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As the Wednesday Journal reports, a highly intoxicated man who jumped out of a car on Austin Boulevard hurling racial slurs and swinging a bat was shot by one of his would-be victims.  This is particularly interesting because it happened right on the border of Oak Park and Chicago, which both ban handguns, and in the state of Illinois, which bans concealed carry: Read the rest of this article »

As the Sun Herald reports, an 84 year old Mississippi man used his handgun to stop a home invader.  The elderly man was at home with his 74-year-old wife, at about 5 a.m. at their residence in the area of Adams Street, in Bayside Park. Hancock County Sheriff’s Investigator Andre Fizer said the couple heard a noise as an alleged criminal tried to break through the front door, then tried to enter through a back door, and also through a rear window of the residence.  As he grew weaker trying to hold off the intruder at the back door, the resident asked his wife to bring his .45 caliber Colt handgun. He fired one shot through a lower panel of the door, wounding the alleged home invader, Wade Ledesma. Read the rest of this article »

As the Sun Times reports, the illegal gun possession case against Drew Peterson will now proceed.  Drew Peterson, who is suspected in the disappearance of his wife Stacy, was charged with possessing a rifle whose barrel was a fraction of an inch too short.  Allow me to explain the injustice here: Read the rest of this article »

As the Chicago Tribune reports, the Morton Grove, Illinois handgun ban has been repealed by a 5-1 vote of the village board. Read the rest of this article »

Read the rest of this article »

As Fox News reports, the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that overturned the District of Columbia’s unconstitutional handgun ban has filed a new federal lawsuit against the city.  Dick Heller and two other plaintiffs claim that the city’s new gun regulations still violate their self defense rights, as guaranteed by the constitution: Read the rest of this article »

The Gun Control Act of 1968, a US Federal statute, prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms.  In the wake of the D.C. v. Heller Supreme Court decision, several lawsuits have been filed by convicted felons, seeking to regain their right to keep and bear arms for self defense and sporting purposes. Most of the people I’ve discussed this with are of the opinion that convicted felons should not be allowed to own guns.  I, however, have reached the conclusion that such blanket prohibition on gun ownership by felons is not reasonable.  Allow me to explain why: Read the rest of this article »

A criminal reportedly opened fire in a Knoxville, Tennessee church, where a group of children were performing a play.  The criminal, who used a shotgun, is reportedly thought to have targeted the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church because it is very liberal, and allowed gay ministers and gay marriages. Churchgoers dived for cover under pews, but nine members of the congregation were hit before a group of them managed to tackle the gunman as he reloaded. At least two people, Greg McKendry and Linda Kreager, were reportedly killed.  Jim D. Adkisson, the 58 year old suspected shooter, has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held on $1 million bail, according to city spokesman Randy Kenner. This tragedy shows the need for armed, law abiding citizens, who can quickly act in self defense: Read the rest of this article »

While discussing the lawsuit which seeks to strike down Chicago’s ineffective and likely unconstitutional handgun ban, Mayor Richard Daley made a series of anti-gun arguments.  These arguments appear to be based upon faulty or non-existent reasoning, and make the utterly untrue assumption that law abiding citizens will generally misuse guns for no reason at all.  This article analyzes and rebuts Daley’s rather weak anti-gun arguments one by one: Read the rest of this article »

I received an email from Graham Showell, a law abiding British citizen who is hoping to bring American-style concealed carry rights to his country. Mr. Showell requested that I post a link to his petition in the hope of gaining added publicity. The petition can be seen here, and more information about it is included below: Read the rest of this article »

Gun ownership by law abiding citizens has a deterrent effect upon criminals, and the reason is quite clear: A criminal out to commit robbery/rape/theft/etc. is looking for an easy target, not one that will fight back. Since criminals can’t know which potential victim is armed, they know that committing a crime is a risk. Accordingly, the more armed citizens that we have, the greater the deterrent effect upon criminals. Read the rest of this article »

As UPI reports, Federal agents announced that they had rounded up 38 reputed Los Angeles gang members and associates on gun and drug charges.  The arrests were made after an undercover agent bought fully automatic (machine guns) such as AK-47s and M-16s from the gang members. A total of 119 guns were confiscated during the investigation and an alleged drug trafficking ring was broken up as well.  This is simply more proof of the fact that criminals who want guns will get them, and banning guns only leaves the law abiding citizens unable to defend themselves.  It also serves to prove true the point I made before, that stricter gun control laws will result in criminals with machine guns.

