LearnAboutGuns.com

As reported, the NRA has prevailed over the San Francisco Housing Authority’s illegal ban on gun ownership for those living in public housing.  Previously, San Francisco Housing Authority had a lease provision banning guns in the public housing residences, but has agreed to remove the provisions and admit that such provisions are not lawful, in order to settle the lawsuit filed by the NRA. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, Kenneth Plummer is an 82 year old WWII veteran who lives in Fayette County, PA. In December, a criminal forced his way into Plummer’s home and tried to rob him.  In the scuffle that ensued, Plummer was able to grab a knife and stab the criminal in the stomach, driving the criminal off and saving his life.  This week, the elderly man again suffered a home invasion robbery, with 3 men breaking in to his kitchen.  Plummer was able to scare the men off with his gun, and fired at them as they fled  Police confiscated Plummer’s gun because, as the the local prosecutor explained, firing at fleeing criminals is not self defense.  My thoughts are below: Read the rest of this article »

I often end up searching through the LearnAboutGuns.com archives to find a particularly relevant armed self defense example to mention when writing a new article.  Until now, I didn’t have a single page where all of of the self defense stories that I’ve written about could be found, which meant that I was wasting time tracking them down.  So, I created a new Self Defense Example tag page, where all such stories can be conveniently found. Read the rest of this article »

I just wanted to take a moment to point out a great article over at Walls Of the City, entitled “keyboards should be licensed” .  The article deals with an uninformed journalist who is bent on vilifying so-called assault weapons.

As reported, criminals in Oak Park have continued their armed robbery spree, in spite of Oak Park’s misguided attempt to be “gun free”.  Making matters worse, the robbers seem to be increasingly violent. Read the rest of this article »

I’ve previously talked about how “gun free zones” just lead to situations where victims are defenseless, since homicidal (and often suicidal) criminals don’t care about a law that says they can’t have a gun, or the consequences of their crime spree.  Indeed, this has been the case in every school shooting in the US.  There is even a humorous video clip that makes fun of the fact that criminals won’t stop committing their crime upon learning that they are in a gun free zone.  It is against this backdrop that I find myself compelled to criticize the “Rape Free Zone” project – not for its quite commendable goal of preventing rape, but due to the ineffective means through which the goal is pursued. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, 18 year old Raymond Martinez, a reputed gang member bent on committing robbery, entered the Grand Market store in Tuscon, Arizona with an accomplice.   Martinez drew his handgun and fired a shot at the employee, wounding him.  The surprised employee drew his own gun and fatally shot Martinez in the chest, ending the robbery and saving his own life.  The accomplice fled, only to soon be caught by police, and the store clerk was treated for non life threatening injuries at a local hospital. Read the rest of this article »

On New Years Day 2009, there was a police shooting in which a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer shot and killed Oscar Grant III who was face down on the ground, unarmed, and surrounded by multiple police officers.  Witnesses and cell phone video footage appear to indicate that the shooting was not justified (although remember, innocent until proven guilty).  The (former) BART police officer, Johannes Mehserle, has been criminally charged, and the family of the deceased man has filed a lawsuit. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a group of friend was standing outside in Evanston, IL when a man who was walking by slipped and fell on the ice. The friends began laughing at the man for his misfortune. The man who fell on the ice didn’t find it to be funny in the slightest. He drew a gun and fired one shot, which struck one of the laughing individuals in the ankle. The victim was treated at a local hospital and released, while the shooter has not been identified or apprehended.  This shooting seems to convey two lessons: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, Lucy’s Sweet Surrender is the last remaining Hungarian bakery on Buckeye Road in Cleveland, Ohio. It is well known for its delicious treats, and loved by neighborhood residents who lament the closing of the other Hungarian bakeries. Now the owner is considering closing shop due to brazen armed robbery that left his wife, Marika Feigenbaum, shot and pistol whipped. Marika was in the bakery when an armed robber entered and demanded that she open the safe and give him large amounts of money. Marika truthfully responded that there was no safe, and that only small amounts of cash were on hand.  Enraged, the robber pistol whipped the woman and shot her in the shoulder, then fled. Read the rest of this article »

