More CCDW, less crime!

It's something that we who are armed have learned and know instinctively, but here's hard and fast statistics to support what we've said all along -

Read the blog post with the graph in it HERE.

California Gov. Enacts Ban on Open Handgun Carrying

If you were at the Second Amendment Rally in Frankfort this weekend, you heard a former resident of the United Kingdom who was also a policeman there. He told about the steady encroachment of laws and regulations there during his lifetime which has resulted in a nearly total ban on firearms in Great Britain and most of the Commonwealth nations. His message was, "Great Britain's laws are headed to the United States."
Most of us would say, "Look at the recent Supreme Court decisions, and even Wisconsin has legal concealed carry now." And then we find this in the headlines this morning.

California Gov. Enacts Ban on Open Handgun Carrying
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Gov. Jerry Brown's says he has signed a measure that bans the open carrying of handguns in California.
The law, AB144, makes it a misdemeanor to carry an exposed and unloaded gun in a public place.
The governor's office made the announcement in a statement early Monday morning. Brown has been rushing to sign dozens of measures sent to him by lawmakers.
Top California law enforcement officials supported the legislation.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Brown said he had "listened to the police chiefs."
Supporters say the only person who knows whether the gun is loaded is the person carrying the gun. Opponents say the bill is one of many assaults on the public's Second Amendment rights.

Given the difficulty of getting a concealed carry permit in most California jurisdictions, this is approaching a de facto ban on handguns for most California residents. I expect the Supreme Court will have to decide if this is a "reasonable regulation" as mentioned in Heller.

No Gunfights at the Saloon...

Earlier this month, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reviewed Virginia State Police records and found the number of firearms-related crimes committed in establishments that serve alcohol dropped 5 percent a year after concealed-carry permit holders could legally pack heat while out on the town.

Read more HERE in the Washington Times editorial.

You would almost be led to think that law-abiding citizens legally carrying firearms are not only less apt to break the law, but perhaps act as a deterrent to some who might?

The arguments of the gun-control crowd are like an annoying barfly that needs to be sent home. Expanding the rights of lawful gun owners makes everyone safer.

Mindset is everything

This gentleman wasn't armed, but his mind was made up in advance to FIGHT BACK!

Refusing to be a victim, refusing to let the criminals have the upper hand, is everything. Armed with that attitude you have the edge from the outset of the fight.

Read about an 85 year old who fought back here!

Seventh Circuit takes another bite out of Chicago Gun Banners hide.

The Seventh Circuit has recognized per Heller that the deprivation of the right of armed self-defense is an inherently irreparable injury. Can civil rights damage cases be far behind? The last link is about the Second Amendment Foundation requesting Illinois' gun ban be declared unconstitutional based on the Ezell decision.

Link to PDF of decision from the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Ezell v Chicago  -Chicago Gun Range Ban)
http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/tmp/9C0NWF4M.pdf
Analysis by Josh Blackman
http://joshblackman.com/blog/?p=7500
Link to SAF news release for preliminary injuction against IL Carry Ban
http://www.saf.org/viewpr-new.asp?id=365

Hmmm. A total ban is unconstitutional...
I wonder how that will affect a certain case in Kentucky and the future of total bans at post-secondary educational institutions in the Commonwealth?

Nevada adds Kentucky to reciprocity list...

May be old news to some, but I wanted to get the link directly from the Nevada government site.
And HERE it is. And quoted below. Their neighbor Arizona got the nod, too.
Perhaps we'll be an early addition to Wisconsin...

Out of State Carry Concealed Weapon Permit Recognition


*Effective July 1, 2011

In accordance with NRS 202.3689 (effective October 1, 2007) the State of Nevada will recognize the following States' CCW permit holders:

Alaska
Arizona*
Arkansas
Kansas
Kentucky*
Louisiana
Michigan
Missouri
Nebraska
New Mexico
North Carolina
Ohio
Tennessee
Rhode Island
West Virginia

This law allows holders of valid permits from these states to carry a concealed weapon while in the State of Nevada. The permit must be in the possession of the issue at all times while carrying a firearm.

CCW Prohibited Locations defined by NRS 202.3673

Paducah officials determined to change Ky firearms preemption law.

See more HERE, and the previous post below.

The attitude of some Paducah officials is the Kentucky Legislature didn't know what they were doing when they passed KRS 65.870, and consequently don't want to obey the laws currently on the books. I'm sure these officials would be agreeable to a local business ignoring ordinances while the business worked to change the ordinances...

