VA-ALERT: VCDL Update 1/7/16

[OakRidgeStars]

VA-ALERT: VCDL Update 1/7/16

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not yet a Virginia Citizens Defense League member? Join VCDL at: http://www.vcdl.org/join
----------------------------------------------------------------------
VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
VA-ALERT archives: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/727/=now
----------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Democrats misplacing blame for what AG Herring has done with reciprocity/recognition
2. Help needed for upcoming Richmond Show!
3. VCDL vice-president to attend Obama’s Town Hall on guns tonight at GMU
4. Martial Arts for self-defense?
5. Report on gun store near school mollifies neither side
6. LTE: Don't confuse a right with a state privilege
7. LTE: Andy Parker needs to seek a peace that won't be found in anger
8. President Obama: I would've loved to run against Trump
9. President Obama holds a press conference [VIDEO]
10. Gun sales to those on terror list eyed
11. Why we need to be armed against terrorists
12. Concealed-carry gun permits would engender doubt
13. We test the Armatix iP1, the not-so-smart gun
14. [NY] Sword-wielding man causes panic at Apple store
15. [TX] Driver says his legal gun led to his arrest
16. [OH] Woman needs her gun for second time in 2 years
17. [WA] Deputies asked to carry guns, extra ammo, off duty [VIDEO]
18. [PA] Mayor calls gun violence 'domestic terrorism'
19. [NH] An effort to ban guns to put pets down
20. Mardela man visiting D.C. to fight for more gun control
21. Gun sales, concealed permit applications surge after Paris
22. Anti-gun group posts response to Paris terror attacks
23. Mark Levin revealed 1 major difference between America and France
24. One shooter could have ended Paris concert hall slaughter
25. Our police don't have the guns to protect us
26. Brazil seeks to copy U.S. gun culture


**************************************************
1. Democrats misplacing blame for what AG Herring has done with reciprocity/recognition
**************************************************

Some Democrats have been trying to blame Republican Delegate Scott Lingamfelter for the law that Attorney General Mark Herring is using as his excuse to block half of America from carrying in Virginia.

The accusation is patently FALSE.

They are pointing their finger at Lingamfelter’s HB1833 back in 2013. All that bill did was to reorganize the concealed carry laws to be more logically laid out and easier to modify. The bill itself MADE NO SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES AS TO THE LAW.

It turns out the language came from Governor George Allen back in 1997, when the Democrats controlled the House and Senate.


**************************************************
2. Help needed for upcoming Richmond Show!
**************************************************

It's happening right now! Obama and MacAuliffe are aggressively pursuing unprecedented restrictions on our Second Amendment Rights.

YOU can be an active part of the opposition. YOU can be part of VCDL's efforts to STOP MacAuliffe and Obama.

VCDL will be at the Richmond Gun Show January 23-24 at the Richmond International Raceway Complex. WE NEED MEMBER VOLUNTEERS to introduce VCDL to the show attendees.

Two shifts are available on both Saturday and Sunday:

Saturday Jan 23 - 9am to 1:30pm, and 1:30pm to 6pm.
Sunday Jan 24 - 9am to 1pm, and 1pm to 5pm.

No prior gun show experience is necessary! First-timers are encouraged to volunteer.

Admission to the show is free to VCDL volunteers.

Many show vendors offer discounts to our volunteers.

You will help VCDL make a difference. You will be part of the effort to protect our God-Given Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Virginia.

Please contact Mike Wilburt your Richmond gun show coordinator:

gunshows.richmond@vcdl.org


**************************************************
3. VCDL vice-president to attend Obama’s Town Hall on guns tonight at GMU
**************************************************

I had received an invitation (thanks to a suggestion by Annette Elliot with C&E Gun Shows) from CNN to attend tonights Town Hall on guns with Obama. I am running the VCDL meeting in Charlottesville tonight, so VCDL VP Jim Snyder graciously agreed to attend in my place. He submitted some questions for the President like everyone else. Will he get a chance to have his question presented to Obama? No idea.

**************************************************
4. Martial Arts for self-defense?
**************************************************

Thanks to member Clayton Rhoades for sending the following statement in regards to previous alert dated November 20, 2015:

I thought I'd comment on story # 12 concerning the tweet from the martial artist saying guns are for losers.

I started karate when I was age 9, I'm a third degree black belt in karate and a 1st degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. In approx 25 years of teaching people including women, people with disabilities of all types, people in wheelchairs, etc., I would first talk about why they were there. Without fail it was usually to learn self-defense (makes sense) and get exercise or discipline.

Some were taken aback when I said the first and best thing they could do for self-defense was upon completing my first lesson with them, leave and go purchase a firearm.

I would explain that my goal for them was that taking karate would first help raise their awareness to their environment so hopefully they would never need to actually use the karate moves. They would avoid a problem. I would explain that carrying a gun is the same way in that it raises your awareness of what's around you. Hopefully you can avoid a problem completely.

But, I would ask them, when something goes bump in the night or someone is attacking you, would you rather reach for a black belt on the wall, hope the person gets close enough to you for you to execute some moves, or take comfort in the fact that you have the great equalizer of a gun. The answer is obvious.

I've always viewed it as a "both" approach. On top of that, if I'm incapacitated for some reason, my wife or kids can't take my karate training and suddenly start using it for themselves. They can, however, keep shooting when I can’t.


**************************************************
5. Report on gun store near school mollifies neither side
**************************************************

https://tinyurl.com/pnj7o4v

or

http://www.insidenova.com/news/arlingto ... 17597.html


Report on gun store near school mollifies neither side in N.Va. battle
by Brian Trompeter, Staff Writer
November 10, 2015

The McLean Citizens Association’s (MCA) committee studying NOVA Firearms’ recent relocation next to Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean issued its initial report Nov. 4 to the disappointment of activists on both sides of the issue.

The store “does not violate any laws that we’re aware of,” but its owners are seeking another site that is at least as well-situated, said committee member Robert Jackson.

In the short term, the committee will talk to the store’s owners about using landscape screening to shield its customers from view of the school and avoid misunderstandings that could result in a lock-down reaction, he said.

“No specific solution has been identified so far,” Jackson said. “Whatever the options, the MCA board of directors will work to make them happen.”

About 80 people attended the meeting, with pro-gun-rights advocates outnumbering those wearing stickers favoring firearm-free school zones. Both sides were underwhelmed by the report.

“It was very brief. I was expecting something a little more,” said Falls Church resident Ron Campbell, who was part of a contingent from the Virginia Citizens Defense League. “I thought the turnout was very good, but there was not a lot of information about what’s going on.”

But Campbell said the committee’s work struck him as impartial.

“It seems like whatever they have going on, they’re trying to work it out fairly,” he said.

Linda McConnaughay of McLean, who was among those seeking to have the store moved, said she was “disappointed” by the committee’s findings so far.

“I don’t feel there was very much substance in the report,” she said. “Screening won’t resolve the issue. I just think they should relocate [the store]. It seems as simple as that.”

MCA president Jeff Barnett convened the meeting at McLean High School, where the public may not carry firearms. Several people carried sidearms and a rifle to the board’s Oct. 7 meeting at the McLean Community Center.

“We just needed a chill pill,” said Barnett, adding that the venue change was within the group’s rules. “Last time was way too wild to our liking. This way allowed us to step back a little bit so nobody makes any mistakes, nobody gets their nose out of joint.”

(Privately, one MCA member expressed concern that relocating the meeting to a gun-free school area needlessly injected a political dimension to the debate.)

Barnett began the meeting by giving a commemorative pen to Fairfax County Master Police Officer Patrick Lucas, who oversaw MCA’s Oct. 7 discussion of the issue and was joined Nov. 4 by two other officers, who stood in the hallway outside.

“We really appreciate your calm leadership,” Barnett told Lucas.

Barnett asked how many in the audience were MCA members or from McLean and how many had come from outside the area. About one-third of those in attendance identified themselves as the latter and many wore orange stickers with the words “Guns Save Lives.”

MCA formed the ad-hoc committee – staffed by Jackson, Louise Epstein, Steve DelBianco and Elizabeth Baird – to study the controversy and seek potential solutions. MCA likely will issue a report and pass a resolution on the matter, Barnett said.

The store’s owners, who had been discouraged from occupying a new location in Arlington County, said they had moved the shop to 1389 Chain Bridge Road because it offered more space for firearms-education classes. The store does not have a shooting range, but sells a variety of weapons, which employee secure with zip ties before purchasers take them out of the store.

Some community members protested outside the store, objecting to its proximity to the school. Others worried the store’s armed customers could be mistaken for people intending to do harm at Franklin Sherman.

The school’s Parent-Teacher Association passed a resolution calling for the store to relocate more than 1,000 feet away from any school and the PTA at Churchill Road Elementary passed a supporting resolution, Jackson said. The controversy also became political fodder in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 3 election.

MCA’s committee appears to be the only entity to have spoken with parties on all sides of the issue, Jackson said.

“We’re going to ask the community to trust us that we understand the goals of both parties and that we will help the parties” implement a solution, he said.

Committee members have access to confidential information essential to the matter – notably the store’s lease terms – but cannot publicly disclose it, MCA leaders said.

“We have been transparent every step of the way,” he said. “Without trust, you can have all the communication in the world and nobody’s going to hear it.”

Barnett urged people on both sides to be flexible and patient in resolving the situation.

“I think we all understand that the longer that this goes on, probably the more entrenched people are going to get,” Barnett said. “We believe that there is common ground here . . . If we can’t find [a solution], I’m afraid it might get nasty. We don’t want that to happen at all.”


**************************************************
6. LTE: Don't confuse a right with a state privilege
**************************************************

Thanks to member Theron Keller for sharing this:


http://tinyurl.com/nj8qcyw

or

http://www.fredericksburg.com/opinion/l ... cf9dd.html


Letter: Don't confuse a right with a state privilege
by David Turley
November 20, 2015

In her Nov. 6 letter to the editor, “Treat gun ownership like a license to drive,” Paula Neustatter incorrectly equates a constitutional right to a state-granted privilege.

She compares gun “ownership” with car “operation.” However, I was willing to ignore those flaws in her proposal and give it fair consideration.

In the United States, anyone can buy a car with no background check, from either a private seller or a licensed dealer.

Under Ms. Neustatter’s proposal, gun dealers would no longer be required to perform background checks or impose waiting periods.

This proposal removes age restrictions as well. The giving of guns as gifts, as with cars, would also be allowed.

To operate a car on a public street, one must register the car with the state. Of course, the ultimate purpose of this is taxation, not regulation.

One must also demonstrate an elementary knowledge of traffic laws and a basic ability to operate a motor vehicle. These requirements are easily passed by thousands of teenagers every year. They are then free operate a car on any street, in every state, for the rest of their lives as long as they continue to obey the law.

Treating gun ownership like a license to drive would finally mean gun owners could carry their guns for self-defense nationwide. Like cars, we would also be able to possess our guns when driving on school property, and even drive onto U.S. Postal Service parking lots.

I find myself willing to compromise and accept Ms. Neustatter’s proposal as it would make life as a gun owner subject to far fewer restrictions.

Thank you, Ms. Neustatter, for your suggestions to reduce the inconveniences imposed on law-abiding citizens when exercising our Second Amendment rights.


**************************************************
7. LTE: Andy Parker needs to seek a peace that won't be found in anger
**************************************************

Thanks to EM Dave Hicks for sharing this:


http://tinyurl.com/puua6vl

or

http://www.roanoke.com/opinion/letters/ ... k-comments


Amos: Andy Parker needs to seek a peace that won't be found in anger
by J. Francis Amos, M.D.
November 16, 2015

It was with regret that I read the recent vitriolic communications by Andy Parker, father of slain WDBJ journalist Alison Parker, to state Sen. Bill Stanley. Parker threatened Stanley with "I'm going to be your worst nightmare, you little bastard." He followed this with: "When you see me again, you best walk the other way lest I beat your little a-- with my bare hands."

Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Parker's friend and strong anti-gun advocate, states Parker did not intend physical harm. And how can the governor be sure — does he not understand English? Why does he have armed bodyguards?

In spite of Parker's grief, threats and vulgarities do nothing to alleviate his perceived solution to today's problems. After all, had the assailant picked up a kitchen knife or a crowbar that morning rather than a legally obtained gun, the results likely would have been the same. The real culprit is in the heart of man.

I regret that Parker's actions might well have tainted the image of his precious daughter. I would remind him, there is peace to be found elsewhere. And advise him to look for it — it could save his life.


**************************************************
8. President Obama: I would've loved to run against Trump
**************************************************

Thanks to member Mark Shinn for sending me this:


http://tinyurl.com/oogwuyq

or

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... -been-fun/


President Obama: I would’ve loved to run against Trump — ‘that would’ve been fun’
By Juliet Eilperin
November 17, 2015

In the homestretch of his presidency, President Obama says his administration is still looking at "a few more" executive actions on guns -- and that he would have liked to run against a vocal Second Amendment supporter: Donald Trump.

Obama ordered his aides in the wake of the Oct. 1 shooting at Oregon's Umpqua Community College to reexamine whether the administration could take any other unilateral actions to curb gun violence: one of the proposals they are examining most closely is a plan to impose new background-check requirements for buyers who purchase weapons from high-volume gun dealers.

In an interview with GQ magazine published Tuesday, the president emphasized that his administration has already undertaken 23 separate actions in the wake of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

"So we haven’t been asleep at the switch in terms of executive actions that we’ve tried," he told longtime sports analyst Bill Simmons, who recently joined HBO to start his own show. "There are maybe a few more that had to be scrubbed by lawyers because essentially, with every executive action, we can count on it being challenged by somebody in Congress or, in this case, the NRA. We want to make any executive action we take as defensible as possible legally."

Obama's remarks -- part of GQ's "Men of the Year" issue -- come shortly after groups of gun owners and shooting survivors have delivered petitions with a million signatures calling for stricter federal controls on Capitol Hill. MoveOn.org has brought 15 gun owners to Washington this week to meet with lawmakers as well as White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett on the issue.

Great meeting with responsible gun owners - @POTUS asked for their help and they stepped up #StopGunViolence pic.twitter.com/b8YIQBp8gS
— Valerie Jarrett (@vj44) November 17, 2015

In the issue, Simmons remarked that when it comes to the issue of gun violence, "It does feel like it's going to become the dominant issue of year eight."

"I hope so," Obama replied. "We have this weird habit in this culture of mourning and, you know, 48, 72 hours of wall-to-wall coverage, and then…suddenly we move on. And I will do everything I can to make sure that there’s a sustained attention paid to this thing."

Someone who knows how to grab sustained attention: GOP front-runner Donald Trump. "I would've enjoyed campaigning against Trump," Obama told Simmons. "That would've been fun."

Among other revelations in the interview, Obama also compares himself to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers ("you've got to be looking downfield"), dishes on his favorite golf reality show ("Big Break") and muses over which sports commissioner he'd like to be ("Well, I’m best suited for basketball. But I cannot believe that the commissioner of football gets paid $44 million a year.")

And for those wondering which Obama conspiracy theory ranks as the president's personal favorite, he named that too: "That military exercises we were doing in Texas were designed to begin martial law so that I could usurp the Constitution and stay in power longer. Anybody who thinks I could get away with telling Michelle I’m going to be president any longer than eight years does not know my wife.”


**************************************************
9. President Obama holds a press conference [VIDEO]
**************************************************

Thanks to Member Mike Newkirk for sending me this:

Did you catch this snippet from Obama?

Note at time 15:43 - what was that sir? It’s not the weapon, it’s the person and their ideology?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3NQnB7 ... e=youtu.be


President Obama Holds a Press Conference
by The White House
Streamed live on Nov 16, 2015

Live coverage of this event has concluded. Drag the counter along the timeline below the stream to replay. The full video will be posted to www.whitehouse.gov/videos momentarily.


**************************************************
10. Gun sales to those on terror list eyed
**************************************************

Thanks to member Theron Keller for sharing this:


http://tinyurl.com/nc4yo8h

or

http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/nati ... bec3e.html


Gun sales to those on terror list eyed
by Associated Press
November 21, 2015

WASHINGTON—People on the U.S. government’s terrorist watch list can’t board commercial airliners, but they can walk into a gun store and legally buy pistols and military-style rifles.

Democrats are renewing calls for Congress to pass legislation aimed at preventing terrorists from buying guns. Similar bills—including a post-9/11 measure backed by the Justice Department under Republican President George W. Bush—have been stymied for years, thanks in large part to opposition from gun-rights groups and congressional Republicans.

According to an analysis issued in March by the Government Accountability Office, people on the watch list successfully passed the background check required to purchase firearms more than 90 percent of the time, with more than 2,043 approvals between 2004 and 2014.

The FBI is notified when a background check for the purchase of firearms or explosives generates a match with the watch list, and agents often use that information to step up surveillance on terror suspects. Under current federal law, however, association with a terrorist organization doesn’t prohibit a person from possessing firearms or explosives.

More than 1 million people are on the list administered by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center, though only about 25,000 of those are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents legally able to buy guns.

The new Democratic push is focused on legislation by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D–Calif., that would let the attorney general compile a list of known and suspected terrorists.

Federally licensed gun dealers would be barred from selling firearms to them, just as they are already prohibited from sales to people with felony convictions or serious mental illnesses. The proposed legislation would not prevent transactions that don’t involve licensed dealers, such as those between private individuals at gun shows or many sales online, which don’t currently involve background checks.

Feinstein introduced her bill in February, well before the mass killings in Paris injected new life into terrorism and public safety as top-tier political issues. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Republicans took advantage of voters’ newly aroused security concerns this week, when they easily pushed legislation through the House preventing Syrian and Iraqi refugees from entering the U.S. until the administration tightens restrictions on their entry.

That issue put Democrats on the defensive. Forty-seven of them voted for the bill, ignoring a veto threat by President Barack Obama.

Democrats are hoping to turn the political tables on Republicans by focusing the debate instead on terrorists’ access to guns.

Congress has yet to vote on Feinstein’s proposal. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R–Ky., has not said whether he would be open to allowing a vote.


**************************************************
11. Why we need to be armed against terrorists
**************************************************

Thanks to member Rick Evans for sending me this:


http://tinyurl.com/osr3hf7

or

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/1 ... errorists/


Why We Need to Be Armed Against Terrorists
By Robert Farago
November 17, 2015

The argument against “allowing” civilians to be armed against terrorists: they would be completely ineffective. Worse, they might shoot the wrong person. Or be shot by responding police. And there is a “danger” that “untrained” civilians would accidentally shoot someone in the normal course of carrying a firearm. The possibility that an armed civilian would shoot the wrong person or the cops would shoot an innocent armed civilian during an active shooter event is what it is. But the rest of the objections are just plain wrong. Fatal negligent discharges in public are as rare as hen’s teeth. As for the effectiveness of armed defense against terrorists, I’ll let TTAG commentator JR in NC explain . . .

The point of returning fire, of have the ‘ability’ to return fire, is not to magically have one armed citizen kill five terrorists armed with full auto AK’s.

The point of returning fire, any fire at all is … RETURNING FIRE. It is “disruptive,” and it takes total operational control away from the terrorists.

There are many ways this could be beneficial.

** You could hit one the terrorists and wound/kill him. That changes the good guy : bad guy ratio.

** You could provide sufficient diversion for at least some of innocents to escape.

** You could provide sufficient diversion for some innocents to fight back somehow, even without firearms.

** At the very least, you provide a psychological thorn in the minds of people expecting total operational control. You get inside their OODA Loop and wreak a little havoc. It may be temporary, but it is something.

Bottom line: something – a gun – is better than nothing. Millions of Americans understand this. Those who don’t, the ones who seek to degrade and destroy their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, are condemning members of the public – both armed and disarmed – to certain death.


**************************************************
12. Concealed-carry gun permits would engender doubt
**************************************************

Thanks to EM Dave Hicks for sending this:


http://tinyurl.com/nrqy5kj

or

http://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/1 ... errorists/


Concealed-carry gun permits would engender doubt among terrorists
by David Stubley
November 19, 2015

I FEEL I must clarify some points in relation to my suggestion of an armed population (Letters, November 18) and James Mills’s response, which contained some inaccurate statistics (Letters, November 19).

My suggestion was not a free for all in gun ownership but rather similar to the US concealed carry permit. This requires the applicant to be subjected to background checks and to attend and pass a competence course. There would obviously not be a majority of the population who would undergo this process but there would be sufficient to create uncertainty in the terrorists, who could not be assured that attacking public gatherings would allow them to shoot innocent people unmolested.

Mr Mills quotes the figure of 33,000 gun-related deaths in the United States, but this is irrelevant as this represents completely unrestricted ownership of guns and in any case suicides comprised more than 60 per cent of all these deaths. It is surely impossible to make a value judgment on these deaths. A significant proportion also included the death of violent assailants endangering people who were shot by legally held gun owners defending themselves and others.

I agree that the suicide bomber is a difficult problem and I never claimed that armed citizens were the sole answer but I would suggest that if even a small percentage are recognised and shot then lives are saved which would otherwise be lost. The concept is to create a feeling of doubt in the terrorists that their targets are not the easy, defenceless individuals that they believe us to be. If Mr Mills wishes an example of a country where gun ownership is high yet gun-related deaths are low he need only look at Switzerland,which has a higher rate of gun ownership than USA.


**************************************************
13. We test the Armatix iP1, the not-so-smart gun
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/ou4fhp6

or

http://www.americas1stfreedom.org/artic ... smart-gun/


Exclusive: We Test The Armatix iP1, The Not-So-Smart Gun
by Clay Turner, Creative Director and Frank Winn, Guns & Gear Editor
November 12, 2015

In May 2014, NRA staffers secretly tested the Armatix iP1, the so-called “smart gun” that at the time was causing a furor among both media and gun owners nationwide. What we found was disappointing at best, and alarming at worst.

NRA sent a team of firearm experts to an undisclosed range (at the request of our hosts) to do real-world tests of the iP1. To our knowledge, NRA is the only organization that has actually conducted real-world tests of the iP1 under range conditions.

Guns & Gear Editor and team member Frank Winn penned a review of the iP1 for America’s 1st Freedom. However, A1F withheld publication of the test results for fear that an honest review of the poorly functioning Armatix might be misconstrued as opposition to the technology itself. NRA was already being falsely accused of blocking smart gun development, and the expensive, small-caliber Armatix was failing on its own due to fears that sale of the gun would trigger New Jersey’s infamous mandate requiring similar technology in all guns.

