Opposition Mounts to Small Arms Treaty: A gun rights organization has launched a petition effort to build opposition to plans being discussed by U.S. officials and the United Nations that could result in the confiscation and destruction of privately owned firearms inside the U.S. The online petition, run by officials with the National Association for Gun Rights, offers participants a conduit to tell their U.S. senators a "Small Arms Treaty"' being discussed is "nothing more than a massive global gun control scheme, designed to register, ban and confiscate firearms from law-abiding citizens." ...In a video posted on the website for the National Rifle Association, Bolton said, "I think it was clear from the outset that the Obama administration would move in this direction. The only thing that's surprising is that it's taken this long." He said the presentations have portrayed the "Small Arms Treaty" as something to address international arms trade. "But there's no doubt that the real agenda is domestic firearms control," he said... WND reported last fall when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton first announced the U.S. had changed its stance and would support negotiations of an Arms Trade Treaty to regulate international gun trafficking. The Bush administration had opposed it... (Bolton was the US ambassador to the UN under the Bush administration.) http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=124121 http://www.nagr.org/UNpetition1.aspx?pid=5 --- Right to Carry Road Show: ...Gun Owners of America, in partnership with the Second Amendment March and the New Jersey Coalition for Self Defense, are hoping their new "Right to Carry Road Show" will soon spread nationwide to assist gun owners and send a message of defiance to gun control advocates who push to bog down applications in endless red tape. The Road Show is a mobile processing system that brings to gun owners a consolidated program streamlining the steps to obtaining a self-defense firearm permit... The system involves applying for a non-resident concealed carry permit from Florida, which has a streamlined process and reciprocity with many states where applying for a permit can be long and daunting... Organizers claim they have successfully processed hundreds of permits without a single denial and are planning to expand from their first state, New Jersey, to develop a nationwide program... (I'm disappointed to see that GOA is using NRA's misnomer "Right To Carry." Rights normally do not require permits.) http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=124271 --- Second Amendment March - the Mystery "Non-Speaker": A few months ago I shared a link to an item from the organizers of the Second Amendment March that expressed disappointment that an unnamed, high-profile RKBA advocate had requested a rather large fee to appear. This morning I received this material from a list member: We have been in contact with Ted Nugent's Personal Assistant and she quoted us a speaking fee for Mr. Nugent. While Mr. Nugent would be a great asset to the march, we simply cannot afford him. We express our regrets. Now I can't help wondering about the nature of his relationship with the NRA. http://secondamendmentmarch.com/faqs --- Retired Correctional Officer Charged in NYC Shooting: A retired New York City correction captain working security at a Queens bowling alley shot and wounded two men during a violent confrontation early Saturday morning outside the alley, the authorities said. The retired officer, Michael Iavecchio, 54, was charged with two counts of second-degree assault after the 1:50 a.m. shooting outside the AMF 34th Avenue Lanes, at 6910 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights, the police said... The violence unfolded after Mr. Iavecchio, who was armed, asked the men to leave because they were smoking cigarettes in a vestibule, according to the police. Mr. Iavecchio then escorted the men outside, where the ensuing fight and shooting were captured on a surveillance video, a law enforcement official said. According to the official, words were exchanged and the two men "put their hands" on Mr. Iavecchio. He pulled out a .380-caliber Ruger pistol, but the men "go back at him and he shoots," the official said. Mr. Iavecchio fired two shots; one bullet hit one of the men in the chest and the other hit the second man in the stomach, the police said... http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/nyregion/07shoot.html?ref=nyregion --- Rule Five Reminder: A 3-year-old Queen Creek boy who accidently shot himself in the head with a gun that police say he found under a couch was in critical condition and undergoing surgery Saturday. Pinal County Sheriff's Deputies responded to "frantic" calls from the boy's paternal grandmother around 11:45 a.m. at 43083 N. Friend Ave., said Lt. Tammy Villar, Pinal County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman. The boy, who was in and out of consciousness but responsive, had a head wound from a 9-mm bullet, she said. The boy was airlifted to Maricopa