I’ve previously discussed various overt and subtle cases of anti gun groups putting out misinformation, with the hope that uninformed voters will be scared into supporting gun control.  I’ve also talked about anti gun politicians who make baseless anti gun statements, all the while showing a lack of knowledge about the guns they are trying to ban.  However I’ve found a new example that tops them all: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, Donald Nigel Jones was a 29 year old convicted felon, who had had committed dozens of robberies.  After serving about eight years in prison and then being paroled, Jones set out to rob the Belmont Beverage liquor store in Fort Wayne, Indiana – a store that he had previously robbed nearly a decade ago.  However this time, the clerk was armed and fatally shot Jones, putting a permanent end to his life of crime.  Unfortunately, the clerk was also shot in the leg by Jones, although he is expected to make a full recovery from this non-life-threatening injury.  Prosecutors are not expected to charge the clerk for this self defense shooting, and the store owner supports the clerk’s decision to defend himself. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, the city of Beloit will soon have ShotSpotter surveillance cameras, which are designed to detect gunfire and explosions in near real time.  The idea is that such monitoring will enable police to better combat crime – but as a resident of the Chicago area who has seen such cameras in action, I’m skeptical. Read the rest of this article »

Kirsten Gillibrand has been appointed to fill the New York senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton. Gillibrand, a Democrat, is a supporter of gun rights who has a 100% positive rating from the NRA.  This infuriates fellow Democrat Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, who is strongly opposed to gun rights.  Congresswoman McCarthy lashed out at Gillibrand during an interview: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, Sarah Richardson, a 26 year old woman from the UK was married to Edward Richardson, who was 40 year old. Their marriage fell apart, and Sarah moved back in with her parents. In the early months of 2008, Sarah changed her marital status to “single” on Facebook, and this enraged Edward. He sent her text messages, but she wanted nothing further to do with him. So, Edward broke into her parents’ home, and cornered Sarah in her bedroom. Edward then brutally stabbed Sarah to death, before unsuccessfully trying to kill himself. Edward was convicted of Sarah’s murder, and sentenced to at least 17 years in prison. Sarah’s parents made the following statement after hearing the verdict: “There simply aren’t the words to describe how Sarah’s death, and the awful way in which she died, has affected us. We all miss her so much. Sarah was the loveliest daughter anyone could wish for. She was honest, loyal and sweet, and everyone loved her.” Read the rest of this article »

In a 2005 report commissioned by the National Institute of Justice, researchers examined a variety of sexual assaults and other physical assaults against women. The researchers found that potential rape victims who resisted their attackers physically and verbally significantly reduced the probability that a rape would be completed and did not significantly increase the risk of serious injury. A separate study found that even when a rape was completed, women who used some form of resistance had better mental health outcomes than those who did not resist. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, two preschool children and one adult have been killed, and another 13 people have been injured during a brutal stabbing attack at a Dendermonde, Belgium nursery.  The attacker, whose face was painted, tricked an employee into letting him in to the nursery, at which point he stabbed three infants.  Then he went to another floor the nursery, and stabbed even more people, before escaping on a bicycle.  10 surviving children were brought to a local hospital in need of emergency surgery.  A suspect was reportedly apprehended shortly thereafter. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, armed robberies continue to plague the village of Oak Park, despite assertions by village officials that Oak Park is “gun free.” Read the rest of this article »

Rahm Emanuel is an anti gun politician who recently became Barack Obama’s chief of staff.  He was previously the the US Congressman for Illinois’ 5th congressional district – a congressional seat that is now vacant.  The seat will soon be filled through an election, with the primary occurring on March 3, 2009, and the general election on April 7, 2009.  Getting a pro gun rights individual elected would be a nice change, especially since the president is anti gun, and both chambers of congress are controlled by anti gun politicians: Read the rest of this article »

Anti gun rights people will often use misinformation to advance their arguments.  Sometimes the misinformation takes the form of an overt untruth, while other times it is more subtle.  A recent news story from the Hartford Courant in Connecticut seems to fit into that second category of anti gun misinformation: Read the rest of this article »

I recently read a comment on The War on Guns, in which an individual advocates a boycott of Illinois-based gun manufacturers, due to the rather strict anti gun laws in that state.  He argues that buying from those manufacturers supplies tax money to the state of Illinois, which he accuses of “enslaving you and your children.”  While I (obviously) disagree with Illinois gun control laws, and do everything in my power to change those laws, I don’t think that boycotting Illinois gun manufacturers is a wise or reasonable thing.  Instead, I think that such a boycott would lead to gun rights being harmed, both in IL and other states.  At the same time, tax revenue from guns is just a drop in the bucket for Illinois anyway, so the State’s budget would not be seriously effected by such a minor loss of revenue. Read the rest of this article »

