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Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
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1. Help still needed at VCDL booth at Bristol gun show!
2. Trouble getting temporary permits from your locality? Here’s a trick
3. A member’s thoughts on the new push for gun control
4. Who needs a gun at UVA?
5. Virginia gun transactions set record in 2013
6. Your rights when interacting with a police officer
7. Goodyear Tire Store: Nationwide policy banning concealed carry
8. Gun groups wary of Obama's new firearms initiative: 'Devil's in the details'
9. [MD] Intruder attacks pregnant woman with tiki torch
10. Gun poll: 7 in 10 feel safer in an armed neighborhood
11. Quinnipiac study: Concealed carry results in fewer murders
12. 90% of shooting rampages could be stopped by quick-thinking civilians
13. Gringo Guns [VIDEO]
14. Law officer deaths in 2013 fall to lowest in 54 years
15. [CA] Oakdale family knew the drill to defend against intruder
16. [NY] Hypocrisy: Bloomberg taking his police security detail with him
17. [TX] Manager Shoots at 5 Armed Robbers Police Arrive 74 Minutes Later [VIDEO]
18. [PA] 'Gun Sense' group to DA: File charges in shooting of infant
19. [MA] Boston Mayor-Elect Martin Walsh opposes AR-15s for police arsenal
20. [CT] Manchester CT Mass Shooting [VIDEO]
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1. Help still needed at VCDL booth at Bristol gun show!
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We still need helpers for this weekend’s gun show in Bristol! If you live out that way, please step up to he plate and help us out.
K & R GUN SHOW, Saturday and Sunday, February 8 and 9
HOIDAY INN; EXIT 7 I-81
3005 LINDEN DR
BRISTOL VA 24202
Help needed during these time frames:
SAT: 9 AM--5 PM
SUN: 10 AM--4 PM
If you can help, please contact Al Steed Jr. at: al@vcdl.org
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2. Trouble getting temporary permits from your locality? Here’s a trick
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Attorney Dan Hawes sent me this note when I reported on Orange County not issuing a temporary CHP when the 45 days for processing a CHP have passed (Orange County has since cooperated and is now issuing the temporary permits in a timely manner):
“This is why I tell people to make duplicate originals of their applications and walk the applications in to be filed in person, with the duplicate file-stamped. That way, when the clerk takes too long and won't issue the temporary, the file-stamped duplicate original is proof that the bearer is entitled to carry, although I tell them to actually carry a photocopy of it and keep the original safe for evidentiary purposes if needed.”
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3. A member’s thoughts on the new push for gun control
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After the farce of a “forum” on guns and mental health held in Charlottesville back in December, member Connie Stevens wrote this well-thought-out evaluation of the forum and its implications going forward:
A New Push for Gun Control In Virginia
Introduction
On Dec. 2, 2013 a gun control forum was held at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. There were about 50 people in attendance and the forum was presented by eight panelists (including VA Lt. Gov.-Elect Northam who came later) from the ‘Consortium for Risk-Based Firearm Policy’.
The Report and Who’s Behind It
A 46 page report, “Guns, Public Health, and Mental Illness: An Evidence-Based Approach for State Policy” was distributed to the attendees – and along with a PowerPoint presentation - formed the basis of the forum. The report was labeled as coming from ‘The Consortium for Risk-Based Firearm Policy’. There was no other authorship denoted on the hardcopy report, no organization website, and no physical mailing address. Nowhere on the report was there an indication where the online publication could be found. There were two printed instructions, “For more information please contact: firearmconsortium@gmail.com”, a Gmail account – anonymous, ubiquitous, easily obtained by anyone online. Not something a professional organization would likely adopt – unless they wanted to hide who they were. Now why would they want to do that?
Nowhere in the hardcopy report is there any information on who makes up the Consortium for Risk-Based Firearm Policy. There are a couple vague statements – “The Consortium for Risk-Based Firearm Policy includes the nation’s leading researchers, practitioners, and advocates in gun violence prevention and mental health.” A Google Search online brings up NO information for ‘Consortium for Risk-Based Firearm Policy’ as any kind of organization or entity. This begs the questions: Who are they? Where do they get their funding? However the Google Search does provide a link where to download the PDF report, and that link is:
http://www.efsgv.org/wp-content/uploads ... -State.pdf .
If the Consortium of Risk-Based Firearm Policy does not identify itself further, luckily for curious people, other online sources do identify them. This article lets the cat out of the bag -
http://tinyurl.com/kowekr3
The Consortium is comprised of faculty of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Michael Bloomberg hosted a big Gun Policy Summit there this past January
http://www.jhsph.edu/events/gun-policy- ... eo-archive
That’s right – Michael Bloomberg, NYC Mayor and billionaire gun control proponent. The same Bloomberg who pushed the failed federal gun bills earlier this year. The same Bloomberg who poured millions into the Colorado recall elections in a failed attempt to protect the politicians facing the wrath of citizens unhappy with the recent gun controls enacted in that state.
The same Bloomberg who started and funded the discredited ‘Mayors Against Illegal Guns’. The same mayor from NY State who conducted his illegal, out-of-state sting operations against gun dealers in Virginia. The same Bloomberg who Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli told to stop his illegal activities in our state. The same Bloomberg who Virginia once before had to be told, “Butt out; leave Virginia alone!”
We Virginians got rid of Bloomberg and his gun control policies once before. We need to do so once again.