Medical Center, Villar said. (Rule Five: Maintain control of your firearm. Toddlers who shoot themselves often do so in the head because the only way the can fire many handguns is by placing the hand on the back strap and placing the thumb inside the trigger guard; this points the muzzle at the head.) http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/150372 --- A Dry-Fire Warning from a Forum: I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that if you are dry firing your early M&P without snap caps you may be damaging your striker. Mine broke a few weeks ago when I was dry firing it. The gun had maybe 600 rds through it and a couple of thousand dry fires (estimated). Smith sent me a new striker and it is made of polished stainless steel instead of the black finished metal that was originally in the gun. The tech I talked to on the phone confirmed that they were having problems with the original MIM strikers. He also suggested that I invest in some snap caps. I was disappointed that it broke but the customer service was excellent. Generally, modern firearms other than rimfire, are considered to be safe to dry-fire. This is disappointing as to the MIM striker but encouraging that it has been replaced with one of stainless steel. Back to the disappointing side, I don't recall seeing any notices about this from S&W. As of this morning, all I can find on their website is a caution about not dry-firing .22 pistols and revolvers. For those who reload, a much cheaper version of a commercial snap cap can be made by punching out the used primer from a fired case and filling in the primer pocket with a silicone sealant. If you choose to seat a bullet, be sure to mark such dummy rounds very clearly so that they do not get confused with live ammunition. http://www.stoppingpower.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18130 --- Charles Daly Goes Belly Up: To all our friends, fans, supporters and consumers of Charles Daly and by extension, KBI products, I regret to inform you that the rumors of our demise are true. KBI is going out of business and closing its doors, effective today, January 29, 2010. I don't want to go into each and every detail as to why this has occurred, except to say that there have been a multitude of events over the past five years that have contributed to our current situation. For those of you with ongoing service requirements please be advised that we are currently negotiating with several companies that will be performing after-sale service of Charles Daly, CD Defense and Jericho firearms. As soon as we have finalized a contract with one of these companies we will post the name, address and contact details of that company on www.CharlesDalyForum.com, so you will know who to contact to obtain service on your KBI firearm. Again, I wish to thank all of you that have supported our company, Charles Daly and all the other fine firearms that we have sold over the years.. This spells the end of KBI but I imagine it will certainly not mean the end of Charles DalyŽ and CD Defense^(TM). Look for this excellent brand to resurface in the very near future. Sincerely, Michael B. Kassnar, President K.B.I., Inc. http://www.charlesdaly.com/ --- From John Farnam: 2 Feb 10 "In banking, when you're right one-hundred percent of the time, you'll make money. Right ninety-nine percent of the time, you'll break even. Right ninety-eight percent of the time, you'll lose money. Right ninety-seven percent of the time, you'll go to jail!" Banker's Axiom In our Art, as in banking, boldness and caution are maintained in delicate balance. Our enemies are always mis-focus and mis-direction. After viewing glittering new equipment at this year's SHOT Show, and patiently listening, and re-listening, to all the new, and re-hashed, theories of lethal confrontation, I am, once again, invariably drawn to the conclusion that, while our Art must, and will, advance, key principles continue to stand at our foundation, keeping us from going astray. Fancy, slick gun-trickery, designed to impress rather than inspire, is, I suppose, unavoidable at trade-shows. But, such grandstanders remind me of shallow, flamboyant snake-oil salesmen. While always garnering a gullible audience, their slight-of-hand and chicanery, masquerading as "enlightenment," represent little more than glib amusement. In war, "victory" and "defeat" and not nearly as clear-cut to players, as to historians. In real-time, war a muddy, bloody business, and those who are directly involved are just glad to have lived through it (those of us who do, that is)! Wyatt Earp, in his later years, observed: "I would shun, as I would poison, flashy trick-shooting... in all my life as a frontier peace officer, I never knew a proficient gunfighter who had anything but contempt for the gun-fanner, or the man who literally shot from the hip." Wyatt was one of an extremely small group who, in his day, actually lived long enough to see his "later years!" Indeed, the ever-omnipotent repertoire of confrontational and fighting skills we have the honor, in our day, to