Birthplace of the Second Amendment 1765

Katie Jones - University of Arizona

By Katie Jones - University of Arizona on October 8, 2013

Chad Westerland, an associate professor of political science and associate director of the School of Government and Public Policy, recently told the Arizona Daily Wildcat that “the Second Amendment is not clearly written.”

“It doesn’t say you have a right to carry a gun; there’s a right to bear arms that’s connected to maintaining a well-regulated militia.”

Subsequently contacted by The College Fix, Westerland said he was quoted accurately and stands by his statement in the campus newspaper.

By GOPUSA Staff - 10/9/2013
The Law of the Sea Treaty. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

When it comes to international agreements that may seem harmless until you read the fine print, the United Nations' Arms Trade Treaty has plenty of company. Like the aforementioned pacts, this treaty has been signed by the United States, but not ratified by the Senate.

Nor is it likely to be. That doesn't mean, though, it won't prove damaging to the United States and its interests.

The Arms Trade Treaty has numerous flaws. Start with the most obvious: the fact that it won't do what it sets out to do - regulate the flow of arms to and from rogue states. Major arms exporters such as China and Russia don't support it, and the idea that it will stop, say, Cuba from continuing to arm North Korea, to name two other notable nonsigners, is a joke.

By: George L. Lyon -10/5/2013

Madison on the 2nd Amendment & milita clause

The Supreme Court in the Heller decision explained that the second amendment guarantees an individual right of the people to keep and carry arms for their defense in the event of a confrontation.

The anti-gun crowd, however, refuses to accept this common sense reading of the amendment. The best way to interpret the Constitution begins with actually reading it. The next best thing is to read what the Constitution's chief drafter, James Madison, had to say about America's founding document. Madison was the chief author of the Federalist Papers, along with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton. The Federalist Papers offer great insight into the political theories of the day that led to our system of government.

Students of the second amendment should be familiar with both Federalist 29 and 46, which discuss the role of an armed populace in protecting the precious freedom which had so recently been won. It was that thinking that led to the adoption of the second amendment.

By: Richard L. Johnson - 10/5/2013

Useful Shooting Gear

Here is a short list of a few pieces of gear that I have found to be useful to my shooting endeavors. Three items can help protect you against an attacker, while the fourth can protect your long-term health.

AmeriGlo Pro Glow Front Sight

For a self-defense handgun, I like to have a big, bright front sight. Most factory sights are somewhere between marginal and poor for my defensive needs. There are a number of aftermarket sight replacements I have tried, but the one I recently had installed on my pistol is the ProGlo Tritium front sight from AmeriGlo.

The ProGlo Tritium is a normal sized sight with a bright tritium vial in the center that glows in the darkness. What sets the ProGlo apart from other night sights is that a large, lime-green circle surrounds the tritium vial. This neon-bright circle is with width of the sight and nearly as tall, which is very easy to see.

More firearms sold this year than in previous two combined

By Erin Cox, The Baltimore Sun - 10/2/2013

Maryland gun dealers have sold more firearms in the first nine months of this year than in all of 2011 and 2012 combined, the state police said Wednesday.

Buyers have applied to purchase 117,009 guns this year as lawmakers debated and enacted some of the toughest new gun laws in the country. More than 15,000 gun purchase applications were sent to the state police in the 10 days before Maryland's ban on assault rifle sales and a new handgun licensing requirement took effect Tuesday.

"Maryland is armed to the teeth," said Del. Luiz Simmons, a Montgomery County Democrat who voted for the law but argued that the assault rifle ban was not strong enough. "We caused this rush, this stampede really, to purchase guns."

By Walter Williams - 10/2/2013

Every time there's a shooting tragedy, there are more calls for gun control. Let's examine a few historical facts. By 1910, the National Rifle Association had succeeded in establishing 73 NRA-affiliated high-school rifle clubs. The 1911 second edition of the Boy Scout Handbook made qualification in NRA's junior marksmanship program a prerequisite for obtaining a BSA merit badge in marksmanship. In 1918, the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. established its own Winchester Junior Rifle Corps. The program grew to 135,000 members by 1925. In New York City, gun clubs were started at Boys, Curtis, Commercial, Manual Training and Stuyvesant high schools. With so many guns in the hands of youngsters, did we see today's level of youth violence?

By: Richard L. Johnson - 9/30/2013

Need a concealed carry pistol, but don't want to break the bank? You might want to take a look at the USA-made pistols from SCCY Industries.

I recently headed out to the range with Randall of the Thin Blue Florida. In his range bag was a SCCY CPX-2. Do you want to shoot it, he asked.

Well, I didn't come here to watch, I replied.

By Alan Prendergast - 8/27/2013

David Gunn knows he's stepping into the crossfire. He knows the gun-control folks are likely to view him as a crank while gun owners denounce him as the Antichrist. But the former gun shop owner is an inventor by inclination and has been a firearms buff ever since he was a kid, and he can't help tinkering. Let others rage on about gun violence and the Second Amendment; Gunn's busy working on a technological fix to the problem. And he thinks he has it -- a "firearms safety management system" both sides can embrace, once they understand it.

Growing up on a ranch near Granby, Gunn did his share of hunting and screwing around with guns; at fourteen he got shot in the heel when an untended .22 fell over and went off. In the 1970s, Gunn operated a gun-and-fishing-rod shop on Kipling. (Yes, it was called Gunn's Guns.) "We sold a lot of guns, including backup guns for cops," he recalls. "These days, nobody wants to deal in used guns, but we did."

By NRA 9/27/2013
Last week, the FBI released its national crime report for 2012. By a slight margin, the nation's violent crime rate decreased in 2012--relative to 2011--making it the lowest it has been since 1970. Compared to 1991, when it hit an all-time high, violent crime is down by 49 percent. The nation's murder rate was unchanged in 2012; still lower than any time since 1963 and at nearly an all-time low.

Between 2011 and 2012, 24 states and the District of Columbia experienced decreases in their murder rates. There was no correlation of these trends with the severity of the states' or the District's gun control laws. Troubled Detroit, under Michigan's law requiring a permit to purchase a handgun, had the highest murder rate among large cities, followed by Baltimore, under Maryland's law imposing a seven-day waiting period on handgun purchases. But there was no relationship between other large cities' murder rates and their gun control laws.

Joanna Slater and Steven - The Globe and Mail 9/25/2013

Pime Minister Stephen Harper continues to engage the United Nations on his own terms, refusing to sign a landmark UN treaty regulating the arms trade while pushing his maternal health agenda.

Canada is holding off signing the treaty, citing concern over how it affects firearm owners' even though the United States has now joined the global accord over the objections of that country's powerful gun lobby.

Canada's reluctance to join the multilateral effort on the arms trade is a tacit example of how Mr. Harper, far from the biggest fan of the UN, prefers to engage with the international body at arm's length. For the third year in a row, Mr. Harper declined to address the main body of the UN, the General Assembly. Instead, he stayed on the margins of the conclave, holding bilateral meetings and promoting Canada's maternal health efforts but steering clear of its highest-profile venue.

By Cheryl K. Chumley - The Washington Times 9/26/2013

The Senate's official website page on the Constitution says the Second Amendment right to bear arms could be a collective right, not an individual freedom.

The website explains the Second Amendment this way: Whether this provision protects the individual's right to own firearms or whether it deals only with the collective right of the people to arm and maintain a militia has long been debated.

The Bill of Rights, however, was the Founding Father's way of guaranteeing each and every individual their unalienable rights, as endowed by God. On top of that, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled at least twice in the past five years that the Second Amendment is an individual right, Breitbart reported.

In 2008, the court ruled on District of Columbia vs. Heller and found that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia.

And in 2010, Breitbart reported, the Supreme Court ruled the same held true in McDonald v. Chicago that the Heller case showed that individual self-defense is the central component of the Second Amendment rights, Associated Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote in his opinion.

Daniel J. Mitchell - 9/25/2013

The English are an interesting tribe. There is much to like about their country, including the fact that repeatedly elected Margaret Thatcher, one of the world's best leaders in my lifetime.

On the other hand, the United Kingdom has veered sharply to the left in recent decades, and Thatcher must have been very disappointed that her Conservative Party now is but a hollow shell, controlled by statists who actually think people should voluntarily pay extra tax to support wasteful and corrupt government.

And the politicians openly pursue Orwellian tax-collection tactics!

No wonder the country now faces a very grim future.

By John Hayward - 9/24/2013
The UK Daily Mail recounts the astonishing deeds of a man who must remain nameless for security reasons: a British ex-marine who was having coffee at the Westgate Shopping Center when a gang of cowardly terrorist thugs attacked. He drew his gun, leaped into action, and never stopped leaping:

A former marine emerged as a hero of the Nairobi siege yesterday after he was credited with saving up to 100 lives.