So what is Bloomberg’s gun control push trying to accomplish this time in Virginia? The forum proposes drastic, new, and far-reaching policies to revoke gun rights for large classes of Virginian citizens and on the flimsiest of excuses.
Highlights from the Report
Pg. 31 calls for universal background check on ALL private gun sales – even between family members.
Pg. 19 calls for individuals who have been convicted of a SINGLE violent MISDEMEANOR be prohibited from buying or owning guns for at least TEN YEARS.
Pg. 21 calls for individuals who have been convicted of two DUIs - or of two MISDEMEANOR crimes involving controlled substances - in a five-period year to lose their gun rights for AT LEAST FIVE YEARS.
Pg. 14 allows for a judge to balance an individual’s 2nd Amendment Rights against public safety. So even if the individual has met all the specified required criteria for restoration of his gun rights, a judge still has the option to arbitrarily void that Constitutional Right. And that is a big loss of liberty to all Virginians if a judge can invalidate Constitutional Rights.
The report extensively details how and under what criteria gun rights can be removed, but is vague and nebulous on how those rights can be restored. Once an individual’s rights have been removed on any pretence there is no certainty of getting them back.
Pg. 8 Perhaps the most chilling proposal is whereby a police officer solely on the basis of his own judgment can take away a person’s guns – without first obtaining a warrant or at least having first arrested the individual for even a misdemeanor crime!
Pg. 35 Seizure of guns may not just apply to individuals but also to other adults residing in the same house; they may have their guns seized and they themselves not be permitted to buy additional guns.
Pg. 35 ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws may need to be revoked because of their impact on the mentally ill. What the heck does that even mean?
The report describes all the mental health issues and reasons why individuals should lose their gun rights. One thing is for certain: This report is creating more reasons why someone would not want to seek medical help: if these policies were enacted they would now be all the more likely to lose their fundamental rights in the process.
And those are just a few of the recommendations for changes in Virginia state policy. Once again you can read the report for yourself here: http://www.efsgv.org/wp-content/uploads ... -State.pdf
Overall Tone of the Forum
The overall tone of forum - as well of the report - is one of repetitiveness and banality – and depicts guns in only a negative light. Yes, they are a part of our culture, but an evil part and one which should be minimized until they can be gotten rid of entirely.
Lt. Gov.-Elect Northam in particular of the panelists barely concealed his contempt of gun owners. After relating some anecdotes he intoned if these stories don’t touch your heart, he didn’t know what was wrong with you. (The strong implication was if you weren’t for gun control you’re inhuman.) Another time during his presentation he used an example of some men who chastised him for wanting to take away people’s gun rights – as not having open minds. (Once again the implication was gun rights supporters are closed minded.)
At no time during the forum – and nowhere in the report – are guns or gun ownership presented in a positive light. Hunting is presented in a very passing manner, and certainly in no way affirmative. There is no mention made of the many sporting purposes of firearms or of competitive shooting or of youth shooting programs. Even more strange, the defensive purposes of gun ownership are completely ignored especially in regard for women¸ for whom possession of a handgun is very useful for protection against bigger and stronger male assailants.
Absurdity of Forum’s Premise
‘Risk-Based Firearm Policy’ is the new code-speak for ‘gun control’. It’s a fancier name but still the same old odious endeavor. Consider the gun controller’s premise – that gun rights, alone of all the other Amendments in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, are somehow ‘bad’ and therefore it is incumbent on the government to repress and restrict these rights; willfully denying these rights were enacted to protect We The People against a tyrannical government in the first place!
Imagine if we had ‘Risk-Based Freedom of Speech Policy’? Or ‘Risk-Based Right of Assembly Policy’? Or what if we Americans had ‘Risk-Based Trial by Jury Policy’? You get the idea. They are ludicrous and make a mockery of the principles this country was founded on.
What Can We Do?
What can we Virginians do to stop this? First of all get mad: get good and angry that outsider Bloomberg is meddling in our state affairs once again. Get mad that these so-called experts are seeking to take away your fundamental liberties – one bit at a time. Get informed and get involved. Contact your elected officials and let them know exactly how you feel and remind them they work for you and you hold the power at the ballot box. Contribute to state and national gun rights organizations.
But most of all we need to band together to let Bloomberg and other gun grabbers know our inalienable rights are not for their taking.
We are Virginians and we cherish our liberty and freedom.
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4. Who needs a gun at UVA?
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Member Ed Martin emailed me this announcement from the University of Virginia Police subsequent to a report of sexual assault:
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From Virginia.edu: http://tinyurl.com/oomfy7r
January 2, 2014
To the University community:
The University of Virginia Police Department is investigating a report of a sexual assault that occurred in the 1200 block of Jefferson Park Avenue on Jan. 1 at approximately 8:51 p.m. The victim, a Charlottesville resident, described the suspect as a light-skinned black male with a mustache.
While you can never completely protect yourself from sexual assault, there are some things that you can do to help reduce your risk of being assaulted. Please take a moment to review these key safety reminders:
Be aware of your surroundings. Awareness of where you are
and who is around you may help you out of a bad situation.
Do not let a cell phone conversation or listening to music
distract you when walking alone, especially at night. Keep
your attention focused on your surroundings.
If you are on Grounds and need help, pick up one of the blue-
light telephones. You automatically will be connected to
University Police.
Avoid isolated areas and walking alone at night when possible.
Use the University Transit Service, SafeRide and other resources.
When walking, scan the area around you for potential dangers.
Trust your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, get to
a safe place and alert police.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence,
remember that it's not your fault and you are not alone.
