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Anti gun individuals like to blame guns and other objects that looks vaguely like guns for the violence in society, despite the fact that violence has been around a lot longer than guns, and criminals use many other tools to kill.  However, as The Onion points out, it appears the real problem is violence in our dreams: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, two suspects from Tennessee have been charged with multiple felonies after they allegedly held a gun to a University of Tennessee student’s head, while robbing that student in his own dorm room.  One of the suspects is also being held on unrelated theft charges.  My thoughts are below: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, 20 year old Javorous Darnell Tims of Pascagoula, Mississippi tried to invade a home by climbing in through the window, at about 1 AM.  The woman whose home was being broken into awoke and got her son, who grabbed his handgun.  The son shot the would-be home invader in the chest, causing him to flee.  When police arrived, the home invader was found dead on the ground, about 80 feet from the window.  None of the home’s occupants were harmed. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a man left his doctor’s office and went to a Tucson, AZ Walgreens pharmacy drive-through.  Two female carjackers, one armed with a handgun, approach the man and threatened his life.  The woman tried to shoot the man, but her gun failed to fire.  The man fired two shots, grazing the carjacker’s head, and also striking her shoulder.  The would-be carjacker fell to the ground with non-life-threatening injuries, and the man grabbed her gun.  Police apprehended both suspects. Read the rest of this article »

David Rosman wrote an editorial for the Columbia Missourian, in which he makes a variety of statements about guns and crime, most of which seem to show a lack of understanding about the issues at hand. My responses are below: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, an employee of the Taco Mac restaurant in Atlanta, GA was taking out the trash when a criminal approached him, threatened his life with a handgun, and force him back into the restaurant.  The manager saw what was going on, and fired 3 shots at the robber.  The robber fled, and no employees or customers were injured.  The police recovered the robber’s car, which had blood on the interior.  The police seem hopeful that this evidence will make it easier to locate the suspect and convict him of the robbery attempt. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a criminal armed with a knife broke into a Colorado Springs home.  The home owner grabbed their gun, and fired at the intruder.  The criminal fled, and the home owner called police.  After searching the nearby woods, the police found a suspect hiding, with a non-life-threatening gunshow wound.  The suspect was taken to a local hospital for treatment, and then to the local jail to face charges.  The home owner was unharmed. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, an Agusta, GA pharmacist with a concealed carry permit was working at a CVS store (which had been robbed in the past.)  A masked criminal, who was carrying a pistol, entered the store and threatened the lives of the employees near the front of the store.  The robber handed the employees a bag, and demanded that they fill it with money.  The pharmacist grabbed his gun, and confronted the criminal.  The criminal refused to surrender, and pointed his gun at the pharmacist.  The pharmacist fired 3 times, missing the robber, but causing him to flee.  No one was injured.  The robber left behind the bag that he had handed to the employees, which police hope will help them identify the robber. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, four men kicked in an apartment’s door in Sacramento, CA.  The apartment renter grabbed his shotgun, and opened fire in self defense.  The four men fled, and the home owner was unharmed.  Police blocked off the neighborhood and began a thorough search for the men, however it is unclear whether they were apprehended. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a British teenager beat an 83 year old woman senseless after telling friends that he wondered what it would be like to kill someone. The 83 year old great-grandmother was at home when she heard someone rummaging through her kitchen. The 15 year old home invader then came to her bedroom, and picked up her cane. He used it to brutally beat the elderly woman, shattering her eye socket and causing other great harm. The home invader then moved her phone out of reach, and left her to die.  The elderly woman’s daughter came to check on her mother after not hearing from her for a while.  The woman survived, but required a 3 month hospital stay to recover from the beating.  Her injuries left her confused and unable to care for herself, requiring that the be placed in a nursing home with 24 hour care.  In keeping with the standards of British “justice,” the 15 year old who committed this terrible crime is eligible for release from custody in just 2 years. Read the rest of this article »

Mark Kirk, a republican congressman from IL, want to be either the next governor or senator for the state of Illinois.  He is quite anti gun, having recently sponsored legislation to bring back the federal ban on so-called “assault weapons.”  As the ISRA notes, on Saturday, April 25, 2009 at 2:00pm, Mark Kirk is holding a townhall meeting in Palatine, IL to discuss “gang violence in the suburbs.”  This is a great opportunity to make sure that Mark Kirk hears the voice of law abiding IL gun owners: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a woman was in her home, preparing to take a shower, when she heard a loud crashing sound.  A drug-addicted man kicked in the house’s back door and entered.  The woman grabbed her handgun, and came face to face with the home invader.  She recognized the man as a drug-addicted friend of a family member.  At gunpoint, she told him to leave, and that she was calling police.  The home invading drug addict fled and was quickly arrested by police. Court records indicate that the alleged home invader was on bail for two counts of receiving stolen property at the time of the home invasion. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a 26 year old woman from Dallas fatally shot a man who broke into her apartment.  The woman and a friend of hers were in the apartment on the 8000 block of Leigh Ann Drive, when a 55 year old man knocked on the door.  The woman refused to let the man in, and he attempted to force his way inside.  One woman called the police, and the other woman grabbed her gun.  As the man forced hi way inside, the armed woman shot the man in self defense.  He stumbled outside and died of his wounds.  Neither of the women were harmed. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, more than 1,200 times last year, residents of the lower income and predominantly minority South Chicago and Gresham police districts in Chicago called 911 – only to be told that there was no police car available to respond.  This would be a ridiculous and unreasonable situation in any part of the United States, however it is particularly outrageous in Chicago, as citizens are forbidden to own handguns for self defense.  I wonder how many citizens were killed or seriously harmed by criminals while waiting for a police car to become available to help them? Read the rest of this article »

As reported, the Obama administration has declined to appeal a federal court ruling that prohibits carrying loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges. This means that the national park concealed carry rights granted a few months ago are gone for good.   Criminals will, of course, continue to carry guns in the national parks, while their victims will be unarmed and defenseless. Read the rest of this article »

UPDATE: THE 9TH CIRCUIT HAS VACATED THE JUDGMENT IN THIS CASE, AND DECIDED TO REHEAR THE CASE EN BANC.  THIS CASE WILL NOT BE RE-DECIDED UNTIL AFTER THE US SUPREME COURT HEARS THE CHICAGO HANDGUN BAN CASE.

Yesterday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided the appeal in the Nordyke case.  This case was about the ability of Alameda County, CA to ban gun shows on county property.  The court upheld the ban, but at the same time found that the 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms applies against state and local governments, by and through incorporation into the 14th Amendment!

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Below is an action alert from the Illinois State Rifle Association, regarding a California anti gun group’s attempt to blame law abiding Illinois gun owners for the crimes of criminals in this state and other states.  Law abiding gun owners in the area should attend and make our voices heard. Read the rest of this article »

Opponents of gun rights often try to use cases in which an emotionally disturbed person murders their family then commits suicide as reasons to justify gun control.  The fact is that such people wishing to murder their families are quite capable of doing so with many tools other than guns, and restricting access to guns would just leave the family members unable to defend themselves against either emotionally disturbed family members or random home invaders.  A recent case from Florida, where an armed wife stopped her husband from allegedly trying to kill her and the rest of the family, showcases this point: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a family heard someone yelling, cursing and pounding on their house at about 10:40 p.m. A man called 911 and secured his family members in a locked bedroom, then loaded his double-barreled, 12-gauge shotgun. The home invading criminal used a wrought iron patio chair to break a glass sliding door, and then entered the home. The man then fatally shot the criminal in self defense, protecting himself and his family. Prosecutors are calling this a justified self defense shooting, and believe this was a random home invasion. Read the rest of this article »

The village of Oak Park, IL, which is one of the few municipalities that still has a handgun ban, continues to suffer gun related crime at the hands of criminals who ignore the handgun ban.  As a result, only the law abiding citizens are disarmed, leaving them more vulnerable to the still-armed criminals: Read the rest of this article »

Mike Littwin recently wrote this anti gun editorial for the Denver Post.  Written in a sarcastic manner, it blames guns for society’s woes, and blames NRA members for the actions of armed criminals who break just about every law in the book as they murder law abiding people who were disarmed by so-called gun free zones.  My response is below: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a 25 year old man was falling asleep on his living room couch when his door flew open and an intruder yelled “Freeze, police!”  At first the home owner put his hands up, but then realized that the armed man who just invaded his home was not a cop.  The home owner remarked “BS” in response to the home invaders assertions that he was a cop.  The armed home invader then shot the home owner in the thigh, and the home owner returned fire with his semiautomatic rifle.  The criminal, who police believe committed multiple home invasions in the area, was fatally wounded.  The home owner will recover from his injury. Read the rest of this article »

