Category: Self Defense

Northeast Columbia home invasion victim shot and killed intruder

COLUMBIA MO – Columbia Police were dispatched to the 2000 block of Fair Lane at approximately 8:45 a.m. Friday for a report of a burglary with a weapon.

Upon arrival, police found one male suffering life-threatening injuries near the residence and later was pronounced dead at the scene. The individual was identified as Jacob D’Agostino, 20, of Columbia, a CPD release says.

While investigating, officers learned that the deceased male was the suspect who illegally entered the residence on Fair Lane. As a result, the victim of the home invasion shot D’Agostino.

According to a KOMU 8 reporter at the scene, there were six CPD units at the scene and one unit of assistance from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

There were no other reported suspects.

Florida Alert! Poll of Florida Sheriffs by Sheriff Wayne Ivey on Florida’s Church Carry Bill

SB-498 Church Carry by Sen. Joe Gruters and HB-259 Church Carry by Rep. Jayer Williamson & Rep. Cord Byrd have collectively been heard in five different Legislative Committee hearings in the Florida Senate and Florida House.

In every hearing, these bills have been met with a barrage of anti-church-carry questions and debate by Democrat members of these committees.

Why Democrats don’t want religious institutions to be able to make their own decisions about their private property and about protecting their own houses of worship and worshipers, is a question that defies a logical answer.

In one committee hearing, a prominent Democrat wanted to know what the sheriffs in the sponsor’s district thought about the bill.  The sponsor had not asked his local sheriffs but said that he would find out.

In the meantime, Sheriff Wayne Ivey of Brevard County decided to find out how all sheriffs viewed the bill and conducted a poll. The results are very profound.

On Monday 3/15/21 I received the following email from Sheriff Ivey:

Mon, Mar 15, 2021 7:15 pm

Dear Marion,

With the outcome of the Church Carry bill, SB-498 and HB-259 moving through the Florida Legislature, I took it upon myself to individually talk to and poll 64 of our Florida Sheriffs on how they feel about this important piece of legislation, designed to protect our citizens and houses of worship.  While there are actually 67 Sheriffs in Florida I was unable to reach 3 of them after leaving messages in an effort to speak to them on the matter.

Not surprisingly, of the 64 Florida Sheriffs that I personally spoke with, 62 of them overwhelmingly SUPPORT the bill and 2 Sheriffs had not had a chance to review the bill, so were undecided in their support or opposition.

The poll without question sends a clear and profound message that our Florida Sheriffs support the private property rights of religious institutions and the self-defense rights of law-abiding gun owners.

Sheriff Wayne Ivey,

Brevard County

 

It’s good to see others with large venues getting onboard with the knowledge that gun use for self defense strongly outweighs their use by criminals.

These 11 Examples of Defensive Gun Use Undermine Push for More Gun Control

March is Women’s History Month, yet Congress appears ready to celebrate in the worst way possible by creating more barriers for women who seek to exercise their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

While COVID-19-related bills have taken up much of the national spotlight, several gun control bills are primed for passage this week in the House. This is hardly surprising, given that just last month, President Joe Biden called on Congress to enact a plethora of new federal gun legislation.

Unfortunately, however, none of these proposals is meaningfully directed at the root causes of gun violence. Many gun control advocates have fooled themselves—and far too many others—into believing that we create safer communities by placing increasingly burdensome restrictions on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

The reality, however, is that firearms are used far more often for lawful purposes than they are used to commit acts of criminal violence.

Almost every major study on the issue found that Americans use their firearms in self-defense between 500,000 and 3 million times a year, according to a 2013 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We have good reason to believe that many of these defensive gun uses aren’t reported to police, much less make the local or national news.

For this reason, The Daily Signal each month publishes an article highlighting some of the previous month’s many news stories on defensive gun use that you may have missed—or that might not have made it to the national spotlight in the first place. (Read accounts from 2019 and 2020 here.)

The examples below represent only a small portion of the news stories on defensive gun use that we found in February. You may explore more by using The Heritage Foundation’s interactive Defensive Gun Use Database.

