How Common Are Firearm Injuries?: With tragic stories like the one below, it is tempting to believe that banning guns would make the world safer. But just as keeping the finger off the trigger and not pointing a gun at somebody would have saved this boy's life, basing public policy on unsubstantiated, emotional reaction can create unintended consequences... Between 1984 and 2006 (latest data available) the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recorded a 69.6% drop in the rate (per 100,000 population) of accidental firearms fatalities. During the same time period, the accidental non-firearms fatality rate increased 0.2%. Moreover, in 1984, accidental shootings accounted for 1.2% of all fatal accidents; by 2006, firearms comprised 0.4%, a 69.4% drop... http://www.examiner.com/x-2879-Austin-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m10d26-How-common-are-accidental-firearms-injuries The Rules: http://www.spw-duf.info/safety.html --- Bad Ruling in Kansas: ...And the court concluded that while this allows self-defense that involves an actual attack on the attacker - for instance, hitting, shooting, or stabbing the attacker - it does not allow self-defense that merely involves a threat of violence against the attacker. I think the dissent is right to say that "force" can reasonably be read as including "constructive force" such as threats, especially in light of the substantial American legal tradition of reading force this broadly (and despite the fact that other Kansas statutes generally do say "force or threat" or some such). And this is especially so because, as the dissent points out, the result is absurd: Restraint in the use of defensive violence is rewarded by criminal punishment. I believe courts should generally read statutes as written, but the should also read their terms against the backdrop of the legal rules that help define these terms, and principles such as the rule of lenity, and the presumption against readings that produce absurd results... (This is why states such as Arizona and Montana are passing statutes that authorize the defensive display of a firearm, under defined circumstances. The Arizona statute lists telling an aggressor that you are armed as a form of "dsiplay.") http://volokh.com/2009/10/23/defending-yourself-against-attack-by-threatening-force-is-a-crime-in-kansas/ --- The Beat Goes On: A new Gallup poll may explain recent reports of increased gun and ammunition sales in the U.S. Majorities of those who personally own a gun (55%) and of those with a gun in the household (53%), as well as 41% of all Americans, believe that President Obama "will attempt to ban the sale of guns in the United States while he is president." ...Gallup's question documents that for a majority of gun owners, the belief that the president intends to try to ban the sale of guns is apparently quite real. One is reminded of the sociological principle that if people believe a situation to be real, the consequences are real - whether or not that belief is factually correct. Thus, although the survey did not ask directly whether those who hold the belief that Obama wants to ban gun sales have acted on that belief in terms of increased purchases of guns and ammunition, a connection between the belief and the behavior is a logical hypothesis... (And we're supposed to ignore such statements as Barbara Boxer's, that she will move to reinstate a federal ban on "assault weapons" at a time of her choosing.) http://www.gallup.com/poll/123602/Many-Gun-Owners-Think-Obama-Will-Try-Ban-Gun-Sales.aspx?CSTS=tagrss ...While that attitude is widespread in traditionally red-state Idaho, where gun ownership is an ingrained part of the outdoor mindset and hunter's education serves as almost a rite of passage, what is outside the majority is his political affiliation. "I'm a gun-toting Democrat," offered George, who serves as chair of the Kootenai County Democratic Party and has a concealed-weapon permit, which allows him to carry the .357 Magnum he bought for personal protection when he sold real estate in rural areas... At Black Sheep Sporting Goods in Coeur d'Alene, sales have remained steady all year. The numbers, however, are not nearly as high as the spike seen in the fourth quarter of 2008, said company spokesman Brian Knoll... But the effects are still sending shockwaves across the industry. Ammunition is the new sought-after commodity. Signs limiting daily ammo purchases hang above many aisles inside Black Sheep, a local indicator of the problem plaguing gun shops nationwide as bullets continue to be in short supply. And many gun supporters believe that it's only a matter of time before the Obama administration tackles firearm legislation... http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/oct/25/more-arms-to-bear/ --- Michigan Instructor Offers Women-Only CPL Course: Lee Zeidler was calm as he spoke to the women, each armed with a pistol, ready to fire. They stood nervously on the line at the Caledonia Sportsman's Club pistol range. The pungent smell of gunpowder hung in the air. They were a mixed group of women, from their early 20s to mid-60s, all prepared mentally and emotionally for the next step. Most had come to learn how to defend themselves. Others feared losing that right some time in the future... Klemkosky is among 50 women who signed up for the required course to obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun in Michigan. The female-only class was sponsored by Great Lakes Outdoors Foundation, a 2-year-old nonprofit organization with Zeidler as executive director... Michigan women are increasingly looking to carry. Zeidler said 25 percent of the state's 211,000 concealed weapons permit holders are female... http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2009/10/women_aim_for_protection_in_co.html --- California Sheriff Issuing More CWP's - Sort Of: Sacramentans are arming themselves in increasing numbers, statistics from the Sacramento County Sheriff reveal. Applications approved by the sheriff to carry a concealed weapon have increased more than 500 percent from 2008, statistics show. By September 30, the department had approved 37 applications to carry a concealed weapon, compared with six approved applications in 2008. The sheriff also has been denying applications in increasing numbers: 25 applications were denied by September 30, compared with 10 permit denials in 2008. Overall, the sheriff had approved or denied 62 concealed weapon permits by October, nearly four times as many as had been processed through 2008. Earlier this year, Sheriff John McGinness said he would consider issuing more concealed weapons permits as the Sheriff's Department faced steep budget cuts that would lay off hundreds of deputies. "I have to be open to the potential that there will be more people in need of the ability to protect themselves as individuals," he said in May... (CCW in Sacramento County is a longstanding issue. California law used to allow a citizen to receive a CWP from the sheriff or any police chief in the county of his residence. When the chief in Isleton began issuing on a shall-issue basis, back in the 90's, offering area residents a pathway around the restrictive policies of the sheriff's department, legislators revised the statute, limiting issuance to the sheriff or the chief in one's city of residence; they also added a training requirement.) http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/16063/Sac_County_more_weapons_permits --- Open-Carry Demonstration with a Twist: A group of Adopt a Highway volunteers were packing more than trash along the shoulder of Minnesota 55 in Mendota Heights on Sunday morning. With legal guns on their hips, a dozen area residents spent nearly three hours picking up litter - everything from cigarette butts to blown-out tires - along a 2-mile stretch of the highway just east of the Mendota Bridge. It was the inaugural event for the group, which registered with the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Adopt a Highway program under the name Minnesota Carry Permit Holders. "We believe this is the safest stretch of road right now in the state," said Jason Walberg, who collected trash with a Springfield XD .40-caliber, semi-automatic handgun clipped to his belt... (Minnesota requires a permit for open carry as well as for concealed carry.) http://www.twincities.com/topstories/ci_13640695 --- Oath Keepers Conclude Successful Convention: I just received the following email from Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes under the subject title "Pretty favorable article about Oath Keepers Conference in Las Vegas Review Journal?" ...In spite of attempts by some to paint Oath Keepers as the opposite of what they stand for, the movement is gaining notice, interest and members. That has to infuriate and worry the detractors. It ought to encourage those of us who believe supporting and defending the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, is a good thing. http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m10d25-Oath-Keepers-national-conference-in-Las-Vegas-a-success No amount of controversy will keep Oath Keepers from educating people about what it means to support and defend the Constitution. That was the message Saturday during the kickoff of the group's inaugural national conference, a two-day event that comes at a time when Oath Keepers is experiencing a surge in membership and notoriety. Started earlier this year by Las Vegas resident Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers is a nonprofit organization made up primarily of current and former police and military personnel who renew their oaths to the Constitution... By honoring the Constitution, Rhodes said, the United States will never become Nazi Germany or again allow abuses like the detention of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II. The group has close to 2,000 dues-paying members, twice the number it had last week, said Dave Freeman, a board member and the group's national peace officer liaison... "My oath to the Constitution is to provide protection and welfare for the citizens of this country," said Black, a federal air marshal who has filed numerous whistle-blower complaints against the Transportation Security Administration. "I think all law enforcement officers should be reminded of the true meaning of the oath they took, and their responsibilities to uphold that oath." http://www.lvrj.com/news/oath-keepers-speak-out-at-inaugural-conference-65931467.html ...But chillingly, there are signs that one of the worst features of Mexico's war on drugs-law enforcement officials on the take from drug lords-is becoming an American problem as well. Most press accounts focus on the drug-related violence that has migrated north into the United States. Far