By: Raquel Okyay - 9/22/2013

One man's journey to obtain pistol permit from New York county police department finds him humiliated and dumbfounded that local government freely institutes an administrative prohibition on the Second Amendment.

The whole process is intimidating and mind-boggling, said Mark a Suffolk County resident who requested anonymity since his permit application is still being processed. I would hate to see anything happen that would prevent approval.

Having a population of about 1.5 million, Suffolk County is an affluent suburb approx. 80 miles East of New York City.

Mark said he submitted his initial two-page permit application with the Suffolk County Police Department Pistol License Bureau on Jan. 16 together with a $10 money order made payable to Suffolk County Police. The form is similar to the one needed to purchase a rifle in New York State.
However, in addition to requesting basic information such as; name, address, social security number, contact information, and criminal/mental health history, he said the application requires four reference letters from mere acquaintances. The referral cannot be a blood relative, of a spousal relationship, or a member of law enforcement.

By Charles Dharapak, AP

With a series of domestic and international crises coming to a head at once, President Obama made clear on Sunday that he won't be pouring a great deal of his own political capital into reigniting the debate on the country's gun laws.

During a memorial service, the president offered warm tributes to the 12 victims of last week's mass shooting at the Navy Yard.

But his tone also had an edge of frustration that was absent from his December remarks at the memorial honoring the victims of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the site of the last major mass shooting in the U.S. where 20 young children and 6 adults were slain. There he choked back tears and set the goal -- which would prove to elude him -- of overhauling the nation's gun laws. In Sunday's memorial, he made clear that he's all but given up hope that he can persuade Congress.

By GOPUSA

National Rifle Association leader Wayne LaPierre said Sunday if more personnel had been armed, the Washington Navy Yard shooting would have ended sooner.

In an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," LaPierre, NRA executive vice president, said "there weren't enough good guys with guns" to stop Aaron Alexis, the shooter who killed 12 people at the Navy Yard.

"When the good guys got there, it stopped," LaPierre said in his first televised interview since the rampage.

John Ransom - 9/19/2013

Starbucks really knows who its customers are. And if you're not one of them, I guess you just don't count. For many people besides the good folks at Starbucks.

I can't tell you how the whole Starbucks gun controversy started. I lack sufficient brain cells to waste them on minutiae, trivia and events long forgotten, yet reported to us at the time with breathless drama by pretty blond men and women on TV.

But I know now how the controversy is going to end.

Pushy liberals are going to special plead marginal cases as they always do in order to try to curtail gun rights and laws established by federal, state and local governments.

In the face of a resounding defeat on gun control, President Obama takes 25 executive actions and there's little the NRA can do to stop them.

By Patrick Reis and Matt Vasilogambros - 9/17/2013

President Obama addressed the Navy Yard shooting before a speech on Monday from the White House. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Gun-control legislation failed loudly following the Newtown school shooting, but that has not stopped President Obama from leaving Congress behind to launch a broad gun-control campaign of his own.

Between the December 2012 massacre and the Navy Yard mass shooting Monday, Obama has taken 25 separate gun-control initiatives, all of which came from executive actions that did not require congressional authorization.

The president's highest-profile move was to nominate and get confirmed Todd Jones as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, filling a seat that had sat empty for more than six years. But Obama has also initiated a series of quieter initiatives, including new rules to keep guns away from felons, better coordinate mental-illness screenings, and better preparing local law enforcement and schools to respond to shootings.

By Natalie Foster - 9/16/2013

Female gun ownership has surged over the past five years, and it's easy to understand why. Women who own guns consistently list the self-confidence and the sense of protection that having a firearm gives them, and the way it makes them feel in general: that rush of adrenaline, that inner strength, and perhaps even a little glamor. But nobody becomes a gun person overnight. There are many building blocks that go into making someone a gun enthusiast. For me, it was a combination of empowerment and education on the fronts of both feminism and firearms that eventually led to my passion for the Second Amendment.

As a child of the Eighties, I grew up on Wonder Woman and Supergirl and Charlie's Angels reruns. In school I was given role models like Sally Ride and Jane Goodall: women who were breaking down barriers and doing amazing things for humanity.

As for firearms, though I learned to shoot only as an adult, I cannot recall a period in my life in which my family did not have a gun in the home. The guns were always stored carefully, of course, and my parents were serious about safety, teaching my siblings and me the basic firearm rules. That exposure to guns from a young age left me unafraid: I respected their power, but never believed they had power over me.

By JW Ross

Not-so-new firearm innovations are sweeping the nation of gun enthusiasts.

The innovations (mostly stock modifications) facilitate what is known as "Bump Firing".

Bump Firing is the act of using the recoil of a semi-automatic firearm to fire multiple shots in rapid succession, which very crudely simulates the discharge of a fully automatic firearm.

This process involves holding the foregrip with the non-trigger hand, releasing the grip on the firing hand (leaving the trigger finger in its normal position in front of the trigger), pushing the rifle forward in order to apply pressure on the trigger finger from the trigger, and keeping the trigger finger stationary.

During a shot, the firearm will recoil considerably ("bump" back) and the trigger will reset itself; then the non-trigger hand would naturally force the firearm back to the original position, pressing the trigger against a stationary finger again, thereby firing successive shots.

Moderator's Comment: This is the first rejection of anti-gun proponents (elected officals) through the democratic process of "recall" in a western state.

By Associated Press - 9/11/2013 DENVER - Voters ousted two Colorado Democratic lawmakers Tuesday in the state's first ever legislative recall launched over their support for stricter gun laws after last year's mass shootings.

Senate President John Morse and Sen. Angela Giron both lost their jobs in an election seen as a national measure of popular support for gun legislation.

Morse faced a tough election in the Republican stronghold of Colorado Springs, where he won re-election by just a few hundred votes in 2010. He lost by 343 votes, with 51 percent of voters backing the recall.

By Martha T. Moore, USA TODAY - 9/9/2013
Supporters of the recall election to oust Senate President John Morse rally outside the Pioneer Museum in Colorado Springs on Sept. 4.(Photo: Michael Ciaglo, AP)

Correction: This story has been corrected to reflect that the outcome of the recall election in Colorado will not change partisan control of the state legislature. Democrats control the Colorado state Senate 20-15, and two Democrats are being challenged in the recall.

Million-dollar campaigns, saturation advertising and massive canvassing have become commonplace in U.S. elections, especially in a swing state such as Colorado. A campaign underway there has all of the above � in a recall vote for two state senators that has become a showdown over gun policy and political dominance in a changing state.

Democratic state Sens. Angela Giron and John Morse voted to require universal background checks for gun purchases and to ban large-capacity ammunition magazines. Colorado passed the restrictions in March, within a year of mass shootings in Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn. Gun control opponents have mounted a campaign to kick them out of office; voting ends Tuesday.

By Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN) - 9/9/2013
A 50 percent federal tax on ammunition and a 20 percent federal tax on guns -- up from 11 percent on both now -- has been proposed by two Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Revenue from the steep new taxes in "The Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act of 2013," introduced by U.S. Reps. Danny K. Davis, D-Ill., and Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., would be earmarked to pay for such things as school resource officers and programs to reduce violence.

The bill likely won't make it out of the Republican-controlled U.S. House -- but it has caught the attention of local firearms enthusiasts.

NRA - September 6, 2013

Yesterday, the Oklahoma House of Representatives voted 92-0 to approve House Bill 1004, authored by state Representative T.W. Shannon (R-62) and state Senators Brian Bingman (R-3) and Anthony Sykes (R-24). HB 1004 contains critical protections against attempts to bankrupt the American firearms industry through erroneous lawsuits that would threaten the availability of firearms to consumers.

By Luchina Fisher - 7/292008

The scene is a sprawling estate in southern France. Two men dressed in camouflage slip onto the grounds carrying sophisticated recording equipment. The targets, actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, are unaware of the lurking menace, which is quickly dispatched by an elite security team who ambush the intruders.

That was no Hollywood script. It took place last week at the Brangelina home, where the most hunted celebrity couple in the world were relaxing with their six children, including newborn twins Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon.

The men in camo were paparazzi.

By Richard L. Johnson - 8/29/2013

Maybe you've heard the internet tough guy on the local gun forum talking about being prepared for when the big one hits. What the big one is in his mind is anyone's guess, but other than some really cool airsoft equipment this guy picked up on eBay, he isn't likely to be prepared for the reality of a true survival situation.

A disaster could mean any number of things from losing a job to a nuclear attack. For the purposes of this article, lets focus on the localized disaster where normal services will be interrupted for a few days to a few weeks. This could be a hurricane that hits south Florida, an earthquake in the San Francisco Bay area or a tornado in the Midwest.

