VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html
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Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
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VCDL Update 12/19/09
1. Reminder: VCDL Lobby Day January 18, 2010
2. Article on VCDL protest in Richmond
3. VCDL tells Newport News mayor to resign from organization
4. Police: Shots Fired at Va. College; No Injuries
5. Participate in Del. Peace's 2010 Legislative Survey
6. Just wanted to introduce myself
7. Bloomberg gun "poll"
8. NYC mayor on deadly shoot-out: 'Too many guns'
9. Details Emerge in Fatal Stabbing of Professor
10. Homeowner shoots criminal
11. Swiss shooting ranges
12. On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me -- a gun!
13. Who needs a gun in a cell phone store?
14. New Gunsight Improves Marksmanship With Intuitive Aim, Says Vision
Scientist
**************************************************
1. Reminder: VCDL Lobby Day January 18, 2010
**************************************************
There will be issues of great importance to gun owners at stake in the
2010 legislative session. Three pro-gun bills have already been
introduced weeks before the session starts.
VCDL is working on an aggressive agenda to get our rights back and I
think you are going to be pleasantly surprised as the bills begin to
roll in.
Of course the antis will have their bills coming in, too.
Hopefully there will be a lot of the "Tea Party" people at the General
Assembly on Lobby Day. Keep in mind, many of them are new to lobbying
and most of them are on our side of the gun-rights fence. If we can
take those looking for guidance under our wing, we must do so without
hesitation. Hopefully many of them will wear the GSL stickers that we
will be handing out, making for an awesome sight between our two
groups in the halls of the General Assembly.
The Campaign for Liberty is having a bill put in that says the federal
government has no authority over guns made in Virginia and sold in
Virginia. VCDL will be backing that bill wholeheartedly. I will be
speaking briefly at their rally, which immediately precedes our
rally. Unfortunately, their rally is being held at prime lobbying
time (10 AM to 11 AM) and it is important that VCDL members keep up
their lobbying efforts during that time period as the Senators and
Delegates will leave for caucus at 11:30 PM and then for session,
which starts at 12 noon.
I have asked Donna Holt, with the Campaign for Liberty, if she can
speak at our rally and she has agreed to do so. My hope is that you
can get the "Cliff's notes" on their agenda and let Donna know we
appreciate her group's efforts.
**************************************************
2. Article on VCDL protest in Richmond
**************************************************
Richmond City Council members upset that VCDL members wore guns to
protest the Mayor's involvement with Bloomberg.
Talk about a negative, anti-gun article with the subtlety of a bull in
heat. Gun owners "glower" according to the article. The only
glowering I saw was from some in City Council. I would note that the
reporter was clearly glowering as he wrote the article.
There were at lot more than 10 of us, too. Wishful thinking on the
paper's part.
The real irony in all of this glowering is that if it weren't for
people with guns, there wouldn't be a free press at all:
http://tinyurl.com/ydu2o93
Gun toters at City Hall
Council members express uneasiness,
need for new law
By Jeremy M. Lazarus
Bruce Tyler wonders whether a bulletproof vest should be part
of his City Council wardrobe. He's only partly joking.
The 1st District councilman has body armor on his mind after he
and his eight colleagues had to face a glowering group of 10 men,
some carrying firearms, who shockingly showed up at the Nov. 23
council meeting at City Hall.
"I am very uncomfortable around guns," Mr. Tyler said this
week in the wake of the meeting where a pistol-toting few came
to lobby council.
Their issue: Opposition to the council's latest push for state
controls on gun sales, particularly at laxly regulated gun shows.
Having gun advocates brazenly showing their weapons "definitely
made me uncomfortable," said Mr. Tyler, an architect.
In a Free Press inquiry Tuesday, four other council members also
expressed concern at having to conduct city business in front of
people wearing weapons in shoulder holsters or on their belts.
The pistol-packing men were members of the Virginia Citizens
Defense League. Most displayed orange stickers on their shirts
stating "Guns Save Lives" in a city in which shootings are all too
common.