Some of my relatives are extremely anti gun.  They disapprove of my choice to own guns suitable for self defense, and don’t wish to own gun themselves.  One of my relatives has even said that she would not want to use a gun to defend herself, even if the only alternative were death at the hands of a home invading criminal.  While I respect her right to decide whether to defend herself or not, I do find that decision to be rather selfish and inconsiderate, both towards those of us who love her, and society as a whole: Read the rest of this article »

Some of the anti gun and anti self defense people tend to confuse being a vigilante with defending oneself.  There really is no connection between the two, as vigilantism is a crime, while self defense is a basic human right. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a Westville, FL resident called the police after hearing sounds of a break-in at his rural home.  The man hid in a closet, as the criminal entered the room.  The man then emerged from the closet, and told the criminal that he had a gun.  The ski-mask-wearing criminal then fled, using an S-10 pickup truck as his getaway vehicle.  A man matching the description of the criminal was later seen casing another house in the area. Read the rest of this article »

San Fransisco has installed high tech (and expensive) camera to monitor many areas of the city.  A long awaited study on the effectiveness of the cameras has been completed, and the result is that the cameras did nothing to reduce violent crime: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, six people where shot at a house party in Chicago, following a verbal altercation.  The shooting occurred on Chicago’s South side at 1:30am yesterday.  Fortunately, all 6 of the victims are expected to live (although their lives will almost certainly be permanently effected by their injuries). Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a woman from Dumfries, VA was not feeling well, and ended up staying home sick from work.  Her home security alarm suddenly went off, and she found 3 men breaking in to her home.  Luckily for this woman, she was a gun owner, and the three criminals fled upon seeing her.  Amazingly, one of the criminals returned a moment later.  The woman shot the criminal in self defense, and the criminal was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.  Police caught the second home invader, and are searching for the third. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a team of three Professional Recovery Services employees went to repossess a pair of vehicles from an address in Hoffman Estates, IL. They found only one vehicle, an Isuzu SUV, and hitched it to their tow truck. An employee went to door of the house to notify the owner of the repossession, but no one answered. Moments later, a man came out of the house, and slipped on the ice. When the employee asked the man if he was OK, the man pointed a handgun at the employee and Read the rest of this article »

Gary Becker, the mayor of Racine, WI is a member of the anti gun rights group “Mayors Against Illegal Guns.”  The 51 year old married man, who is a father of two children, was arrested for allegedly trying to meet an underage girl for sex. An Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force member is said to have posed online as a minor, and caught Becker in a sting operation.  Becker was arrested at a mall, where he allegedly though he was meeting the young girl in person. It also appears that Mayor Becker had been under a separate investigation since before Christmas – when a city employee who fixed his computer was said to have found what could be child pornography, and turned it over to the police.

Based on a statement from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Mayor Gary Becker could face at least six charges, including child enticement, possession of child pornography, attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child and misconduct in public office. Becker was booked into the Kenosha County, WI Jail on Tuesday evening and then released after a relative posted his $165,000 bail.

This is not a good week for these anti gun rights mayors.  Earlier this week, Mayor Sheila Dixon of Baltimore was indicted on corruption related charges.  Overall, this now makes 7 such anti gun mayors who have been arrested. Perhaps these mayors should focus on conducting themselves in a lawful manner, rather than finding ways to infringe the gun ownership rights of law abiding citizens?

As reported, yet another politician from the anti gun rights group “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” is facing criminal charges: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a 4 year old boy became upset when a 17 year old stepped on his foot.  The 4 year old left the room in an angry manner, saying that he was going to get a gun, but his relatives thought he was joking.  He walked to a bedroom in the home, and took a 20 gauge single-shot shotgun out from a closet.  He then took a single birdshot shell from a drawer, and loaded it into the chamber.  Then, he returned to the living room and shot the 17 year old in the arm and side.  The parents stated that the 4 year old boy had seen others use the shotgun, but had never been taught about guns.  The father’s response to this shooting was to say that he is getting rid of all guns from the home.  To me, this seems to be poor parenting, both before and after the shooting: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, multiple Chicago public school students were injured by shattered glass, after a criminal opened fire on their bus.  Luckily, none of the students were hit by bullets, although two of the students had to be taken to the hospital.  Gun control advocates will use this as yet another opportunity to argue for more gun control laws, despite the fact that this near miss shows the pointlessness of such laws: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a 38 year old man and his girlfriend were exiting their vehicle in the parking lot of McTaverns bar, on the 7400 block of Indianapolis Boulevard in Hammond, IN, when two people attempted to rob the couple. The man grabbed his handgun from from his vehicle, and fatally shot Kenneth Denson, 17, of the 600 block of East 131st Street in Chicago. The other suspect fled in a car, only to crash and be apprehended by the police, who also found illegal drugs in the car. The two would-be robber victims were unharmed. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, the man accused of killing Joe Wido during a violent home invasion was arrested, thanks to DNA left on a mask from the crime scene. 26 year old Francis Sicola, a convicted felon from North Carolina, was reportedly arrested last Friday, which would have been the murder victim’s birthday. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, Craig Hodson-Walker, 29, was fatally shot in the chest, while and his father was shot in the leg, by armed robbers who attacked a post office in Fairfield, Worcestershire. His fiancée, Lisa Bundy, who got engaged to Craig at Christmas after a 10-year relationship, described Craig as her “soulmate,” and says that his murder has left her life destroyed. Read the rest of this article »