This is why we need to follow Florida and put some teeth behind the preemption law in Kentucky. City and County officials who ignore Florida's preemption will now be held personally responsible for preemption violations, without recourse to public funds for legal fees or fines and damages awarded in court. Will it be effective? Well, see what they're saying about it in Florida HERE, and HERE. (thx to Robb Allen at Sharp as a Marble blog)
Let's make the scofflaws in Ky.city and county governments sit up and pay attention. Help us work to put teeth into KRS 65.870, and put an end to local governments thumbing their collective nose at the law with impunity.

Mitchell v. UK before the Ky. Supreme Court has not yet been set.

Several have asked about the hearing, but so far, no date has been set. We'll keep you posted.

Donations page is down...

The KC3 donations button is down. We had to take the page down as someone was using it to test stolen credit cards. We are working with our ISP to rework the page with sufficient security that this doesn't happen again.
This had nothing to do with people who legitimately donated to KC3. None of your information was compromised. It is not saved in any form or fashion on our site.
We apologize for the inconvenience, and hope to have the donations page back up as soon as possible.
Thank you.
Joey Burke
President, KC3

Ten to One

Excellent article about self defense by Robert Morse.

We’d all applaud a self defense technique that reduced rape and battery by 90 percent. That technique exists, and our actions can make the difference between fending off a violent attack or becoming a victim. So here is the secret. Evidence shows that 90 percent of assaults and rapes are prevented when victims defend themselves with a firearm. In contrast, law enforcement works very hard to achieve a 5 to 10 percent reduction in crime year to year. Let’s put those results into perspective. When they outlaw armed self defense, they make the victim 10 times more likely to be raped and injured. While this isn’t making headlines, the harm to the victims is very real. The real news is the armed citizen, and the harm caused by gun control.

Read more at the link above.
(thx to Oleg Volk for the link to this article)

Annual Meeting Reminder...

The 2011 KC3 Annual Meeting will be held Sunday, June 12th, at Open Range in Crestwood, KY.
The meeting begins at 1 PM.
We will have the drawing for the current raffle (Judge and LCP) sometime during the meeting.
Hope to see you there.

Louisville Gun Show

KC3 will have a table at the Great Eastern Gun Show at the Fairgrounds in Louisville on Saturday, June 11th. We will NOT be at the show on Sunday the 12th due to the Annual Meeting.

Tell the BATFE what you think about their regulations...

Click HERE to tell the BATFE what you think about the proposed regulations for dealers in the Southwestern states to report multiple long gun sales. First those four, then the other forty-six...

This will only take a few seconds of your time, and it may be the best spent time all day.

The Louisville Zoo has seen the light!

We had complaints from some of our members about illegal signage at the Louisville zoo which prohibited concealed carry at the zoo.

KC3's attorney wrote them a letter.

The signs are GONE!

If you know of any other illegal signs then we'd like to know about them, and get pictures of them if we can. We have several that we're working on now, as well as some illegal ordinances in Pikeville and it takes time to get to all of them. But we're not going to stop!

KC3 annual meeting date and time change

Due to the number of events and activities in May of this year, the annual meeting has been moved to Sunday, June 12th at the Open Range in LaGrange, Ky. starting at 1 PM.

There will be no meal served at this meeting as a cost cutting measure, since KC3 is devoting its resources to the Michael Mitchell lawsuit and other legal efforts. Members and friends who want to attend should contact us as soon as possible so that we'll have enough drinks and snacks on hand as well as enough chairs in the room.
We hope that as many of you as can make it will be there to talk about all the things that have been accomplished this last year, and what the future holds for KC3.
If you're interested in serving on the board of directors or know someone who is, please contact us with that information as well at your first opportunity.
Hope to see you then!

Donations for the Mitchell lawsuit...

KC3 appreciates the donations that have been made for the Mitchell lawsuit. Donations have been made from all over the United States.

If you haven't yet made a donation, click on the "Donate" button on the top left column to read about the case, and, if your inclined, to make a donation.
Thank you.

Just sayin'

A woman who demands further gun control legislation is like a chicken who roots for Colonel Sanders.



