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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 »

The Washington State Patrol says six people are dead and two are wounded after a shooting rampage. Police said the suspect is known for having mental health issues and that he was on a Mount Vernon watch list. Police said they believe the suspect is responsible for all eight shootings. Read the rest of this article »

The village of Oak Park, IL has had a handgun ban for almost as long as this author has been alive. Despite this ban, under which citizens have been prosecuted for defending themselves against criminals, criminals continue to commit armed robberies just about every week.  This last week was no exception: Read the rest of this article »

When debating gun rights, I’ve had people suggest that the NRA is some evil organization whose goal is to profit from the shooting of innocent people.  This is flatly untrue hyperbole.  As discussed below, the NRA and other such pro gun rights groups are made up of millions of law abiding citizens who have come together to defend the constitutional right to own a gun. Read the rest of this article »

Barack Obama is an ardently anti-gun politician, and voted to allow the prosecution of citizens who defended themselves with guns in their own homes.  Given that fact, it is interesting how recent news events show Obama takes his own security very seriously, at the expense of his neighbors and ordinary citizens: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a man who ran an illegal arms factory converting replica submachine guns into lethal weapons was today sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 11 years. I’m glad to see the British police have stopped a man who was intentionally helping equip gangs with automatic weapons, but this also shows that gun control laws just don’t work: 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 »

As reported, 5 people were shot in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood during a 24 hour period. All were shot with handguns, despite Chicago’s decades long, ineffective, and likely unconstitutional handgun ban. Read the rest of this article »

I noticed a truly disturbing article in the news today, involving a Canadian whose home was invaded. This citizen shot and killed one of the armed home invaders, who had broken in and held him captive at gunpoint. He is now being charged with manslaughter for defending himself within his own home: 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.

I recently debated the issue of gun rights with a relative of mine who is decidedly anti gun.  She has never fired a gun, and has no desire to do so.  She is afraid of guns in and of themselves, rather than being concerned about the actions of criminals.  I though I would post a particularly salient portion of the discussion, as I can best remember it: Read the rest of this article »

Gary Reed has written a great article addressing the use of terms such as “assault weapon” and “Saturday night special.”  Here is one of the more humerus quotes:

“Hometown Herald - A pair of assault thugs stole a Ford Saturday Night Special Crew Cab and drove it through the front door of the Saturday Nyte Special 99 Cent Store. They attacked the ATM with an assault crowbar, but the shop owner drove them off with a small self-defense assaultin’ pepperbox revolver.”

As reported, the armed robberies in Oak Park, Illinois are increasing, despite the more than 20-year-old handgun ban: Read the rest of this article »

As reported, a 37-year-old Cleveland, Ohio woman was shot in the pelvis inside her home Monday night when a Highland Hills officer’s gun was unintentionally discharged.  The injured woman, Richetta Ballou of East 73rd Street, was flown by helicopter to Huron Hospital, where she underwent surgery. Charles Golsten, 24, was reportedly attempting to adjust an off-duty holster holding a .22 caliber gun when it was fired. Read the rest of this article »

This video clip is one of the most compelling personal accounts about guns and self defense that I have ever seen. Texas state representative Dr. Suzanna Gratia-Hupp’s parents were killed by an insane gunman while her gun was out in the car - left there because of the laws restricting concealed carry at that time. She gives some very moving and bold testimony about the REAL purpose of the Second Amendment: Self defense, and how the gun control laws only served to leave her family defenseless.
Read the rest of this article »

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 »

A short but truly “priceless” video clip about self defense: 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 »

As the Chicago Tribune reported, a boy in Oak Park was robbed of his shoes, gym bag, cash, and iPod by a bicycle riding criminal at 12 Madison St, Oak Park, Illinois.  The gunman rode up on a bicycle and displayed a black pistol, before relieving the teenager of his properly, valued at about $500. 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 »

Below is a rather interesting scholarly journal article, written by psychiatrist Sarah Thompson, MD. In the article, Dr. Thompson addresses hoplophobia, the mental disorder which describes irrational fear of guns, and the mentality surrounding this issue.  It is an interesting read: Read the rest of this article »

In this video clip, the Brady Campaign is shown spreading misinformation about Florida’s “stand your ground law” which allows law abiding citizens to defend themselves against life threatening attack by criminals. Read the rest of this article »

The bike by shootings reportedly happened about 11:30 p.m. at the intersection of North Avenue and Karlov Avenue, in the Humbolt Park neighborhood.  A male cyclist rode by, opening fire on two pedestrians, before peddling away. Read the rest of this article »

As the Wednesday Journal reports, the armed robbers in Oak Park have continued for another week, in spite of the 23 plus years that Oak Park has banned handguns.  More information is below: 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.