In response to the article where I discussed my doctor’s desire to know whether I was a gun owner, I received this rather humorous information by email: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a man allegedly attempted to carry a loaded homemade firearm onto an aircraft at O’Hare international airport in Chicago. Rodolfo Duarte, 27, of the 6300 block of West 37th Street in Berwyn, was arrested and will first appear in court on January 15th. The police describe the homemade weapon as having been ready to fire, with a round in the chamber and at least one other round outside the chamber.  This follows on the heels of another airport gun arrest the day before, when Goce Stojanovski, of the 1100 block of West Driftwood Trail in Crown Point, IN was reportedly charged with trying to board an aircraft at O’Hare with a loaded .25 caliber pistol. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a clerk at a Mac’s convenience store, located in Ontario, Canada, was fired after using his own knife to successfully scare off a knife wielding robber. Sean Sportun, director of loss prevention and security for Mac‘s Convenience Stores, watched the surveillance camera footage and decided (from the safety of his office) that the armed robber wasn’t “wasn‘t particularly aggressive” and that the employee shouldn’t have defended himself. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, 5 teenagers were shot outside the Dunbar Vocational Career Academy, which is a high school on Chicago’s South side.  Gunmen opened fire from a car, and the shooting is believed to be gang related.  A 6 person suffered injuries when she was trampled by those trying to escape from the gunfire. Read the rest of this article »

An 85 year old woman in Rossmoor, California stated that the home invasion and brutal rape she suffered two years ago was a worse experience than the holocaust.  Coming from most people, such a statement might seem like hyperbole, but this woman experienced the holocaust first hand, and is eminently qualified to make such a comparison: Read the rest of this article »

A while back, I wrote about the problem of modern day piracy, and how it shows the need for armed self defense at sea.  Some of pirates that captured the Sirius Star, and received a $3 million ransom to release the ship and its crew, have suffered a well-deserved misfortune: Read the rest of this article »

The video clip shown below is from a Columbus, Ohio motel’s security camera.  An armed robber entered the motel and threatened the people with a gun, while demanding money.  One of the clerks at the motel had a concealed carry permit, and was able to shoot the robber three times.  None of the innocent people were harmed, and the robber was first taken to the hospital, and then eventually to a jail cell.  This armed robbery had a much happier ending than is all to often the case when the victims are unarmed, especially when criminals turn out to be especially evil. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a disabled British mother of three saw her Yorkshire terrier laying dead in a pool of blood outside her home.  Using her crutches, she went outside, where four young criminals were waiting.  The criminals, who had just killed her dog, forced her back into her home and attacked her with a knife.  She suffered numerous cuts, and had to be hospitalized.  The criminals appear to have done this purely for the sake of being violent, as no property was stolen from the woman or her home.  The police arrested a 13 year old boy, who is suspected of committing the attack, and an 18 year old suspected accomplice as well. Read the rest of this article »

I previously discussed how Brandon Starks, a convicted felon, unlawfully used a handgun to commit armed robbery at the People’s Market in Waukegan, IL – and was shot and killed in self defense by his would-be victim.  Today, a grand jury cleared the clerk of wrongdoing. Read the rest of this article »