In any of these events, you can expect to lose communications, access to stores and a loss of utilities. While the readers of this column are more likely than the general population to provide for their own protection, there are a number of other things to consider beyond looting and civil disorder.

By Michelle Malkin - 9/4/2013

Out: The boy who cried wolf. In: The girl who cried birth control. Desperate Democrats are imposing false-alarm feminist politics on a high-stakes recall election in Colorado this month. It's a golden opportunity for independent-minded women to reject empty femme-a-goguery and tear up the Sandra Fluke card.

On September 10, Colorado Springs and Pueblo will decide whether to boot two top state Democrats (state Senate Majority Leader John Morse and state Sen. Angela Giron) over their support for radical gun- and ammo-control measures spearheaded by outside special interests. Left-wing billionaires Michael Bloomberg of New York City and Eli Broad of Detroit have poured $700,000 between them into defending the endangered Colorado Democrats.

By: John Stossel - 8/21/2013
We need police to catch murderers, thieves and con men, and so we give them special power the power to use force on others. Sadly, today's police use that power to invade people�s homes over accusations of trivial, nonviolent offenses and often do it with tanks, battering rams and armor you'd expect on b attlefields.

In his book "Rise of the Warrior Cop", Radley Balko recounts the rise of police SWAT teams (SWAT stands for Special Weapons And Tactics) armed with heavy military equipment. SWAT raids began as rarely used methods of dealing with violent situations, like hostage-takings.

But government always grows.

In the 1970s, there were about 300 SWAT raids per year. As of 2005, says Balko, 100 to 150 per day.

By George Mathis

There are people that love children and people that love guns.

Some people love both, and will admit as much even in the throes of tragedy.

A 3-year-old Michigan boy, Damon Holbrook, died from a gunshot wound Sunday after finding a loaded gun in a bedroom closet.

By Richard L. Johnson - 8/18/2013

Smart consumers will frequently shop around before making a major purchase. With the advent of e-commerce, gun owners have an unprecedented ability to compare prices and services online.

Unfortunately, there are also an unprecedented number of people looking to make a quick buck by selling you a counterfeit product that looks like the real deal. Some consumers might unknowingly buy a knock-off thinking it is the genuine article. Others might know it is counterfeit, but can't resist the low price.

Lets take a look at some of the problems associated with counterfeit products.

By Seattle Times (WA) - 8/19/2013

Shirts and shoes required, and guns prohibited?

Mayor Mike McGinn plans to unveil a program Monday to encourage Seattle businesses to go "gun free" by not allowing customers to carry firearms inside their establishments.

About a dozen businesses have already signed up for a "Gun Free Zone" decal, including Cafe Racer, where a customer shot and killed four others last year. Other participants include Neumos, Oddfellows Cafe & Bar, Sweatbox Yoga and Cupcake Royale, with more expected in the coming days.

"This is something businesses can do to be on the front lines of preventing gun violence," said Ralph Fascitelli, board president of Washington CeaseFire, a gun-control group that approached McGinn three months ago with the idea and has since been recruiting participants. "It's a good incremental step."

By KPRC - 8/8/2013

A woman and her family were dining at a Denny’s in Houston, Texas when a group of six men armed with guns attempted to rob her husband while she was in the restroom. When the woman exited the restroom and spotted the hold-up, she drew a pistol and exchanged gunfire with the criminals, causing them to flee.

Following the incident, a local media outlet spoke with the victim’s brother who noted that his brother’s wife is a Right-to-Carry permit holder. The brother went on to add, “Self-defense saved my brother’s life.”

By Sharyl Attkisson - 8/14/2013
CBS News
Three more weapons from Fast and Furious have turned up at crime scenes in Mexico, CBS News has learned, as the toll from the controversial federal operation grows.

According to Justice Department tracing documents obtained by CBS News, all three guns are WASR-10 762-caliber Romanian rifles. Two were purchased by Fast and Furious suspect Uriel Patino in May and July of 2010. Sean Steward, who was convicted on gun charges in July 2012, purchased a third. The rifles were traced yesterday to the Lone Wolf gun shop in Glendale, Ariz.

During Fast and Furious and similar operations, federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) encouraged the Lone Wolf and other gun stores to sell massive amounts of weapons to questionable purchasers who allegedly trafficked them Mexican drug cartels.

By Chris Cox

It deserves bipartisan protection at every level of government

Your right to defend your life and the lives of your loved ones when faced with a deadly threat is not bestowed on you by government. Indeed, self-defense is the most fundamental of all human rights, and it's the duty of our elected officials to preserve it.

That is why the 5 million men and women of the National Rifle Association will not allow self-defense to be used as a scapegoat so that President Obama and his administration can continue to exploit tragedies to push their political agenda. We will continue to defend the right of every law-abiding American regardless of race, color and creed to defend themselves and one another.

Attorney General Eric Holder shockingly claimed that pro-self-defense laws "sow conflict." Last week, President Obama demonstrated that he, too, does not recognize that your right to save your own life is a fundamental human right.

By Jim Fitzgerald - 8/7/2013
(AP)Associated Press
A firearms manufacturer in New York, partially blaming the state's new gun control law, said Wednesday it's moving its corporate offices and its plans for expansion to Pennsylvania.

Kahr Firearms Group of Pearl River is the first gunmaker to announce it's leaving because of the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, which was put into law after closed-door negotiations in January. It was the first law in the nation prompted by the killing of 20 first-graders and six educators in Newtown, Conn., in December.

By Jeremy A. Kaplan - 8/8/2013
FoxNews.com
Reports of a Canadian man successfully firing 14 single rounds from a rifle manufactured by a 3D rinter has the weapon's American designer wondering whether the apparent breakthrough will force the U.S. government to rethink its ban on posting his plans online.

While early models based on firearms designer Cody Wilson's plans backfired or fired only once before breaking, the latest test appears to prove that homemade plastic guns are viable -- and that the Internet may have dramatically changed how we look at regulating the trade in arms.

I'm expecting some interesting decisions from the State Department soon regarding the legal status of the disclosures of the plans, Wilson told FoxNews.com Thursday.

By Sun Journal (Lewiston, ME) - 8/7/2013

We can't imagine why a 20-year-old man was carrying around a toy gun Thursday night in Farmington, but he must have had his reasons.

Instead of a night on the town with his toy pistol, John Cushman ended up at the Franklin County Detention Center charged with terrorizing.

Cushman "made lots of people nervous," according to Deputy Chief Shane Cote of the Farmington Police Department, as he strolled around the downtown.

Indeed.

By Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) - 8/5/2013

Gun-related violent crime continues to drop in Virginia as the sales of firearms continue to soar, a pattern that one local criminologist finds interesting "given the current rhetoric about strengthening gun laws."

Major gun crime collectively dropped for a fourth consecutive year statewide, while firearms sales climbed to a new record in 2012 with 490,119 guns purchased in 444,844 transactions -- a 16 percent rise over 2011, according to federally licensed gun dealer sales estimates obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The proliferation of guns occurred as the total number of major reported crimes committed with all types of firearms in Virginia dropped 5 percent, from 4,618 offenses in 2011 to 4,378 last year, according to Virginia State Police data.

Looking back over seven years, total firearm sales in Virginia have risen a staggering 101 percent from 2006 to 2012, while gun-related crime has dropped 28 percent during that period.

By Jack Baruthon - 12/26/2012

Two days ago, a man whom I've known and respected for over a decade launched into a more than slightly incoherent Facebook rant in which he explicitly blamed the NRA and law-abiding civilian shooters for the Newtown killings. Those children died, he wrote, so you could have your toys without any reasonable restrictions. I didn't know how to respond to the post.

After all, none of the reasonable restrictions now being proposed would have prevented Adam Lanza's affluent, well-educated mother from purchasing a gun. I tried pointing that out to my friend, only to have him dismiss me as a gun nut. Although he's normally a reasonable fellow, since Newtown happened he's clearly decided to let emotion take the wheel, at least for now. He's not the only intelligent person I've seen swept away towards irrationality in the past two weeks. Again and again, I've heard that reasonable gun control is now necessary, even inevitable. In my struggles to understand this, I thought back to World War II and the failure of what was perhaps the first-ever government-sponsored zip gun . . .The FP-45 Liberator.

By Robert A. Dahlquist

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein is proposing an AR-style rifle ban while ignoring school security to save our children. Yet on this 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, she doesnt mention the 54 million abortions conducted in this country nor show remorse for this disrespect for human life.

Speeches at every Democratic National Convention reference abortion or a pro-choice platform to huge cheers from the rabid convention hall audience. Mother Teresa identified abortion as the greatest destroyer of peace today because it is a war against children, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. If a mother can kill her own child and then tell young people not to kill one another, it is the ultimate hypocrisy in the eyes of the young.

