Monday, February 26, 2018

You are on you own

Trouble strikes, and who ya gonna call?

  • Ghostbusters?
  • FBI?
  • Broward County, (FL) Sheriff's Office?

If any of them comes, how long will it take? By the way, the FBI doesn't answer 911 calls. So you should prepare to be your own first responder.

Five years ago, I wrote a column about the electric toothbrush, comparing it's two minute timer to the time it takes for police response. I assumed in that column that the police would respond in a timely manner. Below* is that column's text again. What has changed since then?

We have learned that sometimes the FBI doesn't follow up on leads. Maybe they were trying to hard to "create a link" between President Trump and the Russki's. I don't know.

We also learn that one or more sheriffs's deputies have been accused of waiting outside while there was wanton slaughter going on inside. What's up with that? Protocols changed after Columbine.

Otherwise, it seems much is the same at our nation's schools, with relatively few exceptions. Maybe one SRO at a school. That's not enough, especially if he doesn't have the chutzpah to go after the murderer.

If you are in a mall, a church, or sitting at home, the situation is always the same, you are on your own. What's your plan?

One other thing has changed. The Left is attempting to pillory the NRA. They want to vilify you and me for the horrible acts of a crazy person. If you are not a member of the NRA, and are a gun owner, I urge you to join. I am a recruiter and you can join at the link below. As Ben Franklin said,
We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.
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*The electric toothbrush
My electric toothbrush operates for two minutes exactly, then shuts off. Some nights, two minutes seems like an eternity.

Police response time to 911 calls is five times that, about ten minutes. Nobody's fault, that's just the way it is.

Why do some people insist that our children, involuntarily plac
ed in gun free zones (our public schools) wait those ten minutes after the predator has arrived and begun his slaughter?

Law enforcement officers are now trained that the first on the scene goes on in, not waiting for backup. This is to minimize the carnage perpetrated by the predator. Armed and trained teachers, volunteers, and police on the scene can reduce the carnage even more by further reducing the lag time.

Think about that the next time you brush your teeth!

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You can join the NRA (or upgrade your membership) HERE.


Thursday, February 22, 2018

NRA ok's packing at Dallas meeting


The NRA meeting this year in Dallas will once again recognize the right to carry, as has been the case for the last several meetings. Here, with a link to the NRAAM site, is their official statement.
Firearms Policy for the NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits
Crowd at the NRAAM in Nashville, 2015

During the 2018 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits, lawfully carried firearms will be permitted in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and the Omni Dallas Hotel in accordance with Texas law.  When carrying your firearm remember to follow all federal, state, and local laws.
With the recent display of a billboard stating "Kill the NRA", members in attendance may wish to consider carrying their defensive firearms.

Other things to consider when traveling to Dallas-

If you drive, be sure you are aware of the carry laws in states you pass through. Two sources for information are Handgunlaw.us; and an app called Legal Heat, available for Android or Apple.

If you fly, be sure and follow the guidelines of both your airline and the TSA for checking a firearm in  your checked baggage, never in carry-on.

TSA guidelines are available HERE.

Each airline has its own rules, too. Southwest rules are HERE.

Part of Delta's policy states, "All firearms checked as baggage must be picked up at the Baggage Service Office upon arrival at your final destination. ID will be required to claim your checked firearm." It has been reported that Delta puts zip ties on luggage that contains a firearm, so don't expect to have access to your firearm until after you gain access to a tool to remove the zip tie. Maybe a cheap multi-tool should reside in an outside pocket of your checked bag.

A case such as THIS, with a combo lock (no key to lose) would work well for the handgun. I suggest a second one for the ammo, in the same luggage.

One last thing, if your plane has an emergency landing in New York or New Jersey, and you take possession of your baggage that contains a firearm, DO NOT attempt to re-check that luggage to continue your flight. Rent a car and stow that locked baggage in the trunk and drive to Philly. Why, New York and New Jersey WILL put you in jail. If you find this strong suggestion hard to believe, do your own research.




Tuesday, February 20, 2018

They want to kill the NRA?

From NRA FB page
So now someone wants to kill the NRA? Do they know who the NRA is? Do they not understand that the NRA is not just a group of leaders in suburban Washington?

No, the NRA includes their neighbors, maybe some of their friends, their doctors, ministers, store clerks, and literally millions of Americans as well as other liberty lovers around the globe.  "The NRA" also includes many people who have an affinity for the organization, although they are not dues-paying members.

Are you a member of this second group? Have you been thinking about joining, but have just not gotten around to it? As an NRA recruiter, I can offer a reduced membership cost for about three more weeks.

Current pricing is shown in this chart:

One-Year ($40) - $30
Three-Year ($100) - $85
Five-Year ($140) - $100
Life ($1,500) - $600
Distinguished Life ($750) - $500
Junior Life ($750) - $500

You can join (or renew) by clicking this LINK.