Over the last week in particular, I’ve discussed cases of elderly citizens who have been able to defend themselves with guns, instead of being victimized by younger and physically stronger criminals.  Up until now, the oldest person I’ve mentioned using a gun for self defense was a 91 year old gentleman, who used a gun to defend himself and his 90 year old wife from a pair of armed home invaders.  However a newer self defense case from the news features a 93 year old gentleman, and nicely caps this week of elderly self defense news stories: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, the city of Rockford, Illinois has seen a string of violent armed robberies over the last week, which included 2 victims being shot and 3 being pistol whipped.  In Rockford’s local newspaper, the police have instructed citizens to not resist: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, armed robbers continue to plague Oak Park, IL, in spite of Oak Park’s ill-fated attempt to be “gun free“: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a 70 year old woman from South Bend, Indiana called 911 to report that someone was breaking in to her home.  She grabbed her .38 caliber revolver, and after the criminal crawled in through a window, she held him at gunpoint.  After about 5 minutes, police arrived and arrested 28-year-old Cyrus Brown on preliminary charges of burglary, resisting arrest, and intimidation. Read the rest of this article »

A naked man was attempting to break in to a daycare center, and the police were called.  A police officer arrives, and uses her Taser to subdue to the man.  After a couple shocks from the Taser, the naked man is able to get up and tackle the cop, almost grabbing her gun.  Luckily, additional cops soon showed up and were able to arrest the man.  As I’ve said before, there is no substitute for a gun. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a New Albany, Indiana man allegedly went outside with his AR-15 and fired at least a dozen rounds into the air, to celebrate the new year.  At least 3 bullets reportedly entered a nearby house, striking a 13 year old girl in the leg, and hitting households appliances.  Troy Brown, the alleged shooter, was reportedly charged with criminal recklessness resulting in bodily injury, which is a felony.  My thoughts are below: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, the state of New Jersey may soon prevent law abiding citizens from purchasing more than one handgun per month.  Those pushing for this law ignore the fact that similar laws have failed to prevent crime in the past, that such a law imposes an unreasonable burden on law abiding citizens, and that it is wrongful to arbitrarily limit the exercise of a constitutional right: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, Charles ‘Johnny’ Johnson is 91 years old. He has been married to Berlie Mae Johnson, who is 90 years old, for the last 72 years. At around 4pm, two home invaders broke in to their Ocoee, Florida home. One of the home invaders placed a gun to the head of Berlie Mae Johnson, who was sitting in her wheelchair. The criminals also ripped the phone from the wall, so that the police could not be called. Mr. Johnson, however, was prepared for this type of situation, and and grabbed his decades-old .38 caliber revolver. One home invader immediately ran, and Mr. Johnson fired a shot at the remaining home invader (who was holding a gun to his wife’s head.) Mr. Johnson is unsure whether he hit that home invader, who also took off running, leaving the elderly couple uninjured.  The police are searching for the criminals, and have notified emergency rooms to be on the lookout for a person with an unexplained gunshot wound, in case Mr. Johnson’s bullet did in fact hit the criminal. Read the rest of this article »

Given the recent comments from an Oak Park newspaper writer, I thought this would be a good opportunity to mention the other interactions I’ve had with local news media: Read the rest of this article »

The Brady Campaign, an anti gun rights organization, has rankings of gun control laws in each state.  Interestingly, the states with the strictest gun control laws don’t seem to be doing well when it comes their murder and crime rates: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, the Brady Campaign is suing the Department of the Interior in an attempt to prevent concealed carry from coming to national parks.  I think this lawsuit may actually be a good thing for gun rights: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a Buffalo, NY woman was walking down the street when two men forced her into a car and searched her pockets for valuables. After taking $110 from her, they Read the rest of this article »

Roland Burris was appointed to fill Barack Obama’s Senate seat, which Obama will vacate in order to serve as president.  Although Obama will be gone from the senate, Burris will continue Obama’s anti gun rights tradition: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, Marvin Oldham was shot twice, after he forced himself into his ex-wife’s parents’ Tennessee home and threatened the occupants. Betty Hale, the mother of Marvin Oldman’s ex-wife, first shot him in the shoulder with a .22-caliber pistol, which Read the rest of this article »

About once a week, I discuss the gun related crime in Oak Park, IL, which is one of the few municipalities that still has a handgun ban.  I get most of the crime reports from the Wednesday Journal, one of Oak Park’s local newspapers.  Bill Dwyer writes the Wednesday Journal’s crime reports, and he doesn’t seem to be a fan of gun rights (or this website).  He recently left this comment, which I replied to here.

As reported, David Garrett, 47, of the 5100 block of West Potomac Avenue, was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head on the 100 block of Green Street around 2:15 am on January 1, 2009. A second person was also reportedly shot during the same incident, and is in serious to critical condition.  The gunman fled after shooting the victims. Read the rest of this article »

I’ve been debating whether to write this article for a while, but the comments on a recent article have convinced me to go ahead and do so.  So, here are my thoughts on open carry (as opposed to concealed carry). Read the rest of this article »