By The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio - 7/29/2013

Timothy Peak and a female companion were getting inside a car in his driveway in Cleveland, Ohio when a pair of armed and masked men confronted them. After one of the criminals pistol-whipped Peak, the homeowner and Right-to-Carry permit holder retrieved a handgun from his car and fired at his attacker multiple times, killing him. The deceased criminal's accomplice managed to escape the scene with Peak's companion's purse.

Following the incident, Cleveland Councilman Mike Polensek showed support for Peak's actions, stating As far as I'm concerned, [the criminal] got exactly what he deserved lead poisoning. Polensek went on to say of the homeowner, If he hadn't had that gun, we'd be reading about him in a two paragraph story in the paper as another innocent victim of violent criminals looking to prey on him like jackals. [the criminal] picked on the wrong man this time.

By McClatchy-TribuneWinston-Salem Journal - 7/30/20

Gun suppressors are now legal for hunting in North Carolina.

For decades, the closest most people got to a gun suppressor those metal cylinders that reduce a gun's bang was seeing one on a movie screen in the hands of an assassin or gangster.

But sweeping gun legislation has made suppressors, also known as silencers, legal for hunting in North Carolina. Law enforcement authorities are now trying to figure out how to shape polices to implement the new law.

Last week, the N.C. legislature passed a far-reaching bill that expands the places where permit holders can legally carry concealed weapons, including bars, restaurants and parks. But the legislation also deleted a provision that prohibited hunters from using suppressors.

Internal Security Minister Aharonovich announces reform to reduce number of available weapons in Israel from 290,000 amid wave of murders, suicides

By Omri Efraim - 7/31/2013
Israel News
This year, 11 individuals were murdered and five committed suicide in Israel using privately owned weapons, said Internal Security Minister Yizhak Aharonovich Wednesday.

At a meeting of the the Internal Affairs Committee on reducing weapons, headed by MK Miri Regev, Aharonovich stated that as part of the gun reform in Israel, anyone who wishes to receive a gun permit will be required to undergo a medical and psychological examination. "If they won't pass the psychologist's test, they'll have to see a psychiatrist," he said.

The minister announced that a new police order will be introduced under which an individual who has not renewed his license in over six months will be subject to criminal investigation. Aharonovich said that over 290,000 guns are in the hands of private individuals and security guards, and that he strives to lower that number.

Pew pollsters find people who want more gun restrictions don't vote with their wallets
By Elizabeth Flock - 7/29/2013

Poll also found that gun rights activists are more politically involved than gun control supporters.

Gun rights supporters donate four times more and are more politically involved than gun control advocates, according to a poll from the Pew Research Center published this weekend.

In May 2013, six months after the Newtown school shooting that sparked a national conversation on guns � and a month after the Senate failed to pass a major gun bill � Pew found that 25 percent of people who support gun rights had contributed money to a second amendment group, while just 6 percent of people who support gun control had donated on the issue.

By Associated Press - 7/30/2013

As Cheyne Dougan rounded the corner at Clarksville High School, he saw three students on the floor moaning and crying.
In a split-second, two more ran out of a nearby classroom.

"He's got a gun," one of them shouted as Dougan approached with his pistol drawn. Inside, he found one student holding another at gunpoint. Dougan aimed and fired three rounds at the gunman.

Preparing for such scenarios has become common for police after a school shooting in Connecticut last December left 20 children and six teachers dead. But Dougan is no policeman. He's the assistant principal of this school in Arkansas, and when classes resume in August, he will walk the halls with a 9 mm handgun.

By Montgomery Advertiser (AL) - 7/25/2013
A Democratic lawmaker said Tuesday there would be an effort to repeal Alabama's version of Florida's Stand Your Ground law in the next legislative session, but acknowledged it could be a difficult fight.

"We know it will not just be uphill, but up mountain," said Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, at a news conference.

The Stand Your Ground law came into focus following the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Florida teen, on Feb. 26, 2012. George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, was acquitted earlier this month of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in Martin's death.

By The Canadian Press - 7/23/2013
Quebec has come out on the losing side yet again in its gun-registry battle with Ottawa.

The province's highest court has dismissed a Quebec government bid to force Ottawa to keep data related to the federal long-gun registry.

The same court ruled last month that the federal government's destruction of the data was constitutional.

By Jeremy Gorner - 7/24/2013
Chicago Tribune

More of a hub of violent crime than a shopping destination?

That's what the volunteer anti-crime group Guardian Angels claimed Tuesday as it handed out fliers referring to the elegant stretch of North Michigan Avenue as "Muggers Mile."

But Chicago police quickly panned the Guardian Angels' concerns as overblown. The department's crime data suggest strong-arm robberies, like the most recent high-profile one last weekend, have dropped sharply over the past couple of years, according to a Tribune analysis.

The move by the Guardian Angels came after a group of teens on Michigan Avenue mugged a woman from Michigan, stealing her iPhone, and punched a 15-year-old girl from Florida who tried to intervene Friday night.

By Don Babwin - 7/20/2013
Associated Press

CHICAGO — Faced with a new state law that gave them until Friday to ban or restrict assault weapons, the vast majority of villages, towns and cities in Illinois did nothing but let the deadline come and go.

On Friday, the Chicago suburb of Winnetka became one of the last communities to get something on the books, when it approved an ordinance that, while not banning assault weapons, regulates how they are transported and stored. It joined the fewer than 20 municipalities that rushed to enact a restriction within 10 days allowed by the state's new concealed carry gun legislation. That's out of 1,300 municipalities around the state.

By Cooper Sterling - 7/18/2013

. . .A Tale of Two Trials: What the George Zimmerman and O.J. Simpson Verdicts Reveal About Racial Denial

One transparent outcome of the “not guilty” verdict in the George Zimmerman trial is the racial disconnect between the average American and the nation’s powerful elites (the mass media, politicians, and “civil rights” leaders). The ever-widening gulf between racial reality and racial fantasy—the daily repetition of Black violence in contrast with the media-driven narrative of nonstop injustices of an oppressed minority—seems more pronounced in the wake of the Zimmerman verdict.

We live in an era of extreme racial denial. The nation’s media and political elites—what Joseph Sobran termed the “hive”—live in a fantasy realm that dismisses latent racial differences, an existence defined by unrealistic egalitarianism and hyper-liberalism; racial disparities are merely symptomatic of the lingering impact of slavery, racism, and discrimination. The emphasis is always on some inanimate object—“mean” streets, “gun” violence, “epidemic of violence,” “crack” cocaine, “heat waves,” “underfunding” of Head Start, the lack of upward “middle class mobility”; or the fault of law enforcement—“police brutality,” “deficient” law enforcement strategies, “racial profiling,” or “Stand Your Ground” laws.

By David T Hardy - 7/18/2013

. . . .The anti-gun crowd doesn't want "compromise." They want confiscation and control.

In April, the Senate rejected the Toomey-Manchin gun control proposal. In the wake of its defeat many asked why gun owners and their organizations resisted so limited a measure. Granted, it would have had little but symbolic benefit. Its core was to require background checks at gun shows (which Bureau of Justice Statistics concluded involved a whole 0.8 percent of crime guns) and on Internet gun sales (a miniscule proportion, most of which probably go through licensed dealers anyway). But why not accept something so modest, in light of the draconian ideas then being floated as alternatives?

Understanding the rejection requires understanding gun owners'shared experiences. Compromise requires that both parties relinquish something. If your counterparts position is give me this now, and I'll take the rest later, there is no real compromise to be had. Over decades, that has been precisely the experience of American gun owners.

By Kim Hilsenbeck
Walking along Goforth Road in Buda last week, two young adults carrying rifles on their backs created quite a stir. But the aftermath may be even more controversial.

Part of a group call Open Carry Texas, which, on the internet, seems to be associated with Opencarry.org, the two young adults were trying to make a statement, videotaping their interaction with police and posting it on YouTube.

What statement? That, by law, they are allowed to openly carry long guns in Texas.

7/16/2013

In 1994, the United States was home to about 200 million privately owned guns. Today, that number has ballooned to between 270 million and 300 million. That's almost half of all privately owned guns worldwide, according to a new essay from the Brookings Institution.

By USA Today - 7/17/2013

Would George Zimmerman have left his car if he hadn't been carrying a gun?

Gun control advocates argue that Zimmerman's Kel-Tec PF-9 brought out his inner Dirty Harry, leading to the tragic shooting of a Florida teen. They reckon restricting firearms ownership would prevent this kind of murderous machismo, making both individuals and society safer.

It's an insidious, irrelevant argument that betrays a profound ignorance of the truth about guns.

