2008 June | LearnAboutGuns.com

French Marines Unintentionally Shoot Children During Demonstration

As the Telegraph reports, seventeen people have been injured, including a child left in a critical condition, after French soldiers fired live bullets instead of blanks during an open day display. No explanation was immediately forthcoming for why the wrong ammunition was loaded into weapons. This completely preventable tragedy underscores the need for everyone, even member of the armed forces, to follow the basic rules of gun safety. Read the rest of this article »

Jessie Jackson Slams Heller Gun Rights Ruling – and Endanger Civil Rights

As the Sun Times reports, Jessie Jackson called the Supreme Court’s ruling that gun ownership is an individual right “a ‘reckless interpretation of the Second Amendment’ — and one that Chicago doesn’t have to accept.”
Jessie Jackson’s statement, aside from being untrue, endangers the very civil rights that he has supported. As an African American, a law student, and an American citizen, I am thoroughly disappointed. Allow me to elaborate: Read the rest of this article »

Chicago’s Handgun Ban Challenged In Court

Within hours of the Supreme Court declaring that handgun ownership is a basic right, the city of Chicago was sued over their handgun ban. I’ve previously discussed why such handgun bans won’t work, and how criminals will just ignore the gun control laws. I’ve also discussed how rights such as gun ownership, free speech, and the right to a lawyer cannot be legislated away by a city, state, or federal government. That same reasoning applies here, and is not included in this article to avoid redundancy. Instead, I’ll address the comments by Mayor Daley and Chicago’s chief of police Jody Weis: Read the rest of this article »

Oak Park, IL Fears Impending Handgun Ban Lawsuit

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision that handgun ownership is a right, the Oak Park, Illinois handgun ban will soon be challenged in court by the NRA. Rather than acknowledging that that the handgun ban doesn’t stop crime, only leaves law abiding citizens vulnerable, Oak Park Village President David Pope reportedly argued that the Supreme Court’s decision was “squarely on the side of the gang-bangers”: Read the rest of this article »

District of Columbia v. Heller – Supreme Court Declares Gun Ownership an Individual Right!

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has declared the Second Amendment protects the right of an individual to keep and bear arms, striking down the (failed) District of Columbia handgun ban. This article discusses what exactly the court held, and what that means for American gun owners: Read the rest of this article »

Criminal Fatally Shoots 5 Coworkers at Factory

The shooter, Wesley Neal Higdon, had been reprimanded for talking on his cell phone and not wearing safety glasses. He left work for about half an hour, then returned to kill 5 people and then kill himself. During the shootings, he apparently had time to reload his handgun. Again, we have a tragic shooting where a criminal bent on murder and suicide was the only one armed, and as a result, the law abiding, unarmed people died. Read the rest of this article »

Opposing Gun Rights Harms Our Other Basic Rights: Part 3 of 3

Unfortunately, some of the most ardent supporters of rights such as abortion, free speech, and other civil rights are also some of the same people who try to take away the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. To those people I would say that trying to take away gun rights will result in the loss of our other civil rights, such as abortion, free speech, etc. This is part 3 of the 3 part series. Read the rest of this article »

Gun Ownership is a Right, Not a Privilege

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin issued a statement that argued cities should be able to ban guns, and that denying cities that ability would result in increased crime. This statement, aside from being inaccurate, fails to take into account that gun ownership is a right, and the rights of law abiding citizens cannot be denied just because it is politically expedient to do so. Allow me to explain further: Read the rest of this article »

Opposing Gun Rights Harms Our Other Basic Rights: Part 2 of 3

Unfortunately, some of the most ardent supporters of rights such as abortion, free speech, and other civil rights are also some of the same people who try to take away the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. To those people I would say that trying to take away gun rights will result in the loss of our other civil rights, such as abortion, free speech, etc. This is part 2 of the 3 part series. Read the rest of this article »

Opposing Gun Rights Harms Our Other Basic Rights: Part 1 of 3

Unfortunately, some of the most ardent supporters of rights such as abortion, free speech, and other civil rights are also some of the same people who try to take away the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. To those people I would say that trying to take away gun rights will result in the loss of our other civil rights, such as abortion, free speech, etc. This is part 1 of the 3 part series. Read the rest of this article »

Gun Control and the Urge to “Do Something” in the Wake of a Tragic Shooting

Often times in the wake of a particularly horrific shooting, politicians and even ordinary citizens feel compelled to “do something.” Gun control advocates seize on this urge to act, since it is human nature to want to take action in the wake of a tragedy. This tends to lead to wasted effort or actions that actually make the situation worse. Sometimes the best course of action is no action, or at least action after considerable thought is given to the issue: Read the rest of this article »

Would-be Home Invader Unintentionally Shoots Himself to Death

Cameron Sands, a 19 year old would-be home invader from Fort Worth managed to fatally shoot himself during an attempted home invasion.