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2 killed when person they were trying to rob opens fire

HOUSTON – Two people were killed Wednesday when a person they were trying to rob in north Harris County opened fire, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

The shooting was reported about 2:45 p.m. in the 4500 block of Shelton Road.

Gonzalez said a person was eating lunch in his car when two other people walked up and tried to rob him. He said that was when the person pulled out a gun and shot the two people trying to rob him.

Gonzalez said the person jumped out of his car and fled the scene in the car believed to be driven by the two people attempting to rob him. He said the person later returned and is cooperating with investigators.

The sheriff said investigators will forward their information to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office who will decide whether charges are necessary.

Beverly man, 69, with concealed carry license, shoots at 3 would-be robbers, injuring 1

A 69-year-old concealed carry license holder defended himself Tuesday night against a group of teenagers in a stolen vehicle when they approached him in Beverly ( ‘community area’ in Chicago ) and demanded his belongings, police said.

Instead of handing over his wallet or other items, the man drew his handgun and shot toward the group of boys trying to rob him about 10:35 p.m. in the 10600 block of South Leavitt Street, according to a statement from police. One of the attackers was shot in the knee, police said.

Two of the three people have since been charged, Karie James, a police spokeswoman, said. They were 15 and 16 years old, she said. The person who was shot in the knee has not been charged with a crime and James did not release his age.

When the 69-year-old shot at the three people, they ran back to a gray Ford Fusion and drove off, authorities said. Police initially misidentified the color of the vehicle as red

They managed to get as far as the Gresham neighborhood, but the Ford crashed in the 8700 block of South Vincennes Avenue, according to police. All three people took off running, but soon were caught by Chicago police officers.

Authorities later learned that Ford Fusion had been reported stolen Sunday night, James said.

The three were taken to an area hospital for evaluation. (pity they didn’t get the full free ride to the morgue.)

Chick-fil-A robbery suspect captured by Colony Square visitors

Plenty of people love Chick-fil-A, but how many would be willing to confront an armed man suspected of robbing one of the Atlanta restaurant chain’s locations?

According to Atlanta police, multiple people who witnessed a robbery in progress at the Colony Square restaurant did just that, stepping in to confront and subdue the armed suspect.

One of those people was armed, and at some point during the confrontation, he fired several shots, Atlanta police spokeswoman Officer C.J. Johnson said. He and several other Colony Square visitors were able to disarm the suspect, 23-year-old Willie Gloston, and hold him until police arrived, Johnson said.

Officers were sent to the Midtown restaurant about 3 p.m., according to Johnson. Witnesses told investigators that a man walked into the store and demanded money from a cashier. The man was later identified as Gloston.

It’s not clear if they gave the man any money, but the cashier fled to the back of the store and the suspect left.

As Gloston tried to leave Colony Square, he was confronted by bystanders and witnesses, leading to the gunfire and his capture, Johnson said. He was taken to the Fulton County Jail, where he remains.

Gloston is charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Police said no one was hurt by the gunfire. No charges have been filed against the bystander who fired the shots, Johnson said.

An investigation is ongoing.

 

2 Athens residents killed, 2 jailed in attempted Barrow County robbery

Two Athens (Georgia) residents were shot to death and two more are in jail after authorities said the four attempted to rob a person Tuesday in Barrow County.

Those killed were identified as Jose Barrera, 19, and Erika Contreras, 19, according to the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office, which released the names Friday.

The two were shot to death during an attempted robbery on Beech Creek Circle, a neighborhood east of Winder off Georgia Highway 82, according to deputies.

Julio Rivera, 20, and Alphonzo Gonzalez, 19, were arrested and charged with attempted armed robbery and aggravated assault. They remain in jail without bond.

Deputies said the man targeted for robbery was in a vehicle when the two suspects were shot. The man, who lived on Beech Creek Circle, was with an Athens woman when they stopped due to car trouble, according to the incident report.

The victim “heard footsteps and turned to his right and saw a gun in his face, so he shot the male,” the report said. The report contained no information on the shooting of the other suspect who was killed.

The robbery victim, who was shaking, told deputies he could not give a more detailed statement at the scene because he “did not know what else to say,” according to the report.

Deputies earlier said the two shooting victims were found near the scene of the robbery attempt, which occurred shortly before 1:30 a.m

Suspect fatally shot in head, homeowner shot in leg after masked men invade home in Chesterfield County.

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, S.C. (WBTV) – A suspect was fatally shot in the head and a homeowner was shot in the leg after masked men invaded a home in Chesterfield County Friday morning.

The incident happened at a home off Highway 207.

Officials say two masked men went into a home and one of them shot the homeowner in the leg.

That same homeowner then got into a fight with the other masked man before the homeowner’s son came out with a shotgun and shot the man in the head who was fighting his father, according to authorities.

The masked man who fired the first shot reportedly got into a small white car and headed towards North Carolina.

The masked man who was shot in the head, identified only as a 17-year-old male, was flown to a hospital in Charlotte with life-threatening injuries. That 17-year-old male suspect later died from his injuries.

While investigating, the Union County Sheriff’s Office helped search for a white car.

Officials detained 21-year-old Noah Daniels who will be charged with burglary in the first degree, two counts of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

Officials say 23-year-old Austin Lee Drake will face the same charges when deputies find him. Deputies say Drake tried to rob the same house back in Dec. 2020, and was out on bond for that incident at the time of this crime.

Homeowner shot during home invasion in Chesterfield County
Daniels, Drake and the 17-year-old male suspect who died were all involved in the home invasion. Officials did not specify who, between Daniels and Drake, was the other masked man who went into the house.

In addition, officials detained a 17-year-old woman for questioning, and she’s currently facing charges of accessory after the fact.

Details remain mostly limited as the investigation continues.

Two homeowners TCOB

Westminster police investigating after homeowner kills alleged intruder

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (KDVR) – Detectives in Westminster are investigating after a homeowner allegedly shot and killed a man he said was an intruder inside his home.

The homeowner later told police he knew the individual and shot him after a confrontation.

Around 9 a.m. on Monday, a homeowner in the 13500 block of Raritan Way called 911 to report he had shot an intruder inside his home. The homeowner fired one round striking an adult male who was transported to a local hospital and died of his injuries.

Police are not looking for any other suspects and do not believe any of the surrounding homes or neighbors were at risk.

The Westminster Police Department said once an investigation is complete, the case will be presented to the Adams County District Attorney’s office to determine if charges are appropriate.

Officials have not released the name of the homeowner nor the individual killed.

TPD investigates after homeowner shoots, kills intruder on Old St. Augustine Road

The Tallahassee Police Department is investigating after a homeowner shot and killed an intruder early Wednesday.

TPD received a call just after 1 a.m. and responded to a house in the 2800 block of Old St. Augustine Road, near the intersection of Capital Circle SE, where they found a dead adult male.

“We are investigating it as a home invasion, attempted burglary with a shooting,” department spokesperson Alicia Turner said Thursday. “The homeowner used deadly force on the suspect after they entered the home.”

Gas station clerk shoots, kills man in Phoenix

Phoenix police say the shooting happened just after 11 p.m. on March 1 at a Chevron station near 44th Street and McDowell Road.

Investigators say a man threatened to harm customers and when the clerk tried to intervene, the man armed himself with a baton and attacked the clerk who then shot him.

The man was taken to a hospital in critical condition where he was pronounced dead. He was identified by police as 35-year old Andrew Agnew.

The clerk stayed at the scene following the shooting and the investigation is ongoing.

Suspect hit by bullet after shooting at his neighbor, who fired back

A gunfire exchange in Dora last week ended with Calvin L. Grisham in handcuffs and a bullet wound to the hand.

Grisham’s age is not listed in court documents, but online records say that he was born in 1965, making him either 55 or 56 years old.

The Dora man is being held in the Ozark County Jail without bond and has been charged with a class B felony of unlawful use of a weapon by discharging a firearm at a habitable structure and the unclassified felony of armed criminal action.

According to this week’s sheriff’s report, Brice Bennett, the victim in the case, called the sheriff’s report at 7:43 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, to say that his neighbor was threatening him with a pistol and was outside his house on County Road 179 in the Dora area.