Whatever you think about Zimmerman's decision to exit his vehicle, there's no question he had the legal right to do so. Also beyond dispute: Zimmerman was motivated by a desire to safeguard his neighborhood.

The legally carried firearm resting on Zimmerman's hip was there to protect life, not project personal power or facilitate a "hate crime." Don't take my word for it. Lest we forget, a Florida jury accepted his lawyers' argument that their client acted in self-defense.

By Paul Craig Roberts - 7/15/2013

Are Citizens of the U.S. oppressed by an illegitimate ruling government?

The American people have suffered a coup d'etat, but they are hesitant to acknowledge it. The regime ruling in Washington today lacks constitutional and legal legitimacy. Americans are ruled by usurpers who claim that the executive branch is above the law and that the US Constitution is a mere scrap of paper.

An unconstitutional government is an illegitimate government. The oath of allegiance requires defense of the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. As the Founding Fathers made clear, the main enemy of the Constitution is the government itself. Power does not like to be bound and tied down and constantly works to free itself from constraints.

The basis of the regime in Washington is nothing but usurped power. The Obama Regime, like the Bush/Cheney Regime, has no legitimacy. Americans are oppressed by an illegitimate government ruling, not by law and the Constitution, but by lies and naked force. Those in government see the US Constitution as a chain that binds our hands.

By Orlando Sentinel (FL) - 7/17/2013

ORLANDO, Fla. - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the nation's first black to hold that post, urged NAACP members convening in Orlando on Tuesday to help overturn stand-your-ground laws that "senselessly expand the concept of self-defense."

The law was expected to be at the center of the second-degree-murder trial of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, but it was not raised at trial. The issue did surface when Zimmerman was arrested.

Rather than prevent violence, Holder said, such laws can encourage it.

"We must stand our ground," Holder said to thunderous applause, "to ensure our laws reduce violence."

US Georgia police chief: Gun control talk all wrong

By Raquel Okyay - 7/14/2013

The new police chief for a Georgia county that includes 10 percent of Atlanta, Cedric L. Alexander told Guns & Patriots Americans need to hit the reset button when they talk about gun rights and responsibilities.

Today, we have a total disrespect for firearms, said Dr. Cedric L. Alexander, recently appointed chief of the DeKalb County police department. DeKalb County is Georgia's third largest county with more than 730,000 residents.

There is no easy solution to ending gun violence, he said. Unfortunately we are talking about the wrong things.

By Richard L. Johnson - 7/14/2013
When Dirty Harry hit the scene in 1971, the .44 Magnum forever became pop culture's most powerful handgun. But, when dealing in terms of self-defense, more power isn't necessarily better. In fact, there are many people who argue the .44 Magnum is a poor choice for personal protection from a violent attack by a human due to the recoil and deep penetration associated with the cartridge. I believe the Magnum's parent cartridge, the .44 Special, is a better choice for self-defense.

The .44 Special was developed by Smith & Wesson in the early 1900s to replace the .44 Russian cartridge. The .44 Russian was a respected blackpowder cartridge, but the case was too small to directly convert to smokeless powder. S&W lengthened the case of the Russian, made adjustments to the powder charge and used the same bullets as the Russian in the Special. The result was a cartridge that is widely regarded as being one of the most accurate big-bore handgun cartridges.

By Elizabeth Flock - 7/11/2013

The American Rifle and Pistol Association wants to be a nonpartisan alternative to the NRA, but critics are calling it a Democratic gun control group.

When the American Rifle and Pistol Association launched July 4, it hoped to attract gun owners across the political spectrum who were looking for a "sane" alternative to the NRA. So far, that effort doesn't appear to be going well.

On various gun forums and blogs, the reception has been anything but friendly. Instead of being depicted as the new and improved NRA, the group has been described alternately as a "false flag group," "astroturf phonies" and "frauds."

Blog Commentator - There is a troubling number of "Brown Shirt" events occurring throughout the US under the Obama adminstration - Not dissimilar to those in the 1930s in Nazi Germany.

By: Raquel Okyay 7/10/2013

Popular libertarian and gun rights’ activist is arrested July 9 after publishing YouTube video loading and cocking a shot-gun between the White House and Capitol building.

“The United States Park Police are terrorist thugs,” said Liz Delish, the producer of Adam vs. The Man, a daily video podcast featuring peaceful activist, Adam Charles Kokesh. USPP functions as a full-service federal law enforcement agency with responsibilities and jurisdiction over federal public parks.

Kokesh released July 4 a short YouTube video calling for an open carry march on Washington for July 4, 2014. The video was allegedly taken at Freedom Plaza, a few blocks from the White House which falls under the jurisdiction of USPP.

During the 21-second video, Kokesh loaded and cocked what appears to be a shotgun, which launched a federal investigation because carrying a firearm on public property is a felony at our nation’s capitol.

By Christopher G. Adamo - 7/10/2013

In 1776, the thirteen American colonies declared themselves free and independent states and during the decade following emerged victorious against Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. They then proceeded to ratify the Constitution, thereby establishing the fledgling United States of America. And although that era was marked by its own series of trials and challenges, the nation overcame them and was thus set on the course to eventually becoming a world power.

Bolstered by the glorious success of the Americans, the revolutionaries of France decided to undertake their own societal makeover, expelling the monarchy and eschewing such mundane and inconvenient traditions as the Church. In their place, these revolutionaries established a government of citizens, espousing liberty, equality, and brotherhood as their defining ideals. The Judeo-Christian ethic, which had guided Americas founders in their creation of the Constitution, was merely an inconvenient impediment to the philosophically superior French. Surely, in the absence of those stodgy clerics and their dreary thou shalt not proscriptions, the freedom and happiness of the common people could be expanded to a degree never imagined, even by the Americans.

By NRA-ILA

A pair of armed robbers entered a Kangaroo convenience store in Mount Pleasant, S.C. and demanded money from the clerk. Despite the clerk complying with the demand, one of the criminals fired at the employee while leaving, grazing his arm. However, also inside the store was a Right-to-Carry permit holder, who drew a pistol and confronted the robbers as they were leaving. Upon seeing the armed citizen, one of the criminals surrendered and waited for police to arrive, while the other fled on foot only to be captured by U.S. Marshals the next day.

Following an investigation, law enforcement officials now believes the duo is responsible for a rash of convenience store robberies in the Mount Pleasant area.

By William Saletan

Background checks are back. Last month, Vice President Joe Biden said that five U.S. senators - enough to change the outcome - have told him they're looking for a way to switch their votes and pass legislation requiring a criminal background check for the purchase of a firearm. Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who led the fight for the bill, is firing back at the National Rifle Association with a new TV ad. The White House, emboldened by polls that indicate damage to senators who voted against the bill, is pushing Congress to reconsider it.

The gun control debate is certainly worth reopening. But if we're going to reopen it, let's not just rethink the politics. Earlier this year, President Barack Obama ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assess the existing research on gun violence and recommend future studies. That report, prepared by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, is now complete. Its findings won't entirely please the Obama administration or the NRA, but all of us should consider them. Here's a list of the 10 most salient or surprising takeaways.

By Thomas Sowell - 7/2/2013

When teenage thugs are called “troubled youth” by people on the political left, that tells us more about the mindset of the left than about these young hoodlums.

Seldom is there a speck of evidence that the thugs are troubled, and often there is ample evidence that they are in fact enjoying themselves, as they create trouble and dangers for others.

Why then the built-in excuse, when juvenile hoodlums are called “troubled youth” and mass murderers are just assumed to be “insane”?

Gun-friendly states court gunmakers

By Jason Rearick/USA Today - 7/1/2013

More than a year removed from his failed bid for the Republican presidential nomination, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is a headliner in a new and equally crowded campaign.

Perry and governors representing other gun-friendly states are aggressively attempting to lure gunmakers, suppliers and other vendors away from Connecticut and the surrounding region, which for generations has drawn much of its identity from the firearms industry.

Two weeks ago, Perry made one of the boldest public splashes, hosting gunmakers at a posh Hartford restaurant reception.

By Gazette (Colorado Springs, CO) - 7/1/2013

DENVER -- New Colorado gun laws linked to recall attempts aimed at two senators and a legal challenge filed by 55 county sheriffs will take effect Monday.

Starting Monday, no one will be able to buy magazines that hold more than 15 bullets. And background checks will be required for every gun sale, including those between private individuals.

It's legislation that Democrats, especially Rep. Rhonda Fields who sponsored the bills, heralded as a significant step toward keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and reducing the carnage in mass shootings.

But for Republicans -- particularly a large group of county sheriffs who lobbied against the laws at the Capitol -- the laws are the latest step in an infringement of Second Amendment rights that will do little for public safety.