"I support the right of people to bear arms to protect themselves,"
a still seething Council Vice President Ellen F. Robertson, 6th
District,
said, "but I see no reason why people have to bring their weapons
into an arena where there is no perceived threat."
"It wasn't appropriate," said Chris A. Hilbert, 3rd District, who
lost his father to gun violence.
"I wasn't very happy about it," said Council President Kathy
C. Graziano, 4th District, "but I don't think there is much we can
do about it."
And that seems to be the case.
Local officials have been stripped of authority to impose any
restrictions on guns, gun sales and gun carrying by a General Assembly
majority that has embraced the gun culture advocated by the
likes of Philip Van Cleave, who led the pro-gun league members
to City Council.
The specific law that bars council action is 15.2-915 of the
Virginia Code, which, in part, states: "No locality shall adopt or
enforce any ordinance ... governing the purchase, possession,
transfer ownership, carrying, storage or transporting of firearms,
ammunition, or components ... "
So while Councilman E. Martin "Marty" Jewell, 5th District,
believes that "if people come armed to City Hall, we ought to be
able to turn them away," the council has no way to make that law,
according to outgoing City Attorney Norman Sales.
In Ms. Robertson's opinion, Richmond Police officers should at
least be able to check that people who come to City Hall "carrying
weapons are carrying weapons that are unloaded."
However, Richmond Police attorney Victoria Benjamin said this
week that wearing unconcealed guns into City Hall is legal and officers
would first need probable cause that the owner represented a
threat to make such a check.
As it now stands, schools, courthouses, airports and restaurants
that sell liquor are among the few places in the state where guns
are still banned by the Virginia legislature. But it has taken repeated
governor vetoes to maintain the ban on carrying concealed guns
into places selling alcohol.
The legislature also has made it easier for citizens to get permits
to carry concealed guns and expanded the places where they can be
carried. Today permit-carrying citizens can openly wear their guns into
the State Capitol, though the Executive Mansion is still off limits.
As a result, Mr. Hilbert sees little value in trying to bring back
metal detectors. Richmond experimented with metal detectors at
City Hall after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but discarded
hem in 2005 as an unnecessary expense.
Ms. Graziano agrees. If people can openly carry weapons, she
said, "Metal detectors would not do much good."
That is the reason, the council members argue, for new legislation
that would end legal gun-toting at City Council meetings and
other public meetings. "I think that is a reasonable thing to do,"
Mr. Hilbert said.
----
Here was my response to an inaccuracy in the article:
There is a factual mistake in your “Gun toters in City Hall” article:
The article states that guns can’t be carried in schools, courthouses,
airports and restaurants that sell liquor. Guns CAN be carried in
restaurants that serve liquor as long as they are not concealed. Gun
owners do that all the time in Virginia.
Gov. Tim Kaine did veto a bill that would have allowed for concealed
carry into restaurants by concealed handgun permit holders as long is
they did not drink. Forty-three other states currently allow concealed
handgun permit holders to carry concealed firearms in such
restaurants. Prior to 1995, when Virginia went from a “may-issue” to a
“shall-issue” concealed handgun permit state, it was legal to carry
concealed guns in restaurants.
The change was not spurred by any problems, just politics back then.
The 6 million concealed handgun permit holders in the United States
are among the most law-abiding of any group of citizens.
PHILIP VAN CLEAVE
Chesterfield County
The writer is president of Virginia Citizens Defense League.
**************************************************
3. VCDL tells Newport News mayor to resign from organization
**************************************************
Mayor's membership in anti-gun Mayors Against Illegal Guns criticized
http://tinyurl.com/yanoe64 [VIDEO]
http://news.oldva.org/
**************************************************
4. Police: Shots Fired at Va. College; No Injuries
**************************************************
A student upset about his grade brings a hunting rifle to the Northern
Virginia Community College to kill his math teacher.
Gun-free zones don't work. All they accomplished in this case was
that a professor could have been easily murdered as she lay helplessly
on the floor.
