Good-Will Gesture: Let's see if we can dispense with the weekly reminders not to forward me the hysterical e-mails about "SB 2099" and HR 45 this year. Oh, yeah, also about the nine-year-old failed Vermont bill to tax non-gun-owners. --- Big Brother, Healthcare and the RKBA: Members of Gun Owners of America are claiming a skirmish victory in the fight over nationalized health care, dubbed "Obamacare" by critics, because of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's "manager's amendment" to the plan. The issue long has been festering over whether an all-powerful government health management system would consider gun ownership a "health care" issue and whether such language could be used to further tighten limits on gun ownership. The concern seems legitimate since federal officials already use veterans' medical records regarding post-traumatic stress syndrome and other factors to determine whether they should be allowed to purchase weapons... There have been other gun-related issues already, too, under President Obama. Obama's attorney general, Eric Holder, supported Washington, D.C.'s ban on handguns before it was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. And since Obama has been in office, he's already advocated for a treaty that would require a federal license for hunters to reload their ammunition, has expressed a desire to ban "assault" weapons, has seen a plan to require handgun owners to submit to mental health evaluations and sparked a rush on ammunition purchases with his history of anti-gun positions... Further, WND reported on the nomination of David Michaels, the chief of a George-Soros-funded Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy, as the next head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. As WND reported, Second Amendment advocates sounded an alarm over Michaels, warning the most significant attack on gun rights in years soon could come in the form of workplace "safety" regulations... http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=120547 --- No Problems at New Mexico Protest: There were plenty of handguns and rifles displayed at a tea party protest attended by several hundred people Saturday in Alamogordo, but no violence. The demonstration against the Obama administration and its policies was staged by the Otero Tea Party Patriots and a newly formed organization: the Alamogordo Second Amendment Task Force, which conducted a simultaneous open-carry event. "I don't like what the Democrats are doing to our country," said Jim Kizer, of Alamogordo, who carried a .444 Marlin and a holstered .41 Smith and Wesson Magnum. "I'm a Korean vet and I grew up in Alaska during World War II. I've fought Communists all my life, and now our government is being taken over by them. That's why I'm here." Kizer said his weapons weren't loaded. New Mexico law states that anyone over the age of 19 can openly carry a holstered firearm in most places... (I'm curious as to why Mr. Kizer left his firearms unloaded when it would at least have been legal for his handgun to be loaded; I'm not sure about New Mexico law on rifles.) http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/03/tea-partiers-protest-obama-new-mexico/?feat=home_cube_position2 --- Virginia Faces RKBA Battle: Gun control opponents in Virginia's legislature are proposing what would amount to a vast roll-back of handgun regulations, hoping to capitalize on a friendlier administration in Richmond to undo long-standing firearms restrictions. Conservative lawmakers have filed a flurry of bills including abolishing the state's one-handgun-per-month rule and allowing college faculty to carry a concealed weapon on campus. Despite the arrival of Republican Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell, who has an A rating from the National Rifle Association and campaigned on a pro-Second Amendment platform, none of the bills necessarily will have an easy time getting passed when the General Assembly goes into session later this month. Proponents of stronger gun laws have become much more vocal and focused since the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre and are likely to oppose the measures alongside many legislators... http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Gun-control-opponents-hope-to-reshape-handgun-laws-8697689-80433647.html --- Georgia to Debate Church Carry: Firearms have no place in church, says the Rev. Dean Taylor of Dalton's St. Mark's Episcopal Church. "To arm ourselves in a place of worship, whether it is church or mosque or synagogue, is an insult to all that we believe about God's kingdom and ultimately an insult to God," he said. "Of all places, churches should be the closest that we come to the kingdom of God, in which we are at peace with one another." But the Georgia General Assembly may consider legislation in the upcoming session that would allow those who have concealed carry permits to take their guns into places that are currently off limits, such as churches, school zones, bars and college campuses. The General Assembly passed a bill in 2009 allowing those with concealed carry permits to take their weapons into state parks and restaurants that serve alcohol, among other places, but some said that bill didn't go far enough. "Some of the things that have happened this year might make us think about allowing guns in churches," said state Sen. Don Thomas, R-Dalton. There were a number of church shootings in 2009, in Arkansas, Kansas and Illinois, among other states. Some gun rights advocates say that allowing those with carry permits to bring them to work might discourage such shootings... (What about