One corner of the controversy is occupied by people such as Paul Paradis, owner of Paradise Sales Firearms for three decades in downtown Colorado Springs.

Two little Greek words. . ."Molon Labe" (mo-lone lah-veh).

With these two words, two concepts were verbalized that have lived for nearly two and a half Millennia in the West. They signify and characterize both the heart of the Warrior, and the indomitable spirit of mankind.

In 480 B.C. the forces of the Persian Empire under King Xerxes, numbering, according to Herodotus, two million men, bridged the Hellespont and marched in their myriads to invade and enslave Greece.

By Emily Miller - 6/26/2013

Liberals are trying every tool at their disposal this year to go after guns. They have failed on Capitol Hill to restrict the Second Amendment, so they are moving through the states to enact their agenda. The latest maneuver is to hike the tax on guns and ammunition to dissuade the law-abiding from buying firearms. It's the perfect storm of liberalism - more revenue for a bigger government and fewer people keeping and bearing arms.

President Obama's hometown of Chicago started the movement late last year by enacting a $25 tax on new firearm purchases, which went into effect on April 1. Cook County stopped just short of adding a levy on ammunition. In February, Rep. Linda T. Sanchez, California Democrat, and 26 of the most uber-liberals in the House introduced a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code to create an excise tax of 10 percent on any concealable gun in order to empower Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to establish a firearms buy-back grant program. Since the Newtown, Conn., school-shootings tragedy, anti- gun states across the nation have introduced similar measures.

By Raquel Okyay - 6/23/2013

An international firearms dealer said the White House is blocking ammunition sales to American citizens as federal agencies continue to stockpile.

“There are elements in the United States government moving to obstruct commercial ammunition sales,” said Anthony Melé, an international firearms dealer and owner of AMI Global Security, LLC. AGS is a defense trade and manufacturer’s exporter registered with the U.S. Department of Defense and the United Nations.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives denied AGS’s application for an ammunition-order by designating typical rifle rounds as armor piercing if they are made with a steel core instead of a lead core, he said. “They designated the ammunition AP, defined as armor piercing, even though the ammunition being supplied cannot pierce armor.”

By THE WASHINGTON TIMES - 6/19/2013

Anew law in Venezuela bans the sale of guns, requires universal gun registration and threatens to send violators to prison for 20 years. The law, which was “guaranteed” to save lives, was not the work of Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, nor was it suggested by President Obama, but the brainchild of the late Hugo Chavez and signed by his successor, President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela enacts the dreams of American liberals.

Proponents expect gun violence to disappear from Venezuela now that the possession of a gun is allowed only with the government’s explicit permission. Mr. Maduro insists that weapons of war have absolutely no place on the streets. The law defines such “assault weapons” as any pistol that can fire a 9 mm or larger cartridge and any rifle firing anything larger than a .22 long rifle cartridge. Mrs. Feinstein is surely envious.

Friends of the Bolivarian Revolution may be granted a “hunting” exemption that allows them to keep a rifle or two, but under no circumstances will anyone have the right to possess nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. No H-bombs for the Venezuelan masses.

By Emily Miller - 6/14/2013

The House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution Friday that expresses the sense of Congress that active duty military living or stationed in the District of Columbia should have the right to carry a gun.

The measure sponsored by Rep. Phil Gingrey, Georgia Republican, was passed by voice vote as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes the Pentagon’s budget for 2014. Mr. Gingrey has followed my series on active-duty veterans who have been thrown in jail for mere possession of unregistered guns or ammunition.

6/14/2013

We've been reporting very regularly on ridiculous cases involving over-zealous school officials misinterpreting and wrongly enforcing "zero-tolerance" rules.

In March, we reported on an outrageous case of a seven-year-old Baltimore, Md. student who, according to a March 2, Daily Caller article, was suspended for two days for the nefarious act of shaping a breakfast pastry into what his teacher thought looked like a gun. Yes, a breakfast pastry.

6/11/2013

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is spending millions to attack Sen. Kelly Ayotte for opposing gun-control legislation Bloomberg likes. Bloomberg says tougher gun laws will reduce gun homicides. Has he ever compared his city’s gun murder rate with New Hampshire’s?

By Celeste Dawn - 6/11/2013

A Maryland sheriff claims that the state’s new gun control law is unconstitutional and calls for county officials to support selective enforcement of the measure.

According to the Cumberland Times News, Garret County Sheriff Robert Corley expressed his discontent with the law at Tuesday’s county commissioners meeting, and offered a draft that would protect citizens’ rights.

By Fox News Insider - 6/12/2013

A would-be robber was no match for a 72-year-old, strong-willed grandmother with a gun in Anaheim, Calif. But now, Jan Cooper is having to defend her actions after she fired her gun at an intruder in an attempt to protect her elderly WWII vet husband.

On a call to 911, a seemingly anxious Cooper can be heard telling the dispatcher, "I have no idea what's going on, but I don't like the sound of that dog. They're in our yard. I'm sorry."

Then, as the intruder opened the back door, she fired. "(gunshot) Back up, you (expletive)! Back up!"

The Tribune Chronicle, Warren, Ohio - 06/07/13

23-year-old David Ferguson was inside South Avenue Gas Mart in Youngstown, Ohio, when he heard his cousin calling for him from outside the store. When Ferguson came outside he witnessed two men inside his car, and a third with a gun outside the vehicle firing at Ferguson’s cousin who was crawling on the ground. Ferguson, a Right-to-Carry permit holder, responded to the threat by drawing a 9mm pistol and firing at the carjackers; at which point the criminals returned fire and fled.

Ferguson and his cousin suffered non-life-threatening wounds during the incident.

By Bobby Eberle - 5//1/2013

Here's the latest in the effort to get the guns. No, this isn't a story about banning so-called "assault" weapons (whatever those are) or "high-capacity" magazines (how high is too high?). This time we are talking about toy guns and a program one elementary school is using to get them away from kids.

I don't know about you, but when I was little, we played war, cowboys and indians, cops and robbers, and all sorts of games with toy guns. None of us freaked out, and none of us ever confused a plastic toy gun with a real one. We were PLAYING, but apparently these games are no longer politically correct, and some are saying the guns have to go.

By: Richard L. Johnson - 6/9/2013

As we start to roll into the hot season, let’s take a look at some of the cool gear available to shooters this summer.

MPAR 556

The MPAR 556 is a sub-$1,000 piston-driven AR-style rifle from MasterPiece Arms. It offers a host of features that many shooters will appreciate including a side-folding, adjustable-length buttstock, a full length Picatinny rail for the mounting of optics, a free floating handguard and a non-reciprocating, side-mounted charging handle.

The handguard is a proprietary design machined from high-grade aluminum. It allows the shooter to add varying lengths of Picatinny rails on the sides and bottom. The shooter can decide on what amount of rail is needed, and where, while leaving off unnecessary portions to save weight.

The barrel length is 16 inches and has a 1:9-inch twist. The barrel is threaded and ready for one of the MasterPiece Arms suppressors. Total weight is 7.8 pounds. MSRP is $999.

Rand CLP

A firearm is only good if it is running, and keeping your guns cleaned and lubed is one of the ways to make sure they will function properly. Rand Brands developed a new gun oil called the Rand CLP.

By Brent Bozell - 5/10/2013

The specter of school shootings has brought a too-typical staple to local newspaper sections: the boys disciplined at (or suspended from) grade school for bringing a toy gun or anything resembling a gun.

The Washington Post just found the latest wild overreaction, from Calvert County, Md., a blue state that's cracked down on gun rights. "A kindergartner who brought a cowboy-style cap gun onto his Calvert County school bus was suspended for 10 days after showing a friend the orange-tipped toy, which he had tucked inside his backpack on his way to school," according to the family.

The Journal Gazette/ Fort Wayne, Ind - 5/4/2013

A resident of Fort Wayne, Ind. was near the front steps of his home when a pair of armed robbers approached and demanded money. The resident responded to the demand by retrieving a gun and firing at the criminals several times. One robber was struck multiple times and killed, while the other escaped harm.

Following the shooting, Sgt. Mark Brooks of the Fort Wayne police said of the incident, “If someone tried to rob you on your front porch… you could be justified in using force to protect yourself, including deadly force.” A neighbor, who plans to leave the troubled south-side neighborhood where the shooting occurred, showed support for the armed citizen, telling local media, “I carry a gun myself, and if it was me, I’d have done the same thing.”

By Robby Soave - 6/06/2013

In lieu of guns, people who find themselves in dangerous situations at or near the University of Arkansas at Little Rock should defend themselves by glancing and nodding, said a university safety expert.

Earlier this year, the Arkansas legislature approved a concealed carry law, but gave school administrators permission to override the law and ban guns on campuses. Most Arkansas universities, including the University of Arkansas and Arkansas State University, opted to prohibit concealed carry, according to The College Fix.