faithfully pass on to the next generation has little glamour, nor spectator-appeal, associated with it. Never will. Who long to be interviewed by sexy TV correspondents are best advised to seek another profession! Like accomplished poker players, we are "masters of incomplete information." We are at peace, even within chaos, boldly, incisively streaming in fluid motion. With ascendent confidence, both in our purpose and potency, we dare audaciously! Ever gracious and unpretentious, in victory and defeat, we do honor to our Art, and our progenitors. Like competent bankers, who never forget they are responsible for other people's money, we never forget the burden our mighty ancestors have placed upon our shoulders! "So let the wild circle of argument rage On what wins, as war comes and goes. Many new theories briefly hold center-stage But the man with the rifle... knows!" /John (Anyone who gives much credence to Wyatt Earp should read Steve Gatto's book The Real Wyatt Earp. Most of the few Western gunfights, where contenders actually faced each other with handguns, generally produced clouds of smoke and little blood, much like today. While it is certainly easy to miss shooting from the hip, objective evidence continues to mount that, when surprised at close range, few operators will get the gun high enough to use the sights and, even if they do, will likely focus on the threat anyway. I have sought to deal with this issue, albeit rather concisely, in the forthcoming update to my book, now expected to be released in July.) 3 Feb 10 Decisive action, with a plan, saves the day. This from a friend: "Early Sunday morning, my wife experienced a severe allergic attack. Her tongue had suddenly swollen to the point where she was having difficulty breathing. She has had similar reactions before, but never this severe. I grabbed an EpiPen (epinephrin injector) in an attempt to give her an injection. It failed mechanically. The needle never deployed. I discarded it and grabbed a second EpiPen. This copy functioned normally. The nearest hospital ER is less than a mile away, so we drove there immediately. Upon arriving, I noticed the ER was nearly empty. Yet, the receptionist there told us to sit and wait! I explained to her that my wife's tongue was swollen, and that she was at risk of suffocating. The obviously bored receptionist couldn't have cared less! She just rolled her eyes, sighed, and explained that we would have to sit down and wait. When I asked how long, she, with a simultaneous yawn and sneer, indicated she had no idea and couldn't provide any more information. Without another word, we dashed back to the car and departed immediately, driving several miles to a second hospital. That ER was infinitely superior! They immediately recognized the problem and had her with a resident within minutes. She spent the night at the hospital and was discharged the next day, none the worse for ware!" Comment: Emergencies don't make appointments, and no one is excluded! When a can of worms suddenly lands in your lap, you're on center-stage, Bud, ready or not! Let us reiterate: (1) Be prepared! We can't specifically prepare for all conceivable emergencies, but we can make reasonable preparations for the most likely. That is why the prudent among us have guns, fire extinguishers, trauma kits, et al! (2) Have a plan, but don't fall in love with your plan. Be flexible, as parts of your plan will inevitably fail. (3) Expect equipment misfunction. Have sufficient redundancy on hand so you can work around equipment issues. No matter how elaborate or well-maintained, all machines have the irritating habit of breaking at inconvenient times! (4) Don't relax too soon. Don't relax at all! Keep your head up, and in the game. (5) Find a way to win! Keep thinking ahead. Have alternatives always in mind. Operators can't be oblivious to dangers inherent to this indifferent planet. Lives (maybe yours!) depend upon your preparedness and ability to act quickly, decisively, and correctly. /John 4 Feb 10 Hospital ER Arrival: With regard to the last Quip, nearly all MDs, EMTs, nurses, and medical bureaucrats seem to agree that, when going to the ER, you are far better off arriving in an ambulance than you will be walking in, or arriving in a private car. When arriving via ambulance, escorted by uniformed EMTs, you will likely be ushered past receptionists and other disinterested gate-keepers, going directly to a treatment room and into the presence of an MD or someone else who has at least some capacity for actually helping you. Hospital ERs, by law, cannot outright "reject" anyone. So, most ERs have become little more than walk-in clinics, crowded, indeed overcrowded, with "users, boozers, and losers." Few of these "walk-ins" even remotely qualify as an "emergency," but they have the effect of clogging the system to the point where real emergencies can't get through. Thus, arriving via ambulance offers you the best chance of breaking through the congestion and getting the emergency treatment you need quickly. /John (Absolutely! I spent the