--
http://tinyurl.com/ybhlypm
http://abcnews.go.com/
Police: Shots Fired at Va. College; No Injuries
Man arrested after firing shots in classroom at Va. community
college; no injuries
WOODBRIDGE, Va. December 8, 2009 (AP) The Associated Press
A man accused of aiming a rifle at a teacher in a Virginia community
college and firing several shots was arrested Tuesday. No injuries
were reported.
"The teacher hit the floor when she saw a gun come up," said Sgt. Kim
Chinn, spokeswoman for Prince William County Police.
The shooting happened around 2:40 p.m. at Northern Virginia Community
College's campus in Woodbridge, about 25 miles south of Washington,
D.C.
Officer Erika Hernandez said the student fired several shots with a
high-powered rifle. The gunman, believed to be a current student, was
apprehended by campus and county police, though it wasn't immediately
clear what stopped him from continuing to fire the gun.
A police SWAT team was moving through the building room by room
evacuating students, Hernandez said.
Police spokeswoman Sharon Richardson says officers responded about
2:40 p.m. to an "active shooter" situation following reports of a
gunman in the main administration building.
The college enacted its emergency lockdown procedures and later issued
a statement saying all Woodbridge classes were canceled Tuesday
because of the shooting incident. Some students, faculty and staff
were sent to a nearby high school.
More than two hours after the incident, though, student Christian Dorn
told WRC-TV by telephone that she was still barricaded inside a
classroom. She said a SWAT team came through the building and told
students to stay where they were.
She recalls hearing two loud shots in the building and screams to call
911.
"I just thought about Virginia Tech and Columbine and just was praying
this was not another one of those situations," she told the television
station. "We're just confused right now. We're ready to leave."
Student Josh Davies told WTOP Radio he was sitting in a basement
classroom when his class heard about the shooting.
"A gentleman ran inside, slammed the door and informed us that another
gentleman was telling everyone that there were gunshots fired," he
said. "That's when we barricaded ourselves inside the door."
**************************************************
5. Participate in Del. Peace's 2010 Legislative Survey
**************************************************
There is a question about guns in this survey from Delegate Peace. If
you live in Delegate Peace's district, you should fill in that survey:
--
http://tinyurl.com/ye6uqbq
http://survey.constantcontact.com/
[SNIP]
It has been an honor and a privilege to work for the citizens of the
97th House District. Working together, we have accomplished many
things for our community and our Commonwealth. As we begin the 2010
legislative session, I hope you will take a few moments to share with
me your thoughts on some of the issues facing the General Assembly.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete this
questionnaire. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of
assistance.
**************************************************
6. Just wanted to introduce myself
**************************************************
Gun views of candidate for Virginia's 5th Congressional District
Ron Ferrin emailed me this:
--
Greetings,
Being familiar with your organization, I just wanted to introduce
myself and ask that you view my Gun Control video on my website:
http://www.RonFerrinForCongress.org
Ron Ferrin
http://tinyurl.com/ye3ztls
**************************************************
7. Bloomberg gun "poll"
**************************************************
Anti-gun Mayors Against Illegal Guns claims to have polled NRA members
and claims those members want more gun control.
Trouble is that the pollster they used is well known for twisting
polls to come out the way that the customer wants using the "correct"
wording for the questions.
EM Curtis Stone noted this:
From the company's "Areas of Expertise" page
(http://www.theworddoctors.com/expertise.html) on their web site,
labeled "Issues and answers":
"If you need to create the language to build support for legislation,
we’ll find the right words. If you need to kill a bad bill, we’ll
show you how. Either take control of the debate, or the debate will
take control of you."
This was a bogus poll and the company who generated it unashamedly
admits that they specifically engineer their polls to get a desired
result.
--
http://tinyurl.com/yernzkr
http://www.washingtonpost.com
Beyond the NRA's absolutism
By E.J. Dionne Jr.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
When it comes to passing sensible gun laws, Congress typically offers
Profiles in Cowardice.
The National Rifle Association wields power that would make an Afghan
warlord jealous because the organization is thought to command legions
of one-issue voters ready to punish any deviationism from the never-
pass-any-new-gun-laws imperative. Many legislators fear that casting a
vote for even a smidgen of restraint on weapons sales could be
politically lethal.