Help is available.
Survivors of sexual assault should take advantage of the resources available, or encourage their use. Sources of support include the Office of the Dean of Students, the Women's Center, Counseling and Psychological Services in Student Health, the Sexual Assault Resource Agency, and the Victim and Witness Assistance Programs. Students wishing to pursue charges through the University can do so through the Sexual Misconduct Board.
For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students by phone at 924-7133 or by visiting these websites: www.virginia.edu/sexualviolence or www.virginia.edu/uvapolice.
Please take all necessary steps to protect yourself and each other -- and know that you should never hesitate to call 911. [PVC: "Please take all necessary steps to protect yourself.” So, does that include the lawful carry of a concealed handgun by those 21 and older, Chief?]
Michael Gibson, Chief of University Police
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5. Virginia gun transactions set record in 2013
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Member Walter Jackson emailed me this:
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From TimesDispatch.com: http://tinyurl.com/mk3ybed
Virginia gun transactions set record in 2013
By Mark Bowes
January 3, 2014
As expected, Virginia gun sales set a new high in 2013 with nearly 480,000 transactions statewide, breaking the previous record set just a year ago.
Gun transactions in Virginia totaled 479,243 for the year, a 10.8 percent increase over the previous record of 432,387 transactions in 2012, according to Virginia State Police figures of mandatory criminal-background checks of gun buyers released today.
State police said 2013 represents the highest yearly volume of firearm transactions since the inception of Virginia's background check program that began Nov. 1, 1989.
Gun sales exploded during the first four months of 2013, with month-over-month increases of 115.8 percent, 38.5 percent, 41 percent and 28.4 percent for January, February, March and April, respectively, police said.
Gun sales on Black Friday also set a new record, but overall sales in November and December dipped from 2012 sales for those months, records show.
In December, Virginia Commonwealth University assistant professor Thomas R. Baker, who specializes in criminology theory and has an interest in firearm-related issues, said it will be interesting to see if concerns about gun control have subsided after the defeat of national gun legislation proposed last year, and if that "will lead to smaller increases of annual gun sales in years to come."
Gun dealers have cited President Barack Obama's re-election in 2012 and the fears of increased gun restrictions after the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut as the driving forces behind the leap in gun sales.
Baker suggested another gun buying rush could occur in Virginia if Gov.-elect Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat who favors increased gun restrictions, proposes any state-level gun legislation this year.
"We could see another surge in sales similar to those in response to fears about national gun control legislation," Baker said.
Exact sales of firearms in Virginia are neither reported or recorded, but the background check records provide a rough estimate of firearms sold.
There is not a one-to-one correlation between background checks and the number of guns sold because some customers buy multiple firearms. Also, about 1 percent of the background checks in Virginia typically result in people being denied permission to buy a weapon.
The background check figures also do not reflect activity between private parties, such as family members or collectors at gun shows, because federal and Virginia laws require background checks only for sales from commercial dealers with a federal firearms license.
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6. Your rights when interacting with a police officer
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As part of the story below, see http://tinyurl.com/mw8rg56 for the infographic. This is "must see!”
From TheBlaze.com: http://tinyurl.com/mw8rg56
Here are the rights you have when interacting with a police officer in one detailed infographic
By Jason Howerton
January 2, 2014
Constitutional rights aren't all that effective if you don't know what they are. A new infographic released by Online-Paralegal-Programs.com seeks to help Americans understand what rights they do and don't have when interacting with an officer of the law.
The infographic is surprisingly detailed and includes information on filming a police encounter, DUI stops and requirements to show ID -- which actually varies state to state.
Explore all the rights you have during a police encounter:
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7. Goodyear Tire Store: Nationwide policy banning concealed carry
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Member Dean Strong wrote to let us know that his family is looking out for our Second Amendment rights.
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Just wanted to pass this on to you and our fellow members.
Goodyear Tire Stores have a "no concealed weapons” on premises policy posted on their doors.
This was brought to my attention by my son-in-law yesterday. He and my daughter were preparing to come from Vero Beach, Florida, to Catawba, Virginia, just before Christmas. They needed tires on their car to make the trip. They sat in the waiting area while the mechanics were putting them on the car. Just as they were going to the counter to pay their bill, they saw a small sign on the front glass stating "No concealed weapons on premises.”
When my son-in-law confronted the salesman, he was told that he was the first person to ever complain about it!! When asked if it was just their store policy, he was told that they wasn't sure. My daughter then told the salesman that, had they seen the sign beforehand, they would have never purchased the tires from the store.
Their reply to that... "Why? Why would that matter?" My daughter replied "You're infringing on our right to protect ourselves on your property." The salesman just stared at them not knowing how to reply! Upon arriving home they called the Goodyear home office in Akron, Ohio. Upon speaking with customer service, they were informed that it wasn't just a local policy in Vero Beach, Florida. It is nationwide in all their stores across the USA!!!!
We need to stay on the bandwagon and boycott Goodyear.
Dean Strong
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8. Gun groups wary of Obama's new firearms initiative: 'Devil's in the details'
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From NewsMax.com: http://tinyurl.com/k2yd934
Gun groups wary of Obama's new firearms initiative: 'Devil's in the details'
By Todd Beamon
January 3, 2014
Gun-rights advocates responded broadly to President Obama's measures aimed at keeping firearms away from the mentally ill, with many conveying a general mistrust of the administration on gun issues and cautioning that "the devil's in the details" of the newest proposals.