As I’ve previously discussed, gun control is sexist, racist, ineffective, and unconstitutional in it application, serving only to ensure that crime victims are defenseless against the still armed and/or physically stronger criminals.  However that is not my point here.  Instead, I would like to note that the idea of restricting guns is wrongful and flawed at even the conceptual level: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a criminal armed with a box cutter went to the back door of an Aurora, CO home during the early morning hours and knocked.  When a resident opened the door, the criminal attacked the man, and after a brief scuffle, ran into the living room.  There, there criminal found a guest sleeping in the living room, and began to attack that guest.  The home owner returned to his bedroom, grabbed his self defense pistol, and fatally shot the criminal, saving himself and his house guest. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, 51 year old Cecil Ramsay was a retired New York City police officer. His wife, Dady Belfort, and an acquaintance of theirs, Edwin Chittick, are also NYPD officers.  Ramsay accused his wife and Chittick of having an affair, which appears to have been an unfounded accusation.  After making the accusation, Ramsay opened fire on the car containing his wife and Chittick, non-fatally injuring Chittick.  Ramsay then fatally shot himself in the head, in front of several construction workers who were standing nearby.  My thoughts on this matter, insofar as it relates to gun rights, are below: Read the rest of this article »

USA Today is running a poll on the meaning of the Second Amendment, specifically whether it grants an individual right to keep and bear arms.  The Supreme Court has clearly stated in D.C. v Heller that that the Second Amendment protects the individual right to keep and bear arms, independent of service in the militia.  This ruling was in keeping with the clear intentions of this country’s founders that the pre-existing right to keep and bear arms be protected.  This (unscientific) poll reflects this interpretation, showing 96% of those surveyed agree.  While unscientific polls such as this have their limitations, news outlets like to reference them, so I would encourage everyone to take the poll. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a criminal entered a Columbia, SC Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.  He threated those in attendance with a .25 caliber pistol, and demanded that the people hand over their belongings.  An Alcoholics Anonymous member then drew his gun and shot the robber in self defense.  The robber was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead about half an hour later.  None of the Alcoholics Anonymous members were harmed. Read the rest of this article »

ABC’s 20/20 recently ran a show entitled If I Only Had a Gun, which really amounts to little more than anti gun propaganda, Brady Campaign sound bytes, and flawed pseudo-scientific “testing” of the effectiveness of concealed carry.  The basic premise of the show is that only the police should have guns, on the incorrect theory that ordinary citizens cannot effectively use guns for self defense.  I disagree with the conclusion, and find the reasoning to be quite flawed: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, 24 year old D’Mario Brown attempted to rob several people inside a North Charleston, SC home.  This was at least Brown’s second home invasion attempt of the day, according to police.  An occupant of the home fired in self defense, fatally wounding the home invader with one shot. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, two armed criminals tried to rob Sam’s Gas and Food, located at 1773 Fifth Avenue in Columbus, Ohio.  The men entered shortly after midnight, just as the gas station was closing, and threatened the lives of the employees.  One of the employees grabbed his self defense gun, and shots were exchanged by the employee and the criminals.  On of the criminals was hit, and both criminals fled.  No employees or customers were injured.  The injured criminal was found at a local hospital, where he was treated for his injury and then arrested by police.
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I recently received the following self defense suggestion via email from a relative, which advocates the use of a car alarm to scare away criminals who are breaking into one’s home.  While I love the relative dearly, I’m going to have to pass on her advice: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, two armed robbers walked into the Bayou pawn shop in Houston, TX with their guns drawn. The manager of the pawn shop saw the armed criminals, and was able to grab his own gun. The manager shot one criminal in self defense, and the other criminal surrendered.   Police arrived and apprehended both robbers.  The manager was unharmed, and information about the condition of the robber who was shot was not available at this time. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, 4 men set out to rob an industrial supply company in Charlotte, North Carolina.  During the robbery, one of the criminals drew his gun and tried to shoot the robbery victim.  Fortunately for the victim, the robber missed – and unintentionally shot one of his accomplices in the face.  All 4 criminals then fled, and arrests have since been made. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, Theodore Turcott’s Wasilla, Alaska home had recently been broken into twice.  When he saw an unfamiliar car pull into his driveway, reportedly he grabbed a gun and hid in his bathroom.  A woman allegedly broke into his home, and then proceed to his bedroom where he stored his money.  Turcott allegedly confronted the woman with his gun drawn, and detained her until the police arrived.  While they were waiting for the police to arrive, the woman’s 4 year old daughter is said to have walked into the home. The woman has been identified by police as Diana Palin, the half sister of Todd Palin, who is the husband of 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.  The 4 year old girl told police she’d been to the house a couple of days earlier, an affidavit stated. Diana Palin, however, said she had never been there before, and mistakenly thought it was a friend’s house. Read the rest of this article »