- Larry Elder

College Rape Victim says Gun-Free Zones Don't Work

Opponents of Gun-Free Zones at Universities Find Unlikely Hero in Nevada Woman
By Claudia Cowan

  Amanda Collins, 25, is a wife and new mom, and a concealed weapon permit holder for years. At her father's law office in Reno, she showed us the 9-mm Glock she carries for her safety.

...However, Collins couldn't aim her gun at the serial rapist who attacked her at the University of Nevada at Reno, where she was a student. That's because, like most public colleges outside of Utah and Colorado, UNR is a "gun free" zone. The rule required her to leave her gun at home, leaving her defenseless the one time she needed its protection most.

In October of 2007, while walking to her car after a night class, Collins was grabbed from behind in a university parking garage less than 300 yards from a campus police office. The school's "gun-free" designation meant nothing to James Biela, a serial rapist with a gun of his own, who saw Collins as an easy target. "He put a firearm to my temple," she recounted, "clocked off the safety, and told me not to say anything, before he raped me."

...Read more here of Amanda's story about her attack and why she came forward to fight against gun-free zones on college campuses in Nevada. Are there any stories like this in Kentucky? I'd bet on it.

Continued Federal Assault on Weapons

(from The Patriot Post)
Project Gunrunner Backfires on the Left

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." --Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

 

Barack Hussein Obama and his Socialist cadre, in their enthusiasm to "fundamentally transform the United States of America," have redoubled efforts to do what all tyrannical governments must do to establish absolute state supremacy and usurp Rule of Law -- disarm the people.

Leftists accomplish this through incremental implementation of gun confiscation measures, most of which are overt political machinations. These include legislation written and promoted by Leftist groups such as the American Bar Association, Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, the Violence Policy Center, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and the Brady Campaign.

Current legislation under consideration includes H.R. 308 to limit rounds in magazines, S. 35 to lock in gun show registrations, S. 436 designed to "fix gun checks," and, most disturbing, the reauthorization of Section 215 of The Patriot Act, which permits the FBI to seize gun sale records (4473's) pursuant to "an authorized investigation." Regarding the latter, the Inspector General estimated that between 2003 and 2006, the FBI exceeded its authority under Section 215 in more than 6,000 instances.

More here, including the BATFE's collusion to illegally export guns to Mexico.

The Mitchell case is going to the Supremes!

The Kentucky Supreme Court notified KC3's attorneys today that they're going to hear the appeal from Michael Mitchell, the young man who was wrongfully terminated from UK Med Center last year!

More on this will follow in the days to come and we'll keep you updated every step of the way.
We'll be putting a donations button on this page and on the KC3 web site very soon, so please keep your eye peeled for that, and pass on the word to your friends.

We're confident that Mr. Mitchell, and KC3, are going to win this one with your support and assistance!

Wyoming Governor signs "No Permit" concealed carry law.

Excerpt from the article:

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming on Wednesday became the fourth state to allow citizens to carry concealed guns without a permit, with Gov. Matt Mead signing a bill into law as several other states considered similar action.

The law allows state citizens legally entitled to own guns to carry them concealed starting in July. The guns still wouldn't be allowed in schools, bars and government buildings.
"We have heard from both sides on this, this bill has attracted a lot of attention," Mead said at a signing ceremony at the state Capitol. "But as written, I thought it was an appropriate bill for Wyoming, and an appropriate law for Wyoming."
Similar bills are pending in states including Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Utah. A bill has been introduced in Kentucky but hasn't advanced while another was introduced for discussion in Idaho.
Alaska, Arizona and Vermont already don't require permits to carry concealed guns.

The bill in Kentucky is dead this session with the early adjournment of the Ky. Senate.

Legislation to Restore Gun Rights and a Compartment-Carry Bill Signed into Law by Governor Beshear

Governor Steve Beshear signed into law two pro-gun bills. House Bill 308, with an NRA-supported amendment, will provide a pathway to restoring gun rights. House Bill 313 will allow for concealed carry in a vehicle’s installed compartment.

House Bill 308, sponsored by state Representative Bob Damron (D-39), will implement the federal NICS Improvements Amendments Act of 2007 by enabling persons who have lost their firearm rights because of a mental health-related commitment or adjudication to petition a court to have them restored. Before granting a petition, the court will have to find that the person is not likely to act in a manner that is dangerous to public safety and that granting the requested relief would not be contrary to the public interest. This bill will ensure that people who can safely and responsibly possess firearms are not unnecessarily deprived of their rights.