The probable cause statement filed in the case by Ozark County Sheriff Cass Martin indicates that about a half hour later, the sheriff’s department dispatch office was notified by the Missouri State Highway Patrol at 8:11 p.m. that a shooting had occurred at the residence.

Three MSHP troopers and officers from OCSD responded, along with Dora VFD first responders. Ozark County Ambulance and Air Evac were also called to the scene. After the helicopter landed, Grisham reportedly refused air transport and was instead taken by ambulance to Ozarks Healthcare in West Plains.

Bennett told the sheriff that Grisham came onto the property and fired a weapon through the window of his house, the statement says.

Bennett said he returned fire, shooting back out the window with a .22 rifle, hitting Grisham in the hand.

Grisham was treated for the gunshot wound at the hospital and then released into the custody of the West Plains Police Department, who then transferred custody to the OCSD. Grisham arrived at the OCSD at 11:44 p.m. that night.

Although the document doesn’t say which specific drugs or alcohol Grisham might have ingested prior to the event, the sheriff does say that intoxicants may have been involved.

“I believe that the defendant poses a danger to the crime victim and public due to discharging a firearm into a residence in aggression while under the influence of intoxicants,” Martin concluded in the report.

 

Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson signs “Stand Your Ground Bill

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KAIT & AP) – Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has signed into law a measure that eases the state’s restrictions on the use of deadly force in self-defense.

The Republican governor signed the measure Wednesday that removes the duty to retreat before deadly force can be used, despite past concerns he’s raised about changing the state’s self-defense law.

A similar measure stalled in the Legislature two years ago, but the bill this year moved more easily after groups such as the state’s sheriffs’ and prosecutors’ associations that previously opposed it said they’re neutral to the latest version.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Bob Ballinger (R-Ozark) and Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R-Knoxville) received overwhelming support in the legislature by a 72-23 margin in the House and 27-7 in the Senate.

Just me, but I remember ‘Concealed Means Concealed‘, I figured out what was meant.

Criminals Know Rideshare Drivers Are Disarmed And They Are Targeting Them

It appears as if the word has gotten out in the criminal underworld; if you’re looking for an easy target to rob, rape, or carjack, finding a victim is as easy as pulling out your phone.

We’ve been covering the rise in carjackings and other violent crimes committed against Uber and Lyft drivers for some time now, including the story of Cynthia Norman, a Cleveland woman and driver for Lyft who was cut loose by the company because she dared to defend herself against a pair of attackers with her legally owned and lawfully carried firearm.

Both Uber and Lyft have policies that require drivers be unarmed, and most of the folks contracting to drive for the companies abide by those restrictions (though clearly not all of them do).

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Teen killed in Wildwood double shooting was an intruder; no charges will be filed

WILDWOOD, Mo. (KMOV.com) — No charges will be filed after a teenager was killed in a double shooting inside a Wildwood home Wednesday night.

Officers with the St. Louis County Police Department said 17-year-old Willie Hall, of St. Louis City, was shot to death in the 1100 block of Eagle Creek Road just before 8 p.m. Wednesday. An 18-year-old was also shot and taken to a hospital for treatment.

Investigators said the young men forcefully entered the home looking to buy marijuana. Police said the 18-year-old shooter weighs 133 pounds and Hall was 6’4” and weighed 260 pounds. Officials said no criminal charges will be filed at this time because they were intruders, invoking the shooter’s right to self defense.

1 dead, 2 injured in Rusk County home invasion, gunfight

RUSK COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) – Three people suffered gunshot wounds, and one person later died after a home invasion in Rusk County turned into a gunfight, according to the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office.

According to a post on the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, RCSO deputies responded to a 911 call about gunshots at a home in the 10000 block of Main Street in New London on Sunday.

When the deputies got to the scene, they found three gunshot victims – two men and a woman. A medical helicopter transported the two men to a Tyler hospital, and an ambulance took the woman to a Tyler hospital as well.

“The preliminary investigation revealed that an armed male entered the residence without consent,” the Facebook post stated. “This woke up the other male who lives at this address. Words were exchanged between the two males, and both males began shooting at one another.”

Both men were shot multiple times, and the woman was hit as well, the Facebook post stated.

The man that broke into the home later died as a result of his injuries.

“The District Attorney’s Office was notified and they will assist with presenting the case to the Grand Jury,” the Facebook post stated.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The St. Louis couple accused of confronting protestors with their guns this summer took center stage at a Second Amendment rally at the state capitol Wednesday morning.

Patricia and Mark McCloskey spoke for about 10 minutes in the Capitol rotunda.

“Be free to live your life without being afraid of the government,” Mark McCloskey said. “Maybe we should make the government a little afraid of us because that’s where it’s supposed to be.”

The rally featured guest speakers like Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, State Rep. Jered Taylor, and State Sen. Eric Burlison.

Arkansas lawmakers give final OK to ‘Stand Your Ground’ bill

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers have sent Gov. Asa Hutchinson legislation that loosens the state’s restrictions on using lethal force in self-defense.

The House on Wednesday voted 72 to 23 for the bill, which removes the state’s duty to retreat before using deadly force.

The Senate approved the measure last month. A similar bill stalled in the Legislature two years ago, but the measure this year has moved more easily after groups that opposed it said they were neutral to the latest version.

The governor has not said whether he supports the legislation.

16-year-old alleged burglar shot by victim during attempted vehicle break-in; burglary victim also facing charge

BATON ROUGE – Three 16-year-old juveniles are facing charges of vehicular burglary after a crime spree in a Baton Rouge apartment complex early Wednesday morning. One of the suspects was shot while attempting to break into a car.

Representatives with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office (EBRSO) and the Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) were among those who responded to the reported shooting at the Armstrong Apartments along Burbank Drive.

Officials with BRPD were initially dispatched to the area around 7:30 a.m., as the incident was originally reported on Jennifer Jean Drive, which is in BRPD’s jurisdiction.

But after their initial investigation into the shooting revealed that the incident also involved a part of Burbank Drive that falls in EBRSO’s jurisdiction, deputies with the sheriff’s office were called to the scene.

According to EBRSO deputies, the incident appeared to be an attempted vehicle burglary that ended when one suspect was shot.

They say the 16-year-old suspect was seen trying to break into a vehicle near Armstrong Apartments, but it’s unclear if he was armed. The owner of the vehicle who saw the teen breaking in attempted to stop the burglary from happening.

“He went up to them, confronted them. He said one of the subjects appeared to have a weapon in his hand,” said Casey Hicks with the Sherriff’s Office.

During the confrontation, investigators say the vehicle owner shot and injured one of the teens. The vehicle owner then took the juvenile to a residence on Jennifer Jean Drive to get his stolen items back.

“Then a short time later, a 911 call came in stating that there was a 16-year-old shot inside an apartment on Jennifer Jean Drive,” said Hicks.

The wounded suspect was then taken to an area medical facility for treatment. He is facing 15 counts of vehicle burglary– seven of those charges are from a previous incident.

The vehicle owner/burglary victim who shot the suspect is facing charges of simple kidnapping for taking the injured juvenile in his car to retrieve his stolen items before calling 911.

Another one of the suspects is being charged with at least one vehicle burglary from today and had stolen credit cards on his person from a previous theft that occurred on Feb. 18.

Charges are pending for the third suspect, but EBRSO added that all three teens have previously been arrested for breaking into cars.

Man killed in ‘self defense’ shooting

A Rineyville Kentucky man was shot and killed Saturday night after police say he began shooting into a home on Village Drive in Elizabethtown Kentucky following an altercation.

Irving White, 29, was killed when a man he had been in an argument with a few minutes earlier began to shoot back, striking him, Elizabethtown police say.

White was shot outside a residence in the

According to an EPD news release, White arrived alone at the residence where there were two adult males inside the home. An altercation occurred between White and the individuals inside, according to an EPD news release.

After the confrontation, White went to his vehicle and moments later began firing shots into the home, police say. One of the individuals from inside of the home returned fire, striking White. After being shot, White got back into his vehicle and attempted to drive away but after traveling a short distance succumbed to his injuries.

He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Hardin County Coro­ner’s Office. A postmortem examination will be performed. The investigation is ongoing.

Elizabethtown police officers were called to the residence around 10:30 p.m. Saturday in regards to the shooting.

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Woman Shoots, Critically Wounds Intruder In Kensington, Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A woman turned the tables on an intruder and shot him in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood. It happened just before 3 a.m. Sunday on the 3100 block of Arbor Street.

Police say the suspect entered a house where two women were inside just before 3 a.m. Sunday. That’s when police say one of the women told officers that she shot the man once in the thigh.

The 32-year-old suspect was taken to Temple University Hospital and at last check, he was listed in critical condition.

One neighbor who spoke with Eyewitness News says if it was his family, he would have done the same thing.

“Because if he was getting into my house, I probably would have done the same thing if I had a gun,” neighbor Robert Gonzalez said. “I’m just going to do things a lot safer, look out for myself. Make sure whoever comes, got a look, look at his face, see what’s going on. You know, probably scope him.”

Police say the gun the woman used was legally registered.

No charges have been filed against the woman.

1 Dead

Homeowner kills nighttime invader in Wapello County

OTTUMWA, Iowa — A man was shot and killed Thursday night in rural Wapello County after forcibly entering a home defended by an armed homeowner.

A statement issued Friday morning by the Wapello County Sheriff’s office said their agency received a 911 call about 9:15 p.m. by a caller who “explained that a male subject was attempting to gain entry into their residence, located between Ottumwa and Agency on 97th Avenue.”

Preliminary investigation indicate the intruder “did forcibly enter the home and was shot by the homeowner inside the residence,” the sheriff’s statement said.

The intruder was pronounced dead after being flown by air ambulance to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

The investigation is ongoing, and the identity of the dead man is being withheld pending notification of his next of kin.

No score at press time.

Home Invasion Leads To Shootout In Denver Home

DENVER (CBS4) – Denver police preliminarily said three suspects invaded a home on South Madison near Colorado Boulevard and Yale Avenue. They also said a fourth suspect was waiting in a vehicle outside the home.

On Sunday afternoon, police told CBS4 they didn’t know exactly how many suspects were involved.

Police responded to the home at around 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Investigators say the suspects demanded everyone to get on the ground, and one person inside the home then pulled out a weapon.

Police say the suspects pulled out a rifle, and a shootout followed. Two people were hurt; one person suffered a head injury which investigators say is not life threatening.

All of the suspects got away.

Home Defense Firearms: A Newly Relevant Blast from the Past.

Well, it’s started. The new administration (hack. spit) is calling for yet more “gun control”, leading the charge for an “assault weapon” ban, magazine size limits, universal background checks (which requires a complete gun registry to be enforceable), and so on.

Today I’m bringing forward a post addressing that so-called “assault weapon” issue. The definition of “assault weapon” is slippery. It mimics the term “assault rifle” but doesn’t meet the definition of one (an assault rifle is a rifle of intermediate power with “select fire”, meaning that it has a full-auto or “burst” capability–that is one trigger operation fires the rifle multiple times). Generally, “assault weapon is a semi-automatic (fires once for each trigger operation) rifle or carbine (overall length being the main difference there, or intermediate power (not the uber-high-power that the media would have you believe), and some various ergonomic and cosmetic features. It is this definition that I address in the post below.

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Data show gun control doesn’t reduce US violent crime
By James Meagher

Certain that yet another round of gun control laws are needed to reduce violent crime in the U.S., activists have forgotten two fundamental issues.  The first is that people who murder, rape, rob, or assault pay little attention to our laws.  Perpetrators of violent crime will not be stopped by anything but an opposing force.  The second issue is that gun control laws have never been shown to be effective.  Gun control advocates are adamant that the pages and pages of anti-2nd Amendment legislation are effective and the country needs more.  No proof is needed; they just know it.  The reality is that impartial data show that these activists are completely wrong.

While those passionately supportive of gun control have convinced the gullible that severe restrictions on firearms will eliminate violent crime in the U.S., this is just not true.  As we have been urged to do during the COVID-19 pandemic, we must examine the data, follow the science, and do the math on gun control and violent crime.  To accomplish this, consider the most recent full year of data from the FBI publication “Crime in the US, 2019” and a legal expert’s rating on the relative severity of gun control in each state from the Traveler’s Guide to the Firearm Laws of the Fifty States.  Data from these sources is graphed for each state and presented in Figure 1.  The blue dots indicate the crime rate per 100,000 state residents.  The higher the blue dot is on the graph, the greater the violent crime rate for that state.  Crime rate values are displayed on the right-hand vertical axis.  The relative firearm freedom in each state is indicated with a red bar.  A short red bar indicates that a state has very restrictive firearm laws.  A tall red bar indicates a relatively high acceptance of residents’ 2nd Amendment rights.  The relative firearm freedom rating, from 0 for total prohibition to 100 for total freedom, is displayed on the left-hand vertical axis.

With the states arranged in order of decreasing violent crime rate from left to right, all it takes is a glance at the figure, and it is obvious that there is no discernible relationship between the two data sets.  This means that there is no link between the rate of violent crime in a state and a state’s firearm freedom.  The only valid conclusion is that gun control does not have a predictable outcome regarding violent crime.

Is it any wonder that the volumes of state and federal gun control legislation do not have much impact on our violent crime rates?  Yet year after year, our legislators add more gun control laws to the books, expecting different results each time.

The facts prove conclusively that gun control laws cannot reliably reduce the violent crime rate in our country.  Is there anything that might be effective?  Possibly.  Consider the next figure.  In Figure 2, the FBI data for violent crime are shown again.  The blue dots indicate the crime rate per 100,000 state residents.  The higher the blue dot is on the graph, the greater the violent crime rate for that state.  For the same year, the U.S. Census Bureau’s data for poverty in the states has been added as red triangles.  The higher the red triangle is on the graph, the greater the poverty rate for that state.  Values for the percentage of state residents in poverty are displayed on the left-hand vertical axis.

Just a glance at Figure 2 reveals that there is a recognizable trend for poverty and violent crime.  States with lower poverty rates generally have lower rates of violent crime.  Upon seeing this correlation, it is logical to conclude that anyone genuinely interested in reducing violent crime needs to be fighting poverty.

We can make progress as a nation only when we examine unbiased information and are able to think logically.  Unsupported opinions, willful ignorance of the facts, and emotional objections to the truth are dangerous obstacles to reducing violent crime in our country.  Deliberately promoting the myth that stricter firearm laws will reduce violent crime serves only to steer us away from real solutions.

Armed bystanders halt shooting spree that left 3 dead, including suspect, at Louisiana gun outlet

Armed bystanders stopped a mass shooting in Louisiana that left three people dead, including the suspect, and two injured down the road from the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport Saturday afternoon, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

“Arriving deputies located several victims suffering from gunshot wounds,” the sheriff said in a statement. “Three individuals were pronounced dead on the scene, and two more were transported to a local hospital for treatment. The two transported victims are in stable condition.”

It happened near a gun shop and shooting range on the 6700 block of Airline Drive in Metairie, La., just west of New Orleans, and armed bystanders helped subdue the gunman, according to authorities.

“At this time, it appears a suspect shot two victims inside the location, then was engaged and shot outside the location by multiple other individuals,” the sheriff’s statement continued. “The suspect is one of the deceased on scene.”

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Last week Seattle PD shot and killed an active shooter, who had already shot two women, killing one of them.

Antifa decided that a protest was in order.
During that protest, this happened, apparently last night.

People are ragging on the Antifa idjit because he was using an umbrella like a pansy.

Forget the umbrella foppery.
Or, rather understand what was really going on.

See the antifag pull out a collapsible baton after the umbrella was taken away from him? The umbrella was being used as a distraction device, a ruse. If the other man could be enticed to ‘engage’, the idjit was going to up the game and use the baton on him. The umbrella was being used to sucker the guy in.

Look at the video again, if you missed it.

In many states, mine in particular, that type of club is defined in law as a deadly weapon in and of itself.
In my state, pulling a billy like that is more than enough of a threat (especially at that close of a distance, and since there was already an assault) that the assaulted party would be justified in pulling out a gun and blowing the goon to kingdom come.

And for that, we don’t see such shenanigans around here

The vid’s a learning exercise to keep your situational awareness spun up.