But disarmed faculty and staff members are vulnerable to attack when traveling to and from campus, according to a chain of emails sent between UALR staff members, one of whom was assaulted by three teenagers on his way to class.

Blog Moderator Comment: Nebraska school officials want a boy named "Hunter" (who is deaf) to change his name because in sign language you "point your finger like a gun". And pointing your finger like a gun in a ZERO TOLERANCE environment is "forbidden". . .you can't make this stuff up!

By Rick Jensen - 6/7/2013

Liberals believe in creating institutions to solve problems.

Conservatives believe the individual is better at solving problems.

A 3 year-old deaf boy in Lincoln, Nebraska is being bullied by public school officials to change his name because the hand sign for Hunter Spanjer looks like a weapon. The Grand Island school district has a policy that forbids kids bringing to school "any instrument ... that looks like a weapon." They can't change the sign, because it's the official hand sign for his name, registered through S.E.E., Sign Exact English.

Pressure from the National Association of the Deaf and the public has compelled the district into allowing the deaf boy to keep his name. Sadly, there is no humility or sense of shame from district authorities.

Moderator's Comment: This is one of many disciplinary actions now being taken against very young student's related to the 2nd Amendment.. .Whether it is the use of the word "gun", a pop tart (or piece of paper) in the shape of right angle (a gun?), a Lego gun the size of a quarter, or a pointed finger. . .children and "play" are being held hostage by anti-gun proponents in schools throughout the U.S. This is part of a growing war on the 2nd Amendment in the Bill of Rights.

By Bobby Eberle - 5/5/2013

Forget all about actual guns, cap guns, guns made from sticks, or even a drawing for a gun. Now, it appears that children can't even say the word "gun" or else risk getting in trouble not only with the school system but also with local law enforcement. That's exactly what happened to an 11-year-old boy who was telling a story and used the word "gun" in it.

As reported by WMAL in Maryland, "the father of a middle schooler in Calvert County, Md. says his 11-year-old son was suspended for 10 days for merely talking about guns on the bus ride home."

Bruce Henkelman of Huntingtown says his son, a sixth grader at Northern Middle School in Owings, was talking with friends about the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre when the bus driver hauled him back to school to be questioned by the principal, Darrel Prioleau.

"The principal told me that with what happened at Sandy Hook if you say the word 'gun' in my school you are going to get suspended for 10 days," Henkelman said in an interview with WMAL.com.

So what did the boy say? According to his father, he neither threatened nor bullied anyone.

By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY - 5/6/2013

Anderson Baker lives in a state with a litany of gun regulations. But no law stopped him from becoming a teenage drug dealer who could easily acquire, and use, his weapon of choice.

The national debate in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., elementary school massacre has centered on the legislative approach to reducing gun violence: rein in assault rifles, downsize magazine clips, expand background checks and review mental health protocols. Baker says these types of measures would do little to stem violence that for decades has plagued this small city in the shadow of Philadelphia's skyline.

Dozens of frustrated city leaders, residents, law enforcement officials and other experts interviewed by USA TODAY echo the conclusion that the blood running in Camden's streets isn't just about gun laws.

"I wanted to shoot people because that's what I saw growing up," said Baker, 20, a Camden native who spent four years in jail after being involved in several shootings. "When I was younger, I would see my boys and cousins going into jail and when they got out, all the girls wanted them. So, I wanted to go to jail. I wanted to be like America's Most Wanted."

By Chris W. Cox - 06/03/13

Oxfam America has long served as a reliable cheerleader for nearly all misguided United Nations policy. However, Oxfam America President Raymond Offenheiser’s Friday op-ed (“President should ignore fear mongering and sign arms treaty”) is an exceptional illustration of this blind allegiance. Offenheiser wants us to simultaneously believe the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty is both the single most important tool to cracking down on war crimes and that the treaty has absolutely no teeth whatsoever. That’s twisted logic for sure. Here’s the truth.

NRA-ILA Posting

Introduction: In the late 1980s, gun control groups realized that they had failed in their original goalgetting handguns banned1and began campaigning against semi-automatic firearms they called “assault weapons,” most of which are rifles. As an anti-gun activist group put it:

[A]ssault weapons [will] strengthen the handgun restriction lobby for the following reasons: It will be a new topic in what has become to the press and public an “old” debate. . . . [H]andgun restriction consistently remains a non-issue with the vast majority of legislators, the press, and public. . . . Efforts to restrict assault weapons are more likely to succeed than those to restrict handguns. . . . Although the opportunity to restrict assault weapons exists, a question remains for the handgun restriction movement: How?”2

Gun control supporters demanding a ban on “assault weapons” have also demanded a ban on ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, most of which are designed for self-defense handguns. These gun and magazine bans should be rejected because:

By Deedee Freedberg - 06/03/2013

Has anybody serious actually read the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution? Do it, and know a fair amount of history of the period, and strange things start happening to the political mind. Basically, the Amendment is ridiculously obsolete, like the powdered wigs worn by its adopters.

The NRA won't like to know that. Neither will the "originalists' who insist that the Constitution must be applied as its drafters intended some 226 years ago.

Here is actual text of the Amendment, which is part of the Bill of Rights drafted, chiefly by Virginia's James Madison:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

What does this sentence mean ? What could it likely have meant, in 1787 ?

By Richard L. Johnson - 6/1/2013

Get the pitchforks and torches folks, I’m going to commit firearms heresy. For my money the SIG P220 is the best .45 fighting pistol on the market. Yes…better than the 1911.

How can I suggest that something other than the 1911 is the best fighting handgun? After all, the 1911 is called the 1911 because that is the year the United States adopted it as the Army’s official sidearm. In addition to the great ergonomics and high manufacturing quality, the P220 is reliable. Absolutely reliable. And for a fighting handgun, reliability must be absolute.

By Thomas P. Stefanucci (Greece)

While most animals in the wild have some sort of natural defense against enemies, man does not. Man has no claws, no venom, no razor-sharp teeth and no armor. Since the beginning of time, man has created tools to work the land, and weapons to protect himself from predators and aggressors. That’s why the Second Amendment reads “the right to keep and bear arms.”

It does not say that a person cannot carry a concealed weapon, or has to apply for a permit to own a gun; it says “the right to keep and bear arms” period. The evil people in the world will always have weapons and will always injure or kill other people. The population is just a flock of sheep to these people. The government is taking away the ability for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves.

It’s time our government gave us back the right to protect ourselves from the evil menaces in our world.

By Richard L. Johnson - 5/25/2013

Ruger is not politically pure enough according to one of my readers. But what does that mean, and is it a valid position? Is Ruger, or any company for that matter, ideologically pure enough for a “true” supporter of the Second Amendment?

A concerned reader responded to an article I wrote about Sturm, Ruger & Co. In the article, I reported that Ruger plans to open a third manufacturing facility for up to 10 brand new gun lines. I also reported the company wants to locate the new plant in a gun friendly community. The commenter stated, in effect, that the company was not politically pure enough for his dollar because the company’s headquarters are in Connecticut.

Connecticut is the home of many gun companies including Stag Arms, Mossberg, Charter Arms and Colt. The state is also home to other shooting industry associations including the National Shooting Sports Foundation, organizers of the annual SHOT Show. It is safe to say the state is rich in gun history.

However, Connecticut recently enacted new gun control measures. These new laws, like all gun laws, seek to abridge the rights of lawful gun owners. For this reason, some gun owners are encouraging gun companies to abandon the state for less-restrictive states like Texas or Montana. Such things are not easily accomplished, and certainly involve significant cost, assuming the company elects to take such action.

By Mike Maharrey - 5/26/2013

On May 8, the Missouri legislature approved arguably the strongest defense of the Second Amendment in American history.

If signed into law, HB436 will nullify virtually every federal gun control measure on the books – or planned for the future.

All federal acts, laws, orders, rules, and regulations, whether past, present, or future, which infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 23 of the Missouri Constitution shall be invalid in this state, shall not be recognized by this state, shall be specifically rejected by this state, and shall be considered null and void and of no effect in this state.

By: Richard L. Johnson - 5/19/2013

Every major ammunition manufacturer has at least one line of premium self defense ammo. Ammunition lines like Critical Defense, Gold Dot, Golden Saber and PDX1 all maximize the potential stopping power from a handgun. But those premium lines come with a cost.

Premium ammo is more expensive than traditional hollowpoint ammunition, sometimes a lot more. Many of the high-end rounds have special construction techniques and all of them have a lot of engineering time behind their development.

For anyone working within a budget, the extra cost of these ammunition lines simply may not be affordable. At more than $1/round in many cases, it becomes expensive to test your preferred handgun with the ammo to make sure it will cycle reliably and provide reasonable accuracy.

