No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.1/206 - Release Date: 12/16/2005 Public Health News?: A study from a notoriously anti-gun source in California claims that 39.4% of firearms used in crimes in that state are sold by only 1.3% of licensed dealers. Without citing any hard data, the report's author goes on to claim, "We know that nationally just over 1 percent of retailers sell nearly 60 percent of crime guns. If similar retailer profiles are discovered, then law enforcement can begin to address national crime gun sales more efficiently." http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=34996 --- From John Farnam: 11 Dec 05 SA's trouble with tourists: "Forty German travel agents were robbed at gunpoint in their bus in Cape Town's Khayelitsha Township Wednesday night. Two armed men entered the group's stationary tour bus and demanded money. The travel agents, who are on a week-long educational/promotional visit to South Africa, were in country as guests of SA's Tourism Bureau. All had been assured that SA's reputation for a high level of violent crime had been 'greatly exaggerated.' A spokesman for the Tourism Bureau said he was 'deeply concerned' with the incident." Comment: SA's new draconian gun laws have apparently failed to deliver on the promise of a lowered rate of violent crime! I don't think any of these travel agents are going to recommend SA as a tourist destination. /John 11 Dec 05 Christmas Shopping, from a friend and Instructor on the East Coast: "My wife rarely carries. I, of course, do. We started our annual Christmas shopping day on Saturday. We went separate ways, making arrangements to meet for lunch at a local restaurant. Coordination was via cell phone. Mid-morning, my wife called and advised that she would be fifteen minutes late for lunch. However, her phone, which had started the day with only a half charge, died during our conversation. Our young daughter was with her. While I was waiting at the restaurant, my daughter came in alone and advised me that "mommy was sick" in the car. I rushed out to the parking lot and found my wife suffering an from vertigo, induced by heavy perfume smells in the department store where she had been shopping. She was nauseous and on the verge of vomiting, unable to get out of the car. I gave her an Antivert and waited there with her until it began to work. In the interim, I charged her cell phone battery via the charger I keep in my vehicle. As the weather was pleasant, we decided I would take the children back to the restaurant for lunch, while she rained in the car. I left her my back-up pistol (Kahr-9). I learned my lesson! A cell-phone battery, one-half charged, is inadequate to get one through a busy day! A cell-phone battery charger in every vehicle is a must. We only had one, in my car. We never considered it necessary to have one in her vehicle. We know better now!" Lessons: Emergency/safety equipment needs to be well maintained and checked regularly. It is all too easy to let slide things like regular battery charging. Dead phones can be more than a just a nuisance! Back-up pistols are critical, not just for the carrier, but for the otherwise unarmed person whom the carrier may have to quickly arm in an emergency. /John (Yes, but why wasn't the wife carrying her own handgun, particularly when holiday season is such a popular time for muggers to ply their trade?) 11 Dec 05 ND story, from a friend with a corrections dept: "We two ND's here last week. An officer was preparing to 'turn in' her pistol (G17). She stood in front of the clearing barrel and attempted to unload. She removed the weapon from the holster, pointed it at the barrel, cycled the slide (ejecting the chambered round), released the slide (chambering another), and then pressed the trigger. The weapon, of course, discharged. Astonished, she then re-cycled the slide and pressed the trigger again! To her chagrin and amazement, the weapon discharged a second time. At this point, an armorer came out and relieved her of the pistol. This officer is new, having been with us only a few weeks." Comment: What is so clear and obvious to us instructors is not always clear to students. This officer got her sequence mixed up during the unloading process. In addition, she left out the final step and failed to physically check the pistol before attempting to "dry fire." Adequately detailed explanations and sufficient repetitions are the key to competent instruction, but, when we're racing the clock, sometimes students, like this one, get left behind. Not all who carry guns are "gunmen," just as not all boat owners are mariners. Our goal should to be produce gallant, competent, professional gunmen, not merely timid, amateurish, occasional gun carriers. /John (One advantage of revolvers, particularly for those who don't really enjoy firearms, is the simpler, safer administrative handling. A few years ago I was called to the hospital emergency room and was intrigued to see that one of the two correctional officers guarding the patient was armed with a revolver, rather than a Glock. When I commented that he seemed to share my preference for revolvers he replied that he preferred it to a Glock for duty such as prisoner transport because, if it was taken away from him, the assailant would not have as many rounds to fire at him.) 15 Dec 05 Church Security I just completed a training program for a large, Christian church in FL. We trained the entire staff of ushers, which are being formed into unit that has a secondary (security) function. Some are cops and carry anyway, and a few others have local CCW permits and carry occasionally, but, for the most part, inconsistently. All carry now, and all have successfully completed the first phase of their training. "Church security" seems a contradiction terms, but churches everywhere, particularly Christian churches, have been compelled to seriously address this issue. It is indigenous to our times! The idea is to have a mini-police-force on property at all church functions, a force consisting of armed church members who are trained and can be called upon, at a moment's notice, to deal with a disturbance or a security emergency. On a philosophical level, my students struggled with this notion, and it required a good deal of intense discussion for them to come to terms with their new responsibilities. In the end, all recognized that this was necessary and that they, each one, needed to step forward and participate. I see this as a trend. Christian and Jewish churches will increasingly find themselves under attack, both ideologically and physically, by Marxist politicians and violent Islamic evangelists alike. Most will respond with naïve denial, but some, like this one, will take reasonable, albeit reluctant, steps to confront this challenge. They deserve a lot of credit for confronting the threat honestly. /John (Without minimizing the increasing likelihood of churches and synagogues to come under attack from Muslim extremists, religion is a common topic of fixation among the mentally ill and churches have never been uncommon sites for violent crime.) 16 Dec 05 Shooting in Iowa: A suspect was convicted today of shooting and wounding a special agent with Iowa's Division of Narcotics Enforcement. The incident took place back in May. The officer confronted the suspect on a stairway. The suspect then produced a revolver and pointed it directly at the officer. In response, the officer put up both his hands, holding his cell phone in one of them. He made a useful target! The suspect fired. The single bullet struck the cell phone and continued on through the officer's hand. The suspect was arrested a short time later, without further incident, by other officers. The wounded officer survived but suffers from some permanent disability. Lesson: Pilots have a saying: "In a mid-air emergency, (1) AVIATE, (2) NAVIGATE, (3) COMMUNICATE." The sequence of events is more important than the actual activities. What the saying emphasizes is FIRST THINGS FIRST! One needs to aviate first, getting control of the aircraft. Then, he can worry about where he is and with whom he needs to communicate. Sequence is critical! Transposing steps is a recipe for disaster! Likewise, in a personal security emergency, we need to: (1) MOVE, (2) EVALUATE, (3) DECIDE, (4) ACT. Communicating via cell phone is way down the list! I'm not sure what putting up one's hands is designed to accomplish. In this business, whatever else we are, we must be decisive and courageous. Hesitant ditherers need not apply. We see what happens when they do! /John -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .