Self Defense – Page 67

So this jerk of a professor feels that if you can’t successfully stop all of the assailants attacking you with a “low capacity” mag then you deserve to die for your lack of “marksmanship training”

How gun control proponents might win over some Second Amendment advocates

The writer is a is a professor of psychology at Elon University.

I’m no expert on firearms engineering or policy, just a concerned citizen who has spent my lifetime around knowledgeable and responsible gun owners.

From this personal experience, one thing is clear to me: A considerable number of proponents of gun control seem to know very little about the firearms they seek to regulate and so often sound ignorant when discussing gun control.

Those in favor of expansive gun rights are keenly aware of this lack of understanding, making it difficult for Second Amendment advocates to take serious proposals to further regulate guns.

It’s time to stop obsessing over the nebulous term “assault weapon” and the cosmetic features that qualify a firearm as an “assault weapon.”

There is one functional feature of many “assault weapons” that, if regulated, could substantially reduce injuries and fatalities during mass-shootings — high-capacity magazines. A ban on such magazines would be a meaningful step to reduce the potential damage a firearm can cause in a mass shooting scenario.

There is no legitimate sporting or self-defense need for someone with proper marksmanship training to possess a 10-plus round magazine.

Creating a regulatory environment where the possession, sale and manufacture of such magazines could be phased out over time would be a substantial advancement from a harm-reduction standpoint. It could include a multi-year plan where low-capacity magazines would be made widely available to law-abiding gun owners before anything was banned outright.

Common-sense gun regulations (such as extensive owner training, licensing, and perhaps the registration of all firearms) that treat guns and shooting the same way we treat motor vehicles and driving are worthy of significant discussion. But this dialogue becomes challenged when the proponents of such regulation are fixated on the form of particular firearms, rather than their function.

Mat Gendle, Elon

Customer decided if he was good for 1, he was good for 4 and TCOB.

Armed Robber Shot, Killed By Customer Inside Corner Store In North Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — An attempted armed robbery suspect was shot and killed by a customer inside a corner store in North Philadelphia Wednesday. The shooting happened on the 1400 block of Master Street in North Philadelphia, around 12:30 p.m.

Police say the man was shot four times — twice in the chest and twice in the abdomen by a customer. He was transported to Temple University Hospital and pronounced dead at 12:55 p.m., according to officials.

Ukraine war reintroduces U.S. politicians to the Second Amendment
Ukrainian police should burn their gun registration records now

Will Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military overrun Ukraine like Adolf Hitler’s army overran France in 1940, or will Kyiv become Mr. Putin’s Stalingrad? Ukraine’s armed population could play an increasingly decisive role, from house-to-house fighting in the cities to guerilla strikes in the countryside. In the United States, Second Amendment supporters see Ukrainian resistance as exemplifying the virtues of an armed citizenry, while detractors are aghast at the implications.

On Feb. 23, as Russian troops stood poised to attack, the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) passed a law granting citizens the right to carry firearms for self-defense outside their homes. Ukrainians could buy AR-15 and AK-47 semi-automatic rifles.

When Russia launched its attack on Ukraine the following day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — who previously resisted liberalizing firearm laws — directed that any citizen who wanted to defend the country would be given a weapon. More than 25,000 automatic rifles reportedly were distributed in Kyiv alone.

Ukrainians obviously have no wish to be part of Mother Russia. In the “Holodomor,” the Soviet-induced famine of 1932-33, Stalin exterminated 7 to 12 million Ukrainians. Many thought the Germans would be liberators when they attacked in 1941, only to find that the Nazis regarded all Slavs as “Untermensch” (subhuman). Some would fight against both the Nazis and the Reds. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army continued to fight the Communists until 1950.

When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, Ukraine inherited Soviet restrictions on gun ownership, including strict licensing and registration requirements. Ukraine reported in 1997 that 722,739 civilians had registered firearms. According to GunPolicy.org, that left “uncounted a national stockpile of 1.5 million to 5.5 million undocumented, illicit small arms.” Illicit? When the state denies the right to have arms, subjects will do what is necessary to defend themselves. Should Mr. Putin win the current aggression, those with registered guns will be hunted down. Hunting down “undocumented” gun owners won’t be so easy.

As late as 2018, there were 892,854 registered firearms in Ukraine, compared to an estimated 3.5 million “illegal” firearms. This is the same pattern in states like California and New York, where laws requiring the registration of so-called “assault weapons” are largely ignored.

Ukraine has been the only European nation with no actual firearm statutes, though the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in 1998 — seven years after independence — issued Order No. 622, which gave government officials discretion to decide who could obtain or carry firearms. Under this corrupt practice, officials gave hundreds of thousands of firearms to their friends in the elite.

Despite this aberration, Ukraine had been gravitating toward Western values and away from Russian domination. In 2013, Ukraine’s oldest law journal, the Law of Ukraine, published an issue on the U.S. Bill of Rights. Having read my book, “The Founders’ Second Amendment,” the editor invited me to contribute an article on the subject. George Mason University Law Prof. Joyce Lee Malcolm, author of “To Keep and Bear Arms,” also was featured.

Support was growing for liberalized gun laws at that time. The Ukrainian Gun Owners Association and some political parties were demanding action. My article highlighted the right to arms as the mark of a free people. Referring to “the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation,” James Madison wrote that the European monarchies “are afraid to trust the people with arms.”

In this period, Mr. Putin was promoting agitation over Crimea. On Feb. 22, 2014, the Rada ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, a long-time Soviet apparatchik who fled to Russia. The Rada then elected Oleksandr Turchynov as its chair, who immediately proposed a constitutional amendment that included the following three clauses.

First, military training was required for all able-bodied citizens.

Second, everyone had the right to defend their constitutional rights against the usurpation of power or encroachment on the sovereignty of Ukraine.

And third: “Every citizen of Ukraine has the right to possess firearms to protect his life and health, house and property, the life and health of others, constitutional rights and freedoms in case of usurpation of power, and encroachments on the constitutional order, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

That broad language expressed the ideals held by our Founders, which found more concise expression in the Second Amendment. The Ukrainians seem to have improved on James Madison’s draftsmanship.

Mr. Putin did not recognize the legitimacy of the new government, and four days later, on Feb. 26, 2014, Russian troops invaded Crimea. Mr. Turchynov, who was also acting prime minister and commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, fought back against Russian surrogates engaged in terrorist activities. Still, Ukrainian forces were no match for the Russians and their toadies.

Mr. Putin hasn’t forgotten. Just days ago, amid the current invasion, Pravda called for bringing Mr. Turchynov to justice for his supposed “war crimes.”

Russia’s military annexation of Crimea brought the reform efforts to a halt, and the proposed constitutional amendment was not acted on. Only when the current invasion appeared imminent did the Rada enact a liberalized gun law, and the government handed out countless firearms to citizens.

When Nazi Germany overran France in 1940, Nazi military officials posted notices that all who failed to turn in their firearms within 24 hours would be executed. French police had gun registration records, making it convenient for the Germans to find the “legal” gun owners. But many Frenchmen had not registered their guns and, despite daily reports of executions, hid them. The arms would be used by the Resistance.

I can’t be sure if Mr. Putin’s invaders have been posting similar notices, but now would be a good time for Ukrainian police to burn their gun registration records. Those who never registered won’t have that specific worry.

While the 2014 constitutional amendment was not adopted, many Ukrainians now possess arms for the very purpose our Second Amendment was enacted: so citizens can protect their freedom, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their country, and their lives and those of their families and countrymen.

So, next time you hear U.S. politicians propose restrictions on Second Amendment rights, you’ll know what to tell them: Remember Ukraine.

Homeowner Who Shot, Wounded Alleged Intruder Says He’ll Use Bigger Gun Next Time

An Akron, Ohio, homeowner who shot and wounded an alleged intruder Tuesday morning just before 7:30 a.m. said he will use a bigger gun next time.

News 5 Cleveland reports that 74-year-old James Lowgher was asleep when he heard a 16-year-old allegedly breaking in through his front door.

Lowgher said, “He didn’t belong here and I knew damn well after he came through the door like that, I can shoot him.”

He added, “He headed to the basement and I pumped two into him there. He went down the steps that way and I got him a third time I hope.”

WKYC notes that Lowgher shot the 16-year-old “multiple times” and the teen was taken to the hospital in stable condition.

Police said, “According to the 74-year-old homeowner, the teen forced entry into his home. At some point during the ordeal, the homeowner confronted the teen and discharged his firearm, striking him multiple times. The homeowner was uninjured during the incident.”

Lowgher says he will be ready if there is another break-in: “Nobody else better break in — it’ll be a bigger gun this time.”

Homeowner, 74, shoots suspected teen burglar inside Akron home Tuesday morning

A 74-year-old Akron homeowner Tuesday morning confronted and shot a suspected teen burglar inside a Johnston Street home in what was described as a home invasion, Akron police said.

The incident, at a home in the 700 block of Johnston Street, was called in at 7:26 a.m. The home is in a residential neighborhood east of State Route 8 and Lumiere Street, and west of Hammel Street.

Police said they found a 16-year-old teen inside the home with multiple gunshot wounds. Police gave the teen first aid until he was transported to Akron Children’s Hospital, where he is listed in stable condition.

Police said the 74-year-old homeowner told them the teen forced entry into his home. The homeowner confronted the teen at one point and fired a gun at the teen, striking him multiple times.

Police said the homeowner was not hurt.

The investigation is ongoing. Akron detectives are still gathering information on what appears to have been a home invasion scenario, police said.

Intruder shot at Kirkland home

KIRKLAND, Wash. — Kirkland police are investigating after a man said he shot an intruder at his home.

Police were called to the home on 115th Avenue Northeast in the Juanita neighborhood at about 10:45 p.m. Sunday. Police said the intruder and the resident knew each other. The person who was shot was taken to the hospital.

KIRO 7 video from the scene showed evidence markers on the porch and a car being towed from the driveway.

Investigators said they’re gathering more information about what unfolded.

BLUF:
Veteran pollster Jim McLaughlin observed, “Unfortunately, Americans are seeing first hand through Vladimir Putin’s brutal, military invasion of the Ukraine the importance of our cherished Second Amendment rights. The brave Ukrainian citizens have been able to thwart Putin’s military aggression by arming themselves against the Russian invaders. Americans clearly associate the importance of their Second Amendment rights with maintaining a safe, free and democratic nation.”

‘Strong 2A Support Due to Ukraine Invasion’: McLaughlin Survey

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine one month ago has stirred strong support for the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, according to the results of a new survey by McLaughlin & Associates, the nationally-known polling firm.

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First-time ‘Pandemic Gun Buyers’™ support gun rights just as much, if not more than pre-pandemic gun owners

One in Five American Households Purchased a Gun During the Pandemic

Survey: First-time gun purchasers during the pandemic were more likely to be younger and People of Color, compared to pre-pandemic U.S. gun owners, but they share similar views on gun control.

CHICAGO, March 24, 2022 – Eighteen percent of U.S. households purchased a gun since the start of the pandemic (March 2020–March 2022), according to new survey data from NORC at the University of Chicago, increasing the percentage of U.S. adults living in a household with a gun to 46%. Over this period, one in 20 adults in America (5%) purchased a gun for the first time.

According to the FBI, an average of 13 million guns were sold legally in the U.S. each year between 2010 and 2019, increasing to about 20 million annual gun sales in both 2020 and 2021.

[large images linked]

“Increasing gun sales during the pandemic were driven in nearly equal parts by people purchasing a gun for the first time and existing gun owners purchasing additional firearms,” said John Roman of NORC at the University of Chicago. “New gun owners during the pandemic were much more likely to be younger and People of Color compared to pre-pandemic gun owners in America.”

Despite demographic differences between first-time and pre-pandemic U.S. gun owners, NORC’s experts found that the two groups have similar views on gun-control policies. Both first-time and pre-pandemic U.S. gun owners support more permissive gun policies than non-gun owners. These included policies such as expanding concealed carry, shortening waiting periods before gun purchases, and allowing teachers and school officials to carry guns in schools.

“First-time gun buyers’ attitudes toward gun control look remarkably similar to those of the pre-pandemic U.S. gun owner,” said John Roman. “Whether they bought a gun because of existing beliefs about gun control—or owning a gun changed their policy views—is unknown, but it is notable that the policy positions of new gun owners are so different from non-gun owners.”

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The lies the media refuses to call out

The media isn’t exactly friendly towards gun ownership. We all know this, so I’m not exactly breaking news here.

However, they will still occasionally take issue with outright lies, even if they ultimately agree with the position.

There are some lies they won’t bother to call out, and this is one of them:

What is known about the links among gun prevalence, gun purchasing trends and gun violence?

We’ve known for a long time that the more access there is to firearms in a society, the more firearm violence there is likely to be. It’s been shown in comparisons of societies and U.S. states with different levels of firearm ownership.

During the pandemic, as purchasing picked up across the country, we learned there was – at least early on – a relationship between an increase in gun purchases above expected levels and a later increase in violence above expected levels.

As 2020 went on, that signal was lost, except for domestic violence, because many other things were contributing to increases in violence.

We’ve known no such thing about access to firearms.

We’ve been told that such a link exists, but when you look at the studies that claim this, you can see serious problems with every single one of them.

For example, when comparing societies or even different states, it’s impossible to truly control for other variables that may somehow impact violent crime. While the prevalence of guns may exist, so do numerous other factors that can easily contribute to the problem.

Issues like jobs, education, population density, and a host of other factors all have been argued to contribute to crime. So why wouldn’t they also be a factor where guns are easily accessible?

That’s a question the media never answers.

Nor do they seem to consider why this knowledge is so unquestionable despite crime skyrocketing someplace like Los Angeles, which doesn’t have easy access to firearms?

It’s because the media simply doesn’t care about the truth.

They’ve pushed the gun control narrative with every fiber of their being. They’ll have a gun-control advocate on the primetime talk shows to calmly discuss their point of view, but gun rights advocates are often paired with another gun-control activist so they can debate the issue, tilting the balance so people are really getting inundated with one side.

Media personalities have to know what they’re doing, just like they have to know that this idea that we know definitively that increased access to guns somehow makes violent crime higher is bogus.

They know and they don’t care.

They like these kinds of lies because they can hold up those flawed studies and say they’re only spitting facts, trusting that most people wouldn’t understand why those studies are complete and utter BS. They’re hoping you’re too stupid to learn how to read a study, learn to find the flaws in a given study, then criticize it for being what it is, an attempt to push a narrative.

Frankly, I’m kind of sick of seeing this nonsense from our media. The thing is, I don’t expect to ever see them do better, either.

Constitutional Carry in Indiana

Finally, after a dozen years of trying during which it died in House or Senate committees time and time again, constitutional carry legislation was signed into law by Governor Eric Holcomb yesterday. [the 21st]

The permit repeal, called “constitutional carry” by gun-rights supporters in reference to the Second Amendment, was criticized by major law enforcement groups who argued eliminating the permit system would endanger officers by stripping them of a screening tool for quickly identifying dangerous people who shouldn’t have guns.

Twenty-one other states already allow residents to carry handguns without permit — and Ohio’s Republican governor signed a similar bill last week.

Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter joined leaders of the state’s Fraternal Order of Police, police chiefs association and county prosecutors association in speaking out against the change.

Carter, wearing his state police uniform, stood in the back of the Senate chamber as the bill was being debated. He said after the vote that approval of the measure “does not support law enforcement — period.”

That bit of performative BS from Superintendent Carter was just gratuitous. “Bad guys might carry a gun without a permit!” is just an idiotic argument. Bad guys already carry guns without permits, because they’re bad guys. They don’t care about gun carry permits any more than they care about robbery or murder permits. That’s how you know they’re the bad guys. The permit process, no matter how streamlined, is only an impediment to lawful citizens who’d like a chance to shoot back.

With Ohio and Alabama having passed constitutional carry laws this year as well, that brings the total number of states with permitless carry to twenty-four, just one shy of half the country. Remember when it was just “Vermont Carry”? Heck, when this blog was started back in 2005 there was just Vermont and Alaska; Arizona didn’t become the third state until 2010, and that’s when the floodgates really opened.

Soon you’ll be able to drive from Mobile to Coeur d’Alene, Cleveland to Brownsville, Tucson to Bismark, or Harpers Ferry to El Paso, all with no permission slip for your blaster.

Dollar General Manager Shoots, Kills Attempted Robber Inside North Philadelphia Store

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A store manager turned the tables on a would-be thief during an attempted robbery at a North Philadelphia Dollar General on Thursday night. The manager shot and killed the suspect.

Police say a 36-year-year old man was attempting to rob a dollar store when he pulled out what appeared to be a weapon.

The weapon, police say, was in the shape of a gun and covered in plastic.

The manager, who has a license to carry, then took out a gun and shot the suspect in the head. The shooting unfolded at the dollar store at 9th Street and Girard Avenue just after 8:30 p.m. on Thursday.

The 36-year-old walked in wearing all black and approached the cashier demanding that she open the register. Investigators say the cashier then signaled to the manager what was happening.

CBS3 has been told the manager stepped in and tried to speak with the would-be robber. But that’s when the situation escalated.

The suspect again said he had a gun, and demanded the money. The manager then pulled out his own gun and fired two shots, hitting the suspect in the head.

Police say the whole encounter was caught on surveillance video.

“It appears that everything that was reported by the victims of this robbery is legitimate,” Inspector D.F. Pace, of the Philadelphia Police Department, said. “The shooter did in fact have a simulated weapon, which he communicated that to the store employees.”

Police will be reviewing that video again Friday to see if there was anyone else in the store at the time. Investigators say there may have been one other employee there as well. But no other injuries were reported.

Taxi driver shoots attempted carjacking suspect on West Side

CHICAGO — A taxi driver shot one of three attempted carjackers Thursday night after they entered his vehicle, police said.

Just after 6:30 p.m., police responded to the 5400 block of West Van Buren following a report of a shooting.

Police said a 30-year-old man was providing a taxi service in a red Mitsubishi when he was called for a fare at the above address.

Three males entered his vehicle and one allegedly produced a gun to demand the car, CPD said. At that moment, the driver pulled out a gun, which authorities said he had a valid CCL for, and shot the attempted carjacking suspect.

The suspect was placed into custody and the other two fled, CPD said. After the shooting, the driver collided with two vehicles near the scene.

He was transported to Stroger Hospital in good condition

Ukraine: The small town which managed to block Russia’s big plans

Voznesensk defenders

It was one of the most decisive battles of the war so far – a ferocious two-day struggle for control of the farming town of Voznesensk and its strategically important bridge.

Victory would have enabled Russian forces to sweep further west along the Black Sea coast towards the huge port of Odesa and a major nuclear power plant.

Instead, Ukrainian troops, supported by an eclectic army of local volunteers, delivered a crushing blow to Russian plans, first by blowing up the bridge and then by driving the invading army back, up to 100km, to the east.

“It’s hard to explain how we did it. It’s thanks to the fighting spirit of our local people and to the Ukrainian army,” said Voznesensk’s 32-year-old mayor, Yevheni Velichko, standing in body armour with his guards outside the town hall.

But almost three weeks after that battle, the mayor warned that another attack by Russian forces was probably imminent and that the town’s defenders lacked the weapons to hold them off a second time.

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Alleged robber shot in mouth by victim’s father

A Sequim man attempting to rob a motorhome resident was shot in the mouth by the father of his would-be victim.

Mason Archer-Barrett, 27, was expected to be charged with first-degree attempted robbery after he was released from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

A hospital spokesperson said March 10 that Archer-Barrett was in satisfactory condition and on March 13 that he was not named on the patient census.

The attempted robbery occurred in the early morning hours of March 5 at a motorhome parked off the 2400 block of U.S. Highway 101, Port Angeles police said.

Archer-Barrett pointed a gun at the motorhome resident, saying he had no intention of hurting anyone but that he wanted cash as he was collecting a debt from the man, according to the probable cause statement by the Port Angeles Police Department.

The man refused to hand over any money, according to a police report; believing his life was in danger, the Sequim man’s father shot Archer-Barrett in the mouth.

Archer-Barrett allegedly ran from the scene to a waiting car.

He was dropped off at the Olympic Medical Center emergency room, according to the probable cause statement, which quoted emergency room doctors as saying he had been taken to the hospital by a woman who found him on the side of U.S. Highway 101.

Archer-Barrett was transported to Harborview Medical Center, where he underwent at least one surgery, according to Port Angeles Deputy Chief Jason Viada.

The woman who dropped Archer-Barrett off was identified as Michelle Osbourn, 37, of Port Angeles. Osbourn was the alleged getaway driver who reportedly had a relationship with the attempted robbery victim.

The victim told police investigators that he and Osbourn had lived together at the Emerald Inn, and he helped her as she worked to get custody of her child from Child Protective Services, according to the probable cause statement.

Eventually, their relationship ended, and the victim moved to try and get away from Osbourn. The victim told police he was afraid of her and that she had allegedly destroyed many of his items, including his dentures worth $2,000.

Osbourn was arrested and also charged with attempted first-degree robbery after he was caught trying to flee the hotel where her vehicle was found.

Upon her arrest and transfer to Clallam County jail, a small amount of methamphetamine was found on her person.

“Police Lt. Ray Spencer said preliminary information indicates the woman acted in self-defense.” …Ya think?

Woman shoots armed ex-boyfriend who broke into home

[Las Vegas] Metro Police say a woman fatally shot her ex-boyfriend Wednesday as he held a gun to the head of her current boyfriend after breaking into the woman’s home.

Police Lt. Ray Spencer said preliminary information indicates the woman acted in self-defense.

Spencer said the woman, her current boyfriend and her three young children were in the home at about 4:30 a.m. when the woman called 911 as her former boyfriend smashed windows to gain entry into the home. The incident occurred on Seasons Avenue between Pecos Road and Eastern Avenue, near the I-215 Beltway.

Spencer said the woman had a gun, prompting the ex-boyfriend to leave the home before returning moments later with a gun of his own.

According to Spencer, the woman then shot the ex-boyfriend when he put his gun to the head of her current boyfriend.

No other injuries were reported and no identities were released.

Spencer said police will submit a report on the incident to the District Attorney’s Office for review.

He said circumstances of the incident indicating that the woman acted in self-defense include the fact that the ex-boyfriend “had ample opportunity to leave, however he chose to return back into the house armed with a handgun.”

The authors call the 2nd amendment “dangerous”, a violation of international law, and say right to carry laws cause “assassinations”

Dad calls people like this: ‘overeducated idiots’.

The SCOTUS decisions in the Heller, McDonald & Caetano cases show these ‘academics’ to be precisely that.

Can States Block or Heavily Restrict the Second Amendment Constitutional Right by Following the Design of Texas Bill 8?

Abstract

The second amendment regarding the right to bear arms is regarded as one of the most problematic provisions in the US Constitution. Despite its historical roots, “bearing” arms for personal self-defense might no longer be suitable for the 21st century in light of recent jurisprudence and sociology findings. Freedom and autonomy are the foundation upon which the bill of rights was drafted. The bill of rights offers protection for individuals against state interference by granting them, inter alia, the right to bear arms for self-defense, right against self-incrimination, and due process rights. Nonetheless, the Texas Senate Bill 8 was passed to limit the Roe v. Wade right to abortion only to the first six weeks of pregnancy – essentially obliterating Roe v. Wade. The Texas Senate Bill 8 design allowed it to withstand the initial consideration by the US Supreme Court. In this research we ask three interrelated questions. First, does the Second Amendment right constitute an afront to International Law’s right to life under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (“UDHR”) and the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”)? If yes, can states adopt a design similar to Texas Bill 8 to ban or extensively regulate the second amendment right? Finally, what are the intrinsic differences between the right to bearing arms and the right to abortion? If they are intrinsically different, this research calls for examining each of them under a different scrutiny standard. In order to answer the last question, we assess two landmark cases regarding abortion and right to bear arms currently pending before the US Supreme Court, in an attempt to predict the future of those rights.

South Dakota: Three Pro-Gun Bills Signed by Governor Noem

Last week, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signed a trio of pro-gun measures that strengthen our right to self-defense in the Mount Rushmore State. These measures will go into effect on July 1, 2022.

Senate Bill 195 clarifies South Dakota’s current Stand your Ground law by establishing that the burden of proof, by clear and convincing evidence, lies on the party seeking to overcome the immunity provided under this law. This measure clarifies the burden of proof and who bears the burden of proof in Stand your Ground self-defense cases.

House Bill 1162 updates the definition of “loaded firearm” under South Dakota law to designate that a firearm is considered loaded only if a round is chambered. This update provides easier methods of storing firearms in an “unloaded” manner, while still maintaining utility in self-defense situations when seconds matter.

Senate Bill 212, as amended on the Senate Floor, reduces the cost of South Dakota carry permits to $0. SB 212 allows those who wish to use South Dakota’s reciprocity agreements with other states, to do so and not be heavily burdened by what is essentially a tax on their right to self-defense.

Iowa represent

Polk County deputies search for burglary suspect shot by homeowner

BONDURANT, Iowa —
Polk County deputies say they are trying to track down a burglar who broke into a home.

It happened near Bondurant around 5 p.m. Monday. The sheriff’s office says the homeowner called authorities about a home invasion before firing shots at the intruder.

“Evidence on scene indicates he was probably hit. But we have not located that person yet,” Lt. Ryan Evans said.

Deputies say they are looking for an older white man who may be driving a mid-2000s white Buick LeSabre.

Perry homeowner defends family, shoots intruder

PERRY, Iowa – A man is in the Dallas County Jail after officials say he tried to break into a rural Perry residence Sunday night and was shot multiple times by the homeowner.

The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office says it happened at a property in the 19000 block of 123rd Place around 10:48 p.m.

When deputies from the sheriff’s office and officers from the Perry Police Department arrived, they found 22-year-old Hunter Keasey suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Two men shot outside Des Moines bar on Saturday
Investigators determined Keasey was trying to break into the home when the homeowner opened fire to defend his family.

Officials say Keasey was transported by air ambulance to Methodist hospital in Des Moines, where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. He was discharged and taken into custody on charges of third-degree burglary, fourth-degree criminal mischief, and simple assault.

Officials say it doesn’t appear Keasey and the residents of the home had any relationship and this was an isolated incident.

Are Ukraine’s armed citizens making a difference?

One of the go-to arguments of gun control advocates who try to portray our Second Amendment as an outdated anachronism is that armed citizens just wouldn’t stand a chance against the might of a modern military force bristling with tanks, missiles, and even nuclear weapons (looking at you, Eric Swalwell).

The armed citizens of Ukraine, however, are helping to put that argument to rest. So far the nation has defied expectations and has continued to to resist the Russian invasion, repelling many of the attacks against the country’s biggest cities, and the country’s Territorial Defense Force, which includes many individuals who were simply private citizens a couple of weeks ago, is having an impact, according to Ukrainian officials.

“In the city itself, the territorial defense detachments are working quite effectively,” Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential chief of staff, said in a statement Saturday morning. “It turned out that people are coming out, defending their homes. It wasn’t expected by analysts of the Russian General Staff.”

I don’t think it was expected even for some of those who’ve shown up to volunteer, many of whom may never have thought about defending their country with a gun until last week but who are now heading down to their nearest recruitment center.

Men from their 20s to late 50s, from a range of backgrounds, showed up. Igor, 37, an economist for an online retailing company, who didn’t want his last name published for safety reasons, stood in line for his gun. He spoke at barely a whisper and his lips trembled. The dull thud of bombs or artillery could be heard in the distance.

“I never served in the army or with the police or anything,” he said. He said he hoped to be able to figure it out. He was worried, he said. “But people who are really afraid are sitting at home. They aren’t out here now.”

“Everybody in our country needs to defend — women, girls, everybody,” said Denis Matash, 33, the manager of Milk, a Kyiv nightclub, standing in line with about 50 other men at the recruitment center. “I don’t think they understand where they came,” he said of the Russians. “Look at what is happening here.”

Grigory Mamchur, 40, who works as a male strip dancer at the Milk nightclub, part of the now shuttered but once booming nightlife scene in Kyiv, was also in line for a Kalashnikov.

“There wasn’t even anything to think about,” Mr. Mamchur said. “We will defend the country however we can. This could be our last chance.”

The Territorial Defense Force and the private citizens who are taking up arms against their country’s invaders can’t thwart the Russian military on their own, but they can and have made life hell for Russian troops. In addition, the massive mobilization of civilian volunteers serves as a psychological boost for Ukrainians and is helping to obliterate the argument made by Vladimir Putin that the Ukrainian campaign is about “liberating” a grateful populace from their democratically-elected overlords.

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Shooting death of 26-year-old man in Birmingham ruled justifiable

The shooting death of a 26-year-old man earlier this week on Birmingham’s east side has been ruled justifiable.

Birmingham police on Friday announced no criminal charges will be filed in the Wednesday killing of Jonathan Earl Dancer.

East Precinct officers were dispatched at 11:40 a.m. to a report of a person shot at 6648 Division Avenue. When they arrived, they found Dancer suffering from at least one gunshot wound. Dancer was taken to UAB Hospital, where he was pronounced dead 12:26 p.m.

Police said the preliminary investigation suggests an altercation took place just before the shooting happened.

The shooter was detained for questioning and released. The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office deemed the deadly shooting was self-defense.

Birmingham has had 30 homicides so far this year. Of those, three have now been ruled justifiable.

Black Firearm Owners: Gun Control Hurts Our Communities

Jessica Luckett got her first gun at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and it opened her eyes to the various laws and policies governing legal firearms ownership.
She works remotely for a nonprofit and lives alone in a West Pullman townhouse on the southern tip of Chicago. She often visits family and friends in Englewood, a high-crime neighborhood on the South Side where she grew up.

For Illinois residents to own a gun, they must get a firearm owner’s identification card, which is a months-long process.
Then, to carry the gun outside the home for self-defense, a concealed carry license is needed, which Luckett acquired.
Yet, through friends at a women’s gun club, she learned that other states observe very different gun laws. Most don’t ask for a firearm owner’s identification card and some don’t even ask for a concealed carry license.
“Why do we have an amendment that says right to bear arms, yet all states are so different?” she asked. “The amendment is for the entire United States, it is not for one state or another.”

She also questions the push for various gun control measures at the federal, state, and local levels, often by lawmakers from her party, the Democrats.
“It is taking away our Second Amendment right to bear arms, and I believe we should be able to protect ourselves,” she said.

Like Luckett, many first-time black gun owners are on a similar discovery journey, looking more closely at the narratives and policies affecting their newly embraced Second Amendment rights, according to Philip Smith, president of the National African American Gun Association.
During the pandemic-era gun sales boom, 21 million sales-related background checks were conducted in 2020, according to an estimate by Firearm Industry and Trade Association.
African Americans and first-time gun buyers were the groups that registered the biggest jumps.

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