But imagine if NRA members were more reasonable than the
organization's leaders and supporters in Congress in understanding the
urgency of keeping guns out of the wrong hands.
NRA leaders, meet your members.
It turns out that the people in the ranks actually are much wiser than
their lobbyists. In a move that should revolutionize the gun debate,
Mayors Against Illegal Guns decided to go over the heads of Beltway
types and poll gun owners and NRA members directly.
The survey, which will be released soon, wasn't conducted by some
liberal outfit but by Frank Luntz, the Republican pollster lately
famous for providing talking points against the Democrats' health-care
bills.
"I support the NRA," Luntz insists. What he doesn't go for is the
"slippery slope argument" that casts any new gun law as the first step
toward confiscation. "When the choice is between national security and
terrorism versus no limits on owning guns," Luntz says, "I'm on the
side of national security and fighting terrorism."
Most NRA members seem to agree.
In his survey of 832 gun owners, including 401 NRA members, Luntz
found that 82 percent of NRA members supported "prohibiting people on
the terrorist watch lists from purchasing guns." Sixty-nine percent
favored "requiring all gun sellers at gun shows to conduct criminal
background checks of the people buying guns," and 78 percent backed
"requiring gun owners to alert police if their guns are lost or
stolen." Among gun owners who did not belong to the NRA, the numbers
were even higher.
It's true that these gun owners, including NRA members, don't buy
broader forms of gun control. For example, 59 percent of NRA members
opposed "requiring every gun owner to register each gun he or she owns
as part of a national gun registry," though I was surprised that 30
percent supported this.
And gun owners continue to worry that President Obama "will attempt to
ban the sales of guns in the United States at some point while he is
president." Asked about this, 44 percent of NRA members said Obama
"definitely" would and 35 percent said he "probably" would.
Still, those surveyed stood behind the core idea that gun regulations
and gun rights complement each other. The poll offered this statement:
"We can do more to stop criminals from getting guns while also
protecting the rights of citizens to freely own them." Among all gun
owners and NRA members, 86 percent agreed.
NRA members also oppose the idea behind the so-called Tiahrt
amendments passed by Congress. Named for Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.),
the rules prevent law enforcement officials from having full access to
gun trace data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives and require the FBI to destroy certain background-check
records after just 24 hours. Talk about handcuffing the police.
The mayors' poll offered respondents this statement, antithetical to
the Tiahrt rules: "The federal government should not restrict the
police's ability to access, use, and share data that helps them
enforce federal, state and local gun laws." Among NRA members, 69
percent agreed.
This survey should empower Congress to take at least some baby steps
down the safe path the mayors' group is trying to blaze. They could
start by overturning the Tiahrt rules and keeping guns from those on
terrorism watch lists. "There are too many public officials taking an
absolutist position when they don't have to," Luntz says. "And they're
taking it not because they want to, but because they're scared into
doing it."
Mayor Tom Barrett of Milwaukee said in an interview that he and his
colleagues are trying to send a clear message to gun owners: "If you
have a gun you use for hunting or for self-defense in your home, I
don't want your gun."
What he does want are tougher rules on purchases that might have kept
six of his city's police officers from being shot with guns bought at
the same gun store. A lot of gun owners get that.
**************************************************
8. NYC mayor on deadly shoot-out: 'Too many guns'
**************************************************
Bloomberg calls guns "one of the great public health threats" (but
less of a health threat than having to hear his moronic ranting in my
opinion).
Too bad you can't control crime in New York, Mr. Bloomberg. All we
ask is that you keep your criminals and illegal drugs in New York so
that our citizens and police officers will be in less danger here in
Virginia.
http://tinyurl.com/y9kb9fy
http://www.google.com
NYC mayor on deadly shootout: `Too many guns'
By COLLEEN LONG and ADAM GOLDMAN (AP)
NEW YORK -- The mayor railed against gun violence on Friday, one day
after a street peddler died in a shootout with police outside a hotel
in bustling Times Square.