In truth, NRA has never opposed smart guns, believing the marketplace should decide their future. Rather, NRA opposes government mandates of expensive, unproven technology, and smart guns are a prime example of that.

However, smart guns have been making a comeback in the news lately. On Oct. 22, the Washington Post reported on the recent activity of the iP1’s designer, German Ernst Mauch, as he attempted to rehabilitate the iP1’s reputation, as well as his own: “It’s operating perfectly.

The Nov. 1 edition of CBS’ “60 Minutes” ran a smart gun segment that featured the oft-cited clip from the James Bond movie “Skyfall,” showing a bad guy foiled by Bond’s smart gun. Host Leslie Stahl interviewed Ron Conway, a Silicon Valley investor who funds 15 separate companies working on smart gun tech, who said: “This is going to happen outside the gun industry. Why they aren’t doing research and investing in this baffles me.”

Then on Nov. 3, Mother Jones magazine called smart guns, “The Guns the NRA Doesn’t Want Americans to Get.” In the article, Mauch is quoted as saying, “I still want people to understand that there is a huge potential for this technology. The technology was never in question.”

Of course Conway and Mauch want us to believe in smart gun tech: Conway would love to see his investments pay off, and Mauch is looking for a job after Armatix—having lost millions of euros trying to launch his iP1—fired him as CEO and banned him from the premises under the threat of criminal penalties. Mauch told the Post he resigned because he didn’t want to sue or attack the gun industry, but an Armatix attorney confirmed he was released “for internal reasons.”

Does the Armatix operate perfectly? Well, no; we found it to be troubling at best. NRA’s tests, conducted with staffers trained by Armatix, found a number of very serious problems:

-The Armatix pistol initially required a full 20 minutes to pair with the watch, even with the aid of an IT pro trained in its use. Without pairing, the Armatix functions like any other handgun, capable of being fired by anyone.

-Once paired, a “cold start” still requires a minimum of seven push-button commands and a duration of 12 seconds before the gun can be fired.

-While the gun holds a maximum of 11 rounds (10+1), the best our experts could manage was nine consecutive rounds without a failure to fire (and that only once). Three or four misfires per magazine were common, despite using various brands of ammunition.

-Although the Armatix has a decent single-action trigger, it has the worst double-action trigger we’ve ever tested, requiring more force than any other pistol we’ve fired.

-The pistol must be within 10 inches of the watch during “start up.” This slows and complicates the use of the pistol if one hand is injured or otherwise unavailable.

-The design of the Armatix’s hammer prevents it from being safely thumbed forward.

-All this malfunction comes at a high price: At $1,798 ($1,399 for the base pistol and another $399 for the enabling watch), the Armatix is a more than five times the cost of other common .22s, like Walther’s excellent P22 ($319) or Browning’s tried-and-true Buckmark ($349), and four and a half times that of Smith & Wesson’s M&P22 polymer semi-auto ($379) or Ruger’s SR22 ($379). It’s also more than three times the cost of pistols like Glocks and Smith & Wesson M&Ps made in true self-defense calibers

Unfortunately, the team was unable to test the durability of the electronics that supposedly make the Armatix “smart,” leaving several questions unanswered:

-What happens when pistol/watch batteries fail?

-Will the pistol’s poorly sealed battery compartment perform when rain-soaked?

-What happens if you lose the watch or it breaks? Or when it goes (even more) out of style?

-Will the gun/watch still function if dropped?

-How many firing cycles will the electronics tolerate before failure?

-How easy is it to hack the RFID connection to the pistol?

The biggest unanswered question, however, comes from the Armatix’s patent application:

-Why does the Armatix contain “kill switch” functionality, allowing it to be disabled by third parties … a fact confirmed by such functionality at the test range?

The Post article claims the Armatix “passed rigorous testing and certification in the United States.” We’d sure like to talk to whomever conducted those tests, because we have tested the Armatix—and found it greatly wanting. Again, NRA only opposes the imposition of technologies via government force, and is happy for the marketplace to pass its own judgment. But if this is the technology upon which smart-gun proponents want the marketplace to base its decision, their rejection will be both swift and brutal.


**************************************************
14. [NY] Sword-wielding man causes panic at Apple store
**************************************************

Thanks to member Mark Shinn for sending me this:

Michael Bloomberg's gun-free city attracts the wonderful members of society.


http://tinyurl.com/non7fuv

or

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/11/21/sw ... ple-store/


Sword-wielding man causes panic at New York Apple store
by New York Post
November 21, 2015

A man swinging a samurai sword fought an imaginary duel Friday on the glass spiral staircase of the bustling Apple Store on Fifth Avenue as frightened tourists looked on.

Video posted to Instagram shows the swordsman walking up the staircase, and then sitting on it while performing pretend lunges and parries for his startled audience at around 3:55 p.m.

He was quickly tackled by Apple security and turned over to police, who took him to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric examination.

Nancy Birnbaum, a lawyer who lives in the area, was browsing at the store when she saw the man on the staircase suddenly unsheathe his weapon.

"Usually the staircase is mobbed with people, but this time it wasn't. There was a guy in the mid part of the staircase kneeling," Birnbaum told The Post.

"His face looked a little contorted and twisted," she added. "I thought he was doing some sort of performance art, but then he pulls out this sword with a huge 2-foot-long blade and it was dead obvious that it was a real sword.

"I've never been so terrified in my entire life."

Birnbaum said that she feared the worst.

"I don't know if he is from ISIS or wherever the heck he is from but I thought this is the beginning of some sort of horrible headline tomorrow," she said.


**************************************************
15. [TX] Driver says his legal gun led to his arrest
**************************************************

Thanks to member Clayton Rhoades for sending me this:


http://tinyurl.com/nwfjzsz

or

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/11/21/te ... to-arrest/


Texas driver says his legal gun led to his arrest
by FoxNews.com
November 21, 2015

A Texas driver says he wound up in handcuffs after he told a police officer during a routine traffic stop that he was legally carrying a concealed weapon.

Alonzo Gonzalez told KPRC-TV this week that he was pulled over by a police officer in Rosenberg, Tex. for failing to signal a turn. He said he ended up getting arrested for traffic violations after the officer asked if he had his handgun with him and he replied, “I sure do.”

“Just because I have a handgun on me which, you know, I have a license to carry, it shouldn't be a big deal, but that's what made it the turning point,” Gonzalez told the station.

KPRC reported the police dash cam video captured the August 2014 traffic stop. The video was just turned over to Gonzalez.

The station reported that after the officer's initial conversation with Gonzalez, he called for backup.

On the video the officer can be seen returning to Gonzalez's truck with the backup who has his gun drawn.

“Mr. Gonzalez, get your hands up on the wheel, both of them,” the officer then says on the video. “Appreciate it. Here’s what I want you do. I want you to step out of the truck for me. When you do so I want you to keep your hands on the back of your head, Okay?"

Seconds later, Gonzalez is seen getting out of the truck. He is handcuffed and told that he is being arrested "for traffic violations.”

"If I didn't have my firearm on me, I would have had a citation and they would have let me go," Gonzalez said.

Rosenberg Police Lt. William Henry told the station Thursday that the department does not target people with handgun licenses.

“We don’t target gun owners in general,” he said. “Any responsible gun owner…we’re not out targeting people like that. As far as what the officer perceived, the officer perceived a threat.”

The station reported that an internal investigation concluded the officer who pulled Gonzalez over followed all proper procedures.