The NRA is not a perfect organization, but is among the most effective. At this time, with the left and the media (but then I repeat myself) mounting a campaign against guns, now is the time to join.




Sunday, February 18, 2018

Arming school staff


A Facebook acquaintance posed this question regarding arming and training school staff to protect their students: "Another thought... should we turn our schools into potential war zones with all these teachers carrying firearms... what kind of message does that send to our children and what does that say about the quality of life here in America?"
GFZ sign at a VA Center


I had to respond this way: The schools already are worse than a war zone, where (generally) adult combatants fight.

They are canned hunts created by government, wherein the students are the prey, and the predator enters virtually unopposed, with up to ten or fifteen minutes before the police arrive. After the police arrive, there is another time lag before medics can enter to treat the wounded and save lives.

I am less interested in what kind of message is sent to the children, and more interested in mitigating carnage when the predator arrives.

Many peaceable Americans arm themselves, then go about their daily business, interacting with one another in businesses, stores, and churches. No one knows necessarily who they are, because most have their weapons concealed.

One thing they don’t do, is place NO GUNS ALLOWED signs in their front yards. Accordingly, most burglars are careful to try to avoid the ‘hot burglary’ option, because they understand that they have a good chance of getting shot. They prefer unoccupied houses.

Likewise, human predators prefer locations where they assume their victims will be unarmed. Schools, synagogues, and churches are often their preferred killing fields (btw, many churches are now providing their own internal security).

That is the state of life here in America and in much of the world. This means we have three choices when it comes to our schools. We can remain at status quo, a recipe for more disasters (head in sand); we can implement airport type security, a very expen$ive proposition which is simply not going to happen in most jurisdictions; or we can provide appropriately trained school (http://fastersaveslives.org/) staff with the ability to be more than human shields.

That’s just the way things are."

So there you have it. Three choices...
1. Status quo
2. Expensive airport security
3. Trained and armed staff

The fix suggested by the left can be simplified by just saying, "one more gun ban".

Who is going to do that nationwide? I don't believe Congress will. An attempted ban/confiscation of semi-auto rifles would see a large non-compliance in the gun world.

From Massad Ayoob's blog:

"Simply banning and confiscating AR15 rifles and other guns with magazines of significant cartridge capacity is the demand once again. Let’s see, fifteen million guns to be confiscated. The cheapest for which one can be bought is about $700. That’s $10.5 billion in compensation that would be due to their legitimate owners…and it grossly understates the cost, because so many AR15s carry four-figure price tags. (Hey, gun control rabble-rousers – you weren’t planning on confiscating property legally purchased and responsibly owned by American citizens without compensation…were you?)

And where will the funding come from to send our nation’s 800,000 law enforcement officers to more than a hundred million homes to find and confiscate these guns? And what tragedy and bloodshed and shattering of rights might arise from that?"


Friday, February 16, 2018

Musing on concealed carry permits

North Carolina qualification target
I recently applied for my North Carolina (NC) carry permit. The permitting process in NC involves taking an all-day class (Old School Protection in Johnston County) which includes a shooting qualification test at close range. I should get my permit within 90-ish days of applying.

As I was taking the class, in the back of my mind I was musing about the different requirements of various states. With a variety of requirements among the states, the results are always about the same - -

In the mid 1970's I got a "Pistol Toter's Permit" in Georgia. It had no training requirements. To this day, permits in Georgia do not have specific training requirements. I had a Tennessee permit for over twenty years. The requirements there are similar to NC requirements, a day of training with a shooting test. Both Tennessee and North Carolina require a background check; and North Carolina requires a check to see if you are reported to be a loony tune. Florida requires that you show some evidence of training and have a background check.

There are differences between between these states, and between them and other states. Tennessee just a few years ago enacted "Constitutional Vehicle Carry", meaning that with just a few prohibited areas, one may legally carry any firearm they lawfully own or possess in their vehicle. North Carolina, on the other hand has had "Constitutional Open Carry"* since 1921. In Florida, Open Carry (with a few exceptions) is strictly forbidden.

Some states require no permit, including Vermont, which has no permitting process, and Arizona, which makes permitting optional, for those who might want a permit for interstate travel to states that recognize the permit. Also, there's that pesky Federal gun-free school zone act that apparently makes an exception for permitted individuals.

Now what is the result, as mentioned at the beginning?

  • Peaceable citizens, with rare exceptions, act responsibly when armed, whether permitted or not.
  • The permitting process is a de-facto infringement on the right to bear arms.
  • Bad actors with felony convictions or misdemeanor domestic violence offenses often continue to ignore laws and be ongoing bad actors.
  • Bad actors, all to frequently, ignore gun-free-zone signs, and continue to kill and maim.
  • Most legislators are accessories-before-the-fact, because they continue to mandate gun-free-zones for peaceable citizens, thus creating killing fields for mass-murderers as we have now seen in Florida.
For further information on state laws on guns, check out handgunlaw.us

* H/T John Richardson of Only Guns and Money blog