the insults by those who attack churches or clergy due to mental illness or those who target churches for robbery for the collection plate? Is it a greater honor to the believe in God's gift of life to remain defenseless during worship or to protect that life?) http://www.northwestgeorgia.com/local/local_story_002222323.html --- Here's a Switch: Chiappa Firearms debuts a new production revolver and concept at the MKS Supply 2010 SHOT Show display (booth 15549). Called the Rhino (sort of resembles one too) you will first notice that the barrel is actually at the bottom of the cylinder. The gun is designed to fire from the bottom chamber of the cylinder (6:00 position not 12:00 as with other revolvers). The new design resulted in improvements of the internal mechanisms over conventional revolver designs yielding up incredible reliability, a super-smooth action and improved safety. The Rhino's low barrel design ergonomically shifts recoil energy into the center of the palm of the hand and in line with the forearm thus greatly reducing the effects of felt recoil. Traditional revolver design (semi-autos too) place the barrel above the hand. When the [traditional] gun is fired the leverage applied by that design forces the recoil into the web area of the hand between the thumb and trigger finger causing significant muzzle snap. Not the Rhino! Due to this new design a shooter can now fire very fast and accurate repeat shots. The Rhino is designed reduce its carry profile. This design is even carried into the hexagonal shaped cylinder making for a flatter profile when carried (especially handy for legal concealed carry)... (There is a dictum in science that fact is the greatest enemy of theory. I fully understand the theory behind this concept but will be very surprised if I ever see a student bring one of these for training. A while back Smith & Wesson offered a line of inexpensive .22 pistols [422, 622] in which the barrel was located below the recoil spring, as it had been on their Escort pistol. While still placing the bore axis slightly above the web of the shooting hand, placing it as low as possible produced a felt recoil comparable with that of a .22 pistol of twice its weight. Kahr similarly reduces felt recoil by using a slightly offset feed ramp to lower the bore axes of their pistols. ) http://www.ammoland.com/2009/12/31/chiappa-firearms-rhino-357-magnum-revolver/ --- A Lesson from an Earlier Generation: If you're looking to burn some time, here's a WWII cartoon intended to impress on our troops the need for proper maintenance and care for weapons and equipment. http://toonheads.tv/view/269/fighting-tools/ --- A Useful Tool: Ammo Engine is a free search site that appears to search a wide variety of online vendors for availability and price for ammunition in the caliber you select. It does appear to search http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/, which I have found to discount that CorBon ammunition they can keep in stock, but does not appear to search http://www.ammoman.com/, which is often a good source for case quantities. http://www.ammoengine.com/ --- From John Farnam: 28 Dec 09 In today's issue of a Boston newspaper there is a Letter to the Editor, from a local high-school teacher: "... current school security procedures lock down school populations in the event of armed assault. Some advocate abandoning this practice as it holds everyone in place, allowing a shooter easily to find victims. An alternative is immediate exodus, via announcement. Although this removes potential hostages... it unfairly rewards resourceful children who move to safety... more shrewdly and efficiently than others. Schools should level playing fields, not intrinsically reward those more resourceful..." It gets even better: "... some propose overturning laws that make schools gun-free zones... they argue that barring licensed-carry only ensures a defenseless, target-rich environment. But, as a Progressive, I would sooner lay my child to rest than succumb to the belief that the use of a gun for self-defense is somehow not in itself a gun crime." The Communist apotheosis that no one should be allowed to enjoy the natural benefits of their own resourcefulness, that identical outcomes need to be guaranteed for all, no matter what any of us do as individuals to help ourselves, is starkly repugnant to any real American! Calling it "fairness" is a contemptible lie. It is enforced mediocrity. Any so-called "teacher" who will stand idly by and allow innocent children in his charge to be murdered in front of him, rather than protect them with a gun or another weapon, is a craven coward, a collaborator with evil, unworthy and unfit, a currish disgrace to his family and his profession! This "teacher," for whom blind obedience to his Communist Ideals is held above the lives of innocent children, needs leave America without delay, move to North Korea or some other "Workers' Paradise," and forever get out of our sight! /John (It seems to take a "Progressive" with a capital "P" to turn a legitimate act of self-defense or defense of another into a crime simply because it involves the use of a firearm. In the language of his chosen ideology, such people are known as "useful idiots.") 28 Dec 09 On the Lakewood, WA Shooting, from a colleague and LEO: "I fear this murder spree was abetted by the 'Community-Policing' frenzy that has plagued our profession for over two decades. The craze has been to set up numerous, out-posted 'sub-stations,' in convenience stores and other small retail businesses. The theory is to keep officers out of precinct stations and 'in the community' while they perform administrative duties, such as report writing. We now all see the downside to this! In a precinct station, while you're concentrating on composing detailed reports about which you will have to testify years later, you can relax (at least a little), because you are in a relatively secure facility, surrounded with fences and secured access-doors. Doing the same thing in a 'community sub-station,' involves a quantum-leap in risk-exposure, as we see! 'Community-Policing' must always be subordinated to officer safety. Since this flawed philosophy is now so ingrained in our profession, it will take a while, and a few more fatal attacks, for upper-management to make necessary procedural changes. In the interim, the only one looking out for you is you, so think tactically before glibly, naively taking part in someone else's feel-good fluff!" Comment: In these dangerous times, we all have to be able to respond swiftly and effectively to changes in our environment. We all know that the bigger the institution, the slower it advances. Accordingly, as individuals, we have to take complete, personal command of our own safety, never delegating that responsibility to a "system," "gadget," nor "policy." Never expect someone else to care more about you than you care about yourself! /John (A small proportion of list members are employed in law enforcement. When I share material from that community, I generally do so because I feel that it has broader value. In this case, those who do not enjoy the security of the equivalent of a police station also need to be mindful of the hazards conducting business in public venues, which they are more likely to be forced to do. We should not assume that our workplaces are secure, particularly when they require us to disarm. For the years I volunteered in an L.A. Sheriff's station, I wondered why the detectives routinely placed their handguns in a drawer upon arrival at their desks. Years later I learned that this practice was established in the FBI by "Jelly" Bryce, after an incident in which a subject being interviewed disarmed an agent working in shirt sleeves. Bryce's policy was either to leave your handgun concealed by your coat or to secure it when you removed your coat. LASD and LAPD both received a major infusion of FBI doctrine when each department was headed, respectively, by Eugene Biscailuz and William Parker, each of whom came out of the FBI.) 31 Dec 09 Latest Trend in SA [South Africa], from friends there: "We're experiencing Mall robberies here! A large group of armed men, at least a dozen, all with Kalashnikovs, storm a mall and hit high-end merchandise shops. They do not hesitate to fire their weapons, and most of these incidents end up with shots fired and multiple injuries. No mall is exempt. In fact, our largest and most 'secure' malls have all been hit more than once. Jewelry stores are typically located in the center of malls for maximum insulation from robberies, but these gangs bypass peripheral shops and go directly for such places, because they have lots of cash and high-density merchandise on hand. Our largest local mall, the biggest in the Western Cape, has responded with laughable 'extra security measures,' which include (even more) cameras and highly-visible, but unarmed, security guards. As any idiot could have predicted, these window-dressing measures do not represent any species of deterrent, as robbers blithely ignore them, and the guards themselves instantly run away, dropping their metal-detecting wands (their only 'weapon') in the process! Once again, management and government alike dither around like the Three Stooges, doing everything imaginable, except something that has any chance of actually working! Typical Western Civilization!" Comment: All too typical! When this plague hits the USA, our "response" will predictably be identical, and identically ineffective! Weak, window-dressing responses to real safety issues are symptomatic of declining civilizations, where everyone cares only about appearances, and little genuine problem-solving ever sees the light of day. Effective problem-solving always begins with the abrupt removal of rose-colored glasses! I love the way John Henry "Doc" Holliday put it: "Play to win, or don't bother. Check friendship at the door. A 'friendly game' is a contradiction of terms. When looking for entertainment, there is the theater. When camaraderie is your need, there is the bar. For companionship, you've only to seek out any number of likely whores." /John (I recall a period of months in L.A. County in which I began noticing armored-car guards day-dreaming or reading newspapers when they should have been watching their partners' backs. By coincidence, a series of armored-car robberies began shortly afterward. Some will recall that they culminated in the deaths of the perpetrators in the infamous North Hollywood bank robbery on February 28, 1997. While many in law enforcement argued that this was an atypical incident, of the sort that might only occur once a decade, it can happen here and is even more likely to happen in the current era of homegrown jihad.) --- And a Joke, to Wrap Things Up: A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with a class of 6-year-olds. After explaining the Commandment to "Honor thy father and thy mother," she asked, "Is there a Commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?" Without missing a beat one little boy answered, "Thou shall not kill." -- Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. The tactics and skills to use a firearm in self-defense don't come naturally with the right to keep and bear arms. http://www.spw-duf.info .