less widely reported is the infiltration and corruption of American law enforcement, according to Robert Killebrew, a retired U.S. Army colonel and senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security. "This is a national security problem that does not yet have a name," he wrote last fall in The National Strategy Forum Review. The drug lords, he tells me, are seeking to "hollow out our institutions, just as they have in Mexico." http://www.rightsidenews.com/200910267011/border-and-sovereignty/the-mexicanization-of-american-law-enforcement.html --- When Guns Are Outlawed...: Starting pistols designed for sporting events are being converted into deadly weapons - and account for four out of 10 guns seized by police investigating gangland shootings in London. The Olympic brand of pistol can be bought legally for £80 and can be converted by illegal gun factories to fire 9mm bullets in as little as 24 hours. Then worth up to £600 on the black market, the guns are rapidly becoming the most popular weapon in the capital's escalating gang wars... (At today's rate, £80 is approximately $130. I'm not sure about "9mm bullets." I can see such a conversion handling the 9x17mm .380 or the 9x18mm Makarov cartridge but I'm a bit skeptical about a 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge. The SAAMI pressure limit for a standard-pressure 9x19mm cartridge is 35,000 psi and NATO rounds run hotter.) http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23760610-replicas-are-turned-into-lethal-weapons.do# http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6888107.ece# Shotgun and rifle crime has more than doubled in Scotland because police have been so effective in cracking down on handgun smugglers, it emerged yesterday. Gangs finding it harder to access the smaller weapons are instead arming themselves with shotguns and rifles stolen from licensed holders. The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency says that a recent rise in illegal handgun trade led officers to crack down on smugglers. In response, many criminals have been robbing legitimate shotgun owners, in particular focusing their attention on country estates... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6890065.ece# --- Shades of Alfred Nobel?: Approaching 90, the inventor of the Kalashnikov assault rifle has one big regret: The almost unstoppable Kalashnikov, designed in 1947, has become the weapon of choice for militants and rebels from Liberia to Afghanistan as well as gangsters and drug traffickers. "It is painful for me to see when criminal elements of all kinds fire from my weapon," Mikhail Kalashnikov said in a videotaped address to a conference of Russian arms traders and designers at a top-secret Soviet-era arms testing facility outside Moscow... Kalashnikov made it clear in the video that he never foresaw the firearm's global reach. "I created this weapon primarily to safeguard our fatherland," he said, looking frail and weak and with his eyes watery. Designed just after World War Two to work in the harsh conditions in which Soviet troops operate, the gas-powered Kalashnikov, which is cheap to build and easy to maintain, became one of the most successful weapons ever produced... (It may be worthy noting that Kalashnikov prefers to view himself as a Russian patriot, not an international Communist. The Reuters report lacks an update on the status of the lawsuit that seeks bankruptcy for Kalashnikov's Izhmash factory.) http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE59P34H20091026 --- Tangentially Related: A new Gallup poll shows that conservatives outnumber moderates for the first time since 2004. Gallup's breakdown shows that 40 percent of Americans call their political views conservative, 36 percent moderate and 20 percent liberal. Last year, conservatives were tied with moderates at 37 percent. So what put conservatives into the lead? Independents, apparently. Now, 35 percent of them are self-proclaimed conservatives, up from 29 percent last year. Meanwhile, the portion of independents who call themselves moderate dipped to 43 percent from 46 percent... (To paraphrase Mordan Claude, Robert Heinlein's character who states, "...an armed society is a polite society," this is a personal observation only: While reading the news every day reminds me more and more of the scenario painted by Ayn Rand in Atlas Shrugged, I remain optimistic. Never in the history of our nation have so many private citizens purchased so many firearms and so much ammunition. Doing so is a radicalizing experience for many new gun owners. Having come to the realization that they cannot rely on the government for personal protection, most will eventually begin to question whether it makes any more sense to rely on the government for their retirement, their health care, ad infinitum. Further, some believe that we are now experiencing a "Roe effect." This is a function of left-leaning people having used abortion to decrease their production of offspring to a much greater extent than right-leaning people. Since the values of children are usually shaped by those of their parents, this would mean more right-leaning voters over time. The term derives from the landmark case of Roe v. Wade.) http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/gallup_poll_conservatives/2009/10/26/277020.html -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .