LearnAboutGuns.com 

In an approximately 12 hour time frame, 5 people were reportedly shot to death in the city of Chicago, despite the longstanding handgun ban: Read the rest of this article »

Although anti gun rights laws are often associated with Democratic or liberal politicians, the idea of gun rights actually fit in with liberal values. Read the rest of this article »

The village of Oak Park, IL is one of only a few municipalities in the United States which still has a ban on the ownership of handguns for self defense, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in D.C. v Heller.  In spite of the decades long handgun ban, there are weekly (and sometimes daily) armed robberies in Oak Park, along with the occasional shooting.  Oak Park is also short on cash, but has decided to become embroiled in a lengthy and expensive legal battle to keep the pointless handgun ban, rather than to use common sense.  Since money is limited, Oak Park is cutting police protection to save money, while violent crime against Oak Park residents continues: Read the rest of this article »

Two suspects, one armed with a shotgun, reportedly kicked in the door of a Blue Mound home around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday and confronted a woman inside, according to police. The woman (Kellie Hoehn) and her husband (Keith Hoehn) managed to fight off the home invaders, disarm them, and shoot them with their own shotgun. One home invader, Dakota Benoit, 21, collapsed in the street and died at the scene, according to police.  The other suspect, John Pierson, 25, allegedly ran away on foot.  The couples children were not harmed. Read the rest of this article »

As reported, the number of concealed carry permit holders in Washington state is up 43% between 2003 and 2007, with more than a quarter million residents now carrying.  Despite the dire warnings issued by the anti gun rights lobby, Washington has not turned into a shooting gallery were people trade gunfire over parking spots:  Read the rest of this article »

When discussing gun ownership rights and laws, I’ve heard some people argue in favor of magazine capacity restrictions, features of ordinary firearms, and limits on the number of guns one can own, (incorrectly) asserting that such restrictions won’t harm law abiding citizens.  I’ve previously discussed, from a technical standpoint, why such restrictions would not affect criminals, and would leave law abiding citizens confused about the law, and with guns that are less safe and less suitable for self defense.  This article, however, addresses the deeper problem with arbitrarily restricting gun rights on the basis that a citizen doesn’t “need” a particular magazine capacity, feature, or quantity of guns. Read the rest of this article »

This is the audio from an actual 911 call made by a woman whose stalker broke into her home.  She called 911 and locked herself in her bedroom - with her handgun.  Incredibly, the 911 operator tells her “not to do anything too rash” to the stalker who just broke into her home and is approaching her!  After he attacks her physically and she repeatedly cries for the attacker to stop, she fatally shoots him in self defense. Minutes later, the police arrive.  Multiple police reports and calls to 911 didn’t stop this woman’s attacker, but 3 bullets from her handgun saved her life.  This is why I support gun rights.

Watch the video here.

The firearms related syndication website FirearmsBlogs.com was started earlier this week.  It features content from a variety of pro gun rights blogs - including LearnAboutGuns.com.  As of the time I wrote this post, the included pro gun websites were:

• AKeyboardAndA.45
• ArmedAndSafe
• ArmsAndTheLaw.com
• Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog
• GunDebateCritic
• GunPundit.com
• JunkGun.com
• LearnAboutGuns.com
• ResistanceIsFutile!
• Rustmeister’sAlehouse
• SayUncle.com
• SharpAsAMarble
• SnowflakesInHell
• TheBredaFallacy
• TheRealGunGuys.com
• TheWarOnGuns.com

As Fox News reports, an 85 year old woman from Point Mariod, PA was at home when a burglar broke in to her home at about 3pm.  Leda Smith went to her bedroom, got her handgun, and held the 17 year old male intruder at gunpoint.  She then made him pick up the phone and call the police, who arrived and arrested him. Read the rest of this article »

In a community newspaper, Maryland State Senator Ulysses Currie called the Supreme Court “blind to [the] consequences” of the recent District of Columbia. v. Heller decision, in which gun ownership for self defense was determined to be an individual right, independent of militia service.  Senator Currie, who is not an attorney himself, starts out by criticizing the legal rulings of our country’s highest court.  He then proceeds to suggest that the Second Amendment should be ignored by courts and legislatures, since the constitution was written over 200 years ago.  Finally, Senator Ulysses Currie make the unfounded argument that allowing law abiding citizens to have firearms in their homes for self defense against the law-breaking criminals will result in more violence.  I address each of these erroneous contentions below: Read the rest of this article »

As I’ve previously mentioned, crime in England has skyrocketed since their passage of strict gun control laws.  The criminals still shoot innocent citizens, and gun smugglers bring illegal guns into the UK just as illegal drugs are imported.  The criminals who are willing to commit violent crimes such as murder are just as willing to violate a relatively minor gun control law.  Tired of seeing law abiding citizens at the mercy of criminals, Graham Showell decided to do something: Read the rest of this article »

Some residents of Morton Grove, which recently repealed its handgun ban, are now calling for gun registration requirements.  I’ve also heard other people tout gun registration as some sort of cure to the actions of criminals.  Allow me to explain why gun registration bears no relationship to crime prevention, and is instead a wrongful infringement of the 2nd Amendment individual right to keep and bear arms for self defense: Read the rest of this article »

This satirical video clip has the solution for preventing murder, armed robbery, rape, home invasions, school shootings, racist attackers, and psychopathic killers.  Personally, I’ll stick with having a shotgun for home defense. Read the rest of this article »

As the Chicago Tribune reports, the city of Evanston, Illinois has repealed its handgun ban.  Evanston is now the 3rd suburb of Chicago to repeal its handgun ban, following Wilmette and Morton Grove.  Only Oak Park, IL and Chicago, IL still have handgun bans, and the NRA’s lawsuits will hopefully soon cause those unconstitutional bans to be struck down.

This video clip includes an interview with a woman whose suffered an attempted home invasion, which was caught on tape.  The home invaders wore gloves to avoid leaving behind finger prints, and cut the phone line to prevent the home owner or the security system from calling the police. Read the rest of this article »

As the Wednesday Journal reports, there were 5 armed robberies in Oak Park during the last week.  3 of the armed robbers used firearms, while 2 used knives: Read the rest of this article »

I was reviewing the search engine statistics for this website, and found that there were quite a few people searching for “What is Gun Control”?  I, and many readers of this website are quite familiar with gun control, however I thought an introduction to gun control might be helpful for some people: Read the rest of this article »

In this video clip, ABC’s 20/20 discusses the myth that gun control laws reduce crime. Instead, of showing a reduction in crime, John Stossel finds that gun control leads to an increase in crime, prevents law abiding citizens from defending themselves, doesn’t deter criminals, harms the weaker members of society, and paves the way for school shootings.  It is refreshing to see a major news outlet reporting these facts in a unbiased manner. Read the rest of this article »

A good percentage of crime consists of criminals victimizing other criminals, often over drugs, money, or gang turf.  However, criminals will often break into the wrong house, or attack the wrong person, after mistaking them for someone else.  Self defense in this situation is yet another reason to own a gun: Read the rest of this article »

As CNN reports, Houston police said three or four people broke into a home in the 10000 block of Foy Lane. The suspects were armed with guns, and at some point in the robbery they shot the home owner, who then managed to get a gun and return fire.  One home invader was killed and another was injured.  The home owner is expected to recover from his injuries. Read the rest of this article »

Americans use a gun in self defense once every 13 seconds: 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 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 »

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 »

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 »

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 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 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 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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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

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 »

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 »

To those whose lives have been hurt by a criminal’s use of a gun, Read the rest of this article »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

“There will be no more gun clubs on City of Toronto property and there will be no new gun clubs in the City of Toronto ever,” said Toronto Mayor David Miler. Read the rest of this article »

The pros and cons of pistol caliber carbines, which are rifles that have a relatively short barrel and are chambered for pistol cartridges, are discussed below: Read the rest of this article »

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 »

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 »

I have noticed that some people, mainly who don’t own guns, equate gun ownership with violence. Nothing could be further from the truth: Read the rest of this article »

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 »

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.

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.

Many gun control advocates argue that we need handgun bans in order to prevent crime. Empirical evidence collected from cities that have handgun bans (such as Chicago and D.C.) flatly disprove that idea. It appears that a hand ban, rather than a handgun ban, might better prevent crime. Allow me to explain: Read the rest of this article »