House Bill 313, sponsored by state Representative Will Coursey (D-6), will allow an individual to carry a loaded or unloaded firearm in an enclosed compartment originally installed by the manufacturer in a motor vehicle. The firearm will not be considered a concealed firearm under state law and the occupant will not need a concealed carry permit to transport a firearm in this manner. Previous law required a firearm to be stored in a glove compartment even though some vehicles do not come with one factory-installed.

Thank you to everyone who contacted their elected officials in support HB 308 and HB 313!

April gun show in Ft. Mitchell, KY

Two gun bills pass KY Senate - Call Governor Bashear TODAY!

Legislation to Restore Gun Rights and a Compartment-Carry Bill Pass Kentucky Senate

Please contact the Governor today!

On March 4, two pro-gun bills passed unanimously in the Kentucky Senate. House Bill 308, with an NRA-supported amendment, would provide a pathway to restoring gun rights. House Bill 313 would allow for concealed carry in a vehicle’s installed compartment. Both bills are now awaiting approval by Governor Steve Beshear (D).

House Bill 308, sponsored by state Representative Bob Damron (D-39), would implement the federal NICS Improvements Amendments Act, providing a pathway for the restoration of gun rights.

House Bill 313, sponsored by state Representative Will Coursey (D-6), would allow an individual to carry a loaded or unloaded firearm in an enclosed compartment originally installed by the manufacturer in a motor vehicle. The firearm would not be considered a concealed firearm under state law and the occupant would not need a concealed carry permit to transport a firearm in this manner. Current law requires a firearm to be stored in a glove compartment even though some vehicles do not come with one regularly installed.

Please contact Governor Beshear and respectfully urge him to sign both HB 308 and HB 313. He can be reached by calling (502) 564-2611 or you may e-mail him by clicking here.

Harmon introduces campus carry amendment to HB 370

Representative Mike Harmon has introduced a floor amendment to HB 307 which, if passed, would allow all CCDW license holders to carry without limitation on any Kentucky college, university, or other post-secondary campus. It also removes the supposed ambiguity from the possession of firearms in a vehicle on university property which is currently being challenged in court.

HFA (3, M. Harmon) - Retain original provisions except add amendment of KRS 237.115 relating to carrying and possession of weapons to permit a person with a concealed deadly weapon license to carry that weapon without limitation on the property of a publicly funded college, university, postsecondary education institution, including vocational schools and community colleges, specify that the provisions of KRS 237.106 relating to possession of firearms in a vehicle on applies on such property.

Read the full text of the amendment here.

Currently, Kentucky law allows the administrations of these institutions to arbitrarily disarm law-abiding adults who have passed the training and continuing background checks required to qualify for a CCDW license. Let your Representative know that we can no longer allow these unelected administrators to create gun-free zones on college campuses where criminals and madmen attack and/or kill disarmed adults who are deprived of their best method of defense. Virginia allows the same thing at their colleges. Remember how well it worked at Virginia Tech?
 
Please use the links provided to the left under the heading "Email Kentucky Legislators" to find and contact your State Representative.
 
After you tell your Representative to support this amendment, let Mr. Harmon know you appreciate his work to reasonably expand our CCDW privileges.

How bad can it get?

Well, ask them in New Jersey, where even the courts have said, "When dealing with guns, the citizen acts at his peril." (State v. Pelleteri).

Friends, don't discount this for our own state. One bad election cycle, and there's no telling what kind of nonsense would issue from a legislature.
gbw

Firearm-related legislation in Kentucky...

The Kentucky Legislature is underway and moving quickly on firearm-related legislation. House Bill 1, House Bill 308, House Bill 313, and House Bill 326 are all pro-gun pieces of legislation. House Resolution 48, House Resolution 96, and House Bill 114 are anti-gun bills. For more information, please see each bill’s summary and status below.


House Bill 308 passed out of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, February 9, by a unanimous vote. Introduced by state Representative Bob Damron (D-39), HB 308 would implement the federal NICS Improvements Amendments Act by providing a pathway for the restoration of rights. This bill will be heard on the House floor on Monday, February 14.

On Tuesday, February 15, the House Judiciary Committee will hear House Bill 313, sponsored by state Representative Will Coursey (D-6). This legislation would allow an individual to carry a loaded or unloaded firearm in an enclosed compartment originally installed by the manufacturer in a motor vehicle. The firearm would not be considered a concealed firearm under state law. Current law requires a firearm to be stored in a glove compartment even though some vehicles do not come with one regularly installed.