Almost every day, politicians and other public figures get on their soapboxes and argue for gun control. They say their latest pointless and ineffective gun control laws will be “tough on criminals.” The reality of the situation is that criminals like gun control laws. This is because criminals will still have guns, and their victims will be easier targets. get Allow me to explain further: Read the rest of this article »

As the Chicago Tribune reports, a woman was robbed by a man who threatened to shoot her on the platform of the Austin Blue Line stop, Oak Park police reports indicated. The woman was standing on the platform when she was approached by a man who asked her for spare change. When she declined, the man stuck a hand under his shirt and threatened to shoot her with a gun. The criminal then grabbed her by the wrist, and took her cell phone and wallet valued at $350. This robbery, like the countless others in Oak Park, IL, occurred despite the decades long handgun ban. Read the rest of this article »

As 680News reports, a 39-year-old Toronto police officer has been arrested for allegedly buying a prohibited gun barrel over the Internet and illegally importing it into Canada.  The gun barrel was discovered as the police officer attempted to re-enter Canada from the USA. Read the rest of this article »

As the Wednesday Journal reports, there were an additional 3 armed robberies in Oak Park, IL this week.  This follows on the heels of many other armed robberies in Oak Park, which have continued unabated despite the more than 20-year-long ban on handguns.   Read the rest of this article »

Various cities across the country, most notably Chicago, have run gun buy back programs. These programs offer citizens money in exchange for turning in guns. Such programs allow politicians to claim that they have “taken hundreds of guns off the street” that would have otherwise been used in crimes. In reality, these programs don’t do much (if anything) to stop crime, but do consume large sums of money that would be better spent actually fighting crime: Read the rest of this article »

As WBBM reports, the Wilmette, Illinois handgun ban was abolished last night by the 7-0 vote of the village board. The Wilmette village board should be applauded for removing this likely unconstitutional and proven ineffective handgun ban, which served only to hinder the ability of law abiding citizens to defend themselves: Read the rest of this article »

As ABC News reports, Smith & Wesson is manufacturing a commemorative revolver in honor of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller, that backed the right of individuals to own guns for self-defense. Read the rest of this article »

As the Wednesday Journal reports, a 39 year old man was shot in the pelvis after an argument with his step-son.  The shooting took place on the 600 block of Lake Street, in Oak Park, IL.  The victim was transported to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, IL and underwent exploratory surgery to ascertain the extent of his injury.  This is yet another shooting in Oak Park, in spite of the (likely unconstitutional) handgun ban. Read the rest of this article »

As CNN reports, a Palestinian man went on a rampage Tuesday in downtown Jerusalem, ramming a construction vehicle into cars and buses before he was shot and killed by a law abiding Israeli citizen and his firearm. Thanks to this armed citizen, this attack resulted in no deaths, unlike a similar construction vehicle attack which killed 3 people a few weeks ago. Read the rest of this article »

As the Wednesday Journal reports, on Monday morning, an Oak Park woman was preparing to take her baby to the doctor when a masked intruder burst into her apartment. The home invader then began beating the Oak Park woman with a baseball bat. During the beating, the woman dropped her 6-week-old baby. As the man continued to beat the woman about her upper body, a witness ran outside and waved down a passing police officer. The mother and infant were taken to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, IL for treatment of fractures and lacerations. The Wednesday Journal also reports that Oak Park police have a suspect, Anthony K. Murdix, 42, of Aurora, IL in custody. Read the rest of this article »

There is a lot of misinformation out there about gun control, gun rights, self defense, “assault weapons,” and the like. This article is intended to briefly set the record straight: Read the rest of this article »

As the Mercury News reports, two male high school students at  Pinole Valley High were arrested on suspicion of possession of an illegal “assault weapon“, possession of a machine gun, bringing a firearm onto school grounds, being a minor in possession of live ammunition, being a minor with a concealed weapon, being a minor in possession of a firearm with prior conviction, a probation violation and marijuana transportation. Both of the arrested students have previous gun and ammunition possession arrests or convictions on their records, police said.  The gun that was brought to school was reportedly a fully automatic AK-47. Read the rest of this article »

As WRCB reports, a new survey shows that approximately two thirds of Alabama residents own a gun, and about half of them have permits to carry concealed weapons. This is one of the highest gun ownership and concealed carry permit rates in the country, and corresponds with a relatively low crime rate – considerably lower than localities such as Chicago which have handgun bans. Read the rest of this article »

Sound suppressors, sometimes referred to as “silencers,” are legitimate tools that have gotten a bad reputation in movies and in the law. The fact is that sound suppressors don’t truly “silence” guns, but can serve a legitimate and peaceful purpose. Allow me to explain: Read the rest of this article »

