in ghettos, typically in drug-related battles, making these war deaths, in the federally funded war on some drugs, not so-called “gun deaths.” Government declared war, combatants killed. Solution: declare a truce, save 6,000 lives.
Because this would eliminate more than half the criminal gun deaths yearly it would reduce the political pressure to “go after guns” and so is unlikely to happen, casting doubt on the new phrase, black lives matter. (Most firearm mortality is suicide, a medical issue not a criminal problem, and most suicides are the elderly.)
Click image to enlarge — source
“Pro rights”
Korwin and others also note that we should stop using the phrase “pro gun,” because this makes our opposition “anti gun.” And since they think guns are bad, the proper position for them to take against these “bad” guns would be anti gun — and they win that on the words.
We are actually “pro rights,” casting them correctly as “anti rights,” putting us automatically on the moral high ground.
The Only Ones
- We have a report from Cincinnati of police taking 48 minutes to respond to a call of a forced break in to an occupied dwelling, because police “didn’t have cars available.” Police HQ is reported to be a 5 minute drive from the scene.A right delayed….
- A grand jury has indicted Prairie View, TX, Police Officer Michael Kelley for official oppression, a misdemeanor, after he used a stun gun on a City Council member who was “hanging out” outside his apartment.
- Last summer in the Twin Cities suburb of Eden Prairie, MN, Police Sgt. Lonnie Soppeland pursed a 21-year-old motorcyclist at high speed. After the rider pulled to the shoulder and stopped, the sergeant stepped out of his car shouting, “Get your hands where I can see him,” and fired a shot that hit the rider in the arm. In the investigation that followed, Soppeland blamed his actions on muscle memory developed as a result of firearms training he had undertaken less than a month before the incident. Soppeland was placed on administrative leave during the investigation. No further disciplinary action was taken as a result, and he has since returned to active duty. Our report does not indicate what threat Sgt. Soppeland was facing that justified him pointing his gun at the victim in the first place. The victim was convicted only of a minor charge of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle.
- Prosecutors are declining to criminally charge against eight Los Angeles police officers who injured two innocent women after mistakenly shooting their pickup truck more than 100 times during a manhunt for cop-turned-killer Christopher Dorner three years ago, because there was “insufficient evidence” to prove the officers acted unreasonably. The officers reportedly mistook the sound of a newspaper thrown by the delivery women for gunshots. Officers also hit seven nearby homes and nine other vehicles with gunshots and shotgun pellets. The women won a $4.2 million settlement from the city, even though the officers’ actions weren’t “unreasonable.”
- An unidentified St. Louis, MO, City Sheriff Deputy was suspended without pay pending an investigation into an accidental shooting this week at the Civil Courts Building downtown. The 10-year veteran deputy fired one round which passed through a wall and lodged in a judge’s desk.
- An unidentified Orange County, CA Sheriff’s Deputy assigned to the Southwest Operations Division’s Aliso Viejo Station lost his AR-15 patrol rifle this week after he set the rifle, inside its case with 3 loaded magazines, on the trunk of his vehicle and “inadvertently drove away.”
USAF carry
Following a review by the Air Force of “active-shooter incidents across the country,” which was spurred by last July’s attack on a recruiting office and nearby reserve center in Chattanooga, TN, in which four Marines and a Navy sailor were killed, the Air Force has reportedly sent out letters to base commanders around the nation reminding them that they can authorize “selected” subordinates to carry guns, even while off-duty and out of uniform.
“None of these programs gives the installation commander authorizations they didn’t already have the authorization to do,” said Maj. Keith Quick, the Air Force Security Forces Integrated Defense action officer.
Which begs the questions, “Why weren’t the commanders already doing this???” And “Should they even be commanders?”
John Farnam sadly notes that “The other unspoken issue is that commanders painfully know and understand that current institutionalized pistol ‘training’ is a joke! Even MPs carry unloaded pistols. No one trusts them with real guns. ‘Cold’ ranges are the ossified ‘standard’ throughout the US military, and dynamic movement, speed-reloads, and instant stoppage-reduction are unheard-of. ‘Training’ is inspired mostly by quaint, collegial, and utterly irrelevant competitions, among people who don’t even carry guns.”
But I will observe contrary to John that a lot of training is not necessary to safely carry a loaded firearm. All one has to do is simply follow the four rules. That’s it. (I’m not saying good training is not a good idea.)
Celebrities who served
Part 2Â (20 photos and stories)
Terrorist plot
23-year-old Samy Mohamed Hamzeh planned and conspired to carry out a terrorist attack intended to kill dozens of people at a Masonic temple in Milwaukee, with his self-described goal of “defending Muslim religion,” and his hope to trigger copycat terrorist attacks by other Islamic terrorist sympathizers. The FBI has arrested him on gun possession charges only, and has not charged him with terrorism.
DGUs
We have a report that a Louisville, KY, woman went to her vehicle in a parking garage this week and was approached by a man who displayed a knife and said, “Give me everything you have.” So she did. Bullets first.