Raymond Martinez, 25, was killed by a plainclothes police sergeant
Thursday after trading gunfire in an area crowded with tourists and
holiday shoppers.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg was asked about the shooting while appearing
at a Manhattan charity event and used the chance to discuss one of his
signature issues -- illegal firearms and gun violence in New York and
other big cities.
"We've got to stop this," Bloomberg said. "This is one of the great
public health threats. And our police officers are clearly in danger."
Investigators are trying to determine whether Martinez was selling
illegal weapons before he was fatally wounded in the taxi area of the
landmark Marriott Marquis hotel. They say the gun he used in the
shooting was reported stolen in Richmond, Va., on Oct. 28.
"We keep getting this lesson every day," said Bloomberg. "If you think
of all the publicity about the terrible tragedy of Virginia Tech, we
have a Virginia Tech in this country every day. It's just spread
across 50 states."
Police say Martinez also had with him several business cards linked to
Virginia gun dealers near Richmond, in Hampton Roads and in Ivor. All
the gun shops declined to comment.
One of the cards had a handwritten message on the back: "I just
finished watching 'The Last Dragon.' I feel sorry for a cop if he
think I'm getting into his paddy wagon," according to police. It's
unclear who wrote the message, apparently referencing a 1985 martial
arts movie.
The shooting occurred in the Broadway theater district and the heart
of Times Square. Bullets from the gunfight shattered the window of the
Broadway Baby gift shop and a side window of the box office on the
street.
Martinez, according to police, was running a common scam on the
holiday throngs, pushing shoppers to buy his CDs.
Sgt. Christopher Newsom operates a task force that monitors aggressive
panhandling and was patrolling with an anti-crime unit when he
recognized Martinez and his brother from past run-ins. He asked the
two for their tax stamps, which allow peddlers to sell on the streets.
Martinez took off running; Newsom pursued.
Martinez turned and fired with a machine pistol that held 30 rounds,
getting off two shots before it jammed, police said. The officer fired
four times, striking Martinez in the chest and arms and killing him,
police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
"We're lucky the weapon jammed," Kelly said.
The police commissioner said the shooting preliminarily appeared to be
within department guidelines, which allow for deadly force when an
officer's life is threatened.
Martinez's brother Oliver returned to the family's Bronx home Thursday
evening after hours in police custody. Another brother, Anthony,
arrived there later, crying out that he hates police: "They shot my
brother!" he said, hugging Oliver.
Police say it's not uncommon for some hawkers to be arrested on more
serious charges. Police Capt. Edward Winski said there have been more
than 400 arrests involving illegal and licensed peddlers this year and
illegal activity has been increasing.
Police said the Martinez brothers had been cited previously for not
having their stamps. They were also suspected of running a scam in
which they'd ask the name of someone, write it on a CD and then demand
payment of $10.
But their cousin, Nailean Arzu, said the slain man had been lawfully
selling CDs for years.
"Everybody loved him," she said. "It's a great loss to the family."
Police spokesman Paul Browne said officers pay special attention to
scams and panhandling during the holidays. Specialized units are set
up in areas, including Times Square and Canal Street, where stolen
goods, knockoffs and scams are prevalent.
"We focus on them this time of the year, because they're preying on
tourists during the Christmas holidays," Browne said.
Associated Press writers Tom Hays, Ula Ilnytzky, Sara Kugler, Chad
Roedemeier and Cristian Salazar contributed to this report
**************************************************
9. Details Emerge in Fatal Stabbing of Professor
**************************************************
A professor gets stabbed to death on campus. Guns save lives - when
you are "allowed" to have them by your benevolent government.
--
http://tinyurl.com/ybomznv
http://www.insidehighered.com
Details Emerge in Fatal Stabbing of Professor
Abdulsalam Al-Zahrani, a graduate student in anthropology at the State
University of New York at Binghamton, has been charged with
second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Richard T. Antoun, an
emeritus professor of anthropology, The Press & Sun-Bulletin reported.
Al-Zahrani, 46, is a Saudi national and he is being held without bail.
Antoun was stabbed Friday in a campus building, stunning the campus.