As the Indy Star reports, a Franklin, IN man took his bolt action, .22LR caliber rifle and confronted a burglar. The burglar wrestled the gun away from the home owner, James Duncan, and shot him in the shoulder. Mr. Duncan survived, and there are important lessons to be learned here: Read the rest of this article »

As the Sun Times reports, a woman was shot in the leg after she struggled with two male attackers who stole her property in the West Loop, near the intersection of Randolph St and Halsted St early Friday. The men succeeded at taking her property after a struggle and as they were fleeing, fired shots at the woman, striking her in the leg. Read the rest of this article »

Member of the gun control lobby will argue that taking away guns from law abiding citizens will somehow stop criminals from using guns to commit crimes. This is simply untrue, and I’ve addressed the facts that criminals ignore gun control laws, which only serve to leave law abiding citizens defenseless. I’ve also addressed the fact that criminals will commit crimes, with or without guns.
Gun control laws could, however, result in more criminals with machine guns. Allow me to explain: Read the rest of this article »

As the Sum Times reports, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley has blamed the news media for Chicago’s recent sharp increase in violent crime. So far, Mayor Daley has blamed guns, the Supreme Court, and now the news media. Perhaps instead of assigning blame to blameless parties, the Mayor should take steps to address the real causes of crime: Read the rest of this article »

I’ve bought a variety of gun cases, for transporting handguns, shotguns, and rifles. This article lists some tips that I have come up with for those choosing a gun case, based upon the lessons I’ve learned. Read the rest of this article »

As the Sun Times reports, after stating that violent crime in Chicago is “out of control,” Governor Rod Blagojevich offered to loan Illinois state troopers and National Guard equipment to Chicago to help augment the Chicago Police officers. Read the rest of this article »

As the Wednesday Journal reports, there were 5 people victimized in 3 Oak Park, IL armed robberies.  All of the criminals used handguns, despite Oak Park’s longstanding (and likely unconstitutional) handgun ban: Read the rest of this article »

The Department of the Interior was preparing to promulgate rules that would allow concealed carry for self defense in national parks. As the NRA reports, rather than closing the comment period as scheduled and moving toward finalizing this federal regulation, U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and U.S. Representative Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona), succeeded in delaying the implementation of the final rule by bullying the Department of the Interior to extend the deadline for comments an additional 30 days. The goal of this extension is to give the anti-gun-rights lobby more time to oppose self defense rights in our national parks. Please contact the department of the interior and let them know that you support concealed carry and self defense rights: Read the rest of this article »

In response to the D.C. v. Heller decision, in which the Supreme Court struck down the unconstitutional District of Columbia handgun ban, D.C. has passed new guns laws. While handguns are allowed, these new laws are incredibly restrictive: Read the rest of this article »

As I’ve previously mentioned, the national ACLU is opposed to gun rights, arguing that the right to keep and bear arms does not exist at all.  Thankfully, the Nevada ACLU has declared support for the Second Amendment: Read the rest of this article »

The Governor of Georgia, Sonny Perdue, stood up for concealed carry rights.  He stated that law abiding citizens with valid concealed carry permits should be able to carry in non-sensitive areas of airports.  Such a rule would allow for personal safety and self defense, without harming airport security: Read the rest of this article »

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling that handgun ownership is an individual right, city officials in Washington, D.C. have been planning to obstruct D.C. citizens from exercising their right to keep and bear arms, despite the Supreme Court’s clear statements.  These plans included banning ordinary semiautomatic pistols by incorrectly defining them as “machine gun,” which is a definition that hard to propose with a straight face.  Thankfully, Congress may act to ensure the Supreme Court’s ruling is promptly followed by the District of Columbia: Read the rest of this article »

While discussing the issue of gun rights, I’ve had some friends suggest that only the police should have firearms. My considered opinion is that there is no fundamental difference between a police officer and a law abiding citizen, insofar as the ability to act responsibly with a firearm is concerned. Nor do I believe that police possess training or skills that a law abiding citizen can’t easily acquire, at least in a way sufficient to allow that citizen to defend themselves and their family. Allow me to elaborate: Read the rest of this article »

As ABC reports, Surprise, AZ Police Chief Daniel Hughes was working out at the Mountainside Fitness center when someone broke into his locker, stealing his gun, badge, uniform, and police vehicle.  The vehicle, an unmarked 2007 Chevy Tahoe, was recovered.  The gun, badge, and uniform were not recovered. Read the rest of this article »

As Mercury News reports, Enrique Chavez of Anaheim, CA was a Los Angeles police officer, until he left his loaded gun on the back seat of his pickup truck while driving with his 3 year old son. The young child picked up the gun and pulled the trigger, shooting Chavez in the back and leaving him paralyzed. Enrique Chavez then sued Glock, the holster manufacturer, and the retailer, alleging that their products were defective . My thoughts on this situation are discussed below: Read the rest of this article »