I’ve seen a tendency to blame all gun owners after one gun user is negligent, or commits a crime.  This is unfair, and counterproductive: Read the rest of this article »

This video clip discusses the history of “shall issue” concealed carry laws in the United States, and has interviews with people whose lives were saved by the right to carry a concealed firearm.  The myth that concealed carry will lead to O.K. Corral style shootouts in the streets is also demonstrated to be false. Read the rest of this article »

Randy Shannon is the head coach of the University of Miami Hurricanes, and he dislikes guns.  Because of his personal feelings on guns, he has reportedly banned his college football players from having guns, even off campus in their private homes. Read the rest of this article »

The NRA maintains a list of organizations which have opposed the right of law abiding Americans to own guns for self defense or sporting purposes.  Upon viewing the list, I was quite surprised (and disappointed) to see how extensive it was.  The full list is shown below: Read the rest of this article »

As Press Democrat reports, depressed Iraq war veteran Corporal Matthew Jensen called 911 for help.  The police arrived and eventually took him to the Veteran’s Administration for treatment.  However, the officers discovered a deactivated 1940’s-era SKS rifle on floor, which Matthew had taken from a dead Iraqi sniper and brought back as a gift for his father.  The rifle’s firing pin and mechanism had been removed, rending it inoperable, however the California state prosecutor decided to charge Matthew with a felony violation of California’s “assault weapon” ban law: Read the rest of this article »

As the Chicago Tribune reports, Chicago’s murder rate is up 18% over the same time frame last year.  62 people were killed in the month of July alone, and there were several high profile shootings, such as the Taste of Chicago shootings or the murder of a cop with his own gun.  In the overwhelming majority of these murders, criminals used handguns, despite 20+ year long ban on handgun ownership in Chicago.  Clearly, the criminals are ignoring the handgun ban. Read the rest of this article »

As the Wednesday Journal reports, Oak Park, IL police are investigating a rape attempt. The woman was in the rear of her property on the 1000 block on North Austin Blvd., around 8:30 p.m., Aug. 5, 2008, when a man grabbed her by her arm and by her throat. The attacker then attempted to remove her pants.The woman fought back, kneeing her attacker and stomping on his foot, causing him to cease the attack and escape eastbound on Augusta Boulevard. Read the rest of this article »

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 »

This video clip discusses how almost overnight, the citizens of Brittan lost their gun rights after 2 high profile shootings.  Collectors with guns that were hundreds of years old and worth thousands of dollars were forced to turn in their firearms for destruction.  Olympic target shooters were forced to travel to another country to practice their sport.  Still others had to hand over firearms given to them by long-since-dead parents, to have the barrels and receivers chopped apart.  This is a warning what can happen when the law abiding gun owners of a country sit idly by as their gun rights and heritage is legislated away in a very brief period of time… And making matters worse, the gun control laws only led to a thriving black market for guns, defenseless law abiding citizens, and preventable murders. 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 »

After Hurricane Katrina, various police agencies in Louisiana wrongfully and unlawfully confiscated the firearms of law abiding citizens, leaving them at the mercy of criminals who took advantage of the hurricane to commit crimes.  This video consists of interviews with several law abiding victims of firearms confiscation, including a woman who was thrown to the ground and punched by police. 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 »

As the Times Online reports, a British based gun smuggling ring was busted, and its leaders were sentenced to long prison terms.  The operation was reportedly run by Madasser Ali, Agnius Malcevas, and his brother Edgaras Malcevas.   Although this is being heralded as a victory in the war against “gun crime,” it should instead be seen as sobering proof that gun control just won’t work.  Allow me to explain: Read the rest of this article »

As the Chicago Tribune reports, a committee of the Chicago City Council is considering a proposal to create an online database of gun offenders, complete with photographs and interactive maps.  If approved, anyone convicted of a felony gun offense after the ordinance’s effective date would have to register with the city as a gun offender. Offenders would have to register within 48 hours of conviction or, if sent to jail or prison, their release from the institution. Conviction for failure to register could result in a 6-month jail sentence and $500 fine.  Allow me to explain the problems with this firearms offender registry plan: 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 Wednesday Journal reports, Oak Park, IL is short on cash due to decreased revenue, which is blamed on the faltering economy.  Despite the $1,368,100 budgetary shortfall, Oak Park will still spend taxpayer money defending their (likely unconstitutional) handgun ban. Read the rest of this article »

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 »