Several students at Binghamton -- including students from the Middle
East -- told reporters this weekend that they had had unnerving
confrontations with Al-Zahrani. The New York Times reported that
Antoun served on Al-Zahrani's dissertation committee, and that at
least one student at the university was so concerned about
Al-Zahrani's behavior prior to the alleged attack that he told a
professor and the university's counseling center about it. Gannett
News Services reported that about 30 minutes before the alleged
attack, Al-Zahrani approached another professor to complain about
financial problems and to ask about switching doctoral programs.
While physical attacks by students on professors are rare, they are
not unheard of. Experts say that there is a common pattern in such
tragedies: The attacker is male, the attacks happen on campus, and the
source of the students' anger goes well beyond a grade (although that
may be a spark).
**************************************************
10. Homeowner shoots criminal
**************************************************
Here is audio of a homeowner shooting a man who broke into her house.
What that audio emphasizes is just how long it took the police to
respond. She would probably have been long dead with rigor mortis
setting in before the officers arrived had it not been for her shotgun.
Again, no one is blaming the police when these things happen: the
police do the best they can, but sometimes they are simply no where
near you. When I was a deputy in Texas, it sometimes could take 15
minutes or more to make it to a call due to the sheer size of the area
we had to patrol.
--
http://tinyurl.com/ya8bc7h
http://newsok.com/
**************************************************
11. Swiss shooting ranges
**************************************************
A VCDL reader shares his gun experiences in Switzerland
Michael Jordan emailed me this in response to last week's YouTube link
on Switzerland's gun culture.
--
Phil - a couple of stories (one illustrated).
On one of my motorcycle trips to the Alps, I was passing through a
small Swiss town on a Sunday morning. I saw a young man come out of
his house with an SG 500 under his arm and a small bag over his
shoulder heading for the countryside on foot. Target practice.
A few kilometers down the road, I saw this:
http://www.fratellibrothers.com/Travel/ ... yWT9-L.jpg
A bit puzzled at first, I decided that it was a target backstop, but
it was angled toward the road and kind of high up. I did a U-turn and
looked on the opposite side of the road and saw this; as Paul Harvey
would say, "And now, the rest of the story.":
http://www.fratellibrothers.com/Travel/ ... ei9j-L.jpg
These were the shooting positions - firing across the road.
Of course, the roadway and passing traffic were not visible from the
shooting position, so it was perfectly safe, but could you imagine
this in America?
Another interesting site is the fortress at Mesocco in Ticino, the
Italian-speaking canton. A link to the NRA article on it where they
actually shoot over the Autostrada to targets on the opposite
hillside.
http://www.nraila.org/Issues/Articles/Read.aspx?ID=51
Switzerland is pricey, but I do love the people and their attitudes
(and yes, they do have their own Antis who make noise).
One last bit. I did an overnight stay in the Burghaus Gurnigel (not
far from Interlaken) one night, and the decor felt familiar. As well
it should (USAF retired, here) - it serves as a barracks for the Swiss
Military when they're on maneuvers, and if the military isn't in
residence, it's available. As I was leaving the next morning, I saw a
large poster in the window announcing a major shooting competition.
Sponsored by Heineken.
To my continuing regret, I did not take a picture of the poster.
**************************************************
12. On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me -- a gun!
**************************************************
Handguns as stocking stuffers?
http://tinyurl.com/y9vv9v2
http://www.examiner.com
[SNIP]
Imagine the surprise and joy when your loved one finds her new handgun
as a stocking stuffer. Or the wonder when a child opens up that long
box containing her first rifle. That would be a Christmas that will
never be forgotten. So consider guns this year for the folks on your
Christmas list, and maybe even for that "Secret Santa" office
party. . . .
**************************************************
13. Who needs a gun in a cell phone store?
**************************************************
Who needs a gun if you have a cell phone? How about hundreds of cell
phones, all around you? Answer: YOU DO!