I’ve seen that some people dislike handguns such as Glocks and some of the Springfield XD pistols because they lack an external safety, such as can be found on the Springfield 1911. This article addresses my thoughts on the matter: Read the rest of this article »

As the Chicago Tribune reports, two people were shot by a gunman on a bicycle in Chicago. Read the rest of this article »

Rather than focus on the problem of crime, many gun control advocates cling to the abject failure that is gun control. This trend continues in the wake of the D.C. v. Heller case, where the Supreme Court found gun ownership to be an individual right. Rather than abandon the failed gun control laws that only serve to deprive law abiding citizens of the ability to defend themselves, some cities with handgun bans will now spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars in a likely pointless effort to keep their unconstitutional handgun bans. Just imagine if that money were spent on “criminal control” instead of pointless gun control: Read the rest of this article »

Rather than deterring criminals, who will manage to have a gun in violation of the law, handgun bans will result in the unjust prosecution citizens who are defending themselves against criminals.   Such an outcome is plainly contrary to the (misguided) intent of such bans, which is to protect law abiding citizens from criminals.  A couple of example from the state of Illinois help illustrate the point: Read the rest of this article »

As KXAN reports, a woman from Austin, Texas was able to fend off an attacker by shooting him in the face. Read the rest of this article »

Reverend Michael Pfleger  stated “Obviously, the Supreme Court in their ivory tower is really disconnected . . . They’re so disconnected that they cannot hear the cries of parents who are burying their children.” Read the rest of this article »

Some anti-gun-rights groups will try to argue that gun ownership somehow causes increased suicide rates. This is similar to the equally incorrect assertion that the presence of guns leads to crime. The fact is, those who are serious about committing suicide will do so, and many of them choose guns for a variety of practical reasons. Allow me to elaborate: Read the rest of this article »

As the Chicago Tribune reports, a 22 year old man was shot in Chicago’s downtown area, near the intersection of Randolph st and Michigan ave, at about 12:45am – despite the more than 20 year old ban on handgun possession. Read the rest of this article »

I’ve seen increasing talk about the “benefits” of making gun manufacturers liable for criminals that misuse their guns, and thought it would be a good topic for an article

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As the Tribune reports, 4 people were shot in the Chicago loop area after the Taste of Chicago and fireworks let out.  One of the shootings was fatal.  Over 1 million people had attended the Taste and fireworks that day.  This series of shooting occurred despite the Chicago handgun ban, which has been in effect for decades. Read the rest of this article »

The Wednesday Journal, Oak Park’s local newspaper, ran an article discussing the history of Oak Park’s handgun ban. The facts: Oak Park’s handgun ban was the knee jerk reaction to a murder that was committed not in Oak Park, but Chicago. Two decades later, criminals in Oak Park commit shootings, robberies, and pistol whipping, while only Oak Park’s law abiding citizens obey the ban and are left vulnerable. Read the rest of this article »

After the Supreme Court’s decision in D.C. v. Heller, upholding the right of law abiding citizens to have a handgun in their home for self defense, the NRA sued Oak Park and other cities with handgun bans.  For those who are interested in seeing the actual complaint against Oak Park, IL, which was filed in federal court, it can be downloaded here.

As readers of this website may know, I’m a fan of polymer framed pistols such the Springfield XD, and those manufactured by Glock. This is my review of the Glock 22, which is chambered for my favorite pistol caliber, .40 S&W. Read the rest of this article »

As the Chicago Tribune reports, a woman allegedly grabbed a Chicago police officer’s gun and fatally shot him ,as he tried to remove her from a bus stop altercation.  This tragedy shows that even in a city like Chicago, which has a handgun ban, a those who want a gun to commit murder will get one somehow. Read the rest of this article »

The NRA has an excellent article on the racist origins of the terms “Saturday night specials” and “junk guns,” and gun control as a whole. In short, these terms were used to describe guns the racist law makers saw as being used by African Americans to commit crimes on Saturday nights, after drinking. Read the rest of this article »

As the Sun Times reports, a man armed with a knife stormed a police station in Shanghai, China on Tuesday, stabbing 9 officers inside and killing at least five – all without a gun. Read the rest of this article »

Purchasing a gun now is a prudent choice, given the fact that when you actually need the gun, it will be too late to buy it. I am not speaking of the world ending or other unlikely events (no, I don’t believe society will collapse any time soon) but rather about events that can and do happen, when it helps to have a gun: Read the rest of this article »