“CPD is investigating how the second suspect [in a South Carolina barbershop robbery] escaped from the scene, and whether he’s suffering from any injuries.”
Right-to-Carry map, 2015
Click image to enlarge — source
WWP
The Wounded Warrior Project, which shuns guns, gun owners and gun groups, has been under fire for years for being a lot more efficient at fund raising than at providing advertised services for which its funds were donated. Here’s the latest.
Enemies & Liars
- The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence recently tweeted out a picture of a murdered 3-year-old to support their argument to ban guns.
The child was fatally STABBED, not shot.
- While at a rally in Decorah, Iowa, on Tuesday, a reporter asked Hillary Clinton what she thought about nominating President Obama to the US Supreme Court. “Wow, what a great idea, nobody has ever suggested that to me,” Clinton said, adding that she would take it under advisement.That should scare you to death.
- Kathy Kiely, the Washington news director at Bloomberg Politics, quit her job this week because the rag wasn’t allowed to report aggressively on their owner/boss, anti-gunner Michael Bloomberg.Well, duh. (Don’t worry — I don’t have a boss/owner/employer here and say whatever I want to. Go ahead — fire me.)
“Mike Bloomberg is a good man. We disagree on a whole lot of things, but he’s a good person and he’s a patriot and wants the best for the country.” — Jeb Bush, who is perhaps considering Bloomberg as a running mate
MS Training
Precision Shooting Center, Forest, MS, is proud to announce monthly seminars beginning in March, conducted by the best competitive handgunners Mississippi has ever produced. They will be one-day classes from 8am to 5pm on Saturdays taught by National and World Champions LTC Pat Cronin, CPT Philip Hemphill, and MSG Dan Rawlinson who are active duty or retired Mississippi Highway Patrol officers. Cost for each seminar is $195. Class size is limited to 12.
The seminar topics for the next four months will be:
- Sat, March 12th, LEFT-HANDED & CROSS-DOMINANT HANDGUN TECHNIQUES by MSG Dan Rawlinson.
- Sat, April 2nd, REFRESHER ON THE FUNDAMENTALS OF HANDGUN SHOOTING by MSG Dan Rawlinson.
- Sat, May 28th, REALLY APPLYING HANDGUN FUNDAMENTALS by LTC Pat Cronin.
- Sat, June 4th, MASTERING SNUB-NOSED REVOLVERS by CPT Philip Hemphill.
This is an amazing chance to shoot on a tactical handgun range with running and pop-up targets and to be coached by the best handgunners in the nation.
To reserve a slot in a class contact Clyde H. Morgan, [email protected].
The helicopter-launched, heat-seeking dog missile
Coyotes
Why we shoot coyotes, and why we don’t trust fences.
Reports on the status of .22 rimfire ammo production
- CCI, Federal to Increase .22 Production by 20% in 2016
- Aquila Increasing .22 Production by 30% per Year
Industry news
Kalashnikov USA of Tullytown, PA, imported rifles made by Kalashnikov Concern, the original AK-47 manufacturer in Moscow, until those imports were banned in 2014. We reported at that time that Kalashnikov USA parted ways with Kalashnikov Concern and then started making the guns in Pennsylvania last year. Now, Kalashnikov USA is making the guns in Pompano Beach, FL.
Century Arms also has USA-made AK variants.
Products
- Surefire’s Sidekick is a USB-rechargeable keychain light that looks like a car remote. It has 300/60/5 lumens and runs about $70.
- Savage Arms’ new A22 Magnum autoloading .22 WMR rifle is based on the A17 and has the same delayed blowback action and other features adopted from that platform.
- Uberti’s 1873 Cattleman SAA replicas now offer the benefits of a modern transfer bar revolver through the addition of a retractable firing pin. From the outside, this added safety device enables this line of historical replicas to look true to the original revolver design since no additional element like a hammer safety bar or transfer bar disturbs the clean lines of the hammer, firing pin or frame.
- Ruger’s ubiquitous 10/22 rifle is now available exclusively through TALO distributors with an M1 Carbine style wood stock.
- Fancy Pants holsters for women
- 5.11 Tactical (I love their clothing) now has its HEXGRID Molle Compatible Attachment System. The Hex-shaped webbing allows a Molle-attached pouch to be attached at nearly any angle.
- unique-ars.com can make you a cool custom aluminum handguard for your AR.
- The Barracuda lockdown device for doors.
- The Benelli Super Black Eagle Classic 12 ga. 28″ Bottomland Camo #BNL-10119 can be purchased from The Kentucky Gun Co. for $1200 for a limited time.
Quotes
“A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition.” — Rudyard Kipling
“The question under Heller is not whether citizens have adequate alternatives available for self-defense. Rather, Heller asks whether the law bans types of firearms commonly used for a lawful purpose — regardless of whether alternatives exist.” — SCOTUS Justice Antonin Scalia, author of the Heller decision
Credits
Bullets image courtesy of Gaulberto107 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