EM Dale Welch emailed me this:
--
http://tinyurl.com/ybwe4f5
http://www.kyw1060.com
Police: Armed Men Targeting Cell Phone Stores
by KYW's Jim Melwert
Saturday, 12 December 2009
Police are hoping for the public's help as they try to track down two
men behind armed robberies of two cell phone stores in southwest
Philadelphia.
The first robbery was committed by two men around 4:20, Thursday
afternoon, at a Cricket Wireless store on the 6300 block of Woodland
Avenue.
Captain Benjamin Naish of Southwest Detectives says one man is about 5-
feet-4 inches tall, between 18 and 23 years-old. The other man is
about 6'2", in his late 20s or early 30s (pictured above).
"The shorter male pulled out a gun, went behind the counter, and took
one of the cricket workers down on to the floor. There were two other
Cricket workers behind the counter and they were ordered to open up
the cash register."
Naish says they got about $3,000 in the robbery. And he says it's
believed at least one of the men was behind another Cricket store
robbery Friday evening, about a mile away, on the 5500 block of
Chester Avenue.
No one was injured, but a gun was used in both robberies and
Investigators want to catch the men before someone does get hurt.
**************************************************
14. New Gunsight Improves Marksmanship With Intuitive Aim, Says Vision
Scientist
**************************************************
http://tinyurl.com/yav6wa8
http://www.newswise.com
New Gunsight Improves Marksmanship With Intuitive Aim, Says Vision
Scientist
Released: 12/9/2009
Source: University of Alabama at Birmingham
Newswise -- A University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Vision Science
Research Center investigator who also is an expert marksman has found
a more intuitive way to aim a pistol.
Associate Professor Timothy Kraft, Ph.D., has developed a new gunsight
design that relies on subconscious ability. Opti-sight, a
UAB-protected innovation, updates a pistol-aiming device that has
remained unchanged for more than a century. Opti-sight promises to
reduce the time law enforcement, professional and amateur shooters
need for target practice to improve marksmanship.
Opti-sight is a precision-milled half-triangle shape that replaces the
traditional pistol gunsight. The design relies on subjective contours,
an optics principle that explains how the subconscious mind fills in
the blanks when the eye sees half of a familiar shape like a circle,
square or triangle, Kraft says.
The rear opti-sight notch looks like an incomplete triangle sitting
atop the gun barrel. When a shooter looks through the notch, the brain
tells the eye where the missing triangle apex should appear, and that
apex is the precise point of aim, Kraft says. "This triangular shape
that I've created allows the brain to visualize concentric triangles
whose imaginary apexes focus the shooter's attention on the exact
target bullseye.
"Opti-sight makes shooting very intuitive by allowing gunsight
alignment to become subconscious."
Marksmen, especially beginning shooters, will see improvements more
quickly with opti-sight than a traditional gunsight, he says.
Currently, pistol sights feature a square post on the front of the
barrel that is visually centered inside a notch on the back of the
barrel. A shooter uses the two pieces to align the barrel with the
target during firing; this method of aiming takes considerable time to
master as the brain must work to reconcile inconsistencies seen
through the notch, post and down-range target, says Kraft, who
competes against some of the nation's best pistoleers and has worked
with members of the U.S. Olympic pistol team to test his opti-sight
design.
"The way a traditional gunsight works is all very disconnected," he
says. "In order to get a good shot off you have to visually scan the
gap between the front post and rear sight on the left and equalize
that to the gap on the right, then align all that with the center of
the target. It is too much for the eye and brain to process."
Kraft's opti-sight design is among the many leading-edge technologies
under management by the UAB Research Foundation (UABRF). The
responsibility of the foundation to identify, assess, protect and
market commercially viable intellectual property developed at UAB. The
UABRF also seeks, negotiates, manages and monitors commercial
licensing agreements on behalf of UAB and also ensures compliance with
certain government regulations.
When not at the shooting range, Kraft focuses his vision expertise on
the physiology and biophysics of the photoreceptors in the retina that
send signals to the brain. He and his colleagues in UAB's Department
of Vision Sciences and the School of Optometry work in a
multidisciplinary vision-research environment to advance the
understanding and treatment options for retinal disease.
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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/]