"Nobody, including gun owners, wants anyone with a severe mental illness to be able to get a gun," Dave Dalton, founder of the American Gun Owners Alliance, told Newsmax. "And all the shootings we've seen over the last year have been by someone who has been mentally unstable.
"But the fact of the matter is, they're addressing something in a way that makes gun owners nervous -- and the devil's going to be in the details."
"We really have a problem with what they're doing and the way they're doing it," said Jeff Knox, director of the Firearms Coalition. "Congress has looked at this issue and has rejected action on this issue.
"When Congress looks at something and says 'no', that's not traditionally a green light for the White House to go and do it on their own.
"That's an overreach on the part of the executive -- and if we had a Congress and a system that was functioning properly, they would slap him down for this and they would refuse to allow this to happen," Knox said.
Under the measures announced by the White House, the Justice Department will propose changes to the federal background check system to clarify who under U.S. law is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of mental health problems.
The Department of Health and Human Services also will propose a regulation aimed at making it easier for states to submit information about the mentally ill to the federal system, without blocking all people who seek mental health treatment from owning guns.
"The administration is committed to making sure that anyone who may pose a danger to themselves or others does not have access to a gun," the White House said in a statement. "The federal background check system is the most effective way to assure that such individuals are not able to purchase a firearm from a licensed gun dealer."
Unable to win passage of gun-control legislation after mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school in December 2012, President Barack Obama said last year that he would begin using executive authority to tighten firearms regulation.
Many of the groups reached by Newsmax participated in the White House's three-day summit last January on ways to stem gun violence in wake of the Newtown shootings headed by Vice President Joe Biden. The National Rifle Association characterized the session as an attack on Second Amendment rights.
The NRA declined to comment Friday on the latest proposals -- saying that it needed time to review them -- but the other guns groups charged that the plans would adversely affect legitimate gun owners.
"There's a reason we hate the ATF," Knox said, referring to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The agency is under the Justice Department and operates the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
"They've earned our animosity. They came after us over and over again. There's a reason we can't be reasonable about gun-control laws and regulations.
"Every time they promulgate a new law or a new regulation, they try and make it sound like it's about keeping bad guys and crazy people away from guns, but the way it's enforced is always they come after us -- the regular gun owners, because we're the easy targets.
"It's really difficult to find bad guys and crazy people and catch them in the act," Knox added. "It's really easy to find me -- to comb through my files, my gun safe, my paperwork -- and find some error that I've made and hang me out to dry because of it.
"They're using these laws to attack us, not go after bad guys, and that's the big problem."
Richard Feldman, president of the Independent Firearm Owners Association, noted how the White House described the proposals as "common-sense solutions."
"If it was so common sensible, we would have done this years ago," he told Newsmax. "It may sound like common sense on the surface, but as you get down into the issue, it becomes far more difficult.
"It's really a balancing question between very substantial constitutional freedoms and the rights and responsibilities of not just the individual but of society and the mentally ill.
"I no longer give the benefit of the doubt to the government -- and that's true when it comes to gun rights," he added. "It's true when it comes to censorship. My orientation has changed a bit."
The NCIS system was bitterly attacked, with the advocates saying that it lacked critical information on the mentally ill because Justice had not provided the states the money to report it.
In 2007, Congress approved legislation providing Justice with $30.1 million to give to the states. So far, only about 5.3 percent of that has been paid out.
In fact, the paltry funding was derided by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns after the 2011 shootings in Tucson, Ariz. Six people died in the shooting and 13 others were wounded, including Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
"You've got executive orders coming out to address a problem, when a law that was passed seven years ago hasn't even been funded yet," Dalton, of the American Gun Owners Alliance, told Newsmax. "If that law had been fully funded in 2008, would we have had the kind of problems with mental health shooters today?
"We don't know, but it sure as heck may have stopped a few of them.
"Instead of funding something that everybody agreed on, we're going to tack more executive orders on top of it. That's the kind of stuff that aggravates gun owners."
In addition, Justice would also clarify the legal term "committed to a mental institution" to include patients who have been committed by a court to both inpatient and outpatient facilities.
That proposal, the gun groups charge, could strip someone of their right to bear arms for the rest of their lives based upon a singular crisis that might have occurred early in someone's past.
"A lot of people go through crisis in their lives -- and some people go through extreme measures," Dalton said. "If you have one problem in your life, and you learn to deal with it, and you get over it, should that mean that your Second Amendment right is stripped from you forever? That's what gun owners are afraid of.
"The one thing gun owners are going to want to see in these regulations is there a way that you can apply to get yourself off the list?" he asked. "It's these open-ended executive orders that just aggravate gun owners and gun-rights advocates.
"You can't crucify somebody for their whole life for something they did one time because of special circumstances."
The new regulations have to be clear here to be effective, Cedric Alexander, police chief of DeKalb County, Ga., told Newsmax.
In August, Michael Brandon Hill, 20, opened fire at an elementary school in the county outside Atlanta with an AK-47 before being talked into surrendering his weapon by a school bookkeeper. None of the 800 students was injured.
Hill admitted to being off his medication for a mental disorder.
"Defining that to a very fine point is going to be very difficult," said Alexander, who has worked with Feldman's organization on gun issues. "Just because someone has a mental health issue -- maybe they've had one that's longstanding -- and they are managing it well, you still have to separate those folks out from those who have a history of doing real harm to themselves or others.
"It's a step in the right direction," he said of the White House proposals. "It opens up further discussion, but it's not going to be an exact science -- because people are more complicated than that.”
