Category: Self Defense

GOA SLAMS NYC MAYOR’S LOUSY ‘TOUGH-ON-CRIME’ STRATEGY AMID THE CITY’S SKYROCKETING CRIME AND SUBWAY SHOOTING

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 12, 2022

Washington, D.C. – Gun Owners of America (GOA) slams New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ failed “tough-on-crime” policies amid today’s NYC subway shooting and the skyrocketing crime that increased 14.5 percent from 2021.

This past November, the Supreme Court heard the case NYSRPA v. Bruen which questioned whether the state of New York’s denial of petitioners’ applications for concealed-carry licenses for self-defense violated the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on this case sometime before the end of June.

New York State Police told the Supreme Court that citizens do not need to carry guns on the subway since there are transit police. Mayor Adams also recently increased police presence on the subway to no avail.

Aidan Johnston, GOA’s Director of Federal Affairs, commented:

“Increased police presence cannot stop every tragedy. Once again, NYC’s gun control demonstrated that it has no impact.

“You are your own first responder. We need to empower individuals to defend themselves and exercise their right to bear arms—especially in public places.

“Only by taking up arms and shooting back can Americans restore public safety and take control out of the hands of violent criminals.”

GOA spokesmen are available for interviews. Gun Owners of America, and its sister organization Gun Owners Foundation, are nonprofits dedicated to protecting the right to keep and bear arms without compromise. For more information, visit GOA’s Press Center.

Do Right-to-Carry Concealed Weapons Laws Still Reduce Crime?

A review of the literature studying the effect of right-to-carry laws shows that the weight of evidence indicates that such laws reduced violent crime.

However, more recent studies, using more recent data, tend to find that these laws cause increases in various kinds of violent crime, raising the possibility that circumstances have changed since 2000, causing these laws to become detrimental.

We suggest that these recent studies, which do not use all the available data, are seriously compromised because they compare states that only recently have adopted right-to-carry laws with states that have had these laws for many years, instead of comparing against states with more restrictive laws.

Early adopting states experienced relatively large reductions in crime corresponding to large increases in the number of right-to-carry permits. Late adopting states passed rules making it difficult to obtain permits and exercise the right to carry concealed weapons. Ignoring the fact that these late adopting states with stricter rules on obtaining permits issue relatively few permits can produce perverse results where coefficients imply an increase in crime even though the opposite is true.

We demonstrate this effect with a simple statistical test.

SSRN-id3850436

And then there were 25

Gov. Kemp signs bill allowing concealed carry of handguns without a license

Standing outside Gable Sporting Goods in Douglasville, where Gov. Brian Kemp said he bought his daughter Lucy’s first handgun, the governor signed a bill that allows Georgians to carry concealed handguns without first getting a license from the state.

Making good on a 2018 campaign promise, Kemp signed Senate Bill 319, referred to by backers as “constitutional carry.”

SB 319 allows a “lawful weapons carrier” to carry a concealed handgun everywhere license holders currently are allowed — meaning guns would still be prohibited in places such as the secured areas of airports or government buildings that have security at the entrance, including the state Capitol.

A lawful weapons carrier is defined as anyone who is now lawfully allowed to have a gun. The bill went into effect upon his signature.

Continue reading “”

Man shot and killed during home invasion attempt while disguised as nurse

HOUSTON — A man disguised in scrubs died after being shot during an attempted home invasion, according to the Houston Police Department.

The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 12500 block of Cooperstown Drive in southeast Houston.

Police said an older woman reported hearing a knock at her door when she saw the man dressed to look like a nurse or home health care worker on her porch.

Police said he tried to use that look to get in the home, instead of forcing entry.

When the disguise didn’t work on a woman inside the home, she called her son for help, according to police.

The son told officers he rushed home and found by that time he arrived, the man had broken in the door.

HPD said the son shot and killed the intruder as he was trying to breaking into their house.

“It doesn’t look like there’s any relation at all, it was just a random thing,” HPD Lt. J.P. Horelica said. “The home health care that dropped on the original radio was part a ruse to try to gain entry in the home. When that didn’t work, he tried to force entry in there.”

Burglar shot at Mobile apartment complex

MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — More details were released about a shooting that happened Friday morning, April 8 at an apartment complex at Brill Road.

Mobile Police confirmed that one man was shot in his leg at Sunset on the Bayou Apartments. The man was shot by a woman after he broke into her apartment. The man knew the victim before he tried to burglarize her apartment, according to a news release from the Mobile Police Department.

The man was later taken to a hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to the release.

Mobile Police will continue to investigate the shooting.

Kingsessing Restaurant Owner Shoots Armed Robbery Suspect

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Philadelphia police say a store owner shot an armed robbery suspect in Kingsessing. It happened around 5:30 p.m. Monday in the 5400 block of Chester Avenue.

Investigators say a man attempted to rob a Chinese takeout restaurant. They say the owner shot the 25-year-old suspect in the elbow.

The suspect was taken to the hospital in stable condition.

BLUF:
Of these 20 cases, 15 involve a single, known, pistol caliber. Here are the current numbers of cases for those calibers:

  • 9mm – seven documented cases, all successful
  • .38 Special –  four documented cases, three successful, one failure
  • .357 magnum – nine documented cases, eight successful, one failure
  • .40 S&W  – five documented cases, all successful
  • 10mm – six documented cases, all successful
  • .44 magnum – 37 documented cases, all successful
  • .45 Long Colt – 2 cases, successful, this includes the .45 Colt/.410 revolver.

Caliber seems far less important than the willingness to use the firearm and kill the bear.

Update of Pistol Defenses Against Bears 123 Cases, 98% Effective

I have been researching the effectiveness of pistols when they are fired as a defense against bears for several years.  The research started as an attempt to find cases where pistols were ineffective.  

In October of 2016, a poster on freerepublic.com claimed (post 28 at the link) that there were numerous failures when people attempted to use pistols as a defensive tool against bears. The author knew there were several cases where the use of a pistol resulted in an effective defense. 

Because access to handguns, bear spray, knives, rifles, and shotguns all involve similar problems, only cases where a handgun was actually fired are considered. None of these systems do any good if they cannot be accessed in time to be used to stop an attack.

Months, then years of searching the Internet, books, and official sources for documented cases of failure found three documented failures and over a hundred documented cases of success (there were 10 cases where combinations of pistols and other potentially lethal items were used).

In June of 2021, the count of documented cases where pistols or handguns alone were fired in defense against bears stood at 104. One of those was discovered to be a duplicate and corrected. Since then, another 20 cases have been found. Those cases raise the number to 123. Of the 123 cases, three documented cases exist where the firing of the handgun did not stop the attack by driving off or killing the bear or bears involved.

When the number of cases reached 100, publishing the whole on the Internet at AmmoLand became time-consuming and unwieldy.  With this update, additional cases will be published as time permits. The statistics will be updated. The last update will be available, but not incorporated into a single article.

Readers will be able to access the previous articles to read the accounts of each incident and reach their own conclusions. The author remains committed to including all documented instances where pistols were fired in defense against bears.

Here is the link to the previous 103 documented cases for handguns, including statistics and combinations.

Here is the link to the latest eleven additional documented combination cases.

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Ukraine Learns the Israel Lesson
Zelensky said his country will emerge from the rubble a ‘big Israel.’ What did he mean?

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky declared Tuesday that, when the war is finally over, Ukraine would emerge from the rubble a “big Israel.”

He meant that the war would never really be over, that Ukraine would be on a permanent war footing, just as the Jewish state is. He meant that it would view its neighbors the way Israel has long viewed its own: As enemies waiting to pounce. Most importantly, he meant that Ukraine would never again rely on anyone else for its security: not the West, not the international community, not the so-called liberal order. It would be, like Israel, a nation apart, answering to no one but its people, in control of its own destiny.

Continue reading “”

Bill would allow Ohio school staff to carry guns with 20 hours of training

(WJW) – There’s a new push for Ohio lawmakers to approve a bill that would allow educators to carry guns in school.

It’s called House Bill 99 and it would give Ohio schools the authority to put guns in the hands of school staff with only 20 hours of training.

“We have some serious concerns about HB 99 which would essentially gut training requirements for any school employees who are authorized to carry weapons on school property,” said Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association.

DiMauro said right now, an Ohio teacher must undergo basic peace officer training at 700 hours in order to carry a gun in school.

“What the bill would do is put a maximum of 20 hours training in that state standard, completely tying the hands of the experts who are tasked with the training regimen,” said DiMauro.

The Buckeye Firearms Association supports the legislation.

“The current requirement has shut down security programs all over the state and there are a lot of schools right now that are wide open and defenseless,” said Dean Rieck, Executive Director.

In addition to teachers, the bill would allow janitors, cafeteria workers and support staff to carry a gun with 20 hours of training.

Rieck said he believes the legislation will give complete control to districts about security in their schools.

“A lot of schools that have security programs with armed personnel are in rural areas where they are far from law enforcement. It could take 15-20 minutes for them to show up,” said Rieck.

Under the proposed legislation, it would still be up to each individual district to decide what they would require.

“There is no state that allows for teachers to be authorized to carry weapons that have a training standard as low as what is being proposed in House Bill 99,” said DiMauro.

The bill has passed in the House. It’s currently in Senate committee but has not been voted on.

Homeowner, suspected thief fire shots in Walnut Grove after confrontation

WALNUT GROVE, Mo. (KY3) – A homeowner and a suspected thief exchanged shots after a confrontation Sunday afternoon in Walnut Grove.

Deputies say it happened around 1:30 p.m. outside a home in the 10000 block of North Farm Road 51.

The homeowner told Greene County deputies they noticed someone who didn’t belong around the home and suspected that person was trying to steal from their home.

After a confrontation, investigators say the suspect fired a few shots at the homeowner. The homeowner returned fire and shot at the suspect. No one was struck or hurt after several shots were fired.

Investigators say the suspect got away. The Greene County Sheriff’s Office made extensive location efforts to try and find the suspect Sunday, but deputies couldn’t find anyone in the search.

The homeowner has had some theft issues in the past, according to the sheriff’s office. They noticed someone who didn’t live at the home and suspected they were stealing. It’s unknown if the suspect and homeowner knew each other.

An investigation is ongoing. We will update as more information becomes available.

Missouri Self-Defense Bill Advances from Senate General Laws [Committee]

….the Senate General Laws Committee voted 4-1 to pass House Bill 1462, to reduce areas where law-abiding citizens are left defenseless. It will now advance to the full Senate for further consideration. Please contact Senate President Dave Schatz and the Senate Majority Floor Leader Caleb Rowden, and ask them to schedule HB 1462 to be heard on the floor.

House Bill 1462 repeals arbitrary “gun-free zones” that do nothing to hinder criminals, while leaving law-abiding citizens defenseless. It removes the prohibition on law-abiding citizens carrying firearms for self-defense on public transit property and in vehicles. This ensures that citizens with varying commutes throughout their day, and of various economic means, are able to exercise their Second Amendment rights and defend themselves.

The bill also repeals the prohibition in state law against carrying firearms for self-defense in places of worship. This empowers private property owners to make such decisions regarding security on their own, rather than the government mandating a one-size-fits-all solution.

Alleged home intruder shot in Camp County

CAMP COUNTY, Texas (KETK) – An alleged home intruder was shot in Camp County early Thursday morning.

According to the Camp County Sheriff’s Office, they were called to a report of a person breaking into a mobile home brandishing a knife on County Road 4151. The 911 dispatcher was advised that the intruder had been shot.

6 East Texans charged with solicitation of a minor from police bust
Deputy Brandon Morris responded and was backed up by Pittsburg Police Department Officers. Upon their arrival, the gun was secured.

The victim was taken to a Pittsburg hospital by Camp County EMS and later airlifted to a Tyler hospital.

The sheriff’s office said the investigation is still active and no further information is available at this time.

Dale County homeowner shoots intruder
The homeowner fired, striking the intruder in the head and sending him to a Dothan hospital with life-threatening injuries.

DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) -A Midland City homeowner shot a man who attempted to break into his house early Wednesday, according to the Dale County Sheriff’s Office.

“The suspect attempted several ways gain entry into the home, including entering through a child’s bedroom window,” Chief Deputy Mason Bynum told News 4.

The homeowner fired, striking the intruder in the head and sending him to a Dothan hospital with what Bynum described to News 4 as life-threatening injuries.

He said there is no indication that the alleged intruder and homeowner are acquaintances.

Bynum said the suspect’s name will be released after his family is notified of the incident.

Suspect who had been shot in home invasion faces multiple charges

DES MOINES, Iowa — Polk County deputies have arrested a suspect who had been shot in a March home invasion.

The incident happened March 21 at a home near Bondurant. Deputies said a homeowner called authorities about a home invasion before firing shots at the intruder.

Officers had been looking for 56-year-old Edward David Luncsford as a suspect in the crime. He was located on March 31 and arrested on an unrelated warrant.

“While being processed at the Polk County Jail, he was found to have injuries consistent with gunshot wounds. Luncsford was transported to a local hospital where he was treated and released back to the Polk County Jail. Detectives utilized video evidence, physical evidence, including DNA evidence, witness statements, and information obtained from other area law enforcement agencies to identify Luncsford as a suspect,” Polk County deputies said in a news release.

Deputies said confirmation through DNA analysis by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation State Crime Lab helped in filing charges against Luncsford.

Luncsford is charged with possession of burglars tools, second-degree criminal mischief, second-degree burglary, third-degree burglary and trespass.

He is being held in the Polk County Jail without bond on a parole violation.

Man fatally shot; initial investigations indicate self-defense

A man was shot and killed in what Citrus County Sheriff’s Office authorities believe to be an act of self-defense.

Sheriff’s office deputies responding to a disturbance at around 4:28 a.m. Saturday, April 2, found 36-year-old Kyle Davis dead near the back door of a home off of West Mistflower Place in Homosassa Springs, according to sheriff’s office spokeswoman Brittney Carman on Monday.

Carman said preliminary investigations revealed Davis had struck a woman, who then returned to her house with significant injuries.

When the woman’s roommate, a man, tried to figure out what happened to her, Davis forced his way into their home and attacked the woman’s roommate. During the fight, Carman said, the roommate was able to retrieve his pistol and fatally shoot Davis.

Carman would not identify the woman or her roommate because they are both listed by the sheriff’s office as victims in the case.

“At this time, initial findings are indicating that this shooting was in self-defense,” she said. “However, this is still an open, active investigation, and no further details will be provided.”

There’s no need to arrest the crim. ‘He’s dead, Jim.’

Intruder fatally shot at home in St. Paul

There are no arrests and Saint Paul Police are investigating after a man was fatally shot early this morning (Fri) while attempting to break into a home in the city’s Hamline-Midway neighborhood. Responding officers found a 56-year-old man waiting for them down the street, who told them a man in his 30s kicked in his front door and threatened his daughter, with whom the intruder had a relationship. The resident was taken to police headquarters, questioned and released. This is Saint Paul’s 13th homicide of the year.

Armed school staff bill advances in Ohio statehouse

Constitutional Carry may be the biggest Second Amendment-related bill to win approval in Ohio this year, but hopefully it won’t be the last. Nearly four months after the Ohio House approved a measure that would once again allow for school districts across the state to have trained and vetted volunteer staff serve as an armed first line of defense against attacks on school grounds, the state Senate is now taking up the issue.

House Bill 99 received its first Senate hearing Wednesday in the Veterans and Public Safety Committee, with bill sponsor Rep. Thomas Hall, R-Madison Township, saying local schools need to be able to make decisions to protect students.

“At the end of the day, what we are talking about here is empowering our local schools to make the best decision for their students and educators so that our children feel safe and are safe in Ohio schools,” Hall said. “We have worked tirelessly on this bill to do our part in protecting our schools and our communities.”

For several years districts across the state were able to have armed school staff in place with no issue, but after several parents sued the Madison School District (with the help of Everytown for Gun Safety), the Ohio Supreme Court ultimately ruled that under current state law all armed school staff must undergo more than 700 hours of law enforcement training.

Under HB 99, those training standards would be dropped to a much more reasonable 20 hours, with 4 hours of annual training. Those volunteering to protect their school don’t need to waste hours of their time learning about processing evidence, defensive driving, and a host of other activities that police officers regularly perform but armed school staff members would never have cause to do. These staff members aren’t cops, and they’re not supposed to be. They only reason they’re carrying on campus is to stop a deadly attack aimed at students or staff members. Period.

The duty of those volunteers was one of the points raised in opposition to the bill by one police union in Ohio, whose representative warned that teachers may have to abandon their students if there is a threat on campus.

“If a school employee, regardless of her position, is carrying a firearm, they are considered on duty according to [the Ohio Revised Code],” Mike Weinman testified on behalf of the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio. “When armed, the teacher’s primary responsibility is no longer teaching but an armed first responder. She will be required to abandon her students and respond to whatever threat may be in the building at a moment’s notice.”

Six school districts and two county sheriff’s departments, however, testified in favor of the bill. “Trust the locally elected officials to do their jobs and govern on behalf of the people who elected them and put them in their positions. Trust that they care for the safety and well-being of their students and staff,” Ira Wentworth, superintendent of Indian Valley Local Schools, testified. “The school boards and those staff members who are selected and volunteer to conceal and carry are not the bad guys; they are the good guys wanting to protect others from the bad guys. Put your trust in the good guys.”

There are currently thousands of Ohio educators who have undergone the three-day FASTER training course and who were already carrying on campus before the state Supreme Court decision disarmed them on the job, and as far as I’m aware of there had been no issues reported in any of the districts that had set up an armed school staff policy. Many of these school districts are rural or smaller in size, and simply don’t have the budget to have a school resource officer in every building. In some districts it might take police ten minutes or more to arrive on campus, even in the most dire of circumstances, and that’s far too long to wait for an armed response when there’s someone actively attacking the students inside the school.

HB 99 would restore some sanity to the current law, and would be a huge boost to student safety in those districts that choose to have armed school staff members in place. I’m really glad to see the state Senate start to move on this bill, and I hope that, just like Constitutional Carry, it too will soon be sent to Mike DeWine’s desk for his signature.

Observation O’ The Day

Post image

The largest study of modern society and firearms is in progress here in the U.S. It’s called ‘constitutional’, or ‘permitless’ carry.
So far it’s a grand success. The data seen provides such a conclusion, and really, no further study is needed.
To put it simply, self defense with firearms in the hands of common people works (for everyone but government and criminals, that is)
But since that doesn’t fit the narrative, it can’t be correct.

BLUF:
In just the first three months of this year, more people have been shot in defensive shootings than in each of the last three entire years.

If defensive shootings continue at the same rate through the rest of the year, Philadelphia is on track to have more than five times as many of these incidents as last year.

More victims fighting back against would-be robbers in Philadelphia, data shows
On Wednesday, police said an attempted robbery suspect was killed by a customer on Master Street.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Police are investigating after a would-be robber was shot and killed Wednesday in North Philadelphia.

Officials say a male suspect pulled a gun and tried to rob the store on the 1400 block of Master Street around 12:30 p.m.

That’s when a customer, who has a license to carry, reportedly shot the suspect twice in the abdomen. The suspect died from his injuries at the hospital. A second armed suspect managed to escape during this incident.

Police are investigating after a would-be robber was shot and killed Wednesday in North Philadelphia.

This is not the first defensive shooting this year that has resulted in the death or injury of an armed suspect.

Continue reading “”

Custer man reportedly shot and killed intruder

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – The Custer County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a deadly shooting that happened Sunday night in the Pass Creek Road area.

According to a sheriff’s office release, a man called about 10 p.m. to report he shot an intruder in his home. The 34-year-old Custer man who was shot was pronounced dead at the scene.

Custer County Sheriff Marty Mechaley said the shooter has been cooperative with law enforcement as the investigation continues. An autopsy is also being conducted.

At this time, no names of the people involved have been released.

Homeowner who shot intruder: ‘Had to do it’

BYRON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A homeowner who shot and killed a man who tried to break into his home south of Grand Rapids early Thursday said he felt he had no other option.

“I told him to go away, ‘I have a gun on you,’ and he would not go away and kept advancing on us. So…” homeowner Alan Lenhart said later Thursday morning. “We had to do it. There was no way around it. Absolutely no way around it.”

Authorities investigating after a homeowner shot and killed an intruder in Byron Township Thursday, March 31, 2022. (Kent County Sheriff’s Office)
The Kent County Sheriff’s Office said that shortly after midnight, the intruder tried to break into a house on 108th Street SW near Wilson Avenue in Byron Township. Sgt. Eric Brunner told News 8 that the suspect was armed with a handgun.

Lenhart told reporters that he and his wife saw the man knocking the windows out of his pickup truck.

“We yelled at him to go away. He proceeded to advance on us. We shut the door, locked him out, called 911,” he said. “I loaded my deer hunting gun.”

He said he had to get the gun out of his safe.

The stranger then went around to the back of the home, Lenhart said.

“When he was in the backyard, he was going, ‘Give me the keys, give me the keys,’ and kept approaching,” he said.

The intruder then went up the back steps. Lenhart said the door at the top of those steps is barricaded but the man was pushing on it, trying to get in. He said he managed to get the door partially open.

“I told him, ‘Go away, I’ve got a shotgun on you,’ and he kept coming,” he said.

“Then he started shooting a me. Bullets going past your head, like that,” he continued, pointing with his finger. “Took cover. And he was going back down, run away.”

It’s unclear exactly how many shots in total were fired.

In all, Lenhart said, it was probably five minutes between when he first saw the man and when he shot him.

“Maybe a little bit longer, but not much,” he said.

When deputies arrived, they found the intruder, 39-year-old Christopher Worth of Middleville, near the home. He died at the scene, the sheriff’s office said.

Records show Worth has a criminal history dating back to 2000 with convictions for drug offenses, vandalism and unarmed and armed robbery. The Michigan Department of Corrections listed him as a parole absconder at the time of his death.

Investigators are looking into the possibility that Worth was involved in similar crime recently.

“It’s certainly something we’re going to vet. This person has a pretty substantial criminal history,” Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young said.

Deputies believe Worth may have been involved in a car crash in Allegan County and two vehicle thefts overnight, and that he tried to steal a car along 108th Street.

The homeowner said it was his understanding Worth’s stolen car had broken down just down the street and he was looking for another one.

Lenhart said he didn’t understand why Worth tried to knock the windows out of the locked truck and expected the keys to be in it.

“He was crazy,” Lenhart said.

Asked if it was tough to do what he did, Lenhart replied, “Oh, yeah. Sure. For sure.”

“Religious man, so it’s still tough,” he said, appearing to tear up. “Scared to death. Who knows when we’ll be done with that, I guess. Hard to go back in your own home after this happens in it.”

He has lived in the home 28 years.