bulk of my 29-year career as a clinical pharmacist working in hospitals and can attest that admitting personnel are clerks, not health professionals. They are among the lowest-paid employees in any hospital and their primary job is to gather the information for the hospital to seek reimbursement for your care, whether you leave on your own two feet or on the coroner's or mortician's gurney. Even if you are wheeled into the ER in "full code" by paramedics, they will be hovering in the background. They need to do their jobs, if only to get you registered so that the other departments have the requisite information to process laboratory tests, X-rays, etc., but, unless you collapse on the floor, you are not likely to get into a treatment booth until they have done their initial job, if you don't come through the ambulance entrance. Also, unless you are obviously at death's door, you will most likely also have to be interviewed by a nurse, who will take a rudimentary history and vital signs, before you make it to a treatment booth. Be aware that most hospitals take precautions to keep the public from walking through the ambulance entrance.) 5 Feb 10 Excellent response to a common question from naive students, "Why can't I just shoot him in the leg?" ... from a colleague: "Deliberately launching high-velocity missiles, from a firearm, in someone's direction, necessarily represents a voluntary employment of 'deadly-force.' Your sincerely articulated 'intended outcome,' for the most part, ceases to be relevant once you press the trigger! I'm not sure why so many apparently fail to grasp the foregoing, when they simultaneously claim to understand perfectly why they are shooting someone in the first place! When defending yourself with gunfire, it is always because you perceive an imminent, deadly threat to yourself (and/or other innocent parties), and other, lesser options are precluded, ie: unlikely to be efficacious, unavailable, or not practicable. Any time you shoot someone, you are employing 'deadly-force,' because no one can accurately predict the ultimate damage a bullet (any kind of bullet, striking anywhere on the body) will do. You may attempt a shot to an extremity, and you may even be successful, but your bullet may still sever an artery, and, as a direct result, the person may bleed to death in short order, even when that outcome was not your 'intention.' Even when death does not result immediately, permanent disablement/impairment/disfigurement surely will. No one ever 'recovers completely' from a gunshot wound! Deadly force is deadly force. Know and understand that you cannot shoot anyone in a 'non-deadly' manner! In defensive shooting, our goal is, of course, to end the criminal's violent behavior as quickly as possible. To that end, we shoot with sufficient precision and volume to accomplish the goal. After that goal is accomplished, additional shooting is unnecessary, and thus unjustified. The incontrovertible, inescapable maxim is: Shot placement that is most likely to stop violent, criminal behavior quickly is also most likely to beget fatal wounds. For better or worse, the two outcomes are inseparably linked! Accordingly, purposely attempting to inflict ostensibly non-fatal wounds may well actually prolong the fight, exacerbating risk-exposure yourself, other innocent parties, even the VCA himself. In addition, attempting to hit arms or legs of an aggressively animated attacker represents a far greater challenge, even for competent marksman, than does aiming for the chest and trunk. Thus, attempting to 'shoot him in the leg' is unlikely to be successful to begin with! You must, at long last, confront the unavoidable fact that employing gunfire in self-defense, no matter your intent, is likely to result in forceful death, or permanent, crippling injury, to the VCA in question. Who cannot accept, nor deal with, that stark reality, should have naught to do with guns! Trying, in the face of the foregoing, to convince yourself that 'shooting him in the leg' is an appropriate force-response to a lethal, personal attack is delusional in the extreme! It is identical to the self-deceptive concept that a nation can print its way to prosperity, or that death, pain, and suffering, in general, can all be legislated out of existence. Only cretins and children believe that! 'Shooting with charity' is thus an absurd contradiction! Who believe it are destined for a short and unhappy life!" Comment: Years ago, the false concept of deliberately wounding an attacker with gunfire was actually taught in some circles. No one, with any credibility, teaches it today. /John (Most of these same arguments also explain why we do not fire "warning shots." Most cultures have some version of the saying that was translated for me out of Chinese as "kindness to your enemy is cruelty to yourself." I recently heard almost the same words quoted out of the Talmud, a compendium of rabbinic discussions that, if I understand it correctly, aids in interpretation of the Bible.) -- 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 .