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9. [MD] Intruder attacks pregnant woman with tiki torch
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Why would a pregnant woman need a gun?
Member David Custer emailed me this:
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Thankfully the male victim was able to defend the pregnant victim. Hopefully no harm to the baby.
From NBCWashington.com: http://tinyurl.com/ojt25ne
Intruder attacks pregnant woman with tiki torch
By Mila Mimica
January 3, 2014
A 7-month pregnant woman managed to defend herself from an intruder Wednesday afternoon.
Crews responded to the 8300 block of Flower Avenue in Takoma Park around 12:30 p.m. for a stabbing.
According to police, 46-year-old Katherlan Johnson knocked on the door of a home and when no one answered, she pushed in an air conditioning unit to get inside.
A pregnant woman from inside the home then confronted her, and the two got into an altercation. At one point, police say Johnson took a broken tiki torch and struck the pregnant woman's stomach with it. A male resident of the home came out and defended the pregnant woman. He was then stabbed by Johnson with an unknown sharp object, police say.
She then fled the scene in a taxi. Police say the man's injuries were serious, but he is expected to survive.
Johnson is facing charges of burglary, assault, reckless endangerment, and malicious destruction of property.
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10. Gun poll: 7 in 10 feel safer in an armed neighborhood
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Member Mike Austin emailed me this:
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From WashingtonExaminer.com: http://tinyurl.com/oe6l9mc
Gun poll: 7 in 10 feel safer in an armed neighborhood
By Paul Bedard
January 2, 2014
An overwhelming seven in 10 Americans say they would feel safer living in a neighborhood where individuals could own a gun for self defense, the latest indication that support for comprehensive gun control is fading.
Rasmussen Reports found that 68 percent of voters polled would feel safer in an armed neighborhood. Just 23 percent said they'd feel safer in "a neighborhood where nobody was allowed to own a gun."
The poll is the latest to show shrinking support for the type of gun control President Obama and Senate Democrats sought after the December 2012 slayings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The president has put gun control on his 2014 agenda, but few in Washington expect action.
Here's why: Support for gun control peaked at 52 percent during the president's push last February for new rules. But support has now dipped to 47 percent in the Rasmussen Poll.
And the public is split over the need for tougher anti-gun laws, with 47 percent supporting and 46 percent opposing.
On specific weapons, however, the public appears challenged. For example, 59 percent support a ban on semiautomatic weapons like the AR-15, but that number has remained consistent over the past year. Support for a handgun ban has increased from 10 percent in February 2013 to 18 percent today, said Rasmussen.
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11. Quinnipiac study: Concealed carry results in fewer murders
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Member Clayton Rhoades emailed me this:
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From TruthRevolt.com: http://tinyurl.com/m7stqnd
Quinnipiac study: Concealed carry results in fewer murders
By Bradford Thomas
January 3, 2014
In what will certainly be gun control advocates' new least favorite study, Quinnipiac University's Mark Gius found not only that states with restrictive concealed weapons laws had higher gun-related murder rates, but that assault weapons bans had no significant impact on murder rates at the state level.
The study by economist Mark Gius, published in Applied Economics Letters, sought to "determine the effects of state-level assault weapons bans and concealed weapons laws on state murder rates," using extensive data from a thirty-year period, 1980-2009. In the abstract for the study, Gius sums up the findings:
Using data for the period 1980 to 2009 and controlling for state and year fixed effects, the results of the present study suggest that states with restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons had higher gun-related murder rates than other states. It was also found that assault weapons bans did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level. These results suggest that restrictive concealed weapons laws may cause an increase in gun-related murders at the state level.
Gius notes that these results are consistent with previous research, specifically citing the work by John R. Lott and David B. Mustard.
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12. 90% of shooting rampages could be stopped by quick-thinking civilians
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Member Clayton Rhoades emailed me this:
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From WashingtonTimes.com: http://tinyurl.com/m3fqph8
90% of shooting rampages could be stopped by quick-thinking civilians
By David Sherfinski
January 3, 2014
Police eye new tactics, quicker response to halt shooters
Mass shootings like the ones that have occurred in recent years in Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo., have tripled in recent years, according to a study set to be published next week for the FBI.
Researchers looked at active shootings in public settings where the primary motive appeared to be mass murder and at least one victim was unrelated to the shooter, according to Yahoo News, which obtained the report.
The study, to be published next week in the "FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin," a training publication for those in the criminal justice profession, was written by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center at Texas State University.
The prevalence of such events went from about one every other month between 2000 and 2008 -- five per year -- to more than one a month between 2009 and 2012 -- almost 16 per year, the study says.
Researchers looked at 110 active shooter attacks, and found that they occur most often at businesses (40 percent) and schools (29 percent). Ninety-four percent of the shooters are male.
Yahoo also reports that in the wake of the shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook in December 2012, more and more local police departments are looking for active-shooter training courses from the federal government to deal with the situations more quickly. A past practice had been for police to contain the scene and wait for more specialized officers to get on the scene.
Almost half of the active shootings are over before additional help can arrive, the study said, and potential victims actually stopped the attacker in 17 such cases.
"This tells us that citizens and bystanders have a very real and active role in stopping these events," Terry Nichols, a former police officer and an assistance director at ALERRT, told Yahoo News. "If we can properly prepare and educate civilians, maybe we can get to where 90 percent are stopped by civilians long before the police arrive.”