It also reported that the officer had resigned and was no longer on the force.


**************************************************
16. [OH] Woman needs her gun for second time in 2 years
**************************************************

Thanks to member Marcus White for sending me this:

Glad she lived in a state that ALLOWED her to protect herself.


https://tinyurl.com/nsdcowy

or

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/09 ... two-years/


Woman Finds Herself Needing Her Gun for the Second Time in Two Years
by Dave Urbanski
September 10, 2015

A little over two years ago, a pair of teenagers kicked in the back door of an Ohio woman’s house — and promptly got a brutal taste of what can happen when a homeowner is armed.

“Two guys just broke into my house,” the woman said during her June 2013 call to 911. “I just shot one of them.”

Some crooks apparently don’t learn from others’ misdeeds.

In the middle of the night Wednesday, the same Dayton woman fatally shot a man who allegedly broke into her house, WKEF-TV reported.

If nothing else, the intruder was persistent.

His first attempts to break through the kitchen window were dashed because the homeowner placed bars on it after her house was broken in last week, the station said.

“I guess they were throwing that [brick] up there because she said it was like the whole house was shaking,” the woman’s brother, Efrim Goldsmith, told WKEF.

Police said they believe the intruder wasn’t acting alone.

“They couldn’t get in through that window so they climbed up on the roof,” Goldsmith continued, adding that there they managed to bust out a couple windows.

About 3 a.m. the woman woke up, grabbed her gun and her phone, ran into the bathroom — because she could lock the door, her brother said — and then called 911.

WKEF reported that the 911 dispatcher told the woman to call back if she heard anything else; the station noted it was investigating why an officer wasn’t sent right away.

Then the woman saw a flashlight.

“[Sh]he said once they came out of that room, that’s when she started to fire because she was scared,” Goldsmith told WKEF.

The alleged intruder who was shot — 22-year-old DeBrandon Dickerson — ran off but soon collapsed on the sidewalk.

The woman called 911 again. “I just heard someone break into my house. I shot one,” she said.

A neighbor who wouldn’t give her name told the station she heard yells after gunshots.

“He said, ‘Help me, help me,’” the neighbor told WKEF. “Then it got quiet, and you could hear him crying.”

Dickerson — who had misdemeanor larceny and theft charges in Detroit, police told WKEF — was visiting a cousin who lives a few houses away from where the break-in occurred. He was supposed to return to Detroit this weekend, the station said.

Goldsmith told WKEF he’s been trying to convince his sister to move — and Wednesday’s events may prove to be the tipping point.


**************************************************
17. [WA] Deputies asked to carry guns, extra ammo, off duty [VIDEO]
**************************************************

Thanks to EM Dave Hicks for sending me this:


http://tinyurl.com/qe2ce5g

or

http://www.kxly.com/news/spokane-news/k ... y/36486266


Knezovich asking deputies to carry guns, extra ammo, off duty
by Jeff Humphrey, KXLY4 Reporter
November 16, 2015

Concerns about terrorist attacks here in the United States, in the wake of the attacks Friday in Paris, has Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich asking his deputies to carry their guns even when they're off duty.

The sheriff is privy to classified terrorism briefings most civilians will never see and Knezovich has tasked his deputies with carrying guns at football games, inside movie theaters, any place you might find large gatherings of unarmed people.

“If you take a look at the venue in Paris, where they one by one shot those individuals in the theater, that was chilling to listen to and if you listen to those news reports, those individuals were begging for law enforcement to come in,” he said.

Knezovich thinks he might be able to beat active shooters to the punch if his deputies carried guns, even when they're off duty.

“It's because of the world that we live in right now and the threat levels that we're facing. Paris is just an example of that so the recommendation was for off duty law enforcement to carry,” he said.

Packing around a pistol and extra magazines isn't easy but some deputies like Sergeant Jack Rosenthal are already doing it.

“We should, as law enforcement, we should be carrying our weapons when we're off duty. We should be carrying extra magazines. You never know when that incident is going to take place and it will take place,” Rosenthal said.

Spokane residents are also concerned about their safety. Khea Sherman was one of 40 people who applied for a concealed weapons permit first thing Monday morning.

“I want to be able to protect myself and my children so I picked up a concealed weapons permit,” Sherman said.

The sheriff thinks armed citizens can also help prevent crime, but that carrying a gun is an awesome responsibility.

“If you are thinking about carrying a concealed for these type of purposes, that you get trained in the proper use of the firearm and the legal use of that firearm because there are ramifications for pulling that weapon out,” Knezovich said.

Concealed carry permits are not supposed to be given to people who have been convicted of felonies, acts of domestic violence or who have been criminal histories involving mental illness.

So does Knezovich really think someone with a pistol can stop more a heavily armed terrorist? In the incident at the Bataclan concert hall, it may have been easy for the terrorists to methodically gun down unarmed concert goers; it would be a lot of different when one or more of them is suddenly shooting back at them.


**************************************************
18. [PA] Mayor calls gun violence 'domestic terrorism'
**************************************************

Thanks to member David Custer for sending me this:

Not the first time we've heard this but expect to hear it more. They couldn't ban guns on their flimsy arguments so they start calling it a public health crisis to try and over ride the constitution. That's not working (lots of people don't understand public health anyway) so now they'll call it terrorism which a) everyone understands and b) it scares people. Soon anyone with a gun will be a terrorist.

A label isn't going to fix a problem of these same people being weak on crime and blaming society for 'forcing' someone to become a criminal instead of calling for personal responsibility, putting criminals in jail, and leaving them, there. Instead we will let tens of thousands of criminals out of jail early, many with violent histories, and disarm legal citizens so the criminals will be able to victimize them. Where is the terrorism here?


http://tinyurl.com/nu3sceb

or

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/11 ... terrorism/


Philadelphia mayor calls gun violence 'domestic terrorism'
by Associated Press
November 17, 2015

PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia's mayor on Monday called gun violence in American cities "domestic terrorism" that is no different from international terrorism.

Mayor Michael Nutter said in a phone interview after a meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch and members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington that citizens want to feel safe, no matter where they live.

"Domestic terrorism is international terrorism," Nutter said. "There is really no level of distinction between the violence that goes on, on the streets of America on a daily basis and the episodic acts of international terrorism that also take place — primarily in cities."

Mayors from Washington, Baltimore, New Orleans, and Gary, Indiana, also attended the previously-scheduled meeting. All acknowledged the tragedy in Paris that killed 129 people and injured 350 others.

Nutter noted that the first responders in any city — whether in America or abroad — are local law enforcement and emergency workers. And he defined domestic terrorists as "criminals that threaten the health, safety and welfare" of Americans.

"Citizens around the world feel unsafe because of international terrorists ... those same feelings exist for many in (American) communities," Nutter said. "These criminals are terrorizing our citizens and that same level of fear of violence, the death of citizens, the destruction of property, are the same. In many cities across the United States of America on a weekend, you very well could have six, eight, 10 people shot."

He called for a stronger relationship between federal and local officials to address American violence with the same sense of urgency and priority given to global terrorism.

Philadelphia has had more than 240 homicides this year. Baltimore hit the 300-mark for the first time since 1999.


**************************************************
19. [NH] An effort to ban guns to put pets down
**************************************************

Thanks to member Clayton Rhoades for sending me this:


http://tinyurl.com/ojjy57e

or

http://www.richmond.com/news/national-w ... 26e49.html


After dog's death, an effort to ban guns to put pets down
by Associated Press
November 15, 2015

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The death of a brown-and-white, mixed breed named Bruno on the northern fringe of New Hampshire's White Mountains has sparked an angry response from animal rights activists who want to ban owners from using a gun to "put down" old, sick or dangerous dogs.