One of the biggest flaws with the idea of gun control is that it relies upon criminals obeying the law, when we know that criminals will, by definition, ignore the law, since that is what makes them criminals.  Some recent Brady Campaign propaganda, from their president Paul Helmke, underscores this logical flaw in the gun control argument: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, two armed robbers entered Larry’s Game Room in Atascosa County, TX and began by firing a shoot into the ceiling.  The men then demanded money, while forcing a female employee to the floor and pointing a shotgun at her.  The business owner heard the robbery and emerged from a back room with his .40 caliber pistol.  He fatally shot the shotgun-toting robber in the head, at which point the other robber (who had a pistol) fled. Read the rest of this article »

Back in January, 42 year old Ronnie Kindred, a man from the upscale suburb of Hoffman Estates, IL failed to make payments on his Cadillac or his Isuzu SUV.  Eventually a repossession team was sent to take back the vehicles.  The repo team recovered one vehicle, and went to the man’s door to inform him of the repossession.  No one answered the door at first, but then moments later Kindred came out of his house only to slip on the ice.  The repo employee went over to him to see if he was injured, only to have Kindred pull a gun on the employee and order him to unhook the vehicle.  Since IL bans concealed carry, the law ensured that only Kindred was armed, and his victims were defenseless.  The employee acted as though he was going to unhook the vehicle, but hopped in his truck and escaped.  Kindred fired 5 or 6 shots at the escaping repo team.  For threatening the lives of the repo team, and opening fire on them, Kindred received only 30 days in jail for this felony conviction (and will likely serve only 15 days, since Illinois does day-for-day good time). Read the rest of this article »

As reported, 20 year old Patrick Finney walked into a West Akron, Ohio pizza shop, brandishing a shotgun.  Finney demanded money while threatening the lives of those present.  Luckily, an employee was armed, and was able to shoot Finney in self defense.  Finney ran from the store, but collapsed down the stree and died.  None of the victims were harmed. Read the rest of this article »

I’ve previously discussed guns and children, and how studies show that children who are taught to shoot under adult supervision are less likely to misuse guns than children who are not taught to shoot.  Similarly, I’ve mentioned the benefits having a gun for home defense, since home invading criminals can do terrible things to children when the parents are unarmed, and since 911 cannot be relied upon to save one’s family in time.  Unfortunately, anti gun myths persist.  Women of Caliber has a great pair of posts which help debunk these rather persistent anti gun myths: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, there were 3 armed robberies (and a variety of other violent crimes) in Oak Park, IL this week, in spite of the longstanding handgun ban: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, an 18 year old criminal who had already accumulated a lengthy police record entered a Miami Burger King, wearing a ski mask and black gloves.  He then threatened the lives of the employees behind the counter with a handgun, while demanding money.  A citizens with a concealed carry permit drew his pistol, and order the robber to put down his gun.  The robber refused, and opened fire on the citizen, inflicting serious but non fatal injures.  The citizen returned fire, killing the robber.  My thoughts are below: Read the rest of this article »

I’ve written a few articles about England, primarily because it is a western country that banned guns and banned self defense.  The result is that gun related crime and knife related crime skyrocketed, as criminals continued to possess weapons and use them against now-defenseless victims.  I was under the impression that this increase in crime was caused by a variety of societal factors, combined with the disarming of future crime victims, however it turns out that the true culprit is the iPhone: Read the rest of this article »