House Bill 326 is expected to be heard by the House Elections, Constitutional Amendments, and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee as early as Tuesday, February 15. Introduced by state Representative John Short (D-92), HB 326 would direct the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to include a voter registration application form as part of an application for a hunting license or permit. In addition, HB 326 would also provide that any change of address form submitted for purposes of a hunting license or permit would serve as a change of address for voter registration. Hunter-Voter legislation will encourage sportsmen’s involvement in the political process and is an important method for preserving Kentucky’s outdoor heritage.

Please contact your state Representative TODAY and respectfully voice your SUPPORT for HB 1, HB 308, HB 313, and HB 326. Your state Representative can be reached by phone at (502) 564-8100. Committee contact information can be found by clicking here.

The following anti-gun bills have been introduced in the House and referred to the House Judiciary Committee:

House Resolution 48, sponsored by state Representative Mary Lou Marzian (D-34), urges the leadership of the House to ban firearms from the House Chamber and House Gallery but provide an exception for specified police officers and legislators.

House Resolution 96, also sponsored by Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, directs citizens to sign a written declaration acknowledging the possible presence of firearms in the House Chamber or House Gallery before they are permitted to enter the Chamber or Gallery.

House Bill 114, introduced by state Representative Jim Wayne (D-35), would allow for the destruction of confiscated firearms. This anti-gun legislation would ban the lawful sale of confiscated firearms.

HR 48, HR 96 and HB 114 could be heard at any time.

Please contact your state Representative TODAY and respectfully voice your OPPOSITION to HR 48, HR 96 and HB 114. Your state Representative can be reached by phone at (502) 564-8100. Committee contact information can be found by clicking here.

The Kentucky State Legislature is moving quickly through the thirty day session, so please make these calls TODAY!

Right to Hunt and Fish Amendment Committee hearings...

On February 11, NRA-backed House Bill 1, the Right to Hunt and Fish Amendment, passed in the state House by a 91 to 4 vote. This bill is expected to be heard in the Senate State and Local Government Committee as early as tomorrow, February 16.


Sponsored by state Representative Leslie Combs (D-94) and House Speaker Greg Stumbo (D-95), HB 1 proposes an amendment to the Kentucky Constitution recognizing citizens’ right to hunt and fish. It would provide truly meaningful protections against the animal rights activists who seek to ban all hunting in America. The ultimate adoption of this constitutional amendment would preserve Kentucky’s rich hunting and fishing traditions for future generations.

Please contact members of the Senate State and Local Government Committee TODAY and respectfully ask them to pass HB 1 without amendments. Contact information for this committee can be found here.

2011 Kentucky Gun Shows

Feb 19-20 Lexington, Heritage Hall of Lexington Center Map RK Shows (Kenny Woods Gun Show, LLC) 563-927-8176 email:kehrli8@n-connect.net

Mar 5-6 Ashland, El Hasa Temple Map RK Shows (Kenny Woods Gun Show, LLC) 563-927-8176 email:kehrli8@n-connect.net

Mar 19-20 Cave City, Convention Center, A:$5, Sat 9-5 Sun 9-3 Richey's Shows 270-622-2185

Mar 26-27 Owensboro, Owensboro Sports Center, 1215 Hichman Ave 175+ 8'tbls $45 A: $5  Dealer Set-up Fri 2-7 Show Hours Sat 9-5 Sun 9-3 Midwest Promotions 270-521-6959 NEW OFFICE PH: 270-318-2128

Apr 2-3 Somerset, (Kenny Woods Gun Show LLC) The Center Map (2292 S. Hwy 27) RK Shows 563-927-8176 email:kehrli8@n-connect.net

Apr 9-10 Hartford, Ohio County Park and Fairgrounds, Blds 1&2 2300 Rt 69 Exit 48 off Natcher Parkway, 100+ tbls $45, A: $5 Sat 9-6 Sun 9-3 Midwest Promotions 270-521-6959 or 270-318-2128

Apr 16-17 Lexington, Oleika Shriners Temple (250 tables) tbls $50, A: $6, 9-5 Sat & Sun, H.R. McGinnis, 423-255-3669 tennvalleysportsmen@yahoo.com