"It was done in such a cruel manner. The dog was shot multiple times and left to die," said Katie Treamer, one of the founders of Justice For Bruno, a group lobbying to make it a felony to shoot a pet to death in New Hampshire. "In this day and age, it's just not a responsible way to euthanize a pet."

A humanely placed bullet is a generations-old method of dispatching pets in rural parts of the country where a veterinarian's syringe can be expensive and hours away. And even those angry at how Bruno died say outlawing the practice isn't likely because it is so deeply ingrained in the nation's agrarian traditions, where farmers and ranchers have long put down domestic animals with a gunshot.

New Hampshire is among 27 states plus the District of Columbia that have no laws governing "emergency euthanasia," according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Justice For Bruno has contacted state officials and its change.org petition has more than 36,000 signatures in support of a new law.

State Rep. John Tholl, who lives in New Hampshire's north country and chairs the House public safety committee, said a ban on shooting a pet as a form of euthanasia faces long odds, especially in rural states.

"It's been common practice for people up here to put down their animals — not just dogs — because they're hurt in such a way that they can't be saved or they're so old that they need to be relieved of suffering," Tholl said. "And the cost to do that through a vet is quite expensive."

The dog whose death prompted calls for new legislation, however, was not injured.

Bruno was found shot four times in September in the former timber city of Berlin. Bruno's owner, Ryan Landry, said in a Facebook posting he was forced to put down the year-and-a-half old dog because it had bitten his children. Landry declined to be interviewed by The Associated Press.

Treamer said Landry had other options, including returning Bruno — no questions asked — to the shelter where he was adopted. If the dog truly was dangerous, then medical euthanasia administered by a trained professional would have been the preferred way to end Bruno's life, she said.

State laws restricting emergency euthanasia vary.

Maine's law is explicit: "An animal may be shot if it is restrained in a humane way, it is performed by a highly skilled and trained person using a weapon that will produce instantaneous death by a single shot." Several states allow law enforcement, veterinarians or animal welfare workers to shoot a pet if the animal is injured, sick or dangerous. In New York, "no person shall euthanize any dog or cat by gunshot except as an emergency procedure for a dangerous dog or a severely injured dog."

Tholl also says shooting is humane when done right.

"Let's face it, there are people who are qualified to put down an animal with one shot," he said.

Growing up on a western Massachusetts farm, John Gralenski, now 80, sometimes had to put down sick or injured pets. He never liked it but he adamantly opposes outlawing the practice.

"I think they should have that right," said Gralenski, who lives in rural Shelburne, on the New Hampshire-Maine line. "When I was a kid, we always had dogs and if it was my dog and the dog got sick, there wasn't any money for a vet."

Once he had to put a dog out of its misery after it got hit by a car and broke its hip.

"I was just a kid and it was my responsibility," he said.

A decade ago, Gralenski adopted Zelda, a now-13-year-old beagle rescued in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He knows he'll eventually face a decision about how to put her down.

"Zelda and I are buddies," he said. "It's probably been 15 years since we had one (that needed to be put down). It does not get easier in your old age. I guess it depends on how I feel financially at the time."

Joanne Bourbeau, the Vermont-based northeastern regional director for the Humane Society of the United States, acknowledged that enforcement might be difficult but just having a law on the books could serve as a deterrent.

"We would have a way to follow up," she said. "With the veterinary forensics we have now, it's very easy to prove that a crime was committed."

Christopher Almy, district attorney in Maine's Penobscot and Piscataquis counties, said his office has prosecuted plenty of animal cruelty cases over his three decades of service but he couldn't recall bringing a case against someone for putting their pet down. One recent case focused on a woman who shot and killed her entire herd of 10 goats, though the cruelty charge stemmed from the condition of a couple of the goats, not the way they were killed.

For her part, Treamer says times have changed and there are far better ways to end a pet's life. She couldn't imagine such a death for Dozer, her 5-year-old, pit bull-boxer mix.

"Just because that's the way it's always been done, that's not the way it should still be done," she said.


**************************************************
20. Mardela man visiting D.C. to fight for more gun control
**************************************************

More gun-control wolves dressed up in sheep’s clothing. Predictable, but it gets old.


Thanks member Brian Sheaffer for sending me this:

Singleton, who described himself as a lifetime gun owner who hunts for meat, said he thinks it shouldn't be so simple to buy a semiautomatic weapon at a gun show. It isn't in Maryland, which he said is one of the country's more reasonable states when it comes to gun laws.


http://tinyurl.com/ng3jejr

or

http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/l ... /75829070/


Mardela man visiting D.C. to fight for more gun control
by Vanessa Junkin
November 15, 2015

Don Singleton thinks the mass killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 would have made more of an impact in the nation's gun laws.

Despite that and other mass shootings, in some states a weapon can still be purchased at a gun show without a background check, Singleton said.

So, the Mardela Springs resident and 14 other gun owners will be in Washington early this week to meet with White House staffers and Congress members in hopes that President Barack Obama will take an executive action and require background checks for gun purchases.

“We’re concentrating on the gun show loophole," said Singleton, an Army veteran.

Singleton, who described himself as a lifetime gun owner who hunts for meat, said he thinks it shouldn't be so simple to buy a semiautomatic weapon at a gun show. It isn't in Maryland, which he said is one of the country's more reasonable states when it comes to gun laws.

The types of guns available now have changed from what was available when the Second Amendment right to bear arms was written and people sometimes don't consider the beginning of the Second Amendment, which starts with "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State...," Singleton said.

The group of people making the trip to Washington includes members of MoveOn's Gun Owners for Gun Control and the American Coalition for Responsible Gun Ownership, according to a news release.

Singleton will be visiting the offices of Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin, both D-Md., and U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md.-1st, he said.

“The American public’s tired of these mass shootings," Singleton said.


**************************************************
21. Gun sales, concealed permit applications surge after Paris
**************************************************

Thanks to member Rick Evans for sending me this:


http://tinyurl.com/pvu6pkg

or

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government ... s-attacks/


Gun Sales, Concealed Permit Applications Surge After Paris Attacks
by AWR Hawkins
November 18, 2015

In the days since the heinous terror attacks in Paris took 130 innocent lives and wounded hundreds more, Americans have flooded into gun stores to purchase new guns and sign up for concealed carry permit classes in their respective states.

And those buying guns include many who have never owned a gun before.

For example, Fox News San Antonio quoted Texas Guns owners Jerry McCall saying he is seeing “people … in their 70s and 80s who say they have never owned a firearm before but … think [they] need one in the house now.”

And people who might have purchased their first gun ever during the last year–amid the unrest and anxiety of the Ferguson protests or the Baltimore riots–are now buying a second gun to be sure they can protect their families in the event of an attack.

Mary Hernandez is one such customer. She said she and her husband bought their first gun last year and are shopping for their second in the wake of the Paris attacks. She and her husband “feel they can never be too protected.” Hernadez observed, “I don’t want to be with my kids and my family hiding under a table; I want to be protecting us and get out of there and if I had to, try to stop somebody.”

And WSFA reports that gun stores in Alabama are seeing the same kind of run. Russell Durling owns Last Resort Guns in Madison County and said, “We were busy right out of the box” following the attacks. “The truth of it is, when America is scared, America buys guns,” he added.

In addition to the gun sales, store owners are seeing a surge in concealed carry permit applications/course attendance, as well. Concealed classes at Texas Guns “have doubled in the last week,” and the Limestone, Alabama, Sheriff’s Office reports witnessing its “biggest spike in permits” after the attacks on Friday.


**************************************************
22. Anti-gun group posts response to Paris terror attacks
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/q7b3dhc

or

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/11 ... lty-party/


Anti-Gun Group Posts Response to Paris Terror Attacks and Names Only One Guilty Party
by Dave Urbanski
November 15, 2015

Following the horrific Paris terror attacks, the anti-gun group Moms Demand Action posted the following response to social media:

Our hearts are with the victims and survivors of the horrific mass shooting and violent attacks in Paris today. pic.twitter.com/vMs5jkH9vI
— Moms Demand Action (@MomsDemand) November 13, 2015

“Our hearts are with the victims and survivors of the horrific mass shooting and violent attacks in Paris today,” the message read.

But the accompanying image contained text that’s a bit more explicit regarding who (or more correctly, what) the group blamed for huge loss of life: “We are united in mourning all lives lost to gun violence.”

As you might imagine, the group got hit pretty hard with alternate theories and rebuttals:

@MomsDemand @Everytown this isn't about gun violence, it's about Muslim Extremism. Pls don't make this about gun control.
— Andrew C. Laufer (@lauferlaw) November 14, 2015

@MomsDemand isn't this what you wanted? A whole country unable to defend themselves because the gov't didn't allow their ppl access to guns.
— Lil Dave (@FREERBUX) November 14, 2015

@MomsDemand once again, U mindless drones. 1) gun control makes good ppl defenseless. 2) can't stop evil 3) guns don't kill ppl, evil ppl do
— Patriots*R*us (@1kenwilson24) November 13, 2015

@MomsDemand France has strict gun laws; how did those guns end up in Paris? Don't the suicidal jihadis know the law?
— Garrett Hall (@Garrett_R_Hall) November 14, 2015

.@MomsDemand Gun violence? Are you insane? I mean, really, are you literally insane to call this gun violence?
— Daniel RIce (@DanSpeaksTruth) November 14, 2015


**************************************************
23. Mark Levin revealed 1 major difference between America and France
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/q7svqzh

or

http://www.westernjournalism.com/listen ... s-to-hear/


Mark Levin Just Revealed 1 MAJOR Difference Between America And France That ISIS Should Fear
by Jack Davis
November 14, 2015

Radio host Mark Levin on Friday expressed grave fears that America could face a terror attack such as the devastating carnage in Paris, but also noted one major difference that gives innocent Americans an edge against terrorists.

“I want to tell you … what goes through my mind. I bet it goes through your mind – thank God for the Second Amendment. Thank God for the Second Amendment or we’d be Europe. We would all be disarmed,” Levin said.

Levin noted that gun control is an obsession with “Obama and Hillary, all of the Democrats, most of the Republicans.”

If liberal politicians had their way, Levin said, “There would be no NRA. There would be no groups trying to protect us.”

The attacks validate the Founding Fathers’ belief that the final defense of personal safety is an armed and vigilant populace, Levin said.

“Thank God for the Founding Fathers, the framers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights,” Levin said.

“Thank God because you see this going on – these poor people who were slaughtered going to a sporting event or a restaurant or a concert or potentially a shopping mall — slaughtered as they stand there by these animals, by these barbarians – and none of them are armed, none of them.”

Levin voiced fears Friday that a similar attack would happen in the United States.

“What is going on in France is going to happen here — I truly believe it,” he said. “I cringe even when I say it, but I know it will. We’re just an easy hit. We’re just an easy target. We don’t secure the border. We coddle people who come here illegally. We have a president who wants to bring in tens of thousands of people from Syria. We can’t even vet them. We don’t know their background.”

Levin said the attacks should be a spark for actions to secure the nation’s borders.

“You can’t have sovereignty, you can’t have security, you can’t have a rule of law, you can’t have a free country if you do not secure your border, ladies and gentlemen,” he said.

“I am sick and tired of being lectured by the left, being lectured by Republicans, being lectured by morons on TV. I am tired of it. It doesn’t mean we’re anti-anybody. It means we are pro-us. This is common sense. This is what we call reason.”


**************************************************
24. One shooter could have ended Paris concert hall slaughter
**************************************************

Thanks to EM Dave Hicks for sending me this:


http://tinyurl.com/q95eznq

or

http://www.roanoke.com/opinion/letters/ ... k-comments


Cahoon: One shooter could have ended Paris concert hall slaughter
by John L. Cahoon
November 18, 2015

One has to wonder what would have happened to the victims in Paris if those hostages in the concert hall had included a few concealed-carry trained people in their midst. Since they were shot one by one, a good self-defense shooter who had nothing to lose by fighting back could have made a difference.

The Second Amendment was written in a time when native Americans roamed the countryside and attacks, with accompanying slaughter, were common. Just as then, but for a different reason, it still is essential that every home and every citizen be armed.

The need for a well-regulated militia that the anti-gun lobby likes to claim has been supplanted by police and national guard is false logic, as the dead in Paris show. Neither police nor militia got there in time. An armed citizenry would have saved lives.

The militia that our forefathers envisioned was a well-armed citizenry that could defend itself within its home and community. It then could be assembled at a moment's notice for national defense without a need to issue weapons or teach people how to shoot.

We are not fighting a 20th century army that we can pay someone else to defend against, but a band of roving savages and religious fanatics who manipulate the benefits of an open society and prey on an unarmed populace.

I attend events here in Roanoke where I know some of my friends have legal concealed weapons and others open carry. I feel secure, protected and thankful that they are there.

I will defend the Second Amendment rights of Americans while the anti-gun lobby can continue to attempt negotiations with terrorists, criminals and the insane. Just ask Europeans how gun control is working out for them.


**************************************************
25. Our police don't have the guns to protect us
**************************************************

Thanks to member Jay Minsky on sending me this:

This story is very scary and is a good follow up to your article #8 in your last Alert. The security situation in Europe is more than worrisome. I have a 2nd cousin in a Jewish religious school 25 km outside of Paris. The school is well protected by 18 armed military personnel 24/7. however, my cousin and his friends usually go to Paris on Fridays during daylight hours where they have no extra protection.


http://tinyurl.com/oaqdd3w

or

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... URLEY.html


Our police don't have the guns to protect us, writes Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner KEVIN HURLEY
By Kevin Hurley for The Daily Mail
November 16, 2015

Following the Paris massacre, the Home Secretary has been indulging in predictably tough rhetoric about beefing up Britain’s security, border controls and intelligence.

But the strong words are hardly matched by the reality. The truth is that our police, especially the armed response units, remain pathetically ill-equipped and inadequate for the job of protecting the public.

When an Islamist outrage occurs on our soil, as it inevitably will, our forces may have neither the firepower nor the numbers to overwhelm the terrorists quickly before mayhem occurs.

What was striking about Paris was how effectively the well-armed French police went into action, preventing even greater carnage. Yet our officers have nothing like the same strength or weaponry.

Incredibly, there are 40 times more armed officers in France than in the UK. Nor is the equipment used by the police’s armed response vehicles (ARVs) remotely adequate for the task. As we saw in Paris, the Islamist killers generally use the AK-47 Kalashnikov, an automatic machine gun that fires 7.62 millimetre rounds at a cyclical rate of 500 per minute.

The British police guns are no match. The two main weapons carried by the ARVs are the G-36C and the AR15 Defender, both high velocity, capable weapons, but inadequate for combating the newest breed of terrorist, since their calibre is only 5.56 millimetres and they cannot be fired automatically.

So in any head-on-confrontation with a Kalashnikov-wielding fanatic, the police officer is likely to be defeated. Experience from Afghanistan shows that, with this calibre, repeated hits are needed to put the target down – not easy with a single-shot rifle.

The decision not to purchase automatic guns was a typical British compromise, based on a reluctance not to totally abandon our tradition of an unarmed police that dates back to the early 19th century.

But an ideal that might have once seemed noble is now putting lives at risk. As a former police officer and soldier who served in Iraq, I know that I would not want to go into a warzone armed with the current standard weaponry issued to the police.

Even the Metropolitan units that protect Parliament, Scotland Yard and Downing Street are insufficiently armed. They use MP5 single-shot carbines, ineffectual against Kalashnikovs. It is telling that when a US President visits London, Scotland Yard is told to provide protection with automatic submachine guns.

The issue is compounded by other factors. One is that, in a further decision to downgrade the effectiveness of equipment, many officers are instructed to carry only 15 rounds, even though their magazines can carry 30. Similarly, police body armour is simply not thick enough for these kind of incidents.

Above all, we just do not have enough armed police. As Paris showed, speed is key in any fight against these terrorists. The long-standing British police tactic in firearms situations has been to ‘contain and negotiate’, but this is useless against Islamists who are only interested in mass slaughter. They have to be killed as swiftly as possible.

That means we need far greater numbers ready for action. And it is a myth that the terrorists will only strike in urban areas like Manchester or London; they could just as easily inflict their savagery in provincial towns such as Guildford or Norwich. Yet at present, most counties in England have only four or six armed officers. The failure to provide an effective armed police reflects wider inadequacies in UK security. For all the talk about crackdowns, our borders remain far too porous, easily penetrable by jihadists.

As the Police Commissioner for Surrey, my patch covers a large section of the M25 and I often reflect on how many illegal immigrants are being stowed away on foreign lorries on our motorway network. But at least it is possible to detect human bodies in transit through the latest scanning equipment that can pick up heartbeats, smells and carbon dioxide.

There is no such technological capability with smuggled weapons. It is a disturbing fact that one human body takes up the space of ten AK-47s or 70kg of explosive. Contrary to what Theresa May said recently in another of her hollow boasts about Home Office effectiveness, there are probably large quantities of imported arms circulating in Britain.

Only in August, police seized a haul of guns that had been smuggled across the Channel, including 22 automatic assault rifles, 9 Skorpion machine pistols and almost 1,000 rounds of ammunition. I have argued for years that our police were under-powered and under-prepared for the terror crisis that is looming. Paris should serve as an alarm call. It is no use recruiting 2,000 extra intelligence analysts – as the Government announced yesterday – if the frontline force cannot act on the information.

If we are really going to be ready for the fight, we need to stop the police cuts, which have already seen the loss of 18,000 officers (as well as many Police and Community Support Officers, who provide vital local intelligence), develop proper response plans with the Army – and above all give armed police the weapons and numbers they need.


**************************************************
26. Brazil seeks to copy U.S. gun culture
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/nc4u9sf

or

http://time.com/4108421/brazil-u-s-gun-culture/


Brazil Seeks to Copy U.S. Gun Culture
by Matt Sandy
November 12, 2015

Correction: This article was amended on Nov. 18. The original version of this story incorrectly described the proposed abortion law. The law would limit access to abortion in cases of rape. It also incorrectly described Laudivio Carvalho’s role in the legislation. He guided the bill through a special committee of lawmakers.

Congressmen in Brazil, one of the most violent countries in the world, are proposing to dramatically loosen restrictions on personal gun ownership, bringing the country much closer to the American right to bear arms.

The politicians say the measures are necessary to allow embattled citizens the right to defend themselves from criminals armed with illegal weapons. But opponents say the move will only increase the country’s toll of nearly 60,000 murders in 2014.

The draft law, which is set to be voted on by the lower house of congress this month, introduces a right for citizens to own firearms for self-defense or the protection of property. Currently, citizens must apply for a gun permit and justify why they need a gun, meaning that applications can be easily denied.

The bill also reduces the minimum age for the purchase of weapons from 25 to 21, removes a ban on those under criminal investigation owning or carrying weapons and allows citizens to buy nine guns and 600 rounds of ammunition a year.

“Brazil is an extremely violent country and the state has failed to resolve this problem,” says Laudivio Carvalho of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, who guided the bill through a special committee of lawmakers, in a telephone interview. “The population needs the right to defend themselves, their family and their property as they are the ones being attacked. Ninety percent of assaults are being carried out with illegal weapons.”

The approval of the law by a congressional committee this month is a “confession of bankruptcy,” opponent Alessandro Molon of the Sustainability Network party told a committee hearing into the draft law. “We are saying, ‘thanks to our incompetence, you can defend yourselves and live in a Western because we are inept,’” he added.

Critics fear the changes will lead to even more murders and an increase in vigilantism in a country where 50% of the population agree that “a good bandit is a dead bandit.” Last year Brazil recorded 58,497 murders, a rate of 28.8 per 100,000 people. By comparison, the U.S. recorded 14,249, a rate of 4.5.

“Without doubt we will see an increase in the murder rate,” says Ivan Marques, executive director of the Sou de Paz institute, which campaigns for disarmament. “The number of deaths is directly related to the number of guns on the streets.”

Marques said Brazil should not try to emulate the United States. “Our constitution emphasizes collective security not individual security,” he added.

After a disarmament law was passed in 2003 introduced many of the current restrictions, about half a million weapons have been sold and 170,000 gun permits issued.

In the first two years under the law the number of firearms murders fell, but then rose again, although campaigners such as Marques say they remain lower than they would have been without the legislation. Meanwhile, the black market in firearms remains huge. In 2014, police seized nearly 120,000 illegal weapons.

The draft law is the latest move by what has been dubbed by opponents as the Bullets, Beef and Bible Caucus in Brazil’s congress. Politicians linked to the security services, big agricultural firms and evangelical Christians consolidated their power in last year’s elections and have advanced a series of conservative measures.

Among the other laws being debated are a plan to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 16; narrow the country’s robust definition of slave labor; weaken indigenous tribes’ right to claim their ancestral lands; exclude homosexual couples from the definition of family; and limit access to abortion in cases of rape.

Some see the financial might of the arms industry in the plan to loosen gun control laws. In Brazil, there is no big grassroots equivalent to the National Rifle Association, but the firearms industry is a powerful lobby and has often contributed to political campaigns, says Ignacio Cano, a public security expert at Rio de Janeiro State University. The draft law lifts stringent restrictions on advertising by the gun industry.

“The gun lobby in Brazil is not as vocal as the NRA but they are nonetheless very powerful,” he says. “It would be a clear example of evil if we were to allow private interests to prevail over the public interest. This law is the last thing we need.”

Another of the bill’s sponsors, Rogério Peninha Mendonça, also of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, said he believes congress must respect the rights of the Brazilian people, who voted against a ban on arms sales in a 2005 vote. “I’ll tell my kids that we are recovering our rights,” he said. “We are not arming anybody.”

But the law is opposed by many on the frontline of public security, such as José Mariano Beltrame, the state security secretary in Rio de Janeiro who is charge of implementing an ongoing plan to “pacify” the city’s favela communities. “We need to disarm the bandits not arm the people,” he says in an emailed statement. “I hope congress will have a little more clarity and rationality and we can prevent this law from passing.”



***************************************************************************
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/]

[MNMGoneShooting]

Yay! He put mine in

When Obama said that.... (reference Item #9) - I started jumping up and down and said, "Yes! Work further with that theory!!!"