So the question is “Will cheap ammunition work for self-defense?” In at least one case, I say: “Yes.”

Fox News.com - 5/8/2013

Colorado Democratic lawmakers who recently helped pass some of the toughest gun-control laws in the country now face the political backlash of recall efforts.

Two groups are targeting state Rep. Mike McLachlan and state Sens. Angela Giron, Evie Hudak and John Morse.

The Democrat-controlled legislature passed bills that ban magazines holding more than 15 rounds and require background checks for all gun transfers. They were signed into law in March by Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Morse, the Senate president, pushed a more far-reaching proposal that called for holding owners, sellers and makers of assault-type weapons liable for havoc inflicted by their guns.

Blog Moderator's Comment - In the face of wide spread coverage by the proponents of the 2nd amendment that Hitler initiated gun control as part of his policy to round up the Jews, gypsies, political opponents, etc, Salon.com published an article by Alex Seitz-Wald purportedly calling this contention a myth. Anthony Gregory brings some clarity to this contention. . .
By Anthony Gregory - 1/14/2013

A Salon.com article by Alex Seitz-Wald called “The Hitler Gun Control Lie” is making the rounds, purporting to challenge a myth Second Amendment enthusiasts spread that blames the Holocaust on Hitler’s policies of civilian disarmament. The thrust of the argument is that Hitler’s 1938 firearms law indeed ratcheted back restrictions from the Weimar era. But here is the most telling paragraph:

The law did prohibit Jews and other persecuted classes from owning guns, but this should not be an indictment of gun control in general. Does the fact that Nazis forced Jews into horrendous ghettos indict urban planning? Should we eliminate all police officers because the Nazis used police officers to oppress and kill the Jews? What about public works Hitler loved public works projects? Of course not. These are merely implements that can be used for good or ill, much as gun advocates like to argue about guns themselves. If guns don’t kill people, then neither does gun control cause genocide (genocidal regimes cause genocide).

As a libertarian, I actually would argue that the violence of Hitler’s statism can be seen in such areas as his militarized police forces, and the totalitarian potential of a heavily policed society is one reason I’ve been so critical of America’s police.

Pasadena Citizen News - 5/7/2013

AUSTIN – On Monday (May 6) the Texas House of Representatives passed a series of bills designed to protect the 2nd Amendment rights of Texas citizens. State Representative Wayne Smith (R-Baytown) co-authored each bill that passed.

The 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of American citizens to keep and bear arms and prevents the federal government from seizing firearms from law-abiding citizens without cause. Recently, however, the federal government has considered enacting measures that challenge this protection based on questionable constitutional grounds.

“As a strong defender of the U.S. Constitution and our individual freedoms, I am proud to have co-authored several bills that protect the 2nd Amendment rights of Texas citizens,” said Smith. “As the federal government continues to discuss measures that could infringe upon the 2nd Amendment, the Texas legislature is fighting back on behalf of law-abiding Texans.”

The Texas House of Representatives passed the following 2nd Amendment bills today:

House Bill 1076 seeks to proactively protect the 2nd Amendment rights of Texas citizens and the ability of our law enforcement officers to protect the public. The bill makes federal laws that restrict firearm ownership unenforceable within the state’s boundaries.

House Bill 1314 seeks to prevent the encroachment by the federal government on 2nd Amendment rights. The bill prevents the enforcement of federal laws that exceed the federal government’s constitutional authority by creating a new offense for the unlawful seizure of a firearm.

House Bill 972 will allow concealed handgun license holders to carry on the premises of public institutions of higher education. The goal of HB 972 is to provide students, faculty, and visitors on educational campuses the 2nd Amendment protections that may be necessary in life-threatening situations. The bill includes an “opt-out” provision that allows schools to reject participation.

House Bill 1304 seeks to remedy any ambiguity surrounding the proper concealment of a handgun by protecting a license holder from being penalized for accidentally displaying a handgun.

Representative Wayne Smith represents Texas House District 128, including Baytown, Deer Park, La Porte, Crosby, Highlands, Morgan's Point and a portion of Pasadena.

By Richard L. Johnson - 5/6/2013

Beretta showed off the all new Pico pistol at the National Rifle Association Annual Meetings & Exhibits last week in Houston. This new gun is a subcompact pistol that is clearly aimed at the concealed carry market, and offers some features not commonly found on this class of pistol.

The new Pico is a tiny, subcompact pistol chambered for the .380 ACP and .32 ACP cartridges. As with many modern handgun designs, it has a polymer frame and stainless steel slide and barrel. The gun is double-action-only and fired with a traditional hammer, not a striker.

If you are familiar with the Nano, some of the Pico’s features will look familiar. In fact, the name Pico comes from the metric measuring system, just like the Nano. Pico is the next smaller unit of measurement from Nano. The Pico is even smaller than the Nano, hence the name.

This gun is thin. Really thin. As in 18mm thin. For those of you (like me) that are stuck on inches, that works out to be just shy of 0.71” wide. For a concealed carry gun, width is a big deal and this gun is really aiming for the minimalist description. I don’t know if that is the thinnest pistol in current production, but it has got to be one of the thinnest.

Blog Moderator:

NRA: Not About Guns, about Control. . .The central theme at the recent NRA convention was not about guns per se, but about control and responsibility.

This expands their mandate from the narrow focus of the 2nd amendment and guns to a larger platform that includes freedom (life and liberty) and the singular right (in the entire world) to self defense and self determination through private property.

Consequently, going forward from time to time when 2ndamendmentpa.com feels that a story, although it might not be literally about guns or the 2nd Amendment, might be of interest to our audience. . .we will publish it.

The following article by Glenn Harlan is such an article as it touches on two issues related to the 2nd amendment. . .American's exceptionalism as expressed by self-determination and free enterprise as expressed by self defense.

Colonial Cannibals and African Goats

By Glenn Harlan Reynolds - 5/6/2013

Last week, the story that starving settlers at the Jamestown colony America’s first English-speaking settlement appear to have resorted to cannibalism got a lot of attention. It even led columnist Walter Shapiro to tweet: “It complicates the myth of ‘American exceptionalism’ if evidence of cannibalism has been indeed found at Jamestown.”

But Shapiro is wrong. The Jamestown story doesn’t complicate the “myth” of American exceptionalism this was over a century and a half before America existed as a nation. In fact, it underscores two key founding principles of that exceptionalism: private property and free enterprise.

By Associated Press - 5/6/2013

HOUSTON -- A leader of an influential gun rights lobbying group implored members Saturday to never give up their weapons in the wake of recent gun control efforts in Congress that he said will "destroy us and every ounce of our freedom."

The National Rifle Association is holding its convention at a time when the gun rights group finds itself in a national fight over gun control in Washington, D.C., and state capitals around the U.S. The NRA had a major victory regarding gun control with the defeat last month in the U.S. Senate of a bill that would have expanded background checks for gun sales. But it lost ground in some places as several states passed laws expanding background checks and banning large ammunition magazines after December's mass shooting at a Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school that killed 20 children and six educators.

A defiant Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's executive vice president, said the "political and media elites" have tried to use December's school massacre and other recent ones "to blame us, to shame us, to compromise our freedom for their agenda."

"We will never surrender our guns, never," LaPierre told several thousand people during the organization's annual member meeting, which is part of the yearly NRA convention being held this weekend in Houston.

By Thomas Kaplan - -5/1/2013

Officials in the movie and television industry say the new laws could prevent them from using the lifelike assault weapons and high-capacity magazines that they have employed in shows like “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and films like “The Dark Knight Rises.”

Twenty-seven film and television projects, including programs like “Blue Bloods” and “Person of Interest,” are now in production in New York State using assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. Industry workers say that they need to use real weapons for verisimilitude, that it would be impractical to try to manufacture fake weapons that could fire blanks, and that the entertainment industry should not be penalized accidentally by a law intended as a response to mass shootings.

“Weapons are part of our history as a culture as humans,” said Ryder Washburn, vice president of the Specialists Ltd., a leading supplier of firearms for productions that is based in Manhattan. “To tell stories, you need them.”

By Susan Milligan - 5/1/2013

Young people have helped push the gay marriage issue to the forefront, with so many voters 30 and under supporting marriage equality that Republicans have been forced to accept – or at least re-examine – the matter. Sticking to an anti-gay rights agenda could cost the GOP votes down the road, and many Republicans are wisely seeing that on a purely political basis, things need to change.

The same trend, however, is not mirrored on the matter of gun control. According to a recent study by Harvard University's Institute of Politics, voters aged 18-29 are not clamoring for more gun control, even after the tragedies in Colorado and at Sandy Hook elementary school.

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