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13. Gringo Guns [VIDEO]
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U.S. Department of Justice illegally supplied guns are what this video SHOULD BE calling "gringo guns." The Violence Policy Center has never worried about accuracy or truth in their positions. "The end justifies the means" is clearly their motto. Blaming American gun owners for what their government does is dishonest, but that’s VPC for you.
EM John Wilburn emailed me this:
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Have you seen this? They think the real problem is our guns going down there and nary a word about their crime and drugs coming here! They have no integrity.
YouTube - Gringo Guns
By VPCvideos
April 28, 2010
From YouTube.com: http://tinyurl.com/l4tgfym
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14. Law officer deaths in 2013 fall to lowest in 54 years
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I hope this trend continues! Many of the deaths are traffic related and a seat belt would have undoubtedly saved many officer’s lives. Why don’t all the police wear seat belts? Because some of them want to be sure they can get out of their vehicle quickly when responding to an emergency. I understand the thinking, but I believe that it is a mistake, nonetheless.
Member James Durso emailed me this:
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From USAToday.com: http://tinyurl.com/kgzsge4
Law officer deaths in 2013 fall to lowest in 54 years
By Doug Stanglin
December 30, 2013
Deaths in firearms-related incidents drop to the lowest since 1887
The number of fatalities of U.S. law enforcement officers in 2013 is the lowest in 54 years and the number dying in firearms-related incidents is the lowest since the 1800s, according to a preliminary report by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
According to the NLEOMF, 111 federal, state, local, tribal and territorial officers were killed in the line of duty nationwide in 2013. This was the fewest for the law enforcement profession since 1959 when 110 officers died. This also represents an 8 per cent drop from 2012, when 121 officers died.
[See link for graphic]
The chart from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund shows the lowest number in 54 years.
The primary cause for officer fatalities this year was traffic-related incidents, which claimed 46 lives.
Firearms-related incidents accounted for 33 deaths, a drop of one-third over 2012 and the lowest since 1887 when 27 officers were shot to death, the NLEOMF reports.
Thirty-two officers died of other causes in 2013, including 14 who suffered heart attacks while on duty.
The organization credits the decrease to safety measures installed after 2011 when fatalities soared to 169. These included an increase in the number of agencies requiring officers to wear bullet-resistant vests and the formation of the National Officer Safety and Wellness Group by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The NLEOMF is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1984.
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15. [CA] Oakdale family knew the drill to defend against intruder
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Member Dave Custer emailed me this:
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I find this part very interesting and worthy of discussion/suggestions in an alert:
"At the 911 operator's instructions and with deputies arriving, Bart relinquished his weapon. He handed it to Melissa, who had her own .40-caliber pistol in her left hand."
As you read on you'll see the bad guy broke in again after this point and one of the good guys was disarmed.
We often read/hear about putting your weapon away when the police arrive to avoid them seeing you as a bad guy and shooting you. But exactly when? In this case the police were near but not on site. Had Melissa not had her own weapon, and training, this could have ended badly.
I lean towards not holstering/putting away my firearm until I can see the police. But then the police can see me and they might already see me as a threat.
From ModBee.com: http://tinyurl.com/mw8xt63
Rural Oakdale family knew the drill when it came to defending against intruder
By Jeff Jardine
November 16, 2013
At some point in life, we all prep for an emergency. Fire drills. Nuclear fallout drills. Earthquake drills. Folks in other parts of the country drill to be ready when a tornado rolls through.
Bart and Melissa Ardis added another drill to the mix with their blended family of four children. Living in a rural area south of Oakdale, they know it can take sheriff's deputies quite a while to arrive if an intruder picks their home for a break-in after they call 911. So they created a plan that includes keeping registered handguns within reach at night. They've taught the children to hide in a safe room should trouble arise.
If this seems like overkill or paranoia to folks who detest gun ownership of any kind, consider what happened at 4 a.m. Wednesday. Three of the children were off staying with their mother. Carson, Melissa's son and Bart's stepson, had been feeling poorly and slept in their room. The home's alarm system was disabled, courtesy of the critter that got beneath the home and chewed through a wire (it has since been repaired).
Suddenly, they all heard a noise - loud enough to bring all fully awake. Bart and Melissa looked at each other to make sure one wasn't up and about. Then they grabbed their handguns. When they looked up, they saw the shadow of a man in their home. What follows is the Ardises' account of events:
Bart's 10 mm pistol has a bright light affixed. He pointed it at the intruder.
"He heard us grab our guns," Bart said. "I asked him his name and what he was doing."
The intruder, whom authorities later identified as 27-year-old Albert Anthony Liberini of Modesto, claimed he was their neighbor and needed their help. Someone had crashed a car at his place, stole his guns and was chasing him, he claimed. Ardis knows the few neighbors in the area, since most also are ranchers. Never heard of this guy. He asked the intruder how he got into the house, and said the intruder told him the back door was left open.
At gunpoint, he marched the intruder to the back door. It's locked, Bart pointed out.
"He said he locked it after he came in," Bart said. Yeah, right.
He told the man to unlock the door and step outside, where they could talk. When the intruder complied, Bart closed the door and locked the intruder out of the house as Melissa dialed 911 and 9-year-old Carson locked himself in the bathroom.
At the 911 operator's instructions and with deputies arriving, Bart relinquished his weapon. He handed it to Melissa, who had her own .40-caliber pistol in her left hand.
"He kept asking me to open the door so he could shake my hand," Bart said.
About that time, lights from the approaching sheriff's cruisers were visible through the front windows. That seemed to agitate the intruder, who suddenly broke the back-door windows and entered the house again.
Melissa fired both pistols at him, hoping to scare him off. One shot nicked his left ear.
"He was screaming at us, calling me crazy for shooting him," Melissa said. "We didn't know if he had a gun or what."
Bart retrieved his pistol from Melissa and went to find the intruder, who ran out into the back yard holding his bleeding ear. Bart noticed an open bedroom window and realized that is how the intruder had gained entry in the first place. Bart went back into the house and into the living room. He saw the intruder coming at him.
"I told him to stop - I said it over and over, and he kept on coming," Bart said.
When the intruder was about seven feet away, he lunged for Bart's gun. Bart fired, hitting him in the hip. The bullet exited, and nicked the Ardises' coffee table before a pair of jeans, among other pieces of folded laundry, stopped it. The intruder staggered toward the sofa.
"The only time I cursed was when he was going to lay down and bleed all over my couch," Melissa said. "Don't you dare bleed all over my (expletive) couch! He lay down on the floor."
Added Bart, "He became very compliant at that point."
Deputies entered the home and took control of Liberini, pinning him to the floor. Off to the hospital and, eventually, he'll go to jail.
End of incident.
What to most people would have seemed like moments of complete and utter chaos went in slow motion for the Ardises. Why? Because they are both educated and skilled in the use of firearms. They had a plan and stuck to it, right down to Carson taking refuge in the bathroom. When asked by Melissa if he was OK, Carson replied from behind the door, "I'm fine. I'm good."
"I was amazed how calm I was," Bart said. "I never got mad, never cussed."
"We were both calm," Melissa said. "We didn't know if (Liberini) had a gun or what. It never crossed my mind, getting shot. But I would have taken a bullet as long as he didn't get through me to the children."
Liberini was arrested in a Modesto public park last July for possession of drug paraphernalia, possessing a pipe bomb and for giving false names to law enforcement. This time, he'd eluded police in a car reported stolen in Modesto earlier Wednesday morning. They chased the car into Riverbank before breaking off the pursuit. Police believe that Liberini then drove into the country and broke into the Ardises' home.
Invaders, whether they're planning to burglarize, rob or take refuge from the cops, never know whether the homeowner is armed or committed to using the weapon in self-defense. Some intruders are too drugged out of their minds to care.
The intruder should consider himself fortunate. Yes, he picked a place owned by a member of a family of lifelong ranchers and hunters, who are skilled in using weapons. At the same time, because the Ardises are so capable, they are confident in their abilities to handle the guns and thus the circumstances.
Someone else might have panicked, shooting first and asking questions later. Neither of the Ardises shot to kill, they say, which they could have, considering that, by their account, the guy broke into their home three times in a matter of minutes, the third time after getting his ear pierced by a bullet.
Instead, they exercised their Second Amendment rights to bear arms and protect their home. They stuck to their plan. They defended themselves in their home, and the only person who got hurt was the one who had no business being there at all.
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16. [NY] Hypocrisy: Bloomberg taking his police security detail with him
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Board member Dale Welch emailed me this:
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From JohnRLott.blogspot.com: http://tinyurl.com/k4w9t9d
Hypocrisy: Michael Bloomberg taking his police security detail with him as he leaves the mayor's office
By John R. Lott
January 2, 2014
Bloomberg understands why someone such as himself wants armed body guards, but he has no sympathy for mere private citizens who probably face even greater risks from crime. From the New York Post:
The move means the cops will all hit the jackpot --
pocketing cushy pensions and new "six-figure salaries"
to keep serving the outgoing mayor, whose eponymous
business-media empire has made him the seventh-richest
person in America...
While Bloomberg's security detail has 17 members, not
all will be riding his gravy-train run.
The unidentified lieutenant who heads the team will
land the biggest windfall and "is getting paid a lot
more than the detectives," a source said.
The NYPD provides Bloomberg with 'round-the-clock
protection that includes a driver, bodyguard and
advance man who secures the mayor's destination
whenever the mayor is out and about...
But City Hall sources noted that in the past, ex-mayors
including Ed Koch, David Dinkins and Rudy Giuliani were
all provided taxpayer-funded NYPD bodyguards after
they left office.
In Giuliani's case, the cost ran nearly $1 million a year,
with detectives protecting the ex-mayor along with his
mother, Helen; then-estranged wife, Donna Hanover; children
Caroline and Andrew; and his then-girlfriend, Judith Nathan.
At the time, Bloomberg defended the expense, noting that
Giuliani "took a number of positions that were in the
interest of the public, some of which were very controversial,
and there are a lot of crazy people out there."…
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17. [TX] Manager Shoots at 5 Armed Robbers Police Arrive 74 Minutes Later [VIDEO]
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“When seconds count between life and death, the police are only an HOUR AND A QUARTER away.”
Member James Durso emailed me this:
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From RKBA.co: http://tinyurl.com/m2n5kxc
Dallas Store Manager Shoots at 5 Armed Robbers Police Arrive 74 Minutes Later
December 29, 2013
Dallas Store Manager Fends Off 5 Armed Robbers with .38 Revolver, Wounding One; Police Arrive 74 Minutes Later A Dallas store manager using his handgun to fend off an attempted robbery by five armed robbers. There's also audio of the 911 call from the Dallas store manager asking for police help because of the robbery. Reports indicate he asked for police to come because the armed men had tried to rob his store. The store manager shot at the men with a .38 Caliber revolver, sending the robbers scurrying away, and wounding one of them twice. But his call was misclassified because the operator did not understand he was saying in his frantic call that he had shot one of the robbers, and it took police an hour to arrive. In fact, it was so long, the manager went home and was called back by police when the did arrive. It takes a "good guy with a gun" to ward off five armed robbers
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18. [PA] 'Gun Sense' group to DA: File charges in shooting of infant
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Member David Custer emailed me this:
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Tragic situation and charges MAY be appropriate. But what about facts?
CHEERS to the DA for wanting to perform a proper investigation and determine facts before proceeding.
JEERS to [Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America] for demanding action without knowing all the facts.
How about the moms be found responsible for slander/libel right now for saying the family member is criminally negligent and awarding the family millions from the Mom's funds? Do you think they'd want all the facts then?
From LancasterOnline.com: http://tinyurl.com/oxp3h4b
'Gun Sense' group to DA: File charges in shooting of infant
By Karen Shuey
December 27, 2013
A national gun control organization is blasting local authorities for not filing charges immediately in the Christmas Eve shooting of a 2-month-old East Lampeter Township girl.
Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America on Thursday called on Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman to arrest the person in possession of the gun that shot and killed Kestyn Davis.
"Mothers across the country are heartbroken about the loss of yet another child to preventable gun violence, and we expect an adult to be held accountable for such a negligent act," the group's founder Shannon Watts said in a phone interview Friday.
Stedman said Friday afternoon he hopes that by Tuesday he can determine whether charges are appropriate. He said his decision will be based solely on the particular facts of the case and nothing else.
Police said the girl, daughter of G. Scott and Alyssa Davis, was struck by a bullet fired from a family member's gun. She was taken to Lancaster General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The child was shot just after 2 p.m. Tuesday and died of a single gunshot wound to the abdomen, according to the results of an autopsy performed Thursday morning.
Stedman said East Lampeter Township police "have not yet completed their investigation, let alone made the facts public, so any opinion as to the appropriate outcome of this case is necessarily uninformed."
Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Steven Diamantoni officially ruled the death a homicide, but cautioned that this doesn't indicate a criminal action took place.
Stedman said investigators know who fired the handgun that killed the girl, but he declined to reveal the name.
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America was founded by Watts, a mother of five, in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting one year ago. The group boasts more than 100,000 members and a chapter in every state across the country.
Watts said members of the Pennsylvania organization are shocked and devastated that charges have yet to be filed against the family member who was "criminally negligent in the way they handled a handgun."
Stedman said he will be taking a measured approach to arrive at a just and fair decision at the appropriate time.
"As I have stated, gun ownership carries serious responsibility but outside influences and interest groups cannot and will not factor in anything I do with this case," he said.
Moms Demand Action are calling on Pennsylvania lawmakers to propose and pass laws that hold adults accountable if their negligence results in the shooting of a child.
Under current law, Stedman said, the state can charge a person with reckless endangerment in these types of cases.
Watts said that for too long the gun lobby has protected gun owners from being liable for gun-related deaths.
"Shooting and killing a human being due to an unsecured firearm should and must be considered more severe than an accident," she said.
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19. [MA] Boston Mayor-Elect Martin Walsh opposes AR-15s for police arsenal
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I’ve often told police officers not to get too comfortable with the police being able to get guns denied to regular citizens. It’s just a matter of time before the antis come for the guns the police have, too.
I saw it happen in the 1970s in Texas for a period of a couple of years. Reserve officers were disarmed when off-duty! Fortunately Bexar County Sheriff Bill Hauck told his reserve officers that we were on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so the prohibition didn’t apply.
In the end, we are all in this together.
Member Bill Albritton emailed me this:
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From Breitbart.com: http://tinyurl.com/nfpmou9
Boston Mayor-Elect Martin Walsh opposes AR-15s for police arsenal
By Awr Hawkins
December 31, 2013
Boston Mayor-Elect Martin Walsh (D) opposes a Boston Police Department (BPD) plan to purchase AR-15 rifles for officers.
According to the Boston Herald, Walsh "came out over the weekend" in opposition to the plan to purchase "33 AR-15 rifles... [that] would go to two trained officers in all 11 districts of Boston."
Walsh's spokeswoman Kathryn Norton said the Mayor-Elect "is opposed to the AR-15 rifles. Unless otherwise convinced by the [BPD], he does not think they are necessary."
City Counselor Charles Yancey echoed Walsh's sentiments, telling Fox News: "I don't believe arming [police officers] with 'assault weapons' is going to make them any safer."
A veteran BPD officer counters this by pointing out that the police can easily be outgunned without the rifles.
Mayor-Elect Walsh is a supporter of Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns. [PVC: I never would have guessed! (eye roll)]
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20. [CT] Manchester CT Mass Shooting [VIDEO]
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EM John Wilburn emailed me this. John managed to wedge a plug for the VCDL Gun Raffle into the comments. Thanks, John!
This video, by the hapless Violence Policy Center, tries to villainize the Ruger SR9C, but instead does a pretty good sales job!
(I have the .40 caliber version of this gun - it’s an excellent gun.) Once the antis are through with their attack on the misnamed “assault rifles,” they will be coming for handguns. This is just an early shot across the bow.--
From YouTube.com: http://tinyurl.com/29smt3d
Manchester CT Mass Shooting
By VPCvideos
August 6, 2010
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VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org [http://www.vcdl.org/]
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