May 14-15 Paducah, Traders Mall 6900 Benton Rd 8' tbls $45, A: $5, Show Hours Sat 9-5 Sun 9-3 Midwest Promotions 270-521-6959 or 270-318-2128

Jul 23-23 Louisville, Map Kentucky Fair & Expo Center West Hall A&B RK Shows 563-927-8176 email:kehrli8@n-connect.net

Aug 26-28 Lexington Knife Show Clarion Hotel, 1950 Newton Pike, 6' tbls $70 Fri 12-6 Fri 9-6 Sun 9-2 Central Kentucky Knife Club, Jim Thompson, 859-623-1419

Nov 19-20 Cave City, Convention Center, A:$5, Sat 9-5 Sun 9-3 Richey's Shows 270-622-2185

Dec 3-4 Lexington, Oleika Shriners Temple (250 tables) tbls $50, A: $6, 9-5 Sat & Sun, H.R. McGinnis, 423-255-3669 tennvalleysportsmen@yahoo.com

What to do after you shoot

Shooting or using any deadly weapon in self-defense is often referred to as Problem One, with the legal aftermath being Problem Two.

Failure to prepare for Problem Two could cost you a fortune and ruin your life, in some states and cities more than others.

While here in Kentucky we're lucky that the legal climate favors lawful self-defense and legal gun owners, you should always know what the best course of action is when you've had to use lethal force.

A recent book by attorney Alan Korwin discusses the topic, and has prompted this reply from an attorney up East.

It's an excellent discussion with good advice and you can read it HERE.

Gun control laws don't stop crime

Excellent commentary about the failures of gun control -

it ought to be mandatory reading in all of the Congressional offices and all state legislatures!

Read it here.

It is time for a paradigm shift, a national will, if you like, for the repeal of all gun laws.

Safer Streets 2011: What? Guns Needed All of a Sudden?

By John Longenecker · Thursday, February 3, 2011

In Tucson, Arizona, concealed carry gun owner Joe Zamudio joined in wrestling active shooter Jared Loughner before he could kill more people.

Joe was armed, but did what gun owners do, and that was to exercise good judgment tailored for the circumstances. This was the Second Amendment in action.

This sort of thing happens about 2.5 million times a year in America. It is one of the most under-reported statistics surrounding the concept of the ubiquitous armed citizen. The combination of brains, the willingness to act and a very understated component, the legal authority to stop a crime in progress.

The Second Amendment has little to do with guns and everything to do with independence to act when facing grave danger. Legal, lawful independence, the kind you have without having to ask permission or even consider doing nothing while waiting for first responders. This independence works rather well in showing statists how little government is needed. When the Second Amendment is pushed aside, as in gun control, governments believe they can step in with poor substitutes for the armed citizen, and then boldly and brazenly step in with a host of other programs that are equally unneeded.

This is big government, disregarding a working safeguard and substituting itself as a second-best program. They then rinse and repeat. For you technophiles, it would be to clone the formula.

But, like most laws, civil rights work only when respected – respected by both thugs and the system. Gun laws are not respected by thugs, so they have never worked. Heck, even laws against murder are broken, with gun laws not even a minor nuisance en route to a greater crime. Gun laws never stopped a crime. But they sure do stop citizens from stopping crime. Successes of armed citizens stopping violence are largely visible in the right-to-carry states of the union, while violence is highly visible almost entirely in the major cities who ban guns.

When this works rather well to short-circuit violent acts from becoming completed acts, you see the Second Amendment in action for its intended purpose: a working safeguard which discredits big government substitutions in all things.

When you stop violent crime where it is stopped best – at the scene of the crime – you also stop big government from presuming that it can do you one better, and you thereby keep crime more in check than any gun laws ever will. Thus, costly programs would never get off the ground or be taken seriously as long as citizens are free to stop crime, the foundation of so many expensive bureaucracies.

The problem that is keeping crime alive is gun control which disarms the people. Understand that gun control does not permeate the entire U.S.: some states don't even require gun registration and they do fine. The states without gun registration or permits have proven that no one needs to know where the guns are as a crime fighting tool. It don't work none. What crime has been solved by registration? None. More and more states are affirming right to carry your handgun open or concealed, and they don't have the blood-in-the-streets problem gun control has warned against for decades.

Which brings me to a worrisome question in 2011. Where we do anticipate a blood-in-the-streets problem is in terrorist strikes in areas known to be disarmed, places gun control activists call gun-free zones and survivors call victim-disarmament zones. These locales ring the dinner bell for predators, and invite violence with reliable reports of an impending Mumbai style strike.

No amount of gun laws, assault weapons bans, or punishments for carrying here or there will stop a Mumbai-style strike in the United States. Only someone present will stop it. No amount of gun control ever has or ever will stop a nut bent on murder. Only someone present will stop them.

The best deterrence is the thugs' awareness that he can never be certain who is armed and who is not, someone fully prepared to stop them from committing murder. Perhaps the person standing right next to him. Perhaps those two women sitting at the table. The awareness that any citizen has the authority to act in stopping him – with lethal force if necessary in their reasonable apprehension – changes the entire complexion of vulnerability in whether a target is a hard target or a soft target.

And the numbers play a role, too. When an entire community is known to have a significant percentage of armed citizens at any moment, at any place, under any circumstances, the assessment of success in some horrific strike is then greatly in doubt.

When we ask how many guns are enough, we aren't answering how many weapons one person owns, but how many armed citizens there are within a community. How many are enough? When those numbers rise and when the thugs and terrorists come to know them as well as the community knows them, then that many armed citizens are in fact enough.

There is a drawback in being in law enforcement: sometimes you just never know what was avoided. Perhaps we might all share in that mystery.

Police cannot be everywhere, but citizens are everywhere. And where the armed citizen is, so the law is also by dint of public policy and interest, not to mention substantive and codified law and a few doctrines. The citizen's independent authority to act is under attack, obfuscated, and smothered by gun control and by a general undermining of understanding, resolve and spirit. Gun control must be abolished.

When Americans reflect on billions of dollars spent on the War on Crime or the War on Poverty, we see the futility of such a transfer of wealth in the name of safety. What made them possible was the idea that poverty causes crime and that easy access to guns enabled violence.

The truth is that armed citizens fight crime where it is fought best, at the scene of the crime, applying both their force, if necessary, and their authority, something they also carry with them. At those times, it is not a thug's easy access to guns which completes the crime, but the thugs' easy access to society which begins crime.

It is time for a paradigm shift, a national will, if you like, for the repeal of all gun laws. For, when the citizen is on scene, so the law is also. Armed with both authority to act and the force to back that authority, gun control and other absentee policies are shown to be the redundancies they are.

Guns needed here? Now? Ubiquitous armed citizens? For the optimal homeland security, and for smaller government, the Second Amendment?

All of a sudden? It only seems that way. The Second Amendment's real purpose is the same as always: smaller government. Your home, your workplace, your community and your country are no longer a known soft target for thugs or for the system. From day to day, from generation to generation.

John Longenecker is Publisher of the Safer Streets Newsletter and Commentary. Visit www.Goodforthecountry.com/n.html

“Arrest everyone not Jared…”

These things only end well when a good guy with a gun shows up. ‘nuf said. gbw

What Liberal Don't Know About Guns, Chapter 217

By Ann Coulter (Archive) · Thursday, February 3, 2011

Fresh off of blaming Jared Loughner's killing spree in the Tucson mall on Sarah Palin, liberals are now blaming it on high-capacity magazines. They might as well imprison everyone named "Jared" to prevent a crime like this from ever happening again.

During the presidential campaign, Obama said: "I don't know of any self-respecting hunter that needs 19 rounds of anything. You don't shoot 19 rounds at a deer, and if you do, you shouldn't be hunting." It would have been more accurate for him to end that sentence after the word "hunter."

It's so adorable when people who wouldn't know a high-capacity magazine from Vanity Fair start telling gun owners what they should want and need.

In fact, high-capacity mags put a predator like Loughner at a disadvantage because they are so long, unwieldy and difficult to conceal. This may be why the Tucson shooting appears to be the first spree killing involving a high-capacity magazine. It would have been easier for Loughner to bring two guns.

On the other hand, for a homeowner who is a poor marksman, a large-capacity clip could be a lifesaver.

But after every multiple murder, liberals come up with some crackpot idea to "do something" that invariably involves infringing on some aspect of our Second Amendment rights.

The ACLU won't let us put nuts in mental hospitals and Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik wouldn't lock up Loughner even after he had broken the law several times.

In an open society that includes Sheriff Dumbnik and the ACLU, deranged individuals may explode into murder and mayhem now and then. The best we can do is enact policies that will reduce the death toll when these acts of carnage occur.