Grand Prairie, TX police say that Cameron Sands kicked in the door of the home he was invading, and then inadvertently shot himself in the stomach while trying to pull the gun out of his waist band. After shooting himself, Sands dropped the gun and ran, but only made it to the driveway before collapsing. He was then found dead in the early morning hours.

Luckily for these home owners, the would-be home invader managed to negligently shoot himself and save them from violent attack by a criminal. Unfortunately, most home owners aren’t that lucky when it comes to home invasion, and would do well to have a gun for self defense.

NRA to Sue Cities Over Handgun Bans – People from Chicago, Evanston, Morton Grove, Oak Park, and Wilmette Needed!

The NRA is planning to bring Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms lawsuits against cities in Cook County, Illinois, that have handgun bans. These are Chicago, Evanston, Morton Grove, Oak Park, and Wilmette. If you live in one of these cities and might be willing to serve as a potential plaintiff in the lawsuit, the NRA would like to hear from you. Please call (703) 267-1162 as soon as possible.

It is vital that we get these handgun bans repealed, since one need only turn on the news to see how criminals ignore the handgun bans, while law abiding citizens are left defenseless.

Comments Now Allowed on All Articles: feel free to leave your feedback

Previously, comments on this site’s articles were disabled due to my concerns over spam. However, I’ve now instituted new spam prevention measures, and enabled comments. Please feel free to leave comments on any articles

And if you have any gun related topics you would like me to address, just email me or ask in the discussion forum. I can’t guarantee that I’ll write an article about the topic you suggest, but the chances are pretty good that I will.

Terminology is Important When Debating Gun Rights

I recently received an email from a gentleman named Jon, regarding my use of terms such as “assault weapons” and “gun control” on this site. Jon stated that he believed I should use terms such as “politically incorrect guns” instead of “assault weapons,” and to similarly frame the “gun control” issue in a more pro-guns manner. I wholeheartedly agree with Jon’s statement when it comes to discussing gun rights in person or on TV, but the internet is a different story: Read the rest of this article »

Police Shut Down Machine Gun Smuggling Ring

Over 30 guns were seized when the gun smuggling ring was raided, including machine pistols that police say were destined for Canada. I applaud the law enforcement agencies for their excellent work in stopping these criminals. Now if only the politicians would recognize that passing gun control laws will only harm law abiding citizens, since smuggling guns in illegally is how criminals get their weapons. Read the rest of this article »

News Flash: Criminals Ignore Laws (including gun control laws)

Throughout this site I have pointed out the many problems with gun control. Those problems include the fact that criminals don’t obey laws (including gun control laws), and that failure to obey laws is what makes them criminals. Given the number of people still reaching this site after searching for “reasons to support gun control”, I thought I would further explain why gun control laws won’t prevent crime any better than the laws against murder and other crimes. Read the rest of this article »

Bar Owners Don’t Even Notice Lawful Concealed Carry

Last year, Kansas modified its concealed carry laws to permit patrons at bars to carry. WIBW reports that bar owners are largely unaware that their customers have been lawfully carrying, and the reason the bar owners are unaware is simple: concealed carry permit holders are not the cause of gun related crime, and are instead an asset to our society. Read the rest of this article »

A Problems: Law Abiding Citizens Choosing To Turn Down Guns While Criminals Embrace Them

Several of the people I’ve worked with and known socially over the last year have stated that they are either opposed to gun rights, and/or don’t personally wish to exercise their right to keep and bear arms. While they certainly have a right to choose not to own a gun, I am of the opinion that this is a bad choice for them, and a bad choice for our society. Allow me to explain: Read the rest of this article »

“Gun Violence” Protests: Who is Protesting What, and Why?

In cities such as Chicago and London, which already have strict gun control laws, there have been “gun violence” protests organized by anti gun groups. These usually take place after a criminal violates the gun ban laws and commits a crime. Unlike protests designed to focus the attention of political leaders on a governmental policy (such as involvement in wars or civil rights), these protests seem to be without purpose. Allow me to explain: Read the rest of this article »

“Zero Tolerance” Policies are a Step Backward

“Zero Tolerance” policies are becoming more and more popular in our nation’s schools, workplaces, and other venues, especially as far as guns and other weapons related items are concerned. The problem is that these policies lead to unjust results and defy common sense. Zero tolerance policies run contrary to the ideas of justice that we as a civilization have been developing for centuries, and should be abandoned. Allow me to explain: Read the rest of this article »

Firearm information and politics from a gun rights perspective, with an emphasis on self defense rights.