There's only one policy of any kind that has ever been shown to deter mass murder: concealed-carry laws. In a comprehensive study of all public, multiple-shooting incidents in America between 1977 and 1999, the highly regarded economists John Lott and Bill Landes found that concealed-carry laws were the only laws that had any beneficial effect.

And the effect was not small. States that allowed citizens to carry concealed handguns reduced multiple-shooting attacks by 60 percent and reduced the death and injury from these attacks by nearly 80 percent.

When there are no armed citizens to stop mass murderers, the killers are able to shoot unabated, even pausing to reload their weapons, until they get bored and stop. Some stop only when their trigger fingers develop carpal tunnel syndrome.

Consider just the school shootings -- popular sites for mass murder because so many schools are "gun-free zones." Or, as mass murderers call them, "free-fire zones."

At Columbine High School, two students killed 12 people before ending the carnage themselves by committing suicide. They didn't need high-capacity magazines because they were able to stop and reload.

At the Amish school shooting in 2006 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the deranged killer murdered five little girls and then committed suicide.

In 1998, two students in Craighead County, Arkansas, killed five people, including four little girls, before the killers decided to stop and attempt an escape.

And in 2007, a deranged student killed 32 people at Virginia Tech -- 30 of them in a very short period of time in one building. He didn't need high-capacity magazines because he had two guns and reloaded.

There was no one to stop him.

School shootings that have been halted were almost always stopped by the happenstance of an armed citizen on school property.

In 2002, an immigrant in Virginia started shooting his classmates at the Appalachian Law School in Grundy. Two of his classmates retrieved guns from their cars, forcing the killer to drop his weapon and allowing a third classmate to tackle him.

Three dead.

In Santee, Calif., in 2001, when a student began shooting his classmates, the school activated its "safe school plan" -- as the principal later told CNN -- by sending a "trained campus supervisor" to stop the killer.

Possibly not realizing that he was in a gun-free zone, the killer responded by shooting the trained campus supervisor three times. Fortunately, an armed off-duty San Diego policeman happened to be bringing his daughter to school that day. With a gun, he stopped the killer and held him at bay until more police could arrive.

Two dead.

In 1997, a student at Pearl High School in Pearl, Miss., had already shot several people at his high school and was headed for the junior high school when assistant principal Joel Myrick retrieved a .45 pistol from his car and pointed it at the gunman's head, ending the slaughter.

Two dead.

In 1998, a student attending a junior high school dance at a restaurant in Edinboro, Pa., started shooting, whereupon the restaurant owner pulled out his shotgun, chased the gunman from the restaurant and captured him for the police.

One dead.

See the pattern?

In response to Columbine, schools adopted "anti-bullying" policies; in response to Virginia Tech, eBay ceased selling magazines online; in response to the Tucson shooting, liberals want to ban the particular magazine Loughner used.

And then the next killer will come along with a different arsenal and a different motive, and the only way to stop him will be with an armed citizen with a gun.

COPYRIGHT 2011 ANN COULTER
DISTRIBUTED BY UNIVERSAL UCLICK

Wait, you mean the gun didn’t make Loughner do it?

As I’ve heard Dennis Miller say, the nutters are always gonna getcha.

A Predictable Tragedy in Arizona from Dr. E. Fuller Torrey in The Wall Street Journal tells us that the amazing thing isn’t that the tragic shooting in Arizona occurred, but that it doesn’t happen more often. Why? Read the article.

The big picture is even scarier. Based on Arizona's 2010 population and on estimates by the National Institute of Mental Health of the number of individuals with untreated schizophrenia at any given time, there are today in Arizona over 21,000 individuals with untreated schizophrenia. Most of them, thankfully, are not violent. But a small number of them—about 10% according to my meta-analysis of relevant studies—do become violent, usually because of their delusional thoughts and what their voices (auditory hallucinations) are telling them. This situation holds in every state. It is thus not a question of if such tragedies will occur but rather when and how often. (emphasis mine. gbw)

Of course, the public policy discussion centers around gun control because, obviously the gun made Loughner crazy.

Dr. Torrey is the founder of the Treatment Advocacy Center and the author of "The Insanity Offense: How America's Failure to Treat the Seriously Mentally Ill Endangers Its Citizens" (W.W. Norton, 2008).